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 ***** 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--ā100.--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.