BIOLOQt

LIBRARY

G

37

BIRDS OF PARADISE.

C ASSELL'S

NATURAL HISTORY

EDITED BY

P. MARTIN DUNCAN M.B. (LOND.) F.R.S. F.G.S.

PaOFESSOR OF GEOLOGY IN AND HONORARY FELLOW OF KING'S COLLEGE LONDON
CORRESPONDENT OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES PHILADELPHIA

YOL. IV.

ILL USTRATED

CASSELL AND COMPANY LIMITED

LONDON PARIS & MELBOURNE

1894

ALL BIGHTS RESERVED

AYES.

R. BOWDLER SHARPE, LL.D., F.L.S., F.Z.S.

BEPTILIA.

PROFESSOR P. MARTIN DUNCAN, M.B. (L<m>.), F.R.S., F.G.S., ETC

AMPHIBIA.

PROFESSOR P. MARTIN DUNCAN, M.B. (LOND.), F.R.S., F.G.S., ETC.

. ...

.*. •• « •

• • • . - • •

* •„ ' •'

: •• . :• '-• ' '.
* • . . .,.*«•

c o :N • T E ^ T s.

ORDER III.— PASSERIFORMES— THE PERCHING BIRDS.
CHAPTER I.

GROWS. PAGE

Order of Perchin<* Birds largest of all Orders — Chief Distinguishing Features — Two Great Sections of Passerine
Birds— Distribution- SECTION A CR OMYODI— Classification by Wing— Sub-order TURDIFORMES— THE
CROWS — Distribution— THE COMMON ROOK — Appearance —Young Rook — Bare Face— Distribution — Breeding
Habits — Attachment to Nesting-places, or ' ' Rookeries "—Is it a Useful Bird ? — Its Vigorous Appetite—
THE TRUE RAVENS — Distribution — THE COMMON RAVEN — Ravens of the Old and New World — Distribution —
Habits — His After-Dinner Talk — THE COMMON JACKDAW — Social Character — Cleverness — Appearance — Habitat —
Curious instance of Daubing its Eggs — THE HOODED CROW — Distribution— A: Migration — Heligoland and its
Inhabitants — THE CARRION CROW — Distribution — Inter-breeding with the Hooded Crow — Mr. Lumsden's Note
on the Subject — Mr. Seebohm's Note on the Birds in Eastern Siberia — Habits — THE INDIAN GREY-NECKED CROW —
Captain Vincent Legge's Account of its Habits — THE COMMON MAGPIE — Mischievous Habits — Familiarity —
Instances of Nesting in Gooseberry Bushes— Appearance— THE TREE PIES— THE INDIAN TREE PIE — THE
COMMON JAY— Its Bad Character— As a Pet— Appearance— THE BLUE JAYS— THE COMMON BLUE JAYS— THE
LONG-TAILED BLUE JAYS— THE BARE-NECKED CROW — THE HUIA, OR NEW ZEALAND WOOD CROW — Curious
Form— Dr. Buller's Account — Its Habitat — Rarity — Disposition — How Specimens were Caught — Diet — How they
Searched for Food — Second Sub-family of the Crows— Choughs . . 1

CHAPTER II.

BIRDS OF PARADISE — ORIOLES — DRONGOS — WOOD SHRIKES — CUCKOO SHRIKES — FLYCATCHERS.

THE BIRDS OF PARADISE— Variety of Plumage— Gaudily dressed Crows— Points in -which they Differ from the
Crows — Two Sub-families—Mr. Wallace's Account of their Habits — Their History— The Great Bird of Paradise —
The Smaller Bird of Paradise— Dr. Beccari on the Birds of Paradise of the Arfaks— THE ORIOLES— THE
GOLDEN ORIOLE — Mr. Dresser's Description of its Habits — Size and Colour— THE DRONGOS— Distinctive
Features— The Marquis of Tweeddale's Definition of the Family— THE WOOD SHRIKES— Mr. Gould's Account
of the Pied Grallina— THE COMMON WOOD SHRIKE— THE CUCKOO SHRIKES— Habitat— Appearance— Mr.
Gould on the Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike— Dr. Jerdon on the Common Indian Species— THE FLYCATCHERS
—Characters — THE COMMON FLYCATCHER— Habits— THE FANTAILS — Mr. Gould's Account of the White-shafted
Fantail and the Black Fantail— THE PARADISE FLYCATCHERS— THE RESTLESS FLYCATCHER . . . . .21

CHAPTER III.

THE TRUE THRUSHES — THE WARBLERS THE BABBLING THRUSHES — THE WRENS THE BULBULS— THE BABBLERS THE

GRASS WARBLERS — THE AMERICAN WARBLERS — THE BUTCHER BIRDS — THE GREENLETS — THE TITMICE.

THE THRUSHES— Arrangement— First Sub-family —THE THRUSHES PROPER— Plumage of Young— Moulting of
Adults —THE TRUE THRUSHES— Distribution— THE SONG THRUSH — Migration — How the Heligolanders Catch
them — Plans of Capture in Italy— Macgillivray's Description of the Bird in the Hebrides— Its Wonderful Song— Its
Distribution — Flight — Food — Pairing — Nest — Plumage— THE BLACKBIRD— Macgillivray's Account of its Habits,
Food, Flight, Pairing, and Song— Mr. Weir's Conjecture as to the Language of Birds' Song— Plumage— THE
WARBLERS — Plumage of Young and Adult— THE COMMON NIGHTINGALE— Mr. Dresser's Account of the Species —
Disposition— Song— Food— Habits— THE BABBLING THRUSHES— Characters— THE WRENS— THE COMMON
WREN— Professor Newton's Description of the Hunting of the Wren— The Wren's Nest, as Described by Mr.
Macgillivray — Colour and Size of Bird — THE BULBULS— Characters — Where Found— Dr. Jerdon on the Madras
Bulbul— Captain Legge's Account of the Habits of the Species— THE TRUE BABBLERS— THE BUSH BABBLERS—
Canon Tristram's Description of their Habits — THE BOWER BIRDS— THE REGENT BIRD— Mr. Gould on its Habits
— Its "Bower" described— THE GRASS WARBLERS — THE COMMON FANTAIL WARBLER — Its Nest— How it is Con-
structed—Captain Legge's and Mr. Hume's Notes on the Subject— Habits of the African Species — Colour and Size
of the Bird— THE TAILOR BIRD— Distribution— Call— Nest— THE AMERICAN BABBLERS— THE THRASHERS—
Characters— The Brown Thrasher— Habits — Song — Disposition — Nest — THE MOCKING BIRDS— Audubon's
Account of the Bird— His Love-Song— His Devotion to his Mate— The Young Birds— Nest— Eggs— Their Chief
Enemies— Flight— Call— THE SHRIKES, OR BUTCHER BIRDS— Distinctive Features— The Great Grey
Shrike— " Shrike's Larder "—Pertinacity in the Chase— Harsh Note— Colour and Size-THE GREENLETS—
Mr. Gosse on the Jamaican Species— Their Peculiar Call— THE TITMICE— Characters— Sub-families— THE
GREAT TITMOUSE, OR OX-EYE— Its Note— Its Nest— Colour and Size— The Long-tailed Titmouse— Their
Beautiful Nest— Colour and Size— THE NUTHATCHES— Peculiar Nest— Habits— Size and Colour . 35

CHAPTER IV.

CREEPERS — HONEY-EATERS PIPITS AND WAGTAILS THE AMERICAN CREEPERS — THE AMERICAN WARBLERS,

THE CREEPERS— Small Order— Characteristics— THE COMMON CREEPER— Its Call- note— Macgillivray's Account of
its Habits— Nest and Eggs— THE HONEY-EATERS— Distinctive Features— THE TRUE HONEY-EATERS— THE
WARTY-FACED HONEY-EATER— Mr. Gould's Description of the Species— THE SUN-BIRDS— Distribution— Mr.
Keulemans' Account of their Habits— Canon Tristram on the Jericho Sun-bird— THE SECOND SUB-
ORDER OF THE PASSERIFORMES — THE FRINGILLIFORMES, OR FINCH-LIKE BIRDS
—Distinctive Features— WAGTAILS AND PIPITS - Characteristics— THE PIED WAGTAIL— Essentially English
Bird- -Victimised by Cuckoos— Macgillivray's Account of the Wagtail's Habits— Story of a Season Ticket— THE
AMERICAN CREEPERS— Difference between the Creepers of the Old and of the New World— THE BANANA
QUIT— THE AMERICAN WARBLERS— Compared with their Old World Cousins— THE SUMMER YELLOW BIRD— Dr.
Brewer's Account of its Habits , 71

265340

iv NATURAL HISTORY.

CHAPTER V.

THE FLOWER-PECKERS THE CHATTERERS — THE SWALLOWS THE TAXAGERS THE TRUE FINCHES THE HANG-NESTS.

THE FLOWER-PECKERS— The Bornean Species -THE AUSTRALIAN FLOWER-PECKER— THE CHATTERERS—
Characters— THE BOHEMIAN WAXWING, OR WAXEN CHATTERER— Superstitions regarding it— Professor Newton's
Account of Mr. Wolley's Discovery of its Nest and Eggs — Description of the Bird — THE SWALLOWS —
Professor Garrod's Explanation of the Grounds for Placing Swallows and Swifts in Separate Orders— THE
HOUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS— THE SMOOTH-WINGED SWALLOWS— The Three English Species— THE COMMON-
SWALLOW — Harbinger of Summer— Buffon's Anecdote — Migrant — Usefulness — Nest — THE TANAGERS —
Insect Eaters — Brilliant Plumage— Species — THE SCARLET TANAGER — Dr. Brewer's Account of its Habits —
THE TRUE FINCHES— The Two Sections— Palate Characters— Nest of Chaffinch— Nesting of Bullfinch-
Palate and Bill Characters in Buntings — THE CROSSBILLS — Habits— Curiously-formed Bills— Longfellow's
"Legend of the Crossbill "—THE HANG-NESTS— The Three Sub-Families — Habits of the Cow-bird — THE
BALTIMORE ORIOLE — Dr. Brewer's Description of its Habits — THE BOAT-TAIL ,84

CHAPTER Arl.

STARLING-LIKE BIRDS AND SONGLESS BIRDS.

THE STIIRNIFORMES, OR STARLING-LIKE BIRDS— Characters— THE WEAVER BIRDS- Their Extra-
ordinary Nests — Dr. Jerdon's Account of their Habits — Construction of the Nest — Performances of Trained
Bayas— THE STARLINGS— Characters— THE COMMON STARLING — Gregarious Habits— THE AFRICAN BEEF-EATER
—Their Services to Cattle-THE WOOD SWALLOWS— Mr. Gould's Account of their Habits— THE LARKS
—Distinctive Features— Their Habits— Song— THE MESOMYODI, OR SONGLESS BIRDS-Mostly of the
New World— THE LYRE BIRDS-THE BUSH-WRENS— THE SPINE-TAILS— THE OVEN BIRD— THE
AMERICAN ANT-THRUSHES -THE OLD WORLD ANT-THRUSHES -THE TYRANT BIRDS— THE
KINGBIRD— Dr. Brewer's Account of its Habits— THE AMERICAN CHATTERERS— THE COCK OF THE ROCK—
THE BELL BIRD— THE UMBRELLA BIRD— THE MANAKINS— THE BROADBILLS— THE PLANT-CUTTERS
—ORDER OF PIGEONS— Difference between Pigeons and Game-birds— Features— THE DODOS— Now
Extinct— History— THE SOLITAIRE— Also Extinct— THE TOOTH-BILLED PIGEON— THE COLUMBID^E, OR TRUE
PIGEONS— Four Divisions— THE FRUIT PIGEONS— THE TRUE DOVES— THE PASSENGER PIGEON— Its Long-
continued Flights— THE BKONZE- WINGS— THE CROWNED PIGEONS 101

CHAPTER VII.

THE GAME-BIRDS.

GALLINJE, GAME-BIRDS— Characteristics- THE CURASSOWS— The Sub-families— Distinctive Features-
Prof. Sumichrast on the Hocco and Penelopes —THE HOATZINS— THE PHEASANTS— THE PEACOCKS— Their
Gorgeous Plumage — The so-called Tail— Is the Peacock vain ? -Dr. Jerdon's Account of the Habits of the Peafowl
— The Peacock Pheasants — The Argus Pheasants — THE TRUE PHEASANTS — Description of the Habits of the Monaul,
or Impeyan Pheasant — Coloration of Bird— Habits of the English Species of True Pheasant— Reeves's Pheasant
—THE GUINEA FOWLS— Distinctive Features— THE TURKEYS— Characters— Species — Dr. Brewer's Account of
the Habist of the Wild Turkey— Migration of Turkeys— THE GROUSE AND PARTRIDGES— THE GROUSE
—The Capercailzie — The Black Cock— The Hazel Grouse— The Ptarmigan — Its Summer, Autumn, and Winter
Plumage — The Willow Grouse — THE PARTRIDGES — Distribution— The Francolins — The American Partridges —
The Californian Quail— The Common Partridge— The Snow Partridges— THE QUAIL— THE SAND-GROUSE—
THE HEMIPODES— THE MEGAPODES— Their Large Feet— Distribution— Members of the Family— Brush-
Turkey — Mr. Wallace's Account of the Maleo — Cuming's Megapode — Mr. Motley's History of the Species —
Gould's Description of the Habits of the Mound-raising Megapode of Australia — Moseley's Note on the
Incubation of the Megapodid* 128

CHAPTER VIII.

THE WADING BIRDS.

Chief Characters of a Wading Bird— General Habits— THE RAILS— Distinctive Features— THE JACANAS— Foot-
Distribution — The Pheasant-tailed Jacana — THE TRUE RAILS AND CRAKES— Characteristics — The Water Rail —
The Corn-crake, or Land Rail — THE WATER HENS — The Blue Water Hens — The Common Water Hen, or Moor
Hen — Its Habits — Its Nest— Its Young— Its Bad Character — THE COOTS— Foot Characters — Appearance — Nest
and Eggs— THE FINFOOTS— THE SNIPES— Distinctive Features— THE CURLEWS— Their Curved Bill— The
Red-billed Curlew — The Painted Snipes — Anomaly about the Females — The Curlews— THE SANDPIPERS -The
Collector's Quest — Summer Snipes — Terns — Godwits — Plover Acting as Sentinel — The Dunlin — The Curlew
Sandpiper— The Knot— The Ruff— THE PHALAROPES— THE STILTS, OR STILT PLOVERS— The Avocet— The
Stilts— THE PLOVERS— THE TURNSTONES— THE TRUE PLOVERS— The Lapwing, or "Pee-wit "—Mr. Seebohm's
Account of the Habits of the Grey Plover — Golden Plovers — Sand Plovers— THE OYSTER-CATCHERS — THE
BUSTARDS— Characters— The Thick-knee, or Stone Curlew— The Coursers— Dr. Brehm's Account of the
Habits of the Great Bustard— THE CRANES— The Kagu— The Sun Bittern— THE COMMON CRANE— Stories of
Von Seyffertitz's Tame Crane— THE TRUMPETERS 156

CHAPTER IX.

THE HERONS — THE GEESE AND WILD FOWL — THE PELICANS — THE SEA-BIRDS.

THE HERONS— Characters— THE TRUE HERONS— THE COMMON HERON— Mr. Harting's Account of its Habits-
Heronries — Egrets — Hungarian Breeding-places — Feeding the Young — THE STORKS — The Umbre, or Brown
Stork— The Shoe-billed Stork— The Characteristic Bird of Central Africa— The White Stork— Protection
afforded them in Various Countries— The Adjutant— The Marabou— THE SPOONBILLS AND IBISES— THE
SPOONBILLS — Their Peculiar Bill— Habits — THE IBISES — Species — Dr. Brehm's Remarks on the Sacred Ibis —
THE FLAMINGOES— THE GEESE AND WILD FOWL— THE SCREAMERS— WILD FOWL —Characters— THE
GEESE — Dwarf Geese — Cereopsis Goose— Spur-winged Geese — Grey or Wild Goose — Sea Geese — Brent Goose
—THE SWANS— The Wild Swan— The Black Swan— THE DUCKS— The Wild Duck— The Mallard— SCOTERS-
EIDERS— MERGANSERS— THE STIFF-TAILED DUCKS— The Diving Ducks— THE PELICANS— THE FRIGATE
BIRDS— Habits— Visit to a Breeding-place— Domesticated— THE TROPIC BIRDS— THE PELICANS— The Common

CONTENTS. v

PAGE

Gannet— Visib to a Colony of Boobies— The Darter, or Snake-neck— The Cormorants— A Colony of Cormorants
—The Pelicans— Characters— Habits— Perching on Trees— Fishing— THE SEA-BIRDS— Characters— THE
SCISSOR-BILLS, OR SKIMMERS— THE TERNS, OR SEA-SWALLOWS— " Wide-awake Fairs"— White Noddies— THE TRUE
GULLS— Characters— The Black-backed Gulls— Herring Gulls— Skuas— THE PETRELS— Distribution— The Diving
petrel — The True Petrels — The Albatrosses — Capt. Hutton's Remarks on their Unrivalled Powers of Flight . . 178

CHAPTER X.

DIVERS — PENGUINS — TINAMOUS — STRUTHIOUS BIRDS — LIZARD-TAILED BIRDS.

THE DIVERS— Characters— THE AUKS— The Great Auk— Probably extinct— The Razor-bill— The Guillemot— Mr.
Seebohm's Notes of Visits to their Breeding-places — The Experiences of a "dimmer" — The Rotche— The
Puffins— The True Divers — The European Species — The Grebes — The Little Grebe, or Dabchick — The Dabchick's
Powers of Diving — THE PENGUINS — Distinctive Features — A Penguin Rookery — Life in a "Johnnie"
Colony — Their Nests— Their Habits— THE TINAMOUS— Their Place in the Class Aves— Their Appearance
—Habits — THE STRUTHIOUS BIRDS— Their Characters— Entirely Terrestrial— Odd Use of the Wing
in Running— Feathering— Distribution — THE OSTRICHES— Characters— THE OSTRICH— Mention in History
— Scriptural References — Distribution — How the Bushman Hunts the Ostrich — Method adopted in Morocco —
Other Modes of Hunting — An Omnivorous Bird — Its Stride — Its Cry — Habits — Its Resemblance to a Camel — The
Feathers — Exportation of Feathers from Africa — A Visit to an Ostrich Farm — Use of "Incubators " — Habits of
the Birds in the Enclosures — The Ostrich Dance — The Rheas, or American Ostriches— THE CASSOWARIES —
Characters of the Cassowary — The Mooruk — Its Extraordinary Power of Leaping — Dr. Bennett's Account of its
Habits— The Emus — Characters — Habits — Emu Beef — Threatened Extermination — Its " Booming " Note — THE
KIWIS— Characters — Species — Dr. Buller's Account of its Habits — Mr. Bartlett's Note on its Attempts at
Nesting— THE LIZARD-TAILED BIRDS— The Archajopteryx Lithographica— Description— FOSSIL FORMS
— Evidence from Foot-prints — Prof. Marsh's Researches in America — Birds with Teeth — Other Forms — Concluding
Remarks , ... 214

CLASS REPTILIA.— THE REPTILES.
CHAPTER I.

THE CHELONIANS.

General Characters of Reptiles popularly so-called — Divided into Reptilia and Amphibia — THE BUCKLERED REP-
TILES—The Four Divisions— The Buckler of the Chelonians— The Carapace— The Plastron— Different Kinds
of Shells— " Tortoiseshell "— Protecting Bucklers— Feet —Shoulder-blade and Arm- joint— The Humerus (foot
note) — Appearance of Tortoise's Head — The Process of Eating— Skull— Mouth and Jaw — Eye — Ear— Tongue —
How Chelonians Breathe— Their Lungs and Heart— Digestive Organs— The Eggs— Extraordinary Vitality
of Chelonians— Brain— THE TORTOISES, THE LAND CHELONIANS— Characters— THE GREAT LAND
TORTOISES — Mr. Darwin's Visit to the Galapagos Islands— Enormous Size and Weight of the Tortoises — Probable
Extinction — Distinctive Features — Habits — Great Tortoises at the Water-springs — Tortoises of the Mascarene and
Aldabra Islands — Indian Tortoises — The Common or Greek Tortoise — African and American Species — THE
EMYDES, THE RIVER, OR MARSH TORTOISES— Characters— The Terrapins— The American Box
Tortoise — Habits — The Genus Emys — Emys europiea — The Painted Emys — Clemmys insculpta — The Caspian
Terrapin — The Snapping Turtle — The Chelodines— The Matamata — The Snake-necked Tortoises — The " Aiyussa "
Tortoise -THE TRIONYCIDES, THE MUD, OR SOFT TORTOISES-Characters— Habits— The Soft-shelled
Tortoise— The Cryptopus— The Egyptian Trionyx— The Gangetic Trionyx— THE CHELONIADES, THE MARINE
CHELONIANS, THE TURTLES -The Green Turtle— Habits— Size— Food— Egg-laying— How they are Caught
— Characters— The Hawk's-bill Turtle — Why so Named — How the Tortoiseshell is Obtained -The Logger-headed
Turtles— The Leather-back Turtles— The Sphargis— EXTINCT CHELONIANS— Classification of the Order . . 241

CHAPTER II.

ORDER CROCODIL1A THE CROCODILES, GAVIALS, AND ALLIGATORS.

THE CROCODILE FAMILY— Worshipped by Ancient Egyptians— The Crocodile of the Nile— Appearance-
Peculiar Nature of the Tooth-growth- -Arrangement for Sinking with its Prey without allowing Water
to Pass into the Throat— How it Obtains Fresh Supplies of Air— How it Disposes of its Food— Remarkable
Eye— "Crocodiles' Tears"— Distribution— Other African Forms— The Eggs of the Crocodile— The Baby Reptiles
-The Indian Species— The Salt-water Crocodile— Description— How it Procures its Food— The Marsh Crocodile
—Appearance — Worshipped by Fakirs— Ferocity of the Indian Crocodiles after their Torpidity— The Victim's
only way of Safety— Crocodile of North-east Australia— The American Kinds — Crocodilus Acutus—The Cuba
Crocodile— THtt GAVIAL FAMILY— The Gavial— Distinctive Features— Habits— Second Forms of the
Family— THE ALLIGATOR FAMILY— Difference between Crocodiles and Alligators— Characters of the
Alligator— The Mississippi, or Pike-headed Alligator— Habitat —Origin of its Name— Appearance— The Caimans
"^VooTTC Jacares- Bates's Account of the Alligators of the Amazons— Other Kinds of Jacare—
sIL C CODILIA - Number in Secondary and Tertiary Ages— Antiquity of the Group— Marine Group
not handed down— Characters— Terrestrial Forms of the Trias— The Theriodontia— Hyposaurus and Bottosaurus—
Classification of the Order 262

CHAPTER III.

ORDER SAURIA, OR LACERTILIA — THE LIZARDS.

THE LIZARDS— Characters of the Reptiles of the Order— THE FISSILINGUES— THE SAND LIZARD— Prof.
Bell's Description— THE COMMON LIZARD— Habits— Young Produced Alive— Characters of the Lizard— Distinctions
between Crocodile, Lizard, and Snake, illustrated by Comparison of the Skull (foot-note) — Other Species of
Lacerta— Peculiarity of the Tail of many Lizards— Teeth of Saurians— A " Pleurodont " Jaw— An "Acrodont"
Jaw— THE AMEIVID.E- Characters -THE COMMON TEGUEXIN— Habits— THE COMMON AMEIVA— THE WATER
LIZARDS— Description— Why called Monitors— THE NILE MONITOR— THE SAND MONITOR, OR VARANUS— Other
Kinds of Varanus— The Common Indian Water Lizard — The Ocellated Water Lizard — The Heloderma—
THE CRASSILINGUES— Characters— THE IGUANAS— THE GREEN IGUANA— Description— Habits— Character of
the Vertebrae— Dentition Pleurodont— THE BASILISK— Appearance— THE AMBLYRHYNCHUS CRISTATUS— Darwin's

vi NATURAL HISTORY.

PA an

Account of this Sea Lizard — The Terrestrial Species of this Genus — FLYING LIZARDS —Characters — Their
Apparatus for Locomotion — Habits — Beauty of their Colouring — THE FRILLED LIZARD— Description — The Frill —
THE TERRESTRIAL AGAMID.E OF THE OLD WORLD AND AUSTRALIA — The Genus Uromastix — The Dabb, or Dhobb —
The Thorn-devil, or Horrible Moloch— The Genus Stellio— The Toad Lizards— THE GECKO FAMILY— Appearance-
Habits — Their Toes and Fingers — Characters — Colouring — Eyes — Tongue — Origin of their Name — Pleurodont
Teeth— The Various Species— The Flying Gecko— RHYNCHOCEPHALA, THE BEAKED LIZARDS— THE
TUATERA, OR HATTERIA, OR THE SPHENODON LIZARD— Gunther's Description of its Anatomy — THE VER-
MILINGUES, THE CHAMELEONS — Appearance — Curious Tongue— Remarkable Lungs— Distribution-
Colouring — The Genus Rhampholeon — The South African Kind — Changing of the Colour of the Chamaeleon's
Skin- THE AMPHISB^ENOIDA— The White Amphisbaena— THE BREVILINGUES— Characters— SCINCOID^E
— THE COMMON SKINK — Habits — The Stump-tailed Lizard — THE BLIND-WORM, OR SLOW- WORM —Description —
THE JAVELIN SNAKE — THE ZONURID^E — Character — The Gigantic Cordylus — The European Pseudopus — American
Glass Snake — Classification of the Order Sauria , 272

CHAPTER IV.

ORDER OPHIDIA THE SNAKES.

THE SNAKES— The Poisonous and the Non-Poisonous—Characteristics of a Snake —Serpent Worship and Superstition
—About Fascination— Skeleton of a Snake— Scales and Plates on Head and Body— Moulting— THE POISONOUS
COLUBRINE SNAKES— THE POISONOUS TERRESTRIAL COLUBRINE SNAKES— THE COBRAS— The Cobra-di-Capello
— The Egyptian Cobra, or Naja- THE KING HALS SLANG— THE HAMADRYAD SNAKE— THE BUNGARUMS AND
KRAITS— The Poisonous Elapidse of Australia and the New World— THE POISONOUS SEA SNAKES— THE VIPERINE
SNAKES — Characters — THE ADDER, OR COMMON VIPER — The only Poisonous Reptile in Britain — Habits — Its
usual Prey — Its Young — The Horned and other Kinds of African Vipers — The Daboia — The Echis — THE
RATTLESNAKES, OR PIT VIPERS— The Common Rattlesnake — Its Habits — The "Rattle" — The Water-rattle—
Various Kinds of Rattlesnake — Coues on the Use of the Rattle — The Bushmaster — Darwin on the Genus Tri-
gouocephalus — The AVater Viper — The Copper-head Snake — The Yellow Viper, or Fer-de-Lance — The East Indian
Genera of Pit Vipers — How Venomous Snakes Dispose of their Victims — Peculiar Construction of their Skull
for Swallowing purposes — The Fangs and Poison-glands of the Rattlesnake — Symptoms of Poisoning — How does
the Poison Kill ?— Treatment of Bites— Snake Charmers— THE INNOCUOUS COLUBRIFORM SNAKES—
Characters— THE WART SNAKES— THE WHIP SNAKES— Why so Called— The Langaha— The Blunt-Headed Snakes—
THE TREE SNAKES — THE DESERT SNAKES— THE RACHIODONT FAMILY — An Egg-Swallowing Snake — Fresh- Water
Snakes — THE COLUBRIDES — NATRICIN.E — The Common Snake — Found in England — Habits — How it disposes of its
Food — COLUBRINE— CORONELLIN.E — CALAMARID*— THR ROCK SNAKES — Distribution — Huge Proportions — How
they Tackle their Prey — The Indian Species — The West African Forms — Pythons Hatching their Eggs — The
Diamond and Carpet Snakes — The Boas — The Boa Constrictor — Construction of a Python's Skull — The Anaconda
— THE SAND SNAKES — THE SHORT-TAILED SNAKES — THE BLIND SNAKES — Characters — Peculiarities of Structure in
Serpents— The Remarkable Eyelid— Fossil Snakes— Classification of the Ophidia— THE EXTINCT REPTILES—
THE DINOSAURIA— THE ORNITHOSAURIA — THE ICHTHYOPTERYGTA— THE PLESIOSAURIA — THE EXTINCT SAURIA,
OR LACERTILIA 300

CLASS AMPHIBIA.
CHAPTER I.

FROGS AND TOADS.

Characteristics of Amphibians— Remarkable Skin— The Skeleton— Heart of Frog— Circulation of the Blood— Method of
Respiration — Gills, or Branchiae — The Nervous System — Brain of Frog — The Eyes and Ears — Alimentary Canal —
THE ANOURA, OR THE FROGS AND TOADS— Distinctive Features— Hibernation— Lungs— Throat sacs-
Teeth — Food — Skeleton — Muscles of Thigh and Leg — Batrachian Locomotion— Their Swimming Powers— The
Tongue — The Croakings — Metamorphosis of the Frog— Structure of the Tadpole — Circulation of Blood in the Gills
—Last Stages of the Tadpole Condition — THE BATRACHIANS WITHOUT TONGUES— The Surinam Toad — Birth of
the Young Pipas — THE BATRACHIANS WITH TONGUES — THE OXYDACTYLA — THE RANID.E, TRUE FROGS— The
Common Frog — Habits— Its Relations with Humanity — Development of the Embryo — The Frog's Skull — The
Edible Frog — The American Bull Frog -African and other Frogs— The Horned Ceratophrys — THE PELOBATID^E
— The Obstetric Frog — The Bombinator Igneus — The Brown Mud Frog — The Globose Cacopus Frog — THE BUFONID^E
— The Common Toad- Habits —The Metamorphosis— The Toad has not Escaped Calumny — The so-called Venom —
The Natter-Jack, or Rush Toad— The Variable, or Green Toad— The Indian and African Toads— Mr. Darwin on a
South American Toad — The North American Toads — The Breviceps — THE DISCODACTYLES— THE TREE FROGS—
The Hyloranae— The Hylidse— Their Digits— The Common Hyla— The Goose-footed Hyla— The Elegant Hyla—
The Common Golden Tree Frog — The Pouched Frog— The Common Indian Tree Frog — The Spurred Tree Frog
—Tree Frogs of Ceylon — The Acris gryllus— The Genus Rhacophorus — The Hylodes ocularis — The Martinique
Frog— The Phyllomedusidse— The Great Green Tree Frog— The Dendrobatidae— The Genus Plectropus . . . 342

CHAPTER II.

TAILED AND VERMIFORM AMPHIBIANS.

THE TAILED AMPHIBIA— Characteristics of those with Persistent Branchise and of those that Lose the Branchiae
Karly in Life— Skeletal Peculiarities— THE SALAMANDERS— Distinctive Features —The Spotted Ellipsoglossa— Why
so Called — The Tritons — The Great Water Newt — Its Ferocity — Habits — Appearance — Rusconi's Observation
of the Egg -laying Process of the Triton— Growth of the Embryo — The Mature Tadpole — The Power of Repair
—The Straight-lipped Water Newt— The Common Smooth Newt, or Eft— The Palmated Smooth Newt— Dis-
tribution— THE SALAMANDERS — The Spotted Salamander — Description— Where Found —Hibernation — The Black
Salamander — Mdlle. Marie de Chauvin's Observations of the Changes of the Tadpole Salamander — The
Genus Pleurodeles— The Genus Pseudotriton— Is the Bite of the Salamander Poisonous ?— The Absurd Notion of
their being Incombustible — The Genus Salamandiina — THE PLETHODONTIIX-E — The Genus Desmognathus — THE
AMBLYSTOMID.S:— The Axolotl— Their Life History— The Amblystoma, or Adult Form— THE ICHTHYOIDEA—
Characters— THE PERENNIBRANCHIATA— The Sirens— Appearance— Habits— THE PROTEID.E— The Proteus— The
Genus Menobranchus— THE DEROTREMATA— The Amphiuma Means— The Amphiuma Tridactyla— The Hellbender
— The Sieboldia Japonica— THE APODA — Characters — Classification of the Amphibia— THE EXTINCT AMPHIBIA . 369

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Birds of Paradise Frontispiece.

The Magpie 1

Head of Rook .....

The Common Rook 3

The Common Raven .5

The Common Jackdaw ...... 7

The Hooded Crow 8

The Nutcracker 12

The Common Jay ....... 15

The Bare-necked Crow 17

The Huia, or New Zealand Wood Crow . . .18

The Chough 20

The Twelve- wired Bird of Paradise . . .22

Gorgeted Bird of Paradise 24

The Golden Oriole 26

The Pied Grallina 28

The Helmet Shrike 30

Paradise Flycatchers 33

The Song Thrush ....... 38

The Redwing 40

The Blackbird 41

The Common Nightingale 45

The Common Wren . . . . . .48

The Regent Bird 52

The Satin Bower Bird 53

The Tailor Bird 57

The Mocking Bird 61

The Great Grey Shrike . . . To face page 64
European Titmice, with Nuthatch and Goldcrests . 68

The Common Nuthatch 69

The Common Creeper . . . . . . 11

The Wattled Honey-eater 74

The Jericho Sun-bird 76

Wing of Pipit, showing the Long Secondaries . 77

The White Wagtail 80

The Australian Flower-pecker, or Swallow Dicseum 85
The Bohemian Waxwing . . ... 88
Sternum of Swallow and of Swift . . . .90

The Martin 92

The Common Swallow . . . . . .93

Bill of Finch and of Bunting . ... 95

The Chaffinch 96

Siskin, Bullfinch, and Goldfinch . . . .97

The White-winged Crossbill 98

The Cow-bird 100

The Baltimore Oriole . . . To face page 100
The Baya Weaver Bird . . . To face page 101
Section of Nest of Weaver Bird . . . .101

The Common Starling 104

The African Beef-eater . . . . . .105

The Skylark 108

The Lyre Bird 110

The Bush Wren 112

The Oven Bird 113

The Kingbird 116

The Cock of the Rock 117

The Umbrella Bird .118

PAGE

TheBroadbill 119

The Plant-cutter 120

The Dodo 122

The Solitaire 123

The Ring Dove, or Wood Pigeon . . . .124

The Passenger Pigeon 125

The Bronze-wing 126

The Victoria Crowned Pigeon . . . .127

The Crested Curassow 129

The Argus Pheasant 132

The Common Pheasant . . . To face page 133

The Peacock Pheasant 133

The Monaul, or Impeyan Pheasant . . . 136

The Guinea Fowl 137

The Ocellated Turkey 138

The Capercailzie 140

The Ptarmigan in Summer Plumage . . . 142
The Ptarmigan in Winter Plumage . . . 143

The Californian Quail 145

The Common Partridge ...... 146

The Partridge and the Common Quail . . .148
TheMaleo; Australian Megapode ; Brush Turkey 151

Brush Turkeys at Work 153

TheJacana 157

The Corn-Crake, or Land Rail . . . .158

Foot of Coot 160

The Coot 161

Wing of Snipe .162

The Common Snipe . . . . . .163

The Curlew 164

Ruffs Fighting 165

TheAvocet 167

The Lapwing 169

The Thick-knee, or Stone Curlew . . . .172

The Great Bustard 173

Demoiselle, Crowned, and Common Cranes . .177

The Great White Heron 179

The Purple Heron 180

The Night Heron 181

The Lesser Egret 183

The Shoe-billed Stork . . „ . . .185
Adjutants . . . . . To face page 187

The White Stork 187

The Spoonbill 188

The Sacred Ibis 189

The Flamingo 191

The Black Swan 192

The Summer or Wood Duck ..»»,. 193

The Frigate Bird 196

The Tropic Bird 197

The Darter, or Snake-neck 192

The Cormorant ....... 200

The Pelican 202

The Skua 208

The Stormy Petrel ....... 209

The Albatross ... 3 ... 213
The Ringed Guillemot ...... 216

NATURAL HISTORY.

The Arctic Puffin • .217

The Crested Grebe 220

The Giant Penguin . . . ' . . .221

The Ostrich 229

The American Ostrich, or Rhea . To face page 232

The Cassowary 233

The Emu 234

The Kiwi To face page 236

Bones of Tail of Bengal Vulture and of Archaeop-

teryx 237

Archaeopteiyx lithographica ..... 237

The Soft-shelled Trionyx 241

Skeleton of Tortoise, from below, showing Inside

View of Carapace and Plastron . . . 243
'Skeleton and Carapace of the Logger-headed

Turtle, from below 244

Skeleton of Tortoise, from one side . . . 245
Scapular Apparatus of Tortoise .... 246

Head of Turtle 246

Skull of Tortoise 247

Section of Lungs of Tortoise, showing Cellular

Arrangement . 248

The Great Land Tortoises . . To face page 249
Brain of a Chelonian . . . . . .249

The Common or Green Tortoise . . . .251

Clemmys insculpta ...... 254

Catching Green Turtles 257

The Hawk's-bill Turtle 260

Growth of Tooth of Crocodile . . . .263
Crocodiles of the Nile . . . To face page 264

Crocodilus acutus 265

The Ganges Gavial 267

The Mississippi or Pike-headed Alligator . . 268

The Sand Lizard 273

Skeleton of the Common Lizard . . . .274

Skull of Lizard 274

Pleurodont Jaw (Iguana), from within . . . 275

Skull of Crocodile 275

Skull of Rattlesnake 275

The Common Teguexin 276

The Common Ameiva 277

The Nile Monitor 278

The Iguana ........ 279

The Basilisk 281

Amblyrhynchus cristatus 282

Flying Lizard . 283

The Frilled Lizard 285

The Dabb, or Dhobb 286

The Moloch 287

Toes of Gecko 287

The Turkish Hemidactyle . . . . .288

The Flying Gecko 289

Skull of Sphenodon, or Hatteria, showing Acrodont

Jaw 290

Head of Chamaeleon, showing the Tongue . .291

The Chamaeleon 292

Sleeping Chamseleon under Lamp-light, with Dorsal

Part protected by a Screen .... 293
Chamaeleon under Sun-light, passing through Red and

Blue Glass, Light passing through Red Glass

falling on Fore Part of Body, and that passing

through the Blue on the Hind Part . . .293
Amphisbaena alba ... . 294

The Common Skink
The Stump-tailed Lizard
The Blind Worm .
The Scheltopusik .
Skeleton of Snake .
Scales on Head of Snake

FACE

. 295
. 296
. 297
. 299
. 303
. 303

The Egyptian Cobra, or Naja 305

The Hamadryad Snake 308

Bungarus fasciatus 309

The Coral Elaps . . . • . . .310

Vipers 312

The Adder, or Common Viper . . . .313

The Cerastes Viper 314

The Puff Adder 315

The Common Rattlesnake 317

The Horrid Rattlesnake 318

The Copper-head Snake 320

The Yellow Viper, or Fer-de-Lance . . . 321
Head of Rattlesnake, showing Fangs and Muscles of

Poison Glands 322

Oxybelis fulgidus 325

Dipsas dendrophila ...... 326

The Common or Ringed Snake .... 328

Top of Head, Under Part of Body and Sub-Caudals,

of Common Snake ...... 329

Coronella laevis 330

The Indian Adjigar 332

The Boa Constrictor . . . To face page 333

The Diamond Snake 333

Tortrix scytale 335

Side View of Head of Blind Snake . . .336

The Viscera of a Serpent 337

Skeleton of Ichthyosaurus 339

Skeleton of Plesiosaurus ..... 340

Heart of Frog 343

Brain of Frog 344

Skeleton of a Frog 346

Head of Frog, showing Tongue Fixed in Front but

Free Behind 347

Structure of the Tadpole ..... 348

Metamorphoses of Frog ...... 349

The Surinam Toad 350

The Common Frog 352

The Edible Frog 354

Cystignathus ornatus 355

The Horned Ceratophrys 356

The Male Obstetric Frog 357

The Fire-bellied Frog 358

The Brown Mud-Frog 359

Common Toad ; Variable Toad ; Natter- Jack

Toad 361

The Elegant Hyla 363

The Pouched Frog 364

The Goose-footed Hyla ...... 365

Rhacophorus Rheinhardti 367

Phyllomedusa bicolor ...... 368

Great Water Newts . . . To face page 370

The Spotted Salamander 372

Pleurodeles Waltlii 372

The Axolotl in the Earlier and in the Later Stages

of its Existence 374

Menobranchus lateralis ...... 377

Siphonops annulata . . . • • .378

1. Gould's Humming Bird (Ornisi

2. Kingfisher (Aiccrto isfida).

3 Arctic Tern (Sterna hirnniio).

4. Wliitc-bellied Swift (Cyfselus i

5. Smew (Menus albsllns).

yo goitldii).

BIRDS.

6. Penguin (Pygoscelis taniata).

7. The Amazon Parrot (Chrysotis).

8. Heron (Ardta citirrea).

9. Eared Owl (Asia otus).

i.i. White-tailed Eagle (Haliaftus albicilla\

11. Black-headed Gros-beak (Coccothraustcs try thro

melas).

12. Impeyan Pheasant Lofhofhorus sclaieri).
IT,, Common Rhea (Rftea americatia).

14. Crown Pigreon (Goura scheepmaken >.

CASSELL'S NATURAL HISTORY.

ORDER m.— PASSERIFORMES— THE PERCHING BIRDS,

CHAPTER I.

CROWS.

Order of Perching Birds largest of all Orders— Chief Distinguishing Features— Two Great Sections of Passerine Birds—
Distribution- SECTION .4(7£O.MT01>/-CIassification by Wing -Sub-order TURDIFOEMES— THE CROWS
—Distribution— THE COMMON ROOK— Appearance —Young Rook— Bare Face— Distribution— Breeding Habits
—Attachment to Nesting-places, or " Rookeries "—Is it a Useful Bird?— Its Vigorous Appetite— THE TRUE
RAVENS— Distribution— THE COMMON RAVEN — Ravens of the Old and New World— Distribution— Habits— His After-
Dinner Talk— THE COMMON JACKDAW— Social Character— Cleverness— Appearance— Habitat— Curious instance of
Daubing its Eggs — THE HOOPED CROW — Distribution — A Migration — Heligoland and its Inhabitants — THE CARRION
CROW — Distribution — Inter-breeding with the Hooded Crow — Mr. Lumsden's Note on the Subject — Mr. Seebohm's
Note on the Birds in Eastern Siberia— Habits — THE INDIAN GREY-NECKED CROW — Captain Vincent Legge's Account
of its Habits — THE COMMON MAGPIE — Mischievous Habits — Familiarity — Instances of Nesting in Gooseberry Bushes —
Appearance— THE TREE PIES— THE INDIAN TREE PIE -THE COMMON JAY— Its Bad Character— As a Pet— Appearance
—THE BLUE JAYS— THE COMMON BLUE JAYS— THE LONG-TAILED BLUE JAYS— THE BARE-NECKED CROW— THE HUIA,
OR NEW ZEALAND WOOD CROW— Curious Form— Dr. Buller's Account— Its Habitat — Rarity— Disposition — How
Specimens were Caught — Diet — How they Searched for Food — Second Sub-family of the Crows— CHOUGHS.

THE order of Perching Birds, known to our readers by the names of Passerine birds, or Insessores, is the
largest of all the orders, and contains more than half of the whole number of birds now known. One of
the chief distinguishing features of a Passerine bird is its foot, which is simple and ordinary in construc-
tion, with well developed toes and claws, the claw of the hind toe being larger than that of any of the
other toes. The breast-bone, or sternum, is simple, having only one notch in the hinder margin : and in
this respect it differs at once from that of all the Picarian birds which have been treated of in the preceding
143

2 .•.-, 1 1 •*:./:•• ' JV^ TURAL HISTOR Y.

chapters. The eagerness with which, up to the present time, the feet of birds have been seized upon as
of primary importance in their classification, can hardly be wondered at, when the remarkable diversity
in regard to these organs exhibited by the different orders of birds is taken into consideration. In the
case of an Eagle, for instance, what can be more admirable than the proportions of the feet and
talons for the capture of its quarry ? And the same holds good with all the Accipitres, or birds of
prey, not to mention the Zygodactyle Woodpeckers, which have been already discussed, while the
long toes of the Kails, the webbed feet of the Ducks and Gulls, are all indications of a perfect adapta-
bility of these organs to the habits of the birds. The Passerine birds are divided into two great
sections, which are called Passeres acromyodi and Passeres mesomyodi, from peculiarities in their
voice organs, the first section containing the songsters of the world, the second containing the
songless birds.

SECTION A,- ACROMYODI, SINGING BIRDS. SUB-ORDER I,— TURDIFORMES,

THRUSH-LIKE BIRDS.

Geographical distribution also helps to distinguish these two leading groups of the Perching birds :
for the Acromyodian Passeres are chiefly inhabitants of the Old World, as the Mesomyodian Passeres

are of the New. The principal character by which the
leading groups are distinguished is the wing, and the classi-
fication based on this feature, which is easy to understand,
will be the one adopted in the present work. The first
group bears the name of Turdiformes, or Thrush-like
Passeres, and in all these birds the wing has ten primary
feathers, the first being always markedly reduced in
size. The leading group of these birds is known as
the Coliomorphce, or Crow-like birds, and contains five
families : Crows (Corvidce), Birds of Paradise (Para-
disiidce), Orioles (Orioliidce), Drongos (DicruridcK), and
Wood-Shrikes (Prionopidce). All the members of these
five families have the chin-angle (angulus menti) produced
very far forwards (B), so as to extend beyond a line drawn
perpendicularly down the front edge of the nostril (A).
What is meant is shown in the accompanying illustra-
tion. It is true that in some of the Jays this prominence of the chin-angle is not so marked, but still
sufficiently so to determine that they are Crows ; while some Creepers (Certhiidce) have the same
character of bill, but then their long curved beaks and spiny tails prevent their being mistaken
for any of the Crow family or its allies.

THE FIRST FAMILY OF THRUSH-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.— THE CROWS (Corvid<e).

These are found nearly all over the globe in some form or other ; that is to say, either as Crows
or as Jays, the latter predominating chiefly in South America, where no true Crow is met with ; and
in most of the Pacific Islands no member of the family at all is found. Even, the deserts of Central
Asia have their own representatives in the form of Desert Choughs, belonging to the genus Podoces,
while nowhere is the family more strongly developed than in the islands of the Malay Archipelago.

The habits of many of the Crows change with the localities they inhabit, and a species will
be wild and unsociable in one place, while in another the same bird will be tame and confiding ; and
although in England the Crows, with the exception of the Rook and Jackdaw, live only in country
districts, species precisely similar in habits and appearance are found in other parts of the world, in-
habiting towns and doing the duty of scavengers.

The Choughs are peculiar Crows, distinguished by the position of the nostril, which is placed low in
the upper mandible of the beak and generally hidden by a tuft of bristly feathers. They are to be
considered as belonging to a separate sub-family (FregilincK). The rest of the Crows are placed in
the sub-family Corvince.

THE COMMON ROOK.

SUB-FAMILY CORVINE.

In this sub-family is found a great diversity of form, as it contains, besides the true Crows, all the
Jays, Magpies, Hill Crows, and even such apparently different birds as the Huia bird and Wattle
Starling of New Zealand,

THE COMMON ROOK (Trypanocorax frugilegus).

To any one who has not handled a Rook it would perhaps be a matter of surprise, on his first
acquaintance with it in person, to find it such a handsomely burnished bird, for in the distance its
appearance is dull black. Both male and female, however, have a most beautiful gloss of purple and
green on the plumage, but this they share with many others of the Crow family ; one peculiarity they
have for their own, and that one is their bare face. How the bird gets its visage denuded of plumes
is a problem still unsolved, for the young have the head fully feathered, and only obtain the bare face
during their first winter. Up to this time a young Rook might easily be mistaken by an
inexperienced eye for a Carrion Crow, but the Rook can be recognised at any age by its
having the base of the feathers grey, and not ivhite, as in the latter species. An idea

COMMON HOOK.

prevalent amongst naturalists for many years was that the Rook's face became denuded of
feathers through the bird's habit of thrusting its bill deep into the ground in search of food,
but that this cannot be the case is proved by the fact that no such result is found to occur in
allied species of similar habits, such as the Carrion Crow, for instance ; while it is certain that at
times, when the hardness of the ground prevented the Rooks digging for food, these bare places
would be replenished by a new stock of feathers : and this we know not to be the case. This bare face,
then, must be considered to be an individual peculiarity in the Rooks, and it is found, though not to
the same extent, in the Chinese Rook (Trypanocorax pastinator).

The Rook is found all over Europe, but does not extend into the high north, and only occasionally
straggles beyond the line of the Tropic of Cancer. It breeds throughout Central Europe between 60° and
40° N. lat., and above the former line it rests only in certain portions of Norway and Sweden and near
Archangel. To Southern Europe it is only a winter visitant, and it is found in North-western India
in the winter also. In some parts of North-western Tm-kestan it breeds, but is found in Yarkand
only in the winter. To the eastward of this last locality we have no trace of it, and it is not until
we come to Eastern Siberia and Northern China that we meet with its cousin, the Chinese Rook.

It differs from its European congeners in being gregarious and always breeding in colonies. It
evinces great attachment to its nesting-place, and the same nests are used by the birds year after year,
being repaired each season. It is an early breeder, beginning to make ready the nest in February or
March, and it has been known to commence the repairs as early as the 16th of the former month. It

4 NATURAL HISTORY.

is essentially a civilised bird, and rookeries are generally found in close proximity to houses, and often
in the midst of villages or even towns. This is the case in London itself, where a time-honoured spot
may here and there be found to which the Rooks resort year after year.

Opinions are divided as to the utility of the Rook ; in some places the bird being regarded as a
benefactor, in others as a depredator, only fit to be shot and trapped along with other vermin. The
truth probably lies between these two opinions, for although it eats an immense number of noxious
insects and grubs, it will devour eggs and young birds, while there is no question as to its creating
considerable havoc among the trees in the spring-time, when it breaks off' large numbers of young
boughs wherewith to build its nest ; in the south of England, too, in the autumn, it often commits
great depredations among the walnuts. As an example of the omnivorous qualities of the Rook
we quote the following note, contributed by Mr. Cecil Smith to Mr. Dresser's "Birds of Europe:" —
" Its appetite and digestion are perfectly astonishing ; nothing seems to come amiss to it. Besides its
lawful and useful food of grubs, worms, &c., I have seen it kill and eat a young Rabbit, and young
Ducks or Ducks' eggs have no chance ; it will devour flesh, either fresh or stale, raw or cooked, and
walnuts in any quantity. Near the sea I have seen Rooks picking up arid eating Sand-Eels and other
small fish after the seine has been drawn, and squabbling with the Gulls for Mussels on the Mussel-
beds ; these it breaks in the same way as the Gulls, taking them up to a height and dropping them on
a hard, stony place. I have seen it treat an obstinate walnut in the same way. Rooks seem
occasionally to cast up pellets of the indigestible portion of what they have eaten, after the manner
of Hawks ; so I suppose their digestion is not quite equal to everything. One of these pellets which I
saw a Rook cast up, and which I examined, consisted of stones, hard parts of beetles, and husks of
corn. So necessary are stones to help digestion that old Rooks give them to their young before they
leave the nest, and I have frequently found them in the stomachs of young Rooks shot in the Rook-
shooting time, and before they had left their native tree."

THE TRUE RAVENS (Corms).

The most familiar species of Raven is the Common Raven, and it is also the most widely dis-
tributed. Some six other species are known : one of them, the Brown-necked Raven (C. umbrinus),
"being an inhabitant of the Mediterranean sub-region. This division of the earth comprises all the
countries lying on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea, and includes Palestine and Syria, Persia and
Beloochistan, as far as the confines of North- Western India. Although belonging to the Palrearctic
region, the above-named sub-region forms a very natural division, and is principally characterised by the
presence of many Chats and Sand- Grouse, which do not occur in the more northern parts of the Old World.
The islands of Madeira and the Canaries are considered, zoologically, to form an outlying part of the
Mediterranean region, and they show a partial connection with the rest of Europe in the possession of
a typical Bullfinch (Pyrrhula murina), while their zoological affinity to Algeria and Northern Africa
is demonstrated by their having the same Blue Titmouse (Parus teneriffix) and the same Raven (Corvus
leptonyx).

In India a small form of Raven (Corvus culminatus) occurs, and another in Australia.

THE COMMON RAVEN (Corvus corax).

There are certain birds, which are found in the northern regions of the Old and New Worlds,
showing the strong under-current of affinity which exists between the Avifauna of these two parts of
the globe. Some ornithologists have attempted to prove that the American Raven is specifically
distinct from the European one, and the Mexican bird has even been separated further from that of
North America. But it seems to be an undoubted fact that the Raven is extremely variable in size,
and as this is the only character which has been brought forward for its specific separation, no certain
distinctions can be drawn ; and in this work all the various kinds of Raven, with the exception
of those above noted, are treated as belonging to one species only (Corvus corax).

The Raven enjoys the credit of being the most northerly Passerine bird known, with the exception
of the Snow Banting (Plectrophantt nivalis) ; for Captain Fielden observed it, in Sir George N ares' Arctic
Expedition, as far north as Cape Lupton, lat. 81s 44' N., when a pair of them were breeding during the
month of July. All over Europe and Siberia, as well as Central Asia, the Raven is fo'und in smaller
or larger numbers, and in the cold weather it is found in North- Western India, being absent in China

TEE COMMON EAVES. 5

and Japan. It is also spread all over North America as far as the table-lands of Mexico, occurring
even in the extreme north of the continent. In England the Raven is in most parts scarce, and is
everywhere shy and cautious, on account of the persecution to which it is subjected and the way in
which nests are robbed of the young for sale, partly from its predatory habits, which render it objection-
able to gamekeepers.

In some parks where protection is afforded to the old birds a time-honoured pair of Ravens still
survive, and along the cliffs of the southern coasts of England a good many still breed. Although

COMMON RAVEN.

such a shy bird in many parts of its range, it exhibits in some places quite an opposite nature ; and
Dr. Henderson, the naturalist of the first Yarkand expedition, says that Ravens followed the camp
during the whole journey, and were so familiar and bold as to render it impossible to leave anything
eatable about which they did not attempt to steal. He writes : — " Even milk-pots it would deliberately
upset to obtain a sup of the contents. At the greatest altitudes and through the most absolute deserts
at least half-a-dozen accompanied the camp, some, doubtless, of the very same birds thus travelling the
whole way from Le to the vicinity of the city of Yarkand ; when the camp divided, about half the
Ravens went with each party. On first starting in the morning they always accompanied the party
to a short distance, and then they returned to the old camping-ground, apparently to make sure that
nothing eatable had been left behind, and there they might be seen prowling about wisely for an hour
or so, again joining the party in the afternoon at the new camp." Veiy much the same account is
given of the Raven's habits in America, where ID. some parts of the country it is suspicious and wary,
144

e NATURAL HISTORY.

in other parts tame and familiar. The only note which the bird utters, as a rule, is a hoarse croak ;
and the idea of its having a song would seem to be impossible, but the testimony of many observers
agrees in this respect. Dr. Elliott Coues says that it is not, on the whole, so noisy a bird as the Crow,
though he croaks vigorously on occasions, and his caw may claim to be impressive, if not agreeable. But
the queer sounds that the bird can utter, if he be so minded, are indescribable ; even his ordinary cawing
is susceptible of considerable modulation. A favourite anmsement of his when, his hunger appeased
for the time, he feels particularly comfortable, is to settle at ease on the top of a pine-tree and talk to
himself. The performance generally begins with a loud caw, self-asserting, and ends with a complacent
chuckle ; and then comes a series of comical syllables, so low as to be scarcely audible from the ground
below, as if he were musing aloud and tickled with his own fancies. Then, he will raise his voice again, and
file away at some old saw for a while, finishing with the inimitable " cork-drawing " for which his tribe
is famous. The Raven generally breeds in trees or rocks, but he modifies the position of the nesting-
place ; and a good observer in California — the late Dr. Heerman — states that while he always found the
nests of the Raven placed high on bold precipitous cliffs, secure against danger, in the vast desert plains
of New Mexico he saw these birds building on low trees, and even on cactus plants less than three feet
from the ground, showing how much circumstances and localities affect the habits of birds regarding
incubation.

THE COMMON JACKDAW (Colwus monedtda).

Although the smallest of the British Corvidce, the Jackdaw may be considered the most sociable
of all ; for while the Rook takes up its abode during the breeding season in colonies in the midst of
villages and parks,, the Jackdaw,' when unmolested, may be found in the very centre of towns at all
seasons of the year. His cleverness and precocity render him a very favourite pet, and he may often
be seen hanging in a cage outside some village cottage, or imprisoned in the dark precincts of a
London costermonger's abode. For ourselves, we never could find it in our heart to cage oxir tame
Jackdaws, and all our numerous pets were brought Tip from the nest, and, as soon as they were able
to feed themselves, were allowed their liberty. Acting on this plan, we have sometimes had a dozen
tame Jackdaws about the house, all of whom would come for food when called, betaking themselves
for the greater part of the day to the fields and woods. A Jackdaw, when feeding at his ease, presents
a very stately apppearance, walking about with a dignified air, with the feathers of the head and neck
ruffled up ; on being alarmed or startled, he immediately becomes preternaturally sleek, every feather
falling close to the body of the bird, and giving him qxiite a changed aspect. It is in this attitude
that he is mostly represented in museums; and it was only recently that we discovered that the
ruffled appearance of the Jackdaw's head in life is produced by folds of skin upon the crown,
which, unless carefully preserved in the mounted specimen, is sure to convey an unnatural impression
of the bird.

The Jackdaw is found nearly all over Europe, and in most parts of the British Islands appears to
be a thoroughly resident bird. In many parts of the Continent, howevei-, he is migratory ; and we
well remember seeing a large flock of over a hundred individuals pass over the island of Heligoland,
where, however, it was not nearly so common as the Hooded Crow. In old cathedral towns, both in
England and on the Continent, the Jackdaw is a familiar object, as it particularly affects towers and
old buildings for the purpose of breeding. On the sea-shore it breeds in the cliffs in large numbers.
Throughout England, however, it as frequently nests in the holes of old trees, which it occupies
year after year. In Mr. E. Shelley's park at Avington, in Hampshire, the Jackdaws occupy a
group of elm-trees covered with ivy, where as many as a dozen pairs breed in company with Star-
lings and Stock Doves. In this same locality we once saw a huge nest exposed to the air, and built
on the ledge of an unused window of a shed. The eggs vary from four to seven in number, and are
somewhat more bluish in general character than those of the other British Crows. They are covered
with small brown blotches and dots, which are sometimes found collected at one end of the egg, some-
times distributed almost equally over its entire surface.

The following curious circumstance is related by Mr. C. B. Wharton in Mr. Dresser's " Birds of
Europe": — "On the 30th of April, 1872, I took from a hole in. an old elm-tree in Cassiobury Park,
Herts., four eggs of this bird, which were so evenly daubed all over with clay that the shell was
almost completely invisible, and the shape and weight alone told them to be eggs. The one I washed

THE HOODED CROW.

turned out to be rather a highly-coloured egg, but of the ordinary type. I may mention that in the
nest I also found a piece of hard clay (about the size of the smallest of the four eggs), with distinct
marks of a bird's beak upon it. The only reason I can think of to account for this strange conduct on
the part of the Jackdaw i.s that it may have been done to make the eggs less conspicuous to any
wandeiing Jay, the nest being placed not far from the mouth of the hole, and the eggs, consequently,
more or less in sight of a passing
bird. I showed the eggs and
clay to Professor Newton and
others, after one of the ' Zoo '
meetings, and, if I remember
rightly, you also saw them your-
self; if not then, you have seen
them in my cabinet, and will
remember them. On the 26th
of April, 1874. I took four
eggs out of the very nest above
mentioned, but they had nothing
extraordinary about them."

Mr. Dresser adds : " I have
seen the eggs above described by
Mr. "VVharton, and can confirm
what he says respecting their being
evenly and carefully daubed ; and
I should say that there is no
doubt it was done by the bird
itself, but for what reason it is
impossible to say with certainty
It appears probable that it w;>,.-;
done for the purpose of conce.il-
ment."

The Jackdaw measures about
thirteen inches in length, and is
of a black colour, with purplish
wings and tail, the back having
somewhat of a greyish shade on
the margins of the fcatners. The
crown of the head is glossy blue-
black, forming a cap, while the COMMON JACKDAW.
neck is hoary grey, inclining to

silvery grey near the cap, becoming somewhat whiter on the lower sides of the neck. Bill and feet
black; eye bluish- white. The sexes are alike in size and plumage.

THE HOODED CROW (Cor one comix -,.

The distribution of the present species over Europe is somewhat singular, as, although it occurs in
nearly every country, it cannot be said to be universally spread over the Continent, but rather appears
to be distributed in colonies. Thus it is spread over the northern parts of Great Britain and Ireland,
but diminishes in numbers as one approaches southward, where the common Carrion Crow (C.
hiemalis) is the ordinary species. Indeed, throughout Europe these two species of Crow appear to be
somewhat representative, the one replacing the other in different localities. In Northern Germany,
for instance, the river Elbe appears to constitute a dividing line, for on the east side the Hooded
Crow, and on the west side the common Carrion Crow, respectively breed. In the south of Europe
the Hooded Crow is rarer, and occurs chiefly as a migrant, but the place par excellence where the
migration of the present species can be most successfully studied is the little rocky island of

S NATURAL HISTORY.

Heligoland. Here it was our good fortune to be a witness of the autumn passage of the Hooded
Crow, which took place not — as one would have expected — in the direction of north to south, but from
east to west. We had previously been acquainted with the species only in the British Islands, and,
beyond an occasional autumn bird killed on the south coast, we had not had much opportunity for
personally observing its habits. On arriving in Heligoland, therefore, we were not a little pleased on
hearing that in a few days the Nebel-kralie might be expected, and we were informed that, if necessary,
a cart-load of specimens would be easily obtainable. We had previously offered to buy specimens
from the inhabitants at sixpence a head ; and the supply, when once the migration had set in, fully
justified our friend Mr. Gatke's experience that even a cart-load of Crows could be obtained, and our
series of specimens was soon considered sufficient.

Early one morning we were taking our usual stroll along the island when we came upon a fine

HOODED CROW.

Hooded Crow lying dead upon the jacket of a peasant, whose gun, placed at the side, showed the way
in which the bird had been brought down. Heligoland consists, as most of our readers will know, of
a sandstone rock standing alone in the middle of the sea. The town nestles under the shelter of the
eastern part of the rock ; but the governor's house, and a considerable number of streets and
buildings, including the church, are perched upon the eastern end of the rock itself; this being its
widest part.

The rest of the island, on which there is very little depth of soil, consists of potato fields, from
which, during the latter part of our stay, the Heligolanders were busily engaged in digging up their
store for the coming winter. Nearly every man as he worked in his little patch of potato ground had
his gun lying on the ground beside him ready for immediate use; and woe to the unfortunate Golden
Plover who ventures by his whistle to betray his presence in the vicinity of the island ! Most of the
Heligolanders are good shots, and nearly all of them capital imitators of the notes of birds, so that we
have often seen a flock of Golden Plover decoyed over the island again and again, until, perhaps, not
more than one or two out of a dozen would finally escape with their lives.

The fact of it is that, with the exception of sheep which are kept for the purpose of supplying the
islanders with milk, Heligoland has no animals at all upon it ; hence all the meat that is consumed

TEE CARRION CROW. 9

there lias to be brought direct from Hamburg, and hence the inhabitants are dependent to a great
extent on their guns for fresh meat. Hooded Crows, therefore, are looked upon as a very useful
article of food. We should be sorry to have to account for the number that were killed during the
time the migration lasted, as for nearly five days a continual passage of these birds went on in a
westerly direction. Scarcely had one flock disappeared in the distance than another was seen slowly
heaving in sight from the eastward. Sometimes they would fly straight over the island, flapping
lazily over the surface of the sea as they approached, and gradually rising to the cliffs as they neared
them. The flock out of which we obtained our first specimen passed over at a height of about twenty-
five feet above our heads. Very often, however, the sound of the fusillade which was continually
being carried on would warn the approaching Crows, so that they would skirt the island at a safe
distance, settling only for a few moments' rest on the cliffs at the western end. In such cases they were
always more shy and difficult of approach.

The Hooded Crow is easily recognisable by its colours, which consist of a grey mantle and under-
surface, the wings and tail, head and throat, being black. In Eastern Siberia, in Persia, and Palestine,
the individuals of this species are very much paler in colour, and seem to constitute a distinct race,
while on the shores of the Persian Gulf a very handsome form of Hooded Crow, named the Chaplain
Crow (C. capellana), is met with.

Concerning the inter-breeding of C. cornix with C. corone, we have made some remarks in
our notes on

THE CARRION CROW (Corone Itiemalis).

"We have already had occasion to allude slightly to the distribution of this bii'd and that of the
Hooded Crow, which it represents in many of the countries of Europe : as, for instance, in Scandinavia,
where the latter species is particularly abundant and the Carrion Crow entirely absent. In the
southern parts of the British Islands the Hooded Crow as a breeding species seems to be extinct,
according to the notes which have been contributed to Mr. Dressei-'s " Birds of Europe," but in many
parts of Scotland the two species occur together and inter-breed. This curious fact — one of the most
remarkable in the whole range of ornithology — is attested beyond all question by many excellent
observers in Britain and on the Continent ; and, as far as observations in the former have hitherto
gone, the male bird generally turns out to be a Carrion Crow and the female a Hooded Crow. Such
is, however, not always the case, as is evidenced by Count von Tschusi Schmidhofen in Southern
Austria, who mentions an instance of a male Hooded Crow inter-breeding with a female Carrion Crow.
The following note is contributed to Mr. Dresser's " Birds of Europe " by Mr. J. Lumsden, Junr. : — " On
the 18th of April this year (1874) our gamekeeper told me that he had on the previous day found a
Crow's nest in a high Scotch fir on the edge of a moor, and had seen both old birds flying about, one
being, he was quite sure, a grey Crow, and the other a black one. Having got this information, 1
started off with him at once to see the nest. As we got within two gunshots of the tree the old
female (Hooded Crow) flew off, and rose, croaking, above our heads. She was at once joined by the
male (Carrion Crow) ; and as the two birds flew round us I could distinctly see that the keeper was
right — that the one bird was grey and the other black. After this I visited the nest every few days,
and had frequent opportunities of identifying the birds. At first the female was very wild, and left
the nest long before we were within shot of her, but always soared above us in circles, getting higher
and higher each time, her cries bringing the male, who invai'iably came in the same direction, over the
shoulder of the hill at the foot of which the tree with the nest stood. After she had been sitting fbv
some time, however, the hen became much tamer, and would not leave the nest till the tree was struck
with a stick. At this time also we noticed that the male bird was shyer, and could only see him in
the distance. When the young came out, she laid down eggs and rabbits' entrails near the nest ; and
when watching at some distance we observed that both the old birds fed the young." Mr. Dresser,
having examined the specimens, adds the following note : — " The male bird is an ordinary Carrion
Crow, and the female, which at the first glance appeared to be a Hooded Crow, is, I find, on closer
examination, a hybrid, though approaching nearer to the Hooded than to the Can-ion Crow in
coloration of plumage. Two of the young birds closely resemble the mother, whereas the other two
are to all appearance ordinary Carrion Crows, exhibiting none of the characters of both species which
I find in other hybrids."

10 NATURAL HISTORY.

The author is indebted to his friend Mr. Henry Seebohm for the following account of the
two birds in Eastern Siberia, the MS. notes having been kindly placed in the author's hands for the
present work : —

" During the whole of our long sledge journey from Nishni Novgorod as far as Tomsk the
Hooded Crow abounded on the roadsides, and in returning during the autumn I found it
equally common on the banks of various rivers which the steamer navigates between Tomsk and
Tobolsk and the latter town and Tyn-main. Indeed, as far as my observation goes, the whole of
Russia and Western Siberia may be described as a vast colony of Hooded Crows. East Siberia,
on the other hand, is an equally vast colony of Carrion Crows. From Kras-no-yarsk to Yen-e-saisk
I saw nothing but the Carrion Crow. Middendorf records the same on the Tay-na and eastwards to
the Sea of Okhotsk; and southwards Pjeratsky (pronounced Psheratsky) found it common in
Mongolia, The distance between Tomsk and Kras-no-yarsk is about 550 versts. As you travel east-
wards from Tomsk, for the first 200 versts the Hooded Crow only is to be seen. During the last
200 versts before reaching Kras-no-yarsk the Carrion Crow alone is found. In the intermediate
150 versts about one-fourth of the Crows are thorough-bred Hooded, one-fourth are pure Carrion,
and the remaining half are hybrids of every stage — mulattoes, quadroons, octoroons, and so on ad
inftnitum. The line of demarcation between the two species may be roughly taken at the meridian
of Calcutta, extending north of Yen-e-saisk along the valley of the Yen-e-say, and south of that
town along the watershed of the Obb and the Yen-e-say. That this state of things is not of recent
origin is proved by the fact that it is recorded by Middendorf, who remarked the presence of
hybrid Crows at Yen-e-saisk as long ago as 1844. Hybrids between C. corone and C. comix occur
occasionally in Scotland, on the Elbe, in Txirkestan, and probably wherever both species occur.
The fact that these hybrids present a series of every intermediate form between the two species is
prima facie evidence of their fertility. I succeeded, however, in getting positive evidence of this fact.
On the llth of May, whilst the ground was still covered with six feet of snow, I found a pair of
hybrid Crows in possession of a nest near the top of a pine-tree. The nest contained one egg. On the
21st I climbed up to the nest again, and found it to contain five eggs. Two of these I took. On the
31st one egg was hatched and the other two were chipped ready for hatching. On the 26th of June I
again climbed up to the nest, and found that one of the young birds had either died or flown. I took
the other two and shot the female. She proved to be at least three-parts Carrion Crow. The feathers
on the sides of the neck and on the lower part of the breast and belly are grey, with dark centres. I
was unable to shoot the male, but I had on several occasions examined him through my binocular. He
had more Hooded blood in him than the female, having a very grey ring round the neck, and showing a
good deal of grey on the breast and under the wings.

" My total bag of Crows at the Ku-raj'-i-ka was three thorough-bred Hooded, two males and a
female ; ten thorough-bred Carrions, nine males and one female ; and fifteen hybrids, seven males and
eight females. These figures, as far as they go. lead me to the conclusion that the female Carrion Crows
were all breeding away in the woods, so that I rarely got a shot at one ; whereas the female hybrids
were most of them barren, so that I was able to shoot as many of one sex as of the other."

In the central and southern counties of England, where the author himself observed the Carrion
Crow, he has always found it breeding perfectly true, and in some parts of Huntingdonshire it was
by no means rare. The nest was generally placed on a high tree in the middle of a field, and was in
most cases difficult of access. In Scotland it is often seen in large flocks ; and Mr. Robert Gray
records having seen at Findlater Castle a flock which numbered 100 each of this species and of
the Hooded Crow. In Southern Europe it is gregarious, as both Yon der Miihle and Lindermayer
speak of it as a permanent resident in Greece, large numbers retiring to roost on the rocky islands,
and returning to the mainland at break of day.

The habits of the Carrion Crow are so voracious, and the bird is altogether so cunning and un-
scrupulous, that he is looked on by the gamekeeper as a natural enemy. Nor can we wonder at this,
when we read of the havoc which a pair of these birds will work if unmolested. We well remember
visiting a little group of trees, on the estate of the Marquis of Huntley at Aboyne, from which the
Crows had long since taken their departure, but beneath their nests there still remained, after a lapse
of several months, the debris of innumerable eggs of Grouse ; in fact, nothing comes amiss to its maw,

THE IXDIAX GREY-XECKED CROW. 11

and it often kills young birds, bares, and rabbits. Macgillivray adds as its food Crustacea, moliusca,
grubs, and worms, mentioning that the stomach of one trapped in Linlithgowsliire in November, 1834,
was filled with oat seeds. Its principal food, however, is carrion, and it not unfrequeiitly attacks sickly
lambs and sheep. Mr. Hogg contributes to Macgillivray 's work a detailed account of the way in
which a Carrion Crow sets to work to kill the lambs and ewes, first digging out the eyes, and, as the
animals open their mouth in pain, attacking and tearing out their tongue, until at last the poor
creatures die from exhaustion, furnishing a good meal for the Crows and their young. The Carrion
Crow will sometimes attack even living birds, as Mr. Hogg witnessed the pursuit of one after
a Grcmse ; and Montagu states that he has seen one pursue a pigeon and strike it dead.

The present species cannot be mistaken for an adult Rook, which is easily distinguished by its bare
face, but with the young of the latter bird there might be some confusion, as it has its face feathered
like the Carrion Crow. It is therefore as well to state that the two birds may be distinguished by
examining the base of the feathers, which are grey in a Rook and white in a Carrion Crow.

The total length of the Carrion Crow is about nineteen inches, and it is all over of a glossy steel
black, with a shade of purple, the feathers of the throat being lanceolate in shape.

THE INDIAN GREY-NECKED CROW (Coronc splendent).

This species is about the size of a Jackdaw, but is closely allied to the Hooded Crow of Europe,
which it resembles in its mixture of grey on the hincl neck The following account of the bird's
habits is extracted from the work of Captain Vincent Legge on the " Birds of Ceylon " (p. 350) : —
"He is gifted with as much as, if not more intelligence, than any member of his sagacious family;
and annoying as he is, on account of his large share of brains, he is nevertheless a most useful adjunct
to the sanitary regulations of Indian towns. He thrives to a marvellous degree in all these, his
prosperous condition depending mainly on his utter audacity, his entire disregard of man, his thieving
propensities, and his accurate powers of observation. He devotes himself to the timely occupation of
the back yard, the bungalow verandah, the barrack square, the abattoir, and the commissariat meat-
store, or he resorts to the scene of the fisherman's occupations on the sea-beach, or the door of the native
cottage at the morning hour of cooking, in all cases exactly at the opportune moment, and he is sure
not to come away without his wants being satisfied. While living at Trincomali I always found him
winging his way at early morn, while it \ras yet dusk, in long lines to the sea-beach and to the troops'
meat-store, to be in time for the dragging of the seine-net or the cutting up of the oxen ; and
gathering on the sands in noisy knots, or lining the branches in ' cawing ' rows, these skilful robbers
would never niiss a chance of snatching up an unguarded morsel. But it was at meal-time in the
barrack squares of Colombo that he was more particularly in his element ; crowding in scores round
the verandahs at the bugle-call of ' dinners up,' the audacious thieves waited until the tables were
spread, and eagerly watched for the opportunity of acquiring a midday repast. Luckless was the
soldier who turned his back for an instant ! From the adjacent branches to the table and back was
the work of a second, and in this space of time the savoury meat had disappeared from the gunner's
plate and was being discussed by half-a-dozen sable beaks. In the bungalow verandah the Crow proves
himself a terrible nuisance ; seated on the tops of the green ' tats/ or slyly perched on the window-sill
with his head awry, he does not scruple to pounce down, and in the momentary absence of the ayah
snatch the bread from the children's hands, or dart into the nursery and upset the, milk-jug on the
table ; or he will glide noiselessly through the breakfast-room window, and in an instant pounce upon
the sideboard or table, and having from afar selected the most tempting-looking cutlet or the best
viands, is off again before the appu, who is laying ' master's ' breakfast, can, with a well-aimed blow,
effectually stop the thief. The only satisfaction that ' master ' gets is the appu's tale, ' Sar ! I go to
kitchen for a minute, and that Crow take away master's breakfast.' I have witnessed one of these
birds come into the mess-room at Colombo, pull off the napkin that had been placed over a cold joint
on the sideboard, and begin pecking away most vigorously at the meat.

" Concerning the Crow's exploits in Ceylon, Layard writes as follows : — ' He levies contributions
on all alike : leave but your breakfast-table for a moment, and as you return, the rustling of hurrying
wings, the marks of many feet on the white table-cloth, the gashes in the pat of butter, and the
disappearance of plantains and small viands, proclaim who have been the robbers. The old " hopper

12

NATURAL HISTORY.

woman " sits frying her cakes under the lonely " pandal " of her cadjan hut, and over her, with head
inclined, taking a bird's-eye view of her cookery, sits the " caca ;" and now the "appah" (Anglice,
" hopper ") is done, lifted from the pan, and laid on the little circular basket ready for a customer.
With a grunt of satisfaction the aged crone surveys her handiwork, and drops her spoon to feel for her
beloved betel-pouch. A tiresome little bit of areca nut has got into a corner, and the old dame bends
over it, unmindful of her charge. A dark figure drops from the roof, and though she is instantly on
the alert, and aims an ineffectual blow at the thief, the nice white " appah " is borne off. Sometimes,
however, the robber has but a poor hold on it, and drops it on the red cabook road. Down pounce a
host of Crows that have been looking on from many a tree, and a scuffle ensues ; but anxious at least

to cheat them of their booty, if
not to retain the damaged article
for her own eating, the old woman
hurries to the rescue. But this
makes matters worse ; the castle is
defenceless, and unseen foes drop
down from beam and rafter or fly
in through open doors. The rice-
basket is invaded, the chilli-box
overturned, the dried fish stolen,
and lucky is the dame if the crash
of most of her little store of
crockery and glass, swept to the
ground and scattered in shining
fragments, does not hastily recall
her to her hut.'

" This account is by no means
overdrawn, for to the natives of
the bazaars the Crow is an utter
pest. I question, however, whether
his absence from the towns would
not in the end lead to much harm,
for he is a most useful scavenger,
and clears the streets and back
premises of everything thrown out
from the houses, which would
otherwise speedily decompose in
the rays of the tropical sun. Not-
withstanding its utter disregard
for the native (which is so great
that I have seen one pounce on
to a basket carried on a boy's
head and seize from it a cake or a fruit), it entertains a marked respect for the white man, and
stands in a wholesome dread of the gun, flying off the moment a stick even is pointed at it ; and
so quick-sighted is it that it espies any one trying to stalk it, and decamps at once, though it
has not seen the gun in the enemy's hand !

" At certain hours in the clay these Crows assemble in large flocks, and hold a noisy parlance which
lasts for some time. At Colombo it was usually on the beach at the ' Galle Buck,' over an evening
meal on sandflies, which they are very fond of, or engaged in pranks with the hermit-crabs, that the
affairs of the day seemed to be discussed. Often at midday a noisy meeting would take place on the
banks of the lake, and while several dozen birds held an angry debate on some fellow Crow who was
posted in the middle of the circle, others would bathe up to the thighs in the water, ducking them-
selves and splashing in all directions. A striking instance of the Crow's love of mischief and his
innate impudence was exemplified at Colombo in his habit of annoying the unoffending little Grebes

NUTCRACKER.

THE COJniOX MAGPIE. 13

which frequented the lake. Apparently for the sake of seeing them disappear under the water he
would dart down on them over and over again.

" In the towns the Grey Crow invariably roosts on the fronds of cocoa-nut trees, sitting close
together in rows, but not settling down for the night until a considerable time had been spent in
noisy discussion. It appears to feel the tropical heat at midday, taking shelter under the shadiest
branches, and often panting with its bill wide open."

THE COMMON MAGPIE (Pica rustica).

So mischievous a bird is the Magpie (see figure on p. 1) to the farmer and poultry-keeper, that
it is subjected to a great amount of persecution in return for the havoc it undoubtedly commits in
the poultry-yard ; and it requires all its natural sagacity to defend itself and its nest and young
from destruction. It is probably owing to the way in which it is shot that it has become rare in cer-
tain parts of England, especially in the well-preserved game districts. At the same time, it cannot be
said to be decreasing greatly in numbers throughout the country; and we can remember to have found
as many as sixteen Magpies' nests during a day's birds'-nesting in Huntingdonshire. In the parts of
Berkshire, on the other hand, around Cookham and its neighbourhood, where many of our field observa-
tions have been carried on, it is decidedly a scarce species. The Magpie is generally seen in pairs, but
sometimes large flocks occur. A friend, Mr. James Mallam, of Ifliey, infoi-med the author that he once
saw upwards of forty Magpies together in a wood in Hampshire. In other countries of Europe, such
as Norway and Sweden, where the bird is looked upon with favour, it becomes very familiar, and may
be found nesting close to the houses in the gooseberry-bushes. A similar instance of familiarity was
communicated to Bishop Stanley by a friend, and is recorded in the " History of Birds " as follows : —
"'Observing, in a remote and barren part of the north of Scotland, the Magpies hopping round a
gooseberry -bush, and flying in and out of it in an extraordinary manner, he noticed the circumstance
to the owners of the house in which he was, who informed him that as there were no trees in the
neighbourhood they had for several years built their nest and brought up their young in. that bush ;
and that Foxes, Cats, Hawks, &c., might not interrupt them, they had barricaded not only the nest,
but the bush itself, all round with briers and thorns in a formidable manner. The materials in the
inside of the nest were soft, warm, and comfortable to the touch; but all round, on the outside,
so rough, strong, and firmly entwined with the bush, that without a hedge-knife, or something of the
kind, even a man could not, without much pain and trouble, get at their young, the barrier from the
outer to the inner edge being above a foot in breadth. Frogs, Mice, or anything living were
plentifully brought to their young. One day, one of the parent birds attacked a Rat, but not being
able to kill it, one of the young ones came out of the nest and assisted in its destruction, which was
not finally accomplished till the other old one, arriving with a dead Mouse, also lent its aid. The
female was observed to be most active and thievish, and withal very ungrateful; for although the
children about the house had often frightened Cats and Hawks from the spot, yet she one day seized a
chicken, and carried it to the top of the house to eat it, where the hen immediately followed, and
having rescued the chicken, brought it safely down in her beak ; and it was remarked that the poor
little bird, though it made a great noise while the Magpie was carrying it up, was quite quiet and
seemed to feel no pain while its mother was carrying it down. These Magpies were supposed to have
been the very same pair which had built there for several years, never suffering either the young when
grown up or anything else to take possession of their bush. The nest they carefully fortified afresh
every spring with rough, strong, prickly sticks, which they sometimes drew in with their united
forces, if unable to effect the object alone."

The protection which the Magpie places round its nest, so as to render it a perfect chevaux de
frise, is a necessary one, not only to guard against the depredations of the prowling birds'-nester, but
also to resist the charge of small shot which the farmer or keeper relentlessly fires at any nest
supposed to contain young birds. The eggs vary in number from six to eight, and are generally pale
bluish- white, spotted with brown or greenish-brown. The markings vary considerably ; and we
remember taking a single egg from a nest in Huntingdonshire which had the larger end entirely
clouded with small spots, while the following morning we found another egg on which the spots were
entirely confined to the small end. The Magpie evinces considerable affection for a certain locality
145

14 NATURAL HISTORY.

during the breeding season, and several instances have been recorded of birds maimed by shot in one
season returning to nest in the same place the following year.

The Magpie is about sixteen inches in length, of a glossy black plumage, slightly greenish on the
crown and back, with a slightly coppery tinge on the head ; aci'oss the rump a more or less distinctly
marked white band ; scapulas, or shoulder-feathers, white ; wings blue ; the primary coverts and outer
web of primaries green ; the inner secondaries bright blue, shading into green ; all the primaries white
for nearly their entire length, the tip only black ; tail lustrous dark green, dusky black at the tip,
before which the feathers are shaded with copper, purplish-red, or purplish-blue; throat and chest
glossy black, with grey streaks on the latter ; rest of under surface white ; the abdomen, thighs, and
under wing and tail-coverts black.

THE TREE-PIES (Dcndrocitta) .

These birds might almost be called Indian Magpies, as they form one of the genera characteristic
of the Indian region. They are plentiful all over India, the Burmese countries, Southern China, and
the islands of Hainan and Formosa, and extend as high as Ningpo on the Chinese coast. The presence
of a Tree-pie in the last-named locality shows how the Indian Avifauna pushes its way up within the
limits of the eastern Palsearctic region, which is supposed to include all China north of the river
Yangtze, and many instances can be brought forward of the occurrence of truly Indian genera in
Northern China and Japan. The island of Sumatra contains a very fine species of Tree-pie peculiar
to itself, viz., D. occipitidis ; and the Andaman Islands also contain a single representative, D. bayleyi.

In general form the Tree-pies are very like true Magpies (Pica), but they have the middle tail-
feathers widened out at the tips in a very remarkable degree. They are noisy birds, and have a variety
of notes. They build large nests of sticks, lined with leaves, fine straw, tendrils, roots. &c.

THE INDIAN TEEE-PIE (UendrocMa rufa).

This is the commonest and best known species, being found all over India. According to Mr.
Hume, it breeds throughout the continent of India, alike in the plains and the hills, up to an elevation
of 6,000 or 7,000 feet. Jerdon* states that in the plains it is most common in well-wooded districts :
and in the Carnatic and bai-e table-land it is found only occasionally about the larger towns and in
hilly jungles ; but as you go farther north, it is to be seen in every grove and garden and about every
village. It sometimes occurs singly, very frequently in pairs, and now and then in small parties. It
flies from tree to tree with a slow, undulating flight. At times it feeds almost exclusively upon fruit, but
at other times on insects, grasshoppers, locusts, mantides, and caterpillars. The natives always assert
that it destroys young birds and eggs, and consider it of the Shrike genus. Mr. Smith says he " has
known this bird enter a covered verandah of a house, and nip off' half a dozen young geraniums, visit a
cage of small birds, begin by stealing the grain, and end by killing and eating the birds, and repeating
these visits daily till destroyed." Mr. Buckland stated that he had known it to enter a verandah
and catch bats. It has a variety of notes : the usual harsh cry of a Magpie ; a clear, whistling,
somewhat metallic call, which Sundevall syllabises into Kohlee-oJi-koor, or Kohlee-oh, the Bengalese
into Kotree ; and it has also a feeble, indistinct note at the pairing season, which the male
utters, and the female responds to in a sort of chuckle. When several pairs are together they
have a curious guttural call, which the Rev. Mr. Phillips, as quoted by Horsfield, says " sounds
like kafcak, or keke-kak, repeated several times." It builds a large nest of sticks, generally on lofty
trees, and lays three or four eggs of a light greenish fawn-colour, sometimes with a few indistinct pale
brown blotches. Buchanan Hamilton says : — " The Bengalese women imagine, whenever they hear
this bird calling, that it forebodes the approach of religious mendicants, who, by partaking of the
fare prepared for the family, will clean the pots used in cooking ; from which circumstance its native
name is derived " (Pan scraper) ; hence he calls it Corous mendicantium, or the Beggars' Crow.

THE COMMON JAY (Garrulus glandarim).

The present species is by no means rare throughout Europe, and is the only Jay found
until, in the neighbourhood of Constantinople and Southern Russia, it occurs along with the
Black-headed Jay which replaces it to the eastward. Like all the members of the genus Garrulus,

* "Birds of India," Vol. I., p. 314.

THE C0J/J/0A" JAY.

15

it exhibits those beautiful blue and black banded feathers in the wing which have caused it
to be considered one of the handsomest of British birds. It is indeed a great pity that such a
beautiful species should bear such a bad character, and, what is worse, should so well deserve
it. On account of its propensity for taking the eggs of game-birds, the keeper's hand is turned
ruthlessly against it, and the gibbet in the preserves often shows the mouldering remains of a
bright-plumaged Jay, who has atoned for his offences along with the Weasels and Stoats. Ac-
cording to Macgillivray: it feeds on fruit, and is particularly fond of beans and peas, but it also
feeds on worms, larvae, and snails, plunders the nests of small birds, and pounces 011 mice and
sometimes small birds. We can ourselves vouch for its partiality to peas, for some of the earliest
specimens of our acquaintance were shot in the grey dawn of the morning from a kitchen garden

A

COMMON JAY.

which was regularly visited by Jays for the purpose of attacking the rows of peas. This they did
with great avidity, the crops of those examined being perfectly distended with the peas they had
eaten.

The Jay is a favourite cage-bird, and becomes a very amusing pet; it is an excellent mimic,
and has been said to imitate such sounds as the neighing of a horse, the sound of a saw, the calling
of fowls, the barking of dogs, and other noises, with the greatest exactness. It is about thirteen,
inches in length, of a vinous red colour, becoming pale grey on the back ; the rump and upper tail-
coverts pure white ; the tail black, washed with grey near the base, and having slight indications of
bluish-grey bars ; the wing-coverts are light grey, inclining to chestnut on the median series ; the
bastard wing and primary coverts barred with black and bright cobalt blue, as also are the outer
greater coverts, the inner ones of the last series being black ; ouills black, the primaries washed with
ashy grey, the secondaries shaded with cobalt near the shaft, and white for more than half of the outer
web; the inner secondaries black, the innermost deep chestnut, tipped with black; the head is crested,
the forehead being white, streaked with black ; on the cheeks a broad band of black ; the under

16 NATURAL HISTORY.

surface of the body pale vinous ; the thighs whitish ; and the vent and under tail-coverts pure
white.

THE BLUE JAYS (Cyanocitta).

As we have before mentioned, the true Jays are strictly confined to the Old World, and their
place is taken in America by a group of Corvine birds which are called Blue Jays. Of these, the
most familiar is

THE COMMON BLUE JAY (Cyanocitta crintnta}.

Although in plumage he differs from the ordinary type of Garrulus, yet in his habits the Blue Jay
seems to be in many respects similar. He is found over the greater part of North America, and where
he is persecuted he becomes exceeding shy and suspicious ; but in some parts of the United States,
where protection is afforded him, he becomes quite tame and familiar, breeding close to houses and
sometimes even in the streets of large towns. Thus Dr. Brewer states that in 1843 he saw a nest of
this Jay filled with young in a tree standing near the house of Mr. Audubon in the city of New York.
The same gentleman does justice to the utility of the Jay in the following paragraph : — " Dr. Kirtlaiid
has informed me of the almost invaluable services rendered to the farmers in his neighbourhood by the
Blue Jays in the destruction of Caterpillars. When he first settled on his farm he found every apple
and wild cherry-tree in the vicinity extensively disfigured and denuded of its leaves by the larva? of
the Clisiocampa americana, or the Tent Caterpillar. The evil was so extensive that even the best
farmers despaired of counteracting it. Not long after the Jays colonised upon his place he found
they were feeding their young quite extensively with these larvse, and so thoroughly that, two or three
years afterwards, not a worm was to be seen in that neighbourhood ; and more recently he has
searched for it in vain, in order to rear cabinet specimens of the Moth." *

In size the Blue Jay measures about eleven inches and a half, and is of a greyish-purple colour
above, the crest being also of this colour ; round the hind neck is a collar of black extending down to
the fore neck, and across the forehead is another narrow line of black ; under surface of body pale
lilac brown, inclining to white on the lower abdomen and under tail-coverts ; the cheeks are whitish,
and the tail-feathers are broadly tipped with white, as also the greater wing-coverts and secondaries.
These last few characters distinguish the Common Blue Jay from a group of allied species with black
cheeks, blue on the abdomen, and no white tips to the secondary quills or tail-feathers. These are
Steller's Blue Jay (C. stelleri), the Long-crested Blue Jay (C. macrolopha}, and the two Mexican Blue
Jays (C. coronata and C. diademata), the latter being scarcely sepai-able as a species. The ordinary
Blue Jay is spread over Canada and the northern and eastern United States. C. stelleri takes its
place on the Pacific side of North America, from Columbia to Sitka, which in the Sierra Nevada is
represented by an allied race, called by Mr. Bidgway C. frontalis. C. macrolopha is the species of the
Rocky Mountains, and C. diademata of the highlands of Mexico.

THE LONG-TAILED BLUE JAYS (Xantfiura).

These are also inhabitants of Central and South America, and are little known. They are all
birds of variegated plumage and of handsome appearance. The tail is rather lengthened, exceeding
the wing in length. It is unfortunate that the name Xantkura (yellow-tailed) has to be adopted for
them, as some of them have the tail l)lue. Indeed, only four out of fourteen species can be said to
possess the yellow tail; and one of these, known as the Green Jay (Xanthura luxuosa), penetrates
into Texas, and can thei-efore be considered as a North American bird. From the work of Messrs.
Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway we cull a short note on the last-mentioned species : — " Colonel George A.
McCall, Inspector-General of the United States Army, was the first person to collect these birds
within our limits. He obtained them in the forests which border the Rio Grande, on the south-
eastern frontier of Texas. There he found them all mated in the month of May, and he felt no
doubt that they had their nests in the extensive and almost impenetrable thickets of mimosa,
commonly called chaparral. From the jealousy and pugnacity which these birds manifested on the
approach, or appearance even, of the large boat-tailed Blackbirds of that country (Quiscalus mac-runts),
which were nesting in great numbers in the vicinity, Colonel McCall was satisfied that the Jays were

* " History of North American Birds," Vol. II., p. 276.

THE BARE-DECKED CROW.

17

at that time also engaged in the duties of incubation and rearing their young. In character and
tempei-ament these birds appeared to be very active and lively, though less noisy than some other
species of the family. Their gay plumage was exhibited to great advantage as they flitted from tree
to tree, or dashed boldly in pursuit of such of their more plainly-attired neighbours as ventured to
intrude upon their domain."

THE BARE-NECKED CROW (Picathartcs gi/mnocephalm).

To appreciate the peculiar appearance of this Crow, it should be seen either in a living state or
preserved in spirits, because the bare skin of the head loses its colour in the dried specimens. The
whole head and nape are bare,
but, as will be seen by the wood-
cut, there is a fleshy skin, of a
bright yellow colour in life, which
occupies the whole of it, except-
ing the sides of the hinder part
of the skull and the ear-hole.
This yellow skin passes over
the occiput and joins the hinder
neck, which is covered with a
few bristly feathers. The upper
surface is dark grey ; the throat,
sides of neck, and under surface
white. The home of the Bare-
necked Crow is the intei'ior of
the Gold Coast, where it is
found only in the forests, and
being considered fetish by the
natives, is with great difficulty
procured. The examples in the -5
British Museum were obtained
by the exertions of Governor
Ussher, who, during his resi-
dence on the Gold Coast, em-
ployed a most intelligent native
collector to penetrate into the
interior for the purpose of col-
lecting natural history speci-
mens. This man affirmed that the birds were found in rocky forest grounds, generally in the
neighbourhood of streams, building among rocks, and feeding on fresh-water shell-fish, snails, and
reptiles. The native in question also procured the nestling and the egg. The latter is like that
of many other Crows, and the nestling is coloured like the adult, having the bare head, and being
dark grey above, white below, with remains of nestling down.

THE HUIA, OR NEW ZEALAND WOOD-CROW (Hetcralocha acutirostris).

This very curious and aberrant Crow is a native of New Zealand, and is not found anywhere
else. Even in that country it is very rare, and is becoming fast exterminated, like so many other
New Zealand birds. The remarkable difference in the shape of the bill in the two sexes of the Huia
led to the belief, for a long time, that these were two species ; but it has since been proved that not
only does the male have a very differently shaped bill from that of the female, but that this structural
peculiarity serves a good purpose in the economy of the species. The best account of the Huia
has been written by Dr. Buller, to whose pen we are indebted for the following extracts
from his " Birds of New Zealand " : — " Ere long it will exist only in our museums and other
collections ; and, for the sake of science, it is important that everything connected with its natural
history should be faithfully recorded and preserved. In the absence of any published account of its

BARE-NECKED CROW. (After Keulemans.)

18 NATURAL HISTORY.

habits, beyond mere fragmentary notices, I have thought the subject of sufficient interest to justify
my placing before the Society the following complete account of all that I have been able to ascertain
respecting it. The peculiar habits of feeding, which I have described from actual observation, furnish
to my own mind a sufficient 'reason' for the different development of the mandibles in the two
sexes, and may, I think, be accepted as a solution of the problem.

" Before proceeding to speak of the bird itself, I would remark on the very restricted character of
its habitat. It is confined within narrow geographical boundaries, being met with only in the
Ruahine Tararua, and Rimutaka mountain-ranges, with their divergent spurs, and in the intervening
wooded valleys. It is occasionally found in the Fayus forests of the Wairarapa Valley, and in. the

rugged country stretching to
the westward of the Ruahine
range, but it seldom wanders
far from its mountain haunts.
I have been assured of its
occurrence in the wooded
country near Massacre Bay
(Province of Nelson), but I
have not been able to obtain
any satisfactory evidence on
this point. It is worthy of
remark that the natives, who
prize the bird very highly for
its tail-feather? (which are
used as a badge of mourning),
state that, unlike other species
which have of late years
diminished and become more
confined to their range, the
Huia was from time imme-
morial limited in its distribu-
tion to the district I have
indicated.

"My first specimen of
this singular bird (an adult
female) was obtained in 1855
from tlie Wainuiomata Hills,
a continuation of the Rimutaka range, bounding the "Wellington harbour on the northern side
— the same locality from which Dr. Dieffenbach, neai-ly twenty years before, received the examples
figured by Mr. Gould in his magnificent work, ' The Birds of Austi-alia.' I have since obtained
many fine specimens, and in the summer of 1864 I succeeded in getting a pair of live ones.
They were caught by a native in the ranges and brought down to Manawatu, a distance of more than
fifty miles, on horseback. The owner refused to take money for them ; but I negotiated an exchange
for a valuable greenstone. I kept these birds for more than a year, waiting a favourable opportunity
of forwarding them to the Zoological Society of London. Through the carelessness, however, of a
servant, the male bird was accidentally killed ; and the other, manifesting the utmost distress, pined
for her mate, and died ten days afterwards.

" The readiness with which these birds adapted themselves to a condition of captivity was very
remarkable. Within a few days after their capture they had become perfectly tame, and did not
appear to feel in any degree the restraint of confinement ; for, although the window of the apartment
in which they were kept was thrown open and replaced by thin wire netting, I never saw them make
any attempt to regain their liberty. It is well known, however, that birds of different species differ
widely in natural disposition and temper. The captive Eagle frets in his sulky pride ; the Bittern
refuses food, and dies untamable ; the fluttering little Humming-bird beats itself to death against the

HUIA, ou XE\V ZEALAND WOOD-CROW. (After Keulemans.)

THE HUIA, OR NEW ZEALAND WOOD-CROW. 19

tiny bars of its prison in its futile efforts to escape ; and many species that appear to submit readily to
their changed condition of life ultimately pine, sicken, and die. There are other species, again, which
cheerfully adapt themselves to their new life, although caged at maturity, and seem to thrive fully as
well under confinement as in a state of nature. Parrots, for example, ai-e easily tamed ; and I have
met with numerous instances of their voluntary return after having regained their liberty. This
character of tamability was exemplified to perfection in the Huias.

" They were fully adult birds, and were caught in the following simple manner : — Attracting the
birds, by an imitation of their cry, to the place where he lay concealed, the native, with the aid of a
long rod, slipped a running knot over the head of the female and secured her. The male, emboldened
by the loss of his mate, suffered himself to be easily caught in the same manner. On receiving these
birds, I set them free in a well-lined and properly ventilated room, measuring about six feet by eight
feet. They appeared to be stiff after their severe jolt on horseback, and after feeding freely on the
huliu grub, a pot of which the native had brought with them, they retired to one of the perches I had
set up for them, and cuddled together for the night.

" In the morning I found them somewhat recruited, feeding with avidity, sipping water from a
dish, and flitting about in a very active manner. It was amusing to note their treatment of the Imhu.
This grub, the larva of a large nocturnal Beetle (Prionoplus reticidaris), which constitutes their
principal food, infests all decayed timber, attaining at maturity the size of man's little finger. Like
all grubs of its kind, it is furnished with a hard head and horny mandibles. On offering one of these
to the Huia, he would seize it in the middle, and at once transferring it to his perch, and placing one
foot firmly upon it, he wo\ild tear off the hard parts, and then, throwing the grub upwards to secure
it lengthwise in his bill, would swallow it whole. For the first few days these birds were compara
tively quiet, remaining stationary on their perch as soon as their hunger was appeased. But they
afterwards became more lively and active, indulging in play with each other, and seldom remaining
more than a few moments in one position. I sent to the woods for a small branched tree, and placed
it in the centre of the room, the floor of which was spread with sand and gravel. It was most
interesting to watch these graceful birds hopping from branch to branch, occasionally spreading the
tail into a broad fan, displaying themselves in a variety of natural attitudes, and then meeting to
caress each other with their ivory bills, uttering, at the same time, a low affectionate twitter. They
generally moved along the branches by a succession of light hops, after the manner of the Kokako
(Glaucapis ciiierea), and they often descended to the floor, where their mode of progression was the
same. They seemed never to tire of probing and chiselling with their beaks. Having discovered that
the canvas lining of the room was pervious, they were incessantly piercing it and tearing off large
strips of paper, till, in the course of a few days, the walls were completely defaced.

" But what interested me most of all was the manner in which the birds assisted each other in
their search for food, because it appeared to explain the use, in the economy of nature, of the differently
formed bills in the two sexes. To divert the birds, I introduced a log of decayed wood infested with
the Imhu grub. They at once attacked it, carefully probing the softer parts with their bills, and then
vigorously assailing them, scooping out the decayed wood till the larva or pupa was visible, when it
was carefully drawn from its cell, treated in the way described above, and then swallowed. The very
different development of the mandibles in the two sexes enabled them to perform separate offices.
The male always attacked the more decayed portions of the wood, chiselling out his prey after the
manner of some Woodpeckers, while the female probed with her long pliant bill the other cells, where
the hardness of the surrounding parts resisted the chisel of her mate. Sometimes I observed the male
remove the decayed portions without being able to reach the grub, when the female would at once
come to his aid, and accomplish with her long slender bill what he had failed to do. I noticed, how-
ever, that the female always appropriated to her own use the morsels thus obtained.

" For some days they refused to eat anything but huhu ; but by degrees they yielded to a change
of food, and at length would eat cooked potato, boiled rice, and raw meat minced up in small pieces.
They were kept supplied with a dish of fresh water, but seldom washed themselves, although often
repairing to the vessel to drink. Their ordinary call was a soft and clear whistle, at first prolonged,
then short and cmickly repeated, both birds joining in it. When excited or hungry, they raised
their whistling note to a high pitch j at other times it was softly modulated, with variations, or

20

NATURAL HISTORY.

changed into a low chuckling note. Sometimes their cry resembled the whining of young puppies so
exactly as almost to defy detection."

SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE CROWS.— THE CHOUGHS (Fregilina).

In this sub-family, which contains only a few species, the bill is long and gently curved, and the
nostrils are placed low down in the upper mandible. They are hidden by a dense tuft of bristles. In

England the sub-family is represented by the Red-billed or "Cornish" Chough, the same species
which is alluded to in the old English glee —

"The Chough and Crow to roost are gone."

In Cornwall and the south-west of England the bird is no longer very plentiful, but is found on the
rocky coasts of parts of Wales, the Hebrides, ifec. In the mountains of Switzerland and Southern
Europe the Alpine Chough (Pyrrhocorax alpinus] occurs, ranging as far as the Himalayas, and in
Australia the sub-family is represented by the White-winged Chough (Corcorax melanorhamphus).
A word, too, must be said about the curious Desert Choughs (Podoces), which inhabit Central Asia,
where they are found only in the dreary sandy wastes and deserts which stretch from Bokhara to
Eastern Tibet,

ORDER PASSERIFORMES : PERCHING BIRDS.
CHAPTER II.

BIRDS OF PARADISE — ORIOLES DROXGOS WOOD SHRIKES — CUCKOO SHRIKES — FLYCATCHERS.

THE BIRDS OF PAEADISE —Variety of Plumage— Gaudily dressed Crows— Points in which they differ from the Crows-
Two Sub-families—Mr. Wallace's Account of their Habits — Their History— The Great Bird of Paradise — The Smaller
Bird of Paradise— Dr. Beccari on the Birds of Paradise of the Arfaks— THE ORIOLES- -THE GOLDEN ORIOLE—
Mr. Dresser's Description of its Habits— Size and Colour— THE DRONGOS— Distinctive Features— The Marquis of
Tweeddale's Definition of the Family— THE WOOD SHRIKES— Mr. Gould's Account of the Pied Grallina— THE
COMMON WOOD SHRIKE- THE CUCKOO SHRIKES— Habitat— Appearance— Mr. Gould on the Black-faced Cuckoo
Shrike— Dr. Jerdon on the Common Indian Species— THE FLYCATCHERS— Characters— THE COMMON FLY-
CATCHER—Habits— THE FANTAILS— Mr. Gould's Account of the White-shafted Fantail and the Black Fantail— THE
PARADISE FLYCATCHERS— THE RESTLESS FLYCATCHER.

THE SECOND FAMILY OF THRUSH-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.

THE BIRDS OF PARADISE (Paradisiida}.

WITH the exception of the Humming-birds, there is no family which embraces so many peculiar
and fantastically decorated forms as that of the Birds of Paradise. Eveiy variety of plumage is met
with in them, some having extraordinary plumes on the head, others being adorned with breast-
shields, while many have the flank feathers produced to an inordinate length, so as even to
hide the tail-feathers in some of the species. Strip them of their gorgeous plumage, and their time
affinities become at once apparent, and they stand confessed as being nothing more than gaudily dressed
Crows. Some of the Birds of Paradise — such as the Manucodes (Manucodia), or the Brown Birds of
Paradise (Lycocorax) — exhibit even a Corvine appearance in their plumage, the latter birds being of a
plain brown and black colour; but the whole family differ from the true Crows in the proportions of
their feet, the outer toe being a little shorter than the middle one and longer than the inner toe, the
hind toe, at the same time, being very large, and equalling the middle one in length. The family
may be divided into two sub-families, the first of which may be called the Sickle-billed Birds of
Paradise (Epimackince). All of these have a long curved bill, and include the Rifle Birds (Ptilorhis),
the Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise (Seleucides), and the Sickle-bills (Drepanornis and Epimachus],
The second sub-family is that of the true Paradise Birds (Paradisiince). About thirty-four different
kinds are known up to the present time, and the range of the family is included in a very small
area : for, with the exception of the Rifle Birds and Manucodes, which are found in Australia as
well as New Guinea, all the other members of the family are inhabitants of the latter island
and the adjacent Moluccas, extending as far as the Batchian and Gilolo group. Science is indebted
to Mr. A. R. Wallace for authentic information respecting the habits of the Paradise Birds,
and the following extracts ara taken from his well-known work on the Malay Archipelago.
Writing in 1869, Mr. Wallace observes: — "As many of my journeys were made with the
express object of obtaining specimens of the Birds of Paradise, and learning something of their
habits and distribution, and being (as far as I am aware) the pnly Englishman who has seen
these wonderful birds in their native forests, and obtained specimens of many of them, I propose
to give here, in a connected form, the result of my observations and inquiries. When the earliest
European voyagers reached the Moluccas in search of cloves and nutmegs, which were then rare and
precious spices, they were presented with the dried skins of birds so strange and beautiful as to excite
the admiration even of these wealth-seeking rovers. The Malay traders gave them the name of
Jfanifk dewata, or God's Birds ; and the Portuguese, finding that they had no feet or wings, and not
being able to learn anything axithentic about them, called them Passaros de Sol, or Birds of the Sun ;
while the learned Dutchmen, who wrote in Latin, called them Avis paradiseus, or Paradise Birds.
John van Linschoten gives these names in 1598, and tells us that no one has seen these birds alive,
for they live in the air, always turning towards the sun, and never lighting on the earth till they die ;
for they have neither feet nor wings : as, he adds, may be seen by the birds carried to India, and
sometimes to Holland ; but being very costly, they were then rarely seen in Europe. More than a
hundred years later, Mr. William Funnel, who accompanied Dampier, and wrote an account of the
voyage, saw specimens at Amboyna, and was told that they came to Banda to eat nutmegs, which
146

22

NATURAL HISTORY.

intoxicated them and made them fall down senseless, when they were killed by Ants. Down to 1760,
when Linnaeus named the largest species Paradisea apoda (the Footless Paradise Bird), no perfect
specimen had been seen in Europe, and absolutely nothing was known about them. And even now,
a hundred years later, most books state that they migrate annually to Ternate, Banda, and Amboyna ;
whereas the fact is that they are as completely unknown in those islands in a wild state as they are

TWELVE-WIRED BIEB OF PARADISE.

in England. Linnaeus was also acquainted with a small species, which he named Paradisea reyia
(the King Bird of Paradise), and since then nine or ten others have been named, all of which were
first described from skins preserved by the savages of New Guinea, and generally more or less im-
perfect. These are now all known in the Malay Archipelago as Burony mati, or dead birds, indicating
that the Malay traders never saw them alive."

"The Great Bird of Paradise (Paradisea apoda* of Linnaeus) is the largest species known, being
generally seventeen or eighteen inches from the beak to the tip of the tail. The body, wings, and tail
are of a rich coffee brown, which deepens on the breast to a blackish-violet or purple brown. The

* Apoda, without feet.

THE BIRDS OF PARADISE. 23

whole top of the head and neck is of an exceedingly delicate straw yellow, the feathers being short and
close set, so as to resemble plush or velvet ; the lower part of the throat up to the eye is clothed with
scaly feathers of an emerald green colour, and with a rich metallic gloss, and velvety plumes of a still
deeper green extend in a band across the forehead and chin as far as the eye, which is bright yellow.
The beak is pale lead blue ; and the feet, which are rather large and very strong and well formed, are
of a pale ashy pink. The two middle feathers of the tail have no webs, except a very small one at the
base and at the extreme tip, forming wire-like cirrhi, which spread out in an elegant double curve, and
vary from twenty-four to thirty-four inches long. From each side of the body, beneath the wings,
springs a dense tuft of long and delicate plumes, sometimes two feet in length, of the most intense
golden orange colour, and very glossy, but changing towards the tips into a pale brown. This tuft of
plumage can be elevated and spread out at pleasure, so as almost to conceal the body of the bird. These
splendid ornaments are entirely confined to the male sex, while the female is really a very plain and
ordinary -looking bird of an uniform coffee brown colour, which never changes ; neither does she possess
the long tail wires, nor a single yellow or green feather about the head. The young males of the first
year exactly resemble the females, so that they can only be distinguished by dissection. The first change
is the acquisition of the yellow and green colour on the head and throat, and at the same time the two
middle tail-feathers grow a few inches longer than, the rest, but remain webbed on both sides. At a
later period these feathers are replaced by the long bare shafts of the full length, as in the adult bird ;
but there is still no sign of the magnificent orange side plumes which, later still, complete the attire
of the perfect male. To effect these changes there must be at least three successive moultings ; and as
the birds were found by me in all the stages about the same time, it is probable that they moult only
once a year, and that the full plumage is not acquired till the bird is four years old. It was long
thought that the fine train of feathers was assumed for a short time only at the breeding season, biit
my own experience, as well as the observation of birds of an allied species which I brought home with
me to England, and which lived for two years, show that the complete plumage is retained during the
whole year, except during a short period of moulting, as with most other birds. The Great Bird of
Paradise is very active and vigorous, and seems to be in constant motion all day long. It is very
abundant, small flocks of females and young males being constantly met with ; and though the full-
plumaged birds are less plentiful, their loud cries, which are heard daily, show that they also are very
numerous. Their note is, ' Wauk-wauk-wauk-iuok-wok-wok,' and is so loud and shrill as to be heard
at a great distance, and to form a most prominent and characteristic animal sound in the Aru Islands.
The mode of nidification is unknown : but the natives told me that the nest was formed of leaves
placed on an ant's nest, or on some projecting limb of a very lofty tree, and they believe that it contains
only one young bird. The egg is quite unknown, and the natives declared they had never seen it ;
and a very high reward offered for one by a Dutch official did not meet with success. They moult about
January or February, and in May, when they are in full plumage, the males assembling early in the
morning to exhibit themselves in the singular manner already described. This habit enables the natives
to obtain specimens with comparative ease. As soon as they find that the birds have fixed upon a tree
on which to assemble, they build a little shelter of palm leaves in a convenient place among the
branches, and the hunter ensconces himself in it before daylight, armed with his bow and a number of
arrows terminating in a round knot. A boy waits at the foot of the tree, and when the birds come at
sunrise, and a sufficient number have assembled and have begun to dance, the hunter shoots with his
blunt arrow so strongly as to stun the bird, which drops down, and is secured and killed by the boy
without its plumage being injured by a drop of blood. The rest take no notice, and fall one after
another till some of them take the alarm."

Speaking of the smaller Bird of Paradise (Paradisea papwma), Mr. Wallace says : — " The true
Paradise Birds are omnivorous, feeding on fruits and insects — of the former preferring the small figs ;
of the latter, grasshoppers, locusts, and phasmas, as well as cockroaches and caterpillars. "When I
returned home, in 1862, I was so fortunate as to find two adult males of this species in Singapore;
and as they seemed healthy, and fed voraciously on rice, bananas, and cockroaches, I determined on
giving the very high price asked for them — £100 — and to bring them to England by the overland
route under my own care. On my way home I stayed a week at Bombay, to break the journey and
to lay in a fresh stock of bananas for my birds. I had great difficulty, however, in supplying them with

NATURAL HISTOltY.

insect food, for in Peninsu-
lar and Oriental steamers
cockroaches were scarce,
and it was only by setting
traps in the store-rooms, and
by hunting an hour every
night in the forecastle, that
I could secure a few dozens
of these creatures, scarcely
enough for a single meal.
At Malta, where I stayed a
fortnight, I got plenty of
cockroaches from a bake-
house, and when I left took
with me several biscuit-tins
full as provision for the
voyage home. We came
through the Mediterranean
in March, with a very cold
wind ; and the only place

on board the mail-steamer where their large cage
coxild be accommodated was exposed to a strong
current of air down a hatchway, which stood open
day and night : yet the birds never seemed to feel
the cold. During the night journey from Marseilles
to Paris it was a sharp frost ; yet they arrived in
London in perfect health, and lived in the Zoological
Gardens for one and tAvo years, often displaying
their beautiful plumes to the admiration of the
spectators. It is evident, therefore, that the
Paradise Birds are very hardy, and require air and
exercise rather than heat ; and I feel sure that if a
good-sized conservatory could be devoted to them, or
if they could be turned loose in the Tropical Depart-
ment of the Crystal Palace or the Great Palm House
at Kew, they would live in this country for many
years."

After Mr. Wallace's return to Europe, the
Dutch Government, stimulated by the successful
result of his travels made in their East Indian pos-
sessions, despatched thither several excellent collec-
tors, whose names are now household words to the
ornithologist : such as Bernstein, Von Rosenberg,
and Van Muschenbroek ; whilst within the last few
years the expeditions of Dr. A. B. Meyer, and of the
Italian travellers D'Albertis and Beccari, have suc-
ceeded in making us acquainted with many species
which Mr. Wallace was unable to procure, as well
as in obtaining some new species of these wonderful
birds. Dr. Beccari spent some time on the Arfak
Mountains in North-western New Guinea, and he
has written a long account of the ornithology of that
wonderful region. From this essay a few sentence:-.

GORGETED BIRD OF PARADISE.

THE GOLDEN ORIOLE. 25

are quoted, as they convey a very good idea of the charms which the traveller in New Guinea
experiences on meeting the Birds of Paradise in a state of nature. " The Arfaks call the Gorgeted Bird
of Paradise (Astrajria gularis) ' Haroma,' and the adult of the Great Bird of Paradise ' Kambiloja,'
while the young ones and females are called ' Lessoa.' D' Albertis' Paradise Bird (Drepanornis* albert isi),
named after the discoverer, is well known to the Arfaks under the name of ' Sagroja.' It is not very
rare, but difficult to find, because, as the hunters assure me, it has no peculiar cry, so that it is only
met with by chance. Its inconspicuous colour also makes it difficult to see. It is partial to places
near recent clearings, from 3,000 to 5,000 feet, as it has the habit of flying to dead trees and fallen
trunks, about which it finds the insects which form its food. In the stomachs of the two specimens I
dissected I found only insects of various orders, ants predominating, and the larvae of a lepidopterous
insect. As to the Wattled Bird of Paradise (Paradiyalla carunculata), I shot one from my hut while
it was eating the small fleshy fruits of an Urtica. It likes to sit on the tops of dead and leafless trees,
like Dumont's Grakle (Mino dumonti). The finest ornament of this bird are its wattles, which in the
dried skin lose all their beauty. The upper ones, which are attached one 011 each side of the forehead,
are of a yellowish-green colour ; those at the base of the lower mandible are blue, and have a small
patch of orange beneath. The Arfaks call the Paradigalla ' Happoa.' Of the Six-plumed Bird of
Paradise (Paroturt sexpennis) I got one adult male alive, but it lived only three days. Its eye, with the
iris azure, surrounded by a yellow ring, is extremely beautiful. The six feathers which ornament
the head are not raised up vertically, but moved backwards and forwards in a horizontal and oblique
direction, and are moved forward parallel to the sides of the beak. It is the commonest Paradise Bird
on Mount Arfak ; but, as usual, the adult males are much scarcer than the females and young males."
" The superb Bird of Paradise is rather rarer than the Parotia ; but I must tell you that the abun-
dance of fruit-eating birds in a given locality depends principally on the season at which certain kinds
of fruit are ripe ; therefore, a species may be common in a place one month, and become rare or
completely disappear in the next, when the season of the fruit on which it lives has passed. The
magnificent Bird of Paradise (DiphyUod&fy spedosa] is also pretty common, and easy to kill when
one has learnt to know its song, which resembles a kind of teia-teia-teia , repeated several times with
diminishing force. The sound produced by kissing the palm of the hand is a very good imitation.
When once you have heard the song, if you approach carefully, especially early in the morn-
ing, you will find some small spaces, about a yard and a half in diameter, clear of sticks and leaves,
where one or two males are paying court to a female. The males then erect all their feathers ; the
skin of the neck swells up like a bladder ; the head seems like the centre of an aureola, which is formed
beneath by the expanded feathers of the breast, and above by those of the yellow mantle, which are
carried in a perfectly vertical position and spread like a fan. I kept a bird of this species alive for
some days. It is found sometimes at a little distance from the sea on the plains, but perhaps more often
on the hills, at 1,000 to 2,000 feet of elevation, preferring open spaces and the vicinity of streams."

THE THIRD FAMILY OF THRUSH-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.
THE ORIOLES (Oriollida}.

The Orioles are generally of a bright yellow colour, with black wings, which contrast with and
contrive to show oft' the golden tints of the plumage to the best advantage. They are all inhabitants
of the Old World, and must not be mistaken for the Hang-nests of America (Icteridce), which often go
by the popular name of Orioles also. The best known species of the family is

THE GOLDEN ORIOLE (Oriolut galbula).§

This species is a rare visitor to England, but many instances of its occurrence have been
recorded, and on one or two occasions it has been said to breed in Britain. It is found throughout
Central and Southern Europe in summer, but does not extend very far north, and departs in winter
to South Africa, where it is found in the Cape Colony, and occurs also in certain places on the east
coast also. It is very common in Persia during the summer, and ranges eastwards to Central Asia,

* apeiraioj, a sickle ; Jpw, a bird. f irapom's, a curl by the ear. J s^vAAos, two-leaved. § galbus, yellow.

26

XATURAL mSTOIlV.

One of the best accounts of tlie Golden Oriole is that given by Mr. Dresser in the " Birds of
Europe," as it is a bird with which he was personally well acquainted. He observes, " The Golden
Oriole is a shy and unobtrusive bird; "and, in spite of its gaudy coloration, it is by no means a
conspicuous or easily observed species. It affects evergreen groves and woods, where it keeps to the
dense foliage, and appears to be a restless, uneasy bird, continually moving from place to place.
When in Finland, now nearly twenty years ago, I had very ample opportunities of observing this
species, for a pair bred in a garden, and were generally to be found in the high trees of a fine old
avenue in front of the windows of the house in which I was living, and the clear bold whistle of the
male and his mewing call could generally be heard. In spite of their being unmolested, they were
shy. and used to hide amongst the dense foliage of the tree-tops, seldom descending into the bushes,

GOLDEN ORIOLE.

and were usually observed flying from one grove to another. I noticed that the flight was rolling and
heavy, but swift ; and they appeared to avoid taking long flights. I have since then seen the Golden
Oriole in many countries, and have always found it a shy bird, difficult to observe or to approach.
During the pairing season they may be observed chasing each other from grove to grove ; and at that
season especially it is a quarrelsome bird, not only as regards its own species, but it will chase away
other birds that approach its chosen haunts. For any one who can closely imitate its note, it is no
difficult matter to approach within a short distance of it, or rathei1, to entice it within range. Amongst
the German foresters I have found many who can immediately entice an Oriole ; but the bird has so
good an ear that, although it will at first answer the call, it soon discovers the trick played on it,
should a single note be false, and it is then hopeless to try and approach it. I can call this species
tolerably well ; but an old Oriole will generally find me out before he gets within range. Mr. Carl
Sachse, however, is an adept at calling an Oriole ; and I have been with him when he has enticed one
within a few yards of the place where we were concealed. On one occasion he got three Orioles within
range at the same time, which, considering the general wariness of this bird, is a tolerably good proof
of his powers of mimicry. The note of the Oriole is a clear loud whistle, varied somewhat so as to
resemble the syllables huidleo, kuitidleo, huidleo, so clearly is the tone given. From its note many

THE KIXG CROWS. 27

of its local names, such as Vogel Billow, Schulz von Billow in Germany, and Kuhankeittdja, as it is
usually called by the Finnish peasants, are derived. Besides its clear whistle, it has a peculiar harsh
mewing call-note ; and its note of alarm is a harsh chirr. During the pairing season it utters what is
apparently a note of affection, resembling the syllable hio, by mimicking which, together with its
whistle, it can generally be enticed within range. Mr. Carl Sachse sends me the following note on its
habits, as observed by him in Rhenish Prussia, viz : — ' With us it inhabits the groves where
there are small ravines through which water flows, especially beech and oak groves, and where the
undergrowth is dense. It arrives at rather irregular times, according to the season. It arrived earliest
in 1863 and 1865, in both of which years it was seen as early as the 18th of April; whereas
in 1875 the first was seen on. the 5th of May. About the middle of August, or from then to the
early part of September, it leaves us again; and, as may be almost taken for granted, it raises
only one brood in the season. It is a wild, restless, quarrelsome bird ; in the pairing season bitter
encounters take place, and I have seen four or five together fighting in the air. Long before sun-
rise its clear flute-like note may be heard; but during the daytime it whistles less frequently.
It ranges over a considerable tract ; and hence its nest is hard to find, except when it breeds in
the gardens. It may be enticed, by imitating its note, to within a few yards' distance, but is hard
to shoot, for it hops from twig to twig in the dense foliage, uttering its song in a low tone.
Usually a male and a female arrive together ; sometimes, however, three or four individuals ; and
then they immediately commence quarrelling.' The food of the present species is varied according
to the season of the year, but it is chiefly insectivorous when insect food is to be had, and more
especially so in the spring, before any fruit is ripe. It devours all sorts of insects that inhabit the
woodlands, but is especially fond of the large green caterpillars which are found on the leaves of the
trees. It also feeds largely on berries and fruit when in season, but is not more destructive in a
garden than many other birds, and amply repays any mischief it may do by the number of noxious
insects it kills. It is most partial to cherries of all garden fruits, but will also feed on currants,
and especially on mulberries. Mr. Sachse informs me that it often does much damage amongst
the cherries ; and when it has once or twice visited a cherry-tree, and finds the fruit to its liking,
it may be shot, whilst feeding there, without much difficulty."

The Golden Oriole is about nine inches in length, and is of a rich golden yellow colour, with
black wings and tail ; the primary coverts and the secondaries tipped with yellow, while all the
tail-feathers have a broad yellow ending, which increases in extent on the outer feathers ; between
the nostril and the eye is a black spot, the bill is dull reddish, the feet leaden grey, and the
iris blood red. The female when quite adult is like the male, but not quive so brilliantly yellow,
the black being slightly shaded with greenish ; the young birds are whitish beneath, with dusky
streaks.

THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THRUSH-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.
THE DRONGOS (Licrurida).*

Although showing in some of their characters a certain affinity with the Orioles, the King Crows,
or Drongos, as they are also called, are not far removed from the Flycatchers (Musciccqndai), which
they resemble, especially in having the nostrils entirely hidden by bristles. They differ, however,
from all the Shrikes and Flycatchers in having only ten tail-feathers ; and perhaps no better definition of
the family could be found than that given by the Marqxiis of Tweeddale.f "The Dicruridse,"
he says, " constitute a natural, self-contained, sharply-defined family, which has its members ranging
throughout the Ethiopian and Indian regions and the Austro-Papuan, including the Moluccas. One,
and only one, appears to be migratory, Buchanga leucogenys, which reaches Japan in the summer
months. As indicated by the form of the beak, the presence of strong rictal bristles, the short tarsus,
short toes, and anchylosed first phalanges of the outer and middle toes, the Dicruri are Muscicapine in
their affinities ; and this relationship is unmistakably exhibited in their habits. All the species of
which the ways have been recorded have the habit of descending from their perches to catch insects
on the wing, and then immediately returning to the same or some adjoining place of rest. Some
species — such as members of the genera Bhringa, Chaptia, Dissemurus, and several of the genus

* iU,>uo?, forked ; oifd, a tail. t Ibis, 1878, p. 69.

28

NATURAL HISTORY.

Buchanga — never descend to tlie ground, but capture their prey entirely on the wing. Edolius
forficatus, according to Pollen (' Faune de Madagascar'), has similar habits. Those species that
do descend to the ground, such as Buchanga atra, do so to seize their food, and remain only for a
short time. This last-named species has the useful habit, where there are extensive plains of long
dry grasses without suitable trees or bushes, of sitting on the backs of antelopes, sheep, cattle, &c.,
using them as beaters, and catching on the wing the insects disturbed by the feet of the grazing
animals. The feet in all the Dicruri are essentially constructed for grasping, by which, together with
the lengthened tail, walking is rendered difficult, if not altogether impossible. During a seven years'
residence in India, I never once observed the common King Crow (Buchanga atra) move along the
ground ; and it is the most widely-spread and least specialised of all the Asiatic species. The flight
of all is short, but rapid while it lasts."

PIED GRALLINA.

THE FIFTH FAMILY OF THRUSH-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.
THE WOOD SHRIKES (Prionopida}.

These form a small group of birds whose affinities are not very easy to determine. In many cases
the appearance and habits of the species are very nivrch like those of the Flycatchers, but they
all possess the chin-angle, reaching in front of the nostrils, to which allusion has already been
made.* The members of this family are of somewhat varied form, and are found in Africa,
India, Indo-Malayan regions, and Australia. One of the most remarkable of the Wood Shrikes is
the Pied Grallina (Grallina picata) of Australia, which Mr. Gould places between the Crow Shrikes
(Cracticus}\ and the Cuckoo Shrikes (Graucalns) : it is known by the names of Magpie Lark and
Little Magpie to the Australian colonists, and is described by Mr. Gould in the following manner : —
"Few of the Australian birds are more attractive or more elegant and graceful in their actions,
and these, combined with its tame and familiar disposition, must ever obtain for it the friendship
and protection of the settlers, whose verandahs and housetops it constantly visits, running
along the latter like the Pied Wagtail of our own England. Gilbert states that in Western
Australia he observed it congregated in lai'ge families on the banks and muddy flats of the
lakes around Perth, while in the interior he met with it only in pairs, or at most in small
groups of not more than four or five together. He further observes that at Port Essington,
on the north coast, it would seem to be only an occasional visitant, for on his arrival there in

" See ante, p. 2.

, noisy-

THE COMMON WOOD SHRIKE. 29

July it was tolerably abundant round the lakes and swamps, but from the setting in of the
rainy season in November to his leaving that part of the country in the following March, not
an individual was to be seen ; it is evident, therefore, that the bird removes from one locality to
another according to the season and the more or less abundance of its peculiar food. I believe
it feeds solely upon insects and their larvae, particularly Grasshoppers and Coleoptera. The flight
of the Pied Grallina is very peculiar, unlike that of any other Australian bird that came under
my notice, and is performed in a straight line, with a heavy flapping motion of the wings. Its
natural note is a peculiarly shrill whining whistle, often repeated. It breeds in October and No-
vember. The nest is from five to six inches in breadth and three in depth, and is formed of soft
mud, which, soon becoming hard and solid upon exposure to the atmosphere, has precisely the
appearance of a massive clay-coloured earthenware vessel ; and, as if to attract notice, this singular
structure is generally placed on some bare horizontal branch, often on the one most exposed to view,
sometimes overhanging water and at others in the open forest. The colour of the nest varies with
that of the material of which it is formed. Sometimes the clay or mud is sufficiently tenacious
to be used without any other material. In those situations where no mud or clay is to be obtained
it is constructed of black or brown mould ; but the bird, appealing to be aware that this substance
will not hold together for want of the adhesive quality of the clay, mixes with it a great quantity of
dried grass, stalks, <fcc., and thus forms a firm and hard exterior, the inside of which is slightly lined
with dried grass and a few feathers. The eggs differ considerably in colour and shape, some being
extremely lengthened, while others bear a relative proportion. The ground colour of some is a
beautiful pearl white, of others a very pale buff; their markings also differ considerably in form and
disposition, being in some instances wholly confined to the larger end, in others distributed over the
whole of the surface, but always inclined to form a zone at the larger end. In some these markings
are of a deep chestnut red, in others light red, intermingled with large clouded spots of grey, appearing
as if beneath the siirface of the shell. The eggs are generally four, but sometimes only two in number;
their average length is one inch and three lines, and their breadth nine lines."

One of the best known forms belonging to this family is the genus Tephrodornis,* which contains
some half-a-dozen species, inhabitants of India and the Indo-Chinese countries, ranging down the
Malayan Peninsula to the Sunda Islands. According to Dr. Jerdon, they go about in small flocks,
which frequent thin jungle-groves, gardens, and even hedgerows, generally ranging from tree to tree,
and most carefully hunting the branches for insects, chiefly Coleopteru and Orthoptera. The
Common Wood Shrike (T. pondicerianus) has a mellow whistling note, and is said to be occasionally
caged for its song. In Australia the Wood Shrikes are strongly represented by the genus
Collyrhcincla, of which Mr. Gould writes that "they are neither Shrikes nor Thrushes, but most
nearly allied to the former, feeding on insects to a very great extent, but occasionally partaking
of molluscs and berries. Some of them defend themselves vigorously when attacked. The nest is
rather slightly built, cup-shaped in form, and is mostly placed in the hollow spout of a tree ; the
eggs are four in number." In Africa there are also several kinds of Wood Shrikes, the most
peculiar being the Helmeted Wood Shrikes (Prionops).~f Of P. talacoma, which is known as
Smith's Helmet Shrike, Mr. C. J. Andersson gives the following note, in his "Birds of Damara
Land " : — " It is always seen in flocks of from half-a-dozen to a dozen individuals, which frequent
secluded spots, where they restlessly hop from branch to branch on the bushes and the lower boughs of
the trees, never remaining long on the same tree, but hunting most systematically for insects, which, with
the occasional addition of young shoots and leaves, form their food. Whilst some individuals of the
Hock are examining a tree in search of insects, others keep moving slowly on, but rarely going farther
than the next tree. When the locality is open, those which first reach a tree fix their gaze intently
on the ground, and if any prey be in sight, pounce upon it with great celerity, their companions,
whilst the successful preyers are devouring their booty, continuing to move on slowly as before." Of
Retzius' Helmet Shrike, which is also found in Damara Land, the same observer remarks : — " When
encamped in the desert, a few days' journey south of the Okavango, I for the first and only time
observed this fine Shrike. The flock consisted of six individuals — an adult male and female, and four
young birds of both sexes — all of which I secured after much running and dodging, as they were

* Te<£pwSrj?, ash-coloured ; op^is, a bird. f jrpiW, a saw ; w\|/, a face.

147

30

NATURAL HISTORY.

exceedingly wary and watchful, always perching on the loftiest and most exposed trees : in which
respect they differed from the preceding species, though they resembled it in the manner in which
they were feeding when I first saw them."

HELMET SHRIKE.

GROUP II.— CICHLOMORPH^E, THRUSH-LIKE PASSERES.

THE SIXTH FAMILY OF THRUSH-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.
THE CUCKOO SHRIKES (Campophagtdai)*

These birds are also known by the name of Caterpillar-catchers and Miiiivets, and are entirely
peculiar to the Old World, but do not occur in the Palsearctic region : that is to say, they are absent
from Europe and Northern Asia ; one species only, the Grey Minivet (Pericrocotus t cinereus), extend-
ing its range into the country of the Amoor in the eastern part of this region. In appearance these
birds have much in common with the Shrikes, or rather, with the Wood Shrikes of the preceding pages ;
the bill, however, is always rather depressed or flattened, showing an approach to the true Flycatchers,
but they are easily recognisable by the stiffened shafts of the rump-feathers, which gives this part a prickly
feeling when the thumb is gently pressed directly on to the feathers of the lower back and rump. Very
little has been recorded of the habits of the African or Indian species ; but Mr. Gould has given a very
interesting account of the Australian Cuckoo Shrikes. This continent, and the neighbouring islands of
the Malay Archipelago, possess a large number of species ; and of one of the largest, the Black-faced
Cuckoo Shrike (Graucalus melanops), Mr. Gould writes as follows: — "It is a very common bird
in New South Wales, but is far less numerous in winter than in summer, when it is so generally
dispersed over the colony that to particularise situations in which it may be found is quite un-
necessary : hills of moderate elevation, flats, and plains thinly covered with large trees, being alike
resorted to ; but I do not recollect meeting with it in the midst of the thick bushes — situations
which, probably, are uncongenial to its habits and mode of life. It is very abundantly dispersed
over the plains of the interior, such as the Liverpool and those which stretch away to the north-
ward and eastward of New South Wales. Its flight is undulating and powerful, but is seldom
exerted for any other purpose than that of conveying it from one part of the forest to another,
or to sally forth in pursuit of an insect which may pass within range of its vision while perched
upon some dead branch of a high tree, a habit common to this bird and other members of the
genus. On such an elevated perch it sometimes remains for hours together, but during the heat
of the day seeks shelter from the rays of the sun by shrouding itself amidst the dense foliage of

), a caterpillar ; Qayflv, to eat.

t "•«?', round about ; Kpo«ar6^, saffron-coloured.

THE COMMON FLYCATCHER. 31

the trees. Its food consists of insects and their larvae and berries, but the former appear to be
preferred, all kinds being acceptable, from the large Mantis to others of a minute size. It breeds
in October and the three following months. The nest is often of a triangular form, in consequence
of its being made to fit the angle of the fork of the horizontal branch in which it is placed. It
is entirely composed of small dead twigs, firmly matted together with a very fine, white, downy
substance, like cobwebs, and a species of lichen, giving the nest the same appearance as the branch
upon which it is placed, and rendering it most difficult of detection. In some instances I have
found the nest ornamented with the broad, white, mouse-eared lichen. It is extremely shallow in form,
its depth and breadth depending entirely upon that of the fork in which it is built ; the largest I have
seen did not exceed six inches in diameter. Its note, which is seldom uttered, is a peculiar single
purring or jarring sound, repeated several times in succession."

In Africa the Grey Cuckoo Shrikes, such as that which has been described by Mr. Gould above,
are only represented by two species, but the last-named continent possesses some peculiar metallic-
plumaged birds, known as the Metallic Cuckoo Shrikes (Campophaga). These are replaced in the
Himalayas and throughout the Indo-Malayan region by some duller-coloured species, whose prevailing
tints are iron-grey. Of the common Indian species (C. lugiibris) Dr. Jerdon writes : — " It is seen
solitary or in small parties, frequenting high trees, the foliage of which it diligently searches for various
insects. I have found caterpillars chiefly, also other soft insects, as well as bugs and beetles, but
never berries, which Hodgson says it frequently eats. He also asserts that it freely descends to the
ground to eat, which I certainly have never witnessed. It is a silent bird in general, but Hutton. says
it has a plaintive note, which it repeatedly utters while searching through a tree for insects. The
same naturalist found its nest in the fork of a tree high up ; it was small, shallow, made of grey
lichens, roots, &c., and plastered over with cobwebs. The eggs were two, dull grey-green, with close
streaks of a dusky brown." The Miiiivets belonging to the genus Pericrocotus are, with the exception
of the Grey Mini vet alluded to above, distributed over India, the Indo-Chinese countries, and the
Malayan region. They are very different in appearance from the sober-plumaged Cuckoo Shrikes,
the prevailing colours being black and scarlet, the latter being of such a dazzling hue as to render it
painful to the eyes to examine them for long. The habits of these birds resemble those of the Cmnpo-
•pit rifjce.

THE SEVENTH FAMILY OF THRUSH-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.

THE FLYCATCHERS (Muscicapidce).

Any student following the descriptions of the last few families of birds with specimens in his
hand would not have failed to notice that the bills were becoming more and more flattened, and that
bristles were becoming a more marked feature of the basal portion of the bill. This latter character
is the one by which a Flycatcher is generally recognised. The Scaiisorial Barbets, or Capitonidce, were
very remarkable in this respect, but can be distinguished from Flycatchers in an instant by their
zygodactyle foot. The Flycatchers are a very numerous family, comprising nearly three hundred
species, all of very varied aspect but of very similar habits. Some of them resemble Shrikes ; others,
again, might be mistaken for "Warblers ; but a genuine Flycatcher is always to be told by the character
of his bill mentioned above.

THE COMMON FLYCATCHER (Muscieapa grisola).*

About the time when the Cuckoo visits England a little brown bird also makes his appearance,
coming, like the Cuckoo, from Africa, and departing again in the autumn, after having reared his
young ones. This is the Common Flycatcher, who must be a familiar object to every dweller in the
country, as he sits on the bare branch of a tree or on the rail of an iron fence, uttering his monotonous
chirp, and flying without cessation after the passing insects, which he captures with unerring dexterity,
and then again resumes his post of observation. As the Flycatcher feeds solely upon insect prey, it
is a very useful little bird, and escapes the censure which is hurled at some of its less inoffensive
relations ; it is stated occasionally to feed on berries. It would appear to eject pellets formed of the
hard portions of the insects it devours ; and Mr. Bartlett, the Superintendent of the Zoological

* Musca, a fly ; capio, I catch ; griseus, grey.

32 NATURAL HISTOHT.

Gardens in the Regent's Park, where the Common Flycatcher sometimes takes up its abode in
summer, informed the writer that on one occasion he found the ground strewn with little blue pellets,
which, on being examined, turned out to be the hard shells of the bodies of bluebottle flies, which had
formed a large portion of the food of these birds. The nest is generally placed against a wall, or the
trellis-work on a verandah, or on the side of a house, the last being a very favourite situation. The
birds are very tame in their nature, and the female will often sit close while the nest is being
inspected. When the young have flown, both parents labour to supply them with food ; and the
nestlings may often be seen perched in a row, and taking food in turn from the old ones. As they
get older they will follow their parents about the trees ; and it is at this time of year particularly that
the Flycatchers somewhat abandon their habit of catching insects on the wing, and search for their
food under the leaves of the trees. The Common Flycatcher is about five inches and a half in length ;
the wing three inches and a quarter ; the general colour is dark brown, with lighter brown marks in
the middle of each feather ; the forehead hoary ; the wings and tail darker brown, with pale margins
to the secondaries and wing-coverts ; the under surface of the body is white, with streaks of brown on
the throat, breast, and flanks ; the upper breast being washed with light brown, the flanks tinged with
yellowish-brown, and the under wing-coverts and axillaries pale fawn colour.

Other species of true Flycatcher, very similar to the English bird, are found in Africa and in
Eastern Asia ; and like 31. yrisola, the Chinese Flycatcher is migratory, proceeding in winter to the
Philippine Islands, and even to some of the Moluccas.

THE FANTAILS (Mipidura).*

All the Fantails are remarkable for a very broad and wide-spreading tail, which spreads out like
a fan when the bird is in motion. Commencing in India, the range of the genus extends through the
Indo-Chinese countries, all over the Malayan Peninsula and the Malayan Archipelago, to Australia,
and even to Oceania. The number of species is very large, and it is especially represented in the
Malay Archipelago, where every little island or group of islands possesses a peculiar species. Mr.
Gould gives an accountt of the White-shafted Fantail (Rhipidwa albiscapa) in Australia : — " In
Tasmania I have seen the White-shafted Fantail, in the depth of winter, in the gullies on the sunny
sides of Mount Wellington ; and it is my opinion that it only retires at this season to such localities as
are sheltered from the bleak south-westerly winds which then so generally prevail, and where insects
are still to be found. The bird is also subject to the same law on the continent of Australia; but as
the temperature of that country is more equable its effects are not so decided. And in support of this
opinion, I may adduce the remark of Caley, who says : ' This species is very common about Paramatta,
and I do not recollect having missed it at any period of the year.' It is generally found in pairs, but
I have occasionally seen as many as four or five together. It inhabits alike the topmost branches of
the highest trees, those of a more moderate growth, and the shrouded and gloomy foliaged dells in the
neighbourhood of rivulets. From those retreats it darts out a short distance to capture insects, and in
most instances returns to the same branch it had left. While in the air it often assumes a number of
lively and beautiful positions, at one moment mounting almost perpendicularly, constantly spreading
out its tail to the full extent, and frequently tumbling completely over in the descent ; at another it
may be seen flitting through the branches, and seeking for insects among the flowers and leaves,
repeatedly uttering a sweet twittering song. This Fantail is rather a late breeder, scarcely ever com-
mencing before October, during which and the three following months it rears two and often three
broods. Its elegant little nest, closely resembling a wineglass in shape, is woven together with ex-
quisite skill, and is generally composed of the inner bark of a species of Eiicalyptus, neatly lined with
the down of the tree-fern intermingled with flowering stalks of moss, and outwardly matted together
with the webs of spiders, which not only serve to envelop the nest, but are also employed to
strengthen its attachment to the branch on which it is constructed. The situation of the nest is much
varied. I have observed it in the midst of dense brushes, in the more open forest, and placed on a
branch overhanging a mountain rivulet, but at all times within a few feet of the ground. In its dis-
position this little bird is one of the tamest imaginable, allowing of a near approach without evincing
the slightest timidity, and will even enter the houses of persons resident in the bush in pursuit of
* purt's, a fan; oupa, a tail. + " Handbook to the Birds of Australia," Vol. I., p. 238.

PARADISE FLYCATCHERS.

34 NATURAL HISTOET.

gnats and other insects. During the breeding season, however, it exhibits extreme anxiety at the
sight of an intruder in the vicinity of its nest." Of the Black Fantail, or Wagtail Flycatcher of the
colonists, the same author writes : — " With the exception of Tasmania, this bird has been found in
every part of South Australia yet visited by Europeans. At the same time that it is one of the most
widely diffused, it is also one of the most tame and familiar of the Australian birds, and consequently
a general favourite. It is constantly about the houses, gardens, and stock-yards of the settlers, often
running along the banks and close to the noses of the cattle, in order to secure the insects which are
roused and attracted by the heat from their nostrils, along the roofs of the buildings, the tops of
palings, gates, &c., constructing its pretty nest beneath the verandah, and even entering the rooms to
capture its insect prey. It passes much of its time on the ground, over which it runs and darts with
the utmost celerity ; and when skirting the stream, with tail erect and shaking from side to side, it
pi'esents an appearance very similar to that of the Pied Wagtails. The movements of the tails of the
two birds, however, are very different, that of the European being pei-pendicular, while that of the
Australian is a kind of lateral swing. Its song, which consists of a few loud and shrill notes, is con-
tinually poured forth throughout the entire night, especially if it be moonlight. Its flight is at times
gracefully undulating, at others it consists of a series of sudden zigzag starts, but is always of very
short duration. It never poises itself in the air, like the Sisura inquieta, and never mounts higher
than the tops of the trees."

THE PARADISE FLYCATCHERS (Terpsiphone).

Like the Fantails, these Flycatchers have a very flat bill, which is bowed outwards, and
then curves in towards the tip ; and in. these two genera and a few allied ones are witnessed the
most exaggerated forms of a Flycatcher's bill. The Paradise Flycatchers have beautiful long tails,
and the plumage in the adult males is generally pure white, while that of the females is chestnut.
It takes some considerable time before the full white plumage is attained, and thus specimens in
half plumage are extremely common in collections, as the males commence their life with a red
plumage, like the female, and only gradually gain the white plumage of the adult. Dr. Jerdon
describes the habits of the Indian Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiplwne* paradisi) as follows: — "In
its habits it is restless and wandering, flitting continually from branch to branch and from tree
to tree. It feeds chiefly on small flies and Cicadellce, almost always capturing them on the wing,
sometimes pickirg one off a leaf or bough. I never saw it descend to the ground, as mentioned by
Sykes. It is usually single or in pairs. Its flight is somewhat undulating, and it has a curious
appearance on the wing, its long tail moving in jerks. I have heard no note, except a rather
loud, harsh, grating cry of alarm. I have never seen its nest. Layard says that it makes a neat
nest of moss and lichens, lined with hair and wool. The Ceylon names of the bird are Fire-thief
and Cotton-thief respectively for the red and white birds. I have kept this Flycatcher alive for a
few days in a closed room, and it used to be flitting about, catching flies and mosquitoes, the whole
day. One flew on board a ship in which I was a passenger in the Bay of Bengal, between Madras
and Vizagapatam, in October, 1836, and remained three or four days in the rigging. Blyth tells
me that he has kept it for many months in a large aviary, where it subsisted on the flies which were
attracted by the odour of the shrimps with which various small waders and others were daily
supplied."

THE RESTLESS FLYCATCHER (Suuraj inquieta} .

It is a curious fact that, although the Flycatchers are such a lai-ge family, the accounts of their
habits are singularly monotonous, and present very little difference in this respect. The only person
who has minutely noted the various characteristics of the different forms is Mr. Gould, and it
is perhaps on account of the greater diversity of form which is met with in Australia. This fact
must be the apology for the frequent quotations which are made in the course of this woi'k from
his " Handbook to the Birds of Australia." Before quitting the family it seems well to give the
habits of the Restless Flycatcher, a very peculiar little bird, as detailed by the celebi-ated naturalist
mentioned above. He writes : — " This species ranges over the whole of the southern portions of the
Australian continent, and appears to be as numerous at Swan River as it is in New South Wales,
where it may be said to be universally distributed, for I observed it in every part I visited, both
* T('p<d?, joy ; (f>wnj, song. t <re«o, I shake ; oipd, a tail.

THE THRUSHES. 35

among the brushes as well as in the more open portions of the country, in all of which it is apparently
a stationary species. It is a bird possessing many peculiar and singular habits. It not only captures
its prey after the usual manner of the other Flycatchers, but it frequently sallies forth into the
open glades of the forest and the cleared lands, and procures it by poising itself in the air with
a remarkably quick motion of the wings, precisely after the manner of the English Kestrel
(Tinnunculus alaudarius), every now and then making sudden perpendicular descents to the gi-ound
to capture any insect that may attract its notice. It is while performing these singular movements
that it produces the remarkable sound which has procured for it from the colonists of New South
Wales the appellation of ' The Grinder.' The singular habits of this species appear to have attracted
the notice of all who have paid any attention to the natural history of New South Wales. Mr.
Caley observes : — 'It is very curious in its actions. In alighting on the stump of a tree it makes
several semicircular motions, spreading out its tail at the time, and making a loud noise, something
like that caused by a razor-grinder at work. I have seen it frequently alight 011 the ridge of my
house, and perform the same evolutions.' To this I may add the following account of the actions
and manners of this species, as observed by Gilbert in Western Australia : — ' This bird is found in
pairs in every variety of situation. Its general note is a loud, harsh cry, several times repeated
It also utters a loud clear whistle ; but its most singular note is that from which it has obtained
its colonial name, and which is only emitted while the bird is in a hovering position at a few feet
from the ground. This noise so exactly resembles a grinder at work, that a person unaware of its
being produced by a bird might easily be misled. Its mode of flight is one of the most graceful and
easy imaginable. It rarely mounts high in flying from tree to tree, but moves horizontally, with its
tail but little spread, and with a very slight motion of the wings. It is during this kind of flight
that it xitters the harsh note above mentioned, the grinding note being only emitted during the
graceful hovering motion, the object of which appears to be to attract the notice of the insects
beneath, for it invariably terminates in the bird descending to the ground, picking up something,
flying into a tree close by, and uttering its shrill and distinct whistle.' "

CHAPTER III.

THE TRUE THRUSHES THE WARBLERS THE BABBLING THRUSHES — THE WRENS THE BULBULS — THE

BABBLERS THE GRASS WARBLERS THE AMERICAN BABBLERS THE BUTCHER BIRDS — THE

GREENLETS — THE TITMICE.

THE THRUSHES— Arrangement— First Sub-family —THE THRUSHES PROPER— Plumage of Young— Moulting of Adults—
THE TRUE THRUSHES— Distribution— THE SONG THRUSH— Migration— How the Heligolanders Catch them— Plans of
Capture in Italy— Macgillivray's Description of the Bird in the Hebrides— Its Wonderful Song— Its Distribution — Flight
— Food— Paii-ing — Nest — Plumage— THE BLACKBIRD — Macgillivray's Account of its Habits, Food, Flight, Pairing, and
Song— Mr. "Weir's Conjecture as to the Language of Birds' Song — Plumage— THE WARBLERS — Plumage of Young and
Adult — THE COMMON NIGHTINGALE— Mr. Dresser's Account of the Species— Oil-position— Song — Food— Habits— THE
BABBLING THRUSHES— Characters— THE WRENS— THE COMMON WREN— Professor Newton's Description of the
Hunting of the Wren— The Wren's Nest, as Described by Mr. Macgillivray— Colour and Size of Bird— THE BULBULS
— Characters — Where Found— Dr. Jerdon on the Madras Bulbul— Captain Legge's Account of the Habits of the Species
—THE TRUE BABBLERS— THE BUSH BABBLERS --Canon Tristram's Description of their Habits— THE BOWER BIRDS—
THE REGENT BIRD— Mr. Gould on its Habits— Its "Bower" described— THE GRASS WARBLERS— THE COMMON FANTAIL
WARBLER— Its Nest— How it is Constructed— Captain Legge's and Mr. Hume's Notes on the Subject— Habits of the
African Species— Colour and Size of the Bird -THE TAILOR BIRD— Distribution— Call— Nest— THE AMERICAN BABBLERS
—THE THRASHERS— Characters— The Brown Thrasher— Habits— Song— Disposition— Nest— THE MOCKING BIRDS—
Audubon's Account of the Bird— His Love-Song— His Devotion to his Mate— The Young Birds— Nest— Eggs— Their
Chief Enemies-Flight— Call— THE SHRIKES, OR BUTCHER BIRDS— Distinctive Features— The Great Grey
Shrike— " Shrike's Larder "—Pertinacity in the Chase— Harsh Note— Colour and Size-THE GREENLETS— Mr.
Gosse on the Jamaican Species— Their Peculiar Call— THE TITMICE— Characters— Sub-families— THE GREAT TIT-
MOUSE, OR OX-EYE— Its Note— Its Nest— Colour and Size— The Long tailed Titmouse— Their Beautiful Nest-
Colour and Size — THE NUTHATCHES— Peculiar Nest — Habits— Size and Colour.

THE EIGHTH FAMILY OF THRUSH-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.— THE THRUSHES (Turdidai).
ACCORDING to the most recent arrangements, the Thrushes may be divided into two large sections,
which in the present work are treated as sub-families, although Mr. Henry Seebohm, who has devoted

36 NATURAL HISTORY.

a great deal of study to them, believes that two great families ought to be recognised, the Thrushes
and the Warblers.

THE FIRST SUB-FAMILY OF THE TURDID^E.— THE THRUSHES PROPER (Turdina).

The young in. the first plumage are spotted on the upper parts as well as on the under parts.
This plumage is completely moulted in the first autumn before migration ; so that young in first winter
plumage differ very slightly from adults. Adult birds have only one complete moult in the year, in
autumn, before migration. The spring plumage is obtained by casting the ends of the feathers. There
is no complete moult in the spring, only such feathers being renewed as have been accidentally injured.
So far as we have been able to ascertain, these peculiarities are always in this group correlated with a
plain tarsus.*

THE THRUSHES (Turdtts).

Under the genus Turdus are comprised not only the Thrushes but the Blackbirds, as no
difference can be discovered by which the latter can be separated under the genus Merula, though this
has been done by many writers. As a rule Thrushes are spotted, and Blackbirds are uniform in
coloration, but structurally they exhibit precisely the same form. In Europe, without counting a few
Asiatic species which straggle within its eastern confines, we find the same species that are found in
England distributed over the greater part of the continent, such as the Song Thrush, the Missel Thrush,
the Fieldfare, the Redwing, the Blackbird, and the Ring Ouzel.

THE SONG THRUSH (Turdus music us}.

This familiar bird is found in England all the year round, but it is very doubtful if the individuals
which inhabit England in the summer remain there during the winter months. It is now some
years ago since Professor Newton, drew attention to the fact that a migration of the Song Thrushes
is a common occurrence during the latter season of the year, and subsequent observations have
only tended to confirm the truth of the statement. During the author's stay in Heligoland in
the autumn, numbers of Thrushes passed over the island, and were caught in large numbers in the
bushes which are erected by the inhabitants for this purpose in their gai'dens. A large row of sticks
and bush is placed by them generally at the end of the little plots of ground, which are either rented
from the Crown, or are the property of the Heligolanders themselves. Most of the ground is taken up
by potato patches, that vegetable forming the staple food of the islanders during the winter ; but a piece
of grass is left for the support of the family sheep, whose milk is consumed in the place of cows'
milk, there being no cows upon the island. The larger number of the Thrush bushes are found
at the eastern end of the rock, close to the town and in the vicinity of the lighthouse, and are
generally placed from east to west, as it is in this direction that most of the migrants arrive on
the island. A large net is drawn along the back of the bushes, and in the early morning, before
it is quite light, the owner visits his bush, and by suddenly clapping his hands startles the tired
and sleeping birds, who fly to the opposite side of the bushes and are immediately entangled in
the net. Owing to the scarcity of meat, which arrives in Heligoland from Hamburg only, and
the supply of which is less certain during winter, the catching of Thrushes is a serious matter
for the supply of the islanders' table. In Belgium and other parts of Europe where a lai-ge migration
of Thrushes takes place, vast quantities are caught during this period. In Italy, according to Count
Salvador!, they are much esteemed for the table, and there are many modes of capturing them. In some
places there are tracts of wooded ground which every year are arranged with birdlime and nets j
and during the season on some mornings hundreds are caught. In the Maremma Toscana, men
gain their livelihood by catching Thrushes and Blackbirds in snares, and each man looks after
about three thousand snares. In Sardinia also large numbers are caught, boiled, and put into sacks
with myrtle leaves, and are sold at high prices in the markets. " The Song Thrush," writes Mac-
gillivray, " is associated in my memory with the Hebrides, where it is perhaps moi-e abundant than in
most parts of Britain. There in the calm summer evening, such as for placid beauty far exceeds any
that I have elsewhere seen, when the glorious sun is drawing towards the horizon, and shedding a
broad glare of ruddy light over the smooth surface of the ocean ; when the scattered sheep, accom

* Seebohm, " Ibis.," 1879, p. 309.

THE SONG THRUSH.

37

panied by their frolicsome lambkins, are quietly browsing on the hill ; when the broad-winged Eagle
is seen skimming along the mountain-ridge, as he wends his way towards his eyry on the far
promontory ; when no sound comes on the ear save, at intervals, the faint murmur of the waves
rushing into the caverns and rising against the faces of the cliffs ; when the western breeze stealing
over the flowery pastures carries with it the perfume of the wild thyme and white clover, the song
of the Thrush is poured forth from the summit of some granite block, shaggy with grey lichens, and
returns in softer and sweeter modulations from the sides of the heathy mountains. There may be
wilder, loudei1, and more marvellous songs, and the Mocking-bird may be singing the requiem of the
lied Indian of the Ohio, or cheering the heart of his ruthless oppressor, the white man of many
inventions ; but to me it is all-sufficient, for it enters into the soul, melts the heart into tenderness,
diffuses a holy calm, and connects the peace of earth with the transcendent happiness of heaven. In
other places the song of the Thrush may be lively and cheering ; here, in the ocean-girt solitude, it is
gentle and soothing. By its magic influence it smoothes the ruffled surface of the sea of human feelings,
as it floats over it at intervals with its varied swells and cadences, like the perfumed wavelets of the
summer wind. Here on the hill-side lay thee down on this grassy bank, beside the block of gneiss
that in some convulsion of primeval times has been hurled unbroken from the fissured crag above. On
the slope beneath are small winding plots of corn, with intervals of pasture, and tufts of the yellow
iris. The coast is here formed of shelving crags and jutting promontories, there stretches along in a
winding beach of white sand, on which the wavelets rush with gentle murmur. Flocks of Mergansers
and dusky Cormorants are fishing in the bay ; the white Gannets are flying in strings towards the
ocean ; the Rock Doves glide past on whistling pinions, and the joyous Starlings bound towards their
rocky homes. Hark to the cry of the Corncrake, softened by distance, now seeming to come from
afar, now louder, as if borne toward you by the breeze. It has ceased, but the Cuckoo calls to his
mate from the cairn on the hill. Again all is silent. The streaks in the channel show that the tide is
ebbing ; a thin white vapour is spread over the distant islands ; and beyond them the spirit wings its
flight over the broad surface of the ocean, to where the air and the waters blend on the western
horizon. But it is recalled by the clear, loud notes of that speckled warbler, that in the softened sun-
shine pours forth his wild melodies on the gladdened ear. Listen, and think how should you describe
the strain so as to impress its charactei-s on the mind of one who never heard it. Perhaps you might
say that it consists of a succession of notes, greatly diversified, repeated at short intervals with varia-
tions, and protracted for a long time ; that it is loud, clear, and mellow, generally sprightly, but at
times tender and melting. You might add that two birds at a distance from each other often respond,
the one commencing its song when the other has ceased ; and that sometimes several may be heard at
once, filling a whole glen with their warblings. Listen again, and say what does it resemble1?

"Dear, dear, dear,

In the rocky glen ;
Far away, far away, far away

The haunts of men.
There shall we dwell in love
With the lark and the dove,
Cuckoo and corn rail ;
Feast on the banded snail,

Worm and gilded fly ;
Drink of the crystal rill,
Winding adown the hill,

Never to dry.

With glee, with glee, with glee,

Cheer up, cheer up, cheer up ; here
Nothing to harm us ; then sing merrily,

Sing to the loved one whose nest is near,
Qui, qui, qui, kween, quip,
Tiurru, tiurru, chipiwi,
Too-tee, too-tee, chiu choo,
Chirri, chirri, chooee,
Quiu, qui, qui.

" 2STo more, pray : the Thrush's song is inimitable and indescribable. It is heard at all seasons h-,
fine weather, but especially in spring and summer, particularly in the early morning and about sunset.
But it is not in sunshine only that this gentle songster warbles its wild notes ; for often in the midst
of the thick rain it takes its stand in some sheltered spot, under the cover of a projecting crag or
stone, and for hours perhaps amuses itself with repeating its never-tiring modulations. The Song
Thrush, which is a resident species, is distributed over all parts of Scotland and England. In summer
it prefers the woods and hill-sides, the bushy banks of streams, and sheltered places at some distance
from human habitations, although in cultivated districts it often nestles in the orchards, gardens and
148

38

X AT VEAL HISTORY.

hedges. In winter the individuals which had made the woods and glens their summer residence
approach the houses and feed in the gardens and fields, or betake themselves to the rocky shores,
where they find subsistence by breaking the whelks and other shell-fish. Although in the cultivated
districts it is seldom seen unless among the bushes or hedges, it is capable of flying to a great distance,
which it does in gentle curves, with quick flaps, intermitted at intervals, sometimes at a considerable
height, but more frequently only so high as to clear the trees. Its flight is always rapid, and it selects
its place with quickness, settling instantaneously. When on the ground, and in the attitude of observa-
tion, it drops its wings a little, keeps its tail nearly horizontal, and raises its head obliquely. On
observing a worm or other object, it leaps briskly towards it, picks it up, or, if it has withdrawn,
pecks at the earth until it has seized it. Its general mode of progression on the ground is by leaping.

SONG THRUSH.

When in a listless mood, it droops the tail and wings, draws in its neck, and ruffles its feathers. In
this attitude it may often be seen perched on a tree, bush, or stone. Its food is chiefly found on the
ground, and consists of snails, earth-worms, larvae, coleoptera, hips, berries, and seeds of various kinds.
Helix aspersa, horteiisis, and nemoralis supply great part of its food in winter. It breaks the shells
by raising them in its bill, and knocking them repeatedly against a stone. Large heaps of the shells
thus broken may be seen by garden walls, and in pastures on the edges of thickets. In the Hebrides,
where it frequents the shores in winter, it treats the Turbo littoreus and Trochus conuloides in the
same manner ; and of these shells the fragments may often be found under shelter of some stone or
slab, to which the bird flies with its prey. Many years ago, having in the course of my littoral rambles
in Harris, frequently heard a sharp sound like that of a small stone struck upon another, I endeavoured
to discover its cause, but for a long time in vain, until at length, being one day in search of birds,
when the tide was out, I heard the well-known chink, and standing still discovered at a distance, in a
recess formed by two flat stones at the upper part of the shore, a bird moving its head and body
alternately upwards and downwards, each downward motion being followed by the noise which had
hitherto been so mysterious. Running up to the place I found a Thrush, which, flying off, left a whelk
newly broken, but with the animal in it, lying amidst a heap of fragments round a smooth stone.

THE SONG THRUSH. 39

Having some years after mentioned the circumstance to a scientific friend in Edinburgh, I was
favoured with an assurance of the utter impracticability of the feat, which indeed is at first mention not
very credible, although one may easily satisfy himself that a whelk, thick as it is, is very easily broken
by knocking it smartly against a hard body.

" The full song of this species is heard in April, May, and June, although, as I have already said,
it may be occasionally heard at any season. In March it pairs, and by the end of that month, or in
the beginning of the next, begins to construct its nest, which is placed in a thick bush of any kind, or
iu a hedge at a small height, or on a rough bank among shrubs or moss. In the unwooded parts of
the country it is found under shelter of a projecting stone or crag, in the crevice of a rock, or at the
root of a tuft of heath, or among the stunted willows on the rocky bank of a stream. It is composed
externally of slender twigs, roots, grass, and moss, and is lined with a thin layer of mud, cow-dung, or
rotten wood, neatly laid on, and between which and the eggs no other substance is interposed. The
diameter of the cavity is usually about four inches, its depth from two and a half to four. As a good
deal of wrangling has taken place on the subject of Thrushes' nests, I may be allowed to be somewhat
particular in this matter. Although the structure of the nest does not vary much, the materials are
very diversified. In a nest before me, which is very bulky, the exterior is formed of the long tough
roots of various plants, a twig of Rumex crispus or latifolius, another of the rasp, a clipping of box-
wood, a piece of pack-thread, numerous tufts of Poa annua, and Stellaria media, two or three mosses,
and some other substances. Within this is a more elaborate structure of fibrous roots, tufts of grasses,
straws, and some beech leaves, interwoven, and compacted with some tenacious substance. This inner
cup is lined or plastered with a very thin but firm coating of what seems to be horse-dung, on the
surface of which are spread numerous chips of straw and slender grasses, but certainly no decayed
wood, as some allege to be usually the case. This nest is in diameter three inches and a half, in depth
two and a half, its greatest diameter seven inches, and its greatest depth four and a half. This is the
nest of a civilised Thrush, it having been found in a hedge in the immediate vicinity of Modern
Athens.

"On the 5th of May, 1836, I found in a honeysuckle bush in a wood between Haddington and
Gilford the nest of a Thrush, in which the bird was working at the time, completing its interior, in
which was a piece of wet rotten wood, quite soft and friable, which it was applying to the walls.
Another nest found near Gifford was plastered with horse-dung. One brought to me from Melville
Woods, on the 3rd of May, 1837, by my son, who found in it five eggs, is composed externally of
twig.s, straws, and stems of herbaceous plants ; its inner cup of a few slender twigs of trees, steins, and
leaves of grasses, oak leaves, and a large proportion of mosses, interwoven and agglutinated, but with-
out mud. The lining, which is not thicker than two-twelfths of an inch at most, is certainly composed
entirely of fragments of rotten wood and other vegetable substances, without any mud, clay, or dung.
Its internal diameter at the mouth is three inches and a half, but below the mouth four inches, the
depth two and a half. In all the specimens which I have examined, the mouth of the inner cup is
contracted and firmly woven. The eggs are generally five, but vary from four to six, of a regular or
broad oval form, bright bluish-green, with scattered spots of brownish-black, of a roundish form, and
more numerous at the larger end. They vary considerably in size, the largest in my collection
measuring thirteert-twelfths by nine-and-a-half, the smallest, eleven-and-a-half by eight-and-a-half
twelfths. They are deposited in the end of April, sometimes so early as the beginning of that month,
and sometimes not until May. The young I have found abroad from the 20th of April to the
middle of June. Another brood is generally reared in the season."

The Thrush is so well-known a bird that it hardly merits a separate description. The general
colour above is olive-brown, the wing-coverts more or less distinctly tipped with spots of ochre ; the
wings and tail are like the back ; the under surface is whitish with a fulvous tinge on the breast and
sides ; the ear-coverts, cheeks, fore-neck, chest, and flanks are all spotted with black ; bill blackish-
brown, yellowish at the base of the lower mandible ; legs pale flesh colour, iris brown. The female is
like the male, but young birds are mottled all over with ochraceous buff streaks on the feathers of the
upper surface.

The under wing-coverts in the Common Thrush are of a rich golden colour, and arc sufficient to
distinguish the species at a glance from the nearly allied Redwing (Turdus iliacus), which is a

40

NATURAL HISTORY.

winter visitant to Britain. Besides these two birds there are the Missel Thrus? , a fine large species,
which has of late years extended its range considerably in England, and the Fieldfare (Turdus
pilaris\ which arrives in that country with the Redwing in the winter, and leaves again before the
summer begins. These four species constitute the regular British Thrushes, but one or two European
and American species also have occurred within the limits of the British Islands.

THE BLACKBIRD (Turdus menda).

Although it is impossible to find any structural difference between a Thrush and a Blackbird, yet
the sombre hue of the latter, which prevails botli in the British species and in its allies throughout
the world, seems to divide the Blackbirds off as a distinct group of the genus Turdus. Besides the
species of true Thrushes mentioned above, England is inhabited by the common Blackbird and the
King Ouzel, the former resident, and the latter entirely migratory. To quote once more from the

delightful work of Macgillivray : " The Blackbird, which is one of the most admired of our native
songsters, is a permanent resident, and occurs in almost ail parts of England and Scotland, although
it prefers the more cultivated districts, and is rarely met with in the centre and more elevated tracts.
Being, properly speaking, an inhabitant of bushy places and woods, it does not breed in the northern
and more remote Hebrides, nor in districts of the mainland destitute of sylvan vegetation. In winter
it frequents the neighbourhood of houses arid towns, resorting to woods, hedges, and gardens, and
generally keeping in the shelter of trees or bushes. At this season its food consists principally of
snails, especially Helix aspersa and //. nemoralis, the shells of which it breaks by raising them in its
bill, and dashing them against a stone or other hard surface. It also occasionally breaks them open
by pecking against the spire, in which the shell is much thinner. Like many other birds, however,
it has a large range of food.. Thus, having opened five individuals, I found in the stomach of one a
great quantity of seeds and husks of gramina, including wheat and oats ; in that of another,
coleopterous insects ; in that of a third, coleoptera, and seeds of various kinds ; in that of the
fourth, mollusca and fragments of shells; in that of a fifth, seeds, niollusca, and a few grains
of gravel, earthworms, larvse, berries, and seeds of various kinds. It is amusing to observe a
Blackbird searching for food on the smooth green of a garden, which one may easily do from the
window without being noticed. In December, 1832, I watched one in order to note its motions.
After looking quietly at a particular spot for some time, it hopped up, began to peck the ground with

THE BLACKBIRD.

41

great energy, and after some exertion succeeded in dragging out a worm of moderate size, which it
immediately threw on the ground. It then pecked at the worm for nearly a minute, and, beginning
at one end, separated by a sudden stroke a small portion, which it swallowed. In this manner it
proceeded until it had devoured the whole, not swallowing at any time more than a small fragment.
It then hopped about, looking now and then attentively at a certain spot, and at length began to dig
vehemently for another worm, which it soon procured. This was the first time that I had closely
watched a Blackbird while searching for worms ; but I have since had repeated opportunities of
convincing myself that it always proceeds in the same manner, never swallowing an entire worm
unless it happens to be extremely small, and cutting the very large ones into a great number of pieces.

BLACKBIRD.

The sides of walls and hedges are favourite places of resort, for there it readily procures worms and
snails. In hard weather it often eats the berries of the hawthorn, which it swallows whole, and
betakes itself to the corn- yards, where it picks up seed chiefly on the ground. When searching for
food, it hops or leaps with great alacrity, keeping its tail a little raised and its wings loose ; and when
perched on a tree, twig, or wall, it generally elevates its tail, unless disposed to doze, in which case it
di-aws in its neck, ruffles its plumage, tucks up its wings, and allows the tail to droop. When
disturbed, it flies off uttering a loud chuckling noise, which, although clear and shrill, reminds you of
the chatter of the Magpie ; and you may pursue it from one part of a hedge to another, until you
obtain it, for it seldom shifts to a great distance. Although thus easily procured, it is yet decidedly
shy, and in this respect differs greatly from the Song Thrush, which imagines itself secure at a very
short distance. The flight of the Blackbird over an open space is steady, without undulations ; but
along the hedges is wavering and fitful, and the bird suddenly darts into the place which it selects,
and instantly settles. During the breeding season its flight is peculiar, for than the female especially
moves through the air as if by starts, performing a single flap, followed by a considerable interval, and

4.2 NATURAL HISTORY.

then continuing its coarse. The Missel Thrush, the Fieldfare, and the Redwing frequently take
long flights, and are often seen advancing at the height of several hundred yards ; but the Blackbird
i-arely ventures on a long excursion, but prefers skulking, as it were, among the hedges and tree.s.
Compared with the Song Thrush, it is a* very lively bird, and it is amusing to observe one that has
just alighted on a twig; and see how gracefully it bends forward, throws up its tail, jerking it at
intervals, depresses and at intervals flaps its wings, and then perhaps flits to another branch, where
it performs the same motions, or alights on. the wall, hops along, suddenly stops, jerks its tail, flaps its
wings, and then commences singing.

" Even in severe weather in winter Blackbirds are not gregarious ; and on no occasion have I
seen more than three or four together, and that only for a few minutes. Although a male and a
female may sometimes associate during that season, it is much more common to find them solitary.
Nor does this species cherish the society of any other, though it may be seen in the vicinity of a Song
Thrush, a Hedge Chanter, or other small bird. While the Fieldfares and Redwings cover a field in
search of food, the Blackbirds very seldom venture amongst them, but prefer the shelter of the fences.
The female is less clamorous than the male, who, on being alarmed or irritated, especially in the
breeding season, emits a loud clear chuckling cry, in some degree approaching to the chatter of the
Magpie, fluttering or flapping its wings, and bending its body forward at the same time. This
remarkable cry, variously modulated by different individuals, sometimes exhibits a slight resemblance
to the cackle of a domestic hen after laying ; but whether it be the same as that alluded to by a
correspondent in the 'Naturalist,' as similar to the crowing of a cock, and by the editor of that journal
as resembling the notes of several varieties of that species, I am unable to determine, not having
listened to the individuals mentioned by them. This much, however, I have observed, not as a
singular circumstance, nor even as one common to a few individuals, but as exhibited at all seasons,
at the period of breeding, and in the middle of winter, and by very many birds of the species, that
the male, on perching, whether on a tree or on the ground, but especially on the former, raises his
tail, flutters, it might almost be said, flaps his wings, emits his chuckling cry, and continues balancing
himself, or hops along, repeating the notes, which, should he be alarmed, or in any way excited, are
sometimes raised and prolonged, so that a person fond of tracing affinities and analogies might
naturally enough liken it to the crowing of a cock.

" It is not in the wild valley, flanked with birchen slopes, and stretching far away among the
craggy hills, that the music of the Blackbird floats upon the evening breeze. There you may listen
delighted to the gentle song of the Mavis ; but here, in the plain, covered with cornfields, and skirted
with gardens, sit thee down on the green turf by the gliding brook, and mark the little black speck
stuck, as it were, upon the top twig of that tall poplar. It is a Blackbird, for now the sweet strain,
loud, but mellowed by distance, comes upon the ear, inspiring pleasant thoughts, and banishing care
and sorrow. The bird has evidently learnt his part by long practice, for he sings sedately and in the
full consciousness of superiority. Ceasing at intervals, he renews the strain, varying it so that although
you can trace an occasional repetition of notes, the staves are never precisely the same. You may sit
an hour, or longer, and yet the song will be continued ; and in the neighbouring gardens many rival
songsters will sometimes raise their voices at once, or delight you with alternate strains. And now,
what is the purpose of all this melody ? We can only conjecture that it is the expression of the pei'fect
happiness which the creature is enjoying, when, uncarked by care, conscious of security, and aware of
the presence of his mate, he instinctively pours forth his soul in joy and gratitude and love. He does
not sing to amuse his mate, as many have supposed, for he often sings in winter when he has not yet
mated ; nor does he sing to beguile his solitude, for now he is not solitary ; but he sings because all his
wants are satisfied, his whole frame glowing with health, and because his Maker has gifted him with
the power of uttering sweet sounds."

" That some of the notes of birds," writes Mr. Weir, " are a language which conveys a direct
meaning, may, I presume, be inferred from the following interesting occurrence, which took place at
half- past three o'clock, an occurrence which I witnessed with the most anxious curiosity, and which I
could scarcely have believed had I not seen it. The female having brought a large worm, I am sure
more than four inches in length, put it into the mouth of one of the young, and then flew away. Upon
her return, having perceived that it was sticking in its throat, she set up a moan of distress. To her

THE COMMON NIGHTINGALE. 43

assistance her cry immediately brought her partner, who likewise seemed to be aware of the conse-
quences. To force it down they made several efforts, but in this they were unsuccessful. Strange to
tell, the male at length discovered the cause of the catastrophe. The part of the worm which by being
entangled among the feathers of the breast had been prevented from going down, he carefully disen-
"a«ed, and held it up with his bill, until, after the most unusual efforts, the young bird at length
swallowed it. But so much exhausted was it that it remained for nearly three hours without moving,
and with its eyes shut. The male, having alighted upon a tree a few yards from his nest, poured forth
some of his most enchanting notes, a song of rejoicing, no doubt, for the narrow escape from death
which one of his family had just made."

The Blackbird, as its name implies, is entirely black, with an orange bill, and a ring of orange
round the eye. The female is brown, with a dark-brown, bill ; more or less rufous on the throat and
breast, which have black stripes. Varieties are often met with, especially some with white feathers
distributed among the black plumage, but these are not to be confounded with the Ring Ouzel (Turdus
torquatus), which is a summer visitant to England, and is distinguished by the broad white collar on
the breast. The latter bird has also a very distinct winter plumage, when the black feathers are
broadly edged with greyish- white. It should be added that very old Blackbirds have the feathers of
the hind neck tipped with fine hairs.

Besides the true Thrushes, the sub-family Turdinse includes the Chats, represented in England by
the Wheatear, and the Redstarts.

THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE TURDIDJE, OR THRUSHES.
THE WARBLERS (Sylfiinte).

The young in first plumage are unspotted on the upper parts (except in those cases where the
adult birds are so also), and only in rare instances are traces of spots to be found on the breast. The
adult birds moult twice in the year, in spring and autumn, both moults being complete. Birds in first
plumage, having an opportunity of moulting in spring, do not require to moult in the first autumn,
and only renew a few feathers then. Consequently, there is frequently a difference, principally in the
colour of the under parts, between the young and the adult in winter plumage. So far as can be ascer-
tained the characters assigned to the Warblers are always associated with a scutellated tarsus.*

THE COMMON NIGHTINGALE (Dauhas liiscinin).

This, the most favourite Warbler of ancient and modern times, is a summer visitor to England,
retiring in winter to northern Africa, and even penetrating as far as the Gold Coast, in western Africa.
Mr. Dresser gives the following account of the species in his work on the " Birds of Europe": —

" This, the best known and most highly esteemed of our songsters, is essentially a bird of the
woodlands, and is always found in the gi'oves or woods on the plains, never in the mountains, or in
conifer woods, but in tolerably low, non-evergreen growth, where there is a fairly abundant under-
growth, and where the soil is rather damp, or where damp ditches or water is not far distant. It is a
very unobtrusive bird ; and although the song of the male may be heard daily, it is astonishing how
seldom a casual observer obtains a glimpse of the bird itself. The males arrive first in the spring, and
appear to be weary and travel- worn when they first appear; but they soon recuperate, and when, after
the lapse of a few days, the females commence to appear, they have recovered their usual sprightliness
and soon break out into their matchless song, which may be heard until the young are hatched. The
song of this bird is, with justice, considered to be the richest and most melodious of all our songsters ;
and it is impossible to reproduce its notes in words so as to give any idea of it. No bird has so
vnried and sweet a song, and it is so rich and full that one is astonished that it can be pi'oduced by so
small a bird. There is, however, much individual difference in the quality of the song of birds from
different localities, as is well known by all the bird fanciers, especially by the Germans; and Naumann
remarks that those from Poinerania are the worst songsters, whereas those from Worlitz in Anhalt
Dessau are the best he ever heard. As a rule, the Nightingale is not a shy bird ; and far from
shunning the presence of man, it appears in preference to take up its abode somewhere in the vicinity
of inhabited places. Nor is it a quarrelsome bird towards others of its own species, except during the

* Seebohm.

44 NATURAL H1STOKY.

pairing season, when, frequent disputes occur amongst the males. It usually frequents the lower
branches of the trees, or the bushes, where it does not move about much, but sits with the wings
rather drooped ; and when it moves it usually flirts its tail, which when the bird is sitting is held in
an almost horizontal position. When on the ground it carries the body erect, and looks very long-
legged. It progresses by means of long jumps, and after taking ten or a dozen it usually stands still,
pauses for a moment, as if thinking of what is next to be done, and then, with a flirt of the tail, hops
on again. Its food, which is chiefly picked up from the ground, consists of worms, insects, and especially
of insect larvse ; and it frequently searches for insects in old rotten timber and moss. It is also said
to be very fond not only of the larvae of ants (or so-called ants' eggs) but also of the ants themselves.
Naumann says that it is partial to currants, both red and black, when ripe, and is very fond of elder-
berries. Insects, however, are its staple food, and its pai-tiality for a meal-worm renders it an easy
victim to the bird-catchers. Large numbers are trapped every season, but few survive ; for it is
certainly one of the most difficult species to keep in confinement. Most of the birds are caught soon
after they arrive, and but comparatively few of these are females. According to Harting, in the year
1867 three London bird-catchers, between April 13th and May 2nd, took two hundred and twenty-five
Nightingales, all, except some half-a-dozen, cock birds. The previous year, the same men supplied the
dealer who employed them with two hundred and eighty Nightingales, of which not more than sixty
were hens. When both males and females have arrived from the south they soon commence iiidifica-
tion, and appear to resort to their old breeding localities. At first, not a few conflicts for the possession
of their coveted locality take place, but when they have all selected their mates, each pair seems to
settle down quietly in a suitable place ; and then they live in amity together, though each pair asserts
the right of possession in their own small domain. The site for the nest is selected in a garden Avhere
the hedges are thick, or in a well-shaded lane, or else in a wood where the underwood is not too dense,
and where the grass and low growth are thick in places. The nest is placed either on or close to the
ground, in the latter case usually not more than a foot or so high, in a bunch of twigs, in an old tree-
trunk, or in a dense hedge or bundle of faggots. The structure is composed, outside, of dry leaves,
visually of the oak, inside which are a few dry bents, and sometimes rushes, or even fine flags; and the
cup is carefully lined with fine roots and bents, and occasionally a little horsehair is added. The
eggs, from four to six in number, are deposited in May, only one brood being raised in the season.
They are uniform deep olive-brown in colour, sometimes with a greenish tinge, and occasionally tinged
with reddish-brown, on a greenish- blue, or an olive-green surface, which is sometime.3 entirely, and
sometimes only partially, exposed ; and not unfrequently the brown is collected at one end of the egg.
In size they vary from about f ^ by f-£ by f£ inch. When the young are hatched the male ceases its
song, and appears to devote its time to procure food for its offspring. Should danger threaten, a
single loud croak is uttered as an alarm note, occasionally accompanied by a snapping of the bill. Its
usual call-note is a clear, somewhat prolonged wid or iveed; and pleasure is expressed by a deep note
like tack. Its flight is swift and light, but it usually flies only short distances from bush to bush, and
during the day-time at least it never seems to fly across any large open space ; yet its power of
flight must be by no means inconsiderable, as it traverses considerable distances 011 passage."

Besides the Nightingale, which has been selected as a typical Warbler, all the Whitethroats, and
Sedge and Reed Warblers, are included in the sub-family St/!viince, besides a great number which are
not found in the British Isles. N

THE NINTH FAMILY OF THRUSH-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.
THE BABBLING THRUSHES (Timduna-).

These birds constitute a large family, the exact limits of which it is by no means easy to define,
but they possess one character which distinguishes them, and that is their rounded and concave wing,
which is so formed as to fit close to the body. On being opened, or rather, parted from the side of the
body, the arc described by the wing goes far towards the formation of a letter S ; and in order fully to
appreciate this characteristic, the wing of a true Thrush requires to be compared with that of a
thoroughly typical Babbler. Thus, for instance, the wing of the Common Thrush is long and almost
flat, its concavity being scarcely perceptible. A further mark of a true Thrush- — with which are to be
associated the Warblers and Chats — is the possession of a small bastard primary, the second quill being
immensely long in comparison, and approaching the longer ones in dimensions. All these birds which

COMMON NIGHTINGALE.

149

46 NATURAL HISTORY.

possess this wing are po \vei-ful migrants. The Titneliidce, on the other hand, with their feeble
rounded wings, in which the bastard primary of the true Thrush is replaced by a broad first quill, are
very poor fliers, and consequently, for the most part, stay-at-home or non-migratory birds. In this
large family will be found several diverging elements : thus in some of the true Babbling Thrushes an
approach is seen to the Muscieapiche, or Flycatchers, while the Wrens (Troylodytinw) and the Grass
Warblers (CisticoliniK) lead the student to the Titmice on the one hand and to the true Warblers on
the other. The true Thrushes are approached by the Babbling Thrushes and the Bulbuls.

THE FIRST SUB-FAMILY OF THE TIMELIID^.— THE WRENS (Troglodytina).
These are nearly all birds of small size, inhabiting the northern and temperate parts of both the
Old and New Worlds. They differ from the rest of the Babblers in having scarcely any perceptible
notch in the bill, which is rather long and curved ; the tail is in general short in proportion to the
body. The type of the family is

THE COMMOX WREN (Troglodytes parvulus).

With the exception of the Gold-crest, this is the smallest English bird : it is generally dis-
tributed throughout the whole of Europe, and ranges as far as Central Asia. In England it
is a general favourite, and, like the Robin, is accorded a certain amount of protection ; and to
many readers the old couplet about the " Robin and the Wren being God's cock and hen " will occur.
It is difficult, therefore, to account for the persecution to which the species was formerly subjected in
certain parts of Great Britain and even in France. Professor Newton* writes : — "The curious
custom of ' hunting the Wren ' has been mentioned by many writers ; but little can be added
to the accounts of it given by the late Sir Henry Ellis, in his notes to Brand's ' Popular
Antiquities,' and by Thompson, though, from its practice obtaining in countries far apart, it
is most likely of much greater antiquity than has been often supposed. It seems to have
been first noticed by Charles Smith, in his ' State of the County of Cork,' published in 1750, as
followed in the South of Ireland, and subsequently by Valiancy (' Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis ').
On Christmas Day boys and men, each using two sticks — one to beat the bushes, the other to fling at
the bird — went out in a body to hunt and kill the Wren, which, from its habit of making but
short flights, was no doubt soon done to death. On the following day, the feast of St. Stephen, the
dead bird, hung by the leg between two hoops, crossed at right angles and decked with ribbons, was
carried about by the ' Wren-boys,' who sang a song beginning, ' Droelin, Droelin, ri an t-eiim '
(that is, 'Wren, Wren, king of birds'), and begged money 'to bury the Wren.' This ceremony,
which, however it may have arisen, had become quite senseless, was, when Thompson wrote,
falling into disuse, and in 1845 the then Mayor of Cork, by proclamation, forbade its continuance.
Mr. Halliwell (' Nursery Rhymes ') notices the same practice in the Isle of Man, and gives the words
there sung; while on February 4th, 1846 (as appears by the Literary Gazette, p. 131, of the
7th of that month), Mr. Crofton Croker drew attention to the subject at a meeting of the British
Archaeological Association, and it was stated that a similar custom existed in Pembrokeshire, where
on Twelfth Day a Wren was carried from house to house in a box with glass windows surmounted
by a wheel, to which ribbons were hung. Sonnini (' Voyage dans la haute et la basse Egypte')
mentions a like ceremony practised a century ago, towards the end of December, at La Civtat,
near Marseilles, but there the Wren's murderers were armed with swords and pistols, and their
victim was slung to a pole borne, as if it were a heavy load, on the shoulders of two men, who
paraded the village, and then, after gravely weighing it in a pair of great scales, all gave themselves
up to festivity. It is for antiquaries to throw light on the origin of this widely-spread distort, of
which many unsatisfactory explanations have been attempted. It has been ascribed to a Wren
which, alighting on a drumhead, roused and saved from defeat sorae Protestant troops in the Irish
civil wars of the seventeenth century. Others refer it to a similar incident some centuries earlier, in
the wars of the Danish occupation of Ireland. Others say that the Wren was an object of so
great veneration to the ' Druids,' that the early Christian missionaries enjoined its persecution upon

* Edition of Yarrell's " British Birds," p. 4GO.

THE COMMON WREN. 47

all adherents to the new faith. Any speculations would here be futile, though one cannot but be
struck with some coincidences. The Wren, in the first line of the Irish song, is called the ' king of
birds.' The Pembrokeshire ceremony was or is performed on Twelfth Day — the feast of the three
kings — and the bird was also spoken of as the king. The common name of the bird, shared to some
extent with the Golden-crested Wren, in. most European languages — Basiliakos, Reyulus, Reyezuels,
Reations, Roitelet, Zaunkonig, Kungsfoyel, Ellekonye, Winterkoninkje, and so forth — all assign to it
the kingly dignity. These names probably are connected with the old and well-known, fable of birds
choosing for their king that one of them which should mount highest in the air. This the Eagle seemed
to do, and all were ready to do him homage, when a loud burst of song was heard, and perched upon the
Eagle's head was the exultant Wren, which, unseen and unfelt, had been borne aloft by the giant. In
England this story does not seem to have had hold, and so far from ascribing royal qualities to our
little favourite, it is nearly everywhere known to us by the humbler name of ' Kitty ' or ' Jenny '
Wren."

Considering the size of the Wren, its song is remarkably loud, sweet, and sustained, and it is also
favourably regarded by every birds'-nester for its beautiful nest. The latter is placed in various
situations, being sometimes built into the thatch of a summer-house, or carefully inserted in some
trellis-work overhung by mosses, portions of which are grouped round the opening of the nest, in order
the more effectually to conceal it from view. It is also frequently built against the side of a tree,
especially if the ivy has been cut through and killed, when the bird will place its nest amidst a mass
of brown and decaying leaves, some of which are also employed to conceal the position of its home.
The following is a description* of a Wren's nest, as given by Macgillivray : — " One brought me by my
son, which he found while gathering plants in a wood near Melville Castle, is of astonishing size
compared with that of its architect, its greatest diameter being seven inches, and its height five. It
presents the appearance of a rude mass of decayed vegetables, of an irregularly rounded form. Having
been placed on a flat surface under a bank, its base is of a corresponding form, and is composed of
layers of decayed ferns and other plants, mixed with twigs of herbaceous and woody vegetables.
Similar materials have been employed in raising the outer wall of the nest itself, of which the interior
is spherical and three inches in diameter. The wall is composed of mosses of several species, quite
fresh and green, and it is arched over with fern leaves and straws. The mosses are curiously inter-
woven with fibrous roots and hair of various animals, and the inner surface is even and compact, like
coarse felt. To the height of two inches there is a copious lining of large soft feathers, chiefly of the
Wood Pigeon, but also of the Pheasant and Domestic Duck, with a few of the Blackbird. The
aperture, which is in front and in the form of a low arch, two inches in breadth at the base, and an
inch and a half in height, has its lower edge formed of slender twigs, strong herbaceous stalks, and
stems of grasses, the rest being felted in the usual manner. This nest is a magazine of botany, there
entering into its composition leaves of Fagus sylvatica, fronds of Aspidium dilatatum and A. filix
mas, blades of Phalaris arundinacea, stems of several grasses and other herbaceous plants, some twigs
of the larch and other trees, and four or five species of Hypnum. It contained five eggs, of an
elongated oval form, averaging eight lines in length and six lines in breadth, pure white, with some
scattered dots of light red at the larger end, one of them with scarcely any, and another with a great
number. Of three nests presented to me by Mr. Weir, one is extremely beautiful, being composed
entirely of fresh green hypna, without any internal layer, although, no eggs having been found in it,
it possibly had not been completed. It is of an oblong form, seven inches in length, and four in its
transverse diameter. The mouth measures an inch and eight-twelfths across, one inch and a twelfth
in height. Its lower part is formed of small twigs of larch laid across and interwoven, so as to
present a firm pediment. The longitudinal diameter of the interior is three inches and a half.
Another, formed on a decayed tuft of Aim ccespitosa, is globular, six inches in diameter, and composed
of moss, with a lining of hair and feathers, chiefly of the domestic fowl. The third is globular, and
externally formed almost entirely of ferns like that described above. In all the nests of this species
which I have seen the lower part of the mouth was composed of twigs of trees or stems of herbaceous
plants, laid across, and kept together with moss and hair. The nests are found in a great variety of
situations : very often in a recess overhung by a bank, sometimes in a crevice among stones, in the

* '• British Birds," Vol. III., p. 21.

45

NATURAL HISTORY.

hole of a wall or of a ti-ee, among :he thatch of a cottage or outhouse, on the loft of a shed or barn,
the branch of a tree, whether growing along a wall or standing free, among ivy, honeysuckle, clematis,
or other climbing plants. When the nest is on the ground its base is generally formed of leaves,
twigs, and straws, and its interior is often similar ; but when otherwise, the outer surface is generally
smooth, and chiefly composed of moss. Several authors have spoken of the nests frequently constructed
by this bird in spring and afterwards abandoned, and have indulged in various conjectures respecting
them. I should suppose that a nest may occasionally be partially or entirely built, and then deserted,
because its owners find it unsafe or have been frightened from it. The Magpie often commences a
nest and leaves it unfinished, probably for the same reason ; and the same remark may be made as to
the Blackbird and Thrush. But Mr. Wood relates a very curious fact respecting the Wren, which is
that it ' often builds itself a dwelling in autumn, and lodges in it on cold nights. These nests,' he
continues, 'are mostly constructed in the usual localities, though I once found one situated in an old

COMMON' WREN.

Garden Thrush's nest in a Portugal laurel. Frequently, also, the nests in which one or two broods
had been reared in summer are tenanted every night throughout the winter.' On this
subject Mr. Weir has sent me the following remarks : — ' During the period of incubation,
the male (says an anonymous writer in Mr. London's Magazine), apparently from a desire
to be doing something, constructs as many as half-a-dozen nests in the vicinity of the first, none of
which are lined with feathers ; and whilst the first nest is so artfully concealed as to be seldom found,
the latter are very frequently seen. With respect to the use of these structure.?, or cock-nests, as they
are called in England, if we believe that birds, like some insects, have foresight, a more ingenious
theory might be advanced. During the severity of winter they may be intended as houses of refuge
for them and their families.* Whether this be always the case or not it will be difficult to ascertain.
That they are, however, sometimes employed for this purpose I can affirm, as the whole of those in my
neighbourhood during the late severe frosty weather (of 1837-8) were occupied by them. I have
one of these nests in my possession in which they lodged, and in which there was a quantity of their
droppings.' The Wren being a very diminutive bird, might be supposed to require this kind of shelter

* The writer was assured by a lad living at Colgate, Sussex, that during the severe winter of 1878-9 he frequently found
\Vrens roosting in the old nests, and on one occasion he captured five in the same nest.

THE BULBULS. 49

in winter, were it not that the Kinglets and Tits, equally small, are not known to lodge in their
nests. Our little friend is a Troglodyte, a frequenter of holes and caverns, and as it always reposes at
night in some sheltered retreat, it may occasionally or often betake itself to its old nest as well as to
any other place, as that nest is well iitted for its purpose ; but there seems no reason for supposing
that this is habitual with all Wrens, many of which, in the wilder parts of the country and in the
Hebrides, desert their summer habitations, and in winter reside about the farmyards."

The length of the Common Wren is only three inches and a half, the wing two inches. The colour
of the upper parts is rufous-brown, more decidedly rufous on the tail and wings, the upper surface
barred across with blackish-brown, the outside wing feathers being barred with dark brown and dull'
white ; over the eye a white line ; below the body is dull whitish, slightly washed with rufous on tke
breast; the abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts washed with rufous-brown, barred with blackish; bill
brown, as well as the eye ; legs light brown.

THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE TIMELIID.E.— THE BULBULS (Br achy patina).

These are a small group of birds which are intei-mediate between true Babblers and the Thrushes,
They are remarkable for their very short legs, which are accompanied by short and very rounded wings.
They are entii-ely inhabitants of the Old World, some genera, such as the Bristle-necked Bulbuls
(Criniyer), being widely distributed in Western Africa, and recurring again, in India and the Indo-
Malayan countries and islands. The Red-whiskered Bulbul (Otoco mpsa jocosa), an inhabitant of India
and the Burmese countries, is said by Dr. Jerdon to be a most lively and active bird, always on the
move, warbling its pleasant chirruping notes, which are more agreeable than those of the Common
Bengal Bulbul. Its night is steady but not very rapid, and its crest is always raised the moment it
alights. The nest is neatly made, deep, cup-shaped, of moss, lichens, and small roots, lined with hair
and down ; the eggs are reddish-white with spots of lake, or purplish all over, larger at the thick end.
It lives chiefly on fruits and seeds, robbing the gardens of peas, strawberries, &c. Now and then it
takes insects, and Dr. Jerdon has seen it come to the ground after them. Writing of the Common
-Madras Bulbul (Pycnonolus /t(eniorrhou#), Dr. Jerdon observes that it "frequents gardens and cul-
tivated ground, and low bushy jungle, but is never found in forests, and it ascends the Neilgherries to
about 6,000 feet only. It is usually seen in pairs, or in small families, flying briskly about, restless
and inquisitive, feeding chiefly on fruits, but occasionally descending to the ground, and even hopping
a step or two and picking up insects. It destroys various buds and blossoms also, and is very destruc-
tive to peas, strawberries, brazil cherries (Pkysalis peruviania), and other soft fruit. Its note, which
it is frequently uttering, is an unmusical, rather harsh chirrup. It has at times, however, a sweeter
note, and it is said to be able to imitate the notes of other birds when caged. Its flight is direct,
performed by a continued quick flapping of the wings. It breeds from June to September, according
to the locality. The nest is rather neat, cup-shaped, made of roots and grass, lined with hair, fibres,
and spiders' webs, placed at no great height in a shrub or hedge. The eggs are pale-pinkish, with
spots of darker lake-red, most crowded at the thick end. Burger describes them as rich madder colour,
spotted and blotched with grey and madder-brown ; Layard, as pale cream, with darker markings. The
Bulbul is very commonly caged in various parts of the country, and in the Carnatic it is kept for
fighting, being held on the finger with a cord attached. They fight sometimes with great spirit, often,
I am assured, seizing their antagonist by the red feathers, and endeavouring to pull them out. When
excited they often spread out these feathers laterally, so as to be seen even from above."

The account of the habits of the Bulbuls is so meagre that scarcely anything can be said about
them. Perhaps the best notice that has ever appeared is that given by Captain Legge in his work on
the " Birds of Ceylon " :—

" The Madras Bulbul is a very common bird, and is found in Ceylon abundantly throughout the
whole of the island to a general altitude of about 3,500 feet, and in Uva ranges to about 5,900 feet,
its highest point being the neighbourhood of Hakgala, to which it extends from the Fort MacDonald
patnas, a portion of the Kandyan Province where many low-country birds are located. It is most
numerous in open and cultivated districts, particularly in the west and south of the island, and in the
maritime portions of the eastern and northern divisions. In the extensive forests of the east and

50 NATURAL HISTORY.

north-central portions it inhabits chiefly those localities which have been cleared and are now open or
covered with low jungle ; but in the depths of the woods it is less frequent than the White-eyebrowed
Bulbul. In Dumbara and other wide valleys of the Central Province it is almost as common as in
the low country, but it does not range so high on the Rambodde side as in Uva. Neither Kelaart
nor Mr. Holds worth records it from Nuwara Eliya, nor have I myself observed it there. That it
should not occur even as a straggler or occasional visitant in the gardens of the residents, while it is
not unfrequent just lower down the valley at Hakgala, is perhaps a proof that it is not able to with-
stand the frost and cold at nights on the plain.

•' Of this Bulbul Jerdon says that it is one of the most common and generally-spread birds in the
south of India, extending throughout the southern part of the peninsula to the Nerbudda river, and
beyond it apparently to the north-west. It ascends the Neilgherries to about 6,000 feet, and it is, says
Dr. Fairbank, found at the top of the Palanis, though it is more abundant at the bottom and on the
adjacent plains ; in the Khandala district it is an inhabitant of the slopes of the hills, as well as the
neighbouring portion of the Deccan. To the north-west it extends r,:'j far as Sindh, to the avifauna of
which province Mr. Blanford has recently added it, stating that it is found in the deserts of Umarkot.
Captain Butler remarks that it is found all over the hills and plains of Northern Guzerat, to which
Mi\ Hume adds, ' Common at Sambhur and in the eastern portions of Jodhpoor, also in Cutch and
Kattiawar. In Western Jodhpoor it occurs for the most part only in the rains.' In Bengal it is
replaced by the large and allied species P. pygceus, which extends eastwards into Burmah.

" The Madras Bulbul affects gardens, compounds, cinnamon plantations, the vicinity of roads, low
jungle, open scrubby land, and the edges of forest. It is a fearless and very sprightly bird, most
active and animated in its manners, erecting its conspicuous crest to full height as it sits on the top of
a bush chirping to its companions. It locates itself in close proximity to houses, and not unfrequently
builds its nest in verandahs, and is consequently a universal favourite with Europeans, who rate its
attempts at singing so highly that it is styled by many the 'Ceylon Nightingale !' As a matter of
fact, however, its notes have but little music in them ; but it is constantly uttering its quick
chirruping warble, which, in the breeding-season, is to a certain extent more melodious than at other
times. Its food consists of insects, as well as fruit and seeds of all kinds, the berry of the Lantana
plant being a favourite diet, a fact which conduces to the propagation and spreading of this
horticultural pest. In the evening little parties of this Bulbul assemble, and after a great deal
of excitement and chattering they choose a roosting-place in some thick bush or umbrageous
.shrub.

" Jerdon remarks, in his ' Birds of India,' that in the Carnatic it is kept for fighting, and that it
seizes its antagonist by the red feathers, attempting to pull them out. It is said to imitate the notes
of other birds when caged. I am not aware that this habit has been much noticed in Ceylon ; but it
is a great favourite as a caged bird with the natives, becoming excessively tame, and allowing itself to
be carried about by hand

" In the western and southern portions of the island this bird breeds, as a rule, between January
and May, and on the eastern side during the north-east rains at the end of the year. It appears,
however, to have more than one brood in the year, the second being reared as late as August or
September. Its nest is a loosely-made cup-shaped structure of fine twigs, grass, and bents, with a
scanty lining of grass or vegetable fibre, fixed in the fork of a branch in low bushes a few feet from
the ground. It frequently chooses a small lime-tree close to a dwelling, and will sometimes, as above-
mentioned, build in the verandahs of houses. In a rest-house on the Trincomalee and Batticola road,
I once found a nest placed between the tiles and a rafter over the entrance to the apartment, the pretty
little owner taking no notice whatever of the passers-by, and, as we stood admiring her, scanned us from
her little habitation with an amount of fearless curiosity that was charming to behold. The eggs arc
three or four in number, and vary somewhat in shape, the usual form being a pointed oval. The
ground is reddish-white, blotched and speckled all over, but most thickly at the large end, where there
is often a cap or zone of colour, with reddish-brown of two shades over a few bluish-grey spots, some
eggs having much more of the latter tint than others. They measure from 0'84 to 0'87 inch in length
by 0-64 to 0-66 in breadth.

" In India the breeding-season lasts in the plains from April until August, but in the Neilgherries

THE BUSH BABBLERS. 51

it breeds as early as April. Its nest is much, the same as in Ceylon ; but the late Mr. A. Anderson
speaks of one which was ' entirely composed of green twigs of the Neern-tree on which it was built,
and the xmder surface was felted with fresh blossoms belonging to the same tree.' Mr. Hume gives
the average of sixty eggs as 0'89 inch in length by O65 inch in breadth."

THE THIRD SUB-FAMILY OF THE TIMELIID.E.— THE TRUE BABBLERS (Tiineliiiue).

In this group of birds the short rounded wing, remarkable for its concavity, which makes this
organ fit close to the body, and so becoming admirably adapted to the bush-creeping habits of the
bird, reaches its fullest development in the family of Babbling Thrushes. The largest number of Babblers
is met with in the Malayan Peninsula an! the neighbouring islands, whence they extend in gradually
decreasing numbers towards the Moluccas and New Guinea in the south, and northwards throughout
the Burmese countries to Southern China and Formosa, and eastwards through the Indian Peninsula
to Ceylon. The distribution of these birds is indeed interesting in the highest degree, for there
can be little doubt that the genus Tcdare, which occurs in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, is
properly a member of this sub-family, and it is not until the genus Bernieria is met with in
Madagascar that any closely -allied generic form is known. Again, the genera Drymocataplius and
Trichostoma, which are considered to be two of the most characteristic forms of the Malayan Penin-
sula and islands, re-appear once more in the forests of West Africa, evincing another proof of the
affinity which exists between the forest belt which clothes the shores of this part of Africa and the
Indo- Malay an region.

The habits of the Tiineliime are for the most part similar, the birds inhabiting the bush and
thick underwood, feeding on insects, and living in small flocks, which are constantly on the move,.
and uttering during their flight a continued chattering or piping note.

THE BUSH BABBLERS.

These are inhabitants of the Old World, and form a very conspicuous group of Thrush-like birds,
widely distributed over Africa, and extending over India and the Burmese countries into China.
Some of them are of moderately large size, exceeding the dimensions of the Common Thrush, and they
are very similar in habits, living in the bushes, and hopping vigorously from bough to -bough, a mode
of life for which they are well fitted by their strong stout legs.

The habits of the Palestine Bush Babbler are thus described by Canon Tristram : — " It is strictly
confined to the larger oases round the Dead Sea, and is well known to European residents as the
' Hopping Thrush ' of Jericho, and is evidently the 'Mocking-bird' of Lynch 's 'Narrative.' It ia
abundant in the rich oases of Ain Sultan and Ain Duk, at the north-west of the Dead Sea, in the
sultry comer at the north-east, under the hills of Moab (the ancient plain of Shittim), and at the
south-east end, in the luxuriant tangles of the Safich. A few inhabit the shrubs of Engedi, and we
found it once or twice at the Wady Zuweirah, at the south-west of the Dead Sea. Nowhere else
did it come under our observation, and thus we find a distinct and most characteristic species limited
to an area of forty miles by twelve, and not occupying more than ten square miles in the whole of
that area, so far as our present knowledge extends. They are most sociable and noisy birds, always
in small bands, though not in large flocks, hopping along the ground in a long line, with jerking tail,
and then, one after another, running up a bush, where they maintain a noisy conversation till the
stranger's approach, when they drop down in single file and mm along the ground, to repeat the
same proceedings in the next tree. The nest is a large, clumsy structure, placed always in the
centre of a thorn-tree, and requiring some little labour with the hatchet to clear a way to it. It
is composed entirely of strips of bark loosely woven together, and without any other lining. One in
my collection looks much like a very large nest of Savi's Warbler, from this peculiarity of the employ-
ment of but a single material. The eggs are four to six in number, dark rich green smaller than
those of the Common Thrush, and a little larger than the eggs of Craleropus fulvus. The parent
birds continue their attention to the young for some time after they leave the nest ; and I have been
amused in watching the manner in which the old bird will remain at the top of a bxish, scolding and
screaming at the intruder till all her brood have dropped down one after another, and are running

52

NATURAL HISTORY.

to the next tree, when she suddenly runs down and follows them in silence, to repeat the same
manoeuvre so long as she is followed. Their food consists principally, if not entirely, of the berries
of the zizyphus, or jujube, which are to be found at all seasons of the year."

THE BOWER BIRDS.

Considerable difficulty has been experienced in placing these birds in the natural system ; the
curious habit possessed by the hu-ger number of this sub-family, of building a bower instead of making
a nest, marks them as one of the most singulai of all the forms of bird life in existence. The richly-
coloured Regent Bird, both from its black and yellow plumage, ind from the velvety nature of the

REGENT BIRr. (After Gould.)

feathers on the head, shows a certain approach towards the Birds of Paradise, while on the other hand,
the Cat birds and true Bower birds are somewhat Thrush-like in appearance. They appear to the
writer to be well placed among the Thrush-like birds, albeit very aberrant ones.

THE REGENT BIRD (Sericulus melinus).

Concerning the habits of this species, Mr. Gould* writes: — "This beautiful species, one of the
finest birds of the Australian fauna, is, I believe, exclusively confined to the eastern portion of
the country. It is occasionally seen in the neighbourhood of Sydney, which appears to be the
extent of its range to the southward and westward. I met with it in the bushes at Maitland
in company, and feeding on the same trees with the Satin and Cat birds and the Mlmeta viridis.
It is still more abundant on the Manning at Port Macquarie, and at Moreton Bay. I sought
for and made every inquiry respecting it at Illawarra, but did not meet with it, and was
informed that it is never seen there, yet the district is precisely similar in character to those in
which it is abundant, about two degrees to the eastward. While encamped on Mosquito Island,

* " Handbook to the Birds of Australia."

THE REGENT BIRD.

53

near the mouth of the River Hunter, I shot several, and observed it to be numerous on the
neighbouring islands, particularly Baker's Island, where there is a fine garden, and where it
commits serious injury to the fruit crops. Although I have spoken of this bird as abundant in the
various localities referred to, I must mention that at least fifty out of colour may be observed to one
fully plumaged male, which, when adorned in its gorgeous livery of golden-yellow and deep velvety-
black, exhibits an extreme shyness -of disposition, as if conscious that its beauty, rendering it a con-
spicuous object, might lead to its destruction. It is usually therefore very quiet in its actions, and
mostly resorts to the topmost branches of the trees ; but when two gay-coloured males meet, conflicts
frequently take place. To obtain specimens in their full dress considerable caution is necessary; on the

SATIN BOWER BIRD.

other hand, females and immature males are very tame, and, when feeding among the foliage, appear to
be so intent upon their occupation as not to heed the approach of an intruder ; and I have occasionally
stood beneath a low tree, not more than fifteen feet high, with at least ten feeding voraciously above
me. I did not succeed in discovering the nest ; but the late F. Strange, writing from Moreton Bay,
informed me that it is rudely constructed of sticks, no other material being employed, not even a few
roots as a lining. On the 4th of November I observed one building, and as I was leaving for
Richmond the next day, I gave instructions that it should be taken fifteen days after ; when the time
arrived, however, no native could be got to secure it, and it remained till my return on the 4th of
December. I then sent a native up, and he brought me the nest, with two young ones covered with
down, except the wings, which were feathered. As the two birds quite filled the nest, and I have
heard of other nests being taken with the same number of birds in them, I am inclined to believe that
two is the normal number of eggs laid. After taking the young, I wounded and succeeded in capturing
the old bird, which, after being two days in confinement, became reconciled to captivity, attended to
150

54 NATURAL HISTORY.

her progeny, fed them, and removed the dirt that accumulated in the nest. The eggs are still a
desideratum, and their acquisition would be a source of much gratification to me. The following
extract from a paper on the habits of this fine bird, by C. Coxen, Esq., of Brisbane, read at a meeting
of the Queensland Philosophical Society on the 23rd of May, 1864, I consider to be of high interest,
as affording a clue to the position the bird should occupy in our system : — •' Although the Regent-bird
has been known to ornithologists for many years, very little of its habits has become known, and it has
been left for me to bring under notice the very peculiar and curious habit it enjoys in common with the
Satin-bird (Ptitonorhynchus* holosericeus) and the spotted Bower-bird (Chlamydodercrt maculata). My
attention was called to this peculiarity in August last, by Mr. Waller, taxidermist, of Edward Street,
in this city, to whose untiring energy and ability as a collector I must always bear testimony. Mr.
Waller informed me that while shooting in a scrub 011 the banks of the Brisbane River, he saw a male
Regent-bird playing on the ground, jumping up and down, puffing out its feathers, and rolling about in
a very odd manner, which occasioned much surprise, never having seen the bird on the ground before.
The spot where it was playing was thickly covered with small shrubs. Not wishing to lose the oppor-
tunity of procuring a specimen, he fired, but only succeeded in wounding it; and on searching the spot
he found a bower formed between, and supported by two small brush plants, and surrounded by small
shrubs — so much so, that he had to creep on his hands and knees to get to it. While doing so, the
female bird came down from a lofty tree, uttered her peculiar note, and lit on a branch immediately
over the bower, apparently with the intention of alighting in front of it, but was scared away on seeing
Mr. Waller so close to her. She continued flitting over the place, and calling for her mate so long as
he was in the neighbourhood. Mr. Waller believes that the male bird, after being wounded, fluttered to
some distance from the bower, and died, as a male Regent-bird was found dead two days afterwards in
a more open part of the brush. On visiting the scrub on the following and several successive days, the
female bird was seen in the locality of the bower, and by her constant calling was apparently lamenting
the loss — or what might seem to her the inconstancy — of her mate. The ground around the bower
was clear of leaves for some twelve or eighteen inches, and had the appearance of having been
swept, the only objects in its immediate vicinity being a small specimen of Helix. The structure
was alike at both ends, but the part designated as the front was more easy of approach, and had
the principal decorations; the approach to the back being more closed by scrub. Mr. Waller
being desirous that this curious habit of the Regent-bird should be verified, determined to leave
the bower untouched until he had acquainted me with his discovery. Circumstances occurred to
prevent me from accompanying him to its whereabouts until the following November, when we
found the bower in good preservation. Previous to my seeing and examining the structure, I must
confess to having had considerable doubts as to whether it would not prove to be a bower of the
Satin-bird, but these doubts were dissipated at the first glance, the formation of the structure
differing considerably, and the decoration more so. With Mr. Waller's assistance I removed the
building without injuring or in any way defacing its architectural style. It may not be inoppor-
tune for me to state that I was the first to discover the bower and habits of the Satin-bird, and
also among the first discoverers of the bower of the spotted Bower-bird, that I have had frequent
opportunities of seeing them in the New South Wales brushes and the myall scrubs to the westward,
and am consequently conversant with their peculiarities. The bower of the Regent-bird differs from
the Satin-bird's in being less dome-shaped, straighter in the sides, platform much less, being only
ten inches by ten, but thicker in proportion to its area, twigs smaller and not so arched, and the
inside, of the bower smaller ; indeed, I believe, too small to admit an adult Satin-bird without
injury to its architecture. The decorations of the bower are uniform, consisting only of a small
species of Helix, herein forming a marked contrast from the Satin-bird. Mr. Gould has shown
his usual power of observation and knowledge of generic distinctions in having placed the Regent-
bird next in order to the Satin Bower-bird, without having any knowledge of its peculiar building
instincts. The Regent-bird frequents our river scrubs during the winter months, from the begin-
ning of May to the end of September, coming from the south, whither he repairs during the
summer. Its food consists of berries, wild fruits, and insects. In confinement it greedily disposes
of house-flies, cockroaches, and small insects, showing great activity in their capture ; but its
* Tfri\ov, a feather ; pv'yx°«, a bill, t x^V's. a mantle ; St'prj, a neck.

THE COMMON FANTAIL WARBLER. 55

principal food is the banana, of which it eats largely. It is very bold and pugnacious, the young
males particularly so. In confinement several cases have occurred of one having killed the other.
The young males closely resemble the females in plumage during their first year, in the second
they partially assume the gay plumage of their sire, and in their third year they put on the full
livery of the adult male.' "

The male has the head and back of the neck, running in a rounded point towards the breast, rich
bright gamboge-yellow, tinged with orange, particularly on the centre of the forehead ; the remainder
of the plumage, with the exception of the secondaries and inner webs of all but the first primary, deep
velvety-black ; the secondaries bright gamboge-yellow, with a narrow edging of black along the inner
webs ; the first primary is entii'ely black, the next have the tips and outer webs black ; the half of the
inner web and that part of the shaft not running through the black tip are yellow ; as the primaries
approach the secondaries, the yellow of the inner web extends across the shaft, leaving only a black
edge on the outer web, which gradually narrows until the tips only of both webs remain black ; bill
yellow ; irides pale-yellow ; legs and feet black.

The female has the head and thi'oat dull brownish- white, with a large patch of deep black on the
crown ; all the upper surface, wings, and tail, pale olive-brown, the feathers of the back with a
triangular-shaped mark of brownish-white near the tip ; the \mder surface is similar, but here, except
on the breast, the white markings increase so much in size as to become the predominant hue ; eyes
brown ; bill and feet black.

THE FOURTH SUB-FAMILY OF THE TIMELIID^E.—THE GRASS-WARBLERS (CUticolina).

In this sub-family must be placed the large group of Grass Warblers, or Fantails, which are>
largely developed in the African continent, and range throughout Southern Europe and the whole 01
the Indian region, extending even into Australia. One of the best known species is

THE COMMON FANTAIL WARBLER (Cisticola cursitaw).

This bird is spread over the whole of Southern. Europe, over the whole of Africa, India, and
China, and is remarkable for the beautiful nest which it makes, and for the great variety in the colour-
ing of its eggs. Captain Vincent Legge writes to Mr. Hume from Ceylon : — " It breeds in the western
province from May until September, and constructs its nest either in paddy-fields or in Guinea-grass
plots attached to bungalows. The nest is so beautiful and so neatly constructed that perhaps a short
description of it will not be out of place. A framework of cotton or other fibrous material is formed
round two or three upright stalks, about two feet from the ground, the material being sown into the
grasa, and passed from one stalk to another until a complete nest is made. This takes the bird from
one to two days to construct. Several blades, belonging to the stalks round which the cotton is passed,
are then bent down and interlaced across to form a bottom, on which, and inside the cotton network,
a neat little nest of fine strips of grass torn off from the blade is built. This is most beautifully lined
with cotton or other downy substance, which appears to be plastered with the saliva of the bird, until
it takes the appearance and texture of soft felt. The average dimensions of the interior, or cup, are
two inches in depth by one and a quarter in breadth. The whole structure is generally completed in
about five days, and the first egg laid on the fifth or sixth day from the commencement. The number
of eggs varies from two to four, most nests containing three. The time of incubation is, as a rule,
from nine to eleven days. I have found biit little variation in the eggs of this species either as
regards size or colour. They are white or pale greenish-white, spotted and blotched in a zone round
the larger end with red and reddish-grey, a few spots extending towards the point ; axis, 0'63 inch ;
diameter, 0-51 inch. From close observation I can certify that this and many other small birds do
not here sit during the day-time. I scarcely ever found a Cisticola on the nest between sunrise and
sunset." Mr. Hume himself also observes: — "I have myself taken several, and have had a great
many nests sent to me. With rare exceptions, all belonged to one type. The bird selects a patch of
dense fine-stemmed grass, from eighteen inches to two feet in height, and, as a rule, standing in a
moist place; in this, at the height of from six to eight inches from the ground, the nest is constructed.

56 NATURAL HISTORY.

The sides are formed by the blades and stems of the grass, in situ, closely tacked and caught together
with cobwebs and very fine, silky vegetable fibre. This is done for a length of from two to nearly
three inches, and, as it were, a narrow tube, from one to one-fifth in diameter, formed in the grass.
To this a bottom, from four to six inches above the surface of the ground, is added, a few of the blades
of the grass being bent across, tacked and woven together with cobwebs and fine vegetable fibre. The
whole interior is then closely felted with silky down — in Upper India usually that of the Mudar
(Oalotropis Hamiltoni). The nest thus constructed forms a deep and narrow purse, about three inches
in depth, an inch in diameter at top, and one-fifth at the broadest part below. The tacking together
of the stems of the grass is commonly continued a good deal higher up on one side than on the other,
jind it is through or between the untacked stems opposite to this that the tiny entrance exists. Of
course, above the nest the stems and blades of the grass meeting together completely hide it. The
dimensions above given are those of the interior of the nest ; its exterior dimensions cannot be given.
The bird tacks together not merely the few stems absolutely necessary to form a side to the nest, but
most of the stems all around, decreasing the extent of attachment as they recede from the nest cavity.
It does this, too, very irregularly ; on one side of the nest perhaps no stem more than an inch distant
from the interior surface of the nest will be found in any way bound up in the fabric, while on the
opposite perhaps stems fully three inches distant, together with all the intermediate ones, will be found
more or less webbed together. Occasionally, but rarely, I have found a nest of a different type. Of
these, one was built among the stems of a common prickly labiate marsh-plant, which has mauve and
tflrite flowers. There was a straggling' framework of fine grass, firmly netted together with cobwebs,
and a very scanty lining of down. The nest was egg-shaped, and the aperture on one side, near the top.
Mr. Brooks, I believe, once obtained a similar one ; but the vast majority of the others that any of us
have ever got have been of the type first described, which corresponds closely with Passler's accounts.
Five is the usual complement of eggs ; at any rate, I have notes of more than a dozen nests that con-
tained this number, and in more than half the cases the eggs were partly incubated. I have no record
of more than five ; and though I have any number of notes of nests containing one, two, three, and
four eggs, yet these latter in almost all these cases were fresh."

Respecting the species in Africa some interesting notes are given in Layard's work on the birds
inhabiting the southern part of that continent. Mr. Ayres says that in Natal they are common in the
open country, frequenting much shorter grass than that visited by Drymoica curvirostris. Their
nest is very beautifully constructed amongst the fine stalks of grass, which are drawn together towards
the top, a sort of purse, or bag, being made of the finest and whitest down and spiders' webs, and
attached at the sides to the grass which surrounds it, the opening being on the top. On any intruder
approaching the nest the birds generally mount overhead with a flitting, eccentric flight, watching
with anxiety the fate of their domicile. Their flight is tolerably strong ; and when they have been
disturbed once or twice it is sometimes a difficult matter to get within shot of them. Major Bulger
writes from Windovgelberg : — "There is a very tiny bird abundant on the flats all around us here,
which wa call the ' little grass bird.' It is Cisticola cursitans — the smallest feathered creature I have
seen in the country, and something like a diminutive Lark in appearance. When started it always
rises with a whirr, and flies away, emitting a snapping noise, and occasionally an alarm note ; and whilst
on the ground amongst the grass, where it is commonly met with, I fancy it not unfrequently makes
the same snapping noise, for often, whilst I have been walking on the flats, I have heard this sound,
and presently have flushed this ' little grass bird.' It has seemed to me that this Cisticola possesses
the power of ventriloquism, for I have remarked on many occasions that although we have heard the
peculiar sound produced by this bird around us in every direction, we have never succeeded in finding
more than one or two at the most of these little creatures." In his work on the " Birds of Damara
Land " the late Mr. Andersson writes as follows : — " This species came under my notice in Great
Namaqua Land in about 24° or 25° S. lat. I have also met with it abundantly in Southern Damara
Land, and have obtained it in Ondonga. Specimens from Damara Land are of a lighter tint than
those from Ondonga, but I have no doubt they are identical. It is common at some large waters on
the Omaruru River, but is most difficult to shoot ; it can generally only be shot on the wing as it rises,
and when shot it invariably falls in the reeds, where its diminutive size easily eludes the eye. It is,
however, found in many other situations besides reedy localities, but chiefly among tall, coarse grasses

THE TAILOR BIRD. 57

growing a,bout small periodical water-courses. When disturbed, it rises almost perpendicularly,
descending nearly as abruptly, and either burying itself at once in the rank vegetation, ov first perch-
ing on a grass stalk, and gradually creeping out of view, and also out of reach, for it is difficult
to flush it again. The food of this little bird consists of small insects." The Fantail Warbler measures
four inches in length. The top of the head and interscapulars are umber-brown, variegated with yel-
lowish-brown ; back of neck, back, and shoulders, clear yellowish-brown, with umber-brown streaks ;

TAILOR BIRD.

rump, umber-brown ; chin and throat, whitish ; breast, belly, and vent, sienna-yellow ; tail, moderately
long, and slightly graduated ; two middle feathers, broccoli-brown, margined and tipped with wood-
brown ; the other feathers brownish-red, broadly tipped with white, with a large umber-brown blotch
just before the white, seen, as in all species, most plainly on the inner side; eyes light brown.

THE TAILOR BIRD (Orthotomus* sutorius).

This is a well-known Asiatic bird, occurring throughout the whole of the Indian Peninsula, the
Burmese countries, and China. t It is most common in well-wooded districts, frequenting gardens, hedge-
rows, orchards, low jungle, and even now and then the more open parts of high-tree jungles. It is
usually found in pairs, at times in small flocks, incessantly hopping about the branches of trees, shrubs,

* op0o?, straight; TO/UOJ (re^u), cutting. f Jerdon, " Birds of India," Vol. II., p. 166.

58 NATURAL HISTORY.

pea-rows, and the like, with a loud reiterated call ; and picking various insects, chiefly ants, cicadellso,
and various small larvae, off the bark and leaves, and not unfrequently seeking them on the ground.
It has the habit of raising its tail whilst feeding and hopping about, and at times, especially when,
calling, it raises the feathers and displays the concealed black stripe on its neck. The ordinary note
of the Tailor is to-wee-to-wee-to-wee ; or as syllabised by Layard pretty-pretty-pretty ; when alarmed or
angry, it has a different call. It is a familiar bird, venturing close to houses, but when aware that it
is being watched it becomes wary and shy. Mr. Hume gives a very full account of the nests, from
which the Tailor-bird derives its well-known name. " In India the breeding season lasts from May
to August, both months included ; but in the plains more nests are to be found in July, and in the
hills more, I think, in June, than during the other months. The nest has been often described and
figured, and, as is well known, is a deep soft cup enclosed in leaves, which the bird sews together to
form a receptacle for it. It is placed at all elevations, and I have as often found it high upon a Mango
tree as low down amongst the leaves of the edible egg plant (Solarum esculent-urn). The nests vary
much in appearance, according to the number and description of leaves which the bird employs, and
the manner in which it employs them ; but the nest itself is usually chiefly composed of fine cotton
wool, with a few horsehairs, and, at times, a few very fine grass stems as a lining, apparently to keep
the wool in its place, and enable the cavity to retain permanently its shape. I have found the nests
with three leaves fastened, at equal distances from each other, into the sides of the nest, and not
joined to each other at all. I have found them between two leaves, the one forming a high back,
and turned up at the end to support the bottom of the nest, the other hiding the nest in front, and
hanging down well below it, the tip only of the first leaf being sewn to the middle of the second. I
have found them with four leaves sewn together to form a canopy and sides, from which the bottom
of the nest depended bare ; and I have found them between two long leaves, whose sides, from the
very tips to near the peduncles, were closely and neatly sewn together. For sewing they generally
use cobwebs, but silk from cocoons, thread, wool, and vegetable fibres are also used. The eggs vary
from three to four in number ; but I find that out of twenty-seven nests containing more or les.7
incubated eggs, of which I have notes, that exactly two-thirds contained only three, and one-third
four eggs. About the colour of the eggs there has been some dispute, but this is owing to the birds
laying two distinct types of eggs, which will be described below. Hutton's and Jerdon's descriptions
of the eggs, tvhite spotted, with rufous or reddish-brown, are quite correct ; but so are those of other
writers, who call them bluish-green, similarly marked. Tickell, who gives them as ' pale greenish-
blue, with irregular patches, especially towards the larger end, resembling dried stains of blood, and
irregular and broken lines scratched round, forming a zone near the larger end,' had of course got hold
of the eggs of a Drymoipus. I have taken hundreds of both types, and I note that, as in the case of
Buekanga albirietus, eggs of the two types are never found in the same nest. All the eggs in each
nest always belong to one or the other type. The parent birds that lay these very different-looking
eggs certainly do not differ ; that I have positively satisfied myself. I quote an exact description of
a nest which I took at Bareilly, and which was recorded on the spot. Three of the long ovato-
lanceolate leaves of the mango, whose peduncles sprang from the same point, had been neatly drawn
together with gossamer threads run through the sides of the leaves, and knotted outside, so as to form
a cavity like the end of a netted purse, with a wide slit on the side nearest the trunk, beginning near
the bottom, and widening upwards. Inside this, the real nest, nearly three inches deep, and about
two inches in diameter, was neatly constructed of wool and fine vegetable fibres, the bottom being
thinly lined with horsehair. In this lay three tiny delicate bluish-white eggs, with a few pale
reddish-brown blotches at the large ends, and just a very few spots and specks of the same colour
elsewhere." The male Tailor-bird measures six and a half inches in length, and has the two centre
tail feathers lengthened, and measuring three and a half inches, whereas in the female these long
feathers are not found, and the tail measures only two inches. The general colour is olive-greenish,
the wings being brown edged with green ; the crown of the head is rufous, inclining to grey on the
nape ; the tail is narrow, light brown, with a green tinge, the outer feathers narrowly tipped with
white ; Tinder surface of body white, with a concealed black spot on each side of the throat formed by
the bases of some of the feathers, and seen only at times ; bill horny, the lower mandible pale fleshy ;
the legs flesh colour ; eyes reddish-yellow.

THE MOCKING-BTEDS. 59

THE FIFTH SUB-FAMILY OF THE TIMELIIDJE.— THE AMERICAN BABBLERS (Minima-)*

THE THRASHERS.

These are a group of American Babbling Thrushes, representing the thick-footed Babblers of the
Old World (Crateropi), and are not unlike some of the latter in appearance. They have the bill
slender, like that of a Thrush, or else long and arched ; the feet are strong, and in most of them
rather long ; the tail is rounded and slightly graduated, and is of a moderate length. As an example
of this sub-family may be taken the Brown Thrasher of North America, t This Thrush is a common
species throughout a widely-extended area, from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic, and from the
Red River country in British America to the Rio Grande; and nearly throughout the entire territory
it also resides and breeds, from Texas to the fifty-fourth parallel of latitude. It reaches New England
early in May, and leaves it in the latter part of September or the first week of October, its stay
varying with the season and the supply of its food. It is somewhat irregularly distributed — common
in some parts of this section, and rare, or even unknown, in others. It is not found near the
sea-coast beyond Massachusetts. It passes the winter in the Southern States, even as far to the
north as Virginia, and is in full song in the neighbourhood of Savannah as early as the 1st of
March. The song of this Thrush is one of great beauty, and is much admired by all who appreciate
woodland melody of the sweetest and liveliest type. It is loud, clear, emphatic, full of variety and
charm. Its notes are never imitative, and cannot be mistaken, by any one who is familiar with them
for those of any other bird, unless it may be some one of its western congeners. It is a very steady
performer, singing for hours at a time. Its notes are given in a loud tone, and its song may often
be heard to quite a distance. In obtaining its food the Brown Thrash is at times almost rasorial
in its habits. In the early spring it scratches among the leaves of the forest for worms, coleopterous
grubs, and other forms of insect food. By some it is charged with scratching up the hills of early
corn, but this is not a well-founded accusation. Berries of various kinds also form a large part of
its food, and among these the small fruit of the gardens must be included. " This Thrush," says
Dr. Brewer, " is a very affectionate and devoted bird, especially to its young. It is also prompt in
going to the assistance of others of its species when in trouble. Whenever intruders approach their
nests, especially if their young are far advanced, they manifest the deepest anxiety, sometimes even
making a vigorous defence. The writer has a very distinct recollection of having encountered,
together with a younger brother, an. ignominious defeat when making his first attempt to inspect the
nest of one of these birds. The Brown Thrush is jealous of the intrusion of other birds of its own
species to a too close proximity to its nesting- place, and will assert its love of seclusion by stout
battles. In Louisiana the construction of the nest is commenced quite early in March, in Penn-
sylvania not until May, and in the New England States in the latter part of that month. The nest
is usually not more than two or three feet from the ground. It is built in a low bush, on a cluster
of briars, or among vines. I have known it to be placed in the interior of a heap of brushwood
loosely thrown together. I have never met with the nest built upon the ground, but in Springfield
and in other dry and sandy localities this is by no means an uncommon occurrence. These nests are
frequently placed in close proximity to houses, and sometimes in the very midst of villages. The
nest of the Thrasher is large, and roughly but strongly built. The base is iisually made of coarse
twigs, sticks, and ends of branches, firmly interwoven. Within this is constructed an inner nest,
composed of dried leaves, strips of bark, and strong, black fibrous roots. These are lined with finer
roots, horsehair, an occasional feather, &c. The eggs are usually four, sometimes five, and rarely
six in number. They vary both in the tints of the ground colour and those of their markings, and
.slightly in their shape. Their length varies from -99 to 1-12 inch, with a mean of 1'05 ; their
breadth ranges from -76 to -87 of an inch, mean breadth -81. The ground colour is sometimes
white, marked with fine reddish-brown dots, confluent at the larger end or forming a broad rinor

. * o O ' O

around the crown. In others the markings have a yellowish-brown tint. Sometimes the ground
colour is a light green."

THE MOCKING-BIRDS.

These are also exclusively American, and are distributed over the whole continent, from the far
north down to the most southern part of South Amei-ica. They are well known for their admirable
mimic. t Brewer, in " The History of North American Birds," Vol. I., p. 38.

60 NATURAL HISTORY.

powers of song, which place them on an equal rank with the Thrushes and Nightingale of the Old
World, although their concave wings show their affinities to the Babbling Thrushes. For an account
of their habits one must turn to the pages of Audubon,* from which the following remarks are
copied verbatim : —

" It is where the great magnolia shoots up its majestic trunk, crowned with evergi-een leaves, and
decorated with a thousand beautiful flowers that perfume the air around ; where the forests and fields
are adorned with blossoms of every hue ; where the golden orange ornaments the gardens and
groves ; where bignonias of various kinds interlace their climbing stems around the white-flowered
stuartia, and mounting still higher, cover the summits of the lofty trees around, accompanied with
innumerable vines that here and there festoon the dense foliage of the magnificent woods, lending to
the vernal breezes a slight portion of the perfume of their clustered flowers ; where a genial warmth
seldom forsakes the atmosphere ; where berries and fruits of all descriptions are met with at every step :
in a word, kind reader, it is where Nature seems to have paused as she passed over the earth, and,
opening her stores, to have strewn with unsparing hand the diversified seeds from which have sprung
all the beautiful and splendid forms which I should in vain attempt to describe, that the Mocking-bird
should have fixed its abode, there only that its wondrous song should be heard. But where is that
favoured land ] It is in this great continent. It is, reader, in Louisiana that these bounties of
Nature are in the greatest perfection. It is there that you should listen to the love-song of the Mocking-
bird, as I at this moment do. See how he flies round his mate, with motions as light as those of a
butterfly ! His tail is widely expanded, he mounts in the air to a small distance, describes a circle,
and, again alighting, approaches his beloved one, his eyes gleaming with delight, for she has already
promised to be his and his only. His beautiful wings are gently raised, he bows to his love, and
again towering upwards, opens his bill and pours forth his melody, full of exultation at the conquest
which he has made. They are not the soft sounds of the flute or of the hautboy that I hear, but the
sweeter notes of Nature's own music. The mellowness of the song, the varied undulations and gradua-
tions, the extent of its compass, the great brilliancy of execution, are unrivalled. There is probably
no bird in the world that possesses all the musical qualifications of this king of song, who has derived
all from Natui-e's self. Yes, reader, all ! No sooner has he again alighted, and the conjugal contract
has been sealed, than, as if his breast was about to be rent with delight, he again pours forth his
notes with more softness and richness than before. He now soars higher, glancing around with a
vigilant eye, to assure himself that none has witnessed his bliss. When these love scenes, visible only
to the ardent lover of Nature, are over, he dances through the air, full of animation and delight, and as
if to convince his lovely mate that to enrich her hopes he has much more love in store, he that
moment begins anew, and imitates all the notes which Nature has imparted to the other songsters
of the grove. For a while each long day and pleasant night are thus spent ; but at a peculiar note of
the female he ceases his song and attends to her wishes. A nest is to be prepared, and the choice of a
place in which to lay it is to become a matter of mutual consideration. The orange, the fig, the pear-
tree of the gardens are inspected ; the thick briar patches are also visited. They appear all so well
suited for the purpose in view, and so well does the bird know that man is not his most dangerous
enemy that, instead of retiring from him, they at length fix their abode in his vicinity, perhaps in the
nearest tree to his window. Dried twigs, leaves, grasses, cotton, flax, and other substances are picked
up, carried to a forked branch, and there arranged. Five eggs are deposited in due time, when the
male, having little more to do than to sing his mate to repose, attunes his pipe anew. Every now and
then he spies an insect on the ground, the taste of which he is sure will please his beloved one. He
drops upon it, takes it in his bill, beats it against the earth, and flies to the nest to feed and receive
the warm thanks of his devoted female. When a fortnight has elapsed the young brood demand all
their care and attention. No cat, no vile snake, no dreaded hawk, is likely to visit their habitation.
Indeed, the inmates of the next house have by this time become quite attached to the lovely pair of
Mocking-birds, and take pleasure in contributing to their safety. The dew-berries from the
fields, and many kinds of fruit from the gardens, mixed with insects, supply the young as well
as the parents with food. The brood is soon seen emerging from the nest, and in another fort-
night, being now able to fly with vigour, and to provide for themselves, they leave the parent

* "Birds of North America," Vol. II., p. 187.

THE MOCKING BIRD.

61

birds, as many other species do. The above account does not contain all that I wish you to
know of the habits of this remarkable songster, so I shall shift the scene to the woods and
wilds, where we shall examine it more particularly. The Mocking-bird remains in Louisiana the
whole year. I have observed with astonishment that towards the end of October, when those
which had gone to the Eastern States— some as far as Boston — have returned, they are instantly
known to the ' Southrons,' who attack them on all occasions. I have ascertained this by observing
the greater shyness exhibited by the strangers for weeks after their arrival. This shyness,
however, is shortly over, as well as the animosity displayed by the resident birds, and during the
\vinter there exists a great appearance of sociality among the united tribes. In the beginning of
April, sometimes a fortnight earlier, the Mocking-birds pair and construct their nests. In some

MOCKING BIRD.

instances they are so careless as to place the nest between the rails of a fence directly by the
road. I have frequently found it in such places, or in the fields, as well as in briars, but
always so easily discoverable that any person desirous of procuring one might do so in a very
snort time. It is coarsely constructed on the outside, being there composed of dried sticks of
briar, withered leaves of trees, and grasses, mixed with wool. Internally it is finished with
fibrous roots, disposed in a circular form, but carelessly arranged. The female lays from four to
six eggs the first time, four or five the next, and when there is a third brood, which is some-
times the case, seldom more than three, of which I have rarely found more than two hatched.
The eggs are of a short oval form, light green, blotched and spotted with amber. The young of
the last brood, not being able to support themselves until late in the season, when many of the
berries and insects have become scarce, are stunted in growth, a circumstance which has induced
some persons to imagine the existence in the United States of two species of Common Mocking-
bird, a larger and a smaller. This, however, as far as my observation goes, is not correct. The
first brood is frequently brought to the bird-market in New Orleans as early as the middle of
April. A little farther up the country they are out by the 15th of May. The second brood is
hatched in July, and the third in the latter part of September. The nearer you approach to the
151

62 NATURAL HISTORY.

sea shores, the more plentiful do you find these birds. They are naturally fond of loose sands,
and of districts scantily furnished with small trees or patches of briars and low bushes. During
incubation the female pays such precise attention to the position in which she leaves her eggs
when she goes to a short distance for exercise and refreshment, to pick up gravel, or roll herself
in the dust, that, on her return, should she find that any of them have been displaced or touched
by the hand of man, she utters a low, mournful note, at the sound of which the male imme-
diately joins her, and they are both seen to condole together. Some people imagine that 011
such occasions the female abandons the nest ; but this idea is incorrect. On the contrary, she
redoubles her assiduity and care, and scarcely leaves the nest for a moment; nor is it until she
has been repeatedly forced from the dear spot, and has been muoh alarmed by frequent intru-
sions, that she finally and reluctantly leaves it. Nay, if the eggs are on the eve of being
hatched she will almost suffer a person to lay hold of her.

" Different species of snakes ascend to their nests, and generally suck the eggs or swallow the
young ; but on all such occasions, not only the pair to which the nest belongs, but many other
Mocking-birds from the vicinity, fly to the spot, attack the reptiles, and in some cases are so fortunate
as either to force them to retreat or deprive them of life. Cats that have abandoned the houses to
prowl about the fields in a half wild state are also dangerous enemies, as they frequently approach
the nest unnoticed, and at a pounce secure the mother, or at least destroy the eggs or young, and over-
turn the nest. Children seldom destroy the nests of these birds, and the planters generally protect
them. So much does this feeling prevail throughout Louisiana, that they will not willingly permit a
Mocking-bird to be shot at any time. In winter, nearly all the Mocking-birds approach the farm-
houses and plantations, living about the gardens or outhouses. They are then frequently seen on the
roofs and perched on the chimney-pots ; yet they always appear full of animation. Whilst searching
for food on the ground their motions are light and elegant, and they frequently open their wings as
butterflies do when basking in the sun, moving a step or two, and again throwing out their wings.
When the weather is mild the old males are heard singing with as much spirit as during the spring
or summer, while the younger birds are busily engaged in practising, preparatory to the love season.
They seldom resort to the interior of the forest, either during the day or by night, but usually roost
among the foliage of evergreens in the immediate vicinity of houses in Louisiana, although in the
Eastern States they prefer low fir-trees.

" The flight of the Mocking-bird is performed by short jerks of the body and wings, at every one
of which a strong twitching motion of the tail is perceived. This motion is still more apparent while
the bird is walking, when it opens its tail like a fan and instantly closes it again. The common
cry or call of this bird is a very mournful note, resembling that uttered on similar occasions by its
first cousin, the Orpheus rufus, or, as it is commonly called, the French Mocking-bird. When
travelling, this flight is only a little prolonged, as the bird goes from tree to tree, or at most across a
field, scarcely, if ever, rising higher than the top of the forest. During this migration it generally
resorts to the highest parts of the woods near water-courses, utters its usual mournful note, and roosts
in these places. It travels mostly by day. Few Hawks attack the Mocking-birds, as on their
approach, however sudden it may be, they are always ready not only to defend themselves vigorously
and with undaunted courage, but to meet the aggressor half-way, and force him to abandon his inten-
tion. The only Hawk that occasionally surprises it is the Astur cooperii, which flies low with great
swiftness, and carries the bird off without any apparent stoppage. Should it happen, that the ruffian
misses his prey, the Mocking-bird in turn becomes the assailant, and pursues the Hawk with great
courage, calling, in the meantime, all the birds of its species to its assistance ; and although it cannot
overtake the marauder, the alarm created by their cries, which are propagated in succession among all
the birds in the vicinity, like the watchwords of sentinels on duty, prevents him from succeeding in
his attempts.

"The musical powers of this bird have often been taken notice of by European naturalists and
persons who find pleasure in listening to the song of different birds whilst in confinement or at large.
Some of these persons have described the notes of the Nightingale as occasionally fully equal to those
of our bird, but to compare her essays to the finished talent of the Mocking-bird is, in my opinion^
quite absurd. The Mocking-bird is easily reared by hand from the nest, from which it ought to be

THE GR£AT GREY SHRIKE. 63

removed when eight or ten days old. It becomes so very familiar and affectionate that it will often
follow its owner about the house. I have known one raised from the nest kept by a gentleman afc
Natchez that frequently Hew out of the houses, poured forth its melodies, and returned at sight of its
keeper. But notwithstanding all the care and management bestowed upon the improvement of the
vocal powers of this bird in confinement, I iisver heard one in that state produce anything at all
approaching in melody to its own natural song. The male bird is easily distinguished in the nest as
soon as the brood is a little fledged, it being larger than the female and showing more pure white. It
does not shrink so deep in the nest as the female does at the sight of the hand which is about to lift
it. Good singing birds of this species often bring a high price. They are long-lived and very agree-
able companions. Their imitative powers are amazing, and they mimic with ease all their brethren of
the forests or of the waters, as well as many quadrupeds. I have heard it asserted that they possess,
the power of imitating the human voice, but have never met with an instance of the display of this
alleged faculty."

THE TENTH FAMILY OF THRUSH-LIKE PERCHING-BIRDS.— THE SHRIKES (Lani'uke).

The Shrikes, or Butcher Birds, from their savage habits as well as from their strong hooked bills,
were placed by Linmeus and the old authors in close proximity to the birds of prey. They have all
very strong and powerful feet, and many of them capture living prey, such as small birds, mice, &c.,
but as a rule they are insect-feeders. Representatives of the Shrikes are found in eveiy quarter of the
globe, excepting South America. The first group of the Shrikes to be noticed are the Aiisti'alian
Thickheads (Packycephala), which are distributed all over that continent, New Guinea, and the
Moluccas, and throughout Oceania. Mr. Gould states that " their habits differ from those of most
other insectivorous birds, particularly in their quiet mode of hopping about and traversing the
branches of trees in search of insects and their larvae. Caterpillars constitute a great portion of their
food, but Coleoptera and other insects are not rejected. The more gaily attired species resort to the
flowering Acacice, Eucalypti, and other stately trees, while the more dull-coloured frequent the ground.
They all build a neat, round, cup-shaped nest, and the eggs are generally four in number. Their
powers of flight are not great ; some enjoy a wide range of habitat, while others are extremely local.
The song of some is loud and rather pleasing, while others merely emit a whistling note, slowly but
frequently repeated." " The Grey-tailed Thickhead," according to the same anthor, " frequents the
vast forests of Eucalypti that cover the greater part of Tasmania, and, although it is rather thinly
dispersed, is to be met with in every variety of situation, the crowns of the hills and the deep and
most secluded gullies being alike visited by it. It frequently descends to the ground in search of
insects, but the leafy branches of the trees, particularly those of a low growth, are the situations to
which it gives the preference. The adult male, like most other birds of attractive plumage, is of a
shy disposition ; hence there is much more difficulty in obtaining a glimpse of that sex in the woods
than of the sombre-coloured and comparatively tame female, or even of the yoiing males of the year,
which during this period wear a similar kind of livery to that of the latter. The actions of this species
are somewhat peculiar, and unlike those of most other insectivorous birds ; it pries about the leafy
branches of the trees, and leaps from twig to twig in the most agile manner possible, making all
the while a most scrutinising search for insects, especially Coleoptera. When the male exposes
himself, as he occasionally does, on some bare twig, the rich yellow of his plumage, offering a strong
contrast to the green of the surrounding foliage, renders him a conspicuous and doubtless highly
attractive object to his sombre-coloured mate, who generally accompanies him. It sometimes resorts
to the gardens and shrubberies of the settlers, but much less frequently than might be supposed, when
we consider that the neighbouring forests are its natural place of abode. The Grey-tailed Thickhead!
utters a loud whistling call of a single note, several times repeated, by which its presence is often de-
tected. I was unsuccessful in my search for its nest, and the eggs are still desiderata to my collection.""

The Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor) is an occasional visitant to England, but has not
yet been known to breed in that country. The occurrences reported of its capture point to it as a
winter migrant only, and at this season of the year it was observed by the writer on more than one
occasion in Heligoland. It is one of the largest of the whole family of Shrikes, and is altogether a

64 NATURAL HISTORY.

powerful bird. The name of Butcher Bird is given, to this and other species of Shrikes on account of
the habit which these birds have of spitting their prey upon thorns, and often quite a collection of
victims may be seen impaled upon a hedge, so as to form what is popularly called a " Shrike's
Larder." The food of the present species consists of field mice, beetles, grasshoppers, frogs, lizards,
and blind worms, but it will also devour small birds, and even rob nests. As an instance of its
pertinacity in capturing its food may be quoted the following note by a German naturalist,* Mr. Carl
Miiller : — " During this winter I had the opportunity of often observing a Great Grey Shrike. He
lorded it over a considerable tract, and, Shrike-like, preferred the hedges and young lime-trees
skirting an avenue, where, emboldened by hunger and the severe weather, he watched for his prey,
undisturbed by the passers-by. I often saw him fly a considerable distance, then suddenly rise in his
flight and hover over one spot. Once when flying along he observed a mouse ; he turned sharply
round, and, hovering, commenced a careful examination of the ground ; and his watchfulness and
perseverance astonished me. Now he would hover from thirty to forty feet above the ground, now
only ten to fifteen feet ; then flying down to a small mound, he would sit with outstretched neck and
eager glance, carefully surveying every spot near him, and after watching for a time would again take
to wing. For more than ten minutes he waited and searched for the mouse, and then flew off to a
thorn-bush about one hundred yards distant. But he had not given up the chase, for after a short
rest he again returned to where he had first observed the animal, and repeated the search. He
persevered even longer than before, and at last secured his prey by a quick surprise and several hard
blows with the bill, delivered as he was hopping and fluttering over it. This Shrike once attacked a
Blackbird I used to feed, which had become quite tame. He came behind it as it was feeding, threw
it on its back, and, holding it fast with his claws, gave it repeated blows on the head with his beak,
and, had I not hastened to the rescue, would soon have killed it. It may not be generally known
that the Shrike is attracted to its prey not only by sight, but also by the sense of hearing. I have seen
him hunt by ear after a young Lark, neglected by its parents, crouched in the grass calling for food,
or a young Goldfinch sitting chirping on the ground ; and he is well acquainted with the difference in
the call-note of young and old birds. The note of the Great Grey Shrike is harsh. Naumaim very
correctly describes it as follows : — ' Its cry is sch'dch, schach, and the call-note truii. On bright winter
days, and particularly in spring, it may be heard uttering a sort of song composed of low notes mixed
with its call-note ; and it often also mixes with its song the notes of small birds. Both male and female
sing, and they often call like the Skylark. Its nest is generally placed at some height on a tree or
large thorn-bush, and is somewhat bulky and loose-looking, though the inside is carefully finished.
The foundation and outside are composed of dry sticks and twigs, straws and moss ; and it is lined
with wool and hair.' " The Great Grey Shrike is about nine and a half inches in length, and is of a
light blue-grey colour, with the lower region of the eye and ear-coverts black, separated from the
grey of the head by a thin white eyebrow and frontal band ; the cheeks and under surface of the
body are white ; the wings are black, with white tips to the quills, and a broad double band of white
formed by the bases of the primaries and outer secondaries ; the scapulars are tipped with white ;
tail black, with white tips increasing in extent towards the outermost feathers, which are almost
entirely white. Bill black ; legs slender, dark brownish -black.

THE ELEVENTH FAMILY OF THRUSH-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.— THE GREENLETS (Vireonidas).

These constitute a small American family, which have apparently much in common with the Shrikes.
The bill is notched in both mandibles, the tail consists of ten feathers, and the tarsi are scaled in
front. The .name Greenlet well illustrates the prevailing colour of their plumage. In Jamaica
one of the Greenlets was described by Brown many years ago under the name of " Whip-Tom-Kelly ;"
and Mr. Gosse t writes of the same species ( Vireosylvia calidris) as follows : — " Much oftener heard
than seen, though not unfamiliar to either sense, this sober- coloured bird is one of those whose
notes have such a similarity to articulations as to procure them a common appellation. The Fly-
catchers, in general, are not very vociferous, but this is pertinacious in its tritonous call, repeating
it with energy every two or three seconds. It does not ordinarily sit on a prominent twig or

* "Journal fur Ornithologie," 1868, p. 159. t "Birds of Jamaica," p. 194.

GREAT GREY SHRIKE

THE TITMICE. 65

dart out after insects, though I have seen one in eager but unsuccessful pursuit of a Butterfly
(Terias) ; but it seems to love the centre of thick trees, where it sits announcing its presence, or flits
from bough to bough as you approach, so that it is not easy to get a sight of it. This bird does not
winter with us, but leaves, with the Grey Petebary (Tyrannus domiiticensis), at the beginning
of October. It returns early, and, like the bird just named, evidently makes an eastward progress,
arriving at the south-west end of the island first. On the 26th of March, on my return to Bluefields,
after a visit to Spanish Town, I heard its well-known voice, but my lad had noticed it a week
before. From this time every grove — I might almost say every tree — had its bird, uttering with
incessant iteration and untiring enei'gy, from its umbrageous concealment, Sweet-John ! John-to-whit !
Sweet- John-lo-whit ! John-t'whit — sweet-John-to-whit ! I can scarcely understand how the call can
be Avritten Wkip-Tom-KeUy, as the accent, if I may so say, is most energetically on the last
syllable. Nor have I ever heard this appellation given to it in Jamaica. After Jidy we rarely
hear John-to-whit, but to-wldt — to-whoo, and sometimes a soft dimple chirp, or sip sip, whispered so
gently as scarcely to be audible. This, however, I have reason, to believe, is the note of the young,
for I have heard young ones repeatedly utter it when sitting on a twig, receiving from time to time,
with gaping beak and quivering wing, the food contributed by the dam." Mr. Gosse says that the
bird feeds on seeds, berries, and insects, building in June and July, and lays three eggs, white, with
a few small red-brown spots thinly scattered over the surface, sometimes very minute and few.

THE TWELFTH FAMILY OF THRUSH-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.— THE TITMICE (Paridte).

In this family the bill is short and conical, but without any notch at the tip of the upper
mandible ; the nostrils are generally concealed by bristles ; the tarsi are very distinctly scaled,
especially in the freshly-killed birds ; the primary quills are ten in number. Titmice are found all
over the northern parts of the Old and New World, but disappear in South America ; nor are
they represented in Australia or Oceania. Only a limited number of species are met with in
Africa.

The Titmice maybe divided into two sub-families : the true Titmice (Parime), and the Nuthatches
(Sittince). The Titmice proper are lively and cheerful little birds, and even the murky air of London
does not seem to be able to damp the spirits of such an incorrigible little chatterer as the Bluo
Titmouse, whose cheery note may often be heai'd even in the squares of the great city, while it
has more than once occurred to the author to welcome him in the immediate vicinity of the British
Museum, as he threads his way through the smoke-blackened trees in the adjacent gardens. It
would not be fair to take one of these dusky London birds and to compare its colours with those
of a country cousin, as the differences between them could be accounted for by the nature of the
localities which they respectively inhabit; but this subject recalls a very interesting problem in
connection with the avi-fauna of the British Islands. It is a notorious fact that the animals and
birds which are found in an island long separated from its adjacent continent are generally different
in a greater or less degree from their continental relatives.

This circumstance, however, appears to have been strangely overlooked in the case of the British
Islands by most ornithologists ; and the fact that the British Long-tailed Titmouse was a different
species from the Long-tailed Titmouse of the Continent — an assertion which the author published
in 1868 — was received with inci-edulity by authorities who would not hesitate to admit similar
instances of specific difference if the case occurred in some other portion of the globe than Europe.
As a matter of fact, there is scarcely a resident species belonging to the British Islands which
does not differ more or less from its Continental representative. Such remarks do not of course refer
to migratory birds, which visit all parts of Europe alike, but the generality of the British birds
which remain all the year, and do not leave the country, are always duller in colour than
specimens of the same species on the Continent. Striking instances of this are seen in the
Bullfinch, the Chaffinch, the Yellow-hammer, and many other birds, but the Titmice offer the
strongest evidence. The Blue Titmouse, although a sufficiently pleasing bird in its coloration,
cannot compare for brilliancy of tint with a specimen shot in France. The Coal Titmouse of
England appears to be specifically distinct from the Coal Titmouse of the Continent, which has a blue

66 NATURAL HISTORY.

back, whereas the British bird (Par us britannicus) has the back olive-coloured. The Long-tailed
Titmouse of Sweden and Germany (Acred til a caudata of Linnaeus) always has a pure white head,
while in the familiar species of Great Britain (Acredula vagans) only the top of the head is white,
bordered with a broad black stripe on each side.

THE GREAT TITMOUSE, OK OX-EYE (Farm major).

This is the largest species of the family found in the British Islands, and is by no means such a
sociable bird as the Blue Tit, being generally seen in pairs, and seldom consorting, as does the last-
named species, with Creepers, Nuthatches, and other Titmice, which form little parties in the winter
and go through the woods in company. It is a very active bird, and its loud notes, which are
syllabled by Macgillivray as a harsh chatter, " Chir-r-r-r-r-ik," are sure to command attention from
any one walking in the woods.* " In spring and the early part of summer its notes bear some resem-
blance to the sounds produced by a tile in sharpening the teeth of a saw, and may be syllabled into
tee-ta, tee-ta, tee-ta, tee-ta. They are very loud for a bird of so small a size, and may be heard
distinctly in calm weather at the distance of eight hundred paces. Its spring notes, Mr. Hepburn
writes to ma, are first heard about the beginning of March, and continued till the middle of May.
In April, 1839, I pursued one of these birds through a narrow plantation. The first note I heard
was that of chur-r-r, then ckir-r-r ; it then imitated very exactly the twink of the Chaffinch, the
alarm notes of the Robin and Wren, and the doleful ditty of the Yellow Banting ; next it produced
a note of its own, which it repeated incessantly as it sported amongst the boughs of an old ash ; then
it seemed to forget this note, and emitted another, which also was soon forgotten ; and again, as if
tired of its own compositions, it essayed those of its more musical brethren. This Titmouse was
a great nuisance to me when I began to study ornithology, often leading me astray by its silly
productions, which I thought were the notes of some bird new to me." Like all the species
of the genus Parus, the Great Titmouse nests in the hole of a tree or of a wall, excavating in the
former case the cavity itself. The eggs are sometimes deposited on rotten wood, but the nest is
generally composed of grass or moss, above which is a soft bed of hair, wool, or feathers ; but
occasionally it becomes a very massive structure, as may be gathered from the following account given
by Mr. Stevenson in his " Birds of Norfolk" : — "The most extraordinary nest of this species that I
ever saw or read of was discovered in a plantation at Earlham in the summer of 1859. This natural
curiosity, which is carefully preserved in the collection of Mr. John Gurney, of Earlham Hall, was
discovered in a rough corner cupboard, fixed at one end of an old shepherd's house erected in a
plantation for the use of the gamekeeper. In the centre of the cupboard was a single shelf; and the
door being kept shut, the pair of Titmice could only obtain access through a small hole in the wood-
work above. Through this opening, however, the enormous amount of materials found must have
been introduced bit by bit, until the centre space between the shelf and the top of the cupboard,
leaving only just room enough for the hen bird to sit, was filled with a compact mass of twigs, moss,
bents, feathers, rabbits' down, horsehair, wood, and even flowering grasses. Moss formed, of course,
the chief substance employed ; yet so wonderfully had the whole fabric been woven together that,
when taken from the shelf upon which it was erected, it retained the exact shape of the three-
cornered cupboard, the sides being as firm and neat as a well-kept grass edging levelled with a roller.
The following dimensions of this remarkable structure will best give an idea of the skill and labour
thus strangely devoted to it by its untiring architects. Length in front 15 inches, height 9 inches,
depth from front to back, measured to the angle of the cupboard, 10 inches. In the centre of the
upper part was a depression, in which the eggs were laid ; and here, in spits of frequent intrusions
from curious visitors, the hen bird being even handled on her nest, these little creatures reared
five young ones and carried them off in safety. A similar nest, commenced in the previous spring,
was unfortunately destroyed ; but since the successful completion of the one above mentioned no
further attempt has been made to repeat so formidable a task."

The Great Titmouse is about five inches and a half in length. The head, throat, and centre of the
body are black, with a large white patch occupying the ear-coverts and the region below the eye ; the

* Macgillivray: "British Birds," p. 428.

THE LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE. 67

rest of the under surface is yellow, the under tail-coverts white with dusky centres ; the back is green,
the wing-coverts blue grey with a white band across, formed by the tips of the greater coverts ; the
quills are blackish, edged with slaty-grey, becoming white towards the tips ; the secondaries are mar-
gined with yellow, shading into white towards the ends, the lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts
slaty -grey ; the tail blue-grey, the outer feather edged with white; bill black, feet leaden-grey, eye black.
The female is like the male, but has the black on the head and throat more dingy, and has the black
.stripe down the breast less distinctly marked. Young birds may always be told by a tinge of yellow
011 the cheeks. The range of this species appears to extend throughout the whole of Europe and
Northern Asia.

The Long-tailed Titmouse (Acredula vayans) belongs to a small genus of birds, distinguished from
the true Titmice by their long graduated tails, which consist only of ten feathers. They are found
throughout the Palsearctic region, Europe, and Northern Asia. They differ greatly in their mode
of nesting, not building, like the Pari, in holes of trees or trees, but constructing a most beautiful
domed nest, from which circumstance their popular English names of Bumbarrel and Bottle-Tit are
derived. " Wonderful, indeed," writes Mr. Gould, " is the architectural skill displayed by the Long-
tailed Tit in the construction of its closely-felted nest, so warmly lined with feathers and externally
bespangled with lichens. Who can behold it without feeling the highest admiration of the bird's skill
and perseverance 1 If closely inspected, it will be found that the glaucous sides of the lichens are
always placed to the light, whereby the exterior is rendered still more beautiful. In the description of
the nest given below, it will be found that 2,000 feathers were taken from a single lining. With
what care, then, and diligence must the bird search for so many feathers on the surface of the
ground ! But this is as nothing compared with the amount of invisible cobwebs collected wherewith
to attach the decorative bits of litchen to the outside .... When these birds [the young]
are about ready to fly, they are very different in colour from the adults, and are altogether very sin-
gular little creatures — their comparatively short tails, broad bills, thick, fleshy, yellow gape, red-ringed
eyes, and white crowns strongly contrasting with the hues of the old birds. When these nestlings
leave their cradle for the trees, they sit on the sunny side of the branches, and are there fed by their
parents. They soon gain strength, and flit about for their own living ; and when night comes on
crowd together on a low branch in a huddled heap, resembling a ball of feathers, their united bodies
giving out more heat in a mass than if perched singly. In the early morn, when the sun first sends
forth his genial rays, these little Tits may often be seen sitting in a row, all facing that luminary, and
at other times perched alternately head and tail so regularly as to astonish those who for the first time
witness it. A nest taken in the garden of Formosa, near Cliefden, on the 2nd of May, 1861, was of
large size and of an oval form, with an entrance in the side near the top. It was composed of moss
and cow-hair, outwardly adorned all over with small pieces of lichen affixed by means of gossamer-like
fibres and the empty cocoons of spiders' eggs, and so plentifully lined with feathers of various kinds,
that on being counted they proved to be about two thousand in number ; among them were observed
those of the Peacock, Turkey, Partridge, Barn-door Fowl, Greenfinch, Wood Pigeon, Duck, Turtle-
dove, Thrush, Blackbird, itc. It contained tea eggs, the total weight of which was 142 grains, their
colour white, thinly speckled with pale red."

In his beautiful work Mr. Gould has figured a group of young Long-tailed Titmice, and has
given an illustration of a mass of these little birds closely packed together on the branch of a
tree. That the species does collect in lai-ge numbers, after the fashion of the African Colics and
other bii-ds, is proved by the fact, vouched for by Mr. J. H. Gurney, that Mr. Noble, of Darlington,
once fired at an object on a tree which he took for a Pheasant, but which proved to be a great ball of
Long-tailed Tits. Whether the ordinary Long-tailed Titmouse of France is the same as the British
species has not yet been determined ; but the bird of Northern Europe and Asia is the White-headed
Titmouse (Acredula caudata], which is again replaced in Japan by another species (Acredulatrivirgata)<
not unlike the British bird. In Spain and Italy the Long-tailed Titmouse (Acredula irbii) is
distinguished by its grey back ; and a specimen of this bird was shot by the author about thirty
miles from Paris, who can testify to its having a different note to that of the English species.

The present species is about six inches in length, and has the back and tail black, the
outermost white with a black base, the latter increasing on each feather towards the centre of the

6S

NA TUR A L HIS TOE Y.

GROUP OF EUROPEAN TITMICE, WITH NUTHATCH AND GOLDCHESTS.

tail ; scapulars vinaceous red ; crown of head white, with a broad black streak on each side,
running from beneath the eye and joining the black on the hind neck ; sides of face, throat, and
breast white ; the ear-coverts streaked with dusky ; the rest of the under surface vinaceous ; wings
black ; the inner greater coverts tipped with white, and the secondaries externally edged with
whitish, the inner ones more broadly so ; eyelid orange ; bill and feet black ; eye dark brown.

THE NUTHATCHES. 69

The female does not differ from the male, but the young birds are much more dusky in colour than
the adults, and have longer tails. This curious fact is witnessed also in the case of some of the
Humming-birds.

THE NUTHATCHES (Sitting;).

These birds have longer bills than the Titmice, and their plumage is more compact, that of the
last-named birds being rather fluffy. They are all inhabitants of the northern parts of the Old and
the New World, being well represented in North America. True Nuthatches also occur in the
Himalayas and in the hills of Burmah ; in India and the Malayan Islands, the Blue Nuthatches
(Dendrophila), an outlying representative of which is seen in the Coral-billed Nuthatch (Hypherpea
coral? irostrin) of Madagascar ; in Australia and New Guinea the Nuthatches belong to a closely-allied

tOSIMOX NUTHATCH.

but distinct genus (Sitella). Like the Titmice, these birds build generally in the hole of a tree ;
but a striking exception to the general rule is exhibited in the British Museum, where there is
a nest of the Nuthatch, presented by Mr. Bond, composed entirely of mud, and built into the
side of a haystack. Mr. Bond writes : — " I have received this summer from the neighbourhood of
East Grinstead a nest built by a pair of Nuthatches, which is so remarkable in its construction, and
in the site selected for it, that I think a notice of it is worth recording. It is well known that
the Nuthatch almost invariably makes use of a hole, either in a tree or wall, in which to deposit
its eggs, and is not, in the strict sense of the word, a nest-builder. In this instance a haystack was
selected, and the birds, by pulling out a quantity of the hay, and plastering up the hollow with
mud brought from a considerable distance, formed a nest of similar construction to that of a Swallow,
but very much larger, with an entrance-hole near the top, and the ends of the hay stems neatly
embedded in the mud. The particulars which were sent to me with the nest are shown in the
following letter of my correspondent : —

" ' East Grinstead, September 8th, 1871.

" ' SIR, — The height of the nest from the ground was between five and six feet. The lining
was composed of decayed leaves only (enclosed are a few which fell from the nest during the packing).
152

70 NATURAL HISTORY.

The birds were observed pulling the hay from the stack, till they had formed a large opening, before
they commenced building with mud, which they had to carry about one hundred and fifty yards, that
being the nearest point where they could obtain it. My informants (two men working on the farm)
say that they saw the birds were building for a very long time, quite six weeks or two months, and
they could not understand what the birds were plastering a lot of mud on the stack for.

" ' W. MAY.'

" To this I may add that the nest cut out of the stack weighed as nearly as possible eleven pounds,
and measured thirteen inches in length, by eight inches in its greatest breadth, and four inches in
thickness. The lining, which my correspondent mistook for dead leaves, was in reality composed of
the scaly inner bark of the fir. There were five eggs, one of which was unfortunately broken.

" When we consider the comparatively small piece of mud which can be carried in the bill of a
Nuthatch, and the great distance from which it had to be brought in this case, the size and weight of
the nest are extraordinary."

In their habits the Nuthatches bear considerable resemblance to the Creepers, although they do
not possess the spiny tail of the latter. The bill, too, instead of being thin and curved, is short
and wedge-shaped, and is a formidable little organ when used by the bird for the purpose of prising
off the bark in order to get at the insects underneath. Often has it occurred to the writer to
stand beneath a tree on which a Nuthatch is engaged at work ; the first indication of its presence
being a loud musical note, t'wit, t'wit, t'wit, or the loud and decisive hammering with which the bird
prepares to scare the insects which are immediately to become its food. The Tree Creeper flies from
tree to tree, invariably commencing at the bottom and working its way towards the top ; not so
the Nuthatch, which from the high branches of an adjoining elm will visit a row of trees in succession,
beginning at the middle or higher branches, along which it runs with great facility, occasionally
descending the trunk head downwards, which is a position never adopted by the Tree Creeper. In
the winter it consorts with Titmice of various kinds, and joins them in their excursions through
the woods. It is, as a rule, not particularly shy, and will often allow of a close approach when busily
engaged in detaching a piece of bark, of which material the bird is able to dislodge with its wedge-
shaped bill a portion so large as would scarcely be believed by any one not accpaainted with the habits
of the Nuthatch. The distribution of the English bird is interesting, as it is not the same as the white-
breasted species of Northern Europe. It inhabits the British Islands and Central and Southern
Europe, extending as far eastward as Persia, and even ranging into South-eastern Siberia. In
Europe it occurs in the peninsula of Jutland, but is replaced in the other Danish islands by the
white-breasted form, which spreads throughout the whole of Northern Europe and Northern Asia to
Japan.

The Common Nuthatch measures about five inches and a half in length. The general colour of the
xipper parts is slaty-blue, including the wings and the two centre tail-feathers ; the remainder of the
feathers black, grey at the tips, with a sub-terminal spot of white ; a broad black band from the base of
the bill running through the eye as far as the nape ; under surface of body pale cinnamon, deeper on
the flanks ; the cheeks and throat white ; the under tail-coverts chestnut with white centres ;
under wing-coverts blackish ; bill brownish horn colour, with a yelloAV spot at the base ; legs dull
brown, iris brown,

71

CHAPTER IV.

CREEPERS— HONEY-EATERS— PIPITS AND WAGTAILS— THE AMERICAN CREEPERS—

THE AMERICAN WARBLERS.

THE CREEPERS— Small Order— Characteristics— THE COMMON CREEPER— Its Call note— Macgillivray's Account of its
Habits— Xest and E-gs -THE HONEY-EATERS— Distinctive Features— THE TRUE HONEY-EATERS— THE WARTY-
FACED HONEY-EATER — Mr. Gould's Description of the Species — THE SUN-BIRDS — Distribution — Mr. Keulemans'
Account of their Habits Canon Tristram on the Jericho Sun-bird— THE SECOND SUB-ORDER OF THE
PASSEKIFORMES — THE FRINGILLIFORMES, OR FINCH-LIKE BIRDS— Distinctive Features-
WAG TAILS AND PIPITS - Characteristics— THE PIED WAGTAIL— Essentially English Bird- Victimised by Cuckoos
—Macgillivray's Account of the Wagtail's Habits— Story of a Season Ticket— THE AMERICAN CREEPERS—
Difference between the Creepers of the Old and of the New World— THE BANANA QUIT — THE AMERICAN WARBLERS —
Compared with their Old World Cousins— THE SUMMER YELLOW BIRD — Dr. Brewer's Account of its Habits.

THE THIRD GROUP OF THE TURDIFORMES— THE CERTHIIMORPHyE—

CREEPERS.

THIS is an order of very small dimensions, the number of species contained within its limits not
exceeding fifty. They are all climbing birds, running about the trunks of trees very much after the
manner of Woodpeckers : they also resemble the latter in their stiffened tails. The resemblance to
a Woodpecker is of course only in the similarity of the creeping habits of the two birds, for there can
be no difficulty in recognising a Creeper from its foot, which has not the zygodactyle arrangement of a
Woodpecker, but has the toes placed three in front and one behind.

In the Certhiimorphee the hind toe is very large, the other toes being very slender, long, strongly
compressed at the base, and joined to one another as far as the first joint, the claws extremely sharp,
strongly compressed, and the middle one not oblique. The bill is very slender and long, being curved
in the True Creepers, while it is stout and wedge-shaped in the Nuthatches, so much so that in the
last-named birds it becomes a powerful weapon for tapping at the trunks and branches of trees, and for
prising off the bark to get at the insects underneath.

THE COMMON CREEPER (Certhiafamiliarit).

The range of this little species is very considerable, as it is found not only over the whole of
Europe and Northern Asia, extending as far east as Japan, and southward to the Himalayas, but it
also inhabits the whole of North America as far as Mexico. In England it is tolerably plentiful
everywhere, and is often tj be seen in winter traversing the woods in company with Nuthatches, and
the different kinds of Titmice ; in the spring and summer it is usually seen in pairs, which keep up a
constant call-note, consisting of a single syllable, and generally rather ventriloquial in its nature, so
that it often seems to be uttered quite close to the observer when in reality the bird is at some little
distance. Once on a cold winter's morning in March, as the writer was engaged in collecting birds in a
park at Mongeron, in France, he was considerably startled by hearing close to him a loud and not
unmusical song, like that of a Titmouse, not a single bird of the latter family being apparently within
sight. After scanning the trees in all directions in search of the songster, who still continued to
pour forth his notes at short intervals, the musician was discovered to be none other than a
Creeper, who was clinging to the trunk of a tree about ten yards off, and continuing his song at
intervals after a short diversion in pursuit of insects. This struck the writer as curious, as he had
never heard a Creeper sing in England, nor has he found any one else who has ever done so ; but
Professor Newton states that during the breeding-season the male utters a song which is loud and
pleasing, though not often heard, and pitched in a high, shrill key. The Creeper from Southern
Europe has been supposed to be a distinct species from the true C. familiar is of Northern Europe, but
a comparison of specimens does not bear out this view, though the songless characteristic of the
British bird, as compared with the loud song which is possessed by the Continental Creeper,
woiild seem to favour the idea of their being different. In the Riviera, M. Basil Brooke states that
the males also sing lustily.

72 NATURAL HISTORY.

The following is Professor Macgillivray's account of the habits of the Creeper :* — " in winter,
should you fall in with a flock of Reguli and Pari scouring a wood, you may be pretty well assured
that a few Tree Creepers will be found at no great distance. There, clinging to the rough bark at
the base of that old elm, you see one advancing upwards by short jerks. At each movement it emits
a shrill but feeble cry. See how it climbs, searching every crevice, now proceeding directly upwards,
now winding round the trunk, presently passing behind it, and in a short time appearing on the other
side. Observe it well, and you will see that it crouches close to the surface, presses its tail against
it, now and then picks something from a cleft, jerks itself forward, never rests for a moment,
but it seems in utmost haste, and expresses its anxiety by continually emitting its lisping cry.
Yet its efforts are not laborious ; it seems to hold on with perfect ease and unconcern, and
although it is now half-way up, it exhibits no sign of fatigue. There it passes off" from the.

COMMON CREEPER.

trunk, creeps along a nearly horizontal branch, winding round it, adhering even to its lower
surface with its back toward the ground. Having gone as far as it finds convenient, it flies
back to the trunk, which it ascends until you lose sight of it among the twigs at the top.
What next1? Will it creep down again1? No. There it comes with headlong flight, glancing
like an arrow curves as it comes near the ground, alights at the very i-oot of the next tree, and
commences its ascent. You may watch it for an hour, and you will find it as fresh, as lively,
and as keen as ever. Should it happen to observe you, and suspect that you mean it no good, it
will run up the back of the tree, appearing now and then at the sides, until it is perhaps half-
way up, when it will search all parts alike, being free of the apprehension of injury. But now,
hearing its friends the Tits and Reguli at a distance, it looks abroad for a moment from the top of the
tree, and uttering a few cries, sweeps away in a curving, somewhat undulating course.

" Such, in fact, is the ordinary coui-se of action of the Creeper, which is thus of very peculiar and
remarkable habits. It alights at the bottom of a tree, clinging to the bark with its claws, and without a
moment's delay begins to ascend, which it does by short starts, leaping forward, as it were, and support-
ing itself by pressing the tail against the bai-k. In this manner it proceeds, diligently searching for

* "History of British Bird*," Vol. Ill, p. 36.

THE WARTY-FACED HONEY-EATER. 73-

insects, which it picks out with the greatest dexterity. Should a person curious to observe its motions
go very near, it winds round so as to keep on the further side of the tree, but seldom flies off. Should
it meet with a horizontal branch, it can easily proceed along its lower surface, although in that case it
usually prefers the sides or upper part. "When it has searched the branch it flies off to another, or
continues to ascend the stem ; and when it has attained the higher branches, it flies off to the base of
a neighbouring tree, and thus proceeds unceasingly. Indeed, I have seldom observed one a single
moment at rest. Yet, like other birds, it has its period of cessation from labour, and in the breeding-
season it is amusing to observe the gambols of a pair, which may be seen chasing each other along
the trunk of a tree, perching for a moment on the branches, and then scudding along, all the while
emitting their shrill and feeble cries. These birds are easily shot, for, like the Gold-crested Kinglet
and Coal Tit, they seem to pay little attention to a person approaching them, insomuch that I have
been within six feet of one, which yet did not fly off, but merely crept round to the other side of the
tree. While thus employed it utters every now and then a very low chirp, and when flying from
one tree to another, repeats this cry more frequently and somewhat more loudly. I suppose that it is-
destitute of song, never having heard it emit modulated sounds. Its flight is generally short and
rapid, from the top of one tree to the base of another ; but it may sometimes be seen traversing a
space of several hundred yards, which it does with a quick and undulatory motion at a considerable
elevation."

It is a permanent resident, occurs in all the wooded parts of the country, but is nowhere nume-
rous, and never appears in flocks. In winter it shifts about from place to place, generally accom-
panying a flock of Tits or Kinglets, but sometimes seeking for its food solitarily, seldom entering
small gardens, but often appearing in woods near houses, hedgerows, or even on large single trees. It
pairs in April, and about the beginning of May begins to construct its nest, which it places in some
hole in a tree, or rock, or among the roots in a mossy bank. It is composed of withered stocks and
blades of grasses, moss, fibrous roots, and other materials, and is lined with feathers. The eggs, from
five to seven or eight in number, are seven-and-a-half twelfths of an inch in length, five-twelfths in,
breadth, of a regular oval form, glossy white, sprinkled with dots and small patches of brownish-red,
often disposed in a broad belt near the larger end, and leaving the narrower half unspotted. Montague
states that "during the time of incubation the female is fed by the other sex, whenever she quits the
nest in search of food." The young are abroad by the middle of June, and there is reason to believe
that a second brood is frequently reared.

THE FOURTH GROUP OF THE TURDIFORMES— THE CINNYRIMORPH^E—

HONEY-EATERS.

The Honey-eaters are distingxiished by their long extensile tongue, which in some of the species
is continued backwards under the skin over the head even as far as the eye, in the way which has
already been referred to in the Woodpeckers (Vol. III., pp. 334, 335). The bill is in most of the
species slender, rather long and curved, and very sharp at the tip, and is more hollowed than is usual
in the majority of birds. They have no rictal bristles. The greatest number of the Honey-eaters
come from Australia and Oceania, and in Africa and India they are replaced by the Sun-birds. The
above groups, in fact, form the only two families into which the Honey-eaters are divisible.

The first family is —

THE MELIPHAGID^E, OR TRUE HONEY-EATERS.

In this family the tongue is doubly cleft and pencilled at the tip ; the nostrils arc long, and shut
in with a large horny membrane on the upper edge. The bill is shorter than in the Sun-birds. As
mentioned above, the MeKpfaagida are entirely confined to Australia and Oceania. Speaking of them
in his great work on the " Birds of Australia," Mr. Gould remarks : — " The Honey -eaters, or that
group of birds forming the family Melipliagidce, are unquestionably the peculiar and most striking
feature in Australian ornithology. They are, in fact, to the fauna what the Eucalypti, Banksice, and
M'-fnleucce are to the flora of Australia. The economy of these birds is so strictly adapted to those
trees that the one appears essential to the other ; for what can be more plain than that the brush-like
tongue is especially formed for gathering the honey from the flower-cups of the Eucalypti, or that their

74

NATURAL HISTORY.

diminutive stomaclis are especially formed for this kind of food, and the peculiar insects which con-
stitute a portion of it ? "

THE WARTY-FACED HOXEY-EATER (Meliphaga plirygia).

Mr. Gould gives the following account of this species : — " This is not only one of the handsomest
of the Honey-eaters, but is also one of the most beautiful birds inhabiting Australia, the strongly-con-
trasted tints of the black and yellow plumage rendering it a most conspicuous and pleasing object,
particularly dining flight. It is a stationary species, and enjoys a range extending from South Australia
to New South Wales; I also met with it in the interior nearly as far north as the latitude of Moreton Bay.
Although it is very generally distributed, its presence appears to be dependent upon the state of the
JSucalypti, upon whose blossoms it mainly depends for subsistence ; it is consequently only to be found

in any particular locality during the
season that these trees are in bios
som. It generally resorts to the
loftiest and most fully-flowered tree,
where it frequently reigns supreme,
buffeting and driving every other
bird away from its immediate neigh-
bourhood. It is, in fact, the most
pugnacious bird I ever saw, evincing
particular hostility to the smaller
Meliphagidce, and even to others of
its own species that may ventm'e to
approach the trees upon which two
or three have taken their station.
While at Adelaide, in South
Australia, I observed two pairs that
had possessed themselves of one of
the high trees that had been, left
standing in the middle of the city,
which tree, during the whole period
of my stay, they kept sole possession
of, sallying forth and beating off
every bird that came near. I met

WATTLED HOXEY-EATEK. (After Gould.) with ^ in great abundance among

the brushes of New South Wales,

and also found it breeding among the low apple-tree flats of the Upper Hunter. I have occasionally
seen flocks of from fifty to a hundred in number, passing from tree to tree, as if engaged in a partial
migration from one part of the country to another, or in search of a more abundant supply of food.

" The nest, which is usually constructed on the overhanging branch of an Eucalyptus, is round,
cup-shaped, about five inches in diameter, composed of fine grass, and lined with a little wool and hair.
The eggs are two in number, of a deep yellowish-buff, marked all over with indistinct spots and
irregular blotches of chestnut red and dull purplish-grey, particularly at the larger end, where they
frequently form a zone : they are eleven lines long by eight lines and a half broad. The stomachs of
the specimens I killed and dissected on the Hunter were entirely filled with liquid honey ; insects.
however, doubtless form a considerable portion of their diet."

The sexes are nearly alike in colouring, but the female is much smaller than the male, and the
young are destitute of the warty excrescences on the face, that part being partially clothed with
feathers. Head, neck, and upper part of the back, chin, and chest black ; scapularies black, broadly
.margined with yellowish-white ; upper tail-coverts like the scapularies ; wings black, the coverts
margined with yellow; spurious wing yellow; primaries black, with an oblong stripe of yellow occupy-
ing the margin of the outer and a portion of the inner web next the quill, which is black ; secondaries
black, broadly margined on the outer web with yellow ; under surface black, with an arrow-shaped

THE JERICHO SUX-B111D. 75

mark of yellowish-white near the extremity of each feather ; two centre tail-feathers black, slightly
tipped with yellow ; the remainder black at the base, and yellow for the remainder of their length, the
black decreasing and the yjllow increasing as the feathers recede from the two central ones ; irides
reddish-brown ; bill black ; feet blackish-brown ; warty excrescences, covering the face, dirty yellowish-
white. *

THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE HONE Y-EATERS- THE SUN-BIRDS (Nectar mmla}.

These birds inhabit the whole of Africa, ranging through Palestine to India, and thence through
the whole of the Indian and Malayan Islands to Northern Australia, where a single species inhabits
the Cape York Peninsula and Northern Queensland. The Sun-birds are divided by Captain G. E.
iShelley, our first authority on this family, into two sub-families, which he calls respectively Nectari-
niuice and Promerojnnce. In the former of these is placed the great bulk of the Sun-birds, while two
species only represent the long-tailed Sun-birds (Promerops caffer and P. gurneyi). All the Sim-birds
with scarcely an exception are birds of brilliant plumage, glittering with metallic lustre, so that they
represent in this respect the resplendent Humming-birds of the New World; nor are they unlike the
latter in their habits, hovering before the open flowers and extracting the honey and the small insects
which frequent them. Of the habits of Sun-birds one may say, with the familiar maxim, ex uno disce
o nines ; for when once these have been described in the case of a single species, the remarks may be taken
as characteristic of the whole family. Mr. J. G. Keulemans, who passed a considerable time in West
Africa on Prince's Island (Ilha do Principe) in the Bight of Benin, writes as follows of Hartlaub's
Sun-bird (Cinnyris Jutrtlaubi) : — " It is tolerably abundant throughout the island, with the exception
of the dense woods, where it is replaced by C. obscurus. It is most common on the plains where
bushes and bananas occur ; but as Prince's Island is thickly covered with verdure, it would be difficult
to say where this Sun-bird is most abundant. It is very plentiful near plantations, usually in small
groups of from four to six individuals, in which the males are by far the most numerous. They have
no special breeding season, for I have found young birds in every month of the year ; but I find in my
journal, under date of August 30th, that during that month I procured nineteen males, but not a single
female ; so I suppose that at that season all the hens were breeding. I collected three nests, all of
which were very similar. They are of an oval form, and are suspended from one or more twigs, at an
elevation of from four to twelve feet from the ground, and generally well concealed amongst the foliage.
They were constructed of the hairy appendages that are found on the bark of palm-trees, rather
loosely woven together and lined with the soft filaments of flowers, cotton, and other fine vegetable
materials, with the opening on the side most exposed to the light. It appears to me that there is only
one young bird in each brood, for I never saw the parents feed more than a single young one.
It takes a long time before the latter becomes independent ; for I have seen the old birds feeding their
offspring after it has been perfectly able to fly, and when it was already beginning to assume its adult
male plumage. The song of the male resembles that of our Hedge Sparrow, added to which are some
notes similar to those of the Wren ; it is, in fact, somewhat between the songs of these two birds, a
little fuller and in a lower key, while the call-note is like that of the Redstart. By imitating this note
they can be brought very close, and can be easily captured, as they are naturally very tame. They
feed chiefly on insects, but will also eat small berries and fruit, and are very partial to sipping the
juice emitted by the banana-flower before the fruit has set. I kept many alive, and fed them upon
li«]Hi;i«, banana, and bread soaked in sugar and water, with occasionally Ants' eggs. Two males,
which I tried to bring to Europe died from cold, after having lived in confinement more than three
months. The natives call them ' Siwie-barbeiro,' or ' Siwie boca-longe,' and the Portuguese ' Besha-
flore ' (flower-kissers)."f

It has been already mentioned that a Sun-bird occurs in Palestine, where there seems to be a
certain intrusion, as it were, of the Indian Avifauna into that of the Paltearctic region, for the Indian
Fish-Owl (Ketupa ceylonensis) was also met with by Canon Tristram during his explorations in that
country. Concerning the solitary species of Cinnyris known as the Jericho Sun-bird (C. osea), the
latter gentleman writes an account as follows : — " Most residents in Palestine will tell you of the
'Jericho Humming-bird ' — a true Humming-bird — and will not allow you to doubt the fact of its
* Gould : "Handbook to the Birds of Australia," I., p. 528. f Shelley : "Monogiaph of the Sun-birds, '' Part X.

76

NATURAL HISTORY.

•existence, as it has been seen by them, and was shot by the son of their friend or neighbour. They
.are not, however, so far astray as Mr. Gould's Devonshire friend, who held the honour of his country
.at stake in the maintenance of his assertion that Humming-birds were common there. Then these
legends have the highest literary warrant : they are embodied in the journals of Lynch and M. de
Saulcy. The gallant commodore (certainly a most truthful narrator, and most trustworthy whenever
011 subjects within the range of his naval training and experience) saw the beautiful spangled
' Humming-bird,' between the Dead Sea and Kerak. M. de Saulcy, yet more fortunate, not only saw
in the Ghor es Safieh, at the south end of the Dead Sea, ' Humming-birds with ruby and emerald frills,'
but afterwards obtained one of these wonders of the tropics, which, however, was never preserved, us
=an indiscriminating Cat carried it off from the dissecting table, where it had been left.

" Our acquaintance with the Sun-bird commenced on the last day of the year at Jericho, when six
.specimens were obtained, close to our cam]) at Ain Sultan, the day after our arrival. The oases of the

plains of Jericho appear to be its
metropolis, and we never met with
it excepting in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of water. But wherever
a few tamarisks, zizyphus-bushes, or
graceful ' retem ' shade a fountain
or straggling pool in some deep glen.
opening on the Dead Sea, there a
few occur. The larger oases, how-
ever, of Jericho at the north-west,
and Safieh at the south-east end of
the Dead Sea, are the resorts of
great numbers, which, though here
to be found in almost every tree,
are nowhere gregarious, but are
noisy and pugnacious, the males
chasing each other with loud cries,
and as tenacious of their respective
freeholds as Robins at home. The
note is clear and monotonous, very
much like the call of the Willow
Wren, but sharper, and often re-
minding one of the Blue Tit, yet
with a more hissing sound. This
is incessantly repeated from sunrise

to evening, and the whereabouts of the male bird can at once be detected ; but to see him is not so
easy, as he ceaselessly hops in the centre of the very thickest and most impenetrable scrub, and darts very
quickly and suddenly across the open from tree to tree. The male is extremely restless, and as it twists
and clings to one twig after another, in search of insects, reminds one of the Titmouse much more than
of the Creeper in its actions. It has a curious jerking flap of the wings, opening and shutting them like
the Wall Creeper (Tichodroma muraria). Occasionally I have seen two rivals for the favours of a female
singing on the top of a tree, and pufling out the brilliant orange and red axillary tufts, which only at such
times are at all conspicuous. The female during the winter continually repeats the same monotonous
note, but almost always remains stationary, or creeping slowly about in the very centre of a bush.
One female had her quarters in a dense zizyphus-tree fifty yards from our tent, and was used as a
decoy-bird by one of our party, who used to go and sit under the tree every morning for a fortnight,
and would bring back two or three males, allured to their destruction by this fatal siren, who never
left her retreat at the report of the piece. Alas for humanity ! on the morning of our departure her
good service to this treacherous collector was rewarded by her own death, to be embalmed alongside of

her many deceived admirers A few days after our visit to Carmel we again met with

the Sun-bird in a deep gorge, the Wady Hamam, opening on to the plain of Gennesareth. Mr,

JERICHO SUN-BIHD. (After Wolf.)

WAGTAILS AND PIPITS. 77

Cochrane and I pursued it in vain ; but while searching among the cliffs for Vultures' nests, Mr.
Cochraiie pulled down from the extremity of the twig of a hyssop plant what he imagined to be an old
uest of a Grass Warbler (Drymoica gracilis). It had the external appearance of a loose ball of
rubbish, such as might have been floated down by a sudden flood and caught in the branch of a tree,,
After tossing it about for some time he threw it towards me, and on examining it I was dismayed
to liiid it a fresh nest, very firm and compact inside, with a small hole in the side, and containing two
broken fresh eggs, elongated, of a greenish-white, with a zone of darker green-grey spots near the
larger end. We searched in vain for another, and mourning our ill-luck, left the neighbourhood the
next day. On the 23rd of May I returned to the same place, and while climbing up to a cave, the
resort of the Rufous Swallow (Hirundo ruftda), I struck with my head a little ball of straw and
leaves attached to the extremity of a castor-oil plant, not two yards from the spot where Mi.
Cochraiie had found his nest. It contained three eggs, quite fresh, and was beautifully shaded both
from the sun and from observation. I was fortunate enough to secure the male bird in full plumage.
Close by was another nest, from which one young bird had been reared ; and we watched the female
feeding her young family of three in the hyssop overhead. I am inclined to believe that they had
bred twice, for we could not make out a third pair. Meanwhile, I had returned in April to our old
quarters at Ain Sultan, near Jericho, accompanied only by a single muleteer and one guard. On the
afternoon of my arrival, on the 13th of April, I discovered by myself no less than seven nests — one
with three eggs, one with two hard set, one building, and four with young. All were in precisely
similar situations, suspended from, the extremity of a small twig hanging down in the centre of a
' nubk ' tree, whose thorny branches spread in a circle so close to the ground that I had in every
instance to creep on all-fours till I could get under the trees. The nests in these places were perfectly
inaccessible to the attacks of the serpents and lizards which abound there. The nests are at first
very neat and compact, long straws and fibres being attached to the extremity of the drooping bough,
and on these the bag is woven. When finished, a few loose leaves and straggling straws are loosely
fastened all round, to elude observation and remove the appearance of art. I kept three young birds
for ten days in a box, and fed them with bunches of the blossom of a jasmine and convolvulus. The
hen bird lingered always in the neighbourhood of the tent, doubt-
less attracted by their cries ; and when we were about to leave I
turned out the two surviving captives, and was glad to see the parent
take to them at once, and attend to them in an adjoining tree."*

THE SECOND SUB-ORDER OF THE PASSERIFORMES.
THE FRINGILLIFORMES, FINCH-LIKE BIRDS.

All the members of the Fringilliform group of perching birds
have only nine primary quills, the first being very long, as may be
seen in the subjoined sketch of a Pipit's wing. The families which
make up this sub-order are seven in number, and it is difficult to
arrange them in any successive order, for they are all more or less
closely related to other forms which are placed in one or other of the
remaining orders of the Passeriformes. Thus the Wagtails and
Pipits (Motacillidce) are nearly allied to the Larks (Alaudidce), the

• TIT 11 / i r • .•?.• 7 \ , il TTT 11 / r* T • • T \ i WING OF P

American Warblers (Mniotiltidoj) to the true Warblers (tiylviidai), the SECONDARIES

American Creepers (Ccerebidce) to the true Creepers, or Certhiimorphce,

the Flower-peckers (Dicreidce) to the Sun-birds (Cinnyrimorphai), the Swallows (Ilirundinidce) to
the Flycatchers (Muscicapidw), the Finches (FringillidcK) to the Weaver-birds (Ploceidce), and
the Hang-nests (Icteridw) to the Starlings (Sturnidw). As it is obvious that all these relation-
ships cannot be shown in a linear arrangement, each family will have to be considered separately, and
its relations explained as the work progresses. In fact, it is impossible in any way to arrange the
families of birds in a straight line, any more than one can range the countries of Europe in direct
succession, a fresh start having to be made every now and then.

* "Ibis," 1865, p. 72.
153

7b NATURAL HISTORY.

THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE FINCH-LIKE BIRDS.— THE MOTACILLID^E.
WAGTAILS AND PIPITS.

These birds can always be recognised by a striking peculiarity of the wing, which, in addition to
their habits and general economy, proclaims at a glance their Lark-like affinity. In the Wagtails and
Pipits the innermost secondaries are of extreme length, nearly equalling the long primaries. This
is a feature which is very pronounced in all Larks, like which birds, also, the Wagtails and Pipits
seek their food on the ground, have large feet in proportion to their size, and progress by walking
instead of by hops. Some of the Pipits, too, have the habit of mounting into the air and uttering
their song, much the same as a Woodlark would do, though not to the same extent as a Skylark.
The eggs of the Pipits likewise resemble to a great extent those of a Lark.

The Wagtails may be recognised from the Pipits by their longer tail, which exceeds the wing in
length, whereas in the last-named group of birds the wing is either equal to the tail or exceeds it in
dimensions. They may be divided naturally into two gi-oups, called the Pied or Water Wagtails
(Motacilla), and the Field Wagtails (Budytes). As a rule, the prevailing colours in the latter group
are grey and yellow, and they have rather shorter tails, but it is doubtful whether more than one
genus of Wagtails can properly be recognised, for there is an intermediate form, the Gi-ey Wagtail
(Motacilla melanope), which combines the habits and form of an ordinary Water Wagtail with the
grey and yellow coloration of a Field Wagtail.

THE PIED WAGTAIL (Motacilla lugubns}.

This is one of the peculiarly English birds, being one of the few European species which are
common in the British Islands and rare in other parts of the Continent ; this, at least, is true as
regards the breeding season. In the south of England it is a resident bird, though the numbers
decrease in veiy severe weather, when the bird probably migrates, for in Western Scotland it may be
looked upon as a regular migratory species, as it has been stated to disappear entirely from its
summer haunts in the outer Hebrides, where it returns again in spring. It was at one time supposed,
to be only a native of Great Britain, and is even to this day best known by the name of Motacilla
yarrelli, having been thus called by Mr. Gould, after the celebrated English naturalist Yarrell. In
the part of Berkshire near Cookham, where many of the writer's personal expeiiences of birds have
been gathered, the Wagtail is the especial victim of the Cuckoo, many of whose eggs he has found in
the nest of the Pied " Dishwasher," as he is familiarly called in that and in most parts of the country.
On one occasion the nest was built in the mould of a flower-basket on the lawn at Formosa, near
Cookham, and at some distance from the edge of the wood-work. There the nest was found by
Mr. Briggs, the head-gardener on the estate, one of the best field-naturalists know:: to the writer, as
indeed is testified by the frequent references to his observations in Mr. Gould's " Birds of Great
Britain," and to this day his untimely death is deplored by all who knew him. The Cuckoo's egg
was duly pointed out by Mr. Briggs, but so exactly alike in colour was it to the other eggs of the
foster-parent, that the writer expressed the strongest doubts as to its being really anything but a
rather large Wagtail's egg. Time, however, proved the contrary, and it was not long before tin-
nest, Avhich was rather a rudely constructed affair, placed in a hollow depression in the mould of
the flower-basket, was completely filled by a hungry, yellow, gaping, young Cuckoo, who, on being
hatched, disposed in the usual cuculine way of his foster-brothers and sisters. These were found,
curiously enough, lying dead on the grass at some little distance from the flower-basket, and the
question which was asked was, whether the old Cuckoo really is the uirregenerate deserter of its
offspring that it is generally made out to be, or whether it still takes a parental interest in the young
birds, which it nevertheless leaves to the care of foster-parents to bring up. Mr. Briggs always held
the idea that the Cuckoo was not devoid of this natural instinct, and he imagined that the removal
of the young Wagtails was the work of one of the parents of the young Cuckoo. It is, however,
probable that the old Wagtails, finding the dead bodies of the nestlings left on the mould, themselves
acted as undertakers, and carried them to some little distance. All the time that the nest was under
examination the Wagtails were in close attendance, with their mouths full of caterpillars and insects,
evincing the utmost distress, and running about on the edge of the flower-basket. Mr. Gould even

THE PIED WAGTAIL. 79

says that they will fly in the face of any one attempting to remove their unwieldy foster-child, and that
when the latter is restored to the nest they " will evince their joy by fondling and dancing around it,
leaping over its back, and exhibiting many other demonstrations of delight."

The following excellent description of the Wagtail's habits is given by Macgillivray : —
" The places usually frequented by this beautiful bird are the margins of streams, ditches, pools,
and lakes. Towards the end of July, when the cares of rearing their young are over, they betake
themselves in great numbers to the mouths of rivers, especially such as have marshy meadows along
their sides, or muddy expanses to which the tides have access. Often one may see them wading in
shallow places in quest of insects and worms, carefully holding up their tail to prevent its being
draggled. If you watch the motions of an individual just coming up to join the party, you see it alight
abruptly, twittering its shrill notes, and perching on a small stone, incessantly vibrate its body and
jerk out its tail. It now perhaps walks out into the water and searches for food, or, finding none, flies
to the shore, and runs along with great rapidity, stopping and stooping now and then to pick up a
tiny wormlet, and momentarily spreading out its ever- vibrating tail. Its light footsteps leave no
impression on the soft sand, and if it walks out upon the mud you wonder that its little toes do not get
clogged ; yet so rapid are its motions that it never sinks in the mire, and when the latter becomes too
soft it aids itself with its wings or flies to a place where it may find more secure footing. Now it runs
into the meadow, in pursuit of a fly, which it has no sooner caught than it spies another. The lazy
geese that have nibbled the grass bare allow it to pass in the midst of them without molestation, or if
some malicious gander or foolish gosling attempts to seize it, they find that they have given themselves
too much credit for dexterity. There the cows are grazing in the midst of a swarm of gnats and other
insects, and the Wagtail has arrived in their vicinity. Running forward, it catches a small fly, bends
to one side to seize another, darts to the right after a third, and springs some feet into the air before
it secm-es a fourth. Now see it picking among the old dung, where there are doubtless many larvae
concealed, again running off in pursuit of a fly, passing close to the cow's nose or among her feet.
There, while in pursuit, it encounters another of its own species ; but they quarrel not, no doubt aware
that thei^e is room enough for both of them in the world, or even in the meadow, which you now see to
be covered with Wagtails, all busily occupied, some walking, others running, a few flying off, and many
aniving. You may walk in among them : they are not very shy, for they will allow you to come
within fifteen yards, or sometimes less ; and you may shoot as many as you please, for although some
will fly off, others will remain, and of the former a few will settle in the neighbourhood. Day after day
you will find them here when the tide is out. At other times you may search for them by the edges
of the river, along the mill-dam, in the meadows, or even in the dry pastures. Occasionally you may
see them perched on a roof, a wall, or a large stone, but very rarely on a tree or bush. Towards the
middle of October many of them take their departure from the middle and southern parts of Scotland,
and the rest wander over the country, frequenting watery places, and in hard weather approaching
houses, searching the sides of the roads, the dunghills, and even the cottage doors. In most parts of
the south of Scotland they are not at all uncommon in winter, but in England they are much more
abundant.

"About the beginning of March the migratory movement commences. Many remain in the south,
but many also move northward, and some arrive in the northernmost parts of Scotland and in the
outer Hebrides by the middle of Mai'ch. It is a pleasant sight to see a small group of these birds
walking and running with, light and graceful steps along the newly-turned furrows on a cold, dry
morning in spring, when the east wind nips your fingers and calls the blood into your cheeks. Rooks
are scattered over the field ; a few Hooded Crows are searching the distant end of the ridge, but they
have little dread of the ploughman, follow close upon his heels, or merely rise before the horses, to re-
sume their station when they have passed. At this season they obtain an abundant supply of food,
and as the labouring lasts until the warm weather sets in, they need never suffer for lack of larvse or
insects. But at all seasons they are fond of rambling along the shores of the sea, and especially of
estuaries, lakes, and rivers.

" About the middle of April, when they have paired and scattered over the country, they begin
their preparations for the more important business of the season. Their nests are placed by the side
of a river or stream, on a rocky bank, or among the grass, or on a heap of stones, or in a hole in a

80

NATURAL HISTORY.

wall, and are composed of stems and leaves of withered grasses, mixed with some moss and leaves, and
thickly lined with wool and hair, sometimes also with feathers. One now before me is of a somewhat
flattened form, rather bulky and rudely constructed, its external diameter five inches, the internal
three and a half. The outer layer is composed of fibrous roots, stems and blades of grasses, intermixed
with hair. The inner is a rude mass of hair of various kinds in tufts : human hair, black, brown, red,
and sand-coloured; hair of dogs, cats, cows, and horses; hog's bristles, and some cotton, thread, and
feathers. The eggs, five or six in number, are greyish-white, spotted all over with grey and brown,
their average length nine-twelfths of an inch, their greatest breadth seven and a quai'ter twelfths.

" The ordinary note of this species is a sharp chirp. When alarmed or otherwise agitated, it flies

WHITE WAGTAIL.

about in a wavering manner, uttering a repetition of this note, and alarming the small birds in the
neighbourhood. In sunny weather, especially in the mornings, it may be heard singing a pleasant,
mellow, and modulated little song. The flight is light, buoyant, and undulated ; it propels itself by a
repetition of smart flaps, ascends in a curved line, then ceases for a moment, descends in a curve, re-
peats the motion of its wings, and thus proceeds, as if by starts, and with great velocity. Like many
other birds, it is not fond of flying down the wind, but prefers an oblique course. In its habits it is
quite terrestrial ; at least, I have never seen it search for food on trees, bushes, or even herbaceous
plants, although it not unfrequently perches on a hedge or bush during the breeding season. It is
curious to observe this species pursuing its prey in different localities. Thus, if you watch it for some
time when it has taken its station among stones or fragments of rock, you cannot fail to be pleased with
the activity and dexterity which it displays. There it stands on the top of a stone, gently vibrating its
tail, as if poising itself. An insect flies near, when it starts off, flutters a moment in the air, seizes its
prey, and settles on another stone, spreading and vibi-ating its tail. Presently it makes another sally,
flutters about for awhile, seizes two or three insects, glides over the ground, curving to either side, and

THE £ AN AN A QUIT. 81

again takes its stand on a pinnacle. Again, you perceive several Wagtails flying in a wavering and
buoyant manner over the rushes that skirt a large pool. It is a calm bright evening, the Coots are
swimming about among the reeds and horsetails, uttering now and then their short, loud, trumpet -like
cry, and the White-romped Swallows are glancing along, now dipping lightly into the water to seize a
fly, then darting here and there amongst the tiny insects that sport over the rank weeds. A Wagtail
tries an excursion over the water, and although its flight does not equal that of the Swallow in elegance
and velocity, it yet performs its task with considerable grace, flutters here awhile, seizing a few
insects, sweeps away in a curve, as if to acquire sufficient speed to keep it up without fluttering, turns
suddenly, then shoots forth in a straight line, and thus continues for several minutes, until at length,
fatigued, it betakes itself to the top of the stone wall, where it rests a little, and then commences a new
excursion. Not unfrequently it may be seen running along the roof of a house in search of insects,
which it seizes in the manner of the Flycatcher or Redstart. Often also it is to be found among rocks,
and it is not uncommon in the streets of country villages, where it searcnes for insects, chiefly along
the gutters."

Under the heading of a " Season Ticket," the following story went the round of the papers in
the summer of 1878 : — "It may be interesting to some of your readers to be informed that on a
small piece of framework underneath a, third-class smoking carriage on the London and South Western
Railway, a Water Wagtail has built her nest and reared a young and thriving family of four. The
train runs regularly from Cosham to Havant five times a day, in all about forty miles ; and the
station-master informs me that during the absence of the train the male bird keeps close to the
spot, waiting with manifest interest and anxiety the return of his family from their periodical
tours."

THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE FINCH-LIKE BIEDS.— THE C^EREBID^E.

AMERICAN CREEPERS.

There is a great difference in the outward aspect of the American Creepers and the true
Creepers of the Old World, which have spiny tails ; the former rather approach the Nuthatches, like
which birds, most of them have soft-feathered, squared tails. In fact, in Southern and Central
America there is a genus Diglossa, which is wonderfully like Sitta in appearance, but with a hooked
and rather upturned bill. To the present family belong also the pretty little Blue Creepers,
which are so often mounted in glass shades, and seen, alas ! on hundreds of ladies' bonnets, and which
are remarkable for their vivid blue colour and yellow-spotted wings. Another interesting group is
seen in the genus Certhiola, the members of which are principally Central American, though some
species extend southwards as far as Brazil.

THE BANANA QUIT (Certhiola flaveola).

For the habits of this interesting little bird, a reference must be made to the well-known
work of Mr. Gosse on the "Birds of Jamaica."* "Scarcely larger than the average size of the
Humming-birds, this little Creeper is often seen in company with them, probing the same
flowers and for the same purpose, but in a very different manner. Instead of hovering in
front of each blossom, a task to which his short wings would be utterly incompetent, the Quit
alights on the tree, and proceeds in the most business-like manner to peep into the flowers,
hopping actively from twig to twig, and throwing the body into all positions, often clinging by the
feet, with the back downwards, the better to reach the interior of a blossom with his curved beak
and pencilled tongue. The minute insects which are always found in the interior of flowers are
the objects of his search and the reward of his perseverance. Unsuspectingly familiar, these
birds often resort to the blossoming shrubs of gardens and yards. A large moringa tree, that is
all through the year profusely set with fragrant spikes of bloom, is a favoiirite resort both of these
and the Humming-birds. One within a few feet of my window is, while I write this note, being
carefully scrutinised by two active little creatures that pursue their examination with a zeal
perfectly undisturbed by my looking on, while the same blossoms are rifled on one side by a

* " Birds of Jamaica," p. 84.

NATURAL HISTORY.

minute Humming-bird, and on the other by that gorgeous Butterfly, Urania sloaneus — an in-
teresting association. The Quit often utters a soft, sibilant note as it peeps about.

" The nesfc of this bird is very frequently, perhaps usually, built in those low trees and
bushes from whose twigs depend the paper nests of the brown wasps, and in close contiguity
with them. The Grass Quits are said to manifest the same predilection ; it is a singular exercise
of instinct, almost of reason, for the object is doubtless the defence afforded by the presence of
the formidable insects, but upon what terms the league of amity is contracted between the neigh-
bours I am ignorant.

" It is in the months of May, June, and July that the Creeper performs the business of incubation.
On the 4th of May I observed a Banana Quit with a bit of silk cotton in her beak, and on searching,
found a nest just commenced in a sage-bush (Lantana camara). The structure, though but a
skeleton, was evidently about to be a dome, and so far was constructed of silk cotton. Since then
I have seen several completed nests. One now before me is in the form of a globe, with a small
opening below the side. The walls are very thick, composed of dry grass, intermixed irregularly
with the down of asclepias. It appeared to have been forsaken, from my having paid it too much
attention. It was fixed between the twigs of a branch of a bauhinia, that projected over the high
road near Content, in St. Elizabeth's. Another, which I found at the end of June in a sage
bush, was of the same structure ; in this were two eggs, greenish-white, thickly but indefinitely
dashed with reddish at the larger end."

THE THIED FAMILY OF THE FINCH-LIKE BIRDS.— THE MNIOTILTID^E.
AMERICAN WARBLERS.

The American "Warblers are similar in form and also in habits to the Warblers of the Old World,
but, as already stated, they have no "first" or "bastai-d" primary, as it is called, so that they must be
placed in quite a separate sub-order of the Perching Birds. They are of a more vivid coloration than
their more sober-plumaged Old World cousins, many of them having a beautiful admixture of yellow,
black, chestnut, and white in their plumage. Many of them are closely allied to some of the American
Creepers (Ccerebida;), but are distinguished by a shallow notch at the end of the tongue, instead of the
deeply-fissured tip which is the characteristic of members of the last-mentioned family.* Some of the
American Warblers are extremely rare, and appear to be local in their distribution ; they seem, how-
ever, to be nearly all migratory, many of them spreading over a wide extent of North America during
the summer, and taking up winter quarters in Central America, some even extending to South
America.

THE SUMMER YELLOW BIRD (Lendroica cestira).

Dr. Brewer writes : — "The Summer Yellow Bird arrives in New England with great uniformity from
the 1st to the middle of May. Its coming is usually the harbinger of the opening summer and expand-
ing leaves. Unlike most of its family, it is confiding and familiar, easily encouraged, by attention to its
wants, to cultivate the society of man. It confidingly builds its nest in gardens, often in close vicinity
to dwellings., and in the midst of large villages and cities, among the shrubbery of frequented parks. This
Warbler, soon after its arrival, begins the construction of its nest. It is usually placed in low bushes,
three or four feet from the ground. Occasionally very different positions are chosen. Hedges of
buckthorn and hawthorn, barberry-bushes, and other low shrubs are the favourite places of resort. On
one occasion the nest was pla.ced some forty feet from the ground in the top of a horse-chestnut tree
overhanging the main street of a village. Such high positions are, however, not very common. The
nest is invariably fastened to several twigs with great firmness, and with remarkable neatness and skill.
A great variety of materials is employed in the construction of their nests, though not often in the same
nest, which is usiially quite homogeneous. The more common materials are the hempen fibres of
plants, fibrous strips of bark, slender steins of plants and leaves, and down of asclepias. Interwoven
with these, forming the inner materials, are the down from willow catkin, the woolly furze from fern-
stalks and the Eriophorum virginicum, and similar substances. These are lined with soft, fine grasses^
hair, feathers, and other warm materials. Cotton, when procurable, is a favourite material, so also i&

* Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway : "North American Birds," Vol. I., p. 177.

THE SUMMER YELLOW BIRD, 83

wool ; where abundant, I have known instances where nests were built almost exclusively of one or the
other material. A pair of these birds, in 1836, built their nest under a parlour window in Roxbury,
where all their operations could be closely watched. When discovered, only the framework, the
fastening to the supporting twigs, had been erected. The work of completion was simple and rapid.
The female was the chief builder, taking her position in the centre of the nest and arranging the
materials in their places as her mate brought them to her. Occasionally, with outstretched wings and
expanded tail, she would whirl herself round, giving to the soft and yielding materials their herni-
sphei'ical form. At intervals she arrested her revolutions to stop and regulate with her bill some un-
yielding portion. "When her mate was dilatory, she made brief excursions and collected materials foi
herself, and when the materials brought her were deemed unsuitable they were rejected in a most
summary and amusing manner. The important part of the tail-feathers in shaping the nest and
placing the materials in position was a striking feature in this interesting performance. The
greater portion of the nest was thus constructed in a single day. The wonderful sagacity dis-
played by this Warbler in avoiding the disagreeable alternative of either having to abandon its
own nest or of rearing the young of the intrusive Cow Blackbird, when one of these eggs is
dropped into her nest, was first noticed by Mr. Nuttall. The egg of the parasite, being too large for
ejectment, is ingeniously incarcerated in the bottom of the nest, and a new lining built over it. Occa-
sionally, either by accident or design, the intrusive egg has been fractured. Mr. Nuttall states that
when the parasitic egg is laid after her own, the Summer Yellow Bird utterly refuses to act the part
of a foster-parent, and rather than do so sacrifices her own eggs. So far as I know, this Warbler
will never sit upon or hatch out the egg of the Cow-bird under any circumstances. Some powerful
instinct, bordering closely upon reason, seems to teach these intelligent Warblers the character of the
intruder, and they sacrifice their own eggs rather than rear the parasite. In this dilemma they will
always, so far as I know, incarcerate their own eggs with the Cow-bird's, and re-construct the nest
above them. In one instance, the same pair of Yellow Birds, twice in the same nest, covered up
alien eggs in this manner, building, in fact, three nests one above the other, between the walls of
which had been successfully included two eggs of the Cow-bird. This three-storeyed nest measured seven
inches in length, and was built almost exclusively of raw cotton. The covering of the imprisoned eggs
was about two-thirds of an inch thick. In both instances the Cow-bird's eggs had been broken,
apparently by design. So far as I am aware, this Warbler raises but one brood in Massachusetts in a
season. In Pennsylvania it is said to raise two, and even three. The eggs are usually five and occa-
sionally six in number. This Warbler is conspicuous in its devotion to its young, evincing a strong
attachment and an anxiety even in regard to an occupied nest, and betraying the site by this
solicitude. They will also resort to various expedients to draw one away from their nest by
feigned lameness and other stratagems and manoeuvres.

"The song of the Summer Yellow Bird is simple but pleasing, and is easily recognised when once
known, though liable to be confounded with that of the Maryland Yellow Throat, and also said
to resemble the song of several other Warblers.

" In confinement they usually become very tame, confiding, and reconciled to their imprisonment,
and have been known to perch on an outstretched finger and to catch flies in a room. Their
eggs vary in length from -61 to 70 of an inch, and in breadth from -49 to -52. They have a ground-
colour of a light green. Their dots and blotches vary greatly in number, size, and manner of distribu-
tion. Their colours are light purple, darker purplish-brown, and other shades of brown and lilac."

84

CHAPTER Y.

THE FLO WEE-PECKERS -THE CHATTERERS— THE SWALLOWS— THE TANAGERS—
THE TRUE FINCHES— THE HANG-NESTS.

THE FLOWER-PECKERS— The Bornean Species -THE AUSTRALIAN FLOWER-PECKER— THE CHATTERERS —Characters—
THE BOHEMIAN WAXWING, OR WAXEN CHATTERER — Superstitions regarding it — Professor Newton's Account of Mr
Wolley's Discovery of its Nest and Eggs— Description of the Bird— THE SWALLOWS— Professor Garrod's Explana-
tion of the grounds for placing Swallows and Swifts in Separate Orders— THE ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS -THE
SMOOTH-WINGED SWALLOWS— The Three English Species— THE COMMON SWALLOW— Harbinger of Summer— Buffon'a
Anecdote— Migrant— Usefulness — Nest — THE TANAGERS — Insect Eaters — Brilliant Plumage — Species — THE
SCARLET TANAGER— Dr. Brewer's Account of its Habits— THE TRUE FINCHES— The Two Sections— Palate
Characters— Nest of Chaffinch— Nesting of Bullfinch— Palate and Bill Characters in Buntings— THE CROSSBILLS-
Habits— Curiously-formed Bills -Longfellow's "Legend of the Crossbill "—THE HANG-NESTS— The Three Sub-
Families — Habits of the Cow-bird — THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE — Dr. Brewer's Description of its Habits — THE
BOAT-TAIL.

THE FOURTH FAMILY OF FINCH-LIKE BIRDS.— THE VICMID&— FLOWER-PECKERS.
THESE beautiful little birds, of which a large number are known, are almost exclusively Indian
and Australian, only two species being found in Africa, where they are confined to the forest
region of the west coast; these are Pholidornis rushice and P. rubrifrous. Their habits are
•described as being very similar to those of the English Titmice and Gold-crests. They build very
beautiful nests, like a purse. Mr. Motley thus describes the Bornean species, the Black-chinned
Flower-pecker (Z). nigrimentuni)* : —

"These little birds are not uncommon in Labiian, and have something of the habits of
the English Regulus ; they haunt low brushwood, and continually utter a low, shrill chirp. They
are very fearless, allowing themselves to be almost touched before they take to flight. The Malay
name, which signifies Spark Bird, is very appropriate, as, when darting about among the bushes,
the cock bird really looks as bright as a flash of fire. The nest of this species is about the shape
and size of a goose's egg, and is suspended by the small end from some slender twig of a tall
tree. It is built of fine green moss and a sort of brown byssus, and lined with some white fibre
and a few small feathers. One of these nests was found on a tree which was felled in the jungle,
and all the young birds, however, except one, had been killed by the fall. The survivor Avas brought
to Mrs. Motley, who succeeded by great care in bringing it up, feeding it at first upon rice and
banana pulp. As soon as it was strong enough it was placed in a small cage. Though very
restless, never being for one moment still, it was perfectly tame and fearless, and would sit upon
the finger without attempting to fly away; and though its whole body, feathers and all, might
have been shut up in a walnut, it would peck at a finger held towards it with great fierceness.
For a long time it woxild only take food from the hand, but afterwards, when food was given it, it
dropped, and shook its wings rapidly, as we see a hen Partridge occasionally do. At first its
beak was short, straight, and sharp, but as it grew its form gradually changed to that of the adult
Dicseums ; it also changed its diet altogether, refusing rice, and only occasionally taking plantain.
For some weeks it fed exclusively upon sugar and water, which it sucked up like a Humming-
bird. It was very fond of bathing in a large shell full of water placed in its cage."

THE AUSTRALIAN FLOWER-PECKER (D. hirwidinaceum}.

Mr. Gould writes t: — " By far the greater number of the Australians are, I believe, unacquainted
with this beautiful little bird, yet there is scarcely an estate in either of the colonies in which it
may not be found, either as a permanent resident or an occasional visitor. Its natural disposition,
leading it to confine itself almost exclusively to the topmost branches of the loftiest trees, is
doubtless the cause of its not being more genei-ally known than it is, its rich scarlet breast not
even attracting notice at the distance from the ground at which it generally keeps ; and in
obtaining specimens I was more frequently made aware of its presence by its pretty warbling song
than by its movements among the branches : so small an object, in fact, is most difiicult of
detection among the thick foliage of the lofty Casuarinw, to which trees it is extremely partial,

* Motley and Dillwyn : "Nat. Hist. Labuan," p. 18. f " Handbook to the Birds of Australia," Vol. I., p. 581.

THE AUSTRALIAN FLOWER-PECKER. 85

particularly to those growing on the banks of creeks and rivers. It is also frequently to be seen
among the clusters of the beautiful parasitic Coranthus, which is very common on the Casuarince
in the neighbourhood of the Upper Hunter. Whether the bird is attracted to this mistletoe-like
plant for the purpose of feeding upon its sweet and juicy berries I could not ascertain ; its chief

AUSTRALIAN FLOWER-PECKER, OR SWALLOW DICTUM. (After GouU.)

food is insects, but in all probability it may occasionally vary its food. The Swallow Dicseum has
neither the actions of the Pardalotes nor of the Honey-eaters ; it differs from the former in its
quick, daring flight, and from the latter in its less prying, clinging, and creeping actions among
the leaves, &c. When perched on a branch it sits more upright, and is more Swallow-like in its
contour than either of the forms alluded to ; the structure of its nest and the mode of its nidification
are also very dissimilar.

"Its song is a very animated and long-continued strain, but is uttered so inwardly that it
is almost necessary to stand beneath the tree upon which the bird is perched before its notes can
be heard.
154

86 NATURAL HISTORIC.

" It would appear that the range of this species extends to all parts of the Australian continent,
since I have received specimens from every locality yet explored. I found it breeding in the
Lower Namoi, which proves that the interior of the country is inhabited by it as well as those
portions between the ranges and the coast."

Mr. White, of the Reed Beds, near Adelaide, says : — " This little bird is sometimes rather
numerous here. It appears to be wholly frtigivorous, for all of those I have dissected had fruit
in them. It has no regular stomach, not even an enlargement of the intestine, which averages about
five inches and a half in length, and through which the food passes whole. It arrives at Adelaide
about February, and stays but a short time. I have met with it very far north."

Its beautiful purse-like nest is composed of the white cotton-like substance found in the seed-
vessels of many plants, and among other trees is sometimes suspended on a small branch of Casua-
rina or an Acacia pendula. The ground-colour of the eggs is dull white, with very minute spots
of brown scattered over the surface ; they are nine lines long by five lines and a half broad.

The male has the head, all the upper surface, wings, and tail black, glossed with steel-blue ;
primaries black ; throat, breast, and under tail-coverts scarlet ; flanks dusky ; abdomen white, with
a broad patch of black down the centre ; irides dark brown ; bill blackish-brown ; feet dark
brown. The female is dull black above, glossed with steel-blue on the wings and tail ; throat and
centime of the abdomen buff ; flanks light brown ; under tail-coverts pale scarlet.

THE FIFTH FAMILY OF THE FINCH-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.— THE AMPELID.E.

CHATTERERS.

The true Chatterers are a small group of birds, of which the Bohemian Waxwing and the Cedar
Bird of America are the familiar examples. Some naturalists place along with these birds, the sole
representatives of the genus Ampelis, a few Central American genera, which probably belong to the
family, but are not Wax- wings. The chai-acters which distinguish the Ampelidce are a short and
rather stout bill, a little widened, with a nearly obsolete hook, and faint indications of an incision near
the tip of the bill ; the plumage is very soft and silky ; the wing is long, but the tarsus is very short.
Even admitting the five supposed Central American species of Central American Chatterers, the whole
family contains only eight species, of which two are confined to the Paleearctic region, the best known
being —

THE BOHEMIAN WAXWING, OR WAXEN CHATTERER (Ampelis garrulun}.
This bird gains its name of Waxwing from the beautiful ornamentation which appears on the
secondary quills, and there takes the form of an elongated drip of sealing-wax, which is also occasion-
ally, but more rarely, developed on the tail-feathers. The home of the Waxwing extends throughout
the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and North America, and a considerable migration takes place in
winter, sometimes in such numbers that the bird is supposed in some of the countries of Central
Europe to be the precursor of famine or pestilence, and this circumstance has gained for it in Holland
the name of Pestvogel. It is difficult, at a distance of many years, to imagine the excitement which
existed in former days amongst zoologists concerning the nest of the Waxwing, and the first authentic
record that was published of the breeding of this bird was an account of the researches of the late
Mr. John Wolley, to whose indefatigable zeal the world is indebted for positive information of
the nidification of a great number of the rarer European birds. Professor Newton* has told the
story of Mr. Wolley's success in finding the Waxwing's nest. " It is unnecessary to repeat here
the fabulous accounts given by former writers respecting the nidification of this bird. The very
plain statement communicated by Mr. Wolley to the Zoological Society on the evening of the 24th of
March, 1857, is sufficient to set them at rest for ever. But still I may remark that from the days of
Linnaeus (who said of it, ' Nidus in rupium antris''} downwards, neai*ly all the conjectures published
seem to have been wide of the mark. In years gone by, one of the hardiest of our Arctic explorers?
Sir John Richardson, had failed to ascertain anything connected with its breeding in the far countries
of the north-west ; and, more recently, the intrepid Siberian traveller, Dr. A. Von Middendorf, was
unsuccessful in the north-east. Yet it may be safely said that there was 110 bird whose egg was so

* "Ibis" for 1861, p. 93.

THE BOHEMIAN WAXWING. 87

longed for by the ornithologists of the whole world. Various were the plans they bethought them of
for attaining this desideratissimum. Many tried to keep pairs of living birds, in the hope of inducing
them to breed in confinement. One enthusiastic egg-collector, Baron R. Von. Konig-Warthausen, we
are told, even went to the trouble of caging a whole flock. It is true that here and there an oologist
might be found with whom the ' wish was father to the thought,' and who accordingly deluded
himself into the belief that in some unusually large specimen of the egg of the allied species (Ampelis
cedrorum), or in some queerly-coloured monstrosity of a bird, perhaps not at all connected, he
recognised a genuine production of Ampelis yarrulus ; but such instances were certainly exceptional,
and there can be little doubt that prior to 1856 no one with any pretension to the title of naturalist
had ever set eyes on a real egg or nest of the Waxwing, and that this privilege was reserved for one
who of all men eminently merited it. It is due, however, to Scandinavian naturalists to say that
several of them who had travelled in Lapland had expressed themselves confident that the bird did
sometimes breed in that country ; and though the reports of its nesting which some of them brought
home have been shown by Mr. Wolley's discovery to be probably incorrect, yet it was, I think, reliance
on the general fidelity of those gentlemen in matters of this kind which kept alive my friend's hopes
of one day finding the long-sought treasure : but hopes they were of a kind so remote, that when they
were fulfilled he was justified in speaking of the discovery as ' unexpected.'

" The first intimation I received from Mr. Wolley that the discovery was accomplished was con-
tained in a letter written by him on his way up the Baltic, and dated 2nd September, 1856. He says : —
' Let me tell you now, whilst I think of it, that I have some reason for believing that the Waxwing
makes its nest in good-sized fir-trees in the month of June. I give you this hint in case I should
not live to give you more certain information ; but you remember that I am not to return home
without a Waxwing's nest in my hand.' He had, in fact, a few days before, when at Stockholm,
received from his faithful Ludwig a letter telling him of the discovery, in which Ludwig had
himself assisted, and respecting the truth of which he said, his ' master must be quite sure — without
doubt.' Mr. Wolley, however, forbore to allow his own or my expectations to be raised too highly,
and in spite of his receiving confirmatory evidence on his arrival at Haparanda and on his way ,
up the river, it was not until he had reached Muoniovara, and had satisfied himself by repeated
investigation of the whole story, that lie trusted himself to write to me positively. His letter,
dated 'Muoniovara, 14th September, 1856,' after describing his own doings and those of the friends
I had made the preceding year, telling me of the expected scarcity of food, and giving the
general results of the nesting season, goes on to say : —

" ' I have still to tell you of Ludwig's expedition with Piko Heiki to Sardio, on the Kittila
River. It was early in June, and he had to wade over Pallas-tunturi up to his middle in snow.
Arrived at Sardio, he found there all at home, deep in dirt and laziness. He soon extracted
from them the information that a pair of birds had been about, which they took to be Tuka
ritxtas ; and Ludwig himself had seen such a bird, and this bird's egg was entered in my list.
Ludwig immediately started off into the forest, and sure enough he saw a bird
which he thought was Sidensvans ; but he was not quite sure, for the end of its tail looked white
in the sun instead of yellow, as in your picture, but the next day, or in the evening, it was
cloudy, and Ludwig saw the yellow ; and now he had no longer any doubt. He said he would give
all the lads day-money, and they must all search, even if it were for a week, till they found the
nest. They sought all that night and the next clay till about midday, when a lad called out that
he had found the nest ; and there it was, with two eggs, about nine feet high on the branch of a
spruce. . . . After five days Ludwig snared the old bird — a beautiful cock ; and you may fancy
with what pleasure I took it in my hand and saw that there were no doubts remaining. Indeed, I
had before been pretty confident about it : Ludwig had written that I might be quite satisfied that it
was the right bird. Martin Pekka had the picture with him at Sodankyla, and as soon as he came
back Ludwig compared the bird with it, and certainty was doubly sure. The other picture went to
Gellivara. . . . I do not expect Waxwings in that quarter. You can fancy how eagerly I waited
for Ludwig to produce the eggs. With a trembling hand he brought them out : but first the nest,
beautifully preserved. It is made principally of black ' tree-hair ' (lichen), with dried spruce twigs
outside, partially lined with a little sheep's-grass and one or two feathers — a large, deep nest. The

88

1I1&T011X.

eggs — beautiful! magnificent!! — just the character of the American bird. An indescribable glow of
colour about them. Luclwig had made for them such a box, that even if a horse trod upon it it
would not break. He tells me he happened to say that they were most like " Sawintstas ''' (common
Thrush), and any one wishing to cheat should try that. The report seems to have spread, without the
name of its originator being given ; for in a week or two after the notorious Sallanhi Johan brought
a Korwa-rastas (Waxwing), " shot from the nest," with its eggs — -the eggs being, as Ludwig at once
saw, common Thrush's. The next incident was the arrival of Johan's brother, the still more notorious
Niku, but this time with a couple of young birds scarcely able to fly, which he had caught, as he said,
out of a brood of five, by Pallas-tunturi. One of these Ludwig has stuffed, and a rare little beauty it
is ; the other was much knocked about, and Ludwig made nothing of it. Then a little girl, just ten

BOHEMIAN WAXWING.

days ago, brought three eggs from the other side of Nalima (about twenty-five miles from here), which
she said were taken on a certain day in July, and were " Kukliaisen." They were undoubtedly Wax-
wing, but are very badly blown by her as they were just hatching. At Midsummer, Sardio Michel
brought in a small batch of Sidensvans, with the birds (four in number) to each. So now I have a
series, though but a very short one, of this rara avis in terris — this forerunner of famine, and of
infinite value when one thinks of the uncertainty of getting it again. At the same time I should tell
you the Sardio lads found a nest which they believe to have been a last year's Korwa-rastas. On this
river no one has seen the bird of late years, and very few know it at all. One old fellow, Nalio Aaron,
says he saw one north of Nalima in 1853, and another in 1854. Martin Pekka showed the picture to
many people in the Sodankyla and Kittila districts, but he could not make out that the bird was at
all known, and in all his journeys, when he kept a good look-out, he did not see one ; so that even this
year it seems to have come very sparingly and locally — just in the district north, east, and south of
Pallas-tunturi. In 1853 I told you of a boy, Sieppis Johan, who described a nest of birds he had
found some years ago, which, from my interpreter's version, I thought might be that of the Waxwing.
The boy, on being shown a skin, said he had never before seen the bird.

" 'It is a relief to think that I am not bound to go to Russia next spring unless I like it, as I

SWALLOWS AND SWIFTS. 89-

before felt that I was. I almost think I may leave the unbounded riches of the Nova Zembla coasts
and of the north of Siberia — their Steller's Duck, Curlew, Sandpiper, Little Stint, Knot, Sanderling,.
Grey Plover, Grey Phalarope — to younger adventurers. . . .

" 'Almost every day (and it is now the sixth since that of my ai-rival here) Ludwig has told me
the whole story of the Sidensvans' nest, and I am never tired of hearing it : — How the season was
very backward ; how, in their expedition, he and Piko Heiki were getting very much out of spirits,
at the little success they met with. How he saw this bird in the sunshine. How, when at last the
nest was found, he could scarcely believe his eyes ; how he went to it again, and again, each time con-
vinced when at the spot, but believing it all a dream as soon as he was at a distance. The rising and
falling of the crest of the bird, its curious song or voice — all he is eager to tell over and over again ;
and I have the fullest version, with all the " I said," " he said," " Michel said," " Ole said," &c. These
Sardio lads, as you have heard me say formerly, have a good knowledge of the small birds of their
neighbourhood, but they are none of them sm-e whether they have ever seen Sidensvans before. As I
have also told you, it seemed to be known to a very few woodsmen on that side of the country under the
name of " Korwa-rastas" or " Korwa-lintit," (Ear-bird). It had occasionally attracted their attention as
having feathers on its head standing up like Squirrel's ears. It was not till the second year of my
stay here that I ascertained this with certainty. The first summer I believed it to be " ffarrhi," a bird
coming in bad seasons, and properly the common Jay ; but it seems that this name is also really some-
times given to Sidensvans, and therefore, as well as for other reasons, I am inclined to believe that the
bird is only here very occasionally.' "

The Waxwing is about eight inches in length, and is of an elegant form and coloration. The
plumage is light greyish -brown, shading gradually off into blue-grey on the rump and upper tail-coverts,,
and the under surface is pale brownish-grey ; the head is ornamented with a low crest, which the bird
erects or depresses at will, and is of a more reddish coloration than the rest of the back ; a broad,
black streak passes through the eye and round the back of the head ; the quills are blackish, with a
white spot on the tips of the primaries, which is yellow on the outer webs ; the secondaries dusky
grey tipped with white, eight or nine of the innermost having wax-like appendages ; primary coverts,
tipped with white ; tail grey, with a broad band of yellow at the tip, before which is a blackish band ;.
the tips of the feathers also with wax-like appendages ; throat black, edged with whitish at the base of
the lower mandible, and shaded with rufous below ; under tail-coverts chestnut. The female is like
the male, but has the wax-like appendages to the wing and tail smaller.

THE SIXTH FAMILY OF THE FINCH-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS. -THE HIKUNDINIDJE.

SWALLOWS.

The researches which osteologists have instituted during recent years into the skeletons of birds;
have resulted, in some instances, in a change of classification, which must seem strange to those who
remember the time-honoured arrangements of Cuvier, and it seems at first sight an unacceptable
proposition to separate certain groups so far away from one another in the natural systems. Thus it
is doing violence to the old classifications to put the Sun-birds in a different order to the Humming-
birds, considering the great similarity in their outward form and habits, and the same may be said
of the Swallows and the Swifts. Of the grounds of their separation, however, the following explanation
by Professor Garrod * is worthy of attentive study : —

" The common Swift and the common Swallow are birds which intimately resemble one another
in many respects. The size and general coloration are much the same. In both the beak is very
broad and short, the first bone of the pointed wing, which corresponds to the human, upper arm
bone,t being also particularly short ; whilst the bones of the wing which agree with those of the
fore-arm — the radiusf and the ulnat — are proportionately very long. In both the feet are small, and
the power of progression on the ground feeble, each living almost entirely on the wing, making the
smaller insects its staple article of food, and each building its nest in walls or eaves of roofs, not
in the branches of trees.

" This collection of external resemblances would generally be accepted as sufficient evidence that
the Swallow and the Swift are closely allied birds . . . Further, the fact that the two birds are
* See Zoologist, Vol. 35, 1877, pp. 217-220. t See figure of Skeleton of Eagle, Vol. III., p. 241.

90 NATURAL HISTORY.

described next to one another, or placed side by side in collections, by many of those who are in the
habit of employing a systematic method of arranging the different genera, would show that such
ornithologists consider the relationship between the Swallow and the Swift to be more intimate than
that between either of these birds and the Sparrow, Crow, Starling, Lark, &c. But all these last-named
birds are what are known as Passerine ; in other words, they possess certain anatomical peculiarities
in their organisation, found in them all, and in no other group of birds. If, therefore, the Swift and
the Swallow are more nearly related to one another than either is to any other passerine bird, then, as
the Swallow is more certainly passerine, the Swift must be so also. But certain naturalists assert that
the Swift is not a passerine bird at all, and, if they are correct, it is evident that the Swallow and
it cannot have anything to do with one another. Upon this assumption, therefore, the passerine
Swallow is much more closelv related to the Sparrow, the Crow, and the Lark, than it is to the
Swift,

" The question, then presents itself — -Is it really the case that the importance of the deep-seated
anatomical resemblances between the Swallow and the Sparrow, and of the differences between the
Swallow and the Swift, is sufficient to justify us, notwithstanding the external similarity between the
last-named birds, in believing that the first-mentioned are truly more intimately related the one to the
other ]

" It may be worth while taking a rapid glance at what some of these important anatomical
resemblances and differences happen to be — one of them is the manner in which the feathers are
arranged on the skin. Most of us know that, unlike the hair upon a cat or other quadruped, the feathers
of a bird are not uniformly distributed over the surface of the body, but grow in linear clusters called
tracts, with naked intervals, termed spaces, between them. This
may be readily verified by plucking, say, a Sparrow, and noticing
the thick and opaque light-coloured bands formed by the thicken-
ing of the skin surrounding the holes, out of which the feathers
have been extracted. Between these tracts the skin is seen to be
thin and translucent, forming naked spaces through which the
colour of the underlying muscles is apparent.

"The careful study, some five and forty years ago, by the
eminent German ornithologist, C. A. Nitsch, led him to the con-
clusion, among others, that these feather-tracts are arranged upon
a very different plan in the Swallows to what they are in
the Swifts, whilst in the Sparrows and their allies they very STERNUM OF SWALLOW (A) AND OF
closely resemble the Swallows. Further, he showed that in this SWIFT (B).

feature the Swifts and the Humming-birds are almost identical.

Again, the breast-bone, or sternum, in birds is much expanded to give origin to the powerful
nuiscles of flight. In both the Swallow and the Sparrow, as in passerine birds generally, its
usually oblong figure is modified by the presence of two deep notches, one on each side of the
keel, in the posterior margin. But in the Swift there are no such notches to be found, the
posterior margin being entire, and in other respects it differs from the same bone in the Passeres,
whilst in all it resembles the Humming-bird. In the Sparrow and the Swallow, again, as
in the great majority of the passerine birds, there is, at the lower end of the trachea, or windpipe,
where the bronchi which place it in communication with the lungs arise, an elaborate special mechan-
ism, which is known as the muscular organ of voice or lower larynx, by which they have the power —
although they do not at all employ it — of modulating their note, so as to produce a song ; this is not
found in the Swifts. In man, the greater part of the alimentary canal is composed of a tube of small
diameter — the small intestine— which is continued onwards as a more capacious one, the large intestine.
These two are not simple continuations one of the other, but the former enters the latter obliquely, the
nearer end of the large intestine remaining free as the ' blind gut,' or csecum. In the Swallow and
Sparrow, as in all the Passeres, instead of there being a single csecum at the place of junction of the
two intestines, there are two. These are not found in the Swifts nor in the Humming-birds.

" In the Swallow, the Sparrow, and all their true allies, it is always the case that the tendons
which contract up the last joints of the toes, are so arranged that the birds have the power of folding

THE COMMON IS WALLOW. 91

the toe which corresponds to our great toe (the one directed backwards), without moving any of the
others. In the Swift, however, whenever the great toe (the hallux)* is fully flexed, it is impossible
that the other toes should remain opened out, because the two muscles, which act on one and the
other, are bound together by a tendinous band.

"In the Swallow, the Sparrow, and most singing birds, the number of feathers in the tail is twelve.
In the Swifts and Humming-birds the number is always ten — another important difference. In the
Swallow also, as in all the passerine birds, there is a slender muscle running through the thin
triangular membrane of the wing, between the arm and the fore-arm, which is quite peculiar in the
manner of insertion or attachment, no other birds possessing the same arrangement. In the Swift, this
muscle terminates in quite a different manner, here again resembling the Humming-birds exactly.

" Taking these several characters into consideration, and realising how little they are susceptible,
on account of their deep-seatedness, to the influence of slight external changes in the mode of life of
the species, we are inevitably driven to the conclusion that their weight is overwhelmingly greater
than that of the superficial similarity, which is so readily brought about by the similarity of the
circumstances under which the two species are accustomed to live, and that the resemblances between
them are, so far as their constitutions are concerned, dependent only on the fact that they both have
— with different pedigrees — arrived at a superficial similarity in contour, because they subsist exclu-
sively on the same food."

The Swallows, then, may be subdivided into two sub-families, called respectively the Rough-winged
Swallows and the Smooth-winged Swallows, both of which sub-families are represented in the Old
and New Worlds.

THE FIKST SUB-FAMILY OF THE HIRUNDINIDJE.— THE EOUGH- WINGED
SWALLOWS (Psalidoprocnince).

These birds are called "rough "-winged on account of the serrated edge which is found attached to
the outer margin of the first primary. So strongly is this indicated that on pressing the thumb along
the edges of the feather a distinct feeling of a saw-like sensation is produced. Curiously enough, this
feature only obtains in the males, and as far as has been noted at present, is found in two genera,
Psalidoprocne^ in Africa, and 8telgidopteryx\ in the New World. Of the South African Rough-
winged Swallow Mr. Layard gives the following brief notice : — " This little Swallow first fell under my
notice on the ' Keurboom's River,' Knysna district, where I saw it apparently breeding in holes in
the banks, but was unable to investigate its doings more closely. I found it abundantly in the forest,
hawking after flies over pools, frequently dipping into the water, and perching on the overhanging
boughs in clusters of six or eight, to dry themselves. Their habit of perching is noted by Mr. Cairncross,
who writes, ' This bird flies about very much like a bat (this resemblance also occurred to me when I
saw it) amongst thick forests, and is generally more visible in rainy, heavy weather ; but I have
never seen or heard of their breeding here (Swellendam). They remain here after the winter has set in.
Sometimes I have seen them roost on trees at the bottom of my garden, where I shot the specimen
sent.'"

THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE HIRUNDINID2E.— SMOOTH- WINGED SWALLOWS.

To this group of birds belong by far the larger number of the Swallows, including also the Martins
and the Sand Martins. It may not be out of place here to note the points by which the three English
species of Swallows may be distinguished by an ordinary observer. On the wing, the Swift is very
Swallow-like in appearance, but may be told by its large size, extremely rapid flight, long wings, and
entirely black plumage. The Sand Martin breeds in holes of banks, and is the smallest of the three
English Uirundines, being pale brown above and white below. The common Martin builds a mud
nest under eaves of houses or barns, like the Swallow, but may easily be told on the wing by a con-
spicuous white band across the lower back. The forked tail is not perceptible in the Martin when in
flight, but is very easily seen in the common Swallow, especially in the male birds, in which the
elongated outer tail feathers are very conspicuous at all seasons of the year. When they first arrive,

* See figure of Skeleton of Eigle, Vol. III., p. 241.

t V'oAi's, a pair of shears ; Upoicvr), a mythological character. J oreAyi's, a scraper; nrepov, a wing.

92

NATURAL HISTORY.

also, the males of the common Swallow have a beautiful rufous blush on the under parts, which is
very apparent and unmistakable as they turn and twist in the sunlight. In the young birds, in their
first autumn plumage, the under parts are whiter and they appear smaller.

.M.UU'IN.

THE COMMON SWALLOW (Hinindo nistica).*

Like the Cuckoo, the arrival of the Swallow is anxiously looked for as a sign of approaching
summer, arriving as it does in England about the middle of April, by a gradual migration, which
appeal's to pass Spain early in February, Malta early in March, Palestine about the middle of that
month, and Italy about the 20th of March; it does not arrive in Scotland before the end of April. The
same quarters are occupied year after year probably by the identical birds, if their home of the previous
year has been undisturbed. Many experiments have been made with a view to ascertain the truth of
the latter assertion, and the following anecdote is mentioned by Buffonf : —

In the year 1779, the winter passed without much snow, and the spring was very fine. The
Swallows, however, arrived in Burgundy only by the 9th of April, and on the Lake of Geneva by the
14th. It is said that a shoemaker of Basle, having attached to a Swallow's neck a collar on which he

wrote

Hirondelle, qui es si belle
Dis-moi, 1'hivor ou vas-tu ?

received the following spring by the same courier the answer —

Athenes, chez Antoine,

Pourquoi t'en informes-tu ?

As Buffoii himself remarks, the truth of this little anecdote is somewhat dubious ; and an English
reviewer has also doubted the accuracy of this little story, as well he might, seeing that, as far as we know,
the Swallow spends the winter, in which it is absent from Europe, at the Cape of Good Hope, where

* Hirundo (Linn.), a proper name; rustica, an inhabitant of the country. t "Hist. Nat. Ois.1' vi., p. 619.

THE COMMOX SWALLOW.

93

it is a common bird, and where it is probable it rears a second brood of young ones, as Mr. C. J.
Andersson says that in "uncivilised parts of Africa these Swallows affix their nests to some projection
of a rock or trunk of a tree, or occupy cavities in rocks or banks. '

Throughout Europe generally the Swallow is merely a migrant, arriving as one of the first
harbingers of summer, and leaving before the cold weather sets in. It is now unnecessary to refute
the old fable so current among our forefathers that the Swallows hibernate during the winter season,
as it has long been satisfactorily proved that such is not the case ; but even in the present century it
was found necessary to write long essays to prove that they migrate to more genial climes, instead of
passing the winter in a state of torpidity in the mud, or in old caves, or hollow trees. Mr. Benzon, of

COMMON SWALLOW.

Copenhagen, states that in old prescriptions one sometimes finds reference made to aqua Hirundinum,
a sort of essence of water and Swallows, which in olden times appears to have been considered a
sovereign remedy for many of the ills that man is heir to. Being entirely insectivorous, the Swallow
is one of the most harmless and useful birds, and in most parts of Europe it is protected by the
peasantry, who object to its being molested, and it would be well if this were everywhere the case.
Swift on the wing, and extremely agile and graceful, it glides with the greatest ease through the
air, the tail being usually carried but little expanded, and only spread out to its full extent when
a sudden turn is made, generally to catch a passing insect.

During fine, clear weather, it is usually seen flying at a great altitude; but in damp, dull
weather, it skims close to the ground, following every irregularity in it in search of its insect prey.
Their great power of flight enables them to persecute and put to flight most of the birds of prey which
may happen to intrude on their domain ; and on the appearance of any such intruder, they all collect
and join in driving him away, in which they generally succeed. For the nest it usually selects
some convenient place under the eaves of a roof or on the beam of an outhouse, or in any shed where
155

94 NATURAL HISTORY.

ingress and egress are easy; or it will place its nest down the shaft of an old well, on the face of" a
rock or quarry, or not unfrequently in a chimney, the last-named place being doubtless selected for the
sake of warmtn.

Not unfrequently, when the Swallow has carefully finished its nest, it is ousted by some stronger
bird, who takes possession, and forces the peaceful Swallow to construct a fresh one. Sparrows are
often the intruders ; but Mr. Benzon gives two instances which have come under his notice, where
the Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa grisola) has been the aggressor.*

THE SEVENTH FAMILY OF FINCH-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.
THE TANAGRIDJ3— TANAGERS.

The Tanagers are entirely American, and are described by Dr. Sclater, who has studied the family
in detail, as Dentirostral Finches, that is, birds which, having all the essential characters of the Finch,
are yet so far modified as regards certain parts of their structure as to fit them for feeding, not on
grains and seeds, which are the usual food of the true Finches, but on soft fruits and insects, the
habitual food of the true Warblers. The Tanagers are mostly birds of very brilliant plumage, and
some of the larger kinds are not unlike the Grosbeaks of the Old World. More than three hundred
species are known, the greater part of them being non-tropical, though some few kinds inhabit
North America during the summer. Some of the most beautiful of the family are contained in the
genus Calliste, of which neaiiy sixty species are known to science, but very little has been recorded of
their habits. One of the best known, the Lesser Rufous-headed Tanager (Calliste cayana], is said to
be very common in British and French Guiana, living in the latter country in open spots and in the
vicinity of dwellings, and feeding on bananas and other fruits. It is also said to do much harm in
the rice-fields.

Of the Brazilian Turquoise Tanager (Calliste braziliensis) the late Prince Maximilian of
Neuwied states that he met with numbers in several provinces of Eastern Brazil, but less often
in the forests than the more open country, which was varied with wood, and particularly at the
edges of the plantations. Here it goes commonly in pairs, perching generally upon the top of shrubs,
and feeding on fruits. In the month of November the Prince found a nest of this Tanager placed in a
thick bush in a fork formed by the separation of four branches, and built after the fashion of that of the
Chaffinch (FringiMa ccelebs). It was constructed very neatly of wool, nearly all white, only varied
with a few watlets and moss and bark interwoven, and lined within with broad threads of bark. The
two eggs which it contained were rather long in shape, marbled with pale reddish-violet upon a
white ground, and varied with a few irregular black specks and blotches.f One of the best known of
the family is

THE SCARLET TANAGER (Pyranya rubra}.

An account of the habits of this bird is given in the " History of North American Birds " by
Dr. Brewer : — " The Scarlet Tanager is one of the most conspicuous and brilliant of all our summer
visitants. Elegant in its attire, retiring and modest in manners, sweet in song, and useful in its
destruction of hurtful insects, it well merits a cordial welcome. This Tanager is distributed over a
wide extent of territory, from Texas to Maine, and from South Carolina to the northern shores of
Lake Huron, in all which localities it breeds. A few are found once in a while as far east as Calais
in the spring, and they are rather occasional than common in eastern Massachusetts, but are more
plentiful in the western part of the State, becoming quite common about Springfield, arriving
May 15th, and remaining- about four months, breeding in high open woods and old orchards. In
South Carolina it is abundant as a migrant, though a few remain and breed in the higher lands. Mr.
Audubon states also that a few breed in the higher portions of Louisiana, and Dr. Heermann found
them breeding at El Paso in New Mexico. They ai*e far more abundant, however, in the States
of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and throughout the Mississippi valley, arriving early in
May and leaving in October. Though occasionally found in the more sparsely-settled portions of

* Dresser: "Birds of Europe." f Sclater : Mon. Genus CaUiste, pp. 62.

THE TRUE f INCHES. 95

the country, in orchards, and retired gardens, they are, as a rule, inhabitants of the edges of
forests.

'' Their more common notes are simple and brief, resembling, according to Wilson, the sounds
chip-char. Mr. Bidgway represents them by chip-a-ra'-ree. This song it repeats at brief intervals,
and in a pensive tone, and with a singular facility of causing it to seem to come from a greater than
the real distance. Besides this it also has a more varied and musical chant, resembling the mellow notes
of the Baltimore Oriole. The female also utters similar notes when her nest is approached, and in
their mating season, as they move together through the branches, they both utter a low whispering
warble in a tone of great sweetness and tenderness. As a whole, this bird may be regarded as a
musical performer of very respectable merits.

" The food of this species is chiefly gleaned among the upper branches, and consists of various
coleopterous and other insects and their larvae. Later in the season they consume various kinds of
wild berries.

"When their nest is approached, the male bird usually keeps at a cautious distance, as if fearful
of being seen, but his much less gaudy mate hovers about the intruder in the greatest distress.
Wilson relates quite a touching instance of the devotion of the parent of this species to its young.
Having taken a young bird from the nest and carried it to his friend, Mr. Bartram, it was placed
in a cage, and suspended near a nest containing young Orioles, in hopes the parents of the latter
would feed it, which they did not do. Its cries, however, attracted its own parent, who assiduously
attended it, and supplied it with food for several days, became more and more solicitous for its
liberation, and constantly uttered cries of entreaty to its offspring to come out of its prison. At
last this was more than Mr. Bartram could endure, and he mounted to the cage, took out the
prisoner, and restored it to its parent, who accompanied it in its flight to the woods with notes of
great exaltation.

" Early in August the male begins to moult, and in the course of a few days, dressed in the
greenish livery of the female, he is not distinguishable from her or his young family. In this humble
garb they leave us, and do not resume their summer plumage until just as they are re-entering our
southern borders, where they may be seen in various stages of transformation."

THE EIGHTH FAMILY OF FINCH-LIKE PERCHING-BIRDS.
THE FRINGILLID^E— TRUE FINCHES.

The Finches have only nine primary quills, and are divisible into two sections, distinguished by the
form of the bill inside. The first section consists of the wide-palate Finches (Amplipalatales). In
the first section the lower mandible has the cutting edges (tomium) of great power, and rising slightly
higher on the posterior margin, formed for crushing seeds : the palate is somewhat deeply and broadly
arched, with three ridges, rather far apart from one another. The species of this section are mostly
characteristic of the Old World, and include among their
number all the familiar European Finches and their allies,
such as the Bullfinches, Goldfinches, Canaries, Redpolls, Gros-
beaks, Chaffinches, and Sparrows. Although a numerous family
of birds, the Finches do not offer the great differences in their
habits, and a general account of the economy of one of the
English species would comprise many of the characteristics of
the family generally. It is in the construction of their nests BILL OF FIXCH u\ &XD OF BUNTING (B).
that the Finches greatly differ, this being evidenced by that

of the Chaffinch as compared with that of a Bullfinch. The nest of the former is fully described
by Macgillivray : —

" The nest is of moderate size, very neatly constructed, having its exterior composed of moss,
lichens, grass, thread, and rags, its interior of wool, feathers, hair, and other suitable materials. Not
that all these articles enter into the composition of eveiy nest, for there is great diversity in this
respect. When neatly crusted with grey lichens, it is very difficult to distinguish it in the cleft of a

96

XA TURA L HIS TOR Y.

tree, which is the situation usually selected for it ; but it is found in a great variety of places, often
on tall trees, sometimes in the fork of a shrub, not unfrequently among ivy on a wall, and still more
commonly among the twigs of a hawthorn hedge. Gardens, orchards, hedges, groves, copses, and
woods are all inhabited by the Chaffinches at this season, but they are very rarely met with in
the depth of large woods, especially of those composed of fir. When a person approaches the nest,
the birds manifest much anxiety, flying about, or hopping among the twigs, and repeating their

CHAFFINCH.

ordinary tweet in a hurried manner. The female sits very close, and from her colour and that of the
nest is seldom perceived, but when aware that she has been discovered, she slips off with alacrity, and
joins the male in evincing her anxiety as to the result of the intrusion."

The nesting of the Bullfinch is as follows : — -About the beginning of May it begins to construct
its nest, which is rather loosely formed of small dry twigs, with a lining of fibrous roots, and is
placed in a bush, frequently of hawthorn, or on the horizontal branch of a spruce. The eggs, four
in number, are of a rather broad oval form, nine and a half twelfths long, seven and a half twelfths in
their greatest diameter, of a bluish or purplish white colour, spotted and streaked with purplish-grey
and reddish-brown.

The second section contains the Finches with narrow palates (Arctipalatales), which have the
finch-like character of the lower mandible less strongly pronounced, the palate being narrower,

SISKIN, BULLFINCH, AND GOLDFINCH.

98

NATURAL HISTORY.

section ai-e
birds which

very little arched, and having two or three keels placed close together. In this

found the Crossbills and the Buntings, the latter forming a large group of

are especially developed in the New World. The palate in most of the last-named birds is

remarkable for a long tubercle, which is very plainly seen in an examination of an ordinary

Yellow-hammer or common Bunting. The difference in the form of bill between that of a Buntin"

and true Finch is well represented in Professor Macgillivray's " British Birds." * To the present

WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL.

section belong the Crossbills, perhaps the most interesting bird of the family as regards its structure.
The Crossbills, as a rule, are inhabitants of the northern parts of the Old and New Worlds, though the
Himalayas possess one species. The name Crossbill is attached to the bird from the peculiar way in
which the mandibles cross each other, giving the bill a very singular appearance. All the species are
inhabitants of northern climes, where they frequent conifer forests both in the Old and the New World,t
" extracting the seeds of pines and firs from the cones by means of their powerful and curiously-
constructed bill, the points of which appear to have received their lateral curvature from the force
applied in that direction to separate the scales. The hard, spoon-shaped tongue seems to be the
instrument by which the seeds are then taken up. They are gregarious, and wander about in search
of their favourite food, appearing at intervals in places not usually frequented by them." With
regard to the well-known legend of the Crossbill, the verses of Longfellow on the next page
will recur to many readers.

*Plate VIII., Vol. I., Figs. 7, 8. t Macgillivray : "British Birds," I., p. 414.

THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE.

THE LEGEND OF THE CROSSBILL.

(From the German of Julius Mosen.}

" On the Cross the dying Saviour

Heavenward lifts His eyelids calm,

Feels, but scarcely feels, a trembling

T TT- . , i T.T T " And the Saviour speaks in mildness :

In His pierced and bleeding palm.

' Blest be thou of all the good !

" And by all the world forsaken,
Sees He how with zealous care

From the Cross 'twould free the Saviour,
Its Creator's Son release.

Bear, as token of this moment,
Marks of blood and holy rood ! '

At the ruthless nail of iron

A viii v j • i • • A.I. " And that bird is called the Crossbill;

A little bird is striving there.

Covered all with blood so clear,

" Stained with blood and never tiring,
With its beak it doth not cease,

In the groves of pine it singeth

Songs, like legends, strange to hear."

THE NINTH FAMILY OF FINCH-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.
THE ICTERID^E— HANG-NESTS.

The Hang-nests are a strictly American family, showing affinities to the Starlings and Weaver-
birds of the Old World. Many of the species congregate in flocks, and affect the ground like the
true Starlings, while their long purse-like nests suggest their affinity with the Weaver-birds.
There are three sub-families of the fcteridce, viz., the Agcelceirue, or Cow-birds, the Icterince, or
true Hang-nests, and the Quiscalince, or Grakles. In the first of these sub-families are found the
Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), or Rice-bird, and the Cow-birds ; the latter being very interesting
on account of their parasitic habits, which resemble those of the common Cuckoo of Europe. Dr.
Brewer writes of the common Cow-bird (Molothrus jwcoris) : — " This species is at all times gregarious
and polygamous, never mating and never exhibiting any signs of either conjugal or parental affections.
Like the Cuckoos of Europe, our Cow Blackbird never constructs a nest of her own, and never hatches
out or attempts to rear her own offspring, but imposes her eggs upon other birds ; and most of these,
either unconscious of the imposition or unable to rid themselves of the alien, sit upon and hatch the
stranger, and in so doing virtually destroy their own offspring, for the eggs of the Cow- bird are the
first hatched, visually two days before the others. The nursling is much larger in size, filling up a large
portion of the nest, and is insatiable in its appetite, always clamouring to be fed, and receiving by far
the larger share of the food brought to the nest. Its foster companions, either starved or stifled, soon
die, and their dead bodies are removed, it is supposed, by their parents. They are never found near
the nest, as they would be if the young Cow Blackbird expelled them as does the Cuckoo ; indeed,
Mr. Nuttall has seen parent birds removing the dead young to a distance from the nest, and there
dropping them."* A very instructive article on the "procreant instincts " of the three species of
Molotlirus found in Buenos Ayres was contributed by that excellent observer, Mr. W. H. Hudson,
to the Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1874.

The second sub-family of the Icteridce — viz., the Icterince — consists principally of the brilliant
yellow and black Hang-nests of America, which are popularly called the Orioles of the New World.
One of the best known is the Baltimore Oriole (Icterus baltimora), a good account of whose habits
will be found in the before-mentioned work from the pen of Dr. Brewer. He observes: "The
Baltimore Oriole is one of the most common birds nearly throughout New England. Gay and brilliant
in plumage, interesting and lively in manners and habits, and a vocalist of rare power, with pathos,
beauty, and variety in his notes, this bird has been, and would still be, a great favourite but for his
transgressions.

" Among the pea-vines of our gardens he makes his appearance with exemplary punctuality,
seeming regardless of the prematureness or tardiness of the season. Rarely does the 10th of May pass
without the sound of his welcome notes, and rarely, if ever, does he come sooner. When the male
Baltimores first arrive, they come unaccompanied by their mates. At this time their notes are unusually
loud, and their voices seem shrill. Their song appears to partake somewhat of the nature of tender

* Baird, Brewer, and Eidgway, "Xorth American Birds," p. 155. This work should be consulted for the history of the
true Hang-nests, an interesting account of which is given, but is too long to be reproduced in the present work.

100

NATURAL HISTORY.

lamentations and complaining. At this period they are very active and restless, moving rapidly
through the branches of the trees, just opening into leaf and blossom, searching busily for the insects,
which then form their principal food. When, a few days after their arrival, they are joined by the females,
the whole character of their song changes, which becomes a lower-toned, richer, and more pleasing
refrain. During their love season their resonant and peculiarly mellow whistle resounds in every
garden and orchard, along the highways of our villages, and in the parks and public squares of our
cities. Nuttall, generally very felicitous in expressing by verbal equivalents the notes of various
species of our song birds, describes the notes of its song as running thus : Tshippe-tschayia-too-too-
tshippe — tshippe-too-too, with several other very similar modifications and variations. But these

characters give a very inadequate idea of their song. It must be heard to be appreciated, and no
description can do justice to its beauties. The notes are of an almost endless variety, and each
individual has its own special variations. The female, too, has her own peculiar and very pretty
notes, which she incessantly warbles as she weaves her curiously elaborate nest. To agriculturists this
Oriole renders immense service in the destruction of vast numbers of highly injurious insects ; among
the most noteworthy of these are the common canker-worm and the tent caterpillars, both great pests to
orchards. These benefits far more than compensate for its annoying attacks on the pods of esculent
peas, the only sin that can rightfully be brought against it, except, perhaps, the acts of theft committed
against other birds, in seizing upon and appropriating to it materials collected by -smaller birds for
their nests. The Baltimore Orioles are devoted, faithful, and courageous parents, resolutely defending
their young when in danger, and exposing themselves fearlessly to danger and to death rather than
forsake them. If their young are taken and caged the parents follow them, and, if permitted, will
continue to feed them."

In the third family of the Hang-nests are the Boat-tails (

30

BALTIMORE ORIOLE.

40

BAYA WEAVER BIRD.

101

CHAPTER VI.

STARLING-LIKE BIRDS AND SOXGLESS BIRDS.

THE STURXIFORMES, OR STARLING-LIKE BIRDS -Characters— THE WEAVER BIRDS— Their Extraordinary
Nests — Dr. Jerdon's Account of their Habits — Construction of the Nest— Performances of Trained Bayas— THE
STARLINGS— Characters— THE COMMON STARLING— Gregarious Habits— THE AFRICAN BEEF-EATER— Their Services
to Cattle— THE WOOD SWALLOWS -Mr. Gould's Account of their Habits— THE LARKS— Distinctive Features
—Their Habits— Song— THE MESOMYODI, OR SOXGLESS BIRDS— Mostly of the New World-THE LYRE
BIRDS— THE BUSH WRENS— THE SPINE-TAILS— THE OVEN BIRD— THE AMERICAN ANT-THRUSHES—
THE OLD WORLD ANT-THRUSHES— THE TYRANT BIRDS— THE KINGBIRD— Dr. Brewer's Account of its
Habits— THE AMERICAN CHATTERERS— THE COCK OF THE ROCK— THEBELL BIRD— THE UMBRELLA BIRD— THE
MANAKINS— THE BROADBILLS— THE PLANT-CUTTERS—ORDER OF PIGEOXS -Difference between
Pigeons and Game-birds— Features— THE DODOS— Now Extinct— History— THE SOLITAIRE— Also Extinct— THE
TOOTH -BILLED PIGEON— THE COLUMBID^, OR TRUE PIGEONS— Four Divisions— THE FRUIT PIGEONS— THE
TRUE DOVES -THE PASSENGER PIGEON— Its Long-continued Flights— THE BRONZE- WINGS— THE CROWNED PIGEONS.

THE THIRD GROUP OF THE PASSERIFORMES, OR PERCHING-BIRDS.
THE STURXIFORMES, OR STARLIXG-LIKE BIRDS.

ALL the birds belonging to this series have ten primaries in their wings, the first one being, however,

rudimentary, and in some of the Larks so small as to be nearly obsolete, and to require &

minute search to discover it at all. Only four families are included in

this series, the Weaver Birds, the Wood Swallows, the Starlings, and the

Larks. The Weaver Birds and the Larks follow naturally upon the

Finches and Buntings, with which birds the previous family of perching

birds ended ; while the Starlings are not distantly related on the one hand

to the American Hang-nests, and on the other hand to the Crows, which

they very much resemble in their habit of walking on the ground.

THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE STARLIXG-LIKE PERCHIXG-BIRDS.
THE WEAVER BIRDS (Ploceidcc}.

As already noticed, the Weavers are not very unlike the Finches.
They form rather a numerous family distributed over Africa and India,
ranging into the Malayan Peninsula. The nests constructed by these
birds — the extraordinary character of which structures has gained them
their name of Weaver — are among the most interesting productions of
bird architecture, as the specimens in the Natural History Museum at
Kensington will show. The following account of the common Weaver
Bird of India (Ploceus bay a} is given by Dr. Jerdon * : — "The common
Weaver Bird is found throughout the whole of India, from Cape Comorin
and Ceylon to the foot of the Himalayas, and extending into Assam,
Burmah, and Malayana. It is most abundant in the well-wooded parts
of the country, and in the bare table-land of the Deccan you may travel
for days without seeing one. It appears to wander about some localities,
for some observers have stated that it is migratory, but it is certainly a
permanent resident in most parts of the country ; and their roosting
places on certain trees are well known. Grain of all kinds, especially
rice, and various grass-seeds, form the chief food of the Weaver Bird,
and I never observed it feeding on fruit, as Sykes asserts he has known
it do on the fig of the banyan tree. Whilst feeding, particularly, as well
as at other times, the whole flock keeps up a perpetual chirruping. I
have seen it feeding in grain fields in company with flocks of Emberiza melanocejriiala ; and
Sykes relates that he has seen it associate with the common Sparrow.

" The Baya breeds during the rains, according to the locality, from April to September, but I am

* " Birds of India," Vol. II., p. 244.
156

SECTION OF NEST OF -WEAVER
BIRD.

NATURAL HISTORY.

not aware if they ever have more than one brood. Its long retort-shaped nest is familiar to all, and it
is indeed a marvel of skill, as elegant in its form as substantial in its structure, and weather-proof
against the downpour of a Malabar or Burmese monsoon.

" It is very often suspended from the fronds of some lofty palm-tree, either the palmyra, cocoa-nut,
or date, but by no means so universally so as Mr. Blyth would imply, for a babool (Acacia arabica,
or Vachellia farnesiana) or other tree will often be selected, in preference to a palm-tree growing close
by, as I have seen within a few miles from Calcutta on the banks of the canal. Very often a tree over-
hanging a river or tank, or even a large well, is chosen, especially, as Tickell says, if it have spreading
branches and" scanty foliage. In India I have never seen the Baya suspend its nest except on trees,
but in some parts of Burmah, and more particularly in Rangoon, the Bayas usually select the thatch
of a bungalow to suspend their nests from, regardless of the inhabitants within. In the cantonment
of Rangoon very many bungalows may be seen with twenty, thirty, or more of these long nests
hanging from the end of the thatched roof, and in one house in which I was an inmate — that of Dr.
Pritchard, garrison surgeon there — a small colony commenced their labours towards the end of April,
and, in August, when I revisited that station, there were above one hundred nests attached all round
the house ! In India, in some localities, they appear to evince a partiality to build in the neighbour-
hood of villages or dwellings ; in other places they nidificate in most retired spots in the jungle, or in
a solitary tree in the midst of some large patch of rice cultivation.

" The nest is frequently made of grass of different kinds plucked when green, sometimes of strips of

plantain leaf ; and not unfrequently of strips from the leaves of the date palm, or cocoa-nut ; and I

have observed that nests made of this last material are smaller and less bulky than those made with

grass, as if the little architects were quite aware that with such strong fibre less amount of material

was necessary. The nest varies much in the length both of the upper part or support, and the lower

tube or entrance, and the support is generally solid from the point whence it is hung for two or three

inches, but varies much both in length and strength. When the structure has advanced to the spot

where the birds have determined the egg compartment to be, a strong transverse loop is formed, not in

the exact centre, but a little at one side. If then taken from the tree, and reversed, the nest has the

appearance of a basket with its handle, but less so in this than in other species, which have

seldom any length of support above. Various authors have described this loop or bar as peculiar to

the male-nest or sitting-nest, whereas it exists primarily in all, and is simply the point of separation

between the real nest and the tubular entrance, and, being used as a perch both by the old birds and

the young (when grown sufficiently), requires to be very strong. Up to this time both sexes have

worked together indiscriminately, but when this loop is completed, the female takes up her seat upon

it, leaving the cock bird to fetch more fibre and work from the outside of the nest, whilst she works on

the inside, drawing in fibres pushed through by the male, re-inserting them in their proper place, and

smoothing all carefully. Considerable time is spent in completing this part of the nest, the egg

chamber being formed on one side of the loop and the tubular entrance at the other ; after which there

appears to be an interval of rest. It is at this stage of the work, from the formation of the loop to the

time that the egg compartment is ready, that the lumps of clay are stuck on, about which there have

been so many conflicting theories. The original notion, derived entirely, I believe, from the natives,

was that the clay was used to stick fire-flies on, to light up the apartment at night. Layard suggests

that the bird uses it to sharpen his bill on ; Burgess that it serves to strengthen the nest. I, of course,

quite disbelieve the fire-fly story, and doubt the other two suggestions. From an observation of several

nests, the times at which the clay was placed in the nests, and the position occupied, I am inclined to

think that it is vised to balance the nest correctly, and to prevent its being blown about by the wind.

In one nest lately examined there were about three ounces of clay in six different patches. It is

generally believed that the unfinished nests are built by the male for his own special behoof, and that

the pieces of clay are more commonly found in it than in the complete nest. I did not find this the

case at Rangoon, where my opportunities of observing the bird were good, and believe rather that the

unfinished nests are either rejected, if built early in the breeding season, or if late, that they are

simply the efforts of that constructive faculty which appears, at this season, to have such a powerful

effect on this little bird, and which causes some of them to go on building the long tubular entrance

long after the hen is seated on her eggs.

THE COMMOX STARLIXG. 103

" I have generally found that the Bay a lays only two eggs, which are long, cylindrical, and pure
white, but other observers record a larger number. Suntlevall states that he found three in one nest.
Layard says from two to four; Burgess six to eight ; Tickell six to ten. Blyth thinks that four or five
is the most usual number. From many observations, I consider two to be the usual number, but have
found three occasionally. In those exceptional instances, where six or more eggs have been found,
I imagine they must have been the produce of more than one bird. The Baya is stated not to use the
same nest for two years consecutively, and this I can quite understand, without having actually
observed it."

The Baya is frequently taken when young, tamed, and taught to pick \\p rings, or such like
articles dropped down a well ; or to snatch the ticca- work off the forehead of a person pointed out.
It is also taught occasionally to carry a note to a particular place, on a given signal. Mr. Blyth, in
an unpublished paper, has the following interesting account of some of this bird's performances: — -"The
truth is, that the feats performed by trained Bayas are really very wonderful, and must be witnessed
to be fully credited. Exhibitors carry them about, we believe, to all parts of the country; and
the usual procedure is, when ladies are present, for the bird, on a sign from its master, to take a
sweetmeat in its bill, and deposit it between a lady's lips, and repeat this offering to every
lady present, the bird following the look and gesture of its master. A miniature cannon is then
brought, which the bird loads with coarse grains of powder one by one, or more commonly with
small balls of powder made up for the purpose; it next seizes and skilfully uses a small ramrod,
and then takes a lighted match from its master, which it applies to the touchhole. All this we
have personally witnessed, . in common with most persons who have resided in or even visited
India ; and we have seen the little bird apply the match five or six times successively before the
powder ignited, which it finally did with a report loud enough to alarm all the Crows in the
neighbourhood, while the little Baya remained perched on the gun, apparently quite elated with
its performance." Captain Tytler mentions also " the twirling of a stick with a ball of fire at each end.
This the bird turns in several ways round its head, making luminous circlets in imitation of a
native practice; the stick being held by the beak in the middle !"

It is further asserted that " in an ordinary cage or aviary they will employ themselves constantly,
if allowed the chance, in intertwining thi-ead or fibres with the wires of their prison, merely grati
fying the constructive propensity, with apparently no further object, unless, indeed, the sexes are
matched, when they breed very readily in captivity, of course provided they are allowed sufficient
room, as in a spacious aviary."

THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE STARLING-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.

THE STARLINGS (Stttrnidce) .

The Starlings are found only in the Old World, where they form a very large and natural group.
They are distinguished by having moderate or long wings, with the first primary always short ; the
nostrils are oblong, covered with a small soft speculum on the upper edge, more or less feathered, but
having a naked edge of rather thicker texture ; the forehead is depressed and broad, and there are no
rictal bristles. In many species the feathers which cover the nostrils fall off when the bird becomes
old ; the feet are generally of large size, and robust, and their habits are generally gregarious, most of
them frequenting the ground, where they assemble in large flocks. There are two sub-families, the
tSttvrnince, or true Starlings, and the Buphagina, or Beef-eaters.

THE FIRST SUB-FAMILY OF THE STURNID^E.— THE TRUE STARLING (Sturnina).
Of this sub-family there are three divisions, the first containing the Starlings proper, of which
the British bird is the type; the second contains the Pastors and Old World Grakles, while in
the third division are comprised the Glossy Starlings.

THE COMMON STARLING (Sturnus vulgaris).

This is one of the most beautiful of our British birds, and is likewise an inhabitant of the whole
of Europe. In Asia Minor and Persia its place is taken by the Purple Starling (Sturnus purpurescens),
while in Siberia a third species takes its place, which extends to the Himalayas. The habits of the
English Starling have been so frequently described that a long account of them is not necessary.

104 XATU1LLL JIJSTORY.

Few people can have visited country districts, or even walked in the parks or open spaces of London
itself, without having formed an acquaintance with this familiar bird, who builds his nest with impunity
in many of the private houses in the suburbs, or in the public buildings of great cities. In the
country they breed in the towers of churches, old buildings, and homesteads, and as soon as the young
are reared they frequent the orchards, where they do considerable damage to cherries and other fruits.

COMMON STAULINU.

This, however, is amply compensated for by the immense amount of good which the Starling does in
destroying the larvje of noxious insects, and large flocks are seen in the autumn and winter busily
engaged in this useful occupation, generally in company with their friends the Rooks. Bishop
Stanley furnishes the following interesting evidence respecting the gregarious habits of the present
species : — " Not far from the church we have mentioned there is a considerable sheet of water,
occupying nearly thirty acres, flanked and feathered on the eastern side by the old beech-wood, already
spoken of as the abiding place of the Jackdaws. Its western margin is bounded by an artificial dam,
which, as the water is upon a much higher level, commands an extensive view over a flat, rich country,
the horizon terminated by the faint outline of the first range of Welsh mountains. This dam, on the
finer evenings of November, was once the favourite resort of many persons, who found an additional

THE AFRICAN BEEF-EATER.

105

attraction in watching the gradual assemblage of Starlings. About an hour before sunset little flocks,
by twenties or fifties, kept gradually dropping in, their numbers increasing as daylight waned, till one
vast flight was formed, amounting to thousands, and at times, we might almost say, to millions,
Nothing could be more interesting or beautiful than to witness their graceful evolutions. At lir.st
they might be seen advancing high in the air, like a dark cloud, which in an instant, as if by magic,
became almost invisible, the whole body, by some mysterious watchword or signal, changing their
course, and presenting their wings to view edgeways, instead of exposing, as before, their full expanded
spread. Again, in another moment, the cloud might be seen descending in a graceful sweep, so as
almost to brush the earth as they glanced along. Then once more they were seen spiring in wide
circles on high, till at length, with one simultaneous rush, down they glide with a roaring noise of

AFRICAN BEEF-EATER.

wing till the vast mass buries itself unseen, but not unheard, amidst a bed of reeds projecting from
the bank, adjacent to the wood, for no sooner were they perched than erery throat seemed to open
itself, forming one incessant confusion of tongues."

THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE STURNID^E.— THE BEEF-EATERS.

This sub-family of the Starlings is represented by only two species, both peculiar to Africa. They
are very unlike the true Starlings, having a very stout and hard bill, which is straight and swollen just
behind the tip ; the nostrils are bare ; the feet are very short and stout, and are furnished with curved
claws, which are extremely sharp.

THE AFRICAN BEEF-EATER (BiipJiaga africana).

Although commonly known as the Beef-eater, it must not be supposed that the birds actually feed
on the flesh of the animals whose backs they frequent in order to gain a living. More than one
traveller, however, has complained of the wounds caused in the backs of the cattle by these birds in
their endeavours to extract the grubs from them. Mr. Andersson gives the following note on the habits

106 NATURAL H1STVRY.

of the South African species : — " The arrival of these birds is announced by a sharp cry ; and the next
moment they may be seen in a little flock descending fearlessly on and amongst the cattle, which are
at first much alarmed, and run about in wild confusion, just as they do when troubled with gadflies ;
but these apprehensions are soon dispelled, and exchanged for sensations of evident pleasure, as the
oxpeckers run over their backs, sides, and bellies, like Woodpeckers upon trees, except when an ox,
by an occasional jerk or sudden twist, appears to indicate that the claws of the bird have caused
something like pain by touching some spot where the skin of the animal happens to be tender." The
same author also alludes to the bird in his "Lake 'Ngami":— "It is also a frequent companion of
the Rhinoceros, to which, besides being of service in ridding him of many of the insects that
infest his hide, it performs the important part of sentinel. On many occasions has this watchful
bird prevented me from getting a shot at that beast. The moment it suspects danger it flies almost
perpendicularly up into the air, uttering sharp shrill notes that never fail to attract the attention of
the Rhinoceros, who, without waiting to ascertain the cause, almost instantly seeks safety in a precipi-
tate flight."

THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE STARLING-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.

THE WOOD SWALLOWS (Artamida).

The exact relations of the present family have been very variously determined by naturalists,
some of whom have placed them near the Shrikes. In the wild state they resemble Swallows in their
actions and general mode of life, while in the shape of their bills they exhibit great affinities to some
of the Shrikes and .Crow-shrikes. The food consists of insects, and the habitat of the Wood Swallows is
the Australian region, where they are distributed not only over Australia itself, but all over the Moluccas,
and one species is found in the Indian Peninsula and the Burmese countries. Mr. Gould writes of the
common Wood Swallow (Artamus sordidus) : — " The Wood Swallow must, I think, ever be a general
favourite with the Australians, not only from its singular and pleasing actions, but from its often taking
up its abode and incubating near the houses, particularly such as are surrounded by paddocks and open
pasture-lands skirted by large trees. It was in such situations in Tasmania that, at the commencement
of spring, I first had an opportunity of observing this species. It was then very numerous on all the
cleared estates on the north side of the Derwent, about eight or ten being seen on a single tree, and
half as many crowding one against another on the same dead branch, but never in such numbers as to
deserve the appellation of flocks. Each bird appeared to act independently of the other ; each, as the
desire for food prompted it, sallying forth from the branch to capture a passing insect or to soar round
the tree and return again to the same spot. On alighting it repeatedly throws up one of its wings, and
obliquely spreads its tail. At other times a few were seen perched 011 the fence Surrounding the pad-
docks, on which they frequently descended, like Starlings, in search of coleoptera and other insects. The
form of the wing of the Artamus sordidus at once indicates that the air is its peculiar province ; hence
it is, that when engaged in pursuit of the insects which the serenity and warmth of the weather have
enticed from their lurking-places among the foliage to sport in higher regions, this species displays
itself to the greatest advantage. But the greatest peculiarity in the habits of this bird is its manner
of hanging together in clusters from the branch of a tree like a swarm of bees. The season of incubation
is from September to December. The situation of the nest is much varied. I have seen one placed in a
thickly-foliaged bough near the ground, while others were in a naked fork, on the side of the bole of
a tree, in a niche formed by a portion of the bark having been separated from the trunk, &c. The nest
is rather shallow, of a rounded form, about five inches in diameter, and composed of tine twigs neatly
lined with fibrous roots. I observed that the nests found in Tasmania were much larger, more com-
pact, and more neatly formed than those on the continent of Australia. The eggs are generally four
in number ; they differ much in the disposition of their markings ; their ground-colour is dull white,
spotted and dashed with dark umber brown ; in some a second series of greyish spots appear as if
beneath the surface of the shell. Their medium length is eleven lines, and breadth eight lines."

THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE STARLING-LIKE PERCHING BIRDS.

THE LARKS (Alaudida-).

In the formation of the scales of the tarsus the Larks very much resemble some of the songless
perching birds which will be presently described, but it need scarcely be said that this external

THE SKYLARK. 107

resemblance is entirely counterbalanced by the possession of a musical apparatus, for the owner-
ship of which, as every one knows, the Larks are so famous. They form, however, a natural con-
clusion to the section of singing Passeres, leading on to the Ant-Thrushes, and the ground-loving,
songless birds of the New World. In the formation of the wing the Larks show cei'tain affinities to
the Wagtails and Pipits — that is to say, they have the inner secondaries elongated, so as to be about
equal to the primaries in length — and they greatly resemble the latter birds in their habits. About
one hundred species of Larks are known, and with the exception of the Horned Larks, which are
found in America, the vast bulk of the species are inhabitants of the Old World, a great number of
them being found in Africa. The hind claw in the Larks, as was also the case in the Pipits, is of
varied form, being generally long and straight, as in the case of the Skylarks, but in some of them
it is short and rounded.

The common Skylark (Alauda arvensis) is an inhabitant of Europe, extending far eastward to
the Himalayas, and even to China, but as the bird proceeds to the eastward, certain modifications in
the colour of its plumage are noticed, which are considered sufficient by many naturalists to warrant
a belief in several species of Skylark.

" There is perhaps none of our native birds," says Macgillivray, " that has attracted so much
attention as the Skylark, nor any that has been so much celebrated by poets and sentimental writers.
It might be a pleasant task to cull from our choicest authors the flowers of poesy which derive their
beauty from the gentle influence of this sweet songster of the fields ; but I must leave it for those who
love to study Nature from books, as I find it more profitable to listen to the cheering notes of the Lark
herself, to gaze upon her as she floats flutteringly high up in the blue sky, to watch her descent, and run
up to inspect her nest among the green grass, while her beloved young ones are rejoicing at her arrival.
Towards the end of autumn the Skylarks congregate in large straggling flocks, generally keeping
by themselves, although occasionally mingling with small birds of the Passerine and Bunting
families. In open weather they frequent the stubble and ploughed fields, where they pick up the
seeds of oats, wheat, barley, polygonuni, and other plants. Like the Deglubitores, and many of the
Cantatores, they use a large quantity of sand and gravel, consisting chiefly of grains of quartz, to
aid the process of digestion. I believe their food during the winter consists almost entirely of seeds,
although remains of insects may now and then be found in their gizzards. At this season they
employ only their ordinary flight, which bears some resemblance to that of the Fieldfare, being
performed by slight undulations, and several consecutive flaps of the wings, with short alternate
cessations. They generally hover over a field, or fly about in curves, before they alight, which
they do in rather an abrupt manner, but not so rapidly as the Corn and Yellow Buntings. On
alighting they disperse, and move about, not by leaps, like most small birds, but by an alternate action
of the feet, in a half-gliding, half-startful manner, keeping their legs bent and their breasts con-
sequently close to the ground. When in any degree alarmed, they crouch, draw in their neck,
and remain motionless until the object of their apprehension has disappeared. Should a person
walk up to a flock, he may get quite close to it before the birds think it necessary to rise; and
on such occasions they do not all take flight at once, a few here and there rising in succession.
Indeed, unless the ground be all gone over, many will remain and allow their companions to fly
off. Their movements while rising are rapid and wavering, so that until they are at some distance it
is difficult to shoot them. Owing to their habit of crouching, it is by no means easy to perceive them
while on the ground, especially if they are among stubble ; and as their motions are quick, they
traverse a considerable distance in a short time. When there is snow on the ground, they betake
themselves to corn-yards, and search the tops of the stacks for seeds ; but in frosty weather, when
the ground is clear, they prefer settling on the spaces between or around the stacks. If disturbed
and forced to fly off, they do not, like the Buntings, Chaffinches, and Sparrows, with which they then
associate, perch on the neighbouring trees or walls, but remove to a distance. During this season,
they merely utter a short chirping note as they fly, although occasionally a bright day, even so eai-ly as
January, will elicit their song.

"In the beginning of March, or earlier if the weather is fine, they separate and pair. At this
period the males often fight, chiefly in the air; and now their song commences, to be continued until
the middle of the autumn. I have heard Larks in full song on the 13th of Februarv in Fifeshire.

108

NATURAL HISTORY.

This species is perhaps that which, excepting the Whitethroat and the Blackbird, begins to sing
earliest in the morning. On the 12th of March, 1835, while on an excursion along the coast, I was
greeted at half-past five, between Portobello and Musselburgh, with the full song of the Lark, followed
shortly after by those of the Robin and Blackbird, and the harsh cry of the Partridge. In the island
of Harris, about the middle of June, in 1820, when on my way to the summit of a hill to see the sun
rise, I heard the Lark at half-past one, and soon after the Snipe and Corn Crake. It ceases, however,

in the evening much earlier than several of our songsters, especially the Blackbird, Thrush, and Robin.
The song of the Skylark is familiar to most persons, even those who in cities have exchanged the love
of nature inherent in humanity for the love of gain, fashion, and vicious excitement ; but were it not,
it would be as difficult for me to describe it as it would be for a musician to imitate it. Sometimes
the Lark sings on the ground, perched on a clod, or even crouched among the grass, but generally in
commencing its song it starts off, rises perpendicularly or obliquely in the air, with a fluttering
motion, and continues it until it has attained its highest elevation, which not unfrequently is such as
to render the bird scarcely perceptible. Even then, if the weather be calm, you hear its warble
coming faintly on the ear at intervals. It has been alleged that the Lark ascends in a spiral manner,
but my observation does not corroborate the statement. In rising, it often passes directly upward,
but with the body always horizontal, or nearly so. then moves in a curve, and continues thus

THE SONGLESS BIRDS. 109

alternately, but without a continued spiral motion. At first the motion of the wings is uniformly
fluttering, but afterwards it shoots them out two or three times successively at intervals, and when at
its greatest height exhibits this action more remarkably. When it descends, the song is not inter-
mitted, but is continued until it approaches the ground, when it usually darts down headlong, and
alights abruptly. Frequently it resumes its song after alighting, and continues it for a short time,
but more commonly it stops when it has reached the ground. Often, the Lark may be seen hovering
over a field, in full song, for a considerable time at a small height. On the 4th of May, 1837, I
observed a Lark perched on a half-twist whin branch, where it remained singing a long time. I have
often seen it perch on a wall, and several times on a hawthorn bush in a hedge, but it never, I believe,
alights on tall trees.

" The song of the Lark is certainly not musical, for its notes are not finely modulated, nor its
tones mellow, but it is cheerful and cheering in the highest degree, and protracted beyond all
comparison. In a sunny day in April or May, when the grass-fields have begun to resume their
verdure, it is pleasant to listen to the merry songster that makes the welkin ring with its sprightly
notes ; in the sultry month of July still more pleasant is it to hear its matin hymn while the dew is
yet on the corn ; and in winter, should you chance to hear the well-known voice on high, it reminds
you of the bright days that have gone, and fills you with anticipation of those that are to come. No
doubt much of the pleasure derived from the Lark's song depends upon association, and to him who
finds delight in wandering over the green fields, along the daisied margin of the clear stream that
winds in the bottom of the pastoral glen, or upon the ferny brae, where the ' long, yellow broom '
and ' blossomed furze unprofitably gay ' shoot up amidst the wild thyme, yarrow, and blue-bell, it is
pleasant to listen even to the ' skirl ' of the Corn Bunting, the see-saw song of the Tit, the creaking
cry of the Partridge, or the singular crake of the Land Rail ; but independently of circumstances and
associations, the song of the Lark inlparts an elasticity to the mind, elevates the spirits, and suspends
for a time the gnawing of corroding care. The mellow song of the Merle or Mavis is apt to inspire
melancholy, especially if heard in a sequestered valley towards the close of the day, and the feelings
which it excites have perhaps as much of a depressing as of a soothing tendency ; but the carol of the
Lark, like the lively fife, excites pure cheerfulness, and might with propriety be prescribed as an
antidote for dulness. It is not merely music that we look for in the songs of birds, but variety, and
the expression of passions, feelings and wants. Were all our warblers to tune their throats according
to rule we should become sickly and sentimental, and fill the valleys with sighs and groans from the
mountain tops ; but the loud war-whoop of the Eagle, the harsh scream of the Heron, and the
croak of the Haven, are antidotes to the bewitching melody of the Blackcap and Nightingale. I
have endeavoured to trace a repetition at regular intervals in the strains of the Lark ; but its
modulations seem to have no rule. In confinement this bird sings every whit as well as when at
large ; and when rapidly perambulating the square bit of faded turf in its cage, it enacts its part with
apparently as much delight as when mounting towards ' heaven's gate.' " * These last words of
Macgillivray's will remind every reader that the Lark has always been one of the chiefest favourites
among poets. The Ettrick Shepherd's fine sympathetic lines and Shelley's noble ode, Wordsworth's
address and Southey's sonnet, are only a few witnesses to the fact.

The male Skylark is rather lai'ger than the female, and this difference is apparent in winter, when
the flocks are mixed together in the fields, the cock bird being conspicuous to a practised observer by
his greater bulk when on the wing.

THE SECOND SECTION OF THE PASSERIFORMES, OR PERCHING BIRDS.

THE MESOMYODI, OR SONGLESS BIRDS.

The birds which compose the Mesomyodian section of the Perching Birds belong almost entirely
to the New World, with the exception of the Pittidce, or Old World Ant-Thrushes. They are
separated from the Acromyodian Perching Birds on account of modifications, which take place in
the syrinx, " an acromyodian bird being one in which the muscles of the syrinx are attached to the
extremities of the bronchial semi-rings, a mesomyodian bird being one in which the muscles of the
syrinx join the semi-rings in their middles. " f

* Macgillivray : "British Birds." Vol. II., p. ]<!'!. t (-Jan-od : Proceedings of the Zodvijicol Society, 1876, p. 507.
157

LYRE BIRD.

THE SPINE-TAILS. Ill

THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE MESOMYODI, OR SOXGLESS BIRDS.
THE LYRE BIRDS (Mt-mmdce}.

These curious and interesting birds are found only in Australia, of which they are one of the most
characteristic birds. Of the habits of the Prince Albert's Lyre-bird (Menura alberti} an excellent
account is given in Mr. Gould's " Handbook to the Birds of Australia, " from the pen of Mr. A. A.
Leycester, portions of which are here transcribed : — " The habits of Menura alberti are very similar to
M. superba. Having seen and watched both on their play-grounds, I find the M. alberti is far
superior in its powers of mocking and imitating the cries and songs of others of the feathered race to
the M. superba ; its own peculiar song or cry is also different, being of a much louder and fuller tone.
I once listened to one of these birds that had taken up its quarters within two hundred yards of a
sawyer's hut, and he had made himself perfect in all the noises of the sawyer's homestead, the
crowing of the cocks, the cackling of the hens, and the barking and the howling of the dogs, and even
the painful screeching or the sharpening and filing of the saws. I have never seen, more than a pair
together. Each bird appears to have its own walk or boundary, and never to infringe 011 the others'
grounds ; for I have heard them day after day in the same place, and seldom nearer than a quarter of
a mile to each other. Whilst singing, they spread their tails over their heads like a Peacock, and
droop their wings to the ground, and at the same time scratch and peck up the earth. They sing
mornings and evenings, and more so in winter than at any other time. The young cocks do not sing
until they get their full tails, which I fancy is not until the fourth year, having shot them in four
different stages ; the two centre curved feathers are the last to make their appearance. They live
entirely upon small insects, principally beetles. Their flesh is not eatable, being dark, dry, and tough,
and quite unlike that of other birds. They commence building their nests in May, lay in June, and
have young in July. They generally place their nests on the side of some steep rock, where there is
sufficient room to form a lodgment, so that no animals or vermin can approach. The nest is
constructed of small sticks, interwoven with moss and fibres of roots, the inside being lined with the
skeleton leaf of the parasitical tree fern, resembling horsehair, and covered in, with the entrance on the
side. The single egg laid is of a very dark colour, appearing as if it had been blotched over with ink.
The young bird for the first month is covered with down, and remains in the nest about six weeks
before it takes its departure."

THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE MESOMYODI, OR SOXGLESS BIRDS.

THE BUSH-WREXS (Pteroptoehidte).

This is a small family of birds belonging to South America, and numbering about eight genera
and about seventeen species. They are remarkable for their enormous feet, with very distinctly
scaled tarsi. Mr. Darwin writes of Pteroptoclius rubecula in the " Voyage of the Beagle " : — " In
Chiloe, where it is common, it is called by the Indian inhabitants the ' Cheucau.' It frequents the
most gloomy and retired spots within the damp forests. Sometimes, although the cry of the Cheucau
is heard close by, a person may watch attentively and yet in vain ; at other times, if he stands
motionless, the red-breasted little bird will approach within a few feet in the most familiar manner.
It then busily hops about the entangled mass of rotting canes and branches, with its little tail cocked
upwards. I opened the gizzard of several specimens ; it was very muscular, and contained hard
seeds, buds of plants, occasionally some insects and vegetable fibres mixed with small stones. The
Cheucau is held in superstitious fear by the Chilotans, on account of its strange and varied cries.
There are three very distinct kinds — one is called ' chiduco,' and is an omen of good ; another
' huitrew,' which is extremely unfavourable ; and a third which I have forgotten. These words are
given in imitation of its cries, and the natives are in some things absolutely governed by them. I
was informed by the inhabitants that the Cheucau builds its nests amongst sticks close to the ground."

THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE MESOMYODI, OR SOXGLESS BIRDS.
THE SPINE-TAILS (Dendrocolaptida).

These birds resemble very much in appearance the Old World Tree Creepers, the majority of
them having, as their name implies, spiny tails like the birds alluded to. They also climb trees after
the manner of Creepers. The family is entirely Neotropical, and contains some two hundred and

112

NATURAL HISTORY.

twenty species comprised in about forty genera. Considerable variation exists in the form of these
birds, some of which, as in the genus Xiphocolaptes, attain the dimensions of a good-sized Wood-
pecker, while some are very minute. The family is divided by Messrs. Sclater and Salvin into four
sub-families, viz., the Furnariince, or Oven Birds, the Sclerurince, containing but one genus, Sclerwrue,
the Synallaxince, or Spine-tails, and the Dendrocolaptincje, or Woodhewers. Mr. Edward Bartlett,
who travelled for some time in the upper districts of the Amazon river, met with two species of
Furnarius, or Oven Bird. Of the Furnarius torridus, he says : — " This bird builds its nest in the
banks near the water, like the Swallow or Kingfisher ; it is composed of fine sticks and bents very
loosely put together. The eggs are four in number and of a creamy white colour, oblong in shape."
Of the smaller Oven Bird, the same author relates : — "This interesting little fellow, very different in
habits from the preceding species, builds its nest of mud on the bough of a tree. The nest is round,

BVSH-TFREX.

and consists of an inner chamber, the entrance to which is by a passage formed on one side. The
chamber is lined with fine long grass fibres, hairs, &c. The eggs are white, and four in number."
Writing of the Rufous Oven Bird, Mr. Darwin observes :— "This bird is common in Banda Oriental, on
the banks of the Plata ; but I did not see it farther southward. It is called by the Spaniards Casaro,
or House-builder, from the very singular nest which it constructs. The most exposed situation, as on
the top of a post, the stem of an opuntia, or bare rock, is chosen. The nest consists of mud and bits of
straw ; it is very strong, and the sides are thick. In shape it resembles a depressed beehive or oven,
and hence the name of the genus. Directly in front of the mouth of the nest, which is large and arched,
there is a partition, which reaches nearly to the roof, thus forming a passage or ante-chamber to the
true nest. At Maldonado, in the end of May, the bird was busy in building. The Fi'i'uriritis is
very common in Banda Oriental ; it often haunts the bushes in the neighbourhood of houses. It is an
active bird, and both walks and runs quickly, and generally by starts. It feeds chiefly on coleoptera.
It often utters a peculiar, loud, shrill, and quickly reiterated cry."*

Mr. Darwin, in the same work, also describes the habits of another species, Fnrnarii's a/nicii-

* Darwin : "Voyage of the Beagle" (Birds).

THE OVEN BIRD.

113

kurius, whose habits of nesting, however, are very different. He says : — "It builds its nest at the bottom
of a narrow cylindrical hole, which is said to extend horizontally to nearly six feet under ground.
Several of the country people told me that when boys, they had attempted to dig out the nest, but had
scarcely ever succeeded in getting to the end. The bird chooses any low bank of firm sandy soil by the
side of a road or stream. At the settlement of Bahia Blanca the Avails are built of hardened mud ;
and I noticed one, enclosing a court-yard where I lodged, which was penetrated by round holes in a
score of places. On asking the owner the cause of this, he bitterly complained of the little G'asarita,
several of which I afterwards observed at work." Mr. Bartlett found two species of Sclerurus in the
Upper Amazon, and states that these birds are always found in dense forests on the ground, hunting
for insects. The Spine-tails are described by M. D'Orbigny as being insect-eating birds of lively

OVEN BIKD.

habits, many of them being very tame, and he mentions how one species, the Synallaxis troglodytoides
(the Wren-like Spine-tail), visited maritime plants when he was in the neighbourhood of Bahia de San
Bias, in Patagonia. Each individual rested hardly two minutes in the same place, being always in
motion, running over each branch in turn, ascending and descending incessantly, showing no fear. The
whole troop flew off at once and settled again at a little distance off, but on a shot being fired, they all
disappeared. The same writer also states that some of the Spine-tails live more in the thickets, and
frequent the bushes and big plants, sometimes rather near the water, at others in more arid localities.
Many of them are found in the cold regions, as well as the temperate and hot portions of the American
continent. Of the Woodhewers, which are larger birds, but little has been recorded as regards their
habits. Mr. Salvin states that the Northern Woodhewer (XipJiocolaptes emigrans) was seen by him
in Guatemala. On each occasion the bird was observed on the trunks of the larger trees, to which it
clings just like a Woodpecker, and ascends rapidly to the summit. When pursued, it takes short
nights, of about one hundred yards or so to another tree, alighting on it near its base, and again
ascending to the top of its stem, whence another flight is taken.

114 NATURAL HISTORY.

THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE MESOMYODI, OR SONGLESS BIRDS.

THE AMERICAN ANT-THRUSHES (Formicariidce).

As in the case of so many other Mesomyodian birds, the Formicariidce are entirely inhabitants
of the New World. About two hundred and twenty species are known to science, and these are
arranged in two sub-families, the first of which, the Thamnophilince, contains the birds which are
popularly known as American Bush Shrikes. These have an aspect very similar to the Bush-Shrikes
(Dryoscopus) of Africa, while in their habits they also resemble the Butcher-birds of the Old World.
M. D'Orbigny writes: — "They are, in America, the representatives of our Shrikes, with this important
difference in their habits, that instead of invariably perching on bushes, they are found always in the
interior, and rarely appear outside. They are bush-birds par excellence, all living to the east of the
Andes ; at least we do not know of any which has been brought from the west of that great chain.
They live in all the localities where dense thickets are to be found, either in the hedges near houses
or in the deserted clearings in the heart of the forest, or else in the stunted thickets, bristling with
thorns, which are called chaparrales by the Spaniards, and which are characteristic of certain parts
of Central South America. They go as a rule either alone or in couples, and the most familiar of
them approach inhabited places, springing from branch to branch at the bottom of the bushes, which
they scour in search of insects and their larvae, and ants. They very rarely descend to the earth, and
then only for the purpose of seizing their prey, which they afterwards proceed to devour on the lowest
branches of the thicket. They appeared to us resident in the countries of which they were natives,
but always going from one place to another. What traveller in the heart of these wild situations
so common in America has not been struck, especially in spring-time, by the vociferous songs of
the Bush Shrikes, and with the noisy gamut that the males give out, especially at the season
of love 1 Their whole frame trembles with happiness ; their crest raises itself ; they open their
wings, and show every sign of pleasure, whilst the female hastens to reply to their transports, but
in accents less pronounced. These conversations often strike the ear, but one may search in vain for
the performer, the birds being almost always hidden in thickets so dense that the rays of the sun
scarcely penetrate them. It is in such places as these that they even deposit their nest at some
feet above the ground. It is made of twigs outside, and sometimes lined with hair inside. Their eggs
very much resemble those of our Shrikes, in that they are often whitish, spotted with reddish- violet."

THE FIFTH FAMILY OF THE MESOMYODI, OR SONGLESS BIRDS.

THE OLD WORLD ANT-THRUSHES (Pittida).

The members of this family, which represent in the Old World the Ant-Thrushes mentioned in
the preceding family, are, unlike the latter, birds of very striking and brilliant plumage. From
Australia, throughout the Molucca Islands, they range through the Malayan Peninsula and Burmese
countries into China, several species inhabiting the Himalayan Mountains, while one is common to the
Indian peninsula and in Ceylon. The genus then disappears from the intervening countries, but is
once more represented by the Angola Pitta (Pitta angolensis) in West Africa ; this species, however,
appears merely to inhabit the coast line. Most of the Pittas appear to be migratory. They
nest on the ground, or on low branches close to the ground. Of the habits of the Blue-winged
Pitta an excellent account has appeared from the pen of Mr. W. Davidson:* — "For many months
after my arrival in Burmah I did not meet with this species ; but while at Tavoy, towards the
latter end of April, after a few good showers of rain, they suddenly appeared in great numbers
in the gardens and plantations in and about Tavoy. Before the rain, I can safely affirm that
there were none about the place, for day after day for the greater part of the month had I been
working the country in which they subsequently became so numerous. From this time till I left
Burmah, in July, they were numerous everywhere. Subsequently I have, year by year, noticed the
annual emigration throughout the southern and central portions of the province. Very likely they
extend to the north, but I have never been there at the right season. I suspect, however, that they
are rather a coast-loving species. Although the great mass of the birds come as described, a few, I
think, remain all the year round in. the mangrove swamps of the southern extremity of the province ;
at any rate, I have found them there from January to July. This species is very fond of perching

* "Stray Feathers, "1878-

THE KINGBIRD, 115

on trees ; you may continually see them high up upon trees calling vociferously. They are not at all
wild or shy birds ; they feed freely on ants and their larvse, all insects, grubs, and land shells. I never
noticed this or any of its congeners coming to the water to drink. This, and the closely-allied
P. megarhyncha, seem to frequent most commonly their tree jungle, where there is not much underwood,
and the mangrove swamps, but they also occur abundantly in gardens and plantations. They both
have a fine clear double note, which may constantly be heard in the morning and evening wherever
they occur. They are decidedly noisy, and often call all day, and, on moonlight nights, a great part
of the night also."

THE SIXTH FAMILY OF THE MESOMYODI, OR SONGLESS PERCHING-BIRDS.

THE TYRANT BIRDS (Tyrannida).

This family is one of the most characteristic of the many which are peculiar to the New World.
In the flattened bill, and the great development of the rictal bristles, they bear great resem-
blance to the Flycatchers of the Old World, but the structural peculiarities of their tarsus, which
has the scales arranged in a different manner, in addition to the different formation of the voice.
oi'gan, sufficiently serves for the separation of the families Tyrannidai and MuscicapidcK. More
than three hundred species are now known to science, not thirty of which are found within the limits
of the United States, so that the vast bulk of the Tyrant birds are peculiar to Southern and Central
America.

THE KINGBIRD (Tyrannus carolinemis} .

This is one of the North American species of Tyrants ranging over a wide expanse of country,
and visiting Central America in winter. The following account of the species is given in the " History
of North American Birds," by Dr. Brewer : — " No one of our common birds possesses more strongly-
marked charactei'istics of manners and habits than this species. Its pugnacious disposition during
the breeding season, the audacious boldness with which it will attack any birds larger than itself,
the persistent tenacity with which it will continue these attacks, and the reckless courage with which
it will maintain its unequal warfare, are well-known peculiarities of this interesting and familial-
species. Its name, Kingbird, is given it on the supposition that it is superior to all other birds in
these contests. My own observations lead me to the conclusion that writers have somewhat exag-
gerated the quarrelsome disposition of this bird. I have never, or very rarely, known it to molest or
attack any other birds than those which its own instinct prompts it to drive away in self-defence,
such as Hawks, Owls, Eagles, Crows, Jays, Cuckoos, and Grakles. These it will always attack and
drive off quite a distance from their nests. Nothing can be more striking than the intrepidity with
which one of these birds will pounce upon and harass birds vastly lai-ger and more powerful than
itself. The Kingbird is always prompt to perceive the approach of one of these enemies, and always
rushes out to meet it ; mounting in the air high above it, it pounces down upon its back, upon which it
will even rest, furiously pecking at the exposed flanks of its victim, and only leaving it to descend
again and again with the same unrelenting animosity. In these encounters it always comes off
conqueror. Wilson states that his jealous affection for his mate, and for his nest and young, makes
him suspicious of every bird that happens to pass near his residence. But this is not the case in all
instances. A pair of these birds nested in the summer of 1871, and peacefully reared their young in
an apple-tree near my residence, within four feet of the nest of the Baltimore Oriole, and not more than
eight or ten feet from the nest of a Robin, all in the same tree. The three pairs were on evident terms
of amity and mutual good-will. The male Kingbird kept a sharp look-out for danger from the
topmost bough, and seemed to have all under his special guardianship, but showed no disposition
to molest or annoy them.

"The Purple Martin is said to be the implacable enemy of the Kingbird, and one of the few birds
with which the latter maintains an unequal contest. Its superiority in flight gives the former gi*eat
advantages, while its equal courage and strength render it more than a match. Auclubon relates an
instance in which the Kingbird was slain in one of these struggles. Wilson also relates an encounter,
of which he was an eye-witness, between one of this species and a Red-headed Woodpecker, in which
the latter, while clinging on the rail of a fence, seemed to amuse itself with the violence of the King-

116

NATURAL HISTORY.

bird, playing bo-peep with it round the rail, while the latter became greatly irritated, and made
repeated, but vain attempts, to strike at him. The Kingbird feeds almost exclusive^ upon winged
insects, and consumes a vast number. It is on this account one of our most useful birds, but unfortu-
nately for its popularity it is no respecter of kinds, and destroys large numbers of bees. In districts
where hives of honey-bees abound the Kingbird is not in good repute. Wilson suggests that
they only destroy the drones, and rarely if ever meddle with the working bees. But this
discrimination, if even real, is not appreciated by the raisers of bees, who regard this bird as their
enemy. The Kingbirds arrive in Pennsylvania the latter part of April, and in New England
early in May, and leave for the south in September. They nest in May, selecting an iipper
branch, usually of an isolated tree, and often in an exposed situation. Their nests are large,
broad, and comparatively shallow, and coarsely, though strongly, made of rude materials, such as

twigs, withered plants, bits of rags, string, &c. These, are lined with fine rootlets, horsehair, and
fine grasses.

"The Kingbird has no song, but instead utters an incessant monotonous succession of twitterings,
which vary in sharpness and loudness with the emotions that prompt them. The flight of the
Kingbird, when on the hunt for insects, is very peculiar and characteristic. It flies slowly over
the field with rapid vibrations of the wings in the manner of Hawks, and soars or seems to float
in the air in the manner of a Swallow. It also exhibits great power and rapidity of flight when
rushing forth to encounter a Hawk or an Eagle. As they are known occasionally to plunge into
the water, and, emerging thence to resume their seat on a high branch, to dry and dress their
plumage, it has been conjectured that they feed on small fish, but this is unsupported by any
positive evidence. Though the Kingbird usually builds in trees, it does not always select such
situations. In the summer of 1851, passing over a bridge near the village of Aylesford, in Nova
Scotia, I observed a Kingbird fly from a nest built on the projecting end of one of the planks of
which the bri :lge was made. So remarkably exposed a position, open to view and on a level with
and within a few feet of a highway, must be quite unusual. The eggs of this bird are five,
sometimes six, in number, and vary considerably in size. Their ground colour is white with a more
or less decided roseate tinge, beautifully spotted with blotches and markings of purple, brown, and red-

THE BELL 13IRI).

117

brown. In some these ai'e disposed in a confluent crown around the larger end ; in others they are
•irregularly distributed over the entire egg. In length they vary from 1*05 to -86 of an inch, and in
breadth from '72 to -70 cf an inch."

THE SEVENTH FAMILY OF THE MESOMYODI, OR SOXGLESS BIRDS.

THE AMERICAN CHATTERERS (Cotingidce}.

To this family belong nearly a hundred species of birds, mostly of gay plumage, which are found
in the New World. Some of the most interesting are the brilliantly coloured Cotingas, or Chatterers

COCK OF THE KOCK.

of South America, in which the plumage is of a mingled blue and crimson; but there are also in this
family equally familiar birds, such as the Cocks of the Rock, the Umbrella- birds, and the Bell-birds.
The habits of the common Bell-bird are described by Mr. Waterton in his " Wanderings." Speaking
of the several Cotingas of the country under notice, he says :— " The fifth species is the celebrated
'Campanero' of the Spaniards, called 'Dara' by the Indians, and 'Bell-bird' by the English.
He is about the size of the Jay. His plumage is white as snow. On his forehead rises a spiral
tube nearly three inches long. It is jet-black, dotted all over with small white feathers. It. has a
communication with the palate, and when filled with air it looks like a spire ; when empty it becomes
pendulous. His note is loud and clear, like the sound of a bell, and may be heard at the distance of
three miles. In the midst of these extensive wilds, generally on the dried top of an ancient wood,
almost out of your reach, you will see the Campanero. No sound or song from any of the winged
inhabitants of the forest, not even the clearly pronounced ' Whip-poor-will ' from the Goatsucker,
causes such astonishment as the toll of the Campanero. With many of the feathered race he pays the
common tribute of a morning and evening song ; and even when the meridian sun has shut in silence
158

118

NATURAL HISTORY.

the mouths of almost the whole of animated nature, the Campanero still cheers the forest. You
may hear his toll and then pause for a minute, then another toll and then a pause again, and then a
toll and again a pause ; then he is silent for six or eight minutes and then another toll, and so on.
Acteon would stop in mid-chase, Maria would defer her evening song, and Orpheus himself would
drop his lute to listen to him, so sweet, so novel, and so romantic is the toll of the pretty snow-white
Campanero. He is never seen to feed with the other Cotingas, nor is it known in what part of Guiana
he makes his nest."

With regard to the spiral tube on the forehead, or caruncle, Mr. Salvin remarks * : — " From dried
specimens it is impossible to make any satisfactory dissection of the caruncles, to ascertain whether or
not any communication exists through means of which air could be passed so as to inflate them and

cause them to become rigid. On opening the caruncle of an immature male, I found that fine fibrous
tissues adhered to the enclosing skin. This would sh«w that in life the caruncle is not hollow, and
that, if the internal structure is cellular and capable of inflation by air, these tissues would prevent
the outer skin from swelling and taking a bladder-like form. If inflation actually is produced, as
analogy with the Cayenne-bird, as described by Mr. Waterton, would certainly suggest, it still remains
to be seen from what source the air pressure is derived. The question, too, arises, Is the inflating
apparatus, if I may so call it, the growth of the maturing male, as are the caruncles themselves ? My
own impression is that no inflation takes place, and that the bird possesses little or no voluntary
muscular control over these excrescences, but that contraction or elongation takes place, as in the
fleshy protuberance over the bill of the common Turkey. The same appears to be the case with the
several members of the genus Cephalopterus (Umbrella-birds), one species of which is said to gather
its throat-lappet under its throat in a bunch like a rose. A muscular contraction would cause one of
these caruncles to become more rigid, as in the familiar case above cited."

* "Ibis," 1865, p. 93.

THE BROADBILLS.

119

THE EIGHTH FAMILY OF THE MESOMYODI, OR SOXGLESS BIRDS.

THE MANAKINS (Piprida;).

The Manakins are closely allied to the Tyrants, and form a small family of American birds,
consisting of about sixty species. All the Manakins are of small size, and inhabit the wooded portions
of South America, and they are somewhat shy in their habits. Of the latter, however, very little
has been recorded.

THE NINTH FAMILY OF THE MESOMYODI, OR SOXGLESS BIRDS.

THE BROADBILLS (Eurylamiidai).

In appearance the Broadbills most resemble some of the broad-billed Rollers (Eurystomus}
with which they have been commonly classed by naturalists, but of late years more minute study of

BKOADhlLL

their anatomy and general structure has resulted in placing them near the Chatterers of
America, of which they appear to be a representative form in the Far East. The species are only
about seven in number, all of them being confined to the Himalayan Mountains, the hills of
the Burmese countries, the Malayan peninsula, and the Indo-Malayan islands. Writing of these
birds in Tenasserim, Mr. Davidson says : — " The Broadbills, I think, might well be designated a stupid
set of birds, but the Lunated Broadbill (Serilopkns lunatics) is the most stupid of the lot. They usually
move about in small parties, and when one meets with a party every bird of which it consists can
without difficulty be secured, as the birds take no notice of their companions being shot, and do not
appear to be at all alarmed at the report of the gun, seldom moving farther than the next branch,
sometimes not moving at all, when the gun is fired. Their note consists of a single chir-r-r-r. They
never walk or hop about the branches, though they will fly from branch to branch. They feed chiefly
on insects, many of which they seize on the wing." * The same author writes of the Sumatran

* " Stray Feathers," 1878, p. 89.

120

NATURAL HISTORY.

Broadbill (Corydon sumatranus) : — " This species is spread throughout Tenasserirn, but is nowhere
abundant, being found in pairs or small parties, usually in moderately thin forest, but it occurs
also in dense forest. During the day it is sluggish, and a party will, like S. lunatus, allow them-
selves to be shot one after the other without any attempt to escape.

" They have an oft-repeated, mellow, rather musical note, quite different from, and not at all of
the same class as that of £he preceding species, and also a clear whistle, which they utter when
flying from tree to tree. It does not ascend the higher hills, nor indeed do any of the pre-
ceding species. Not only is their note entirely different, but they are far more sluggish than the
rest of the Broadbills, feeding almost exclusively morning and evening, and sitting for hours motionless
on a branch, sometimes high up and sometimes low down, in a slouching attitude, with their necks
drawn in and their bills pointing upwards. They are not at all shy, and by no means curious about
what is passing around them ; but one day, when I was waiting by a clear pool, watching for A Icedo
nigricans, one came and sat on a branch about ten feet distant. He clearly thought me a very
strange animal, for though he did not attempt to go away, he kept craning out his neck, and peering
down at me in a stupid inquisitive fashion. Thus we remained for about two hours, when a Kingfisher
not appearing, I shot my stupid neighbour."

THE TENTH FAMILY OF THE MESOMYODI, OR SONGLESS BIRDS.

THE PLANT-CUTTERS (Phytotomida).

Only three species of Plant-cutter are known, one inhabiting Chili, a second the Ai'gentine
Republic, and a third Bolivia. In appearance they resemble a Finch or Tanager, and have been
placed by many authors in the vicinity of the last-named birds. D'Orbigny writes : — " This singular
genus, well characterised by the numerous teeth in the cutting edges of the mandibles and of the
interior of the upper mandible, has, moreover, like the Tanagers of the genus Saltator, a strong tooth
near the extremity of the bill ; the wings are short ; the tail rather long and equal." The same writer
thinks that the Plant-cutters* should not be moved far from the Tanagers in the natural system, as
they resemble the latter birds a good deal in the form of the bill. In habits the Plant-cuttei-s are
still more like the latter birds, for they both live in the bushes and on the shrubs, where they feed
on fruits, berries, and buds, like the Saltatores, and they are constantly found in society with them.

PLANT-CUTTEK.

THE DODOS. 121

Speaking of the Narrow-billed Plant-cutter (Phytototna anyustirostris), the same author observes : —
" It was seen in several localities in the Andes of Bolivia, always in the temperate zone, in dry
and arid situations on the coteaux and the plains, without ever descending into the hot valleys, which
are wooded and moist. One might say that the temperature which it prefers is that where wheat can
be grown, and it was never observed by us either above or below this limit. It is always met with in
the neighbourhood of habitations and cultivation, and is very common ; it is seen throughout the year
either singly, in pairs, or in small troops. When mingled with the Saltatores it traverses the bushes,
the gardens of the towns, devastating the plantations, where it cuts off the buds, and spoiling
the fruits, doing this without any danger, as up to the present time the people are content with
complaining of this inconvenient parasite without seeking any means to stop its ravages. Its flight
is short and low, and never long sustained; its habits resemble those of the Saltatores, but we have
nevertheless observed it on the ground. Its cry, which is often repeated, could not be much more
disagreeable, as it resembles the noise made by the grating of the teeth of one saw against those of
another. At certain seasons the Plant-cutter is very fond of the fruit of a species of Solanum, which
imparts to the beak a violet colour."

THE FOURTH ORDER OF BIRDS.— THE DOVES (Columbos).

In many respects the order Columbce resembles the Gallinaceous birds, or Gallince; but there is
a fundamental difference between these two orders in the way in which the young are hatched,
the nestlings of the Game-birds being very active and able to shift for themselves on their escape
from the egg, while the young of the Pigeons are born naked and helpless. It is probably owing
to a certain superficial resemblance in the form of the bill, and possibly to the resemblance be-
tween the Crowned Pigeons and some Game-birds, that these two orders have been so generally allied
together in modern classifications. In the Pigeons the bill is formed not unlike that of the Plovers,
the basal part being bare and covered with a thick soft skin ; the apical part of the bill, however,
is horny and hard in texture, convex in shape, and higher than the soft part. The nostrils are
placed rather low in the soft part, near the base of the bill, and are longitudinal in shape.

The Columbce may be divided into three families, as detailed below : —

THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE PIGEONS.— THE DODOS (Didida).

As everybody knows, the curious Pigeon called the Dodo is now extinct. As far as we are
aware its range was always very restricted, being confined to the southern portion of the island
of Mauritius. In size the Dodo was a little larger than a Turkey, and was incapable of flight,
although it is said to have progressed rapidly over the ground. Mr. Strickland * gives the following
account: — "In 1644 the Dutch first colonised the island of Mauritius, and it is probable that these
gigantic fowls, deprived of flight, slow of foot, and useful for food, were speedily diminished in num-
ber, and finally exterminated, by the thoughtless rapacity of the early colonists. Their destruction
would be further hastened, or might be mainly caused, by the dogs, cats, and swine which accompany
man in his migrations^ and are speedily naturalised in the forests. To such animals the eggs and
young of the Dodo and other birds would be a dainty treat ; and that this is no mere conjecture

is proved by Leguat, who tells us : ' Here (in Mauritius) are hogs of the China kind These

beasts do a great deal of damage to the inhabitants by devouring all the young animals they can
catch.' That the destruction of the Doclos was completed by 1693 may be inferred from the narrative
of Leguat, who in that year remained several months in Mauritius, and enumerates its animal pro-
ductions at some length, but makes no mention whatever of Dodos. He further says : ' L'isle etait
autrefois toute remplie d'Oyes et de Canards sauvages ; de Poules d'Eau, de Gelinottes, de Tortues de
mer et de terre ; inais tout cela est devenu fort rare!' This passage proves that even in 1693
civilisation had made great inroads on the fauna of Mauritius.

"In 1712 the Dutch evacuated Mauritius, and the French colonised the island under the new
name of Isle de France. This change in the population will account for the absence of any traditionary
knowledge of so remarkable a bird among the later inhabitants. All subsequent evidence is equally

* Strickland and Melville : "The Dodo and its Kindred," p. 27.

122

NATURAL HISTORY.

negative. Baron Grant resided in Mauritius from 1740 to 1760; and his son, who compiled the
' History of Mauritius ' from his papers, states that no trace of such a bird was to be found at that
time. M. Morel, a French official who resided there previously to 1778, and whose attention seems
to have been drawn to the subject by the judicious criticisms of Buffon, tells us that the oldest inhabi-
tants had no recollection of these creatures. The late M. Bory de St. Vincent remained for some time
in Mauritius and Bourbon in 1801, and has left an excellent work on the physical features of these
islands. He assures us that he made every possible inquiry respecting the Dodo and its allies,
without gaining the slightest information from the inhabitants on the subject. At a public dinner at

the Mauritius in 1816, several persons from seventy to ninety yeai\s of age were present who
had no knowledge of such a bird from recollection or tradition. Mr. J. V. Thompson also resided
for some years in Mauritius and Madagascar previously to 1816, and he states that no more traces of
the existence of the Dodo could then be found than of the truth of the tale of ' Paul and Virginia,'
although a very general idea prevailed as to the reality of both. This list of negative witnesses may
be closed with the late Mr. Telfair, a very active naturalist, whose researches were equally conclusive
as to the non-existence of Dodos in Mauritius in modern times."

Besides the Dodo of Mauritius, which island appears to have contained other extinct wingless
birds, there existed in the neighbouring island of Rodriguez another remarkable Pigeon, called the
Solitaire (Pezophaps solitarius), of which a number of relics were brought to England by the naturalist
attached to the Transit of Venus Expedition of 1874, so that nearly perfect skeletons of male and
female birds are now to be seen in the Natural History Museum at Kensington.

THE TRUE PIGEONS.

123

In the Samoan Islands, far from the Mascarene group which contained the flightless pigeons, whose
ill-developed wings afforded them no protection against the cats and pigs of the colonists, there exists
at the present day a bird which is nearly related to the extinct Dodo. This is the Tooth-billed
Pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris), a species which seemed a few years ago to be decreasing in numbers,
owing to its living upon the ground, when the bird became liable to the fatal onslaughts of cats during

SOLITAIRE.

the night, while its eggs ran the risk of destrtiction by rats. Within the last ten years, however,
this pigeon has entirely changed its habits, roosting and breeding on high trees. The Rev. S. J.
Whitmee, to whom we are indebted for our knowledge of the habits of this species, attributes to it
considerable intelligence. " This intelligence," he writes, " seems to have enabled the bird to change
its habits for self-preservation. It has probably been frightened when roosting, or during incubation,
by the attacks of cats, and has sought safety in the trees. Learning, from frequent repetition of th(
fright, that the ground is a dangerous place, it has acquired the habit of building, roosting, and feeding
upon the high trees ; and this change of habit is now operating for the preservation of this interesting
bird, which was a few years ago almost extinct."

124

NATURAL HISTORY.

THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE PIGEONS.— THE COLUMBID^E, OE TRUE PIGEONS.
In this large family the bulk of the Pigeons, some four hundred in number, are located. All of
them have the nostrils narrow in. shape and situated close to the cutting edge of the mandible, with
which they run parallel. On the upper part of the bill there is a convex soft skin, which forms a
tubercle. Sundevall divides the true Pigeons into four divisions; in the first are included all the
Fruit Pigeons, which are inhabitants of the tropical portion of the Old World, and whose prevailing
style of colour is green. They all have the tarsus shorter than the middle toe. There are two sub-
divisions of the Fruit Pigeons;
in the first the bill is stouter
than the tarsus, and in this divi-
sion are found all the Green Fruit
Pigeons, of which writes Dr.
Jerdon * : — " The Green Pigeons
are a well-marked division, all
having a mai-ked physiognomy,
by which they can be recognised
at a glance. They are of tolerably
stout and massive form, and of a
dull leaf-green colour, more or
less varied with ashy and marone
above, with yellow on the wings,
and with orange or buff beneath.
The eyes of most are very beau-
tiful, being blue with a red outer
circle. They are more or less
gregarious, according to the
species. When hunting for fruit
they are continually gliding about
the branches, like Squirrels ; and
from their strong feet they can
hang over to seize a fruit, and
recover their position at once by
the strong muscles of their legs.
When perfectly quiet they are
very difficult to observe, from the
similarity of their tints to that
of leaves. They nidificate on
trees, making a loose nest of
twigs, and laying two white eggs.
A few are found in Africa and Madagascar, but the majority are denizens of India and Malay ana,
not extending as far as Australia ; but one species at least occurring as high north as Japan,
although they appear to be rare in China. They all afford excellent eating, but the skin is very
tough and thick, and ought to be removed."

In the present section also occur the beautiful Ptilopi, which are distributed in great numbers
over the islands of the Malay Archipelago, Australia, and Oceania, as well as the large Imperial
Pigeons called Carpophaga, which have a similar distribution to the Ptilopi, with the exception, that
they extend into the Indian peninsula. " These Pigeons are of very large size, and adorned in many
cases with rich and metallic colours, with the lower parts usually pale and glossless. The tarsus is
very short and the feet broad, enabling them to grasp the branches well. The forehead is low in its
profile, and the feathers advance on the soft portion of the bill. Their gape is wide, and they are
enabled to swallow very large fruit ; and the feathered portion of the chin advances far towards the

* "Birds of India," Vol. III., p. 445.

KING DOVE, OR WOOD PIGEON.

THE PASSENGER PIGEON.

125

tip of the lower mandible, thus increasing the width of the gape. All those whose nidification is
known lay but one egg." *

In the second division of the True Pigeons the tarsus is short, as in the previous division,
feathered in front but bare at the sides ; the front toes are more slender and rather smooth, the hind
toe is broad at the base, and the wing is long. In this division are found the True Doves, to which
belong the English Wood Pigeon, Stock Dove, and Rock Dove ; tliR latter being the wild stock from
which Domestic Pigeons have been derived. In the third division, wherein the tail is very Ions,
graduated, and pointed, are found the Cuckoo Doves (Macropyyia) and the Passenger Pigeon of
America. This latter extraordi-
nary bird has occasionally been
met with in England ; it is to be
found all over the United States,
and Dr. Brewer writest : — " The
Wild Pigeon appears to be al-
most entirely influenced in its
migration by the abundance of
its food, excepting in those parts
of the country in which it has
not been known to remain during
winter. Even in these move-
ments it is largely influenced by
instinctive considerations of food.
Evidently the temperature has
but little to do with their migra-
tions, as they not unfrequently
move northward in large columns
as early as the 7th of March,
with a thermometer twenty
degrees below the freezing point.
In the spring of 1872 a large
accumulation of these birds took
place early in March in the
eastern portion of New York.
They were present in the forests
about Albany, and were taken in
such immense numbers, that the
markets of New York and Boston
were very largely supplied with
them. They are capable of pro-
pelling themselves in long-con-
tinued flights, and ai-e known to

move with an almost incredible rapidity, passing over a great extent of country in a very
short time. It is quite a common and well-ascertained fact that pigeons are captured in the
State of New York with their crops still filled with the undigested grains of rice that must
have been taken in the distant fields of Georgia or South Carolina, apparently proving that
they must have passed over the intervening space within a very few hours. Audubon esti-
mates the rapidity of their flight as at least a mile a minute. They are said to move in
their flight by quickly repeated flaps of the wings, which are brought more or less near to the body,
according to the degree of velocity required. During the love-season they often fly in a circling
manner, supporting themselves with both wings angularly elevated. Before alighting, they break the
force of their flight by repeated flappings. Their great powers of flight, and the ability thus given to
change at will their residence, and their means of renewing a supply of food, are also thought to be

PASSENGER PIGEON.

* Jerdon: "Birds of India/' Vol. III., i». 4;V>.
159

t " History of North American Birds," VoL II., p. 379.

126

NATURAL HISTORY.

seconded by a remarkable power of vision, enabling them to discover their food with great readiness.
Mr. Audubon states that he has observed flocks of these birds, in passing over a sterile part of the
country, fly high in the air, with an extended front, enabling them to survey hundreds of acres at
once. When the land is richly covered with food, or the trees well supplied with mast, they fly low,
in order to discover the part most plentifully supplied. Several writers who have witnessed the
occasionally enormous flights of these Pigeons, have given very full and graphic accounts of their
immense numbers, that seem hardly credible to those who have not seen them. Mr. Audubon relates
that in 1813, on his way from Henderson to Louisville, in crossing the barrens near Hardensburg, he
observed these birds flying to the south-west in greater numbers than he had ever known before. He
attempted to count the different flocks as they successively passed, but after counting one hundred and

BllOXZE-WIXCJ.

sixty-three in twenty-one minutes he gave it up as impracticable. As he journeyed on, their numbers
seemed to increase. The air seemed filled with Pigeons, and the light of noonday to be obscured as by
an eclipse. Not a single bird alighted, as the woods were destitute of mast, and all flew so high that
he failed to reach any with a rifle. He speaks of their aerial evolutions as beautiful in the extreme,
especially when a Hawk pressed upon the rear of a flock. All at once, like a torrent, and' with a
noise like that of thunder, they rushed together into a compact mass, and darted forward in undulating
lines, descending and sweeping near the earth with marvellous velocity, then mounting almost perpen-
dicularly in a vast column, wheeling and twisting so that their continued lines seemed to resemble the
coils of a gigantic serpent. During the whole of his journey from Hardensburg to Louisville, fifty-five
miles, they continued to pass in undiminished numbers, and also did so during the three following days.
At times they flew so low that multitudes were destroyed, and for many days the entire population
seemed to eat nothing but Pigeons.

" When a flight of Pigeons discovers an abundance of food, sufficient to induce them to alight, they
are said to pass around in circles over the place, making various evolutions ; after a while passing lower
over the woods, and at length alighting; then, as if suddenly alarmed, taking to flight, only to return
immediately. These manoeuvres are repeated with various indications of indecision in their move-

THE VICTORIA CROWNED PIGEON.

127

ments, or as if apprehensive of unseen dangers. During these manoeuvres the flapping of their many
thousand wings causes a reverberation suggestive of distant thunder. When at last settled upon the
ground, they industriously search among the fallen leaves for the acorns and the beech-mast, the rear
flocks continually rising, passing over the main body, and re-alighting. These changes are so frequent
that at times the whole collection appears to be in motion. A large extent of ground is thus cleared
in a surprisingly short space of time, and cleared with a completeness that is described as incredible,
They are usually satiated by the middle of the day, and ascend to . the trees to rest and digest their
food. On these occa-
sions the Pigeons a:e
destroyed in immense
numbers, and their
abundance in large ex-
tents of the country has
been very sensibly re-
duced."

In the fourth divi-
sion of the Pigeons the
tarsus is about equal to
the middle toe, or longer,
and is bare at the base.
The tail is moderate,
often short or rather
long, but not pointed;
the toes are rather slen-
der. Many of these birds
frequent the ground, and
the colours are more
delicate than in the
Fruit Pigeons, or in the
True Pigeons, which
latter have generally an
iridescent colour on the
sides of the neck. They
mostly feed on tin;
ground on grain, pulse,
and other small seeds,
and are not in general
gregarious, though large
numbers may be seen
feeding together. They
chiefly frequent open
and cultivated country,

a few preferring highly-wooded or forest districts, and many are very familiar birds, feeding
cl.)M> to houses and stables. They nest on low trees or slmibs, constructing the usual slight
platform nest, and they breed at all seasons of the year.* Mr. Gould says that the species of
PI<«p$, which are popularly known as Bronze- wings, are more widely dispersed in Australia than those
of any other member of the family, being universally distributed over the country from north to south,
and from east to west ; even the parched deserts of the interior are visited by them if a supply of
water sufficient for their existence be within reach of their evening flight, which is performed with the
most extraordinary rapidity and power. Writing of the common Bronze-wing (Phaps clialcoptera),
the same writer observes : — " It is a plump, heavy bird, weighing when in good condition fully a
pound ; and is constantly eaten by every class of persons resident in Australia. Its amazing powers

* Jenlon.

VICTORIA CROWNED PIGEON.

128 NATURAL HISTORY.

of flight enable it to pass in an incredibly short space of time over a great expanse of country, and
just before sunset it may be observed swiftly winging its way over the plains or down the gullies to its
drinking-place. During the long drought of 1839-40, when I was encamped at the northern extremity
of the Brezi range, I had daily opportunities of observing the arrival of this bird to drink, the only
water for miles, as I was assured by the natives, being that in the immediate vicinity of my tent, and
that merely the scanty supply left in a few small natural basins in the rocks, which had been filled by
the rains of many months before. This peculiar situation afforded me an excellent opportunity for
observing not only the Bronze-wing, but many other birds inhabiting the neighbourhood. Few, if any,
of the true insectivorous or fissirostral birds come to the water-holes ; but, on the other hand, those
species that live upon grains and seeds, particularly the Parrakeets and Honey-eaters (Trichoglossi and
Meliphaga), were continually rushing down to the edges of the pools, utterly regardless of my presence,
their thirst quite overcoming their sense of danger. Seldom, if ever, however, did the Bronze-wing make
its appearance during the heat of the day, but at sundown it arrived with arrow-like swiftness, either
singly or in pairs. It did not descend at once to the edge of the pool, but dashed down to the ground
at about ten yards' distance, remained quiet for a short time, then walked leisurely to the water, and,
after drinking, winged its way to its roosting-place. With a knowledge, therefore, of the habits of this
bird, the weary traveller may always know when he is in the vicinity of water ; and, however arid the
appearance of the country may be, if he observes the Bronze-wing wending its way to a given point,
he may be certain to procure a supply of water. When rain has fallen in abundance, and the rivers
and lagoons are filled, the case is materially altered ; then the Bronze-wing and many other birds are
not so easily procured."

THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE PIGEONS— THE CROWNED PIGEONS.

In this family are placed the large Crowned Pigeons (Goura), which inhabit the island of
New Guinea and the adjacent islands in the Bay of Geelvink. They are ground-loving birds,
remarkable for their large size and the beautiful crest which ornaments the head, and which has
gained for them the appropriate name of " Crowned " Pigeons. In their native state they go about
the woods in small parties in search of fruit, much after the manner of Pheasants.

CHAPTER VII.
THE GAME-BIRDS.

GALLING, GAME-BIRDS— Characteristics— THE CURASSOWS— The Sub-families— Distinctive Features-Prof.
Sumichrast on the Hoccd and Penelopes -THE HOATZINS-THE PHEASANTS— THE PEACOCKS— Their Gorgeous
Plumage— The so-called Tail— Is the Peacock vain? -Dr. Jerdon's Account of the Habits of the Peafowl — The Peacock
Pheasants — The Argus Pheasants — THE TRUE PHEASANTS — Description of the Habits of the Monaul, or Impeyan
Pheasant — Coloration of Bird — Habits of the English Species of True Pheasant — Reeves's Pheasant — THE GUINEA
FOWLS — Distinctive Features — THE TURKEYS —Characters — Species — Dr. Brewer's Account of the Habits of the
Wild Turkey— Migration of Turkeys— THE GROUSE AND PARTRIDGES— THE GROUSE— The Capercailzie— The
Black Cock— The Hazel Grouse— The Ptarmigan— Its Summer, Autumn, and Winter Plumage— The Willow Grouse—
THE PARTRIDGES— Distribution— The Francolins— The American Partridges— The Californian Quail— The Common
Partridge— The Snow Partridges— THE QUAIL— THE SAND-GROUSE— THE HEMIPODES— THE MEGAPODES—
Their Large Feet — Distribution — Members of the Family — Brush-Turkey — Mr. Wallace's Account of the Maleo —
Cuming's Megapode — Mr. Motley's History of the Species — Gould's Description of the Habits of the Mound-raising
Megapode of Australia — Moseley's Note on the Incubation of the Megapodidse.

FIFTH ORDER OF THE CLASS AVES— GALLING— GAME-BIRDS.

No less than eight distinct families are comprised in this fifth order of birds. The head is small
in proportion to the size of the body ; the bill is short with a soft skin covering the nostrils ; the line
of the bill is ai'ched, and the nostrils, generally of large size, are placed low down in the mandible.
The feet are always very distinctly scaled. Members of the order of Game-birds vary considerably
in size, large forms like the Turkey, and little creatures scarcely larger than a Sparrow, such as
Button-quails and Hemipodes, being equally included in the order. They are generally omnivorous,
scratching the ground in order to obtain the small worms, insects, and grain, on which they

THE CURASSOWS.

129

subsist. Instead of washing themselves in water, the game-birds generally dust themselves in
mould or sand. The eggs are numerous, and are generally placed on the ground without any attempt
at forming a nest, and as a rule the game-birds are polygamous. When the chickens are hatched they
are able to shift for themselves, and are in most respects stronger than the young of other birds.

THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE GAME-BIRDS— THE CURASSOWS (CraciJa}.

These birds are found only in the Neotropical regions, being confined to Central and South
America. About fifty species are known, and they are divided into three sub-families, the Cracince,

CHESTED CTRASSOW.

or true Ourassows ; the Guans (Penelopi-nce) ; and the Mountain Curassows (Oreophasina-). Many of
the Curassows are very beautiful birds, having large curly crests and fleshy knobs on their bills. In
colour they are sombre, being black and white, or dusky grey, the only ones at all brightly coloured
being some of the females of the genus Crax. The following is a translation of Professor Sumichrast's
note on the habits of two Mexican species : —

"The Hocco (Craxalector) is called the Royal Pheasant by the Mexicans. It is very common in
the large forests of the eastern coasts, and in Yucatan, but it dees not appear to live on the western
slope of the Cordilleras, or, at least, I have never seen it there, and the inhabitants could tell me
nothing positive on this subject. These birds are usually to be seen in couples or in little companies,
at least at one time of the year they are thus to be observed. They are less fierce than the Guans ;
and they are to be seen more often, walking about on the ground, and during the dry season, that is to

130 NATURAL HISTORY.

say, during the months of March, April, and May. They are very fond of rolling themselves in the
dust, like game-birds in general. Their principal food consists of small worms, various seeds, and wild
fruits. The males commence to seek the females from the month of January, and the time of love
lasts until the end of March. The males are heard calling out in the woods with a loud and strong

o O

cry, and uttering a sound which can be best described as baoum-baoum. At this season the pursuit
of the Hocco becomes very easy, the reason being that with them their amatory desires are much
greater than their instinct of preservation, so much so that they lose all foresight, allow themselves to
be approached closely, and do not trouble themselves much about what is passing around them.
Sometimes several males surround a female and do not desert her even though they perceive the
hunter. When we come across one of these little groups collected together in the cause of love, were
it possible to kill the female at the first blow, it would be seen that the males rarely take flight ; on the
contrary, they remain in a state of stupor at the side of the body of the female, and do not disperse
till another discharge attacks them. The little fear that man inspires in these game-birds is, without
doubt, the reason they are so easily tamed. I can never understand why this bird is not an inhabi-
tant of the poultry-yard like the Turkey, for it is certainly suited for a domestic state, and the adults,
although taken wild, soon become tame ; the young ones carried away from the nest, or hatched by the
mother bird, become as familiar as chickens, and even more so, as they allow themselves to be caressed,
and even take their food from the hand of man. It must be that the natives have found the Turkey,
which is a bigger bird, sufficient for their wants, or discovered that the Hocco does not multiply easily
under the conditions of a domestic life. This bird builds its nest on the trees, and is never very pro-
ductive. In March the couple construct on a high tree a thick nest of twigs ; the female deposits
only two eggs, which she takes about a month to hatch. The little ones, once hatched, do not leave
their nest till they know how to fly, as likewise do the game-birds, who nest on the ground, but the
parents bring them worms and insects. As soon as they begin to know how to use their wings, which
is about the end of April, the whole family goes off to seek their fortune, and in quest of ripe fruits,
such as chicazapoles, and different kinds of oranges, &c. Wild oranges seem to have a special attraction
for them, and in the narianjules, or places in the forests where the tree grows which bears them, the
Hocco is generally to be found. In the same forests in hot countries where the Hocco is met with live
also the Penelopes, who are even still more common : these are named Cojolites by the Indians. Their
manners much resemble those of the Hocco ; they make their nest and follow the incubation in the same
manner ; they, however, sometimes lay three eggs. They live also in large companies, are more mis-
trustful, pei'ch more, and utter a great many cries. During the day these birds keep themselves in the
interior of the forests looking for fruits ; morning and evening they approach the border of the woods,
crying out very loudly, and several at a time ; it is on this account the Spaniards call them Squalling
Pheasant. The flesh of the Penelopes is more tender, less dry than that of the Hocco, and, for this
reason, esteemed more choice. It is said that their bones, cooked or raw, are a poison for dogs. I must,
however, say I have never been able to prove the truth of this surprising fact. To the species Penelopes
should be also added another called by the Indians ' Tchitchalaque,' which is found in still greater
abundance. This one also lives in families, leads the same kind of life, and is still less fierce. It is to be
feared that all kinds of these game-birds will end gradually by growing very scarce, for the excellence
of their flesh as food will make them a constant prey to the hunter ; and this will be more the case as
the Continent of America becomes populated. The facility with which they are shot, joined to
their slight increase, will form a rapid cause for their destruction in the future, happily still distant,
when the grand foi-ests will disappear from Mexican soil."

The third sub-family of the Curassows contains only the single genus Oreophasis, represented in
its turn by only one species, the Mountain Curassow (Oreophasis derbianus), an inhabitant of
Guatemala, in Central America. In the latter country it is very rare, and confined to narrow limits,
being found on the mountains between 7,000 and 11,000 feet above the sea-level. The first specimen
was in the collection of the fourteenth Earl of Derby, after whom it was named.

THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE GAME-BIRDS— THE HOATZIXS (Op'uthocomidai).
The position of the singular bird, which is the sole representative of this family, has been a source
of some speculation with systematic naturalists, but since its osteology and general anatomy have

THE PEACOCKS. 131

been studied more completely, it is now generally admitted that the Hoatzin is a game-bird, and yet
exhibits certain affinities to the Touracoes (Musophagid<K). The scientific name of the Hoatzin is
Opisthocoiiiiis criatatus, and it is an inhabitant of Guiana and the Amazon region, where it assembles
in large flocks. It nests in the lower part of a tree, the eggs being three or four, white, spotted with
reddish tint.

THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE GAME-BIEDS-THE PHEASANTS (Phasianida).
The present family includes some game-birds differing in appearance, such, for instance,
as the Peacocks, the Jungle-fowl, and the Guinea-fowl : in fact, Mr. D. G. Elliot, the author of
a large work on the subject, recognises 110 less than eight sub-families, including also the Turkeys
among the number. Three sub-families may easily be recognised — the Peacocks (Pavonince),
with their elongated tails, and general tendency to an " ocellated " plumage, exhibiting the large
rounded metallic spots, or " ocelli," which are so marked a feature in the Peacocks and Argus
Pheasants ; secondly, the true Pheasants (Phatianince) ; and thirdly, the Guinea-fowls (Numidiiwe).

THE FIRST SUB-FAMILY OF THE PHASIANID^E, OR PHEASANTS.
THE PEACOCKS (Pavonine).

The true Peacocks are Asiatic birds, and in some parts of India are very abundant, being, as a
rule, unmolested by the natives, who have a great dislike to their being killed. Large flocks may,
therefore, often be seen ; and the birds are described by Indian naturalists as being even more
beautiful in a wild state than they are in a domesticated condition, though it is well known what an
ornament they are in gardens. Scarcely anything more gorgeous can be met with in the whole
range of bird-life than a male Peacock in full plumage ; and the bird seems to be conscious of
the admiration he excites, when he displays his long plumes, and gently rustles them, to give effect
to the beautiful " eyes," or " ocelli," which ornament his train. The long feathers which he expands
in the shape of a fan are not, as is so often stated, the Peacock's tail ; but are simply the upper tail-
coverts prolonged to a prodigious extent : the true tail-feathers being very much shorter, and serving,
when spread, as a support to the fan-like disc, which constitutes so splendid an attraction in these
birds. As a rule, however, the stigma which attaches to the Peacock of being a vain bird — a saying
quite proverbial — is scarcely deserved, as the bird is no more vain than any other game-bird at ' the
.season of love. It is to his mate that the Peacock generally shows himself off to the best advantage ;
though at the sight of another male displaying his tail the bird will often commence to spread his
own plumes. That the object is to endear himself to the female is seen by the way in which he
walks slowly in front of her, turning when she turns, and gently quivering his fan as if to attract
her attention ; and it is not an unusual sight to see three or four birds in the Zoological Gardens of
London displaying themselves at one and the same time.

" The Peafowl," writes Dr. Jerdon, " inhabits the whole of India proper, being replaced in
Assam, and in the countries to the east, by another species. It frequents forests, and jungly places,
more especially delighting in hilly and mountainous districts ; and in the more open and level country,
wooded ravines, and river banks are the never-failing resorts. It comes forth to the open glades
and fields to feed in the morning and evening, retiring to the jungles for shelter during the heat of
the day, and roosting at night on high trees. It ascends the Neilgherry and other mountain regions
in Southern India to 6,000 feet or so of elevation ; but it does not ascend the Himalayas, at all
events in Sikkim, beyond 2,000 feet. In many parts of the country it is almost domesticated, entering
villages, and roosting on the huts, and it is venerated by the natives in many districts. Many
Hindoo temples have large flocks of them ; indeed, shooting it is forbidden in some Hindoo states.
The Peafowl breeds according to the locality ; from April till October generally in Southern India ;
towards the close of the rains laying from four to eight or nine eggs in some sequestered spot. The
Peacock, during the courting season, raises his tail vertically, and with it, of course, the lengthened
train, spreading it out and strutting about to captivate the hen birds ; and he has the power of
clattering the feathers in a most curious manner. It is a beautiful sight to come suddenly on twenty
or thirty Peafowls, the males displaying their gorgeous trains, and strutting about in all the pomp
of pride before the gratified females. The train, of course, increases in length for many yearei at each

^"i !

. ^i-'v>= -._-

ARGUS PHEASANT,

41

COMMON PHEASANT.

THE PEACOCK PHEASANTS. 133

successive moult ; but it appears to be shed very irregularly. Though it cannot be said to be a
favourite with sportsmen in India, few can resist a shot at a fine Peacock whirring past when
huntino- for small game. Yet Peachicks are well worth a morning's shikar for the table, and a
plump young Peahen, if kept for two or three days, is really excellent, An old Peacock is only fit
for soup."

A bird merely winged will often escape by the fleetness of its running. They generally roost on
particular trees, and by going early or late to this place they can readily be shot. Peafowl are easily

PEACOCK PHEASANT.

caught in snares or common hair nooses, and are generally brought in alive for sale in numbers in
those districts where they abound. In confinement they will destroy snakes and other reptiles, and
in their wild state feed much on various insects and grubs, also on flower buds and young shoots, as
well as on grain.

In the same sub-family are to be found the Peacock Pheasants (Polyplectron], which inhabit the
eastern Himalayas and the mountains of the Indo-Malayan islands. In colour they are brown, as a
rule, but the tail has a number of green or purple spots, like the " ocelli " of a Peacock, and this
peculiarity has gained for them the popular title of " Peacock " Pheasants. Finally, with the Pea-
fowl must be placed the magnificent Argus Pheasants, of which there are two species known, the
common Argus from Malacca, and the Gray's Argus from Borneo. In its twild state the Argus
Pheasant is seldom or never seen, but it is frequently trapped by the Malays, who set springs in the
woods where they see the track of a Pheasant, and thus capture not only the Argus but all sorts of
160

134 NATURAL HISTORY.

birds, Fire-backed Pheasants, Ground Cuckoos, and even Pittas, or Ant-Thrushes. Within recent
years the Argus has been successfully brought over to Europe, and has even bi'ed in the Zoological
Gardens, though the eggs have to be hatched under a domestic fowl, as the female does not always
.show a disposition to sit. The number of eggs in confinement appears to be two, and the young have
proved to be excessively difficult to rear. Two, however, lived for some time in the Zoological
Gardens in the Regent's Park, and the male chick could be recognised from the female at an early
.stage by his larger size and brighter colour. They begin to fly very early, and when only four or five
days old could mount a high perch, and rest under the wing of the old bird.

THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE PHASIANID^E, OR PHEASANTS.
THE TRUE PHEASANTS (PJuuianwat).

This is much the largest of the three sub-families, and contains all the Impeyan Pheasants, or
Monauls, the Firebacks, and the Pheasants proper, of which the Common Pheasant is a type, and
indeed all the members of the family not included in the Peacocks or the Guinea-fowls. By far the
most splendid of this group of Pheasants are the Monauls (Lophopkorua), which inhabit the hill-
ranges of the Himalayas and Assam, as far east as western China, but always high up in the
mountains. An excellent observer, under the signature of " Ornithognomon," has given a very good
account of this Impeyan Pheasant, or Monaul of the Himalayas : —

" The Monaul ranges high in the mountains, where it is found keeping near the line of snow?
and, although met with in the ridges next the plains, becomes much more numerous farther in the
mountains. It frequents the entire range of the Himalaya, from Afghanistan to Sikkim, but does not
extend along the great branch running south through Burmah and Malayana. Its range in elevation
varies according to season ; but in the severest winter it does not appear to descend below 6,000 feet
above sea level. I have seen numbers in Nepaul in winter, brought with other kinds of Pheasants by
the Botias for sale in the plains of India, where they soon perish when the hot weather begins. The
gradiial increase of our hill stations in the Himalaya, and the unwearying excursions of our sportsmen,
are driving these birds from the vicinity of our settlements into the more inaccessible mountains of the
interior. Formerly, about Mussouri and Landour, it was not thought a great feat to bag a few in a day's
work ; but now they have to be sought much farther. They are forest birds, and difficult to be found
in summer, when vegetation is profuse, unless by ascending to the highest limits of the forest, when
shots may be obtained in the open downs above, and amongst the rocks and thin herbage near the
snow. In autumn, as the underwood decays, they descend and scatter through the woods, sometimes
in great numbers, and seek lower levels as the winter advances, and the soil becomes frozen. At such
times they draw near to the small villages, perched on the lower spurs and above the sheltered valleys,
and seek their food in the fields, where the mountaineers, with their large hoes, have dug up the soil.
In these seasonal migrations it has been remarked that the females and young birds descend lowest,
and approach nearest to human habitations. The old birds are shyer and wilder, and many remain
high up, even where the ground is deeply covered with snow.

" They appear to be either capricious in their rambles through the woods, or are actuated to
particular spots at particular times, for reasons not apparent. Sometimes the sportsman will put up
in one part of the forest fifteen or twenty in the space of four or five acres. In another portion he
may keep on flushing, for the rest of the day, single birds feeding in solitude far apart. At no time
are they gregarious ; and whenever alarmed, they rise and escape independently of each other. In
some parts only cock birds are found, in others only hens — and these last, as before remarked,
together with young birds, always nearest to habitations, and in opener slopes of the mountains, more
accessible to the sportsman. Severity of cold and scarceness of food have their taming effects on the
Monaul, as on other birds ; and the lower the snow the easier the task of making a bag. But, in
fact, the Monaul is not nearly so wild as the Tragopan, the Euplocamus, the Polyplectron, the
Macartneya, and other genera of Pea-fowl and hill Pheasants. Its habits are more open ; and instead
of skulking in such impermeable cover as is described in niy remarks on Polyplectron tibetanus (or
Chinquis), it walks about pretty openly in forest glades clear of underwood. At the same time it must
be observed that the absence of cover enables it to espy the sportsman at a distance ; and it takes to
wing frequently out of shot, which I have never seen any other bird of this family do. When on the

THE XOyAVL, OR UIPEYAX PHEASAXT. 135

wing, it generally flies a long way, and, if much alarmed, crosses over to a parallel ridge. Occasionally,
however, it will settle on the low limb of a tree at no great distance ; and once there, it is, like many
other gallinaceous birds, easy of access. Sometimes, when approached in open spots, it walks off or
begins to move, stopping often and eyeing the intruder, till suddenly, and without apparent immediate
cause, it will rise with a startling flapping or flutter of the wings, scattering the dead leaves in a
sluower around, and fly headlong into the wood with a succession of short piercing shrieking whistles,
which appear to act as a warning to some distant companions ; for their calls are often heard in reply.
When feeding quietly and in security the Monaul has a sweet mellow call, a long plaintive note which
it utters from time to time, especially of a morning and after sunset. It has the same melancholy
effect on the ear as the creaking whistle of the Curlew, winging his way along the mud-flats as evening
settles over the lonely shore. The Monaul breeds towards the end of spring. The courtship is carried
on in the chestnut and large timber forests before the birds ascend (during the summer heats) towards
the regions of perpetual snow. It is generally near the upper limits of these forests, where the trees
are dwarfed and sparingly scattered, that the hen lays and incubates three to five eggs, in a depression
on the ground. Whether any nest is made, Dr. Jerdon did not know, but ' Mountaineer ' says the
female makes one 'under a small overhanging bush or tuft of grass.' The eggs are of a dull cream or
pale buff colour, sprinkled with reddish-brown. Like most gallinaceotts birds, the Monaul may be said
to be omnivorous. ' Mountaineer ' says it will not touch wheat and barley, but those kept in confine-
ment ate rice and grain readily, as well as insects, worms, maggots, flesh, lizards, fish, eggs, tire. It
is a diligent digger, and the slightly expanded tip of the mandible acts like a hoe or shovel. I had
several of these birds in an aviary at Mullye in Sirhoot. They were strong and vigorous as long as
the cold weather lasted, and soon became tame, unlike the red Pheasants (Ceriornis) purchased at the
same time from the Botias passing through the station, which never lost their original wildness,
and began to droop about April ; whereas the Monauls did not succumb to the atmosphere of the
plains till June, when the rains had set in. Unlike the smaller hill Pheasants, they were not
pugnacious.

" If shipped off early in the cold weather from Calcutta, these birds could easily enough be trans-
ported to England, where the temperature would suit them, if there were any means of giving them
shelter during the extreme severity of winter, or of procuring for them in that season a proper substi-
tute for the insect food which never fails them on the lower elevations of the Himalaya. If they could
become as thoroughly acclimatised as the common Pheasant, they would indeed be a superb ornament to
our parks and plantations, though perhaps no great acquisition to the table. It is many years since I
tasted the Monaul, and speaking from memory, the flavour appeared to me much the same as that of
the Peafowl, the breast being tender and palatable in the young birds, but no part being fit for anything
but soup in old specimens. The Monaul has bred in England both in the Zoological Gardens of London
and in the possession of the Earl of Derby, where the female is said to have laid on one occasion
thirteen or fourteen eggs."

The Monaul is a splendidly-plumaged species, having on the head a crest of metallic-green plumes
like those forming the crown of a Peacock ; the neck is purple, shot with green, and in some lights
with golden copper ; middle of the back white ; wings black, the coverts, like the back, glossed with
purple and green ; rump and upper tail-coverts leather more purple ; tail cinnamon ; underneath black.,,
the throat glossed with green and purple ; naked skin round the eye blue ; bill dark horn-colour ; legs
dull ashy green ; eye brown. The length of the bird is about two feet and a half, and as in most of
the Pheasants, the hen is much plainer in colour, being brown, varied with black spots and bars;
upper tail-coverts white at the end, as also the tip of the tail ; chin and throat white.

The true Pheasants (Phasianus), to which the English species belongs, are widely spread over
the Palajarctic region, and reach their highest development as regards number of species in
Central Asia and China, where numeixms kinds of true Pheasant are found, all of them more or
less like the English bird in appearance. One of the most familiar is the Chinese Ring-necked
Pheasant, which is often crossed with the English bird : indeed, this cross-breeding has been carried
to such an extent in Great Britain that thoroughly pure-bred birds are becoming rarer and
rarer. The original home of the English Pheasant was the neighbourhood of the river Colchis,
and hence its specific name of Phasianns colchicus, and it is still abundant in its original habitat.

136

NATURAL HISTOSI.

It is doubtful whether the Pheasant would survive in England if left entirely to itself, as it
depends a good deal on the amount of artificial food which is supplied to it in preserves, while
most of the rearing of the young is entrusted to the care of domestic fowls instead of being left
to the protection of the hen Pheasant. The latter has many enemies, and nesting as it does on
the gro\ind, runs great risk of being carried off by a prowling fox or cat. The eggs are from ten to
fourteen in number, and are of an olive-brown colour ; they are placed on the ground, and there is
scarcely any attempt at a nest. The sitting-bird is said to be timid, and is frightened off the nest
even by such a small thing as a crawling snail, while at any real danger she sinks upon the

MONAUL, OR IMPEYAN PHEASANT.

nest half dead with fear. Timidity is a great characteristic of the common Pheasant, and even
when artificially reared in hen-coops, the young birds never become tame like chickens, but always
come for their food in a timid and half frightened manner. As a rule, the Pheasant frequents the
thick woods for the purpose of roosting only, as in the daytime it seeks its food, which consists
of grain, seeds, green shoots, and insects, among hedge-bottoms and thickets with long grass and
tolerably dense undergrowth ; it also affects damp ground and osier beds. In the spring the cock
bird is often heard crowing, and at that season of the year he comes out from his woodland retreats
and is often seen in the open. The Pheasant is polygamous, and is very tenacious of his own
domain, driving every other male bird of his species away. At this season his plumage is very
beautiful, and the red comb at the sides of his head becomes more brilliant in colour.

The splendid Reeves's Pheasant (Phasianus reevesii) must also be mentioned. It is a native
of China, and is remarkable for its long banded tail, which often exceeds five feet in length.

THE TURKEYS.

137

THE THIRD SUB-FAMILY OF THE PHASIANID.E, OR TRUE PHEASANTS.

THE GUINEA-FOWLS (Xm.udiiKc}.

The Guinea-fowls are all natives of Africa and Madagascar. They are very similar in plumage,
being of a dark-grey colour, covered all over with round spots of white, generally larger on
the back and under-surface of the body. The outer quills are white in most of the species,
.and show conspicuously when the birds are flying. The head is ornamented with a helmet or horny
crest in some of the species, whilst others have lappets, and others naked reel skin on the face, which
gives them a handsome appearance, this being often enhanced by a tuft or top-knot on the crown. In
their habits, in a wild state, the Guinea-fowls are not unlike Pheasants, the female, on being disturbed,

\

GUINEA-FOWL.

flying off and leaving her little ones, who immediately conceal themselves of their own accord. They
are found in many parts of Africa in rocky localities amongst ravines and stony places. The flesh is
much appreciated for food. The voice of the Guinea-fowl is harsh, as any one must know who has
heard the peculiar call of the species. They are extremely shy, and when feeding in the open
will speedily scent danger, one first uttering his loud cry Come back ! and then running a little
way, quickly followed by the whole flock, which, after doubling a short distance, will make for the
nearest place of safety.

THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE GALLING, OR GAME BIRDS.
THE TURKEYS (Mclcagnda).

By some writers the Turkeys are considered to belong to the Pheasants, of which they form a
sub-family, but it seems better to keep them as a distinct family, representing in America the
Phasianidse of the Old World. They are the largest of game-birds, and on that account have been
domesticated for a great length of time. Their English name of Turkey is supposed to have been

138

NATURAL HISTORY.

given them on a supposition of their coming from that coxintry, but they are really inhabitants of
A.merica ; they were first introduced into England about the year 1541.

All the Turkeys have the head naked, with wattles, or folds, of bright naked skin, which becomes
much more brilliant when the bird is excited or angry ; they have also a curious tuft of long hairs on
the breast. The plumage of the Turkeys is always more or less metallic, and the wild birds are much
finer than the domestic race, which does not seem to have improved under the hand of man. There
are only three species of Wild Turkey known, the Common Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), the Mexican

OCELLATED TURKEY.

Turkey (M. mexicatia), and the Ocellated Turkey (J/. ocellata), the last being a very fine and
brilliantly coloured bird with metallic plumage. It is found in Honduras and Yucatan.

"The Wild Turkey," writes Dr. Brewer, "is found throughout Eastern North America from
South Carolina northward, and from the Atlantic to Texas and Arkansas. It has probably become
jin extinct species in New England, though within a few years individuals have been shot in
Montague, Mass., and in other towns in Franklin county. The construction of railways, however,
and the settlement of the country, have probably led to their final extermination ; at least, I have
known of none being taken within the limits of Massachusetts for several years. In the unsettled
portions of the Western and Southern States, and in the country watered by the Mississippi and
the Missouri rivers and their affluents, these birds are comparatively plentiful, though the question
of their final extinction is probably only one of time, and that not very distant.''

Mr. Audubon, in his very full and minute account of their habits, speaks of them- as irregularly

THE WILD TURKEY. 139

migratory and gregarious, their migrations having reference only to the abundance of food, and their
meeting together in the same localities being, to a large degree, caused by the same source of
attraction — the supply of mast in certain regions. In this way they desert sections where the
supply is exhausted, and advance towards those where it is more plentiful. Late in October these
birds assemble in flocks in the rich bottom lands of the Western rivers, the male birds associating in
parties of from ten to a hundred, and keeping apart from the females. The latter are simultaneously
moving into the same regions, but only in small family groups, each leading its own flock, then nearly
grown. These migrations are made on foot, except when they are compelled to cross a stream. On
their first coming to the banks of a river they are said to make a pause there of one or two days
before they attempt to cross, the old males strutting about up and down the banks, making a loud
gobbling, and calling one another, as if to raise their courage to a befitting point. Even the females
and the young assume something of the same pompous demeanour, spreading out their tails,
running round one another, and making a loud purring noise. At length, after this prolonged
preparation for their passage, they all mount to the top of a high tree, and at a signal given by their
leader, take flight for the opposite shore. Occasionally some fall in the water, when they bring the
wings close to the body, spread out the tail, and plying the legs with great vigour move rapidly
towards the shore, where, by a violent effort, they extricate themselves from the water. After thus
crossing a stream of any magnitude they are often found in a bewildered state, and fall an easy prey
to the hunter. Where their food occurs abundantly they separate into smaller flocks, composed of
birds of all ages and sexes. At times they are known to approach farm-houses, associate with the
domesticated fowl, and enter the corn-cribs in quest of food, passing the fall and the winter in
this manner.

Early in February the love-season is said to commence, the first demonstrations being made by
the males, but for some time persistently avoided by the females ; at this period the sexes roost apart.
When a female utters a call-note the male birds within hearing return the cry, uttering notes similar
to those with which the domestic Turkey greets any very unusual sound. If the call-note has been
littered by a female on the ground, the males fly to the place, spreading and erecting their tails, draw-
ing their heads back on their shoulders, depressing their wings with a quivering motion, and strutting
pompously about. At the same time they emit from the lungs a succession of very peculiar puffs. On
these occasions the males often encounter each other, and desperate contests ensue, which frequently
have a fatal termination, caused by furious blows inflicted on the head. When one cock Turkey has
thus destroyed its rival, it is said to caress the dead body in an apparent!}" affectionate manner.

When the Turkeys have mated, the alliance is supposed to last for the season, though a male
Turkey is often known to have more than a single mate ; and the hens are said also to keep apart
from the males while they are laying their eggs, for the cock would inevitably destroy them. At the
end of the love-season the males become emaciated, and cease to gobble. They then separate entirely
from the females, and keep apart by themselves until they recover, when they re-unite in small flocks.
The female begins to deposit her eggs about the middle of April, selecting for that purpose a place
as much concealed as possible from her many enemies. The nest, always on the ground, consists
of a few withered leaves in a hollow scratched out by the side of a fallen log, or the top of
a prostrate tree, or under a thicket, or within the edge of a cane-brake, but always in a dry
place. The eggs are from ten to fifteen in number, but are sometimes as many as twenty. On
quitting the nest the hen bird covers them with leaves. When the young are hatched the old
mother shows great solicitude, guarding them carefully from wet, which is injurious to the
chicks.

The food of the Turkey in a wild state is stated by the author above quoted to consist of grass,
various kinds of plants, corn and other grain, seeds, fruit, and also beetles, small lizards, tad-
poles, tkc., with a preference for pecan-nuts and wild grapes to any other kind of food. The young
usually feed on small berries and insects.

In confinement the Turkey has kept wonderfully close to the colour of the parent stock, but
some domestic races are known. In the British Museum is a light-brown race with a large top-knot
like a Polish fowl. This same race was figured in a work on birds one hundred and twenty
years ago.

CAPERCAILZIE.

THE PTARMIGAN. 141

THE FIFTH FAMILY OF THE GALLIX.E, OR GAME BIRDS.
THE GROUSE AND PARTRIDGES (Tctraonithc).

The Grouse differ from the Partridges chiefly in their feathered toes, and in having the nostrils
shut in by a soft feathered skin, whereas the Partridges have an open nostril and bare legs. None
of the members of the Grouse or Partridges have spurs.

THE FIRST SUB-FAMILY OF THE TETRAOXID.E— THE GROUSE ( Tctraomnai).

These birds are entirely peculiar to the northern parts of the Old and New "Worlds. In Europe
the most familiar species are the Red Grouse, the Ptarmigan, the Hazel Grouse, and, above all, the
Black Cock and Capercailzie ; whilst in North America, in addition to the White Grouse and
Ptarmigan, there are several fine kinds, such as the Pinnated Grouse, the Canada Grouse and others.
The Capercailzie (Tetrao uroyallus) is the largest species which we have in Europe, where it is found
most plentifully in the forests of the north ; but it is also met with in the pine-forests of Central and
Southern Europe, and is known to inhabit the Pyrenees. In the extreme east of Siberia it is repre-
sented by a second species (Tetrao urogaUoides).

The Capercailzie was never a very common, bird in England, and inhabited only the northern
parts of Scot' -m-., in which it gradually became extinct. About fifty years ago, an attempt to
re-introduce th biv vas made by the Marquis of Breaclalbane, with such success that in certain
districts of Scotlanu die Capercailzie is now quite plentiful. Numbers of them are exposed for sale
during the winter in the London shops, many of them, however, coming from Norway, where the
species is common, and a capital account of its habits will be found in Mr. Lloyd's " Game-birds and
Wild-fowl of Sweden and Norway." The nest of the Capercailzie is placed on the ground, and from
six to twelve egg.s are laid by the hen bird, who looks after the rearing of the young, without
assistance from the cock. The young ones keep with their mother until the winter commences, the
cock birds separating from her before the hens. In spring-time the male Capercailzie begins his
2>t(ii/i as it is called, like many other Game-birds, for the purpose of attracting the hen birds. Seated on.
u pine, he starts his love-song, which is kept up the entire day from sunrise to sunset, and while
thus engaged he becomes so absorbed in his efforts, that he falls an easy prey to • the gunner, who
is able to creep up within shooting distance. The same spot is used as a " playing-ground " by the
male Capercailzie for a considerable time, if the bird is undisturbed, and several birds may be heard
in the same locality at the same time. Fights often take place between the males, and the old birds
never allow the young cocks of the preceding year to play on their domain. The cry of the male
resembles the words peller, peller, peller, increasing in rapidity ; and this is replied to by the
females within hearing by a sort of harsh croak resembling the words goet, go3t, goet. While
uttering his notes, the cock bird puffs out his plumage and puts himself in extraordinary
attitudes.

The length of the Capercailzie is about twenty-eight or thirty inches, the plumage is black, the
nape and hind neck deep grey with blackish wavy lines. The under parts are spotted with white,
and there is a steel-green shade in the breast : tail black, with white spots. The female is smaller,
and is of a sandy-brown colour, barred and variegated with black.

The Black Cock (Tetrao, or Lyrurus tetrix) is also found only in the Pala?arctic region. It is
widely spread over Europe, but is replaced in the Caucasus by another species — the Georgian Black
Grouse. The beautiful curved outer tail-feathers always serve to distinguish the Black game from
the Capercailzie. The Hazel Grouse (Bonasia betvlina) is another European Grouse, which, however,
does not come to England, but is found over Northern Europe and North Asia, and is a pretty bird
with a fine crest.

The Ptarmigan (Lacjopv.s mutns) is found on the high mountains of Scotland, and throughout
the mountainous parts of Europe, but does not occur in America. The present species, according to Dr.
Dresser, " inhabits the more elevated, rocky, and barren localities, where it replaces the Scottish Grouse
and the Willow Grouse, and it seldom or never descends to, the lowlands, where these latter species
have their home, iinless driven down by stress of weather in search after food. The tracts of ground
over which the Ptarmigan is distributed are much more extensive and more inaccessible than those
161

142

NATURAL HISTORY.

lowland ranges which the Eed Grouse and Willow Grouse frequent ; and hence the present species
appears somewhat less numerous than the latter bird. Should an intruder make his appearance in
the home of the Ptarmigan, or should a bird of prey appear, they squat and remain motionless,
trusting chiefly to the similarity of their plumage to the ground and the herbage to enable them
to escape unseen. Should one litter his croaking note, he is generally on a stone ready to take winy
at a moment's notice, and when he rises and calls all the rest of the covey join him. So close do they
squat, and so well does their plumage harmonise at all seasons of the year with the surroundings, that
one may walk through a covey without being aware of the close proximity of a single individual. In
the month of July, according to Macgillivray, and in October, according to Earth and other Scandi-
navian naturalists, the Ptarmigans begin to collect in packs, and are found in lower altitudes than in

PTARMIGAN IN SUMMER PLUMAGE.

the summer season. Barth says they do not unfrequently visit the sea-coast, and, being white, are
very conspicuous ; they appear quite bewildered, and easy to approach within gunshot, whereas, when
the ground is covered with snow, they are shy and take wing before one has arrived within anything
like gunshot range. They fly tolerably swiftly, in a loose irregular body, their mode of flight resem-
bling that of the Red Grouse, and when once on the wing, will generally fly some distance before
settling. Their call note is a harsh croak, not unlike the croak of a frog, and it is frequently uttered
as an alarm call. The food of the present species consists chiefly of the tender twigs and leaves of
Eiiipetrum nigrum ; but Macgillivray says that the crops of specimens he examined contained a large
quantity of fresh green twigs of Calluna vulyaris, Vacciniuni myrtillus, and Empetrum nigrum, the
largest fragments not exceeding five-twelfths of an inch in length. Leaves and twigs of Vacciniuni
vitis-Idcca, Salix herbacea, seeds of various Juncce and Cyperacece, and other plants, with berries in
autumn, also form part of their food, the same as that of the Red Grouse. The Grey Ptarmigan, then,
is a bird which, feeding on vegetable substances, containing comparatively little nourishment,
introduces a large quantity at a time, like a ruminating quadruped, and gradually digests it while
reposing."

In summer the Ptarmigan puts off his white dress and becomes dark-coloured, not unlike a Willow

THE WILLOW GROUSE.

143

Grouse, so that its plumage, assimilating to the colour-tints of the country which it inhabits, proves
a protection to the bird. In autumn, however, when the abundance of mosses and lichens gives a grey
appearance to the country, the dark-plumaged Ptarmigan would be a conspicuous object ; but here
again a protective resemblance occurs in the plumage, which in the autumn partakes of an ashy grey
shade. In winter, also, when the snow covers the ground, even the Ptarmigan in his autumn
livery would be easily seen, and therefore one can understand how great a protection the snow-
white plumage of the bird must be, enabling it to hide itself in the snow, and so escape the prying
eyes of Hawks, which would soon pounce down on it.

PTARMIGAN IX WIXTEK PLT7MAGK.

The Willow Grouse (Lagopus albus) is very similar in plumage to the Ptarmigan, and, like that
species, is white in winter, and darker-plumaged in summer. It inhabits Scandinavia, and stretches
not only throughout Northern Europe and Siberia, but even extends across the northern part of the
New World. In England it is represented by the Red Grouse, which, however, does not put on a
white winter dress. The following particulars about the habits of the Willow Grouse are derived from
a paper by Mr. Barth on the subject : — The present species is found only where the birch tree is
abundant ; and plains where only the dwarf birch and willow are found are not suitable to it, as it
cannot live in localities where the cover is poor, but requires birch thickets; thus it is rare or common
according as the birch growth is distributed. Tracts where larger birch woods and bii'ch thickets are
found alternately, with juniper scattered here and there, are its favourite haunts ; for there it finds good
cover during the seasons when it is changing its plumage. The female deposits from eight to eighteen
and even twenty eggs, early or late, according to the elevation inhabited by the bird. Mr. Barth
found newly-hatched young in July, and eggs as late as the middle of August. The young birds can

144 NATURAL HISTORY.

fly when eight days old, at which age they are about as large as a Lark. The parent bird tends them
with the greatest care, and when surprised with them will not desert them, but may often be
approached near enough to be knocked down with a stick. When about four weeks old the young
are as large as a Plover, and are then considered old enough to be shot. They lie very close, and
scatter after being flushed, and are then easily procured with the aid of a good dog. In August they
grow very quickly, and by the end of the month they are full grown. It appears that when small they
not unfrequently lose their parents, but are then taken care of by others ; and often as many as
thirty individuals of various ages are found in one covey. Until late in September, the coveys remain
in the localities where they have bred, and can be approached • but later than that, they pack and
resoi't to the mountains, and gradually get into regions where the true growth ceases. They are then
unapproachable, and a quick shot only can get an odd bird out of a pack of about five hundred. Mr.
Earth speaks of a pack of about three thousand individuals which he saw between the 3rd and 10th
of November. Curiously enough they are sometimes much less shy than at others ; and Mr. Earth
cannot account for this, except that the weather may to some extent be the cause. He remarks that
during the winter they not unfrequently feed at night, and from the middle of March to the middle
of April they are to be found in the morning and afternoon in the tops of the birches feeding on the
buds. About the middle of March they pair, and commence to drum when in packs of several hundred
individuals, but some scatter to their respective breeding haunts, where they live in pairs. The males,
however, are more numerous than the females, those which remain unmated ranging about in flocks;
and Mr. Earth met with one of about forty individuals on a small island, and shot fifteen out of them,
it being considered quite correct to shoot these even during the breeding season.

THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE TETEAONID^— THE PARTRIDGES (Perdicu«c}.

All the Partridges have the legs bare and the nostrils naked, with a small operculum, or horny
skin, on the upper margin. They are found nearly all over the world, the Pacific Islands alone not
possessing any member of , the sub-family. In Africa and in India the Francolins constitute one
repi-eseiitative of the Partridges; and one species, the common Black Francolin (Franco!!, tus ccJijci'l^},
is found in Asia Minor and other countries of the Mediterranean basin, extending across Persia to
India. The Francolin is a very handsome bird, and, although banished from Sicily, it is by no means
uncommon in Cyprus, and still more so in Palestine and Asia Minor.

In America, the Partridges are called Odontophores, or, more familiarly, American Partridge,
and they are distinguished by the notches in the mandibles of the bill ; the latter also is higher, and
more arched than in the Old World species. The following note on one of the largest of the
Odontophores is given by that excellent observer, Prince Maximilian of Neuwied : — " It is
called ' Capueira ' by the Brazilians. Its habits and mode of life are very similar to those of the
Hazel Grouse or Gelinotte of Europe (Bonasla betulinci). It never frequents the open country,
but confines itself entirely to the thick woods. In the early part of the year the Capueira lives
in pairs, and after the breeding season the families remain in coveys of from ten to sixteen or more
in number. These birds run very quickly, and procure their food among the dry leaves on the ground
in the midst of extensive woods. The stomachs of such as I examined contained fruits, berries,
insects, small stones, and a little sand. The part of the country in which I met with them is the
eastern portion of Southern Brazil, from Rio de Janeiro to 13° S. lat. ; by Spix they appear to have
been found still farther north. In the vast forests bordering the rivers Mucuri, Alcoba^a, Belmonte,
and Ilheo, they were very common, and we frequently killed them for the sake of the flesh, which
was excellent. Their loud and remarkable voice is heard only in the forests, where it reverberates
to a great distance. Azara states that the cry is uttered by both sexes, but I believe it is emitted
by the male only. Like the domestic cock in Europe, it frequently aroused us at the break
of day, bidding us, as it were, continue our researches among the grand, but almost impenetrable,
forests of that country. They commenced calling before daybreak, thus affording us ample time for
breakfasting, and enabling us to start by the dawn of the young day."

Some of the American Partridges are familiar in parts of Britain, such as the Virginian
Quail (Ortyx virginianus) and the Californian Quail (Lophortyx caHfornianus), attempts having
been made, on more than one occasion, to introduce these birds as game inlo England ; while

THE C'OJIMOX PARTRIDGE.

145

they are to be seen alive in most of the Zoological Gardens of Europe. The California!! Quail is
not only remarkable for the beautiful crest which adorns the head, but also for the rich admixture
of colour in its plumage. It is very plentiful in California, being found, according to Dr. Gambel,
in swarms, which inhabit not only the woods, but also bushy plains and hill-sides, these flocks some-
times numbering a thousand individuals. As many as fifteen, eggs are laid, and the same observer
once found twenty-four in a nest, which lie supposed to have been the produce of two hen birds.
The nest is placed on the ground, usually beneath a bush or at the foot of a tree, the eggs being'
placed in a hollow, and generally covered with a few leaves or a little dried giv.s*.

CALIFORNIA* QUAIL.

The Common Partridge (Perdix cinerea) is widely spread over Europe, being replaced in Eastern
Siberia by the Bearded Partridge (Perdix barbata). Unlike the Pheasants or the woodland- loving
Grouse, the Partridge prefers the open ground, and runs, thereby, considerable risk in the rearing
of its brood, should the season be wet and unfavourable to the little ones ; hence it arises that the
plenty or scarcity of this game-bird depends greatly upon the summer during which the nesting,
has been in progress. The eggs are often placed in a very exposed situation, and a considerable
number of young birds are never hatched, owing to the accidents which overtake the sitting bird
during the season of incubation at the jaws of a prowling fox or cat. Any apparent carelessness,
however, on the part of the bird as regards her eggs, is amply compensated by the care and courage
with which the old bird defends the brood if raised successfully. A nestling Partridge is a beautiful
little creature, and has a knack of concealing its small body in the grass in such a successful manner,
that if once the observer takes his eye off the bird, he will have great difficulty in re-discovering
the object of his search. If suddenly startled off her nest, the old bird will feign lameness, or drop
as if wounded, while her warning croaks as she flies off are probably a signal to the chicks to conceal
themselves. When once able to fly, the young keep with the old birds in coveys, and evince great

146 NATURAL HISTORY.

affection for particular spots of ground, so that in shooting Partridges it often happens that a covey,
when disturbed, will fly to an adjoining field, and being roused a second time from their retreat, will
fly back again to their original starting-point ; and this manoeuvre the writer has seen repeated more
than once by the same covey, until the continued havoc caused by the guns would force the
survivors to fly farther away for safety's sake. So closely does the plumage of the Partridge
assimilate to the stubble on the ground, that it is an impossibility to see the birds as they sit ; and
the first intimation of their presence is generally the "whirr" of the rising bird, as he betakes
himself, with a croaking chuckle, to a safer retreat. The Partridge is a useful bird to the farmer,

COMMON PARTRIDGE.

feeding on slugs to a large extent, caterpillars, and grubs, so as entirely to counterbalance any little
injury that it may do to the corn-fields.

The finest representatives of the Partridge are, undoubtedly, the Snow Cocks or Snow
Partridges, which are found in the mountains of Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Altai Mountains, and
the Himalayas, and high ranges of Tibet. The following account of the habits of the Himalayan
Snow Partridge (Tetraoyallus himalayensis) is from the pen of Mr. Wilson, better known as
" Mountaineer " : —

" It is confined exclusively to the snowy ranges, or the large spin's jutting from them, which
are elevated above the limits of forest, but is driven by the snows of winter to perform one, and,
in some places, two annual migrations to the middle regions. In summer they are only seen near
the limits of vegetation. In Koonour (Kunawur) they are common at all seasons, from Chunee
upwards ; but on the Gangetic Hills, from June till August, however much a person wanders about
on the highest accessible places, but few are met with, and I have no doubt whatever but that

THE JER-MOONAL, OR SXOJV PARTRIDGE. 147

nearly all which at other seasons frequent this part, retire across the snow into Chinese Tartary
to breed. About the beginning of September they are first seen near the tops of the higher
grassy ridges jutting from the snow and the green slopes above and about the limits of the forest.
After the first general and severe fall of snow they come down in numbers on to some of the bare
exposed hills in the forest regions, and remain there till the end of March. This partial migration,
is probably made in the night after the fall of snow, as I have invariably found them in their
winter quarters early the next morning. It requires a deep fall to drive them down, and in some
mild winters, except a few odd birds, they do not come at all. The birds on each respective hill
seem to have a particular spot for their winter resort, to which they return every year the migra-
tion is made.

" The Snow Partridge is gregarious, congregating in packs, sometimes to the number of twenty
or thirty, but in general not more than five to ten, several packs inhabiting the same hill. In
summer the few which remain on our side are found in single pairs generally, but across the snow,
when the great body migrate, I almost always, even then, found several together. They seldom
leave the hill on which they are located, biit fly backwards and forwards when disturbed.
The Ring-tailed Eagle is an inveterate annoyer of these birds. Inhabiting such exposed situations,
where there is nothing to conceal so large a bird from his sight as he sails along the hill-side
above them, they at once arrest his attention, and are driven backwards and forwards by this unre-
lenting tormentor, all day long. On the appearance of one of these birds — which, fortunately for
them, are not very numerous — they seldom wait till he makes a swoop, but on his making a wheel
near the spot where they are, immediately fly off to another quarter on the hill. The Eagle never
flies after or attacks them on the wing ; so that, though he allows them little quietude while near
their resort, he only occasionally succeeds in securing one.

" The Jer-Moonal never enters forest or jungle, and avoids spots where the grass is long, or
where there is underwood of any kind. It is needless to add that it never perches. During the
day, if the weather be fine and warm, they sit on the rocks or rugged parts of the hill, without
moving much about, except in the morning and evening. When cold and cloudy, and in rainy
weather, they are very brisk, and are moving about and feeding all day long. When feeding they
walk slowly up-hill, picking up the tender blades of grass and young shoots of plants, occasionally
stopping to snatch up a certain bulbous root of which they seem very fond. If they reach the
summit of the hill, after remaining stationary some time, they fly off to another quarter, alighting
some distance down, and again picking their way upwards. When walking they erect their tails,
have a rather ungainly gait, and at a little distance have something the appearance of a large grey
goose. They are partial to feeding on spots where the sheep have been kept at nights when grazing
in the summer pastures. These places have been called ' tatters ' by the shepherds, and the grass on
them keeps green and fresh long after the rest of the hill is quite dry and brown. They roost on
the rocks and shelves of precipices, and return to one spot many successive nights.

" The Jer-Moonal is not remarkably wild or shy. When approached from below, on a person
getting within eighty or a hundred yards, it moves slowly up-hill or slanting across, often turning
to look back, and does not go very far unless followed. If approached from above, it flies off at
once, without walking many yards from the spot. It seldom in any situation walks far down hill,
and never runs, except for a few yards when about to take wing. The whole flock get up together ;
the flight is rapid, downwards at first, and then curving so as to alight nearly on the same level.
Where the hill is open and of great extent, it is often for upwards of a mile, at a considerable
height in the air ; when more circumscribed, as is often the case on the hills they frequent in the
winter, it is of shorter duration — perhaps merely across or into the next ridge.

" They feed on the leaves of plants and grass, and occasionally on moss, roots, and flowers
— grass forms by far the greater portion. They are very partial to the young blades of wheat and
barley when it is first springing up, and while it remains short ; and should there be an isolated
patch on the hill where they are, visit it regularly night and morning. They never, however, come
into what may be called the regular cultivation. They are generally exorbitantly fat, but the
flesh is not particularly good, and it has often an unpleasant flavour when the bird is killed at a
high elevation, probably owing to some of the plants it there feeds upon. Though I have spent many

118

NATURAL HISTORY.

summers on the snowy ranges, I never found the nest or eggs, but in Tibet I often met with broods
of young cries newly hatched. There were, however, several old birds, and probably more than one
brood of chicks, so I could form no correct idea of the number in one brood. They are hardy birds,
and easily kept in confinement, but though they will eat grain, I doubt if they would live long
without an occasional supply of their natural green food of grass and plants. They may be kept
with the least trouble in large cages, the bottoms of which, instead of being solid, are made of bars of
wood or iron wire, so that the cages being put out on the grass, the birds may feed through the
interstices.

" The eggs which have been found by travellers " are about the size of those of the Turkey,
but, like those of the Grouse, are of a more lengthened form ; their ground-colour clear light olive,
sparingly dotted over with small light chestnut spots."

THE QUAIL.

The Quails are the smallest of the Partridge family, and are inhabitants of the Old World only ',,
they are, however, widely distributed in all four regions. The species best known is the Common
Quail (Coturnix dactylisonans), which visits Europe in the summer, when prodigious numbers are

PARTRIDGE AND COMMON QUAIL.

THE SAXD GROUSE. 149

trapped and sold for purposes of food. Waterton mentions the fact of 17,000 specimens being brought
to Rome in one day. They are to be found in large quantities on the coast of the Mediterranean,
and so abundant are they in the beautiful island of Capri, that it is said from this source the bishops,
in olden times, derived a large part of their wealth. The Quail is most rapid in its flight, and performs
long and fatiguing journeys. Sunset is the time for active exertions ; during the day they remain
quite quiet, reserving their energies for the evening, when off they go in quest of food. Their favourite
nourishment is insects, but they feed at times on grain and seeds ; small stones are also swallowed to
facilitate digestion. The habits of the Quail are most unamiable and unsocial, and generally when
they meet with one of their own species they display a very pugnacious disposition. The female has
a much better nature ; she is a most excellent mother, even protecting young birds who have been
deprived of their parents' care. She builds her own nest of small portions of plants, and lays eight
to fourteen eggs ; these are pear-shaped in form, of a light brown colour marked with a darker shade.
The young are full-grown at six weeks old, and are ready to join their parents in their long autumn
journey, which extends as far as the Cape of Good Hope, where they arrive in very large numbers.

The Quail, unlike the Partridge, has several wives, and displays great spirit in keeping rivals at
a distance ; while the mother is attending to her young ones, the male amuses himself in the vicinity
with his companions. The flesh of this bird is esteemed a great delicacy, and the inhabitants of the
warm climates, which are periodically visited by the Quail, look forward to its arrival with anxiety.

The length of the Quail is about seven inches and a half, and the general colour is brown,
varied with buff streaks on the upper surface. The throat is reddish, and above the eye a buffy-
white line passes along the sides of the crown and down the sides of the neck across the throat ;
the under surface is butty. In the female the colours are not so bright, and the reddish colour
on the throat is absent.

THE SIXTH FAMILY OF THE GAME BIRDS.— THE SAND GROUSE (Pteroclidee).
The Sand Grouse are a group of birds which bear considerable relations to the Pigeons, and in
India are often called "Rock Pigeons" by the English sportsman. They are inhabitants of
desert countries as a rule, being found over Africa, in Madagascar, the Mediterranean region,
Central Asia, and in the Indian Peninsula. Their favourite haunts are desert, open plains, and bare
fields with no traces of cultivation ; they live generally in large packs, and are rather shy, being
quickly on the alert, and evading capture in a most clever manner. They find a valuable aid in
their plumage, which is nearly the exact shade of the ground on which they rest, and which
renders them almost invisible to the hunter. They squat down at his approach, and when he
seems coming too close, fly off at an immense pace. Their flight is very rapid, and they make
u peculiar sound with their wings. Their habits seem very regular in the manner of feeding,
and morning, noon, and evening, large quantities assemble to drink at the rivers or tanks of
water, and the sportsman can quite count on seeing thousands if he should come at one particular
time. Their food consists of hard seeds, as well as little insects, <kc., which they procure in the
same way as the Pigeons or Partridges. Although the Sand Grouse live in such large companies,
they are not polygamists ; they, however, have frequent battles with their own species, particularly
at the breeding season. This season varies according to locality : in the Deccan and Southern
India it takes place from December to May ; in Central India, later still ; and in North Africa,
at the English spring. The female lays in a small hollow scraped in the sand, in which she
deposits three or four eggs, which are of a greenish stone-colour, spotted closely with grey and
brown. The male bird assists in attending to the wants of the little ones, and when arrived at
maturity, all fly off together. It is quite possible to keep the Sand Grouse in captivity, and they
are a great ornament to the aviary. Their flesh is good eating, if kept long enough; at first it
is rather hard and tough, but that of the young birds is delicious, and is much prized. Their
habit of squatting in close proximity to one another leads to the sportsman frequently bagging
a number of specimens, should he be so fortunate as to creep up within shooting distance.

THE SEVENTH FAMILY OF THE GAME BIRDS.— THE HEMIPODES (Turnieida).
These are some of the smallest Game-birds known, many of the species not being as much as
six inches long. They are found in Africa, India, the Malayan region, extending to China, and
162

150 NATURAL HISTORY.

Australia, while one of them, the Andalusiau Hemipode, which is an inhabitant of Southern.
Europe, has even occurred in Great Britain. They are easily distinguished, by the absence of a
hind toe, from the smaller Quails of the genera Coturnix and Excalfactoria. Writing of the
Black-breasted Bustard Quail (Turnix taiyoor), Dr. Jerdon observes that in India it " affects grassy
patches in the forests and jungles, also low bushy jungle, and is frequently to be found in the fields
of chilli and dhal, and in various dense crops, especially if near patches of jungle ; for in open or barren
country, or very highly-cultivated country without jungle, it is comparatively rare. Occasionally
small bevies of five or six are flushed together, but in general it is put up singly, or two or
three birds together. It feeds on grain of various kinds, but also very much on small insects,
larvse of grasshoppers, and the like. The female has a peculiar loud purring noise. The hen
birds are most pugnacious, especially about the breeding season, and this propensity is made
use of, in the South of India, to effect their capture. For this purpose a small cage with a decoy-
bird is used, having a concealed spring compartment, made to fall by the snapping of a thread
placed between the bars of the cage. It is set on the ground in some thick cover, carefully
protected. The decoy-bird begins her loud purring call, which can be heard a long way off, and any
females within earshot run rapidly to the spot, and commence fighting with the caged bird, striking
at the bars. This soon breaks the thread, the spring-cover falls, ringing at the same time a small bell,
by which the owner, who remains concealed near at hand, is warned of a capture, and he runs up,
secures his prey, and sets the cage again in another locality. In this way I have known from twelve
to twenty birds occasionally captured in one day, in a patch of thick bushy jungle in the Carnatic,
where alone I have known this practice carried on. The birds that are caught in this way are all
females, and in most cases are birds laying eggs at the time, for I have frequently known instances of
some eight or ten of those captured so far advanced in the process as to lay their eggs in the bag in
which they are carried before the bird-catcher had reached my house. The eggs are said to be
usually deposited under a bush in a slight well-concealed hollow; they are from five to eight in
number, and of a dull stone-grey, or green colour, thickly spotted and freckled with dusky spots, very
large for the bird, and very blunt. In the Carnatic this bird breeds from July to September ; farther
south from June to August, and in Ceylon, says Layard, from February to August. The females are
said by the natives to desert their eggs, and to associate together in flocks, and the males are said to
be employed in hatching the eggs, but I can neither confirm nor reject this from my own observation." *

THE EIGHTH FAMILY OF THE GAME BIKDS.— THE MEGAPODES (Negapodidte).

The name Megapode is derived from two Greek words, signifying that the birds have large
feet; and in proportion to the size of the bird the foot is, indeed, very big and powerful, being
employed for scratching together the earth and rubbish, in heaps of which the eggs are deposited
by the Megapode. The members of the family are distributed over Australia, the Papuan
Islands, extending throughout the Moluccas and Celebes to Borneo and the Philippines, while an
outlying species is found to inhabit the Nicobars. The largest of them all are the Brush-Turkeys
( Talegallus) of Australia and New Guinea, the Australian species (T. lathami) having been acclima-
tised in Europe, so that in the Zoological Gardens the birds may not only be seen in a state of nature,
but there are generally one or two of their mounds to be seen also. The members of the genus
Talegallus have wattled skin on the head and neck, whence their supposed resemblance to a Turkey
has gained for them the familiar name of Brush- Turkey from the Australian settlers. As a rule, the
colouring of the Megapodes is sombre, being generally brown or black, the only exception being the
Maleo bird of Celebes, which has a curious knob on the head, while the breast is light-pink in colour.
Of this bird Mr. Wallace gives the following interesting account : —

" In the months of August and September, when there is little or no rain, the Maleos come down
in pairs from the interior to one or two favourite spots, and scratch holes three or four feet deep, just
above high- water mark, where the female deposits a single large egg, which she covers with about a foot
of sand, and then returns to the forest. At the end of ten or twelve days she comes again to the same
spot to lay another egg, and each female bird is supposed to lay six or eight eggs during the season. The

* "Birds of India," Vol. II. , p. 597.

152 NATURAL HISTORY.

male assists the female in making the hole, coming down and returning with her. The appearance of these
birds when walking on the beach is very handsome. The glossy black and rosy white of the phimage,
the helmeted head, and elevated tail, like that of the common fowl, give a striking character, which
their stately and somewhat sedate walk renders still more remarkable. There is hardly any difference
between the sexes, except that the casque or bonnet at the back of the head, and the tubercles at the
nostrils, are a little lai-ger, while the beautiful rosy salmon-colour is perhaps deeper in the male bird ;
but the difference is so slight that it is not always possible to tell a male from a female without dissec-
tion. They run quickly, but when shot at or suddenly disturbed take wing with a heavy noisy flight
to some neighbouring tree, where they settle on a low branch ; they probably roost at night in a similar
situation. Many females lay in the same hole, for a dozen eggs are often found together, and these
are so large that it is not possible for the body of the bird to contain more than one fully-developed
egg at the same time. In all the female birds which I shot," continues this author, " none of the eggs
besides the one large one exceeded the size of peas, and there were only eight or nine of these, which
is possibly the extreme number a bird can lay in the season.

" Arrived at our destination, we built a hut, and prepared for a stay of some days, I to shoot and
skin Maleos. The place is situated in the large bay between the islands of Limbe and Banca, and
consists of a steep beach more than a mile in length, of deep, loose, and coarse black volcanic sand, or
rather gravel, very fatiguing to walk over. It is in this loose black sand that those singular birds,
the Maleos, deposit their egg.

" Every year the natives come for fifty miles round to obtain these eggs, which are esteemed a
great delicacy, and when quite fresh are indeed delicious. They are richer than hens' eggs, and of
a fine flavour ; each one completely fills an ordinary tea-cup, and forms, with bread or rice, a very good
meal. The colour of the shell is a pale brick-red, or very rarely pure white. They are elongate, and
very slightly smaller at one end, from four to four and a half inches long, by two and a quarter and
two and a half wide."

After the eggs are deposited in the sand they are no longer cared for by the mother. The young
birds, on breaking the shell, work their way up through the sand, and run off at once to the forest.
" I was assured by Mr. Duivenboden, of Ternate," says Wallace, " that they can fly the very day they
are hatched. He had taken some eggs on board his schooner which were hatched during the night,
and in the morning the little birds flew readily across the cabin. Considering the great distances the
hens come to deposit the eggs in a proper situation (often ten or fifteen miles), it seems extraordinary
that they should take no further care of them. It is, however, quite certain that they neither do nor
can watch them. The eggs being deposited by a mimber of hens in succession in the same hole would
render it impossible for each to distinguish its own, and the food necessary for such large birds,
consisting entirely of fallen fruits, can only be obtained by roaming over an extensive district ; so that
if the numbers which come down to this single beach in the breeding season, amounting to many
hundreds, were obliged to remain in the vicinity, many would perish of hunger." Dr. Meyer says that
the native name of this bird in Celebes is not Maleo, but Moleo.

Of a true Megapodius we have a good example in Cuming's Megapode (Megapodius cumingi), from
North-western Borneo, and the following history of the species is given by Mr. Motley in his " Natural
History of Labuan." He writes : —

" In Labuan they are not uncommon, and are said to be principally confined to small islands, to
such, more especially, as have sandy beaches. They are very rarely to be seen, being extremely shy,
and frequenting dense and flat parts of the jungle, where the ratans grow, and where the luxuriance
of the vegetation renders concealment easy. The Malays snare them by forming long, thick
fences in unfrequented parts of the jungle, in which, at certain intervals, they leave openings where
they place traps. The birds run through the jungle in search of food, and coming to this fence, run
along it till they find one of the openings, through which they push their way, and ai-e caught in the
trap. In walking they lift up their feet very high, and set up their backs something like Guinea
Fowls ; they frequently make a loud noise like the screech of a chicken when caught ; they are very
pugnacious, and fight with great fury by jumping upon one another's backs, and scratching with their
long, strong claws. Their food principally consists of seeds and insects. The eggs are of a fine dark creain
colour, and of a very large size, three of them weighing nearly as much as a full-grown bird. Accord-

154 NATURAL HISTORY.

ing to the account given by the Malays, each bird lays about eight or ten eggs at each time of breeding,
and their nests are merely large heaps of shells and rubbish deposited over tl\e sandy soil in which the
eggs are buried to the depth of about eighteen inches. Since receiving this account, however, we have
had an opportunity of inspecting a very large and perfect nest, or breeding-hill, and found it to be
about twenty feet in diameter, and composed of sand, earth, and sticks ; it was close to the beach, just
within the jungle, and scarcely above high- water mark, and appeared to have been used for many
years. The boatmen seemed to have no clue to what part of the hillock contained eggs, but said they
were never without some when frequented at all. They sought for nearly a half an hour in vain before
they found one, and then they got about a dozen together ; they were buried at a depth of from one to
three feet, in an upright position, and the ground about them was astonishingly hard. The eggs thus
deposited are left to be hatched by the heat of the sun, and this, the Malays assert, requires between
three and four months to complete. Those obtained from this heap were brought home and buried in a
box of sand, and a month or two afterwards it was discovered that they had all hatched, but that from
neglecting to place them in a proper (i.e., probably an upright) position, the chicks could not get up
through the sand, and had all perished. "When hatched, the chicks are almost entirely fledged ; even
the long quills being, as the Malay says, 'needled.' When first dug out, some of the eggs had lost
much of their outer colour, which appeared to have scaled off, leaving only a white chalky shell. On
a former occasion some eggs were brought by the natives, and were buried in a box of sand, and
exposed to the weather : at the end of about three weeks one of the chicks was hatched. A Malay, who
saw it emerge, said that it just shook off the sand and ran away so fast that it was with difficulty
caught ; it then appeared to be nearly half -grown, and from the first fed itself without hesitation,
scratching and turning up the sand like an old bird. Two more afterwards emerged in the same state.
Their eggs are held in such high estimation as food, both by natives and Europeans, that one cannot but
fear that thess interesting birds, though now so abundant, will ere long become scarce."

The late Mr. Gilbert Gould also describes the habits of the Mound-raising Megapode of Australia
in a minute and exhaustive manner. The particulars which he furnishes about the mounds are very
interesting : —

" I revisited Knocker's Bay on the 10th of February, and having with some difficulty penetrated
into a dense thicket of cane-like creeping plants, I suddenly found myself beside a mound of gigantic
proportions. It was fifteen feet in height and sixty in circumference at the base, the upper part being
about a third less, and was entirely composed of the richest description of light vegetable mould ; on
the top were veiy recent marks of birds' feet. The native and myself immediately set to work, and
after an hour's extreme labour, rendered the more fatiguing from the excessive heat, and the torment-
ing attacks of myriads of mosquitoes and sand-flies. I succeeded in obtaining an egg from a depth of
about five feet. It was in a perpendicular position with the earth surrounding and very lightly touch-
ing it on all sides, and without any other material to impart warmth, which, in fact, did not appear
necessary, the mound being quite warm to the hands. The holes in this mound commenced at the
outer edge of the summit, and ran down, obliquely towards the centre ; their direction was therefore
uniform. Like the majority of the mounds I have seen, this was so enveloped in thickly foliaged trees
as to preclude the possibility of the sun's rays reaching any part of it.

" The mounds differ very much in their composition, form, and situation ; most of those that are
placed near the water's edge were formed of sand and shells, without a vestige of any other material,
but in some of them I met with a portion of soil and decaying wood. When constructed of this loose
material they are very irregular in outline, and often resemble a bank thrown up by a constant surf.
One remarkable specimen of this description, situated on the southern bank of Knocker's Bay, has the
appearance of a bank from twenty-five to thirty feet in length, with an average height of five feet ;
another, even more singular, is situated at the head of the harbour, and is composed entirely of pebbly
iron-stone, resembling a confused heap of sifted gravel ; into this I dug to the depth of two or three feet
without finding any change of character. It may have been conical originally, but is now without any
regularity, and is very extensive, covering a space of at least a hundred and fifty feet in circumference.
These remarkable specimens would, however, seem to be exceptions, as by far the greater number
are entirely formed of light, black, vegetable soil, are of a conical form, and are situated in the densest
thickets. Occasionally the mounds are met with in barren, rocky, and sandy situations, where not a

THE XEGAPODE. 155

particle of soil similar to that of which they are composed occurs for miles round ; how the soil is pro-
duced in such situations appears unaccountable. It has been said that the parent birds bring- it
from a great distance ; but as, as we have seen, they readily adapt themselves to the difference of
situation, this is scarcely probable. 1 conceive that they collect the dead leaves, and other vegetable
matter that may be at hand, and which, decomposing, forms this particular description of soil.
The mounds are doubtless the work of many years, and of many birds in succession ; some of them are
evidently very ancient, trees being often seen growing from their sides. In one instance I found a tree
growing from the middle of a mound which was a foot in diameter. I endeavoured to glean from the
natives how the young effect their escape ; but on this point they do not agree, some asserting that
they find their way unaided, others, on the contrary, affirmed that the old birds, knowing when the
young are ready to emerge from their confinement, scratch down and release them.

" The natives say that only a single pair of birds are ever found at one mound at a time, and
such, judging from my own observation, I believe to be the case. They also affirm that the eggs are
deposited at night, at intervals of several days, and this I also believe to be correct, as four eggs, taken
on the same day, and from the same mound, contained young in different stages of development ; and
the fact that they are always placed perpendicularly is established by the concurring testimony of all
the .different tribes of natives I have questioned on the subject.

" The Megapode is confined almost exclusively to the dense thickets immediately adjacent to the
sea-beach ; it appears never to go far inland except along the banks of creeks. It is always met with
in pairs, or quite solitary, and feeds on the ground, its food consisting of roots, which its powerful
claws, enable it to scratch up with the xitmost facility, and also of seeds, berries, and insects, parti-
cularly the larger species of coleoptera. It is at all times a very difficult bird to procure ; for
although the rustling noise produced by its stiff pinions when flying may be frequently heard, the bird
itself is seldom to be seen. Its flight is heavy and unsustained in the extreme. When first disturbed,
it invariably flies to a tree, and on alighting stretches out its head and neck in a straight line with its
body, remaining in this position as stationary and motionless as the branch upon which it is perched ;
if, however, it becomes fairly alarmed, it takes a horizontal but laborious flight for about a hundred
yards, with its legs hanging down as if broken. I did not myself detect any note or cry, but from the
natives' description and imitation of it, it much resembles the clucking of the domestic fowl, ending
with a scream like a Peacock.

" I observed that the birds continued to lay from the latter part of August to March, when I left that
part of the country ; and, according to the testimony of the natives, there is only an interval of about
four or five months, the driest and hottest part of the year, between their seasons of incubation. The
composition of the mound appears to influence the colouring of a thin epidermis with which the eggs
are covered, and which readily chips off, showing the true shell to be white. Those deposited in the
black soil are always of a dark reddish-brown, while those from the sandy hillocks near the beach are
of a dirty yellowish- white ; they differ a good deal in size, but in form they all assimilate, both ends
being equal. They are three inches and five lines long, by two inches and three lines broad." *

As to the very curious method of incubation adopted in the case of these Mound-birds, or
Megapodidee, the common supposition has been that these birds, with their large feet and long curved
claws, raked together earth, dead leaves, rotten sticks, stones, and so on, till perhaps they formed
a mound as much as six feet high and twelve feet long. This they frequently did in company, and
the " incubator " thus formed was shared by a number, who laid their eggs in it, and left them to be
hatched by the heat evolved by the decaying substances. Compare, however, with the above account
the latest observations on the subject, namely, those of Mr. H. N. Moseley, F.R.S. He says, in his
" Naturalist on the Challenger" that " the eggs [of Megapoclius] were buried in the clean sand, at a
depth of three-and-a-half or four feet, and with no mound over them, or vegetable rubbish of any
kind. The eggs are thus hatched by the simple warmth of the sand received from the sun, and

retained during the night, just in the same manner as turtle's eggs are hatched I had

always supposed that these birds and their allies hatched their eggs by means of the heat derived
from decayed vegetable matter."

* Gould's " Handbook to the Birds of Australia," Vol. II., p. 171.

CHAPTER VIII.
THE WADING BIRDS.

•Chief Characters of a Wading Bird— General Habits— THE RAILS— Distinctive Features — THE JACANAS — Foot— Distribu
tion — The Pheasant-tailed Jacana— THE TRUE RAILS AND CRAKES— Characteristics — The Water Rail— The Corn-crake,
or Land Rail— THE WATER HENS— The Blue Water Hens— The Common Water Hen, or Moor Hen— Its Habits— Its
Nest— Its Young— Its Bad Character — THE COOTS— Foot Characters— Appearance— Nest and Eggs— THE FINFOOTS
—THE SNIPES— Distinctive Features— THE CURLEWS— Their Curved Bill— The Red-billed Curlew— The Painted
Snipes— Anomaly about the Females— The Curlews— THE SANDPIPERS -The Collector's Quest— Summer Snipes-
Terns— Godwits— Plover Acting as Sentinel — The Dunlin— The Curlew Sandpiper— The Knot— The Ruff— THE
PHALAROPES— THE STILTS, OB STILT PLOVERS— The Avocet— The Stilts— THE PLOVERS— THE TURNSTONES—
THE TRUE PLOVERS— The Lapwing, or "Pee-wit "—Mr. Seebohm's Account of the Habits of the Grey Plover— Golden
Plovers— Sand Plovers— THE OYSTER-CATCHERS— THE BUSTARDS— Characters— The Thick-knee, or Stone Curlew
—The Coursers— Dr. Brehm's Account of the Habits of the Great Bustard— THE CRANES— The Kagu— The Sun
Bittern— THE COMMON CRANE— Stories of Von Seyffertitz's Tame Crane— THE TRUMPETERS.

THE SIXTH ORDER OF BIRDS.— THE WADING BIRDS (GRALLuE).

THE principal character of a Wadiiig-bird is the long leg, with the bend of the tarsal joint
unfeathered, and the toes long and cleft nearly to the base. The head is small, and the bill in most
of them long and narrow, the body compressed, the wing long, excepting in the case of the Rails.
They can nearly all swim well, but as a rule do not do so, searching for their food by the reedy
banks of rivers or on the sea-shore, and most of them are of shy or skulking habits. They are
principally migratory birds, and include among their number some of the farthest -ranging species in
the world. Most of the Waders breed in northern latitudes, many only within the Arctic Circle, and
at the end of the nesting season they migrate, either singly or in flocks, down to the extreme south>
in America, Africa, and even to Australia and New Zealand.

In the birds which are here enumerated as Grallce, the nasal openings are large, placed low in the
upper mandible, and are either surrounded or shut in by a rather broad soft skin. The bill varies
greatly, but as a rule is narrow and compressed. None of the Grallce are of very large size ; and with
the exception of the Rails, which generally construct a nest, the eggs are mostly placed on the bare
ground. The young of all are able to shift for themselves almost the instant they are hatched.

THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE GRALL^, OR WADING BIRDS.— THE RAILS
Amongst the many long-winged species which form the majority of Wading-birds, the Rails
stand out very conspicuously for their short wings, which are concave as well, and fit the body closely.
This is a provision of nature wonderfully well adapted for the habits of the Rails, whose bodies are
extremely thin and slender, enabling them to thread their way through the reeds in search of their
food with the greatest ease. The skulking habits of most of them give an idea of their being bad
flyers, but this is by no means the case, for most of them are migrants, and some of them take long
voyages ; the Corn-crake, for instance, nesting in Europe, and betaking itself to South Africa during
the British winter ; the Moor-hen and many of the European Crakes (Ortygometra) making the same
long journey, though they are not so completely migratory from England as the Corn-crake.

A Rail has rather a long hind toe, the forehead much flattened, and the fore part of the crown
depressed, but it is principally by their compactly plumaged and thin body, and the long spider-like
toes, that they are generally recognised. They feed on small insects, worms, seeds, and fragments of
plants, while such larger- sized birds as the Moor-hen or Coot will eat eggs, and even kill chickens and
carry them off.

The Rallidge may be subdivided into five sections, which may be considered as sub-families.

THE FIRST SUB-FAMILY OF THE RALLID^.— THE JACANAS (Parrina).

The form of the foot separates the five sub-families of the Rails, and the Jacanas are easily

recognisable by the extremely long and straight claws, which render them totally unlike any other

birds in this respect. They are inhabitants of warm climates only, being found in South America,

Africa, India, and Australia. Many of them have a shield on the forehead, like the Coots and

THE J AC AN AS.

157

Moor-hens, but they are more variegated in colour than either these birds or the rest of the Rails.
The voung birds, however, are not so handsomely coloured as the adults.

THE PHEASANT-TAILED JACANA (Hi/drophasianiis chinirgns).

This is the largest of all the Jacanas, and is a native of India and Ceylon, where it inhabits
jheels, marshes, and reedy banks, but it is rather bolder in. its habits than the other Indian species.
Dr. Jerdon says that the breeding plumage is assumed very early, as he has seen some specimens
with their summer dress and long tail in February, so that it is probable that some birds do not
always put on a winter dress ; as a rule, however, they do not change till May or June. According to
the same observer, it makes a large floating nest of dried pieces of grass and herbage, sometimes,
according to other accounts, of the stalks of growing rice, which it bends downwards and intertwines,
and it lays in July and August from four to seven eggs, occasionally more, of a fine bronze brown or
green. It has a loud call, likened by some to the mewing of a cat or a kitten in distress, by others to
the distant cry of a hound ; an imitation of the soiind is attempted in the Hindustani names Piho and
Meewah. The Cingalese also, according to Layard, call it Cat-Teal. Like the other Indian species, it
feeds chiefly on vegetable matter, but also on shells and water insects. In Purneah the natives say
that before the inundation, i.e., before the breeding season, it calls Dub, dub — "Go under water;"
and afterwards in the cold weather, Powar, which, in Purneah dialect, means "next year." In winter
this species is gregarious. If only wounded it is difficult to find, as, like the English Moor-hen, it dives
at once and remains with its bill only out of the water. The flesh is said to be excellent. Blyth states

163

158

XJ. TURAL HISTOR J.

that he has kept both the Indian Jacanas in confinement, and that they thrive well on shrimps, bat
the present bird was in the aviary rather quarrelsome with its kind.

THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE RALLID.E. -THE TKUE RAILS AND CRAKES

In this sub-family the claws are short, there is no frontal shield on the head, and the toes, though
long, are simple and without any lobes. Many of them are of large size, such as the great Aramus
of South America, or the Wood-hens (Ocydromua) of New Zealand. The latter cannot fly, though
they are of the size of a barn-door fowl.

The most typical members of this sub-family are undoubtedly the Water Rails (Rallus) and the

COKN-CllAKE, OR LAXD-KAIL.

Crakes (Ortygometra), both of which are represented in England, the former by one, the latter by
several species. The Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus) may be easily told by its brown coloration and
banded flanks, but particularly by its long bill, which exceeds the head in length, whereas in the
Crakes this is not the case. The upper mandible and the tips of the lower one are blackish-brown,
the rest of the latter reddish. In colour the bird is brown, streaked with black, less distinctly on the
head ; the quills and tail blackish-brown ; lores and eyebrow, sides of face, and under parts slaty-grey ;
the abdomen and under tail-coverts ochre-colour ; flanks black, banded across with white ; the iris is
red. The male measures about eleven inches in length ; the female is smaller. The attenuation of the
body may be gathered from the fact that, although nearly a foot in length, it is not three inches across
the back, and hence the facility with which it threads its way through the reeds, scarcely ever rising,
unless driven to do so by a dog ; so that, although resident in England all the year round, it is
seldom seen. It is by means of keeping close in the marshes and bogs, which it affects, that it gains
its best assurance of security, as it is by no means a good flyer, though it swims and dives with agility.

THE MOOR-HEN. 159

Its nest is placed on the ground, in close herbage or amongst reeds, and the number of eggs varius
from six to ten. As with many of the Rallidse, the clucks are nothing more than little balls of fluffy
black down when first hatched, but 011 the least alarm they take to the water, and conceal themselves
with much adroitness in the adjoining rushes or grass.

The Corn-crake, or Land Rail (Ortygometra crex), is a summer visitor to England, and speedily
makes known its arrival by its call, which may be heard resounding throughout the night, and even
in the daytime. Its cry is very harsh, and may be imitated by rubbing a bit of wood sharply along the
teeth of a comb; it is littered by the male bird only, and is heard more on its first arrival, ceasing almost
entirely when the young are hatched, as is the case with so many other birds. As a rule, the haunts of
this species are confined to fields of long grass or corn, and oftentimes the nest is mowed out when the
hay is cut, the scythe not unfrequently decapitating the faithful mother, who sits very close, and has been
known even to carry away her nestlings out of reach of danger. It does not, like its cousin the Water
Rail, frequent marshes or wet ground, though it is often found in hay-fields close to rivers, and it can
swim with vigour when forced to do so, A companion was walking one evening with the writer by
the banks of the Thames when the cry of a Land Rail was heard at a short distance off, and after some
trouble was driven to take wing, when a well-directed throw of a walking-stick brought it to the
ground, within a few feet of the river-bank. It lay apparently dead, but on being approached it
suddenly sprang up, and without any hesitation plunged over a steep bank into the river, and notwith-
standing a broken wing, it managed to cross at a place where the river was not less than seventy
yards broad. The bill in the Land Rail is much stouter than in the Water Rail, not exceeding the
head in length, and the general colour is more of a reddish-brown. In the autumn the old birds

O ' o

depart with their families, migrating in silence and concealment for their winter home, which is the
continent of Africa, where the species passes down the Nile Valley as far as the Cape Colony. In
September the Land Rail is often met with in the clover and turnip-fields, and we have known as
many as eight to be killed in a single day when out Partridge-shooting. The flesh is very good for the
table. The young are covered with black down when first hatched, and moult before migrating.

The other members of the sub-family Railing are very numerous, and are distributed over the
entire globe.

THE THIRD SUB-FAMILY OF THE RALLIDJE.— THE WATER-HENS (Gallinulina-).

Ill this sub-family occur the brightest plumaged of the Rails, viz., the Blue Water-hens (Porphyrio),
the members of this genus being found everywhere, excepting the northern parts of the Old and New
Worlds. They very much resemble the English Water-hen, or Moor-hen, in their habits, but are
much larger and more stately-looking birds, while in flight their beautiful blue plumage shows to
advantage ; they also have a very large red frontal shield.

THE COMMON WATER-HEN, OR MOOR-HEN (Gallinula chloropm).

Passing a large pond or sheet of water in a railway-carriage, the observer may often see a small
black bird swimming near the edge of the reeds, or flying out of danger with a flapping of the wings
that leaves a long trail of disturbed water behind it to mark its flight. This will be either a Moor-hen
or a Coot; but even at some distance the two species can be easily recognised, the ivory white shield on
the forehead of the latter being always very conspicuous. The frontal shield of a Water-hen is red,
and from being much smaller is not so easily seen. With the exceptional case of Mr. Waterton, who
managed by protection to make wild birds tame, the Coot is much more shy in its nature than the
Moor-hen, and does not so often become fearless and confiding like the latter bird. When unmolested
the Moor-hen will often quit his native pond or lake and be allured to the lawn or neighbourhood of
the house, coming regularly for its food. The writer, indeed, remembers having visited a gardener's
cottage, in Leicestershire, where a pair of Moor-hens came from a neighbouring pond at the call of
the old woman who lived in the little house, and not only fed themselves within a few yards of the
sjK-c.-tators, but even brought their young brood to share the repast afforded by their kind protector.
Skirting the lake in a boat, one is first made aware of the , presence of a Moor-hen by the warning
croak which is heard from the reeds some distance ahead, for the bird is fully conscious of danger, and
long ere the boat approaches may be seen swimming rapidly to the shore from the middle of the lake

160

NATURAL HISTORY.

towards the friendly reeds which skirt its edge. Here it will be difficult to flush the birds without
the aid of a dog, but carefully proceeding along the margin of the rushes, the naturalist will probably
•be gratified by the " sough " of a body falling into the water, and will find, close by, the nest,
raised a little above the water, and concealed from the bank by a mass of intervening reeds. Many
yards off the bird will itself emerge and betake itself, with flapping wings, and legs hanging down,
to the opposite side of the lake, although we have known the hen bird, if the eggs are hard-set or the
young newly-hatched, to stay in the vicinity of the nest and croak as if in anger, or more probably in
the latter case to encourage the young birds with her presence. The nest is large and rather flat,
composed of dead rushes, and perfectly warm and dry, the chicks when hatched being merely tiny balls
of black down with pretty little red heads. They utter a " cheeping " note, which may be often heard
inside the egg, before the little one has broken through the shell. We have more than once watched
the process of hatching, and seen the egg with a small hole chipped in it, through which the tiny bill,
with a little ivory white nail at the tip, is trying to force its way out. It is possible that at this stage
the old bird assists the chick to break the shell and extricate itself, as on one occasion, when we broke
the egg very carefully, and deposited the young one in the nest, it died soon after. Should the old
mother be sitting on the nest with her young ones, she drops gently off", and all the little ones scramble
<nit helter-skelter, and so carefully do they conceal themselves, that it is almost hopeless to find them.
The nest is often situated in more exposed positions than the one above described, and may bs
found placed on the water-line in the branches of some overhanging shrub or tree whose boughs
touch the water, but always at some distance from the bank, so that a boat is generally necessary
to procure the eggs. The latter are from seven to ten or eleven in number, two broods being
generally reared in a season, and the number of eggs is less in the second than in the first
brood. When swimming the Moor-hen jerks its head as if to keep time with the motion of
its legs, which are generally somewhat out of the water, so as to show the tarsal joints,
which are red and yellow, shading off into green; and these colours, and its red frontal shield,
are the only ornaments about the bird, if we except the two white patches on each side of
the tail. The latter is usually carried somewhat erect and with a jerking motion, the bird,
as it walks or swims, flicking the latter organ in unison with the movements of its head and legs.
When frightened, Moor-hens, especially young birds, often take refuge in trees, and run with con-
siderable rapidity along the branches. The bird is, as a rule, tabooed by keepers, who assert that they
are not above visiting pheasantries and carrying off young chickens, whom they despatch with a blow
of their powerful bill on the head of their victim ; nor can they refrain from stealing eggs when these
are left unprotected, sharing in this respect the odium which attaches to their relations, the Coots.

The Moor-hens are found nearly all over the world, and the British species is distributed over
Europe, Asia, and Africa, a smaller kind taking its place in the Malayan Islands and extending

to Australia. In America Moor-hens are found almost every-
whei'e, while in the Samoan Islands a curious species exists,
the Pareudiastes paciftcus, which is said not to be able to fly.

THE FOURTH SUB-FAMILY OF THE EALLID.E.
THE COOTS (Fuliclna;}.

In appearance and habits much resembling Moor-hens,
the Coots are nevertheless a distinct sub-family, distinguished
by their lobed toes, which are best understood from a glance at
the accompanying woodcut. They have also a larger frontal
shield, which in certain of the American species may be really
called enormous. Coots are found everywhere, but the South
American region possesses the larger number of species, no less
FOOT OF COOT. tnan seven being met with in the Neotropical area. Like the

Moor-hens the Coots affect the water, but seem to prefer more

exclusively large ponds and lakes, and are not to be found by the river side, where the Moor-hen
can always be seen. The Coot also assembles in greater numbers than, the Moor-hen, large flocks
being often seen in the winter on some of the tidal harbours of the south coast of England.

THE COOT.

161

The Coots are all birds of moderate size, some attaining the dimensions of a small Goose, but the
English species does not exceed those of a good-sized fowl. The plumage is extremely close, compact,
and impervious to wet, and the body appears rather clumsy to the observer, but in the water the bird's
movements are by no means ungraceful, as it swims with the same ducking motion as the Moor-
hen already described. The nest is built of dead rushes, often ornamented with the stalks and

flowers of the marsh-marigold intertwined with the reeds. It is rather a large structure, and somewhat
flat, but, though floating on the water, it is always perfectly dry inside. It is built in rather more
exposed situations than the Moor-hen's among the branches of a dead bough jutting out of the water, or
even among the reeds on the shallow side of a lake. The eggs are about eight in number, as a rule,
and are of a light brown colour or yellowish-grey, covered with small dots of brownish-black. The
young, when first they emerge from the egg, are prettier than at any other time of their life, being
covered with black fluffy down, but having the head red, with a shade of bluish-purple.

162

NATURAL HISTORY.

"WING OF SNIPE. (A, Secondaries; B, Primaries.)

THE FIFTH SUB-FAMILY OF THE RALLID^E .— THE FINFOOTS (Heliarnithwee).
These curious birds have the feet lobed as in the Coots, but differ in having a long bill and
compressed head, not unlike that of a Heron, and also at the same time somewhat resembling that of
a Grebe. Two genera are contained in this sub-family, the first (Heliornis), having but a single
species, generally known as the American Finfoot (Heliornis fulica], from the tropical portions of
Central and South America. Prince Maximilian of Neuwied states that it is by no means rare on
the rivers of Eastern Brazil, but from its habit of concealing itself in the herbage it is not often
observed. It may frequently be noticed sitting on a thin branch, partially immersed in the water,
and occupied in bowing its head in a most curious manner. The plumage is peculiarly soft. The
bird is said to possess the powers of diving in an inferior degree to most of the Rails. In Africa
the Heliornis is replaced by the genus Podica, of which there are three species, two peculiar to the
Ethiopian region, while the third, the Masked Finfoot (Podica jjersonata), is a native of the
Burmese countries and Malacca.

THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE ORALLY, OR WADING BIRDS.— THE SNIPES (Scohpaeidee).

No portion of the globe seems to be without some representative of this family, some of the
members of which are migratory and extend over a wide range, whilst others are comparatively local,

the Auckland Islands, for instance, possessing a
species of Snipe peculiar to themselves. In the
Scolopacidse the bill is long and very slender, as well
as weak, so that instead of being firm and horny,
as in most Wading-birds, it is flexible and bends
under pressure. The wings ai'e long and pointed,
and the secondaries are extremely long, nearly equal-
ling the primaries in length. They frequent bogs
and marshes or the banks of rivers and ditches,
where they are enabled to get their food, which
consists of worms, insects, and testaceous mollusca, these being obtained by probing the soft ground.
They are, as regards the English species at least, almost without exception migrants, visiting the
shores of Great Britain in April or May, and departing in August and September, when they assemble
in flocks on the sea-coasts, sometimes in considerable numbers. A few species, however, such as
the Woodcock and the Snipe, are more generally distributed in England in the winter.

THE FIRST SUB-FAMILY OF THE SNIPES.— THE CURLEWS (Numeniin^.

These are the largest birds of the family, the Common Curlew, a well-known English bird, being
nearly of the same bulk as a chicken, though appearing much larger, from its long legs and enormous
curved bill. The bill is always arched, and the nasal groove in which the nostrils are placed reaches
to its tip.

The first genus (Ibidorhynchus) contains but one species, the Red-billed Curlew (Ibidorhynchus
strutkersi), which is found only in the Himalaya Mountains and the hills of Central Asia. It is said
to inhabit in the former range the large rivers which rise from the snow and have a broad, sandy
channel. It is nowhei'e common, and is generally seen singly, though occasionally met with in small
parties of five or six. It has no hind toe, and the nasal groove is rather shorter than in the Painted
Snipes and Curlews. The second genus contains the Painted Snipes, as they are called (Hhyncheea), a
genus which is somewhat remarkable from the great difference which is observable in the coloration of
the sexes. As a rule, the only distinction between the males and females in the Snipes is one of size,
but in the Painted Snipes the females are more richly coloured than the males, having the lores, sides
of face, and neck chestnut. This genus is quite an anomaly in the class Aves, where the females are
almost always duller-coloured than the males, or at least merely resemble them in plumage, though in
some of the Hemipodes (Turnix) the colours of the hen bird are brighter than in the males, and in the
Hawks the female is generally the larger and more powerful bird. The Painted Snipes are found
in Africa, India, and Australia, while one species is met with in the southern countries of the Soutk
American continent.

THE SANDPIPERS.

163

The Curlews (NwmewiuB) are found in every part of the world, arriving in the northern regions
in summer, and passing south in considerable numbers in. the autumn. The note of these birds has
something plaintive and wild in its composition, whether it be heard on the moorland, where the species
nests, or on the dreary mud-flats of a tidal river or harbour. In. the autumn the latter places are
visited by numbers of Curlew on their way to their winter quarters, and in many parts they are called
by the gunners and fishermen tame Curlews, as they are so- much more easily obtaiiied at this
season, the reason being that the flocks are then principally composed of young birds of the year
taking their first migratory journey south. The old Curlew is a much more wary bird, especially on
the return journey in April and May, when he travels, either singly or in company with his mate, to

COMMON SNIPE.

the upland moors in Scotland and the northern counties of England, where he is to rear his young.
In size the Curlew is about two feet and a quarter in length, and has a curved bill of from six to eight
inches, and even these latter dimensions are sometimes exceeded.

THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE SNIPES.— THE SANDPIPERS
In these birds the bill is straight or slightly curved up, the toes at the base joined by a fold of
skin. All the Godwits and Sandpipers make up this sub-family, many representatives of them being
met with at the autumn migration on the English coasts. Leaving the little inn, where the collector
on a shooting excursion has to put up, he will betake himself to his hunting-ground, which is probably
some tidal harbour or mouth of a tidal river. A boat with an apt oarsman, a gun with plenty of
cartridges, and a certain stock of food to last for himself and the fisherman during the day's outing,
constitute all the outfit which a keen collector will require for his expedition after the Sandpipers.
The tide will now be coming in, and the channel in tlie middle of the harbour, no longer sunk between
two deep banks of black mud, will be momentarily broadening under the influx of the approaching tide,
so that its course can now be distinctly traced to the mouth of the harbour two miles away. As the
sportsman seats himself in the narrow little boat or punt, and his bare-legged pilot pushes her off,
takes his seat in the stern, and works her head along by means of his single oar or paddle, the con-
tinued cries of the shore-birds resounding far away on every side will tell the listener that they, too,

164 NATURAL HISTORY.

await the advent of the sea, which will gradually spread itself over the waste of black mud which they
have been probing for their food during the livelong night, and drive them foot by foot to the shelter
under the banks of the harbour or out on the sea-beach. A small bird flies off with a thin piping
whistle from the muddy bank of the main channel, and hugs the margin of the latter till it disappears
round the nearest bend. This is the Common Sandpiper, or Summer Snipe ( Tringoides hypoleucua),
returning from his breeding quarters farther north, and now on his way to his winter home in far

/J

South Africa. It is not only on the sea-shore that we may meet with this elegant little species, for in
the spring it may be seen along the banks of our rivers and lakes in company with its mate ; while in
the autumn the old birds with their family are again observed on the river banks or on its sandy sides,
now returning to the sea-coast, where they no longer keep so well together, but ai'e found in scattered
parties of two or three, generally very shy and wary.

Those fairy-like birds on ahead, flitting at a little distance above the waves, and every now and
then dipping into the water with a splash, are little Terns (Sternula minuta), but the eye of the
ornithologist is more forcibly attracted by three or four dark objects which stand out against the
margin of the sand-bank some three hundred yards ahead. Godwits they are ; and already the long,
straight beak can be distinguished as the birds sit with their head resting on their buff-coloured breasts.
They are evidently uneasy at the approach of the skiff, and evince their fear by taking short runs a
little in advance. At length they stop, glance for a moment, and take flight for the shingly beach in
the distance, but too late to escape a well-directed double-barrel, which brings down three of their
number. Placing them under the side of the boat, the sportsman satisfies himself, by a glance at the
banded tail, that they are the Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica), and not the rarer Black-tailed
Godwit (L. cegocephahis), which also comes to England. The boat is now steered for a shingly
island which is evidently not about to be covered by high water, and here, ensconced behind a large heap
of seaweed which commands a spit of sand and shingle jutting out into the harbour, the two gunners

THE DUNLIN.

165

await the arrival of the high tide which will soon bring the last vestige of mud-flat under water. They
have arrived in the nick of time, for at first singly, and then in small flocks, the Waders make for the
sea-shore, in nearly every case crossing the sandy spit on their way, allured in many instances by the
subtle imitation of their cries which the fisherman knows how to emit, and thus they leave a con-
siderable number of their comrades in the hands of the gunners. With a musical modulated note of
three syllables a little bird comes skimming along far out over the water, and appearing all white as
he approaches. . .He scents danger, however, before he comes too close, and flies away without receiving
a shot. This is "the Ringed Plover (sEgialitis hiaticula), and so wideawake a bird that there is small

RUFFS F1GHTIXG.

chance of getting near a flock of Sandpipers if one of these little Plovers is acting sentinel. Perched on
the highest ridge of the shore, he runs provokingly along, keeping a safe distance ahead, and whistling
continually, till at last he takes wing, and the sportsman is just in time to see the hurried dight
of the flock of Dunlins and Sandpipers, over whom the bird has been keeping guard, far out at
sea, with the sentinel Plover in advance guiding them to a safer spot farther down the beach.
The Dunlin (Tringa alpina) is not often found on the rivers inland, but is an extremely
common shore-bird, being generally met with in large flocks, sometimes as many as two or three
hundred in number. They are usually very tame, and are easily attracted by whistling, so that
a flock, though fired into two or three times, will yet wheel round again and again on hearing
the deceptive whistling of the gunner. They go to the north, as a rule, to breed, but during
the nesting season flocks may be found on the southern shore of England, which, although in
full summer plumage, evidently do not breed, but remain in flocks throughout the whole season.
1 he summer dress of the Dunlin is easily recognisable by the large black horseshoe mark on the
164

136 AATUSAL HISTORY.

breast. This is lost in winter, when the plumage is ashy above and white below. At the time
of the migration of the other Waders the Dunlins are genei'ally putting on their winter plumage,
and are met with in all stages of transition.

The Dunlins ai'e not the only visitors to the sandy island where our two sportsmen are waiting for
the fall of the tide. A single bird settles and is secured, and proves to be a Curlew Sandpiper (Tringa
subarquata), a species not unlike a Dunlin in winter dress, but always to be distinguished by its longer
and more curved bill, which, from its supposed resemblance to that of the Curlew, has gained for the
bird its trivial name. In summer, however, it is very easily told by its deep red breast, for, like the
Knot or the Godwits, the whole under surface becomes deep chestnut during the breeding season.
Conjectures as to the breeding-home of this species, so widely spread and not uncommon during its t\vo
migrations, cross the mind of the shooter who has procured a specimen, for as yet we are ignorant of
the place where the Curlew Sandpiper breeds. No longer can this be said of the Knot (Trinya
canutus}, whose nesting-place was unearthed by the last English expedition to the North Pole ; and in
the British Museum may be seen a pair with their nestlings, procured by Captain Feilden, of the Alert;
no authentic eggs, however, as yet exist in any collection. The Knot visits England in large numbers
in autumn, and wanders on its winter migration as far as the Cape, and even to Australia, returning to
breed far within the Arctic Circle. In summer the plumage is very rich, the breast being deep chest-
nut ; whereas in winter, like so many other Waders, the back becomes ashy-grey, and the breast white.

One of the most remarkable of all the Sandpipers is the Ruff (Machetes pugnax). The
males, in the breeding-season, have a conspicuous tuft of feathers on each side of the head, and a large
breast-shield of plumes ; and the curious part of the bird's economy is that in no two specimens
are these absolutely alike. Sometimes the frill and breast-plumes are black, sometimes pure white ;
occasionally they are rufous barred with black, or grey with white bands ; in fact, the combina-
tions of colours are too numerous to be detailed. In winter the Ruff loses this frill and becomes
much plainer in colour, resembling the female in plumage, but always maintaining a larger size,
so that even in winter dress the sexes can be distinguished. The specific name of pugnax is
bestowed upon this bird on account of its fighting propensities, the most furious battles taking
place between the males for the possession of the females, and in these combats the feathered frills
act as a shield for the protection of the combatants. Large numbers of Ruffs are sent annually
to the markets of England, principally from Holland, where the species still breeds, as it does also
over the greater part of Northern Europe. The drainage of the fens, however, has driven it from
England, where it now only occurs in migration. Its winter home is Africa. The habits of a
few of the commoner English Wading-bircls which have been treated of above may be taken as
^examples of the group at the season of the year when they are most generally observed.

THE THIRD SUB-FAMILY OF THE SNIPES.— THE PHALAROPES (Phalaropina) .

The Phalaropes are distinguished by their lobed toes, which look like those of a miniature Coot.
'They combine the characters of several of the Wading-birds, as they swim well by means of their lobes
on the toes, which are also united by a web at the base, while they can run on the shores like a Sand-
piper. The species are only three in number, and all are inhabitants of northern climates. Two are
found in Great Britain, and extend throughout Northern Europe and Northern Asia, while one species,
Wilson's Phalarope, inhabits North America.

The Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus hyperboreus) is a handsome little bird, having the upper
parts blackish-grey, varied with reddish edgings to the feathers, the sides of the neck and fore-neck
lieing chestnut, the throat, breast, and abdomen white. Like the Sandpipers, which it much resembles
in its appearance, it has a winter plumage, which may be described as blackish-grey, with the forehead,
cheeks, and under parts white. The wings have a white band. The Red-necked Phalarope breeds in the
Orkney and Shetland Isles, where it constructs its nest in the grass near the edges of lakes, and lays
four eggs. Its food consists of insects, worms, and mollusca. It swims with ease, and is often seen
far out at sea, migrating southward in winter, when both it and the Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus
fulicarius), which is the other English species, wander as far as the Indian Ocean, and even to the
Moluccas. Dr. Jerdon calls these birds "Coot-footed Stints," which gives a very good idea of the
nature of a Phalarope,

AVOCET AND STILTS.

167

THE FOURTH SUB-FAMILY OF THE SNIPES.— THE STILTS, OR
STILT PLOVERS (Himar.topina}.

These birds are remarkable for their extreme length of leg, which exceeds the whole extent
of the body, and for their long slender bill. The Stilts and the Avocets (Recurvirostra] comprise
the two genera which constitute the sub-family. In the last-named birds the bill is slender and
up-turned. Both genera are world-wide in their distribution, occurring in all six regions of the

globe, though they do not
wander very far north. In
England the Avocet is a
very rare bird, though it is
still plentiful in some parts
of Holland, where it can find
suitable breeding-places. As
a rule, Avocets frequent the
pools in marshes or by the
margins of rivers, but some-
species occur high up in the
mountains, as in the case of
the Avocet of the Andes..
The feet are webbed to such
an extent that early writers
placed them among the swim-
ming birds, but as a matter
of fact they never swim,
unless foi'ced to do so, though
the webbed feet are admir-
ably adapted for the pro-
gression of the bird over the-
slimy ooze and mud where-
it seeks its food.

The Stilts have a
straight bill, but in other
respects they are not un-
like the Avocets, and, like
the latter, most of the
species have a black and
white plumage, though in
New Zealand a jet-black
Stilt occurs. They are more
AVOCET. sociable in their Avays than

the Avocets, being sometimes

found in large flocks, which separate into pairs at the time of the breeding season. At the latter
season they frequent fresh or brackish water, but in the winter they are found in the vicinity of
salt lakes. The Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus hiniantopus) has more than ones occurred in
England. It is a very slender bird, measuring about fourteen inches in length, and the plumage
is black and white, the former changing in winter to an ashy blackish shade. The bill is black,
the legs pink or carmine-red, and the eye is beautiful carmine.

THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE WADING BIRDS, OR GRALLJE.
THE PLOVERS (Charadriidte).

These Wading-birds are similar in habits and ways to many of the Sandpipers, but are much
more stoutly built, and have, as a rule, not nearly such long bills. The latter rarely exceeds

13S NATURAL HISTORY.

the length of the head, and is stout as well as hard in character, with a broad nasal groove. The
base of the bill is in many species soft, and forms a kind of cere, while the end of the bill is
hard and swollen. The wings are pointed and the secondaries are long. The Plovers may be
subdivided into three sub-families, the Turnstones, the Plovers, and the Oyster-catchers.

THE FIRST SUB-FAMILY OF THE PLOVERS.— THE TURNSTONES (Strepsilatina).

The Turnstones are found everywhere, the common species (Strepsilas interpres) being met
with all over Europe, and visiting in winter Africa, and even Australia. In South America the
Black-headed Turnstone (S. melanocephala) occurs, and the New World contains also two very curious
birds belonging to this sub-family, each the sole representative of its genus Aphvrza viryata, and
Plumanellus sociabilis. The former of these extends along the Pacific coast of South America,
down the continent of South America as far as the Strait of Magellan, while the Pluvlanellus
is only known to inhabit the latter locality.

The Turnstone passes by Great Britain on its way to the north in the spring, but does not
breed there. In Norway it nests, however, as well as in high northern latitudes, and the eggs
were found near Discovery Bay, the winter quarters of H. M.S. Discovery during the recent Arctic
Expedition. In the autumn, on the return journey, they are much more plentiful, and may be
often seen in small bunches of four or five, sitting quietly on the muddy shore of a tidal river
-or inland harbour. These companies are for the most part composed of young birds, and are not
very shy; occasionally single specimens may be met with on some shingly shore, where their
colour serves to conceal them entirely, nor is it till the bird suddenly flies up that its presence
is detected.

THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE PLOVERS.— THE TRUE PLOVERS (Charadriintt).

The Lapwings (Vanellus), the Sand Plovers (sEgialitis), the Grey Plover (Squatarola}, and
the Golden Plovers (Charadriiis), are the best known members of the present sub-family, which is
distinguished by not having a hind toe, or at most a very small one. The Lapwings have long
crests, which they elevate or depress at pleasure, and they are also remarkable for their enor-
mous rounded wings. These are the birds which lay the " Plovers' eggs,'"' so often used for the
table during the spring, and large numbers are still sent up to London, notwithstanding the
prohibition set upon this practice by Act of Parliament. The Lapwing, or " Pee-wit," as it is
generally called, is a familiar object in the early days of spring, when it may be seen flying round and
round over the fields or downs, uttering the musical cry so peculiar to the species, and tumbling over
and over in the air in the most curious fashion. The male bird is the most demonsti^ative, and while
the hen walks or stands upon the ground, the cock bird circles overhead, flapping his broad wings,
and suddenly dipping down in a headlong direction to where his mate is standing. The pair
will then take wing together, and perform extraordinary evolutions in the air, very often feigning
lameness, in order to draw away an intruder from the eggs. There is generally no nest, and
the eggs are not easily found, being laid upon the bare ground in the hollow of a cut or furrow.
If approached, the female will, on quitting the eggs, run along a furrow with her body close to the
ground for some distance before taking flight, so as to deceive the observer as to the real position of
the eggs. When the female is sitting, or the complement of the eggs is laid, she evinces great
affection for them, and both parents wheel round and round uttering cries of distress. They are
also crepuscular in their habits, and may be seen still on the wing in the gloaming, while their
cry is often heard in the stillness of the summer night. In the autumn they frequent the
vicinity of the shore in large flocks, the majority of which are composed of young birds, and
they are also gregarious in the winter.

Perhaps one of the best accounts of the Plover's habits which can be found anywhere is that
published by Mr. Henry Seebohm, in Dr. Dresser's " Birds of Europe," after his return from the
expedition undertaken by himself and Mr. Harvie Brown, to the Great Petchora River in Northern
Russia. During this celebrated excursion the travellers discovered a number of eggs of the Grey
Plover (Squatarola helvetica), a species by no means uncommon in England during the spring and
autumn migrations, but whose eggs were all but unknown. Altogether, the English travellers found

THE GREY PLOVER.

169

eleven nests with eggs, and also discovered the young in clown. T.ie accompanying extracts from
Mr. Seebohm's account will give a good notion of the breeding habits of the Grey Plover : — -" We
arrived at Alexievka," he writes, "on the evening of the 19th of June, and on the 22nd
crossed the river to the land of promise, the Aarka Ya of the Samoyedes, the Bolshia Semlia of
the Russians, the mysterious tundra (a sort of ornithological Cathay) of our little party. We
mustered seven altogether, our two selves, our interpreter, Piottuch, and our crew of four, two
Russians, a Samoyede, and a half-breed. It was a bright warm day; the wind had dropped, and
it was too early in the season for mosquitoes to be troublesome. The tundi'a forms the east bank

LAPWING.

of the Petchora ; and we had to climb up a steep cliff (perhaps sixty feet high), a crumbling slope
of clay-earth, sand, gravel, turf, but no rock. We then looked over a gently-rolling prairie
country, stretching away to a flat plain, beyond which was a range of low, rounded hills, some
eight or ten miles off. It was, in fact, a moor, with here and there a large flat bog, and every-
where abundance of lakes. . . . We had not walked more than a couple of miles inland
before we came upon a small party of Plovers. They were very wild, and we found it impossible
to get within shot; but a distant view through our binocular almost convinced us that we had
met with the Grey Plover at last. We had not walked very far before other Plovers rose; and
we determined to commence a diligent search for the nest, and offered half a rouble to any of our men
who should find one. Our interpreter laughed at us, and marched away into the tundra with a ' C'est
impossible, monsieur ! ' We appealed to our Samoyede, who stroked his beardless chin, and
cautiously replied ' Mozhna.' The other men wandered aimlessly up and down, but the Samoyede
tramped the ground systematically, and after more than an hour's search found a nest on one of the

170 NATURAL HISTORY.

dry tussocky ridges intersecting the bog, containing four eggs about the size and shape of the Golden
Plover's, but more like those of the Lapwing in colour. The nest was a hollow, evidently scratched,
perfectly round, somewhat deep, and containing a handful of broken, slender twigs and reindeer-moss.
. . . Our seventh and eighth nests of the Grey Plover we took on the 9th of July. We set sail
at noon, with a north-east wind, to visit the tundra eight or ten versts higher up the great river.
For some distance before we landed the coast was very flat, with willows down to the water's edge.
Among these dwarf trees we repeatedly heard the Petchora Pipit (Anthus seebohmi), and the Siberian
ChifFchaff (Phylloscopus tristis). As soon as we got beyond the willows we landed on the tundra, and
started in pursuit of a large flock of Buflbn's Skuas, but were soon stopped by a pair of Grey
Plovers, which showed by their actions that we were near the nest. We lay down as before,
about forty or fifty yards apart, and watched the birds. They ran about, up and down, and all round
us ; and at the end of half an hour we were no wiser than at first. There was evidently something
wrong. Harvie Brown then shouted to me, ' Have you marked the nest 1 ' I replied by walking
up to him and comparing notes. We then watched for another half hour with exactly the same
result. I suggested that we must be so near the nest that the bird dare not come on, and advised that
we should retreat to the next ridge, which we accordingly did. We had not done so many minutes
before the female made her way on to the ridge where we had been lying. She then ran along the top
of the ridge, passed the place where we had been stationed, and came down the ridge on to the flat bog
towards where we then were. I whispered — ' She is actually crossing over to us ! ' Suddenly she
stopped, lifted her wings, and settled down on the ground. . . . Harvie Brown lifted his gun to
his shoulder. She ran off the nest to the top of the ridge till he tumbled her over. We then walked
up to the nest, the first we had seen on the flat. The eggs were quite fresh, or nearly so ; and the
nest must have been made nearly a fortnight later than those we had previously taken. During that
time the bogs had become much dryer, so that we could cross them without much difficulty ; and this
would probably be the reason why this nest was placed lower down. The eggs had all the appear-
ance of a second laying, being less blotched than usual, one of them remarkably so. It is worth
noticing that whilst we were watching in our first position, very near the nest, the birds were nearly
quite silent, and did not call to each other as they usually do.

" Our ninth nest of the Grey Plover we took on the 12th of July. A stiff warm gale from the
east, with occasional smart showers of rain, kept the air clear of mosquitoes in the morning. In the
afternoon the wind fell, and the mosquitoes were as bad as ever, but we were too busy to heed them
much. At eleven we crossed to the tundra. We soon came upon a pair of Grey Plovers, which rose
a couple of hundred yards ahead of us, their wings glittering in a gleam of sunshine after a smart
shower. These birds have frequently a very curious flight as they rise from the nest, tossing their
•wings up in the air, reminding one somewhat of the actions of a Tumbler Pigeon. We lay down, as
near the nest as we could tell, near the spot from which they rose, and were somewhat puzzled at
their behaviour. The male seemed as anxious as the female, if not more so, running about as much
as she did, contimially crying, and often coming very near us, and trying to attract our attention
by pretending to be lame. The female rarely uttered a note. We suppose this must have been
because one of us was too near the nest. Harvie Brown moved his post of observation, after we had
spent some time without being able to discover anything ; and then the female behaved as usual, and
I soon marked the position of the nest. We walked straight up to it, and found the four eggs chipped
for hatching. We had no difficulty in shooting both birds, and afterwards hatched out two of the
eggs, obtaining a couple of good specimens of young in down. With a little practice this mode of
finding birds' nests becomes almost a certainty. One has first to be quite sure which is the male and
which the female. When the birds are near enough, and one can compare them together, the greater
blackness of the breast of the male is sufficient to distinguish him ; but we found that the females
varied considerably in this respect, and that it was better to notice the habits of the birds. The
female usually comes first to the nest, but she comes less conspicuously. She generally makes her
appearance at a considerable distance, on some ridge of mossy land. When she has looked round she
runs quickly to the next ridge, and looks round again, generally calling to the male with a single note.
The male seldom replies, but when he does so it is generally with a double note. When the female
has stopped and looked round many times, then the male thinks it worth while to move ; but more

THE OYSTER-CATCHER, OR SEA PIE. 171

often than not he joins the female by flying iip to her. The female very seldom takes wing. She is
very cautious, and, if she is not satisfied that all is right, will pass and repass the nest several times
before she finally settles upon it. She rarely remains upon the post of observation long, but the male
often remains for ten minutes or more upon one tussock of a ridge, watching the movements of the
female.

" We walked some distance before we came upon a second pair ; but at length we heard the well-
known cry, and got into position. We spent nearly two hours over this nest, and were quite at sea
by the end of the time. We changed our position several times, but to no purpose. The female went
here, and there, and everywhere, as much as to say, ' I'm not going on to the nest as long as you are
near.' At last the mosquitoes fairly tired us out, and we gave up the watching game, and commenced
a search. We soon found out the secret of the bird's behaviour, when we picked up some broken egg-
shells, and concluded at once that the bird had young. We tried to find them, but in vain. These
two hours, however, were not wasted. The birds came nearer to me than they had ever done before.
I often watched them at a distance of not more than ten yards, and was able to hear their notes more
distinctly. The note most frequently used is a single plaintive whistle, kop, long drawn out, the o
pronounced as in German, and the consonants scarcely sounded. This, I am almost sure, is the alarm-
note. It is principally uttered by the female when she looks round and sees something that she dis-
approves of. If the male shows any anxiety about the nest, which he seems to do more and more as
incubation progresses, he also utters the same note. The double note, kl-ee or kleep, the kl dwelt upon,
so as to give it the value of a separate syllable, is also uttered by both birds. It is evidently their
call-note. I have seen the female, when she has been running away from the male, turn sharp round
and look towards him when he has uttered this note, exactly as one might do who heard his
name called. Whilst we were watching this pair of birds a couple of other Grey Plovers came up,
and called as they flew past. The male answered the call and flew towards them. On the wing this
whistle is lengthened out to three notes. I had some difficulty in. catching this note exactly. It is not
so often uttered as the two others I have mentioned, and is generally heard when you least expect it ;
but I am almost sure it is a combination of the alarm-note with the call-note kl-ee-kop. If I wanted to
make a free translation from Plovcrski into English, I should say that kl-ee means ' Hallo ! old fellow ! '
and kop means, ' Mind what you are about ! ' "

Mr. Seebohm's notes, of which the above are only a fraction, also give accounts of other Wading-
birds and Plovers which he met with during his adventurous jo'irney, but they are too long to be
quoted here. The Asiatic Golden Plover (Charadriusfidvus) is a bird which in appearance is a slender
long-legged form of the common Golden Plover (CJiaradrius pluvialis). To the naturalist the Grey
and Golden Plovers are easily distinguishable, for on lifting the wing the black axillary feathers of the
Grey Plover are very striking, these being white in the Golden Plover, and smoke-grey in the
Asiatic Golden Plover. The colour of the axillary feathers is a useful character in distinguishing
the young birds, as the Grey Plover in its first autumn plumage is spotted with golden, and might
easily be mistaken for a Golden Plover. The Sand Plovers (jEyialititi), of which the common Ring
Dottrel (^E. hiatlcula) of England is a type, have similar habits and food to the larger species spoken
of above, but they frequent more the beach and sandy shores of the sea, lakes, and rivers, laying four
eggs in a slight depression in the sand, and the young, when first hatched, run about, and on thg
approach of danger squat down, when the assimilation of their colour to the surrounding shingle or
sand serves to conceal them admirably.

THE THIRD SUB-FAMILY OF THE PLOVERS.— THE OYSTER-CATCHERS (Hcematopodina:}.

The Oyster-catcher, or Sea Pie, as it is often called, from its black and white coloration, is
often seen in England in considerable numbers on the shore, or in small parties of five or six together,
in the autumn. These latter generally consist of a family of birds, which have been hatched in the
more northern parts of England, and are now on their way southward. Single birds are by no means
difficult to obtain at that season of the year, as their whistle can be easily imitated, and thus the bird
can be attracted within range. In April the flocks disperse for the breeding-season, the Oyster-
catcher nesting on the rocky shores near the sea, generally in unfrequented places. It is one of the
handsomest of the Waders, being of a black and white colour, with a red bill and purplish-red legs.

172 NATURAL HISTORY.

Oyster-catchers are found in nearly every part of the world, and in the southern parts, that is, in
South America, South Africa, and Australia, there are three species, which are totally black in
colour.

THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE WADING BIRDS, OR GRALLJE.
THE BUSTARDS (Otididce).

There is so much that is like a Game-bird in the Bustard, that it may well be considered to form
a link between the Gallince and the Plovers. In the present family the general tone of the plumage is
sandy-coloured, vermiculated with blackish lines and cross-markings. The gape is very wide, the mouth
being cleft to beyond the region of the eye ; the toes short and thick. The bill is in every instance

THICK-KNEE, OR STONE CURLEW.

short, and the wing is short and convex, the central quills being shorter, and the secondaries
nearly equal in length to the primaries. The tail is always large, and there is no hind toe.
The most Plover-like of the family of Bustards are the Thick-knees, or Stone Curlews (CEdicnemus), and
the Coursers (Cursorius). The first of these genera occurs in nearly every part of the globe, and the
members of it are remarkable for their more pointed and Plover-like wing, while they have the toes
united at the base with a web. The eye is also very large, and the tai-si are i-eticulated. They frequent
downs and large waste lands in England, indeed the English species (CEdicnemus crepitans) is often
called the Norfolk Plover, as it is in that county that it is still principally found. We have, however,
noticed a pair for several successive years on the Hampshire Downs. They inhabit desert places
generally, and are very shy, being strong of flight, whilst they also run with great speed. The Coursers
(Cursorius) differ from the Thick-knees in having the tarsi covered with transverse scales in front,
while they are altogether smaller birds. They frequent the deserts, and are not found in northern
parts of the globe, nor do they occur in the New World. From the similarity of colouring which
these birds exhibit to the sandy wastes they inhabit, they are with difficulty observed, and their shy
disposition makes them hard to obtain. This is more especially the case with the Cream-coloured

165

174

NATURAL HISTORY.

Courser (Cursorius isabellinus), a species which has occasionally wandered to England. Jerclon says
that the Indian species (C. coromandelicus) is very abundant in the Deccan and Western India. It
associates in small flocks, frequenting the barest plains and ploughed lands, and is very abundant on
the parade ground at Jalna. It runs about rapidly, nodding its head occasionally when it stops, and
picks up various insects, chiefly Coleoptera and the larvse of certain grasshoppers. Burgess states
correctly that it has the peculiar habit of running for a distance at spaed, suddenly stopping, erecting
the body, and then starting up again. It breeds on a hollow in the ground, from March to May,
laying generally three eggs of a pale greenish-yellow colour, much blotched and spotted with black, and
with a few dusky olive spots. It is rather a silent bird.*

The True Bustards are much larger birds than the Thick-knees, or Coursers, and have no
basal web to the toes, the claws being stout, obtuse, anl very short. The males are larger than the
females. The Great Bustard (Otis tarda) used to be found on the fen lands and plains in England,
but has been banished by the increase of drainage and the extension of civilisation. In many parts of
Europe, however, it is still plentiful. The following short sketch of this bird has been condensed from
Dr. Brehm's account of the species : —

It is found in Germany, and also frequents the south and east of Europe. Africa, with its
flat deserts, gives it shelter, as well as Central Asia. The handsome, muscular form, and its many
characteristics, combine to make it a most interesting bird, and, perhaps, also the difficulties
experienced in its capture make a knowledge of its economy still more desirable. On occasions when
it extends its finely-developed tail, and distends its neck, with its prominent moustache, it has a most
dignified appearance. The female is much smaller than the male, though specimens vary according to
age ; a full-grown male will measure 3ft. Gin. from the tip of the beak to the end of the tail, and 8ft.
from wing to wing. The pouch attached to the throat of the male is filled with air, allows the neck to
be distended, and is also asserted to be a medium of strength to his voice, when he puts special
pleading in his wooing. The plumage is varied ; yellowish on the upper parts, varied with wavy lines
of black, the under parts pale clay colour, the head and part of the breast ash-grey, the tips of the tail-
feathers and some of the wings white, and the pinion feathers black. The Bustard, to secure a resting-
place far from the haunts and attacks of men, displays immense intelligence ; its caution and sagacity
are most extraordinary, and it is amusing to notice how it will take advantage, for future benefit,
of past experiences and escapes, and a lesson is never allowed to pass unheeded. Large, flat,
open plains are its favourite haunts, and in selecting such spots it shows its wisdom, as there the
approach of the hunter is easily detected, and even in Africa, where they sometimes live among
high grass, they contrive to elude the enemy. One would suppose that when the bird is asleep it
might be surprised ; not so, however, for two old wary sentinels keep guard, and are always on the
alert. The nesting-places are also fixed in very remote spots. They have a powerful agent
in their splendid sight, and they are so clever that if they see anybody approach, who does not
seem to have any particular business, no matter how much disguised, they take fright, and off they
go. They may even have inhabited a chosen spot for some time, and yet, if they fancy that
there is a little change in the familiar look of the place, they shift their quarters at once. Their
sense of smell and hearing is less acute, and thus they may be captured by some skilful tactics,
as, for instance, a covered pit, where the hunter is invisible, or a hut constructed during the
last seed-time, into which the hunter introduces himself, and bags his prize as the Bustard walks
comfortably past. The movements of this species are very quick, and it walks immense distances.
Some assert that it experiences difficulty in preparing for flight, but this is not the case, for it
flies very rapidly in the air, and gets its impetus by a short run. One can easily imagine that
great finesse is required in their capture, firearms alone being of any use. We must now notice
the food, habits, and maternal instincts of this bird. The food consists of various insects, all
kinds of plants, seeds, fruits, &c. Green food is a favourite diet in summer, and to some extent
in winter; but at this season it makes the rape-fields the scene of its operations, grazing in
them at intervals during the day, and flying off at evening time to roost quite two miles away.
It resembles the Goose in the manner of its grazing, and also in the way it cleans its feathers
with dust. It also improves digestion by means of small stones, <tc., which it swallows in great

* " Birds of India," Vol. II., p. 627.

THE COMMON CRANE. 175

numbers. Its wooing gives it an opportunity to show fresh qualities. This important affair comes
off in the month of February, and at this time of year the Bustard feels very unsettled and
unsociable ; he quits his companions, and puts on his best appearance for conqtiest. Not the least
part of the wooing is the combat that he often has with rivals on the way, and the struggle between
these competitors for the fair one's regard is fierce and bitter. As they go struggling in the air they
look like some birds of prey. The victor, of course, is rewarded with his spouse, and off they go
together, to establish a home and found a family. The hen bird alone sees after all the business of
incubation, the male meanwhile guarding her, and remaining true to his love. In a small hollow
scraped in the ground two rather large eggs are deposited about the beginning of May ; they are of a
pale greenish tint. If these eggs are touched by man they are quite forsaken, unless so nearly
hatched that the maternal instinct is aroused, and she completes the process. The chicks gather
strength after a few days, and at the third week change their down for feathers, and at the fourth are
ready to fly. Their food, supplied by the loving mother, consists of little insects, grasshoppers, &c.
Ants' eggs are esteemed a great delicacy. It is a pity that these little things are liable to the attacks of
Kites and Goshawks. The mother does her best to shield her precious ones, and often successfully, but,
alas ! when Eagles and Foxes catch sight of this tempting food, the mother's efforts are too weak, and
many fall victims. We have heard of a Bustard attaining the age of fifty years, and even more; so they
seem to know how to take care of themselves. As to Bustards being tamed, it is possible. We read of
one being kept in a house at Khartoum, and enjoying the society of its owner. The adult Bustard,
when imprisoned, requires plenty of space to take his pleasure, and show himself off, but in the Zoo-
logical Gardens the male may occasionally be seen in the spring time going through the most
extraordinary positions, unexcelled for a love-display by any of the game-birds. The pouch under
the tongue, which is supposed to add to the appearance of the bird by being inflated at will, is by no
means present in eveiy specimen dissected, and its exact use and object do not yet seem to be clearly
defined.

THE FIFTH FAMILY OF THE GRALL^E, OR WADING BIRDS.
THE CRANES (Gru'aue).

The Cranes maybe subdivided into three sub-families, the Kagus (Rhinochetinai), the Sun Bitterns
(Eurypygince), and the true Cranes (Gruince). The Kagus are represented by the single species Rhino-
chetus jubatus, of New Caledonia, the Eurypygince also by a single species (Eurypyga /Delias) from South
America. Professor Sundevall places the singular Australian bird, Pedionomus torquatus, of Gould,
along with the Kagu in the first-named sub-family. Both the Kagu and the Sun Bittern may gene-
rally be seen living in the Zoological Gardens, and they go through, even in captivity, the extraordinary
antics which seem to be characteristic of the Crane family throughout the globe. The true Cranes
(GruincK) are found in almost every part of the world, with the exception of South America, and are
birds of stately form and grand demeanour, though their habits of bowing and dancing, which they
indulge in both in a state of nature and in captivity, tend to make them occasionally somewhat
ridiculous.

THE COMMON CRANE (Grus cmerea],

This. is a rare visitor to England, though it has been stated to have bred in the fen-lands in
years gone by ; at the present day, however, it occurs only accidentally. In the continent of Europe
it is a regular summer visitor, breeding in marshy places in the more northern parts, and occurring
in the south on migration, when the flocks pass in the form of a triangle, or in a straight line.
In captivity the Crane not only becomes very tame, but displays great intelligence, as may be
imagined from the celebrated story related by 0r. Brehm in his " Bird Life," of a domesticated
Crane belonging to Von Seyffertitz, who gives a most interesting account of some young birds
which he had. A few extracts from this story are given to illustrate the sagacity which the
Crane displays : — " The extraordinary cleverness and trustful character of my young Cranes," writes
Von Seyffertitz, "have reached such a degree of cultivation, that they engage the attention and
awake the astonishment of all who see them. In a very short time they not only lost all fear
of man and domestic animals, but even sought the companionship of the former. They knew

176 NATURAL HISTORY.

exactly all the houses in the place where the inhabitants had once given them anything, and never
omitted to pay them a daily visit. Without the slightest timidity they entered the lower rooms
of our house, often remaining there some time, and feeding out of the same dish with a very large
Pointer. I fed them three times a day, and they were thoroughly aware when this took place. They
arrived at the proper time, and announced themselves by screaming. If the time seemed too long
they marched into the kitchen and waited by the fire until their dinner was ready. They would
accompany me and others in our walks, following us like dogs ; sometimes taking a flight they gam-
bolled about in the air, alighting occasionally, and then continued to accompany us. It was a pleasure
to have these charming creatures about us." One of them having perished by an accident, the sur-
vivor consoled himself by a greater activity of life. " As it was out of my power," continues the
narrator, " to replace the loss he had sustained by another of his own species, he helped himself. He
chose a fresh companion, with whom he contracted a new friendship, which still exists. You will
hardly imagine the one he chose from among the many creatures surrounding him. It was none other
than a bull on our estate. How, and from what reason, the friendship sprang up, I cannot exactly
make out, though it appears to me that the bull's loud bass voice produced some especial effect. To be
brief, the two became fast friends ere spring time ; the Crane accompanies his horned favourite daily
to the pastures, and daily visits him in the stable. He treats him always with the most marked
deference, and evidently considers him as his superior. In his stable he stands respectful and erect by
his friend, as though obliged to await his orders, keeps the flies off him, answers when he roars, and
takes every possible means to pacify his friend when enraged. When the bull is among the cattle in
the yard he plays the part of adjutant, generally walking about two paces in his rear, often dancing
round him, bowing respectfully, and, in fact, behaving in so droll and comical a manner that no one
could look on without laughing. In the afternoon he follows the bull and the whole herd to the
meadows, a distance of more than two miles, and returns with them in the evening. The bird gene-
rally follows some few paces in the rear of his friend, or else walks alongside of him, or suddenly pre-
cedes him and runs on twenty yards or more, and then, turning round, bows down before his august
companion until the latter has come up with him. These proceedings are carried on through the whole
village, to the intense amusement of the inhabitants, until the farmyard is reached, when, after
repeated bows and demonstrations of affection, he takes leave of his respected companion." After
relating how the Crane reigned supreme in the poultry-yard, and even took the horses and foals in
hand and kept them in trim, the story continues : — " He keeps the cows and oxen in order, both in
the yai'd and in the fields, and assists to drive them backwards and forwards, and always separates
them if they take to butting one another. If they refuse to obey, he tries the effect of his loud ringing
voice, which generally so alarms them that they speedily take to flight. In the fields he keeps the
herd together, and prevents their getting into mischief. One evening he brought home, unaided, a
whole herd of heifers, and drove them into the stables. This bird has undertaken so many jobs that
he is employed the whole day long. Recently he returned to his other duties, after having assisted in
driving the village herd of cattle to the pasture. In passing through the hamlet he found some heifers
belonging to the herd which had remained behind, whereupon he instantly set about driving them down
to those in the meadows. He drove them safely through the village, but frightened them so with his
screams and blows with the beak, that they ran away, and took the contrary direction to where the
rest of the herd had gone. He ran quickly after them to try and bring them back, but to no purpose.
The chase continued for over two miles, finishing in a field of corn belonging to the neighbouring
village, where the cattle and their feathered herdsman were pounded : the latter, however, would not
allow himself to be caught, but returned home, disconsolate at his want of success. ... To us he
behaves in a most polite and amiable manner. When hungry, he generally presents himself under my
mother's window, as she is exceedingly fond of him, and feeds him several times during the day. Here
he calls ; if he is not heard he enters the house, calling louder and louder, till at last he takes refuge in.
the kitchen, where he seeks his friend and caterer, the cook, to whom he details his requirements. He
shows his pleasure at her appearance by uttering the familiar cry, Coor, coor, coor, coor, and makes her
understand, by all manner of antics, how he wishes to be fed. If he wants bits of bread from the hand,
which is his principal food, he points to it with his beak ; should he, however, wish to be fed on the
floor, he lays a piece down there, and then she must throw all the rest there. This bird always shows

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178 NATURAL HISTORY.

most obedience to my mother and her servant, and he misses the latter immediately she is absent, i»
which case ha seeks her with the greatest diligence, stealing into the house and under her window.
listening attentively for the sound of her voice or for her footstep, for he recognises the latter from
afar. "While young, she was always obliged to carry him to his sleeping-place, owing to his great dis^
like to going there himself. If the weather was bad he liked to be taken to bed early ; if, on the
contrary, it was fine, he would hide up in the evening at the approach of his keeper. Now he no longer
seeks her assistance, but his friendship for her is still the same, and ifc is only when she allows.
him to call in vain for his food, when hungry, that he shows his displeasure."

THE SIXTH FAMILY OF THE GRALLJ3, OR WADING BIRDS.— THE TRUMPETERS

This family of birds is entirely peculiar to South America ; and only six species are at present.
known. They differ from the Cranes in having the bill much shorter than the head, the culmen
being arched, and curving downwards at the tip. The plumage is very thick and close, and the
wing is concave, fitting tight to the hody ; it is at the same time broad, the centre quills being
only a little shorter than th3 primaries and secondaries. The tarsus is scaled both in front and
behind. The Trumpeters inhabit the forests, frequenting the ground in search of grain and food.
Their presence is often betrayed by their loud call, which has gained them the name of
" Trumpeter."

CHAPTER IX.
THE HERONS— THE GEESE AND WILD FOWL-THE PELICANS— THE SEA-BIRDS.

THE HERONS— Characters— THE TRUE HERONS— THE COMMON HERON— Mr. Harting's Account of its Habits— Heronries-
— Egrets — Hungarian Breeding-places — Feeding the Young — THE STORKS — The Umbre, or Brown Stork — The Shoe-
billed Stork— The Characteristic Bird of Central Africa— The White Stork— Protection afforded them in Various
Countries— The Adjutant— The Marabou— THE SPOONBILLS AND IBISES— THE SPOONBILLS— Their Peculiar Bill-
Habits — THE IBISES— Species — Dr. Brehm's Remarks on the Sacred Ibis — THE FLAMINGOES — THE GEESE AND
WILD FOWL— THE SCREAMERS— WILD FOWL— Characters— THE GEESE-Dwarf Geese— Coreopsis Goose— Spur-
winged Geese— Grey or Wild Goose— Sea Geese— Brent Goose— THE SWANS— The Wild Swan — The Black Swan^
THE DUCKS — The Wild Duck — The Mallard — SCOTERS — EIDERS — MERGANSERS — THE STIFF-TAILED DUCKS — The
Diving Ducks — THE PELICANS — THE FRIGATE BIRDS — Habits— Visit to a Breeding place — Domesticated — THE.
TROPIC BIRDS— THE PELICANS — The Common Gannet— Visit to a Colony of Boobies — The Darter, or Snake-neck —
The Cormorants — A Colony of Cormorants — The Pelicans — Characters — Habits — Perching on Trees — Fishing — THE.
SEA-BIRDS — Characters — THE SCISSOR-BILLS, OR SKIMMERS — THE TERNS OR SEA-SWALLOWS — " Wide-awake Fairs "-
White Noddies— THE TRUE GULLS— Characters— The Black-backed Gulls— Herring Gulls— Skuas— THE PETRELS—
Distribution — The Diving Petrel — The True Petrels — The Albatrosses — Capt. Button's Remarks on their Unri vailed
Powers of Flight.

THE SEVENTH ORDER OF BIRDS— THE HERONS (Herodiones).

IN the order of Heron-like birds the nostrils will be found to be small, placed rather high,
in the mandible, the bill being at the same time very hard and horny. The bill is longer than,
the head, and is united to the skull by firm, broad bones. The wings are always of large size.
As a rule, the Herons are big birds, and make their nests in trees, whither they bring food
to their young, who remain, for some time in the nests, and are not able, like the majority of
Wading-birds, to provide for themselves when they are hatched. They are also covered with dowu.
of a long, loose character, and they have large crests of down on the head when in the nest.

THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE HERODIONES.— THE TRUE HERONS (Ardeidai).
The true Herons may be distinguished by their large hind toe, which rests on the ground
like the others, and is furnished with a very big claw, or nail, which is equal in size to the claw
of the middle toe. The latter has a pectinated or comb-like edge on its inner margin. The wings
are very large and the flight is slow. The lores and region of the eye are also bare.

THE COMMON HERON (Arctca cinerea).

Much might be written about the habits of this interesting bird, as many excellent accounts.
of its habits have appeared in ornithological works, but nowhere, perhaps, has a better idea of

THE COMMON HERON.

179

the habits of the Heron been given than that by Mr. Harting, in his '-'Hints on Shore
Shooting."

" On most parts of the coast the Heron may be seen at low water, fishing in the little pools
which have been left by the receding tide. Here he finds crabs, shrimps, and other delicacies ;
but instead of being sociable, like the Gulls and Redshanks, and inviting a friend to join him

GREAT "WHITE HERON.

at dinner, he goes to his own particular pool, like an old gourmand to his club, and keeps the best
of everything to himself.

" We have watched him on the rocky weed-covered shore of Northumberland, on the shining sands
of Lancashire, and on the dreary mud-flats of the Sussex harbours, and have found him always
the same ; shy and suspicious, even when seldom disturbed, he seems to have a wonderful eye to
danger, and we almost believe can distinguish a gun from, a stick or an umbrella.

" Now and then, upon a rocky coast, we have stalked him under cover of a friendly boulder, and
while our heart beat loud with rapid exertion and excitement, we have shot him just as he had
detected our head above the rock. And what a triumph we have felt in standing over his prostrate
form, and smoothing his expansive wings, feeling in that moment a sufficient reward for having

130

NATURAL HIS TOUT.

crawled, on hands and knees, perhaps three hundred yards of treacherous ground, slipping over sea-
weed, and through salt-water pools ! But it was never thus on the mud-flats ; there no friendly
barrier intervened to screen our approach, and we could advance only near enough to be just out of
shot, when the large wings were unfolded, and we were left to stand and gaze wistfully after the
coveted prize. Now and then, at early dawn, we have come suddenly upon a Heron while busily
employed under the steep bank of a brook, and have thus been enabled to knock him clown with snipe-
shot before he could get out of range. It was ludicrous to observe the surprise of the bird when he
first became aware of our presence, and with a hoarse croak clumsily endeavoured to get away. On

PURPLE HERON.

one occasion, accompanied by a red Setter, we were stalking a Heron, when the dog, over anxious,
ran forward, and attracted the attention of the bird, which immediately took wing. Instead of flying
away, however, he hovered over the dog, looking down at him like a Hawk. We crouched down,
and gave a low whistle, and the dog, coming back, actually brought up the Heron within shot, when
we fired and killed him. The bird seemed to follow every movement of the dog, and was so intently
eyeing him, that he never saw us until the gun was raised. He then turned at once to make off, but
too late.

" On the coast the Heron feeds at low water during the day, and in unfrequented marshes he may
also be caught fishing in broad daylight ; but when compelled to get his living at reservoirs, ponds,
and rivers, which are oftener visited by his enemy, man, he prefers to come just before daybreak or
after dusk. In autumn, when the brooks run dry, we have frequently noticed the impressions of his
long toes, visible for miles on the soft mud, showing the great extent of ground traversed in his patient
search for food. Fish, frogs, mussels, and even water-rats, are all included in the Heron's bill of fare.

IRE COMMON HEEON.

181

He will take young water-fowl, too, from the nest, and after pinching them all over in his formidable
bill, and holding them Milder water till they have become well saturated, he throws up his head, opens
his mandibles, and the ' Poule d'eau souchee ' disappears.

"Some years ago we paid a visit, in the month of May, to a certain reservoir in Yorkshire, where
the Pochard (Anas ferina) was known to have bred, our object being to ascertain whether this duck
was then nesting there, and to learn what other fowl were on the water. We might say a good deal
of that pleasant excursion, but must confine our attention for the present to the Heron. At one end
of the reservoir is, or was, a thick bed of willows, extending out some distance from the shore. The

NIGHT HERON.

water at this spot is shallow, with a muddy bottom. Coots and Moor-hens were numerous and noisy,
swimming about amongst the willows, and collecting materials for their nests. We lay upon the grass
at the edge of the water, peering quietly through the willows, and learnt a great deal of the private
life of these water-fowl. While we were gazing, a Heron, which must have flown unnoticed up the
water, dropped suddenly in the shallow, within twenty yards of our ambush. Here was an opportunity
for observation. Scarcely venturing to breathe, we watched with interest every motion of the great grey
bird. His long black crest and pendent breast-feathers showed him to be fully adult, and we thought
at the time we had seldom seen a Heron in finer plumage. With head and neck erect, he took a cautious
glance all round, as if to satisfy himself that he was unobserved, and apparently assured, he then
looked down at the water. For some minutes he never altered his position, till at length, bending
slowly and gracefully forward, he suddenly struck the water with his bill, and recovered a small fish.
A- pinch, a toss of the head, and it had disappeared down his thi'oat. He then drew himself together
with apparent satisfaction, wiped his bill upon his long breast-plumes, and slightly altering his position,
166

182 NATURAL HISTORY.

prepared, as an angler would say, to make another ' cast.' At this moment we incautiously moved a
little to one side to avoid a willow-bough, and obtain a better view, when his quick eye instantly
detected the movement, and in another second he was flying down the water in the direction whence
he had come. There are few sights more gratifying to a naturalist than a heronry. We have had the
privilege of visiting three, one at Walton Hall, Yorkshire, the seat of the late Charles Waterton ; one
at Milton, near Peterborough, belonging to the Hon. George Fitz\v illiam ; and one at Wanstead, the
property of Lord Cowley. Did space permit, we might give a detailed and interesting account of all
we saw on these occasions, but we can do no more than offer a few brief remarks on the general
appearance and situation of the heronry last named.

" The date of our visit was the 5th of April, and the birds were then sitting on their eggs. The
Heron is one of the few Waders which resort to a tree for the purpose of nidification, and a stranger
sight than a number of these great birds can scarcely be imagined. Twenty years ago, the Herons at
Wanstead Park tenanted some trees at a different spot to that which they now frequent. At present
they occupy some tall elms upon an island in the largest piece of water in the park. The keeper
informed us that there were about thirty pairs. We proceeded to the boat-house, and after bailing
out the boat, which was nearly full of water, steered for the Heron's island. A good glass enabled us.
to see the birds very clearly, and most of them were in splendid plumage. The nests were placed at
the very top of the trees, and many of them were occupied by a sitting bird.

" Here and there a Heron stood erect upon a bough, with head and neck drawn in, looking for all
the world like a cold sentinel, with his bayonet between his teeth, and his hands in his trousers
pockets. As we approached the island, several loud croaks were heard, and the sentinels took wing,
the sitting birds being the last to leave. Taking it for granted that the bird which sat the longest
was the most likely to have eggs, we selected a tree from which a Heron flew as we reached it. It
was a wych elm, about forty feet high, and the nest was placed amongst the topmost branches. After
a fatiguing climb, owing to the absence of boughs for a considerable distance, we reached the top, and
paused to rest before looking into the nest. And now was the anxious moment. Were our exertions
in vain? Was the nest empty, or were we to be rewarded with the sight of eggs? The nest was
large enough to sit in, composed externally of large twigs, chiefly elm and willow, and lined with
smaller twigs, fibre, and dry grass. It overhung our head to some extent, so that we were obliged to
pull away a portion of the side before we could see into it, when, to our delight, four beautiful eggs
were displayed, their bright bluish-green colour contrasting well with the dark fibre on which they
were laid.

" The wind blew in gusts, and it was no easy matter to get them down safely ; but at length we
succeeded in getting them into our handkerchief, and holding the ends together in our mouth, brought
them down without a crack. They were considerably incubated, showing that they had probably been
laid about the end of the third week in March. The Heron, indeed, is one of the earliest birds to
breed. The young, when first hatched, present a very remarkable appearance, and are fed by their
parents for a long time before they can shift for themselves.

" A friend once kept a Heron on his lawn, and a very amusing bird he was. When first captured
he was very sulky and refused all food. Fearing he would starve, the owner forced some fish down
the bird's throat, but the next moment saw it returned upon the grass. The process was repeated, with
the same result, and a third time my friend endeavoured ineffectually to overcome the obstinacy of
his captive. At length, reflecting how the Chinese treat their tame Comorants, by fastening a strap
round the neck to prevent the fish from going down, he tied a piece of tape round the Heron's throat,
to prevent the fish, in this case, from coming up. The experiment was perfectly successful, and the
bird, finding it impossible to disgorge, at length abandoned the attempt, and subsequently fed himself.
Fish were placed for him in a fountain on the lawn, and he evinced great delight in taking them from
the water. One day a rat was observed helping himself to the Heron's food. The rightful owner
caught him in the act, and with one blow of his formidable bill felled him to the ground. Seizing him,
then, before he could recover, he carried him squeaking to the fountain, and ducked him. After shaking
him well under water, he held him up for examination. The rat spluttered and squeaked in abject
terror, and again was he submerged. The dose was repeated, until the unfortunate rat at length
succumbed, and being by this time nice and tender, the Heron pouched him, and his thin, elongated

THE EGRET.

183

form was seen distending the thin skin of the bird's neck in its passage downwards, until it finally-
disappeared for ever."

The writer remembers, as a boy, paying a visit to Lord Fitzwilliam's heronry, at Milton, near
Peterborough, one of the breeding-places mentioned by Mr. Harting in the foregoing account. On
many of the nests, which were placed at the top of some high trees, two birds were sitting side by side,
silent and unmoved as statues, save for the rocking which the gale of wind gave them. It was blowing
liard at the time, and many nearly full-grown young birds were on the ground walking about, whilst

LESSER EGRET.

not a few were entangled in their fall among the branches, and were liberated by us youngsters, not
without fear of an attack from the old birds, who croaked most ominously above our heads.

The general colour of the Heron is grey above, white underneath, the breast black, with a white
patch in front. The throat and fore-neck are white streaked with black. On the head is a beautiful
pendent crest of black plumes. The forehead is white.

Among the other species of the genus Ardea are the Egrets, most of which have snowy-white
plumage, with beautiful long crests and feathery plumes on the back during the breeding-season.
More than one species has occurred in England, but they are much more plentiful in certain parts of
the continent.

In Hungary large numbers of Herons and Egrets breed together in the marshes, Egrets and
-Night Herons (Nycticorax griseus) herding together with Common and Purple Herons. Landbeck

184 NATURAL HISTORY.

writes : — " The clamour in these breeding-places is so tremendous and singular in its character as
almost to defy description ; it must be heard before a person can form any idea of what it is like.
At a distance these hideous noises blend into a confused roar, so as in some way to resemble the
hubbub caused by a party of drunken Hungai-ian peasants ; and it is only on a nearer approach that
the separate notes of the two species, the Common and the Night Heron, can be easily distinguished,
namely, craik and qudck, to which the notes of the young, zek-zek-zek, or gek-gek-gek, &c., in different
keys, serve as an accompaniment. When close to, the noise is tremendous, and the stench un-
bearable. This, together with the sight of dozens of young Herons in every stage of putrefaction
and teeming with maggots, is perfectly sickening, though the contemplation of life and movement
in this immense heronry is a matter of interest to the true ornithologist."

The tops of the highest trees are usually occupied by the nests of the Common Heron ; a little
lower down is the habitation of the shy and beautiful Great Egret (Egretta alba) ; while among the
forks of the lowest branches the Night Heron takes up her abode. All these species build in one
and the same tree, the nests numbering no I uufrequently as many as fifteen in a single tree, and yet
peace invariably reigns between all these varieties. High over the trees appears the Common Heron,
laden with booty, announcing his arrival with a hoarse craaich, when, changing his note to a goose-
like da-da-da-da, he either jerks the provender down the throats of his ever-hungry youngstei-s,
or throws it up before them, when the fish are greedily swallowed amid a desperate accompaniment
of gohe-e-e-e, gohe-e-e-e, a sound much resembling the frantic cry of a calf which is being lifted into
a farmer's market-cart. The conduct of the more cautious Egret is very different. Circling far above
the nest, she first satisfies herself that no foe is hidden below before she alights amongst her family,
which are much quieter and less hasty than their cousins. The Night Herons, on the contrary,
approach their nests from all sides, high and low, their crops filled with frogs, fish, and insects. A
deep qudk or gowek announces the arrival of the old bird already from some distance, to which the
young answer while feeding with a note resembling queht, qiieht, or quehaodheh, quehoehah. As soon
as the parents have taken their departure the youngsters recommence their concert, and from every
nest uninterrupted cries of tzik-tzik-tzik, tzek-tzek-tzek, tzge-tzge-tzge, and gett-gett-gett, are the order
of the day. This amusement is varied by the nestlings climbing out among the branches till they
reach the top of the tree, whence they can have a good look-out, and can see the old birds returning
home from a long distance, though they are in many cases often mistaken as to their identity.

THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE HERODIONES.— THE STORKS (Ciconiida).

These birds may be divided into two sub-families, the Timbres (Scopince) and the true Storks
(Ciconiince). The first of these sub-families contains only two genera peculiar to Africa, each
possessing a single species as its representative. The Umbre, or Brown Stork, is a bird of moderate
size, with a totally brown plumage and a well-developed crest. Mr. Layard writes of it : — " The
Hammer-kop (literally Hammer-head) is found throughout the Cape Colony, and all the way up
to the Zambesi, frequenting ponds, marshes, rivers, and lakes. It is a strange weird bird, flitting
about with great activity in the dusk of the evening, and preying upon frogs, small fish, &c. At
times, when two or three are feeding in the same small pool, they will execute a singular dance,
skipping round one another, opening and closing their wings, and performing strange antics. They
breed on trees and rocky ledges, forming a huge structure of sticks, some of them of considerable
thickness. These nests are so solid that they will bear the weight of a large, heavy man on the
domed roof without collapsing. The entrance is a small hole, generally placed in the most inaccessible
side." Mr. Layard also states that the bird embellishes his singular nest with brass and bone
buttons, bits of crockery, bleached bones, or anything bright and glittering which it may pick up.
One nest which he saw was three yards long, and one yard and a half across.

The Balceniceps rex, or Shoe-billed Stork, is less widely distributed than the Brown Stork in>
Africa, being only found in the waters of the Upper Nile, where he is very seldom met with, however.
It is one of the largest birds known, and is unequalled among birds for its curious appearance. As
to the distinctive birds of Central Africa. Dr. Brehm writes : — " A creature which resembles a very
marvel of fairy-land — I mean Balceniceps rex, the Boot-bill, or Shoe-bill, as the Arab tribes of East
Soudan call it — holds the first place among the characteristic birds of Africa : there is, in fact, only

<s

SHOE-BILLED STORK.

136 NATURAL UISTOSY.

one other species in Africa which is as remarkable as this — the Ostrich. It would indeed suffice if
we were to take these two birds as types of Africa. One of them, the ' new wonder of the desert,
the camel of birds, a bird which flies on its legs and steers with its wings, a winged Giraffe, which
affords the Arabs matter for a thousand fables ; ' the other, ' the wondrous guardian of the holy
.stream which shrouds its source in secrecy,' in its origin a mystery, in itself a riddle. The sacred
Ibis, no less a servant of the ancient god, added its long-established renown to the sacred stream,
legend has given the Boot-bill its celebrated name, a name as remarkable as the bird itself, while
it has earned from the atmosphere of fable with which it is surrounded, owing to its fantastic form,
•* the whale-head ' and ' king ! ' — and verily with him the innermost and obscurest realm of the
•world is revealed." *

The true Storks have not the hooked bills which distinguish the foregoing birds; they
contain the Adjutants, the Open-bills (Anastomus), and the "Wood Ibises (Tantalus). The White
Stork (Ciconia a'.ba) is a summer visitor to Europe, and is seldom found in England. In many parts
of the continent, however, he is by no means uncommon, and wherever they occur they are protected
t>y the peasants on whose houses they build, and the nests are regarded in many places as a protection
from fire. The migration occurs during January and February, when the Stork arrives in his
•winter quarters in South Africa, passing by the Strait of Gibraltar in vast numbers, some of them,
According to Colonel Irby, remaining to breed in Morocco. These are the first to depart south.
During the autumn migration a great many stop to rest on their southward journey, and are seen
in considerable numbers, being very tame, and often following close behind the plough. M. Favier
.states that the Moors believe that it offends God to kill these birds, in the same way as they believe
that it pleases or soothes the evil one to kill the Raven. The White Storks, in common with Swallows,
are supposed to be inspired by Allah to protect the harvest and the country from noxious insects
and reptiles, and the birds themselves (knowing the benefits they confer on man) ask in return
protection for their offspring by building their nests on the walls of towns and houses. Another
Arab legend is that the Storks originate from a wicked Kadi and his family, who, as a punishment
for their great cruelty, were all changed into these birds, and that these miserables humble themselves
to appease Allah, and in the hope of some day regaining their original human form, pray without
ceasing day and night, and, whenever they rest, prostrate themselves and clack their bills.

Colonel Irby says : — " On the African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, in many situations, the
Storks breed on trees, generally in colonies, as well as on houses, but usually near villages, and almost
every Moorish hovel has its Stork's nest on the top, a pile of sticks lined with grass and palmetto-
fibre. It usually contains four white eggs, which are very rarely marked with pink blotches ; these
are sometimes laid as early as the 25th of March, and are very good eating, either hot or cold. . .
I may here remark that Storks usually migrate in large flocks at a great height, with a gyrating
flight. The earliest date of their arrival that I noticed near Gibraltar was on the llth of Jaiiuaiy ;
and they nearly all leave by the end of September. Feeding on insects of all kinds — mice, snakes, and
other reptiles — they are most useful birds, and certainly deserve the protection and encouragement
which they receive in Morocco, whei-e they are in consequence excessively tame. Their grotesque
actions when resting, and their habit of continually clacking their bills together, making a noise like
a rattle, render them very amusing to watch. I was informed by a Frenchman who had passed two
years in the city of Morocco, that there, as well as at Fez, and some other large towns in the Moorish
Empire, there is a regular Storks' hospital, and that should one be in any way injured, or fall from the
nest, it is sent to this institution, or rather, enclosure, which is kept up by subscription from wealthy
Moors, who consider the Stork a sacred bird."f

Of the Adjutant (Leploplilus argala) an excellent account is given by Dr. Jerdon in his
" Birds of India": — "The pouch is sometimes sixteen inches and more in length. It has no connection
with the gullet, but is probably connected with the respiratory system of the bird ; and as Mi'. Blyth
suggested, is probably analogous to the air-cell attached to one lung only of the Python or Boa, and?
as in that case, no doubt supplies oxygen to the lungs during protracted acts of deglutition. It appears
to increase in size with the age of the bird.

" The Adjutant is found throughout the greater part of India, is rare in the South, but extremely
* " Bird Life," p. 192. f " Birds of Gibraltar," p. 189.

(M

THE ADJUTANT.

187

common in part of Northern India, and more especially in Bengal and North-eastern India. I never
saw it in the Carnatic, nor in Malabar ; it is occasionally met with in Mysore, and is not rare in
Hyderabad, thence becoming more common and abundant northwards. It spreads through Burmah
to the Malayan peninsula. It is only a temporary .resident in India, coming in towards the close of
the hot weather in April or May, and remaining till October. A very few barren or unpaired birds
remain occasionally in parts of the country. In Calcutta, and some other large towns, the Adjutant
is a familiar bird, unscared by the near approach of man or dog, and protected in some cases by law.
It is an efficient scavenger, attending the neighbourhood of slaughter-houses, and especially the
burning grounds of the Hindoos, where the
often half-burnt carcases are thrown into
the rivers. It also diligently looks over the
Leaps of refuse and offal thrown out in the
streets to await the arrival of the scavengers'
carts, where it may be seen in company with
dogs, kites, and crows. It likes to vary its
food, however, and may often be seen search-
ing ditches, pools of water, and tanks for
frogs and fish. In the Deccan it soars to an
immense height in the air along with Vul-
tures, ready to descend on any carcass that
may be discovered. After it has satisfied the
cravings of its appetite, the Adjutant reposes
during the heat of the day, sometimes on the
tops of houses, and now and then on trees,
and frequently on the ground, resting often
on the whole leg (tarsus). The Adjutant
occasionally may seize a crow or a myna, or
even, as related, a small cat ; but these are
rare bits for it, and indeed it has not the
opportunity in general of indulging its taste
for living birds, notwithstanding Cuvier's
statement, ' that its lai'ge beak enables it
to capture birds on the wing.' " Dr. Jerdon

then mentions a description published in 1861 of an Adjutant swallowing a crow, the author of
which account stated that he " saw it pass into the sienna-toned pouch of the gaunt avenger.
He who writes saw it done." Again, wrote this same observer, " The Adjutant's cry very much
resembles water flowing from a narrow-necked bottle, and he invariably utters it when about to
swallow a piece of offal." " These xitterly unfounded statements " called up Mr. Blyth in the " Ibis,"
Yol. iii., p. 268, who showed that both the passing of the crow into the pouch, and the call of the
Adjutant, were simply impossible, in consequence of structural peculiarities. The Adjutant breeds in
trees, on rocky cliffs, occasionally, it is said, in lofty trees away from hills. The neighbourhood of
Moulmein is one of the best-known localities. The nests were found by Colonel Tickell on trees near
the summit of some of the remarkable limestone rocky hills near that place. Captain Sparks had pre-
viously found the nest in the same locality ; and Mr. Frith found them breeding in the south-east part
of the Sunderbuuds. The Adjutant lays two white eggs, and the young are covered with white down.

" The feathers, known as marabou, or Comercolly feathers, and sold in Calcutta, are the under tail-
coverts of this and another species [the Marabou Stork]. There is a popular superstition that if yon
split the head of this bird before death, you will extract from it the celebrated stone called Zahir
mora, or poison killer, of great virtue and repute as an antidote to all kinds of poison."

THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE HERODIOXES.— THE SPOONBILLS AND IBISES (Platakldal).

Although in outward appearance, at least, as far as their bills are concerned, the two groups of
the Spoonbills and Ibises appear so different, yet they are closely allied on anatomical grounds, and

WHITE STORK.

188

NATURAL HISTORY.

are to be considered as forming one family only,
as follows : —

They may, however, be divided into two sub-families,

THE FIRST SUB-FAMILY OF THE PLATALEID^E.— THE SPOONBILLS (Plataleina).
The extraordinary bill separates these birds from all their near allies. It is long and flat,
v/idening out at the tip in a spoon-shaped apex, whence the birds derive their name. Only half a

SPOONBILL.

dozen species of Spoonbills are known to science, but the genus occurs in every quarter of the globe,
excepting in the northern parts. Thus, it is not found in the north of Europe, and only in the southern
states of North America. The Spoonbill comes to England now only as a straggling visitor, but was
formerly more plentiful. It has, doubtless, retired on the draining of the fens, which rendered it diffi-
cult to find sufficiently suitable breeding-places. In Holland it still nests, though even there it is
becoming rarer, as the lakes become drained. In certain places it is known to breed in lofty trees,
but in Holland it nests on the ground among reed-beds, and an interesting account is given by Dr.
Sclater and Mr. Forbes of a visit paid by them to a large mere called the " Horster Meer," between
Utrecht and Amsterdam. The lake is farmed out at a considerable rent for the sake of the fish, reeds,

THE IBIS.

189

and eggs obtained there, and the nests of the Cormorants and Spoonbills are robbed systematically
twice a week during the months of May and June. After that time they are left to hatch out their
eggs. Several thousand nests of the Spoonbill were said to be in different parts of the mere at the
time of the visit of the above-named gentlemen, and all those that they examined were simply flattened
surfaces of broken reed, not elevated more than two or three inches above the level of the swamp
The eggs are white with a few pink or brown spots.

THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE PLATALEIDJS.— THE IBISES

As before mentioned the Ibises, though closely related to the flat-beaked Spoonbills, differ greatly

from them in the form of the bill, which is curved like that of a Curlew. They are, moreover, more

BACKED niis.

numerous than the members of the preceding sub-family, about thirty species being known. These
are found everywhere, excepting in the extreme north, some kinds being resident, whilst others are
migratory. Some of the Ibises are very picturesque in colour, and the Scarlet Ibis (Ibis rubra) of
South America is really a beautiful bird. The Glossy Ibis (FalcimUus igneus), which has occurred
on rare occasions in Africa, is one of the most cosmopolitan of birds, being found in the greater part of
the Old World and the New. The most interesting species, however, of this genus is, no doubt, the
Sacred Ibis (Ibis religiosa), which is so well known to us as the bird worshipped by the ancient
Egyptians, and so often figured on their monuments. It was to them the harbinger of
the spring, and heralded the approach of the fruitful season. Brehm writes : — " Birds are
perfectly aware that they can implicitly trust the Arab. No young scamp ever thinks of
robbing their nest ; no sportsman is lying in wait near their bower to kill the newly-fledged
youngsters. In the eyes of the Arab, the naturalist, even, who only destroys an occasional pair
167

190 NATURAL HISTORY.

of birds, or takes an egg or two for the purposes of science, is not held to be excused. They
have often called down the curse of heaven upon my head for so doing; and, indeed, my brown
servants vised to tremble for me, as they said that the curse was bound to take effect. I nevtr
abused them in return, for I could not but admire the feelings which inspired them on those
occasions, sentiments so noble, and so deeply founded, that I have always dreaded the curse,
despite of myself.

"In former days it may possibly have been thus in all countries. In those days all birds
were loved and cherished by man, some being, indeed, regarded by him as sacred. He saw con-
nected with their appearance and departure those various phenomena of nature which took place
the year round, and whose changes, &c., they did not then understand ; he regarded the arrival
of the migratory visitors with holy awe, as though the Deity Himself had appeared. In this
manner the Egyptians held the Ibis to be sacred. When the Nile, after being at its lowest ebb,
rose again, and the water assumed a red tinge, then the Ibis appeared in the land of the
Pharaohs as sure guarantee that the stream — the giver and preserver of life, which the people
in their profound reverence raised to the rank of a god — would once again empty the well-spring
of plenty over the thirsty land. The servant and messenger of this all-bounteous Deity com-
manded of necessity a reverence of a poetic and distinguished character, by reason of its
importance : he, too, must also be a god ! How beautiful, intelligent, and simple was this messenger I
The Ibis is one of the most amiable and winning birds I have ever met with. It associates of
its own accord so much with man that the trouble of taming the bird is but slight, and
takes place almost without any advances on the part of the former. This the ancient Egyptians
were fully aware of, for we find that they read the great book of nature with intelligence
and care, and it is owing to this that they deified the bird. On this account its remains
were preserved by their priests from decay, and kept for thousands of years, until the spirit,
suffered by permission of an. All-wise God to wander in space, should return to its earthly tenement.
Like the human body, that of the bird was embalmed in the same spices in which the mortal
remains of kings had been preserved from the ravages of time ; and like them, over the sarcophagus
a heap of stones was raised as a monument to the bird. One of the pyramids at Sakkara is dedicated
to the Ibis.

" Now, the Ibis is no longer venerated ; the sacred bird has sunk to the rank of an ordinary
mortal. Isis and Osiris have been supplanted by the Crescent and the Cross ; and with the ancient
gods vanished Thot, their celestial messenger. He no longer appears in Egypt to announce to the
people the rising of the sacred waters ; they believe no longer in his mission. He lives retired
far up the mighty sti-eam, ' who hides his source,' as though he felt called upon to watch the veil
behind which the origin of the ancient god lies hidden to this day. He lives, however, a thousand
times over in the splendid remains of a mighty past. His form stands out clearly among the
hieroglyphics of the sacred writings, and thousands of years hence the porphyry will bear his image,
so long confided to its care." What Dr. Brehm says about the Sacred Ibis not now occurring in
Egypt is quite time, as it is only a rare and occasional straggler to that country, though it is
plentiful in other parts of Africa.

THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE HERODIONES.— THE FLAMINGOES (Phanieopterida).

These curious birds are often placed with the Anatidce, or Ducks, with which their internal
anatomy allies them, but in their osteology they are intermediate between the Anseres and the
Storks and Herons, to which they also show an approach in their extremely long legs. Ths neck
of the Flamingo is very long, and the bill is quite peculiar.

About eight species of Flamingo are known to science, and they are found in most of the
temperate and tropical portions of both the Old and New Worlds, but do not occur in the Australian
region, nor in the northern parts of either hemisphere. One species (P. andinus) is only known
to inhabit the Chilian Andes, and appears to be a mountain species. Many of the others have
tolerably wide ranges, and all appear to frequent the same kind of haunts, affecting marshes
and shallow lakes. The European Flamingo (Plmnicopterus antiquorum) is a migrant to Southern
Europe, arriving as early as February, though the principal flights take place in April, May, and

TUE FLAMINGO,

191

June, and the females come before the males. The return migration occurs in the late autumn.
As a rule they prefer brackish lagoons and salt-water lakes in the vicinity of the sea-coast, and
seldom frequent fresh-water lakes. In deep water they swim, their toes being webbed like those of
a duck, but ordinarily they wade out in the water to a suitable depth, and then bend down their
long necks to rake the bottom for food. The upper mandible is plunged downwards into the mud,
and the tongue is busily occupied during the progress of feeding rejecting what is not good for food,
the refuse being drained thi-ough the sieve-like apparatus on the bird's bill. The breeding habits
of the Flamingo ai-e curious, and are described by Mr. Howard Saunders in his paper on the " Birds
of Southern Spain " as follows : — " The Flamingo always makes its nest in the flattest part of the

mai'sh, in places where there is from three to four inches of water. The nest, which rises to about
half a yard above the surface of the water, is made of mud, like that of a Swallow. Its shape is
almost cylindrical, but somewhat wider at the base. There is a slight concavity for the eggs, oval
in shape, like that of the inside of a hat. When the bird is sitting she has her legs stretched out
behind, hanging in the air (that is to say, unsupported) like the arms of a man when he puts them
behind his back and throws his shoulders forward. The complement of eggs is five, and the birds,
when once frightened from their nests, do not return. To raise itself, the bird ' scrambles ' with its
feet on the side of the nest till it lifts its body clear, and then takes wing."

THE EIGHTH ORDER OF BIRDS.— THE GEESE AND WILD FOWL (Anseres).

The present order is a large one, and though nominally called the Geese, from the fact of the
genus Anser giving its name to the order, it contains by far the larger number of web- footed birds, all
the Ducks, Geese, and Swans being included within its limits. The order Anseres contains two
families, the Palamedeidce, or Screamers, and the Anatidce, or Ducks.

192

NATURAL HISTORY.

THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE ANSERES.— THE SCREAMERS (Palamedeid<e).
These singular birds are natives of South America, and are only three in number, the Horned
Screamer (Palamedea cornuta), from Guiana ; the Crested Screamer (Ghauna chavaria), from Southern
Brazil and Paraguay ; and the Derbian Screamer (Chauna derbiana), from Colombia. They have a
horn on the forehead, and very powerful spurs on the wings, and these are of great assistance to the
birds in defending themselves and their young from the attacks of birds of prey. As a rule, however,
their habits are gentle and shy, but they fly with great power, owing to their broad and powerful
wings. The Crested Screamer is said to be domesticated by the natives, and goes about with the
poultry, being, from its large bulk and formidable wings, a very able defender of the latter birds.

THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE ANSERES.— THE WILD FOWL (Anatidce).

In this group, containing the Ducks, Geese, and Swans, the feet are very short, and the tarsus ia
always strongly reticulated in front ; the bill is almost straight or. at the most, gently curved, and the
tip is convex and rounded at the extremity, in many of the species forming a conspicuous knob, like a
finger-nail. The hind-toe, which is present in all, is small, and does not touch the ground. The sides
of the face also generally present an angular appearance, having a triangular patch of feathers placed
between two bare spaces. The family may be further divided into groups, the Geese, the Swans,
the true Ducks, the Scoters and Eider-Ducks, the Mergansers, and the Diving Ducks.

BLACK SWAN.

THE GEESE.

193

In the first group, the GEESE, the hind-toe is simple, and the bill is deep, with a very conspicuous
" nail " at the end. Many of the Geese are very remarkable in form, especially the Dwarf Geese
(Nettapus}, which do not exceed a foot in length, and are found in Africa, India, and Australia.
Another curious bird is the Cereopsis Goose (Cereopsis novce hollandict) of Australia, which used to
be plentiful in the islands of Bass's Strait, but is fast becoming rarer, owing to its unwillingness to
fly. The earlier voyagers recount their having killed numbers of these birds with sticks, and the
flight of the Cereopsis Goose is described as being remarkably heavy, and performed with difficulty.
Its nearest ally, the extinct Goose of New Zealand (Cnemiornis), appears to have been altogether
incapable of flight. In captivity the disposition of the male bird is most pugnacious, and it is

C7

SUMMER OR WOOD DUCK.

necessai-y to keep them apart from other birds, as they will attack and kill any bird within their reach,
even species as large as Cranes. In their fighting propensities they resemble the Spur- winged Geese
(Plectropterus) of Africa, which have a warty excrescence on the face when adult, and powerful spurs
on the wings. The majority of the Geese, however, remain in the genera Anser and Brenthus. Of
the former genus several species visit England, passing to the extreme north to breed. From the
Grey or Wild Goose (Anser anser, Linnreus) the Domestic Goose is supposed to be descended. The
Sea Geese (Brenthus) are smaller birds and of more compact build, as well as rather more variegated
plumage, the Red-breasted Goose (B. ruficollis) being a really handsome bird. The Sea Geese resort to
the most northern regions to breed, and the Brent Goose (Brenthus bernicla) was found by Captain
Feilden nesting on the shores of the Polar basin. It is also the most common species in England in
winter, occurring in large numbers on some of the tidal harbours and estuaries. Several species of
Brent Geese occur in South America, and are very handsome birds, the males and females differing
conspicuously in plumage.

19-1 NATURAL SISTOEY.

In the second group of the Wild-fowl are the SWANS (Cygnus), remarkable for their extremely
long necks, which exceed the length of the whole body. Their short legs, which are placed rather far
backwards, render the Swan's movements on land awkward and ungainly, but in the water their
motions are graceful in the extreme. Their food consists of vegetable substances and weed, which
they search for under the water, their long necks enabling them to dip down below the surface and to
reach their food at considerable depths. In most of the Swans the windpipe enters the bony portion
of the sternum, and performs several evolutions before passing to the thorax. The Whooper, or Wild
Swan, visits England in the winter, when it is frequently killed both on the sea-coast and inland.
On the tidal harbours of the south coast it consorts with Brent Geese and Ducks, and several are often
obtained by a successful sportsman with a punt gun. The Swans breed in high latitudes, but the tame
species which frequents the rivers and lakes breeds on the eyots and shores, and makes a very large nest
on the land, in which sometimes as many as six eggs are deposited. The latter are of large size and
of a greenish colour. When the young are hatched they are covered with a greyish down, and both
parents display great affection for their offspring, the males being particularly pugnacious, and driving
off any intruder who may approach their domain. They fight with their wings, with which they deal
tremendous blows, often breaking the wing of their adversary. In Australia a peculiar species occurs,
the Black Swan (Cygnus atratus), but perhaps the handsomest of the genus is the Black-necked Swan
(Cygnus nigricollis) of Antarctic America. Both these southern species show a marked contrast to
the northern Swans, which are white when adult.

In the next group occur the true DUCKS, of which the Common Wild Duck (Anas boscas) is the
type. This well-known species is one of the most widely distributed of this wide-ranging family, for
it occurs not only all over the northern portion of the Old World, extending to China and Japan,
but it is also met with in North America, as far south as Mexico. The Wild Duck breeds in many
parts of the United Kingdom, and where not disturbed does not betray any great fear of man.
The nest is placed on the ground, often at some distance from the water, and in one instance the
writer remembers having come across a Duck sitting on nine eggs at least half a mile from the lake
where numbers of others were breeding. It is strange that the sitting bird should expose her young
brood, even if they should be safely hatched, to the risk of capture by a fox or other wild animal
•on their way to the water. The nest in question was placed in a small wooded dell, and was
overhung by a bush, which would have effectually concealed it had not the old bird betrayed its
presence by flying off. The Mallard is a much more handsome bird than the Duck, and both sexes
-closely resemble the common Duck of the farmyard. In summer, however, the male bird loses its
rich plumage, and dons a dress like the female, only resuming its beautiful colours again in August.
A good decoy, where many Wild Ducks are to be seen, is often a pretty sight, the birds swimming
about in pairs, when the fine plumage of the male contrasts with the more sober colour of his mate.
At times they may be seen tail uppermost, searching below the surface for their food, which consists
of worms, grass-seeds and roots, mollusca, insects, small reptiles, and little fish. On being approached
they fly off with a sonorous quack, that of the female being the louder. During the breeding season
the males consort much together, and on taking flight mount high in the air and circle round some
distance before again settling down. The female evinces great attachment to the young, and may
often be seen attended by her little brood, who on the approach of danger manage to conceal them-
selves most adroitly, while the mother will feign lameness, or pretend to be wounded, in order to
draw away the intruder from the whereabouts of' her brood. In the same group as the Wild Duck
are also contained the Sheldrakes, Shovellers, and the Teal, besides several other genera.

In the fourth group of the Ducks are the SCOTERS (CEdemia) and EIDERS (Somateria), etc., which
have the hind toe lobed, and the same peculiarity of the hind toe exists also in the next group, the
MERGANSERS. In the la.tter birds the bill is very long, and more slender than in the other groups.
They are mostly birds of northern regions, occurring in both the Old World and the New ; and two
species, the Goosander (Mergus castor) and the Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator), breed in
the north of Scotland, though they occur more frequently in winter, at which season they are shot,
not only on the harbours of the coast, but also on inland lakes arid rivers. Both species are migratory,
visiting India in the winter, but in the Southern Ocean there is one species (Mergus australis)
which has as yet only been met with in the Auckland Islands. The beautiful Smew (Merguhis

THE FRIGATE BIRDS. 195

albillus) is also one of the Merganser group, and has much the same habits and range as the before-
mentioned species, ranging, like them, into India in winter, and passing the summer in the northern
parts of the Old and the New Worlds. The genus Merganetta also belongs to the group, and
contains three species of beautiful coloration, confined to the Andes of Chili and Peru and the high
ranges of Ecuador.

The last group of the Wild-fowl contains the STIFF-TAILED DUCKS, which are recognisable by their
extremely rigid tail-feathers, which are narrow and pointed, and are not covered at the base by
the upper tail-coverts. The tail-feathers in some species attain to the number of twenty-four. The
hind toe is lobed. As a rule these Ducks are not so much inhabitants of the northern portions
of the globe as were the preceding members of the sub-family, but are found in the more temperate
and warmer climates, especially in the southern regions of the world ; they are also more strictly
inhabitants of lakes. One species, ths White-headed Duck (Erisrnatura leucoce^hala), occurs in
South-Eastern Europe and Northern. Africa, and is stated to be an expert diver, seldom taking to
its wings, and when flying appearing more like a Diver than a Duck, the wings producing a very
audible whirring sound as they progress through the air. Perhaps the most remarkable of all the
Diving Ducks is the great Biziura lobcita of Australia, the male of which has a large lobe of skin
hanging down under the chin, the female being of only half the bulk of the male.

THE NINTH ORDER OF BIRDS.— THE PELICANS (STEGANOPODES).
Under the heading of the Pelicans not only the- latter birds are included, but also all the
Cormorants, Frigate Birds, and Tropic Birds. They form three families, and are all of them
distinctly recognisable by the form of the feet, all the toes being united by a web, which joins the
hind tos as well as tli3 three front ones. In this respect they differ from the Ducks, and Gulls,
and other swimming birds.

THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE STEGANOPODES.— THE FRIGATE BIRDS (Fregatidce).

The Frigate Birds, or Man-of-War Birds, as they are also called, are inhabitants of the tropical
ocean, ranging far soiith, but not occurring in northern latitudes. The tail is veiy long and forked,
the bill powerful and hooked, so that by some ornithologists they have been considered to be not dis-
tantly related to the birds of prey. Their flight is most aiiy and buoyant, and the rapidity with which
they fly is extraordinary. They are robbers in every sense of the word, following up the more pacific
Terns and Gannets, and forcing them to disgorge the fish they have captured with so much patience,
pursuing them in mid-air, and dexterously catching the fish as the frightened quarry .lets it fall.
Audubon states that he believes the Frigate Bird to be possessed of the most powerful flight of any
known bird, and he relates having seen one of them pursue a Cayenne Tern and force the latter to let
go of a fish it had captured. The latter was about eight inches in length, and had been seized by the
robber in a manner inconvenient to swallow. It therefore mounted about a hundred yards, let the fish
fall and caught it again, biit then not satisfactorily, and it again dropped it, reclaiming it, however,
before it had fallen many yards, when he at last managed to catch it conveniently, head foremost, and
gulped it down. The Frigate Birds apparently always build in rookeries on trees, and Mr. G. Cavendish
Taylor has published an account of his visit to one of these breeding-places off the coast of Honduras : —

"On the 1st of January, 1858, we went off in a boat, with four rowers, to visit an island some four
or five miles from Tigre Island, in the Bay of Fonseca, on the Pacific coast of Honduras. It is called
Bird Island, and is not more than an acre in extent, and of an oblong shape. At one end the beach is
sandy, and at low water one can walk across to another island close adjoining. At the other end the
shore is rocky, and it is much the same at the sides, the beach being strewn with large volcanic stones.
The surface of the island is some thirty or forty feet above the sea level. It is covered with long
grass, and there are also a few trees and low shrubs — mangroves (Rhizophora mangle, Linn?eus) — growing
in places, especially about high- water mark. At a distance the most conspicuous object was a numerous
flight of Frigate Birds soaring over the island. As we approached, large white patches, caused by the
droppings of the birds, became visible. We landed on the flat sandy beach, and in a few minutes I
had shot a pair of Tiger- Bitterns (Tigrisoma tigrinuni), which allowed me to approach without any
difficulty. Besides these and the Frigate Birds we saw no birds on the island, except a few Pelicans,

196

NATURAL HISTORY.

some large Accipitres, and a single Booby (Sula Jitsca), which had its nest on a low tree in company
with the Frigate Birds. The whole island was appropriated by the latter. Nearly every tree and
bash, both high and low, was covered with birds and their nests. The latter were mostly composed of
a few sticks laid crossways, hardly as much in quantity as in the nest of the Ring Dove (Columba
palumbus). Each nest contained a single egg, about the size of a hen's egg, and of a chalky whiteness.
We brought away nearly a hundred of them. Some were quite fresh, and others had been sat upon
some days. Although the nests were upon low bushes, still they were placed just too high for one to
reach the eggs without climbing. Many of the nests were on the mangrove bushes which were growing
just above high-water mark, so that we could see into them when standing on the bank of the island,

FKIGATE BIRD.

which was at a higher level. Some of the birds were sitting on their nests, and others were perched
upon the branches. By firing into the mass I might have killed a dozen at a shot, but shooting would
have been an absurdity, for I could have obtained any number with a stick. The difficulty was to get
them off their nests. Shouting had little or no effect ; and even the report of a gun would only raise
a few, who would frequently settle again on the bushes. I threw some stones among them, without produc-
ing much result, and even tried to poke them off their nests with my gun ; but they merely snapped their
beaks at me in retaliation. All this time there were thousands of other birds soaring in the air a little
way over our heads. I observed that the Frigate Birds were of three different plumages. As there
were birds of all three sorts sitting together, and with their nests in the same bushes, I concluded that
they were of one and the same species — males, females, and immature birds. Some have the head and
neck white, the beak white, the feet and legs bluish-white, the belly white, and the wing-coverts
greyish-brown. Others have the legs and feet black, and are black all over, with a greenish metallic
tinge on the black. These have a bright scarlet pouch, which they inflate to the size of an Ostrich's egg

THE TROPIC BIRDS.

197

while on the wing. The boatmen informed me that these were the male birds. Others, probably im-
mature birds, had the head black, the throat white, and the legs and feet pink. All had long black
forked tails. I obtained a specimen of each, but did not preserve them, as I had much to do ; and
besides, they are stinking birds to handle, as bad as, or worse than, the Turkey-Buzzard (Cathartes).
The Pelicans have also a breeding-place in Fonseca Bay, but it is in an island at some distance from
the one in possession of the Frigate Birds."

In the Ellice Islands, the Rev. S. G. Whitmee states that the birds are domesticated by the
natives, and when he was in those islands in 1870 he saw scores of them about the villages, sitting on
long perches erected for them near the beach. The natives procure the young birds and tie them by
the leg and feed them till they are tame. Afterwards they let them loose, and they go out to sea. to
get their food, and return to their perches in the villages. The same gentleman also informed the
writer that a post had been established between some of the islands by the missionaries, much after
the fashion of Carrier Pigeons in England, and Mr. Whitmee had himself seen more than one letter
arrive in a quill attached to the bird.

THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE STEGANOPODES.— THE TROPIC BIRDS (Phaethontidce) .
These birds, more familiarly known to mariners as " Bo'suns," are inhabitants of the centre of
the ocean between the tropics, and are generally observed following in the wake of vessels. From
their white plumage they have much the aspect of Sea Swallows, which they also resemble in their
night. They may, however, be distinguished by the two long central tail-feathers, which in one of
the three species known are red, in the other two white. Mr. Hume describes the Tropic Birds
as not uncommon in the northern portion of the Indian Ocean. They flew about the ship much like

TROPIC BIRD.

168

J9S NATURAL HISTORY.

Terns, with their longish bills pointed downwards after the manner of the Caspian Tern. They
seemed totally fearless, and were in fact attracted to the vessel by guns which were fired at other
birds ; but they did not come very close, not nearer than seventy or eighty yards as a rule, but they
flew round and round at this distance for some time. They were in small parties of ten or twenty
in number. Mr. Penrose, writing on birds from the island of Ascension, states that all these species
of Tropic Birds, and some other sea-birds, such as the smaller Skuas, are familiarly called Boatswain
Birds by the sailors, owing to the resemblance of the projecting tail-feathers to a marling-spike.
The Tropic Birds feed principally on crabs, and they breed on a little island lying off the eastern
coast of Ascension, named " Boatswain Bird Island," nesting in holes in its sides, and laying only one
egg. Curiously enough, the male and female are found sitting in their holes side by side, with their
heads inwards ; and as soon as one has been drawn out it begins to use its beak to considerable
purpose. Two species of Phaeihon nest on this small island.

THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE STEGANOPODES.— THE PELICANS (Peleeanidee).

Besides the true Pelicans the present family contains the Gannets (Sula), the Darters (Plotus),
and the Cormorants (Phalacrocorax). The Common Gannet (Sula bassana) gets its specific name from
its historical association with the Bass Rock, which is one of its well-known breeding-places. The
number of birds which frequent that locality is prodigious, and Mr. Seebohm tells us that when
he visited the Rock he found every available ledge on the steep side occupied with a nest. In
fact, it overflows with them, and on the top a number of nests are placed for which there is literally
no room on the ledges of the cliffs. Among these nests a person may walk, and in many cases
y»ush the birds off them. The nest, according to Mr. Seebohm, is made of sea-weed, and is very
similar to that of the Cormorant. He never saw more than one egg, which resembled that of the
last-named bird, but was perhaps twice the bulk. Looking down the cliff on to the myriads of birds
flying in every direction reminds the observer at once of a snow-storm. The young are almost black
when first hatched, but are afterwards covered with a white down. For the first year they are of a
dark grey colour, afterwards mottled, but it is not until the fifth year that they attain their white
plumage and commence to breed. They come to the Bass Rock in the early part of March,
remaining till October, and sometimes till November. In the winter only stray birds are seen,
and these are very wild. When the Gannet leaves the shores of England in the winter it is
seen in large quantities in the Strait of Gibraltar. Colonel Irby states that he has seen them
close to the Rock of Gibraltar in large numbers, where, according to the wind, they might be
noticed fishing 011 the leeward side of the rock, particularly close to Gibraltar, and many a time
lie has watched them darting down from a considerable height on their prey, often disappearing
rquite under the water. On the wing, to an experienced observer, they look like a large Gull.
'The earliest dates on which he observed this species near Gibraltar were on the llth of November,
1870, and the 12th of October, 1871, while in the spring he saw them as late as the 28th of
March.

In the typical Gannets, such as the European bird just noticed, the throat is feathered, with
:a naked line in the middle, but there are several small species frequenting the tropical and
.southern oceans which have the tin-oat bare, as well as the whole of the face, and belong to the
sub-genus Dyspcrus. They also frequent islands, and an interesting account is given by Mr. Osbert
•Salvin in his paper on the Sea-birds of British Honduras, of a visit paid by him in 1862 to the
cays off the last-named coast : —

11 The northern end of Half-moon Cay, which is long, and shaped as its name implies, is
occupied by the pilots, who have their houses scattered about under a grove of cocoa-nuts. There
are but few mangroves, but the southern portion, as well as nearly the whole windward side, is
covered by low 'bush.' A large colony of Boobies (Sula piscator} hold entire possession of this
portion of the island, every tree having four or five nests in it. By the time we had made
acquaintance with some of the pilots, and had taken a ' long drink ' of cocoa-nut milk (a luxury after
the stale water we had had to put up with on board the schooner), it was mid-day, yet we made our
way through the trees to search for Boobies' eggs. The sky was clear and the heat intense, the
sea-breeze not yet blowing with any force, and the foliage not being thick enough to afford much

THE BOOBY.

199

shelter from the scorching rays of the sun. The Boobies, too, seemed affected by the heat, and sat
panting with open beaks ; some, still more overcome, were resting against a branch, with their
heads hanging down and eyes shut. At first I thought these were dead, but on stirring them up, I
succeeded in making them open their eyes. I could not, however, prevail upon them to get up ; they
only screwed their heads about with a sort of expression that seemed to ask me what I meant Over-
many of the nests one of the old birds sat, and in the same trees the fully-fledged young still remained.

DAHTEK, OR SXAK.E-XECK.

The young were of every age, their plumage including every stage, from the white down of the newly-
hatched chick to the grey dress of the full-grown. In some few, still older, the white dress of the
adult was beginning to show itself. The name Booby is most appropriate : I never saw a bird with
less idea of getting out of one's way, or caring less for what one did. Walking about under the trees
was nothing ; they hardly condescended to look down ; nor when we stirred them up while taking a
' siesta,' pulled their tails, poked them off their nests, and fought with them for their eggs, and bullied
them in every way, did we succeed in getting up any sort of excitement in the colony. They took
everything with the greatest indifference, with a complaisant, grave expression that was laughable to
watch. And yet a Booby is no fool at fishing. Rare sport they must have of it, flying at the pace

200

NATURAL HISTORY.

they do, and taking such headers. It was too hot to climb to every nest within reach ; and after
trying a few, we found that there was always a chance of an egg in a nest upon which, and not near
which, an old bird sat. Even in this way, after a long search, we only secured four rotten eggs.
A few Man-of-War Birds breed in the same trees, nearly all of which had eggs. This Booby makes a
nest very like that of a Man-of-War Bird, i.e., of twigs rather untidily laid together in a convenient

CORMOKANT.

fork in the top of a tree. I could not easily calculate the number of birds in this colony, but there
were certainly several thousands."

The Darters (Plotus) are only four in number, and are inhabitants of the tropical and southern
portions of both hemispheres, never occurring in the northern parts. One species inhabits South
America, another Africa, a third India and the Malay countries, and a fourth Australia. They are
also called Snake-necks, from the habit they have of swimming with the body submerged and only the
neck exposed above the water, so that they really look not unlike a snake coming along. They are on
this account not very easy to shoot, as their long thin necks offer a very indifferent target. They
inhabit fresh water, and are not shy in districts where they have been unmolested.

The Cormorants (Phalacrocorax) are a much larger group than the Snake-necks, and are
found all over the world, some of them being very large, while others are quite small and of
elegant form. Many of the Cormorants are ornamented with a somewhat metallic plumage,

THE CORHORAXT. 201

whilst not a few in the breeding season have some distinctive addition to their dress, either in
the shape of a fine crest or wattles on the face. The British species, for instance (P. carbo),
has, when in full plumage, not only a crest, but exhibits a white patch on the lower iianks, and
some white filamentous plumes on the neck. Mr. Seebohm allows us to make the following
extract from his interesting journal of a visit to the Fern Islands, off Northumberland. He
writes : — " The next island which we visited was that in which the Cormorants had established
their colony. It consisted of an irregular reef of rocks rising on one side of the island somewhat
abruptly out of the sea, to the height of ten or twenty feet, and sloping away into the sea on the
other side with a rocky, shingly shore. As we nearecl the island we could see the weird-looking birds
standing, some on the rock and some on the edge of their nests, stretching out their long snake-like
necks, and evidently becoming alarmed at the approach of our boat. Before we got near enough
to land they took wing, and retired to a distant part of the island, one old female, apparently the
grandmother of them all, being the last to leave. The whole of the surface of the rocks was covered
with the dung of the birds, and the smell was, of course, very strong. We counted upwards of
seventy nests, large structures, being heaps of sea-weed from one to two feet high, and generally lined
with the fresh thick green leaves of the maritime plants growing on the islands — sea-parsley, &c. The
natural colour of the Cormorant's egg seems to be a bluish-green, like the usual variety of the common
domestic Duck, but over this is a thick white irregular coating of lime, which is frequently in such
abundant quantity as to stand in lumps on the surface, seldom allowing much of the original colour
to be visible. No doubt this superabundance of lime is produced by the bones of the fish of which this
bird is said to eat prodigious quantities, and perhaps also from shell-fish." In many of the islands off
the coast of northern Europe, and on the Danubian islands, vast colonies of Cormorants breed together
in company with "VVading-birds, Herons. &c., and the same occurs with the American species. Mr.
Salvin gives a very similar description of the nesting of the Florida Shag (Phalacrocorax floridanus) in
the cays of Honduras to that given by Mr. Seebohm above. Landbeck gives an account of the
Cormorants in one of the Danubian islands, when he describes the breeding of the Herons already
quoted (p. 184) : — "After we had procured such specimens as we wanted of the three species of Herons
and had, on passing a swamp, watched the manoeuvres of one or two Purple Herons, we determined to
visit the Cormorants, which were breeding near by, in single pairs and also in large colonies, in com-
pany with Herons. The same sickening scene which we had observed at the first heronry was about
to be repeated here : dung, broken egg-shells, putrid fish and birds, gave off the same noisome stench
as in the first place. The Cormorants, young and old, sitting complaisantly on their nests, bestowed
wondering glances on the uninvited guests from their beautiful sea-green eyes, while the parent birds
greeted us with a deep bass note, not unlike an outburst of laughter, which may in some way be
compared to the sound, Goc-goc-gog-gog-gog, and their offspring set up a curious whistling sound,
resembling Haidioh, haidioh, which sound we thought rather pleasant than otherwise. As soon,
however, as we disturbed this peaceful scene by a shot, the Cormorants darted from their nests like
snakes, with the speed of an arrow from a bow, over the trees to the other side, but did not return as
soon as the Herons. After we had hidden oui-selves amongst the bushes they came back, flying at a
great height round and round, examining to see if the coast was clear ; and at last, as soon as they
seemed satisfied that all was safe, they darted on to their nests with the same celerity as they had left
them, squatting close, so as to keep themselves out of sight ; their caution, however, proved unavailing,
and several fell to our guns. The wounded showed a courage and determination which quite surprised
us : the winged birds turned at bay with great ferocity, dealing our dog such a hail of blows with
their beaks as to drive him howling away. An old bird which I had mortally wounded gave me a
blow through my trousers which instantly drew blood, while my brother was struck by another on the
forehead, between the eyes, and narrowly escaped being blinded. The nests of these birds were larger
and better built than those of the Herons, offering no small resistance to our shot."

In the Pelicans (Pelecanus) the principal feature is the long furrowed bill and the enormous pouch
to the lower jaw, which is drawn up when the bird is at rest, but is capable of extension to an
immoderate extent, and is used by the bird as a bag to hold the fish which he catches in large quanti-
ties. The number of known species of Pelican is under a dozen, and they are not found in northern
climates at all. On the Nile the Common Pelican (Pelscinus onocrotalus) is very common, and is

202

NATURAL HISTORY.

seen in vast flocks. Brehm gives an excellent account of their habits from his own observations in
Egypt and the Nile Valley. He states that in no other part of Africa dil he see such vast numbers
of Pelicans collected together as on th3 Lake of Menzaleh, where the flocks of these birds covered the
water to the extent of a square mile or more, looking, at a distance, like gigantic water-lilies. If any
one shoots at them they rise en missz, with a rushing sound, not unlike tho rolling of drums, which
may be heard a mile off. The same observer relates that they lie on the water as if they were made

of cork, and it is only in shallow water, to the bottom of which they can reach with their long neck
aid hooked bill, tl:at they usually fish for food. They hunt in company, and on large lakes or on the
sea-shore they form a semicircle, gradually paddling inwards and narrowing the diameter, so as to en-
close the fish, which fall victims to the rapacity of these powerful birds. On narrow rivers or canals
they form two lines, which face each other and gradually meet, so as to drive the fish between them.
They will, however, swallow young birds and ducklings, though fish is their general food. The daily
life of a Pelican, writes Dr. Brehm, " is conducted in a very regular manner : the early hours of
morning are employed in catching food, and they may then be seen hastening from all quarters to the
fishing-ground, in small or large parties, the former flying in single file, the latter in the well-known

THE SCISSOR-B1LLS. 203

V-shape adopted by many birds of passage. Some parties may soon be seen returning from the water,
satisfied with their meal, while others are making their way towards the shallow bay from which
breakfast has to be procured. Towards 10 o'clock, a.m., they begin to congregate upon their favourite
sand-bank, or an inland group of trees, and here they repose after their toil, some lazily digesting their
food, and others more actively employed in oiling and preening their feathers, a proceeding in which
they are occupied for a considerable length of time, their long, unmanageable bill being but little
adapted to the work. When this is accomplished, they take a kind of siesta, some perched on trees,
others on the ground, the former generally sitting bolt upright upon the branches, with their necks
resting on their breasts, while the latter generally lie flat on their bellies, and doze away the noontide
hours. Between three and four o'clock the whole assembly begins to wake up and prepare for another
fishing excursion, in which they are engaged till sunset, after which they at once set off to their sleep-
ing places, situated on a lonely sand-bank, or some island covered with trees, upon the branches of
which they pass the night." Other naturalists have commented on the peculiarity of the Pelican
perching on trees, the most unlikely resting-place for a bird of such heavy bulk. " It was a bold
Pelican," observes Mr. Osbert Salvin, " that first perched upon a tree ; a bird less adapted to such a
resting-place could hardly be imagined. Yet there they sit on the mangrove boughs for hours, preen-
ing their feathers with their long, hooked bills, an amusement they seem to take special delight in, all
the time keeping their balance with ease, even when a strong wind tries the security of their footing.
Others are resting on a spit of sand that runs out from one end of the small cay, and on the stranded
logs, of which plenty lie scattered about along the reefs even of the outermost atolls, being floated out
of every stream during the floods of the wet season ; more are still fishing in the shallows. There are
few sea-birds more interesting to watch than Pelicans fishing : there is a sort of methodical determina-
tion about the way in which they set to work that seems to warrant success ; and I have watched
them time after time dart down, seldom failing, on coming to the surface, to bolt the fish they have
secured. When a bird does miss, a look of disappointment is ludicrously shown by the dejected way
in which it hangs down its bill. Four or five generally rise in company, and flying round to get the
necessary impetus and height, with neck drawn in and beak slightly depressed they suddenly, as it
were, stop short in the air, and dash, with outstretched neck, into the water upon the shoal of fish,
which has, perhaps, shifted a little from the spot on which the last descent was made. They rest but
a moment on the water — only time enough to bolt their prey, which is done by throwing the bill
upwards, thus slightly distending the pouch, a ready bag to receive the fish, before held between the
mandibles." Mr. Salvin is here writing of the American Pelican, the only bird of the genus which
dives at all.

THE TENTH ORDER OF BIRDS.— THE SEA BIRDS (GAVLE).

These elegant and beautifully-plumaged birds may be divided into two large families, the Gulls
and the Petrels, all of them being long-winged birds (Longipenn.es of Cuvier), and consequently of very
powerful flight. In the Gulls the hind toe is small, elevated above the level of the ground, and not
united by a web to the other toes. The nostrils are placed laterally in the bill, and are rather low down
in the upper mandible, as well as longitudinal. The general colour of the plumage is grey and white,
the latter predominating. There are three sub-families of the Gulls, the Scissor-bills, the Terns, and
the true Gulls.

THE FIRST SUB-FAMILY OF THE LARID^E, OR GULLS.— THE SCISSOR-BILLS,

OR SKIMMERS (Rhynchopina).

In these peculiar birds the bill is the characteristic feature, being long and thin, the mandibles
very narrow and compressed, the lower one longer than the upper one. In other respects they much
resemble Terns, the wing being very long and sharply pointed, the tail forked, and the feet small.
Only three species are known, one being found in America, another in India, and a third on the Nile
and the Red Sea. Dr. Jerdon gives the following account* of the Indian Scissor-bill (Rhytichops
albicollis) : —

" This remarkable bird is found throughout India, frequenting rivers, especially the larger ones.

* " Birds of India," Vol. III., p. 947.

204 NATURAL HISTORY.

It associates in. flocks of from twenty to fifty or more, and skims up and down the river with a peculiar
flight, keeping close to the water, and now and then dipping its bill into the stream. It is asserted
that it picks up small fish and Crustacea, and it is quits possible that it does so occasionally, but I have
examined several, and never found any remains of those animals in their stomachs. I have generally
discovered merely a little oily fluid, and I confess that I am ignorant of what it actually lives on. Some
travellers have asserted that the African species feed on the ground, searching the soft mud with their
beaks, but I have never seen the Indian birds so engaged, and doubt their doing so. At one time
I was inclined to think that these birds perhaps fed at night, and had such a rapid digestion that no
remains of their food were to be seen during the day, but on one occasion I shot several, in company
with Mr. W. T. Blanford, on the Irawaddy, rather early one morning, and we found nothing but the
usual oily fluid, and that in very small quantity. The Skimmer breeds in April and May on sandy
churrs, laying four, occasionally five, eggs of a pale stone-yellow colour with blotches of grey and brown,
quite Tern-like. The young when hatched are stated by Burgess to be clad in a whity-brown down,
with dark spots. Mr. Brooks writes me that he found the young Skimmers hatched by the 15th of
April, at Mirzapore, and that ' it was amusing to see an army of some hundreds of these little fellows
(tortoiseshell-looking things) running steadily a couple of hundred yards before us. They run well,
and when we reached the end of the sand-bank they attempted to swim off, while many squatted down.
They did not make much way swimming, and sank very deep in the water.' "

THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE LARID.E.— THE TERNS, OR SEA-SWALLOWS (Stomitue).

These elegant birds have the plumage of miniature Gulls in a great degree, but are of a much
more slender build, with very long and pointed wings and tail, and very short legs. Their flight is
extremely graceful, and nothing can be more interesting than to watch a flock of Sea-Swallows engaged
in hunting for their prey. Flitting along with a fairy-like flight, they may be seen dancing over the
water, every now and then dipping down on the surface with a gentle splash after something which
their sharp eyes have detected. They are not, as a rule, met with far from land, and sometimes large
flocks may be seen beating about off" the coast, and hunting in company. After severe weather they
may be found on inland lakes or rivers, and several instances of the Black Tern (Sterna fissijies)
occurring on the Thames at least sixty miles from the sea, have come under the writer's notice.

Several species occur on the coast of Great Britain, and Mr. Seebohm's journal of his trip to
the Fern Islands off the Northumberland coast contains many very valuable notes on the Sea-
Swallows : — " By far the most interesting and beautiful birds inhabiting these islands are the Terns,
of which there are three, and perhaps four, well-marked species breeding in the locality. The most
important of these is the Sandwich Tern. On the short grass between the masses of bladder campion
that grew in the wide Opens almost to the spring high-water tide-mark I found three and four eggs
of this bird. On one side of the wide Opens is a very much smaller island, almost bare of vegetation,
and connected with the larger island by a long shingly beach, which is entirely covered at high water.
It being about low water I trudged patiently and laboriously over the loose stones until I reached the
small island, which I found to be a perfect little El Dorado. On a gently sloping sandbank leading up
to the nucleus of the island, or the island proper, which was merely a mass of shelving rocks perhaps
thirty feet across, there was a colony of Sandwich Terns' nests. These nests, if such they could be
called, were slight hollows in the base sand, about the size and depression, say, of a cheese-plate. The
nests and their contents were so difficult to distinguish from the sandbank that my first discovery of
the colony was to find that I had ' put my foot in it,' and broken a Tern's egg. In the thick of them
there must have been an average of a nest for nearly every square yard. On this little island in less
than a quarter of an hour I found an Eider Duck's nest with eggs, several Lesser Black-backed Gulls'
nests with eggs, besides taking four Ringed Plover's eggs, seven Oyster-catcher's eggs, about a dozen
eggs of the Common and Arctic Terns, and more than a hundred eggs of the Sandwich Tern, and I
suppose I might have taken at least a hundred eggs of the latter bird if I had been so disposed. All
the eggs of the Sandwich Tern which I brought away were in splendid condition, most of them
apparently being just fresh laid. Some of the nests, or hollows in the sand, for they could scarcely be
called nests, contained two eggs ; a very few had three, but by far the largest number contained only

; THE TERNS. v 205

one egg. They varied considerably in colour, and some of the darker varieties approached those of the
Oyster-catcher.

" On the same island, as well as on one or two of the others, was a colony of smaller Terns,
which were flying about and making a great noise, as long as we were near their eggs. They make
rather more of a nest than the Sandwich Tern, but it is nothing more than a slight depression in the
sand or shingle, with an apology for a lining composed of diy stalks of the bladder campion. In
some cases the eggs were laid on the ground without the slightest appearance of any nest, the eggs
being generally two, rarely three. We were told that these colonies of smaller Terns were of three
species, the Arctic, the Common, and the Roseate Tern, but the latter we were unable to make out.
The majority were undoubtedly Arctic Terns, with the brilliant orange bill and light grey breast, but we
could easily distinguish a considerable percentage of the Common Tern, with black-pointed bill and
pure white breast. It was quite impossible to identify the eggs, as the nests were too near together,
and the birds too shy. My drawer of these eggs contains eighty fine specimens, varying in colour
from that of a Snipe to that of a Jackdaw. I suspect that the large wide eggs, with the small end
pointed, are those of the Common Tern, and the small oval eggs are those of the Arctic Tern, but
there are so many eggs intermediate in shape and size, that it is impossible to know where to draw the
line. The Terns are very elegant birds upon the wing, their swallow-like shape, with their long
wings and long forked tails, being extremely graceful, while their brilliant orange legs and bills are in
exquisite harmony with the delicate dove-colour and white of the general plumage."

In some of the nesting-places in the Tropics, however, the Terns assemble in prodigious numbers,
and on Ascension Island there are three of these " Wide-awake Fairs," as they are called. The late
Commander Sperling has given an account of a visit to one of these fairs, the bird which is called on
Ascension " Wide-awake " being the Sooty Tern (Sterna fuliginosa). " On the 8th of June,
1867," writes Sperling, "I was literally cast ashore on that island, for the periodical rollers were
dashing against the coast, and my boat was upset in the surf ; so giving myself a good shake, as
the only available means of drying my clothes, I started for ' Wide-awake Fair,' the name which the
blue-jackets who have visited the place have considered an appropriate one to designate the spot where
the birds gather for nesting purposes. Leaving Comfortless Cove about the middle of the day, I
walked over two dreary miles of cinders and ashes, uncheered by a symptom of vegetation, before I
noticed flocks of Terns converging from various parts of the ocean to a spot apparently about a mile
in front of me ; but as yet I observed nothing of the ' fair.' At length, on turning slightly to the
left, and surmounting a low ridge, the whole scene was disclosed. A gradual incline of a quarter of
a mile terminated in a plain of ten or fifteen acres in extent, which was literally covered with the
birds. The plain was surrounded by low mountains, except on the side on which we stood, and being
entirely sheltered from the wind, its heat under the full blaze of a tropical sun was very oppressive. No
description can give an adequate idea of the effect produced by the thousands upon thousands of these
wild sea-birds floating and screaming over this arid cinder bed, the eggs and young scattered so thickly
on the ground that in some instances it was impossible to avoid crushing them, and the bleached bones
of dead birds were distributed in all directions. During our short walk down the incline, large flocks
of parent birds hovered over our heads, and assailed us with plaintive cries, regardless of our sticks,
with which we might have killed any number of them ; but their beautifully pure dark and white
plumage and graceful motions caused it to appear almost a sin to knock any of them down. On
arriving within the precincts of the breeding-grounds their numbers increased ; large flocks were
arriving in endless succession from seaward ; clouds of birds rose from the ground, and, joining
those already attending us, their wheelings and gyrations almost made us giddy. I sat down on a
lump of cinder, and the society, being at length convinced that my policy was not aggressive, went on
with the ordinary routine of incubation. There were young of all sizes, from the little callow ones
just hatched to the nearly fledged birds that fluttered and crawled like young pigeons. There were
also lots of eggs exposed on the bare ground ; but in most instances the old bird sat on its solitary
treasure, hissing defiance as I approached, and fighting manfully if I attempted to remove it. The
young are of a very light sooty colour both above and beneath, the ends of most of the feathers having
a white spot the size of a pea, which gives them a speckled appearance. The whole of the ' fair,' both
in smell and appearance, reminds one of the effect produced by a sudden entry into a large pigeon house.
169

S06 NATURAL HISTORY.

" In the interstices of the scoriae and lava round this nursery lurk numbers of wild cats (not
Felis catus, but the domestic breed run wild), and the bones of both old and young birds tell the
tale of the ravages they commit."

Soue of the most curious of the Terns are the White Noddies (Gygis) which inhabit the
Southern Ocean, and lay but a single egg, which is placed, according to Mr. Howard Saunders, in the
cavity of the branch of a tree, or in a fork of two branches, and on the points of the coral reefs;
anywhere, in fact, where it will lie.

THE THIRD SUB-FAMILY OF THE LARIDJE, OR GULLS.
THE TRUE GULLS (Larince).

In the Gulls, whose style of plumage is very similar in character to that of the foregoing birds,
the wings are long and pointed, but not to so great an extent as in some of the Terns, and the bill is
stouter and much more curved, there being a very prominent angle 011 the lower mandible, accom-
panied by a swelling on the upper mandible, which in most of the Gulls appeal^ to divide the bill into
veiy distinct halves, the division being generally accompanied on the lower mandible by a patch of
brighter colour. The feet are also powerful, the tarsus longer, being equal to the middle toe and
claw. Many of the Gulls, and particularly the Skuas (Stercoraritts), are voracious robbers, while
some of them, on the other hand, are pretty, graceful birds, of shy and timid dispositions. The
Greater Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) is one of the largest species known, and is peculiar to
Europe and North-eastern America. It is a bird of predatory habits, doing great damage to the
peaceful Eider Ducks and other wild-fowl, whom it harries relentlessly, and destroys numbers of their
eggs and young. Dr. Sundstrbm states that on the Island of Aland, off the Swedish coast,
where this Gull is common, it is justly looked on as a pest, and is destroyed whenever it can be
approached, which is not often, as it is very waiy when it finds itself followed. It daily devours
large numbers of fish, and destroys the eggs of the Eider and other Wild Ducks. He has seen it
swallow small Eider Ducks, and kill and eat larger ones, and on Aland he saw one of these Gulls
pursue an almost full-grown young Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator), and force it to dive again
and again, until it was tired out, when it fell a prey to its pursuer. Any dead birds that are floating on
water or ai-e on the ground are soon picked up by this Gull, and Dr. Sundstrb'in considers that
it should be kept down in numbers as much as possible, as it is a very destructive bird, especially
to tiseful birds like the Eider and other species of Water-fowl. The Lesser Black- backed Gull (Larus
fuscus) is a miniature of the Greater species, and is distinguished by its smaller size and by its
different note, as well as by its more active and lighter build. It is not quite so voracious a devom-er
of young birds as its larger ally, but destroys an immense number of eggs, and on the Feni Islands
Mr. Edward Hargitt tells us that when the boat landed on the island where the Cormorants bred,
they had to scramble up the rocks with the utmost speed to reach the nests of the latter birds before
the Gulls swooped down upon the undefended eggs. On the Fern Islands, writes Mr. Seebohm, in
his journal, the Lesser Black-backed Gull "is by far the most numerous bird. It is scarcely
correct to say that there are many colonies of them on the islands, as the whole group may be
considered to be a huge colony of these birds. It is a wonderful sight on nearing an island to see it
sprinkled all over with these large birds, every one standing with his back to the wind, like an
innumerable army of white weather-cocks, and still more wonderful when you land, and see them
flying about in eveiy direction, around and above you, like a living snow-storm, and a noisy one too.
A very small percentage of these birds are Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus), and the latter may be
readily distinguished by the decidedly lighter colour of the back and wings. The Lesser Black-
backed Gull makes a nest, which is a large slatternly structure of dry grass and weeds, with, now and
then, a lot of sea- weed, just the sort of nest that the agricultural native would be likely to make if he
had imported a colony of cocks and hens from the mainland in the hope of breakfasting next morning
on fried eggs and bacon. Wherever there was a suitable niche, amongst the rocks these nests were
placed without the slightest attempt at concealment. The number of eggs laid by these Gulls and
sent annually to shore for culinary purposes must be prodigious. The Herring Gulls (L. argentatus)
nest indisciiminately amongst their more numerous relations, and, in the few cases whore we were
able to mark the bird, we could discover no difference in the eggs, except that those of the Herring

THE SKUAS. 207

Gull appeared to be on an average slightly larger. The last-named species is found all over Europe
and in North-eastern America, and from its lighter colour is often called the Silvery Gull. Mac-
gillivray gives a good account of its habits, and writes as follows : — ' On extensive beaches, and
especially on such as run out into an angle or point, multitudes may be seen reposing, often inter-
mingled with Common Gulls (Larus canus), and sometimes with individuals of the two Black-backed
species. The flight of this Gull is strong and buoyant, direct and unwavering when the bird ia
proceeding towards a distant place, and then usually elevated, but on ordinary occasions somewhat
devious, although from its size this species is not capable of turning and winding so dexterously as-
the smaller kinds. When engaged with a shoal of fry the Herring Gulls hover over the water, now
ascending to the height of about twenty feet, then skimming close over the surface ; and on observing-
an object, stretching upward and vibrating their wings, and letting down their feet so as to touch and
sometimes pat the water, they pick it up without alighting. Sometimes they plunge partly into the
water, and occasionally pick up their prey while swimming. All this while they emit now and then
a loud and rather shrill cry. Their food consists of fishes of small size, occasionally large dead fish,
crabs, echini, asterias, and mollusca. In winter and spring they often travel in bands over the fields,,
searching the pastures, and especially ploughed lands, for worms, grubs, and insects.' "

Although, as a rule, Gulls have well-defined ranges for the separate species, the sub-family is-
very widely distributed, as might be anticipated in the case of such sea-loving birds, and there is no-
portion of the globe without its Gulls. The Skuas (Stercorarius) are also widely distributed, and
are amongst the most rapacious and predatory of the Gulls. In Europe there are several species, the
largest being the Great Skua (S. catarrhactes). In the Southern Ocean this species is replaced by a larger
one, of a brown coloration, like its northern congener ; this is the Antarctic Skua (S. antarcticus)?
and the Rev. A. E. Eaton, who went as naturalist to the last Transit of Venus Expedition, describes
its habits in Kerguelen Island as follows : — •" Every marsh near Royal Sound had its pair of Skuas.
Many were destroyed within a radius of four miles from the ships, and before the expedition sailed
from the island it was impossible to walk far without coming across dead bodies of the poor creatures.
The cause of this useless slaughter was the menacing aspect of the birds, who swooped with fierce
impetuosity directly towards the face of any one approaching their domain, rising only just in time to
clear his head, and uttering short despairing cries. They did not feign to be crippled quite so much
as the Skuas in Spitzbergen, but preferred intimidation as a means of averting danger from their nest.
When they thought they had succeeded in making the enemy retreat, they celebrated their
triumph standing face to face upon the ground, with their wings extended vertically so as almost to-
meet above their back, whilst one or two loudly chanted a paean, consisting of a dozen notes or so-
delivered in the tones of a Carrion Crow. In October they also used to croak now and then during;
their flight, and this croak, which was discontinued in the breeding season, was very like the lower
croak of a raven ; indeed, it was at first difficult to re-assure oneself that they were not a species of
Crow as they circled in the air far off, and the blue-jackets used to call them ' Black Crows ' for
some time, but before long the designation ' Molly-Hawks ' came to be applied to them. This
change of name took place at the commencement of the Petrel-digging. If Blue Petrels (Prioii) were
turned loose in the day-time they were invariably chased by Skuas, and killed on the wing before they
had flown half a mile. Petrels of one sort or another seem to constitute the staple food of these
Skuas. They hunt for them in the evening when it is becoming dusk, flying i-apidly along the
hill-sides, close to the ground, like Hawks, ready to pounce upon any that they may see emerging from
the mouth of their burrows. Again, in the early morning they are upon the wing to waylay Petrels
returning from the sea. Nor are they idle during the rest of the day ; and they are very fond of
birds' eggs, of which they devour a great many. The old Skuas were much puzzled when they saw
Rabbits come out of Petrels' holes. They hovered for a long time over their heads, and at length used,
to stand beside the mouths of the burrows waiting for the young ones to creep forth, just as if they
were watching for Petrels. It is doubtful whether they will succeed in ridding the island of these
mischievous vermin, although the young birds reared by me readily fed upon rabbits procured with
the sling."

Besides the Great Skuas of the genus Catarrhactes there are several smaller kinds belonging to>
the genus Lestris, of more graceful build, and distinguished by long pointed tails.

208

NATURAL HISTORY.

THE SECOKD FAMILY OF THE GAVI^E, OR SEA-BIRDS.— THE PETRELS (Procellamdai).
Professor Sundevall makes a group of the Petrels, which he calls Tubinares, on account of the
tube-like apertures to the nostrils, which are peculiar to these birds. They are true denizens of the
sea, being, as a rule, found far from land, and most of the specimens which find their way into our
collections are obtained by catching the birds with hook and line as they follow in the wake of a
ship in search of food, or by visiting the rocky islands or places where the Petrels resort for the
purposes of nidification, and digging them out of their holes. With the exception of the Fulmar and
a few small species, the Petrels are nearly all inhabitants of the Southern Ocean beyond the tropics,

where they may sometimes be seen in immense numbers and at a great distance from any land.
They are supposed to be perfectly at home during the most violent storms, but it not unfrequently
happens that they are driven on land by stress of weather, and are often picked up dead or dying not
only on the sea- shore, but even some distance inland. The Stormy Petrel (Oceanitis pelagica) breeds in
many places off the western coast of England, from the Scilly Islands up to the Hebrides, and it
also nests on rocky islands off the north-western coast of Ireland. Wilson's Petrel (0. oceanica) is
also found occasionally on British shores, but it is to the south that the naturalist must go to study
the Petrels in their full profusion.

The family may be divided into three sections, the Diving Petrels (Pelecanoides), which have
short wings and no hind toe; the True Petrels, with long wings and a hind toe always present, birds
of sustained flight who swim and dive very little ; and the Albatrosses (Diomedea), the largest of all
the family. The Rev. A. E. Eaton gives a good account of the habits of the Diving Petrel
(Pelecaiwides urinatrix), which he met with in Kerguelen Island :—" This bird, as Prof. Wyville

THE PETRELS.

209

Thomson well observes, has a close general likeness to the Little Auk, or Rotche (Mergudua alle), of
the northern seas. Both of them have a hurried flight ; both of them, while flying, dive into the
sea without any interruption in the action of their wings, and also emerge from beneath the surface
flying, and they both of them swim with the tail rather deep in the water. But this resemblance
does not extend to other particulars of their habits. The Rotche, when breeding, usually flies and
.fishes in small flocks of six or a dozen birds, and builds in communities of considerable size, which are

STOKMY PETREL.

excessively noisy. Diving Petrels, on the other hand, are more domestic in their mode of living,
fishing and flying for the most part in pairs or alone, and building sporadically. They had begun
to pair when we reached Kerguelen Island. The first egg was found on the 31st of October.
Their burrows are about as small in diameter as the holes of Bank Martins (Cotyle riparia) or
Kingfishers (Alcedo hispida). They are made in dry banks and slopes where the ground is easily
penetrable, and terminate in an enlarged chamber, on whose floor the egg is deposited. There is no
specially-constructed nest. Some of the burrows are branched, but the branches are without terminal
enlargements, and do not appear to be put to any use by the birds. Before the egg is laid, both of
the parents maybe found in the nest-chamber, and may often be heard moaning in the day-time;

210 NATURAL HISTORY.

but when the females begin to sit, their call is seldom heard, excepting at night, when the male in his
flight to and from the hole, and his mate on her nest, makes a considerable noise. There seems to-
be a difference of a semitone between the moans of the two sexes. The call resembles the syllable
oo, pronounced with the mouth closed, while a slurred chromatic scale is being made from E to c
in the tenor. This kind of Petrel has much difficulty in taking flight from ground which is
comparatively level ; it is only by running against the wind, or by starting from a lump of Azorella,
that the birds are able to rise upon the wing if they happen to alight upon a flat. During my walks
on calm nights I used frequently to hear them fluttering along the ground in the dark, and (if I had
a lantern) easily caught them by uncovering the light and turning it on them. They sometimes lay
still in my hand without attempting to escape ; but when they flew off from it, they did so in a.
manner which showed that they were not at all crippled. They flew to light on board H.M.S.
Supply on dark nights in October, when there was snow upon the deck."

The True Petrels are by far the most numerous of the family. They are birds of strong flight,,
and have very long and pointed wings, which enable them to traverse the sea with a light and
fairy-like flight, many of them flying with their legs hanging downwards, and patting the waves over
which they skim. The well-known Cape Pigeons (Daption capemis), the Fulmar Petrels (Fulmarus),
and the Stormy Petrels (Oceanitis), are amongst the most familiar birds of this group ; and of
Wilson's Petrel (0. oceanica) Mr. Eaton gives an interesting notice in the " Repoi-t on the Transit of
Venus Expedition " already alluded to : —

"From the lOfch of October, when we passed Cape Sandwich, until the middle or third week
of November, we completely lost sight of the Storm Petrels. About the period last mentioned,
however, they began to frequent Observatory Bay in large numbers. Their first appearance in it
took place during a strong breeze which lasted several days. When this was succeeded by more
moderate weather we saw little of them in the day-time ; but towards evening they used to fly over
the water like Swallows, and some of them might ba observed flying near the ground far away into
the country, following the course of the valleys, or playing round the inland cliffs. We tracked them,
along the lower hill-sides and the margin of lakes over rocks and bogs ; but our efforts to learn what
became of them were unattended with success. Probably at that time they were not preparing
to breed, and the birds were merely going overland from the bay to other inlets of the sea. At
length, when we went to Thumb Peak, their mode of nesting was discovered. Carefully watching
with Lieut. Goodridge, R.N., the birds flying to and fro about the rocks, we observed that they
occasionally disappeared into crevices amongst piles of loose stones, and crept under loose masses of
rocks. Having meanwhile ascertained their call, we were able, by listening attentively, to detect the
exact position of several of these hidden birds. They were easily caught when the stones were
rolled aside ; but they were in couples, merely preparing for laying, and therefore we did not find any
eggs. On our way back to Observatory Bay after the Transit we called at the American station,,
and were informed by Dr. Kidder that he had observed this Petrel on the shore near Molloy Point.
The sea-shore in the neighbourhood of Observatory Bay is of a different character (for the most part)
from that which is adjacent to the American station, and being less favourable than it, was seldom
resorted to for nesting by the Petrels. But the country in general about our bay afforded them
unlimited accommodation. For, provided that they can find a slope of shattered rocks, with suitable
chinks and crevices, or dry spaces under stones, or large boulders, sheltered from draughts, whether
they be near the Sound or on the summits and sides of high hills, they readily appropriate them.
The egg is laid xipon the bare ground within the recess selected by the birds, either in a chance
depression formed by contiguous stones, or in a shallow circular hollow excavated in the earth by the
parent. Having found numbers of their nesting-places, I will describe my method of searching for
them. Whenever there was a calm night I used to walk with a darkened bull's eye lantern towards
some rocky hill-side, such as the Petrels would be likely to frequent. It was best to shut off the light
and keep it concealed, using it only in dangerous places, where falls would be attended with injury,
and progress in the dark was hardly possible, lest the birds seeing it should be silenced. On arriving
at the ground selected it was probable that the Storm Petrels would be heard in various directions,
some on the wing, others on their nests, sounding their call at intervals of from two to three minutes.
Those on nests could be distinguished from others flying by their cries proceeding from fixed positions.

TEE ALBATEOSSES. 2ll

Having settled which of the birds should be searched after, a cautious advance had to be made in
her direction, two or three steps at a time, when she was in full cry. As soon as she ceased an
abrupt halt was imperative, and a pause of some minutes might ensue before she recommenced her
cry and permitted another slight advance to be effected. In the course of this gradual approach the
position of the bird might be ascertained approximately ; but it had to be determined precisely, and,
to learn exactly where she was, she had to be stalked in the dark noiselessly. No gleam could be
permitted to escape from the lantern. Loose stones and falls over rocks; to avoid them it was
sometimes necessary to dispense with slippers and feel one's way in stockings only, for should the
Petrel be alarmed once with the noise or the light she would probably remain silent a considerable
time. Now and then it would happen that upon the boulder beneath which she was sitting being
almost attained the bird would cease calling. When this occurred, and many minutes elapsed
without her cry being resumed, it was advisable to make a detour, and approach the rock from the
opposite side, as her silence might be attributed to her seeing a person advancing towards her, and
she would probably recommence her call as soon as he was out of sight. If she did not, a small
pebble thrown amongst some rocks would usually elicit some sounds from her, as she would most
likely conclude that the noise was being made by her mate returning to the nest. When the stone
beneath which the bird was domiciled was gained at last, redoubled care had to be exercised. By
stooping down and listening very attentively her position could be accurately ascertained. Then the
lantern was suddenly turned upon her before she had time to creep out of sight, and her egg could
be secured with the hand, or with a spoon tied on to a stick. Sometimes I worked without a lantern,
and marked the positions of the nests with piles of stones, so that they might be revisited by day.
Several eggs were obtained in February from nests which had been thus marked early in the previous
month. The first egg taken by us was found by a Retriever on the 22nd of January on an island
in Swain's Bay. Captain Fairfax sent me a nestling a day or two before we sailed for the Cape.
Two of the eggs were laid in unusual situations. One of them was found by a man under a pringlea
plant; but this may have been an egg of Procellaria nereis. The other was deposited just above
the tide-mark in a cavity of a rock rather open to the air and light. I had found the bird there one
night, had taken her up into my hand, and had gently replaced her in the hollow, nearly a month
before the egg was laid."

As already mentioned, the Albatrosses are the largest of the Petrels. The wings are extremely
large, the Wandering Albatross having forty secondary quills alone, and this, with the hollow bones,
renders these birds capable of sustained and buoyant flight equalled by no other living bird. Their
beak is veiy large, and about equal to the head in length. Captain F. W. Hutton, who has paid
great attention to the family of Petrels during his voyages in the Antarctic Ocean, has written a very
full account of the habits of these fine birds, from which the following notes are extracted : — •

" The unrivalled flight of the Albatross has been the admiration of voyagers from the earliest
time. Day after day with unabated interest I have watched them, and I quite agree with Mr. Gould
that the Sooty Albatross (Diomedea fuliginosa) carries off the palm from all competitors. Never
have I seen anything to equal his ease and grace as he sweeps past, often within a few yards, every
part of his body perfectly motionless except the head and eye, which turn slowly and seem to take
notice of everything. I have sometimes watched narrowly one of these birds sailing and wheeling
about in all directions for more than an hour, without seeing the slightest movement of the wings ;
this, however, is longer than usual. Wonderful as is this power of flight, it can all be explained by
the simple mechanical laws which govern the direction and magnitude of pressure. Dr. Bennett
states that he believes that the whole surface (of the body of the Albatross) is covered by numerous
air-cells, capable of voluntary inflation or diminution by means of a beautiful muscular apparatus.
. . . By this power the birds can raise or depress themselves at will. Now, I do not for a moment
doubt the existence of this apparatus, for it is well known that all birds have it to a greater or less
extent ; but I do doubt its capability of doing the duty assigned to it, viz., raising the bird in the air.
The temperature of the Albatross, as taken by Sir G. Grey, by placing a thermometer under the tongue,
is 98° Fahr., and if we add 101 Fahr. to this in order to allow for the difference between the head and the
body, we shall have the temperature of the air-cells at 108' Fahr. The temperature of the surrounding-
air cannot bo taken lower than 48° Fahr., as the mean, winter temperature of Lat. 50 S. is about 50° Fahr.

212 NATURAL HISTORY.

The bird, therefore, could not raise the temperature of the air taken into these cells more than 60° Fahr.
This would increase its volume not quite one-eighth; and taking 100 cubic inches of air to weigh 31
grains, and the average weight of an Albatross to be 17 Ibs., as given by Gould, it would be necessary,
in order that the specific gravity of the bird might be brought to that of the atmosphere, that these
cells should contain 1,820 cubic feet of air; or, in other words, they must be more than 1,200 times
the size of the body itself of the bird, which, to say the least, would give it when flying an aldermanic
appearance which I have never observed. In fact, it would require a sphere of more than fifteen feet
in diameter to contain the necessaiy quantity of air. Even if it could thus buoy itself up, it would entirely
defeat its own object ; for it would at once destroy the whole of its momentum, and unless propelled
forward by its wings, would drift helplessly to leeward. However, I do not wish it to be inferred that
I consider the air-cells of no use. The gi*eater portion of them are situated round the neck, wings,
and fore part of the body of the bird, and I believe that by their means he is enabled to shift slightly
he position of his centre of gravity and thus, with very slight muscular exertion, to vary the inclina-
tion of his body to his horizon according to the rate at which he is moving through the air.

" Dr. Bennett, in his ' Gatheiings of a Natm-alist ' (p. 78), gives a diagram explanatory of the
flight of the Albatross," continues Captain Hutton ; "and if I understand him rightly, says that 'it
cannot sail directly against the wind, but only in the way which sailors call 'close hauled.' This
diagram represents a square rigged ship sailing six points from the wind, a cutter sailing four and a
half points, and an Albatross flying two points from the wind, from which I infer, although he does not
expressly say so, that he considers that the wind helps forward the Albatross in the same way it does
the ships. But that this is erroneous is apparent at a glance. A ship can sail at an acute angle with
the wind because the pressure of the wind against its sails being met by the resistance of the water, is
resolved into pressures having other directions. A dvantage of this being taken by trimming the sails, it
ultimately results that the ship is moved in the direction of least resistance, viz., forwards. If, however,
the pressure of the wind had not been met by the resistance of the water, no resolution of it in other direc-
tions could have taken place. For this reason a balloon can only drift with the wind, and the same would
be the case with the Albatross. Moreover, the statement that he cannot sail against the wind is incorrect,
as Dr. Bennett himself said in his first book, ' Wanderings in New South Wales,' the truth being that
he is more often seen sailing in this direction than in any other, for the simple reason that as he moves
slower against the wind than with it, he is obliged to keep going for a longer time in the former direc-
tion than in the latter, in order to retain his position near the stern of the ship. However, when
sailing against the wind, the position of his wings, body, and tail, slanting a little downwards, is some-
what analogous to the sails of a ship close hauled, or, still better, to the position of a kite in the air,
the momentum of the bird taking the place of the resistance of the water, or the string of the kite.
This momentum is entirely owing to impulses previously given to the air by means of his wings, and
when, owing to the resistance of the air, it has decreased so much that he is no longer abJe to move
with sufficient rapidity to prevent his falling, fresh impulses have to be given. For this reason
Albatrosses sail much longer in fine weather, rain especially soon destroying their momentum, and fre-
quently obliging them to use their wings for propulsion.

" It is by combining, according to the laws of mechanics, this pressure of the air against his
wings with the force of gravity, and by using his head and tail as bow and stern rudders, that the
Albatross is enabled to sail in any direction he pleases so long as the momentum lasts. If, when sailing
against the wind the inclination of his body is such that the upward pressure of the wind against his
«dngs and body just balances the force of gravity, his momentum alone acts, and he sails straight in
the ' wind's eye.' If he wishes to ascend he inclines his body more to the horizon by means of his head
and tail. If he wishes to turn to the right he bends his head and tail slightly upwards, at the same
time raising his left side and wing and lowering the right in proportion to the sharpness of the curve
he wishes to make, the wings being kept quite rigid the whole time. To such an extent does he do
this that, in sweeping round, his wings are often pointed in a direction nearly perpendicular to the sea,
and this position of the wings, more or less inclined to the horizon, is seen always, and only when the
bird is turning. It will be observed that, on this principle, an Albatross sailing down wind must
necessarily be descending, unless his pace is much greater than that of the air, and such I have found
to be invariably the case.

THE ALBATROSS.

213

" It may be objected that the resistance of the air must soon destroy his momentum ; but the fact
is that it does not do so. A good illustration of this is seen in an experiment common in lecture
rooms a few years ago, by which the rotation of the earth was demonstrated by means of a pen-
dulum, composed of a metal ball, suspended by a long string from the ceiling of the lecture hall,
The impetus obtained by causing the metal ball to fall through the space of a few feet only was
sufficient to keep the pendulum swinging with a velocity but little diminished for the greater part of
an hour, notwithstanding the resistance of the sand which the point of the pendulum had to cut through

ALBATROSS.

twice during each vibration. The resistance of the air is well known to depend on the shape and
velocity of the moving body, and to increase in proportion much more rapidly than the velocity
increases. For this reason a properly shaped body and a low velocity are required to reduce it to a
minimum. A certain amount of weight is also necessary to give a bird momentum sufficient to
overcome resistance for a certain time, and wings are required of sufficient expanse to support it as it
sails slowly through the air. These conditions are admirably carried out in the Albatross. Its expanse
of wing is perhaps greater than that of any other bird, and its weight, 15 Ibs. and upwards, is
very large. Its shape also, when the neck is stretched out as in flying, approaches nearly to that of
Newton's solid of least resistance, while more than one voyager has remarked the slowness with which
it sails past. The Stormy Petrel never sails ; the Cape Pigeon only for a very short time, perhaps a
minute ; the Night Hawk much longer, often between five and ten minutes ; while the Albatross, as I
have before mentioned, sails sometimes for an horn*."
170

214

CHAPTER X.

DIVERS— PENGUINS— TINAMOUS— STRUTHIOUS BIRDS— LIZARD-TAILED BIRDS.

THE DIVERS— Characters— THE AUKS— The Great Auk— Probably extinct— The Razor-bill- The Guillemot— Mr. See-
bohm's Notes of Visits to their Breeding-places — The Experiences of a "dimmer" — The Rotche— The Puffins —
The True Divers - -The European Species — The Grebes — Tlie Little Grebe, or Dabchick — The Dabchick's Powers of
Diving — THE PENGUINS — Distinctive Features — A Penguin Rookery — Life in a "Johnnie" Colony — Their
Nests— Their Habits— THE TINAMO US— Their Place in the Class Aves— Their Appearance — Habits — THE
STRUTHIOUS BIRDS— Their Characters— Entirely Terrestrial— Odd Use of the Wing in Running— Feathering
—Distribution— THE OSTRICHES— Characters — THE OSTRICH — Mention in History— Scriptural References —
Distribution — How the Bushman Hunts the Ostrich — Method adopted in Morocco — Other Modes of Hunting— An
Omnivorous Bird— It* Stride— Its Cry— Habits — It* Resemblance to a Camel— The Feathers— Exportation of Feathers
from Africa — A Visit to an Ostrich Farm — Use of "Incubators "—Habits of the Birds in the Enclosures— The Ostrich
Dance — The Rheas, or American Ostriches— THE CASSOWARIES— Characters of the Cassowary — the Mooruk — It<
Extraordinary Power of Leaping — Dr. Bennett's Account of its Habits— The Emus — Characters — Habits — Emu Beef —
Threatened Extermination— Its " Booming " Note — THE KIWIS— Characters — Species— Dr. Buller's Account of its
Habits— Mr. Bartlett's Note on its Attempts at Nesting— THE LIZARD-TAILED BIRDS— The Archaeoptcryx
Lithographica— Description — FOSSIL FORMS — Evidence from Foot-prints — Prof. Marsh's Researches in America — Birds
with Teeth — Other Forms— Concluding Remarks.

THE ELEVENTH ORDER OF BIRDS.— THE DIVERS (PYGOPODES).

TUB order of the Divers comprises not only those birds, but the Auks and Grebes, forming
together a very natural group, which may be divided into three families. In all of these birds the
wings are short and pointed, the quills being complete in shape, and not imperfectly developed, as in the
Penguins, which in many respects the Auks and Grebes resemble. The feet are placed far back in
the body, so that when the birds stand they are erect and have an awkward look. The tarsus is very
short, but the toes ai-e long. The tail is always small. The Auks and Divers are birds of the
northern regions only, but the Grebes are more widely distributed, and are most of them more or less
migratory.

THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE PYGOPODES.— THE AUKS (Akida).

These birds have no hind toe, and are of a thick-set build, giving them somewhat of a clumsy
appearance on land ; but this is amply atoned for by their wonderful activity in the water. There are
three sub-families of the Auks. The first contains the Razor-bills (A lea) and the Guillemots (Uria),
the second the Little Auks (Mergulus), and the third the Puffins (Mormon, &c.). The Guillemots
and Razor-bills have the region of the nostrils feathered and the bill rather longer. They are found
in many portions of the Old and New Worlds, but always in northern localities, and where they breed
both species often occur in very large colonies. The most interesting of all these birds is the Great
Auk (Alca impennis), a species whose extinction in modern times is of the greatest regret to the true
naturalist. Many people have fancied that the species will be re-discovered in the high north by some
of the Arctic Expeditions, but this is extremely improbable, as the Great Auk never seems to have
been a very northern bird. From the Orkneys and the Hebrides the bird reached Iceland, and then
re-appeared on the coast of Newfoundland, where, during recent years, numerous semi-fossil remains
have been unearthed. At one time the Great Auk appears to have been plentiful in certain of the
above-named localities, but has been exterminated during the last fifty years. It was the largest of
all the Auks, measuring quite two feet and a half. The Razor-bill (Alca torda), which is its nearest
representative, is only about a foot and a half in length, and is by no means uncommon in the
places in which it congregates during the breeding season. "Writing of the breeding colonies of the
Razor-bills and Guillemots on the Flamborough cliffs, Mr. Seebohm observes : — " The Razor-bill is by
no means so plentiful as the Guillemot ; nevertheless, in walking along the cliffs we may count them
by hundreds, if not by thousands ; and he is certainly a much handsomer bird. The contrast between
the brilliant black of the upper plumage and the dazzling white of the under surface, the white marks
on his black bill, and the general 'get up' of his whole plumage, as if he had just come out of a
bandbox, or, to use a simile more appropriate for a naturalist, as if he had only just emerged from
his chrysalis, and had not ruffled a feather, makes him quite the dandy of the cliffs. Alighted on a
rock, which he is by no means particular should be horizontal, he is constantly looking about in every
direction, his head never being still for a moment. Poor, unfortunate fellow ! the sight of a ' cobble *

THE GUILLEMOT. 215

putting off from the shore is a signal for him instantly to leave the cliff and get out to sea as fast as
his short legs will cany him ; for he knows by experience that these ' cobbles ' are generally full of
'sportsmen' (save the mark !), thirsting for his blood. The eggs of the Razor-bill are by no means so
easy to obtain as those of the Guillemot. Instead of breeding on ledges easy of access, they prefer
some hole or cranny in the cliffs, where the egg has generally to be poked out with a stick, or only
admired at a safe distance. From the nature of the situation it is also obvious that the eggs are
scattered up and down the cliff, and are not to be got in batches, like those of the Guillemot, whose
eggs may often be collected by the dozen at a time 0:1 a single ledge. The Razor-bill's eggs, too, do not
vary in colour to the extent that the Guillemot's eggs do, or even as much as those of the Gulls.
They may, with very few exceptions, be roughly described as white with black spots ; the white has
sometimes a faint tinge of bluish-green or brown, and the black is sometimes greenish, and more
frequently reddish. The Razor-bill, like the Guillemot, only lays one egg, and if that one is taken
away it lays a second. It also breeds regularly in the same cranny, and each individual seems to lay
the same variety of egg from year to year. I have two Razor-bill's eggs, taken at intervals from the
same hole, which are twice the size of the ordinary egg, and I have also one which is extraordinarily
small." We are also indebted to Mr. Seebohm for an account of the breeding habits of the Guillemot
(Uria troile) in the Fern Islands and off the Flamborough cliffs. He observes: — "The first colony
which we visited at the Fern Islands was that of the Guillemot. Whilst our little craft was scudding
along before the wind, the mast bending to the sail, and sometimes too far removed from the perpen-
dicular to be altogether agreeable to our landsmen's nerves, especially when our leeward bulwark
dived just under water for a second or two, we could see some miles ahead a group of rocks, called
' The Pinnacles,' standing out conspicuously like great whitewashed rocks in front of one of the Fern
Islands. To these rocks we now quietly rowed. They stood out some fifty feet from the cliffs, and
were perhaps thirty or forty feet high, nearly perpendicular, and the summit of each a tolerably level
platform, about twelve or fifteen feat square. The top and more than half-way down the sides was
completely whitewashed with the excrement of the birds, and on the leeward side the smell of guano
was strong, but not offensively so, as the lime almost overpowered the ammonia and entirely absorbed
the sulphuretted hydrogen. The top of these ' Pinnacles ' was one dense mass of Guillemots, and, as
we approached, all became excitement. Streams of Guillemots poured off every corner in long strings,
like Wild Ducks, but for some time the dense mass seemed to get no less. In every direction shoals
of Guillemots were hurrying and skurrying away over the sea, almost as far as the eye could reach.
Some desperate individuals took a header from the top of the rocks, and flinging out their legs so as
to make a threefold rudder with the tail, plunged at once into the ssa and dived out of danger. All
this time tha birds were protesting vociferously against our intrusion. By the time we had landed
an anchor the rocks were nearly cleared, and for a mile or more away the sea seemed covered with
them. The flight of the Guillemot is heavy and laborious, reminding one of that of a Kingfisher or a
Hawk-moth. We were able to climb some distance up the ' Pinnacles,' and a good long ladder we
brought with us from the next island landed us at the top. On the lime-washed top of each pinnacle
were some thirty or forty eggs, looking exactly as if a smart breeze would sweep off the lot. Not the
remotest vestige of a nest of any kind was there. The rock having been recently cleared of eggs,
those we found were all nearly fresh laid, very clean, and looking most beautiful on the white rock;
especially the dark green eggs. The Guillemot lays only one egg, and, indeed, it could not sit upon
two, the egg being enormously large for the size of the bird, who does not seem, to sit upon it on its
breast, like a duck, for instance, but rests upright on its tail, like a dog begging. As we were leaving
the rocks we saw an anxiously maternal Guillemot alight behind her egg, which, with a quiet poke of
her bill, she pushed between her legs.

" The variety in the colour of the eggs of the Guillemot is something wonderful. We found
the following varieties, and no doubt a greater opportunity of selection would double or treble the
number, to say nothing of the additional varieties. Thirty eggs in my collection from the Fern
Islands vary in the ground colouring from dark blue-green and pale blue-green to white cream colour.
The character of the spots may be described as irregularly blotched, fantastically streaked, spotless,
or nearly so." Mr. Seebohm has also kindly allowed us to make use of his account of his
visit to the Flamborough cliffs, where there is another noted breeding-place for the Guillemots : —

216

NATURAL HISTORY.

" The cliffs at Bempton are very much like those at Flamborough : a nearly perpendicular wall of
chalk and flint, about three hundred feet high. This great sea wall is fast crumbling away with
the action of wind and tide. It looks as if it had been built of flints, with chalk for mortar, and
sometimes there seems to be as much mortar as stone, and often there is scarcely any, and, in fact,
it then looks like a dry wall. The outline of the coast is very irregular; some parts of the
cliff are harder than others, and stand out to sea as promontories, while others are soft, and have
apparently been washed away into caves and little fiords. Here and there the cliffs have crackeJ,
and then you can look down, and in some places climb down, through the rift to the sea. The

RINGED GUILLEMOT.

top of the cliffs is covered with a thick bed of soil, which slopes steep down to the edge of the
rock, and is generally grown over with grass cropped short by rabbits. This steep slope to the
edge of the cliff is rather dangerous, and it is very rare indeed that you can get a view of the face
of the rock except from the opposite promontory. On the ledges of these precipitous cliffs the
Guillemots breed in great numbers. Sometimes one may see them in such quantities as to remind
one of a swarm of bees. They fly about in all directions, and numbers are constantly arriving and
others leaving the ledges, while far away in the sea, down at the bottom of the cliffs, hundreds of
birds are swimming about. The whole scene is full of life.

" A party of ' dimmers ' consists of three, two at the top and one suspended in rnid-air. The
latter, in consequence of the greater risk he has to run, takes one-half of the eggs as his share.
This adventurous man must have a clear head, or he would become dizzy ; neither must he be too
heavy, or he would tire out the two men who have to lower and raise him some two hundred
feet or more, twenty times a day ; while, at the same time, he must have a good knowledge of the
various ledges and crannies where the birds breed.

THE GUILLEMOT.

217

" He first puts on what he calls his ' breeches,' a belt of flat rope with a small loop at each end
to which the cord by which he is suspended is attached, and two large loops through which he
puts his legs. An iron bar is driven into the ground, to which a rope is attached to hang down
the cliff to assist him in raising himself, and with which to make signals to the men above when
he wants them to raise him or lower him down. An iron pulley running on a swivel attached
to an iron spike is fastened on the edge of the precipice, so that the rope may not chafe.

" The danger of ' dimming,' i.e., the danger of falling, is very slight indeed : the real danger
consists in pieces of rock becoming detached and falling on the unfortunate 'dimmer.' L. told me

he had ' clum ' for six-and-thirty years, and had met with only one really serious accident. A piece
of rock, about half the size of his head, detached itself some thirty feet above him, and, though he
saw it coming, he could not get out of its way. If it had fallen on his head it must inevitably
have dashed his brains out, but he put up his arm to protect himself. His arm was not broken,
but the muscle was absolutely torn from the bone, and it was nearly two years before he could
raise it to his head again. He divides his ground into three days' work, so that he takes it all
twice a week, when weather permits ; in very wet or windy weather he does not ' dim.' Operations
commence about the 14th of May. For the first nine days he has a good run of eggs, as the
birds that breed on the ledges he visits have most of them laid ; for the next nine days eggs are
scarce. At the end of that time a second egg has been laid by the birds whose eggs he took
during the first nine days, and he has a second run of successful collecting. He considers from
two to three hundred eggs a good take. He has then a second nine days slack, and after that
comes his Midsummer fling, or ' shut.' This is a very precarious one, and in some seasons is not

218 NATURAL UISTOKY.

worth the getting, while in others it is nearly equal to the first two takes. L. is of opinion that
no Guillemot lays more than two eggs in a season; and it is much easier to obtain accurate information
respecting the habits of birds at a place like Flamborough, where the birds are scattered over som^
miles of cliffs, than at the Fern Islands, where they are crowded together in a dense mass on
only four rocks. He alsD informed me that each bird frequents the same ledge year after year,
and lays the same-colourel egg every year, although the variety of colour in the eggs of different
birds is wonderfully great. He tells me that he used to get a very rare and highly-prized variety
of the Guillemot's egg, of an almost uniform rich reddish-brown colour, on a certain ledge twice
every year, for fifteen years in succession, after which the poor bird died, or was shot, or became a
' shunted dowager.' The chief thing that strikes an ornithologist who has been accustomed to estimate
the eggs of the Guillemot by the Fern Island standard, and afterwards visits Flamborough, is the
extraordinary beauty and variety of colouring in the eggs found at the latter station. Not only
are the colours more varied, but they are decidedly more brilliant."

In the second group of the Alcinae are found the Little Auks (Mergulw). The best known

species is the Rotche (Mergulus alle), a bird scarcely larger than a Thrush, though possessing the

thick-set body and dense plumage of the Auk family. It is seen in large numbers in the northern

.seas, where it may be observed, even in rough weather, far away from land, cresting the billows or diving

for food in every direction. It nests in communities on islands such as Spitzbergen and Novaia

Zemlia, and is a common bird in Greenland. The third group of the Auks contains only the Puffins,

; some of which are rather handsome birds of their kind, a few of them having fine crests ; while in the

Common Puffin (Mormon fratercula) the bill is variegated with bright colours, the skin of which is

. shed at a certain period of the year. These birds also appear to be more migratory than the other Auks.

The second family of the Diving Birds contains the true Divers (Colymbinoi), which possess a
hind toe and a very short rounded tail. The neck is long, differing much in this respect from the
preceding family of the Auks, but, on the other hand, showing a great affinity to the Grebes. The
Divers, however, are as much inhabitants of the ocean as the Grebes are of fresh water ; and instead
of being found all over the world, they are confined to northern latitudes, whence they migrate farther
south in the winter season, but never quit the confines of the Palsearctic region in the eastern hemi-
sphere, and the Nearctic region in the western. The great Northern Diver (Colymbus glacialis) is the
largest of the three European species, but the other two are perhaps the best known — the Red-throated
Diver (C. s&ptentrlonalis) and the Black-throated Diver (C. arcticits], both of which occur not only in
Europe, but also in North America. Mr. Dresser gives a good account of the habits of the Red-
throated Diver in his " Birds of Europe," where he writes : — " Water seems to be the element where
this species and its allies are most at home ; for on land it is extremely awkward, and moves along
with difficulty and in the most clumsy manner ; and though its flight is swift, yet it is, comparatively
speaking, less frequently seen on the wing, except when on passage or on its way from one sheet of
water to the other. But in the water its movements are graceful and easy, and whether swimming on
the surface or diving below, it propels itself with great rapidity and ease. It swims low down in
the water, and when uneasy or alarmed will submerge its body below the surface, leaving only the
head and neck in view. When it dives it vanishes beneath the surface without noise or flutter, and
propels itself along with its wings as well as its feet, frequently remaining for some time before it
emerges to view again. When it flies up from the water it flaps for some short distance along the
surface, splashing the water as it progresses, and seems as if it had a difficulty in rising into the air ;
but when once well under weigh it flies with great rapidity, its flight being direct, the neck stretched
out horizontally. When flying any distance and when on passage, it proceeds at a great altitude, and
may sometimes be heard uttering its peculiar loud cry, which, like that of its allies, is exceedingly
weird and strange, resembling most the agonising shriek of distress uttered by a drowning person ;
and even when one is accustomed to hear this wild cry, one cannot always divest oneself of the feeling
that something 'uncanny' is near, when in the dusk of the evening the wild weird shriek is suddenly
uttered in the immediate vicinity. In some parts its cry is supposed to foretell the near approach of
rain ; but it appears chiefly to circle at a considerable altitude, uttering its cry, during rain. Though
shy and very wary when it has been subjected to persecution, it is, as a rule, far less so than its allies ;
and when unmolested it is tolerably fearless. When in Finland I used very frequently to see the

THE GREBES. 219

present species in. the large lakes in the interior, and I have often reclined on a rock watching several
Divers which were svimnring and diving quite unconcernedly within a short pistol-range of me.
During the spring I collected in northern Finland many eggs of this Diver, which breeds there
not unfreqiiently. Its nest consists merely of a little grass or a few rashes collected in a
small depression in the ground close to the water, and is usually placed on a small island or on the
shores of an inland lake ; or else, at the Gulf of Bothnia, on the shores of the gulf itself. Whether
both sexes incubate I cannot with certainty say, because I never succeeded in surprising one on its
nest ; for its mate, which is seldom far off', at once gives the alarm, and the sitting bird takes to the
water. If deprived of their eggs, the birds will remain about their despoiled home for some time,
uttering loud melancholy cries, as if bewailing their loss." The same author describes the habits of
the Black-throated Diver as being very similar to those of the red-throated species ; and Mr. Robert
Gray, a well-known Scottish naturalist, says that the natives of Benbecula and North Uist compare
the cry of the latter bird to the words " Deoch ! deoch ! deoch ! than loch a traoghadh !" which
may be interpreted as " Drink ! drink ! drink ! the lake is nearly dried \ip!" Both the above-named
Divers are more beautifully marked in summer than in winter, and at the latter season of the year
the Red-throated Diver is completely white underneath, without any appearance of the red throat
from which the species takes its name.

The third family of the Diving Birds embraces the Grebes (Podicipitinoi), which represent
the befrn-e-mentioned Divers in fresh water. They are not unlike the Divers in shape, having a long
neck and pointed bill, the hind toe being present and lobed, as also are all the other toes. They can
scarcely be said to have a tail at all, only a little soft tuft of feathers representing this organ. The
beautiful glossy plumage of the Grebes is well known as an article of dress, and ladies' muffs and
jacket-trimmings are made out of the bodies of these birds, causing considerable slaughter among them
for these articles of trade. Luckily, a Grebe is a bird which thoroughly understands how to take care-
of himself, and to capture him two things are necessary — first, to get within range of the bird, and
secondly, to shoot him when once within distance, so that considerable patience is often required. The
best known species in England is the Little Grebe, or Dabchick (Podicejjs minor), which frequents
most of the rivers, but more particularly affects fresh- water lakes. Here the bird is thoroughly at
home, and its nest may be found by a little careful search. It is one of the most disagreeable nests
to remove if required for a museum, and to all appearances most uncomfortable, if one did not
remember the thoroughly aquatic habits of its owner. It is built entirely of weeds, stalks of plants,
and reeds, and looks exactly like a lump of wet rubbish. Nor does a cursory examination dispel this
idea, for many times we have passed by the nest, and seeing no eggs, have at first imagined that it
was a disused one of last year, but on feeling xinder the layer of wet weed on the top of the nest the
eggs have been discovered, very carefully and artfully concealed. This concealment is said to be the
work of the birds themselves on seeing the approach of an intruder ; it has, however, been asserted that,
the female having laid the eggs, covers them up with wet rubbish, and leaves the action of the sun
to assist in hatching them. It seems to us difficult, in the case of the Little Grebe at least, to provfr
the truth of these statements. We have studied the nidification of this species under peculiarly
favourable circumstances, and have found more than one nest every season for the last seven or eight
years, and, notwithstanding our utmost caution in approaching the nest in the hopes of seeing the
bird leave it, we never yet succeeded in surprising the female, but on arriving at the nest we found
the eggs always perfectly hidden from sight by a mass of wet weed, which did not always show signs
of having been hastily piled on, but in some instances at least appeared to have been flattened down
on the top of the eggs. So quick to perceive danger, however, is the Dabchick, that the mere
launching of a boat half a mile off is cause for alarm, and the pair of birds would have plenty of time
to conceal their eggs before any one could get up iinperceived. The eggs, when first laid, are white,
but as incubation proceeds they get more and more discoloured, until at last they become of a dirty
yellowish-buff colour. In summer the Dabchicks are much handsomer birds than in winter, for, like
all Grebes, they put on a summer plumage, when the neck becomes red and the under-parts black,
instead of silvery white. At this time of year they are somewhat more easily obtained, as they trust
as much to concealment as to their power of diving ; and if there is a little weed growing above the
surface of the lake they often betake themselves to it for shelter, and as their bodies scarcely appeal* above

220

NATURAL HISTORY.

the water, their necks alone are left to attract attention, and these may often be detected even among
the weed-stalks. In winter they assemble in little companies, probably consisting of the old birds and
their families of the previous summer, and on the approach of danger they dive under water and
disperse in different directions ; there is, however, generally some place of refuge for which they make,
perhaps a spot where the bushes overhang the water or a bed of rushes near the bank. They may,
perchance, be intercepted on their way thither, but so sharp are the Dabchick's eyes, and so great the

CRESTED GREHE.

distance which he can swim under water, that out of twenty birds which may be seen swimming
together at first, probably not more than half-a-dozen come again under the observer's eye. The little
birds will, perhaps, appear on the surface as light as a cork floating, but only for an instant : the
slightest movement in the boat and they disappear like lightning, so that frequently the only intimation
one has of their presence is the splash and the ripple which indicate where the bird has gone down.
Where it will reappear is quite a matter of conjecture, for, once under the water, it may press
forward in any direction, and come up again fifty yards off in quite an unexpected quarter. We
remember once finding a Dabchick feeding in a narrow ditch ending in a cul-de-sac, and posting our-
selves at the end of the ditch, we waited patiently for the bird to appear, making sure that we should

171

GIANT PENGUIN.

222 NATURAL HISTORY.

shoot it without fail ; but the Grebe, nothing daunted, dived under water, came straight down the
ditch, passed us at a point where it was not more than six yards broad and about two yards deep, and
reappeared in the river about twenty yards off, diving the instant we moved, and coming up again far
out of shot. This is only one instance out of many we could relate which have occurred to ourselves
in our chase after Dabchicks, when the birds have saved themselves by their adroitness in swimming
and diving. Besides the Little Grebe, there are found in England the Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps
cristaius), and in winter the Red-necked Grebe, the Eared Grebe, and the Sclavonian Grebe
sometimes occur. Most of the Grebes are migratory, and some are very widely distributed, occurring
over nearly the whole surface of the globe. One of the most remarkable is the South American
species (Centropelma microptenrm), from Lake Titicaca, in the Bolivian Andes, a bird of large size, but
with such small wings that it cannot fly.

THE TWELFTH ORDER OF BIRDS.— THE PENGUINS (IMPENNES).

The Penguins represent in the Southern Ocean the Auks and Divers of the Northern Seas. They
are called Impennes on account of their wings, which are very small in comparison with the size of
their bodies, and quite hard in texture, very rigid, and movable only at the base, and covered with
small stiff feathers of a bristly nature. The body is long and flat, of an oblong form, and the bird
swims with a wavy motion, using its feet and wings as auxiliary portions of the body. The Penguins
are found on some of the rocky islands in immense numbers, and Dr. Bennett gives a good idea of a
Penguin rookery in Macquarie Island, where they occupied about thirty or forty acres of ground : —
" The number of Penguins," he writes, " collected together in this spot is immense, but it would be
impossible to guess at it with any near approach to truth, as during the whole day and night 30,000
or 40,000 of them are continually landing, and an equal number going to sea. They are arranged
when on shore in as compact a manner and in as regular ranks as a regiment of soldiers, and are
classed with the greatest order, the young birds being in one situation, the moulting birds in another,
the sitting hens in a third, the clean birds in a fourth, &c. ; and so strictly do birds in a similar con-
dition congregate, that should a bird that is moulting intrude itself upon those that are clean, it is
immediately ejected from among them." During the late expedition to Kerguelen Island numbers of
Penguins were found nesting on the island, and the Rev. A. E. Eaton writes as follows concerning the
species known as Pygoscelis tceniata : —

" The Johnnie (as the whalers call this bird) is common in Royal Sound. It builds in communities,
some of only a dozen, others from 70 to 150 families. A more populous colony upon the mainland
was visited by six oflicers from the ships, who estimated the number of nests in it to amount to 2,000
or more. These larger communities are approached from the sea by regular paths, conspicuous at a
distance, like the well-worn sheep tracks, which lead straight up the hill from the water. Their
formation is due to the Penguins being very particular about where they land and enter the sea. A
small party of the birds occupied a position upon the neck of a low promontory, within an hour's
walk of Observatory Bay. Their nests were nearest to the farther side of the isthmus, but when
they were approached the male birds used to run to the water, not by the shortest route, where it was
deep close to the rocks, but by the longest, to a place where the shore was shelving. It was amusing
to see them start off in a troop as fast as their legs could carry them, holding out their wings, and
tumbling headlong over stones in their way, because as they ran they would keep looking back instead
of before them, and to hear their outcries. Panic and consternation seemed to possess them all, but
the females (possibly because they could not keep up with their mates) seldom went far from their
nests ; and if the intruder stood still, soon returned and settled down again upon their eggs. Not
many weeks had passed before a change was effected in their conduct. The young were hatched, and
now the mothers anxiously endeavoured to persuade them to follow the example of their fathers, and
run away to sea. But the nestlings preferred to stay in their nests ; they did not mind if the stranger
did stroke them, although their anxious mothers did run at him with open mouths whenever he
dared to do so. Only a few of the older chicks could be prevailed upon to stir, and they, after
waddling a few yards, became satisfied with their performance and turned to go home again. The
mothers who had straggled to a greater distance began to return too. It was now that the more

THE PENGUINS. 223

tardy youngsters began to experience the ills of life. Every Penguin that had reached its place
before them aimed blows at them as they passed by towards their own abodes. One of the little birds
certainly did seem to deserve correction. It saw its neighbour's nest empty and sat down in it. The
old female Johnnie, the rightful occupier, presently returned, in company with her own chick, to
whom, having put her head well into his mouth, she began to administer refreshment after his run.
Seeing them so pleasantly engaged, the small vagrant thoughtlessly, presuming on her generosity, went
nearer and presented himself to be fed also, as if he had a right to her attention and care. She
looked at him while he stood gaping before her with drooping wings, unable for a moment to credit
what she saw. But suddenly the truth flashed upon her, and, provoked by his consummate audacity,
she gave vent to her indignation, pecked his tongue as hard as she could, chased him out of the nest,
darting blows at his back, and croaked ominously after him as he fled precipitately beyond the range
of her beak, leaving trophies of down upon the scene of his unfortunate adventure. The whole of
this community of Penguins was subsequently boiled down into 'hare soup' for the officers of H.M.S.
Volaye, and very nice they found it.

" The nests were composed of dried leaf stalks and seed stems of Pringlea, together with such
other suitable material as happened to be at hand. There were two eggs in every nest, and one of
them was invariably larger than the other. Most likely the birds hatched from the larger eggs are of
the opposite sex to those which are produced from the smaller. Whether the big or the little egg is
the first to be laid was not ascertained.

" As is the case with many other kinds of birds, Johnnies are very regular in their habits. Every
afternoon at nearly the same time they repair to the shore when they have done fishing, landing in
small parties at their accustomed places at the heads of shallow inlets. On issuing from the water
they dispose themselves to rest, seldom proceeding beyond the verge of the shore. Those which are
inclined to sleep put their heads behind their flippers ; the others stand amongst them with the neck
shortened so as to bring the head down close to the body, with the beak slanting upwards and for-
wards, somewhat in the manner of a very yoiing Thrush during repose. Their eyes present a rather
tearful appearance, and resemble bits of dull black glass set in their heads — perhaps the nictitating
membrane may be kept drawn over them. At frequent intervals a kind of watery fluid is ejected
from their mouths by a shake of the head. I was led to suspect that these Penguins are liable to be
attacked by Seals, for in places not much frequented by man, if they once effect a landing they do not
readily return to the water on being alarmed, but run away from the sea uphill as fast as they can
go. After they have gone some distance, they turn round and look back while they take breath ; but
as soon as they are rested sufficiently they willingly resume the ascent. It is not until they have been
driven so far as to become thoroughly tired that they refuse to proceed farther, but when this stage
lias been reached it is useless to urge them to advance without a pause. As they face about, the
sight of the boot ready to push them over is greeted with deprecating sighs, and should this be dis-
regarded, and they be sent over upon their backs, as soon as they regain their feet they rush at their
driver, launch their bill at his knees, beat their wings furiously against his calves and shins, and make
a dash on all-fours down the hill at full speed to regain the sea. When they became accustomed to
being chased by men, the Penguins acquired the habit of betaking themselves to the water at the first
alarm. A small party of these birds used persistently to land in Observatory Bay every evening at
the very time when the men erecting our huts were returning to the ship after their work. Such of
the Johnnies as managed to escape being caught one day were sure to reappear the following evening
just at the critical time, dragging themselves out of the water to afford sport to the men. By the
time that the huts were completed, the survivors were reduced in number to a couple of birds, and
there can be little doubt that these would have followed their late companions into the soup-kettle had
the putting up of the Observatory occupied one more day. The cry of the Johnnie distantly resembles
the short bark of the fox."

THE THIRTEENTH ORDER OF BIRDS.— THE TINAMOUS (CRYPTURI).

It seems at first sight sti-ange that the Tinamous, so much resembling game-birds in their appear-
ance, sho\ild be placed almost at the end of the series of birds, and so far from what would be
considered their natural allies ; but in reality they form an extremely interesting group, inter-

224, NATURAL HISTORY.

mediate in some respects between the Carinate birds and the Struthious birds (Kcititce). They may
briefly be described as game-like birds, having the bones of the skull like the Struthiones, but
having a keeled sternum, which places them in the Carinate series.

The Tinamous are strictly neotropical in their habitat, and do not occur away from the South
American region. The body is thick and the head small, the bill is slender, a little shorter than the
head itself, gently curved and depressed, the tail small and often concealed by the coverts, the wings
short and rounded. About forty species of Tinamous are known to science at present, and these
are divided into nine genera. Many of the birds are found only in forests, while others, on the
contrary, frequent open grass-lands, and have the habits of the European Quails. The eggs are very
striking in their coloration, being sometimes of a very deep purplish shade, whilst in some instances
they are bluish-green ; the texture is always smooth and very glossy, and when once seen a Tinamou's
egg can hardly be mistaken. On the ground these birds run with great rapidity, and seldom
endeavour to save themselves by flight, while their intelligence appears to be of a low order, and
•when suddenly alarmed they seem to become stupefied with fear. On such occasions, as we are in-
formed by Mr. Darwin, a man on horseback, riding round and round them so as to narrow the circle
each time, may knock over as many as he pleases, but the usual way to capture them is by means of
a small lasso or running noose, made of an ostrich feather fastened to the end of a stick ; and a boy
thus armed and riding on a horse has been known to secure as many as forty in a day. The Tinamous
are much appreciated as articles of food, and they have on this account been much harried, so that
species which were once common in some countries have now to be sought for at long distances from
their former haunts. This has been the case with the Tataupa (Crypturus tataupa), in the neighbour-
hood of Buenos Ayres, and the late Mr. Durnford stated that it was not to be met with within a
hundred miles of that city. This species, according to the late Prince Maximilian of Neuwied,
prefers open quarters to forest land, and runs with great speed over the gi-ound. Towards evening it
utters a very peculiar cry, consisting of two long-sustained notes, followed by six or eight of the same
tone, but short and quickly repeated. The species of Nothura are more Quail-like in their habits, and
have been designated by some authors the American Quails. Of the N. maculosa, near Buenos
Ayres, Mr. Durnford writes that it is resident and abundant wherever the rough paja-grass or thistles
afford any cover. It also frequents fields of maize or other cereals in considerable numbers. On a
Sunday or holiday it is a curious sight to watch the " sportsmen " of various nationalities flocking to
the different railway stations to have a day's " perdiz " shooting. The dogs impressed into their
service are, like their masters, of various breeds — from a Bull-terrier to a Pointer — it being considered
of primary importance to be accompanied by some specimen of the canine race. When collecting in
the Chuput Valley in Patagonia, the same naturalist fell in with the Elegant Tinamou (Calodromas
elegans), which he found common in the valley and on the hills in very dry spots. It nests under the
shelter of a small bush, and after scraping a slight hollow in the ground, lines it with a few fragments
of grass and feathers, laying sometimes as many as ten eggs. The remarkable character of these, of a.
uniform pea-green colour, with a highly polished appearance, is well known. About dusk these birds,
come from the shelter of the long grass or bushes, where they have lain during the day to feed; and
at that time they can be heard calling to each other in every direction. Their note is a loud and oft-
repeated whistle, uttered in a low key.

DIVISION II— THE STRUTHIOUS BIRDS (RATIT.E).

The characters which distinguish the Ratitce from the Carinate birds, or Carinalce, were briefly
alluded to at the commencement of the present article,* and consist chiefly in the absence of a
keel to the sternum, which is therefore raft-like. The Struthious birds are amongst the largest of
the class, and are entirely terrestrial in their habits, not one of them being able to fly, though
they make up for this deficiency by an extremely swift power of running, and in some of the
species the tiny wings are elevated so as to form a kind of sail, which helps the bird along, when
fleeing from danger. A good idea of the speed at which these birds can go is given in Mr. Smelt's
description of the chase of a Rhea, or South American Ostrich (fthea americami), on the pampas,

* Vol. III., p. 230.

THE STRUTHIOUS BIRDS.. 225

in the district of Tapalqneen, on the south-western frontier of Bueno's Ayres, where the species is
tolerably numerous, and is hunted by Europeans with dogs, and by the Indians with the well-
known "bolas," or balls: — "We soon found," he says, "that the report we had heard as to the
abundance of Ostriches here had not been exaggerated, and that in whatever direction we went
we were sure of finding them. After riding for about a mile and a half, we viewed five birds
feeding in a hollow, at a distance of about seven or eight hundred yards from us, and discovered
that by skirting some high grass to our left we should most probably be able to get close to them
without alarming them ; so we at once started in that direction, taking two of the dogs with us.
Before we had gone a couple of hundred yards we came suddenly on an old male bird, a splendid
fellow, and we slipped the dogs within five-and-twenty yards of him. Then began one of the
most exciting runs it was ever my good fortune to witness. Away we went, through the thick
' pajas,' or tufts of high reedy grass, the hounds keeping well up, and apparently rather gaining
ground than otherwise. In this way we ran for two miles or more, when the Ostrich, emerging from
the Tiigh grass, steered away across some bare hills, where he got the full force of a veiy fresh breeze
that was blowing at the time, of which he at once took advantage, running down and across it in an
oblique direction, with his left wing raised, which he made use of as a sail. The pace hitherto had
been good — in fact, I may say, without fear of exaggeration, more than good — but now that he had got
the wind, it was simply racing, and, in spite of all our efforts, and those of the dogs, he seemed to
leave us literally as though we were standing still. We kept pounding away, however, in pursuit, as
well as we could, for some time, when a man who was driving cattle turned him to the right, and he
headed straight back towards us for a few seconds before he found out his mistake ; we were thus
enabled to get on good terms with him again. After running for about fifteen minutes more, he
began to show unmistakable symptoms of distress, and one of the dogs, a large brindled one, ranged
fairly alongside, and was about to make a spring, when he doubled as short as if he had been fixed on
a movable pivot, and catching the slant of the wind, and setting his wing again, he was off like a flash
of lightning, and leading by nearly a quarter of a mile, the hounds having shot lengths ahead before
they could turn. It was evident, however, that he was tiring fast, and, although the pace was still
good, we got alongside again, but with no better result than another double, and another good lead
for the bird ; and these tactics he continued to repeat each time we neared him, always gaining an
immense advantage thereby. It became plain, however, that he could not last much longer, and
eventually the dogs pinned him, when we rode up and gave him his coup de grdce, cutting off hia
wings as trophies." The accounts of hunting the Ostrich in Africa which ai'e given by travellers are
very similar in character to the above account of the Rhea hunt, and the extract has been made prin-
cipally to illustrate the use of the wings as a help to the bird when it runs. The feathering of the
Struthious birds is most peculiar, and when viewed from a little distance the birds look as if they were
covered with hair instead of feathers. This appearance is enhanced by the loose character of the
plumage, the feathers being very long and lax, while they have none of the little barbules* which hook
the cross barbs together, and tend to make the feather of an ordinary bird firm and compact in itself.

The distribution of the Struthious birds, to judge from the fossil remains which have been found,
was at one time much more extended than it is at the present day. They seem, however, to
have always been developed to a greater degree in the southern portions of the globe, and never to
have penetrated very far north. This is amply demonsti-ated by the presence of a large number
of forms of Moa (Dlnornis) in New Zealand, and the gigantic jEpyornis of Madagascar, which
were as much larger than the Ostriches of the present day as the latter birds are than the majority of
birds now living.

The Ratitoi may be divided into two families, the Ostriches (Struthionidce), amongst which the
Cassowaries are classed, and the Apteryges (Apterygidce). These families have well-marked characters
for their distinction.

THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE STRUTHIOUS BIRDS.— THE OSTRICHES (Struthiomda).
In all these birds the bill is short, though powerful and robust ; it is rather flattened, and has a
large " nail " at the tip. The nostrils are longitudinal, and are situated at the base of the bill. The

* See Vol. III., p. 238.

226 NATURAL IIISTORY.

eyes are large, and are protected by well-developed and stiff eyelashes. The legs are extremely stout,
and no hind toe is ever represented. The Ostriches may be further divided into two sub-
families.

THE FIRST SUB-FAMILY OF THE STRUTHIONID^.— THE OSTRICHES (Struthiomtite}.

The principal character which distinguishes the Ostriches from the Cassowaries is the absence of
a second feather or highly-enlarged after-shaft,* which in the latter birds is as long as the feather
itself, and forms a second plume. The wings, too, ai*e feathered, the plumes being large and tolerably
long, while the tail feathers are small and not greatly developed. The two genera belonging to this
sub-family are Struthio and Rhea, the former containing the African Ostrich (Struthio camelus), the
latter the Rheas of South America, of which there are three species.

THE OSTRICH (Struthio camelus).

Interesting as the natural history of the Ostrich has been from time immemorial, regarded
as one of the birds mentioned by the most ancient writers, it is doubtful whether the latest phase
of the history of the Ostrich, viz., its domestication in "Ostrich Farms," will not prove of greater
impoi-tance to mankind than its existence in a state of nature. To Mr. Julius de Mosenthal's
book on "Ostrich Farming," and the monograph on the "Struthious Birds" by Mr. J. E. Harting,
the author is indebted for the following statements condensed from these works : — The Ostrich,
although it seems in ancient times to have extended to India and Central Asia, is not known
to inhabit those countries in the present day, but within the Christian era eggs of this bird, and
even some living examples, were brought to China from Turkestan and Central Asia, and the King of
Samarkand is mentioned as having paid a tribute of Ostriches' eggs to China in the year A.D. 605.
Remains of the species have been found in the Sewalik Hills, in North Western India, along with
those of the Camel and the Giraffe, but it is doubtful whether the Ostrich ever extended into India
within historic times, as no mention is made of it in Sanskrit literature, while the bird is not alluded
to during the celebrated march of Alexander the Great through Asia ; at the same time, Mr. Surtees,
who resided for some years in Sindh, is stated by his friend, Canon Tristram, to have heard of many
traditions pointing to a former existence of the Ostrich in that country. In Syria, Arabia, and Meso-
potamia, it seems to have been known from time immemorial, and Sir Henry Layard informs us that
Ostrich feathers appear as ornaments 011 the robes of the figures in the oldest sculptures of Nimrod,
together with the emblematic flower, and frequently occur on the Babylonian and Assyrian cylinders,
from which we may conclude that the Ostrich was a sacred bird. It is frequently mentioned in Scrip-
ture, where, however, according to Canon Tristram, the Hebrew word is often rendered as "Owl."
Some of the references to the habits of the bird are true to nature, and others are based on popular
beliefs which hold even to this day among Orientals. "It is the hoarse complaining cry by night,"
writes Canon Tristram, " to which Job compares his own sorrowing lamentations under the visitation
of God. The same simile occurs in Micah i. 8 : 'I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked:
I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the ostriches ' [owls, marg.]. In the reply
of the Lord to Job, the habits of the Ostrich are thus set forth : ' Gavest thou the goodly wings unto
the Peacocks'? or wings and feathers unto the Ostrich, which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and
warmeth them in dust, and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break
them 1 She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers : her labour is in vain
without fear ; because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her Understand-
ing. What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.' — Job xxxix.
13 — 18. Here we find mention made of the beauty of its plumes, of its habit of leaving its eggs on
4 he surface, of hatching them in the heat of the sand, of its desertion of its young, of its reputed
•stupidity, and of its extraordinary fleetness."

Xenophon, in his " Anabasis," mentions the occurrence of Ostriches in the plains of Artemisia,
on the left bank of the Euphrates, in the neighbourhood of Thapsacus, biit according to Olivier, who
travelled there towai-ds the close of the last century, they are no longer found there ; but they are
killed every year not far from Damascus, and they ai-e still hunted in many parts of Arabia, though

* See Vol. III., p. 238.

THE OSTRICH. 227

everywhere in "Western Asia the Ostrich seems to be a rapidly-decreasing bird. Canon Tristram
states that even at the present day the bird occasionally wanders from Arabia towards the Belka, to
the south-east of Palestine, and he himself obtained a specimen there, shot by Sheikh Agyhle Agha.

In Egypt and Nubia the Ostrich is now seldom found, and it scarcely ever occurs north of 17°
K lat. In 1816 Burckhardt saw many wild Ostriches in the plains of El Mograh, between Cairo and
Suez ; but Von Heuglin searched for them in vain in Central Egypt and the Lybian Desert, though
lie was informed by Prince Halim Pasha, a " trustworthy hunter," that he had found freshly-disturbed
Ostrich nests and breeding-places within a few clays' journey from Cairo. The species is found
from Southern Algeria throughout Africa to the interior of Cape Colony, wherever an open country
suits its nature, and where increasing cultivation and persistent hunting have not driven it
away.* They are not found, for instance, on the West Coast of Africa, which is girt by a belt
of forest land, nor do they occur in many parts of the East Coast, like Zanzibar and Mozambique,
such skins and eggs as are sold in these places being brought from the interior. Some orni-
thologists consider that there are two species of Ostrich in Africa, and the late Mr. Andersson affirmed
from his own experience that two, if not actually three, kinds of Ostrich were to be met with in South
Africa alone. In one species he states that the male is black, while the female is grey, and in the
second species the male is like the same sex of the ordinary kind, but is rather larger, while the
female is jet-black like the cock bird. The existence of the third species depended very much on
native testimony, but Mr. Andersson was inclined to believe in it.

The mode of hunting the Ostrich is different in various parts of Africa. In ancient times Strabo
speaks of a tribe in Lybia, which he calls Struthiophagi, or Ostrich-eaters, who used to cover them-
selves with an Ostrich-skin, and thrusting the right arm into the skin of the neck, which they held
aloft, by this device easily approached their game and killed it Similar to this in some respects is
the well-known method of the Bushman, who clothes himself in the skin of one of the birds, and
imitates their motions so exactly that it is almost impossible to detect the difference at a little distance
off. The sham bird approaches from the leeward side of the flock, for if once a bird winds him off
it goes, and all the trouble is taken for nothing. " Now it turns its head as if keeping a sharp look-
out ; now it picks at the verdure on the ground, or at any water-melon or shrub which may be in its
path ; now it shakes its feathers, sometimes trotting and sometimes walking, until at length the waiy
Bushman gets within bow-shot of some unlucky bird, and when, having discharged his airow, one of
the flock runs off in any direction, the sham bird runs off too. The rest of the flock are quite unable
to understand why their comrade should suddenly run away and then lie down, and they allow their
enemy to follow them up until they share the same fate. Several are often secured in this way before
they get scent of the impostor." In Morocco the only way to approach the Ostrich is on horseback,
as no artifices can be emploved, the birds being so wary and the plains so vast on which they are
found. The horses are stated by Canon Tristram to undergo a long and painful training — abstinence
from water as much as possible, and a diet of dry dates being considered the best means of strength-
ening their wind. The hunters of the tribes to the east of the M'zab set forth with small skins of
water strapped under their horses' bellies, and a scanty allowance of food for four or five days judi-
ciously distributed about their saddles. As soon as the birds are descried, two or three of the hunters
follow the herd at a gentle gallop, endeavouring only to keep the birds in sight, without alarming
them or driving them at full speed, when they would soon be lost to view. The rest of the pursuers
leisurely proceed in a direction at right angles to the course the Ostriches have taken, knowing by
experience their habit of running in a circle. Posted on the best look-out they can find, they await
for hours the anticipated route of the game, calculating upon intersecting their path. If fortunate
enough to detect them, the relay sets upon the now fatigued flock, and frequently succeeds in running
down one or more, though some of their horses usually fall exhausted in the pursuit. The bird, when
overtaken, offers no resistance beyond kicking out side ways, f Ostriches are also captured by the
Bushmen by means of pit-falls or with the lasso, and the Somali tribes hunt in the same way. The
birds are often shot at the pools to which they 1'esort for drink, and they seem to be fond of standing
in the water in the heat of the day, Von Heuglin having stated that Ostriches often resort to the

* Dr. Hartlaub, in the " Vogel Ost Afrika's," by himself and Dr. Finsch, gives a very good monograph of the Ostrich,
t Hartlng, "Ostriches," &c., p. 46.

228 NATURAL HISTORY.

.shores of the Red Sea for this purpose. A well-directed charge of swan-shot aimed at the necks of the
.stooping birds will often lay several low at once. Another plan of capturing the Ostrich by the Bush-
man may be noted. On finding the nest, he removes the eggs and seats himself in it, when he is, able to
shoot the bird on her return with his poisoned arrow before she can recover her surprise at the intru-
sion. In Sennaar Ostriches are occasionally brought down by a kind of boomerang. In Arabia the
birds are killed on the nest, the hen sitting very close and cowering over the eggs, with neck out-
stretched, and its eye fixed motionless on the approaching enemy. When killed, it is laid upon the
eggs, and the hunter, having buried the blood of his first victim, lies in wait till sunset for the return
of the male, when the latter is also slaughtered.

The Ostrich appears to be a very omnivorous bird, and one which died in the Zoological Gardens
.in all probability owed its fate to 9|d. worth of copper money which it had swallowed. In a wild
state it also swallows quantities of stones, sand, bones, and even pieces of metal, which are picked up
indiscriminately ; its natural food is also very varied, consisting of seeds, berries, fruit, grass, leaves,
beetles, locusts, small birds and animals, snakes and lizards. Dr. Livingstone estimates the rate at
which the Ostrich travels at about twenty-six miles an hour, reckoning each stride at twelve feet,
but Canon Tristram measured the bound when the bird is at full speed as from twenty-two to twenty-
•eight feet. The cry is likened by Canon Tristram to the hoarse lowing of an ox in pain, and by
other observers to the roar of a lion ; in the Scriptures it is all-uded to as a " wailing."

The Ostrich is gregarious, and appears to be more so in South Africa than in North Africa,
where it is seen in little companies of from four to six individuals, the scarcity of food having, perhaps,
something to do with the different habits in the latter locality. It is also a polygamous bird, each
cock bird associating with three or four hens, all of which lay their eggs in one large nest scooped out
in the sand, and relieve each other by turns at incubation, the male taking his turn at sitting as well
as his wives. In the breeding season the males fight vigorously for the possession, of the females.
Though each hen bird lays a large number of eggs in the nest many more are dropped in the neighbour-
hood, and Mr. Layard states that these are supposed to be broken by the parents as soon as the young
are hatched, and serve for their first meals. The little ones come into the world under a certain amount
of risk, for the cock bird often becomes impatient towards the end of the period of incubation, which
lasts about six weeks, and has been observed to lean with his chest upon an egg, crack it, then take it
up in his beak by the membrane inside the egg, and shake it violently until the young bird dropped
out, when he would swallow the membrane, and repeat the operation on another.

The Ostrich was called the " Camel-bird" by the ancients, and its peculiar legs and head, with the
great eyelashes shading its large eyes, were doubtless the cause of its being considered by Aristotle
.and Pliny to be partly bird and partly quadruped ; and it resembles the Camel, not only in frequenting
the same localities, but in many other points. The hard pad-like covering to the breast-bone of the
Ostrich is analogous to the large callous pad on the Camel's chest, both the bird and the animal re-
posing on their chests when they lie down. The diaphragm is also largely developed in the Ostrich.
Nor does the resemblance to the Camel end here, for even in life there is evidence from modern
European travellers of a likeness sufficient to account for the ancient name. Mr. Palgrave met with
Ostriches in North-west Arabia, and writes : — " When we saw them far ahead, running in a long line
one after the other, we almost took them for a string of scared Camels." Again, the Rev. A. C.
Smith, in his "Attractions of the Nile," observes as follows : — " When seen at a distance moving over
the desert, the camels struck me as resembling in a most remarkable degree their desert companion
the Ostrich. It may seem strange to say that a bird and a quadruped have the same profile, yet such
is undoubtedly the fact with these two denizens of the same sandy wilds ; both hold their heads very
forward, with necks much elevated and stretched out ; then the long legs of the Camel are all near
together, whereas those of the Ostrich are wide apart, and the result is that, seen at a distance, these
two very different creatures might be easily mistaken for each other."

In the same work on Ostriches and Ostrich-farming, from which so much of the above information
has been derived, is a full account of the last-named pursuit, which has become a considerable branch
of industry. The value of the plumes is in these days principally appreciated by ladies, but in
old times it was the male sex that mostly used them as adornments. Not to mention the Prince of
Wales's feathers of England, a badge adopted by the Plantagenets, the feathers of the Ostrich are

OS Tlil CH FEA THEIiS.

229

mentioned in far more remote ages, appearing on the Egyptian hieroglyphical monuments, where they
are spoken of as shoo, and they were used by the Egyptians as emblems of justice, from the webs being
equally balanced and of equal width on each side of the shaft. " Warriors," says Mr. Harting, " wore
Ostrich plumes in their helmets from a very early date. In the comedy of ' Acharnenses,' which was

represented in the Theatre of Bacchus at Athens (B.C. 425), Aristophanes depicted a general called
Lamachoo, who carried two beautiful white Ostrich feathers in his helmet ; while both the Greek
Theophrastes (Hist. Plant, iv., 5) and the Roman Pliny clearly indicate that Ostrich feathers were
thus used in their day." The noble Roman ladies are said to have kept domesticated birds for the
purpose of riding, and still earlier the Egyptian Queen Arsinoe, who lived some time before the cele-
brated Cleopatra, had her statue erected on Helicon, in which she was represented as riding on an
172

230 NATURAL HISTORY.

Ostrich, and the bird is said to be capable of bearing a full-grown man. The writer has himself seen
a light kind of carriage drawn by an Ostrich, in the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris. Although this
purpose is not likely to come into vogue in the present day, the demand for food may bring Ostrich
flesh into use, as it is said to be good eating, while the eggs are of the bulk of twenty-four common
hens' eggs, and an omelette is pronounced by travellers to be very palatable.

When, in 1876, Mr. de Mosenthal wrote his report, Ostrich feathers, to the value of more than
£600,000, were exported from Africa, and they were classified under thirty different headings
according to their colour, size, and weight.* The largest exportation comes by way of Egypt, which
contributed nearly half of the above amount ; the Cape followed closely, Barbary came next with
one-sixth of the whole sum, Mogaclor with a value of £20,000, and lastly Senegal, with a value of
£3,000 only. The finest feathers are those received from Aleppo ; they come from the Syrian desert,
and are the most perfect in plumage, breadth, grace, and colour, but are very rare. The feathers from
the Cape are as white as the Aleppo ones, but are much inferior in quality, and are surpassed by those
of Barbary, Senegal, Egypt, and Mogador, whilst the most inferior are the plumes from Yemen, in
Arabia, which are described as very thin and poor. The Cape seems to afford the best artificial breed-
ing grounds, but in Algeria Ostrich-farming is being attended with success ; while, so far, the attempts
made in Australia have not turned out very productive. Mr. de Mosenthal's book contains an
interesting account giving by Mr. Hillier of u farm kept by Mr. Douglas, at Hilton, near Graham's
Town, South Africa, and from it we make the following extract :—

" After breakfast we began, on foot at first, to make our round of the various Ostrich
troops and flocks, scattered or located as they are over a farm of some 3,000 morgen (6,000 acres) ;
and as we shall require the aid of the artificial memory afforded by the recollection of the way we
went, we will tell our story in that order, beginning where we began, with the first flock of the
year's chickens we came to. The first chickens of this year were hatched in the early part of
the month of August, and these, with others hatched during the following month or six weeks,
now run together, and form a flock of forty-four fine healthy growing birds. Some of them are
very large for their age, and all are remarkably lively and in good condition. It was very
amusing to see how they gathered round the coloured boy who looked after them. They ran
away to him if startled in any way, and came eagerly at his call.

" It was evident that their instincts had accepted him in the place of their original parents. These
birds are now housed every night, and though this will no doubt be prudent for some time to come,
on account of storms, yet some of the oldest look quite able to take care of themselves. In fact, were
they with the parent birds, they could not be gathered, many of them, under their wings, or otherwise
much defended from the cold. This group of young birds ar-e kept in the home field, and, we believe,
occasionally get a little lucerne. The condition and health of this flock of birds are most satisfactory.
It proves most triumphantly that Ostriches hatched by machine, when the operation is properly
conducted, are equally healthy with those that come into the world by the old-established and
ordinary process ; and that the same set of conditions must have been complied with, and the various
necessary manipulations which instinct teaches the old birds to perform must have been successfully
imitated, in artificial incubation. We think Mr. Douglas told us he had lost but one since they were
hatched, and this by accident. The next troop of this year's birds is a flock of sixteen. They looked
to us about a month old, but we were not told their age. These, too, looked exceedingly healthy. A
boy was in attendance, and will continue so a little longer, till they are strong enough to join their
little brothers and sisters. This little family is carefully housed every night in a warm covered stable.
We forgot to say that the older flock are put in a kind of kraal within the shed, into which they can
run when it rains. By this plan they get gradually accustomed to sleep out at night. The next flock
we saw was the baby flock of fourteen, some of which were only a day or two old, while some were a
week or ten days. These were exceedingly pretty little things, like giant young partridges, but with
the special peculiarity of having little bristles all over them mixed with their down. They were
very lively, and gathered round their guardian, and were some of them fed with a little cut
lucerne. We were told that for the day or two after their birth they do not eat, but seem

* Since then the value has fluctuated to an extraordinary degree, according, presumably, to the dictates of fashion.

AN OSTRICH FARM. 231

to be looking about curiously upon the great world they have so strangely come into. Then,
after two clays, they begin to attend to the duties of life by setting up a mill. This is precisely the
fact. The little things, taught by instinct, eat no food till their gizzards are prepared, for which
purpose they go about picking up little hard stones, of no doubt the exact kind required. After this
preparatory process is completed they eat a little soft green food. This infant flock is gathered into a
warm room at night ; some of the youngest are put into the ' mother ' crib of the incubator, whilst
others are accommodated with a lodging between blankets, or otherwise comfortably provided for.
We find, by adding together the above flocks, that we have some seventy-four chickens, all hatched
since August by the incubator — all alive and well.

" We next mounted our horses, and proceeded to an enclosure separated by the river from the
home ground. In this enclosure we found fifteen full-grown birds, or mostly full-grown, among which
were an old cock and two laying hens, and possibly a pullet, which Mr. Douglas told us he thought
was just beginning to lay. The old cock was very savage and fightable, and was given some mealies
(maize) to amuse him while we rode quietly by. The old fellow attacked his master while on horse-
back some little time ago. He succeeded in getting his breast up to the horse, and kicked most
furiously ; but, owing to the unusual position he had attained, his kicks went for nothing, except once,
when his toe ripped open the skin of the horse's flank, which set the horse going in turn. The fact
is, that if the old birds only knew how to use their beaks as well as their feet, they would be most
dangerous animals. As it is, though they peck off your hat, and pull your ears, their operations in
this way do not amount to much. These fifteen birds have a large enclosure all to themselves. And
here we may as well say that there are no sheep on the farm, and in the enclosures dedicated to the
Ostriches, except in the home field, no other kind of stock. We next, after a mile, more or less, came
to an enclosure in which were a very fine old cock and two laying hens. Here we were shown a
nest, after due precaution having been taken to decoy the old monarch into a pen with some mealies,
and safely shut him up ; but we must confess that we gave one or two rather anxious looks towards
the pen aforesaid, thinking it just possible that he might get out of it and come and look after us.
The two hens were both sitting down, which we were informed they do ; also, that when one goes
to lay, the other goes to keep her company, though we did not inquire whether that was the etiquette
of Ostrich life, or the special habits of these two birds. We were informed that the hens lay
their eggs somewhere round about the nest — that is, within a few yards, and that the cock bird
trundles them along, and places them in due order in the nest. In fact, the male Ostrich seems
the ATery antipodes of roosters and drakes, for he takes the chief solicitude about the future of the
eggs, placing them in the nest, and always sitting on them by night, with warding and divers other
little attentions and performances necessary to a successful issue of incubation, which our good friend
Mr. Douglas has carefully observed, after much patient watching, and has duly made a note of.
Here we saw a fine nest of eggs, and proceeded to count them, but were stopped with the information
that they would never hatch. No ! never. And why ] Simply because they were artificial ; and so
good is the imitation, that they deceived not only novices like ourselves, but even the Ostriches, who
ought to have known better.

" Out of the enclosure, given up to the exclusive use of this polygamous family of three, we
entered through a locked gate into a large enclosure, or paddock, in which were fifty-eight one- and
two-year old birds. They all looked exceedingly well, and though they did not dance, they seemed
full of life. They do sometimes favour the spectators with a dance, and it is one of the funniest
of all the freaks or habits of animals that evidence a sense of the jokeful we ever beheld. We
once saw some twenty nearly full-grown birds waltzing together. They began with a sort of
sidling slow revolution on their toes, moving their wings gently up and down, and presently they
seemed to get into the spirit of the thing without the aid of any fiddler that we saw, and span
round at a rate that would have astonished any one but a dancing dervish. In dancing, they
swept round and round without ever coming into contact with each other. Our fifty-eight young
friends soon seemed anxious to make our acquaintance, or, perhaps, to see if there were any
mealies, and they came up all round us, some two or three at a time, poking their little and
long necks right into one's face. Quite docile and quiet, yet they seemed very inquisitive, and
we should fully have expected, had we indulged in such vanities, to have seen our diamond breast-pin

232 NATURAL HISTORY.

disappear as a specially valuable stone to furnish grinding power for the bird. It is a queer feeling
to be in the middle and under the inspection of some fifty- eight pairs of eyes or more, with a good
sharp bill between each pair that could easily appreciate — or say, borrow — any little thing they take
a fancy to. It was queer, but it was most satisfactory, for here were birds two years old, machine.-
hatched, and in size, health, and quality everything that could be desired. This completed our round
of observation, in which we saw a good many contrivances for feeding, plucking, and general manage-
ment, the result of much thought and patient investigation. Since the farm has had no sheep upon
it the veldt has very much improved, and no doubt is still progressing in the same satisfactory
direction. "

The Rheas, which are the remaining representatives of the sub-family Struthionince, are dis-
tinguished by having thi'ee toes, while the head and the neck are fully feathered, and there is no tail
visible. They are confined to the Central and Southern portion of the Neotropical region, and the
three species of the genus RJiea are the Common Rhea (R. americana), which ranges from Bolivia,
Paraguay, and South Brazil down to the Strait of Magellan, Darwin's Rliea (JR. darwini), which
replaces the foregoing bird in Eastern Patagonia, and the Long-billed Rhea (R. macrorhyncha), the
exact habitat of which is as yet unknown. The habits of these South American Ostriches are not
unlike those of their African relative, but as the feathers are not of such beauty as in the latter
species, a lesser exportation of plumes takes place from South America. They appear, however, to
be as capable of domestication, and an excellent account of their breeding in England is given by Mr.
Hart ing.

THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE STRUTHIONKLE.- THE CASSOWARIES (Casuarlmc}.

The Cassowaries and the Emus, which compose the present sub-family, are distinguished by the
wings and the feathering of tha body. The former are bare, and are represented only by some stiff
horny shafts of large size, and the after-shaft, or second feather on the body-plumes, is very long, and
almost equal to the feather itself, so that it has the appearance of being a double feather.

The Cassowaries have three toes, with the claw of the inner one elongated and sharp, while on.
the head there is a horny casque : otherwise the head is bare. Nine species of Cassowary are now
known to science, and they are all peculiar to the Papuan sub-region, that is, to New Guinea and the
adjacent islands, Northern Australia having one species also. These birds inhabit the thick forests,
and are very shy in their native haunts, as well as being of a fierce disposition, using both beak and
legs dangerously in striking. They always kick in front, elongating the body at the same time, while
the Emu kicks outward and backward. Their habits are not very well known, the most familiar
species being the Mooruk, of New Britain (Casuarius bennetti], which is captured by the natives
and reared by hand ; and the inhabitants of the Aru Islands also keep Cassowaries in confinement.
It is probably owing to this means, and to the uselessness of the birds as articles of trade, that they
ai*e preserved to the present day, as the limited range of each species would conduce to its speedy
extermination if hunted to death. Like the Ostrich and the other flightless birds of this order, the
Cassowaries are very timid and shy, and of the Mooruk Dr. Bennett writes : — " They are exceedingly
swift of foot, and possessed of great strength in their legs. On the least alarm they elevate the head,
and on seeing danger, thread localities where no human being can follow them, and disappear with
incredible rapidity. The Mooruk, with its powerful legs and muscular thighs, has an extraordinary
power of leaping, and it was from this circumstance that the first specimen brought from New Britain
was lost. One day, when allowed its liberty, it made a spring on the deck and went overboard. As
it was blowing a strong breeze at the time the bird perished. Their wings aid them in running, but
are never used for defence. The Mooruk is a robust bird, and differs from the Ostrich in its internal
anatomy, its digestive organs being adapted only for a soft and nutritious diet —fruits, vegetables,
insects, and eggs — grain or any similar hard substance not being digestible unless it had been previously
boiled. It also requires a quantity of small gravel or pebbles to aid in the trituration of its food, and
often picks up snails and small bits of iron for a similar purpose. I never heard them utter a sound
like Mooruk. I am inclined to consider that the name signifies in the native language 'swift,'
resembling closely the Malay term ' a muck,' or mad career ; and the extraordinary rapid movements
of these birds rather confirm my idea on this subject. The chirping sounds of the Mooruk are very

THE CASSOWARY.

233

peculiar, being modulated according to the urgency of their wants and desires. Sometimes these notes
are varied, as if speaking ; at one time they are mild, at another very vehement ; then rising to a
higher and more rapid chirp, as if scolding ; afterwards becoming plaintive, as if beseeching for some-
thing ; again loud and rapid, as if impatient at delay. At a little distance this modulation of the
chirping notes seems as if the birds were holding a conversation, and has a very singular effect."

Both the male and female Cassowary sit on the eggs, which are of a beautiful green colour, the
texture being rough and covered with small round tubercles. The perio.1 of incubation in the Mooruk,

CASSOWARY.

according to observations at the Zoological Gardens, is about fifty-two days. For the Ceram species
(C. galeatus), Mr. Wallace gives the period as " about a month." In addition to the shape of the helmet
or casque, the Cassowaries are classified according to the number of the pendent wattles on the neck,
which are two in number in four of the species, one only in the fifth, Casuarius uniappendiculatus, of
Salawati, and in the remaining four they are absent altogether. These wattles and the adjoining skin
of the neck are generally of a bright colour — blue and green and red.

The Emus (Dromceus) are the only remaining examples of the Casuarince, but they may be
distinguished by their feathered head and neck, the absence of a casque or helmet, and by the
stout curved nails to the toss. Only two species are known, the Common Emu (D. novae
hottandias), and the Spotted Emu (D. irroratus), the former being widely distributed in the Aus-
tralian Continent, while the latter is found only in Western Australia. There are several points

234

NATURAL HISTORY.

in which the Emus differ from the Ostriches in habit: for instance, they pair, and the male
remains attached to a single female instead of being polygamous, and the female Emu is also the
larger bird of the two. Writing of the Common Emu, Mr. Gould says: — "Its flesh has been
compared to coarse beef, which it resembles, according to Mr. Cunningham, both in appearance
and taste, and is good and sweet eating ; nothing indeed can bs more delicate than the flesh of
the young ones. There is little fit for culinary use upon any part of the Emu, except the hind

quarters, which are of such dimensions, that the shouldering of two hind legs homeward for a
mile distance once proved to rne as tirasoma a task as I ever recollect to have encountered in
the colony. I may remark that its flesh proved of the greatest service to Dr. Leichhardt and
his intrepid companions during their overland routs from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, in the
course of which, but more particularly between the head of the Gulf of Carpentaria and Port
Essington, the sight and capture of the Emu was almost a daily occurrence ; so abundant, in
fact, was it, that he states that he saw in the short space of eight miles at least a hundred, in
flocks of three, five, ten, and even more at a time. On the continent of Australia the Emu was
formerly abundant about Botany Bay and Port Jackson Harbour ; but is now only to be seen

THE KIWI. 235

in the plains of the interior, over whose solitudes it roams in great numbers, and where it
breeds, depending on the strength and swiftness of its legs to avoid the pursuit of the stock-
men and their dogs. Farther and farther back, however, will it be driven, until it be extir-
pated, unless some law be instituted to check its wanton destruction.

" The note of the Emu is a low booming or pumping noise, which we know is produced by
the female by means of the expansion and contraction of a large membranous bag surroundmo-
an oblong opening through the rings of the trachea. The eggs, which are placed in a cavity
scooped in the earth, generally in a sandy soil, are six or seven in number, of a beautiful dark-
green, resembling shagreen in appearance, five inches and three-quarters in length by three inches
and three-quarters in breadth. They are held in much esteem by the natives, who feed upon
them whenever they can be procured."

The Spotted Emu (D. irroratus) has often bred in captivity in England, and a very interest-
ing account of the acclimatisation of this species in Surrey has been written by Mr. William
Bennett, of Betchworth.

THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE STRUTHIONES.-THE KIWIS (Apteryx).

In these curious birds, whose native home is New Zealand, one meets with many character-
istics of the Ostriches, while at the same time there are many points in which they differ from
them. They are not so large as the smallest Cassowary, the biggest species of the genus, the
Large Grey Kiwi (Apteryx haasti), being only about two feet in height ; the neck and feet are also
proportionately shorter than in the Ostriches and Cassowaries. The bill is very long and smooth,
the nostrils being placed at the very tip, a peculiar provision in these birds, which, as will be
seen, presently, plunge the whole of the bill into the ground in search of their food. The plumage
of the body much more resembles hair than feathers, both to the sight and touch, and the wings
are so completely hidden, that the bird appears to have absolutely none at all.* There is no after-
shaft to the feathers of the body, and the toes are four in number, the hind toe being elevated
above the level of the others, very short and thick, and having the nail a little smaller than
on the other toes.

Four species of Apteryx are known to Science, two of them being of a reddish-brown coloui-,
and two of a grey plumage. The North Island in New Zealand possesses two of the species,
and the South Island two, as follows : — The North Island Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) is represented
in the South Island by the Apteryx australis, while Owen's Apteryx (A. oweni), or the Little
Grey Kiwi of the South Island, is replaced in the North Island by the Large Grey Kiwi, or
Haast's Apteryx (A. haasti). It is doubtful, however, whether the larger birds ought to be
considered anything more than bigger races of the smaller species. Dr. Buller has given a good
account, as far as it goes, of the habits of Apteryx mantelli, but the great difficulty in observing
these birds in a state of nature renders our knowledge of their economy rather meagre. The
above-named gentleman writes : — " The Kiwi is in some measure compensated for the absence of
wings by its swiftness of foot. When running it makes wide strides, and carries the body in an
oblique position, with the neck stretched to its full extent and inclined forwards. In the twilight
it moves about cautiously and as noiselessly as a rat, to which, indeed, at this time, it bears
some outward resemblance. In a quiescent posture the body generally assumes a perfectly rotund
appeai'ance ; and it sometimes, but only rarely, supports itself by resting the point of its bill on the
ground. It often yawns when disturbed in the daytime, gaping its mandibles in a very grotesque
manner. When provoked, it erects the body, and raising the foot to the breast, strikes downwards
with considerable force and rapidity, thus using its sharp and powerful claws as weapons of defence.
The story of its striking the ground with its feet to bring the eai'th- worms to the surface, which
appears to have gained currency among naturalists, is as fanciful as the statement of a well-known
author that it is capable of inflicting a dangerous blow, sometimes even killing a dog.

" While hunting for its food the bird makes a continual sniffing sound through the nostrils, which
are placed at the extremity of the upper mandible. Whether it is guided as much by touch as by smell
* Hence its name, Apteryx, from the Greek <*•, not, and -re'puf, a wing.

236 NATURAL HISTORY.

I cannot safely say ; but it appears to me that both senses are called into action. That the sense of
touch is highly developed seems quite certain, because the bird, although it may not be actually
sniffing, will always just touch an object with the point of its bill, whether in the act of feeding or of
surveying the ground ; and when shut up in a cage or confined in a room, it may be heard all through the
night tapping softly at the walls. The sniffing sound to which I have referred is heard only when the
Kiwi is in the act of feeding or hunting for food ; but I have sometimes observed the bird touching
the ground close to, or immediately round, a worm which it had dropped, without being able to find it.
I have remarked, moreover, that the Kiwi will pick up a worm or piece of meat as readily from the
bottom of a vessel with water as from the ground, never seizing it, however, till it has just touched it
with its bill in the manner described. It is probable that in addition to a highly-developed olfactory
power, there is a delicate nervous sensitiveness in the terminal enlargement of the upper mandible. It
is interesting to watch the bird, in a state of freedom, foraging for worms, which constitute its prin-
cipal food : it moves about with a slow action of the body, and the long flexible bill is driven into the
soft ground, generally home to the very root, and is either immediately withdrawn with a worm held
at the extreme tip of the mandibles, or it is gently moved to and fro by an action of the head and
neck, the body of the bird being perfectly steady. It is amusing to observe the extreme care and
deliberation with which the bird draws the worm from its hiding-place, coaxing it out, as it wex-e, by
degrees, instead of pulling roughly or breaking it. On getting the worm fairly out of the ground it
throws up its head with a jerk and swallows it whole. The stomach of a recently-killed wild bird
which I dissected contained a hinau-berry (Elceocarpiis dentatus), and rounded fragments of white
quartz. Dr. Day writes me : — ' In its very muscular stomach I have usually found the remains of
beetles, pebbles, and many kernels of the hinau-berry.' "

The Apteryx has been known to lay in confinement, but up to the present time no young birds
have been hatched in a state of captivity. Mr. Bartlett contributed to the Zoological Society an
account of the Apteryx mantelli, and its attempts at nesting in the Zoological Gardens. " During last
year" (1867), writes Mr. Bartlett, " these birds showed symptoms of a desire to pair. This was known
by the loud calling of the male, which was answered by the female in a much lower and slower note.
They were particularly noisy during the night, but altogether silent in the daytime. On the 2nd of
January the first egg was laid, and for a day or more the female remained on the egg, but as soon as
she quitted the nest the male bird took to it, and remained constantly sitting. On the 2nd of
February the second egg was laid, the female leaving the nest as soon as the egg was deposited. The
two birds now occupied the two opposite corners of the room in which they were kept, the male on
the two eggs in the nest under the straw, the female concealed in her corner, also under a bundle of
straw placed against the wall. During the time of incubation they ceased to call at night, in fact,
were perfectly silent and kept apart.

" I found the eggs in a hollow formed on the ground in the earth and straw, and placed lengthwise,
side by side. The male bird lay across them, his narrow body appearing not sufficiently broad to
cover them in any other way. The ends of the eggs could be seen projecting from the side of the bird.
The male continued to sit in the most persevering manner until the 25th of April, at which time he
was much exhausted, and left the nest. On examining the eggs, I found no trace of young birds.
Notwithstanding the failure of reproducing the Apteryx, I think sufficient has been witnessed to
show that this bird's mode of reproduction does not differ essentially from those of the allied Struthious
birds, in all cases of which that have come under my notice, the male bird only sits. I have wit-
nessed the breeding of the Mooruk, the Cassowary, the Emu, and the Rhea, and the mode of
proceeding of the Apteryx fully justifies me in believing the habits of this bird to be in no way
materially different from those of its allies."

THE THIRD DIVISION OF BIRDS.— THE LIZARD-TAILED BIRDS (SAURUR^).

Only one representative of this division is known, and that a fossil one, the ArcJiaiopteryx
lithographic®. The first evidence of the existence of a bird in strata of Oolitic age was furnished by
the discovery of the impression of a single feather in a slab of lithographic stone from Solenhofen in
Bavaria, described and figured by Hermann von Meyer in 1861, and named by him Archceopteryx.
Later on in that year, the greater portion of the skeleton of an animal was discovered in the samo

44

KIWI.

THE ARCH^OPTERYK.

237

BOXES OF TAIL OF (A) BENGAL VULTURE AND
OF (B) ARCH.KOPTERYX.

formation at Soleuhofen, with impressions of feathers radiating fan-wise from each anterior limb, and
diverging obliquely in a single series of a long tail. The characters of this singular feathered fossil
seemed so unlike those of a bird, that Professors Andreas Wagner and Hermann von Meyer concluded
that the animal in question was most probably a feathered reptile and not a bird at all.

Happily for British paheontologists, this remarkable fossil was secured for the National Museum in
1862, and a memoir on it was contributed by Pro-
fessor Owen to the Transactions of the, Zoological
Society in the same year. The specimen is preserved
in intaglio and relievo, on two slabs of Solenhofeii
limestone, the lower one of which represents the
ancient surface of what was once tidal mud,
upon which the carcase of the bird was left after
its death, the upper being composed of the
layers of alluvium deposited by subsequent tides,
and to these we are indebted for the preservation
of the fossil. The impressions of the feather
are most beautifully preserved upon the lower
slab, exhibiting the tail and wings, and some
further portions of the skeleton itself. The
head, neck, and dorsal vertebrae alone are wanting. The right scapula and humerus, and both
the fore-arms, are well preserved. Two of the fingers of the wing appear to have been free and to
have been armed with sharp recurved claws. In modern birds the anterior of the three digits of the

pinion remains free, and in some species supports
a claw or spur — as, for instance, in many of the
Thrushes a tubercle, or small callosity, can be felt
with more or less distinctness. Several Plovers
and Jacanas have spurs, as also the Spur-winged
Geese (Plectropterus), while the Screamer (Pala-
medea cornuta) has two spurs, and the Megapodes
have a tubercular rudiment of a pinion-claw.

The lower right limb is well preserved, con-
sisting of femur, tibia, and tarso-metatarsal bones.
To the latter bone four toes are articulated, one
hind toe and three fore toes, the latter armed
with sharp recurved claws. The foot agrees with
that of a true perching bird, but from the
fan- wise and rounded arrangement of the wing-
feathers, it would appear to have been a bird of
feeble flight. The most singular characteristic of
this Oolitic bird is its tail, which is complete,
and consists of no fewer than twenty narrow elon-
gated vertebrae, the dimensions of which slowly
but constantly diminish, so that the last is the
smallest. The feathers of the tail are attached in
pairs to each vertebra throughout its entire length.
In most recent birds we find the tail very short
and powerful, composed of vertebrae varying from
five to nine in number, with well-developed spinous
processes on their upper and under side, the last vertebra being very peculiarly formed, and,
with few exceptions, it is always the largest. This last joint, called the os coccygis, or plough-
share bone, is composed of two or more coalesced vertebrae, and gives attachment to the rectrices or
quill-feathers of the tail, besides supporting the oil-glands. The above woodcut exhibits the peculiar
ending to the tail of Arcliceopteryx, as compared with that of a recent bird.

AKCH.EOPTERYX LITHOGRAPHICA.

173

238 NATURAL HISTORY.

Before concluding this article, it remains to say a few words on the FOSSIL FORMS,* which
are very few in number. With regard to Palaeontology, the numerous papers published by Pro-
fessors Owen and Huxley in Great Britain, Professor Alphoiise Milne-Edwards in France, and
the masterly researches carried on by Professor O .0. Marsh, of Yale College in America, have thrown
a flood of light upon the ancient forms of the class Aves, before almost wholly unknown, and have
to a great extent removed those barriers which seemed before to separate birds completely as a class
from the rest of the Vertebrata.

That the presumed existence of birds at the period of the Secondary rocks should have been first
intimated by their footprints may seem strange, but as far back as 1835, a notice appeared in " Silli-
man's Journal," stating that Dr. Deane had discovered impressions resembling the feet of birds upon
some slabs of red sandstone from Connecticut. Dr. Hitchcock was the first who submitted these
tracks to careful scientific investigation, and concluded that they had been produced " by the feet of
birds." These gigantic three-toed footprints have been found in more than twenty places, scattered
through a tract of country nearly eighty miles in extent, and they are repeated through strata more
than one thousand feet in thickness, t Upwards of two thousand of these Ornithichnites had been
observed and examined by Professor Hitchcock several years ago ; but notwithstanding the most
diligent and careful search, not a vestige of organic remains of either bird or pterodactyl has as yet
been discovered in these beds. Numerous coprolites occur in the Connecticut rocks, and Dr. Dana has
very ingeniously argued, from the analysis of their bodies, that, like guano, they are the droppings of
birds rather than of reptiles.

The fossil footprints exhibit regularly, where the joints are seen, the same number as exists in the
feet of living three-toed birds, and in each continuous line of tracks the three-jointed and five-jointed toes
are placed alternately outwards, first on one side and then on the other. In some impi-essions, besides
the three toes in front, the rudiment of the fourth toe is seen behind. It is not often that the matrix
has been fine enough to retain impressions of the integument, or skin of the foot, but in one specimen
found by Dr. Deane at Turner's Falls, on the Connecticut River, these markings are well preserved,
and were recognised by Professor Owen as resembling the skin of the Ostrich and not that
of reptiles.

Later researches, however, tend to prove that these footprints are not, after all, those of birds ;
for Professor Marsh, in his address to the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
in 1877, remarks : — "A careful investigation of nearly all the specimens yet discovered, has con-
vinced me that there is not a particle of evidence that any of these fossil impressions were made by
birds. Most of these three-toed tracks were certainly not made by birds but by quadrupeds,
which usually walked upon their hind feet alone, and only occasionally put to the ground
their smaller anterior extremities. I have myself detected the impressions of these anterior
limbs in connection with the posterior footprints of nearly all of the supposed ' bird-tracks ' described,
and have little doubt that they will eventually be found with all. These double impressions
are precisely the kind which Dinosaurian reptiles would make, and as the only characteristic bones
yet found in the same rocks belong to animals of this group, it is but fair to attribute all these foot-
prints to Dinosaurs, even where impressions of fore-feet have been detected, until some evidence
appears that they were made by birds. I have no doubt that birds existed at this time, although at
present the proof is wanting."

Of the ArchcKOpteryx from the Oolitic beds we have already spoken, and passing on from the
Oolitic to the Cretaceous formation, we still find remains of birds exceedingly rare. But, just as in
the preceding series of beds, land-surfaces and fresh-water deposits are few in number, and terrestrial
organic remains are consequently uncommon. In 1840, under the name of Cimoliornis diomedeus,
Professor Owen described a leg and a wing-bone of a longipennate natatorial bird, equalling the
Albatross in size ; but the subsequent discovery by Dr. Bowerbank of several additional bones and
a part of the head, led that careful observer to conclude that these remains belonged to a ptero-
dactyl, and not to a bird, as first supposed by Owen. As long ago as 1 858, true bird-remains had
been discovered by Mr. Lucas Barrett in the Upper Greensand, near Cambridge, a formation

* For assistance in this portion of the article the author is indebted to his friend, Dr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S.
t Lyell's "Manual of Geology," 5th Edition, p. 348.

FOSSIL DIRDS. 239

extensively worked for phosphate of lime extracted from coprolite nodules. Portions of the metacarpus,
metatarsus, tibia, and femur have been detected and named by Professor Seeley Enaliornis (Pelagornis)
barretti Professor Newton believed them to be the remains of a true bird, having some resemblance
to a Penguin. These are the only bird-bones of Cretaceous age met with in England.

Thanks, however, to the labours of Professor O. C. Marsh, of Yale College, Newhaven, Conn.,
U.S.A., in the remarkable series of Cretaceous lacustrine deposits of the Atlantic coast and the region
of the Rocky Mountains, no fewer than thirteen species of bird-remains have been described by that
accomplished palaeontologist. The most important of these remains are no doubt the Odontornitkes, or
birds with teeth, the first of which, the Ichthyornis dispar, was described in 1872. This
remarkable bird was, though apparently aquatic in his habits, provided with well-developed wings,
constructed upon the usual typical plan of a bird. The jaws were furnished with compressed
pointed teeth, fixed in distinct sockets. The vertebrae were bi-concave — a character unknown in
the entire class Aves, but common to certain reptiles, amphibia, and fishes.

The other remarkable bird with teeth is the Hesperornis regalis, a gigantic diving bird,
wonderfully like an existing Diver, or Grebe, but standing between five and six feet high, also
from the Cretaceous foi*mations of Kansas. The teeth of this great bird were not implanted in
sockets, but in a deep groove extending the whole length of the mandible. The teeth have
pointed crowns, covered with enamel, and supported on stout fangs, like the teeth of Mosasauroid
reptiles. Externally, the jaw-bones appear to have been covered by a horny bill, as in modern
birds, and the extremity of the jaw was without teeth, and covered by a bill. The breast-bone
is destitute of a keel, and the wings are quite rudimentary. Its tail is not lizard-like, as in
Archceopteryx, but consists of about twelve vertebrae, of which the last three or four are amalga-
mated together to form a flat terminal bone. The tail seems to have been capable of up-aiid-
down movement in a vertical plane, thus probably fitting this organ to serve as a swimming-
paddle or rudder, and to aid it in diving. In one of his lectures Professor Huxley has spoken
of these large extinct species as follows : — " They differ from all existing birds, and so far
resemble reptiles in the one important character that they are provided with teeth; and it is in
consequence of this discovery that we are obliged to modify the definition of the classes of birds
and reptiles. . . . Before the production of such creatures as these it might have been said
that a bird had such and such characteristics, among which was an absence of teeth, but the
discovery of a bird that had teeth shows at once that there were ancient birds which in that
particular respect approached reptiles more than any existing bird does."

Another remarkable " Ornitholita," as these bird-remains are called, has been discovered
recently in the London Clay in the Isle of Sheppey, a marine deposit rich in relics, brought
probably from the neighbouring Eocene continent by some great river, whose embouchure was
not far distant. This deposit has already yielded remains of Halcyornis, a supposed fossil Kingfisher,
of Lithornis, a small Vulturine bird, of Dasornis, a Struthious bird of the size of the living Ostrich, of
a small wading-bird, and of a longipennate bird, with wings as large as those of an Albatross. The
fossil last found makes us acquainted with a strange saw-billed bird, probably a fish-eating one, like a
Merganser, but in which the bony serrations (for they are not true teeth) were of large size, and when
covered with a horny sheath mubt have been formidable organs of prehension. Professor Owen
named this remarkable bird Odontopleryx toliapicus.

From the Eocene slate rocks of the Canton Glarus, the skeleton, almost entire, of a small Pas-
serine bird, of the size of a Lark, has been obtained, and from the gypsum quarries (Eocene) of Mont-
martre and Meudon, near Paris, several genera of birds have been described, such as the Cryptornis
and the Palwogithahis, whilst the Gypsornis is described as the giant of the family of Rails, being as
large as a Stork. Parts of more than one large fossil bird have been obtained from the Miocene
deposits of the Sewalik Hills of India, whilst Madagascar has yielded three species of jffpyornis, a
wingless bird, whose affinities are clearly with the great wingless and extinct Moas (Dinomis) of the
distant islands of New Zealand, once so abundant even within the period of occupation of those islands
by primitive races of mankind. It is quite consistent, however, with what we already know of per-
sistent types, to assume that the wingless birds (of which the Dlnornis, the ^Epyornis, the Apteryx,
the Emu, the Cassowary, the Rhea, and the Ostrich are representatives), have lived on from the Trias

240 NATURAL HISTORY.

to the present day, having spread over the whole southern world, and in Eocene times passing north
even as far as Britain (Dasornis from the London Clay was as large as the Ostrich). The fish-eating
birds, of which the Hesperornis and Ichthyomis, as well as the later Odontopteryx, are the illustrations,
belong to a different type from the existing species, and if Archceopteryx is an ancient form of
Perching-bird, the same may be said of that too. Within the last few years, in the deposits of the
Paris basin, amongst remains of many genera which remain to the present day, have also been
discovered relics of Flamingo-like birds, and even of a Roller (Leptosomus), a peculiar bird now
restricted to Madagascar. Parrots were also represented in the Miocene formations, and a Guinea-
fowl (Numida) has been discovered in the Post Pliocene deposits near Salzburg, as well as Necrornis,
a defunct kind of Touraco from the bone-beds of Samson in Gascony.

In the recent deposits of the Mascarene Islands, the remains of the extinct " Dodo," " Solitaire,"
(Apkanapteryx), the latter being a gigantic flightless Rail with a long bill, Parrots, £c., mark the
representations of the terrestrial fauna of a once extensive continent, now submerged, save the islands
of Mauritius, Rodriguez, and Bourbon. In New Zealand, again, we have the Moas, the giant Gallinule
(Notornis mantelli), a species perhaps not yet quite extinct, the extinct Flightless Goose (Cnemiornis),
and an enormous bird of prey (Harpagornis), large enough to have preyed upon the Moas.

To conclude, let us ask this serious question : — Are the people of this and other coiintries
doing their duty as regards the birds that live side by side with them 1 Within the last two
hundred years many of the species mentioned in the present chapter were yet alive — the Dodo, the
Solitaire, and no doubt the Moa — for in the British Museum are sc'ne feathers in a chief's weapon
brought from New Zealand by Captain Cook, which could scarcely have belonged to any other bird
but the Dinornis. It is by the hand of man, and principally of civilised man, that these interesting
birds have been exterminated. "These lost species," writes Professor Alfred Newton, " there is some
ground for believing were mainly, if not wholly, peculiar to the locality, and after having made good
their existence, maybe for ages, fell easy and helpless victims to the forces which European civilisation
brought into play. Chief among these forces was fire. In all countries and at all times it has been
the habit of colonists to burn, the woods surrounding their settlements, partly to clear the ground for
future crops, and partly (in tropical climates especially) to promote the salubrity of their stations.
When fire was set to the forest and bush of a small island, the whole of which could be burnt at once,
the disastrous effect on its fauna can easily be conceived. Even the animals which happened to escape
the conflagration itself would speedily starve, owing to the at least temporary destruction of the native
flora whence, either directly or indirectly, they derived their wonted sustenance." And to these causes
of destruction man now adds arms of precision, so that large game of all kinds fall to his gun or his
rifle, or, retiring gradually before him, their original habitat knows them no more, and they ultimately
die out. Nor is the fair sex above censure. For whose adornment are the beautiful Humming-birds
of South America sacrificed in such countless thousands, so that their little bodies now form a staple
article of trade to Europe, along with the lovely Rollers, Glossy Starlings, and Bee-eaters of Africa,
and the brilliant Impeyan Pheasant of the Himalayas 1 Sure extinction awaits these birds, if not
in our generation, at least in the next, for if the species can save themselves to a small extent by
their wings, as the Dodo could not do, and the Apteryx cannot now, the firearms of the hunter more
than counterbalance the advantages possessed by the hapless birds he pursues. Stronger measures than
a " close time " for birds during breeding-season are needed, to contend against the persecution which
attends them for the rest of the year ; and nothing but the exercise of common sense and humanity on
the part of men and women in civilised Em-ope can save many a beautiful bird from extermination.
It is to be regretted that a fashion should prevail with even the most highly-educated of the fair sex,
which has long been banished amongst men, excepting those of the most savage tribes. That the
women of Great Britain may be the first to abandon the practice of decorating their wearing
apparel with feathers and wings of birds, a fashion which causes immense slaughter in many countries,
is the sincere wish of the writer.

R. BOWDLER SHARPE.

[NOTE. — Since this article was printed, a new specimen of Archceopteryx has been examined : its zoological position
amongst the Birds is open to doubt. — EDITOR.]

SOFT-SHELLED TRIONYX.

CLASS REPTILIA.— THE REPTILES.

CHAPTER I.
THE CHELONIANS.

General Characters of Reptiles popularly so-called -Divided into Reptilia and Amphibia— THE BUCKLERED REPTILES
— The Four Divisions — The Buckler of the Chelonians — The Carapace— The Plastron — Different kinds of Shells —
" Tortoiseshell "—Protecting Bucklers — Feet -Shoulder-blade and Arm-joint — The Humerus (foot note) — Appearance
of Tortoise's Head— The Process of Eating- Skull— Mouth and Jaw— Eye— Ear— Tongue— How Chelonians Breathe—
Their Lungs and Heart — Digestive Organs — The Eggs— Extraordinary Vitality of Chelonians — Brain — THE
TORTOISES, THE LAND CHELONIANS— Characters— THE GREAT LAND TORTOISES— Mr. Darwin's Visit to the
Galapagos Islands — Enormous Size and Weight of the Tortoises — Probable Extinction— Distinctive Features — Habits —
Great Tortoises at the Water-springs — Tortoises of the Mascarene^md Aldabra Islands — Indian Tortoises — The Common
or Greek Tortoise— African and American Species— THE EMYDES, THE RIVER, OR MARSH TORTOISES—
Characters — The Terrapins — The American Box Tortoise— Habits — The Genus Emys — Emys eMro/xm— The Painted
Emys— Clemmys i)isculpta—The Caspian Terrapin— The Snapping Turtle— The Chelodines - The Matamata— The
Snake-necked Tortoises— The "Aiyussa" Tortoise -THE TRIONYCIDES, THE MUD, OR SOFT TORTOISES-
Characters— Habits— The Soft-shelled Tortoise— The Cryptopus— The Egyptian Trionyx— The Gangetic Trionyx— THE
CHELONIADES, THE MARINE CHELONIANS, THE TURTLES-The Green Turtle— Habits— Size— Food—
Egg-laying— How they are Caught— Characters— The Hawk's-bill Turtle— Why so Named— How the Tortoiseshell is
Obtained -The Logger-headed Turtles— The Leather-back Turtles — The Sphargis— EXTINCT CHELONIANS— Classifi-
cation of the Order.

WHEN a Tortoise, a Lizard, a Snake, a Crocodile, a Newt, and a Frog are seen together alive in a
zoological garden, or stuffed in a museum, there is not the least difficulty in deciding that they, one
and all, ought to belong to a particular group of the animal kingdom, and that they differ from all
the other animals called beasts, birds, and fish. Whether they be alive or dead, they convey a

242 NATURAL HISTORY.

repulsive feeling to the mind, which is not felt on examining any other animal. In confinement, the
general stillness of most, and the slow crawling motions of some of these creatures, stamp the whole
with the title of creeping things, or reptiles. And when they are in their natural homes, where some
display an activity of a singular and occasionally rapid kind, the word creeping is so very generally
true to nature that the tarm reptile really does convey the difference between them and the other
vertebrated animals. No one can confound any of these creatures with any of the Mammalia.
Most observers of birds would object to their pets being compared with a reptile, and would say that,
althoxigh the claws and scaly legs of many a bird are not without resemblance to those of the
crawling things, there can be no satisfactory comparison between them and the feathered tribes.
There is no difficulty in distinguishing between most fish and the reptiles.

Common experience, then, without troubling itself about the insides of the creatures, has
separated those whose names were mentioned at the commencement of this chapter from the other
animals with vertebrae or back-bones. Beasts, birds, fishes, and reptiles used to be the great
divisions of the Vertebrata.

A visit to a collection of living or dead reptiles impresses one with the great number of kinds
there are of them, and how very varied ai*e their shapes and peculiar gifts. Some have limbs, others
have not ; some have a skin, most are scaled, and a few have a regular armour. They live on land
and in fresh and salt water, and some indulge in a kind of flight. Some begin life in the water, and
end it on dry land. If they are really to be divided from the other Vertebrata, it must be acknow-
ledged that there are greater differences amongst them in shape and in method of life than there are
in any of the other classes already noticed.

Very early in the history of comparative anatomy it was shown that the reptiles, popularly
so-called, were cold-blooded, like fish, and that it was necessary, principally from the method of life
in their youth, or on account of the changes which occur in the anatomy and physiology of their
breathing apparatus during their growth, to separate them into two groups : the reptiles, to which
belong the Tortoises, Crocodiles, Lizards, and Serpents ; and the Amphibia, which in many instances
lead at some time of their existence an aquatic life, and which may have tails, like Newts (Tritons),
or which begin life with a tail, and lose it during growth, like the Frogs and Toads.

The Reptilia, or Reptiles, are cold-blooded animals, with back-bones, which have a scaly or
bony-plated skin, which breathe by lungs, and whose heart has the ventricles not completely separated.
They have a single occipital condyle to the back of the head, and they may lay eggs or produce
living young. The existing reptiles are divided into several orders, some of which were represented
in the ages of the past. They are the Chelonians, or Tortoises ; Crocodilia, or Crocodiles ; Saurians,
or Lizards; Ophidia, or Snakes.*

ORDER CHELONIA.— THE BUCKLERED REPTILES.

Tortoises, Terrapins, and Tui'tles are familiar objects of natural history, and belong to an order of
the reptiles called Chelonia. t These Chelonians are cold-blooded, four-footed reptiles, protected by
a case, buckler, or shell, and without te3th in their jaws, and they are thus distinguished from all
other animals. They usually lead monotonous lives, are numerous in individuals, and there are many
genera and families of them. They are divided into four great divisions, and they frequent land,
fresh water, and the sea. They have a great and remarkable geographical distribution, which, in
some instances, is very suggestive to the geologist and physical geographer, and one group (the
Turtles) is of commercial and gastronomic importance.

As there are Land Tortoises, Fresh- water Chelonians, mud-loving-ones, and Sea Turtles, the
* This multiplicity of great divisions indicates that there is very great variety in the reptilian class of structure and
habits. It is also true that the kinds are very numerous, and that the genera are abundant. Many of the reptiles are never
observed by experienced naturalists, and it may be said with great truth that the knowledge of the habits of the group is not
so advanced as the knowledge of their anatomy. The classification of some of the genera is in dire confusion, the localities
whence some important kinds come are not decided, and unfortunately it is too true that the life history of many is quite
unknown. In the necessarily restricted space allotted to the reptiles in a work on natural history, which does not deal
with advanced anatomy or elaborate classification, it is only possible to describe and notice well-known or typical kinds ; and
in doing this the works of Cuvier, Owen, Giinther, Dr. Andrew Smith, Coues, Bell, Rymer Jones, Gray, and Huxley, have
been freely quoted, and often to the very letter. In making this acknowledgment, it is trusted that the accidental omission,
where such occurs, of the names of these distinguished naturalists will be forgiven. f Chelonia, Tortoise.

THE CARAPACE OF THE TORTOISE.

243

order may be divided into corresponding families, under the separate titles of Testudines, Emydes,
Trionycides, and Cheloniades. The difference of shape and construction of the members of these
t; families " is clearly connected with their diverse methods of living. The kinds of some families
swim freely ; those' of others swim and walk, or walk without being able to swim. Moreover,
there is a connection between their habits and the food, some being carnivorous, others enjoying a
mixed diet, and the rest being vegetarians. All lay eggs, and leave them to Dame Nature's care, and
hibernation is common in all except the marine kinds.

The buckler of the Chelonians consists of a deeply-seated bony framework, the top of which,
situated on the back of the animal, is called the carapace, and the underneath, placed below the
body, is termed the plastron, or by some
the sternum. There is in many Che-
lonians a shell which covers these parts,
and is ornamented ; and in one species
this shell is the " tortoiseshell " of
commerce. In others, however, it is
not found, and its place is occupied by
skin. Curious as these protecting buck-
lers are, they are still formed by striic-
tures which can be traced in most
vertebrate animals, but which have been
modified to suit the reqiiirements of the
Chelonians. The carapace on the top of
the Chelonian is a modification of the
bones of the vertebral column and ribs,
and also consists of bony plates which,
growing in the skin, unite all together.

The spinous processes of the dorsal
vertebrae and their ribs enter into the
composition of the framework of the
carapace, and a certain number of single
and of paired pieces of dermal bones
complete it. These dermal bones are
called complementary plates, and single ones may be in the neck, in the middle line, or behind
in the sacral region, whilst there are twenty-two plates on the sides, eleven being on each side.
These accessory skin bones are called respectively cervical, sacral, or pyyal, and marginal plates.

A careful examination of the inside of a carapace shows that the spinous processes of the second
to the eighth dorsal vertebrae are flattened out, so as to form the middle of the buckler and compose
the median plates. Then it appears that the ribs of these same vertebra?, and of the ninth also, are
enlarged above so as to form eight long flat plates (costal"), which are united with those in front
and behind by toothed joints or interlocking sutures.

The expanded ribs also unite with the median plates, formed by the expanded spinous
processes ; and a portion of each rib may be seen underneath the plate-like pai-t and projecting
beyond it at the side of the carapace, and its outer or free end is received into a pit in one of the
marginal plates.

But as the expansion of the rib passes to the spinous process to form part of the carapace,
it is separated from the narrower part of the rib, which comes as usual from the side of the vertebrae.
A space thus exists between the ribs and their expansions, and it contains the muscles of the back.

The under view of the carapace shows the bones of the dorsal vertebrae, which enter into
its composition in the middle line ; and on each side are the ribs, with their expanded portions
filling up the spaces between them. A transverse section of the carapace shows that the breadth
is greater than the height, as a rule, and that an upper arch is formed by the ribs and their ex-
pansions, and the expanded spinous processes of the vertebrte form the key-stone. The sides of the
plastron are seen as curved lines ; and at the sides is a marginal plate, connecting the plastron and rib.

SKELETON OF TORTOISE, FROM JiELOW, SHOWING INSIDE VIEW OF
CARAPACE AND PLASTRON.

244

NATURAL HISTORY.

A view of the carapace from above, when the ornamental part of the shell is removed, shows
a row of expanded spinous processes in the middle line, flanked by the expanded costal plates
which cover in the greater part of the carapace. At the edges of each of these is a projection
narrower than they are, and it is the outward continuation of the rib. The ends of the ribs are fixed
into a rim of marginal plates. There is a broad' plate in the middle line (the nuchal) in front,
connected on each side with the front marginal plate ; and in some kinds, behind, there is a
pygal plate in the middle line, and, like the nuchal, it is attached to the series of expanded
spinous processes.

The under part of the buckler, or " the plastron," is not an outside development of the breast-
bone or sternum, but is formed exclusively by skin or dermal bones, and usually consists of nine

pieces or plates, more or less developed.
Of these, one piece is in front, and there
are four pieces on each side, between
which there may or may not be a
middle space, which is closed by skin or
by cartilage.

These different plates have received
names which formerly were derived from
the belief that this bone expansion was
a breast- bone or sternum modified. Now
it being believed that these bony pieces
are all ossifications of the skin, or are
what is called membrane bones, the names
are different, and relate to the word
plastron and their relative position.

It has been noticed that the spaces
left between the plates of the plastron
are filled up with cartilage in some
Chelonians, and with skin in others ; and
it is readily observed that in the cara-
pace of the Green Turtle, which has been
taken as the example of Chelonian
upper armour, the vacant spaces between
the ribs and the marginal plates are
also closed by cartilages.

Some of the Chelonians have enor-
mous shells, and in others they are small

in relation to the size of the body ; in some the texture of carapace and plastron is all bony, and
in others it is gristly or cartilaginous, or bony, with a softer margin. The shells of some are flat, as
in the Turtles; in others, as in the great Tortoises, the carapace is high and arched. Many
Chelonians cannot retire the head, tail, and limbs within the protection of their shells, and others
can do this perfectly. Most have the upper and lower parts of their more or less protecting cases
soldered together at the edges, but in some there is only a cartilaginous or gristly union; and whilst
in the majority the carapace and plastron are immovable in themselves, in some there is an amount
of mobility in the plastron, by its having one or more unossified and cartilaginous parts stretching
across from one side to the other.

The carapace and plastron may be beautified by an outside covering, the " tortoiseshell," which
differs greatly in its kind and ornamentation in the various groups into which the Chelonia are
divisible. In many the well-known " tortoiseshell " covers over all the hind parts, and in some only
a portion of the protecting case is thus ornamented. There are some Chelonians with a covering
resembling leathern skins, and others have the plastron covered with soft skin. The " tortoiseshell,"
which is the ornamental horny covering to the carapace and plastron, and out of which hair-combs,
knife-handles, and inlaid work are made, is to all intents and purposes an outside or scarf-skin

SKELETON AND CARAPACE OF THE LOGGER-HEADED TURTLE,
FEOM BELOW.

ANATOMY OF THE TOETOISE. 245

structure belonging to the epidermis. It is in the form of thin plates, which are united together at
their edges, and which correspond, to a certain extent only, with the underlying bones of the shell.
The number, size, and position of these plates differ in all the great groups which possess them,
and even in the genera and species, and so do their colours and ornamentation. In most there
is a very geometrical configuration to the plates and to their grouping: and as large pieces of the
epidermoid covering, or " tortoiseshell," are the best, those of the Hawk's-bill Turtle are the most in
request. Usually, the position of the tortoiseshell plates is impressed on the carapace and plastron
beneath them, the edges being recognised as indentations.

The breast-bone, or sternum, which is so well seen in Birds and Mammals, does not exist in the
Chelonia, neither are there any
sternal ribs ; moreover, the ver-
tebrse which enter into the com-
position of the carapace have no
transverse processes. Only the
ribs are present at the sides, and
they arise between the body of
the vertebrae and their neural
arch, which is capped by the
expanded spinous process. SKELETON OF TORTOISE, FROM ONE SIDE.

Consolidated and compara-
tively motionless as are the bones and plates of the carapace and plastron, this is not the character
of the rest of the skeleton, for the neck, tail, and limbs can be active enough, and their anatomy is in
accordance with their mobility.

A remarkable little Tortoise* has a long plastron, which can be bent across just behind the first
quarter of its length, and it is broad and very close behind. There are openings for the head and
neck, and for the four limbs, so that the armour is very complete. When the animal is alarmed, aiirl
withdraws its head and fore-limbs under the carapace, the movable front part of the plastron
closes over their openings and effectually covers them ; and when it desires to move again, the traj>-
door is opened by being lowered, and the head and fore-limbs can come forth. Another Tortoise,f
belonging to the same great groxip of Land Tortoises as that just mentioned, has the carapace
movable behind, but not the plastron in front, and the animal protects its tail and hind-limbs
effectually by bending it down. But this protection does not take place through the agency of
an elastic ligament, as in the Pyxis Tortoise, allowing the plastron to be bent. On the contrary, the
plastron does not move, but the vertebrae, ribs, and plates of the hinder part of the carapace
are not rigid, and can be bent down and curved by muscular action, so as to shut up the posterior
openings, by approaching the back surface of the plastron. This last is rounded behind, and in its
general construction it differs somewhat from that of these so-callecl Box Tortoises. One of the most
perfectly protected Chelonians. although it belongs to a soft-skinned group called Mud or Soft
Tortoises, has three boles in the back part of the iinited buckler. Amongst the Chelonians with
incompletely protecting bucklers are the Turtles, for vast as their shields may be, still their head and
limbs cannot be brought within them as in the Tortoises. Still greater want of covering is noticed
in the Alligator Terrapin J of North America, and in the great-headed Platysternon of China.§

The feet are not heeled in the Chelonia, so that they have a hand-like look, and the ankle-joint
beneath the tibia and fibula has only one bone, in contact with it in some kinds, and two in others.
Four other bones are present in the Tortoise, which has five small toes, the little toe projecting from
a metatarsal bone that sticks out from the foot. There is a good amount of fleshy padding under
the fingers and toes in some kinds, and a web exists between them in others. The swollen
appearance of the under part of the feet of the Tortoise is remarked by every young naturalist
who has kept them as pets, and the nails are attached to the very short digits which seem like
little excrescences. But other Chelonians, such as the marine and the fresh-water kinds, have
well-developed fingers and toes, with webs and nails. The Turtles especially move with great
grace, the hands and feet taking 011 a " feathering " motion, like paddles.

* Pyxis arachnoides. t Kinixys homeana. J Chelydra serpentina. § Plati/sternon megacephdlum.

174

246

NATURAL HISTORY.

SCAPULAR APPARATUS OF
TORTOISE.

One of the peculiarities of the Chelonians is that instead of their shoulder-blade and joint
for the arms being outside and iipoii the ribs, as they are in every other group of things
possessing ribs and arms, they ai-e beneath the ribs and inside the body.
They are under the carapace, which is made up of altered ribs. The
shoulder-girdle, of which the shoulder-blade forms, as in the Birds, a very
important part, has a coracoid bone of great relittive size, and there
is a third large bone connected with the scapula, which is called the
acromion process. The girdle is a three-branched structure, and the cavity
(glenoid) for the joint of the upper arm -bone is composed of a part of
the scapula and part of the coracoid. There is no collar-bone, and as
there is no breast-bone or sternum, the shoulder-girdle is hung, as it
were, underneath the bodies of the vertebrae. The scapula, which is a
cylindrical bone, is directed upwards in the proper position of the animal,
and is hung to the body of the second vertebra of the cai'apace by a
ligament. The coracoid is flat and more or less triangular, and is directed
backwards in the body.* There is nothing like this tripartite incomplete
«, Scapu^a^o^An-niTi^pfocegBigjj.jjg jn any. otlier order or class of the Vertebrata.

In the early stage of the existence of the Chelonia the girdle is not

within the ribs, but in front and outside of them, but during growth the permanent position
gradually prevails. This remark applies also to the pelvic bones and part of the thighs, for
they, instead of being behind the ribs, are beneath and inside them in adults.

Everybody who has kept Tortoises, or who has had the opportunity of watching them in a
zoological garden, must be struck with the shape of the head as it is slowly put forth from
beneath its protecting shell. Its expressionless face, with its large
.nose-openings, meaningless eyes, and toothless, lipless jaws, is as
remarkable as the apparently large brain-case, which is broad behind
and very solid-looking. There is no external ear, but there is a
tympanic membrane, which is visible in some kinds.

To see one of these sedate creatures eating does not give the
impression that it is an easy or enjoyable proceeding. The piece
of cabbage or other leaf is grasped in the wide gape of the jawp,
which have a horny plate instead of teeth, and the motion of the

lower jaw is simply up and down. The head is projected at each bite, and gradually the
morsel is forced down the throat. It is evident, however, that although the creature is very
.-slow in its movements it has very good eyes, and that it can detect its favourite food at once.
Roaming about slowly, in search of food, the Tortoise turns its head bvit little to the right
-or left ; nevertheless, it has the back of the skull well suited for movement, for there is a
single condyle, as in the Birds, by which it articulates with the first bone of the vertebral
•column.

On comparing the bones of this skull with those of the other classes, it is found that there
are no nasal bones present, and that they are i-eplaced by additions to the frontal bones, in the
form of two pre-frontals. The parietal bones are largely developed, and are prolonged downwards
as thin plates to the bone forming part of the front of the base of the skull or the basi-sphenoid.
This prolongation occupies the place of the wing of the sphenoid bone (ali-sphenoid) in Birds. The
pre-maxillae are small and are usually united, and the vomer is single and forms a plate below on the

HEAD OF TURTLE.

* The bones of the fore-arm joint with a humerus which is remarkable for its shape, which is adapted to support
the weight of the body whilst the fore-limb is in movement. When compared with the corresponding bone of a mammal it
appears to be out of its axis. The body of the bone is bent, the head of it is very rounded, and there are two knobs or
tuberosities near it. One of these is located behind and above and the other is placed inwards and backwards. In the
higher animals their position is internal and external, so that the Tortoise's humerus has, as it were, a twist. The lower
part of the bone is wide and flat from before backwards, and there is a furrow along the outer border which is especially
developed in the marine Chelonians, but less so in the fresh-water kinds, and least in the Tortoises. The marine Chelonians
have not the bent condition of the humerus noticed in the land kinds, and the difference relates to their very different
mode of life.

ANATOMY OF THE TORTOISE.

247

hard palate, and joins the palatine bone on each side, to form a very solid piece, behind which is
the opening of the inner nostril. There is a post-frontal bone, which, with the squamosal of the
ear-bone, occupies the upper part of the temporal region, and the last-named bone is placed at the
side of the ear-capsule and above the quadrate bone. The pterygoid bones of the base of the skull
and hard palate are behind the nostril, and are united together, and with the quadrate bones also,
There is no transverse bone.

All these bones, most of which, but not all, are comparable with those of the Birds, are united
together immovably, and the solidity of the skull is great. In the Turtles, and in some of the
Terrapins, there is a false roof to the skull, produced by a flattening of the parietal ridge and its
union in front with the post-frontal bones and behind with the squamosal. It is this which gives
the large and solid appearance to the head. The skulls are nearly all face and outside, and the
brain-cavity is very small.

On examining the mouth of the Tortoise a sharp edge of horn is felt; and it is noticed that
the mandible is very solid, and that it unites with the head-bones far back, and after the fashion
of the Bird rather than of the Mammal. There are traces of all the different bones which make up
the lower jaw, on each side, in the Birds, to be found in the Chelonia, but they all become solidly
united at an early age. In the Tortoises there is union
at the chin, and the dentary bone resembles that of the
Bird, but the Matamata of North Brazil is said to have
the front bones of the lower jaw separate.

The jaw-joint, which moves on the skull on each
side, is fitted into a wide and large quadrate bone, which
is fixed to the skull, the mammalian method of articula-
tion not being seen, but that of the Bird being closely
followed. Teeth are absent in the group, but in some
kinds the horny substance of the jaws is irregular and
saw-like, and the front may be produced into a kind
of beak.

Sight is evidently keen in most Chelonians, and
the eye is a very elaborate organ, provided with eye- SKULL OF TORTOISE.

lids, a nictitating membrane, and well-developed tear *""• %t^l"a?f4™c,^^^
glands. There is much perfection of the movement of the

eye-ball, and there are six powerful muscles, and four smaller ones, which embrace the optic nerve and
are expanded over the ball behind. There is the same considerable convexity of the cornea, and
the smaller convexity of the rest of the front of the eye in the Chelonians which was noticed in the
Birds, and singularly enough the plates forming a bony ring of separate pieces seen in some of
these last are present generally in some of the Chelonians. The iris is circular in the Order.

The internal ear has the same important parts as in the Birds, and there are a tympanic
cavity, a rudimentary cochlea, and three semicircular canals. The Eustachian tube of the higher
animals is represented, and particles of a calcareous nature, called otoliths, are found in the sac-
like cochlea. The vibrations of the tympanic membrane, which is visible at the side of the skull,
are transmitted to the internal ear by one little ossicle instead of by three, as in the Mammalia.
It is said that some of the gigantic Tortoises are deaf.

The sense of taste must be reduced to the utmost in the Chelonia, and the tongue is covered
with a thick rugged membrane, smooth in the Turtles, but beset with pointed papilla? in the Great
Tortoises. A number of glands exist beneath the membrane, and supply the mouth with a moisten-
ing secretion, and the tongue is supported by a hyoid bone, which is cartilaginous, and sends a little
bone into the centre of its substance— the lingual bone.

The hyoid bone is of great importance in the Chelonians, for it not only has to do with the
tongue, but it also assists materially in the mechanism of breathing. Mammals and Birds breathe
by having air drawn into their lungs by means of the expansion of their ribs and the movement
of their chest by muscles, and by expelling it through the reverse movements, and by the elasticity
of the lung itself. Now, Chelonians have no movable ribs, and the muscles are either wanting or are

248 NATURAL HISTORY.

positively within the chest. Watch the land or water Chelonians, and they seem never to
breathe ; it is only when these last have been under water for some time that bubbles come up
from their mouths. There is no vigorous chest movement resembling respiration. In fact, the
Cheloniaii lungs have air forced into them by a process not unlike that of swallowing. Keep a
Tortoise's mouth open too long, and it will be suffocated for want of air, or close the nostrils, leaving
the mouth free, and the same result will follow. The Chelonians breathe by keeping the mouth firmly
closed, and by the action of certain muscles in the throat, some of which pull down the hyoid bone
and the bone of the tongue, and others which restore it to the usual position. The hyoid bone being
dragged down, air rushes in at the nostril, gets into the mouth, and then the tongue closes the internal
nostril, whose position is at the back of the palate. Then, as the bone and tongue are moved upwards
again, the air is forced down into the lungs, and the air-cells are filled. The expiration of the air is
produced by the collapsing of the air-cells, and it passes slowly upwards through the main air-tube to
the mouth. The breathing is very slow. In the Chelonians, and all Reptilia, the midriff muscle is
absent, the chest and abdominal cavities being continuous, and all the viscera are covered with a
membrane, called pleuro-peritoneal.

The lungs of the Chelonia are large and occupy much space ; in some, as in the Alligator Terrapin,
they are divided into several compartments, and the air-cells and the
breathing-surface generally appear to be the most complicated near the
entrance of the main air-tube. Like those of all Reptiles, the lungs of
the Chelonians contain cold blood, and the chemical and physiological
changes in it are incomplete and slow. No brilliant red stream is
passed from the lungs to the heart in the Reptiles, for the blood therein
flowing is dark — a mixture of oxygenised and imperfectly aerated
blood — and it is sent forth in that state by the ventricle of the heart all
over the body and into the lungs. The auricles of the heart, which
are very capacious in the Chelonia, are situated above and before
the ventricle, and are divided by a partition. The ventricle — for there
is only one — is muscular, and the blood rushes from the two auricles
into it and gradually distends it. In the Common Tortoise the ventricle
is little more than a simple cavity, but in the Hawk's-bill Turtle the
cavity is divided into several communicating compartments by mus-
cular projections and fibres, which strengthen the whole. But in both
SECTION OF LUNGS OF TORTOISE, and ^11 otlier instances the ventricle, by its contraction, expels the

SHOWING CELLULAll AKKANGE- . . *

MENT blood, not into the auricles again, but through a series of blood-

vessels, namely, two distinct aortas, a right and a left, and a main

vessel for the lungs or pulmonary artery. The blood of the great veins is thus mixed in the
ventricle with that from the lungs, and the mixture of oxygenated and non-aerated blood is sent forth,
some of it to the body, and some to the lungs. The two aortse pass backwards and unite opposite
the fifth dorsal vertebra, and thence but one vessel is continued to supply the body.

Besides the system of veins and arteries, the Chelonians, as well as all Reptiles, possess large
sets of lymphatics, and they open into the great veins of the neck on each side.

The blood corpuscles of the Chelonia, and of all Reptiles, are elliptical in shape, and are
larger than those of the Birds and Mammalia ; probably those of the Tortoise are Ti^- of a line long
and TiT of a line broad. And experiment has shown that the temperature of the blood and of the
animal is very slightly above that of the air or water in which it may be placed for a while.

Although some Chelonians can last without food for many months, others feed constantly ; and
whilst some enjoy vegetable substances others are carnivorous. Hence there is some diversity in the
structure of the digestive organs ; but it is only necessary to state that the flesh- and insect-eating kinds
have a shorter intestine than the others. In all there is a capacious gullet and oesophagus, but there
is no crop. The muscular coat of this passage is strong, and in the Turtles the inner surface is lined
with long, hard projections pointing towards the stomach, denying return to anything which has gone
down. The stomach is long, thick, cylindrical, and bent ; its walls are very muscular, and it is closely
connected with the liver, that of an American fresh- water kind (Emys concinna) being imbedded in it.

THE GREAT TORTOISES. 249

Laying eggs, the Chelonia have them of a calcareous nature outside in the Land Tortoises and
fresh-water kinds ; buj the Turtle's eggs are leathery, or like parchment to the touch. The construction
of the egg-producing organ greatly resembles that of Birds ; and it is only necessary to state that the
internal structure of the egg and the development of the young in its early stage differ in no very
essential circumstances from those of the Bird. The carapace and plastron appear before the egg is
broken by the outcoming Chelonian.

There is a wonderful amount of vitality in the Cheiomans, and, indeed, in many other
Reptiles. Some can live for many months, and it is said years, without food, and it is well known that
movements and indications of life remain for a considerable time after the head has been removed from
the body or the brain from the head. Their lives are veiy much the same year after year and ge-
neration after generation ; their passions are cold-flooded, and there are no permanent displays of the
affections. Hence the brain and spinal nervous system are less developed than in Birds, and they are
small for the size of the head and body. The surface of the rather long brain is smooth, and there is
a projection in front — the olfactory lobe — which is hollow ; the optic tubercles are rounded, and are
separated by a deep fissure ; the cerebellum is nearly hemispherical, and the fourth ventricle is well
developed. Finally, the sympathetic or organic system is feebly developed in the Chelonia.

FAMILY I.— THE TORTOISES. -THE LAND CHELONIANS.*
These have the carapace and plastron bony, and covered with shelly plates, and
the buckler as a whole is swollen above. They can retract the head, neck, and
extremities within its covering, and they live on land.

THE GREAT LAND TORTOISES.

When Mr. Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands, he saw the relics, as it were, of
a family of huge Tortoises, which lived there in abundance a few years before, and was
able to verify many interesting facts which had been recorded by Porter, in his
" Journal of a Cruise Made to the Pacific Ocean in 1813." Porter noticed the deafness
of the huge creatures, and, like former voyagers, was impressed with their enormous
size, with the long necks of some, and with their quick sight and ponderous move-
ment. He stated that some of the Tortoises captured by him weighed from 300 Ibs. BRAIN OF CHE-
to 400 Ibs., and that on one island they were five feet and a half long, four feet IONIAN.
and a half wide, and three feet thick in the body. They walked with the body about ^Pcerebrum'T?!
a foot from the ground, and the females seemed to preponderate. It is quite evident cerebellum;1 '&,

. t-plnal Cord.

from Porter's narrative that several kinds lived in the islands, those of one island
differing from those of another, but all being of the same group of Tortoises. He expatiates on
the luscious and delicate food that the long-necked and small-headed and other kinds supply, and
notices their ability to last long without food. After Mr. Darwin's visit the progress of extirpation
went on, and in eleven years Mr. Seeman, naturalist on board H.M.S. Herald, found that on one
island there were no longer any Tortoises, and that everywhere they had diminished in number.
At the present time it is most probable that the gigantic Tortoises are vei-y rare where they
were formerly so abundant. There were five species there a few years since.

These Galapagos Tortoises were of several kinds, each inhabiting especial islands in the Archi-
pelago, and they can be recognised in museums and in the few living specimens which have been
brought to Europe by the black colour of the shell, the thin condition of the bony carapace, the
general lightness of the huge buckler, and by the usual front plate being absent, so that their long neck
can be raised up, carrying the head above the level of the body. The legs are long, and there is a
remarkable plate or scale on the inner side of the elbow.

They have flat-looking and small heads, and usually there is a very decided crest of bone at the
top and back of the skull. Dr. Giinther described four important species of this group, and states that
in James Island, Testudo elephantopus and Testudo niyrita were the only kinds, and perhaps only the
first-named; and he has evidence to prove that King Charles Island was inhabited by Testudo ephippium,

* Testudines.

2-50 NATURAL HISTORY.

and Hood's Island by Testudo micropkyes. The first of these Tortoises has been known to have a cara-
pace three feet in length and forty inches in breadth over the top. Tlie limbs are large and long, and
the feet huge ; moreover, the erect neck allows the head to be moved here and there, to use Dr.
Giinther's expression, in a manner not unlike that of the Cobra di capello. The bones of the wrist and
the fingers are broad and short, the scaphoid and intermedium being united, and the whole is elephan-
tine in its proportions. Testudo niyrita had a nearly circular carapace as large as that of its fellow.

Moseley states that some of these Tortoises were on board the Chcdlenger, and vere fed on pine-
apples, a number of which were hung in the paymaster's office. The animals used to prop themselves
up against a board put across the door to keep out dogs, and unable to surmount the obstacle, used to
glare and sniff longingly at the fruit. They, moreover, used to make their way along the deck to the
captain's own cabin, where there was a store of the same fruit.

The Great Tortoises are very fond of water, drinking large quantities, and wallowing in the mud.
The larger islands alone possess springs, and these are always situated towards the central parts, and
at a considerable elevation. Near the springs it was a curious spectacle to behold many of these great
monsters ; one set eagerly travelling onwards with outstretched necks, and another set returning, after
having drunk their fill. When the Tortoise arrives at the spring, quite regardless of any spectator, it
buries its head in the water above its eyes, and greedily swallows great mouthfuls, at the rate of about
ten in a minute. The inhabitants say that each animal stays three or four days in the neighbourhood
of the water, and then returns to the lower country ; but they differed in their accounts respecting the
frequency of these visits. The animal probably regulates them according to the nature of the food
which it has consumed. It is, however, certain that Tortoises can subsist even on those islands where
there is no other water than what falls during a few rainy days in the year. — (Charles Darwin).

One of these Great Tortoises* is that of Abingdon Island, in the Galapagos Archipelago, and there
is a fine specimen stuffed in the British Museum. It has a very long neck, a small flat-topped head
with a short snout, and the front of the jaws is straight up and down. It had originally the weight
of 201 Ibs., and, like the others, is sought for on account of the oil it contains.

None of these huge Tortoises are known on the mainland of America, which is the nearest
continent, and it is a remarkable and most suggestive discovery that their nearest allies in size and
structure formerly lived thousands of miles away across the great Pacific Ocean, in the Mascarene Islands,
the Island of Rodriguez, and also in the Island of Aldabra, to the north-west of Madagascar.

The Great Tortoise from Aldabra, specimens of which have been taken to the Seychelles and
acclimatised, is round-headed, and has a convex skull, and the beak is, as it were, trenchant. The
third cervical vertebra is bi-convex. Now the Great Tortoises of the Mascarene Islands, but lately
extinct there, although closer geographically to those of Aldabra Island than to those of the remote
Galapagos Archipelago, resemble these last more than the others. They have a very thin carapace and
d, flat head; moreover, their plastron is short. So that although their anatomy closely resembles that
of the Galapagos Tortoises their configuration differs.

There is a fine specimen, of a huge Tortoise from Aldabra Island, which once weighed 870 Ibs..
in the British Museum, and it is called Testudo elephantina. Befoie its death (January 29, 1877) it
had a home in the Zoological Gardens.

The Tortoises found in India are not of very large size, and number three species ; [the so-called
Indian Tortoise, which attains a length of four feet, does not come from the mainland, but from
Aldabra Island]. One of them is the Elegant, or Starred Tortoise, whose shell is of a black colour
with yellow areolse, with yellow streaks radiating from them, those running towards the corners
of the plates becoming gradually wider. t The plates are often humped on the back, and deep
cavities exist at those places inside. It attains the length of twelve inches, and is found in many parts
of the peninsula of Southern India and Lower Bengal.

Captain T. Hutton states that in some places where these Tortoises are found in hilly tracts and in
the high grassy jungles adjoining them, they are not readily procured, because their colours and those of
the surrounding rocks are blended. They remain in concealment beneath tufts of grass during the heat
of the day, but the Bheels, who are expert in tracing their footsteps, generally succeed in catching
them. These Tortoises came out, when in confinement, a little before sunset, to feed on grass, cabbage,

* Testudo alingdoni. t Testudo elcyans (Schopff).

THE COMMON TORTOISE.

251

or lucerne, and they remained out and quiet during the night, as if enjoying the cool air. They
were fond of plunging into water, where they would remain for half an hour, and they drank
large quantities by thrusting their heads in and swallowing it by draughts. During the rainy
season they were much more lively, and wandered about, and when the laying season commenced,
in November, the female moistened some earth at the selected spot, made mud of it, and then
scraped it away until a pit was formed. In two hours one had made a hole six inches deep and
four inches in diameter, and in this she deposited her eggs, four in number. She filled up the hole,
and beat down the mud with the whole weight of her body. They did not burrow when they became
quiet in the cold season, but were listless, though not torpid.

The males butt against each other and make much noise, and strive against their adversaries in
trials of strength. Sometimes they tilted each other over, and there was great difficulty in getting on
the legs again. The next Tortoise is the Afghan Tortoise,* which has four claws in front ; and the
last, the Burmese Tortoise,! with a long shell and five claws in front, is met with in Camboja,
Arakan, and Mergui.

A Tortoise, which is imported into England and sold in considerable numbers, and which is mads

COMMON* OR GREEK TORTOISE.

a domestic pet, is found in most of the countries bordering on the central and eastern part of the
Mediterranean Sea, Greece, Turkey, Asia Minor, Palestine, and Dalinatia. This kind is also
found as far north as the Danube, Italy, and the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, and it is said
also to live in the Balearic Islands, the South of France, Switzerland, and even farther north.
But it is difficult to decide its correct natural limit, for this Testudo grcvca, or Grecian Tortoise,
has long been an object of interest and commerce, and may have been introduced into countries
beyond its natural position.

Like all the members of the genus Testudo, which is the most important one of the family,
this familiar creature has a buckler on top and underneath, which are commonly called the shell, and
they are united and solid, having openings in front and behind for the neck, arms, legs, and tail. It
is a slow-moving creature, and it withdraws its head and limbs within its buckler on any great alarm,
and remains passive and safe until the danger is past. It travels at night as well as by day, and
those people who keep one in their garden will generally find that their succulent and nicest
vegetables are attractive to it. This Tortoise recognises its kind feeder ; but it certainly will try and
get out of the way of children, who place it often on its back, and enjoy its curious struggles to
return to the proper position. The pet Tortoise disappears in the late autumn, and reappears in the
spring, having buried or hidden itself under garden refuse, and having enjoyed a quiet winter's sleep j
and they live for many years. They dislike the wet, and evidently seek the shade when the sun is
very hot.

* Tfs'.udo hortfeldii (Gray). f Testudo elongata (Blyth).

252 NATURAL HISTORY.

The peculiarities of the Tortoise were well known to the ancients, and a military machine used
in besieging towns was called after it, and the curious story about the death of the tragic poet
^Eschylus, already noticed in mentioning the habits of the great Lammergeier, testifies to the
acquaintance of the ancients with the solidity of this bucklered reptile.

The Ethiopian region of natural history has the greatest number of species of Tortoises, and
the Leopard Tortoise,* the Grooved Tortoise,t and the little Geometric Tortoise^ are familial-
examples. The last Moseley noticed as loving the sandy and arid districts of the Cape of Good
Hope, and he states that they may be tracked by the marks they leave on the soil. They are caught,
and their little shells are made into paper weights, being first of all filled with lead. The Radiated
Tortoise § is from Madagascar. There are no true Tortoises in Australia. The American species,
including the Great Tortoises found on the Galapagos Islands, are the Gopher Tortoise from North
America and Mexico, and the Brazilian, Black, and Argentine Tortoises from South America. || There is
a Tortoise in Chili, Northern Patagonia, Mendoza, the Pampas, Monte Video, and Buenos Ayres, which
resembles in its colour and general appearance one from the very distant regions of Abyssinia. But this
American Chilian Tortoise (Testudo ckilensis) has a more depressed shell, and the marginal and chest
plates differ from those of the African kind.

The Gopher has its most northern limit on the western border of South Carolina, and they
are found in Georgia, Alabama, and the Floridas. The adults are strong, and can move a weight of
some hundred pounds or more, and in the wild state they seek their food by night. They like dry
and sandy places, and are abundant in poor and barren countries. They are fond of the sweet potato,
and go into their holes in the heat of the day. They dislike rain, and retreat on a shower com.
mencing. As the cold comes on they hibernate, but a few warm days will restore their activity.

The remaining groups of the Tortoises have already been noticed in explaining the mobility of the
plastron and carapace in certain Chelonians. They constitute the genera Pyxis and Kinixys, and
may be called the Land Box Tortoises, in contradistinction to some others which lead a more or less
aquatic life, and which belong to other divisions of the order.

FAMILY II.— THE EMYDES.— THE RIVER AND MARSH TORTOISES.

These Chelonians lead, with one or two exceptions, a land and water life. Their limbs are
slenderer than in the Tortoises, and their digits are united by a web for swimming purposes. As a
rule, the carapace is flatter than in the land group, but it is bony, and there is a well-developed horny
covering.

The family may be subdivided into two groups. In one the head and fore limbs can be withdrawn
under the shell, and in the other the neck is so long and the buckler is so small that the usual shelter
is incomplete. Nevertheless, the members of this last group do manage to get their heads under cover
of, but not within, the carapace and plastron.

An example of the first group — the Terrapins — which are very common in the United States,
is the American Box Tortoise. It is familiarly known as the Carolina Box Tortoise (Cistudo
Carolina), and in other and different localities as the Virginian or Mexican, and from its orna-
mentation the Ornate, or Chequered Tortoise. This animal has a very wide distribution in the
United States and in North America, from Maine to Florida, westward in Texas, Iowa, and Missouri,
and in Mexico, and can be recognised among its fellow Emydes by its singularly terrestrial habits. It
rarely frequents marshes, and probably never the water, but it is found in dry, hot, pine forests and
on mountain ground, looking after beetles, grubs, and, it is said, snakes. The slightly-arched and keeled
carapace is about five inches long and four broad, and is broadest behind. It is of a rich brown
or brown-black tint, and has yellow spots or stripes. The plastron, movable before and behind, is
yellow or brown, and there is the usual hood to the neck, out of which the head peeps and returns,
more or less, as within a glove-finger. Many years since Mr. Orel described the habits of one from
Pennsylvania, which managed to get its living in rather a parasitical manner. It was found feeding

* Testudo pardalis. t Testudo sulcata. t Testudo geometria.

§ Testudo radiata. \\ Testudo polyphemus, and Testudo tabulata.

THE EMYDES. 253

on the leavings of the Night Heron, and enjoying the little bits of fish which had dropped from the
bird's beak, and which ohe Heron did not consider worth picking up. It prefers its food in a half
putrid state, and searches also for insects and worms. Mushrooms, peaches, strawberries, and rasp-
berries are not despised by this omnivorous creature, but this mixture of food renders this edible
Terrapin anything but a favourite food, although its flesh is said to be excellent. Like most of its
family, this Cistudo hibernates. It seeks a warm loose soil with a southern aspect, often under a heap
of decayed brushwood, and digs down beneath the surface in the middle of October. There it lives —
unless the weather is very severe, when many die — until the middle or latter end of April, in a torpid
condition. It comes forth very feeble, and soon begins to move if the sun is shining warmly. After
a while it seeks a soft place, digs down, makes a deepish little hole, and lays an egg, which it covers
with a little earth, using the hind feet. Then another is laid and covered up, and at last the laying
is finished, and the mother covers all, and treads the ground down so that the nest is found with
difficulty. The young when just hatched are soft and cartilaginous.

The genus Emys belongs to this group, and is very rich in species, which inhabit all the tem-
perate and tropical regions, except Aiistralia. They cannot well exist withotit water, and they abound
in the still waters and tanks of the lower parts of India, often remaining motionless on the water,
the shell and the snout above it and the rest below, and they disappear at the approach of danger,
darting away with great rapidity. Their pointed claws enable them to crawl easily over slippery and
steep places, and dig little holes for a small number of long hard-shelled eggs, which in some species
are from eighteen to twenty months in hatching. They are chiefly carnivorous, and the flatter
the shell, the broader the foot-web, and the more jagged the jaws, the more aquatic and destruc-
tive are the habits. They live on tender insects, frogs, small fishes, little birds, and small mammals,
and are in turn hunted and eaten by Crocodilia and large fish. They are easily kept in captivity,
provided that they are placed in a tank, and fed with meat cut into small pieces or with frogs. The
head and feet can be retracted within the carapace.

Of these the Ocellated Pond Tortoise* approaches the Land Tortoises in its habits and in
several characters, and has a brownish shell, with " eye " spots of a chestnut-brown with a light
edge, and the lower parts are yellow. It comes from Mergui and the Tenasserim coast. China yields
the Speckled Emys, about five inches and a half long.t The ThurgiJ is large, over twenty -two
inches in length, and the jaws are denticulate. It is highly carnivorous, and comes from the Ganges.
The Yellow-spotted Emys|| comes from the same river, and has been brought to Europe. Finally, the
Ceylonese Pond Tortoise§ is common in Ceylon as well as in the peninsula of Hindostan, and the
shell is uniform brown and the plastron brown-black in colour. The Pangshures are confined to the
Indian continent, and have the buckler solid and entirely bony. The feet are broadly webbed, and
the claws are of moderate size, five in front and four behind. The common one is found in the
Ganges and other Bengal rivers. It is known by its elevated back, and the yellow colour and
black spots of the lower parts of the shell. The Batagurs have the carapace depressed, and the
claws are feeble. One which reaches the length of twenty inches is thoroughly aquatic, and is
found in the Ganges and Irawaddy. It abounds in the Hooghly, and is sold for food. ^

The genus Emys has species also in Japan and the Holy Land.

The Chicken Tortoise** of the United States probably belongs to this group, and is dark brown,
with a yellow vertebral line. All the plates are marked with yellow lines, and communicate to give a
reticulate appearance. The shell is nine inches and a half long. The creature inhabits ponds and stag-
nant waters, and swims slowly from place to place, the head and neck only being visible. They bask
on limbs of trees, and plunge in at the least noise. They inhabit North Carolina, Geoi'gia, and Florida.

The Emys europcea, a great lover of fresh water and marsh land, is to be found in South-eastern
Europe, and in Italy, Switzerland, the South of France, Spain, and Algiers. It formerly was not
uncommon in the neighbourhood of the Oder, Elbe, and Danube, and it extends into Persia. A small,
flat, rather round-bucklered and long-tailed, bright-eyed, yellow-spotted, lively little thing, is this Emys,
and it is often sold in England as a pet. It is brown-black on its flat carapace, but the few small yellow
spots distinguish it at once. The toes, five in front and four behind, are webbed to a certain degree,

* L'mijs ocellatus. f Emys lealii (Gray). J Emys thuryi. \\ Emys hamiltoni.

§ Emys trijuga. H Emys tecti (Gray). ** Emys rtticulata.

175

254

NATURAL HISTORY.

and the claws are sharp. The carapace and plastron are solidly joined, and the first has twelve shell-
plates. There are two scales in the arm-pits and two in the region of the groin. These little Emydes
are killers and eaters of small fish, beetles, and other insects and worms, but they will occasionally
eat bread and vegetables : and to their cost, for when thus nourished they are occasionally made
articles of food for man. They like stagnant water, and do not go far from the banks ; they hibernate
in the winter, and dig down and bury themselves in the mud at that season. It is said that their
eggs require a whole year to incubate and hatch. The buckler gets more oval with age, and may reach
eight inches in length and five in width.

The Painted Emys (Emys picla) is a well-known kind in the Eastern and Middle but not in the
Southern United States. It has a broad yellow band, limited by a black line, extending along the
front of the scales, and the margin of the carapace has blood-red blotches on it. It has a large web tc
the feet, and is very aquatic, dying if kept many days out of its favourite element.

Another and allied genus is Clemmys, of which Clemmys insculpta is found from Maine to
Pennsylvania, It is not always found in and near water, for it is a great wanderer, and makes its
way to the forest.

CLEMMYS IXSCULPTA.

Another of this widely-spread genus, which is often made to replace that of Emys, is found
in Europe and Western Asia. It is the Caspian Terrapin,* with a pale olive back and indistinct
paler, yellowish, reticulated lines, edged with black. The plastron and under-side of the margin are
black, with irregular-sized yellow spots on the outer side of each sternal shield ; the head and neck
are olive, and the thi-oat and sides of the neck have black-edged pale streaks. The upper beak -like
jaw has a slight acute central notch and a tooth-shaped process on each side.

Another important germs of this group is Kinosternon, in which the fore and aft part of the
plastron are movable, after the fashion of Water Box Tortoises. They are popularly called Double-
flapped Box Toi'toises. The Pennsylvania!! Mud Terrapin is the example, f

The well-known Alligator Terrapin, % or Snapping Turtle, belongs to the genus Chelydra of
this family. It has a comparatively small buckler, but it is provided with a plated head, armed
with a hooked beak. The claws are, moreover, strong, and the tail has a crest on it. There are
two growths or barbules under the chin. This is an active swimmer, and is very destructive of fish
and even young birds. They grow to a considerable size, for some measure twenty -four inches, and the
longest attain four feet in length. The weight of 201bs. is not uncommon. They are found in stagnant
waters or shallow pools, but generally prefer deep water, and live at the bottom of rivers ; and when
they come to the surface, they elevate the tip of the pointed snout and float along with the current,
going to the bottom at once, if disturbed. They are very voracious, feeding on fish, reptiles, or any
animal substance that falls in their way. They take the hook when fished for, and require much
* Clemmys caspica. f Kinosternon pcnnsylvanicum. J Chelydra serpentines

THE SNAKE-XECKED TORTOISES. 255

management to get them to land. When they leave the water they may be seen on the banks of
meadows, with the head, neck, and long tail extended, and after a short walk they fall 011 their
chest, as Alligators do. They are ferocious during captivity, and bite at everything. They are
excellent food, and are very widely distributed in nearly all parts of the United States.

One of these aquatic Emydes attains a considerable size, and has a long neck and tail and
flat body. The snout is long, and there is a sharp beak on both jaws. Thei*e are armour plates on.
the head, and three strong ridges on the carapace. It is a very active swimmer, and preys upon,
small fish, and is called Temminck's Snapper.*

The Large-headed Chinese River Tortoise, t with a long flat buckler and a very long tail, lives in
the swamps, marshes, and streams, and is sometimes sold in Canton.

Its habits are probably those of the others of its group, and its powerful upper and lower beak
would enable it to catch and hold fish. The head is plated, the eye is large, the limbs are scaled, and
there is a long tail, which, when the animal is at rest, is curled up under the right margin of tha
carapace. Mr. Swinhoe kept one alive during the winter at Canton, but it did not eat any
food.

The next division of the family Emydes is called the Chelodines, and contains kinds which cannot
withdraw the head ; the neck bends sideways, and is then stowed away under the overhanging carapace,
but not within the plastron. The carapace and plastron are united to the pelvis. Two or three of
the species may be noticed. One has been alluded to in describing the general anatomy of the
Chelonia as presenting many anomalous characters ; it is the Matamata (CJielys fonbriata), which
grows to a considerable size in Guiana and North Brazil, living in the stagnant pools near the Orinoco
and Amazon, or in still water, or in the swamps. It lives on fish and small water-birds, and
is a good and quick swimmer, and when it is quiet the peculiar barbules of its head attract fish, for
they are not indifferent imitations of worms when in slight movement. The head of this curious
animal is depressed, wide, and triangular in outline, and the nostrils are prolonged into a proboscis.
Its mouth opens wide, and the jaws are rounded. There are two barbules to the chin. The buckler
is very flat and bumpy, and the whole animal looks ragged and very peculiar.

The Snake-necked Tortoises of Monte Video, Buenos Ayres, and Southern Brazil have a flat but
large buckler, a long neck, and pointed long head. In them the side to side movement of the neck is
admirably seen, and they bring their neck under the front of the carapace by carrying it sideways.
They belong to the genus Hydromedusa.

A common kind of this family, which cannot therefore retract its head under the carapace,
lives in the streams, rivers, and wet lands of the region of the Orinoco, Amazon, and other northern
rivers of South America. It attains sometimes the length of thirty-two inches, and is an excellent
swimmer and catcher of small fish. They are extremely numerous in some places, and assemble in
crowds to sun themselves in the early part of the yeai*, on the warm sand near the rivers. A little
later they spend the day on the river banks, and in March they take to the river, and swim to the
islets to lay their eggs. A few days before the laying commences, these Large Greaved Tortoises^ line
the shallow water in great rows, their heads just appearing above the water. The eggs are large,
spherical, and white, and form an important part of the diet of the Indians. Large holes are made
by the animals, and sets of eggs are laid by different individuals in them. Bates, when at Ega, on the
Amazon, had, like the natives, to live for a considerable part of the year on this great fresh-water
Turtle, as it is often called. It was the only animal food, except fish, which was to be had ; and
although all the arts of the native cuisine were employed, he got thoroughly tired of it The Indians
make a little place close to their homes, where they keep a stock of these " Turtles." They are caught
with nets, and there is a great excitement during the hauling in ; moreover, they are often harpooned
in a clever manner. Bates describes the sand about a mile from the river as yielding up the newly-
hatched creatures, which, after boring their way out of the sand in which the eggs had been placed,
made their way in thousands, in a direct line, to their favourite element. The natives dry the eggs
of this " Aiyussa " Tortoise by placing them on boards, in the smoke of a fire.

It is remarkable that this family should not only be represented in South America, but also in
Africa and Australia.

* Macrodemmys temminckii. t Platysternon megacephalum. + Podocnemis expansa.

256 NATURAL HISTORY.

One genus of it has its plastron movable in front and a flat plated head. Its species are African
and Madagascan. One of them (Sternotherus sinuatus) was found by Dr. Andrew Smith in rivers
to the north of 25° south latitude, and where the water was very deep. They were usually observed
during the heat of the day lying upon rocks which projected above the surface of the water, and
they were so vigilant that it was almost impossible to approach them within a moderate distance.
They are long, rather high-bucklered creatures, the ovate shell being broadest behind. It is dark
greenish-brown above, and the upper part of the costal plates are livid grey, whilst the plastron is
pale orange, tinted with red. Its eyes are straw-yellow, and so is the head, but it is marbled with
greenish-yellow.

The long-necked Pelomedusa is not uncommon, according to W. T. Blanford, in the Auseba
river and its tributaries in Abyssinia. But as these rivers dry up in the hot season, the creature
must bury itself. It has a most offensive smell.

The Long-necked Chelodine (Chelodina lonyicollis), from the Murray region of Australia, and the
Oblong Chelodine (Chelodina oblongn"), from West Australia, belong to this family, which is thus
represented in widely separated regions.

FAMILY III.— THE TRIONYCIDES.— THE MUD OR SOFT TORTOISES.

These have the carapace flat, oval, and incompletely ossified, and therefore more or less gristly and
soft at the margins. The plastron, moreover, has not its pieces joined together by bone, and the
covering is cf skin, and not of tortoiseshell. They have a long neck, and the head is narrowed
in front into a kind of snout, in which are the nostrils. These Soft Tortoises are dwellers in the
rivers and streams, and even the arms of the sea, in the tropics of the Old and New World. They
swim on the surface and midway down, with equal rapidity, and pursue their prey in the water, where,
however, they are not without their enemies. Their colour assimilates to a certain extent with the mud,
so far as the carapace is concerned, but they are usually light-coloured beneath, so that they may be brown,
grey, or speckled above, and whitish, rosy, or bluish below. There is some ornamentation, in the form
of numerous yellow, brown, or black lines on each side of the carapace and on the limbs in some kinds.
The jaws have a skin like a lip, and the soft skin of the head has no tympanic membrane visible on
it. A corresponding skin without plates on it is on the limbs, which are somewhat flattened, and
more or less fin-like. Their extremities are webbed for swimming, and they have five digits on each,
but only three nails. It may be noticed that the costal plates of the carapace are short, and that the
marginal ossicles or plates are absent. They can draw in the neck, but not the head and limbs, within
the buckler. These Soft Tortoises are carnivorous and very agile, and they catch anything that is not
beyond a certain size which frequents their waters, young Crocodiles aiv.1 fish especially ; and, moreover,
they devour the eggs of these great reptiles. When they are about to seize their prey they dart out
their long head and neck with great rapidity, and bite and hold on fiercely, taking out a piece rather
than loosening their hold. The eggs are membranous, with some little shell on them, and are nume-
rous. The Soft Tortoises are found in the streams, great fresh-water lakes, and rivers of the hotter
parts of Africa, Asia, and America, but on this last continent some are found in higher latitudes in
the Wabash river. One common kind, the Spiny Trionyx, or Gymnopus, used to be a common
species from New York to Pennsylvania and the Rocky Mountains, and it has been found in the
Yellowstone River. It is often confounded with the Trionyx ferox, which appears to have a more
southern home. They have a large carapace, which floats behind and has a cartilaginous circumference,
and the plastron is too narrow to hide the limbs much, and there is a row of short spines along the
front edge of the carapace. They retreat out of the water among rocks and the stumps of trees,
plunging in again on the slightest alarm. They may be taken with a hook and line baited with a
little fish, but they are apt to jerk out their heads suddenly and to seize their captor, biting him
severely. Like many of the Mud Tortoises, their flesh is very nice. The females, like all others of the
order, seek out spots and bury their eggs, which are numerous.

The other Soft-shelled Tortoise (Trionyx ferox, see p. 241) grows to a foot and more in length,
and is a voracious animal, feeding on fish and reptiles, and taking the hook, but in confinement
it is difficult to feed. They kill the young Alligators, and are eaten by the old ones, and reside
almost constantly in the water, and come out and bask in the sun. When provoked, they dart their

CATCHING GREEN TURTLES.

258 NATURAL HISTORY.

long head and neck forward with great velocity, and often spring upwards, making a loud hiss.
The females lay their eggs in dry sand. They inhabit the rivers flowing into the northern borders
of the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi and its tributaries, to the foot of the Rocky Mountains, the
northern lakes, and the Mohawk, but not any other Atlantic stream.

One genus of these Mud Tortoises (Cryptopus) has the plastron so arranged behind, as to close
the opening between it and the carapace completely, by means of a kind of gristly lid on each side,
the tail opening having a special one. There is a Southern Indian kind, and it is rather common
on the coast of Coromandel, living in fresh water. It forms an article of diet. There is another
species in the river Senegal in Africa.

The Egyptian Trionyx is probably the fyvs of Pliny, and inhabits the Nile and some other
African rivers. It is sometimes three feet in length, and is a great enemy to the Crocodiles, devour-
ing their eggs and young.

The Gangetic Trionyx* has the bony carapace rather longer than broad, with a slight swelling
in front on the vertebral line. Its surface is coarse and rugged without prominent tubercles.
The species is found in the Ganges and its tributaries upwards to Nepal, and at Penang, and in
rivers, and on the sea coast. It has a fierce disposition, and defends itself desperately by biting,
and it utters a low, hoarse, cackling noise. The largest shell is twenty-three inches in length. Other
species are from China, Japan, Camboja, Borneo, and Singapore, and the Philippine Islands.

The genus Cycloderma is one of this family, and a species is called the Senegal Mud Turtle.

FAMILY IV.— THE CHELONIADES.— THE MARINE CHELONIANS.— THE TURTLES.
There are three genera in this family, two of which have much in common, but the third
differs from the others considerably. All have the extremities adapted for swimming, and the
carapace and plastron more or less incomplete in the bony parts. The first genus (Chelonia) contains
the Edible Turtles, of which there may be more than one specie*, but the type is the Green Turtle
of commerce and city feasts (Chelonia midas).\ They are free swimmers in the gi'eat oceans
within the tropics, and sometimes they wander beyond this limit. Liking deep water — for much
of their prey is found in the warm surface water, not near shallows — they beach themselves on
almost all the islands where there is a sandy shore in which they can dig a hole and deposit
their eggs. They are seen very generally about the warmer parts of the ocean within a few
miles of land, and also hundreds of miles and farther from it, swimming or floating on the
surface, and diving for a long time before reappearing. Although cumbersome on land, the
largest of them, which may be seven feet in length, and weighing 800 Ibs. or 900 Ibs., swim easily
and rapidly, and the smaller individuals, which may be watched in an aquarium, are most elegant
in their natation, feathering their flat and curved arms with great skill when desiring to change
the level of their swim. They live on the gelatinous swimming things of the ocean, the Cuttle-
fish tribes, the mollusca without much shell, and probably on fish. When near land they devour
marine plants, such as the Zostera, and some are stated to wander on shore after green food.
At certain times of the year shoals of them arrive at the laying stations, and usually choosing the
night, crawl upon the beach, burrowing, as it were, in the sand with their flippers. The females lay
a number of spherical eggs, like tennis-balls in shape, which are slightly flexible and membranous
externally. Mr. Moseley, in noticing the Turtles of Ascension Island, writes* : — " At Ascension Island
Turtles are collected, and by the side of the ' pond ' in which they are kept there is an enclosed space
of sand. The Turtles dig deep holes in it large enough to bury themselves in, and lay their eggs at
the bottom. The eggs are always covered up by the Turtle, and evidently require moisture as well as
an equable temperature, of no very great amount, however, for the sand in which hatching takes
place does not feel warm to the hand, but rather cool. Evidently the former opinion that these eggs
were incubated by the direct heat of the sun is erroneous." The fresh egg is not quite full, so that
there is a depression or crumple upon it, but shortly before hatching it becomes tense. When

* Trionyx ganycticus (Cuvier).

t The Green or Edible Turtle is said to be restricted to the Atlantic Ocean, but this is not the case. It is found in the
Western Pacific, in the Tropics, and probably elsewhere in that great ocean. Moseley found them at the Admiralty Islands.
Some naturalists make a new species (Chelonia virgata) of the East Indian kinds.

J "Notes of a Naturalist on board the Challenger."

THE HAWK'S-BILL TURTLE. 259

hatched, the young Turtles are lively enough, and are great gormandisers ; they use their fore limbs
not only in swimming, but also in tearing their food, so as to assist the mouth.

The young are hatched in from eighteen to thirty days, and make their way at once to the sea,
being, however, in great danger from many enemies until they reach it, and even then they are preyed
upon by Turtle-loving marine creatures. The number which do escape and live must be very great,
for the extent of the shores of the Atlantic and of the islands of that ocean visited by laying Turtles
is enormous.

Audubon described the life of the Turtles during their egg-laying at the Tortugas, a group of
islands about eighty miles from the coast of Florida. After noticing their circumspect approach during
the moonlight nights to the shore, and their crawling motion up the beach, he says that the Turtles
raise the head to the full stretch of the neck, and after gazing around, form a hole in the sand with
the hind nippers, using them as ladles, and casting the earth forth for several feet. This may not go
on perhaps for more than nine minutes, and then the eggs are dropped in regular layers, to the number
of from 1 50 to 200. This takes about twenty minutes, and then the sand is scraped over the eggs
again, and the Turtles rush back to the water with all speed. It appears that these wanderers in the
great ocean return to the same laying-ground during the breeding season.

They are caught on shore by being Tipset and turned on their backs, and this is usually clone with
stout poles, as well as with the help of the shoulder, and several men may have to join in doing this
to a large individual. They rarely are able to turn back again, and are secured by the legs in the mean-
while. Sometimes nets are used to catch the smaller ones, and harpooning is also resorted to.
But the prime object is to capture the Turtle alive for the markets of the great towns of the world.

These Edible Turtles have the carapace depressed, broad, and ornamented, with fifteen disc-
shaped horny scales, making up the outside shell. Their head is broad, but the muzzle is short and
rounded, and the upper jaw has a slight notch in front and small jagged points on the sides. The horny
case of the lower jaw (or beak) is formed of three pieces, and the sides are deeply indented. The
tympanum is hidden by skin, and there is a nail on the first toe of each foot.

The tortoiseshell of commerce is the product of the Hawk's-bill Turtle,* and is derived from
thirteen overlapping long shields on the carapace. This Turtle does not grow to a great size, and
specimens with shells more than two feet long are rare. It is known by the imbricating plates of the
carapace, and by the long, compressed, and curved upper jaw, which, with the corresponding front
part of the mandible, gives a beak-like look to the front part of the head. It is found in the Indian
and Pacific Oceans, and it appears that they lay eggs earlier and are more prolific than the other
Turtles. But they are not of value for the table. The young ones have the shell with three keels
to it, and all have small horny scales imbedded in the skin of the neck. They are carnivorous, and
feed on fish, mollnsca, and Crustacea, and Mr. Moseley states that the pretty green Velellse which float
on the surface are its prey in the wide ocean.

The thin imbricating plates constitute the tortoiseshell of commerce, and much of its value
depends upon the manner in which, and the time at which, it is removed from the animal. If taken
off when the animal is putrid the tortoiseshell becomes clouded and milky, and hence the cruel
expedient is resorted to of suspending the Turtle over fire till the heat makes the shield to start from
the bony part of the carapace, after which the creature is allowed to escape to the water.t In Celebes,
whence the finest shell is exported to China, the animals are killed by blows on the head, and the
carapace is immersed in boiling water to detach the plates.

The Logger-headed Turtles! are probably of more than one kind. One which frequents the
Atlantic and sometimes the Mediterranean Sea is of a brownish or reddish-brown colour, and the
middle scales of the carapace have raised crests. Their body is broad in front, and the marginal
rim is thin and broad behind. The scales are thin and flexible. There are fifteen vertebral and
costal shields, and they are thin, but do not ovei'lap.

The fore part of the jaws is beaked, but not elongated, and the head is low, broad, and fiat on the
top. Their fore feet are larger than those of the other Turtles. It would appear that their habits
resemble those of the others, but the powerful beak enables them to crush Mollusca and Crustacea
with thick shells.

* Chdonia (Caretta) squamata. f Tennent : " Natural History, Ceylon," p. 293. J Caouana = Thalassochelys olh-acea.

260

NATURAL HISTORY.

The Atlantic species of the Loggerhead does not appear to extend into the Indian Ocean ; and
a single-clawed, long, fore-limbed kind exists there. It is the Indian Loggerhead. The shell is never
much over two feet in length, and the flesh is not eaten, except by the natives of the coasts of the Bay
of Bengal, of Malabar, and the Philippines.

The last genus to be noticed is that of the Leather-back Turtles, whose carapace is not covered
with scales of shell, but with a dense coriaceous skin. These Turtles make a roaring noise under
certain circximstances, and hence have been included in the genus Sphargis.* They have large fore limbs
and smaller hind ones, and there are no nails. The jaws are dentilated, and the skin of the back is in.
longitudinal ridges. They grow to a great size, and inhabit the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and

HAWK'S BILL TURTLE.

have been cast on English coasts, having wandered to the north of their usual limits ; moreover, they
are found in the temperate zones of all the great oceans. The Sphargis' shell has seven long projecting
ridges along it, separated by grooves, and the skin is smooth in adults, but tubercular in young ones.
The fore and hind extremities are well developed, and the digits are exceedingly long and form
admirable paddles.

The most important points in the anatomy of the Turtles have been noticed in describing that
the Tortoise, and it is only necessary to remark on their great tenacity of life, the great independence
of their muscular system, so far as the nervous centres are concerned, and the long-continued energy of
their heart after its removal from the body.

THE EXTINCT CHELONIANS.

The Chelonians are a very ancient order, and their remains have been found fossilised, especially
the limb bones and the carapace and plastron, these being often marked with the impressions of the
tortoiseshell plates.

There are some impressions of feet which have been attributed to the Chelonians in the Trias of
Scotland, but it is very doubtful whether they can be referred to them. The first definite evidence
of their former existence, is in the Oolitic age. In Europe they have been discovered in the Stonesfield
slate, in the lithographic slate of Ciron, in the Portland stone, and in the Purbeck strata. The Marine
Turtles are represented in the Portland stone by Chelone planiceps, and two singularly-marked genera,
Tretosternon and Pleurosternon (Owen), were discovered in the Purbeck. Probably they are allied t
Trionyx. One of tha Purbeck fossil Chelonians belonging to the genus Pleurosternon was believed by

* Spharyis coriacea, «n£ap<xyi£e», to roar loudly.

THE EXTINCT CHELOXIAXS.

261

Dr. Gray to belong to a group now represented in Yucatan — Dermatoclemys. In the Wealden there
are the remains of a Marine Turtle ; and the true marine forms, Chelone camperi, C. benstedi, and
C. pulchriceps, and a Protemys are from the Cretaceous series. The number of Turtles in the London
Clay is great, and the skull of Chelone gigas measures a foot across. One resembles a Trionyx in the
shape of its snout, but its carapace and plastron are well ossified, and it is called C/telone longiceps. The
Eocene of Hordwell yielded a " Soft Turtle;" this Trionyx is accompanied by eight fossil Emydes. The
order is represented in the Miocene and Pliocene of Europe, and in the Tertiaries of America, and the
gigantic sub-Himalayan ColossocJielys atlas is accompanied by the recent Emys tecta (Gray). Finally,
the island of Malta has yielded gigantic Tortoise remains, which are allied to the recent and extinct series
of the Mascai-enes and of the Galapagos Islands. Descriptions of the fossil Chelonians of the United
States are to be found in the magnificent work of Cope on the " Vertebrata of the Cretaceous Forma-
tions of the West," a book given to most European naturalists by the wise generosity of the Senate,
and Dr. Hayden, head of the Geological Survey. The Tertiary strata have yielded fossil Trionycides and
species of Emys allied to modern American kinds; and Cope discovered in the chalk of Kansas a huge
Turtle with nippers considerably over fifteen feet in length, and this Protostega had the bony characters
of a youthful modern form. It is allied to Sphargis. Equally interesting is the genus Plastomenas
of Cope, which embraces the anatomical characters of Trionyx and Emys, and which is found at the
top of the Cretaceous and in the Eocene. Trionyx has been found in the Green Sand of New Jersey, and
Leidy has described one from the celebrated Bad Lands of Montana. A form with a long tail like
Chelydra, and as long as Temminck's Snapper, has been described by Cope, and was found with his
great Turtle. As yet no Land Tortoises have been discovered fossil in America.

The European Emys has been found in England in a sub-fossil condition.

Giinther states that the Mascarene great Tortoises Testudo triserrata, T. inepta, and two others
are extinct, and that there is Testudo vosmceri extinct in the island of Rodriguez. Testudo ephippium
of the Galapagos Archipalago is also one of these lately extinct forms.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE ORDER OHELONIA AND OF THE PRINCIPAL GENERA.

fGer
FAMILY I. — TESTUDINES 1 ,

FAMILY II. — EMYDES / ,

LUS Testudo.
, Pyxis.

, Kynixys.
, Cistudo.
Cyclemys.
Emys.
Kinosternon.
Chelydra.
Platystemon.
Macroclemmys.
Chelodina.
Hydromedusa.
Pelomedusa.
Sternotherus.
Podocneniis.
Chelys.
Cyclanosteua.
Trionyx.
Cyclodenna.
Chelonia = Caretta.
Caouana = Thalassochelya.
Sphargis.

\

TRANSITION SUB-FAMILY ......

FAMILY III.— TRIONYCIDES j
FAMILY IV. — CHEIONIADES . . . . . . |

176

CLASS REPTILIA, THE REPTILES.

CHAPTER II.
ORDER CROCODILIA.— THE CROCODILES. GAVIALS, AND ALLIGATORS.

THE CROCODILE FAMILY.— Worshipped by Ancient Egyptians— The Crocodile of the Nile— Appearance— Peculiar
Nature of the Tooth-growth — Arrangement for Sinking with its Prey without allowing Water to Pass into
the Throat — How it Obtains Fresh Supplies of Air — How it Disposes of its Food — Remarkable Eye — "Crocodiles'
Tears " — Distribution — Other African Forms — The Eggs of the Crocodile — The Baby Reptiles —The Indian Species —
The Salt-water Crocodile — Description— How it Procures its Food — The Marsh Crocodile — Appearance — Worshipped
by Fakirs — Ferocity of the Indian Crocodiles after their Torpidity — The Victim's only Way of Safety — Crocodile of
North-east Australia— The American Kinds— Crocodilus Acutus— The Cuba Crocodile— THE GAVIAL FAMILY—
The Gavial— Distinctive Features —Habits— Second Forms of the Family— THE ALLIGATOR FAMILY—
Difference between Crocodiles and Alligators — Characters of the Alligator — The Mississippi, or Pike-headed Alligator
— Habitat — Origin of its Name — Appearance — The Caimans — Characters —The Jacares — Bates's Account of the
Alligators of the Amazons — Other Kinds of Jacare— FOSSIL CROCODILIA- Number in Secondary and Tertiary
Ages — Antiquity of the Group — Marine Group not handed down — Characters — Terrestrial Forms of the Trias — The
Theriodontia— Hyposaurus and Bottosaurus — Classification of the Order.

THE CROCODILE FAMILY.

THE Crocodile is so associated with the Nile of Egypt at the present time, that it is not
surprising to find that it was well known to the ancient Egyptians, who worshipped, symbolised,
and mummified this monster of their great river. It was one of the symbols of Typhon, the
brother of Osiris, who was considered by the Egyptians to be the cause of every evil. One of
their deities was a man with a Crocodile's head, called Souk. In some parts the Crocodile was
eaten, whilst in others it was fed up when young with cakes and roast meat, and these, with wine,
were crammed down their throats, whether they liked it or not. The name is of Greek origin, and the
Egyptians gave it an appellation which sounded like x^al- Champsa lasts still in modern Egyptian
as Temsa. The large adults were sometimes caught and sent to Rome, and Augustus introduced
thirty-six into an amphitheatre, where they were all killed by gladiators. Pets were made of the young
Crocodiles of the Nile in the olden time, and the Egyptian priests hung rings of gold and precious
stones in the protecting membi-ane of their ears, which they pierced for the purpose ; they put bracelets
on their fore-feet, and presented them, thus adorned, to the people, who looked at them with great
veneration.

The Crocodile of the Nile* may be considered as the type of the order to which it belongs. The
body is depressed, long, and protected on the back with solid keeled scales or scutes ; the tail is longer
than the body, and is compressed laterally and has crests above. The limbs are short and exceedingly
powerful, and the toes are united, more or less, by a web. There are five digits on the fore limbs
and four on the hinder, and nails are found on three digits fore and aft. The head is broad behind,
depressed, with a muzzle, the nostrils being near the front and capable of being closed. The gape of
the jaw reaches back beyond the skull, and the tongue is fleshy, not protractile, and is attached to the
sides of the lower jaw within the mouth. The tympanic membrane has a valve or ear-lid.

The body of the Crocodile is carried near the ground in walking, and the hinder part of the
belly drags usually, so that the limbs are set so as to permit the long bones to spread out as it
were. The hind legs have a toothed crest behind, which is formed of about twelve scales. The limbs
are covered with squarish and simple small scutes, and the digits also. The fore limbs are the shortest,
and the two outer digits are without claws. The colour of the skin of the Nile Crocodile differs
with the varieties of the species. In one the back is olive-green speckled with black, and there
are two or three oblique bands of this colour on each flank. In another the upper part of the
body is olive-green sprinkled with black on the head and neck, and marked with the same colour
on the back and tail ; two or three large oblique black bands show themselves on each flank,
and the xinder part of the body is of a greenish-yellow colour. The nails are brown. A third
has the upper part of the body sprinkled with black angular stains.

The head of a Crocodile strikes the observer more than any other part, on account of its length
of jaw and the number of teeth exposed to view along the often festooned, rather than straight, jaws.
The canines of the lower jaw, having a groove in the upper jaw-bone for their reception, are very

* Crocodilus vulgar is (Geoff.).

ANATOMY OF THE CROCODILE. 263

striking ; and it will be found that the pits in the pre-maxillary bones, for the reception of the tops of the
lower incisors, are sometimes perforations. The teeth are all sharp, conical, and tapering where visible,
but they have a hollow cylindrical fang, which is set in a special hole or alveolus in the jaw. Crocodiles
snap and tear, and thus wear or drag out their teeth, and they are constantly replaced by larger ones, for
the creature's first teeth bear but a small relation in size to those of old age. Each tooth is hollowed
out at the fang, so as to serve for the case or sheath of the genii of the tooth destined to replace it,
which is to be larger. The sockets for the teeth are surrounded by the bone of the pre-rnaxillary and
maxillary bones of the upper and deiitary bones of the lower jaw, and are fixed in
so as to be very strong, and a fleshy cover extends around their starting-point from
the jaw. As the animal grows old, the size of the teeth is not the same in all parts
of the jaws.

Seizing its prey, the Crocodile, if there is any struggle, drowns it, and can
manage to do so with its jaws stretched out grasping its prey, for it has a special
structural arrangement by which the water is prevented from rushing down its own
throat and producing suffocation. First of all, before noticing this, it must be stated
that, unlike the Chelonian reptiles, the Crocodilia can breathe with the mouth open,
and that the air rushes into their lungs when their movable ribs expand ; for although
the skin is tough and armour-plated, it is not supported by a bony expansion which
restricts the movements of the ribs. They have a more or less rudimentary, but still
very useful, diaphragm.

The nostrils of the Crocodilia, situated near the end of the snout, are capable of
being closed at the will of the animal, and they are connected in the snout with a
passage, which is limited below, not as in the Mammalia, by palate-bones alone,
but also by pterygoids, and which opens far back in the throat. The roof of the mouth
has a membrane on it that ends backwards in a fold which, taking away the uvula,
resembles that of man in position. This upper fold rests on the back of the tongue
when the mouth is closed, and the air passes above and behind it into the throat be-

GR.O ii\ Til OF TOOTH

fore reaching the lungs. The tongue is a large flabby structure, incapable of pro- OF CROCODILE.
trusion, and has a hyoid bone at its broad hinder part in the throat, and on it and the (<\):el^™(il! (j"UT0otu
tongue is a lower Map of membrane reaching across the throat, and parallel at its

of third Tooth which

free edge with the upper fold. When the Crocodile drags a struggling animal in due time win

, , 6 . ., . . ., , ., , ., . , , •• , f ° ", , , ceed and displace 6.

into the water m its jaw-grip, it shuts its nostrils, sinks down, and closes the back
of its throat by muscular action, which brings the upper and lower membrane folds together. No
water can then pass into the throat. After a while the Crocodile just raises the tip of its snout above
water, opens the valves of its nostrils and takes in air, which passes along the passage above the palate,
behind the folds of skin into the throat, and thence into the lungs. It tears its prey, if soft ; should it
not be able to bolt it, it hides it away until decomposition softens the tissues and permits them to be
swallowed. The food passes along a narrow long gullet and oesophagus to a single globular stomach, the
mucous membrane of the passage being folded and villous, but that of the stomach is very thin. The
opening in the stomach for the intestine is close to that for the oesophagus, and there is a small pyloric
cul-de-sac separated off from the main cavity, through which food must pass into the intestine. The
stomach has the mucous membrane thin, and it is folded and placed in serpentine ridges : the cellular
coat outside it is thick, and the more external muscular tunic, made up of fibres radiating from the
centre to the circumference, issuing from a kind of disc of membrane, is very strong. This stomach i.s
not without its resemblance to the gizzard of a Heron. The food gets crushed and digested in part
there, and passes into a much-folded small intestine, with a peculiar glandular layer, and then into a
large gut with internal projections on its membrane.

The organs of special sense are elaborate in the Crocodilia. Thus the eye may have a vertical
or a horizontal pupil, according to the nocturnal or crepuscular habits of the species, and all have the
ciliary processes fully and beautifully developed. A peculiar vascular membrane, covered with pigment,
projects into the vitreous humour of the globe, and then is connected with the capsule of the lens.
The upper and lower eyelids are well developed. There is a transparent nictitating membrane
moved by a special muscular apparatus, and there is a gland especially destined to facilitate the move-

264 NATURAL HISTORY.

merits of this eye-protector, and its secretion escapes through a duct opening upon its inner surface.
" Crocodiles' tears " are household worlds, and the reptiles have a large lachrymal gland to each eye.
The ear has an outside lid or valve, which can be shut down when the Crocodile dives, and it protects
the tympanic membrane, which is otherwise exposed.

The heart has two auricles, and the ventricle is more or less divided "into two by a septum, or
by a cellular arrangement which produces a certain amount of separation of the purified and impure
blood.*

The Nile Crocodile has a wide distribution in Africa, from Egypt to Senegal, and south to near
the Cape, and in Central Africa. Specimens are in the British Museum fifteen feet in length, and it
will be noticed that the feet are webbed, that the nasal bones form a projection which separates the
hinder edges of the nostril, and that the forehead is flat.

There are two other Crocodiles in Africa, and they are from the west coast. One is very singular-
looking, from its long thin snout, f which is truly Crocodilian, from the lower canines being seen to
bite in a groove in tlie upper jaw.

This long, slender-snouted Crocodile grows to a large size, and lives in West and Central Africa,
the Gaboon, and the neighbourhood of Lagos. It has plain orbits, and the nasal bones do not reach
the nostril.

The Black African Crocodile J is from Western Africa, Senegal, Gaboon, and the Ogove River,
and is-Very unlike its fellow just mentioned, having a broad, short face (like an Alligator), with two
bony plates on the eyelids, a turn-up nose; and the nostril is divided in half by the nasal bones, which
form a small part of it. The line of the teeth of the upper jaw is very wavy, and they are rather blunt-
topped. Its habits are probably those of the Common Crocodile.

The Madagascar Crocodile has the snout longer, slenderer, and with straighter sides than the
Nilotic Crocodiles.

The eggs of the Crocodiles are small, not larger than those of a Goose, and the little ones come
forth very like the parents in shape, with large-looking eyes, a great gape, and a fine set of sharp teeth.
Herodotus noticed the wonderful difference in size between the egg and its little tenant at birth and
that of the full-grown reptile, and it is indeed very remarkable.

There are two well-known species of the genus in India, one of which is the Salt-water Crocodile, ||
which lives in the estuaries of the great rivers and makes its way to sea for a while, and the other is
the River and Marsh Crocodile, which is found well in the interior, and even up in the outer
Himalayan valleys in not very warm water.

The first is a large reptile, with many of the characters of a Nilotic Crocodile, but it differs in the
arrangement of the scales behind the head. It has no nuchal scales, and the dorsal ones are oval and
long, instead of being as broad as long. It grows to a length of fifteen feet commonly, and it is said to
reach double that size. One skull is thirty -one inches long, and, in common with all of its kind, has a
long ridge on the face.

A considerable part of the food of this Crocodile is fish, which fall an easy prey, especially to
the smaller and youthful reptiles. The old ones, requiring much food, attack every large animal which
accidentally approaches them, and in overpowering it the whole of their powers are called into play.
Seizing the victim between their capacious jaws, and fastening their long-pointed conical teeth into
its flesh, they drag it below water and drown it. As they cannot swallow their large prey they
mangle it, tearing oft' pieces by sudden strong jerks. This is performed by lateral motions of the
head and front part of the body.

When the animal, in one of its favourite positions, floats with just the upper part of the head and
back out of water, it can still breathe, bear, and see ; and when it dives, the nostrils are closed by valves,
a transparent membrana nictitans is drawn over the eye, and the ear, a horizontal slit, is shut up by a
movable projecting flap of the skin.

* The vertebrae have their bodies hollow in front, and are proccelous, and swollen behind, so as to admit of much
motion. There are so-called uncinate processes to the ribs, and in the neck they form a remarkable lateral protection of a
strengthening kind.

t Crorodilus catapkractus (Cuvier)=J/emfops cataphractus (Gray).

J Crocfxlilus nif/er (Latr.)— C. valpebrosvs (C\iv\er)=Osteo1 minus tetraspes (Cope)=Crocodilu$ frontarosus (Murray).

|| Crocodilas porosus (Scb.n.)=CVoco(/77(/,g biporcatus (Cuvier).

CROCODILES OF THK NILE.

46

THE CROCODILES.

265

The other Crocodile, which may attain the same size as the last, but is usually found smaller,
is the Marsh Crocodile.* which has also been called Crocodilus bombifrons. It is found in the
Ganges, and at Malabar, Madras, Ceylon, and in the Indus. Its snout is covered with numerous small
irregular prominences, and the space between the eyes is deeply concave.

It is often called Alligator by European residents, but it is a true Crocodile. It is a ferocious
reptile, and is worshipped and kept by some religionists. Thus, about eight miles north of Karachi,

CROCODILUS ACUTfS.

in Sind, there are some hot springs which swarm with these " Muggars." They are tame, and know
their Fakir friends, who watch and feed them.

A species of the genus inhabits Siam and Camboja, and is called the Siamese Muggar,t and has a
close resemblance to the Marsh Crocodile of India, the face being much larger, however, and not so
bumpy, but there is a small knot in front of the orbit. Another is an inhabitant of the rivers and
estuaries of Southern India, and has been called the Pondicherry Crocodile.^

* Crocod'duis palustris (Less.). + Croco>lilus siamensis (Schu.)-

X Crocodilus pondichcrrianus (Gray).

258 NATURAL HISTORY.

The Indian Crocodiles inhabit not only rivers and estuaries, but the sea-coasts, and they may be
seen floating two or three miles from shore in. calm weather. Those inhabiting small inland waters
which are dried up in the rainless season bury themselves and remain in a state of torpor \intil the
rains come, when they emerge and are dangerous and hungry. They then will attack man, who has
but one means of saving his life or limb, namely, to force his fingers into the eyes of the beast, which
immediately lets go its victim, a practice equally known to the Indian of South America, in relation
to Alligators, to the negro of Africa, and to the Hindoo. It has been said that a single Crocodile will
often appropriate to himself a limited district, which, if it happens to be in the vicinity of a village,
will soon be perceived in the loss of the grazing cattle.

North-eastern Australia has yielded a Crocodile of very unusual shape of head, and it was
discovered by Mr. Johnston, of Cardwell, Buckingham Bay, Queensland. Its head and snout
are very long, slender, and conical; the forehead is flat between the eyes, and there is a slight
convex narrow ridge in front to the middle of the beak. It is called Crocodilus johnstoni
(Gray).

There are two kinds of Crocodile in America ; one is well known, from its very elongate
head * and the constriction of the muzzle just behind the large pre-maxillary bones, and from its
habits, which are notably interesting to geologists. It has a great range, being found in many of
the rivers of the north-east of South America, in Central America, and in some of the West Indian
Islands. It has been found in Ecuador, New Granada, Venezuela, Yucatan, Guatemala, Southern
Mexico, Cuba, San Domingo, Jamaica, and West Coast of America. A free swimmei-, it takes to the
sea, and in this, and to a certain extent in the shape of its snout, resembles some of the Teleosam-s of
old which geologists classify as Marine Crocodiles. It preys on large and small animals, and the Jaguar
and Tapir fall victims to it, as well as fish. The face is slender, and the forehead is swollen and convex ;
the nasal bones recede and the muzzle is conical, oblong, and the nostril is not separated by a ridge.
There are two or four small nuchal plates. The legs are fringed and the toes are webbed. Mr. Gray
describes an Orinoco Crocodile, which is probably a variety of this one.

The other American kind is the Cuba Crocodile, or the Aquez palin,f which inhabits Cuba,
Mexico, part of South America, and Yucatan. It has an oblong face, with a very convex forehead, s,
ridge in front of each orbit converging in front and forming a lozenge-shaped space. There are two or
four nuchal plates, and the cervical disc is rhombic and of six large plates. The toes are short in this
kind, and the web is very small.

THE GAVIAL FAMILY.

The Gavial,J or Nakoo, is a large reptile, with very much of the shape of the Crocodile, but with
an exceedingly long and slender face, and the snout with the end swollen, and a great set of teeth. The
teeth are tolerably equal, and the first tooth of the lower jaw, as well as the fourth, bites into grooves
in the upper; the side teeth are oblique, and altogether thei%e-may be twenty-eight above and twenty-
six below. The nostrils are large, and the nasal bone does not form part of them. The orbits
look very prominent, because their front margin is much raised, and the back of the head looks
massive, because the cervical and dorsal plates form a continuous shield, and are not separated as in
the Nile Crocodile.

It is a lover of the large rivers, of the Ganges especially, and occurs in Nepal, and also in the
Malabar rivers, but it has not the range of the Crocodile, which can stand very chilly water. The
Gavial is much more aquatic than the Crocodile, and is rarely seen at all, and very rarely indeed out
of water. It is a capital swimmer, and its long snout enables it to breathe without showing its body.
Fish are its principal prey, and it grows to the length of twenty feet.

The second genus of the Gavial family is an inhabitant of the Island of Borneo and of some of the
neighbouring island-;*, and differs from the Gavial in having a more conical beak, thick at the back ; and
the side teeth are erect and are received into pits between the upper ones. These are less numerous
than in the Gavial of the Ganges, and the nostrils are not expanded, neither is there a ridge to the
orbit. ||

* Crocodilus acutus (Geoff.)=MoUnia amcricana (Gray) = Orinoco crocodile.
t Crocodilus rhomlifer (Cuvier) ; Palinia rhomb ifer (Gray).
J Gavial is gangeticus. || Tomistoma schlegelii,

THE ALLIGATORS.

267

GANGES GAVIAL.

THE ALLIGATOR FAMILY.

The distinctions between Crocodiles and Alligators only require a little more than ordinary
observation for their comprehension.

The head of the Alligator is short and broad ; that of the Crocodile is longer. The teeth are
very unequal in the Alligator, and the large lower canine, or the fourth from the front, enters
a hole in the upper jaw, and is more or less hidden when the mouth is closed. The teeth of the
Crocodile are less unequal, and the large canine is visible when the mouth is closed, as it fits in a
groove on the side of the upper jaw. The hind legs and feet of the Alligators are round, and neither
fringed nor ragged, and the toes are not webbed further than the middle, these structures, as has
been shown already, being differently developed in the Crocodiles.

The scales of the neck and body are arranged differently in the two reptiles, and in some
Alligators they form a continuous armour. With these exceptions the external aspect of the animals
is similar ; and there is not much difference in their habits, the Alligators rarely, if ever, going
down to the sea, while the Crocodiles do so occasionally.

The Alligators form a family, and probably but one genus ; but Dr. Gray and others have formed
three genera — Alligator, Jacare, and Caiman — and there are several species.

Of the genus Alligator there is the species called the Mississippi Alligator, or the Pike-headed

268

NATURAL H1STOXY.

Alligator.* This formidable reptile formerly inhabited the fresh waters of the Carolinas, the
Mississippi, higher than the Red River, and the swamps of Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana, but its
present roaming ground is more restricted. Growing to a length of fourteen or fifteen feet, the head is
one-seventh of the length, and half as broad at the articulation of the jaws as it is long. The snout is
flattened on the upper surface, and it is rounded broadly in front and straight at the sides. The shape
of the fore part of the head is so Pike-like that Cuvier gave the Alligator the name of lucius — a Pike.

MISSISSIPPI OR PIKE-HEADED ALLIGATOR.

The internal rim of the orbits is large and projects, and the nostrils are separated by a long knob.
The skull has two shallow oblique oval pits, with two small holes. The colour is a deep greenish-
brown above and a light yellow below, and the sides are more or less striped. They have a bright
observant eye, and hiss from the back of the throat, and snap their jaws together, when angry. It is
said that men and quadrupeds of some size fall a prey to it whilst bathing, drinking, or crossing rivers,
but usually they prey by night, and in companies. Fish are their principal food. It is said that the
female digs a hole in the sand, and deposits her eggs in layers separated from one another by layers of
leaves and dry grass, and that but one laying occurs in a year. The Alligators hibernate and bury
themselves in the mud as soon as cool or cold weather sets in, and come out with the returning heat
The eyelids are smooth and fleshy in this Alligator.

* Alligator lucius.

THE ALLIGATORS. 269

The Caimans are of two kinds : one is the Rough-backed Caiman,* from Tropical America, ar.d
the other the Banded Caiman, from the same region, t They have, unlike the true Alligators,
the bony ventral and dorsal scales articulated together. Their smooth eyelids have an internal
bony plate, and the cervical scales form an elongated shield. Their head is high, flat at the sides,
and angular above. On the side of the neck and body the scales are keeled, but those beneath
the body are smooth. In the first species the cervical scales are in five pairs, and the nuchal
scales are in a single cross series, whilst in the second the nuchal scales are in two cross series, and
the cervical are in three pairs. There are no ridges between the orbits.

The other group, the Jacares, is numerous in species, and they have much in common with the
Caimans as regards their armour and eyelid bone. They all have their orbits united by a bony
cross ridge, and the eyelids are striated or rugose. They have the head moderately high, and the
cervical scales are in pairs forming a bony shield.

One kind, called the Black Jacare, J from its black back varied with yellow, attains the length of
thirteen feet and more, and inhabits the Amazons near Pera and also Guiana. It has a long head, and
the nuchal scales are small and compressed.

Bates, that thoroughly trustworthy naturalist and geographer, who spent so much time in the in-
vestigation of the Natural History of the Amazons and its neighbourhood, gives some personal observa-
tions on the Alligators of the river. When at Ega, on the Upper Amazons, he wrote : — " Alligators
were rather troublesome in the dry season. During these months there was always one or two lying
in wait near the bathing-place for anything that might turn up at the edge of the water — dog, sheep,
pig, child, or drunken Indian. While this visitor was about, every one took extra care whilst bathing.
I used to imitate the natives in not advancing far from the bank, and in keeping my eye fixed on that
of the monster, which stares with a disgusting leer along the surface of the water, the body being sub-
merged to the level of the eyes, the top of the head, with part of the dorsal crest, being the only por-
tions visible. When a little motion was perceived in the water behind the reptile's tail, bathers were
obliged to beat a quick retreat. I was never threatened myself, but I often saw the crowds of women, and
children scared whilst bathing, by the beast making a movement towards them. A general scamper to
the shore and peals of laughter were always the result in these cases. The men can always destroy these
Alligators when they like to take the trouble to set out with montarias and harpoons for the purpose,
but they never do it unless one of the monsters, bolder than usual, puts some one's life in danger.
This arouses them, and they track the enemy with the greatest pertinacity. When half killed they drag it
ashore and despatch it amid loud execrations. Another, however, is sure to appear some days or weeks
afterwards and take the vacant place or the station." But under some circumstances the Jacare nigra,
the Jacare-usassii of the Amazonian Indians, is little feared. Thus, when netting the "Turtles" (page 255),
which form the staple meat food of the inhabitants, an Alligator was found included, and although the
men had jumped into the water to drag and catch the Chelonians, they cared little for a good-sized
Alligator, whose jaws, more than a foot long, could have snapped one of their legs in twain. Bates
writes : — " No one was alarmed, the only fear expressed being that the imprisoned beast would tear
the net. First one shouted, ' I have touched his head ! ' then another, ' He has scratched my leg ! '
One of the men, a lanky Miranha, was thrown off his balance, and then there was no end to the
laughter and shouting. At last a youth of about fourteen years of age, on my calling to him from the
bank to do so, seized the reptile by the tail and held him tightly until, a little resistance being over-
come, he was able to bring it ashore. The net was opened, and the boy slowly dragged the dangerous
but cowardly beast to land, through muddy water, a distance of about a hundred yards. Meantime I
had cut a strong pole from a tree, and as soon as the Alligator was drawn to solid ground, gave him a
smart rap with it on the crown of his head, which killed him instantly." The same traveller at one
time, when out on an expedition and the heat was very great, found that no one could bathe without
being advanced upon by one or other of these hungry monsters. " There was much offal cast into the
river, and this, of course, attracted them to the place. One day I amused myself by taking a basketful
of fragments of meat beyond the line of ranches, and drawing the Alligators towards me by feeding
them. They behaved pretty much as dogs do when fed, catching the bones I threw them in their

* Alligator trigonatus=Caiman trigcmatus (Gray). t Caiman palpebrosus (Gray).

t Jacare nigra (Gray)— Alligator sclerops (Cuvier).

177

270 NATURAL HISTORY.

huge jaws, and coming nearer and showing increased eagerness after each morsel. The enormous gape
of their mouths, with the blood-red lining and long fringes of teeth, and the uncouth shape of their
bodies, made a picture of unsurpassable ugliness. I once or twice fired a heavy charge of shot at them,
aiming at the vulnerable part of their bodies, which is a small space situated behind the eyes, but this
had no other effect than to make them give a hoarse grunt and shake themselves. They immediately
afterwards turned to receive another bone which I threw them."

A small Alligator, not more than two feet in length, the Jacare curua, is found in shallow creeks
on the Lower Amazons. The Indians said one that was brought to Bates " was a mai d'ovos," or
mother of eggs, as they had pillaged the nest which they had found near the edge of the water. The
eggs were rather longer than a hen's and regularly oval in shape, presenting a rough, hard surface
of shell. This kind was cooked and eaten.

Other Jacares have the head sharp, and the back is olive colour banded with brown, and one of
the group, the Dog-headed Jacare,* has the face and snout marked with dark spots at the sides, and
the skull is broad and shallow. It inhabits the Brazils about Periiambuco, and also Surinam. The
second kind is the Brazilian Jacare. The Long-shielded Jacare of Tropical America has an olive colour,
and the jaws are spotted.t It has a long head, 110 ridges in front of the orbit of any importance, and
the cervical disc is oblong, and it much resembles the Eyed Jacare J from the lake of Santa Cruz de
la Sierra. The Argentine Republic, Brazil, and Surinam, have a narrow-faced, high-nosed Jacare, whose
jaws are yellow in. colour, or spotted, the back being yellow banded with brown. It is called the
Dotted-jawed Jacare. § And, finally, there is a kind from Demerara called the Rough-necked Jacare,||
which has the scales on the side of the neck rough, spiny, and pale yellow, the back and tail being
brown and cross-barred. The cheeks and sides of the lower jaw are yellow and not spotted.

It was formerly thought that Alligators were confined to the New World, and that all the
reptiles of this family living in the Old World were Crocodiles. It is, however, now known that a
true Alligator (Alligator sinensis) is found in China, and in 1890 two specimens were exhibited in
the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park.

FOSSIL CROCODILIA.

So numerous were the Crocodilia in the Secondary and Tertiary ages that a considerable
volume might be written upon their characteristics and localities; therefore a short summary of
their peculiarities can only be given here. In the endeavour to comprehend the structures of the
Crocodiles of old, the nature of the vertebrae and of the roof of the mouth of the Nilotic Crocodile
should be considered. The modern Crocodilia have the body of the vertebrae in front of
the sacrum concave or procoelous in front, and the hard palate is formed by the union of the
palate bones and of the pterygoid bones behind them, so that the internal air passage from the
outer nostril is far back in the long mouth. This group of Crocodilia, embracing the three
modern families of Crocodile, Gavial, and Alligator, has a great antiquity, for Crocodilia with the
above anatomical characters, existed in the age of the Green Sand of America and of the Upper
Cretaceous of Europe. Thoracosaurus (Leidy), Holops (Cope), from America, and Gavialis ma-
crorhynchus, of the European Chalk, are to be classified with this modern group termed by Owen
"Proccelia." The Crocodilia of the Tertiary age found in the London Clay, the Plastic Clay of
Meudon, and the Calcaire Grossier of Castelnaudary, and in the Eocene deposits of Bracklesham
were large, and all the three families were represented in those times : that is to say, such forms as
Crocodilus toliapicus, Crocodilus hantoniensis, and Crocodilus dixoni, are indications that Crocodiles,
Alligators, and Gavials lived then in Western Europe. In the later Tertiary deposits the group is
represented, and in the Sewalik hills in the Himalayas there is a thick-toothed Crocodile of extinct
species, and one which resembles the Muggar.

The great series of strata belonging to the Secondary rocks, from the Lower Lias to the Upper
Chalk inclusive, contain evidences of the former existence of another group of Crocodilia. The genera
which form it probably led marine and along-shore lives, and the more terrestrial kinds, such as would
now be the true Crocodiles and some Alligators, have not been handed down by fossil remains. Gavial-

* Jacare latirostris (Gray)= Alligator cynocephalus (Dum., et Bib.). t Jacare longiscutata.

t Jacare ocellaia (Gray). § Jacare punctulata (Gray)=Jacare sclerops (Gray). || Jacare hirticollis (Gray).

FOSSIL CROCODILIA. 271

like kinds, which moved out to sea like the Crocodile of San Domingo, but which came rarely to land,
existed as the genera Steneosaurus and Teleosaurus. In these Crocodilia, the bodies of the vertebra? were
concave before and behind, or amphicoelous, and the pterygoid bones did not come into the hard palate,
the posterior nostrils being behind the palatine bones only, and there were two longitudinal series of
dorsal scutes instead of more, as in the Proccelia. This group of Amphiccelia became extinct during
the early days of the Proccelia.

Mr. Hulke, F.R.S., has shown that in the Wealden and Purbeck deposits there is a fossil
Crocodile intermediate in its characters of skull between those of the Lias and Tertiary times.

The next group preceded these in time, and lived and died out in the days of the vast continental
surfaces of the Trias. Instead of being perfectly aquatic forms, these Crocodiles were very terrestrial,
and the conformation of their nostrils and hard palate leads to the belief that they had no necessity to
drown their prey, and that they had not the peculiar method of life of the more modern groups. The
bodies of the vertebra? of these early Secondary kinds were amphicceloiis, but neither the palatine nor
the pterygoid bones were produced into plates, so as to form a hard palate and place the internal
nostrils far back in the mouth. Hence the outside nostrils communicated with the mouth in the front
part of the palate. They had two long series of keeled, joined, dorsal scutes, and in some there
was a ventral armour. The genus Stagonolepis is from Elgin, in Scotland; and Parasuchus from
India, and Belodon from Germany and North America. They have been called by Huxley
" Parasuchia."

Owen, of whose classification of the fossil Crocodiles the above is a modification, has described
some little Crocodilia which he considers were sufficiently large to kill and devour the small Marsupial
Mammals of the age of the Purbeck deposits (Upper Oolite).

Associated with the fossil Crocodilia is an order in which large and small reptiles with bi-concave
vertebrae have a dentition of teeth in sockets, which somewhat foreshadows the carnivorous Mammalia.
These Theriodontia of Professor Owen probably commenced in the Permian age, and lived in the
Oural region in Asia, and in North America, South Africa, and England, during one or more of
the geological ages down to the end of the Oolite period.

Cope notices two species of Crocodilia from the Cretaceous formations west of the Mississippi ; one
eight or ten feet in length is Hyposaurus, which had sub-biconcave vertebrae and a long sub-cylindrical
snout; and the other was a short-headed species like the Alligator lucius. The New Jersey Cre-
taceous has also yielded Crocodilia of this genus — Bottosaurus as well as Hyposaurus, and there is a
long-nosed Gavial from the same strata named Holops by Cope, and a second which is a Proccelian
Crocodilian, small in size, but also a Gavial.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE ORDER CROCODILIA.
FAMILY— CROCODILID.E Genus Crocodilus.

GAVIALID.E ( » Gavialis.

[ „ Tomistoma.

( „ Alligator.

ALLIGATORIE^ „ Caiman.

,i Jacare.

CLASS REPTILIA, THE REPTILES.

CHAPTER III.
ORDER SAURIA, OR LACERTILIA.— THE LIZARDS.

THE LIZARDS— Characters of the Reptiles of the Order— THE FISSIL1NGUES -THE SAND LIZARD— Prof. Bell'a
Description— THE COMMON LIZARD— Habits— Young Produced Alive— Characters of the Lizard— Distinctions between
Crocodile, Lizard, and Snake, illustrated by Comparison of the Skull (foot note)— Other Species of Lacerta—
Peculiarity of the Tail of many Lizards— Teeth of Saurians— A "Pleurodont" Jaw— An "Acrodont" Jaw— THE
AMEIVID*:— Characters -THE COMMON TEGUEXIN— Habits— THE COMMON AMEIVA— THE WATER LIZARDS— De-
scription— Why called Monitors— THE NILE MONITOR— THB SAND MONITOR, OR VARANUS— Other Kinds of Varanus —
The Common Indian Water Lizard — The Ocellated Water Lizard — The Heloderma— THE CRASSILINGUES—
Characters —THE IGUANAS— THE GREEN IGUANA— Description— Habits— Character of the Vertebrae— Dentition Pleuro-
dont— THE BASILISK— Appearance— THE AMBLYRHYNCHUS CRISTATUS— Darwin's Account of this Sea Lizard— The Ter-
restrial Species of this Genus — FLYING LIZARDS —Characters— Their Apparatus for Locomotion — Habits — Boauty of
their Colouring— THE FRILLED LIZARD— Description— The Frill— THE TERRESTRIAL AGAMID.E OF THE OLD WORLD AND
AUSTRALIA— The Genus Uromastix— The Dabb, or Dhobb— The Thorn-devil, or Horrible Moloch— The Genus Stellio —
The Toad Lizards— THE GECKO FAMILY— Appearance— Habits— Their Toes and Fingers —Characters— Colouring— Eyes
—Tongue— Origin of their Name— Pleurodont Teeth — The Various Species— The Flying Gecko — RHYNCHO-
CEPHALA, THE BEAKED LIZARDS — THE TUATERA, OR HATTERIA, OR THE SPHENODON LIZARD— Giinther's
Description of its Anatomy — THE VERMILINGUES, THE CHAMELEONS — Appearance — Curious Tongue-
Remarkable Lungs— Distribution— Colouring— The Genus Rhampholeon— The South African Kind— Changing of the
Colour of the Chameleon's Skin— THE AMPHISBJENOIDA— The White Amphisbaena— THE BREVILINGUES—
Characters— SCINCOID.E— THE COMMON SKINK— Habits— The Stump-tailed Lizard— THE BLIND-WORM, OR SLOW-WORM
—Description— THE JAVELIN SNAKE— THE ZONURID^E— Character— The Gigantic Cordylus— The European Pseudopus—
American Glass Snake — Classification of the Order Sauria.

THE reptiles included in this order are very numerous, and present much diversity of shape and
habits. Some resemble the Crocodiles, but have neither their bony plate armour nor their socket-
implanted teeth. Others are after the type of the Common Lizard, and the rest are more or less
limbless, and in some the shape of the Serpent is recognised. But all have a more or less perfect
shoulder-girdle and sternum, and usually, but not invariably, four limbs are present. Their throat is
not extensible, and the jaws cannot separate as in the Serpents. Many have glands with pore-like
openings on the thighs.

There are many groups of these reptiles, which are subdivided into families. The long-bodied,
short-limbed, scaly, long tailed Lizards of England may be considered first of all, as their shape is
familiar to everybody. They belong to THE SUB-ORDER FISSILLNGUES, THE SPLIT-
TONGUED LIZARDS, characterised by having a long, slender, protractile, forked tongue, the
teeth pleurodont * in arrangement, a free tympanic membrane, and procoelous vertebrae.

THE SAND LIZARD.f— GENUS LACERTA,

This English species of Lizard received especial attention from Professor Bell, who writes, in his
" History of British Reptiles " : — " This beautiful species is found in the neighbourhood of Poole, in
Dorsetshire, in somewhat different situations. Its general abode is on sandy heaths, where it is fre-
quently seen crossing the small by-paths with considerable swiftness, although it is certainly less
rapid in its movements than the next and more common species. But it is occasionally seen on the
sunny sides of green banks basking in the sun's rays, and retreating rapidly on the approach of any
intruder." It is occasionally seen near wet ground. It is a very timid and wild little thing, and
Bell states that it will bite if handled, and that it pines and dies in captivity. It is a northern kind,
rarely occurring so far south as Italy, but it is common in the northern parts of France and the
central parts of Europe, extending as far north as Denmark and Sweden. In its form, this kind is
thick and rounded in the body, the limbs are strong and short, and the head is obtuse.

The third and fourth toes of the foot are of equal length. On the head, which is plated, the
eyelids have a series of very minute scales. The scales of the upper part of the body are round or
polygonal, and slightly keeled. The abdominal plates are in six rows, the middle series being
narrower than the adjoining ones. The throat has a distinct collar of scales.

The femoral pores vary from eight to eighteen on each side. The tail is covered with numerous
distinct whorls of scales, fifty to eighty in number, and the total length of the Lizard is seven
inches two lines, that of the tail being four inches. It has teeth on the palate.
* See page 275. t Lacerta agilis (Linn.).

THE COMMON LIZARD.

273

It varies much in its colour and markings. The most common tint of the upper parts is a sandy-
brown, with obscure longitudinal bands of a dai-ker brown, and a lateral set of black round spots, each
marked with a yellowish-white dot or line in the centre. There is often, according to Bell, more or less
of green on the sides. Some are of a rich brown colour, others of a green hue of a dullish tint, and it is
this wJich has led to the belief that a species called the Green Lizard occurs in England. The female
lays her eggs, to the number of twelve or fourteen, in hollows in the sand, which she excavates for the
purpose, and having covered them carefully with sand, she leaves them to be hatched by solar heat.

SAND LIZARD.

SUB-GENUS ZOOTOCA.— THE COMMON OR VIVIPAROUS LIZARD.*

Tuis Lizard has the temples covered with adpressed scales, and the scales of the back are
long and hexagonal, but there are no teeth on the palate. Hence it differs from the Sand Lizard,
and has been placed in a sub-genus Zootoca, and as it brings forth its young alive and not within the
egg, it is termed the Viviparous Lizard. It is an agile and pretty Lizard, frequenting heaths and
banks in England and even in Scotland. It is one of the few reptiles found in Ireland. It is con-
fined to the latitude of England on the Continent. Bell says : — " It comes out of its hiding-place during
the warm part of the day, from the early spring till autumn has far advanced, basking in the sun,
and turning its head with a sudden motion the instant that an insect comes within its view, and
darting like lightning upon its prey, it seizes it with its little sharp teeth, and speedily swallows it.

* Lacerta (Zootoca) vivipara. See note on next page.

274

NATURAL HISTORY.

Thus, it will often take a great number of the smaller insects, preferring those of the two-winged order,
though it will not refuse many of the beetles and Orthoptera, if they are not too large."

The female retains the eggs until the young are ready to leave them, and they are produced alive.
The covering of the egg is very thin and membranous. As the young are sometimes found with the
mother, it is possible that she has some maternal instincts. The young are fully formed when born,
and are capable of running about and of taking care of themselves. This little Lizard is from five inches
and a half to six inches and a half in length, of which the head occupies half an inch, and its colour
and markings vary much. The general ground colour of the upper parts is a greenish-brown, with a

SKELETON OF THE COMMON LIZARD.

•dark brown line down the middle of the back, which is often somewhat interrupted. A broad stripe or
belt extends parallel with this on each side, commencing behind the eyes, and extending to a greater
or less length down the tail ; between this and the former are often one or more rows of black dots,
and similar ones may occur on the lines. The under side of the body and base of the tail, in the male,
are bright orange, spotted with black ; in the female these parts, as well as the tail, are pale greyish-
green, without spots.

The other species of Lacerta, which may be seen frequently on the Continent of Europe, are the
Green * and the Ocellate f Lizards, and the lively little Wall Lizard. J

There are some species of Lacerta in Africa, and on that continent, in India, and in Southern "
Europe, the genus Acanthodactylus is represented. Its species have the toes keeled beneath or
fringed along their edges. Long-tailed, cylindrical-bodied Lizards are also found in the East Indies
and in Africa, and they belong to the genus Tachydromus. The genus Ophiops contains Lizards
without palatal teeth and eyelids, and the type is an inhabitant of Asia Minor.

* Lacerta viridis. t L. ocellata. + L. muralis.

NOTE.— If these common Lizards are taken as the types of the order Sauria, or Lacertilia, the distinctions between them and
the Crocodilia on the one hand, and the Serpents, or Ophidia, on the other, can be appreciated. The skull of the Lizard,
shortened as it is in relation to that of the Crocodile, possesses the following peculiarities : — The lower jaw is jointed

with a quadrate bone, on each side, which is not firmly united to the skull,
for the union admits of some movement there. In this respect the Lizards
differ from the Crocodiles, but this mobility is in excess in the Serpents. In
the Lacertilia the pterygoid bones reach from the palatines and sphenoid back,
wards and outwards to join, but not to unite firmly to, the quadrate bones ; but
this is not the case in the Crocodiles, and the joining is in the nature of a
very movable joint in the Serpents. In the Sphenodon, one of the Lacertilia,
this union is bony, and there is no mobility. On the palate of the Saurians,
the inner nostiils or posterior nares are well in front, and the vomers limit
them internally, and the palatine bones externally. The palatine bones do not
unite along the median line, as in the Crocodile, except in the Sphenodon, and
the vomers are distinct in the Lacertilia. There is a transverse bone uniting
the palatine and pterygoid with the maxilla in the Lacertilia and Snakes.
The basi-sphenoid has a projection on each side which passes downwards and

EKULL OF LIZAUD.

'1EETH OF LIZARDS.

275

PLEURODOXT JAW (iGUANA), FROM WITHIN.

Common observation instructs us that many Lizards leave their tails behind in the hand of their
incautious captor, without seeming any the worse for this singular loss of much of the organ. The
vertebrae of the tail are not solid and bony, for there is a space running right across each, in its middle,
formed of gristle, or even of cellular tissue, and this gives way nearest the point of greatest stress upon
the tail, which snaps off, but will be reproduced.

Certain skin glands exist, and are seen at the surface along the inner part of the thigh as pores
(femoral and inguinal pores), and others exist in front of the vent. They secrete a reddish fatty sub-
stance, which often hardens in the duct leading to the
pore, and forms a visible projection.

The teeth of the Saurians are on the pre-maxillse,
maxilla?, and the dentary pieces of the lower jaw or
mandible, but they often occur also in the pterygoid and
palatine bones.

It was mentioned that the teeth of the English
Lizards are pleurodont. This is a term which implies

that the teeth are attached to a kind of parapet of bone which is placed on the jaws. The teeth are
inside this, or between it and the cavity of the mouth, and are attached to it, each tooth by one side,
and they are therefore not placed in sockets.

This arrangement is common to several groups of the order, and others have what is called an
acrodont dentition. That is to say, the bases of the teeth are on and are attached to the top of the
parapet, and not to its side. The teeth are numerous and simple in structure, and their crowns
have very different forms, being sharp, blade-like, or broad, rounded, and crushing, according to the

outwards to join the commencing backward prolongation of the pterygoid. This is seen in the Snake also, but not in the

Crocodile ; but the junction, perfect in the Lizard, is movable in the Serpents. In the Lizards the space between the

prootic bone and the pre-f rental, unlike the

bony condition of the Crocodile, is filled

with cartilaginous membrane. There is an

imperfect bony division between the orbits,

and the parietal bones form the front part of

the roof of the brain-case, and the occipital

the back, hinder, and part of its lower por-
tions ; they are not united by sutures or fixed

in a perfectly motionless manner, but there

is a membranous interspace, which permits

of some movement of the face and fore part

of the skull on the occipital bone. This is SKULL OF CROCODILE.

very different to the ligid condition of the

skull of the Crocodile and to the solid structures of that of the snake. On looking at the upper part of the Lizard's skull a

number of distinct openings are seen. One, the supra-temporal fosM, is bounded by the parietal, post-frontal, and the

squamosal bones ; and there is a post- and temporal fossa existing between the parietal, the occipital, and a process called the

parotic. This process is at the back and side of the skull, giving
it an angular appearance. It is present also in the Crocodiles, but it
is not found in the Snakes.

A small unossified space, the parietal foramen, usually exists
between the parietal bones and the frontals.

There is also a lateral temporal fossa. The Lizards have the
skin over the supra-temporal fossa more or less bony, and it follows
that, as in the Crocodile and Chelonians, there is a kind of light
outer skull-case, the true brain-case being very small and opening
behind at the foramen magnum, where there is, on the basi-occi-
pital bone, at its junction with the lateral occipital bones, the solitary
condyle for the jointing with the atlas or first vertebra.

With regard to the lower jaw, the two sides of it are usually
united at the chin (or symphysis), and each is composed of six bony
pieces. This number is common to the Reptilia, but the junction in
front, seen also in the Crocodile, is not observed in the Snake, whose
lower jaw is singularly separable from its fellow on its opposite side.
Finally, in concluding this notice of the skull, it is necessary to

mention that the pre-maxillse and maxillpe are firmly united with each other and the skull, and that there are two vomers.
Most of the Lacertilia have two small rod-shaped bones, one on each side within the skull. Each extends from a parietal

bone to the pterygoid nearest to it, and is in close contact with the membranous or cartilaginous wall of the skulL It is

called the columella, and its presence is of classificatory value.

SKULL OF RATTLESNAKE.

276

NATURAL HISTORY.

family or sub-order. New teeth are usually formed below the old ones. Some fossil kinds were
probably thecodont, or their teeth were in sockets.

The second family of the sub-order Fissilingues is formed by the AMEIVID^E. Living in the New
World, these large reptiles have the head plated, rhombic scales on the back, and transverse rows ot
square ones on the belly. The tail is long and cylindrical in some and compressed in others. The limbs
are well developed ; the teeth are powerful and obliquely placed ; there are two transverse folds in the
skin of the lower region of the neck, and usually there are femoral pores. The COMMON TEGUEXIN,* or

COMMON TEGUEXIN.

South American Sauvegarde, may be taken as an example. It grows to more than a yard in length,
and has been said to attain four feet six inches, and the colour is variable on the back, where it is
always black, so far as the ground tint is concerned, but the beautiful yellow spots may be scattered
and small, or large and dispersed in cross bands, with a large spot on the flanks. The sprinkling
is seen often on the head and tail, and this is ringed with yellow and black. All the lower parts
are yellow, and are marked across with black bands. They have a great range in South America, from
Guiana to Paraguay inclusive, and are abundant, being found in sugar plantations and woods, and in
the Brazils in sandy or clayey districts, amongst scrub and bush. Often liking the neighbourhood of
the rivers and water, and running on the banks, they do not appear to go into the water readily, but
they can swim gracefully, using the tail as a propeller.

Usually they burrow under the roots of trees, and they keep very much to the same spots, living
often in the hollows of trees. Azara says that when pursued they take to the water, and do not climb,
but it is doubtful whether they ever swim. They are strong, and swift in movement, not over bold,

* Tejw teyuexin (Linn.)

MONITORS.

277

but when attacked by dogs will fight and make their tails felt. Running swiftly close to the ground,
they sit with the head rather erect. They keep their tongue in very constant movement, but it is
very doubtful if they ever emit a warning sound, as some suppose they do, on the approach of wild
beasts. The nests of the White Ant, which have been built close to the fallen trees on the outskirts of
the forests, are cleared out by the Teguexin, and her eggs, some fifty or sixty in number, are laid
therein. Azara says that they feed on fruit, insects, snakes, frogs, young birds, and eggs, and that
they are fond of honey ; and in captivity they devour meat and mice, and are not amenable to kind-
ness. The genus Tejus may be distinguished by the large hexagonal scales which are between the neck
folds, and by the long and narrow ventral plates.

COMMON AMEIVA.

The members of the genus Ameiva have large ventral scales and tricuspid and compressed teeth
Ameiva vidgaris, or the COMMON AMEIVA, is from the West Indies.

The largest known Lizards belong to the family of WATER LIZARDS, MONITORID^E, or Platynota.
They are long-headed things, with a vast number of small scales, united more or less at the sides and
not over- lapping, and are equal on the sides and back, and arranged in cross rings, whilst those of
the belly and tail are square and in cross bands. The tail is long and generally compressed, and there
are five digits to the well-developed limbs armed with claws. The smallness of the shielding of the
head is remarkable, but the scales everywhere are usually surrounded by a ring of very small tubercles
within their margin. The tongue is long, slender, and ends in a long fork, which retreats into a sheath
at the base. The teeth are acute and compressed, triangular or conical, and none are on the palate.
They differ from the other Lacertilia, except the American genus Heloderma, which is included in
the group, in that the nasal bones are represented by a single narrow ossification. Growing to a con-
siderable size, these largest of the scaly Lizards are found in the Old World, including Africa, South
Asia, and in Australia, and there are several genera of them. Some keep entirely to the neigh-
bourhood of water ; but others select dry and sandy spots, not always near water. They prey on small
reptiles, small mammals, the eggs of reptiles, and will not refuse insects.

They are called Monitors, from it being supposed that they warn people of the neighbourhood

and approach of the Crocodile.
178

The warning is said to be a strong hiss, or whistle. But the truth

278

NATURAL HISTORY.

appears to be that they are often associated with the Crocodiles in the same waters, and give no warn-
ing whatever. The NILE MONITOR, or Varanus,* grows to a length of six feet, the tail forming one
half. The head is rather long, and the nostrils small and rounded ; the tail is keeled on the top, and
compressed from side to side, and the fourth toe is the longest, and contrasts with the small fifth one.
The reptile has no web to its feet, crawls about watery places, and suns itself on the sand. Known to
the ancients as a devourer of Crocodiles' eggs, the Monitor is not restricted to the Nile, although it
reaches into Nubia, for it, or a closely allied species, is found in the great rivers of the West, and is
known also in South Africa.

In this locality it is generally discovered on the banks of rivers or margins of lakes, and it plunges
in the instant it is disturbed, and if the water is deep the Monitor remains quiet there until the
danger is past.

NILE MONITOR.

THE BAND MONITOR, OR VARANUS.f

This is an Egyptian kind which, instead of frequenting the banks of the rivers and the water,
lives in dry places. It is less carnivorous than the Monitor of the Nile, and its food, although con-
sisting of eggs to a certain extent, is moi-e insectivorous.

Another terrestrial kind is from South Africa. When it is surprised it seeks concealment in the
chinks and crevices of the ground, holding on to any projections with its toes, so as to require much
force in withdrawing it. A single man is not sufficient for the task, even with a rope attached to
the hind legs by way of assistance.

It appears to feed on frogs, Crustacea, small mammalia, and is often found near running sti-eams.
It is called the White-throated Monitor, j

Amongst the Varani with nostrils, or an oblique slit placed quite, or nearly, in the middle of
the face between the eye, and the end of the snout, are some from India.

The Common Indian Water Lizard § sometimes attains the length of four feet, the tail being
longer than the body, and it is of a brownish olive colour, with more or less numerous black dots,
each of which occupies a scale. It is found in Bengal, Nepal, Southern India, and in Ceylon, where
it is called the Goana, Kelaart says that "it is found in great abundance in all the maritime
provinces, but rarely in the Kandian districts. The natives are partial to its flesh, and we have once
tasted some excellent soup made from a Goana, which tasted like hare. They live in holes and come
out in mid-day after their food, which consists of smaller reptiles and insects. They attack aiit-hills,
and at Trincomalee they used to be hunted down by dogs and sold in the market."

The Ocellated, or the Two-banded Water Lizard, || lives in China and Siam, and it is said to
occur in Ceylon. Cantor says it is very numerous in hilly and marshy localities in the Malayan

* Monitor (Varanm) niloticus. t Monitor, or Psammosaurus arenaricus. J Monitor (Varanus) albor/vtaris.

§ Monitor (Varanus) dractena. \\ Hydrosaurus sa!vator=Varanus salvator=Monitor btiittatus.

THE IGUANAS.

279

Peninsula. It is commonly observed during the day in the bi'anches of trees overhanging
rivers, preying on birds and their eggs, and on smaller Lizards, and when disturbed it throws
itself from a considerable height into the water, and it will defend itself courageously with
teeth, claws, and strokes of the tail. The lowest castes of Hindoos capture these Lizards by digging
them out of their burrows on the banks of rivers, for the sake of their flesh, which is greatly
relished by these people. Some individuals attain to nearly seven feet in length.

A Monitor, with bright-yellow spots covering five or six scales, and dotted over the whole body,
is found in New Guinea and the Darnley Islands,* and a closely allied genus (Hydrosaurus), in which
the nostrils are placed at the extremity of the snout, is represented there also.

The Gigantic Lace-Lizard f and its varieties are common examples of Australian, kinds.

The other section of this group of Monitors, with a single nasal bone, is represented by the very
ugly Lizard calle-1 Heloderma horridum, of Mexico. It has rather a flat head covered with numerous
great convex polygonal plates, which give it a very tubercular appearance.

The Heloderma, reaching to three feet and a few inches in length, is called Escorpion by the
natives, and moves chiefly by night. Dissections have shown that Heloderma has poison glands and
teeth adapted to bite and introduce the poison. Like most of its order, it is very tenacious of life,
and the muscles move long after decapitation, and chloroform is long in killing it.

THE SUB-OEDER CEASSILINGUES.— THE SHORT-TONGUED LIZARDS.

These Lizards have a short, thick, and fleshy tongue, slightly notched in front and not protractile.
There are four limbs present, and their digits are placed in front of the ankle and wrist. Unually the
eye is protected by lids, and the tympanic membrane is free. They have, with the exception of
one family, the Geckos, procoelous vertebrae and a columella, but the teeth may be pleurodont, or
acrodont. The first family of this great sub-order is that which contains the IGUANAS (the.
Igoanide),

* Monitor chlorostiyma (Gray). f Hydrosaurus yiganteus.

2*0 NATURAL HISTORY.

A large Lizard with a beautiful green-coloured back, yellowish-green sides and belly, with
brown stripes or zigzags lined with yellow, and with its long tail ringed with green, yellow, and
brown, has a crest of tooth-like spines on the back and tail, a " bag " under the jaw, also crested,
long toes, and a rather compressed body. The head is moderately long, and has its top protected with
plates, and is raised between the eyes, and is more or less pyramidal in form. The neck is short,
and there is a fold of skin on it behind the " bag " which is reflected over the shoulders.

This description applies to the large GREEN IGUANA,* which may be from three to five feet in
length. On looking at the mouth it is observed that the numerous teeth are fixed along the internal
face of the dentary bone, to which they adhere by one side of their bony root, and that they are
remarkable in shape. They are " pleurodont." They are rather long, compressed from side to side,
and are broad at the top, where they are angularly arched, pointed at the tip, and finely denticulate
on the slope on each side. The tympanic membrane is large and circular.

These Iguanas live an arboreal life in tropical America and the West Indies, and are often
brought to Europe, and kept in zoological gardens and menageries. Climbing with ease and moving
with great rapidity amongst the foliage, they do not hesitate to take to water, the neighbourhood of
which they usually seek. They swim with ease, entering water voluntarily, and they do not then
use their fore limbs, but principally the tail. Brown, in his travels in. Guiana, noticed the Iguana on
the trees overhanging the rivers, and that they were greatly alarmed at the noise of the boat's paddles.
They threw themselves from the branches into the water, many coming down broadside on the surface.
Harmless things, they still will show fight, and the lash of their tail gives pain. Their food is not
-confined to vegetable diet, and as they have a row of teeth on the pterygoid bones, they can readily
capture and swallow small grubs and insects. Nevertheless, the insectivorous diet is the most usual,
although the blade-like serrate teeth are suited for biting leaves.

The body of each vertebra is procoelous, that is to say, hollow in front and convex behind, the
hollow of one vertebra fitting into the convexity or ball of the one in front of it. The arch of bone
of each vertebra through which the spinal cord passes is attached to that of the vertebrae in front and
behind, by the ordinary oblique articular processes, which permit of a certain amount of motion of the
individual bone between its neighbours,! and of a general amount between all the vertebrae. In order
to prevent dislocation during rapidly complicated or contorted movements an additional structure is
provided, whose use, however, is not so apparent in the Iguana as it is in the Serpents. There
is a projection on the front of each arch which fits into a pit on the hind face of the preceding ai-ch,J
a peg-and-socket joint being formed.

It is remarkable that in all the Iguanidae of the New World the teeth are pleurodont. But there
are others in which the teeth are acrodont, and their possessors ai-e inhabitants of the Old World, the
great Asiatic Islands, and Australia. The habits of all are much alike.

A fine Cyclura§ lives in Cuba, which has a back crest, an extensible throat, and a very long com-
pressed tail with rings of spiny scales, and the Crested Anolis|| has the digits enlarged and united at
their base, and the throat sac is veiy extensible. It has none of the glandular structures in the fold
of the thigh which are seen in most of the groups.

The most curious of all these American Iguanidse is called the BASiriSK,1T and might be taken
for an heraldic rather than a real and living active ti-ee Lizard. If it were twelve feet in length
instead of as many inches it would not be unlike a mediaeval Dragon without wings, and even in its
small development it looks very uncanny. Its broad and rather sharp-pointed scaly head has a
tall cap-like crest sticking up and back from the hinder part. A tall, thin, fin-like movable crest with
spines on it passes along the back, being highest over the loins, and there is a corresponding one
on the top of the long tail. The body is scaly and marked in zigzag. There is a very marked fold of
the skin on the throat, and the hind digits are fringed at their sides. It inhabits Central America.

The genus AMBLYRHYNCHUS is represented in the Galapagos Islands, and the information about its
species is due to Charles Darwin, who writes in his celebrated Joiu-nal : — "This Lizard** is
extremely common on all the islands throughout the Archipelago. It lives exclusively on the

* Iguana tulerculata. t These articular processes are called Zygopophyses.

J They are called Zygoxphcne and Zyrtantrum. § Cydura carinatn.

\\ Anolis occipitalia. ^ Bosiliwus mitratus. ** Ambl.i/rhynchus cristatus.

THE AMBLYRHYNCBUS,

281

rocky sea-beaches, and is never found — at least, I never saw one — even ten yards in shore. It
is a hideous-looking creature, of a dirty black colour, stupid and sluggish in its movements." The
usual length of a full-grown one is from a yard to four feet, and they may weigh twenty pounds.
These Lizards were occasionally seen some hundred yards from the shore swimming about. And
when in the water the animal swims with perfect ease and quickness, by a serpentine movement of

its body and flattened tail, the legs, during this time, being motionless, and closely collapsed on
its sides.

Mr. Darwin writes also : — " Their limbs and strong claws are admirably adapted for crawling
over the rugged and fissured masses of larva, which everywhere form the coast. In such situations a
group of six or seven of these hideous reptiles may oftentimes be seen on the black rocks, a few feet
above the surf, basking in the sun with outstretched legs. I opened the stomach of several, and in
each case found it largely distended with minced sea-weed, of that kind which grows at the bottom
of the sea, at some little distance from the coast." It is very remarkable that these Sea Lizards
should object to be driven into the water, but such is the case.

282

NATURAL HISTORY.

A species of the genus leads a terrestrial life on the same islands, and is the
subcristatus (Gray). This species, writes Mr. Darwin, "differently from the last, is confined to
the central islands of the Archipelago, namely, to Albemarle, James, Barrington, and Indefatigable.
To the southward, in Charles, Hood, and Chatham Islands, and to the northward, in Towers,
Bindloes, and Abingdon, I neither saw nor heard of any. It would appear as if this species had been
created in the centre of the Archipelago, and thence had been dispersed only to a certain distance.
In the central islands they inhabit both the higher and damp, as well as the lower and sterile parts ;
but in the latter they are much the most numerous. I cannot give a more forcible proof of their
numbers than by stating that when we were left at James Island we could not for some time find a
spot free from their burrows on which to pitch our tent. These Lizards, like their brothers, the sea
kind, are ugly animals, and are a little smaller."

The second division of the family of Iguanidse relates to those Iguana-like creatures which have

AMHLYRHYNCHUS CRISTATU8.

acrodont teeth, that is to say, the teeth are placed with their bases on the top of the jaw-bones
without sockets. They are nearly all inhabitants of the Eastern hemisphere and of Australia.
One of the most interesting is a little representation of the Dragon of the mediaeval Eastern
imagination. There are many species of these " Dragons," * but they are restricted to the East
Indies, and they are more numerous in the Archipelago than in the Continent. They have not
yet been found in Ceylon. The character, according to Giinther, by which the FLYING LIZARDS may
be at once recognised, is the peculiar additional apparatus for locomotion, formed by the prolonged
five or six hind ribs, which are connected by a fold of extensible skin, the whole forming a sub-
semicircular wing on each side of the body. They have a long, pouch-like, downward projection of
the skin from the throat, and a small horizontal fold sticking out on each side.

They live in trees, jumping from branch to branch, and expanding their back-parachutes. They
move rapidly and safely over some distance. When running along a branch, or resting, the back
folds of skin are laid backwards along the flanks. They run but seldom, but jump and leap
vivaciously. The skinny appendages of the throat are merely appendages of the skin, and may be
compared with the wattles of birds : they are not hollow, but they are connected with the hinder
horns of the hyoid bone, and can be erected or spread out when the animal is excited by rage. The

* Di'aco volans.

FLYING LIZARDS.

284 NATURAL HISTORY.

trunk is rather slender, and is covered above and below with very small keeled scales. Large spaces
on the parachutes are naked and separated by stripes of minute scales. The tail is long, slender,
tapering, and not breakable. The hands are slender, and each has five long, thin, clawed toes.
It is said that the transcendent beauty of their colours baffles description. As the Dragon lies in
shade along the trunk of a tree, its colours at a distance appear like a mixture of brown and grey,
and render it scarcely distinguishable from the bark. Thus it remains with no signs of life, except
the restless eyes watching passing insects, which, suddenly expanding its wings, it seizes with a rapid
leap. The outer part of the upper surfaces of the " wings " is ornamented with large irregular black
dots on an orange or rose-coloured ground, fringed with silver. Besides this, the structure of the
wing produces iridescent tints, and they flash as they move through the air from branch to branch.
The throat and sac are bright yellow, dotted with black, and the side folds are silvery, rose, or
yellow. Below the wing are light brown or black spots. This colouring applies to the description of
the common species of Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Penang, and Singapore. The spotted Draco, with the
lower part of the wing whitish, with sometimes an isolated black spot, is continental, having been
found in Siarn ; and Draco dussumieri is the kind found in the forests of the west coast of
Hindostan.

Mr. Moseley noticed the habits of this Flying Lizard in the Philippine Islands. They frequent
the lower trees. They spring from tree to tree, and from branch to branch, but they pass through
the air so quickly that the extension of their parachute is hardly noticed during the flight. He
states : — " We had several of them alive on board the ship for a day or two, where they flew from
one leg of the table to another."

The FRILLED LIZARD* is one of the remarkable Australian animals which, whilst possessing the
structures common to others found elsewhere, have a peculiar and almost anomalous conformation.
Mr. A. Cunningham, in his Journal on "Australian Discovery under Capt. Parker King, F.R.S.,"
describes the capture of the first specimen, which was taken off a branch of a tree, in Careening Bay,
Port Nelson : — " I secured a Lizard of extraordinary appearance, which had perched itself upon the
stem of a small decayed tree. It had a curious crenated membrane, like a ruff or tippet round its
neck, covering its shoulders, and when it was expanded, which it was enabled to do by means of
transverse slender cartilages, it spi-eads five inches in the form of an open umbrella. Its head was
rather large, and the eyes, whilst living, were rather prominent ; its tongue, although bifid, was short
and thick, and appeared to be tubular." Captain King stated that the colour of the tongue and inside
of the mouth was yellow. The frill arises from the hinder part of the head, and is attached to the
sides of the neck and extends down to the front of the chest. It is supported above by a lunate car-
tilage arising from the hinder part of the ear, and in the centre by a bone which extends about half
its length, and is a prolongation of the hyoid. There are four plaits in the frill, and the front edge is
serrated ; the outer surface has keeled scales, and the inner is quite smooth. The colour of the long-
tailed creature is yellowish-brown variegated with black. It has long toes which are very unequal,
and the claws are hooked and horn-coloured.

The next family of the Crassilingues contains those thick-tongued Lizards which are terrestrial
and not arboreal in their habits, and which have the body broad and flat and the skin covered more
or less with spiny scales. They are principally dwellers in deserts and sandy places, but some are
found in damp situations, and are called the Agamidse. One group is restricted to the Old World
and Australia, and another to the New World. They differ in the position of the teeth, those of the
Old World being acrodont, and those of the New World pleurodont, but it is very remarkable that
some of the genera of the one hemisphere should be represented in the other by forms which
resemble them in many points of structure and habits.

THE TERRESTRIAL AGAMID^E OF THE OLD WORLD AND AUSTRALIA.

The Thorn-tailed Agamas form the genus Uromastix, and they have the body clothed with small
scales and a large flattish tail ornamented with rings of large spiny scales, which contrasts with the
rest of the rather smooth body. The Dabb, or Dhobb,f of the Arabs is one of them, and is at least

* Chlamydosaurus (King). f Uromastix spinipes.

PRILLED LIZARD.

a foot in length, and it appears to have a very wide distribution over the desert tracts of
Palestine, North Africa, and the sides of the Red Sea.

Only one kind of this genus Uromastix lives in India, inhabiting rocky plains, and reaches some
thirteen inches in length. It is found in Western India and not in Bengal.
179

286

NATURAL HISTORY.

In Bushire, Major St. John found these Lizards sitting outside their holes in the evening, and
a British terrier with him killed two, one of which had attacked him. They are generally very gentle,
and are vegetable feeders, possessing a long intestine.

The extraordinary prickly-looking Lizard of Australia, which is called the Thorn-devil, or Horrible
Moloch,* belongs to this group, and is about six inches or less in length. Its little head is horned
with prickles of large size, and rows of them exist on the bulged-out body. They are on the tail in
crests, as it were, and on the limbs.

There is a North African genus of this group which extends into Western Asia, One of the
species is from Afghanistan, t but the commonest one found in Egypt is spineless, and the scales of

DAUB. OR DHOBB.

it are small, there being no pores on the inside of the thighs. It is interesting from the habit which
it has of puffing out its body so as to enlarge its dimensions, and from the gift of being able
to change its colour even more promptly than the Chani8eleons.J

A fine Lizard, known to the ancients, belongs to the genus Stellio. In Egypt § it attains the
length of more than two feet, and it has a flat swollen body, and the tail is ringed with scales which
are spiny on the tip of it. A dweller in the desert and rocky districts, it is also an inhabitant of
Palestine, and is said even now to extend into Turkey and the Islands of the ^Egean, and possibly
it is found in Cyprus.

The next group of the terrestrial Agamids is essentially American. In their shape and habits these
large and squat-bodied Lizards resemble those just noticed from the Old World and Australia, and the
first of them to be noticed — as the Toad Lizards — are closely allied in structure and method of life to
the Moloch of Australia. One of these, called the Tapayaxin,|| is very toad-like in the shape of its

* Moloch horridus. f Trapelw megalonyx. J Trapelus cegyptiacus.

|| Phrynosoma orbiculare.

§ Stellio spinipes.

TEE GECKOS.

287

body ; its head is very short, rounded in front, square, and about as broad as high : the neck is short
and the tail is short and pointed. It is not as prickly as the Moloch, but there are eight sharp radi-
ating spines on the back of the head, and rows of scales keeled and spined on the flanks. The head is
of a red-brown colour, yellowish beneath, spotted with brown, more or less, and the upper part of the
body is of a dull sand tint or leathery colour. There is a large brown spot on each side of the throat,

and the back is spotted with the same colour, and the spines are brownish. The length of this
very iigly reptile is under six inches. It appears to live on insects, and to inhabit the hill country
of Central Mexico. Another kind, of which a specimen was in the Zoological
Gardens, is the Horned Lizard,* which comes from Texas.

THE GECKO FAMILY.— THE ASCALABOTES, OR GECKOTID^.

Curiously-shaped thick-bodied Lizards, with clawed, flattened-out toes,
running up straight walls and hunting spiders inside houses, were common
objects of natural history to the Greeks, and Aristophanes, and Theophrastus
called them &<r/caAa£&>Tijs, a name perpetuated by Aristotle. They are in-
teresting on account of their very world-wide distribution, for they are
found in the hottest parts of the Americas, of Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia,
and Oceania, and in several of the larger islands, and this diffusion, insular
and continental, together with the amphicrelian nature of the bodies cf
their vertebrae, f indicates the antiquity of the group.

Species of one genus of the family may be seen in the South of
France, and in most Mediterranean countries, and a common kind, which
scampers up and down walls, runs along the ceiling, and holds on and
turns where the surface is often slippery and upright, belongs to the PlatydactylL It is

* Phrynosovia cornutum. t That is to say, they are hollowed out in front and behind.

TOES OF GECKO,
fa) Under surface.

288

NATURAL HISTORY.

from four to six inches in length, with a long rounded tail, a flat, plump body, short neck, and
each of the rather frog-like limbs ends in five large splay digits, four of which have sharp claws. The
head is very broad behind the eyes, which are large, prominent, and have an iris with a vertical slit,
and the snoiit is short. When it runs, which it does with great rapidity, the body is kept low and
the limbs are stuck out, and when it moves over upright surfaces, or runs along back downwards, the
flat expansion of the toes and fingers, and the minute sharp claws, enable it to cling on where other
things, except insects, would fall. The digits are short, and their bones, very equal in length, are so
arranged that they fit into the wrist and ankle so as to radiate, as it were, from a common centre to
form nearly a complete circle. The great toe cannot separate itself from the others to extend itself
backwards. The lower part of the digits is much dilated and widened, and so is the sole generally.

TURKISH HEMIDACTYLE.

This membranous expansion of the skin is furnished with small plates, like scales, following, or over-
lapping each other in a regular manner, and there is great variety in this arrangement in the different
genera and species. Sometimes the rows of plates are continued right across the under part of the
digit, one behind the other ; in others they are more or less curved, or there may be a longitudinal line
separating the continuity of the line, and producing festooning or angulation. In the common Gecko
the markings are in simple cross lines. The nails, which pass over the top of the expansion before
they become free and terminal, are very movable and cat-like, and assist materially in holding on, by
getting into minute crevices and ci-acks, whilst the expansion itself acts more or less after the fashion
of a sucker of the feet of some Insecta. It is certain that the Gecko will remain fixed with some
amount of force in antagonism to that of the gravitation of its body.

They can cast loose in an instant, and when the hand is just upon them they vanish, as it were,
under the eye of their expectant captor. In some of the family there is considerable membranous
fringing of the body, tail, limbs, and digits, and in a California!! kind* these last are almost as much

* Phyllodactylus tulcrculatus.

THE GECKOS.

289

webbed as those of a Tree Frog. The Geckos and all the family have the skin loose, and it is not
covered with true scales, as in the Common Lizards and most other Reptiles. There are leathery
tubercles rounded and sometimes projecting on the skin, and many minute delicate rounded bodies
are found in its thickness. But it is usually soft, and its colours may be grey or yellowish, and
there are lovely tints of blue, green, and red in some. The males, as a rule, are more brightly
coloured than the females, but in both instances the sombre tints allow the prey to be caught
readily ; for the Geckos will climb tc some apparently inaccessible place, wall, tree, or rocks,

. S

PLYING GECKO.

whose colour assimilates with theirs, and will remain perfectly stationary until the unwary insect
or spicier comes within the range of their attack. Or they will creep out of their hiding-place
and pounce upon larvae, and dig out pupse from crevices. They are fonder of twilight and noc-
turnal wandei-ing than moving by day, and they usually feed at night. They have no scaly or
leathery eyelids, only a rim of soft lid, but there is a delicate tissue which can be passed over the
eyes like a nictitating membrane. The pupil is usually cat-like, and enables the Gecko to hunt by
day and night, but in some genera it is round, and eminently adapted for purely nocturnal vision.
The tongue is, of course, a short thick one, very slightly forked in front ; and as it moves it can
drag up the glottis to the palate, so as to form a clicking or clucking sound, something like the
word gek, geko. Hence the name of the genus and family. The teeth are numerous and pleuro-

290

NATURAL HISTORi'.

dont, that is to say, they are placed in a furrow on the internal edge of the jaws, the roots adhering
to the bone by their outsides and below. No teeth are found on the palate, and the creatures catch
their prey with their jaws and teeth, and bolt it whole. All the family are harmless, active little
things, but popular ignorance and superstition have given them very bad characters, and they are said
to produce eruptions of the skin if they run over anybody with their soft, flabby, viscous little toes.

One of the French Geckos belongs to the genus Platydactylus, which is also represented in Spain,*
and has the fourth and fifth digits only clawed, but the others of the genus in China, Egypt, and
some other places on the Continent have only one digit without a claw.

All the Geckos are fierce, and love fighting, and rob each other, if possible, of their prey. They
are carnivorous, and will kill and eat their smaller fellows, and even their own and others' tails fall
victims. They will come to be fed at appointed times if some care is taken.

A species which has claws projecting beyond all its thick expanded fingers is found in the hotter
districts near the Mediterranean Sea. The scales on the under part of the tail are not unlike
those of Serpents, and the underneath part of the disc-like digits has the little plates separated by a
middle line. The wart-like tubercles on its skin, and the nature of the clawed fingers, have given it
the name of the Hemidactylus verruculatus. It is also known as the Turkish Hemidactyle.

The Common East Indian Gecko is very widely distributed in British India, Siam, Cochin
China, and Southern China, and in the Archipelago. It is not found in Ceylon.f It has the
habits of the family, but it springs on to its prey like a little Carnivore.

The Flying Gecko { is a very handsome kind, of some seven inches long, and is found in Java
and in a few ottar islands of the Archipelago. The expansions of its skin have the same purpose as
the corresponding structures of the Dragons and Flying Squirrels. In leaping they are expanded by
the pi-essure of the air from below, and act as a parachute, and when the creatiu-e is at rest they are
kept in close contact with the body. Cantor says that these Geckos have some power of colour-
changing.

SUB-ORDER RHYNCHOCEPHALA.— THE BEAKED LIZARDS.

THE TUAT^RA, OR HATTERIA, OR THE SPHENODON LIZARD.

This remarkable reptile from New Zealand was first mentioned in a diary by Mr. Anderson,
the companion of Captain Cook, but Dieffenbach gave the first coherent narrative about it (1843) :~
" I had been apprised of the existence of a large Lizard which the natives called Tuatera, or Narara,
with a general name, and of which they were much afraid." He did not find it so common ; and from
all he could glean, it appears that it was common formerly in the islands, lived in holes, often in
sandhills near the shore, and that the natives killed it for food. Owing to this latter cause, and no

doubt to the cultivation of pigs also, it is now very
scarce. The specimen he had was extremely sluggish,
and could be handled without any attempt at remon-
strance or biting. This Lizard has a large head and a
great eye, and a crest of separate, white, flat, sharp
spines.

We owe to Dr. Giinther a magnificent description of
the anatomy of the Sphenodon and its comparison with
the extinct reptiles of the ages of the Trias, which are
called Rhynchosaurus and Hyperodapedon. It is an
acrodont, and the teeth are so united with a sharp edge of
the maxillary and palatine bones as to appear mere projec-
tions of them. These edges are, as it were, hard and
polished, and are used as cutters when the teeth have
worn off. The pre-maxillary bones have a beak-like form, and their lai-ge teeth (notched at
the crown) become fused with their substance, and somewhat resemble those of a Rodent in
shape. There is a remarkable row of teeth on the palate-bone, and the teeth of the lower

* Platydactylus fascicularis, known as the Gecko des nmraiUfs. t Gecko yuttatus.

+ Ptychozoon homalocephalum.

SKULL OV SPHENODON, OR HATTEKIA, SHOWING

ACRODONT JAW. (After Giinther.)

THE CHAMELEON. 291 .

jaw bite in between it and the row of the upper maxillary teeth, in a long groove. By friction
during some years of uiastication these three sets of teeth become worn, so that those on the
lower jaw, or mandible, are ground to an edge, and the others on their inner and outer faces
respectively. There is great solidity of the large skull at the jaw-joint, and the quadrate bone is
fixed to the side of the head, whilst the squamosal, quadrato-jugal, and pterygoid bones are (unlike
in all other Lizards) united by bone. Moreover, they are strengthened by the ossification of a
membrane which, in Lizards, extends between the quadrate, the pteiygoid, and the skull, and bounds
the front walls of the cavity of the ear. The bodies of the vertebrse are hollow in front and behind,
and there is a remarkable system of sternal and abdominal ribs. These Lizards appear to eat large
insects and small ground birds.

THE SUB-ORDER VERMILINGUES.— THE CHAMELEONS.

The Lizards of this sub-order are most remarkable in their appearance, anatomy, physiology, and
habits, and the well-known Chainseleon, so gi*otesquely formed, and so changeable in its colours, is the
type of the only family of it — the Chamceleonidce.

The species are numerous, and are found in Southern Europe, Africa, Asia Minor, Hindostan,
and Ceylon. There are no less than twenty-one species in Madagascar. Lately it has been proposed
to form them into two genera, one of which is Chamseleon and the other Rhampholeon.

The Charnseleon has been thus termed after its curious designation by the Greeks. They called
it xap.ai\fuv, or Small Lion, and yet a more significant name might have been given to it, for Aristotle
described the strange creature with his usual great accuracy. It is one of the most extraordinary look-
ing things in Nature, and its flattened body is surmounted
by a crest of toothed skin on the thin back. The neck is
creased, and the head is triangular in outline, having a
pyramidal top. The eyes are large and glaring, and look in
different directions, being, moreover, covered with skin
except in their centre. The ears are not visible, and the
mouth is a slit. A long, compressed, pointed, prehensile tail
is usually twisted around some object by way of safety, and
the fore and hind feet have digits divided into fore and aft
sets, and they clasp their supporting bough very much after
the fashion of some birds. The skin is soft, knobbed, or HEAD OF CHAMELEON, SHOWING THE TONGUE.
tubercular, lax on the creature, and is like a minutely scaly

shagreen, and its colour changes in a very remarkable manner. Usually very still, slow, and quiet in
their movements, the Chamseleons can suddenly protrude an extremely long, fleshy, cylindrical, worm-
shaped tongue, with a curious lobed cup-shaped end, and thus catch insects with singular rapidity and
certainty. Indeed, it is the most active part of the animal, which, usually hidden up under leaves, or on
boughs much resembling it in colour, does not chase its prey, but watches and waits until an insect
comes within the length of half of its body and tail, and then suddenly it protrudes its long tongue,
and the victim is stuck fast to it by a viscid secretion. When the tongue is withdrawn it brings the
insect into the mouth, and it is then packed away in a groove in the hard palate. The teeth are
acrodont in position. The position of the body is high on its legs.

The lungs are of great size, and the front costae unite with each other on the rudimentary sternum,
and the others, including those of the loins, complete their path around the abdomen. This permits of
the extraordinary size and expansion of the lungs at the will of the animal, by which, filling itself with
air, its outside tissues become, as it were, transparent. This enlargement of the cellular structure of
the lungs passes air into air-vessels distributed about the body, and increases the size and plumpness
of the creature, which can be diminished rapidly when the air is expelled.

The Common Chameleon is found in Southern Spain, and the north and south of Africa ; also
in Asia Minor, many parts of Hindostan, and in the northern parts of Ceylon. Most of the Indian
specimens are of a green colour, uniform, or irregularly spotted and banded with dark green or brown,
whilst in African specimens the ground colour is greyish-olive, yellowish, or brownish. The " grains "

292

NATURAL HISTORY.

CHAMELEON.

of the skin are equal and close, and the crest on the upper part of the body is toothed as far as the
middle of the back, and that on the lower part, as far as the vent.

There are many species or varieties of Chamseleons in Africa besides the common one.* The Island
of Madagascar has a vast number of them included in several species, and probably one-third of
those known are found there. One of them is called the Rhinoceros Chamseleon, from the male having a
horn-like tubercule at the end of the muzzle. Another, described thence by Giinther, has a tail which
is so short that it cannot be used as a prehensile organ, f but this is compensated for by the presence
of an additional projection at the inner base of each claw, and of a spine projecting from the side of
each finger and toe, structures which add to its powers of clasping and holding on. The Three-horned

* Chamceleon vulgaris, f Forming the genus Rhampholeon (Rhampholeon spectrum).

THE CRAMJELEON.

293

Chamseleon* is from Fernando Po, and the male has a long horn over each eye, and another at the
end of the muzzle. Giinther's Chamceleon montium has its male with two nearly straight horns pro-
jecting horizontally in front of the nostrils, and their sheath is finely annulated ; the horns are half as
long as the head. It has a high crest on the back and part of the tail. In the female the horns are
mere projections. The colour is a mixture of yellow, green, and black. With regard to the habits of
the small South African kind, and to its viviparous nature, Moseley writes in his "Notes on the Chal-
lenger" ; — " A small Chamseleon is abundant
everywhere on the hedges near Cape Town,
South Africa. We had one alive in the
ward-room ; it was quite tame, and rested
quietly on a bunch of twigs, hung up to the
lamp rail, and would whip flies out of one's
fingers, at a distance of at least four inches,
with its tongue. It gave birth to three
young ones one night. They twisted their
tails round the twigs on which the mother
was reposing, at once, and directly began,
catching flies; but our house-flies were too
SLEEPING CHAMELEON UNDER LAMP- LIGHT, WITH DORSAL PART big for their mouths to swallow, and they
PROTECTED BY A SCREEN. na(j fo cnew away at them for a long time be-

( Unprotected portion in this experiment is of darkish green colour; protected " .. • - ,

portion appears like a brownish saddle.) tore they COUld get any JU1C6 Out OI them.

Most species lay eggs under leaves.

The changing of the colour of its skin by the Chamseleon has made the curiously-shaped reptile
most interesting. This power is not restricted to them, however, but they possess it above all other
reptiles and amphibians. The change of colour appears to be produced to a certain extent by
the will and passions of the Chamseleon, by an involuntary
habit which enables its tints to correspond with the natural
substances on which it is placed, and also to have some
relation in certain cases to the sun's rays. The skin, so
readily stretched and inflated by the enlarging lungs, may
be rendered thin, transparent, and some of it more vas-
cular than the rest.

There are minute corpuscles of different colours in the skin of the
Chamseleon, which are sometimes hidden in the depths of the dermis (true
skin), and sometimes spread out on its surface layers in a kind of interlacing
network. There is also a yellow colouring-matter, and a bluish layer in the
skin becoming yellow by transmitted light, and blue on an absorbent
ground. Now, during sleep, or if the reptile is placed under the influence
of chloroform, the whole body becomes yellowish-white. If light be
allowed to fall on the reptile thus situated, a dark tint comes over tha
skin. The light coming through dark blue glass does the same, but noi
through red and yellow glasses. Sections of nerves and of the brain produce

remarkable changes in colour, and it appears to be the case that the various CHAMELEON UNDER SUN-
colours and tints assumed are due to the change of position of the coloured
corpuscles which, according as they bury themselves under the dermis, or
form an opaque ground beneath the coerulescent layer, or spread out a
superficial ramification, either leave the skin its yellow colour, or give it
green and black colours. The movements of the corpuscles are governed
by two kinds of nerves, some of which cause them to travel from its
depths towards the surface, while the others produce the opposite effect.
When greatly irritated these corpuscles conceal themselves beneath the
true skin. This is also the case in sleep and death and anaesthesia.

* Chamceleon oweni.
180

LIGHT PASSING THROUGH
RED AND BLUE GLASS,
LIGHT PASSING THROUGH
RED GLASS FALLING ON
FORE PART OF BODY, AND
THAT PASSING THROUGH
THE BLUE ON THE HIND
PART.

(In this experiment the body seems
to be divided into two parts, the
anterior of a clear green with no
spots, the posterior of a darkish
green.)

294

NATURAL HISTORY.

It is evident that the luminous rays belonging to the blue-violet region of the spectrum act
directly upon the contractile matter of the corpuscles, causing them to move and approach the
surface of the skin.*

SUB-ORDER AMPHISByENOIDA.

The White Amphisbsena,t which may be considered the type of this remarkable group, is a
snake-like animal, without arms or legs, and these the natives suppose it was born with and has
lost. The word is from the Greek a/j.^ifffiaiva, which means an animal that can walk in both direc-
tions, and the reptiles can move forwards or backwards with their very worm-like bodies. They
are not Snakes, however, but really belong to the Lacertilia.

The White Amphisbsena, or Ibijara, is a Brazilian kind, and has the cylindrical worm-like
body of the group, being about as thick as one's finger, the head and tail not being distinguished

WHITE AMPiriSB.'EXA.

readily by careless and frightened observers. It grows to the length of one foot six inches, or to
one foot nine inches, the tail, or that round part behind the vent, being from an inch and a half to
two inches only in length. On looking at the body, a great number of rings of hard, glassy-looking
skin, made to look scale-like by markings in regular longitudinal lines, are seen. The result of the
markings and disposition in rings is to produce a mosaic of quadrangular false scales, and they
are very equal in size ; and after skin-shedding has taken place are glossy and rich in tint. The
mouth is small, the muzzle is round, and the head is rather flat on the top, and there are two
large separated nasal plates and two pairs of frontal plates behind them. The eye is very small,
and covered with thin skin, and the limbs are deficient. Burrowing easily in the ground and
in ants' nests, the Amphisbfena preys on small things, and has a short thick tongue without a
sheath. The genus Blanus has a more worm-like species than Amphisbsena.

One of this sub-order has a very small pair of arms with four digits, situated just behind the
head, but there are no legs. This is called Chirotes canaliculatus, and is about eight to ten inches
in length, and as thick as the little fingei*. It appears to burrow, and to live on insects in its worm-
like life. In these Amphisbsenoida the vertebrae are proccelous, and there is no sacrum, and all the
vertebrae in front of the tail, except the one or two nearest the skull, have ribs. Their internal
anatomy is more like that of the Chamaeleons than any other group.

SUB-ORDER BREVILINGUES.— THE SCINCOID^ AND ZONURID^E.

Some of these might readily be taken for Lizards, and others for Snakes, so variable is the
shape. They are a harmless set of beings, some having, however, undeservedly very bad reputations.

* It is a point of some importance to recognise that the hemispheres of the brain, by the intervention of the involuntary
(reflex) nerves, govern the colour-deciding nerve — those which move the corpuscles — and it would appear that this in-
voluntary action relates to what is seen by the eye of the opposite side of the body.

t1 Amphisbcena alba.

THE SKINK8.

295

They are not venomous, and some live above and others much under ground, preying on worms and
insects. Some of them are to be found in every part of the tropics, and in. some parts of the temperate
zones, but certain genera are restricted to particular regions. They are called Scincoids. Those
Scincoids which resemble Lizards more than Snakes have fore and hind limbs ending in hands and
feet furnished with five digits, which are clawed. The serpentiform kinds have no limbs visible ;
and between them and those just alluded to are kinds with only the rudiments of the hinder limbs.
Some of these have no toes, and others have two toes on the ill-developed feet ; and there are a
few with fore and hind limbs, but without their exti-emities. A smooth, scaly outside hides,
even in the kinds where no limbs exist, imperfect and rudimentary shoulder and pelvic girdles of
bone or cartilage. When limbs are present these bones are well developed, for instance, in the
Lizard-like kinds. Some have very sharp eyes, and one or more well-grown eyelids ; others have
the eyes very small and covered and hidden by skin; and a few have very small or no eyelids. Those
with well-developed and movable eyelids have the opening of the tympanum visible, but in the
others it is covered up. Whether the body is furnished with limbs, or is worm- or snake-like, there
are always large scales or plates on the fore-part of the head, arranged symmetrically ; and the body
and limbs are covered with scales, which may overlap or not. They all have a short, thick, very
slightly extensible tongue, which is flat, and more or less notched in front where it is thinnest. It is
often scaly, or covered with scale-like elevations, and has no sheath.

As a sub-order of the Lacertilia, these creatures may be divided into two families. One * contains
those whose general description has just been given ; and the other includes the kinds which have
an extensible fold of skin on each side of the body, furnished with small scales, and which reaches
from the ear to the vent, and divides the back from the abdomen. They have large plates on the top
of the head, and there are large scales on the back arranged in whorls, and there are eyelids
and a visible tympanic membrane, as a rule. Lizard-like and serpentiform kinds are found in both
families.

The first division comprehends the Skinks, and this family contains the genus Scincus, and
many others. The species are very numerous, and inhabit almost every part of the tropical
regions, some extending into the temperate zones. They are thoroughly land Lizards, preferring
dry ground, and hiding themselves in the sand and under stones. None of them enter the water.
They do not attain to any considerable size, a few West Indian and Australian species growing
to the thickness of a man's wrist, and being a foot long. They deposit from eight to twelve
globular eggs.

THE COMMON SKINK.f
This is a Lizard-like kind with short limbs and long body, and a conical and pointed short tail.

COMMON SKINS.

The head is small for the stout neck, and i/j wedge-shaped ; the muzzle is flat, and the upper jaw is

long, and the eye has a lower lid which is not scaly. On looking at the extremities, the four feet

* Scincoidce. f Scincus officinalis.

296

NATURAL HISTORY.

will be seen to be furnished with five clawed scaly endings. They are flat and saw-like at the edges,
a large scale being over the base of the nail.

The Skink inhabits the western and northern parts of Africa, and they are found also in Senegal,
in Abyssinia, on the other side of the Continent, and in Egypt, and Bruce met with it in Nubia. It
likes a warm place, and frequents the little hillocks of fine and light sand that the wind accumulates
at the foot of hedges that border the cultivated lands, and of the tamarisks which try to vegetate
on the confines of the desert. There it may be seen comfortably basking in the rays of the burning
sun, and chasing, every now and then, the beetles which crawl within its range. It runs very quickly,
and, when menaced, buries itself in the sand with great rapidity, hollowing out for itself a burrow
many feet deep in a short time. When taken it endeavours to escape, but does not attempt to bite
or to defend itself with its claws. Probably they attain five inches in length.

This little creature was once of use to the physician, although of doubtful value to the patient.
It was dried and powdered and given as a remedy, or specific, against almost every malady, by the
Greeks and Romans. Pliny wrote that the scales of the nose and the feet, after being powdered and
boiled in white wine, were to be used as particular stimulants ; and Apelles used parts of the
animal as antidotes against the wounds inflicted by poisoned arrows. Up to the sixteenth century
the reptile led an unhappy life, being chased, and taken, and swallowed ; but gradually its medicinal
virtues were disproved, and it now lives in peace.

A Scincoid* which lives in the New World has its head of a bright-red colour, and the body and
tail are olive ; the throat and abdomen being yellowish-white. It is about thirteen inches in length,
and is found from lat. 39° N. to the Gulf of Mexico, in the Atlantic States, as well as in Mississippi
and Louisiana. It frequently takes up its abode in an old nest of the Woodpecker, out of which
it thrusts its head in a threatening manner. Seldom coming to the ground, it is shy, but fierce
when taken, and bites severely.

Australia has some remarkable Scincoids, and one, which is called the Stump-tailed Lizard,!
is very curious from the extraordinary resemblance which the tail bears to the head when the
eyes are closed with their scaly lids. Visitors to the Zoological Gardens frequently say that the

STUMP-TAILED LIZARD.

creature has two heads, when it is motionless, in its cage. It has a long stout body and blunt
head and tail, four small limbs and short digits. The body in its upper part, and the head and
tail, are encased in large, rough, broad scales. The lower eyelid is minutely scaly, and the eye
is bright, of a brown colour, with splashings of yellow occasionally. Underneath the body the
scales are smaller and lighter-coloured, and the ear is not visible.

* Plestiodon (rythrocephalus = Scincns amcricanus. t Trachydosaurus rugosus (Gray).

TllE BLIND-WORM.

297

It is veiy common in some parts of Australia, for instance, in Western Australia, particularly
in the neighbourhood cf King George Sound, but they do not inhabit the east coast ; at all events
they are not found near Sydney.

It is generally known as the "Sleeping Lizard," and it frequents open, sandy plains, and
may be captured in large numbers on a hot summer's day.

The number of young produced seldom exceeds four.

The large Australian Lizards, with broad crushing spheroidal crowns to their teeth instead of
sharp points, belonging to the genus Cyclodus, are allied to the last-mentioned kinds, and have
many curious structural arrangements in common. They are the Great Cyclodus from Australia,
which breeds in. the Zoological Gardens of London, and the Black-and-yellow Cyclodus, from Tas-
mania.*

GENUS ANGUIS.— THE BLIND-WOEM, OR SLOW- WORM, t

The late Mr. Thomas Bell, in his interesting book on the " British Reptiles," states that the
Blind- worm, or Slow- worm, is found in almost every part of Europe, excepting the extreme north,

BLIND-WORM.

and is capable of enduring a much colder climate than most other reptiles, even that of
Britain. It is found in Russia, Poland, Denmark. Sweden, and Scotland, as well as throughout
the more temperate parts of Europe as far as the South of France and Italy, but it has not been
seen in Africa. It is worm-like in shape, long, and almost of equal thickness throughout, but
it tapers slightly at the tail end. The teeth are very small, and are slightly hooked. The tail is
not more than half the length of the body in some individuals, but it is longer in others. It may
reach from ten to fourteen inches in length, and the head measures half an inch or more. The
general colour is brownish-grey with a silvery glance, and there is a dark line down the back. The
history of one is given in White's " Selborne : " — " A Blind-worm that I kept alive for some weeks
would, when touched, turn and bite, although not sharply. Its bite was not sufficient to draw blood,
but it always retained its hold until released. It drank sparingly cf milk, raising the head when
drinking. It feeds upon the little white shig so common in fields and gardens, eating six or seven
of them one after the other, but it did not eat every day. It invariably took them in one position.
Elevating its head slowly above its victim, it would suddenly seize the slug by the middle, in
the same way that a ferret or dog will generally take a rat by the loins. It would then hold it thus
sometimes for more than a minute, when it would pass its prey through its jaws, and swallow the slug
head foremost. It refused the larger slugs, and would not touch young frogs or mice. The Blind- worm
avoided the water, and was a remarkably fine one, measm-ing fifteen inches in length." They are very
timid when first caught, and they contract their muscles so forcibly that they become stiff, and it is
when in this rigid condition that the body is easily broken in two by a blow, or by an attempt to
bend it. Hence the name fragile, or fragilis. The females are ovo-viviparous, thei'e being sorne-
* Cyclodus gigas and Cyclodus nigro-luteus. f Anguis fragilis.

298 NATURAL HISTORY.

times from seven to twelve young. The young are very active, and are only from eighteen to
twenty lines in length at first, but they grow quickly, and soon learn to eat slugs and insects.

GENUS ACONTIAS.— THE ACONTIAS.«— THE JAVELIN SNAKE.

This is a small snake-like member of the group of Scincoids, more so, indeed, than the Blind-
worm and Australian Pygopus, for it has no traces of rudimentary external limbs or of internal
shoulder and pelvic girdles. The head, however, is that of a Lizard, and there is only a lower eye-
lid. The body is cylindrical and serpent-like, but it is covered only with small scales ; and the
jaws are not capable of extension, and the teeth are small and conical. The tongue is scaly and
slightly notched at the point. These snake-like Lizards are harmless, and endeavour to escape on
the least alarm, by hiding \inder leaves, or even getting down into dry soil like the Blind-worm.
They have the appearance of a Snake when still and on the ground, but their method of progression is
by carrying the head and front part of the body erect. They have the power of darting suddenly, and
in a horizontal direction in striking, and this was magnified in a ludicrous manner by the ancients, who
confounded many real Snakes with them, and gave them a very bad character.

The lungs of this creature are not equally developed, one being, as in the Serpents, longer than
the other ; but the anatomy of the jaws distinguishes them from the Snakes.

Another snake-like creature, not without some resemblance to an Acontias, is from South Africa.
It has its eyes hidden beneath the skin, and has a cylindrical body, a short truncated tail, and is of a
yellowish tint, reticulated with violet. This TypMina cuvierii has no limbs.

The Pygopus,t a snake-like form, is occasionally met with in Australia, but on the whole it is
rare. Its flat tongue, the two flap-like rudimentary limbs near the vent, without toes to them, and
its ear-holes, easily distinguish it from a true Snake.

Very little, if anything, is known of its habits ; but it is one of the interesting Saurians which
has apparently degenerated towards the Serpents. It has rudimentary bones of the shoulder girdle
and sternum, and the ill-developed hind limbs project and are visible enough. The length of the
Pygopus is about two feet.

THE ZONURID^E.

The second family of the Brevilingues contains forms which have the shape of short-
limbed, long-bodied, and tailed Lizards, and others which are serpentiform, having only rudi-
mentary hinder limbs. They have a marked peculiarity which relates to their method of life.
Their body is covered with scales, which are squarish on the back, and rounder on the belly,
but they do not overlap, and are in cross-bands one behind the other, and closely applied. The
food consists of worms, insects, small mice, and little reptiles ; and certainly it could not be
swallowed or comfortably digested were all the cross-bands of the body continuous. The skin is
not extensible, as in the other Saurians, and there is a region at the side of the body, where there is a
long fold covered by small scales, and this part can be stretched, although the rest is rather rigid.
The Lizard-shaped kinds are numerous, and can be best illustrated by considering the genus Zonurus,
or Cordylus, which has large head scales, and four limbs with five digits.

The Cordyles of South Africa are very numerous as individuals, and there are many species,
some excessively repulsive in appearance, from their ragged, scaly covering, and others less so, on
account of their appendages being small and smooth about the body, although those of the tail are
mostly spined and keeled.

The Gigantic Coi-dylus } reaches fifteen inches in length, and is therefore large for the group, and
it is readily known also from its dark umber-brown sienna and straw-yellow-coloured scales,
which are mostly large, and covered with large or small spines, or keeled. The zones or bands of
scales on the body are more strongly spined on the flanks, and they are large, distinct, and
spiked on the tail. It inhabits the interior districts of Southern Africa, and is not unfrequently
seen on the rocky pinnacles of the Quothlamba mountains which separate the country of the south-
east coast from that of the interioi-.

The serpentiform kinds of this division are numerous, and some of them are called Glass
* Acontias meleagris (Cuvier), f Pygopus lepidopodus. $ Cordylus giganteus (Smith).

THE GLASS SNAKES.

299

sciiELTOrrsiK (Pseudopus

Snakes, partly from their very snaky appearance, partly because they are glassy in tint, and
principally on account of their brittleness.

The European Pseudopus is a common example, and it is called the Scheltopusik (Pseudopus
pallasiiy Cuvier). It has been found in Central Russia, in Europe, Hungary, and in Dalmatia,
and is a dark, chestnut-brown, glassy snake-looking creature, reaching the length of two feet.
It has the rudiments of the hind limbs, in which a small femur is hidden, and they have no digits.
Internally, there are traces of the shoulder and pelvic girdles, and one lung is a quarter less in
size than the other. This species lives on insects, small mice, worms, and frogs.

An American Glass Snake (Ophisaurus ventralis), very small, breakable, and limbless, belongs to
this group, and has no hind limbs. It reaches twenty-eight inches to three feet four inches in length.
It chooses dry places, passes much of its time in holes, and is often, dug out of the earth with
the sweet potato at harvest time. It moves with considerable swiftness, and is found from Virginia
to Cape Florida, and ranges to the Mississippi, and as far as Michigan.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE ORDER SAURIA, OR LACERTILIA, OR LIZARDS.

Example : Lacorta agilis (Sand Lizard).

„ Tejus teguexin (Teguexin Lizard).

( Monitor niloticus (Nile Monitor).
" <[_ Heloderma horridum.

„ Iguana tuberculata (Tuberculated

Iguana) .
„ Draco volans (Flying Dragon).

SUB-ORDER, 1. FISSILINGUES . .

2. CRASSILINGUES

3. RHYNCHOCEPHALA

4. VEKMILINGVES

5. AXXELATA . . ,

6. BREVILIXGUES , .

FAMILY 1. LACERTIDJE . .
„ 2. AMEIVID^E . .

,, 3. PLATYNOTA . .

FAMILY 1. IGI:AXID.>E.

(Plourodont)

(Acrodont) . .
,, 2. AGAMID^E.

(Acrodont) . .
(Pleurodont)
,, 3. ASCALABOTES
FAMILY 1. SPHENODONTJE .
FAMILY 1. CHAMJELEONID-'E
FAMILY 1. AMrmsB.'KNnx'E .
FAMILY 1. SCIXCOID^ . .
„ 2.

Moloch horridus (The Horrid Moloch).
Phrynosoma cornutus (Horned Toad).
Platydactylus fascicularis (Gecko).
Sphenodon (Tuatera). Hatteria.
Chamseleon vulgaris (Chamaeleon).
Amphisbama alba (the Amphisbasna).
Scincus officinalis (the Common Skink)
Pseudopus pallasii (Scheltopusik).

300

CLASS REPTILIA, THE REPTILES.

CHAPTER IV.
OEDER OPHIDIA.— THE SNAKES.

THE SNAKES — The Poisonous and the Non-Poisonous — Characteristics of a Snake — Serpent Worship and Superstition—
About Fascination— Skeleton of a Snake— Scales and Plates on Head and Body— Moulting— THE POISONOUS
COLUBRINE SNAKES— THE POISONOUS TERRESTRIAL COLUBRINE SNAKES — THE COBRAS — The Cobra-di-Capello —
The Egyptian Cobra, or Naja — THE RING HALS SLANG — THE HAMADRYAD SNAKE — THE BUNGARUMS AND KRAITS
— The Poisonous Elapidse of Australia and the New World— THE POISONOUS SEA SNAKES— THE VIPERINE SNAKES—
Characters — THE ADDER, OR COMMON VIPER— The only Poisonous Reptile in Britain— Habits — Its usual Prey— Its
Young — The Horned and other kinds of African Vipers — The Daboia — The Echis — THE RATTLESNAKES, OR PIT
VIPERS — The Common Rattlesnake — Its Habits — The "Rattle" — The Water-rattle — Various Kinds of Rattlesnake
— Coues on the Use of the Rattle — The Bushmaster — Darwin on the Genus Trigonocephalus— The Water Viper — The
Copper-head Snake — The Yellow Viper, or Fer-de-Lance — The East Indian Genera of Pit Vipers — How Venomous
Snakes Dispose of their Victims — Peculiar Construction of their Skull for Swallowing purposes — The Fangs and
Poison-glands of the Rattlesnake — Symptoms of Poisoning — How does the Poison kill ? — Treatment of Bites — Snake-
Charmers— THE INNOCUOUS COLUBRIFORM SNAKES— Characters— THE WART SNAKES- THE WHIP SNAKES—
Why so called— The Langaha— The Blunt-Headed Snakes— THE TREE SNAKES— THE DESERT SNAKES— THE RACHIODONT
FAMILY— An Egg-swallowing Snake— Fresh-water Snakes — THE COLUBRIDES — NATRICIN^E — The Common Snake —
Found in England — Habits -How it Disposes of its Food — COLUBRINE— CORONELLINJS — CALAMARID.E— THE ROCK
SNAKES — Distribution — Huge Proportions — How they Tackle their Prey — The Indian Species — The West African
Forms — Pythons Hatching their Eggs — The Diamond and Carpet Snakes — The Boas — The Boa Constrictor —
Construction of a Python's Skull— The Anaconda— THE SAND SNAKES— THE SHORT-TAILED SNAKES— THE BLIND
SNAKES — Characters — Peculiarities of Structure in Serpents — The Remarkable Eyelid — Fossil Snakes — Classification
of the Ophidia— THE EXTINCT REPTILES— THE DINOSAUHIA— THE ORNITHOSAURIA— THE ICHTHYOPTERYGIA— THE
PLESIOSAURIA— THE EXTINCT SAURIA, OR LACERTILIA.

A LITTLE Snake,* with rows of black spots on the back and sides, a yellow splash behind the head,
and pale lead or bluish underneath, may be seen now and then in quiet, warm places in England
basking on banks in the sun or sliding in or out of a pond. It is often made a pet of, and is harm-
less to man, although a terror to frogs, but even to them it is not poisonous. It lays eggs. It is the
common Harmless Snake. Another one,f found on dry heaths and sandy banks, and amongst low
brushwood and thickets, has the neck rather smaller than the back of the head, which is enlarged
behind the eyes ; and the long body swells to about its middle, and then scarcely diminishes in
thickness to near the end, where it becomes abruptly smaller. Its colour may be olive or rich deep
brown, or dirty brown-yellow, and there is a zigzag pattern down the sides, and spots of a darker
tint. Little ones may be found with it, and it produces the young in the living condition. This
is the Viper, or Adder, and it inflicts fatal wounds with its fangs upon small animals like mice,
and its poison will imperil the life of delicate and unhealthy men. Common observation can
thus separate the Snakes of Great Britain, for there are only these, into two divisions — the
innocuous and the poisonous — and this classification holds good for the Snakes of the whole
world ; and special anatomical characters are found in the last group, making the distinctions
all the more obvious and real. Thus in India there are many very pi'etty Snakes which swallow
small living prey, without the teeth introducing a poison, and there are also the terrible Cobras,
and many others, which can destroy the life of man, or of large animals, in a few minutes, by
the agency of a drop of fluid which enters the wound with the teeth. The same observation is
true in Africa and America, and it is found that many of the innocuous Snakes crush their prey in the
folds of their long bodies, whilst the poisonous inflict a wound which they seem to know will be fatal,
and when the victim is dead, or in its last struggle, it is swallowed whole. Probably there are 1,300
kinds of Snakes in the world thus separable into the harmless and poisonous, or, more properly, into
the non-poisonous and the poisonous, for the great Pythons and Boas are dangerous to man by their
squeezing and clasping ; moreover, they bite fiercely, but do not inflict a poisoned wound.

Many Snakes in tropical climates live a forest life, climbing on and moving amongst the trees,
and are usually beautifully coloured. They are long in the body, very active, and are very pro-
perly called Tree Snakes. Most of them are not provided with poison fangs, but some have them,
so that the great primary divisions of the Snakes are present. But it is found that some of these
poisonous kinds ai-e not viviparous like the Vipers or Adders, and they bring forth eggs like the

* Tropidonotm natrix. t felias berut.

SNAKE CHARACTERS. 301

innocuous Snakes. Moreover, there are some peculiar anatomical arrangements in them not noticed
in the Vipers. Hence, the poisonous Snakes are divided into two groups — the Viperifomi Snakes
and the Venomous Colubrines — and the innocuous Snakes are the True Colubrines.

A great number of Snakes live on the ground, rarely, if ever, taking to trees. They have a
very flexible body, which is more or less cylindrical in shape, and amongst them are Vipers
(Viperiform Snakes), venomous Colubrine Snakes, and innocuous Snakes (Colubrine Snakes) —
in fact, all the divisions. A few harmless Snakes (Colubrines) live a bui-rowing life under ground,
and have rather a rigid, round body and a small mouth. Finally, there are several kinds of
Water Snakes. Those which frequent fresh water are harmless Colubrines, bvit those which live in
the sea are all poisonous, and belong to the venomous Colubrines, and not to the Viperiform division.
All have a long, forked, proti'actile tongue.

On looking at a Snake carefully, taking the Common English Spotted Snake as an example, no
difficulty is found in distinguishing the head from the rest, and it is evident that there are no limbs,
but what is neck, body, and tail is not at first so readily determined. The neck is, of course, the part
behind the head, and it merges gradually into the body, there being no place of division ; but the tail,
although not very distinguishable on the top of the Snake, is so beneath, for it is placed behind the
part from which the evacuations come, and its scales are arranged differently to those in front, they
being in double rows, whilst all those of the underneath part of the body are in a single row.

With very few exceptions, the Snakes of all the divisions are covered with scales, and there may
be plates on the head. The scales are not bony, but are true skin structures, and they are occasionally
shed, new ones appearing. The presence of plates on the head, the arrangement and character of the
scales on and under the body and tail, their colour and ornamentation, are all useful in the classifica-
tion of these reptiles, for they are very persistent characters, if the coloration is excepted, for this is
often very vaiiable in the same species in the same country. The shape of the head, and the relation
of the size of the body and tail, are also important distinctive characters, and the anatomy of the
skull, jaws, and teeth is of the greatest value in the primaiy separation into great groups.

But although there is no difficulty in distinguishing a Viper, a Boa Constrictor, or a Common
Snake from any other animal, it must be remembered that there are some Saurians which closely
resemble some of the Snakes. Amphisbsena (p. 294), and Anguis (the Blind-worm), and Acontias and
Pseudopus (pp. 298, 299) are Snake-like and have no limbs. On the other hand, it has been found that
such great Snakes as the Boas, for instance, and, indeed, all the species of a Snake family (the
Pythonides), have minute vestiges of hind limbs, scale-like or spine-like, close to the vent ; and this
peculiarity recalls to the student the Lizards of the peculiar Australian kind (Pygopus), and the
Brazilian Ophiodes. Moreover, amongst the Amphibia, which have not as yet been considered in this
work, there is a Snake-like form called Csecilia. These resemblances are not entirely confined to the
outside, for some of the Sauria have one of the lungs ill-developed, the other preponderating, and
this is found in all the Snakes. Moreover, although the great majority of the Serpents swallow their
food whole, by means of a special mechanism which permits distention of the jaws and throat, some
consume such small prey that there is not this gift. And in the absence of this very common charac-
teristic, many of the smaller Colubrine Snakes resemble some of the Snake-like Lizards. But on
examining the internal organs, and especially the bony framework of the Snake's body, the distinctness
of the order Ophidia from that of the Saurians becomes more and more evident. No Snake has
a shoulder girdle, and the eyelids, the covering of the tympanum, and the bladder are wanting.

In considering this inability to separate the great groups of Snakes and Lizards by outside
characters in some instances, and by some internal ones also, it becomes evident that there
is no hard and fast line to be drawn between them. Moreover, study gradually develops the
thought that the Snakes, coming late into being in the world's history are, like the limb-
less Lizards, modifications, by a degenerative process, of reptiles which did not crawl on their
belly, but which had those organs in peiiection which are rudimentary or absent in the Serpent.
Beautiful to look at, glistening often with an iridescence which adds to their mosaic of lovely colours,
moving with great grace, apparently with an incomprehensible and determinate will, seizing their
prey to crush it and swallow it, or to destroy it by poison in a few minutes, no wonder that early man
worshipped these emblems of destruction and death, and gave them credit for wisdom and power.
181

332 NATURAL HISTORY.

This belief increased in the days when myths originated, and Serpent worship became as great an
institution as that of any other animal, and left its impress on the minds of many generations,
thanks to tradition, a peculiar symbolical architecture, and ignorance of natural history. The cura-
tive powers of powdered Snakes, of the concretions collecting sometimes in their insides, and of their
cast-off skins, were long believed in, and the Serpent became the medical coat-of-arrns. Their rapid
movements and powers of attack were attributed to the gods, whose messengers of death they often
were, and it is therefore not to be wondered at, that during every age when superstition has dominated
the Snake was a power. The fascination said to be exercised by Snakes over their prey has formed
the subject of many essays, and it is universally credited that under the glance of the Serpent, birds,
animals, and even man, are motionless, unable to fly from the glistening evil, and, regardless of danger,
do not seek to escape, or fully aware of it, cannot. Snakes in a state of nature and in captivity are
different creatures, and the descendants of thousands of generations of animals, all of which have
suffered more or less from the Serpent's attack, may have hereditary fear of it. But in the Snake-
room of the Zoological Gardens the captive Snakes, and the Rats, Mice, and Birds, unaccustomed to
Snakes, do not impress one with the truth of the popular belief. Terror, undoubtedly, may exercise a
paralysing influence on the creatures in the way of the Snake ; and the parental affection of birds
for their young, which causes them to flit about their nest, and to be destroyed with their little ones,
is usually but erroneously taken for fascination on the part of the Snake. In fact, an analysis of
any instance of fascination shows it to be supposititious.

A Snake when on the ground moves often with considerable rapidity. The head is slightly raised,
and the body and tail progress by means of the peculiar grasping power of the skin and ribs of the
underneath parts, which enables consecutive contraction and elongation to occur. The movement is
more or less flat with the earth, and the Snake never coils upwards, as is often figured in old and some new
paintings and engravings. It can erect its head and much of its neck and fore part of the body, and
this is also done when the creature is in horizontal coils, and quiescent. On moving up a stone or tree
the head, neck, and much of the body may be placed against the more or less vertical object, and a
small portion only of the body may be left on the ground, but in this position the Snake is liable to fall
sideways. On moving up a tree they do not coil themselves round and round it like a rope, but they may
do this when still. It is wonderful how Snakes move along and between boughs, and, taking a turn
round one with their tail end, swing and look for food, and also how they will make themselves up
into a bunch on a fork of a tree, and remain there without falling. They swim in an undulating
manner, but the body is wriggled on the same plane as the surface of the water, and not at right angles
to it, but in rushing at their prey, both in the water and on land, there is more or less upward or
downward bending of part of the body, and a rapid thrust of the head forwards.

On looking at a skeleton of a Snake, the eye is impressed with the great number of vertebrae
and ribs. In some gi-eat Pythons more than 400 vertebrae have been counted, and each one is movable
on its neighbours. There is little distinction to be made by their structures between the vertebrae
of the neck, body, and tail, and there is no sacrum. The first vertebra, or atlas, and the second,
which has the odontoid process, resemble those of the Lizards, and the first of these is the only
vertebra in front of the tail which has no rib. The body of a vertebra has the joint surfaces
before and behind nearly hemispherical, and there is a concavity in front to receive the corresponding
ball on the back of the vertebra. Above, the spinous processes under the skin of the back are
generally long and flat, and project backwards somewhat, and at the base of each, on each side of
the canal for the spinal cord, is a process which fits into a cavity in the next vertebra, after the fashion
of the Iguana's vertebra (p. 280). Besides these, there are the ordinary articulating processes of the
sides. There are twelve jointing surfaces to each vertebra, and great movement is allowed by the
ball-and-socket joint, but dislocation is prevented by the " double tenon " and " double mortice," which
parts are called zygantrum and zygosphene, as in the Iguana. The transverse processes are very short,
and are recognised by a tubercle which offers two facets for articulation with the ribs. But in the tail
they are long and inclined downwards. The ribs are, of course, great in number, and each pair is jointed
on to the tubercle above mentioned by a ball-and-socket joint, so that an unusual amount of motion,
and especially of fore and aft motion, is allowed. There is no sternum, but each rib terminates by a
single tapering cartilage, which is attached by muscular connection with the broad scale on the Snake's

ANATOMY OF A SXAKE.

303

belly. It is by the action of the muscles on the ribs and scales that the Snake may be said to walk
on the ends of its very movable ribs. There are no traces of a shoulder girdle or of fore limbs in
Ophidia ; but the Blind Snakes, Rock Snakes, Boas, and Rollers have rudiments of a pelvis, and the

SKELETON OF SNAKE,
(a) Anterior, (6) Posterior, view of Dorsal Vertebra.

last have crooked bones terminated by claws externally. The nature of the skull will be considered

in treating of the great groups.

The beautiful scales on the body, and the regular plates and small scales on the heads of Serpents,

are various in shape, number, ornamentation, and colouring, and they may or may not be keeled, and

they overlap. All are thickened skin, and are covered with a delicate scarf skin. The plates on

the head are on the same principle as those of Lizards,
but there are some others which are peculiar.

The number of rows of scales on the top and sides
of the body and tail differs with the genus and species.
Usually there is a double row of scales on the under
surface of the tail, and the rest of the under surface
of the body has a continuous row of single broad scales,
Which are very striking in appearance, in contradistinction
to the others.

At the moulting period the Snake is dull, lethargic,
and careless, and the outer scarf skin comes away as a
perfect scarf of the body and eyes.

SCALES ON HEAD Ol' SNAKE (Styas feoiTOs).
(After Gunther.)

r> Rostral; (/) Posterior and Anterior Frontil; (v)
Vertical; (s) Superciliary: (o) Occipiia'; (nn) Nasals:
(f) Loreal ; (o) Anterior Ocular or Orbital (Anteocdlar or
FneorbttW ; (p) Posterior Ocular or Orbital (Postocular
or Postorbital) ; (wl Upper Labials; (tt Temporals: (in)
Median Lowvr Labial or Mental ', [* *J Lower Labials;
(c) (.bin shields.

SUB - ORDER THANATOPHIDIA.* — THE
POISONOUS COLUBRINE SNAKES.

The venom of a Snake is secreted by a gland on each
side of the front part of the skull, which is close to the
maxillary bones that support the long and more or less curved poison fangs. The duct of each gland
leads either to a groove in the front part of the fang, or to a canal in the tooth formed by the union of
the sides of a groove, and in both instances the liquid poison enters the victim with the tooth, and
some is left behind. Those Snakes which have the first fangs of the upper jaw grooved along their
front do not differ very much in their shape from the common innocuous Snakes, although some have
the power of expanding their neck into a kind of hood ; biit those which have the hollow teeth are
usually distinguishable by their large triangular head, short body, and very short tail, and are
viperiform. Thus two great divisions of the poisonous Snakes exist ; the first with grooved teeth — the

* flovoTos, death ; o^>u, a serpent.

304 NATURAL HISTORY.

Prot&roglyphia, and the second with canaliculated teeth — the Solenoglyphia. The Snakes of the
first division or sub-order resemble the common Snakes in their general configuration, and are
termed the Poisonous Colubrine Snakes. The second sub-order is often called the Viperine.

The first sub-order is subdivided into two families ; in one the Snakes are terrestrial,
the Elapidce,* and in the other they are aquatic, the Hydrophidce.

SUB ORDER PROTKROGLYPHIA— FAMILY ELAPID^E.— THE POISONOUS
TERRESTRIAL COLUBRINE SNAKES.

Several genera of Snakes belong to this family, and all have more or less brilliant colours
ornamented with lighter colours or red bands, and they may be passed by as innocuous Snakes
if they happen to be at rest, and the nature of the jaws and head be not examined. The head
is covered with elegant plates, but the loreal is constantly absent, and the muzzle is short, as
a rule.t There are large, immovable, grooved teeth placed in front of the maxillary bones, and
usually some curved, ungrooved teeth follow ; the palate and pterygoid bones, and the mandible, have
also curved teeth. A poison gland is developed in relation with the grooved tooth on each side.
They are found in all the hot parts of the world except Europe.

GENUS NAJA.— THE COBRAS.

These Elapidse have the power of stretching out some of the anterior ribs and the skin of the
neck so as to produce a long hood when irritated. The head is rather quadrangular, and there are
one or two small teeth behind the venomous ones. These Snakes can raise the head and much of
the body in the erect posture. Among the varieties of the Cobra are those with spectacles on the
hood, or "Gokurrahs," and those with one ocellus or other mark on the hood, named " Keautiahs."

There is only one species, writes Fayrer, of this genus in India, which is called the Cobra-
di-Capello, or Naja, and more properly Naja tripudians. There is also one species in Western
Africa, which is closely allied to the Indian kind, and is called Naja Haje. There are several
varieties of the Indian species, each having a distinct name given to it by the natives. They are
all most deadly. They all have the hood, and they never attack without distending it. They raise
the anterior third of the body from the ground, slide slowly along on the posterior two-thirds, and
with the hood dilated remain on the alert, darting the head forward to the attack when anything
hostile approaches. This attitude is very striking, and few objects are more calculated to inspire awe
than a large Cobra, when, with its hood erect, hissing loudly, and eyes glaring, he prepares to strike.
Nevertheless, they are not, writes Sir Joseph Fayrer, aggressive; and unless interfered with or
irritated, they crawl along the ground with neck undilated, looking not unlike the innocent
Snakes, but the moment they are disturbed they assume the menacing attitude.

The Naja tripudians, or Cobra, grows to the length of five feet and a half, or even more. One
which was given to Sir Joseph Fayrer by Dr. W. B. Beatson was of the variety called " Kurrees
Gokurrah," of a light chocolate colour, without any mark on the hood. It was five feet eight inches
long, including the tail, which measured eleven inches and a quarter. In girth it was six inches
and a quarter. This is the largest Cobra seen by Sir Joseph Fayrer, but he believes they attain
even a greater size than this. The Cobra is found all over Hindostan up to 8,000 feet high in the
Himalaya ; but Mr. Hodgson says he has never seen it in the Nepal Valley. It is equally dreaded
and fatal everywhere. The varieties are numerous, and they are distinguished by the markings on
the hood, and by various shades of colour, from the darkest olive or black with a purple iridescence,
to a pale chocolate, fawn, or yellow colour. The natives say that the Spectacled Cobra is a Snake
of the city or town, and that the Keautiah, or Nag Sarap, prefers the fields and jungle. But
both are common about Calcutta. The Cobra is a nocturnal Snake, that is, it is most active
in the night, but it is often seen moving about in the day. It is oviparous, and the eggs, from
eighteen to twenty-five in number, are oblate, and about the size of those of a pigeon ; the shell is
white, but tough and leathery. The Cobras feed on small animals, birds' eggs, frogs, fish, or insects.

* Elaps, a kind of Serpent.

t The large scales or plates on the heads of most Snakes are beautifully arranged, and are used in the classification.
They are named rostral, anterior frontal, posterior frontal, vertical, superciliary, occipital, nasals, loreal, anterior ocular,
posterior ocular, upper labials, temporals, mental, lower labials, and chin shields (see diagram on previous page).

EGYPTIAN COBRA, OR NAJA.

3DQ NATURAL HISTORY.

They rob hen-roosts and swallow the eggs whole. They prefer taking their food at dusk or in the
night. They are said to drink a great deal of water ; but it is certain they will live weeks, even
months, in captivity without touching food or water. They go into water readily, and swim well,
but are essentially terrestrial Snakes. They can climb and occasionally ascend trees in search of
food ; nevertheless, they have been found swimming. Usually they ai'e found in the roofs of huts,
holes in walls, fowl-houses, old ruins, under logs of wood, in cellars, old brick-kilns, and old masonry
of stone, brickwork, or mud. Such are the common dwelling-places of these reptiles, where they
are frequently disturbed by men, who, stepping on or inadvertently disturbing and touching them,
receive their death-wound. The Cobra is most deadly, and its poison, when thoroughly inoculated
by a fresh and vigorous Snake, is quickly fatal. Paralysis of the nerve centres takes place, and
death occurs with great rapidity, sometimes in a few minutes, especially where the fangs, having
penetrated a vein, inoculate the poison immediately into the venous circulation. The number of
deaths caused yearly in India by these Snakes is perfectly appalling. The cases in which recovery
occurs are very few. Treatment appears to be of little avail unless it is almost immediate ; and then
in the case of a genuine bite there is but little hope of saving life.

With regard to the natives, the muntra, or spell, is far more potent in their ideas than any
drug, and to such they trust when generally bitten. How frequently these fail, the records of any
civil station in India will prove ; and it is to be feared that the more material remedies of the
physician are scarcely more potent for good.

The Cobras are the favourites of the snake-catchers, and it is astonishing with what ease and
freedom they are seized and handled by these men even when in possession of their fangs. The snake-
catchers render them temporarily harmless by cutting out the poison fangs, but these are quickly re-
produced iinless, as most generally happens, with the fang all the reserve fangs and germs are removed,
in which case the Snake is harmless for life. The Cobra has the power of raising its head, neck, and
much of its body for awhile, so that it stands, as it were, on the tail. It moves to and fro from side to
side in a very graceful manner. Their elegant movements in the erect attitude which they assume
with the hood distended, as they follow the movements of the snake-charmer's hands, make them an
object of wonder as well as fear to all, and the superstitions of the natives about them are endless.

Fayrer remarks that the Cobra is an object of superstitious veneration and awe to the
Hindoos, in whose mythological histories it takes a prominent place. " In a religion that depre-
cates the wrath of a cruel and destructive power, by worshipping and propitiating the Deity in whom
that power is vested, it is natural that the type of destruction and the incarnation of evil, as.
represented in this reptile, should be regarded with peculiar deference."

Besides being found on the mainland the Cobra is an inhabitant of the Philippine Islands.

The Egyptian Cobra, or Naja,* is the Aspic of the ancients. Its figure is sculptured on the
portals cf many ancient temples, as an emblem of the protecting goddess of the world and faithful
guardian of their fields. It was, in the time of the great expedition to Egypt under Napoleon, very
common in ditches and fields.

Snake-charmers, the successors and perhaps descendents of the " psylles antiques," so celebrated
in the writings of Pliny, and rich in the tradition of an art already old before Africa became
Christian, say they can change a Naja into a stick, and make it counterfeit death. When they desire
to produce this result they spit down the Snake's throat, make it shut its mouth, lay it down on
the ground, and give it the order, placing the hand at the same time on the head. The Serpent
becomes stiff meanwhile, and falls into a kind of catalepsy. They awaken them by rubbing the
tail between the hands.

The Cobras of South Africa belong to the species Naja Haje, and are the "Geel Copell " of
the Dutch colonists. They are from three to six feet in length, and are entirely yellow or
purplish-brown, both colours sometimes existing in some individuals.

THE EING HALS SLANG, t

This poisonous Snake is often seen in menageries and in zoological gardens, and is remark-
able for its glossy dark tints, fine dark brown eye, and for the dull blackish colour of the head
* Naja haje. •)• Naja hccmachates=Sepcdon kcemachates.

THE HAMADRYAD SNAKE. 307

and body before the skin-shedding takes place. It has rather a robust body, and the head is scarcely
broader than the neck. It is flat above, and the upper lips protrude beyond the edge of the uppei
surface of the head ; hence the eyes appear rather small, giving a malignant and savage expres-
sion (Smith). The neck has a quantity of loose skin which forms a fold on each side, and this is
extended Cobra-fashion when the creature is enraged, and it is a kind of hood. Probably the
extreme length of the Snake is neai-ly three feet. The range of the Ring Hals Slang is consider-
able, and specimens have been found everywhere in South Africa. It is very vigilant, and its resting-
place can very rarely be approached before it is all activity, either commencing to fly, preparing to
maintain its ground, or make an attack. Its holes are in and about mouse, rat, and mole burrows,
and although it retreats, it is a valiant and very poisonous Snake. The natives properly consider it
the most courageous of all their Snakes, and one of the most poisonous. When in confinement and
irritated it evinces great ferocity, opens its mouth so as to be in readiness to seize any object, and the
poisonous secretion comes out in. drops from the fangs, which are raised and ready to strike.

GENUS OPHIOPHAGUS.— THE HAMADRYAD SNAKE.*

A snake-eating Snake, with a beautifully shielded head and a neck dilatable like a Cobra's is, of
course, interesting, and especially when it is known that it grows to the length of fourteen feet, and
is bold and disposed to attack, instead of retreating, like the Naja.

The body is largely scaled, and the head is short, depressed, and scarcely distinguishable from
the neck, which is dilatable. The body scales are smooth, minute, imbricate, and in transverse rows. The
plates on the head are very distinct, and the occipitals are surrounded by three pairs of large shields,
the two anterior being temporals. The ventral scales are entire, and there are more than two
hundred of them, and the posterior sub-caudals are two-rowed. The tail is slender, and becomes very
small at the tip. The maxillary bone has a large fang in front, which is perforated at the end,
showing a longitudinal groove in front. A second small, simple tooth exists at some distance behind
the fang. It is called " Sunkerchor " by the natives, and has a general resemblance to the Naja in
shape. The colour varies acording to age and locality. The young Ophiophagus may be mistaken for
a Snake of another genus, such as Dipsas dendrojrfiila, an innocent Snake.

The Ophiophagus is probably the largest and most deadly of the Indian Snakes ; and, fortunately,
though widely distributed, it is not very common. According to Giinther, it is found in almost every
part of the Indian continent, and in the Andaman and Philippine Islands, in Java, Sumatra, Borneo,
and, according to Dumeril, in New Guinea. It reaches from twelve to fourteen feet in extreme length,
and is common near Cuttack, and there is a dusky variety from Rangoon. It does not appear to be
much if at all known in the North-west or in Central India ; it is most common in the damp
climates of Assam, Bengal, Orissa, and Southern India. It has been caught in the Botanical Gardens,
near Calcutta, and it is said by the snake-catchers to be not uncommon in the Sunderbunds, and it
takes to water.

The dilatable neck is not altogether peculiar to the Snakes just mentioned, and Fayrer
observed that in Compsosoma radiatum, an innocent Snake, the neck and much of the whole body
dilate vertically when it is excited and about to strike, presenting a very remarkable appearance ;
but the power of dilating the neck is better marked in the Najidce than in any other Snake. Another
equally innocuous Snake, called Tropidonotus macrophthalmus, found in the Himalayas, has the power
of dilating the neck, and it greatly resembles the Cobra.

An Ophiophagus in the Zoological Gardens of London knew its keeper and feeding-time.
When a Snake was put into its cage it was immediately on the alert, and the victim tried to escape.
But the attack was begun at once, and the prey was seized behind the head and dragged on to
the floor, and gradually swallowed head first.

Besides the Ophiophagus, there is another snake-eating venomous Serpent in India, which lives
principally on others belonging to the innocuous Calamaria family. This is a ground Snake,
slow in its movements, and it prefers hilly to level country. Singularly enough, it greatly resembles
its prey in outward appearance, and belongs to the genus Callophis.

* Ophiophayus daps.

THE 3UXGARU3I AXD KB AIT.

309

GENUS BUNGARUS.— THE BUNG ARUMS AND KRAITS.

Two kinds of very venomous Snakes, which often reach four feet in length, and which have not
the power of enlarging the neck, are found nearly all over India. One can be recognised at once by
its ornamentation, which is that of a number of rings alternately steel-blue and bright gamboge-
yellow ; by its triangular outline, for there is a ridge on the top over the vertebrae, where there is a line
of hexagonal scales ; and by its hard, blunt, bony end to its tail. It is called the Bungarum Pamah.*
It is common in Bengal and in Southern India as well as in Burmah, and its bite is very dangerous.
It does not erect its head, but lies coiled up in curves, and, when disturbed, jerks itself out like

BUXGARUS FASCIATUS.

a spring, but without extending its whole length of body. This Snake is not so common as the Cobra,
and is rarer than the other kind about to be noticed. No doubt a great fatality accompanies the
bite of its small teeth, although the poison is somewhat long in acting.

The other kind is called the Krait, or Gedi Paragoodoo,f and it differs much in colour from the
Bungarum. It has the lower part of the body of an uniform white colour, and the upper parts are
bluish or brownish-black, uniform or with more or less numei-ous very narrow white streaks, not
quite as broad as a scale, and generally radiating from a white vertebral spot. The tongue is white,
and the iris is black. It sometimes insinuates itself into houses, in the verandah, ball-rooms, or the
ledges of doors or jhilmils, into bookcases, cupboards, &c., and in such situations is not unfrequently
the cause of fatal accidents. Next to the Cobra it is most destructive to life.

Australia has several of these poisonous UlapidfK, and some are more venomous than others. Thus,
the Grey Diemenia J produces an irritation like that of the sting of a bee, after its bite, but the Brown
Snake § is very venomous. The Red Capped Snake,|| a common little Snake, is venomous, but does

* Bungarus fasciatus. t Bungarus cceruleus. £ Diemenia psammophis.

§ Diemenia superciliosa. ]| Brachysoma diadema.

182

310

NATURAL HISTORY.

CORAL ELAPS (Elaps corallinus).

not seem usually inclined to bite, and is insectivorous, eating also frogs ; but the Black Snake, the
most common Australian venomous Snake,* a lover of water and marshy places, has many of the
actions of a Cobra. Equally fatal is the bite of the Brown-banded Snake,t which frequents the
plains. The Death Adder, J with very variable colorisation, and loving warmth and sandy places, and
assuming the form of the letter S on being irritated, is a very fatal enemy. It has a large head, and
the tail ends in a short recurved spine.

The Elapidce of the New World are usually beautiful Snakes. The Harlequin Snake (Elaps
pidvius), a small burrowing kind, and the Coral Elaps, from Rio and the Brazils and Central America,
are examples.

FAMILY HYDROPHID^E.— THE POISONOUS SEA SNAKES.

The members of this family, all of which lead an aquatic life, may be recognised at once l»y
their shape, and some peculiarities which relate to their method of life. The body is comparatively
flat at the sides, and the tail is decidedly so, and acts as a propeller and steerer, and the nostrils
open upwards and are closed with a valve, the tongue being short. They are all venomous, and
inhabit the sea, near land, salt-water estuaries, and tidal streams. They have a very wide range
of distribution, being found on the coasts of India, in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from Madagascar
to the Isthmus of Panama, in the Eastern Archipelago, and in the seas between Southern
China and North Australia. Some of them attain a considerable size. Giinther speaks of some
species attaining to the length of twelve feet. The longest seen by Sir J. Fayrer was under five
feet, there is no reason to believe that they attain to so great a size as certain fabulous stories
would suggest.

They swim like fish, and live, with some exceptions, continually in the sea or tidal water.
When thrown on the land by the surf, as they constantly are at Pooree and other places along
* Pscudechis porphyriacia. t Hoplocephalus curtus. £ Acanthophis antarcticus.

THE ADDER, OR COMMON VIPER. 31t

the coast, they are helpless and almost blind. Their food consists of fish and other aquatic
animals, which they pursue and overtake in. the salt water. There are certain parts of the Bay
of Bengal in which they are often seen in great numbers, and their movements in the clear blue
water are very agile, graceful, and beautiful.

The Hydroplddce generally have no well-marked ventral plates, and the abdominal scales differ
little from those of the rest of the body, which are generally hexagonal, laid side by side, occasionally
slightly imbricate, and in some tubercular, a small tubercle being found in the centre of each
scale. But one genus (Platurus) has abdominal scales like the Land Snakes, and is sometimes found
in marshy ground near the sea.

The nostrils and head shields of the Sea Snakes are peculiar. The eyes ai-e small, with
circular pupils, which contract so much when the Snake is taken out of water that it is said to
be almost blind.

They are very poisonous. The case related of a sailor of H.M.S. Algerine, who was bitten by
one caught at Madras, proves them to be so. Fayrer instances a fisherman who was bitten by a Salt-
water Snake somewhere near the Salt Lakes, and who died in one hour and a quarter. The fishermen
on the coast know their dangerous properties, and carefully avoid them.

The genera Hydrophis, Pelamis, Platurus, and Enhydrina belong to this family.

SUB-ORDER SOLENOGLYPHIA— THE VIPERINE SNAKES.

These poisonous Snakes have the head triangular in shape and enlarged behind, whilst the
tail is short in relation to the body. They have a small upper maxillary bone on each side, which
has one large, hollow, perforated, erectile fang, and often some others growing to replace it. There
are small curved teeth on the lower jaw and palate. Most of these Serpents are viviparous, and they
may be divided into two families. The Vipers (the Viperidai) constitute one, and they have a large,
broad head, a vertical and long pupil in the eye, and the top of the head is covered with very little
plates and scales. The tail is short, and usually there are two rows of plates beneath it. They have
the region between the eye and the nostril flat. They are viviparous, and inhabit the Old World
and Australia, Africa producing the greatest number of them. Their poison gland communicates
with the canal in the tooth, and the venom is usually very destructive. This they appear to know,
for having bitten their prey, they leave it, knowing that it will die, and then they prepare to
swallow it.

GENUS PELIAS.*— THE ADDER, OR COMMON VIPER.

This is the sole British representative of the family, and is the only poisonous reptile indi-
genous to the country. It is far more numerous in Scotland than the Common Snake, and it is
found now and then, and formerly in abundance, in all parts of England and Wales. Open woodlands,
brushwood, dry heaths, and sandy wastes, are its favourite places, and it does not seek, or necessarily
live near, water. Found solitary now and then, or with their young, they are discovered intertwined
with several of their own species, when hibernating in their retreats. They are not confined, however,
to England and Scotland, for they are found in France, Spain, and from Southern Italy to far north in
Russia. Ireland has not this poisonous Snake. They ai*e very variable in their colour ; some are nearly
olive, and others are a rich deep brown or dirty brownish-yellow in their general ground colour.
There is a mark between the eyes, and a spot on each side of the hinder part of the head, and a zigzag
line running the whole length of the body and tail formed by a series of confluent rhombs, as well as
by a row of small triangular spots on each side, and all these are darker than the ground tints. On
looking at the head, it is found to be covered with small scales and some plates more or less regularly
placed. The head is almost oval, depressed, and it widens behind the ears. The gape of the mouth is
great, and there are no teeth in the upper maxillary bones except the poison fangs. There is a row of
small teeth on the palatine bone on each side of the palate. The neck is smaller than the back of the
head, and the body increases to nearly the middle. It slightly diminishes to the vent, becoming
then abruptly smaller, and lessening to the extremity of the tail.

This Snake is probably the "EX<S of Aristotle, and the Vipera of Virgil's Third Georgic, and the

* Pelias leriu.

.VIPERS.

VIPERS.

313

nedre or eddre — Adder of the Anglo-Saxons and country people of some parts of England. It avoids
man, and when seen basking in the sun will move off on being disturbed : but when injured or brought
to bay, it will raise its neck and head and draw back the last a little, and then project it quickly,

ADDEH, OR COMMON1 VIPER.

opening the mouth and snapping at the offender. Dogs get bitten by treading on Vipers, or dis-
turbing them, and there are occasional instances" of men Being bitten. The bites are rarely fatal, but
produce much constitutional and local disturbance in unhealthy people, especially in hot weather. Some
naturalists suppose that the Viper does not -kill its usual prey — mice, small rats, and birds — with its

Sli

NATURAL HISTOJtY.

venom, and only entwines and swallows them, but if the Viper stops a mouse with its teeth, the venom
will enter the wound. Formerly Vipers were in demand, for Viper-broth was a remedy, or the Snake
might be boiled like a fish, or given as a powder to those patients who suffered from ulcers, or a corrupt
state of the system. They were caught in numbers with a cleft or forked stick which the Viper-
catchers drove down immediately behind the head. They then seized the creature by the tail, and
put it in a bag. Like many other Snakes, Vipers live long without food, and they do not feed well in
captivity. They are, of course, viviparous, and the young, sometimes ten or fifteen in number, may be seen
with the parent, looking like so many worms with large heads. The eggs are hatched within the Viper,

CERASTES VIPER.

and hence it has happened that eggs have been laid and young Vipers hatched from them. Whether
the young take refuge in the mouth of the old one, and crawl into her throat in times of danger, or
whether they get under her body and glide away, are questions which have provoked much discussion.
The young Vipers certainly could get into their parent's mouth, but whether they could get out again
is another thing, and therefore it is best to disbelieve this remarkable parental trait in the Viper, of
protecting her young in her mouth.

The ancients had a notion that the young Vipers killed their mother in coming into the world,
and hence one or more of these parricidal reptiles were placed in a bag with a human parricide and
<lrowned as the punishment of this greatest of crimes.

Another example of the Viper group belongs to those which are more or less " horned." It lives
in Hungary, Dalmatia, and Egypt, and has a small, soft horn covered with scales on the muzzle.*
The Horned Sand Snake of Egypt, or the Cerastes Viper, which is of a greyish tint, and hides

* Viper a ammodytes.

HOEXED VIPERS.

815

itself in the sand, has a horn above each eye. It is to be seen figured on ancient monuments there.*
Dr. Andrew Smith states that there are six kinds of Vipers in South Africa, and that they are
mostly indolent, and are heedless of the approach of man. One of them, Vipera (cerastes) caudalts,
has a slender, recurved head-spine of about a line or a line and a quarter in length, and the tail
appears dwindled, so short and tapering is it. It is especially dangerous, for it will not move off,
but submits to be trodden on accidentally, and then bites. When once it seizes the obnoxious object,
it holds on with great tenacity, and does not rush off when removed. The Horned Viper, f the
Hornsman of the Cape colonists, has the eyebrows armed with a clump of lengthened spinous scales

PUFF ADDER.

forming a short horn. It has large curved fangs, and swollen upper lips. The Berg Adder J of the
Dutch colonists and the Puff Adder § of the Cape colonists are well-known African kinds, and are
generally found on the sides of hills or on dry sandy ground. The River Jack Viper |j of the west of
Africa is a formidable-looking Snake with a flat head, a longish horn on each side of the snout, a,
small neck, short body, and thin tail. It puffs itself out when visitors look at it in captivity, and
sends forth the inevitable hiss.

The kinds of East Indian Vipers are arranged in two genera — one in which the Snakes have a
very large nostril (genus Daboia), and the other in which the nostrils are small (genus Echis). Sir
Joseph Fayrer states that " The Daboia, or Russell's Viper, is called by the natives about Calcutta
'Uloo Bora,' from the uloo grass in which it is often found. In Bengal it is called ' Jessur,' ' Siah'-
chunder Amaiter.' It is common in Bengal, and is frequently caught in the Botanic Gardens near
Calcutta, also in the South of India, Ceylon, and Burmah.

* Vipera cerastes. f Vipera cornuta. J Vipera atropos. § Vipera arietans. \\ Vipera rhinocei'os.

.316 NATURAL HISTORY.

" The Daboia Is nocturnal' in its habits ; in confinement it is sluggish, and does not readily strike
unless roused and irritated, when it bites with great force and determination. When disturbed it
hisses fiercely, and when it strikes, does so with great vigour. Its long, movable fangs are very pro-
minent objects, and with them it is capable of inflicting a very deep as well as poisoned wound. The
markings on its body are very beautiful. It lives on small animals, such as rats, mice, and frogs.
My snake-man says it will go into water. It is however, terrestrial in its habits. Its loud hissing
when disturbed is calculated to warn those who come within its dangerous proximity. It is
apparently a hardy reptile, and I had one about forty-four inches in length, which lived a whole
year without food or water."

The genus Echis contains only one Indian species, Echis carinata. The native name is
" Afae" in Delhi. It is unknown to the natives in the neighbourhood of Calcutta.

The Echis is very fierce and aggressive, writes Fayfer ; it is always on the defensive and ready
to attack. It throws itself into a double coil, the folds of which are in perpetual motion, and as
they rub against each other they make a loud rustling sound very like hissing. This sound is
produced by the rubbing together of three or four outer rolls of carinated scales, which are very
prominent, and point downwards at a different angle to the rest. This little Viper can dart a foot
or more at its prey, but it does not hiss at all. Its fangs are very long and mobile, like those of
the Daboia, and its eye has a peculiarly vicious appearance. This active Viper is less than two feet
in length.

SUB-FAMILY CROTALID^E.— THE RATTLESNAKES, OR PIT VIPERS.

The second group of the Vipers are called " Pit Vipers," and the term is derived from the
presence of a little depression on both sides of the face between the eye and the nostril. This is a
peculiarity of several genera, some, but not all, of which have species furnished with complete or
incomplete "rattles." Most of the Pit Vipers have large heads, which may be completely or not at
all covered with large plates. They have the pupil of the eye vertical, and elliptical in shape.

Amongst these very venomous Snakes, all of which have a canal in the poison fangs, the
Rattlesnakes are the most interesting. They are readily known by the end of the tail being made up
of a number of horny, round, and flat pieces capable of making a sharp sound, not unlike that of a
large Grasshopper, by their friction during the vibration of the tail. The head, large behind, is
covered there with small ordinary scales, and plates are noticed only in front. They constitute the
genus Crotalus, and there are several species more or less remarkable for their geographical
distribution. The genus is essentially American.

The American herpetologist, Hoi brook, thus notices the Common Rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus}: —
The very large head is flattened above, triangular, rounded in front, covered with plates only in front,
and with scales on the vertex and back of the head. There is a deep pit between the nostril and eye.
The body is long and robust, and is ash colour above, with irregular cross-bars confluent near the
tail. The vertebral line is yellow, and the flanks are tinged with the same colour. The tail is
short and thick, and furnished with rattles. The nostrils are large and near the snout, but open
laterally. The eyes are large and brilliant, and the pupil is dark, oval, and vertical, and the iris is
flame-coloured. The neck is much contracted, and its scales are keeled. An average specimen is four
feet long and six inches in girth, and the length of the nine rattles is about two inches.

It lives on rabbits, squirrels, rats, &c., and is usually a slow, sluggish, reptile, never wantonly
attacking or destroying animals except as food, or unless distivrbed by them. A slight touch,
however, will effect this, or even the rustling of leaves in the neighbourhood. On these occasions,
it coils itself, shaking the rattles violently as a sign of rage, and strikes at whatever is placed within
reach. In its native woods one may pass within a few feet of it unmolested. Thoxigh aware of the
passenger's presence, it either lies quiet or glides away. It never follows, but will slowly retreat,
but it is prepared to strike if necessary. It is remarkable that the Rattlesnakes never strike
unless coiled, and that if once thrown from that position they can be approached without danger.
Years ago they were common enough, but the Hog — which is their great enemy — and man — with
his enclosing and tilling of land — have thinned their numbers considerably.

Formerly, and to a certain extent now, this Snake had the widest range of all the American

£ A TTLESNA KES. 317

Orotalidse, being found in nearly all parts of the United States, from lat. 40 on the Mississippi to
the Gulf of Mexico. They are now more and more restricted to the south-east. The cuticle on the
ends of the tail is arranged in a series of rings, loosely connected together, so as to constitute the
rattle. There are many of these rings, according to the species and age of the Snake ; but Rattle-
snakes grow more than one ring in the year, and therefore the size of this appendage cannot be
used in estimating their age. They lose rings and others come, and the greatest known number is
probably twenty-one. They are very curious and similar, and the piece immediately connected
with the body seems to be moulded on the last vertebra of the tail, from which it is separated by
a layer of the true skin by which it is secreted. Its surface presents three circular elevations
corresponding to three protuberances. Of these, the first, or that nearest to the body of the reptile,
is the largest, and the other two rings are encased in the succeeding piece, which is connected in a

COMMON KATTLESNAKE.

similar manner to the next ring, and so on throughout the series. The posterior two-thirds of each
ring are thus embraced by the next, so that of the three prominent rings that project from each piece
the anterior only is visible, the two posterior being contained in the next ring, with the exception of
the ultimate one. Each piece is loose, and plays freely about that which it envelops. There is
no muscle, and the noise is produced by a shake of the tail.

Bates testifies to the slowness of the attack of other species of Rattlesnakes. When on the
Lower Amazons he saw a Rattlesnake for the first time. He heard a pattering noise close to him,
and thought some creepers on a tree were about to fall ; but when the wind lulled, it was evident that
the noise came from the gimind. On turning his head to look, a sudden plunge startled him, and a
heavy gliding motion betrayed a large Serpent making off from beneath his feet. This was a Rattle-
snake. Again, his little dog Diamante rushed one day into a thicket and made a dead set at a large
Snake, whose head he saw above the herbage. The foolish little brute approached quite close, and
then the Serpent reared its tail slightly in a horizontal position and shook the terrible rattles. It was
many minutes before Bates could get the dog away.

The Water-rattle* is seen in damp and shady places, and abounds in East Florida, the Gulf
States, and Mexico, and reaches eight feet in length, and its dusky colour, bloated body, and
grey and yellow iris, give it an expression of sullen ferocity. It is also called the Diamond
Rattlesnake.

Central America and Brazil have the " Horrid Rattlesnake," t which is a most widely
dispersed species of Eastern North America. It has a black band across the forehead, and another

* Crotalus adamanteus, orrhombifer. .f Crotalus horridus.

183

318

NATURAL HISTORY.

from the eye to the angle of the mouth. There are two large black bands which begin behind
the head and run along the neck and back for some distance. The nasal plates are very
small, and the space between the orbits is covered with plates or scales, larger than those in the
others.

The Missouri Rattlesnake* is slim, and is from two to three feet long. They inhabit the
countiy bordering on the Rocky Mountains, and from the Mexican to the British boundaries. It
is found from California to Utah, but the Yellowstone is its favourite locality. Crotalus lucifer
is found in Arizona and in the Pacific region.

The Prairie Rattlesnake, or Massasauga,t is distributed in the Prairie countries from Ohio and
Michigan westward, and it does not appear to go farther westward than the Yellowstone. They

HORRID RATTLESNAKE.

prefer an unproductive soil, where their sluggish gait may not meet the opposing obstacles of
grass and mud; and for their hiding-places they seek the holes of the Prairie Dog (Cynomys
ludoviciana). It has some large plates on the head, and the rattle is much smaller than in the
other Rattlesnakes, and is included in the genus Crotalophorus (Gray). There is also a small species
in the south, J which hides in grass and feeds on field mice.

Coues, the American naturalist, thus writes about the rattle : — '* The purpose subserved in the
economy of the animal by this singular organ has been the subject of much speculation and dis-
cussion. It is difficult to perceive what use the rattle can be, either in procuring prey or
avoiding enemies. We do not know that it comes into play at all in the pursuit of prey, while
the actual result of its use as a menace in self-defence is the reverse of beneficial to the Serpent,
since the sound serves to direct and provoke attack from all enemies which the animal has occasion
to fear."

" The principal enemies of the Rattlesnake besides man are hogs, peccaries, and deer. The former
* Crotalus conflucntus (Say)=<7. lecontei. f Crotalophorus tergeminus (Say). J Crotalophorus miliarius.

PIT VIPERS. 319

kill the Serpent when coiled, by striking with the hoofs and teeth, and in some regions derive no
small part of their subsistence from this source. The popular belief that the venom of the Rattle-
snake is innocuous to hogs is merely a partial statement of the fact that the fluid usually fails
to enter the circulation through the layer of adipose tissue with which these animals are com-
monly covered. The venom is conceded to be innocuous when introduced to the stomach, and
the flesh of the Rattlesnake is as edible as that of other Serpents. The fatality of the Rattle-
snake's bite is by no means the constant element generally supposed, but the result may vary from
the slightest amount of poisoning to one rapidly fatal."

" There seems to be a special and peculiar enmity existing between the Rattlesnake and Moccasin
Snake, and the Black Snake (Bascanium constrictor) and the ' King Snake ' (Ophibolus getulus,
Say) ; these last two species waging a constant warfare against the former, and invariably
conquering, according to information received from reliable parties. After the conflict, the
vanquished is eaten by the victor. In one case reported, a large Black Snake had seized a
Rattlesnake and entwined two or more folds behind his head, and several six or eight inches farther
back ; then by muscular effort had torn the body. It is a well-known fact that both Rattlesnakes
and Moccasins will endeavour to get away from the ' King Snake,' and in the South this beautiful
and harmless species is protected in view of this fact."

In Surinam, Guiana, and the Brazils there is a fine Snake called the Bushmaster,* which
grows to more than six feet in length, and it is interesting from having many of the habits of the
true Rattlesnakes, and a rudiment of a rattle. The structures at the end of the tail consist of ten
or twelve rows of spiral scales which are slightly recurved or hooked at their summits. It does
not climb trees, but frequents underwood near the rivers, and is well known for its venomous
powers. The natives call it "Surukuku."

Some of the Pit Vipers have a large plate on the top of the head instead of the small scales of
the genus Crotalus, and are included in the genus Trigonocephalus, and Charles Darwin notices
one in his usual inimitable manner, at Bahia Blanca : —

" Of reptiles there are many kinds ; one Snake (a Trigonocephalus, or more properly a Cophias),
from the size of the poison channel in its fangs, must be very deadly. Cuvier, in opposition to
some other naturalists, makes this a sub-genus of the Rattlesnake, and intermediate between it and
the Viper. In confirmation of this opinion, I observed a fact, which appeal's to me very curious and
instructive, as showing how every character, even though it may be in some degree independent of
structure, has a tendency to vary by slow degrees. The extremity of the tail of this Snake is termi-
nated by a point, which is very slightly enlarged, and as the animal glided along it constantly vibrated
the last inch ; and this part striking against the dry grass and brushwood, produced a rattling noise
which could be distinctly heard at the distance of six feet. As often as the animal was irritated and
surprised, its tail was shaken, and the vibrations were extremely rapid. Even as long as the body re-
tained its irritability a tendency to this habitual movement was evident. This Trigonocephalus has,
therefore, in some respects the structure of Vipers, with the habits of a Crotalus ; the noise, however,
being produced by a simpler device. The expression of the Snake's face was hideous and fierce ; the
pupil consisted of a vertical slit in a mottled and coppery iris ; the jaws were broad at the base, and
the nose terminated in a triangular projection. I do not think I ever saw anything more ugly, except-
ing, perhaps, in some of the Vampire Bats. I imagine this repulsive aspect originates from the features
being placed in position, with respect to each other, somewhat proportional to those of the human face,
and thus we obtain a scale of beauty."

North Carolina and to the south, and across to the Rocky Mountains, seems to be the country
where a fish-eating Snake,t with a large plate on its vertex, and a pointed rattle-less tail, is found. It
is usually called the Water Viper. The Copper-head Snake,! often wrongly called the Moccasin
Snake, belongs to this group also, and preys upon frogs and birds, and probably fishes. It has a bad
character amongst the inhabitants of the United States south of the forty-fifth parallel of latitude.

The last group of the American Pit Vipers is that of the Lance Snakes. One of these is
the Yellow Viper, of Martinique, § called Fer-cle Lance there, and the Rat-tailed Serpent, at St

* Lachcsis mutus. t Cenchris piscivorus.

J Trigcmocephalus (Ancistrodon) contcfrtrix. § Bothrops lanceolate.

320 NATURAL HISTORY.

Lucia, in the West Indies. Other and very venomous Serpents of the group live on the mainland,
and the principal are Jararaca* and Bothrops atrox.

Halys is the only East Indian genus of Pit Vipers or Crotalidse with a vestige of the rattle,
and it is reduced to a simple horny spine at the end of the tail. Many of these Indian
Crotalidce, such as the Trimeresurids, are arboreal Snakes, and in colour resemble the foliage or
branches of the trees in which they live. These Trimeresuri are said to be naturally sluggish,

COPPER-HEAD SNAKE (AncistrodoK contoririx).

and are apt to lie quietly, hidden by the leaves or branches they resemble in colour, until disturbed ;
then they are sometimes fiei-ce and aggressive, bite savagely, and make a hissing sound as they
prepare to strike, which they do by first drawing back the head and anterior part of the body, and
then darting it forward with great rapidity. Their tail is prehensile.

The venomous Snakes kill by inoculating their victim with a liquid poison, which escapes by a
groove in front of the fang, or by » canal formed by the cohesion of the edges of the groove. After
depriving their prey of the power of escape and resistance, they proceed to swallow it. On the other
hand, the non-venomous Snakes stop, and wound, and often kill with their well-developed solid teeth,

* Craspedocephalus (Bothrops) brasiliensis.

rENOMOUS SNAKES AND THEIR VICTIMS.

321

and then commence the extraordinary swallowing, having often enveloped their prey in the folds of
their body, crushing it more or less.

In the first group a special adaptation of the usual bones of the head enables the contents of the
poison-gland — probably an altered and adapted salivary gland — to be injected, and there are remark-
able movements permitted, which enable the Snake to bite and to protect its fangs from subsequent
injury. Then in the act of swallowing, a peculiar mobility and separability of the jaws and associated
bones come into play, and this is, of course, noticed also in the second group. In endeavouring to explain

YELLOW VIPER, OR FER DE LANCE.

these necessary actions and movements it must be noticed, first of all, that whilst the bones which
enclose the brain of the Snake are solidly united, those of the face, upper and lower jaws, and palate,
and those which joint the lower jaw with the skull — the lower jaw with the quadrate, and this with
the squamosal — are loose and more or less inter-connected by fibrous tissue, permitting of much separa-
tion and movement (see Note, p. 275). The movements and special adaptations are of two kinds,
those relating to the striking with the poison fang, and those which refer to the forcing back
the prey into the mouth and the expansion of the jaws sideways, in order that a huge morsel
should pass into a dilatable throat. The first will be now explained, and the last will be noticed
farther on.

The Rattlesnakes have been carefully studied, and they may be taken as the type of the veno-
mous Snakes, so far as the construction of the skull is concerned.

322 NATURAL HISTORY.

The pre-maxillary bones are very small and toothless. The maxillary bone has not the
elongate shape of that of the non-poisonous Snake, but it is short, somewhat bag-like, and hollow,
and a long curved fang is on that part of it which resembles the bottom of the bag, and which, in
the position of rest, looks backwards along the palate. Hence, when quiet, the fang is hidden in
folds of the soft tissues of the roof of the mouth. The hollow of the bone is below the pit in front of
the eye. The upper and inner part of the maxilla is jointed with a pulley -like surface on the lachry-
mal bone, so that the bag-like maxilla and its tooth can move forwards and backwards on the
lachrymal bone, the end of the fang describing about a quarter of a circle, and being vertical when
at the fullest forward movement — in the striking position. The lachrymal bone has some movement
on the frontal bone. Now, the mechanism of the bones of the palate and of the side of the head has
to produce a forward and backward movement of the free end of the maxillary bone ; and it has
especial connection with the necessity of the fang being vertical and ready to strike when the mouth is
widely open, and of the curving back of the fang along the palate, out of harm's way, when the mouth
is shut.

The fang, and its supporting bone hinged on to the lachrymal bone, can be pushed forward as
the mouth opens in the following manner : — There are three bones on each side of the mouth whose

names are already very familiar, and they are, a small
palate bone armed with curved teeth ; a long, flat, bar-like,
transverse bone, and the pterygoid bone, which is long
and stout, and as usual is united behind with the quadrate
bone close to the lower jaw. The transverse bone is
attached in front by a hinge-like joint with the maxilla,
and behind it is connected with the pterygoid. The palate
bone is also attached to the pterygoid by a joint, and is
connected by fibrous tissues with the skull. These bones
form a long line, and as a whole they are in contact with
the quadrate bone behind, and with the upper edge of the
hinder part of the tooth-bearing maxilla in front. The
quadrate bone and the maxilla being movable on the skull,

HBAD OF RATTLESNAKE, SHOWING FAXGS, AND

MUSCLES OF POISON GLANDS. the motion of the first is conveyed to the latter fang-

bearing bone by means of the intermediate rod. Now,

"\vhen the mouth is shut, the quadrate bone is placed so that it reaches out from the squamosal
bone, on the side of the skull, downwards and backwards, and the pterygoid bone with its
prolongation, the transverse, is pulled backwards. So that the hinder part of the maxilla is pulled
backwards, and the fang i*ests on the mucous membrane of the palate. When the Snake opens
its inouth to strike, the lower jaw separates from the upper, and the quadrate bone is pushed
forward at its end at the lower jaw. This movement acts on the line of bones ; £he pterygoid is
pushed forwards, and the transverse also, so that a force acts on the maxilla tending to press it forward,
and to make its lower or toothed part move in a corresponding direction on the joint with the
lachrymal bone. This peculiar movement is the result of the combined movements of the transverse
and palatine bones and their joint or union with the pterygoid.

The next proceeding is the snap or attempted closure of the jaws on the prey, and the same
muscle (or rather part of it) which closes the lower jaw on the upper compresses the poison
gland, which lies between it and the side of the skull above and behind the maxilla, and forces
a drop of its secretion down its duct which leads into the canal of the tooth. As soon as this is
done the mouth is closed, and the long bones pull on the maxilla and restore the fang to its place on
the palate.

In the Zoological Gardens in the Regent's Park, London, the Rattlesnakes may be seen exercising,
as it were, their jaws, before the Guinea-pig, a favourite prey, is given them. They open the mouth
widely, and immediately the long, slightly-curved, slender fangs project well in front, and are at right
angles with the upper jaw. It appears as if each slipped out of an envelope of soft skin which never
quite leaves their base, or where they are attached to the maxillary bones. Then the mouth is shut
and the teeth are retracted during that operation.

SNAKE POISONING. 323

It is evident that by its will the Snake can move its maxillae and fangs, and that when it
has killed and begins to swallow by opening its mouth, which is pressed on the victim, the poison teeth
are not struck forth. Hence, although opening the mouth is necessary to the protrusion of the fangs,
as noticed above, still there are muscular actions required within the sphere of the will. A muscle
called the spheno-pterygoid contracts when the rod of bones is desired to be pushed forwards, and
the folding back of the maxilla and tooth is produced by the contraction of the ectopterygoid and
spheno-palatine muscles.

The fangs are often cast or shed, and they are delicate, tubular, sometimes half an inch in length,
sharp at the free end, and on the whole rather scythe-shaped. The microscope shows that the canal
is not a simple passage through the midst of a solid tooth, but that the tooth may be considered flat
and to consist of dentine within and enamel all round, and to have been bent so as to form a groove,
and finally, by union of its edges, a canal. The poison looks like limpid syrup.

The symptoms of poisoning point to exhaustion and paralysis of the nervous centres, and to a
rapid failing of every function of the body. Local paralysis of the bitten part, blood spreading in the
skin near the wound, faintness, vomiting, bleeding, and mucous, bloody, involuntary motions precede
loss of consciousness, and convulsions close the sad scene. The examination after death reveals but
little, and Sir Joseph Fayrer states that in animals the blood nearly always coagulates firmly on
removal from the body, and there appears to be some doubt about the condition of that fluid in man,
which is said to become uncoagulable and altered in its microscopic characters. The poison acts with
most vigour on warm-blooded animals, and especially on birds, for a vigorous Snake bite will destroy
a fowl in a few moments. Cold-blooded animals succumb less rapidly, and all die if bitten decidedly ;
but the poisonous Snakes are not affected by their own poison, or of that of their kind. How the
poison kills is a matter of doubt. Dr. Holford believes that the molecules of the poison speedily grow
into cells, and that these multiply rapidly, and extinguish, by their capacity for absorbing oxygen, the
animal heat and powers. But they have not been seen before death by himself or Sir J. Fayrer, arid
what was seen after death may have been the result of changes in the last hours, and subsequently.
In some cases there is not time for this change, and the poison is as rapid in its action as prussic acid,
and is. an equally incomprehensible agent of destruction. A fter a while, symptoms of blood poisoning
come on, and should the patient last, the death, of portions of the body and of the blood is evident.
But the primary action is unknown. The poison being very readily and rapidly absorbed into the
circulation, the only chance of successfully treating a bite, by any of the venomous Snakes in hot
climates, is to stop its passage by the veins to the heart as quickly as possible. A ligature should be
applied immediately above the bite, that is, between it and the body, if on a limb. The natives of
India apply one or more, not only just above the bite, but up the limb in several places. A garter,
brace, piece of cloth, or anything that can be tied round quickly and strongly, will do. It must be
tightened to the utmost, and a stick should be put in the strap or string, and twisted. The part soon
becomes livid from the arrested blood. Then, if no surgeon is near, have a burning piece of wood
placed to the wound, or a live coal, or flash gunpowder on it. A red-hot iron, caustic, or carbolic acid
will be still better. Amputate if you are wise, and the patient will submit. Should the bite be where
a ligature cannot be applied, a knife must be got out, and the flesh mercilessly cut out at once.
Suction is dangerous; cupping glasses are rarely at hand. It is not right to pin one's faith on liquor
ammonite, for it is not an antidote. If the poison has been absorbed the pulse falls, and prostration
commences. Then stimulants are the only hope — ether, brandy, ammonia in water, mustard to the
pit of the stomach, and quietude. The patient is in danger of sinking from nervous exhaustion, and,
therefore, all the barbarous plans of walking about, flogging, &c., are worse than useless. Every
country has its antidotes, and every practitioner believes in one or more, but scientific experiment
under Fayrer and Brunton has shown that there is no proper antidote. Certainly, in less
venomous Snake bites, such as those of the Australian. Snakes, Dr. Holford has had success in
injecting ammonia into the veins.

The venomous Serpents being individually very numerous in India, and the population being
dense, it is reasonable to expect that great mortality would occur from Snake bites every year. In
1892, 1,455 deaths occurred from Snake bites, and this awful mortality was not compensated by
the death of 84,789 Snakes. — —

324 NATURAL HISTORY.

The snake-charmers, Fayrer states, handle poisonous Snakes freely, and without fear, even when
in possession of their fangs. The Cobras are their favourites, and occasionally the Ophiophagus, as
these Snakes present a very striking appearance when they erect their heads and dilate their hoods.
Those they exhibit generally have their fangs removed. This is done by cutting out their teeth, and
with them the mucous capsule with the reserve fangs. They are exceedingly dexterous, and the sleight
of hand with which they appear to catch a Snake in any patch of grass, or even from the ground, is
such as to deceive the closest observer. The Snake is, of course, concealed about the person, but is
with great rapidity and dexterity placed in the secluded spot, and as quickly abstracted. They are
well aware of the danger, and know perfectly well that no antidote has any effect, though they
pretend to prevent or cui*e bites by roots and snake-stones. With venomous they exhibit innocent
Snakes, and their exhibition is always accompanied by the music of a rude pipe made of a gourd.

SUB-ORDER COLUBRIFORMES.— THE INNOCUOUS COLUBRIFORM SNAKES.

This great sub-order includes the non-poisonous Snakes, whose jaws are armed with numerous solid,
curved teeth. The body is clothed with rows of large scales, and the head has plates. Their negative
character is the absence of a decided venom gland. Nevertheless, it is found that in some the last
tooth of the upper maxilla is grooved, and may have a small special, but not necessarily venomous
gland. Or no gland may be present. In two families, the Rough Tails and the Rollers, the jaws
are not extensible, and the prey is small, but in the rest there is much movement possible amongst the
bones of the face and side of the head. There are many families of them.

FAMILY ACROCHORDID^E.— THE WART SNAKES.

These Snakes from Japan and British India are peculiar, for the body and head are covered with
small wart-like tubercular or spiny scales, which do not overlap. The tail is short and prehensile ;
the eye is small ; the nostrils are close together at the top of the snout ; and the short teeth are strong
and unequal in size on the jaws and palate. They are viviparous Snakes.

One of them,* found in Japan and in Singapore, is very rare. Its habits are terrestrial. Carter
•compares its head to that of a bull-dog, and a female in his possession brought forth twenty-seven
young ones, all alive and anxious to bite. Undigested fruit has been found in the stomach, but
the Snake looks as if it fed on prey.

Another species is aquatic, and has a broad compressed tail. It is not venomous, and lives in
the rivers and shallow seas of the Indian Archipelago, t

FAMILY DRYIOPHID^E.— THE WHIP SNAKES.

These can usually be readily distinguished by their excessively slender back and tail, the head
being narrow and long, ending in a protruding rostral shield, or sometimes in a flexible end to
the snout. The scales are narrow and overlap much, and the species have the hinder tooth grooved.
The body has been compared to the thong of a whip. They are usually of a green colour, and the
Asiatic kinds have a horizontal pupil, and prey by night. They move with great grace in the trees,
but awkwardly on the ground. Whilst on a branch they can retain their hold with a few coils of the
tail, and then their long bodies shoot forth to seize the birds and lizards which for the most part form
their food. Some attain a length of seven to ten feet. An Indian Snake (Passerita mycterizans)
feeds on birds and lizards, and has a long and more or less movable snout. Oocybelis fulgidus,
from South America; has also this appendage. An offshoot of this family has species which ai-e
also nocturnal, with a short broad head, short snout, and vertical pupil. These are the Dipsa-
didae, and they are found in India, Africa, and Australia. They live on warm-blooded animals, some
attacking birds only, and others mammals. Their colours are more varied than the common Tree
Snakes. The Brown Tree Snake is a type, and is found in Eastern Australia, and it is nocturnal in
its habits, preying on birds and eggs.| The Ularburong of the Malays (Dipsas dendrophila) is one
of them.

Some other Indian and African Snakes have a body of a moderate length, and a flat
muzzle, the small eye having a vertical pupil. They§ are ground Snakes, and those of India live
* Acrochordus javanicus. f Chersydrus granulatus. + Dipsas fusca. § Family Lycodontidce.

TREE SNAKES.

325

on Skinks exclusively, whilst the African kinds devour mice and some other small nocturnal
mammals.

Some remarkable Snakes come from Madagascar, and have a long fleshy prolongation to the
niU77le at least one-third the length of the head. In one species this appendage is toothed, and in
iox it is plain. In the Langaha this growth has the shape of a blade, and is sharp at its end.
The colour of the Snake is bright brownish-red ; and in the Cockscomb Langaha, the muzzle ia
dentated, the Snake being brown and yellow. They belong to the genus Xiphorhynchus. The family
is represented in Australia.

OXYBELIS FULGIDUS.

A curious Snake of a purplish colour, densely marbled and mottled with brown, with small rose-
coloured spots, the cheeks and lips being carnation, has a flat head resembling that of a mastiff in
shape. The lips are arched and tumid. It climbs with ease, and frequents, by night, the roofs of the
huts of the natives of Java and Borneo, in searching for food, which consists of insects. It attains the
length of three feet. This Snake has a slender body, and tail, which is prehensile, but the head is
thick and large, and hence it is the type of the Blunt-headed family. They have a very narrow
mouth, and the maxillary bone is very short, and is provided with a few small teeth, and the
palate and lower jaw have strong teeth in front, but none are grooved. *

* Family Amblycephalidce (Blunt-head Snakes). The species is Amblycephalus boa.

184

326

NATURAL HISTORY.

FAMILY DENDROPHID^E.— THE TREE SNAKES.

These Snakes are diurnal in their habits, living in trees, and are extremely active climbers and
movers amongst the boughs, and their colours, often vivid, assimilate with the surrounding foliage.
They are found in all the tropical regions, and feed principally on Tree Lizards. The body and tail
are much compressed, or are very slender and elongate, and the head is distinct from the neck, and
has a longish snout and wide gape.

FAMILY PSAMMOPHIDJE.— THE DESERT SNAKES.

These have a longish body and tail, sometimes stout and rounded, and the head, very distinct from
the neck, is narrow or thick, and the loreal region is veiy concave. The scales are smooth, the nostril

•*""" DIPSAS DENDHOPHILA.

is lateral, and the eye is of moderate size. One of the four or five anterior maxillary teeth is longer
than the others, and the last is grooved. They are more common in tropical Africa than elsewhere,
and some are slender, others being stout. They frequent plains, and live on the ground. There
is one Indian species,* and it reaches forty inches in length. Mr. Jerdon noticed one which had
killed and was swallowing a small Vipera Echis, and remarks that this is, perhaps, the only instance
ever heard of in which a non-venomo\is Snake overpowered a venomous species. Another, belonging

>:J Psammophis condanarus.

THE COMMON ENGLISH SNAKE. 327

to a second genus,* is very repulsive in its aspect ; and its swollen, lips, covered by large hidden fangs,
give it the appearance of a venomous Snake. It has a wide geographical range in the Himalayas,
and the mainland to China, and in. the great islands.

THE RACHIODONT FAMILY.

An egg-swallowing Snake is found in South Africa, t and there are several other species of its
genus which probably swallow eggs, and have a peculiar structural arrangement in relation to this
food. Dr. Smith writes : — " The paucity and smallness of the teeth in the mouth are favourable to
the passage of the egg, and permit it to progress without injury ; whereas, were they otherwise, many
eggs which have thin shells would be broken before they entered the gullet, and the animal, in
consequence, would be deprived of its natural food when within, its reach. Having observed
that living specimens which I kept in confinement always retained the egg stationary about two
inches behind the head, and while in that position made great efforts to crush it, I killed one, and
found the gular teeth about the place where the egg ceases to descend." Those teeth assist in fixing
the egg, and also in breaking the shell as the muscles contract around the throat. The instant the
egg is broken the shell is ejected from the mouth, and the fluid contents are carried down to the
stomach. The so-callecl gular teeth are really the tips of the long inferior spines of eight or nine of the
first vertebrae. Their tips are covered with an enamel-like substance which projects through the
coats of the gullet, or oesophagus, into its cavity. This is one of the most striking instances of a
" final cause " in nature, and the case stands isolated.

There is a family of Fresh- water Snakes J which, Gunther notices, may be recognised by the posi-
tion of the nostrils on the top of the snout, which enables them to breathe by raising but a very small part
of the head out of the water. It is the same arrangement as that seen in the Sea Snakes. There are
several genera, and the species are usually small in size. They range widely in British India and the
islands of the mainland of Asia. The species Uipistes hydrinus greatly resembles a true Hydrophis
(p. 310). It lives in the sea, but it is not a venomous kind. The Long-nosed Herpeton, a Fresh-
water Snake, is remarkable for having two flexible " feelers," which are as long as its snout. They
are probably of use when the Snake is under water. It is found only in the southern parts of Siam.

FAMILY COLUBRID^E.— THE COLUBRIDES.

This is a very large family, and the following is a general description of the Snakes which form
its numerous sub-families and genera : — The head is distinct from the neck, not very large, and plated.
The teeth are numerous, and those of the upper jaw diminish in size from before backwards. The tail
has a double row of scales beneath, and there are no vestiges of limbs, nor is the body rigid as in the
next family. This important family is subdivided, and contains several sub-families, of which the
Smooth Snakes of Europe, the Common English Snake, and ^sculapius Snake, are types, and they
are the Coronellinse, Natricinse, Colubrinse, and Dryadinse. The family is very widely diffused.

SUB-FAMILY NATRICIN.E.

There is a common Snake, § which frequents many parts of England, and especially places where
water is readily reached. By no means uncommon, they are nevertheless rarely seen except by those
people who look for them, and, indeed, many of the unobservant live in counties where the Snake
is excessively common, and yet never see a specimen. As this Snake is very fond of the water,
and swims with ease, and frequents ponds where there are frogs to be caught, it is often called
the Water-Snake. It is a slender reptile, with the back part of the head broader than the neck, and
the head is rather flattened and ovate in shape. The plates are broad and flat, and there are seven
labials. The body is very long, and the middle line of the back is elevated ; the tail is tapering and
about one-fifth of the entire length. The scales of the back are oval, imbricated, and each has a keel ;
those of the sides are broader and less keeled. The abdominal plates are broad, and number
170, whilst the sub-caudals are in pairs from sixty to sixty-five in number. The upper parts of the
body and head are of a light brownish-grey with a green, tinge, sometimes approaching to a dull pale
olive. Behind the head, on the upper part, is a broad collar, or two curved spots of a bright yellow

* Psammodynastes. t Dasypcltis scdber. J Homalopsidce,

§ Tropidonotus natrix (Kuhl) ; or, Natrix torquata (Ray).

828

NATURAL HISTORY.

colour, and immediately behind these are two broad cross spots of black, or they may be confluent.
Two rows of small black spots are arranged alternately down the back, and there are larger ones at the
sides, all of which vary in size and closeness. The under part is of a pale blue, dull in colour, or it
may be of a lead tint marked with black. It is therefoi'e a pretty slim Snake, which may attain to
the length of three or four feet. It has a large mouth, and the gape is of the length of the head,
and slightly curved, rising behind. The tongue is long, very flexible, and forked to about one-third
of its length. The teeth are small, curved backwards, and arranged, as is usual in the group to which
this genus belongs, in two series on each side of the jaw above and below.

COMMON OR RINGED SNAKE.

They like the warm, sunny banks and heaths where the grass is high, near a pond, and bask by
the hour together. They slide down a crack, or move rapidly through the underwood, on an alarm.
In the water they are very active, and chase frogs and catch small fish ; out of that element they are
not very particular in their food, and they will strike and swallow young birds, birds' eggs, mice,
lizards, and frogs. The female is larger than the "male, and she is oviparous, laying eggs a con-
siderable time before the young ones are hatched. They are deposited in a warm place, and are
from sixteen to twenty in number, being connected together by a glutinous substance. Towards
the end of autumn, or earlier, they resort to some sequestered and sheltered place, as in the
hollow roots of trees or under hedges and brushwood, coil up in company with others, and sleep
during the winter, hibernating thus until the warmth of spring is pronounced enough. Mr. Bell,
in his work on " British Reptiles," says that the Common Snake is easily tamed, and may be
made to distinguish the people who caress and feed it

THE BLACK SNAKE.

329

TOP OF HEAD (A), UNDER PART OF BODY AND
SUB-CAUDALS (B), OF COMMON SNAKE.

When hungry, this Snake moves with great rapidity after its favourite prey, and the frog
leaps away quickly enough at first, but soon gives up the struggle. It may seize the frog by the
hind leg or quarter, and Bell says that the victim stretches itself out convulsively before it is
slowly enclosed within the jaws and gradually swallowed. Sometimes the frog is taken by the
Snake so that it leaves three limbs out of the mouth, after the body has disappeared, but they
gradually move in and down, and the body of the Snake becomes so much the larger as the food
moves into the stomach. The author just quoted once saw a frog which had been swallowed by an
unusually large Snake, leap out of the mouth of the latter which happened to gape, as they frequently
do immediately after taking food. And on another
occasion he heard a frog croaking several minutes
after it had been swallowed. In taking lizards and
birds the Snake swallows them head first. After
a meal the Snake remains inactive for many days, and
does not seek a fresh meal until the former one
has digested. This Snake is, of course, not venomous,
and its little bite does no harm to man or child.
They change their skins twice or more in the summer,
according to the temperature of the air, and the
rapidity of growth. This Snake is found in most
of the countries of Europe, from Scotland and
the corresponding latitude of the Continent to Italy
and Sicily. Mr. Bell says that not only is the
Common Snake not a native of Ireland, but at-
tempts to introduce it have failed, not from any
peculiarity of the climate, or any sacredness of the beautiful green island, but rather owing to the
prejudices of the inhabitants, which led to their destruction directly they were introduced artificially.
The genus has an immense range, and the Moccasin Snake, Garter and Ribbon Snakes, are
well known in North America. The Hog-nosed Snakes of America (genus Heterodon) and of
Madagascar belong to this sub-family.

SUB-FAMILY COLUBRIN^.

The True Colubrides — sub-family Colubrinse — afford, according to Giinther, the most perfect
examples of the innocuous Snake, and they are not characterised by the excessive development of
some particular organ, but by the fairness of the proportions of all parts. They are Land Snakes, but
they swim well when driven into the water, and they climb in search of food. The genus Coluber is
almost world wide, being found in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The Schlangenbad
Snakes belong to this genus, and the species was sacred to ^Esculapius.

The Snakes of the genus Compsosoma, like those just mentioned, have the maxillary teeth equal
in length, and are Indian, the genus Spilotes being their American representative.

The Black Snake* is slender, with smooth lustrous scales. It is black above and
blackish-ashy below, with a white throat, and is common in North America. It grows to a con-
siderable size, and is a most active and bold Snake, possessing, moreover, great powers of constriction.
Hunting after small birds, it climbs trees easily and robs their nests. In the "West it is a persistent
enemy of the Rattlesnakes. It hunts them, and boldly seizes them, enveloping their bodies in its con-
stricting folds. It is sometimes included in the genus Coryphodon, which has species in America,
Africa, and the East Indies. The Pantherine Snake t of the Brazils is one of its species.

The Indian Bat Snake J belongs to the group, and is very common on the continent of India
and Ceylon. It is scarcer in the Archipelago and in the Himalayas, which it ascends to 5,240 feet
above the level of the sea. It is a powerful Snake, attaining to the length of seven feet, and its food
consists of mammals, birds, and frogs. It frequently enters dwellings in search of mice, rats, and
young fowls, and is of fierce habits, always ready to bite, and they are not to be tamed readily.

Bascanium constrictor.

t Coryphodon panther inus.

Ptyas mucoxus.

330

NATURAL HISTORY.

SUB-FAMILY CORONELLINJE.

The Ground Colubrides, or Coronellinse, are Snakes of small size, with smooth scales. They live
on the ground, and are generally of rich, brilliant coloration, and only a few which frequent grassy
plains are of a bright green colour. The genus Coronella has species in almost every part of the
temperate and tropical regions, and there is a doubtful one in India. The European Coronella Icevis
is the type, and is found from Norway to the south. It is possibly an English Snake.

Another genus (Cyclophis) is interesting because it is represented by different species in North
Ameiica, China, Afghanistan, Mesopotamia, Hindostan, Ceylon, and Assam. They have all the

COROXELLA

teeth of equal size, and none are grooved. They are small Snakes, and as they frequent grassy
places, their colours are principally green and olive. They belong to a sub-family, the Dryadinse,
or Bush Colubrides, some of which have the long body more or less compressed, as it were, but not so
excessively slender as the true Tree Snakes. The tail is also long, and the head, distinct from the
neck, may have an elongate snout. The All-green Tree Snake of South America * and the Antillean
Snake,f with large eyes and elongated scales, have been brought to England. Nearly all the species are
arboreal.

Phiiodryas viridissimus.

f Dromicus antillensis.

PYTHOXS. 331

FAMILY CALAMAEIDJE.

This is a family of small Snakes with rather rigid, cylindrical, elongated bodies terminating in a
short tail, and they are called Dwarf Snakes. The head is but slightly distinct from the neck, and
the small nostrils are lateral, and some of the head-shields are united, so that in some species
there are two pairs of frontal plates, and in others but one. The body and tail scales may be
smooth or keeled, and are in from thirteen to seventeen longitudinal series.

The White-bellied Dwarf Snake* may be taken as the type of the genus Calamaria. It has a
single pair of frontal plates and thirty rings of scales, those under the tail being double. This
little Snake is about eleven inches long. The head is brown, and the body, of the same colour, is
ornamented with four longitudinal marks on the side and beneath. There is much white colour
beneath. It is an East Indian form, and lives on small mammals and worms, and is, perhaps, the
most fragile of all Snakes, and it falls a victim to Bungari and other Snakes.

In the family Oligontidte there is a peculiarity about the dentition, one of the genera having
no palatine teeth, f and another having the last tooth of the upper jaw longer than the others, and
sometimes having a groove in it.^

FAMILY PYTHONID^E.— THE ROCK SNAKES.

These reptiles are occasionally found of great size, and are the largest of the Snakes. They are
fortunately not common, and yet they have a very wide and somewhat remarkable geographical distribu-
tion. They are found in the hottest parts of Africa, Asia, the Eastern Archipelago, and Australia,
according to Giinther, and thus link together those distant lands in a former continental space.
For the Pythons, although liking water and swimming, could not, and do not, pass from land to land
by sea ; and, therefore, the ancestors of those in the separated districts wei-e once free to invade over the
ancient and now partly sunken intervening lands. Living to a great age, having few enemies, except
man, they reach the length of thirty feet, and have the circumference in their largest part of that of
the body of a man. But those having the length of from eighteen to twenty feet are rai-e, and the
commonest are found within that length, and their thickness is that of a man's thigh. Climbing as
well as swimming, and able to move rapidly over the ground, the Rock Snakes, constituting the
genus Python, attack animals such as small deer and others of the same size, and birds. They seize
their prey after the fashion of other non-venomous Snakes, with their teeth, and then coil their
body round it in a few or several folds, crushing and smothering it. They occasionally kill larger
animals than they can swallow; but when one is within their coils which can be got down, the
head of the victim is taken in first, and then the rest follows slowly ; and the passage, often
difficult enough in consequence of the size, hairs, horns, or feathers, is assisted by the production of a
lubricating saliva. It is a curious sight to see a couple of ducks seized one after the other and
bolted by a captive Python, and it is evident that after the meal the creature becomes very
disinclined to move. In a state of nature, if a large animal has been swallowed, the Python
becomes torpid and may be easily killed. They have the character of being fierce, and of
showing great determination when brought to bay. They grow slowly, and one which was brought
to London having a length of eleven feet, attained twenty-one in ten years ; but the growth is quicker
in the early periods of life, this eleven-foot specimen being about four years of age. The males are
smaller than the females.

There ai*e two species of Python in India. One is common in the Archipelago, inhabiting
most of the islands, and feeding on quadrupeds and birds. It often takes up its abode in outhouses,
catching its prey at night, and is useful in destroying vermin, although it occasionally causes havoc
amongst poultry. Very fond of water, it usually reaches a length of sixteen feet, but some of thirty feet
have been seen. It is the Ular sawa of the Malays. § The other one is the Adjigar of the Hindoos. ||
This great Snake has been said to destroy a Buffalo, which it certainly could not swallow ; and there
is a well-known engraving representing a man seized by one of these monsters.

There are t\vo Pythons from West Africa, and one of them «[ is to be seen in the Zoological
Gardens of London ; and when in full vigour, after having cast its skin, is iridescent with rainbow

* Calamaria, alliventer. f Genus Oligodon — Java and Ceylon, India.

J Genus Homalocranion — North America and Venezuela. § Python reticulatus. \\ Python molurus. U Python sebce.

332

NATURAL HISTORY.

tints on its grey body. It closely resembles the Natal Python, which Dr. Andrew Smith describes
as occasionally reaching twenty-five feet in length. It may be the Indian species last alluded to.
Formerly an inhabitant of the Cape Colony, it is now not to be found for hundreds of miles from
its boundaries, and few specimens have been found nearer than Port Natal.

Dr. Sclater, F.R.S., has shown that the African Python* and the Indian Adjigar f incubate
their eggs. These are of the size of those of a goose, and fifteen were laid on a 6th of May.

INDIAN ADJIGAR.

The Snake (the African one) collected them in a conical heap, coiled herself round and on
it, entirely covering the eggs, and her head rested on the top of the cone. The Snake remained
in that position until eight of the eggs were hatched on the 3rd of July. An increase in the tem-
perature of the Snake has been observed during the hatching. The Snakes of this family have the
relics of hind limbs in the shape of bony spurs, and the tail is prehensile ; it enables the Python
to cling on to the stump of a tree or a rock whilst aiTesting the escape of the prey. The head has

* Python sebce. t Python molurus.

47

BOA CONSTRICTOR.

THE SO A CONSTRICTOR.

333

rather a long snout, depressed and cut short, or rounded in front. The eye is of moderate size, and the
pupil is vertical. The scales are smooth, very numerous in series, and the sub-caudals are two-rowed.
None of the teeth are grooved, and they are found in the intermaxillary, maxillary, palatine, pterygoid,
and mandible bones, and they are unequal in size.

Associated with the Pythons, which are the types of a sub-family, are some beautiful Australian
Snakes, which are usually said to belong to two species, the Diamond and Carpet Snakes, but which
in all probability are races, or local varieties of one.*

The next sub-family of the Pythonidse to be considered is that of the Boas, and they have the

DIAMOND SN'AKE.

general configuration of the Great Pythons, but some have the head scaly and without plates, whilst
others have irregular plates. In all the tail is prehensile, but the intermaxillaries have no teeth.
All are South American, except some belonging to a genus whose place in classification is uncertain,
and whose species live in Java,

The Boa Constrictor has a long scaly head, which is broad behind, and the tail has a single row
of sub-caudal scales. They are arboreal, and watch for their prey, swooping down on it head first,
seizing and coiling their long and stout body around it. They reach twelve feet in length as a rule,
and it is said that some are twice and more as long, but there are grave doubts about the truth of the
statement. The ornamentation is rather peculiar, and there is a long series of markings extending the
whole length, composed alternately of great blackish stains or spots irregularly hexagonal, and of
pale oval stains or spots notched or jagged at either end, the whole forming a very elegant pattern.
It has the habits of the family, and is restricted to the tropical parts of South America. Probably

185

* Morelia aryus and M. variegata.

334 NATURAL HISTORY.

this was the Snake which was worshipped by the natives, and it has a strange literature attached
to it, of stories of the most wonderful kind, and it has been confounded with the Anaconda, which
forms the next genus of the sub-family.

Bates once, on an insect-hunting expedition, met a Boa Constrictor face to face. The huge
Serpent was coming down a slope, and making the dry twigs crack and fly with its weight, as it
moved over them. He knew there was no danger and stood his ground, and the reptile suddenly
turned and glided at an accelerated pace down the path. The rapidly-moving and shining body
looked like a stream of brown liquid flowing over the thick bed of fallen leaves rather than a Serpent
with a skin of varied colours. One morning, after a night of deluging rain at Para, the lamplighter,
on his ixmnds to extinguish the lamps, knocked Bates up to show him a Boa Constrictor he had just
killed in the street not far off. He had cut it nearly in two with his knife as it was making its way
down the sandy street.

The ability of Snakes to swallow prey, the size of which is greater than that of their heads and
necks, might be called in question were it not a very familiar spectacle. Whether the victim has
been struck and poisoned, or bitten and enfolded in some twirls of the body, or simply caught
in the mouth, sooner or later it is forced within the jaws, and the skin of the head is greatly
distended. The crooked shape of the teeth prevents the return of the prey, which is forced
farther and farther back, by alternate forward movements of the movable and separable lower jaws,
by gapings and general forward movements of the jaws. As the prey gets beyond the middle
of the mouth the lower jaws are separated behind from the skull, as much as possible, by the
mobility of the quadrate and squamosal bones, and then the extensile gullet receives its morsel.
Once past the jaws, the muscular efforts are restricted to the gullet and body.

A clean skull of a Python, with its bones in their proper place, shows how solid is the brain-
case, and how movable are the jaws and their attached bones. On looking at this Snake's skull
the pre-maxillary bones are seen in front, and there are teeth in them. This is (with the ex-
ception of the genus Tortrix) not the usual arrangement, for teeth are wanting there in other
Serpents.

Then the maxillary bones (on each side) are large, long, arched, and many-toothed, and very
different in shape to those of the venomous Snakes. "Within the mouth, and on the palate, is the
palatine bone (of each side), also furnished with teeth, whose points look backwards, and the
bone is long and is united behind with the pterygoid. Just where they unite a bone passes out
to join the maxilla, and this is the transverse bone. The hinder end of the pterygoid bone is in
contact with the quadrate and squamosal bones. This last bone (squamosal) is long, and only
adheres to the skull by one end, the opposite or outer end being in contact with the quadrate
bone. Hence the quadrate bones can be stuck out from the skull by their own and also the length
of the squamosal. On looking at the lower jaw the parts at the chin are noticed to be capable
of wide separation there; and behind, the mandibles jointed to the quadrate can be forced as
widely apart as that bone and the squamosal will let them. Hence the space through which the
prey can pass is wide. In the Tortrix (p. 335), which has the exceptional pre-maxillary teeth, the
quadrate bone is articulated directly with the skull, the squamosal being rudimentary. So it cannot
bolt great morsels.

The great water-loving Snake of Brazil, about which so many wonderful stories have been
told, is the Anaconda,* and it has often been confounded with the Boa Constrictor. Its head is
furnished with irregular plates, and that of the Boa is simply scaly. It grows to a great size,
however, and a large specimen is usually to be seen in the Zoological Gardens of London. Lying
in great coils, with the scales iridescent after it has cast its skin, this Snake may be seen with
its prey — a couple of ducks — in its lively moments. Often, however, it is wonderfully inert, and
the birds even rest on it and quack, quack, with full tones. Sooner or later, however, a long head,
rather wide behind and with a notable set of teeth, moves upwards out of the coil, and there is a rush
forward, and a duck is caught. Soon it disappears down the stretched-out mouth and throat, and the
other one follows after an interval. They last long, indeed many months, without food, and in their
native home live in and about rivers and swamps, preying on birds and small mammals.

* Eunectes murinus.

THE SHORT-TAILED SNAKES.

335

The sub-family of the Boas also contains the Tree Boa of South America,* Mexico, and the West
Indies, and two other genera of West Indian Snakes. These are represented by the Pale-headed
Tree Boa of Cubaf and the Yellow Snake of Jamaica. |

FAMILY ERYCID^E.— THE SAND SNAKES.

These resemble the Pythons and Boas in their internal and in most external charactei's, but
their tail is short and not flexible or prehensile, and the head is hardly distinct from the neck. They
are not arboreal, but frequent sandy or dry places and plains, burrowing easily beneath the surface,
and entering crannies and holes in search of their prey, which consists of mice, lizards, and other
burrowing snakes. They move with great rapidity. They are nocturnal, more or less, and are
found in Northern Africa, South Europe, and the islands of the Mediterranean, Asia Minor,
Hindostan, Sikkim, and part of Arabia.

THE FAMILY OF SHORT-TAILED SNAKES, OR ROLLERS.— THE TORTRICID^E.

The Snakes of this family are cylindrical in shape, and rather rigid in their bodies. They
have a small, conical, stumpy tail, a short and indistinct head, and little teeth, some being on the
palatine bones, and the scales are smooth. They have a rudimentary pelvis with horny spines
projecting close to the vent, and there are relics of the hind limbs. One species has teeth
on the pre-maxillary bones, like a Python, as well as on the usual bones. This is Tortrix scytale,
which inhabits Guiana. It is a small, innocuous Snake, which lives above ground in boggy
places, preying 011 worms, insects, and small reptiles. Probably it cannot swallow anything large,
as the quadrate bone is articulated directly with the skull, the squamosal being rudimentary.

Another genus of the family is represented in Java by the Red Cylindrophis ; but this Snake has
no teeth on the pre-maxillaries. It is made a pet of, and sometimes worn as an ornament. Finally,
in the genus Xenopeltis of India the squamosal bone does not form part of the wall of the skull.

The last family of the Colubriform Snakes is closely allied to the Rollers. Its members have a
cylindrical body, a short and pointed head, a non-extensile mouth, and a short truncated tail, with
a naked terminal plate, or it is replaced by keeled scales. There are teeth on both jaws, and there is
* CoraUus kortulanus. t Epicrates angulifer. J Chilobothrw inornatus.

TORTRIX SCYTALE.

336 NATURAL HISTORY.

a fold in the throat which permits of the extension of the skin. The eyes are very small. These
Uropeltidse, having such remarkable Saurian affinities, live in the East Indies and in Ceylon, and it
is necessary to dig to a depth of four feet to obtain them.

SUB-ORDER TYPHLOPIDJE.— THE BLIND SNAKES.

These are small Snakes, and are by no means readily distinguished by an ordinary observer from
the Sheltopusiks, Blind-worms, Amphisbaense, and other Lacertilia with Snake-like bodies, and more or
less imperfect limbs. They lead a life like that of the burrowing Anguis (p. 297), their bodies are
vermiform, cylindrical, and rigid, and there are the relics of hind limbs in the form of small rod-
shaped bones. They are not blind, for the eyes are present, although small, but they are covered by the
ocular and pre-ocular shields, which are more or less transparent. The teeth are found in the
upper and lower jaw according to the genera. These Snakes are allied to the Lizards in that they

have the long axes of the palatine bones transverse, and there is no
transverse bone as in the Snakes proper. Moreover, the pterygoids
are not connected with the quadrate bone. They have not the power of
enlarging their narrow mouth, and they feed on small worms and insects.
They are divided into two families : in one, the Catodontes, there are teeth
only on the lower jaw, which is shorter than the upper ; * in the other,
SIDE VIEW OF HEAD OF the Epanodontes, the teeth are on the upper jaw, and the extremity of

BLIND SNAKE. (After Gun- .. , . 1 J Ml/ • 1 ±1 ,. -i 1 •

ther.) the muzzle is truncate and covered with large scales, the nostrils being

situated laterally on the anterior margin. Typldops lumbricalis, of the

Antilles, is the type. Some other small Blind Snakes, with the rudiments of hind extremities
hidden beneath the skin, and a small eye covered by the ocular and pre-ocular shields, are in-
habitants of almost every part of the Tropics, and about eight species occur in British India,
and the most remarkable is Typhlops tennis.

The Australian Blind Snake is Typldops rilpelli, and it lives in ants'-nests.

In concluding this natural history of the Serpents it is necessary to make a few remarks on
some of their more important peculiarities of structure. The tongue, that long, rapidly-moving
organ, which is evidently often used as a feeler, as well as a menacing agent, is slender, cylin-
drical, and forked. It is lodged in a membranous sheath, the opening of which is situated near the
anterior part of the mouth, and the reptile can protrude it from the mouth to nearly its whole
length. The esophagus and stomach form a continuous tube of variable length, and it is difficult to
determine where one ends and the other begins. But the stomach is strengthened by muscular layers,
and the folds in it are more numerous. It is short in relation to the length of the reptile, and any
large prey is retained partly in the oasophagus. There are two parts, one of which, in front, is the
" sack," and the other the pyloric end, and this is more or less bent on the other. It has no folds, and
has to deal with the more or less digested food. The intestine is much looped in the True Serpents,
and this seems to refer to the movement of the reptile on its belly, and the possibility of this acting
perniciously on a simple elongated gut. That of the Water Snakes is simpler. They all have a lobed
liver, a spleen, and a pancreas.

They have a complicated lymphatic system, and there are lymphatic hearts situated just above
the origin of the tail, and they are large in the Python. A diminished and atrophied condition of
one of the lungs has already been noticed in some Lizards, and it is found in the Serpents, and has
to do with the room which great prey requires when swallowed. It is not necessary to refer to
the circulation, except to notice that the ventricular septum is incomplete. The great nervous
centre has the two hemispheres broader than long, the olfactory bulb is frequently of large size, and
the corpus striatum is smaller than in the Lizards. The cerebellum is very small and flat, and
the so-called bigeminal tubercles are well developed.

In the ear there is no proper tympanic cavity, and the handle of the auditory ossicle is embedded
amongst the flesh, so that its extremity only touches the skin, close behind the articulation of
the jaw.

* Stenostoma niyricans, an African species, is the example.

EYE AXD EYELID OF SERPENTS. 387

The eye of Serpents is protected by an eyelid of a very remarkable character ; for that it is an
eyelid, and not, as is very generally supposed, the cornea, its anatomical relations abundantly prove.
It consists of a transparent membranous expansion, which is immovably fixed in a kind of frame
formed for its reception by a circle of scales, usually seven or eight in number, disposed around the
margin of the orbit. This eyelid is formed of three superposed layers. First, an epidermic layer
which is elastic and pretty thick where it covers the middle of the eye, but towards the circumference
of the eyelid it becomes thinner, and is manifestly continuous with the epidermis that invests the
scales in the vicinity of the orbit. This corneous lamella, by its solidity, is well adapted to defend the
eye, and it is this which becomes detached and cast off with the slough of the Snake when it moults
its skin. Secondly, beneath this epidermic layer is a second membrane, which is the middle tunic
of the eyelid. This is very delicate and soft, and perfectly transparent in the centre, but towards

VISCERA OF A SERPENT.

(a) Mouth : (6) Gullet; (c) Tracbsa; (d) Lung; (e) Liver; (/) Stomach and Intestine; (g) Egg; ift) Ovary; (t) Cloaca ; (fc) Vent.

its circumference it encloses some opaque whitish fibres, supposed by Cloquet to be muscular. This
layer, at the margin of the orbit, is manifestly continuous with the skin ; internally it is lined by the
third layer, which is mucous, being, in fact, the membrana conjunctiva, which is reflected on to it
from the surface of the eyeball. All around the circumference of the eyelid there is a whitish,
granular, transparent substance, the nature of which is apparently glandular.

The conjunctiva lines not only the internal surface of the eyelid, but also a large portion of the
cavity of the orbit, from which it is reflected on to the front of the eyeball, thus forming a complete
sac without any opening externally.

The skin comes off the eye during the periodical moult of the cuticle of the body, and for
some little time before it looks dull and discoloured ; and when it has been cast, the new covering is
perfect in its transparency.

During the moult the Snakes hide up or are quiescent, and the whole skin comes off in one or
more pieces.

In conclusion, it may be remarked that the Ophidia have not a great geological age, and the
first lived in the early Tertiary age. The remains of a Snake belonging to the Python group,
twelve feet in length, were discovered at Sheppey ; others of a Boa, twenty feet in length, came to
light at Bracklesham. The vertebrae are perfect, and they belong to the fossil genus Palseophis.
Others were found at Hordwell in higher strata. In later Tertiary deposits the presence of a

338

NATURAL HISTORY.

venomous Snake has been noted, and a vertebra of a huge Coluber was found in the Miocene of the
South of France. In the fossiliferous deposit at CEningen three species of Coluber have been found.

The fossil remains of Serpents in North America occur in lower Tertiary deposits. The genus
Dinophis was one of the Sea Snakes, and the species attained the length of thirty feet. Snake
remains are abundant in the fresh-water Eocene deposits of the Western States, but they are of
moderate size. They are related to the Boa Constrictors and others. A few fragments have been
found in later deposits. There are a few remains of fossil Snakes in the Tertiaries of India.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE ORDER OPHIDIA.

SUB-ORDER. — THANATOPHIDIA (Venomous Snakes).

FAMILY ELAPID.^E. — Venomous Terrestrial Colubrines . . Example — Genus Naja

„ HYDROPHID.B. — Venomous Water Colubrines „ „ Pelamis.

„ SOLENOGLYPHIA. — Viperinc Snakes | p r
SUB-FAMILY VIPERIDJE.— Vipers /

SUB-FAMILY CROTALIDJE. — Pit Vipers ... „ „ Crotalus.

SUB-ORDER COLUBRIFORMES. — Innocuous Colubriform Snakes.

FAMILY ACROCHORDID.^. — Wart Snakes ....... Genus Acrochordus,

DRYIOPHID.*:. — Whip Snakes Passerita.

DIPSADID.'K. — Nocturnal Tree Snakes Dipsas.

LYCODOXTID.*:. — Ground Snakes ....... , Lycodon.

AMBLYCEPHALID.%:. — Blunt-heads ...... , Amblycephalus,

DENDROPHID.E. — Tree Snakes , Bucephalus.

PSAMMOPHID.E. — Desert Snakes Psammophis.

RACHIODOXTIDJE. — Throat-toothed Snakes , Dasypeltis.

HoMALOPSiD.t. — Fresh-water Snakes , Hipistes.

COLUBRID*:. — The True Snakes , Coronella.

SUB-FAMILY NATRICIX^E. — Ringed Snakes .... , Tropidonotus.

,, DRYADINJE. — Bush Snakes , Herpetodryas.

„ CALAMARID.B. — Dwarf Snakes .... Calamaria.

FAMILY PYTHONIDYE. •— Rock Snakes Python.

„ ERYCIDJE. — Sand Snakes Eryx.

„ TORTRICIDJE. — Rollers Tortrix.

„ UROPELTID.I:. — Rough Tails Uropeltis.

SUB-ORDER TYPHLGPID.E. — Blind Snakes.

FAMILY CATODOXTES „ Stenostoma.

., EPANODOXTES ,, Typhlops.

THE EXTINCT REPTILES.

Ill describing the Chelonia, Crocodilia, and Ophidia, attention was paid to the kinds which lived
in ages gone by. It is now necessary to draw attention, very briefly, to the Fossil Reptiles, which cannot
he exactly classified in the same great groups as those now mentioned, and also to those which may,
with greater or less propriety, be connected with the Sauria or Lacertilia. They have been found in the
Permian deposits, and in those of the consecutive ages to the Pliocene, but the Trias, Lias, and Oolitic
strata in the Old World, and the Cretaceoxis strata of the Old and New Worlds, contain the greatest
number, and the structural affinities of the extinct kinds with the recent, and with Fish and
Birds, are very remarkable.

THE DINOSAURIA.

These reptiles attained the greatest size of any animals living on land, but some of them
were mere pigmies. Thus, the Iguanodon of the English Wealden had a thigh-bone four feet in length,
a Cetiosaurus found in the Oolites must have been ten feet in height, and the American Titanosaurus
was no less than sixty feet in length and thirty feet in height. On the other hand, Nanosaurus, an
associate of the other and greater one, was no larger than a Cat. They began to live in the age of the
Trias, and died out in the Cretaceous age, and had a vast geographical range. Most of the kinds
walked mainly on their hind feet, like modern Ostriches, and many left the impression of their
bird-like feet on the rocks. They had small fore-limbs, and a large tail. They were herbivorous as
a rule, but there was a carnivorous group also. A genus was found preserved in the Solenhofen slate
called Compsognathus, and it has some of the parts of the skeleton transitional between the Wingless
Birds, the Crocodilia, and the Sauria. Some had Crocodile-like heads, with beaks and teeth like a
Lizard (Iguana), and others had recurved, serried, huge teeth and shortish heads. The Solenhofen
specimen had a very bird-like head with teeth, a long neck, short fore and long hind limbs.

EXTINCT REPTILES. 339

The vertebrae differ mucli in this group in size and number. As a rule the bodies were slightly
concave before and behind, or nearly flat ; but in some instances the cervical vertebrse were hollow
behind only, the dorsal were flat, and those of the tail amphiccelous. Chevron bones were attached
between the tail vertebrse; and the sacrum appears not to have been formed by less than four
vertebrse. These reptiles had long narrow scapulae, no clavicles, and the coracoid was rounded. The
femur is bird-like at its farther end, and the inner and outer digits are either shorter than the rest or
quite rudimentary ; and the third digit is the longest, as in the birds in general (Huxley). The bones
of the pelvis were much like those of birds.

THE OENITHOSAUEIA.

Flying reptiles, but not fashioned on the principle of the modern little Dragon, existed in the
Secondary age of the world, and must have been common in Europe and America. The largest had
a spread of wing of from ten to twenty-five feet, and were found fossil in the remains of the inland
Cretaceous sea of North America. Smaller than these, but furnished with teeth (which the others
had not), were those of Europe, some of which were as large as the Albatross, and others no larger
than a Blackbird. The American kinds are called Pteranodontia, and the European Pterodactyles.
In some of the European kinds there were no teeth in the front of the jaw, and the others were implanted
in sockets, but there was a beak (Ramphorhynchus). This kind had a very long tail. In others
(Dimorphodon), the front teeth were large and pointed, and the others small. The true Pterodactyles
had short tails, teeth throughout the jaws, and the little finger with four long joints. A membrane
was attached to them, to the fore arm, to the flanks of the body down to the tail, and it stretched
thence to the ankle, and passed over to the end of the little finger. No other fingers were inchided
in the great skin wing. No feathers existed, but the limb-bones were hollow and light. The
breast-bone had a keel like the flying birds, and there was a scapula, and also a coracoid very bird-
like. The head had great orbits, and was long and light, and a ring of sclerotic plates was on the
eye. The brain-case was like that of the bird. They lived in the age of the Lias to that of the
Cretaceous inclusive.

THE ICHTHYOPTEEYGIA.

An order of extinct reptiles, the Ichthyopterygia,* contains gigantic massive forms which
combined a fish and lizard-like construction, and were highly predaceous. They had a long head, a
veiy indistinct neck or fish-like body, and a long tail. The body was covered with skin, and not with
scales or plates, and there was probably an upright fin oil the tail, which added to the compressed look
of the body. Huge eyes, whose sclerotic had many bony plates, were placed at the side of the head ;
and the gape was wide, the teeth long and stout, and not planted in sockets, but in a common groove.
They breathed by means of lungs, and the ribs were numerous, false ones being developed, on the under
part of the abdomen. The vertebra were very numerous, and the bodies biconcave, and the neural
arch was united to them by a distinct suture. There were neither sternum nor sternal ribs, and the
sacrum consisted of two vertebrse ; but scapulae, coracoids, clavicles, and interclavicles existed. The
fore and hind limbs were in the form of paddles, the digits consisting of numerous groiips of five,
with extra or marginal bones. The similarity of these in plan to those of the Cetacea or Whales is
very remarkable. These reptiles attained a vast size, and flourished especially in the Lias of
Europe, and lived to the close of the Secondary age. They could swim by the side lash of the
tail and the propelling action of the paddles ; and doubtless, from the size of the orbit, the large

* Fish-fin.

SKELETON OF ICHTHYOSAURI, S,

340 NATURAL HISTORY.

eye could collect the feeblest rays of light when chasing prey under water. They appear to have
beached themselves occasionally on shore, but they could not walk. Professor H. G. Seeley, F.R.S.,
has shown, by good evidence, that they were viviparous. They do not appear to have bred in the
American seas of the age. There were many species of the genus Ichthyosaurus, and they have the
nostrils high up in the snout near the orbits, and their opening in the palate was behind the long
palate bones.

Professor O. C. Marsh has founded a new order of extinct reptiles, the Sauranodontia, from
specimens obtained in the Jurassic strata of the Rocky Mountains. They were apparently
Ichthyosaurs which had no teeth, the jaws being even destitute of a groove for holding them. All
the other peculiarities of the Ichthyosaurs (which have, as yet, not been found in America) are
present, and their length was from eight to nine feet.

ORDER PLESIOSAURIA.

A most extraordinary group of marine reptiles lived during the Secondary ages of the world, and
the first skeleton discovered, and which belonged to a kind which flourished in the days of the Lias,
excited much attention. It had a very small head like a Lizard, a neck extremely long and snake-

SKELETON OP PLESIOSAURUS.

like, a plump body, and a distinct and shortish tapering tail. The limbs were short, the hinder pair
being the longer, and they were furnished with paddles, differing somewhat from those of
Ichthyosaurus. Dr. Buckland compared it to a Turtle with a Snake drawn nearly through it. The
Plesiosaur, as it was called, swam probably on the surface, and fed like a Swan, but most likely on fish
and small reptiles. It had no scales, but probably a smooth skin. There were no fins ; and the teeth,
as seen in the preserved fossil skulls, are sharp- pointed, curved backwards, and each is placed in a
distinct socket, but it does not unite to the jaw by a bony union. The snout tapers, and is flattish,
and the orbits are large, but the eye had no sclerotic plates. The outer nostrils open just before the
eyes, and the premaxillary bones, usually small in reptiles, are large, and form a large portion of the
snout. The inner nostrils appear to be in front of the palate bones, and are separated by the vomers.
The head, not much more than one-twelfth part of the length of the body, moved readily by a large
condyle on the very movable neck, which has in some kinds more than forty vertebrae. These are
faintly biconcave, and the neural arch is not united by bony union. Some ribs, not unlike those of the
Crocodile, exist near the root of the neck, and in the body there are transverse processes with curved
ribs jointed to them. There are from twenty to twenty-five back vertebrae, and two sacral, whose ribs
are broad for the attachment of the ilium. Thirty or forty tail vertebrae succeed, and they have
chevron bones. There are thus ribs to the vertebrae, and there are none to the sternum, and this is
compensated by a system of ossifications in the walls of the abdomen, arranged in cross rows, each
consisting of a middle bone slightly bent on itself, and of six others, three on each side, their pointed
ends overlapping. The arrangement of the bones of the shoulder and chest is very remarkable. The
sternum is small and band-like, its place being occupied, as it were, by two great coracoids. The
blade-bones, small and long, differ from those of any other reptile, and there is an epicoracoid. No
clavicles exist, but in some kinds that lived during the Trias they are found. The fore limb ends
in five digits, composed of metacarpals and phalanges constricted in the middle, which are numerous
in the middle digits. The pelvis is large, to fit the corresponding large limb, and all the bones
are present. The femur much resembles the humerus, and the toes those of the fore limb.

EXTINCT SAVE I A. 341

All the extremities were encased in flesh and skin, like the flippers of Whales. These fast-swimming
surface skimmers began in the Trias, and the early kinds, such as Notosaurus, differed somewhat
from those which followed, or the genera Plesiosaurns and Pliosaurus. The first has been described, and
the kinds of the other differ, by having the vertebrae wide in proportion to their length, and deeply
excavated before and behind. The head is bigger, the neck shorter, and the paddles are larger.

The American forms belong to the last-named genus ; and the first was represented in the
Southern hemisphere in Secondary strata in New Zealand.

THE EXTIXCT SAURIA, OK LACERTILIA.

It was noticed, in describing the remarkable Lizard from New Zealand — the Tuatera, or Sphenodon
— that it was allied to Rhynchosaurus and Hyperodapedon, Triassic forms.

Other extinct Lizards of small size, whose anatomical characters resemble in many important
points those of the Lacertilia with amphicoelous vertebrae, like the Gecko, have been found in the
strata of the early Secondary ages. Telerpeton, from Elgin in the Trias, is one of these, and the
group are called the Homaeosauria. The Eocene Lake basins of Western North America contain
numerous fossil remains of Lizards. Some have a bony coat of mail, others are scaly, and a few
somewhat resemble the Iguana. Others were found in the Miocene and Pliocene deposits.

The Protorosauria are the oldest of the Lizards, and the remains of one, six or seven feet in
length, with a long neck and moderate-sized skull, a long and slender tail, and its limbs as well
developed as they are in existing Monitors, were found in the Permian deposits of Thuringia. It had
very few cervical vertebrae, all of which are slightly amphiccelous. The teeth, sharp pointed, were
implanted in sockets, and its extremities had five digits, which were arranged like those of the
Geckos. Another, called Bathygnathus (deep jaw), is from the Trias of Prince Edward's Island.

Owen described a fossil Lizard from the Cretaceous with a long neck and body like an eel,
and with limbs. It is called Dolichosaurus longicollis.

He has also described, from South Africa and Hindostan, a form with two huge upper teeth like
tusky canines not unlike those of the Morse (Vol. II. p. 212). The lower jaw was armed with a
cutting horn, and the reptile swam well. This Dicynodon is of the age of the Permo-Trias, and it
belongs to a family — the Dicynodontia. Closely allied are the Cryptodontia, whose teeth are either
inconspicuous or absent, such as the genus Oudenodon of South Africa. The Cynodontia, a South
African family, is of late Palaeozoic and early Secondary age, and there is a pair of teeth in each jaw
like the canines of carnivorous animals, and they divide incisors from mclars. Galaeosaurus is the most
remarkable.

Owen has also described a huge Lizard from the latest Australian deposits. Its skull has horns,
and belonged to a form which was somewhat like Moloch horridus, and was as large as an ox.

The Mosasauria were Lizards ; they were great, long-bodied, and some, very Snake-like marine
creatures. They are found in the Cretaceous deposits of Europe, and Maestricht yielded the first.
It had eighty-seven proccelous vertebrae, and the skull was not unlike that of an Old World Monitor ;
but the sharp recurved teeth were anchylosed to the pre-maxillary, maxillary, pterygoid, and
dentary bones, and the pterygoid bones are unlike those of any recent kinds. There were North
American kinds of this group of vast size, which had four paddles, a vast number of vertebrae and
ribs, and teeth big enough to vanquish all enemies. They abounded in the Cretaceous seas of the
Far West, and some reached the length of sixty feet.

P. MARTIN DUNCAX.

NOTE. — The tooth and part of the skull of a Dicynodon have been found in Triassic strata near Elgin. The Beaked
Lizards of the Acrodont group have been found fossil in the Trias at Elgin and elsewhere (pee p. 290).

186

CLASS AMPHIBIA.

CHAPTER I.
FEOGS AND TOADS.

Characteristics of Amphibians— Remarkable Skin— The Skeleton— Heart of Frog— Circulation of the Blood— Method of
Respiration — Gills, or Branchiae — The Nervous System — Brain of Fros — The Eyes and Ears — Alimentary Canal— THE
ANOURA, OR THE FROGS AND TOADS— Distinctive Features -Hibernation— Lungs— Throat sacs— Teeth— Food
—Skeleton— Muscles of Thigh and Leg— Batrachian Locomotion— Their Swimming Powers— The Tongue— The Croak-
ings— Metamorphosis of the Frog— Structure of the Tadpole— Circulation of Blood in the Gills— Last Stages of the
Tadpole Condition— THE BATRACHIAKS WITHOUT TONGUES— The Surinam Toad— Birth of the Young Pipas— THE
BATRACHIANS WITH TONGUES— THE OXYDACTYLA— THE RANID.E, TRUE FROGS — The Common Frog — Habits— Its Rela-
tions with Humanity — Development of the Embryo— The Frog's Skull— The Edible Frog — The American Bull Frog
— African and other Frogs — The Horned Ceratophrys — THE PELOBATID^E — The Obstetric Frog— The Bombinator
Igneus — The Brown Mud Frog— The Globose Cacopus Frog— THE BUFONIM:— The Common Toad — Habits — The Meta-
morphosis— The Toad lias not Escaped Calumny — The so-called Venom— The Natter- Jack, or Rush Toad — The Variable,
or Green Toad— The Indian and African Toads— Mr. Darwin on a South American Toad — The North American
Toads— The Breviceps— THE DISCODACTYLES— THE TREE FROGS— The Hyloranae— The Hylidae— Their Digits— The
Common Hyla — The Goose-footed Hyla— The Elegant Hyla— The Common Golden Tree Frog — The Pouched Frog
— The Common Indian Tree Frog — The Spurred Tree Frog — Tree Frogs of Ceylon — The Acris gryllus— The Genus
Rhacophorus — The Hylodes ocularis — The Martinique Frog — The Phyllomedusidse — The Great Green Tree Frog —
The Dendrobatidse — The Genus Plectropus.

THE vertebrated animals called Amphibia were, as has been already noticed in the Introduction
to the Reptilia, formerly included with the Reptiles in a great division of the animal kingdom ; now
they are placed in a class by themselves, and they have many structural resemblances to the Fish.
They are cold-blooded, and their skin is generally naked. They have limbs (with few exceptions), and
breathe by means of lungs, or they have more or less persistent gills. Their circulation is incom-
plete in comparison with that of the Vertebrata already noticed, and the skull joins with the first
vertebra by means of two occipital condyles. Finally, the Amphibia, with few exceptions, have
an immature or a larval and an adult condition, the first being passed in water, and certain
membranes are deficient in the embryo, or unborn. The general shape of the Amphibia indicates
that they are fashioned to exist, at some time of their lives, in water and on land, and the
body is long and cylindrical, or short and compressed, and frequently there is a long, flat tail,
and a back crest of skin. Sometimes there are no limbs — for instance, in the worm- or snake-
like Caecilias; in other instances, as in the Siren, there are only short fore limbs, or else the
rudiments of fore and hind limbs furnished with weak and limp digits. Even in those kinds which
have the limbs and digits well developed, they act principally in pushing the heavy, low body along
on the feet. The Batrachians — Frogs and Toads — which have short trunks, tailless in adult age,
are the only Amphibia which have two pairs of long and useful active members, which enable their
possessors to run, jump, swim, and climb. The skin is of vast importance to the Amphibia as a secre-
ting and a respiratory surface, and it is usually smooth and clammy, or viscid ; but the CaBcilias alone,
amongst existing Amphibians, have small scales or scutes imbedded in it, and they present the rayed
appearance of fish-scales. The skin includes, as a rule, many glands which are either simple and flask-
shaped ; and they assist, by their secretion, in the process of moulting, or they may be composed of a
number of sac-like bodies, and in this case the secretion is often acrid and foetid, and is fatal to small
creatures ; and, when not so, it is equally viscid, and lubricates the surface and makes it slimy. These
complicated glands are collected at certain parts of the body, especially near the back of the jaw in
the parotid region, in Toads and Salamanders, and also on the sides of the body and on the hind limbs.
The colour of the skin and its shades are produced by colouring granules which are situated in the
epidermal cells, and also by the presence of very large branched pigment cells in the skin, which, as in
the Frogs, for instance, produce changes in colour by alterations in their shape and position. With
regard to the bones of the skull and skeleton, it is remarkable and significant, that in these low
Vertebrates they can be compared with and named from those of the higher animals. The bodies
of the vertebrae are of bone, and there are intervertebral cartilages ; there are also relics of the noto-
chord, an embryonic condition of the vertebral column. The shape of the body of the vertebra differs
in the various groups. The sacrum rarely consists of more than one vertebra, but there are exceptions.
With regard to the skull, the base and part of the sides are differently arranged to the correspond-
ing regions in the Reptiles and higher Vertebrates, for the Amphibia have not complete basi-

ANATOMY OF THE AMPHIBIA.

343

HEART OF TllOG.

(a) Auricle ;(«) Ventricle; (ao) Aortic Bulb, (1,2,3)
the Aortic Trunks ; (eg) Carotid Gland; (0 Lingual
Artery; (c) Carotid Artery, (pc) Pulrao-Cutaneous
Artery ; tp> Pulmonary Artery, with ramifications
over Lungs.

occipital, basi-sphenoid, supra-occipital, ali-sphenoid bones, or pre-sphenoid cartilage bone ; and a great

membrane bone, the pre-sphenoid, covers the base of the skull instead, from the occipital to the

ethmoid region, as in some Fishes. There are two pre-maxillse, and the maxillae are usually present.

There are pterygoid bones, and, except in some Frogs, there are palate bones. With regard to

the hinging of the lower jaw to the skull, there is a membrane bone called temporo-mastoid, which

extends from the side walls of the skull to the articular head of

the lower jaw, which has a dentary, splenial, and usually an

angular bone entering into its composition. There are no sternal

ribs. The heart has but one ventricle, two auricles, and a long

swelling to the main artery, which has contractile muscular

fibres, and sometimes valves and longitudinal partitions in it

called the arterial bulb (bulbus arteriosus). But besides these

there is a space bounded by contractile walls, into which the

venous blood from the body pours, before it enters the right

auricle. The left auricle is usually smaller than the right, and

a single pulmonary vein from the lungs enters into it. The

interior of the ventricle is more like a sponge (Huxley) than a

chamber with well-defined walls. The bulbus arteriosus springs

from it, and ends on each side in either three or four trunks,

which ascend upon the branchial arches. The variation in the

number of these main trunks, which resemble so many arches

in the different groups of Amphibia, is considerable. In the

adult and perfect Amphibia the circulation of the blood closely

resembles that observed in the lowest or simplest amongst the

Reptilia. In a general sense it may be stated that the little

left auricle receives the blood from the lungs, whei-e it has been aerated and made to resemble bright

arterial blood during the pi'ocess of respiration, by means of the pulmonary veins. At the same time

the larger right auricle receives the dark impure blood from the great veins (vence cavce) of the bodyr

head, and internal organs. The auricles thus diversely filled contract, and the pure and impure blood

are forced into the single ventricle. The mixture is then partly expelled upwards into the muscular

main artery to supply the body, and partly through a vessel into the lungs, to be re-aerated. The blood

is cold, and the red blood-corpuscles are large.

The termination of the main artery into three or four arched trunks on either side relates to the
method of respiration of the Amphibia. In some there are lungs within the body, the Frog being the
common example ; and in others there are external gills, or branchiae, which last during the whole life
of the animal, and the Siren is a well-known type. It is evident that a different distribution of the
blood-vessels must occur in them. Moreover, in the Frog and others, like the Tritons, the young
immature creature has gills and leads a fish-like life, but the adult has lungs only, so that a very
considerable change in the organs of the circulation must occur in them during early life. Again, the
gills are external in some, but in others they become internal, and the leaf-like gill seen outside is
replaced by internal ones, which are supported by arched bony or gristly processes connected with
the hyoicl bone of the throat, and to which the water gains entry through clefts in the side of the
neck. Each external gill and each of the internal kind supported on an arch of the hyoid bone,
requires a branch of the main artery. When the branchiae are in full action in the Tadpole, and the
lungs are still rudimentary, the tympanic bone is greatly enlarged, and it forms the base on which the
branchial apparatus is suspended by means of a thick angular portion. Between these angular
portions and the median bone is a single piece, and two rhomboidal masses, to which are suspended
the arches on which the branchiae are supported, are attached to it behind, one on each side.

During growth the mandible, or lower jaw, increases in size, the tympanic bone relatively dimi-
nishes, the angular portions elongate, and a process of each, cartilaginous in its texture, is attached to
the cranium. As the lung is developed and the branchiae are absorbed, the separate parts of the
apparatus behind the jaw are gradually fused in one, and the arches are lost.

In their nervous system the Amphibia are intermediate between the Reptiles and Fish; and if

344 NATURAL HISTOltY.

the brain and spinal cord of the Frog be taken as the type of the higher group, it may be said that
the first is small. The front of the brain, or the region where the olfactory nerves arise, is a rounded
swelling, and behind it are feebly-developed and rounded-off cerebral hemispheres, which contain,
cavities or ventricles. Behind is a space, in which is the pineal gland and the region of the optic
thalami, and the optic lobes are distinct and in front of a band-like cerebellum. The medulla
oblongata has a ventricle in it.

The spinal cord is long in some of the Amphibia, but it is not so in the Fi-og. The cranial
nerves are small as a rule, as there is little expression in the Amphibia and the
nerves of special sense are not highly developed. The eyes always exist, although
they may be hidden beneath the skin, and they are very small in some kinds which
inhabit subterranean waters or burrow in the earth. In those Amphibia in which
the gills, or branchiae, last through life or are perennial (Perennibranchiata), there
are no eyelids, but they are found in some of the others. Nictitating membranes exist
in some, and the Frogs and Toads have a special muscle which drags the eye farther
within the orbit. All have simple organs of hearing, and in most there is a
labyrinth and three semicircular canals, and there is a fenestra ovalis, and a
gristly or cartilaginous auditory ossicle — the columella, or stapes, whose
expanded end is fixed to the membrane of the fenestra. The worm-like kinds, the
tailed Amphibia, and one group of the Batrachia (Pelobatidce), have no tympanic
BRAIN OF FROG. cavity or membrane ; but in other Batrachia they exist, and the outer end of the
llowacti*ryyswelMn|:; '(c! stapes is connected with the tympanic membrane, there being cavities opening into
<tjrop'uc ThSi1amu.r(w) the throat also. The sound vibrations of the air or water are therefore conducted
Gipand:°(d)8 origin" of from the outer tympanic membrane, through the single stapes (not through three

Optic Nerves : (•««) Audi- •> r ' \

b3Fnm"<T»?i><£rttiSr.J bones, as in the higher animals) to the internal ear.

MedrunaVenorbioen:gat'a; In the adults of the Amphibia, the whole alimentary canal is of a very simple

character. The oesophagus is wide and short; the stomach is single, and consists of a
simple sac, which is globular in the land kinds, and is longer in the aquatic. The intestine is but slightly
convoluted, and the large and small parts do not differ much in size. The liver, gall-bladder, pancreas,
and spleen exist in all the Amphibia. A urinary bladder exists which opens into the vent, and the kid-
neys resemble those of fish more than those of higher Vertebrata, being persistent " Wolffian bodies ''
rather than true kidneys. These "bodies" are found with the kidneys in the young unborn Mammalia,
but they are of no use after birth, and the kidneys act alone. They persist in the Amphibia
and Fishes.

In the adult Frog, Toad, Salamander, and many others, the air is taken in by the lungs, not by
the expansion of the chest by ribs and the consequent inrush of air to fill the space, as in the higher
animals, but by a swallowing process resembling that of the Tortoise (p. 248). The inflation of the
internal bag of the lung is produced by the creature first of all depressing its tongue and the hyoid
bone, and thus enlarging the cavity of the mouth, so that air rushes into it through the nostrils, the
mouth being shut. Then muscular contraction is exercised on the cavity and on the hyoid bone, so
that the air is forced through the air-tubes into the lungs. The escape of air back again, by the nostrils,
is prevented by their edges acting as a valve, and also by the tongue being pressed against them when
it exists ; and its entry by mistake into the oesophagus and stomach is prevented by closure of the
gullet spasmodically. Hence the way to suffocate a Frog is to place something in its mouth which
will keep the jaws apart, so that the air escapes and does not go into the lungs. The primary
necessity for this Tortoise-like breathing is from tlio absence of perfect and sternal ribs.

In the case of the Amphibia with branchiae, or gills, the water, in passing over them, carries air
with it, and the oxygen in it is devoted to purifying the blood. But although these two kinds of respi-
ration are explicable, there is a difficulty in explaining the use of the rudimentary lungs in those
Amphibia which never shed their branchiae, such as the Siren and the Proteus. The construction of
their nostrils resembles those of fish, and the lungs are thin and extremely delicate ; moreover, they
are contracted near the gullet. Indeed, it does not appear that when the Siren is dying from having
impure water acting on its branchiae, that the lungs assist in the least in respiration. Bell long since
considered these bag- like "lungs" to be similar organs to certain air-bags in fish, which will be

2JIOGS AND TOADS. 345

explained in treating of that group, and which have been considered to foreshadow the lungs of the
higher animals.

The existing Amphibia are classified in three great groups or orders. In one there is no tail
present in the perfect animal, although it is present in the tadpole or immature state. These are
called the ANOURA, or Tailless Batrachia, and they are the Frogs and Toads.

The next group contains the Amphibia, which have tails throughout their whole life. These are
the URODELA, and they are subdivided into those which have either the branchiae (or gills), or else
gill-clefts, external throughout life —the Ichthyoidea ; and into those which have neither branchiae
nor gill-clefts in adult age — the Salamandrinse. The third order is that of the legless Amphibia, which
are called APODA. The Salamandrinae have the vertebrae concave behind, and eyelids, and the other
group of the Urodela has biconcave vertebrae and no eyelids.

THE ORDER ANOURA.— THE FROGS AND TOADS.— THE TAILLESS

BATRACHIANS.

The Tailless Batrachians, or the Batrachians proper, or the Frogs and Toads, have a broad head,
largest behind, and a broad short body in the perfect state, and four legs, the hinder pair being the
stronger, and longer than the others, and specially suited for leaping, swimming, or burrowing. Some
climb, and then usually there is not a web between their fore toes, the extremities of which, and of the
hind ones also, are dilated into round discs. But the degree of the development of the web of the
fore and hind extremities refers to the power of swimming. Hence, it is not always found, and its
size varies. Almost all undergo a visible metamorphosis, that is to say, they have a tadpole con-
dition in water, and change to an adult, terrestrial, and different form.

They are found in damp places, or in the neighbourhood of water, and those living in temperate
climates hibernate during the winter by getting down cracks into earth, or in the mud on the floor of
ponds ; whilst those living in the tropics, remote from water, bury themselves deep enough in the ground
to escape the hot dry atmosphere. In both cases a lethargic condition prevails, until a change of
season.

Their lungs consist of two large sacs, which may be expanded until the animal attains nearly twice
its usual size. When they dive, the lungs are emptied of air, and the respiration will cease for a couple
of hours, after which time a rise to the surface, to take in air, is requisite. But during the summer
and winter state of existence the respiration is suspended at the same time that all the other functions
— circulation and digestion, for instance — are very low, or cease.

Many males are provided with one or two membranous throat or mouth sacs, and when there are
two, one is placed on each side of J the mandible ; and if there is but one, it is found between its
branches. In either case the sac opens into the cavity of the mouth, by two slits, and is filled
with air from the lungs. These sacs enable, by their contraction, a more or less loud noise to
be produced. The males are often distinguished by a rough swelling on their thumbs, or by short
conical spurs there, and, as a rule, they are more slender than the females.

There is usually a mass of glands, called the parotids, above the tympanum on each side of the
neck. The skin of the body and limbs is not covered with scales or plates, and is naked and coloured.

The food consists of insects, slugs, and womis, and some very large kinds snap up small vertebrata.
They seize their prey with their tongue, and draw the victim into the mouth as this organ is
retracted.

Teeth are not found in the lower jaw, and only a few have a pair of tooth-like promi-
nences near the chin. On the other hand, the upper jaw and vomer are very frequently armed
with a series of simple teeth, which in the largest species assist in capturing food. There is no masti-
cation possible, and the prey is swallowed entire.

On leaving the egg, the larval or tadpole state commences, and the creature has external gills for
a short time ; then the gills become internal, and this immature condition lasts about 100 days, and
during that time the internal anatomy and .physiology greatly resemble those of fish.

They eat during the tadpole state, living on decaying water-plants and decomposing animal
matter, and as they breathe by gills, they have, when young, three, and usually four, gristly or more
or less bony gill supports, called branchial arches.

346

NATURAL S2STOSY.

The bodies of the vertebrae in most of the adults are concave in front and rounded behind (pro-
coelous), with the exception of the eighth, or pre-sacral, which is amphiccelous, and the ninth, or sacral,
which has commonly one convexity in front and two behind. The vertebrae in front of the sacrum are
never more than nine, and the tail part is in the form of a bony style, with two rounded arches.

The vertebrae are opisthocoelous, or hollow behind, in the genera Pipa and Bombinator ; and in
these, as in all other Amphibia, the bodies and inter-vertebral substances contain more or less distinct

remains of the notochord. A sacral vertebra
always exists, and its transverse process, and
those of the vertebrae in front and behind,
with which it is anchylosed, are large and
usually expanded.

The shoulder-girdle consists of, in the
Frog, for instance, the shoulder-blade (in
two movable pieces), the collar-bone, and the
coracoid bone, and all these combine to form
the joint cavity for the humerus. The collar-
bone is connected with its fellow of the other
side at the median line of the body, and the
broader and larger coracoid meets its fellow
also. The sternum consists of several pieces
which extend from the front, anterior to
the collar bones, to well behind the cora-
coid s, where it ends in a broad cartilage.
The front part is formed by the episternum.
There are no ribs.

As the fore limbs are not of the impor-
tance of the hinder, the humerus is small,
short, thick, and has almost a globular sur-
face for the articulation of the bones of the
fore arm. These are united in one. The
wrist bones are six in number, and support
four metacarpal bones, and the index and
middle fingers have two phalanges each,
and the others three. The thumb is small
and rudimentary.

The bones of the well-developed pelvis
present considerable differences in the various
genera. Thus, in the Frogs (Rana\ and
the Tree Frogs (Hyla), the iliac bones are very long, and are movable on the sacrum ; and
they are very close together below, towards the joints for the long thigh bones, so that the
two heads of these bones seem to be placed in contact. This peculiar arrangement influences the
action of the hind limbs upon the trunk in the exertion of swimming and leaping. In the
Pipa, or Surinam Toad, the iliac bones are very much widened at the point of junction with the
sacrum, to which they are fixed, and which is itself dilated. The bones of the leg (tibia and fibula}
are, in the Reptiles, generally distinct ; but in the Frogs and their allies they are so soldered together
as to form but a single articulation with the femur and tarsus, and to present the appearance of a
single, very much elongated, bone. The knee-joint and articulating bones are so disposed that the
feet have always a direction outwards.

The united leg bones are longer than the femur, and are followed by very long astragalus and
calcaneum bones. Four small ankle bones exist, and the metatarsal bones and phalanges are very
long, as they have to support the web when it exists, and to assist in swimming and jumping.
The inner toe is well developed, and the fourth is the longest.

It is remarkable that the muscles of the abdomen should be more developed in these Anoura than

SKELETON OF A FROG,
(a) Sternum, &c.

PHYSIOLOGY OF BATRACHIANS. 347

in the Reptiles, and that they should present, in this particular, some analogy to the abdominal
structure of the Mammalia. But it is in the disposition cf the muscles of the thigh and leg in. the
Batrachia that the greatest singularity is manifested. These, whether taken conjointly or singly,
present the greatest analogy with the muscular arrangement of the same parts in man. There is
a rounded, elongated, conical thigh, the knee extending itself in the same direction with the thigh
bone, and a well-fashioned calf to the leg.

The locomotion of the Batrachiaiis on the land consists in walking, running, and leaping, the
last being the most prevalent motion. The greater part of them are excellent swimmers ; and
when they betake themselves to this exercise the body is extended horizontally, and the animal is
propelled by the mechanism of the lower extremities alone. It is impossible to watch the horizontal
motions of a Frog in the water, as it is impelled by these muscles and its webbed feet, without
being struck with the great resemblance, in this position, of its frame to human conformation, and the
almost perfect identity of the movements of its lower extremities with those of a man making the
same efforts in the same situation. By the aid of these well-developed lower limbs, and the prodi-
gious power of their muscular and bony levers, some Frogs can raise themselves in the air to twenty
times their own height, and traverse, at a single bound, a space more than fifty times the length of
their own bodies.

The tongue performs a leading part in the capture and deglutition of the prey. It is
very soft and fleshy, and is not supported at its base by an os hyoides, as in. the other Vertebrata,
but it is fixed in the concavity which is formed by the approach of the two branches of the
lower jaw towards the chin. In a state of repose, and when the
mouth is shut, this tongue, which has its root, so to speak, in front,
has its free extremity or tip in the back part of the mouth, and
before the aperture of the air-passages ; but when the animal puts
it out, the lower surface comes upwards and the tip reaches far be-
yond the mouth. The tongue is armed with a tenacious, viscous
secretion, and when it touches the prey this adheres so firmly to it,
that it is carried back with the tongue into the mouth. All this is
done with a rapidity which the eye can hardly follow. The noises,
produced by the expulsion of air, vary from the well-known
croaking of the Common Frog to the bellowing of the Bull Frog, HE^°™E°
and the shrill trebles of the males of the species of the Tree Frog. FREE BEHIND.
They, and the flute-like and metallic sounds occasionally given

out, and the sort of seemingly ventriloquial grumbling which some species of Toads exert, are
vocal sounds emitted above the larynx, from the mouth, or from some of the membranous sacs.

The croakings, produced by the throat bags, seem intended to make the one sex sensible of the
presence of the other. Thus the Green Frog has two cheek-pouches, which are inflated by the
animal in the breeding season by means of two apertures close to the end of the great air-tube of
the throat ; and the folds of the larynx, called chordae vocales, are very large and distinct in many
species. The glottis bears, apparently, considerable analogy to the upper larynx in birds.

The naked skin of the Frogs, and, indeed, of the Batrachians generally, has the power of acting
in such a way as to fulfil in a great degree the functions of the lungs, and aerated water may be
made subservient to this cutaneous respiration. This has been proved by experiments made on Frogs
which have been kept in vessels, and under water charged with air, renewed from time to time, and on
Toads which have been kept alive for months in nets sunk under running water, at a low temperature,
without any direct access to atmospheric air.

The spawn seen in water in the spring time is a mass of semi-transparent, gelatinous, round
bodies, with little dark - coloured specks inside each. From these are developed the larvae, or
Tadpoles.

Commencing like aquatic animals, the larva? of the Frog, and other Tadpoles, exist very much after
the fashion of fishes, moving and breathing like them, and resembling them in shape, on account of
the long flat tail. As time elapses, under the influence of warmth and food, the growth does not take
place in a manner which will simply enlarge the animal, but it produces alterations in the outside form,

318

NATURAL HISTORY.

in the method and structure of respiration and circulation, and also in the organs of motion, special
sense, and digestion. So that during the earlier lifetime, an incomplete and altogether differently-
shaped creature is being perfected into a permanent adult form. This process is called metamorphosis.
In the early days of Tadpole life much of the organisation (circulation and respiration) is very like that
of the fish, for the simple heart of these last is furnished to the little things. '1 here are minute
thread-like gill-fringes, or branchiae, just behind the head, and they only require a heart which will
supply them — a single or branchial heart. But as growth proceeds, the branchiae become
hidden in a cavity, and then are absorbed, the lungs growing within, and a heart which has a
double nature, and which relates to the body and also to the lungs, being systemic and pulmonic,

is gradually developed. The limbs are
at first scarcely perceptible, and become
gradually developed, passing through a
rudimentary stage beneath the skin, from
which they do not emerge until they
have attained considerable size and a
definite shape. The hind legs appear first,
and they are soon employed to assist in
a feeble manner the strong and active
tail in moving about. The tail is
developed to a great degree, and it is
made up of muscles surrounding vertebrae,
which form a long column, but they are
not ossified (in those Amphibia in which
the tail persists the vertebrae are ossified
STRUCTURE OF THE TADPOLE. early). As weeks pass on the limbs

(A) Side v-iew.showingGHls, g; Mouth, m; Nasal Sae.n; Eye, e; Ear, a; ;B> from below, i ,-> • •, •,• • i i •>

ss, Suckers ; o, Operculum ; /, Horny Jaws ; (c) More advanced Tadpole, showing gl'OW, and tile tail aimilllSlieS by abSOrp-

growth of Ojierculum, so as to enclose (Jills, save at opening 6 on left side: hi, rudi- .

mentof hind limbs; «, Sucker; ID) Head of young Tadpole (magnified); gi. j,2, tlOll, and gets Smaller and Smaller, Until
external bills ; Ip, Upper Lip ; cll to cte, Clefts.

it disappears. It does not drop off, but

its substance is received grain by grain into the adult animal. The skull, very cartilaginous at
first, becomes consolidated and bony to a considerable extent, and thus is more reptilian than
fish-like.

The branchiae at first appear in about fifty hours, when the temperature is warm, as small
projections, and shortly afterwards a " holder " appears on either side of the future mouth. Before
the fourth day in hot places, and in England not for a month, it emerges, jerks itself about, and
breaks out of the egg a free swimmer.

The branchiae consist of two principal divisions, or branches, from each of which proceed four
or five leaf-like processes subdivided into numerous little filiform leaflets regular in shape, and forming
the ultimate divisions of the structure. On these ramify the minute capillary blood-vessels, and the
blood undergoes its change there, being oxygenated, and evolves carbonic acid gas. A minute branch
of an artery conveys the impure blood from the heart and enters each leaflet at its base, and passes
along its shorter or inner margin, giving off capillary branches in its course, which, after meandering
over the surface of the leaflets, and communicating with each other in various directions, pass over to
the opposite side, and join and form a branchial vein. This unites with others at the base of the
leaflets, and thus a vessel is formed which takes the purified blood to the heart.

In this stage the circulation of the blood may be seen, under the microscope, to perfection in the
gills. The current of the blood passes up each stem of the branch, and a distinct stream is given off to
each leaf. It is propelled to the end, and returns down the opposite sides by the veins. Every
blood corpuscle — red and white — is visible, and they move in the transparent vessels with singular
regularity. As growth proceeds the branchiae become fully developed, and then they begin to diminish
in size, become obtuse, and are gradually so reduced as to be withdrawn within the branchial cavity,
and concealed by a little cover, or operculum, of the integument. It must be noticed that as soon as
the true Tadpole shape is assumed, and the branchiae are within their cavity, and in communication
with the outside through certain slits in the neck, they are supplied with water, which enters the

TADPOLES.

349

mouth by the nostrils which are supplied with valves. When in the mouth, which is closed on
all sides, with the exception of the throat, where are the gill or branchial slits, the water, acted upon
by the muscles which cover them, traverses their spaces, and bathes the branchiae, before its exit

through the slits.

The eyes are perfectly formed at this time, and the mouth has changed its position from
below to the extremity of the head. It is very small, and there are no teeth, but minute
horny plates are on the jaws, sufficiently strong to tear the soft animal and vegetable sub-
stances which form the food. The
Tadpole has a digestive system,
the stomach being succeeded by
an intestine which is of nearly
equal size throughout its length,
which is great. It is at least
ten times as long as the inside
of the body, and is curled up in
a coil, and it occupies most of the
abdominal cavity. During the
growth of the Tadpole, and its
change into the perfect Frog or
Toad, it becomes shorter in pro-
portion to the length of the
animal, until at last it is not
one-quarter of its original length.

The tail soon becomes de-
veloped sufficiently to move, and
to move its possessor, and the
colour of the body changes, be-
coming a soft olive-green instead
of black, the abdomen being
dotted with golden-yellow. The METAMORPHOSES OF FROG.

external form thus altered re- H) Egg of Frog; f21 Egg Fecundated, and surrounded by Us Vesicle ; IS) First state of Tadpole; (4)

Appearance of Breathing Gi Us ; (ft) Stage with Internal Gill,; (6) Formation of Hind Feet; (7)
mains for SOme time and the Formati"ni>f ForeFeet and Decay of Gills; (8) Development of Lungs and Reduction of Tail; (9)

rudiments of the hind limbs

appear, the toes budding at their extremities. Soon the fore limbs do the same. Then, as
the hinder limbs increase, the tail is removed by absorption, which begins at the tip. When the
branchiae have ceased their function, and lungs have developed, the creature is tail-less, and having
long hind legs, comes to land, for it has become capable of respiring air with its lungs, and of
hopping and jumping to search after small insects and worms. As growth proceeds, the webs to
the digits, barely visible at first, become important structures, and the colour, glands, and ornamenta-
tion of the skin are noticed. Such multitudes, writes Bell, have been found in damp weather as to
have given rise to many a story of its having rained Frogs. They now grow rapidly, until the
approach of winter causes them to seek a retreat for hibernation. Bell states that so numerous are
the enemies of the Tadpoles and young Frogs in the form of birds, fish, reptiles, and the smaller
carnivora, that not one in a thousand survives. It is some time before the adult condition is
reached, for Batrachia grow for several years, and then may be said to be perfect.

THE AGLOSSA (THE BATRACHIANS WITHOUT TONGUES).

The first sub-order of the Anoura contains those which have not a tongue. They are large, flat,
ugly creatures with the eyes placed far forwards and close to the sides of the mouth, and their
tympanum is concealed. All have the hind feet with a perfect web between the toes, and they live
in hot countries, having a remarkable geographical distribution. There are three families of them.

The Surinam Toad, which was first noticed by Sibylla von Merian, in 1708, and which is
a flat toad-like creature with a short, broad, and pointed head, huge hind limbs with webbed
187

350

NATURAL HISTORY.

SUKINAM TOAD. (Pipa americana.)

feet, and small fore limbs with four slender webless fingers curiously ending in four small projec-
tions, sometimes grows to a length of nearly a foot. It has a blackish-brown body, and is a native of
Surinam and of the neighbouring parts of South America. Living a monotonous life, apparently on
land at the edges of the swamps and plantation ditches, and amongst buildings, this Pipa americana,

THE COMMON FEOG. 351

the representative of the family of Pipidse, has neither tongue nor teeth on the jaws and palate.
Besides being huge and curiously made, it is very remarkable, for there is a portion of its life-history
which is very extraordinary. The back of the female is covered with soft skin, which overlies a great
lymphatic space, and in the breeding-season it develops cavities and ridges, and each of these sepai'ate
compartments contains a young Pipa undergoing its metamoi'phosis. It is very evident that each of
these cavities, which give the back a honeycombed appearance, has contained an egg, and the question
is how did the egg get into this extraordinary position. Certainly it would not be deposited there
by the mother, and equally certainly there is no passage from the egg-producing structures in her body
to the cavities. It is said that as soon as the female lays her spawn the male places it in the cavities
in the back of the female, and the eggs form little pits by their pressure on the skin. Probably
this takes place in the water. Firmin states that the female lays her eggs in sand, and that the male
clasps them between his hind feet, and then jumps on to the mother and disperses them over her back.
She then goes into the water, and the eggs are hatched there, and the tadpole state is passed
through in the cavities, so that in eighty-two days sixty or seventy young ones poke out their heads
and limbs and jump off as perfect Pipas, the mother having returned to land. Then the female
retires to a stony or reedy retreat in water, and changes the skin of her back. How much of this
is true is not quite known.

The second family, the Dactylethrida?, has a species in Africa, but it is more Frog- than Toad-like
in shape. The upper jaws and intermaxillaries have teeth, and the three inner toes of the long feet
have claws. The species is Dactylethra capensis.

Australia contains the other family, the Myobatrachidse, and in the species Myobatrachus para-
doxus there are two large teeth in the intermaxillary bones, and the passages from the ear to
the throat, or the Eustachian tubes, enter the gullet separately, and do not form a common canal,
as in the other families. Very little is known about their habits.

THE BATEACHIANS WITH TONGUES.

The second division, or sub-order, the Phaneroglossa, are the Anoura with tongues, and there
are two groups of them— the Oxydactyla, which have pointed tips to their digits and toes, and the
Discodactyla, which have discs to them ; and these are divided into families.

THE OXYDACTYLA.— FAMILY EANID^E.

The True Frogs, the Ranidce, form the first family, and they have a slender and longish
body, very long hind feet and limbs, with the long hinder toes united by a web. The upper jaw,
intermaxillaries, and vomer have small curved teeth, which are rarely seen on the mandible. The
skin is smooth and the tympanum is visible, and the pupil of the eye is round or transverse.
The Common Frog,* the type of the family, is of a greenish-brown, yellowish, or reddish colour,
with an oblong brown spot behind the eyes, and the legs have brown cross-bars. It is, as is
well known, found in almost all parts of Great Britain, wherever there is a river or pond, or
even sufficient shade to maintain the degree of moisture necessary to preserve the skin in a con-
dition in which it may assist in the respiration of the animal. They have been in Ireland since
the beginning of the eighteenth century, and probably they were artificially introduced, and
became acclimatised. The Frog feeds sometimes with eagerness, and captures with its rapid
tongue many kinds of insects, beetles, and slugs, and is an excellent friend to the gardener.
They assemble together in the spring, when they croak in chorus, and the sound has often
a very peculiar effect on a still evening; and as cold weather comes on they sink themselves
in the mud under the water, and Bell says often in multitudes, which are found embracing each
other in a torpid stale. In the spring they come forth, and the egg-laying soon begins, and
the Tadpole, whose life has already been noticed, turns in due time to a creature like its parent.
The deposit of eggs takes place at the bottom of the water, and the mother cares nothing about
them in future. She and the male are surrounded by a host of enemies, and snakes, birds,
small animals, and fish, are constantly looking out for them. The male is smaller than the
female, and the extreme length is about two inches and three lines from the snout to the hinder

* Rana temper aria.

S52

NATURAL HISTORY.

extremity. On the whole, the Common Frog is not an extreme frequenter of water, except
during the egg-laying season.

Bell tells a story of a domesticated Frog, who came at meal-time, and snugged up to the cat in
cold weather ; but it must have been an exceptional Frog. Usually they can be made not to fear
their kind feeder, but the rising generation tease them and enjoy their prodigious jumps. Fisher-
men use them as bait for pike, and physiologists show the circulation of the blood in the web of
the foot, and Matteuchi discovered a special galvanic energy in batteries made up of their thighs,
so that on the whole, the Common Frog has little to thank humanity for. Bell stated that a large
Rana had been found in Scotland, but was doubtful whether it was a variety of the Common
Frog or a new species. The web of the foot forms a beautiful microscopic object, and the circu-
lation of the large oval blood corpuscles, and the white or colourless corpuscles, can be seen in it.
The species and its varieties have a great geographical distribution.

The development of the Tadpole into the Frog has been already described, and it is merely necessary
to observe that the masses of eggs, or spawn, when first expelled, consist of numerous small opaque
globular bodies covered with a glairy substance. This absorbs a large quantity of watei', and soon
increases in diameter; so that the black specks, the future Tadpoles, are separated by the glairy
envelope one from another. The development of the young is more or less rapid, according to the
temperature. The embryo is at first a small spherical body, one side being dark brown and the
other paler. A furrow grows across the dark half, dividing it into two equal parts, and this is
soon afterwards crossed by another at right angles. A third and fourth furrow are produced
and so on, until the sphere is separated into as many granules. In the course of the

COMMON FROG.

THE EDIBLE 1ROG. 353

second day the sphere begins to elongate, and a groove, which had previously divided the upper part
into two, begins to close up, and the head becomes prominent, the tail begins to show itself, and
the little hooks, by which it subsequently lays hold of things, begin to appear. In somewhat more
than fifty hours the head becomes well marked, the membrane of the tail is seen, and the first
indications of branchiae occur on each side of the head. Moreover, the muscles of the spine may
be seen. The whole creature grows, and these parts become more distinct, and the branchiae consist
of two tubercles on each side, and as yet are undivided. The young creature now will give some
signs of voluntary movement, and the nostrils are seen, but the mouth is scarcely observable.
The eyes are just visible. The next stage is a division of the branchiaj into lobes, and the blood
may be seen circulating in them. The embryo is still restricted to a curved position by the
substance round it, and it may be seen to jerk itself about until it escapes. Bell says that
although all this may be done in the warm waters of the South of Europe, or in artificial water
at a temperature of 73° '4 Fahr. in four days, it takes at least a month in a colder climate. The
rest of the metamorphosis has been described in explaining the general peculiarities of the Amphibia
(p. 348). When the metamorphosis is completed, and the little Frog has received its permanent shape,
the skin gradually becomes coloured, and, according to the light, the prevailing colours of the surround-
ing objects, the health of the creature, and possibly from nervous influences, the tints change, the mobility
of the colour corpuscles within the skin being the cause. It appears that the skin of the Frog, when
kept damp, plays an important part in the elimination of carbonic acid gas, and also in the absorp-
tion of oxygen from water, and probably from air; for experiments have shown that the lungs
are not sufficient to carry out the respiratory process perfectly, so that the skin must be utilised.
Bell believes that during the damp condition of the skin water is absorbed and stored in a sac
which acts as if it were a urinary bladder. This store he considers is kept to moisten the skin
when it requires it for the purpose of respiration. It is re-absorbed and deposited in the skin.

In vertebrate animals the bones may be formed with a groundwork of cartilage, in which
osseous grains are gradually deposited, and such are cartilage bones. Others have no cartilage, but the
bone is deposited in a membranous tissue, and such are membrane bones, of which the parietal or
frontal bones of the mammalia are examples. Huxley states that in the higher vertebrates the
cartilage bones rarely remain as such, but the ossified cartilage becomes absorbed and is replaced by a
membrane bone derived from the investing tissue.

The Frog's skull is characterised by a cartilage bone called by Cuvier the os en ceinture, or
girdle-bone. " It is an ossification which invades the whole circumference of the cranium in. the
pre-sphenoidal and ethmoidal regions, and eventually assumes somewhat the form of a dice-box,
with one-half of its cavity divided by a longitudinal partition. The septum and the front and
back halves of the bone correspond to the ethmoid pre-f rentals, and the orbito sphenoids of the other
vertebrata." (Huxley.)

The Edible Frog,* found and used as an article of food in many parts of the Continent, is
also an inhabitant of England. It can be readily distinguished by the absence of the large
distinct black mark on the side of the head to the shoulder, seen in the Common Frog, and by the
presence of a light-coloured line running down the back, and by its marking with round circumscribed
spots. The thumb has two large tubercles on it in the male, whose vocal sacs are large and globular.
Mr. Bond found them in Foulmere Fen, Cambridgeshire, and observed that their croaking was dif-
ferent from that of the Common Frog, the sound being like a loud snore. It is a timid animal, disap-
pearing on the least alarm, seems to come rarely, if ever, to land, and is essentially a dweller in the
water. It inhabits running or still watei-s, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, salt or fresh marshes, and
even ditches, and it may be seen sunning itself on a water-lily leaf, and rarely on the banks. The
slightest noise alarms them, and they rush to the water. Their remarkable croak has procured them the
title of Cambridge Nightingales. When this is going on the male blows out his sacs, which appear on
each side of the head. This description holds good for the Continental Esculent Frogs. The hind legs
are the parts which are to be cooked, and in spite of some folk's antipathy, there is no doubt that they
are very nice when well cooked and served, for they taste like the most delicate spring chicken.

The genus Rana is well developed in America, and the American Bull Frog is well known (Rana

* Rana csculenta.

354

NATURAL HISTORY.

pipiens vel mugiens). It has a large head, green above and yellowish-white below. The body is
large, green in front, dusky-olive behind, and has irregular black blotches. The under parts are yellowish-
white, and the limbs are dusky, with black bars. The iris is of a beautiful golden colour with black
marks, and the tympanum is large and is bronzed. It reaches from thirteen to twenty-one inches in

EDIDLE FKOG.

length, limbs included. They are very active and leap to a great distance, and yet it is a very aquatic
Frog, and they will live in the water for years. Sluggish rivers and stagnant ponds are their delight,
and except in the breeding season, they are solitary. Then they collect in hundreds, and their croak
is very loud, and they may be heard half a mile off. When taking the water they skim along the
surface at first. Insects, small Crustacea, and snails are their food, and they ai'e found in every part
of the United States, and as far north as Quebec.

There are none of these True Frogs in Australia, or in the Islands of the Pacific.

THE AFRICAN FROGS.

355

Amongst the not very numerous East Indian species of the genus Rana is Kohl's Frog,* with a
large web to its feet. It lives in Ceylon, Java, Celebes, and in China. The lower jaw has a pair of
fang-like prominences in front. The Indian Bull Frog f has the web broad, notched, and it does not
extend to the extremity of the fourth toe. It is common over the whole of Hindostan, and is found
also in Ceylon, Sikkim, the Malayan Peninsula, China, and the Islands of the Archipelago. Some
measure six or seven inches in length. The young are very small. They abound, and when they are
frightened they jump over the surface of the water much in the same manner as they do on land.
Dr. Giinther has described the Edible Frog J from Ningpo, and thus its distribution is not only in every
part of Europe and in North Africa, but also in Central Asia to China and Japan. A Frog closely

CYSTIGNATHUS OKXATU8.

resembling the English Rana temporaria, but having lai'ger limbs, is found in Japan and in the neigh-
bourhood of Ningpo; and it is even allied in shape to Rana silvatica of Lecomte, from North America.

With regard to the African Frogs, there are two sharp-headed, slender-bodied, long-limbed,
beautifully-marked Frogs, which have been described from South Africa by Dr. A. Smith. One,
Delalande's Frog, is common everywhere, and especially near Cape Town. It is generally observed on
dry ground, but readily takes to water when alarmed or pursued. The other inhabits Kaffir Land and
Port Natal, and is about four inches and three-quarters long, and is called Rana oxyrkynchus. A
sprawling, long-legged, stupid Frog is Rana fasciata ; it has great toes and long legs, and is about one
inch and a half long. It is widely spread over South Africa, inhabits damp localities, leaps freely
and for considerable distances.

One Frog is fished for, with fish-hooks baited with flesh, in Southern Africa, and it is common near
Cape Town. It is Rana fuscigula.

The Frogs of the genus Pyxicephalus are found in South Africa and India. All have the fingers
quite free, the toes incompletely webbed, and the head thick, rounded, and swollen behind. The
vomerine teeth are in two oblique series, and the tongue is large, free, and deeply notched behind. The
metatarsus has a flat, sharp-edged shovel-like prominence. One species is found in Hindostan and in
the Himalayas, and with the aid of its shovel-like metatarsal it burrows in the ground to a depth of
one foot and a half.

One of these is called the Bull Frog, in South Africa, from the strength and hoarseness of the
sounds it emits, particularly during the night. It lives generally in water, and is only seen in it
* Rana kuhlii. t Rana tiyrina. £ Rana esculenta.

356

NATURAL HISTORY.

HORXED CERATOPHRYS.

or in its vicinity. Dr. Andrew Smith saw many in water, where at other seasons none existed, and
the probabilities are that they bury themselves during the dry season. They are beautiful Frogs,
five inches and a half in length, and their green, brown, and red tints, and pretty eyes, make
them very picturesque.

Some species of the family of the True Frogs have no teeth on the vomer, and they belong to
the genus Oxyglossus. A species lives in Java, and some fossil kinds, which are found in the so-
called Frog-beds of Bombay, are of an early Tertiary age.

THE OBSTETRIC FROG.

357

growth

The Jakie* is a greenish Frog spotted with brown, and has irregular linear markings of a brown
Lint along its thighs and legs. It is from Guiana, and is said to have the largest Tadpole of all the
Frogs. So large, relatively, is this larval form, that when the tail is absorbed no increase of
in the adult occurs.

A large Frog, with the upper eyelids ending in a kind of triangular horn, from each of which a
ridge runs down the sides and back to above the hinder extremity, is sometimes thirty-five lines
long. It belongs to the genus Ceratophrys.t It is a Brazilian kind, and little is known about its
life. Mimetic, as it were, of this curious Frog is a genus whose species have also the upper eyelids
prolonged, and which have a broad and short body. The skull is marked with long ridges ; there are
folds of skin on the neck, and the limbs are oi moderate length, the toes being distinctly but shortly
webbed. The iris is a golden-brown, and the pupil is vertically rhomboidal. The body is much blotched
with white and black, and there are two species. One has a prominence on the skull,]: and lives in
Borneo, Malacca, and Sumatra, and the other, without the structure, § is restricted to Java and
Ceylon. They have the tympanum hidden, and really belong to a small sub-family, of which the
Painted Discoglossus of the countries bordering on the Mediterranean is the type. They have the
tongue almost circular in outline.

A beautiful little Frog with a body about one inch and a quarter long, having a small head and
a short and thick body, is of a dove-colour above, and is exquisitely marked with oblong spots and
bars of dark brown margined with yellow. It has a small mouth, and the palate is armed with two
groups of exceedingly minute teeth between the posterior nostrils. It has pretty eyes, and the lower
surface is silvery white. It is a South Carolina Frog, and takes to the dry cornfields, and appears to
like land, and, indeed, Holbrook states that one thrown into the water did not know how to swim.
It has not the web on the hind feet, and in this it resembles some South American, and West Indian
species, nor has it parotid glands. They all belong to the genus Cystignathus. It forms a sub-family.

The second family of the Oxydactyles is called the PELOBATID.E, and it contains some kinds which
are to a certain extent intermediate between the Frogs and Toads. They have the skin more or less
warty or glandular. The body is plump
and squat, but the upper jaw has teeth.
Usually the membrane of the tympa-
num and its cavity is deficient, and
the pupil is often vertical. They lay
their eggs in strings like the Toads, and
most of them are terrestrial, and make
holes and burrows in the earth, only
seeking the water during the egg-laying
season.

The first example || is one which
has a distinct tympanum and a small
pai'otid gland, but it has no vocal sac.
It has short limbs and large glands
around the ears. The toes have half
webs, and it is grey in colour with
spots. It is remarkable for boring long
burrows, and for the curious practice
of the male, which has a very sonorous
voice, of assisting the female to get rid

of her eggs. These are large and in strings, and he attaches them to his thighs with a glutinous
secretion. He buries himself until the eyes of the little Tadpoles can be seen beneath their envelope,
and shortly afterwards he seeks a stagnant pool and plunges in. The Tadpoles soon burst forth and
swim away. It is a small Frog, and is to be found in the environs of Paris.

Another kind has webs to its hind feet. The tympanum and its cavity are deficient, and the tongue

MALE OBSTETRIC FKOG.

Pscudis paradoxa. f

§ Meyalophrys montana.

Ceratophrys cornuta.

J Meyalophrys nasula.
Alytes obstetricans.

188

358

HA TUKAL HISTOli J.

is fixed. It jumps and swims nearly as well as the True Frogs, and has a warty body with a dirty
green tint above, and the belly fiery red and spotted with blue. It is called the Fire-bellied Toad, and
has a fine sonorous voice, and the cry is ouvk, ouvk.* The larvae are large ; it is a dweller in
marshes, and is an European kind.

The genus Pelobates is the last of this family to be noticed, and it has species in France. They
are fine Frogs, having the tongue free behind, but scarcely notched. They have no tympanum, and the
arms have a special gland and the hind feet a sharp swelling. The web is complete in the feet.

FIRE-BELLIED FROG.

One is grey-brown in colour,f smells like onions, and jumps like a Frog, and makes holes and
burrows in the mud with its hind limbs. It has a loud cry of ouk, and the metamorphosis of
the very large Tadpoles lasts a long time.

The Globose Cacopus Frog is worthy of its name, and is found in the Madras Presidency. The
head is very short, and so are the limbs, and the mouth is small ; the body is bulged out in a globular
form, and the limbs and toes are short and slightly webbed. It has a small eye with a round pupil,
and the skin is smooth, brown, and black on the tail. They have a circular tongue. Dr. Giinther
states that he has seen two specimens of this species, one thirteen lines long, and a larger thirty-four
lines long, which was a female. " The little one is distended with fluid in an extraordinary manner,
so that the body has the shape of a ball, from which the head and limbs project. The fluid is con-
tained in the abdominal cavity. The larger individual is distended in a similar way, but this is caused
by an extraordinary development of the ovaria (or egg-producing structures). These organs become so
large that, not having room in the cavity of the body, they extend right across the back, so that the
animal is completely surrounded by a mass of the ovaries."

The Common Toad J is, of course, the type of the third family, the BUFONID.E. It has a swollen,
heavy-looking body, covered with a warty skin, and it has a large flat head with a rounded blunt
muzzle. There is a swelling above the eyes studded with pores, and the parotids are large, thick,
prominent, and secrete an acrid fluid. There are no teeth. It has four fingers and five toes, and

£ombinator igneus.

f Pelobates fuscus.

Bufo vulyaris.

THE COMMOX TOAD.

359

these last are very slightly webbed. The eye has a transverse pupil, and the colour of the body is a
brownish-grey, dirty, or lurid. The tubercles are more or less brown, and beneath the creature is
dirty yellowish- white, sometimes spotted with black.

The Toad sits up very much after the fashion of a Frog, but is quite as frequently seen with its

BRO\VX MUD-FROG.

head nearer the ground. It does not take great leaps, for they are impossible to its short limbs and
extremities, so it walks in a crawling sort of manner, often keeping its body supported on its limbs
during a pretty brisk movement. It has no internal vocal pouch, and the tympanum is more or less
distinct. It is a terrestrial creature, and hides up during the day in dark and damp situations, is
very tenacious of life, and when it is stopped and handled, swells out its body, and some secretion
comes from its glands, as well as water from the internal sac already noticed. By no means shy when
kindly treated and fed, the Toad will become familiar in time. It is very curious to see them feed

360 NATURAL HISTORY.

when they are kept in hot-houses as destroyer-* of insects. Seeing a beetle or a grub, they remain
stationary, the red iris of their eye looking very bright, and as soon as the prey conies near enough
the mouth opens, and the tongue, which is free behind and attached within the lower jaw in front,
is turned out and the prey is turned in, or quickly glued to the sticky surface. The mouth remains
closed, and as the victim is swallowed whole, the eyes stare with satisfaction. A good-sized bee is
taken, and sometimes a convulsive action denotes that either it has stung as it has gone down, or else
that it is especially nice. A worm may be swallowed and partly return, but the Toad uses its fore-
limbs to crowd it into the mouth again.

In the spring time they betake themselves to the water, and the eggs are laid in strings of three
or four feet in length, each egg being covered with a glutinous coat, so that the long line is about one-
eighth or one-sixth of an inch in thickness. Usually the laying is later than that of the Frog, and
the Tadpole is smaller and darker, and it is not until autumn that they come to land as little Toads.
Every now and then the adult Toads cast their skin, and come out brighter in colour, and cleaner. They
swallow this delicate cuticle, a process which does not take place in the Frogs, who lose it piece
by piece. Toads have always been considered with aversion by the public, and their general
character has been most blackened by those whose imagination transcends their experience. . They are
very useful animals, and they destroy a great number of injurious insects, and their good lives should
be considered in relation to the stories about their misdeeds, all of which are false, and the outcome of
prejudiced minds.

They endure for a long time without food, and they hibernate by getting into the mud, down
cracks, and into holes.

The stories about Toads being found in stones, in mines, and in trees, in positions where they
must have been kept from air and food for years or centuries, are not true. Dr. Bucklancl proved by
direct experiment that no Toad can live for two years without food and air.

The alleged venom of the Common Toad, so long a subject of popular belief, has been rejected by
many modern naturalists, among whom Cuvier may be particularly mentioned. The noxious matter
is in follicles, chiefly in the true skin and about the head and shoulders, but they are also distributed
generally over the body, and on the extremities. The Toads possess, besides, two glandular masses
(parotids), which, when pressed, exude through small holes a yellowish thick humour of a musky
odour. Pressure causes this fluid to exude or even spurt out to a considerable distance. Dr.
Davy found it extremely acrid when applied to the tongue, resembling the extract of aconite in
this respect, and it even acts upon the hands. A chicken inoculated with it was not affected. Dr.
Davy conjectures that this " venom " is a defence to the Toad from carnivorous animals, and we have
seen a dog, when urged to attack one, after some hesitation drop the animal from its mouth, in a
manner that left no doubt that he had felt the effects of this excretion. In a Brazilian species
the secretion acts fatally on chickens when introduced into their veins.

The Natter-Jack, or Rush Toad,* is not common. It is found in some places around London, or
rather was fifty years ago, and White states, in his "History of Selborne," that they were more often
seen in his garden than the ordinary Toad. This Toad is of a light yellowish-brown colour, clouded
with a dull olive, and there is a bright yellow line running down the back. It is a lively Toad, and
it runs with the body considerably raised, and it is hardy, being often found in dry situations.
Indeed, Bell notices their favourite resort at Selborne to be under a shallow layer of turf
covering the top of a wall of a hen-pen, which is exposed to the summer sun, and is the hottest
part of the garden. It is less timid than the Common Toad, and its eyes are more prominent, and
are elevated above the head. The warts of the skin are larger than those of the Toad, but the
glandular swellings are less on the head. Claiis states that it has large glands on the legs, and
that it runs badly ; nevertheless, it often takes to the water at night, and especially to those lakes.
and ponds where there are reeds and rushes. They emit a smell not unlike the smoke of gunpowder.
The male makes as much noise as a Frog, and cries Glouk, glouk. Eggs are laid in the water, and
the Tadpoles are amongst the smallest, their metamorphosis not lasting much more than six or seven
weeks. The Yariable,t or Green Toad, found in France, has hind limbs and feet nearly as large as
those of the Frog. It has an imperfect vocal sac, and calls Me, me. It swims admirably.

* Bufo calamita. + Bufo variabilis.

THE INDIAN AND AFRICAN TOADS.

361

The Indian Toads are not very remarkable, but it is interesting to notice that varieties of the
Common European Toad are found in different parts of China and the islands of Chusan. and of Japan.
The species, Dr. Giinther states, extends from Western Europe through the temperate parts of Central
Asia to China and Japan. The Natter-Jack, or Bufo calamita, which is found in many parts of

(1) COMMON TOAD.

(2) VARIABLE TOAD.

(3) XATTER-JACK TOAD.

Europe, occurs in Tibet, and the Common Indian Toad (Bnfo melonosticlus) has an immense range. It is
one of the commonest Batrachians, and inhabits every part of the Continent of India from the Peninsula
of Southern India to China and the Philippine Islands. In the Himalayas it extends to an altitude of
9,000 feet, and Cantor says it utters a chirping plaintive sound.

Amongst the African Toads, Bnfo carens may be mentioned. It has a shoi't head and a truncate
nose, and a huge tympanum. The colours are red, green, and black. They are common in the interior
districts of South Africa, in situations abounding in brushwood under decayed leaves. Two Toads

362 NATURAL HISTORY.

prettily marked and blotched with light red, grey, and dark-brown tints, are also common in South
Africa,* but nothing is known regarding their habits.

The Panther Toadt is an African form, and specimens are readily found in South Africa after a
shower of rain. The Water-padda, a Cape of Good Hope Toad, is of tener found in water than on land.

The marshy and swampy districts of Central America near the sea have a large brown Toad
covered with low unequal tubercles, and having huge parotids. It is called the Agua.

Mr. Darwin (when in South America) wrote : — " Amongst the Batrachian reptiles, 1 found only
one little Toad, which was most singular from its colour. If we imagine, first, that it had been
steeped in the blackest ink, and then, when dry, allowed to crawl over a board freshly painted with
the brightest vermilion, so as to colour the soles of its feet, and parts of its stomach, a good idea of
its appearance will be gained. If it is an unnamed species, surely it ought to be called Diabolicus, for
it is a fit Toad to preach in the ear of Eve. Instead of being nocturnal in its habits, as other Toads
are, and living in damp, obscure recesses, it crawls during the heat of the day about the dry sand-
hillocks and arid plains, where not a single drop of water can be found. It must necessarily depend
on the dew for its moisture ; and this probably is absorbed by the skin, for it is known that these
reptiles possess great powers of cutaneous absorption. At Maldonado I found one in a situation
nearly as dry as at Bahia Blanca, and, thinking to give it a great treat, carried it to a pool of water.
Not only was the little animal unable to swim, but I think without help would soon have been
drowned."

Amongst the North American Toads there is the Carolina Toad, about two inches and a half
long, which is found in. the Southern States. It has a large head and mouth, and greatly elevated
ridges above the eyes, ending in a knob. The lower jaw has a hook in front, and the parotid
reaches from the tympanum to the shoulder. It has an internal vocal sac, and the dusky-brown
yellowish body is warty. It is a timid, gentle animal, and ventures out in the dusk of the evening.
It feeds on various insects, which it seizes only when alive and in position. Catesby says it feeds on
fire-flies, and will by mistake capture a piece of burning charcoal. They become tame, and one, which
had some water poured on its head, returned the next day for a similar kind treatment. Another is
brick-red above, and lives in the oak forests of South Carolina (Bufo erythronotus). The Oak Frog
(Bufo quercus), about three-quarters of an inch long, is a pretty little Toad with a flat head and
pointed snout. It is of a light colour, and has a yellowish line along the back. The belly is silvery-
grey, and the groins are yellow. It likes the sandy districts where small oaks replace the pine forests.
The American Toad (Bufo americanus) is a very warty kind, and has a white line down the back, and
it is about two inches and a half long. It is a timid animal, and lives like the English Toad. Its
head is smaller in proportion to the European species, and there is a process on the root of the fore toe.
It is widely distributed in the Northern United States.

The next family, the Engystomatidae, is typified by Engystoma carolinense. It has a small, pointed
short head, and the skin is a delicate chestnut above, and mottled with black beneath. It is a South
United States form, hiding up by day and coming out in the evening after heavy rains. Others occur
in the Peninsula of India.

The Breviceps are Toads which have not visible parotid glands or tympanic membranes, and they
have an oval-shaped body, and the head and mouth are small, the feet being but slightly webbed. One
called the Rain Puddock in the Cape Colony lives in holes or burrows in the ground, from which it emerges
during rain, and on such occasions croaks loudly. It has a swollen-out body, and the head is scarcely
distinguishable from it, and the surface of the skin is warty. Above, it is a dirty reddish-brown colour
variegated with two or four rows of dull orange spots more or less distinct. Underneath, it is dirty
greenish-yellow. The pupil is transverse and the iris green. When irritated it inflates the lungs to
their utmost extent, and is then like a distended bladder, and discharges an acrid mucus profusely
from its pores.

The Rhinophrynidse family are Toads which have neither tympana nor parotid glands, and the
tongue is free in front, and the type is in Mexico.

The last family is that of the "Rhinodermatidse, which have no parotids, but the transverse
processes of the sacrum are large.

* Bufo anyusticeps and Bufo yariepensis. t Bvfo pantherinus.

TREE FROGS.

363

The second group of the Batrachians with tongues consists of the DISCODACTYLES, which have
the tips of their large digits furnished with adhesive discs. They are usually called TREE FROGS, and
the first family is the HYLORAX.E.

The Hyloranse are interesting Frogs because, whilst the form of the head and body and
the length of the limbs are very similar to those of the genus Kana, the more or less dilated extremi-
ties of the toes indicate a semi-arboreal life. These half True Frogs and half Tree Frogs are powerful
leapers, and they inhabit Ceylon, the Philippines, and Archipelago, Western Polynesia, Madagascar,
and West Africa. There is even a species from New Guinea.

The HYLID.E, the next family, have the extremity of their digits enlarged, rounded, and
fashioned into a disc which is more or less sticky. They fix themselves to objects, and climb trees

ELEGANT HYLA.

with the aid of the discs. Living on trees during the summer, hunting insects amongst the leaves
and boughs, some seek the water to lay their eggs and hibernate in the mud during the winter, and
others lay in. collections of water in the trunks of trees, and in the branches. The male has a vocal
pouch which he swells out when he croaks.

The Common Hyla* of Europe is green, with a yellow and black line along the body, and is paler
in tint beneath. It lays when it has attained the age of four years. The head has a soft skin, and it
has, in common with the family, maxillary teeth, but no parotids. It has a large vocal sac (the male),
and when in shrubs and green trees it can hardly be distinguished by its similarity of tinting. It has
an immense distribution in Europe, and Giinther states that in Southern China and in Formosa there
is a Hyla which closely resembles the European form.

The genus is, Avith this exception, absent in India and Tropical Africa.

Central America has a lovely Tree Frog which is sky-blue on the back and rose-coloured beneath,
and the North American Goose-footed Hyla, a large kind, is cross-barred irregularly with red and
fawn tints.

The South American Tree Frogs are numerous, and some have fine noisy voices. One from
Guiana and Brazil has a red-brown upper surface, yellow- white sides, and there is a curiously- shaped

* Hyla arborea.

364

NA T UliA L HIS TOli Y.

line of silvery tint beginning at the eyes, and surrounding the top of the body. It is the Elegant
Hyla.* Another, with a broad head, large discs, and slight webs, is a large Frog measuring three
inches and a half in length, and it inhabits the same localities as the last species.t

The Common Golden Tree Frog! ™ widely distributed over Australia, and is the most common of
all the Batrachians there. The natives, when pinched for food, capture large numbers by the light
of a torch at night, and a supply of this Frog can always be secured in the neighbourhood of fresh
water.

5§^:

GOOSE-FOOTED HYLA.

In Tasmania there is a little Hyla (H. ewingii), which has no web on the extremities.

Hyla versicolor has a moister and more viscid look than the other species, and more resembles a
Toad in form. It is a great croaker in damp weather, and it lives on trees in the Northern United
States. It is a beautiful creature, and the colour varies from the palest ash to dark brown, and it is
blotched with brown, green, white, and yellow.

There is a genus of this family of Hylidse which lives in Mexico, and is remarkable on account of
the existence of a pouch on the back of the female, just above the lower part of the spine. This
Nototrema § is a curious form even in the Tadpole state, for its branchiae are terminated by a disc
which is bell-shaped. The eggs are placed by the hind feet of the male into the pouch of the adult

Hyla eleyans.

t Hyla %>almata.

Hyla a urea.

Nototrema marsupiatum.

THE TREE FROGS.

365

female, and they undergo their transformation and live as Tadpoles there, hopping forth in due time
as perfect Frogs.

The Tree Frogs belonging to the genus Polypedates are arboreal in their habits, and have
the fingers and toes ending in discs. They are found very widely distributed in the East Indies
and in Madagascar, and they are very interesting from being able to change their colour. They have
a smooth skin and a short fold from behind the eye above the tympanum, which is more or less
distinct. The adults have vomerine teeth, and the tongue is long and deeply notched behind. The
fingers are slightly webbed, and the toes are broadly so. The discs are well developed, The Common
Indian Tree Frog * is one of them, and is found widely over Ceylon and the Indian Continent. It

POUCHED FROO.

ascends to an altitude of 2,780 feet in the Sikkim Himalayas, and at Penang, where it is not found in
the valleys, it lives at a height of 2,000 feet. They are slender Frogs with broad heads and short
snouts. They change their colours, for sometimes they are buff above, sometimes ashy-grey, or
chocolate-brown tinged with rose or lilac, black spots being more or less visible.

The Spuri-ed Tree Frog f has a flat, depressed triangular head, a large eye, the tympanum being
half its size. Its fingers are not webbed, and the heel has a spur-like appendage. The male has vocal
sacs. The colour is greyish or olive-yellow above, with an hour-glass black mark on the back. It is
yellowish beneath, and the hind limbs have dark cross-bands. It is not rare in Ceylon. Another
kind is from Afghanistan, and it is a brown Frog very finely speckled with grey.

The genus has a species in Natal, and Dr. Andrew Smith found it on the leaf of a thick reed
growing on the marshy banks of a small river a little to the westward of Port Natal. Others are
found in Madagascar and Japan.

There are some small Tree Frogs which inhabit Ceylon, Java, the Philippine Islands, and Borneo.
They have no vomerine teeth, and the skin is smooth or else tuberculate, and their tongue is long and

* Polypedates maculatus. t Polypedates eques-

189

366 NATURAL HISTORY.

deeply notched behind, They have well-developed limbs, the fingers quite free, and the toes are
webbed, the discs of the toes and fingers being well developed. The Variable Ixalus* of Ceylon is
one of them, and is about one inch and a half long, the hind limb being two inches and one-third
long, and. is very variable in its coloration. Probably one of this genus lays its spawn in a
remarkable manner. Thus, Mr. Holdsworth found in Ceylon, hanging from the side of a stone cistern,
a lump of spongy soft substance as large as a crow's egg. It was found about eight inches from the
usual surface of the water in the cistern. Dr. Giinther examined the mass, and found it indistinctly
greenish and cellular, and that it consisted of an interlaced tissue, enclosing large and small spaces,
which may have been filled with air or water. A few lines below the surface of it ova were found ;
some in the meshes of the tissue, and others accumulated towards the centre in a lump. They were
as large as a pin's head. It is remarkable that this peculiar mass of fibres of uncertain derivation
should be so excellent a protection to the ova, and, indeed, a better one than the iisual glutinous stuff
which is secreted around the Common Frog's spawn. Whether the cells below the surface of the mass
contain air to keep it floating, or whether they once contained water to support the young, is uncer-
tain. It is known that some Tree Frogs deposit their spawn in the water which collects in the hollows
of trees and branches.

Dr. Giinther, during an examination of a number of small Tree Frogs from Ceylon, noticed one
which had the ova attached to the under part of the body, or, rather, they were attached when the
creature was caught, but came off, adhering together like a flat disc in shape, but they left their marks
on the mother. They were of the size of a hemp-seed, and the Frog was scarcely two inches in length.
This method of carrying the ova beneath the body is exceptional in Frogs.

The North American genus Acris has species in. which the foot webs and discs are small, and it
really closely resembles a small Land Frog.f It is fond of the water, and may be seen on leaves in
ponds, and the male, which has an internal vocal sac, is noisy. It has a large heart-shaped tongue.
Holbrook, the American herpetologist, described it as a merry little Frog, which chirps like a Cricket,
and may be domesticated.

In Nepal and Sikkim, at an altitude of 5,200 feet, there is a slender, smooth- skinned Tree Frog,
with a body three inches and two-thirds in length, the hind limb being six inches in length. It is one of
the largest of the Tree Frogs, and is green during life, and uniform dark violet above, after death, and
brownish below. The fingers and toes are entirely webbed, and the terminal discs are very large. The
vomerine teeth are in two series. It belongs to the genus Rhacophorus. All the species of this
remarkable genus have the digits very flat, the discs greatly dilated, and the web large. They inhabit
Java, Malabar, Madagascar, and a sub-genus is on the mainland of West Africa.

The Hylodines are a sub-family of the Hylinse, and have no web on the toes. Some belonging
to the genus Hy lodes have teeth on the vomer.

The little Hylodes ocularis, one of this group with free digits and vomerine teeth, is only
eleven lines in length, legs and all, and is very pretty, resembling the Acris gryllus in its
habits. It is found on myrtle leaves,, and is diurnal in its habits, seeking its food by day. Like
the others of its genus it delights in the sunshine, but they retire to dark, damp places, and sit in the
water half covered. South Carolina and Georgia are their localities.

In one of the group called the Martinique Frog. £ which is distributed in some of the other islands
of the Antilles, the eggs are laid, but do not bring forth Tadpoles. On the contrary, the metamorphosis
proceeds inside the egg in about seven days, and the Tadpole state is thus rapidly passed through
there. When the little Hylodes bursts forth, it is a tiny perfect Frog with a little tail, but this is
soon absorbed.

A family of the Tree Frogs, the Phyllomedusidse, with maxillary teeth and parotid glands, has
a very peculiar opposable condition of the digits, so that the hands and feet grasp the twigs and
branches like those of Apes. One of these is from Cayenne and the Brazils, and is blue above, and
the sides and legs are spotted with white. It is called Phyllomedusa bicolor.

The Great Green Tree Frog § is the largest of the Batrachians which is found in every part of
Australia, and in New Guinea. Specimens are seen as large as a man's fist. This species feeds
upon almost every living object that can be swallowed — Lizards, Frogs, all kinds of insects, and
* Ixalus variabilis. f Acris gryllus, J Hylwlcs marliniccnsis. % Pelodryas cocruleus.

THE 'iREE FROGS.

367

KHACOPHORUS UHEINHAKDTI.

young birds, and the nestling of a small Honey-eater has been taken out of the stomach of one of
these insatiable creatures.

A species of Pelodryas, also a member of this family, is from New Zealand, and has veiy large
discs to the fingers, and the first finger is opposable to the other three, and is joined to the second by

368

NATURAL HISTORY.

a rudimentary membrane, and the others are partly webbed, the third and fourth having conspicuous
tubercles. The toes are nearly full-webbed, and the discs are smaller than those of the fingers,
This very pretty polychromatic Frog is not unlike a Rhacophorus, but the incomplete webs on the
hands are distinctive.

The last family to be noticed, the Dendrobaiidse, has genera whose species have no maxillary

teeth and no parotids. The figure is
very Toad-like, and there are not webs
uniting either digits or toes, but they
have all these dilated at the tips. There
is no expansion cf the processes of the
sacral vertebne. The species of the
genus Dendrobates live on trees and
bushes, and the best known is from
Cayenne and Brazil. It* is ,c:aid to
have a very remarkable power cf tint-
ing, and its blood, when applied to
the wounds of green Parrakeets from
which the feathers have been torn, is
said to produce a red or yellow colour
in the new plumage ! The males have
a throat sac. In all the tongue is rib-
bon-shaped, and much of it is free.
They are usually black, with a white
splash on the head, which is extended
in a radiating manner over the eye ;
another is across the loins, and there
are white branchings on the shoulder.

A little Frog two inches in length
inhabits the country to the east and
north-east of the Cape Colony, and Dr.
Andrew Smith states that specimens
are usually found in or about cavities
which exist in the trunks of trees.
When got out of the holes they appeared
inanimate, but the influence of a warm
sun soon imparted a moderate degree of
vigour to them, and in a few hours
after their liberation they were tolerably
active and able to move from place to
place. In one instance five specimens

were found by a workman (unfortunately not by Dr. A. Smith) in the middle of a tree
nineteen inches in diameter, and no hole led to the outside. It is called Brachymerus bifasciatus,
and its dark body has a pretty yellow line on each flank, with spots on the limbs. The jaws and
palate are without teeth. There are no parotids, and four of the digits and the five toes are free,
but the tips are dilated. It probably belongs to this family.

The genus Plectropus probably belongs to this family, but the sacral transverse process is
enlarged, and there are no discs to the fingers or toes. Moreover, four fingers are free from web,
and the five toes are palmate. The Painted Plectropus, f of a brown ground tint, relieved with
a marbling of black spots, is from Manilla.

* Dendrobates tinctoria. + Plectropus pictus=CaUula picta,

IHYLLOMEDUSA BICOLOR.

CLASS AMPHIBIA.

CHAPTER II.
TAILED AND VERMIFORM AMPHIBIANS.

THE TAILED AMPHIBIA — Characteristics of those with Persistent Branchiae and of those that lose the Branchiae Early
in Life— Skeletal Peculiarities — THE SALAMANDERS— Distinctive Features — The Spotted Ellipsoglossa — Why so called
— The Tritons — The Great Water Newt — Its Ferocity — Habits — Appearance — Rusconi's Observation of the Egg-
laying Process of the Triton — Growth of the Embryo — The Mature Tadpole — The Power of Repair — The Straight-
lipped Water Newt — The Common Smooth Newt or Eft — The Palmated Smooth Newt — Distribution — THE SALA-
MANDERS— The Spotted Salamander— Description — Where Found — Hibernation — The Black Salamander — Mdlle.
Marie de Chauvhrs Observations of the Changes of the Tadpole Salamander — The Genus Pleurodeles — The Genus
Pseudotriton — Is the Bite of the Salamander Poisonous ?— The Absurd Notion of their being Incombustible — The
Genus Salamandiina — THE PLETHODONTID.E — The Genus Desmognathus — THE AMBLYSTOMID.E — The Axolotl — Their
Life History — The Amblystoma, or Adult Form— THE ICHTHYOIDEA — Characters — THE PERENNIBRANCFIATA — The
Sirens — Appearance — Habits — THE PROTEID.E— The Proteus— The Genus Menobranchus— THE DEROTREMATA— The
Amphiuma Means— The Amphiuma Tridactyla — The Hellbender — The Sieboldia Japonica— THE APODA — Charac-
ters— Classification of the Amphibia — THE EXTINCT AMPHIBIA.

ORDER URODELA.— THE TAILED AMPHIBIA,

THE bodies of these Amphibia are long and rounded, tailed and webbed, and usually the fore limbs
are remote from the hinder. Their small limbs, the posterior being sometimes deficient, are useful
in enabling them to move on land, and, in some, in water. Their aquatic life might almost be
predicted from their shape, and especially in the case of those which have the branchiae on the
side of the neck persistent. Some live more on land, and have no branchiae during adult age, and are
aquatic. It appears that the branchiated kinds, and those with clefts, have biconcave vertebrae, and
that the others, which lose their branchiae early in life, have an articular head in front of the
vertebrae and a cavity behind. The first ally the others to the fish, and even a part of the notochord
is visible in them. The Urodela have rudimentary ribs, and in the tail there is an arch of bones
to protect its vessels. The skull, usually flat, is never completely ossified, and in the branchiated
kinds the cartilaginous and membranous parts of the young skull persist. The eyes are sometimes
rudimentary, and are placed beneath a transparent skin, and there is no tympanum. The teeth are
usually small and curved ; they are in a single row on the lower jaw, and they exist both on the
upper jaw and on the palate. The tongue is fixed below, and is free at its edge. The heart in some
has the auricular septum more incomplete than in the Batrachia, and in the Proteus there are three
branchial arches, and the bulb of the aorta splits into two trunks ; and by subdivision three pairs
of aortic trunks are formed, and the bases of the branchial artery and vein anastomose in the
first two gills, but not in the third. In others, and in the Salamanders, there are four pairs of
aortic trunks.

The skin glands are found along the sides of some of the aquatic Amphibia, and also beneath the
jaws and on the top of the head.

The Urodela are divided into sub- orders, the Salamanders and the Ichthyoidea, and these into the
Perennibranchiate and Deroti*eme groups.

THE SUB-ORDER SALAMANDRIN^.— THE SALAMANDERS.

These Lizard-shaped Amphibia are tailed, and breathe by internal lungs. They have eyelids
which are horizontal, and the vertebrae are convex in front and concave behind. They have no
branchiae, or gill clefts, in their perfect or adult age, but some have them during their youth. More
or less Lizard-like in shape, the fore limbs are furnished with four and the hind limbs with five
digits. Their skin is glandular, viscid, and often secretes a milky liquid which is acrid. In some the
glands aggregate near the ear, as in the Toads, and some have the gift of changing colour, through
possessing movable colour cells. The males and females differ, and the first have a fin-like crest
iisually on the back and tail.

They are usually divided into four families, and the first is typified by a Japanese kind which
appears to link the land-living and the aquatic Salamanders together.

370 NATURAL HISTORY.

It is long-bodied, and has a short tail, which is more and more compressed towards the tip. The
head is small, and the neck also, and it is rounded. Its eyes project, and the nostrils are well in front.
The skin is smooth, and as it were polished, and has folds and mucous pores, and is of an. ashy-grey
or blue-grey colour marked with white on the Hanks. It is a small animal with four digits, and is
called, from having an oval-shaped tongue, EUipsoglossa iicnvia (the Spotted Ellipsoglossa). Another
kind is, on the contrary, fitted by its compressed body and tail for living in water, and is the Clouded
Ellipsoglossa, and is also from Japan.

The next family, the Salanumilri'Ue, contains the Newts and Efts, and the Salamanders, and
although the well-known shape and the outside characters would enable its genera to be associated
more or less, it is advisable to state that the members of this family have the palatine teeth implanted
on the inner margin of the diverging and posterior prolongations of the palatine bones, and that they
are in two rows placed longitudinally and diverging posteriorly.

The Tritons (genus Triton) are numerous in species and individuals, and besides the structural
peculiarities of their family, they have the body covered with warty tubercles ; the four short limbs
have toes, four on the front, and five on the hinder, and are without nails. The male has well-marked
crests on the back and tail, which are not continuous, and there are no p.irotids, but there are glandu-
lar pores above and behind the eyes, and also a longitudinal series of similar pores on each side of
the body. They are very Lizard-like in sha;i3, an I the tongue is globular, free at the sides slightly,
and free behind, where it is pointed.

The Great Water Newt* (Plate 48) grows to the length of six inches, and is the largest of the
British kinds. Common in ponds and ditches, it preys upon the water insects, and during the spring
feasts on the Tadpoles of the Common Frog. They even devour the other and smaller species of Triton,
which they seize, according to Bell, with ferocity, and hold fast in spite of the efforts made by the victim
to escape. They will bolt specimens of the Small Eft, which wriggle and give much trouble in the act of
swallowing. It is a very aquatic species, and rarely leaves the water, and during the winter it remains
torpid at the bottom of ponds and ditches until the warmth of spring returns. It has a flat head, and
the upper lip overhangs the lower, and the trunk is nearly continuous with the head, the intervening
neck being marked with a fold of skin. The body is thick and round, and the upper parts are blackish-
brown with darker round spots, and the under are bright reddish-orange, with round black spots. The
sides are dotted with white, and the sides of the tail in the male are a beautiful pearly white. The
male has a back crest during the breeding season which disappears in the winter. They swim princi-
pally with the tail, the legs being turned backwards ; but when they float on the surface of the water
they sprawl their limbs out and their toes also. At the bottom of ponds and on land they crawl with
the aid of their weak extremities. They change their skin, and it comes away in shreds. The female
is like the male in the winter, but she has no trace of a tail crest. The Prince of Musigiiano states
that the Newt dies in convulsions if salt be sprinkled on it. The egg-laying is a curious process.

Rusconi noticed, whilst watohing the egg-laying of the Triton, that the females from time to time
pressed back their hind limbs, and that in a few moments after this action they laid one or two eggs,
which remained attached to them, so that some of the animals might be seen moving to and fro in the
tub, with two or three eggs thus attached.

He made a small bunch of the plant Polygonum jjersicaria, and put the stems of them under a
large stone to confine them at the bottom. In the evening he inspected the tub, and found all his
Tritons so comfortably accommodated by the help of the plants, that by keeping the head a little
elevated their nostrils were kept above the sm-face of the water, so that their respiration was
easy.

Whilst under the influence of surprise at this, he observed one of them approach one of the leaves
of the plant, as if to smell it. The animal then moved gently on the leaf in the direction of its breadth,
and, resting upon it, pushed back its hind lirnbs so as to fold back and enclose the leaf between its
feet. It stayed about a minute in this position, and then went away, leaving the leaf so that its apex
v/as turned back on the petiole. After a lapse of three minutes, Rusconi saw the Triton approach
another leaf, apparently disposed to place itself thereon, when, casting his eyes accidentally on the
other branches, he discovered many other leaves doubled back. He immediately took the bunch

* Triton cristatus.

GRICAT WATER NEWTS.

48

THE GREAT WATER NEWT. 371

from the tub, and on examining the leaves which the Newt had doubled and stuck with a sticky
secretion, he found that each of them enclosed an egg.

On looking at one of these eggs, it will be observed that the future Newt, or embryo, is in the
centre. It is white, with a yellow tint, and is environed with a glairy matter, to which it is so
attached that it can move freely in every direction. Its envelope is membranous, of glassy trans-
parence, and is covered with a very clear viscid matter.

The growth of the embryo is rapid under the influence of warm weather, and in five days, accord-
ing to Rusconi, it is bent in. shape, and little knobs are near the larger end, and on the seventh they
are evidently the rudiments of gills and legs. By the ninth day, the tail is oar-like in shape, the heart
may be seen to beat, and on the next day there are on each side of the head the rudiments of an
anterior limb, also claspers besides the gills. In two or three days the eyes are seen, and the gills
have become leaflets, and the little one escapes into the water at about the fourteenth day. It moves
in a very mechanical way, and hangs on to the first object with its clasping hooks. In about twelve
days the fore feet have become lengthened, aad there are rudiments of toes, and red blood circulates in
the branchiae, or gill-like leaflets, and the claspers have disappeared ; moreover, there is much volition,
and the little thing hides up and rushes after its prey. The hind feet appear on the thirty-fifth day, and
attain a good development by the forty-seventh, and the longest gills have as many as twenty leaflets full
of vessels. The Tadpole matures on the eighty-third day, and then the gills become smaller, and are
soon obliterated, so that in five days, or shortly after, they and the clefts in the neck for the outward
passage of water taken in at the mouth begin to be absorbed and covered with skin. It soon respires
atmospheric air only, and having thus arrived at its perfect state, it makes efforts to escape from the
vessel in which it has been isolated, This species lives in and on the water, and is seldom to be found
on land.

They have, in common with most other Salamandroids, the power of repairing great injuries to
the body. Loss of the limbs, tail, and even head, has been followed by a process of repair.

Mr. Bell has described a straight-lipped Water Newt* which is a rare British species. It has a
rough and tubercular skin, more so than in the Great Newt, and its upper lip does not overhang, but is
straight. He also places the Common Smooth Newt, or Eft,+ in a genus called Lissotriton, but it may
as well remain in the genus Triton, for the only essential differences are that the skin is smooth, there
are no pores on the sides, and the crest of the back is continuous with that of the tail. It is very
common arid likes clean water, and it feeds on worms, minute niollusca, and water insects and gnats, but
it is devoured by larger Newts and fish. They lay on the folded leaf like the Great Newt, but quite as
often in the axils of the leaves, and after the tadpole state many quit the water and remain on land.
Many of the adults may be found creeping about among the herbage in damp places, or even ventur-
ing into damp cellars. The crests are seen in the spring, and are lost in the autumn, when the colours
of both sexes become dull. The tips of the crest are red, arid the belly is bright orange in the early part
of the year. They lose their skin in a whole piece sometimes, but usually in strips. Their length is
about three inches seven lines in large specimens, the tail being one inch and three lines of the
whole.

The Palmated Smooth Newt £ has the hind feet webbed in the male, and the tail is truncate with
a slender end. The beak is flattened, with a raised line on each side. It has been found near Bridge-
water, the Isle of Wight, Reading, near Edinburgh, and as far north as Sutherland. It was supposed
to be a kind which is found in Switzerland, France, Central Gemiany, and Belgium, but the English
species is smaller, its head is flatter and broader, and the low lateral ridges are characteristic. The
webbed state of the hind feet, although it diminishes in winter, and the straightness of the back crest,
are very peculiar. The filament which ends the tail is from two to four lines in length.

THE SALAMANDEBS.

The Spotted Salamander § is the type of this genus, || and it has a thick, large head and clumsy body,
and a tail which is cylindrical at its outer end. The eyes are large, and the body is of a black colour,
with yellow spots, and there are numerous prominent warty growths on the sides. It has a large

* Triton bilronii. f Triton punctatus. Triton vittatus (Gray) is a variety. £ Triton palmipes,

§ Salamandra maculosa. \\ Salamandra.

372

NATURAL HISTORY.

tongue. The teeth on the palate are in long series, and the mouth-gape is ample. The parotids are
very developed. The toes are free and smooth.

This is a dweller on land in the adult state, and is found in Central Europe, in the mountainous

SPOTTED SALAMANDER.

districts of Southern Europe and North Africa. They haunt cool and damp places, such as fallen
timber and old walls, and they feed on insects, worms, and slugs. They hibernate in the winter, coiled
up in the crack of a wall, the hollow of a tree, or in the ground ; and during the spring and stimmer,
they shed their coat in shreds.

The Black Salamander* is found in the high mountains of Central Germany, France, and Switzer-

PLEUHODELES WALTLII.

land, and it has of late years been studied in regaixl to its extraordinary viviparity. The young
undergo their metamorphoses in the body of the mother ; but only the lower eggs in the body are
hatched within, and the resulting Tadpoles appear to destroy the others. Mdlle. Marie de Chauvin, by
taking the young from the body before they were fully developed, and placing them in water, tried to
watch the changes of the Tadpole Salamander, but only in one instance did she succeed. In four days

* Salamandra atra.

THE SALAMANDERS. 373

the little Tadpole got rid of its gills, which were replaced by others of an unusual form, and the new
ones adapted the creature to its novel existence. It lived for fifteen weeks at the bottom of the
water, and grew considerably. Then the gills atrophied, and the tail and skin altered, and finallv,
after moulting its cuticle, the Salamander quitted the water, and then the gill-clefts closed, and it
became an adult Land Salamander. This observation is interesting in connection with the history
of the Axolotl, which has branclme in early life, and may lose them later on.

The next genus, Pleurodeles, has short ribs, which give the appearance as if they penetrated the
flanks, but their ends come against the tissue under the skin, and produce horny projections thereon. The
tail is long and compressed, and the small tongue is adherent only in front, and there are two series of
palatine teeth in longitudinal series. The (Spanish kind has an ashy-grey body,* very prettily marked
with long transverse stripes and dots. It is very like a heavy Lizard.

The genus Pseudotriton includes a red kind witli numerous small black points, and the abdomen
is orange-red. It is a land animal, and is found under rocks and fallen and decaying trees. It will take
to the water, and this pretty little thing lives on insects, and is a North American kind.

There have been many stories about the Salamanders producing poisonous results, and an able
writer in the " Penny Cyclopedia " may be thus quoted regarding them : —

''The body of the Salamander is largely covered with warty glands. These secrete a milky fluid
of a glutinous and acrid nature, which, if not capable of affecting the larger and more highly organised
animals, appears to be a destructive agent to some of those which are less highly organised. Thus
Laurent! provoked two grey Lizards to bite a Salamander, which at first attempted to escape from them,
but being still persecuted, ejected some of this fluid into their mouths ; one of the Lizards died instantly,
and the other fell into convulsions for two minutes, and then expired. Some of this juice was intro-
duced into the mouth of another Lizard : it became convulsed, was paralytic on the whole of one side,
and soon died. According to Dr. Barton, this fluid — which the animal secretes in large quantities
when irritated, and is then capable of ejecting it to some distance — is not soluble in water, though it
dissolves readily in spirit of wine. He found the taste of the juice of Salamandra sulviolacea extremely
acrid, resembling corrosive sublimate, and very astringent.

" Such is the extent of the foundation for the long-cherished assertion that the Salamander was
one of the most venomous of animals. Nicander, in his ' Alexipharmaca,' gives an appalling picture
of the symptoms produced by its bite. The Romans looked on it with horror as most destructive, and
considered it as deadly a part of the poisoner's laboratory as aconite or hemlock. Hence came the
proverb that he who was bitten by a Salamander had need of as many physicians as the animal had
spots ; and another still more hopeless : — ' If a Salamander bites you, put on your shroud.'

" But the grand absurdity of all was the belief that the Salamander was incombustible ; that it
not only resisted the action of fire, but extinguished it, and when it saw the flame, charged it as an
enemy which it well knew how to vanquish."

The last genus of this group is Salamandrina, and a species is found in Italy and Dalmatia,
They are small Salamander-like creatures, and their head has a triangular reddish spot, and the
rest of the upper part is black. Beneath the body the colour is white, spotted with black, and the
under parts of the thighs are reddish. The tail, cylindrical in shape, has sharp ridges above and below,
and the hind feet have four free digits. The tongue is fixed in front, and the palatal teeth, parallel in
front, are divergent behind. They are barely two inches in length, f

The next family are the PLETHODONTID.E, and a species (Plethodon yiutinosa) has a cylindrical
body, with a lax skin, which is folded on the back. The tail is very long, the head large and flat,
and the palatine teeth are in two long converging lines. The colour is dark or blue-black, and there
are little white spots on the sides of the skin and stomach. It is found from Massachusetts to Florida.

The genus Desmognathus is one of the family, and its species have the posterior half of the
tongue free, and it can be ejected beyond the mouth. Mr. Leiss, writing in the Scientific American,
may be thus quoted about the brown species, which lives in the North-Eastern part of the United
States : — •

" They inhabit the shallow and stony spring brooks of hillsides and springs. I never have found
them far away from spring water. They ave varely seen swimming, but must be looked for beneath the

* P,'eurodcks waUlii. t Salamandrina perspicillata,

190

374

NATURAL HISTORY.

stones. When a stone, beneath which one is hiding, is first lifted up, the Desmognath is generally
surprised and dazed, and remains quiet for a few seconds. It must then be quickly seized, or it darts
off into the water and escapes.

" The metamorphoses of this species do not differ materially, so far as I have observed, from our
other Batrachia Urodela. The young are furnished with gill-tufts, and are entirely aquatic in habits.
When young they are lighter in colour than the adult, and often assume the colour of the mud or
sand of the stream they inhabit, and are thus not easily detected. The Brown Desmognath feeds
upon earthworms and insects. I found in the stomach of an individual three inches and a half in
length an earthworm over two inches long.

" The generic name, Desmognath us, means band, or ligature jaw, so called on account of the ten-
dinous ligament (one on each side) passing from the atlas over the parietal and pro-otic bones to the
jaw. This, like a ligamentum nuchse, supports, or rather, in this case, gives great power tc the head,
which is necessary in pushing up stones when in search of the worms upon which it feeds.

" The stagnant water of the aquarium seems ill fitted for the life of this lover of spring brooks,
for we could never succeed in keeping them alive for more than a few weeks."

The history of the early life of these non-branchiate Amphibia with tails is interesting, and it
is very probable that some of the perennibranchiate Amphibia are really the larvae, or immature
forms, of others of this sub-order. This is evidently the case in the next family.

THE FAMILY AMBLYSTOMID^E.

One of the most interesting of the Mexican Amphibians is the so-called Axolotl, or Siredon,
which lives in the lake which surrounds the city of Mexico. They are like stout, short-legged Lizards
in shape, and are from eight to ten inches in length, and have short extremities, there being four
digits to the fore limbs and five to the hinder. The colour is dark grey, or almost black, with dark
spots, and there are three well-developed branchiae on each side of the neck There are teeth in

AXOLOTL IN THE EARLIER, (A) AND IN THE LATKU (it) STAGES OF ITS EXISTENCE. (After

THE AXOLOTL. 375

the jaws, and two lines of them on the vomer. Cuvier had doiibts about placing the Axolotl
amongst the Amphibia with pei-sisteiit branchiae, but he stated that so many witnesses gave evidence
in favour of the branchiae not being lost during growth that he was obliged to do so. Time and
research have produced a ciirious history about these creatures, and have demonstrated their relation
to a perfect and non-branchiate form.

The Axolotles, furnished witli gills, reproduce by laying eggs, and at first this was considered sufli-
cient to determine that they were perfect animals, and that no further growth or change was possible.
They were placed by zoologists in a genus of the perennibranchiate Amphibia. But in 1865 M. A.
Dumeril saw the Axolotles lose their branchiae, and become altered in shape. They resembled in this
the Tritons and Salamanders, or non-branchiate group, and they became Amblystomes, a kind of
Amphibian which had been known before. Some Axolotl eggs turned to creatures like the parent,
but after a while they lost their gills and became Amblystomes.

The Axolotles can thus become " by metamorphosis " Amblystomes,* or adult forms.

Subsequently Axolotles were watched, and the eggs they laid were placed, first, on dry ground,
secondly, in water, out of which the young could readily emerge. Out of those under the first condition
four turned as usual to Axolotles, and two were born as perfect gill-less Amblystomes ; and under the
second four turned to Axolotles and one to an Amblystoma. Then an Amblystoma laid eggs, and
they were placed under the circumstances mentioned above, and many more Axolotles wei'e pro-
duced than Amblystomes.

One of the Amblystomes thus obtained laid eggs on a certain 17th of April, and tadpoles were
soon produced, and they gi-ew to four inches in length in three months. They presented all the
characters of Axolotles, but the colour of the markings of the skin differed. It is evident that the
immature Amblystoma (the Axolotl) lays eggs, and that the perfect form (Amblystoma) is not sterile,
but can produce eggs, some of which develop into the usual larval or Axolotl forms, and others
into Amblystomes, and the surrounding conditions appear to have to do with the direction of this
evolution. The Amblystomes are numerous, and have the skin much folded on the body ; the tail is
thick and almost cylindrical at the base. They have palatine teeth, forming two transverse rows,
which are re-curved, and the tongue is large and fixed inferiorly.

The Mole Amblystomaf is a little short-tailed dweller in the light soils of the islands on the
coast of South Carolina, and its underground retreats can be discovered by the slight upheaval of tho
earth which accompanies them.

The Tailed Amphibia are very sparingly distributed in India, and Dr. Giinther mentions one genus,
Cynops, which has species in China and Japan, and another, Plethodon, which is North American, and
has one species in Siam. Plethodon persimilis, from Siam, is so similar to Plethodon glutinosus, from
North America, that Dr. Gray stated that at a first glance they might be considered to be identical.

Mr. Wood Mason has noticed a Newt from the Darjeeling Hills, and it is the first from British
India. It has horny matter accumulated at the points where the ends of the ribs project against the
skin, as in the genus Pleurodeles.

SUB-ORDER ICHTHYOIDEA.

These are the lowest, so far as organisation is concerned, amongst the Tailed Amphibia, and
present, as it were, the early life of the first sub-order, the Salamandridse. The larval state of
these last is persistent in the adult Ichthyoidea, which, more or less fish-like in construction,
have in the vertebral column remnants of the notochord, and the vertebral centra are concave in front
and behind. Even the teeth on the palate resemble those of fish. In one group of the sub-order
the branchiae are persistent, and there are always gill- clefts, and these are called the perenni-
branchiata, and in another the external branchiae are not found in adult age, but there are gill-clefts.
These are the Derotremata.

The first group, the PERENXIBRANCHIATA, have long bodies, short limbs, the hinder pair being
deficient in some, and the branchiae ai-e persistent in all, and so, of course, are the gill-clefts.
Usually, there are no superior maxillary bones, and the palate is armed with rows of teeth. There
are three families, and the first is that of the Sirens (Sirenidce), of which the Siren is the type,
* Amlliistoma nicxicanus, f Amblystoma talpoidea.

376 NATURAL HISTORY.

The stagnant waters and marshy ground of South Carolina, especially where rice is cultivated,
are frequented by a very eel-shaped creature of an olive or blackish colour.* It has the
anterior limbs, which are small, ill-developed, and bearing four digits each ; but there are no
hind limbs. The tail is flat from side to side, and there are on each side of the neck three
very visible gills, increasing in size from the first to the third, and bearing branchial branches.
Its eyes are small and covered with skin. The gape of the mouth is not great, and there is no
visible ear. Its lower jaw has a horny sheath and several rows of small teeth, and the upper
jaw is toothless, but there are teeth on the palate. It lives in the mud, and travels into the
water or on to the land occasionally, and it preys on earthworms and insects. In captivity it hides
in the mud and devours meal-worms. This lowly-organised Amphibian retains its branchiae and
gill-clefts, three in number, through life, and the blood corpuscles are elliptical in outline, nucleated
and vast in size, being —<, of an inch in length. The lungs are bag-like and long. The Siren has
amphicoelous vertebrae and small ill-developed ribs, and the wrist and the ankle are cartilaginous.

The usual length of the head is one inch, and of the body and tail eighteen inches, but they fre-
quently attain the length of three feet. This Siren is covered with a thick mucus, and has a disagree-
able smell. When it wishes to inspire it rises to the surface, about three times in twelve hours, and
it gets rid of some air under water about once in two hours. It is, however, only an occasional
inhabitant of water, and it prefers to live in moist clay or mud. They abound in the rice-fields,
being thrown out on the land at certain seasons, when the ditches are cleaned. Formerly they were
killed by the slaves, or mangled as being poisonous, and left to be devoured by birds and beasts of
prey. Sometimes they leave the soft mud in which they burrow, and take to the water, in which they
swim with great swiftness, and at others they go on dry land, but whether in search of food, or to rid
themselves of parasitic insects, cannot be determined. Their range is from 45° N. L. to East Florida.
They were first observed in South Carolina, and Dr. Garden noticed to Linnaeus that they lived in
darns and ponds.

FAMILY PROTEID^E.

The Eel-shaped Proteus is the type, and is found in Carniola and Dalmatia, living in the great
underground wet caves and subterranean lakes and streams of those remarkable districts. It
looks, when swimming, something like a Lizard, with small and very distinct hind and fore limbs,
but there is a tuft of branchiae on each side of the neck. The creature is more than a foot in
length, and of' the thickness of a finger, and the tail is compressed vertically. The fore limbs have
chree short digits, whilst the hind ones have two. Only two gill-clefts exist on each side, and there
ai« rudimentary lungs besides the branchiae. They are flesh-coloured creatures, and the gills are coral
red, and the eyes are hidden in the skin, and are small, but useful. The blood corpuscles are
immense, and about fifteen times the size of those of rnan.t A rather long but truncated snout is
seen, and the palatine teeth are in two long rows.

A third family was formerly established to receive the remarkable North American genus
Menobranchus, but it is by no means certain that these creatures are not the larvae or the immature
condition of an Amblystome called Batrachoceps. The Menobranchus lateralis is from the Mississippi,
and the Spotted Menobranchus } comes from Lake Champlain and elsewhere in the lake district
of North America. The first has a long body, a flat and broad head, a large compressed tail, curved
above. The eyes are small, the nostrils are in front, and the beautiful crimson-coloured branchiae are
three in number on each side, and there are two clefts on each side of the neck. The tongue is
broad, entire, and free at the fore part, and there is a long, arched series of concentric teeth on the
palate, on the front of the vomerine bones. The lower jaw has a pointed set of teeth, and the lips
are fleshy. The extremities are four-cleft, and they are without claws. It is of a dusky ash-grey,
with dark spots, and there is a streak from the snout over the eyes. They were first caught in
.baiting for Cat-fish, and were, of course, reputed poisonous, and much was made about them,
although they do not often measure a foot in length. They crawl on the floor of the water, or
swim with a serpentine movement, and feed on insects, worms, and shell-fish.

Tlie second group of the Ichthyoidea, the DEROTREMATA, is remai-kablo for not having branchiso

* Siren lacet-tina. f Proteus anrjuineus, £ Metioliranchus punttatus.

THE AMPHIUMA.

377

MEXOBKAXCHUS LATERALIS.

in adult age, and for having a gill-cleft on each side, and there are two families of them. The first,
the Amphiumidie, is represented by the long eel-like Amphiuma, of which there are two species,
one with two and the other with three rudimentary digits. The first, Amphiuma means, lives
in rnuddy waters, or in mud. Hai-lan says they have been found at Pensacola, three feet or more
deep in mud of the consistence of mortar, in which they burrowed like earthworms. They inhabit the
ditches of rice-fields, and feed on fish and the fresh-water Unio, on beetles, and other insects.
Sometimes they are found on dry land. North and South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi
are their commonest localities. The whole surface of the body is deep blue-black, tinged with
violet, and the lips and throat are light, and the belly is dark-coloured. The single branchial cleft
on each side is partly covered with a thin fold of skin. The body is eel-shaped, and the fore-limbs,
close to the gill-clefts, have two small fingers, and the hind ones have the same number of toes.
The tail is very long and compressed near the tip. The negroes call it the Congo Snake.

The other species, Amphiuma tridactyla, is so called from the number of its digits, but it appears,
from the researches of Mr. Ryder, that the number of digits may vary in the same individual
Amphiuma ; there may be two or three. It is said that those with thi'ee digits invariably present
are restricted to the Southern United States, while the two-toed form is more widely distributed,
extending farther north, and also embracing the distribution of the former. Probably the distinction
attempted to be made between Amphiumse with two and three toes is of no great importance.

Another family, the Menopomidje, is represented by the Hellbender.* This ill-named Amphibian
lias a large, flat, broad head, and the snout is full and rounded, and the body is short, thick, and
the tail is large, much compressed, and has a fin above. It is of a pale slate colour, mottled with
dusky tints. It is carnivorous and very voracious, feeding on fish, worms, and shell-fish. It is
found in the Alleghany river and its tributaries, and doubtless inhabits many of the branches of
the Ohio and Mississippi. The mouth is large and covered with fleshy lips. The tongue is thin,
broad, and flat, and is attached behind and below, and is free in front and at the sides. The
superior maxillary teeth are arranged in two concentric series. The nostrils are in front, and are
small, and the eyes are minute and black. The neck has a single gill-cleft at each side. The fore

* Mcnopoma allet/haniensis.

378

NATURAL HISTORY.

limbs are short, thick, and fringed, and there are four fingers and five webbed toes. The total
length is eighteen inches to two feet.

There is usually a specimen of a great, flat, almost triangular-headed Amphibian, which belongs
to this family, with glistening white tips to its toes, in a glass case filled with water in the Zoological
Gai'dens of London. It never seems to move, and a number of fish, supposed to be for its food,
swim about it with perfect unconcern. It is a large, flat, Lizard-like thing, with a great tail, flat
from side to side, and is nearly a yard in length. The eyes can scarcely be seen, and the dirty
brown-coloured skin is warty and leathery-looking. No branchial clefts can be seen, and there
ai-e four toes in front and five behind. There is a kind of lobe behind the feet, and others 011 the
sides of the toes, and a curious leathery skin fold is on the flanks of the body. The tongue is not
distinct, and there are numerous palatine teeth.

It is a native of Japan, and is called after the naturalist Siebold Sieboldia (or Cryptobranchus)
japonica, or is included in a genus Cryptobranchus.

ORDER APODA.

The last Amphibians to be noticed belong to this order, and have a serpentiform body, no limbs,
and there are little scale-like bodies covering them, which are embedded in the soft, true skin, forming
transverse rings. They have the shape and method of life of the Blind-worms, and of some of the
small Snakes which lead a subterranean life, burrowing in the ground and eating worms and
insects. But their internal anatomy distinguishes them readily. They have the eyes covered with
skin ; but all the anatomical parts of the eye are present, and vision takes place. Their mouth is

*g. UiM U^l^SiE^^S§^df

SII'HONOI'S ANNULATA.

EXTINCT AMPHIBIA. 379

small, and situated on the lower surface of the head, and there are two rows of teeth on the mandible.
The two nostrils are well in front on the muzzle. One of them is found in the warmer purls of
North America, growing to the length of twenty-three inches,* and having the thickness of a good-
sized worm. It is agile under ground, moving in its own or other burrows ; but little is known
about its habits. It has some short conical teeth in the jaws and palatine bones, and has a little
pit on the head on each side beneath the nostril, which is rather projecting. Certainly, during
adult age, there are lungs, one, the right, being larger than the other, and there are no gill-clefts.
But J. Miiller states that when young there are internal branchiae opening outwards through a
cleft, in one kind, whilst it is certain that in other kinds the young are born breathing through
lungs. But Gervais and Peters state that large vesicles, branchial in character, are found on the
neck of the recently hatched individuals. The vertebrae are numerous and the centra are arnphi-
coelous, and they have minute ribs. As in the other Amphibians, there are two occipital condyles
to the skull and the hyoid bone, and the persistence of its arches would indicate that there is
much to be learned regarding the early condition of these animals.

Mexico and the Brazils have another genus with a short muzzle and a broad and annulated
body, and the pit is situated between the eye and the nostrils, t In Ceylon there is a flat-headed
species with a pit in front of each eye,} and in Cayenne one exists without this little place
at all. §

There are some peculiarities in the skulls of these burrowing worm-like Amphibia which
Huxley has pointed out were foreshadowed in the great extinct Labyrinthodontia of the early age
of Reptiles. The skull has a complete bony roof, and there is a quadra to-jugal bone besides the
membrane bone, or temporo-mastoid. There is also a bone which seems to be the side nose-cartilage
ossified, and another encircles the orbit, having no resemblance to any bone in the other living
Amphibia, Moreover, the palate bones surround the back and outer edges of the inner nostrils.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE FAMILIES OF THE CLASS AMPHIBIA.

•

ORDER AXOUHA (BATRACHIA PROPER).

( Family Pipidae.

SUB- ORDER AOLOSSA ...,...„ „ Dactylethridae.

( ,, Myobatrachidse.
SUB-ORDER PHAJ-EROGLOSSA, I Family Kanidae.

„ Pelobatidae.

Bufonidaj.

GROUP OXYDACTYLA ..... Rhinophrynidw.

Rhinodermatidte .

GROUP DlSCODACTYLA

En<*y stomatida) .
Family Hylidffi.

Phvllomedusidae.

Dendrobatida?,
ORDER UROPELA,

/ Family Molgidai.
\ Salamandridaj.

SUB-ORDER SALAMANDRIXA ...... j » piethodontidse.

( „ Amblystomidae.

SUB-ORDER ICHTHYOIDEA. r Family S,irenida3.

GROUP PEBENNIBRANCHIATA ..... ) „ Proteida?.

( ,, Menobranchidaa,
( Family Amphiumidae.
SUB- GROUP DEROTREMATA ..... j „ Menopomidte.

ORDER APODA ........ . Family Cascilidae.

( GROUP GAXOCEPHALA.

I*——

MlCROSAURIA,

(

THE EXTINCT AMPHIBIA.

The most ancient Amphibia appear to have first lived during the Carboniferous age, and

all were tailed, had pleurodont teeth, simple in their construction, and apparently there were no

bony branchial arches present. The vertebral centra were ossified. Some were Lizard-like and

others were more Serpentiform, and one genus probably had no limbs. They are the Microsauria

* CcecUia lumbricordes. T Epicrium hypocyanea. }. Siphonops annulata, § Rhinatrema livittata.

350 NATURAL HISTORY.

(Dawson), and the genera Hylerpeton (Owen), Hylonomus (Dawson), Brachydices (Cope), and
Ophiderpeton (Huxley), are typical. Associated with these, in the same formation, were the
Ganocepliala of Owen. These were like Salamanders in shape, and they had branchial arches, and
the genera Archegosaurus and Dendrerpeton are typical genera. Numerous branchiated flat-headed
Branchiosauria (Fritsch) lived in the Carbo-Permian age, and they had simple teeth and the
usual accessory bones of the skull, relating to the respiratory apparatus.

The Labyrinthodonts, with some alliances to the Apoda, had a very Crocodile-looking skull, but
covered over by ornamented plates. It was broad behind — in one instance two feet broad and three
feet long — had well-marked orbits, nostrils far in front, and long plates over the whole, very beauti-
fully ornamented with ridges and grooves. The gape was wide, and the .upper and lower jaws
and palate bones were provided with conical teeth, some much longer than others. The cement of
the tooth, instead of being folded around the tooth, is inflected or turned in, and not in a simple
straight direction, so as to present in a cross section the appearance of straight spokes to a wheel,
but in a curved and bent or serpentine direction. Moreover, the pulp cavity is subdivided into
many radiating and branching segments, so that the combination of the outer and inner markings
produces a most beautiful labyrinthic pattern. This condition was foreshadowed in some of the
most ancient armour-plated fish, and is slightly noticed externally in some of the fossil marine
Reptilia. The limbs were feeble in relation to the body. The markings in the clay and sandstone
of Slorton Hill, near Liverpool, as at Hessburg in Saxony, resemble " hands," and they are the
solid casts or impressions in relief of the five digits and claws of Labyrinthodonts. The possessor
was called " Hand beast," or Chirotherium. The limbs were Frog-like to a certain extent, and
the chest and belly were protected with bony plates. The Labyrinthodonts were probably air-
breathers in adult age only. Very Batrachian in their affinities, they were tailed, and there
were two occipital conclyles, and ossified vertebrae. They lived in the Carboniferous, Permian,
and Triassic age .'.

The ornamentation of the bones of the face, jawr,, and skull, was remarkable in some instances,
as was that of the bony skin, plates; and the shape of the skull, elongate and Crocodilian in
some, was like that of a broad-headed Frog in others. Mastodonsaurus, Anthracosaurus, Pholi-
dogaster, Baphetes, Trematosaurus, Labyrinthodon, Brachyops, Bothriceps, and Odontosaurus are
well-known genera. The Microsauria, Ganocepliala, Branchiosauria, and Labyrinthodontia, may
be united in the order Stegocephala (Cope).

The Tailed Amphibia have been found fossil in Tertiary strata, and one in particular, at
(Eningen, a great depository of fossils. It was so large and peculiarly formed that it was at
first considered to be a human skeleton, and its discoverer named it Homo diluvii testis. Cuvier,
however, showed that it had belonged to an Amphibian of a Salamander type. It is since called
after the discoverer Andrias scheuchzeri. It is a Sieboldia or Cryptobranchus.

Tritons and small Salamanders have also been found fossil in Tertiary strata.

The genera Rana and Bombinator have been found represented by fossil species in early
Tertiary deposits, and the extinct genera Palaeobatrachus, Palajophrynos, and Latonia, are of the

same and subsequent age.

P. MARTIN DUNCAN.

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