Pa Pt) “Waa yf

  
   
    
   
    
  
  
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

PTERIDOPHORA ALBERTI, steer

King of Saxony’s Bird of Paradise.

Pteridophora alberti, Meyer, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, iv. p. xi (1894).—Id, Abhandl. k. zool. Mus

. is a Dresden
1894-95, no. 5, pp. 1-7, Taf. 1 (1895).—Rothschild, Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl

ub, iv. p. xxi (1895),

 

 

i: Tuts marvellous Bird of Paradise does not require to be exactly compared with any other genus of the
? 5 : ‘

a glance. It is, indeed, distinct from every form
amers on the head, with their enamelled and flag-like

Paradiseide, for it is recognizable from any of them at
of bird in the world by reason of the two long stre
appendages.
\ Dr. A. B. Meyer, in his original account of the species, has given a note by Dr. Heller on the structure
of these curious enamel-like processes, and an epitome of Dr. Heller’s observations will be found in the
Introduction to the present work, under the h sading of the genus Pteridophora. The structure of these
enamel-like appendages is of the same class as the ornamental metallic or wax-like structure to be found
in the crowns of the Curl-crested Toucan (Preroglossus beauharnais’) and Cuming’s Bush-Cuckoo
(Lepidogrammus cumingi), the hackles of Sonnerat’s Jungel-fowl (Gallus sonnerati), the tips to the
secondaries of the Wax-wing (4mpelis garrulus), the breast-feathers of the African Open-bill Stork
(Anastomus lamelligerus), and other birds.

It will be noticed that the shaft of the elongated crest-plumes is only feathered on one side, and that the
enamel flag-like appendages appear blue on their outer aspect, and are internally brown. Each of these
decorative streamers is inserted in a muscular sheath on the side of the head, and we may thus believe that
the bird is able to erect or depress them at will.

 

yi The home of this wonderful bird is New Guinea, and the first specimens were received from the Amberno
i Mountains, which lie to the eastward of Geelvink Bay, in the north-west of the great Papuan island.
Adult male. General colour above velvety black, the feathers on the mantle and upper back elongated and
apparently forming a shield ; the lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts olive-brown, the latter a little
' darker ; lesser wing-coverts like the back, the median and greater coverts with a shaft-streak of ochreous
| | buff; bastard-wing and primary-coverts black ; quills black, edged with ochreous brown, and distinguished
by broad ochreous-buff bases to the feathers, extending for some distance up the inner webs; the inner-
most secondaries uniform black ; tail black ; head velvety black like the back, with two long streamers on
ay each side of the crown, consisting of quadrangular enamelled plates of blue above, brown below, only found
: wv on one web of the feather; sides of face and throat velvety black like the crown, the feathers on the
} ; | sides of the fore-neck elongated and apparently forming a small shield; remainder of under surface of body
pale yellow, becoming lighter and more isabelline on the abdomen and sides of body; thighs dusky grey ;
under wing-coverts and _axillaries pale ochraceous buff like the quill-lining. Total length 8 inches,
} culmen 0:8, wing 4°85, tail 2-9, tarsus 1°3. :
\ The description and figure in the Plate are taken from a specimen from the Amberno River, presented to
b the British Museum by the Hon. Walter Rothschild.