THE KING BIRD OF PARADISE. 35 



the tree on which it is perched. It flutters its 

 wings and makes a curious sound) something like 

 the whirring noise of a wheel. And, like the rest 

 of its tribe, it is always in motion ; you never see 

 it still an instant. 



Let us admire, for a few moments, its surpassing 

 beauty. Its body is about the size of our English 

 Thrush, but how different a costume has Nature 

 given to it ! You can see in the Picture how the 

 bird is dressed. The white plumage underneath 

 the body is soft and glossy as silk. And between 

 the rich purple of the throat and the white of the 

 body is a band or stripe of the most brilliant 

 green. 



But these exquisite colours are only part of the 

 ornaments that Nature has bestowed. Do you see 

 those two fan-like appendages on either side the 

 body and beneath the wings ? They are tipped 

 with the richest green, and can be spread out 

 when the bird chooses. In the Picture it has done 

 so, and you see them to perfection. 



Then you must notice the long tail-wires, as 

 they are called, which hang down, and are tipped 



