410 
PARADISE A. 
that each fpecies of the birds of paradife had its own king, 
to which every individual paid fubmifiion and obedience: 
that this king always flew in a higher region of the air 
than his fubjefts, from which he ifl'ued various orders to 
them; fuch as, to go and examine the fprings where he 
might drink with fafety, and to tafte of them before him. 
This alleged king of the birds of paradife in many cir- 
cumftances refembles the preceding; in more, perhaps, 
differs from it. His head is garniflted with the fame 
velvet covering ; his eyes are equally fmall ; and he has 
the two filous and naked feathers fpringing from the 
uropigium, and going greatly beyond the tail ; and their 
extremity, which is furnifhed with webs, forms a curl, 
by rolling into itfelf, and is ornamented with fpangles, 
fomewhat like thofe of a peacock. He alfo has under 
the wing,on each fide, a bunch of feven or eight feathers, 
which are longer than in mod birds, but not fo long as 
thofe of the greater bird of paradife, and of a different 
fhape, for they are edged through their whole extent with 
webs' of adhering filaments. The king-bird is fmaller 
than the apoda ; the wings are longer, the tail fnorter. 
It is found on the iflands of the Indian Ocean ; and re¬ 
turns to New Guinea in the rainy feafon. 
3. Paradifea triftis, the grakle bird of paradife: a tri¬ 
angular naked fpace behind the eyes ; the head and neck 
brown. It is nine inches and a half long. 
This bird has a great affinity in all its habits to the 
grakle genus; yet, on account of the downy feathers at 
the bafe of the bill, it is placed among the birds of para¬ 
dife. It feeds upon infefts, and the havoc which it makes 
is the more conliderable, as it has a gluttonous appetite: 
the various forts of flies and caterpillars are its prey. 
Like the carrion-crows and magpies, it hovers about the 
horfes, the oxen, and the hogs, in fearch of the vermin 
which often torment thefe animals to fuch a degree as to 
exhauft them, and even occafion death. The patient 
quadrupeds are glad to get rid of thefe; and fuffer, with¬ 
out moleftation, often ten or twelve to perch on their 
back at once ; but the intruders are not content with this 
indulgence ; the fkin need not be laid bare by a wound ; 
the birds will peck with their bill into the raw flefh, and 
do more injury than the vermin which they ext raft. 
They may indeed be confidered as carnivorous birds, 
whole prudence direfts them to attack openly none but 
the weak and the feeble. A young one was known to 
feize a rat two inches long, exclufively of the tail, dafti it 
repeatedly agaipft the board of its cage, break the bones, 
and reduce every limb to a pliancy fuited to its views; 
and then lay hold of it by the head, and almoft in an in- 
flam fwallow it entire. It refted about a quarter of an 
hour to digeft, its wings drooping, and its air languid ; 
but, after that interval, it ran with its ufual cheerfulnefs; 
and about an hour afterwards, having found another rat, 
it fwallowed that as it did the firft, and with as little in¬ 
convenience. This bird is alfo very fond of grafshoppers ; 
and, as it deft-roys immenfe quantities, it is a valuable 
gueft in countries infefted with thefe infefts. It is found 
in India and the Philippines, and probably in the inter¬ 
mediate iflands. Thefe birds are not timorous, and are 
little difturbed by the report of a mufket. They com¬ 
monly take pofieflion of certain trees, or even certain 
rows of trees, often very near hamlets, to pafs the night. 
They alight in an evening in fuch immenfe bodies, that 
the branches,-are entirely covered with them, and the 
leaves concealed. When thus aflembled, they all begin 
to chatter together, and their noify fociety is exceedingly 
troublefome to their neighbours. Yet their natural fong 
is pleafant, varied, and extenfive. In the morning they 
difperfe into the fields, either in fmall flocks, or in pairs, 
according to the feafon. 
They have two hatches in fucceflion every year, the 
firft being in the middle of fpring. Their nefts are very 
rude, and they take no precaution to prevent the wet 
from penetrating. They fallen them in the leaves of 
the palm or other trees j and, when opportunity prefents, 
they prefer a hay-loft. Thefe birds are warmly attached 
to their young : when their nefts are about to be robbed, 
they flutter round, and utter a fort of croaking, which 
indicates their rage, and dart upon the plunderer : nor 
do their fruitlefs exertions extinguilh their affeftion ; 
they follow their brood, which, if fet in a window or open 
place, the parents will carefully fupply with food;, nor 
will they in the leaft be deterred byanxiety for their own 
fafety. 
The young are quickly trained, and eafily taught to 
talk._ If kept in the poultry-yard, they fpontaneoufly 
mimic the cries of all the domeftic animals, hens, cocks, 
geefe, dogs, fheep, &c. and their chattering is accom¬ 
panied with certain accents and geftures which are very 
pleafing. 
This bird is rather larger than a blackbird. The 
bill and legs are yellow as in thefe, but longer, and the 
tail fhorter. The head and neck are blackifh; behind 
the eye is a naked reddifh ikin, of a triangular fhape ; the 
lower part of the bread, and all the upper part of the 
body, including the coverts of the wings and of the tail, 
of a chefnut brown ; the belly white; the twelve quills of 
the tail, and the middle quills of the wings, brown; the 
large ones blackifh, from the tip to the middle, and thence 
to their origin white ; which produces an oblong fpot of 
that colour near the edge of each wing when it is ciofed ; 
and in this fituation she wings extend as far as two-thirds, 
along the tail. 
4. Paradifea magnifica, the magnificent bird of para¬ 
dife : chefnut-brown above; chin green, with golden 
ljmules ; crown with a tuft of yellow feathers. It inhabits 
New Guinea, and is about nine inches long. It is a 
fingularly-beautiful fpecies. The firft quill-feathers are 
brown, fecondary deep yellow ; middle tail-feathers very 
long, with a fhort fringe; legs and bill yellow, the latter 
black at the bafe and tip. The two tufts, which are re¬ 
garded as the diftinftive charafter of this bird, appear 
behind the neck, and at its origin. The firft confilts of 
feveral narrow feathers of a yellow colour, marked near 
the point with a fmall black fpot, and which, inftead of 
lying flat, in the ufual manner, ftand almoft ereft ; thofe 
near the head at right angles, and the fucceeding ones 
with fmaller inclinations. Under the firft tuft we per¬ 
ceive a fecond, which is larger, but not fo much railed, 
and more reclined : it is compofed of long detached fila¬ 
ments, which fprout from very fhort fhafts, and of which 
fifteen or twenty join together, forming ftraw-coloured 
feathers. Thefe feathers feem to be cut fquare at the 
end, and make angles, more or lefs acute, with the plane 
of the fhoulders. This fecond tuft is bounded on the 
right and left by common feathers, variegated with brown 
and orange, and is terminated behind by a reddifli and 
fliining brown fpot, of a triangular fhape, with the vertex 
turned towards the tail, and the filaments of the feathers 
loofe and decompofed, as is the fecond tuft. 
Another charafteriftic feature of this bird is, the two 
filaments of the tail, which are about a foot long and a 
line broad, and of a 1 blue colour, changing into a lucid 
green, and taking their origin above the tail. So far they 
much referable the filaments of the preceding fpecies, but 
are of a different form, for they do not end in a curl, and 
are furnifhed with webs on the middle only of the inner 
fide. This is reprefented at fig. 1. 
5. Paradifea cirrata, the crefted bird of paradife : head, 
neck, and wings, black ; tuft of hairs near the crown, 
and frontlet, yellow. Bill very long, black, hooked; tuft 
on the crown three inches high, rigid, appearing as if 
briftly: probably a variety of the preceding. Inhabits 
New Guinea; eighteen inches long. 
6. Paradifea nigra, the gorget bird of paradife: black; 
beneath flight green ; hind head, nape, crown, and band 
on the middle of the belly, fine green; under the chin a 
gold-coloured crefcent. This elegant fpecies is about 
the fize of a blackbird in the body ; which, from the tip 
of the bill to the infertion of the tail, measures no more 
thaa 
