68 BEAUTIEUL BIRDS 
in the forests or on the hills and watch the birds 
through the glasses whenever they saw them; for 
with a good pair of glasses one can watch birds 
even when they do not come very near to one. 
Then we should know something about them, and 
the more we know about a bird or any other living 
creature the more interesting it becomes for us. 
One cannot be very interested in something that 
one knows nothing about, but as one begins to 
know even a little about it, it begins to get in- 
teresting directly. But then, why 1s it that the 
travellers who go out to these countries take guns 
with them instead of glasses, and shoot the birds 
—as well as other animals—instead of watching 
them? That is a question which I cannot answer. 
All I can tell you is that it is as I say, and I am 
afraid the wicked little demon has something to do 
with it. But now we must get on, and first we come 
to the Lesser Bird of Paradise. 
The Lesser Bird of Paradise is something like the 
Great Bird of Paradise, only it is not quite so hand- 
some and not nearly so big—which, of course, is 
what you would expect from its name. Where the 
Great Bird of Paradise is brown the lesser one is 
brown too, but it is a lighter brown, not such a nice, 
rich, coffee-coloured one as the other, and, on the 
breast, this brown colour does not change into a 
