120 the living animals of the world 
PhoSc by Scholastic Photo, Co, 
CORNISH CHOUGH 
Very nearly extinct at a British bird 
Let it suffice to mention only the last dis- 
covered species — the King of Saxony’s 
Bird of Paradise. “Velvety black 
above,” writes Dr. Sharpe, “ and yellow- 
ish below, there is nothing very striking 
in the aspect of the bird itself, which is 
smaller than our song-thrush. But the 
‘ streamers ’ which it carries ! Poised . . . 
on either side of the head is a long, 
shaft-like plume, from which depends, on 
the lower side only, a series of little flags 
of blue enamel, each quite separate from 
the one which precedes it, and not of a 
feathery structure in the least.” 
Close allies of the Birds of Paradise 
are the remarkable Bower-BIRDS of 
Australia. Conspicuously beautiful in 
coloration as are some members of this 
tribe, they are celebrated not so much 
on this account as for an e.xtraordinary 
habit of constructing “ bowers ” or “ playing-grounds ” — a trait which appears absolutely unique 
among birds. “ These constructions,” observes Mr. Gould, “ consist in a collection of pieces of 
stick or grass, formed into a bower; or one of them (that of the SPOTTED Bower-BIRD) 
might be called an avenue, being about 3 feet in length, and 7 or 8 inches broad inside; a 
transv'crse section giving the figure of a horse-shoe, the round part downwards. They are 
used by the birds as a playing-house, or ‘ run,’ 
as it is termed, and are used by the males to at- 
tract the females. The ‘ run ’ of the S.A.TIN-BIRD 
is much smaller, being less than i foot in length, 
and, moreover, differs from that just described 
in being decorated with the highly coloured 
feathersoftheParrotTribe. TheSPOTTED Bower- 
BIRD, on the other hand, collects around its ‘ run ’ 
a quantity of stones, shells, bleached bones, etc. ; 
they are also strewed down the centre within.” 
More wonderful still are the structures 
reared by the Gardener-BIRD of New Guinea, 
presenting, as Professor Newton remarks, “ not 
only a modification of bower-building, but an 
appreciation of beauty perhaps unparralleled in 
the animal world. . . . This species . . . builds 
at the foot of a small tree a kind of hut or 
cabin . . . some 2 feet in height, roofed with 
orchid-stems that slope to the ground, regularly 
radiating from the central support, which is 
covered with a conical mass of moss, and 
sheltering a gallery around it. One side of this 
hut is left open, and in front of it is arranged 
a bed of verdant moss, bedecked with blossoms 
and berries of the brightest colours. As these 
ornaments wither they are removed to a heap 
behind the hut, and replaced by others that are 
Phctoby IV. SavilU-Kint, F.Z.S. 
KING BIRD OF PARADISE 
nati-ve of New Guinea ; remarkable for the curled 
tail-feathers 
