THE WORLD'S BIRDS. 



99 



but have been kept in captivity, which they bear 

 remarkably well. The best known and largest is the 

 Great Emerald Bird of Paradise (Paradisea apoda), 

 of the size of a Rook, chocolate with yellow head and 

 green throat, and long orange-yellow flank-plumes. 

 The hen has no decorative colours, being simply a 

 brown bird. Its note is a loud bawling " wawk-wawk." 

 The King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius) is of 

 the size of a Thrush, velvety-scarlet above and white 

 below, with tail short short for the most part, but 

 provided with two long wire-like feathers with curled 

 green tips. He has very short drab side-plumes 

 tipped with green. The hen is brown above and 

 dun closely barred with black below. This is the most 

 abundant and widely-spread species, and, as it does not 

 keep so high in the trees, the oftenest seen. Both of 

 these, as well as the Red and Twelve-wired species, 

 have been exhibited at the Zoo. 



Bower -birds (Ptilonorhynchincz), inhabiting the 

 Australian region, are closely allied to the Birds of 

 Paradise, and much resemble large Thrushes in general 

 form, but usually have a stouter bill, often closely 

 feathered at the base. Their plumage is seldom 

 gorgeous, but they are interesting for the remarkable 

 " bowers " or playing-places which they build and 

 decorate with various objects. The real nest is an 

 ordinary cup-shaped structure. These birds feed 

 chiefly on fruit, and the main interest in their habits 

 lies in the bower-building instinct, whereby in this 

 particular respect they are raised nearer to man than 

 any other animals, since no other creature builds a 

 house and decorates its precincts merely for social 

 amusement. 



The bower varies much in construction according 

 to the species. The best-known, the Satin-Bird 

 (Ptilonorhynchus holosericeus), makes an avenue of 

 twigs about which it strews feathers, bones, shells, 



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