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

XXXVIII.] THE BIRDS OF PARADISE. 431compressed, with the feathers advancing over the nostrils, as inCicinnurus regius. This singular and brilliant bird inhabits thesame region as the Superb Bird of Paradise, and nothing ^vhateveris known about it but what we can derive from an examinationof tlie skins preserved by the natives of New Guinea.The Standard Wing, named Semioptera wallacei by !Mr. G. R.Gray, is an entirely new form of Bird of Paradise, discovered hjmj'self in the island of Batchian, and esj^ecially distinguished bya pair of long narrow feathers of a white colour, which springfrom among the short plumes whicli clothe the bend of the wing,and are callable of being erected at pleasure. The generalcolour of this bird is a delicate olive-brown, deepening to akind of bronzy olive in the middle of the back, and changing toa delicate ashy violet with a metallic gloss, on tlie crown of"thehead. The feathers, which cover the nostrils and extend half-Avay down the beak, are loose and curved ujDwards. Beneath, itis much more beautiful. The scale-like feathers of the breastare margined with rich metallic blue-green, which colour entirelycovers the throat and sides of the neck, as well as the longpointed plumes which spring from the sides of the breast, andextend nearly as far as the end of the wings. The mo.st curiousfeature of the bird, however, and one altogether unique in thewhole class, is found in the pair of long narrow delicate featherswhich spring from each wing close to the bend. On lifting thewing-coverts they are seen to arise from two tubular hornysheaths, which diverge from near the point of junction of thecarpal bones. As already described at p. 252, they are erectile,and when the bird is excited are sjDread out at right angles tothe wing and slightly divergent. They are from six to six anda half inches long, the upper one slightly exceeding the lower.The total length of the bird is eleven inches. The bill is hornyolive, the iris deep olive, and the feet bright orange.Tlie female bird is remarkably plain, being entirely of a dullpale earthy brown, with only a slight tinge of ashy violet onthe head to relieve its general monotony ; and the young malesexactly resemble her. (See figures at p. 253.)This bird frequents the lower ti'ees of the forests, and, litemost Paradise Birds, is in constant motion—flj'ing from branchto branch, clinging to the twigs and even to the smooth andvertical trunks almost as easily as a woodpecker. It continuallyutters a harsh, creaking note, somewhat intermediate betweenthat of Paradisea apoda and the more musical cry of Cicinnurusregius. The males at short intervals open and flutter theirwings, erect the long shoulder feathers, and spread out theelegant green breast shields.The Standard Wing is found in Gilolo as well as in Batchian,and all the specimens from the former island have the greenbreast shield rather longer, the crown of the head darker violet,and the lower parts of the body rather more strongly scaled