Beautiful Bird Ideas

The bird of paradise is the name assumed to a collection of the most beautiful birds in the world. Certain are cheerful green and yellow; others are a intense red. But the most beautiful thing about a bird of paradise is the fanlike tail finished up of long, downy trails that grow from its back. These superb trails are typically a deep golden-yellow, though certain of the birds have white or black plumes. Well-dressed women used to wear hats that were decorated by these trails.

The bird of paradise lives in New Guinea, in the Pacific Ocean, and on other close islands. It is around two feet long, and feeds on fruits and insects. Only the males are brilliantly colored. During the first year of life, both the male and female are a coffee-brown in color. After this, the male slowly changes, until in its fourth year it has the fine trails that make it famous. Despite its great beauty, the bird of paradise is closely related to the crow. Little was known about it until one hundred years ago, when the first bird of paradise was brought to Europe.

Pending then it had been thought that this bird had no wings or feet, and that it drifted through the air, supported by its trailing trails. It was also thought that the bird of paradise never touched the earth until it died, and that it then drifted down to the crushed. None of this was true, of course. You can see a bird of paradise today in the bird house in numerous zoos.