Photo by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt] [Washington
YOUNG AMERICAN BLUE JAY (NATURAL SIZE).
The blue jay is a most remarkable mimic.
The Crows hold the important position of head of the Class birds, yet they are far outshone in splendour by many of the groups already examined, though, with the exception perhaps of the Humming-birds, these all pale before the Birds of Paradise.
Varying in size from a crow to a thrush, the best known of the latter is the Great Bird of Paradise, which was discovered towards the end of the sixteenth century, if not earlier. On their first discovery it was popularly supposed that these birds lived in the air, turning always to the sun, and never alighting on the earth till they died, for they had neither feet nor wings. Hence the Malay traders called them "God's Birds," the Portuguese "Birds of the Sun," and the Dutch "Paradise-birds." Seventeen or eighteen inches long, these birds have the body, wings, and tail of a rich coffee-brown, which deepens on the breast to a blackish violet or purple-brown. The top of the head and neck are of a delicate straw-yellow, the feathers being short and close-set, resembling velvet. The throat-feathers have a scaly appearance, and are emerald-green in colour. The flank-feathers on either side of the body form a dense mass of long, delicate, waving plumes, sometimes 2 feet in length, of an intense orange colour, and shining with a wonderful gloss. These feathers can be raised and spread out at pleasure, so as to almost conceal the wearer in a fountain-like rain of feathers. This wonderful plumage is worn by the male only, the female being quite plainly dressed. In May, when they are in full dress, the males assemble early in the morning to exhibit themselves, forming what are known as "dancing-parties," which take place on the topmost boughs of some giant tree. "From a dozen to twenty birds assemble together," writes Mr. Alfred Russel Wallace, "raise up their wings, stretch out their necks, and elevate their exquisite plumes, keeping them in continual vibration. Between-whiles they fly across from branch to branch in great excitement, so that the whole tree is filled with waxing plumes in every variety of attitude and motion." The native hunter marks these playing-places, builds a shelter of palm-leaves in a convenient situation among the branches, and ensconces himself under it before daylight, armed with a bow and a number of arrows terminating in a round knob. When the dance is in full swing, he shoots through the roof of his shelter with the blunt arrows, stunning every bird he strikes, which, falling down at once, are immediately picked up by a boy in waiting below. Often a considerable number will be thus secured before the alarm is taken.
Photo by C. Reid] [Wishaw, N.B.
A PAIR OF MAGPIES.
When taken young, the magpie is easily tamed, and can be taught to imitate human sounds.