204 
BIRD-LIFE. 
early times men looked upon this bird as a creature whose 
home could be none other than Paradise, whose life could 
not be aught else than heavenly; and if naturalists, 
now-a-days, rob us of those legends, they are none the 
less of the opinion that a Bird of Paradise, living in its 
native forest is, in very truth, a fairy being, or vision of 
enchantment. Lesson doubts whether it is possible, in 
words, to convey any adequate idea of the splendour of 
its plumage. No other Crow in Australia can vie with 
this splendid creature. Nevertheless, the Australian 
Corvidce distinguish themselves above their fellows by an 
extraordinary flexibility of voice, and are, on this account, 
commonly called flute- or organ-birds. These may be 
regarded as intermediate between the Crows and Butcher¬ 
birds, the larger species resemble the Crows, the smaller 
the Butcher-birds. The Bower-bird ( Ptilinorhynchus ) is 
worthy of mention; related to our Oriole, it is remark¬ 
able for its beautiful plumage, and still more so on 
account of its singular habits. They build lovely bowers, 
in which to disport themselves, and decorate them 
fantastically with shells, or other bright things that 
please the eye. 
As regards birds of prey, the Southern Archipelago falls 
far behind all other parts of the world, except Europe : it 
has only a few singular forms. We may, however, make 
mention of the Wedge-tailed Eagle (Uroaetos audax ), an 
inhabitant of Australia, and a worthy representative of 
our Golden Eagle, seeing that its manner of life exactly 
resembles that of its European cousin. America has its 
Penguins; the Southern Archipelago its Giant Goat¬ 
suckers (.Podargus *); singular wide-mouthed birds, which 
are the true connecting link between the Owls and the 
* These are always called “Podargus;” thus, Cuvier’s Podargus, &c.— W.J. 
