BIRD OF PARADISE

A name originally applied to the species Paradise a apod a, Linn.; of which the skins, deprived of the wings, the feet, and the tail, have long formed a high-priced article of export from the eastern parts of the world. The value of these mutilated specimens of natural history arises chiefly from the extraordinary development and light and beautiful structure of the plumes which grow from the scapular and lateral regions of the body; and these plumes, combined with the velvety texture and brilliant metall ic reflections of the ordinary feathers, especially those covering the head, i-ender skins of the Paradise a ornaments highly and justly esteemed by the fair inhabitants of the most civilised countries. The presence of the remarkable plumage just alluded to,and the constant absence of the ordinary organs of locomotion in the imported specimens, easily gave rise to strange speculations as to the nature of the rare bird of the east; and the older naturalists delighted to describe it as destitute of feet, dwelling constantly in the air, wafted about in the bright beams of the sun independently of the ordinary mechanism of wings, and nourished with dew, and the nectar and even odour of flowers. To beings thus imagined to be raised above the dull earth, to enjoy etherial food and a perpetual habitation in the air, no name could be more appropriate than Birds of Paradise or Heaven. The march of inquiry has, however, disf>elled the fancied attributes and false charms of these ovely beings, and has restored to them their wings and feet. The latter, indeed, are remarkable for their robustne : they have three toes in front and one behind, as In other Pa eres of Cuvier, with the middle toe shorter than the tarsus, the outer toe united to it at its base, and the inner one joined to it for half the length of the first phalanx. The form of the beak corresponds with that whiiih characterises the tribe Conirostres of Cuv.; and their true food, which consists not only of the fiulpy and farinaceous parts of fruit, but also of worms, nsects, the eggs and young of smaller birds, and even carrion, caiiscs them to be ranked with the family of Omnivores, Cuv. In fact, they closely resemble in their 148 BISHOP. habits our magpies and jays. The principal species of the genus Paradise a are tlie Great or Common Bird of Paradise {Par. apod a of Linnaeus); the Royal Bird of Paradise (Par. regia); the Red Bird of Paradise {Par. rubra); the Magnificent Bird of Paradise {Par. magnific a); the Six-threaded Bird of Paradise {Par. sexesetacea), which is characterized by three long and threadlike feathers, which grow from each, side of the body; the Superb Bird of Paradise {Par. superb a), which is smaller than the preceding, but perhaps the most beautiful of the genus; the Small Bird of Paradise (Pwr. minor), which measures about nine inches from the point of the bill to the end of the tail; and, lastly, the White Bird of Paradise {Par. alba). [s. 161]