It Was Quite A Relief To My Mind To Get
These, For I Could Hardly Have Torn Myself Away From Aru Had I
Not Obtained Specimens.
But what I valued almost as much as the birds themselves was the
knowledge of their habits, which I was daily obtaining both from
the accounts of my hunters, and from the conversation of the
natives.
The birds had now commenced what the people here call
their "sacaleli," or dancing-parties, in certain trees in the
forest, which are not fruit trees as I at first imagined, but
which have an immense tread of spreading branches and large but
scattered leaves, giving a clear space for the birds to play and
exhibit their plumes. On one of these trees a dozen or twenty
full-plumaged male birds assemble together, raise up their wings,
stretch out their necks, and elevate their exquisite plumes,
keeping them in a continual vibration. Between whiles they fly
across from branch to branch in great excitement, so that the
whole tree is filled with waving plumes in every variety of
attitude and motion. (See Frontispiece.) The bird itself is
nearly as large as a crow, and is of a rich coffee brown colour.
The head and neck is of a pure straw yellow above and rich
metallic green beneath. The long plumy tufts of golden orange
feathers spring from the sides beneath each wing, and when the
bird is in repose are partly concealed by them. At the time of
its excitement, however, the wings are raised vertically over
tile back, the head is bent down and stretched out, and the long
plumes are raised up and expanded till they form two magnificent
golden fans, striped with deep red at the base, and fading off
into the pale brown tint of the finely divided and softly waving
points. The whole bird is then overshadowed by them, the
crouching body, yellow head, and emerald green throat forming but
the foundation and setting to the golden glory which waves above.
When seen in this attitude, the Bird of Paradise really deserves
its name, and must be ranked as one of the most beautiful and
most wonderful of living things. I continued also to get
specimens of the lovely little king-bird occasionally, as well as
numbers of brilliant pigeons, sweet little parroquets, and many
curious small birds, most nearly resembling those of Australia
and New Guinea.
Here, as among most savage people I have dwelt among, I was
delighted with the beauty of the human form-a beauty of which
stay-at-home civilized people can scarcely have any conception.
What are the finest Grecian statues to the living, moving,
breathing men I saw daily around me? The unrestrained grace of
the naked savage as he goes about his daily occupations, or
lounges at his ease, must be seen to be understood; and a youth
bending his bow is the perfection of manly beauty. The women,
however, except in extreme youth, are by no means so pleasant to
look at as the men.
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