3 20 



BIRDS. 



FIG. 353. CAKKJOX CROW. 



speak with considerable, facility. The senses of these birds are very acute, 

 more particularly that of smell ; they have the habit of stealing and conceal- 

 ing everything they find, even articles that are useless to them, such as spoons 

 and pieces of money. They lay up provision for the future season, and feed 

 on every kind of aliment, grains, fruits, insects, and worms, and living or dead 

 flesh, so that they well deserve the name of Omnivorous. The Raven, the 

 Jackdaw, the Magpie, the Jay, all belong to the same family. 



The Birds of Paradise (Paradisea}. These birds resemble crows in 

 everything but their plumage, which is perhaps the most sumptuous bestowed 

 upon the feathered creation. They are all of them indigenous to New Guinea 

 and the neighbouring islands. Their history was for a long while a tissue of 

 fable and absurdity. The female, it was asserted, laid her eggs while flying, 

 and had no legs ; when sleeping, they were said to suspend themselves by the 

 long feathers of the tail, to feed exclusively upon dew, and never to touch the 

 earth while alive. All these fictions have, however, found their proper level, 

 and the history of these beautiful birds is now pretty well known. The most 

 celebrated species is 



The Emerald Bird of Paradise (Paradisea apoda}. Its head is small, but 

 ornamented with feathers that rival in brilliancy those of the peacock ; the neck is of a 

 delicate yellow, and the body of a rich brown tint sprinkled with gold, while two long- 

 bearded filaments constitute its tail. The long, light, and graceful feathers of this bird 

 form the most beautiful, and, alas ! the most sought-for, plumes for ladies' head-dresses; 

 so that the race will probably soon become extinct. 



The Birds of Paradise travel in troops of thirty or forty under the direction of a chief, 

 which the Indians call the king. In May and June (probably the season of pairing) 

 they are in a state of great excitement and incessant activity, and the males assemble 

 together to exercise, dress, and display their magnificent plumage. For this pm-pose 

 they prefer certain lofty, large-leaved trees, and on these, early in the morning, from 

 ten to twenty full-plumaged birds assemble, as the natives express it, ' ' to play ant? 



