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

XXXVIII.] THE BIRDS OF PARADISE. 435At Cape York, in North Australia, there is a closely alliedspecies, Ptiloris alberti, the female of which is very similar tothe young male bird here described. The beautiful Rifle Birdsof Australia, which much resemble these Paradise Birds, arenamed Ptiloris paradiseus and Ptiloris victorise. The ScalebreastedParadise Bird seems to be confined to the mainland ofNew Guinea, and is less rare than several of the other species.There are three other New Guinea birds which are by someauthors classed with the Birds of Paradise, and which, beingalmost equally remarkable for splendid plumage, deserve to benoticed here. The first is the Paradise pie (Astrapia nigra ofLesson), a bird of the size of Paradisea rubra, but with a verylong tail, glossed above with intense violet. The back is bronzyblack, the lower parts green, the throat and neck bordered withloose broad feathers of an intense coj^pery hue, while on the topof the head and neck they are glittering emerald green. Allthe plumage round tlie head is lengthened and erectile, andwhen spread out by the living bird must have an effect hardlysurpassed by any of the true Paradise Birds. The bill is blackand the feet yellow. The Astrapia seems to me to be somewhatintermediate between the Paradiseidse and Epimachidae.There is an allied species, having a bare carunculated head,which has been called Paradigalla carunculata. It is believedto inhabit, with the preceding, the mountainous interior ofNew Guinea, but is exceedingly rare, the only known specimenbeing in the Philadelphia Museum.The Paradise Oriole is another beautiful bird, whicli is nowsometimes classed with the Birds of Paradise. It has beennamed Paradisea aurea and Oriolus aureus by the old naturalists,and is now generally jDlaced in the same genus as the RegentBird of Australia (Sericulus chrysocephalus). But the form ofthe bill and the character of the plumage seem to me to be sodifferent that it will have to form a distinct genus. This bird isalmost entirely yellow, with the exception of the throat, thetail, and part of the wings and back, which are black ; but itis chiefly characterized by a quantity of long feathers of anintense glossy orange colour, whicli cover its neck down to themiddle of the back, almost like the hackles of a game-cock.This beautiful bird inhabits the mainland of New Guinea,and is also found in Salwatty, but is so rare that I was onlyable to obtain one imj^erfect native skin, and nothing whateveris known of its habits.I will now give a, list of all the Birds of Paradise yet known,with the places they are believed to inhabit. Those printed initalics have been discovered since the first edition of my bookwas published.1. Paradisea apoda. The Great Paradise Bird. Aru Islands andCentral New Guinea,F F 2