Library Company of Philadelphia
Oh look! It is the Bird of Paradise, and there he goes.
This illustration from our copy of Indian Zoology shows the bird of paradise with something more like a cape than wings, a rather stout body, and long tail feathers. The text reads, “Sir Joseph Banks did me the favor of communicating the drawing of the common Bird of Paradise, brought alive to England, drawn from the life.” However, maybe he’s just a penguin that really wanted to fly, so he attached a lot of extra feathers to himself…
This funny little Coot (Fulica alai) found in our copy of Ornithology Mammology shows our disproportionate feathered friend in a stunning hand colored plate by Titian Ramsay Peale.
Peale, Titian Ramsay, 1799-1885. Ornithology. Mammalogy. [Philadelphia, Pa. : s.n., 1858?]