File:Stories about birds, with pictures to match (1851) (14771430503).jpg

Identifier: storiesaboutbird00wood (find matches)
Title: Stories about birds, with pictures to match
Year: 1851 (1850s)
Authors: Woodworth, Francis C. (Francis Channing), 1812-1859
Subjects: Birds
Publisher: Boston, Phillips, Sampson
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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r EW birds have more deceived andpuzzled the learned than thosebelonging to this family. Some havedescribed the bird of Paradise as an inhabitantof the air, living only upon the dew of heaven,and never coming down to earth. Others haveacquiesced in the latter part of its history, buthave represented it as feeding on flying insects.Some have asserted that it was without feet,and others have ranked it among the birds ofprey. The great beauty of this birds plumage, andthe deformity of its legs, seem to have givenrise to most of these erroneous reports. Thesavages of the Molucca Islands, of which it isan inhabitant, perceiving the inclination theEuropeans had for this beautifal bird, carefullycut off its legs before they brought it to mar-
Text Appearing After Image:
THE GREAT BIRD OF PARADISE-MALE. STORIES ABOUT BIEDS. 97 ket. Thus concealing its greatest deformity,they considered themselves entitled to rise intheir demands, when they offered it for sale.One deceit led to another. The buyer, findingthe bird without legs, naturally inquired afterthem; and the seller as naturally began toassert that it had none. Thus far the Europeanwas imposed upon by others; in all the resthe imposed upon himself Seeing so beautifula bird without legs, he concluded that it couldlive only in the air, where legs were unneces-sary. The extraordinary splendor of its plu-mage assisted this deception; and as it hadheavenly beauty, so it was asserted to have aheavenly residence. Hence its name, and allthe false reports that have been made con-cerning it. Error, however, is short-lived, and time hasdiscovered, that this bird not only has legs, butvery large, strong ones, for its size. Soon afterthe discovery was made, this harmless bird wasbranded with the character of b

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