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.
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