ars to be strictly confined to eastern Australia ; at all events I have not heard
. . and
ears, of its having been shot or seen to the westward of the dividing rang .
‘i : ce a ee ae ges
at a distance of from 90 to 130 miles; its range southward does not extend
o have been shot as far north as Wide Bay, but its principal stror
; ‘ ; Ons
ains and creeks of the Manning, Hastings, Macleay,

The Ptiloris paradisea “ appe
during a sojourn of fourteen y
which run parallel to the coast
farther than Port Stephens; one or tw
hold is the large cedar brushes which skirt the mount
Clarence, and Richmond rivers, where during the breeding months of November and December

Bellinger,
the male bird is easily found; at that season 0
Bird from the thickets below to the to

selecting a spot where three or four of these trees occur at

f the year, as soon as the sun illumines the tops of the trees
up rises the Rifle p of some lofty pine, such as the Araucaria Mac.
Leayana which there abounds, a
about two hundred feet apart; ¢
self and cleaning his feathers, and in utteri
which name the bird is known to the native
flight a most singular noise, produced by the action of the wings, more nearly resembling that which would
be produced by shaking alot of new stiff silk than anything else with which I can compare it. As its short
ate wings would indicate, its powers of flight are very limited, and appear to be seldom
r purpose than to transport the bird from tree to tree.”

slightly tinged with purple; wings dull purplish

lways, however,

he morning Is then spent in short flights from tree to tree, in sunning him-

ig during his short flights a cry resembling the word yass, by
g

s of the Richmond river; besides this cry it also emits during
"i 5

and peculiarly trunc

employed for any othe

The male has the general plumage deep velvety black,
black, glossed with a greenish | » maroins of the feathers; feathers

Pesce ag e 1ue on the margins of the feathers ; feathers of the head small, scale-like,

and of a shining metallic bronzy green ;

a crescent of velvety black, to which succeeds a narrower crescent of shining

5

ous form and

feathers » throat similar in form, « Seater cae
é of the throat similar in form, and of a shining metallic oil-

green, bounded below by
yellowish green ; under surface purplish black, the flank-feathers prolonged into a filament
reaching beyond the extremity of AY. avo central tail-feathers sinine i i

g beyon y of the tail; two central tail-feathers shining metallic green, the remainder
ack; irides umber-brown ; feet lead-colour, the soles ochraceous.

deep bl
surface brown; wing's re ae Sete Bene ae 2 . ;
¢ rown; wings reddish brown, margined with bright rufous ; tail

The female has all the upper
over each eye a superciliary stripe of buffy white; throat buffy white ; from the lower angle of the
/ 5

rufous ;
breast and under surface buffy, crossed with numerous irregular

bill on each side a narrow streak of brown ;

bars of dark brown.
iy D1. ENE NESTE. : 7 F > :
The Plate represents two males and a female of the natural size.