THE BIRD OF PARADISE. (Paradisea apoda.)
There are several distinct species of these birds, of which the best known are the large and small Emerald Birds of Paradise, which are very similar in appearance, and are both imported into Europe as ornaments for ladies’ dress. Their appearance when flying in their native forests is said to be most beautiful. M. Lesson, a French naturalist, gives the following account:—“Soon after our arrival on this land of promise (New Guinea) for the naturalist, I was on a shooting excursion. Scarcely had I walked some hundred paces in those ancient forests, the daughters of time, whose sombre depth was, perhaps, the most magnificent and stately sight that I had ever seen, when a Bird of Paradise struck my view: it flew gracefully and in undulations; the feathers of its sides formed an elegant and aërial plume, which, without exaggeration, bore no remote resemblance to a brilliant meteor. Surprised, astounded, enjoying an inexpressible gratification, I devoured this splendid bird with my eyes; but my emotion was so great that I forgot to shoot at it, and did not recollect that I had a gun in my hand till it was far away.”
The head is small, but adorned with colours which vie with the brightest hues of the feathered tribe; the neck is a beautiful fawn, and the body very small, but covered with long feathers of a browner hue, tinged with gold: the two middle feathers of the tail are little more than filaments, except at the point and near the base. Although the body is no larger than that of a thrush, the total length is two feet. This bird has long been esteemed by ladies as a head-dress; and as those sent to Europe for this purpose always had the legs cut off for the convenience of packing, it was reported, and at one time believed, that the Bird of Paradise had no legs, but that it lived always on the wing. Indeed, a very fierce controversy arose on this subject among the earlier naturalists.
The native place of these birds is New Guinea and the neighbouring islands, where they are generally found in flocks of thirty and forty, roosting on fig or teak trees. They always fly against the wind, that it may not ruffle their light and spreading plumage, as, if the wind came from behind, it would blow their long tails over their back. They take shelter from storms in the most dense thickets, and feed principally on figs, the berries of the teak, and insects. The note of the Bird of Paradise is very unpleasant, and resembles the cawing of a raven; it is chiefly heard in windy weather, when they dread being thrown on the ground.
