l i
jjn
Inrclens onulunlly, a.ul tl.o blac-k sluifl is sometimes foun.l with a feathery spatule at the end. It appears to
n,e to he improbable tliat eaeb saeeeeding moult of tl.e black whaleboac-like plames shoald be
aecompiinicd bv a feathery tip to the latter.
l ) r M alluee's aecoui.t of the habits of this species is still the only full one that has been pahhslied, and 1
oive some e.xtracts belo«-. Since he trarclled in the Malay Arcliipelago, a specimen has been successfully
kept in conlinemeut, and one lived for some time i.i the Zoological Gardens, having been brought home by
Mr. Keltleivcll during the cruise of the ' Marchesa.'
The following are Dr. Wallace's notes
^\•hen I first arrived I was surprised at being told that there were no Paradise-birds at Mnka, although
tl,en> were plentv at 15essir, a place where the natives caught them and ¡¡repared the skins. I assured the
people I had liea'rd the cry of these birds close to the village ; but they would not believe that I could know
I h c i r c r y . However, the'very first time I went into the forest I not only licaril bnt saw them, and was
convincal there were plenty idjont; but they were very shy, and it was some time before we got any. My
Imuter first shot a female ; and I one day got very close to a fine male. He was, as I expected, the rare
red species, Parmlhca rubra, which alone inhabits this island and is found nowhere else. He was quite low
duwn, r.inn'ing along a bough searching for insects, almost like a Wood| .ecker ; and the long black ribandlike
fi'laments'in his tail hung down in the most graceful double curve imaginable. I covered him with my
gun, and was going to use the barrel, which had a very small charge of powder and No. 8 shot, so as not
m injure his plumage; bnt the gnn missed fire, and he was off in an instant among the thickest jungle.
Another day we saw no less than eight fine males at diirerent times, and fired four times at them ; but
though other birds at the same distance almost ahvays dropped, these all got away, and I began to think
we w'ere never to get this magnificent species. At length the fruit ripened on the fig-tree close to my
honse, and many birds came to feed on i t ; and one morning, as I was taking my colFce, a male Paradisebird
was seen to settle on its top. I seized my gun, ran under the tree, and, gazing up, conld see it (lying
across from branch to brmieh, seizing a fruit here a.id another there ; and then, before I coidd get a
suflicient aim to shoot at such a height (for it was one of the loftiest trees of the tropics), it was away
into the forest. They now visited the tree every morniiig ; but they stayed so short a time, their motions
were so ra])id, and it was so difficult to see them, owing to the lower trees which impeded the view, that it
was only afler several davs' watching, and one or two misses, that I brought down my bird—a male in the
most n.agnificent plumage I had only shot two Paradiseas on my tree when they ceased visiting
it, eilher''owing to tlie fr^dt becoming scarce, or that they were wise enough to know there was danger.
We continued to hear and see them in the forest, hut after a month had not succeeded in shooting any
more ; and as my chief object in visiting Waigion was to get these birds, I determined to go to Bessir,
where' there are a nnnd)cr of Papuans who catch and preserve them. I hired a small outrigger boat for
this journey, and left one of my men to guard my house and goods My first business was to
send for the men who were accustomed to catch the Birds of Paradise. Several came; and I showed them
my liatchets, beads, knives, and handkerchiefs, and exjilained to them as well as I could by signs the price I
would give for fresh-killed specimens. It is the universal custom to pay for everything in advance; but only
one mini ventured to take goods to the value of two birds. The rest were suspicious, and wanted to see the
result of the first bargain with the strange white man, the only one who had ever come to their island.
A f t e r three days my man brought me the first bird—a very fine specimen, and alive, but tied uji in a small
bag, and consequently its tail- and wing-feathers were very much crushed and injured. I tried to explain
to'liim, and to others that came with him, that I wanted them as perfect as ])0ssil)le, and that tliey should
either kill them or keep them on a perch with a string to their leg. As they were now aiiparently satisfied
that all was fair, and that I had no ulterior designs upon them, six others took away goods, some for one
bird, some for more, and one for as many as six. They said they had to go a long way for tliem, aiid that
they would come back as soon as they caught any. At intervals of a few days or a week some of them
would return, bringing me one or more birds ; bnt though they did not bring any more in bags, there was
not much improvement in their condition. As they caught them a long way off in the forest, they would
scarcely ever comc w ith one, but would tic it by the legs to a stick, and put it in their house till they
caught another."
T h e figures in the Plate represent an adult male in two positions, and are drawn from specimens formerly
in tlie Goidd eollection.