Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 5.djvu/584

566 twelve feathers; the two middle feathers are the longest, and the lateral feathers gradually diminish; it is violet or changeable blue above, and black beneath. The feathers which compose it are as wide in proportion as they are long, and shine both above and below with the brilliancy of polished metal. Above the wings, the scapularies are very long and singularly formed; their points being very short



on one side, and very long on the other. These feathers are of the color of polished steel, changing into blue, terminated by a large spot of brilliant green. From each side beneath the shoulders spring long, curved feathers, directed upward; these are black on the inside, and brilliant green on the outside. The bill and feet are black."

The Twelve-wired Paradise-Bird, sometimes called the