Woodcut illustration of the Manucodiata, or bird of paradise. The term is a corruption of the Malay term manute-dewata, meaning bird of the gods. Birds-of-paradise are Passeriformes, and are classified inva family of 13 genera and 40 species. The majority of species are found in New Guinea an dinhabit dense rainforests. Many species are now threatened or endangered, due to hunting for their extravagant plumage and from the loss of their forest habitat. This woodcut comes from Old Worm's Museum Wormianum, printed at Amsterdam in 1655.