THE PERCHING-BIRDS 



5^7 



photo h S.htia'lt' Ph ,-. ( o. 



CORNISH CHOUGH 



Very nearly extinct as a Brttiih bird 



Let it suffice to mention only the last dis- ' 



covered species — the KiNG OF Saxony's 



Bird of Paradise. "Velvety black 



above," writes Dr. Sharpe, " and yellow- 

 ish below, there is nothing very striking 



in the aspect of the bird itself, which is ^~' 



smaller than our song-thrush. But the 



' streamers ' which it carries ! Poised . . . 



on either side of the head is a long, 



shaft-like plume, from which depends, on 



the lower side only, a series of little flags 



of blue enamel, each quite separate from 



the one which precedes it, and not of a 



feathery structure in the least." 



Close allies of the Birds of Paradise 



are the remarkable BOWER-BIRDS of 



Australia. Conspicuously beautiful in 



coloration as are some members of this 



tribe, they are celebrated not so much 



on this account as for an extraordinary 



habit of constructing " bowers " or " playing-grounds " — a trait which appears absolutely unique 



among birds. "These constructions," observes Mr. Gould, " consist in a collection of pieces of 



stick or grass, formed into a bower; or one of them (that of the Spotted Bower-BIRD) 



might be called an avenue, being about 3 feet in length, and 7 or 8 inches broad inside; a 



transverse section giving the figure of a horse-shoe, the round part downwards. They are 



used by the birds as a playing-house, or ' run,' 

 as it is termed, and are used by the males to at- 

 tract the females. The ' run ' of the Satin-BIRD 

 is much smaller, being less than I foot in length, 

 and, moreover, differs from that just described 

 in being decorated with the highly coloured 

 feathersoftheParrotTribe. TheSPOTTED BoWER- 

 BIRD, on the other hand, collects around its ' run ' 

 a quantity of stones, shells, bleached bones, etc. ; 

 they are also strewed down the centre within." 



More wonderful still are the structures 

 reared by the Gardener-BIRD of New Guinea, 

 presenting, as Professor Newton remarks, " not 

 only a modification of bower-building, but an 

 appreciation of beauty perhaps unparralleled in 

 the animal world. . . . This species . . . builds 

 at the foot of a small tree a kind of hut or 

 cabin . . . some 2 feet in height, roofed with 

 orchid-stems that slope to the ground, regularly 

 radiating from the central support, which is 

 covered with a conical mass of moss, and 

 sheltering a gallery around it. One side of this 

 hut is left open, and in front of it is arranged 

 Photo b, w. saviiu-K,.,, F.Z.S. a bed of verdant moss, bedecked with blossoms 



KING BIRD OF PARADISE ^nd berries of the brightest colours. As these 



ornaments wither they are removed to a heap 



^ nati-vc of Neiv Guinea ; remarkable for the curled , , , , , , i.u *. 



■' tail-feathers behind thc hut, and replaced by others that are 



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