350 



Passekes.- 



-BIKDS.- 



-Paradiseid.e. 



the most roraarkable character of the birds of this 

 family consists in the great development in the males 

 of some portions of tlie plumage, usually the feathers 

 of the sides of the body and neck, which often present 

 the most singular forms and give the birds a very pecu- 

 liar appearance. In most cases they are adoreed with 

 brilliant and delicate colours, and some of them consti- 

 tute well-known and elegant ornaments of ladies' dress. 



The Birds of Paradise are confined to a very limited 

 portion of the earth's surface, namely. New Guinea 

 and the neighbouring islands. Amongst the luxuriant 

 forests of these regions they live together in large 

 troops, and their appearance ^hen flitting about under 

 the deep shadow of the trees must be most beautiful. 

 They are polygamous, like the gallinaceous birds, which 

 they resemble in the magnificence of the attire of the 

 male. Their food consists principally of fruits. 



THE EMERALD BIRD OF PARADISE [Paradkca 

 (ipoda) — Plate 12, frg. 39 — is one of the species so com- 

 monly imported into lOurope for the adornment of ladies' 

 bonnets and other head-dresses. It is an inhabitant 

 of New Guinea and the islands lying to the west of 

 that singular country, migrating from the one to the 

 other with the monsoons. The general appearance of 

 this bird is well known, and as it is represented in our 

 figure, we need only state that the beautiful yellow 

 plumes, which render it so elegant an ornament, spring 

 from the sides of the body lieneath the wings, and are 

 of the structure commonly known as (kcomposed, that 

 is to say, the barbs of the feathers are distinct from 

 each other, and do not adhere by means of barbules as 

 in ordinary feathers. The two centre feathers of the 

 tail are elongated into long filaments, with very short 

 Ijarbs ; these filaments and the yellow plumes are want- 

 ing in the female. 



The inhabitants of the districts frequented by these 

 birds kill them in great numbers, by climbing up into 

 the trees at night, and shooting them with short arrows 

 on their roosting places. The legs of the birds are 

 then cut off, and their bodies dried by a fire, in which 

 .state they are sold to Malay dealers, by whose inter- 

 vention they reach the hands of civilized merchants. 

 For many years no specimens of the Emerald Bird of 

 Paradise reached Europe except in this way, and thus 

 it became a general opinion that this bird was naturally 

 destitute of feet ; so that, being incapable of perching, 

 it was compelled to pass its whole life on the wing, and 

 Linnffius, although aware that this notion was errone- 

 ous, gave the species the name of Paradisea rqioda, or 

 ihe footless bird of paradise, which it still retains. As, 

 however, it would evidently be inconvenient to tlie 

 bird to sleep on the wing, it was popularly supposed 

 that the long filaments of the tail were conferred upon 

 it to enable it to suspend itself head downwards from 

 the branches of trees, in which somewhat uncomfortable 

 position it was supposed to enjoy its repose. Several 

 other absurd notions were also entertained regarding 

 the habits of this bird, all arising from its assumed 

 imperfections. To these we need not refer. 



Tlie appearance of the male Biid of Paradise in his 

 native forests is so beautiful, that those ornithologists 

 who have had the opportunity of seeing him there, 

 speak of it with the greatest enthusiasm. Of this, the 



following passage from the pen of the distinguished 

 French naturalist, M. Lesson, may serve as an exam- 

 ple : — " Scarcely had I proceeded a few hundred yards 

 into these ancient forests," he says, " the sombre gloom 

 of which is perhaps the most magnificent and imposing 

 spectacle that I have ever seen, wdien a Bird of Paradise 

 attracted my attention ; it flew with grace, and in an 

 undulating manner ; the feathers of its sides formed a 

 graceful and airy plume, which, without hyperbole, 

 bore no distant resemblance to a brilliant meteor. 

 Struck with surprise and admiration, I feasted my 

 eyes upon this magnificent bird with inexpressible 

 pleasure ; but my disturbance was so great that I forgot 

 to fire at him, and did not recollect that I had a gun till 

 he was far awa}'." The females, this author tells us, 

 collect in bands at the summits of the highest trees in 

 the forests, and cry out in concert to attract the males. 

 The latter generally occur in the midst of a seraglio of 

 about fifteen females, for whose delectation they displaj' 

 their beautiful plumage somewhat in the manner of the 

 peacock. By a sort of vibration of the entire plumage, 

 they raise the wdiole of their feathers until the long 

 delicate plumes of the sides surround the birds almost 

 completely like a golden halo, " in the centre of which," 

 says M. do Lafresnaye, " the bright gi-een head forms a 

 disc, looking at the moment like a Httle emerald sun, with 

 its rays formed by the feathers of the two plumes." 

 A specimen of this bird, sent home by Mr. Wallace, 

 and mounted in accordance with his descriptions, is 

 one of the most splendid ornaments of the ornitholo- 

 gical gallery in the British Museum. The drooping 

 feathers of the lateral plumes scarcely justify their 

 comparison with a halo : they rather remind one of 

 the fabled fountain of golden water, which plays so 

 important a part in one of the Arabian Tales. The cry 

 of the male is described by Lesson as resembling the 

 words, roike, voiki>, voike, voiko, strongly articulated. 

 That of the female is similar, but weaker. 



THE LITTLE EMERALD BIRD OF PARADISE [Para- 

 disea pajmcnsis) is about an inch shorter than the 

 preceding species, the one measuring twelve, the otlier 

 thirteen inches in length. The two birds are veiy 

 similar in colouring, but the upper part of the back in 

 the present species is yellow, and the lateral plumes 

 are rather shorter in proportion. This is a more abun- 

 dant species in New Guinea than the preceding one, 

 and is commonly imported into Europe for the pur- 

 poses of ornament. 



THE BED BIRD OF PARADISE (Paradisea rubra) 

 has the face, the sides of the neck, and the throat 

 covered with small velvet-like black feathers, exhibiting 

 an emerald and golden lustre. The back of the head 

 and neck, the upper part of the back and of the breast 

 are j-ellow ; the shoulders and back are cinnamon red, 

 and the wings, rump, and belly, chestnut brown. The 

 plumes of the sides, which are of a closer texture than 

 in the Emerald Bird of Paradise, are rather longer than 

 the bird itself, and of a most brilliant carm.ine red 

 colour ; the tail is furnished with two very long fila- 

 ments, ■which, however, are curled up for a considerable 

 part of their length. The wdiole length of the bird is 

 about thirfoen inches. The female is destitute of the 

 lateral plumes and caudal filaments, and has the face 



