BIRDS. 337 



fable, lived upon dew and vapour, and carried on without de- 

 scending to earth all the functions of life, even to the produc- 

 tion of their eggs and young. The}'^ have justly been said, 

 from the extreme beauty of their plumage, to hold the highest 

 rank among the feathered glories of the creation. They are 

 limited to New Guinea, or as it is frequently called, the country 

 of the Papuas, and some of the adjacent islands of the South 

 Pacitic Ocean. The natives of these countries, when prepar- 

 ing and drying the skms, were in the habit of removing 

 the feet of the bird. The skins in this state were sold 

 to the Malays, carried into India, and thence convej^d into 

 Europe. Here we have the origin of the superstitious ideas 

 with which these birds were formerly associated, arising from 

 the supposed want of legs. The legend has been commemo- 

 rated by Linnaeus, who applied to the best known species the 

 appellation, " footless ;"* and it has been enshrined in the har- 

 monious lines of the poet : — 



" The footless fowl of heaven that never 



Rest upon earth, but on the wing for ever, 

 Hovering o'er flowers their fragrant food inhale. 

 Drink the descending dew upon its way. 

 And sleep aloft while floating on the gale." 



Soutiiey's "Curse of Keiiama." 



I Corvidoe. — The Starling, which has been already noticed, and 

 ifche Raven, the Magpie, and the Jay, which are members of the 

 present family, possess the power of imitating the human 

 v^oiee in a higher degree of perfection than any other British 

 3irds. One example of this has been mentioned in a preced- 

 ing page (P- 307). 



The Raven labours under the misfortune of being regarded 

 IS a bird of ill omen.f High rocks and other places, where 

 langer may best be descried, are his favourite haunts. His 

 bod is various, emmets, reptiles, birds and their eggs, fish, and 

 arrion ; like other species, he is partial to chickens and young 

 lucks ; and we were assured on one occasion by a credible 

 witness that he had seen a Raven alight among a flock of fuU- 



• Paradisea apoda. 



f " Tlie Raven himself is hoarse 



That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan 



Under my battlements." — Macbeth. 



" Oh, it comes o'er my memory, 



As doth tlie Raven o'er the infected house, 

 Boding to all ! " — Othello. 



