BIRDS OF PARADISE

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 47, 18 May 1927, Page 14

BIRDS OF PARADISE

These birds are among the most beautiful known, but, except in pictures, very few people have ever seen them, for they are found in only two places—New Guinea and the Papuan Islands. In habits and size they arc very similar to the jay, and build a simple nest in the trees in the same manner. Like them, too, they have powerful but unmusical voices. There are more than 50 dicerent kinds, but the most beautiful of all is that known as the king bird of paradise, which possesses lovely velvety feathers in a great variety of colours, scarlet, green, purple, brown and yellow being the most evident. On each side of the body it has long plumes, sometimes nearly two feet in length, of a glorious orange colour, and it can raise these when it pleases, so that its body is quite hidden. It is only the male bird that is so gorgeously arrayed, the poor little female being quite a sober brown and not even having the glory of the plumes. If kept in captivity these birds lose their beautiful colouring almost at once and so are rarely captured alive; but they are shot in large numbers for the sake of their plumes, which are much used in millinery. The birds themselves are very proud of their beautiful feathers and in the early morning they are usually found in large numbers at the very top of high trees, where they play together and fly about to show off their beauty. The natives take advantage of this fact and build a sort of hut of palm leaves among the lower branches, where they conceal themselves and kill the birds by shooting upwards with arrows.