UMBRELLA BIRD.— CepMUpterus orn&tu$. 



The group of the Friiit Crows may lay claim to the credit of reckoning among 

 their number one of the most singular of the feathered tribe. The Umbrella Bird, 

 so well depicted in the accompanying iUustratiou, is a truly remarkable creature, and 

 trom the extraordinary mode in which its phunage is arranged, never fails of attracting 

 the attention of the most casual spectator. 



The bird is a native of the islands of the South American rivers — being seldom if ever 

 seen on the main land — from whence it is not unfrequently brought by collectors, as there is 

 always a ready sale for its skin, either to serve as an ornament in glass cases, or a specimen 

 for a museum. In dimensions the Umbrella Bird eqiials the common crow of England, 

 and but for the curious plume which adorns its head, and the tuft which hangs from its 

 breast, might be mistaken at a distance for that bird. The general colour of this species 

 is rich shining black, glazed with varying tints of blue and purple like the feathers of the 

 magpie's tail. 



Very little is known of the habits of the bird ; but a very good description of its 

 appearance when living has been given by Mr. Wallace in the following words : " Its 

 crest is, perhaps, the most fully developed and beautiful of any bird known. It is 

 composed of long slender feathers, ri.siug from a contractile skin on the top of the head. 

 The shafts are white, and the plume glossy blue, hair-Uke, and curved outward at the tip. 

 When the crest is laid back, the shafts form a compact white mass, sloping up from the 

 top of the head, and surmounted by the dense hairy plumes. Even in this position it is 

 not an inelegant crest, but it is when it is fully spread that its peculiar character is 



