The ROYAL or GOLDEN-CRESTED ORIOLE (_Sericulus chrysocephalus_), one of
the most beautiful creatures inhabiting that fertile and highly-favoured
continent, is distinguished by its short and feeble bill, the upper
mandible of which is very distinctly notched, its straightly cut, or very
slightly rounded tail, and the peculiar nature of its feathers. The head,
back of the neck, and an arched line which passes from the nape over
the breast, are bright yellow, while the rest of the plumage is velvety
black. The first quill is black, the rest of the primaries yellow in the
middle and black at the root and tip; the secondaries are yellow, if we
except a narrow border to the outer web. The eye is pale yellow, the
beak of a deeper shade, and the feet black. In the female the head and
throat are brownish white, the top of the head being marked with a large
black spot; the upper portions of the wings and tail are olive brown, the
feathers of the back tipped with triangular brownish-white spots; the
belly is olive brown, and marked with similar but still more distinct
spots. The eyes are brown, and the feet black. The young resemble their
mother. The full-sized birds are about eight inches and three-quarters in
length.
We learn from Gould that this splendid species is confined to Eastern
Australia, and is very numerous in the bush about Moreton Bay, as also
upon the neighbouring islands. In its habits it resembles the Pirol, but
is much quieter. It has no fear of man, and delights to perch in full
view upon the highest and most conspicuous branches of the trees; it
would, however, seem as if the old males learnt by experience the danger
to which they expose themselves by this lavish display of their gorgeous
plumage, for they are much more prudent in this respect than the females
and young males. As regards their mode of incubation Gould was unable to
obtain any trustworthy intelligence.
* * * * *
But few years have passed away since Europeans first became acquainted
with the living forms of the magnificent creatures we are now about to
describe. Their glowing feathers, it is true, had long been familiar to
every eye, but the natives of New Guinea, in preparing their skins for
exportation, had removed all trace of legs, thus giving rise to most
extravagant tales about the life they led in their native lands. The
Birds of Paradise, as they were called on account of their apparent want
of feet and great beauty, retained, it was popularly supposed, the forms
they had borne in the Garden of Eden, and lived upon no more substantial
nourishment than dew, or the ether through which it was imagined that
they perpetually floated by the aid of their long, cloud-like plumage,
only seeking an occasional change of position in suspending themselves
for a few minutes from the branches of a tree by some of the tendril-like
feathers of their tail. In vain naturalists endeavoured to prove the
absurdity of these and many other fables; the public mind would not be
convinced, and for centuries retained and cherished these most poetical
notions. Since those days many travellers in New Guinea and its islands
have seen and described the Birds of Paradise, and we are indebted to
Bennett, Wallace, and Rosenberg for many very interesting but by no means
exhaustive particulars as to their habits and mode of life.
[Illustration: BIRDS OF PARADISE.]