EMERALD BIRD OE PARADISE, AND KING BIRD OE PARADISE. 
The magnificent birds in this engraving, are called, from their exceeding beauty, 
the Birds of Paradise. 
The upper figure, with the cataract of white plumes, is the Emerald Paradise 
Bird, so called from the emerald green colour which decorates part of its plumage. 
This most lovely bird is a native of New Guinea, where it is far from un- 
common, and is annually killed in great numbers for the sake of its plumage, 
which always commands a high price in the market. It is a very retiring bird, 
concealing itself during the day in the thick foliage of the teak tree, and only 
coming from the green shelter at the rising and setting of the sun, for the 
purpose of obtaining food. Almost the only successful method of shooting the 
Emerald Paradise Bird is to visit a teak or fig-tree before dawn, take up a posh 
tion under the branches, and there wait patiently until one of the birds comes to 
" settle upon the branches, or leaves the spot which has sheltered it during the 
night. 
This bird is rather tenacious of life, and unless killed instantly is sure to make 
its escape amid the dense brushwood that grows luxuriantly beneath the trees, 
and if the sportsman ventured to chase a wounded bird amid the bushes, he 
would, in all probability, lose his way and perish of hunger. Those sportsmen, 
therefore, who desire to shoot this bird always provide themselves with guns that 
will carry their charge to a great distance, and employ very large shot for the 
purpose, as the bird always perches on the summits of the loftiest trees of the 
neighbourhood, and would not be much damaged by the shot ordinarily used in 
-shooting. 
This species is very suspicious, so that the sportsman must maintain a profound 
•silence, or not a bird will show itself or utter its loud full cry, by which the hunter’s 
attention is directed to his victim. 
The colour of this splendid bird is chocolate brown above, and flashing emerald 
green upon the forehead, throat, and chest. The wonderful floating plumes that 
rise from the flanks, and descend in such graceful curves, are white, with a golden 
tint. Only the full grown male has these beautiful plumes. 
In the right hand corner and at the bottom of the engraving, is the King Bird 
oe Paradise, so called because it was once supposed to reign over the other 
species. It is a very little bird, the body being scarcely larger than that of a 
common sparrow, and is remarkable for the way in which its plumage is arranged, 
as will be seen from an examination of the engraving. 
The colour of this bird is chestnut above, and white below. The band across 
the chest is golden-green, the fan-like plume of the shoulders is brown tipped 
with green, and the long slender shafts of the tail are green at the tips. 
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