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

xsxviii.] THE BIRDS OF PARADISE. 427The female of this little gem is such a plainly coloured bird,that it can at tirst sight hardly be believed to belong to thesame species. The upper surface is of a dull eai-thy brown, aslight tinge of orange red appearing only on tlie margins of thequills. Beneath, it is of a paler yellowish brown, scaled andbanded -svith narrow dusky markings. The young males areexactly like the female, and they no doubt undergo a series ofchanges as singular as those of Paradisea rubra ;but. unfortunately,I was unable to obtain illustrative specimens.This exquisite little ci-eature frequents the smaller trees inthe thickest parts of the forest, feeding on various fruits, oftenof a very large size for so small a bird. It is very active bothon its wings and feet, and makes a whirring sound while flying,something like the South American manakins. It often fluttersits wings and displays the beautiful fan which adorns its breast,while the star-bearing tail wii-es diverge in an elegant doublecurve. It is tolerably plentiful in the Aru Islands, which led toits being l^rought to Europe at an early period along with Paradiseaapoda. It also occurs in the island of Mysol, and in everypart of New Guinea which has been visited by naturalists.We now come to the remarkable little bird called the " Magnificent,"first figured by Buffbn, and named Paradisea speciosaby Boddaert, \\'luch, with one allied species, has been formedinto a separate genus by Prince Buonaparte, under the name ofDiphyllodes, from the curious double mantle which clothes theback.The head is covered with short brown velvety feathers, whichadvance on the back so as to cover the nostrils. From the napesprings a dense mass of feathers of a straw-yellow colour, andabout one and a half inches long, forming a mantle over theupper part of the back. Beneath this, and forming a bandabout one-third of an inch beyond it, is a second mantle of rich,glossy, reddish-brown feathers. The rest of the back is orangebrown,the tail-coverts and tail dark bronzy, the wings lightorange-butt'. The whole under surface is covered with an aliundanceof plumage springing from the margins of the breast, andof a rich deep green colour, with changeable hues of jiurple.Down the middle of the breast is a broad band of scaly plumesof the same colour, while the chin and throat are of a richmetallic bronze. From the middle of the tail siDring two narrowfeathers of a rich steel blue, and about ten inches long. Theseare webbed on the inner side only, and curve outward, so as toform a double circle.From what we know of the habits of allied species, we may besure that the greatly developed plumage of this bird is erectedand displayed in some remarkable manner. The mass of featherson the under surface are jDrobably expanded into a hemisphere,while the beautiful yellow mantle is no doubt elevated so as togive the bird a very difterent appearance from that whioli it