Greater Bird of Paradise (Paradisea Apoda). No birds have perhaps more puzzled the naturalist than those which are termed Birds of Paradise. They have been described as the inhabitants of the air, never resting on the earth, and living on the dews of heaven. Others have asserted, that they live on insects; while some have insisted, that they have no legs; others again contend, that they have not only strong and large. legs, but that they are birds of prey. But the fact is, that the inhabitants of the Molucca Islands, perceiving the inclinations the Europeans have to obtain these birds, and at the same time taking advantage of their credulity, originally practised many deceits in order to enhance their value. Error however is not of very long duration; and, in the present instance, it was at length discovered that these birds had not only legs, but that they were so disproportionaly large, that they took away a considerable share of the elegance of the birds; on this account it is not improbable they were deprived of them by the islanders. Buffon, in his history of birds says, this beautiful bird is not much diffused, it is in general confined to that part of Asia which produces the spiceries, and especially the islands of Arou. It is known also in the part of New Guinea opposite to those islands; but the name which it there receives, Burung Arou, seems to indicate its natal soil. The Bird of Paradise is supposed to subsist on the aromatic productions of these islands; at least it does not live solely on dew. Linnæus says, it feeds on large butterflies; and Bontius, that it sometimes preys upon birds. Its ordinary haunt is in the woods, where perching in the trees, the Indians watch it in slender huts, which they attach to the branches, and shoot it with their arrows of reeds. The ancients seem to have been totally unacquainted with the Bird of Paradise. Belon pretends that it was the Phoenix of antiquity; but his opinion is founded on the fabulous. qualities of both. The Phoenix, too, appeared in Arabia and Egypt, while the Bird of Paradise has remained always attached to the Oriental parts of Asia, which were very little known to the ancients. Birds of Paradise. 1 King. 2 Black. 3. Majore Pub. by W.Bullock, London Museum Piccadilly April 1.1812. The extreme elegance of the tail-feathers of this bird have made them expensive articles of female decoration. Lesser Bird of Paradise. This differs from the last, in being considerably less, and in having a long flowing feather at the sides, of a much finer texture and colour. The Magnificent Bird of Paradise (Paradisea Magnifica). The Gorget Bird of Paradise (Paradisea Nigra). This is a most splendid and beautiful bird, and likewise extremely rare. Presented by Lady Banks. Gold-breasted Paradise Bird (P. Aurea). A remarkably fine specimen. This King Bird of Paradise (Paradisea Regia). superb bird is usually called the King of the Birds of Paradise; but this appellation is drawn from fabulous accounts. Clusius was informed by the mariners, from a tradition which prevailed in the East, that each of the species of the Birds of Paradise had its leader, whose royal mandates were received with submissive obedience by a numerous train of subjects; that his majesty always flew above the flock, and issued orders for inspecting and tasting the springs, where they might drink with safety. It inhabits the islands of the Indian Ocean, and returns to New Guinea in the rainy season; feeds on berries, is a solitary bird, and is highly valued on account of its rarity and beauty of plumage. Black-bodied Bird of Paradise. This beautiful and uncommon bird, which does not appear to have been seen by any English writer, is, like the others, a native of the Molucca Islands, but is a rarity even in that country; the plumes being worn only by persons of the first rank; the whole of the head, neck, body, and tail, is a fine black, with a velvet-like gloss, the latter changing in some lights to a rich purple. The bill is long, black, and somewhat hooked; the feathers under the lower mandible reaching a considerable part of its length: from the back of the neck rises a divided tuft of long, thick, close-set feathers, edged with resplendent emerald green; from the sides of the body and wings rise two tufts of long delicate silky feathers, as in the common Bird of Paradise, only smaller, six on each side of which have strong black wire-like terminations about nine inches long, destitute of every appearance of feathers. Blue Green Bird of Paradise (Paradisea Virilis). Golden Bird of Paradise (Latham's Synopsis, vol. i. page 483). Superb Bird of Paradise (Paradisea Superba). The Red Bird of Paradise. This beautiful and very rare bird we are acquainted with through the figure in the splendid publication of Oiseaux Dores, in which it is called Me Paradis Rouge: it seems to be nearest allied to the greater Bird of Paradise, the principal difference being in the colour of the long side feathers which rise under the wings, being in this of a fine red, and that instead of the long wire feathers in the tail, it has two curious appendages resembling flat pieces of polished whalebone. This specimen is believed to be the only one ever brought to England. Black Bird of Paradise (Paradisea Furcata). The Grand Hoopoe (Latham's Synopsis, vol. ii. page 695). (Le Grand Promerops àparemens frises, Buffon, vol. iv. page 472). This magnificent bird is thus described by Mr. Latham :- 66 This most extraordinary and beautiful bird is near four feet in length from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail; the body is the size only of a middling pigeon, though much elongated in shape. The bill is three inches long, pretty much curved, and black; the head, hind part of the neck, and upper part of the belly, are of a shining green; the rest of the plumage, on the upper parts, black, mixed with a gloss of changeable violet, but the wings, in some |