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Animate Creation:
POPULAR E DIMION OF
Woe iN EI VING WORLD,
Pe Ieee I STORY
BY
AM sia leva dip (Ge NW Aeon)
REVISED AND ADAPTED TO
PA NaC ZOOLOG i,
BY
JOSEPH B: HOLDER, M:D.,
dellow of the New York Academy of Sciences; Member of the Society of Naturalists, BE. U. 8S; Member
of the American Ornithologists’ Union; Curator of Vertebrate Zoology, American
Museum of Natural History, Central Park, New York.
FULLY ILLUSTRATED WITH SCIENTIFIC ACCURACY,
VOL. If.
INGE WV ayc@ RK:
SE VMeA RR, EES Ss.
————SVD——_
COFYRIGHT,
43TH OF OCTOBER, 1898
BY SELMAR HESS.
en 280
~ ae
EWR ES REE
" PRINTED BY
D. G. F. CLASS
7
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‘(2) ELECTROTYPED BY
Bi] , Smita & McDouGat
NEW YORK
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PAGE
INTRODUCTION.
Order ACCIPITRES; on BIRDS OF PREY. 11
Sub-Order AcctPiTRES DiurNI ; OR DiurNAL Birps OF PREY.
Family VULTURID ; Sub-Family GYP TINE:
Lammergeyer—Gypaetus barbatus.....+..++6 ececes 11
Sub-lamily SaRCORHAMPHINA ; FLesH-BEAKED VULTURES 12
Condor—Sarcorhamphus gryphus.....scceceeeeeeeee 12
Black Vulture—Catharista iota, or atrata.......... 17
Sub-Family VuLTURINE ; TRUE VULTURES........... Boone 2A)
Arabian Vulture—Vultur monachus.......++- ssiecce 21
Sociable Vulture—Ologyps auricularis.......0++0006 22
Fulvous, or Griffin Vulture—G@yps fulous,.........- 24
Egyptian Vulture—Neophron perenopterus........++ 26
Family Faucontp# ; Sub-Family AQuaLIn«&®); EaGues.... 27
Golden Eagle—Aquila chrysaetos........-++++0000+ 28
Martial Eagle—Spizaetus bellicosus.........++ nebobe 33
Laughing Falcon—Herpetotheres cachinnans........ 33
Jean Le Blane Eagle—Circaetus gallicus...... ....+ 34
Crested, or Harpy Eagle—Thrasaetus harpyda,..... 34
Brazilian Eagle, or Urubitinga—Morphnus urubitinga 36
Osprey—Pandion haliaetus...........0 0 cee cence eee 36
Cinereous, or Sea Eagle—Haliaetus albicilla........ 39
Sub-Family POLYBORINA,. 2.0.00... cece cence ee eee soeodcge eet
Red-Throated Faleon—Ibycter americanus .......++ 44
Southern Caracara—Milvago australis.........+.20+ 45
Brazilian Kite—Polyborus braziliensis ....++.+++++ o- 45
Sub-Family BuTeONIN«® :
Buzzard—Buteo Oulgaris: \sinia'e. \ « a
a@ 7 7 ~~. Te. OS) a ee a => a 7 a
THE SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. 49
THE ARABIAN Kirrx still plays the same part in Africa as was formerly taken in England
by its European relative.
It is a bold and familiar bird, haunting the habitations of man, and audaciously carrying
off its prey, undeterred by human presence. As it will eat garbage of almost any nature, ‘it is
a valuable ally to the unclean villagers ; carrying away the offal which is liberally flung out
of the houses, and scarcely permitting it to rest on the ground before it is seen and devoured.
The bird is strictly protected on account of the services which it continually renders ; and so
utterly fearless does it become through long experience of the ways of man, that it pays visits
to every house in the village, in hopes of finding food of some kind. When Le Vaillant was
employed in preparing his dinner at his wagons, the Kites came and boldly carried off the
meat, heedless of the shots that were fired and the cries that were raised, and even returned
for a second supply as soon as they had disposed of their former booty.
ae ee! = \ ’ = =a )
Ne An v Siw”
KITES.—Milvus migrans and Milvus regalis.
Tue beautiful bird which is so well known under the appropriate title of the SwALLow-
TAILED Krre, is an inhabitant of various parts of America. This species seems to be dis-
tributed overa considerable tract of country, according to the observations of many practical
ornithologists. Mr. Nuttal has the following remarks on the habitat of the Swallow-tailed
Falcon.
“This beautiful bird breeds and passes the summer in the warmer parts of the United
States, and is also probably resident in all tropical and temperate America; emigrating into
the southern as well as well as the northern hemisphere. In the former, according to Vieillot,
it is found in Peru, and as faras Buenos Ayres ; and though it is extremely rare to meet with
this species as far as the latitude of forty degrees, in the Atlantic States, yet, tempted by the
abundance of the fruitful valley of the Mississippi, individuals have been seen along that river
Vou, IL—7,
50 THE SWALLOW-TAILED KITE.
as far as the falls of St. Anthony, in the forty-fourth degree of north latitude. They appear
in the United States about the close of April or the beginning of May, and are very numerous
in the Mississippi territory, twenty or thirty being sometimes visible at the same time. In the
month of October they begin to return to the south, at which season Mr. Bateman observed
them in great numbers assembled in Florida, soaring steadily at great elevations for several
days in succession, and slowly passing to their winter quarters along the Gulf of Mexico.”
Audubon remarks that it has never been seen farther eastward than Pennsylvania, and
that only a few solitary individuals have been discovered in that locality. Towards the south
it becomes more numerous, and in Louisiana and Mississippi it is extremely abundant, arriving
in considerable numbers at the beginning of April, as many as a hundred having been counted
in the space of a single hour, all passing
directly from east to west. On their first
arrival they are so fatigued with their
journey that they are easily approached ;
but owing to their habit of soaring at an
immense height, they are tolerably safe
even from man at all other seasons.
This falcon bears so strong an ex-
ternal resemblance to the swallow, that
it might easily be taken for a common
swallow or swift, as it flies circling in
the air in search of the insect prey on
which it usually feeds. Even the flight
is very much of the same character in
both birds, and the mode of feeding very
similar. The usual food of the Swallow-
tailed Kite consists of the larger insects,
which it either catches on the wing, or
snatches from the leaves as it shoots past
the bushes. Various locusts, cicadee, and
other insects, are captured in this man-
ner. It also follows the honey buzzard
in its fondness for wasps and their larvee,
and has been noticed to excavate a wasp’s
nest, and to tear away the comb precisely
like that bird. Reptiles, such as small
snakes, lizards, and frogs, also form part
of the food of this elegant bird. While
it is engaged in the pursuit of such prey,
or in catching the large insects upon the branches, it may be approached and shot without
much difficulty, as it is so intent upon its prey that it fails to notice its human foe.
Audubon found that when he had succeeded in killing one of these birds, he could shoot
as many more as he chose, because they have a habit of circling round the body of their
slaughtered comrade, and sweep round it as if they were endeav oring to carry it away. Taking
advantage of this peculiarity, he was enabled to procure as many specimens as he Alps sal
shooting them as fast as he could reload his gun.
The Fork-tailed Kite, or Swallow-tail, so called! is peculiarly an American form, the genus
having only one species. It belongs to the tropical and subtropical regions more properly, but
is occasionally seen as far north as Pennsylvania. It is common on the Mississippi Valley as
far as Wisconsin, where it breeds. Few groups of birds vary in their habits more than Hawks
and Kites. The last species noticed was really graceful in its movements on the ground, while
the present bird is awkward in the extreme. This species of Kite is far from awkward in his
proper element, however; he is there a swallow-like flyer, his long, forked tail sweeping the
air most gracefully. This bird has the singular faculty of also feeding on the wing. He has
ARABIAN KITE.—Milvus forskalt.
THE BLACK-WINGED FALCON. 51
been seen to fly through a swarm of bees, clutch them with his talons, and pass them to his
mouth while yet on wing, soaring and wheeling in the most graceful manner.
WiItson’s PHALAROPE (Sfeganopus wilson) inhabits the United States and the British
Provinces generally. It is rare, or seldom seen in New England. It breeds in the Western
States, where, in the Mississippi Valley and westward, it abounds. It is also found in Mexico
and South America. The sexes are alike in color. Of the three Phalaropes, this, in its full
plumage, is the handsomest and the largest. It may be called, also, one of the handsomest of
the whole group of waders.
Wilson says: ‘‘In the grand and wonderful chain of animated nature, the Phalaropes
constitute one of the links between the waders and the web-footed birds, having the form of
the sandpiper, with the habits of some of the ducks. The scalloped membrane on the toes
enables them to swim readily. They do not appear to be fond of the neighborhood of the
ocean, and are generally found in the interior, about the lakes and ponds of fresh water,
where they delight to linger,
and swim near the margin in
search of seedsand insects. They
go in pairs, and we cannot learn
that they are anywhere numer-
ous.
THE NorTHERN PHALAROPE
(Lobipes hypoboreas) inhabits
the northern hemisphere and
penetrates to high northern lati-
tudes to breed. It is generally
distributed, but is essentially
maritime. Though generally
distributed, it is no where as
abundant as Wilson’s, though
it appears at times in large
flocks. It winters in the Gulf
States. Dr. Coues saw a nest
among the Cascade mountains.
Dall found it common along the
Yukon river.
THE small but brilliant
BLACK-WINGED Fatcon is a
native of Africa, but is found
in nearly all the temperate por-
tions of the Old World. It has
also been seen in New Zealand
and Java.
It isa fierce and daring little XA.
bird, striking so sharply with BLACK-WINGED FALCON.—Hanus melanopterus.
beak and claws, that even when
wounded it cannot be approached without considerable precaution. The food of the Black-
winged Falcon consists chietly of grasshoppers and various insects, from which it is thought
to derive the powerful musky odor which is exhaled from its body, and marks every spot on
which it has recently sat. It is generally to be seen perched on the extreme top of some lofty
tree, and while looking out for prey or engaged in active pursuit, pours forth a succession of
ear-piercing cries, earning thereby from several ornithologists the specific title of ‘‘ vociferous,”
52 THE MISSISSIPPI KITE.
Besides insects, it also feeds upon snakes and various small reptiles, and will sometimes,
though but rarely, kill small birds or mice.
The wings are remarkably long in this species, and the legs short and feathered, a struc-
ture which gives clear indication that the bird is strong on the wing, and excels more in swift-
ness and activity of flight than in strength of beak or clutch of talons. In many of its habits this
species ciosely resembles the swallow-tailed falcon, and, like that bird, is capable of chasing
and capturing insects on the wing. The nest of the Black-winged Falcon is rather large, and
is generally built on a convenient forked branch. It is usually lined with moss and feathers,
and contains four or five whitish eggs. Although the bird may often be seen darting at the
crows, shrikes, and other predaceous birds that may pass near its residence, it has no inten-
tion of killing and eating them, but only wishes to drive them away from the vicinity of its
home.
The head and neck of the Black-winged Falcon are silver-gray, the centres of its wings
are black, and the primaries and secondaries are grayish-brown, with gray edges. The
shoulder and the wings, breast, abdomen, and tail are pure white; the cere and toes are
yellow, and the bill and claws black. When young, the back is brown, each feather being
tipped with white, and the breast is brown spotted with white.
THe BLACK-SHOULDERED Kite (Hlanus leucurus), called also the WHITE-TAILED Kirs,
has a range of habitat about the same as the preceding, extending, however, into California.
Charles Lucien Bonaparte, the eminent ornithologist, first described this bird from a
specimen he procured from Florida. Like the preceding, it feeds on insects and small reptiles.
It is exceedingly graceful, gaining the name Bailarin in South America, from its buoyant
flight—the word signifying to balance.
THe CRooK-BILLED Facon derives its name from the shape of the beak, which is rather
long and narrow, and is curved over at the point so as to form a rather large and sharp hook.
The distinctive characteristics in this bird, which was placed in the genus Cymindis, are
the short tarsus armed with net-like markings, and half clothed with feathers down their
front, the wings shorter than the tail, and small narrow nostrils, which are so closely con-
tracted as to resemble a mere cleft in the beak. The word Cymindis is Greek, and ought
rather to have been used to designate the night-jar than this Falcon. This species possesses
scales as well as reticulation upon the front of the tarsus. Its color when adult is a leaden-
blue, or gray on the upper portions of the body, and paler beneath. The tail is white at the
base, and deepens into an orange-gray at the extremity. Its quill feathers are edged with a
brownish ash, and the feet and cere are yellow. In its earlier stages of existence, the bird is
of an almost uniform brown, relieved by reddish hues on the cap of each feather, a yellow
stripe runs beneath the eyes, and little patches of the same color appear on the cheeks, and
the front of the neck is grayish-white. All the species that belong to this family live in
America.
So does also a member of the genus Ictinia, which is very familiar to ornithologists under
the name of Mrissrsstpp1 Kire (Letinia mississippiensis).
This fine bird is a native of various parts of America, where it may be seen at a vast eleva-
tion in the air, sailing about in strange companionship with the turkey buzzard, and equalling
those birds in the power, grace, and readiness of flight. Why two such dissimilar birds should
thus inhabit the same region of air, and delight in each other's society, is a very perplexing
question, and requires a much clearer knowledge of the species and its habits before it can
be satisfactorily settled. The Mississippi Kite cares not for carrion, and is not absolutely
known to make prey of anything bigger thana locust. Yet, as Wilson well observes, the power-
ful hooked beaked and sharp claws seem as if they were intended by nature for the capture of
prey much more formidable than grasshoppers, locusts, and butterflies. In its flight, the
Mississippi Kite needs not to flap its wing, but sails on its airy course with the same easy grace
and apparent absence of exertion that is so characteristic of the flight of the vultures,
THE MISSISSIPPI KITE. Be
The very great proportionate length of its wings may account for this habit; the entire
length of the body and tail being only fourteen inches, while the expanse of wing equals three
feet. Being possessed of such power of flight, it emulates the swallow-tailed faleon in many
of its evolutions, and in a similar manner is fond of sweeping rapidly past a branch, and
snatching from the leaves a choice locust or beetle without checking its progress. Like that
bird it also feeds while on the wing, holding its prey in its claws and transferring it to its
mouth without needing to settle. In character it seems to be a most fierce and courageous
bird, as may be gathered from a short narrative given by Wilson of one of these birds which
he had shot.
“This Hawk, though wounded and precipitated from a vast height, exhibited in his dis.
tress symptoms of great strength, and an almost unconquerable spirit. I no sooner approached
to pick him up, than he instantly gave battle, striking with his claws, wheeling round and
MISSISSIPPI KITE.—Ietinia mississippiensis. SWALLOW-TAILED FALCON.—Navclerus forficatus.
round as he lay partly on his rump, and defending himself with great vigilance and dexterity,
while his dark-red eye sparkled with rage. Notwithstanding all my caution in seizing him to
earry him home, he stuck his hind claw into my hand with such force as to penetrate into the
bone. Anxious to preserve his life, I endeavored gently to disengage it ; but this made him
only contract it the more powerfully, causing such pain that I had no alternative but that of
cutting the sinew of his heel with my penknife.
‘“The whole time he lived with me, he seemed to watch every movement I made, erecting
the feathers of his broad head, and eyeing me with savage fierceness ; considering me no doubt
as the greater savage of the two. What effect education might have had on this species under
the tutorship of some of the old European professors of falconry, I know not; but if extent of
wing and energy of character, and ease and rapidity of flight, could have been any recom-
mendation to royal patronage, this species possesses all these in a very eminent degree.”
The attention of Mr. Wilson was greatly taken with these birds, and he on several occa-
sions opened the stomachs of those which he had shot, in order to discover the food on which
54 THE RED-TAILED HAWK.
they had been sustained. On every occasion he found nothing but the legs, wings, and other
indigestible portions of beetles, grasshoppers, and other large insects. He suggests that its
lofty flight is for the purpose of preying upon those insects which choose the highest region of
air for their pleasure trips, and not merely for the better convenience of seizing prey on the
ground, as is the case with so many of the more carnivorous hawks.
The colors with which this bird is decorated are, though simple in themselves, exceedingly
pleasing in their general effect. The head, neck, and part of the secondaries are a grayish-
white, and the whole of the lower parts are a whitish-ash. The back and upper portions of
the body are ashy-black, and the pinions are deep black, as is its deeply forked tail. The legs
are scarlet, and the claws, bill, and cere black. The Mississippi Kite, called also the Black
Kite, has much the same locality as the Black-Shouldered Kite. On the prairies of Illinois it
is said to be exceedingly abundant. On the Atlantic border it does not reach above the
Carolinas. It has the same graceful flight seen in the other Kites.
THe Hoox-BiLtLep Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis), called, also, the Everglade Kite, is
known in the West Indies and Florida, breeding in the everglades. It is said to be sociable
in its habits, in this respect differing from others of the order. We have seen, however,
Rough-legged Falcons associated in flocks of a dozen or more, hovering over low lands, and
eagerly scanning the ground for small reptiles. In flight this Hawk resembles the Marsh
Hawk. It feeds on small shell fish, and seems particularly adapted to marine localities.
THE Broap-winerep Hawk (Buteo pennsyloanicus) is an inhabitant of the Eastern
Atlantic States as far south as Florida ; occasionally seen in Arizona and Southern California.
Its great breadth of wing, or width of secondaries, and also of its head and body, when com-
pared to its length, seem surprising proportions. It is a ‘‘snug-built’’ bird, and one of hand-
some markings. Audubon gave this bird the character of a coward and sneak, but some of
our later ornithologists agree in crediting it with all the courage possessed by its kindred.
Mr. Boardman, of Calais, Maine, whose observations are very accurate, differs essentially from
Audubon. He gives several instances of dangerous attacks upon individuals who were
attempting to remove eges from their nests.
Swatnson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni), called also Baird’s, is found in the western regions
of America, as far east as the Mississippi River, and north to the Arctic circle. Dr. Linecum,
an excellent observer in Texas, relates an instance of this bird following up a prairie fire to
snatch up the small mammals and insects that are driven out by the heat. When any
one approaches its nest on the prairie it will make a pretty bold attempt to frighten him
away; failing that, it tries to decoy by alighting near and screeching loudly, as if some great
calamity had happened. On approaching, he moves off with seeming great difficulty, as if
wounded, screeching all the time. Eventually he rises, and sweeps along just above the
tall grass, and settles down as if to indicate the locality of the nest. If he fails to deceive
the intruder and the latter attempts to disturb the nest, the Hawk immediately rises and
gives fight.
THE Banp-TAILED HAWK (Buteo zonocercus) is a native of Mexico and Guatemala, and is
occasionally seen in Arizona and California.
THE RED-SHOULDERED HAWK (Buteo lineatus) is an Eastern bird, extending to Florida.
Another variety is found on the Pacifie slope. This bird is excessively noisy. It is very
common, being a resident in New England throughout the year.
Reb-TAILED Hawk (Buteo borealis). This is another very common resident of the New
England States throughout the year. Several distinct varieties of this Hawk are known in as
many different portions of the country. This is a strong and powerful bird, having the
faculty of soaring at great heights and at long intervals. Its habit is to watch for its prey at
THE JERFALCON. D5
some high position, and dart furiously upon it, often killing by the force of the shock,
Audubon says the sexes separate after the breeding season, and are then quite hostile to each
other. Its spread of wing is three feet nine inches.
Haruan’s Hawk (Buteo harlani\, called also Black Warrior, is native to the South-
western States, and Guatemala. It is allied to the preceding, though somewhat smaller. Its
prey is preferably wild fowl. In this there is a singular difference between it and larger
Hawks. Some of the latter feed on beetles and grasshoppers by preference.
Cooper’s Hawk (Buteo cooperi) is a Californian species, named in honor of Dr. Cooper,
the naturalist of California, who obtained one specimen, the only one so far known to science.
It is very closely like an Asiatic and European species, and may be identical.
THE CALIFORNIA SqQuirREL Hawk (Archibuteo ferrugineus) inhabits Western North
America, from California to the Missouri River. Like some others it was discovered since
Audubon’s day.
CLOSELY allied to the Mississippi Kite is the Sporrep-TaAILED Hoppy, or LEADEN IoTINIA,
both names being derived from the coloring of the plumage. It is, in common with the pre-
ceding bird, a native of America, and resembles it closely in many of its habits and manner of
feeding. It is fond of soaring at a very great elevation, and will often remain stationary in a
single spot, hanging as it were self-poised in air. The back and wings of this species are a slate
or leaden blue, and the head and remainder of the plumage of whitish-gray, spotted rather
singularly with brown. ‘The eye is bright red. Specimens of this bird have been found both
in North and South America.
THE TRUE FALCONS.
THE true Fantcons are known by their strong, thick, and curved beak, the upper mandible
having a projecting tooth near the curve, which fits into a corresponding socket in the under
mandible. The talons are strongly curved, sharp pointed, and are either flat or grooved in
their under sides.
Amona the true Falcons the JERFALCON is the most conspicuous on account of the supe-
rior dimensions of its body and the striking power of its wing.
This splendid bird is a native of Northern Europe, being mostly found in Iceland and Nor-
way, and it also inhabits parts of both Americas. Some naturalists believe that the Norwegian
and Icelandic birds ought to be reckoned as different species, but others think that any differ-
ences between them are occasioned by age and sex. It is said that of the two birds the
Iceland variety is the more powerful, of bolder flight, and greater age, and therefore better
adapted for the purpose of falconry.
The power of flight possessed by this bird is wonderfully great, and has been well
described by. Mr. Mudie. ‘‘It pays occasional visits to the northern and western isles,
more especially to those places of them that abound with rock doves; and few sights can
be finer than that of the Jerfaleon driving through a flock of them. When the Jer-
falcon comes within sight of her prey she bounds upwards, every stroke of the wings
producing a perpendicular leap, as if she were climbing those giant stairs with which
nature molds the basaltic -rocks; and when she has ‘got the sky’ of her prey to a suf-
ficient height for gaining the necessary impetus, her wings shiver for a moment—she
works herself into proper command and poise, and to the full extent of her wings. Then,
prone she dashes, with so much velocity that the impression of her path remains in
the eye in the same manner as that of the shooting meteor or the flashing lightning, and
you fancy that there is a torrent of Falcon rushing for fathoms through the air. The
stroke is as unerring as the motion is fleet. If it takes effect on the body, the bird
56 HABITS OF THE JERFALCON.
is trussed and the hunt is over; but if a wing only is broken, the maimed bird is allowed to
flutter to the earth, and another is marked out for the collision of death.
‘Tt sometimes happens that the mountain crow comes in for the wounded game, but in
order to do so it must proceed stealthily along the ground, for woe betide it if it rises on the
wing and meets the glance of the Falcon. The raven himself never scoops out another eye if
he rises to attempt that one; and it is by no means improbable that in the early season in
those cold northern countries, when the lambs are young and the flock weak, and the crows
and ravens prowl about blinding and torturing, the Jerfalcon may be of considerable service
to the shepherd.”’
When at liberty in its native land, it seems to prefer birds to any other kind of prey, and
will resolutely attack birds of considerable size, such as the heron or stork. It will also chase
hares and rabbits, and in the pursuit of this swift game is so eager, that after knocking over
one hare, it will leave the maimed animal struggling on the ground while it goes off in chase
of another. Although its home is in the chilly wastes of those northern regions, the bird is in
no want of food, finding ample supply in the sea birds which swarm around the tall cliffs that
jut into the waves, and being able from its great powers of flight to range over a vast extent of
country in search of its daily food.
On account of the singular power, swiftness, and courage of this bird, it was in former
days held in the highest estimation, and could only be purchased at a most extravagant
price. Not only must it be taken at the imminent risk of life, from the almost inaccessible
cliffs on which it builds its nest, but it must also be specially brought from Iceland or
Norway, and trained after its arrival at its new residence. As the bird is a most unruly
and self-willed creature, its instruction was a matter of very great difficulty, and could
only be achieved by the most patient of skilful teachers. So highly, indeed, was this bird
valued, that after the hawking season was over, and the ordinary hawks permitted to fly
at liberty according to custom, the Jerfalcon was retained by its owner, and kept for the next
year. The training of this bird is a long and tedious process, and is managed after the
following manner.
It is allowed that all hawks are fierce and untameable in proportion to the latitude in
which they reside, those which inhabit the northern and colder parts of the earth being much
fiercer and less tameable than those of more southern regions ; so that the course of training
through which a Jerfaleon is forced to pass is much more severe than that which suffices to
render a Peregrine Falcon subservient to its teacher.
The first object which the trainer bears in mind is, to reduce the strength of the bird by
slow degrees. so as to prevent it from injuring itself by the fierce and protracted struggles
with which it would endeavor to resist any advance on the part of the teacher. This object is
obtained by giving the bird only half the usual allowance of food, and by steeping the meat in
water before the Falcon is permitted to touch it. A leathern hood, which answers the double
purpose of blinding the eyes and keeping the beak closed, is placed on the head, and never
removed except at night, so that the bird remains in perpetual darkness for ten days or a
fortnight. If the bird attempts to bite when the hood is removed, cold water is splashed in
its face, and if it is very savage, it is plunged entirely under water. By the end of fifteen or
sixteen days, the Faleon becomes used to the handling to which it is subjected, and will permit
the hood to be removed and replaced, without offering any resistance.
The next part of the instruction is to teach the bird to pounce upon any object that may
be pointed out by the instructor, whether it be a heron moving in the air, or a hare running
on the ground.
The skin of the intended prey is employed for this purpose, and the bird is invariably fed
while standing on this skin. When it is accustomed to associate the idea of the hare or heron
skin with the pleasure of satisfying its hunger, the skin, if it be that of a hare, is drawn along
the ground, and the falcon encouraged to pursue it. As soon as the bird pounces, the teacher
looses his hold of the skin, and permits his pupil to feast on the meat which has been pre-
viously attached to it. Next day the skin is placed at a distance of several yards before it is
started, and the distance is gradually increased, so that the bird learns to search in every
JERFALCON.
Testimonials to the “Tafeln” of Brebm’s Thierleben.
The late CHARLES DARWIN wrifes:—‘‘ The illustrations are the best I ever saw in any work,
I find it superfluous to enter here into particulars, as I already, in the ‘ Descent of
”
Man,’ have wiliingly and openly confessed how much I have profited by Mr. Brehm’s book, and how highly I esteem it.
Sir JoHN Lugzock, Bart., D.C.L.:—‘‘ You have, I think, done good service in publishing them. They are certainly very admirable.
”
W. B. CARPENTER, M.D., LL.D., writes:—'‘‘I can quite endorse the favorable opinions already given by distinguished zoologists as to the high character of the illustrations
generally.”
J=2-& Unimate Creation. 6-5=*
ae) E have concluded to submit for public patronage a work with the above title, being a series _
W of exquisite Engravings representing the ANIMAL WORLD, executed with great scientific —
accuracy, and accompanied by full Descriptive Text, written in popular terms, so as to
delight and instruct the people. Anyone who has considered the subject must be at a loss to under-
stand why an ILLUSTRATED NATURAL HIsTORY, comprehensive and at the same time popular,
has not before this been published in this country. Indeed any lover of animals who has visited the
great museums and zoological gardens and has had access to books of engravings in the public
libraries, could not fail to remark the wealth of material in existence devoted to this subject. Being
confirmed in our conviction of the desirability of such a work, we laid under contribution the best
existing authorities for the production of most perfect representations of all the more important
living creatures, and among the artists whose delineations will delight the reader, we may mention
Harrison Weir, Wolf, Coleman, Fr. Specht, and Mutzel. By far the majority of the engravings in
these volumes are from drawings made from the é¢vzzg animals, many at the Zoological Society’s
Gardens in London, England.
We purpose that our patrons shall be aided and interested in their study by such an array of
pictures as has never before embellished any Natural History. In numerous instances the engraving
is printed in oil-colors, and this portion of the illustrations has been taken charge of by Messrs. L.
Prang & Co., of Boston, who we believe rank foremost for high artistic results in this department of
printing. These Oleographs were copied under the superintendence of Mr. Prang from the renowned
“ Tafeln”’ of “ Brehm’s Thierleben,” so that they may be declared perfectly reliable.
We sought competent advice from various sources as to the most suitable text that should ac-
company this panorama of handsome Engravings. It was found impossible to embody all the present
ideas of naturalists in a single work like this on account of the rapid advances and constant changes in
their knowledge of, and habits of thought respecting, the Animal World. And it seemed to us cor-
rect that the true object of Zoology is not to arrange, to number, and to ticket animals in a formal
inventory, but to inquire into their life-nature, and not simply to investigate the lifeless organism.
What do we know of “ Man” from the dissecting-room? Is it not Man, the warrior, the states-
man, the poet, etc., that we are interested in? With all veneration which attaches itself to those
who are the accredited possessors of abstruse learning, their inordinate use of phraseology detracts
too much, we fear, from the fascination that the study of the Animal World would otherwise yield,
and as we are not content to have our work restricted to a favored few, we thought the task placed
in our hands to be to keep the work free from a repellant vocabulary of conventional technicalities.
Our endeavor has been to find an author whose work would be noted for its fund of anecdote and
vitality rather than for merely anatomical and scientific presentation, and we arrived at the conclu-
sion that we could not do better than avail ourselves of the Rev. J. G. Wood’s comprehensive work
—a work most popularly approved by speakers of the English language. It would be superfluous to
say one word concerning the standard character of his book, from the pages of which old and young
at the other side of the Atlantic have obtained so much instruction and rational amusement. Avoid-
ing the lengthened dissertations and minute classifications of specialists, he presents to his readers in
popular terms a complete treatise on the Animal Kingdom of all climes and countries. The one
objection that could be urged against it was, that animal life in America might be treated more fully
and American forms given more consideration. In order to obviate this drawback and to do full
justice to the creatures of our own country, we secured the aid of Dr. J. B. HOLDER, of the Ameri-
can Museum of Natural History in New York, an undoubted American authority, who has adapted
Wood’s work to American wants and given prominence to American forms of Animal life.
The splendid work on Rodentia, by Allen, Coues, and others, will be fully consulted. The
valuable work on North American Birds, by Bae! Brewer, and Ridgway, will be the guide i in the
treatment of birds. The late arrangement of the Becsieccision and nomenclature of North American
Birds, by Mr. Ridgway, and the Committee on that subject of the Ornithologists’ Union, will be
utilized in full. The arrangement of Mammals will be after the latest classification by Professor
Flower, of the Zoological Society of London. So that this will be the first popular Natural History
worthy of the name that has made its appearance here, which gives due and full recognition to the
animate world surrounding us.
Terms of Publication.
The extent of the work will be 68 parts of 28 pages, at the price of 25 cents each. The entire publication will
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please address the Publisher by mail,
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IK
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TT
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Ant Me lige is \) \
nin nna
PART 26 COMPLETE IN 68 PARTS. 25 CENTS.
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THE PEREGRINE FALCON. 57
direction for its expected prey, as soon as the hood is removed from its eyes. Lastly, the
teacher mounts on horseback, and holding in his hand a long string, the other end of which is
attached to the skin, he darts off at full gallop, so that the Falcon is forced to put out its best
speed before it can overtake the horse or pounce on the skin as it flies leaping and striking
along the ground. On the first two or three days, the Falcon is almost quite breathless when
it has overtaken the horse, and sits panting, with open beak, upon the skin; but in a week or
so, it becomes much stronger, and is not in the least distressed by its severe chase.
To teach the bird to pounce upon herons, buzzards, kites, or other winged prey, a stuffed
skin is employed after much the same fashion that is followed with the hare skin. Instead,
however, of being dragged along the ground, the skin is flung into the air, and the bird
encouraged to pounce upon it before it reaches the ground. In all cases the attendants keep
up a great noise and shouting as soon as the Falcon begins to feed, in order to accustom the
bird to the uproar which is the inevitable concomitant of the chase. Horses and dogs are then
brought close to the feeding bird, and the dogs are encouraged to break out in full ery.
When the bird has become sufficiently docile to recognize its keeper and to know his
voice, it is then instructed to come to his hand when called. This accomplishment is taught
by means of a “‘lure”’ and a whistle. The lure is a gaudy apparatus of feathers and leather,
on which is placed a small piece of some special dainty. The Falcon is encouraged to jump
on the lure and devour the food, the whistle being blown continually while the bird is eating.
Next day the teacher stands at a few yards’ distance from his pupil, blows the whistle, exhibits
the lure, and permits the bird to make its little feast. In a very short time the sound of the
whistle attracts the attention of the Faleon, which immediately looks around for the lure and
sets upon it at once. When the huntsman takes the field, the lure is attached to a leathern
strap, and slung to the side of the horse, so that whenever a flying Falcon is to be recalled, the
huntsman whistles sharply in order to attract the bird’s attention, and at the same time swings
the lure round his head, so as to render it more visible to the bird.
This process of training, of which a very slight and rapid sketch has been given, occupies
from six weeks to two months, whereas that of the peregrine, goshawk, or merlin only requires
some fifteen or twenty days. Even when the whole series of instructions has been completed,
its ultimate success is very dubious, for it sometimes happens that when the bird finds itself
wholly at liberty for the first time, it forgets all its teaching, and, heedless of lure or whistle,
flies exultingly to its rocky home.
The color of the adult Jerfaleon is nearly white, being purely white on the under surface
and flecked with narrow transverse bars of grayish-brown upon the upper parts. The sharp
claws are black, the beak of a bluish-tint, and the cere, tarsus, and toes yellow. When young,
however, the bird presents a very different aspect, and would hardly be recognized as belonging
to the same species. In its earlier stages of life it is almost wholly of a grayish-brown tint, the
feathers being slightly marked with a little white upon their edges. As the bird increases in
age the white edges become wider, and by degrees the entire feather is of a snowy whiteness.
The name Jerfalcon is supposed to be a corruption of ‘‘ Geyer-falcon,” or Vulture Falcon.
The Gerfaleon (Falco gerfalco), a most noble bird, is native in Greenland and the conti-
nent above Hudson’s Bay. It breeds in the latter region. It is also found in all other circum-
polar localities.
Two distinct varieties are recognized. One being quite white, much like the snowy owl.
The other has a bluish tinted plumage, with large transverse bands of plumbeous color.
Specimens are occasionally taken in New England. This bird is among a few that are regarded
as destined soon to be reduced well nigh to extinction. It is now very rare, and specimens
are held as valuable acquisitions to cabinets. The Central Park Museum has six superb
specimens, including three varieties. One is the McFarlane bird—variety sacer. They usually
build near the breeding places of sea fowl, upon which they prey.
Less powerful, but more graceful than the Jerfalcon, the PErrcriInE Fatcon has ever
held the first place among the hawks that are trained for the chase.
The temper of the latter bird is incomparably more docile than that of the former, the
Vou, 44.8, ~
58 THE PEREGRINE FALCON.
lessons of the instructor are received with more readiness, occupy far less time, and seem to be
more powerfully impressed upon the memory. For training this bird the process is very
similar to that which is employed in the instruction of the Jerfalcon, but the system is not
nearly so severe, and occupies scarcely one-fourth of the time that is needful to render the
once! and fearless Jerfaleon subservient to the dominion of man. The whole process is very
simple in its theory, being based on the principle of placing the bird in such situations that it
is absolutely unable to disobey the orders which are given by its trainer, and consequently
imagines that it is equally bound to obey every order which he may afterwards give. In order
PEREGRINE FALCON.—Faco peregrinus.
to obtain this result two qualities are needful in the instructor, namely, patience and gentle-
ness, for without these traits of character no man can hope to be a successful teacher of hawks,
or, indeed, of any other being whatever.
When thoroughly tamed, the Peregrine Falcon displays a very considerable amount of
attachment to its owner, and even while flying at perfect liberty will single him out from a
large company, fly voluntarily towards him, and perch lovingly on his hand or shoulder.
Several of these beantiful birds that had heen tamed by Mr. Sinclair were so thoroughly domes-
ticated that they were permitted to range at liberty, and were generally accustomed to perch
ona tree near the house. One of these Falcons was permitted to seek her own food whenever
she could not find any meat upon the accustomed spot, and would take flights of several miles
in extent. Yet she would immediately recognize her master if he were out shooting, and
would aid him by striking down the grouse as they rose before his dogs. On one occasion the
fearless bird met with an accident which might have proved fatal, but was ultimately found to be
of little consequence. Unaware of the presence of his Falcon, her master fired at a grouse, and
THE LANNER. 59
as the bird was at the same moment making a ‘‘stoop’’ upon the bird, one of the leaden
pellets struck the Falcon, and inflicted a slight wound.
The dash and fury with which this hawk makes its stoop is almost incredible. In a coast
town a part of a greenhouse had been divided off by wire, so as to form an aviary, the roof of
the aviary being the glass tiling of the greenhouse. In this edifice were placed a number of
small birds, which attracted the attention of a Peregine Falcon that was passing overhead.
Totally unmindful of all obstacles, he shot crashing through the glass without injuring himself
in the least, seized one of the terrified birds, and carried it off in safety. Several other birds
were found dead, apparently from fright, or perhaps by the shock of the hawk and glass
which came flying among their number.
It is said that when the Peregrine Falcon takes up its residence near the moors it is a very
mischievous neighbor, slaughtering annually great numbers of grouse. Although very fond
of pigeons and similar game, the Peregrine Falcon seems to have sufficient sporting spirit to
prefer the grouse to the pigeon, and never to trouble itself about the latter bird as long as it
has a chance of obtaining one of the former.
The American Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), called also Duck Hawk, is one of the
most graceful and powerful of the race. It is found over the entire continent and adjacent
islands. A northern variety is thought to be identical with the European species.
This bird is a resident of New England throughout the year, usually seen on the sea
shore ; its trivial name indicates its favorite prey. It is a very powerful and swift flyer, the
terror of water-fowl, its legiti-
mate prey. It abounds in con-
siderable number in Labrador.
Audubon found them breed-
ing on the same rocks with
cormorants. With the hunter
along our coast this bird has a
reputation for most extraordi-
nary daring. He rushes with
intense impetuosity upon his
prey, and often strikes it dead
before it reaches the ground.
He is known to attack wild
geese and bear them down
from the flock as they pass
over at considerable height.
This is the bird par excel-
Zence known in heraldry. It
is graceful and sagacious in
aspect. Two prominent char-
acters distinguish it from other
species : a broad patch of black
below the eye, and very large
feet. Its extent of wing is
three feet eight inches. It is
notable that this bird is con-
siderably smaller than several
of the buzzards that feed on
the insignificant insect food.
Xe
Wi
y1)))P.
Ms
THE true LANNER (Falco LANNER.— Falco lanarius.
lanarius) is a native of north-
ern Europe. It is a rather large bird, considerably exceeding the Peregrine Falcon in its
dimensions, and being little inferior in size to the Jerfalcon itself. This bird was formerly
60 THE MERLIN.
much esteemed for the purpose of falconry, and was specially trained to fiy at the kite, a
bird which is too strong to afford the ordinary Peregrine Falcon any possible hope of success.
The male of this species is considerably smaller than his mate, and is therefore called a
Lanneret.
THe Pratrie Fantcon (Mierofalco mexicans), called also the American Lanner, is,
according to Prof. Baird, so near the European form that it is difficult to separate them.
Dr. Cooper regards it as the shyest and swiftest of hawks. It frequents prairies, and feeds on
hares, grouse, and even larger game at times.
Tur small, but exquisitely shaped Hopsy is found spread over the greater part of the
Old World, specimens having been taken in northern Africa, and in many portions of Asia, as
HOBBY.—Falco subbuteo.
well as in Europe, which seems to be its chief residence. From all accounts, it seems to be
rather alocal bird, being partially influenced by the nature of the ground and the quantity of
food which it is able to procure.
This bird appears to favor inland and well-wooded lands rather than the sea-shore or the
barren rocks; thus presenting a strong contrast to the Peregrine Falcon. We may find an
obvious reason for this preference in the fact that a considerable proportion of its food is com-
posed of the larger insects, especially of the fat-bodied beetles, which it seizes on the wing.
Auttuoucn the smallest of the Faleonide, being only from ten to thirteen inches in
eneth, according to the sex of the individua 1e MERLIN is one of the most dashing «
lenetl rding to tl f tl lividual, the M f tl t dashing and
brilliant of all the hawks,
THE APLOMADO FALCON. 61
This beautiful little bird is almost invaluable to the young falconer, as it is so docile in
disposition, and so remarkably intelligent in character, that it repays his instructions much
sooner than any of the more showy, but less teachable Falcons. Every movement of this
admirable little hawk is full of life and vivacity ; its head turns sharply from side to side as it
sits on its master’s hand, its eyes almost flame with fiery eagerness, and it ever and anon gives
vent to its impatience by a volley of ear-piercing shrieks. There is, however, a singular capri-
ciousness in the character of the
Merlin, for it seems to be so sensi-
tive to certain influences which are
quite imperceptible to human organ-
ization, that the same individual
which on one day or at one hour is
full of fierce energy, chasing large
and powerful birds of its own ac-
cord, following the erratic course
of the snipe with a wing as agile
and far more enduring than its
own, or shooting suddenly through
the tangled branches of the under-
wood in pursuit of some prey that
is fleeing to the leafy abode for
refuge, will at another time become
listless and inanimate, and even if
it be induced to fly at its quarry,
will turn suddenly away as if
alarmed, and return languidly to
its perch.
THE Pickton Hawk (Aesalon
columbarius). This is a small
bird, but little larger than the
domestic Pigeon. Jt is bold and
swift of flight. It is a common
visitor in New England during the
spring and autumn. It is found in
every portion of the continent of SY i
North America. Though so small, MERLIN.—Fatco aesaton.
it has been used in falconry. Sev-
eral varieties are known in different parts of the country.
"NIC Lp)
OS? (Kaunnoas te X38
TuE APLoMADO Fatcon (Rhynchofalco fusco-cerulescens) isa southern species, inhabiting
all parts of South America, and reaching north as far as New Mexico. It is about the size of
the latter species, and has been trained as a hunting Falcon. The Chilians esteem it highly
as such.
The genus Hypotriorchis is rather rich in interesting birds, among which may be noticed
the Pigeon Hawk of America and the Chicquera Falcon of India.
The former of these birds is found not only on our continent, but also in parts of the West
Indies. Generally, however, it is found in Southern America, where it is rather plentiful, and
may be seen hunting for its prey in the proper localities. It is a spirited and swift-winged
bird, although not a very large one, measuring barely eleven inches in length, and not quite
two feet in the expanse of wing. A rather remarkable peculiarity in its plumage is found in
the feathery covering of the legs, which is singularly long, the tips of the feathers reaching
nearly to the feet.
The usual prey of the Pigeon Hawk consists of mice, small birds, reptiles, and various
62 THE KESTREL.
insects, and it has a remarkably sharp eye for any unfortunate half-fledged bird that may
have strayed from its nest, or crippled itself in its first endeavors to fly. It is a terrible foe to
the reed birds, grackles, and other similar members of the winged race ; hovering continually
about the crowded flocks, and picking off the stragglers or the weakly at leisure. Sometimes,
however, the Hawk seems to lose patience, and dashing suddenly into the flock, will bear
away an unfortunate bird from the midst of its companions. It has derived the name of
Pigeon Hawk, because it is well known as one of the numerous birds of prey that hover around
the myriad armies of the Passenger Pigeon, as they make their wonderful migrations which
have rendered them so famous.
Further information concerning this bird may be obtained from the pages of Wilson
and Audubon.
Tue last member of this genus which can be separately noticed in the present work is the
CHICQUERA Fatcon, of India. This bird is often trained by the native sportsmen, and employed
for the purpose of chasing the bustard and similar game. It is not good at an aerial flight, and
therefore is not used against soaring game; but when employed in the pursuit of the running
birds, its peculiar low, skimming flight is admirably adapted to the purpose. In order to
keep the bustard from taking to wing, a Hawk of another species is trained to fly above the
quarry and beat it down whenever it endeavors to raise itself into the air and escape by flight.
Tuts fine bird, which is called the Brown Hawk, or CREAM-BELLIED Fatcon, by civilized
men, and the Berigora by the natives, is an inhabitant of Van Diemen’s Land and New
South Wales.
Tt isa rather sluggish and slow-moving bird, easily obtaining a sufficiency of food, and
then settling down upon some neighboring tree until the calls of hunger urge it to fresh
exertions. The principal food of the Brown Hawk
consists of insects, although it will also eat carrion,
and kills mice, small birds, lizards, and other crea-
tures. The land-holding colonists think it to be a
great pest, because it sometimes picks up a young
chicken or two; but in the opinion of Mr. Gould it
is in reality one of the farmer’s best friends, on
account of its services in destroying the insect hosts
with which Australia is overrun. Although it is not
a gregarious bird, living only in pairs, it may be
seen assembled in flocks of a hundred or more,
congregated over the localities where the destructive
caterpillars most abound. So plentiful is this bird,
and so sluggish is its character, that they may be
seen seated in the tall eucalypti, thirty or forty
occupying a single tree, and all so ill-disposed to
move that any number of them may be killed with-
out difficulty.
THE common KEsTREL is one of the most fami-
liar of the European Hawks, being seen in almost
every part of the country where a mouse, a lizard,
or a beetle may be found.
It may be easily distinguished while on the
wing from any other hawk, by the peculiar manner
KESTREL.—Faleo tinnunculus. in which it remains poised in air in a single spot, its
head invariably pointing towards the wind, its tail
spread, and its wings widely extended, almost as if it were a toy kite raised in the air
e
THE LITTLE FALCON. 63
by artificial means, and preserved in the same spot by the trammels of a string. While
hanging thus strangely suspended in the air, its head is bent downwards, and its keen
eyes glance restlessly in every direction, watching every blade of grass beneath its ken, and
shooting down with unerring certainty of aim upon any unhappy field-mouse that may be
foolish enough to poke his red face out of his hole while the Kestrel is on the watch. The
marvellous powers of the Kestrel’s eye may be easily imagined by any one who has any experi-
ence of the field-mouse and the extreme difficulty of seeing the little creature while it is creep-
ing among the grass straws. Its ruddy coat blends so well with the mold, and the grass
blades bend so slightly under the pressure of its soft fur, that an unpractised eye would fail
to detect the mouse even if its precise locality were pointed out.
The number of field-mice consumed by this hawk is very great, for it is hardly possible
to open the stomach of a Kestrel without finding the remains of one or more of these destructive
little animals. On account of its mouse-eating propensities, the Kestrel is a most useful bird
to the farmer, who in his ignorance confounds all hawks together, and shoots the Kestrel
because the kite steals his chickens.
ANOTHER species, which belongs to the same genus as the kestrel, is the Rep-rooTED
Fatcon or Inertan Faucon (Zinniinculus vespertinus), having its usual residence in
Austria, Russia, and Poland.
Specimens have also been taken
in Athens, Nepal, and Tunis,
so that the species seem to have
a very extensive range of coun-
try. It goes through consider-
able changes of tinting before
its plumage attains the adult
colors, but the full-grown bird
may readily be distinguished
from the common kestrel by
the legs and toes, which are of
a reddish flesh-tint, instead of
the yellow hue which is found
in the former bird. The claws,
too, instead of being black, are
yellowish-white, deepening into
a grayish-brown on the tips.
Amona other members of
the same genus, we may notice
the Lirrtre Fatcon (Zinniin-
culus sparvérius) of America,
an interesting account of which
bird may be found in the pages
of ‘‘Wilson’s American Orni-
thology.’? Its habits are very
similar to those of the common 7
kestrel, and, like that bird, it ee
preys chiefly on mice, lizards, RED-FOOTED FALCON.—Falco vespertinus.
grasshoppers, and the larger
insects. It will, however, attack and carry off chickens and the young of other birds during
the breeding-season. Its nest is always made on some elevated situation, and is generally
found on the top of a lofty tree, although the bird sometimes builds upon rocks, in the crev-
ices of towers, or even in the hollows of trees.
64 THE GOSHAWE.
Tore Norouep Fancon is remarkable for the peculiar form of the beak, which exhibits a
double notch or tooth on each side, and has therefore been distinguished by the specific title
of bidentatus, or ‘* two-toothed.”’
This species is a native of southern America, being found most commonly in Brazil and
Guinea. In size it is about equal to the common kestrel, its length being thirteen or fourteen
inches. The general color of the Notched Falcon is a slaty-blue or blue-gray upon the upper
surface of the body, and the tail is dusky-brown, marked with several transverse bars of
grayish-white. The throat and under tail-coverts are white, and the breast and abdomen are
rusty-red, marked with undulating streaks of yellowish-white. Very little is known of the
habits of this species, but on account of the peculiar form of its beak, it cannot be passed over
without notice.
THE members of an allied genus, termed Jeraz, also possess a similarly formed beak, but
the structure of the wings and arrangement of the feathers are so different as to give reason
for placing the bird in a separate genus. One of the most beautiful examples of this genus is
the little BrenaaL FaLoon (lerax cerulescens), a native of Java, Borneo, and many parts of
Se NN
BENGAL FALCON.—Falco cerulescens.
India. This tiny Falcon is barely six inches in length, and is popularly known in India by
the name of ‘‘ Mooty,’’ a word which signifies ‘‘a handful,’ and is given to the bird because,
when it is flown at game, it is taken in the hand and flung at the quarry as if it were a stone
rather than a living missile. It is a most daring little bird, and has been known to strike in
succession ten or twelve quails before alighting. The general color of this species is bluish-
black above, and rusty-white below. The plumage of the thighs is long and silken, and the
wings are comparatively short.
WE now come to a large and important genus of hawks, which is represented in England
by the GosHawk.
This handsome bird is even larger than the jerfalcon, the length of an adult male being
eighteen inches, and that of his mate rather more than two feet. It is not, however, 80 power-
ful or so swift-winged a bird as the jerfalcon, and its mode of taking prey is entirely different.
THE G@SHAWE. 65
The jerfalcon dashes at every flying creature that may take its fancy, and attacks successfully
the largest winged game.. But the Goshawk, although possessed of the most undaunted
courage and of great muscular power, is unable to cope with such opponents, and prefers ter-
restrial to aerial quarry. Owing to the shape of the wing, and comparative shortness of the
feathers, the Goshawk is unable to take long flights, or to urge a lengthened and persevering
chase. Moreover, although its courage is of the most determined character, it soon loses heart
if often baffled by the same quarry, and in such cases will turn sulky and yield the chase.
When trained, the Goshawk is best employed at hares, rabbits, and other furred game,
and in this particular sport is unrivalled. Its mode of hunting is singularly like that of the
chetah, which has already been men-
tioned in the volume on the Mammalia.
Like that animal, it is not nearly so
swift as its prey, and therefore is ob-
liged to steal upon them, and seize its
victim by a sudden and unexpected
pounce. When it has once grasped its
prey, it is rarely found to loose its
hold, even by the most violent strug-
gles or the most furious attack. The
gripe is so enormously powerful, that
a Goshawk has often been observed to
pounce upon a large hare, and to main-
tain its hold even though the animal
sprang high into the air, and then
rolled upon the ground, in the vain
hope of shaking off his feathered an-
tagonist. Only the female bird is able
to cope with so powerful a creature as
a full-grown hare or rabbit; for the
male, although more swift of wing, and
therefore better adapted for chasing
birds than the female, is comparativeiy
feeble.
Tt never attempts to follow its
quarry into cover, as is done by the
Peregrine and Merlin, but if its in-
tended prey should seek safety in some GOSHAWK.—Astur palwmbarius.
place of refuge, the Goshawk perches
upon a convenient bough and waits patiently. As the hawk is very endurant of hunger, although
sufficiently ravenous when it meets with a supply of food, it ‘‘ wins, like Fabius, by delay,”
and pounces upon the unlucky quarry, as it steals out in search of food or water. When it
has once seized its prey, it is full of exultation, and being generally rather of a ferocious dis-
position, is apt to turn savagely upon the hand that attempts to remove it from its victim.
Its temper, indeed, is so bad, that if it should happen to escape from its jesses and get among
other Falcons, it will almost certainly attack and kill as many of them as it can reach. For
the same reason it needs to be kept constantly hooded, and is less to be trusted at liberty than
any other Falcon. Its short flights, however, render its recapture a comparatively easy mat-
ter, so that there is but little danger of losing it.
Its constitution is very hardy, and as it will feed on almost any animal nourishment, it
gives very little trouble to its owner.
This species is found spread over nearly the whole of Europe and Asia, and has also been
seen in Northern Africa. The nest of this bird is generally placed on the topmost boughs
of some lofty tree, and the eggs are of a uniform spotless blue-white. Their number is from
three to four, and the young are hatched about May or the beginning of June.
Vou. IL.—9. Paras
66 THE NEW HOLLAND WHITE EAGLE.
In color, the adult birds of both sexes are very similar to each other, the tinting of the
plumage being briefly as follows: The top of the head and the entire upper portions of the
body and wings are gray-brown, and the under portions of the body, together with a band
over the cheeks and the back of the neck, are nearly white, diversified with numerous irregwar
spots, splashes, and partial bars of black. The cheeks and ear-coverts are dark grayish.
brown, the upper surface of the tail is the same hue as the back, and barred with dark brown ;
the under tail-coverts are white. The cere, legs, and toes are yellow, the claws black, and the
beak blue-black. In the female the gray brown of the back is a more ruddy hue, and in the
young the plumage is curiously diversified with reddish-white, buff and gray.
Toe AMERICAN Gosnawk (Astur atricapillus)—Wilson says of this magnificent bird :
“Tf this be not the celebrated Goshawk, formerly so much esteemed in falconry, it is very
closely allied to it.’ Audubon says: ‘‘ His flight is extremely rapid and protracted. He
sweeps along the margin of the fields, through the woods, and by the edges of ponds and rivers,
with such speed as to enable him to seize his prey by merely deviating a few yards from his
course, assisting himself on such occasions by his long tail, which, like a rudder, he throws to
the right or the left, upwards or downwards to check his progress, or enable him suddenly
to change his course. At times he passes like a meteor through the underwood, where he
secures hares and squirrels with ease. Should a flock of wild pigeons pass him, he immedi-
ately gives chase, soon overtakes them, and passing into the middle of the flock, scatters them
in confusion, when you may see him emerging with a bird in his talons, and diving towards
the depths of the forests to feed upon his victim. When travelling he flies high, with a
constant beat of wing, seldom moving in large circles like other Hawks.”’
This Hawk is regarded as the one par excellence as a trained hunter. It is the species
most frequently alluded to in falconry. The female is, as is common to the Hawks, much the
largest. She is able to bear off a hare of considerable size.
The Goshawk is the handsomest of the falcons ; its light-colored plumage and great size
suggest the gerfalcons. The wonderfully erect and noble attitude of this bird is a pleasurable
sight.
Tur SHarp SHInNED Hawk (Accipiter fuscus) is a small, slender bird, with exceedingly
delicate and long legs. It is known to the entire continent of North America.
It is one of the most common summer residents in New England. So impetuous is this
little Hawk, Mr. Nuttall says he has been known to dash through two distinct glass doors in his
effort to reach his prey. It is distinguished in its flight by a peculiar manner ; its short wings
and long tail giving it a characteristic aspect. It isa very much like the Goshawk in miniature.
Wilson was greatly impressed with the dash of this delicate little bird. Its long legs
appear no larger than pipe-stems, yet they bear an important part in the action of the little
creature. ‘‘It seemed to throw itself from one quarter of the heavens to another, with pro-
digious velocity ; inclining to the earth, swept suddenly down into a thicket, and instantly
reappeared with a small bird in his talons. The rapidity and seeming violence of these zigzag
excursions were really remarkable, and appeared to be for seizing his prey by sudden surprise and
main force of flight.’? The female of this species is remarkable for its greater size than the male.
Another species of Wisws is named for Dr. Cooper, of California. It is found in most
parts of North America.
Harris’ Buzzarp (Antinor unicinctus) is a southern species, with a limited range. Like
most of the Buzzards it feeds on mice and reptiles, and is heavy and sluggish in habit.
GruBer’s Hawk (Onychotes gruberi). This single species of a genus peculiar to this conti-
nent is so rare that only one specimen is known; that is preserved in the Smithsonian
Institute.
A very beautiful species of this genus, the New Hottanp Waite Eacte (Astur nove
hollandia) is found in Australia, and is remarkable for the frequency with which its plumage
THE SPARROW HAWK. 67
assumes a snowy-white hue, the ordinary coloring being gray above and white below. The
eyes of this bird are very curious, for in some specimens they are of a rich brown, in others of
a topaz-yellow, while in others they are ruby-red. The cere, legs, and claws are yellow, and
the bill black. The disproportion between the comparative dimensions of the sexes is remark-
ably great in this species, the male being barely half the size of his mate.
THe well-known Sparrow Hawk is almost as familiar to us as the kestrel, the two birds
being, indeed, often confounded with each other by those who ought to know better. This
fine and active little bird is an inhabitant of many portions of the world, being very common
in nearly all parts of Europe, equally so in Egypt and Northern Africa, and being very fre-
quently found in India and other Asiatic countries. The genus Accipiter finds representatives
in every quarter of the
globe, species being found
in North and South Ameri-
ca, in Madagascar, in West-
ern and Southern Africa, in
Java, and Australia.
The Sparrow Hawk is
not so often seen as might
be imagined, for it is a most
wild, shy, and wary bird,
and never ventures near
human dwellings, or within
a considerable distance 6f
human beings, unless urged
by hunger or carried away
by the ardor of pursuit. As
a general rule, to get within
ordinary gunshot of a Spar-
row Hawk is no easy mat-
ter; but if the Hawk be
watched as he is hovering
about a flock of sparrows
or rather small birds, he
may be approached with-
out much difficulty, his
entire attention being en-
gaged on his expected prey.
Indeed, while engaged in 9 oe ‘Ve \\ WY \\
the chase, the ardor of this _.2°«“Gee_,, ff; CA/\\\ \\\\ \\N
bird is so great, that all Tee at X\9y K-SAHBMARGT
its faculties seem to be SPARROW HAWK.—Astur nisus.
absorbed in the gratifica-
tion of the ruling passion, and it is evidently unmindful of anything but its flying prey. A
Sparrow Hawk has even been known to dash furiously at a man who endeavored to rescue a
small bird which it had attacked.
The courage of the Sparrow Hawk is of the most reckless character, for the bird will fly
unhesitatingly at almost at any other inhabitant of air, no matter what its size may be. Mr.
Thompson relates the following curious instance of the exceeding audacity of this bird :
‘Once, at the end of July, when walking along the sides of a river, I was attracted by the
loud screams of herons, which appeared above the trees at the north-west extremity of a park.
A couple of these giants of the air kept flying above the tops of the trees with tremendous up-
roar in consequence of the presence of a single Sparrow Hawk. ‘This bird was circling about,
and the herons awkwardly and quite unavailingly endeavoring to strike him. Flying quite
68 THE SPARROW HAWK.
at ease, his turns were so short, and at the sametime so full of grace, that he seemed to laugh
to scorn their heavy, lumbering movements.
“The herons’ savage cries were apparently—evidently might almost be said—caused by
the Hawk’s make-believe attempts to carry off their young, as they were particularly violent
and vociferous whenever he made a swoop—as I remarked him to do thrice—at the top of
a particular tree. It seemed a mere play or bravado on the part of the Hawk, as he could
easily, in spite of the herons, have borne off the contents of the nest any time, were the prey
not too bulky for his purpose. Mr. R. Langton has not only observed a wild Sparrow Hawk
strike his sea-eagles when perching on their sheds, but when his golden eagle was on the wing,
has seen one of these birds strike it when passing, and once even witnessed the Hawk’s turn-
ing back and repeating the impertinence.”’
The same author also mentions several instances of the extreme audacity of the Sparrow
Hawk when urged by hunger. One of these birds actually snatched up a little white pea-
chick, selecting it from the rest of the brood, while a lady was engaged in feeding it. A
similar circumstance occurred to a gamekeeper who was feeding young pheasants, a Sparrow
Hawk suddenly sweeping down upon them and carrying off one of their number. Next day
it repeated the attempt, but as the keeper had taken the precaution to bring his gun, the
Hawk fell a victim to his own temerity. Again, as some persons were shooting dunlins from a
boat, a Sparrow Hawk suddenly shot through the smoke of the discharged gun, and poising
itself for an instant, swept a wounded dunlin from the surface of the water with such marvel-
lous dexterity, that it did not wet a feather of its wings.
In consequence of the headlong courage possessed by this handsome little Hawk, it is very
valuable to the faleoner if property trained, for it will dash at any quarry which may be
pointed out to it. Unfortunately, however, the Sparrow Hawk is one of the most difficult and
refractory of pupils, being shy to a singular degree, slow at receiving a lesson and quick at for-
getting it. Besides, its temper is of a very crabbed and uncertain nature, and it is so quarrel-
some, that if several of these birds should be fastened to the same perch, or placed in the same
cage, they will certainly fight each other, and, in all probability, the conqueror will eat his
vanquished foe. Such an event has actually occurred, the victrix—for it was a female—kill-
ing and devouring her intended spouse.
Few birds are so easily startled as the Sparrow Hawk, for even when it is comparatively
tame, the presence of a stranger, or even the shadow of passing bird in the air, will throw it
into a paroxysm of excitement, during which it seems to lose all consciousness of external
objects. This curious trait of character a practical falconer describes most graphically in the
following terms: ‘‘The young falconer will naturally be disappointed to find the bird which
came so well to hand yesterday, now on the first day of its being carried, stare wildly with its
mad eyes, and bate violently. It will probably hang down at the end of the jesses and swivel,
and dart off again the moment it is quietly replaced. More than this, the very power of
standing will appear to have left it; the claws will be clenched and distorted ; the whole
creature will be changed ; instead of a tolerably bold and very handsome bird, the transition of
a few minutes will present you with a terrified, crouching, vicious, abject wretch ; a horrible
mixture of fright and feathers.
‘*Some people think that the helpless look of the feet and legs arises only from temper,
and that itisasham. It may arise from temper, but it isnotasham. It appears to me that
this bird’s brain is overcharged with electricity or something fearfully subtle; and that on the
smallest provocation, these fluids shoot through the whole frame, overturning and decaying
everything that is healthy and regular. The Sparrow Hawk’s legs are, during these fits of
fright and passion, ina temporary paralysis. Still, they are of short duration, and when the
bird is trained, they pass away altogether.’? The same writer sums up the character of the
Sparrow Hawk as a pupil in the following energetic language: ‘‘ The Sparrow Hawk is, in my
opinion, the wildest, in some sense the most intractable, the most ungrateful, the most pro-
voking and temper-trying of all birds or beasts that ever were taken under the care of man
from the beginning of the world.”
THE SPARROW HAWK. 69
With this writer’s opinion my own experience to a very great measure coincides, though
as I never attempted to train a Sparrow Hawk to falconry, I cannot answer for some of its
deficiencies.
One of these birds afforded an excellent example of the shyness and timidity above men-
tioned. Although he was most kindly treated and liberally fed, he used to scream in the most
ear-piercing manner when approached, even by the person who generally carried his food.
The only companion whose presence he would tolerate, was a little Skye terrier, named Rosy,
and the two strangely matched comrades used to execute the most singular gambols together,
the dog generally taking the initiative, and persecuting the Hawk until she forced him to fiy.
The great object of the dog was to catch the Hawk by the wing, while the bird gave his atten-
tion to flying at the dog’s throat, hanging on by his claws and boxing her ears with his wings
until she was fain to shake him off. Once, Rosy caught the Hawk by his tail, and having the
game all her own way, careered round the yard in great exultation, dragging after her the unfor-
tunate Hawk, who could not possibly resist or retaliate, and was reduced to scream abjectly
for succor.
Another Sparrow Hawk which I procured for some time was, curiously enough, a most
arrant coward, and so far from chasing the little birds, as was his duty, and keeping them
from eating the peas and fruit, he allowed them to bully him shamefully, and wouid run away
from a wagtail. The little birds soon learned his incapacity, and the blue titmice used to
watch the time when he was fed, and run off with the meat before his eyes. The bird was not
a young one when it came into my possession, and had probably been broken in spirit by
cruel treatment.
The credit of the race was, however, better kept up by a Sparrow Hawk that belonged to
a lady friend, but it was not taught any artificial accomplishments. The bird took a great
fancy to its mistress, and would perch on her shoulder or eat from her hand. But it would
- permit no other person to touch it, neither would it allow any one to approach its mistress
while it was at hand. in such cases it would fly savagely at the fancied foe, and was so deter-
mined in its attack upon the ankles, that any one who attempted to cross its path was obliged
to fend it off with an umbrella, which it would fight and scold as it was being pushed away.
It was a terrible thief, and crafty to a degree. Once, having made itself acquainted with
the fact that a partridge was hanging in the larder, it hung about until it saw a servant
approaching the spot. As soon as she opened the door, the Hawk shot noiselessly over her
head, and sat quietly until she had retired. It then proceeded to demolish the partridge.
Between this servant and the Hawk there was a deadly feud, owing to a depredation com-
mitted by the bird and resented by the servant. A chicken had just been plucked and was
lying on the kitchen table, when the Hawk glided softly through the door, and perching on
the chicken, had devoured its breast before the theft was discovered. The servant struck it
with a broom, when the bird flew at her head, and pushing its claws into her hair, it buffeted
her face with its wings, and could not be removed until it had torn out no small quantity of
hair. After a while the bird disappeared, perhaps stolen, but very probably killed by its foe.
The propensity of the Sparrow Hawk to attack larger birds of prey has already been
mentioned, and the creature only suffers poetical justice in being made the subject of similar
attacks. The swallows and other swift-winged birds are wonderfully fond of mobbing the
Sparrow Hawk, although in many instances they pay dearly for their audacity. I once saw
a Sparrow Hawk that was being mobbed by a number of sand martins, and was flying about
in a seemingly purposeless and bewildered manner, suddenly turn on its pursuers, seize one of
them in its terrible grasp, and instantly sail away bearing its screaming victim in its talons.
The Hawk was almost within reach when this circumstance occurred.
The general color of the adult male is dark brown upon the upper surface of the head,
body, and wings, softening into gray as the bird increases in years. The entire under surface
is rusty brown, marked with narrow bands of a darker hue ; the long and slender legs and toes
are yellow, as is the cere, but with a tinge of green; the long, sharp, armed claws are black,
and the beak is a slate-blue, darkening towards the point. The length of the male bird is
about one foot. The female, which is about fifteen inches in length, is colored differently from
70 THE SECRETARY BIRD.
her mate, the upper parts of her body and wings being hardly so rich a tint as in the male
bird, and covered with numerous little white spots, caused by the white hue which is found
on the base of each feather. The primaries and rectrices are of a lighter brown, and colored
with transverse dark bars, and the under surface of the body is gray-white, also barred trans-
versely. These hues are also found in the young male, who has in addition a reddish edging
to the feathers of the back.
The nest of the Sparrow Hawk is placed in some elevated spot, and contains three or four
eggs, rather variable in their marking, but always possessing a certain unmistakable character.
The ground tint of the egg is a grayish-white, slightly tinged with blue, and a number of bold
blotches of a very dark brown are placed upon the surface, sometimes scattered rather irregu-
larly, but generally forming a broad ring round the larger end. The bird seldom troubles itself
to build a new nest, but takes possession of the deserted tenement of a crow or rook.
THE AmpricaANn SpaARROowW Hawk(Vinnunculus sparverius) is another of similar size, and
of surpassing beauty of form and markings. It is known to every portion of North America,
Several varieties or geographical races are known. bat -
- in 7 ;
= i
a 7 - :
1 : 7
fl
:
. ‘
« 7
4
5
1
’
THE WHITE-BOOTED RACKET-TAIL. 166
account of the very considerable dimensions to which it reaches. Its nest is a very remarkable
structure, looking much as if it were made from leather, and woven so adroitly to the bough
upon which it is placed that it can hardly be distinguished from the natural bark or from
some of the numerous fungi that grow upon trees. Its surface is quite smooth, and the color
is a reddish-dun. The substance of which it is composed is a kind of fungus, of the same
order as the well-known Boletus of which German tinder is made. The eggs are two in
number, and beautifully white.
The color of this splendid bird is mostly a blazing scarlet, contrasting boldly with the
deep velvet-black of the head and part of the neck. The throat is emerald-green, with a patch
of delicate crimson in the centre. The lower part of the back and the upper tail-coverts are
beautiful green with.orange gloss; and the wings and tail are purple-black, with the excep-
tion of the two elongated feathers of the tail, which are purplish-green, and cross each other
near the base. The under tail-coverts are green. So vivid are the tints, and so beautiful the
form of this bird, that it well deserves the honorable title accorded to it by Prince Lucien
Bonaparte of being ‘‘ inter Trochilides pulcherrimus. The female is without the elongated
tail-feathers, and she is of a green-gold color on the upper parts of the body. This species is
very like the following bird, but may be distinguished from it by the purple of its tail-
feathers and the fiery effulgence of its body. The entire length of this bird is about eight
inches.
THE Crimson Topaz, or ARA HuMMING-BIRD (Zopaza pella), closely resembles the fiery
topaz, except that the hues of its body are more of a deep crimson than of the flaming
scarlet which denotes the preceding species. The tail is reddish-buff, with the exception of
the two central feathers which have the same purple-green as in 7. pyra. It inhabits Cayenne,
Trinidad, and Surinam, and among the natives is known by the name of Karabamiti. It is a
shy and retiring bird, living near rivers, and shrouding its beauties in the deepest forests.
It is a semi-nocturnal bird, resembling the nightjars in many of its habits, and being most
active in the early dawn and the beginning of the evening. Only at those hours does it
venture from the deep recesses of its home, and display its flashing colors as it darts along
the glades or over the streams in search of its insect prey.
We have in the Racket-tailed Humming-birds one of those singular forms which are so
often found among these strange little birds.
The Racket-TarL HUMMING-BIRD (Disciira longicauda) is a native of Cayenne, Surinam,
and Demerara, and is also found in several portions of Northern Brazil. It is chiefly remark-
able for the curious formation from which it derives its popular and appropriate name.
In the male bird, the face, throat, and part of the neck are light verditer-green, becoming
more luminous towards the chest. Under the chin there is a little velvet-black spot, which is
very conspicuous against the light green of the surrounding feathers. The upper parts are
bronze-green, and a buff-white band crosses the lower end of the back. The very curious tail
is deeply forked, the two exterior feathers being twice the length of the second pair, and the
others decreasing in length in rapid progression. The general color of the tailis purple-black, the
purple being especially visible on the ‘‘rackets.’”? The female possesses no rackets on the tail,
nor green on her head or throat. The velvet-black spot on the chin, however, retains its place.
THE WHITE-BOOTED RACKET-TAIL inhabits the Columbian Andes, and is very common
near Santa Fé de Bogéta. It is a hill-loving bird, being generally found at an elevation of five
or ten thousand feet above the level of the sea. It is thought to be confined within the third
and tenth degrees of north latitude. This bird is remarkably switt of wing, its darting flight
reminding the spectator of the passage of an arrow through the air. At one time it will hover
close to the ground, hanging over some favorite flower and extracting the sweet contents of the
blossoms ; and at the next moment it will shoot to the very summit of some lofty tree, as if
impelled from a bow, and leave but the impression of an emerald-green line of light upon the
dbserver’s eye. While hovering over the flowers, the long racket-shaped feathers of the tail
Vou. I.—22.
170 HERRAN’S THORNBILL.
are in constant motion, waving gently in the air, crossing each other, opening and closing in
the most graceful manner. But when the bird darts off with its peculiar arrowy flight, the
tail-feathers lie straight behind it.
The male of this species is bronze-green upon the greater part of the body, the green taking
a richer and redder hue upon the upper tail-coverts. The throat and breast are brilliant emerald-
green. The wings are purple-
brown, and the tail is brown,
with the exception of the rack-
ets, which are black ‘‘shot’’
with green. The feet are yellow,
and upon the legs are placed
two beautiful white puffs. The
whole length of the bird is
rather more than three inches.
The female bird does not pos-
sess the racket-shaped tail-
feathers, and is of a bronze-
green upon the upper surface.
The tail is brown, with the
exception of the two middle
feathers, which are bronze-
green like the body. The two
exterior feathers are tipped
with white, and the others with
bronze-green. The under sur-
face is white, diversified with
bronze-green spots on the breast
and flanks. The puffs are
smaller than in the male.
There are several species
belonging to this genus, among
which may be mentioned the
PERUVIAN RAOCKET-TAIL, a
bird which may be distin-
guished by the rusty-red color
of the leg-muffs.
WHITE-BOOTED RACKET-TAIL.—Stegunurus underwood.
Tue CoLUMBIAN THORNBILL is an inhabitant of Santa Fé de Bogéta, and is remarkable
for its adherence to the more temperate regions of that locality. It never seems to ascend to
the hills, but prefers remaining in the plains or in some of the valleys where it can find the
greatest abundance of food. It appears not to frequent the tops of trees, as is often the
case with Humming-birds, but contents itself with the low flowering shrubs of the plains
and valleys. The color of this bird is golden-green on the upper parts, changing into a
warmer hue on the upper tail-coverts. Below, it is dull green, with the exception of a
remarkable tuft or beard which hangs from the chin, and which is light green towards its
base and purple-red towards its extremity. The wings are purple-brown, the tail brown
with a bronze gloss, and the under tail-coverts brown-yellow. The female resembles the male,
but has not the flame-like mark on the throat. The total length of this species is between
five and six inches.
THERE are several species of Thornbills, among which may be noticed Hrrran’s THORN-
BILL (Rhamphomicron herrani), a bird which is remarkable for its broad purple tail and the
snowy white tips of the three exterior feathers. All the thornbills possess the curious beard-
like appendage to the chin.
THE RUFOUS FLAME-BEARER. algal
A curtousLy formed bird, remarkable for its long slender crest and the elongated feathers
of its tail, is the PoPELAIRE’s THoRNTAIL (Gouldia popelari’). This beautiful little creature
inhabits Peru and Columbia, and is found in the most elevated regions of that locality. It is
a very quick flyer, but there is little known of its habits.
In the adult male, the crown of the head, the shorter feathers of the crest, together with
the face and throat, are light golden-green, and the long slender feathers are black. The wings
are purple-brown. The back is gold-green, with the exception of a bold bar of pure white,
which crosses the back and forms a patch on each flank. The middle of the abdomen is black,
the flanks are brown, and the under tail-coverts are grayish-white. The upper surface of the
tail is blue, the shafts of the middle feathers are white, and the remaining feathers are white
at their bases and brown for the rest of their length. The under surface of the tail is a bright
steel-blue, and the shafts are white throughout their length.
The female possesses no crest and no elongated tail-feathers, and bears a very curious
resemblance to the well-known insect termed the Humming-bird Moth.
ANOTHER curious example of the same genus may be found in Convers’ THORNTAIL,
a native of Santa Fé de Bogota.
This species is very beautiful both in shape and coloring, and, as in the case of the
preceding bird, the two sexes differ greatly in appearance. In the maie of this bird the general
color is green, a white bar running across the lower end of the back, and the tail-feathers being
very long, narrow, and pointed. Their color is shining black, the shafts being white. In the
female the general color of the plumage resembles that of the male, except that the colors are
not so brilliant, and the throat-is grayish-white, covered with brown-green spots. The tail is
very short, and is composed of a series of rounded feathers of a dusky hue, and white at the
tip. Both the species are swift flyers, and are said to resemble the swallow when on the wing.
A very small Humming-bird, remarkable for its curious spiky tail and rich feathery
gorget, is the LitrLe FLAME-BEARER (Selasphorus scintilla), one of several species which
possess the fiery tuft of feathers from which they derive their name of Flame-bearers.
This species inhabits the inner side of the extinct voleano Chiriqui, in Veragua, at an
elevation of nine thousand feet above the level of the sea. It is a tiny bird, measuring only
two and a half inches in length, and as it darts about the singular habitation in which it lives,
its fiery gorget gleams with such a flaming crimson, that, as Mr. Gould happily remarks, it
seems to have caught the last spark from the volcano before it was extinguished.
In the male, the upper surface is of a bronze-green. The gorget is of a fiery red, and as
the feathers on each side are longer than those in the centre, it necessarily projects from the
neck. Below the gorget is a band of white marked with buff, and the wings are purple-brown.
The central feathers of the tail are brownish-black edged with red, and the remaining feathers
are brownish-black on their outer webs, and reddish-rust on the inner webs. The under sur-
face of the tail is a rusty-red. The female is duller in her coloring, and the gorget is shorter
and of a whitish-gray spotted with brown. The flanks are buff, and the tail-feathers are not so
pointed as in the male.
THERE are several species of Flame-bearers, among which may be mentioned the Rurous
FLAME-BEARER (Selasphorus rufus), a bird which was originally discovered by Captain Cook.
It is an inhabitant of Mexico, and is also found on the Pacific side of Northern America in the
summer time, returning to Mexico in the winter. This species is well described by Mr. Nuttal,
whose account is quoted by Audubon :—
““We began to meet with this species near the Blue Mountains of the Columbia River in
the autumn, as we proceeded to the coast. These were all young birds, and were not very
easily distinguished from those of the common species of the same age.
‘“We now for the first time (April 16) saw the males in numbers, darting, buzzing, and
squeaking in the usual manner of their tribe ; but when engaged in collecting its accustomed
sweets in all the energy of life, it seemed like a breathing gem, a magic carbuncle of glowing
172 SALLE’S HERMIT HUMMING-BIRD.
fire, stretching out its glorious ruff as if to emulate the sun itself in splendor. Towards the
close of May the females were sitting, at which time the males were uncommonly quarrelsome
and vigilant, darting out at once as [ approached the tree, probably near the nest, looking like
an angry coal of brilliant fire, passing within very little of my face, returning several times to
the attack, sailing and darting with the utmost velocity, at the same time uttering a curious
reverberating sharp bleat, somewhat similar to the quivering twang of a dead twig, yet also so
much like the real bleat of some small quadruped, that for some time I searched the ground
instead of the air for the actor in the scene.
‘* At other times the males were seen darting high up in the air, and whirling about each
other in great anger and with much velocity. After these manceuvres, the aggressor returned
to the same dead twig, where for days he resolutely took his station, displaying the utmost
courage and angry vigilance. The angry hissing or bleating note seems something like
wht ? Ct ¢ sh vee, tremulously uttered as it whirls and sweeps through the air, accompanied
also by something like the whirr of the night hawk. On the 29th of May I found a nest ina
forked branch of the Nootka bramble (Rubus nuthanus). The female was sitting upon two
egos of the same shape and color as those of the common species, Zrochilus colubris. The
nest also was similar, but somewhat deeper. As I approached, the female came hovering
round the nest, and soon after, when all was still, she resumed her place contentedly.”’
The nest of this bird measures, according to Audubon’s description, two inches and a
quarter in height and an inch and three-quarters in breadth at the upper part, and is com-
posed of mosses, lichens, and feathers, woven together with delicate vegetable fibres. The
lining is very soft cotton. Another observer, Dr. Townsend, compares the curious note of this
bird to the sound which is produced by the rubbing together of two branches during a high
wind.
THE birds which compose the genus Phaéthornis are remarkable for the very long and
beautifully graduated tail, all the feathers being long and pointed, and the two central far
exceeding the rest. The two sexes are mostly alike, both in the color and shape of their
plumage and in size. These birds inhabit Venezuela and the Carracas, being generally found
in the richest district of those localities, where the flowers blossom most abundantly. A1l the
Hermits build a very curious and beautiful nest, of a long funnel-like form tapering to a
slender point, and woven with the greatest neatness to some delicate twig or pendent leaf
by means of certain spiders’ webs. The material of which it is made is silky cotton fibre,
intermixed with a woolly kind of furze, and bound together with spider-web. Next we
describe SALLE’s Hermit.
Very little is known of its habits, but, like the generality of Humming-birds, it does not
possess any great power of voice. Indeed, even in the few instances where one of these birds
is gifted with vocal powers, its song is of a feeble and uncertain character. The best songster
of all the Humming-birds appears to be the Vervain Humming-bird (ellisuga minima),
which, according to Mr. Bullock, can sing, although not very perfectly.
“He had taken his station on the twig of a tamarind-tree which was close to the barn and
overspread part of the yard; there, perfectly indifferent to the number of persons constantly
passing within a few yards, he spent most of the day. There were few blossoms on the tree,
and it was not the breeding season, vet he most pertinaciously kept absolute possession of his
domain ; for the moment any other bird, though ten times as large as himself, approached
near his tree, he attacked it most furiously and drove it off, always returning to the same
twig he had before occupied, and which he had worn quite bare for three or four inches by
constantly feeding on it. I often approached within a few feet with pleasure, observing his
tiny operations of cleaning and pluming, and listening to his weak, simple, and oft-repeated
note. I could easily have caught him, but was unwilling to destroy so interesting a little
visitant, who had afforded me so much pleasure.
‘“‘In my excursions I procured many of the same species, as well as the long-tailed black
and a few others, as well as the one I have mentioned as the smallest yet described, but which
has the finest voice of any. I spent some agreeable hours in the place that had been the
IINDEN’S HELMET-CREST, OR BLACK WARRIOR. 173
Botanical Garden of Jamaica; and on the various trees, now growing to a luxuriant size, met
with many curious birds, among which this specimen was perched upon the bread-fruit or
cabbage-tree. He poured forth his slight querulous note among a most numerous assemblage
of the indigenous and exotic plants and trees of the island, on a spot once the pride of
Jamaica, but now a desolate wilderness.”? This beautiful Humming-bird will be described
at length in a future page.
To return to Sallé’s Hermit. The upper parts of its body are green-bronze, excepting the
upper tail-coverts, which are rusty-red. The wings are purple-brown. The central tail-
feathers are bronze, largely tipped with white, and the remaining feathers are white, with the
exception of a broad black band, drawn obliquely across them near the base. Above and
below the eye there is a white streak, and the color of the under parts of the body is
sober gray.
A RATHER large species of Humming-bird is the Jacoprn HumMine-Birp (Florisuga
mellivora). It is remarkable for the manner in which the rounded tail-feathers are arranged,
and the very long upper tail-coverts. This bird represents a beautifully-colored species, glow- ,
ing with boldly contrasted hues of white, blue, green, and black.
It inhabits Cayenne, Guiana, Trinidad, and seems to have rather an extensive range, being
found from Cayenne to Peru. It is a very curious species, inhabiting broad and fluviatile
districts not more than two or three hundred feet from the level of the sea. The color is
very variable, but is generally a light blue upon the head and throat, with a large white
erescentic patch passing over the back of the neck. The back, the very long upper tail-
coverts, and a line extending to each side of the neck, are golden-green, and the wings are
purple-black, edged on the shoulders with golden-green. The tail is tipped with a narrow
band of black. Some individuals have a green mark upon the biue of the head, and others are
curiously mottled with white and brown.
THERE are several species of this genus, among which may be mentioned the GREAT
JACOBIN ((lorisuga flabellifera), a truly beautiful bird, and much larger than the preceding
species. It is found in Tobago, in the Orinocos, and other neighboring localities. It lives
mostly in low marshy situations, chiefly upon plantations abroad, and generally feeds while
on the wing. Another curious species is the Prep Jacosin (MWellisuga atra), a bird which is
much blacker than either of the preceding. It inhabits the extreme parts of Brazil, from Per-
nambuco on the north to Rio Janeiro on the south. Like the preceding species, it is very
variable in coloring.
Tue Helmet-crests are very curious birds, and are at once known by the singular pointed
plume which crowns the top of the head, and the long beard-like appendage to the chin. They
all live at a very considerable elevation, inhabiting localities of such extreme inclemency that
few persons would think of looking for a Humming-bird in such frozen regions. There are
several species of Helmet-crest, and their habits are well described by Mr. Linden, the dis-
coverer of LiINDEN’s HELMET-CREST, in a lettgr written to Mr. Gould, and published in his
monograph of the Humming-birds.
‘‘T met, with this species for the first time in August, 1842, while ascending the Sierra
Nevada de Merida, the crests of which are the most elevated of the eastern part of the Cordil-
leras of Columbia. It inhabits the regions immediately beneath the line of perpetual con-
gelation, at an elevation of from 12,000 to 13,000 feet above the level of the sea. Messrs.
Funck and Schlim found it equally abundant in the Paramos, near the Sierra Nevada, at the
comparatively low elevation of 9,000 feet. It appears to be confined to the regions between
the eighth and ninth degrees of north latitude.
It occasionally feeds upon the thinly-scattered shrubs of this icy region, such as the hype-
ricum, myrtus, daphne, arborescent espeletias, and towards the lower limit on bejarias, but
most frequently upon the projecting ledges of rocks near to the snow. Its flight is swift, but
very short ; when it leaves the spot upon which it has been perched, it launches itself obliquely
174 THE SICKLE-BILLS.
downwards, uttering at the same time a plaintive whistling sound, which is also occasionally
uttered while perched ; as well as I can recollect. I have never heard it produce the hum-
ming sound made by several other members of the same group, nor does it partake of their
joyous spirit or perpetual activity. Neither myself nor Messrs. Funck and Schlim were able
to discover its nest, although we all made a most diligent search.
‘“Tts food appears principally to consist of minute insects, all the specimens we procured
having their stomachs filled with small flies.”’
The head and neck of the adult male are black, a line of white running along the centre.
The long plumes of the throat are white. Round the neck and the back of the head runs a
broad white band. ‘The upper surface of the body and the two central tail-feathers are bronze-
green, and the other feathers are a warm reddish bronze, having the basal half of their shafts
white. The under surface is a dim brownish bronze. The length of the male bird is about
five and a quarter inches. The female is coppery-brown upon the head and upper surface of
the body, and there is no helmet-like plume on the head, nor beard-like tuft on the chin. The
throat is coppery-brown covered with white mottlings, and the flanks are coppery brown
washed with green. The length of the female is about one inch less than that of her mate.
Another species, the Warrior of dealers, and the GuERIN’s HELMET-CREST of naturalists
(Oxypogon guerenii), is an inhabitant of the higher parts of the Columbian Andes, where it is
tolerably common. It is easily to be distinguished from the preceding species by a bright
green line which passes down the centre of the beard, and of which only a very faint indication
is perceptible in the Black Warrior. There is also much more white upon the tail.
THERE are several species of the SrAR-THROATED HuMMING-BIRDS, all of which are Known
by the bright metallic gleam of the feathers on the throat.
The ANGELA STAR-THROAT inhabits Buenos Ayres and many parts of Brazil. It seems
not to be a very common bird, or at all events it is rarely found in collections. It is chiefly
remarkable for the singuiar shape of its bili, which is evidently formed for the purpose of
enabling the creature to penetrate to the bottom of the curiously-shaped blossoms on which it
finds its sustenance. It feeds, apparently, upon the long-blossomed flowers of the Ilianas,
which are very plentiful in the regions inhabited by the Star-throat, and whose cups are
always filled with minute insects. The generic name, Heliomaster, is very appropriate, signi-
fying Sun-star.
In the male, the crown of the head is metallic green, ‘‘shot’’ with ultramarine blue and
gold, and the upper surface of the body is golden-green, with more gold upon the lower part
of the back. The wings are purple-brown, and the tail purple-black with dark green gloss.
Behind each eye there is a white spot, and a gray streak is drawn through the cheeks. The
centre of the throat is a brilliant crimson, shining effulgently as if made of living fire, and
edged with long feathers of a deep blue. The under surface is dark green, changing to rich
blue in the centre, and on each side of the flanks there is a tuft of white feathers. The under
tail-coverts are green, fringed with white.
The female is gold bronze on the upper part of the body, and the crown of her head is
grayish. There is no crimson or blue on the throat; it is simply gray, covered with pale
brown spots.
THE very remarkable bird whose portrait is seen in the accompanying illustration affords
another example of the wonderful adaptation of means to ends which is often found among
these birds. In the Sword-bill Humming-bird, sketched on a foregoing page, the beak is
enormously lengthened, in order to enable it to feed on the long bell-like flowers wherein it
finds its sustenance, and a similar modification of structure may be seen in the Star-throats.
In the SICKLE-BILLS, however, which feed on the short curved flowers of those regions, the
bill is also short and very sharply curved, in order to suit the peculiar shape of the flowers.
This Sickle-bill is a very rare bird, and is found sparingly in Bogota and Veragua. The
plumage is not very brilliant in its hues, but the various tints with which it is colored are
pleasing in their arrangement, and give to the bird a very pretty aspect.
MARS SUN-ANGEL. 175
The crown of its head and the little crest are blackish-brown, and each feather has one
small spot of buff on its tip. The upper parts of the body are of a dark shining green, with a
slight buffy wash, and on the tips of several of the secondaries there is a little white spot.
The two central feathers of the tail
are a dark glossy green with small
white tips, and the others are of the
same hue in their outer webs, greenish-
brown on the inner, and largely tipped
with white. The under surface is
brownish-black, diversified with some
dark buff streaks upon the throat and
breast, and with white streaks upon
the abdomen and flanks; the under
tail-coverts are brown fringed with
buff. The total length of the bird is
about four and a half inches.
ANOTHER species belonging to the
same genus, CONDAMINE’S SICKLE-
BILL (Hutoxeres condamini), is re-
markable for its propensity to inhabit
high ground. It is a very rare bird,
and whenever it is discovered, it is
seen feeding among the orchidaceous
plants, at an elevation of ten thousand
feet above the level of the sea.
THE little group of Humming-
birds called the Sun-angels are all
remarkable for the exceeding lustre _———— ————
of the feathers which decorate their SICKLE-BILL HUMMING-BIRD.—Zutoxeres uquita.
throats, and the general beauty of their
plumage. In nearly every species there is a white or buff crescentic mark immediately below
the gorget, and they are all inhabitants of the Andes. Concerning the Mars Sun-ANGEL and
its habits Mr. Gould speaks in the following words :—
‘Of all the species of the Andean Humming-birds belonging to the genus Heliangelos, I
regard this as the most beautiful and interesting ; it has all the charms of novelty to recom-
mend it, and it stands alone, too, among its congeners, no other member of the genus similarly
colored having been discovered up to the present time. The throat vies with the radiant topaz,
while the band on the forehead rivals in brilliancy the frontlet of every other species.
The country in which this rare bird flies is the elevated region of Northern Columbia, par-
ticularly the flat Paramos of Portachuela and Zambador, where Messrs. Funck and Schlim
found it at an elevation of from seven thousand to nine thousand feet ; they also met with it
in the Paramos of Los Conejos at a similar elevation. In those districts there doubtless exist
other fine species at present unknown to us, for we can scarcely imagine that these travellers
procured examples of all the species of the genera which dwell therein, and which we may
reasonably expect to be as rich in the feathered tribes as it is in another department of
Nature’s wonderful works, Botany.”’
In the male bird there is a narrow mark upon the forehead of a deep fiery red, and the
crown of the head and the upper surface of the body are bronze-green. Behind each eye there
is a very small white spot, and a jetty-black cross-streak is drawn from the angle of the mouth
towards the neck. The throat is decorated with a gorget of deep fiery red, below which is a
crescent-shaped band of whitish buff, and the abdomen is deeper buff, changing to green upon
the flanks. The two central feathers of the tail are bronze-green, and the remainder bronze-
176 THE SPANGLED COQUETTE.
brown. The female has no red upon the throat or forehead. There are several species
of Sun-angel, among which may be mentioned CLARISSA’S SUN-ANGEL (Heliangelus clariss@),
a bird which is remarkable for the deep ruby-crimson with which its gorget is dyed.
Thousands of these birds are killed annually by means of the deadly blowpipe, and their
skins forwarded to Europe, where they are largely employed for various decorative pur-
poses, such as being mounted in ornamental cases of stuffed birds for drawing-rooms,
feather fans and fire-screens, or for head-dresses of more than ordinary brilliancy. Two
thousand of these birds have been sold at Paris at a single time, merely for the manufacture
of head-dresses.
THE two little birds which we now describe are remarkable for the manner in which their
heads are decorated. One of them is seen to be a dark little creature, with the exception of a
snowy white crown to its head, and a bold streak of white upon its tail. This is the Snow-
cAP HUMMING-BIRD, one of the most curious and the most rare of all the Trochilide. Its
habits and the localities in which it lives are well described in the words of its discoverer, as
quoted by Gould :—
“Tt was in the autumn of 1852, while stationed in the district of Belen, Veraquas, New
Grenada, that I obtained several specimens of this diminutive variety of the Humming-bird
family.
‘The first one I saw was perched on a twig, pluming its feathers. Twas doubtful for a
few moments whether so small an object could be a bird, but on close examination I convinced
myself of the fact and secured it. Another I encountered while bathing, and for a time I
watched its movements before shooting it. The little creature would poise itself about three
feet or so above the surface of the water, and then as quick as thought dart downwards, so as
to dip its miniature head in the placid pool; then up again to its original position, quite as
quickly as it had descended. These movements of darting up and down it would repeat in
rapid succession, which produced not a moderate disturbance of the surface of the water for
such a diminutive creature. After a considerable number of dippings, it alighted on a twig
near at hand, and commenced pluming its feathers.”
The colors of this little bird are so dark, that it appears to be uniformly brown, until it is
examined more closely, when it is seen to be of a coppery hue, on which a purple reflection
is visible in extreme lights, the copper hue taking a warmer tint towards the tail. The crown
of the head is dazzlingly white, and the tips of all the tail-feathers, and the bases of all except
the two central, are also white.
On the same drawing may be seen another remarkable little bird, possessed of a most
beautiful and graceful crest. This is the SPANGLED CoQuETTE, an excellent example of the
very remarkable genus to which it belongs. All the Coquettes possess a well-defined crest
upon the head, and a series of projecting feathers from the neck, some being especially notable
for the one ornament, and others for the other.
The Spangled Coquette is a native of several parts of Columbia. The singular crest is
capable of being raised or depressed at the will of the bird, and produces a great effect in
changing the whole expression of the creature. When raised to its fullest extent it spreads
itself like the tail of the peacock, and much resembles the crest of the king tody, a bird which
will be described in a future page. When depressed, it lies flat upon the bird, and is so large
that it projects on either side, barely allowing the little black eyes to gleam from under its
shade.
The crown of the head and the crest are light ruddy chestnut, each feather having a ball-
like spot of dark bronze-green at the tip. The throat and face are shining metallic green, below
which is a small tuft of pointed white feathers that have a very curious effect as they protrude
from beneath the gorget. The upper parts are bronze-green as far as the lower part of the
back, where a band crosses from side to side, and the rest of the plumage is dark ruddy chest-
nut as far as the tail. The tail is also chestnut-brown, with a slight wash of metallic green.
The female has no crest nor green gorget.
PRINCESS HELENA’S COQUETTE. al
=I
-J
THE TUFTED CoQuETTE is one of the rare species of this beautiful genus.
It seems to be entirely a Continental bird, not being found in any of the West Indian
Islands, and its principal residence seems to be in Northern Brazil and along the course of the
Amazon as far as Peru. It may
be readily known from the L,
other species of Coquettes by
the colors of its head, crest, and
neck-plumes. The crest and top
of the head are a rich ruddy
chestnut, and the upper surface
of the body is bronze-green, ex-
cepting the wings, which are
purple-black, and a broad band
of white which crosses the lower
part of the back. From the
white band to the insertion of
the tail is bright chestnut. The
tail is also chestnut, except
the two central feathers, which
are green at the latter half of
their length. The forehead and
throat are emerald-green, and the
neck-plumes are snowy white
tipped with resplendent metallic-
green.
The female has no crest nor
neck-plumes, and the band of
white across the back is very
narrow. The total length of the
bird is about two inches and a
half.
U cl ‘ ‘ ' ; -\
, 4 TUFTED COQUETTE.—Lophornis ornata.
ANOTHER species of this
remarkable genus is GOoOULD’S
CoquertE (Lophornis gouldii). This species is remarkable for the beautiful pure white of
the neck-tufts, and their green tips. When the crest and tufts of this bird are depressed
they lie closely upon the other feathers, the crest coming to a sharp point upon the back of
the neck, and the neck-tufts also coming to a point upon the shoulders. This species seems
to be exclusively continental, and not to be found on any of the West Indian islands. At
present it is supposed to inhabit the country from the embouchure of the Amazon to its
sources in Peru. It is a very rare bird.
The crest of the male is rich chestnut-red, the upper surface is bronze-green, and a band
of white crosses the lower part of the back. The forehead and throat are emerald-green. The
female is comparatively a dull bird, having no crest nor neck-plumes. The length of this
species is about two and a half inches.
Bur the most singular of all the genus, if not the most unique and remarkable of all the
Humming-birds, is the Princess HELENA’s CoquerteE (Lophornis hélene). This wonderful
bird is a native of Vera Paz in Guatemala.
The curious forked crest and face are green, and the throat is of a metallic effulgent
emerald in the centre, and surrounded with a series of long narrow white feathers, those which
start from the neck being longest and generally edged with blue-black, while the others are
much shorter and of a jetty black. From the back of the head start stx long hair-like feathers,
three on each side. The upper surface of the body is coppery-bronze, and a buff band crosses
Vou, Il.—23.
178 THE BAR-TAILED HUMMING-BIRD.
the lower end of the back. The female is quite an ordinary little bird, without crest, neck-
plumes, or long hair-feathers, and is generally of a dull bronze-green color, and grayish-white
below, sprinkled with green.
THERE are many species of VIOLET-EARED Humming-birds, all of which are easily recog-
nized by means of the patch of violet feathers which is placed on each side of the face.
The Boxrvta VIOLET-EAR inhabits the country from which it derives its popular title, and
is one of the migratory birds, passing over a considerable tract of territory in the course of
its travels. The localities which it most prefers are the valleys and low grounds where maize
is cultivated, and in such situations it is very plentiful. The character of the species is emi-
nently pugnacious, and it will not permit any other bird to approach its dominions. It isa
very pretty bird: the general color of the upper parts of the body is golden-green, a tint which
extends to the two central feathers of the tail; the remainder of the tail is deep-blue green.
The throat and breast are shining green, and the chin, abdomen, and a patch above the eye,
are deep blue. The length of the bird is rather more than three inches.
THE lovely little SpARKLING-TAIL is an inhabitant of Mexico, and is found very plenti-
fully in Guatemala, where it is remarkably familiar and visits the habitations of mankind
without any reluctance, haunting every garden wherein are blooming flowers, and altogether
displaying a wonderful amount of confidence. The nest of this species is very tiny, rounded
and beautifully woven from various delicate fibres, cottony down, and spiders’ webs, and is
covered externally with lichens applied in a very artistic manner. In this nest are laid two
eges, hardly bigger than peas, of a delicate semi-transparent pearly white, and reminding the
observer of the eggs of the common snail. The nest is always stuck upon a leaf or some slight
twig by means of spiders’ webs, so that instead of the great spider catching and eating the
Humming-bird, as Madame Merian supposed, the Humming-bird is the real depredator, and
robs the spider.
In coloring and form the two sexes are quite dissimilar.
The male is bronze-green above, with the exception of the bold crescent-shaped white
feathers on the lower part of the back. The throat is rich metallic-blue, becoming velvety-
black in certain lights, because each feather is black at the base and blue at the tip. The
wings are of a rich dark purple-brown. Round the neck runs a broad snowy-white crescentic
band, and the whole under surface is bronze-green, except the under tail-coverts, across which
runs a band of white. The tail is very curious, exhibiting very many tints, and not very easy
to describe. The two central feathers are rich shining green; the next green marked with
bronze ; the next dark brown, with two triangular white spots on the inner web, one near the
middle and the other at the tip; the two central feathers are dark brown for the first half of
their length, then comes a broad band of deep rusty-red, then a broad white band, then a
brown band, and the tip is white. The whole length is about four inches.
The female is of a rich bronze-green on the upper surface of the body, and the two cres-
centic marks on the lower part of the back are buff instead of white, as in her mate. Her tail
is short, and of a purple-black bronzed at the base; all the feathers except the two central
ones are tipped with white and ringed with buff. The under surface is rusty-red, becoming
darker on the under tail-coverts. The length is not quite three inches.
WE now come to one of the most imposing of all the Humming-birds, namely the SappHo
Comet, or the BAr-TAILED HUMMING-BIRD, as it is often called. It is a native of Bolivia, and
is a migratory species, generally going to Eastern Peru in the winter. It is a remarkably
familiar bird, haunting the gardens and orchards while the trees are blossoming, especially
while the apple-trees are in flower. The males are extremely fierce and pugnacious, chasing
each other through the air with surprising perseverance and acrimony. Of these Birds
Mr. Bonelli gives a very spirited description :—
‘Tt arrives in the environs of Chuquesaqua in the months of September and October, and
takes up its residence in the shrubberies of the city and the gardens of the Indian cottages ;
THE BAR-TAILED HUMMING-BIRD. 179
the hill-side of the neighboring country, clothed with indigenous trees and shrubs, also affords
it a fit place of abode, whence it descends several times a day to the cultivated plains below,
particularly to the fields of maize, pulse, and other leguminous plants; the rich flowers of
the large cacti are also frequently visited, as they afford it a constant and abundant supply of
insect food.
**Soon after their arrival the task of incubation is commenced ; and when the summer is
over, both the old and the young, actuated as it were by the same impulse, wend their way
southward, to return again when the spring has once more gladdened the earth. ;
**The nest is a somewhat loose structure, outwardly composed of interlaced vegetable
fibres, slight twigs, moss, etc., and frequently lined with soft hairs like those of the viscacha,
iM g
Mz
Wi
SAPPHO COMET.—Sparganura sappho.
with the lower portion prolonged considerably below the bottom of the cup-shaped interior,
which is about an inch and a half in diameter and an inch in depth ; the total length of the
nest averaging from two and a half to three inches. The nest is placed in situations similar to
those selected for the same purpose by the spotted fly-catcher, namely, against the sides of
the walls, supported or entirely sustained by any hanging root or twig that may be best
adapted to afford it security; the part of the nest next the wall is much thicker, but of a
looser texture than the similar portion of the true structure. The eggs are two in number,
oblong in form, of a pure white, and about half an inch in length by about five-sixteenths of
an inch in breadth.
“The difficulty of shooting these birds is inconceivably great, from the extraordinary
turns and evolutions they make when on the wing; at one instant darting headlong into a
flower, at the next describing a circle in the air with such rapidity, that the eye, unable to
180 THE RUBY AND TOPAZ HUMMING-BIRD.
follow the movement, loses sight of it until it again returns to the flower which at first
attracted its attention.”
Magnificent as are these gorgeous birds when mounted as specimens, they lose much of
their beauty in the needful handling, and give but a faint image of their real effulgent beauty.
Many specimens are injured by being left too long before the skins are removed from the
bodies, and in the lands where the Sappho lives, putrefaction takes place with such rapidity,
that a delay of a few hours is fatal to the perfection of the skin. It has been found that these
delicate creatures were much injured by the shot or other missiles employed in their capture,
so a very ingenious trap was made for their especial benefit. It was noticed that the birds
were accustomed to dash into the long pendent blossoms of certain flowers, so the ingenious
collector put a little bird-lime into the bottom of every blossom, and thus secured many an
unwary Humming-bird as it came to feed.
In the male bird the head, neck, the upper part of the back, the face, the sides of the
neck, and great part of the under surface, are light green, bronzed on the sides of the neck
and face. The lower part of the back is a deep crimson-red. The wings are purple-brown,
and the throat metallie-green. The tail is ruddy brown at its base, and the remainder of its
length is a fiery red, tipped with a velvety-black band. The female is smaller than the male,
but is not possessed of his length of tail nor brilliancy of hue, her throat being white spotted
with green, and the only piece of crimson being a patch on her back.
THERE is another species belonging to the same genus, which has been called the PHAON
Comer (Cométes phaon), in allusion to the classical name of the preceding species. This is
equally magnificent with the former, and is altogether a larger bird. It may be known
from the Sappho by the color of the tail, which is wholly of a crimson-red. It inhabits Peru
and Bolivia.
Ow the engraving will be seen a much smaller bird, the YARRELL’s WoopsTAR.
This pretty creature is very rare, and inhabits the eastern parts of Peru and Bolivia. Mr.
Gould thinks it is limited to the localities between the mountainous ranges and the sea. In
the male, the crown of the head, the whole upper surface of the body, and the four central
tail-feathers, are of a light yellow-green, and the chest, the middle of the abdomen, and the
under tail-coverts are grayish-white. Upon the throat there is a gorget of purple-blue,
‘‘shot’’ with lilac in some lights, and of a brighter blue in the centre. The wings are grayish-
brown, and the lateral feathers of the tail are dark brown. The total length of the bird is
about two and a half inches.
AMONG other species belonging to the same genus may be mentioned the SHORT-TAILED
Woopstar (Calothérax micrirus). This odd little bird is remarkable for the extreme short-
ness of its tail-feathers, which when closed are, with the exception of the two central feathers,
hidden under the upper tail-coverts. It is generally seen in the mimosas, and hums very
loudly when flying.
TuHE Rusy AND Topaz HuMMING-BIRD derives its name from the coloring of its head and
throat, the former being of a deep ruby tint, and the latter of a resplendent topaz. Sometimes
it is called the Ruby-headed Humming-bird, and it is also known under the name of the
Aurora. It is very common in Bahia, the Guianas, Trinidad, and the Caraccas, and as it is in
great request for the dealers, is killed by thousands annually. There is no species so common
in ornamental cases of Humming-birds as the Ruby and Topaz. It makes a very beautiful
nest, round, cup-like, and delicately woven of cotton and various fibres, and covered externally
with little leaves and bits of lichen.
The plumage of this species is extremely variable, but may be described briefly as follows.
The forehead, the crown, and the nape of the neck are metallic ruby-red, and the chin, throat,
and chest are effulgent topaz. The upper parts of the body are velvety bronze-brown, and the
wings are purple-brown. The tail is rich chestnut-red, tipped with black, and the abdomen
THE CAYENNE FAIRY. 181
is a dark olive-brown. The female has none of the ruby patches on the head, but retains a
little of the topaz on the throat.
A very striking and remarkable bird, whose long forked tail extends to an astonish-
ing length, is the BLUE-TArLED SyLpH (Cynanthus cyanurus). It is one of the most beau-
tiful of the birds which are called by the name of Sylphs, in allusion to their beautiful form
and graceful movements.
This beautiful bird is found in the temperate regions of the Andes, its range extending as
faras Panama. It also inhabits the sides of the Cordilleras, at an elevation of five or ten
thousand feet above the level of the sea, as the vegetation of those regions is most luxuriant
in spite of the coldness of the climate, and affords plentiful nourishment for the Humming-
birds. The flower on which it usually feeds is the Sedwm quitense, and its flight is extremely
rapid as it darts from one flower to another.
In the male bird the crown of the head is of a metallic golden-green, and the general color
of the body is a bronze-green, becoming browner on the under parts. Upon the throat is a
gorget of the most intense purple-blue, and the wings are purple-brown. The two central
feathers of the magnificent tail are shining metallic-green, the two next are black at their base
and rich blue towards their extremities, and tipped and edged with bright metaic-green,
shot’? with blue. The outer feathers are black for the first half of their length, and the
remaining portion is metallic steely-blue. Some white feathers are scattered across the end of
the abdomen, the under tail-coverts are green, and there is a little white dab above the eye
and another behind it.
The female is something like the male, but not so bright in coloring. The throat is grayish-
white covered with green spots, and the abdomen is rusty-red, changing into bronze-green
upon the flanks. The young male is duller in color than the adult, the tail is shorter,
and there is no blue part upon the throat. Like many other of the Humming-birds, this
species is extremely variable in its coloring, especially among the young males. The
length of this species is about seven inches. It is not, however, so remarkable for the
length of its tail as the Trarn-BEarer (Leshia amaryllis), a native of Quito. This bird,
although a small creature, possesses a long and very straight tail, something like that of
the Polytmus or the Sappho, but much larger in proportion, the length of the elongated
feathers being nearly six inches.
One of the most striking forms among the Humming-birds is that which is exhibited by
Dr LALANDE’S PLOVER-CREST.
This singular bird is remarkable from the fact that the elevated plume which is placed
upon the head is terminated by a single feather, instead of being double, as is usually the case
with crested birds. This species inhabits the southern parts of Brazil. The nest which it
builds is very pretty, and is ingeniously woven into a tuft of leaves or twigs at the extremity
of some very slender branch, so that the whole structure droops downwards, and may be
reckoned among the pensile nests. Its form is much elongated, and the materials of which it
is composed are delicate pieces of roots, mosses and lichens, and spiders’ webs.
The male bird is the sole possessor of the beautiful crest, the female being without
that decoration. The crest and the top of the head are bright green, with the exception
of the long single feather, which is jetty black. The upper surface is green washed with
bronze, and the breast and abdomen are of an intense shining violet. Behind the eye there
is a small white streak.
A HumMine-BtrD, which in the accompanying illustration is represented with outspread
wings and a rather curiously formed tail, is the CayvENNE Fairy (/eliothrix auritus), an
inhabitant of Guiana, Cayenne, and the forests near the mouth of the Amazon.
In the male, the general hue of the upper surface is glossy golden-green, very light on
the forehead. The four middle feathers of the tail are blue-black, and the three exterior
‘eathers are white. A jettv black line is drawn across each side of the face, including the
182 THE AVOCET HUMMING-BIRD.
eye in its breadth, and terminated with a small tuft of violet-blue; below the black runs a
luminous green line. The under parts of the body are snowy white.
CAYENNE FAIRY. —Heliothria aurita
THE very beautiful bird which has been appropriately named the Sun-GEm inhabits the
mountain ranges of Brazil, especially those of Minas Geraes, where it seems, as Mr. Gould
poetically remarks, to be a veritable gem sprung out of the mountain and suddenly gifted
with life. It may generally be found in the open country in nursery grounds, where it finds
abundance of the small flowers on which it feeds. During the rainy season it resorts to the
forest, and finds its nourishment in the orchidaceous plants which flourish there in such rich
profusion.
The male bird is remarkable for a very conspicuous crest, which starts from either side
of the head, and has gained for the bird the title of Double-crested Humming-bird. The
name ‘‘cornuta,’’ or horned, refers to this peculiarity. The forehead and crown of the
head are azure blue, and the neck fiery crimson at its base, changing to green near the centre,
and taking a rich golden radiance at the extremity. The throat, the sides of the face, and
the pendent tuft of feathers from the chin are velvety-black. The back is bronze-green,
and the wings purple-brown. The two central feathers of the tail are olive-brown and the
rest white, edged with the same tint. The breast, sides of the neck, and the upper part of
the abdomen are grayish-white, and the remainder of the under surface is bronze-green.
The female has nearly as long a tail as the male, but her throat is buffy-white, and she
has no crest on the head nor beard hanging from the chin.
A SINGULAR species is the Avocrr Hummine-sirp. It is remarkable for the curious
manner in which the bill is curved upwards at the extremity, after running nearly straight for
the greater part of its length. As this formation of beak bears some resemblance to that
which is found in the well-known Avocet, the present species has been named the Avocet
Humming-bird. When the first specimen of this bird was brought to Europe, the peculiar
Shape of the beak was thought to be accidental, and owing to pressure against the side of the
box in which the bird had been packed ; but it is now clear that the structure is intentional,
THE CHIMBORAZIAN HILL-STAR. 183
and that, in all probability, it subserves some very important purpose. Some persons have
suggested, with some show of reason, that the beak is recurved in order to enable the bird to
feed upon the nectar and insects which reside in the deepest recesses of certain tubular
flowers.
It is a pretty bird, but is not gifted with the gorgeous and dazzling hues which are so
lavishly shed upon the plumage of many Humming-birds. The head and the whole of the
upper parts of the body are shining golden-green, and the throat is bright emerald. The
under parts are also golden-green, with the exception of a black streak that runs from the
SUN-GEM.—Heliactinus cornutus,
breast through the centre of the abdomen. The wings are purple-brown, and the lateral
feathers of the tail are topaz.
Our ideas of Humming-birds are naturally associated with the tropical climate and burn-
ing sun of the regions which they inhabit, and few persons would think of looking for any
species of Humming-bird in a locality where the temperature seldom rises above that of an
ordinary winter in York State. Yet the CurmpBoraziaAn HILt-sTar is never found except
upon the elevated portions of the lofty mountains from which it derives its name, and inhabits
exclusively the very edges of the line of perpetual snow.
This bird is never seen on any spot that is less than twelve thousand feet above the level
of the sea, and is most commonly seen at a much greater elevation, specimens having been
obtained on spots that are at least sixteen thousand feet above the ocean. Beyond this
height the creature cannot live, as the line of perpetual snow commences at that point, and
places an effectual barrier’ against the growth of the plants on which the bird finds its sub
sistence. The two sexes are seldom seen near each other, the males preferring to haunt tke
184 THE PICHINCHIAN HILL-STAR.
extremities of the loftiest branches, while the females hover near the ground. Partly owing
to this peculiarity, and partly on account of her sober tinting, the female generally escapes
observation. The plant on which the Chimborazian Hill-star is usually found is the Chuquira-
qua insignis, a flowering alpine shrub, with large pale yellow blossoms, and the bird is so closely
attached to this shrub, that it is never found at any great distance from its golden flowers.
The nest of this species is made of lichens, and is fastened to the side of a rock in some
situation where it is protected
by an overhanging ledge of
rock.
Except upon the head and
throat, the Chimborazian Hill-
star is not so brilliantly clothed
as many of its compeers, but
upon those parts the creature
shines with rainbow lightness.
The general color of the upper
parts of the body is pale dusky
olive-green, with the exception
of the wings, which have the
purple-brown tint usual among
Humming-birds. The under
parts are white, deepening into
dusky-black upon the under
tail-coverts, and there is a line
of black down the centre of the
abdomen. The head and throat
are of the brightest and most
resplendent blue, with the ex-
ception of an emerald-green
patch in the centre of the
throat. This patch is triangu-
Jar in shape, and has one of
the angles pointing upwards.
Round the neck runs a broad
CHIMBORAZIAN HILL-STAR.—Oreotrochilus chumborazo. collar of deep velvety-black,
abruptly dividing the brilliant
hue of the head and throat from the plain black and white of the chest and abdomen, and
giving the bird an appearance as if the head and throat of some brightly colored bird had
been joined to the neck and body of a plainly clad individual ef another species. The two
central feathers of the tail are nearly of the same hue as that of the back, the two exterior
feathers are white for the first third of their length, and greenish-black for the remaining two-
thirds, while the other feathers are white, edged with greenish-black.
The female is a very soberly clad bird, being olive-green upon the head, white spotted with
green upon the throat, and the remainder of the body olive-green, white, and brownish-black.
THERE are several species of Hill-stars, among which the Prcourncn1An HIL1-sTar is the
most remarkable,
This bird is very local, inhabiting the voleanic mountain of Pichinca, in the republic
of Ecuador, and being only found in a zone of five or six hundred feet in width, at an elevation
of about eleven hundred feet above the level of the sea. It is a very remarkable fact, that
although both these species inhabit voleanic mountains within thirty miles of each other, and
are found at nearly the same elevation, the Pichinchian Hill-stay,is never seen upon Chim-
borazo, nor the Chimborazian Hill-star upon Pichinca. This aor is very like the preceding
but may be easily distinguished by the absence of the triangular green spot upon the throat.
'
THE VERVAIN HUMMING-BIRD. 185
A very elegantly shaped little bird is the Grnt-crestep HumMina-Brrp (Orthorhynchus
exilis). It inhabits Martinique and other West Indian islands, where it is always found upon
the low-lying grounds.
In color it is very pretty, the general hue of its body being green with bronze reflections,
and its crest glowing with golden-green and emerald ; the emerald hue being most conspicuous
towards its point, and the gold towards the base. The nest is a very pretty compact little
structure, beautifully rounded, and composed chiefly of cotton fibres, intermixed with the
dried involucres of certain composite plants, and bound together with spiders’ web.
THe beautiful little Vervary HuMMING-BIRD is one of the minutest examples of feathered
life that are at present known to zoologists. In total length this bird does not measure three
_inches ; while, as the tail occupies nearly an inch and the head half an inch, the actual length
of the body will be seen to be not quite an inch and a half. It is a native of Jamaica, and has
been admirably described by Mr. Gosse, while treating of the birds which inhabit that island.
The name of Vervain Humming-bird has been given to this tiny creature, because it is in
the habit of feeding on the blossoms of the West Indian Vervain, but it is also known under a
variety of other titles, and has been described by many scientific writers under different names.
Speaking of this bird, Mr. Gosse says :—
“The West Indian Vervain (Stachytarpheta) is one of the most common weeds in
neglected pastures, shooting up everywhere its slender columns set around with blue flowers
to the height of a foot. About these our little Humming-bird is abundant during the summer
months, pecking the azure blossoms a few inches from the ground. It visits the spikes in
succession, flitting from one to another exactly in the manner of the honey-bee, and with the
same business-like application and industry. In the winter, the abundance of other flowers,
and the paucity of vervain blossoms, induce its attentions to the hedge-rows and woods.
‘“T have sometimes watched with much delight the evolutions of this little species at the
moringa tree. When only one is present, he pursues the round of the blossoms soberly
enough. But if two are at the tree, one will fly off and suspend himself in the air a few yards
distant, the other presently starts off to him, and then, without touching each other, they
mount upward with strong rushing wings, perhaps for five hundred feet. They then separate,
and each starts diagonally towards the ground like a ball from a rifle, and wheeling round
comes up to the blossoms again, and sucks as if it had not moved away at all.
‘Frequently one alone will mount in this manner, or dart on invisible wing diagonally
upwards, looking exactly like a humble-bee. Indeed, the figure of the smaller Humming-
birds on the wing, their rapidity, their wavering course, and their whole manner of flight, are
entirely those of an insect, and any one who has watched the flight of a large beetle or bee will
have a very good idea of these tropic gems painted against the sky.”
The Vervain Humming-bird appears to be less susceptible of human influence than the
Ruby-throated and the Long-tailed Humming-birds, for although Mr. Gosse succeeded in
capturing several specimens of these beautiful little creatures, and confined them in a room,
they were so hopelessly timid that nothing could be done with them. More than once he
secured the female as she was sitting upon her eggs, and removed her, together with her nest,
into a gauze-covered cage, hoping that she would continue her labors while in captivity, and
produce a brood of young that would be familiar with mankind from their earliest birth.
Maternal love, however, was not proof against the power of fear, and in every case the poor
little bird forsook her eggs, fluttered about the cage aimlessly, and died within twenty-four
hours.
The general color of this beautiful little bird is a brilliant metallic green, the wings being,
as usual, purple-brown, and the tail deep black. The throat and chin are white, sprinkled
profusely with little black spots, and the breast is pure white. The abdomen is also white,
but diversified with a slight green tip to each feather, and the flanks are bright metallic-green
nearly as resplendent as upon the back. The under tail-coverts are white, with a few very
pale green spots. The colors of the female are rather more dull than those of her mate, the
green being tinged with yellow, and the under parts without the green spots. The first half
Vou. I.—24.
186 NESTS OF HUMMING-BIRDS.
of the tail is yellowish-green, and all the feathers of the tail, with the exception of the two
central feathers, are furnished with white tips.
The nest of the Vervain Humming-bird is very small, in accordance with the dimensions
of the architect, is round and cup-like in shape, and beautifully constructed of cotton fibres
and other soft and warm substances. As is the case with the nests of almost all the species of
Trochilide, the rim is so made as to curve slightly inwards, and is, in all probability, con-
structed for the purpose of preventing the eggs from rolling out of the nest when the
‘‘ procreant cradle’? is rocked by the tempestuous winds of the tropics. A somewhat similar
structure may be seen in the nests of many other perching birds, and I well remember seeing
the nest of a goldfinch which had been built at the extremity of a long and slender horizontal
spray of oak, and which was completely turned inwards at the rim. No ordinary wind could
have shaken the eggs out of the nest, as even when the branch was seized and drawn towards
the ground, the eggs still remained in their places.
In one species, which was watched by Captain Lyon, the nest was not completed until
the young birds were nearly fledged.
The mother bird built a small and rather shallow nest, in which she laid two eggs, and
began to sit as usual. As soon, however, as the young were hatched, she set to work again
at her nest, and added fresh material round the edges, so as to raise the sides and prevent her
offspring from tumbling out of their house upon the ground. In proportion to the growth of
the young, the mother increased the height of her walls, so that by the time the young were
ready to fly, the nest had been transformed from a shallow, saucer-like structure, into a round
and deeply-hollowed cup. It has been suggested in explanation of this curious behavior on
the part of the mother bird, that her completed nest had been destroyed, and that she was
forced to run up a hasty kind of hut for the reception of her young, and could only finish it
when she was relieved from the constant duty of sitting on her eggs.
In the nesting of the Humming-birds, there is one peculiarity that is worthy of a passing
notice. In almost every case where a nest has hitherto been discovered, the materials of which
it is composed are thick, soft and woolen, and in all instances are arranged in such a manner as
to shield the eggs even from the effects of rain or atmospheric influences, as long as the
mother bird is seated upon them. Mr. R. Hill, who has paid close attention to the nests of
the Humming-birds, has ingeniously hit upon a connection between their structure and the
electrical conditions of the atmosphere.
The injurious effect of a sudden increase of electricity is very strongly marked upon the
young of all animals, the hurtful influence being in proportion to the growth of the victim.
Eggs are peculiarly susceptible to the influence of electricity, and even when the chick is
partially matured, are often killed by a passing thunder-storm. In climates where thunder-
storms are so frequent and violent as in the lands which are inhabited by these birds, it is
needful that the eggs should be protected from the deadly influence, and we accordingly find
that the nests are oval or rounded in shape, and are made of substances which are bad. con-
ductors of electricity. In accordance with this principle, Mr. Hill proceeds to remark that
‘‘in tropical climates, there are a greater number of birds that build close nests than in the
temperate climates of Europe. In the West Indian Islands, with the exception of the pigeon
tribes and the Humming-birds (which latter build deep, thick, cottony nests), the nests are
almost uniformly circular coverings of dried grass, varied by intermingled cotton, moss and
feathers, with an opening from below, or an entrance at the side.
“The Banana bird weaves a hammock of fibres, sometimes of horse-hair, deep and purse-
like, and loosely netted ; the Musicapa olivacea (a fly-catcher), a hanging cot of withered
leaves, straw, moss, fibrous thread, and spiders’ webs fitted together; and the mocking-bird
builds in the midst of a mass of wicker-work a neat nest of straw lined with hair. The wood-
pecker and the parrots take to hollow trees, but I hardly know any arboreal besides which
constructs any nest that is not wholly covered or domed over.
‘* Very many insects that are exposed to the air during their metamorphoses weave cover-
ings of silk and cotton, in which they lie shrouded, at once impenetrable to moisture, and
CREEPERS. 187
uninfluenced by the disturbances of the atmosphere. It would seem that the object, whatever
it be, is the same in both. It is not for warmth that the insects spin these webs, for they form
their coverings of silk and cotton in the hottest period of the year; and I find that whilst all
our birds that build open nests (the Humming-birds build in May, June, and later) breed
early, those that construct the domed and spherical ones nestle in the season between the
spring and autumnal rains, when the air is saturated with electricity, and is in a state of con-
stant change.”
Ir is an interesting fact that so many as four hundred different species of birds—the
Humming-birds—should have no representatives in the Old World. The Sun-birds of Africa
and Asia appear nearest them in external features. Fifteen species are now enumerated as North
American birds. In the tropical portions of South America the remaining species are found.
Single species are occasionally seen in the Arctic regions, and as far south as Patagonia. The
food of these little creatures consists almost entirely of insects, which they capture in the
recesses of flowers. So varied are these little forms, one hundred and thirty genera are recog-
nized among them. Ten genera are found in North America. The habits and manners of
Humming-birds are peculiar, differing very markedly from any other birds. Their flight and
movements generally resemble those of insects, though usually much more rapid. They are
so nearly like the great nocturnal Sphinxes in their flight, that some of the latter have
been called Humming-bird Moths.
They are not seen in forests, but love the sunshine and the flowers. Some feed during the
twilight ; probably because the insects they favor are out more abundantly at such times.
Their pugnacious habits are well known. They attack without hesitation birds larger than
themselves. So large a bird as the Sparrow Hawk. has been seen to suffer from the attack of
one of these little creatures. The very smallness was in his favor; for, with sufficient courage
and a disposition to fight, he follows up blow after blow with his sharp bill, until his enemy
retreats with disgust.
The nests of the Humming-bird are well-known marvels of beauty. The eggs are usually
two, and pure white. Though these birds have been said to have no voice, Mr. Bell, the dis-
tinguished taxidermist of Audubon’s staff, avers that he has distinctly heard one of the Cen-
tral American species sing, uttering a fine, low note ; and others have since testified the same.
CR Een Ph Rss
WE now arrive at the large family of the CerrHip®, or CREEPERS; a family which
includes many birds of very different forms, and which can only be known to belong to it by
their anatomical structure. In fact, the Creepers may be considered as analogous among birds
to the antelopes among mammalia, and be considered as a ‘‘ refuge for the destitute,’ formed
for the purpose of receiving all the slender-billed birds which cannot find accommodation in
any other more definite family.
The Certhidee are mostly small birds, but there is one notable exception in the person of
the celebrated lyre-bird of Australia. Many of them are good songsters, and they all feed
chiefly upon insects, which they pick out of the bark of trees or unearth from the soil. The
beak is rather long and slender, except perhaps in the nuthatch, which, although compara-
tively long, is possessed of great strength ; and there is always a curve more or less marked.
The beak is always sharp at its extremity, and the nostrils are placed in a little groove at the
base of the bill, and defended by a membranous scale. The feet are, although slender in
several species, possessed of remarkable strength, and furnished with sharp round claws, in
order to enable the birds to cling to the tree-trunks in which they find their food.
188 ‘ THE OVEN-BIRD.
Tie OvEN-BrIRDs derive their name from the peculiar form of their nests.
The edifice, for it fully deserves that name, is of considerable Cimensions when compared
with the small size of its architect, and is built in the shape of a dome, the entrance being on
one side, so as to present a decided resemblance to an ordinary oven. ‘The walls of the nest
are fully an inch in thickness, and the materials of which the structure is composed are clay,
grass, and various kinds of vegetable substances, which are woven and plastered together in
so workman-like a manner, that the nest is quite hard and firm when the clay has been dried
in the sun. ‘The bird seems to be conscious of the security of its nest, for it takes no pains to
OVEN-BIRD.—Furnarius rufus.
conceal its habitation, but builds openly upon some exposed spot, such as the large, leafless
branch of a tree, the top of palings, or even the interior of houses or barns.
The Oven-bird is not content with barely building this curious domed structure, but adds
to its security by separating it into two parts, by means of a partition reaching nearly to the
roof, the eggs being placed in the inner chamber. The bed on which the eggs are placed con-
sists mostly of feathers and soft grasses. The number of the eges is generally about four.
The Oven-bird is a bold little creature, caring nothing, as has already been implied, for the
close proximity of man, and attacking fiercely any other bird that might happen to approach
too closely to its residence, screeching defiantly the while. It is a quick, active bird, tripping
over the ground with great rapidity while searching after its prey, and is almost invariably
foundin company with its mate. The flight of the Oven-bird is not at all strong, and it seldom
indulges in any aérial excursions beyond a short flight from one bush to another. Both sexes
take part in the construction of the nest, each going alternately for supplies of clay, straw, and
THE COMMON TREE-CREEPER. 189
grass-stems, working them well together, and then flying for a fresh load as soon as its mate
has arrived. It feeds principally on insects, having a special liking for those of the beetle kind.
THERE is an allied genus of Oven-birds, termed CrncLopkEs, the members of which are
found upon the western coasts of South America, and generally frequent the sea-shore, where
they feed upon the smaller crustaceans and mollusks. They are rather daring little birds, and
will seek their prey at some distance from the shore, perching upon the fronds of floating sea-
weed, and pecking out the various marine creatures that are always to be found in such loeal-
ities. Like the true Oven-birds, they are careless of the presence of man, and are so fearless
that they can almost be taken by hand. Indeed, one voyager relates that he killed ten of
these little birds with a stick without any difficulty, and hardly having to change his position.
ANOTHER small group of the Certhidée is known to zoologists by the title of SYNALLAXINE
Brrps, and distinguished by the greater length of the outer toe, and its juncture to the middle
tce nearly as far as the first joint. The hinder toe is long and rather powerful, and all the
claws are sharply curved, pointed, and strong. The tail is rather long, and is almost always
pointed, like that of the common creeper.
The Synallaxine birds are inhabitants of tropical America, and, like the oven-birds, are
notable for the very curious nests which they construct. Although these birds are of small
dimensions, they all build nests which might easily be attributed to the labors of some hawk
or crow. The nest of one species is often from three to four feet in length, and is placed very
openly in some low bush, where it escapes notice on account of its resemblance to a bunch of
loose sticks thrown carelessly together by the wind. In its interior, however, the edifice is
very carefully made, and, like the nest of the oven-birds, is divided into two recesses, the eggs
Feing laid in the inner apartment, upon a bed of soft feathers.
The Synallaxine birds are generally found upon the trees, which they traverse with great
rapidity in search of the various insects on which they feed, and may often be seen running
about upon the ground, peering anxiously into every little hole and cranny, and dragging
slugs, snails, worms, and beetles from the recesses in which they are accustomed to conceal
themselves during the hours of daylight.
ANOTHER very small group of the Creepers is represented by the CURVED-BILLED CREEPER,
a bird about the size of a blackbird, which is found in the forests of Brazil.
It is chiefly remarkable from the curiously-formed bill, which is very long in proportion
to the size of the bird, and is curved in a manner that can best be represented by the form
of a sickle. The bill, although so much elongated, is possessed of considerable strength,
and is evidently employed for the purpose of drawing the insects on which the creature feeds
from the crevices of the bark in which they dwell. As is indicated by the stiff and sharply-
pointed feathers of the tail, the Curved-billed Creeper is in the habit of traversing the trunks
of trees, and is able to support itself in a perpendicular position by hooking its long curved
claws into the inequalities of the bark, and resting the weight of its body upon the stiff tail-
feathers. The general color of this bird is brown, with a wash of cinnamon upon the greater
part of the surface. The head and neck are of a grayer brown, and spotted with white.
WE now arrive at the true Creepers, of which birds the Common TREE-CREEPER is an
excellent example.
This little bird is one of the prettiest and most interesting of the feathered tribes that are
foundin Europe. It is a very small bird, hardly so large as a sparrow, and beautifully slender
in shape. The bill is rather long, pointed, and curved, and the tail-feathers are stiff and
pointed at their extremities. The food of the Creeper consists chiefly of insects, although the
bird will sometimes vary its diet by seeds and other vegetable substances. The insects on
which it feeds live principally under the bark of various rough-skinned trees, and when it is
engaged in running after its food, it runs spirally up the trunk with wonderful ease and
celerity, probing every crevice with ready adroitness, its whole frame instinct with sparkling
190 HABITS OF THE TREE-CREEPER.
eagerness, and its little black eyes glancing with the exuberance of its delight. While run
ning on the side of the tree which is nearest to the spectator, it presents a very curious appear-
ance, as its dark-brown back and quick tripping movements give it a great resemblance tc
a mouse, and ever and anon, as it comes again into sight from the opposite side of the trunk,
its beautifully white breast gieams suddenly in contrast with the sombre-colored bark. Its
eyes are wonderfully keen, as it will discern insects of so minute a form that the human eye
can hardly perceive them, and it seems to possess some instinctive mode of detecting the
presence of its insect prey beneath moss or lichens, and will perseveringly bore through the
substance in which they are hidden, never failing to secure them at last.
The Creeper is a very timid bird, and if it is alarmed at the sight of a human being, it will
either fly off to a distant
tree, or will quietly slip
round the trunk of the
tree on which it is run-
ning, and keep itself
carefully out of sight.
It soon, however, gains
confidence, and, pro-
vided that the spectator
remains perfectly quiet.
the little head and white
breast may soon be seen
peering anxiously round
the trunk, and in a few
minutes the bird will re-
sume its progress upon
the tree, and run cheer-
ily up the bark, accom-
panying itself with its
faint trilling song. It
seldom attempts a long
: flight, seeming to con-
COMMON TREE-CREEPER.—Certhia familiaris. tent itself with flitting
from tree to tree.
Although so timid a bird, the Creeper soon becomes familiarized with those whom it
is accustomed to see, provided that they treat it kindly, and will even come to receive food
from their hands. In one instance that has come to my knowledge, the little birds were seen
to frequent the patches of gum that exude from the bark of several trees, and in one spot
where a number of small branches united, so as to form a kind of eup or hollow, a little heap
of gum was found, which seemed to have been placed there by the Creepers, as they were
constantly seen haunting the spot. Feeling sure that the birds fed upon the gum, the specta-
tors used to supply their larder not only with gum, but with crumbs of bread, different seeds,
and little morsels of raw meat, which disappeared as regularly as they were provided.
Some persons have supposed that in climbing the trees it uses its beak, after the manner
of the parrots and other climbing birds. This, however, is not the case, as the beak is only
employed for the purpose of probing the bark, and the whole progression is achieved by means
of the long, curved, and sharply-pointed claws, which retain their hold so firmly, that I have
seen a Creeper hang by its claws after it had been shot, and remain firmly fixed to the bark
long after life had fled.
The Creeper is a very nervous bird, and may be temporarily paralyzed by a smart blow
given to the tree or branch on which it is running. Expert bird-catching boys will often
secure this bird by flinging a stone or heavy stick at the tree, and then pouncing on the bird
before it has recovered from its alarm. It can even be struck from its hold by suddenly
running round the tree, and delivering a sharp blow upon the part of the trunk on which it is
THE NUTHATCH. 191
clinging, It also takes advantage of the uniform brown tint of its back to concealitself from
a real or fancied foe, by clinging closely to the tree and pressing itself so flatly into some
crevice, that a human eye can scarcely distinguish it from the bark. The Creeper does not
confine itself exclusively to trees, but has often been seen running up old walls, and seeking
for the insects that are always to be found in such localities.
The nest of the Creeper is usually made in the hollow of some decaying tree, and is
made of grasses, leaves, and vegetable fibres, and lined with feathers. The eggs are very
small, about seven or eight in number, and of an ashen-gray color, sprinkled with little
gray-brown spots. Sometimes it builds in the hole of an old wall, and has been known to
make its nest in a disused spout.
THE Brown Creeper (Certhia familiaris) is identical with the English bird above
described. Two quite distinct varieties are recognized, one inhabiting Mexico.
The Brown Creeper is common throughout the year in New England. It is found in very
high latitudes. During the winter months it approaches human habitations, delighting in
orchards, where the trees afford more or less sustenance in the worms and larve that infest
them.
Tor WALL-CREFPER is a native of central and southern Europe, and is found plentifully
in all suitable localities. It is called the Wall-Creeper because it frequents walls and perpen-
dicular rocks in preference to tree-trunks.
Tn its movements it does not resemble the common Creeper; for, instead of running over
the walls with a quick and even step, it flies from point to point with little jerking movements
of the wing, and when it has explored the spot on which it has alighted, takes flight for
another. The food of this bird is similar to that of the common Creeper, but it is especially
fond of spiders and their eggs, finding them plentifully in the localities which it frequents.
Old ruined castles are favorite places of resort for this bird, as are also the precipitous faces of
rugged rocks.
The nest of the Wall-Creeper is made in the cleft of some lofty rock, or in one of the many
holes which are so plentifully found in the old ruined edifices which it so loves.
In color the Wall-Creeper is a very pretty bird, the general color of the plumage being
light gray, relieved by a patch of bright crimson upon the shoulders, the larger wing-coverts,
and the inner webs of the secondaries. The remainder of the quill-feathers of the wing are
black, and the tail is black tipped with white. It is a much larger bird than the Common
Tree-Creeper, measuring about six inches in total length.
THERE is a curious genus of the Creeping-bird, known by the name of Crimactrrris. All
the members of this genus are inhabitants of Australia, and notices of the individual species
may be seen in Mr. Gould’s well-known work on the birds of that country. They are gener-
ally found upon the tall gum-trees, traversing their rugged bark with great rapidity, and
probing the crevices in search of insects, after the manner of the Common Creeper. They do
not confine themselves to the bark, but may often be seen running into the ‘‘spouts,’’? or
hollow branches, which are so often found in the gum-trees, and hunting out the various
aocturnal insects which take refuge in these dark recesses during the hours of daylight.
Tue Nuthatches form another group of the Certhide, and are represented in Europe by
the common Nuruatcu of our woods. They are all remarkable for their peculiarly stout and
sturdy build, their strong, pointed, cylindrical beaks, and their very short tails.
The Nuthatch, although by no means a rare bird, is seldom seen except by those who are
acquainted with its haunts, on account of its shy and retiring habits. As it feeds mostly on
nuts, it is seldom seen except in woods or their immediate vicinity, although it will sometimes
become rather bold, and frequent gardens and orchards where nuts are grown. The bird also
feeds upon insects, which it procures from under the bark after the manner of the creepers,
and it is not unlikely that many of the nuts which are eaten by the Nuthatch have been
192 HABITS OF THE NUTHATCH.
inhabited by the grub of the nut weevil. It will also feed upon the seeds of different plants,
especially preferring those which it pecks out of the fir-cones. Beech mast also seems grateful
to its palate, and it will occasionally take to eating fruit.
In order to extract the kernel of the nut, the bird fixes the fruit securely in some con-
venient crevice, and, by dint of repeated hammerings with its beak, breaks a large ragged hoie
in the shell, through which the kernel is readily extracted. The blows are not merely given
by the stroke of the beak, but the bird grasps firmly with its strong claws, and swinging its
whole body upon its feet, delivers its stroke with the full weight and sway of the body.
The beak, by means of which this feat is accomplished, is remarkably strong and power-
ful, and can be used with a vigor and endurance that is quite astonishing. Many instances of
its powers have been
narrated,among which
we may mention that
one of these birds
which had been cap-
tured in a common
brick trap, and had
remained in its dark
cell for some hours,
was found when re-
leased to have been
deprived of one-third
of its beak, which had
evidently been ground
away by the continual
pecking which had
been kept up at the
bricks. The person
who caught the bird
and who narrated the
tale is the Reverend
Mr. Bree. Another of
these birds that had
NUTHATCH.— Sifta cesia, been put into a cage,
immediately began to
hammer at the wooden supports of its prison, and although severely wounded in the wing,
refused to cease from its exertions except to eat and drink, both of which operations it
performed with the greatest coolness. For two days the poor bird continued to peck unceas-
ingly at his cage, and at the close of the second day, sank under its extraordinary exertions.
The Nuthatch is a capital climber of tree-trunks, even surpassing the creeper in the agility
with which it ascends and descends the perpendicular surface, clinging firmly with its strong
claws, and running equally well whether its head be upwards or downwards. Even the creeper
does not attempt to run down a tree with its head towards the ground. It is a very hardy
bird, continuing to pick up an abundant supply of food even in the depths of winter, always
appearing plump and lively.
The nest of the Nuthatch is placed in the hollow of a decaying tree, and the bird always
chooses some hole to which there is but a small entrance. Should the orifice be too large to
please its taste, it ingeniously builds up the orifice with clay and mud, probably to prevent
the intrusion of any other bird. If any foe should venture too near the nest, the mother bird
becomes exceedingly valiant, and dashing boldly at her enemy, bites and pecks so vigorously
with her powerful beak, hissing and scolding the while, that she mostly succeeds in driving
away the assailant. The nest is a very inartificial structure, made chiefly of dried leaves laid
loosely upon the decaying wood, and rudely scraped into the form of a nest.
tm its color the Nuthatch is rather a pretty bird, of pleasing though not of brilliantly
THE LYRE-BIRD, 193
tinted plumage. The general color of the upper parts is a delicate bluish-gray, the throat
is white, and the abdomen and under parts are reddish-brown, warming into rich chestnut on
the flanks. From the angle of the mouth a narrow black band passes towards the back of the
neck, enveloping the eye in its course and terminating suddenly before it reaches the shoulders.
The tail is black on the base and gray towards the tip, except the two outer tail-feathers,
which have each a black spot near the extremity. The shafts are also black.
The Nuthatches are represented in America by five species, very much resembling those
of Europe. The White-bellied and the Red-bellied are the most common.
The Wrens are represented by nine species, in as many genera. Some of them have
numerous varieties ; twenty-three are recognized.
A large species called the Cactus WREN is found in Mexico and California. Its system-
atic name is overpoweringly long for such a bird.
The Houst WREN (Zroglodytes edon) is the most familiar species. This cheery little
bird is a welcome accompaniment to the country-house. Its remarkable cheerfulness and
industry, and its pleasant song, claim for it a hearty welcome in the orchard or garden. It
inhabits all the States, and is migratory.
Belonging to another group are several very small American birds, called, respectively,
RUBY-CROWNED, GOLDEN-CRESTED, and CUVIER’S GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN. These birds are
not true Wrens. Though so very small, their golden and ruby crests render them very attract-
‘ive. The species differ from those of Europe.
WRENS AND WARBLERS.
WE now arrive at the family of the Wrens, in which group we find two birds so dissimilar
in outward appearance as apparently to belong to different orders, the one being the common
Wren of Europe, and the other the celebrated LyrE-sirp of Australia.
This bird, which also goes under the name of NativE PHEASANT among the colonists,
and is generally called BuLLEN-BULLEN by the natives, on account of its peculiar cry, would,
if it had been known to the ancients, have been consecrated to Apollo, its lyre-shaped tail
and flexible voice giving it a double claim to such honors. The extraordinary tail of this bird
is often upwards of two feet in length, and consists of sixteen feathers, formed and arranged
in a very curious and graceful manner. The two outer feathers are broadly webbed, and, as
may be seen in the illustration, are curved in a manner that gives to the widely-spread tail the
appearance of an ancient lyre. When the tail is merely held erect and not spread, the two
lyre-shaped feathers cross each other, and produce an. entirely different outline. The two
central tail-feathers are narrowly webbed, and all the others are modified, with long slender
shafts, bearded by alternate feathery filaments, and well representing the strings of the lyre.
The tail is seen in its greatest beauty between the months of June and September, after
which time it is shed, to make its first reappearance in the ensuing February or March. The
habits of this bird are very curious, and are so well and graphically related by Mr. Gould,
that they must be given in his own words :—
“The great stronghold of the Lyre-bird is the colony of New South Wales, and from
what I could learn, its range does not extend so far to the eastward as Moreton Bay, neither
have I been able to trace it to the westward of Port Phillip on the southern coast ; but further
research can only determine these points. It inhabits equally the bushes on the coast and
those that clothe the sides of the mountains in the interior. On the coast it is especially
abundant at the Western Port and Illawarra; in the interior, the cedar brushes of the Liver-
pool range, and, according to Mr. G. Bennett, the mountains of the Tumat country, are among
the places of which it is the denizen.
Vou, IL—2%. -
194 THE LYRE-BIRD.
‘“Of all the birds I have ever met with, the Menura is far the most shy and difficult to
procure. While among the mountains I have been surrounded by these birds, pouring fortn
the loud and liquid calls for days together, without being able to get a sight of them, and
LYRE-BIRD.—Menura superba.
it was only by the most determined perseverance and extreme caution that I was enabled
to effect this desirable object, which was rendered more difficult by their often frequenting the
almost inaccessible and precipitous sides of gullies and ravines, covered with tangled masses
of creepers and umbrageous trees ; the cracking of a stick, the rolling down of a small stone,
HABITS OF THE LYRE-BIRD. 195
or any other noise, however slight, is sufficient to alarm it; and none but those who have
traversed these rugged, hot, and suffocating bushes, can fully understand the anxious labor
attendant on the pursuit of the Menura.
“Independently of climbing over rocks and fallen trunks of trees, the sportsman has
to creep and crawl beneath and among the branches with the utmost caution, taking care
only to advance while the bird’s attention is occupied in singing, or in scratching up the leaves
in search of food; to watch its action it is necessary to remain perfectly motionless, not
venturing to move even in the slightest degree, or it vanishes from sight as if by magic.
Although I have said so much on the cautiousness of the Menura, it is not always so
alert; in some of the more accessible bushes through which roads have been cut, it may
frequently be seen, and on horseback even closely approached, the bird evincing less fear
of those animals than of man.
‘At Illawarra it is sometimes successfully pursued by dogs trained to rush suddenly upon
it, when it immediately leaps upon the branch of a tree, and its attention being attracted by
the dog below barking, it is easily approached and shot. Another successful mode of procur-
ing specimens is by wearing the tail of a full-plumaged male in the hat, keeping it constantly
in motion, and concealing the person among the bushes, when, the attention of the bird being
arrested by the apparent intrusion of another of its own sex, it will be attracted within the
‘ange of the gun. If the bird be hidden from view by surrounding objects, any unusual sound,
such as a shrill whistle, will generally induce him to show himself for an instant, by causing
him to leap with a gay and sprightly air upon some neighboring branch to ascertain the cause
of the disturbance ; advantage must be taken of this circumstance immediately, or the next
moment it may be half-way down the gully.
“The Menura seldom, if ever, attempts to escape by flight, but easily eludes pursuit by
its extraordinary powers of running. None are so efficient in obtaining specimens as the
naked black, whose noiseless and gliding steps enable him to steal upon it unheard or unper-
ceived, and with a gun in his hand he rarely allows it to escape, and in many instances he will
even kill it with his own weapons.
“The Lyre-bird is of a wandering disposition, and although it probably keeps to the same
bush, it is constantly engaged in traversing it from one end to the other, from the mountain
base to the top of the gullies, whose steep and rugged sides present no obstacle to its long
legs and powerful, muscular thighs. It is also capable of performing extraordinary leaps,
and I have heard it stated that it will spring ten feet perpendicularly from the ground.
Among its many curious habits, the only one at all approaching to those of the Gallinacee is
that of forming small round hillocks, which are constantly visited during the day, and upon
which the male is continually tramping, at the same time erecting and spreading out its tail
in the most graceful manner, and uttering its various cries, sometimes pouring forth its
natural notes, at others imitating those of other birds, and even the howling of the native
dog (Dingo). The early morning and the evening are the periods when it is most animated
and active.
‘Although upon one occasion I forced this bird to take wing, it was merely for the pur-
pose of descending a gulf, and I am led to believe that it seldom exerts this power unless
under similar circumstances. It is peculiarly partial to traversing the trunks of fallen trees,
and frequently attains a considerable altitude by leaping from branch to branch. Independ-
ently of a loud full note, which may be heard reverberating over the gullies for at least a
quarter of a mile, it has also an inward warbling song, the lower notes of which can only be
heard within about fifteen yards. It remains stationary while singing, fully occupied in
pouring forth its animated strain. This it frequently discontinues abruptly, and again
commences with a low, inward, snapping noise, ending with an imitation of the loud
aud full note of the satin-bird, and always accompanied by a tremulous motion of the
tail.
“*The food of the Menura appears to consist principally of insects, particularly of centi-
pedes and coleoptera. I also found the remains of shelled snails in the gizzard, which is very
strong and muscular.”
196 ALBERT’S LYRE-BIRD.
The same writer, in a recent communication to the Zoological Society, mentions the dis-
covery of a nest of the Lyre-bird, containing a nearly adult young bird of sixteen inches in
height. In spite of its large size, it was a most helpless creature, and seemed to be quite
incapable of escape, even with the assistance of its mother, who with devoted courage tried to
withdraw it from its enemies, and laid down her life in the attempt.
The young Lyre-bird displayed no fear of its captors, but was easily induced to follow
any one when allured by the imitation of the mother’s ery. It fed well, its chief articles of
diet being worms, ants, and their larvee. For water it seemed to care but little, and seldom, if
ever, was seen engaged in drinking. Although tended with great care, and its wants well
supplied, this interesting captive died within eight days after it was taken. Dr. Bennett
remarks of the young Lyre-bird, that when it is able to leave the nest it is very swift of foot,
and as it instinctively conceals itself under rocks and among the densest thickets, its capture
is a difficult task even for a native.
Of the adult bird, the same writer speaks as follows :—
‘“‘T first saw these birds in the mountain range of the Tumat country ; lately they have
been very abundant among the Blue Mountain ranges bordering on the Nepean river, above
Emeu Plains (about thirty-five miles from Sydney). They are remarkably shy, very difficult
of approach, frequenting the most inaccessible rocks and gullies, and on the slightest disturb-
ance they dart off with surprising swiftness through the brakes, carrying their tail horizon-
tally ; but this appears to be for facilitating their passage through the bushes, for when they
leap or spring from branch to branch as they ascend or descend a tree, the tail approaches to
the perpendicular. On watching them from an elevated position, playing in a gully below,
they are seen to form little hillocks or mounds, by scratching up the ground around them,
trampling and running flightily about, uttering their loud shrill calls, and imitating the notes
of various birds.’
The nest of the Lyre-bird is a large, loosely-built, domed structure, composed of small
sticks, roots, and leaves, and of an oven-like shape, the entrance being in front. The lining is
warm and soft, being composed of downy feathers.
The egg of this singular bird is quite as curious as its general form, and presents the
curious anomaly of an egg as large as that of a common fowl, possessing all the characteristics
of the insessorial egg. The general color of the egg is a deep chocolate tint, marked with
purple more or less deep in different specimens, and its surface is covered with a number of
stains and blotches of a darker hue, which are gathered towards the larger end, as is usual in
spotted eggs.
ANOTHER species of Lyre-bird has been discovered, which is called ALBERT’S LYRE-BIRD
(Menura alberti), in compliment to the Prince Consort. This species may be known by the
comparative shortness of the lyre-shaped tail-feathers, and the absence of dark bars upon
the web.
Dr. Stephenson, in speaking of this bird, says :—
“The locality it frequents consists of mountain ridges, not very densely covered with
brush ; if passes most of its time on the ground, feeding and strutting about with the tail
reflected over the back to within an inch or two of the head, and with the wings drooping on
the ground. ach bird forms for itself three or four ‘corroboring places,’ as the sawyers
call them ; they consist of holes scratched in the sandy ground, about two and a half feet in
diameter, by sixteen, eighteen, or twenty inches in depth, and about three or four hundred
yards apart, or even more.
‘“ Whenever you get sight of the bird, which can only be done with the greatest caution
and by taking advantage of intervening objects to shelter yourself from its observation, you
will find it in one or other of these holes, into which it frequently jumps and seems to be feed-
ing ; then ascends again and struts round and round the place, imitating with its powerful
musical voice any bird that it may chance to hear around it. The notes of the Dacelo gigantea,
or laughing jackass, it imitates to perfection; its own whistle is exceedingly beautiful and
varied, No sooner does it perceive an intruder, than it flies up into the nearest tree, first
—
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Testimonials to the “Tafeln” of Brebm’s Thierleben.
©
I find it superfluous to enter here into particulars, as I already, in the ‘ Descent of
The late CHARLES DARWIN wrifes:—‘‘ The illustrations are the best I ever saw in any work,
”
have willingly and openly confessed how much I have profited by Mr. Brehm’s book, and how highly I esteem it.
Man,
Sir Joun Lusppock, Bart., DGely,
”
They are certainly very admirable.
—‘* You have, I think, done good service in publishing them.
W. B. CARPENTER. M.D., LL.D., writes:—'‘I can quite endorse the favorable opinions already given by distinguished zoologists as to the high character of the illustrations
o
v
eS
oO
oo
752-5 HMnimate Creation, &==s
Wy" have concluded to submit for public patronage a work with the above title, being a series
of exquisite Engravings representing the ANIMAL WORLD, executed with great scientific
accuracy, and accompanied by full Descriptive Text, written in popular terms, so as to
delight and instruct the people. Anyone who has considered the subject must be at a loss to under-
stand why an ILLUSTRATED NATURAL HIsToRy, comprehensive and at the same time popular,
has not before this been published in this country. Indeed any lover of animals who has visited the
great museums and zoological gardens and has had access to books of engravings in the public
libraries, could not fail to remark the wealth of material in existence devoted to this subject. Being
confirmed in our conviction of the desirability of such a work, we laid under contribution the best
existing authorities for the production of most perfect representations of all the more important
living creatures, and among the artists whose delineations will delight the reader, we may mention
Harrison Weir, Wolf, Coleman, Fr. Specht, and Mutzel. By far the majority of the engravings in
these volumes are from drawings made from the /¢vzvg animals, many at the Zoological Society’s
Gardens in London, England.
We purpose that our patrons shall be aided and interested in their study by such an array of
pictures as has never before embellished any Natural History. In numerous instances the engraving
is printed in oil-colors, and this portion of the illustrations has been taken charge of by Messrs. L.
Prang & Co., of Boston, who we believe rank foremost for high artistic results in this department of
printing. These Oleographs were copied under the superintendence of Mr. Prang from the renowned
“ Tafeln”’ of ‘ Brehm’s Thierleben,” so that they may be declared perfectly reliable.
We sought competent advice from various sources as to the most suitable text that should ac-
company this panorama of handsome Engravings. It was found impossible to embody all the present
ideas of naturalists in a single work like this on account of the rapid advances and constant changes in
their knowledge of, and habits of thought respecting, the Animal World. And it seemed to us cor-
rect that the true object of Zoology is not to arrange, to number, and to ticket animals in a formal
inventory, but to inquire into their life-nature, and not simply to investigate the lifeless organism.
What do we know of * Man” from the dissecting-room? Is it not Man, the warrior, the states-
man, the poet, etc., that we are interested in? With all veneration which attaches itself to those
who are the accredited possessors of abstruse learning, their inordinate use of phraseology detracts
too much, we fear, from the fascination that the study of the Animal World would otherwise yield,
and as we are not content to have our work restricted to a favored few, we thought the task placed
in our hands to be to keep the work free from a repellant vocabulary of conventional technicalities.
Our endeavor has been to find an author whose work would be noted for its fund of anecdote and
vitality rather than for merely anatomical and scientific presentation, and we arrived at the conclu-
sion that we could not do better than avail ourselves of the Rev. J. G. Wood’s comprehensive work
—a work most popularly approved by speakers of the English language. It would be superfluous to
say one word concerning the standard character of his book, from the pages of which old and young
at the other side of the Atlantic have obtained so much instruction and rational amusement. Avoid-
ing the lengthened dissertations and minute classifications of specialists, he presents to his readers in
popular terms a complete treatise on the Animal Kingdom of all climes and countries. The one
objection that could be urged against it was, that animal life in America might be treated more fully
and American forms given more consideration. “In order to obviate this drawback and to do full
justice to the creatures of our own country, we secured the aid of Dr. J. B. HOLDER, of the Ameri-
can Museum of Natural History in New York, an undoubted American authority, who has adapted —
Wood’s work to American wants and given prominence to American forms of Animal life. :
The splendid work on Rodentia, by Allen, Coues, and others, will be fully consulted. The
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TRE WREN. 197
alighting on the basement branches, and then ascending by a succession of jumps until it
reaches the top, when it instantly darts off to another of its play-grounds.
‘“*The stomachs of those I dissected invariably contained insects, with scarcely a trace of
any other material. Now, collectors of insects know that gravel-pits and sandy holes afford
them great treats, and it appears to me that one, if not the principal use of the excavations
made by this bird, is to act as a trap for unwary coleopteras and other insects, which, falling
in, cannot be again rescued, and are therefore easily secured.”’
The nest of Albert’s Lyre-bird is like that of the preceding species in general shape, but
is almost wholly composed of long and slender twigs, and presents a most curious appearance.
Specimens of this structure may be seen in the British Museum. The nest resembles nothing
so much as a large round mass of loose sticks, into which some giant had thrust his foot and
left the impression of his shoe. The hollow of the nest is, in fact, a kind of cave on a small
scale, domed over by the sticks as they lie crossing each other in all directions.
Weare all familiar with the Wren, ‘the king of all birds,’ as he is termed in ancient
rhyme, his title to royalty resting on his defeat of the eagle in upward flight. The story runs
that the birds assembled to choose a king, and that the election should fall on the bird who
soared the highest. Up sprang all the birds into the sky, but highest of all towered the eagle,
who, after mounting till his wearied wings could beat no more, proclaimed himself the sover-
eign of the birds. But all unperceived, the little Wren had been quietly perching between
his shoulders, and as soon as the eagle ceased to mount, the Wren sprang into the air, and,
rising on tiny pinion far above the wearied eagle, twittered forth the victory of wit and intel-
lect over bulk and physical strength.
The long and harsh name of Troglodytes, which has been given to this bird, signifies
a diver into caves, and has been attributed to the Wren on account of its shy and retiring
habits, and its custom of hiding its nest in some hollow or crevice where it may escape obser-
vation. The Wren is seldom to be seen in the open country, and does not venture upon any
lengthened flight, but confines itself to the hedge-rows and brushwood, where it may often be
observed hopping and skipping like a tiny feathered mouse among the branches. It especially
haunts the hedges which are flanked by ditches, as it can easily hide itself in such localities,
and can also obtain a plentiful supply of food. By remaining perfectly quiet, the observer
can readily watch its movements, and it is really an interesting sight to see the little creature
flitting about the brushwood, flirting its saucily expressive tail, and uttering its quick and
cheering note.
The voice of the Wren is very sweet and melodious, and of a more powerful character than
would be imagined from the dimensions of the bird. The Wren is a merry little creature, and
chants its gay song on the slightest encouragement of weather. Even in winter there needs
but the gleam of a few stray sunbeams to set the Wren a-singing, and the cold Christmas
season is often cheered with its happy notes. While skipping among the branches, the Wren
utters a continuous little twitter, which, although not worthy of being reckoned as a song, is.
yet very soft and pleasing.
The nest of the Wren is rather an ambitious structure, being a compietely domed edifice,
and built in a singularly ingenious manner. If, however, the bird can find a suitable spot,
such as the hole of a decaying tree, the gnarled and knotted branches of old ivy, or the over-
hanging eaves of a deserted building, where a natural dome is formed, it is sure to seize upon
the opportunity and to make a dome of very slight workmanship. The dome, however, always.
exists, and is composed of non-conducting materials, so that the bird always contrives to
insulate itself and its young from electrical influences. It is a very singular fact, that a Wren
will often commence and partly build three or four nests in different localities before it settles.
finally upon one spot. Some persons have supposed that these supplementary nests are built.
by the parent bird as houses for its young after they have grown too large to be contained
within the house where they were born, while others have suggested that they are experi-
mental nests made by the inexperienced young while trying their ’prentice beak in the art of
bird architecture.
198 THE TAILOR-BIRD.
For my own part, I believe that these partial nests have been made by Wrens when
building for the first time, and consequently inexperienced in the world and its difficulties.
They seem to fix too hastily upon a locality, and then to find, after they have made some
progress with their house, that danger lurks near, perhaps in the form of a weasel, a shrike,
orasnake. In one such instance of desertion the cause was sufficiently evident, for the head
of a snake was seen protruding from the opening of the nest.
The materials of which the nest is composed are always leaves, moss, grass and lichens,
and it is almost aiways so neatly built that it can hardly be seen by one who was not previously
aware of its position. The opening of the nest is always at the side, so that the eggs are
securely shielded from the effects of weather.
As to the locality and position in which the nest is placed, no definite rule is observed,
for the Wren is more capricious than the generality of birds in fixing upon a house for her
young. Wrens’ nests have been found in branches, hedges, hay-ricks, water-spouts, hollow
trees, barns and outhouses. Sometimes the Wren becomes absolutely eccentric in its choice,
and builds its nest in spots which no one would conjecture that a bird would select. A Wren
has been to known to make its nest in the body of a dead hawk, which had been killed and
nailed to the side of a barn. Another Wren chose to make her house in the throat of a dead
calf, which had been hung upon a tree, and another of these curious little birds was seen to
build in the interior of a pump, gaining access to her eggs and young through the spout.
The eggs of the Wren are very small, and are generally from six to eight in number,
During the winter, the Wren generally shelters itself from the weather in the same nest
which it had inhabited during the breeding season, and in very cold seasons it is not an
uncommon event to find six or seven Wrens all huddled into a heap for the sake of warmth,
and presenting to the eye or hand of the spectator nothing but a shapeless mass of soft brown
feathers.
In Mr. Thompson’s natural history a curious anecdote is related, where a pair of fly-
catchers who had made a nest and laid three eggs were ousted by a party of young Wrens just
able to fly. The little birds had probably been ejected from home for the first time, and seeing
so comfortable a nest, had taken possession of it. I have often observed the same conduct in
many young canaries, for whenever a family of the newly-fledged birds is turned out of the nest,
they generally wend their way to the home of some other female,,and install themselves in
possession of her nest and eggs before she is aware of their intentions.
The title of ‘* Kitty Wren,’’? which is often given to this bird, is owing to the peculiar
little twittering sound of Chié/ chit! which it utters while engaged in the pursuit of food.
The color of the Wren is a rich reddish-brown, paling considerably on the under surface
of the body, and darkening into dusky brown upon the quill-feathers of the wings and tail.
The outer webs of the former are sprinkled with reddish-brown spots, and the short tail-
feathers are barred with the same hue. The bill is slender, and rather long in proportion to
the general dimensions of the bird. The total length of the Wren is rather more than four
inches. White and pied varieties are not uncommon.
WE now arrive at the very large family of the WARBLERS, a group in which the genera,
when taken together, number more members than those of any other family. The first sub-
family is that which is known by the name of the Malurina, or soft-tailed Warblers.
Tue first example of the soft-tailed Warblers is the celebrated TAILor-BrrD of India and
the Indian Archipelago. There are many species belonging to the genus Orthotomus, and as
they all possess similar habits, there is no need of describing more than the example which
has been shown, They are peculiar birds, haunting cultivated grounds, and being generally
seen in pairs on fields and in gardens. They dislike lofty elevations, and may generally be
seen near the ground, hopping about the lower branches of trees and shrubs in their search
after insects, and occasionally seeking their prey on the ground. Their flight is rapid but
undulating, after the manner of many short-winged and long-tailed birds.
The Tailor-bird is a sober little creature, not more conspicuous than a common sparrow,
THE PINC-PINC. 199
and is chiefly remarkable for its curious nest, which is made in a singular and most ingenious
manner. Taking two leaves at the exfremity of a slender twig, the bird literally sews them
together at their edges, its bill taking the place of the needle and vegetable fibres constituting
the thread. A quantity of soft cottony down is then pushed between the leaves, and a con-
venient hollow scraped
out in which the eggs
may lie and the young
birds may rest at their
ease. Sometimes, if the
leaf be large enough, its
two edges are drawn to-
gether, but in general a
pair of leaves are needed.
A few feathers are some-
times mixed with the
down.
This curious nest is
evidently hung at the
very extremity of the
twigs, in order to keep
it out of the way of the
monkeys, snakes, and
other enemies which
might otherwise attack
and devour mother and
young together.
THE large genus
Drymoica, which num-
bers nearly seventy spe-
cies, is quite as remark-
able as the preceding
genus. Some species
inhabit Africa, others
Southern Europe, some TAILOR-BIRD.—Orthoiomus bennettii.
are found in India, and
many in Australia. They are always found in open plains where the grass is long and thick,
or among the rich rank herbage thet grows in marshy localities. They mostly feed on the
ground insects, and are well fitted by their very great speed of foot for the chase and capture
of their swift insect prey. Being but indifferent in flight, they seldom take to wing, and
always try to escape from their foes by means of running among the thick herbage in which
they live. While running, they generally lift their tails and hold them over the back. Their
song is loud, but by no means agreeable.
The nest of the Prnc-prNnc is of considerable dimensions, being often more than a foot in
circumference and of a most singular shape and structure. The materials of which it is com-
posed are vegetable fibres, beaten, twisted, and woven into a fine felt-like substance, and
strongly fastened to the branches among which it is situated. It is of a rough, gourd-like
shape, and is always entered by means of a neck, or spout, so that the bird is able from the
interior to present its sharply-pointed bill to any assailant, ana to prevent its entrance. Near
the mouth of the nest there are generally one or two projections, which serve as perches for
the bird to rest upon before it enters the nest, and may probably be used by the male as a seat
whereon to recline while his mate is sitting upon the eggs within. The color of the nest varies
according to the substance of which it is composed, sometimes being of a snowy whiteness,
and at other times of a dingy brown.
200 THE GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN.
The peculiar form of this and other similar nests is evidently for the purpose of enabling
the parent bird to defend its home against the intrusions of the many foes to bird life with
which these regions swarm. The eggs are generally from six to eight in number.
ANOTHER species of the same genus, the CapocrErR, builds a nest which, although of
coarser texture, is quite as beautiful as that of the pinc-pine.
The materials are much the same as those employed by the pinc-pinc, but they are only
closely felted together in the interior of the nest, and are left to flow loosely on its exterior.
It is a very large edifice in proportion to the dimensions of the architect, and the cottony
down, the flaxen fibres, and fine moss are woven together in so skilful a manner as to excite
our highest admiration. Le Vaillant, who watched a pair of Capociers hard at work upon
their nest, says that they were occupied for a whole week in their task. The interior of the
nest is of an oval shape, rather roughly corresponding with the external outline, and it is
entered through an opening in the side. One of these nests will sometimes reach nine inches
in height. The Capocier is a native of Africa.
THE genus which has been chosen as a type of this family is MALURUus, the members of
which are only found on the continent of Australia. They possess the habits of Drymoica,
and even resemble those birds in the peculiar fashion of tilting up their tails as they run over
the ground.
Our last, and perhaps the most curious example of the Malurine birds, is the beautiful
little Emru Wren of Australia.
This pretty bird is remarkable for the development of the tail-feathers, which are
extremely lengthened, and are nothing more than bare shafts slightly fringed on each side.
The bird never perches on
high trees, and very seldom
-/ takes to wing, but runs over
the grass with very great
rapidity, holding its tail
erect over its back in a
singularly pert manner. It
is generally found among
long grass, and according
to Dr. Bennett it congre-
gated some years since in
the Sydney Domain, near
the Botanic Gardens, but
has not since appeared in
that locality. The color of
this little bird is mottled
brown above, and very light
fawn below, deepening into
= VON | chestnut on the flanks.
‘) \SRS igo KIS \\ ee The throat of the male is
: Sef = tinged -with blue, and his
tail-feathers are larger than
2
THE GRAY WAGTAIL. 229
“The pied Wagtail of Europe (M/otacilla yarrellii) is somewhat more robust in form, and
in its full summer dress has the whole of the head, chest, and neck of a full, deep jet-black ;
while in the White Wagtail (J/ofacilla alba), at the same period, the throat and head alone
are of this color; the back and the rest of the upper surface being of a light ash-gray. In
winter the two species more nearly assimilate in their coloring, and this circumstance has
doubtless been the cause of their being hitherto considered as identical; the black back of
Motacilla yarrellii being gray at this season, although never so light as Motacilla alba. An
additional evidence of their being distinct (and which has doubtless contributed to the con-
fusion) is, that the female of our pied Wagtail never las the beak black as in the male ; this
part, even in summer, being dark gray, in which respect it closely resembles the other
species.”” Another distinction may be found in the shape of the beak, which is broader in
the White than in the pied species.
The White Wagtail is very common in France and the southern parts of Europe ; but,
although it may be found plentifully on the shores of Calais, the narrow arm of the sea
appears to be a boundary which it seldom passes.
It is an occasional straggler in North America, and is therefore embraced in the catalogue
of such birds.
GRAY WAGTAIL.—WMotacilla campestris ; and MEADOW PIPIT.—Anthus pratensis.
Tur Gray Wacratt is a remarkably pretty and elegant example of this group of birds ;
its plumage being delicately marked with various soft colorings, its shape slender and grace-
tul, and its movements light and airy.
This species is not quite so common as the pied Wagtail, and seems to migrate backwards
and forwards in Europe according to the temperature. Of the far northern regions it is a
230 ; THE PIPITS, OR TITLARKS.
summer visitant, but is more permanently stationed in the other parts of the north, and mostly
breeds in warm, well-watered localities. The bird is a special lover of water, and seldom
seems to fly to any great distance from the brook or river in which it finds its food.
Like the pied Wagtail, it feeds largely on aquatic insects and larvee, and is also known to
eat small water mollusks, not troubling itself to separate the seft body from the hard and
sharp-edged shell.
THE YELLOW WaGarTAtIL, or Ray’s WaaTATL, as it is sometimes termed, is very common in
England, and is very partial to pasture lands, where it revels among the insects that are
roused by the tread of cattle.
It is not so partial to water as the pied species, and may often be met with upon the driest
lands, far from any stream, busily employed in catching the beetles, flies, and other sun-loving
insects. Even upon roads it may frequently be observed tripping about with great celerity,
and ever and anon picking up an insect, and celebrating its success by a triumphant wag of
the tail. The name of Yellow Wagtail has been given to it on account of the light yellow hue
which tinges the head and the entire under surface of the body. As, however, the preceding
species also possesses a considerable amount of yellow in its coloring, the name of Ray’s Wag-
tail has been given to this bird in honor of the illustrious naturalist. It is a gregarious bird,
being generally seen in little flocks or troops.
The coloring is as follows: The top of the head, back of the neck, and the whole of the
back are olive, brighter upon the head and darker upon the back. The quill-feathers of the
wings are dark brown, tipped with yellowish-white, with the exception of the two exterior
feathers of the tail, which are white, with a line of black running down the inner web; all the
tail is brownish-black, like the wings. The chin, throat, the whole of the under surface of
the body, together with a well-defined stripe over the eye and ear, are bright yellow. In
length the bird does not reach quite seven inches.
AUSTRALIA is the habitat of the prettily-marked bird which is known to zoologists by the
very long name of WHITE-FACED EPHTHIANURA.
It is tolerably common in several parts of that strange country, and is found in little
flocks, as is the case with the Wagtails. Of this bird and its habits, Mr. Gould speaks as
follows: ‘‘As the structure of its toes and lengthened tertiaries would lead us to expect, its
natural province is the ground, to which it habitually resorts, and decidedly evinces a prefer-
ence to spots of a sterile and barren character. The male, like many of the saxicoline birds,
frequently perches either on the summit of a stone, or cn the extremity of a dead and leafless
branch. It is rather shy in disposition, and when disturbed flies off with considerable rapidity
to a distance of two or three hundred yards before it alights again. I observed it in small
companies on the plains near Adelaide, over the hard clayey surface of which it tripped with
amazing quickness, with a motion that can neither be described as a hop or a run, but some-
thing between the two, with a bobbing action of the tail.”
Only the male bird is gifted with the bright contrast of the white throat and banded chest,
the female being quite a sombre-plumaged bird. It is always a sprightly and active bird, and
is quick of wing as well as of foot.
SHE SPIPITS,- OR TITLARKS:
Tue Preis, or TrTLARKS, as they are sometimes called, form a well-marked group, which
possesses the long hind toe of the hawk, together with very similar plumage, and also bears
the long tail which is found in the wagtails. Several species of the Pipit inhabit Europe, two
examples of which will be figured.
The first is the common Mrapow Prrit, or Mrapow TiTLrine, a bird which may be seen
throughout the year upon moors, waste lands, and marshy ground, changing its locality
according to the season of year. It is a pretty though rather sombre little bird, and is quick
THE MEADOW PIPIT, OR TITLING. 231
and active in its movements, often jerking its long tail in a fashion that reminds the observer
of the Wagtail’s habits. It moves with considerable celerity, tripping over the rough and
rocky ground which it frequents, and picking up insects with the stroke of its unerring beak,
Its food, however, is of a mixed description, as in the crops of several individuals were found
seeds, insect and water-shells, some of the latter being entire.
The song of this bird is hardly deserving of the name, being rather a feeble and plaintive
““cheeping’’ than a true song. While uttering its notes, the Meadow Pipit is generally on
the wing, but does not begin to sing until it has attained its full elevation, reserving its voice
for the gradual descent. The song is begun quite early in the season, but as the bird is so
partial to waste lands, it is not heard so commonly as that of rarer birds. It is gregarious in
its habits, assembling in little flocks, which generally come to the cultivated grounds about
September or October, and roost amicably together on the ground at night.
The nest of this species is placed on the ground, and generally hidden in a large grass-tuft.
_ It appears, from some observations made by Mr. Thompson, that the bird is in the habit of
carrying dead grasses and laying them over her nest whenever she leaves her eggs or young.
The object of this precaution is not, however, very evident, as the grass is usually of a different
hue from the surrounding foliage, and apparently serves rather as a guide to the nest thana
concealment. The eggs are from four to six in number, of a dark brown color, speckled freely
with reddish-brown. The cuckoo is said to favor the Meadow Pipit with her society rather
more frequently than is agreeable to the bird, and to give it the labor of rearing her voracious
young.
The general color of this Pipit is dark olive-brown, with a wash of green upon the upper
parts ; the wings are very dark brown, sprinkled with white, and the tail is also brown, with
the exception of a white streak on each exterior feather, and a few white spots towards the
extremity. The under surface is brownish-white, and upon the breast of the male there is a
pale rosy tinge. Upon the breast there are a number of dark brown spots. The colors of the
plumage undergo a decided change in the autumn, and are more showy than those of the
summer; the olive-green on the back becoming more conspicuous and the under surface tinged
with yellow.
This bird goes by
different names. In many
places it is termed the
Moss-cheeper, in allusion
to its peculiar plaintive
note. In other parts it
is known by the title of
Ling-bird, on account of
its habit of haunting the
waste moorlands. In Ire-
land the bird is called the
Wekeen, a name which.
evidently alludes to its
note. It has been found
all over Europe, and in
many countries extend-
ing as far northward as
Sweden and Norway in
the summer months, and
having even been seen in f
Iceland. Specimens have TREE PIPIT.—Anthus arboreus.
been taken in Egypt and
several parts of Africa, and also in the west of India. Tt has also been included in the list
of Japanese birds, so that it possesses a range of locality which is seldom enjoyed by any
single species. Although the bird is so small and delicate, being only six inches in length, it
3% THE TREE PIPIT.
“a
bo
is a strong and daring flyer, a specimen having been taken on board a ship at a distance of
nine hundred miles from the nearest shore.
Tr Tree Prrrr derives its name from its habit of perching upon trees, wherein it pre-
sents a decided contrast to the meadow Pipit, which chiefly frequents waste lands and
marshes.
It is only a summer visitant of the northern countries, arriving towards the end of April,
and leaving in September, after rearing its brood. Although it can perch on branches, and
does so very frequently, it has not a very strong hold of the bough, and is not nearly so agile
in hopping or tripping about the branches as is the case with the generality of perching birds.
While on the tree it generally settles on the end of some bough, and is not seen to traverse
the branches after the fashion of the tree-frequenting birds. Although it is called the Tree
Pipit, it seems more at-its ease on the ground than among the branches, and runs and trips
over the roughest soils with an easy grace that contrasts strongly with its evident insecurity
upon the boughs.
RICHARD'S and ROCK PIPIT.—Anthus richardi and aquaticus.
The song of this bird is sweeter and more powerful than that of the preceding species, and
is generally given ina very curious mamer. Taking advantage of some convenient tree, it
hops from branch to branch, chirping merrily with each hop, and after reaching the summit
of the tree, perches for a few moments and then launches itself into the air, for the purpose of
continuing its ascent. Having accomplished this feat, the bird bursts into atriumphant strain
of music, and, fluttering downwards as it sings, alights upon the same tree from which if had
started, and by successive leaps again reaches the ground.
THE ANT-THRUSH. 233
The nest of the Tree Pipit is almost invariably placed on the ground under the shelter of
a tuft of grass, although there are instances where the bird has been known to build in a very
low bush. The materials of which the nest is made are moss, roots, and fine grasses, and the
lining is mostly of hair. The eggs are five in number, and their color is a whitish ground
covered with reddish-brown spots. There is considerable variation in the color of the eggs,
the spots being larger and more numerous in some examples, and their color generally pos-
sessing different shades of purple intermixed with brown.
The Tree Pipit may be known from the meadow Pipit by its greater size, its flatter head,
larger bill, and shorter hind claws, the last being a very notable distinction. In its general
coloring it resembles the meadow Pipit. Besides these two species, others are known to be
among the European birds, as the Rock Pipit (Anthus aguaticus), and the Richard’s Pipit
(Anthus richardt).
Pern US EVES:
THE very large family of the THRUSHES now engages our attention. Many of these birds
are renowned for their song, and some of them are remarkable for their imitative powers In
general shape there is some resemblance to the crows and the starlings and blackbirds, bearing
avery great external resemblance to the common starling. This family is divided into five
sub-families, all of which will be mentioned in the following pages, and many examples
figured.
THE ANT-THRUSHES, so called from their ant-eating propensities, form a small but
remarkable group of birds, differing greatly in color and dimensions, but bearing considerable
resemblance to each other in their general form. Some species are almost as sombrely clad in
black, brown, and white, as the common Thrush, while the plumage of others glows with a
crystalline lustre of animated prismatic hues, as in the black-headed Pitta (P. melanocephala),
or is gorgeous with the brightest scarlet, blue, and purple, as in the crimson-headed Brachyure
(P. granatica). All the species, however, bear, in external form, a considerable resemblance
to each other, being thick-set, big-bodied, large-headed, long-legged, short-tailed, and strong-
billed.
These birds may be separated into two divisions, the Breves and the Ant-Thrushes ; the
former being found in India, the Indian Islands, and Australia, while the latter inhabit
America as well as the Old World.
In whatever part of the world they may be situated, they are most useful birds, as with-
out their assistance the ants which swarm in those lands would increase to a most baneful
extent. In allusion to this subject Mr. Swainson makes the following pertinent remarks :
‘Of all the tribes of insects which swarm in the tropics, the ants are the most numerous ; they
are the universal desolators, and in the dry and overgrown parts of the interior, the traveller
can scarcely proceed five paces without treading upon their nests. To keep these myriads
within due limits, a wise Providence has ordered into existence the Ant-thrushes, and given
to them this particular food. Both are proportionate in their geographical range, as far
beyond the tropical latitudes the ants suddenly decrease, and their enemies the Myiotheriz
(7. e., the ant-eating creatures) totally disappear.”
It must, however, be remembered, that the ants themselves are of the greatest service in
removing and devouring all dead animal substances, and that the great object of the Ant-
Thrush is not to extirpate, but to keep within due bounds the insects which might otherwise
become absolutely harmful to the bird which is so greatly benefitted by their presence in mod-
erate numbers.
THE great AnT-TurusH, which is atso called the GIANT Prirra, or the Grant BREVE, ip
allusion to its large dimensions, is a native of Surinam, and on account of its bright plumage,
Vou, I.—30.
234 THE DIPPER, OR WATER-OUSEL.
its quaint and peculiar shape, its very large head, very long legs, and peculiarly short wren-
like tail, which looks exactly as if it had been neatly cropped, is one of the most singular
birds of that prolific locality. In size it equals a rook, but hardly looks so large as that well-
known bird, on account of the short tail, which is entirely covered by the wings when they
are closed. The general color of this brilliant bird is a light cobalt blue, which extends over
the whole of the back and tail, but is not quite so lustrous upon the wings. The quill-feathers
of the wings are black, tipped with sky-blue, and the head, the surface of the neck, together
with a stripe that runs partly round the neck, are also black, ‘a darkish line is drawn through
the eyes, the throat is grayish-white, and the abdomen and lower surface of the body are
brownish-gray. In total length the bird measures about nine inches.
THe Snort-TaAitep Pirra, so called from the extreme shortness of that member, is a
native of India, being most plentifully found in Bengal.
LA
2 —— =
HACC»
an Fu Kede
SHORT-TAILED ANT-THRUSH.—Pilla bengalensis,
It is a quick, lively bird upon the ground, rarely taking to flight except when absolutely
forced so to do, but moving with incredible rapidity over the earth. In its general habits
it differs nothing from the remainder of its kind. The plumage of this bird is remarkably
pretty, and notable on account of the curious markings of the head and neck, and the beauti-
fully vivid coloring of the wings.
The ground color of the bird is a soft mouse-brown, which is boldly marked with three
jet-black bands, one passing from the forehead over the top of the head to the nape of the
neck, and the other two passing from the gape through the eye, and joining the first band in
a kind of half-collar between the neck and shoulders. The central stripe suddenly widens
upon the crown of the head. Upon each shoulder and upon the basal portion of the tail are a
number of glittering verditer-green feathers, that gleam out in the light, and render it a most
conspicuous bird. The quiil-feathers of the wings are dead black, except a white spot or bar
upon their coverts, forming an irregular band when the wing is spread. The throat is a light
brown, and the abdomen a pale mouse-color.
Tue Ant-Thrushes find a European representative in the well-known Dipper, or W ATER-
OvsEL, of the river-banks.
THE MOCKING-BIRD. 235
Devoid of brilliant plumage or graceful shape, it is yet one of the most interesting of
birds when watched in its favorite haunts. It always frequents rapid streams and channels,
and being a very shy and retiring bird, invariably prefers those spots where the banks over-
hang the water, and are clothed with thick brushwood. Should the bed of the stream be
broken up with rocks or large stones, and the fall be sufficiently sharp to wear away an occa-
sional pool, the Dipper is all the better pleased with its home, and in such a locality may
generally be found by a patient observer,
Tue AMERICAN WATER-OUSEL (Cinclus americanus) inhabits the Rocky Mountain range
from British America to Mexico. Dr. Coues, of the U. 8S. Army, has given us an interesting
account of this bird. :—
‘‘It may seem singular to speak of a thrush-like bird living in the water, but such is
exactly true in this case. Although not web-footed, nor able to swim with its feet, nor having
the slightest affinity with water-birds, nevertheless, there is no duck nor diver more truly
aquatic than the Dipper; a great part of its time, in fact, being spent under water, where it
repairs in search of food. The question naturally arises how, if it cannot swim, it stays there,
or gets there at all. It #/es down into the water, and fies about under the surface, using its
wings just as in ordinary flight. In the transparent brawling brooks it loves to frequent, we
may see it at times scrambling along the bottom, headed always up-stream, holding the body
inclined forward and downward, beating its wings, and so tripping along just over the bottom
of the brook. It seems to have some difficulty in keeping down, for the moment its exertions
are relaxed it comes to the surface ; sometimes being swept along for a considerable distance
by the force of the current. It may gather food in a more usual manner, but in any event most
of its subsistence is derived in this way from the water.
“The birds of this group, Cinclida, are the only ones that have truly aquatic habits. They
are all odd-looking birds—short and puffy, with a tail that looks as if it had been cut short. It
has curved, rounded wings, and stout feet. The plumage is exceedingly soft and thick, to
resist the water—something like that of a duck’s breast, only much finer. The bird lives
close by the water, in the rear of the cascade and the purling of the stream, haunting the
stony banks that are slippery with moisture ; and where the moss grows the greenest, in the
spray of the waterfall, it builds its nest—an imposing mansion, indeed, for such a plain little
bird. The nest is a great globe of living moss, some thirty inches in circumference, on a slab
of stone, or in the crevice of a stranded stump, but always close by the water’s edge. The
entrance is a neat doorway, made by a special arrangement of the moss in the shape of a hole
in one side, no larger than is sufficient to admit easy passage. Inside, this ball is lined with
fine grasses, keeping it snug, dry, and warm; and in one season it contained four or five
white eggs.”
The Doctor adds some pleasant remarks about the aspect of this curious nest. The bird,
frequenting the water as it does constantly, naturally shakes herself as she alights upon the
mossy nest; this results in a sprinkling from the wet plumage, and consequently a freshening
of the green moss patches.
This species resembles the European, but has no white patch on the chest.
THE Mockrne-srrp of America (Iimus polyglottus) is universally allowed to be the
most wonderful of all songsters, as it not only possesses a very fine and melodious voice, but is
also endowed with the capacity for imitating the notes of any other bird, and, indeed, of
immediately reproducing with the most astonishing exactness any sound which it may hear.
It isa native of America, and, according to Mr. Webber, there are two varieties, if not two
species ; the one an inhabitant of Kentucky, and the other being found in the more southern
districts. All persons who come within the sound of a Mocking-bird’s voice are fascinated
with the thrilling strains that are poured without effort from the melodious throat, and every
professed ornithologist who has heard this wonderful bird has exhausted the powers of his
language in endeavoring to describe the varied and entrancing melody of the Mocking-bird.
Within the compass of one single throat the whole feathered race seems to be comprised, for
236 VOCAL POWERS OF THE MOCKING-BIRD.
the Mocking-bird can with equal ease imitate, or rather reproduce, the sweet and gentle
twittering of the blue-bird, the rich, full song of the thrush, or the harsh, ear-piercing scream
of the eagle. At night especially, when labor has ceased, ‘‘ silence has attuned her ear,”’ says
Webber, ‘‘and earth hears her merry voices singing in her sleep.
“Yes, they are all here! Hear then each warble, chirp and thrill! How they crowd
upon each other! You can hear the flutter of soft wings as they come hurrying forth! Hark,
that rich clear whistle! ‘Bob White, is it you?’ Then the sudden scream! is it a hawk ?
Hey! what a gush, what a rolling limpid gush! Ah, my dainty redbreast, at thy matins
early! Mew! what, Pussy! No, the cat-bird ; hear its low liquid love-notes linger round the
roses by the garden-walk! Hillo! listen to the little wren! he must nearly explode in the
climax of that little agony of trills which it is rising on its very tip-toes to reach! What
MOCKING-BIRD.—Mimus polyglottus.
now? Quack, quack! Phut, phut, phut! cock-doodle-doo! What, all the barn-yard!
Squeak, squeak, squeak! pigs and all. Hark, that melancholy plaint, Whip-poor- Will, how
sadly it comes from out the shadowy distance! What a contrast! the red-bird’s lively
whistle, shrilly mounting high, higher, highest! Hark, the orchard oriole’s gay, delicious,
roaring, run-mad, ranting-riot of sweet sounds! Hear that! it is the rain-crow, croaking for a
storm! Hey day! Jay, jay, jay! itis the imperial dandy blue-jay. Hear, he has a strange,
round, mellow whistle too! There goes the little yellow-throated warbler the woodpecker’s
sudden call, the king-bird’s woeful clatter, the dove’s low plaintive coo, the owl’s screeching
cry and snapping beak, the tomtit’s tiny note, the kingfisher’s rattle, the crow, the scream,
the cry of love, or hate, or joy, all come rapidly, and in unexpected contrasts, yet with such
clear precision, that each bird is fully expressed to my mind in its own individuality.”’
Yet all these varied notes are uttered by the one single Mocking-bird, as it sits on a lofty
spray or flings itself into the air, rising and falling with the cadence of its song, and acting
as if absolutely intoxicated with sweet sounds.
Let it but approach the habitation of man, and it straightway adds a new series of sounds
to its already vast store, laying up in its most rententive memory the various noises that are
produced by man and his surroundings, and introducing among its other imitations the bark-
ing of dogs, the harsh ‘‘setting’’ of saws, the whirring buzz of the millstone, the everlasting
NEST OF THE MOCKING-BIRD. 237
clack of the hoppers, the dull, heavy blow of the mallet, and the cracking of splitting timbers,
the fragments of songs whistled by the laborers, the creaking of ungreased wheels, the heigh-
ing of horses, the plaintive baa of the sheep, and the deep lowi ing of the oxen, together with
Ail the innumerable and accidental sounds which are nee essarily produced through human
means. Unfortunately, the bird is rather apt to spoil his own wonderful song by a sudden
introduction of one of these inharmonious sounds, so that the listener, whose ear is being
delighted with a succession of the softest and richest-toned vocalists, will suddenly be elec-
trified with the loud shriek of the angry hawk or the grating whirr of the grindstone.
It is impossible to do justice to this most wonderful bird without quoting largely from
those writers who speak from personal experience, and I therefore take following passage
from Wilson :—
‘‘In measure and accent he faithfully follows his originals; in force and sweetness of
expression he greatly improves upon them. In his native groves, mounted on the top of a
tall bush or half-grown tree, in the dawn cf dewy morning, while the woods are already vocal
with a multitude of warblers, his admirable song rises pre-eminent. Over every other com-
petitor the ear can listen to his music alone, to which that of all birds seems a mere accom-
paniment.
“Neither is this strain altogether imitative. His own native notes, which are easily
distinguishable by such as are well acquainted with those of our various song-birds, are
full and bold, and varied seemingly beyond all limit. They consist of short expressions
of two or three, or at the most four or six syllables, generally interspersed with intonations,
and all of them uttered with great emphasis and rapidity, and continued with unlimited
ardor for half an hour or an hour at a time. His expanded wings and tail glistening with
white, and the buoyant gaiety of his action arresting the eye, as his cry most irresistibly does
the ear, he sweeps round with enthusiastic ecstasy, as he mounts or descends as his song swells
or dies away ; and as my friend Mr. Bartram has beautifully expressed it: ‘He bounds aloft
with the celerity of an arrow, as if to recover or recall his very soul, expired in the last
elevated strain.
‘While thus exerting himself, a bystander destitute of sight would suppose that the
whole feathered tribe had assembled together on a trial of skill, each striving to produce his
utmost effect, so perfect are his imitations. He many times deceives the sportsman, and sends
him in search of birds that are perhaps not within miles of him, but whose notes he exactly
imitates. Even birds themselves are imposed upon by this amireible mimic, and are decoyed
by the fancied calls of their mates, or dive with precipitation into the depths of thickets at the
scream of what they suppose to be the sparrow hawk.”
It is a very remarkable circumstance that one single bird always assumes the mastery in
each district, and that whenever he begins to sing, the others cease from their performances,
and retire to a distance from the spot where the master bird has taken his stand, so that their
voices are only heard as if in distant echoes to his nobler strains. The bird can easily be tamed,
and when it turns out to be a good songster, is a most valuable bird, seventy-five dollars having
been offered and refused for a good specimen. I knew of one case where a young Mocking-bird
lived in a family for nearly two years, displaying its imitative talents in a very wonderful
manner. It thrived well, and died from the effect of an accident, its legs having been crushed
in a doorway.
The male bird can be distinguished from the female by the breadth and pure tint of the
white band on the wings. In theadult bird, the white color ought to spread over all the primary
feathers, extending away below the white coverts ; the dark color of the back is also of a more
blackish hue.
The nest of this bird is usually placed in some thick bush, and is in general very carefully
concealed... Sometimes, however, when the bird builds in localities where it knows that it will
be protected from human interference, it is quite indifferent about the concealment of its
home, and trusts to its own prowess for the defence of its mate and young. When engaged in
the business of incubation, the Mocking-bird suffers no foe to approach within the charmed
circle of its home duties, and jealously attacks hawk, cat, or snake, in defence of its family.
988 THE MISSEL THRUSH.
The fiercest war is, however, waged against the black-snake, a reptile which makes many a
meal on the eggs and young of various birds, and is in no wise disposed to spare those of the
Mocking-bird. Against this terrible foe both parents aim their fiercest blows, and it often
happens that the snake which has writhed its way to the Mocking-bird’s nest in hope of
devouring the callow young, pays with its life for its temerity, and falls dead to the ground,
while the victor bird pours forth a song of triumphant congratulation. The nest is always
placed at a short distance from the ground, being seldom seen at an elevation of more than
eight feet.
The materials of which the nest is composed are generally dried weeds and very slender
twigs as a foundation; straw, hay, wool, dried leaves, and moss, as the main wall; and fine
vegetable fibres as the lining. The eggs are four or five in number, and there are often two
broods in the course of the year. The color of the eggs is greenish-blue, spotted with amber-
brown.
The Mocking-bird is deservedly considered the equal of the nightingale. It is an inhabitant
of both North and South America, and is rarely seen in the New England States, though Mr.
Allen asserts it has been known to breed near Springfield, in Massachusetts, several times. In
one instance the pair were secured, with the nest and eggs. On the Florida reef, in winter, we
have often seen this bird in numbers, but they are then silent.
A species allied to this is called the Mounratn MockinG-Brrp (Oreoscoptes montanus).
It.is a Californian species.
The color of the Mocking-bird is a dull brown, with a decided ashen tinge. The quill-
feathers of the wings are white towards their base, and brown-black towards their extremities,
the two central feathers of the tail are dark brownish-black, the two externals are white, and
the remainder are white on their inner webs. The chin, throat, and whole of the under part
of the body are very pale brown, inclining to gray. As has already been mentioned, the pure
white of the wings and the blacker hue of the body afford sufficient indications of the male
bird, while the tail is nearly equally white in both sexes. The length of the adult Mocking-
bird is about nine inches.
Tne genus in which the true TrrusHEs are placed is one of the largest yet established,
containing nearly one hundred and twenty accredited species, which are found in almost all
quarters of the globe.
THE first example of this group is the MissreL Turusn, one of the largest and handsomest
of the species.
On account of its great size, its combative nature, its brightly feathered breast, its rich
voice, and gregarious habits, it is one of the best known birds. About the beginning of
April the Missel Thrush sets about its nest, and in general builds a large, weighty edifice,
that can be seen through the leafless bushes from a great distance. Sometimes, however,
the nest is concealed with the greatest care, and I cannot but think that in the latter case
it is the work of some old bird, who has learned caution through bitter experience.
The materials of which the nest is composed are the most heterogeneous that can be
imagined. Every substance that can be woven into a nest is pressed into the service.
Moss, hay, straw, dead leaves, and grasses, are among the ruling substances that are employed
for the purpose, and the bird often adds manufactured products, such as scraps of rag,
paper or shavings. I once found one of these nests that was ingeniously placed in the
crown of an old hat that had evidently been flung into the tree by some traveller, At first,
it hardly looked like a nest, but there were a few bits of grass lying over the brim that
had a very suspicious aspect, and on climbing the tree, the old hat was proved to have
been made the basis of a warm nest, with the proper complement of eggs. As the nest is
oS
so conspicuous, and built so early in the season, the eggs of the Missel Thrush generally
form, together with those of the hedge accentor, the first-fruits of a nesting expedition.
The nest, although so roughly made on the exterior, is the result of very careful work.
manship. The outside wails are made of moss and hay, but there is a fine lining of mud,
—————
THE FIELDFARE. 239
which, when dry, affords a very perfect resting-place for the eges. The mud wall is again
lined with soft grasses, so that the eggs and young have a warm bed whereon to repose.
THRUSHES.—Turdine.
ANOTHER large example of the Thrushes is found in the FreLpraRe.
This bird is one of the migratory species, making only a winter visit to northern countries,
and often meeting a very inhospitable reception from the gun of the winter sportsboy. Very
240 THE RING OUZEL.
seldom is it seen there till November, and is often absent till the cold month of December,
when it makes its appearance in great flocks, searching eagerly for food over the fields. At
this period of the year they are very wild, and can with difficulty be approached within gun-
shot, as I have often experienced in my younger days. 1 well remember ‘‘stalking”’ a little
troop of these birds for several hours, being induced to do so by their extreme shyness, and at
last securing one of them by pushing the gun through a drain-hole in an old stone wall, get-
ting a rather uncertain aim through the dried grass stems, and sending the shot within an
inch or two of the ground. When the snow lies heavily upon the fields, this bird betakes
itself to the hedge-rows and outskirts of woods and copses, and there feeds on the various
berries that have survived the autumn. During this inclement season, the Fieldfare may be
approached and shot without much difficulty. Their shyness, however, depends greatly on
the amount of persecution which they have sustained.
Although they collect in large flocks, the different individuals always keep themselves
rather aloof from their fellows, but as night approaches they close together, and nestle in
companies among the hedges or brushwood. They generally remain north until May or June,
seldom, however, prolonging their stay to the latter period. They have not been observed
to build, excepting in the northern parts of Europe, such as Norway and Sweden, where
their nesting is really extraordinary. A very excellent account of the nidification of these
birds is given by Mr. Hewitson. His attention was aroused by the loud shrieking cries of
several birds, ‘‘ which we at first supposed must be shrikes, but which afterwards proved to
be Fieldfares, anxiously watching over their newly-established dwellings.
‘“We were soon delighted by the discovery of several of their nests, and were surprised to
find them (so contrary to the habits of other species of 7wrdus with which we are acquainted)
herding in society. Their nests were at various heights from the ground, from four feet to
thirty or forty feet or upwards, mixed with old ones of the preceding year. They were, for
the most part, placed against the trunk of the spruce fir; some were, however, at a consider-
able distance from it, upon the upper surface, and towards the smaller end of the thicker
branches. They resembled most nearly those of the ring ouzel. The outside is composed of
sticks and coarse grasses, and weeds gathered wet, matted together with a small quantity of
clay, and lined with a thick bed of fine long grass. None of them yet contained more than three
eges, although we afterwards found that five was more commonly the number than four, and
even six was very frequent. They are very similar to those of the blackbird, and even more
so to those of the ring ouzel.
‘‘The Fieldfare is the most abundant bird in Norway, and is generally diffused over that
part which we visited ; building, as already noticed, in societies; two hundred nests or more
being frequently seen within a very small space.”’
In their general aspect, the nests are not unlike those of the blackbird, and the eggs are
of a light blue ground color, covered with dark, reddish-brown mottlings. Although the bird
is essentially a winter visitant to northern countries, there are seasons when it is too cold and
stormy even for this hardy bird. In the year 1798, there was a terrible and lengthened storm
of sleet, wind, and snow, which killed thousands of the Fieldfares, and even dashed them into
the sea, where they were drowned, and their bodies thrown upon the coast for many days
afterwards.
In its color the Fieldfare bears a decided resemblance to the generality of the Thrushes.
The upper parts of the body as far as the shoulders are ashen-gray, dotted with dark brown
spots upon the head; the back and wings are rich brown, and the tail is dark blackish-brown.
The chin and throat are a peculiar golden hue, not unlike amber, and covered with numerous
black streaks; the breast is reddish-brown, also spotted with black, and the abdomen and
under parts white, spotted on the flanks and under tail-coverts with brown of various shades.
The Fieldfare is not quite so large a bird as the Missel Thrush, being about ten inches in total
length.
THe RNG OvuzeEt is also only a visitant of northern countries, but its times of arrival and
departure are precisely contrary to those of the bird just described.
I]
ENDERNESS.
CONJUGAL T
THE RING OUZEL. 241
This species seldom arrives in such countries until the month of April, and as it generally
confines itself to certain districts, is not very common. The name of Ring Ouzel has been
universally given to this bird on account of the broad white band that partially surrounds the
lower portions of the throat, and is very conspicuous in its contrast with the deep black-brown
of the rest of the plumage. With the exception of this white band, the general plumage of
the Ring Ouzel is very like that of the male blackbird, which it also resembles in size and
general form.
Tt is a shy and wary bird, shunning cultivated grounds and the vicinity of human habita-
tions, and withdrawing itself into the wildest and most hilly districts. It isa quick-flying,
RING OUZEL and SONG-THRUSH.— Turdus torqatus and musicus.
lively and active bird, and is said to afford fine sport to the falconer, owing to its singular
adroitness and ingenuity in escaping the stroke of the hawk. It will quietly suffer the bird
of prey to approach quite closely, screaming a defiance to the enemy, and flitting quietly along
a stone wall or rocky ground. Suddenly the hawk makes its swoop, and the Ring Ouzel dis-
appears, having whisked into some hole in the stone, squeezed itself into a convenient crevice,
or slipped over the other side of the wall just as the hawk shot past the spot on which it had
been sitting.
The song of this bird is loud, clear, and sonorous, but contains a very few notes. The
Ring Ouzel can also, when alarmed, utter a loud and hoarse screech, which seems to give
warning of danger to every bird within hearing.
The nest of this species is large, and is composed of coarse grasses externally, lined with
a thin shell of clay, which is again lined with soft and warm grass. The eggs are of a brightish
blue covered with many spots and little dashes of dark reddish-brown ; their full complement
Vou. I.—31.
242 THE BROWN THRASHER.
is five. The nest is always placed near the ground in some sheltered situation, a tuft of rank
grass, a thick bunch of heather, or the base of a luxuriant bush, being among the most common
localities. After the breeding season, the Ring Ouzels assemble towards the south, collecting
together in flocks preparatory to their departure. During this intermediate period they visit
the gardens and orchards, and often commit sad havoc among the fruit.
The general color of the adult male bird is very dark blackish-brown, slightly varied by
the blackish-gray edges of the feathers, and the broad gray outer webs of the wing-feathers.
Across the upper part of the chest runs a broad, crescent-shaped mark of the purest white, the
points being directed upwards. In the young male this collar is not so broad, and of a
decidedly reddish hue, and the whole of the plumage is of a lighter brown. Sometimes the
white collar is entirely absent, and in some cases white and pied varieties have been known.
The total length of the adult bird is about eleven inches.
ANOTHER well-known example of the Thrushes is found in the common REDWING of
England.
It is one of the finest songsters even among its own melodious group, rivalling the night-
ingale in the full sweet tones of its flexible voice. Sometimes the bird sings alone, seated on
a favorite perch, but it oftener prefers lifting up its voice in concert with its companions, and
fills the air with its harmonious sounds. It has, however, several kinds of voice, sometimes
pouring forth its full rich strains, and at other times singing quietly to itself in an under tone
that can only be heard at avery short distance. This, however, is only the peculiar sound
which is termed ‘‘recording”’ by bird-fanciers, and must not be mistaken for the real song,
which, according to Mr. Hewitson, who had every opportunity of hearing this bird, is a loud,
wild, and delicious melody. The Redwing partakes so far of the character of the nightingale
as to sing after sunset.
The general color of the Redwing is a warm, rich cinnamon-brown upon the upper parts
of the body, the wings are rather darker, except the external webs of the quill-feathers, which
have a grayish tinge, and over the eyes runs a well-defined streak of very pale ashen-brown.
The chin, throat, and whole under surface of the body are grayish-white, deepening into a
brownish tinge on the sides of the neck, the breast, and the flanks, and profusely studded
with longitudinal dashes of the same brown as that of the back. When the wings are closed,
the bird very much resembles the common Thrush, but when it spreads its wings for flight, it
discloses a large patch of orange-red feathers upon the sides of the body, from which it has
derived its name of Redwing. In total length the Redwing nearly reaches nine inches. It is
occasionally a straggler in North America, and is therefore in the list of our birds.
THe Mountain Mocxkine-Birp (Oreoscoptes montanus), or SAGE THRASHER, is an inhab-
itant of the Rocky Mountains ; ranging southward towards Mexico, and northward to Cali-
fornia.
THE CALIFORNIA THRUSH (Harporhynchus redivivus) is one of the later discoveries, since
Audubon’s time. Several other species, more or less like it, have also been found since the
occupation of the great western plains.
The Curved-bill, Leconte’s, and Palmer’s Thrush, all have similar plumage, and are
not far from the same size as the California Thrush.
THE Brown Turasuer (Harporhynchus rufus) is an old favorite of the eastern portion
of the country. Its song is pleasant, much like those native to the Mocking-Bird. It is
variously called Fox-colored Thrasher, Ferruginous Thrush, and is named in the south, French
Mocking-bird. The latter name was given it during the earliest days of the settlement of the
country, when everything French was considered inferior, its notes being regarded as less
musical than its superior.
This Thrush is easily raised in confinement, and proves an excellent pet. Its long body
and tail make it readily recognizable.
THE CAT-BIRD. 243
A Mexican variety is recognized, and six species of this genus, besides those here men-
tioned, are found in the western and southern portions of the continent.
THE CAtT-BirD, so called from the resemblance which some of its notes bear to the mew
and purr of a cat, is a native of America, and one of the most familiar of the birds of the
country. As may be seen by the generic title which it bears, it is one of the true Thrushes.
In its character it is one of the most affectionate of birds, as is shown by Wilson in the
following passage :—
CAT-BIRD.— Galeoscoptes carolinensis,
“In passing through the woods in summer, I have sometimes amused myself with imi-
tating the violent chirping or squeaking of young birds, in order to observe what different
species were around me; for such sounds at such a season in the woods are no less alarming to
the feathered tenants of the bushes, than the cry of fire or murder in the streets is to the
inhabitants of a large city.
“On such occasions of alarm and consternation, the Cat-Bird is the first to make his
appearance, not singly, but sometimes half a dozen at a time, flying from different quarters
to the spot. At this time those who are disposed to play with his feelings may almost throw
him into fits, his emotion and agitation are so great at the distressful cries of what he supposes
to be his suffering young.
‘‘Other birds are variously affected, but none show symptoms of such extreme suffering.
He hurries backwards and forwards, with hanging wings and open mouth, calling out louder
and faster, and actually screaming with distress, till he appears hoarse with his exertions.
He attempts no offensive means ; but he bewails, he implores, in the most pathetic terms with
which nature has supplied him, and with an agony of feeling which is truly affecting. Every
feathered neighbor within hearing hastens to the spot to learn the cause of the alarm, peeping
about with looks of consternation and sympathy. But their own powerful parental duties and
domestic concerns soon oblige each to withdraw. At any other season the most perfect imita-
tions have no effect whatever on him.
“Tt is a most courageous little creature, and in defence of its young is as bold as the
mocking-bird. Snakes especially are the aversion of the Cat-Bird, which will generally con-
trive to drive away any snake that may approach the beloved spot. The voice of this bird is
mellow and rich, and, according to Audubon, is ‘‘a compound of many of the gentle trills and
244. THE CAT-BIRD.
sweet undulations of our various woodland choristers, delivered with apparent caution and
with all the attention and softness necessary to enable the performer to please the ear of its
mate. Each cadence passes on without faltering, and if you are acquainted with the songs
of the birds he so sweetly imitates, you are sure to recognize the manner of the different
species.”
The Cat-Bird (Galeoscoptes carolinensis) is one of the most common of native American
birds, but is singularly shy, or retiring. It is known to all the countryside by its peculiar
notes. Both sexes have the habit, besides the usual note, which is like that of the thrushes,
of producing notes like those of a cat in mewing. It is one of the first spring visitors. Like
the robin, it is fond of human society. It breeds in the Northern States. To a certain extent
the Cat-Bird is a mocker. It is particularly abundant in Central Park. We have heard
several uttering hoarse, cracked sounds, as if trying to imitate some extraordinary voices.
Wilson, whose kindly feelings are always on the side of our birds, thus defends the
Cat-Bird :—
“‘ With all his amiable qualities, few people in the country respect the Cat-Bird. On the
contrary, it is generally an object of dislike, and the boys of the United States entertain the
same prejudice and contempt for the bird, its nest and young, as those of Britain do for the
Yellow Hammer. * * * But with the generous and the good, the lovers of nature and
of rural charms, the confidence which this familiar bird places in man, by building in his
garden under his eye, the music of his song, and the interesting playfulness of his manners,
will always be more than a recompense for all the little stolen morsels he has taken.”’
Tt is a most lively and withal petulant bird in a wild state, performing the most grotesque
manoeuvres, and being so filled with curiosity that it follows any strange being through the
woods as if irresistibly attracted by some magnetic charm. In its disposition the Cat-Bird
appears to be one of the most sensitively affectionate birds on the face of the earth, as will
appear from the following interesting account of a pet Cat-Bird, called General Bem :—
‘“ Well, General Bem went home with us at once, and was immediately given his liberty,
which he made use of by peering into every closet, examining and dragging everything from
its proper place, which he could manage, pecking and squalling, dashing hither and thither,
until at night he quietly went into his cage as if he was nearly or quite positive that he must
commence a new career on the morrow ; it was evident that he had to begin the world over
again, yet, as he was not superannuated, and was, withal, ambitious, his case was still not a
desperate one, although we had assured him most positively that we would not fall in love
with him—we had only invited him there to help us pass the time.
‘*Bem looked wise at the assertion, but said nothing. The next morning we gave him
water for a bath, which he immediately used, and then sprang upon my head, very much to
my surprise ; then he darted to the window, then back to my head, screaming all the time
most vociferously, until finally I went to the window, for peace’ sake, and stood in the sun-
shine, while Bem composedly dressed his feathers, standing on my head first on one foot, then
on the ether, evidently using my scalp asa sort of foot-stone, and my head as a movable
pedestal for his impudent generaiship to perch on when he felt disposed to be comfortably
elevated ; and had clearly come to the conclusion—as I was so fond of transporting him from
his native land—that I should serve as a convenient craft to bear him where his moods com-
manded.
‘In a word, he had determined to turn tyrant ; if I had had the deliberate purpose of using
him as a mere toy, he had at least the coolness to make me available, and from that time I
became the victim of the most unequalled tyranny. Did I neglect his morning bath beyond
the instant, my ears were assailed with screams and cries, till I was forced to my duty ; I must
bear him into the sunshine, or my hair was pulled; I must bring him his breakfast, or he
pecked my cheek and lips; in fine, I was compelled to become his constant attendant, while in
the meantime he most diligently assailed my heart by endearing confidences. He would sit
=+
“GHNERAL BEM,” THE CAT-BIRD, 245
upon my arm and sleep, he would get into my workbox, and while I watched that he did not
pilfer a little, he would quietly seat himself upon its edge, and in a low sweet voice lull my
suspicions by such tender melodies, that finally I could no longer say, ‘I will not love you,
Bem!’ but gave him the satisfactory assurance that he was not quite so much of a tease as I
had tried to think him; and he now received my daily offering of small spiders and worms
with gestures of evident pleasure.
‘* These were always presented to him enveloped in white paper, which he carefully opened,
and secured his prey before it could escape, even though it was sometimes a difficult task to
keep his vigilant eye upon so many—apparently escapading—when I was called to the field,
and appointing me a station, I was expected to give the alarm when one attempted to get away
on my side, which he immediately killed and dropped, and then darted after those on the
outskirts of the field of action.
‘““At last, one day, Mr. Webber brought for my sister a Wood-thrush, which was very
wild and savage, and was, besides, extremely ugly, but had the reputation of being a good
singer, which made us forgive his sullen temper, and hope to win him back to more gentle
ways, when he should see that we would be his friends, and that he should be almost free ;
besides, General Bem was much inclined to make his acquaintance, and took the first occasion
to pay him a visit in his cage-house. This the stranger did not fancy and drove him out.
Bem resented this, by turning on the threshold and pouring forth a torrent of screams and
mewings, which came near distracting the poor Thrush, who darted at him and chased him to
the bed, under which Bem darted, and was secure for the present.
‘But from that time there were no more overtures of friendship, they were sworn enemies ;
the Thrush from detestation of the impudent fellow who invaded his residence, and finally
appropriated it, to the entire desertion of his own, which, by-the-bye, was much larger, and
with which the Thrush eventually consoled himself, and Bem continued to occupy, because it
amused him to pester the ill-natured fellow, which he had set down the Thrush to be. Many
were the quaint scenes which now daily occurred.
““Tf Bem desired to take a bath, the Thrush would endeavor to push him out; but Bem
was not to be ousted in that style if he could prevent it, and commonly sent the poor Thrush
away in consternation, his musical ear stunned by such direful din as threatened to rend his
delicate heart as well as tympanum. Never shall I forget one droll scene. One day Bem found
on the floor a white grape, which he seemed to be disposed comfortably to discuss, after having
rolled it out into the broad sunshine. Just at this moment the Thrush stepped up in a cool
and dignified manner, and carried the grape off; dropped it in the shade, and deliberately
drawing up one foot among his feathers, seemed to say, ‘I claim the grape as my own; I stand
on. the defensive ; come and get it if you dare!’ so closed the ‘off’ eye and looked as if the
matter was settled to his entire satisfaction.
‘*Bem had been in the very act of pecking the grape when if was so unceremoniously
withdrawn ; he drew himself up on tiptoe fairly with astonishment, his eye seemed to grow
larger and rounder, the feathers on his head stood alternately erect and clung close to the
scalp; he stood a moment or two, and then with a loud ‘mew’ darted forward to recapture
the stolen fruit, but the Thrush coolly and silently met him with open mouth and body
thrown forward, yet still covering the grape. Bem’s wit returned to him—he quietly turned
off, as if it was a small matter anyhow.
‘“ We were astonished. Was Bem a coward after all? would he permit this bird, even
if he was larger, to impose upon him in this fashion, and he able to whip mocking-birds
at that? We skook our heads; if Bem does that, we shall withdraw his laurels. But see!
he comes cautiously about the Thrush—what does he mean? ah, we perceive; Bem has
sagaciously only changed his tactics, we will watch him; he thinks the Thrush will want
some dinner pretty soon, and then, as Bem disdains to be called quarrelsome, he will quietly
appropriate his treasure.
‘Four hours things retained this position, the Thrush never moving more than six
inches from his post, though evidently becoming hungry and weary, while Bem silently
wandered about the room, feasting in the most provokingly cool way in both cages, and
246 THE HERMIT THRUSH.
‘
continually making inadvertent incursions in the neighborhood of his enemy, as if for the
purpose of throwing him off his guard. At last, Bem was on the other side of the room.
The Thrush had been eyeing a dainty morsel which Bem had dropped about two feet
from him. He looked, Bem was too much engaged to notice him, he could easily venture
—he would—he did. Bem, whose keen eye had seen all, darted like lightning, and before
the Thrush could turn about and seize again the contested treasure, Bem had alighted on
the centre of the bed—the only place in the room where the Thrush would not follow him
—and there quietly tore the grape to pieces and left it.
‘‘But, alas! we had to send our brave, sagacious Bem home again. We were to make a
long journey to the South, and he must stay behind. Ah, the poor fellow knew as well as we,
that we were bidding him adieu. He pecked our fingers in great distress, and bit our lips till
the blood came, in the energy of his farewell—while he uttered such sad, low cries as made us
mourn for many a day in the remembrance.
‘*Puring our absence we wrote frequently inquiring of Bem, and many an injunction to
him, to live and die, if need be, the same brave general we had known him. We never expected
to see him again ; but, after a year of wandering, we did return to our old home. At once we
went to see the general, little dreaming that we should be remembered. What was our sur-
prise then, when we called ‘Bem! Bem! General Bem!’ to see our dear friend and pet dart
down to us from his hiding-place, and most evidently recognize us—his eye sparkling, his
scalp-feathers raised, his wings drooping, and that same low cry which had haunted us so long
greeting us again. Our happiness was real; and when we offered him the white paper, he
instantly darted upon it, and tore it asunder to get the well-remembered treasure he had always
found within.
** Again Bem went home with us—this time to fill our hearts with affection by his quaint
impish ways and gentle waywardness. Now he became a privileged character ; my paint-box
was his especial admiration—he treated it with great veneration, having discovered that birds
grew out of the little square pebbles, as he doubtless considered them, until one day he per-
ceived I objected to his lifting from its case a black-looking, ill-shaped piece of paint, that I
was even decidedly opposed to his meddling with it; from that moment that particular piece
became a treasure—its value so great to him, that, hide where I might, it had ever an invisible
glitter, which to his eyes was brighter than any gem; he would find and hide it from me, and
thus I had at least once every day to search the room over for this indispensable color.
‘*No matter that I threatened him, he coolly dressed his feathers and commenced so dreamy
a song as to soothe my rage at once. He became my constant companion ; he bathed with me
in the morning, he took his dinner with me from my plate, and perched at night close to my
head. He sat on my shoulder or head when I worked, and seemed to express his opinion in
regard to my progress in bird-making with quite a connoisseuring air. He grew to be pro-
foundly jealous of all other birds; and if I talked to a fine mocking-bird, whose cage hung in
my room, he would become so enraged, and finally depressed, that I became alarmed—I feared
he would die.
“One day I had given this bird some water; my hand was in the cage, the mocking-bird
yas pecking at my fingers, when with a loud and vicious scream General Bem dashed from the
floor up into the cage, and commenced a violent assault on the inmate. The struggle was but
for a moment; he dashed out and I shut the cage-door, while Bem, mounted on the bed-post,
sent forth such yells of fury as I never heard from birds’ lungs before. I could not pacify him
for a long time—several hours ; he hid in the shade of the furniture, and would not be induced
to come out. The next day the mocker was flying about the room, Bem assailed him, and the
fight became so desperate that I was obliged to send the mocking-bird away, while my poor
Bem was seized with convulsions, and I thought him dead after a few moments. But his time
had not yet come; he lived to pass through many such scenes of painful suffering.”’
Like the Brown Thrasher, the Hermir Torus is also a native of America, and is gener-
ally found in the countries adjoining to the Mississippi during the winter, making a partial
migration to Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee, during the summer.
THE OLIVE-BACKED THRUSH. 247
The name of Hermit is given to this bird on account of its eremitical and retiring habits,
for this Thrush withdraws itself from the open country and systematically hides itself in the
darkest and most secluded cane-brakes. Even when it ventures into the more open lands in
search of food it does not make itself conspicuous, but keeps ever near the ground, flitting
with swift and steady wing to and from the lonely brake where its nest is placed. This species
is not known to possess any true song, merely uttering a very low and plaintive ery.
The nest of the Hermit Thrush is always placed in the thickest shelter, and is composed
of dried Jeaves and grasses without any mud wall, and lined with grasses of a fine character.
The eggs are about five in number, and their color a light blue, variegated with black-brown
spots on the larger end. There are usually two broods in the year. The food of this species
is almost wholly of a vegetable character. The general color is buffy-brown on the upper
parts, warming into a decided ruddy tinge upon the tail and upper tail-coverts. The under
parts are grayish-brown covered on the neck and chest with spots of a darker hue. The total
length of the adult bird is about seven inches.
The Hermit Thrush (7/locichla unalasce—formerly Turdus solitarius) is a species very
much like the former, but smaller. Its range is much the same.
THE Woop Turusu (/locichla mustelina). This sweet and solitary songster, says
Wilson, inhabits the whole of North America, from Hudson’s Bay to the peninsula of Florida.
At whatever time he arrives, he soon announces his presence in the woods. With the dawn of
the succeeding morning, mounting to the top of some small tree, that rises from a low, thick-
shaded part of the woods, he pipes his few but clear and musical notes in a kind of ecstasy,
the prelude or symphony to which strongly resembles the double-tongueing of a German flute,
and sometimes the tinkling of a small bell. The whole song consists of five or six parts, the
last note of each of which is in such a tone as to leave the conclusion evidently suspended.
The jinale is finely managed, and with such charming effect as to soothe and tranquillize
the mind, and to seem sweeter and mellower at each successive repetition. Even in dark,
wet, and gloomy weather, when scarce a single chirp is heard from any other bird, the clear
notes of the Wood Thrush thrill through the drooping woods, from morning to night; and
it may be said, truly, the sadder the day, the more sweet his song.
“The favorite haunts of the Wood Thrush are low, thick-shaded hollows, through which
a small brook meanders.’’ Such has been the description of the Aaditat of this bird; and
it was, no doubt, correct; but now we find this bird one of the most abundant of any in
Central Park. It is shy, and still has the faculty to keep out of sight; and whether any
change in his habit has taken place, we are not informed. Most certainly, we were once of
the opinion, held by most people, that this bird was, of all others, the most inclined to keep
away from civilization.
Tor Dwarr THRUSH is merely a variety of the Hermit, but smaller, being only six and a
half inches in length. It is confined to the Pacific coast, and along the valleys of the Gila and
El Paso.
Wutson’s Turusu (Hylocichla fuscescens). This bird, called also Tawny Thrush, is said
to have no song, but a “sharp chuck.’ It is ten inches in length, and twelve in extent of wing.
It is well distinguished by having indistinct spots, and these confined to the fore part of the
breast.
Tue OrEGoN Turusu is from the Pacific coast, and measures about seven and a half
inches in length.
Tue OLIVE-BACKED TurusH (Hylocichla ustulata), called Swainson’s Thrush, is distin-
guished from others by a perfectly uniform and pure dull olivaceous shade of its upper parts,
most strongly marked on its rump and tail. It ranges from Greenland to Peru, and westward
to the Black Hills.
248 THE SONG-THRUSH, OR THROSTLE.
Tur AMERICAN Rosin (Merula migratoria), or Migratory Thrush. This most delightful
and familiar bird was named by our first New England settlers after the little English Robin-
redbreast. Though so much larger, our bird reminded them of home, the ruddy-colored
breast being quite similar to that of the English bird. The Migratory Thrush is the proper
term, though we would not willingly see the present name changed.
The Robin is, par excellence, the favorite of American birds. Its handsome appearance
and social habits endear it to all. It is especially abundant in towns where orchards abound.
Although it is seen in the forests, or on the outskirts, it is almost habitually a sojourner in
the close proximity of the farm or country-house. Indeed, it could scarcely be more so if it
were a domestic fowl. Though it migrates, as a rule, yet some stragglers are seen in the deep
woods during winter. They do not visit the farm-yard in cold weather as the chickadee does,
as one would naturally expect they would. He is one of the earliest of our spring songsters,
coming in March, often when the snow is yet upon the ground.
The Robin inhabits the whole continent, from the coldest region to the Gulf States. It
breeds in portions above Virginia. In some portions it is called the American Fieldfare, after
the English bird so called. On the Pacific side, in California and south, there is a variety
having some slight differences of marking.
THE GRAY-CHEEKED TurRusH (/7ylocichla alicia) is very nearly like the olive-backed, but
darker. It exhibits an ashy shade about the sides of the head, and a white ring around the
eyes. It inhabits from the Mississippi region to the Missouri.
Toe VartepD TuHrusH (Hesperocichla nevia) is more like the Robin than any other species.
Its shape is almost exactly like the latter. The plumage differs somewhat. The wings and
tail are somewhat shorter. It is confined to the Pacific coast, though stragglers have been
seen in New England.
Amone the best known and best loved of the European songsters, the BLACKBIRD is one
of the most conspicuous.
This well-known bird derives its popular name from the uniformly black hue of its plum-
age, which is only relieved by the bright orange-colored bill of the male bird. The song of
this creature is remarkable for its full mellowness of note, and is ever a welcome sound to the
lover of nature and her vocal and visual harmonies. Often the poor bird suffers for its voice ;
and being kept within the bars of a cage, is forced to sing its wild native notes ‘‘in a strange
land.’ In captivity it is sometimes subjected to training, and has been taught to whistle
tunes with great spirit and precision. Generally the bird sings in the daytime, but there are
times when it encroaches upon the acknowledged province of the nightingale, and makes the
night echoes ring with its rich ringing tones.
It is rather curious that even in its native state the Blackbird is something of a mimic,
and will imitate the voices of other birds with remarkable skill, even teaching itself to crow
like a cock and to cackle like a hen.
The Blackbird feeds usually on insects, but it also possesses a great love of fruit, and in
the autumn ravages the gardens and orchards in a most destructive manner, picking out all
the best and ripest fruit, and wisely leaving the still immatured produce to ripen on the
branches. Perhaps it may be partly carnivorous, as one of these birds was seen to attack and
killa shrew mouse.
As it is so common a bird, and constantly haunts the hedge-rows, it is greatly persecuted
by juvenile gunners, whom it contrives to draw away from its nest by flitting in and out of the
hedge, always taking care to keep out of shot range, and having a curious habit of slipping
through the hedge, and fiying quietly back to its nest, almost touching the surface of the
ground in its rapid progress. It is not a sociable bird, being seldom seen in company with
others of its own species, and not often even together with its mate.
Tue well-known Sone-Trrusn, or THROSTLE, as it is sometimes called, bears a deservedly
high rank among the birds of song.
THE SPOTTED GROUND THRUSH. 249
It is plentifully found in most parts of Europe, and favors the people with its vocal efforts
throughout a considerable portion of the year. The song of the Thrush is peculiarly rich,
mellow, and sustained, and is remarkable for the full purity of its intonation and the variety
of its notes. The Thrush begins to sing as soon as incubation commences, and continues its
song from the beginning of spring until the middle of autumn. In many cases the bird sings
to a very late period of the year, and has been heard in the months of November and
December. On account of its beautiful voice, it is in great request among bird-fanciers, and
is sold in large numbers as a cage songster.
ANOTHER sub-family of the Thrushes is named after the genus which is accepted as its
type, and is called by the title of Timalinee. On account of their chattering propensities they
are more popularly termed Babblers. Several examples of this group will be given in the
following pages, the first of which is the CoHEsTNUT-CAPPED TIMALIA, a bird which derives its
name from the peculiar coloring of the head.
This species is an inhabitant of Java, and is rather common in that country. It is a
sufficiently familiar bird, approaching human habitations without much diffidence, and
building in close proximity to the barn or the plantation. It is a pleasing songster, possess-
ing a sweet and musical voice, though its song has but little variety, consisting of only five
notes. A sixth note is sometimes added, but evidently forms no part of the real song.
This melody is repeated at very short intervals, with a peculiarly slow and well-modulated
intonation.
Tn its habits this bird reminds the observer of the common Thrush, and in its mode of
feeding it also bears a great resemblance to that sweet songster. Its food consists chiefly
of insects, which it captures principally on the ground, but it will vary its diet with snails,
slugs, and other similar creatures, and will also feed upon berries and fruits. The bill is
strong and thick, in order to enable the bird to capture and crush its food, and to disinter it
from beneath the surface of the earth. Its feet are employed for the same purpose, and are,
consequently better developed than in the true Thrushes. The general form of the bird is
rather thick and short in proportion to its size.
The color of the Chestnut-capped Timalia is olive-brown on the upper portions of the
body, with the exception of the head, which is colored on the crown with deep chestnut. The
under parts are of a lighter hue than the back. A white band passes over the eye. The throat
and cheeks are pure white, and the breast is also white, but is marked by a series of jetty
black stripes.
AUSTRALIA possesses a curious and valued specimen of this group, which is popularly
called the SporreD GRoUND THRUSH.
This bird is found throughout the greater part of Australia and Van Diemen’s Land, and
on account of the delicacy of its flesh is greatly prized by both natives and colonists. Being
always attracted by certain localities, it may be easily found by every one who is acquainted
with its habits. Unlike the generality of birds, it cares little for trees or bushes, and seldom
is known to perch upon the branches, preferring the tops of low stone-covered hills, or
rude and rocky gullies, having a decided predilection for those which are clothed with
grass and scrubby brushwood. The spaces between fallen trees are also a favorite haunt of
this bird.
The Spotted Ground Thrush is no great flyer, taking to wing with much reluctance, and
seldom voluntarily raising itself in the air except to fly from one side of a gully to another.
When it does take to flight, especially if alarmed, it rises with a loud fluttering noise, and
proceeds through the air in an irregular and dipping manner. To compensate, however, for
its imperfect power of wing, its legs are well developed, and render it an exceedingly fast
runner, so that it is able to conceal itself with great rapidity as soon as it finds cause
of alarm.
Vou. T,—a.
250 THE GOLDEN ORIOLE.
BABBLERS.
SEVERAL species of Babblers possess a sweet song, others are admirable mimics, while
others are remarkable for the strange oddity of their cry.
One of the best songsters in this group is the BLAcK-FAcED THRusH, a native of the
mountainous regions of India and China. This bird is very gregarious in its habits, assem-
bling in large flocks and preferring the thickest jungles and deepest ravines to the open
country. These flocks, although they are so deeply hidden, are easily discoverable by means
of the extraordinary sounds which they emit, and whieh are said to resemble a chorus of
wild iaughter. The food of this bird, when at liberty, consists chiefly of fruit and insects ;
but when tamed, the Black-faced Thrush is rather carnivorous in its character, as will pres-
ently be seen. The nest of this bird is rather rudely constructed of little sticks and grasses,
worked into some convenient hole in the side of a gully, and generally contains four eggs.
This species is easily tamed, and, as will be seen from the following notes, made by Mr.
Frith, of a Black-faced Thrush that had been for some time in his possession, is a very eccen-
tric and amusing creature :—
“The bird was exceedingly tame and familiar, and delighted, like a cockatoo, in being
caressed and tickled by the hand, when it would spread out its wings and assume very singular
attitudes. It was naturally a fine songster, and a most universal imitator. Whenever
chopped meat or other food was put into its cage, it always evinced a propensity to deposit
the bits one by one between the wires ; and when a bee or wasp was offered, this bird would
seize it instantly, and invariably turn its tail round and make the insect sting this several
times successively before eating it. A large beetle it would place before it on the ground, and
pierce it with a violent downward stroke of the bill; a small snake, about a foot long, it
treated in a like manner, transfixing the centre of the head ; it aftewards devoured about half
the snake, holding it by one foot while it picked it with the bill, as was its common mode of
feeding.”
THe Lauenine Crow of India (Garruldx leucdlophus) is another species of the same
genus, and is remarkable for the singular resemblance which its cry bears to the laughter of
human beings. Its name of ‘‘leucolophus,”’ or white-crested, has been given to it on account
of the white feathers which are found on the crown of the head.
ORIOLES.
Tur GoLDEN ORIOLE is well known in many parts of the European Continent, especially
the more southern portions of Europe, such as the shores of the Mediterranean and Southern
Ktaly.
The Golden Oriole derives its name from the bright golden yellow with which the feathers
of the adult male bird are largely tinged. The full glory of its plumage is not displayed until
the bird has entered its third year.
In Italy, this bird is quite common, and by the peasantry is supposed to announce the
ripening of the fig, its peculiar ery being translated into a choice Italian sentence, signifying
that the fruits have attained maturity. It is rather gregarious in its habits, generally asso-
ciating in little flocks, and frequenting lofty trees and orchards, where it can obtain abun-
dance of food.
Tt is an exceedingly shy and timorous bird, keeping carefully from man and his home,
and only venturing into cultivated grounds for the sake of obtaining food. Even in such cases
it is extremely cautious in its behavior, and as it always takes the trouble to set sentries on
guard, it cannot be approached without the greatest patience and wariness on the part of the
sportsman or observer. Being generally found in the loneliest spots, and especially preferring
the outskirts of forests, whence it can at once dive into the thick foliage and escape from
THE GOLDEN ORIOLE. 251
danger, it often baffles the skill even of the practised fowler, who is forced to trust to the
careful imitation of its note for his hope of getting within shot of this cunning bird. More-
over, the imitation must be exceedingly exact, for the ear of the Golden Oriole is wonderfully
true and delicate, and if the bird detects the least error in the intonation, it takes instant
alarm, and seeks refuge in the deepest recesses of the forest. According to M. Bechstein, the
Golden Oriole is so fearful of exposing itself, that it never perches upon a naked branch,
always preferring those boughs which are most thickly covered with foliage, and which will
consequently afford it the best shelter.
The food of the Golden Oriole consists chiefly of insects; and as the bird is rather a
voracious one, it is very serviceable in clearing away the caterpillars and other fruit-devouring
creatures which are specially rife in the spring, and destroy so much fruit in its earliest stages.
As is often the case with the insect-eating birds, the Golden Oriole has a great taste for fruit
when it is quite ripe, and in the autumn is very fond of the best and mellowest fruits, having
an especial predilection for cherries, figs, and grapes. Perhaps it may be able to detect the
Co wenuor sr & S
7 So
a
GOLDEN OxlLOLE.—Orviolus galbula,
farva of some insect within the fruit, and to do good service by destroying it before it has
come to maturity.
The nest of this bird is a very elegantly formed and well-constructed edifice, of a shallow
cup-like shape, and usually placed in a horizontal fork of a convenient branch. The materials
of which it is made are mostly delicate grass-stems interwoven with wool so firmly that the
whole structure is strong and warm. The eggs are generally four or five in number, and their
color is purplish-white, sparely marked with blotches of a deep red and ashen-gray. It is
believed that there is but one brood in the year, so that the species does not multiply very
rapidly. Sometimes the bird is said to build a deep and purse-like nest, which is suspended
from the forked branch instead of being placed upon it.
This species has a very peculiar note, loud, flute-like, and of a singularly articulate char-
acter, as may be supposed from the fact already mentioned, that the Italian peasantry believe
it to speak their language. Bechstein considers the note to resemble the word ‘‘ puhlo,” and
many writers think that the different names of Oriole, Turiole, Loriot, Pirol, and Bulow are
given to the creature in imitation of its cry.
252 THE FLY-CATCHERS.
The color of the adult male is bright yellow over the whole of the head, neck, and body,
with the exception of the wings, the two central tail-feathers, and the basal portions of the
remaining feathers, which are jetty black, the two colors contrasting finely with each other.
Across the eye runs a dark stripe, and the eyes themselves are bright pinky red. In the
young bird the yellow is of a dusky greenish hue, and the black feathers are of a dingy brown,
and, according to Mr. Yarrell, the young males after their first moult resemble the old females.
In the second year the yellow of the back is more decided, and the wings and tail are of a
deeper black, and in many of the remaining feathers the colors are less brilliant than in the
bird of full plumage. It is rather curious that as the bird breeds in its second year, it is
hardly possible to distinguish the sexes, both wearing the same greenish-yellow and brownish-
black apparel. The total length of the Golden Oriole is not quite ten inches.
There are many other Orioles known to ornithologists which cannot be described in these
pages for lack of space, and it must be sufficient to record the Mango Bird of India (Oriolus
kundoo), remarkable for its peculiarly melancholy cry, and the Black-headed Oriole of Bengal
(Oriolus melanocéphalus), notable for its lengthened monotonic flute-like note. None of the
true Orioles are found in America; and the reader must be careful not to confound those
birds, which are nearly allied with the starlings, with the Orioles of the eastern hemisphere,
the only resemblance between them being a similarity of coloring.
BrEroreE quitting this interesting family of birds, we must give a passing notice to the
BuLBuvts, so well known by the repeated references to them in Oriental writings. Some of
the species are possessed of remarkably sweet voices, and are popularly called nightingales.
They are easily tamed, becoming very fond of a kind owner, and can be taught to perform
many interesting tricks. One species is kept for the purpose of fighting, and is trained for
this object as carefully as gamecocks were formerly trained for the cruel amusement of their
owners. In a wild state they are generally found in the woods and jungles, and are in the
habit of visiting gardens for the sake of preying upon the ripened fruits and insects. They
are all exotic birds, and are only found in the eastern hemisphere.
EE WY-GAT CH ERs:
Tne interesting family of the Fiy-carcuErs is composed of a large number of species,
extremely variable in size, form, and color. The average dimensions of these birds are about
equal to those of a large sparrow, and many are smaller than that bird, although two or three
species nearly equal the thrush in size. Their shape is always neat and elegant, and their
plumage sits closely on the body in order to permit the short but rapid evolutions which they
make in pursuit of their active prey. One or two, such as the Paradise and Fork-tailed Fly-
vatchers, are remarkable for the mode in which the tail is elongated into a graceful and elegant
train, and in other species the tail is broad and fan-like. In color the Fly-catchers are mostly
of sober but pleasing tints, but there are several notable exceptions to the rule, such as the
Crested Fly-catcher (Pyrocéphalus corondtus), remarkable for the crown of fiery scarlet
feathers which decorates the top of the head, the Blue Niltava (Wiltdva swndara), which has
its broad back and tail of a brilliant azure, and the Seléphagus picta, whose abdomen is of a
bright scarlet.
The bill of the Fly-catcher is of various lengths, but is almost invariably rather hard and
flattened at the base, slightly curved at the point, and compressed towards the tip. At the
corners of the mouth are generally several long bristles like those of the nightjar, and prob-
ably placed there for the same purpose, 7. e., to aid the bird in the capture of its insect prey.
The wings are long and firmly made, and the feet are slender and feeble in comparison with
the dimensions of the body,
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Testimonials to the “Tafeln” of Brebm’s Thierleben,
The late CHARLES DARWIN wrifes:—‘‘ The illustrations are the best I ever saw in any work,
4
I find it superfluous to enter here into particulars, as I already, in the ‘Descent of
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They are certainly very admirable.”
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generally.”
J=2-3 Unimate Creation, 6 =
WF? have concluded to submit for public patronage a work with the above title, being a series
NAY of exquisite Engravings representing the ANIMAL WORLD, executed with great scientific
accuracy, and accompanied by full Descriptive Text, written in popular terms, so as to
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A
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PART 33 COMPLETE IN 68 PARTS. 25 CENTS.
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THE YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. 253
One of the sub-families into which the Fly-catchers are divided is known by the name of
Vireonine, or GREENLETS, on account of the constant presence of green in some part of their
plumage. They are all little birds, and are confined to the New World, inhabiting America,
Brazil, Guiana, and the West Indian islands. They are mostly insect feeders, though they
will vary their diet with fruits, berries, and other vegetable food. Many species of Greenlets
are known to ornithologists, and some of them are remarkable for their eccentric habits and
their curious mode of nesting.
THE YELLOW-BREASTED Cuat of America is well worthy of notice, as it possesses a very
prettily colored plumage and elegant form, and at the same time is one of the most eccentric-
ally behaved of the feathered creation, even surpassing in the whimsical oddity of its manners
the mirth-provoking evolutions of the demoiselle crane.
It is a partially migratory bird, having rather an extensive range in its native country,
and passing from north to south according to the season of the year and the warmth or inclem-
ency of the weather. According to Wilson, it arrives in Pennsylvania about the first week in
May, and departs for the south in the month of August. As is usually, if not invariably, the
case with birds, its migrations are restricted to a narrow line, which runs almost due north
and south, and the male birds always make their appearance before their mates. Of the habits
of this bird, Wilson gives the following interesting description :—
‘When he has once taken up his residence in a favorite situation, which is almost always
in close thickets of hazel, brambles, vines, and thick underwood; he becomes very jealous of
his possessions, and seems offended at the least intrusion ; scolding every passenger as soon as
they come within view in a great variety of odd and uncouth monosyllables, which it is diffi-
cult to describe, but which may be readily imitated so as to deceive the bird himself, and
draw him after you for half a quarter of a mile at a time, as I have sometimes amused myself
in doing, and frequently without once seeing him. On these occasions his responses are
constant and rapid, strongly expressive of anger and anxiety, and while the bird itself
remains unseen, the voice shifts from place to place among the bushes as if it proceeded from
a spirit.
“First is heard a repetition of short notes resembling the whistling of the wings of a duck
or a teal, beginning loud and rapid, and falling lower and slower, till they end in detached
notes ; then a succession of others, something like the barking of young puppies, is followed
by a variety of hollow, guttural sounds, each eight or ten times repeated, more like those pro-
ceeding from the throat of a quadruped than that of a bird, which are succeeded by others not
unlike the mewing of a cat, but considerably hoarser.
“‘All these are uttered with great vehemence, in such different keys and with such pecu-
liar modulations of voice as sometimes to seem at a considerable distance, and instantly as if
just-beside you; now on this hand, now on that; so that from these manoeuvres of ventril-
oquism you are utterly at a loss to ascertain from what particular spot or quarter they proceed.
If the weather be mild and serene, with clear moonlight, he continues gabbling in the same
strange dialect, with very little intermission, during the whole night, as if disputing with his
own echoes, but probably with a desire of inviting the passing females to his retreat; for
when the season is further advanced, they are seldom heard during the night.”’
It is a very retiring bird, keeping itself completely out of view, but if once detected,
flinging itself into a state of ludicrous alarm at the sight of a human being. It generally
restricts itself to the brushwood, and flits quietly among the densest shade ; but if it should
be discovered, it immediately dashes upwards to a height of some forty or fifty feet, drops
as suddenly as it had mounted, then rises again, letting its legs dangle at full length, and
uttering a succession of terrified squeaks and yells. So quick are its movements, and so
wary are its habits, that a single gunner can seldom succeed in shooting one of these little
birds, and the aid of a second sportsman is required before the crafty and active little creature
falls to the shot.
The food of the Yellow-breasted Chat consists principally of insects, and it has a special
predilection for the larger beetles, which it eats of such great dimensions, that the spectator
254 THE KING BIRD.
instinctively wonders how so small a bird can eat so large an insect. It will also feed upon
berries and many kinds of fruit. The color of this bird is dark olive-green upon the upper
portions of the body; the breast and the under surface of the wings are light yellow, and
the abdomen is nearly white.
The Yellow-breasted Chat (/cferia virens) is a larger bird than the others of this family.
The description by Wilson given above is one of the author’s best pieces. No one has ever
excelled this poet naturalist, in the fidelity and accuracy of his bird literature.
A species found in the Western Territories has been named the Long-tailed Chat.
ANOTHER group of the Fly-catchers is denominated the Alectrurin, or Cock-tailed birds, a
name which has been given te them on account of their habit of raising their long and curiously
formed tails in a manner similar to that of the domestic fowl. These birds are only found in
South America, and are all of small dimensions, the average length being about six inches.
There are many species of this group, and they differ considerably in their habits and in the
localities which they frequent. Some are fond of forest lands, perching upon lofty branches,
and fluttering from their post in chase of passing insects, while others shun the wooded dis-
tricts and are only found upon the low-lying lands where water is plentiful, and where they
find their insect food upon the leaves and stems of aquatic plants. In all the species the bill
is flattened towards the base and rather convex at the point.
One of the most interesting of the Alectrurine birds is the CUNNINGHAM’S BusH SHRIKE,
which from the strong and slightly hooked beak was formerly supposed to belong to the
Shrike family. It is a native of South America, and haunts the thickly wooded districts,
foraging in many directions in search of its prey, which generally consists of the larger insects.
It is possessed of strong and firmly vaned wings, and is able to fly with remarkable rapidity.
The tail of this species is extremely elongated and deeply forked, the two exterior feathers
being the longest, and the others decreasing rapidly in length. Even when the bird is
stationary, this long tail renders it very conspicuous, but when it is living and in motion, it
renders the tail a very ornamental appendage, by raising it so as to droop like the feathers of
a cock’s tail, and permitting the long plumes to wave gracefully in the breeze.
The general color of this bird is a uniform ashen-gray over the upper surface, covered with
numerous longitudinal streaks of brown. The throat is white, with the exception of a rather
broad semi-lunar band of deep purple-brown, which marks the division between the chest and
the throat. The wings and tail are blackish-brown, and the quill-feathers of the wing are
marked with a series of longitudinal ruddy bands.
A second group of the Fly-catchers is distinguished by the name of Tyrannine, a title
that has been applied to them on account of their exceedingly combative habits during
the season of incubation, and the tyrannous sway which they exercise over birds of far greater
size, powers, and armature. They are all inhabitants of America, and for the greater part are
found in the more tropical regions of that land. They have a very shrike-like bill, and many
of the shrike habits, preying not only upon insects, but pouncing upon young birds, animals,
and reptiles, and even adding fish to their scale of diet. The beak of these birds is very large,
wide at the base, and narrowing gradually to the tip, where it is boldly compressed and rather
strongly hooked. The angle of the mouth is furnished abundantly with strong bristles, and
the small nostrils are almost entirely hidden by the feathers of the forehead.
Several species are included in this group, among which the two birds which will be
described in the following pages are the most remarkable.
The first of the Tyranninz is the well-known Kine Brrp, or Tyrant FLy-CATCHER,
(Tyrannus carolinensis), celebrated by Audubon, Wilson, and many other writers on the
ornithology of America.
This very interesting bird is one of the migratory species, arriving in the United States
about the month of April, and remaining until the end of the autumn, when its young are
fully fledged, and able to shift for themselves. The name of King Bird has been given to this
species not only on account of the regal sway which it wields over most of the feathered race,
_—
ere
HABITS OF THE KING BIRD. 255
but also on account of the flame-colored crest which appears whenever the bird raises the
feathers of the head.
The habits of this Fly-catcher are very remarkable, and have been so ably narrated by
Wilson, that they must be given in his own graphic language :— :
‘The trivial name, King, as well as Tyrant, has been bestowed on this bird for its
extraordinary behavior, and the authority it assumes over all others during the time of breed-
ing. At that season, his extreme affection for his mate, and for his nest and young, makes
him suspicious of any bird that happens to pass near his residence, so that he attacks, without
discrimination, any intruder. In the months of May and June, and part of July, his life is
one continued scene of broils and battles, in which, however, he generally comes off conqueror.
KING BIRDs.— Zyrannus carolinensis,
Hawks and crows, the bald eagle and the great black eagle, all equally dread a rencontre with
this daurtless little champion, who, as soon as he perceives one of these last approaching,
launches into the air to meet him, mounts to a considerable height above him, and darts down
upon his back, sometimes fixing there, to the great annoyance of his sovereign, who, if no
convenient retreat or resting-place be near, endeavors by various evolutions to rid himself of
his merciless adversary.
‘“‘But the King Bird is not so easily dismounted. He teases the eagle incessantly, sweeps
upon him from right and left, remounts, that he may descend on his back with the greater
violence ; all the while keeping up a shrill and rapid twittering, and continuing the attack
sometimes for more than a mile, till he is relieved by some other of his tribe equally eager for
the combat.
‘There is one bird, however, which by its superior rapidity of flight, is sometimes more
256 THE CRESTED TYRANT.
than a match for him; and I have several times witnessed his precipitous retreat before this
active antagonist. This is the purple martin, one whose food and disposition is pretty similar
to his own, but who has greatly the advantage of him on the wing, in eluding all his attacks,
and teasing him as he pleases. I have also seen the red-hooded woodpecker, while clinging
on a rail of the fence, amuse himself with the violence of the King Bird, and play bo-peep
with him round the rail, while the latter, highly irritated, made every attempt, as he swept
from side to side, to strike him, but in vain. All this turbulence, however, vanishes as soon as
his young are able to shift for themselves, and he is then as mild and peaceable as any other
bird.”
Audubon relates an account of a battle between a martin and King Bird, wherein the
former proved victorious. The martin had long held sole possession of a farm-yard, and when
a King Bird came to build its nest within the same locality, it assaulted the intruder with the
utmost fury. The act of building on the forbidden ground aroused the anger of the martin to
such an extent, that whenever the male King Bird passed with materials, the martin attacked,
and by force of superior agility dashed its foe to the ground. At last the poor King Bird died,
being worn out with continual struggles, and its mate was forced to leave that spot.
The flesh of the King Bird is held in some estimation in one or two of the States, and the
bird is shot in order to supply the table.
The narrator further proceeds to observe, that the King Bird is in great disfavor with the
farmers, who are in the habit of shooting it whenever they can find an opportunity, on account
of its fondness for bees. It cannot be denied that the suspicions of the bee-owner are not
without foundation, for the King Bird will perch upon a rail or fence near the hives, and from
that elevated post pounce upon the bees as they leave or return to their homes. Many per-
sons, however, think that it does not devour the working bees, but merely singles out the
drones, thus sparing the workers the trouble of killing those idle members of the community
at the end of the season. This supposition derives some force from the well-known fact, that
the King Bird is very fastidious in its taste, and that it will watch the flight of many insects
in succession before it can select one to its taste. Even if it should destroy a few hundred bees
annually, it repays the loss a thousand-fold by the enormous destruction which it works among
the caterpillars and other noxious insects during the earlier parts of the year; and, according
to Wilson, every King Bird shot is a clear loss to the farmer.
The food of the King Bird, although mostly of an insect character, and perhaps wholly so
in the spring and summer, is sometimes mixed with vegetable substances, and in the autumn
the bird delights in berries and ripe fruits, the blackberry being one especial favorite. It
often hovers over streams and rivers, chasing insects like the swallow, and occasionally dash-
ing into the water for a bath, and then sitting to plume its feathers on some convenient branch
overhanging the water.
The flight of the King Bird varies according to circumstances. When it is migrating it
flaps its wings rapidly six or seven times in succession, and then sails onwards for a consid-
erable distance, repeating this process continually as it proceeds on its long voyage. During
the flight it is perfectly silent, and associates in bands of twenty or thirty in number. But in
the season of love the bird dashes some thirty yards aloft, and there hangs with quivering
wings and ruffled plumes, uttering the while a continual low shriek.
The nest of the bird, which is so valiantly defended by the parent, is generally begun in
the beginning of May, and is placed among the branches of a tree. The substances of which it
is composed are slender twigs, wood, vegetable fibres, fine grasses, and horsehair. There is
another species of tyrant, the Crestep Tyrant (Tyrannus cristatus), which employs many
similar materials for its nest, hay, feathers, hogs’ bristles, dogs’ hair, and the cast exuvie of
snakes. The last substance seems to be absolutely essential to the birds’ comfort, for Wilson
says that of all the numerous nests which he discovered, he never found one without some
of this curious material. The eggs of the King Bird are generally five in number, and there
are mostly two broods in the year.
With the exception of the few bright feathers of the crest, the plumage of the King Bird
is of a rather sombre character. The head is black, but when the bird raises the crest feathers,
THE WHITE-SHAFTED FAN-TAIL. 257
their bases are seen to be of a bright orange or flame color. This appearance is never seen
unless the bird is excited. The tail is also black, but is tipped with white. The general color
of the upper parts of the body is ashen-gray, and the quill-feathers and coverts of the wing are
marked with dull white. The under parts of the body are white with the exception of a large
gray patch on the breast. The total length of the bird is about eight inches. In the Southern
States of America the King Bird is called the Field Martin.
THE Kine Brrp. This bird, called also BEE Martin, is common to all parts of America,
from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains. As a summer resident it is abundantly distributed
throughout New England.
There are thirty-three species of this group of Fly-catchers, having quite characteristic
features, that at once distinguish them.
The flat and wide bill is the principal one. Many of them have crests; the larger species
having scarlet feathers concealed under the topknot.
The GREAT CRESTED FLY-CATCHER (Myiarchus crinitus) is one of the larger species. It is
a rare bird in New England ; but is known to breed in Massachussetts occasionally.
Our second example of the Tyrant Birds is the curious FoRK-TAILED FLY-CATCHER.
This remarkable species is an inhabitant of tropical America, and is rather frequently
found in Guiana, where it is popularly, but erroneously, called the Widow Bird, that appella-
tion belonging by right to one of the finches. Sometimes the bird is quite solitary, but at
other times it assembles in little flocks on the branches, and from thence darts on the passing
insects. It is also fond of frequenting the low flooded lands, and of perching upon the tufts
of rank herbage that appear above the water, opening and shutting its long tail like a pair of
shears. Its food is mostly of an insect character, but it will feed upon various fruits and
berries.
It is quick and agile of wing, and by means of its long and firmly set tail is enabled to
make many sharp turns in the air, an accomplishment which is needful for the purpose of
overtaking the large winged insects on which it loves to feed; and while engaged in these
aérial manceuvres it constantly spreads or closes its tail. Except immediately after moulting,
the long scissor-like feathers of the tail are seldom in a perfect state, as the bird is very
vivacious in its movements, and in its quick glancing flight among the branches is apt to fray
the beautiful plumes against the boughs, and often rubs the webs entirely away, leaving the long
shafts protruding, clothed only with little ragged fragments of web. The Fork-tailed Fly-
catcher is quite as brave a bird as the preceding species, and is frequently seen to attack and
defeat birds that are far superior in size and bodily strength, but inferior in dashing courage.
The coloring of this bird is briefly as follows: The top of the head is velvety black when
the bird is at rest; but when it becomes excited, it raises the feathers of its head into a
kind of crest, and displays a bright orange spot, caused by the orange hue which tinges the
basal parts of each feather. The neck, back, and upper parts of the body are dark gray,
deepening gradually towards the tail, which is jetty black with the exception of the white
outer web of the exterior quill-feathers. The under portions of the bird are white. The total
length of this bird is about fourteen inches, of which the tail occupies ten, so that the dimen-
sions of the bird itself are really small.
PhYPICAMSFiLY-CATCHERS.
WE now arrive at the typical Fly-catchers, named, in allusion to their insect-eating habits,
the Muscicapine birds.
This group includes many curious and interesting species, one of the most remarkable
being the WuIre-SHAFTED Fan-rart of Australia. Beyond elegance of form and pleasing
arrangement of rather sombre coloring, this bird possesses no great external attractions ; but
for the singular form of its nest, and the eccentricity of some of its habits, it is well worthy
Vou, I1.—38.
258 THE PARADISE FLY-CATCHER:
a short memoir. It is a native of the southern and western portions of Australia as well as of
Van Diemen’s Land, and seems to be a permanent resident, merely shifting its quarters to dif-
ferent portions of the same country according to the season of year. It is by no means a gre-
garious bird, being seldom seen associated with any other companions except its mate.
In its habits it is brisk, cheerful, and lively, mounting high into the air with a few rapid
strokes of the wings, and then descending wpon some convenient bank in a headlong, reckless
style, after turning completely over in the air after the fashion of the tumbler pigeons. While
descending it spreads its wings and tail widely, the latter organ being so broad as to resemble
a feather fan. It is daring and confiding in its nature, permitting the close approach of human
beings, haunting the neighborhood of human habitations, and even boldly entering houses in
chase of flies and other insects. Its song is not powerful or varied, but is full and pleasing,
consisting of a soft and sweet twittering sound.
During the breeding season it becomes suddenly shy, wary, and restless, and should it
perceive an enemy in too close proximity to its nest, puts in practice a series of rather trans-
parent wiles in order to induce the intruder on its domestic joys to leave the vicinity. For
this purpose it feigns lameness, and flutters before the supposed foe in a manner that is
intended to induce a belief in its easy capture, and to lure him from the cherished spot where
all its loves and hopes are concentrated.
The nest is of a most remarkable shape, being notable for a long and apparently use-
less tail that hangs far below the branch to which it is attached, and which, owing to its
narrow dimensions and slight weight, can be of no service in preserving the balance of the
structure. I would offer a suggestion that this singular form may have reference to the
electrical conditions cf the atmosphere, and serve as a conductor whereby the superabundant
electricity is carried off from the eges or young birds, which are placed in an open and
undefended nest, and conveyed harmlessly to the ground. The materials of which the nest
is made are the inner bark ef the gum-tree, mixed with moss and the down of the tree-fern,
and woven together with spiders’ webs.
The position of the nest is invariably at a low elevation, and it is found either hanging
from a branch near the water at no great height from its surface, or suspended from some low
branch ina forest. The eggs are two in number, and their color is grayish-white, covered.
with olive-brown blotches. There are generally two broods in the year, and a third brood is
sometimes known to be successfully reared.
In its coloring the White-shafted Fan-tail is a dusky.olive-black above, and there is a
white dash above the eye, and another curved white streak below the eye. The throat, the
ends of the wing-coverts, the edges of the secondaries, together with the outer webs, the tips
and the shafts of the tail-feathers, are pure white, with the exception of the two central
guill-feathers of the tail, which retain their dusky hue. The total length of this bird is five
or six inches. Its generic name Rhipidura is of Greek origin, signifying ‘‘fan-tail,’’ and is
therefore applied to this and other species of the same genus, whose tails are capable of being
spread in a fan-like fashion ; the name albiscapa refers to the white shafts of the tail-feathers,
and is therefore only applied to this particular species.
THe most elegant and striking of all the Fly-catchers is undoubtedly the bird which is
figured in the colored illustration. :
The PARADISE Fiy-caTcuer is an Asiatic bird, being found spread over the greater por-
tion of India, where it is far from uncommon. It is generally found in thick clusters of tall
bamboos, and is in the habit of frequenting gardens, shrubberies, and plantations in search of
its prey. Its mode of feeding is rather variable. Generally it perches upon some lofty
branch, and when it sees an insect passing within easy reach, makes a sudden swoop upon it,
catches its prey with a hard snap of the beak, which can be heard at some distance, and
returns to its post in readiness for another swoop. Sometimes, however, it searches upon
the branches for the various insects that are found crawling on the bark or hidden beneath its
irregularities, and picks them off with great certainty of aim. According to Colonel Sykes, it
has even been known to alight on the ground and to seek its food upon the soil.
SELMAR HESS, PUBLISHER, N. Y
PARADISE FLYCATCHERS.
—=
_ ita
THE SPOTTED FLY-CATCHER. 259
Tt is a most restless bird, ever on the move, flitting from branch to branch, or darting
after its winged prey with ceaseless activity. Like many predaceous creatures, it is rather
solitary in its habits, being generally seen singly or in pairs, or at all events in no greater
numbers than may be accounted for by the presence of the two parents and their young.
There are several species closely allied to each other, which are found both in India and
Africa ; and even the present species was once supposed to be separated into three, the adult
male, the female, and the young being so different in form and color, that each was set down
as a distinct species. It is now known that the long-tailed birds, of whatever color they may
be, are the adults of either sex, while the comparatively short-tailed bird is the young male
or female. When these distinctions are once known, it is very easy to discriminate between
the birds, the white long-tailed bird being always the adult male, the reddish buff long-tailed
bird the adult female, and the short-tailed bird the young male or female, as the case
may be. :
The coloring of this species is remarkably bold and pleasing, and may be brieily described
as follows.
The head and crest of the male are bright steely-green, and the whole of the upper surface
is pure white, curiously streaked with a narrow black line down the centre of each feather.
The primary quill-feathers of the wings are jetty black with a narrow edge of white, and the
secondaries are also black, edged with white on both webs. The beautiful tail is more than
double the length of the body, as it measures thirteen or fourteen inches in length, while the
bird itself is onty some six inches long. The color of the tail-feathers is pure white, with
black shafts, except the two central feathers, where the black color of the shaft only extends
half their length. The whole of the under surface is white. The adult female has the head
and neck-feathers steely-green, as in the male, but not of quite so brilliant a hue. The back
and tail are ruddy chestnut, the throat, breast, and nape of the neck are dark gray, and the
abdomen and remainder of the under parts are white. The young bird is colored like the
female, but the white of the abdomen is tinged with buff.
On account of the peculiar shape of this species, it is sometimes called the Rocket Bird.
THE Pumper, or PEwrEE (Sayornis fuscus) is a notable favorite during the cold months in
New England, arriving from the south in March, frequently before the snow is gone. Wilson
says: ‘The notes of the Pewee, like those of the bluebird, are pleasing, not from any melody
they contain, but from the ideas of spring and returning verdure—with all the sweets of this
lovely season—which are associated with his simple but lively ditty.”
Woop Pewee (Contopus virens). This is a common summer inhabitant of New Eng-
land, usually choosing the solitude of the deep forests for its abode. The nest of this bird is
always a wondrous affair, and very beautiful. There is a peculiar symmetry and cup-like
finish to this nest, which is only equalled by that of the humming-bird.
Several interesting species have been found in the Northern States and on the Great
Plains. Since the days of Audubon and Wilson many species have been discovered.
THe ForK-TAILED FLy-caTcHER (Miloulus tyrannus) is occasionally found in the States
as far north as Pennsylvania.
THE Scrssor-TAiL (Miloulus forficatus) is another equally fine bird, having nearly as long
tail-feathers. It inhabits Mexico and Texas. It derives one of its trivial names from the fact
that it opens and shuts its tail as a scissors works. _ Its dimensions are similar to the preced-
ing—thirteen inches in length.
EUROPE possesses some examples of the Fly-catchers, the two birds represented in the
illustration being familiar to every one who has noticed the manners and customs of native
birds.
The Sporrep Fry-catcueR is by far the more common of the two species, and has
260 THE SPOTTED FLY-CATCHER.
received several local names in allusion to its habits, the titles WALL Birp and Bram Brrp
being those by which it is most frequently designated. It is one of the migrating birds, arriv-
ing in northern countries at a rather late season, being seldom seen before the middle or even
towards the end of May. The reason for this late arrival is probably that, if the bird were to
make an earlier appearance, the flying insects on which it feeds would not be hatched in suffi-
cient numbers to insure a proper supply of food for itself and young. It has a rather wide
range of locality, having been observed in different parts of Europe, and extending its flight
even to Southern Africa.
This bird is fond of haunting parks, gardens, meadows, and shrubberies, always choosing
those spots where flies are most common, and attaching itself to the same perch for many
SPOTTED and PIED FLY-CATCHER.—Muscicapa grisola and atricapilla.
days in succession. When the Fly-catcher inhabits any place where it has been accustomed
to live undisturbed, it is a remarkably trustful bird, and permits the near approach of man,
even availing itself of his assistance.
T well remember a curious instance of this exceeding tameness on the part of one of these
birds. In the grounds of a large estate I was sitting in a gig, waiting for a friend, and as the
sun was shining very powerfully, I moved the vehicle under the shade of a tree. On one of the
lower branches a Fly-catcher was sitting, watching the flies, and occasionally fluttering in chase
of an insect, and then returning to its post in true Fly-catcher fashion. After watching the
bird for some little time, I struck with my whip at a clover-blossom, thereby starting a number
of flies, which rose into the air. To my surprise, the bird instantly left the branch, darted among
the flies, captured one of them, and returned to its perch. I again drove some flies into the
air with the whip, and again the bird came and snapped them up within stroke of the lash.
This proceeding was continued until my friend rejoined me and we drove away, leaving the
bird in sole possession.
The Spotted Fly-catcher builds a very neatly made nest, and is in the habit of fixing its
home in the most curious and unsuspected localities. The hinge of a door has on more than one
occasion been selected for the purpose, and in one instance the nest retained its position although
the door was repeatedly opened and closed, until a more severe shock than ordinary shook
THE SPOTTED FLY-CATCHER 261
the eggs out of the nest and broke them. It is fond of selecting some human habitation for
the locality in which it builds its nest, and its titles of Beam Bird and Wall Bird have been
given to it because it is in the habit of making its home on beams or the holes of walls. The
branches of a pear, apricot, vine, or honeysuckle are favorite resorts of the Spotted Fly-
catcher, when the tree has been trained against a wall. The bird seems to be in the habit of
returning to the same spot year after year; and as in one case the same locality was occupied
for a series of twenty consecutive years, it is most probable that the young may have suc-
ceeded to the domains of their parents.
The nest is generally round and cup-shaped, and is made of fine grasses, moss, roots, hair,
and feathers, the harder materials forming the walls of the nest, and the softer being employed
as lining.
I once watched one of these birds in the act of building her nest, and was greatly inter-
ested by the manner in which the business was conducted. First she arranged a rather large
bundle of fine dry grass in the thick fork of some branches, and having pecked it about for
some little time as if to shake it up regularly, she sat in the middle of it, and by a rapid
movement of her wings spun round and round like a top, so as to produce a shallow, cup-like
hollow. She then fetched some more grasses, and after arranging them partly around the
edge and partly on the bottom, repeated the spinning process. A few hairs and some moss
were then stuck about the nest, and woven in very neatly, the hairs and some slender
vegetable fibres being the threads, so to speak, with which the moss was fastened to the nest.
In working out the long hairs and grasses, she generally moved backwards, laying them
with her bill, and continually walking round the nest, a circumstance which has also been
noted by Mr. Yarrell. I cannot say, however, whether, as is related by that writer, the male
brings all the materials, nor can I give any further personal description of the architectural
powers of the bird, as when the nest had reached the stage which has been described, I was
forced to return home, and on my next visit the nest was finished and the mother bird sitting in
it. Iwas close to the bird during her labors, being sheltered from observation by a thick bush and.
the trunk of an ivy-covered tree, and could even see the color of the bright, glancing eyes, and
note the self-satisfied ruftie of her feathers whenever she had made a stroke to her satisfaction.
The eggs of the Spotted Fly-catcher are four or five in number, and their color is a very
pale bluish-white, spotted with ruddy speckles. As the nest is made at so late a period of the
year, being but just begun when some birds have hatched their first brood, there is not often
more than a single family in the course of the season. Sometimes, however, it has been known
to hatch and rear a second brood in safety. The young are seldom hatched until the tenth or
twelfth of June, and they seem to follow their parents longer than is the case with most birds.
The food of the Spotted Fly-catcher is almost, if not exclusively, composed of insects,
mostly flies and other winged members of the insect world. It seldom descends to the ground
for the purpose of procuring its prey, nor does it seem to pick caterpillars off the leaves and
branches, but, standing on some chosen perch, it darts at the passing insects, and returns to
the same spot. Fruit seems to form no part of the Fly-catcher’s food, although it has often
been observed on the fruit-trees, having in all probability been attracted to the tree by the
many winged insects which feed on fruit.
The general color of the Spotted Fly-catcher is a delicate brown on the upper parts of the
body, the quill-feathers of the wings and tail being, as is usually the case, of a blacker hue
than the feathers of the back. There are a few dark spots on the top of the head, and the
tertial feathers of the wings are edged with light brown. The breast is white, with a patch of
very light dull brown across the upper portion, and both the chin and breast are marked with
dark-brown longitudinal streaks. Upon the sides and flanks the dull white deepens into a
yellowish brown. The total length of this bird is about five inches and a half. When young,
the plumage is largely spotted with buff and brown of different tints. This species has no
song, but only a few low twittering notes.
Tux other species of European Fly-catchers is much more rare than the bird just described,
and may easily be distinguished from it by the peculiarity of plumage from which it derives
262 CHATTERERS.
its popular title. The Prep Fry-catcuer is known to be a frequenter of many parts of
Europe, even visiting Norway and Sweden in the summer months, while on the coasts of the
Mediterranean it is very plentiful. It is a migratory bird, generally arriving in northern
countries about the middle of April, and leaving those for a warmer climate in September.
The habits of this bird, its mode of flight, and fly-devouring propensities, closely resemble
those of the preceding species, from which, however, it differs greatly in the locality of its
nest and the number of the eggs. Instead of placing a simply-constructed nest upon a branch
or other convenient spot, the Pied Fly-catcher always chooses a hollow in some decaying tree
for its home, and there deposits no less than seven or eight eggs.
In one instance noticed by Mr. Yarrell, the eggs were disposed in a very curious manner.
‘“A pair had a nest in the identical hole where this species had bred for four successive
years. On the 16th of May, this nest contained eight eggs, arranged in the following man-
ner: one lay at the bottom, and the remainder were all severally placed perpendicularly round
the sides of the nest with the smaller end resting upon it, the effect of which was exceedingly
beautiful.’ The author of this well-observed note further remarks that the eggs from dif-
ferent nests are found to vary greatly in size. The nest itself is made of dried leaves, moss,
and hair, and is rather loosely built, and the young make their appearance about the middle
of June.
The coloring of this bird is as follows: In the adult male, the top of the head, back of the
neck, back, and wings are dark blackish-brown, with the exception of a white patch upon the
forehead, and a broad stripe of white upon the tertiary and greater wing-coverts. The tail is
black except some bold white marks on some of the outer feathers, and the whole of the under
surface is pure white. The female is of a delicate brown on the upper parts of the body, and
those portions which in the male are pure white, are in the female of a dull whitish-gray. In
dimensions the bird is net equal to the spotted Fly-catcher, barely exceeding five inches in
total length.
THE singular and beautiful bird which is known by the name of Krye Topy, or Roya
GREAT Crest, is anative of Brazil, and may challenge competition with many of the fly-catchers
for elegance of form and beauty of coloring.
It is a very rare bird, and to all appearance but little Known in its native land. This
species is chiefly remarkable for its splendid crest, which is capable of being lowered upon the
neck, or raised almost perpendicularly, in which latter position it assumes a spreading and
rounded form, like an open fan. The feathers of the crest are long and slender, and spoon-
shaped at their extremities. Each feather is bright chestnut-red for the greater part of its
length, a narrow stripe of rich orange succeeds, and the tip is velvet-black, encircled by a band
of steel-blue. As may be supposed, the effect of its spread crest is remarkably fine and striking.
The upper parts of the body are dark chestnut-brown, rather deeper on the quill-feathers of
the wings. The throat, chest, and abdomen are pale fawn, warming towards chestnut on the
central line. The total length of this bird is six inches and a half.
CHATTERERS:
Tur family of the Amprnip®, or Chatterers, is one of considerable size, and includes
some very beautiful and interesting birds. In all these species the beak is rather broad and
short, curved on the upper mandible, and well notched at the tip. The claws are sharp and
hooked, and are grooved underneath. The Chatterers are found in all the warm portions of
the world, and even northern countries are sometimes favored by a visit from the typical
species, the Waxen Chatterer. They are divided into several groups or sub-families, the first
s
THE GOLDEN-WINGED MANAKIN. 263
of which is the Pachycephalinz, or Thick-heads, so called from the heavy make and great
comparative size of their heads.
Of this group we find an excellent example in the well-known Dramonp Brrp of
Australia,
This pretty little creature inhabits Van Diemen’s Land and the whole of the southern
portions of Australia, and is generally found upon trees and bushes, skipping about the
branches with the greatest velocity, and peering into every crevice after the insects on which
it feeds. It possesses great activity of limb and strength of claw, and is able to traverse the
boughs while hanging suspended beneath them by its feet. It is not restricted to any particular
tree, but may be seen on the hard scrubby bushes as often as upon the lofty trees. The voice
of the Diamond Bird is rather harsh and piping, and consists of two notes constantly repeated,
from which circumstance the natives call it by the name of ‘‘ We-deep, we-deep.”’
The most remarkable peculiarity in this bird is its nest and the position which it chooses
for its home. Instead of placing its nest among the branches, or even in the hollow of one of
the innumerable decaying trees that abound in its native country, the Diamond Bird makes a
deep burrow in the face of some bank, usually on the margin of a stream, and builds its nest
at the extremity of the hole. The tunnel slopes slightly upwards, and is about two or three
feet in length, the nest being placed in a chamber at its extremity. Contrary to the usual
custom of burrowing birds, the Diamond Bird builds a most neat and elaborately constructed
nest in its burrow, the marvel being increased by the evident difficulty of working in the dark.
The structure is almost globular in form, andis entered by means of a hole left in the side.
The materials of which it is composed are principally strips of the inner gum-tree bark, and it
is lined with finer portions of the same substance.
The Diamond Bird is a pretty little creature, and decorated with most vivacious coloring.
The crown of the head, the wings and the tail are black, speckled with pure white, each
feather having a snowy white spot at its extremity. A white streak begins at the nostrils,
crosses the face, and passes over each eye. The back is curiously diversified with several har-
monizing tints, each feather being gray at its base, and having at its extremity a triangular
spot of fawn edged with black. The upper tail-coverts are ruddy brown, becoming redder
towards the tail; the chin, throat, and chest are bright golden-orange, and the abdomen is
tawny. The female has a browner head, and no golden-orange streak on the breast. The bird
is about as large as a wren.
THE MANAKINS.
Tue Manakins, or Piprine, form a moderately large group of birds, many of which are of
very beautiful and curious plumage. With very few exceptions they are inhabitants of
America, and are found only in the hottest portions of the tropical regions of that vast
country. They feed indiscriminately on animal and vegetable substances, are very active in
their movements, and frequent the hottest and moistest forests, where vegetation grows most
luxuriantly, as in such situations they find the greatest abundance of food.
One very beautiful species is the GoLDEN-wInGED Manakin of America. This bird is
always to be found on the skirts of forests, where it chooses the hot and marshy grounds that
are often formed in such localities, and there plies its busy search for food, unharmed by the
noxious and miasmatic exhalations of the decaying vegetation that are continually steaming
upwards, whilst the burning rays of the tropical sun convert the moisture into vapor, and cover
the earth with a heavy, warm and poisonous mist. The bird is remarkably vivacious in its
movements, and may often be seen on the ground, peering and feeding in every direction, or
perched in large flocks on the top of some lofty tree.
The Golden-winged Manakin is a very pretty bird, its plumage being brightly mottled
with black, yellow, and orange, which tints are arranged in a manner both bold and soft. The
wings are remarkable for the bright yellow feathers from which the bird derives its popular
264 THE COCK OF THE ROCK.
name, and the crown of the head is decorated with a beautiful series of gradually deepening
plumes, of a golden yellow at the base of the bill and on the forehead, and warming into a
rich ruddy orange towards the back of the neck, something like the crown of the fire-crested
Reguius.
THE largest and the most showy of all the Manakins is the Cock oF THE Rock, so termed
on account of a slight external resemblance which it bears to the gallinaceous form.
It is a native of Southern America and Guinea, and, as it is a solitary and extremely
retiring bird, is but seldom seen except by those who go in special search of it. This bird is
remarkable, not only for the bright orange-colored plumage with which its whole body is
covered, but for its beautiful crest, which extends over the head like the plume of an ancient
helmet. It generally frequents the banks of rocky streams and deep, sombre ravines, where
it traverses the ground with much rapidity, by means of its powerful and weli-developed legs.
COCK OF HE ROCK.—fupicola crocea,
As it is a solitary and very wary bird, it is seldom shot by white men, the greater number of
existing specimens having been procured by means of the poisoned arrow thrown through the
deadly sumpitan, or blow-pipe, of the Macoushi Indians. As the skin commands a high price
in the market, the Indians kill great numbers of the birds, and are gradually thinning their
ranks.
During the daytime the Cock of the Rock retires into its dark hiding-place among the
rocks, and only comes out to feed before sunrise and just after sunset. Not only is it never
found in company with other birds, but it does not even seem to associate with those of its own
kind. The nest of this species is of a very slight description, and is composed of little sticks,
splinters of wood, and dry grasses, laid loosely in a hole of some rock, and containing two
white eggs.
The color of the Cock of the Rock is remarkably beautiful, and consists of a rich orange
tint, which dyes the whole of the plumage with the exception of the quill-feathers of the
wings, which are of a sooty-black hue, and those of the tail, which are brown, tipped with
THE BOHEMIAN WAX-WING, OR WAXEN CHATTERER. 265
yellow. The feathers of the head stand erect in a double row, with their extremities uniting
in a line corresponding with the central line of the head, and consequently form a peculiar
fan-like crest, which overhangs the forehead and extends quite to the back of the head. The
tips of the crest-feathers are tinged with brown and yellow. Upon the wing-coverts and the
upper tail-coverts, the feathers are modified into flowing plumes, which droop in a very grace-
ful manner over the firmer feathers of the tail and sides. In size the Cock of the Rock about
equals a common pigeon.
The female bird is not nearly so beautiful as her mate, being of a yellowish-brown color,
and having only a small and inconspicuous crest.
ANOTHER species of Manakin which belongs to the same genus is the PERUVIAN Cock oF
THE Rock (Rupicola perurvidna), a bird which is possessed of considerable beauty, though it
is not quite so splendid as the previous species. Like that bird, its plumage is of a bright
orange color, but its crest wants the curious fan-like form which is so conspicuous in the
Cock of the Rock, and the quill and tail-feathers are jetty-black, and the wing-coverts are
ashen-gray. Moreover, the feathers of the wing-coverts and upper tail-coverts are not so loose
and flowing, and its tail is longer in proportion.
THERE is one species of Manakin which does not, so far as is known, inhabit America, but
is found in Singapore and the interior of Sumatra. This is the GREEN CALYPTOMEN A (Calypté-
mena viridis), a very beautiful, though not very large bird. Like the Cock of the Rock, it is
extremely shy and solitary in its habits, but instead of retiring into the deep recesses of rocky
ground, it shrouds itself among the heavy verdure of the forest trees, where its bright green
feathers harmonize so well with the foliage, that it is hardly perceptible even to a practised
eye. The food of this bird seems to be entirely of a vegetable character.
This bird possesses a fine and well-marked crest, which curves so boldly that it nearly
hides the short, wide, and hooked beak under its feathers. According to Sir S. Raffles, the
coloring of this species is as follows: ‘‘The general color of this bird is a brilliant emerald-
green. . . . A little above and before the eyes, the feathers are of a deep velvet-black at
their base, and only tipped with green, but crossed in the coverts by three velvet-black bands.
The primary feathers, as well as the whole under side of the wings, are dusky, approaching to
black, with the exception of the outer margins of some, which are edged with green. The
tail is short, rounded, and composed of ten feathers, which are green above and bluish-black
below. The whole of the under parts are green ; this color is brightest on the sides of the
neck and round the eyes.”
The total length of this species is about six inches, and the bird resembles a thrush in the
general contour of its body.
A SMALL but interesting group of birds has been designated by the name of Ampeline,
or Chatterers, in allusion to the loquacity for which some of the species are remarkable. They
all have a wide mouth, opening nearly as far as the eyes, but without the bristly appendages
which so often accompany a large extent of gape. Several of the species are celebrated for
the singular hairy appendage to the secondary and tertiary quill-feathers of the wings, which
closely resemble spots of red sealing-wax, and have given rise to the title of Waxen, which
has been almost invariably applied to these birds.
ONE well-known species is the WAXEN CHATTERER (Ampelis garrulus). It is also known
by the name of the Bonrmtan CHATTERER, the latter name being singularly inappropriate, as
the bird is quite rare in Bohemia.
It is a very gregarious bird, assembling in very large flocks, and congregating so closely
together, that great numbers have been killed at a single discharge of a gun. Of this curious
bird, the following interesting particulars are told : ‘‘ For the last month there have been, and
indeed still are, immense flocks of Wax-wing Chatterers quite close to the house. They are
not at all shy, allowing a person to approach easily within shot. They come into all the
Vou. .—34.
266 THE BOHEMIAN WAX-WING, OR WAXEN CHATTERER.
gardens round by thousands, in quest of the berries of a tree, which I believe is the mountain
ash, having been driven south, as I suppose, either on account of the cold or in search of
food. Some of the flocks contained several thousands, but are now much diminished in num-
bers, on account of some having gone southwards, and others been killed. They make a great
noise when sitting together, which they do in great numbers, making a tree look quite black
with them. On one occasion I killed twenty at one shot, at another eighteen, and at another
seventeen. One of these birds I shot had the wax at the tip of the tail, as well as on the
wings.’? This curious divergence from the usual formation has been noticed in the cedar bird
(an American species of the same genus), by Wilson, as will be mentioned in the account of
that bird. Perhaps the waxen appendage of the tail may rather be termed a full development
of the original idea, than a divergence from the usual form.
BOHEMIAN WAX-WING, OR WAXEN CHATTERER.—Ampelis garrulus.
The long, flat, scarlet appendages to the wings, and, as we have seen, to the tail also, are
usually confined to the secondaries and tertiaries, at whose extremities they dangle as if they
had been formed separately, and fastened to the feathers as an after-thought. ‘Indeed, they so
precisely resemble red sealing-wax, that any one on seeing the bird for the first time would
probably suppose that a trick had been played upon him by some one who desired to tax his
credulity to a very great extent. The full number of these appendages is eight, four on the
secondaries and the same number on the tertiaries, but they vary according to the age of the
bird, the secondaries keeping their full complement, and the tertiaries having from one to
four, according to age and development. None of the wax-like appendages are developed
until the second year.
Although the migratory habits of this bird are well known, and many of the localities
which it frequents have been recorded by various writers, no one seems to have any certain
information as to its true home, or the country wherein it breeds, although it is so numerous
a species in its own locality that its hiding-places could hardly have escaped notice had they
occuired within the ordinary limits of scientific observation.
THE CEDAR BIRD, OR CHATTERER. 267
Some authors place its residence in Central Asia, upon the elevated table-land of that
region, others think that it builds in Tartary, others place its home in the eastern parts of
Northern Europe, others in the Arctic regions, while Dr. Richardson believes that it may be
traced to America: ‘‘The mountainous nature of the country skirting the Northern Pacific
Ocean being congenial to the habits of this species, it is probably more generally diffused in
New Caledonia and the Russian-American territories, than to the westward of the Rocky
Mountain chain. It appears in flocks at Great Bear Lake about the twenty-fifth of May, when
the spring thaw has exposed the berries of the Alpine arbutus, marsh vaccinium, ete., that
have been frozen and covered during winter. It stays only for a few days, and none of the
Indians of that quarter, with whom I conversed, had seen its nest; but I have reason to
believe that it retires in the breeding season to the rugged and secluded mountain-limestone
district in the sixty-seventh and sixty-eighth parallels, where it feeds on the fruit of the
common juniper which abounds in those places.”
To the foregoing the author of this work has to remark that the bird is common in the
eastern parts of North America, where it is called Northern Wax-wing.
To the northern European countries it only comes in the winter months, although there
has been an example of its appearance as early as August.
In its plumage the Bohemian Wax-wing isa very pretty and striking bird, being as notable
for the silken softness of its feathers, as for its pleasingly blended colors and the remarkable
appendage from which it derives its popular name. The coloring of the bird is very varied,
but may briefly be described as follows: The top of the head and crest are a light soft brown,
warming into ruddy chestnut on the forehead. A well-defined band of black passes over the
upper base of the beak, and runs round the back of the head, enveloping the eyes on each side,
and there is a patch of the same jetty hue on the chin. The general color of the bird is gray-
brown, the primary and secondary feathers of the wings and tail are black, tipped with yellow,
the primary wing-coverts are tipped with white, and the tertiaries are purplish-brown, also
tipped with white. The under surface of the bird is sober gray, and the under tail-coverts are
rich ruddy brown. The length of the Waxen Chatterer is about eight inches.
The flesh of this bird is held in great estimation in the countries where it appears in
greatest numbers, and in Norway it is regularly killed and exposed for sale at the average
price of one penny.
A CLOSELY allied species is found in America, where it has been taken for a variety of the
preceding species, but is clearly distinct from that bird. On account of its fondness for cedar
berries, it goes by the popular name of the CepAR Brrp, or CHATTERER, the latter name being
not at all appropriate to this species, as it is one of the most silent of birds, not even raising its
voice in the season of love. —~
This bird is found in different parts of America, migrating to and fro according to the
season of year. Wilson tells us that in the months of July and August it associates together
in great flocks, and retires to the hilly parts of the Blue Mountains for the purpose of feeding
on the whortleberries which grow in those localities so plentifully that the mountains are
covered with them for miles. In October they descend to the lower parts of the country, and
there feed on various berries, espécially those of the red cedar, which they devour so greedily
that no less than fifteen cedar berries have been found in the throat of a single bird. They
also eat the fruit of the persimmon, cherries, and many other fruits, and aid greatly in the
vegetation of the country by transporting to different localities the seeds of the plants on which
they subsist.
Unlike the Waxen Chatterer, the Cedar Bird carries with it no mystery respecting its
dwelling-place, but openly builds in the month of June upon various trees, sometimes choosing
the cedar, and at other times fixing on different orchard trees.
Wilson makes the following remarks upon the nest and general habits of the bird during
the breeding season: ‘‘The nest is large for the size of the bird, fixed in the forked or
horizontal branch of an apple-tree, ten or twelve feet from the ground ; outwardly and at
bottom is laid a mass of coarse, dry, stalks of grass, and the inside is lined wholly with very
268 THE BELL BIRD, OR CAMPANERO.
fine stalks of the same material. The eggs are three or four, of a dingy bluish-white, thick at
the great end, tapering suddenly, and becoming very narrow at the other; marked with small
roundish spots of black of various sizes and shades, and the great end is of a pale dull purple
tinge, marked likewise with various shades of purple and black. About the last week in June
the young are hatched, and are at first fed on insects and their larvee, but as they advance in
growth, on berries of various kinds. These facts I have myself been an eye-witness to.
‘“The female, if disturbed, darts from the nest in alarm to a considerable distance ; no
notes of wailing or lamentation are heard from either parent, nor are they ever seen, notwith-
standing you are in the tree examining the nest and young. These nests are less frequently
found than many others, owing not only to the comparatively few numbers of the bird, but to
the remarkable muteness of the species. The season of love, which makes almost every other
small bird musical, has no such effect on them, for they continue at that interesting period as
silent as before.”
Like the waxen Chatterer, the Cedar Bird is held in great estimation as an article of food ;
and as in the autumn and end of summer it becomes very fat in consequence of the enormous
amount of berries and other food which it consumes, it is in great requisition in the markets,
being sold in large numbers and for a very small price. Even as early as May the Cedar Bird
begins its depredations on the cherries, always choosing the best and ripest fruit, and con-
tinues its robberies, undisturbed by scarecrows or any other means except the loaded gun.
The Cedar Bird does not limit itself to fruits and berries, but also feeds largely on insects,
chasing and devouring flies and other winged insects in a manner very similar to that of
the fly-catchers, but not exhibiting the airy liveliness and quick vivacity of those birds.
The general color of the Cedar Bird is yellowish-brown, the upper parts of the body being
fawn-colored, rather darker on the head, which is surrounded with a long and pointed crest,
which can be raised almost perpendicularly from the head. The chin is black, the breast and
abdomen yellow, and the under tail-coverts white. The wings are deep slaty-blue, and the
upper tail-coverts are slate-blue, deepening into black, which also extends over the greater
part of the tail. The extremities of the tail-feathers are rich yellow. SapGee «|
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PART 34 "
COMPLETE IN 68 PARTS. 25 CENTS
THE AMERICAN BLUE JAY. 231
young family, and stripping the branches of the bark and finest fruit. The kitchen garden
also suffers severely from the attacks of the Jay, which has a great liking for young peas and
beans. It also eats chestnuts, nuts, and acorns, being so fond of the last-mentioned fruit as to
have received the title of ‘“‘glandarius,” meaning a lover of acorns. Sometimes it becomes
more refined in its taste, and eats the flowers of several cruciferous plants, which, according to
Mudie, it plucks slowly and carefully, petal by petal.
The nest of the Jay is a flattish kind of edifice, constructed of sticks, grass, and roots,
the sticks acting as the foundations, and a rude superstructure of the softer substances being
placed upon them. It is always situated at a considerable elevation from the ground. There
are generally four or five eggs, and the bird mostly brings up two broods in the year. During
the earlier portion of their existence the young birds accompany their parents, and as they
wander in concert, often do great damage among the gardens and orchards which they visit.
One mode of taking the Jay has already been mentioned. Fowlers, however, employ
several methods for the capture of this pretty bird, and find that they can catch Jays better by
working on their curiosity than on their appetite. None of the crow tribe seem to be able
to pass an owl without dashing at it ; and the bird-catchers take advantage of this propensity
by laying their snares in the branches of a thick bush, and fastening a common barn owl in
such a manner, that when the Jay makes its attack, it is arrested and secured by the snare.
Should an owl not be attainable, a white ferret will answer the purpose equally well, the Jay
having a great objection to all the weasel tribe, and invariably attacking ferret, polecat, stoat,
or weasel with the greatest virulence and perseverance.
In size, the Jay equals a rather large pigeon; and the coloring of its plumage is very
attractive. The general tint of the upper part of the body is light reddish-brown, with a per-
ceptible purple tinge, varying in intensity in different specimens. The primary wing-coverts
are bright azure, banded with jetty black, and form a most conspicuous ornament on the sides,
as the bird sits with closed wings. The head is decorated with a crest, which can be raised or
lowered at pleasure, and the feathers of which it is composed are whitish-gray, spotted with
black. ‘There is a black streak on each side of the chin, and the quill-feathers of the wings
and tail are also black. The eye is a bright blue-gray, which, when the bird is excited,
can gleam with fiery rage, and together with the rapidly moved crest and harsh screams gives
an angry Jay avery savage aspect.
In many points, our AMERICAN BiurE Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) closely resembles its
European relative, but as it possesses a decided individuality of its own, it is well worthy of a
short memoir.
The Blue Jay seems to be peculiar to Northern America, and may be found among the
woods, where it is very plentiful, but never seems to associate in great numbers, the largest
flocks amounting merely to some thirty or forty members, and these only being seen during a
small portion of the year. Like the European Jay, it is both inquisitive and suspicious, and
never fails to give the alarm as soon as it sees a sportsman among the trees. Many a deer has
been lost to the anxious hunter through the warning cry of the Jay, for the deer understand
bird language quite well enough to know what is meant when a Jay sets up its loud dissonant
scream, and many a Jay falls a victim to the bullet that had been intended for the heart of the
escaped deer. Indeed, some hunters have taken so rooted a dislike to this bird, that they
always shoot it whenever they see it.
The voice is adapted for imitation, and there is hardly a bird of the forest whose voice is
not mocked by the Jay with a fidelity that even deceives the species whose notes are thus
wonderfully reproduced. Being a bird of some humor, it is greatly delighted by mimicking
the scream of a hawk, and the terrified cry of a little bird in distress, thereby setting all
the small birds in a turmoil, under the impression that one of their number has just been
carried off by a hawk.
The Blue Jay attacks owls whenever he meets with them, and never can see a hawk
without giving the alarm, and rushing to the attack, backed up by other Jays, who never fai!
to offer their assistance to their comrade. Often they will assemble in some numbers, anc.
Vou. I,—36.
282 HABITS OF THE AMERICAN BLUE JAY.
buffet the unfortunate hawk with such relentless perseverance that they fairly drive him out
of the neighborhood ; but sometimes the tables are reversed, and the hawk, turning suddenly
on his persecutors, snaps up the foremost and boldest, and silently sails away into the thickest
covert, bearing his screaming prey in his talons.
As the Blue Jay is very fond of fruit and seeds, it often does great harm to the agricult-
urist, robbing his fruit-trees in a very complete and systematic manner, and doing no small
amount of harm to the crops. Yet the bird is not without its use, for in replenishing its
winter stores, which consist of nuts, mast, chestnuts, and similar provisions, the Jay drops
many of them in its passage, and thus unconsciously succeeds in planting many a useful tree.
One careful observer of this
bird and its habits says that
in a few years’ time the Jays
alone would replant all the
cleared lands.
The diet of the Jay is, how-
ever, by no means restricted to
vegetable substances, as the
bird lives more upon animal
than on vegetable food. In
the spring and early summer,
young birds form a large por-
tion of its sustenance, and it
robs many a nest of its eggs, or
even when pressed by hunger
makes an attack on the parent
bird.
In captivity with its Euro-
pean relative, the Blue Jay is
equally mischievous, being at-
tracted by anything that glit-
ters or that he thinks is valued
by its owner, and hiding it in
some of his especial treasure-
houses. He will also learn to
talk, and becomes very proud
of his accomplishment, dis-
playing his newly -acquired
talents to every one who will
listen, and being extremely
loquacious when excited by the presence of several persons at the same time. If kindly
treated, the Blue Jay becomes very affectionate to its owner, and can even be taught to
live in loving communion with creatures whom it would in a wild state immediately devour.
One of these birds, kept for some time by Wilson, was on terms of intimate friendship with one
of the Baltimore orioles, and would permit her to take all kinds of liberties, such as pulling its
whiskers, jumping into the water and splashing it whenever it desired to drink.
The nest of the Blue Jay is large, and rather clumsily made, and is placed - in a lofty
branch of some tall tree, the cedar being in principal request for this office. It is lined with
fine fibrous roots, and contains four or five eggs of a dull olive, spotted with brown. The male
bird is very cautious in his approaches to the nest, always gliding secretly and silently to the
spot where his mate and young have made their home, carrying with him the results of
his foraging expedition.
Much more might be said of this bird, but its character has been so well described by
Webber in a few graphic passages, that I should do it injustice, were not his account to be
presented in his own words :—
AMERICAN BLUE JAaY—Cyanocitta cristata.
HABITS OF THE BLUE JAY. 283
‘See him of a fine spring morning in love-making time! See him rise up and down upon
the mossy limb, his gay crest bent in quick and frequent salutation, while a rich, round,
thrilling love-note rolls liquidly from off his honeyed tongue. Then see him spring in air
with his wide wings, azure and white, and dark-barred, graceful tail, spread to the admiring
gaze of her he woos, float round and round her fairer form, then to return again in rapturous
fervor to her side, to overwhelm his glowing charms with yet more subduing graces.
“But the fun of it all is, to see our euphuist practising these seductive arts by himself.
You will often catch him alone, thus making love to his own beauty with an ardor fully equal
to that of the scene we have just described ; indeed, I am not sure that it does not surpass it ;
for, like other dandies, he is most in love with his own beauty. It is the richest and most
fantastic scene I know of among the comicalities of the natural world, to catch him in one of
these practising humors; he does conrt to his own charms with such a gay and earnest
enthusiasm ; he apes all the gestures and love-lorn notes of his seemingly voleanic amours, and
turning his head back, gazes on his own fine coat with such fantastic earnest, that one can
hardly resist roaring with laughter.
‘**So jealous is he of his sole prerogative of supervision over the interest and welfare of his
neighbors, that he is forever on the look-out for all interloping stragglers. Every racoon
that shows his inquisitive nose is assailed with vehement clamors and angry snappings of
beaks, which compel him, in terror for his eyes, to return to his home. Our friend Jay is said
to attribute the nocturnal habits of racoons, wild cats, opossums, owls, etc., to their appre-
hension of his valorous vigilance by daylight. Be the facts of the case what they may, no one
of these gentry, nor mole, nor mink, nor weasel, can make its appearance without being beset
by the obstreperous screams of this audacious knave. Nor does he confine his cperations to
the defence of his foraging-ground from these depredators, from whom he has littie to fear of
personal danger, on account of his superior activity. But he even sometimes does assail the
lightning-winged and lordly hawk ; these scenes are very characteristic and very amusing, and
I have frequently witnessed them.”
The Blue Jay is a familiar bird in every part of the American Continent. The entire
family to which this bird belongs, and of which it is a very conspicuous member, is nearly
cosmopolitan as to distribution, and is distinguished by the remarkable intelligence of all its
members. Its habits are striking, peculiar, and full of interest, often evincing sagacity, fore-
thought, and intelligence strongly akin to reason. ‘Those traits are common to the whole
family.’—V. A. Birds. Wary as this bird is in the settled parts of the country, in the
western prairies, it is half domestic. In one of the principal streets of Richmond, Indiana, a
nest was built in a lilac-bush near a window of a dwelling. In Kansas the Jay is equally
familiar, and is more highly colored than in the east.
Wilson says of him: ‘‘ He appears to be among his fellow-musicians what a trumpeter is
ina band; some of his notes having no distant resemblance to the tones of that instrument.
These he has the faculty of changing, through a great variety of modulations, according to
the peculiar humor he happens to be in. When disposed for ridicule, there is scarce a bird
whose peculiarities of song he cannot tune his notes to. When engaged in the blandishments
of love, they resemble the soft chatterings of a duck ; and while he nestles among the thick
branches of a cedar are scarce heard at afew paces distant. But he no sooner discovers your
approach than he sets up a sudden and vehement outery, flying off and screaming with all
his might, as if he would call the whole feathered tribe to witness some outrageous usage he
had received. When he hops among the oaks and hickory they become soft and musical.
All these he accompanies with various nods and jerks and other gesticulations, for which the
Jays are so remarkable.
The power of mimicry possessed by the Jay, though different from, is hardly surpassed
by that of the mocking-bird. It imitates the cry of a hawk so closely as to drive the small
birds to cover, and excite immediate consternation in the poultry-yard. An experienced
bird-fancier has found them more ingenious, cunning, and teachable than any other species
of bird he has ever attempted to instruct. The Blue Jay appears to belong exclusively to
America.
THE HUNTING CISSA.
1)
@
rs
The Florida Jay, California Jay, Woodlawn Jay, Ultramarine Jay, Green Jay, Canada
Jay, and Brown Jay are of comparatively recent discoveries.
Toe CANADA Jay (Perisoreus canadensis) is strikingly different from other species.
We are apt to associate blue with the Jays. In this case there is a combination of white and
gray. This bird is found from the Atlantic to the Pacific in the northern portions. Audubon
found it breeding. in Maine and New Brunswick, and as far north as Labrador. When hard
pressed, like other Jays, it preys upon the young of other birds. It seeks the most unfre-
quented places,
keeping almost
constantly on the
ground, yet some-
times at twilight
mounts to the top
of a small tree
and twitters its
notes.
A European
species of this
bird is known un-
der the scientific
term Perisoreus
infaustus, or Car-
wus sibericus. It
is illustrated with
the nut - cracker
on page 301.
THE GREEN
Jay (Xanthura
Zuxwosa) inhabits
the valley of the
Rio Grande, in
Texas, and southward. It is about the size of the preced-
ing, and is nearly as peculiar as that species, its green
and white being quite as singular.
HUNTING CISSA.—Urocissa erythrorhyncha.
Tue Brown Jay (Psilorhinus morio) is a much
larger bird, and differs from all others in being of a rich
umber-brown. It inhabits the Rio Grande region.
Asta presents a most beautiful and interesting ex-
ample of this group of birds in the Huntrine Crssa,
or Huntrne Crow of India.
This lovely bird is a native of Nepal, and is spread
throughout the southeastern part of the Himalayas, and
in its own favored locality is far from scarce. Owing,
however, to certain peculiarities in the coloring, here-
after to be described, a specimen is very seldom obtained
in first-rate condition, and never takes its place in our museums glowing in all the resplendent
tints with which it is so liberally gifted. It is a very brisk and lively bird, and, like many
others of the same group, is much given to imitating other birds, performing its mimicry with’
wonderful truth, and copying not only their voices, but even their peculiar gestures.
It is much more carnivorous in its tastes than would be imagined from an inspection of
THE BENTEOT. 285
its form and plumage, and it possesses many of the habits of the shrikes, not only killing
and eating the smaller birds, but hanging its food upon branches in true shrike fashion.
It is an excellent hunter, and as it can be easily tamed and taught to hunt after small birds
for the amusement of its owner, it has earned the name of Hunting Crow. In its native
country it is very commonly kept in captivity. The voice of the Hunting Cissa is loud and
screeching, but possesses withal a certain joviality of utterance that renders it far from
unpleasing.
The color of this bird is singularly beautiful, and may challenge comparison with that of
any other bird of either hemisphere. The general hue is pale but bright grassy-green, very
vivid upon the upper parts, and taking a yellowish tint below ; there is also a dash of yellow
across the forehead and the sides of the crest. A broad black band crosses the forehead, and,
enveloping the eye in its progress, passes round the back of the neck. The quill-feathers of
the wing are mostly bright chestnut-red, and the tips of the inner quill-feathers are gray,
diversified with a bold semilunar black band near their extremities. The central feathers
of the tail are green, taking a grayer tinge at their extremities, and all the other tail-feathers
are bright green for the first two-thirds of their length, are then crossed with a bold broad
black band, and the tips are grayish-white. The legs, bill, and feet are bright scarlet. The
size of the Hunting Cissa is about equal to that of a common magpie.
These beautiful colors are unfortunately never seen except for a very short time after
moulting, as they rapidly fade by exposure to light, even during the life of the bird, and after
its death become comparatively dingy. The delicate and brilliant grass-green of the upper
surface soon takes a more sober hue, and before many days have elapsed, the general color of
the bird is simply gray with a greenish wash, in place of the rich resplendent tints which it
had so lately boasted.
TREE-CROWS.
BETWEEN the true Crows and the Jays, another small sub-family has been placed by the
authors whose arrangement we follow, and is known by the title of Calleatinee, or TREE Crows.
In these birds there is no tooth in the upper mandible, and the bill is comparatively short,
curved, and rather rounded above. They are only to be found in the warmer parts of the
eastern hemisphere, and many of them are quite as carnivorous as any of the preceding Cor-
videe, some feeding chiefly upon insects of various kinds, and others varying their diet with
small birds and quadrupeds.
THE BENTEOT, one of these birds, is a native of Java, where it is not very scarce, but is
seldom seen except by those who go to search for it, as it is extremely timid, and is never
known to approach within a considerable distance of human habitations, as is the case with the
generality of the Crow tribe. Sometimes it may be seen cautiously making its way towards
some newly-cleared ground, in the hope of making a meal on the worms, grubs, and other
earth-living creatures that are generally to be found in freshly-turned soil, and also for the
sake of feeding upon the fruits of the trees that skirt the field. Should, however, the land
be near a house, the Benteot holds aloof, and declines to put itself into danger.
Part of this excessive timidity may, perhaps, be owing to the fact that it is by no
means a strong or rapid flyer, its wings being short and rounded, and its flight in con-
sequence weak and not capable of long duration. It usually flies by day, and, according
to Mr. Horsefield, ‘‘may be seen about noon, sailing heavily through the air in a right line
towards the trees surrounding the openings in the forest.’? The strong bill and powerful
claws show that the bird is well adapted for the capture of insects and disinterring them
from their subterranean hiding-places, as well as for eating the various hard-shelled fruits on
which it partly subsists. In color the Benteot appears at a little distance to be nearly black,
but on a close approach its plumage is seen to be a very dark and rather dull green, “shot”
plentifully with a deeper hue of bronze.
286 THE WANDERING PIE.
ANOTHER and more beautiful member of this group is an Asiatic bird, very com-
mon in the naturalist’s shop and in glass cases, and known by the popular and very
appropriate name of the ‘‘ Wan-
DERING PIE.”’
This bird is a native of the
Himalayas, and is found in some
numbers spread over a large part
of India. It is called the Wander-
ing Pie on account of its habit of
wandering over a very large extent
of country, travelling from piace to
place and finding its food as it best
may, after the fashion cf a mendi-
cant friar. This custom is quite
epposed to the general habits of the
Pies, who are remarkable for their
attachment to definite localities, and |
can generally be found wherever the
observer has discovered the partic-
ular spot which they have selected
for their home. Mr. Gould sug-
gests that its wandering habit may
be occasioned by the necessity for wanpertne piE—Denarocitiarufa. 7
obtaining subsistence, the Wander-
ing Pie feeding more exclusively on fruits and other vege-
table nutriment than is generally the case with the Crow
tribe, and being therefore forced to range over a large
extent of land in search of its food. Indeed, the short legs
and very jong tail of this species quite unfit it for seeking
its living on the ground, and clearly point out its arboreal
habits.
The shape of this species is very remarkable, on ac-
count of the greatly elongated and elegantly shaped tail,
which is colored in a manner equally bold with its form.
The general color of this bird is blackish-gray upon the
upper parts, warming into cinnamon upon the back. The
quill-feathers of the wings are jetty-black, the wings them-
selves gray, and the tail-feathers gray, with a large, bold
bar of black at their extremities. The under surface of
the bird is light grayish-fawn. The two central feathers
of the tail are extremely long, and the others are grad-
uated in a manner which is well exemplified in the accom-
panying illustration. Although it appears to be a rather large bird, the aspect is a deceptive
one, on account of the long tail, which is ten inches in length, the remainder of the head
and body being only six inches long.
GROUP OF RAVENS.
THE RAVEN. 287
TEE iv we “OR OW-sS:
WE now arrive at the true Crows, which, like the preceding group, have no tooth in the
upper mandible, but may be distinguished from them by the greater comparative length of
the wings.
THE first of these birds on our list is the celebrated RAvEN, our finest representative of
the family.
This truly handsome bird is spread over almost all portions of the habitable globe, finding
a livelihood wherever there are wide expanses of uncultivated ground, and only being driven
from its home by the advance of cultivation and the consequent inhabitance of the soil by
human beings. It isa solitary bird, living in the wildest district that it can find, and especially
preferring those that are intersected with hills. In such localities the Raven reigns supreme,
hardly the eagle himself daring to contest the supremacy with so powerful, crafty, and strong-
beaked a bird.
The food of the Raven is almost entirely of an animal nature, and there are few living
things which the Raven will not eat whenever it finds an opportunity of so doing. Worms,
grubs, caterpillars, and insects of all kinds are swallowed by hundreds, but the diet in which
the Raven most delights is dead carrion. In consequence of this taste, the Raven may be
found rather plentifully on the sheep-feeding grounds, where the flocks are of such immense
size that the bird is sure to find a sufficiency of food among the daily dead ; for its wings are
large and powerful, and its daily range of flight is so great, that many thousands of sheep pass |
daily under its ken, and it is tolerably sure in the course of the day to find at least one dead
sheep or lamb. Sometimes the Raven accelerates matters, for if it should find an unfortunate
sheep lying in a ditch, a misfortune to which these animals are especially prone, it is sure to
cause the speedy death of the poor creature by repeated attacks upon its eyes. Weakly or
ailing sheep are also favorite subjects with the Raven, who soon puts an end to their sufferings
by the strokes of his long and powerful beak. Even the larger cattle are not free from the
assaults of this voracious bird, which performs in every case the office of a vulture. ~
So strongly is the desire for attacking wounded or dying animals implanted in the breast
of the Raven, that, according to Mudie, the best method of attracting one of these birds within
gunshot is to He on the back on some exposed part of a hill, with the gun concealed and close
at hand. It is needful to remain perfectly quiet, because if there is the slightest sign of life
the Raven will not approach, for, as Mudie rather quaintly observes, ‘She is shy of man and
of all large animals in nature ; because, though glad to find others carrion, or to make carrion
of them if he can do it with impunity, he takes good care that none shall make carrion of
him.” Jt is equally needful to watch carefully and not to be overcome by sleep, as the first
indication of the Raven’s approach would to a certainty be the loss of an eye.
‘*But if you lie on your back,’’ says Mudie, ‘‘ he will come you know not whence, and
hovering round you on slow wing, examine you from all points. If you do not stir, he will
drop down at a little distance, and begin to hop in an échellon fashion, bringing his shoulders
forward alternately, after a few hops on each line of the zigzag. Sometimes he will utter his
‘cruck-cruck,’ and pause to see if that makes you stir, and if it does not, he will accelerate
his advance.”
Sheep and cattle do not, however, form the whole of a Raven’s diet, for besides the insects
which have already been mentioned, this bird eats mice, rabbits, birds of various kinds, includ-
ing young partridges and pheasants, and will invade the farm-yard when pressed by hunger,
and carry off the young poultry. Even the hedgehog falls a victim to the Raven, who cares
nothing for his spiked armor, but drives his sharp bill through the poor beast, tears away the
prickly skin, and devours the carcase at his leisure. In Northern America, and indeed in
many .other countries, the Raven is a regular attendant on the hunters, and follows them for
the purpose of feeding upon the offal of the creatures which they kill.
288 HABITS OF THH RAVEN.
The tongue of the Raven is rather curiouslygformed, being broad, flat, covered with a
horny kind of shield, and deeply cleft at the extremity. At the root are four rather large
projections or spines, the points being directed backwards. ‘The use of these spines is not
known, though Mr, Buckland suggests that they may be for the purpose of preventing the
food from being thrown back into the mouth, I do not, however, think that this suggestion
is sufficient, as there is no reason why the Raven should regurgitate its food more than other
birds which feed on similar substances. If the bird were in the habit of eating living prey,
such as lizards and other reptiles which retain life for a considerable period and after consid-
evable injuries, this idea might be a good one, but as the Raven always kills its prey before
eating it, the theory will not hold its ground,
The cunning of the Raven is proverbial, and anecdotes of its extraordinary intellectual
powers abound in various works.’ From the great mass of these stories [ can only select one
or two which are not generally known.
One of these birds struck up a great friendship for a terrier dog belonging to the Jandlord
of an inn, and carried his friendship so faras to accompany his ally in little hunting expedi-
tions, In these affairs the two comrades used to kill an astonishing number of hares, rabbits,
and other game, each taking his own share of the work. As soon as they came to a covert,
the Raven would station himself outside, while the dog would enter the covert and drive out
the haves from their concealment, taking care to send them in the direction of the watchful
bird, On his part the Raven always posted himself close to one of the outlets, and as soon as
any living creature passed within reach, he would pounce upon it, and either destroy it at once
or wait until the dog came to his assistance, when by their united efforts the prey was soon
killed. Rat-hunting was a favorite sport of these strange allies, and if was said by those
who witnessed their proceedings, that the Raven was even more useful than a ferret would
have been.
Another and very amusing aneedote of the Raven and its cunning is related by Captain
MeClure, the well-known Arctic voyager. Speaking of the behavior of various birds and
beasts during the winter, he remarks that the Raven is the hardiest of the feathered tribe, and.
even in the depths of winter, when wine freezes within a yard ef the fire, the Raven may be
seen winging his way through the icy atmosphere and uttering his strange rough, croaking
ery, as unconcernedly as if the weather were soft and warm as an English spring. ‘Two
Ravens,’ he observes, “once established themselves as friends of the family in Mercer Bay,
living mainly by what little seraps the men might have thrown away after meal times.
“The ships dog, however, looked upon them as his especial perquisites, and exhibited
considerable energy in maintaining his rights against the Ravens, who nevertheless outwitted
fim ina way which amused every one. Observing that he appeared quite willing to make a
mouthful of their own sable persons, they used to throw themselves intentionally in his way
just as the mess-tins were being cleared out on the dust heap outside the ship. The dog would
immediately run at them, and they would just fly a few yards; the doe then made another
run, and again they would appear to escape him but by an inch, and so on, until they had
tempted and provoked him to the shore a considerable distance off. Then the Ravens would
make a direct fight for the ship, and had generally done good execution before the mortified-
looking dog detected the imposition that had been practised pon him, and rushed back agaim.,”’
Not long ago, T saw a Raven in a great brewery, holding a large sausage in his beak, and
flapping about the yard just in front of one of the draymen, to whom the stolen dainty had
evidently belonged, The bird would not trouble itself to make its escape, but in the most
provoking manner hopped along just a yard or so before its pursuer, and from all appearance
as likely to carry on the same game for an hour or two; for while Twas sitting, the relative
positions of the parties did not alter in the least. Tf! the man stopped, the bird stopped too,
and began to make such evident preparations for swallowing the sausage that the drayman
rushed at it again, and again the bird would just flap a yard or two in advance,
In captivity the Raven isa most amusing, although a terribly mischievous creature, and
displays a talent for the invention of misehief which can only be equalled by its rapidity of
execution and audacity of demeanor, Except when placed in an inclosed yard where there is
THE COMMON CROW. 289
nothing that is capable of damage, a single Raven will get through more mischief in one hour
than a posse of boys in twelve ; and as he always seems to imagine himself engaged in the per-
formance of some extremely exemplary duty, and works his wicked will as methodically as if
he had been regularly trained to the task and very well paid for it, he excites no small amount
of rage on the part of the aggrieved person. I have personally known several tame Ravens,
but as I have already recorded their performances elsewhere, I shall not here repeat the story
of their ill deeds.
The Raven is an excellent linguist, acquiring the art of conversation with wonderful
rapidity, and retaining with a singularly powerful memory many sounds which it has once
learned. Whole sentences are acquired by this strange bird, and repeated with great accuracy
of intonation, the voice being a good imitation of human speech, but always sounding as if
spoken from behind a thick woollen wrapper. So remarkable is the cunning of this bird, and
so weird-like its aspect, that the ancient Scandinavians had good cause for the trembling
respect which they paid to the sullen ‘‘ Bird of Odin.’? Their idea of the Raven was, that it
was accustomed to watch for Odin’s return every evening, and, perched upon his shoulder, to
relate all the incidents that had taken place on earth within its ken.
As the bird is so crafty, its capture would seem to be a very difficult business, and the
number of tame Ravens now existing in England seems to be almost remarkable. ‘Ihe fact is,
that while still unfledged the young ravens have a strange habit of falling out of their nests,
and flapping their wings heavily to the ground. Next morning they are found by the shep-
herds, sitting croaking on the ground beneath their former homes, and are then captured and
taken away with comparative ease. Even in this case, however, to secure one of the young
Ravens is no slight task, for, on seeing that escape is impossible, it turns boldly to bay, and
makes such fierce attacks with its powerful beak that it must be enveloped ina cloth or a
plaid before it can safely be held. It is remarkable that when a Raven makes its assault it
does not merely peck with its beak, but flings its whole weight upon the blow.
The Raven is also celebrated for its longevity, many instances being known where it has
attained the age of seventy or eighty years, without losing one jot of its activity, or the
fading of one spark from its eyes. What may be the duration of a Raven’s life in its wild
state is quite unknown.
The color of the Raven isa uniform blue-black, with green reflections in certain lights.
The female is always larger than her mate.
The Raven (Corvus corax carnivorus). On the steep and almost inaccessible cliffs of
Grand Menan a few Ravens breed, but none are seen elsewhere, excepting in the Northwest.
Around Niagara Ravens are rather common. It is observed than where these birds abound
the Crows are not seen. This bird is regarded as identical with the European species.
A species, found in Florida, having the under side of the feathers a pure white, is called
the White-necked Crow.
Tur Common Crow (Corvus frugivorus) is abundant throughout America to the Mis-
souri region, and is also common on the California coast. It is not found on the high central
plains. In New England, during mild winters, it is resident through the year. The Crow is
eminently gregarious.
Wilson says: ‘‘ Towards the close of summer the parent Crows, with their new families,
forsaking their solitary lodgings, collect together as if by previous agreement, when evening
approaches. About an hour before sunset they are observed flying, in Indian file, in one direc-
tion, at a short height above the trees, silent and steady, keeping the general curvature of the
ground, continuing to pass sometimes until after sunset, so that the whole line of march would
extend several miles. This circumstance, so familiar and picturesque, has not been overlooked
by the poets in their description of a rural evening. Burns ina single line has finely sketched it:
««The blackening trains of Crows to their repose.’”
The Crow feeds equally well on grain and insect food, reptiles and shell-tish. It has a
habit of mounting to a certain height, and dropping any shell-fish it cannot break otherwise,
Vou. I.—87.
290 THE CARRION CROW.
upon the rocks. Their carnivorous propensity sometimes prompts them to seize upon yonng
fowl and eggs. A variety rather smaller, called the Florida Crow, is known.
THE common CARRION Crow, so plentiful in many countries, much resembles in habits
and appearance the bird which has just been described, and may almost be reckoned as a
miniature raven.
In many of its customs the crow is very raven-like, especially in its love for carrion, and
its propensity for attacking the eyes of any dead or dying animal. Like the raven, it has
been known to attack game of various kinds, although its inferior size forces it to call to its
assistance the aid of one or more of its fellows before it can successfully cope with the larger
creatures. Rabbits and hares are frequently the prey of this bird, which pounces on them as
they steal abroad to feed, and while they are young is able to kill and carry them off without
difficulty. The Crow also eats reptiles of various sorts, frogs and lizards being common
dainties, and is a confirmed plunderer of other birds’ nests, even carrying away the eges of
game and poultry by the simple device of driving the beak through them and flying away
with them thus impaled. Even the large egg of the duck has thus been stolen by the Crow.
Sometimes it goes to feed on the seashore, and there finds plenty of food among the crabs,
shrimps, and shells that are found near low-water mark, and ingeniously cracks the harder
shelled creatures by flying with them to a great height and letting them fall upon a con-
venient rock.
The Crow, unlike the rook, is not a gregarious bird, being generally seen either single or
in pairs, or at the most only in little bands of four or five, consisting of the parents and their
children. In the autumn evenings, however, they assemble in bands of ten or twelve before
going to roost, and make a wonderful chattering, as if comparing notes of the events which
have occurred during the day, and communicating to each other their latest experiences, for
the benefit of the rising generation.
The nest of the Crow is invariably placed on some tree remote from the habitations of other
birds, and is a structure of considerable dimensions, and very conspicuous at a distance. It is
always fixed upon one of the topmost branches, so that to obtain the eggs safely requires a steady
head, a practised foot, and a ready hand, the uncultivated germs of the professional acrobat.
Generally the nest is rather loosely constructed, and more saucer than cup-shaped ; but [I
remember an instance where it was very firmly made and quite deep. In a little copse that
was planted along one side of a valley, an oak-tree had sprung up about half-way down the
declivity, and, as is the custom with trees in such situations, had grown inclining towards the
somewhat abrupt angle formed by the shape of the ground on which it stood. As there had
been formerly many other trees around it, it had been drawn up like a maypole, being long,
slender, and swinging about with every breeze. The tree was not more than forty feet high ;
but as it was bent in the middle and bowed over the valley, its summit was nearly a hundred
feet from the ground below.
It was with the greatest difficulty that I reached the nest, for the tree yielded like a
carter’s whip with my weight, although I could not approach nearer than arm’s length to
the nest, and after three attempts I was finally baffled in my endeavor to obtain the eggs.
Although the top of the tree was then nearly level with the horizon, and swinging about
most alarmingly in the wind that rushed through the valley, not an egg was thrown out of
its place, and the nest was so much deeper than ordinary, that I could not succeed in with-
drawing the eggs from their cradle. It seems an easy matter to take eggs out of a nest ; but
if the reader will bear in mind that when the slender tree-stem to which one is clinging bends
nearly double with one’s weight, that the elasticity of the wood dances one up and down
through an are of four or five feet, and that a strong wind is at the same time acting on the
foliage of the tree and swaying it from side to side, and that there is a clear fall of some hun-
dred feet below, he will comprehend that it is not so simple a matter to spare a hand long
enough to take an egg from a rather distant spot, and to do so in so delicate a manner that
the ege remains unbroken.
The materials of which the Crow’s nest is made are very various, but always consist of a
THE ROOK. 291
foundation of sticks, upon which the softer substances are laid. The interior of the nest is
made of grasses, fibrous roots, the hair of cows and horses, which the Crow mostly obtains
from trees and posts where the cattle are in the habit of rubbing themselves, mosses, and
wool. The eggs are extremely variable, or rather individual, in their markings, and even in
their size, those in my own collection being so different from each other that an inexperienced
person would set them down as belonging to different species. The Crow very seldom uses
the same nest for a second breeding season, although it often repairs to the same locality year
after year. Once or twice it has been known to lay its eggs on the same foundation as it had
employed during the previous season, but in general it pulls the former nest to pieces, and
constructs a fresh one on its site.
This bird is remarkable for its attachment to its mate and young, far surpassing the fawn
and turtle-dove in matrimonial courtesy.
The Somali Arabs bear a deadly hatred towards the Crow, and kill it whenever they meet
with it. The origin of their detestation is as follows: During the flight of Mohammed from
his enemies, he hid himself in a cave, where he was perceived by the Crow, at that time a
light-plumaged bird, who, when it saw the pursuers approach the spot, sat over Mohammed’s
hiding-place, and screamed, ‘‘Ghar! ghar!” 7. e., ‘Cave! cave!” so as to indicate the place
of concealment. His enemies, however, did not understand the bird, and passed on, and
Mohammed, when he came out of the cave, clothed the Crow in perpetual black, and ordered
it to ery “‘ghar’’ as long as Crows should live. When they have killed a Crow, the Arabs
remove the gall, employing it for the manufacture of collyrium, or dye for the eyelids.
The color of the Crow is a uniform blue-black, like that of the raven, but varieties are
known in which the feathers have been pied or even cream-white.
THe most familiar of all the Corvide is the common Rook, a bird which has attached
itself to the habitations of mankind, and, in course of time, has partially domesticated itself
in his dominions.
The Rook may claim the doubtful honor of having originated two of the most pertinacious
and persistent ornithological controversies on record. The subject of the first is its conduct
towards man—whether it is to be looked upon as a feathered benefactor, or must be ranked
among the ‘‘vermin.”? This dispute has now been carried on for many years, and finds as
many and as eager advocates on both sides of the question as on the day on which it was
started. The second controversy is quite as fierce as the former, and has lately revived with
tenfold vigor, the subject being the cause and effect of the naked white skin which is found at
the base of the Rook’s beak. Before proceeding further, we will just say a word or two on
these interesting discussions.
Firstly, as to the relation in which the Rook stands to mankind with regard to its conduct.
It is thought by many persons of practical experience that the Rook is one of the greatest
enemies to the farmer, eating up his grain as soon as planted, pecking up his potatoes and
devouring all the ‘‘sets,’’ boring holes in his turnips, and altogether doing exceeding mischief
in the fields. The farmer, therefore, detests the ‘‘blackening train’? of Rooks with a very
heartfelt hatred, and endeavors by all kinds of contrivances, such as scarecrows, boys with
noisy clappers, and loud voices, or even the gibbeted dead bodies of slaughtered Rooks,
to keep them off his grounds. Whenever he can find a chance he shoots them, but the bird is
so cautious that very few Rooks fall victims to the agricultural gun. The gamekeepers
also hate the Rook as a persecutor of their charge, and in truth the Rooks have been actually
seen engaged in the destruction of young partridges, and one of them was shot with the prey
still in its beak.
Moreover, the Rook has been seen to attack a hen pheasant while sitting on her eggs,
to pull the feathers out of the mother bird, and to destroy her eggs, having evidently been
attracted to the spot by the large bunch of hay-grass amid which the nest had been placed,
and which had been left standing by the mowers in order to afford a shelter to the poor bird.
So much for the one side of the question ; we will now proceed to view the Rook from a
more favorable point of view. ;
292 USE OF THE ROOK.
The advocates of this bird (of whom I confess myself to be one) do not deny that the Rook
is on occasions somewhat of a brigand, and that it has small scruples when pressed by
hunger in eating eggs or the young of other birds. Also they fully admit that it pulls up
a great number of green corn-blades almost as soon as they show their emerald tops above the
dark soil, that it digs up the potatoes, and throws the fragments about the ground, eating no
small number of them, and that it often bores a turnip so full of holes that it pines away and
dies. But although granting thus much, yet they think the Rook a most beneficial bird to the
agriculturist.
For its depredations on game they attempt no excuse, but only offer an apology on
the ground that the affair is very rare, and that condonation may be granted to the bird in
consideration of the great services rendered in other parts of the year. They aver that its
object in pulling up the young corn-sprouts is not so much to eat the corn as to devour
that pest of the farmer, the terrible wireworm, which lurks at the root of the corn, and infal-
libly destroys every plant which it has once attacked. That such has been the case may often
be seen by the yellow and unhealthy aspect of the destroyed blades which are left scattered on
the ground after the extraction of the wireworm. Potatoes again are attacked by numerous
insect foes, and it is to eat these that the Rook unearths the ‘‘sets.’’ It is true that bits
of potato have been found in the Rook’s crop, but in all probability they have been casually
eaten together with the insects that are lurking within. The same remark may be made
of the turnips.
Besides performing these services, the Rook saves acres of grass annually from being
destroyed by the grub of the common cockchaffer beetle. The grub or larva of this insect
is one of the most destructive foes to grass lands, feeding upon the roots and shearing
them very nearly level with the surface of the ground by means of its scissor-like jaws.
So destructive are these insects, and so complete are their ravages, that a person has been able
to take in his hands the turf under which they had been living and to roll it up as if
it had been cut with a spade. In one place, the grubs were so numerous that they were
counted by the bushel. When it is remembered that this creature lives for three years under-
ground, is furnished with a huge stomach, a wonderful capability of digestion, and a formi-
dable cutting apparatus for obtaining its food, the services of the Rook in destroying it may be
better imagined. Moreover, the beetle is just as destructive as the grub, settling upon trees
and fairly stripping them of their leaves. I have dissected many of these grubs, and always
found their stomachs distended to the utmost with a mixture of black earth and vegetable matter.
Again when the ploughman is turning up the soil, how common, or rather how invariable,
a sight it is to see the Rooks settling around him, alighting in the furrow which he makes, and
seizing the grubs and worms as they are turned up by the share. Not a single worm, grub, or
other insect escapes the keen eye and ready bill of this useful bird. Some idea of the extensive
character of its operations may be formed from the following remarks by Mr. Simeon, in his
interesting work, entitled ‘‘ Stray Notes on Fishing and Natural History ”’:—
‘*T was walking one day with a gentleman on his home farm, when we observed the grass
on about an acre of meadow land to be so completely rooted up and scarified that he took it
for granted it had been done under the bailiffs direction to clear it from moss, and on arriving
at the farm, inquired whether such was not the case. The answer was, however, ‘Oh, no, siz,
we have not been at work there at all; it’s the Rooks done all that.’ The mistake was a very
natural one, for though I have often seen places where grass has been pulled up by Rooks,
yet I never saw such clean and wholesale work done by them as on this occasion. It could not
apparently have been executed more systematically or perfectly by the most elaborate
‘scarifier’ that Croskill or Ransome could turn out.
‘*On examining the spot afterwards, I found that the object of the Rooks’ researches had
doubtless been a small white grub, numbers of which still remained in the ground a short dis-
tance below the surface. In the following spring I noticed that the part of the field where
this had taken place was densely covered with cowslips, much more so than the rest of it.
Possibly the roots of these plants may have been the proper food for the grubs, and therefore
selected by the parent insect as receptacles for her eggs.”’
WHITE FOREHEAD OF THE ROOK. 293
The Rook also feeds upon berries and various fruits, being especially fond of oak-nuts,
and having a curious habit of burying them in the earth before eating them, by which means,
no doubt, many a noble oak-tree is planted. It also eats walnuts, and is fond of driving
its bill through them and so taking them from the tree. The cones of the Scotch fir are also
favorite food with the Rook, which seizes them in its beak, and tries to pull them from
the bough by main force ; but if it should fail in this attempt, it drags the branch forcibly
upwards, and then suddenly releases it, so as to jerk the cones from their stems by the
recoil. ;
The practice of terrifying Rooks by means of scarecrows has already been mentioned,
together with its usual failure. Even the bodies of slaughtered Rooks suspended from sticks
have but little effect on these audacious birds, who may be seen very unconcernedly searching
below the carcases for the beetles and other carrion-eating insects that are always found in
such localities. The surest way to frighten the Rooks by means of dead comrades is not to
hang them up in a position which every Rook knows is not likely to be assumed by any of its
friends, and therefore conveys no intimation of alarm to its logical mind, but to lay them flat
upon the earth with outstretched neck and spread wings as if they had fallen dead from some-
thing evil in the locality. Another useful method is to post a number of sticks in douile rows
and connect them with each other by strings tied in zigzag fashion, when it will be found that
the Rooks are so suspicious of a trap, that they will not venture to enter any of the angles so
formed.
The second subject of controversy is the presence of a bare white skin upon the forehead
of the adult Rook and the base of its neck, those portions being clothed with feathers during
the bird’s youth.
The general opinion was that the bird, by constantly delving in the soil, wore off all the
feathers, only leaving the white skin behind. This solution of the problem was current for a
long time, until some observer remarked that the base of the bill showed no particular marks
of hard wear ; that the bald space extended behind the line of the eyes, so that the bird could
not possibly plunge its beak to so great a depth ; that the white skin was evidently an inten-
tional arrangement, and was too well defined at the edges to have been produced by the
operation of digging, and must in that case always vary with the soil and the kind of food;
moreover, there are many other birds which have bald spaces on their persons, such as the
vultures and the turkey, and that in their case no theory of friction is required by which the
phenomenon can be accounted for.
Matters having proceeded thus far, dissection was next employed, and it was observed
that although feather bulbs could be found within the white skin, they were shrivelled and
useless for the production of feathers. Experiments were then tried, wherein sundry young
Rooks were. kept caged, and denied access to any earth or mouldy substances; and in every
case except one (and probably in that case also when the bird had attained maturity) the
feathers with which the base of the back were covered fell off in the course of moulting, and
were never replaced by fresh plumage. Every ornithologist Knows well that many birds when
young are distinguished by feathery or hairy tufts, as in the case of the Leatherhead, described
on page 160 of this work, which, when young, is decorated with a tuft of plumy hair upon its
head ; but after the moult, loses its cranial ornament. Mr. Simeon pertinently remarks, in
allusion to this controversy, that a similar phenomenon may be seen in the human race, the
forehead of a baby being often covered with fine downy hairs, which fall off as the child
grows ; and that in the elephants of Ceylon, the young is often clothed with a thick woolly
fur over its head and fore parts when born, but loses its covering as it approaches maturity.
Altogether it seems that those who advocate the naturally bare forehead and beak have the
best of the argument.
The habits of the Rook are very interesting, and easily watched. Its extreme caution is
very remarkable, when combined with its attachment to human homes.