"I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all Thy marvelous works." Psa. 9:1.
On the preceding page we mentioned the magnificently colored feathers, plumes and unusual features of the various species of birds of paradise. The most outstanding feature is an extension of usually two, slender, wire-like filaments crossing each other beyond the tail, or at times curling to form a pair of circles or other pretty shapes. On some birds there are six of these and on some others a dozen appear—but these larger numbers form small coils snugly against the tails and do not extend far out. Let's study a few of them: One called Count Raggi's is an example of one with 12 wires. It is bright yellow all over, except for red feet and a bright-green balloon-like head. It is unusually active in winning a mate, dancing about on a tree limb to attract a likely female. There it spreads its wings upward to show how high its pretty plumes reach, then turns nearly upside down to make its feathers flash more brilliantly than ever. If she doesn't respond he repeats the performance for another one when he has the opportunity.
The king is also outstanding. It is brilliant red over its top and throat with a green band over its chest, dividing the red from a white under-body. From its short purple tail two long filaments reach out with small balls of purple feathers on their ends.
Another has the name Saxony and looks almost like a robin with dark top feathers and orange below. But the distinctive thing about it is a pair of long, glossy plumes—one blue and the other brown extending from the back of its head far past its ordinary tail, with a total distance more than twice the length of its body. The Creator has given it these pretty ornaments in place of the wire-like filaments most others display.
The superb has a different arrangement. An olive-green body and wide-spreading tail contrast with its bright blue chest and short wings of the same color. But this is one that has no stringers behind it.
The white-plumed one lacks the spectacular colors of the others, but has a great display of long, fluffy white plumes extending from its back instead. These it can raise over its body to look like a most beautiful cape.
The beautiful feathers of these, as well as a wide variety of other birds, represent perhaps the greatest display of God's visible handiwork, but in fish and animal groups there are other beauties as well. On the other hand, it is often the plain-colored creatures that have the greatest skills and amazing ways of life. They are all part of God's creation, and we should think of Him and His wisdom whenever we have occasion to observe any of them.