The Malay archipelago : the land of the orang-utan ... - Wallace Online

xxxviii.] THE BIRDS OF PARADISE. 423no means conclusive evidence, for it is only in certain localitiesthat the natives prepare skins, and in other places the samebirds may be abundant without ever becoming known. It istherefore quite possible that this species may inhabit the greatsouthern mass of New Guinea, from wdiich Aru has beenseparated ; while its near ally, which I shall next describe, isconfined to the north-western peninsula.The Lesser Bird of Paradise (Paradisea papuana of Bechstein)," Le petit Emeraude " of French authors, is a much smaller birdthan the preceding, although very similar to it. It differs inits lighter brown colour, not becoming darker or purpled on thebreast ; in the extension of the yellow colour all over the upperpart of the back and on the wing coverts ; in the lighter yellowof the side plumes, which have only a tinge of orange, and atthe tips are nearly pure white ;and in the comparative shortnessof the tail cirrhi. The female differs remarkably from thesame sex in Paradisea apoda, by being entirely white on theunder surface of the body, and is thus a much handsomer bird.The young males are similarly coloured, and as they grow olderthey change to brown, and go through the same stages in acquiringthe perfect plumage as has already been described inthe allied species. It is this bird which is most commonly usedin ladies' head-dresses in this country, and also forms an importantarticle of commerce in the East.The Paradisea papuana has a comparatively wide range, beingthe common species on the mainland of New Guinea, as well ason the islands of Mysol, Salwatty, Jobie, Biak and Sook. Onthe south coast of New Guinea, tlie Dutch naturalist, MuUer,found it at the Oetanata river in longitude 136= E. I obtainedit myself at Dorey ; and the captain of the Dutch steamerEtna informed me that he had seen the feathers among thenatives of Humboldt Bay, in 141^ E. longitude. It is very probable,therefore, that it ranges over the whole of the mainlandof New Guinea.The true Paradise Birds are omnivorous, feeding on fruits andinsects—of the former preferring the small tigs ; of the latter,grasslioppers, locusts, and phasmas, as well as cockroaches andcaterpillars. When I returned home, in 1862, 1 was so fortunateas to find two adult males of this species in Singapore ;and asthey seemed healthy, and fed voraciously on rice, bananas, andcockroaches, I determined on giving the very high ]3rice askedfor them—100/.—and to bring them to England by the overlandroute under my own care. On my way home I stayed a weekat Bombay, to break the journey, and to lay in a fresh stock ofbananas for my birds. I had great difficulty, however, insupplying them with insect food, for in the Peninsular andOriental steamers cockroaches were scarce, and it was only bysetting traps in the store-rooms, and by hunting an hour everynight in the forecastle, that I could secure a few dozen of these