Courtship 



display, weird dances and extraordinary vocal efforts. 

 The higher animals, curiously enough, are often brutal in 

 their love-making. 



Of all birds, the most extravagantly arrayed are the 

 birds of paradise ; sometimes, indeed, they are bizarre in 

 their adornment. For dazzling beauty, few can compare 

 with the king bird of paradise. Sad to relate, his beauty 

 has cost him dear, for he is no stranger to the wardrobe 

 of, shall we say thoughtless, ladies, who never give one 

 moment's thought to the fact that to satisfy their vanity 

 there must be one of Nature's living gems the less in the 

 world. 



The king bird of paradise is not a big bird, hardly as 

 large as a wood pigeon in fact. Of a rich vermilion 

 colour, with an orange head and a white breast barred 

 with shimmering green, light blue legs and a pair of 

 wire-like tail feathers nearly a foot in length and each 

 terminated by a special coil of vivid green, he cuts a 

 striking figure. 



For an account of the curious courtship displayed by 

 this jewel of a bird we make no excuse for quoting Sir 

 William Ingram, for he has kept the king bird of paradise 

 in captivity and frequently observed his behaviour. Sir 

 William says : " He always commences his display by giving 

 forth several short notes and squeaks, sometimes resembling 

 the call of a quail, sometimes the whine of a pet dog. 

 Next he spreads out his wings, occasionally quite hiding 

 his head, at times, stretched upright he flaps them, as if 

 he intended to take to flight, and then, with a sudden 

 movement, gives himself a half turn, so that he faces the 

 spectators, puffing out his silky white lower feathers ; 

 now he bursts into his beautiful, melodious, warbling song, 

 so enchanting to hear but so difficult to describe. 



" Some weeks ago I was crossing a meadow and heard 

 the song of a skylark high up in the heavens and I 

 exclaimed at once, ' That is the love chant of my king 

 bird.' He sings a low babbling note, displaying all the 



155 



