have you ever seen a "bird of paradise"? australia produces some strange animals, such as the kangaroo and the platypus1, but this wonderful bird has its home in new guinea. though in1 platypus: a small aquatic mammal found in australia, web-footed, with a bill like a duck.
body it is not much larger than a pigeon, its plumage gives it a most imposing appearance. the head and neck are soft as velvet, with tints constantly changing in the play of the magic sunshine. the tail when spread looks like a fountain of silver spray intermingled with gleams of gold, and even the peacock cannot display so gorgeous1 a plume.
many strange tales are written about these birds. one explorergravely writes that, though he watched a flock of them for days, they were always hovering on the wing, having no feet with which to rest. another traveller assures us that birds of paradise live on a particular kind of food created for them alone, and kept in some paradise whither they only of all birds can resort. the natives believe that it feeds on dew and butterflies. but these are merely travellers" tales. we may be quite sure that the bird not only has feet on which to settle, but also has a good appetite for most things edible2, though perhaps it has not the digestion of an ostrich3.
the bird is very shy; the slightest sound alarms it and sends itflying away. it is only by careful watching, and almost noiseless walking, that one can get near enough to study its ways. the best time to venture on an approach is at dawn, before the feathered tribe are yet astir.
"one morning," says a writer, "we had camped on a spur of the owen stanley range, and being up early, to enjoy the cool atmosphere, i saw on one of a clump of trees close by, six birds1 gorgeous: splendid; showy. 2 edible: eatable.
3 digestion of an ostrich: an ostrich will swallow all sorts of hard substances.
of paradise, four cocks and two hens. the hens were sitting quietly on a branch. the four other birds, dressed in their very best, their ruffs of green and yellow standing out, giving them a large handsome appearance about the head and neck, their long flowing plumes so arranged that every feather seemed carefully combed out, and the long wires stretched well out behind-were dancing in a circle round them.
"it was an interesting sight; first one, and then another, would advance a little nearer to a hen, and she would retire a little, pretending not to care for any advances. a shot was fired, contrary to my expressed wish; there was a strange commotion, and two of the male birds flew away, the others and the hens remained. soon the two returned, and again the dance began and continued long, as i had strictly forbidden any more shooting. at last they rested, but it was not for long. the male birds began quarrelling, and i thought a battle royal would take place, when suddenly all six-with the harsh cry that seems the only note the bird can utter-spread their wings and flew away."in new guinea the natives are expert with the bow, and often a fine bird is brought down by the deadly arrow. the natives know where the birds resort; so they sometimes smear the branches of the trees width gum and thus snare their prey. after the bird is caught it is skinned; the head, neck, and plume are valuable, but the tail is thrown away. the natives send the skins to the coast, getting in exchange salt, shell, and coral ornaments.
the plumes are often made into headdresses of various kinds, and are worn by dancers at the natives" feasts. some of the frames on which the plumes are fashioned are three feetsquare, and a stick ten or twelve feet long rises from the centre. all the wood is hidden by the plumes, and to the native eye this fantastic1 head-dress is simply perfection, though to us it would seem a little overdone.
only a very hungry person would find any pleasure in eating a bird of paradise. even if boiled for hours its flesh is as tough, it is said, as linoleum2, and the soup is anything but palatable. fine feathers do not always make fine birds-either for singing or for eating.
-e. w. h. f.
1fantastic: odd; quaint; curious.
2linoleum: a floor-covering made of canvas coated with a thick paint made of ground cork and linseed oil.