Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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 pre-
ferring the small figs; of the latter, grasshoppers, locusts, and phasmas, as well as cock-
roaches 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
l
.—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 bakehouse, 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-steam-
er 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, of-
ten displaying their beautiful plumes to the admiration of the spectators. It is evident, there-
fore, that the Paradise Birds are very hardy, and require air and exercise rather than heat; and
I feel sure that if a good sized conservatory 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 partic-
ulars. 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, in-
stead 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 cyl-
inders of horn or whalebone. When a dead bird is laid on its back, it is seen that these rib-
