One of the southern constellations
introduced by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and
Frederick de Houtman at the end of the 16th century. Apus
represents a fabulous bird of paradise, as found in New Guinea,
but it is a disappointing tribute to such an exotic animal.
Apus was first shown on the 1598 celestial
globe of Petrus Plancius as “Paradysvogel Apis
Indica”. Johann Bayer on his Uranometria atlas of 1603 also called it Apis Indica,
while others referred to it as “Avis”. Lacaille
called it Apus on his influential southern chart of 1763 but
the alternative usages of Apis and Avis continued to
Bode’s day. Apus has no named stars, nor are there any
legends associated with it.
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Apus seen in the Uranographia of Johann Bode (1801), where it was given the alternative title of Avis Indica, the Indian bird, referring to its habitat of the East Indies.
© Ian Ridpath. All rights reserved
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