In the preceding volume I have spoken of the gorgeous beauty of the Birds of Paradise, and have quoted the description given by Lesson of his rapt feelings when, on first seeing a specimen in the forests of Papua, he could not shoot from emotion. A chapter on animal beauty cannot pass over this magnificent family, though to my own taste there is something in the refulgent radiance of the Humming-birds and Pheasants which is superior to anything seen in the Paradise-birds. The latter, or some of them at least, give me the idea of being over-dressed, particularly that one called the Superb, whose singular forked gorget and shoulder-cape, gorgeous as these adornments are, with their lustrous violet and green flushes, are somewhat inelegant in form. Yet some of them are softly beautiful;—
"So richly deck'd in variegated down,
Green, sable, shining yellow, shading brown,
Tints softly with each other blended,
Hues doubtfully begun and ended;
Or intershooting, and to sight
Lost and recover'd, as the rays of light
Glance in the conscious plumes touch'd here and there.
"This the Sun's Bird, whom Glendoveers might own,
As no unworthy partner in their flight
Through seas of ether, where the ruffling sway
Of nether air's rude billows is unknown:
Whom sylphs, if e'er for casual pastime they
Through India's spicy regions wing their way,
Might bow to as their lord."[212]
The Emerald Paradise, the best known of the family, seems to have been in the poet's eye; and certainly the combination of form and colour in this species is very charming. The rich chocolate of the upper parts, and the delicate lemon-yellow of the neck, contrast well with the gemmeous green lustre of the front, when the velvety plumage flashes and gleams in the sunlight. And the numerous soft floating plumes that arch out from the flanks to a great distance on all sides are exquisite in loveliness. "Even in the absolute quiet of a stuffed skin under a glass case," as Mr Wood remarks, "these plumes are full of astonishing beauty, their translucent golden-white vanelets producing a most superb effect as they cross and recross each other, forming every imaginable shade of white, gold and orange, and then deepening towards their extremities into a soft purplish red."
Mr G. Bennett, who saw a living specimen in an aviary at Macao, describes these long, elegant, loose-barbed plumes as occupying a good deal of the bird's own attention and care. "One of the best opportunities of seeing this splendid bird in all its beauty of action as well as display of plumage, is early in the morning, when he makes his toilet: the beautiful sub-alar plumage is then thrown out and cleaned from any spot that may sully its purity, by being passed gently through the bill; the short chocolate wings are extended to the utmost, and he keeps them in a steady flapping motion as if in imitation of their use in flight, at the same time raising up the delicate long feathers over the back, which are spread in a chaste and elegant manner, floating like films in the ambient air. In this position the bird would remain for a short time, seemingly proud of its heavenly beauty, and in raptures of delight with its most enchanting self; it would then assume various attitudes, so as to regard its plumage in every direction."[213]
Passing over all other classes of animate existence, I shall say a few words on the surpassing loveliness which is displayed by many of the Insect tribes. The nursery prejudice, that these creatures are worthy only to be trodden under foot, as things repulsive and disgusting, is certainly decaying, though it retains its hold still in some minds. A glance through an entomological cabinet would prove how unjust are such notions. If brilliant hues, polished surface, sculptured chasings, graceful forms, and lively motions can command admiration, these are displayed by Insects to a degree which we should in vain look for in any other class of creatures. We need not speak of simple colours; these occur in profusion, of all hues, of all shades of intensity, and of the very highest degrees of brightness; combined too, in the most elegant manner, and very frequently, particularly in the Lepidoptera, presenting that peculiar charm which results from the association of tints that are complemental to each other.
Words are always felt to be too poor to describe the refulgence of the hues of many of the feathered tribes;—the metallic gloss of the Trogons and the oriental Gallinaceæ, the gem-like flashings of the Humming-birds and the Birds of Paradise. Perhaps it would be deemed extravagant to assert, that these glories can be excelled by the tiny races I am now discussing; but equalled, most fully equalled, they assuredly are. To possess the glow of burnished metal upon the most varied hues, is, in the order Coleoptera, a common thing. Most of the Eumolpidæ are remarkable for this; of which I may instance Chrysochus fulgidus, a beetle from Bombay. The Buprestidæ have long been celebrated, for the same reason; and portions of their bodies have been used in the toilet of ladies, in association with diamonds and rubies.