. Reptiles and birds : a popular account of the various orders; with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting . remember that it was affirmed that these gorgeous birds werewithout legs, and hung on to the branches of trees by theirlong aerial plumes ; that the female deposited her eggs under the K k2 500 PASSERINES. feathers on the back of the male ; that they passed the breedingseason in Paradise ; and many other stories equally absurd. The inhabitants of Papua capture these birds, for their plumageis of great commercial value. The method they adopt is to placethemselve
. Reptiles and birds : a popular account of the various orders; with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting . remember that it was affirmed that these gorgeous birds werewithout legs, and hung on to the branches of trees by theirlong aerial plumes ; that the female deposited her eggs under the K k2 500 PASSERINES. feathers on the back of the male ; that they passed the breedingseason in Paradise ; and many other stories equally absurd. The inhabitants of Papua capture these birds, for their plumageis of great commercial value. The method they adopt is to placethemselves in the tops of the highest trees: when thus concealed,they attract the birds within reach of their blow-pipes by Birds of Paradise are divided by Yieillot into Parotia,Lophorina, Cinchmuriis, and Samalia. The most remarkableamong these is Paradisea apoda, the Great Emerald, as itis sometimes called (Fig. 2P2), the throat and neck of whichare of a bright emerald green, from which circumstance it has received one of its popularnames, while on its sides areshaded tufts of yellow fea-thers which float on the forming an elegant aerial Fig. ■King Bird of Paradise {Cincinminisregius, Vieillot). plume, and giving the birda meteor look as it shootsthrough the air. They liyein flocks in the vast Papuanforests. When prepared formigration—for they changetheir quarters with the mon-soons—the females assemblein small flocks on the tops ofthe loftiest trees, and uttertheir call to the males, eachflock of fourteen or fifteen being attended by one male. The King Bird of Paradise {Paradisea regia, Linn.), Fig. 213,is an inhabitant of the Molucca Islands, where it is scarce. Littleis known of its habits. The beak, which is furnished at thebase with small feathers pointing forward, is slender, convex, andslightly compressed at the sides. The hypochondrial feathers arebroad, elongated, and truncated. In the Superb {Lophorina superba), Fig. 214, the beak is fur-n
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecad, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectreptiles
