80 BEAUTIFUL BIRDS 
shield in front of his breast, at the same time, and 
this shield is something of the same shape as the 
crest or helmet, only smaller, and always of a lovely 
bluey-green colour, with a glossy sheen upon it that 
is just like that upon satin. Yes, a/ways, for the 
colours that go to sleep in the other parts of the 
Black Bird of Paradise’s plumage, keep wide awake in 
the shield on its breast, or, if you ever do catch them 
napping, it is only just for a single instant, and then 
out they flash again, wider awake than ever. So 
now, if you were to say—as | am sure you would 
say—that the Black Bird of Paradise was a wonderful, 
wonderful bird, even if you were to see him with only 
his crest lifted up, what, ah, what would you say if 
you were to see him with his crest lifted up and his 
shield shot out at the same time? Why, I think 
that then you could not say less than that he was a 
wonderful, wonderful, wonderful bird—three wonder- 
fuls instead of only two. And indeed you would be 
right. 
Yes, he is a wonder, is the Black Bird of Paradise, 
though I must tell you that he has not any of those 
long, silky feathers that hang down like cascades and 
shoot up like fountains, from the sides of those other 
Birds of Paradise I have been telling you about. 
And he has no long “funny feathers” in his tail 
either. You see he cannot have everything, and his 
