IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A 1.0 I.I ■4.5 BOO ■(•) c US ^ "^ Z L£ 12.0 M£ -f ||||i-25 im 11.6 M 6" ^ HiotogFEiphJc Sdenoes Corporation s> \ V 23 VnST MAM tTinT VMnSTn,N.Y. 145M ( 71* ) •72-4903 i\ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Inatitute for Historical Microraproductions / Institut Canadian da microraproductions historiquas Tschnical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notaa tachniquaa at bibliographiquaa Tha Inatituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat originai copy avaiiabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibiiographicaliy uniqua. which may ritar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction, or which may aignificantiy changa tha uauai mathod of filming, ara ehaekad balow. D n n D Coiourad covara/ Couvartura da couiaur I I Covara damagad/ Couvartura andommagAa □ Covara raatorad and/or iaminatad/ Couvartura raataurte at/ou paliiculAa □ Covar titia miaaing/ La titra da couvartura manqua iourad mapa/ Cartaa gAographiquaa an couiaur Coiourad inic (i.a. othar than biua Encra da couiaur (i.a. autra qua biaua ou noira) I I Coiourad mapa/ I I Coiourad inic (i.a. othar than biua or black)/ I I Coiourad piataa and/or iliuatrationa/ Pianchaa at/ou iliuatrationa an couiaur Bound with othar matarial/ Raiid avac d'autras documanta Tight binding may cauaa ahadowa or diatortion along intarior margin/ Lareiiura sarr^a paut cauaar da I'ombra ou da la diatortion ia long da la marga intAriaura Blank i^iavaa addad during raatoration may appaar within tha taxt. 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D D D 0 D 0 D D D D Coiourad pagaa/ Pagaa da couiaur Pagaa damagad/ Pagaa andommagiaa Pagaa raatorad and/or iaminatad/ Pagaa raataur*aa at/ou paiiiculAaa Pagaa diacoiourad. atainad or foxad/ Pagaa dAcoioriaa. tachatiaa ou piquAaa Pagaa datachad/ Pagaa dAtachAaa Showthrough/ Tranaparanca Quality of print variaa/ Qualit* InAgaia da i'impraaaion Inciudaa auppiamantary matarial/ Comprand du matirial suppMmantaira Only adition avaiiabia/ Saula Mition diaponibia Pagaa wholly or partially obacurad by arrata aiipa, tiaauaa, ate, hava baan rafiimad to anaura tha baat poaaibia imaga/ Laa pagaa totaiamant ou partialiamant obacurciaa par un fauiiiat d'arrata, una paiure, ate, ont At* fiimAaa * novvaau da fapon & obtanir ia maiiiaura imaga poaaibia. Thia itam ia fiimad at tha raduction ratio chackad balow/ Ca document aat film* au taux da riduction indiqui ci-dasaoua 10X 14X 18X 22X 28X 30X >/ 12X 16X »X 24X 2tX 32X Th« copy ftimad h«r« hM bMn r«produc«ar iaft hand comar. iaft to right and top to bottom, aa many framaa aa raqulrad. Tha following diagrama llluatrata tha mathod: Laa cartaa, planchaa, tableaux, ate, pauvant Atra filmto i daa taux da rMuction diff Arants. Loraqua la document eat trop grand pour Atra raprodult en un soul cilchA, II est f limA A partir da Tangle aupArlaur gauche, do gauche k droite, et do haut en baa, en prenant ia nombra d'imagea nteaaaaira. Lea diagrammea suivants illustrent ia m4thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 / / - s • ■ft ^ \ • 0 4* < • I \\. r .-■<;• 1 THE NATURAL HISTORY O F BIRDS. FROM THE FRENCH OF THE COUNT D E BUFFON. ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS; AND A PREFACE, NOTES, and ADDITIONS, BY THE TRANSLATOR. IN NINE VOLUMES. VOL. VL LONDON: PRINTED FOR A. STRAHAN, AND T. CADELL IN THE STRAND; AND J. MURRAY, N". 32, FLEET-STREET. MDCCXCIII. 01 6 73 ? e ■** CONTENTS OF THE SIXTH VOLUME. q^HE Fly-Bird — -* The Leajl Fly-Bird The Ruby — Amethyft — Gold Green Tufted Neck Ruby Topaz — Crejied Fly-Bird Racket Fly-Bird Purple Fly-Bird Gold Cravat — *• Sapphire — Emerald Sapphire Amethyft Emerald Carbuncle — Cold Green Spotted-necked Fly-Bird Emerald Ruby Eared Fly-Bird Collared Fly-Bird Broad-Jhafted Fly-Bird A2 Page ^- 1 -» 10 -^- 12 17 — 19 22 — 23 — 24 — 25 — 25 --• ibi — 27 - 29 33 34 The CONTENTS. The Lon^^- tailed Steel-coloured Fly-Bird Forked- tail Fiolet Fly-Bird Lo'i^ tiiil Fly-Bird — B.'iik Lon^-tailed Fly-Bird , The Colih-i — — Tol)az Colibri — Garnet — — White Shaft — Zitzil^ or Dotted Colibri Blue Shaft — Green and Blaclf Colibri — Tufted Colibri — Violet-tailed Colibri — Green- throated Colibri — Caroline- thioated Colibri Violet Colibri — Green Gorget ■^- — Red Collar — — Black Pbjiron — White Plajlron — — Blue Colibri — - Pearl Green — ^ — Rujly -bellied Colibri — Little Colibri — — The Parrot — — Parrots of the Old Continent The Cockatoos • — — - . White-crejied Cockatoo — TelloW'crefted Cockatoo — Red-crejled Cockatoo — ' Little FlcfJ>billed Cockatoo — Black Cockatoo — ' The Parrots properly fo called — Page 35 36 57 38 40 44 46 47 48 50 51 52 53 54 55 5^ 57 58 59 ib. io 6c f^. ^3 80 ib. 82 83 85 85 87 88 CONTENTS. ^he JncOi or Cinereous Carrot — — Green Parrot — — Variegated Parrot — • — Vaza, or Black Parrot — — Mafiarine — .1^ — Bloody-billed Parrot — — Great Blue-headed Green Parrot — Grey-headed Parrot — '■^ The Loris — — — Noira-Lorl — , — V A R I E T I E s of the Noira — — 1. The Java Parrot — — — 2. The Ccram Lori — — The Collared Lori — — Tricolor Lory — — Crimfon Lory — .— . — Red Lory — — Red and Violet Lory — — Great Lory •— — The Parrakcct Loris — — Red Parrakeet Lory — • — Violet and Red Parrakeet Lory ' «— Tricolor Parrakeet Lory — « Parrakeetso//^^ Old Continent, in which Tail is long and equally tapered The Great Collared Parrakeet — Double Collared Parrakeet — • — Red-headed Parrakeet — — Blue-headed Parrakeet — ' Lory Parrakeet — — Tellow Parrakeet — — ^T^ure-headed Parrakeet — - A3 the Page ^:^ 1C2 10+ 105 107 loS iu. no III 113 ib. ib. 114 115 116 ii3 119 120 ib, 121 122 123 ib. 125 126 ib. 127 128 129 The CONTENTS. Page the Moufe Parr akeet •*• <-• 129 Muftacbo Parrakeet — — 130 Blue-faced Parrakeet — — 131 Lace zvinmi Parrakeet — —132 P A R R A K E E r s of the Old Continent, zuhlch have a long ana unequal Tail — '34 The Rofe-ringed Parrakeet — — ib. Little Parrakeet — — 1 35 LomrJJjaf ted Great Parrakeet — ^ 136 Reddijh-wiit^cd Great Parrakeet — 137 Red- throated Parrakeet — — 138 Black'banded Great Parrakeet — 139 Red and Green Parrakeet — — 140 Creftcd Parrakeet — — 141 Short- tailed P a r r a k e ets of the Old Continent 1 4a The Blue headed Parrakeet — 143 Red-headed Parrakeet — — 145 Coulacijft — — 148 , Golden-ivinged Parrakeet — — 149 Cray-headed Parrakeet — — 1 50 Variegated'zvinged Parrakeet 7— 151 Blue -winged Parrakeet — — 152 Collared Parrakeet — — " 152 Black-winged Parrakeet — 1 53 jirimanon — — " 154 'PA'kROTZ of the New Continent — 156 The Aras — — — ib, RedAra — — 158 Blue Ara •— — 168 Gr/?^« -<^rrt — — — 169 Black Ara — — 175 The Amazons and Cricks — — 177 STit'^ Amazon Parrots — ' — " 1 8* CONTENTS. Page Page W 77,32 ^ 2. A Variety noticed by Aldrovandus withrut m name — . — — 184 134 V /« ^ « ^he tarabet or Red-headed Amazon — 184 9 IVhite-headed Amazon — — 185 135 '36 9 Tellow Amazon — — 186 ■B Aourou-Couraou — — 187 ^37 '38 9 Var lET I -es of the Aourou'Couraou — 188 9 I. The Pfittacus Viridis Melanorlnchos — ib. '39 9 2* ^ Variety defcribed by Aldrovandus, called Ca- « 140 9 theriiia by the Spaniards — — ib. 141 9 3' The Aiuru-Curuca — — liif 142 :9 4* ^ variety noted by Marcgrave — ib. 143 9 5. .The Yellow-fronted Amazon Parrot — ib. H5 148 9 Tie Cricks — — 190 W Crick wid> a Tellozv Head and 'throat ib. 149 ^ Meiily Crick — — '9? 150 V /* T ^ JRefiS? rt«^ Blue Crick — — 194 '5' 9 Blue-fcxcd Crick — — ^9B 196 9 Blue- headed Crick •— *- 198 '53 154 • * 9 V A R I E T ! E s fJe.^ Poff/i/J.-y — Pn*'l>!r I>fi!feJ PopiftJ.jv — Pifhwiy ivitb a Bine Htad and "throat V'iolc! Po;,iiijay — SnJJik ' — — Urown Pcplijay — yluroyn-hcaucd Poph'jny •— Fjra^UA — — 'The P,i*-roq:.'cfS — — ^ fill pour i — C.aiai — — Page 205 207 ib, 208» 209 210 211 2l2 213 ib. 2iy VaRliuqjjets cfthc Nfzv Continent , with long and e<]ihj/iy ti/ered Tiiils — 219 T/je Pavcuanc Parioquet — — ib, Brozvn-tbroiited rarroq^uet ^ — 221 Parroquct zvith a variegated throaty 223 jinaca — — — 224 Jcndaya — — , 225 Emerald Par roquet — — 226 Parroquets zvith a long 7'ail unequally tapered 228 ib, — 230 231 232 — 233 — ^B5 — 239- — ib. 240 ~ 241 — 242 The The Cincialo — Red-fronted Parroquet -— Apute Juha — - Golden erowned Parroquet Guarouba, or Tellow Parroquet l^eliozv- headed Parroquet — Ara Parroquet — [ The Touis, or Short-tailed Parroquets The TellozU'throated Toui — • Sofove — — Tirica — — EtCy or Toui-Ete — CONTENTS. 'q'he Gohkn-henikd 'I'oni — The C u R u c I I s — 27'5 308 ib. 309 3" 3'3 3'4 3'7 3'9 320 321 323 ib. 3^5 326 327 328 329 33* 333 334 20. The CONTENTS. 20. The San-hia of China — — 21. The Tait-Sou — — 22. The Pointer Cuckoo — — 23. The Vourou-Driou «— — American Birds which are related to the Cuckoo 1. The Olvi Man, or Rain-bird — Va r I e t I e s of the Rahi Cuckoo — The Rufous-winged Old Man — The Little Old Man — — 2. The Tacco — — • The Guira-Cantara — • — The Quapatlol, or the Laugher — The Horned Cuckoo, or the Atingacu of Brafil 3- 4- 5. 6. The Brown Cuckoo variegated with rufous 7. Tlie St. Domi .-^q Cuckoo — 8. The Piaye Cuckoo — — 9. The Black Cuckoo of Cayenne — 10. The Little Black Cuckoo of Cayenne "ithe Ants — — ,*-• V^ke Savamia Ant — — Mdf throve Am -— — ^he Huutou, or Momot — — ' ^he Hoopoes, the Promerops, and the Bee-eaters ^he Hoopoe — — Var I E T I E s fy/ the Hoopoe — 1. Varieties mentioned by Belon, &c. — 2. Anclh'^r by Commerfon and Sonnerat 3. Another by the Marquis Gerini — Page 336 337 338 3+' 344 lb. 345 ib. 346 347 352 353 354 355 357 358 360 361 364 37^ 376 379 395 ib. 396 ib. For e I c n Bi u d zvhkh is related to the Hoopoe .397 The Black and VV'.iite Hoopoe of the Cape of Good Hope — - — ib. 4 .'-f ^he Prommfpe 399 The CONTENTS. the Blue-winged Promerops — Brozvn Promerops with /potted Belly Striped-bellied Brown Promerops Great Promerops zvith frizled Flounces Orange Promerops . — • J'he Baker ■ — the Polochion — — the Red and Blue Merops — the Bee-Eater — Telhw and White Bee-Eater Gray-headed Bee-Eater — Gray Bee-Eater of Ethiopia Che/nut and Blue Bee- Eater V AKiETY of this bird — The Chefnut and Blue Bee-Eater of Senegal Page 400 401 402 403 405 407 408 409 411 418 419 420 ib. — 421 ib. the Patirich — — 422 the Green Blue-throated Bee-Eater — 424 Green and Blue Tellow- throated Bee-Eater 427 Little Green and Blue taper -tail Bee-Eater 428 Azure-tailed Green Bee-Eater — 429 Blue-headed P^ed Bee -Eater — 430 Red and Green Bee- Eater of Senegal — 431 Red-headed Bee-Eater — — 432 Green Bee^Eater with rufous Wings and tail 43 3 MerocephakfOr Tellow-headed Bee-Eater 434, the European Goat-Sucker — - — 436 Foreign Birds which are related to the Goat- Sucker — — 443 1. The Carolina Goat- Sucker — 448 2. The Whip Poor Will .— — 450 3. The Guira-Querea — — 452 4. The Ibijau — — "^ ASS Varieties CONTENTS. Varieties of f he Uijau — — 455 The I 'itle Spotted Goat-Sucker of Cayenne ib. TK^» eat Ibijau — — 456 5. The jjev^lacle Goat-Sucker, or the Haleur 458 6. The Variegated Goat- Sucker of Cayenne 459 7. The Sharp-tailed Goat- Sucker — 461 8. The Gray Goat-Sucker — — 462 9. The Montvoyau of Guiana — 463 10. The Rufous Goat-Sucker of Cayenne — • 464 The Szvallows — — — 466 The Chimney y or Domrfdc Szvallozv — 49 3 V A R I E T I E s (/ the Com won Szvallozv — 50 5 1. The Atingua Swallow — — ib. 2. The Rufous-bellied Swallow oi' Cayenne — ib. 3. The Rufous-cowled Swallow — 506 Foreign Birds, zvhich are related to the Common Szvdlorju — — — 508 1. The Great Rufou<;-bellied Swallow of Senegal ib. 2. The White-cinclured Swallow — 509 3. The Ambergris Swallow ■— — 510 The Martin — — — 5ii The Sand Martin — — 526 The Crag Swallow -— — 5S2 The Szvift — — — 534 fVhite-hellied Szvift — — 548 Foreign Birds which are related to the Szvallows^ the Martins, and the Swifts — 552 I. The Black Swallow — .— 554 2. The White-bellied S;yift — 555 3. The Peruvian Swallow — ■■■■■ 557 4. The White-collared Swift i— 558 5. The Afli-bellied Swallow - • w^^ 560 6. The Blue Swallow of Louifiana — ib. Varieties Il 'I CONTENTS. Yarietils of this Bird — — The Cayenne Swallow — .1^ The South American Swallows — The Purple Martin — «■ , The Great American Martin ,— 7. The Brafilian Swallow — -^ 8. The Brown-collared Swallow — 9. The White-bellied Cayenne Swallow — 10. The Efculent Swallow — _ n. The Wheat Swallow — . — Variety of this Bird — The Little Brown Swallow -» 12. The Gray- rumped Swallow — _• 13. The Rufous-rumped Swallow — 14. The Sharp-tailed Brown Swallow of Louifiana 15. The Sharp- tailed Black Swallow of Martinico Page 561 ib. 562 563 ib. 564 566 567 568 578 579 ib. 580 581 582 58s THE ■^!"-'-^-\-. iW- 1^ it Tinr-BIRJiS OF THE ]N>VTUKAT-. ►SIZK. r ' • THE NATURAL HISTORY O F B I R D S. -- Ti The FLY-BIRD.' VOi/eau * Mouche, BufF* $ OF all animated beings, the Fly-bird is the nnoft elegant in its form, and the moft brilliant in its colours. The precious ftones and metals polilhed by our art cannot be com- pared to this jewel of nature. Her miniature * In Spanifh Tomineios : in Peruvian ^inti or ^?W/, which name obtains alfo in Paraguay : in Mexican Huifzitzil or Hoitzitzil, OuriJJia (fun-beam) : in Brazilian Cuianumbi, which is generic. It is alio called Vidlilin and Guachicbil (riower-fucker) in Mexico. Briflfon terms it Mtllijuga or honey -fucker; 'L\x\x\x\xs Trochilas, of little-top. In EngliOi it is ufually known by the name of hunt' minghird. Mr. Pennant denominates it honey-fucker, [The Mexican appellations of Huitzitzil and VidHlin, fignify re* generated; which alludes to a notion entertained by the Indians that in autumn this bird ftuck its bill into the trunk of a tree, and remained infenfible during the winter montlu, till the verna;! warmth again waked it to animation^ and invited it to its flowery pafture. T.] VOL. VI. B produvSlions FLY-BIRD. f i ' ■(I: ' [u'odu^ions arc ever the moft wonderful ; fhe has placed it in the order of birds, at the bottom of the fcale of magnitude ; but all the talents which are only (hared among the others, nim- blenefs, rapidity, fprightlinefs, grace, and rich decdration, fhe has beftowed profufely upon this little favourite. The emerald, the ruby, the topa^, fparkle in its plumage, which is never foiled by the duft of the ground. It inhabits the air ; it flutters from flower to flower ; it breathes their frelhnefs ; it feeds on their nec- tar, and refides in climates where they blow in perpetual fucceflion. It is in the hotted part of the new world that all the fpecies of Fly-birds are found. They are numerous, and feem confined between the two tropics * ; for thofe which penetrate in fummef within the temperate zones make but a fhort ftay. They follow the courfe of the fun; with him they advance or, retire; they fly on the wings of the zephir^ to wanton in eternal fpring. The Indians, ftruck with the dazzle and glow of the colours of thefe brilliant birds, have named them the Learns or locks of the fun \, The Spaniards call them tomineos, on account of their diminutive fize, tomine fignifying a weight of twelve grains. ** I faw," fays Nie^ remberg, *' one of thefe birds weighed with its • Laet. Ind. Oecid. Lib, V. 256. t Marcgrave. ncft. ill- F t Y . B I R D. 3 fteft, aiid the whole together did not amount to two tomirtes *.'* The fnlaller fpecies do not exceed the bulk of the great gad-fly, or the thickriefs of the drone. Their bill is a fine needle, and their tongue a delicate thread i their little black eyes refemble two brilliant points s the feathers of their wings are fo thin as to look tranfparent f ; hardly can the feet be perceiv- ed, fo fhort they are and {o (lender : and thefe are little ufed, for they refl only during the night. Their flight is buzzing, continued, and rapid ; Marcgrave compares the noife of their wings to the whirr of a fpinning-wheel : fo rapid is the quiver of their pinions, that when the bird halts in the air, it feems at once de- prived of motion and of life. Thus it refts a few feconds befide a flower, and again (hoots to another like a gleam. It vifits them all, thrufting its little tongue into their bofom, and carefling them with its wings ; it never fettles, but it never quite abandons them. Its playful inconftancy multiplies its innocent pleafures ; for the dalliance of this little lover of flowers never fpoils their beauty. It only fips their ho- ney, and its tongue feems calculated for that purpofe: it confifts of two hollow fibres, form- ing a fmall canal J, parted at the end into two * Nieremberg, p. 239. Acofta, Lib. IV. cap. 37. t Marcgrave. J Macrgrave. B 2 filaments: *4 F L Y - B I R D. filaments* : it refembles theprobofcis of infects, aiul performs the lame office -f-. The bird pro- trudes it from its bill, probably by a mcchanifm of the OS byoidcs^ fimilar to what obtains in the tongue of wood-peckers. It thrurts it to the bottom of the flowers, and fucks their juices. Such is its mode of fubfiftins: accordin gathered from flowers, and has the confiftcncy and feel of a thick fmooth flcin. The female performs the work, and the male coUeds the materials*. She applies herfeU with ardour; fele£ts, one by one, the fibres proper to form the textqrc of this kindly cradle for her progeny ^ (he fmqoths th^ margin with her breaity the inHde with her tail| fhe covers the outfide with bits of the bark of the gum tree, which grc ftuck to (belter from the weather, and giye folidjty to the fabric t : the whole is attached to two leaves, or a lingle fprig of the orange pr citron ];, or lomttimes fo a draw hanging from the roof of an hut §, The neft is not larger than the half of an apri- cot II , and it is alfo (haped like a half cup. It contains two eggs, which are entirely white, and not exceeding the bulk of fmall peafe. The cock and hei^ (it by turns twelve days ; on the thirteenth the young are excluded, which are then not larger then flies. " I could never perceive/' fays Father Dutertre, •* how the mother fed then), except that (he prefepted the tongue covered entirely with hofiey extradle4 from flowers.*' We naay eafily conceive that it is impoflible to raife thele little flut^erers. f hofe who hav^" • Dutertre, /. II. /. 26^. f /oflible Q hav^' FLY-BIRD. f tried to feed them with fyrups could not keep them alive more than a f- w weeks ; thefe ali- ments, though of ealy digeftion, are very dif- ferent from the delicate ncdlar colle£kcd from the frefli bloflbms. Perhaps honey would have fucceeded better. The method of obtaining them is to (hoot with iand, or by means of the trunk- gun \ they will allow one to approach within 6ve or fix p^ces of them *. Tbey may be caught by placing a twig fmeared over with a clammy gum in a flowering (hrub. It is eafy to lay hold of the little creature while it hums at a bloflbm. It dies foon after it is caught f , and ferves tQ decorate the Indian girls, who wear two of thefe charming birds, as pendants from their ears. The Peruvians had the art of forming their feathers intpi pii^^ures, whofe beauty is perpetually extolled in the older narratives J, Marcgravc, who faw fome of thefe pieces of workmanship, admires their brilliancy and de- licacy. With the luftre and gloTs of flowers, thefe pretty birds have been fuppofed to have alfo the perfume ; and many authors have aflerted that • They are fo numerous, f^ys Marcgrftve, that a fowler may eaflly take fixty in 4 day. t Dutercrc and Marcgrave. I See Ximenes, who attributes the fame art to the Mexicans : Qemelli Carreri, Thcvpt^ Leryj Hernandez, &<;. B 4 they tried I ■I M. I'i'i :• i 8 f L Y-B I R D. they have the fragrance of miiik. The miftake originated probably from the name applied by Oviedo, oi paffer mofquitus, which would eafily be changed into paffer mofcatus ^. But this is not the only tnarvellous circumftance with which their hiftory has been clouded -f; it has been faid that they arc half birds, half flies, and produced from a fly I ; and a Provincial of the Jefuits gravely affirms in Clufius, that he was v/itnefs to this transformation §. It has beeij alledged that during the winter feafon they re- main torpid, fufpended by the bill from the bark of a tree, and awakened into life when the flowers begin to blow. Thefe fidions have been rejected by intelligent naturalifts || ; and Catefby afllires us, that he faw them through the whole year at St. Domingo and Mexico, where nature never entirely lofes her bloom 4-. Sloane fays the fame of Jamaica, only that they are more numerous after the rainy feafon ; and prior to both, Marcgrave • Gefner very juftly remarks that this epithet is derived rather from muj'ca (a fly), than from mo/chus (the name in modern Lat;n for mufk.) f Dutertre correfts very judicioufly many puerile exagger- ations, and detefts, as ufual, the millakes of Rochefort, /, II, /• 263. ., . . ' J .SV^ Nieremberg, p. 240. § This Jefuit, fays Clufius, made ftrange relations in natural hiftory. Exotic, p. 96. II See WiUoughby. .■ . . ■^• 4 Nat. Hift. of Carolina, VoU I, /. 65. mentioned FLY-BIRD. ^ mentioned their being frequent the whole year in the woods of Brazil. We are acquainted with twenty-four fpe- cies in the genus of the Fly-bird \ and it is pro- bable fome have been overlooked. We fhall diftinguifh them by their different denomi- nations, drawn from the moft obvious cha- raders. ... • > .V I JO ] The LEAST FLY-BIRD, J^e }!us petit Oi/eau-Mouche, BufF. FIRST SPECIES. Trochiliis Mttimus, Linn. Gmel. and Klein. Uellifuga, Bri/r. Guatnuntbi /eptima fptciei, Marcq. Cuainumbi minor t corpore toto cincreo, Ray. Polythmus minimus 'variegatui. Brown. The Leaji Humming' birdt Sloane, Edw. and Lath* TT is congruous to begin with the fmallefl; ■■• fpecies, in enumerating the fmalleft genus. This Leaft Fly-bird is icarce fifteen lines in length ; its bill is three and a half, its tail four : fo that there remains only nine lines f^r the head, the neck, and the body. It is fmaller, therefore, than fome of our flies. All the up- per fide of the head and body is of a gold green changing brown, and with reddilh reflections ; all the under fide is of a white grey. The fea- thers of the wing are brown, inclining to violet, and this is the general colour of the wings in all the Fly-birds, as well as in the colibris. The bill alfo and the feet are commonly black, the legs are clothed pretty low with little downy plumules; and the toes are furnifhed with little iharp curved nails. All of them have fix feathers in the tail ; Marcgrave mentions only four, which 3 i» LEAST FLY-BIRD. i\ is probably a miilake of the tranfcriber. The colour of thefc taij-feathers is, in moft of the fpecies, bluifli black, with the luftre of bur- nifhed fteel. In the female the colours are ge^ nerally not fo bright ; it is acknowledged too by the beft obfervers to be rather fmaller than the male *, The bill of the Fly-bird is equally thick throughout, (lightly fwelled at the tip, comprefled horizontally and flraight. This laft charader diftinguilhes the Fly-bird from the co- Jibris, which moft naturalifts, and even Marc- grave, have confounded. This firfl and Icaft fpecies is found in Brazil and the Antilles. The bird was fent to us from Martinico with its neft; Edwards recpved it from Jamaica. * Grew in the Philofophlcal Tranfa^ions, No^ zoo, art, ^.— ^ Labat, Dutertre. [A] Specific charafter of ^^Trochilut Minimus: " Its lateral tul-feathers white at tneir outer edge, its body of ihining green, J>^\v wliitifli," It weigl^s between twenty and forty-five grains. I' ::!,: ilt'i! f .1; IM a .■ ;/'■!,■ r 12 J I ■iiil! The RUBY. Lt Rub's, BufF. • . SECOND SPECIES. Trochilus'Coluhris, Linn. Gniel. and Klein. l»',eUifi4ga CaroUnenfi; gutture ru'tro, Brin. Nominee Vinfcens, gutture flammeo, Pctiv. Gtiniiiutnbi, Ray. and Will. I'he Amtrican Tommeiui ox Humming- bird, Catefby and Knlm. The Red-throated Honey-fucker, Penn. The Rgd'tbtoated Humming-bird, Edw. and Lath. N obferving the fcale of magnitude, many would occupy the fecond place. We (hall take the Carolina Fly-bird, and denominate it the Ruby. Cate{by feebly exprefles the luftre and beautv of the colour of its throat, when he calls it a crimfon enamel: it has the brilliancy and fire of the ruby. In a fide view, it has a gold tinge, and, feen from below, it appears* a dull garnet. We may remark that the feathers of the throit are fafliioned and difpofed like icales, round and detached; which arrange- ment multiplies the refleclions, that play both on the neck and the head of the Fly-birds, among all their fparkling feathers. In the pre- fent, all the upper fide of the body is gold- green, changing into red copper; the breaft and the fore part of the body are mixed with white, and '% ^•>' RUBY. »3 white, grey, and blackifti ; the two feathers in the middle of the tail arc of the colour of the back, and the lateral feathers are pu r pie- brown ; Catefby fays copper colour. The wing is brown, tinged with violet, which, as we have already obferved, is the common colour of the wings in all thefe birds; fo that we may omit them in the fubfequent defcriptions. The form of the wings is fingular : Catelby compares it to the blade of a TurkiQi fcimeter. The four or five firfl; outer quills are long, the next much lefs fo, and thofe neareft the body are extremely fmall; which, joined to another circumflance, that the largeft are curved outwards, makes the two wings when fpread refemble a drawn bow, of which the little body of the bird reprefents the arrow in the middle. The Ruby appears in fummer in Carolina, and even in New England ; it is the only Fly-bird that penetrates into the northern pro- vinces *. Some narratives tranfport it to Gaf- pefia f , and Charlevoix fays that he faw it in Canada. But he appeai. little acquainted with it when he lays, that the bottom of its neft is interwoven zvith fmail bits of wood, and that it lays Jive eggs % ; and in another place that its * Catcfljy and Edwards. t Nouwlk relation de la Gafpejie, par le R. P. Chretien le Clerque, P.vm, 1691, />. 486. The Gafpefians, according to this account, call it nirido, bird of heaven. X Hirt. andDcfcrip. de la Nouv. France, Parity 174^, /.HI. is-8 feet H R U B V. II: Jeet art Ukc Us hlll^ very long** Little ftrcfs can be laid on fuch evidence. The winter re- treat is faid to be in Florida -f- ; it breeds in Ca- rolina in fummer, and departs when the flow- ers begin to fade. It extracts its nourishment from the flowers only; ** and I have always obferved,** fays Catefby, " that it never feeds on infeds, but entirely on honey-juices {.'* • Hill. deSt. Domingue, Paris, 17J0, p. 31. t See Hift. Gen. des Vo>\ /. XIV. />. 456. :[ Carolina, Vol. I. p. 65. (A] Specific charafter of i\it Tf$chiltts-Colubf is : « It is gold- {Tcen ; its tail-feathers black, the three lateral ones ferruginous tipt with white } its throat flame, coloared." It b three inches and •ne third long. T! ALL ai impoffi the fmi the fan forked, with V is goldi change placed rather reach which forkec 1^ [A] gold-gre( thyftine.' !;i t «J 1 A' The AMETHYST, BufF. Trecbilus Amtthjjlinust Gmel. The AtHithyftint Humming-bird, Lath. THIRD SPECIES. LL the throat and the fore part of the neck are of a briUiant amethyft, which it is impoffible to figure or paint. This is one of the fmalleft of the Fly-birds ; its fize and form the fame with thofe of the Rubyi its tail is alio forked. The fore fide of the body is marbled with white, grey, and brown ; the upper fide is gold-green ; the amethyfl colour of the throat changes into purple brown, when the eye is placed lower than the objeft. The wings feem rather ihorter than in the other Fly-birds, and reach not the two middle feathers of the tail, which arc however the fhorteft, and give it a forked (hape. [A] Specific charafter of the Trechilus Amithyftinm: f* It is £oId-green> below variegated with a(h and brown, its throat une* thyftine." It is found in Cayenne. !' ■ 'I ■■'if' ■ , Vi *',<-'•■( i;\','*; WWmi >■ ■■•J- .■ ■ .- .--^p'.Mfa Mm ■m « . \ fttm *5 Mm ..('♦. :';■ ' '1 *r;tlii ■>.*'■ I «6 J The GOLD GREEN. Ir.^f. I:;;! VOrvertt BuiFon. FOURTH SPECIES. Trocbilus VirldlJJimus , Gmel. The All-grttn Humming-bird^ Lath* ^ REEN and gold yellow fparkle more or leftJ ^*^ in all the Fly-birds ; but thefe fine co- lours cover the whole plumage of this, with pe, Buff. '• ' '' ' ' SEVENTH SPECIES. Trochilus Crifatus, Linn. Gmel. and Borowfk. Melhfuga Crifiata, BrifT. and Klein. The Green Jlrait-billed Humming -birti, Bancroft. T\\Q Crejled Green Humming birJ, Lath. Tp^uTERTRE and Feuillec have taken this bird ^^ for a Colibri ; but it is one of the fmalleft of the Fly-birds, fince it does not exceed the Ruby. Its crefl: refembles the moft brilliant eniierald ; and this diftinguiflies it, for the reft of its plumage is dull. The back has green and gold reflexions, on a brown ground j the wing is brown ; the tail blackifh, and fhining like poliflied fteel; all the fore-fide of the body is vel- vet brown, mixed with a little gold- green near the flioulders; the wing, when clofed, does not exceed the tail. The under f de of the bill is covered with little green brilliant feathers as far ns the middle. Edwards has delineated the iiell. Labat obferves that the female has no crefl, [A] Specific charafter of the Trochilus Crijiatus : " It is green, its wings brown,, its belly brown cinereous, its creft bluiih, its legs feaihered," F L Y- B I R D. n The RACKET FLY-BIRD, n •M n '1:1 VOi/eau-Trlouche a Raquettes, BufF. EIGHTH SPECIES. TrochiliS Longicaiidus, Gmcl. • Irocfjiius Ph turns, Lath. Ind. The Racket-tailed Humming-bird, Lath. Syn, ^-r-*\vo naked fhafts, extending from the two ■^ middle feathers of the tail, are terminated with little fans, which gives them the form of rackets. The ribs of all the quills of the tail are very thick, and of a rufty white; the reft is brown, like the wings. The upper fide of the body is of a bronze gieen, which is the col )ur common to all the Fly-bird>; the throat is of a rich enxeiald- green. The point of tlis biii is about thirty lines from the end of the true tail, the two (hafts extend ten lines farther. This Ipecies is not well known, and feems very rare. We have defcribed it from a Ipecimen in Mauduit's cabinet. It is one of the fmalleft Fly-birds, and, exclufive of the tail, it exceeds not the Tufced-neck. [A] Speci<^f c ifter of the Trochilus Longicaudus: " It ii gold green, ii- i ^at n»ncrald; its wings, and its tail-feathers, brovvnj the two .^id- j' . . very long." m ^ 4 ' ■■*: li.lt ■ I'll Mil i III' 44 FLV-BIRD. The PURPLE FLY-BIRD. VOi/eau-Mouche Fourpre, BufF. NINTH SPECIES. Tro:hilus Ruber, Linn, and Gmel. ]\JelIi/uga Surinamenjis, BrifT. Mellifuga Ali$ Fu/cis, Klein. The Little Brown Humming-bird, Edw. Banc, and Lath. A' LL the plumage of this bird is a mixture of orange, purple, and brown ; and it is, per^ haps, as Edwards obferves, the only one of the genus that has not the gold-green on the back. Klein has therefore difcriminated it imperfectly ay the epithet of brown-winged ', fince brown, with more or lefs of violet and purple, is the general colour of the Fly-birds. The bill is ten lines, which is nearly one third of its length. [A] Specific charadler of the I'rcchilus Ruber: ** Its lateral tail feathers are violet ; its body of a brown brick-colour^ fomewhat ipotted." m. '.ijif: F L Y. B I "R D. ^ The GOLD CRAVAT. TENTH SPECIES. ^rochilus Leucogafier, Gmel. Mellijuga Cayanenjis ventre alio, Brifl*. Cuamumbi prima /pedes, Ray and Will. The Larger Humming-bird, Sloane. The Gold throated Humming-bird, Lath. npHis feems to be the firft fpecies of Marc- X o-rov^ . for it has a o-old ftreak on the grave throat, which tUat author thus defcribes, " the fore-fide of the body is white, mixed under the neck with fome feathers of a (hining colour." Briflbn omits that circumdance in his eighth fpecies, though it is formed upon the defcrip- tion of Marcgrave's firft. Its length is three inches and five or fix fines; all the under fide of the body, except the gold ftreak on the fore fide of the neck, is white-grey, and the upper fide gold-green [B]. We (hall reckon Brifiibn's ninth fpecies* the female of this, there being no material difference between them. ■■ •:.]'1l [B] Specific charafler of the Trocbilus Leucogajler: " It is gold- green> below white, its legs feathered.'^ • Trochilus-Pegafus, Gmel. Melllfuga Cayanenjis, ventre gri/eo, BrlfT. The Grey-bellied Humming bird. Lath. It is thus defcribed by BrifTon : "Above gold-green, varying with a pure copper colour ; the feathers of the tail gold-green on their ^rft-half, varying with a pure copper colour, and dark purple oa tl»eir other h^f, the lateral ones tipl with grey; the feet feathered/' ^m^ I .•,il«--+.i''-S ] i;: ■J li'! ■"'-'' •■ -¥i m If ^ FLY-BIRD. The SAPPHIRE, Le Saphir, BuiF. ELEVENTH SPECIES. Trochilus Saphirinus, Gmel. The S(4pphire Humming-bird, Lath. "T is rather above the middle fize ; the forcr fide of the neck and breaft is of a rich lap- phire-blue, with violet reflecflions ; the throat is rufous; the upper and under fides of the body dull gold- green ; the lower belly white ; the infe- rior coverts of the tail rufous; the fuperior ones of a (hining gold-brown; the quills of the tail are gold-rufous, edged with brown; thofe of the wings brown ; the bill is white, except the point, which is black. I li I % I' I ' ''1 The EMERALD-SAPPFIIRE, Buff. TWELFTH SPECIES. Trochilus Tricolor, Gmel. The Sapphire and Emerald Humming-bird, Lath. fT^HE two rich colours which decorate this ■■' bird defervedly confer upon it the names of thofe precious ftones. A fapphire blue co- vers the head and throat, and melts admirably S into F L Y- B I R D. a7 into the glazed emerald green, with gold re- flexions that cover the breaft, the ftomach, the circle of the neck, and the back. The bird is middle fizcd; it comes from Guadeloupe, and, we believe, has not hitherto been dcfcribed. We have feen another, brought from Guiana, of the fame bulk ; but it had not the fapphire throat, and the reft of its body was of a very- brilliant glazed green. Both thefe are depo- fited with the firft in the excellent cabinet of Mauduit. The laft appears to be a variety, or at leaft a fpecies nearly related to the firft. In both, the lower belly is white ; the wing is brown, and exceeds not the tail, which is cut equally and rounded : it is black, with blue re- flexions ; their bill is pretty long, its lower halt whitilh, and upper black. [A] Specific charafter of the Trocbilus Bicolor : ** It is gold- cmerald; its head and throat flcy-blue.** The AMETHYST EMERALD. THIRTEENTH SPECIES. Truhilus-Ouriffiat Linn, and Gmel. Melli/uga SurinatnenjU peffore cceruleo, Brifl'. The Green and Blue Humming- birdt Edw. and Latk. 'T^His Fly-bird is above the middle fize ; it is near four inches long, and its bill is eight lines. Its throat and the fore part of its neck are ;';;[:0; if ■Vlit •I il i i :nf l . \' ■mm I M ■fit ill i .'.ij' 28 F L Y- B I R D. are emerald green, brilliant and golden; its bread, its ftomach, and the top of its back, are purple blue amethyfl: of the utn^oft beauty: the lower part of the back is gold-green, on a brown ground; the belly is white; the bill blackifh; the tail velvet black, fliining like polifhed fteel. To the flime fpecies we may refer the Green and Blue Humming-bird oi Edwards, and the Blue- breaped Surinam Honey -fucker of Briflbn. It is figured rather larger in Edwards [B]. W The CARBUNCLE. ' VL/carlcucUt "^vl^. FOURTEENTH SPECIES. T>'ocbilus Carbunculus, Gmel. The Carbuncle Humming-bird » Lath. A CARBUNCLE red, or deep ruby, is the co- "**" lour of the throat and breart ; the upper fide of the head ai^d neck is of a duller red ; a velvet black envelopes the reft of the body ; the wing is brown, and the tail of a deep gold-ru- fous. The bird is rather above the middle fize ; the bill, both above and below, is befet with feathers, through almoft one half of its length. [B] Specific charafler of the Troehilut Ourijfta: ** It is golden- green, the feathers of its tail fomewhat equal and gold-brown, ^e feathers of the wings black, its bc}ly j^luc." It b F L Y. B I R D. 29 It was fent from Cayenne, and feems to be very rare. Mauduit, in whole polTeflion it is, would refer it as a variety to the Topaz-ruby ; but the difference between the topaz-yellow and the deep ruby on the throat of thefe two birds, feems too great to admit this clafTification. In all other refpedls, they are very iimilar. — The preceding fpecies, except the thirteenth, are new, and not defcribed by any naturalill [A]. 1 1« 'ii'^' ■■.V'l I,*', The COLD-GREEN, Euff. FIFTEENTH SPECIES. Trecfjilus Mel-i/ugus, Linn, and Gmcl. (jualmtmii L-'ona S/>ecies, Ray and Will. MJli/u^a Caya'ietifs, ^rifT. ' The Cajtnne Humming'blrd , Lath. . ' 'npHis is the ninth fpecies of Marcgrave ; the •* whole body, fays he, is of a brilliant green, with gold rcfledioiis ; the upper mandible is black, the lower rufous; the wing is brown; the tail pretty broad, and ihines like polifhed fteel. I'he total length of the bird exceeds fomewhat three inches. The under fide of the body has not fo much green as the back, and is [A] Specific ch.irafter of the Trochilus-Carbunculus : '* It is black ; its head, neck, and breill, red ; its wings brown ; its tail goIJ-iufous." only m ,.vir ■::] S'V H m I-, ■ j. 3» FLY-BIRD. only marked with fpots or waves of that colour. The female is rather fmaller, as ufual in this tribe of birds [A]. 'ii,i ■... *i W THE SPOTTED-NECKED FLY-BIRD. VOifcau-Moucbt a Gorge TacheteCt Buff. • SIXTEENTH SPECIES. Trocbilus Fimbriatus, Gmel. Mellifuga Cayayienjis gutture nanjto, BriiT. The Spotted necked Humming-bird, Lath. 'TpHis fpecies is much related to the preced- 1 ing. It is larger, and, but for that dif- ference, we fhould have affigned it the iame place. Briflbn fays that it is four inches long, and its bill eleven lines. Its plumage is exadly like that of the preceding *. [A] Specific charaAer of the Trocbilus Melli/ugus: " It is gold- green; its tail-feathers equal and blue^ its wing-feathers dark bluifh ; its legs feathered.'* • Specific charafter : " It is gold-green, below gray ; its tail fteel coloured, tipt with gray ; the featlicrs of its brcall fringed with white." F L Y-B I R D. P The EMERALD RUBY, Buff. SEVENTEENTH SPECIES. Trochilus Ruiitteust Lath. Ind. Me/lijuga Bn^Jilitn/ts gutture rubro^ BrlflT. The Ruhy-tbroated Hummiug'btrd, Lath. Syn. nr^His is much larger than the Carolina Ru- ■* by, being four inches four lines in length ; its throat is of a fparkling ruby, or, in certain politions, rofe colour ; its head, its neck, the anterior and upper parts of its body, emerald green, with gold reflections ; the tail is rufous. It is found both in Brazil and in Guiana [A]. The EARED FLY-BIRD. VOi/eau-Mouche a Oreil/es, BufF. EIGHTEENTH SPECIES. Trochilus Juritusj Gmcl. MiUi/uga Cayanenfis Major » Briflf. The Fiolet-eared Humming-birdt Lath. E apply the epithet eared to this Fly- bird, both on account of the remarkable colour of the two pencils of feathers, which W [A] Specific charafter of the Trochilus Rubineus : " It Is gold- green, its throat gold-red, its wings and tail rufous." extend ^' m pi', ■>4 '"■'A !-..,J,, Mi m H Ml' !' 3t F L Y. B I R D. extend behind the ears, and on account of their great length, which is twice or thrice that of the fmall adjoining feathers that cover the neck. They leem only the produtlion of what, in all birds, cover the meatus audi' tortus ; they are foft, and their downy fibres not glued together. Thefe are the remarks of Mauduit, and well agree with his ingenious ob- servation, which we formerly had occafion to mention, viz, that all the feathers which ap- pear fuperabundaiit, or, fo to fpeak, parafite, in birds are not peculiarities of ftru<5ture, but merely the extenlion and developement of parts common to all the others. The Eared Fly- bird is of the firft magnitude, being four inches and a half long. Of the two pencils which dif- tinguilh tl e ears, and which confift each of £ve or (ix feathers, the one is emerald- green, and the other amethyft-violet ; a ftreak of velvet black flretches under the eye ; all the fore part of the head and body is of a bright gold-green, which changes on the coverts of the tail into a very lively bright green ; the throat and un- der fide of the body are of a fine white ; of the tail quills, the fix Interal ones are of the fame white, the four mid-ones black, inclining to deep blue ; the wing is blackifli, and the tail projects beyond it nearly one-third of its length. In the female, the pencils and the black flreak under the eye are lefs diftind ; in other refpc^ts it refembles the male. ■1*1* P L Y. B I R D. 33 The COLLARED FLY-BIRD, Called the Jacobine, KlNfeTEENTH SPECIES. ^rocbilut Meliivorutt Linn. Gmel. and Browfk. Milli/uga SurtHamen/it Torquata, Briflf. The tVbiti-htUiid Humming-birdt Edw. and Lath. >T^HIS Fly-bird is of the firft magnitude; it is ■^ four inches eight lines in length ; its bill ten lines ; it^ head, thrdat, and neck, of a fine obfcure blue, gloffed with green ; on the back of the neck, and near the back, is a white half collar ; the back is gold-green ; the tail white Sit the end, and edged with black; its X^no nnid- dle quills, arid their coverts, gold-green ; the breafts and (ides the fame; the belly white. It is probable, on account of this diftribution, it has been called Jacobine* The two middle fea- thers of the tail are (horter than the reft, and the wing, when clofed, does not project beyond k. The fpecies is found at Cayenne and Su- Hnatn* [A] Specific charafter of the Trochilus Mtlliwrut : *• Its tail- ftiathers are black, the lateral ones white ; the head blue ; the back gieen 2 the belly white.'* - W ', <''!l Vol. VI. S4 FLY-BIRD. I.. |M The BROAD-SHAFTED FLY-BIRD. VOi/tau'Meiuhe a Largtt 7'ujaux, BufF. TWENTIETH SPECIES. ^rocbilui Campy hpttrus, Gmel. 7rockilus LatipettHtt, Lath. Ind. The Broad-Jhafttd Humming-hird, Lath. Syn. THIS bird and the preceding are the two largeft of the genus. The prefent is four inches eight lines long; all the upper fide of the body is of a faint gold-green ; the under fide grey; the middle feathers of the tail are like thofe of the back ; the lateral ones white at the tip, the reft of a brown, refembling po- lifhed fteel. It is eafily diftinguifhed from the other Fly-birds by the protuberance of three or four great wing-quills, whofe (hafts appear fwelled and dilated, bent near the middle, which gives the wing the fhape of a broad fabre. This fpecies is new and apparently rare, and has not hitherto been defcribed. We faw the fpecimen in the cabinet of Mauduit, who received it from Cayenne. [A] Specific charafter of the Trochilus Campyloptmu : '« It is gold-green ; below grey ; its lateral tail-feather.^ brown, tipt with white ; the fliafts of three or four of the middle feathers of the wings curved in the middle.'* fm I m F L Y- B I R D. 3S ••<■ / 1 • I • The LONG-tAILfiD StfifeL^CO- LOURED FLY-BIRD. Buff. , TWENTY-FIRST SPECIES. Trocbilut Macrourui, Gmel. 7'rochilut Forcipalus, Lath. Tna. Mtlli/uga Cayantnfts Cauda bi/itrca, "Bt'xK, • ^ Tht Cayennt fori -taJ/tdHMMmijtg'lfir J, lAt\i,.Syiu il i THE beautiful violet blur, \vhich covers the head, throat, and neck, would feem to in- dicate an analogy to the fapphire, did not length of the tail exhibit too great a difference. The two exterior quills are two inches longer than the two mid-ones ; the lateral ones continually diminilh, which makes the tail very much forked. The bird is dark' blue, gliftening like burnifhed fteel ; all the body, both above and below, is of a fhining gold-green ; there is a white fpot on the lower belly ; the wings, when clofed, reach only to the middle of the tail, which is three inches and three lines; the bill is eleven lines, and the total length is fix inches* The entire refemblance between this defcrip- fion and that which Marcgrave gives of his third fpecies, convinces us that they are the fame, contrary to the opinion of Briffon, wha makes it his twentieth fpecies. But the third fpecies of Marcgrave has a tail more than three Inches long; whereas the twentieth Honey- D 2 fucker i^ ■ ill ■H .'43 ^ FLY-BIRDV fucker of Briflbn has it only an inch and JtX lines : and this is too wide a difference to occur in the fame fpecies. We fliall confider the bird of Briffon in the following article [A]* The FORKED-TAIL VIOLET F L Y- B I R D. VOi/eaU'Mtucbt Violet a ^eut Fourchui» Boffv ; • *• TWENTY-SECOND SPECIES* v Trochiliu Fufcatuu Melli/uga Jamacienjis Vtolaeea eauda bifufcat Bri/T. The Lejjiir fork-tail Humming-bird, Lath. BESIDES the difference of fize, which, as we have already remarked, obtains between this and the preceding fpecies, there is alfb a difference of colours. The upper parts of the head and neck are brown, gloffed with gold- green, whereas thefe gliflen with blue in Marc- grave*s third fpecies. In the prefent, the back and breaft are of a ihining violet blue ; in that of Marcgrave they are gold-green. The throat and the lower part of the back are brilliant gold-green ; the fmall coverts below the wings [A] Specific charafter of the Trochilus Macrourus : «* It is gold* green, its head and throat violet, its belly marked with a white ipace, its tail forked and Ueel coloured." are ">',] F L Y- B I R D. 37 are of a fine violet, the great ones gt Id-green ; their quills black : thofe of the tail the fame ; the two exterior ones are the longed, which makes it forked ; it is only an inch and half }ong ; the bird meafures four inches. The LONG-TAIL FLY-BIRD, Of Gold, Green, and Blue. Bu^. TWENTY-THIRD SPECIES. Troehilus Forficatus-t Lath. Gmel. and Browilu FalcintUus n/trtice eaudaqut cyaneis, Klein. MtUi/uga Jamaictnfis Cauda hifurca, BriiT. The Long-tailed Green Humming' iirdt £dw. The Fork-taiUd Hutiming-birJ, Lath. /T^HE two exterior feathers of the tail of this '*' Fly-bird are near twice as long as the body, and proje(^ above four inches. Thefe feathers, and all thofe of the tail, of which the two middle ones are very (hort, and not exceed- ing* eight lines, are wonderfully beautiful and mingled, fays EdwFrds, with reflexions of green and of gold blue j the body is green ; the wing is purple brown. — This Ipecies occurs in Jamaica. [A] Specific charaAer of the T^rtichilus F^ficatus: *' It is grew, the lateral featheri of thp tail very long^ its cap ajid its tail h^^ thers blue.** 'f^ ■ n l:% '■•' '■'; II 'I If I i#^ I ,1 I':' pi V F L Y-B I a D. ■ >i »< I u. Tj '^i't .'^^ii'- . -,;,., ^ ;., •;,,. hi The BLACK LONG^TAILED FLY- BIRD. 5«/, TWENTY-FOURTH SPECIES. Trochilui-Pclytmus, Linn, and Gmel. FaUinellus cauda fepttm unciarum, Klein. MelliJ'iiga Jamaicenjis Atricapilla cauda bifurca, BrifT. ► The Lc^g tailed Hummiiig-hirti, Albin. ' . The Long-tailed Black-cap Humming-hirdf Edw. ic Ban, \ The Bl'-rk-cafped Humming hird^ Lath* / i ^T^His Fly-bird has a longer tail than any of the -*' reft ; the two great feathers are four times as l'^? ■ "^s the body, which is fcarcely two inch : ;hefe are alfo the two outermofl: ; their webs confift pf parted downy fibres, and they arp black like the crown of the head ; .the back is gold brown-green ; the forefide of the body green ; the wings purple-brown. Albin's fi- gure is a very bad one, and he was much mif- taken in fuppofing this to be the fmalleft fpe- cies in the genus ; though he fays, that he found it in Jamaica in its ned, which confiftcd of cotton [A]. ;' ' ' ' '• ' We find in the Eifay on the Natural Hiilory of Guiana, mention of a little Humming-bird [A] Specific charafter of the Trochilus Pdytmus: '* It is green- ilh, the lateral feathers of its tail very long, its cap and tail fea- thers brown." F L Y-B I R D. 39 *with a blue creft. We are unacquainted with it ; and the account of it, and indeed of two or three others, is infufficient to afcertain their fpecies. We may, however, be convinced that the genus of thefe handfome birds is ftill richer and more multiplied in nature than we have de- lineated it. ,.k.v t "iVi; "I m » 4 ^^ C 40 3 pi" In I ].:... The C O L I B R I •. 'M, ■Mr; If I ! ■•• iH Bi'll j| • -I :'l.. '"' I- ill l^»!'i 111 ,'! i' 1 II, •Alb '! I' : - iiiriiE WHEN nature beftowed beauty fo Uviflit ly on the fly-birds, Ihe negledled not; their kindred tribe, the Golibris. Both inhar biting the fame climate^ fafliioned after the fame model, and decorated by the fame brilliancy of plumage : the fame vivacity, the fame perpe-^ tual flutter of adion, and the fanne habits and economy. As their refemblance is {q entire, they have often been confounded under the fame narne : that of Colibri is adopted from the laur guage of the Caribbees. Marcgrave applies tq both indifferently the Brazilian appellation, Guainumbi, But they are diftiqguifhed by an obvious and permanent charadter : in the Cot libris the bill is equal and taper, inflated flight? ly near the end, and not flraight, as in the fly?, birds, but curved throughout, and longer alfo in proportion. Further, the neat and flender form of the Colibris feems to be more length- ened than that of the fly-birds ; and they are in general larger : yet there are fome little Co- libris fmaller than the great fly- birds. The ♦ In the Brazilian language, the Fly-bird and the Colibri have the common name of (^«a/>/«0i^i.' in Guiana, the Colibri is called in the dialect of Garipana Toukouki: and, according to Seba, cer* tain tribes of Indians term it Ronckjts, Colibris :: Mill ! Iill'.-'i tl 'II' 2^fl3fi m \'..vi COX.TFiHrS.Ol!' THK T^TATURAX. SIZE, Q Q ;. I B R I, 0 Colibris fhould be ranged below the creepers, jhough they differ in the fliape and length of their bill; in the number of the feathers of their tail, there being ten in the formed' and twelve in the latter ; and in the ft^yfture of their toi gue, which is limple in the latter, but in the former divided ipto two femi- cylindrical portions, as in the fly -bird. All naturalifjs agree that the Colibris and fly- birds have the fame manner of living. It has, indeed, been dpnied ^hat either of thefe tribes feed on the honey of flowers *. But the rea- fons already adduced convince us that this af- fertio.- is unfounded j and the general refem- blance of thefe birds corroborates the evidence that their mode of fubfifting is the fame. It is no lefs difficult to breed the young of the Colibri than thofe of the fly- bird ; they are as delicate, and confinement proves equally fa- tal to them. The parents have been feen, hur- ried on by the audacity of afFedion, to ru(h with food for their progeny into the very hands of the plunderer. Labat relates an inftance of Jthis, which deferves to be quoted. " I (bow- ed," fays he, " to Father Montdidier a neft of Colibris, which was placed on a (bed near the boufe. He carried it off with the young, when they were about fifteen or twenty days old, and put them in a cage at his room window, where m ■'>la m fe'te*'. Journal de Phyfique, Janvier 1778. tho ■X 4- Ti I I Hi' i 1 4'i 4» C O L I B R I. the cock and hen continued to feed them, and grew fo tame, that they fcarcely ever left the room; and though not (hut in the cage, nor fubjefted to any reftraint, they ufed to eat and deep with their brood. I have often feen all the four fitting upon Father Montd idler's finger, finging, as if they had been perched upon a branch. He fed them with a very fine and almoft limpid pafte, made with bifcuit, Spanifli wine, and fugar. They dipt their tongue in it, and when their appetite was fa- tisfied they fluttered and chanted .... I never faw any thing more lovely than thofe four pret- ty little birds, which flew about the houfe, and attended the call of their fofter-father*." Marcgrave, who does not difcriminate the Colibris from the fly-birds, mentions them as having only a feeble cry, and no travellers afcribe fong to them. Thevet and Lery alone aflert of their gonambouch that it chants fo as to rival the nightingale + ; for it is from them that ♦ ** He prcferved them m this way five or fix months, and we hoped foon to fee them breed, when Father Montdidier, having one night forgotten to tie the cage in which they roofted by a cord that hung from the ceiling, to keep them from the rats, had the Yexation in the morning to find that they were difappeared » they had been devoured." Labat, Nouveau Voyagt aux lUs de PJmt- •riqiie. Paris, 1722, t. IV. p. 14. f " But, as a fingular curiofity, and as a mafter-piece of little- nefs, we mud not omit a bird which the favages call gonamhoucb, of a whitiih and (hining plumage, which, though not larger than a hornet, excels in fong ; infomuch that this diminutive creature, fcarce C O L I B E 1. 43 that Coreal and fome others have repeated the fame. But it is moft likely a miftake ; the o-onambouch, or little bird of Levy, which has a whitijh Jhining plumage^ and a dear d'ijiin5i voice, is the fugar bird, or fome other, and not the Colibri, whofe notes form, according to Labat, only a fort of pleafant hum. It does not appear that the Colibris advance fo far into North America as the fly-birds ; at leaft, Catelby fays that he faw only one fpecies of thefe in Carolina. And Charlevoix, who pretends that he found a fly-bird in Canada, confefles that he nev»;r faw there a Cohbri *. Yet it is not the cold that prevents it from vi- fiting that province in the fummer, fince it feeks a cool temperature at a confiderable height among the Andes. M. de la Condamine never faw Colibris more numerous than in the. gar- dens of Quito +, where the climate is not hot. They prefer, therefore, a warmth of twenty or twenty-one degrees \ : there, in a perpetual round of pleafures and joys, they fly from the fcarce ftirring from the great millet, which the Americans name avatif or other great plants, has its bill and thropt always open. If one did not repeatedly fee and hear, he would hardly be per> fuaded that from fo flendcr a body could proceed notes fo clear, fo liquid, and fo loud, as not to yield to thofe of the nightingale." Vojuge au Brifil, par Jean dt L<.ry. Paris, 1578, p. 175. The fame faft is mentioned by Thevet. Singidarites de la France An- lartique. Paris, 15 qS. p. 94* * Hift. de Saint Domingue. Paris, 1730, /. I. /. 32. f Voy. de la Condamine. PariSf 1745, f. i']i* J i.e. 77' or 79" of Farenheit. expanded m 1 " ■'i <': If * • im ''■''k v-i ..*L § '4 'I I M C O L I B R I. expanded bloflbm to the opening bud, and where the harmonious year for ever invites them, by its enchanting mildnefs, to love and fruition. * Mi I The TOPAZ COLIBRI, Buf. '■ FIRST SPECIES. ■ ' « Troci/ilus Ptlla, Linp. and Gtnel. Polytmus Surinamenjts LongUaudm Ruhtr, BrifT. FaUintliuj gutturt the bread, arc of a fine brilliant garnet ; the •upper fide of the head and back, and the inder fide of the body, are of a foft black ; the tail and wings of the fame colour ; but ornamented with gold-green. The bird is five inches long* and the bill ten or twelve lines. ' i The WHITE SHAFT. Le Brill Biane, BufT. THIRD SPECIES. Treebifus Supereiliq/iij, Linn, and Gmelt Polytmui Cayantnjts LoHgicauduSi BriiT. *' ' ' The Suptrciliout Humming-birdt Lath. i: ■!» o |F all the Colibris, this has the longeft bill, which is twenty lines ; the tieathers of the tail, next the two long (hafts, are alfo the longeft, and the lateral ones continually de- creafe, to the two outermoft, which are the fhorteft. C O L I B R I. A9 (horteft, and this gives the tail a pyramidical ihape ; its quills have a gold gbl's on a grey and blackifh ground, with a whitifli edge at the point, and the two (hafts are white through the whole projecting portions ; all the upper fide of the back and head, gold colour ; the wing violet -brown ; and the under fide of the body white-gray [A]. • 'I THE t ZITZIL, or DOTTED COLIBRI. L* Zitx.il, ou Coliiri PiquetS, Buff. ^ ,<•; i: FOURTH SPECIES. ' ■ Trochilui PuH^ulatus, Gmel. " ' . • Polytmut PunSulatust Briff. " ' . . .1 ^ • , H'itKitziltototl, Fernandez. ; • . , The SpotteJ ^iumming-hird. Lath. , . ZITZIL is contrafted for Hoitzitzil, which is the Mexican name of this bird. It is pret- ty large ; its wings blackifh, marked with white points on the fhoulders and back ; the tail is brown, and white at the tip. This is all we can gather from an ill-written defcription of Hernandez' editor *. He fubjoins that he got his information from one Father Aloayfa; and [A] Specific chara£ler of the TrocbiUu Supercilio/u! : ** It is gtou)' brown; its middle tail-feathers very long ; its belly fome- what fieih-colou red ; its eye-brows white." • Jo. Fab, Linctut. 4 that , ; is.li ': i; r 'K % ■i, V •■- !-''MfW,l M' I, ■ ^ 48 C O L I B R I. that the Peruvians call the fame bird />i//e6i and that living upon the juice of flowers, ic prefers that of the thorny tribes*. . \o . The BLUE SHAFT. . Le Britt Blue, fiufT. FIFTH SPECIES. f'rocbilus Cyanurus, Gtnel. Polytmus Mexicdnus Longicaudiis, Brifl*. ; Tajauquitototlt Seba and Klein. The Blue-tailtd Hxmming-iirJ, Lath. A ccoRDiNG to Seba, whom Klein and Brif*^ -^^ fon have followed in reckoning this a fpe- cics of Colibri, the two long proje£tions of fea- thers which decorate its tail are of a fine blue ; the fame colour, only deeper, covers the fto- mach and fore part of the head ; the upper fide of the body and of the wings is light green ; the belly cinereous. It is one of the largeft Coli- bris, and almoft equal to the epicurean warbler. Seba's figure reprefents it as a creeper, and that author feems to have never obferved the three * In another part of his work, Hernandez gives the names of feveral fpecies of fly-bfrds and colibris, without charafterizing any : thefe names are, ^etzal Hoiizitxillin, Zocbio Hoitzitzillint Xlulkt HoUzitzilUftt Tozcacoz Helttitziltin, Totac HoitziizilUn, 7V- moe Hoitzitzillini whence it appears thai Hoifxrtzillin is the ge- neric name. fhade^ lii." G O L I B R L 49 (hades in the form of the bill which difcrimi- nate thefe three tribes, the fly-birds, the colibris, and the creepers. Nor is he more fortunate in difplaying his erudition ; he applies to this Co- libri the Mexican \\2imQ yayauhquitototly which, in Fernandez, denotes a bird of the fize of a ftare. But fuch errors are trifling in compari- fon of thofe into which naturalids are led b/ the colledlors of curiofities, who value nothing but the glitter of their cabinets. To find ati indance we need not ilep aiide : Seba mentions Colibris from the Moluccas, from Macaflary and from Bali, not knowing that this tribe of birds is peculiar to the new world. Briflbti copies the miflake, and defcribes three fpecies oi Colibris from the Raft Indies, Thefe are un- doubtedly creepers, the brilliancy of whofe co- lours, and the names tjioei and kakopit^ which Seba tranflatts little kings of flowers^ have fug- gefted the Colibri. No traveller acquainted with natural hiftory has found Colibris in th« okl continent ; and what Francis Cauche fays of the fubjeft, is too obfcure to merit attention *. * In hli account of Madagafcar, Paritt 1651, /. 137, borrow* ing the name and the habits of the Culibri, he afcribes tlicm to a little bird of this ifland'. It is probably by a ftmilar abuTe of names, that Jfy'tird occurs in the voyages of the Company, applied to a bird of the Coromandel coaJl, which is indeed very fmall, and is elfewhere called trnti. Recueil dt Vtyagu qui «»/ /irvi a fttaklj/i, ment dt la Campagnie dts Indts. Amfterdam, 170a, t. VI. p. $t|. [A] Specific chandler of the Trochilus Cyanurus : ** It is green, below cinereous ; its front, its throat, and the two middle feathers of the uil longer than the reft, and blue." VOL. Y(. £ i^<: , ^! '-iJ 1; I,} 'il: .■ ••!:(; ' '.^''l' m 50 C O L I B R I, The GREEN and BLACK COLIBRI. Ml SIXTH SPECIES. « Trochilus Holo/ericeus , Linn. Gmel. and Borowfk. Polytmus Mexkanut, BriiT. Avii Auricoma Mexieanuy Klein. \ The Black-bellied Humming-bird, Edw. Bancr. and Lath. >- > Tt is rather more than four inches long ; its r- bill thirteen lines ; its head, neck, and back, are gold colour and bronze ; the breaft, the bel- ly, the (ides of the body, and the legs, are fliin- ing black, .with a light reddifh reflexion; a lit- tle white bar crofles the lower belly, and an- other of gold-green, gliftening with lively blue, interfe(?:s tranfverfely the top of the breaft ; the tail is velvet black, with the blue glofs of poliftied fteel. It is faid that the female may be diftin- guifhed in this fpecies hy the want of the white Ipot on the lower belly. The bird is found both in Mexico and in Guiana. Briflbn refers to this fpecies the Avh auricoma Mexicana of Seba, which is indeed a Colibri ; but his delcriptjon is fo vague and indefinite, as to apply equally to them all. [A] Specific charafter of the Trochilus Hohfericus: '* It is green ; the quills of its tail equal, and black above ; a blue bar on the breaft } its belly black." IM El C O L I B R L SI The TUFTED GOLIBRI, Btiff. * • • / 1 ' / ^ • ^' , .- t- . , * • ■> « ^ ' SEVENTH SPECIES. I'rochilus Parad'feus, Linn, Gmel. and Borowfk. Polytmui Mexicanus Longicaudus ruber crijlatus, Brilf. The Paradlfe Humming-bird t Lath. TJRissoN finds this alfb in Seba's catalogue. I •*-' am generally averfe to form fpecies on the indications, fo often defedtive, of that compiler; but the chara£ters of the prefent feem fuffici- ently diftindt to be adopted. " This little bird," fays Seba, " has a fine red plumage, blue wings ; two long feathers proje£t from the tail ; and on its head there is a tuft which is very long in proportion to its thicknefs, and falls back on the neck ; the bill is long and curved, including a fmall btfid tongue, which ferves to fuck the flowers." . Briflbn meafuring Seba's figure, which is not of much account, found near five inches fix lines to the end of the tail. ^ [ A] Specific charafter of the Trochilus Paradifeus : " It is red, its wings blue, its head crefted; its middle tail-feathers very long." £ 2 M K-t Nl- S Ij m ii 'U u 1; ^i s» C O L I 8 R t. VIOLET-TAILED COLIBRI, Buf. EIGHTH SPECIES. TmMus ifltttSt Gmel. Trociiiuj NifidttSt Lath. Ind. The Fialtt'tailed Humming- birdt Lath. Syn. '^HE bright pure violet which paints the tall ^ of this CoUbri, diicriminates it from the reft ; the four middle feathers of the tail are of a violet colour, melted under brilliant reflec* tbn& of gold*green ; the €\x outer ones, vievired ^m below, prefent a white point, with a vio*" kt (pot that furrounds a ipace of dark blue like bumifted fteel ; all the under-iide of the body is lichly gilded in the front view, and when held obliquely it appears green ; the wing, as in all thefe birds, is brown, verging oii violet ; tbe ^es of the throat are white, and, in tihe middle^ there is a longitudinal (Ireak of brown, mixed with green ; the fides are coloured with the fame ; the breaft and belly are white. This fpecies is pretty large, it being five inches ; and has one of the longefl bills, which is fixteen lines. [A] Specific character of the TrathiUt Allmt : " It is gold<» green ; its under furface, the fides of the neck, and the tips of the fix outer tail feathers, white ; its tail violet." M C O L I B R I. 53 THt CREEN-THROATED COLIBRI, Buff, NINTH SPECIES. Trotbilus Meeutatust Gmel. TrocMm Gmlaris, lAth. Ind. TIm Gmn-tbrwittd UimmMig-tkd, Lath. Syn. A STREAK of very bright emerald- green is traced on the throat of this CoUbri, which falls, fpreading oq the fore- fide of the neck ; there is a black fpot on the breaft ; the {idea of the throat and neck are rufous, mixed with white ; the belly is pure white ; the up* per fide of the body, and of the tail, dull gold- green ; below the tail, are the fame violet, white and burniihed fteel fpots, as in the Fiokt^ tailed CoHltrL Thefe two fpecies appear ana- logous, and they are of the fame fize, but the bill of the Green -throated Colibri is not fo long* We faw in Mauduit's cabinet a Colibri of the fame dimenfions, with the upper fide of the body faintly tinged with green and gold on a blackifh grey ground, and all the fore-part of the body rufous, which feems to us the fe- male. ll wl Wl !?, ^■. 1-, .(1! . I'll m 'Am ml '■■•?.T.I '■ '»*' m ,1 1 i> ' ■ .'t'^T g 54 C O L I B R L THE CARMINE-THROATED COLIBRI, Buff. TENTH SPECIES. I Trochilut Jugularis, Linn, and Gmel. The Red-breajled Humming-birel, Edw. and Lath. T is four inches and a half in length ; its bill thirteen lines, much curved, and therefore analogous to that of the treepers, as Edwards remarks; the throat, the cheeks, and all the fore-part of the nrck, carmine red, with a ru- by-lu ft re ; the 1/ )er fide of the head, body, and tail, of a foft ^lackifh brown, with a (light fringe of blue on the edge of the feathers ; a deep gold-green (hines on the wings ; the in- ferior and fuperior coverts of the tail are of a fine blue. This bird was brought from Suri- nam into England. ' - -»'' -i- . v^ '- ■ • " is- :•: ■ :>":-.;'•/•.. i- : ' / [A] Specific charafter of the Trocbilus Jugularis: *' It is hluiih* its tail feathers equal j its neck below blood- coloured.'* C O L I B R I. Sf The VIOLET COLIBRI, Buff. . • ' ••■. ■■■•■ ELEVENTH SPECIES. Troebilw VloLceus, Gmel, Polytmus Cnyantnjis FiolaceuSt Brifl*. The Violet Humming-birdt Lath. , . TT is four inches and two lines in length ; its ■^ bill eleven lines; the whole head, neck, and belly, covered with purple violet, which is brilliant on the throat and on the fore-fide of the neck, and diluted on all the reft of the body with a mixture of velvet black ; the wing is gold green ; the tail the fame, with a chang- ing reflexion of black. It is found in Cay- enne ; its colours refemble thofe of the garnet Colibrij but the difference of fize is too great to admit of their being clafTed together. « [A] Specific charafter of the 7V«fi&/7w Violactus: '* It is vio- let I its wings and tail gold-green.'* v ''/; 's "V V. ,'i: i!^i- i % 1 . In •I u ' ''V * ' ■t ■ '^ > r . 1 £ 4. m> m ^^t.^^i ' w 'mi mm M\ ^i-iT C 0 L I B R I. W\ The GREEhf GORGET. It Hayji-Col Vtru BoC TWELFTH SPECIES. Trcekilus Grmm'iuiu, Gnel. The B/aeJi^6rt0jM H»mmi»g-HrJ» Uth. IT is rather larger than the Violet-tailed Co- libri, but its bill is not fo long ; all the fore- part and fides of the neck, with the lower part of the throat, emerald green ; the top of the throat, or the fmall portion beneath the bill, of a bronze colour ; the breaft velvet black, ting- ed with dull blue; green and gold appear on the flanks, and cover all the flpper iide of the body; the belly white; the tail purple blue, with the reflection of burniflied fteel, and exceeds not the wing. We conceive the female to be an- other Colibri of the fame {ize and didributioii of colours, except that the green, on the fore- part of the neck, is intcrfe£led by two white flreaks, and that the black, on the throat, is neither fo broad nor fo deep. Thefe two birds are in the admirable feries of Colibris and Fly- birds in Dr. Mauduit*s cabinet. [A] Specific charaAer of the Troebilus Graminetu: ** It is gold- green, below white ; its throat emerald j its brcaft black ; it$ tail purple.** C O L I B IM. The RED COLLAR, Buff. THIRTEENTH SFECIRS. , ^rochilm Leucurtis, Linn, and GmeL fotjtmus SiiriHamtmfis, Briflf. The White taikii Humming birJ» Lath. npHis is of the middle fize, being four Inches ^ and five or iix lines in length ; on the lower and fore-part of the neck, there is a hand-* fome red half collar, of conliderahle breadth ; the back, the neck, the head, the throat, at J the bread, are of a bronze and gold green ; the two middle feathers of the tail are of the ikme colour ; the eight others are w hite, and this is the chara<5ier by which Edwards difcriminate^ the bird. [A] Specific charafler of the Tre:»i/us teucurm: *' It ii ^4* gracD, iti tiul feather* e(|ua)a ks colUr rcci.** MS '■ )•; '^ f •ifsX''. C O L I B R L The BLACK PLASTRON. FOURTEENTH SPECIES. 7'yec/ji/us Mango, Linn, and Gmel. Guahiumh: minor, rqftro nigrot R*/ *n*i Will. Polytmus Jamaicanjts , BrifT. The Mango tJumtning-hirdf Lath. 'TpHE throat, the fore-fide of the neck, the ■*■ breaft, and the belly of this Colibri, are of the moft beautiful velvet black ; a ftreak of brilliant blue rifes from the corners of the bill, and, defcending over the fides of the neck, fe- parates the black plaftron, or breaft-piece, from the rich gold-green, with which all the under furf\ce of-'the body is covered ; the tail is of a purple brown, glofled with Ihining violet, and each quill is edged with the blue of burnilhed fteel. Thefe colours refemble thofe of Marc- grave's fifth fpecies, only the bird is rather fmaller ; it is four inches long ; the bill one inch ; the tail eighteen lines. It is found equally in Brazil, in St. Domingo, and in Ja- maica. [A] Specific charafter of the Troe&i/us Mango : " It is glofly green; its tail-feathers fomewhat equal and ferruginous; its belly black.'* • C O L I B R I. 59 The WHITE PLASTRON. FIFTEENTH SPECIES. TrocJylus Margaritaceus, Gmel. The Grey-ntcked Humming-birdt Lath. A LL the under fide of the body, from the •^^ throat to the lower belly, is white pearl gray ; the upper lide of the body is gold-green ; the tail is white at the tip, then croffed by a bar of black burnilhed fteel, and after that by one of purple brown ; and it is black with a blue Heel cad at its origin. It is four inches long, and its bill an inch. The BLUE COLIBRI, Buff. , ,' ; SIXTEENTH SPECIES. . i 9*r$chilus Vtnufiiffimust Gmel. Trochilus Cyaneus, Lath. Ind. , Polytmtts Mexicanus Cyaneut, BrifT. The Crim/ott'htaded Blue Humming-bird, Lath. Syn. T is ftrange that Briflbn, who never faw this bird, (hould follow the vague, inaccurate account of Seba, inftead of the defcriptioii of Dutertre. The wings and tail are not blue, as Briflbn reprefents, 'jut black, as Fatfter Duter- tre mentions, and indeed according to the ana- logy I Ml 4 ■I W-t&i. 60 C O L I B R I. logy of all the birds of this tribe. The whole of the back is azure ; the head, the throat, and the fore-part of the body, as hr as the middle of the belly, are velvet crimfoii, which, if held in different pofitions, is enriched with a thoufand beautiful refiedtions. Dutertre only adds, that it is about half the Jize of the little crowned wren. The figure of Seba, which Briilbn feems to take» reprefcnts a creeper [A]* The PEARL GREEN. V". SEVENTEENTH SPECIES. Trpciilui Deminicui, Linn, and Gmcl. Poljtmus DomtHtcttf/is, Brifl!'. The Si» Domingo Humming- iinf. Lath. 'TpHis is one of the fmalleft of the tribe, and •*• hardly exceeds the creded fly-bird; all the upper fide of the head, body, and tail, are of a faint gold-green, which is intermixedy on the fides of the neck, and more and more on the throat, with pearl white-gray; the wing is brown, as in the reft, and tinged with vio- let ; the tail is white at the end, and of the co- lour of poliHied fteel below [B]. [A] Specific charaAer of the TrocbiluM y«uuflijpmu$ : " It is red ; its back blue ; if wings black." [B] Specific charafter of the Troekilut Dtmimctu: ** It is (bin- ing green, below fomewhat cinereous; its tail>fea|her« fcrru^-* nous in the middle, and white at the tips.** C O L I B R I. •ff The RUSTY BELLIED COLIBRI. »■ : iJ , t '•- "J EIGHTEENTH SPECIES. TroehiUt Hir/utai, Gmd. , , . . Poljtmiis Brafilitnfist firi^T. GMtimtmh' minvr, rtflro tMewut, Ray and Will. TIk Ru/MO'StUitd kvmming'iiirJt Lzih, • • 'T^His is the fourth fpecies of Marcgrave, and '*' muft be very fmall, fince he lays that it is inferior to the third, which he had formerly flated as the lead. All the upper fide of the body is gokl*green; all the under fide rufly blue; the tail is black, with green refledlionSy and the point is white ; the lower mandible is yellow at its origin, and black to the extremi* ty; the feet are yellowifh white. .•,i-f>'r^ The LITTLE COLIBRI, Buf. NINETEENTH SPECIES. ^rocbilut-Tiaumantias, Linn, and Gmel. CuaiKumbi minor toto corpore aureo, Ka/ and Will. Po/ytmut, Briflbn. MiUi/uga RtHckjt diaat Klein. Avitula Americana Coluiritit, Seba. The JdmirabU Himmimg-birdt Lath. T HIS is the laft and fmalleft of all the Co- libris ; it is only two inches and fix lines ¥■ m ti 1 .*. ,,^ j 6z C O L I B R I. lines in length ; its bill eleven lines, and its tail twelve or thirteen ; it is entirely gold- green, except the wing, which is violet or brown : there is a fmall white fpot on the lower belly, and a finall border of the fame colour on the feathers of the tail, broader on the two outer ones, which it half covers. Marcgrave again flops to admire the brilliant plumage with which nature has decked thefc charming birds. The little Colibri in particu- lar, he pbferves, dazzles like the fun *. ■ • In fumma fplendet ut ftl. ■■■'■ [A] Specific charadler of the TrochOus Tbaumantias : " It is fliining green ; its tail-feathers equal and fringed with white, the outcrmoft white exteriorly.* *> Wl «" * s -•-,#,■ W' [63] ' The PARROT*.^ Le Farroiutt^ BufF. r"W^HE animals which man has the moft ad- Jl mired, are thofe that feem to partici- pate of his nature. He is ftruck with wonder as often as he traces his external form in the ape, or hears his voice imitated by the Parrot ; and, in firfl moments of his furprife, he is dif- pofed to rank them above the rell of the brutes. Thefe animals have fixed even the ftupid at- tention of favages, who behold the magnificent fcene of nature and her exqiiifite productions with the moft perfedt infeniibility : they ftop the progrefs of their canoes, and linger gazing whole hours at the capers of the marmofet. Parrots are the only birds which they are fond of raifingand educating, and which they are even at pains to improve ; for they have difcovered the art, which is ftill unknown to us, of vary- • In Greek 'fiTlaHn ; in modern Greek naTraya?; in Latin Pfittarus. In German the Parrot is called Pappengey, the Para- keet Sittiek, or Sickuji : in Spanilh the Parrot is named Popagh ; in Italian Papagallo, and the Parakeet Peroquetto: in Poiifli Papu- ga: in Turkifli Z)«:!i J 3 '(•■if -.. ■ [, .1 .,: I H I ,Hl-<;f'^ H S'ii' r ■'r ■i':|f i' 1119*11 M H PARROT. ing and heightfeniiig the colours that deck the plumage *. The power of ufing the hand, and of walk- ing on two feet, the refemblance, how faint foever, to the face, the want of a tail, the naked hams ; the timilarity of the fexual parts, the pofition of the breads, and the menftrual flux in the females ; the ardent paflion of the males for women : all thefe circumftances have procured to the ape the name o,( wi/d man from thofe who themfelves are indeed only half- men, and who can compare only the exterior charac- ters. Had what was equally poflible taken place, had the voice of the Parrot been beftow- cd on the ape; the human race would have been ftruck dupib with aftonifliment, and the philofopher could hardly have been able to de- monftrate that the ape was ftill a brute. It is fortunate, therefore, that nature has feparated the faculties of imitating our fpeech and our geftures, and (hared them between two very different fpecies ; and while flie has co tferred on all animals the fame fen(es, and on fome the fame members and organs, with m"*?, fhe has referved for him alone the power of improving • Thofe Parrots to which the favages give artifictal coloars are termed tafires. This is efFe£led, it is iaid, by means of the bieod of a frog* Vk^iich they drop into the fmali wounds made in young Parrots by phicJcing their feathers : thofe which fprout again change tkcir green or yellow tint* into orange, rofe colour^ or variegated hues, according to tljf medicameots employed. them; "' f A ft R O T. «i tliertt ; that noble mark of our pre-cmiiience, which conftitutcs our empire over the auimated world. There are two kinds of improvement ; the one barren, and confined to the individual ; the other prolific, and extending through the fpe- ries, and cultivated in proportion as it is encou- raged by the inftitutions of the fbciety. Among bruteS) the experience of one race is never tranfmittcd to the fucceeding ; their acqui- fitions are merely individual ; they are the fame now that they ever were— ever will be. But man is progreflive ; he receives the inflrutftions of paft ages, he reaps the benefit of the difco- veries of others, and, by a propef ufe of his time, he may Continually advance in know- ledge. And who can, without regret and in- tlignation, view that long gloomy night of ig- norance and barbarifiii, which overfpread Eu^ rope, and which not only arrefted our improve- ment, but thruft us back from that elevation which we had attained ? But for thefc unfor- tunate viciflitudes, the human fpecies vvould invariably approach towards the point of per* fedion. The mere favagc, who (hui^s all fociety, and receives only an individual education, cannot improve his fpecies, and will not difter, even in underftanding, from thofe animals on which he has beftowed his name. Nor will he acquire even fpeecli, if the family be difperfed, and the VOL* VI, V children 1! mm \>':i 1 M' '-Jl^l ,.N ^iJH 1? i'v t ' ■ il V, ^ i« '■> .',v'/'i|H , '!'?■' tB •1 1, ll ■'■[ fh. '■ » . %: '•111 I :->!' t; . '?r1' I u> J:i ,■■ 1 < . ■ '0\ '"* 4 <;;♦ ■l::M 1' ^flJl ■' '■'•Tl ■;,1',1 vh f' •'iM ■ m ■■-■■, i ' 1 = II '■1 . .VI ¥■4 1^ i^ ' -mmm '' ''1^ ■■Wm w^ m S; m 66 PARROT. children abandoned foon after birth. The nrd rudiments of the fecial difpofitioii are therefore unfolded bv the tender attachment and the watchful folicitude of the mother ; the helplefs ftate of the infant requires conftant and aflidu- ous attention ; its claimant cries are anfvvered by footliing exprefllons, which begins the form- ation of language, and, during the fpace of two or three years, this grows in fome degree fixed and regular. But, in other animals, the growth is much more rapid ; the parental endearments lad only fix weeks or two months ; and the impreflions are flight and trandtory ; and, after reparation, they entirely ceafe. It is not, there- fore, to the peculiar ftruclure of our organs that we are indebted for the attainment of fpeech ; the Parrots can articulate the fame founds, but their language is mere prattle, and void of fig- iiihcation. The power of imitating our difcourfe or our aclions, confers no real fuperiority on an ani- mal. It never incites to the cultivation of ta- lents ; It never tends to the improvement of the fpecies. The articulation of the Parrot implies only the clofe analogy of its orsjans of hearinfr and of voice to thofe in man ; and that fimilarity of firudture obtains, though in a Icfs degree, in many other birds, whofe tongue is thick, round, and nearly of the fame form. The ftares, the black birds, the jays, the jack -daws, &c. can imitate words. Thofc wliufc ton^jjue is forked (and PARROT. 67 (and almofl: all the fmall birds may be raiip^^d in that clars)^ whidle more eafily than they prattle ; and if, with this ftru(fture, they have alfo feiifibility of ear, and can accurately retain the iraprelfions made on that organ, they will learn to repeat airs : the canary, the linnet, the fifkin, and the bulfinch, feem natural mulicians. The Parrot imitates every fort of noifc, the mewing of cats, the barking of dogs, and the notes of other birds, as well as the human voice ; yet it can only fcream or pronounce very fliort phrafes ; and, though capable of even articulating founds, it is unable to mo- dulate thefe, or fupport them by intermingling gentle cadences. It has therefore lefs acute- nefs of perception, lefs memory, and lefs flexi- bility of organs. There are alfo two different kinds of im'vta- tion ; the one is acquired from reflection ; the other is innate and mechanical : the latter pro- ceeds from the common infl:in£l diftufed through a whole fpecies, which prompts or condrains each individual to perform funilar adlions ; and the more flupid the animal, the moie entire will be this influence, and the clofer will be the refemblance. A fheep lias invariably the fame habits with every other fheep ; th^ firlt cell of a bee is precilely like the lafk. The knowledge of the indi\ idual is equal to that of the fpe':ies ; — fuch is the diftuidion K tweeii reafon and inftinI> 7 a > .'■^^'^ " X\ ■^ A'-' ^-tll ^8 PARROT. tion, which fliould be regarded as artificial, I9 the*acquiritio!i of the individual, and cannot be communicated. The mofl: accomplifhed Parrot will never tranlmit his talent of prattHng to his offspring. When an animal is inftruvHied by- man, the improvement refts with it alone. This imitation depends as well as the former on the peculiar il:ru6lure ; but it alfo implies fen- fibility, attention, and memory ; and thofe fpe- cies which are fufceptiblc of education, rank high in the order of organized beings. If the animal be eafily trained, and each individual re- ceive a certain degree of inftru^lion, as in the cafe of the dogs, the whole fpecies will acquire fuperiority under the direction of man ; but when abandoned to nature, the dog will relapfe into the wolf or the fox, and would never of itfelf emerge from that ftate. All animals may therefore be improved by aflbciating with man ; but thev cannot be in- ftru<3:ed to improve each other ; for they ne- ver can communicate the ideas and know- ledge which they have acquired. Even birds whofe (hape and proportions are fo different from tho4e of quadrupeds, are fufceptible of the fame degrees of education. The agamis can be trained to perform nearly all the actions of the dogs ; a canary, properly bred, fliews its attachment by carefles th^it arc equally ani- mated, and more innocent and more liiicere than thofe of the cat. There are many in- ftances ■'\i Id PARROT. 69 fiances of the wonderful efFeds of education on the rapacious birds *, which feem the mod fa- vage and the moft averfe to bend to inftrudtion. In • i( In 1763," fays M. Fontaine, '* a buzzard was brought to ine that had been taken in a fnare : it was at firll extremely favage and even cru:l. 1 undertook to tame it, and I fucceeded by leav- ing it to fall, and couilraining it to come and eat out of my hand. By purfuing this plan, 1 brought it to be very familiar ,• and after having (hut it up about fix weeks, I began to allow it a little li- b-Tty, taking the precaution, however, to tie both pinions of it& wings. Jn this condition it walked out into my garden, and re- turned when 1 called it to feed. After fome time, when 1 judged that 1 could trull to its fidelity, I removed the ligatures, and faf* tened a fmall bell, an inch and a half in diameter, above its talon, and alfu attached on the breail a bit of copper having my name engraved. I then gave it entire liberty, which it foon abufed; for it took wing, and flew as far as the forcft of Belef:ne. I gave it up for loft ; bat four hours after 1 (aw it rulh in'o my hall, which was open, })uiraed by five Other buzzardsi which had con* llra^ncd it to feek its afylum .... After this adventure it ever prelerved its fidelity to me, coming every night to fleep on my window ; it grew Co fimiliar with tne, as to feem to take Angular plcafure in my company. It rxttendeJ conftantly at dinner, iat oa a corner of the table, and very often cireflcJ mc with its head and bill, emitting a weak fti;irp cry, wiiich ho.vever it fymetimes lof- tened. It is true that I alone had this privilege. It One day fol- lowed me, when I .vas on horfeback, more than two leagues, fail- ing above my head .... It had at> averfion both to dogs and cats, nor was it in the leall afraid of them ; it had often tough battles with them, and always came ofF viftorious. • had four very llrong cats, which I colletSed into my garden befide my buzzard ; 1 threw to them a I it of raw flelh, the nimbleft cat feizcd it, the rt-ft pu fued ; but the bird darted upon her body, bit her ears with his bill, and fqueezvd her fides with his talons, with fuch force that the cat was obliged to relinquilh her prize. Often another cat fnaiched it the inftant it dropt, but Ihe fulFercd the fame treat- ment, till the buzzard got entire poU'cflion of the plunder. He was io dexterous in his defence, that when he perceived himfelf af- F ) failed i4 , -.•'1. ■■ ■j\ I '.A v4 ■ '•! ■,1) im !^F ill n ni" '' 'J • ■ It: tJ! 1 ' : K' t 70 PARROT. Ill Ada, the pigeon is taught to cnrry letters between places an hundred leagues diftant : and th^ art of falconry proves that, by dire(£ling the inilincl of birds, they may be as much im- proved as the other animals. On the whole, it appears that if man bellowed equal time and attention upon any animal as upon a child, it would acquire a mechanical imitation of the fame adions ; the etteds only would differ. In the fiiiled .It once by the four cats, he took wing, and uttered a cry of exultation. At lail, the cats, chagrined at their repealed difap- pointment, would no longer contend. •* 1 his buzzard had a fingular antipathy ; he would not fuffer a red cap on the head of any peafant, and fo alert he was in whip- ping it off, that they found their head bare without knowing what was become of their cap. He alfo fnatched wigs without doing any injury, and he carried thcfe caps and wigs to the talleft tree in a neighbouring park, which was the ordinary depofit of his booty .... lie would fuffer no other bird of prey to enter his do- main ; he attacked them very boldly, and put them to flight. He did no mifchief in my court-yard, and the poultry, which at firft dreaded him, grew infenfibly reconciled to him. 'I'he chickens and ducklings received not the leaft harlh ufage, and yet he bathed among the latter. But what is fingular, he was not gentle to my rieiglibcurs' poultry; and I was often obliged to publiflx that I would pay for the damages which he might occafion. However, he was often fired at, and he receiv'ed fifteen mufket-fhots, with- out fufTcring any frafture. But once early in the morning, hover- ing over the fkirts of a forefl, he dared to attack a fox; and the keeper feeing him on the fhouldcrs of the fox, fired two fhots at him ; tfie fox was killed and the buzzard had his wing broken ; yet notwithrtanding this frafture he efcaped from the keeper, and was lolt feven days. This man having difcovered, from the noife of the bcU, that he was my bird, came next morning to inform me; ] flint to make a fearch near the fpot ; but the bird could not be fouttd, nor did it return till feven days after. 1 had been ufed to call \:f PARROT. 71 the one cafe, rcaibii extends and dltTurcs tlic* attainments ; in the other, they continue flu- tionary, and perifh with the poficflbr. But that education which Hems to unfold tl^e faculties, and meliorate the difpofitions of qua- . drupeds or birds, renders them odious to the reft of their fpecies. When a buzzard, for inftancc, a magpie, or a jay, efcapes to the woods, its favage kindred flock around it to gaze at the novelty. Their wonder is foon converted into rage; and they furioufly attack and drive off the intruder : nor is it admitted into their fociety till it rclinquiflies its artificial habits, and adopts the manners of the tribe. Birds are deftined by nature to enjoy the complcteft independence, and exult in the moft unbounded freedom. Other animals are con- demned to crawl on the furface j thefe foar aloft call him every evening with a whiflle, which he anfwercd not for fix days ; but, on the feventh, I heard a feeble cry at a diftance, which I judged to be that of my buzzard : I repeated the whiflie a fccond time, and 1 heard the fame cry. 1 went to the part whence the found came, and, at bit, found my poor buzzard wit'i his wing broken, which had travelled more than half a league on foot to regain liis afykim, from which he was then diftant about 120 paces. Though he was extremely reduced, he gave me many careffjs. It took near fix weeks till he was recruited, and his wounds healed ; after which he began to fly as befcre, and follow his old habits for about a year : he then dirappean d for ever. I am convinced that he was killed by accident; and that he would not have forfaken me from choice.'* Letter of M. Fontaine, Cure de Saint-Pierre de Bele/ttie, to M. le C:mtc de Bujcn, I earing date 28 Janua>y, 1-778, F 4 " ill I !-V ».■ i:4 m mi W \. I '',11 m ;-:*■''' •;.'l'' t '1 ^-1 ..•(,:■ ■'■1.1 rfi ' "! ti' '••■■. •"•'tl MM V'i H k I , '.1 s Ij I % :: .. 'I m: n PARROT. in the air. No obftaclc can oppofe their pro grcfs ; no. fpot can fix their refidence : the Iky is thcii' country, and their courfe is on the ■wings of the breeze. They forefec the vicifTi^ tilde of the fcafons, and watch their return. They generally appear when the mild influence of fpring has clothed the forefts with verdure j there they neftle, concealed under the foliage. Heaven and earth feem to confpli co their fe- Lcity. But folicitude loon arifc:.; th^y dreacj the cruel vifits of the fame anim ?i which they before looked down with c jntempt. The wild cat, the marten, the weazel, feek to de- vour the abjedls of their tendereft affection : the adder clambers to gain their eggs, or devour their progeny ; and children, that amiable por^ tion of human kind, but who, from want of em-, ployment, are ever in mifchief, wantonly plun-i der the facred depolits of love. Often the mo- ther rufhes into danger in defence of her young; and facrifices to the ardor of her attachment^ her love, her liberty, and her life. Why is the feafon of the higheft pleafures alfo the feafon of the greateft folicitude ? Why are the mofl delicious enjoyments always damp^ ed, even in the freeft and moft innocent of be^ ings, by the cruelleft anxieties ? May we not; complaint of harfhnefs in nature, the common mother of all \ '" benevolence is never pure,^ or of long continuance. No fooner the hap^ py pair united, by choice and by their mu- tuaj '/ dar lop d(^< car(| i PARROT, n tual labours, have fabricated the •^.'^nfioii of love, than they dread the plundere. d a -ack. The feathered race has alfo its ty ants ; and the ra- pacious birds are the n^ore formidable, as they are more independent. The eagle fnatches with impunity the prey from the lion; all dread hi? afped; ths feebler birds icream at his appro -h, and feek immediate (belter, per^ haps tUf ciigic would have occupied a large por- tion t».t the earth, if man had not driven himi to the fummits of mountains and inacceffible tracks, where in folitude he ftretches out his gloomy dominion. From this curfory view, it would appear that birds rank next to man in the great fcale of ex- iftence. Nature has accumulated and concen- trated more ftrength in their little bodies than (he has communicated to the huo;e limbs of the moft powerful quadrupeds ; agility is combined with folidity ; their empire extends over the in- habitants of the air, the earth, and the waters. The whole of the infed tribes are exclufivelj fubjedt to their dominion, and feem only deft tined to feed thefe deftroyers : they alfo feizo the noxious reptiles on the ground, and fnatch the fi(h from their element. They even at- tack the quadrupeds ; the buzzard fometimesi darts on the fox, and the falcon ftops the ante- lope ; the eagle preys on the (heep, murders the dog equally with the hare, and tranfports their carcalc* to his eyry. The birds walk on two feet, I HI m m mi m ■■■■i ■■I. J ■ t; n I IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A, 'V. ^^^ v\^ 1.0 I.I Ui|28 |25 ■tt iiii 12.2 IE 1^ iJ4 IJi^ Photographic Sdfflices Corporalion ;\ V \ ^'<^ n ^nj-*: t > *. ^ . ..*;* ; .. This vaft multitude of Parrots in all countries which they inhabit J, feems to prove that they breed feveral times annually, fince the produ&: of one hatch is inconfiderable. Nothing could equal the variety of the fpecies which navigators found on every part of the coaft of South Ame- rica. Many iHands were called the Parrot I/lands, They were the only animals that Co- lumbus met with in the one where he firft landed §. They were the early articles of traf- fic between the Europeans and Americans ||. The American and African Parrots were im- ported in fuch numbers, that the Parrot of the ancients was forgotten ; it was known only by defcription in the time of Belon 4«. * Recueil des Voyages qui ont fervi a I'etabliflement de la Compagnie des Indes, &c. Amjlerdam^ 1702, t. III. p. 195. ,, . i* See Mandeflo, at the end of Olearius, t, JI. p. 144. % ** Among the many remarkable animals, the Parrots of Ma- labar excite the admiration of navigators, by their prodigious numbers, and by the variety of their fpecies. Dellon avers that . often he had the pleafure of feeing two hundred taken in one draw of a net." Hiji. Gen. des Foy. t, XL p. 454. § Guanahani, one of the Lucayos. II Firil Voyage of Columbus in the beginning of the UiJI. Gen, des Voy. t. KIT. 4 Nat det Oi/eauxj p. 296. We PARROT. n We (hall range the Parrots in two great clafles ; the firft comprehending thofe of the old continent, the fecond thofe of the new. The firft will be fubdivided into five families ; the Cockatoos, ,the Parrots properly fo called, the Lories, the long-tailed Parrakeets, and the ihort-tailed Parrakeets. Thofe of the new world will include fix other families ; the Maccaws, the Amazonians, the Creeks, the Popinjays, the long-tailed Paroquets, and the (hort-tailed Paroquets, . •. . , M /■"■*•■ -.'fir »'r f . ---: ■ft J- r Jii: V^ ■''in] ! ll »^ ?.''« FfeS: ;» to PARROT*. PAR ROT S OF THE OLD CONTINENT. #• The COCKATOOS. THE largeft Parrots of the old continent are the Cockatoes. They are all natives of the fouth of Ada, where they feem indigenous* We are uncertain whether they are alfo found in Africa^ but they are undoubtedly not found in America. They are fpread through the ibuthern parts of India ^» and in all the iflands of the Indian ocean, at Ternate-f, at Banda|, at Ceram §, in the Philippine iflands ||, and in M The trees of this city (Amadabatt capital of Gucal-at)* and thofe on the road from Agra to Brampour, which is 1 5d Ger« man leagues, breed an inconceivable number of Parrots • . . Some are white, or pearl grey, and capped with a carnation tuft ; thef(i are called iaiat§ui, becaufe they diftin£tly articulate that wordt Thefe birds are very common through all India, where they neftle in the towns on the roofs of houfes> like the fwallows hi Europe. " Veyagt Jt ManJtJIot t. IL p. 144. t Voyage autour du MtnJe, par Oemelli Carreri, Paris, I719» #. V. /. 5. X Recueil des Voyages qui ont fervi i I'etablifrement de la Com-> pagnie des Indes, &c« Amjitrdamt 1702, f. V. p. 26. % Dampicr. || QemelU Carreri. thofe • ' Carrot. 8i itioie of Siinda *• Their name kakaioest cata- cua^ and cacdtou^ is formed from their cry +• They are eafily diftinguifhed from the other Parrots, by their white plumage, by the round- er and more hooked (hape of their bill, and particularly by a creft of long feathers, which they can raife or deprefs at pleafure \, It is difi^cult to teach the Cockatoos to prat« tie, and fome fpecies can never acquire the imitation. ]&ut they are more ea(ily bred § ; they all grow tame, and in fome parts of In- dia they feem domeflicated, for they build their nefts on the roofs of the houfes. And this facility of education feems to refult from their fuperior utiderflanding ; they are more atten^ve and obedient than oth^r Parrots, and they ftrive, though without fuccefsj to re- peat what they hear* Their defe(Sls are com- penfated by other expreffions of feeling, and by afFedlionate careffes. All their motions have a gentlenefs and grace which adds new cbsjrms to their beauty* Two of thefe birds, a ivale and a female, were (hewn in March 1775 at the fair of St. Germain at Paris. They difco- • Voyage de Siam, par le P. TdcSkard, Parisy 1686, p. 130. f ** We made feveral tacks to double the ifle of Cacatoua, To called becaufe of the white Parrots that refide in it, and which in- ceflantly repeat that name. This ifle is very near Sumatra." Ibid. X The crown of the head, which is covered by the long reclined feathers, is entirely bald. . § «* At Ternate, thefe birds arc domeftic and docile; they fpeak little, but fcream much." GemelU Catreri, VOL. VI, G vered h W.- ^ ■': ;; !. '■ u • I ft , I {^■.l ,»'i ,,1 ■- '. ft PARROT. m vercd great docility, raifed their creft, made a falute with their head, touched with their bill or their tongue, anfwered their keeper's quef- tions with a fign of aflent, as they were de- fired ; they marked by repeated motions the number of perfons in the room, the colour of their clothes, the hour of the day, &c. ; they billed each other without being dire£led, an evident token of their inclination to couple, and their keeper told us that they had often com- merce together even in our climate. — Though the Cockatoos, like the other Parrots, ufe their bill in climbing, they have not the fame heavy unpleafant gait ; they are, on the contrary, very agile, and walk gracefully, tripping with (hort quick fteps. t^^" THE ' WHITE -CRESTED COCKATOO. Lt Kakat'eos a Hupp$ Bhnchet BufF. : FIRST SPECIES. . PJittffeut Crijlatui, Linn. Gmel. and Qorowik. Cacatua, Briff. Kakatocha tcta aiha, Klein. ' ^ ' ' PfittMCtts albut Crijiatus, Ray and WilL TT is nearly as large as a hen. Its plumage is •■• entirely white, except a yellow tinge on the under y^j3P le r THE GICEAT WHITE COCKATOO . : \ ':; 1 ' ' 1 !tj.| ': 'A P' :f| -f) 'i^ ■ ■•;.'• kit* ■>':• ! '' K V: ^i '. -It ' ; ! ' •l!'f„ 1 ■ ■■ ■ f" , ^^m unde ofth ble c or tw but I webb runni YEL ,1* - **. 'k< * ■ ■"':,.■■■ v«fr<. white, the tail eyes ; i long fo; vates ai It was ! the M , [A] Sp« its creft pli PARROT. 83 under fide of the wings, and of the lateral quills of the tail ; the bill and feet are black. Its no- ble creft is very remarkable, confifting of ten or twelve feathers, not of the foft downy kind, but of the nature of quills, tall and broad webbed ; they are inferted in two parallel lines running back from the face^ and form a double fan [A]. ^' THE - ^ YELLOW-CRESTED COCKATOO. Lt Kakattes a Huppt Jaune, BufF. SECOND SPECIES. ffittacui Sulpbureus, Gmel. Cacatua Lulto-crijlatat Briif. The Crtfled Parrot or Cockatoo, Albin. The Ltffer IFhitt Cockatoo, Edw. and Lath. o |F this fpecies, there are two branches, dif- fering in fize. In both the plumage is white, with a yellow caft under the wings and the tail, and fpots of the fame colour round the eyes ; the creft is yellow citron, confiding of long foft ragged feathers, which the bird ele- vates and projedts ; the bill and feet are black. It was a Cockatoo of this fpecies, and probably the firft ever feen in Italy, that Aldrovandus . ' [*M Specific charadker of the ^//tff«/ Cri)?<(i/w ; ** It is white, its creft pliant and yellow." ' G a ' defcribes; iiif 1' ■ li i lii";ll !i'*i' I, i- f-i 'Ji . .' , i ''■ ''vt ii • '.■ 'it 'i u.- ' • ■ . '- 4 ■ ,■. ■••..:' ,5 '?! '.. ''-iKi' :ii '^:f.% S 'rei 1. 1.' 1 i m u PARROT. defcrlbes ; and he admires its elegance and beauty. It is as intelligent, gentle, anddocile, as the preceding. < We faw this beautiful Cockatoo alive. It exprefl'es joy by (haking its head brilkly feveral times upwards and downwards, making a flight cracking with it& bill, and difplaying its elegant creft. It returns the careffes ; touches the face with its tongue, and feems to lick it ; the kifles are foft and gentle. When the one hand is laid flat under its body, and the other refts on its back, or only touches its bill, it prefl'cs firm- ly, claps its wings, and with its bill half open it blows and pants, and feems to feel the moft intoxicating delight. It repeats this as often as one choofes. It is alfo very fond of being fcratched ; holds its head, and raifes its wing to be ftroked : it often whets its bill, by gnaw- ing and breaking bits of wood. It cannot bear the confinement of the cage, but it never roves out of its matter's fight. It anfwers its call, and retires when he commands ; in which cafe it difcovers anxiety, often looking back for the fign of invitation. It is exceedingly neat ; all its motions are graceful, delicate, and pretty. It feeds on fruits, pulfe, all the farinaceous grains, on paftry, eggs, milk, and whatever is fweet, but not too fugary. [A] Specific charafter of the PJittaeui Sulpbmeus : "It is white, its creft pliant and drawn to a point ; and this, with a ipot below the eye^i, is brimflone colour.'* I PARROT. >S I The RED-CRESTED COCKATOO. la Kakatoii n Huppt Rougtt Buff. THIRD SPECIES. Pfittactts Moluteenjitt Gmel. Pfivacut Ro/aetust Lath. Ind. Caeatua Rubrocriftata^ Briff. and Gerinit T^t Gnattr Ceeketoo, Edw. y^t Grtai Rtd'Crtfied Cockatot, Lath. T is one of the largeft of the genus, being near a foot and half long ; the upper part of its creft, which reclines backwards, confifts of white feathers, and covers a bundle of red ones [A], The LITTLE FLESH-BILLED COCKATOO, Li Petit Kakatees a See Couleur de Chair, BufT. FOURTH SPECIES. ffittaem ErythroUiieus, Linn, Gmel. Ray, and Will, l^Yic Red and White Parrot ^ Lath. THE plumage is entirely white, except fome tints of pale red oii the temples, and on [A] Specific charafterof the PJtttaeus Mqlmcenjis : ** It is white, inclining to a dilute rofe colour ; its creft is red above ; the lateral feathers of its tail below, from the bafe to the middle, brimftone coloured.'* <^ G 3 the ;iji ill i II '3' J t " 'h i.. K i U} tp V ■■"! 'i'i '\ i I'i II :i If ..' 1"; ■ - .1, (i- • ,, It U\ ■ ■ .1:': . • ' m u PARROT. the feathers of the upper part of the creft, which red caft is deeper on the coverts of the lower furfice of the tail. There is a little light yellow at the origin of the fcapiilar feathers and of thofe of the creft, and on the infide of the quills of the wing and of mod of thofe of the tail ; the feet are blackifh ; the bill reddilh brown, which is peculiar to this fpecies, the bills of the other Cockatoos being all black. It is alfo the lead of the genus ; Briflbn makes it - of the fize of the Guinea Parrot, but it is much fmaller. It has a creft, which lies flat, and is eredled at pleafure. We may obferve that the bird termed by Brif- fon the Cockatoo with red wings and tail does not appear to belong to the fame genus, fince he makes no mention of the creft, which is the diftinguifliing chara£l:er. Befides, he borrows his account from Aldrovandus, who defcribes it in the following terms. ** This Parrot ought to be reckoned among the largeft ; it is equal in fize to the capon ; all its plumage is cinereous white ; its bill is black and much in-, curvated ; the lower part of the back, the rump, all the tail, and the quills of the wings, are vermilion." Thefe chara6ters would cor- refpond to thofe of the Cockatoos, if the creft were added ; and this great red and white Par- rot of Aldrovandus might perhaps form a fifth fpecies, or a variety of one of the preceding. [A] Specific chanifler of the PJttfacus Enthrokucus : " It is cinereous; the quills of Us wings are white crimfon." PARROT. «7 The BLACK COCKATOO, Buff^ and hath. , FIFTH SPECIES. ■ '■ j . •' ■ ..;, Tfittacut Attrrimus^ Gmel. EDWARDS, who defcribes this Cockatoo, af- ferts that it is as large as a maccaw. Its plumage is entirely bluifh black, which is deep- er on the back and the wings than under the body ; the crell is brown or blackifh, and the bird has, like the other Cockatoos, the power of erecting it high, and of reclining it almoft clofe on the head ; the cheeks below the eye are covered by a red, naked, wrinkled Ikin, which covers the inferior mandible of the bill, whofe colour, as well as that of the feet, is blacki(h brown ; the eye is fine black. The bird may be reckoned the negro of the Cock- atoos, which are generally white ; the tail is long, and confifts of tapered feathers. The fi- gure delineated from nature was fent from Cey- lon to Edwards, and that naturalift recognifed the fame bird in a collection publiihed by Vander Meukn at Amfterdam, in 1 707, and termed by Feter Schenk the Indian Crow* v» *> [A] Specific charafter of the PJiitaeus Attrfimus: «« It is black« its creft large and lighter coloured, its cheeks red and naked.* G 4 j(';:, <' 1;-., t. m •:^i S !;i: '-J ,1 ■ ' 1 1 . ■ ■ ■ J ■ ' "■i i s i . . '.1. •'• t'fliif"uiitfcii , 1 m U if w. '^ Jl 98 PARROT. The PARROTS PROPEI^LY SO CALI,EJ5, 'ITT'e (hall apply the name of Parrot to thoft ^^ of the old continent whofe tail is (hort, and confids of quills nearly equal in length. We may reckon eight fpecies, all natives of Africa or India, and none of then), found in America. ^^ THE JACO or CINEREOUS PARROT, Buff. FIRST SPECIES. PJittacui Erhbacus, Linn. Gmel. andKram. Pfittacut Gmntenjis Cinertust Brifl*. IJ/chgraver Papagey, Wirs. 'fhcJ/f'Cfihured Parrot, Albin. WiU? and |iath. THIS fpecies is now the moft commonly brought into Europe, and generally pre- ferred, as well on account of the miidnefs of its difpofition, as of its fagacity and docility, in which it at leaft equals the green Parrot, with- out the djfagreeable cries. It feems to pronounce the .vord yaco, and hence its ufu^ appellation. AD the body is of a fine pearl and flaty gray, which is deeper on the upper furface, lighter pn the }ower, an I ''^ "lined to white on the belly. rM \ PARROT. i| belly. The tgiil, which is vermilion, termi'^ nates and heightens this plumage, which is gloiled and powdered with a inowy colour, that gives it conftantly a freOi appearance. The eye is placed in a white, naked, mealy Ikin, that covers the check ; the bill is black ; the feet gray j jand the iris gold colour. Th^ total length of the bird is a foot. Mod: of thefe Parrots are imported from the coaft of Guinea*, and come from the interior parts of Africa f : they are alfo found at Congo J, ■m * WiUughby. f *f They are found on the whole of this coaft (of Guinea), bu( in fmall numbers, and mod of them even come from the interior parts of the country. Tbofe of Benin, of Calbari, of Cabolopez, are moft efteemed, for which reafon they are -brought from thofe places ; but they are much older than fuch as can be obtained here, and confequently are not fo docile, nor fo ealily trained. All the Parrots here on the coaft, and alfo near the angle of Guinea^ and in the above-mentioned places, are of a blue polour . . . Theie birds are fo common in Holland, that they arelefs eileemed there than here, and not fold fo dear." Voyage en Guinee, par fiofman, Utrec&i, 1*^05. — Albin is miftaken when he fays that this fpecies come9 from the Eall Indies; it appears confined to Africa, and a fortiori it occurs not in America, though BrifTon places it at Jamaica, pro- bably from the indication of Browne and Sloane ; but without hav. ing confulted them, fince Sloane (Jamaica, Ftl. 11. p. 297) fays exprefsly that the Parrots, wluch are numerous in Jamaica, were all brought thither from Guinea. This fpecies is not a native of any part of the new world. *' Among the multitude of Parrots found at Para, we cannot perceive the gray fpecies, which is fo common in Guinea." Voyage de la CondamtHe, p. 1 73.— In Antart^ic France there is no gray kind found, as in Guinea, and in upper Africa. Thevetf Singularites de la France Antar£lique, Paris, i|)58, /, 92. I Recueil des Voyages qui ont fervir a TetabUflement de la Com- pagnie des Indes. AmfttrJam, 1702, 1. IV. p. 321. and m 'U\ ii '■:^::i{ mw- '•1 m Hi m {M *M 90 PARROT. and oil the coaft of Angola *. They are very ealily taught to fpeak "f , and feem fondeft of imitating the voice of children, who arealfo the mofl: fuccefsful in training them. It has indeed been remarked by the older writers J that the birds moft fufceptible of imitating the human voice are eager to liften to children, whofe articula- tion is imperfed and unequal, and therefore more correfpondent to their own. But the ci- nereous Parrot copies alfo the deep tones of the adult ; though the effort is laborious, and the words arc lefs diftin6t. One of thefe Guinea Parrots was fo completely drilled by an old failor, that it acquired exactly his hoarfe voice and cough; and though it was afterwards given to a young perfon, and was in no other com- pany, it never forgot the lelTons of its firft mafter, and it was diverting to obferve its trnn- fitions from a foft gracious tone to its former hoarfenefs and coarle fea tones. * Hiftorie Generale des Voyages, /. V. /. 76. •f- They inhabit likewife the ifles of France and Bourbon, whi- ther they have been tranfported. Ltiires Edifiantes^ Recutil i8, p. II. ** Thisifle (of Mauritius or France) breeds tortoifes, tur- tles, grey parrots, and other game, which are caught by the hand in the woods. Beiides the profit derived from this excrcife, it af- fords much diveriion. Sometimes when a great Parrot is taken, it is made to fcream, and inftantly hundreds flock round it, which are felled with fticks." Recueil des Fojages qui ont j'ervir a l*eta- blij/ement Je la Compagnie des hides, jiatji^rdam, 1702, /. ///,/, 195. X Albertus, lib. XXIJI, But relate t< reflec eiral The this t from fwers half II mone rofari PARROT. f» . moner on board a veiTel ; it recited the failors prayer, then the rofary. Jj; \ ":,! ''t •■♦•S-ii 9* PARROT. it grows older, it becomes ftubborn, and will hardly be taught. Olina recommends the evening, after their meal, as the proper time to indrudt them ; for their wants being fatif- fled, they are moil docile and attentive. The education of the Parrot has been com- pared to that of the child *. At Rome, the perfon who trained a Parrot held in his hand a fmall rod, with which he ftruck it on the head, pliny fays that its fkuU is very hard, and that it requires fmart blows to make it feel f . HoWf ever, the bird which we mentioned feared the rod more than a child that has been often whip- ped. If after remaining perched the whole day, i*- anticipated the hour of walking out into the garden, and defcended too foon (which feldom happened), threats and the fight of the rod drove it with precipitation to its rooft ; there it continued, but (howed its impatience by flap- ping its wings and fcreaming. ♦ ' We (hould fuppofe that the Parrot does not perceive when he fpeaks himfelf, hut fancies that fome perfon addrefles him, He often alked his paw, and anfwered by holding up the paw. Though he liked to hear the voice of children, he feemed to have an antipathy to them ; he purfued and bit them till he drew blood. He had alfo his objedls of attachment, and though his choice was not very nice, it was conftant, pc lil hii ^lian. t Pliny, lU. X, 42. He thi PARROT. 93 Me was cxceffively fond of the cook-maid ; fol- lowed her every where, fought for her, and feldom mifled Ending her. If fhe had beetx fome time out of his Hght, the bird climbed with his bill and claws to her Ihoulders, lavilh- ed his careiTes, and would, on no account, leave her. His fondnefs had all the marks of clofe and warm friendfhip. The girl happened to have a very fore finger, which was tedious in healing, and fo painful as to make her fcream. While (he uttered her moans, the Parrot never left h«r chamber. The firft thing he did every day was to pay her a vifit ; and this tender condolence lafted the whole time of the cure, and he again returned to his former calm fettled attachment. Yet this ftrong pre- diledion for the girl feems to have been more direded to her office in the kitchen, than her perfon ; for wllcn another cook-maid fucceeded to her, the Parrot (hewed the fame degree of fondnefs the very firft day *." But Parrots of this kind not only imitate difcourfe; they alfo mimic geftures and ac- tions. Scaliger faw one that performed the dance of the Savoyards, at the fame time re- peating their fong. The one already mentioned liked to hear a perfon fing, and, when he faw him dance, he alfo tried to caper, but with the , word grace imaginable, holding in his toes, and * Note communicated by Madame Nadault, my filter, to whom this Parrot belonged. tsimbling m- V n fl PARROT. tumbling back clumfily. He was then the mod cheerful ; but he had alfo an extravagant joy, and an inceflant prattling when in the ftate of intoxication : for all Parrots love wine, particularly the Spanifh and the mufcadine. Even in the time of Pliny it was remarked that tkie fumes of that liquor gave the Parrots a flow of fpirits*. He crept near the fire in winter, and his greateft pleafure, in that feafon, was to get on the chimney ; and when warmed he gave many ligns of his ccmfortable feelings. He had equal pleafure in the fummer (howers ; he continued whole hours expofed, and fpread his wings the better to receive the rain, and did not fcek for cover till he was wet to the Ikin. After he had returned to his rooft, be ftripped all the feathers one after another through his bill. If the weather was dry, he liked to bathe in a ciftern of water, and entered into it repeatedlypthough always very careful not to wet his head. But he was as averfe to plunge in winter ; and if then Ihewn a veflel full of water, he would run off, and even fcream. , Sometimes he was obferved to yawn, and this was almoft always the fymptom of weari- nefs. He whiftled with more force and clear- nefs than a man; but, though he exprefled many tones, he could never be taught to copy an air. He imitated perfectly the cries of wilcjj * Itt vinopr^cipue la/civa* Lib. X. 42. and si: I; PARROT. 95 and domeftic animals, particularly the crow, which he mimicked fo well, that he might have been taken for one. He feldom prattled in a room with company ; but if alone in the adjacent room, he was noify in proportion to the loudnefs of the converfation which he over- heard ; he Teemed prompted to repeat precipi- tately all that he had learnt, and was never fo animated or fo clamorous. In the evening he retired of his own accord to his cage, which he Ihunned during the day: there with one foot concealed in the plumage, or hooked to the bars of the cage, and his head beneath his wings, he (lept until he perceived the dawn of the morn- ing ; but he often wakened to the blaze of can- dles. Then he flepped down to the bottom of the cage, and (harpened his claws, ufing the fame motion with the fcratching of a hen. Sometimes he whiftlcd or prattled in the night when expofed to light -, but in the dark he was filent and tranquil *. That fort of fociety which the Parrot forms with man, is, by means of language, more inti- mate and pleafing than what the monkey can claim from its antic imitation of our geftures and actions. If the ufeful and amiable qualities of tlic dog, the horfe, or the elephant, command our attention and cfteem, the fingular talents of the * Refl: of the note communicated by Madame Nadault. 4 prattling ril^: ill' t 1 4 1 t.'S l which, when a perfon faid to it, Laugh, Pull, lattg5, laughed accordingly, and the inftant after fcreamed out, IVhut a fool to malt mi laugh! We have feen another which gtew old with its mailer, and ihared with him the infirmities of age. Being accuftomed to hear fcarce any thing but the words / am Jtck ( Je fuis malade) ; when a perfon alked it, Hovu d^ye, Po I, how d'ye (Qu*as-tu, perroquet, qu*as- tu)? I amjlck, it replied wiih a doleful tone, ftretching itfelf over the fire, 1 am fiek (Je fuis malade). f ^et, in the Annab of Conftantine Manafles, the flory of the young Prince Leo, fon of the Emperor Bafil, condemned to death by his implacable father, whom the cries of the perfons around him could not move, till the accents of the bird, which had learnt to deplore the fate of tlie Prince, at lail flung his barbarous heart. whofe portic more and 11 Bui ikill, togi^ per n hindei which a (hait in eel he uh nd rnt t. fe iV PARROT. •V 97 whofe lofs is bewailed, it awakens, in feeling hearts, the memory of pall joys *. The power of imitating exa»Slly articulate dif- courfe implies in the Parrot a p( ^uliar and more perfed ftru^^ure of organ ; and the accuracy of its memory, though independent of the under- Aanding, manifefts a clofenefs of attention and a ftrength of mechanical recolledion that no bird pofles in fb high a degree. Accordingly, all the naturalifts have remarked the Angular form of its bill, its tongue, and its head : its bill, round on the outlide and hollow within, has, in fome meafure, the capacity of a mouth, and allows the tongue to play freely ; and the found, (Iriking againft the circular border of the lower mandible, is there modified as on a row of teeth, while the concavity of the upper mandible re- fle£ls it like the palate ; and henc-j it does not utter a whiftling, but a full, articulation. The tongue, which modulates all the founds, is pro- portionally larger than in man, and would be more voluble, were it not harder than flefh, and invefted with a ftrong horny membrane. But this organization, though adjufted with Ikill, is ftill inferior to the ftrucSlure contrived to give an eafy and powerful motion to the up- per mandible, and, at the lame time, not to hinder its opening. The mufcles are not fixed • Sie, in Aldrovanidus (p. ^62), a pleafirig and afFefting pipce, which a poet, who grieves for his miftrefs^ addrefles to his Parrot* thait inceflantly repeats her name. VOL. VI. H to , . ! ■ .3 ■» '1 I ■tf m 9« PARROT. I;^ to the root, where they would have exerted ti0 force ; nor to the fides, where they would have clofed the aperture* Nature has adopted a dif- ferent plan ; at the bottom of the bill are fixed two bones, which, extending on both fides^ and under the cheeks^ form a continuation of it, fimilar in form to the pterygoid bones in man, except that their hinder extremity is not con- creted into another bone, but loofe. Thick layers of mufcles, fent off from the back of the head, and inferted in thefe bones, move them and the bilL For a fuller defcription of this fingular contrivance, I fhall refer to Aldrovan- dus*. This naturalifl properly obferves, that, be- tween the eye and the lower jaw, there is a fpace, which deferves better the name of cheek than in any other bird ; it is alfo more protu- berant, occafioned by the number of mufcles that extend over it to the bill. The bill is very flrong ; the Parrot cafily cracks the nuts of the red fruits ; it gnaws the Wood, and even bends or wrenches the bars of its cage, if they be {lender, or if it be tired of confinement. It ufes its bill, oftener than its claws, in climbing and fufpending itfelf j it alfo holds by the bill in defcending, as if it were z third foot, which fleadies its motion; it alfa ferves to break its fall -f . It is a fecond organ • Tom. I. pp. 640 and 641. t Pliny, tih. X. \i. of fc pc its 6r wt am the Th, fror ofte whii fuch thi$ alimi Ti fbod ever) baftai thou< hi tl * WJ that the I what is power, Aaatly cl linus fpi BiiHakinl uncomml t CaA I Thi ;i I parrot: ^^ bf touch, and is equally ufeful with its toes, ia icramblinor and clenching. The mobility of its upper mandible gives it a power which no other birds have, of chewing its food. In thofe, whether of the granivorous or carnivorous tribes, the bill is like a hand which throws the food into the gizzard, or aa arm which fplits or tears it. The Parrot feize^ the piece fideways, and gnaws deliberately*. The lower mandible has little motion, but that from right to left is moll perceptible ; and thi^ is often performed when the bird is not eating, which has made it be fuppofed to ruminate. In fuch cafes it probably only whets the edge of thii mandible, with which k cuts and bites its aliments. The Parrot difcovers hardly any choice in its food : it lives in its native country on almoft every fort of fruit or grain. The feeds of the baftard faffrdn + have been found to fatten it, though they a(fl on man as a violent purge J. In the domeftic ftate^ it eats whatever is pre- '■' ^■ M ■.^"i * We muft remark that the external hind toe is moveable, and that the bird draws it fidewife and forward, to feize and handle what is given to it; but only in this fingle cafe does it ufe that power, and at other times, whether it walks or perches, it con- ftaatly carries two toes before and two beiiind. Apiileiiis and S ' - Unus fpeak of Parrots with five toes ; but this was owing to their Hiiftaking a paffage of Pliny, where that naturalift afcribes that uncommon property to a family of magpies CLil;, X. 42.^ t Carthamus Carduncel/i/s, Linn. J The Spaniards call tlxis feed Seme de Papageyt Parrot-feed. H 2 fented; m '■M m.v\ m fOif) PARROT. fented ; but flefh, which it would rather prefer, is extremely hurtful to it, and occafioiis an un- natural longing, which prompts it to fuck and gnaw its feathers, and pluck them one by one from every part that its bill can reach. This cinereous Guinea Parrot is particularly fubjecSt to that difeafe ; it tears the feathers from its body, and even from its beautiful tail, which never afterwards recovers the fame bright red as at firft. Sometimes after moulting this Parrot is ob- ferved to become marbled with white and rofe colour ; occafioned either by fome diflemper, or by advanced age. What Briflbn reckons as varieties, under the names of the Red-winged Guinea Parrot, and the Red variegated Guinea Parrot^ are owing to fuch accidental changes of plumage. In the one figured by Edwards, the red feathers are mingled at random with the gray, as if the bird had been drefl'ed out (tapired). The cinereous Parrot is like others of the genus, fubjedt to the epilepfy and the cramp*; yet is it very. hardy and lives to a great age -j-. , Salerne fays that he iliw one at Orleans which was above (ixty years old, and Hill cheerful and lively ;j;. It * Olina. Occelleria, /■ 23. t ** I knew one at the Cape of St. Domingo, which was averred to be forty-fix years old." Note communicated by M. dc la Borde. X Vofmaer fays that he knew a Parrot which had lived in a fa- mily t A//. [A] JBrithc, crijnfd ^ly PARROT. xoi It is uncommon for Parrots to propagate in our temperate climates; but they frequently lay addle eggs. There are fome inftances, however, of Parrots being reared in France. M. de le Pi^eoniere had a cock and hen in the town of Marmande v\ Agenois, which hatched regularly each fpring for five or fix years, and the young Parrots lived, and were educated by the parents. Each hatch con- (ifted of four eggs, three of which fucceed- ed. The birds were ihut in a room with no- thing but a barrel open at top and filled with faw duft ; flicks were faftened both on the outfide and infide, that the male might fcram- ble upwards and downwards, and fit befide the hen. In entering the room it was necelTary to have boots ; for the male, fired by jealoufv, bit furioufly whatever he perceived to approach his female *. Father Labat alfo mentions two Par*- rots that had feveral hatches at Paris -f*. mily for an hundred years, having defcended from father to fon : but Oiina, more credible and better informed, afcribes only twenty years for the average term of the Parrot. • Letter dated from Marmande tn Jgenois, 25th Auguft, 1774. t Nouveaux Voyages aux xles de I'Amerique. Paris , 1722, /. //. p. 160. [A] Specific charadler of the Afli-coloured Parrot, PJittacus ^ritbacus: ** It is hoary, its temples white and naked, its tail crimfon." I L| h' '■ '.ill n \'S III' *^ % I m 1 5v' Mm H 3 IDS PARROT. i The GREEN PARROT, SECOND SPECIES. rfittacus Sincnfit, Gmel. and Bri/T. The Great and Red Chine/e Parrot i Ed w. and Lath. EDWARCS defcribes this bird as brought frorr^ China. But it is not found in moft of the provinces of that vaft empire ; it is confined to th^ niort fouthern, fuch as Quanton and Quangli *, which are near the tropic, the ufual limit of the climate of Parrots- This is probably one of thofe which travellers have fancied were the fame both in China and in America. But that iiotion, which is contrary to the general order of nature, is overturned by comparing each fpe- cies in detail. The prefent is unlike any of the Parrots of the new world : it is as large as a middle- 11 zed hen ; the whole of its body is bright ftiining green ; the great quills of the wing and the flioulders are blue ; the flanks, 5ind the under fide of the top of the wing, bril- liant red ; the quills of the wings and tail are lined with brown. — Edwards fays that it is very • *' The fouthern provinces, fuch as Qtian^on, and efpsclally QjiPRfi, have Parrots of all kinds, which differ in nothing from thofe of America: thtir plumage is the fame, and they have no \t(s f tcility in learning to fpcak." Hijlohe Gemrde des Foja^es, i. VI. p. 488. - rare. ra G I r aren verec and henc( heade of th of th green pf th( Th pears and w [A] the lo\ver (l^e marg i PARROT. 103 rare. It is found in the Moluccas, and in New Guinea, whence it was fent to us [A], The VARIEGATED PARROT. ■^■M THIRD SPECIES. PJittacus Jcctpitrinus, Linn. Gmel. Gerini, & Borowfk. Pfittacut Farius InMcus, Briff". P/ittacus Eleganst CIuHus. The Ha'wk-bcaded Parrot, Edw, and Lath. TT is of the fize of a pigeon. The feathers ^ round the neck, which it briftles when an- gry, but which Clufius overdoes in his figure, are purple, edged with blue. The head is co- vered with feathers mixed with ftreaks of browa and white, as in the plumage of the hawk, and hence Edwards applies the epithet of Hawk' headed^ There is fome blue on the great quills of the wing, and at the point of the lateral ones of the tail, of which the two middle ones are green, and To are the feathers on the upper fide gf the body. The mailed Parrot, No. 526, PL EnL ap- pears to be the fame with the one juft delbribed ; and we pref'^nae that the fmall neimber of thefe [A] Specific chara£ler of the PJittacus Sinenjis: •' It is green ; the lower coverts of its wings red ; fome of the greater ones, and tl^e margin, blue; the tail brown below." H 4 birda iirss .. m *■;■ 'Alt ^m 104 PARROT. birds which have been brought from America to France were introduced from India into the new world, and that if they are found in th^ interior parts of Guiana, they have been natu- ralized there like the canaries, finches, the Guinea pig, and fome other animals, that were carried thither by navigators from the old continent. That this fpecies is not a native of America feems evinced, becaufe no traveller mentions it. Be- fides, its voice, which is fhrill and acute, is dif- ferent from that of all the other Parrots indi- genous in that continent ; and we may there- fore conclude that it originated from a few in-i dividuals carried accidentally from India [A]. 3 u m The VAZA, or BLACK PARROT *: FOURTH SPECIES. PJittacui Niger, Linn. Gmel, Klein, and Gerin. Pjitlacus Madaga/carenfis, BrifT. The Black Parrot of Madaga/car, Edw. and Lath, TTaza is the name which this fpecies bears in ^ Madagafcar, according to Flaccourt, who [A] Specific chiiraaer of the P/ittacm Acdpitrinu$: " It is green; its htad gray; its neck and treaft fomewhat violet and va- riegated; the quills of its wings and tail tipi with blue." * Vaxa is the black Parrot of this country ; ibme of the ycunv- are brown red, but they are difficult to be had." Vojag9 au /w«- <«<»^^«r, par Flaccourt. Parti, i66i. 8 adds M'/ffO s -m ■ M ■■^•'■'.in THE B LACK PARROT. m\ i ■:'( ^«i i^M '> f1 if m TIIE MASCAK17»J^E.r^\RROT. PARROT. I0<) adds that it imitates the humaa voice. Renne- fort alfo mentions it * ; and it is the fame with what Francis Cauche calls tf^^oures-meinte-^'f which, in the Madagafcar diale6l, fignifies the black bird. Aldrovandus like wife takes notice of black Parrots that inhabit Ethiopia J. The Vaza is as large as the cineroijs Guinea Parrot, and is "uniformly black over its whole plumage ; the colour is not indeed intenfe, but inclined tp brown, and tinged faintly with violet. It has a remarkably fmall bill ; its tail is, on the con- trary, of confiderable length. Edwards, who faw it alive, fays that it is a very familiar an4 Joyely bird [A]. -i: ■J.' , I . : . ,1'^ t ■•'•yB The M A S C A R I N E. ■I FIFTH SPECIES. fjittatut Mafcarit^tt Linn. Gmel. and finff. T HIS Parrot is fo called, becaufe, round its bill, there is a kind of black maik which • ** At Madagafcar the large Parrots are black." Relation de Renneferty Hiji. (■>€». da Voy. t. VIII. p. 606. f Voyage au Madagafcar, par Fr. Cauche, Parist 1651. X Tom. 1, ^.636. [A] Specific charafter of the PJttiacus Niger: " Its tail elon- gated and equal ; its body bluilh black ) its bill and orbits whit, ilh.'' envelopes ■■■>,• ■.^'.'?! io6 PARROT* envelopes the forehead, the throat, and the border of the face. Its bill is red; a gray hood covers the back of the head and neck ; all the body is brown; the quills of the tail, w^hich are brown two thirds of their length, are white at their origin. The total length of this Parrot is thirteen inches. The Vifcount Querhocnt af- fures us, that it is found in the ifland of Bour- bon, whither it has probably been carried fron^ Madagafcar. We have qnp in the King's Ca- binet of the fame ilsse and colour, except that jt has not the black mafk, nor the white co- lour on the tail, and that all its body is equally brown ; its bill is alfo fmaller, and, in that re- fpe<5t, it refembles the Vaza, of which it would appear to be a variety, if it does not form an intermediate fpecies between that bird and the mafcarine. To the fame fpecies we would re-* fer the brown Parrot of Briflbn. [A] Specific character of the Pfittacus Ma/carinus : ** It is ci-i nereous, with the bridle black below ; its orbits nak^ an4 re4-« diibi its lateral tail-feathers whitifli at their ba(e." » ■ J I . ■'. ' < « ,i;,.;- •■v •!-. . -, iJ:' w^ ''.f. 1. •1 • ^ :<,jf f.' 'i^ ?••■ J, i^'2k\ MTJ4-Z The loured that o that o neck tions ; ed wi green appear blue a tion^; with i teen i green, ii THi5 I.OKY. m PARROT, i©7 Tlie BLQODY-BILLED PARROT. f.e Par roquet a Bee Couleur du Sang, Buff, 9IXTH SPECIES. PJlttacus Macrorhyncos, Gmel. ^he Great-h/Iied Parrot, If&tK npHis Parrot is found in New Guinea. It Is -■' remarkably large. Its bill is blood- co- loured, thicker and broader in proportion than that of any qf the other Parrots, and even thaa that of the American macqaws. The head and neck are of a brilliant green with gold reflec- tions ; the fore part of the body is yellow fliad- ed with green ; the tail is yellow below and green above ; the back is Iky blue ; the wing appears tinged with a mixture of the fame iky blue and green, according to its different poh- tion^; the coverts are black, edged and fpriqkled with ftreaks of gold yellow ; this Parrot is four- teen inches long. [A] Specific charafler o( the P/ttacus Macroryncies : ** It is green, inclining below to yellow ; its wings mixed with iky blue ^q^d grpen ; its coverts blacky" \V'»\\ M w m':\ .01 m il'il M? leg PARROT. The GREAT BLUE-HEADED GREEN PARROT. SEVENTH SPECIES. PJittaeus Gramineust Gmcl. The Amboyna Parrot t Lath. . ^ - THIS is one of the iargeft of the P;^rrots ; it is near iixteen inches in length, though its. tail is rathei fhort. The face and the upper fide of the head, are blue ; all the upper fur- face is meadow -green, mixed with blue on the great quills ; all the under furface is olive- green : the tail is green above, and dirty yel- low below [A]. The GRAY-HEADED PARROT, EIGHTH SPECIES. \ TJittacus Senegalus, Linn. GmeL and BriiT. 1^'be Senegal Parrot, Lath. 'T^His bird has a fliort tail, which excludes it ^ from the family of the Parrakeets ; and though only feven inches and a half long, it is ft [A] Specific charafter of the PJittaeus Gramintus : " It is green, helow olive; its ft ont and top blue^ its tail yellow below." thick [('■ !ll PARROT. 10^ thick and round (haped Its head and face are of a gloiiy bluifh gray ; its ftomach and all the under fide of its body are of a full marigold- yellow, fometimes mixed with aurora red ; its bread and all its upper furfixce green ; except the quills of the wings, which are only edged with that colour on a' brown gray ground. Thefe Parrots are frequent in Senegal'^ they fly in fmall flocks of five or fix, and perch on the fl:raggling trees in the burning, fandy plains of that country, and utter a (hrill, dif- agreeable cry. Th^y keep clofe together, fo that a perfon may kill feveral at once ; and it often happens that a fingle (hot levels with the ground the whole of the little flock. Le Maire aflSrms that they never fpeak*; but perhaps they have been neglected in their education. • ** The Parrots are thefe of two kinds (at Senegal) ; fome fmall and entirely green, others larger, having the head gray, the belly yellow, the wings green, and the back mixed with gray and ysllow ; the latter never fpeak, but the fmaller have a fweet, clear voice, and prattle whatever they arc taught." Voyage de It Maire. Parist 1695, /. 107. [A] Specific charafter of the Pjittacus Senegalus: " It is grcco, below yellow ; its head cinereous ; its orbits black and naked.'* hi 1. t*;i'' II iU ■ V.' m mi Il6 LORY. The LOR I S. THIS name has been applied in the Eaft in- dies to a family of Parrots whofe cry rc- fembles the found of the word lori. They are hardly diftinguifhed from the reft of the genus, except by their plumage^ which is chiefly red,- and of various intenfity. Their bill is alfo fmall- er, not io much hooked, but fharper than that of the other Parrots. Their afpe6t is lively,- their voice fhrillj and their motions quick.- They are, according to Edwards,- the moft nimble of all the Parrots, and the only ones that can leap to the height of a foot. Thefe well afcertained flxds confute the aflTertion of a traveller, that they brood in filent melan- choly *. They are taught with great eafe to whiftic and articulate words ; they foon grow tame,' and, what is uncommon in all animals, they retain their cheerfulnefs in captivity. But they are in general very delicate, and difficult to tranf- port; and, in our temperate climates, they are fhort lived. Even in their native regions, they are fubjedl to epileptic fits, like the maccaws and other Parrots ; yet it is probable that this diforder attacks only the domefticated birds. • Hift. Gen, des Voy, t. X. p. 459. " Ornithologies cies j T f " which ai 1 LORY. lit ** Ornithologlfts have impfoperly," fays Son- fterat*, •' difcriminated the Loris by the epi* thets of the Philippine, the Eaji Indian, the Chinefe, &c. Thefe birds inhabit only the Moluccas and New Guinea, and thofe found in other parts have been carried thither." But thefe nomenclators are guilty of a greater im- propriety in reckoning fome fpecies of Loris as natives of America, fmce none exift there ; and, if travellers have {tQW a few individuals, they muft have been introduced from the Ad- atic iflands. Sonnerat adds too, that he conftantly found the Loris in one ifland to be of a different fpe- cies from thofe in another, though at a fhort diftance only. A fimilar obfervation has been made in regard to the iflands of the Weft In- tfies. ti hfii 9i,''i M Hiii' The NOIRA-LORI. '..■liit'luir ■ FIRST SPECIES. Pftttacui Garrulus, three Varieties, Gmel. Lerius Moluccenjis, Briff, and Gerini. ^T^His bird is found at Ternate t» at Ceram, ^ and at Java, where it is called Noira, a name • Voyage a la Nouve/le Gulttee, p. 173. f ** There are many beautiful Parrots in the ifle of Ternate, which are red on the back, with little feathers on the fore fide of 3 the K>y. \^^. 112 LORY. name which the Dutch have adopted. It is held iu lljch high eftimation in India, that ten reals are readily offered for one Noira. In the account of the firft voyage from Holland to Ja- va, it is faid that feveral of thefe beautiful birds, which were tried to be brought home, all died on the palfage*. In the fecond voyage, how- ever, one was carried to Amfterdam ; and, luice that time, they have been m'.3re frequent. The Noira (hews Urong attachment, and even affedlion, to its mafter ; it carefles him with its bill, and ftrokes his hair with furprif- ing: gentlenefs and tamenefs. At the fame time it cannot bear flrangers, and bites them with a fort of rancour. The natives of Java breed many of thefe birds +. In general the cuftom of keeping tame Parrots feems to have been very ancient in India, fince -^liaii men- tions it [A]. the wmgs. They are fomewhat fmaller than thofc of the Weft In- dies, but they learn much better to fpeak.'* Argtnjda, Conquetes des Mcluques. Paris, 1706, /. III. p, 21, * Linfcot apuj Clujlum. Au£l* p. 364, ' f ** The Dutch paffed into the apartment of the Parrots, which appeared to them much more beautiful than what they had feen in other places, but of a moderate fize. The Portuguefe give them the name o( noyras: they have a bright glofly red on the throat and under the flomach, and a beautiful gold plate on the back." Hifl» Gen. des Foy. t. VIll. p. 136. [A] Briflbn thus defcribes his LmusMoluccenJit : " It is fcarlet t the fpot on the upper part of its back and the upper coverts of the wings, yellow ; the quills of the wings green externally and above,i below pale rofecolour, within fafFron tipt with black ; the lateraF quills of the tail above, crimfon on their firft half, and green on* the other ; the two outcrmeft mixed externally on tlieir laft half with deep violet" J; if !j ;i LORY. X13 VARIETIES of the NOIRA. I*. To the Noira we ought perhaps to re- fer the Java Parrot mentioned by Aldrovan- dus, and which the inhabitants of that ifland term nor, which means brilliant. The whole of the body is of a deep red ; the wings and the tail are of a deep green ; there is a yellow fpot on the back, and a fmall border of the fame co- lour on the Ihoulder. Of the feathers of the wings, which when clofed appear entirely green, the coverts only, and the fmall quills, are vellow, and the laro;e ones are brown. II "f. The Lori defcribed by BrilTon under the name of the CerOtn Lori, and to which he applies what we have afcrilxd to the Noira, is only a variety, and in no refpe£t different, ex- cept that its legs are green, while thofe of the former are red, like the reft of the body. i 'Mi m ■r;^i^ * This Is the fecond variety of Linflsus' Pjittcuus GitrruUi, t Pfittacui Garruluj, Linn. Gmel. and Borowflc. Lorius Ctramcvjls, BrifT. * ' Ffettacus Rufuitfemorlbus ahj'que 'viddthui^ Fris. & Klelfl. The Purple Parrot , Charlton. Ths Scarlet Purr^ikeito lAiith green and hlack luhgs, Will. The Ceram Lery, Lath. [A] Specific charaftcr: '* It is red ; its orbits ciiwreoas; its cheeks and wing? green ; its tail-ijuiUs blue on their pulUrior half ." ■(■ VOL. VI. J 14 LORY. The COLLARED LORY. SECOND SPECIES. PJiitacHs-DomicsUa, Linn. Gmel. and Borow/k. Lortus OrUntalis Indicm, BrilT. The Second Black-capped Lory, Edw. The Purp/e- capped Lory, Lath. ALL the body, including the tail, is of a deep blood colour ; the wing is green, the top of the head is black, terminated with violet on the nape ; the legs and the fold of the wing are of a fine blue; the lower part of the neck is furniflied with a yellow collar, which we have adopted as the fpecific charafler. The bird figured in the Planches Eniuminees under the name of the Eaji Indian Lory^ and which Briflbn defcribes by the fame appellation, appears to be the female of this ; for the only difference is that it wants the yellow collar, and that the blue fpot on the top of its wing is not fo broad ; it is alfo fomewhat fmaller. This Lory is like all the reft of the kind, very gen- tle and familiar ; but it is alfo v^ry delicate and difficult to breed. None more eafily learns to fpeak, and even with diftin(5lnefs. ** I have feen onp,'* fays Aublet, " which repeated every thing it heard the firft time *.** Though this * ** It had come from India to the Ifle of Frnnce, and had been given to Die by the Count d'Eftaiiifj ; it was aflonifliing." A^c- cofmr.unkatcd by M, Au[>li(, ''tlXt..".\.-Ai. , LORY. "S capacity is very aftonifliiiig, there is no reafbu to doubt of it*. This bird is valued very high ; Albin fays that he faw one fold for twenty gui- neas.—We may regard the ^a^ Indian collared Lory as a variety of this Ipccies [A]. The TRICOLOR LORY. THIRD SPECIES. Pjtttaeut-Loryt Linn. G'mel. and Borowfic. tortus Pbilippenfist BrilT. The Firft Black-capped Lory, Edw. and Lath. 'TpHE fine red, the azure, and the green, ■*' which are difpofed in large fpots on the plumage of this Lory, have induced us to give it the epithet of Tricolor, The forepart and the fides of the neck, the flanks, the lower part of the back, the rump and half the tail, are red. The under fide of the body, the legs, and the top of the back, are blue ; the wing is * ** The Dutch had one that in a moment imitated the cries of the other animals which it heard/' Seconi foyage des Hollandois, Hift. Gen. des Voy. t. VIII. p. 377. — •' All voyagers fpeak with admiration of the facility with which the Parrots of the Moluccas can repeat what they hear. Their colours are variegated, and form an agreeable mixture ; they fcream much, and very loud."— Ibid. [A] Specific charafter of x)nK PJittaeus-Domicella: '* It is red ; its cap violet : its wings green ; its Ihoulders and knees blue ; its orbits brown," . i I- ''J 4 • :■« " its ■ i; • .4.* ' 122 PARRAKEET LORY, THE TRICOLOR PARRAKEET LORY- THIRD SPECIES, PJittacus Amboinenfisf Linn, and Gmeir PJittaca AmboiHtnJls Coccifiea, BrifT.- The Amboyna Rid-Parrot, Lath. , *U ED, green, and turkey blue, are difpofed in •*^ large marks over all its plumage ; red co- vers the head, the neck, and all the upper fide of the body ; the wing is deep green ; the back and tail are of a full velvet blue. The tail is- fe- ven inches long ; and the whole bird is fifteen inches and a half long, and as large as a turtle. — The tail in thefe three laft fpecies, though longer than common in the Loris and Parrakeets properly fo called, is not tapered as in the long- tailed Parrakeets, but confifls of equal quills, with a fquare termination. [A] Specific charaAer of the PJittacus Amhoinenfis: " It is fcarlet j its back blue ; its wings with a green fpot," PARRAKEET LORY. 123 PARRAKEETS OF THE OLD CONTINENT. PARRAKEETS IN WHICH THE TAIL IS LONG AND EQUALLY TAPERED. WE (hall diftinguifti the long-tail Parra- keeti' into two families ; into thofe which have the i? . ^ually tapered, and into thofe which have the two middle quills much longer than the reft, and appearing detached from each other. A\^ 'jfe Parrakeets are larger than the ihort- tailv'1 lies, which we (hall afterwards defcribc. iK': !.i THE GREAT COLLARED PARRAKEET. La Grande Ferruche a Collier d*un Rouge Vlf, Buff. FIRST SPECIES, With a long, equally tapered Tail, Pftttaeut-Alexandrit Linn. Gmel, Scop, and Bor. Ffittacus Torquatus Matreurus, Ra}'. Perrecello, Olin, The Ring Parrakeet, Edw. and Will. The Ahxatulrine Parraieet, Lath. P LINY and Solinus have both defcribed the green collared Parakeet, which was the only i m 'I H:\ 1 kI>W' one "3^4 P A R R A K E E T. one known in their time, and which came from India. Apuleius delineates it with that elegance which he ufually afFe£ls *, and fays that its plumage is of a pure brilliant green. Tl\e only interruption of this colour is, according to Pli- ny, a half collar of bright red on the top of the neck -f. Aldrovandus, who has coUedled all the particulars, leaves no room to doubt but that the hng'tailed and colIared'?2Lrrot of the an- cients is the fame with the red collared Great Parrakeet of this article. There are two cir- cumftances fufficient to evince this ; the firft is the breadth of the collar, which, about the middle, is equal to the thkknefs of the little fat- her ^ and the f cond, that there is a red fpot which marks the top of tJie wing. Both thefe arc peculiarly the properties of this Parrakeet. It is equally beautiful with the reft of the tribe : its plumage is of a lively light green on the head, and deeper on the wings and the back ; the rofy half-collar embracing the back of the neck, joins, on the fides, to the black bar that covers the throat ; the breafi is of a vermilion red, and there is a purple fpot on the crown of the head : the tail is beautiful, and longer than the body ; its upper furface mixed with green and beryl, its under furfrce of a delicate yellow. The bird is found, not only • Florid. Ub.Ih + Virickm ttto (or^trt, torque tfmtum mimato i9 cervice diJiivSttmi PKn. Lib, X, 42, ' . , 5 on PA R R A K E E T. ns on the fouth of the continent of Afia, but alfo in the adjacent iflands, and at Ceylon $ ^r thi9 is Taprobana, from which Alexander's fleet brought the firft Parrot into Greece [A]. The DOUBLE COLLARED PARRAK E E T. SECOND SPECIES, ' i' With a long and equal Tail. •.' < PJittacus-AUxandri, fccond Variety, Gmel. The D9ul!e ringed Parrakett, Lath. TWO fmall wings, the one I'ofe- colon red, and the other blue, entirely encircle the neck ; all its plumage is green, which is deeper en the back, has a yellow caft under the body, and, in many parts, there is a dulky ftreak on the middle of each feather ; below the tail, a ycU lowifli fringe edges the brown-gray, which is imprefled on each quill. The bird is as large as a turtle ; and, as it is found in the ifland of Bourbon, it probably inhabits alfo the corre- fponding continent, either of Africa or India. [A] Specific charafter of the P/f//^fW-^//x*/;yr/ : "Itisgree*; its collar and breall red ; it3 throat black." ■■m ^ I m ,'■'■ < v f :frm ' it-,'! f '■■«.' fit" '0 ■ : *•¥ I I -- -l»"! 226 PARRAKEET. The RED-HEADED PARRAKEET. THIRD SPECIES, With a long and equal Tail. PJittacut Erythroctpbalus, Gmel. Pfittaca Ginginiana, BriiT. The BUffom-btadtd Parrakett, Lath. THIS Parrakeet is eleven inches total length, and the tail is longer than the body. The whole of the upper fide is dull green, with a purple fpot on the top of the wing ; the face is purplifli red, which, on the head, runs into blue, and is intercepted, on the nape of the neck, by a ftreak produced from the black that covers the throat ; the under fide of the body is a dull dirty yellow ; the bill is red [Al. I I THE BLUE-HEADED PARRAKEET. FOURTH SPECIES, With a long and equal Tail. PJittacui Cyanocepbalust Linn. Gmel. Brifl*. and Gerini. The Blui-heaM Parrot, Ld\h, T is ten inches long ; its bill is white, its head blue, its body green ; the fore-fide of [A] Specific charafter of the PJtttaeus Erythrecepbalut : "It is green; its head red, mixed with blue; its throat black, with a black and pale green collar." Its oran« black tail, low [A] PARRAKEET. 127 its neck yellow, and the under furface of its belly and tail yellow mixed with green ; the middle quills of the tail uave a blue caft above ; the legs are bluifli [A]. The LORY ^A^RRAKEi^T, FIFTH SPECIES, With a long and equal Tail. PJtttactts Ornatust Linn. Gmel. and Bor; - Pjtitaca Indica Faria, BrlfT. 'iTT'E adopt the name which Edwards has be- ^^ flowed on this fpecies, becaufe it is of a beautiful red, like the loris j that colour, inter- fedled by fmall brown waves, covers the throat, the fore^part of the neck, and the fides of the face, as far as the back of the head, which it furrounds. The crown of the head is purplifh, Edwards terms it blue ; the back, the upper furface of the neck, the wings, and the flo- mach, are emerald green 5 the fides of the neck, and the flanks, are irregularly fpotted with orange yellow ; the great quills of the wing are blackifh, fringed at the end with yellow; the tail, which is green above, appears tinged be- low with red, and is yellow at the tip; the [A] Specific charafter of x}\t P^ttaciu Cyanoctfhalut : gr^en ; its head and tliroac blae." *€ It is bill > " •'if '¥m Its 1» A R R A KE ET. bill and feet are white-gray. This Parrakect is about the middle (ize, and is only feven inches and a half long. It is one of the handfoniedy on account of the brilliancy and choice of its colours. It is not the paradife bird of Seba, as Brifibn fuppofes; for in that bird ihe tail is unequally tapered [A]. THE YELLOW PARRAKEET, Buff. SIXTH SPECIES, With a long and unequal Tail. Ffittacui Salftitialiit Linn, and Gael. -, .. Pfittaca Angdenjh Lutea, BrifT. FJittacm Croceust Klein. Ffittacus Luteus, cauda loitga, Fris. The 4nf^oU Ttllow Piiurot» Alb. and Latli, A' LL its plumage is yellow, except the belly and the ring of the eye, which are red, and the quills of the wing, with a part of thofe of the tail, which are blue ; the former are in- terfcifled near their middle by a yellowifh bar. Albin tells us that it can learn to fpcak, and, though he calls it the Angola Parrot, he fays it. comes from the Eaft Indies [B], [A] Specific dhiarafter of the /^// its orbits red ; its IftiepaA uiU qtiUis blue exteriorly.'^ T lOy^vi Fraiii vo PARRAKEETi 129 THE AZURE-HEADIiD PARRAKEET. SEVENTH SPECIES, With a long and equal Tail; Pfii»aeut-JhxmJr:, Var. 4, Gmel. Pjt'lnca Cyai.o(eliha!os Inciicn, BrifT. The Blue headid P .rraUef, Edw. ani Lath, ^TpHis Parrakeet is of the fizs of a pigeon; all ■*" its head, face, and throat, are of a fine Iky-hlu"; there is a little yello;v on the wings; the tail is blue, equally tapered, and as long as the body ; the reft of the plumage is green. It is brought from the Eaft ladies, according to Edwards, who defcribes it. The MOUSE- PARRAKEET, Buff. EIG^TTH SPECIFS, With a long and equal Tail. Pjtttaeut Murinits, Gmel. The Grij-irt. wings varicgatec! vith blue, ^reent and orange*" ii| k s (■ w til f I*' ^1 if •I 111 '>-'^'i r ■ "r, 1 I K 3 ■ I I '34 PARRAKEET. PARRAKEETS OF THE OLD CONTINENT, WHICH HAVE A LONG AND UNEQUAL TAIL. The ROSE-RINGED PARRAKEET, FIRST SPECIES, . With a long and unequal Tail. Pfittacus- Alexandria Second Variety, Gmel. PJittaca 1'orqtiatat Briff. and Gerini. SO far is this Parrakeet from being peculiar to the new world, as Briflbn reprefents it, that it is there entirely unknown, it inhabits many parts of Africa, and is brought in great num- bers to Cairo by the caravans of Ethiopia. The vefTels that fail from Senegal or Guinea, where it is common, carry it with the negroes into the Wrifr India iflands. None of thefe Parrakeets arc ft;un.l on the continent of America ; they are only ftcn near the fettlements of St. Do- mingo, Martinico, Guadeloupe, &c. which the African velicls perpetually frequent, but at Cay- enne, where negioes are very feldom imported, they never occur. Al' thefe fa(£ls, which were communicated by an excellent obferver, prove that the Rofc- ringed Parrakeet is not a native 8 Pf I! V PARRAKEEl. '35 of the new world. But it is ftill more fingular that Briflbn fhould confider the fame bird as the Parrot of the ancients; as if the Greeks and Romans went to America to find it. Befides, it is a different fpecies, which we have already defcribed. The Rofe-ringed Parrakeet is fourteen inches long, but of this extent the tail and its two pro- jecting feathers occupy rear two thirds; thefe feathers are of a beryl blue ; all the reft of the plumage is a light foft green, which is rather more vivid on the quills of the wings and mix- ed with yellow on thofe of the tail ; a fmall rofe collar clafps the back of the neck and joints with the black of the throat ; a bluifh tinge ap- pears on the feathers of the nape of the neck, which recline upon the collar; the* bill is brown red. The LITTLE PARRAKEET, With a Rofe-colourcd Head and long Shafts, SECOND SPECIES, With a long and unequal Tail. PJittacus Erjthrocephalus, Firft Variety, Gmel. PJittacus BtngalenfiSi BrtfT. The Parrakeet Jrom Bengal t Albin. The Rofe-beaded Ring Parrakeet» Lath. /T^His little Parrakeec, which is not more than •^ four inches long, meafures twelve, if the JK 4 two !*i iMfc iiiLirggj «36 PARRAKEET. two long jfhafts be included ; thefe are blue, the rell: of the tail^ yhich is not more th iii two inches and a half long, is olive screen, which is alfo the colour of all the under (ide of the bod", and even of the upper (ide, where it is only deeper ; a few fmall red feathers appear through the plumage, on the top of the wing ; the head is rofe- colour, mixed with lilac, interfered and bordered by a black ring, which, riling frotn the throat, encircles entirely the neck. Ed- wards fpeaks with rapture of this bird : it is termed, he fays, in ^QVi^dXfridytutah, The LONG-SHAFTED GREAT PARRAKEET. THIRD SPECIES, With a long and unequal Tall. ^Jiitacm Erythrocephalus, Var. 3, Gmel. The Malacca Parraktet, Lath. THE colours of this Parrakeet are fo like thofe of the preceding, that they might be viewed as th- fame fpecies, were they not confiderably different in refpecSl to iize. This is fixteen inches long, including the two (hafts of the tail, and the other dimeniions are pro™ portional ; the (hafts arc blue, as in the pre- ceding ; the tail is of tfie fame olive green, but deeper .1, PARRAKEET. 137 deeper, and of the fame tinge as the wings ; the miildlc: or* the \v1ng5 is rather bluer; all the gr'" ii on the hy]y s much diluted with an ad? mixture of yeiiovviih ; t!ie head is not etitirely roic-colourT.d, nut o-Av the Ipacc n^^ir the eyes, and the back •)»' the hccid ; the reft is green, and tiiere is no riug -tbout the hupd, The REDDb^H-WINGED GREAT P A R R A K K E I\ Buff. FOURTH SPECIFS, With a long and equal fail. TJlttacus Eupa:ria, Linn, anj Gmel. PJittaca (Jin'niana., BniT. The Gingi P.rrct, Lath. ^TpHis Parrakeet is twenty inches, from the ■*• point of the bill to the extremity of the two long (hafts of the tail : all the upper fur- face of the body is deep olive green, the under furface is pale green, intermixed with ydlow- i(h ; on the pinion of each wing is a fmall red mark, and another one of dilute blue on the middle of the long feathers of the tail ; the bill is red, and aUo the feet and nails [A]. [A] Specific charadler of the Pfitiacus-Eupatria: " It is green; its cheeks naked ; its (boulders fcarlet ; its bill purpU(h." m 138 PARRAKEET. THE RED-THROATED PARRAKEET. FIFTH SPECIES, With a long and unequal Tail. Pjittacus Incarnatus, Linn, and Gmel. PJittaca Jndica, Brifl*. The Little Red-winged Parrakeett Edw. and Lath. EDWARDS, who defcribes this bird, fays that it is the fmalleft Parrakeet which he had ever feen. It is not larger than a titmoufe, but its tail is longer than its body ; the tail and back are of a full green ; the coverts of the wings and of the throat are red ; the under fide of the body is yeliowifh green ; the iris of the eye is of fo deep a caft as to appear black, though in moft of the Parrakeets it is gold- co- loured. Edwards fays that it comes from In- dia. [B] Specific charafter of the P/f/z^jfiff /«f<»r*«/«/ : " It is green i its bill, feet, and nails, carnation ; its cere and orbits whitiHi; it« throat and the coverts of its wings red," h ■'■■■' PARRAKEET. >39 The BLACK-BANDED GREAT PARRAKEET. SIXTH SPECIES, With a long and unequal Tail. PJlttacus jitricaftllus, Linn, and Gmel. j^ra Moluccetijis Fart a, Briff. npiiE bird, which Briflbn has termed the Afo- •*• /ucca Maccaw, is undoubtedly only a Par- rakeet ; for no Maccaw inhabits either -India, or any part of the ancient continent. Seba calls the fame bird a Loty ; but the long fea- thers of its tail (hew evidently that it is a Par- rakeet. The total length of the bird is four- teen inches, of which the tail is near feven. The head has a black band, and the neck a red and green collar ; the bread is of a fine light red ; the wings and back are of a rich Turkey- blue; the belly is deep green, fprinkled with red feathers ; the tail, of which the middle quills are the largeft, is coloured with green and red, with black edges. This Parrakeet was, according to Seba, brought from the Pa- puan iflands ; a Dutch fettler at Amboyna pur- chafcd it of an Indian for five hundred florins. This price was not extravagant, confidering the beauty and gentlenefs of the bird; it prcaounc- ed diltin(Slv leverai words in different lanfrua'J-es, it made its falute in the morning, and lung its fong. '1 lii I ■i i It ii ill vi"', S -l! '-•f'r it, hxSl imi Mm "mm 14(3 PARRAKEET. fong. Its attachment equalled its accomplifh- ments; for having lofl its mafter, it died of me- lancholy* [A]. THE RED and GREEN PARRAKEET. SEVENTH SPECIES, With a long and unequal Tail. PJittaca Japanenjts, Briff. ^TpHis fpecies has been denominated by Brif- •*• fon the Japan Farrakeet ; but no Parrots are found in that ifland, or in the northern pro- vinces of China, except fuch as have been car- ried thither ; and probably this bird, of which Aldrovandus faw only the figure, came from Ibme more fouthern part of Afia. Willughby obferves even that both the figure and its de- fcription appeared fufpicious. The plumage is compofed of green, red, and a little blue ; the firfl of thefe colours is fprcad on the upper fide of the body, the fecond on the under fide and the tail, except the two long (hafts, which are green, and the blue that tinges the (boulders and the quills of the wings : there are two fpots of the fame colour on each (ide of the eye. ♦ Kxmpfer, /././. 113. [A] Specific charafter of the Pjtitacuf JtricapiVus : *' Above it is blue ; its throat and bread red ; its belly and vent green j iti top bla^k, with a green and black collar." V'' PARRAKEET. I4f The CRESTED PARRAKEET. EIGHTH SPECIES, With a long and unequal Tail. Pftttacvi JavaMtcus, Linn, and Gmel. PJlttaca ya-veitjt< Cripnta Coccifieat BrifT. The Crejled Red Parmheet, Lath. 'Tpiiis is the fmal/ Parrot ofBont'ius, whofe ■* luftre and variety of plumage are extolled byWillughby; the pencil can hardly imitate, he fays, its brilliancy and beauty. It is com- pofed of bright red, and of rofe colour, mixed with yellow and green on the wings, and with green and blue o: the tail, which is very long, and proje£ls beyo d the wings ten inches ; a re- markable excefs i^ a bird which is not larger than a lark. The feathers on its head form a creft, which muft be very elegant, fince it is compared to a peacock's tuft in the following extract, which feems to allude to this beautiful fpecies. *' This Parrakeet is about the bulk of a fiikin ; on its head is a tuft of three or four feathers, refembling that of the peacock. This bird is exceedingly gentle *." . Thefe little Parrakeets are found in Java, in the interior parts of the country. They fly in flocks, mak- ing a great noife. They chatter much, and, when tamed, they eafily repeat whatever they are taught \. • Lettres Edifiantesj /econdrecue'il, /. 69. t Willugliby. i;i li ji ! I|! I 'I n Ill :':k'.| k -| 'j ' 'I! I'^M I'Sv'i^'l m iii m •ill i; »V«(t \\ ! l|i s;'>i hm m »' : m ^H i-'''l i us PARRAKEE'f. THE SHORT-TAILED PARRAKEETS OF THE OLD CONTINENT. THESE are frequent in the fouth of Afia^ and in Africa. They are entirely dif- ferent from the Parrakeets of America, except a few which were probably carried thither^ The fpecies of Parrakeets that inhabit the old continent are much more numerous than thofe of the new : their habits are alfo different ; fome, for inftance, cling to a fmall branch, and deep with their head hanging downwards, which is 2iot remarked of thofe fettled in America. In general, the Parrots of the new world make their nerts in the hollows of trees, parti- cularly thofe deferted by the woodpeckers^ which are called carpenters in the Weft India iflands*. In the old continent, on the con- trary, many travellers inform us that feveral fpecies of Parrots fufpend their nefts, which arc formed with rulhes and roots, to the ends of • Lery pofitively avers that the American Parrots never fufpend their nefts» but make them in cavities of trees. JfudCluJium Au&. /, 364. £exibk w PARRAKEET. »43 flexible boughs *. This difference in the man- ner of neftling, if it obtains in a great number of fpecies, may have been prompted by the di- verfity of climate. In America, where the heat never is exceflive, it is neceflary to con- centrate it; but, in the burning plains of Africa, the ncft is rocked by the tempering breeze. THE BLUE -HEADED PARRAKEET- FIRST SPECIES, With a (hort tail. » PJittacus-Galgulust Linn. Gmel. and Bor. Pfittacula Malaccenfis, Briff. The ^apphirt-crvwned Parrakeett Edw. and Lath. np^HE crown of the head is of a fine blue, and ^ round the neck is an orange half-collar ; the breaft and rump are red, and the reft of the plumage green. Edwards fays that he received this bird from Sumatra: Sonnerat found it in the ifland of Lu^on +. This is one of the fpecies that (leep with their head hanging downwards. It lives on * See the account given by Cadamoflo. Hift. Gen, dis Voy, t, II, p. 305. — Foy, a Madaga/car par Fr. Cauche^ Paris, 1651. t Voyage a la Nouvellt Cuinet, p. 76. calloUf K -i i|1 },AI n' i f ,,f!l 1'.' xif- i.m :!rfl I!' " «44 P A R R A K E E T. calloUy a kind of white liquor, which is obtain* cd in the Eaft Indies from the cacoa tr^e, \>y miking an incilioii near the foot ftiiks thit l'ir>- pLirt the fruit. A hollow bamboo is fixed to the extremity of the branch to c«)l.cdt the la;>, which when tird drawn is pleafaiit, and reltuH bles the tafte of new cvd-^r. It api^eared to us th.it we ought to rc^er to the f^imc fpecies the bird mentioned by Aidro- vandub, of which the crown of the head w;i3 a fine blue, the rump red, and the refl of t le plu inge green. But as that naturalid does i. t take notice of the half-collar, or oi the red on th(^ breaft, and alio fays that it came fom Malncca, it wa.<; perhaps of a ditFercnt, though clokly related, Ipccies. [A] Specific charafler of the Pjittacus Galgufuj: '* It is green j its rump and breaft fcarlet; the top (of the male) blue." •y*r ■^W^' YK'^yrf hi Vi-t I t\ ii: TIGd.IURSEDBEJaSED GUINEA PARAKEET.FlG.2THBPiUUPPlN£ PAKAm m pi •• thoul tnon f)! Their fmall theyftJ for a cj Ctn, t JTj pagatel t^ARRAKK^Ti *45 . PARAKE The RED-HEAD£D PARRAKEET, Or the GUINEA SPARROW* SECOND SPECIES, With a (hort Tail. Pjittacut Pullatiut, Linn. Gmel. a&d Bor* Pfittacula Guinttnjis» BriiT. P/itiaeui PufiUui vinditt Ray. The Rtd-htaiti Guiiua Parraittt, Lath* '"I^His bird is known to bird-fanciers under the ■*• name ol* Guinea Sparrow * : it is very com- mon in that country, and is brought into Eu- rope on account of the beauty of its plumage^ its tamenefs^ and gentlenefs ; for it cannot be taught to fpeak, and has only a difagreeable fcream. Many are loft in the pafl^ge, and fcarcely one out of ten reaches Europe + ; yet they live to a coniiderable age in our climates, when f(id on panic and canary feeds, and kept in pairs. They alfo lay fometimes |, but the eggs * <* The Parro^uets are called Cuinea Sparreiut" fays BoAnan* *< though it would not be eafy to aflign the reafon, fince the com- tnon fparrows are here (on the gold coaft) extremely abundant. Their red bill is a little curved, like that of the Parrots. Thefe fmall creatures are carried to Holland in rreat numbers : there they fell very dear, though in Guinea a dozen may be purchafed for a crown, of which nine or ten will die in the paiTage." Hift, Cifh ats Foy. t. IF. p, z^'j. f 1:^^. Gn. des Voy. t. IF. p. 64* X There is no doubt but with due care thefe birds might be pro- pagated in the domeftic Aate. Sometimes the force of nature- VOL. VI* L »lo"<^' ir'» K .' 4 virc 146 PARRAKEET. eggs feldom hatch. If one of the pair dicj the other grows melancholy, and hardly ever fur- vives. They are extremely attentive to each other ; the male fits heiide the female, and dif- gorges intu her bill, and he is unealy if (he be a moment out of his fight. Thus they fweeten their captivity, by love and gentle manners. Travellers relate that, in Guinea, thefe birds are fo numerous as much to injure the crops*. It would feenii that the fpecies is difperfed over al- moll: all the fouthern climates in the ancient con- tinent ; for it is found in Ethiopia • , in the Eall: Indies J, in the ifland of Java §, as well as in Guinea |{. Many perfons call this bird very improperly the Brajilian fparrow ; for it is not a native of America. — ^The body is entirely green, marked with a fpot of fine blue on the rump, and by a alone, in fpitc of the rigor of the climate and of the feafon, pre. vails in them. Her Highnefs of Bourbon and Vermandoisi Ab- befs of Beaumont-les-Tours, had two Parrakeets from Goree, that hatched two young ones in the month of January in a room with- out fire, but which the cold foon killed, ♦ Barbot. Hift. de Guinee, p. 220. t Clufius, Exot. AuSluar, p. 365. X Albin, Vol. III. p. 7. § Salerne, Ornithol. p. 72. II *' All along this coaft they are numerous, but efpecially near the lower part, as at Mouree, Cormantin, and Acra." f^oy. en Gui' nee, par Bofman, Utrecht, 1705, p. 277. " Infinite numbers of Parrots are found at Anamaboe: they are of the bulk offparrows; tbeir-body is of a beautiful green ; their head and tail of an admir- able red, and all their figure fo fine, that the author brought fome to Paris, as a prefent fit for the king." HiJ}, Gen. des f^oj, t. IF. . . flame PARRAKEET. 147 flame coloured malk, mixed with a blufli tint, which covers the forehead, enclofes the eye, and defcends under the throat, and, in the mid- dle of it, the bill appears of a reddifh white ; the tail is very fhort, and appears all green when clofed, but if dilplayed it is perceived to be in- terfe6ted tranfverfely with three bars, the one red, the other black,oand the third green, which borders and terminates the extremity ; the pi- nions of the wings are blue in the male, and yellow in the female, which differs not from the former, except that its head is of a fainter red. Clulius has very diftin6lly defcribed this fpe- cies under the name of PJittacus Minimus, Ed- wards, Briflbn, and Linnaeus, have confounded it with the little American Parrot painted with various colours of Seba. But it is undoubtedly a different bird, for Seba fays that his Parrot has not only a collar of fine iky- blue, and a tail mag- nificently tinged with a mixture of five colours, viz. blue, yellow, red, brown, and deep green ; but that its voice and fong are pleafant, and that it eafily learns to fpeak. It is evident that all, thefe attributes belong not to the Red-headed Parrakeet. Perhaps the bird, which Seba faw alive, forms a fixth fpecies in the fliort-tailed Parrakeets of the new continent. A variety, or perhaps a contiguous fpecies, may be found in the bird defcribed by Edwards under the denomination of ihQfmalleJi green and L 3 red • !" '1:: 11 ■% 'ill, ■lill i I % 'i I ■.J:H ,i| :?.isa 'm ■ Mi I '(- 51 •■•■. /The C O U L A C I S S I. '■' ' --^ THIRD SPECIES ■ "- . Of fhort- tailed Parrakeet. PJittacusGalgulus, Var. Gmel. • PJittacula Philippenjii, Briff. • [ ' The Philippine Parrakeet, Lath. THIS is the name which the bird receives in its native region, the Philippine iflands, and particularly in that of Lu^on. The fore- head, the throat, and the rump, are red ; there is a half-collar of orange on the upper fide of the neck ; the reft of the body, and the fuperior coverts of the wings, are green ; the great quills of the wings are deep green on the outfide, and blackifh on the infide ; the middle quills of the wings and thofe of the tail are green above and blue below ; the bill, the feet, and the nails, are red. The female is difcriminated from the male by a bluiih fpot on each fide of the head becween the bill and the eye, and has no half-collar on the neck, or red on the throat, and the red [A] Specific charafter of the PJittacus Pullarius : ** It is green ; Us front re^ ' its tail fulyp^s j its bar blacl^ ', i^ts orbU^ cinor«ous.'* tinge PARRAKEETi 149 tinore of its forehead is alfo more dilute and narrower. Briflbn and Linnasus* confound it with Ed- wards's Sapphire-crowned Parrakeet, which i^ our Blue-headed Parrakeet, and the firft fpecies with a ihort tail. THE GOLDEN-WINGED PARRAKEET. FOURTH SPECIES, ^ With a ihort Tail. Pfittaeui Chryfopterus, Linn, and Gmel. Fjittacus Alts Deauratit, Briff. E dWards gives an account of this bird. It was probaK;, orought, he fays, from the Eaft In- dies, but he is not quite certain. The head, the fmall fuperior coverts of the wings, and the whole body, are green, only it is deeper on the body than beneath ; the great fuperior coverts of the wings are orange ; the four primary quills of the wings are deep blue on the outfide, brown on the infide and at the extremity ; the four next are of the fame colour with the fafl: j and laftly, thofe near the body are entirely green, as well as the quills of the tail ; the bill is whitilh; the feet and nails are pale flefh colour [Aj. • Syft. Nat. Edit. XIII. [A] Specific chara^erof the PJittacusChyjipta/its: '* It Is gioon; its wings marked with a blue and fulvou<; ipjot: itRissoN is the firft who defcribed this bird, *^ which he fays is found in Madagafcar. The head, the throat, and the lower part of the neck, are gray, inclined fomewhat to green; the body is of a lighter green below than abovr • the fupcrior coverts of the wings, and the mid- dle quills, are green ; the great quills are brown on the infide, and green on the outfide, and at the extremity ; the quills of the tail are light green, with a broad tfanfverfe black bar at their extremity ; the bill, the feet, and the nails, are whitilh. i1 [A] Specific charafter of the PJittaeus Ce^us : ** It is green ; its head and its throat gray-green ; its tail rounded, with a broad black bar/' P A R R A K E E T. 151 The VARIEGATED WINGED PARRAKEET. SIXTH SPECIES, With a Ihort Tail. PJittacus Melanopterus, Gtnel. TYit Black-'wittged Parrakeett h^ih. ^T^His Parrakeet is fomewhat larger than tlie •*' preceding ones ; it is found in Batavia,' and in the iHand of Lucjon. We Ihall borrow the dcfcFiption of it from Sonnerat *. " The head, neck, and belly, are light green and yel- lowilh ; there is a yellow bar on the wings, but each feather that forms it is edged exteriorly with blue ; the fmall feathers of the wings are greenifh ; the great ones are of a. fine velvet black (fo that the wings are variegated with yellow, blue, green, and black) ; the tail is of a light lilac colour; and near its extremity there is a very narrow black bar ; the feet are grav \ the bill and iris are reddifli vellowj* • Voyage a la Nouvellc Guinec, f. 78. i|;„i U: M w. '■■^•'■..4 it! • ■■\'.Ji:u'^'fl k L 4 4 ut FARRAKEET, BLUE-WINGED PARRAKEET, 8eve;nth s?ecies, Wi^h a /hort Tail, PJittacus CapenJiSi Gmel. /"TpHis is a new fpecies, which we received ■*• from the Cape of Good Hope, hut with-»- out any accounts of its habits or of its climate. It is entirely green, except fome quilis of the wings, which are of a fine blue; the bill an4 r:et are reddifli. — This fhort defcription is fuf» f'cient to difcriminate it fro^i the other fhort' tailed Parrakeets, The COLLARED PARRAKEET* EIGHTH SPECIES, With a (hort TaU. Tjittacui Tor^uotus, Gmel, TT7E (hall alfo brrrow the account of this bird ^^ from Sonnerst. *' It is fcjnd in the Phi- lippines, and efpeci illy in the ifland of Lu^on ; it is of the bulk of the Brafilian (Guinea) Spar- row ; all the body is of a lively pleafant green, which is deeper on the back, and more dilute 3, . xindef PARRAKEET. t53 under the belly, and (haded with yellow ; be- hind the neck and below the head, there ia a broad collar, which confifts, in the male, of iky-blue feathers ; but in both fexes the feathers of the collar are variegated traafverfely with black ; the tail is (hort, equal to the wings, and terminated in a point ; the bill, feet, and iris, are blackilh gray. This fpecies has no merit, but in its ihape and colours ; for it is devoid of ^racesy 9nd cannot be taught to fpeak [A]« THB BLACK-WINGED PARRAKEET, NINTH SPECIES, With a ihort T*U. PJittaeus Miner, Gmel. The Itiaunitm Parrakettt Lath. 'T^His fpecies comes likewife from the ifle of ■* Lu^on, and Sonnerat thus dcfcribes it, ♦♦ It is rather fmaller than the preceding; the upper fide of the neck, the back, the fmall fea- thers of the wings and of the tail, are of a deep green; the belly is light green and yellow i(h; the crown of the head is a very bright red in the male, and the feathers, which border the [A] Specif; character of the PJittacus torquatus: ** It it gre^n; p yellow W on its t^ead, ftriped acrofs with black," upper > V'd- 'IH '.'«'■ '/'£ , V; ^•' i 1 IV it '^■Iri I? I «ll. 5 11 :; Mm lit' iii - H ' '■4iM I \ 54 PARRAKEET. upper margin of the bill in the female are o^ the fame bright red, and there is alfo a yellow fpot above on the middle of the neck; in the male the throat is blue, in the female it is red ; in both^ the great feaihers of the wings are black, thofe that cover the upper lurface of the cail are red ; the bill, feet, and iris, are yel- low. I conceive, fays Sonncrat, thefe two Par- rakects to be the male and female, becaufe they differ little, and are analogous in their fize, fhape, and colour, and inhabit the fame cli- mate ; but I will not affert that they may not be diftindt fpecies. Both fleep hanging fum branches with their heads downwards, and are fond of the fap that flows from incilions in the cocoa tree [A]. v The A R I M A N O N. TENTH SPECIES, With a &ort Tail. Pjitlacui Taitianus, Gmel. The Otaheitan Blue Parrakeet, Lath. m ". ^"^His bird is found in the ifland of Otahelte, ^ and lodges in the cocoa trees, whence its name Arimanon, We borrow the defcription [A] Specific charadler of the Pjittacus Minor : " It is green; its top fcarlei ; its bread blue; its greater wiiig quills black." from m PARRAKEET. ^SS from Commcrfon. We range it after the (hort- tailed Parrakeets, though it has a peculiar cha- racter that belongs not to any of the genus; viz. its tongue is pointed, and terminates in a pen- ■ cil of (hort white brill'.cs. The plumage is entirely of a fine blue, ex- cept the throat and the lower part of the neck, which are white ; the bill and feet are red. It is very common in Otaheite, where it flutters about continually fqualling. It forms flocks, and feeds on bananas, but it is difficult to do- mefticate; it dies of melancholy, efpecially if kept alone in the cage. It cannot be brought to eat any thing but the juice of fruits, and conftantly rejects every kind of folid diet. . [A] Specific character of the Tfittacm Tcutianus: *' It is blue; the feathers on ils head longifli ; its throat white ; its bill and feet red." '..'.*,' ■^■, a TM^ 156 A ft A. ^i' 1" PARROTS OF THE NEW CONTINENT. ! ■■ I The A R A S. OF all the Parrots, the Ara is the largcft, and the moft magnificently decked ; purple, gold, and azure, blaze on its plumage ; its afpe^ is fteady and compofedj its deportment grave, and even fupercilious, and as if confcious of its beauty. But its calm temper foon renders it familiar, and even fufceptible of a degree of at-- tachm:rnt» h rnay be domefticated without be- ing endaved ; it never abufes the liberty which has been granted to it ; it contrails a fondnefs for the family where it is adopted, and con- ftantly returns from its rambling. All thefe Aras are natives of the tropical parts of the new world, and inhabit both the conti- nent and the iflands ; but none are found in T^frica, or in India. Chriftopher Columbus, in his fecond voyage, touched at Guadeloupe, and there faw Aras, which he named Giiacamayas *♦ Tbey occur even in the defert iflands, and every-p • HerrcMj Lib. lU caf. |q. vherQ A R A. >5r where conftitute the fineft ornament of thofo gloomy forefts with which the wild luxuriantly ■ of nature clothes the face of the earth *. When thefe Parrots were introduced into Europe, they were beheld with admiration, Aldrovandus, who, for the firft time, faw an Ara at Mantua in 1572, remarks that they were then quite novelties, and highly eileemed ; and that princes received thele birds fron ^ne another a3 rare and valuable prelents. Even Belon, that curious obferver, had never fee ^ maccaw, for he fays that the gray Parrots a.o thr largefl of all. We know four fpecies of Aras, viz. the red, the blue, the green, and the black. Our no- menclators enumerate fix +, but which ought to be reduced to one half, as we fhall afterwards find. The chara(£ters which diftinguifh the Aras from the other Parrots of the new world are, 1. their fize, which is at leaft double that of the others ; 2. the length of the tail, which is • ** While Commodore Aufon and his officers were contemplat- ing the natural beauties of this folitude, a flock of Aras flew over their heads ; and as if thefe birds wiilied to improve the entertain- ment, and heighten the magnificence of the fpcfbacle, they flopped to make rumberlefs circles in the air, which allowed time to ob- fcrve the iullre and brilliancy of their plumage. Thofe who wit- nefled this fcene cannot defcribe it without raptures." AnfotCs K^ agt round tht World, — '♦ It is the fineft fight in the world, to be- hold ten or twel"^ -,ras on a very green tree; never are* more charming coloars .Ulplayed.*' Dutertre. //j^« d«t JntilUt, t, //. /. 247* f Briflbn. alfo A < ''■'if,' i: iiifl 1''" ■ :\_f'i IS. ■'^'';:i f m i- "' .'■ ■ •'V In'-' ''"3 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 8 12.5 I us 1 20 IL25 i 1.4 |J4 FholDgraphic Sciences CorporatiGn as WKT MAM STRMT wnSTM,N.V. usto ( 71* ) •72-4303 i\ w is« A R A. u I V: i.! ^■1 alfb much longer even in proportion to the bo- dy ; 3. the naked and dirty white Ikin, which covers both (ides of the head, furrounds it be- low, and covers alfo the bafe of the lower man- dible. This naked ikin, in which the eyes are placed, gives them a difagreeable afpe«5t. Their voice is harfti ; they feem to articulate only the found ara, and with a raucous, thick tone, which is grating to the ear. " ■ "i t.''-.< ,.• ( • ■> The RED A R A. FIRST SPECIES. .^ . Pftttaeus-Macao, Linn. Gmel. Scop, and Bor. .-^^ Ara Brajilienjisy Briff. and Gerini. Pfittacus tnaximus altera Ray, Will, and Klein. The Red and Blue MaccaiVf Edw, Alb. Banc, and Lath. PJiitacui-Aracanga, Gmel. Jtraracangua, Ray and Will. ^ _^ Ara Jamaicinfist Briff. ' ' ' ^ - -. PJhtatus capitt caruko, Klein. ,' > . The Rti and YtlU'w Macc&Mfrom Jemaica^ Alb. Baacr. and Lath. A LL the nomenclators have followed Gefner •^^ and Aldrovandus in ranging the Red Aras in two fpecies. But, on the other hand. Marc- grave, and all the travellers, who have had an opportunity of viewing and comparing the birds, confider them as belonging to the fame family. They inhabit only the warm climates of Ame- rica, the Antilles, Mexico, the iflhmus of Pa- 5 nama, A R A. '59 nama, Peru, Guiana, Brazil, &c. and are found in no part of the old continent. It is ftrange, therefore, that fome authors * have copied Al- bin in calling them Macao Parrots, and have imagined that they came from Japan. Some may have been carried thither from America, but they are undoubtedly not natives of Japan, and it is probable that thefe authors have confounded the great Red Lory of the Eaft Indies with the Red Ara of the Weft Indies. ■ The great Red Ara is near thirty inches in length, but of this the tail occupies almoft the one half; all the body, except the wings, is vermilion, the four longeft feathers of the tail are the fame ; the great quills of the wing are Turkey-blue above, and copper-coloured on a black ground beneath ; in the middle quills the blue and green are admirably melt-^d into each other; the great coverts are gold-yellow, and terminated with green; the (boulders are of the fame red with the back ; the fuperior and infe- rior coverts of the tail are blue ; four of the la- teral quills, on each fide, are blue above, and the whole under furface copper-colour, which is lighter and has more of the metallic glofs un- der the four great middle quills : a tuft of fnuff- coloured velvet feathers projeiSls, like a cufhion, on the forehead ; the throat is brown- red; a white and naked membranous fkin encircles the eye. it y-^' A t T'"«'J& M Vi ,■ • A]bin and WUlugliby, covers ' *»i IT i.: '•' I'i 'I m I 'I m ^^w. Im I$0 A ft A. covers the cheeky and fheathes the lower tazti* dible, which is bbckilh, and fo are the legs* This defcription was made from a living bird| and one of the largeft and mod bekutiful.— » Travellers remark differences both in regard to colour and fize, according to the different coun-^ tries, or even iflands, from which they ar^ brought *. We have fccii fome in which the tail was entirely blue, others in which it was red, and terminated with blue. Their bulk is as various $ but the little Red Aras are more rare than the large ones. , _ In general, the Aras were formerly very common in St. Domingo. I fee from a letter of the Chevalier Defhayes that, fince the French have extended their fettlements to the fummits of the mountains, thefe birds are become lefs frequent f. Both the Red and Blue Aras in* habit the fame climates, and their habits and economy are exad^ly the fame ; and what we * " Thefe birds are fo diffimilar according to the grounds where they procure their food, that every ifland has its Parrots, its AraSi and its Parroquets, different in fize of body> in tone of voice» and in the tints of the plumage." Dutertre, Hi^. Jes Jatillet, Paris* 1667, t. II. p. 247.—** The ^'"s are birds of extreme beauty i they have a long uil, which u ipof':d of charming feathers of different colours, according to k..e iflands which have given them birth." //(/?. Naf. li MeraU dei JntilUs, Rotttrdam, 1658* t *' In all thefe iflands (the Antilles) die Aras Have become ▼ery rare, becaufe the inhabiunts kill them for eating. They re- tire to the lead frequented places, and are no more obferved to approach the plantations." Qlf/irvatitai 9/M* it la B§rd«t King^t ^igifieian «/ Cajinii*» (hall A R A. i6i (hall now relate, in regard to the one, will equally apply to the other. .^ Aras live in the woods that cover the fwampy grounds, where the palm trees abound, and they feed chiefly on the dates of the palmettoes, of which there are immenfe forefts in the over- flowed favannahs. They generally appear in pairs, feldom in flocks; fometimes, however, they aflemble together, and their united fcreams are heard at a great diftance. When any thing fcares or furprifes them *, they vent the fame fcreams, and while on the wing they cry in- ceflantly. Of all the Parrots, they fly the bed ; they traverfe the cleared lands, but never alight ; they perch on the fummit of trees, or on the higheft branch. During the day, they roam to a uiftance not exceeding a league in fearch of ripe fruits, but always return in the evening to the fame fpot. Dutertre + fays that they are fometimes compelled by hunger to eat the ap- ples of the manchineel, which is poifonous to roan, and probably to moft animals ; he adds that the fle(h of fuch birds is unwholefome, and even envenomed. Yet the Aras are commonly eaten in Guiana, Brazil, &c. without any bad • ** The Indians were in profound fecurity (at Yubarco, In Da- rien), when the cries of a fort of red Parrots of extraordinary fize, which they call guacamqyas, gave them notice of the approach of their enemies," Exftdttioa ej OJeda, &c, Hi^. Gen. dtt Foy. t. XII, p, i$6. t Hift. des Antilles, f, II. p. 248. „ VOL. VI. M confequences ; U'^^ 'M If I m .iswa 1 62 A R A. I!'- i^rr confequences ; whether it be that the manchi- neel does not grow in thofe countries, or that the Aras, finding abundance of their proper food, fhun the food of that poifonous tree. It appears that the Parrots of the new world had nearly the fame difpofitions with all thofe animals which inhabit defert tradts ; they were familiar, unfufpeding, and fearlefs of the ap- proach of men, who in thofe regions were feebly armed and few in number, and never could dif- pby their dominion *. Peter of Angieria -f af- fures us, that, on the difcovery of America, the Parrots were caught with the noofe, and almoft by the hand of the Iportfman ; that they were feldom feared by the noife of fire arms, and did not take to flight when they faw their compa- nions drop dead j that they preferred the trees planted near houfes to the folitude of forefts ; and though the Indians caught them three or four times a year, to flrip them of their rich plumage, this violence did not drive them from their favourite haunts J. Hence Aldrovahdus, who drew his information from the early ac- counts of America, fays that thefe birds are na- turally attached to man, or, at lead, ihew no • ** The fmall birds which inhabited the woods of New Zea- land were fo little acquainted with men, that they calmly roofted on the branches of trees next us, even on the end of our mufkets. We were new objefis to them, which they regarded with a cu- riofity equal to our own.'* Forjer's Rtlation of Captain Cook's fecond Voyage. t ■ - \ Lib, X, Jec. ^t ' ^Lery, /, 174. lymptoms \l A R A. 163 fymptoms of fear in his prefence ; that they follow the Indians into their huts, and feem to contract an afFe6lion to the fpots inhabited by thefe peaceful men. A part of this confidence and fecurity adheres to the Parrots which have retired to th^ forefts. M. de la Borde informs us that this is the cafe with thofe fettled in Gui- ana ; they allow one to approach very near them without betraying fufpicion or fear. And Pifo fays of the Brazilian birds, what may be applied to all thofe of the new world, that they are in- Cautious, and eafily decoyed into every kind of fnare. The Aras make their nefts in the holes of old rotten trees, which are very common in their native regions^ and more numerous even than the rifing vigorous plants: they enlarge the aperture, when it is too narrow, and line the infide with feathers. They have two hatches jannually, like all the other American Parrots, and each coniifts of two eggs, which, accord- ing to Dutertre, are as large as pigeons* eggs, and fpotted like thofe of partridges *. He adds that the young ones have two fmall worms in their noftrils, and a third on a fmall ball which tj • ** It often happens that an Ara will lay an egg or two in our temperate climates; Aldrovandus cites fome inftances. M. le Mar- quis d Abzac has informed us that a large Red Ara of his laid three eggs i they had no germ : however, as the bird was ardent and clamorous to cover, a hen's egg was given to her, which fhe hatched." Letter e/M. It Marquis d* Abzac, dated from the Cajile of NtjaCf near Perigueuxi 21 Sept ember t 1776. M 2 gathers 164 A R A. I "1 gathers above the head ; and that thefe little worms die when the birds begin to be fledgred*. Such worms in the noftrils are not peculiar to the Aras; the other Parrots, the caffiques, and many other birds, are fubjedl to them when in the neft : many quadrupeds alfo, the monkeys in particulnr, have worms in the nofe, and in other parts of the body. Thefe infeds are well known in America, and in the French fettle- ments are called macaques worms. They creep into the flefh, and occafion dangerous abfceflcs both in men and the other animals; horfes lometimes die of fuch diforders, owing to their negligent treatment in thofe countries, where thev are never ftabled nor drefled. The male and female Aras fit alternately oa their eggs, or cherifli their young, and both equally carry food ; they never defert the charge as long as their afliftance is needed, and always perch together near the neft. The young Aras are eafily tamed, and, in ma- ny parts of America, thefe birds are never taken but in the nefts, becaufc the adults are too dif- ficult to educate. Yet Dutertre relates, that the Carribs had a fingular way of catching them alive; they obferved when the Aras were on the ground, eating fallen fruit ; they endea- voured to furround them, and on a fudden hal- looed, clapt their hands, and made fo great a th * Hift. dcs Antilles, /. //. /. 249. noife. A R A. i6s noife, that the birds, in the moment of furprife, loft the ufe of their wings, and turned on their back to defend themfelves with their bill and nails; the favages then held out a ftick, on which they clenched, and were immediately tied by a imall firing. He alio pretends that they could be tamed, though old, and caught in this violent way. But this account appears rather fufpicious ; particularly, as all the Aras in fadt fly from man, a loud noile muft have a greater cffcOi in driving them away. Wafer fays that the Indians who inhabit the ifthmus tame the Aras as vvc do magpies, and allow them to make excurfions into the woods during the day, but that they conftantly return home in the evening ; that they imitate their mafter's voice, and the fong of a bird called chicali^, Fernandez relates that they can be taught to fpeak, but that their articulation is coarfe and dif- agreeable ; that when they are kept in the houfe, they rear their young like other domcftic birds. It is certain, that they never prattle To well as the other Parrots ; and after they are tamed, they never try to efcape. The Indians work the plumage into feflival caps, and other ornaments ; they alfo ftick fome of the rich feathers into the cheek, and through the noftrils, or the ear?. The flefti of the Aras, though commonly hard and black, is not un- >}ml • Wafer, in Dampier's Voyage, M 3 pleafant i66 A K At r' hi! ij I r pleafant food, and makes excellent foup ; and, in general, the Parrots are ufually eaten as the moil plentiful game in the fettlement at Cay- enne. The Ara is, more than any bird perhaps, fub- je£l: to the cramp, which is more violent, and more quickly mortal, in the hot countries, than in the temperate climates. I kept one of the largefl: and handfomeft of the kind, which was given to me by the March ionefs of Pompadour in 1 75 1. It was feized with an epileply two or three times every month, and yet it lived fe- veral years at my feat in Burgundy, and might have lived much longer, if it had not been kill- ed. But in South America, thefe birds com- monly die of the falling ficknefs, and this is alfb the fate of all the other Parrots, which are equally fubjed to that diforder, in the domeftic ftate. Perhaps the caufe which we affigned in treating of the canary finches, obtains here, viz. the feparation from the female, and the fuper- abuiidance of nutrition. The Indians, who rear the Aras in their huts with the view to fell their feathers, have a remedy for the epilepfy ; they cut the point of the toe, and the difcharge of a lingle drop of blood works an immediate cure. The fame operation fucceeds equally in procur- ing relief to the other diforders incident to the domeftic ftate. I have formerly remarked that the canaries die when the blood does not form ^ drop at the bill. Nature feems to point out the A R A. 167 the fame remedy which the Indians have difco- vered. This epilepiy, or cramp, as it is called in the colonies, invariably happens to domefticated Parrots when th'-v perch on a bit of iron, fuch as a nail, a curtam rod, &c. ; fo that great care is taken that they alight only on wood. This fa<5l Teems to (hew that the fit, which is a vio- lent convulfion of the nerves, is analogous to clciftricity, whofe a6tion, it is well known, is more violent when tranlmitted through iron than through wood *, . .., . .., * This analogy feems to be rather fanciful. The effedl mud be referred to the irritability of the mufcuLr fibres, excited by the iharpnefs or afperity of the toaching fubllance, and by the fudden cold (hot through tlie bird's toes by the contadb of metals* which is a rapid conductor of heat. T. [A] Specific character of the Pfittacui-Macao : " It is red; its wing-quills blue above, rufous below; its fcapular feathers varie- gated with blue and green; its cheeks naked and wrinkled.'*— That of FJittacm Aracangua : " It is dilute fcarlet ; its fcapular feathers yellow, terminated with green ; its wing-quills blue above, rufous below; its cheeks naked and wrinkled." J.J , •■«»'• ' , • v ? ',,;• ; . - 'Vh^ '. ' • ;; :-.' < r. ' . : 'v 1. ^ ■ ■ ,-. :"A ,-. .'••,;•■'■ * •• .<■',. 'It ,•; i.) h i '. •i<>'^ t .... ■.. r rf .. * 1 ' .' . • . , ?^ . 1 1 f . . ! .; . i ... I. .^ii » ■ ^Ji •' 4^1 1, * * - * * -. ii .. ' •.. J .' , "-. r:.. .,.. .'K M 4 i6S A R A. ^yjut {'■i I '(, ii The BLUE A R A. liSiT.M SECOND SPECIES. 'I ,VY'n .1." rjittatus-Araraunat Linn. Gmel. Scop, and Bor. Vfittacus maximta eyauo croceus, Ray, SIoane« and Will; ' I* Arajamaietnjis tyant'crottat firilTt ,, . . - ,, *• Ara Brajiiienji) ey'tno'Croctat Id. . .. ,."^ ,Vi .» PJittacui vertici virUi, cauia cyanta, Klein. 01 ;,;;. i^^ ^/^^ ^^^ y^n^,^ Maccaw, Edw. Alb. and Lath. ii J »<: ■*':{ ■■>l J ■^roMENCLATORs tavc divided this into two ^^ fpecies; the firft is the blue and yellow Ara of Jamaica^ and the fecond is the blue and yellow Ara of Bra/il. But thefe birds are not only of the fame fpecies, but inhabit the fame parts of South America. It is eafy to defcribe the Blue Ara : the up- per fide of the body, the wings, and the tail, are entirely azure, and the under fide of the body is fine yellow * j this yellow is rich and •■ ■ ' ■ • ■ ;wi^^-:i.-« V ■ '>^'>-^^"^ "-^^Jf • Vivid, * " The other called CamdS, having all the plumage under its belly and round its neck as yellow as fine gold ; the upper fide of the back, the wings, and the tail, are of thepureft blue: you would fay that it is attired below with a cloth of gold, and mantled above with violet figured damafk.*' Lcry, Voyage auBrtfiU ^^i^*P' 171. Thcvet characterizes equally well the two fpecies of Aras: ** Na- ture has delighted to pourtray this beautiful bird, called by the fa« vages carindtt clothing it with a plumage fo beautiful and charm- ing, that it is impofiible not to admire the workmanihip. This bird exceeds not in bulk the raven, and its plumage, from the belly to the throat, is yellow like fine gold ; the wings and the tail, which is very long, are of a fine azure-colour. There is another bird ■/- low bird, yellow birdy how charming * / The Blue Aras never mingle with the Red Aras, though they frequent the fame fpots, and live in harmony. Their voice is fomewhat dif- ferent, for the favages can diflinguifti them by the cry alone. It is faid that the blue ones do not pronounce the word ara fo diftindly [A]. ifii:'. The GREEN ARA. THIRD SPECIES. , « . Tjittaeut SeveruSf Linn. Gmel. Scop, and Bor. Ik Jtru BrafiUenfis Viridis, BrilT. a. Ara BrafiUenfis Erjthrochlorat Id. Maracana, Ray and Will. ;. The Brajilian Green Maccaw, Edw. Sloane, and Lath. 'T^HE Green Ara is much rarer than the two •* preceding; it is alfo much fmaller. It confifts of only one fpecies, though nomencla- bird refembling this in fize, but dIfFerent in its colours ; for its plumage> inilead of being yellow, is of a red like fine fcarlet, and the reft azure." Siffgularites de la France Jntar^i^ue, par Thevet, Paris, 1558, /. 32. • Canide jouve, €anidi jouve, heura oncebe, Lery. p. 173, [A] Specific charader of the Pjitt . i m I *yf I :' I i !.■? .. il*^ 1.1. ;,' K •■■ li 'I Pi r 172 A R A. feathers : and this habitual cry feems to exprefs either pleafure, or languor. Sometimes it ha$ a (hort ihrill cry, which is lefs equivocal than the former, and denotes joy and fiitisfadion ; for it is generally addrefled to perlbns whom it loves ; but this cry alfo marks its impatience, fits, and its pettifh gufts of ill-humour. But it is ini- poilible to be precife on this fubje61: ; for birds organized like the Parrots perpetually vary or modify their voice, as they are prompted by imi- tation. The Green Ara is jealous : it is fired at feeing a young child (haring in its miftrefs's carefles and favours ; it tries to dart at the infant, but, as its flight is fhort and laborious, it only (hews its difpleafure by geftures and reftlefs move- ments, and continues tormented by thefe fits till its miftrefs is pleafed to leave the child, and take the bird on her finger. It is then over- joyed, murmurs fatisfa6lion, and fometimes makes a noife exa£ily like the laugh of an old perfon. Nor can it bear the company of other Parrots, and if one be lodged in the fame room, it will ftrive to deprive it of every comfort. It would appear, therefore, that the bird can fulFer no rivals whatever in its miftrefs*s favour, and that its jealoufy is founded on attachment ; ac- cordingly it takes no notice when it fees a dif- ferent perfon fondle a child. . It eats nearly the fame things that we do. It is particularly fond of bread, beef, fried fifh, . paftry, V. "1. L 'I- A R A. »73 paftry, and fugar ; but it feems to prefer roafted apples, which it fw allows greedily. It cracks nuts with its bill, and picks them dexteroufly with its claws. It does not chew the foft fruits, but fucks them, by preffing its tongue againft the upper mandible ; and, with refpe(fl to the harder fort of foods, fuch as bread, paftry, &c. it bruifes or chews them, by prefling the tip of the lower mandible upon the moft holbw part of the upper. But, whatever be the nature of ifs food, its excrements are always green, and mij^ed with a fort of white chalky fubftance, as in mod other birds, except when it is lick, and then they afllime an orange or deep yellow caft. Like all the other Parrots, the Blue Ara ufes its claws with great dexterity; it bends forward the hind toe to lay hold of the fruits and other crumbs which are given to it, and to carry them to its bill. The Parrots^ therefore, em- ploy their toes nearly as the fquirrels or mon- keys ; they alfo cling and hang by them. The Green Ara almoft always fleeps in this way, hooked to the wires of its cage. There is alfo another habit common to the Parrots, viz. they never climb or creep without faflening by the bill, with which they begin, and ufe the feet only as a fecond point of their motion. The noftrils are not vifible in this Ara, as in moft of the other Parrots ; inftead of beins: placed in the uncovered part of the horn of the bill, {jf'f m ■ I,'- ,*< m T ,i . ''"ii(l ! 174 A ^ A. im ■•* ^1| f. 'lil J. .; 81! ^11 bill, they are concealed in the firfl: fnnall fea-^ thers that cover the bafe of the upper mandible^ which rifes and fon-ns a cavity at its root v^heii the bird makes an effort to imitate difficult founds : in Aich cales the tongue folds back at the tip, and recover? its fhape when it eats ; a power not commonly pollcfled by birds which can only move it backwards or forwards in the dire(flion of the bill. This little Green Ara is as hardy as moft of the other Parrots, or even more fo. It learns more eafily to prattle, and pronounces much more diftindly, than the Red or Blue Aras. It liftens to the other Parrots, and improves hefide them. Its cry is like that of the other Ara», only its voice is not near fo flrong, and does not articulate fo difliiidly the found ara. ^ It is faid that bitter almonds will kill Parrots, but I am not certain of the fadl ; I know, how- ever, that parfley, of which they are very fond, if taken even in fmall quantity, is very perni- cious ; as foon as they eat it, a thick vifcous li- quor runs from the bill, and they die in an hour* or two. ' It appears that there is the fame variety in the Green Aras as in the Red ; at leaft Edwards has defcribed a great Green Maccaw^ which is thirteen inches long, and fifteen to the middle feather of the tail : the face was red ; the quills of the wing blue, and alfo the lower part of the back and the rump. Edwards calls the colour 8 ~ of i.' r ' A R A. 175 of the under furface of the wings and of the tail, dull orange^ and it is probably the fame with that dull bronze red which we perceived below the wings of our Green Ara; the feathers of the tail, in that of EdwardiJ, were red above, and torminatcd by blue [A]. • > The BLAC K ARA. FOlTRTH SPECIES. Pjittacus Atety Gmel. The Black Maccaw, Lath, THE plumage is black, with reflediions of (hining green, and thefe mingled colours are much like thofe of the ani. We can only indicate this fpecies, which is known to the fa- vages of Guiana, but which we have not been able to procure. It differs from the other Aras in fome of its habits ; it never approaches the fettlements, but remains on the arid and barren fummits of rocks and mountains. Laet feems to mention this bird by the name of Ararauna^ or Machaoj whofe plumage, he fays, is black, but fo well mixed with green that, in the fun beams, it (hines admirably; the legs are yel- [A] Specific charafter of the Pjittacus Severus : *' It is green; its cheeks naked; the quills of its wings and tail blue, below pur- plilh." low,' ;'« I'll yA \ M[- • ,. Sep ■ !'# m ■!!t ii ii'i 176 A R A. 1^ '■ m ^ It It I low, he fubjoins ; the bill and the eyes reddiffi, and it refides in the interior parts of the coun- . try. Briflbn has formed another Ara from a Par- j-akeet, and called it the variegated Ara of the Moluccas, But, as we have frequently obferv- ed; there are no Aras in India, and we have fpoken of this bird in treating of the Parrakcets of the old continent. [A] Specific character of the P/ittacus Attr : «« It is black, with a grecnifli fplendour; its bill and eyes are reddilh: its legs yeU low." '!<• \ . ■* ■ » !■■.-£ '^1*' »: f- '•-.■ I,! IS I ! .li: AMAZON AND CRICK. 177 THE AMAZONS and CRICKS. mu WE (hall apply the name of Amazon Par-' rots to all thofe which are marked with red on the fan of the wing ; they have re- ceived that appellation in America, becaufe they are brought from the country of the Amazons, We (hall appropriate the term Crick to thofe which have no red on the fan, but only on the wing : this too is the name given by the fa- vages of Guiana to thefe Parrots. They arc diftingui(hed from Amazons by other properties alfo : I . the plumage of the Amazons is Ihin- ing, and even dazzling, whereas the green co- lour of the Cricks is dull and yellowifh; 2. in the Amazons the bead is covered with a fine and very bright yellow, but, in the Cricks, this yellow is dull and intermixed with other colours ; j. the Cricks are rather fmaller than the Amazons, which are much fmaller than the Aras ; 4, the Amazons are exceedingly beauti- ful and rare, but the Cricks are the moft com- mon of the Parrots, and the moft inferior iii point of beauty; they are extenfively fpread, while the Amazons are hardly ever found, ex- cept at Para, and in fome other countries bor- dering on the river of Amazons. VOL. VI. N But .> !> ■ \i if VI } t •M hi 1, i 'I f . 'i ' II f El •■ 178 AMAZON AND CRICK. But the Cricks, having red on their wings, ought to be joined with the Amazons, of which this red forms the principal character : their na- tural habits are likewire the Tame ; they fly in numerous flocks, perch in multitudes on the lame fpots, and all Icream together (b loud that they may be heard at a great diftance. They frequent alio the woods, both thofe on the mountains and thofe which grow in the low grounds, and even the fwamps that abound with palms, elalVic-gum trees, and bananas, &c. and are fond of the fruit of thefe trees. They cat, therefore, a greater variety of fruits than the Aras, which commonly fubfift on the pal* mettoes alone ; but thefe dates are lb hard that they can hardly be cut; they are round, and as large as pippins. Some authors* have faid that the flefli of all the American Parrots contrails the odour and colour of the fubftanc^s on which they feed ; that it fmells of garlic, when they eat the fruit of the acajou ; that it has the fcent of mulk and of cloves, when they eat the fruit of the Indian wood ; and that it receives a black tinge, when they live upon the fruit of the gentpa, whofe juice, though at firft as limpid as water, be- comes as black as ink in the fpace of a few hours. They fubjoin that the Parrots become very fat during the maturity of the mangroves, • Dutertre, Hi^. de$ Antilles ^ t. II. p. 251.— Labat, IJouv, Voy. auicIUs de l^Amtritiuef t. II. p. 159. which Ca 1^ AMAZON AND CRICK. m which yield excellent food ; and laftly that the feeds of the cotton (hrub intoxicate them to fuch a degree, that they may be caught with the hand. The Amazons, the Cricks, and all the other Parrots of America, conftrud their nefts in holes formed in decayed trees by the woodpeckers, and only lay two eggs twice a year, which the cock and hen hatch by turns : it is faid that they never forfake their neft, and perfift in hatching, though their eggs be handled and de- ranged. In the love feafon, they afl'emble and breed in the fame haunt, and fearch their food in company; when their appetite is fatisfied they make a continual and noify babbling, (hift- ing their place inceflantly, and fluttering from tree to tree, till the darknefs of night and the fatigue of adtion invite to repofe. In the morn- ing they are obferved on the naked branches, at fun- rife, and they remain quiet till the dew is dried from their plumage, and their warmth recovered; then they rife in a flock, with a noife like that of gray crows, but louder* They breed in the rainy feafon *. The favages commonly take the Parrots in the neft, becaufe they are more eafily reared and better tamed. But the Caribbs, according to Labat, catch them alfo after they are old : they obferve the trees on which they perch in * Note commuiuuced by M. de la fiorde* King's Phyfician at Cayenne* N 2 great t( 1 \M ! J^ ?, *. « W^- !f>.. k^';- t:-^ ■! 'Mm % iff V I, '*-^S ^ ■ - H P i4 m [A] Specific charafter of the Pjitiacus Kobilis ; *' It Is green ; its cheeks naked j its fhoulders fcarlei." N 4 Amc u x84 AMAZON. fame way ; there is alfo a fliade of yellowifh under the tail ; the bill is reddifh, and the feet gray; and as it has the fame bulk, we can hardly doubt but that it is nearly related to the fpccies of the Amazon. II. The fecond variety was firfl noticed by Aldrovandus, and, according to his defcription, it appears to differ from this Amazon Parrot only in the colours of its bill, which that au- thor fays is ochrey on the fides of the upper mandible, whofe ridge is bluifli, with a fmall white bar near the tip; the lower mandible is alfo yellowifli in the middle, and lead colour through the reft of its lenorth. But all the co- lours of the plumage, the fize, and fhape of the body, being the fame as in the Yellow-headed Amazon, it may be only a variety. si ''■ it '■ t-r-4i^ The TARABE, or RED-HEADED AMAZON. SECOND SPECIES. PJittaeus Taraba, Gmel. The Re J -headed Amaxon^s Parrot ^ Lath. HIS Parrot, which is defcribed by Marc- grave as a native of Brafil, is not found in Peru. The head, the 'breaft, the pinions, and tops of the wings, are red ; and hence it ought T JTyvtf ' ' ■ ii;- - U i > M 1 TIfB"WHITE-FIiONTE.r> l:»AB.ROT' AMAZON. 1S5 ought to be ransed with the Amazon Parrots. All the reft of its plumage is green ; the bill and the feet are dull a(h-colour [A]. The WHITE-HEADED AMAZON. THIRD SPECIES. PJittacus Leucocephalus, Linn. Gmel. and Bor. The White-headed Parrot^ Edw. The White-fronted Parrot, Lath. IT would be more accurate to name this bird the White-fronted Parrot ; becaufe the white is generally confined to the face. But fome- times it furrounds the eye, and extends to the crown of the head ; and often it only borders the face. The fpecies appears fubje<5t, there- fore, to variety. In one fpecimen, the plumage was alfo of a deeper green, and lefs waved with black : in another, it was lighter, mixed with yellow ilh, and interfe£led with black feftoons all over the body ; the throat and the fore-fide of the neck are of a fine red. That colour is not fo much fpread in the former, or fo bright, but there is a fpot of it under the belly. In botli of them, the quills of the wing are blue ; thofe of the tail yellow i(h green, tinged with [A] Specific charafter of the PJittacus Taraba: •* It is green; its head, its throatj and the leiTer coverts of its wings, are red.'* red Vi lil;. ^i'vi tei: M' 't *ii '■'■■.;•; IN- 1" I: %r>m 'i\ ^■^'■' m >\- .'•',* '».' .I'm' r )■■■ fji if » ^ IS: I'l t*'' . Til I I i'f. i 11*3 •■■( ■■1-J3 ■■;, ■; if II- In., m 1% 'I'M r^ H i: •■ ': ^ j ,1 I. ilS ' '•' 186 AMAZON. red in the firfl: half; and, on the fan, a red fpot is perceived, which is the livery of the Ama- zons. Sloane fiiys that thefe Parrots are fre- quently brought from Cuba to Jamaica, and that they occur alfo in St. Domingo. They are found in Mexico, but never in Guiana. Briflbn divides them into two Ipecies; and this miftake was occafioned by Edwards's White- headed Parrot being different from his. The Martinico Parrot mentioned by Labat, in which the upper fide of the head is flate colour, with a little red, is different from our White-headed Parrot, though Briflbn afl'erts that they are the fame [A]. I I fill l» , ' . 1 Is ;, ' i ' The YELLOW AMAZON. FOURTH SPECIES. PJittacus Auroray Gmel. The Aurora Parrot^ Lath. K THIS bird is probably a native of Brazil, (ince Salerne fays that he favv one which pro- nounced Portuguefe words. We are certain at lead th^t it comes from the new world, and the red colour of its vents affigns its place among the Amazons. All the body and the head are of a very fine [A] Specific charafter of the PJittacus Leucocephalus : " It is green J iis wirg-quills blue; its front white; its orbits fnoivy." yellow ; JUl^S THE YELLO-t VHE ADEI> AMAaOW £AKROT . ' I'll 1 , J-' "'ii \:. \%^ i-t^^j . " i )i 'it' ;" i. .•<-■■ 1 •t^ I'w ■: (i '; , Hi i.'^ '^M ^ ■■■■'?&»fc ye th qu fe< \ii uA 1 cc an ii i u be til > w g' w ta 1 tl ' t\ ■ A l\ ye - qu - foi fo AMAZON. 187 yellow; the fans are marked with red, and alfo the great quills of the wings, and the l-'^eral quills of the tail ; the iris is red ; the bill and feet are white [A], The AOUROUCOURAOU. FIFTH SPECIES. Pfittacui JEJiivm. jiiuru-curau, Ray and Johnftone. The Common Amazon^ i Parrot, Lath* THE Aourou-Couraou of Marcgrave is ahand- fome bird, and is found in Guiana and Bra- zil. Its face is bluifh, with a bar of the fame colour below the eyes ; the reft of the head is yellow; the feathers of the throat are yellow, and edged with bluifh green ; the reft of the body is light green, which aflumes a yellowifh tinge on the back and belly; the fan of the wing is red ; the fuperior coverts of the wings green ; the quills of the wing are variegated with green, black, yellow, blue, and red; the tail is green, but, when the feathers are fpread, they appear fringed with black, red, and blue ; the iris is gold colour ; the bill is blackifli ; and the feet cinereous [B.] [A] Specific charafter of the PJittacus Aurora: *< It is bright yellow ; its axillit, the margins of its wings^ and its greater wingt quills red outwards in the middle/* [B] Specific charafter oi the PJtttacus JEJiivus : ** It is green ,( fomewhat fpotted with yellow; its front blue; its Hipulders bloo4^ f oloured ; its orbits cam£itiQn«'' 'i«,:i!' ■i.t, ■ i\at I' * ) i< If ' i.'.*j5 «?, I ■ i88 AMAZON. VARIETIES of the AOUROU-COURAOU. ?'ii-i I! :! (I 1, i There are feveral varieties which may be referred to this fpccies. I. The bird mentioned by Aldrovandus under the appellation o^FJittacus Viridis MelanorinchoSj which hardly differs at all from the preceding. II. There is another alfo defcribed by Aldro- vandus, in which the face is beryl blue with a bar of the fame colour above the eyes, which is only a (hade different from the fpecics cf this article. The crown of the head is alfo of a paler yellow ; the upper mandible is red at the bafe, bluifli in the middle, and black at the end ; the lower mandible is whitifh. In all other properties, the colours are precifely the fame as in the Aourou-Couraou* It is found in Guiana, Brazil, and Mexico, and alfo in Ja- maica; and it rauft be very common in Mexi- co, iince the Spaniards give it a proper name, Catherina *. From Guiana it has probably been carried into Jamaica, which is at too great dif^ tance from the continent to correfpond with the excurfions of the Parrots. Labat fays that they cannot fly from one ifland to another, and that • Many beautiful kinds of Parrots are diftinguifhed in New Spain; the cater inillas have their plumage entirely green j the loros have it green likewife, except the head and the extremity of the wings, which are of a fine yeliow ; the pericos are of the fame co- lour, and are not larger than a thrulh." Hiji. Gen, det Voy. t. XlU /. 626. . . ' . . thofe \\ ) AMAZON. 1S9 thofc of the difForent iflands may be diftiiiguirti- ed. The Parrots of Brazil, Cayenne, and the reft of the continent of America, which are feeii in the iflands, have been tranfported thither, and few which are natives of the iflands are found on the continent, on account of the dif- ficulty of the paflage ; for a ftrong current fets out from the Bay of Mexico, fo that a veflel is carried in fix or {even days from the continent to the iflands, though it takes fix weeks or two months to work back again. HI. Another variety is the A'luru-Curuca of Marcgrave. There is on the head a blue cap mixed with a little black, in the midft of whicli is a yellow fpot : this indication differs in no- thing from the defcription which we have given. But the bill is afli-coloured at the bafe, and black at the end ; this is the only flight variation. IV. Marcgrave notices another variety, and remarks that it is like the preceding ; yet our nomenclators have ranged them in different fpe- cies, and even doubled thefe. The only dif- ference is that the yellow extends a little more on the neck. V. The Tellow-fronted Amazon Parrot of Brif- fon (PJittacus Amazonlcus front e lutea). The only difference is that the face is whitifh, or pale yellow, but in the other it is bluifh ; which is by no means fufficient to conftitute a diftin<9: and feparate fpecies. t ^k ^' I.!' I ■ ' 'I \.i iv \%\ tq(% CRICK. •T 1:! '> i The CRICKS. THOUGH there is a very great number of birds to which this name is appUed, they may be all reduced to {even fpecics, of which the others are varieties. Thefe {even fpecies are: i. The Yellow-throated Crick; 2. The Mcunier or Mealy Crick ; 3. The Red and Blue Crick ; 4. The Blue-faced Crick ; 5. The Crick properly fo called ; 6.. The Blue-headed Crick; 7. The Violet-headed Crick. The CRICK with a YELLOW HEAD and THROAT. FIRST SPECIES. Pfittacus Ochrapttrus, Gmel. PJtttacus j^mazonicus gutlurt luteo, BriH'. Pfittacus Virid'n Aliust capite luteo, Frif. and Klem. The Tellow-iKinged Parrot^ Lath. THE whole of the head, the throat, and the lower part of the neck, are of a very fine yellow ; the under fide of the body is of a (hin- ing green, and the upper fide alfo green, but with a little mixture of yellow ; the fan of the wing is yellow, whereas the fame part is red in the Amazons ; the firft row of the coverts 3 of CRICK. 191 of the wing Is red and yellow ; the other rows the quills of the wings and of a i'\ are ot a tiiic green of the tail arc varic ated with green, black, violet, yellow i(h, and red ; the iris is yellow ; the bill aiiJ feet whitiih. This bird is living at prefcnt with Father Bougot, who has communicated to us the fol- lowing account of its difpofition and habits. *' It is very fufceptible of attachment to its mailer J it is fond of him, but requires frequent carefles, and feems difconfolate if neglected, and vindictive if provoked. It has fits of obfli- nacy; it bites during its ill humour, and im- mediately laughs, exulting in its mifchief. Cor- redlion and rigorous treatment only harden it, and make it more ftubborn and wayward : gentle ufage alone fucceeds in mollifying its temper. *' The inclination to gnaw whatever it can reach, is very deftru£tivc in its efFedls ; it cuts the cloth of the furniture, fplits the wood of the chairs, and tears paper, pens, &c. And if it be removed from the fpot, its pronenefs to contradidlion will inftantly hurry it back. But this mifchievous bent is counterbalanced by agreeable qualities, for it remembers eafily what it is taught to fay. Before articulating it claps its wings and plays on its rood ; in the cage it grows dejected, and continues filent ; never prattles well, except when it enjoys liberty. It chatters lefs in winter than during the fummer months. '"1 i ; ;- '*ik ■■ ' # H'^:^ ,.1? 192 CRICK. m I J m I l.M ffi H ' 111-' months, forgetting its food, when it never ceafes from morninor to nisiht. '* In its cheerful days it is affe£lionate, re- ceives and returns carefTcs, and liftens and obeys; though a peevish fit often interrupts the harmony. It feems afFedled by the change of weather, and becomes filent ; the way to re- animate it is to fing befide it ; it flrives by its noily fcreams to furpafs the voice which excites it. It is fond of children ; in which refpe6l it differs from other Parrots. It contracts a pre- dile This Parrot is one of the mod efleemed, as well for its magnitude and the fingularity of its colours, as for the facility with which it learns to fpeak, and the mildnefs of its difpofition. VOL. VI. o There U^':t. '■"I 'u4'y. ;l lit • I, a '■■n.:m '3. ?' ^' : ':m ■>m ■ yiM \ m u I'll" >,. ' ij [ %m i 4 * it \h h) L^^^ iMl 'ft • 1 IP ' • 'I ;. * • ■' ; ill ^ ' 1'' ii^ m i\M' m i' '■%'* r 1' P 194 C R I C IC. There is only one flight defeat in its appearance, viz. its bill is like whitifh horn [A], The RED and BLUE CRICK. THIRD SPteCIES. . ~ .. PJittacus Carukociphalust Linn, and Gftid. Ffittacui Guianenjis cteruleut, BrifT. PJittacus Verjicclor, Ray. The Red and Blue Parrot, Will, and Lath. THIS Parrot has been mentioned by Aldro- vandus, and all the other naturalifts have copied his account ; but they do not agree in their defcriptions. According to Linnaeus, the tail is green; Briflbn reprcfents it as rofe-co- }oured. As neither of them has feen it, I (hall quote Aldrovandus. *' The epithet variegated (jTronci^oq) fuks it well, confidering the diverfity and richnefs of its colours; blue and foft red (rofeus) predomi- nate ; the blue appears on the neck, the breads and the head, vvhofe crown is marked with a yellow fpot J the rump is of the fame colour j the belly is green ; the top of the back light blue ; the quills of the wings and of the tail are [A] Specific charafter of the Pfittacus Pul'vert:len*.tt: *' It is green, and above is fprinkled with mealy fpecksj i^. bright yellow fpot on its head, and a red one on its wings." 4 all & 1 bli ye C R I C IC. '9S ail rofe Colour *, the coverts of the former are mixed with green, yellow, and rofe colour ; thofe of the tail are green ; the bill is blackifli ; the feet are reddifli gray." Aldrovandus does not inform Us from what country this bird is brought ; but as there is red on its wings, and a yellow fpot on the head, we have ranged it with the American Cricks. We may obferve that Briflbn has confounded with it the Violet Parrot mentioned by Barrcre, but which is very different, and belongs neither to tlie Amazons nor to the Cricks [A.] j,,!,. t ■ 'I I'll- V V *;■:':! i".. .s. ■''■■ft - u •;ill •.'■m The BLUE-FACED CRICK. FOURTH SPECIES. ' '• ' -•■ Pjlttacus HavemenJiSf Gmel. I, Pfittacu$ Amaxjonicus gutture caruUot Briff. . l^Yic Blue-fronted Parrot t Lath. # • HIS Parrot was fent to us from the Havan- na, and it is probably common in Mexico land near the ifthmus of Panama ; but it is not found in Guiana. It is much fmaller than the Mealy Crick, its length being only twelve inches* Among the quills of the wings, which [A] Specific charafter of the P/flf/flff«Cafr«/MfW«j; " Ft is blue; its belly, its ramp, and its tail, are green; its top bright yellow ; the (juill? of its wings and tail red." T '.■• ill ii.n O 2 are 196 CRICK. ■1 ii 1 w ^ ^ In '*^ ;, m "J il- ml ^i^\ . [;J 1" 1 ' j|. K 'ft' ; ^' |i f 1 li 1 ' U'"'^ " ill '! =1 'K- \ ?• ,;: ! j;i 'H ;■' M ilj A f' ' t "1 '( . ' ' ik k: 'i '<'''■; »j ft '-' arc indigo colour, there are fome red ones ; the face is blue ; the breaft and ftomach are of a foft red or lilac, and waved with green ; all the reft of the plumage is green, except a yellow ipot on the lower part of the belly [A], The C R I C K, FIFTH SPECIES. ^Jittntu^ Jgilis, Linn. Gmel. and Bo;^, Pjittacus Cayanenjisy BrifT. The Little Green Panot, Edw. The Jgile Parrot, Lath. THE name Crick is beftowed on this bird at Cayenne, where it is fo common that the fame appellation is extended to a confiderable tribe of Parrots. It is fmaller than the i\ma- zons ; but we ought not, with the nomencla-? tors, to range it among the Parrakeets * : they have miftaken it for the Guadeloupe Parrakeet, becaufe it is entirely green. They would h^ve avoided this error, if they had cnnfultcd Marc- grave,, who fays exprefsly that it is Lirge as 4 hen ; and this character is alone fufficient to exr elude it from the Parrakeets. This Crick has alfo been confounded with fA] Specific charadler of the /^//flfaj WaTflWfw/ff.- " It is green ; its front and throat a(h-blue } a large red fpot on iu breail \ its or- bits cinereous." t Willughby, Ray, Linpxus, and BriiTon. the an the] fcal CRICK. i$7 the T'ahuay or Tavoua^^ which is widely dif- ferent ; for the Tavoua has no red on its wings, and is therefore neither an Amazon nor a Crick, but rather a Popinjay, of which we fliall fpeak in the following article. The Crick is near a foot long from the tip of the bill to the extremity of the tail, arid its wings, when clofed, extend a little beyond the middle of the tail ; both the upper and under fuf- face are of a pretty light handfome green, par- ticularly on the belly and the neck, where the green is very brilliant ; the front and the crown of the head are alfo of a pleafant green ; the cheeks are greenifli-yellow ; there is a red fpot on the wings, and their quills are black, terminated with blue ; the two middle quills of the tail are of the fame green with the back, and the outer quills^ being five on either fide, have each an oblong red fpot on the inner webs, and which fpread more aiid more from the inner quill to the outer one j the iris is red ; the bill and feet whitifh. Marcgrave notices a variety in this ipecies, which differs only in point of fize^ heing rather fmaller than the preceding. The former he calls Aluru-catlngay and the latter Aturu-apara^ * Barrere and BrifTon. [A] Specific chara£ler of ^t Pfittacus AgilU i " It isgnen; the coverts of its bluifli primary wing-quills are fulvous ; its tail fcatcely elongated^ red below } its orbits cinereous.** ♦I \ r*' mi '"• A' I \kM^ 1 .,.:„; :'| . ■ m M 1,'. ■. ^ -^1 1.. 1 • '4 '•■ SI n ■ ij lit" 11 ■'w-'48 198 CRICK. ii.li Ki.^l i ' The BLUE-HEADED CRICK. SIXTH SPECIES. PJlttacits Autumnalist i ft Var. Gtnel. The Blue-headed Creature, Bancr. The Blue-faced Green Parrot ^ Edw. and Lath. Tpiis is defcribed by Edwards ; it is found alfo in Guiana. All the fore-iide of the head and the throat are blue, which colour is tern^inated, on the breafl, by a red fpot ; the reft of the body is green, which is deeper on the back than beneath ; the fuperior coverts of the wings are green; their great quills blue, thofe adjacent red, and the upper part blue at the extremity; the quills near the body are green ; the quills of the tail are green on their upper furface as far as the middle, andyellowifli green below ; the lateral quills are red on their . exterior webs ; the iris is orange coloured ; the bill is blackifh cinereous, with a reddi(h fpot on the (ides of the upper mandible ; the feet are jlelh coloured, and the nails black. M: '';'! VARIETIES of the BLUE-PIEADED CRICK. To this fixth fpecies we fliall refer the fol- low uig varieties, 1. The V, i; CRICK. 199 I. The Cocho Parrot^ mentioned by Fernan- dez, which differs in fo far only as it is varie- gated with red and whitifli inftead of red and bluiih ; in every other refpe£t it is the fame with the Blue-headed Crick. The Spaniards call it Catherina, which name they apply alfo to the fecond variety of the Aouarou-couraou^ and Fernandez fays that it prattles well. II. The Lejfer Green Parrot of Edwards, which is diftinguifhed only by its red face and orange cheeks J its other colours, aad its fize, are the fame with thofe of the Blue-headed Crick. III. The Brqfilian Green Parrot of Edwards is alfo another variety. Its face, and the top of its neck, are of a fine red, whereas thefe parts sre bluifh in the Blue-headed Crick; but, in other refpe(fl:s, the refemblance is exadt. — We cannot conceive why Briflbn ranges this bird with the Dominica Parrot, mentioned by La- bat ; for that author fays only that there are a few red feathers in the wings, in the tail, and under the throat, and that all the reft of its plumage is green. But thefe charadlers are too general, and will apply equally tp many other Atna^ons and Cricks, ;'»• "■■ ,.,'. ' ■■'11 ' m O 4 ■ " ■,-■ ^M 100 crick:. . i.' 'I The VIOLET-HEADED CRICK. i !' ; I " •',■ ♦ ' ^ I. 'i If' :': '■■ ■I !* ::J !* SEVENTH SPECIES. PJittacm Viol-aust Linn, and Gmel. Pjittacus Ajuarum-Lupiarum In/ula, BrllH 't\\Q Ruf necked Parro', Lath. THIS Parrot is found ia Guadaloupe, and was firft delcribed by Father Dutertre. " Its colours are fo beautiful," he fays, " and fo fin- gular, that it defcrves to be fele(Sled from all the refl for defcription. It is almoft as large as a hen ; its bill and eyes are edged with carnation ; all the feathers of its head, of its neck, and of its belly, are violet, mixed with a tin£ture of green and black, changing like the neck of a pigeon ; all the upper fide of the back is of a very brown green; the great quills of the wings are black, all the others yellow, green, and red ; on the coverts of the wings are two rofe-(haped fpots of the fame colours. When it briftles the feathers of its neck, it makes a fine ruff round the head, on which it feems to pride itfelf, as the peacock does on its tail ; it has a ftrong voice, fpeaks very diftinclly, and is eafily taught, if taken young *.** Wc have not (ttw this Parrot ; it is not found at Cayenne, and it mufl: now be very rare in Guadeloupe, fince none of the inhabitants of * Hijl, deiJntilkh t. II. p. 251. this IS CRICK* aof this ifland could give us any account of it. But this is not extraordinary ; for as the iflands ad- vance in population, the number of Parrots gradually decreafes ^-nd Dutertrc remarks in particular, that the French colonifts commit great havock among the Violet-headed Cricks in the feafon of the maturity of the guavas, cachi- mans, &c. when their fle(h is excelfively fat and juicy. He adds that they are of a gentle difpo- fition, and eafily tamed : ** We have two," fays he, *' which build their neft in a large tree a hundred paces from our hut; the male and fe- male fit alternately, and come one after another to the hut for food, and bring their young ones with them as foon as thefe can leave the neft." We may obferve that, as the Cricks are the moft common kind of Parrots, and at the fame time fpeak the beft, the favages have amufed themfelves in rearing thefe, and in trying to va- ry their plumage. For that operation they ufe the blood of a fmall frog, which is very differ- ent from thofe of Europe ; it is only half the fize, and of a fine azure colour, with lon-/ 1- N i H \i ^24] # ,. -^ 1 If- 1 ' '' '^ i, • 1' • , » ^1 X Wl H''' . >ill 'h'. < ■ ^ jD|| !tiV r: ''^1 In ri ■•: ■ ' Wm: '1 1 '1 ,'.'■ i>i 1 1 ' ' - . ♦• ■ 1 1 ;ii THE ARTIFICIAL PARROT. '•r ^JiM p' '•: Li . -i h !»n POPINJAY. ao3 The POPINJAYS. Let Pafe^ais, BufF. THESE are in general fmaller than the Ama- zons, from which and from the Cricks they are diftinguiihed by having no red on the wings. They are all peculiar to the new world. We are acquainted with eleven fpccies of Popin- jays, to which we (hall fubjoin fuch as are (lightly mentioned by authors without defcrib- ing the colours of the wings, and of which we cannot therefore decide to what genus they be- long. ■I • Wi ¥ t ,;: /-It'c ,.5. ; *'!«■ • ■ ' 1 i \M * : I ■ V 'm The PARADISE POPINJAY. FIRST SPECIES. PJittacus-ParadiJit Linn. Gmel. and Klela.. PJitlacus Lutttts infula Cuite, Briff. The Cuia Parrot, Brown and Catelby. The Paradife Parrai* Lath. /TpHis Parrot is very handfome. Its body is ■■' yellow, and all the feathers edged with dark glofly red ; the great quills of the wings are white, and all the others yellow, like the feathers on the body ; the two quills in the middle of the tail are alfo yellow, and all the lateral oucs red, from their origin as far as two thirds a. i \ 1- It :i «?■ 204 POPINJAY. thirds of their length ; the reft is yellow ; th^ iris is red ; the bill and feet white. It would feem that this fpecies admits of fome variety ; for in the fpecimen defcribed by Catef- by, the throat and belly were entirely red^ though there are others in which thefe parts were yellow, and the feathers only edged with white. Perhaps the breadth of the red borders differs according to age or icx, which would ac- count for the diverfity. — The bird is found iii the id and of Cuba [A]* 'I r. \ I I 'i The MAILED POPINJAY, Buf. SECOND SPECIES. Pfittacus Acdpitrinus, Var. Gmcl. THIS American Parrot appears to be the fame with the Variegated Parrot of the old con- tinent, and we prefume that thofe imported into France had been carried from the Eaft Indies to America ; and if fome are found in the interior parts of Guiana, they have been naturalized, like the canaries, and feveral other birds and quadrupeds, introduced by navigators. No na- turalift or traveller v/ho has vifited the new [A] Specific charafter of the PJlttacus Paradiji: ** It is yellow j its throat, its bell/f and the bafe of its tail-(|uills, are red." world M'J4d ri'lf'' •; • ill' " ( -i ' i" 1. ■ THE >JAlL.En P^VKKOT -^:-^: il'l?:|:! It H i. h J *» 1' ' ' 1 1 t (-■( , '1 i ^ii ■I Ui POPINJAY. ao5 world takes notice of it, though it is well known to our bird-fanciCiS. Its voice is dif-» ferent from that of the other Parro^ of Ameri- ca, and its cry is fharp and flirill. All thefe circumftances confpire to prove that it is not indigenous in the new world. / [ The top of the head and the faqe are fur- rounded vi^ith narrow long feathers, white an4 radiated with blackilh, and which it bridles when irritated, and difpofes into a fine ruff. The nape and fides of the neck are of a fine brown red, and edged with lively blue ; the feathers on the breafl and flomach are clouded with the fame colours, only more dilute, and " ith a mixture of green; a more beautiful filky ? ruling green covers the upper fide of the body and of the tail, except that fome of the lateral feathers on each fide appear blue exteriorly, and the primaries of the wing are brown, and alfp the under ftirface of thofe of the tail. .,f :, I 4' : *K> •^ -k '^:4' The T A V O U A, Pm THIRD SPECIES. PJtttaeus Fe^lvus, Linn, and Gmel. The Ftjiye J'arrot, Lath. THIS is a new fpecies, of which M. Duval fent two fpecimens for the King's Cabinet. ft ■« t ■If 2o6 POPINJAY. It k rare In Guiana ; yet it fometimes approaches the dwellings. Bird-fanciers are eager to obtain it, for of all the Parrots it fpeaks the beft, and even excels the Red-tailed Gray Parrot of Gui- nea; and yet it was not known till lately, which is fomewhat fingular. But its talents are at- tended with an elTential defe£l ; it is faithlcfs and mifchievous, and bites cruelly when it pre- tends to carefs : it would even feem to lay plans of malice, and its phyfiognomy, though fpright- ly, is dubious. It is an exceedingly beautiful bird, and more nimble and agile than any other Parrot. Its back and its rump are of a very beautiful red ; it has alio fome red on the front, and the upper fide of its head is light blue ; the reft of the upper fide of the body is a fine full green, and the under fide of a lighter green ; the quills of the wings are of a fine black, with deep blue refledions ; fo that in fome pofitions they ap- pear entirely of a very deep blue : the coverts of the wings are variegated with deep blue and green. We have obferved that Briflbn and Brown have confounded this Popinjay with our fifth fpecies of Cricks. [A] Specific chzrz&er o£ the Pjtttacus Fejivus : " It is green; its front purplifh ; its e)'e«brows and throat blue i its back blood- colourcd.'* POPINJAY. 107 THE RED-HANDED POPINJAY, Buff, > FOURTH SPECIES. PJittactts Dominicenjist GrxitX, ' • .' ; , The Red-handed Parrot , Lath, . THIS Parrot is found in St. Domin'go. On the front a fmall red band extends between the eyes. This and the blue tinge of the pri- maries of the wings are almoft the only inter- ruptions in the colour of the plumage, which is all green and dark compledlioned, and fcaled with blackifh on the back, and with reddifh on the ftomach. It is nine inches and a half long [A]. , . :'f Why : .■■■ ■: ^vm ■"■■ '-11 :.;:M' ; Am ■5 '.■•iE -;:-{. y -m .it 1.. ".,*: . J. Ak ■" ■'. If •it\H-:- 111- THE ;i'r;; "*| PURPLE BELLIED POPINJAY, Buff. FIFTH SPECIES. • ^ PJlttacm LtucocepbaluSf Var. 3, Gmel. ^iTT^His Parrot is found in Martin ico. It is not ^ fo beautiful as the preceding ones : the face is white ; the crown and fides of the head blue cinereous; the belly variegated with purple and [A] Specific charadler of the PJittaeus Domlnicen/is : " It is green ; a red band on its front ; black ctefcents on its neck and back; its wing-q^uills blue." green, 't: > U li f i' V 2o8 POPINJAY. green, but the purple predominates; all the reft of the body, both above and below, is green; the fan of the wing white; the quills variegated with green, blue, and black ; the two middle quills of the tail are green, the others variegated with green, red, and yellow ; the bill is white ; the feet arc gray, and the nails brown, ^- ^ ■1 . f ' ''f '%i ' 'i ! ; The POPINJAY with a BLUE HEAD ' :--A ,,:■. and THROAT. 'y:: I ■ KM. SIXTH SPECIES. Pjittaeus Men" runs, Linn. Gmcl. and Scop, , The Blut bed 'ed Parrot, Cdw. and Lath. "^ • 'T^His Popinjay is found in Guiana, though -*• rare ; and it is befides little fought after, for it cannot be taught to fpeak. The h^ad, neck, throat, and breaf^, are of a fine blue, which receives a tinge of purple on the breaft ; the eyes are furrounded by a fle(h- coloured membrane, whereas in all the other Parrots this membrane is white; on each fide of the head is a black fpot ; the baqk, the belly, and the quills of the wing are of a handlbme green ; the fuperior coverts of the wings are yellowifh green ; the lower coverts of the tail are of a fine red; the quills of the middle of the tail are en^ 3 tirely i'.(, .1 POPINJAY. 209 tirely green ; the lateral ones are of the fame green colour, but they have a blue fpot, which extends the more the nearer the quills are to the edges; the bill is black, vviJi a red Ijjot on both . fides of the fuperior mandible; the feet are gray [A]. ■ ...... We have obferved that Briflbn has confound- ed this bird wifh Edwards's Blue-faced Green Parrot y \ ici. owt Blue-headi ! Cick, r tf^. \^ y .. •. -.!■» . ..■- The VIOLET POPINJAY. SEVENTH SPECIES* PJitfatus Purpureus, Gmel. " '*' " ' The Little Dafij Parrot^ Edw. and Lath* ^TpHis is called, both in America and in France, ^■w*^'^ the Violet Parrot, It is common in Gui- ana; and, though handfome, is not much efteemed, becaufe it never learns to fpeak. We have already remarked that Briflbn con- founds this with the Red and Blue Parrot of Aldrovandus, which is a variety of our Crick. The wings and tail are of a fine violet; the head and the borders of the face are of the fame colour, which is waved on the throat, and melted into the white and lilac ; a fmall red [A] Specific charafter of the PJittactti Menfiruus: ** It is green ; its head bluifh i its vent black.*' VOL. VI. t ftreak »r J-'illl ' ' ' ' Pm '■■■m ' ■"■"'■'I ;• u? ';'! i " ■f' ^H ;■'■ ;,|| ■ ■ I' i -. '^1 •'tis i [ ■ 11 ^i m SIO POPINJAY. ilreak edges the front ; all the upper fide of the body is brown, obfcurely tinged with violet ; the under llde of the body is richly clouded with blue-violct, and purple-violet ; the lower coverts of the tail are role colour, which alfo tinges exteriorly the edges of the outer quills of the tail, through their firft half [A]. mmmmu^^ li ' n I!" I J The S A S S E B E. EIGHTH SPECIES. TJittacui Collnrius, Linn, and Gmel. PJittacus Jamaicenjis guUure rubro, BrifT. Pfiltacus Minor collo miniaceo, Ray. The Commm Parrot of Jamiica, Sloanc. lYi^ ReJ-tbroattd Parrot t Lath. ^ /n^viEDo is the firfl who has mentioned this ^^ Popinjay under the name of Xaxebhj or Sajfebe. Sloane make it a native of Ja- maica. The head, and both the upper and un- der furface of the body, are^ green ; the throat and the lower part of the neck are of a fine red ; the quills of the wings are fome green and others blackifli. It is a pity that Oviedo and Sloane> who faw this bird, did not defcribe it more fully [B]. [A] Specific charafter of t\\e PJittacus Purptwtyf : ** Above it is dark brown, below purple ; its top and its cheeks black ; its or- bits blue : a collar with dirty points ; and the quills of its wkigs and tail blue." [B] Specific charafter of the PJttfacut Col/arita : *' It is green, witii a reddifh throat." If .11 ■ POPINJAY. 211 The BROWN POPINJAY, NINTH SPECIES. Pjittaeut SorJidus, Linn, and Gmcl. Pjttlacus Nov/e Ui/paniee, Brifl*. The Dujky Parrot ^ Edsv. and Lath. ^T^wis bird is defcribed, figured, and coloured, •*• by Edwards : it is one of the rareft, and of the lead beautiful in the whole genus of Par- rots. It is found in New Spain. It is nearly as large as a common pigeon ; the cheeks and the upper fide of the neck are greenifli ; the back is dull brown ; the rump is greenifh ; the tail is green above and blue below ; the throat is of a beautiful blue, which is about an inch broad ; the breaft, belly^ and legs, are brown, with a little cinereous ; the wings are green, but the quills next the body are edged with yel- low ; the under coverts of the tail are of a fine red ; the bill is black above, its bafe yellow, and the fides of the two mandibles ar4 of a fine red; the iris is brown nut colour. > [A] Specific charaA^r of the PfiUacux Sotdidut: ** It is brdwn- iih ; its throat blue ; its wings and tuV green j its bill and venjt red," ■;..,: n ■ ■ - ■..-.. ■-^■^'\ ■ l-.VI! .it , . ■ W '1,""'^' my s •■:+ My H t 2 w 'n • 5 ,'lJlf tJ2 POPINJAY. THE AURORA-HEADED POPINJAY. TENTH SPECIES. ■ Pjiftacin Lud.v'cianus, Gmel. Pjiitcicui VirUis, capite luteo, fnnte rubra, Fris. "Y^e Orange-heaJid Parrot, L?rh. DUPRATZ is the only perfoii who has de- fcribed this bird. '* It is not," fays he, " fo large as the Parrots which are commonly brought into France ; its plumage is of a b?au- tiful celadine-green ; its head is enveloped in orange, which receives a red tinge near the bill, and melts into the green on the fide of the body ; it learns with difficulty to fpeak, and when it has made that acquifition, it feldom difplays it. Thefe Parrots always appear in flocks, and if they are filent when tamed, they are very noify in the air, and their fhrill fcreams are heard at a diftance. They live on wahiuts, the kernels of pine tops, the feeds of the tulip tree, and other fmall feeds *. ».M il f li n it, * Voyage a la LouiHane, par le Page Dupratz, t. II. p. 128. [A] Specific charafter o5the PJittacus Ludovicianus: ** It is fca- £rcen ; its head fulvous, irclining to reddiOi near the bill." I H P O P I NJ4Y. 213 The P A R A G U A. ELEVENTH SPKCIES. P fit Incus PiKigtanus, Gmel. Lo'ius tirafihenfi , BriiF. • - The Paraguan Lory, Lath. ^T^HTS bird, which is defcribed by Marcgrave, -■' a;>pears to be found in Brafil. It is partly black, and larger than the Amazon; the breaft, and the upper part of the belly, and alio the back, are of a very beautiful red ; the iris is likewife of a fine red ; the bill, the legs, and the feet, are deep afh colour. The beautiful red colours would indicate a relation to the Lory ; but as that bird occurs only in India, while the other is probably indi- genous in Brafil, I fhall not venture to pro- nounce whether they are of the fame, or of dif- ferent fpecies; efpecially as Marcgrave, who faw the Parrot, only gives it the name Para' gua, without faying that it is a native of Brafil. It is perhaps a Lory, as Briflbn conceives. The conjedture derives force from another circum- ftance : Marcgrave fpeaks alio of a gray Parrot * as brought from Brazil, which we fufpe^l to be originally from Guinea -, becaufe none of thefe • PJittacus Cinereus, Linn, and Gmtl. Mara ana Prima, Marc, johnlt. WilL and Ray, PJittacus Brafilienjis Cim-revs, BrifT. Specific charafter: ** It is entirely blailh alh-colour." p 3 o-rny :,!;' •if-'' ■ ■'♦•v-v \i |P sm 214 POPINJAY. gray Parrots arc found in America, though they are frequent in Guinea, from whence they are often carried with the negroes. Indeed the manner in which Marcgrave exprefles himfelf fhews that he did confider it as an American Parrot ; ji Bird evidently like the Parrot *. * Avis pfittaco plani fimilis. [A] Specific charaAer of the PJittaeus Paraguanut: *' It is fear- let; its head, its neck, its venti its tail, its fiioulders, and iti wings, black. '» 1 ; ■ ^ * . ^ M A I P O U K I. iij The P A R R O Q_U E T S. * ■ Let Ptr icbeSf BufF. BEFORE we contidcr the great tribe of PaiToqut'ts, we Ihall furvcy feparately % little geiiui that appears to belong neither to the Parroqiicfs n<»r to the Pv)puijays, and which is intcniK'diAlc in regard to lize. It contains only two rpecies, the Maipouri and x\icCaica\ which laft was unknown till very lately. . The MAIPOURI, Lu£\ FIRST SPECIES. P/ittacus Mf/anoce/i/j/jfus, Linn, and Gmel. PJittiiut Mtxicanus padore a!ho, BriiT. PJi'tachs Atricabillus, Miller. The iVbitebr$.!fitd Parrot, Ediv. and Lath. THE name is very applicable ; for this Parrot whillles like the tapir, which is called maipouri in Cayenne ; and though there is a vaft difference between that huge quadiuped and this little bird, they utf^r founds fo exadlly fi- milar, as not to be diltinguiihable. it is found in Guiana, in Mexico, and as far as the Ca- raccas ; it never comes nigh the fettlements, but commonly lives ia woods furrounded with wa- p 4 ter. %:] K !! tMU\ % i i ii: W^' A, ■ ■ -y^k 2l6 M A I P O U R I. !iM ter, or even among the trees which grow in the deluged favaniias. It has no other note than the fharp whiftle, which it repeats often while on the wing, and it never learns to fpeak. Thefe birds commonly aflbciate in fmall bo- dies, but often without any tie of afFed:ion; for they fight frequently, and with rancourors ob- ftinacy. When any are caught, they reje£t every kind of food, fo that it is impoffible to keep them alive ; and their temper is fo ftub- born that it cannot be foftened by the fmoke of tobacco, which calms the moft froward of the Parrots. The Maipourjs require to be bred when young, and they would not repay the trouble of educating them, were not their plum- zcre fo beautiful, and their figure fo fingular : for their Ihape is very different from thn.t of the Parrots, or even of the farroquets ; their body is thicker and iTiortcr,, their head much larger, their aeck and tail extremely (hort ; fo that thev have an heavy ivnvieldy air. All their motions are fuitable to their figure ; even their feathers are entirely different from thofe of other Parrots ind Panakeets, being fliort, clofe, and cohw'iny to the body; fo that they feem com- prefL-d aiul glued artiHcially en the breaft and on al! the lower parts of the body. — The Mai- p;r.ni vd as la- i-c; as a {\ta\) Popinjay, and, for >ta -V •.•,-afri Of MciDS, J ave Edvv'ards, Rnffon* and Li AiX^6, cUileJ it with the Parrut& ; bin the difference C A I C A. 217 difference is fo great as to require a diftin£t ge- nus. The upper fide of the head is black ; there is a green fpot below the eyes ; the fides of the head, the throat, and the lower part of the neck, are of a fine yellow ; the upper fide of the neck, the belly, and the legs, are orange; the back, the rump, and the fuperior coverts of the wings, and the quills of the tail, are of a fine green ; the breaft and belly are whitilh when the bird is young, and yellowish after it is grown up ; the great quills of the wings are exteriorly blue on the upper fide, and blacki(h below ; the fol- lowing ones are green, and edged exteriorly with yellow ; the iris is of a deep chcfnut ; the bill fle(h coloured; the feet a(h brown, and the nails biackifii [A]. ■i!:i'. ! 1 ' -T The C A I C A. Ii-it '3 > ■'.,;* -^ SECOND SPECIES. >.■ < • I m, ' Tftttacus Pileatui, Gmcl. ''^ '■ " ' f ' '> M The Hoodtd twrott Lath, j ,.i , 1. , , 'f «... ' t CAICA, in the Galibi language, is the name of the largeft Pan roquet, aiui hence we huve [A] Specific character of the Pjittacus 'MJanocephahs: " 'r Is green, lelowyeilow; its cap biackj its Dreait wuitej its oruits carnation." applied *ilr?nj .i'* m ? e: I vt - -■■■.■ I'll J '•"■ ■ • " liiM'- ■■■'■■ itiiiipM . ^.■ ■ if'!,'' , ':. H v. mii ?"( :BiNi ^:% '■ 13:' -t^ ::■ i' , 'X. iiS C A I C A. ,i.. i j: applied it to the prefent bird. It is of the fame genus with the preceding ; for it has all the pe- culiarities of the form, and alfo the black hood. Its fpecies is not only new in Europe, but even in Cayenne. M. Sonini deMononcour tells us, that he faw it the firfl in 1773. Prior to that date none ever appeared in Cayenne, and it is ftill uncertain from what country they come. But they have fince continued to arrive annu* ally in fmall flocks, about the months of Sep- tember and O(flober, and halt only a ihort time during the fine weather, fo that they are only birds of paflage. The hood which envelopes the Caica is pierc- ed with a hole, in which the eye is placed ; the hood extends very low, and fpreads into two chin pieces of the fame colour ; the cifcuit of the neck is fulvous and yellowiih ; the beautiful green which covers the reft of the body is in- terrupted by an azure tinge, that marks the edges of the wing from the (honlder, borders the great quills on a darker ground, and tips thofe of the tail, except the two middle ones, which are entirely green, and appear rather fhorter than the lateral ones. [A] Specific charafter of the Pfittaem Pileatus: *' It is green ; its head black ; its orbits white ; a iky*blue fpot on its (hodden ; the tail tipt with blue." P A R R O dU E T. 219 PARROQ^UETS OF THE NEW CONTINENT. TH E diftiiKaion of long and (hort tailed Parrakeets obtains both in the new and in the old continent. Of the long-tailed ones, fome have the tail equally tapered, others un- equally. We (hall therefore purfue the former plan ; we fhall begin with fuch as have long and equ tl tails, then confider fuch as have long but unequal tails, and conclude with the fhort- tailed ones. PARROQUETS WITH tONG AND JEQUALLY TAPERED TAIiS. The PAVOUANE PARROQUET, ^ . FIRST SPECIES, With a long and equal Tail. Ffittacus Guianenfis^ Gmel. and Briflf. The Pav$uaut Parrot^ Lath. 'TpHis is one of the handfomefl of the Parro- * quets. It is pretty common in Cayenne, and is alfo found in the Antilles, as M. de la Borde affures us. It learns more eafily to fpeak than any of the Parroquets of the new conti- .8 nent; , '.V ? ■» ; ^ "* ' t i 1 ;i i « i ■■^1 t , (' 1 1 - ■ji J II ' ^ '^1 'A i : ^1 !A 5* J< »'a I I* rt .Hi ; ., ■1 . p ■(*,; 220 P A R R O Q^U E T. nent ; but, in other refpe£ls, it is indocile, for it always retains its wild favage charadler. Its afpfedl is angry and turbulent, but as it has a quick eye and a flender adlive (hape, its figure is pleafing. Our bird-fanciers have adopted the liame Pavouane, which it ha^ in Guiana. Thefe Parroquets fly in flocks*, perpetually fcreaming and fquaUing ; and they range through the woods and favannas, and prefer the fruit of a large tree, called in that country the immortal, and which Tournefort denominates the corallo dendron. It is a foot long ; its tail is near fix inches, and regularly tapered ; the upper fide of the wings and tail of a very fine green. In propor- tion as the bird grows older, the fides of the head and neck are covered with fmall fpots of a bright red, which become more and more nu- merous ; fo that, in fuch as are aged, thefe parts are almoft entirely covered with beautiful red fpots. Thefe never begin to appear till the fecond or third year. The fmall inferior coverts of the wings are of the fame bright red, in every pe- riod of its age, only the colour is not quite fo bright when the bird is young. The great in- ferior wings are of a fine yellow ; the quills of the wings and tail are of a dull yellow below ; the wing is whitifh, and the feet are gray. • ** It is remarked that the Parrakcets never affociate with the Parrots, but always keep together in great flocks." Wafers in Dampier's Voyage. u ■ P A R R O Q.U E T. 221 The BR OWN -THROAT ED PARROQ^UET. SECOND SPECIES, With a long and equal Tail. PJittocus ^^fuginojttt Linn, and Gmel. FjUtaca Ma"tinicai:a, Briff. ; ' , - The Brown throated Parr ahct, EJw. and Lath. „'^ E DWARDs is the firfl; who dcfcribed this Par- rakeet. It is found iti the new world; Brifli)n received a Ipeciiiien from Martinico. The front, the fides of the head, the throat', and the lower part of the neck, are of a brown gray ; the crown of the head is bluilh green ; all the upper part of the body yellowifh green ; the great fnpcrior coverts of the wings blue ; all the quills of the wings blackifli below, but the primaries are blue above, with a broad blackifli border on the under fide; the middle ones are of the fame green with the upper fide of the body ; the tail is green above and yellow - ilh below ; the iris is chefiiut ; the bill and feet afli coloured [A]. [A] Specific chafcu^cr of the Pfittacus u^ruginojis : It is green; its top and iis primary wing-quills blue ; its orbits cinereous." ;:i i 'i '•it 18 (.:¥'■■' ■ i V »:iiri|.'1:;^ I :i:H|'1 !;>,]' I ;i -■> Z22 P A R R O CLU E T. 4fi . "f in The PARROQUET with a VARIE- GATED THROAT. THIRD SPECIES, With a long and equal Tail* 'T^His Parroquet is very rare and handfome ; it •*' is not frequently feen in Cayenne, nor do we know whether it can be taught to fpeak. It is not lb large as a blackbird ; the greatef): part of its plumage is of a fine green, but the throat and the fore-fide of the neck are brown, with fcales and mails of rufty gray*; the great quills of the wings are tinged with blue ; the front is water-green ; behind the neck and a little below the back, is a fmall zone of the fame colour ; on the fold of the wing are fome feather s of a light vivid red ; the tail is partly green above and partly dun-red, with copper refledions, and below it is entirely copper co- loured ; the fame tinge appears under the belly. r. - . f .'■ P A R R O dU E T. aij & The PARROQITET with VARIE- GATED WINGS. :/\. FOURTH SPECIF S, ' With a long and equal Tail, VJittacHi Firefcent, Gmel. * TJlttaca C.oyanenjlsy BrilF. The Tellovj -winged Parraket, Lath. '"T^His fpecies is called the Common Parrakeet ■*' in Cavenne. It is not lb larcre as a black- bird, being only eight inches and four lines long, including the tail, which is three inches and a half. Thefe Parroquets keep in numer- ous flocks, refer the cleared grounds, and even refort to th fettled fpots. They are very fond of the buds of the hmnortal Xxqc^ and when in blofibm they perch on it in crowds. One of thefe large trees planted in the new town of Cayenne draws the vifits of tliefe birds ; they are frightened away by firing upon them, but they fooii return. It is difficult to teach them to ipeak. . - - In this Parroquet the head, the whole body, the tail, and the fuperior coverts of the wings, are of a fine green ; the quills of the wings are variegated with yellow, bluifh green, white, and green ; the quills of the tail are edged with yellow i(h on the infide; the bill, the feet, and the nails, arc gray. In i 1)1 I. M. \^\ 1 M 1 ^!f(j fit 2*4 P A R R O Q,U E T. In the female the colours are not fo bright, which is the onlv difference. Barrere confounds this bird with the Jnaca ofMarcgrave; but thefe two birds, though of the fame genus, are of different fpecies. The A N A C A. ■ FIFTH SPECIES, With a long and equal Tail. PJittaeus Jho, Gmel. Pjittacula BrafiUenfu Fufca, Brifl*. The Che/nut Croiuned Parrakeet, Lath. 'T^HE Anaca is a very handfome Parroquet, -*- which is found in Brazil. It is only of the fize of a lark ; the crown of the head is chefnut ; the fides of the head brown j the throat cinereous ; the upper fide of the neck and the flanks green ; the belly is rrfty brown ; the back green with a brown fpot ; the tail light brown; the quills of the wings green, terminated with blue, and there is a fpot or ra- ther a fringe of blood colour on the top of the wings ; the bill is b»*own ; the feet cinereous. Briflbn has ranged this Parrakeet among thofe which have a (hort tail, but Marcgrave never mentions that property ; and as that author ne- ver omits, in his defcriptions, to note when they ]o| pal P A R R O dU E T. 225 they have a (hort tail, and yet ranges the pre- fent between two long-tailed ones, we pre- fume that belongs to that tribe. We have drawn the fame inference with regard to the following, which Marcgrave names Jendayaf without faying that it has a (hort tail [A]. The J E N D A Y A. SIXTH SPECIES, With a long and equal Tail. > P/tttacus-Jana'ayat Linn, and Gmel. . Pfittaculu BraJtUenfis Lutea, BrilT. The Yelkw-btadtd Parrot ^ Lath. 'TpHis Parroquet is equal in bulk to the black- -■• bird. The back, the wings, the tail, and the rump, are of a bluifh green, inclining to that of beryl ; the head, the neck, and the breaft, are orange yellow ; the extremities of the wings blackilh ; the iris of a fine gold co- lour ; the bill and feet black. It is found in Brazily but no perfon has feen it except Marc- grave, and all the other writers have copied his account [B]. , [A] Specific charafter of iYlc Pjittacus jlnaca : ** It is green, be- low brown rufous ; its top bay ; a fpot on its back, and its tail pale brown ; the margin of its wings red." [B] Specific charafter of the Pfittacus Jandaja: " Above ?.t is green, below bright yellow ; its head and neck bright yellow.*' VOL, VK Q j. ■■:! ' '■ ■ / 'a '■;;if r 'i i "i *:i' -If i ■ ' ''■> 226 P A R R O CLU E T. li f 1 The EMERALD PARROQUET. SFVENTII SPECIFS, ,, With a long and equal Tail. Pftttncut Smaragdinin, Gmcl. The Emerald Parrot t Lath. - •■' ^.:i.»*Mi«»»^ • THE rich and brilliant green that covers the whole of the body, except the tail, which is chefiiut with a green point, leems to entitle this bird to the name of Emerald Pnrroquet. The appellation o^ Magellanic Parrakcct^ which is given in the Planches Enlum'mcei^ ought to be reje6ted ; for no Parrot or Parroquet inhabits lb high a latitude. It is not likely that thefe would pal's the tropic of Capricorn in quert: of regions -which are colder than thofe at an equal diftance on the northern hemifphere. Farther, is it cre- dible that birds which live upon tender and juicy fruits would wing their courfe to frozen tradls, which yield nothing but a few llarved berries ? Yet fuch are the lands which border on the Straits of Magellan, where fome travellers are iuppofed to have feen Parrots. This aflfer- tion, which is preferved in the work of a re- f "peclaHe author *, would have appeared extra- ordinary, had we not found, in tracing it to its fource, that it rells on an evidence which de- * Hift. des Navig. au^ terres Aaflrales> /. /. /. 347. • ^-' ■ 5 A fli-^ys P A R R O dU E T. 227 ftroys itfelf ; it is tliat of the navigator Spilberg, who places the Parrots in the Straits of Magel- lan, near the flime place where, a little before, he fancied that he faw Oftriches *. For a fi- milar reafon, perhaps, we ought to reje«£l the relation that Parrots are found in New Zealand and in Diemen's Landf, in the 43d degree of fouth latitude. We fhall now proceed to enumerate and de- fcribe the Parroquets of the new continent, which have a long tail unequally tapered. * Hin. Gen. des Voy. /. XI. pp. iS If? 19. f Captain Cook's fccond Voyage. [A] Specific charaAer of the Pfiitacm Smaragdinus : " It Is brilliant green ; the hind part of it^ belly, i:s rump, and its tail, ferruginous chefnut." '♦ ,«i t I 1 12 "tl "ST ■■:% S Q. Z :3t:f 328 P A R R O Q.U E T. PARROQJUETS WITH A LONG TAIL UNEt^L'ALLY I'Ai'LRED. ,H: •I. The S I N C I A L O. FIRST SPFCIES, ' • With 4I long and unequal 'I'ail. Pfiitacut Rujirojlrii, Linn. Gmcl. and Ocrini. The Lott^-lailiJ Giten P^rrakcet, EJw. and Lath. ^TpHis bird is called Slncialo at St. Domingo. -■' It is not larger than a blackbird, but is twice as long, its tail being feven inches, and its body five. It is difpoled to chatter, and eaiily learns to fpeak, to whiftle, and to mimic the cries of all the animals which it hears : thcfe Parroquets fly in flocks, and perch on the cloleft and moft verdant trees ; and as they arc green themfelves, they can hardly be perceived. They make a great noile among the trees, many at cnce fcreaming, fqualling, and chattering ; and if they overhear the voice of men or other ani- mals, they cry the louder *. This habit is not peculiar to the Sincialos, for almoft all Parrots that are kept in the houfe babble with more vo- ciferation when a perfon fpeaks high. They feed like the other Parrots, but are more lively • Dutertre, /. //. /. 252. and ,„, P A R R O Q.U E T. 229 and cheerful : they are fooii tamed ; they fcem fond of being taken notice of, and they fcldom are filent, for whenever a perfon talks, they fcrcam and chatter likewife. They grow fat and delicate to eat, during the maturity of the feeds of Indian wood, which principally fup- ports them. The whole plumage of this Parroquet is yel- lowish green ; the inferior coverts of its wings and tail are almoft yellow ; the two quills in the middle of the tail are longer, by an inch and nine lines, than thofe contiguous on either fide, and the other lateral quills contra«5l gradually, fo that the outermoft are five inches (hortcr than the mid-ones. The eyes arc encircled by a flefh coloured Ikin ; the iris is fine orange ; the bill is black, with a little red at the bafe of the upper mandible ; the feet and nails are flefli coloured. This fpecies is fcattered through al- moft all the warm parts of America. The Parroquet mentioned by Labat is a va- riety of this*; the only difference being that there are fome fmall red feathers on the head, and the bill is white. — We muft obferve that Briflbn has confounded this laft bird with the AiurU'Catinga of Marcgrave, which is one of our Cricks. * Perrique tie la Guadaloupe, Labat. Vjittaca jiquarum Lupiarum, Brifl*. [A] Specific character of the PJittacus Rufiroftris: ** It Is green; its bill and feet are red ; its tail-quills, tipt with bluifli ; its orbits carnation." 0^3 ■^ a V , .'I 230 P A R R O Q.U E T. THE RED-FRONTED PARROQUET. SECOND SPECIES, - • ' ' ^ With a long and unequal Tail. ' ^'■f ; ' PJittacus Canicular is, Linn, and Gme?» ' ' - •-' _ Pjittacus Brafilierifii fronte rubra, BriiT. ThQ Red and Blue headed Parrakeet, £dw. and Lath. 'TpHis bird is found, like the preceding, in al- •^ mod all the warm parts of America. It was £rfT: defcribed by Edwards. The front is ' of a bright red ; the crown of the head of a fine* blue; the back of the head, the upper fide of the neck, the fuperior coverts of the wings and thofe of the tail are deep green ; the throat and all the under fide of the body are a little yellow- ifh ; fome of the great coverts of the wings are blue; the primaries are dull a(h colour on the infide, and blue on the outfide, and at the ex- tremity; the iris is orange; the bill cinereous; and the feet reddifh. We muft obferve that Edwar(3s, ahdLinnieus, who has copied him, confound this Parroquet with the ^ui-apute-juba of Marcgrave, which conftitutes a different fpecies, as will appear from the following defcription. ^ [A]. Specific character of the PJittacus Caniculiiris : *' It i( green, with a red front ; the back of its head and the outermoil quills of its wings, are blue; its orbits fulvous." u -m if i ■■ ' : ., . ] ■' l'J»H ;|»j '*"!-. Sir* w • i' ^1 :i- 5f M r i |! Pi m M'j4-9 ^■ THE ILLIJfOIS £ARltOT. % % ■ 'f P A R R O Q.U E T. 231 The APUTE JUBA. THIRD SPECIES, With a long and unequal Tail. Pfittacui Pertinax, Linn. Gmel. and B^r. Pfittaca llliniaca, BrifT. Pfittacm Viridii malis croceis, Klein. 'The Tello-iv-faceci Parrot, Edw. The ////«o/V /'^r/rrs/, Penn. and Lath. ' •"TpHE front, the fides of the head, and the top -*- of the throat, are of a fine yellow ; the crown and back of the head, the upper furface of the ner!v and of the body, the wings and the tail, are of a fine green. Some of the fuperior coverts of the wings, and the great quills, are edged exteriorly with blue ; the two quills in the middle of the tail are longer than the lateral ones, which continually (horten, infomuch that the mid-ones exceed the outermoft by an inch and nine lines ; the lower belly is yellow ; the iris deep orange; the bill and if;et cinereous. From this defcription alone it Is manifeft that this fpecies is not the fame with the preceding, and is even widely different. Befides, it is very common in Guiana, where the former is never found. It is vulgarly called at Cayenne the Wood-ltce Parrah'ct, bccaufe it generally lodges in the holes where thefe infe£ts neflie. It re- mains the whole year in Guiana, and trequents the favannas and the cleared lands. It is very 0^4 impr obabl c 1 >r •; |ll(H| ■it ^W i: '''^'^i^l •■;. C.i. fj^l '1 Wm '^^H • ' ^ tKvMBm -^1 g^^gH ., ^i|H| !'iwH ■ 1^ im^M t ' ' *'W^ ■| yiffl ■'' 'flu ■jI^M 1; jljiP^^ ■1' j^^Hu ; j'Sl \ *" ' wiiw iii^ ' ' ^Wm • *''fBS& ^ 1 1&^^« '' ' ^IWt ' ^ '''^ ^wt ^ T '^'WmH 'j^^ ' H^m *i fiHNHllKfl S ' i vv^i .\} ''t^tSH *' ' 'f wun9 ^M^ i^i^M 'ii^lHB 'l^^R 232 P A R R O CtU E T. improbable that this fpecies extends to the coun- try of the lUinois, or roams fo flir north, as Briflbn aflerts ; efpecially as no fpecies of Par- rot is found beyond Carolina, and only one fpe- cies in Louifiana, which we have before de- fcribed [A]. /Tp] The GOLDEN-CROWNED PARROQ^UET. FOURTH SPECIES, With a lorg and unequal Tail. P/ittacus Aureus, Linn, and Grael. > Pjittaca Brafilienjis, BrifT. ^His name was beftowed by Edwards, who took the bird for a female of the preceding fpecies. What he defcribed was really a female, fince it layed five or fix fmall white eggs in Eng- land, and lived fourteen years in that climate. But the fpecies is different from the foregoing, for though both are comrr.on in Cayenne, they never aflbciate together, but keep in great fepa- rate flocks ; and the males refemble the females. The Golden-crowned Parroquet is called in Guiana the Parrakeet of the Savannas', it fpeaks extremely well, is very fondling and intelligent ; [A] Specific charafler of the Pftttaeus Pertinax: *' It Is green ; its cheeks fulvous; the quills of its wings and tail fomewhat hoary.'* whereas P A R R O Q.U E T. 233 whereas the preceding is iiot efteemed, and ar- ticulates with difficulty. . - ; , , This handfome Parroquet has a large orange fpot on the fore part of the head ; the reft of the head, all the upper (ide of the body, the wings, and the tail, are of a deep green ; the throat and the lower, part of the neck, are of ayellow- i(h green, with a (light tinge of dull red ; the reft of the under fide of the body is pale green ; fome of the great fuperior coverts of the wings are edged exteriorly with blue ; the outer fide of uie feathers of the middle of the wings is alfo of a fine blue, which forms on each wing a broad longitudinal band of that beautiful colour; the iris is vivid orange ; the bill and feet black- 'i(h[A]. The GUAROUBA, or YELLOW PARROQJJET. FIFTH SPECIES, With a long and unequal Tail. TJittaciii-Guaroulay Linn, and Gmel. fjittaca BrafMenJit Lutea, Brifl'. ^i "Juba Tut, Marc. Ray, &c. The Br.ifilian Yellov) Parrot, Lath. M ARCGRAVE and De Laet are the firft who take notice of this bird, which is found in [A] Specific charafter of the Pftttacus Aureus: *' It is green ; its cere and its orbits bluili carnation ; its top golden ; an oblique blue ftripe on the coverts of its wings." Brazil, i •f ' ■ ■ ■ '■ i ■^ !! :;.:i |!f' .M 1 ,vl '*!' ■'' 'i ' ,\ K "^ ' M ij 1^ 'iM i' ■■■■' m w u I , , r ' ■'wlB '& :. ^li ■i ■*" ■ ' '' ' 'ml ■':' tm ■M. r ■ ^1 i '1 ' : ■ m ■-J!i ■' ^ •' Km ;:||i 1 wWEa ■^il ■a g^H '4 ■' :^m ' ' ' 'i^Wd e 'i7^^^^ ■ ,,, V 1 If i|ffi *. M .i'lfl , i :»M ' -I ml "'■i'ra ' M ^: ■■ . ■ '■;ii3!*f'^i ■>.' itVn : ■f.llll ^ am 234 PARROQ.UET. imw! I"' 4 Brafil, and Ibmetimes in the country of the Amazons, where however it is rare *, nor is it ever fecn near Cayenne. This Parroquet, which the Brazilians call Guiaruba, that is. Yellow Bird, does net learn to fpeak at all ; and it is nfielancholy and folitary. Yet the fa- vages hold it in great eftimation for the fake of its plumage, which is very different from that of the other Parrots, and on account of its be- ing eafiiy tame-^. It is almofl: entirely yellow ; only there are lome green fpoto on the wings, whofe Imall quills are green, fringed with yel- low; the prin?.aries are violet fringed with blue; and the fame mixture of colours appears on the tail, whofe extremity is blue-violet ; its middle and rump are green, edged with yellow ; all the reft of the body is pure yellow, and vi- vid fafFron, or orange. The tail is five inches in length, which is that of the body; it is much tapered, fo that the laft lateral feathers are one half fhorter than tbofe of the middle. The Yellow Mexican Parrakeet, given by Hriflbn from Seba, appears to be a variety of this ; and the little pale red which Seba reprel'ents on the head of his bifl Ccc/jo, and which was perhaps only an oiuige tiui, does not form a fjpeciflc character. • <* The rareft of the Parrots are thofe which are entirely yel- low, with a little green at the extremity of the wings: I never faw any of this fort but at Para." La Condaniine, Foyage a Riviere des Jmazoues, /. 173, f h' P A R R O Q,U E T. 23s I ';. THE YELLOW-HEADED PARROQUET. SIXTH SPECIES, With a long and nnequal Tail. PJittacus Carolinenfis, L.inn. and Gmel. Tfittaca Qarolinenjist BrifT. The Carolina Parrot^ Catelby, Penn. and Lath. 'T^His Parroqnet appears to be one of thofe ^ which travel from Guiana to Carolina, to Louifiana*, and even to Virginia. The front is of a beautiful orange ; all the reft of the head, the throat, the half of the neck, and the fan of the wing, are of a fine yellow ; the reft of the body, and the fuperior coverts of the wings, are light green ; the great quills of the wings are brown on the inner fide ; the outer fide is yellow, as far as one third of its length, it then grows green and blue near the extremity; the middle quills of the wings, and thofe of the tail, are green ; the two middle ones of the tail are an inch and half longer than thofe adjacent on either fide ; the iris is yellow ; the bill is yellowifti white.; and the feet are gray. * " I faw alfo that day, for the firft time, Parrots (in Louifiana) ; they appear along the Teakiki, but in fammer only : tnel'e were ftray- birds, which repaired to the Miffifiippi, where they occur in all feafons. They are fcarccly largcfthan black-birds; their head is yellow, with a red fpot on the middle ; on the reft of tiicir plum- age green predominates." Hiji. de U Nou'v. France, par Charle- voix Paris, 1744, t. lir. p. 384. Thefe 1 i i 4 ': i' . i ::"'ii: ■] !-■ i '. (i 1m :i I' ■ ■ ' i ■'I M ■ ' „' ^ m .,-p • *f s '}^ 1' '« i- 'ill .■'.■ ''!.', SB * ■ \\Wsi - m JL 236 P A R R O Q.U E T. m HI m m If; pH 'i*', IP'i^ !(j(: "•'5 WM 'p.-- ll 1 ''' 1'^ 1 ^ p^ !■ m: :jr^ }'"'' '^" •l ■ • i^ »■ .1 Thefe birds, fays Catefby, feed upon the feeds and kernels of fruits, particularly apples, and the grains contained in cyprefs cones. In autumn they refort fo the orchards in great flocks, and as they tear and mangle fruits to obtain the kernel, which is the only part that they eat, they do much injury. They pene- trate as far as Virginia, which is the mod northern colony, fubjoins Catelby, where I heard of Parrots being feen. This is alfo the only fpecies found in Carolina, where a few breed; but moft of them retire font Awards in the love feafon, and appear again during the harveft ; being enticed by the fruit trees, and rice crops. The colonies between the tropics fufFer greatly from the influx of Parrots on their plantations. In the months of Auguft and Sep- tember of 1750 and 1 751, a prodigious number of Parrots of all kinds arrived in Surinam, and fpread in flocks among the ripe coffee; they ate the red huiks, without touching the beans, which they fuffered to fall to tne ground. In 1760, about the fame feafon, new fwarms of thefe birds appeared, and, extending along the coaft, did much injury, though it cculd not be conjeclured whence they came*. In ge- neral, the ripenefs of fruits, the plenty or fcarcity of food in different countries, compel • Piftorius. Befchriving 'vanceUnie van Surinaamtn, Amfterdam, 1768. certain P A R R O Q.U E T. 237 certain fpecies of Parrots to Ji'it from one tra£t to another*. '!'■>' m The ARA PARROQJLJET. B SEVENTH SPECIES, With a long and unequal Tail, P/ittaeus-Maka'wuaHna, Gmel. The Parrot MaccaiA;, Lath. ARRERE is the firft who has noticed this bird. It is however frequently feen in Cay- enne, where it is reckoned njigratory. It haunts the overflowed favannas, like the Aras, and alfo fubfifts on the fruits of the palmetto. It is called the j4ra Par roquet, becaufe it is larger than the other Parroquets ; its ti.il very long, being nine inches, and its body the fame ; like the Aras alfo, it has a naked Ikin from the cor- ners of the bill to the eyes, and pronounces dif- tin:i I'-,.-, 238 P A R R O dU E 1. The quills of the tail are unequally tapered ; all the upper fide of the body, of the wings, and of the tail, deep green, with a dark cart, ex- cept the great quills of the wings, which are blue, edged with green, and terniiiuted with brown on the outfide ; the upper part and the fides of the head are green mixed with deep blue, fo as, in certain pofitions, to appear en- tirely blue ; the throat, the lower part of the neck, and the top of the breaft, have a deep rufty caft ; the reft of the breaft, the belly, and the fides of the body, are 9f a paler green than that of the back ; laftly, on the lower belly there is fame brown-red, which extends over fome of the lower coverts of the tail ; the quills of the wings and of the tail are yellowifli- green below. We have only to defcribe the fhort- tailed Parroquets of the new continent, to which we have given the generic name of Tout, by which they are known in Brazil. T o in. a3f The TO U IS, or SHORT-TAILED PARROQUETS. THESE arc the fmalleft of all the Parrots which inhabit the new continent : their tail is fhort, and their bulk exceeds not that of the fparrow, and mod of tliei,; are incapable of be- ing taught to fpeak ; foi o th^ five fpecies with which we are acquainted l1 ore are only two which can acquire thai talent. The Tuis ap- pear to be found in both continents, and, though not exadlly of the fame fpecies, they are ana- logous and related, becaufe they have been tranfported, as I formerly mentioned. Yet I am inclined to think that they are all originally natives of Brazil, whence they have been in- troduced into Guinea and the Philippine iflands. " ' .^ '"Uf, t. ii' The YELLOW-THROATED TOUI. FIRST SPECIES Of fhort-tailed Toui. ; Pfittacus-Tovi, Gmel. Pfittacula gutture htio, Brifl".^ The Y'el/ow-/l!>roate(i Parraieef, L^ih, THE L. vl and all the upper fide of the body are of a fine green ; the throat is of a fine '' oransfe rw*' %. ■\ ^:\m -m •"^''11 ■if -^'ii ' :, •tfw .,, ^, » IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 ut U2 12.2 HI 11.25 111.4 ■ 2.0 ■ 1.6 Sdmoes Corporation ^ n WKT MAM STRMT «nMm,N.V. I4SM (71*)t7a-4M9 6^ 24^ TOUI. orange colour; all the under fide of the body yellowiih green ; the fuperior coverts of the wings are variegated with green, brown, and yellowi(h ; the inferior coverts are fine yellow ; the quills of the wings are variegated with green, yellowilh, and deep cinereous ; thofe of the tail are green and edged internally with yel- lowiihs the bill, the feet, and the nails, arCj gray [A]. > The S O S O V E. SECOND SPECIES OfTouior (hort-taiicd Parroqnet. Pfittaeut'Sefovet Gmel. The Cayenne Parrakeett Lath* QosovE is the Galibi name of this charming ^ little bird, which is eafily defcribed, fince, it is entirely of a brilliant green, except a fpot' of light yellow on the quills of the wings, and on the fuperior coverts of the tail ; the bill is white, and the feet gray. r- This fpecies is common in Guiana, efpecially near Oyapoe, and the river Amazons. It can eafily be tamed, and taught to fpeak. Its voice is like that of Punch in the puppet-fhews ; and when well trained it chatters perpetually ^B]. [A] Specific charafter of the Pfittacus Tovi: " It is green; a pale orange fpot on its throat ; a broad chefnbt bar on its mngi*. with a green gold laftre." [B] Specific charadler of the P/tttacus So/ove : •* It is green, with a dilate yellow fpot on its wings and the covert of its tail." ■ i *>■■ .V TOUI. 241 .;l»^' The T I R I C A. .mM^i • THIRD SPECIES * . M OfToui, or ihoit-tailcd Parroqueta. i^^^ S 7 r./o Pfittacula Brafilitnjist Brifl*. The GrMa Parrahit, Lath, / ' • •jiyTARCGRAVE fiift defcribcd this bird. Its ^"-'" plumage is entirely green ; the eyes are black ; the bill carnation ; and the feet bluifh. It is foon tamed and taught to fpeak, and is very gentle, and ealily managed. The /ma/i Chatterer of the Planches Enlumi- flies feems to be of the fame fpecies : it is alfo* entirely green ; its bill fle(h coloured, and of the ufual (ize of a Toui. The T^Mf^ of Jean de Laet* does not mean any particular fpecies, but comprehends all the Parroquets in general ; and therefore we ought not, with Briflbn, to refer it to the Tui-tirica of Marcgrave. * t» J ''• > =" ^ , ' - - . Sonnerat mentions a bird which he faw in the iiland of Lu^on, and which much refembles the Tui-tirica of Marcgrave. It is of the fame bulk, and its plumage wholly dyed green, though deeper above, and lighter below. But it is dif- tinguiflied by the gray colour of its bill, which is carnatior in the other, and by the gray caft ,.»? * Defer ipticn ties Indes OLcid$Htalhp /• 490. VOL. VI, R A US5 \%v^ 242 T o o t; m of its feet, which are bluifti in the former: thefe differences would be infufiicient to conftitute a fpecies, if the climates were not fo diftant. It is podible, and even probable, that this bird was carried from America to the Philippines, where it might undergo thofe fmall changes [A]. :U .1. i. /:■ The ETE, or TOUI-ETE. V - FOURTH SPECIES Of Toui, or fhort-tailed Parroquet. *'-'.■■ * FfittacuiPaJferinutt Linn. Gmel. and Bor. .,,V •"' * PJittaca Brafilienfis uropygio cjanothtiSCm '' ' 7«/rt, Ray and Will. ' : •. '. . ; ' The Sborl-tailtd Crctn Parraieet, Bancroft. The Leajl Blut and Green Parraktet, Edw. and Lath. WE are likewife indebted to Marcgrave for the account of this bird. It is found in Brazil ; its plumage is in general light green ; but the rump, and the top of the wings, are of a fine blue ; all the quills of the wings are edged with blue on the outlide, which forms a long blue band when the wings are clofed ; the bill is flefh- coloured, and the fee 'nereous. ^ * ^' To the fame fpecies we uiay refer the bird denominated by Edwards the heajl Green and Blue Parrakeetj the only difference being that [A] Specific charader of the PJittacus Tiriea : ** It is its bill carnation t its feet and nails bluiih." ,- ^ " green; its SV., Mi , T O U I. a*S m 'ii » its wing-qullls are not edged with blue, but with yeliowi(h-green, and that the bill and feet are fine yellow [A]. • i; ^jro.qf w j,i*/J«t , f ____— .«^ t ■ > .) ii^y- I • j: •■ 1 The GOLDEN-HEADED TOUI. {, 1 J *'?*'.. .1 h FIFTH SPECIES Of Ihort-tailed Parroquet, > .. ^ P/!ttaeut-Tui, Ginel. :; ; : - ; Pfittacida BrafilitHfii l£leroeephaloSt BrUH : The GolflhtadParraktett Lath. -'.. t 1'.' . ' ( 1.-'. i x'j <'." i' <.t '. •\ ^-. I - •' .■> •• ■ -' ' ;■-*■■ »M^ r|^His bird is alfo found in Brazil. All its •*• plumage is green, except the head, which is of a fine yellow ; and, as its tail is very {hort, • we muft not confound it with another Parro- quet which has alfo a gold colour, but, at the fame time, a long tail [B]. A variety, or at leaft a contiguous fpecies, is delineated in the Planches Enluminhs, where it is denominated the Little Parrakect of the ijland of St, Thomasy becaufe the Abbe Aubry, Redor of St. Louis, in whofe cabinet, the fpecimen was lodged, faid that it came from that ifland. But the only difference between it and the Gold- [A] Specific charadler of the PJittaeus Pafferinuti •* It is yel- low-greenifh;^ a fpot on its wings, and their under furface blue.'' (B] Specific charafter of \\vt PfittacKi-Tui : ** Itisgrtien; its front orange ; its orbits bright yellow.*' R :$ head r^> \ I" I ' '^; f Jll m i ■■! i t ■■i; 'I- Ui fill' a44 TOUT. head Toui is that the yellow tinge is much , paler. > Thefe five fpecies are all the Touis of the new world that we are acquainted with ; nor are we certain whether the two fmall (hort- tailed Parrakeets, the firf): noticed by Aldrovan- dus, the fecond by Seba, ought to be claffed with the reft, for the defcriptions are very im- perfe^:. That of Aldrovandus feems rather to be a Cockatoo^ by reafon of the tuft on its head, and that of Seba appears to be a Lory^ becaufe its plumage is almoft entirely red. But we know none of the Cockatoos or Loris that re- ferable them clofely, or with which we Cp^ld venture to dafs them. \ %'^ -v *> ^ « ■(ill '; "i ii W,- ^'::■ ^^^M- •ii^ .*i ^i.'n:yu «! yy.' .' v^^'^eIv. ^.^->.;^^v,Vi,.%»ij-j is^ ■U:if}H:>tii'i^.y'-'. w:;'i^i -Mh^'. V*! ;-u. fc,d^ • -^l '!•.■? : %1 J\l^50 .'JV THE CITRUO 171*1. h 111 C U R U C U I. 245 'The C U R U C U I S. ' Let Couroueeut, ou Ceurouceaitt BufT. SUCH is the name which thefe birds bear in their native climate of Brazil. This word imitates their cry fo exadly, that the natives of Guiana have omitted only the firft letter, and call them Urucoos. Their charadlers are thefe : Their bill (hort, hooked, indented, broader than it is thick, and much like that of the Par- rots ; it is furrounded at its bafe by ragged fea- thers, projecting forwards, but not fo long as in the bearded birds, which we (hall afterwards defcribe ; the legs alfo are very (hort, and fea- thered within a little of the infertion of the toes, which are placed two behind and two before. We know only three fpecies, and thefe may perhaps be reduced to two, though nomen- clators reckon (ix, fome of which are varieties, and others belong to a different genus. ,,.; , ' , •'• r w 4 ,-,■■.■, J ,/ -, vi... , >: vv :,\ - ,■ ^ , , - ■•,'■_ ■,■•'■-■;.,.,■. ' ; • !:i I ' '■ff . ■ Y ■''' if Ml •• :'\ 14, '. . X'-i .' 11 ;/.? •■ ■" ■ J ' ;• 1 M ^ 3 ■'-"-f_ ^ ^■M iiS C U R U C U I. The RED-BELLIED CURUCUI. gj ' * i' '■W • r ' } III CaJffpH rguge. f Dcmoiftlk ou Dame jingloiji. R 4 cxprefs U9 C U R U C U I. »(:#' exprefs that profound fenfibility which carries it into the defert, to enjoy in folitude the tender- nefs of love, and that languor, which is more delicious perhaps than its tranfports. This cry alone reveals its retreat, which is often inaccef- fibie, and difficult to difcover. ** Their loves commence in April : they choofe the hole of a tree, and line it with the duft of worm-eaten wood ; and this bed is as foft as cotton or down. If they cannot find fuch duft, they break frefh wood with their bill, and reduce it to powder ; and their bill, which is indented near the point, is fufficiently ftrong for that purpofe : it alfo ferves to enlarge the hole, when not fufficiently wide. They lay three or four eggs, which are white, and fomewhat fmaller than thofe of a pigeon. *• While the female hatches, the employ- ment of the male is to bring fupplies of food, to keep watch on a neighbouring bough, and to fing. At other times he is filent and rcferved } but during incubation, he fatigues the echos with thofe languifhing founds, which how in- fipid foever they may appear to us, undoubt" edly footh the tedious occupation of his dear companion. ^ .'^ ! v;, ,. j.iv..>*. ;;;^ '* The young, at the moment of their exclu- fion, are entirely naked, without any trace of feathers, but which begin to fprout two or three days after. Their head and bill appear uncommonly thick, compared with the reft of their grc > < I C U R U C U I. U9 their body ; their legs too fccm exceflively long, though they are very (hort when the bird 13 grown. The male becomes filent the inflant that the brood are hatched ; but he again re- fumes his fong, with his loves, in the months of Augufl and September. •• They feed their young with worms, ca- terpillars, and infedts. Their enemies are the rats, the ferpents, and both the nodturnal and diurnal birds of prey ; fo that the fpecics of the Ooroocoais is not numerous, mod of them fall- ing a facrifice to depredation. - •* After the young ones are flown, they re- main' not long together ; they yield to their fo- litary inftinft and difperfe. ^^ " " In fome individuals the legs are reddifli, in others they are flaty blue. It has not been ob- ferved whether this diverfity is occafioned by age, or refults from the difference of fex." The Chevalier Defhayes tried to raife fome of the preceding year, but his attempts were fruit- lefs ; and, either from a languid or a lofty tem- per, they obftinately refufed to eat. *' Per- haps," fays he, •' I fhould have fucceeded bet- ter, if I had taken them juft after hatching ; but a bird, which lives fo remote from us, and which feeks felicity in the freedom and filence of the defert, feems not adapted for (lavery, and muft continue a ftranger to all the habits df the domeftic ftate.** [A] Specific chara£ler of the Tregon-Curucui : " It is gold- green, below fulvous; its throat black." "-V -.i^^ I 'IK,' 1. 1. :,ui ,:t^^' ■ i ' I '■ ■ r } ..i i *, •' 'i * ■' ii;' > \ ■ /■% 'i: ^1 V "''■:* &kB, a0 C U R U C 15 I. .r>- : .■:^'''^^i)^tl^'{t^m>r^'^ 'ii^^iit ■■ -^A •ii, ij-H'- THE YELLOW-BELLIED CURUCUL iline Zt Cturcucou h Vtntrt Jaunt, Buff. SECOND SPECIES. ••:,> PJittacus Viridist Linn, and Gmel. Tng9» Cafatunjii Viridity Brifl*. Pi'^-iiiVJ; >-'^i THIS bird is about eleven inches long; the wings when clofed do not reach quite to the tall; the head and the upper fide of the neck are blackiih, with reflexions of handfome green in fome parts ; the back, the rump, and the coverts of the upper fide of the tail, are bril- liant green, like the thighs ; the great coverts of the wings are blackifh, with fmall white fpots ; the great quills of the wings are black- ifh, and the four or five outer ones have a white Ihaft ; the quills of the tail are of the fame co- lour with thofe of the wings, except that they have fome reflections of a brilliant green ; the three outer ones on each fide are radiated tranf- verfely with black and white ; the throat and the under fide of the neck are dark brown ; the breafl, the belly, and the coverts below the tail, arc of a fine yellow ; the bill is indent- ed, and appears dark brown, as well as the legs ; the nails are black ; the tail is tapered, the feather on each fide being two inches 4 (horter C U R U C U I. *Si ihorter than the two middle ones, which are the longeft[A]. - V-^-v - * ^ . .t * Between the Red-bellied Curucui and the Yellow-bellied Curucui lie fome varieties, which our nomenclators have taken for different fpe-. cies. Such, for inftauce, is the one denomi- nated, in the Planches Enlupiinhsy the Guiana Curucui^ which is only a variety of the Yellow- bellied Curucui, occafioned by age ; the fole difference being, that the upper fide of the back, which in the adult is fine azure, is alh-coloured in the young one. ' ' " " - ' Further, the bird reprefented in the Planches Enluminees by the name of the Rufous-tailed Cu- rucui of Cayenne^ is a variety of the fame Yel- low-bellied Curucui, produced by moulting ; fince the only difference is that the feathers of the back and tail are rufous inftead of blue *. There is alfo a variety of this Yellow-bellied Curucui : it is the bird termed by Briflbn the White-bellied green Curucui of Cayenne. The only difference lies in the colour of the tail, which may be owing to age, for the feathers were not completely formed. It might alfo be an acci- !r [A] Specific chara£lcr of the Tlrc^M ^/r/V«; ** It is gold -green, below yellow ; its throat black ; a gold-green bar on its breaft." ^^■■m • rrogon Rufus. Gmcl. ^ .'t ,j^|)_ i^^Bdw^^'iar J ' The ^»/o«; C«r«f«/V Lath. \ Specific charafter: " It is rufous; its belly, its vent, and its thighi), yellow; the coverts of its wings ftreaked with black and gray ; its wing-quills and the middle quills of the taui tipt with black." dental 252 C U R U C U I. dental diverfity ; but certainly none of thefe three birds can be regarded as a diftindl and fe- ffarate fpecies *. We have feen another individual whofe bread and belly were whitifh, with a tinge of citron in many parts ; which made us fufpedt that the White-bellied Curucui, juft mentioned, was only a variety of the Yellow-bellied Curucui. •■'i ", •if ' " « I . .1 1 m mi * The VIOLET-HOODED CURUCUI. It Coureucou a Chaperon Violet t BufF. THIRD SPECIES. »/ trogon Violaceust Gmel. The Violet-beaded Curucui^ Lath. >' ■f.i/N ?:'/;itr!-!. mi- THE throat, neck, and breafl:, are of a very duiky violet ; the head is of the fame co- lour, except that of the front, and of the fpace round the eyes and ears, which is blackifh ; the •eye-brows yellow ; the back and rump of a deep green, with gold refledions; the fuperior co- verts of the tail are bluilh-green, with the fame gold reflections : the wings are brown, and their coverts, as well as the middle quills, are dotted with white ; the two central quills of the tail arc green, verging on bluifh, and terminated with black ; the two adjacent pairs are of th? I- • ^roion FiriJii, Var. Linn, and Gmel. fame hi fl C U R U C U 1. 2SI fame colour in the uncovered part, and blackilh in the reft; thi^ ree lateral pairs are black, flriped and terminated with white ; the bill is lead colour at the bafe, and whitiih near the point ; the tail exceeds the wings when clofed, by two inches and nine lines, and the total length of the bird is nine inches and a half. M. Koelreuter calls this bird Lan'tus * ; but it is of a genus very different from that of a (hrike, a lanner, or another bird of prey. A broad ftiort bill, and briftles around the lower mandible ; fuch are the chara(St«rs which it has in com- mon with the Curucuis. But the properties wherein it refembles the cuckoos, that the legs are very (hort and feathered to the nails, which are flender and difpofed in pairs, the one before and the other behind ; that the nails are fhort, and (lightly hooked ; and laftly, the want of a membrane around the bafe of the bill : all the{c differ from the characters of the rapacious tribe. ,. The Curucuis are folitary birds which live in the heart of damp forefts, where they fubfift on infe(^s ; they are never obfcrved to confort in flocks ; they generally (it on the middle branches, the cock and hen on feparate but adjacent trees, and call each other alternately, by repeating their hollow monotonous cry, ooroocoais. They never fly far, but only from tree to tree, and feldom even do that ; for they remain during the greateft part * Comment, Petropol, 1763, •■■■ - w '::'(. of li ! ^^ 1'^ -;' 'If .tt «5* C t R U C U 1. of the day in the fame fpot, concealed beneath the thickefl boughs ; where, though their voice is continually heard, yet, as they are motion- lefs, they can hardly be diicovered. They are clothed fo thickly with plumage, that they ap- pear larger than in reality ; they would fcem to equal the bulk of a pigeon, though they have not more flefti than a thrulh. But if their feathers be numerous and clofe, they are weakly rooted, for they drop with the leaft j-ubbing ; fo that it is difficult to prepare fpeci- mens for the cabinet. Thefe birds are among the moft beautiful of South America. Fernan- dez fays that the fine feathers of the Red-bel- lied Curucui were ufed by the Mexicans in making portraits, a gaudy kind of paintings, and other ornaments which they wore at fefti- vals, or in battle [A]. : i ?>t;yOi: vjhiv ; tm:: There are two other birds mentioned by Fer- nandez, which Briilbn fuppofes to beCurucuis; but they undoubtedly belong not to that genus. The fir ft is what Fernandez compares to the ilare, and which we have formerly noticed *. I am aftonilhed that Briflbn could fancy that it was a Curucui, fince Fernandez himfelf refers it to the genus of the ftarcs, and their figures are fimilar. But the (hape of the bill, the dif- [A] Specific chsirSiCieT of the Trogon f^iolaceus: "Itisvldet; its eye-brows bright yellowr; its back and rump gold-green ; its wings brown; its intermediate tail-quills blaiih-green> tipt with black.** * TrtgoM MtxicMust BrifT. pofition C U R O C U 1. «SJ poHtion of the toes, the form of the body, every property of the bird in (hort, is To widely dif- ferent from thofe of the Curucuis, that they ne- ver with propriety can be aiibciated. The fecond bird which Briiion has taken for a Curucui is one which Fernandez* fays is ex- ceedingly beautiful, and of the fize of a pigeon ; that it frequents the fea fhore ; and that its bill is long, broad, black, and a little hooked : this form of the bill is very different from what obtains in the Curucuis, a circumftance alone fuliicient to exclude it from this genus. Fernandez fubjoins that it does not (ing, and that its fle(h is unfit for eating ; that its head is blue, and the reft of its plumage blue, variegated with green, black, and whitifh. But thefe indications are not pre- cife enough to determine the fpecies. ,n ^j->*^^>j.ai Tregon Mexieanus Variust BriflT, i,lPl' l::":v 'I "if t i H ^*- !"£,, 1 '! Ill 1 / I ■•■it ■ 1 f: 1 I: t.'...i 3, ll ,'ii 156 CURUCUCKOO. The CURUCUCKOO. llvV-; Cuculut Brafiliinjist Liiln. and Gmel. 1 >^ Cuculus BrafiUtHJlt Crijiatus Ruber » Brifl*. ti'ii^^ :;«!'; t .i:> The Red'tbttkid Cucioo, Lath. iu*>jj'?f.' ") r BETWEEN the extehfive family of the Cuckoo and that of theCurucui, we (hall place a bird which feems to participate of both ; fuppofing that the indication of Seba is lefs faulty than moft of thofe inferted in his bulky work : his account is as follows — " The head is of a pale red, bearing a fine tuft of brighter red, va- riegated with black. The bill is pale red ; the upper fide of the body is bright red ; the coverts of the wings and the under fide of the body are pale red ; the quills of the wings and thofe of the tail are yellow, (haded with a blacki(h tiht." This bird is not fo large as the magpie, its total length being about ten inches. We muft obferve that Seba takes no notice of the difpofition of its toes, and in his figure they are difpofed by three and one, not by two and two. But the af!erting the bird to be a Cuckoo^ implied the latter. :■'•*. / "*l« ■:'<» till.:' \ u !i » nii;..:-,:!' "!■■■• 1 i I'll'" !■'' S ;^ II '.'1 1 ii '< ' 'it m i'i! . "■ i 1 J^J^l % THE TOT7RACO CUCKOO t 6 U R A C Oi aS7 ., i,*i b y the T O U R A C O. Cucuius-Pet-Ja, Linn, and Gniel. Cueti/as Guineen/tt Crijiatus Firidis, Brifl*. The Croivfi BirJ/rom Mexico, Alb. THIS is one of the moft beautiful of the African birds; for befides that its plum-^ age is brilliant and its eyes fparkle with fire, it has a fort of crefl: on the head, or rather a crowH) which confers an air of diftin£lion. I cannot conceive, therefore, why our nomencla- tors range it with the cuckoos, which, every body knows, are ugly birds ; it is alfo difcrimi- nated by its tuft, and by the (hape of its bill, of which the upper part is more arched than in the cuckoos. Indeed the only common character is that it has two toes before and two behind ; a property which belongs to many birds. The Touraco is as large as a jay ; but its long broad tail feems to increafe its bulk : its wings are however very fhort, not reaching to tha ori- gin of the tail. "The upper mandible is convex, and covered with feathers relieved from the forehead, and in which the noftrils are Conceal- ed. Its eye, which is lively and full of fire, is encircled by a fcarlet eye-lid, which has a great number of protuberant papilla of the fame co- lour. The beautiful tuft, or rather mitre^ that VOL. VI. s crowns iif 158 T O U R A C O. crowns its head is a bunch of bridled feathert;^ which are fine and lilky, and confift of fiich delicate fibres that the whole is tranfparent. The beautiful green which covers all the neck, the breaft, and the (boulders, is alfo compofed of fibres of the fame kind, and equally fine and filky. We know two fpecies, or rather two varieties, of the genus ; the one termed the AbyJfimanToti' raco, and the fecond the I'ouraco from the Cape of Good Hope, The only difference lies in the tints, for the bulk of the colours is the fame. The Abyfli- nian Touraco has a blackifh tuft, compacfl like a lock, and refle£led backwards : the feathers on the forehead, the throat, arid compafs of the neck, are meadow green ; the breaft, and top of the back, are of the fame colour, but with an olive tinge, wliich melts into a purple brown, heightened by a fine green glofs ; all the back^ the coverts of the wings, and their quills next the body, and all thofe of the tail, are coloured in the fame way; all the primaries are of a fine crimfon, with a black indenting on the fmall v/ebs, near the tip : we cannot conceive how BriflTon faw only four of thefe red feathers. The under fide is dun gray, (lightly (haded with light gray. The Touraco of the Cape of Good Hope dif- fers not from the Abyffinian one, except that the t T O U R A C O. m llie twft is of a light green, and fometimea frihged with white. The neck is of the fame green, which melts on the (houlders into a darkifh tint, with glofly green reflections. We had a Touraco alive from the Cape, and were afllired that it lived upon rice. No other food was offered to it at firft, and this it would not touch, but grew famiihed, and, in that ex- tremity, it ate its own excrements. During three days, it fubfifted only on water and a bit of fugar. But obferving grapes brought to the tablej it (hewed a ftrong appetite for them ;• fome were given to it, which it fwallowed greedily. It difcovered in the fame way a fondnefs for apples, and afterwards for oranges. From that time it was fed on fruit for feveral months. This feemed to be the natural food. Its curved bill not being in the leaft adapted for coUedling grain. The bill is wide, and cleft as far as under the eyes ; the bird hops, but does not walk ; its nails are fliarp and ftrong, its hold firm ; its toes are ftout, and inverted with thick fcales. It is lively, and buftles much ; it continually utters a weak, low, and hoarfe cry, creu, creUf from the bottom of its gizzard, without opening its bill. But fometimes it has a very loud fcream, cd, cd, c6, cS, c6, co, co; the firft notes low, the others higher, rapid, and noify, with a ihrill and harih voice. It vents this cry of its own accord, when it is hungry; s 2 but 4\ U , I &» ■,»-' ■4 iM 26o T O U R A C O. but it may be made to repeat it at pleafure, i( one prompts it by imitation. This beautiful bird was given to me by the Princefs of Tnigri, to whom my mod refpe£l- ful thanks arc due. It is even handfomer than at firft, for it was in moult when I made the foregoing defcription. At prefent, which is four months fince that time, the plumage is reftored with frefli beauties ; there are two white ftreaks of fmall feathers, or Ihort filky hairs, f:he one pretty near the inner corner of the eye, the other before the eye, and extend- ing backwards to the outer corner ; between thefe two is another ftreak of the fame down, but of a deep violet caft; the upper furface of the body ai>d of the tail fhines with a rich pur- plifh blue, and the creft is green aiul not fring- ed. Thefe new characters difpofe me to think that it docs not refemble the Touraco from th« Cape of Good Hope fo much as I at firft fup- pofed ; it fcems alfo to differ in the fame pro- perties from the Abylfinian Touraco. We have therefore three varieties ; but we cannot determine whether the diverfity belongs to the fpecies or to the individual, whether it is pe- riodical or conftant, or only fexual. It does not appear that this bird is found in America, though Albin gives it as brought from Mexico. Edwards affirms that it is indige- nous in Guinea, from whence the individual mentioned T O U R A C O. 261 mentioned by Albin was poflibly tranfportcd into the new world. We arc unacquainted with the habits of the bird, when it tiijoys its native freedom ; but as it is exceedingly beau- tiful, we may hope that travellers will obferve them, and communicate their remarks. [A] Specific clnraftcr of the Cuculus Ptr/a: •* Its tail is lequal ; its head crcfted ; iti body bluiih green ; its wing-quills jjlood coloured." ! "/I "V' 11 ii 1 ,! %. 863 CUCKOO. J'V" f I'' U t' u' 'if, I ll The CUCKOO*. X« Coiicou, BufT. Cuculus Canorus, Linn. Gmcl. and Muller. , C««/w, Gefner, Will. Johnft. BrilT. &c. IN the age of Ariftotle it was generally fald that no one had ever (ttn the hatch of the Cuckoo: it was known that this hird lays like the reft, hut makes no ne(t ; that it drops its eggs, or its cg^^^ (for it leldom dcpofits two in the fame place) In the neds of other birds, whe- • In Hebrew, according to the difFt-rent authors, K'-.ath, Kii, Kakik, KrJi.iia, Schalac, Schrrfjynpb, Kcre, Ban'hem, Euchem: In Syriac, Coco: In Greek, Koxv.il: In Lacin, Cualus : In Italian, Cucculo, Cuccot Cuco, Cucho: In Spanifn, Cua'i'Io : In German, Kukkuk, Gucker, Gtit:^gauch,Ciigcku/, miicaken for Cuckoos by reafon of the refemblance of their plumage ; and it is ^novv^ that fparrow hawks breed in the holes of craggy rocks. S 4 of 'Am ■4 n ?64 g U C K Q Q, of precipices. Nor have even the fiibvilous fto-» ries related of this fingular bird undergone any alteration : error has ifs limits as well as truth, and, on a fubjedl of fo great celebrity, both have been exhaufted. Twenty centuries ago it was aflerted, as at prefent, that the Cuckoo is nothing elle than a little fparrow-hawl^ metamorphofed ; that this change is efFe^led every j^ear at a certain ftated feafon ; that when it appears in the fpring, it is conveye4 on the (boulders of the kite, which, to affifl: the weaknefs of its wings, is fo oblig- ing as to carry it (remarkable complaifancc in a bird of prey like the kite); that it difcharges upon plants a faliva which proves pernicious to them by engendering infects ; that the female Cuckoo takes care to lay into each neft fhe can difcover, an egg like thofe contained in it *, the better to deceive the mother ; that the mother iiurfes the young Cuckoo, and facrifices her own brood to it, becaufe they appear not fo handfome-f ; that, like a true ftep-mother, flie negleds them, or kills them, and directs the intruder to eat them ; fome fuppofcd that the • See uElian, Salerne, &c. The true egg of the Cuckoo is larger than that of the nightingale ; of a longer fhape, of a gray colour almoll whitifli, fpotted near the large end with violet- brown, very obfcurc, and with deeper and more apparent brown; and laftly, marked in the middle with fome irregular ftreaks of chef- nut. t Obferve that the Cuckoos are frightful when firft hatched, and even many days after. 4 female I" ?\ q u c K o o. ftfi| female Cuckoo returned to the neft where flie had depofited her egg, and expelled or devoqrecj the other young, that her own might fare the jbetter : others fancied that the little pretcndep fieitroyed its fofler-hrothers, or rendered tbein vidtims to its voracity, by fei'.:ing excluiivcly pll the food provided by their common nurfe, Elian relates that the young Cuckoo, fenfible that it is a baftard, or rather an intruder, and afraid of being betrayed by its plumage and treated as fuch, flies away as fooii as it can ule iis wings, and joins its real mother '*. Others pretend that the nurfe difcovers the fraud from the colours of the plumage, and abandons the intruder. Laftly, others imagine that the young bird, before it flies, devours even its fecond pa- rent-f*, which iiad given it every thing bnt life ; and the Cuckoo has been made the sreat fymbol of ingratitude j. — But it is abfurd to impute crimes that are phyfically impolfible. How could the young Cuckoo, which can hardly feed without affiftance, have ftrength fufficient to devour a wood-pigeon, a lark, a yellow bunting, or a pettychaps ? It is true, that, in fupport of the poffibility of the fa(ft, the evidence of a grave author, Klein, may be * Niit. Anim. Vh. III. 30. It is alfo faid, by running into an oppofite extreme, that the Hen-cuckoo, ncgleding her own eggs, hatches thofe of others. See Acron, in Sat. f^JI. Horat. Lib. 1. f Linnaius, and others. % " Ungrateful as a Cuckoo," fay the Germans. Melandlhon has left a fine harangue on the ingratitude of this bird. adduced, ■1.1 'I'll' ■•> ■■!■' -< n I adduced, who made the obfervation at the a^o of fixteen. Having: difcovered in his father's garden a pettychaps* neft with a fingle egg, which was fuTpecfled to belong to a Cuckoo, li^ luffered the incubation to proceed, and eve;i waited till the bird was feathered. lie then fliut both it and the ncft in a cage, which he placed (;:i the fame fpot. A few days after he found the Iven-pettychaps entangled in the wires of th'j Ca'jje, and its head (lickino; in the throat of the young Cuckoo, which h-.d Avallowcd it through millake, while catching greedily at a caterpillar that was probably too near. To fomc accident of this kind the Cuckoo owes its bad name. But it is not true that it devours its inirfe, or its foller brothers : for, in the firft place, its bill, though large, is too weak ; tho one mentioned by Klein could not crufli the head of the pcttychaps, and was choked by it ; in the fecond place, to remove all objections and fcruples, I have decided the point by expe- riment. On the 27th of June, I put a young Cuckoo, which had been hatched in the fpring, and was already nine inches long, in an open cage, with three young pettychaps, which were not one quarter feathered, and could not eat without afliflance. The Cuckoo, fir from devouring them, or even threatening them, fcemed eager to jepay its obligations to the i'pc- cics. It ibfTered the little birds, which were not in the kaft afraid, to warm themftlves iin^ der CUCKOO. 167 der its wings. On the other hand, a yonngj owl, which had as yet only heen fed, began of itfelf to eat by devouring a pettychaps, which was lodged with it. I know that Ibme qualify the account by faying that the Cuckoo fwallows the chicks juft as they burft from the fhell ; and as thefe little embryos might be regarded as beings intermediate between eggs and birds, they might therefore be eaten by an animal which habitually feeds on eggs, whether hatched or not. But though this fbte- ment is lefs improbable, it ought not to be ad- mitted till it is evinced by obfervation. With refpe£t to the faliva of the Cuckoo, it is nothing elfe than a frothy exudation from the iarva of a certain kind of grafsfhopper *. Per- haps the Cuckoo was obfervcd to feek tiie larva under this froth, which might give occafion to its being fuppofed to depofit its faliva; and as an infedl was perceived to emerge, it would be imagined, that the faliva of the Cuckoo engen- dered vermin. IH,ii.-,i llbMii'^f • This infeft is the Cia^Ja Spumaria of Linnaeus. It inhabits Europe, and is frequent on brambles, withies, and grafs ftalkb; it fettles in the forking of the (talks, and evacuates nuuierous veii- cles, rcfembiing froth, under which the larva lies concealed. This fpittle, fo frequent in the fields, is termed in French ccume fri»t- annlere, or fpring froth, and the infedl which emerges ij; dt-ncmi- x\-iXt'di Jautcrclle-puce (grafshopper flea), or lignk heitu.nii, 1 his in- feft, it is faid, kills the Cuckoo by pricking it beneath the wing ; which at bell is only fome mifreprefented faft. — This frothy iub- ftance is well known in England by the name of Cuckoo-J'pittle, or iKood/are* I will t€9 CUCKOO. ,x I will not ferioufly combat the notion, that the Cuckoo is annually metamorphofed into i\ fparrow-havvk *, It is an. abfurdity which ne- ver was believed by the real naturaliils, aocj Ibme of them have confuted it. I fhall only ob- ferve that the opinioi> feems to have taken rife froni the following circumftances : the two birds are fejdoni found in our climates at the fame time ; they refemble each other jn their pluni' age -f , in the colour of their eyes and legs, if) the length of their tail, in having a membrauT ous ftomach, and a long tail, in their li^e, \t\ their flight, and in their little fecundity ; both live folitary, and have long feathers that delcen4 from the legs on the tarfus, &c. ; their plum- age is alfo fubje(5l to vary, fo that a bird which was taken for a beautiful merlin from its co- lours, was found on difl'etflion to be a female Cuckoo |. But thefe q^ualities j^re not what * 1 have juft witnefled an odd enough fcene. A fparrow^ hawk alighted in a pretty populous court yard; a young cock of this year's hatching inftantly darted at him, and threw him on his back: ; in this fitiiationthe hawk,(hielding himfelf with his talons and his bill, intimidated the hens and turkies, which fcreamed tun)ultu> oully round him : when he had a little recovered himfelf, he rofe tnd was taking wi;ig, when the cock rufhed upon him a fecond time, overturned him^ and held him down fo long that he war, caught. t Ffpecially fecn froi» below when they fly. The Cuckoo rulUes with its wings in rifing, and then flioots along like the tiercel falcon. :|: See Salcrnc, ////?. (/cs Oifciux, p. 40. M. HerlfTant faw mmy- Cuckoos which, by their plumage, refembled different kinds of n^ale hawks, and one that refembled a wood pigeon. Man. rife I'jicad. deiSciiiice', 1752, p. 4:7. conftitute C U C K o d. 2d^ Conftitute a bird of prey; there are wanting the proper bill and talons, and the requifite courage and ftrength, in which the Cuckoo, confider- ing its bulk, is very deficient *. M» Lottinger has obferved that Cuckoos of five or fix months old are as helplefs as young pigeons ; that they remain for hours in the fame fpot, and have fo little appetite, that they muft be affifted in fwal- lowing. It is true that when they grow up, they aflume a little more refolution, ahd may fometimes pafs for birds of rapine. The Vifcount de Querhoent, whofe teftimony has the greateft weight, faw one which, being apprehenfive of an attack from another bird, bridled its feathers, and raifed and depreffed its head flowly and re- peatedly, and then fcreamed out) fo that in this manner it often put to flight a keflril, which was kept in the fame houfe f . The Cuckoo, far from being ungrateful, feems confcious and mindful of its obligations. On its return from its winter retreat, it eagerly iM i s '■• ' !i|i >l -'I; !f noy them, and that it can put none of thefe to flight : others add, that this perfecution originates from its refemblance to a bird of prey; but when did the fmall birds ever purfue tlie birds of prey i the CUCKOO. J7I ttie condudl of the Cuckoo mufl be regarded as an extraordinary phenomenon. Another fingularity in its hiftory is, that it drops only one egg, at leaft in the fame neft. It may indeed lay two eggs, as Ariftotle fup- pofes, and which appears poffible from the dif- lbd:ion of females, of which the ovarium fre- quently contained two eggs, well formed and of equal fize *. Thefe two fingularities feem to imply a third: it is that their moulting is flower and more com- plete than in moft birds. Sometimes in the winter feafon we find, in the hollows of trees, one or two Cuckoos entirely naked, infomuch that they may be taken for real toads. Father Bougaud, whom we have often quoted with that confidence which he merits, avers that he faw one in that ftate, which was taken out of a hollow tree about the end of December. Of four other Cuckoos raifed, the one by Johnfon, as mentioned by Willughby, the other by the Count de Buffon, the third by Hebert, and the fourth bymyfelf; the firfl languifhed on the approach of winter, grew fcabby, and died; the fecond and third cafl the whole of their feathers in November, and the fourth, which died to- wards the end of Odober, had lofl more than half. The fecond and third alfo foon died ; but, previous to their death, they fell into a * LinnMUs and Salerne. ■iii|, 'Mi;. 9 '§■ I/':;, ill: 9 ■^'■11 I I I kind d7^ CV CKO Oi kind of numbnefs and torpor. Many otter fi- milar fadls are adduced ; and though it has been crroneoufly concluded that all the Cuckoo? which made their appearance in fummer re- main torpid during the winter*, concealed in hollow trees or under ground, difrobed of their plumage, and, according to fome, with an am- ple proyifion of corn (which this fpecies never eats) : if thele conclulions ought not to be ad- mitted, we may at leafl: fafely infer that thofe which, on the moment of their departure, arefick or wounded, or too young, or in fhort too weak, from whatever caufe, to perform their dillant re- treat, remain behind, and pafs the winter iheltered in the firH: hole they meet with which has a good afpe^li as do the quails f : 3. That, in general, thefe birds are very late in moulting, and con- fequently flow in refuming their plumage, which ^ hardly reflored on their appearance in the be- • Thofe who fpeak of thefe Cuckoos found in wihtei* lodged in holes, agree that they are ahfolutely naked, and refemble toads* This account makes me fufpeCl that the fuppofed Cuckoos were of- ten toads Of frogs, which really pafs the winter without food, their mouth being then fhut, and their jaws, ds it were, glued together. — Arilloile pofitively aflerts that the Cuckoos never appear during winter In Greece. f In winter, fportfnien fometlmes meet with quails fquatted un- der a luge root, or in fome other hole facing the fouth, with a little provifion of grain and heads of different forts of coin. I mud own that the Marquis de Piolenc and another perfon affured me that two Cuckoos which they reared and kept feveral years did not drop all their feathers in the winter: but as they remarked not the time, nor the duration, nor the quantity of the moult, we can draw no condufion from thefe two obfervations. ginninor c u c k: o o. .273 ginning of fpring ; accordingly, their wings are then very weak, and they feldom perch on lofty trees, but ftruggle from bu(h to bu(h, and Ibmetlmes alight on the ground, where they hop like the thru flies. \Vc may therefore fay that, during the love feafon, the furplus food is almoft entirely fpcnt on the growth of the fea- thers, and can furnifli very little towards the reprodu£lion of the fpecies ; that, for this rea- fon, the female Cuckoo never lays above one egg, or at mod two ; and that, as the bird has little abilities for generation, it has alfo lefs ar- dour for all the fubordinate functions, which have the prefervation of the fpecies as their ob- je£t, fuch as neftling, hatching, and rearing their young, &c. which all originate from the fame fource, and are proportioned to it. Be- fides, as the male inftindlivcly devours birds' eggs, the female muft be careful to conceal hers; (he muft not return to the fpot where (he has depofitcd one, left the male difcover it ; (he muft therefore choofe the moft concealed neft, and which is alfo the moft remote from his ufual haunts J and if (he has two eggs, (he mi^ft entruft them to different nurfes : and thus (he takes all the precautions fuggefted by con- cern for her progeny, and yet carefully avoids betraying it through indifcretion. Viewed in this way, the condu^l of the Cuckoo will coin- cide with the general tule, and imply in the mother an affedlion for her young, and even a VOL. VI. T rational '^% m *74 CUCKOO. !ii V. fl rationnl klnc^ of coivjcni, which prefers their intcrcfl: to the tender lati^fdv^ioii of fondling and aflKlinr- them hy her ofFiccs. The difpertion too of the eggs in diiferent nefts, whatever be the caufe, whether the iiccefRty of conceahng them from the male, or the finaUnefi> of the neft ^, would alone render it impofTiblc for the female to hatch them. This hO: is the more probable, as two eggs are often found completely formed in the ovarium, but very fcldom two eggs in the lame ncil:. Bclides, the Cuckoo is not the only bird which never builds ; many fpccies of titmice, woodrpeckers, king-fiQicrs, &c. come under the flime defcription. We have already fccn that it is not the only one that lays in other's nefls ; there is aUo another example of a bird which never hatches its eggs ; the oftrich, in the torrid zone, depofits its eggs in the fand, and the heat of the fun accomplilhes the deve- lopement of the embryos. It never lofes fight of them indeed, and guards them ailiduoufly ; but it has not the fame motives as the Cuckoo to conceal its attachment, and therefore does not take all the precautions which might ex- empt it from farther folicitude. The conduct of the Cuckoo is not then an abfurd irregularity, a monftrous anomaly, a deviation from the laws * Perfons of veracity have told me that they twice faw two CjcIcoos in a Tingle neil, but both times in the neit of a throftle : bill the th oille's nefl is larger than that of the pettychaps, of thu wiiiow-wren, or of the red-breaft. • - of CUCKOO. a7S 5 tbelr ng and perrion ;ver be icealing of the for the \e more npletely :)m two Lickoo i.-i ; niauy ;-ri(hers, Ve have at lays in Tiple of a oft rich, he fand, he deve- fes fight duoufly ; e Cuckoo jfore does light ex- ; conduct egularity, 1 the laws wlce faw two of a throftle : tychaps, of the •' of of nature, as Willughby expreflos it ; it is the necefliiry confcquencc of eftablifliecl priiiciplos, and the want of it would occafion a void in tiie general fyftem, and iuterru[)L the chain ofpha:- nomena. What feems to have aAonifhcd fomc natu- ralifts the moll, is that attention which they term unnatural in the nnrfe of the Cuckoo, which neglects its own eggs to chcrifli thofc of a foreign, and even hoftilc bird. One of thefe, an excellent ornithologifi:, (truck with the appear- ance, has made a feries of obfcrvations on this fubjeft : he took the eggs of feveral fmall birds out of their nefts, and in their place fubftituted a lingle egg of a bird of a different kind, and not a Cuckoo; and he inferred from his expe- riments that, in fimilar circumftances, birds will hatch no fingle egg but the Cuckoo's, which is therefore favoured by a fpccial lavvof the Creator. But this conclufion will appear rafli and pre- carious, if we attend to the following confider- ations ; i. the aflertion being general, one con- trary fa£t is fufficient to overturn it ; and for this realbn, forty-iix experiments made on twen- ty fpecies are too few : 2. It would require many more, and thofe performed with greater nicety, to eftablifli a propofition which is an ex- emption to the general laws of nature : 3. Ad- mitting the experiments to be fufficiently nu- merous and accurate, they would beinconclufive, if not made precifely in the fame manner, and T 2 in Si I' 1^ f m ■It- m & i1 m M m . h3 M ! Wi ^^ 476 CUCKOO. ill like circumftances. For inftance, the cafe 15 not (imilar when the egg is left by a bir^ of dropped by a man, efpecially by one who is bi- afled to a favourite hypothefis; nay the fref- quent appearance of a perfon will difturb the moft eager brooder, and even caufe her to aban- don the education of a Cuckoo, though far advanced *, as I have myfelf experienced : 4. The fundamental aflertions of this author are not quite accurate *, for, though it feldom hap- pens, the Cuckoo fometimes lays two eggs in the fame neft. ^Further, he fuppofes that the Cuckoo fucks all the eggs in the neft, or dc- flroys them fomehow, leaving only its own ; but this is hardly fufceptible of proof, and is improbable. But I have often received neils, in which were feveral befides the Cuckoo's egg which properly belonged to thefe nefls i-, and even maiiy pf thefe eggs hatched, as well • A meadow green-finch, whof? neft was on' the ground under a thick root, abandoned the education of la. young Cuckoo, merely fron^ the inquietude occafioned by the repeated vifits of fome cu- rious perfons, t 16 May, 1774, five eggs of '^ ' titmobfe Vriih One of the Cuckoo; the eggs of the titmoufedifappeared by degrees J ^, 19 May, 1776) five eggs of tlieredbi-eaft with, one egg of the Cuckoo. . , I. . it.',. 10 May, 1777, four ^SS* ^^ ^^^ nlgllfth'^'ale With one egg of the Cuckoo. 17 May, i777> two eggs of the titmoufe under », young Cuckoo, but which did not fucceed. Some incident of thts fort might have ' given occafion to fay that the young Cuckoo charges itfelf with hatching the eggs of it» nurf^ {SeeGefaer, p. 365.) - ' as CUCKOO. 277 as that of the Cuckoo * : 5. But, what is no lefs decifive, there are inconteftible fa£ls ob^ ferved by perfons attached to no hypothefis t, which are diredtly oppofite to thcfe related by the author, and entirely overturn his inconclufive indu(ftions. , . . FIRST EXPERIMENT, A hen canary, which fat on her eggs and hatched them, continued to fit when two black- birds* eggs, brought from the woods, were put under her, though eight days afterwards ; and the incubation would have fucceeded if they had not been removed. SE'CONP EXPEIRIMENT. 'Another hen canafy fat four days on feven eggs, five of which were her own, and two thole of pettychaps ; but, the cage being car- /f' 14 June, 1777, a Cuckoo newly Jiatcln^d in a throllle's neft, with two young throttles, began to fly. 8 June, 1788, a young Cuckoo in the neft of a nightingale, with two young nightingales, and an addle egg* > 16 Jppe^ 1778, a ypung Cuckoo in the neft of a red-breaft, with a little red-breaft that feeme4 to have been hatched before it. M. Lottinger, in a letter darted 17 O&ober, 1776, I'.as related to m^ a faft, which he proved hlmfelf: in the month of June, a Cuckoo newly hatched in the neft of a blackcap, with a young blackcap that already flew, and an addle egg. 1 could cite many other fimilar examples. " "'i t I owe the greateft part of thefe fails to one of my relations, Madame Potot dq Montbei}lard, who his many years ufefully amufcd hqrfelf with birds, has ftudied their habits, and traced their purfuits ; and fometimes has been fo obliging as to make obferva- tions and try experiments relative to the fubjefts in which I was . ' * T 3 ried mm 'I'iil v.; 278 CUCKOO. Utii I I If'' ' il' I. liui, ried to the lower ftory, (he forfook them all. Afterwards (he laid two eggs, but did not fit, THIRD EXPERIxMENT. Another hen canary, whofe mate had eaten her i'eveii firfl: eggs, fat on the two laft, along with three others, the one a canary's, the fe- cond a linnet's, and the third a bulfmch's ; but all thefe happened to be addle. ' FOURTH EXPERIMENT. A hen wren hatched a blackbird's egg ; and a hen tree-fparrow hatched a magpye's egg, FIFTH EXPERIMENT. A hen tree-fparrow fat on fix eggs which fhe had laid ; five were added, and fhe flill fat ; five more were added, and finding the number too large, fhe ate feven of them, and continued to fit on the refl ; two were taken away, and a magpye's egg put in their place, and the fparrow hatched it, along with the feven others. SIXTH EXPERIMENT, There is a well-known method of hatching canaries' eggs, by putting them under a hen goldfinch, taking care that they are previoufly as far advanced in their incubation as thofe of the goldfinch. SEVENTH EXPERIMENT. A hen canary having fitten nine or ten days on three of her own eggs and two of thofe of the blackcap, one of the latter was removed^; in which the embryo was not only formed, but •..vr CUCKOO. 279 but living; two young yellow buntings, jiiil: h:itched, were entrufted to her, and (he treated them ^^'ith the fame attention as (lie would do her own, and dill continued to fit on the four eggs that were left, but they turned out to be addle. EIGHTH EXPERIMENT. About the end of April 1776, another hen canary having laid an egg, it was taken away ; and three or four days after, it being replaced, the bird ate it. Two or three days afterwards, fhe laid another egg, and fat on it ; two chaf- finch's eggs were then put under her, and (lie continued to fit, though Ine had broken her own eggs ; at the end of ten days the chaf- finch's eggs were removed, being tainted. Two newly hatched yellow buntings were given, which ihe reared very well. After which fiie laid two eggs, ate one, and though the other was taken away, (he continued to brood as if (lie had eggs ; a fingle egg of the redbreaft was put under her, which fhe hatched fuccefsfully. NINTH EXPERIMENT. Another hen canary, having laid three eggs, broke them almoil immcdiatclv; two chaf- finch's eggs, and one of the blackcap, were fubftituted, on which (he fat, and on three others, which (he laid fuccefiively. In four or five days, ihc cage having been carried to a room in the lower ftory, the bird forfook them. A llicrt time afterwards, (he laid an egg, to which • ' T 4 w:is 'Ml -■feiffl 'i^ ''^•■'•i"ii t m vim rx );: i ■l 'I. i 280 CUCKOO. ;i was joined- one of the nuthatch, and then two others, to which a linnet*s egg was added,, She fat on theoi all {even days, but preferring [ the two Grangers, fhe, th^ew put her o\ya luc- cefiively on the three following days, and on the eleventh fhe alfotofled out that of the nuthatch, fo th:it the linnet's was the only one that fuc- cceded. If this lad: egg had been that of a Cuckoo, what falfe inferences might have beeU ' drawn, .-. ; ,. '. " ' "' " li: i/ua Dial's ::)l|i. TE N T H ' kx PE RIME N T . On the 5th of June, a Cuckoo's egg was placed under the hen canary mentioned in the I'eventh ejcperiment, which (he hatched, along with three of her own. Oii' the 7th, one of thefe eggs difappeared ; ahothey on the 8th,' and the third and laft on tlie ibth; oiVthe nth, fhe alfo ate the Cuckoo's' egg. '.", Laftly, , a hen red-breall^ ardently bent oil broodinof, has been feen to unFte with her mate in repelling a female Cuckoo from the neH ; they fcreamed, attacked furioufly, and hotly purlued her *. • See Obf>.rvations fur I'inftinfl des Anjmaux, t. 1. p. 167, note 32. The author oFth?it note adds feme details relative to the hii- tory of our bird : *' While one of the red-brealls was Ilrikingwith its bin the lower belly of the Cucl:oo, thiii bird fhivered its wings with an almoft irfenfible quiver, opened its bill fo wide that an- other red-breaft, which afl'ailed it in front, drove its head feveral times into the cavity, without receiving; any injury ; for the Cuckoo was no way irritated, but fcemed to be in the condition of a fe- male under the necefllty of laying. In a little while the Cuckoo, being CUCKOO. all 'MA It follows from thefe experiments; i. That^ the females of many fpecies of fmall birds which j hatch the Cuckoo's egg, hatch likewife other eggs along with their own : 2. That they often fit on thefe eggs in preference to their own, ' which they fometimes entirely deftroy : 3. That' they will hatch a fingle egg, though it be not a Cuckoo's : 4. That they boldly drive off the fe- male Cuckoo, when they furprife her dropping' the egg in their neft : 5. Laftly, that they fome- times eat this favoured egg, even in cafes where it is (ingle and alone. But a more general and important confeqiience is, that the inftin6l of hatching which fometimes appears fo powerful in birds, is not determined by the kind or qua- lity of the eggs; fince they often eat or break them, or fit on addle ones ; they iit even on balls of chalk or wood, and fometimes brood in the empty neft. When a bird hafches the egg of a Cuckoo, or of any other bird, (lie follows therefore the general inftinft; and it is \lnne- cefTary to recur to any fpecial appoihtitidrit of being exhaufted, began to totter, loft its balance, and turned on the branch, from which it hungf by the feet, its eyes half-Hiut, its bill open, and its wings expanded. Having remained about two mi- nutes in this attitude, conftantly harafTed by the two red-breafts. it quitted the branch, Hew to perch at a diftance, and appeared no more. The, female red-breaft refuraed her incubation, and all her eggs were hatched, and formed a little family, that long lived at- tached to this diftri^." M. le Marquis de Piolenc alfo tells me in his letters of a C^ckoo being repelled by buntings. ■ . the Mi i:!hi:' 'i !i! Ill 'Ml rM in t,\^p ^i^attef ^ , . But JS/^^ , Lot-: ting^r has obferved ^fiat,; though the, .parent Cuckoos do not vifit their offspring, they ap-f proach within a certain diftance pf the fpot, calling, and feem to liften and reply toxach other. He adds that the young Cuckoo con^ ftantly anfwers to the call, whether in the woods or in a volery, provided it be not difturbed by the fight of a perfon. It is certain that the old C 0 C K O 0. »«J '6titi dan be enticed by imitating their call, and that they fom6times chant in the vicinity of the neft ; but there is no prc^i that thefe are the pareints of the young bird. They never render thdfe tender offices which mark parental at- "tachttient, and their calls proceed only from the fympathy common between birds of the ^iinVefpeci^sv^^^^ ^-^'^i-^'^^-^-^ -\ ''' --' ''-^^ - '' EVety body knows \ht ordin?/ry fong of the Cuckoo * ; it is fo diftin£tly formed, an(} fo of- ten repeated, that, in alihoft all languages, it ' has given name to the bird. It belongs ex- clufively to the i:hale, and is heard only during the fpring, the fbafon of love, and either when he fits on a dry branch, or while he moves on the wing i fometiiiies it Is interrupted by a dull rattling found, cfQU\i.rr\ avft n:.i3 ■ 1 ' a86 CUCKOO. fort of clucking, glou^ glou^ which is repeated five or fix times with a rtrong clear voice, while Ihe flies from tree to tree. This would feem intended to incite the male ; for as foon as he hears the call he haftens to her with ardour, uttering tou^ couj cou^. But notwithftandingthis variety of infle*^ion, the long of the Cuckoo ought never to be compared with that of the nightingale, except in the fable -j-. It is very uncertain whether thefe birds ever pair; they are Simulated by appetite, but they (hew no- thing like fentiment or attachment. The males are much more numerous than the females, and often contend for them J ; yet the obje£l of the itruggle is a female in general, without any lymptom of choice or prediledtion ; and when their paiRon is fatisfied> they defert her with the coldeft indifference. They difcover no fo- licitude, and make no provifion, for their off- fprlng. The mutual attachment between pa- • Note communicated by the Count dc Riollet, who makes a laudable amuferaent of obferving what fo many others only look at. t It is faid that the nightingale and the Cuckoo difputed the merits of the fong in prefence of the afs, whicli adjudged the prize to the Cuckoo ; but that the nightingale appealed to man, who pronounced in its favour, iince which time the nightingale fings as foon as it fees a man, in gratitude for his decifion, or in j unifica- tion of it. X Seldom or never do perfons kill or take any but the finging Cuckoos, and, by confequence, the males. 1 have feen three or lour killed in a fmgle excurflon, and not one female among them. *< In a trap, which we placed on a tree frequented by Cuckoo*," fays the author of the Brit fh Zoology, " wc caught not lewer than five male birds in one feafon." rents CUCKOO. 287 rents is fomuled on the common tcndcrnefs to their young. The yoiinj Cuckoos, foon after their exclu- fioii, have allv) a call not fluillcr than that of the pettychaps niul rcdbreafh, their nurfes, whofo tone ihey alilinic from the force of im'tation * : iHid as if fenfibk' of the necefhtv of folicitiii'T; and imijortunlng an adoptive mother, who cannot havv*^ the companion of a real parent, they Con- tiiuiaily repeat their entreaty ; and, to remove amoi^^rvilty, their hroad hill is opened to its ut- moft width, and the exprellion is rendered ftill more fi^jnificant by the clapping of their wings. After their wings have acquired fbme ftrength, they purine their nurfe among the neighbour- ing branches, or meet her when fhe brings food. The young Cuckoos are voracious -f, and can hardly be maintained by little birds, fuch as the red-breaft, the pettychaps, the common and yellow wrens, which have belldes a fa- mily to fupport. They retain their call, ac- • *♦ The fin^ular ftruft^ire of their noftrils contributes perhaps," fays M. Fvifch, " 10 produce this Ihiirp cry." It is trae that tlie noftrils of the Cuckoo h;ive, with regard to their exterior, a pretty ftngular ftrufture ; but 1 aiii convinced that they contribute not in the leaft to rcod'ty this cry, which continued the fanae after I had ftopt the noilriis witii w;;x. I have difcovered, by repeating this experiment upon other birds, and particularly upon the wren, that the cry remains r.rvaried, whether the noftrils be flmt or left open. It is befides iinown iha: tlic voice of l)irds is formed not in tlie nof- trils, or at the gkttis, but at the lower part of the trachea arttria, near its forking. •^ V f Hence the proverb to/waUo'w like a Cuckoo. '-' * 1 1.^' ; c:> " ' cordins: I hi i'lijii Si*. I;- I-- ■ .i :;-i-; n Id J 41 1." ■H*.*! i P m l», m C U C I^ o o. nit «, in ^:' cording to Frifch, till the fifteenth or twentieth of September ; it then begins to grow flat, and is foon loft entirely. Moft ornithologifts agree, that inlc^ts arc the chief part of the Cuckooes food, and that, as I have already remarked, it is peculiarly fond of birds' eggs. Ray found caterpillars in its fto- mach ; I have alfo perceived veftiges of veget- able fubftances, fmall beetles, &c. and fome- timcs pebbles. Frifch aflerts that the young Cuckoos ought, in every feafon, to be fed in the morning and evening at the fame time as in the longeft days of fummer. That author has alfo obferved the way in which they eat the infe6ls alive : they lay hold of the caterpillar by the head, and, drawing it into their bill, they fqueezc the juicy matter through the anus, and then fhake it feveral times before they fwal- low it. They alfo feize butterflies by the head, and, preffnig with their bill, they crufli the brcaft, and fwallow the whole together with the wings. They likewife eat worms; but they prefer fuch as are alive. When infeOs could not be had, Frifch gave a young Cuckoo which he raifed, Iheep's liver, and efpecially kid- neys, cutting them into fmall ftrips like the in- fe£ls for which they were fubftituted. When thefe were too dry, he foaked them a little, that they might be eafily fwallowed. The bird never drank unlefs its food was top dry, and then it drank awkwardly and with reludancc. ^ 4 In Ill cuckoo. 289 fn every other cafe it rcje lerne. May not this be the reafon why a decoction of the Cuckoo's dung in wine has been recommended as a fare remedy for the hy- drophobia ? f Q^erhoent and Hebert. ' t Salerne relates, from Voyagers, that the .Cuckoo$ fomatimei alight in great numbers on fiiips. VOX. VJ, V ■'Kk ' T-u^l I" !!■; 111?.;'". m '■! 1!^ t;"' ^ i U fpring. h i St >i 290 CUCKOO. fpring*. Their fat is colle£ted chiefly under the neck-f, and is the moft delicate morfel of the bird. They are commonly (ingle J, reft- lefs, and perpetually changing their place ; and though they never fly to any great diftance, they range over a confiderablc tra£t during the courfe of the day. The ancients watched the times of the appearance and difappcarance of the Cuckoo in Italy. The vine-dreflers who had not lopped their vines before its arrival were reckoned lazy, aiid held the objedt of public deriflon. The by-paflers who faw the back- ward ftate of the vineyard, mocked the owner's indolence by repeating the call of that bird, which was itfelf, and with much propriety, re- garded as the emblem of floth, fliice it difpenfes with the facred obligations of nature. It was an ufual expreflion alfo, crafty as a CuckoQ (tor cunning and indolence may iubfift ^ together) ; * It is in this feafon onTy that the proverb, lean as u Cuckoo, is juft. f I obiecved the fame thing in a young rock ouzel, which I brought up, and which died in the month of Odober. t In the month of July were a dozen Cuckoos on a large oak ; fome fcrcamed with all their might, others were iilent; a fowling- piece was difcharged at them, and one dropt, which was a young one. This would give room to fuppofe that the old and young gather together in fmall bo lies, to migrate. Note commuttieated by M. U Camli ie Rialltt. * Init natam txprthationtm fadatn putantium wtts per imitationem eantus alitis temporarii qu:m cueulum veeanti iedecus enim hahttut , . ,fateem ai ilia 'valuere in wte Jeprehendit ut ob id petulantia falei etiam cum primo vere ludaatur. Pliny* Lib* XVU* 26. either C ty C K O O. 291 either becaufe^ declining the talk itfelf, it con- trives to make other birds hatch its eggs ; or for another reafon furnifhcd by the ancient mythology*. ' ' '-' -^ ; • .'• - " ■• -• -'. ■ ': • ^' Though fubtlei though folitary, the Cuckoos are fufceptiblc of a fort of education. Many per- fons of my acquaintance have reared and tamed them ; they are fed with minced meat, either cooked or raw, with infe£ls, eggs, foaked bread, fruits, &c. One of the Cuckoos thus bred knew its mafter, . anfwered his call, followed him to the fport, perched on his fowling-piece, and if 'it found a black cherry tree on the road, it flew to it, and returned not till fatiated with the fruit ; fometimes it did not join its mafter again the whole day, but foUovved him at a dif- tance, fhifting from tree to tree : when at home it was permitted to run about, and to rooft at night. The dung of this bird is white and abundant, which is a great inconvenience in its education ; it muft be carefully guarded againft the cold during ths tranfition of autumn into winter : this a critical period for the Cuckoo; at Icaft x loft at this time all thofe • Jupiter having perceived thit his fiftei' Juno was alone on the Bidean mount, or Thronax, raifed a violent dorm, and came in Ihape of a Cuckoo, and alighted on the knees of the goddefs, who feeing it drenched and beaten by the tempelt, pitied it, and che- riflied it under her robe : the god then refumed his proper form, and became the hufband of his filter. From that moment the Di£tean mount was called Ceccyglan, or Cucieo-motitttain ; and kencc: the origin of the Jupittr-cuculut, Stt Gefner, p. 368. u 2 which 'i'd H. n m igz C! U C K O O. 1 l-'4 which I tried to rear, and indeed many of other kinds. ; u .:.;;;;;; ..., < r-r--^ • ^ • .; . ■ - • ' Olina Tays that the Cuckoo may be trained for the chafe like the fparrow-hawks and the falcons ; but he is the only perfon who makes that aflbrtion, which* perhaps, as well as many other errors in the hiftory of this bird, has its fource in the refemblance of its plumage to that of the fparrow-hawk. . The Cuckoos are generally diffiifed in the an- cient continent ; and though thofe of America have different habits, many of them ftill retain a certain ^mily likenefs. The common kind appear only during fummer in the colder tempe- jrate climates, fuch as thofe of Europe ; and they re(ide in the winter only in the warmer coun- tries, fuch as thofe of the north of Africa : they feem to (hun both extremes alike^ When the Cuckoos alight on the ground, they hop, as I have remarked ;. but this feldom happens : and even though it were not a(cer- tained by experience, , we might infer it from the (hortnefs of their legs' and thighs. A young Cuckoo, which I had occafion to obfcrvc in the month of June^ made no ufe of its legs in walk- ing, but crept on its beUy, aifif^ing its^ motioA by means of its bill, like the parrot in climbing. When it clambered in its cage, I perceived that the largef^ of the hind toes was turn- ed forwards, but was lefs ufed than the two other f 'J s. C tJ C !C O O. 093 •Other anterior ones *. It affifted its progreflive fldotloQ by flapping its wings^ I have already faid that the plumage of the Cuckoo is very fubje6l to vary in difFerent indi- viduals; and coniequently, in defcribing the bird, we can do nothing more than give an idea of the colours and their diftribution, fuch as they are moft commonly obferved. The greater number of the full-grown males, which were brought to me, refembled much the one de- fcribed by BrilTon ; in all of them, the upper- fide of the head and body, including the coverts of the taili the lifnall coverts of the wings, the great < .es next the back, and thtf three quills covert V them, are of a fine a(h -colour : the great ^o verts of the middle of the wing are brown, fpotted with rufous, and terminated with white; the moft remote on the back, and the ten tirft quills of the wing are deep cine- reous, the infide of the latter being fpotted with rufty white ; the fix contiguous quills brown, and marked, on both furfaces, with rufous fpots, terminated with white; the throat and the fore* part of the neck are light cinereous ; the reft of the underfide of the body is radiated tranfverfely with brown, on a dirty white ground; the fea- * If this habit be common to the fpecies, what becomes of the cxpreffion, di^iti fcanfarii, applied by many naturalifts to the toes difpofed* a» in the Cuckoo, two before and two behind ? Beftdes, do not the nut-hatches, the titmice, and the creepers, excel in climbing, though their toes ^re placed in the ordinary way, three ^•fem an4 one behind ? V 3 therg "1 294 CUCKOO. i thcrs of the thighs the fame, and falling oi^ each fide on the tarfus, like ruffles; the tar? fus clothed exteriorly with afli-colpured fea- thers as far as the middle ; the qpijls of the tail blackiHiy and terniinated with white ; the eight intermediate ones are fpotted with white peai* the (haft on the infide ; the two middle ones are fpotted in the fame manner on the outer edge, and the lad of the lateral quills is barred tranfverfely with the famie colour ; the iris is chefnut, forpetimes yellow ; the internal rpembrane of the eye is very tranfparent ; the bill is black without, and yellovy within j the ^"torners of the bil' are orange ; the legs yellow, and a little yellow appears alfo at the bafe of the lower mandible. I have feen feveral females which were very like the males ; and in fome I perceived, oa the fides of the neck, traces of thofe brown ftreaks mentioned by Linnaeus. ,:,, jM ,.Dr. Derham fays, that, in females, the neck is variegated with rufty, and the upperfide of the body is of a darker caft * ; that the wings alfo are of a rufty hue, and the eyes not fo yelt low. According to other obfervers, the plum- • A perfon of veracity a/Tured me that he fawfome of thefe in- dividuals of a browner caft, which were alfo larger: if they were females, this would be another point of analogy to the rapaciou« birds. On the other hand, Frifch remarks, that of two young Cuckoos of different fexes, which he raifcd« the male was the browned. age CUCKOO. m age of the male is always darker than that of the female ; but the variation is fo great, that no certain difcrimination can be drawn. • In young Cuckoos, the bill, the legs, the tail, and the underfide of the body, are nearly the fame as in the adults, except that the quills are more or lefs retained in their tubes : the throat, the forepart of the neck, and the un- derfide of the body, are barred with white and blackifh; in fuch manner, however, that the blackiih predominates on the anterior parts more than on the pofterior (in fome fubje€ls there is hardly any white under the throat) ; the upper- fide of the head and body is beautifully varie*^ gated with blackifh, white, and rufty, diftri- buted {o that the rufty appears more on the middle of the body, and the white on the ex- tremities; there is a white fpot behind the head, and fomctimes above the face ; all the quills of the wings "are brown tipped with white, and fpotted more or lefs with rufty and white ; the iris is greenifli gray, and the ground of the plumage is a very light afli colour. It is proi^ bable that the female fo handfomely mottled^ of which Salerne fpeaks, was hatched the fame year. Frifch tell us, that young Cuckoos rear- ed in the woods have a plumage lefs variegated, and more like the plumage of thofe which are bred in the houfe. If this be not the cafe, we (hould at leaft expe£l it ; for domeftication in general alters the colours of animals, and we ! y 4 roight i^S € U C K O O. jnight prcfume that thofe fpecies of birds which participate of that flate, undergo a proportional change of colours. At the fanae tinne I muft own, that I could perceive no difference be- tween the young wild Cuckoos which I have ieen (and I have feen many of them) and thofe which I reared. Perhaps what Frifch examined were older tb''.!! the domeftic ones with which he compared them. The fame author adds that the young males have a darker plumage than the females, and that the in fide of their mouth is redder, and their neck thicker *. - The weight of a full grown Cuckoo, weighs ed on the 1 2th of April, was four ounces two gros and a half; that of another, on the 1 7th of Auguft, was about five ounces. But they are heavier in the autumn, being then much fatter, and the difference is not inconii- derable. I weighed a young one on the zid of July, whofe total length was near ni^ie inches, and found it two ounces two gros ; another al- moft as large, though much leaner, was only pne ounce four gros, that is near one third lefs than the firft. In the full grown male the inteftinal tube is about twenty inches ; there are two caca of un- equal length, the one fourteen lines (fometimes f Frifch fufpefls that the thicknefs of the throat,' which is pecu- liar to the male, may have fome relation to the cry of the males. Yet I muft obferve that, in the numerous diiTedions which 1 have made, I could not perceive that the organs of voice were larger in ^he males thai> in the females. twenty- CUCKOO. agj twenty^-four), the other ten (fometimes eigh- teen;, both directed forwards, and adhering all along to the great inteftine, by means of a thin tranfparent membrane ; there is a gall bladder ; the kidnies are placed on each fide of the fpine, divided into three principal lobes, and thefe fub- divided into others fmaller, fecreting a whitifli liquor ; the two tefliclr*' are of an oval fhape, and of unequal fi^ an hed to the upj.^ j>art of the kidnies, and feparated by a membrane. The oefophagus dilates, at its lower part, into 9 fort of glandular fac, parted from the ftomach by a contraftion ; the ftomach is (lightly mufcu- lar on its circumference, membranous on its middle, and adhering by means of fibrous net- work to the mufcles of the lower belly, and to the different parts which furround it. It is be- fides much fmaller and better proportioned in a young bird reared by a red-breaft or petty chaps than in one bred and tamed by man ; in the fet- ter, the ftomach, being diftended by exceflive feeding, is as large as a common hen's egg, and occupies all the anterior part of the cavity of the belly, from the fternum to the anus, and fome- times ftretches under the fternum five or fix lines*, and, at other times, it conceals the l''Hl, 3 ' n'-fi • See Memoires de rAcademie Royale des Sciences, annee, 1752, /. 420. The Cuckoo of M. Heriffant was domeflic, to judge by the quantity of flefti with which its Uomach was filled. In the nutcracker the ftomach is alfo very bujky, fituated likcwife in the middle of the belly> and not covered by the inteAines. whole ,i:!i.: f9S CUCKOO. I whole of the inteftines ; whereas in the wild Cuckoo, which I dire it (its. Beddes, not only the flomach, but the whole of the lower part of the body^ rcfts upoa the eggs, otherwife moft birds which, like the Cuckoo, have a long fternum, could not cover above three or four at once, which falls much fhort of the ufual number. I found in the ftomach of a young Cuckoo, which 1 reared, a lump of raw flefh almod dry, and which had not pafled through the pylorus ; it was decompofed, or rather divided into exceed- ingly fi^Qfbrilla, In another, which was picked lup dead in the woods about the beginning of Auguft, the internal membrane of the ventri- cle was hairy, the briftles being about a line in length, ^nd diredled towards the orifice of the oefophagus: \n general, one meets with very few pebbles in the fllomach of young Cuckoos, and there are hardly any which have not fome vef- tige of vegetable matter in their ftomach. Per- haps thefe have been bred by the greenfinches, the larks, and other birds, whi h neftle on the ground ; the flernum forms a n -entrant angle. Total length thirteen or fourteen inches ; the bill thirteen lines and a half; the edges of the upper mandible fcolloped near the point (but not in all the young ones) ; the noftrils ellipti- cal, encircled by a projedling margin, and in the centre there is a Imall whitifh fpeck which rifes almoft as high as the margin ; the tongue is white at the point, and not forked ; the tar- fus ten lines ; the thigh lefs than twelve ; the ^■m r'.tj.r H tl l# it inner $99 tV CKOO. T I i inner one of the hind nails is the weakeft and the Icaft hooked ; the two fore toes are conncifled together at their bafe by a membrane ; the un- der fide is of a very fine texture, like fhagrccn ; the alar extent about two feet ; the tail is feven inches and a half, confifting of ten tapered quills*, and exceeding the wings by two inches [A]. • -• < , ,-. . VARIETIES of the CUCKOO. ' It might be regarded as fingular that the fi- gure and afpe£k of a bird, which lives in the flate of nature, ftiould be fo inconftant and va- riable. But as the Cuckoos never pair, they are Simulated only by vague and general ap- petite unreftrained by perfonal attachment, and contradt irregular alliances; which has given rife to diverfity in the bulk, in the fhape, and in the plumage, and which, in the opinion of many, has converted them into falcons, mer- lins, gos-hawks, fparrow-hawks, &c. But, not to enter into a detail of thefe exhauftlefs va- rieties, which appear to fluduate, I fliali only * Ray reckon» only eight in one whici he •bferved in 1693 ; but aiTuredly two were wanting. [A] Specific charafter of the Cucului Canorus: ** Its tail is rounded, blackifh, and dotted with white/' In England it arrives about the middle of April, and retires in the end of July; its ap- pearance is a month later in the cold climate of Sweden. Its re- treat is abfolutely unknown. obferve CUCKOO. 301 obfcrvc that in Europe Cuckoos are found dif- fering greatly in fizc; that the colours, a(h- gray, rufous, brown, and wliitiHi, are diftri- buted differently in different individuals, fo that each of thcle predominates more or lei's, and, by the multiplicity of their Ihades, increafes the variations of the plumage. With regard to the foreign Cuckoos, 1 find two which Teem to be varieties of the European kind, occafioned by the influence of climate ; and perhaps I fliould add feveral others, if I had an opportunity of furveying them more clofely. I. The Cuckoo from the Cape of Good Hope* refemblcs that of Europe both in its proportions and iu the tranfverfe bars be]o>v the belly, and in its fize, which is not much fmaller. The upper (ide of the body is brown green ; the throat, the cheeks, the fore part of the neck, and the fuperior coverts of the wings, are deep rufous ; the quills of the tail are of a lighter rufous, terminated with white; the breaft, and all the reft of the under fide of the body, are barred tranfverfcly with black on a white ground ; the iris is yellow ; the bill deep brown ; and the legs reddifh brown. The total length is fomewhat Icfs than twelve inches. May not this be the tird known at the Cape of Good Hope under the name of edolio^ be- • Cuculut Caperjist Gmel. The Cafe Cuckovt Lath^ I! f i: '11 Hjl. ■M\* till m 'IIP ^H :%,\ I'm •■%■■ ?'»< 'i- ;r^^ lii caufe •yJi Soa CUCKOO. 1^ I 'ii I eaufe it repeats that word ia a low melancholy tone ? It has no other fong, and many inha- bitants of that country, not Hottentots but Europeans^ believe that the foul of a certain ihlp-mader, who often pronounced the fame word, entered into the body of this bird j for modern ages have alfo their metamorphofe^. This is no doubt as true as the ftory of Jupiter cuculusy and yet we probably owe to it ouf knowledge of the bird's cry. It were fortunate if every error conveyed fome truth; II. Travellers fpeak of a Cuckoo of the king* dom of Loango in Africa, which is rather larger than ours, but having the fame colours, and differing chiefly in its fong ; this mud be underAood of its tone, for it pronounces cuckoo as ours does. The cock begins, it is faid, with founding the gamut, and fings alone the three £rfl notes ; then the hen flrikes in, and accom-t panics him through the reft of the odtave. She differs from our female Cuckoo, which calb much lefs than the male, and in a different manner. This is ftill another reafon for dif-- tinguifhing the Loango Cuckoo from our fpc- cies, and confidering it as a variety. #. . \ . ')'■'. CUCKOO. 303 The FOREIGN CUCKOOS. THE principal characters of the Europeaa Cuckoo arc, as we have fcen, a large head, a broad wide bill, the toes placed two before and two behind, the legs feathered and Ihort, the thighs ftill ihorter, the nails flcnder and flightly hooked, the tail long and con- fifting of ten tapered quills. It is dilcriminated from the curucuis by the number of tail-quilb, thefe being twelve, and particularly by the greater length of its bill, and the greater con- vexity of its upper mandible : it is alfo dif- tinguilhed from the barbus, by having no briftles round the bafe of the bill. But the whole muft be received with a degree of lati- tude, nor muft we cxpe iiV.145]3 3i9 CUCKOO. ■3'.. ffl. ' y V'1h I 1 •# ' the tongue upon the palate. Like the two preceding, it has a ftraight long nail on the inner hind claw, fimilar in form to that of the lark's ; the upper furface of the head and neck blacki(h ; the fides of each feather deeper co- loured, and yet more brilliant; the wings ru- fous, and their coverts rather darker near the tip J the back is of a very brown rufous ; the rump and the fuperior coverts of the tail barred tranlverfely with light" brown on a deeper browu ground; the throat, the fore part of the neck, and all the under fide of the body, are dirty white, only the feathers of the throat and neck have a more brilliant Ihaft, and the reft of the under fide of the body is radiated tranfverfely "with delicate (Iripes of a lighter colour ; the tail is blackifh; the bill black, anc' the legs gray brown ; the body is fcarceb; larger than that of a blackbird, bat it has a much longer tail. Total length fifteen or fixteen inches ; the bill fifteen lines ; the tarfus nineteen ; the nail of the inner hind toe is above five lines ; the alar extent a foot and {even or eight inches ; the tail eight inches, confifling of tea tapered quills, and exceeding the wings about four inches [A].. [A] Specific charafter of the Cuculut Senegalenjis: '* Its tail Is wedge-lhaped ; its body gray, white below ; its cap and its tail- ^uills blackifh." il:*. m tail i» tail- CUCKOO. vir. 3^9 m The BOUTSALLICK, Buff. Cuculiis Scolopaccus, Linn, and Gmel. Cuculus BengaUnJis 'Naviusy Brifl". and Klein. The Brovm and Spotted Indian Cuckoo, Edw. The Indian Spotted Cuckoo, Lath. T?DWARDS perceived (o much refemblance be- ■■-' tweeii this Bengal Cuckoo and the Eu- ropean, that he particularly marked the points of dilparity, which, in his opinion, were luf- ficient to conftitute a diftincl fpecies. I fliall here (late thele differences. It is above one third Imallcr, though it has a longer fhape, and though its body meafures, between the bill and the tail, half an inch more than that of the ordinary Cuckoo. Irs head is larger, its wings fliorter, and its tail longer in proportion. The prevailing colour is brown, which is deeper and fpotted with a lighter brown on the upper part, more dilute and fpotted with white, orange, and black, on the lower part ; the light brown or rufty fpots form, by their arrange- ment on the quills of the tail and wings, a tranf- vtrfe barring, which is a little inclined towards the point of the quills; the bill and legs are yellow ifh. Total length thirteen or fourteen inches ; the bill twelve or thirteen lines ; the tarlus eleven or ■•■'■' I '\»3i, _ An 320 CUCKOO. k t i ., i 1 or twelve ; the tail about feven inches, com- pofed of ten tapered quills, and exceeding the wings by near five inches [A], VIII. The VARIEGATED CUCKOO of MINDANAO. Cufulus MindanenJtSt Gmel. The MhtdauM Cuckoo, L:ith. #-r^His bird is fo much variegated, that, at firfi *• fight, we might tak^^ its coloured figure as defigned for the young Cuckoo of Europe. Its throat, head, neck, and all the upper part of the body, are fpotted with white or rufous, which is more or lefs dilute on a brown ground, which is itfelf variable, and verges on a gold green more or lets brilliant on all the upper part of the bodv, including the wings and tail; but the diipofition of thele fpots is changed on the quills of the wings, where they form tranfverfe bars of pure white externally, and tinged inter- nally with rufous, and on the quills of the tail, where they form ranfverfe b ;s of a rufty co- [A] Specific charader oi t\\c Cuculus Scolopaceus: *' Its tail is wedge-rtiaped i its body clouded on both fides with gray and brown." lour; ,? '-\ ^i:, co- tail is and CUCKOO. 321 lour ; the breaft and all the under fide of the body, as far as the extremity of the lower co- verts of the tail, are white, barred traniVerlely with blackiih; the bill is alio blackifh above, but rufty below, and the legs are, brown g«ay. This Cuckoo is found in the Philippines ; and it is much larger than the European kiiid. Total length fourteen inches and a half ; the bill fifteen lines ; the longeft toe feventeen lines ; the Ihorteft feven lines ; the alar extent nine- teen lines and a half j the tail feven inches, con- fiftingof ten quills, which are nearly equal, and exceeds the wings four inches and a half [A]. IX. The GUI L. CkcuIus Hanoratuit Linn, and Gmel. Cuculus Malabaricus Navius, BriiT. The Sacred Cuckoo, Lath. THE name Cuil is applied to this bird by the inhabitants of Malabar. It is a aew fpe- cies introduced by M. Poivre, and d^tfers from the preceding by its fmallnefb, by the Ihortnefs of its bill, and by the unequal length of its tail quills. [A] Specific charatfter of the Cuculut Mindamnjii: " Its tail la rounded ; its body greon gold, fpoUed with brown white ; btiow waved with white and blackifh.'* VOL. VI. y The fer ^"^i•i.. ^'1 'M 'mm 'pi 1 322 CUCKOO. 1 I; i.,^ <« 1. ji ;i •! The head and all the upper fide of the body- are blackiih ci-icieous, fpotted regularly with white ; the throat and all the under fide of the bt)dy w iiitc, barred traniVcrfely with cinereous; the quills of the wings blacki(h, thole of the tail cinereous ; and both are barred with white; the iris light orange ; the bill and legs of a di- lute a(h colonr. The Cuil is rather linaller than the ordinary Cuckoo ; it is held I'acred on the Malabar coaft, becaufe, no doubt, it deftroys the pernicious in- fects. General iuperftition originates from er- ror; but fome particular ceremonies and obferv- ances mar have their foundation in rcafon. Total length eleven inches and a half j the bill eleven lines ; the tarfus ten ; the tail five and a half, confiding often tapered quills, the outer pair being fcarcely half the length of the inner, and it exceeds the wings three inches and a half [A]. [A] Specific charadcr of the Cuculuj Ilonoratus : " Its tail is wedge-Ihaped ; its body blacidlli, ipotted wiilx wliite ; below ftriped with while and cinereous." PI CUCKOO. X. 323 The BROWN CUCKOO, variegated with BLACK. Cuculus T'ahitius, Gmcl. Cuculus Taitcfijts, L:uh. Ind. The Society Cucho, Lath. Syn. A LL that we know of tliis bird befide what 13 ^^ contained in the appellation, is that it has a long tail, and that it is found in the Socicry Ifles, and there called the ara wereroa. The only account given of it is contained in Capt. Cook's fecond voyage, fnmi which we have extra«5ted thii fliort indication with the viow of inducing travellers addicted to natural hiftory to procure fuller iuformatioii concerning this new fpecies [AJ. ■"'■•■5 i ill XI. The RUFOUS SPOTTED CUCKOO. Le Ctucou I'ruK Piquete de Roux, BufF, Cucu/us PunilRtusy Lhui. and Gmel. Cucului Inuicu! iJ^vius, Briff. npHis is found in the Eafi Indies, and as far ^ as the Phdippines. The hcad raid all the [A] Specilic ch.mclcrof thu CucuIi.sT'-'hit.'o : " Iris brown, below wnite, ftripeJ witli brown ; its eyc-browa wiiite i its vving- quilla fpotted with ferruginous." Y 2 upper VMSTSI :-' ' 'rl. ( V t ■I '■.'i-i^HSA i\M in'l 3*4 CUCKOO. upper part of the body are dotted with rufous on a brown ground, but the quills of the wings and tail, and its fuperior coverts, are barred tranf- verfcly; all the quills of the tail are terminated with liciht rufous ; the throat and all the liiider fide of the body are barred tranfverfely with blackifh brown, on a rufous ground ; there is an obl(;ng Ipot of light rufous below the eyes ; the eyes are yellowifh rufous, the bill horn co- lour, and th '. legs brown gray. In the female the upper fide of the head and neck is lefs dotted, and the under fide of the body is of a lighter rufous. This Cuckoo is much larger than the or- dinary kind, and almofl equal to a Roman pi- geon. Total length fixteen or feventcen inches ; the bill feventc-^ii lines ; the tarfus the fame ; the alai extent twenty- three inches ; the tail eio-ht inches and a half, confiding often tapered quills, and exceeding the wings four inches and one third. The fubje■■'■ M '4 i ill IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 4^ i< A ^ 1.0 I.I US ^^ •■■ ut lii |2.2 Vi. Itt 2.0 lit 111 u w , l«0 ||L2i 1 u Hlli^s 4 6" - » ^« Photographic Sdmces Corporation 4s c\ 4'. '\ n WIST MAM STRHT WniTm,N.V. 14SM (71*) •72-4503 o^ \ [I 326 CUCKOO.' toes ; the bill is blackifli above, yellow below, and the legs ^yellow ifh. . ..,/>' a.'.. Total length about fourteen inches; the bill fcventeen lines; the tarfus one inch; the tail lix. inches and a half, confiding of ten nearly equal quills, and exceeding the wings by four inches and a half [A]. ../-* ' * : I 4« ' colour. A 'A 1, fc^ 3iS CUCKOO. colour, which terminate the quills of the tail ; the bill and legs are black. This bird is found on the coaft of Coroman- del ; It is eleven inches in total length, its tail is compofed of ten tapered quills, and exceeding the wings by one half its length [A]. There is in the King's Cabinet a Cuckoo brought from the Cape of Good Hope, and pretty much like this ; the only differences are, that is an inch longer, that it is entirely black b6th above and below, except the white fpot on the wing, which occupies its exa£t place, and that, of the ten middle quills of the tail, eight are not tapered, the remaining outer pair being eighteen lines (horter than the reil. {t is pro- bably a variety produced by climate. , m XV. The LITTLE CUCKOO, with a Gray Head and Yellow Belly. Cueu!us Flanui, Gmel. The Teilow-Miit iM, Lath. THIS fpecies is found in the ifland of Panay; and we owe the account of it to Soiuierat : [A] Specific character of the Cuculus Mtlamhucus: " It is black, below white; its tail wedge-ihaped, tipt with white; a white fpot on its wings ; its head fomewhat crefted." the ifc-=: C U C K O^. 329 the upper fide of the head and throat is light gray; the upper fide of the neck, back, and wings, umber coloured ; the belly, the thighs, and the inferior coverts of the tail, are pale yel- low, tinged with rufous; the tail is black, ftrip- ed with white ; the legs are pale yellow, and {o is the bill, only blackilh at the point. This bird is as large as a blackbird, not fo bulky, but much longer, being eight inches and fome lines, and the tail, which is tapered, oc- cupies more than one half of this length [A]. P The COU KEELS. I FIND in fy items of ornithology, three birds of different fizes, which are made into as many didindt fpecies ; but they appear fo ana- logous in their plumage, that I am difpofed to regard them as the fame, only varying in bulk^ efpecially as they are all natives of the eaftern parts of Afia. Edwards infers from the refem- blance between their names, that the call of the Bengal Coukeel muft refemble that of the Eu- ropean Cuckoo. [A] Specific charafter of th? Cuculus FJavus: " It is brick-co- loured, below yellowifh ; its top and throat dilute gray ; its tail wedge-fliaped^ and black, Uneated with white." "'•■■'"-' The 4 -■ 330 CUCKOO. 1 The firft aad largeft * of the three is very near equal iri (ize to the pigeon ; its plumage is entirely of a fliiuing black, changing into green and alfo into violet, but only under the quills of the tail ; the under and inner fide of the quills of the wings black ; the bill and legs browa gray ; and the nails blackifli. The fecond comes from Mindanao, and is hardly larger than our Cuckoo ; it is interme- diate in regard to fize between the preceding and the following one; all its plumage is blackifli, verging on blue ; the bill is blackifli at the bafe and yellowifh at the point j the firft of the quills of the wings is almoft one half (horter than the third, which is one of the longeft; the tail is generally fpread. The third Coukeel, and the fmalleft -f, is fcarcely equal to the blackbird ; it is entirely black, like the two foregoing, without mixture of any other permanent colour ; but, according to the various angles of the incidental rays, the plumage glows with all the fugitive tints of the i ii! * Cuculus Orientalis, Linn, and Gmel. Cuciilui Indtcus Niger t BrilT. The Eajlern Block Cucktro;, Lath. Specific charaAer : •* Its tail is rounded j its body gloffy green- i(h black; its bill brown." , ; - t "> ; f Cuculus Niger, Linn. Gmel. and Klein. Cuchlus BengnU'Jis Niger, Briff. and Gerini. The J!?/."ci Inaiai Cuchiv, Lath. Specific charatccr: " It is wedgc-iliaped ; its body ihiniog black ; its bill bright yellow." rainbow. .«iii CUCKOO. 33» rainbow. It is thus that Edwards, the original obferver, defcribes it, and I know not why Brif- fon ntientions only green and violet. As in the firrt: Coukeel, the inner and under fide of the quills of the \ying are black; the bill is bright orange, rather (horter and thicker than in the European Cuckoo ; the tarfus is thick and Ihort, and of a reddifh brown, which is alfo the colour of the toes. We muft obferve that the name Coukeel, be- ftowed in Bengal, is peculiarly applicable to this bird, and therefore the inferences drawn be- tween the fimilarity of names and the rcfem- blance of calls, will be more conclufive with regard to it than with regard to the other two. The edges of the upper mandible are not ftraight, but undulated. In all the three the tail confifts of ten tapered quills. Their dimenfions are as follow : I.' ("r its FIRST COUKEEL. Inches. Lines. Total length Bill - - Tarfus - Alar extent Tail - . - i6 o - o 16 - o 17 - 23 o 8 Length beyond the wings 4 o .fv:. J ^ tt'': t I •■ .t,.u H \, SECOND. In. Lin. 14 o o 7 3 »?..', 16 o 6 THIRD. In. Lin. 9 o o 10 o 7 wings pretty long. 4 3 Z 9 ■'I 'I 1^ 332 CUCKOO. '. ■ I ■ 1 . I ili XVII. The GOLD-GREEN and WHITE CUCKOO. Cuculus Auratus, Gmel. ' The G/AA ■ ■ , ' » npHE plumage of this bird is entirely of a dark •*' green, which appears on the head, the body, the wings, and the tail. Yet it has not been negle£led by nature, but, on the contrary, it is decorated by unufual feathers. Beld-j the tuft which didinguifhes the head, the tail has a remarkable form ; the outermoft pair of qifflls is near fix inches longer than all the reft ; and they have no webs except for the fpace of three inches at their extremity. It was on account of thefe two (hafts that Linnaeus gave the bird the appellation oi Paradife Cuckoo: for the fame reafon the two following might be termed /^7- • This fpecies is new, and introduced by M. Poivrc. dow ;V1 I* m 1 '? 1 H i;' Tilft, 11 ■ •( >• I V I,: J ■I 334 CUCKOO. Jotv Cuckoos, The iris is of a fine blue ; the bill blackifh ; and the legs gray : it is found at Siam, where Poivrc favv it alive ; it is nearly as large as the jay. i, ^^). / H'ff .yj;'?ff* ar: Total length feventccn inches ; the bill four- teen lines ; the tarfus ten ; the tail ten inches and nine lines, and rather forked, and ejLceed- ing the wings about nine inches [A], t'.;v y"-\ :J^V.<- •'"' •> ':■ XIX. The COLLARED CRESTED- CUCKOO*. ; Cucnlus Coromanelus, Linn, and Gmel. Qucu'.us CoromanJelaneuJrs Crijiatuif BrifT. The CcllartJ Cucko-M, Lath. i < ! y.\'\ /TpHis bird is alfo ornamented with a crefl", •*• and is remarkable for the length of two quills of its tail ; but thefe are the middle ones, which proje£l beyond the lateral ones, as alio drains in fome fpecies of widow-birds. AH the upper fide is blackifli, from the head inclufively to the end of the tail, except a white collar about the neck, and two round fpots of [A] Specific charafter of the ^uculus ParaM/eus: ** The two outermuft quills of its tail are very long, and dilated at the tip ; its head crefted, and its body grt:en/' * This fpecies is new, and was obferved and figured in its na- tive country by M. Poivrc. 5 a gray ID *- alio I head 'hite )ts of fhe two jthe tip i its na- gray c r c K o o. 33S a gray colour behind the eyes, one on each fide, which in Tome meafure relemble ear- pendants : we muft alfo except the wings, of which the quills and their middle coverts are variegated with rufons and black ilh ; and To are the fhoul- ders, though their ^reat quills and coverts are entirely blackilh ; the throat and the thighs are blackifh ; all the reft of the under fide of the body is white j the iris yellovvilh ; the bill deep cinereous ; the legs alio cinereous, but lighter coloured. This Cuckoo is found on the coaft of Coromandcl, and is nearly of the fize of the red-uiiig. Total length twelve inches and a quarter; the bill eleven Unes ; the tarfus ten ; the winafs fhort ; the tail fix inches and three quarters, confiding of ten quills, th^ two middle ones much longer than the lateral ones, which are tapered ; and it exceeds the wings by five inches and a half [Aj. [A] Specific charafter of the Cuculus CoromanJus: ** Its tail is wedgc-fhapcd ; its bod/ black, below white ; a bright white col- lar." ■ ,^ . : .-. . ->,. -;..,, ■■; ; ,/;. . ■■ . ' , m I) 1^: : il; l.i; 336 CUCKOO. The SAN-HIA of CHINA*. ■" ■% Cutulut StHenfitt Linn, and Gmel. CutuUi CerultHi, Biifl*. The Chint/t Cuciinvt Lath 4 ♦ • /TpHis Cuckoo rcfembles the preceding Ipc* •* cies, and coniequcntly the widow birds, by the length of the two middle quills of the tail ; its phimage is remarkable, though it con^ fifts of only two principal colours, blue on the upper fide, and fnowy white on the under fide ; but it would fcem that nature, happy always in her carelefs mood, has fufFered a few drops that are fnowy white to fall from her pallet upon the crown of the head, where it forms a Ipot through which the blue appeared in a thou- fand points ; and alfo upon the cheeks a little behind, where two forts of ear-pendants are re- prefented, as in the preceding fpecies ; and upon the quills and coverts of the tail, each of which is marked by a round white fpcck near the tip : befides, it appears melted into the azure of the rump and of the bafe of the great quills of the wing, and has confiJerably diluted the tinge; the whole is fct off to advantage by the dark blackilh colour of the throat and the fides of the head ; and laftly, the beautiful colour of the iris,- • This (pedes is new, and feen and figured by M. Poivre in its native country. ■ • the » • A*. ig fpc- r birds « of the it con- : on the er Tide ; always w drops ;r pallet forms a [ a thou- a little s are re- md upon )f which the tip ; re of the Is of the he tinge; the dark es of the if the iris,' Poivrc in its the •■' ) > ' !ii I '■ Yn'i ,1* il -^/^^ THE ISTATE CUCltOO. ■11 1 ft. > . I CUCKOO. 357 the bill, and the legs, adds to the richnefs of the garb. • Total length thirteen inches ; the bill eleven lines, and there are fome hairs about its upper bafe ; the tarfus ten lines and a half ; the tail feven lines and a half, confifting of ten very un- equal quills, of which the two middle ones ex- ceed the two adjacent lateral ones by three inches and a quarter ; they exceed the outer- moft by five inches and three lines, and the wings by almoft their whole length [A], ii im \ ^'^rm ' ■ I *v XXI. The T AIT-SO U. Cucufus Caruhus, Linn, and Gmel. Cuculus Madagafcaritnjis Caruleus, firifl*. The Blut Cuchot Lath. . ' ' ^ A s ufual, 1 retain the favage nan:ie, which is ^^ generally the befl and the moft charac- teriftic. The Tait-Sou, fo called in its native country, is wholly of a fine blue, and the general uni- formity is relieved by very dazzling tints of vio- let and green, refle^led by the quills of the wings ; and by tints of pure violet, without the [A] Specific character of the Cuculus Sintnjis: ** Its tail is wedge-ftiaped and long; its body blue, below white; a white fpot on tiie tips of the tail-^uills," .- - • VOL, VI. a ieaft m :rM m lit a 'Ml i !'■■ d ;' 1 !l! 14 ! j-i r ;;; .1 hi ii \i 11 it 3S8 CUCKOO. lead cafl: of green, which are refle(5^ed by thq quills of the tail ; laftly, the black colour of the kgs and bill gives (hade to the picture. Total length fe.'enteen inches ; the bill fix- teen lines ; the tarfus two inches ; the alar ex-^ tent near twenty inches ; the tail nine inches, and compofed of ten quills, of which the two middle ones are a little longer than the lateral ones ; it exceeds the wings fix inches [A], XXII. The POINTER CUCKOO, Cueulus Indicator t Qtnel. and Bor, The Honey-Guidt, S parr man. 'Xhc Htntj Cucitot Latlii. IT is in the interior part of Africa, at fome dif- - tance from the Cape of Good Hope, that this bird is found, which is known by its fingular inftin£t of pointing out the nefis of wild bees *. In the morning and evening it utters its cry, chrr, chrr^ chgrr^ which is very fhrill, and [A] Specific charaQer of tKe CuchIus Cterulfus : " Its tail is rouQded ; its body blue." • According to fome travellers, the cry of this bird is nuitkl^ woieki ; and this word 'wieki fignifies honey in the language of the Hottentots. It fometimes happens that the hunter in following the call of this Cuckoo, is devoured by wild beads ; which has given occafion to f^y that the bird concerts with them to conduft their feems t\ \ vmmmm mmm CUCKOO. 339 feems ^c ivite the hunters and' others, who fearch t'.. honey in the wildernefs ; they an- fwer it in a more hollow tone, and continue al- ways advancing : as foon as it perceives them it flies onward, and hovers over the hollow tree where the fwarm is lodged ; if the hunters are too tardy in following it, it redoubles its cries, returns back to them, flops and flutters about, to roufe their attention. It omits nothing to in- duce them to profit by the little treafure which it difcovers, but which it probably could not enjoy without the afliftance of man ; either becaufe the entrance into the neft is too narrow, or on ac- count of fome other circumftances. While the party are einployed in plundering the honey, the bird fits in a neighbouring bufh, watching ea- gerly and expelling its fhare of the booty, which is commonly left for it, though never in fufficient quantity to fatiate its appetite, or extinguifh or blunt its ,;rdour in this kind of purfuit. This is not the idle tale of a common tra- veller ; it is the obfervation of an enlightened man, who affifted at the deftruftion of feveral republics of bees, betrayed by this little fpy, and who communicates an account of what he faw to the Royal Society of London. I (hall add the defcription of the female, which he made from the only two fubjedts that he could pro- pqre, ai>d which he fhot to the great fcandal of Z 2 thQ ;i4 n^? 1 1-\ ;i •:^'i r i 1 340 CUCKOO. the Hottentots; the exiftence of a ufeful crea- ture is every where precious. The upper ficie of the head is gray; the throat, the ft)re part of the neck, and the breall, are whitifii with a green tinge, which grows more dilute as it fpreads, and is Icarcely per- ceptible on the breafl;; the belly is white ; the thighs the fame, marked with an oblong black fpot ; the back and rump are rufty gray; the juperior coverts of the wings are brown gray, thofe next the body marked with a yellow fpot, which, on account of its fituation, is often con- cealed under the fcapular feathers; the quills of the wings are brown; the two middle quills of the tail are longer and narrower than the reft, and of a brown verging on ruft colour ; the two following pairs are blackifti, their infidc dirty white ; thofe which fucceed are white, ter- minated with brown, and marked with a white fpot near their bafe, except the laft pair, where this fpot almoft vanilhes; the iris is rufty gray; the eye-lids black ; the bill brown at its bafe, yellow at the end,' and the legs are black. Total length fix inches and a half ; the bill about fix lines, and there are fome briftles about the bafe of the lower mandible ; the noftrils are oblong, with a projedling margin, placed near the bafe of the upper mandible, and feparat- cd only by its ridge ; the tarfus is (hort ; the 8 nails '■*'i CUCKOO. 341 nails flender ; the tail tapered, and compofed of twelve quills ; it exceeds tbe wings by three- fourths of its length [A]. ■,\fi XXIII. The VGUROU-DRIOU*. Cucuius y^/er, Gmel. Cueulus Madagafcarienjis Majors Briff. The African CuckoiM, Lath. ^TpHis fpecies and the preceding differ from all •*• the rert:, in the nunmber of quills in the tail ; thefe amounting to twelve, though com- monly they are only ten« The differences pe- culiar to the Vourou-driou con fill: in the fhape of its bill, which is longer, ftraighter, and. not fo convex above ; in the pofition of the noftrils, which are oblong, and placed obliquely near the middle of the bill ; and in a character which belongs alfo to the birds of prey, viz. that the female is larger than the male, and of a very [A] Specific charafler of tlie Cucuius Indicator : " It is ferrS- ginous gray* below white ; its eye- lids naked and black ; a bright yellow fpot on its ihoulders ; its tail wedge-fhaped and ferrugi- i» nous. • The natives of Madagafcar call it Vouroug-driou* We are in- debted to M. Briflbn for the account of this fpecies, which is not the largeft in that ifland« witnefs the Greeniih Cuckoo already no- ticed. 2. 2 (iifferent !.l! 34* CUCKOO. il different plumage. This bird is found in the ifland of Madagafcar, and no doubt on the cor- relponding part of Africa. In the male the crown of the head is black- ifli, with reflciftions of green and rofe copper; there is a (Ircak of black placed obliquely between the bill and the eye ; the reft of the head, the throat, and the neck, are cinereous; the breaft, and all the reft of the under fide of the body, are of a handfome white gray ; the upper fide of the body, as far as the end of the tail, is of a green colour, changing into rofe-copper ; the middle quills of the wing are nearly of the fame colour ; the large ones blackifti, verging on green ; the bill is deep brown j and the legs reddifti. The female is fo different from the male, that the inhabitants of Madagafcar have called it by a different name, Cromb* The head, the throat, and the upper fide of the neck, are ftriped tranf- verfely with brown and rufous ; the back, the rump, and the fuperior coverts of the tail, are of an uniform brown ; the fmall fuperior co- verts of the wings are brown, edged with ru- fous ; the great ones dull green, edged and ter- minated with rufous ; the quills of the wing are the fame as in the male, only the middle ones are edged with rufous ; the fore part of the neck, and all the reft of the under fide of the body, are variegated with blackifti ; tine quills of the tail are of a glofly brown, terminated with c ijr c tt: o o. 343 with rufous ; the bill and legs are nearly as ia the male [A]. Their relative dimenfions are as follow : MAL?. Total length - - - - Bill -.-... Tarfus Alar extent - - - Tail Excefs above the wings Inch. Lin. 15 6 a 0 I 3 a5 8 1 0 % 4 fSMALB. 1 Inch. Lin. - 17 6 a 4 I 3 - 29 4 - 7 9 2 7 [A] Specific charader of the Cutuhu Afer: *' It is copper- green, below (hining gray ; its head and neck cinereous ; its top copper blackift ; its tail equal and gold green, below black." :m » ^ ' \ :- - J';- 2 4 ♦**. 1^ 1% 344 CUCKOO. AMERICAN BIRDS, WHICH ARE RELATED TO THE CUCKOO. iH: 'i ;t I. . The OLD-MAN, or RAIN-BIRD. Cuculus Pluvialis, Giriel. • ,, Ci. cuius 'Jama cenjiii firiH'. Picas ^lijor Leucophofust Ray. ■ " Cuculus Jamaicenjis Major, Sloane> Brown, and Klein. • The Rain Cuckoa, Lath. 1"^IiE name oi Old- Man has been given to this bird, becaule, under its throat, there is a fort of white down or beard, the attribute of age : it is alfo called the Rain-Bird^ becaufe it never calls, except before rain. It continues the whole year in Jamaica, and haunts not only the woods, but the ftraggling buflies : it fuffers the hunters to approach very near before it takes flight. Its ordinary food confifls of feeds and worms. The upper fide of the head is covered with downy or filky feathers of a deep brown ; the reft of the upper fide of the body, including the wings and the two middle quills of the tail, is olive cinereous ; the throat is white, and the fore part of the neck the fame ; the breaft, and the reft of the under furface of the body, rufous ; all the lateral CUCKOO. 345 •I'j lateral quills of the tail are black tipt with white, and the outermoft is edged with white; the up- per mandible is black ; the lower one is almoft white; the legs bluifh black: it is fomewhat larger than the blackbird. The ftomach of the one difleded by Sloane was very large in proportion to the fize of the bird, in which refpeft it refembles the Eu- ropean fpecies ; it was lined by an exceedingly thick membrane; the inteftines were twifted like a (hip's cable, and covered with a quantity of yellow fat. . . , Total length fix inches and three quarters ; the bill one inch ; the tarfus thirteen lines ; the alar actent equal to the total length; the tail from feven and a half to eight inches, com- pofed of ten tapering quills, and projedting al- moft entirely beyond the wings [A J. i.i(«! J m t'Sti VARIETIES of the RAIN CUCKOO. I. The Rufous- winged Old Man*. The fame colours as in the preceding appear on the [A] Specific charafler of the Cuculus Pluvialis: ** It is cine- reous olive, below rufous ; its throat white." • Cucuitu Jmericanust Linn, and GnxeL Cuculut CaroUnenJis, BrifT. and Klein. The Carolina Cudow, Catelby, Penn. and Lath. Specific charafter: " It is wedgc-lhaped ; its body cinereous above, and white below ; its lower mandible yellov/." upper I 346 C U C K O Ok upper furface and oa the tail, and almoH thd fame on the bill ; but the white of the under furface of the body, which in the Rain-bird was confined to the throat and bread:, extends in this bird over all the lower part : the wings have a iufty Caft, and are longer in proportion; laftly^ the tail is (horter and of a different (hape. This Cuckoo is folitary; it relides in the darkeft forefts, and on the approach of winter it leaves Carolina to find a milder air. Total length thirteen inches.; the bill four- teen lines and a half; the tail (ix inches, con- fining of ten quills, of which the three middle ones arc longer than the refl, but equal to each other, and the two lateral pairs arc fhorter, and the more fo in proportion to their diftance from the centre ; the longeft projcd four inches be- yond the wings. II. The Little Old Man*, known at Cayenne by the name of Mangrove Cuckoo (Coucou des Palctuviers), This bird, the fe- male efpecially, refembles the Jamaica Rain-bird fo much^ both in its colours and in its general conformation, that the defcription of the one may ferve for the other; the only difference eonfifts in the fize, the Cayeime bird being * Cuculus Minor, Gmel. Cttculus Seniculuii Lath. Ind. The Mangrove Cuckow, Lath. Syn, Specific charadler : " It is einereous olivcj below UWny, Its chiii white." much C tJ C K O O. 34^ much fmaller, its tail is alio rather longer in proportion ; but we may flill fuppofe that it is a variety refulting from climate. It feeds on in- feifts, and particularly on the larger caterpillars* that gnaw the leaves of the mangroves ; and hence it is fond of lodging among thefe trees, where it renders an ufeful fervice. Total length one foot ; the bill thirteen lines ; the tarfus twelve ; the tail five inches and a half, confifting of ten tapering feathers, and exceeds the wings three inches and one third. n. The T A C C Of. Cuculus-Vetula, Linn. Gmel. and Bor, Cucu.'us ^JamaicenftSf Brifl*. Klein, and Ger. Picuit ftu Pluviit Avis can'/ctf/i, Ray and Sloao€f< The Long-bellied Rain Cucho, Lath. LOANE pofitively aflerts that, except the bil^ which in the Tacco is longer, more (lender^ and whiter, it refembles the Rain-bird precife- ly ; he afcribes to it the fame habits, and ap- S * Thefe large caterpillars are four inches and a half long, and feven or eight lines broad. In the years 1775 and 1776, they mul- tiplied fo excclfively, that they devoured almoft entirely moft of the mangroves and many other plants. It was thes that the iflanders regretted their not having muUiplied this fpecics of Cuckoo. f In the Antilles it is named Tiacco from its cry ; the negroe* call it Cracra and Tacra'Bajo. In St. Domingo it is temled Celi- vicou, plies my ^Ili. I 1 I ,1 pi 1 1 : ( 34« CUCKOO. plies the fame names. But Briflbn, refting pro- bably on this remarkable difference in the length and conformation of the bill, has made this bird a diftindt fpecics. This feparation is the more proper, as it appears from clofer infpciflion that the plumage is not the lame, and that even the white beard is wanting, which gave name to the preceding fpecies : befides, the Chevalier . Lefebre Defhayes, who has obferved the Tac- co with attention, 'finds that its habits arc dif-' ferent from thofe afcribed by Sloane to the Rain- bird. Tacco is the ufual cry of this Cuckoo, but is feldom heard. It pronounces the firfl fyllable hard, and defccnds a whole odave on the fe- cond ; it never utters this till after it has given a jerk with its tail, which it commonly does when it (hifts its place, or perceives any one approach. It has alfo another cry qua, qua, qua, qua, but which is never heard unlefs it be alarmed by the fight of a cat, or fome other dangerous enemy. Sloane fays that this Cuckoo, like the one which he terms Rain-bird, forebodes rain by its Joud calls ; but the Chevalier Defhayes difco- covered no fuch habit *. Though the Tacco lives generally in culti- ' vated grounds, it alfo frequents the woods, be- caufe it there finds its proper food, which con- • To the Chevalier Dcfliayes I owe my information with regard to the habits and economy of the Tacco. fifts ■f i. CUCKOO. 349 fifls of caterpillars, bretles, worms and vermin, ravfts'*, wood-lice, an I other iiifcdls, which unfortunately are too common in the Antilles, both in the clearc I lands diid in the forcfts. It alfo preys upon Imall lizards, called atw/ls "f^ imall fnakcs, frogs, young rats, and fometimes, it is faid, upon I'mall birds. It (urprifcs the lizards when they are eagerly watching on the branches for flies, and therefore off their guard. With regard to fnakes, it feizes them by the head, and in proportion as the part fwallowed digefts, it fucks up the rcfl: of the body, which hangs out from the bill. It is thus ufeful, (ince it deftroys the pernicious animals: it would prove of ft ill greater utility, could it be domef- ticated ; and this might be poffible, for it is not (hy, but even fufFers the young negroes to catch it in the hand, though it has a flrong bill, and could make a flout defence. Its flight is never lofty ; it begins flapping with its wings, and, then fpreading its tail, it fhoots along, or rather Ikims than flies. It flutters from bufli to bufh, and hops from bough to bough : it even fprings upon the trunks of trees, to which it clings like the wood-peckers; and fometimes it alights on the ground, and hops about like the magpye, always in purfuit of • A fort of cock- chaffers, very ofFenfive and pernicious, fre- quent in the Weft indies. T. t Written alfo anoulys. They have a fine, fleek fltin, and are fometimes eaten by the people of the French Weft India iflands. T. , infedts ( t i -it i i;'..; **■;, ■J.-;, 1 ■i i li'Ki!! H*, I 350 CUCKOO. jnfe£ls or reptiles. It is faid to exhale conti-^ nuatly a rank fmell, and that its flefli is unpa* latable; which is very probable, confidering the kind of fubftances upon which it feeds. Thefe birds retire in the breeding feafon into the depth of the forefts, and remain fo well con-» cealed, that no perfon has ever feen their neft. One might almoft be induced to fuppofe that they have none, and that, like the European Cuckoo, they lay their eggs in other birds* iicfts; but if this were the ca(e, they would differ from all the other American Cuckoos, which themfelves build and hatch. The Tacco has no brilliant colours in its plumage, but it has always a neat and become ing air : the upper fide of its head and body, in- cluding the coverts of the wings, is gray, which is pretty deep, with greenifli reflections on the great coverts only ; the fore fide of the neck and breaft is a(h gray, ^nd over all thefe (hades of gray there is fpread a faint reddifh tint ; the throat is light fulvous ; the reft of the under fide of the body, including the thighs, and the in- ferior coverts of the wings, are more or lefs of a lively fulvous ; the ten firft quills of the wing are of a bright rufous, terminated with green- i(h brown, which, in the following quills, ap- proaches conftantly to a ruft colour ; the two middle quills of the tail are of the colour of the back, with greeni(hrefle»Slionsj the eight others are the fame about their middle, dark brown, 3 with CUCKOO. 3S» with blue refledtions, near their bafe, and ter- rnitiated with white ; the iris is brown yellow; the eyebrows red ; the bill blackifh above, atid of a lighter colour below ; the legs are bluifh. This Cuckoo is not fo large as the European one ; it is found in Jamaica, in St. Domingo, &c. Total length fifteen inches and a half (feven- teen and one-third, according to Sloaiie) ; the bill is eighteen lines according to Sloane ; twen- ty-one according to the Chevalier Defliayes, and twenty-five according to Briflbn; the tongue is cartilaginous, terminated by filaments ; the tar- fas about fifteen lines ; th-c alar extent equal to the total length of the bird; the tail eight inches, according to Dcfliayes, and eight inches and three quarters, according to Briflbn, and confiding of ten tapering quills ; the inter- mediate ones overlap the lateral ones ; it pro- jeds about five inches and a half beyond the wings [A]. [A] Speciiic charafler of the Cufulus Vetula: *' Its tail Is wedge* ihape4; its body duf^iCh, belovv brick coloured; the eye-lids red." I i-.i . M^ 352 CUCKOO. III. The GUIRA-CANTARA. Cuculus-Guira, Gmel. Cuculus Brafdienfis CriJiatuSt Briff. Guira jicavga'ara, Ray and VVill. The Brazilian Crefitd CuckaiUt Lath. r 'TpHis Cuckoo is very noify ; it lives in the ^ forefts of Brazil, and makes them echo to its cry, which is louder than pleafant. It has a kind of tuft, whofe feathers are brown, edged with yellowifh ; thofe of the neck and wings are, on the contrary, yellowifh, edged with brown ; the upper and under (ides of the body are of a pale yellow ; the quills of the wings are brown ; thofe of the tail brown alfo, but ter- minated with white; the iris is brown ; the bill dun-yellow ; the legs fea-green. It is as large as the European magpye. . '^ » ;t Total length fourteen or fifteen inches ; the bill about an inch, a little crooked at the end ; the tarfus one inch and a half, and clothed with feathers; the tail confining of eight quills, ac- cording to Marcgrave ; but were not feme of them wanting ? they appear equal in the fi- gure. CUCKOO. IV. S5$ The QU APACTOL, or the LAUGHER. Cuculus RidibunduSi Gmel. ■• Avis Ridibunda ^apa:htotot!, Will, and Ray. Cuculus Mexicanus, BriC The Laughing CueicWf Lath* THIS Cuckoo is called the Laughing-bird, on account of its call ; and for the fame rea- foii, Hiys Fernandez, it was reckoned unlucky by the Mexicans before the true religion was introduced among them. With regard to the Mexican name ^apachtototl, which I have contraded and foftened, it alludes to the fulvous colour which is fpread over all the upper furface of its body, and even on the quills of the wings; thofe of the tail are alfo fulvous, but of a darker caft ; the throat is cinereous, and alfo the fore- part of the neck and bread ; the reft of the un- der fide of the body is black ; the iris is white, and the bill bluifh black. . ' The fize of this Cuckoo is nearly equal to that of the European kind ; it is fixteen inches in total length, and the tail alone occupies the one half of this. [A] Specific charafter of the Cuculus Ridibundus : *' It is ful- vous ; its throat and bread cinereous ; its belly, its thighs, and the lower coverts of its tail, black." VOL. VI. A a 354 CUCKOO. i ' V. . The HORNED CUCKOO, Or the Atingacu of Brazil. Cuctilus Cornuttis, Linn, and Gmel. Cucutus hrafilicnjis Cormitus, Brifl*. Atinga guacu mucut Ray and WiiU /TpHE fingular property of this Brazilian Cuckoo •*' is, that there are long feathers on the head, which it can eretSt at pleafure, and form a dou- ble tuft ; and hence the epithet of horned, which has been beftowed by Briflbn. The head is large, and the neck fhort, as ufual in this ge- nus ; all ihc Upper furface of the head and body is footy ; the wings are the fame, and even the tail, though this has a darker caft, and the fea- thers at its extremity are marked with a rufty white fpot, fliaded with black, which melts in- to a pure white; the throat is cinereous, and fo is all the under fide of the body ; the iris is blood coloured ; the bill yellowifh green, and the legs cinereous. This bird is diftinguifhed too by the length of its tail ; for though not larger than a field- fare or large thrulh, and its body only three inches long, its tail is nine ; it confifts of ten tapering quills, the intermediate ones overlap- ping the lateral ones; the bill is a little hooked at CUCKOO. 355 at the end ; the tarfufes are rather fhort, and fea- thered before [A]. VI. The BROWN CUCKOO, variegated with Rufous. Cuculus NfcviiiSt Linn, and Gmel. Cuculus Cayanenjit Nar>.,i'j h. 361 CUCKOO. fiw at Mauduits', the white did not ftretch la fur. Total length ci^ht indies and a quarter; the bill nine lines ; the tarfus very fliort ; the tail is not three inches, it is a little tapered, and pro- jcds not much beyond the wings [A]. [A] Specific clifiraftcr of the Cucului TcHthri/us : *' It is black; it* htllv and thighs ferruginous j its rump and creft vvliite j its taH m h '■ ^■ \r r l|- A N I. 3^3 ^.:! :l. The A N I S. 1 Iff .- I^il AN I is the name which the natives of Bra- zil give to this bird*, and which we re* tain, though the French travellers "f and our modern nomenclators call it TohaccO'Cnd \^ a ridiculous appellation beftowed on account of the refemblancc of its plumage to the colour of a tobacco roll. Father Dutcrtre ailerts, indeed, as thereafon of that denomination, that it feems to articulate the words petit bout de petun, which is falfc and improbable; efpecially as the Creoles of Cayenne have an appropriated defignation for its ordinary warble, Canary boiler, becaufe jt refembles the noife of a kettle boilinir. It has alfo the name Devil, and one of the fpecies is called the Savanna devil, and the other the Mangrove devil \ the former living conftantly in the favannas, and the latter frequenting the fea fhores and the margins of fait marfhes, where the mangroves grow. Their generic characters are thefe : — Two toes before and two behind, the bill (hort, hook- ed, thicker than broad; the lower mandible ilraight, the upper one raifed into a femicircle at its origin, and this remarkable convexity ex- tends over ajl the upper part of the bill till * Marcgrave. f Dutcrtre, X Beut dt Fiturii or Bout de Taiac* '-4'iH '.■Vlr' within ,t 3^4 A N I, within a little diflance of its extremity, where it is hooked ; this convexity is comprefl'ed ou the fides, and forms a fort of (liarp ridge quite along the upper mandible ; below and round there rife fmall ragged feathers as fliffas hogs' briftleg, about half an inch long, and all point- ed forwards: this fingular conformation of the bill is fufficient to dilcriminate thefe birds, and fecms to conftitute a feparatc genus, though it includes only two fpecies. I. t The SAVANNA ANI. FIRST SPECIES. Crotepbaga-Ani. Linn. Gmel. and Bor. Ci-otoi'hagus, BriiT. and Gerini. Pfittaco congener Ani^ Ray and Will, Monedula tola nigra major, Sloane and Brown. Comix garrula major, Klein. The ^azor-bilitd Blackbird ^ Cstefby. •J'he lejjir Aniy Lath. THIS Ani is as large as a blackbird, but its large tail gives it a longer form ; for this is feven inches, which is more than half the to- tal length of the bird : the bill is thirteen lines Jong, and rifes nine lines and a half; it is black, and fo are the legs, which are feventeen lines in height. The defcription of its colours Ihall be very fhort: all the body is black, faintly (haded with fome violet reflexions, except a fmall A N f. 2^S fmall edge of deep fhining green, which borders the feathers on the upper part of the back and the coverts of the wings, and which cannot be perceived at a certain diftance, for then the bird appears entirely black. The female differs not from the male ; they conflantly keep in troops, and are of fofocial a difpohtion that they lodge and lay their eggs together in the fame nefl. They conftrudl it with dry flicks, but ufe no lining ; it is exceedingly wide, often a foot in diameter, and its capacity is faid to be proportioned to the number of fellow-lodgers which they intend to admit. The females hatch in company, and five or fix are often leen in the fame neft. Thia inftindl, which would prove ufeful in the cold countries, feems to be at leafl fuperfluous in the fouthern regions, where the nell: will eafily pre- ferve its heat. It originates entirely from the impulfe of focial temper ; for they are conftantiy together, both when they fly and when they repofe and fettle on the branches of trees as near as poffible to each other. In this fituation they all warble in concert, and almofl through the whole day ; and their fmalleft troops confift of eight or ten, and they fometimes amount to twenty-five or thirty. They fly low, and to fhort diftances ; and hence they oftener alight among bu(hes and thix:kets than upon trees. They are neither timorous nor ihy, and never make any remote retreat. 1'hey are hardly feared by the report of fire arn.3, and it is eafy to 'l'>?CJ{! :,>;.! W m mi ii » iiiuja 3<56 A N I. to kill many, one after another. But they arc? in no requeft, for their fleih cannot be eaten, and the birds have an offenfive fmell : they feed on feeds and fmall ferpents, lizards, and other reptiles ; they alfo alight upon oxen and cows to feed on the ticks, maggots, and infe£ts, which neftle in their Ikin [A], I* • ■ i i ■ C;i The Mangrove ani. I i 1 hi 1 VAni des Paliiuviersi Buff. SECOND SPECIES^ . ^ Crotophaga. Major, Gmel. , ■ : .: Crotophagus Major, BriflT* • , . .'The Great A»i, Lath, THIS bird is larger than the preceding, and almoft equal to the jay; it is eighteen iurhes long, including the tail, which occupies the half of that extent : its plumage is nearly of the fame brownifii black' colour as that of the former, only it is fomewhat more variegated with brilliant green, which terminates the fea- thers of the back and the coverts of the wings ; infomuch that if we refted our opinion folely on the difference of fize and colours, we might re- gard thefe two birds as only varieties of the fame [A] Specific character of the Crotophaga- Ani: " It is fifr^llerj its feet fcanfory." fpecies. THE jANZ, fli, i» ,'s'JJ .«I.Mm ■ U^ , «i|ii'', ■ ;|iS '•■»?, I ■*'■ Ni!f::i a h: I If A N I. 367 fpecies. But what proves that they are really two difthi£t fpecies is, that they never inter- mingle ; the one kind conftantly inhabits the open lavannas, the other lodges among the man- groves only ; yet the latter have the fame na- tural habits with the former ; they likewifc keep in flocks; they haunt the brinks of fait marfhes ; they lay and hatch, many of them together in the fame neft, and feem to be only a different race accuftomed to live in more wet fituations, where the abundance of infe^fts and reptiles affords an eafier fubfiftence. Since writing the above, I have received a letter from the Chevalier Lefcbre Defhayes con- cerning thefe St. Domingo birds, and I fhall here extract what he fays with regard to the Mangrove Ani. *' This bird," fays he, " is one of the mod common in the ifland of St. Domingo .... The negroes give it ditftrent appellations, 7&- bacco end, Amangouay Black Parrot, &c If we attentively confider the ftruiflure of the wings of this bird, the Ihortnefs of its flight, and the weight of its body compared 'o its bulk, we (hall not hefitate to conclude that it is a na- tive of the new world : how, with its feeble narrow wings, could it traverfe the vaft ocean that divides the two continents ? . . . The kind is peculiar to fouth America. When it flies it fpreads its wings ; but its motion is not fb quick nor fo continued as the parrot's ... It cannot withftand '■■MM i '! i;j ^ I I '■ 1;; .i. 368 A N I. withftand the violence of the wind, and thd hurricanes deftroy numbers of thefe birds. " They inhabit the cultivated grounds, or* fuch as have once been in the ftate of cultiva- tion, and they are never found in the lofty fo- refts. They feed on various forts of leeds and fruits, fuch as fmall millet, maize, rice, Scd and when reduced to want, they eat caterpil- lars and fome other infe£ls. We cannot fay that they have a fong or warble ; it is rather a whif- tling or chirping : fometimes, however, this becomes more varied, but it is always harfh and difagreeable ; it receives different inflexions ac- cording to the paffions which incite it. If the bird perceives a cat, or other dangerous animal, it informs its companions by a very diftindt Icream, which it prolongs or repeats until its apprehenfions are quieted : its fears are moft re- markable when it has young, for then it flut- ters and beats about its neft. Thefe birds live in fociety, though they do not form into fuch large flocks as the flares ; they feldom part from one another .... and even previous to their hatching, we fee feveral males and females working together at the conftru<5lion of the neft, and afterwards the females hatch befide each other, each fitting on her eggs and rearing her young. This harmony is the more admirable, fince love commonly diflblves all other ties but what it forms . . . Their amours commence early : in February the males ardently court the • • 1 ' ' A N I. 3^9 the females, and in the following month the happy couple are bufy in collecting materials for the neft .... Thefe birds are more lafci- vious than even fparrows ; and, during the whole feafon of their ardour, they are much more lively and cheerful than at any other time . . . They breed in (hrubs, Coffee-trees, bufhes, and hedges ; and they place their nefts in the cleft where the ftem divides into feveral branches . . . When feveral females affociate together, the one readiefl to lay does not wait till the neft be completed, bat (its on her eggs while the reft are employed in enlarging the fabric. They employ a precaution which is unufual with other birds, viz. to cover their eggs with leaves and grafs-ftalks, as faft as they lay them .... And during incubation, they cover the eggs in the fame manner, if they are obliged to leave them in queft of food .... The females which thus hatch befide each other are not quarrel- fome, like hens that breed in the fame crib ; they take their ftations in order : fome, how- ever, before they lay, make a partition in the neft with ftalks of herbs, to contain their own eggs ; but if the eggs happen to be jumbled to- gether, one female hatches them indifcrimi- nately ; (lie colle(fl:s them, heaps them, and co- vers the whole with leaves, fo as to diffufe the heat equally, and prevent its diffipation . . . Yet each female lays feveral eggs . . . Thefe birds build their neft very folid, though rude, with VOL. VI. B b the i'^J ■imk =f:'^- I ■'■; •.1¥'>I. ^A Wi, 5'* v!'f?J4' m m I 1* i L.^4 370 A N I. ■ m the fmall flems of filamentous plants, the branches of the citron trees, and other (hrubs ; the inlide only is covered with tender leaves that foon wither ; and upon this bed the eggs are depofited : thefe nefts are wide, and much raifed at the margin ; fometimes the diameter is more than eighteen inches, but its (ize de- pends on the number of females which it is def- tined to receive. It would be difRcult to decide with accuracy whether all the females contained in the fame neft have each their male ; perhaps thefe birds are polygamous, in which cafe it would, in fome meafure, be neceffary to enlarge the nefts, and thus, even without any friendly focial principles, they might be conArained to Unite in performing the work . . . The eggs are as large as thofe of a pigeon ; they are of an uniform beryl, and have none of thofe little fpots on the ends, which are ufual on moft of the eggs of wild birds . • . It is probable that the females hatch twice or thrice a year, according to circumftances ; if the firft fuc- ceeds, they do not make another till autumn; if on the contrary, the eggs are robbed, or eaten by fnakes or cats, they make a fecond, and towards the end of July, or during the courfe of Auguft, they hatch a third time : certain it is, that their nefts are found in the months of March, May, and Auguft . . . They are gentle, and eafily tamed; and it is faiid, that if they are taken young, they may be educated and taught to ipeak, ...S tmkit mmmm A N I* 371 fpeak, though their tongue is fiat, and termi- nates in a point, while that of the parrot is flefliy, thick, and round . 4 * *• The fame frie" !Aip and concord which appears during incubation, continues after the broods are hatched; when the mothers have covered together, they feed fucceHlvely all the little family . . . The males affift in bring- ing fupplies ; but when the females hatch fe- parately, they rear their young apart, yet without (hewing any jealoufy or ill ;.temper ; they carry the food by rotation, and the young ones receive it from all the mothers. The nature of the food depends upon the fea- fon, fometimes confifting of caterpillars, mag- gots, and infedts, and fometimes of fruits and feeds, fuch as millet, maize, rice, and wild oats, &c In a few weeks the young ones are able to try their wings, but they do not venture hr^ foon afterwards they perch befide their parents among the buflies, and then are expofed to the ravages of the birds of prey » . . • ^ ■ ' " The Ani is an innocetit bird ; it does not plunder the rice plantations, like the blackbird ; it does not feed upon the nuts of the cocoa-tree, like the woodpecker ; nor does it confume the patches of millet, like the parrots or parra- keets/* [A] Specific charafter of the Crotophaga Major: *' It is '"trger; its feet fcanfory." B b 2 It r-i n !:■ l< '■ I ?4 37^ H O U T O U. The HOUTOU or MOMOT, Buff. Ramphnjlos-Momcta, Linn. Gmel. and Bor. Momotus B'rnjilienfist Lath. Ind. Motmot y Tayaukquitoit, Fernandez. M'>tmot ij -^vh Caudata, Nieremberg. Guiraguainumbi Brajil'unjibus, Johnft. • ' J/pidicJeu Meropis affinis, Ray and Will, . , The Brafilian/aw-bilhd Rolltr^ Edw. , i ! ' ' The Brajilian Motmot, Lath. Syn. . S ' • WE retain the n?me HouioUy which has been given by the natives of Guiana, fince it is expreflive of the cry. Whenever the bird makes a Ipi ing, it brilkly and diftindlly ar- ticulates Houiou ; the tone is deep, and refem- bles a man's voice : that character alone fuffi- cientl} difcriminates the living bird, whether it be in the ftate of freedom or of domeftication. Fernandez, who firft noticed the HoutDu, has inadvertently mentioned it by two difFer.jnt names, and this miftake has been copied by all the nomenclators: Marcgrave is the only na- turalift who has not been mifled. It would feem that Fernandez was deceived by the fight of a mutilated fpecimen, which induced him to admit two fpecies ; for the fingle naked quill which he obferved could not be natural, fince in all birds the feathers grow conftantly by pairs, jud as other animals have two legs or two arms. 4 The JVMMIi mm l.'Jdo K •' THF. BRASILIAX MOTMOT. 11 i ii< 1 '"'1 H O U T O U. 373 The Houtou is about thefize of the magpie; it meaiures feveiiteeti inches and three line^ from the poii>t of the bill to the end of the groat quills of the tail ; its toes are placed as in the king- fifhcrs, the manakins, &c. But it is diditi* guilhed from thcl'e, and even from all other birds, by the form of its bill, v\ hich, though proportioned to the body, is conical and incur- vated, and the edges of the two mandibles in- dented. This chara^^er would difcriminate the Houcou ; but it has another more fingular one peculiar to itfelf ; to wit, near the ends of the two long quills of the middle of the tail there is a fpace of about an inch, abfolutely bare or (haved, fo that the (haft is naked in that part. This appearance, however, belongs to the adult ; for when the bird is young thefe quills are, like the other feathers, webbed their whole length. It has been fuppol'ed that this naked fpace is not a natural produ^^ion, and that it is perhaps ow- ing merely to the caprice of the bird, which plucks the feathery fibres. But it is obferved that in young fubjeds the webs arc continuous and entire, and as they grow up thefe become Shorter by degrees, fo as at la ft to difappear. We (hall not flop to defcribe more particularly the plumage of this bird, for the colours are fo much intermingled that it would be impofliblc by words to convey a diilindt idea of them; they arc alfo afFedled by age or lijx. < :rn&o«- tou. It is early in motion, and its cry is heard before the warble of the other birds. Pi- fo was ill informed when he faid that it builds on lofty trees ; for it never conftru^s a neft, nor does it rife to any confiderable height : it is contented with fome hole of the armadillos, of the cavies, or of other fmall qua- drupeds, which it finds on the furfice of the ground ; it lines this with dry herb ftalks, and there lays its eggs, which are generally two in number. The Houtous are common in the in- terior parts of Guiana ; but they feldam frequent the neighbourhood of plantations. Their fle(h is hard and unpalatable food. Pifo is miftaken too, in faying that they live upon fruits. As this is the third time he has been mifled, it is probable that he has applied the attributes of another bird to the prefent, which he defcribes pnly from Marcgrave, and with whiph he was • ^ ' . i perhaps II H O U T O U. 375 perhaps unacquainted ; for it is certain that the Houtou is the fame bird with the Guira-guai- numbi of Marcgrave, which is diHicult to tame, which is unfit for eating, and which neither perches nor neflles upon trees, nor feeds on fruits. [A] Specific character of the Ramphaftos-Momota : ** Its feet are greflfory (; . /. the toes difpofed thi^e before and one be^ hind)." • m '■'i;» IM n.v><':#4 ' "•.Pi6 m \y. i f.iiiis'if! B b 4 i;'i* H ill m \l Ml')!! i 'i. m \ ^ 4 il i\ fH' 37^ H Q O P O E, &c; The HOOPOES, the PR0MER0P3, and the BEE-EATERS, ■ ,-*■.- ^ COMPARISON is the great fource of knowledge. When objedls have many commi)n properties, their contraft thrbvvs mu- tual light ; it points out the real ditFerences which obtain, and deftroys thofe falfe analogies which are apt to be formed when they are viewed feparately. For this reafon, I have ranged in a fingle article the general fads with regard to the three contiguous genera of the fjoopoes, the Promerops, and the Bee-eaters. Our Hoopoe is well known by its beautiful double tuft, which is almoft unique in its kind, Jince it refembles no other, except that of the pockatoo; its bill is long, flender, and incur- vated, and its legs are fhort. The black and white Hoopoe of the Cape differs from ours in feveral particulars, and efpecially becaufe its bill is fhorter and more pointed, as will be found in th^ defcriptions. But it ought to be referred to that genus, being more related to it than to any pther. The Promerops refembles the Hoopoes fo much that, were we for a moment to adopt the principles of the fyftem-makers, we (liould fay \\^2X they are Hoopoes without the crefl *, But Huppts/ans Huppe, the HOOPOE, &c. 377 m the fa£t is that they are rather taller, and their tail is much longer. The Bee-eaters refemble, in the fhortnefs of their legs, the Hoopoe and king-fi(her, more efpecially the latter, by the fingular difpofitiou of their toes, of which the middle one adheres to the outer as far as the third phalanx, and to the inner o;ie as far as the firft phalanx only. The bill of the Bee-eaters, which is pretty broad and ftrong at its bafe, holds a middle rank between the (lender bills of the Hoopoes and Promerops on the one hand, and the long, ftraight, thick, and pointed bills of the king- fiftiers on the other ; but, on the whole, it ra- ther inclines to the former, lince the Bec- ; cers live upon infe£ts like the Hoopoes and the Promerops, and not upon fmall fi(h like the king-fiftiers ; and it is well known how much the force and conformation of the bill ferve to regulate the choice of the food. - .. - . . There are alio fome traces of analogy between the genus of the Bee-eaters and that of the king- fiihers. In the firft place, the beautiful beryl, which is by no means common in the European birds, decorates alike the plumage of our king- fifher and of our Bee-eater. In the fecond place, the greateft number of the fpecies of Bee-eaters have their two middle quills of the tail projecting far beyond the lateral ones; and the sjenus of the king-filher contains alio fome fpecies in which thefc two middle quills projedl ^ ■-^*^ allb. ■1 .■! ;''..)<:f!>«;l M "; w I f %: It '^' V'-i| Hi 6 i 378 HOOPOE, &c. alio. And in the third place, there are fomc fpecies of king-fifhers in which the bill is a lit- tle incurvated, which, in this refpedt, refem- bles that of the Bee- eaters. On the other hand, how clofe foever the Bee- eaters and Promerops be^ related, nature, ever rich and unexhauiled, has flill feparated them ; or rather ihe has melted them into one another by imperceptible (hades. Thefe intermediate birds incline fometimes more to the one genus, and fometimes more to the other ; I (hall deno- minate them Merops, r ,« All thefe different birds, which refemble each other in fo many refpe£ts, are (imilar alfo in point of fize. The largeft fpecies exceed not the thrufhes, and the leaft are fcarcely fmaller than the fparrows and the warblers. The ex- ceptions are few, and obtain equally in the dif- ferent genera. With regard to climate, a difcrimination takes place. The Promerops inhabit A(ia, Africa, and America ; and never occur in Europe : if they are natives of the old continent, they muft have migrated into the new by the north of Afia. The Hoopoe is peculiar to the old world, and I may aflfert the fame thing of the Bee-eaters^ though there is a bird termed the Cayenne Bee* eater: for ornithologifts who have frequently vilited that ifland have never feen this bird. And with regard to the two Bee-eaters depicted by Seba, the one from Brazil and the other from Mexico, i : re fome is a lit- refem- he Bee- re, ever I them ; another 'mediate i genus, ill deno- i 1- ble each - alfo in :ecd not r fmaller The ex- the dif- on takes Africa, ope : if ley mufl: lorth of d world, e-eaters» fine Bee- equently lis bird. depicted ler from Mexico, I '[i^'i i 4" 1,1 a'.*'' '. I J^fj^7 ■'\t THE COMMOir HooroE. m HOOPOE. 379 Mexico, the authority of that compiler is too fufpicious to have much weight ; particularly as thefe would be the only two Ipecies of Bee- eaters that are natives of the new continent. ru HOOP >^ LaOtppe, BufF. .- Upupa Epopt, Linn, and Gmel. Upufa, Frif. BrifT. Scop. Kram. Klein, Mul. Stbb. Sec. The Dung-hirJt Hooper, or Hoopoop, Charleton. • A RESPECTABLE omithologift, Belon, fays, that this bird has derived its name from its large beautiful tuft (huppe)\ but a little atten- tion would have convinced him that it is really formed from the Latin Upupa, _ ;,..! . • ■■• • This :•'• • ft ' ■ * In Arabic, M Hudud Gare/ol: In Egyptian, Cucufa: In Hebrew, Kaath, Cos, Hakocez, jitaleph, Racha, Jtiapha, CbajU da,Dukiphat: In Greek, Evov]/: In Latin, L^/a/a ; which name, according to Plautus ^nd St. Jerome, was given alfo to girls of pleaAire : In Italian* Bubat Upega, GaUo di Paradi/b, GalUtto di Maggio, Puppula, Criftella, Putta: In Spanifh, Mubilla: In Portu. gucfe, Popa: In German, Wyd-Hopff, IVtde-Hoppe, Kathaan : In Flemifh, Hupetup: In Brabantiih, Hucron: In Norwegian, uEr- fugl: In Danilh, Hvr-fugli In Swedilh, Hter-fogel: In Scanian, Popp. y -■ ..-' V 1 ; Varro, Lingua Lot. lib. IV. fays, that the Latin name Upupa is formed from (he cry of the bird, poo, poo ; and a fable explains the origin of this cry. Tereus, king of Thrace, having ravifhcd Phi- lomela, the fitter of his wife Progne, the latter, in revenge, killed her fon by him* and ferved up the flelh at h^r hulband's table. Upon I lit,- MrJ"'! % f,;.i |8o HOOPOE. I i *•;. !« ;f !■ r ' This tuft, ill its ordinary pofitioo, reclines bjickvvards, both when the bird flies or feeds; in (hort, whenever it is free from the agitation of paflion *. I had occafion to fee a Hoopoe, which was caught in a net, and which was old, or at lead grown up, and confequently had ac- quired its natural habits. Its attachment for its ttiiftrefs was already Rn^ and ardent ; it feemed Uneafy unlefs it alone enjoyed her company ; if flrangers ha^^pened to break in upon its domef- tic fociety, it erecfled its tuft, through furprife or difquictude, and fled to the top of a bed which was in the fame room ; fometimes it had the re- folution to defcend from its afylum, but then it fiewdireftly to its miftrefs, who enjoyed exclu- fively all its regard and affedion. it had two very different kinds of cries ; the one foft and tender, flowing from fentiment, and direded to its mif- trefs ; the other harfli and Ihrill, and exprefling anger or fear. It was never confined in its cage, either by day or night, but ran about the houfe ; and, though the windows were often open, it never fliewed any defire of effe^ling its efcape. At laft, happening to be feared, it dif- appeared fuddenly ; it flew but a fliort diftance, and not being able to find its way back again, it Upon the difcovery of this horrid repaft, Prop;.ie was changed inr a fwallow, Philomeia into a nightingale, and Tereus into a Hoopc , who, ftill bemoaning his lofs, fcreams ^a, vrti, or ivhre, nubere ; ^voJxre^ >nyjhn. * Ji is faid alfo to feek to get near the fire, and to be fond of keeping before the chimneyt threw HOOPOE. 381 threw itfelf into a nun*s cell, where the wii\* dow had been left open ; fo neceflary was hu» man fociety become to its exiftence and com* fort ! It died in this retreat, where it could only be fed, and where its proper mode of treatment was unktiown. Yet it lived three or four months in its firft condition, its foxc fubfiftence being a little bread and cheefe. Another Hoo- poe was fed for eighteen months upon raw flelh * ; it was exceffively fond of this, and haftened to eat it out of the hand ; it reje6tc 1, on the contrary, what had been cooked. This prediledtion for raw flefli feems to indicate aii analogy to the rapacious birds and thofe which live upon in fed s. The ordinary food of the Hoopoe is infe(5ts in general, and efpecially fuch as grovel on the furface-f*, either their whole hfe, or during a part of it ; beetles, ants J, worms, wild bees, and many kinds of caterpillars §, &c. Hence • . ' w. '•>■•'?. '.■ ■ ■•'. .r - this m m mm * Gefner fed one with hard eggs : Olina with worms, or vvith the hearts of oxen and fheep, cut into little longifti ftireds, nearly like worms ; but, above all, he advifes not to (hut it up in a eager f The Hoopoe feldom perches upon trees ; but, when it does, it prefers oziers, willows, and probably all fuch as grow in wet grounds.'"' •'''' '■* '"•'' " '"' ' ' ■"' ' ' ■'-.■• J Frifch fays that it digs with its long bill into the ant-hills, tqj extract the eggs : and, in fa^t, the one fed by (jefner was very fond^ of the eggs or nymphs of ants, but rejefted the ants themfelycs, § Salerne adds that it clears the houfe of mice; but this ;s uiu doubtedly by driving them away, for with a bill fo (lender, with m m 38a HOOPOE. f ,;. ! \ this bird haunts wet grounds*, where its long and (lender bill can eaiily penetrate; and hence^ in Egypt, it follows the retreat of the Nile : for, in proportion as the waters fubfide +, the plains are left covered by a coat of (lime, which, being heated by a powerful fun, quickly fwarms with immenfe numbers of all kinds of infedls J. Accordingly, the migratory Hoopoes are very fat and delicious. 1 fay the migratory Hoopoes, for there are others in the fame country often feen on the date trees, in the neighbourhood of Rofetta, which are never eaten : the they neftle in the hollow trunks. In thefe they ufually lay their eggs, and alfo in the holes of walls upon the mould or duft which is ufually colledled at the bottoms of fuch cavities^ but do not line it with ftraw, as Ariftotle fays. Yet there are fome exceptions, at leaft what are ap- parently fuch : of fix hatches that were brought to me, four of them had no lit^T, but the two others had a very foft bedding compofed of leaves, mofs, wool, feathers |, &c. Thefe feeming * Hifl. Anim. Lii. X. i. f Note communicated by the Marquis de Piolenc. % In the bottom of one of thefe nefts was more than two litrons ef mofs (a litron is a meafurC} the i5th part of a buihel) fragments VOL. VI. C c ®^ I. ■■"■'lL*i,i 'M^ \:i ■vn HJ .oh:-- 386 HOOPOE. feemlng difparities may be reconciled ; for It la very probable that the Hoopoe fometimes lays her eggs in nefts that were, in the preceding year, occupied by woodpeckers, wrynpcks, tit- mice, and other birds, which had lined them according to their different inilin£ls. , It has been long iaid and often repeated, that the Hoopoe befmears her nell with the excre- ments of the wolf, of the fox, of the horfe, of the cow, and of all forts of animals, not ex- cepting man*; and that (he does this with the view to defend her yoiuig by the loath fome i^encht* But the facl is not more true than the intention ; for the Hoopoe never plaflers the mouth of its nelT: like the nuthatch. At the lame time, the nefl is indeed very dii ty and of- . , . . . fenfive, of May flics, and fome worms that had nc doubt dropt from the bill of the mother or of her young "i le fix trees in which thefc neib were found were three black, cher^ .1 , two Oiiks, and a pr tr-tree; the lowell of thefe nells was three or four leet above the ground, the higheft ten. * See Salerne, Gnini, &c. It is pretty fingular that the an- cient:., whoregs"dei. the Hoopoe as an iiihabi;ant of the iriountains, of the forefts, and of the defens, fliould impute to it the employing hyman excrements for Us ne'l. This is another p-rrticilar fad in- judicioufly generalized: the nn. her, in colli Hmg the inft;tts for her young ampng filth, might dirty nfrfeli, and fo pollute lier meil ; snd fuperfitial obfervers would thence conclude that thi,>i was a habit common to the whole fpecies. f It has alfo been faid that her objeft was to difpcl the chams that migiit be c \ \ upon her brood ; for the Hoopoe was reckoned very flcilfnl in this way. She knew all the plants that defeat faf- clnaiions, thofe which give fi^ht to the blind, thofc which open Li.r.icd HOOPOE. 2^1 '■'# for it 13 nes lays receding ;cks, tit- ,ed them ted, that [le excre- horfe, of , not ex- with the loath fome true than lafters the . At the ty and of- fenfive, pt from the bill ich thefc nelh \d a pf ^r-tree ; ^e the gvound, ir that the an- the raountains, the employing rdc'ilar fa£t in- rhe iiifetts for fo pollute Ivcr de that thih was fpcl the charms e was reckoned that defeat faf- ofc which open Li.r.'cd iTenfive, the neceflary confcquence of its great depth, which is often twelve, fifteen, or even eigh- teen inches : the young ones cannot tin ow out their excrements, and therefore grovt 1 a long time among filth *. Hence undoubted! v the proverb, '* Narty as a Hoopoe." But it is only in rear- ing its young that this bird can be acciifed of naftinefs ; at other times it is very cleanly. The one which I before fpoke of" never loiled its miflrefs, nor the chairs, nor even the nuddle of the room, but always retired to the top of the bed, which was the remoteft and mod con- cealed place. '. . . The female lays from two to feven -j- egg^> barred ^?^qs ; which laft is propped by a fab'e equally abfurd, >^Iian gravely r^'lates that a man having three times in fliccciiion cioied the neft of a Hoopoe, and having remarked the herb with which the bird opened it, he empioye.1 ihe fame- l.erb .vi'u iuccefs to charm the locks of the ilrongell cofters Lie 'ii even Jo'-s but heighten its virtues, and give them new energy ; its h?art, its liver, its brain, &c. eaten, with certain magical incantations applied, fuf- pended to different parts of the body, occafionml ijkaf at or tr'ght- ful dreams, &c. In England, it was formerly held an unlucky bird J and even at prefcnt, the peoi>Ie of Sweden r<.gard its ap- pearance as a prtfagc of war. Tne ancients had better reafon. me- thiaks, to believe that when it was heard to fing before the time when they ufually btgan to drefs the vine, it prr-milbd a gojd vin- tage : in faft, its early fong wouM imply a mild >pring and a for- ward feafon, which is ever favourable to rhe maturity of the vine, and to the quality of its fruit. * When Schwenckfeid was a child, he had his ringers dirted in taking a brood of Hoopoes out ot a hoUow oak. t Linnjeus and the authors of the Biiti% Zoology mention only two eggs. But this cafe i. m rare, .:t leaft in unr climates, as that of fev.ii eggs. In the more northern countries, fuch as that of Sweden, th^ Hoopoe maybe Icfs prolific, ' "' C c 2 but ,'t,.r>| _ _ ■■iyiffacvi ■m u I -.^^^t- m :t. ■ ]■ 1 1 i 388 HOOPOE. but more commonly four or five ; thefe eggs arc grevHh, fomewhat larger than thole of the par- tri«igc. They do not all hatch at the fame time; for tliree young Hoopoes, taken out of the fame iiefi", diifered very much in fize ; in the largeft one, the quills of the tail had fproutcd feventeeu lines, and in the fmalleft only feven lines. The mother has often been feen carrying food to the iieftlings, but 1 never heard that the father paid them that attention. As thefe birds hardly ever appear in knots, it is moft likelythat the family difperfes as foon as the brood are fledged ; and this is the more probable, if, as the authors of the Italian Ornithology aflert, each pair makes two or three hatches in the courfe of the year, thofe of the firft hatch might fly as early as the end of June. — Thefe are the few fa^Sts and con- jedures that I am able to offer in regard to the incubation of the Ploopoe and the educatioia; of its young. - The cry of the male is bou, : . .. • The Hoopoe lives only three years, accord- ing to Olina ; but this muil be in'the domeftic ftate, where the term of life is abridged by im- proper food. It would be difficult to determine the extreme age of the free wild Hoopoe, par* ticularly as it is a bird of paffage. As it has a great abundance of feathers, it jippears thicker than in reality. It is about as large as a thrufh, and it weighs from two ounces and a half to three or four, more or lefs, ac- cording to its plumpnefs *. *^ "■^^' ' ^ ' Its creft is longitudinal, confiding of two rows of equal and parallel feathers ; thofe in the middle of each row are longer, than the reft^ fo that when they are ered they form a kind of • " With all its feathers/* fays Belon, " it loo'cs like a very large pigeon, but when plucked it appears fcarce bigger than a ibre." c c 4 femi- m "■'f^^®' m ■■i* m - 'A H Ji; i' ii ■'i : 1 '"Hi 392 HOOPOE. femi-clrcle of two inches and a hglf in height *. All thefe feathers are rufous, terminated with black ; the middle ones, and thofe next them, have a ftiadp of white between thefe two co-» lours. There are alfo fix or eight feathers be-^ hind, which belong to the creft, and which are entirely rufous, and are (horter than the others. The reft of the creft, and all the fore part of the bird, are gray, verging fometinies on wine colour, and fometimes on rufous ; the fore part of the back is gray, and the hind part is ftriped tranfverfely with dirty white on a dark ground; there is a white fpot on the rump ; the fuperior coverts of the tail are blackifli ; the belly and the reft of the under fide of the body are tawny white ; the wings and tail are black ftriped with white ; the ground of the feathers is {late co- loured. All thefe different colours, thus fpread over the plumage, form together a fort of regular pi<£ture, which has a good effe6l when the bird ere£ls its creft, expands its wings, and raifes and displays its t^il ; the part of the wings next the body then (hews on each fide a black and white crofs ft ripe, perpendicular to the axis of the body; the higheft of thefe ftripes has a rufty caft, and joins a horfe-flioe of the fame colour traced on the back, the convex part of which approaches the white fpot on the rump ; • Pliny, Lit. X, 29. the .' HOOPOE. 393 the loweft, which hems one half of the circum- ference of the wing, runs into another broader bar, which croiTes the fame wing two inches from its tip, and parallel to the axis of the body ; this laft white ftripe correfponds alfo to ^ crefcent * of the fame colour that interfedls the tail at an equal diflance from the end, and forms the frame of the picture : laftly, if we conceive the whole crowned by a railed tuft of gold colour edged with black, we (hall have a much better idea of the plumage than could be got by defcribing each feather feparately. All the white bars which appear on the up- per face of the wing appear alfo on the lower face, fo that the bird has the fame afpeft when feen flyin; over head, except that the white is lefs tarnifl id or mixed with rufty. I haye icen ^ female, difcovered to be fuch by diffedion, which had all the fame colours, ^nd thofe equally diftinft ; perhaps it was of au jidvanced age. It was rather larger than th^ male, though the authors of the Italian Orni* thology affert the contrary. Total length about eleven inches j the bill two inches and a quarter (more or lefs accord- ing to the age of the bird) llightly arched ; the tip of the upper mandible projedts ^ little be- yond that of the lower mandible, and they are both pretty foft; the noftrils are oblong, and f When the tail is entirely fpread, this crcicent changes into « ftraight bar, hardly i''i.>fi"^ir ::R '.Mi M 394 HOOPOE. Ei^l hardly fhadtd ; the tongue is very fliort, almoft )ofl: ill the gizzard^ and forming a fort of equi- lateral triat)gle, whofe fides are not three lines in length ; the e;irs are placed five lines fronn the opening of the bill, and in the fame conti- nuation ; the tarfus is ten lines ; the middle toe isjoinH to the outer toe by the fifft phalanx ; the hind toe is longer and f^iaighter, efpecially in old fabjetfls ; the' alar extent above feventeen inches, the tail near four itiches, confifting of ten equal quill"; (and not tw^elve, as Belon af- ferts), and projeding twenty lines beyond the M'ings, which have nineteen quills^ the firft be- ing the (liortefl, and the nineteenth the longeft. The inteftinal tube, from the gizzard to the anus, is twelve or eighteen inches ; the gizsiard is mufcular, lined with a loof^ membrane which firoje£ls like a fcabbard into the duodenum ; the great diameter of the gizzard is from nine to fourteen lines ; the fmaller diameter from {^wQn to twelve lines, and thefe parts are larger in the young birds than in the old ones. They have all a gall bladder, though but (light veftiges of a ccecum ; at the angle of the bifurcation of the trachea arterja, there are two holes covered by a very fine membrane; the two branches of the trachea arteria are formed behind by a limilar membrane, and before bv cartilaginous femi- circular rings ; the elevator mufcle of the crefl is implanted between the crown of the head and the bafe of the Liii ; when it is drawn back, the '■'■'•/i I IV HOOPOE- 391 the tuft rifes, and when drawn towards the bill it collapfes, • " ' '' '.' ' ' ' , In the female which 1 opened on the 5th of June, there were eggs of different fizes, the largeft of which was a line in diameter [A]. ,v f'1. '^..r? ' VARIETIES of the HOOPOE. The ancients faid that this bird was liable to change its colour in different feafons, which might be occafioned by moulting. But people who have reared Hoopoes have not perceived this alteration. Belon mentions his knowing two fpecies, though he does not aflign their difcriminating qualities ; unlefs, perhaps, the handfome collar, partly black and partly white, and the reverted neck^ which do not belong to our fpecies, were intended to mark the diftin£lion. CommerfonandSonnerat have brought aHoo- poe from the Cape of Good Hope very like ours, and which the traveller Kolben had found long before in the neighbourhood of the Cape. It has, upon the whole, the fame plumage, the fame Ihape, the fame cry, the fame gait, and eats nearly the fame food ; but on a clofer infpeflion it will be perceived that it is rather fmaller, its legs [A] Specific char^fter of the Vpufa-Epo^t: *' It is variegated and crcfted." longer, '."' i!ti'i ; 1 lil.' n^ 111 1 1 ■' N| 111 396 HOOPOE. longer, its bill fhortcr m proportion, itff tuft lower, and that there is no trace of white on the feathers that form the tuft ; and in general, there is lefs variety in its plumage. In another fubjedt brought from the fame country, the top of the back was of a pretty deep brown, and the belly variegated with white and brown ; it was certainly a young one, for it was fmaller than the reft, and its bill five lines ihorter. I^aftly, the Marquis Gerini faw at Florence, and again on the Alps, near the town of Ronta, a very beautiful variety, whofe tuft was edged with Iky-bluc. \ • .V*; 1; 1:' HOOPOE. 397 FOREIGN BIRD, WHICH IS RELATED TO THB HOOPOB. The BLACK and WHITE HOOPOE of the Cape of Good Hope *. Upupa Caftnfist Gmel. i The Madaga/car Hoopett Lath. THIS bird is diftinguiflied from our Hoopoe, and its varieties, by its fize ; by its (hort? and pointed bill ; by its creft, of which the fea- thers are lower in proportion, and alfo loofe, as in the tufted cuckoo of Madagafcar ; by the nunnber of quills in its tail, of which there are twelve ; by the (hape of its tongue, which is pretty broad, and the extremity divided into many threads ; and laftly, by the colours of its plumage. The creft, the throat, and all the under fide of the body, are white, without any fpots ; the upper fide of the body, from the creft exclufively to the end of the tail, is brown, whofe fhades vary, and are much lefs intenfe on the fore parts ; there is a white fpot on the • The bird of Madagafcar, which Flacourt names Tivouci, feems to have fome affinity to this : its head is ornamented with a beauti- ful creft, and its plumage confills of two colours, black and gray ; we mi^y fuppofe that this is light gray. wing ; ki :r:. i.n. 1 I t. ! "i i J!' '! i( 398 HOOPOE. wing; the iris is of a bluiOi bm-v" ; the bill, the Ic^s, and even the nails, are y -J'o\v«(h. This bird inhabits the great foreits of Mada- gafcar, of the i(le of Hourbon, and of the Cape of Ciood Hope. In its ftoniacU are found th» feeds and berries of the fi/'euS-l> nx us; its weight is four ounces, but varies much, and mufl be more confiderable in the months of June and July, at which time the bird is very fat. Total length fixteeii inches ; the bill twentv lines, very pointed, the upper mandible having its edges fcollopcd near the tip, and its ridge very obtufe ; it is longer than the lower mandi- ble, which is as broad; on the palate, which in other refpedls is very fmooth, there are fmall tuberofities, varying in number ; the noflrils are like thofc of the ordinary Hoopoe ; aud fo are the feet, except that the hind nail, which is the largeft of all, is very hooked; the alar extent is eighteen inches; the tail four inches fix lines, confilliing of nearly equal quills, but the two middle ones are rather ihorter ; it pro- jects about two inches and a half beyond the wings, which have eighteen quills. [A] Specific charailcr of the Upupa Cafenjis : ** It is crefied and duflty, below white j a yvhite Ijpot 911 its wings." ■ ,< . .J, 'J i i '. ■ . I ■■■' '> , i!" :'■'.■ ru.. .4 . . fROMERUPE. 399 The P R O M E R U P E. t//«;'« Paradi/fa, Linn. CimeP. and Cor. . Vpiifyi Manuco'iata, Klein. . „., Promo ops J^uicui Cnjlatus, DrilF. Avis P irnd Jinca, crii'ata, or entul^t rarijjtmdt Seba. The Crejltd Promero/s, Lath. THIS fpecles naturally aiTui-nes a place be- tween the Hoopoes and the rromerops, fiiice it bears on its hciid a tuft of lonG: fea- thers reclined, but which fcem c.ii able ot bein-^ eredled like tho(c of the Hoopoe; while, oii the other hand, the cxceffive length of its tail marks an affinity with the Promerops. Seba fays that it comes from the caftern part of our continent, and that it is very rare; its thioat, its neck, its head, and its beautiuil larse creft^ are of a fine black; its win^s and its tail are of a light bay colour ; its belly light cine- reous ; its bill and legs lead colour : and the bird is nearly as large as a ftare. Total Jepgth nineteea inches ; the bill thir- teen lines, a little arched, and very fharp ; the tarfus about nii^.e lines; the wings fhort; the tail fourteen inches and a quarter, con lifting of very unequal quills, the two middle ones ex- ceeding the lateral ones by eleven inches and the wings by thirteen. [A] Specific char.ifter of the U^.jn Pciradl/ia: *' It is ere fled andchefnut; ita two uil- quills vejy lon^;." If 40« PROMEROPS. t HI m I' J, The BLUE-WINGED PROMEROPS. Vpupa Mexicattat Gmel. Promeropi Mixicanus, BrifT. jivis Ani Mexicana, cauda hngiffimat Seba. The Mexican PremeropSt Lath. THIS Promerops is attached to lofty moun- tains : it feeds on caterpillars, fiies, bee- tles, and other infedls. The prevailing colour of the upper part of its body is dull gray, chang- ing into fea-green and purplifli-red ; the tail is of the fame colour, but of a deeper fhade, and having fine gold reflexions; the quills of the wings are of a light brilliant blue; the belly light yellow ; the bill blackifli, edged with yel- low. The bird is of the fize of a thrufh. Total length eighteen inches and three quar- ters; the bill twenty lines, fomewhat arched; the tarfus eight lines and a half; the wings fhort ; the tail twelve inches and a hair, confiding of very unequal quills, the four middle ones being longer than the lateral ones; it exceeds the wings eleven inches. i\. i^ '' PROMEROPS. 401 m The BROWN PROMEROPS with a Spotted Belly. Upupa Promcrops, Linn, and Gmcl, ^lero^s C ife-, Linn, and Gmd. Ptivni'o}!, BriiT. The CjpePfjmerops, Lath, THE belly is fpotted with brown upon a whitifli ground, and the breafl: fj^otted with brown upon an orange-bro\^'^ ground ; the throat is dirty white, having cm each lide a brown line, which rifes from the opening or the bill, pafles under the eye. and dcfcctids upon the neck; the crown of the head is brown, va- riegated with rufty gray; the rump and the fu- perior coverts "of the tail arc olive green ; the reft of the upper fide of the body, including the quills of .the tail and of the wings, are brown; the thighs are brown ; tiie inferior coverts of the tail are of a fine yellow ; the bill and legs black. The one figured, No. 637, Planches E?:Iu'' minxes, appears to be the male, iince it is more fpotted, and its colours better contrartc^d ; there is a very narrow gray ftripe on the wings, form- ed by a fuccefiion of fmall fpots that terminate the upper coverts. The fubjetfl defcribed by Briffon wants this ftripe, its colours are feebler, and the under fide of its body is Jefs fpotted ; 1 luppofc it to be a female ; it was an eighteenth VOL. VI. D d part ■ •'.!•« 'I m ■■'■ 'Sv I )() N' " ' '' '.ir ■•.t !y;-;.,''-k.;i'.; tmi I':. I ii , iSi I- '! '* '" 'l J i m ' .! iii 11 im\ i' ^! il 1,1 1 !>.. i07. PROMEROPS. p:i.t lefs than the male, and was fcarcely larger tha'i ;i ] irk. Totil icn^ji;th of the male elofhteen inches; the b li lixfeeii lines ; the tarfus ten lines and two-thirds; th.; wm';s fhort ; the alar extent thii t'cii incht;s ; the tail tlilrteen inches, con- fjdinc'- of tvvelve nuills, of wiiich the Cii mid- die Giles are much longer than the fix lateral ..J onc9, which .i '::i tapered ; it exceeds the wings elevcii inches [A]. The STRIPF.D-BELLIED BROWN PKCMEROPS. Merofs Fu/c<:, Gmel The Neui Guinea Brcnvu PromtropSy Lath. THIS bird was brought from New Guinea by Sonnerat. In the male the throat, the neck, and the head, are of a fine black, that on the head glolFed like buniifhed (Icei; all the upper part of the body is brown, with a tinge of deep green on the neck, back, and wings; the tail is of a more uniform and lighter brown, except the laft of the lateral quills, which Is bli^ck on the infide ; the bread and all the iincier fide of the body arc ftriped tranfverfely witl. black and white ; the iris and legs are black. [A] vSpccyic chnniiJter of the V'.upa Vromtropi : " It has ik tail-q'jilli, thv; middle ones very long." I have j! JiT.j^s THE KII^^«-^KX.TJIKD FR.OJVUSK.Ol'S :=;,.;,:flf]'H hr. ■' 1/ .■'ill , . _ '•;..■>. «,,'!■ li >■*:■,' iST.I.i' 'f ;■, ■■:•'* Mi" 1 ' 'i- 1/ *l M i milt J\«^,„||JU^ i PROMEROPS. 403 I have feen one which had a rufous fhade on the head. In the female, the throat, the neck, and the head, are of the lame brown with the vpper (ide of the body, and without any reflec- tions; in every other relpedt it refembles the male. Total length twenty-two inches ; the bill two inches and a half, ftraight, round, and very much arched ; the tail is thirteen inches, con- fiding of tv""'ve tapered quills, very unequal, the fhorteft being four inches, and the longeft exceeding the wings nine lines. BRJiJUl The GREAT PROMEROPS, with Frizled Flounces*. Upupa Magna, Gmcl. Vpupa Superba, Lath. Ind. The Grand Promerops\ t Lath. Syn. 'TpHE frizled flounces which at once decorate * and characterize this fpeciesj, confifl- of two thick tufts of frizled foft feathers, painted * Paremens, i. c. Protuberant decorations in general. t f^oyage a la Nouvelle Guinee, p. 166. The name oi four-iKing' edy which has been given by voyagers to an African bird of prey, would agree very well with this Promcrops. X The whiftler, defcribed in a former part of this work, has alfo a fort of flounces, but neither their form, nor the feathers of which tbcy confift, are the fame ; and thofe of the fuperb paraJife bird have a contrary direftion. D d :? with 14^1 il Ij-;''^ 'I V m rmw ■M:^ .■.'it: V- I'll W''! -i^'^'dl r..f?fc it ii- II. ^m ->i{''^ •it f-? 404 PROMEROPS. with the mofl: beautiful colours^ which proje<^ 0!) either fule of the boly, and give the bird a dilVuiguiihed figure. Thefe bunches of plum- age arc compolcd of the long coverts of the wings, which are nine in nunriber, that rife bc'iuiiiig on their up|)er fide, where the feathery fibres are very fliort, and difplay with more ad- vantage the long fibres of the under fide, which now becomes the convex fide ; the middle co- verts of the wings, of which there are fifteen, and even fome of the fcapular feathers, partake of this fingular arrangement, and rife into a fan- Ihape, their extremity ornamented with an edg- ing of brilliant green, changing into blue and violet, which forms a kind of garland on the wings, fpreading fomevvhat as it rifes to the back. In all the refl: of the plumage the prevailing colour is glofly black, enriched with blue and violet rrtieclions ; and all the feathers, fays Son- nerat, have the foftnefs of velvet, not only to the eye, but to the touch : he adds that the bodv, though of a long Ihape, appears fliort atid exceedingly little, compared with the great ex- tent or Its tail; the bill and le;js are black. Son- nerat brou(;ht this Hid from New Guinea. T'>tal '^ngth three fcct and a half (four ac- cording to Sonneivt) ; the bill near three inches; the vviu^s (liort ; the tail twenty-fix or tvver/v- feven inches, confilHng of twelve tapered'q.iilld, which are broad and pointed, the Ihortefi; Ivin^^ fix or feven inches, tlie lont>;eft excecdin"- the wings about twenty inches. :| r 'il i -r I IPROMEROPS. 4^5 ,1-'^ The ORANGE PR0MER0P3. Upupa Aurantiat Gmel. Promeropi harbadenfis, BriflT. Avit Paradifiaca America-iu thgantijimat Scba, '-T^iiE prevailing colour is orange, which re- •■• ceives different tints in different parts ; a gold tint on the throat, the neck, the head, and the bill; a reddi(h tint on the quills of the tail and on the great quills of the wings ; and laft- \y^ a yellow tint on all the reft of the plumage; the bafe of the bill is furrounded with fmall red feathers. Such, I conceive, to be the male of this fpe- cies, which is nearly as large as the ftarc ; I reckon the cochitototl * of Fernandez to be the female, which is of the fame fize, inhabit* the fame country, and whofe plumage differs not more from the Orange Promerops than in many fpecies the plumage of the male differs from that of the female. The throat, the neck, the head, and the wings, are variegated, without any regu- larity, with -cinereous and black ; all the reft of the plumage is yellow; the iris is pale yellow ; the bill is black, flender, arched, very pointed ; and the legs are cinereous. The bird lives wpon feeds and infeds, and is found in the hottett * Vpupa Aurarth, Var. Gmel. Promercpi Mexicanus Luteus, BrllT. D d 3 . parts ^■%, fey . *<:v,"|» I •-.■If '4; ' !. ■ " ?•, ^ ^4:^A^'. 4o6 PROMEROPS. '■ :i i parts of Mexico, where it is neither eftecmed for the beauty of its fong nor the delicacy of its flefh. The orange Promerops, which I fup- pofe to be the male of the fame fpecies, occurs in the north of Guiana, in the fmall iflands formed at the mouth of the river Berbice *. Total length of the bird about nine inches and a half ; the bill thirteen lines ; the tarfus ten ; the tail near four inches, confifting of equal quills, and exceeds the wings about an inch [A]. * Seba fays, in in/ulis Barbicenfibusy which I think ihould be tranflated the iflands of Berbice, and noi 'he iflands of Barbadoes. [A] Specific charafter of the U^upa Aurantia: «• It is fulvous^ US head and neck gold-coloured ; its tail e^ual." \:i ij:. 'I BAKER. 407 The BAKER, /* Feurniir, Buff. Meropj Ru/us, Gmel. The Ru/huj Jlee-eaitr, Lath. THIS is the name which Commerfon has given to this American bird, which forms the fliade between the Promerops and the Bee- eaters. It differs from the Promerops, as its toes are longer and its tail (horter : it differs from the Bee-eaters, becaufe it has not, like them, its outer toe joined and as it were foldered into the middle toe almoft its whole length. This bird is found in Bueiios Ay res. Rufous is the prevailing colour of its plum- nge, which is deeper on the upper parts, much lighter and verging on pale yellow on the lower parts ; the quills of the wing are brown, with Ibme rufous tints, more or lefs intenfe, on the outer edge. Total length eight inches and a half; the bill twelve ;>r thirteen lines ; the tarfus fixteen lines ; the hind nail the ftrongeft ; the tail ra- ther lefs than three inches, and exceeds the wings about an inch. [A] Specific charafter of the MtropsRufus: ** It is rufous; its wing-quills brown« rufoius on their outer edge." D d 4 ■}^:.h •vr'!- :*i !;i: I [ i-il .l'-,i! M' ; i t V 408 P O L O C H I 0 >?. The POLOCHION*. ' Met ops Molucccnjts, Gmi'I. The j\Inlucf darker fcattered J are yel- fame co- de of the iie feel as 'e believe n hardly je as the [ can per- or figure the fame It of the it an in- '* It is fire- ; its tail and i^.i5 'J JCjs^ li 1 m\ I lf we believe Ariflotle, Pliny, ^Elian, and thole who have copied them, the young ones do not wait till the parents need their aifiltance ; as foon as they are flown they give a cheerful attendance, ami carry provifions to their holes. It is eafy to fee that thele are tables, but the moral at lead is good. • De Nat» Anim* Lib. I, 49. ''\. ^^ Th< i,e 4i6 B K E - E A T E R. ■ '1' 1; I f ii IL : i The male has fmall eyes, though of a viviti red, and which derive additional ludrc from a black bar; the front is of a fea-grecn ; the up- per fide of the head is chefnut tinged with green; the hind part of the head and of the neck is chefnut, without any admixture, but which grows continually more dilute as it ap- proaches the back ; the upper fide of the body is of a pale fulvous, with green and chefnut re- fledlions, which arc more or lefs apparent, ac- cording to the pofition; the throat is of a fhin* ing goid-yellow, terminated in fome fubje£l3 by a blackilh collar ; the fore part of the neck, the bread:, and the under fide of the body, are of a blue beryl, which grows lighter on the hind parts ; the fame colour is fpread over the tail with a light rufous tinge, and on the outer edge of the wing without any admixture; it runs into green, and receives a ihade of rufous on the part of the wings next the back; almoft all the quills are tipt with black, their fmall fuperior coverts are tinged with dull green, the middle ones with rufous, and the great ones (haded with green and rufous : the bill is black, and the legs reddifh brown (black according to Aldrovan- dus) ; the fhafts of the quills of the tail are brown above and white below. Befides, all thefe different colours are very variable, both in their tint and their diftribution ; and hence the difference among defcriptions. This bird is very nearly as large as the redwing, B E E.E A T E R. 4'7 redwing, its (hape longer, and its back rather more convex. Belon fays that nature has made it hunch-backed. Total length ten or twelve inches ; the bill twenty-two lines, broad at its bafe, a little arched ; the tongue thin, terminated by long threads, the noftrils fhaded by a fort of rufty hairs; the tarfus five or fix lines, and pretty thick in proportion to its length ; the outer toe adheres to the middle one almoft its whole length, and to the inner one by its firfl: pha- lanx only, as in the king-fiflier; the hind nail is the (horteft of all and the mod hooked ; the alar extent fixteen or feventeen inches ; the tail four inches and a half, confifting of fix pairs of quills, of which the five lateral ones are equal ; the middle pair projects nine or ten lines beyond them, and about eighteen lines beyond the wings, which confift of twenty-four quills, according to fome, and of twenty-twQ accord- ing to others : the one I obferved contained twenty one quills. The oefophagus three inches long, and dilates at its bafe into a glandulous bag ; the Aomach is rather membranous than mufcular, and of the fize of an ordinary nut ; the gall bladder is large and of an emerald colour; the liver is pale yellow : there are two cceca^ the one fifteen lines, the other fixteen and a half ; the intef- £ e tinal VOL. VI. ^ ; U ! .Jl- m 4»« BEE-EATER. tinal tube could not be meafurcd, being too much injured by the Ihot [A]. '-■ V 1(' I- ♦• Ml ^A If T H 1 ■ YELLOW and WHITE BEE-EATER. Mirops Flavicatttf Gmcl. Manucotliata Sicunda AlJrovandi, Ray. and Will. Apicfitr Flavicans, BriflT. The Ttlltvn Btitattr» Lath< ALDROVANDUS faw this fpecie3 at Rome; it is remarkable for the length of the two middle quills of its tail, and the proportional fhortnefs of its bill ; its head is white, variegat- ed with yellow and gold colour; its eyes yel- low ; its eye-brows red ; its breaft reddifti ; its neck, its belly, and the under fide of its wings, are whiti(h ; its back yellow ; its rump, its tail, and its wings, are of a bright rufous ; its bill is greenilh-yellow, fomewhat arched, two inches long; and its tongue is long, and pointed nearly like that of woodpeckers. This bird was much larger than the ordina- ry Bee-eater, and its alar extent was twenty inches ; the two middle quills projected eight lines beyond the lateral ones. The Siguier Cavalieri, to whom it belonged, was uncertain what country it commonly inhabits. [A] Specific charafler of the comtnoa Bee-eater, Mtroft Apiaf- ttr : ** Its back is ferruginous, its belly and tail bluifh-green, two of the tail-quills longer than the reft, its throat yellow," 'f r B E E.E A T E R. 419 uncertain The GRAY- HEADED BEE-EATER. ^ftrop$ CiMtrtMs, Linn. Gmel. and Klein. Ahiafitr MixicanuSf Brifl". Aviiula Jc ^auhcilui, Scba. The Citttrtoui Bet-tattr, Lath« P ERHAPS this bird has nothing elfe American but the Mexican name quauhiciiui^ which Seba has been pleafed to beftovv upon it. It 19 as large as the fparrow of Europe, and is in- chided in the genus of the Bee-eaters on account of the length and (liape of its bill, the length of the two middle quills of the tail, and by the thicknefs and Ihortnefs of its legs. It probably rel'emblcs alfo in the difpofition of its toes. Its head is of a fine gray ; the upper fide of its body the llimc, variegated with red and yel- low ; the two long middle quills of its tail are pure red ; its breail and all the under fide of its body are orange yellow, and the bill is of an handlome green. ' Total leng;th nine or ten inches ; the bill and tail occupy the one half of it. [A] Specific charaftcr of ihtl^Jerops Cinereut: *• It is variegated with red and yellow, below reddiih -yellow j. two of its tail-quills ycry long and red." ' ' , ,t V • i I > ':'' , , ', _\ i J ) ,t n e % 420 BEE-EATER. THE GRAY BEE-EATER of ETHIOPIA. Mtrop$ Cafir, Linn, and Gmel* LiNNJEUS is the only naturalifl who has taken notice of thiii fpecies, which he does from a drawing of Burmann. His indication, to which 1 can add nothing, is, that the plumage is gray ; that there is a yellow fpot near the anus ; and that its tail is very long. ;;■■ -A ;• I' !■( « ;' m. '■)'; THE CHESNUT and BLUE BEE-EATER. Mtrops Badiutt Gmel. Mp-ops Caftantust Lath. Ind.. Apiafter ex Francia In/ulat BrifT. The Che/nut Bee-tatert Lath. Syn. /^HESKUT predominates on the anterior parts ^^ of the upper fide of the body, including the top of the back, and beryl on the reft of the up- per fide of the body, and on all the lower part, but which is much more beautiful and more confpicuous on the throat, the fore part of the neck, and the breaft, than any where elfe ; the wings are green above, fulvous below, .termi- nated with blackifli ; the tail is of a pure blue ; the bill black ; and the legs reddifh. This «« 'I * ■ B E E-E A T E R. 42 r This bird is found in the Ifle of France : it is hardly larger than the crefted lark, but much longer. Total length near eleven inches ; the bill nineteen lines; the tarfus five and a half; the hind toe the (horteft of all ; the alar extent four- teen inches ; the tail five inches and a half, con- fining of twelve quills, of which the two njid- dle ones project two inches and two lines be- yond the lateral ones;, and three inches and a half beyond the wings ; thefe confift of twenty- four quills, of which the fir ft is the (horteft* and the third the longeft. VARIETY. The Chefnut and Blue Bee-eater of Senegal is a variety produced by climate. No more than thefe two colours are found in the whole of Its plumage, but their diftribution is different from that of the preceding. The chefnut is fpread on the coverts and the quills of the wings, except the quills next the back, and on the quills of the tail, except the proje£ling part of the two middle ones, which is blackifti. This Bee-eater is found in Senegal, whence it was brought by Adanfon. Its total length is about a foot, and it has nearly the fame propor- tions as that from the Ifle of France. E c a .'■r^'\V' ■>■■}■■ ' .■■■Mr: ii ,>' ^a Mill" ■k hi: •"•Jf*jfi:K;J '^■''tl Wi iit ;r' m w .K n \m I : 1:1^ '(*:■■ m I, "* f'?M 'I- »*';■' I' M' >.,■'■ ■■^f.l : i 4a* B E E-E AT E R. t ;■'« The P A T I R 1 C H. Mereps Supercilio/us, Linn, and Gmel. Aj.iaflir MaJnga/carienfis, BrifT. The Suptrctlious Bet'eater, Lath* THE natives of Madagafcar call this bird Pa^ tir'tch tirichi which is manifeftly formed from its cry, and which I have (hortened and retained. The principal colour of its plumage is dull green, changing into brilliant chefnut on the head, not fo dark on the upper fide of the body, grovN-ing more dilute on the hind parts, flill lighter on the lower parts, and continually melting away towards the tail : the wings are terminated with blackilh ; the tail is dull green ; the throat is yellowifh white at its origin, and fine clicinutatits lower part. But what beft chara(5lerlzes this bird and gives it a fingular afpe(fl, is a broad blackifh bar, edged round its whole circumference with greenifh white; this border bends about the bafe of the bill and grafps the .irloin of the neck, affuming a yellowifh ti:;ge, as 1 have before fatd; the bill is black, and the leg^ . e brown. This bird is found in A'l.idagalcar; v. is rather larger than the cheliiut and blue Bee -eater. 1 otil length eleven inches and one-third ; the bill r\ a^v ni]e lines; the tarfus five lines; the iiiad toe the ihorteft; the alar extent fif- teen m it BEE-EATER. 423 teen inches and two thirds; the tail five inches and a h\U\ conliftiii;^ of twelve quills; the two mi I lie ore jjroje<5l oiore than two inches be- yond the h. :;ral ones, and two inches and three quarters bevon 1 the wings, which confift of twenty- four quills, of which the firfh is very fhojt, and the twelfth is the longell:. I have (c< n another Bee-eater from Mada- gaicar, much like this in regard to the fize, the colours of the plumage, and their diftribution, thoUv^h lefs contraded ; the bill was weaker, and the two middle quills of the tail exceeded not the lateral ones. It was undoubtedly a variety occafioned by age or fex ; its bar was edged with beryl, and the rump and tail were of the fame colour as in the fubjed brought home by Son- nerat ; but in the latter, the two middle quills of the tail were very narrow and much longer than the lateral ones [A]. . [A] Specific charzdier of the Me opt Superci^io/us : ** It is green, " a white line on its front above and below the eyes, its throa( «• yellowifti, two of its tail quills elongated." •up, •It' Av ■'i. •»«1 •■'■-■■■•■•«; 'Mi ii •life .11; ^.1. ', > I 'mi M W4 J-••■ ^. 1 1 ■ .: ■••.iii x[m- K' t\ h ' \\-^ •■■I-;::-] f ji U m 426 B E E . E A T E R. obvious that all thefe minute differences are not more tlian might be expected in individuals of even the fame fpecies, but only diverlified by- age or fex ; the flight Variation of lize may be imputed to the fame caufes. The bird called by Briflbn t/je little Philippine Bee-eater^ is of the fame fize and plumage with the collared Bee-eater of Madagafcar ; the chief difference remarked between them is, that in the former the two middle quills of the tall, in- flead of being longer than the lateral ones, are, on the contrary, rather fliorter. But Briflbn himfelf fufpecls that thefe middle quills were not yet fully grown, and that in thofe fubjcifls where they were complete they projedled far beyond the lateral ones : this is the more probable, as thefe two middle quills appear, in the prefcnt cafe, to be different from the lateral ones, and even nearly akin to the projecling part of the middle quills in the blue-throated green Bee- eater. The other differences are thefe ; that the bar was not black, but of a dull green, and that the Icg^s were brown red: but flill it ought to be referred to the fame Ipecies. This bird is fpread from the coall of Africa to the mofl eaftern of the Afiatic iflands; it is nearly as large as our fparrow. Total length fix inches and a half, (probably it would be about eight inches and three quar- ters, as in the blue- throated green Bee-eater, if the two middle quills had beeu fully grown) the bill ones, are. B E E-E AT E R. 427 bill fifteen lines; the tarfus four lines and a half; the alar extent ten inches ; the ten lateral quills of the tail two inches and a half, exceed- ing the wings fourteen lines [A], The GREEN and BLUE YELLOW- THROATED BEE-EATER, Buff. Merops Chryfocephalust Gmel. The Tellow-tbroattd Bteeattr, Lath. THIS is a new fpecies introduced by Sonnerat. It is diftinguifhed from the preceding in its plumage, its proportions, and above all, in the length of the middle quills of the tail ; its throat is of a tine yellow, which extends on the neck under the eyes, and even farther, and is terminated with blue in its lower part ; the front, the eye-brows, and all the under part of the body, are glaucous; the quills of the wings are green, edged with glaucous from tiieir mid- dle; their fmall fuperior coverts are dun green, feme fnufF-coloured, the longefi: next tlic body are of a light yellow ; the upper fide of ilie head and neck is fnuA- colon red ; all the upper fide of the body, gold green ; the fuperior coveits of the tail green. [A] Specific ch;>■' \ .-.^'■^ IS, '1I •y^ ■■-•si:' I I m \ ■<■:, 'Is'!'; nt ■ .1, ) II ' i 'I m i^i ''^vi 428 B E E-E A T E R* Total length ten inches; the bill twenty lines; the tarfus fix lines; the hind nail the fliorteft and moft hooked; the tail four inches and a quarter, confifting of twelve quills, the ten lateral ones nearly equal to each other ; the two middle ones exceed the lateral ones by leven or eight lines, and the wings by eighteen. The LITTLE GREEN and BLUE TAPER-TAILED BEE-EATBR. Mtrops Angoltnjist Gmel. • Jpiajlir AngohnJiSi BriiT. The Angola Bee-eater, Lath. TTS fmallnefs is not the only property that •■• diftinguifhes this from the preceding; it differs alfo in the colour of its head, in its pro- portions, ai^d, above all, by the conformation of its tail, which is tapered, and of which the two middle quills do not project much. With regard to its plumage, the upper furface is gold green, the under beryl blue j the throat is yel- low ; the fore part of the neck, chefnut; there is, acrofs the eyes, a zone dotted with black; the wings and tail are of the fame green as the back ; the iris is red ; the bill black, and the legs cinereous: — Thefe are the chief colours of this bird, which is the fmalleft of the Bee-eaters. It is « :i?( BEE-EATER. 429 is f md in the kingdom of Angola in Africa; it is the only one of the genus that has a ta- pered tail. Total length about five inches and a half; the bill nine lines ; the tarfus four lines and a half; the hind toe the fhorteft ; tail two inches and more, confifting of twelve quills; it exceeds the wings about an inch. The AZURE-TAILED GREEN BEE- EATER, Buff. Merops PbWppinus, Gmel. Apiajhr Philifpinenjis Major, Brifl". The Philippine Beeeatert Lath. ALL the upper furface of the head and body is of a dull green colour, changing into rofe copper ; the wings are of the fame cojour, terminated with blackifh, lined with light ful- vous; the nineteenth and twentieth quills, marked with glaucous on the outfide, and the twenty-fecond and twenty-third, on the infide. All the quills and coverts of the tail are of a beryl blue, which is lighter on the inferior co- verts; there is a blackifh bar on the eyes; the throat is yellow ifli, verging on green and ful- vous ; this laft tint is more intenfe below ; the under fide of the body and the thighs are of a yel- lowilh green changing into fulvous ; the bill is blacky '■•■A. j i'l I'" IT '•• ' r, ' ■' ■ ; i>.{ ... v\ .-i-U'j-l'.il' ■■': MA ' .:t.\::*>v « ■■'■■v''fc ■fi''' w I B p ■f 430 B E E . E A T E R. black, and the legs brown. This bird is found in the Philippines, and is larger than the com- mon Bee- eater. Total length eight inches and ten lines ; the bill twenty-five lines ; the angle of its aperture at a confiderable diftance from the eye; the tarfus five lines and a half; the hind toe the fhorteft ; the alar extent fourteen inches and ten lines ; the tail three inches and eight lines, con- fifting of twelve quills nearly equal, and it pro- jedls eleven lines beyond the wings, which have only twenty- four quills, the firft being the ihorteft, and the fecoad the longeft of all [A]. ■ \U ■:Vi THE •a . : I . mm,.,., mi -I IM:^ m BLUE-HEADED RED BEE-EATER. A Merops NubictiSt Gmel. 1)\Q Blue-beaded Bte-tatir, Lath. FINE beryl glows on the head and on the throat, where it becomes deeper, aud alfo on the rump and on all the coverts of the tail ; the neck, and all the reft of the under liJe of the body, as far as the legs, are crimfon, fhadcd with rufous ; the back, the tail, and the wings, are brick colour, which is dunner on the coverts [AJ Specific cliaracler of the Merops Pbilippinuti ** It is £;reeni below yeUowiih, its rump blue« its tail equal/' of BEE-EATER. 43, of the wings ; the three or four quills of thq wings iicarell the back are of a brown green, with bluifh rcfleflions; the great quills tcrmi- natt'J with bluifli gray, melted with red; the middle ones are of a blackifh brown; the bill black, and the legs light cinereous. This is a new Ipccies found in Nubia, where it was de- lineated by Mr. Bruce ; it is not quite fo large as the European fpecies. Total length about ten inches; thebill twenty- one lines; the tarfus fix lines ; the hind toe the fliorteft ; the tail about four inches, a little forked, and it exceeds the wings about twenty- one lines [A]. m The RED and GREEN BEE-EATER of SENEGAL *. u; ;* >.'t'rl huit "Itisjtyeen, Merops Lrjthropterus, Gmel. The Red-iuinged Bee-eater, Lath. '"pHE upper furface of the head and body, in- ■*" eluding the fuperior coverts of the wings, and thofe of the tail, is dun-green, browner on the head and back, lighter oi\ the rump and the. fuperior coverts of the tail ; there is a dark fpot [A] Specific charader of the ytrops Nubtcus: " It is blue green, below red; its back, its wings, and it^ forked tail, brick colour." • We owe this fpecies to M. Adanfon. The defcription and figure are at accurate as they could be made from the Ikia of the bird dried and prepared between two leaves of paper. S behind H f J. i ' m 1'4 ^ 43a BEE. EATER. behind the eye ; the quills of the tail and of the wings are red, terminated with black ; the throat is yellow ; all the under furface of the body is dirty white ; the bill and legs black. Total length about fix inches ; the bill one inch ; the tarfus three lines and a half; the tail two inches, and it exceeds the wings about one inch [A]. ^ The RED-HEADED BEE-EATER. I Meropi Erythroctphalus , BriflT. Aftajltr Indicus Erytbroetfhalus, Brifll F the name, cardinal^ can ever be applied to any of the bee-eaters, it certainly belongs to the prefent ; for it has a foft of hood that co- vers, not only the head, but alfo a part of the neck : it has alfo a black bar on the eyes; the upper fide of the body is of a fine green j the throat yellow ; the under fide of the body light orange ; the inferior coverts of the tail yel- low i(h, edged with light green ; the tail is greeti above, cinereous below ; the iris red, the bill black, and the legs cinereous. This bird is found in the Eafl Indies, and is [A] Specific charadler of the Mtrops Etythrepttrus : ** It Is olive, below partly whitifh, its throat bright yellow ; its wings and tail red, tipt with black.'* nearly t ■ ,) fiEE-EATER. 433 nearly as large as the blue- throated green bee- eater. Total length fix inches; the bill fixteen lines; the tarfus five lines; the hin5X«{, from At|, a goat, and Cxa^w, to milk : The name which Pliny bellows is a liteial tranflation of this, Caprmulgus. Hence, too, are derived many of its defignations in the modern languages: In Italian, Succhia Caprc\ in rreuch, Tctts- Chet're i in German, Gei/s-Melcher, Miich-Zitgen Suger, Kinder- Mehhery and in Norwegian, Gtde-MaUhtr. As it never appears but in the twilight, this circumftance has alfo procured it a clafs of names. In Greek, Ntxl»xo|!a|; in Latin, Fur NoSurnus; in Eng- lifli, Nig^t-Raven ; in Italian, Nettela; in Germvin, Nadt-Scl'ade, Nacht-Rueblin, Nucht-Vogel; in Danilh, Nat-Rann, Nat-^kc, ; in S'.vdifti, Nattfiraefiva, Uattjkiarra, It is alfo called Co'va-Terra (ground-hatcher) in Italian; Chajfe-Crapaud (hunter-toad) in French ; Hacht - Sch^v^dbe (night - fwallow) and Grofs -Bartigt Schwalbe (great-bearded fwallow) in German. M. do Montbeillard, author of this article, remarks with great juflict, that the w^m^s ^ Goat-fuchr, "^ FlyUig-toaii^ ^ Great Black- bird, '^ Kight CroiAjy and ^ SqucirL-iaiied S-iL-allo'w, ought to be re- jeftcd as founded on prejudice and inaccurate obfervation. The firft of thcfc appellations, though ancient and generally admitted, 1 Tette-Cle'vrc ; * CrapauJ P'tlan: ; % Grand IdtrU \ 4 Corhcau tU Nuit j 5 //;• rdJelli a y^eui Carr/c. II f Such as moths, gnats, dorrs or chaffers, beetles, mciy-bugs, and no doubt night-Hies. '^l or Nl^ht "Jan, 1 Yorklhire, the t, and £>]Xa^«, to :raiiflation of this, its defigntitions in in rreiich, 7'ctts- ren Stiger, Kinder' s it never appears Kured it a clafs of 'o(3uriius; in Eng- un, Naclt-Schade, Htt, Nat-Skc. ; in called Cova-Ttrra (hunter-toad) in and Grofs -Bartigt emarks with great oad, 3 Great Black- , ought to be re- oblervation. The generally admitted, Zorhcau lU JrrC KER. I > .( i ■ *J. I. 'r'.'.-iji t..'?ji(i?,*''f!: m '■ D ji - M'i I ^r-.- ■■'■■- ' -if: 5. I r^<' ill. . * i: m GOAT. SUCK? H. 437 before fun-fet *, apd it never takes wing in th^ middle of the day, except in dark cloudy wea- ther, or when obliged to make its efcape. Its eyes are fo delicate as to be dazzled and over- powered by the meridian effulgence, and they perform their office only in a weak light. But we rnuft not fuppofe that it can dirtihguifli ob- je£ls and fly in total darknefs ; the proper time for its excurlions, and indeed for thoi'e of all the other nocturnal birds, is the duik of the even- ing. The Goat-fucker needs not fhut its bill to fe- cure the winged infers ; for a fort of glue oozes from the palate, which entangles them "f. The Goat-fuckers are widely fcattered, yet in no place are they common. They are found in almoft all the countries of our continent, i. is highly improbable, and contradifted by fiift j for Schwenckfeld made particular enquiries in a country whfre numerous flocks of goats are kept in folds, but could never difcover that they were fucked by any bird whatever. The pther names ought equally to be rejefted ; it is furely not a toad, or a blackbird, or a crow, or an owl. Nor is it even a fwallow, though n»uch akin to it; for its external figure and its habits are different : its legs are fhort, its bill fmall, its throat wide ; its fuojl too, ^nd its mode of prey* ing, are not the lame. M. dp Mpntbeillard adopts the appella- tion Enguhvent (guttler), given in fome prpvinces of France, which, though vulgar, conveys a diftlndl idea of the bird in its ftate of adivity ; its wings foread, its look haggard, its throat extended to its utmoft width, and wheeling with a hoarfc buzzing noife m purfuit of infcfts, yvJuch it feemi to guttle (tngouUr} by drawing in its breath. * . . ,, ^ • Hence Arlftotle calls it a lazy bird, •j" I^ote Qommunicatcd by M. Hcbert. F f 3 ffom • H i ; ,4t;;| I? ^'■■■■"i!t 'fS>-'i I X ;1 m i 43« GOAT- SUCKER. from Sweden, and even the more northern tradls, to Greece and Africa, on the one hand ; and to India, and, no doubt, ftill farther, on the other.' Sonnerat has fent a fpecimen for the Royal Cabinet, from the coaft of Coromandel ; which is certainly either a young one or a fe- male, fince it, in no refpedl, differs from the common kind, except that it wants thofe white fpots on the head and wings which Linnaeus re- gards as the peculiar chara£ler of the adult male. The commander de Godeheu informs us, that, in the month of April, the fouth weft wind brings thefe birds to Malta* ; and the Chevalier Def- mazis, an excellent obferver, writes to me that they repafs in as great plenty in autumn. They occur both in flat and in mountainous countries ; in Brie, in Bugey, in Sicily -f, and in Holland, and almoft always under a bu(h, or in young copfes, or about vineyards ; they feem to pre- fer the dry ftony trads, the heaths, &c. In the cold countries they arrive later, and retire earlier J. They breed on their progrefs, as the ♦ See Savans Etrangers, /. ///. 91. •f" A well-informed traveller informs me, that on the mountains of Sicily thefe birds appear an hour before fun-fet, and fpread in fearch of food in company with the bee-eaters, and that fometimes £ve or f'X fly together. % In England they appear about the end of May, and retire about the middle of Auguft, according to the Britifli Zoology. In France M. Hebert (aw them in the month '^f November; and a fportfman aiTured mc that he has met wuh 'ihem in win- ter, fituatlons GOAT- SUCKER. 439 fituatlons invite * ; fometimes more foutherly, at other times more northerly. They are at little trouble in forming their neit ; they are content with any Imall hole wiiich they hap- pen to find in the earth, or among fmall (lones, at the foot of a tree or the bottom of a rock. The female lavs two or three e2;2:s, lar2;er than thofe of the blackbird, and of a darker colour "f ; and though the affeftiou of parents is in general proportioned to the care beilowed in providing for their accommodation, the Goat-fucker is not wanting in tender attentions : on the con- trary, I am aifured that (he hatches with the greateft Iblicitude, and, when ftie perceives the threats or keen obfervation of an enemy, (he changes her fite, pulhing the eggs dexteroufly, it is faid, with her wings, and rolling them into another hole, which, though not better fadiioned, will, (he imagines, afford a fafer con- cealment. The feafon when thefe birds appear moft fre- quent, is autumn ; they fly nearly like the woodcock, and they have the geftures of the owl. Sometimes they tf^afe and difturb fportf- men who are qn the watch, They have an odd • TThe fowlers vyhqin I have confulted affirm that they never breed in the canton of Burgundy which I inhabit (I'Auxois), and that they appear there only in the time of vintage. t Tiiey arp Qblong, whitiOi, and fpptted with hrown> fays M. Salerne ; marbled with brown and purple on a white ground, fays the Count Ginanni, in the Italian Ornithology : the latter adds, that the (hell ii extremely thin. F f 4 fort f1 .1. 1 .1,1?,,' * .v fi if^ ■9 I "■JT^ 'J Sh :-v '^:: = ■ .'f ^ '"ill m su ./Mr 440 GOAT. SUCKER. )'' I ilil ■ .ft '<.'■'. ^ lit ^ .■»'■ i8| m mm fort of habit, which is peculiar to them ; they wheel an hundred times in fucceflion round fome large naked tree, with a very irregular and rapid motion ; at intervals they dive briik- ly, as if to catch their prey, and then rife as fuddenly. In fuch cafes they are undoubt- edly engaged in purfuit of the infe£ls that flut- ter about the aged trunks ; but it is then difficult to get within gun-(hot of them, for they quick- ly difappear, nor can their retreat be difcovered. As the Goat-fucker flics with its bill open, and with conliderable rapidity, the air continu- ally ftrikes againft the fides of its throat, and occafions a fort of buzzing, like the noife of a fpinning-wheel : this whirring infallibly takes place whenever the bird is on the wing, but it varies according to the celerity of the flight. Hence the name of wheel-bird^ by which it is known in fome counties of England*. But is this noife generally regarded unlucky, as Belon, Klein, and others who have copied them, af- icrt ? Or is it not rather a miftake occafioncd by confounding the Goat-fucker with the white owl ? When it fits, it utters its true cry, which is a plaintive tone repeated three or four times in fucccfiion ; but we are not quite certain whether this is ever heard while the bird is on the vviiio;. It feldom perches, and when it does, it is faid * Our author means Wales, where this bird is called Aderjny JrccU, which in fiidt fignifies ivhetl-lird. T. not G O A T-S U C K E R. '441 not to cling acrofs the branch, like mod other birds, but to fit lengthwife, refembling the pof- ture of the cock in treading (cochant or c'-^Q' chant) the hen ; and hence the name chauc,.^* branches It is a folitary bird, and is, for the moft part, fingle; feldom two are found toge- ther, and, even then, they are ten or twelve paces from one another. I have faid that the Goat-fucker flies like the woodcock ; their plumage alio is fimilar, for all the upper fide of the neck, of the head, and of the body, and even the under fide, is gaily variegated with gray and blackifli, with more or lefs of a rufty caft on the neck, the fcapular feathers, the cheeks, the throat, the belly, the coverts, and the quills of the tail and wings ; but the deepefl fhades appear on the upper fur- face of the head, of the throat, of the breaft, on the fore part of the wings, and on their tips : there is fuch variety that the ideas would be loft in the minutlce of defcription ; I (hall there- fore only add the charad^eriftic properties. The lower jaw is edged with a white ftripe that ex- tends behind the head ; there is a fpot of the fame colour on the infide of the three firft quills of the wing, and at the ends of the two or three outmoft quills of the tail ; but thefe fpots are peculiar to the male, according to Linnaeus * : the head is large ; the eyes very protuberant; ♦ Willughby obferved an individual in which thcfe fpots were of ■I' !'"■•■• ' 44* GOAT- SUCKER. 'X r i'^it^ I!' protuberant ; the hole of the cars pretty confi- derable; the aperture of the throat ten times wider than that of the bill; the bill fmall, flat, and fonicvvhat hooked; the tongue (lioit, point- ed, not divided at tJAc tip ; the nollrils round, and their edge projecting towards the bill ; the Ikull tranfparent; the nail of the mid-toe in- dented, as in the heron ; and laflly, the three fore toes are connected by a membrane as far as the firft phalanx. It is faid that the flcfh of the young Goat-fuckers is tolerable food, though it leaves a tafte of ants. Total length ten inches and a half; fhe bill fourteen lines ; the tarfus feven lines, feathered almoft to the fole ; the middle toe nine lines ; the hind toe the fhorteft of all, and it can be turned forwards, and often has that pofition ; the alar extent twenty-one inches and a half; the tail five inches, fquare, and compofed of ten quills only ; it exceeds the wings fifteen lines [A]. of a pale yellow, tinged with purple, and obfcurely marked : I perceived the fame thing in two fubjefls ; they are probably fe- males, and the one, which is fmaller than the other, I judge to be younger. [A] Specific chara£ler of the common Goat -fucker, CaprimuU gujEuropaus: *' It is black, variegated with cinereous, brown, ferruginous, and white; its noflrils obfcurely tubulated." It is moft frequent in the wooded and mountainous parts of this ifland. ':fv GOAT- SUCKER. ♦43 '.j.i Hm^ !^*: FOREIGN BIRDS, WHICH ARE RELATED To THE COAT-SUCKLR. THERE is only one fpecies of this genus fettled in the three divifions of the old continent ; but ten or twelve are found in the new. We might therefore regard America as their original and chief abode, from which the European Goat-fucker has been expelled by fome fortuitous event : and as the colony ought ever to be fubordinate to the mother-ftate, the order of nature would require that the Ameri- can fpecies (hould precede thofe of Europe. This arrangement we would have followed; but a more cogent reafon recommends a different plan. The order of the underftanding is to proceed from what is well afcertained to what is more ob- fcure: we therefore begin with the European birds, which are beft known to us, and which will tend to illuftrate thofe of other climates ; leaving to the American philofophers to begin their natural hiftory (and would to God that they would compofe one!) with the produce tions of America. The principal attributes of the Goat-fuckers are thefe : the bill is flat at its bafe, the point being flightly hooked, apparently fmall, but having a gape wider than the head, according to 1 ■ '"f I' "il'. (I ."ill 'm ! Si'-'- ♦:■,"»• \'.'-h\ ';,'*:■!; •|| M . , ■'■■ \m-^\ '...r'iV. '.ill ■ ■''■^,'.\ 444 G O A T. S U C K E R. i& to fome authors ; large protuberant eyes, like thole of iiu£lurnal birds; and long black vvhilk* CIS about the bill : the cffeil of the whole gives it a dull, ftupid afped, and declares it a floth- ful, ignoble race, allied to the martins and the i)0(rturnal birds, and yet fo nicely charaifleriltic, that it iseafy at the firll fight to diftingul.li the Goat- fucker from every other bird : their wings and tail are long, the l:i*ter feldom forked, and then in a very ilight degree, and is comprfed of ten quills only: their legs are Ihort, and, for the mod part, rough ; the three fore toes are connected together by a membrane as far as the firft joint: the hind toe is movc.ibl'^. and tuii]> forward fometimcs; the nail of the mlMlc toe is commonly indented on the Inner edge: the tongue is pointed, and not divided at the end : the noftrils are tubulated, th.it is, the projed- ing brims form on the bill the beginning of a fmall cyUnder; the opening of the ear is wide, and probably its hearing is very acute ; and we might even expect this to be thj cafe in a bird which has a weak fight and hardly any fmell, for, the ear being thus alone capable of intimat- ing what paiTes at a diftance, the bird will na- turally be led to improve that organ. The pro- perties now enumerated are not, however, found in all the Ipecies ; fome there are which have DO whiikers ; others that have more than ten quills in the tail ; others in which the middle nail is not indented ; iu fome it is indented, not on G O A T- S U C K E R. 44f on the Inn?r edge, but on the outer ; In others the nullrils arc not tubulatc\l ; in others the bird n:iil (eertis incapable o{ being turned for- wards. But, what is common to all the fpc- cics, their nr'jnns of li', 1 ..i.rc • ■ I," ■ .'■,v'" ' " ' ■ r ,1.' ; ft. -■ .1.;* I .111:" u".*. ii ''}■'. ^w .i:m \i' 450 G O A T-S U C K E R. • II. The WHIP-POOR WILL. Caprlmulgus Ftrgiman'is, Brifi*. and Gmel. The Long-'wlnged Goat-fucker, Penn. The Virginian Goat-fucker^ Lath. 'TpiiESE birds arrive in Virginia about the mid- -"- die of April, particularly in the back parts of the country. There they cry the whole niG^ht in a voice fo flirill and fo loud, and re- peated and encrcafed to fuch a degree by the echoes of the mountains, that one can hardly fiecp in their neighbourhood. They begin a iQ\w minutes alter fun-fct, and continue till dawn. They feldom appear near the coaft, and ilill feldomer during the day. They lay two eggs of a dirty green, variegated with fmall fpots, and fmall blackifh flreaks ; the femiile drops them carelefsly in the middle of a path, without forming any neft, without gathering mofs or flraw, and even without fcraping the ground ; and when ihe hatches, one may ap- proach very near before ^fhe takes to flight. Many believe theWhip-poor Will to be of ill omen. The favages are perfuaded that the fouls of fuch of their ancedors as were maflacred bv the EngUfli have pafled into the bodies of thcfe birds, and allege as a proof, their being never {qqvl prior to the fettlcment of the colony. But this G O A T-S U C K E R. 451 this fad (hews only that the flrangers intro- duced new fpecics of cultivation, which invited new tribes of birds. The upper fide of the head and of all the body, as far as the fiiperior coverts and quilh of the tail inclufively, and even the middle quills of the wings, are of a deep brown, ra- diated tranfverfely with a ligliter brown, and fprinkled with fmall fpots of the fame colour, with a very irregular mixture of cinereous ; the fuperior coverts of the wings are the fame, only fprinkled with a few fpots of light brown ; the great quills of the wings are black, the five firft marked with a white fpot near the middle of their length, and the tv.'o outer pairs of the tail are marked* fmiilarly near the end j the cir- cle of the eye is li2;ht brov/n, vercrinj^: on cine- reous ; there is a feries of orange fpots, which begins at the bafe of the bill, paiTes above the eyes, and defcends upon the fides of the neck ; the throat is covered with a broad r'^vcrfed cre- fcent, white at the top and tinged with orange at the bottom, and whofe horns point on bot!j fides to the ears ; all the refl of tlie lower part is white, tinged with orange, and {Iripe^ acrols with blackilh ; the bill is black, and the legs fic(h coloured. This Goat-fucker is a third fmaller than the European, and its wings are longer in proportion. Total length eight inches ; the bill nine lines and a half, its bale befet with black bridles ; G g 2 ' the Jril! :.'" i-; i. 'ml Mm ■ "•'jK.rji;.' ' ■lii •>.:y- ■'1: V"' ''1^ m ■ ' li ■■«!•,■.- ,:, I k ■■!,■ ( I s 452 G O A T- S U C K E R. the taiTiis five lines ; the nail of the mid-toe h iiuleiited on its inner edge ; the tail three inches and a quarter, and does not projedt at all beyond the wings [A]. III. * The G U I R A - QJJ E R E A. Cnjr.innlgus "Jamalcenjis, Gmel. The M'oodO-wl, Sloane. The Mountain Oxvl, Brown. The 'Jamaica Coat/ucker, Lath. ♦-|~^iiouGii Brillbn makes no diftlnflion be- -*• tvveen the ^uira defcribed by Sloane and the one delcribed by Marcgrave, I conceive that thcv ought to be diicriiinnated and regarded as at Icafl varieties of climate : I fliall flate my reafons when I treat of Marcgrave's Guira. In that of Sloane the head aad neck are variegated with the colour of Spanidi tobacco, and with [A] Specific charafter of the Ca^rlmulgus Virginianus : " It Is brown, variegated tranfverfcly with gray-brown, and here and there with cinereous ; below it is ftriped tranfverfely with reddifli white ; there is a triangular white fpot on its chin ; the fpace about its eyes and its neck are variegated with orange fpots.'* It re- ceived the name oiU hip-pocr Will on account of its note: but it really founds IVi/eri-rwip, laying the flrefs on the laft fyllable, and Hiding lightly over the fecond. It fits on the bufhes, the fence- rails, or the Heps of houfes, where the infefts are moll abundant; it makes a fpring at them as they pafs, and fettles again to renew its fong. In the l^ate of New York it appears in May, and re- tires in Auguft. black ; G O A T- S U C K E R. 453 black; the belly and the fuperior coverts of the tail and of the wings, variegated with whltiHi ; the quills of the tail and of the wings variegated with deep brown and white; the lower jaw aU moft featherlefs ; the head, on the contrary, is over-charged with them; the eye-balls protrude from the focket about three lines ; the pupil is whitilh, and the iris orange. This bird is found in Brazil ; it inhabits the woods, lives upon infedls, and flies only in |[the .jight. Total length fixteen inches ; the bill two inches, and of a triangular Ihape ; its bafe is three inches, Ibmewhat hooked, and edged with long whifkers; the noflrils are placed in a pretty large groove; the throat is wide; the tarfus three lines ; the alar extent thirty inches ; the tail eight inches ; the tongue fmall and tri- angular ; the ftomach whiti(h, (lightly muf- cular, containing half-digefted beetles ; the li- ver red, divided into two lobes, the one on the right, and the other on the left ; the inteflines are rolled into many circumvolutions. The Guira of Marcgrave has two very ob- vious charaders which are not found in the de- fcription of Sloane, but which could not have efcaped fo accurate an obferver. Thefe are the gold collar and the two middle quills of the tail, which are much longer than the la- teral ones : befides, it h fmaller, for Marc- ^ g 3 grave = ,;t^r.. :-Si-W'^^*' P'i „ K II.' a: 454 GOAT- SUCKER. grave reckons it not to exceed the lark ; and it is difficult to fuppofe that luch a bird would meafurc thirty inches acrofs the wings, as Sloane flates it. There are alfo fome dif- ferences in the plumage, which confpirc to fhow that it is a variety from climate. Its head is broad, flat, and large; its eyes large; its bill is fmall, with a wide aperture; its body is round ; its plumage is afh-brown, variegated with yellow and whitifli ; it has a gold col- lar tinged with brown ; the edges of the bill, near its bafe, are befet with long black w bilk- ers ; the fore toes are conneft^d by a (hort membrane ; the nail of the mid-toe is indent- ed ; the wings have fix quills; the tail eight, including the two middle ones, which projed beyond the refl. m [A] Specific charafter oi xkt Caprimulgus yamaicenjis : "It is variegated with longitudinal ferruginous and black llreaks ; the fpace about its eyes clothed with a difk of plumules j its wings brown and fpotted ; its tail cinereous, variegated with black fpots find dark brown ftripes.'* G O A T- S U C K E R. 455 Mf'Al IV. The IBIJAU. Caprimufgus P' Cliatius, Gmel. Caprimulgui LraJiUenJis Na:vius^ BrlfT. Caprimulgus Americanus Minor, Ray. The Brafilian Coat -fucker. Lath. ^TpHis Brafilian bird has all the chara£lers of -■' the Goat- fuckers : its head is broad and flat, its eyes large, its bill fmall, its throad wide ; its legs fhort, the mid-toe indented on its inner edge, &c. ; but what is peculiar to it, is the ha- bit of expanding its tail from time to time. Its head and all the upper fide of its body are blackifh, fprinkled with fmall fpots, moftly white, fome of them tinged with yellow ; the under fide of its body white, variegated with black, as in the fparrow-hawk, and its legs are white. It is nearly as large as the fwallow ; its tongue very fiiiail ; its noftrils open ; the tarfus fix lines ; the tail two inches, and exceeds not the wings. VARIETIES of the IBIJAU. I. The Little Spotted Goat-sucker OF Cayenne *. It bears a ilrong refemblance • Ctiprimulgus Cayanenjls, Gmel. The White-mked Goat-fucker, Lath. Gg4 to "I .; ,- y* r X. ^■.V if. Ft: ft' '):'l 1. M i>. A .*■ '-X I ■ . J .).■:': I i-i- i«'' i'-'ijii >;')! in ■bf.M.l "f'K BMP m 456 G O AT-S U C K E R. m to tlic IMjau in its lizc, in the length of its wings, nnd in the prcipoi tions o^ its otlicr dinien- liuni-i, iind in tlic blackiili call of its plunriagc ipotb.d ^wiih a lighter colour; thcfb ipots arc rufous or gray, except on the neck, whofc fore part has a ibrt of w lute collar, not mentioned by Maicgiave in his defcriplion of the Ibijaii, and whicii chiefly diflinguiflies this variety ; the under fide of the body is alio darker. Total length eight inches; the bill fifteen lines, black, befet with fmall briftles ; the tail two inches and a half. II. TiiK Great Ibijau *. The difference of bulk is very confiderable, it being as large as an vjwl, and its bill lo wide as to admit the hand; in other refpe6\:s the colours and propor- tions arc the fame as in the little Ibijau. Marc- graves 'oes not inform us whether it alfo fpreads its tail ; nor does he mention that there is a horn on the fore part of the head and behind it a fmall tuft, as his figure feems to reprelent. But it is well known that IMarcgrave's figures art inaccurate, and that more reliance ought to be had on the text. With this fpecies we fhould alfo range the great Goat-fucker of Cayenne, both on account of its bulk, and of its plumage, which is fpotted with black, with fulvous and with white, * Ctiprimi/lgus Grand! s, Gmel. Cafrimulgus Brofilienjis Major Navins, BriiT. The Grand Go.it-fucker, Lath. , principally G O AT-S U C K E R. 457 principally on the back, the wings, and the tail ; the upper lule of the head and ot the neck, and the under lide of the body, are ftriped tranf- verfely with dillcrent fliades of the fame co- lours; but the general cad of the bread is browner, and forms a fort of cin»5lurc. M. de Soni li law one whofc plumage was darker, and which had been found in the hollow of an ex- ceeding large tree ; this is its ordinary abode, but it prefers thofe trees which grow near water. It is ai: once the largeft of the Cioat-fuckers known in Cayenne, and the molt folitary. Total length twenty-one inches ; the bill three inches long, and as broad, the upper man- dible has a deep fcalloping on both fides near the point, the lower mandible fits into thefe fcailops, and its edges are refleded outwards ; the noftrils are flat and fliaded by the feathers of the bafe of the bill, which grow forwards ; the tarfus is eleven lines, feathered almoft to the toes; the nails are hookea, hollowed below by a furrow, w hich is parted into two by a longitudinal ridge ; the mid-toe is not indented, but is very large, and appears even more fo on account of a mem- branous ledge on each fide; the tail nine inches, a little tapered ; the wings proje . *', ■ li.'iv I'lii ' „ :;•! '■■it. i*; - ■■.>/■:.: ';l ::'li;. ..If 'I I'll ■"Mi •t m .:.:m ii-"v, ■'■•■ith'' 458 GOAT- SUCKER. The SPECTACLE GOAT-SUCKER, or the HALEUR. Cal^rimul^tis /Imc^uanux^ Linn. Gmcl. and Dor. , Cnpnmulgui Jomniitn/ii, Bri fi". .in J Ray. Uirundj y tmaiif Jis, Klein. The Soeccb-Ou/, Urown. The Sma/I ff'o^J-Oui, Sloanc. The American Goat/ucker, Lath. V. iHflt' /-|-VHE protuberant noflrils of this bird have * fomc rcfcmblancc to a pair of fpcdlacles, and hence its name of Spe^acle Goat/ucker (En- joulevent ^ Lunettes) : that of Halcur evidently alludes to its cry. This Goat-fucker lifves upon infeds, like all the others ; and, in its internal conformation, it refembles the guira of Sloane, with which it conforts : it inhabits both Jamaica and Guiana ; its plumage is variegated with gray, with black, and with the colour of ^• -ihered leaves; its bill is black ; its legs brown ; .uid there is abund- ance of feathers in the head and under the throat. The length, according to Sloane, is fcvea inches; the bill is fmall but wide; the upper mandible fomcwhat hookel, three lines long (reckoning, no doubt, from the root of the feathers on the front) edged with black whifk- ers; GOAT-SUCKER. 4S9 crs ; the tarfus, together with the foot, eigh- teen lines; the ah\r extent ten inches [A]. '■I ■• V ' I VJ. The VARIEGATED GOAT-SUCKER of CAYENNE. Caprimulgus CayanninJIs, Gmel. The IVhite-niclied Goat-fuchr» Lath. ALL the birds of this genus arc variegated, but this is more lb than the reH:; it is the moft common in Cayenne ; it frequents the planta- tions, the roads, and other cleared parts. When on the ground it utters a feeble cry, attended conftantly with a Ihivering of the wings, and refembling the croaking of thr toad : It has alfo another cry like the barking of a dog. It is not fhy, and when feared, it never flies to any great diftance. The head is delicately ftripcd with black on a gray ground, with fome (hades of rufous ; the upper fide of the neck is ftriped with the fame colours, but not fo nicely : on each fide of the head are five parallel bars, ftriped with black on a rufous ground; the throat is white, and [A] Specific charafler of the Caprimulgut Americanm i "Its noftrils are tubulated and projefting.** alfo •«'••■ J , > « ti A 1- f " m^\. ^& f¥' ■'•,:i'*ii'V .1"'- 1 -4 'fr ■■ ■);.•■. fl .f ', .^c: f ■ V. w 460 GOAT- SUCKER. r alfo the fore part of the neck ; the back Is flriped acrofs with blackirti on a rufous ground ; the breaft and belly are flriped alfo, but lefs regu- larly, and Iprinkled with a few white fpots; the lower belly and the thighs arc whitifli, fpot- ted with black ; the fniall and middle coverts of the wings are variegated with rufous and black, fo that rufous predominates on the fmall ones, and black on the middle ones ; the great ones are terminated with white, which forms a crofs bar of that colour; the quills of the wings are black ; the five flril: marked with white two thirds or three fourths of their length ; the fuperior coverts and the two middle quills of the tail are flriped acrofs with blackifh on a gray ground, clouded with blacky the lateral quills edged with white ; and this edging is broader as the quill is more exterior; the iris is yellow, the bill black, and the legs yellovvifli- brown. Total length about feven inches and a half; the bill ten lines, befet with briftles ; the tarfus five lines ; the tail three inches and a half, and projeding about aa mch beyond the wings. GOAT- SUCKER. VII. 461 THE SHARP-TAILED GOAT-SUCKER. L*Engoule-vent Acutipenne de la Guyana, BufF. Cafrimu/gus Acutus^ Gmel. /T^iiis bird differs from the preceding not only -■' in its dimeniion?, but iii the fliape of its tail feathers, which are pouited. It is diftln- guifhed alfo by the colours of its plumage. The upper furface of the head and neck is flriped tranfverfely, but not delicately, with tawny brown and black ; the fides of the head are va- riegated with the fame colours, only rufous pre- dominates; the back is ll:riped with black on a gray ground, and the under furface of the body on a rufous ground ; the wings are nearly as in the preceding fpecles ; the quills of the tail are flriped acrofs with brown on a pale cloudy rufous, terminated with black, but a little white precedes this black tip ; the bill and legs are black. It is faid ti.at thefe birds fometimes afTociate with the bats ; which is not very extraordinarv, fince they leave their retreats at the fame hours, and purfue the lame prey. Probably thefr are the fame with the fniall Ipecies tnentioned by M. de la Borde, which nclUe like the wood pigeons. M ■ '■ ir 462 G O A T- S U C K E R. pigeons, the turtles, &c. in Oflober and No- vember, that is, two or three months before the rainy feafon, which begins about the fif- teenth of December, and during which moft cf the birds breed. Total length about feven. inches and a half; the tail three inches, confiding of ten equal quills, and projedling a few lines beyond the wings. mi VIII. The GRAY GOAT-SUCKER. CatrhntJgus Gri/eus, Ginel. I SAW in Mandult's cabinet a Goat- fucker from Cayenne much larger than the preceding; it had more gray in its plumage, and its propor- tions were fomewhat different, and the quills of the tail were not pointed. The quills of the wings were not fo black as in the preceding fpecies, and were llriped acrofs with gray; thofe of the tail were ftriped with brown on a gray ground variegated with brown, without any white fpots ; the bill was brown above, and yellowifti below. Total length thirteen inches ; the bill twenty lines ; the tail five hues and a quarter, and pro- jeding a little beyond the wdngs. GOAT- SUCKER. 463 IX. The MONTVOYAU of GUIANA. Cafrimulgus Guiane'^Jis, Gmel. The Guiana Goct-Jucker, Lath, MONTVOYAU is the cry of this bird, which pronounces diftinclly the three iyliables, and repeats them very often in the evening among the bullies. Like the European Goat- fucker, it has a white foot on each of the five firil: quills of the win[!^, of which the ground is black, and another white fpot or bar which rifes from the corner of the bill, and flretches for- wards, but extends alfo under the neck, in • jih circumdance it diiters ; and befides it has *t* general more of the fulvous and rufty co- lours in its plumage, which is almofl: wholly variegated with thefc two colours ; yet thefe affume different (hades and modifications in dif- ferent parts ; crofs (Iripes on the lower region of the body, and the middle quills of the wings ; longitudinal ftripes on the upper fide of the head and neck; oblique flripes on the top of the back; and laftly, there are irrepular fpots on the reft of the upper fide of the body, v/herc the ful- vous aflumes a gray caft. Total length nine inches ; the bill nine lines and a half, befet with briil:les ; the tarfus naked ; middle nail indented on its outfide, the tail tiiree inches, exceeding the wings one inch. ■■■■i:b:u'$ '^'\ !■ .iTI.k ■ 'U: '£' %. w m 464 GOAT-SUCKER, X. The RUFOUS GOAT. SUCKER of CAYENNE. Caprimulgus Rufus, Gmel. RUFOUS clouded with blackifli forms almoft all the ground of the plumage; and black varioufly intenfe conftitutes its whole orna- ment : it is difpofcd in longitudinal, oblique, irregular bars, on- the head and the upper lide of the body ; it makes a fine irregular tranf- verfe flriping on the throat, a little broader on the fore part of the neck, the under fide of the body, and of the lc<];s ; then a little broader on the fuperior coverts and on the inner edge of the wing near its extremity ; laftly, broadef!: of all on the quills of the tall. Some fpots arc fcattercd here and there on the body, both above and below. In general, blackilh predominates on the top of the belly ; rufous on the lower belly, and ftill more on the inferior coverts of the tail ; the middle part of the great quills of the wings prefcnts fmall fijuares alternately ru- fous and black, checkered almoft as regularly as fpots on a chefs board ; the iris is yellow, the bill light brown, and the legs fle(h coloured. Total length ten inches and a half; the bill twenty-one lines; the tail four inches and two thirds, exceeding the wings lix hues. 5 I have G O A T-S U C K E R. 46s 1 have feen atM.Mauduits' a Goatfucker, froi:n Louifiana, of the fame fize with this, and very iimilar, only the crofs (Iripes had more inter- vening fpaces, and the rufous was lighter, which formed a kind of collar ; the reft of the under fide of the body was ftriped as in the preceding ; the bill black at the point, and yellowifli at the bafe. Total length eleven inches ; the bill t\vo inches, edged with eight or ten ftifF briftles, bending forward ; the tail five inches, and pro- jeding a very little beyond the wings. M VOL. VI. H k ■ -I'f'i m. ;1 f. . k'I:! Ml '^t mm '«l IF 466 SWALLOW. » . . -5 . .. „ The SWALLOWS*. S WE have feeii that the goat-fuckers may be reckoned night Swallows, and that the only efl'ential difference between them and the real Swallows confifts in the exceflivc deli- cacy of their eyes, and its influence on their llru^lure and habits. In both tribes of birds the bill is fmall, and the throat wide ; the legs fliort, and the wings long ; the head flat, and the neck fcarce vifible ; and both live upon in- fe(5ls which they catch in the air. But, i. The Swallows have no bridles about the bill ; the nail of the mid-toe is not indented ; their tail contains two more quills, and, in moll of the fpecies, it is forked 5 and they are in general fmaller than the goat-fuckcrs. 2. Though the colours are nearly the fame • In Hebrew, jf^ur, Sus, Chauraf, T&artaf, Chatas, Chataf: in Greek, the Swallow is denominated X^^K^i^*, derived perhaps f'ronv ;(;£t^of, toe check, and ^»k;w, to ivhirl\ alluding to their rapid flutter, and the continual motion of their bill. It had the epithets xwliA/;, chatterer i ehoXvym, moaner i ouw.vnU^-n^ fiuift-iMtnged. The Latin, Hirundo, was firft written hehndo, and evidently borrowed from yiK^^m. In Italian it is termed Rondina, Rondinelia, Cefila: In Spanifti, Golondrina, Andorinha: In German, Schwalbe: In Swifs, ^chvjahn: In Flemilh, Suahve : In Swedifli, Sivala: In Poliih, Jajkotka, The Englifh word Sivallo'w perhaps comes from the verb, but more probably from the German Sc/j-wal3e, which is fof- tened in the parent Saxon into Sava/e. The French HirouddU is •vidently formed from the Latin Hirundo, Ti ™lt ''T'^'im jj 1 S W A L L O W. 467 iu both, confifting of black, of brown, of gray, of white, and of rufous, they are difpo^ed in large fpots 011 the Swallows, and better con- trafted ; and the plumage has a bright varying glofs. 3. The goat-fuckers entangle the night-flies with the vifcous faliva that trickles within their mouth ; but the Swallows, and alio the martins, fnrrn tl' 'inged inlccls, ■ ;;' the fud- den clolins: ot tlieii i^dl occafions a fort of crack- ing noife. 4. The Swallows are more focial than the goat-fuckers ; they often gather in numerous flocks; and in certain circumllanccs they lend mutual affiftance, as in building their nefts, 5. Jn this conftruclion they generally dif- play much attention and art ; and if a few fpe- cies lay in the holes of walls, or in fuch as they form in the ground, they choofe excavations of a fufficient depth to afford protection for their young, and they provide whatever will contri- bute to convenience, warmth, and eafe. 6. The manner in which the Swallows fly tllfFers in two principal points from that of the goat-fuckers. It is not attended with that whirring noife which I have before mentioned, becaufe the bill is not kept open : and though their wings feem not better calculated for mo- tion, they wheel with much greater boldnefs, celerity, and continuance ; becaufe the diftinCl- nefs of their vifion permits them to exert all Uh 2, their m • ji *• I- • •fcl ■!■: >/!■■ '1 M .. "n-i ::;!•.- ,,l!,l V«' li'il>; :• I"''!''' ,,l' m '■it hi '-1 ■■ii, [..KM- m :%' ■A I fi' m ■ 1. Vf ..-IS li '•'■ ■i'f'.f' , ' .'--W ■ ■ I' ti -4:,, :i •■'i .'-J IS If 408 SWALLOW. their force. They live habitually in the air, and perform their various fun£lions in that ele- ment. The flight of the fvv allow is perhaps lefs rapid than that of the falcon, but it is cafier and more unreftrained ; the one darts forward with vigour, the other glides fmoothly through the air : ihe (boots in every dire<5tion to furvey, as it were, her aerial domain ; and her (brill (lender notes exprefs the cheerfulnefs of her condition : fometin:ies (he purfucs the fluttering infe£ls, and nimbly follows their devious wind- ing tracks, or leaves one to hunt another, and fnaps a third as it paflTes : fometimes (he efcapes the impetuofity of the bird of prey by the quick flexures of her courfe. She can always com- mand her fwifteft motion, and in an infl:ant change its direction ; and (he defcribes lines fo mutable, fo varied, fo interwoven, and fo con- fufed, that they can hardly be pictured by words. 7. The Swallows feem not to be peculiar to either continent, and as many fpecies nearly are diffufed through the old as through the new. They are found in Norway and in Japan *, on the coafts of Egypt and thofe of Guinea, and at the Cape of Good Hope f. What country is inacce(Iible to their eafy fwift courfe? But fel- dom they remain the whole year in the fame climate ; thofe of Europe continue only during Ksmpfer. t Villaut and Kolben. the SWALLOW. 4^9 the fummer months, appearing at the vernal equinox, and retiring at the autumnal. Arif- totle, who wrote in Greece, and Pliny, who copied him in Italy, afl'ert that the Swallows pafs into the milder climates to winter, when thefe are not very diftant ; but that, in other cafes, they feek a lodgment in the u .m fliel- tered dales. Ariftotle adds that many of them have been found thus concealed with not a {ingle feather on their body *. This opi- nion, countenanced by the authority of great names, and fupported by fa£ls, became popu- lar, infomuch that even poets drew their com- parifons from it f . Several modern obferva- tions feemed to confirm it| ; and, with fome modifications, it might have been brought to the truth. But a bilhop of Upfal, Olaus Mag- nus, aad a Jefuit, named Kircber, amplifying the aflertion of Ariftotle, already too general, have afferted that, in the northern countries, the fiftiermen often find in their nets heaps of Swallows grouped together and clofe entan- gled with each other, bill to bill, feet to feet, • Arift. HiJi.Anm, Lib. VIII. 12 and 16. Plin. HiJi,Nat, Xiib. X. 24. •}• Fel quails gelidis, pJuma labente, pruinis Arkoris i minor it ur trunco hrumalii hirundo. Claud. \ Albertus, Auguftinus Nyphus, Gafpar Heldclin, and fome pthers, aver that they frequently found during wintei , in Germany, Swallows torpid in hollow trees, and even in their nefts, y/hich is not abfolutely impoilible, H h q and ' ■ "i 1 :'W,| . t* '■ ti m Hit- i'h\\ '\m m ■Mvr W' \^ 'If ■':ii i : 1^ m if;: 470 SWALLOW. and wings to wings ; that when thefe birds arc carried to ftoves they quickly recover from their torpor, but die Toon after ; and that none fur- vive the renovation of their vital powers, ex- cept fuch as gently feel the growing warmth of the leafon, and, rifing flowly from the bot- tom of the lakes, arc, with all the fucccflive gradations, reilored by nature to their true ele- ment. This alicrtioii has been repeated, cm- bellilhed, and loaded with more extraordinary circumllanccs; and, as if it were not I'ufficient- ly marvellous, fome have added that, about the beginning of autumn, thefe birds plunge, in crowds into the wells and ciftcrns*. 1 mud confefs, that many authors and other perlbns, relpcvflable by their chara^fter or rank, have be- lieved in this phnenomcnon. Linnaeus himlelf has given a fort of faiiclion to it by his autho- rity ; only Lc retbidls it to the chimney Swal- low and the common martin, but docs not impute it to the fand martin, which was more natural. On the other hand, the number of iiaturalilts who reject the opinion is fully as great -f ; and their proofs feem to be mucl"* more cogent. I know that it is fometimes imprudent to judge of a particular h&: by what are called the ge- neral laws of nature j becaufe thefe, being fouud- • /'. u9»t Tolentinus. 4- Marfipii, Ray, W'illiighby, Catefby, Collinfon, Wager, Ed- ward^, Rcauniar, Adinifon, Frifch, Tc-rdorf, Lottingcr, Vallilnioi, the authors of the Italian Ornithology, &c, cd S W A L L O W. 47 » ed oil obfervation, are true only fo far as they comprehend all the fads; but the fubmcrnoii of Swallows appears by no means afceitaincd ; and I (hall here ftate my reaibns. Moft of thofe who atteft this marvellous tale% particularly Hevelius and SchoefFcr, who were appointed by the Royal Society of Loudon to examine and weigh the proofs, adduce nothing but vague repoi:ts -j-, and a fufpicious tradition, to which the v^'ork of Olaus Magnus might have sfiven oriejin. Even thofe who aifert their having feen the phicnomcnon, as EtmuUcr, Wallerius, and fome others J, only repeat the words of the bi(hop of Upfal, without joining any circumftantial remarks which give proba- bility to a relation. If it were true that all the Swallows which • SchocfFer, Hevelius, Aldrovandiis, Ncander and B;irtius, Ge- rard, Schvvcnckfcld, Rxaczyiu'ki, Dorham, Klein, Regnard, EIUj, Linnaeus, &c. We might enlarge the lill, bui the number of par- tifans in reality weakens the opinion which they maintain ; fmce among fo many obfcrvers not one can produce a fmgle circumltan- tial and authentic fad. t See Philofophical Tranfaftions, No. lo, and judge if the Royal Society ever verihed the fa£l, as aflertcd by the journalills of Trc- voux, the Abbe Pluche, and fonie others. X Chambers cites Dr. Colas, who fays that he faw fixtecn fwal- lows taken out of the lake Sameroth, thirty taken out of the Royal Pool at Rofineilen, and two others at Schledeitcn, the moment they came out of the water : he adds that they were very wet and fec'blr, and that he had obfervcd that thefc birds are ufually very weak on their firlt appearance. JJut this is contrary to daily ob- fervation ; befides Dr. Colas mentions neither the fpecies, nor the date, nor the circumftances, 6cc, H h 4 inhabit mi i: 't;'"- 1:.^"^ ^ I ■• ! t. ■ M'. not always coincide with me in opinion, regards this fub- merfion as an incredible paraio. 4- ^I't'ilus-Caniciila, *• The bl«ak died in three hours, the two little barbels in £ix hours and a half J one of the gudgeons in feven hours, the other in twelve hours, the minow in feven hours and a half, the bull- head in fifteen hours, the doa.fiih in twenty-three hours, and the ^a«s:/:;v in near four days. The fame filhcs, kept in air, die ia this order : the bleahs in thirty-five or forty four minutes, the louzicre in. forty-four, thedogfilh in fifty or fifty-two, the bar- bels in fifty or fixty, one of the minows in two hours and forty- eight minutes, tlic other in three liours, one of the gudgeotis in an hour and forty-nine minutes, the other in fix hours and twen- ty two minutes. Tlie biggert of thcfe iifli did not meafurc twenty hnts from the eye to the tail. one I . S.: '.i mh. mm ;tii ■'lili m ::'':;f^ 48o SWALLOW. one which was not confined appeared feldom at the lurface j and it is probable that thefe fiflies refide more conflantly than the others at the bottom of brooks, which implies fome differ- ence of ftru»5lure *'. However, it often tried to reach the furface, and, on the fecoiid day, it feemed uneafy and opprefled, its refpiration grew laborious, and its fcales pale and whit- iflif. But it will appear more extraordinary, that of two carps J equal in fize, the one, which was kept conftantly under water, lived a third fhorter time than the other, which was not put into water, though in its flouncing it had fallen from a chimney-piece four feet to the ground §. And in two other experiments compared toge- ther and made on larger barbels than employed before, thofe kept in the air lived longer, and * This , fifti was Tmalter than a little bleak ; it had feven fins, die fcales on the upper fide of the body yellowifh, edged with brown, and thofe of the under fide refembling mother of pearl. f Such is the general appearance of fiflies dying under water j but it is greatly inferior to thofe Angular changes of c6lour exhi- bited at the death of a fifh, known formerly to the Romans by the name oi Mullui (mullet), whofe hues afforded entertainment to the gluttons of thofe days (proceresguLe). See Pliny, fliJL Nr' Lib. IX. 17, and Seneca, ^ 1. 'Ai m 4^2 SWALLOW. y 1: A bious animal * whatever requires refpiration ; how could Swallows, thofe daughters of the air, which feem deftined to circle in that fub- tile fluid, live iix mouths without breathing? An animal which has been lufFocated by drowning, may frequently indeed be recovered by ftimulating the lungs, and applying gentle warmth -f ; but the experiment never fucceeds unlefs the immerfion is recent. And fuch in- flances are not at all analogous to the fuppofed refufcitation of Swallows from the bottoms of lakes. Their appearance or difappearance has no relation to the quality of the feafon ; they leave us in autumn, when the weather is ge- nerally warmer than in fpring, the period of their return. In the memorable year 1740 J, the Swallows made their appearance during the fevere frofts, and many periftied for want of * Beavers, tortoifes, falamanders, lizards, crocodiles, hippopota« Vnufes, whales, as well as frogs, rife often out of the water in order to refpire. Even fhell-fifh, which are, of all, the mod aquatic, feem to require air, and mount from time to time to the furface, as in the pool-mufcle. See Mery in the Memoirs of the Academy of Sci- ences for 1710, f 1 have thought it proper to infert this fentence, and omit the long detail which ]^. de Montbeillard gives of his recoyering, by the limple applt6ation of heat, a Swallow that had fallen into a ba- fon of water and was taken out ftifF and apparently dead. The methods ufed in this country for the recovery of drowned perfons are well known : warmth, gentle motion, and fridion ; the ap- plication of ilimulants to the noftrils, the InHation of the lungs, &c. T. X Coll. Acad, part, etran, t, XU Acad, ef Stock, /. 51. food ; SWALLOW. 483 food ; and in the nnild, and even warm, fpring of 1 774, *the/" arrived no earlier than uCuah The opinion that Swallows pafs the winter under water feems to have ori2:inated in this way: among the number which flock together at night among the rufhes and aquatic plants, on their arrival and previous to their retrcLit, fome may have been drowned In' accident * ; and the fifhermen, finding them in their nets, would carry them to a ftove, and thus reflore them to life. And a pafilige in Ariftotle in- duced the learned to afcribe this fubmerfion to thofeof the northern countries only +, as if the diflance of four or five hundred leagues would prove any bar to birds which can fly through the fpace of two hundred leagues in a day, and which, by advancing farther fouth, may always find a milder temperature, and a more abuiidant provifion of their infedl food. That philofo- pher indeed believed that the Swallows and fome other birds lay hid during the winter ; but his aflertion was too general. There are in- fiances, however, of chimney-fwallows, faiid- martins, &c. being feen in mild Vvinters : two fand-martins were obferved to circle about the caftle of Mayac, in Perigord, the whole of the 27th of December, 1775, when there was a foutherly wind, attended with light rain : ' I * In futnmer they are fometimes found drowned in the meers. t Hift. Anim. Lib, VIU. 12 ^ 16. 1^2 have • \ p. If" : , 'Ui l;.^ •■•;'■ 1 1 m hi I id hi- M *■, • n'.i m 484 SWALLOW. have a certificate figned by many rcfpe£table names to atteft this hd:. Thefe had, no doubt, been detained by late hatching, or wcfw young birds unable to perform the migration, but for- tunate enough to obtain a convenient retreat, a warm feafon *, and the proper food. Some fuch occurrences, which are probably more fre- quent in Greece than in the north of Europe, might difpofe Ariftotle to think that all the fpe- cies of Swallows remained concealed and dor- mant, during the winter months. Klein af- ferts, in fa£t, that the fand-martins lie torpid in their holes -f- ; and thefe are often feen in the winter at Malta, and even in France. M. de BufFon conje£lured that the fand-martins are lefs afFe6led by cold than the other Swallows, fince they haunt the brooks and rivers; and that, as they are probably of a colder temperament, and conllru£t their holes like thofe animals which fleep during the winter, they alfo undergo the * In this year, 1 775, the autumn was fine and not cold in that part of Burgundy where I live, which is two degrees more northerly than Perigueux. Of ninety-five days till the 27th of December, there were only twenty-feven in which the fun did not ihine : the thermometer never funk more than five or fix degrees b^low nought (20°* or i8°| Farenheit), and was often five or fix above that point (43°^ or ^^°j[ F.), even at the end of December: on the 37th, at fun-rife, it was three degrees above. (sB"! F.) f To thefe are added, the fwifts, the rails, the nightingales, the warblers; and M. Klein would wilh to join many others. Were his fyftem realized, the earth could not furnifh caverns enow, ror the rocks holes. And the more general this hiding be fuppofcd, tue more wi uld it be notorious. Ute Ordo Avium^ faj/m. c . fame SWALLOW. 485 r .'.■.■ • J • fame ftate of ina^lion. BcGdes, they may find infcifts in the ground at all fcafons, and can therefore fubfift when other Swallows muft in- evitably perifh. Inftances of this kind may happen ; but we muft not infer that in winter they generally lodge thus concealed. Collinfon directed, in England, a bank which was quite bored by thefe birds to be carefully dug, in the month of Odober 1757, and ye^ not one could be found. , If, therefore. Swallows (I might fay the fame of all the birds of paflage) can never obtain un- der water an afylum congruous to their nature, we muft return to the moft ancient opinion, and the moft confonant to obfervation and ex- perience. When the proper infetls begin to fail, thefe birds remove into milder climates, which Itill afibrd that prey, fo neceflary to their fubfiftence *. This is the general and direct- ing caui'e of migrations : thofe which live upon winged infe(fls are the firft to retire, becaufe their provifions are fooneft deficient : thofe which feed upon the /arvi:e of ants and other crawling infeds, find a more lafting fupply, and are later in difappearing, Thofe birds, again, whicii eat berries, fmall feeds, and fruits that ripen in autumn, and hang on the trees the whole winter, do not arrive until autumn, and fettle among us the great eft part of the winter. ^ ,. * Swammerdam. I i 3 Thofe I' .y ir.i 'V ' ' HI Hi .I'/rf ■''1 : ■i,n'; "I , I I' !■■! [■: ',K. m ^'i :|,Hvtr ■■I .^( I :.;il r'i 'J r: V -II . i!' .-V '■U-' ir ^^H| pp. 36, 82, 139, 141, 1 57. I fee alfo that clouds of graGIioppers fpread over thefe countries in the month of February {ib. p. 88). Is the generation of infers there fixed to a particular feafon I Columbus, SWALLOW. 489 Columbus, in his fecond voyage, faw one near his veflels on th^ 24th of December, though ten days before he difcovered St. Domingo *. Other navigators have met with them between the Canaries and the Cape of Good Hope-f*. In the kingdom of Iffini, according to the miffion- ary Loyer, multitudes of Swallows arrived from other countries in O(flobcr and the following: months J. Edwards allures us that the Swal- lows leave England in autumn, and that the Chimney-fwallow kind are found in Bengal §, Swallows are feen the whole year at the Cape of Good Hope, fays Kolben, but they are more numerous in winter ; which fhews that fome are there permanent fettlers and others migra- tory, for it cannot well be faid that they fleep under water or lurk in holes during fummer. The Swallows of Canada, Father Charlevoix tells us, are birds of paflage as well as thofe of Europe. Thofe of Jamaica, according to Dr. Stubbs, leave the ifland in the winter months, • Herrera, Lib, 11. i. t Voyage aux lies de France & de Bourbon. Merlin, 1773. % Hitt, Gen. des Voyages, /. ///. /. 422. § Other obfervers, who have examined more particularly, affirm, that the Swallows leave England about the 29th of September ; that their general rendezvous is held on the coafts of Suffolk, be- tween Orford and Yarmouth ; that they alight on the roofs of churches, on old walls, &c. ; that they remain feveral days when the wind is not fair for croffing the fea ; that if the wind changes during the night, they all difappear at once, and not one can be found next morning. though ■'' '"11 'I 490 SWALLOW. n'<;J though ever fo warm *. Every body knows the lingular and happy experiment of Frifch who faftened a dyed thread to the feet of fome of thefe birds, and faw them the following year with this thread not in the leaft difcoloured ; a fufficient proof that thefe individuals, at leaft, did not winter under water, and a ftrong pre- fumption that none of the fpecies ever do. We may exped that when Afia and certain parts of Africa are better known, we fhall difcover the different ilations not only of the Swallows, but of r oft of the birds which the inhabitants of the iflands in the Mediterranean perceive every year advancing or retiring. They cannot under- take their diftant voyages unlefs they be aflifted by a favourable breeze ; and when they are fur- prifed, in the middle of their courfe, by contrary winds, they become exhaufted with fatigue, and alight on the firft veflel they meet with, as fe- veral navigators have witnefled in the fealbn of migration t' They may fometimes chance to fall into the fea and perifh in the waves ; and then- if feafonably fiftied out and properly taken care • Plulofophical Tranfaftions, No, 56. t Admiral Wager thus writes Mr. Collinfon: " Returning home in the fpring of the year, as I cr./.:. into Toundir.gs in our channel, a great flock of Swallows came and fettled on all my lig- ging; every rope was covered; they hung on one another like a fvvarm of bees; the decks and carving v.cre filled with them. 1 hey feemed almoft familhed and fj^cnt, and were only feathers and bones ; but being recruited with a night's reftj took their flight in the morning." The fame thing happened to Mr. Wright, mailer of a ihip, on his return from Philadelphia, of, if'*' It; y-: SWALLOW. 491 of, they may be revived. But it is evident that fuch accidents cannot happen in lakes or narrow feas. In mod countries the Swallows are held the friends of men, and very juftly, fince they deftroy vaft numbers of pernicious infedts. The goat-fuckers are entitled to the fame regard ; but themfelves and their benefits are concealed and neglecSted in evening (hades. My firft idea was to feparate the martins frongi the Swallows, and to imitate nature, which has feparated them by implanting reciprocal antipa- thies. They are never feen aflbciated together, though the three fpecies of Swallows join fome- times in the fame flock. The martins are diflin- guifliedtoo by their fh. pe, their habits, and their difpofitions. i. By their fhape : their legs are (horter, and entirely unfit for walking or for rifing on the wing from fmooth ground ; be- fides, their four toes are turned forward, and each of them has only two phalanges, includ- ing the nail. 2. By their habits : they arrive later and retire earlier, though tlicy feem to Ihun more the heat ; they breed iti the crevices of old walls, and as high as they can get ; they build no neft, but line the hoic well with coarfe litter, in which refpecft they refemble the bank- fvvallows (fluid-martins) ; when they go a-fo- raging, they fill their craw with winged infeils of all kinds, fo that they need to feed their young only twice or thrice in the day, 3. By their '■■HJW'"-' u '■ lii'jl'' ' •tr -m ¥ 1. :<''y 1 .. r- i..A . ■■''' ■•!," I'-'i- '■*' Xi i ■ 1 492 SWALLOW. their difpofitions : they are more (hy and timid than the Swallows; the infledlions of their voice are lefs varied, and their inftindt feems more confined. Such obvious differences, therefore, fubfift- ing between thefe birds, I fhould not hefitate to difcriminate them ; but there are many fo- reign fpecies, which it would be difficult to refer each to its proper clafs. It will be more prudent, then, not to attempt the divifion, but to arrange them as their exterior conformation moft readily fuggefts. Nor (hall we diftinguilh the Swallows of the old and of the new world, becaufe they ex- aftly refemble each other, and becaufe the ocean can prove no barrier to birds that fly fo fwiftly, and can equally endure every cli- mate. mi iS'v m r SWALLOW, 493 The CHIMNEY, or DOMESTIC ' SWALLOW *. HirunJo RuJ}ica, Linn. Gmel. Klein. &c. &c. Hiruude Domepca, Ray. Will, and Briff. f qpHE inftin£t of this bird is really domeftic ; •*• it prefers the fociety of man ; it neftles on our chimney-tops, and even within our houfes, efpecially when thefc are quiet and ftill. If the houfes be too clofe and the vents covered above, as they are in Mantua and in mountainous coun- tries, on account of the great falls of fnow and rain, it changes its lodgment, without loling its attachment, and it finds a retreat in the roofs. But it never flrays far from the dwellings of men ; and the weary forlorn traveller is rejoiced • In Swedifti, Ladu-Swala, or Barn-fwallow. f Aldrovandus <'uppofes that the Avowxia of Homer, O-fyJ/". I. 320, which the commentators have been {o much puzzled to interpret, is the common fwallow. The lines in which the word occurs, are thefe: *H fxiv «f' if liituT' 'airi0v yXavHaimt 'ASnm, Cjvt; }'«; 'avonrata hiitlalt. Euftathius fuppofes that ai-oiraja is a fpccies of eagle, and Mr; Pope prudently alters the expreffion : " Abrupt, with eaglc-fpeed flie cut the fky ; »■' Inftant invifible Co mortal eye." It is the HotxiAn Xt^iJs/i' (variegated fwallow) of Arlllophanes ; the AxvT^iht Op)'t; (Daulian bird) of Plutarch; the Jrtdula of Ci- cero i the vag^olucris of Ovid. to 1 1;.*|''^: ■■ *■ ; IviK : fJ''f'H:':i^ ■|.ii ■•",)• ''1 W'::^ >-'^ ,;i-^ 4:: \v. jl ' ' [A ik 494 SWALLOW* ici^ai S'l"*' m to fee the harbinger of fafety. We fhall foon find that the fwift is more roving in its ex- curfions. The common Swallow is the firft that appears in our climates, and generally a little after the equi- nox of fpring; but rather earlier in the fouthern countries, and later in the nort.iern. And yet though the month of Februar}' and the begin- ning of March be unufually mild, or the end of March and the beginning of April uncommonly cold, they hardly ever arrive in any place be- fore their ordinary time *, and fometimes they glide through the thick flakes of defcending fnow. In 1740, the fwallows fuffered ex- tremely ; they gathered in great numbers about a brook which Ikirted a terrace then belongins: to Mr. Hebert, where every minute fome fell dead "f , and the water was covered with their dead bodies : nor was exceflive cpld the caufe of their death ; it was evidently the want of food, and thofe picked up were reduced to mere ikele- tons ; the walls of the terrace were their laft m * Pliny, Lib.'XVIU. 26, fays that Caefar mentions fwallowsfeen on the eighth of the Calends of March (^2 February) ; but this is a fingle faft, and perhaps the birds were Sand Maruns, f " In i; -', th '/ were found extended and lifelefs on the brink of the pools .nd rivers of I orraine.'* Note communicated by M. Lottinger. ''""itfe fadls render very fufpicious at leail the prefenti- ment of temperatures which a paftor of Nordland and fome others have thought proper to afcribe to the fwallows. See CoUec. Acad. part Etran. T, XI. Acad, Stock. p> ^i. refort, \.mm\ ••.(■■ SWALLOW. ♦• . foon :s ex- 495 refort, and they greedily devoured the dried flies that hung from the old fpiders webs. A bird, which announces the return of the fmiling ftalbn, and which is innocent and evea ufeful, might be treated with gratitude; and by the bulk of mankind, it is venerated with a degree of affection bordering upon fuperilition *. Yet is tb.e 1 wallow often the fubjed of cruel fport ; and the expert markfman is eager to dif- play his ikill in (hooting it on the wing : and what is fingular, the firing of the piece rather attrads than fcares thefe harmlefs creatures ; this war is worfe than ridiculous, and the vari- ous mi'cdi tribes which prey in our gardens, in our fields, and in our forefts, are thus fufFered to extend their ravages f. The experiment of Frifch 'I and other fimilar ones, prove that fwallows return to the fame haunts. They build annually a new neft, and fix it, if the fpot admits, above that occupied' the preceding year. I have found them in the (haft of a chimney thus ranged in tires ; counted • The Swallows have been fatd to be under the immediate pro- teftion of the Dii Penates: When ill uf^d, they bit the cowb* udders, it was alleged, and made them lofe their milk. Thefe were ufeful illufions. t See Journal de Paris, annec I'J'J'J. It is true tliat they fome- times alfo deftroy ufeful inf^rts, fuch as bees ; but they can always be prevented from building; their nells near the hives. ;^ In a caftle near Epinal in Lorraine, a few years ago, a ring of brafs wire was faltcned to the foot of one of ihefo vSwailows, which it faithfully brought b^ck on the following feafon. Heerkens in his poem, Hirutidc, cites another fad: of this kind. four 'iK 1'!'^ •Ki;! fiir * if ■■,. :^:i.',i^*'^' 496 SWALLOW. four one above another, and all of equal fize, plafteied with mud mixed v/ith ftraw and hair. There were fome of two different fizes and ihapes : the largeft refembled a hollow half cy- linder *, open above, and a foot in height, and attached to the fides of the chimney ; the fmalleft were ftuck in the corners of the chim- ney, and formed only the quarter of a cylinder, or even an inverted cone. The firft neft, which was the lowed, had the fame texture at the bottom as at the fides ; but the tv^o upper tires were feparated from the lower by their lining only, which confifted of ftraw, dry herbs, and feathers. Of the fmall nefts built in the cor- ners, 1 could find only two in tires, and I fup- pofe they belonged to young pairs ; they were not fo well compacted as the large ones. In this fpecies, as in many others, it is the male that fings the amorous ditty -f- : but the fe- male is not entirely mute; in the love-feafon fhe twitters more fluently, (he warmly receives his careflTes, and fometimes, by her fportive frifks, fhe routes and ftimnlates his paffion. They have tu o hatches in the year, the firft * Frifch fays, that the bird gives to its neft this circular or ra- ther femicircular form, by making its foot the centre. + The Greeks exprefs this note by thefe words, "tih^^^m, Ttrtn fii^nvf and the Latins by thefe other names, Drifr/are, or 'rrm/are, ZtHzrlu/are, Frif:ntiire, Minurf/hre, M. Frifch telis us, that, of all the fwallows, tije domeftlc one has a cry neareft rcfembling a fong, though it confifts only of three tones, termiiatcd by z finale, which j-iies to a fourth, and it is little varied. containing SWALLOW. 497 containing five eggs, the fecond three: thcfe are white according to Willughby, and fpotted according to Klein and Aldrovandus : what I faw were white. While the female fits, the male fpends the night on the brim of the ncft ; he fleeps little, for his twittering is heard at the earlieft dawn, and he circles till almoft the clofe of the evening. After the young are hatched, both parents perpetually carry food, and are at great pains to keep the neil: clean, till the brood learn to (iive them that trouble. But it is pleaf- ing to fee them teaching their family to fly, encouraging them with their voice, prefenting food at a little diflance, and retiring as the young ones ftretch forward : preliing them gently from the ncfl, fluttering before them, and offering, in the moft exprellivc tone, to re- ceive and alfift them. Boerhaave tells us that a Swallow returning with provifion to its nefl", and, finding the houfe on fire, ruflied through the flames to feed and protect her tender brood. How ftrong the attachment to tlteir progeny ! It has been faid that when their young had their eyes funken or even torn out, the mo- thers cured them by the application of the herb ihelldonia*^ or fw allow -wort t, deriving its * From Xi.\iou)i, a Av.iHc'.v. The common Fnglifh name celnn^ijre, iVems to be only fofioned from cheli.ionia. The plant is ranged by Linnaus next the poppy. T. f Ut qui4'im II. 2(i. -£lian rellrifts it to the white Swallows, Lib, XVll 20. VOL. VI. K k name p. •■>: A W "!*:'!: r\ .yy *^ "i^iv -^ .?:;•« ^ • 1 ■• A^ mr 498 SWALLOW. „ . iii '■'>;<- name from that imaginary quality. But the ex- periments of Rcdi and De la Hire prove, that no iimplcs are needed, and that, in the infant brood, the eyes, though burft and funken, foon fpon- taneoufly recover *. Ariftotle knew this fadt -f-, Celfus repeats it J, and the obfervations of Redi and De la Hire, and fome others §, inconteftibly prove it. Befides the different inflexions of voice which I have already noticed, the common fwallows have their cry of invitation, their cry of pleafurc, their cry of fear, their cry of anger, that by which the mother warns her young of the dan- gers which threaten, and many other expreflions compounded of thefe ; a proof of their great fuf- ccptibility of the internal fentiments. Since the winged infedls fly higher or lower according to the greater or lefs degree of heat, the Swallows fometimes, in the purfuit of their prey, Ikim along the furface, and gather it on the ftems of herbs, on the grafs, and even on the pavement 'of flreets. When the fcarcity is great, they ravifh the flies from the fpider's web, and even devour the fpiders themfelves ||. • Redi made his experiments on pigeons, hens, geefe, ducks, and turkies. See Coll. Acad. Part Etran. 7*. IV, p. 544. alfo T. IL Part. Fran. p. 75. » ■f Hiji. Anim. Lib. IL 17, and Lib. VL 5, and De Generat'mi, Lib. IV. 6. Ariftotle fays the fame thing of ferpents. i Lib. VL De Re MeJica. ^ For inflance. Dr. J. Sigifmond Eliholtius. Coll. Acad. Part, Etran, T. HI. p. 324, 11 Frifch, Their Coll. Acad. Port' S W A I, L O W. 499 Their ftomach is found to contain fraoimcnts of flies, grafshoppers, beetles, butterflies, and even bits of gravel *, a proof that at times they catch their prey on the ground : and in fad, though the domertic Swallows fpend mod of their lives in the air, they often alight on the roofs of houfes, on iron bars, and even on the furface of the earth, and on trees. In our climate, they often pafs the night about t>^e eiwl of fummer perched on alders that grow ^m the banks of ri- vers ; and in that fcalon h nbers are caught, which are eaten in fome ^ .luries +. They prefer the loweft branches under the brinks, and well fheltered from the wind | ; and it is re- marked that the branches where they commonly fit during the night wither away. They alfo aflemble on a large tree previous to their retreat ; the flocks then amount only to three or four hundred, for the fpecies i'= far from being fo numerous as the window Swallows (martins). In this country they commence their expedition about the beginning of Ot^ober, and ufually fteal off in the night to avoid the birds of prey, which feldom fail to haral's them on their * Belon and Willugliby. Many abfurdliies have been told of thefe fwallow-ftones and their virtues, as of eagle-ftones, cock- ftones, and other bezoars, which feem ever to have been the fa- vourite jewels of empiricifm and of credulity. t At Valencia in Spain, at Lignitz in Silciia, &c. See Wil- lughby and Schwenckfeld. I Note of Heb" ' Lottinger affures me that they alfo Aequent fomctimes the copp ;i.es. K k 2 route. if' 1 f ■, 'I •;,> '•ilfl ir V: ■ ,.' i' • ''S ■^;: &. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // 1.0 1.1 11.25 1^128 12.5 Ui tti 122 2f 144 ■■ g lis 1 20 U 11.6 I Hi0tDgra|iiic SoHices Corporalion <^ 23 WAST MAW STRUT WIISTIR,N.Y. t4StO (71«)l79-4»03 v\ :V 5oa SWALLOW. route. Frifch faw them frequently fet out hi broad day, and Hebert, more than once, ob- ferved, about the time of their retreat, parties of forty or fifty gliding aloft in the air, and re- marked that their flight was not only much higher than ordinary, but more uniform and fteady. They ftretch towards the fouth, tak- *ing advantage, as much as poflible, of favour- able winds ; and when no obftacles interfere, they ufually arrive in Africa in the firft week of Odtober. If they be checked by a fouth-eaft wind, they halt, like the other birds of paflage, in the iflands that lie in their track. Adanfon faw them arrive on the fixth of O£tober, at half pad fix in the evening, on the coaft of Senegal, and found them to be real European fwall6ws ; he afterwards difcovered that they are never feen in thofe countries but in autumn and win- ter. He tells us that they lie every night fingle, or two by two, in the fand by the fea fhore * ; and fometimes numbers lodge on the huts, perching upon the rafters. Another important obfervation he adds, that they never breed in Senegal -(- ; and accordingly Frifch remarks that young Swallows never arrive in the fpring. Hence * This habit of lying in the fand is entirely contrary to what we fee in Swallows in our climate ; it muft depend on fome particular circumflances that cfcaped the obfsrver > or animals are more ca- pable, than ufually fuppofcd, of varying their mode of life accord- ing tf' their fituation. f it IS alfo faid that no fpecies of Swallow nellies in Malta. we SWALLOW. 501 we may infer that thefe birds are natives of more northern climates. * Though the Swallows are in general migra- tory, even in Greece and in Alia, fome will re- main during the winter, efpecially in the mild climates where infedts abound ; for example, in the ifles of Hieres and on the coaft of Genoa, where they fpend the night in the open coun- try on the orange fhrubs, which they injure greatly. On the other hand, they are faid to appear feldom in the iOand of Malta. Thefe birds have fometimes been employed to convey important intelligence* : for this pur- pofe, the mother is taken from her eggs and carried to the place whence the news is to be fent, and a thread is tied to the feet, with the number of knots and the ^olour previoufly con- certed. The affe(5lionate mother flies back to her brood, and tranfports the billet with incre- dible expedition. The chininey Swallow has its throat and front of an orange tint, and there are two ftreaks above the eye, ^^ f he fame colour ; all the reft of the under- ^^ of the bodv is whitifli, with an orange caft ; all the reft of the^ upper part of the head and body is of a brilliant bluifti black, the only colour which appears when the feathers are compofed, though they are cinereous at the bafe, and white in the middle ; the quills of the • Set Pliny, Naf. Hi/!, Lib. X. 24, K k3 wings m ■ill: I, . .i- ;l ■i./:.;;"'^/ ../w Fr .A ^■'i^ :t iU n ^■ ^ ■■m:' Soz SWALLOW. wings are, according to their different pofitions, fometimes of a bluifh black, which is lighter than the upper furface of the body, and fome- times of a greenifli brown ; the quills of the tail are blackilh, with green reflexions; the five lateral pairs marked with a white fpot near the end ; the bill is black without, and yellow within ; the palate and the corners of the mouth are alfo yellow, and the legs blackifh. In the males the orange tint on the throat is more vivid, and the white of the under fide of the body has a flight caft of reddifli. The average weight of all thofe which I have tried is about three gros. They are apparently larger than the window Swallows (martins), and yet they are lighter. Total length fix inches and a half; the bill forms a curvilineal ifofceles triangle, whofe fides are concave, and about feven or eight lines ; the tarfus five lines, without any down ; the nails thin, flightly curved, and much pointed, and the hind one is the ftrongeft ; the alar ex- tent, a foot ; the tail three inches and a quar- ter, much forked, though lefs fo in the young birds, confifyng of twelve quills, of which the outer pair exceeds e next by an inch, and the middle pair by fifteen or twenty lines, and the wings by four of five lines ; it is generally longer in- the male. I have received, as varieties, fome in which the the forki A folio no c< feen, vand SWALLOW. 503 the colours were all fainter, and the tail little forked ; thefe were probably young ones. Among the accidental varieties I place the following. F/ry?, The white Swallows: there is no country in Europe where thefe have not been feen, from the Archipelago to Pruflia *. Aldro- vandus tells how to obtain them of that colour; according to him, we need only rub their egg with olive-oil. Ariftotle imputes this whitenefs to weaknefs of conftitution, want of food, and the adion of cold. In a fubjedl, which 1 had occafion to obferve, there were fome ihades of rufous above the eyes and under the throat, and fome traces of brown on the neck and the breaft, and the tail was fliorter ; perhaps its faint colours were owing to moulting, for though white Swallows are frequently feen be- fore their paflage, it is unufual to find fuch on their return "f . Some are oblerved to be only partly white, as was the one mentioned by AU drovandus, which had its rump of that colour. In th^fecond place, I conlider as an acciden- tal variety, the rufous Swallow, of which the orange tint of the throat and eye-lids fpreads over ^c-i ■ \.\\T * At Samos, according to the ancients ; in Italy, in France, in Holland, in Germany, according to the moderns. t In a hatch of five young, at the Trinitarians of la Motte, in Dauphiny, were two white Swallows which paffed the whole year in the country, but returned not the following year. Note of the M''l'•, ■ . ,., 'V '^i;.':j^' )W m 504 SWALLOW, almoft the whole of the plumage, but grows more dilute, and verges upon pink*. The chimney Swallows are fcattered through the whole of the ancient continent, from Nor- way to the Cape of Good Hope, and in the Afiatic regions, as fiir as India and Japan -f. Sonnerat brought a fpecimeu from the Malabar coaft |, which differs only in being rather fmall- er, owing probably to the contradion in dry- ing. Seven other Swallows brought from the Cape of Good Hope, by the fan>e gentleman, were exa£lly fimilar in appearance to ours ; but on a narrow infpe^lion, it was foun4 that the under part of the body was of a finer white, and the fcalloping, which, in the ten lateral quills of the tail, divides the broad from the narrow part, was larger. I (hall now defcribe fuch a§ are to be regarded as varieties of climate [A]. • The Count de Riolet aflurcd me that he fa\y two individuals of this colour in a flock of chimney Swallows, f Fdwards and Ksempfer. % G. I, C imel had long before inferted the Swallow, under the name of I .ayang-lnyangt in the catalogue of European bird? found in the Philippines. Philof. Tranf. No, 285. Art. III. [A] Specific charafter of the Common Swallow, Hirundo Domrf. tica : " Its tail -quills, the two mid-ones excepted, are marked with a white fpot." Mr. White has given a very accurate and diftinft hiftory of this bird, Nahiral Hijlory of Selborne,fp. l67r-i 7 2. >.;rj S ,■.»,..!< ]r:2^i f IGl.THE CHIMyEYSWALLOWFIG.2.THE»(IARim. I 1^' 1' ■ y. 'ii; I % '. I Si;' 1 ;■ ;'-l!.: :':ur. !?:: •■■ ■( :■ „•&-'<■ !i;.'.i.-i'f iii -^ i. U;! ,!i' VAl I. cole conr ruft oft iiarr and whi and vert grea tail, I] Cai colo bod) the blad jSwa Spec front a Spec whitifli SWALLOW. SOS . VARIETIES of the COMMON SWALLOW. '3-. 3 ''dm ' ■ ; ' ■■'. ... ■' l-J I. The Antigua Swallow, with a rufty- coloured throat*. It is rather imaller than the common S\\ allow; its front bears a band of fufty yellow ; under the throat there is a fpot of the fame colour, terminated below by a very narrow black collar; the forepart of the neck and the reft of the under furface of the body, white; the head, the upper fide of the neck and back, velvet black ; the fmall fuperior co- verts of the wings of a changeable violet ; the great coverts and alfo the quills of the wing and tail, are coal black ; the tail forked and pro- J€<£ls not beyond the wings. II. The Rufous-bellied Swallow of Cayenne +. Its throat is rufous, and this colour extends over all the upper fide of the body, gradually (hading off; all the reft of the upper fide of the body is of a fine twining black. It is rather fmaller than the common gwallow. • • Hirundo Vanayana, Gtnel. The Panayan Swallow, Lath. Specific charafter: " It is black, below white; a fpot on its front and its throat, ferruginous yellow ; its collar black, f Hirundo Rufa, Gmel. The Rufous -belli ed SivaHoiv, Lath. Specific charafter : *' It is glofly black, below rufous, its fi ^ it whiiiau" 4 T<-\il *• \y] m n: 5o6 SWALLOW. Total length about five inches and a half; the bill fix lines ; the tarfus four or five ; the hind toe five. Swallows of this kind alfo make their neft in houfes; they give it a cylindrical form with fmall flalks, mofs, and feathers, and fuf- pcnd it vertically detached from the building ; they lengthen the ftack in proportion as they multiply ; the aperture is placed below in one of the fides, and fo nicely conftruded that it communicates with all the ftories. They lay four or five eggs. It is not improbable that fome of our fwallows having migrated into the new continent, have there founded a colony, which flill refembles the parent breed, in. The Rufous-cowled Swallow *. This rufous is deepened and variegated with black ; the rump is alfo rufous, terminated with white; the back and the fuperior coverts of the wings are of a fine black, verging upon blue, with the glofs of burniftied fteel ; the quills of the wings brown, edged with a lighter brown; thofe of the tail blackifh ; all the lateral ones marked on the infide with a white fpot, which does not appear unlefs the tail is fpread ; the throat is variegated with whitifh and brown : laftly, the under fide of the body is fprinkled ♦ lUrundo Capenjts, Gmel. The Cape SiAa/Ioiv, Lath, with SWALLOW. 507 v.* with fmall longitudinal blacki(h fpots on a pale yellow ground. The Vifcount Querhoent, who had an oppor- tunity of obl'erving this fwallow at the Cape of Good Hope, informs us that it breeds in houfes like the preceding varieties ; that it fixes its neft againft the ceilings of rooms ; that it ufes earth for the outer coat, and lines it with feathers ; that the (hape of its neft is roundifh, with a fort of hollow cylinder fixed to it, which is the only aperture. He adds that the female lays four or ^ve dotted eggs. '. . '':■' fi; 'ii':i i.:^' 1s:r *i . ,;„' If ■ i^ •"■;1! ■ ':.^ I' 1 ■■.:■; . ia.'! ■ll .'1 'H ■^l' it *mi "h fi m 5o8 SWALLOW. FOREIGN BIRDS, WHICH ARE RELATED TO THE COMMON SWALLOW. L The GREAT RUFOUS - BELLIED SWALLOW of SENEGAL. llirundo Sentgafenjii, Linn. Gmel. and BriiT, The Senegal Siva/Zo'w, Lath. ITS tail is fhapcd like that of the common Swallow ; and its plumage is marked with the fame colours, though ditFerently dirtribut- ed : it is much larger, and moulded after other proportions; fo that it may be regarded as a dif- tin(Sl fpecies. The upper fide of the head and neck, the back and the fuperior coverts of the wings, are of a brilliant black, with^ fteel glofs ; the quills of the wings and of the tail are black, the rump rufous, and all the lower parts ; but the throiit and the inferior coverts of the wings are much diluter, and almoft white. Total length eight inches and fix lines ; the bill eight lines ; the tarfus the fame ; the hind nail and toe the longed next to thofe of the middle; the alar extent fifteen inches three r..zes; the tail four inches, forked, and confiit- ing S W A L L O W. 509 ing of twenty-fix quills ; it projeas an inch be- yond the wings [A], • II. THE WHITE-CINCTURKD SWALLOW. I HiruH'^o Fa/ciata, Gmd. The pybitc-belLedSiuallow, Lath. T has no rufons in its plumage, which is en- tirely black, except a white belt on the bel- ly, confpicuous on that dark ground : there is alfo a little white on the thighs ; the quills of the tail are black above and brown below. It is a rare bird ; found in Cayenne and Gui- ana in the ulterior parts of the country, on the banks of rivers. It delights to fweep along the furfacc of water, like the European Swal- lows ; but, different from them, it alights on the trunks that float down the (Iream. Total length fix inches ; the bill black, and meafures fix lines ; the tarfus alfo fix lines ; the tail two inches and a quarter, and forked near eighteen lines ; it exceeds the wings four lines [B]. [A] Specific character : ** It is gloffy black, below rufcus ; its rump rufous." [B] Specific charadler ; ** It is black ; a crofs bar on its belly, and an external fpot on its legs, white." ,j ,■.,. ,!• •' ^*:i|;v. Sio S W A L L O W. III. The AMBERGRIS SWALLOW. Hirundo Amlrojiacot Gmel. Hirundo Riparia Setiegalenjis, firifT. Wrundo Marina Indigena, Seba. Hirundo Ambram Grijeam reddens ^ Klein. SEBA fays that thefe Swallows, like our fand martins, repair to the beach when the Tea is agitated, and that they were fometimes brought to hiiii both dead and alive, and fmelt fo ftrong- \y of ambergris, that one of them was enough to perfume a room. He thence conjectures that they feed on infe■':. ::rt.;^-YV i"- ■ ■ ■ ■ - ^'^S^-'' J fTv'f " •' Si Iff' r'-'I'V^ 1 ;|pK III 1 i-ij ■ ft ;'i;| i^^^; '' l\'1f; ■ M '* #T- "'•,'1' :,.' t.;Md '*U'f-. r m lit: > * "m 1 ,1 '» /■Xr^ v ,.<* •f . i 1 , ' ^.\ I ■ ' :i.'lf:j;'- 1 ■' l:J.: '. , 1 . 1 r'lf - )i:;-i.;,vi ■• 1 .■:':! 'I'll 1 ■"'' 1' L it ;l Nf>';' ,r;i: i'7 ■■':,l 14 f ■i!': : ].V r'f!|;' ^1 „■■!:''■ j ■' "■. ' , . , ' 1! St ■; ■ '■■":••!■, .' .. ''** 1'' '" 1 _ ,■ I • ■ j' 'i ^ > . n , 1 ■' 1 •■■ '■ •!*■ 1 1 ■ ■'■-■; ■it '• . M,' 'M'^ '-■V ; ■■'\ ■ A 512 MARTIN. The MARTIN*. VUirondeVe au Crouphn Blanc, ou VHirondelle de Fenttr?i BufF. | Hirufido Uriica, Linn. Gniel. Kram. Frif. &c. Hirundo Rujiictt,Ji've Agrejiisy Ray, Will, and Briff. Hirtindo Sjlue/irist Gefner. The Martin, Martlet ^ Qt Martinet, Will. Alb. Pcnn.and Lath. THE epithet rural was by the ancients juftly applied to this bird, which, though much more famihar than the fand martin, is flay- er than the domeftic Iwallow. It dehghts to build its neft againft the crags of precipices that overhang lakes J ; and it never breeds near our • The Greek name, Xt^toin-, we are told by iEHan, iigniAed a fig, and was transferred to the fwallow, becaufe the appearance of this bird aiinounces the fenfon of fruits. It was alfo called Pliny ftyles the Martin Hirundo Rujlica and Hirundo Agrefiii j Lib. X. 43, &C. Ill German it has a variety of names, Kirch-^chnxalhe, Mur. Schivalbf, Berg-Sch-Jualhe, Dach-c-chwalhe, FenJler-Sch-waibet haii- ben-Schwalbe^ Lcitn-SchTJcalbc (i, e. the church, wall, rock, roof, window, leaf, lime Swallow), and Mur-Spyrcn, Munjler-^yren, Wrjfe-Spyren (i. e. the wall, cathetlial, white Martlet). In Swed- iih, HusSzvc/ii: In Daniih, Bye-S-vale, Tjg-Si/o'gs-Svale, Hvid- Hvale, Rive-SkarJicans-^'vaie : In Norwegian, Huus-S'vaU. f /. e. The White-rumped or Window Swallow. J This obfcrvation is M. llcbcrt's. Thefe fwallows are well known to ut'ftle on rocks. .9^? Gefner, Aves, p. 565. M. Guys, of Marfeilles, has affured me of this failj but we muft abate from the exaggerated accounts of the ancients, of a very folid bank, a lladium in length, formed entirely by thefe nells, in the port of Heracleum in Egypt; and of another fimilar bank conftruited alio by thefc birds in an ifland facred to Ifis. See Plin. Lib. X. 33. houfes, MARTIN. 5'3 houfes, if it can elfewhere find a convenient fituation. The ne\. which I obferved in the month of September, and which had been broken off from a window, was compofed externally of earth, particularly of the foft mould thrown up in the morning by worms in new-delved borders ; the middle was ftrengthened by an intermixture of draw chips, and the infide was bedded with a heap of feathers*; the duft in the bottom fwarmed with hairy worms, which writhed and crawled nimbly in all directions, and were moft numerous where the feathers ftuck into the fides; there were alfo fome fleas, bigger and browner than ordinary, and feven or eight bugs, creeping at large, though none of thefe could come from the houfe. The three young ones, which were able to fly, and the parents, I am confident, flept together at night. The neft refembled the quarter of a hollow hemif- pheroid of a deep fhape, its radius four inches and a half, flicking by its two lateral furfaces to the jamb and the window frame, and by its upper furface to the lintel ; the entrance was near the lintel, placed vertically, very narrow and femicircular. The fame nefts ferve for feveral years, and probably to the fame pair ; but this is the cafe with regard to fuch only as are built in our * I found four or five gros of thefe feathers in a neft that weigh- ed in all but thirteen ounces. VOL. VI. L 1 windows, . t.i.11. Mi' .ill.' ■ '■: ¥ '\V'% M 5T4 MARTIN. windows, for I am affured that thofe conftru^l- ed againll: rocks are renewed annually. Sonae^ times five or fix days are fufficient for perform- ing the work, and fometimes ten or twelve are required ; the birds carry the mortar both with their little bill and with their toes, but plafter with their bill only. It often happens that fe- veral Martins are fecn labouring at the fame neft * ; either from their complaifance in af- fifting each other, or bccaufe this fpecies copu- lating only in the neil:, all the males which court the fame female arc eager to haften the fabric, and obtain the expe6led joy. Yet fome have been obferved as aifiduous in pulling down the flru6:ure as others were forward to rear it. Perhaps it was a difcardcd lover, v/ho gratified his malice by retarding the fruition of his more fortunate rivals. The Martins arrive fooner or later, according to the latitude : at Upfal on the 9th of May, as Linniiius tells us ; in France and England in the beginning of April -f, eight or ten days af- ter the domeftic fwallows, which, according to Frifch, as they fly lower, can more eafily and earlier procure their food : they are fometimes furprifed • I have counted five {landing within the fame neft or clinging round it, without reclconing the comers and goers : the more nu- merous tliey are, the more expeditious is the work. f This year, 1779, the winter has b»en without fnow, and the fpring very fine ; yet thcfe f.vallows arrived not in Burgundy till (he 9th of April, and on the lake of Geneva till the 14th, It is faid that MARTIN. 515 furprifed by the fpring colds, and have been feen (hooting through a thick fall of fnovv *• On their firft arrival they haunt the wet places; I never faw them return to the nefts which are in my windows before the 15th of April, and fometimes not till the beginning of May. They build in all afpeds, but prefer fuch as look into the fields, cfpecially when the fcene is inter- iperfed with rivers, brooks, or pools. They that a (hoemaker in Bafil, having put a collar on a Avallow with this infcription, , : Hirondelle, ^i es fi belle Dis-moit l*hiver ou 'vas-tu ! (Pretty fivalloix}, tell me •tubitber tbougoejl in winter ?) Received, the fpring following, by the fame courier, this anfvver : A Athems Chez Aafoine, Pourquoi t^en infortnes-tu ! (To Antbony at Athens ; why dofl thou inquire ?) The moft probable part of this anecdote is, that the verfes were made in Switzerland. Belon and Ariftotle aifure us that the fwal- lows live only half the year in Greece, and go to pafs the winter in Africa. * This proves that what Hoegftroem, the paftor of Nordland, fays of the fore-knowledge of temperatures, which he aibribes to the fwallows, is not more applicable to that of the window than to that of the chimney, aiid mult be regarded as very doubtful. '* In Lapland," fays he, " fwallows have been feen to depart, and aban^ don their young in \cry warm weather, and when there was no ap- pearance of a change in the air. But this change fpeedily came, and one might travel in a fledge by the 8th of September. In cer- tain years, on the contrary, they have ftaid very late, though the weather was not mild ; whence it might be initired that the cold was diftant.'* In all this the reverend paftor leems to be only the echo of popular rumour, and to have taken no pains to afcertain the fatt, which is befides contradidcd by accurate obfervations. L 1 2 breed, M''' I'l.;;.! 5.6 MARTIN. breed, at times, within houfes ; but this is ex<* ceedingly rare, and even very difficult to ob- tain*. The young are fometimes hatched as early as the 1 5th of June ; the cock and hen may be feen toying v^^ith each other on the brink of the half- formed fabric, and billing with 2^ Ihrill exprelfive chirp -|- ; but they are never obferved to copulate, ^yhich makes it probable that this is done in the nefl, fince this chirping is heard early in the morning, and fometimes during the whole night, Their firft hatch confifts pf five white eggs, with a (dufky ring near the large end ; the fecond hatch confifts of three or four, and the third, when it does take place, of two or three. The inale feldom or never renipves from his mate ♦ " It rarely builds in houfes," fays Ariftotle, which is con- firmed by daily obfervation. The late M. Rouffcau, of Geneva, af^er infinite pains, fucceeded to make them neflle in his chamber. M, Hebert faw them build on the fpring of a bell ; the bottom of the neft relied on this fpring, the upper brim, which was femicir- pular, leaned againft the wall by it§ twp ends, thr?e or four inches below the eave ; the coclc and hep, during the time they were em- ployed in the conHrud\ion, paiTed the nights on the iron fpike to \vUich (he ipring was faftened. The frequent concufllon given by this fpring could not fail to diftijrb the adlion of nature in the de- .yelopement of the little embryons j the hatch accordingly did not fucceed : yet the pair would not forfake their tottering manfion, but continued to inhabit it the reft of the feafon. '^he femicircu- iar form vyhiph, on this occafion, they gave their neft, proves ihat fhey can fometimes change their order of architedure. t f rifch pretends that the males of this fpecies fmg better thao ^hofe of the domeftic fwallow ; but in my opinion i( is quite the re- during MARTIN. S17 during incubation ; he watches for her fafety and that of the young brood, and darts impe- tuoufly on the birds that chance to approach too near. After the eggs are hatched, both pa- rents frequently carry food, and feem to be- ftow the moft afFe<^ionate care*. In fome cafes, however, this paternal attachment ap- pears to be forgotten : a young one which was already fledged, having fallen out of the nell: upon the fole of the window, the parents look no heed of it; but, finding itfelf thus aban- doned, it ftrove to eicape, flapped its wings, and, after three or four hours exertions, it launched at laft into the air. I broke off, from another window, a nefl: containing four young ones juft hatched, and fet it in the fole of the window ; and yet the parents pafled and re- pafled inceiTantly and fluttered about the fpot, without regarding the imploring cries of their progeny + : a hen fpanow would, in fuch cir- cumftances, have fed and tended her offspring a fortnight. It would feem, therefore, that the altFe£lion of the Martins for their young depends • When the young are hatched, their excrements are faid to be enveiuped in a fort of pellicle ; which enables the parents to roll ihem cafily out of the nelt. Fnj'ch. f A wnole hatch having been put in the fame cage with the pa- rents, tUefe pafTed the night fometimes on the bar of ihe cage, fum.'iimes on the brim of the nclt, ahnoft aiways the one after the other, and at lail one upon the other, without beiiowing the fmalU «A attention to their young : but it may be faid, that in thij cafe the paternal love was fwallowed up by the regret for the lofs of liberty. it k ■U^tli '•Hi n, li I- 1 ^ on :'l 5.8 MARTIN. on the local fituatioii ; however they continue to fetch them provilions for a long time, and even after they have begun to fly ; thefe confift in winged infe6):s, fnapped in the air, which is fo peculiarly their mode of catching*, that if they fee one fitting on a wall, they will fweep pad it to flart the prey. It has been faid that the fparrows often oc- cupy the Martins* nefts, which is true. It has been added that the Martins thus thruft out return fometimes efcorted by auxiliaries, and, in an in- ftant clofing up the aperture with the ufual mor- tar, take vengeance on the ufurpers -f* : whether this ever happened I cannot decide ; but the in- ftances which have come under my obfervation do not countenance the opinions. The Mar- tins returned frequently in the courfe of the fummer, quarrelled with the fparrows, and fometimes circled about for a day or two, but never attempted to enter the neft or to (hut it up. Nor can we fuppofe any antipathy to fub- fift between thefe birds J ; the fparrows will lay wherever they find it convenient. Though the Martins are (hyer than the chim- ney fwallows, and though philofophers have * This is the general opinion, and the moft confonant to daily •bfervation ; yet M. Guys afTures me that thefe birds feek pine- wood, in which they find caterpillars. t Albertus firft broached this error ; R/aczyniki repeated it ; the Jefuit Batgowlki aflerts his being a witnefs of the faA ; and Lin- naeus gives it as a truth afcertained. X Albertus afud Gefmrum, believed Martin. 519 Ivelleved that they were incapable of being tam- ed *, yet is it very eafy to fucceed. They muft be fupplied with the proper food, which confifts of flies and butterflies f, and muft receive it often ; above all, they niuft be foothed into the lofs of liberty, a fentimcnt common to all animals, but in none fo lively or fo acute as in the wing- ed tribes ];, A tame Martin § was known to grow extremely fond of its miftrefs ; it iat whole days upon her knees, and, when (he appeared after fome hours abfence, it uttered joyous ac- cents, clapped its wings, and (hewed every fign of lively feeling : it began to feed out of the hand, and its education would probably have com- * M. Rouffeau, of Geneva. f Some authors pretend that they cannot exill on vegetable fub- ftances ; yet wo cannot fuppufe that thefe prove a poifon to them : bread was part of tho food of the tame fwallow which I {hall pre- fcntly mention. But what is more Angular, children hav^ been fcen to feed young fwallovvs with dung that has dropt from the ncft of another fwallow of the fame fpccies. The brood lived very well for ten days on this diet, and in all probability they would have fubfilled longer, had not the experiment been interrupted by a mother, who wis fonder of cleanlinefs than of gaining knowledge. % '* I have often," fays M. Rouffeau, •' had the pleafure of fee- ing ihem kept in my chamber while the windows were Ihut, and fo tranquil as to chirp, frolic, and toy at their cafe, waiting till I Ihould open for them, confident that I would not delay ; in fadl I rofe, for that purpofe, every morning at four o'clock." The voyager Leguat fpeaks of a tame fwallow that he had brought from the Canaries to the ifland of Sal ; he let it cut every morning, and it faithfully returned in the evening. Foyigeaux In- dis Orifiitales, p. 13. Leguat does not fay what fpecies it was. Other perfons have raifcd fwallows. See Volfgang Franzius, HijJ,. ■ ^nim, />. 456 ; and the Journal Je Paris for 1778. § In the noble Chapter of Leigneu:: in Fores. h I 4 pletcly ;'.M • »*♦ (l! fl 1W\ ii-i:: i:iw ■^M: .1: 520 MARTIN. pletely fucceeded, had it not efcaped. It did not fly far ; it alighted on a young child, and foon fell a prey to a cat. The Vifcount Quer- hoent allures me, that he alfo trained, for fe- veral months, fome young Martins taken out of the neft ; but he could never bring them to eat by themfelves, and that they always died when he gave over feeding them. When the one I have jud mentioned attempted to walk, it moved ungracefully, on account of its fliort legs ; and, for this reafon, the Martins feldom alight but upon their nefls, and only in cafes where necefli^y obliges them : for inftance, when they gather mud for building with, or when they fpcnd the night among the reeds to- wards the end of fummer, at which time they are become fo numerous as not to be all con- tained in their former lodgments*; or, laftly, when they afl'emble upon the ridges and corners of houfes previous to their migration. Hebert had a houfe in Brie, which was every year their general rendezvous; the number congregated was great, not only on account of their own multiplication, but becaufe many others of their kindred fpecies, the fand- martins and chim- • About the end of fummer, they are cbferved in the evenings circling in great numbers on the furface of water, almolt till dark : it is probably in order to repair to fuch fttuations that every day they afleniUle an hour or two before fun-fet. Add, that they are much lefs frequent in towns about the evening than during the courfe of the day. ney MARTIN. 521 ney fwallows, joined them : they h'ad a peculiar cry, which feemed to call them together. It was remarked that (hortly before they began their voyage they exercifed themfelves in foar- ing to the clouds, thus preparing to wing their courfe through the lofty regions*; a fa£t which agrees with other obfervations related in the preceding article, and which explains why the fwallows arc fo feldom feen in the air dur- ing their paffage from one country to another. The Martins are widely difFufed through the ancient continent ; yet Aldrovandus ail'erts that they are never feen in Italy, particularly in the neighbourhood of Bologna. M. Hermann f tells me, that in Alface they are caught with the flares, by fpreading a net about the clofe of the evening over a marfli full of rufhes, and by drowning next morning the birds that are en- tangled under it. Some of thefe drowned Mar- tins may be reftored to life, and a fimple fact of that kind might have given rife to the fable of their annual immerfion and emerfion. This fpecies appears to hold a middle rank between the chimney fwallow and the black Martin. It has little of the chirping and fami- liarity of the former ; but it builds its neft fi- • Note communicated by M. Lottinger. t This profeffor aflures nr:^ that the White-rumps or Martini grow fat in autumn, a;id are then very good to eat. Franziuti fays nearly as much : yet I publlHi it with re^ret» as it tends to the de> ftrudlion of an ufefui fpecies. milarly, .1.1... i , 'I '■■'•I?- /J' '■l\ I'l.t \\. ^ % %\'^-7i I. « '.M w Ml' I- f:!r.r iP m i:ii ■ 1"' ■|.!,.. '.I: 522 M A R T I 1^. ' milarly, and its toes confift of the fjime num- ber of phalanges. It has the rough feet of the black Martin, and its hind toe aUb turns for- ward ; like that bird, too, it flies through heavy rains, and then in larger flocks than ufual ; it clings alfo to the walls, and feldom alights on the ground, and, when it does fo, it rather creeps than walks. Its bill is wider than that of the chimney-fwallow, at Icaft apparently fo, becaufe the mandibles open Suddenly as high as the ears, and the edges form on each fide a pro- jection: laftly, though it is fomewhat larger, it feems rather fmaller, its feathers, and efpe- cially the inferior coverts of its tail, being not fo fully webbed. The average weight of all that I have weighed was conftantly from three to four gros. The rump, the throat, and all the under fur- face of the body, are of a fine white; the fide of the coverts of the tail is brown ; the upper furface of the head and neck, the back, thofe of the feathers and of the primary coverts of the tail, are of a glofly black, with blue refledlions ; the feathers of the head and back cinereous at the bafe, white in the middle ; the quills of the wings brown, with greenifh refledlions on the borders j the three lafl of thofe next the body are terminated with white; the legs clothed as far as the nails with a white down ; the bill black, and the legs brown gray ; the black of the female is lefs diftinft, and its white not fo pure, i? ' A MARTIN. 523 pure, even variegated with brown on the rump. In the young ones the head is brown, and there is a (hade of the fame colour under the neck : the refle£lions from the upper furface of the body are of a lighter blue, which has a greenifh caft in certain pofitions, and, what is remark- able, the quills of the wings are of a deeper tint. They frequently wag their tail upwards and downwards, and the origin of the neck is bare. Total length five inches and a half; the bill fix lines ; the infide pale red at the bottom, blackiOi near the point ; the noilrils round and open ; the tongue forked, a little blackifli near the end ; the tarfus five lines and a half, covered with down rather on the fides than before or behind ; the middle toe fix lines and a half; the alar ex- tent ten inches and a half; the tail two inches, forked as far as fix, feven, or even nine lines; in fome fubjedls this forking reaches only five lines, but in others it does not occur at all. The inteftinal tube fix or feven inches ; the caca very fmall, and filled with a matter dif- ferent from that contained in the true iiitcftines ; it has a gallbladder; the gizzard is mufcular ; the afophagus twenty fines, it dilates into a lit- tle glandular bag before its infeition ; the tefti- cles are of an oval Ihape, and unequal ; the greater diameter of the bigcreft ones four or five lines, the fmaller diameter three ; their furface was marked with many circumvolutions, like a fmall IJ ».:' 'If!' :/■ i''t|; I! if 11(1, !*.«•• i h.. :X f' 1. ■'w L!'l. m ii'f 424 MARTI N. a fmall veflcl twifted and rolled in all direc* tions. What is fingular, the young Martins are heavier than the adults : five that were taken from the neft while they were fcarcely covered with down, weighed together three ounces, which give three hundred and forty-five grains to each ; whereas both the parents weighed cx« adlly an ounce, or each was two hundred and eighty-eight grains. The gizzards of the young birds were diftended with food, and weighed in all one hundred and eighty grains, which was equal to thirty-fix each; but both the gizzards of the parents, which contained hardly any thing, weighed only eighteen, or they were four times lighter than thofe of their brood. This fad clearly proves that the parents neglect their requifite fubfiftence in order to fupply their young, and that, during infancy, the organs concerned in nourifhment predominat?*, as in the adult period thofe fubfervicnt to generation. Some individuals of this fpecies have their whole plumage white ; and of this I can produce two relpcdable vouchers, Hebert and Hermann. Tlie white Martin of the lad had red eyes, as is the cafe with fo many animals whofe hair or feathers are white ; its legs were not covered with down, like the reft of the fame hatch. We may regard the fulvous bellied fwallow • I have obfcrved the fame difproportion both in the gizzards and in the inteiUnes ofyuung fparrows, nightingales* fauvettes> Sec, of MARTIN. 525 of Barrere as a variety of this fpecles ; and the whitifh breafted brown fparrow of Brown *, as occafioned by the influence of climate. * This author calls it a hvuft-fnuallonjut buv it is more analogous to the white- rumped fwallow. [A] Specific chara£ler of the Martin, hirundo XJrhka: " Its talU quills are notfpotted, its back is bluifli black, and the whole of its under fide is white." The reader will find an excellent account of this bird by Mr. White in the Philofophical Tranfa^ions for 1774* or in Ids Natural Hiftory of Selborne, pp. 157, 162. We ihall extra£l the following paflage, as it further confirms the migration of the fwallows, *< As the fummer declines, the congregating flocks inqreafe in numbers daily by the condant acceflions of the fecond broods ; till at laft they fwarm in myriads upon myriads round the villages on the Thames, darkening the fac^ of the (ky as they frequent the ^its of that river, where they rooft. They retire, the bulk of them X mean, in vaft flocks together about the beginning of Odluber; but have appeared of late years in a coniiderable flight in this neighbourhood, for one day or two, as late as November the 3d and 6th, after they were fuppofed to have been gone for more than a fortnight. They therefore withdraw with us the lateft of any fpe- cies. Unlefs thefe birds are very ihort lived indeed, or unlefs they do not return to the diflridl where they have been bred, they muft undergo yafl devaflations fomehow and fomewhere ; for the birds that return yearly bear no manner of proportion to the birds tha( f€tirct'* i' i ■K'; "i ■m 5^6 SAND-MARTIN. The SAND-MARTIN* Hirondelle de Kivage, Buff. hirundo Riparia, Linn. Gmel. Kram, Frif. KIein> &c, Dardaneliit Aldrov. The Sand-iuejlern or Bank-nutfternt Charleton. The Sand-martin f Bani-martin, or Sbore-birdt Will. WE have feen that the two preceding fpe- cies beftow much induftry and labour in conftru6ling their little manfion; the two following fpecies, we (hall find, breed in holes in the ground, in walls or in trees, and are at little pains to form thefe, flrewing coarfely fome litter. The Sand-martins arrive in our climates, and retire, nearly at the fame time with the common martins. Towards the end of Auguft they gra- dually come nearer thofe fpots where they af- femble, and about the end of September He- bert tells us that he faw a great number of both fpecies collected together on the houfe which * Ariflotle, Hiji. Anim. Lib. I. I, calls it A^iwan?, from l^titxmt a hook ; probably bccaufe of its forked tail : In Greek, it had alfo the name of Xi^tofcn 0a^aTT»«, or fca fwallow. Pliny terms it Hinado Riparia, Nat. Hift. Lib, XXX. 4. In lt.iliairit has the names DardaueW, Rondoni, Tartan : In Ger- man, Rhyn-vogel (Rhine-bird), Rhyn-Schifialme (Rhine-fvvallow), Wafer -J'cbnualme (water fwallow), Erd/chiualme (earth-fwallow), Ufer Sch^albe (fhore-fwallow) ; In DaniHi, D'g-fvaJe, "Jord-fvale, Blint'fvale, Sol-bakke : In Norwegian, Sand tonne, Sirand-fvak, Dig-fulu, Sand-fulu: In Swedifti, Strand Jwaia, Uack-frwaia : In Poliili, Jajkotka : In Siberian, Strejihif. he .■■'i| gra- /allow) , \d-/vate, nd-fvaky \aia: In SAND-MARTIN. 527 he poffefifed in Brie*, and particularly on the fide of the roof that faced the fouth; and when the flock was formed, it entirely covered the building. But all the Sand-martins do not migrate. The commander Defmazys writes me that they are always to be found in Malta during the winter, and efpecially when the weather is inclement -t : and, as that fmall rocky ifland has no lake or pool, we cannot fuppofe that in the interval of ftornis they plunge under water. Hebert has feen them as often as fifteen or fixteen times in the mountains of Bugey J, in the diiferent winter months : it was near Nantua, in a pretty high fituation, in a glen of a quarter of a league in length and three or four hundred paces in width ; the fpot was delicious, with a fouthern afpe£l, and (heltcred from the north weft hy vaft lofty rocks ; it was clothed in perpciual • This houfe was fituated in the fkirt of a fmall town, its princi- • pal afpedt was towards a river, and it communicated with the coun- try on feveral fides. + " In St. Domingo/* fays the Chevalier Lefebvre Defhayes, " the fwallows are feen to arrive on the approach of a Ilorm ; if the clouds difperfe, they alfo retire, and probably follow the fhower.'* They are, in fadl, very common in that ifland during the rainy fea- fon. Axidotle aflcrted, two thoufand years ago, that the fliore- fvvallow appeared not in Greece "feut when it rained. Laftly, on all feas birds of every kind repair in ftorms to the iflands, and fome. times feelf Ihelter aboard veflels, and their appearance is almoft always the portent of fome furious guft. X According to the fame oblervcr, it is much more unufual to fee them during winter in the plains. Thefe birds feem to be the fpe- cics to which Ariflotlc alludes when he fiys, •' ?Jany fwallows are feen in the narrow pafTes of mountains." Lib. Vlil. 16. 4 verdure, I iij'tt';' ■-!'!;! rftft if' %: 528 SAND MARTIN. verdure, its violets flowered in February, and, in that lovely recefs, winter wore the fmiles of fpring. There thefe fwallows might play, and circle, and catch their infect food^ and if the cold becomes exccflively fevere, they could retire into their holes, where the froft can never penetrate, and where they may find earth -infc£ts and cry- falids to fupport the.Ti during their (hort con- finement ; or perhaps they pafs into a torpid flate, to which Gmelin and many others aflert they are liable, though that they are not always fo is proved by the experiments of CoUinfon *. The country people told Hebert, that they ap- peared after the Ihovvs of Advent were melted, if the weather was mild. Thefe birds arc found in every part of Europe ; Belon obferved them in Romagna, where they breed with the king-fifhers and bee-eaters in the brinks of the Marifla, anciently the Hebrus. Koenigsfeld found in his travels through the north, that the left bank of a brook which runs befide the village of Kakui in Siberia, was bored into a great number of holes, which ferved as retreats to fmall gray birds called Strefchls^ which mufi: be Sand-martins : five or fix hundred may be feen flying confufedly about thefe holes, en- tering them or coming out, but conftantly in • Klein. Orio Awum^ P* 202, 204. Philof. Tranf. Vol, HIT, p. loi. Gazette Litteraire, f. V. /• 364. Magafin de StraU fund, &c. motion \ h\ SAND-MARTIN. 529 iiiotion like flies *. The fwallovvs of this fpe- cies are very rare in Greece, according to Arif- totle, but they are pretty common in fome dif- tri£ls of Italy, Spain^ France, England, Hol- land, aud Germany f . They prefer fteep banks, as affording the fafeft lodgment ; the margin of jftagnant water, which abounds moft with in- - fedsj and a fandy foil J, where they can more cafilyform their little excavations, and fettle them- felves in them. Salerne tells us that on the fides of the Loire they breed in the quarries, others fay in grottos ; and both accounts may in part be true. The nefl: is only a heap of ftraw and dry grafs, lined with feathers, on which the es:ors are dropt ||, Sometimes they make their own holes, and at other times they take polTeffion of thofe of the bee-eaters and king-fifliers ; the entrance of the cavity is eighteen inches in length. It has been alleged, that they can forefee inunda- tions, and make a timely efcape § : but the fadl is, that they always dig their hole a little above the highefl mark of the ftream. The Sand-martins only hatch once a year, • Dellfle's travels into Siberia. f In the banks cf the Rhine, of the Loire, of the Saone, &c. % Lottinger and Hebert, II Schweiickfcld fays that this neft is of a fpherical form ; but this feems to be true rather of the holes than of the neft built in them. ** They make no nefts," fays Pliny. Aldrovandus is of the fame opinion : Edwards fays, that thofe which CoUinfou caufcd to be dug out were complete, but he does not fpecify tlieir form. Laftly, Belon doubts whether they excavate the holes thcmfelves. §Plin. Lii. X. }}. VOL. VI. M m according ^ p 4im ^.1! ■ "'■'"' kv 1 *. !• » 1 If' 'it, ,,' av [ In ''■ I "" I ::'t' I u r:] w 1i .!• ,.v' , % ".ii j lii. I' i.! '•1 fo'i h h* ft! 'tir, :'iW 53^ SAN D-M A R T I N. "ccortliiig to Frilch ; they lay five or fix eggs, femi traiiipareiit and without fpots, fays Klein ; the yoiip.g ones grow very fat, a' -J may be com- pared for delicacy to the ortcuans. Tiie rea- son is, becaiile they nre able to procure a rich fupplv of food, lince, bcfides the nnnaerons tribe of vviii^' d infcds, they find reptiles and chry- fdids in the ground, In fome countries, as in Val-ncia in Spain, there is a great confumptiou of Sand-martins*; which would induce me, notwithflanding the aflertion of Frifch, to fup- pofe that in thole parts they hatch oftener than once a year. - The adults hunt their prey on the furfice of the water with fuch adivity that we might imagine them to be fighting; they often run upon each other in the purfuit of the fame flies, and {lru2;2;le with (hrill cries -f to obtain the plunder: but this conducl arifes entirely from emulation. Were we to judge from its manner of breed- ing, we fhould conclude, that this bird is the wildeft of the Europeaii fwallows ; yet is it tamer than the black martin, which live:; indeed in towns, but never mingles with any kindred fpecics, whereas the Sand-martin aflociates with the commoix martin, and even the chimney fwaliov/ : this happens particularly about the time of migration, when the utility of uniting is moll fenfibly felt, -it differs from thei"' tv,o • See WillugViby. The young birds are however fubjcd to v.'ood- lice, which iniinuate, under the Ikin, but never to bugs, f Gefner, fpecies SAND-MARTIN, 5ii fpe:ies iri Its plumage, in its voice, and, as we have all cad V leen, in fomc oF its natural habits. It nev'jr perches, and it arrives much earlier ia the Ipring than the black martin. I know not on what '.{round (Jefner pretends that it cliiii;s and hangs by the feet when it fleeps. All the upper turface is of a moufe gray; there Is a fort of collar of tiie fame colour at the lower part of the neck ; all the reli of the under furface is white ; the quills of the tail and of the wings are brown ; the inferior coverts of the wings, gray ; the bill blackilh, and the legs brown, clothed behind as far as the toes with a down of the fame colour. The male is, according to Schwenckfeld, of a darker gray, and there is a yellowifli tint at the rife of the throat. It is the fmallefl: of the European fwallows. Total length four inches and nine lines i the bill a little more than five lines ; the tail forked ; the tarfus five lines ; the hind tec the (hortell ; the alar extent eleven inches ; the tail two inches and a quarter, forked eight lines, and "confiftiug of twelve quills ; th'- wings contain eighteen, of which the nine inner ones are equal; they proje^Sl five lines beyond the tail [A]. [A] Specific charaftcr of the Sand-martin, Hirnvdo Riparla: '* It is cinereous, its throat and belly white.'' Thcle birds are not frequent in England. Thev are much fmaller than thofe of their kindred fpecies, and are moufe-colourcd. They jiave a pe- culiar manner of flying; reeling and wavering, with odd jerks: Hence the peafants in Spain term them Payiliones de Montagna, or Mouutun butterflies. M m 2 ■■k'l H ill. ■W.rM: ll" 53* CRAG-SWALLOW. The CRAG-SWALLOW. VHirontleUt Gri/i de Reebirt *, BufT, Hirundt Montana, Gmel f. npHESE Swallows conftantly neftle in the •■• rocks, and never defcend into the plains, but in purfuit of their prey. It commonly rains in a day or two after their appearance ; becaufe, no doubt, the ftate of the air then drives ^the infedls from the mountains. The Crag-fwal- lows aiTociate with the common martins, but are not fo numerous. Both fpecies are often feen in the morning, wheeling about the caftle of Epine in Savoy; the Crag-fwallows appear the firft, and are alfo the firft to retire to the heights; after half pad nine o'clock none is found in the vale. The Crag-fwallow arrives in Savoy about the middle of April, and departs by the fifteenth of Augult; but fome loiter till the tenth of Oc- tober. The fame may be faid of thofe which inhabit the nwuntains of Auvergne and of Dauphiny. This fpecies feems to be intermediate to the common martin, whofe cry and geftures it has, and the fand-martin, which it refembles in its • i. e. The Gray Rock-fwallow. f My information with refpefl to this fpecies was received from the Marquis de Piolenc^ who fent me two birds. colours : CRAG-SWALLOW. 533 colours: all the feathers 011 the upper furface of the head and body, the quills and coverts of the tail, the quills and fuperior coverts of the wings, are of a dun gray, edged with rufous ; the mid- dle pair of the tail is lighter ; the four lateral pairs, included between this middle and the outermoil one, are marked on the inlide with a white fpot, which is not vifible unlefs the tail be fpread ; the under furface of the body is rufous ; the flanks rufous, tinged with brown ; the inferior coverts of the wings brown ; the legs clothed with a gray down, variegated with brown ; the bill and nails black. Total length five inches ten lines ; the alar extent ten inches and two-thirds ; the tail twenty* one lines, a little forked, confifling of twelve quills, and exceeding the wings feven lines. The only thing which appeared to me worth noticing in its internal flruflure is, that inflead of a coecum there was a fingle appendix of a line in diameter, and a line and a quarter in length. \ have obferved the fame in the night-heron. Pi I4« M fA / 534 SWIFT. The SWIFT*. «?• Le Marlhet Noir-f, Buff. }iiru>i({ Jpuit Linn. Gmcl. &c. T\\c H'ufe martin, Charlcton. The Bluck-n.artin, or Swift, Will, and Penn. 'T^HE Swifts are real fwallows, and poflefs -* the chara^eriftic qualities even in a higher degree : their neck, their bill, and their legs are fliorter ; their head and throat l;'rgei ; their wings longer; their flight more lofty and rapid J. They are continually on the wing, and when they happen to fall by accident, they can hardly rile if the ground be flat ; they muft clamber up lome clod or ftone, that they may have room to wield their long pinions §, and ♦ Ariftotle, Uip.Anlm. Lib. L i . applies to It the g^.eral name of AffSf, or footlefb, meaning only tliat its feet are (hort and fcldom ufed : It was alfo called Kf\|/«Xo?, from xy^vJ/i^Ki a bee's cell, on ac- count of its mode of neRl-ng ; for which rcafon it had likewife the appellation of iiiTt-o;/t^»oa)i', or rock fwallow. The two firft names have been adopted by Pliny, Apode<, Cypjelus : In Arabic, Abnjic : In Spanifti, yetrcio, Ay>exaquo: In Qcxvn^w,Cieyr-^ch'wulb (vulture- fwallow) : In Danifh, ^tetv, Soe,Kirl.e Muur-Stvale: In Norwegian, Jiing-Szah, Sivart-Sn/it, Fielii-Sulu: In Swcdilh, Ring-S'vala : In Dutch, Stee"-S'walemeii. "t i. e. The Black-martin. I Ariftotle lays, that the Swifts may be diftinguiflied from the fwallowh by their rough feet: he was therefore unacquainted with the fmgular difpofition of tl.eir feet and toes, and with their habits and economy, ilill more fingular. § A fo'.vler affured me that they fometimes alight on heaps of horfe-dung, where they find infedls, and can eafily lake wing. 7 commence % *\ SWIFT. 535 commence their motion. This is owins to their llnidlure ; for the tarfus is lb (hort, that they iit almoll: on their helly *, and totter from fu^c to fide -f. The Swifts have only two modes of hfe, that of violent exertion, or that of per- fect ina»5lion ; they muft either Ihoot through the air, or remain fquat in their holes. The only intcrmediite ftate which they know, is that of clambering up walls and trunks of trees quite near their lodgment, and, by means of their bill, dragging themfelves into the cavity. Commonly they enter it full fpeed, after having paflcd it and repafled it above an hundred times ; they dart in in an inflant, ar.d with luch celerity that we totally lofe <1ght of them. Thefe birds ire very focial with each other, but never mingle with the other kinds of fv\ al- lows; and we fliall find, in the I'cquel, that their difpofitions and infl:in£ls are different. It has been faid that they have little fagacity; yet they can breed in our houfcs without depending on our indulsrence, and without rco;ardino; our controul. Their lodgment is a hole in the wall, • Bclon. f Two of thcfc birds obfcrved by M. Hebert, when fet on a table or on the pavement, had only this motion : their feathers fwelled if a perfon approached his hand ; a younj; one found at the foot of a wall in which was the ncll, h,.d already this habit of bril^ling up its feathers, which were not yet half grown. I Lave lately feen two that took their flight, the one from the pavement, and the other from a gravel walk : they did not walk at all, and never changed their place but by Happing their wings. M m 4 which 1 H ■ I. 1 ; , f( i'- 4 i! ■■.■;^i ^:; 1' .4;' 1' » ■VI? ll.l , 1^W 536 SWIFT. which widens into a larger cavity, and is pre- ferred in proportion to its height from the ground, as aiFording the fafefl retreat. They neille even in belfries and the tailed towers, fometimes under the arches of bridges, where, though the elevation is not fo great, they arc better concealed. Sometimes they fettle in hol- low trees, or in deep banks befide the king- fifhers, the bee-eaters, and fand-martins. After they have once occupied a hole, they return every year to it*, and eafily diftinguifli it, though hardly perceptible. It is fufpe£led, with much probability, that they fometimes take pof- feflion of the fparrows' nefts, and when, on their return, they find the property reclaimed, they, with little ceremony, expel the owners. The Swifts are, of all the birds of paflage, thofe which arrive the lateft in our climates and retire the earlieft : in general they begin to ap- pear about the end of April, or the beginning of May, and they leave us before the end of July "f . Their progrefs is more regular than • I know a church -porch and a belfry of which the Swifts have kept poflelTion for time immemorial ; M. Hebert, to whom I owe many good obfervations on this fpecies, fees from his windows a hole of the wall above a high cope, to which they have regularly returned for thirteen years : the parents feem to tranfmit their man- fion to their offspring. f I am affured, that on the lake of Geneva they arrive not till May, and retire about the end of July or the beginning of Au- guft; and when the weather is fine and war{n> as early as the fif- teenth of July. 8 that SWIFT. 537 that of the other fwallows, and appears to be more affected by the variations of temperature. They are fometimes feen In Burgundy as early as the twentieth of April, but thefe flocks puih farthci ; the fettlers feldom return to occupy their neft befoi c the firft days of May *. They are noify on their appearance ; rarely do two enter at once the fame hole, and never without fluttering much about its mouth ; ftill more uncommon it is for a third to follow them, nor does it ever fettle. I have in different times, and in different places, opened ten or twelve fwifts' nefts : in all of them I found the fame materials, and thefe confiding of a great variety of fubftances ; ftalks of corn, dry grafs, mofs, hemp, bits of cord, threads of filk and linen, the tip of an ermine's tail, fmall (hreds of gauze, of muflin, and other light ftufFs, the feathers of domeftic birds, thofe of the partridge, and of the parrot, charcoal, in Ihort, whatever they can find in the fweepings of towns. But how can birds which never alight on the ground gather thefe materials? A celebrated obferver fuppofes that they raifc • This year, 1779, though the fpring was uncommonly fine, they appeared not in the dillrifl where I live till the firft of May, and returned before the ninth to the holes from which I had caufed their nefts to be taken. At Dijon, they were feen on the nineteenth of April, but thofe domiciUated did not take pofTeflion of their holes tUl between the firft and fourth of May. them 'if tj \l'. it ■"I ''1 ':% '<;'. ^i''. '•f »il| '3 '^ . ..'ill 1,1, l Mil is • i ill Ir ih.' 53^ SWIFT. them by glancing along the furface of the ground, as they drink by Ikimming clofe on th« -water. Frifch imagines that they catch the fubftances in the air as they are carried up by the wind. But it is evident that little could be collected in the latter way, and, if the former were true, it would not fail to have been obferved in towns. 1 am inclined to think the account more proba- ble which feveral plain people have told me; that they have often feen the Swifts coming out of fwallows or fparrows* nefts, and carrying ma- terials in their claws. This obfervation is cor- roborated by feveral circumflanccs ; firfl:, the Swifts' nefls confifl of nearly the fame fubftances with thofe of fparrows ; fecondly, we know that the Swifts enter fometimes into the nefts of fmall birds to fuck their eggs, which we may fuppofe they do for the fake of pillaging the materials. With regard to the mofs which they employ, it is in very fmall quantity, and they inay gather it with their little claws, which are very ftrong, from trees, on which they can clamber, and fometimes even they breed in their hollow trunks. Of feven nefts found under the head of a church porch fifteen feet from the ground, there were only three which had a regular cup-(hape, and of which the materials were more or lefs interwoven, and with greater order than ufual in fparrows* nefts ; they had alfo more mofs, ^ and cli SWIFT. 539 and fewer feathers, and were in general lefs bulky * Soon after the Swifts have taken pofleffion of the^neUs, feme plaintive cries iflTue continually from it Tor Icvcial days, and rometimes during the ni.^ht ; at certain times, two voices may be diftinLiiillicd. Is it the cxprefTion of pleafure coiTii-no:! both to the male and female ? or is it the love fong by which the female invites the male to accomplilh the views of nature? The latter (eems to he the moil prv)bable conjecture, efpecially as the ardent cry of the male, when he purfues the female tiirough the air, is fofter and lefs drawling. \Vc arc iiiicci tain whether the female admits one or feveral males : we often fee three or follrS^^if^s ilMtri^iing about the hole, and even (Iretching out their clav\ t to clamber on the wall ; but thefe may be fuch as were hatched the preceding year, which ftill remem- ber the place of their nativity. It is the more difficult to anlwer thefe queilions, fuice the fe- males have nearly the fame plumage with the males, and fincc we can feldom have an op- portunity of viewing their manoeuvres. Thefe birds, during their fliort ftay in our climates, have time only to make a fuigle hatch ; • The heft formed of all weighed two ounces and one gros and a half, the feven together thirteen ounces and a half, and the largcft five Oi fix times more than the fmallcll : fome of ^hem had a coat of dung, which coyld fcarcely be otherwife, confidering the fitu« atlon of thefe nells, in holes of various depths. this If" . ; •'A m 1: ■ vi A- 1 li ;*i. '4- .[1 %l\ '. i [: M 1 1. ■'« 1-1 1 , „f,;l'i . Hit' :■. . H ^^■^! ■li!. I::':;:i :f!ir !!■• 540 SWIFT. this confifts of five white eggs, pointed, and of a fpindle fhape : I have feen fome not yet hatch- ed on the twenty-eighth of May. When the young ones have pierced through the (hell, very different from thofe of the other fwallows, they are almoft filent, and crave no food : happily the parents obey the voice of nature, and fupply them with what is proper. They carry provi-» fion only twice or thrice a-day ; bui: each time that they return to the neft they bring ample ftore, their wide throat being filled with flies, butterflies, and beetles *. They alfo eat fpiders which they find near their holes ; yet their bill is fo weak that it cannot even bruife or hold that feeble prey. About the middle of June the young Swifts begin to fly, and (hortly abandon their nefts, after which the parents feem no more to regard them. At every period of their lives they are fubjeft to vermin, but which appear little to in- commode them. This bird, like all the refl: of the kind, is excellent for the table when fat; the young ones, efpecially thofe taken out of the neft, are reckoned, in Savoy and Piedmont, delicate morfels. The adults are difficult to (hoot, be- caufe they fly both high and rapidly ; but as, • The only Svwift that M. Hebert could kill, had a qaantity of winged infedls in its throat. This bird catches thefe, according to Frifch, by darting impetuoufly above thcip^ with iu bill wide llretched. on an a lefs t SWIFT. J4i on account of this very rapidity, they cannot readily alter their courfe, they may, from this circumftance, be hit not only by a fowling- piece, but alfo by the ftroke of a (witch. The only attention required, is to place one's felf in their way by mounting to a belfry, a baftion, &c. and to meet them with the blow as they dart diredlly on, or as they come out of their hole *. In the ifland of Zant the boys catch them with a hook and line ; they place them- felves in the windows of fome high tower, and ufe a feather for bait, which thefe birds try to fnatch and carry to their neft -j- . A fmgle per- fon can catch in this way five or fix dozen in a day J. Many of them appear at the fea-ports, and, as a perfon can there more eafily choofe his ilation, he is fure of killing fome. The Swifts' avoid heat, and, for this reafon, they pafs the middle of the day in their nefts in the crevices of walls or rocks and in the loweft row of tiles of tall buildings. In the morning and evening they go in queft of provifion, or flutter without any particular objedt, but for exercife. They return at ten o'clock in the forenoon when the fun (hines, and again at half •«' if.!' I '. '% i/Mf li'ii-' ■If ou * Many are killed in this way in the little town which I inhabit, cfpecially thofe which breed under the church-porch that I have mentioned. f Perhaps alfo they miftake the feather for an infeft ; they hare an acute fight, but the rapidity of their motion muft render objefts lefs diftinguiihable. X Belon. an :ih^ 54* S W I FT. an hour after it fets in the eveii'ing. They rove in numerous flocks, dcibri'oiiig an ondiels leriea of circles upon circles, ibmctinics in dole ranks purUiing the dircvftion of a (trer^t, and iometimss whirhng round a large cdihre 11 icicariiing to- gether, and with thcii vv hole mlgl.t ; often they glide along without fluriag their wings, and, on a fudden, they flap with frequent and hafty ftrokes. We behold their motion:>, but we cannot judge of their intentions. A commotion may be perceived among thefc birds as early as the fiifl: of July, which an- nounces their departure ; their n umbers inrreafe confiderably, and, in the fultry evenings be- tween the tenth and twentieth, their lar'^e af- femblies are held. At Dijon, they conllantly gather round the fame belfries* ; and, though thefe meetings are numerous, the Swifts appear as frequent as ufual about the other edifices : they are probably foreign birds, therefore on their paflage to more fouthern climates. After fun-fet they divide into fmall bodies, foar into the air with loud fcreams, and fly quite .differ- ently from ordinary. They may be heard long after they are gone out of fight, and they feem to bend their courfe to the country ; they no doubt retire at night to the woods, for there it is known they breed and catch infeds, and that thofe which haunt the plains during the day, • Thofe of St. Philibert and of St. Bcnigne. and day. ofS. # Y, whole may n( tK S W I F T. 543 and even fome of thofe which live la towns, repair to the trees in the evening, where they contiiuic till dark. The city Swifts aflemble loon afti^r, and all prepare to migrate into colder countries. TVl. Fiebcrt icarce ever faw them later than the 27th of July; he fuppofes that they travel du'.ing the night, and proceed to no great diftance, and crofs not the fea. In- deed their averfion to heat is fuch that they would fluin the fcorchino; air of SeneG:al *. Many naturalifts "f- pretend that they lie torpid in their holes durino; winter, and even before the end of the do2:-davs. But, in our climates, they arc undoubtedly migratory, and in the nefts which I fearched, about the middle of i^pril, twelve or fifteen days before their firfl appearance, 1 could not find a fingle bird. Befides the regular periodical migrations, wc fometimes fee in autumn numerous flocks, which have by fome accidents been feparated from the main body. Such was the one that appeared to Hebert fuddenly in Brie about the besjinning of November : it circled lone; round a poplar, and then began to fcatter, role to a great height, and vanilhcd with the clofe of the day. Hebert faw another flock about the end of September in the vicinity of Nantua, where • What Ariftotle fays of his Awy,-, which lived in Greece the whole year, would imply that it docs not fo much dread heat. But may not the Awa? be our fand-marthi i t Klein, Hecrkcns, Herman, &c. they ■i" ■» 11 1: 1 ■ .lit' m m 544 SWIFT. they are not common. In both thefe ftray-» flocks there were many birds that had a cry dif- ferent from that ufual to the Swifts ; whether that their voice alters in winter, that they were young ones, or that they belong to a different branch of the fame family. In general, the Swift has no warble, but only a (hrill whiftle, which varies litrfe in its inflexions, and which is fcarce ever heard ex- cept when on the wing. In its hole it remains flill and filent, afraid, it would feem, of difclof- ing its retreat : love alone roufes it from le- thargy. At other times it is very unlike thofe prattlers defcribed by the poet *. Birds which (hoot through the air with fuch rapidity muft have a quick eye, and, in the prefent cafe, the fa£t corroborates the general principle advanced in the " Difcourfe on the Nature of Birds.** But every thing has its li- mits, and I cannot believe that they will defcry a fly at the diftance of half a quarter of a league, as Belon aflerts ; that is, at twenty-eight thou- fand times the fly's diameter, fuppofing that nine lines, or nine times farther than a man could fee. The Swifts are not only fpread through * " Nigra velut magnas domini cum divitis jides " Pervolat, et pennis alta atria luftrat hirundo, " Pabula parva legens, nidifque loquacibus efcas. '* £t nunc porticibus vacuis, nunc humida circum «* Stagna fonat.'* Vitg. jEntid.XIL ^7^. Virgil feems to refer> in thij paflagCt to the houfe-fwallow. all g W I FT. 545 iall Europe ; the Vifcount Querhoent fluv them at the Cape of Good Hope, and I doubt not that they may be found alfo in Afia, and even in the new continent. A moment's refledlion will exhibit the fin- gularity of this bird: its life is divided between the extremes of motion and reft; it never re- ceives the impreflions of touch, but during its fhort flay in its hole ; its joys are either exqui- lite or totally fufpendcd, nor can it have any idea of that languor which other beings feel from the dull continuance of even pleafurable fenfations ; and, laftly, its character is a com- pound of temerity and fufpicion. It creeps by flealth into its hole like a reptile, and obferves profound lilence ; but when it circles in its pro- per element, it feels its fuperiority, and, trull:- ing to its powers, it overlooks or defpifea danger. The Swift is larger than our other fwallows, and weighs ten or twelve gros ; the eye is hol- low, the throat a{h-white, the reft of the plum* age blackifli, with green refledlions ; the back and the inferior coverts of the tail are of a deeper caft; thefe coverts reach to the end of the two middle quills; the bill is black ; the legs of a brown flefh colour ; the fore part and tlie inftde of the tarjm are covered with fmall blackifli feathers. Total length feven inches and three quarters; the bill eight or nine lines ; the tongue three VOL. VI. N n lines 'ri % ii'^ ■^'.:'^!V w •1 ■ . \ ||.:>-' ;;.!'; !!/ "•A 546 SWIFT. lines and a half, forked ; the noftrils like a long fhaped human ear, the convexity being turned inwards, and their axis being inclined to the ridge of the upper; the two eye-lids naked, moveable, and (hut near the middle of the ball of the eye ; the tarfus is near five lines, the four toes turned forward*, and confifting each of two phalanges only (a fingular conformation, peculiar to the Swifts) ; the alar extent about fourteen inches; the tail near three inches, compofed of twelve unequal quills +, and fork- ed more than an inch ; it is exceeded eight or ten lines by the wings, which contain eighteen quills, that when clofed refemble the blade of a fey the. CEfophagus two inches and a half, and forms near its bottom a fmall glandulous bag; the gizzard is mufcular in its circumference, lined with a wrinkled loofe membrane, and contains portions of infedls, but no pebbles ; it has a gall bladder, no ccecum ; the inteftinal tube from the gizzard to the anus itvtw inches and a half; the ovarium clullered with eggs of unequal fizes (this was on the 20th of May). Having lately compared feveral Swifts of both fexes, I found that the males weighed more than the females, that their fe.et w,ere ftronger, * How can the genus in which it is ranged be defcribed to have three toes before and one behind \ t I know that Willughby reckons only ten ; but perhaps he confounded this fpecies with the following. that ■ y SWIFT. 547 that the white fpot on the throat is broader, and that almoft all the white feathers which form it have black fhafts. The infect which infefts thefe birds is a kind of loufe, of an oblop^ Ihape, and orange colour, but of different tints ; having two thread-like antenn mer, at lead Axteen hours. Nor do they feem to be at all incom<- moded by the heat of our meridian fun ; nay, they are never fo lively as in fultry thundery weather: fo different is our climate to that of^the fouth of France, where they are conAned to their holes fur fome hours at noon. li,, if m t'-i' N n 2 I 'I 548 SWIFT. The WHITE-BELLIED SWIFT. Le Grand Martinet a Ventre Blanc *, Buff. HirundoMelba, Lmn. and Gtnel. Hirundo Major Hi/panUat Brifl'. Hirundo Maxima Freti HercuUi, Klein. The Great eji Martin or 5i Ml r ',•> 'HA „ ll.. 550 SWIFT. The whole of the upper furface is brown- gray, but deeper on the tail and wings, with reddilhand greenilh reflections; the throat, the bread, and the belly, white ; on the neck there is a brown-gray collar, variegated with black- ifli ; the fides are variegated alfo with blacki(h and with white ; the lower belly and the infe- rior coverts of the tail are of the fame brown with the back ; the bill black ; the legs flefli coloured, covered with down before and on the infide ; the ground of the feathers brown be- neath the body, and light gray above ; almoft all the white feathers have a black (haft, and the brown ones are edged delicately with whitilh at the tip. In one male which 1 obferved, the feathers on the head were deeper coloured than in two others with which I compared it : it weighed two ounces five gros. Total length eight inches ; the bill an inch, (lightly hooked ; the tongue four Ihies, of a tri- angular fhape; the iris brown; the eye-lids naked ; the tarfus five lines and a half; the nails ftrong, the inner one the (horteft; the alar ex- tent above twenty inches ; the wings compoled of eighteen quills ; the tail three inches and a half, confifting of ten unequal quills, forked eight or nine lines, and exceeded by the lines two inches at leaft. The gizzard (lightly mufcular, very thick, lined with a loofe membiane, containing frag- ments of infects, and fome whole ones, and 4 among SWIFT. SSI among others was one v/hofe ikinny wings reached more than two inches ; the inteftinal tube nine or ten inches; the afophagus dilating below into a glandulous bag ; no caecum, nor could I perceive any gall bladder ; the tefticles very long and fmall (this was on the i8th of June). It appeared to me that the mefentery was ftrong- er, the ikin thicker, the mufcles more elaftic, and the brain firmer, than in other birds : every thing denoted ftrength, and indeed the fwiftnel's of its motion neceflarily implies that. We may remark that the fubje£l: defcribed by Edwards was fmaller than ours. He aflerts that it refembles the fand-martin fo exactly that the fame defcription will ferve both. It is true that their plumage is nearly alike, and that all the fwallow tribe are fimilar; but that naturalift fhould have noticed that the toes are differently difpofed. * [A] Specific charafter of the White-bellied Swlfc, Hirundt'Mel- la : ** It is brown ; its throat and belly white i all its toes placed before." •f, './^ I!; Ik^ ^ 0 ' I'' i: I'' ■i ' !l i'Mm N n 4 si^ BIRDS RELATED TO THE FOREIGN BIRDS, WHICH ARE RELATED TO THE SWALLOWS, THE MARTlNSji AND THE SWIFTS. 1 ti THOUGH the Swallows of the two con- :inent3 form only one tribe, and are ana- logous in their (hape and principal properties*, they have not all the fame inftincts and natural habits. In Europe, and on the neareft borders of Africa and of Alia, they are almolt wholly birds of pafi'age. At the Cape of Good Hope a part only migrate, and the reft are ftationary. In Guiana, where the temperature is pretty uni- form, they remain the whole- year, without ihifting their abodes; nor is the manner of life the fame in them all ; fome prefer the fettled and cultivated fpots; others indifferently frequent inhabited places, or the wildeft folitude ; fome inhabit the uplands, others the fens ; fome ap- pear to be attached to particular diftri£ls ; but none of them build their neft with earth like ours, though fome breed in hollow trees, like the Swifts, and others in banks, like the Sand- martins. It is remarkable, that almoft all the late ob- fcrvers agree, thc^t in this part of America and • Pi-'rhaps we fliould except the bill, which is ftronger in fomp American Swallows. 5 Ja S;5 1 no IX SWALLOW, MARTIN, AND SWIFT. 55J in the adjacent iflands, fuch as Cayenne, St. Domingo, &c. the fpecies of Swallows are more numerous and various than in Europe, and that they refide there the whole year; while, on the contrary. Father Dutertre, who travelled through the Caribbees when the colonies were JLifl: planted, afliires us that Swallows are very rare in thelc iflands, and that they are migra- tory as in Europe*. If both thefe obfervations be regarded as well afcertained, they will fhew the influence of civilized man Cii nature, fince his pre fence is alone fufficient to invite whole fpecies to fettle and multiply. There is a cu- rious remark made by Hagftroem in h\%SwediJh Lapland^ that corroborates this remark : he re- lates that many birds and other animals, whe- ther from a predilection to human fociety or from views of intereft, gather near the new fet- tlements ; he excepts, however, the geefe and ducks, who obferve a different conduct, and, both in the mountains and in the vallies, lead their migrations in a diredion oppofite to thofe of the Laplanders. I (hall conclude by remarking with Bajon and many other obfc • s, that, in the iflands and con- tinent of America, there is often a great difference between the plumage of the male and female of the fame fpecies, and often a flill greater in the * ** During the feven or eight years that I lived there, I never faw mure than a dozen : they appear not (he fubjoins) except in the £ye or fix months that they are Teen in France," fame M-' rr-.^yci fill', ill ■ ■■ if;' SS4 BIRDS REALATED TO THE fame individual at different ages. And this faft will juftify the liberty which I (hall take in ranging thenn. I. The BLACK SWALLOW. Lf Petit Martinit Neir •, Buff. H:ruttdo Nigrop Gmel. Hiruudo Domlnicenjist Briflf. 'T^His bird, which inhabits St. Domingo, is fonnewhat differently fhaped from the Swift : the bill is rather (horter ; the legs ra- ther longer ; lb is the tail, and alfo lefs forked ; the wings much longer ; laftly, the feet do not feem in the figure to have their four tfits turned forward, nor does Briilbn tell how many^/&^-. ianges the toes have. This doubtlefs is the fame with the fpecies defcribed by Bdjon as almoft quite black, which frequents the dry favannas, and breeds in holes in the ground, and perches often on withered trees. It is fmaller than the Swift, and of a more uniform blacki(h, moft of the individuals not having a fingle fpot of any other colour in their whole plumage. Total length five inches and ten lines; the /. /. The Little Black Martintt (Swift). bill SWALLOW, MARTIN, AND SWIFT. 555 bill fix lines ; the tarfus five lines ; the alar ex- tent fifteen inches and a half 5 the tail two inches and a half, forked fix lines, and exceeded by the wings fourteen lines, and in fome eighteen lines. In one fpecimen there was a finall very narrow white bar on the front. I faw another in Maii- duit's excellent cabinet, that had been brought from Louifiana ; it was of the fame fize and nearly of the fame plumage, being of a blackilh gray without any glofs, and its legs not clothed with feathers [A]. s 1 a s ,c 11 11. The WHITE-BELLIED SWIFT*. Le Grand Martinet Noir a Ventre Blanc, BufF. Hirundo Dominicenfis, Gmel. Hirundo cantu Alaudam referenst Klein. The iS/. Domingo Sival/ew, Lath. T CONCEIVE this bird to be a Swift from the •■' account given by Father Feuillee, who faw it in St. Domingo. He calls it indeed a Siva/- /ow, but then he compares it to the Swifts, with regard to fize, (hape, and even colours. He faw it in the month of May fitting on a rock, • i. c. The White-bellieJ great black Martinet (Swift). [A] Specific charadler of \.\iQ Hirumio Nigra: "It is entirely black." and \m^- ss^ BIRDS RELATED TO THE and took its fong for that of a lark, till the opening dawn enabled him to diftinguifli it. He affures us that numbers of thefe birds are feen in the American iflands in the months of May, June, and July. The predominant colour of the plumage is £ne black, with the glofs of burnifhed fteel ; it i'preads not only on the head, and all the upper fide of the body, including the fuperior coverts of the tail, but alfo on the throat, the neck, the breaft, the flanks, thr thighs, the fmall coverts of the wings ; the quills, the, great ftiperiorand infeiior coverts of the wings, and the quills of fche tail, are blackifli ; the inferior coverts of the tail and of the jelly are white; the bill and legs brown. Total length feven inches ; the bill eight lines ; the tarfus fix ; the alar extent fourteen inches and two lines ; the tail two inches and three quarters, forked nine lines, compofed of twelve quills; it does not projed beyond the wings. Commcrfon brought from'America three birds much like the one defcribed by BrifTon, and which feem to belong to the fame fpecies [A]. [A] Specific charaiSer of the Hirundo Dominicenjii: " It is blackj with a fteel glofs ; its belly white." : ; SWALLOW, MARTIN, AND SWIFT. sSf IIL The PERUVIAN SWALLOW. Le Martinet Noir (ff BiaHc a Ceinture Gri/e Hirundo Peruviana, Gmel. Hirundo Peruviana Major, Brifl*. Buff. ^TT^HE plumage of this bird confifts of three •^ principal colours : black is fpread over the back, and as far as the fuperior covertb of the tail inclufively ; fnowy white on the under fide of the body ; light cinereoiis on the head, the throat, the neck, the fuperior coverts of the wings, their quills, and thofe of the tail : all thefe quills arc edged w^ith yellowifh gray, and on the belly there is a light a(h- coloured girdle. This bird is found in Peru, where it was de- fcribed by Father Feuillee. Like all the Swifts, it has fhort legs ; the bill (hort and broad at its bafe ; the nails hooked and flrong, black like the bill ; and the tail forked. f i, e. The black and white Swift with a gray girdle. .t^:-' •■•'li ■f:;!:-^ 558 BIRDS RELATED TO THE IV. The WHITE-COLLARED SWIFT. Li Martinet a Collier B/ane, Buff. Hirundo Cajantnfts^ Gmel. ^TpHis is a new fpecies which we received , ^ from the ifland of Cayenne. We have ranged it with the Swifts, becaufe it has the four toes turned forward. The collar which diftinguifhes it is of a pure white, and very confpicuous on the bluifh black, which is the prevailing colour of its plumage. The part of this collar which pafTes under the neck forms a narrow band, and terminates on each fide in a large white fpot, which occupies the throat and all the upper fide of the neck ; from the corners of the bill rife two fmall di- verging white bands, the one flretching above the eye to form an eye-lid, the other pafles un- der the eye to fome diftance ; laftly, on each fide of the lower belly there is a white fpot placed in fuch a manner, that it appears below and above; the reft of the upper and under fides, including the fmall and middle coverts of the wings, is of a velvet black with violet reflexions ; what appears of the great coverts of the wings next the body is brown edged with white ; the great quills and thofe of the tail are black ; the former bor- dered interiorly with rufty brown ; the bill and legs \ SWALLOW, MARTIN, AND SWIFT. 559 legs black ; the feet feathered to the nails. Ba- * jon fays that this Swift breeds in houfes. I have feen its neft at Mauduit's ; it was very large, well ftuffed, and conftruifted with the cotton of dog's-bane * ; it had the Ihape of a truncated cone, of which one of the bafes was five inches in diameter, and the other three inches ; its length was nini? inches ; it appeared to have ad- hered by its lal*ge bafe, compofed of a (brt of pafteboard made o'' t' ame fubftance: ^*"-: ca- vity of this nell was o..ided obliquely near its middle by a partition, which extended near the bafe where the eg?s were lodged, and near that part there was a fmall heap of very foft dog's bane, which formed a kind of valve, and feemed intended to fcreen the young from the external air. Such precautions, in fo warm a climate, (hews that thefe Swifts feel acutely the fenfa- tion of cold. They are as large as the common Martins. Total length, being the average of feveral fpe- cimens, five inches, and from three to eight lines; the bill fix or feven ; the tarfus three or five; the hind nail ilender; the tail from two inches to two inches and two lines, forked eight lines, and exceeds the wings from feven to twelve lines. - * jipocynum Cannabinum, Linn. .-.e; • I M S6o BIRDS RELATED TO THE V. The ASH-BELLIED SWALLOW* Le Petite Hirondellt Noire a Ventre Cendre *, BufF. Hirundo Ctnerea, Gmel. Hirundt Peruvianat BrifT* t . THIS Peruvian Swallow, according to Fathei' Feuillee, is much fmaller than the Eu- ropean Swallows ; its tail is forked, its bill very fliort and almoft ftraight ; the head and all the upper fide of the body, including the fuperior coverts of the wings and taiJ, are of a fhining black ; all the under fide of the body cinereous; laftly, the quills of the wings and of the tail are of a dull a(h-colour, edged with yellowilh gray [A]. VI. THE BLUE-SWALLOW of LOUISIANA. B"ff. Hirtmdo Fitlaeea, Gmel* ^'T^HE whole plumage is of a deep blue, yet ^ not uniform, but gloffed with different tints of violet; the great quills of the wings are • The Afh-bellied little black Swallow. [A] Specific charafter of the Hirundo Cinerea : ** It is black, below cinereous ; the quills of ita wings and tail gray ; its orbits brown." alfo SWALLOW, MARTIN, AND SWIFT. 561 alfo black, though only on the infide, and not feen unlefs tbe wings are fpread ; the bill and legs are black ; the bill a little hooked. Total length fix inches and fix lines ; the bill feven lines and a half; the tail very forked, and exceeded five lines by the wings, whicii are very long. M. Lebeanx hns brouqjht from the fame conn- try another fpecimen, which is evidently of the fame kind, though larger, and the quills of the tail and wings, and the primary coverts of the wings, are blackilh, without any fteel glofs. Total length eight inches and a half ; the bill nine lines, pretty ftrong and fomewhat hooked ; the tail three inches, forked an inch, and falls a little (hort of the wings [A]. Varieties. The Blue Swallow of Louifiana feems to be the principal ftem which has given origin to. four varieties, two of which are fpread through the north, and the other two through the fouth. I. The Cayenne Swallow * of the Planches [A] Specific charafter of the Hirundo Viclacea: " It is dijk blue, tinged with violet ; the infide of its greater wiag-quiih, it£ bill, and its legs, are black/' • Hirunde Cbalytea, Gmel. Hirundo Cajanett^s, Briff. The Chalybeate Sival/ow, Lath. VOL. VI, 00 £m/U' Uti '' V, n M ! m m 11! i!:' m 561 BIRDS RELATED TO THE Enluminces, It is the mort common fpcclcs \ix the i{laiid of Cayenne, where it remains the whole year. It is faid to fit frequently among brufli wood, and on half-burnt trunks that bear t\o leaves. It does not build a neft> but breeds in hollow trees. The upper furface of the head and of the body is blackiQi, glofled with violet ; the wings and the tail the fame, but edged with a lighter colour : all the under fur- face of the body is rufty gray veined with brown, and growing more dilute on the lower belly and the inferior coverts of the tail. Total length lix inches ; the bill nine lines and a half, ftronger than that of the Swallows' ; the tarfus five or fix lines; the hind toe and nail are the Ihortefl: ; the alar extent fourteen inches ; the tail two inches and a half; forked fix or \Q\ei\ lines, and exceeded by the wings about three lines. II. 1 have feen four blue Swallows brought from South America by Commerfon, which were of a middle lize between thofe of Cayenne and Louifiana, and which differed only in the colours of the lower furface of the body. In three of them the throat was brown gray, and the under fide of the body white. The fourth, which came from Buenos Ayres, had its throat and all the under fide of its body white, fprinklcd with brown fpots, which aie more frequent on the fore parts, and wider fcattered on the lower belly. III. The SWALLOW, MARTIN, AND SWIFT. 563 IIL The Carolina bird* which Cate{by calls the Purple Martin, It belongs to the lame cli- mate, and is of the fame bulk with the one from Buenos Ayres, juft mentioned. A fine deep purple is fpread over all its plumage, and ftill more interne on the quills of the tail and of the wings ; the bill and legs are rather longer than thofe of the preceding varieties, and its tail, though fhort, projet^s fomewhat beyond the wings. It neftles in holes made on purpofe for it around the houfes, and in gourds which are fet on poles to invite it. It is eiteemed ufeful becaufe it fcares away the birds of prey, and the ravenous beafts, or rather gives notice of their appearance. It leaves Virginia and Caro- lina on the approach of winter, and returns ia the fpring. Total length feven inches and eight lines; the bill ten lines; the tarfus eight hnes ; the tail two inches and eight lines, and forked fourteen lines, projecting a little beyond the wings. IV. The Swallow from Hudfoji's Bay, termed by Edwards T'Joe Great American Martin +. Like • Hirundo Purpurea, Gmel. The Purple ■'^nv'/t, Penn. The Puiple-S'u.allo'Wt Lath. Specific charader: " It is entirely purple, its tail forked.'* \ Hirundo-Subis, Linn, and Gmel. lUrur.do Freti Hudfonis, Brill"". The Ca>iada Sioallotv, Lath. Specific charaftcr: " It is bluifh black; its mouth and its Mnder fide whitiili cinereous." 0 0 2 the ■ n ' w "jv !:U m 364 BIRDS RELATED TO THE the preceding varieties, it \us a ftroiigcr bill than ufual ; the upper lurfacc of the head and body is of a fliiiiiug piirplilli black, and there is a little white at the bale of the bill ; the great quills of the wings, and all thole of the tail, are black without any glofs, and edged with lighter colour; the upper edge of the wing whitifh ; the throat and breall deep gray ; the fides brown ; the uiuKr lurface of the body white, fhadc d with a brown cad ; the bill and legs blackifh. Total length near eight inches ; the bill eight lines ; the edges of the upper mandible fcalloped near the point ; the tarfus {even lines; the tail near three inches, forked feven or eight lines» and exceeding the wings three lines. VII. The BRASILIAN SWALLOW. La Ta;ere, BufF. Hirundo Taptra, Linn. Gmel. Ray, Sloane. Hirundo Americana, BriiT. and Klein. Tapera, Marcgr. THIS Brafilian Swallow, Marcgrave tells us, refembles much the European ; its fize the fame j its manner of circling alfo the fame ; and its legs as fhort, and feet of a limilar fliape. The upper SWALLOW, MARTIN, AND SWIFT. 565 Upper fide of the head and body, including the wings and the tail, are brown gray, but the quilKs r/thc wings and the extremity of the tail browner than the reft; the throat and bread gray mixed with white ; the belly white, and alfo the inferior coverts of the tall ; the bill and the eyes are bhrk ; the legs brown. Total length hve inches and three quarters ; the bill eight lines, and its opening extends be- yond the eyes ; the tarfus fix lines ; the alar ex- tent tw^.[ SWALLOW, MARTIN, AND SWIFT. 567 :l A^ IX. The WHITE BELLIED CAYENNE SWALLOW, Buff. Hhundo Ltucopterot Gmel. The White-iKtnged Siuallo ic, Lath. LVERY white fpreads not only over all the inder furfiice of the body, including the inferior coverts of the tail, but alfo on the rump, and it borders the great coverts of the wings ; and this edging extends more or lefs in different individuals ; the upper lide of the head, neck, and body, and the fmall fuperior coverts of the wings, are cinereous, with reflexions which are more or lefs confpicuous, and fluduate be- tween green and blue, and of which there are alfo fome traces on the quills of the wings and of the tail, whofe ground colour is brown. This handfome Swallow Ikims along the ground like ours, circles in the overflowed fa- vannas of Guiana, and perches on the loweft branches of leaflcfs trees. Total length from four and a quai ter to five inches ; the bill fix or eight lines ; the tarfus nv€ or fix ; the hind nail ftrongeft after the middle one; the tail an inch and a half, forked two or three lines, and exceeded, from three to fix lines, by the wings. We may regard the Spotted-bellied Cayenne 004 Swallow I '■ i'l :r;l ii-^ H''i!! ,h'-\ 1(1 i • I '-I'M' •' li.:,: '■Jri: " i ' w 568 BIRDS RELATED TO THE Swallow as a variety of this fpecies, differing only ill its plumage, and the ground colours being ftill nearly the fame, always browniQi- gray and white ; bur the upper fide of the body, and of the quills of the wings and of the tail, is of an uniform brown, without any rcfle£tion or mixture of white ; the under fide, on the con- trary, which in the other is of an uniform white, is in this bird white fprinkled with oval brown fpots, thicker on the fore part of the neck and of the breall, and thinner towards the tail.— In fome of the White-bellied Swal- lows there is a mixture of white on the upper coverts of the wings, and the gray or brown of the upper furface of the body is lefs glofly. X. The ESCULENT SWALLOW. La Salangane, BufT. Hiruniio E/cuUnta, Linn, and Gmel. jlpus Marina^ R imphius and Olearius. Hirun(io Riparia Cochincbiner.fif^ BriiTt HirunJo nido eduh, Bontius. LayoHg'L>^yong, Marfd. Sumatra. qalangane is the name which the inhabi- •^ tants of the Philippines beftow on a fmall Sand-martin, celebrated for the fingular quality of its ned, which is eaten and efteemed a great delicacy SWALLOW, MARTIN, AND SWIFT. 569 delicacy in China, and in many of the other adjacent countries*. The high price which it bears tempts frequently to adulterate it, which, together with the fables that have been propa- gated on the lubje£t, occailons much oblcurity and contradidion. Thefe nefts have been compared to thofe of the Halcyons^ and many have haftily concluded that they were the fame. The ancients con- ceived the latter to be real birds' nefts, compofed ofilime, froth, and other impurities that float on the furface of the fca, and they dirtinguiOied them into feveral kinds. The one mentioned by Ariftotle was of a fphericil form, its mouth narrow, of a ruicy colour, and of a fpongy cel- lular fubftance, cotififting chiefly of tifli-bones f. But a flight comparifon with the defcription which Di)(ftor Vitaliano Donati gives of the Alcyonium of the Gulf of Venice \ will convince 1; % 'ill I ' '''''ii ; ♦ In China thtfe neds are called Saroi-Bouras ; in Japan, y<-»- OWfl, J n ku\ in India, Pntong, t Anft. Hiji. Anim. Lib. IX. 14. Plin. lib XXXIL 8. There are always many of thefe bones and fcales of" fifties in the neft of our halcyon or king-filher, but they are thinly fcattered among the duft on which t'lis bird lays its egijs, and do not enter into the compofition of the nell ; for our king-fiihcr never builds one. X The Alcyohium is h marine body . . . approaches the round or convex figure above ... its furface tuberous . . . completely in- verted with very thick (pines . . . of an earthy colour, but free from filth, of a wax-colour . . . the heart mucu fofier . . fpongy and cavernous . . . with m.iny fpines much entangled and cloaihed with flcfli, &c.'' ^toria HaturaU marina dell Jdriatico, p- 58, US . .ft 570 BIRDS RELATED TO THE us that they are exactly the fame, and only the nidi of fca infecfls. Tlie only difference is that Donati favs its entrance is larsje, and Arif- totle that it is fmall ; but thcfe terms are evi- dently vague : the Italian finds the mouth to be one lixth of the width of the whole. But the patong of the Eaft-Indies is the real neft of a fpecics of Swallow. Writers are not agreed either with regard to its materials, its form, or the places where it is found : fome aflert that it is attached to rocks, clofe on the furface of the water* ; others, that it is lodged in the hollows of thefe rocks -f ; and others, that it is concealed in holes made in the ground J. And Gemelli Carreri adds, " that the failors are always in fearch along the beach, and when they find earth thrown up, they open the fpot with a flick, and take the eggs and the young, which are reckoned equally delicate §." With regard to the form of thefe nefts, fomc aitirm that they arc hemlfpherical ||, while others lay, ** that they have many cells, which are like large conglutinated fliells, and marked as fuch \\\\)\Jln£e and rugofities -{-.'* \ • Curiofites deln Ka'ure U tn IVorm. 4 father Philip Marin. ////?. de la Chine, p. 42, Of SWALLOW, MARTIN, AND SWIFT. 571 Of its -fubftance, the accounts are ftill more various. Some aflert that it is ilill unknown * ; others, that it is the froth of the fea, or fifh- fpawn ; others, that it is flrongly aromatic ; others, that it is infipid; others, that it is a juice gathered by the Salanganes from the tree called calambouc ; others, that it is compofed of a vifcous fubftance difcharged from the bill in the love feafon ; others, that it is formed of the fifh-plants found on the fea : but the greater number as:ree, that the fubll:auce of thele nefls is tranfparent and Hke ifuiglafs, which is the fai^. The Chinefc fiflicrs nfiured Kaempfcr that thofe ufually fold were nothing but a preparation of the marine polypi, and he adds, that by his receipt the colour may be imitated. All thefe difcordant relations prove that various fubflanccs, natural or artificial -I', have at different times, and in different countries, been regarded as the nefts of the Salangane. In this (late of uncer- tainty, I could not do better than apply for in- • Kircher, Du Halde, &c. + Here is Kaempfer's recipe : Flrft fkin the polypes, and deep the flefli in a folution of alum for three days ; then rub, walh, and clean it till it become tranfparent, and afterwards pickle it. ////?. ^m(a» GmeU THIS bird is ufually called the Com Swallow in the Ifle of France ; it haunts the wheat fields, the glades of the woods, and prefers the uplaiiJs ; it frequently fits on trees and on floncs; it fol'ows the herds, or rather the in- fects V. hith mfcA them: it is alio {tcn^ from lime to time, flving in large troops behind the vef'CiS lyin^- \u t!;c roa;ls, and coiiftniitly in the pui iliit of \vin