THE RED BIRD OF PARADISE. 



{Paradisea raggiana.') 



The Birds of Paradise are a wonder- 

 fully beautiful group of birds which 

 inhabit New Guinea and the adjacent 

 islands. They were given this lofty 

 name by Dutch voyagers of very early 

 days, because of the brilliancy of their 

 plumage and because of very singular 

 ideas which prevailed regarding the life 

 they led in their native lands. Even as 

 late as the year 1760, about which time 

 Linnaeus named one species apoda, or 

 footless, perfect specimens were unknown 

 in Europe. It seems that the natives who 

 captured these birds and prepared their 

 skins for sale to the traders, invariably 

 removed their wings and legs. Thus the 

 belief gained credence that, as they could 

 neither fly, walk or perch, they must 

 necessarily pass "their lives in the air, 

 sustained on their ample plumes, resting 

 only at long intervals suspended from the 

 branches of lofty trees by the wire-like 

 feathers of the tail." These birds, too, 

 in the simple minds of these early folk 

 had retained the form and habits which 

 they possessed when in the Garden of 

 Eden and obtained their food ''from the 

 dews of heaven and the nectar of 

 flowers." But later day investigations 

 have placed these birds on a lower plane 

 than that on which the pretty fancy of 

 the early Dutch voyagers placed them. 

 They are now known to feed upon 

 insects and fruits and to possess many 

 habits which are common to well-known 

 species. 

 j It is the adult males only which have 

 I the splendid plumage and which have 

 ! made the Birds of Paradise so 

 1 renowned. The females are not only 

 I very plain, but their plumage has a quite 

 I uniform brownish color. It is not 

 j strange that the males are proud of their 

 I gorgeous plumage and exhibit their 

 ( charms to their female admirers in a 

 i most extravagant wa}^ Of the habits 

 of the Great Emerald Bird of Paradise, 



it is said that the males assemble, "in 

 numbers varying from twelve to twenty, 

 on certain trees, and there disport them- 

 selves so as to display their magnificent 

 plumes in the presence of the females." 

 The natives call these dancing parties 

 "sacaleli," and Mr. Wallace, in his 

 "Malayan Archipelago," describes the 

 actions of the birds. He says: "Their 

 wings are raised vertically over the back, 

 the head is bent down and stretched out, 

 and the long plumes are raised up and 

 expanded till they form two magnificent 

 golden fans, striped with deep red at the 

 base, and fading off into the pale brown 

 tint of the finely-divided and softly-wav- 

 ing points ; the whole bird is then over- 

 shadowed by them, the crouching body, 

 yellow head, and emerald green throat, 

 forming but the foundation and setting 

 to the golden glory which waves above." 

 This habit of exhibiting their charms is 

 common to the males of the other Birds 

 of Paradise. 



The Red Birds of Paradise are found 

 only on the islands of Waigiou, Ghem- 

 ien and Batanta. They belong to the 

 same genus as the Great Emerald Bird 

 and are quite as beautiful. They are 

 active and vigorous birds and not infre- 

 quently they may be seen "running along 

 the lower boughs of trees almost like 

 wood-peckers, with the long, black fila- 

 ments of the tail hanging gracefully 

 down on each side." In their habitat, 

 small flocks of females and young males 

 are quite common. The adult males, 

 however, are less commonly seen, but 

 that they are not far away is amply 

 revealed by their rather loud and coarse 

 notes. 



Regarding the habits of one of these 

 birds in confinement, a naturalist says : 



"I observed the bird, before eating a 

 grasshopper, place the insect upon the 

 perch, keep it firmly fixed by the claws, 

 and, divesting it of the legs, wings, et 



