^-r 



■ ..:^^? TKE MAINE i>^^. 



Ornithologist and Oologist. 



^^^ 



voL.r 



GARL \ND.MK JAX, 1n91. 



NO. XT 



The Birds of Fa'adise. 



KV nOHKHTK. SCOHSO. 



1 of thcin asserted tli.it the bird speut its 

 entire life t'loaliiiji- ihroiigh tlie tiir, 

 j feeding onl v on the dews ot'heaveii and 

 never resting below. Others said its 

 This genets of birds has, by common f»kod coisif ted f»f flying insccts. and it 

 consent, received the title of "Kiids of did rest, snspeudiug it self hyits long 

 Paradise." They are the most beau-i tail-feath?rs to the top most branches of 

 tit'ul members of the feathered tribe ;■ the tallest trees in the forest. And still 

 althongli perhaps in every otiier re- other* advanced 'he +Vibulous theory that 



spc'i except beauty, they 

 are mt)re closely allied lo 

 the Crow family than any 

 other known bird. 



Their are no birds that 

 liave puzzled,, the Natur- 

 alist so much astliese. 



Many yen rs ago a num- 

 ber of skins were taken to 

 Knjrland bv the native.^ of 



Malucca Island. 



these birds lived without 

 any food whatever. 



These errors, however, 



were short lived, and time 



nas discovirrd tJiat these 



biids have legs and very 



strong ones to. 



The largest and most 

 common ol this lamilv. is 

 is the '"Great bird ofPar- 

 adise/'or the 'Emerald bird 



Previous to that time the most exciting of Paradise' as it is sometimes call'id. 

 idcf^'s of (hcse beautiiul bird existed.! It is about eighteen in. from tip ol beak to 

 (»\Ting to the fact that the Natives while' *?xtremitv of rail ;the b'dv, winjrs, and 

 preserving the skins had carefully cut tail are of a rich coffee-brown runnintr to 

 of their legs, and when brou;:ht to N^ beautiful pnrjde-bi-(nyn. The breast, 

 marl.et the purchaser seeing >i witiiout t^P ^d the head, and the neck, are of a 

 legs nafuralv ashed after them : the na- delicate straw-color and s^o slioit and 



tivesat once said they did nothaveany, 

 that aroused tUfi. curiosity «f the En- 



close set that they resemble plu^h, .)r 

 velvet. Tfje'iower part of the throat 



reopean. and n»any ofthem set out toj"P ^'* ^^'^ eyes is (dothed with scaly 

 aidy the nature of this legless bird : but' ^''^^''^'•'s "^ ^»" emerald-green color, 

 ihev made little or no Jie^dwav, somi ^ '''"^^ ^'"^-^ '' ''•^■'* metalic Inster. 



