PASSERINE. CONIROSTRES. 



common Jay ; its beak and feet are bluish, its eyes 

 brilliant yellow : its motions are lively and agile, and 

 in general it never perches but on the summits of the 

 loftiest trees. When it does descend, it is to eat 

 the fruit of the smaller trees, or to seek shelter from 

 the power of the sun. It shews a preference for 

 certain trees, and makes the forest echo with its 

 voice. This habit became fatal to it, indicating to 

 us the position and motions of the bird: we were 

 on the watch for it, and thus succeeded in killing 

 these birds : for when a male Bird of Paradise on 

 alighting hears a rustling in the silence of the forest, 

 he becomes silent and motionless. His call is voike, 

 voike, voike, voiko, strongly articulated. The cry of 

 the female is similar, but much more feeble. The 

 latter is deprived of the brilliant plumage of the 

 male, being clothed in sober attire : we met with 

 them congregated in scores on every tree, while the 

 males, always solitary, were rarely seen. At sunrise 

 and sunset, the Bird of Paradise seeks its food: 

 during the middle of the day, he remains hidden 

 beneath the spreading foliage of the teak tree, ap- 

 pearing to dread the scorching heat of the sun, or 

 exposure to the assaults of a rival. 



" To shoot the Bird of Paradise it is necessary 

 to leave the ship early in the morning, to arrive at 

 the foot of a teak or fig-tree, which they frequent 

 for the fruit, before half-past four, and to remain 

 quiet till some of the males, impelled by hunger, 

 alight on the branches within shot. It is indispen- 

 sable to have a gun that will carry far with effect, 



