The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-09-29
5 ALL RiGHTs
II OMANCE OF S
TIL Q ~ s.
By c. ]. CORNISH, F. z. s. Etc.
! Author of "IAe at the Zoo" avid England ofToDay," animals at Wor ana
b. z. !. CORNISH, F. Il. S.. Etc.
Parrots and Macaws.


TOucans. Parrots and Macaws.
Color, I'm the most brilliant hues known in
the animal creation. is the especial prop
erty OF the birds of the tropics. Cold coun-
tries have thus the least share of these gor-
geously hued creatures. though an occa-
sional example. ike the brilliant kingfsher,
depresses by contrast the sober tints of our
bird world. The pheasants. the most bril-
liant of which come from temperate China
and the lower Himalayas. are the only
large exception TO the rule that intense
coloring belongs TO the lands of tropical
sunshine and tOrrid heats. AS our knowl-
edge OF the races OF birds extends, as 1t
does by exploration Of such difficult and
distant lands as the Celebes, the Philip
pines and the mountains Of Borneo. and the
Malay archipelago, so does the number Of
birds OF radiant plumage grow and in
crease. The greater number only find their
way here as skins TO the museums and SCI
entifc collections. But time and patience
bring living examples to the Zoo. There
they are crowded in the parrot house, so
thickly, and in such narrow quarters that
it is difficult to see their beauty, or TO dis
tinguish what is rare from what Is COM
mon. Some OF the birds are very long-lived-
There is an old white "bare-eyed cOckatoo'
which has been there since 1SG0. and Is still
in good health. Others die quickly i'm the
crowd, heat and noise of this Inadequate
and RECONSTRUCTED building. IL it has any
meaning at all, the collection there must be
regarded as intended to give an idea Of
what the tropical birds are like. 1t is i'm this
sense that the reader is invited 10 consider
them.
OF NATURES COLORING.
First. perhaps. We may draw attention
to the most remarkable OF those in the
house which are not parrots, numbering
perhaps, nearly half the humber. Take, for
instance. the honey-eaters. especially the
yelIow-tufted honey-eaters, from New
South Wales. Next TO them are examples
of some of the most brilliant of the smaller
birds, the tanagers These are mainly from
Brazil and Central America. The finest Of
all is the superb tanager. It's back is like
dark purple velvet, the back of its tail
coverts bright orange, and the head and
shoulders such a flashing green and black
as is beyond description-as bright AS that
on some of The tropical beetles. The blue
crested tanager is also beautiful. Its crest
is not blUe-but red. while the body is vel
vet blue. Next sec the modest beauty of tho
bell bird. This bird is pure white, with law
ender cheeks and sweet brown eyes. In the
deep Guiana forests it tolls its solemn bell.
as If from the towers of some distant
| shrine. The '~.hangnests" of Brazil resemble
small black and yellow magpies. They
build pensile nests of plant stems and
leaves, and line them wlth wool, on which
| they lay eggs marbled like "A yellow ham
mer's. Song is not the gift OF the plain
birds alone. There is here a honey-eater,
dressed in the most exquisite black and
plain gold, the breast being patterned with
golden suangles. which sing as sweetly as a
bulbul. But as a rule the beauties of voice
and plUa1age are distributed, not combined.
Here you may learn that nature has sur
prises even in the case of families of birds
which we should expect TO he alike the
world over. The raven. for instance, keeps
to his sab.es everywhere, except on the
Farce islancs, and DO one would expect 10
see a crow dressed in any hue but black.
Yet tho Indian hunting crow is as brilliant
as a bee-eater, with red orange beak, pale
copper green breast and back. and bright
chestnut wings. But it must be remembered
that The birds Of Paradise are close rela-
tons of the crows.
THE WONDERFUL TOUCAN.
or the abnormal i'm bird color and form
the toucans, also in this house, are the most
astonishing. Why birds which live on the
upper story" or rather the roof Of the
tropical forest, feeding on the top of the
giant trees, on the side exposed TO the sun
light, and drinking from the waters which
in the gigantic cups of the
creeper flowers and leaves of the water
holding plants, without ever descending TO
earth. should have acquired this strange
form is impossible 20 conjecture. They are
large birds, az large as the domestic pigeon.
mostly velvety black in plumage. But each
has d beak almost as long and quite as
deep as a banana, of a consistency like
Clear-run wax, and of the most brilliant
| color Imaginable. The cheeks are generally
white, and the eye like a black bead set i'm
bright blue glass. The beak is, for the most
part, yellow, lemon color, or sulphur color,
with all the backs. edges and rims blazing
Ike red-hot pokers with orange and scar
let; one, the short-billed tOucan, has its
beak and cheeks of a bright copper green.
Color ard elegance of another kind is
seen in their neighbors, the touraconus from
West Africa. These large, ~thickly-feath-
eIed, quiet birds, are dark blue in body,
VITA an orange beak and a head and crest
OF dark green like satin plush. Another, the
white-crested touraconu, is apple green.
When it spreads its wings they shine like
dark crimson stained glass.
TEXTURE IN PLUMAGE.
1t is in texture as well as their tints that
the plumage of these birds excels. Feathers
are always agreeable in texture, but some
suggest softness, others hardness, and 9TH
ers offer a voiuptuous satisfaction to the
sense Of touch. not equaled by the richest
fur. When the brilliant colOring is applied
to these different surface materials, the
downy plumes, the plush. floss silk or vel
vety plumes OF birds. the result is some
thing Unapproached in nature. These ef-
fects are well known, when seen in the
SHOPPING ABROAD.
| TrayaVara Find that They Can Get the