208

THE YOUTH’S CABINET.

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finding the bird without legs, naturally
inquired after them; and the seller as
naturally began to assert that. it had
none. Thus far the European was im-
posed upon by others ;. in all the rest he
imposed upon himself. Seeing so beau-
tiful a bird without legs, he concluded
that it could live only in the air, where
legs were unnecessary. The extraordi-
nary splendor of its plumage assisted
this deception; and as it had heavenly
beauty, ‘so it was asserted to have a
heavenly residence. Hence its name, and
all the false reports that have been made
concerning it.

Error, however, is short-lived, and

time has discovered, that this bird not -

only has legs, but very large, strong
ones, for its size. Soon after the dis-
covery was made, this harmless bird was
branded with the character of being ra-
pacious, of destroying all birds of smaller
size, and, from the amazing rapidity of
its flight, as well qualified for a vast deal
of mischief. The real history of this
pretty animal is at present tolerably well
known ; and it is found to be as harm-
less as it is beautiful.

There are several species of the bird
of Paradise. The one which is repre-
sented in the engraving is called the
Great Bird of Paradise. It is extremely
beautiful, as any of my readers may
judge from the picture.

This species appears to the eye as
large as a pigeon, though in reality the
body is not much greater than that of a
thrush. The tail, which is about six
inches in length, is as long as the body.
The wings are large, compared with the
bird’s other dimensions. The head, the
throat, and the neck are of a pale gold
color. The base of the bill and the side

of the head and throat are surrounded
by black feathers, which are as soft as
velvet, and changeable like those on the
neck of a blackbird. The hinder part
of the head is of a shining green, mixed
with gold. The body and wings are
chiefly covered with beautiful brown,
purple, and gold feathers, The upper-
most part of the tail feathers are of a
pale yellow, and those under them white
and longer than the former ; for which
reason the hinder part of the tail appears
to be all white. But what chiefly ex-
cites curiosity are the two long naked
feathers which, as you will see, spring
from the upper part of the rump above
the tail, and which are usually about
three feet long. These are bearded only
at the beginning and the end ; the whole
shaft, for above two feet nine inches,
being of a deep black, while the feath-
ered extremity is of a beautiful change-
able color.

This bird, which for beauty exceeds
all other species of this genus, is a native
of the Molucca Islands. ‘There, in the
delightful and spicy woods of the coun-
try, these beautiful creatures fly in large
flocks, so that the groves which produce
the richest spices produce the finest
birds also. The inhabitants themselves
are perfectly aware of the great beauty
of these birds, and give them the name
of God’s birds, as being superior to all
others in existence. They live in large
flocks, and at night generally perch upon
the same tree. They fly very rapidly,
and are almost continually on the wing,
in pursuit of insects, which form their
usual prey.

Some years ago the ladies in this
country used to ornament their bonnets
with the plumage of this beautiful bird.