THE OOLOGIST. 
53 
FOBEIGK BIBPS, 
THE BIEDS or PARADISE. 
( Parddiscu. ) 
FRED. J. DAVIS. 
Thk Birds of Paradise are niaguirtceiit 
Ravens, and contrary to the usual suppo- 
sition, coui*ist of nmuy ditlerent varieties. 
It is but a lew vears since their livin;^ forms 
the nostrils. The wings of moderate length , 
decidedly rounded, as the sixth and s^evcuth 
quiliti are much lon<i;er than the rest. The 
tail is cither composed of twelve long fe^ith- 
ers, (uanbiued with many thread like feath- 
ery appen<higej^ of great length ; or it is ex- 
tremely long and simple in form and sharp- 
ly graduated. The feet are powerful, the 
toes long and armed with sharp crooked 
dawi^. 
In iconic spe<*iuiens the phnnage upon the 
became familiar to civilized people. Their /sides is most peculiar in its appi.'arance, the 
feathers growing to great length and split- 
ting, Jis it were, into several light and del- 
icate portions. These peculiarities arc ouly 
observalde in the male, both female an<l 
young being much more simply clad. The 
^ Birds of Paradise are fouud exclusively in 
I New (luinea and the neighboring islands of ■ 
Armsland, Salawati, Meisol and Waigion, 
each of these localities possessing one or 
more distinct varieties. 
Uosenberg has given us tlie following des- 
cription of the manner in Avhich the natives 
prepare these beautiful birds for European 
and other markets. The Papuans shoot 
the Birds of Paradise with arroAvs and then 
strip the skin from the body ; cutaway the 
feet, and a portion of the tail. They then 
insert a stick through the lieak and thus 
supj)oi-ted, the skin is hung to <lry in the 
smoke of a wo(k1 lire to preserve it from th<». 
altacks of vermin' The natives of Meisol, 
on the contrary, do not remove tlie feet or 
any portion of the tail, as they have learn- 
ed by experience that unmntilated skins 
command the largest price. According Ut 
information received irom the n»erehauts, 
the finest skins come lr<nn tlie iu>rthern 
coast of iSew (iuiuea. The Sultan of Ti- 
dor receives aimually a certain number of 
skins obtained within his territory as a 
l)eaiiliful plumes had long been familiar to 
every eye, but the natives by whom the 
skins had been prepared for exportation, 
had removed all traces of legs and pait of 
the tail and wing feathers, indeed, I can 
say as a practical taxidermist, we seldom 
get a skin in the American market but ei- 
iher the legs, wings or tail, and sometimes 
all three are removed. Of course, all of 
my readers are acquainted with the fable 
(^onceniing these most beautii'ul of all birds. 
Indeed, it was popularly siipposed that 
t hey retained their forms as they had ibun<l 
them in the Garden of Eden, living on no 
more substantial nourishment than dew and 
ether, through which it was imagined they 
perpetually floated by the aid of their long 
cloud-like plumage, only seeking an occa- 
sional cliauge of position in suspending them- 
selves for a few minutes by the long ten- 
dril-like feathers of their tails. In vain 
naturalists endeavored to prove the absurd- 
ity of these and many other fables, but the 
])ublie mind would not be convinced, and 
for centuries retained and cherished the fan- 
t'iful and poetical notions. For what knowl- 
'■dge we have, — and that is by no mean^ 
exhaustive — we are indebted to Bennct, 
Wallace and Rosenberg. 
The varieties vary in size fi'om an Eng- 
lish Jay to a Lark, and a perftict spe<*imeu tribute. 
IS very'de-'ant in shape as well as plumage. The true BinU of Paradise possess a 
I win not attempt to describe the different j plume t>f long split feathers placed at 
\arielies, but will give the general charac- 1 first joint of the wuigs,* growing froi 
t(U-istics of the family, 
crate size, straight. 
The beaic is of mod- I portion of skin about an inch lontr, 
or sliirhtlv curved, | can be spread or folded at pleasure. 
om a 
which 
The 
The 
. impressed at its° ides and covered at the j females arc without this appendage, 
base with a feathery skin which conceals 1 two middle tail feathers ai-e very long and 
