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 in the Peninsular
and Oriental steamers cockroaches were scarce, and
it was only by setting traps in the store-rooms, and by
hunting an hour every night in the forecastle, that I could
secure a few dozen of these creatures,—scarcely enough
for a single meal. At Malta, where I stayed a fortnight, I
got plenty of cockroaches from a bakehouse, and when I
left, took with me several biscuit-tins’ full, as provision for
the voyage home. We came through the Mediterranean
in March, with a very cold wind; and the only place on
board the mail-steamer 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 night journey
from Marseilles to Paris it was a sharp frost; yet they
arrived in London in perfect health, and lived in the
Zoological Gardens for one, and two years, often displaying
their beautiful plumes to the admiration of the spectators.
I t is evident, therefore, that the Paradise Birds
are very hardy, and require air and exercise rather than
heat; and I feel sure that if a good sized conservatory
could be devoted to them, or if they 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 Bed Bird of Paradise (Paradisea rubra of Viellot),
though allied to the two birds already described, is much
more distinct from them than they are from each other.
It is about the same size as Paradisea papuana (1-3 to 14
inches long), but differs from it in many particulars. The
side plumes, instead of being yellow, are rich crimson, and
only extend about three or four inches beyond the end of
the tail; they are somewhat rigid, and the ends are curved
downwards and inwards, and are tipped with white. The
two middle tail feathers, instead of being simply elongated
and deprived of their webs, are transformed into stiff black
ribands, a quarter of an inch wide, but curved like a split
quill, and resembling thin half cylinders of horn or whalebone.
When a dead bird is laid on its back, it is seen that
these ribands take a curve or set, which brings them
round so as to meet in a double circle on the neck of the
bird; but when they hang downwards, during life, they
assume a spiral twist, and form an exceedingly graceful
double curve. They are about twenty-two inches long,
and always attract attention as the most conspicuous and
extraordinary feature of the species. The rich metallic
green colour of the throat extends over the front half of