BIRDS OF PARADISE. 



473 



Among Birds of Paradise the most remarkable is Paradisea afioda, 

 the Great Emerald, as it is sometimes called (Fig. 192), the throat 

 and neck of which are of a bright emerald green, from which circum- 

 stance it has received this name, while on its sides are shaded tufts of 

 yellow feathers, which float on the breeze, forming an elegant aerial 



Fig. 192.— The Great Emerald. 



plume, and giving the bird a meteor look as it shoots through the 

 air. , They live in flocks in the vast Papuan forests. When prepared 

 for migration — for they change their quarters with the monsoons — 

 the females assemble in small flocks on the tops of the loftiest trees, 

 and call their males, each flock of fourteen or fifteen being attended 

 by one. 



The King Bird of Paradise {Paradisea regia, Fig. 193) is a 

 rare bird, inhabiting the Molucca Islands. Little is known of its 



