Books: The Spice Islands Voyage

The Spice Islands Voyage

(Extract)

'Sure enough, at about quarter to seven, the Birds of Paradise flew in, assembling from different directions. The first glimpse was of a quick, russet-brown flicker of quite a small bird flying with very fast wing-beats, and abruptly settling on a branch high up in a tree. You would think nothing of this creature until you used binoculars and brought into focus a bravura display of plumes. The bird had a fine yellow head, green throat and its tail was a brilliant scarlet cascade of feathers hanging in an arching curve. Drooping from this amazing tail were two elegant feathers, more like wires, which hung in a spiral and gently swayed in the air. These were the male Red Birds of Paradise, of a most extraordinary beauty and variety of colours... from these superb creatures came that remarkably ugly 'wawk, wawk, wawk.' Then they would fall silent and follow up with a gurgle and chirrup, like the sound of a wet cork being drawn slowly out of a bottle.'

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