BIRDS OF PARADISE. 



48o 



This species is the one which is best known and 

 most generally used as an ornament. The use of it in 

 this way in the East is not confined to the head 

 dresses of females, as it is in Europe ; for the chiefs 

 use it in the adorning of their horses. It has thus been 

 in request from the earliest times of which we have 

 any knowledge- in those eastern climes ; and the 

 natives of New Guinea, from whose country it is 

 obtained in the greatest numbers, as it is more abun- 

 dant there, and found for a longer time of the year 

 than in the Molucca?, endeavour to kill or otherwise 

 procure it without any wound to the skin, or if pos- 

 sible any ruffling of the plumage. These islanders 

 are very expert bowmen, ami the bows which they 

 use in their wars are of such power that they can 

 send a pointed arrow to the depth of two or three 

 inches into the planking of a ship. But when they 

 shoot these birds they do it with blunted arrows, or 

 even with arrows which have their heads padded, so 

 that they only partially stun the birds, and neither 

 penetrate the skin nor injure the feathers. They 

 also sometimes use birdlime for snaring or entangling 

 the birds ; but, as they roost high that method of cap- 

 ture is attended with very considerable labour, so that 

 the favourite mode is that of shooting with the blunted 

 or padded arrows ; and the wings get so easily entan- 

 gled in the produced feathers of the flanks that the 

 birds are brought to the ground very readily, and 

 when they are there, they are helpless and easily 

 taken. The feet and wings are then removed, the 

 body drawn, extended on a stick inserted by the 

 bill, and then dried in smoke to such a degree that it 

 is not liable to be destroyed by insects. 



The general appearance of this, which is the hand- 

 somest bird of the genus, may be seen by examining 

 the first figure on the plate " BIRDS OF PARADISE." 

 It is about one foot in length, from the point of the 

 bill to the extremity of the tail ; but the produced 

 feathers of the flanks, which are exceedingly light 

 and beautiful in their form, extend about a foot more. 

 The general colour is a rich cinnamon brown, but it 

 varies considerably on the different parts. Over the 

 nostrils and on the forehead there are very thick, 

 soft and velvety black feathers, with green reflections. 

 The crown and nape are pale yellow ; the throat 

 golden green, the hind part of the neck purple brown, 

 the rest of the upper part, and also the breast and 

 belly, maroon brown ; the bill yellowish black, and 

 the feet black. The colours are subject to consider- 

 able variation in different specimens, as for instance, 

 the throat is of every shade from golden green to a 

 rich golden yellow ; and when this part is more 

 inclined to yellow, all the rest of the bird is of a paler 

 tint ; but whether these variations are the result ol 

 difference of age or season, or whether they are 

 permanent for the life of the birds, has not been 

 asco'tained. 



The produced feathers on the flanks, and in the 

 tails of these birds are among their most remarkable 

 external characters. Those which originate in the 

 flanks are of a pale yellow or straw colour for the 

 greater part of their lengths ; but they are marked 

 with purplish red toward their origin. It is 

 difficult to imagine any structure more beautiful. 

 The shafts are finely tapering, and the fibres of the 

 webs, which are quite detached from each other, 

 have secondary ramifications ; and, the whole are 

 fined off toward the extremities, so that they re..lly 

 more resemble the tail nf u cornet than they do any 



mere solid matter ; but unsubstantial as they seem 

 toward their extremities, the shaft and web are so 

 well proportioned to each other that the whole fea- 

 ther floats far and gracefully ; and with the very 

 maximum of tenuity it has no appearance of weak- 

 ness. Besides those, there are two very peculiar 

 filaments of feather, covered with velvety down, inter- 

 spersed with short stiff hairs, which have however 

 nearly the same lustre as the down, which originate 

 one on each side of the rump, and both extend to 

 nearly the length of two feet. These are yellowish 

 at their bases ; but for the greater part of their length 

 they are nearly black, and show a very peculiar mix- 

 ture of greenish lustre, which can hardly be called a 

 reflection, for the hue of it. is velvety rather than 

 metallic, and it is a very intense and rich colour ; 

 though there is so small a portion of this green that 

 it is only visible in certain positions of the light with 

 regard to the feather, yet when the eye can catch it, 

 it is of the most intensely rich shade that can pos- 

 sibly be imagined. It is said, however, that the 

 skins, whether prepared by the usual methods of the 

 natives or not, which are brought to this country, 

 have the green shade le t ss rich, and the whole colour 

 inclining more to yellow, than in the living and 

 healthy bird ; and especially that the smoke-drying, 

 which is found necessary in order to preserve the 

 skins from the ravages of insects, imparts a brown 

 and muddy tone to all the richer tints of colour. 



These produced feathers, whether they originate 

 from the flanks or the sides of the rump, are wholly 

 unconnected with the flying feathers of the birds, 

 which both in the wings and tail are short. The wings 

 are hollow as well as short, or rather they have a 

 peculiar curvature, in consequence of which alone, 

 one would be led to infer that they have not the 

 same kind of action as ordinary flying feathers, by 

 means of which birds make their way in the air ; and 

 though the body of the bird is not a very heavy one, 

 the wings are so small that they seem incapable of 

 floating it freely without these produced feathers. 

 We are still, however, too ignorant of its economy 

 to be able to speak with confidence on the subject 

 of its very peculiar mechanical action in the air. 



2. ROYAL, OR KING, BIRD OF PARADISE. (Para- 

 disca rcgia). The species of these curious birds 

 have been as unfortunate in their names as in their 

 history. There is no attribute of royalty in this one, 

 any more than there is a particular reason for apply- 

 ing the epithet superb or magnificent to two other 

 species which remain yet to be noticed. The species 

 which has been already described, to which the 

 equally humble and faulty name of " footless" has 

 been given, is unquestionably the finest bird of the 

 genus, and therefore the one to whom superlative 

 epithets are the most applicable. Those superlative 

 epithets are generally rather awkward in science j 

 for in all cases where magnificus, or splendens, or 

 gloriosa, has been applied either to a bird or a flower, 

 it has generally turned out that some other specie?, 

 which had to be called by a humbler name in conse- 

 quence of the appropriation of the superlative one, 

 put not only the species with the lofty name, but the 

 party by whom that name was given, completely to 

 shame. To this, the lofty names of some of the 

 birds of paradise do not form an exception. 



The species in question which is No. U on the 

 plate, is a much smaller bird than the former ,- and, 

 so far as its habits are known, it is not nearly so 



