CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WILLARD FIsKE ENDOWMENT Birds:the elements of ornithology. ‘Tn Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924000133425 BIRDS: THE ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. BY ST. GEORGE MIVART, F.R.S. : a WITH 174 ILLUSTRATIONS, WHEREOF 140 ARE ORIGINAL DRAWINGS, LONDON: R. H. PORTER, 18 PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE, AND DULAU & 00., SOHO SQUARE, W. ow NOME iv PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. TO My W IFE, WHOSE LOVE OF BIRDS FIRST LED ME TO THE STUDY OF Ornithology, | DEDICATE THIS BOOK. HURSTCOTE, May 1892. PREFACE —@—— Tus small volume is put forward in the hope of supplying a want which its Author has himself felt keenly. It is intended to supply, in a small compass, a general view of the Class of Birds; together with such a knowledge of their structure, activities, geological and geographical relations, and classifi- cation as may fit the student to enter upon a serious study of Ornithology. The Author desires to express his great obligation to Dr. R. Bowdler Sharpe, F.L.S8., F.Z.S., who has not only given constant and most valuable aid, but has most kindly read through the whole of the proofs. Thanks are also due to Dr. P. L. Sclater, F.R.S., Secretary to the Zoological Society of London, Mr. Osbert Salvin, F.R.S., Mr. H. Seebohm, F.Z8., Mr. Howard Saunders, F.L.S., Mr. E. Hargitt, R.L., F.Z.8., and Mr. Scott B. Wilson, F.Z.8., for supplying various points of incidental information. CONTENTS. 2 egaue DBDIGATION®. es) 8. Seay SS aw!) Sa ee 5 PREFAGH, %. @o.gioab GG Ge ie SO BS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. . . . 6 7 «© «© © @ © ew wo CHAPTER IT, Tue ExrurnanL StRucrure oF Binps ... CHAPTER III. Tun INTERNAL SKBLBTON . . 2 6 6 1 te ww CHAPTER IV. Tus orHpR Systems oF ORGANS, AND THE Dzvetop- MENT AND Mi@ration oF Binps CHAPTER V. Tuy GEOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL RELATIONS OF IBIBDS!¢: 2420) ap Be Se. Se we OS OHAPTER VI. Tur CLASSIFICATION OF Brrps . ALPHABHTIOAL INDEX . .. . 2. 1. «1 ew eee 134 167 202 235 251 307 BIRDS: THE ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. CHAPTER I. IntTRODUCTION. CpEMETEOLOG Y is a most popular branch of Natural History. That it should be so is a necessary result of the exceptional beauty of Birds, which by their vivacious move- ments force themselves on our notice and lend animation to every landscape. No other creatures, save certain insects, can rival them in brilliancy of colour, and none can charm our ears with such melody or startle them by the utterance of articulate speech. Their intelligence is considerable: some can be taught to perform curious tricks, and others are easily domesticated. Their emotional nature is also attractive ; the conjugal affec- tion of not a few birds is remarkable, while the devotion they show to their offspring and the marvellous skill with which many of them prepare a shelter for their brood are known to everyone. Birds together constitute a group which is ranked as a “Class,” and which may be compared and contrasted with the Class of Beasts (or Mammals), the Class of Reptiles, and the Class of Fishes, all which Classes agree together in being dis- tinguished as back-boned, or Vertebrate, animals. B 2 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. The Class of Birds stands out in startling contrast to all the other three Classes just referred to, and is one of the most ° definite, uniform, and easily defined groups (of its own rank) in the whole Animal Kingdom *. : All Birds have feathers, and no such thing as a feather is possessed by any creature which is not a Bird. This character dlone, therefore, suffices to define the whole Class. : The uniformity of their structure is very remarkable. While some beasts, some reptiles, and some fishes have but a pair of limbs, and other reptiles and fishes have none, all Birds have two pairs—a pair of wings and a pair of legs. Most beasts and reptiles have a long tail, while some are without any; but every existing Bird has a tail which, feathers apart, is shortt. Some beasts, some reptiles, and some fishes are edentulous, while most have teeth; but no living Bird possesses such structures. Some beasts, some reptiles, and some fishes are eyeless ; but every Bird has a pair of eyes. Birds are eminently aérial creatures, and there are but very few which have no power of flight; while none of the living . members of the other Classes can truly fly except Bats; though , some ancient reptiles (Pterodactyles) possessed a similar power. Although many birds are more or less aquatic in their habits, none are so completely so as either the Whales and Porpoises amongst beasts, or certain reptiles. Birds differ much in size, as, ¢e.g., the Ostrich and the Wren; but the differences are not so great as those which nee between different beasts, different reptiles, and different shes. No Bird, however cold a climate it may inhabit, ever falls into prolonged winter sleep (hibernates) as do some mammals (e.g-, the Dormouse) and a number of reptiles. Many Birds avoid undue cold or heat by a periodical change of place, or “migration,” which is fixed and definite. Thus some Birds come to us in winter from the North, and more in summer from the South. Different kinds of Birds inhabit different regions of the earth’s surface, and their distribution is necessarily restricted by the supply of suitable food and other conditions needful for * All animals taken together are spoken of as the Animal Ki i contrast and distinction to the Vegetable Kingdom, which ra cieveabe plants. t In Chapter V. we shall see that this was not always the caso, INTRODUCTION. 3 their existence. Birds have also definite relations to past time —relations which are revealed to us by their fossil remains preserved in different strata of the earth’s crust. The more numerous any set of objects may be, the more necessary it is to arrange them in groups—. ¢., to classify them. Without this it is impossible for us to study and com- prehend such objects. As Birds are very numerous in their kinds, their classification is especially necessary, while the very uniformity of their structure makes that process especially difficult. Nevertheless, the study of their classification is a very interesting one, on account of their structure, their powers, the geographical relations of different kinds of Birds and their relations with the past history of our planet. Thus the science of Ornithology deals with the structure, functions, external relations, and classification of Birds. But in order that the student may be able to study these subjects profitably, he should possess some preliminary acquaintance with a considerable number of different kinds of Birds. He will again and again meet with the names of different kinds, and of groups of kinds, of Birds; and no advance in Ornithological knowledge can be made by a reader who, when he meets with any such name, is not provided with a corresponding mental image sufficiently distinct to enable him to group bis freshly acquired knowledge around it. Our first task, therefore, shall be to place before the student the names and figures of such a number of Birds of different kinds as may enable him to acquire a certain preliminary grasp of his subject—the subject-matter of his subsequent study. It will be well, however, that, the reader, after having perused this introduction, should repair to some Zoological Garden or Museum, and there acquaint himself more fully with the external .aspect of the Birds here referred to. Failing this, the next best thing he can do is to carefully examine all the good pictures of Birds he can get access to. It is always well to advance from the better known to the less known or unknown. We will therefore begin with that Bird which must be most familiar to al our readers—the Common Fowl. All the various breeds of this animal have been derived from one or more wild species—Jungle-fowls—which have their home in India and the Indian Archipelago, but were introduced into Europe in very ancient times. ; B2 4 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. One species, named Grallus bankiva *, has a very wide range— namely, from the Himalaya down to the Philippine Islands and Timor. Another species is peculiar to Ceylon, and two or three more are found in different parts of the wide region inhabited by Gallus bankiva. They all resemble, more or less nearly, the Game-fowl, and have very similar voices and _ habits. Hardly less known to most of us than the Fowl is the Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), which also is of Asiatic origin, though close to the frontiers of Europe—namely, the basin of the Caspian, the valleys of the Caucasus and Asia Minor. That singular spot—the island ot Corsica—which has so many species of flowering plants absolutely peculiar to it, is also claimed as a natural home of the Pheasant, which, as an intro- duced resident, ranges all over Europe (even to our Outer Hebrides), except the most northern parts of the Continent and, strange as it may appear, the Iberian peninsula. In Central and Southern Asia there are some five-and-thirty species of Pheasant, while none are found wild in any other part of the world. Perhaps the most beautiful of all is Lady Amherst’s Pheasant (Zhaumalea amherstic), which has its plu- mage shaped like that of the Gold Pheasant, but is far more delicate and refined in its coloration ; while the Chinese Reeves’s Pheasant (Phasianus reevesii) has by far the longest tail. The wonderful Argus Pheasant (Argus giganteus) would be remarkable also for its length of tail were not this peculiarity overshadowed by its enormous wings, the feathers of which are decorated with a multitude of beautiful eye-like spots. Its wings are rather for parade than use, as the bird can only fly with them for short distances with a heavy flight. It frequents the thickest jungles, and is, therefore, but very rarely seen, even by the natives of the Indo-Malayan region it inhabits. The last-named region and the Himalayas produce the beautiful Peacock Pheasants (e. g., Polyplectron bicalcaratum), which have not only the wings, but also the back and tail, covered with lovely eye-like spots. The true Peacocks—of which there * In Zoology (and therefore in that branch of it with which we are con- cerned—viz., Grenolngy each kind of creature has a name formed of two words. The first (e.g. Gadlus) indicates to which smaller group or “ genus” the creature belongs. The second word (e. g. bankiva) denotes which it is of such genus. This is like the Christian and surname of a ma with the surname standing first, species n, only INTRODUCTION. 5 are two species (Pavo cristatus and Pavo javanicus)—are also exclusively inhabitants of India and its Archipelago, frequenting forests and jungles, especially in hilly and mountainous dis- tricts. Large flocks of these Birds, which may be seen in India, constitute one of the most gorgeous natural objects that zoologically rich region affords. Allied to the Pheasants are certain singular Birds, the Trago- paus—called Horned Tragopans because a curious fleshy process, or “horn,” is placed on either side of the head behind the eye (fig. 2). It is of different colours in different species, and can be distended and erected, while there is a similarly distensible “ wattle ” of different colours on the front of the throat. Fig. 1. The Argus Pheasant (Argus giganteus). These curious Birds have a more northern range than those last before-mentioned. The Tragopans extend from the Hima- layas into Southern China. Thus all the Birds which most closely resemble the Fowl and the Pheasant—all those which have been hitherto noticed— are inhabitants of Central or Southern Asia, while not one of them is found in Africa. But a sufficiently well-known domestic Bird—the Guinea- fowl (Numida meleagris)—is of African origin; and at least ten other species are to be found in the same Continent (including Madagascar, which has two species), but nowhere else in the world. The aspect of these creatures is very different from that of the Asiatic Birds we have hitherto called attention to. 6 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. Their peculiar voice, which no one can forget who has once heard it, is said sometimes to produce an almost stunning noise when these flocks (and they live in flocks) assemble in hundreds, as they occasionally are said to do. The Crested species of West Africa (WV. cristata) is a handsome bird. America has contributed yet another denizen to our farm- Fig. 2. The Horned Tragopan (Ceriornis satyra). yards, which have thus been peopled from no less than three foreign Continents. The discoveries of Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci first made known to us the existence of the Turkey which was introduced into England towards the close of the reign of Henry VIII., and probably gained its English appellation from its having been brought to England in ships * INTRODUCTION. , 7 which traded with the Levant. It is strangely different in aspect from the Guinea-fowls and the Pheasants, though the fleshy process above the beak and that on the throat remind us slightly of the Tragopans, or the Fowls with their combs and wattles. The Turkey of Central America (Meleagris ocellata) is one of Fig. 3. The Crested Guinea-fowl (Numida cristata). the most gorgeous of all Birds, from the brilliant metallic lustre of its plumage of blue and green and other tints and colours. The Common Turkey was once widely distributed over the more Southern region of the United States, and, not long ago at the least, was plentiful in the valleys of the Mississippi and Missouri. Franklin recommended the adoption of the Bird 8 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY, as a national symbol of the Republic instead of that hackneyed emblem the Eagle. South and Central America, though they have no Fowls, Pheasants, Guinea-fowls, or Turkeys, possess between fifty and sixty large species of Birds, known as Curassows, of which the Crested Curassow (Ora alector) may standasa type. They are plain and sombre in colour compared with the brilliant creatures to which we have before referred. They are also more thoroughly arboreal in their habits, being (like so many species which inhabit that widest of forest-regions—Brazil) specially modified Fig. 4. The Crested Curassow (Crazx alector). to live in trees, high up on which they construct their nests of twigs. Aaetalie has no birds to show, like those hitherto enumerated, although its curious mound-building Birds, or « Megapodes,” go by the misnomer of “ Brush-turkeys,”—no doubt on account of the wattled skin of the head and neck which some of them possess. One handsome kind (Leipoa ocellata) has its plumage decorated with eye-like markings. These Megapodes are cele- brated for the mounds they raise to receive their eggs. The INTRODUCTION. 9 eggs therem deposited are hatched, not, as with other Birds, by the warmth of the body of the parent, but by the heat given out by decomposing matter which they are careful to enclose within their mounds. This absence of parental care in hatching results in the young Birds being forced at once to take care of themselves as soon as hatched. Therewith their development within the egg is so complete that they come forth full-fledged, so that they can fly at once, though it seems that they may actually attain a considerable size before they quit the mound *. Fig. 5. The Ocellated Mound-builder (Leipoa ocellata). Returning to our own domain, we may note that, relatively smnall as are the British Islands, they are nevertheless the exclu- sive home of a much valued Bird—the true Grouse (Lagopus scoticus). Itis one member of a genus the species of which range through the northern lands of both hemispheres, being one of -a number of genera which may be called “circumpolar.” Not only is it truly indigenous to the United Kingdom, but it is the one only Bird which is found here and nowhere else in the * See a note by Mr. Whitehead in ‘The Ibis’ for 1888, p. 411. 10 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY whole world. Its giant cousin, the Capercailzie (Tetrao uro- gallus), ranges from Scandinavia and the Siberian valley of the Yenesay to the Altai Mountains, the Alps, and the Pyrenees. A great contrast to the arboreal, polygamous, wild Caper- cailzie, is that familiar denizen of our home-fields—the Par- tridge (Perdix cinerea), which faithfully pairs with its gentle mate for life. For more than a hundred years it has had to sustain an unequal contest with the stronger and more pugna- cious red-legged kind (P. rufa) of South-western Europe, Fig. 6. The Californian Quail (Lophortyx californicus). which was introduced in 1770, and has obtained a foothold bhas in the greater part of our Eastern Counties. That miniature ee Partridge, the Quail (Coturnia communis), easily distinguished by its smaller size, very short tail, and pointed wings, is also a ground-bird like the Partridge, though it is well capable of flight, as is proved by the prodigious multitudes which cross the Mediterranean for a winter home in Africa. Of Quails there are some twenty kinds, ranging through the Old World south of the Arctic regions. Birds nearly allied ° , INTRODUCTION. II and often spoken of as Quails also exist in the New World, constituting some four-and-forty species, amongst which is the handsome Californian Quail (Lophortya californicus), with its elegant nodding crest. There are some very small Game Birds called “ Hemipodes ” or “ Bustard Quails,” which are very like Quails, though they Fig. 7. ano $n Mie np Wp The Black-breasted Hemipode (Turnix taigoor). can easily be distinguished from the latter by their not having- any hind toe. They are found from China to Australia, in India, Southern Europe, and in Africa. The Black-breasted Hemipode (Turnix taigoor) may serve as a type. The species which inhabits Spain (7. sylvatica) has even strayed as far as England. ‘Certain Birds known as Sand-grouse are so unlike true 12 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. Grouse that their English name is misleading. They constitute’ the two genera termed Pterocles and Syrrhaptes. The one which’ is found in Spain (Pterocles arenarius) may be considered the type. These Birds are inhabitants of Asia and Africa, but one species, Pallas’s Sand-grouse (Syrrhaptes paradowus), sometimes Fig. 8. Pallas’s Sand-grouse (Syrrhaptes paradoxus). migrates to Europe and into our own country. It first did so in very large numbers in 1863, and it seemed as if it would become a truly British Bird—a very interesting fact as bearing: upon the general question of the geographical distribution of species. Nevertheless it has now disappeared. A certain superficial resemblance, at the least, has been recog- nized as existing amongst all the Birds which have been as yet herein noticed by us. As the type of this assemblage may be taken that form with which we started, the Fowl; and as the generic name of the Fowl is Gallus, this whole assemblage or group of species have been, and still are, very commonly spoken: of as Gallinaceous Birds. : Only less familiar than the Common Fowl is the Pigeon, which. forms the type of another smaller, though still considerable, group of very attractive Birds, the close resemblance of which to one another must strike the most casual observer. They are fruit-eating and grain-eating, monogamous Birds, of which there are about 360 different species. Their geographical head- quarters are in and near New Guinea. About 120 species are found in the Indian Archipelago, while less than a quarter of that number exist either in the continent of India or Australia. Above 40 species are African, while at least 80 exist in either North or South America. INTRODUCTION, 13 _ All the domestic varieties seem to have been derived from the b pot Pigean (Columba livia), which is a native of South-eastern urope. Fig. 9. The Tooth-billed Pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris). 14 BLEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. A very interesting form, called the Tooth-billed Pigeon | (Didunculus strigirostris), inhabits the Samoan Islands, where it feeds on plantains. It used to be an entirely, or almost entirely, ground-bird, but is said to have taken to flying up - into trees to avoid cats and other enemies introduced of late : years by man into the region it inhabits. Thus it can fly toa certain extent when it needs to do so; but its main interest con- sists in the fact that of all existing Birds it is the one which most, resembles the extinct Dodo, which could not possibly fly at all. Not less familiar to us than Fowls and Pigeons are our . The Mallard (Anas boscas). Ducks and Geese. Of these there are very many species, and some are found almost all over the world. ; Our Domestic Goose is derived from the Grey Goose (Ansér: cinereus), the natural range of which extends over Europe and Central Asia. There are some fourteen species of the genus Anser, and of allied forms there are very many eet of them being found in one region or another almost all over the world, save that the true Geese eschew the Tropics. In spite of their webbed feet, the Geese generally, like the Domestic INTRODUCTION, 15 Goose, are Land Birds—at least during their breeding-season, and they breed on the ground. The. Ducks—for which the Wild Duck or Mallard (Anas boscas) may be' taken as a type—are all so much alike, that the genera into which their numerous species have been grouped present no characters which make it needful for us to deal with them here. They form another cosmopolitan group of broad- billed web-footed Birds. Fig. 12. The Black-necked Swan (Cygnus nigricollis). The Harlequin Duck, which rarely visits us from the North, isa handsome Bird. But there are many yet handsomer, and the brilliant and artificially-marked Mandarin Duck is especially noticeable. ‘ Of Swans there are only some eleven species, whereof that “ Rara avis” of our Latin grammars, the Black Swan, is Australian, while the White Swan with a black neck, from South America, is a remarkably handsome species. The Mergansers constitute a very small group of Water Birds, markedly different from the before noted web-footed ones, 16 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. through their narrow bills margined with tooth-like processes. | They are noted as great destroyers of fish. Of them, the | Goosander (Mergus merganser) may be taken as a type—a bird dear to the Scandinavian peasant. Mr. Seebohm tells * us that, as the House-martin has found a better shelter for its nest under. the eaves of a roof than in a cliff, so the Goosander immediately avails itself of the wooden boxes which the Fins fasten up in | the trees to tempt them. These are made with a trap-door Fig. 13. The Goosander (Mergus merganser). behind “‘so that the peasant may daily rob the nest, and thus make the too-confiding bird lay a score or more of eggs before % the wary man thinks it prudent to cease his depredations, and « allow the Goosander to sit upon the nest for fear of spoiling the next year’s harvest.” In a half-domesticated state, on the surface or margins of our ponds, by homely farmsteads or in pleasure-grounds, we often j find those small familiar Water-Birds known as “ Moor-hens” * British Birds, vol. iii. p. 626. INTRODUCTION. 17 (Gallinula chloropus). We see them sometimes swimming along, with a nodding motion of their heads, or feeding on aquatic insects, larval dragonflies, and others; sometimes hunting for slugs or worms amongst the grass of our meadows, jerking up their tail at every step. Our Moor-hen is the only one found in Europe, but also in Asia, Africa, and America, though not in Australia. There are some fifteen other species of the genus, which is avery cosmopolitan one. The Water- rail (Rallus aquaticus) is one of a group of about fifteen species Fig. 14. The Water-rail (Radlus aguatieus). found in most parts of the world save Australia and the Arctic regions. It is stili common in the fen-countries, and breeds in the Norfolk Broads. By its webless toes it differs from the Ducks and Geese, but that character increases its resemblance to the Land-rail (fig. 15) or Corn-crake (Crea pratensis), the harsh voice of which (like a pen drawn across the teeth of a comb)’ may be heard in our cornfields and dry meadows. The group to which the genera Crex and Gallinula alike belong (that is, the family of the Rails) comprises some 167 species, some or other of which are found all over the world, save in the to) 18 ELEMENTS OF OBNITHOLOGY. Arctic and Antarctic regions. One of these forms—an aquatic one common in England, and abundant on the Norfolk Broads— Fig. 15. Fig. 16. The Ooot (Fulica atra), is the Coot (Fulica atra), which resembles the Moor-hen in its habits, and, like that species, resides with us all the year through. INTRODUCTION, 19 It differs, however, in having its toes bordered with a scalloped membrane, so thatit is a sort of half-web-footed Bird. Another Bird with also half-webbed or “lobed” feet is the South- American one named Heliornis fulica. ; To such Birds as the Coot and its allies we shall have again to refer *. Fig. 17. The American Fin-foot (Heliornis fulica). Yet another very common inhabitant of our lakes and ponds, which also has its toes festooned with membrane, and notable for its soft plumage, is the Dabchick (fig. 18), or Little Grebe (Podiceps minor), But seldom found on land, where it walks badly, and rarely taking the wing, it is a most ready diver, diving with perfect ease when but a week old, and swimming as soon as hatched. It and a few other larger Grebes found in * See below, p. 63. C2 20 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. Fig. 18. Fig. 19. The Great Northern Diver (Colymbus glacialis), INTRODUCTION. 21 the British Isles form part of a family of about thirty species— a group spread over the world, mainly in the temperate regions of both Hemispheres. Still more aquatic in their habits, and perfect in their diving movements, are the half-dozen or so of Divers, par excellence, whereof our Great Northern Diver (Colymbus glacialis) may serve as an example. It is a large bird, which breeds in the Fig. 20. The Common Guillemot ( Uria troile). north of North America, and visits the coasts of England and Scotland in the winter. The Divers live chiefly in the sea, feeding on moderate-sized fishes, which they catch while under water. They all inhabit high latitudes. Another much commoner but very interesting bird is the Common Guillemot (Uria troile). Extremely maritime in its 22 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. habits, and also a most ready diver, it lives upon the open sea ‘save at the breeding-time, when it seeks some rocky cliff, such , as the Bass Rock or Flamborough Head. In such places they. assemble in vast numbers, and Guillemots are often seen in: thousands at their breeding-places. There each hen bird lays but a single large egg, not deposited in any nest, but simply on some ledge or in some fissure of therocks. Their most variously coloured eggs are in much request as food, and desperate risks are run in obtaining them from the often precipitous localities where they are laid. Young birds, incapable of flight, are to be found on the sea, though how they get there from their lofty hatching-place has not yet been ascertained. A small bird—nearly related to the Common Guillemot—culled the Sea-dove or Little Auk (Alle nigricans), visits us in winter from Spitzbergen. There it breeds in incredible numbers. It is more commonly to be found in the Orkneys and Shetlands than further south in our Islands. The Razorbill (Alca torda) is very like a Guillemot, save for its high, sharp-edged, and hooked bill. It is confined to the North Atlantic Ocean, and such prolongations of that ocean as the British Seas. There it catches fish with great dexterity, , pursuing them under water in what may be called aquatic flight, as its wings as well as its webbed feet aid its pursuit. Its principal interest, however, consists in the fact that it is the | nearest living representative of the Great Auk or Gare-fowl. (Alea impennis), which seems to have become extinct about the year 1844. Some 76 skins and 9 skeletons, with 68 eggs and a few bones, preserved in collections, are all the relics: we have of this strange Bird. It had absolutely no power of flight, and was as large as a Goose. On land it ran and walked in an upright attitude, but dived and swam under water with extreme celerity and ease. Two hundred and seventy years ago. hundreds at a time could be taken at the coast of Newfound-: land; but the last one recorded to have been taken in our Islands was at Waterford Harbour in 1834. Its breeding- places ranged from the north of Scotland, the Hebrides and Iceland, to Labrador, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia, and it was entirely confined to the Northern Hemisphere. Another strictly aquatic and marine Bird with no powers of flight is now entirely confined to the Southern Hemisphere. This is the King Penguin (Aptenodytes longirostris), which may be selected as an example of about a dozen and half of Penguins INTRODUCTION. 23 of different kinds. The King Penguin of the Antarctic Ocean— Kerguelen, the Falkland Islands, &c.—-still exists in enormous numbers, passing the greater part of its time in the water, where it swims by means of its wings only, its feet serving but as rudders. On land it stands and walks in an upright position (fig. 22). Fig. 21. at The Great Auk (Alca impennis). A curious and much smaller Bird, called the Puffin (Fratercula arctica), or Sea-parrot (fig. 23), which inhabits rocky districts of our coasts, may serve as the type of some eight other species which have a circumpolar distribution. They lay but a single egg, which they sometimes deposit in the cleft of a rock, while sometimes they dispute with rabbits the accommodation of their burrows. They are clumsy-looking Birds, which nevertheless have a rapid though not lofty flight. 24 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY, From the various extremely aquatic Birds which have been here noticed, beginning with the Divers, we may now pass to another set of Birds of different structure, which are not less wonderfully agile in their subaqueous movements in pursuit of prey. Of Fig. 22. zw The King Penguin (Aptenodytes longirostris). these, our English species the Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) and the Shag (P. graculus) may be taken as types, and some thirty or more other kinds are to be found in different parts of the world, save in the Polar regions and amongst the Pacific Islands. Ardent and successful fishers, they, by the help of INTRODUCTION. 25 their wings and very well-webbed feet, outswim the fishes they pursue beneath the surface of the water. But skilful as they are, the more marine of our two forms, the Shag, is apt to be drowned by diving through a hole in the ice and not being able to find again its place of entrance, a task successfully performed by the Cormorant, which is habituated to fresh water. One species of Cormorant has been domesticated by Chinamen, who make use of it to catch fish while secured by a cord and collar. But the organization of the set of Birds with which we are now occupied finds its highest expression in the Darters. These are, The Puffin (Fratercula arctica), as it were, Cormorants with long necks, very curiously jointed, and with straightened and sharpened bills. Four species of the genus are distributed over America, South-eastern Asia, Africa, and Australia. These are none of them Sea Birds. They inhabit swamps and rivers, where they pursue fish with extraordinary agility, spearing them through with their sharp beak before seizing them in the mouth, as may often be seen with the American species (Plotus anhinga, fig, 24) in our Zoological Gardens. A curious bend or seeming lump in the neck is conspicuous, and indicates the spot where the neck-bones are modified in a most remarkable manner, to facilitate the unerring projection of the bill—like a spear- head—against the body of the fish the bird desires to transfix. In the Gannet or Booby, also called the Solan Goose (Sula 26 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. bassana), we meet once more with an Oceanic form. It may: serve as the type of a very small group of Marine Birds widely | distributed in the Tropics. The Gannet is a somewhat ungainly Bird, a little smaller than a Goose, and awkward in its movements on the land, Not only is it a perfect swimmer, but it is also remarkable for its wonderful powers of flight, soaring to great heights Fig. 24. The Darter (Plotus anhinga), and traversing a hundred miles or more of aérial space in one day. Though not possessed of the powers of diving which Darters and Divers enjoy, the Gannet, large and heavy bird though it be, will suddenly descend and plunge directly down wards to catch the fish on which it feeds most greedily. It is very local as to its breeding-places, there being but few such in INTRODUCTION. 27 Great Britain; amongst them the Bass Rock, Ailsa Craig, and Lundy Island may be mentioned *. The Gannet, like the Cormorant, has a slightly distensible naked portion of skin at the top of the throat in front, extending to the underside of the bill. This is greatly exaggerated in a Bird which is entirely strange to our own climes, though a common inhabitant of our Zoological Gardens. We refer to Fig. 25. The Common Gannet (Sula bassana). the Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), the unwieldy form and awkward gait of which, as well as its long bill with the great bag of skin beneath it and in front of the throat, must have strongly impressed every one who has seen it. Unwieldy as it is, and very web-footed, it is fond of perching on trees. It inhabits Africa and the Western and Central parts of Asia * Thousands breed at St. Kilda. 28 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. and South-eastern Europe. Other species of Pelicans are also found in North and South America, and there are about ten in all. Pelicans go in large troops, and though, like the Gannet, no divers, they will, like that bird, sometimes dash down verti- cally into the water from a great height in pursuit of the fish on which they feed, resting a very brief time on the surface of the water to swallow their prey, tossing up their bill and distending the pouch beneath it. Fig. 26. The Common Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus). Returning from such exotic creatures as Pelicans and Darters— to more familiar forms, when we think of Sea Birds, the Gulls of our coasts come naturally before the mind. The Common Gull (Larus canus) may serve as the type of a large group which is spread over the whole world, and consists of at least forty- eight kinds, all remarkably similar in form, general coloration, INTRODUCTION. 290 and mode of life. The common species is very often to be seen on the banks of the Thames, and many of the Gulls, though familiar objects at the sea-side, largely frequent inland waters, feeding on worms, insects, eggs, the nestlings of other Birds, mice, &c., as well as fish. Their flight is graceful, and they may often be seen sailing in circles in the breeze, with hardly a " perceptible motion of the wing. The Terns are yet more graceful in flight, but they walk Fig. 27. The Common Gull (Larus canus). with less ease, though they swim admirably. Their more slender, less bulky aspect, straighter bills, narrower wings, and long forked tails serve, with few exceptions, to distinguish them from the Gulls. There are, again, some fifty species of this group, some or other of which are to be found nearly all over the globe. Like the Gulls, they are noisy and gregarious, and are found on inland lakes as well as the sea-shore, feeding on . insects as well as fish. The Arctic Tern (Sterna macrura, fig. 28) may serve for a type, as it is almost as well known as the so-called Common Tern (S. fluviatilis), It comes to us in the latter half of April, breeding on islands near the coast. 30 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. There are also Robber-gulls, called Skuas, and the Great Skua (Stercorarius catarrhactes) breeds in Iceland, the Faroes, and the Fig. 28. Fig. 29. Head of the American Skimmer (Rhynchops nigra). sparse Shetland Islands. There are three curious Birds called Skim-' mers or Scissor-bills—one in Asia, one in Africa, and one in America. The last of these (Rhynchops nigra) has been observed INTRODUCTION. 31 flying backwards and forwards, with its long wings, fishing close to the surface, with the lower half of the beak ploughing the water. Itis the very singular shape of the beak which makes it specially noteworthy. With the Gulls our minds naturally associate that Oceanic Bird with an ill-omened name, the Storm-petrel (Procellaria pelagica), which breeds on Lundy Island and on others off our Western coasts. These birds roam over the Atlantic and are known as “ Mother Carey’s Chickens.” They differ greatly from the Gulls and Terns in being silent birds. This Petrel Fig. 30. The Storm-petrel (Procellaria pelagica). is a type of a group of more than 100 species distributed throughout the Ocean all over the world, and so pelagic that they only rarely come to land except to breed. They are web- footed birds with hooked bills, long wings, and a short tail, but their most noticeable peculiarity is that their nostrils are pro- longed outwards as short tubes. They have wonderful powers of flight and are excellent swimmers, though many of them hardly ever dive. They will often accompany a ship for many days. The various species differ very greatly in size—our type being one of. the smallest, not much larger than a Swallow. A rather 32 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. distinct form called a Diving Petrel (Pelecanoides wrinatriz) is _ found in Kerguelen Land. The largest of the group is’ the Albatross (Diomedea exulans), a great wandering species, the largest of all Water Birds. Its home is in the Southern Hemi- sphere, but it has been taken in Europe. Its enormously long wings and its habit of sailing without flapping them for a long period are well known. There are some ten species of Albatross. , Another wandering oceanic creature is the Frigate-bird Fig. 31. The Frigate-bird (Tachypetes aquila), (Tachypetes aquila), which has in some respects the aspect of a bird of prey of the Hawk or Eagle kind, with a powerful hooked * beak and a long, forked tail. It has, however, marvellously long wings and very small feet, and is believed to have the most powerful flight to be met with in the class of Birds. It soars to great heights. Frigate-birds are great persecutors of others, - pursuing Terns and Gannets, forcing them to disgorge a fish they may have captured, and catching it as it falls, They are often called “ Men-of-war Birds.” They range the ocean in all INTRODUCTION, RK pian regions, and, like Petrels and Albatrosses, have little to- oO with the land. They are inhabitants of the Tropics, as also- especially are some creatures constituting another very small: The Tropie-bird (Phaéton ethereus). Oceanic group, and known emphatically as ‘‘Tropic-birds.” Of these we may name Phaéton etherevs as a type. They are powerful, but not graceful fliers, often accompanying D 34 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. ships in their course, and flying round them at a great height with the velocity and directness of a small steam-engine. = Nevertheless, though they depart far from land they do not do so to the extent to which Petrels and the Frigate-bird will go. They are gregarious, and nest together on coasts where rocks Fig. 33. The European Flamingo (Phenicopterus antiquorum). and bushes are found in proximity. They have much the appear- ance of Terns, but are shorter and somewhat larger. : We have now noted various Aquatic Birds that are quite strange to England, and which are mostly marine, though some frequent rivers. We will next pass on to consider INTRODUCTION. 35 certain Birds which are found in the warmer parts of both Hemispheres and which are known as Flamingoes. Many individuals of the species known as Phenicopterus antiquorum are often to be seen on the Guadalquivir River between Seville and the sea. This Bird is generally to be found in our Zoological Gardens, where its extremely long neck Le 2a = eer Z fsmee = a a ~ The Little Egret (Ardea garzetia). and its curiously bent beak are sure to arrest the attention of any observant visitor not already familiar with it. They build their nests of mud, and each nest has the appearance of a small mound, about half a yard high, rising out of the shallow water of some marsh. There are eight different kinds of Flamingoes. This creature naturally suggests to us a number of other D2 36 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY, Wading Birds, the great majority of which are strange to the British Isles. But one handsome long-legged Bird, which wades in ponds and rivers to catch fish with its long sharp beak, is a sufficiently familiar object to many Englishmen. We refer to the Heron (Ardea cinerea), which may serve as a type of many Fig. 35. The Common Bittern (Botawrus stellaris), closely similar Birds, found all over the world save its coldest. regions. The Heron is a very attractive object, as it may be seen fishing in some pond or perched on the branch of a tree overhanging the water, or flying, somewhat slowly, flapping its broad wings, with head brought back, resting on its shoulders, . and its long legs trailing behind it. It is a great: frequenter of INTRODUCTION. 37 our coasts, at least in our Northern Counties, searching the pools left at low water for crabs, shrimps, or other small marine -creatures, Amongst foreign allied forms may be mentioned the Night- heron, which occasionally visits this country ; as also, though very rarely, does the beautiful Little Egret (Ardea garzetta) and the great White Egret, which breeds regularly in Southern Fig. 36. The Sun-bittern (Zurypyga helias). Russia and the Lower Danube. The Bittern (Botaurus stel- laris), a shy bird, noted for its peculiar guttural, booming cry, now only a winter visitant to England, is an example of a slightly different form. Of Herons and Bitterns there are altogether about eighty-two different species. The Bird known as the Sun-bittern (Zurypyga helias) is very unlike the true Bitterns. It has a very thin neck, and is marked in a peculiar way with transverse stripes of white, brown, and black, so that, once 38 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. seen, its appearance is not easily forgotten. It inhabits river- banks in South America. A very odd South-American Bird (Cancroma cochlearia) is called the “Boat-bill,” on account of its wide and capacious beak. Another Bird, not less singular and with a still larger Fig. 37. The Boat-bill (Cancroma cochlearia). beak, comes from Africa, where it inhabits the banks of the Upper Nile, and is even there a rare Bird. It is of large size, and its great bill resembles somewhat the jaws of a Crocodile. It is called the Shoe-bill (Baleniceps rex). Another African Bird of very much smaller size (about the size of a Crow), with a much smaller and compressed beak, is remarkable for building INTRODUCTION, 39 an enormous nest, shaped like an oven, which serves for many years. It is so solid that it will bear the weight of a heavy man. Mr. Layard saw one three yards long and one and a half The Shoe-bill (Baleniceps rex). yard broad, and found it decorated with all sorts of bright objects, from bleached bones to brass buttons. It is called the Umbrette or Hammer-head (Scopus umbretta). When two or 49 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. three of them are feeding in a pond together, they will sometimes skip round one another, opening and shutting their wings and _ playing strange pranks. Another tropical Bird, which has a very high-shouldered and Fig. 39. The Hammer-head (Scopus umbretta). ungainly aspect, has a remarkably long and capacious, though conical bill, very long legs, and a naked neck with a pouch. This is the Adjutant or Marabou (Leptoptilus dubius), and it bears beneath its tail those small delicate plumes, which ladies use, known as “ Marabou feathers.” It ranges from Northern INTRODUCTION. 41 Hindostan to the Malay Peninsula, and is of great service as a scavenger. It isa faithful attendant on slaughter-houses and the funereal burying-grounds of the natives, and has been The Adjutant (Leptoptilus dubius). observed standing and feeding on a corpse floating down the Ganges. It breeds in cliffs. An allied species is found in Africa. These animals being known as Marabou Storks, natu- rally bring to our mind the thought of the true Stork (Ciconia 42 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. alba), which, though very rarely seen in this country, is abun- dant enough in Holland, where many pairs breed on boxes or other objects which Dutchmen place for them on the tops of their houses. They make themselves as much at home on houses as House-martins do; and sometimes several nests are built upon the same roof, although a nest is a very large structure of 4 or 5 feet in diameter, made of sticks, reeds, and earth, and lined with hair, feathers, wool, rags, or other softer objects. The Stork may serve as the type of about a dozen and a half The Stork (Ciconia alba). Stork-like Birds which are, for the most part, inhabitants of the Old World, though amongst them is the American Jabiru (Mycteria americana) and certain ‘‘ Wood Storks” (of the genus Tantalus), which are often spoken of as “ Wood Ibises,” though _ they are in fact very different from the true Ibises, which will be spoken of later. Another familiar large, long-legged, long-necked Bird, which has an external resemblance to the Stork, is the Crane (Grus cinerea). This Bird is said to have bred in English marsh- INTRODUCTION. 43 lands up to the close of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and was one of the largest of true British Birds; now it is but a rare visitor to our shores. Its nest is never built in a tree, but on a small mound or “hummock” in some swamp. Cranes are Fig. 42. The Wood Stork (Mycteria americana). even said never to perch on a tree, and they feed largely on vegetable substances. The Demoiselle Crane (Grus virgo, fig. 43) is a very elegant Bird, still more rarely found in our Islands. -About seventeen species of the Crane family are known, whereof all but three are inhabitants of the Old World. Amongst these 44 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. latter is the Demoiselle Crane, just mentioned, and also the Stanley and the Crowned or Balearic Crane, one or more of which kinds are generally to be found exemplified in our Collec- tion at the Regent’s Park. : Here may be mentioned the Trumpeters, Cariamas, and Horned Screamers, all of which are South-American forms, and Fig. 43. The Demoiselle Orane (Grus virgo). each one of which merits some special attention from the student of Ornithology. The Trumpeter (Psophia crepitans) has a short beak, velvety plumage, and weak powers of flight. The Cariama, or Seriema (Cariama cristata, fig, 45), is a large INTRODUCTION. 45 Bird, also with a shortish beak, which emits a cry somewhat like the subdued bark of adog. By some Ornithologists it has been taken to be a sort of long-legged Hawk or Falcon, and it is a bird of prey as far as reptiles are concerned—at least, it has a great reputation as a Serpent-killer, so that by many it is highly valued and carefully protected. Fig. 44. The Trumpeter (Psophia crepitans). The Horned Screamer (Palamedea cornuta, fig. 46) is a Bird of very singular aspect, since a delicate horn, about 5 or 6 inches long, curves upwards and forwards from about the middle of its head. It has a short beak and large feet, and each of its wings has a long, strong,and sharp spur. It does not scream so loudly as do two allied species (Chauna), which havenohorn. The voice of one of these is said to be so loud as to be audible when 46 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. soaring at so great a height as to be hardly visible. The Horned Screamer is said to be a quiet peaceable bird in spite of its spurred wings. The name of a curious Bird from New Caledonia must not Fig. 45. The Seriema (Cariama cristata). be passed over unnoticed by the student. This is the Kagu (Rhinocheetus jubatus, fig. 47), a grey Bird with orange and scarlet feet and bill. Even in captivity it will often perform antics which are quite remarkable. In its native haunts it hunts for snails, worms, and other small creatures by night. INTRODUCTION. 47 _ After this short excursion amongst Birds of different distant lands we may return to more familiar forms. First of these may be mentioned a Bird which was common enough in England a hundred years ago, though it is now but a rare visitant. This is the Bustard (Otis tarda, fig. 48),a large stout Bird, which may be taken as a type and representative of a group of six-and-twenty species which are entirely confined to the Eastern Hemisphere, Fig. 46. The Horned Screamer (Palamedea cornuta}. including Australia, though there are none in Madagascar or the Malay Archipelago. Some Bustards seem to have lingered in England till 1845, although they are said to have deserted their accustomed haunts on Salisbury Plain about 1810. They, however, occasionally visit us, and in the winter of 1870- 1871 no less than twelve were seen—three on Salisbury Plain once more, and seven in North Middlesex. The Bustard is a 48 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. vegetable-feeder, and a large and handsome Bird, standing between 3 and 4 feet high, and running and walking well as well as flying rapidly. Mn fig HNN Kt KS ye The Kagu (Rhinochetus jubatus). A rare visitant to our shores is the Courser (Cursorius gallicus, fig. 49), one of a group of ten species which, like the Bustards, love to range over open plains of the Old World. In the Southern part of the New World, from Mexico south-' INTRODUCTION. 49 wards, another group of Birds are to be met with, somewhat like the Partridges in general aspect. These are the Tinamous, of which there are some thirty-nine kinds, whereof the species called Tinamus robustus (fig. 50) may be taken as a type. They are creatures of singular stupidity, and they are ground-frequenting The Bustard (Otis tarda). Birds like those last described. They merit, however, very special attention on account of their very peculiar internal organization, as will be pointed out later on. A Bird which’ at once arrests attention from a peculiar external character is the Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), one of E 5° ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. a family found in both the Old World and the New, and con- sisting of five species. As their curious bill would suggest, they wade into the water in search of food. There is one European species, and this bred in England down to about 1670, and even now a few birds seem each year to visit us in -spite of their Fig. 49. The Oourser (Cursorius gallicus), unremitting destruction by the curious, and even by ornitholo- gists not ashamed of saying that thus a specimen of a rare British Bird has been by them “ obtained”! A well-known English Bird, the beak of which is not flat- tened but elongate and curved, is the Curlew (Wumenius arcuatus); and it is to be found in winter on almost every part of our 5! INTRODUCTION. Fig. 50. The Tinamou (Tinamus robustus). ig. 51. EF The Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia). 52 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. coasts. Curlews run and walk with ease, though they take to flight at the least alarm and fly away very quickly. In summer they migrate inland to heaths and marshes, where their loud screaming cries are very noticeable. The genus to which it belongs is cosmopolitan, though it only breeds in Northern regions. Itcontains about a dozen species, one of which is the Whimbrel. The long and curved beak of the Curlew may well recall to Fig, 52. The Whimbrel (Numenius pheopus). the reader’s recollection the similarly long and curved beak of the Ibis. One species of the genus, the Glossy Ibis (Ibis falci- nellus), inhabits Africa and Europe as well as America, so it is not wonderful that it is sometimes seen in England. There are about two dozen kinds of these birds, whereof the Sacred Ibis (Ibis wthiopica) is the most renowned. Though so familiar an object in ancient Egyptian art, it is now rarely seen on the Nile north of Khartoum. The Scarlet Ibis of South America (bis rubra) is the most beautiful form. INTRODUCTION, 53 Those smaller running and wading Birds, the Coursers and Curlews, naturally suggest other forms which resemble them, more or less, in external appearance or in, habits; we refer to such smaller forms, still common in England, as the Plovers, Turnstones, Sandpipers, Ruffs, Snipes, and Woodcocks. The last of these, the Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola, fig..54), with its enormously long straight bill, which is a delicate instrument Fig. 53. The Sacred Ibis (lbis ethiopica). of touch, belongs to a small group of four species, and is found in Europe, North Africa, and Central and Northern Asia, occa- sionally extending to America. Another species is truly American, while one inhabits New Guinea and another Java. The common English Snipe (Gallinayo media) may stand for a rather numerous group of Birds which closely resemble it, and are spread over the whole world. 54 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. The Little Stint (Tringa minuta) is a charming little Bird, whose graceful active movements may be observed in autumn on our Eastern coasts. It flies rapidly, but most characteristic is the way it runs along the wet sand close to the waves as they retreat, and its rapid movements to escape the waves as they return. It is one of a genus of about fifteen species, and amongst them are the English Birds known as the Knot, the Sanderling *, and the Dunlin, as well as different kinds of those Birds which are commonly called ‘‘ Sandpipers.” Fig. 54. The Woodcock (Scolopasx rusticola). Another group of the Birds commonly called “ Sandpipers” (amongst them the Common Sandpiper or “ Summer Snipe”), with “ Redshanks,” “ Willets,” and “ Tatlers,” may be repre- sented by our Common Redshank (Totanus calidris), so widely spread and generally well known in England. There are seventeen species belonging to this genus, and they are all to be found within the Northern Hemisphere. * Some consider this to belong to a distinct genus, and name it Calidris arenaria, INTRODUCTION. 55 Very like these birds is the well-known Ruff, which is as noted for its combative habits as for the handsome elongated feathers which, at the breeding-season *, adorn the neck of the cock bird. It is distinguished by the name Machetes pugnax. The Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa melanura) represents an- other group of about four species, all Northern forms. Fig. 55. The Ruff (Machetes pugnaz). The curious Bird called the Oyster-catcher (Hamatopus ostra- legus), well known to most persons at all familiar with the creatures of our shores, is readily recognizable by its black and white plumage and its straight and powerful bill. They breed close to the water, and their nests are sometimes hollowed out on the sand or shingle only just above high-water mark. * The great differences in the plumage of these Birds, according to sex, age, and season, are very remarkable. They are well exhibited in a case in the Hall of the Natural History Museum. 56 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. As might be expected under such circumstances, the Birds are able to swim. There are about seven species of Oyster- catcher, spread over all the great divisions of the earth’s surface. A great contrast to these Birds is presented by the Stilt (Himantopus melanopterus), with its very slender beak and exceedingly long legs. It is occasionally seen in England, but there are ten other species of the genus, four of which are found in the Australian region and two in America. The two American species and one Australian one are very often sepa- rated off and united with the graceful and singular Avocet Fig. 56. The Oyster-catcher’ (Hematopus ostralegus). (fig. 58) into a separate genus termed Recurvirostra, The Avocet used to breed in England in Romney Marsh and the marshes of our Eastern Counties, but drainage has been fatal to it here and in many other places, and it is said only to breed now, in Northern Europe, in the islands off the coasts of Holland and Denmark. The delicate recurved beak of the Avocet when once seen can never be forgotten. But a still more singular and absolutely peculiar bill is INTRODUCTION. 57 possessed by a New-Zealand Bird (Anarhynchus frontalis), or Crooked-billed Plover. Its bill is not curved either upwards or, asso commonly, downwards, but to one side (fig. 59, 4). An elegantly marked Shore Bird—with a plumage of black, white, chestnut, and brown,—which industriously searches for food amongst rocks and stones, and which, from its habits, is Fig. 57. The Stilt (Himantopus melanopterus). known as the Turnstone (Strepsilas interpres), is one of three species which are confined to high Northern regions. They greatly resemble that very familiar Bird the Golden Plover (Cha- radrius pluvialis, fig. 60), which is to be found, during summer, breeding on the high hills and swampy grounds of the North of England and Scotland. There are forty species of the genus— 58 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. Fig. 58. Fig. 59. \aibhe! uh ——— an The Crooked-billed Plover (dnarhynchus Srontatis). A. Head seen from above, to show the lateral curvature of the bill. INTRODUCTION, 59 the Dotterel being amongst them—whereof some are Australian, others South-American, others Indian or Ethiopian ; the rest being from Northern lands. Certain other Birds, which are variously named as “ Thick- knees” or “Stone-curlews” or “ Stone-plovers,” are exceedingly like the true Plover. Indeed, one English species is often taken as being the, Plover “ par excellence,” namely the species termed Cdicnemus crepitans (fig. 61). It is often called “ the Great Plover” or “the Norfolk Plover,’ as well as by its Fig. 60. i The Golden Plover (Charadrius pluvialis). common, but misleading, name of “ Stone-curlew.” It is one of about nine species, whereof two are from South America, three from South or Central Africa, and three from India or Australia.: ' The Peewit or Lapwing (Vanellus cristatus), the cry and flight of which almost every one is familiar with, is the type of a group of about thirteen species, while another thirteen con- stitute the closely allied’group Lobivanellus. Here, perhaps, may be mentioned certain Birds called the Sheath-bills (Chionis alba), with a short and curious beak, which in manner and appearance somewhat recall the Pigeons to mind. 6c. ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. * There are but two species, and they live in Kerguelen Island, , the Crozettes, and extreme South America, feeding on sea-weed, ~ eggs, and small shell-fish. A Bird called the Pratincole(Glareola pratincola) inhabits the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia, and occasionally visits England. It frequents the open country (marshes and sandy plains) or the sea-shore, feeding on insects, and giving out a most peculiar rattling Fig. 61. The Stone-curlew (Edicnemus crepitans). sound. It has long, pointed wings, a forked tail, and short legs, and has been a great puzzle to Naturalists as to where it should be placed in their systems. It flies about a great deal with something of the motion of a Swallow, which perhaps accounts for Linneus having classed it with that Bird. Unlike the Swallow, however, it runs very well on the ground and even wades into pools. It is the type of a genus which consists 61 INTRODUCTION. The Sheath-bill (Chionis alba), The Pratincole ( Glareola pratincola). 62 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. altogether of ten species, whereof five are Ethiopian and two Oriental, while one is found in Australia, We have now briefly surveyed a great number of Wading Birds, beginning with the Rails and Coots. Their long toes we saw to be noteworthy, but there is yet another group of very simi- larly formed Water Birds which have their toes still more elon- gated to facilitate their walking over the large floating leaves of Fig. 64, The Brazilian Jacana (Parra jacana). some aquatic plants of the warmer regions. These birds are known as “ Jacanas,” and the species Parra jacana may be taken as an example of ten or a dozen others, some of which are inhabitants of the Old World, while others are American. One form, which is the largest, has a long tail and is classed in a separate genus as the Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus INTRODUCTION. 63 chirurqus). These Birds, as just said, have a superficial resem- blance to Moor-hens and Coots, some forms of which need further mention here, as was before indicated *. For the Moor-hen of the island of Tristan d’Acunha and that Coot-like Bird the Notornis of New Zealand have (like the Penguins) no power of flight and have probably lost it. The Weka Rail of New Zealand (Ocydromus australis) is in the same case or nearly so, and is most easily caught. Various species of flightless Fig. 65. Mantell’s Notornis (Notornis mantelli). Birds have thus of late become extinct, like the Great Auk before noticed +. Thus Mantell’s Notornis (Notornis mantelli) has become entirely extinct in the Northern Island of New Zealand, and is nearly extinct altogether. Numerous species of gigantic Birds called “Moas” (Dinornis) have also been found in New Zealand, and were destroyed by the Maories. They were also flightless, and were of huge * See above, p. 19. t See above, p. 22, 64 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. bulk. Yet a Bird of Prey (Harpagornis), as large as an Eagle, and with enormous talons, existed there also, and is thought to have been powerful enough to have made the smaller Moas its prey. Three other noteworthy Birds which have become extinct may here also be referred to. The first is the Dodo (Didus ineptus), which inhabited Mauritius and became extinct by the end of the seventeenth century. The second is the Solitaire (Pezophaps solitarius), which was larger than a Turkey and lived to a somewhat later day than the Dodo, but in the island of Rodriguez. The third extinct kind (Apyornis Fig. 66. Mantell’s Apteryx (Apteryax mantelli), maximus) lived in Madagascar, and may have done so to within the last two centuries. It was a huge creature, and laid so enormous an egg that it may have given rise to the fable of the Roe’s egg. Such is the case, because its egg may in early times have been an article of commerce; and the judgment that the size of an egg is a sure index to the proportions of the parent Bird is a very natural judgment, though an erroneous one. Other Birds, differing much more than these from all existing Birds, became extinct in much more ancient times. Such were the Hesperornis, the Ichthyornis, and the Archeopteryx, which INTRODUCTION. 65 will be further noticed in our Fifth Chapter, as their peculia-. _ Tities could not be appreciated by the student before becoming eehanted with the leading facts concerning the Anatomy of irds. Another feathered inhabitant of New Zealand is rapidly verging towards extinction, namely, the Apteryx (Apteryx mantelli), It lays but oie egg, and can neither run rapidly Fig. 67. The Rhea (Rhea americana). nor fly in the least. Its single egg is exceedingly large in pro- portion to the Bird itself, which is about the size of a Hen. ‘There are four species of the genus, which have each a very long, curved bill and only most minute rudiments of wings. The largest existing Bird is also a Ground-bird, and utterly incapable of flight. This is the Ostrich (Struthio camelus), which is exclusively an inhabitant of Africa. It is represented F 66 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. in South America by a smaller Bird, which is called the Rhea or American Ostrich (Rhea americana), of which there are really three species. Another large and bulky Bird, quite incapable of flight, is the Cassowary (Casuarius galeatus) of the Papuan Islands and North Australia. There are nine species of this genus, Another very similar Bird is the Emeu (Dromeus nove- hollandie) of Australia. There are two species of this genus. Before proceeding further it may be useful to the student to take stock a little of the forms we have referred to, and Fig. 68. The Cassowary ( Casuarius galeatus), endeavour briefly to class them in a merely popular manner, referring to external appearance, or modes of life, only. It is useful for the beginner to be able to think of them in large groups (such as the groups which first suggested them- selves to naturalists), even though he will find that such groups have to be largely modified owing to more recent advances in science. It is thus, indeed, that he will be best enabled to appreciate the value of such advances. Starting with our most familiar Bird, the Fowl, we have INTRODUCTION, 67 noted, in sequence thereto, the Pheasants, Peacocks, Guinea-~ fowls, Turkeys, Curassows, Brush-turkeys, Grouse, and Par- tridges. These Birds have been regarded as really alike by earlier and later Ornithologists, and we may find it convenient to refer to them sometimes as Fowl-like or Gallinaceous Birds, Fig. 69. The Emeu (Dromeus nove-hollandie). and, from their habits, as “Scratchers,” while Pigeons have been spoken of as ‘‘ Cooers.” The Duck and Geese led us to Grebes, Divers, Puffins, Guillemots, Auks, Penguins, Cormorants, Gannets, Pelicans, Gulls, Terns, Skimmers, and Petrels, the superficial resem- blances between which have caused them, before their anatomy F2 68 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. was better known, to be regarded in a lump as “ Natatory Birds” or “ Swimmers.” The long-legged Flamingo next conducted us to the Herons, Bitterns, Storks, Cranes, and Bustards, and thence to smaller Birds, such as Coursers, Tinamous, Curlews, Snipes, Stints, Godwits, Stilts, Plovers, Peewits, and Rails, most of which are more or less long-legged, and have more or less a wading habit, on which account they have been called “Stalkers,” “ Waders,” or “ Grallatorial Birds.” We were introduced to this group from the Ducks through the Moor-hens, but we ended Fig. 70. The Common Kingfisher (Alcedo ispida). by affirming the greater resemblance between these last-named and the Rails than between them and the Ducks. After noting certain species which have become extinct, we enumerated other kinds, which are also eminently “Stalkers” or “ Cursorial Birds ”—such as the Ostrich, Rhea, Cassowary, and Emeu, all of which we mentioned after referring to the Apteryx. In days of loose classification these were regarded as forming one group with the Wading Birds above referred to, the whole being spoken of as Cursorial birds, or Gralla. We must now pass to Birds which are very different from INTRODUCTION. 69 any we have yet considered. As, however, the majority of the forms we have referred to have had to do with water, we may begin our next series of forms with one familiar kind which haunts our streams, namely, the Kingfisher (Alcedo ispida). This well-known blue and red Bird, with its long, straight, and sharply pointed bill, may stand as the representative of at least.one hundred and sixty-six species which are exceedingly like it. They are scattered very unequally over the whole Fig. 71, The Dipper (Cinclus aquaticus). world, being most poorly represented in America, and most richly in the Indian Archipelago. , The Common Kingfisher loves a quiet spot—some silent pool or some secluded trout-stream with deep banks and well shrouded with foliage. It flies very straight, with its short wings rapidly vibrating,.and will dart from the tree on which it has perched, seize a fish and return to beat it dead against a branch, unless it carries it to the hole it has excavated in a 7° ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. bank, wherein is its foul bed of rejected fish-bones. Very different is the comfortable abode—domed-shaped and formed of. moss and dry grass—of the Dipper (Cinclus aquaticus), which also haunts our mountain streams, even passing much of its time under water searching for the small creatures on which it feeds. Fig. 72. The Great Black Woodpecker (Picus martius). In rapid, rocky rivulets it is to be found in England all the year round. It represents a group of about a dozen species of similar habits found in both worlds, mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. The Dipper, unlike the Kingfisher, does not perch on trees, INTRODUCTION. qi but a Bird the very existence of which would seem to be abso- lutely dependent on them is the Woodpecker. The Great Black Woodpecker (Picus martius), a Bird that seems to have been once or twice seen in England, and our Green Woodpecker (Gecinus viridis)—the loud cry, or “ laugh,” of which is so commonly to be heard—are examples of a very large and very distinct family of Birds. There are about three hundred and fifty different kinds of ‘Woodpeckers, but though so much more numerous in species than the Kingfishers, there are none in Australia any more than in Madagascar or Polynesia—none passing beyond Celebes. As might be expected, they are most abundant in the enormous forest-regions of South America, though, strange to say, a Woodpecker (Colaptes campestris) is to be found more to the south, in the plains of La Plata, where there is not a single tree to peck. The handsomely marked English Bird, which, from its habit of twisting its neck from side to side, is known as the Wryneck (Jynx torquilla), and which will hiss like a snake, is one of a small group of four species of the Woodpecker family. A very numerous and remarkable group of Birds, for the most part great climbers of trees, is formed by the Parrots, whereof the common Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus), from Africa, may be taken as a type. Amongst Parrots, in the wide sense in which the term is here used, we include Macaws, Cockatoos, Ground-parrots, Grass-parrakeets, Love-birds, &c. They have all a most unmistakable family resemblance, though there are, at the very least, four hundred and ninety-two kinds of them. They are especially tropical Birds, but they are also to be found in the temperate parts of Australia and in New Zealand. Australia, indeed, contains the most varied forms, though South America is the region which has the greatest number of species. Africa is poorly supplied with Parrots in comparison with the other warmer parts of the world. No representative of the group now exists in Europe, although fossil remains indicate that such was not always the case. A Parrakeet (Conurus carolinensis) still exists in Florida, and was abundant in the United States, further north, eighty years ago. One of the most curious species is called the Owl-parrot (Stringops habroptilus), on account of its extraordinary and most exceptional resemblance to an Owl. It is found only in New 72 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. Zealand, which is also the home of another kind as exceptional in its habits as is the Owl-parrot in its plumage. This second kind is the Kea Parrot (Nestor notabilis), which has acquired the bad habit of feeding upon Sheep, which they will kill by puncturing them in the back, and tearing down upon the kidney, the fat of which they greedily devour. Fig. 73. The Owl-parrot (Stringops habroptilus). It is generally supposed that we have here an instance of an extraordinary change in habit and instinct, and that the Bird was exclusively a vegetable-feeder till the introduction of sheep into New Zealand. Dr. H. Woodward, F.R.S., has, however, suggested to us, as by no means improbable, that this Bird in \ INTRODUCTION. : 73 \\ former days may have fed upon species of Dinornis, perching on their backs in a situation whence they could not easily be dis- lodged. If such was the case, it is easy to understand how the woolly back of the sheep might readily have attracted these Parrots. It would have but recalled to their imaginations asso- ciated sensations leading to acts which revived this instinct which thus had only become dormant in them. Fig. 74. The Kea Parrot (Nestor notabilis). A variety of other groups of remarkable Birds have no representative in Europe, and many of them are exclusively inhabitants of South America, which contains the most extensive forest-region in the world. Amongst these are the Toucans—very brightly coloured Birds with extraordinarily large, elongated, gently curved beaks, which af 74 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. are as remarkable for their lightness as their size. Of this group—which does not even extend to the West Indies—there are fifty-nine different species. The largest of these, the Toco Toucan (Rhamphastos toco), may stand as a type of the whole. Another group of brilliantly coloured climbing Birds, with stout but very much smaller bills, are called Barbets, on account of the long bristles which project forwards around the beak. The Red-headed Barbet (Capito erythrocephalus), which may stand as a type, is, with a few other species, an inhabitant of Fig. 75. The Toco Toucan (Rhamphastos toco). America, although its allies are for the most part Old World forms. Some of these are singularly local, as is known to be the case, for instance, with the Blue-faced Barbet (Megalema asiatica). Ina wild state they are said to feed on fruits and berries, but some of them in captivity have been known to kill small birds and swallow them whole. They probably, therefore, do so when wild. There are about one hundred and eight species. The Puff-birds are in some respects like Barbets externally, though they are also not unlike Kingfishers. They are smallerin size than the Barbets. Forty-three species belong to the group, INTRODUCTION. 75 twenty of them pertaining to the genus Bucco, and the species Bucco tectus (fig.77) may serve as a representative of the whole. They feed chiefly on insects, which they take on the wing, darting after them suddenly from a lofty branch, much as a Kingfisher darts after its prey. They are exclusively confined Fig. 76. JM ther igh % My Uppy by MY Z iy My Mp The Red-headed Barbet (Capito erythrocephalus). to South and Central America. The same is the case with the Jacamars, Birds which are sometimes taken for Kingfishers ; their mode of feeding is similar to that just noted with regard to the Puff-birds. The Jacamars are usually of a green tint and have a metallic lustre. Their beaks are long and -their tails wedge-shaped. The Green Jacamar (Galbula viridis) may serve 76 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. as a type of the group, whereof there are at least twenty different species. . We have just spoken of Birds with large or long beaks, but there is a very noteworthy, though very small, group of Birds whose beaks are so transversely extended that they have obtained the name of Broadbills. The whole group consists but of a Fig. 77. The Banded Puff-bird (Bucco tectus). dozen species, arranged in seven genera, and the Javan Broad- bill (Zurylemus javanicus) may stand as a type of them. It frequents the banks of rivers and lakes, feeding upon’ worms and builds a pendent nest, which overhangs the water. The Broad-bills are described as very stupid Birds, which move about in small parties, and allow themselves to be shot one after the other. Some of them feed on insects in the same mode as INTRODUCTION, Fig. 78. The Javan Broad-bill (Eurylemus javanicus), 77 7 8 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. do Puff-birds. They give outeither a mellow, musical note or a whistling sound. Beaks still larger, and occasionally much heavier than those of any of the lately mentioned groups, are found in the Hornbills. These Birds are much larger than Toucans, Fig. 80. The Red-necked Hornbill (Buceros ruficollis), and they are as entirely confined to the warm parts of the Old World, as the latter are to those of the New. Hornbills are found in Ethiopic Africa and the warmer parts of Asia, down to New Guinea, where the Red-necked Hornbill (Buceros ruficollis) is to be met with. These Birds have a very curious . habit. The Hen makes her nest within a hollow tree, and there INTRODUCTION. 79 her mate shuts her up, closing the aperture of the nest with mud and other substances, so that only a small opening is left. Through this aperture she and her young progeny are fed by the zealous devotion of the male Bird. There are about sixty- eight kinds of Hornbills, Fig. 81. 4 4 i Y 4 " The Violet Plantain-eater (Musophaga violacea). There are certain other rather large Birds which may by their aspect recall to the spectator’s mind the Curassows or’ other Gallinaceous Birds. These are the Turacous or Plantain- eaters, of which the Violet Plantain-eater (Musophaga violacea) may serve as an example. This very handsome Bird 80 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. comes from Western Africa, and the whole group, consisting as it does of about twenty-five species, is entirely confined to that Fig. 82. Z TN INNR ZAIN Sth RANE INN KN 48 \" \ i ‘ The White-backed Ooly (Colius capensis). Continent, where they feed on fruit, frequenting the loftiest trees. On the head is an elegant crest of feathers, which they can elevate or depress. Almost all of them have. a beautiful INTRODUCTION. 81 red colour on the wing, which can be washed away with soap and water. This colour is due to the presence of a pigment which has been termed “Turacine,” which has been shown to contain copper. The Green Tody (Zodus viridis). About eight species of. fruit-eating Birds are known as Colies, and they are also exclusively inhabitants of Africa. Here we again meet with a crested head, but their long tail amply serves to distinguish them from the Plantain-eaters. The White-backed Coly (Colius capensis) is not uncommon in @ 82 BLEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. Cape Colony, where it is known as the Mouse-bird, and is said always to sleep hanging head downwards. They are short- beaked Birds, often to be seen in Zoological Gardens, for they can be kept with considerable facility. Another small group of Birds, still more restricted geogra- phically, are the Todies, of which there are but nine species, Fig. 84. The Bee-eater (Merops apiaster). all confined to the West Indies. With their short tails and straight, rather long bill, they have somewhat the aspect of Kingfishers. The Green Tody (Todus viridis) may stand as a representative of this small group. Birds named—from their habits—Bee-eaters are found INTRODUCTION. 83 throughout the warm and temperate regions of the Old World. They are beautiful creatures, from which the common species (Merops apiaster)—a Bird which is occasionally found in this country—may be selected as a type. Altogether there are thirty-five species more or less closely allied to it. They excavate, with their long bill, a cavity in some sandy bank, The Motmot (Momotus momotus). preferentially the bank of some river, and therein make their nest. They like the open country rather than the shade of woods, and they are conspicuous from their bright coloration. Birds which much resemble the Bee-eaters, but which are en- tirely confined to Central and South America, are the Motmots, of which the Motmot par excellence (Momotus momotus) may serve G2 &4 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. as the representative. There are nineteen species in this group, arranged in seven genera. These Birds go about alone or in pairs, often sitting motionless on a branch till they dart off to snatch some insect. They appear. to have a singular habit of cutting away with their toothed bill, im a regular sym- metrical manner, certain parts of the feathers of the tail. Another very small group, numbering about eleven species, consists of Birds which are called Honey-guides or Indi- cators, the majority of which come from Africa—about a Fig. 86. The Honey-guide (Indicator major). couple of species coming from India and the Malay Archipelago. The species named Indicator major (which inhabits South and West Africa) may be taken as a type. It is firmly believed in Africa that these Birds will guide people to bees’ nests, and feed upon what honey may be left when the nests have been successfully taken. They should, however, rather be called Bee-guides than Honey-guides, since their object is to be able INTRODUCTION. 85 to feed on the Bes-grubs, not on the honey, and they will guide to nests which contain no honey. The Indicators are plain Birds, and havea very bad habit, since they will lay their eggs in other Birds’ nests. In this they resemble the Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), a Bird with which almost all Englishmen must be familiar—at least as regards its monotonous song. It is a type and repre- sentative of a wonderfully distinct group of Birds, which includes about one hundred and sixty-five species, although to the uninstructed eye they may not seem nearly so distinctly Fig. 87. The Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). marked a group as those which contain the Parrots, Wood- peckers, or Kingfishers. Ornithologists associate with them the group of Plantain-eaters, before noticed*, making a group of one hundred and ninety-one species, at the least. Cuckoos are very widely diffused, and extend into both the Old and New Worlds, including Australia and the West Indies. They seem to be absent from the coldest regions alone. In summer evenings, in the South of England, a curious noise, like the sound of a small rattle, is very commonly to be heard. * See ante, p. 79. 86 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. Fig. 88. ge tA IARAy % ‘ | WHE Ny bg UES \ ee BSyS\ AN The Hoopoe (Upupa epops). INTRODUCTION, 87 This is the voice of the Nightjar or Goatsucker (Caprimulgus europeus). The Bird itself will often suddenly appear, rising almost from under the spectator’s feet, flying away with a curious, jerking, irregular motion, something like the flight of certain Moths. It is a very handsome Bird, having its feathers marked with many delicate, dark bars. It lives exclusively on insects, especially Moths and Beetles, which its wide-gaping Fig. 90. Jackson’s Wood-hoopoe (Jrrisor jacksoni), mouth is admirably adapted to catch. It isa type of a well- marked group of about eighty species, arranged in at least five genera. No greater contrast could well exist between two Birds of not very dissimilar size than exists between the Nightjar and the Hoopoe (Upupa epops). The latter has now become very rare in England, because, unlike the Nightjar, it is no sooner seen than it is “ obtained” by some zealous collector. Itis a 88 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. striking and elegant Bird, with a long, slender, slightly curved bill, anda large spotted crest of feathers which can be raised or depressed. It passes much of its time on open ground searching for insects. The male feeds the female when sitting on her rough nest in a hole in some tree, thus reminding us of the Hornbill, although the hen Hoopoe is not enclosed, and probably Fig. 91. The Long-tailed Trogon (Trogon macrurus). leaves her nest occasionally. Itis the type of a very small group of some fourteen species, of which only five belong to the genus Upupa, and the whole fourteen members of the group are con- fined to the Old World, excluding Australia and the Indian Archipelago. Included in this group are the Wood-hoopoes (Jrrisor), which are peculiar to Africa, where they inhabit the forests. Of INTRODUCTION, 89 these, Jackson’s Wood-hoopoe (Irrisor jacksoni) may serve as our type (fig. 90). There is a very gorgeous group of Birds, with glowing brilliant metallic hues, which are known as Trogons. Of these there area ar Sa WE SI's easier The Lyre-bird (Menura superba). i little less than fifty kinds, thirty-three of which are inhabitants of Tropical America, and the long-tailed Trogon (Trogon macrurus) may stand as a type of these very handsome creatures. Still more beautiful and much more varied than the Trogons go ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. are the renowned Birds of Paradise, of which the largest known form, Paradisea apoda, may be taken as the representative. Of these wonderfully ornamented Birds, there are fully forty- four species; but they are nevertheless exceedingly restricted in range, none being found in any part of the world but the Moluccas and New Guinea, save one or two in Australia. Fig. 98. The Yellow-throated Manakin (Pipra aureola). There is a Bird the curious tail of which reminds us a little of Birds of Paradise, in spite of its dull colour. This is the Lyre-bird (Menura superba), so-called from the peculiar dispo- sition and form of its tail-feathers (fig. 92). Itand two allied species are peculiar to Australia. A group of small birds of brilliant plumage, and entirely INTRODUCTION. oI confined to South America, are the Manakins, of which the Yellow-throated Manakin (Pipra awreola) may stand as an example. This little bird from Guiana is red with a black back, tail, and wings, and a yellow throat. There are about fifty- nine species of the group to which it belongs. They are all small shy birds which are dwellers in woods. Fig. 94, The Cock-of-the-Rock (Rupicola erocea). A curious and very handsome Bird of an orange-red colour is called the Cock-of-the-Rock (Rupicola crocea), the antics of which have been so well described by Mr. Darwin. It comes from Cayenne. The Umbrella-bird (Cephalopterus ornatus, fig. 95), so-called from its peculiar crest, and the Bell-bird (Chasmorhynchus nudi- collis, fig. 96), which derives its name from its wonderful note, are likewise South-American Birds, as is alsothe Blue Chatterer g2 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. (Cotinga ceerulea) of Cayenne. This last is a type of a group of some hundred and ten species to which the Cock-of-the-Rock and the Umbrella- and Bell-birds also belong—a group known as the Cotingida. Yet another exclusively South-American Bird is, as we shall hereafter see, of extraordinary interest, owing to its exceptional structure, and the divergence of opinion which has existed, and Fig. 95. The Umbrella-bird (Cephalopterus ornatus). exists, as to its true affinities. This is the Hoatzin (Opisthocomus eristatus, fig. 97), which inhabits Guiana and the immense Valley of the Amazon. When hatched, it has two well-developed fingers, each with a claw, and is said to creep about on all fours like a Quadruped. The curious and rapidly disappearing Huia-bird of New Zea- INTRODUCTION, 93 land (Heteralocha acutirostris) is very remarkable because the two sexes have very differently shaped beaks. The male’s is short, straight, and conical; the female’s is long, slender, and very much curved (fig. 98). The Bower-birds, so noted for the playing-places, or Fig. 96. The Bell-bird (Ch hynchus nudicollis). “bowers,” which they construct, and which do not serve as nests, are a small group of sixteen species absolutely peculiar to Australia and New Guinea. Of these, the Satin Bower-bird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus, fig. 99) will afford a good example. We may now return to consider certain Birds which are re- presented in our own region of the world. The Common Roller 94 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. (Coracias garrula, fig. 100), which tumbles in the air somewhat like a Tumbler-pigeon, is a very handsome bird which is common in the South of Europe, and occasionally visits England. It is the type of a group of bright-coloured Birds which extend south- wards to Australia, the Malayan region, and Madagascar, but The Hoatzin (Opisthocomus cristatus). are absent from the New World. There are twenty-four species in the family. An allied form from Madagascar, called the Cyrombo (Leptosoma discolor), has a similar tumbling habit and a peculiar condition of the nostrils. That very familiar Bird the House-martin (Chelidon urbica) INTRODUCTION. Fig. 98. Fig. 99. a The Satin B jower-bird (Prilonorhynchus violaceus). 95 96 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. represents a group of Swallows and Martins which is spread over the whole world, and contains about eighty-two species. Of these the Common Swallow (Hirundo rustica) may answer as our example. Swifts greatly resemble Swallows in general appearance and in their mode of flight, though this is much more power- ful. Nevertheless, as we shall see, they are really very distinct from them. They number about eighty-six different kinds, which range through the warm and temperate regions of the Fig. 100. The Common Roller (Coracias garrula). globe. The Common Swift (Cypselus apus) stays with us little more than three months, quitting our shores for the South about the middle of August. Extremely contrasted with the Swift is that charming little, bush-loving Bird the Wren (Anorthura troglodytes, fig. 102), the lively shrill note of which may be heard all the year round. It is an example of a numerous group of small, similar Birds num- bering some hundred and thirty-four species, the great majority of which are exclusively American. The Golden-crested Wren INTRODUCTION. 97 (Regulus cristatus) is a yet more attractive example of a very small group of but six species. ; There is a very lovely. group of little blue and black Australian Birds which havea somewhat similar aspect to Wrens. Their fifteen species constitute the genus Malurus. Fig. 101. The Swallow (Htrundo rustica). With its small tail and shortish bill, the Wren may remind the reader of another lover of trees which resides with us all the year round. This is the Nuthatch (Sitta cesia), which is so noticeable for its habit of running up and down the trunks of ; H 98 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. Fig. 102. Fig. 103. The Nuthatch (Sitta cesia). INTRODUCTION. 99 trees, to which it clings with its strong feet. This Bird may serve as an example of a group of about twenty-eight species which are found scattered over the Northern Hemisphere south of the Arctic regions. Its peculiar movements recall to mind another nearly allied English Bird, the Common Creeper (Certhia familiaris), which is found all over England, and has received its name from its Fig. 104. The Warty-faced Honey-sucker (Meliphaga phrygia). creeping motion over tree-trunks, which has been compared to the movement of a mouse. It has a much longer, more slender, and curved bill, and is a type of a group, containing about sixteen species, which is nearly allied to the Nuthatches. Except one Mexican species they are all Old-World forms and several pertain to Australia. : Another set of Australian Birds are the Honey-suckers or Honey-eaters, which, with their long, slender, and curved bills, H2 100 BLEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. form a very characteristic zoological feature of that region. More than one hundred and forty different species belong to the group, whereof the curious, black and yellow, warty- faced Honey-sucker (Meliphaga phrygia) may be taken as a type. They are not absolutely confined to Australia, but extend into Fig. 105. The Ruby-throated Humming-bird ( Trochilus colubris). the islands of the Pacific, while the largest member of the group, known as “ the Parson Bird,” has its home in New Zealand. Long and slender bills are also characteristic of those most beautifully coloured of all Birds—the Humming-birds, from amongst which we may select the Ruby-throated one (Zrochilus colubris) as our example. There are, at the least, four hundred INTRODUCTION. Iol and seventy-six species of these Birds. They are all exclusively confined to America, but different species are so distributed that the whole group may be said to range over that continent from Alaska to Patagonia. _ Only second to the Humming-birds in beauty are the Sun- birds, which are as exclusively confined to the Old World as the Humming-birds are to the New. They are mainly African Fig. 106. The Metallic Sun-bird (Nectarinia metallica), forms, but they also range through India to Australia. The Metallic Sun-bird (Wectarinia metallica) may be taken as a type of the group, which embraces a hundred and five different species, arranged in nine genera. They have long and slender bills like the Humming-birds. Of those charming familiar little Birds known to us as Tits, one of the most charming is the Blue Tit (Parus ceruleus), 102 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. which shows itself even in our towns. We take the Coal Tit (Parus britannicus) as our example of this group of Birds, of which there are seventy-seven species, the greater number, and the brighter kinds, being confined to the Old World. With few exceptions, they do not extend beyond the Northern Hemisphere. Oval Titmouse (Parus britannicus). A very numerous group of small, brilliant Birds, confined to America, and mainly to Tropical America, are known as Tanagers, and there seem to be no less than three hundred and seventy-four species of them. Their plumage is very often more or less extensively or markedly red, but may be of various other bright tints, and Tanagra episcopus, which may stand as our type, is of a pale blue colour marked with white spots. INTRODUCTION. 103 The Golden Oriole (Oriolus galbula). Tig. 109. The Chaflinch (Fringilla celebs). 104° ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. A beautiful black and yellow Bird, which is occasionally to be seen, during the spring, in the South or East of England, is known as the Golden Oriole (Oriolus galbula). It is common if fo} i i i, ‘ait \ = . { Y = st HE Wy Se i ih i \ Thé Crossbill (Lowia cwrvirostra). enough in Europe during summer, but in the winter it re- treats to South Africa. In spite of its conspicuous coloration it is not easily seen, because it loves to conceal itself amongst dense foliage. It feeds mainly on insects and caterpillars, but also on fruit, and has a beautiful flute-like note. It is the type INTRODUCTION, 105. of a group containing at least about thirty-seven species. They are all Old-World Birds, mainly inhabitants of. Asia and Aus- tralia, though a few are African, as is the one which sometimes reaches our shores. That handsome familiar little Bird the Chaffinch (Fringilla Fig. 111, The Reed Bunting (Emberiza scheniclus), celebs) is a type of a very large group of Birds called: Finches, to which the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) also belongs, as likewise does the curious Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra), the Vir- ginia Nightingale (Cardinalis virginianus), and the luscious Ortolan or Green-headed Bunting (Zberiza hortulana), and the marsh-loving Reed Bunting (Hmberiza scheniclus), but not 106 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. the true Nightingale. Of this large family-group of stout- billed Birds there are more than five hundred different species, some or other of which are found all over the globe, except in Australia. The Bohemian Waxwing (Ampelis garrulus), an occasional visitor in England, is an example of a small group of nine species of Northern forms. It is one of the most beautiful Fig. 112. \Y NS. The Bohemian Waxwing (Ampelis garrulus). Birds ever to be found in our country, and its name is derived from curious appendages, like small pieces of sealing-wax, which are attached to certain feathers of its wing. The Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), which is the best-known of our Warblers, and one of the earlier arrivals of the spring (the song of which is considered as hardly inferior in quality to that of the Nightingale), is the type of a group within which the INTRODUCTION. 107 Sedge Warblers and the Wood Wren are also contained. It embraces about two hundred and ninety species. They are all dull-coloured Birds inhabiting the Old World, having their head- quarters in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. But there are a number of other Birds, also called Warblers, Fig. 113. : The Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilia). but distinguished as “ American Warblers” (Mniotiltide), of which there are some hundred and thirty-seven kinds. The songster whose note is the most familiar to the inhabi- tants of these islands is, perhaps, the Thrush (Turdus musicus), and it is the type of a large cosmopolitan family of Birds num- bering fully three hundred and forty-four species. Amongst 108 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. Fig. 114. The Thrush (Turdus musicus). Fig. 115. The Wheatear (Saxicola enanthe), INTRODUCTION. 109 these are the not less familiar Blackbird, the Fieldfare, the Wheatear (Saxicola ananthe), our Robin (Hrithacus rubecula), and, most distinguished of all, the ever-weleome Nightingale (Zrithacus luscinia). Not less welcome, because most melodious, even in the month of March, is the song of the Sky-lark (Alauda arvensis). It is one of a group of about seventy species which, with two exceptions, are all confined to the Eastern Hemi- sphere. One of the most familiar on the continent of Europe is the Crested Lark (Galerita cristata). Fig. 116. The Crested Lark (Galerita cristata). The renowned American Mocking-bird (Mimus polyglottus) is the type of another family, numbering forty-seven species. Certain Birds called “ Ant-thrushes” may, on account of this denomination, be here referred to, though they cannot be considered to resemble Thrushes atall. They are more properly called Pittas, and the Bengal Pitta (Pitta bengalensis) may be considered as a representative of about fifty species. All of them are confined to the Old World, the Malay Archipelago being their headquarters, whence they extend, in different directions, to Australia, Africa, and Northern China. They are IIo ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. The Bengal Pitta (Pitta bengalensis). Fig. 118. The Brazilian Ant-thrush (Formicarius crissalis), INTRODUCTION. TIt noisy Birds, dwelling in forests, and remarkable for their brilliant’ coloration. They feed on insects, snails, slugs, and other small creatures. Certain birds are known as American Ant-thrushes, and they have much the habit of Butcher-birds. They rarely de- scend to the ground, and are very noisy. The Brazilian Ant- thrush (Formicarius crissalis) may stand as a type of the group, which contains some two hundred and fifty-four species. Fig. 119. The Barred Wagtail (Motacilla lugubris). The Wagtail, or Dishwasher. (Motacilla lugubris), is a type of an almost exclusively Old-World group of Birds -—Wagtails or Pipits—consisting of about sixty-four species, one section of ‘which is very like our Wagtail, while another resembles our Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis), which is to be seen on com- mons and waste grounds all the year round. The Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), with which almost all our readers must be familiar, is a convenient example of Il2 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. another group of Birds containing about thirty-five species, which are exclusively Old-World in distribution. One of them is the Rose-coloured Starling or Pastor (Pastor roseus), which has been often shot in England, though it can only be regarded as one of the accidental visitors to our shores, whereof it is one of the handsomest. Starlings may often be seen perched on the backs of sheep or oxen, which they benefit by extracting from them ticks and other parasitic pests. Another species of Fig. 120, The Pastor (Pastor roseus). ‘ Bird, however, called the Beef-eater or Oxpecker (Buphaga erythrorhycha), found in South Africa, similarly perches on the backs of cattle for parasites, especially the grubs, or larve, of a fly (Gstrus). In extracting these, however, it is apt to pro- duce bad sores. There are two species of this genus. A Bird is often to be seen in our Zoological Gardens which is pretty sure to attract attention by the eye or the ear, or by both. It attracts the eye by its conspicuous bright INTRODUCTION, 113 yellow wattles which project from its head, which, with the body, is of a fine velvety black. It attracts the ear not only by its very loud note, but frequently by the sentences it articu- lates, for it can be easily taught to speak. This is the Grackle or Myna of India (Hulabes religiosa, fig. 122). There are at least five species of the genus, and it is the type of a family-group of Birds of about ninety-three different kinds, all of which are Fig. 121. The Red-billed Oxpecker (Buphaga erythrorhyncha), inhabitants of the Old World. The Grackles are mainly dwellers in hill-forests, dwelling in the highest trees, living on fruit, and never descending to the ground. This noisy bird may recall to mind our noisy and bright, though very differently coloured, Jay (Garrulus glandarius) ; it is the type of a large group of Birds—the family of Crows— numbering about-a hundred and sixty-four species, some or other of which are to be found in most parts of the world. Amongst I 114 BLEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. Fig. 122. The Southern Grackle (Eulabes religiosa). Fig. 123. The Magpie (Pica pica), INTRODUCTION, 115 them may be enumerated the Magpie (Pica pica), the beautiful blue Magpie from the East (Urocissa erythrorhyncha), the Common Rook (Trypanocoraa frugilegus), the Jackdaw, the Chough (Graculus graculus), and many more. This Corvine Fig. 124. The Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseola). group of Birds is mainly an Old-World one, although it is cosmopolitan in distribution, save that it is absent in New Zealand. Two species of Crow are found in Australia. Certain Birds called Weaver-birds, whereof the Common I2 1 116 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. Weaver-bird of India (Ploceus baya) may be taken as a type, form a large family-group of two hundred and eighty-eight species. These birds are distributed over Africa and India, extending into the Malay Peninsula. They are not very un- like Finches, but are of especial interest on account of the wonderful nests some of them construct, as will be noticed later on *, There is a large group of Birds called Flycatchers, which, although they are confined to the Old World, yet number more than four hundred and five species. Of these we may Fig. 125. The Red-capped Babbler ( Timelia peteata). select the Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa griseola) as an example. It is one of the most regular of our summer visitants though late in its arrival. All these Birds have similar habits, catching insects on the wing, and then returning to the perch from which they took wing to catch them. There is also a very large group of Birds called Babblers, or Babbling Thrushes, of not less than three hundred and seventy species, more or less, whereof the Red-capped Babbler (Timelia pileata) may be taken as a type. It inhabits grassy plains, but the group to which it belongs consists mostly of bush-birds, that * See below, p. 282. INTRODUCTION, II7 feed on insects, and go in small flocks, which are constantly in motion, chattering and piping as they go. They are found in Africa, India, and Australia. A much less extensive group is that of the Bulbuls, and the Madras Bulbul (Pycnonotus hemorrhous) may serve as an eX- ample of them. They are Old-World Birds, and are very destruc- tive to fruit. There are about one hundred and eighty species Fig. 126. The Madras Bulbul (Pycnonotus hemorrhous), in this family-group, and they are peculiar to the Indian and African regions. The Barred Woodhewer (Dendrocolaptes radiolatus) may be taken as the type of a large family-group of exclusively Tropical American Birds, numbering some two hundred and seventy-two 118 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. species. They are climbing birds, and many of them have much the appearance of Creepers. A very handsome species is Bridges’s Woodhewer (Drymornis bridgest). The Oven-bird (Furnarius albogularis, fig. 129), which is said to burrow in the ground, is another example of a special section of the group. We nt i aw’ ' wi we \ The Barred Woodhewer (Dendrocolaptes radiolatus). There is a pugnacious, irritable set of Birds exclusively con- fined to the New World, and mainly to South America. The King Tyrant-bird (Tyrannus carolinensis) may be taken as a type INTRODUCTION, 119 of the whole four hundred and fourteen kinds which compose the group. They are remarkable for a flattened bill, and for the strong bristles about the gape. The Tyrant-bird is a voracious’ Fig. 128. Bridges’s Woodhewer (Drymornis bridgesi). eater of insects, but as Bees are amongst those destroyed by it, it is not a popular bird in North America. Birds which are really aggressive and destructive are the Shrikes. Amongst them may be noted the Great Grey Shrike, which is but an 120 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY, Fig. 129. -The White-throated Oven-bird (Furnarius albogularis), Fig. 130. The King Tyrant-bird (Tyrannus carolinensis). INTRODUCTION. 121 occasional visitant to this country. It feeds on mice, small birds, frogs, lizards, and various insects. The commonest species of the genus is the Red-backed Shrike or Butcher-bird (Lanius collurio), and may serve as our type of the whole group. The name of Butcher-bird has been no doubt occasioned from the curious habit it has of impaling its prey upon sharp thorns or fixing them into clefts. Fragments of its victims, pieces of skin, with bleached bones of birds or mice, or the dry hard cases Fig. 181, The Rerl-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio). of beetles may be seen suspended all about in the vicinity of its nest, so that the bush supporting them may be compared to a small butcher’s shop. This habit is supposed to be due to the feet of the Bird not being strong enough to hold its food satis- factorily while tearing it with its sharp and toothed bill; so that itis convenient for it to have its prey securely fixed by such an artifice. It may also be that the food is more welcome after having become tender by keeping. There are about 266 species. 122 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. Some forty birds known as Drongo Shrikes are fly-catching ones which associate in flocks. They are Old-World forms, mostly with long, forked tails, whereof the Black Drongo Shrike (Buchanga atra) may stand as an example. The toothed and powerful beak of the typical Shrikes would seem by itself enough to show that such creatures were Birds of Fig. 132. The Drongo Shrike (Buchanga atra). Prey, and we may shortly proceed to notice forms which all agree to be Birds of Prey par eacellence. Before doing so, how- ever, we may note a very curious form—a bird with such a hooked and Hawk-like bill that we might be disposed to include it in the predaceous set. The creature referred to is the Oil-bird (Steatornis caripensis) of the island of Trinidad. But this Bird, with so formidable a bill, is said to feed on the fruits INTRODUCTION. 123 of palms and by no means on other Birds or Beasts which need to be torn to pieces. It is a nocturnal Bird, dwelling in the deepest recesses of caves, wherein it makes a nest (shaped like a cheese) of the soil of guano found by it within the cave, in which the rejected seeds of palms enter as constituents. The young are very fat, and are sometimes eaten by persons who manage not to be disgusted with the odour which is peculiar to them. Passing on now to true Birds of Prey, we may first refer to the Sparrow-hawk (Accipiter nisus) as an example. It is still Fig. 133. The Oil-bird (Steatornis caripensis). more or less common in most of our counties. There are two- and-twenty other members of this genus, which is united with nine other genera to form an Accipitrine group of eighty-two species, amongst which is our Goshawk (Astur palumbarius) and the Marsh Harrier (Circus eruginosus). The Kite (Milvus regalis) was, a hundred years ago, a very common English Bird, but now it is only an occasional visitant. Its deeply forked tail and habit, when on the wing, of sailing in circles without apparent effort serve to distinguish it easily. The Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) is an example of a 124 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. more powerful group of Birds of Prey than that last mentioned. There are five-and-twenty species of the genus Fulco. The Peregrine Falcon is the Falcon of Falconry, but our Hobby and our Merlin both belong to the same genus, as well as that rare Fig. 134, The Greenland Falcon (Falco candicans), visitant to our shores, the Greenland Faleon (Falco candicans). The Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a still more familiar Bird than the Sparrow-hawk, from its habit of poising itself in the air, and remaining apparently in one place whilst rapidly moving INTRODUCTION. 125. its wings. There are eleven genera of Falcons, and at least seventy-eight species, and the group is a cosmopolitan one. Our Buzzard (Buteo vulgaris), a bulky, short, and now very scarce Bird, belongs to a group of fifty-one species which is Fig. 135, The Common Oaracara (Polyborus tharus). cosmopolitan, save that it is absent from Australia, Polynesia, and the Malay Archipelago. Besides the foregoing, a small group of but ten species, with curiously half-webbed feet, are peculiar to South America and are called Caracaras. The Common Caracara (Polyborus tharus) may serve as an example. They pair for life, and 126 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. each couple has its own permanent nesting-place. They vigorously chase Lapwings and Tinamous, and are very bold when several combine together. They sometimes attack and kill young Rheas, in spite of the efforts of the parent bird. In the absence of better food, however, they will feed on carrion, Fig. 136, The Osprey (Pandion haliaétus). The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaétos), still to be found in Scotland, is one of some ninety-seven species of Eagles which are scattered over the whole world. The Fishing-hawk or Osprey (Pandion haliaétus), which we may certainly still reckon as a British Bird, is the only species n INTRODUCTION. 127 of its genus. It is generally distributed over the world, though absent from the temperate parts of South America. The Caracaras have just been spoken of as feeding much on Fig. 187. The Black Vulture (Vuléur monachus). carrion ; but the most renowned feeders upon it are the Vultures, which are valuable scavengers in hot countries ; whereof the Black Vulture (Vultur monachus) is a type. It is to be found » 128 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. on both sides of the Mediterranean, and extends to India and China. Tt is recorded that an Egyptian Vulture (Neophron pereno- “ta pterus) was shot in Somersetshire in the year 1825. When found it was busy eating the carcass of a sheep, and was so gorged that it could not, or would not, fly far at a time. Fig. 138. The King Vulture (Cathartes pupa), There are fully sixteen species of Vultures, forming a group which is peculiar to the Old World, where they range over its warmer regions, save the Malay islands, Ceylon, Madagascar, and Australia. In the New World there are nine other kinds of Vultures forming a distinct group. Ofthese the Condor (Sarcorhamphus INTRODUCTION. 129 gryphus) may still serve as a type, though it may ere long become extinct. The handsome King Vulture (Cathartes papa) also belongs to this group. A very curious and exceptional predaceous creature is the Secretary-bird (Gypogeranus serpentarius) of Africa, which has long legs like those of a Crane. It is a renowned Serpent- eater. The name of “Secretary” has been applied to it on Fig. 139. The Secretary-bird (Gypogeranus serpentarius). account of a peculiar growth of feathers hanging from the back of the head in such a way as to recall the appearance of pens placed behind a man’s ear. Owls, unlike Vultures, are found in the coldest as well as in the warmest climes, and in the remotest Oceanic islands. There are a hundred and fifty-one species of Owls,whereof the Barn Owl (Stria flammea) may serve as atype. Itis the form best known to most of us, though it is reallya tropical form, inhabiting, as it does, K 130 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. the warmest parts of both hemispheres and only ascending some distance northward in the mild climate of Western Europe, The hooting ery of the Wood or Tawny Owl (Syrnium aluco) is familiar, no doubt, to most of our readers who dwell near any * well-wooded parts of the country. The Great Horned Hagle-owl Fig. 140. The Haglesowl (Bubo égnavus). (Bubo ignavus), which has often been taken in this country, and the smallest of British Owls (Scops-giw), must not be passed by without any reference, as they are good examples of }the most numerous section of the entire group of Owls. INTRODUCTION. 131 Before proceeding to consider the structure of Birds, it may be well first to cast a backward glance over the route we have come, and to once more take stock of the principal forms to which the reader’s attention has been called, as being so many specimens of different groups of Birds. Our object, as before said, has been to afford some help to the investigation and memory of the beginner in his attempt to obtain a mental grasp of the whole Class of Birds. For this purpose we have spoken of great groups arranged in a rough and ready, or popular, manner, as “Scratchers” or “‘Gallinaceous Birds,” as ‘“ Cooers,” as “Swimmers or Natatory Birds,” as “ Waders or Grallatorial Birds,” andas “ Runners or Cursorial Birds.” Amongst the many forms to which we have referred since speaking of the Emeu*—the last of our Cursorial Birds mentioned —are a certain number which have feet specially modified so as effectually to help them in climbing—two toes being turned one way, the two others being turned the opposite way. Amongst the Birds the feet of which are thus moditied, are the Wood- peckers, Wrynecks, Jacamars, Cuckoos, Barbets, Toucans, Tou- racous, Plantain-eaters, Parrots, and Trogons—the last named being specially exceptional in the arrangement of their toes. All these Birds, thus specially fitted for climbing, have been distinguished as “‘ Climbers” or “‘ Scansorial Birds.” The Birds last noted by us—the Hawks, Falcons, Buzzards, Kites, Eagles, Ospreys, Vultures, and Owls—are all Birds of Prey or Rapine, and they are hence spoken of as “Raptorial Birds.” Those most like the Hawk, the generic name of which we saw was “ Accipiter,” are also distinguished by the epithet “ Accipitrine.” Almost all the rest of the Birds we have herein referred to (z.¢. all since the Cursorial Birds, which are neither Scansorial nor Raptorial) are, however different in size, form, or appear- ance, frequently called Perching Birds, Perchers, or Insessores. From the name of their commonest species, the Sparrow, “« Passer,” they have also been called Passerine Birds or ‘“ Pas- seres;” and most of them are still commonly so denominated. They constitute the great majority of the whole class of Birds. On account of their prodigious numbers it was long ago felt necessary to divide their members amongst subordinate but large * See ante, p. 67. K 2 132 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. x groups, and this was done by Cuvier, who mainly rested his divisions on the form of the beak. Thus, as the Shrikes have a marked notch or “ tooth” on either side of the bill, he placed them in a group called toothed-billed or Dentirostral Birds— associating with them the Flycatchers, Tanagers, Waxwings, Thrushes, Orioles, Warblers, Manakins, Lyre-birds, the Water Ouzel, Wren, Wagtails, Pipits, and Mynas. The Swallows, Swifts, and Goatsuckers, on account of their wide gape, were also associated together as wide-mouthed or Fissirostral Birds. The vague name of cone-shaped beak was bestowed on the Larks, Tits, Buntings, Sparrows, and other Finches (including the very exceptional Crossbill), Colies, Oxpeckers, Starlings, Pastors, Crows, Magpies, Jays, Rollers, Birds of Paradise, and Woodpeckers. These were all spoken of as “ Conirostral Birds.” The remaining Passerine Birds, all of which have long, and most of them slender bills, were taken together in a group designated as “ Tenuirostral Birds.” Such were the Humming- birds, Sun-birds, Creepers, Bee-eaters, Honey-eaters, Hoopoes, Motmots, Todies, Nuthatches, and Kingfishers. . Thus there were recognized in popular Ornithology :—(1) Raptorial Birds; (2) Tenuirostral *, Conirostral, and Denti- rostral Passerine Birds; (3) Scansorial Birds; (4) Cursorial Birds ; (5) Gallinaceous Birds ; (6) Grallatorial Birds; and (7) Natatorial Birds ; and these constituted the primary groups into which Birds were divided by Cuvier. These divisions have, for the most part, become obsolete ; but it is none the less desirable that the beginner should not be altogether ignorant of them. ‘We have now enumerated the more leading forms of Birds, and the student who has acquired some slight knowledge of each of the groups whereof a named type has been here put before him, will be able to set forth on a serious study of the whole class of Birds. He must not suppose, however, that all the more im- portant forms have been as yet indicated. To set out a complete list is impossible in an introductory chapter, except at the cost of making it so burthensome as to defeat the very object for which it has been written. Nevertheless, we believe the forms herein brought forward and distinguished aresufficient in number for our purpose, so that it will be enough hereafter, when intro- * See below, p. 144. INTRODUCTION. 133 ducing to notice any new bird; to refer to the resemblances in appearance or to the affinity which it may possess with some or other of the species and groups to which the student’s attention has been called. ‘We may now pass on to the next subject we have to consider, the Organization of Birds. Before, however, entering upon the question what part any organ or organism can play, it is necessary to have some notion of what such organ or organism in itself really is. A study of “Structure,” or “ Morphology,” should always precede a study of what any structures, or the whole organism they compose, can do. This latter inquiry constitutes the study of “functions,” or “ Physiology.” CHAPTER II. Tun ExterNaL STRUCTURE OF BIRDs. [HE body of every Bird consists of a compact central part, or trunk; a very moveable neck, bearing a rounded head with a more or less prolonged beak ; a pair of wings; a pair of legs, and a short solid tail. It is always clothed with feathers and the wings and tail almost always support long ones. The legs end in from two to four toes terminated by claws. There are always a pair of eyes plainly visible, but the equally constant pair of ears generally give no external indications of their presence. The leading facts of the internal structure of. a Bird are, like those of our own internal structure, matters of common know- ledge. Thus it is almost superfluous to say that immediately beneath the skin of a Bird is.the “flesh” of its body, which more or less amply wraps round its bones—the bones of the head, neck, trunk, tail, and limbs. Within the trunk is a cavity wherein lie a variety of parts known as the heart, lungs, kidneys, crop, stomach, intestine, liver, &c. Inside the skull, and its continuation posteriorly, the back- bone, is a mass of white substance—the brain and spinal marrow. Delicate threads of similar substance (nerves) and tubes of various sizes (vessels) traverse the body in all directions. Each considerable and more or less distinct part is called an “organ ”—as e.g. the heart is an organ of circulation. Each connected set of organs is called a system—as the heart and the vessels called “arteries” and “veins” form the “circulating system,” and the brain, spinal cord, and nerves form the“ nervous system.” The flesh is composed of muscle, and all the muscles taken together constitute the ‘ muscular system,” and we shall presently have to notice the “ alimentary,” “respiratory,” “ uri- THE EXTERNAL STRUCTURE OF BIRDS. 135 nary,” and “generative” systems, as well as organs “of investment and support,” which consist of the external skeleton—the skin with its appendages—and the internal skeleton, or the skeleton commonly so called. We will first notice the organs of investment and support, Pune with the external skeleton—the skin and its appen- ges. The skin of a Bird, like our own, consists of two layers :—an external layer called the epidermis or ecteron, and a.deep fibrous layer, supplied with nerves and blood-vessels, called the dermis or enderon. The feathers, the horny scaly outer skin of the feet and legs, and the outer covering of the beak are all epidermal structures—that is appendages or modifications of the epi- dermis. Before describing any of these, we will first note some of the general conditions which modify and determine the leading characteristics of bird-structure. The whole organization of Birds is specially modified to, sub- serve flight. It is this which mainly governs the general shape of the body, the arrangement of the organs of movement—the muscles—and the position and packing of the internal organs or viscera, which are so placed as to be most conveniently carried near the centre of the body’s gravity, so helping to maintain that in a suitable position. Flight determines the structure and form of the most internal organs, the bones, as well as of those wonderfully delicate and beautiful structures which clothe the body externally. At the same time all Birds have more or less to walk, and very many have to swim; and hence arise various structural conditions which, however, with rare exceptions, are never so modified as to impede flight. , The fore limbs are absolutely and entirely given up to flight, not even taking on any other function in birds which cannot fly. Those of the Ostrich only assist its running by their flapping, while those of the Penguin act as organs of aquatic flight beneath the surface of the water. Since, then, some members must be applied to ordinary locomotion, all birds require to have a pair of legs exclusively or mainly devoted to that function. But as much delicate work (as ¢.g. in nest-building) has often to be done, which a foot even when used like a hand, as by a Parrot, could never do, there is nothing but the head to do it. Hence arises the need of a more or less elongated and very moveable 136 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. neck, to enable that delicate grasping organ, the beak, to per- form all needed manipulations. So complete is the packing of parts towards the centre of (he body, that even the hard structures which serve to grind the food are not in the form of teeth in the mouth, but of stones swallowed down and held in the modified stomach * or “ giz- zard.” The voice-organ, also, instead of being at the top of the throat (as in man and beasts) is at the bottom of it, and many of the muscles are largely reduced to strings or “ tendons” for a great part of their extent. But very powerful muscles are needed to work the wings, and this again demands a vigorous circulation with very pure blood and a body lightened as much as possible. These con- ditions are admirably fulfilled in most birds by a provision for the entrance of air into their very bones. This diminishes the specific gravity of the body, while it helps to purify the blood and so facilitate the action of the muscles, and therefore flight. A Bird may be said to breathe not only with its lungs, but with its whole frame. Hence the lightness of Aquatic Birds on the water, swimming most easily with a boat-shaped body and oar- like feet; some also, such as the Swans, being provided with sails, in the shape of their raised and slightly expanded wings. For flight nothing could be better than the shape of the body of most birds, which is in the form of two cones united by their bases, with a small rounded head and pointed beak in front, poised on a neck which, by its protrusion or retraction, can, at will, change the position of the centre of gravity. The rapidity of flight may be very great; a Falcon which belonged to Henry IV. of France flew from Fontainbleau to Malta (1350 miles) in one day. The race-horse “ Eclipse” went a mile a minute fora short time; but a Hawk at full speed has been calculated to fly at the rate of 150 miles in one hour, and an Hider-duck at 90. The distances also which birds traverse are prodigious. Our Swifts and Swallows fly to the Gold Coast of Africa, and our Cuckoos to the Cape of Good Hope. All this wonderful work, facilitated by the arrangement above noted, is directly effected exclusively by means of certain feathers of larger size than those which clothe the body, never by expanded skin as in the Bat. All Birds, as before said, have this characteristic external * See below, p. 208. THE EXTERNAL STRUCTURE OF BIRDS. 137 investment. It is beautifully adapted to harmonize with the rest of their organization, being extremely light, warm, and non- conducting. It thus serves most effectively to maintain that high temperature which distinguishes their class. Beasts are provided with hairs, but feathers are much more complicated and elaborate organs. They are, in fact, the most complicated of all the appendages of the skin which any animals possess. Whatever may be their modifications of size, colour, or tex- ture, they are all formed on one common plan. Each feather consists of a firm central axis, the base of which is the “ quill,” and the part above this the “rachis” or “scapus ” or “ shaft,” to which the web, vexillum or pogonium, is attached on either side. The “webs” of both sides of the “rachis,” taken to- gether, constitute the vane. The quill is implanted in the skin and has two apertures, one at either end. Into the lower —the umbilicus inferior—the soft vascular “ pulp” of the feather penetrates. The other aperture is called the wmbilicus superior. The “vane” consists, as before said, of the flat- tened expanded parts on both sides of the central axis, and each lateral portion of it (the fore or outer web, fig. 141, F, or the hind or inner web, H.V.) is made up of a number of elongated closely arranged lamine called “ bards;” while from the margins of each barb much smaller processes project, called “barbules” or “radii,” and the sides of the barbules may also be furnished with still smaller processes or “ barbulets,” or barbicels, or hamuli, or hooklets. Not unfrequently a second shaft, called an “aftershaft,” H.R., springs from the summit of the quill, and this is generally a miniature representation of the normal “shaft” with its “vane.” The large feathers of the wing and tail never have an aftershaft. They present a striking combination of the two generally opposite characters—strength and lightness—in a very high degree, as the barbules in- terlock and keep the whole structure remarkably firm and coherent. This kind of feather is called pennaceous. Certain feathers in which these parts are separate, and which also have long barbules, are very much looser in structure, and are called “plumes,” and their structure is termed plumulaceous—such as those of the Ostrich. : Most Birds are provided with more or less “down.” Down consists of very soft feathers, which may or may not have an aftershaft, and may have no rachis at all, the soft barbs 138 : ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. radiating directly from the summit of the quill. Filo-plumes, or thread-feathers, much resemble hairs, as they are long and very narrow, ‘with a rudimentary vane. Some of these are bristly and called setaccous; and many Birds have a row of bristles or vibrisse bordering the opening of the mouth or gape, and these are particularly long in the Goatsuckers *. Fig, 141. Fig. 142. ae ~ ed Pi = | Fig. 141. Dracran oF A Fraruer (with only three of its barbs indicated). A. Axis. Q. Quill. R. Rachis, or shaft, or scapus. W. Vane, vexillum, or pogonium. F. Front half of vane or outer web. H.V. Hinder half of vane or inner web. B, Three barbs or rami. 5. Barbules or radii. H.R. Hyporachis or aftershaft. Fig. 142. Diagram (after Nitesch) or pants oF WEB. BB, Two barbs in vertical section. 'b'. Anterior barbules. 24?, Poste- rior barbules. ¢. Barbicels, or barbulets, or hamuli, or hooklets. Certain down-feathers are called pulviplumes because the ends of their barbs habitually break up into a fine powder called powder-down, such as may be remarked on Parrots. The ordinary feathers which clothe the body and hide the down are called contour feathers. Their basal barbs are com- monly soft. * See ante, pp. 86, 87. THE EXTERNAL STRUCTURE OF BIRDS. 139 Feathers may be considered as very complex hairs of a conical form, which split up according toa definite pattern. ach is at first a little, soft, vascular process or papilla, curiously grooved. On one side is a central vertical groove, broadest at the base, and vanishing towards the apex of the papilla. Other less deep grooves, closely set, go out, nearly at right angles, from either side of this vertical groove. They extend almost: all round the papilla, only vanishing towards the middle of the opposite side to that which bears the vertical groove. Grooves smaller still and much shorter are given off again nearly at right angles from the grooves encircling the papilla, and sometimes others again from these. A horny secretion is deposited on the papilla, and is, of course, thickest where the grooves are deepest, and thinnest where there are no grooves at all—z. ¢, on the interspaces of the grooves. With the progress of growth, this whole horny investment splits up along the interspaces, where the deposit is thinnest. The part which was the main vertical groove is thickest of all, and becomes the shaft of the feather, the parts in the secondary grooves become the “ barbs,” those on the still smaller ones the “ barbules,” and those in the occa- sionally present yet smaller ones, the “ barbulets.” Sometimes a papilla will have a vertical groove on either side, and then the feather will have two shafts (one an aftershaft)—as in the Cassowary. The vane is the part of the case of the papilla which thus splits. The quill is that part of the case which does not split at all. At the upper end of the quill there must be a small perforation which marks just that spot where the feather ceases to open and flatten itself, and begins to remain curled round and continuous, as it all was at first. The space where it thus begins to remain curled round is the umbilicus superior before mentioned. The papilla persists as the “ pulp” which ascends through the umbilicus inferior. Feathers are developed with great rapidity, sometimes attain- ing a length of two feet or more in a few days. They are also almost all renewed every year, and in many species twice a year. When we think of the serious effects of teething in mankind we cannot but be struck with the great vital energy of birds, and with ‘the critical character of their process of moulting (ecdysis), which is, indeed, not unfrequently a fatal one. : The annual moult commonly begins just after the close of the breeding-season, and it takes place in all Birds, from the Wren to the Ostrich. Such a process is obviously a necessary 140 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. one as regards the most important feathers—those of flight. A structure which, however strong it may be, is so delicately formed as is a feather, must be liable to accidents and must sooner or later wear out. But if the feathers needful for flight were not renewed, then such accidents and wearing out would cause birds to be unable to fly, and therefore, for the most part, un- able to fulfil the conditions necessary. for life—that is to say, to obtain their food and escape their enemies. On this account in almost all birds the flying-feathers, or quill-feathers of the wing, are shed gradually and in pairs, so that the moulting birds can retain both their equilibrium and their power of flight. The numerous family of Ducks forms an exception to this rule, for most of them shed their quill-feathers almost simul- taneously, and so, for a time, are unable to fly. But then, from their mode of life, they have other resources for concealment and escape, and they can obtain their food in or near water. Aquatic herbage, which is commonly luxuriant, ‘also affords - them a ready and effective shelter. : j Most male Ducks not only change their feathers, but also their colours. This necessitates for them another and second moult, in order to put on their gayer plumes for the next breed- ing-season. Very rarely, indeed, birds moult in the spring only, as is the case with the Swallows. A great number of birds undergo a double moult, but species which are close allies may differ in this respect, as the Garden Warbler (Sylvia salicaria) differs, as it is said, from the Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) by moulting twice instead of once. But there may be yet more changes. Thus the’ Ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus) moults after the breeding-season (as usual), both sexes assuming a grey colour. They then moult again, to become white in winter, and then moult a third time in the spring, to assume their breeding costume once more. The quill- feathers of the wing and tail are not, however, so often changed by them. The second moult of Birds is, indeed, often but a very partial one, and sometimes a certain change of plumage may be effected by an alteration in the colour of the feathers themselves— such as is sometimes produced by the shedding of the barbulets or barbicels. Besides the annual moult of adult Birds, the young may undergo several changes in order to attain the fully developed THE EXTERNAL STRUCTURE OF BIRDS. I4!I plumage of their species and sex. Some Birds, ¢.g., the Black Redstart (Rutccilla tithys) and the Rosy Bullfinch (Pyrrhula rosacea), however, rear a progeny before attaining it *. The young of most Birds do not shed the quill-feathers in their first year, and in many even an otherwise complete moult does not seem to take place during that period. When the plumage of the sexes differs, the young resembles the mother, save when the latter is more conspicuously coloured than her mate, in which case they resemble the male parent. When the adults of both sexes are alike, the young is different from either. The-young of both the black and the white Swan are of a dusky colour, while the black-necked Swan has white oung. i It has been supposed that when adult birds assume at the ‘preeding-season a plumage which differs from their winter dress, the young are intermediate in colour. The Linnet alone, however, suffices to disprove this dictum. ” Feathers do not by any means grow—save in rare cases— all over the body of Birds, but only along certain definite tracts, the forms and arrangements of which are very characteristic of different kinds. Such an arrangement in a Bird is called its pterylosis, and the special description of these conditions is called “ pterylography” t. This does not apply to down. While considering the form and structure of different parts and appendages of the external skeleton, it will be well also to note the conditions presented by the body as a whole and its various parts and members. In other words, we must study the external topography of Birds—their head, neck, body, tail, wings, and legs. Tur Heap anp NECK. The Head.—This is always more or less rounded and pyra- midal, and almost always covered with feathers. It terminates in front in the beak or bill, consisting of an upper jaw, or maxilla, and of a lower jaw, or mandible +, each of which is pro- vided with a more or less horny investment, and is naked or bears but a few feathers. The crown of the head is the vertex, behind this is the occiput. * T am indebted to Mr. Seebohm, F.L.S., for a knowledge of these two examples. t See below, p. 164. t The maxilla and mandible are very often called the upper and lower mandibles. 142 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. The eyes are generally placed at the side of the head towards its middle, but may be placed further back, as in the Wood- cock; or anteriorly situated, looking forwards, as in the Owls. Each eye has an upper and a lower eyelid, and there is also a third eyelid (a rudiment of which exists at the inner angle of our eye) which sweeps obliquely over the eyeball within the other eyelids. If the eye of an Owl or Hawk be watched, this will be seen as a pearly-white film rapidly appearing and disappear- ing as it covers and uncovers the eye. It is called the niétitating membrane. The eur almost always opens a little below and behind the eye, but may do so below it, as in the Woodcock. It is hidden, and only indicated by a difference of texture in the feathers (auriculars) which cover them. Occasionally this opening is provided with a flap, which can close it, as in some Owls. The nose is always made up of a pair of nostrils, though these may open above like one tube, as in the Petrels. The nostrils open externally on the bill in different situations in different birds,—as may be more conveniently indicated in describing the bill. Internally they open into the back of the mouth, some- times by one aperture, but generally by two. The part of the side of the head between the eye and the base of the upper mandible is termed the “lore;” and the cheek is behind and below it in a line with the lower mandible. At the: lower margin of the cheek is a narrow, linear space known as the malar region. ' The “chin” or mentum is the part (feathered or bare) on the underside of the lower mandible behind the point of junction of its two lateral halves or rami. This is also called the interramal space. Below the chin is the gular region or throat, followed by the jugulum or lower throat, to which succeeds the prepectus or fore-neck. Some Birds—as, ¢. g., Turkeys and Vultures—have naked heads. That is, they have only filoplumes instead of ordinary feathers on their heads. Such Birds often possess (as also do various others) some other kind of warty or fleshy out- growth called “lobes” or “ wattles,” “combs,” “ caruneles,” or “ horns,’ such as those of. the Tragopans *, as the case may be. The gular region may be naked as in the Pelican’s pouch, or the lores as in Grebes, or the cirewmorbital region, or part round the eyes, as in the Herons. The ordinary feathered * See p. 6. THH EXTERNAL STRUCTURE OF BIRDS. 143 covering of the front part of the head may be replaced by a horny plate or “shield,” as in the Coot and Moor-hen. On the other hand, some or other of the head-feathers may be exaggerated in size, forming crests, which may be single and median as in the Cockatoo, or double and lateral, as in the so-called “horns” of Eared Owls (structures which have ee whatever to do with the ears) and in the Crested rebe. Very rarely feathers of the mentum may be elongated, as in the Bearded Vulture. More often those of the gular and malar regions with the auriculars may form “rufts.” The Bill is perhaps the most important part of a Bird’s ex- ternal organization for the purposes of classification. It is also a most important organ in the economy of the Bird’s life, for it not only serves for taking food, but, as already said, subserves the purpose of a hand or fingers, and in some cases is an organ of feeling, as in the Snipes and Woodcocks. The bill serves for picking up, carrying, cutting, tearing, or crushing, accord- ing to circumstances, and it is almost always more or less conical, generally ending in a sharp point. Different definite technical terms are used by Ornithologists to denote its form. A bill is said to be of medium length if it is about as long as the head. If less than that length, it is short, and it is long if it much exceeds it. A bill which is short is said to be acute if pointed at the tip. If there is a hook- like process at the tip, the bill is called hamulate or unecinate. It is dentate when toothed as in a Falcon, and when there are a number of small tooth-like processes along the margins of the bill, it is said to be serrate. If the bill, as in the Duck, bears a nail-like process at the end of the maxilla, it is termed wnguz- culate. When the bill is extremely long and slender as well as pointed, it is sometimes compared with a needle and so called acicular, or, if less slender, to an awl, subulate. If only slightly elongated it is acuminate; and the term attenuate is supposed to denote a condition intermediate between ‘‘acuminate” and “ sub- ulate.” A bill which is flattened is said to be depressed, and if widened at the end is called spatulate (as that of the Shoveller Duck and, still more, that of the Spoonbill). A bill rather high and narrow is called compressed. A bill of the most ordinary shape, like that of a Sparrow, is called controstral. A beak which is short with a wide gape, like that of the Swift, is termed jissi- rostral. The quite opposite condition of bill (¢. g., that found in 144 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. the Humming-bird) may be called “tenuirostral.”* If there is a notch or tooth-like process at the side, then such a bill is said to be dentirostral. A bill which is bent up towards the end, as in the Avocet, is termed recurved, while the opposite condition is decurved, as in the Curlew. In one genus of crook- billed Plovers of New Zealand (Anarhynchus), the bill is, as before said t, bent laterally. Before noting the terminology used to denote the parts and condition of either mandible, a few words may be said as to the covering of the bill, which will especially relate to the maxilla. In the immense majority of instances the bill is entirely hard and horny, and the investment of either jaw is in one piece. In some Birds, however, as in the Petrels +, it may be in several pieces, and these may be moulted like the feathers, so that they form part of the summer dress, and con- stitute a secondary sexual character, as is the case in the Puffins §. Such bills are said to be deciduous or caducous. The bills of Birds are often marked with ridges proceeding in this or that direction, and such are called carinate or striate, if the ridges are pretty straight. A bill, on the contrary, is said to be rugose or corrugated if the prominences form rather irregular wrinkles than ridges. If the bill is marked with linear depressions instead of ridges, it is termed “ sulcate,” each groove being a sulcus or furrow. If the depressions are not elongated, but are little rounded ones or pits, the bill is called unctate. Instead of being all hard as horn, a bill may be of rather leathery texture, as in the Ducks, or invested with a sort of skin and very sensitive towards the tip, as in the Woodcock. The bill may be hard towards the tip, but notably softer at the base, as in that in.most Pigeons and Plovers. In Parrots and Hawks the base of the bill is clothed by a peculiar wax-like investment called a cere, and this sometimes bears feathers. Sometimes the bill bears very large, soft, fleshy processes, and then it is said to be carunculate. If the procésses are smaller, like warts, the bill is termed papillose, the warts being named papille. Not only is the lower jaw moveable, but the upper one is soin a slight degree, though this is hardly noticeable, save in Parrots, * See ante, p. 100. t See ante, p. 58. t See ante, p. 31. § See ante, p. 25. THE EXTERNAL STRUCTURE OF BIRDS. 145 where its mobility is very marked. These differences depend on conditions of the skeleton, to be noticed later on. The two mandibles are almost always of about equal length, meeting together at the point and not overlapping. In the great majority of birds the lower mandible fits into the upper one. This normal‘condition is termed paragnathous. When the mandibles cross each other towards their apices, as in the Crossbill*, they are termed metagnathous. This is an extremely rare condition, but it is by no means unusual to find the upper mandible longer than the lower one, and curving over the tip of the latter, as in Parrots and Hawks. This condition is termed epignathous. Rarest of all is the form denominated hypo- gnathous, in which the lower mandible is longer than the upper, in the Skimmer (Rhynchops) t. The two mandibles join each other so as to form by their junction a line, which may or may not be straight, and which extends from the tip of the bill back to the point where the two jaws laterally unite, which is the angle of the mouth. This line is formed in part (anteriorly) by the junction of the upper and lower portions of the horny bill, and in part (posteriorly) by the junction of the two jaws when their opening extends back- wards beyond the hinder end of one or both portions (upper and lower) of the horny bill, and these two junctions require distinguishing by two different names. The former one is the tomia +t, the latter one is the rictus, while the whole margin of the tomia and rictus, taken together, is the gape or commissural line, or line of commissure. The angle of the mouth may be further distinguished as the point of commissure. The line of commissure, or gape, may be straight, curved, or angulate. It will be “straight ” when the tomia and the rictus together form one straight line. It will be “curved,” or sinuate, when they together form one curved line. Jinally, it will be “ angulate” when both the tomia and the rictus are nearly straight but do not lie in one line, and, therefore, form an angle at their point of junction, The maxilla or upper mandible has two definite lines most evident to the observer when the bill is viewed in profile. One of these lines coincides with the uppermost margin of the bill * See p. 104. t See above, p. 30. ; ae + This distinction was proposed by Elliott Coues in the second edition of his ‘Key to North American Birds,’ p. 105. : L 146 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. and is called the culmen. The lower line coincides with its lowest margin, that which encloses the under mandible. This lower line is the maxillary tomium. The culmen may be in the form of a sharp elevated ridge like a knife, when it is said to be “ eultrate,” the mandible which bears it being “keeled”; the apex of the upper mandible may be hamulate or unguiculate. The maxillary tomium may bear tooth-like processes or be notched like a saw, when itis said to be serrate. If it has a ma £ £9 7 Parts'or A Bin. a, Side of maxilla or upper mandible ; 2, culmen; c, nasal fossa; @, nostril ; e, tomia or inferior margin of upper mandible; f, gape, or whole com- missural line; g, rictus; 4, commissural point or angle of the mouth ; i, ramus of under jaw; 7, tomia of under mandible ; 4, angle of gonys: the hindermost point of junction of the two rami which form the lower mandible is the “ gonys proper,” but the term is extended to apply to the whole line of union of the rami from the gonys proper to the tip of the under mandible corresponding to the culmen or median ridge and upper outline of the uppe? mandible ; /, m, side of under mandible; n, tips of mandibles. single notch or tooth-like process (as in the Hawk) it is called dentate. If it forms a sharp edge like that of a knife it is (like a sharp culmen) termed cultrate, and if it is at the same time much curved it is falcate, or “like a sickle” An upper mandible provided with a series of transverse plates or ridges within it (like that of the Duck) is called lamellate. The nostrils are almost always conspicuous one on. either side of the upper mandible. Asa rule they each open at the bottom of a depression, which when rounded is termed the THE EXTERNAL STRUCLURE OF BIRDS. 147 nasal fossa; if it is long and narrow it is called the nasal sulcus or groove. They are usually lateral in position, but are called culminal if they open on theculmen. When high, but not quite so high, they are superior, and they are inferior when nearer the maxillary tomium than the culmen, and they may be quite near the former—as in the Puffin. They are also usually basal or subbasal (2. ¢. situated near the base of the bill), but some- times they are median, as in the Goose. In the Apteryx they are terminal or at the end of the bill—a quite exceptional posi- tion. When the cere is feathered, they may be thus completely hidden, and they may be also hidden by the extension forwards of the frontal feathers of the head in pointed forward exten- sions (called antiw) on either side of the culmen—as in the Grouse. They may be also covered by setaceous feathers which project forwards over them, and therefore project in the contrary direction to that of the head-feathers generally, or are what is termed antrorse in direction. Very rarely, as in the Pelican, the nostrils do not open externally at all, or are impervious. It may be that they can both be seen through at the same time, or this may be impossible owing to the existence of a median septum between them. The terms perforate and imperforate are used to denote one or other of these conditions. The shape of the openings may vary from round to linear, and they are sometimes termed oblong, ovate, oval, or elliptic, as may be deemed the most fit. They are sometimes club-shaped or clavate. They may some- times have a raised rim round them much prolonged—as in the Petrels, and such are called tubular. Sometimes there‘is spevial development called a nasal scale, which may overarch the opening as in the Fowl, or may form a partial floor as in the Wryneck. The part of the bill between the nostrils is called the mesorhinum. The lower mandible is generally the smaller of the two, being slightly surpassed by the upper at the tip and also laterally. It is’ generally also less deep than the other. Its cutting-edge is called the mandibular tomium, which bites against, and generally.a little within, the maxillary tomium of the upper mandible. Each half of the lower mandible is called a ramus, and the two rami unite at the tip and for a greater or less distance, thence backwards and downwards as the case may be. This line of junction forms part of the lower margin of the lower mandible, and corresponds with the culmen of the upper man- ‘ L2 1 48 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. dible. It is called the gonys, and this term is especially applied to the posterior point of this line of junction. The gonys line usually forms from a half to three fourths of the inferior outline of the bill, but it may form the whole or even more than the whole, extending backwards in a process—as in the Puffin. On the other hand, it is exceedingly short in many other water- birds, e.g. the Duck and especially in the Pelican. The longer may be the gonys, the shorter will be the extent of the space existing between the rami behind it, which is called the inter- ramal space. A hook or claw may exist at the tip of the lower mandible. The Neck is always a part of much importance in a bird, not only, as in ourselves, on account of the important organs which pass through it within, but because it has to move like an arm to subserve the hand-like action of the beak. It is, therefore, always very moveable and never very short, while it is some- times, as in the Swan and Flamingo, extremely long. The neck is always long when the legs are long, as otherwise the beak could not reach the ground; but it may, as we see in the Swan, be very long in proportion to the legs, and this is evident also in the Darter. The Darter and the Heron spear the fish on which they feed, and so the head has to be thrown forward with the greatest rapidity, and at the same time with the greatest accuracy of direction. This is facilitated by the fact that the neck of a bird forms (plainly or hardly perceptibly) a sigmoid curve (the superior concavity and inferior convexity being directed forwards), so conditioned by the shape of the bones and the adjustments of the muscles, that it can be instantly straightened but not bent in contrary curves. The feathers which clothe the neck are named from the regions of it from which they grow. Thus those behind the neck are nuchal or cervical, according as they belong to the upper part of the back of the neck or to its lower part—the nape or nucha. Similarly, the feathers on the lowest part of the front of the neck are those of the prepectus. Above these are the jugular, then follow the ular, while all of them together are sometimes called guttural. The feathers of the neck are rarely elongated except as a “nuchal crest.” But there may be long jugular feathers as in the Heron, and the elongated neck-feathers of the Ruff are very remarkable. The neck may be bald here and there, or altogether so, as in the Vultures. Draceam oF A Brep, to illustrate the terminology of the plumage and limbs (after Oates). 1, Forehead. 2. Crown or vertex. 3. Nape. Between this and z is the hind-head, or occiput. 4. Lore (space in front of the eye). ~5. Super- cilium. (The space around the eye is the “ orbital ” or “circumocular region ” and is subdivided into supra-orbital, infra-orbital, ante-orbital, and post-orbital). 6. Cheek or gena; its lower margin is the malar region. 7. Auriculars or ear-coverts. 8. Upper mandible or maxilla. 9. Lower, or true, mandible. 10. Culmen, or upper profile of maxilla. 11, Rictus, or commissural line of junction(or gape) of the two mandibles. The extreme posterior end of the gape is the corner or angle of the mouth, or commissural point. The space between this and the base of the horny bill is the rictus. 12. Rictal bristles or vibrisse. 13. Chin or mentum. 14. The throat—divisible into “upper throat” (gula) and “lower throat” (jugulum), which extends ae to 15, where begins the prepectus, or fore-neck, after which comes the breast or pectus—that is the part which covers the breast-bone or sternum. 16. Abdomen. (The breast and abdomen together are called “ gas- treum.”) 17. Back—the upper part of which is the interscapular region, 18. Rump or uropygium. 19. Scapulars. 20. Primaries (the outermost 9 or 10 quills of the wing springing from the pinion or bones of thé hand). 21. Secondaries (wing-quills springing from the lower arm-bones—radius and ulna). 22. Tertiaries (springing from the upper arm-bone or humerus).—The primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries together constitute the ‘‘ remiges.” 23. Lesser wing-coverts. 24. Median wing-coverts. 25. Greater wing-coverts. 26. Primary wing-coverts. 27, Winglet or bastard wing or alula (feathers spring- ing from the thumb). 28. Upper tail-coverts. 29. Tail-feathers or rectrices. 30. Under tail-coverts. 31. Tarsus. 32. Hind toe or first: toe or hallux. 33. Inner or second toe. 34. Middle or third tue, 35. Outer or fourth toe. 150 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. Tue Bopy anp Tait. The Body of a bird forms, roughly speaking, an egg-shaped mass. This may be somewhat laterally pressed in, or it may be flattened from above downwards, these conditions being termed (as in the analogous conditions of the bill) compressed or depressed respectively. As in ourselves and in beasts, the body has its dorsal and its ventral region. The former is sometimes called the noteum and the latter the gastreum. The feathers of the belly are generally softer than those of the back. The surface of the back taken together with the dorsal, or upper, surface of the wings is also sometimes spoken of as the manile, The feathers which grow on the shoulders are named scapulars or scapularies, and, of course, the space between them is the anterscapular region. The part immediately behind this is sometimes distinguished as the lower back or tergum, and behind this comes the rump or uropygium. The ventral region would seem hardly to need description, such simple terms as pectoral, abdominal, and lateral apparently explaining themselves. Yet confusion has arisen, so that it is necessary to point out that the breast, or pectoral region, is the part over the sternum, behind which is the abdomen, and in front of which is the prepectus. The term “ crissum” is one which is variously, and therefore rather misleadingly, applied to a region it may be desired to distinguish, and which is in near proximity to the vent. It is best applied to feathers just behind the vent, that is to the more anteriorly situated of those feathers which we shall soon describe—amongst those of the tail—as “ under tail-coverts.” Tail.—The tail of a bird, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, means the collection of more or less strong, more or less elongated feathers which are implanted into the skin of the hinder end of the body. But evidently this “tail” has no re- lation to what we mean by a “ tail,” when we speak of the tail of a beast. Moreover, as we shall soon see, elongated con- spicuous feathers, commonly called the tail of certain birds, do not correspond with the tail-feathers which other birds possess. The tail of a beast, for example of a Cat, consists of a firm bony basis surrounded with flesh and sinew and invested by the skin. Such a tail always exists in birds, but it is a very different structure from what is ordinarily called “a bird’s tail.” Most aquatic beasts, and other backboned animals which THE EXTHRNAL STRUCTURED OF BIRDS. I51 swim, have an elongated powerful tail which is their main aid in swimming ; but no bird whatever swims by its tail. Very many climbing animals are assisted by a tail which is “ prehen- sile” or can grasp. Some birds (such as Woodpeckers) are aided in climbing by their very stiff tail-feathers. But no bird has a tail which can grasp. No existing bird has a long tail in the sense that a Cat has one. That part of a bird which answers to the tail of a beast is a short fleshy, more or less heart-shaped structure, which in the chicken is often called the “parson’s nose.” Into it the long true tail-feathers are implanted, and it also commonly bears on its upper surface, at its root, a peculiar body known as the oil-gland, sometimes called the uropygial gland or the eleodochon. The structure of the bony basis of this true tail must, of course, be reserved for description along with that of the rest of the endoskeleton. Here we are alone occupied with its exterior and its epidermal appen- dages. In the first place the oil-gland is composed of numerous contorted tubes, which gather themselves together and unite more and more till they open by one or several pores on the surface generally, on a little papilla. These tubes secrete within them a greasy fluid, which exudes and can be pressed out from the pore or pores. This gland is specially developed in aquatic birds, which carefully anoint their feathers with its secretion, the presence of which causes water so proverbially to “run off a duck’s back.” The gland is often surrounded with a circlet of feathers, the presence or absence of which serves as a distinctive character of various species, and is by some anatomists con- sidered important enough to define the great orders. The true feather-tail is formed by those generally well- developed feathers which are inserted into the fleshy tail. These feathers are called rectrices or steerers, and are, as a rule, thoroughly firm and pennaceous, though generally the web of the outer side of each feather is narrower than the other. The rectrices are even in number, and there are generally: twelve of them. This number may, however, be diminished to eight or raised to twenty or four-and-twenty, while the Penguins may have two-and-thirty or even more. When the rectrices are expanded it will be found that the central pair are inserted highest up (most dorsally), one being higher in origin than the other. The insertion will be found to follow on alternately— the next to the median pair on one side being inserted above the next to the median pair of the other side, and soon. These 152 ELEMENTS OF ORNITHOLOGY. feathers may be of very different shapes in different species of birds. When very narrow they are said to be linear, and when very long and slender they are called filamentous. Each is termed lanceolate when tapering to the tip from a broader base. When the feather becomes gradually very pointed it is called acute; but if it is suddenly narrowed towards the point it is termed acuminate. The tail of the Woodpecker shows such rectrices. A feather enlarged at the end (more or less like the beak of a Spoonbill) is called spatulate. A mucronate or spinose rectrix is one in which the rachis projects at its end beyond the vanes. This condition is also sometimes spoken of as spinose.