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My Birds of Paradise. 
many of them have to a very strong light ; in fact, to some, I 
believe a very strong sun is absolutely painful. 
It will be interesting to see how some of these birds, such 
as the Raggiana, get on with a mixed collection of small birds in 
the same aviary. My own Raggianas $ and $ I have to keep 
separate, the cocks (and I have had two) seem to be of rather a 
murderous disposition. The first I had tried to kill the hen and 
died himself from a wound received during the fight. While all 
these birds are both insectivorous and frugivorous some are dis- 
tinctly carnivorous ; a Lesser Bird (/*. minor^ I have will eat 
nearly as many mice as you like to give him, and one day I found 
that a Willow Wren had found its way into the aviary, but only 
the wings were left to tell the tale. 
It is rather interesting to note how such species as the 
Kings and Hunstein's, while in immature plumage, will move 
about and go into the open much more freely than when in full 
feather. I conclude that the reason for this is that while in the 
sober brown of immaturity they are inconspicuous in any light; 
as soon as they have assumed adult plumage their bright colour- 
ing is only a protection if they keep quite still, and then they are 
just like the end of a shaft of sunlight penetrating high leafy 
trees. 
I have not found the Paradise Birds particularly difficult to 
keep in health. I have ten species, and in two j'ears I have lost 
eight birds ; one died from enlarged liver, possibly the result of 
over feeding, another caught cold, and all the rest from accident 
or tape worm, tlie parasite probably being in the bird before it 
left its native country. Many of the birds seem rather particular 
in their choice of fruit ; all except the Alberlisi will eat sweet 
orange, some even eating the skin, many will not eat sweet water 
grapes freely, the whole grape is too large to swallow, and a cut 
up one seems to be a bad shape to swallow whole. The sort of 
fruits they all appreciate are such berries as privet, elder, rowan, 
and a new American berry called Wonderberry ; these latter will, 
I think, be most useful, they are easily grown, and with a little 
management, the seeds can be sown at a time that will produce 
fruit when most required. 
Nearly all the Paradise Birds show a considerable amount 
