is thought that they live a good deal in the manner of the squirrels, and that they remain almost constantly on the trees; bounding with rapidity from tree to tree, uttering sharp but weak cries of alarm, and apparently dispersing at the first appearance of strangers.

The silky tamarin scarcely measures, in total length, two feet, of which the tail alone occupies one. The fur is long, silky, and of a golden yellow; the hairs of the head long and falling, parted down the middle of the crown by a line of rust-brown hairs; ears concealed by the long hair of the head; tail rather bushy at its extremity. The gloss upon the fur is particularly rich when held in the sun.

EMERALD BIRD OF
OF PARADISE.

THE birds of paradise, says M. Lesson, the eminent naturalist, or at least the emerald, the only species concerning which we possess authentic information, live in troops in the vast forests of the country of the Papuans, a group of islands situated under the equator, and which is composed of the islands Arou, Wagiou, and the great island called New Guinea. They are birds of passage, changing their quarters according to the monsoons. The females congregate in troops, and assemble upon the tops of the highest trees in the forests.

The following is the description given of the species before us:-The body, both above and below, is of a brown colour, covered in front with close-set velvetblack feathers, shot with emerald green. The crown of the head and the upper part of the neck is light yellow; and the upper part of the throat golden green; the front of the neck, brown, with a tinge of violet blue. The sides of the bird are adorned with bundles of very long plumes, with loose filaments of yellowish white, slightly spotted towards the end with purple red. These plumes are so long that they extend considerably beyond the end of the tail. Two long curved shafts also, furnished with stiff hairs, spring from each side over the tail, and extend to a length of nearly two feet. The bill is horn-colour, and the feet lead colour. The whole length, from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail, is about one foot one inch.

Soon after our arrival, says the same author, speaking

132

EMERALD BIRD OF PARADISE.

of the country of Guinea, I was on a shooting excursion. Scarcely had I walked some hundred paces in those ancient forests, the daughters of time, whose sombre depth was perhaps the most magnificent and stately sight that I had ever seen, when a bird of paradise struck my view. It flew gracefully, and in undulations; the feathers of its sides formed an elegant and aerial plumage, which, without exaggeration, bore no remote resemblance to a brilliant meteor. Surprised, astounded, enjoying an inexpressible gratification, I devoured this splendid bird with my eyes; but my emotion was so great that I forgot to shoot at it, and did not recollect that I had a gun in my hand till it was far away.

It is at the rising and setting of the sun that the bird of paradise goes to seek its food. In the middle of the day it remains hidden under the ample fold of the teak tree, and comes not forth. It seems to dread the scorching rays of the sun, and to be unwilling to expose itself to the heat.

One of the best opportunities of seeing this splendid bird in all its beauty of action, as well as display of plumage, is early in the morning, when he makes his toilet; the beautiful plumage underneath the wing is then thrown out, and cleaned from any spot that may sully its purity by being passed gently through its bill; the short chocolate-coloured wings are extended to the utmost, and he keeps them in a steady flapping motion, as if in imitation of their use in flight, at the same time raising up the delicate long feathers over the back, which are spread in a chaste and elegant manner, floating like films in the ambient air.