Book II. O^S^lftiQ LQ$r. = Ji 



$. IX. 



* A Bird of Paradife of the greater fort. Gluf. 



THe bulk of the body of this bird came near for bignefs to that of a Swallow. 

 From the top of the Head to the Rump it fcarce exceeded five inches length. 

 The Crown from the Bill to the Eyes and Neck was covered with very thick-fet 2 

 fhort, little feathers, refembling filaments or thrums of Silk 5 their upper parts or 

 ends being of a yellow colour, the lower, where they are inferted into the skin, duf- 

 ky. The under-part of the Head, next to the lower Chap of the Bill, was very 

 thick-fet with thrums rather than feathers, being very fhort, and like to Velvet, of a 

 deep black, from the Eyes as far as the Throat, The Throat as low down as the 

 Breaft was adorned with the like feathers or rather (liken thrums, and thofe of a deep 

 green, £b beautiful and fhining, that there cannot more elegant ones be feen in the 

 Neck of the wild Drakt or Mallard. The feathers covering the Breaft were alfo ex- 

 ceeding fine and fmall, but longer, and very foft, of a black colour inclining to red, 

 fo that they feemed to be nothing but ends of Silk. The Bill was but fmall and (harp- 

 pointed, an inch and half long, black in the part next the Head, the top being fome- 

 what whitifh.In the Head alfo near the Bill appeared very fmall footfteps of Eyes.The 

 Back, Belly, and Tail-feathers were of a ferrugineous or dusky red colour. The Tail 

 it felf confided of ten pretty broad feathers, and was Rx inches and an half long j 

 above which were two long and round feathers, fomewhat like to Bow-ftring, or 

 Shoo-makers threads, but ftiff, and dusky, of two feet and three or four inches 

 length, proceeding from the fame original [or root or ground, viz. the Rump] 

 with the feathers of the Tail, viz. being *joyntly inferted into the Rump. Thefe * ciofe togt- 

 were pretty thick at their rife, about their Quills or hollow part, from which they ther - 

 were fet with frequent [thick-ftanding ] hairy or downy thrums [_ftamina~] fuch as 

 other feathers are compounded of ^ for the fpace of four inches or a little more on the 

 one fide, and on the other for their third parts : Thence they grew flenderer by de- 

 grees to their very ends 5 and though they were deftitute of thofe hairs, yet were they 

 rough, as if they had been cut off. The feathers in the Wings were of various 

 length : For fome ( to wit, the lowed: which ftood very thick ) exceeded not the 

 length of fix inches, yea, fome were (horterthan fo : Others were eight or nine inches 

 long , others twelve 5 but the longefta foot and half : There is alfo in them great va- 

 riety of colours , for fome are of a (hining golden colour, fome, efpecially the nar^ 

 rower in the fides of the Wings, were of a dusky red, ask were a black fanguine, 

 but (hining : But thofe that covered the reft were of a pale afh-colour, and their 

 (ides thinner-fet with villofe or downy threads.* In fhort, they were all very beauti- 

 ful, which if I might I would willingly have got cut and fet forth in a Table, but be- 

 caufe they grew fo thick, it could not conveniently be done without marring the 

 fhapeof the whole Bird. 



Another of the fame kind I afterwards faw in the hands of that noble and learned 

 Perfon JofephScaliger, fomewhat lefTer in bulk of body, as being but four inches and 

 an half long from Head to Rump, but yet the feathers of the Tail were of the fame 

 length with thofe of that next above defcribed 5 yet thofe round and long feathers 

 like to Nerves, joyntly fpringing out of the Rump, did not exceed the length of one 

 foot and nine Inches, elfe about their Quils fet with the like hairs and downy thrums^ 

 on the one fide to the length of three inches from the Quill, on the other to almoft 

 five, and thence they grew (mailer to the very ends, and were fomething rough, 

 efpecially about the ends, but not fo as thofe of the precedent. The feathers in the 

 Wings were likewife of a different length, as in the former : Neither was the bird- 

 very unlike to that, nor the variety of colours diverfe from it 3 fo that it feemed to 

 differ only in age. The Bill was an inch and half long, in part dusky, the reft being 

 white. 



Betides I faw at his houfe another, fomewhat lefTer in bulk of body, and not Co 

 flat, having a very little Head, the Bill being of almoft equal bignefs with the pre- 

 cedents, but narrower, and of a bluifh dusky colour, having two holes for refpira- 

 tion in the upper part next the Head, like the precedent. The Crown of the head 

 was cloathed with very fhort feathers, or rather hairs, like thrums of (ilk, but not of 

 fb elegant a colour as in the precedent, but of a kind of footy yellow. Befidcs, the 

 border of feathers compaffing the Bill on the upper fide was not of that breadth as 



in 



