Golden bird

“ Cf. also another Finnish story "The Golden Bird," where a king's son goes in search of a splendid bird which his father longs for. The hero is assisted by a wolf, which, amongst many other strange things, by rolling three times on the ground on its back, becomes a shop full of precious goods. [78] After many trials, chiefly due to the perfidy of his brothers, the hero, by the assistance of the wolf, wins the golden bird and a lovely princess. The golden bird will not sing till the youngest prince appears, just as in the present tale. ”

“ This bird at once became attached to its owner, and after being about a month in his possession, was given full liberty, — a high privilege to a golden eagle having the use of its wings, — but which was not abused, as it came to the lure whenever called. It evidently derived much pleasure from the application of the hand to its legs and plumage,, and permitted itself to be handled in any way. ”

“ Like golden ingots from a fairy mine;--
While, on the other, latticed lightly in
With odoriferous woods of COMORIN,
Each brilliant bird that wings the air is seen;--
Gay, sparkling loories such as gleam between
The crimson blossoms of the coral-tree [62]
In the warm isles of India's sunny sea:
Mecca's blue sacred pigeon, [63] and the thrush
Of Hindostan [64] whose holy warblings gush
At evening from the tall pagoda's top;--
Those golden birds that in the spice time drop
About the gardens, drunk with that sweet food [65]
Whose scent hath lured them o'er the summer flood ”

“ The wings of the male birds, he says, “are raised vertically over the back; the head is bent down and stretched out; and the long plumes”—those that spring like spray from the sides or shoulders—“are raised and expanded till they form two magnificent golden fans, striped with deep red at the base, and fading off into the pale brown tint of the finely divided and softly waving points; the whole bird is then overshadowed by them, the crouching body, yellow head, and emerald-green throat forming but a foundation and setting to the golden glory which waves above them.” ”

“ He was my first golden eagle, in some respects one of the noblest of all North American birds. I knew him to be not uncommon in the mountains, and had hoped some day to see him passing, especially when I should be far out on the edge of [221] the foothills; and behold, here he was on my idle afternoon, close at home. Who says that the lame and the lazy are not provided for?
My dreamy saunter was turning out ornithological in spite of myself, and as if the gnatcatcher and the eagle had not done enough to that end, the ubiquitous raven now took a hand at the business. ”

“ The birds sang to him during his happy hours of sleep. By and by he awoke, and a beautiful gold robin sat on the spray, and sung a song of joy. The boy reached out his hands to secure the prize, but the robin spread his golden wings and soared away. He looked after it with a longing gaze, and when it disappeared from his sight, he wept aloud. At this moment, a form of light approached, and took the hands of the child and pointed upwards; and he saw the bird soaring in freedom and the sun shining upon its burnished plumes. Then the shining one said; "Do you love that beautiful bird?" ”

“ The Golden, or Six-shafted, Paradise Bird, is another rare species, first figured by Buffon, and never yet obtained in perfect condition. It was named by Boddaert, Paradisea sexpennis, and forms the genus Parotia of Viellot. This wonderful bird is about the size of the female Paradisea rubra. The plumage appear, at first sight black, but it glows in certain light with bronze and deep purple. The throat and breast are scaled with broad flat feathers of an intense golden hue, changing to green and blue tints in certain lights. ”

“ Versions of The Golden Bird include: "The Golden Bird" in German Popular Stories (1823) (transcription project) "The Golden Bird" in Grimm's Goblins (1876) (transcription project) See also "The Fox's Brush" (1912) , Taylor and Jardine translation, revised by Marian Edwardes
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content. ”

“ The Golden Eagle is a truly magnificent bird in size and appearance. A full-grown female measures about three feet six inches in length, and the expanse of her wings is nine feet. The male bird is smaller by nearly six inches. The colour of the bird is a rich blackish brown on the greater part of the body, the head and neck being covered with feathers of a golden red, which have earned for the bird its customary name. ”

“ The plumage of this bird is like brownish-black plush and equally soft to the touch. The head is ornamented very wonderfully; on either side behind the eye there are three long racket-like plumes on long bare shafts, (a character common to all the members of this remarkable genus of Paradise-Birds) : the middle of the crown is of a beautiful “old” gold colour in a setting of silvery white and golden brown: on the occiput there is a marvellous patch of stiff metal-like feathers, golden-green bordered with deep violet ”

“ The eagles live together, if not in harmony, at least in a sort of mutual respect towards each other. I know of only one quarrel, and at this I happened to be present. A sea eagle pounced on a golden eagle ; the latter threw itself on its back, when the former with its talons seized it by the legs until it seemed to faint in agony, while the assailant gave forth its loudest barking cry in triumph. I had some difficulty in beating this bird off the other with a pole ; it was removed from the cage. ”

“ On these occasions it may be that the king-bird displays the emblem of his dignity, which is commonly concealed; for, being otherwise rather plainly coloured—dark-ashy grey above and white beneath—the erectile feathers of the crown of the head, on being parted, form as it were a deep furrow, and reveal their base, which is of a bright golden-orange in front, deepening into scarlet, and then passing into silvery white. This species seems to live entirely on insects, which it captures on the wing ”

“ On another occasion, a golden eagle was found in the bath, or large trough in which the eagles delight to roll ; it was supposed by the keeper to have been forced under water by one of the sea eagles, but more probably it got cramped, as the birds seem often to carry their bathing to excess. It is a remarkable fact, that a sea eagle but one year old, seemed to be generally acknowledged as the superior of the whole. This bird seized the first piece of food thrown into the cage as its acknowledged right ”

“ Of course in the adult plumage, when this bird has its white tail and head, no such mistake could occur, but in the immature plumage in which the bird usually makes its appearance such a mistake does occasionally happen, and afterwards it becomes difficult to convince the owner that he has not a Golden Eagle ”

“ This bird, however, rejoices in several other cognomens, such as English Robin, Golden Robin, Hang-nest Bird, Fire-Finch, and Golden Oriole. He is both esthetic and utilitarian, being beautiful, musical, social and also useful in that he feeds upon insects most injurious to vegetation; especially the harmful small kinds passed over unnoticed by the birds of other species. ”

“ The American bird is darker in all its shades of color, the difference being most marked in the young plumage, which in var. chrysaëtus has the tarsal features nearly white, and in var. canadensis light brown, the brown of other portions being also considerably darker. The American bird appears to be rather the larger.
Habits. The Ring-tailed or Golden Eagle of North America is found throughout the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from New Mexico to the higher Arctic regions. ”

“ The mode of hunting by the Golden Eagle is most interesting to watch. Generally speaking two of these birds hunt together, a hare being the favourite prey. When the hare is started one of them follows it as near the ground as possible; the other poises in the air, or as a falconer would say "waits on," and watches intently. If a rock or anything else intervenes, and the bird in pursuit loses sight of the hare, the other at once stoops and takes up the running ”

“ The days are a tepid dream. Since I arrived not a leaf has stirred, not a bird has sung, the tides ebb and flow in listless and soundless ripples. Far off, on the shallow sea, phantom ships hover and are gone, and on an indefinite horizon a blurred ocean blends with a blurred sky. ”

“ O thin men of Haddam,
Why do you imagine golden birds?
Do you not see how the blackbird
Walks around the feet
Of the women about you? ”

“ At your approach, the busy company rises on the wing, and with peculiar, wavy flight rise and fall through the air, marking each undulation with a cluster of notes, sweet and clear, that come floating downward from the blue ether, where the birds seem to bound along exultant in their motion and song alike.
In the spring the plumage of the goldfinch, which has been drab and brown through the winter months, is moulted or shed—a change that transforms the bird from a sombre Puritan into the gayest of cavaliers, and seems to wonderfully exalt his spirits. ”

“ To realize an equatorial jungle one must see it in all its wonderment of activity and stillness—the heated, steamy stillness through which one fancies that no breeze ever whispers, with its colossal flowering trees, its green twilight, its inextricable involvement, its butterflies and moths, its brilliant but harsh voiced birds, its lizards and flying foxes, its infinite variety of monkeys, sitting, hanging by hands or tails, leaping, grimacing, jabbering, pelting each other with fruits ”

“ Only part of the birds have it,—the adult males, perhaps,—and even those that have it do not always display it. The orange or yellow of the goldcrest, on the other hand, is worn by all the birds, and is never concealed. If you are a beginner in bird study, uncertain of your species, look for the black stripes on the crown. If they are not there, and the bird is really a kinglet, it must be a ruby-crown. ”

“ Immediately under the centre ball, an immense spherical emerald, which supports the diamond cross, is a small bird suspended on a hook within the crown. All the parts of this bird are composed of white enamel, except the body, around which the wings, legs, neck, and head, are attached, and which consists of a pearl of an oval form, about the size of a sparrow's egg. The movement of the statue during a procession, keeps the bird (hanging from its hook) in constant agitation, and produces the effect of a living bird enclosed in a cage of precious stones. ”

“ Though less gaudily colored than certain others of our warblers, the golden-wing ranks high in the family for beauty, and its trim form and tastefully contrasted tints of gray, black, and yellow may well excite admiration. ”

“ When we turn to consider the more outward characteristics of birds, the peacock, the monal pheasant, the “blue jay,” the oriole, the white-breasted kingfisher, the sunbird, the little green bee-eater, and a host of others rise up before us. Of these some, showily resplendent, compel attention and admiration; others of quieter hues possess a beauty which cannot be appreciated unless they be held in the hand and each [5] feather minutely examined. At the other extreme stands the superlative of hideousness, the ugliest bird in the world—Neophron ginginianus, the scavenger vulture. ”

“ Thus, the most admired of all singers—the subject of poets’ songs and eulogies, the bird that people walk far and wide to listen to, of which they talk for weeks before it comes, noting down the day of its arrival as if it were the Queen or the Queen’s son—is yet nothing but a little insignificant brown bird, not to be named with the parrot for plumage, nor with our little goldfinch, who always looks as if he had his Sunday suit on. ”

“ Nothing can exceed the elegance of its movements as it probes the pendent blossoms, searching to their inmost depths. Its nest, woven with wonderful skill and beauty of construction, is fastened to the end of a twig. The head and upper part of the body of the male bird are green, glossed with gold in some parts, and with bronze in others. The wings are dark black-brown, with a purple gloss; while the tail is dark black, the upper surface being bronzed. ”

“ For instance, there was every species of eagle known to exist,—gray, white, bald, harpy, &c.,—poised, at rest, in flight, and in various positions, as in life; every species of owl,—the gigantic, judge-like fellow, horned, snowy, gray, black, white, and dwarf; every falcon,—a magnificent set of specimens of this kind, as there was also of the crow family, which were represented not only by elegant black specimens, but by light-blue, and even white ones; every species of sea bird, from the gigantic albatross to the Mother Cary's chicken; rare and curious birds ”

“ S the lion is called the king of beasts, so the eagle is called the king of birds; but except that it is bigger, stronger, and swifter than other birds, there does not seem much reason for the name. It is a mistake to attribute noble or mean qualities to animals or birds, or to think they can do good or bad actions, when they can only do what God has created them to do, and as their instinct teaches.
The most powerful of the eagles is the Golden Eagle, so called because of the rich yellowish-brown bordering to its feathers. ”