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feet are greyish blue. But of course the chief beauty of 

 the bird is the wonderful plumes which grow from its 

 sides. Unfortunately, in the specimen before us, these 

 are not in the best condition, and nothing like their 

 proper length. Still, the rich golden beauty of the 

 feathers is a decided contrast to the warm chestnut, and 

 shows to great advantage. 



Confidently jumping from perch to perch, anon 

 leaping on the wires of the aviary and then flying to a 

 lower branch, it is evident that the bird is already quite 

 at home. On the floor is a bowl of what appears to be 

 boiled rice, and close by a large pan contains water. 

 The temperature is nearly 80 degrees. With the 

 exception of the yellow plumes already mentioned, 

 the creature is in splendid condition. It was otherwise 

 when it arrived at the Gardens, however. 



The attendant at the Parrot House tells us he had it 

 there for the first month to get it used to the food and 

 also to try and clean it somewhat. " It 7fas in a state," he 

 concludes. As the Society onh^ received the bird on the 

 ist of Juh-, this year, there is thus every excuse for any 

 shortcomings observable in the plumage. 



The card affixed to the front of the cage informs the 

 uninitiated that the Emerald, or as they have it, the 

 Greater Bird of Paradise, is a native of the Aru Islands. 

 This is natural enough, but when it goes on to 

 state that the bird was" received in exchange," one is apt 

 to be a trifle staggered and wonder what manner of 

 person or vSociety it was that wished to get rid of a Bird 

 of Paradise ! The thoughts in.stinctively fly to the 

 columns of a conlemporar}- : " Wanted to exchange an 

 Emerald Bird of Paradise, for Canaries, live stock, any- 

 thing:'' Will it ever come to this } 



It may be interesting to recall that P. apoda has been 

 kept for a number of years in captivity, though not, as 

 far as I am aware, in Phigland. Dr. Greene, in his 

 " Birds of the British Empire," says several of the 

 Paradisea have been kept in the Parrot House of the Zoo 

 for a '-considerable time." Whether this extends into 



