PASSERINE BIRDS. 



427 



when sleeping, they were said ,to suspend themselves by the long 

 feathers of the tail; to feed exclusively upon dew, and never to 

 touch the earth while alive. All these fictions have, however, found 

 their proper level, and the history of these beautiful birds is now 

 pretty well known. The most celebrated species is 



The Emerald Bird of Paradise [Paradissea apoda). Its head is 

 small, but ornamented with feathers tliat rival in brilliancy those of 

 the Peacock ; the neck is of a delicate yellow, and the body of a 



Fig. 354. — BIRDS of pakadise. 



rich brown tint sprinkled with gold ; while two long bearded filaments 

 constitute its tail. The long, light, and graceful feathers of this 

 bird form the most beautiful, and, alas ! the most sought-for plumes 

 for ladies' head-dresses ; so that the race will probably soon become 

 extinct. 



The Birds of Paradise travel in troops of thirty or forty under 

 the direction of a chief, which the Indians call the king. In May 

 and June (probably the season of pairing) they are in a state of 

 great excitement and incessant activity, and the males assemble 

 together to exercise, dress, and display their magnificent ijlumage. 

 For this pui-pose they prefer certain lofty, large-leaved trees, and on 

 these, early in the morning, from ten to twenty full-plumaged 

 birds assemble, as the natives express it, " to play and dance."' They 

 open their wings, stretch out their necks, shake their bodies, and 



