¡i I
The tiiie I'aradisea minor is found ¡11 the mouiitaliis of North-western New Guinea, especiiilly in llie
Arfik (lislriet, liavino- been procured at Anihii, Mansenia, Profi, and Mori by Dr. lieccari and Mr. liriiijii's
hnnters. Siiirior d'Alhertis met with it at Eii)l)erhal<i, and Dr. Beccari at Wa Samson and Dorei Hum.
Dr. A. 1!. M'allaee oiitiiiried spceiniens at Dorei, and he believes that the species is found on Salawati.
The same traveller met with it in the island of Mysol. Solomon Müller noticed the species at Lohn and
on the Atanata Kiver, and the Hon. Walter llothschild |)ossesses sjiecimens from Etna Bay and Kapaur.
It seems to occur both in the vicinity of the eoast-rejiion and 011 the biyii mountains as well, as it was
found on the Arfak ranges near Profi and Mori by Dr. Beccari and by Mr. Bruijn's hunters at a height
of 3400 feet.
A fidl account of the various observations of the habits of this species will be found in Count Salvatlori's
' Oruilohigia (iclla Papuasia' ami in Mr. Elliot's 'Monograph of the Paradiseidie,' and I quote the most
iin)u)rtant of these observations in the ])resent work.
Lesson's note is as follows, and deals with his experiences as Naturalist ou board the 'Coquille':—•
" The small Emerald }iird of Paradise has the vivacious and agile movements and has much of the manners
of a Crow. In the forests that it iuhaliits it seeks the summits of the tallest trees, and it descends to the
lower linmches to search for its food or to escape from the rays of the sun. It shuns the heat and loves
the shade of the thick and bushy foliage of the teak-trees. It rarely leaves these trees in the middle of the
day; and it is otdy in tiie morning and evening that it is seen seeking its food. Ordinarily, when it
believes itself to be alone, it utters a sharp cry, frequently repeated, which can be Imitated by the syllables
make, make, mako, strongly articidated. These cries, at the time of our sojourn in New Guinea in July,
apj)earcd to us to be a call for the females, which were in parties of twiiuty individuals and responded
from the sui'rounding trees, in a similar manner to the love-call. Never anjoug these troops did we
see more than one male strutting ]>rou{lly in the midst of these ]>laiidv apparelled individuals, whilst he,
plumed dandy, resembled a cock who shouts victory after having beaten a rival and gained the sovereignty
of a poultry-yard. Is the little Emerald Bird of Parailise, then, a polygauiist? or is the disproportionate
mimber of females owing to the continual chase after the males, which causes this scarcity, whilst the
females are neglected and allowet! to li\e in peace without fear of man, having oidy to protect themselves
from their natural enemies the beasts of the woods? Attracted by this wake, mako, we found it easy
in our expeditions to follow the birds, discover and kill many. The first one we saw astOTiished us so
much that the gun remained at rest in our hand, so great was our snr|irise. We walked with care in
the tracks made by the wild boars in the thick ami leafy forests in the neighbourhood of Dorey, when a
male of this species j)assed over our heads with graceful and soft ilight, and seemed to us like a meteor, of
which the fiery tail left behind it a long streak of light. When an unaccustomed sound strikes the ear of
the bird its note ceases and its movements are suspended, so that it becomes absolutely passive and remains
liidiug in tlie deep foliage which conceals it from the view of the hunter ; but if the sound continues, it
soon fiies away. It perches u])on the highest branches of the loftiest trees of New Guinea, and it is very
difficult to shoot without using long-range guns. When it is only wounded it e.xpires in the thickets;
however, we happened one day to find, dying upon the banks of a pond in the bed of a half-dried torrent,
one of the birds which had been wounded the day before. It is, then, in the evening or, better, the
morning that the lumter must be on tlie watch, after having carefully recomioitred the trees filled with
fruit, to which the Paradise-birds resort. There, perfectly still, he awaits patiently the advent of the
Birds of Paradise, soon foretold by their harsh and loud cry. At the time of our stay in this land of
promise for naturalists (from the 29tli of July to the 9th of August), these birds searched for the fiesliy
buds of the teak-trees, but above all for the piidiy white, very mucilaginous fruits of the fig-tree (Amiliou).
We always found insects in their crops, and (luring our sojourn in Amboina two living specimens,
whicli we saw alive at the house of a rich Chinese merchant, were fed with large cockroaehes and
boiled rice."
Dr. A. U. Wallace writes in his ' Malay Archipelago ' :—" T h e true Paradise-birds are omnivorous,
feeding on fruit and insects—of the former |)referring small figs ; of the latter, grasshopjiers, locusts,
and phasmas, as cockroaches and caterpillars. When I returned home, in 1802, I was so fortuiuite as
to find two adult males of this species in Singapore; and as they seemed healthy, and fed voraciously
on rice, bananas, and cockroaches, I determined on giving a very high price asked for them £100
and to bring them to England by the overland route under my own care. On my way home I
stayed a week at Bombay to break the journey and to lay in a fresh stock of bananas for my birds.
I had great difficulty, however, in supplying them with insect food, for i.i the Peninsular au.l Oriental
steamers cockroaches were scarce, and it was only by setting traps in the store-roou.s, and by buuti,,.^
every hour of the night in the forecastle, that I could secure a few dozen of these creatures scarcely
enough for a single meal. At Malta, where 1 stayed a fortnight, I got plenty of cockroaehes fnuu "a
bakehouse, and when I left took with n,e several biscuit-tins full, as provision for the voyage bo,ne. We
came through the Mediterranean in March, with a very cold wind; and the only place on board a mailsteamer
where their large cage could be accommodated was exposed to a strong current of air down a
hatchway which stood open day and night, yet the birds never seemed to feel the cold. During the ni-lit
journey from Marseilles to Paris it was a sharp frost, yet they arrived in London in perfect health, ami live.l
in the Zoological Gardens for one, and two years, often displaying their brilliant pimnes to the admiration of
the sjiectators. It is evident, therefore, that the Paradise-birds require air and exercise rather than
h e a t ; and I feel sure that if a good-sized conservatory could he devoted to them, or if ihey could be turned
loose in the tropical department of the Crystal Palace, or the Great Palm House at Kew, they would live in
this country for many years."
The late Mr. A. D, Bartlett contributed the following note to Mr. Elliot's monograpli :—" When the
two Birds of Paradise first arrived at the Gardens, in Ainil 1802, their plumes were quite short, only
about five inches long. The birds had moulted, and the new feathers were growing in a thick huiicli on
cach side below their wings. They appeared in good heallh, and were active and lively. I soon ascertained
how fond they were of meal-worms and other insects; and they fed freely upon fruit, boiled rice, &c. •
a little cooked fiesh was also acceptable to them. Their mode of hopping about from perch to perch and
clinging to the bars or wires of thi' cage reminded one of a Jay or Jackdaw. They were fond of a bath,
and were very careful in dressing and drying their fine plumes; these were about two uionths in growing
to full perfection ; and it was a charming sight to see them when in full plumage. When uttering their
loud call the body was bent forward, the wings spread open and raised up, frequently over their heads,
meeting the ])lumes, which were spread in the most graceful manner, every feather vibrating in a way that
almost dazzled the sight. During this display the bird would become greatly excited, and sometimes turn
almost under the perch or branch, the head and neck being bent so low down. At this period we found
they would not agree, but attacked each other; and we were therefore obliged to keep them separated
by a wire division. They hopped about like Jays or Jackdaws, never ran like Starlings or Magpies, and
when 011 the ground raised the points of the plumes so that they should not touch the earth. 'I'hey soon
became very tame, and would take food from the hand ; and the sight of a meal-worm would bring them
down from the perch immediately. The moult was extremely rapid, the fine plumes being thrown olTiu a
few days ; and these appeared to grow all at the same time in a bunch. It is therefore certain that these
birds, after they attain the adult plumage, lose it only during the annual moult, like the Peacock and many
other richly ornamented birds."
The following descriptions are taken from my third volume of the ' Catalogue of Birds':—
Adult male. A narrow frontal band, lores, cheeks, and throat velvety green, slightly metallic, the
forehead and chin, as well as a spot at the base of the lower mandible, appearing velvety black ; crown
of head and hind-neck, as well as the sides of the latter, converging towards the lower throat, bri"ht
golden straw-colour, all the plumes velvety in texture; mantle and scapulars dull ochraceous straw-colour,
all the feathers ruddy at the base ; wing-coverts maruon-hrown, the least ones washed with ochraceous
straw-colour, the median and greater series tipped with golden straw-colour, forming a double bar across
the wing-quills, which are maroon-brown, as also the lower back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail, the
two centre tail-feathers produced into two long thread-like shafts about 18 inches in leu'^th ; under surface
of body from the throat downwards to the under tail-coverts maroon-brown ; from the flanks are develo|icd
two large tufts of plumes, bright yellow for their basal half, white for the terminal half, at the base of
the flank-tufts a few rigid blood-red plumes ; under wing-coverts and inner lining of quills maroon-brown,
like the breast: bill leaden grey; feet black. Total length 14'5 inches, culmen 1'35, wing 7-3, tail 6-2,
tarsus 2.
Adult female. Wants the long flank-plumes and the metallic green about the forehead and throat which
are seen in the male. General colour above, including the wings and tail, niaroon-brown ; head, sides
of face, and throat maroon-brown, darker than the back, the hind-neck and mantle dull ochraceous strawcolour,
with which also the wing-coverts are washed; the whole of the under surface, from the throat
downwards, silky white ; thighs pale maroon-brown, the sides of the breast and flanks also slightly washed