AS many of my journeys were made with the express object of obtaining
specimens of the Birds of Paradise, and learning something of their
habits and distribution; and being (as far as I am aware) the only
Englishman who has seen these wonderful birds in their native forests,
and obtained specimens of many of them, I propose to give here, in a
connected form, the result of my observations and inquiries.
When the earliest European voyagers reached the Moluccas in search of
cloves and nutmegs, which were then rare and precious spices, they were
presented with the dried shins of birds so strange and beautiful as to
excite the admiration even of those wealth-seeking rovers. The Malay
traders gave them the name of "Manuk dewata," or God's birds; and the
Portuguese, finding that they had no feet or wings, and not being able
to learn anything authentic about then, called them "Passaros de Col,"
or Birds of the Sun; while the learned Dutchmen, who wrote in Latin,
called them "Avis paradiseus," or Paradise Bird. John van Linschoten
gives these names in 1598, and tells us that no one has seen these birds
alive, for they live in the air, always turning towards the sun, and
never lighting on the earth till they die; for they have neither feet
nor wings, as, he adds, may be seen by the birds carried to India, and
sometimes to Holland, but being very costly they were then rarely seen
in Europe. More than a hundred years later Mr. William Funnel, who
accompanied Dampier, and wrote an account of the voyage, saw specimens
at Amboyna, and was told that they came to Banda to eat nutmegs, which
intoxicated them and made them fall down senseless, when they were
killed by ants. Down to 1760, when Linnaeus named the largest species,
Paradisea apoda (the footless Paradise Bird), no perfect specimen had
been seen in Europe, and absolutely nothing was known about them. And
even now, a hundred years later, most books state that they migrate
annually to Ternate, Banda, and Amboyna; whereas the fact is, that they
are as completely unknown in those islands in a wild state as they are
in England. Linnaeus was also acquainted with a small species, which he
named Paradisea regia (the King Bird of Paradise), and since then nine
or ten others have been named, all of which were first described from
skins preserved by the savages of New Guinea, and generally more or less
imperfect. These are now all known in the Malay Archipelago as "Burong
coati," or dead birds, indicating that the Malay traders never saw them
alive.
The Paradiseidae are a group of moderate-sized birds, allied in
their structure and habits to crows, starlings, and to the Australian
honeysuckers; but they are characterised by extraordinary developments
of plumage, which are unequalled in any other family of birds. In
several species large tufts of delicate bright-coloured feathers spring
from each side of the body beneath the wings, forming trains, or fans,
or shields; and the middle feathers of the tail are often elongated into
wires, twisted into fantastic shapes, or adorned with the most brilliant
metallic tints. In another set of species these accessory plumes spring
from the head, the back, or the shoulders; while the intensity of colour
and of metallic lustre displayed by their plumage, is not to be equalled
by any other birds, except, perhaps, the humming-birds, and is not
surpassed even by these. They have been usually classified under
two distinct families, Paradiseidae and Epimachidae, the latter
characterised by long and slender beaks, and supposed to be allied to
the Hoopoes; but the two groups are so closely allied in every essential
point of structure and habits, that I shall consider them as forming
subdivisions of one family. I will now give a short description of each
of the known species, and then add some general remarks on their natural
history.
The Great Bird of Paradise (Paradisea apoda of Linnaeus) is the largest
species known, being generally seventeen or eighteen inches from the
beak to the tip of the tail. The body, wings, and tail are of a rich
coffee-brown, which deepens on the breast to a blackish-violet or
purple-brown. The whole top of the head and neck is of an exceedingly
delicate straw-yellow, the feathers being short and close set, so as
to resemble plush or velvet; the lower part of the throat up to the eye
clothed with scaly feathers of an emerald, green colour, and with a rich
metallic gloss, and velvety plumes of a still deeper green extend in
a band across the forehead and chin as far as the eye, which is bright
yellow. The beak is pale lead blue; and the feet, which are rather large
and very strong and well formed, are of a pale ashy-pink. The two middle
feathers of the tail have no webs, except a very small one at the base
and at the extreme tip, forming wire-like cirrhi, which spread out in
an elegant double curve, and vary from twenty-four to thirty-four inches
long. From each side of the body, beneath the wings, springs a dense
tuft of long and delicate plumes, sometimes two feet in length, of the
most intense golden-orange colour and very glossy, but changing towards
the tips into a pale brown. This tuft of plumage cam be elevated and
spread out at pleasure, so as almost to conceal the body of the bird.
These splendid ornaments are entirely confined to the male sex, while
the female is really a very plain and ordinary-looking bird of a uniform
coffee-brown colour which never changes, neither does she possess the
long tail wires, nor a single yellow or green feather about the dead.
The young males of the first year exactly resemble the females, so that
they can only be distinguished by dissection. The first change is the
acquisition of the yellow and green colour on the head and throat, and
at the same time the two middle tail feathers grow a few inches longer
than the rest, but remain webbed on both sides. At a later period these
feathers are replaced by the long bare shafts of the full length, as
in the adult bird; but there is still no sign of the magnificent orange
side-plumes, which later still complete the attire of the perfect
male. To effect these changes there must be at least three successive
moultings; and as the birds were found by me in all the stages about the
same time, it is probable that they moult only once a year, and that
the full plumage is not acquired till the bird is four years old. It
was long thought that the fine train of feathers was assumed for a short
time only at the breeding season, but my own experience, as well as the
observation of birds of an allied species which I brought home with
me, and which lived two years in this country, show that the complete
plumage is retained during the whole year, except during a short period
of moulting as with most other birds.
The Great Bird of Paradise is very active and vigorous and seems to be
in constant motion all day long. It is very abundant, small flocks
of females and young male being constantly met with; and though the
full-plumaged birds are less plentiful, their loud cries, which are
heard daily, show that they also are very numerous. Their note is,
"Wawk-wawk-wawk-Wok-wok-wok," and is so loud and shrill as to be heard a
great distance, and to form the most prominent and characteristic animal
sound in the Aru Islands. The mode of nidification is unknown; but the
natives told me that the nest was formed of leaves placed on an ant's
nest, or on some projecting limb of a very lofty tree, and they believe
that it contains only one young bird. The egg is quite unknown, and the
natives declared they had never seen it; and a very high reward offered
for one by a Dutch official did not meet with success. They moult about
January or February, and in May, when they are in full plumage, the
males assemble early in the morning to exhibit themselves in the
singular manner already described at p. 252. This habit enables the
natives to obtain specimens with comparative ease. As soon as they find
that the birds have fled upon a tree on which to assemble, they build a
little shelter of palm leaves in a convenient place among the branches,
and the hunter ensconces himself in it before daylight, armed with his
bow and a number of arrows terminating in a round knob. A boy waits
at the foot of the tree, and when the birds come at sunrise, and a
sufficient number have assembled, and have begun to dance, the hunter
shoots with his blunt arrow so strongly as to stun the bird, which drops
down, and is secured and killed by the boy without its plumage being
injured by a drop of blood. The rest take no notice, and fall one after
another till some of them take the alarm. (See Frontispiece.)
The native mode of preserving them is to cut off the wings and feet, and
then skin the body up to the beak, taking out the skull. A stout stick
is then run up through the specimen coming out at the mouth. Round this
some leaves are stuffed, and the whole is wrapped up in a palm spathe
and dried in the smoky hut. By this plan the head, which is really
large, is shrunk up almost to nothing, the body is much reduced and
shortened, and the greatest prominence is given to the flowing plumage.
Some of these native skins are very clean, and often have wings and feet
left on; others are dreadfully stained with smoke, and all hive a most
erroneous idea of the proportions of the living bird.
The Paradisea apoda, as far as we have any certain knowledge, is
confined to the mainland of the Aru Islands, never being found in the
smaller islands which surround the central mass. It is certainly not
found in any of the parts of New Guinea visited by the Malay and Bugis
traders, nor in any of the other islands where Birds of Paradise are
obtained. But this is by no means conclusive evidence, for it is only in
certain localities that the natives prepare skins, and in other places
the same birds may be abundant without ever becoming known. It is
therefore quite possible that this species may inhabit the great
southern mass of New Guinea, from which Aru has been separated;
while its near ally, which I shall next describe, is confined to the
north-western peninsula.
The Lesser Bird of Paradise (Paradisea papuana of Bechstein), "Le petit
Emeraude" of French authors, is a much smaller bird than the preceding,
although very similar to it. It differs in its lighter brown colour, not
becoming darker or purpled on the breast; in the extension of the yellow
colour all over the upper part of the back and on the wing coverts;
in the lighter yellow of the side plumes, which have only a tinge of
orange, and at the tips are nearly pure white; and in the comparative
shortness of the tail cirrhi. The female differs remarkably front
the same sex in Paradisea apoda, by being entirely white on the under
surface of the body, and is thus a much handsomer bird. The young males
are similarly coloured, and as they grow older they change to brown,
and go through the same stages in acquiring the perfect plumage as has
already been described in the allied species. It is this bird which is
most commonly used in ladies' head-dresses in this country, and also
forms an important article of commerce in the East.
The Paradisea papuana has a comparatively wide range, being the common
species on the mainland of New Guinea, as well as on the islands of
Mysol, Salwatty, Jobie, Biak and Sook. On the south coast of New
Guinea, the Dutch naturalist, Muller, found it at the Oetanata river in
longitude 136° E. I obtained it myself at Dorey; and the captain of the
Dutch steamer Etna informed me that he had seen the feathers among the
natives of Humboldt Bay, in 141° E. longitude. It is very probable,
therefore, that it ranges over the whole of the mainland of New Guinea.
The true Paradise Birds are omnivorous, feeding on fruits and
insects--of the former preferring the small figs; of the latter,
grasshoppers, locusts, and phasmas, as well as cockroaches and
caterpillars. When I returned home, in 1862, I was so fortunate as to
find two adult males of this species in Singapore; and as they seemed
healthy, and fed voraciously on rice, bananas, and cockroaches, I
determined on giving the very high price asked for them--£100.--and 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 bake-house, 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. It 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 conservators` 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 Red 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
(13 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 the head to
behind the eyes, and on the forehead forms a little double crest of
scaly feathers, which adds much to the vivacity of the bird's aspect.
The bill is gamboge yellow, and the iris blackish olive. (Figure at p.
353.)
The female of this species is of a tolerably uniform coffee-brown
colour, but has a blackish head, and the nape neck, and shoulders
yellow, indicating the position of the brighter colours of the male. The
changes of plumage follow the same order of succession as in the other
species, the bright colours of the head and neck being first developed,
then the lengthened filaments of the tail, and last of all, the red side
plumes. I obtained a series of specimens, illustrating the manner in
which the extraordinary black tail ribands are developed, which is very
remarkable. They first appear as two ordinary feathers, rather shorter
than the rest of the tail; the second stage would no doubt be that shown
in a specimen of Paradisea apoda, in which the feathers are moderately
lengthened, and with the web narrowed in the middle; the third stage is
shown by a specimen which has part of the midrib bare, and terminated
by a spatulate web; in another the bare midrib is a little dilated
and semi-cylindrical, and the terminal web very small; in a fifth, the
perfect black horny riband is formed, but it bears at its extremity
a brown spatulate web, while in another a portion of the black riband
itself bears, for a portion of its length, a narrow brown web. It is
only after these changes are fully completed that the red side plumes
begin to appear.
The successive stages of development of the colours and plumage of the
Birds of Paradise are very interesting, from the striking manner in
which they accord with the theory of their having been produced by the
simple action of variation, and the cumulative power of selection by the
females, of those male birds which were more than usually ornamental.
Variations of _colour_ are of all others the most frequent and the
most striking, and are most easily modified and accumulated by man's
selection of them. We should expect, therefore, that the sexual
differences of _colour_ would be those most early accumulated and fixed,
and would therefore appear soonest in the young birds; and this is
exactly what occurs in the Paradise Birds. Of all variations in the
_form_ of birds' feathers, none are so frequent as those in the head and
tail. These occur more, or less in every family of birds, and are easily
produced in many domesticated varieties, while unusual developments of
the feathers of the body are rare in the whole class of birds, and have
seldom or never occurred in domesticated species. In accordance with
these facts, we find the scale-formed plumes of the throat, the crests
of the head, and the long cirrhi of the tail, all fully developed before
the plumes which spring from the side of the body begin to mane their
appearance. If, on the other hand, the male Paradise Birds have not
acquired their distinctive plumage by successive variations, but have
been as they are mow from the moment they first appeared upon the earth,
this succession becomes at the least unintelligible to us, for we can
see no reason why the changes should not take place simultaneously, or
in a reverse order to that in which they actually occur.
What is known of the habits of this bird, and the way in which it is
captured by the natives, have already been described at page 362.
The Red Bird of Paradise offers a remarkable case of restricted
range, being entirely confined to the small island of Waigiou, off the
north-west extremity of New Guinea, where it replaces the allied species
found in the other islands.
The three birds just described form a well-marked group, agreeing in
every point of general structure, in their comparatively large size,
the brown colour of their bodies, wings, and tail, and in the peculiar
character of the ornamental plumage which distinguishes the male bird.
The group ranges nearly over the whole area inhabited by the family of
the Paradiseidae, but each of the species has its own limited region,
and is never found in the same district with either of its close allies.
To these three birds properly belongs the generic title Paradisea, or
true Paradise Bird.
The next species is the Paradisea regia of Linnaeus, or Ding Bird of
Paradise, which differs so much from the three preceding species as
to deserve a distinct generic name, and it has accordingly been called
Cicinnurus regius. By the Malays it is called "Burong rajah," or King
Bird, and by the natives of the Aru Islands "Goby-goby."
This lovely little bird is only about six and a half inches long, partly
owing to the very short tail, which does not surpass the somewhat square
wings. The head, throat, and entire upper surface are of the richest
glossy crimson red, shading to orange-crimson on the forehead, where the
feathers extend beyond the nostrils more than half-way down the beak.
The plumage is excessively brilliant, shining in certain lights with a
metallic or glassy lustre. The breast and belly are pure silky white,
between which colour and the red of the throat there is a broad band of
rich metallic green, and there is a small spot of the same colour close
above each eye. From each side of the body beneath the wing, springs
a tuft of broad delicate feathers about an inch and a half long, of an
ashy colour, but tipped with a broad band of emerald green, bordered
within by a narrow line of buff: These plumes are concealed beneath the
wing, but when the bird pleases, can be raised and spread out so as to
form an elegant semicircular fan on each shoulder. But another ornament
still more extraordinary, and if possible more beautiful, adorns this
little bird. The two middle tail feathers are modified into very slender
wirelike shafts, nearly six inches long, each of which bears at the
extremity, on the inner side only, a web of an emerald green colour,
which is coiled up into a perfect spiral disc, and produces a most
singular and charming effect. The bill is orange yellow, and the feet
and legs of a fine cobalt blue. (See upper figure on the plate at the
commencement of this chapter.)
The female of this little gem is such a plainly coloured bird, that it
can at first sight hardly be believed to belong to the same species. The
upper surface is of a dull earthy brown, a slight tinge of orange red
appearing only on the margins of the quills. Beneath, it is of a paler
yellowish brown, scaled and banded with narrow dusky markings. The young
males are exactly like the female, and they no doubt undergo a series of
changes as singular as those of Paradisea rubra; but, unfortunately, I
was unable to obtain illustrative specimens.
This exquisite little creature frequents the smaller trees in the
thickest parts of the forest, feeding on various fruits; often of a very
large size for so small a bird. It is very active both on its wings and
feet, and makes a whirring sound while flying, something like the
South American manakins. It often flutters its wings and displays the
beautiful fan which adorns its breast, while the star-bearing tail wires
diverge in an elegant double curve. It is tolerably plentiful in the
Aru Islands, which led to it, being brought to Europe at an early period
along with Paradisea apoda. It also occurs in the island of Mysol and in
every part of New Guinea which has been visited by naturalists.
We now come to the remarkable little bird called the "Magnificent,"
first figured by Buffon, and named Paradisea speciosa by Boddaert,
which, with one allied species, has been formed into a separate genus
by Prince Buonaparte, under the name of Diphyllodes, from the curious
double mantle which clothes the back.
The head is covered with short brown velvety feathers, which advance on
the back so as to cover the nostrils. From the nape springs a dense mass
of feathers of a straw-yellow colour, and about one and a half inches
long, forming a mantle over the upper part of the back. Beneath this,
and forming a band about one-third of an inch beyond it, is a second
mantle of rich, glossy, reddish-brown fathers. The rest of the bath is
orange-brown, the tail-coverts and tail dark bronzy, the wings light
orange-buff: The whole under surface is covered with an abundance of
plumage springing from the margins of the breast, and of a rich deep
green colour, with changeable hues of purple. Down the middle of the
breast is a broad band of scaly plumes of the same colour, while the
chin and throat are of a rich metallic bronze. From the middle of the
tail spring two narrow feathers of a rich steel blue, and about ten
inches long. These are webbed on the inner side only, and curve outward,
so as to form a double circle.
From what we know of the habits of allied species, we may be sure that
the greatly developed plumage of this bird is erected and displayed in
some remarkable manner. The mass of feathers on the under surface are
probably expanded into a hemisphere, while the beautiful yellow mantle
is no doubt elevated so as to give the bird a very different appearance
from that which it presents in the dried and flattened skins of the
natives, through which alone it is at present known. The feet appear to
be dark blue.
This rare and elegant little bird is found only on the mainland of New
Guinea, and in the island of Mysol.
A still more rare and beautiful species than the last is the Diphyllodes
wilsoni, described by Mr. Cassin from a native skin in the rich museum
of Philadelphia. The same bird was afterwards named "Diphyllodes
respublica" by Prince Buonaparte, and still later, "Schlegelia calva,"
by Dr. Bernstein, who was so fortunate as to obtain fresh specimens in
Waigiou.
In this species the upper mantle is sulphur yellow, the lower one and
the wings pure red, the breast plumes dark green, and the lengthened
middle tail feathers much shorter than in the allied species. The most
curious difference is, however, that the top of the head is bald, the
bare skin being of a rich cobalt blue, crossed by several lines of black
velvety feathers.
It is about the same size as Diphyllodes speciosa, and is no doubt
entirely confined to the island of Waigiou. The female, as figured and
described by Dr. Bernstein, is very like that of Cicinnurus regius,
being similarly banded beneath; and we may therefore conclude that its
near ally, the "Magnificent," is at least equally plain in this sex, of
which specimens have not yet been obtained.
The Superb Bird of Paradise was first figured by Buffon, and was
named by Boddaert, Paradisea atra, from the black ground colour of its
plumage. It forms the genus Lophorina of Viellot, and is one of the
rarest and most brilliant of the whole group, being only known
front mutilated native skins. This bird is a little larger than the
Magnificent. The ground colour of the plumage is intense black, but with
beautiful bronze reflections on the neck, and the whole head scaled with
feathers of brilliant metallic green and blue. Over its breast it bears
a shield formed of narrow and rather stiff feathers, much elongated
towards the sides, of a pure bluish-green colour, and with a satiny
gloss. But a still more extraordinary ornament is that which springs
from the back of the neck,--a shield of a similar form to that on the
breast, but much larger, and of a velvety black colour, glossed with
bronze and purple. The outermost feathers of this shield are half
an inch longer than the wing, and when it is elevated it must, in
conjunction with the breast shield, completely change the form and whole
appearance of the bird. The bill is black, and the feet appear to be
yellow.
This wonderful little bird inhabits the interior of the northern
peninsula of New Guinea only. Neither I nor Mr. Allen could hear
anything of it in any of the islands or on any part of the coast. It is
true that it was obtained from the coast-natives by Lesson; but when
at Sorong in 1861, Mr. Allen learnt that it is only found three days'
journey in the interior. Owing to these "Black Birds of Paradise," as
they are called, not being so much valued as articles of merchandise,
they now seem to be rarely preserved by the natives, and it thus
happened that during several years spent on the coasts of New Guinea
and in the Moluccas I was never able to obtain a skin. We are therefore
quite ignorant of the habits of this bird, and also of its female,
though the latter is no doubt as plain and inconspicuous as in all the
other species of this family.
The Golden, or Six-shafted, Paradise Bird, is another rare species,
first figured by Buffon, and never yet obtained in perfect condition. It
was named by Boddaert, Paradisea sexpennis, and forms the genus
Parotia of Viellot. This wonderful bird is about the size of the female
Paradisea rubra. The plumage appear, at first sight black, but it glows
in certain light with bronze and deep purple. The throat and breast are
scaled with broad flat feathers of an intense golden hue, changing to
green and blue tints in certain lights. On the back of the head is a
broad recurved band of feathers, whose brilliancy is indescribable,
resembling the sheen of emerald and topaz rather than any organic
substance. Over the forehead is a large patch of pure white feathers,
which shine like satin; and from the sides of the head spring the six
wonderful feathers from which the bird receives its name. These are
slender wires, six inches long, with a small oval web at the extremity.
In addition to these ornaments, there is also an immense tuft of soft
feathers on each side of the breast, which when elevated must entirely
hide the wings, and give the bird au appearance of being double its real
bulk. The bill is black, short, and rather compressed, with the feathers
advancing over the nostrils, as in Cicinnurus regius. This singular and
brilliant bird inhabits the same region as the Superb Bird of Paradise,
and nothing whatever is known about it but what we can derive from an
examination of the 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 by myself in the
island of Batchian, and especially distinguished by a pair of long
narrow feathers of a white colour, which spring from among the short
plumes which clothe the bend of the wing, and are capable of being
erected at pleasure. The general colour of this bird is a delicate
olive-brown, deepening to a loud of bronzy olive in the middle of the
back, and changing to a delicate ashy violet with a metallic gloss, on
the crown of the head. The feathers, which cover the nostrils and extend
half-way down the beak, are loose and curved upwards. Beneath, it is
much more beautiful. The scale-like feathers of the breast are margined
with rich metallic blue-green, which colour entirely covers the throat
and sides of the neck, as well as the long pointed plumes which spring
from the sides of the breast, and extend nearly as far as the end of the
wings. The most curious feature of the bird, however, and one altogether
unique in the whole class, is found in the pair of long narrow delicate
feathers which spring from each wing close to the bend. On lifting the
wing-coverts they are seen to arise from two tubular horny sheaths,
which diverge from near the point of junction of the carpal bones. As
already described at p. 41, they are erectile, and when the bird
is excited are spread out at right angles to the wing and slightly
divergent. They are from six to six and a half inches long, the upper
one slightly exceeding the lower. The total length of the bird is eleven
inches. The bill is horny olive, the iris deep olive, and the feet
bright orange.
The female bird is remarkably plain, being entirely of a dull pale
earthy brown, with only a slight tinge of ashy violet on the head to
relieve its general monotony; and the young males exactly resemble her.
(See figures at p. 41.)
This bird, frequents the lower trees of the forests, and, like most
Paradise Birds, is in constant motion--flying from branch to branch,
clinging to the twigs and even to the smooth and vertical trunks almost
as easily as a woodpecker. It continually utters a harsh, creaking note,
somewhat intermediate between that of Paradisea apoda, and the more
musical cry of Cicinnurus regius. The males at short intervals open and
flutter their wings, erect the long shoulder feathers, and spread out
the elegant 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 green breast shield rather
longer, the crown of the head darker violet, and the lower parts of the
body rather more strongly scaled with green. This is the only Paradise
Bird yet found in the Moluccan district, all the others being confined
to the Papuan Islands and North Australia.
We now come to the Epimachidae, or Long-billed Birds of Paradise, which,
as before stated, ought not to be separated from the Paradiseidae by the
intervention of any other birds. One of the most remarkable of these is
the Twelve-wired Paradise Bird, Paradises alba of Blumenbach, but now
placed in the genus Seleucides of Lesson.
This bird is about twelve inches long, of which the compressed and
curved beak occupies two inches. The colour of the breast and upper
surface appears at first sight nearly black, but a close examination
shows that no part of it is devoid of colour; and by holding it in
various lights, the most rich and glowing tints become visible. The
head, covered with short velvety feathers, which advance on the chic
much further than on the upper part of the beak, is of a purplish bronze
colour; the whole of the back and shoulders is rich bronzy green, while
the closed wings and tail are of the most brilliant violet purple, all
the plumage having a delicate silky gloss. The mass of feathers which
cover the breast is really almost black, with faint glosses of green
and purple, but their outer edges are margined with glittering bands of
emerald green. The whole lower part of the body is rich buffy yellow,
including the tuft of plumes which spring from the sides, and extend an
inch and a half beyond the tail. When skins are exposed to the light
the yellow fades into dull white, from which circumstance it derived its
specific name. About six of the innermost of these plumes on each side
have the midrib elongated into slender black wires, which bend at right
angles, and curve somewhat backwards to a length of about ten inches,
forming one of those extraordinary and fantastic ornaments with which
this group of birds abounds. The bill is jet black, and the feet
bright yellow. (See lower figure on the plate at the beginning of this
chapter).
The female, although not quite so plain a bird as in some other species,
presents none of the gay colours or ornamental plumage of the male. The
top of the head and back of the neck are black, the rest of the upper
parts rich reddish brown; while the under surface is entirely yellowish
ashy, somewhat blackish on the breast, and crossed throughout with
narrow blackish wavy bands.
The Seleucides alba is found in the island of Salwatty, and in the
north-western parts of New Guinea, where it frequents flowering trees,
especially sago-palms and pandani, sucking the flowers, round and
beneath which its unusually large and powerful feet enable it to cling.
Its motions are very rapid. It seldom rests more than a few moments on
one tree, after which it flies straight off, and with great swiftness,
to another. It has a loud shrill cry, to be heard a long way, consisting
of "Cah, cah," repeated five or six times in a descending scale, and at
the last note it generally flies away. The males are quite solitary in
their habits, although, perhaps, they assemble at pertain times like the
true Paradise Birds. All the specimens shot and opened by my assistant
Mr. Allen, who obtained this fine bird during his last voyage to New
Guinea, had nothing in their stomachs but a brown sweet liquid,
probably the nectar of the flowers on which they had been feeding. They
certainly, however, eat both fruit and insects, for a specimen which
I saw alive on board a Dutch steamer ate cockroaches and papaya fruit
voraciously. This bird had the curious habit of resting at noon with the
bill pointing vertically upwards. It died on the passage to Batavia, and
I secured the body and formed a skeleton, which shows indisputably that
it is really a Bird of Paradise. The tongue is very long and extensible,
but flat and little fibrous at the end, exactly like the true
Paradiseas.
In the island of Salwatty, the natives search in the forests till they
find the sleeping place of this bird, which they know by seeing its
dung upon the ground. It is generally in a low bushy tree. At night they
climb up the trap, and either shoot the birds with blunt arrows, or even
catch them alive with a cloth. In New Guinea they are caught by placing
snares on the trees frequented by them, in the same way as the Red
Paradise birds are caught in Waigiou, and which has already been
described at page 362.
The great Epimaque, or Long-tailed Paradise Bird (Epimachus magnus), is
another of these wonderful creatures, only known by the imperfect skins
prepared by the natives. In its dark velvety plumage, glowed with bronze
and purple, it resembles the Seleucides alba, but it bears a magnificent
tail more than two feet long, glossed on the upper surface with the most
intense opalescent blue. Its chief ornament, however, consists in the
group of broad plumes which spring from the sides of the breast, and
which are dilated at the extremity, and banded with the most vivid
metallic blue and green. The bill is long and curved, and the feet
black, and similar to those of the allied forms. The total length of
this fine bird is between three and four feet.
This splendid bird inhabits the mountains of New Guinea, in the same
district with the Superb and the Six-shafted Paradise Birds, and I was
informed is sometimes found in the ranges near the coast. I was several
times assured by different natives that this bird makes its nest in
a hole under ground, or under rocks, always choosing a place with two
apertures, so that it may enter at one and go out at the other. This is
very unlike what we should suppose to be the habits of the bird, but it
is not easy to conceive how the story originated if it is not true;
and all travellers know that native accounts of the habits of animals,
however strange they may seem, almost invariably turn out to be correct.
The Scale-breasted Paradise Bird (Epimachus magnificus of Cuvier) is now
generally placed with the Australian Rifle birds in the genus Ptiloris.
Though very beautiful, these birds are less strikingly decorated with
accessory plumage than the other species we have been describing, their
chief ornament being a more or less developed breastplate of stiff
metallic green feathers, and a small tuft of somewhat hairy plumes on
the sides of the breast. The back and wings of this species are of
an intense velvety black, faintly glossed in certain lights with rich
purple. The two broad middle tail feathers are opalescent green-blue
with a velvety surface, and the top of the head is covered with feathers
resembling scales of burnished steel. A large triangular space covering
the chin, throat, and breast, is densely scaled with feathers, having a
steel-blue or green lustre, and a silky feel. This is edged below with
a narrow band of black, followed by shiny bronzy green, below which the
body is covered with hairy feathers of a rich claret colour, deepening
to black at the tail. The tufts of side plumes somewhat resemble those
of the true Birds of Paradise, but are scanty, about as long as the
tail, and of a black colour. The sides of the head are rich violet, and
velvety feathers extend on each side of the beak over the nostrils.
I obtained at Dorey a young male of this bird, in a state of plumage
which is no doubt that of the adult female, as is the case in all the
allied species. The upper surface, wings, and tail are rich reddish
brown, while the under surface is of a pale ashy colour, closely barred
throughout with narrow wavy black bands. There is also a pale banded
stripe over the eye, and a long dusky stripe from the gape down each
side of the neck. This bird is fourteen inches long, whereas the native
skins of the adult male are only about ten inches, owing to the way
in which the tail is pushed in, so as to give as much prominence as
possible to the ornamental plumage of the breast.
At Cape York, in North Australia, there is a closely allied species,
Ptiloris alberti, the female of which is very similar to the young male
bird here described. The beautiful Rifle Birds of Australia, which
much resemble those Paradise Birds, are named Ptiloris paradiseus
and Ptiloris victories, The Scale-breasted Paradise Bird seems to be
confined to the mainland of New Guinea, and is less rare than several of
the other species.
There are three other New Guinea birds which are by some authors classed
with the Birds of Paradise, and which, being almost equally remarkable
for splendid plumage, deserve to be noticed here. The first is the
Paradise pie (Astrapia nigra of Lesson), a bird of the size of Paradises
rubra, but with a very long tail, glossed above with intense violet.
The back is bronzy black, the lower parts green, the throat and neck
bordered with loose broad feathers of an intense coppery hue, while on
the top of the head and neck they are glittering emerald green, All the
plumage round the head is lengthened and erectile, and when spread out
by the living bird must lave an effect hardly surpassed by any of the
true Paradise birds. The bill is black and the feet yellow. The Astrapia
seems to me to be somewhat intermediate between the Paradiseidae and
Epimachidae.
There is an allied species, having a bare carunculated head, which has
been called Paradigalla carunculata. It is believed to inhabit, with the
preceding, the mountainous, interior of New Guinea, but is exceedingly
rare, the only known specimen being in the Philadelphia Museum.
The Paradise Oriole is another beautiful bird, which is now sometimes
classed with the Birds of Paradise. It has been named Paradises aurea
and Oriolus aureus by the old naturalists, and is now generally
placed in the same genus as the Regent Bird of Australia (Sericulus
chrysocephalus). But the form of the bill and the character of the
plumage seem to me to be so different that it will have to form a
distinct genus. This bird is almost entirely yellow, with the exception
of the throat, the tail, and part of the wings and back, which are
black; but it is chiefly characterised by a quantity of long feathers of
an intense glossy orange colour, which cover its neck down to the middle
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 only able to obtain one
imperfect native skin, and nothing whatever is 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.
1. Paradisea apoda (The Great Paradise Bird). Aru Islands.
2. Paradisea papuana (The Lesser Paradise Bird). New Guinea. Mysol,
Jobie.
3. Paradisea rubra (The Red Paradise Bird). Waigiou.
4. Cicinnurus regius (The King Paradise Bird). New Guinea, Aru Islands,
Mysol, Salwatty.
5. Diphyllodes speciosa (The Magnificent). New Guinea, Mysol, Salwatty.
6. Diphyllodes wilsoni (The Red Magnificent). Waigiou.
7. Lophorina atra (The Superb). New Guinea.
8. Parotia sexpennis (The Golden Paradise Bird). New Guinea.
9. Semioptera wallacei (The Standard Wing). Batchian, Gilolo.
10. Epimachus magnus (The Long-tailed Paradise Bird). New Guinea
11. Seleucides albs (The Twelve-wired Paradise Bird).New Guinea,
Salwatty.
12. Ptiloris magnifica (The Scale-breasted Paradise Bird). New Guinea.
13. Ptiloris alberti (Prince Albert's Paradise Bird). North Australia.
14. Ptiloris Paradisea (The Rifle Bird). East Australia.
15. Ptiloris victoriae (The Victorian Rifle Bird). North-East Australia.
16. Astrapia nigra (The Paradise Pie). New Guinea.
17. Paradigalla carunculata (The Carunculated Paradise Pie). New Guinea.
18. (?) Sericulus aureus (The Paradise Oriole). New Guinea, Salwatty.
We see, therefore, that of the eighteen species which seem to deserve a
place among the Birds of Paradise, eleven are known to inhabit the great
island of New Guinea, eight of which are entirely confined to it and the
hardly separated island of Salwatty. But if we consider those islands
which are now united to New Guinea by a shallow sea to really form a
part of it, we shall find that fourteen of the Paradise Birds belong
to that country, while three inhabit the northern and eastern parts
of Australia, and one the Moluccas. All the more extraordinary and
magnificent species are, however, entirely confined to the Papuan
region.
Although I devoted so much time to a search after these wonderful birds,
I only succeeded myself in obtaining five species during a residence
of many months in the Aru Islands, New Guinea, and Waigiou. Mr. Allen's
voyage to Mysol did not procure a single additional species, but we
both heard of a place called Sorong, on the mainland of New Guinea,
near Salwatty, where we were told that all the kinds we desired could be
obtained. We therefore determined that he should visit this place, and
endeavour to penetrate into the interior among the natives, who actually
shoot and skin the Birds of Paradise. He went in the small prau I
had fitted up at Goram, and through the kind assistance of the Dutch
Resident at Ternate, a lieutenant and two soldiers were sent by the
Sultan of Tidore to accompany and protect him, and to assist him in
getting men and in visiting the interior.
Notwithstanding these precautions, Mr. Allen met with difficulties in
this voyage which we had neither of us encountered before. To understand
these, it is necessary to consider that the Birds of Paradise are an
article of commerce, and are the monopoly of the chiefs of the coast
villages, who obtain them at a low rate from the mountaineers, and sell
them to the Bugis traders. A portion is also paid every year as tribute
to the Sultan of Tidore. The natives are therefore very jealous of a
stranger, especially a European, interfering in their trade, and above
all of going into the interior to deal with the mountaineers themselves.
They of course think he will raise the prices in the interior, and
lessen the supply on the coast, greatly to their disadvantage; they also
think their tribute will be raised if a European takes back a quantity
of the rare sorts; and they have besides a vague and very natural dread
of some ulterior object in a white man's coming at so much trouble and
expense to their country only to get Birds of Paradise, of which they
know he can buy plenty (of the common yellow ones which alone they
value) at Ternate, Macassar, or Singapore.
It thus happened that when Mr. Allen arrived at Sorong, and explained
his intention of going to seek Birds of Paradise in the interior,
innumerable objections were raised. He was told it was three or four
days' journey over swamps and mountains; that the mountaineers were
savages and cannibals, who would certainly kill him; and, lastly, that
not a man in the village could be found who dare go with him. After some
days spent in these discussions, as he still persisted in making the
attempt, and showed them his authority from the Sultan of Tidore to go
where he pleased and receive every assistance, they at length provided
him with a boat to go the first part of the journey up a river; at the
same time, however, they sent private orders to the interior villages
to refuse to sell any provisions, so as to compel him to return. On
arriving at the village where they were to leave the river and strike
inland, the coast people returned, leaving Mr. Allen to get on as
he could. Here he called on the Tidore lieutenant to assist him, and
procure men as guides and to carry his baggage to the villages of the
mountaineers. This, however, was not so easily done. A quarrel took
place, and the natives, refusing to obey the imperious orders of the
lieutenant, got out their knives and spears to attack him and his
soldiers; and Mr. Allen himself was obliged to interfere to protect
those who had come to guard him. The respect due to a white man and the
timely distribution of a few presents prevailed; and, on showing
the knives, hatchets, and beads he was willing to give to those who
accompanied him, peace was restored, and the next day, travelling over
a frightfully rugged country, they reached the villages of the
mountaineers. Here Mr. Allen remained a month without any interpreter
through whom he could understand a word or communicate a want. However,
by signs and presents and a pretty liberal barter, he got on very well,
some of them accompanying him every day in the forest to shoot, and
receiving a small present when he was successful.
In the grand matter of the Paradise Birds, however, little was done.
Only one additional species was found, the Seleucides alba, of which
he had already obtained a specimen in Salwatty; but he learnt that the
other kinds' of which he showed them drawings, were found two or three
days' journey farther in the interior. When I sent my men from Dorey to
Amberbaki, they heard exactly the same story--that the rarer sorts
were only found several days' journey in the interior, among rugged
mountains, and that the skins were prepared by savage tribes who had
never even been seen by any of the coast people.
It seems as if Nature had taken precautions that these her choicest
treasures should not be made too common, and thus be undervalued. This
northern coast of New Guinea is exposed to the full swell of the Pacific
Ocean, and is rugged and harbourless. The country is all rocky and
mountainous, covered everywhere with dense forests, offering in its
swamps and precipices and serrated ridges an almost impassable barrier
to the unknown interior; and the people are dangerous savages, in the
very lowest stage of barbarism. In such a country, and among such a
people, are found these wonderful productions of Nature, the Birds
of Paradise, whose exquisite beauty of form and colour and strange
developments of plumage are calculated to excite the wonder and
admiration of the most civilized and the most intellectual of mankind,
and to furnish inexhaustible materials for study to the naturalist, and
for speculation to the philosopher.
Thus ended my search after these beautiful birds. Five voyages to
different parts of the district they inhabit, each occupying in its
preparation and execution the larger part of a year, produced me only
five species out of the fourteen known to exist in the New Guinea
district. The kinds obtained are those that inhabit the coasts of New
Guinea and its islands, the remainder seeming to be strictly confined
to the central mountain-ranges of the northern peninsula; and our
researches at Dorey and Amberbaki, near one end of this peninsula, and
at Salwatty and Sorong, near the other, enable me to decide with some
certainty on the native country of these rare and lovely birds, good
specimens of which have never yet been seen in Europe.
It must be considered as somewhat extraordinary that, during five years'
residence and travel in Celebes, the Moluccas, and New Guinea, I should
never have been able to purchase skins of half the species which Lesson,
forty years ago, obtained during a few weeks in the same countries. I
believe that all, except the common species of commerce, are now much
more difficult to obtain than they were even twenty years ago; and I
impute it principally to their having been sought after by the Dutch
officials through the Sultan of Tidore. The chiefs of the annual
expeditions to collect tribute have had orders to get all the rare sorts
of Paradise Birds; and as they pay little or nothing for them (it being
sufficient to say they are for the Sultan), the head men of the
coast villages would for the future refuse to purchase them from the
mountaineers, and confine themselves instead to the commoner species,
which are less sought after by amateurs, but are a more profitable
merchandise. The same causes frequently lead the inhabitants of
uncivilized countries to conceal minerals or other natural products with
which they may become acquainted, from the fear of being obliged to pay
increased tribute, or of bringing upon themselves a new and oppressive
labour.