Birds of Paradise 



73 



that it was impossible that such a bird could exist in 

 nature ! Velvety black above and yellowish below, 

 there is nothing very striking in the aspect of the bird 

 itself, which is smaller than our Song-Thrush (Turdus 

 musicus], but the " streamers " which it carries ! Poised in 

 a socket on either side of the 

 head is a long shaft-like plume, 

 from which depends, on the 

 lower side only, a series of 

 little flags of blue enamel, 

 each quite separate from the 

 one which precedes it, and 

 not of a feathery structure in 

 the least. Wonderful as the 

 bird was on its first reception, 

 I have now seen several other 

 males in Mr. Walter Roths- 

 child's collection, and two are 

 in the British Museum. Some 

 remains of feathering at the 

 extreme tips of some of the 

 streamers suggest that even 

 these enamelled appendages 

 may be preceded by a feathery 

 stage, but, as a matter 

 of fact, we know that 

 there are other birds 

 which have enamelled 

 ornamentation, such as 

 the Curl-crested Toucan 

 (Pteroglossus beanharnasii} of the Amazons, the Curl- 

 crested Cuckoo {Lcpidogramums cumingi) of the Philip- 

 pines, while even in Europe we have the Waxwing 

 (Ampelis garrulus\ which has wax-like appendages to the 

 secondary quills and the tail-feathers. In all of the 



