Note: Information is dated. Do not rely on it.

Bird of Paradise. The name for members of a family of birds (Paradiseidae) of splendid plumage, allied to the crows, inhabiting New Guinea and the adjacent islands. The family includes eleven or twelve genera and a number of species, some of them remarkably beautiful. The largest species, Paradisea apoda, has thick-set feathers like velvet pile, straw colored above and emerald green below. From under the shoulders spring tufts of orange plumes about two feet in length which the bird can elevate over the back at will. In the tail of most species are two narrow wire-like feathers sometimes elongated to the length of thirty inches. The feathers of the Paradisea apoda and Paradisea minor are those chiefly worn in plumes. These splendid ornaments are confined to the male bird.

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