HOOPOE. 107 



Such is the description of a perfect specimen, formerly in the 

 collection of Miss Blomefield, of which I have hazarded the 

 position of the feathers, as in the engraved plate. The bird, on her 

 first receipt of it, had been manifestly distorted, almost every feather 

 being twisted out of its place ; as to Sonnerat's bird, or that figured 

 in the PI. enl. both of them want the tufted feathers, which hang 

 over the thighs; Sonnerat, indeed, talks of two sets of feathers, the 

 first taking rise above the wings, the second beneath them, but 

 omits, the loose, herring-bone ones, so conspicuous in the bird from 

 which I have taken my description ; and that of the PL enl. is des- 

 titute of both the last, as well as those which hang on each side of 

 the tail. The representation, given in the Ois. dorees, has the feathers 

 with glossy ends disposed differently from those in my figure, as are 

 the colours, but I do not see any remark made on the circumstance ; 

 and it may yet be a long time before we learn the true situation of 

 these highly ornamental and singular parts, to be only ascertained 

 by some naturalist, who may be fortunate enough to see the living 

 bird ; for in this, as well as in the whole of the Paradise Birds, the 

 natives either throw away such parts as they consider useless, or so 

 transpose them as may make the whole appear to the best advantage ; 

 considering it as a mere ornament, and as such only esteemed by 

 them. 



At General Davies's, I met with one of these before it was put 



into attitude, but the parts so much separated, or distorted, as to 



cause great uncertainty in respect to their true situation. In this 



the two middle feathers were thirty-two inches long, and the exterior 



only five ; the next to the middle ones two inches shorter, but after 



that lessening in a greater proportion, as they proceed outwards. In 



all fourteen ; beneath the wings are eight feathers on each side, with 



glossy ends, and six others three quarters of an inch longer, having 



the ends dull deep black, but all of them with the points turning up, 



somewhat in the shape of battle axes. The loose feathers, which in 



my engraving hang over the thighs, in this specimen seem rather to 



P 2 



