1 64 BIRDS OF PARADISE. 



FAMILY II. 

 THE BIRDS OF TARADISK. TARADISEID.!-:. 



Gktjeral Characteristics. — ^Bill long, strong, with the cuhnen curved and the sides 

 compressed to the tip, which is emarginated ; the base of the upper mandible con- 

 cealed by short feathers, which also cover the nostrils ; the wings long and rounded ; 

 the tail of various lengths, even or rounded ; the tarsi robust, long, and covered by 

 a single membrane; the hind toe very long and robust; the claws long, strong, and 

 curved. 



The most remarkable character of this family consists in the 

 great development, in the males, of some portions of their plumage, 

 usually of the feathers of the sides of the body and neck, which 

 often present the most singular forms and give their possessors a 

 very peculiar appearance. In most cases they are adorned with 

 brilliant colours. The Birds of Paradise are confined to a very 

 limited portion of the earth's surface, namely, New Guinea and 

 the neighbouring islands. Amongst the luxuriant forests of these 

 regions they live together in large troops, and their appearance 

 when flitting about is most beautiful. They are pol}-gamous, like 

 the Gallinaceous birds, which they resemble in the magnificent 

 attire of the male. Their food consists principally of fruits. They 

 are lively and active in their movements, and are usually observed 

 upon high trees, though they descend in the morning and evening 

 to the lower branches, to search for food and to hide among the 

 foliage from the extreme heat of the sun. The fruits of the teak 

 and fig tree form the principal part of their subsistence, and they 

 occasionally feed on insects, of which, if large, they reject the legs, 

 wings, and hard parts. Their cry is loud, sonorous, and poured 

 forth in a rapid succession of notes. " The first four notes," says 

 Mr. Lay, " are very long, exactly intonated, very clear, and very 

 sweet. The last three are repeated in a kind of caw, a very high 

 refinement of the voice of a daw or a crow, yet possessing a strik- 

 ing resemblance." 



There is but one sub-family, of which the type is — 



The Emerald Bird of Paradise {Paradisca apoda), so called from the 

 notion formerly universally prevalent in Europe, that the bird was naturally 

 destitute of feet, and consequently that it floated constantly in the air, only 

 at times suspending itself for a few brief moments, from some lofty sun-illu- 

 mined tree, by the peculiar lengthened feathers with which it is adorned. In 

 accordance with this belief, it was thought that, whatever individuals were 

 obtained on earth, had fallen from their aerial heights immediately before 

 tl^ei;r death. 



