PERCHING-BIRDS. 135 



miniature cabin made of different mosses, and surround it with a tiny 

 perfectly-kept meadow of moss, studded with brilliantly coloured flowers, 

 fruits, and insects, which, as they become faded, are constantly replaced. 

 The drawings on the adjoining pillar represent the widely different 

 gardens and bowers of Amhlyornis suhalaris and A. inornata (2758) 

 [PI. XXIII. fig, 3]. The handsome Green Cat-Birds {JEluradus) 

 (2759), so far as is known, are the only members of the family which 

 do not construct a bower. 



Family XLIII. Paradiseida:. Paradise-Birds. 



Tlie Birds of Paradise are among the most gorgeously attired [Centre 

 birds, and are confined to the forests of New Guinea and the neigh- ^^^'^ 

 bouring islands, as well as Australia. Skins of some of the larger 

 kinds were formerly articles of commerce, and are still exported in 

 some numbers for decorative purposes. About a hundred and fifty 

 years ago it was the custom of the natives, in preparing the skins, to 

 tear off the legs, and sometimes even the wings. The constant arrival 

 in Europe of birds without these natural appendages gave rise to 

 the supposition that Paradise-birds were devoid of them. The male 

 bird was supposed to float about in mid-air and, by spreading out his 

 long flank-feathers, to form a bower, in which the female built her 

 nest ! Thus it was that, in 1766, Linneeus actually named the largest 

 form Paradisea apoda (10), or the Paradise-bird without legs. A glance 

 at the structure of the bill and feet will show that these beautiful 

 birds are in all respects extremely similar to Crows, which they resemble 

 in their nesting habits, their chief characteristic being their fantastic 

 ornamental plumes. A very fine series, including representative forms 

 of almost every genus, is exhibited in the Centre-case. The number on 

 each species refers to a special printed list, copies of which are mounted 

 iu the Case. 



An interesting preparation of the windpipe of an adult male of the 

 Purple- and -Violet Manucode {Phonygama purpureo-violacea) will be 

 found in the Case. It shows the remarkable convolutions of the 

 trachea between the skin and breast-muscles before finally entering the 

 lungs. The call-note of this species is described as being prolonged, 

 bass, and guttural. 



Family XLIV. Corvid^. Crows. 

 By almost common consent the birds of this family are placed at the [Cases 

 head of the class Aves. Pre-eminence must be given to the members ' '-' 

 of the genus Corvus, more especially to the Raven (C. corax) (2793) of the 

 Northern Hemisphere, the bird perhaps best known from the most 

 ancient times. 



