The male has the crown of the head and upper part of the back reddish brown, with a large mark of black on each feather; lower part of the back and upper tail-coverts rich rufous brown; wings black; coverts largely tipped with grey; primaries crossed with grey at the base; apical half of the primaries and the tips of the secondaries dark brownish grey; tail dark brown; sides of the head and neck dark grey; throat and chest white, separated from the grey of the sides of the neck by a lunar-shaped mark of deep black; flanks and under tail-coverts grey, stained with reddish brown; bill and feet black; irides very dark hazel.
The female only differs in colour in having the throat rich rust-red.
The Plate represents the male and female of the size of life.
PTILORUS PARADISEA: Swains.
J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith. Hullmandel & Walton Imp.
PTILORIS PARADISEUS, Swains.
Rifle Bird.
Ptiloris paradiseus, Swains. Zool. Journ., vol. i. p. 481.—Ib. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 331.—Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. i. pls. 43 male, 44 female.—Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol. xiv. p. 267.
Epimachus regius, Less. Zool. de la Coq., pl. 28, male.—Ib. Cent. de Zool., pl. 3, female.—Ib. Traité d’Orn., p. 320.
—— Brisbanii, Wils. Ill. of Zool., pl. xi.
Ptiloris paradisea, G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd edit., p. 15.