n o q p o iu
i'Le grand Promerops de la Nouvelle Guinee, Sm. fay. p. 166, pi. io i.—
PL enl. 639»
Le grand Promerops a.paremens frites, Euf. oif. vi. p. 472^
mod extraordinary and beautiful bird is near four feet in
length, from the tip of the bill to the end of the ta il: the
body is the fize only of a middling Pigeon, though much elongated
in lhape. The bill is three inches long, pretty much curved, and
‘black: the head, hind part o f the neck, and upper part of the
belly, are of a Ihining green: the reft of the plumage, on the
•upper parts, black, mixed with a glofs of changeable violet, but
the wings, in fome lights, appear blue: the fore part of the neck,
and lower part of the belly, without glofs : the fcapular feathers
are of a Angular conftruttion; the webs on one fide of the {haft
‘being exceeding ftiort, and on the other of a great length ; the
lhape of them falciform; they are of a purplijh black colour,
with the ends for three quarters of an inch of a moft brilliant
gilded gloffy green, though fome of them, in a different light, re-
fleft a blue glofs: beneath each wing arifes a thick tuft of feathers,
eight inches and a half in length, and of a texture refembling the
herring-bone ones in the greater Bird of Paradife ; and, befides
thefe, on each fide of the tail are five or fix falciform feathers,
with unequal webs, as tire fcapulars, though not half fo much
■ curved 5 the colour half dulky half greenifh brown j the laft divided
from the other colour, on each feather, in an oblique manner
: the tail confifts of twelve feathers, and is of an enormous
length, the middle ones meafuring no lefs than twenty-eight
inches j but each of the others fhortens as it proceeds outwards,
•to the outer one of all, which is only five inches in length; the
■ colour
695
1 7 -
GRAND
PR.
P i. XXXII.
D esorift-iox.