424- PLUMAGE OF THE EMEKALD PAEADISE BIED. 



descends suddenly upon the second percli close to the bars of the cage, looking out for 

 the grasshoppers which it is accustomed to receive about this time. 



Should any person place his finger into the cage, the bird darts at it rapidly : if it is 

 inserted and withdrawn quickly, the slightly curved extremity of the upper mandible 

 causes the intruder to receive a sharp peck ; but if the finger is placed quietly in the cage 

 close to the beak of the animal, he grasps and thrusts it out as if hinting that he dislikes 

 the intrusion. 



His prehensile power in the feet is very strong, and still retaining his hold, the bird 

 will turn himself round upon the perch. He delights to be sheltered from the glare of 

 the sun, as that luminary is a great source of annoyance to him if permitted to dart its 

 fervent rays directly upon the cage. The iris frequently expanding and contracting, adds 

 to the arch, wicked look of this animated bird, as he throws the head on one side to 

 o-lance at visitors, uttering the cawing notes or barking aloud, to the astonishment of the 

 auditors, who regard the bird as being in a very great rage at something or other beyond 

 their conception. Having concluded, he jumps down to the lower perch in search of 

 donations of living grasshoppers, seemingly in the most happy and good-humoured 

 manner. 



The bird is not at all ravenous in its habits of feeding ; but it eats rice leisurely, 

 almost grain by grain ; should any of the insects thrown into his cage fall on the floor 

 he will not descend to them, appearing to be fearful that in so doing he should soil his 

 delicate plumage ; he therefore seldom or never descends, except to perform his ablution 

 in the i^an of water j)laced at the bottom of the cage expressly for his use." 



Several other specimens which were seen by M. Lesson in Amboyna were generally fed 

 on boiled rice, but were exceedingly fond of cockroaches. They had been kept in the same 

 cage for more than six months, but had thriven well and were extremely lively, always 

 on the move. The bird described by Mr. Bennett had been in captivity nine years. 



The general colour of the upper part of the body is rich chocolate brown, the whole 

 of the front being covered with velvet-like feathers of the deepest green, at one moment 

 sinking into black, and at another flashing forth with glittering emerald. The upper part 

 of the throat is bright golden green, and the upper part of the neck a delicate yellow. 

 The most wonderful part of this bird's plumage is the mass of loose floating plumes that 

 rises from the flanks, and extends in a most graceful manner far beyond the tail. Even 

 in the absolute quiet of a stuffed skin under a glass case, these plumes are full of 

 astonishing beauty, their translucent golden-white vanelets producing a most superb 

 effect as they cross and recross each other, forming every imaginable shade of white, gold, 

 and orange, and then deepening towards their extremities into a soft purplish red. There 

 is a magnificently arranged specimen of this bird in the British Museum, placed in a 

 separate case, and worthy of a journey merely for that one object. 



But when the bird is living and healthy, no pen can describe the varied and changeful 

 beauties that develop themselves at every moment, for the creature seems to comprehend 

 within its own single form the united beauties of all other members of the feathered tribe. 

 There is delicacy of shape, grace of movement, and elegance of form, which alone would 

 render it a most beautiful bird. But in addition to all these qualities, it possesses plumage 

 which in one part glitters with all the dazzling gem-like hues of the humming-bird's 

 wing, in another is soft, warm, and delicately tinted, and in another is dyed with a rich 

 intensity of colouring that needs a strong light to bring out its depth of power. Yet more, 

 the torrent of graceful and softly tinted plumes that flow with such luxuriant redundance 

 of changeful curves over the body, are in themselves sufficient to place the Emerald 

 Paradise Bird in the first rank of beauty. Wliat, then, must be the effect of these manifold 

 perfections when exhibited under the pure bright air and cloudless sky of its native land, 

 its velvet feathers flashing with emerald rays at every change of position, and its wondrous 

 plumes waved according to the mental emotions which flit through the bird's mind, and 

 swaying gracefully with the slightest breath of air ? 



In addition to these beautiful feathers, there are two long horn-like shafts which rise 

 from the upper part of the tail, and are prolonged to nearly two feet in length, taking a 



