S E L E U C ID E S A L B A
SELEUCIDES ALBA.
TWELVE-WIRE BIRD OF PARADISE.
PARADISEA ALBA, Gmel. Syst. Nat. (1 7 8 8 ) voi. i. pt. i. p. 402 .-La th. Ind. Om. (1 790) voi. ii. p. 195. sp. 112.—Blumenb. Abbüd. naturh.
Gegen. (1 810) pi. 96.—Bechst. Kurze Uebers. (1 811) p. 133. sp. 15.—Schleg. Journ. für Ornith. (1 861) p. 386.
TWELVE-WIRED PARADISE-BIRD, Lath. Gen. Hist. Birds (1 822), vol. iii. p. 199, p ! 48.
PARADISÈA VIOLACEA, Becbst. Kurze Uebers. (1 811) p. 133. spi 12.
PARADISEA CANDIDA, Forst. Zoo! Ind. p. 35.
PARADISEA VAILLANTI, Shaw, Nat. Misc. vol. xxiv. pi. 1025.
PARADISEA NIGRA, Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1 809) vol. vii. pt. ii. p. 488, pi. 60.
PARADISEA NIGRICANS, Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1809) vol. vii. pt. ii. p. 489, and (1826) vol. xiv. p. 76.
LE NEBULEUX, Levaill. Hist. Nat. des Ois. Parad. vol. i. pis. 16 & 17.—Shaw, Gen. Zool. (1 809) vol. vii. pt. ii. p. 491, pi. 61.
LE PROMEROPS MULTIFIL, Levaill. Hist, des Prom, et des Guép. t. 17.
LE PROMEROPS À DOUZE FILETS, Vieil! Ga! des Ois. t. 185.
FALCINELLUS RESPLENDENS, Less. Trait. Om. .(1831) p. 324. sp. 1.—Vieil! Ois. dor; p. 65.
SELÈUCIDES ACANTHYLIS, Less. H is t Nat. des Parad. t. 36, 37, 3 8 ; Syn. p. 29. sp. 3.
LE. MANUCODE À DOUZE FILETS, Vieil! Ois. dor. vol. ü. (1 802) p. 2 9 ,1 . 13.
EPIMACHUS ALBUS, Wag! Syst. Av. (1 827) sp; 9.—G: R. Gray, Gen. o f Birds (1 845), vol. i. p. 94. sp. 2 —Id. Hand-! Birds (1 869), pt. i.
p. 105. no. 1275.— Id. Proc. Zoo! Soc. (1 8 6 1 ) p. 433.—Schleg. Mus. Pays-Bas (1867); p. 95.-W a l! Proc. Zoo! Soc. (1862) p. 160.
WHITE-WINGED PARADISE-BIRD, Lath. Geni Hist. vol. iii. (1 822) p. 197. sp. 15-.
SELEUCIDES ALBA, Bon. Consp. Gen. Av. (1 850) p. 412. sp. 1.—Wall. Malay Archip. vol. ii. p. 253.
SELEUCIDES RESPLENDENS, Von. Rosenb. Joura. für Omith. (1 864) p. 123.
H a b . New Guinea, Salwatty (W a l l a c e ) ( S c h l e g e l ) .
T h e Twelve-wire Bird of Paradise belongs to the long-billed section of the family, and is noted for the twelve wirelike
filaments which spring six on a side from the long flank-plumes, and recurve backwards towards the head. It
is dressed in strong contrasting colours, the rich purplish hlack of the head and breast separated from the white
underparts by a brilliant line of metallic green. As yet, besides the mainland of New Guinea, it has only been
found on the island of Salwatty—where it does not appear to be very uncommon, as I have noticed it to be present
in several collections sent from that locality—principally, however, young males and females; and the skins are
generally imperfect, with, like all native preparations, a stick run through the body, coming out of the mouth. Mr.
Wallace and his assistants procured this bird, and sent to England the finest specimens ever seen in collections; and
in its perfect state it truly is a magnificent species. In his work, from which I have already had occasion to quote,
Mr. Wallace says that “ the Seleucides alba is found in the island of Salwatty, and in the north-western parts of New
Guinea, where it frequents flowering trees, especially sago-palms and pandani, sucking the flowers, round and beneath
which its unusually large and powerful feet enable it to cling. Its motions are very rapid. It seldom rests more
than a few moments on one tree, after which it flies straight off, and with great swiftness, to another. It has a
loud shrill cry, to he heard a long way, consisting o f ‘ Cab, call,’ repeated five or six times in a descending scale;
and at the last note it generally flies away. The males are quite solitary in their habits, although, perhaps, they
assemble at certain times like the true Paradise-birds. All the specimens shot and opened by my assistant, Mr.
Allen, who obtained this fine bird during his last voyage to New Guinea, had nothing in their stomachs but a brown
sweet liquid, probably the nectar of the flowers on which they had been feeding. They certainly, however, eat both
fruit and insects; for a specimen which I saw aliVe on board a Dutch steamer ate cockroaches and papaya-fruit
voraciously. This bird had the curious habit of resting at noon with the bill pointing vertically upwards. It
died on the passage to Batavia; and I secured the body and formed a skeleton, which showed indisputably that it