[Entered according to Act of Concress, in the year 1874, by the ltural Publishing Company, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
BIRD8 OF PARADISE. 
The Birds of Paradise are natives of New 
Guinea and of the Moluccan Islands. For 
more than a century the natives of those 
islands have been aware of their value and 
employed them as articles of commerce. 
Naturalists have spent much 
time and money to procure per¬ 
fect skins of these birds for 
preservation and exhibition in 
the museums of Europe. They 
are known in different localities 
as “Birds of God,” “Birds of 
the Air,” “ Birds of the Sun,” 
&c. They are more or less gre¬ 
garious. They pass in flocks 
from one island to another, ac¬ 
cording to the change in seas,-.... 
Owing to the peculiarity of t heir 
plumage, they fly easily 
the wind. They are live*., ana 
active, aud in confinement pert 
and bold. They bestow great 
care upon their plumage. They 
do not endure any but a tropi¬ 
cal climate. In confinement 
they are fed upon rice, insects, 
&c. In their wild state the 
food consists largely of the fmifc ,- 
of the teak-tree and of figs and 
the large butterflies of their no- ^ 
tive islands. Three new species 
have been discovered the past ' 
year, of which mention is made 
below. W e illustrate one of these j 
species, A recent writer says : 
One of the most interesting 1 i 
facts in connection with the —- 
Birds of Paradise is to be found 
in their limited geographical 'mi . ' - = 
range, which is entirely restrict- M r~- 
ed to the Moluccas and Aus- ^ , 
tralia — all the true Birds of 
Paradise being confined to the 
various Papuan islands, and the 
only representatives of the 
family in Australia being the ||uOw||M| 
bower-regent birds, as well as 
the members of the genus r Mjjt 
Ptilorhis. Mr. Elliott divides i ''filljllW 
the Birds of Paradise into three 
divisions, or sub-families, viz.: \ .i’W'lwP 
P aradiseinoe, or true Birds of 
Paradise; EpimavhPntB, or thin- Vv'k \.mm 
billed Birds of Paradise ; and, ^ 
thirdly, Tectonarchiniv, or bow- S 
er-birds. The range of the latter / 
is chiefly Australian ; for the 
regent-bird {Seriatim meU/rwx) 
and the true bower-birds ( PHln- 
norhynch us) are confined to this 
continent; while the spotted 
bower-birds ( Chlamydoderu ) 
find here their headquarters, 
one species of the genus only, 
C. xanthoynstru, being found in 
New Guinea, The well-known 
cat-bird (C Elurcdua cruaairoa- 
trts) is confined to Australia ; 
but the genus cannot be said to 7^, 
be strictly Australian, as it ex¬ 
tends into the Papuan sub- 
region, where it is represented 
in Batcliian and the Aru Islands 
respectively by distinct species. 
Mr. Elliot has likewise de¬ 
scribed Amblyornis as a new 
generic form, confined to New 
Guinea, the single species known being a 
recognizable link between the cat-birds and 
regent-birds. 
Among the tliin-billed Birds of Paradise is 
included the beautiful new species which is 
represented in the accompanying wood cut. 
It forms a second species of the genus Epi- 
muchvs, the only representative of which 
was E. specioaua from New Guinea, a bird 
which, if remarkable for its plumage, was at 
least one of the oldest and best-known of the 
Birds of Paradise. It is easily distinguished 
from its ally by its violet or purple tail in 
addition to its small size ; and regarding its 
plumage we may quote the following re¬ 
marks from Mr. Elliot’s work : 
“ The Epimavhua Ell loti ia only about two- 
thirds the size of its large relative (E. specio- 
huh)\ but it is possessed of far more brilliant 
colors in its plumage, and in the sunlight 
must present a beautiful appearance indeed, 
as its rich, velvety feathers show off their 
ELLIOT’ 
BT.LtZD 
PAR ADIS E . 
changeable hues of purple and green, with 
the metallic colors of the tips of the side 
plumes flashing on the eye us the bird raises 
them tremblingly over its wings. The broad 
tail feathers, with their amethyst dyes, look 
not Unlike watered silk, and are of a velvety 
softness, as is indeed the entire plumage of 
the body.” 
Of equal interest to this new Epimarhus is 
the beautiful Prepanomia , discovered in 
New Guinea last year almost simultaneously 
liy D’Alukktis and Meyku. 
D.Albertial, as it is called by 
Dr. Hclaticu, in honor of its 
first discoverer, is a thin-billed 
Paradise Bird, closely allied to 
the rifle birds ( Ptilorht *), but 
yet evincing characteristics 
which form a link between these 
and the true Epimachi. It was 
found by D’Alhertis on Mount 
Arfak, and the following notes 
have been published by him in 
the “Proceedings” of the Brit¬ 
ish Zoological Hoeiety . on its 
— , habits: 
“This will probably proveto 
be a new bird, both generic and 
specific. It is very rare, and 
• . many of the natives did not 
-- know it, but others called It 
-- ‘quama.’ The peculiarity of 
~~ _ ' this bird consists in the forma- 
~ - tlon of the bill, head and soft- 
4 neM of tflR Phimftge. At first 
it does not appear to have the 
i beauty peculiar to other birds 
—^ °f this class, but when observed 
=— 77 more closely, and in a strong 
: light, the plumage Is seen to bo 
- - rich and brilliant;. The feathers 
— ■ - Y ~ ~ rising from the base of the beak 
— ~ ^7 7^ are of a metallic-green and red- 
_ rf dish-copper color ; the feathers 
—- — : of the breast, when smooth, are 
~ of a violet-gray, when raised 
— ~ - li 1 form a semicircle round the 
|i ~- 1 - ~ body, reflecting a rich golden 
| V~~ : — _ 7 color. Other violet-gray feath- 
|jV-~^=7L77 ci's arise from the flanks, which 
IH : <ire edged by a rich, metallic, 
lllnls violet tmt; aud when the plum- 
ullflr~~ ■ ttge is eia tirely expanded the 
mMpL. - bird appems as if it had formed 
Ife- i two semicircles around itself, 
« : and is very handsome. The tail 
«E and wing feathers are yellowish; 
J underneath they are of a darker 
shade. The head is barely cov- 
gp| |- ■: ered with small, round feathers, 
which are rether deficient at 
the back of the ears ; the shoul- 
> dors are tobacco color, and un- 
der the throat black, blending 
into olive ; the brehst is violet- 
gg|Pp gray, banded by a hne of 
°^ ve ’ rest white ; the beak 
black, eyes chestnut, and the 
f ect ®f n dark leaden color. This 
species is met with in the vicin- 
m&p' ity of Mount Arfak. Its food is 
l! ’ ^ not known, nothing having been 
' 1 7^. found in the stomachs of those 
-_. ^ prepared except clear water.” 
The rifle birds, of which four 
species are known, are Austra¬ 
lian in their habitat, only one 
species, P, magn(flcus, being of 
Papuan origin. The other mem¬ 
bers of the Birds of Paradise 
are inhabitants of the Moluccas, 
and contain the varied genera 
which are familiar to the public. 
NEW YORE ANI) ROCHESTER N. Y„ FEB. 21, 1874. 
VOL. XXIX. No. 8. I 
WHOLE No. 1258. J 
j PRICE SIX CENTS. 
I 82.50 PER YEAR, 
