PAR 
than about fix inches, the tail occupying all the reft. 
The bill is an inch in length, rather (lout, moderately 
bent, and of a black colour: the forehead is furnilhed 
with tufted thick feathers, which occupy alfo the fides of 
the head ; and beneath the eye, and round the throat, they 
are fo full as to enlarge thole parts confiderably in bulk : 
the colour of this part of the plumage is black, and like 
plulh or velvet; but from the root of the under mandible, 
at the chin, are a few feathers of the common ftruCture, 
with webs : the back part of the head, nape, and hind part 
and fides of the neck, to the beginning of the back, are 
of a gilded green, but the feathers are not much unlike 
thofe in common, and which, in courfe, fitting clofer to 
the Ikin, give thofe parts a fiat appearance : at the angles 
of the mouth begins a line of the moll brilliant gilded 
copper-colour imaginable, which paftes beneath the eye, 
growing wider by degrees, and finilhes in a kind of cref- 
cent or gorget, of half an inch or more in width, on the 
fore part of the neck; beneath this, to the vent, the co¬ 
lour is dull green, except on the middle of the belly, where 
there is a tranfverfe bright-green band : the back is black, 
having both a copper and purple glofs, in different lights; 
wings deep black ; beneath them the feathers are dowmy, 
but do not exceed at all in length, as .in the other birds 
of paradife. The tail is of an enormous length, and con- 
lifts of twelve feathers of unequal lengths, the two middle 
ones being near twenty-two inches long, and the-outer 
one only five inches; the colour of all of them much the 
fame as the back of the bird. It inhabits the iflands of 
the Indian Ocean. Extreme length, from the tip of the 
bill to the end of the tail, twenty-eight inches. It is re¬ 
prefen ted, from Latham, at fig. 3. 
7. Paradifea leucoptera, the white-winged bird of para¬ 
dife : black; crown fhining copper ; quill-feathers white, 
edged with black on the outfide ; tail wedged. Length 
twenty-five inches ; bill black, hardly curved; feathers 
on the chin long; tail very long, two middle feathers 
twenty, the reft feven, inches long. 
8. Paradifea fuperba, the fuperb bird of paradife: 
fiig’ntly crefted with gold-green ; upper part of the throat 
violet, filky ; wings black; under parts lively green. The 
predominant colour of the plumage of this bird is a rich 
velvet black, decorated under the neck with reflections of 
deep violet. Its head, breaft, and the hind part of its 
neck, are brilliant, with the variable fhades of a fine gold- 
green ; the reft is entirely black, not even excepting the 
bill. It feems to want the filaments of the tail ; but in 
other refpefts it refembles thefe birds, not only in its 
general fhape, and in that of its bill, but is alfo related by 
the identity of climate, by the richnefs of its colours, and 
a certain fuperabundance of luxuriancy of feathers which 
is peculiar to the birds of paradife ; for there are two fmall 
tufts of black feathers which cover the noftrils, and two 
other bunches of the fame colour, but much longer, and 
directed to the oppofite extremity. Thefe rife on the 
fhoulders, and fpreading more or lefs over the back, but 
always bent backwards, form a fort of wings, which ex¬ 
tend almoft to the extremity of the true, when thefe are 
clofed : thefe feathers are of unequal lengths, and thofe 
of the anterior furface of the neck and fides of the breaft 
are very long and narrow. It inhabits New Guinea ; and 
is about ten inches long. 
9. Paradifea furcata, the furcated bird of paradife: 
black ; under the wings a downy tuft ; feathers in the 
middle of the belly like a forked tail, fhining green. De- 
fcribed from an incomplete fpecimen in the late Leverian 
Mufeum. 
10. Paradifea aurea, the golden bird of paradife. If 
we adopt the filaments as the generic character of the 
birds of paradife, the prefent is intitled to be ranged at 
their head ; for, inftead of two, it has fix, and of thefe 
not one rifes on the back, but all of them take their ori¬ 
gin from the head, three on each fide : they are half a 
foot long, and refleCl backwards; they have no webs but 
PAR 411 
at their extremity for the fpace of fix lines, and thefe are 
black and pretty long. Befides thefe filaments, this bird 
has two properties which belong to the bird of paradife; 
luxuriancy of feathers, and richri'efs of colours. 
The luxuriancy of feathers confifts ; 1. In a fort of tuft 
compofed of ftiff narrow feathers, and which rifes at the 
bafe ot the upper mandible, z. In the length of the fea¬ 
thers of the belly and of the abdomen, which is four 
inches or more; one part of thefe feathers, extending 
direCtly, conceals the under-iide of the tail, while another 
part, riling obliquely on each fide, covers the upper fur- 
face of the tail as far as the third of its length ; and all 
of them correfpond to the fubalar feathers of the greater 
bird of paradife. 
With regard to the plumage, the raoft brilliant colours 
appear on the neck; behind, it is gold-green and bronze- 
violet ; before, topaz-gold reflections, which wanton in 
all the fhades of green, and derive new luftre from the con¬ 
trail: with the darknefs of the contiguous parts; for the 
head is blade, changing into a deep violet ; and the reft 
of the body is brown, inclining to black, and with reflec¬ 
tions of the fame deep violet. 
The bill of this bird is nearly the fame as in the other 
birds of paradife ; the only difference is, that its upper 
ridge is angular and fnarp, while in moft of the other 
kinds it is rounded. Nothing can be faid with refpeCt 
to the feet and legs, becaufe they were extirpated in the 
fubjeCt from which this defeription is drawn ; a practice 
which, as we have remarked, is ufual with the Indian 
hunters or merchants. It inhabits New Guinea; and is 
about the fize of a turtle-dove. 
11. Paradifea viridis, the blue-green bird of paradife. If 
this bird has not the luxuriant plumage of the reft of the 
paradife tribe, it has at leaft the rich colours and the pe¬ 
culiar foftnefs of texture. Its head is, covered with a 
beautiful blue velvet, changing into green, and exhibit¬ 
ing the reflections of the beryl. The neck is clothed 
with a longer fliag, but which dazzles with the fame co¬ 
lours, except that, each feather being of a fhining black 
in the middle, of a green changing into blue only at the 
edges, there refult waving (hades, which play ftill more 
than thofe of the head. The back, the rump, the tail, 
and the belly, are blue, like polifhed fteel, and with very 
brilliant reflections. The fmall velvet feathers on the 
forehead projeCt forward as far as the noftrils, which are 
deeper than in the preceding kinds. The bill is alfo 
longer and thicker ; but it is of the fame fhape, and its 
edges are fcalloped in the fame manner near the point. 
It inhabits New Guinea, and is fixteen inches long. 
iz. Paradifea alba, the white bird of paradife. This 
is entirely white, and is the rnreft of all the fpecies. It 
is found in the Papuan iflands. 
J 3 A variety, which is black on the fore-part, and white 
on the hind-part. 
PARIDISI'ACAL, adj. [from paradife.'] Suiting para¬ 
dife ; making paradife.—The ancients exprefs the fit na¬ 
tion of paradijiacal earth in reference to the fea. Barnet's 
Th. of the Earth. —Such a mediocrity of heat would be fo 
far from exalting the earth to a more happy and paradi/id¬ 
eal ftate, that it would turn it to a barren wildernefs. 
Woodward's Nat. HiJ't. —The fummer is a kind of heaven, 
when we wander in a kind of paradijiacal feene, among 
groves and gardens; but at this fealon we are like our 
poor firft parents, turned out of that agreeable though 
folitary life, and forced to look about for more people to 
help to bear our labours, to get into warmer houfes, and 
hive together in cities. Pope. 
PARADIS'IAN, or Paradise'an, adj. Paradifiacal. 
Not now in uj'e. —Life’s grapes, thofe paradijean clutters. 
J. Hall's Poems. —What the heathen poets recount of the 
happinefs of the golden age, fprung from fome tradition 
they received of the paradijian fare. Evelyn. 
PAR'ADOS, J. in military affairs, an elevation of earth 
which is effected behind fortified places, to fecure them 
from 
