270 THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 



corresponds witli tlic supjDOsed life of the pliocuix, and IVom which period the same course 

 of seasons and position of the lieavenly bodies is renewed. Now, though it is certain, 

 as Dr. Forster observes, that the bird of paradise was never known to ancient writers, 

 and that whatever tlie Egyptian priests delivered concerning their fabulous phoenix has 

 no apparent agreement with the birds in question, yet it is remarkable enough that the 

 names applied to them, both b}^ Indian and European nations, attribute something of a 

 supposed celestial origin. Dr. Shaw, however, thinks that this notion has, in all proba- 

 bility, arisen merely from their transcendent beauty, and the singular and delicate 

 disposition of their plumage. The Portuguese who navigated to the Indian islands 

 called them Passaros tla Sol, in like manner as the Egyptians regarded their imaginary 

 bird as symbolising the annual revolution of that great luminary. The inhabitants of 

 the Island of Ternate call them Manuco Bocatu, or the birds of God. 



The birds of paradise have great diversity of beauty. Some of them have thinly- 

 barbed feathers to cover the closed wing, so prolonged as to form immense tufts, and 

 extending far backward beyond the body. There are, also, in general, barbless filaments 

 attached, which are even more elongated than the airy lateral pliuues. Some, also, 

 have thinly webbed feathers on the flanks, but they are short ; while another class have 

 neither elongated filaments nor lateral tufts. 



The most fanciful conjectures have been entertained in reference to the habits of these 

 birds. By some they have been regarded as inhabitants of the air, living imly on (he 

 dew of heaven, and never touching the surface of this terrestrial sphere ; and otlicrs, 

 while believing they never rested on the ground, have considered that they subsisted on 

 insects. Some have ranlced them among the birds of prey, and others — including Bufibn 

 — asserted that they had no feet, and could iieither walk nor swim, and were incapable 

 of any other means of progression except by flight. 



Some little mystery beclouded the views of many, in consequence of the fact that the 

 people of the islands from whence the bird of paradise was first obtained have paid little 

 regard to the study of natural history. The fact is, that its legs being large and strong, 

 and neither ornamental nor required in the skins made up for general commerce, were 

 cut off; while the natives, thus concealing what they regarded as a deformity, considered 

 themselves entitled to augment their demands when they oflered the bird for sale. The 

 purchaser of it in Europe naturally inquired for the legs of which it was destitute, and 

 the seller began to think that it could have none. Having arrived at this satisfactory 

 conc'lusion, it M'as a necessary inference that a bird without legs must live in the air, 

 which would render them unnecessary ; the extraordinary beauty of the plumage added 

 to the deception, and as it was considered to have " heavenly beauty," it was thought also 

 to have a " heavenly residence." In accordance with this view its name was given, and 

 the false reports which have been propagated on the subject have thus arisen. Hence 

 T>inn;eus and the older writers styled the bird (qmda, or footless, although the man 

 who introduced the bird to scientific observation in Europe distinctly stated that it was 

 in no prominent respect different from other birds. 



The true residence, or breeding-place, of these birds seems to be Papua, or Ne\\- 

 Guinea, from whence they make occasional excursions to some smaller neighbouring 

 islands. They fly in flocks of about thirty or forty, led, it is alleged, by a single bird, 

 which the natives call their king, but which is said (o be of a different species. It is 

 furtlier pretended, that when tliis bird settles the whole flight settle also, in consequence of 

 which they sometimes jjcrish, being imable to rise again, owing to the peculiar .structure 

 of their wings. They also always fly against the wind, lest their plumage shoidd be 

 discomposed. While flying th.ey make a noise like starlings, but their common cry 

 rather resembles that of a raven, ai\d is very audible in windy weathei-, when they dread 

 the chance of being thrown upon the ground. In tlie Am Islands tlicy arc seen to 



