r p i H I S extremely lovely species is nearly allied to C.fastuosa, and, without care,
might easily be mistaken for it b}' an amateur who had not had an opportunity
of comparing one \rith the other. It comes from Cayenne, Guiana, the
Rio Negro, Colombia, and N.E. Pern. Above, it is velvety black, with the bend
of the wing turquoise blue; the lower back with its anterior portion scarlet and
its posterior portion golden yellow; the top and sides of the head metallic grassgreen;
under surface turquoise blue, the throat purple; the vent black; under
wing-coverts turquoise blue; remainder of wing below and of tail blackish. Length
inches. Bill black, legs dark browm. The sexes are alike.
Whereas, even in the largest collections of skins, the Superb Tanager is
esteemed a rare bird, the present species on the other hand is admitted to be
decidedl}- common. Both species are kept as cage-birds in South America, and
can therefore be purchased from the natives. It would consequently be remarkable
if the former were the only one sent alive to Europe. Mr. Abrahams, however,
writes that, to the best of his belief, it is the only one that has passed through
his hands.* Calliste /estiva, received bjr the Zoological Gardens of London in 1875,
probably reached them from some other source.
The Paradise Tanager is said to have no song, only a call-note; to be extremely
common and not timid excepting in the pairing season, when most Tanagers fly
in small parties from one fruit-tree to another, showing a special preference for
oranges, and approaching close to dwellings in order to feed on these, or other
favourite fruits. It lives in communities, and mostly frequents the higher trees.
On account of its great beauty, it is a favourite cage-bird with the natives. The
Yeiii Tanager (Calliste yenij, a near ally of C. talao might perhaps be confounded
with C. fastuosa-. it, however, inhabits Bolivia, Peru, the Upper Amazons, and
* In the ''Geficdei-te Welt" for Febmarj', iSgi, thi.s specie.s is .said to have been exhibited by Mr. Bo.s.s, at
the sixtli "Orni.s" exhibition.
E Ecuador, so is far less likely to be imported than the four others. It differs
from C tatao in having the whole of the lower back scariet.
Bartlett mentions this species on the Upper Amazons as "Found in small
flocks at certain seasons, when the fruit is ripe."
Dr Russ calls C. tatao the "Seven-coloured Tanager," and says it is very
rare- even rarer than the Superb Tanager, which he calls the "Many-coloured."
Of course he means that it is much more rarely imported, for in South America
it is immeasurably more abundant, and consequently, is likely to become, eventually,
far less rare in the market than Calliste fastuosa: occumng commonly at Cayenne,
it should be procurable at Para, and if not already obtainable there, doubtless soon
would be, if the natives were aware that they could do a good trade with it. Why
the French do not import it wholesale from Cayenne seems a mystery. In Dr.
Russ' larger vork no additional information is given; therefore, we may safely
conclude that it is one of the rarely-imported birds which have not come into his
hands. There can be little reason to doubt that the same observations made
respecting the Superb Tanager would' be applicable to this and the other allied
species of Calliste.
The Paradise Tanager is, without c|uestion, by far the most beautiful of all
the Tanagrida- it is a species frequently seen in cases of stuffed birds, and at
one time disgraced the women of Europe by ornamenting their hats and bonnets:
but nowadays, although the barbaric custom of adorning the head with birds'
feathers and skins has unhappily not wholly been abolished, the subjects chosen
for the purpose are less obtrusively gorgeous in colouring; thus, though there
is still the sad prospect before the Ornithologist of seeing the Egrets and other
soft-plumaged species annihilated, there is some hope for the more brilliant of
nature's feathered offspring.