"Bird of Paradise"
General Location: R.A. = 16h, Dec. = 80 S
Description: An inconspicuous, and dim, constellation in the Southern Hemisphere. Apus was created by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, who first charted the southern skies in 1595 - 1597. Skins from birds of paradise were first brought to Europe in 1522 by the survivors of Magellan's expedition. Since the bird was not known in classical times, there is no mythology associated with this figure.