erful 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 enti