Se CAs ama Cds (Cth A Aaa aS ve ln oie Toa ah akal ae CC ng E> Sate as ewe De a is a ae Rasa ae BN Sah 2 a he No ase AD Ram eins NER SS” a lS he ae a ig <4 & . Ba: f | rd 7 a. 3 i i: t | & 4 12) ») i a) | Wy . Ny ’ Wh W. B. FROSTICK 26 MINSTER PRECINCTS PETERBOROUGH SV See Naa OS ibe, “ROY AL Voge AL HiSlrORY EDITED” Bix NIGIAKD, EYDEKKER, “BiAL Favs.) Ere. With PRERACE Bx. om ee SSCLATER MA. «) PHUD ER.S.,, - EtG: SECRETARY OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON ILLUSTRATED WITH Seventy-two Colowred Plates and Sixteen Hundred Engravings BY W. KUHNERT, F. SPECHT, P. J. SMIT, G. MUTZEL, A. T. ELWES, J. WOLF, GAMBIER BOLTON, F.Z8.; AND MANY OTHERS ViOe. Vi SH CL ONT Vi LA: LONDON PR Ban ek, WARN Eek CO: AND NEW YORK 1895 [All Rights Reserved] © ON T E Nae Bibs CHAPTER VIII.—Picartan Birps,—continued. THE Cuckoos (Cuculide)—Crested Cuckoos (Coecystes)—Hawk-Cuckoos (Hierococeyx)—True Cuckoos (Cuculus)—Golden Cuckoos (Chaleococeyr)—American Cuckoos (Coceyzus) Koels (Hudynamis)—Long-Clawed Coucals (Centropus)—Rain-Cuckoos (Phenicopheinw) —Ground-Cuckoos (Neomorphinw) — Savana and Guira Cuckoos (Crotophaga and Gruira) — The Plantain-Eaters (Musophagida)— Crimson- Winged Plantain - Eaters (Turacus)—Great Plantain- Kater (Conytfiego!a), CHAPTER [X.—Picarian Birps,—concluded. THE TrRoGoNS (Trogonidv)—The Colies (Coliide)—The Humming-Birds (Trochilide)—Saw- Beaked Group—Jamaican Humiming-Bird (4¢thwrus)—White-Crowned Humming- Bird (Microchera) — Intermediate Group— Fork-Tailed Humming-Birds (Leshbia)— Smooth-Beaked Group—Curved-Billed Hermits (Hutozeres)—True Hermits (Phaéth- ornis)—Sword-Bill Humming-Bird (Docimastes)— Rivoli Humming-Bird (Hugenes)— King Humming-Birds (Topaza)—Hill-Stars (Oreotrochilus)—Giant Humming-Bird (Patagona)—Racket-Tailed Humming-Bird (Loddigesia)—Double-Crested Humming- Bird (Heliactin) —Coquettes (Lophornis)—The Swifts (Micropodide)—True Swifts (Micropus)—Pied Swift (Aeronautes)—Feather-Toed Swifts (Panyptila)— Edible Swifts (Chetura and Collocalia)—Tree-Switts (Macropteryz)—The Nightjars (Caprimulgide)— True Nightjars (Caprimulgus)—Leona Nightjar (Macrodipteryx)—Standard-W inged Nightjar (Cosmetornis)—Fork-Tailed Nightjars (/1ydropsalis, ete.)—Nacunda Nightjar (Podager)—Wood Nightjars (Nyctibius)—The Todies (Todidv)—The Motmots (Momo- tide)—True Motmots (Momotus)—Broad-Beaked Motmots (Hiwmnomota)—The Bee- Eaters (Meropidw)—Swallow-Tailed Bee-Eaters (Dichrocercus)—Square-Tailed Bee- Eaters (Melittophagus)—True Bee-Eaters (Merops)—Celebean Bee-Eater (Mesopogon)— Bearded Bee-Eaters (Nyctiornis)—The Hoopoes (Upupide)—The Wood-Hoopoes Crrisoride)—The Hornbills (PBucerotide)—Ground-Hornbills (Bucoraz)—Rhinoceros Hornbills (Buceros, ete.)—Great Pied, or Two-Horned Hornhill (Dichoceros)—W edge- Tailed Hornbills (Lophoceros)—Solid-Billed Hornbill (2thinoplar) —The Kingfishers (Alcedinidw)—Stork-Billed Kingfishers (Pelaryopsis, etc.)—Pied Kingfishers (Ceryle)— Typical Kingfishers (Alcedo)—Three-Toed Insectivorous Kingfishers (Ceys, ete.)— Laughing Kingfishers (Dacelo)—W ood- Kingfishers (JZaleyon)—Long-Tailed Kingfishers (Tanysiptera)—The Rollers (Coraciide)—True Rollers (Coracias)—Broad-Billed Rollers (Eurystomus)—The Kiroumbos (Leptosomatidw)—The Frog-Mouths (Podargide)— Typical Frog-Mouths (Podargus)—Eared Frog-Mouths (Batrachostomus)—Owlet Frog- Mouths (d/gotheles)—The Oil-Bird or Guacharo (Steatornithide), : . CHAPTER X.—Tue Parror Tripe,—Order Psittaci. Characteristics of the Order—Distribution and Habits—Nestor Parrots (Nestoridw)—The Lories and Loriquets (Lorvidw)—True Lories (Lorius)—Loriquets (Trichoglossus)— Artak Parrot (Oreopsittacus)—The Cyclopsittucide—The Cockatoos (Cacatuidw)—Great PAGE 15 «i CONTENTS PAGE Black Cockatoo (Microglossus)—Raven Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus)—Ganga Cockatoo (Callocephalum)—Typical Cockatoos (Cacatua)—Hahits of Cockatoos—Slender-Billed Cockatoos (Lichmetis)—Cockatiel (Callopsittacus)—The Typical Parrots (Psittacidw)— Pigmy Parrots (Nasiterna)—American Sharp-Tailed Parrots (Conwrinw)—Hyacinthine Macaw (Anodorhynchus)—True Macaws (Ara)—Conures (Conurus and Conwropsis)— Slight-Billed Parraquet (Henicognuthus)—Grey-Breasted Parraquet (M7 yopsittacus)— Parrotlets (Psittacula)—AIl-Green Parraquet (Brotogerys)-—Blunt-Tailed Green Parrots (Pionine)—Amazon Parrots (Chrysotis)—Hawk-Billed Parrot (Deroptyus)—African Green Parrots (Peocephalus)—Grey and Black Short-Tailed Parrots (Psittacine)—Grey Parrot (Psittacus)—Vasa Parrots (Coracopsis)—New Guinea Black Parrot (Dasypterus) —The Parraquet Group (Palwornithine)—Keclectus Parrots (clectus)—True Parraquets (Palwornis)—Love-Birds (Agapornis)—Hanging Parrots (Loriculus)—The Broadtail Group (Platycercine)—Broadtails (Platycercus)—Grass-Parraquets (Neophema)—Crested Parraquets (Nymphicus)—Budgerigar (Melopsittacus)—Ground- Parraquets (Pezophorus and Geopsittacus)—The Owl-Parrot (Stringopide), ; 5 4 ; : 91 CHAPTER XI.—TuHeE Ow1s AND Ospreys,—Orders Striges and Pandiones. Characters of Owls—Distribution and Habits—Barn-Owls (Strigidw)—The Family Bubonide —Tengmalm’s Owl (Nyctala)—Wood-Owls (Syrnium)—Great Grey Owl—Ural Owl— Barred Owl—Mottled Wood-Owl—Eared Owls (Asio)—-Short-Eared Owls—Long- Eared Owl—Pigmy Owls (Glaucidiwm)—-Oriental Hawk-Owls (Ninox)—Burrowing- Owl (Speotito)—Little Owls (Carine)—Hawk-Owls (Surnia)—Snowy Owl (Nyctea)— Screech-Owls (Scops)—Eagle-Owls (Bubo)—Fish-Owls (Cetwpa and Scotopelia)—The Ospreys (Pandiones)—Oriental Fish-Kagles (Polioaétus), . : ; . 140 CHAPTER XII.—TuHeE Driurnat Brrps oF Prey, or AcctprRInes,— Order Acciptres. General Characteristics of the Order—The Hawk Tribe (Faleonidw)—True Falcons (Faleo)— Gerfalcons Saker—Lanner and Laggar Faleons—Peregrines—Use in Hawking— Turumti Faleon-—Hobby— Merlin—-Kestrels—Pigmy Falcons (Heraxr)—. Mississippi Falcon (Ictinia)—Crested Falcons (Baza)—Honey-Buzzards (Pernis)—Black-Winged Kite (Hlanus)—True Kites (Milvus)—Swallow-Tailed Kite (lanoides)—Vulturine Sea-Eagle (Gypohierax)—Sea-Eagles (Hfaliaétus)—Bateleur Eagle (Helotarsus)—Harrier- Eagles (Circaétus)—Serpent-Eagles (Spilornis)—African Crested Eagle (Lophoaétus)— Crested Eagles (Spizaétus)— Hawk-Eagles (Nisaétus)— Booted Hawk-Eagle—True Eagle (Aquila)—Golden Eagle—Imperial Eagle—Spotted Eagle—Other Species— Wedge-Tailed Eagle (Uroaétus)—Harpy Eagles (Morphnus, Harpyhaliaétus and Thry- saétus)— Allied Genera—Buzzards (Buteo)—Rough-Legged Buzzards (Archibuteo)—- Sparrow - Hawks (Accipiter)— Goshawks (Astur)— Whistling Hawks (Melierax)— Harrier- Hawks (Micrastur)—Harriers (Circus)—Naked-Cheeked Hawks (Polyboroides) —The Caracaras—Brazilian Caracara (Polyborus)—Falkland Island Caracara (Ibycter) ~ —The Vultures (Vulturide)—-Lammergeiers (Gypattus)—Cinereous Vulture (Vultur)— Griffon Vultures (G'yps)—White-Backed Vultures (Pseudogyps)—Eared Vultures (Oto- gyps)— Abyssinian Vulture (Lophogyps)—Egyptian Vulture (Neophron)—The Secretary- Vulture (Serpentariide)—The American Vultures (Cathartidw)—Condor (Sarcorham- phus) — King-Vulture (Cathartes)— American Black Vulture (Catharista) — Turkey Vulture (Rhinogryphus)—Californian Vulture, . ‘ : ; : .. 174 CHAPTER XITI.—Tur Cormorant Group,—Order Steganopodes. Yharantamatin 4 v a , Characteristics of the Order—Cormorants, Darters, and Gannets (Phalacrocoractdw)—Cormor- “ Pp SAR IY ALAR = . . ants (Phalacrocoraz)—Darters (Plotus)—Gannets (Sula)—The Pelicans (Pelecanide) yah at 5 aay re Ox 7 . a + * 6 Frigate-Birds (Fregatide)—The Tropic-Birds (Phaéthontide), : 4 fe 26 Note.—This Section is the first half of the Fourth Volume eter ; the Index to the complete Volume is In Section VIII. mot OF bLLUUSTRATIONS GoLDEN EAGLr, HOopPoEs, . KAKA PARROTS, Macaws itr AND ecw: aan THE Home or THE OIL-BirD, BANKSIAN AND SLENDER-BILLED Cock KATOOS, OsPREY AND YOUNG, THE GREENLAND FALCON, Wuitk-TAILED SEA-EAGLES Group oF HARRIERS, Group oF EvUROPEAN VULTURES, Golden Cuckoo, . Great Spotted Cuckoo, Common Cuckoo, . Yellow-Billed Cuckoo, Indian Koel, Egyptian Coucal, The Road-Runner, Green-Billed Malkoha, Giant Plantain-Eater, Male and Female Quezal, Narina Trogon, Long-Tailed Coly, . Chimborazan Hill-Star, Hummine-Bird and Nest, . Jamaica Humming-Bird, Pretre’s Hermit, . Guiana King Humming-Bird, Racket-Tailed Humming-Bird, Tufted Coquette, : Common and Alpine Swifts, Long-Winged Tree-Swift, . PAGE GOLOURED PEATEs PAGES PEATES Frontispiece Facing page 57 > 93 pe, MACE: » 287 Page 88 e104 eeralrat sth o LRG: = bods IAA Pr 255 TEXT ENGRAVINGS PAGE Common and Red-Necked Nightjars, ; 42 Virginian Nightjar, . : ‘ 43 Standard. W. inged Nightjar, 3 : 44 Argentine Fork-Tailed Nightjar, . : 45 Great Wood Nightjar, : : 3 47 Jamaica Tody, } F : : 49 Brazilian Motmot, . : f : 51 Common Bee-Eater, : 2 YER: Blue-Bearded Bee-Eater, . ‘ ; 56 Purple- -Tailed Wood- Hoopoe, 3 60 Head of West African Trumpeter- ame bill, . : é 4 61 Abyssinian Ground- Hanapill : : 62 Two-Horned Hornbill, — . d j 65 Yellow-Billed Hornbill, . : d 67 The Kingfisher, . : E ‘ 69 Tagua Kingfisher, 4 ‘ 76 African White-Breasted ieeticher d 78 Common Roller, . : : F 80 Oriental Roller, . 3 : ‘ 81 Madagascar Kiroumbo, — . : : 83 Vill yreat- Eared Frog-Mouth, Australian Owlet Frog-Mouth, Cockatoos at Home, Phillip Island Parrot, Head and Tongue of Lory, Purple-Capped Lory, Swainson’s Loriquet, Cockatoos, Head of Great Blac k Coc Tenteu: ath Cre st depressed, Great Black Cockatoo, ith Crest e enshed) Head of Ducorp’s Cockatoo, Head of Blood-Stained Cockatoo, Rose-Crested Cockatoo, Cockatiel, Pigmy Parrot, Red-Capped Pigmy Dareob. Hyacinthine Macaw, Head of Macaw, Carolina Conure, Slight-Billed Parraquet, Grey-Breasted Parraquet, . Blue-Winged Parrotlet, All-Green Parraquet, Hawk-Billed Parrot, The Grey Parrot, Red-Sided Eclectus, Rosy-Faced Love-Birds, Grey-Headed Love-Birds, . A Group of Hanging Parrots, Blue-Crowned Hanging Parrots Asleep, Rose-Hill Broadtail, Turquoisine Grass- Parraquet, Head of Uveean Parraquet, Budgerigars, The Owl-Parrot, Cannon-Bone of Snowy Owl, 3arn-Owls, : Tengmalm’s Owl and Pigmy On The Tawny Owl, Ural Owl, Short-Eared Owl, Scops Owl and Long- Burrowing Owl, Little Owl, The Hawk-Owl, : Snowy Owl and Lapp Owl, Eagle-Ow], : Eagle-Owl seizing its Prey, Indian Fish-Owl, Merlins, 2 Cannon-Bone of Buzzard, Saker Falcon, fared Owl, Peregrine Falcon, LIST. OF ILLESTRATIONS Cast of Peregrines—Red Falcon and Blue Tiercel, Turunti Falcon, Merlins, The Kestrel, Lesser Kestrel, : Black-Legged Falconet and its eh Mississippi Falcon and Swallow- Tailed Kite, Honey-Buzzards, Black-Winged Kite, Black Kite and Red Kite, . Egyptian, or Yellow-Billed Kite, Vulturine Sea-Eagle, White-Headed Sea-Eagle, African Sea- Eagle, Bateleur Eagle, Common Harrier-Kagle, African Crested Eagle, Warlke Crested Eagle, Bonelh’s Hawk-Eagle, ‘Booted Hawk- -Eacle, Feathered Metatarsus of Golden KE vele, Golden Eagle’s Eyrie, Immature Golden Eagle, Imperial Eagle, Spotted Eagle, Gwanan Harpy-Eagle, Common Buzzard, . Rough-Legged Buzzard, Sparrow- Hawk, Goshawk Rabbit- Hawking, African Naked-Cheeked Hawk and Maye - Zoned Whistling Hawk, 3Srazilian Caracara, : Falkland Island and C Piranehina Cara- caras, Lammergeier and Nese Ruppel?s Vulture, Pondicherry Vultures Guene, Pileated Vulture, Secretary Vulture, : Condors Flocking to a Bel Guanaco, Male and Female Condors, Gauchos Lassoing Coundors, King Vulture, : American Black Vulture, . Group of Turkey- Vultures, Foot of Pelican, . : : Conunon Cormorant, Cormorants Feeding their Young, African Darter, Common Gannet, European Pelican, . PAGE bo bw bv Ww w bo bo QW re OO oD bo bo 1p a) i) | bo bo mw So & THE ROYAL NATURAL HISTORY. CAC Bin VIIa THe Picartan Brrps,—continued, THE CUCKOOS. Family CUCULIDZ. THE toucans form the last family of the subordinal group, known as climbing picarians, or Seansores. The cuckoos bring us to the first representatives of a second group, termed cuckoo-like picarians, or Coceyges. In this assemblage the palate of the skull is of the bridged, or desmognathous type; while the arrange- ment of the tendons of the muscles of the foot is different from that in the first group. As a family, the cuckoos are specially distinguished by having a zygodactyle foot, and a naked oil-gland; the after-shafts to the body-feathers are wanting, and the arrangement of the feathers shows the tract on the back forked between the shoulders. They are birds of universal distribution, very VOL. IV.—1 2 PICARIAN BIRDS: varied in form and habits, some being entirely parasitic, while others build nests. They are divided into six subfamilies; and while the usual number of tail-feathers is ten, in one group (Crotophaginw) only eight are present ; the other subfamilies being well distinguished. The first representatives of the typical subfamily Cuculine are Crested Cuckoos. ; : : the erested cuckoos, which, in common with the other members of the group, have pointed wings, and are strong fliers. The genus is distinguished GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO (2 uat. size). by the presence of a crest on the head; and of its eight species five are African, while one (Coccystes jacobinus) is common to Africa and India, another (C. coromandus) is peculiar to the Indian region, and the last is European. Although the great spotted cuckoo (C. glandarius) has twice occurred in England, its home is in South-Western Europe and the Mediterranean countries, extending thence through Syria and Asia Minor to Persia, while in winter the bird ranges into Africa, as far as Cape Colony. It is of an ashy brown colour, white below, with a buff-coloured throat, and is easily distinguished by its crested grey head and long tail, which is broadly tipped with white. The length of the bird is about DSI : CUCKOO: 3 16 inches. Its note is described by Canon Tristram as kee-ow, kee-ow, and it has an alarm-note resembling the word cark, as well as a third note, like wurree, wurree. It is parasitic, like the members of the genus Cuculus, but does not victimise small birds hike the true cuckoos, selecting the nests of crows and magpies, whose eggs bear a considerable resemblance to its own. The great spotted cuckoo often places two, or even four, of its eggs in a nest; where the young cuckoos often live in peace with the offspring of the foster-parents, and, so far as is known, not attempting to eject the rightful owners. The Indian pied crested euckoo (C. gacobinus) lays blue eggs, resembling in colour those of the babbling thrushes (Crateropus and Argya), in whose nests it places them. Apparently the young cuckoo ejects the rightful owners, when the young are hatched, as the babblers are often seen in attendance on their parasitic dependents without any of their own young being of the party. Sometimes the cuckoo puts two of its eggs into a babbler’s nest, and it is said to break some of the foster-parents’ eggs to make room for its own. Colonel Butler says that when they discover a nest of a babbler, which does not suit them to lay in, the cuckoos invariably destroy the eggs already there by driving a hole into them with their bills, and sucking the contents. The six species of hawk-cuckoos are remarkable for their exact resemblance in colour and flight to a sparrow-hawk, being grey birds with a good deal of rufous below, a large yellow eye, and a very broadly banded tail. They lay white or greenish-blue eggs, and one species (Hierococcyx sparveroides) is said to build its own nest and sit on the eggs. This fact has been recorded in the Nilgiri Hills of Southern India, but in the Himalaya the bird is stated to be parasitic on the babbling thrushes. While the hawk-cuckoos may be distinguished from the crested _ euckoos by the absence of a crest, the true cuckoos differ from them by the shape of the tail, in which the outer feathers are nearly of the same length as the others, instead of decidedly shorter. Moreover, the tail-feathers lack the transverse dark bars of the hawk-cuckoos. The genus is represented by ten Hawk-Cuckoos. True Cuckoos. species, all very similar to one another, and hawk-like in coloration and appear- ance, the old birds being grey while the young are more or less rufous, the Oriental Sonnerat’s cuckoo (Cuculus sonnerati) having, however, the plumage for the most part rufous barred with black. Of the ten species, four are African, one Australian, and the rest Indian. Their notes vary greatly, only one other species besides the European having the “cuckoo” note from which the bird takes its name, this being the South African cuckoo (C. gularis), which has a note similar to that of the common species, but more slowly uttered, and the first syllable not in such a high key. The red-chested cuckoo of Africa (C. solitarius) has a whistling note, on account of which it is known to the colonists at the Cape by the name of Piet-mijn-vrouw, while the black cuckoo (C. clamosus) is, as its Latin name implies, a noisy bird, uttering a very loud, harsh note. The Indian cuckoo (C. micropterus), has a note, which Mr. Oates renders as bho-kusha-kho, while the Asiatic cuckoo (C. intermedius), on the other hand, has only a single note, a guttural and hollow-sounding hoo, resembling the ery of the hoopoe. One of the most interesting of all birds is the common cuckoo (C. canorus), not the least remarkable feature in its conformation being its great similarity to a hawk, as not 4 PICARIAN BIRDS. only evidenced by its colour and form but by its mode of flight, and which is so: marked that the bird is always mobbed by smaller birds, as if it was really a hawk. Its colour is grey above and white below, regularly barred with black like a hawk, while the throat is buff It has also long thigh feathers, like those of an accipitrine bird, so that with its yellow eye the resemblance is complete, and when flying it is by no means easy to tell at the first glance whether it 1s a cuckoo or a hawk in the air. An accustomed eye may at last detect the more elongated look of the head, owing to the long bill of the cuckoo, whereas a hawk in flight often looks as if it had no bill at all, so blunt is the aspect of a hawk’s head when seen COMMON CUCKOO (4 nat. size). at a little distance. The interest in the history of the cuckoo is, however, con- centrated on its nesting-habits, and the success with which it imposes on other birds in getting them to rear its young. There can scarcely be any doubt that the number of males considerably exceeds that of the females, and some naturalists not only speak of the species as polyandrous, but declare that the female bird does. all the courting. Certain it is that the presence of a female cuckoo excites the interest of more than one male, as may be seen in spring-time by those who know how to detect what has been well-described as the “water-bubbling ” note of the female cuckoo, which Brehm renders as kwik-wik-wik, and Seebohm as kwow-ow- ow-ow. The female, on giving utterance to this note, is answered at once by every male in the neighbourhood, and they lose no time in flying towards the tree CUCKOOS. 5 where she is seated, so that there are often quarrels and fierce fights amongst them. It is during the love season that the double call ewc-cuc-koo is heard, as if the male were trembling with passion. Although the general belief is that cuckoos do not lay many eggs, it has been recently concluded that each hen deposits about twenty in the course of the season. The variability in the coloration of the eggs is well known, and it appears that in each individual the coloration of the egos is hereditary. That is to say, that cuckoos brought up by meadow-pipits always select that species to be the foster-parent of their own young in course of time, the same being the case with regard to hedge-sparrows, wagtails, and other ordinary victims of the cuckoo. The small size of the egg, and the extraordinary similarity which it often shows to the egg of the foster-parent, render it difficult to distin- guish the cuckoo’s egg from those of the rightful owner of the nest; and sometimes a cuckoo will lay a blue egg exactly like that of the redstart or pied flycatcher, the nest of which it is about to utilise. This is perhaps the most curious instance known of strict similarity in colour, the true cuckoo’s egg looking merely like a somewhat larger egg of the redstart. That such eggs are really those of cuckoos was, however, proved by Messrs. Seebohm and Elwes, who were in Holland together when a redstart’s nest was brought to them, the eggs of which were hard set. On blowing them the young birds had to be picked out, and the little cuckoo exhibited the characteristic zygodactyle foot perfectly formed. In the case of eggs laid by the cuckoo in wagtail’s nests and those of other birds, the resemblance is exact, and when a cuckoo’s egg is found in a nest where the eggs of the foster- parent are different, it is probable that the cuckoo has not been able to find a nest at the moment in which the eggs belonged to its own hereditary type. The nest of a sedge-warbler has indeed been found with a cuckoo’s egg in it, which was the exact counterpart of those of the foster-parent; and a few days after, the finder, having noticed the female cuckoo to be hovering about the neighbourhood all the time, found a cuckoo’s egg of the same sedge-warbler type in a reed-bunting’s nest, where, of course, it looked thoroughly out of place. From these facts it would appear that a cuckoo, laying a “sedge-warbler” egg, had been unable to find a second sedge-warbler, and had been constrained to put it into a reed bunting’s nest. A series of nests of the meadow-pipit, each with a cuckoo’s egg, has been recently presented to the British Museum, all of which were taken near Portsmouth in 1893. There would seem to have been three cuckoos who visited these nests, since three of the nests contain a greyish type of egg, three an egg of a lighter character, and three an egg of a purplish grey type. The story of the way in which the young cuckoo ejects the young of its foster-parent from their rightful home is well known. The cuckoo feeds entirely on insects, and it is believed to be the only bird which eats hairy caterpillars. It has also been accused of devouring eggs, and this idea may have arisen from eggs being found in the mouth of a cuckoo. These were no doubt the bird’s own eggs, which it was conveying to some nest. : Represented in India and Australia by the nearly allied group of the bronze-cuckoos (Chalcococcyx), the golden cuckoos form a genus confined to Africa, and represented by four species. These birds differ from the true cuckoos by their metallic coloration. of which the latter show no trace. Golden Cuckoos. 6 PICARIAN BIRDS. Among them, the emerald cuckoo (Chrysococcyx smaragdineus) is one of the most beautiful of birds, being of a brilliant metallic emerald-green on the upper-parts, and also on the throat and chest; while the breast and under-parts are bright yellow. Found all over tropical Africa, it inhabits the wooded country, and is conspicuous, not only from its brilliant coloration, but also from its habit of sitting on the top of a tree, sometimes for hours together, uttering its loud call of love or defiance. The typical golden cuckoo (C. cupreus), illustrated on our first page, is a somewhat smaller species, with the plumage of a metallic golden-green YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO (3 nat. size). hue, the throat being white. Mr. Layard says that “this beautiful little cuckoo is known by the name of Didric, from its oft-repeated mournful ery of di-di-di- didric. We have frequently seen a dozen or more in a morning, while their loud notes were incessantly ringing in our ears; they are, however, so shy, that we only procured three specimens in as many months. When calling, they perch on the summit of some dead branch, ready to do battle with any male, or engage in an amorous chase after any female that comes within their ken. They pursue each other with great ardour, turning, twisting, and dashing about with great rapidity. The stomachs of those examined contained nothing but small insects, chiefly swallowed whole.” Mr, Ayres has found the remains of an egg of the Cape CUCKOOS. 7 sparrow in the stomach, and as the cuckoo is parasitic on this species it looks as though it sometimes devoured the eggs of the foster-parent to make room for its Own. American The American cuckoos, although of sober grey and brown shades Cuckoos. of colouring, and resembling the true cuckoos in this respect, may always be distinguished by their oval and not rounded nostrils. They are grey or brown in colour, generally with an olive gloss, although two species have rufous backs. Except as regards their nesting-habits they are nearly allied to the euckoos of the Old World. One of the best known species is the yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus), which is olive-brown in colour, with white tips to the tail- feathers ; the under-parts being white, and the inner side of the quills rufous. This cuckoo, together with its near ally, the black-billed cuckoo (C. erythroph- thalmws) is migratory to the United States in summer, the latter extending its breeding-ranges as far to the north as Manitoba and Labrador. Dr. Coues says that the ways of these cuckoos are shy and retiring. They are more often heard than seen, “passing from one tree to another stealthily, with a rapid, gliding, noiseless flight, and they often rest motionless as statues for a long time, especially when erying out, or when they have detected a suspicious object. The peculiar notes of this bird, sounding like the syllables, koo-koo-koo, indefinitely repeated, are probably uttered more frequently during the atmospheric changes preceding falling weather, and have given rise to the name Rain-crow, by which both our species of Coccyzus are known to the vulgar.” He also says that they are great plunderers of the eggs of small birds, and are even said to devour the helpless nestlings. The nest is said to be like that of a crow, but poorly constructed. In connection with the supposition that our English cuckoo lays its eggs at intervals, it is interesting to know that the yellow-billed cuckoo undoubtedly does so, since in its nest there have been found fresh eggs and young in all stages, from the bird just hatched to the one able to fly, showing that there must be a considerable interval between the laying of each ege. Audubon gives an instance in which as many as eleven young birds had been hatched in a season. The eggs are pale greenish in colour. Found only in the Indian and Australian regions, two species being peculiar to the former and four to the latter, the koels show a remarkable sexual difference in colour, the males being black, and the females ‘rufous with black bands. In most birds, when the parents differ in plumage, the young at first resemble the hens, but in the instance of the koels the young of both sexes are black like the cocks. The koels may also be distinguished from the preceding genus by having a much rounder and stouter bill than in the preced- ing genera. ‘The tail is long and wedge-shaped. Regarding the coloration of the young, Mr. Whitehead, writing of the Philippine koel, or phow (Ludynamis mindanensis), asks “why should the young birds not follow the general rule, and take the plumage of the female, or have a plumage distinct from that of both parents? The answer. to this riddle appears to be that the phow lays its eggs in the nest of the yellow-wattled myna. The young cuckoo, being black, does not differ from the young myna, and so the deception is carried on until the young bird can take care of itself. If the young followed the general rule, and resembled their mother in being of a brown colour, the mynas might not feed them. The Koels. 2 PICARTIAN, BIRDS. myna breeds in holes of old rotten trees, sometimes using woodpeckers’ holes, making it more difficult to see the intruder in the dark; and no doubt, when the young bird emerges into daylight, it would startle the old birds to see the young cuckoos of any other colour. One of the young cuckoos was shot whilst being fed by the foster-parents, and no doubt the young cuckoo gets rid of the nestling myna at an early period. Of course it might be argued that it would not be YOUNG MALE OF THE INDIAN KOEL (3 nat. size). necessary to deceive the myna, for other birds take care of their parasites ; but perhaps the myna has a greater knowledge of the world.” The Indian koel (£. honorata) is the rain-bird of India. The bird is parasitic on crows, and it would appear from the notes of naturalists in India that the koels must look after their offspring to a certain extent, for they have been seen feeding their own young ones after they have left the nest. Long-Clawed Distributed over the great part of Africa, India, China, and Coucals. southwards through Malaysia to Australia, the coucals form not CUCKOOS. 9 only a genus but a separate subfamily. They are ground-birds, of medium or large size, remarkable for the long spur on the first toe, whence their English name is derived. They build nests, and lay several white eggs, the shell of which is chalky, showing an approach to the remarkable eggs of the anis described farther on. The general colour of the coucals is red and black, but some of them are entirely black, while the Australian pheasant-cuckoo (Centropus phasianellus) is banded with brown and buff. The young birds of all the other species have a similar kind of plumage, and it is said that some species also possess a winter garb or “seasonal plumage.” If this is the case, it lasts for a very short period. a AN MA asta nate iV" 4 EGYPTIAN COUCAL (4 nat. size). The Indian coucal (C. sinensis) is a species of large size, measuring nearly two feet in length, and black in colour, with the mantle and wings chestnut, and having a blue gloss on the head and a green gloss on the under-parts. It is found all over India and Ceylon, and, like the rest of the genus, has a curious howling note, whoot, whoot, whoot, whoot, followed after a pause of four or tive seconds by kwrook, kwrook, kwrook, kurook. The nest is generally domed, and is a rough structure, described by Mr. Hume as a “ hollow, oblate spheroid, some eighteen inches in external diameter, and from six to eight inches in height, with a large hole on one side, from the entrance of which to the back of the nest inside may be twelve inches. This, of course, is not large enough to admit the whole bird, so that, when sitting, its tail is commonly seen projecting outside the nest. The latter PICARTIAN, BIRDS. Io is placed at varying heights above the ground, in the centre of thick, thorny bushes or trees. It is usually made of dry twigs, lined with a few green leaves, but all kinds of odds and ends are at times incorporated into the fabric. Occasionally quite different materials are made use of, the nest consisting almost wholly of leaves, rushes, or coarse grass.” | | With these birds we come to another subfamily, known as the bush-cuckoos (Phenicopheine), and including upwards of sixteen genera. Their bright metallic plumage, and short, rounded wings, show that they are resident in the countries where they live, and are not migratory _ Rain-Cuckoos. THE ROAD-RUNNER (+ nat. size). like the long-winged cuckoos. They are mostly Indian and Malayan, but one genus (Ceuthmochares) is African; while two genera (Sawrothera and Hyetornis) belong to the New World. With the exception of Cowa, which is a Madagascar form, they have all some bright colours on the face or bill, the latter being in many of the genera parti-coloured and brilliant. The rain-cuckoos in the West Indies, are only found inhabiting the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas. They attain to a size of 18 or 20 inches, are mostly of an ashy-brown colour with rufous wings, with white-tipped tail-feathers, these having a black bar before the tip. The Jamaican species is a bird of retiring habits, generally sitting immovable in a dull and sluggish manner, but on alighting in a tree it “traverses the branches with facility by a succession of vigorous jumps, when it appears active enough.” The CUCKOGS. II nest is placed high on a tree, and is a loose, flat strueture of twigs, the egg being chalky white. In India and the Malayan countries there occurs an assemblage of genera of bush-cuckoos, of which the best known are the malkohas (Rhopodytes). These birds are met with in gardens, thin tree - jungles, and secondary scrub, being and having a marvellous capacity for making their way through dense cover. The notes of the malkohas seem to vary considerably, being described as a “cat- like chuckle” in one species, in another as a “hoarse chatter, much like that of a magpie,’ while another of the malkohas has a “ cat-like mew.’ These cuckoos build their own nests, and lay white eggs. Another subfamily (Neomorphinw) is — repre- sented by the four genera of ground -cuckoos, all of which are terrestrial birds with powerful feet for run- ning, and weak wings in which the secondary quills are as long as the primaries. In Borneo and Sumatra the pheasant-cuckoos (Carpococcyx) represent the group; the species from the former island being two feet in length, with the aspect and ways of a game-bird. In South America the subfamily is represented by the Ground-Cuckoos. GREEN-BILLED MALKOHA (1 nat. size). genus Neomorphus, which extends from Northern Brazil to Guiana, Amazonia, and Ecuador, thence to Colombia and to Nicaragua. All the tive species of this genus are extremely rare, and nothing is known of their habits. In all the genera above mentioned the bill is very stout, but there remain the two American genera Geococcyx and Morococcyx, in which it is longer ; a familiar example of the former of these being the so-called road-runner (Geococcyx mexicanus). In S plumage this curious cuckoo has nothing striking to recommend it, being brown with rufous or white streaks; the under surface whitish; and a buff- coloured throat, which is also streaked with black. But if its coloration is somewhat sombre, it has some bright colour on the face, similar to that of the preceding a PICARIAN BIRDS. genera, for the iris is red, and it has a bare space round the eye of a blue colour, fading off into white behind, and then followed by a patch of orange-red. The length of the bird is about two feet. The road-runner is an inhabitant of the Southern United States, from Texas to New Mexico, Southern Colorado, and California. It has obtained its name of the “road-runner” from the speed with which it flies over the ground, some idea of which may be gained from a state- ment of Colonel Stevenson, that when in Southern California he saw on two occasions the ranchmen of that part of the country chase one of these birds on horseback for a distance of a mile or more at full speed, when the cuckoo, though still in advance, would suddenly stop and fly up among the upper-limbs of some stunted tree or bush near the roadside, and the rider having kept the bird in view all the way would dismount and easily take the exhausted bird from its perch alive. Savana and The last subfamily of the cuckoos is represented by the so-called Guira Cuckoos. savana and guira cuckoos, three of which belong to one genus, while the fourth constitutes a genus apart. Distinguished from all other cuckoos by having only eight tail-feathers, these birds are further remarkable for their eggs. Externally these eggs are blue, covered with chalky white scratches, produced by contact with the lining of the nest; and it appears that this blue colour belongs only to the outer covering, so that when this is removed the true egg-shell, which is white, is revealed. The guira cuckoo (Guira) has a very slender beak, and a crest ; the plumage being brown streaked with black, the under surface buff, and the back white; while the length of the bird is about 18 inches. It inhabits Brazil and Paraguay. The members of the other genus are black, and have an extraordinary bill with a kind of high and narrow keel on the upper mandible, looking as if it had a ridge along it. Of the three species, the largest is Crotophaga major, which is 18 inches in length, and is found from Brazil and Amazonia to Guiana, and also extends to Colombia. The other species, C. ais and C. sulcirostris, are smaller, not exceeding 13 inches in length; the anis inhabiting much the same areas as its larger relative, but being found also in the West Indian islands, while it has occurred in the Southern United States. It has a smooth bill, while the latter has several grooves on the side of the bill. It likewise occurs in the Southern United States, and extends throughout Central America to Colombia and Peru, but does not seem to reach Brazil and the other countries of South America. The savana cuckoos are gregarious birds, and it will be seen from the notes given below that they also nest in company. Sefior Alfaro says that in Costa Rica he found the zopilotillo, as it is called, very abundant in the fields near’ Tambor, a little town about twenty miles north-west of San José, where along the hedgerows and in the scrubby timber they find their insect food, as well as on the hides of the cattle. The wood-ticks or ‘garrapatos, which are found on the legs and about the head and neck of the cattle, are esteemed above all else a favourite morsel. The bird is also called the tijo-tijo in imitation of its peculiar notes, which seem to repeat the word tee-ho over and over again. He likewise tells of the finding of three nests, one of which was situated in the branches of a mango-tree, and contained fourteen eggs. Noticing on one occasion one of these birds building its nest, he returned in a week’s time, and found, to his surprise, not only the nest completed but containing six eggs, while in the thorns and leaves CUCKOOS. 13 about it were scattered seven more. He writes that “in the finding of some of the eggs scattered in the leaves was revealed one of the architect’s peculiarities. A hole had been left in the centre of the nest, and only recently filled with leaves, whose fresh green colour testified that they had been cut and placed there later than the others, forming the carpeting to the bottom of this common incubator. The eggs were all fresh, the six occupying the nest having the characteristic white calcareous surface perfectly clean, and without the slightest variation in colour. Not so with the eggs found about the outside of the nest: those found in contact with the leaves had taken on a dirty yellowish tinge, while those suspended among the leaves and thorns showed various spots and lines of the lustrous blue colour forming the base for the chalky external coat.” THE PLANTAIN-EATERS. Family MusopHAaGip£ Having many characters in common with the cuckoos, the plantain-eaters, or touracos, of Africa, are regarded as indicating a separate suborder, distinguished by having the oil-gland tufted and after-shafts to the body-feathers, while the feet are not wholly zygodactyle, the fourth toe being capable of being turned either back- wards or forwards. The tail-feathers are ten in number. Twenty-five species are known, which may be divided into two sections, one including those which have crimson quills, and the other those in which there is no red in the wings. Crimson-Winged These birds are often called louris in South Africa, where Plantain-Eaters. they frequent the forest districts, building an open nest of sticks in a bush, and resembling that of a pigeon, the egg being also white like that of the last-named birds. Of Fraser’s plantain-eater (Zwracus macrorhynchus) Mr. Biittikofer gives some notes in his account of the birds collected by himself in Liberia, stating that it is a splendid and very lively bird in a wild state, always keeping to the densest crowns of the trees in the virgin forest, where it lives in pairs or in families after the breeding-season. It is so shy that 1t would not be easily found by the hunter if it was not for its crow-like voice, interrupted now and then by a mewing, exactly like that of a cat. When not disturbed these birds can be very noisy, flapping their beautiful red wings, and running after each other like squirrels among the branches. As their bright wings would render them too obvious to their enemies, they seldom fly very far at once, but advance by running through the foliage of the trees, hidden by the resemblance of their colour to that of the surrounding foliage. Their food consists of different kinds of wild fruits, and insects were never found in dissected specimens. A very interesting fact has been discovered with respect to the colouring matter in the wing of the touracous, which consists of a kind of copper, called turacine. It was at one time supposed that this coppery impregnation of the colouring matter of the bird’s wing could be accounted for by its picking up grains of malachite, but the touracous are birds which live in trees, and do not apparently descend to the ground, while the red feathers have been assumed by specimens in captivity, some of which moulted more than once. TA PICARIAN BIRDS. Giant Plantain- The sole representative of this genus (Corythwola cristata) is Eater. the largest of all the family, measuring nearly 3 feet in length, and is remarkable for its fine crest and varied colouring. The upper surface is blue, the head and crest bluer, the tail-feathers yellow with blue bases and a broad bar of black near the end; neck blue with the chin and cheeks white; rest of under surface of body rufous brown; bill yellow with the tip scarlet; eye red. This handsome bird is found all over the forest district of West Africa from Sene- GIANT PLANTAIN-EATER (+ nat. size). gambia to Angola, and extends throughout the Congo region to Equatorial Africa. Mr. Biittikofer says this plantain-eater is confined exclusively to the virgin forest, where it lives in companies of five or six together in the crowns of the tallest trees, generally out of reach of gunshot. It feeds upon a kind of bush-plum and other wild fruits, of which an enormous quantity are sometimes found in its crop. R. BOWDLER SHARPE. Crkie A. PeU EAR, axe Tue Picartan Birps,—concluded. TROGONS TO Or1-Brrps. Families TROGONID# to STEATORNITHIDE. THE trogons, remarkable for their brilliant coloration and _ soft plumage, constitute not only a distinct family (Zrogonidw) but are likewise regarded as representing a special suborder (Heterodactyli), mainly distinguished from the Picarian families described in the preceding chapters by the structure of the tendons of the foot. In these birds the second toe is. turned backwards, and the third and fourth toes are moved by the splitting of one tendon, while a second tendon is likewise divided into two branches to supply the first and second toes. They are further characterised by having the palate of the slit (schizo- gnathous) type; and the feather-tract on the back is continuous in place of being forked. Then, again, we may notice that the hinder border of the breast-bone has four notches; the intestine is provided with a pair of blind appendages (ceca); the oil-gland is naked, and the after-shafts of the feathers of the body are remarkable for their length. Behind the head is a patch of loose skin, and the whole skin is of such a fragile and delicate nature, while the feathers are so loosely attached, that the preservation of these birds tries to the utmost the skill of the taxidermist. As regards their geographical distribution, trogons are found in the Oriental region, Africa south of the Sahara, and Central and South America; one species alone (Trogon ambiguus) being stated to range as far north as Texas and Arizona. Very numerous in Central and South America, in Africa, though widely distributed, they are but poorly represented in species ; but they again become more abundant in the Oriental region, although not ranging eastwards of the islands of Java and Borneo. Fossil trogons have been discovered in Tertiary deposits in Southern France, belonging to the upper part of the Oligocene period. Of the eight genera into which the family is divided, five occur in Central and South America (among these being the typical Z’rogon); and it is noteworthy that the latter and one other genus are exclusively island forms, the one being confined to San Domingo and the other to Cuba. The three African trogons are comprised in a single genus (Hapaloderma); but there are two Oriental genera, one of which (Hapalarpactes) is peculiar to Java and Sumatra. Long-Tailed Of these magnificently-plumaged American representatives of the Trogons. family there are four species, among which we may specially notice 16 PICARIAN BIRDS. the quezal (Pharomacrus mocinno) of Guatemala. Every naturalist who has had the good fortune to see this bird in its wild state describes it as extremely beautiful, and even when preserved, its plumage differs from that of its congeners in its retention of the original coloration; a skin which has been exposed to the light in the British Museum for some half a century still being almost as brilliant as when first mounted. In the other species, on the contrary, the bright yellow or crimson of the breast fades with sad rapidity. The range of the quezal extends from Guatemala to Panama, but as considerable numbers of the skins of these birds are sent yearly to Europe as plumes for bonnets, the species has become very scarce. Ornamented with a large rounded crest on the head, the male bird has the ground - colour of the plumage a brilliant metallic green, while the throat and chest are likewise metallic green, as are also the wings and upper tail-coverts; the two central plumes of the latter being enormously developed, and fully four times as long as the tail; while the rest of the under- parts, from the chest downwards, are deep blood-red. The median wing- coverts are metallic green, and so produced as to form elegant drooping plumes: while the outer tail-feathers are white with black bases. The female is much less brightly coloured than her mate, having a brownish breast and the bill black instead of yellow. The head is golden-green, and the outer tail-feathers are white barred with black. Mr. Salvin gives an interesting account of his hunting the quezal in Guatemala. After a difficult march through the forest, the way barred by swollen torrents and fallen trees, he at last managed to get within sight of one of the birds, which had been attracted by his guide imitating its notes. This imitation is not difficult, since the whistle is deseribed as “a low double note, whe-oo, whe-oo, uttered softly at first, and then gradually swelling into a loud bat not unmelodious ery ; this 1s succeeded by a long note which begins low, and, after swelling, dies away as it began.” The other cries of the bird are harsh, discordant, and not so easily imitated. When detected, the bird was observed sitting almost motionless on its perch, merely moving its head slowly from side to side, with the tail somewhat raised and occasionally jerked open, and again as rapidly closed, thus causing a vibration of its long upper-coverts. In spite of the length of the streaming tail-feathers, which appear to form no bar to its progress, the flight of this trogon is straight and rapid. Of the golden-headed trogon (P. awriceps), of Peru, Mr. Stolzmann writes that it is exclusively a bird of the forests, frequenting the lower branches of the highest trees at a considerable distance from the ground. It is generally seen in pairs, but sometimes two or three pairs may be met with together. “I was struck,” he writes, “with the vertical position which it assumes on the large horizontal boughs, and I observed by the aid of my field-glasses that, instead of perching on the upper surface of the branch, it remains attached to the side of the latter, just as woodpeckers glue themselves to the trunks and vertical branches of trees. Its flight is rapid but weak. It feeds on fruits, especially on nectandras; and in the stomach of one I found a nectandra-fruit so large as to fill the whole stomach. I suppose, therefore, that the trogon, like the guacharo, rejects the nut after having digested the flesh, beeause otherwise some time must elapse before it could swallow another fruit. The species has two cries, both well GK O G OWNS. 1 7 known to me; one like a mocking laugh is seldom heard; the other is a plaintive ha-haw, with the second syllable much prolonged. It has a ventriloquial quality and often deceives the hearer, who fancies that the bird is ever so far off whereas it is close at hand all the while. At Cuterro I had a good opportunity of observing its singular way of clinging in a vertical position to the trees wf : —— Ya ~ \ aN ts \\\\\\ \ \ WS MALE AND FEMALE QUEZAL. spreading its tail out the while and then shutting it suddenly. In this locality it feeds on certain black fruits, which impart to its flesh an odour of marjoram. I never saw it nesting, but the natives said that it nested in holes and laid eggs of a greenish blue. An egg which my com- panion found on the ground was universally admitted to belong to this trogon. Eee tes ih Briefly referring to some of the other genera, 1t may be mentioned that the South American Euptilotis is characterised by the presence of tufts of hair-like feathers behind the ear-coverts: the sole representative of the venus being an inhabitant of Mexico. Long hair-like feathers in the same situation are likewise distinctive of the single species of T’metotrogon, which is contined to the island of San Domingo; while in the Cuban Prionotelus, of which there is also but one species, the tail-feathers are deeply notched. With the single exception of a species (T. ambiguus) oceurring just within the southern limits of the United States, the members of the typical genus Trogon are restricted to VOL. IV. 2 18 PICARIAN BIRDS. Central and South America, where they are represented by some twenty-four species, ranging as far south as Southern Brazil and Paraguay. They are all birds of moderate size, with metallic blue or green colours above, and the breast and abdomen either bright yellow, scarlet, or blood-red. The females differ from the males in their duller plumage and the colour of the tail; the latter being either chestnut, grey, or blackish, whereas in the males it is as brilliant as the rest of the upper-parts, being either green, blue, or purple. The habits of these trogons seem everywhere to be the same; the birds affecting forest-districts, and feeding almost entirely on fruit and berries. They are described as rather stupid, and not even startled by the report of a gun, so that a whole flock may be shot out of the same tree. Most of the species go about in pairs, but are occa- sionally seen in small flocks, sometimes frequenting the lower branches of trees, but more often the middle and higher levels, where they sit motionless, or utter their curious notes at intervals. Mr. Richmond mentions that when in Nicaragua, a trogon flew into his house; but in most parts of South America these birds are inhabitants only of the virgin forests, extending their range to a considerable altitude on some of the mountains. In Peru, Mr. Stolzmann met with several species, on some of which he has given short notes. The only example of T. caligatus obtained during his travels was shot from a considerable height on a tree, when he had heard its ery repeated at intervals for the space of a couple of hours; it resembled the words cow-cou-cou-cow-co-co-co-co, the second half being uttered in a lower tone than the first. Of another kind (7. melanurus), his companion, Mr Jelski, writes that it was not rare, and allowed of an easy approach, flying off to take up another perch in the neighbourhood of its previous one, always uttering its note cou-cou-cou-cou-cou. Its flight resembles that of a magpie, and the beating of the wings is distinctly heard; from time to time it called he-he-ke, lowering the tail at the same time, seldom flying more than a distance of fifty paces at a time, and preferring the lower branches of the trees. In Costa Rica, Mr. Nutting met with three species of trogons, which seem to differ somewhat in habits. Of the Massena trogon (7. massena) he writes: “I have never seen the species associating in flocks as the others do. On the contrary, it seems to be rather a silent bird, preferring the deep recesses of the tropical forests. Its note is a kind of clucking noise, hard to describe; and its native name is Aula. In common with all the species of the genus, it seems to be rather a stupid bird, hardly ever taking alarm at the approach of man”; the black-headed trogon (7. melanocephalus), very abundant in Costa Rica, being often seen in flocks of a dozen or more, and commonly found in the dry open woods away from water. It has a sort of chattering note, low and soft. In the same situations is also found 7. caligatus, which is the only species giving utter- ance to a clear, distinet whistle. In Africa the trogons are represented by three species belonging to the genus Hapaloderma, and characterised by the naked space behind the eye, as also by the colour of the tail, which is the same in both sexes, the three central pairs of tail-feathers being purplish or greenish, without any black bands at the end of the central ones. The Narina trogon (H. narina) ranges from Bogosland in North-Eastern Africa throughout East Africa to Natal, extend- African Trogons. TROGONS. a ing as far west as the forests of the Knysna district. On the west coast, from Fanti to the Gabun, we meet with Ussher’s trogon (fH. constantia); while in East Africa, from the Zanzibar forest region into Kikuyu, is found the banded trogon (1. vittatum). Very little S ae has been noted about the habits of these birds, but Mr. Layard states that the Narina trogon is a very shy species, only found in the forest districts ; its food consisting of fruit and in- sects; while its cry is a loud moaning note, heot, which has been compared to the bark of a poodle with a cold. This trogon is reported tonest in hollow trees, where it lays four white eggs. The In- dian trogons, constituting the genus Harpactes, are beautifully plumaged birds, distin- Indian Trogons. guished by the bare sides of the face, and the chest- nut tail, barred with black at the tip, of both sexes. The genus is represented by eleven species, some of NARINA TROGON, which measure as much as a foot in length; while all are characterised by their brilliant coloration. One of the best known is the red-headed trogon (H. erythrocephalus), characterised by the chestnut breast, the deep crimson head, neck, and under-parts, and the black wings, in which the primaries are edged with white, while the wing-coverts and inner second- aries are finely vermiculated with white; the gape and region of the eye being bare and of a purplish blue colour, while the bill is bluish with a black tip, the feet pinkish, and the eye dull red. The female is not quite so bright in colour as the male, the lower- parts being duller; the back as well as the neck and breast reddish brown, and the vermiculations on the wing-coverts buff instead of white. The habits of this trogon differ from those of its 4 ies, for Mr. Oates says that its f ‘onsists entirely of insects, on which American allies, for Mr. Oates says that its food consi t entirel} | it swoops after the manner of a flycatcher. It affects thick forests, and, although solitary in its habits, is so common in some of the hill forests that a dozen or more 20 PICARIAN BIRDS. may frequently be seen together. The eggs are three or four in number, of a very pale buff colour, and laid on the bare wood in some hollow of a decayed tree. THE COLIES. Family CoLuD2£. The colies bring us to another group of the Picarian order, technically known as the Coraciiformes, often conveniently spoken of (for want of a better name) as the fissirostral group. With the single exception of the humming-birds, all the’ members of the group have a similar arrangement of the tendons on the lower WIE BES LONG-TAILED COLY OR MOUSE-BIRD. surface of the foot; the first toe being supplied by a branch of one tendon, while the fourth is served by a different one. As a rule, the palate is of the desmognathous type; although in some cases it is of the modification charac- terising the perching birds. The colies themselves are exclusively African, and are remarkable for the structure of their feet, in which all four toes are directed forwards, although it is probable that the first can be turned backwards at will. The breast-bone is characterised by the presence of four notches; the oil-gland is naked; the intestine is devoid of blind appendages; and there are ten tail-feathers. The whole of the colies are included in the single genus Coliws, which is represented by half a score of species. To the colonist of South Africa, colies are commonly known by the name of mouse-birds, and they are reported to be good eating. They have a rapid flight, like that of a parrot, with very quick beats of the wings; and are generally found in flocks of six or eight individuals, which when disturbed HUMMING-BIRDS. 21 fly off together. Their food generally consists of fruit and berries, occasionally insects being taken, when their other sustenance is scanty. At the Cape the white-backed coly (C. capensis) is not uncommon in gardens during the fruit-season, ranging about in small families of from six to eight individuals. They fly with a rapid, though laboured flight, generally at a lower level than the object at which they aim, and on nearing it they rise upward with a sudden abrupt curve. They creep about the branches like parrots, and hang, head downwards, without inconvenience; indeed, it is said that they invariably sleep in this position, many of them congregated together in a ball. In Natal Mr. Ayres states that the white-backed coly lives entirely on fruits, as does Mr. Andersson, who gives some information as to the flight and nesting-habits of the species. The flight, he says, is short and feeble, seldom extending beyond the nearest bush or tree, on reaching which the bird perches on one of the lower branches, and then gradually glides and creeps upwards through the foliage, using both bill and feet for that purpose. The nest he found in a small bush; it was composed externally of grass and twigs, lined internally with soft grass; the eggs were white, and three in number. Another well-known representative of the genus is the South African coly (C. striatus), which is brown above with numerous dusky eross-lines on the plumage, the head being crested and a little more ashy, while the forehead and lores are reddish, the sides of the face, throat, and breast ashy brown, the latter with blackish cross-lines; the rest of the under surface being ochrey buff. The total length of the typical form is about 14 inches ; but there is considerable local variation in this respect. Large at the Cape, the bird becomes smaller as it approaches Abyssinia, but is of about the same size in Senegambia, and then gradually decreases in size in its west coast habitats; this variation in size being an invariable rule with African birds. The South African coly breeds in Natal, building its nest in the thick fork of a mimosa or other low tree, well sheltered by creepers and foliage above. THE HuMMING-BIRDS. Family TROCHILIDZ. Mainly contined to Central and South America, where they range from the steaming tropical forests of Brazil to the cold and barren rocks of Tierra del Fuego, but also extending into Mexico, humming-birds are now regarded, in spite of their difference in form and habits, as near allies of the swifts. To a certain extent, indeed, the difference in the two groups is not so strongly marked in the young as in the adult condition, seeing that, while in the full-grown humming-bird the beak is always long and slender, in the nestling it is short and wide like that of a swift. In the structure of their palate, according to recent researches, both groups conform to the Passerine type. Having the keel of the breast-bone well developed, in accordance with their marvellous power of sustained flight, the humming-birds are characterised by the presence of ten feathers in the tail, and the same number of primary quills in the wing; while the secondaries are reduced to SIX, and are thus very different to those of the perching birds. The three forwardly-directed toes are 22 PICARIAN BIRDS. supplied by as many branches of one tendon, while another serves the backwardly- directed first toe. The most remarkable peculiarity of the humming-birds is in the structure of the tongue, this organ being extensile, with its supporting bones carried backwards over the hinder part of the skull. Although adorned with such brilliant metallic colours, the members of this family do not display their tinselled plumage to any great advantage during flight; many observers having remarked how little of the brilliancy of the bird’s body is apparent when it is darting through the trees or hovering in front of a flower. This is due to the extremely rapid motions of a humming-bird’s wing, the beats of which are almost invisible from their Habits. CHIMBORAZAN HILL-STAR (# nat. size). rapidity. Professor Newton has well described the impression conveyed by the bird’s flight when he writes that, “one is admiring the clustering stars of a scarlet Cordia, the snowy cornucopias of a Portlandia, or some other brilliant and beautiful flower, when between one’s eye and the blossoms suddenly appears a small, dark object, suspended, as it were, between four short black threads, meeting each other in a cross. For an instant it shows in front of the flower; an instant more it steadies itself, and one fancies the space between each pair of threads occupied by a grey film; again another instant, and, emitting a momentary flash of emerald and sapphire light, it is vanishing, lessening in the distance as it shoots and all this so rapidly that the away, to a speck that the eye cannot take note of word on one’s lips is still unspoken, scarcely the thought in one’s mind changed.” ! a 1 = “oe : — Q _¢ . qn E . . ‘ s Mr. Gould, who specially studied the ways of humming-birds during his visit to HUMMING-BIRDS. 23 America, says that their flight is unlike that of any bird he had ever seen, and quite different from what he had expected—ain fact, exactly the opposite. When poised before any object, the tremulous motion of the wings is so rapid that the eye cannot follow it, and a hazy semicircle of indistinctness on each side of the bird is all that is perceptible. Their actions strongly reminded him of a piece of machinery acted upon by a powerful spring, and although frequent intermissions of rest are taken during the day, the bird may be said to live in the air—an element in which it performs every kind of evolution with the utmost ease, frequently rising perpendicularly, flying backward, pirouetting or dancing off, as it were. Mr. Gosse observes that humming-birds have more or less the habit of pausing in the air and throwing the body into rapid and odd contortions, and he noticed this especially with the long-tailed humming-bird, on account of the effect which such motions have on the beautiful long feathers of the tail. He affirms that in these evolutions the birds are engaged in catching insects in the air, and he was close enough to them to see the tiny flies, and to hear the snapping of the bird’s bill as it captured them. It will be noticed above that Gould speaks of the eapacity of humming-birds for flying backwards. This power has frequently been doubted, and Mr. Terry observes that “the Duke of Argyll lays it down that no bird can ever fly backwards. He mentions the humming-bird as appearing to do so, but maintains that in reality it falls rather than flies, when, for instance, it comes out of a tubular flower. But, while watching the motions of a humming- bird, it occurred to me to test the dictum of the Duke; and, unless my eyes were altogether at fault, the bird did actually fly backwards. It was probing, one after another, the blossoms of a petunia-bed, and more than once, when the flower happened to be low down, it plainly rose rather than fell as it backed away from it.” Mr. Ridgway likewise says that he has observed the same thing, but he has noticed that the backward motion is greatly assisted by a forward flirt of the expanded tail, as the bird shifts from place to place or from one part of a tree to another, sometimes descending, at others ascending. “It often towers up above the trees,” writes the last-named author, “and then shoots off, like a lttle meteor, at a right angle; at other times it quietly buzzes away among the flowers near the ground ; at one moment it is poised over a diminutive weed, at the next it is seen at a distance of forty yards, whither it has vanished with the quickness of thought. During the heat of the day the shady retreats beneath the trees are very frequently visited; in the morning and evening the sunny banks, the verandas, and other exposed situations are more frequently resorted to.” ; Humming-birds, as a rule, do not possess any kind of song, and their few notes are of a twittering character. Mr. F. Stephens, describing the “ feeding ”-note of Costa’s humming-bird, says that the female, when feeding, keeps up a pretty constant vocal noise, which somewhat resembles the buzz of the wings, and that the feeding-note of the male is finer and not so frequent. “I think,” he adds, “that the males are the only ones who sing. The song is sweet and very low, but if it is perfectly quiet around it can be distinctly heard for a distance of ten yards. As might be expected from the size of the bird, it is in a very high key, something like the sound produced by whistling between the teeth, very low, yet ata high pitch. It might be called a warble, and I have heard it kept up for 24 PICARIAN BIRDS. several minutes at a time. On such occasions I have never been able to find a female in the vicinity, and have come to the conclusion that it was sung for the individual’s own amusement. There is still another hummer-note—that of the chase. They are very fond of chasing one another, sometimes for sport, often for spite. This note also resembles the feeding-note, but is louder and possesses a chippering character, some- times almost like the sound produced by lightly and rapidly smacking the lips together. I can detect but | little difference between the sexes, and it appears much the same whether the chase is in sport or anger. Further- more, it is often made by the pursued as well as by the pursuer. At such times I am always reminded of a lot of schoolboys playing ‘tag.’ If a hummer is perched and a person passes near, it starts off, uttering a note similar to that made while feeding; but, should it be a female which you have frightened D\\ 2 = from her nest, she will go off WOU AA oe, GE eZ silently.” Mr. Ridgway men- A i tions only two other records of the song of the humming- birds, quoting Gosse, to the effect that the tiny mellisirga of Jamaica sings, for ten minutes at a time, a sweet but monotonous little song; while De Oca has observed a similar fact with regard to the wedge-tailed sabre-wing, Mr. Ridgway adds that “al- though the muffled buzzing or humming noise, which has given this family of birds its distinctive name, is the sound usually accompanying the flight of humming-birds, the males of some species accompany their flight by a most remarkable noise, of an entirely different character. While among the mountains of Utah, in 1869, the writer was for a long time mystified by a shrill screeching noise, something like that produced by a rapidly revolving circular saw when rubbed by a splinter. This noise was evidently in the air, but I could not trace its origin, until I discovered a humming-bird passing HUMMING-BIRD AND NEST. HUMMING-BIRDS. 25 through the air overhead in a curious undulating kind of flight. I afterwards heard the same sound produced by males of the same species (the broad-tailed humming- bird) when they were driving other birds away from the vicinity of their nests. At such times they would ascend almost perpendicularly to a considerable height, and then descend with the quickness of a flash at the object of their animosity, which was, perhaps, more frightened or annoyed at the accompanying noise than by the attack itself. Mr. F. Stephens calls this the “courtship-song,” but from the circumstance that, in the broad-tailed humming-bird at least, it is often produced by solitary individuals while wending their way between distant points, I hardly think that it can be so considered. Mr. Stephens writes of Costa’s humming-bird that “the female is sitting on a twig in a low bush, not on an exposed twig, as is often the case when she is merely resting; but when the male begins she goes farther in, as if she feared that he really intended mischief, while he rises high in the air, and with a headlong swoop comes down, passing her, and, turning with a sharp curve as near her as possible, mounts on high, to repeat the manceuvre again and again. A shrill whistle is heard as he begins to descend, starting low and becoming louder and louder, until, as he passes her, it becomes a shriek, which is plainly audible for a distance of a hundred yards or more. As he mounts again it dies away, only to be repeated at the next descent. This is a common manceuvre with the species, the whistle made during the descent being quite low.” The nests are tiny little structures, generally made of moss, and covered externally with lichens, which cause them to resemble the surroundings in which they are placed. The eggs are two in number, white, and oval at both ends. Humming-birds are divided into three sections, the characters for which are not very trenchantly marked, the fact being that these birds form a very homo- geneous group, and thus do not lend themselves to any easily recognisable scheme of classification. The number of species described is nearly five hundred, these being divided into one hundred and twenty-seven genera. In these genera every possible variation of form is perceptible, from the longest bill to the tiniest bill, the simplest form of tail to the most elaborate of structures, while the metallic plumage, so characteristic of the humming-birds in general, is absent in not a few of the genera, and the colour of the simplest kind. Saw-Beaked The members of this section, as its name implies, are characterised eoue. by the serrated cutting-edges of the fore-part of the upper mandible ; the corresponding portion of the lower jaw being in some instances similarly notched. The group comprises upwards of five-and-twenty genera, the members of which differ infinitely among themselves as regards form and colour. The sole representative of its genus, the long-tailed Jamaican humming-bird (#thurus polytmus), may be easily recognised by the abnormal conformation of the tail, in which the outermost feather but one on each side is produced to an enormous length. An inhabitant of the island from which it takes its name, its habits have been admirably described by Gosse in the following words :—* The long-tail is a permanent resident in Jamaica, and is not uncommonly seen at all seasons and in all situations. It loves to frequent the margins of woods and roadsides, where it sucks the blossoms of the trees, occasionally descending, however, to the low shrubs. There is one locality where it is abundant, the summit of that range of mountains 26 PICARIAN BIRDS. just behind Bluetields, and known as the Bluefields Ridge. Behind the peaks which are visible from the sea, at an elevation of about half a mile, there runs through the dense woods a narrow path, just passable for a horse, overrun with beautiful ferns of many graceful forms, and always damp and cool. The whirring made by the vibrating wings of the male polytmus is a shriller sound than that produced by the female, and indicates its proximity before the eye has detected it. The male almost constantly utters a monotonous, quick chirk, both while resting on a twig, and while sucking from flower to flower. They do not invariably probe flowers upon the wing; one may frequently | observe them thus engaged, when alighted and sitting with closed wings, and often they partially sustain themselves by clinging with the feet to a leaf while sucking, the wings being expanded and vibrating. The humming-birds in Jamaica do not confine themselves to any particular season for nidi- fication. In almost every month of the year I have either found, or have had brought to me, the nests of polytmus in occupation. Still, as far as my experience goes, they are most numerous in June; while Mr. Hill con- siders January as the most normal period. It is not improbable that two broods are reared in a season. In the latter part of February, a friend showed me a nest of this species in a singular situation, but which I afterwards found to be quite in accordance with its usual habits. It was at Bognie, situated on the Bluefields Mountain, but at 4 | some distance from the scene above described. ii | On the 12th of November, we took, in Blue- | ; fields morass, the nest of a polytmus, con- TAMAIGA HUMMINGBIRD: taining two eggs, one of which had the chick considerably advanced, the other was freshly laid. The nest was placed on a hanging twig of a black mangrove tree, the twig passing perpendicularly through the side, and out at the bottom. . It is mainly composed of silk-cotton very closely pressed, mixed with the still more glossy cotton asclepias, particularly round the edge; the seed remaining attached to some of the filaments.” White-Crowned Two species of the curious genus Microchera are known to Humming-Bird. science; the one confined to the mountains of Western Panama, and the other (M. parvirostris) taking its place in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Both are remarkable for their snow-white crowns and tiny dimensions, being only about 91 : z ° . . 4 . . oe 22 inches in length. According to its describer, Mr. Merrill, the latter is not so persistent in its flight as most of the humming-birds, and rests more frequently, < HUMMING-BIRDS. 27 this habit being probably induced by the shortness of its wings. The first specimen seen was perched on a twig preening its feathers, and, for a few moments, the observer was doubtful whether such a tiny creature could really be a bird. Another he noticed bathing, and watched its movements for some time before shooting it. “The little creature,” he says, “would poise itself about three feet or so above the surface of the water, and then, as quick as thought, would dart downwards, so as to dip its head in the placid pool, then up again to its original position, quite as quickly as it had descended. These movements of darting up and down, it would repeat in rapid succession, which produced more than a moderate disturbance on the surface of the water, for such a diminutive creature. After a considerable number of dippings it alighted on a twig near at hand, and commenced pluming its feathers.” Intermediate The forty-eight genera included under this section are character- Group. = ised by having the sheath of the upper mandible of the bill very feebly serrated towards the end of the cutting-edge. As with the previous section, all kinds of forms are included within its limits, from the lovely huill-stars (Diplogena) to the duller-coloured amazilia. The hill-stars, which inhabit the Andes from Ecuador to Bolivia, are remarkable for their brilliant crown-spots, and are among the largest members of the family, extracting the nectar from flowers in a leisurely manner. Stolzmann indeed relates that he has even seen them perched on the dead branch of a tree, flying out into the air, after the manner of a flycatcher. In this division are likewise included the lovely comets (Sappho), with their long coppery or red tails and green throats; these birds extending from the interior of Argentina to Chili, Bolivia, and Central Peru. Fork-Tailed Forming a genus known as Lesbia, these elegant birds are found Humming-Birds. in the Andes, from Colombia and Venezuela to Bolivia; and are dark green in colour, with a short bill, very nearly straight, while they are specially distinguished by their very long, forked tails, in which the feathers are even narrower than in the comets (Sappho). Mr. Stolzmann found one of the species (L. gracilis) at the height of from seven thousand five hundred to ten thousand feet on the Andes of Peru, where it was apparently migratory, as he noticed it to be common at Tambillo in December and January, whereas in June not one was to be seen. The same naturalist is the rediscoverer of the wonderful Loddigesia (mentioned below); and he noticed that the fork-tailed species had a great antipathy to the racket-tailed Loddigesia, which it was always driving away from the flowers. Its voice is quite characteristic, a tsi-tsi-tsi, very loudly uttered, and in a descending scale, and on visiting flowers it makes a sort of clapping noise, like that produced by pigeons when striking their wings together over their backs. Smooth-Beaked Although resembling the last in their variety of form and Group. coloration, this group differs in the absence of serrations in the eutting-edges of the beak. As our first representatives of the group may be noticed the curved-billed hermits (Hutoweres), of which there are four species, all remarkable for the strong curvature of the beak, which describes fully one- third of a circle. The plumage is dull, and devoid of metallic sheen; while the tail is rounded, with the extremities of the feathers pointed. In Peru one of these 28 PICARIAN BIRDS. humming-birds (4. condanvint) has been observed feeding from the flowers of a plant, in which the curved form of the corolla exactly corresponded with the curva- ture of the bill of the bird, while at the same time the bald patch on the centre of the crown of the latter affords a fair field for the pistils to smear, as the bird probes the flower. The plant in question is abundant on the sides of the paths, and is always covered with plenty of flowers; but although the bird is often met with, it cannot be called plentiful. It stops but a short time on the flower, and is therefore not very easy to procure. In the stomach remains of different species of gnats have been observed. In Salvin’s hermit (Z. salvinz), ranging from Costa Rica to Panama, the head is wholly feathered ; while the species also differs from the last in having no buff colour on the outer tail-feathers, which have lkewise no white tips; there is also no blue patch on the neck. Mr. Merrill, who met with the species in Panama, writes that “one day, while hunting a short distance from the camp for humming-birds, I was startled by the swift approach of a small object through the close thicket, which darted like a rifle-bullet past me, with a loud hum and buzzing of wings. Indeed it was this great noise which accompanied its flight, being so much greater than I had ever heard before from any of these winged meteors of the southern forests, that especially attracted my attention as something uncommon. The bird continued its flight but a short distance beyond the spot where I stood, when it suddenly stopped in its rapid course directly in front of a flower. There for a moment poising itself in this position, it darted upon the flower in a peculiar manner; in fact, the movements of this little creature which now followed were exceedingly curious to me. Instead of inserting its beak into the calyx by advancing in a direct line towards the flower, as customary with this class of birds according to my limited observations, this one performed a curvilinear movement, at first stooping forward while it introduced its bill into the calyx, and then, when apparently the beak had reached the desired locality in the flower, its body suddenly dropped downwards, so that it seemed as 1f it was suspended from the flowers by its beak. That this was not actually the case, the continued rapid movement of its wings demonstrated beyond a doubt. In this position it remamed for the ordinary length of time, and then by performing these movements, in the reverse order and direction, it freed itself from the flower, and afterwards pro- ceeded to the adjoining one, when the same operation was repeated. The flower was that of a species of palm, the blossoms of which are attached alternately on either side to a pendent stalk. Each flower resembles an inverted Roman helmet, and is attached, as it were, by the point of the crest to the stalk. It isa fleshy mass of a deep crimson colour, and the cavity of the calyx extends in a tortuous manner downwards towards the attachment of the flower to the stalk.” The members of the genus Phaéthornis are dull-plumaged birds, of a fair size generally, and remarkable for their wedge-shaped tails, the feathers of which are mostly tipped with white or buff The bill is long and curved, but not to the same extent as in the last genus. Sixteen species of hermits are known, ranging from Mexico, throughout Central America to Southern Brazil The True Hermits. and Bolivia. The nest is an elongated structure, placed at the extremity of one side of long-pointed leaves, as if for protection from the attacks of monkeys and other animals. The hermits are plentifully represented in Brazil, where they HUMMING-BIRDS. 29 inhabit the gloomy forests, feeding chiefly on insects, instead of courting the sun- shine and sucking the honey from flowers. Mr. Stolzmann states that in Peru the grey-throated hermit (P. griseigularis), instead of inhabiting the hot and moist forests, like the other species of the genus, frequents dry and arid valleys, where it seeks the densest thickets and sometimes banana-plantations. While this observer was passing near some thick bushes, he was once arrested by the sound of a very shrill note, repeated at intervals, which struck him at first as the utterance of a tanager, and he searched in vain to find the bird. Baffled, he at last lay down at the bottom of the thicket, and after some minutes discovered a tiny bird perched on a branch quite close to the ground. Here was the meeting-place of the hermits, and the observer at length found four or five of these birds seated at a short distance from each other, at intervals uttering their whistle, while sometimes one would take a short flight round, and then hasten back to the same place. Subsequently he heard the birds on several PRETRE’S HERMIT. occasions in the same _ thicket, uttering their characteristic ery. At another place exactly the same curious habits were observed in an allied species (P. swperciliosus). Mr. Stolzmann also says that the hermits often come in front of an intruder, and remain suspended in the air, examining him all the time with marked curiosity. The Sword-Bill In the single species of the genus Docimastes we meet with the Humming-Bird. ost extreme development of bill among the humming-birds, since it is here equal to the length of the whole bird, measuring, at least, as much as 4inches. The home of this bird is in the Andes, from Venezuela and Colombia to Peru; and the long bill is specially developed to enable its owner to extract insects from elongated tubular flowers. In some parts of Peru, visited by the Polish travellers, Jelski and Stolzmann, the sword-bill was by no means common, although tubular flowers were met with in abundance, and the bird need fear no rivals, since no others of its kindred could probe these long tubes. Jelski states that he found the species frequenting a Jacksonia with a long red corolla; the bird hovering for a moment before the flower, inserting its beak rapidly, and then withdrawing two or three inches, when it again shot the bill into the same flower: this manceuvre being repeated many times on the same blossom. The bird is also said sometimes to pierce the side of the flower with its lance-like bill to get at the honey within. According to Mr. Salvin, the female has a longer bill than the male, this organ reaching a length of 7 inches in the hen bird, whose colours are a little less brilliant than those of her mate. 30 PICARIAN BIRDS. Rivoli A long straight beak, a forked tail nearly uniform in colour, Humming-Bird. without any white in it, and a brilliant coloration—to wit, a body of bronzy green, a crown of rich metallic violet, a throat of ghttering green, and an under surface changing with the light from velvety black to green—are the characters distinguishing the single species of the genus Hugenes, called after the Due de Rivoli, first found in the highlands of Guatemala, and extending northwards to Mexico and to Southern Arizona. In the first-named country this bird was seen by Mr. Salvin, who writes “that it is a most pugnacious bird. Many a time have I thought to secure a fine male, which I had perhaps been following from tree to tree, and had at last seen quietly perched on a leafless twig, when my deadly intention has been frustrated by one less so in fact, but to all appearances equally so in will. Another humming-bird rushes in, knocks the one I covet off his perch, and the two go fighting and screaming away at a pace hardly to be followed by the eye. Another time this flying fight is sustained in mid-air, the belligerents mounting higher and higher till the one worsted in battle darts away seeking shelter, followed by the victor, who never relinquishes the pursuit till the vanquished, by doubling and hiding, succeeds in making his escape. These fierce raids are not waged alone between members of the same species. Hugenes fulgens attacks with equal ferocity Amazilia dumerili, and, animated by no high-souled generosity, scruples not to tilt with the little Trochilus colubris. I know of hardly any species which shows itself more brilliantly than this on the wing, yet it is not to the mid-day sun that it exhibits its splendour. When the southerly winds bring clouds and driving mists between the volcanoes of Agua and Fuego, and all is as in a November fog in England, except that the yellow element is wanting, then it is that Hugenes fulgens appears in numbers: Amazilia devilled, instead of a few scattered birds, is to be seen in every tree; and Trochilus colubris in great abundance. Such animation awakes in humming-bird life as would hardly be credited by one who had passed the same spot an hour or two before; and the flying to and fro, the humming of wings, momentary and prolonged combats, and the incessant battle-cries seem almost enough to turn the head of a lover of these things.” The nesting of this species in Arizona is described by Mr. Poling, who relates that he was resting under a pine-tree, when he heard the noise of a humming-bird’s wing close to his head, and on looking up he found a female Rivoli humming-bird making perpendicular dives at him. When he moved away, the bird alighted on a dead twig, and at last, when about fifty feet up the tree, she made a dart for a limb, and there at a distance of ten feet from the trunk was the nest, which was secured only with difficulty. King Humming- Two beautiful species alone represent the genus Topaza, one Birds. beng 7. pella of Guiana, in which the outer tail-feathers are cinnamon ; while the second is 7. pyra, from the Rio Negro and Eastern Ecuador distinguished by the purplish black tint of the same feathers. Both species are characterised by the tail-feather on each side of the middle pair being elongated, curving outwards, and then crossing its fellow, as shown in the illustration. In the humming-birds commonly designated hill-stars (Oreotro- chilus), the beak is relatively short and curved, while the toes are proportionately large, and the tail is squared, with narrow feathers. These birds Hill-Stars. HUMMING-BIRDS. 31 ao are inhabitants of the higher Andes from Ecuador to Chili, each species having a peculiar and restricted range. Thus, 0. pichincha and O. chimborazo occur only in Ecuador, the former being confined to the voleanoes of Pichincha and Cotopaxi, and the latter to that of Chimborazo ; O. adel lives on the Andes of Bolivia, O. lewco- plewrus on those of Chili, while O. melanogaster and O. estellcee inhabit the Andes of Peru, the latter also occurring on those of Bolivia. The Chimborazan species, of GUIANAN KING HUMMING-BIRD (# nat. size). which an illustration is given on p. 22, is olive-green, with the whole of the head, including the crown and the throat, deep glittering violet-blue, the rest of the under surface of the body being white, with the middle of the abdomen and flanks blackish brown. Most of these hill-stars have a patch of black or chestnut along the abdomen, and the Chimborazan species differs from its ally only in having the centre of the throat green instead of being entirely blue. The pichincha hill-star must be a bird which presents many curious features in its economy, if any naturalist could study and write its history, the few notes which have been published about it fully warranting this supposition. Mr. L. Fraser states that PICARIAN BIRDS. 4 Bo? he observed this bird clinging to rocks, a habit which, as he justly observes, explains the use of the longer feet and claws. He believes that these birds build their nests under overhanging ledges of rock, and breed in companies, the size of the nest being very large, equalling that of a man’s head. The nest itself is comprised of wool, vicunia’s hair, moss, and feathers, while at the top of this great mass is a little cup-shaped depression in which the eggs are deposited. One curious nest was found by Professor Jameson of Quito, suspended to a rope hanging from the ceiling of a deserted house. When one side of the nest is lighter than the other, the birds restore the equilibrium by adding a small stone or a square of earth to the other side, so that the eggs run no danger of falling out. . Giant Humming- The largest known member of the family is the sole representa- Bird. tive of the genus Patagona, and attains a length of 84 inches, while the wing measures between 5 and 6 inches. This bird is found along the Andes from Chili northwards to Ecuador, and is easily recognised by its large size and somewhat sombre coloration; while it is further distinguished by its strong feet, and the white band on the rump, which sharply contrasts with the rest of the plumage of the back. The flight is also peculiar, for although, according to Darwin, the bird hovers over flowers, it does so with a very slow and deliberate movement, quite unlike the vibratory one common to most species. When hovering by a flower, he says, its tail is constantly expanded and shut lke a fan, the body being kept in a nearly vertical position; while he further mentions that he never saw any other bird where the force of its wings appeared, as in a butterfly, so powerful in proportion to the weight of its body. Mr. Ridgway adds that the flight of this great humming-bird is quite as noiseless as that of a butterfly. In Peru the species is not rare in the ravines, where several may often be met with together. In its flight it presents considerable resemblance to a swift, and only differs in its more subdued motions, though it often glides through the air without a movement of the wings. It visits a certain species of Jacksonia, and the head of every specimen is tinged with yellow from this plant. It has also a habit of mounting into the air, beating its wings in a vertical position, and returning to its perch. The only note is a subdued whistle. Racket-Tailed Unmistakable on account of its relatively large tail and con- Humming-Bird. spicuous crest, the beautiful and curious racket-tailed humming-bird (Loddigesia mirabilis) is one of the smallest representatives of the whole family. In the tail, while the two outermost feathers are long and pointed, the second pair are produced in a wire-like form, crossing each other near the middle of their length, and terminating in a large racket-like expansion of a beautiful purple hue. First described from a single specimen in 1847, the species was not met with again till 1880, when some fine examples were obtained from Mr. Stolzmann. The original specimen came from Upper Amazonia, from the same locality where Stolzmann’s examples were obtained. It appears to be confined to the valley of the Utcubamba, a little river on the right of the Marafion system, at an elevation of some eight thousand feet. The country is open, with here and there a little valley more richly clothed with vegetation, while an occasional clump of trees survives, remains of the ancient forest which once was everywhere throughout the region. Dense thickets abound, and a species of Alstromeria, of a red colour, is HUMMING-BIRDS. 33 its favourite flower, and wherever this occurs the humming-bird may be observed, and as it is in flower from August to November, and as another humming-bird (Lesbia gracilis) does not affect this tree, the present bird thrives. It is one of the most active of the family, seldom taking rest, the females being especially lively. The adult males are more rarely seen than the hens and younger males, but they are beautiful objects when seen in front of the calyx of a flower, the tail with its two rackets being depressed, while the bird is hovering with the spatules in close proximity to each other. When in flight, the hamming noise produced by the wings is great by reason of the short wings of the bird, and is more pronounced in the male than in the female. One of the most curious habits connected with this humming- bird is that of assembling. Eight or ten males, mostly young ones, were observed by Stolzmann near Tamiapampa to collect in a bare and desolate plateau on which were no flowers at all, the as- sembly being apparently merely for manoeuvres. Two young males would first stop in the air opposite to one another, with their bodies held vertically, open- ing their tails and springing first to one side and then to the other, uttering a little cry each time the tail was opened, which the observer likened to the noise of flipping a finger-nail or snapping RACKET-TAILED Soe a watch-case. As a rule, this aerial dance is shared by two young males only, but sometimes several take part in it, and the note of the female bird is almost always to be heard in the vicinity. Sometimes one of the young males hung below a thin branch while another one — aS SS hy ZEEE ES manceuvred above him, spreading his tail and “snapping.” Suddenly in a flash the positions are reversed, and the suspended bird takes the place of the dancer. The old males perform curious antics with the tail, and sometimes actually bring the two rackets close to the crown. Stolzmann has also observed the bird drinking water at a little cascade, of which there are plenty in the country inhabited by the Loddigesia ; this being doubtless the only way in which the bird can appease its thirst. The cry of the young male and of the female is a tsi-tsi-ts7, rapidly repeated while the bird is visiting flowers or executing the manceuvres described above; when seated they are silent, and the voice of the male has not yet been heard. Double-Crested This beautiful little species (Hel iactin cornuta) is distinguished by Humming-Bird. the clittering tufts over the eyes and wedge-shaped tail, the feathers of which are narrowed at the end into a blunt point. The colour is a shining grass-green, metallic greenish blue on the crown, and inclining to golden on the VOL. IV.—3 34 PICARIAN BIRDS. back; the tufts at the side of the head being metallic purple, shading off into golden and then to metallic green; while the sides of the head and throat are black, the under surface of the body pure white, the flanks green, and all but the centre feathers white, with their outer webs greyish. The total length is only 4 inches. The female is duller in colour than the male, and has a green crown, while the sides of the face are dusky, the throat pale buff, and the tail-feathers TUFTED COQUETTE (3 nat. size). white with a subterminal band of black. The home of this species is in Brazil, where the bird is said to be not uncommon in some portions of the interior, although little is known of its habits. This is a very easily recognised group of humming-birds by reason of the crested head, and the little spangled frills which are very conspicuous on each side of the neck. Twelve species are known, and the range of the genus extends from Southern Mexico, throughout the greater part of South America to Bolivia and Southern Brazil, but not including Ecuador or Peru. One of the most beautiful species is the tufted coquette (Lophornis ornatus), which inhabits the Island of Trinidad and the opposite mainland of Venezuela, whence it extends into Guiana. It measures not quite 3 inches in length, the bill half an inch, and the wing 1:6. The upper surface is of a glittering golden-green, The Coquettes, SWIFTS. 35 o with a buffish white band across the rump ; the crest is long and of a dark cinnamon colour; the throat is glttering green bordered with cinnamon, and the neck-frill is also cinnamon, the feathers tipped with a round spot of glittering green; the abdomen is grey, the sides of the body and under tail-coverts shining green, the feathers edged with pale cinnamon; the tail is cinnamon, the lateral feathers broadly, the rest narrowly, edged with golden-green externally ; and the bill flesh- colour, with a black tip. Scarcely anything has been recorded of the habits of the coquettes. Of one of the Central American species (L. helenw) Mr. Salvin writes that its flight is very rapid, and hardly to be followed by the eye as it darts from flower to flower; and its cry is peculiarly shrill, and unlike that of any other humming-bird. THE SWIFTS. Family Micropopip 4 Allied in some respects to the humming-birds, and in others to the goat- suckers, the swifts are readily distinguished from the former by their short and wide beak, while from the latter they are differentiated by the palate being con- structed after the Passerine type. The short beak is curved towards the tip, and is very broad at the base, so that the gape is of great extent. As in the humming- birds, the tail-feathers are ten in number; whereas in the swallows, which curiously resemble the swifts in external appearance, there are twelve of these feathers. Of primary quills there are ten; and the secondaries are likewise reduced, their number never exceeding nine. The breast-bone resembles that of the humming- birds, being free from notches in its hinder border; but the upper wing-bone, or humerus, is unique on account of its extreme shortness and width. The swifts may be divided into three subfamilies, the first of which (Micropodinw) is repre- sented typically by In common with two others out of the five genera included in the subfamily, the true swifts have the metatarsus covered with feathers, and the number of joints in the third and fourth toes reduced to three ; while the first toe is capable of being turned forwards like the others. Among the species the Alpine swift (Micropus melba) is of large size. It is of a general mouse-brown colour, with rather darker wings and tail: the throat and under surface of the body being white, with slight indications of dusky shaft- hues to the feathers, while there is a broad band of brown across the fore-neck. The length is 8} inches, and the wing also measures the same in length. This swift inhabits the countries bordering the Mediterranean as far north as the Alps, and extending throughout Persia to the Himalaya, but wintering slightly to the southward; while in Africa it is replaced by the allied I. africanus extending from Shoa to the Cape. According to Messrs. Fatio and Studer, the Alpine swifts arrive in spring, towards the end of March or the beginning of April, and depart at the end of October; although considerable difference takes place in the time of arrival in various years, the backward or forward state of the season appearing to The True Swifts. 1 This family is commonly known as the Cypselidw, but as the name Cypselus is a synonym of Micropus, the latter must be taken as the source of the family name.— EDITOR. 36 PICARIAN BIRDS. o influence the time of their arrival and departure to a considerable degree. In the town of Berne these swifts frequent the tower of the cathedral. A few arrive at the beginning of April, and after a short inspection of their old home disappear. In a few days, however, some few return, and their number is increased day by day until more than two hundred individuals make the cathedral- tower their home. When they first come, the swifts are in good condition, and it COMMON AND ALPINE SWIFTS (3 nat. size). is well that they are so, as insects are few at that time of year, especially if April happen to be a bad month. At this time they may be seen sitting in rows, hungry and waiting for a more propitious season; and if they should attempt a flight, they circle round the cathedral, without the harsh cries generally uttered during their gambols. Every spring individuals are picked up which have succumbed to the cold, but on the approach of fine weather the cathedral-tower becomes the centre of great animation. These swifts are very regular in their habits, at the dawn of day leaving their roosting-places to seek their food in mid-air, and continuing their flight until about noon, after which they are not seen. They rest until about SWIFTS. 37 a five or six o clock, and then recommence the chase until night-time; sometimes, on warm nights, flying till as late as nine o'clock; and even during the night their cries are loud enough to inconvenience persons living in the neighbourhood. Their nests are placed in all kinds of situations in the cathedral, in holes, spouts, or on the arches in the interior; while some of the birds, probably driven away by the inhabitants of the tower, have taken up their abode in a house in one of the most frequented streets of the town. When once on the ground, these swifts, like their congeners, are unable to rise, their long wings and short feet rendering it impos- sible for them to mount in the air again, though they are able to cling to the rough surfaces of rocks or stones. From this disability the swifts place their nests at a higher level than the point of exit, so that they are able to fall at once into mid- air. For the same reason the materials for the nest are collected from any place except the ground. These consist of hair, wool, dead leaves, ete., and especially fragments of paper, the latter being supplied to the birds by the keeper of the tower, who throws them into the air, when they are seized by the swifts, and carried off to their nests. All the materials are cemented with the birds’ saliva to form the nest; and the eggs, although usually two, may be three in number. One of the latest of the summer visitors to Europe, this species, (M. apus), which is figured on the left side of the illustration on p- 36, is almost entirely black in colour, the only exception being the white throat. Common Swift. In length it measures about 7 inches. Wintering in South Africa and Madagascar, the common swift is represented in the Mediterranean regions by the pale swift (M. murinus), which accompanies it in winter to the Cape. Much that has been written concerning the Alpine swift will apply to the present species; the nesting- habits of both being similar. The flight of the common swift is, however, some- what less rapid than that of its Alpine cousin, although far swifter than that of any other bird frequenting the British Isles. Indeed the manner in which a swift twists and turns in the air is often suggestive of the flight of a bat rather than that of a bird. Differing from the true swifts of the Old World by its feathered toes, soft plumage, and nearly square tail, the pied swift (Aeronautes melanoleucas), which ranges from the South-Western United States to Guatemala, constitutes a genus by itself. Writing of its habits, Dr. Shufeldt observes: “On the Chugwater Creek, Wyoming, we passed some very high and imposing chalk cliffs which constitute the more striking and prominent features of the landscape, as the country about them is low and unbroken, being quite prairie-like in character. The head of one of these large chalk-blufts, as it stood out against the clear blue sky and far above me, actually looked, with the cloud of white-throated swifts swarming about it, like some great beehive from which the inhabitants had been suddenly aroused. These birds were far above the range of my fowling-piece, though one, now and then, dipped down with the most inconceivable velocity and in a graceful curve over my head, as if to obtain a better view of me. A snap-shot brought down one of these more accommodating individuals, whose curiosity cost his life, and gave me not only a beautiful specimen, but the opportunity to examine in the flesh, for the first time, one of the then rarest birds in American collections. During the past eight years I have only Pied Swift. 38 PICARIAN BIRDS. caught glimpses of single specimens of this bird here and there, and sometimes in most unexpected places. Once, far out on the open prairie, in the north-western part of the United States, a magnificent adult swift of this species shot by me with the velocity of a meteor, his white flank-patches contrasting conspicuously with his black-brown body and wings. It was not, however, until I came to Fort Wingate that the opportunity was really afforded me to more intimately study and observe this swift in its favourite haunts; for all through North-Western New Mexico occur deep, even-walled canons of rock, to which JZ. melanoleucas resorts to rear its young. Early in the spring of 1885 (April) I found some two dozen | pairs of them in just such a cation about three miles west of Fort Wingate. The walls of this magnificent gorge are of solid rock, being nearly three hundred feet deep in some places, and for the most part roughly perpendicular, though frequently arching over and outwards at their summits. It was within the deep and crack- like fissures seen in the walls of the eaves of these latter recesses, away high up on either side of this rocky chasm, that the swift resorted to lay its eggs. So wisely had every pair of these birds chosen the cleft wherein their nests were hidden that all my plans and attempts to secure a set of eggs proved futile. . . . From the extent of their wings the birds of this family appear formed to live in the air, where, in fact, they pass the most of their time, gliding about in extensive circles without effort, and apparently little motion of the wings. This ease of flight stands them in good need in their migratory movements, allowing them readily to pass into warmer climes. During pleasant weather they find their insect-prey in the upper air, but when cloudy or rainy we find them skimming the ground in their pursuit. When on the ground, the shortness and weakness of their legs, added to their length of wing, incapacitates them from again rising in the air; hence I have several times seen the European species (J. apus) picked up in the streets of Geneva, Switzerland, having fallen there during a quarrel with its fellows. When they wish to take rest during the day, which is rare, they always alight on some elevated point, whence they can throw themselves into the air and take to wing. Though numbers were flying about the rocks near Tueson, I heard them utter no note. Sociable among themselves, gathering in large flocks, they never mingle with their nearly related brethren the swallows. They generally construct their nests in the crevices of rocks or the holes in old buildings; many species have secretory glands, exuding a glutinous substance with which to fasten them firmly. The eggs, from four to six in number, are pure white, and of an elongated form.” Feather-Toed The two species constituting this genus, although resembling Swifts. the pied swift in the feathering of the toes, differ in the form of the tail, the outer feathers of which are pointed. The Cayenne species (Panyptila cayennensis) ranges through Colombia, Guiana, and Amazonia; while Salvin’s swift (P. sancti-hieromini) inhabits Guatemala. The latter is an unusually beautiful bird for such a dull-coloured family; its general hue being silky black, with a narrow white collar round the hinder part of the neck; while the wings and tail also show a good deal of white at the bases of the feathers. Writing of a nest devoid of eggs, which he found in Guatemala, Mr. Salvin oD” observes that “in this nest we see the saliva of the bird used as an adhesive SWIFTS. 39 material in nest-building, as in the genus Collocalia of the Old World, but differently applied. At first sight the saliva appears to have been used merely to secure the foundation of the nest (if the term may be used inversely) to the overhanging projection of rock upon which the rest of the structure is woven, as in the nests of the Jcteridw; but, upon closer examination, it will be seen that the saliva has been applied to secure every one of the seeds used in the construction of the nest, and in no other way could so firm and durable a structure be obtained. Another curious feature will be noticed in this nest, which is the false entrance at the side. I remember to have seen a similar thing in other nests. They appear to be placed there to deceive some enemy, such as a snake or lizard, to the attacks of which the parent bird and its off- spring would, during the time of incubation, be more exposed. It would be inter- esting to know how the materials for the nest were gathered, whether from the plant itself, or caught in the air by the bird as the seeds were carried by the wind.” . The seven small species constituting this genus belong to the second subfamily (Cheturine), characterised by the elongated wings, and the generally spiny tail, in which the shafts of the feathers are prolonged beyond the barbs so as to resemble needles. The needle-tailed swifts, as the members of the typical genus (Chetura) are called, are indeed unrivalled in Edible Swifts. their rapidity of flight. From the other members of the group the edible swifts differ by the absence of the spiny character in the tail; their chief claim to our interest being their peculiar nests, which form an article of food in the East. Formed chiefly from the birds’ saliva, these nests are firmly attached to the walls of caverns. Mr. C. Hose has discovered that the different species of the genus build distinctive nests; the valuable white nests, which are free from moss, being formed by Collocalia fuciphaga. Writing of the habits of this species in Ceylon, Colonel Legge states that the breeding-season lasts from March till June, and that the nests form large colonies. Many of these are known, from seeing the birds haunt the vicinity of certain precipitous hills, but few have been visited and examined, on account of their general inaccessibility. The narrator then describes his visit to a cave on the 22nd of May, when nearly all the nests contained young, two being the average number. “It is noteworthy that the partially-fledged young, which were procured on this occasion for me, and which I kept for the night, scrambled out on the exterior of the nests, and slept in an upright position with the bill pointing straight up. This is evidently the normal mode of roosting resorted to by this species. The interior of this cave, with its numbers of active tenants, presented a singular appearance. The bottom was filled with a vast deposit of liquid guano, reaching, I was informed, to a depth of thirty feet, and composed of droppings, old nests, and dead young fallen from above, the whole mingled into a loathsome mass with the water lodged in the erevice, and causing an awful stench, which would have been intolerable for a moment even, had not the hundreds of frightened little birds, as they screamed and whirred in and out the gloomy cave with a hum like a storm in a ship’s rigging, powerfully excited my interest, and produced a long examination of the colony. This guano-deposit is a source of considerable profit to the estate, the hospitable 40 PICARIAN. BIRDS. manager of which informed us that he had manured one hundred acres of coffee with it during that season.” A third subfamily (Macropteryginc) is represented by the five species of the genus Macropteryx, which ranges from India, through Burma and the Malayan Archipelago, to the Solomon Islands. They present such marked differences from the rest of the swifts that they have been separated as a distinct family. — The plumage is much softer than =— in the majority of the swifts, and - thus shows an approach to that of . === the goatsuckers. The sexes are = = different in colour, and the young very distinct from the adults; whereas in the other swifts there is very little difference between the plumage of the young and the Tree-Swifts. Mi WHT HTL old birds. The head is generally crested, and some of the species have elongated whisker-streaks of white. The metatarsus is shorter than the third toe, which is not the case in other swifts, while the hinder margin of the breast-bone has two distinct perforations; im addition to which the nesting- habits are quite peculiar. Writing on this subject, Ma. K. Thompson observes that “it is not in the high or deep forest that the bird breeds, but in scattered jungle, usually covering low stony hills and ridges. The nest in this particular case was in a tree quite by itself, with only a few others in the neighbourhood scattered about here and there. My attention was directed to the male bird, who was trying his best to dislodge a dove from a tree near to the one on which I ultimately found the nest. I knew that there must be a nest somewhere near, and soon caught sight of the female sitting transversely across a thin dead bough, the tiny nest, glued on to the side of this branch, being as usual scarcely perceptible from below. I have seen two other nests of this swift in this neighbourhood, each containing a tolerably well-fledged young one. The nests in these instances also were placed on Boswellia trees. To the best of my belief they never lay more than one egg in the nest.” Mr. Hume adds that “the stem to which the nest was attached is about 0°8 LONG-WINGED TREE-SWIET (3 nat. size). NIGHT/JAR 4! inch in diameter; against the side of this the nest is glued, so that the upper margin of the nest is on a level with the upper surface of the branch. The nest itself is half of a rather deep saucer, 1°75 inches in diameter, and about 0°6 in depth internally. The nest is entirely composed of thin flakes of bark, cemented together by the bird’s saliva, and is about an eighth of an inch in thickness. The egg is a very elongated oval, obtuse at both ends, and with little or no gloss. It is white, with a slight greyish blue tinge, and measures 0°94 in length by 0°61 in breadth.” THE NIGHTJARS. Family CAPRIMULGID. Like the swifts, these birds have very wide and gaping mouths; while their plumage is mottled and vermiculated, very much resembling that of the owls, near which group they have been placed in many classifications. Beyond the resem- blance of their plumage, and the fact that they are crepuscular birds, coming out to hunt for their prey in the twilight, there is, however, little in common between the two groups; the former being birds of prey, devouring chiefly animal food and laying white egos, mostly in a concealed position in the hole of a tree; whereas the eggs of the nightjars are laid in the open, and are more or less spotted and marked. The number of both the primary quills and tail-feathers in the nightjars is ten; the palate is of the Passerine (zegithognathous) type; and the third toe has a comb-like appendage to the claw, similar to that of the herons and barn-owls. The group may be divided into the two subfamilies Caprimulgine and Nyctibiine, of which the latter contains only the single genus Vyctibius, while the former comprises upwards of eighteen genera, with ninety-five species. In common with the rest of thei kind, the true nightjars have the broad beak thickly beset with strong bristles of considerable length; while they are specially distinguished by the difference in the sexes ; the males having a large patch of white on the quills and at the end of the tail- feathers, which are either absent altogether in the females, or are replaced by True Nightjars. rufous ones. The nestlings are thickly covered with down, and form an exception to the general rule of young Picarian birds, which are naked when hatched. To this genus belong most of the species of nightjars, including the British Caprimulgus ewropeus. They are found nearly all over the world, inhabiting both hemispheres, but never going very far north; and the only locality where they appear to be wanting is in some of the Eastern Pacific Islands. Of the two European species, the common nightjar shown in the upper figure of our illus- tration is a migrant from Africa, wintering in the Cape, and passing south apparently by the Nile Valley and East Africa, as it has not yet been recorded from the west coast. It visits Europe in summer, and breeds throughout the greater portion of the Continent, reaching to the latitude of Archangel, and to about 63° north latitude in Seandinavia. The plumage is of a dark, ashy- grey colour, closely vermiculated with black; the scapulars are longitudinally streaked with black and ochraceous buff; quills with a rufous-buff spot on both webs, the three outer primaries with a large white spot on the inner web; two 42 PICARTAN BLEEDS: outer tail-feathers also with a large white spot at the end of the inner web; under surface ochraceous buff, with blackish bars on the abdomen and the under- wing and tail-coverts; the breast marked like the upper surface of the body; and the throat blackish, narrowly barred with rufous buff, and spotted with white. The total length is 105 inches. The red-necked nightjar (C. ruficollis) is a larger bird, measuring 12 inches in length. It has large white spots on the quills and outer tail-feathers, but differs in having the hind-neck rufous, forming a broad itz nN : X, \ \ as Ai N83 2 SN Sahl) 4 f » Mi COMMON AND RED-NECKED NIGHTJARS (2 nat, size). collar, which has gained the species its familiar name of red-necked. It inhabits the countries of South-Western Europe and Northern Africa, nesting in Spain, Algeria, and Morocco; migrating occasionally into Southern France; and it has even reached Great Britain on one occasion, but its winter-quarters are unknown. The food of the nightjar consists entirely of insects, in pursuit of which the bird may be seen flying over the heather or the fields in the twilight, often, as it flies, producing a clapping noise, apparently by striking its wings together above its back, like a pigeon. The “churring” note which the birds make is familiar to all NIGHTIARS. is oa dwellers in the conmiey, and hence its name of churn-owl, by which it is known in many districts. Waterton has recorded the notes of one of the species in Demerara as represented by the words, work awa y! work, work, work away ! . . ] 7 9 7 y 7 iC - ] Another calls who are you? who, who are you? while another cries mournfully, willy-come-go! willy, willy, willy-come-go! and a fourth, the one represented in : P = . B Y van oa xe , : . . . the accompanying figure (C. virginianus), tells you to whip-poor-will ! wh ip- poor-will ! in tones wonderfully clear and startling. The beautiful and rare bird (Macrodipterye macrodipterus) thus named is but seldom obtained in its full perfection of plumage, since the peculiar, long-shaped primary, which forms the distinguishing character of the genus, is often missing or not developed. The male of the Leona nightjar has the ninth primary quill developed to an extraordinary length, with the shaft Leona Nightjar. VIRGINIAN NIGHTJAR (3 nat, size). of the feather bare and ending in a racket, so that, as the bird flies, the wing has a long pennant, or streamer, on each side. This is probably only developed in the breeding-season, and is not found in the female. The species is only found in Africa, where it occurs in Western Abyssinia, and on the west coast from Senegambia to the River Niger. Two other members of the genus are known. Standard-Winged As in the preceding genus, this nightjar (Cosmetornis vewil- Nightjar. /wriws) has an elongation of the primary quills, of which the seventh and eighth are greatly developed, while the ninth is prolonged into a streamer which floats behind the bird as it flies. The shaft, however, is not bare as in the Leona nightjar, but feathered throughout its whole extent. This bird is an inhabitant of Africa, and its range extends from Equatorial Africa westwards to the Benue River and Fernando Po, and south throughout Eastern Africa to the Zambesi and Damaraland. The following account of this nightjar has been published by Sir J. Kirk, who met with it in Nyasaland, and writes that it “was 44 PICARTAN, “BIRDS. first observed about three hundred miles up the Zambesi, a little above Tete, on the Keihrabassa rapids in November 1858, and was there decidedly common. It was again met with on the western side of Lake Nyasa where, in September and October, it was very plentiful, being seen in flocks of from fifteen to twenty. It was also common at Chibisa on the Shiré, in latitude 16° south. It was only during the months from October to January that the smgular prolongation of the wing-feathers was observed; these are peculiar to the males. Like other nightjars, STANDARD-WINGED NIGHTJAR (4 nat. size). the habits of these birds are crepuscular. When startled during the daytime from the ground, where they always rest, they fly swiftly for a little distance, and again settle, but are extremely difficult to follow with the eye. Not so the males in full plumage. In their case there is no difficulty ; their flight is evidently retarded, and they become prominent objects from the long streamers waving behind them. A deviation from the usual habits of the bird was observed when cruising on the Nyasa Lake. On two occasions, being overtaken in a gale, and riding out a short but dangerous sea, which set in and raised a surf on the shore, through which it was impossible to land, the male birds came off in flocks of about fifteen and flew over the surface of the water. On no other occasion have I seen them take wing of their own accord, or keep on the wing during the day.” Fork-Tailed South America is the home of a group of nightjars remarkable Ni 7 3. ? 2 . = ey . . . - . ightjars. for their enormously developed forked tails; while in Africa there is NIGHTJARS. also a genus (Scotornis) which has an elongated tail, longer than the body of the bird itself, the feathers gradually decreasing in length till the outside ones are the shortest. In South America, the genus under consider- ation has the outer tail-feathers pro- duced, and the two central ones also, the next pair being the shortest. In Macropsalis, however, the outside pair of tail-feathers are produced to an enormous length and form a train, the feathers gradually reduced in size towards the middle of the tail, the two centre ones being the shortest. Of the Argentine fork-tailed nightjar (Hydropsalis jfureifera), Durnford states that it is not uncommon near Buenos Aires in spring and autumn, living on the ground in damp situa- tions where the grass is long and thick enough to afford some slight cover, and is generally observed in parties of four or five individuals. Its flight is noiseless, and performed by jerky, erratic movements. In Entre Rios, Mr. J. B. Barrows found it common in summer, arriving in August and leaving in May; and he states that “while hunting capivaras and armadillos by moonlight, I had frequently good opportunities for watching its move- ments. Its flight is nearly as irregular and as noiseless as that of a butterfly, while its beautiful tail is opened and shut in the same manner as with the scissor - tailed flycatcher. Alighting frequently on the ground, or on stones or roots, it keeps up a continual but very soft clucking, which is the only note uttered. It was most often seen in open grassy or sandy spots in the woods, especially along the margins of the streams. By day it sits close on the ground, and, if disturbed, only flies a few yards, though it evidently sees ARGENTINE FORK-TAILED NIGHTJAR (4 nat. size). 46 PICARIAN BILD. well.” Mr. O. N. Aplin found the eggs of this species in Uruguay; they were of a creamy pink colour, delicately marked with lines and veins of pinkish lilac, something after the manner of bunting’s eggs. “On the 17th of March,” he writes, “T saw a male with the long tail-feathers settle on a post of a wire fence which passed through part of the monté;1 it sat lengthwise to the line of fence. The curious long swallow-tail of the male does not seem to incommode it at all, as the bird can turn and twist about in its rapid gliding flight in a wonderful way, and accomplishes the difficult aerial navigation of the thorny monté with all the ease and grace of our nightjar in an oak-wood.” Nacunda Night- The single representative of this genus (Podager awacunda) Jar. differs from all the preceding, in the slight development of the bristles of the gape, as well as by the shortness of the tail, which only equals about half the length of the wing. The general plumage is of the usual mottled hue, but the tail is distinctly barred; while the primary quills are conspicuously white, and the secondaries lighter brown, with blackish brown bars and vermi- culations; the central tail-feathers being like the back, with broad white tips to the outer ones; the abdomen and under tail-coverts white; the lores and upper throat reddish, with blackish brown bars; the chin almost uniform rust-colour ; and the lower throat very dark brown, the breast being similar to the upper- parts. The length is 11} inches. Mr. W. H. Hudson writes that “the specific name of this goatsucker is from the Guarané word ndcundd, which Azara tells us is the Indian nickname for any person with a very large mouth. In the Argentine country it has several names, being called dormibu (sleepy-head), or duerme-duerme (sleep-sleep), also gallina riega (blind hen). It is a large handsome bird, and differs from its congeners in being gregarious, and in never perching on trees or entering woods. It is an inhabitant of the open pampas. In Buenos Aires and also in Paraguay, according to Azara, it is a summer visitor, arriving at the end of September and leaving at the end of February. In the love-season, the male is sometimes heard uttering a song or call, with notes of a hollow mysterious character; at other times they are absolutely silent, except when dis- turbed in the daytime, and then each bird, when taking flight, emits the syllable kuf in a hollow voice. When flushed, the bird rushes away with a wild, zigzag flight, close to the ground, then suddenly drops like a stone, disappearing at the same moment from sight as effectually as if the earth had swallowed it up, so perfect is the protective resemblance in the colouring of the upper plumage to the ground. In the evening, they begin to fly about earlier than most Caprimulgi, hawking after insects like swallows, skimming over the surface of the ground and water with a swift, irregular flight; possibly the habit of sitting in open places, exposed to the full glare of the sun, has made them somewhat less nocturnal than other species that seek the shelter of thick woods or herbage during the hours of light. After the breeding-season they are sometimes found in flocks of forty or fifty individuals, and will spend months on the same spot, returning to it in equal numbers every year. One summer a flock of about two hundred individuals frequented a meadow near my house, and one day I observed them rise up very early in the evening and begin soaring about like a troop of swallows preparing to 1 The Argentine term for the small woods surrounding so many of the settlements on the pampas. NIGHT/ARS. 47 migrate. I watched them for upwards of an hour; out they did not scatter as on previous evenings to seek for food, and after a while they began to rise higher and higher, still keeping close together, until they disappeared from sight. Next morning I found that they had gone.” With these large and mainly South American nightjars we come to the sole representatives of the second subfamily. They are characterised by the plumage being more mottled than in the true nightjars, and the extreme shortness of the metatarsus, which is inferior in length to all the toes, as well as by the absence of the comb on the third toe. Moreover, the sides of the Wood-Nightjars. SY SN S ~ Wt SQA PASE SS \ X WN GREAT WOOD-NIGHTJAR (4 nat. size). body and breast carry large “powder-down” patches, which do not exist in the typical subfamily. Of these birds there are six species, which range from Mexico to Brazil, and are also represented in Jamaica. The note of these nightjars is described as being more extraordinary than that of any other bird. Waterton, for instance, writes that “a goatsucker inhabits Demerara, about the size of an English wood-owl, whose voice is so remarkable that, when once heard, it is not easily to be forgotten. A stranger would never believe it to be the ery of a bird, but would say it was the departing voice of a midnight murdered victim, or the last wailing of poor Niobe for her children, before she was turned to stone. Suppose a person in hopeless sorrow, beginning with a high loud note—Ha ha ! ha ha! ha!—each note lower and lower till the last is scarcely heard, pausing a 48 PICARIAN BIRDS. moment or two between each exclamation, and you will have some idea of the moaning of the great goatsucker of Demerara.” Mr. Stolzmann, too, states that in Peru the great wood-nightjar (Vyctibius grandis) has a curious habit of perching upon dead branches, so as to look like a knot or prolongation of the bough, so that it takes an experienced eye to detect them. “Its cry,” he writes, “is one of the most extraordinary of any bird I know, and consists of five notes, descending gradually one-fifth in the scale, and producing an uncanny impression during moonlight nights.” THE TODIES. Family TODIDz. Curious little green and red birds, commonly known as todies, constitute the family Zodide, all the members of which are included in the single genus Todus. They are represented only by five species, four of which respectively inhabit the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, San Domingo, and Porto Rico, while the fifth (7. pulcherrimus) has been stated to come from Jamaica, although its real home is still unknown. In these birds the beak is long and flattened, the palate of the desmognathous type, the breast-bone has four closed perforations on its hinder border, and the oil-gland is tufted; while there are twelve tail-feathers, and the first toe is present. The habits of the todies are said to be very much like those of flycatchers, but Mr. Scott states that sometimes they hunt insects in trees and bushes after the manner of the American warblers. He found them to be entirely insect-eaters, and no vegetable remains were met with in the stomach of those he has dissected. The todies are becoming rarer in Jamaica, owing to the introduction of the mungoose into the island, as the burrows on which the eggs are laid are very shallow and easily robbed by the animal. Of the Jamaica tody (7. viridis) Mr. Taylor writes that it “appears to be very generally dispersed throughout the island, and may even be said to be common in most parts. In all localities that I have visited, whether on the mountains at high elevations or among the woods of the plains, it has appeared equally abundant at all seasons. Banks of ravines and gullies, where the fringing forest is of dense and varied but slender growth, hedges with deep banks, woods and thickets bordering many roadways, and especially the steep, narrow bridle-paths that wind up the mountain-sides, where the banks are high, may be mentioned as some favoured haunts. But of all localities there are few, perhaps, where these birds occur constantly in such numbers, or which offer more perfect situations for nesting, than the gullies before mentioned. Many of these dry water-courses, that during prolonged rains become transformed into rushing, impassable torrents, are of considerable extent, and their sandy beds may be traced for miles inland. One gully, in particular, where most of my observations on the habits of the todies have been made, has a wide and tortuous course, and banks that vary in places from low, weed-covered mounds to precipitous cliffs of clay, between ten and twenty feet in height. In their choice of a situation for nesting, the birds are somewhat particular, preference being given to low, overhanging, weed-covered banks, where the soil is light and friable. The tunnels are rarely, if ever, in TLODLES. 49 high situations, but, on the contrary, may frequently be found at the sides of the shallow ditches and hollows that are commonly formed in soft. soil during heavy rains. I have often surprised the todies at work. In beginning a tunnel, they cling in an awkward manner to the face of the cliff or bank, fluttering their wings frequently, as if for support. So far as I have been able to observe, in digging they appear to employ the beak only, and I once took a tody that had JAMAICA TODY (nat. size), almost the entire half or side of the upper mandible worn away: this, however, was during a period of drought, when all vegetation was burnt and shrivelled, and the earth hard and unyielding. In most cases the whole work of excavation would seem to be performed by the birds, yet I have noticed (in the gullies at least) that those portions of the banks usually selected for nesting are nearly always riddled with holes and cavities of different depths. Whether the birds ever take possession of one of these, or enlarge others to suit their needs, I have not dis- covered; but such a proceeding would seem highly probable in view of the labour VOL. IV.—4 50 PICARTAN BIRDS. which the work of excavation frequently entails. When digging into some of these holes in a search for the true nest of a tody, I often find them in the occupation of strange tenants, such as tield-mice, lizards, and spiders. The latter, black, repulsive- looking objects, are of common occurrence, especially in the depressions formed by the falling away of stones, etc.,so that some little caution is necessary in prosecuting a search for the eggs of the bird. The burrows run horizontally and to a con- siderable depth, but invariably (so far as my experience goes) turn at right angles at a few inches from the entrance. The tunnel terminates in a somewhat rounded cell, where, upon a little heap or bed of fine soft earth, without any lning whatever, the eggs are laid. These are usually three or four in number, almost globular, glossy, and of a beautiful pearly white, except that, when fresh, the contents impart a delicate pink tinge to the shell. They are, in fact, miniature kingfisher’s egos. The tameness of the tody is well known, but, as Gosse well remarks, this seems rather the tameness of indifference than of confidence. I have accomplished the capture of specimens with a butterfly-net at different times with little difficulty, and frequently a tody has permitted so near an approach that I have been tempted to put out my hand in the hope of taking it. The todies keep in pairs, if not constantly, for the greater part of a season at least, and during nidification seem to range over a very circumscribed space. Their food appears to consist exclusively of small insects, which they usually pursue and take after a short flight, returning constantly to the same twig, where they will patiently sit and watch, with head drawn in and beak pointing obliquely upwards, the plumage much puffed out; the wings meanwhile being flirted by a continuous, rapid, vibratory movement.” THE Mormots. Family MomMoripzéi. Exclusively confined to Central and South America, the motmots, of which there are seven genera, are closely allied to the kingfishers and bee-eaters of the Old World, and are by no means unlike the latter in external appearance, most of them having a long tail, with the central feathers produced beyond the others. The first toe is always present; the hinder margin of the breast-bone has four notches, which are converted into perforations; and there are no ceca to the intestines. The bill is serrated, its saw-like notches being doubtless of use to the birds when they nip off the webs of their tail-feathers. Both in the wild state and in confinement, as soon as the central feathers of the tail begin to grow beyond the line of the others, the birds commence to nibble the web away, leaving a bare shaft for an inch or an inch and a half, with a large racket at the end of the central pair. In one instance, quoted by Mr. Salvin, the two middle tail- feathers had not grown symmetrically, one being more developed than the other. The bird was evidently puzzled to find the central feather, which its instinct warned it to nibble, and it began operations on several of the other feathers, until in time the middle one grew out beyond the others, and showed which was the proper one to snip. There are seventeen species of motmots, dis- tributed among seven genera, all of them having long tails, with the exception MOTMOTS. 51 of Hylomanes, which is a bird of small size, recalling the todies in general appearance. As a well-known example of the typical genus we select the Mexican motmot (Momotus lessoni), a species with the general colour of the plumage green; this tint including the tail-feathers, which become blue towards their ex- tremities, where they are tipped with black. On the crown of the head is a patch of black, bordered with silvery blue, which passes into turquoise-blue, with an inclination to purple on the nape; the eyebrow, forehead, and cheeks are likewise black, the latter being ornamented with a band of turquoise-blue above and below; the under surface is olive-brown, becoming greener on the abdomen, and inclining to emerald-green on the throat; while on the fore-neck is a tuft of black feathers edged with greenish blue. In length this handsome bird measures about 153 inches from the beak to the tip of the tail. Writing of its habits, Mr. A. K. Cherrie observes that “‘the nests are built in the ground, some bank, such as the side of a stream, being selected. True Motmots. The entrance tunnel extends back horizontally sometimes for a distance of six feet. At about half its length there is a sharp bend upward for some six inches, then the course is again horizontal as far as the chainber occupied by the nest. The nest Space is twelve or fourteen inches in diameter, being round, and about six inches high, with level floor and ceiling. A few rather coarse dry twigs are strewn over the floor. The eggs Tam not acquainted with. Mr. BRAZILIAN MOTMOT (} nat, size). 52 PICAKIAN BIED SS. José C. Zeledon, to whom I am indebted for the above notes, also tells me that if one of these nests be opened at about the time the young are ready to leave the nest, it is found to be one of the dirtiest, most foul-smelling places that can be imagined. At the time the young leave the nest, they are able to fly pretty well. They have the same colours as the adults, but the bill is much shorter, more depressed, and the edges without serration. The tail is shorter than the wings, and nearly square. The eye is sepia-brown, not chestnut, as in the old bird. ... With the first utterances of the notes of the adults, the peculiar jerky motions of the tail commenced. It was most amusing to watch the four birds sitting in a row together, almost motionless, only giving the tail first a jerk to this side, then to that, now up and now down, to see it hold for the space of a minute almost at right angles to the body, and then go with a whisk to the other side, the birds all the time uttering their peculiar cooing notes.” Broad-Beaked In the single representative of this genus (Humomota swper- Motmot. = ¢ijliwris) the beak is very much flattened, and has a grooved ridge on the culmen with hair-like rictal bristles. The tail is long and exceeds the wing in length, and has a broad racket at the end. The colour of the species is grass- green, with the mantle cinnamon, the crown grass-green with a broad white eyebrow, shading off behind into silvery cobalt; at the base of the cheeks a few spots of silvery blue; the under-parts are rusty, inclining to grass-green on the fore-neck and breast, and to oily green on the sides of the face and throat, in the centre of which is a black streak, bordered on each side with silvery blue feathers. This species, which has a total length of 15 inches, inhabits Central America from Yucatan to Costa Rica, where these birds are locally known by the name of torovoces. “In the breeding-season,” writes Mr. R. Owen, “ these birds are in full song, if their croaking note may be so termed, and are as noisy and busy then as they are mute and torpid during the rest of the year. I do not know of any sound that will convey a better idea of the note than that produced by the laboured respiration occurring after each time the air is exhausted in the lungs by the spasms of the whooping-cough. The nest of the torovoz is subterranean, and is usually found in the banks of rivers, or of water-courses which empty into them. The excavation is horizontal, and at a distance from the surface, varying with the depth of the barranco or bank in which it is situated. The size of the orifice is sufficient to allow the bare arm to be introduced, the shape being round and regular for three or at most nine feet, where the shaft terminates in a circular chamber about eight inches in diameter and five inches high. In this chamber the egys, usually four in number, are deposited upon the bare soil. The banks of the river which winds through the plain of San Geronimo are full of excavations made by this bird—that is to say, in such places where the soil is hght and the bank chops down perpendicularly. It is a simple matter to hit upon those which are inhabited, as the entrance to the abandoned ones will be found perfectly smooth, whereas the mouth of those which contain eggs or young is ploughed up in two parallel furrows made by the old bird when passing in and out. ‘The torovoz is exceedingly tame, and, when started from its nest, will, perched upon a bough a few yards distant, watch the demolition of its habitation with a degree of attention and fancied security more easily imagined than described.” BEE-EATERS. 53 THE BEE-EATERS. Family Meroprps. The bee-eaters constitute a well-marked group confined to the Old World, their place in America being taken by the motmots and jacamars. They have a long and curved bill, with a well-marked ridge along the culmen ; ANE. feet are syndactylous, like those of the kingfishers, with the soles very broad, and the third COMMON BEE-EATER (2 nat. size), and fourth toes united almost for their entire length, while the second is jomed to the third for its basal joint only. The tail-feathers are ten in number; the palate is bridged (desmognathous); and the breast-bone has four notches on its hinder margin; while there are also certain other osteological characters distinguishing the group, into the consideration of which it would be out of place to enter here. Of the five genera by which the family is represented, two (Meropogon and Nyctiornis), both of which are Asiatic, are distinguished by a tuft of overhanging plumes on the breast, which are wanting in the other three. Of the latter, the swallow-tailed bee-eaters (Dichrocercus) and square-tailed bee-eaters (Melittophagus) are confined to Africa, while the true bee-eaters (erops) inhabit all the four great continents of the Old World. As a rule, the bee-eaters lay glossy white eggs in a 54 PICARIAN BIRDS. nest situate at the end of a long tunnel excavated by the birds themselves, although the two species of Nyctiornis are stated to nest in trees. Swallow-Tailed Distinguished by the absence of a tuft on the breast and the Bee-Eaters. forked swallow-like tail, in which the central feathers lack the elongation characterising the other members of the family, the African swallow- tailed bee-eaters (Dichrocercus) are represented by two species, one of which (D. furcatus) comes from the western side of the continent, while the other (D. hirundineus) is a southern form. The latter is distinguished by having the forehead and eyebrow of the same green hue as the rest of the head, instead of being blue; while the general colour of the upper-parts is golden-green ; the wings ~ being green, and their primary quills light chestnut with black tips, forming a terminal band to the wing-feathers; the upper tail-coverts and the central tail- feathers are blue, the remainder golden-olive tipped with white, before which is a shade of black; a black streak runs along the sides of the head; the cheeks and throat are orange-yellow, followed by a black band; the breast is green; the abdomen and under tail-coverts blue; the bill black; the feet dusky grey; and the iris crimson. The whole length is 85; that of the wing being 3°95; and that of the tail 4:0 inches. The sexes are alike in colour. This bee-eater inhabits the Cape Colony and South Africa generally, extending on the east as far north as the Zanzibar region, and on the west to Damaraland and Benguela. In habits this species is like the other bee-eaters, hawking for food in the open, and capturing insects in full flight. It seems, however, to fly at a lesser altitude than some of its larger relations, and nests in sandy banks, making a tunnel of about three feet in length, the entrance to the tunnel being very small, not more than two inches wide, but opening out into a slightly wider chamber at the end. Square-Tailed The square-tailed bee-eaters (Melittophagus) are all of small size, Bee-Eaters. measuring only from 6 to 9 inches in length, and mostly confined to Africa, although two species range into India and the countries east of the Bay of Bengal as far as Java. Thirteen in number, these bee-eaters are easily recognised by their squared tails; their general coloration being of the peculiar green hue common to the group, although with considerable contrasts of blue and yellow, some also having a black band on the throat. While the African species frequents water-courses, the little bee-eater (JZ. pusillus) prefers reedy marshes and swamps, where it perches on low bushes and trees. On the other hand, the white-fronted species (IZ. albifvons) selects higher trees in the neighbourhood of water. A well- known member of the genus is the chestnut-headed bee-eater (J/. swinhoet), in which the lower back and upper tail-coverts are silvery blue; the primary quills having their inner surface rufous with a blue bar at the end; while the tail is greenish blue; the head and mantle chestnut; the throat yellow, with a black band inferiorly; the under surface of the body emerald-green; the breast and flanks marked with yellow, and the abdomen and under tail-coverts blue. This pretty species is found in the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon, extending through the Burmese countries to Siam and Cochin China,and southwards to the Malay Peninsula. The eggs, like those of the rest of the family, are pure white, and four or six in number, the holes in which they are laid being tunnelled in sandy soil by the BEE-EATERS. 55 birds themselves, either in a retired bank of a river or in the sides of a road, and the tunnels varying in length from one foot to seven feet, with the chamber at the end larger than the rest of the excavation. The direction of the passage is not always straight, Davison stating that he has found some of them, after a depth of twelve or eighteen inches turning off almost at a right angle, while others took an almost cireular direction. There is no nest in the chamber, and the eggs are laid on the bare floor of the chamber, which is about six inches in diameter. Of somewhat larger size than the last, the true bee-eaters (Merops) are represented by seventeen species, all distinguished by the central tail-feathers being elongated beyond the others. Of these, eight are peculiar to Africa, while two (MZ. persicus and M. viridis) inhabit both Africa and India; Arabia owning two species, namely, I. cyanophrys from Aden, and M. muscatensis from Muscat. In Europe JL apiaster is common in summer, M. philippinus abounds from the Indian Peninsula to Southern China and even extends over the greater part of Malaysia, while J£ ornatus is Australian. Two (MW. bicolor and M. swmatranus) are confined to the Indian region, and one of the handsomest species is J/. brevert from the Gabun and the Congo in West Africa. The common bee-eater (JJ. apiaster) is a rather large species, measuring 10 inches in length, with the wings 59, and the tail 45 inches. The head and mantle are chestnut, the back and scapulars creamy buff, the lower back washed with blue like the upper tail-coverts; the lesser wing-coverts are green, but the rest are chestnut like the secondaries, which are tipped with black; the quills are blue with blackish tips; the tail green with blue edges, the central feathers almost entirely blue; the cheeks are blue in front, white behind, the crown chestnut, with a white band on the forehead, followed by a blue line joining a narrow blue eyebrow ; the throat is yellow, with a black band across the lower part; the rest of the under surface greenish blue; the bill black; the feet greyish brown; and the iris yellow. The sexes are alike in colour, but the young are paler, having a green eyebrow, with the black bar on the lower throat, and show a general wash of green over the head, mantle, and back. This bee-eater visits Southern Europe regularly every summer, and is found as far east as Turkestan, Kashmir, and Sind; breeding in Afghanistan and plentifully in Kashmir. Its habits are like those of other bee-eaters, the bird taking its food on the wing, and being very destructive to bees in certain parts of Southern Europe, visiting the hives and capturing the insects as they fly out and in. In winter it visits all parts of Africa, and is even said to rear a second brood in its winter home. Several species of European birds are, indeed, reported to nest in the southern countries where they winter, but although these records must be received with caution, in the case of the common bee-eater the evidence is certainly remarkable, for Mr. Layard says that not only did he receive information of the breeding of the species, but he himself found it nesting in large numbers on the Berg River in September and October. He observes that “it does not always select a bank into which to bore the hole destined for its nest, for we found one flat piece of sandy ground perforated with numberless holes, into which the birds were diving and scrambling like so many rats.” True Bee-Eaters. 56 PICARIAN BIRDS. Celebean In the island of Celebes is found a peculiar species (Mesopogon Bee-Eater. fyrsteni), characterised by having the two central tail-feathers elongated, as in the genus Merops, but with a bunch of overhanging plumes on the breast. The colour of the bird is green, the quills being dusky at the ends, the central tail-feathers green, but the rest chestnut with green edges; the head, throat, and breast are deep ultramarine; the hind-neck maroon- brown; the abdomen dusky blackish washed with green; under tail-coverts chestnut with green margins; the total length is 13 inches. The species is only found, according to Dr. Meyer, in dense forests difficult of access, where it inhabits the highest trees, and has the manners and ways of other bee-eaters. SSS PANS : \ WS WS : i ‘| NWN Si N\ \\ BLUE-BEARDED BEE-EATER (3 nat. size). The Bearded The two species constituting the genus Nyctiornis are distin- Bee-Eaters. suished not only by the tufts of feathers on the breast, but also by the squared tail and densely feathered nostrils. The blue-bearded bee-eater (NV. ashertoni) is an Indian bird, extending east to Siam, but replaced in Tenasserim and the Malay region by the scarlet-bearded bee-eater (NV. amicta), a beautiful species, with the long feathers of the throat scarlet instead of blue, and the fore- head lilac instead of bluish green. This species is said by Mr. Whitehead to be fairly common in parts of Borneo, frequenting the high forest, where it sits solitary on the lower boughs of trees, making short flights after insects. Although there is 2 gt; a ae My, ace aren : a ; 1s Sie Statement as to its eggs having been taken from a tunnel, the yue-beardec AAs wy Ta. Inaltaxra. mg . 4 arded bee-eater is believed to nest in holes in trees, having been seen to fly out of such cavities in Tenasserim. , Wie « on tae Pa e, , ae! i Pl ‘ Ld tive 7 : \ a) m SoReal J ‘ An Ky (NT Gs mL © Oa) HUOP OES HOOPOES. 57 THE HOopogEs. Family UPUPID. The beautiful birds known from their cry as hoopoes form, with the wood- hoopoes, a group having no very close allies, and are regarded, like each of the last few preceding families, as constituting a suborder by themselves. They have, indeed, been considered as nearly related to the perching birds, from which they are, however, sharply distinguished by the bridged structure of the palate, as well as by the presence of two deep notches in the hinder border of the breast-bone. They are further characterised by a perforation in the fore-part of the latter bone, which allows the two metacoracoid bones to meet in the middle line; a similar condition obtaining in the bee-eaters and hornbills. Indeed, it is the latter birds, which at first sight appear so different, that seem to be the nearest allies to the hoopoes, both these groups displaying very remarkable nesting- habits, and also having certain structural features in common. The whole of the members of the present family are included in the single genus Upupa, and are desert-loving birds, inhabiting suitable localities in Africa, the greater part of Asia, and temperate Europe, and specially distinguished by the sandy hue of their plumage, which is devoid of any metallic gloss, the squared form of the tail, and the open and rounded nostrils. They are represented by six species, three of which are exclusively confined to Africa and Madagascar; while the Indian - hoopoe (U. indica) ranges from the country from which it takes its name to Burma, and on the western limits of its range apparently interbreeds with the common European species. The latter species (U. epops), which is the one represented in our coloured Plate, has its plumage of a general sandy brown colour, with black-and-white bands. Conspicuous from the crest of erectile plumes adorning the head, the hoopoe has the secondary quills black with four white bars of equal width ; the rump is white; the primary quills are black with a broad band of white ; the lesser wing-coverts being of the same sandy hue as the back, while the median series is black tipped with buff The dark vinous crest-feathers are tipped with black, bordered inferiorly by a line of white; the flanks have blackish streaks ; the under tail-coverts are white; the tail is black with a broad white band, some- what bent downwards on the outer feathers; while the beak is black, with a flesh-coloured base, and the feet are likewise black. In total length the bird measures about a foot. The range of this species apparently extends from Southern Sweden and Central and Southern Europe generally, to Japan. Its winter home appears to be in Senegambia, South-Eastern Africa, and the peninsula of India. In the latter area it probably intergrades with the resident species, which has no white subterminal bar on the crest-feathers, although many imter- mediate specimens are met with, showing an indication of a more or less perfect white bar, and are doubtless the result of crossing. The sexes of the common hoopoe are alike in colour, and the young birds resemble the adults but have a more fluffy plumage. Breeding as a rule in hollow trees, the hoopoe is now become rare in those parts of the Continent where the country has been denuded 58 PFICATRIAN EIKDS: of timber. Like the hornbills, the female has the habit of sitting very closely on her eggs, during which period she is fed by her mate. Lord Lilford writes that hoopoes generally “ prefer a hole in a hollow ash or willow for nesting in; but I have seen a nest on the ground under a large stone, others in holes on the sunny side of mud or brick walls, one in a fissure of limestone rock, and one in a small cavern. The eggs when first laid are of a beautiful pale greenish blue, but soon become stained and dirty, so that the average hoopoe’s egg 1s of a dirty yellow colour. Swinhoe, again, writing from China, observes that “many years ago a pair of hoopoes took possession of a hole in the city wall at Amoy, near my house. The hen sat close until the young were hatched, the male frequently supplying her with food during the day. Hoopoes have often bred in the holes of exposed Chinese coffins; the natives hence have an objection to them, and brand them as the ‘coffin-bird.’ The young, when hatched, are naked, but soon get covered with small blue quills, which yield the feathers. The little creature has a short bill, and crouches forward, making a hissing noise. It looks a strange compound of the young wryneck and kingfisher. They do not stand upright till nearly fledged. Their crests develop at once, but their bills do not acquire their full length till the following year.” A correspondent of Blyth’s at Calcutta, who was one of the first to draw attention to the circum- stance of the nesting hen being fed by the cock, writes that two pairs of these birds, nesting in his veranda, became so tame that his presence never disturbed them in the least; and he twice saw the males with the females just at the bottom of the steps, and within ten yards of where he was sitting. “I was there- fore,” he continues, “thoroughly familar with them, and can assert most positively that for a number of days I never saw the female of either pair out. I did not pay any attention at first to the circumstance of there being only two flying about, until I observed both males going up to the nest with gnats in their bills, giving a call, and then putting their heads inside for the hens to take the food. The feeding- times were morning and evening, at regular hours—the former about seven or eight oclock, and again in the afternoon about four o’clock. I have seen the males getting the gnats, ete. close under the very steps I was sitting on, and almost within two yards of my chair, then flying up, giving a call, and coming down again directly the food was taken. The nests were at opposite ends of the veranda, and only one of the broods came out. I saw some time ago a notice in the F%eld, mentioning the dirty state of the nest, before this could have been caused by the young; and, if my idea is correct, the explanation is simple. I never saw the males go inside the holes in which the nests were, and I never saw either of the females outside during the time they were hatching, though of course it is possible they may have gone out. If I should live, I will, next spring, observe more carefully ; but it was a good while before I noticed the absence of the females this year. Last year I had one nest only in the veranda, and another in the veranda of my office. The hoopoe, I know, breeds in France; and possibly you may be able to find out if any notice of this fact has been taken.” And in a second communication he adds: “In continuation of my letter of last year, I may mention that there were again this spring two hoopoe’s nests in my veranda, and in the same place. I find that the hens do leave the nest once or twice a day, but I have WOOD-HOOPOES. 59 never seen them stay out longer than to give time to get rid of their droppings, and I have never seen either of them on the ground when out. Generally speaking, they perch on a tree near at hand, and after sitting a few moments for the purpose mentioned, fly back to the nest. Two or three times one of the hens flew out, passed her dropping whilst on the wing, and returned to the nest without having settled anywhere. They are fed most indefatigably by the cocks, and the number of grubs, small worms, and so forth, destroyed by them is very great.” As already mentioned, the name hoopoe is doubtless derived from the note of the bird, rather than from the fact of its possessing a remarkable crest, whence may come the French title, “la huppe.” Swinhoe writes that the notes are produced “by puffing out the sides of its neck, and hammering on the ground at the production of each note, thereby exhausting the air at the end of the series of three notes, which makes up its song. Before it repeats its call it repeats the puffing of the neck, with a slight gurgling noise. When it is able to strike its bill, the sound is the correct hoo-hoo- hoo, bat when perched on a rope, and only jerking out the song with nods of the head, the notes most resemble the syllables, hoh-hoh-hoh !” THE Woop-HOoopoks. Family [RRISORIDZ. From the members of the preceding family the wood-hoopoes are distinguished by the more or less marked metallic gloss on their plumage, the long, wedge-shaped form of the tail, which exceeds the wing in length, and the elongated nostrils, which are partly concealed by an overhanging flap. These birds are represented by three genera, all of which are confined to Africa, and differ from one another merely in the degree of curvature of the beak and the contour of the nostrils. The species which we select as our example of the family is the purple-tailed wood-hoopoe (Jrrisor viridis), which is a bird of considerable size, measuring about 14 inches in total length. The colour of the upper surface of the plumage is metallic green, somewhat inclining to bronze on the back, and with a steely blue tinge on the hinder part of the head and neck; while the feathers of the lower portion of the back, as well as the upper tail-coverts, are bluish black edged with dark copper. The wings are steel-blue, their primary coverts being tipped with white, while the lesser coverts are edged with copper, and the primary quills crossed with a band of white consisting of twin spots, the outer one smaller than the inner one; the tail is purple, shot with violet, all but the central feathers with an oblique subterminal bar of white; the under surface glossy steel-blue ; the breast and upper part of the abdomen shining metallie-green ; the lower abdomen and under tail-coverts glossy purplish black ; the bill and feet scarlet, and the iris dark hazel. This species is an inhabitant of South Africa, whence it ranges as far north as Angola on the west, and to Mombasa on the east coast. In North-Eastern Africa, and on the west coast from Senegambia to the Niger, its place is taken by the allied species, /. erythrorhynchus, distinguished by having the tail greenish blue instead of purple. In habits all the wood-hoopoes are very shy and wary, and very active and erratic in their movements, always 60 PICARIAN BIRDS. frequenting trees, and seldom descending to the ground. They are said to breed in hollow trees and lay white eggs, and the nests have the same offensive smell as those of the ordinary hoopoes. Mr. Ayres says that the birds themselves have a very powerful and disagreeable smell, and he has seen them creeping about the trunks and branches of trees, after the manner of woodpeckers, and feeding on cockroaches, which they take from the crevices of rough-barked trees. They are PURPLE-TAILED WOOD-HOOPOE (% nat. size). generally seen in flocks, probably consisting of family parties, and they have a loud and harsh ery, which has caused the name of kachela or chatterer, to be given to them by the Dutch colonists. THE HorNBILLS. Family BUCEROTID 2. The hornbills, which form a suborder as well as a family by themselves, derive their name from the great development of the bill, which is mostly hollow, and furnished with a casque of greater or less prominence, although the latter appendage is sometimes represented merely by a straight and compressed keel. Moreover, in the case of the solid-easqued hornbill (Rhinoplaz), the whole of this HORNBILLS. 61 portion of the beak is solid, and the entire skull consequently very heavy, whereas in the other species it is remarkable for its lightness. The palate is of the bridged type, and the upper part of the breast-bone has the same perforation as in Ae hoopoes and bee-eaters. The spinal feather-tract is not defined on the neck. and the tendons of the foot are split into branches, of which one leads to the first toe and another to the second, while the third and fourth toes are served by one and the same tendon. The tail-feathers, as in most of the Picarian birds, one ten in number. The egg is white, and the young are hatched in a naked and helpless condition. Confined to the Old World, the hornbills are found in Africa and the Indian region, extending through the Malay countries to Celebes, and thence to HEAD OF WEST AFRICAN TRUMPETER-HORNBILL. (From Scelater, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1871.) New Guinea and the western islands of the Solomon group. They are divisible into three subfamilies, the ground-hornbills (Bucoracine), true hornbills (Bucerotine), and solid-casqued hornbills (Rhinoplacine). Ground- These curious and vulture-like hornbills, constituting the first Hornbills. subfamily, are peculiar to Africa, and have a hollow casque, while the back of the neck and middle of the back are both feathered, and the metatarsus is long, even to the extent of twice the length of the middle toe and claw. The group is represented only by two species, namely, the Abyssinian hornbill (Bucorax abyssinicus) from Western and North-Eastern Africa, and the South African hornbill (B. cafer) from South Africa, extending on the west to Angola, and on the east to the Pangani River and even as far as the Suk country in Equatoria. These two species differ in the form of the casque, that of the Abyssinian bird being very evidently open in front, while the South African species has the casque closed, or nearly so. The Abyssinian form measures upwards of 34 feet in length, with a wing of 24 inches, and has the entire plumage black, excepting the primary quills, which are white. The bill and casque are 62 PICARIAN BIRDS. black, with a red patch on the lower mandible, and the feet are dusky black ; while the bare parts of the face are red, with the exception of the naked skin round the eye and on the middle of the throat, which is blue. The female has the bare skin of the throat and region of the eye purple. In North-Eastern Africa this hornbill is said to be found in the wooded steppes and on the mountains up to a height of four thousand feet, though more common between ABYSSINIAN GROUND-HORNBILL (+ nat. size). one and two thousand feet. After the breeding-season they assemble in small flocks, when as many as ten or a dozen are seen together. Of the habits of the South African ground-hornbill more is recorded. Known to the Boers as the bromvogel, this species is regarded as a fetich among many of the native tribes, being a rain-omen with the Kaffirs, who believe that if one of these hornbills is killed there will be rain for a long time, and who, therefore, in times of drought will throw one of the birds into a vley, in order that rain may follow. Colonel Bowker says that the bird is so offensive that the native idea is HORNBILLS. 63 that the throwing of its body into the water will “make the river sick,’ and that “the only way of getting rid of this is to wash it away to the sea, which can only be done by heavy rains and flooding of the river.” These hornbills seem to be practically omnivorous, and devour great numbers of beetles, worms, mice, small birds, ete.’ They generally associate in small companies, and when a snake is discovered, they come round it, holding their wing stretched out and flapping the reptile with it until it is irritated and seizes hold of the feathers, when all the birds crowd round it and peck it, until it looses its hold; this manceuvre being repeated till the snake is dead. If the latter advances, the birds fold both wings in front of them, so as to form a shield, thus covering their head and other vulnerable parts. Mr. Ayres says that their call-note, coo-coo, can be heard at a distance of two miles. The nests are placed in the holes of trees, or in hollows formed by three or four branches striking off from the same spot. Rhinoceros- The rhinoceros-hornbills form the typical representatives of the Hornbills. second subfamily Bucerotine, all of which are more arboreal in their habits than the last group, in consequence of which the metatarsus is proportion- ately shorter, not exceeding the third toe and its claw in length. The subfamily may be divided into two sections, according to the form of the tail. The first section in which the tail is squared, includes the African trumpeter-hornbills (Bycanistes), of which the head is figured on p. 61, the members of the present genus, as well as several smaller forms, such as Penelopides of the Philippines and Celebes, and Lophoceros of Africa; the latter genus containing the smallest member of the family, measuring only 15 inches in length. The common rhinoceros-hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros), inhabiting the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, is of large size, measuring nearly 4 feet in length. The colour is black, with a slight gloss of steel-blue or dark green; the rump and upper tail-coverts being white, as is also the tail, which has a broad bar of black just before the tip; while the under surface of the body is black, with the exception of the lower abdomen, thighs, and under tail-coverts. The bill has a large casque, with the fore-part turned up into a horn-like protuberance, whence the bird’s name of rhinoceros. The colour of the bill is whitish yellow, black at the base, the casque lake-red, shading off below into orange near the base, which is black; and there is also a black line from the side of the nostrils to the fore- part of the casque. The feet are yellowish green, and the iris deep lake. The female resembles the male in colour, but has no black base, and no black median line along the side of the casque. In the young birds there is no fully-developed casque, but only a small orange-coloured exerescence on the top of the upper mandible. In Java another species is found (B. sylvestris) with a nearly straight casque. In many places this great bird is kept in a state of semi-domestication, and Mr. Burbidge writing of one which he saw thus kept in North-Eastern Borneo, observes that “the rhinoceros-hornbill is very often seen in a state of domesticity, enjoying at the same time perfect liberty. When very young they are taken from the nest, and accommodated with a bit of old cloth in a basket as a bed, being fed on rice and soft fruits, until they are strong enough to wander about; they sit on their haunches, wheezing and shrieking all day long, and continually clamouring for food. Their beauty is about equal to that of a very fat badly-plucked goose. 64 PICARIAN BIRDS. If well fed, however, they soon gain strength and assume their plumage ; and then they flap about the house and steal or beg for food. At one place where I stayed collecting for some time, a native, in whose house I had established myself, had reared a very fine specimen of this bird. It was the most voracious brute IT ever saw. It was omnivorous, and nothing came amiss to it or seemed to disagree with it. It was a fine full-grown male, and a jolly fellow into the bargain. Very often he would descend from a tall camphor-wood tree, which stood a hundred yards or so from the house, in the jungle, to the top of which he was fond of going to sun his wings and clean himself after a meal. When he was very hungry, it was only by tying a string to his leg, and moving him to the side of the house, that he could be prevented from eating off the same plate as myself, or putting his great horned head into the rice-dish or curry-bowl. Bones of a fowl, curried or not, were gobbled up instantly; and the wonder was to me how he managed to bolt big bones and tough biscuits without choking himself. Whatever was thrown anywhere near his head was sure to fall into his open bill; indeed, I never saw a dog that could catch food in his mouth better; everything was caught on the point of his great bill, and then tossed into the air, being again caught and swallowed; this tossing was always performed. Bones, the entire bodies of small birds from which the skins had been removed for preserving, lumps of bread, biscuits, fruit, fish, or wet rice, shavings, and even nodules of moist earth, all seemed equally welcome; and after taking in a cargo of provisions which would have formed an ample meal for a pig twenty times his own weight, he would ‘saw the air’ with his great wings, and having gained his favourite perch on the tall camphor-tree, would sun himself and plume his wings, and shriek until he became hungry rather than hoarse.” Great Pied This species (Dichoceros bicornis) is the largest of the hornbills, Hornbill. measuring nearly 5 feet in length, with a great casque, concave on the top, and nearly square, rising into well-marked corners on the fore-part. The colour is black with white bases and tips to the greater wing-coverts and quills ; the tail being white with a broad band of black just before the tips of the feathers ; while the bill and the casque are yellow, inclining to orange-red on the top of the latter, with some black marks at the base of the bill and along the margins of the casque; and the naked skin round the eye is fleshy pink, and the iris blood-red. This hornbill, remarkable for its clumsy-looking bill, inhabits the hills of Southern India, the Himalaya, and their continuation in the Burmese countries to Siam, ranging southward through Tenasserim and the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra. It is the only representative of its genus; and, as in the other species of giant hornbills, there is a difference in the sexes, displaying itself not in plumage, but in the colour of the bill) Thus in the female there is no black on the casque; while the bare skin of the face is reddish, and the eye is white, instead of red. Mr. Hume has published notes on the nesting of the present species, and it is interesting to note that many observers in India must have discovered the fact of the strange nesting-habits of the hornbills previous to Livingstone, who is generally credited with having been the first to draw attention to the incarceration of the female bird during the period of incubation. Colonel Tickell, for instance, writing in 1855 of the nesting of the great pied hornbill in Tenasserim, says :—*On my way back HORNBILLS. 65 to Moulmein from Mooleyit, when halting at Kyik, I heard by the merest chance from the Karen villagers that a large hornbill was sitting on its nest in a tree close to the village, and that for several years past the same pair of birds had resorted to that spot for breeding. I accordingly lost no time in going to the place the next morning, and was shown a hole high up in the trunk of a moderately large straight tree, branchless for about fifty feet from the ground, in which I was TWO-HORNED HORNBILL, told the female lay concealed. The hole was covered with a thick layer of mud, all but a small space, through which she could thrust the end of her bill, and so receive food from the male. One of the villagers at length ascended with great labour by means of bamboo-pegs driven into the trunk, and commenced digging out the clay from the hole. While so employed, the female kept uttering her rattling sonorous cries, and the male remained perched on a neighbouring tree, sometimes flying to and fro, and coming close to us. Of him the natives appeared to entertain great dread, saying that he was sure to assault them; and it was with VOL. 1V.—5 66 PICARIAN BIRDS. some difficulty that I prevented them from shooting him before they continued their attack on the nest. When the hole was sufficiently enlarged, the man who. had ascended thrust in his arm, but was so soundly bitten by the female, whose cries had become perfectly desperate, that he quickly withdrew it, narrowly escaping a tumble from his frail footing. After wrapping his hands in some folds of cloth, he succeeded with some trouble in extracting the bird, a miserable-looking object enough, wasted and dirty. She was handed down and let loose on the ground, where she hopped about, unable to fly, and menacing the bystanders with her bill, and at length ascended a small tree, where she remained, being too stiff to use her wings. At the bottom of the hole, nearly three feet from the orifice, - was a solitary egg, resting upon mud, fragments of bark and feathers.” The number of eggs laid by hornbills seems to vary, sometimes only one being met with, while at other times four or even five are found in the nest; the present species, apparently, never laying more than four. The female seems to assist in the matting-in of the nest-hole, using leaf-mould and earth, mixed with her own droppings and various decaying vegetable substances, so that the nests are often filthy and give forth an intolerable stench. In all probability the real reason for the retirement of the female hornbill into the recess of a tree, is that. the bird is about to moult, and that this process is completed while concealed in the tree. Thus the emaciated condition of some of the birds, when liberated, could. be accounted for, while their subsequent fat condition and good plumage would be the result of the completed moult. The hole is doubtless plastered up as a defence against enemies, of which the hornbills have plenty. The formidable bili of the birds is useful as a weapon of defence, as well as being of the needful shape to serve as a trowel for plastering up the hole of the tree. Wedge-Tailed The wedge-tailed hornbills, as the members of the second section Hornbills. of the typical subfamily are collectively termed, comprise several genera distinguished from the first section by the elongation of the central pair of feathers in the tail. In the case of the genus Berenicornis of Malaysia, as well as in the West African Ortholophus, the tail is very much elongated, and forms a. rraceful appendage of graduated feathers, which have conspicuous white tips To this section of the hornbills belong the members of the genus Lophoceros, which is peculiar to Africa, and contains seventeen species. They are all small birds, compared with the general run of the species of Bucerotide, and their mode of life seems to be somewhat different from those of the big hornbills of the east, though they have the same habit of plastering up the female in a tree at the season of incubation. They are often found on the ground, and feed on berries, seeds, and insects; Mr. Andersson stating that he has found considerable quantities of sand in their stomachs, picked up by the birds when on the ground. Of the yellow-billed hornbill (LZ. melanoleucas) the above-named naturalist remarks that it “is the most common of the hornbills in the middle of the southern parts of Damaraland. It is found singly or in pairs, and, being a comparatively fearless bird, is easily killed, especially during the heat of the day, when it invariably perches on or near the top of a lofty tree (where such are to be found), and will remain for hours in this situation, keeping up, with short intermissions, a kind of subdued chattering note of toe toc toe tocké tocké tocke toe, in a tone not unlike the quick yelping of young ‘ TIORINE TEES: 67 puppies, and accompanied at intervals by a flapping and raising of the wings and an alternate lowering and erecting of the head.” The yellow-billed hornbill is about 21 inches in length, and has a tail about 9 inches long. It is easily dis- tinguished by its yellow bill and by the feathers on the chest being white edged with black. It is found all over South Africa. Another species of Lophoceros, namely, the South-African grey hornbill (Z. epirhinus), is easily recognised by the pale buff line down the centre of the back, and by having white shafts to the Soy, / YELLOW-BILLED HORNBILL, central pair of tail-feathers; the head and neck are grey, with a broad white eyebrow; the beak is brown, and the quills are tipped with white; the under surface of the body is white, with the chest brownish grey. Length, 20 inches; wing, 9 inches. This species, Mr. Ayres says, is a great fruit-eater, and lives in small companies. He states that he was once much surprised to hear one of these birds, perched on the top of a small tree, singing very prettily with the voice of a thrush. “I could scarcely believe my ears,” he observes, “until I had watched the bird for a considerable time; at last he flew away, and the woods were 638 PICAKTAN BIRDS. silent.” Mr. Andersson says that he has found this hornbill in Damaraland and the lake-regions of South-Western Africa. It is seen in small families, rarely exceeding six in number. “ In common with the rest of the genus it appears to suffer very much from the heat during the most trying season of the year, when it may be found perched at noon in the shadiest part of the forest, gasping as if for breath. When on the wing this species occasionally utters short, piercing cries.” With regard to the Malayan wedge-tailed hornbill (Anorhinus galeritus) a curious experience is related by Mr. Whitehead, who found a nest of the species in Northern Borneo. He shot three of the birds before he became aware that there was a nest-hole in the tree, but, on being assured of the fact, he sent one of his ° boys to climb up and let the old female out. When the native went to do this, he found two or three birds engaged in feeding her and her young one. Mr. Whitehead says that the hole is firmly fastened up with gutta, dirt, and various gums, and the same hole is frequently used, judging by the heaps of excrement at the foot of the tree. He also considers that the plastering of the hole is necessary to protect the helpless birds against the attacks of monkeys, and the huge tree- climbing monitor lizards, which cause immense destruction among the feathered population of the forests. Solid Billed In marked contrast to the hght and cell-filled casques of the Hornbill. other members of the family, the beak of the solid-billed hornbill (Rhinoplax vigil) has, as already mentioned, a perfectly solid casque; on which account this bird is referred to a separate subfamily. In this species the beak has the consistence and appearance of ivory, and is indeed carved by the Chinese in the same way. The species in question is an inhabitant of Southern Tenasserim, the Malayan Peninsula, and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. In addition to its solid bill, it is remarkable for having the whole of the throat and back of the neck bare. The length of the bird is nearly 55 feet, the tail alone being almost 3 feet long. ‘The general colour is brown, the quills black with white tips, and the tail brown tipped with white, the tips being preceded by a black band. The two central feathers are more than double the length of the next pair, and the outer pair are entirely white. The under surface of the body is white, the breast being brown, the bill yellow, with the posterior portion red, like the bare throat and neck, while the feet and iris are also red. Davison, who found this species in Southern Tenasserim, where he procured a single specimen after much trouble in the evergreen forests of Bankasori and Malwun, says that it is very shy, which is not to be wondered at, since, whenever one appears near a village, everyone who can shoot or can get hold of a gun is sure to try and kill it, as the heads are in great demand for carving into love-charms, bringing as much as fifty rupees. “The birds,” he writes, “confine themselves almost exclusively to the evergreen forests, where they frequent the very highest trees. Their note is very peculiar, and can be heard at the distance of a mile or more. It commences with a series of whoops, uttered at intervals of about half a minute for five or ten minutes; then the interval between each whoop grows shorter and shorter, till the whoop whoop whoop is repeated very quickly ten or a dozen times, the bird ending up by going into a harsh, quacking laugh. Then there is a pause of ten minutes, or a quarter of an hour or more, and then it recommences. It chiefly utters this call in the KINGFISHERS. 69 morning and evening, but occasionally also during the day. It never seems to descend to the ground, and it feeds on fruit.” THE KINGFISHERS. Family AZCEDINID. It is scarcely possible to name a country in the world where kingfishers of some sort or another are not found. Although they vary greatly in form and THE KINGFISHER (# nat. size). habits, as a rule they have a long and somewhat pointed bill; but the shape of this organ varies considerably in form, according as the bird is a fish-catcher or a devourer of reptiles and other food than fish. The structure of the foot, however, searcely changes throughout the group, for every kingfisher is flat-soled and has an anisodactyle foot, with the toes for the most part united together, so that the foot of these birds is by no means unlike that of a hornbill, to which group some of the larger kingfishers make an approach in general appearance. Unlike so many of the Picarian birds, most kingtishers have twelve tail-feathers instead of ten, though a few possess the ordinary Picarian number. As in the hornbills and 70 PICARIAN BIRDS. rollers, the deep plantar tendons of the foot are peculiar, the tendon which usually supplies the first toe not serving that function in these three families, for the toe in question is connected with the tendon which usually works the three front toes. The eggs of the kingfishers are always laid in the hole of a bank of some kind, or a tree, and are glossy white ; while the young birds, when hatched, are naked and helpless, although in a little while they become covered with feathers, each of which is enclosed in a sheath, thus giving the nestling a peculiar bristly appear- ance. This sheath encloses the feather till it is almost fully grown, and then falls off rapidly, leaving the feathers exposed; although in all kingfishers and their allies the plumage is never very dense. Indeed, in birds which have to plunge into the water a fluffy plumage would be greatly in the way, and hence we have in the kingtishers a closely-fitting body-plumage, which does not get draggled or wet through by the immersion which it has to undergo. In 1871 the writer divided the kingfishers into two subfamilies, namely, the fish-eating Alcedinine, and the insect or reptile-eating Dacelonine ; and even now the kingfishers seem still to afford an illustration of the utility of considering the habits of the birds as of primary importance. In this instance characters may be found which can be correlated with the difference in the mode of life. Thus the fish-eating kingtfishers are equipped for their manner of living by the development of a long and narrow bill, and a tail just long enough to act as a rudder, but not of sufficient length to be in the way. On the other hand, the bush-kingtishers, which feed less on fish and more on insects and reptiles, have the bill not so narrow or compressed, but more flattened, and in some instances even hooked. ‘Then, again, whereas in the typical subfamily there is almost always a perceptible groove along the bill, leaving the upper part of it in the form of a ridge, in the second group the ridge of the bill is either rounded or flattened, and in one or two instances there is even a groove along the middle of its upper surface. Stork-Billed This subfamily includes five genera, the members of all of which Kingfishers. aye essentially fish-catchers, although on occasion they will eat small insects and crustaceans as well as other kinds of food. Two of the genera, viz. Pelargopsis and Ceryle, although their representatives are thoroughly piscivorous, have long tails, exceeding the length of the wings; but in the other three, viz. Alcedo, Corythornis, and Alcyone, the tail is conspicuously shorter than the wings. The stork-billed kingfishers inhabit the Oriental region, and differ from the species of Ceryle, the only other fish-eating genus with a long tail, in having the sexes alike in colour, the bill very sharp and pointed, and the base of the upper edge or culmen flattened and somewhat ridged, instead of being round and smooth. The species of this genus are further characterised by their bright blue backs, thus resembling those of the under-mentioned Halcyon, whereas in Ceryle there is no bright blue colour. Of the stork-billed kingfishers eleven species are known, their range extending from the Indian Peninsula and Ceylon, through the Burmese and Malayan countries to Java, Sumatra, the Philippines, Borneo, and Celebes. The species which inhabits the last island differs from all the others in having a black bill, whereas in the rest it is coral-red. One of the best known species is the Indian stork-billed kingfisher (P. gurial), which is a large bird, measuring 14 inches in length, with a wing of nearly 6} inches. The general KINGFISHERS. ya: colour of the plumage is dull green, with a slight shade of blue on the wing-coverts, the outer aspect of the quills and the tail being greenish blue; the head and nape are dark chocolate-brown ; round the hind-neck is a collar of pale ochre, and the under surface of the body is of the latter colour; while the bill and feet are dull red. This species is an inhabitant of Ceylon and the greater part of the Indian Peninsula, but it does not reach the north-western provinces, though extending along the Lower Himalaya and the Terai country as far as Masuri and the Dun. Kastwards it ranges to Assam, but is replaced to the south by the Burmese short- billed kingfisher (P. burmanica). Generally found along rivers, streams, and back- waters, but only where tolerably shaded by trees, it sits on a branch overhanging the water, and pounces on fish, crabs, and occasionally frogs. Mr. Stuart Baker writes that “this kingtisher is by no means common in the Kachar district, so that I have been able to make but few observations on its breeding and other habits. Personally I have only taken two nests. One of these was placed in a hole about 2} feet deep, and so large that without much difficulty I was able to put my arm into it and search for the contents. The other burrow was fully 4 feet deep, and the diambter at the entrance about 3} inches. Both nests were placed in high sandy banks of the Diyung River, upon which and the Jatinga the species is most often met with. The first hole contained four young birds, and the second a single egg. The latter seemed to be rather abnormal in shape, and was smaller at one end than the other. I have never seen the bird fishing on small streams, but it is by no means unusual to find it perched on trees at some distance from water, and it occasionally haunts ravines and other insect-producing places, where there is no water at all. Fish, I believe, form the staple article of its diet, but it varies this with any living thing which is small enough. It is on record that it devours lizards and similar small reptiles, and it is not averse to taking young birds from their nests. Of this latter propensity I have been myself a witness. In Rungpore, in the collector’s compound, there stands, or stood some years ago, a large tree full of crevices and holes, and much used as a nesting-place by many mynas and other birds. One morning I was passing under this tree, when I was attracted by the loud shrieking of a Pelargopsis, accompanied by the cries of many other birds. The most vehement and excited among these last were a pair of mynas, whose newly-hatched brood were in a large hollow in a big limb some forty feet from the ground, and this had evidently attracted the attention of the bloodthirsty kingfisher. For some time he sat on a branch close to the nest-hole, giving vent every now and then to his loud cries, but taking no notice of the small birds which came half-heartedly close to him, with the evident wish, but not the pluck, to attack him. Finally, in spite of the frantic shrieks of the parent birds, who ultimately approached quite close to the kingfisher, the latter made a dive into the hollow, and when he came out of it in his powerful beak there struggled a callow young myna. Seating himself comfortably on a branch, he proceeded to swallow it in just the same manner as he would have done a fish; and it may have been the necessity of getting into position before he swallowed his prey which prevented him from completing his meal inside the cramped hollow of the tree. At all events, his action was the saving of the other young birds, for the mynas, rendered furious by the disappearance of one of the youngsters down the throat of the 72 PICARIAN BIRDS. kingfisher, summoned up courage to attack him in earnest, whereupon he quickly decamped.” To the members of this genus it is almost impossible to assign a collective English name, for whereas in the Old World they are pied, their Transatlantic cousins are either grey or green. The genus comprises a small assemblage of long-billed and long - tailed kingtishers of fish-catching habits: few of which are such strongly built birds as their short - beaked allies, although some of the Oriental forms are nearly their equals in size. Their great distinctive feature is that the sexes differ in colour or markings; this difference generally displaying itself by the presence in either the male or the female of an additional band on the breast. Seventeen species of these kingfishers are known, twelve of which are American. In colour, most of the latter are glossy green, but four are grey; the best known species being the belted kingtisher (Ceryle alcyon) of North America. In the Old World all the species of the genus are either black-and-white, or grey-and-white. One of the largest species is the great pied kingfisher (C. lugubris) from the Himalaya and the mountains to the eastward of that chain throughout China to Japan. The head is crested, the crest-feathers being black with white spots, and there is a tuft of white feathers in the centre of the crown, while the rest of the upper surface is banded with grey and white; round the hind-neck runs a broad white collar; the under surface of the body is white, with a chest-band of black and white feathers, and the sides of the body are also barred with black. The female is like the male in colour, but does not show the tinge of rufous on the cheeks and breast-band which are to be seen in the male. The under wing-coverts and axillaries are pale rufous, thus showing the sexual differences which are one of the characters of the genus. Writing of a nest with young found in the North-Western Himalaya, Mr. Hume states that “the entrance was a large hole, fully four inches in diameter, and at the end was a chamber fully ten inches across, in which were four young birds; in the chamber was a quantity of fish-bones and some grass. Pied Kingfishers. The eges are three or four in number, and the birds are in the habit of carrying to their young fishes from six to seven inches in length, and these are always swallowed whole.” Mr. Stuart Baker writes that “I have seen but three nests of this bird, the first nest taken was found in July, and was placed at the end of a short tunnel in a bank of one of the biggest rivers in North Kachar, the Diyung. The burrow itself was about two feet long and the egg-chamber was over seventeen inches long by nearly ten broad, the height being almost as much. The eggs, of which there were four, reposed on a quantity of malodorous fish-bones, these extending nearly a couple of inches up the sides of the walls and partially burying, the eggs, so this unpleasant material must have been added after the eggs were laid. The soil in which these were found was loose and sandy. The second nest was found by a Naga in a small stream called the Mahor, running between thickly- wooded banks, nowhere much over fifty yards from bank to bank, and, where the nest was taken, under thirty yards across. This nest was in dimensions much the same as that already described, the entrance tunnel being a few inches shorter. The fish-bones also were not so abundant in this nest, doubtless owing to its being newer, as the eges when found were quite fresh, whereas in the last they were KING FISHERS. 73 very hard set, indeed almost on the point of hatching. This hole was made in a rather harder soil than the other, but still not in a clay or really stiff material. The only other nest I have seen was found on the 10th of April 1893, the day before this was written. The female bird I shot as it left the nest, and the male as it came up calling loudly to its mate. The burrow, chamber and all, was complete when found, but was quite empty, containing neither eggs nor nest. The tunnel in this case was not six inches long, and the chamber was about fifteen inches long by about seven broad and six high. The soil in which this nest-hole was excavated was composed of clay and sand mixed, and was decidedly stiff’ Judging from the three nests above described, it seems probable that the bird only makes very short burrows. Hualeyon smyrnensis, Alcedo ispida, and many other kinds of kingfishers, would have dug out a hole some four to six feet deep in the ground in which the first nest was taken, and would certainly have made them of over three feet in the other places. In texture and shape the eggs do not differ from the majority of other kingfishers’ eggs, although they are unusually small in size. Amongst the bed of bones found in the first and second burrows, there were a good many which must have belonged to fish fully six inches long, but the greater number of them were those of very small fish. The Kacharis tell me that as a rule this bird only lays two or three eggs, and that my finding four was exceptional, but a Kachari’s word is not particularly reliable. They are also said to breed principally in May, after the first heavy floods, not, as nearly all other birds which make similar excavations for their eggs do, before the floods. This kingfisher is very common on nearly all the hill-streams of any size, up to about two thousand feet; above this it is much less common; but I have seen it now and then on the Laisung, a little stream at an elevation of about three thousand feet. During the breeding-season it ascends higher up than in the cold weather, during which latter season it is often found well in to the plains, but after April I have not heard of any being met with below about five or six hundred feet. On the Dryring Kopili and Zelinga rivers this bird and C. rudis meet one another, and for a few miles at their junction both may be met with, but their limits seem to be very distinctly defined, and a straggler of either kind is but seldom met with far beyond them. I believe they are entirely fish-eaters. I have never seen them except on fair-sized streams, and the stomachs of those I have examined contained nothing but fish. Whilst waiting for fish, they perch very low down amongst the scrubby bushes bordering the streams, or else on some overhanging bamboo; but whatever the position selected, it seems nearly always to be one well in shadow, and, instead of sitting on some outside twig or bough, they choose one well inside or under the bush or bamboo clump. In the same manner their love of shade and darkness leads them always to select the shady side of the stream, whenever practicable. As a rule, they are to be found in pairs, seldom singly, for, though the male and female may be some distance apart, they keep within hailing distance of one another, They do not as a rule fly at all fast or far at a time, unless frightened, but on such occasions are capable of flying extremely fast and powerfully, rising high in the air, well out of gunshot, to avoid any danger, and then dropping again when past it, continuing their flight low down close to the water. Their manner of taking prey from the water is by swooping down obliquely towards it, after which 74 PICARIAN BIRDS. they move further on, seldom returning to their original perch. Occasionally, as they fly along and are attracted by something in the water below them, they will hover momentarily, after the manner of C. rudis, and then drop perpendicularly down into it; in these cases, however, they seldom dive to any depth, and do not immerse more than their head and shoulders. The usual cry is much lke the typical cry of the family, but it is very loud, and generally uttered in a very quick succession of notes. Besides this ery, it gives a low hoarse croak from time to time when seated in the shadow, which same note is, I think, merely a call to its mate. This sound is very much like the croak uttered by Batorides gavanica, and I was for some time under the impression that it was made either by that bird or some other small bittern or egret.” Typical The common European kingfisher (Alcedo ispida), of which a Kingfishers. fioure is given on p. 69, is the best known representative of the short-tailed fish-eating kingfishers; in which section of the family there are three genera, namely, Alcedo, Corythornis, and Aleyone. Of these, the latter is exclusively Australian, and is characterised by having only three toes; while the second is confined to Africa and Madagascar, and is distinguished by its well-developed crest. The members of the genus under consideration are lkewise crested, although to a smaller degree, the feathers giving a pointed form to the structure. Confined to the Old World, these kingfishers are represented by eleven species, three of which are African, five Indian, and two Moluccan, while the remaining one is the common kingfisher, extending all over Europe and North-Western Asia, and represented in Siberia and the Oriental region by a smaller and brighter form, sometimes separated, as A. bengalensis. The common kingfisher is a beautiful bird, of a greenish blue colour; with the back brilliant cobalt-blue; the crown greenish blue banded with dusky black. Above the lores is a rufous sheath; the ear-coverts are orange-rufous, succeeded by a band of white feathers on the sides of the neck; the cheeks light blue, with dusky blackish bars; the throat buffy white; the remainder of the under surface rich orange-rufous, with a patch of greenish blue on the sides of the upper breast ; the bill black; the feet coral-red; and the iris brown; the total length being 74 inches. ‘The female, which is a trifle smaller, may be distinguished by having a red base to the lower mandible. In England, owing to the protection which has been afforded to birds en the Thames and other rivers, the kingfisher is now more often observed than it was a few years ago, when it was much sought after for decorating ladies’ bonnets. Especially in the autumn, when a considerable migration takes place, kingfishers may be noticed on the rivers in the south of England, and there are few more beautiful sights than one of these birds skimming over the water. Seated under overhanging willows or on an exposed bough or stump, the kingfisher watches patiently for the approach of its prey, when it dives like a flash of lightning under the water. It is, however, by no means always successful in capturing the fish, not unfrequently missing its stroke. Sometimes it may be seen hovering over the water like a kestrel, and dropping like a stone on a fish, when the fish comes near enough; while at other times it will perch on an overhanging reed, in order to take its dive after its prey. The latter comprises insects as well as fish; and on the sea-coast, where the bird remains for some time KINGFISHERS. 75 before commencing its migration across the channel, the kingfisher will feed on small crabs. Although so exclusively a water-bird, at most times of the year, the nest is not unfrequently found at some distance from any river. S Nae) 2 Wy 4s eS VY ; SAY “vf Z /, AG) XS NS /_S ORIENTAL ROLLER (4 nat, size). female incubate in turn for the space of not quite three weeks, and when breeding they sit so close that, though at other times very shy, they may be caught on the nest.” Broad-Billed These rollers inhabit Africa, Madagascar, India, and China, Rollers. = ranging north to Eastern Siberia and south to the Malay Archipelago and Australia. They have the bill as broad as it is long at the gape. The oriental roller (Eurystomus orientalis) has the tail black with a bluish base; the head blackish as well as the mantle; the back green, and the under surface blue, with VOL. IV.—6 82 PICARIAN BIRDS. the throat streaked with bright purplish blue, forming a gular patch, the total lenvth being eleven inches. It inhabits the Burmese countries, extending down to the Malayan Peninsula and to the islands of Borneo, Java, and the Philippines. Sourdillon, after stating that he was attracted by the chattering of a pair of these rollers, says that “on going to the spot I found them engaged in ejecting from a hole in a stump, about forty feet from the ground, a pair of our hill-nynas. One of the rollers was in the mouth of the hole, and enlarging it by tearmg away with its beak the soft rotten wood; the other roller, seated on a tree close by, was doing most of the chattering, making an occasional swoop at the mynas whenever they ventured too close. I watched the birds for some time until the mynas went off, and there and then began building in a pinney tree within the distance of one hundred yards. Ten days after I sent for some hilhnen who managed to ascend by tying up sticks with strips of cane, in the way they erect ladders to obtain the wild honey from the tallest trees in the forest. It was past six o'clock in the evening before a man reached the hole in which the birds had bred. He found not the slightest vestige of a nest, but a few chips of rotten wood, upon which were laid the three egos. These I found to be slightly set. While the man was climbing the tree, the birds behaved in a very ridiculous and excited manner, Seated side by side on a bough, they alternately jerked head and tail, keeping up an incessant harsh chatter, and as the erisis approached, and the man drew nearer their property, they dashed repeatedly at his head.” THe KIROUMBOS. Family LLPTOSOMATIDA. The remarkable birds commonly known by their native name of Kiroumbos are confined to Madagascar and some of the neighbouring islands, and may be regarded as aberrant rollers, although they also exhibit affinities to the under- mentioned frog-mouths, in the possession of “ powder-down” patches on the sides of the lower part of the back. Only two members of the family are known, both of which are included in the genus Leptosoma. The bill is roller-like, but the nostrils are quite peculiar as regards their situation, being placed in the middle of the upper mandible, and are shut in by a horny plate; while the loral plumes are curved forward so as to entirely hide the base of the bill) The feet are semi- scansorial, that is to say, the fourth toe is cleft to the base and partly reversible, and the tail-feathers are ten in number. The sexes are different in colour, the male having some considerable metallic sheen, and the upper surface being green elossed with a distinct coppery shade; while the tail is greyish black, glossed with metallic green, and, more slightly, with coppery red. The entire under surface is dark ashy grey, becoming white on the abdomen and under tail-coverts; and the head is crested and of a leaden grey colour, glossed with metallic green and copper ; the total length being 16 inches. The female is quite different from the male, being rufous brown above, with the head black, and the sides of the head and back of the neck barred with black; the back spotted with buff and glossed with dull green and copper: the tail brown, blackish towards the tip, which is edged with FROG-MOUTAHS. 83 rufous ; the under surface of body pale fawn colour spotted with greenish black. The Madagascar kiroumbo inhabits the island from which it takes its name, as well as Mayotte and Anjouan Islands, but in the great Comoro Island is replaced by the smaller L. gracile. It is said by Grandidier to live in little parties of ten or twelve individuals on the edges of the woods. As soon as one of the birds is shot, all the others come near the hunter or hover over their dead companions, so that ten or more can be obtained in a quarter of an hour. That the kiroumbo has a certain element of a roller in its composition, is shown by its habit of playing in the air, which Sir Edward Newton describes as follows :—“ It plays for some time over the same place, ascending almost perpendicularly, as it were by a jump, toa MADAGASCAR KIROUMBO (} nat. size). great height, and descending again in a curve nearly to the top of the trees, by almost closing its wings, at the same time uttering a whistle so like that of an eagle that it was doubted for a long time by us whether the bird that performed this wonderful freak was not a raptorial. However, after having watched it several times with our glasses, we satisfied ourselves that it was this species.” THE FrRoG-MouruHS. Family PoDARGID. These curious birds have been usually associated with the nightjars, to which they approximate in their wide mouths and mottled plumage, although they differ 84 PICARIAN BIRDS. in the more important feature of the palate, bemg constructed on the desmo- enathous instead of on the schizognathous type. Accordingly, it seems most probable that their true position is between the kiroumbos and_ the oil-birds (to be mentioned next). From the former they are distinguished by the absence of an oil-gland, and the presence of only ten feathers in the tail; while from the latter they differ by the absence of the articular surfaces on the rostrum of the hinder part of the palate, known as basipterygoid processes. Unlike the nightjars, these birds have no comb-like appendage to the third toe; while they further differ by building nests, or laying their eggs in hollow trees. Two notches occur in the hinder border of the breast-bone. Typical Frog- These birds, Podargus, are the typical representatives of the firs. Mouths. of the two subfamilies into which the group is divided, this subfamily being distinguished by the narrow, slit-like nostrils, protected by an overhanging membrane, and hidden by plumes and feathers. Powder-down patches occupy each side of the rump, and the metatarsus is shorter than the third toe. The present genus, which is characterised by the pointed tail-feathers, includes five species, all inhabitants of Australia and the adjacent Papuan Islands. Gould describes the Australian species as inanimate and sluggish birds, depending on their supply of food less upon their power of flight than upon the habit they are said to have of traversing the branches of trees on which their favourite imsects reside. At intervals during the night they sit about in open places, on rails, stumps of trees, or the roofs of houses. They are strictly nocturnal in their habits, sleeping during the day, and mostly found in pairs, perched near each other on the branches of the gum-trees, in situations not at all sheltered from the beams of the midday sun. “So lethargic are its slumbers,” he writes, “that it is almost impossible to arouse it, and I have frequently shot one without disturbing its mate sitting close by; it may also be knocked off with sticks or stones, and is sometimes even taken with the hand. When aroused, it flies lazily off with heavy flapping wings to a neighbouring tree, and again resumes its slumbers till the approach of evening, when it becomes as animated and active as it had been previously dull and stupid.” According to Mr. North, in New South Wales, the tawny-shouldered frog-mouth commences to breed in September, and the breeding-season is at its height in October, and continues for the two following months. It builds’a flat nest of sticks, loosely placed together on the horizontal branch of any suitable tree. The eggs are three in number, perfectly white, elon- gated in form, and the shell finely granulate. Eared Frog- Their smaller size and rounded tail-feathers distinguish these Mouths. }irds from the preceding, while the mode of nesting is also different. The side of the head in some of the species is adorned with ear-tufts, ending in bristly plumes. The sexes also are mostly different in colour, the female being rufous and the male greyer. One of the largest species is the great-eared frog- mouth (Batrachostomus auritus), inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. It measures about 16 inches in length, and is chestnut-brown, vermicu- lated with blackish lines, and whitish bars. On the hind-neck is a collar of buffy white feathers, with a black border, forming bands; median and greater wing- coverts with large spots of white edged with black ; throat and breast brown, with FROG-MOUTHS. 85 spots and bars of white; and the abdomen pale buff} Nothing has been recorded of its habits; but of the nest of the South Indian frog-mouth Mr. Hume writes that “instead of moss, a few fragments of dead leaves are incorporated, but the material is chiefly a soft felt-like mass, precisely similar to that used by B. hodgsoni, but greyish white instead of brown. It is a mere pad with a shallow depression on the outer surface, a broad groove on the base of the nest showing where it had nested on the upper surface of an almost horizontal bough.” The egg was white. Mr. Hartert says that the part is formed by the down, taken from the “powder-downs” of the bird itself, and then completed by having the outside 1 GREAT EARED FROG-MOUTH (4 nat. size). interwoven and covered with bits of bark and lichen, so that the nest entirely resembles the branch to which it is attached. The nests of B. hodgsoni, which Mr. Hume describes, were about three and a half inches in diameter and three- quarters of an inch in thickness; the lower surface of the pad, where they were in contact with the branch, having a thin coating of moss. The whole of the nest is a compact, brown, felt-like mass, very soft and downy, and composed, as it appears to be, of excessively fine moss rootlets, but withal as soft as the fur of any little mammal. This will doubtless be found to be the powder-down of the bird itself. Owlet Frog- These birds differ from the other frog-mouths in having the Mouths. = nostrils situated near the tip of the bill, and being open and prominent. 86 PICARIAN BIRDS. There are no distinct powder-down patches, and the metatarsus is longer than the middle toe. The loral bristles are greatly elongated, and give the face a peculiar appearance. Eleven species are known, all found in Australia and the adjacent Moluccan and Papuan Islands, as well as in New Caledonia. The Australian owlet frog-mouth (&gotheles nove-hollandic), which is about 83 inches in length, has the general colour dusky with whitish vermiculations; the head being darker, with two longitudinal stripes of white and two crescentic marks of white on the hind part and nape; while the under surface of the body AUSTRALIAN OWLET FROG-MOUTH (2 nat. size) is white with dusky vermiculations, and the abdomen and under tail-coverts more or less uniform. This species ranges all over Australia and Tasmania, Gould stating that he found many specimens and procured the eggs, which are four or five in number, pure white, and are laid in the hole of a tree, without any attempt at a nest. “During the day,” he says, “the bird resorts to the hollow branches or spouts, as they are called, and the holes of the gum-trees, sallying forth as night approaches in quest of insects, particularly small beetles. Its flight is straight, and not characterised by the sudden turns and descents of the goatsuckers. On driving it from its haunts, I have sometimes observed it to fly direct to a hole in another tree, but more frequently to alight on a neighbouring branch, perching across and never parallel to it. When assailed in its retreat, it emits a a 2 Pic Tk | ae ae a A Se Pe ae “~~ 7 pst’ tat leat, aX Pie “ e ~_ 1G .§ => 7 2 = hee ae By if > ‘joo wee MF VO ediee ie + <> - a 7 THE HOME OF THE OIL-BIRD. OIL-BIRD. 89 loud hissing noise, and has the same stooping motion of the head observable in the owls; it also resembles these birds in its erect carriage, the manner in which it sets out the feathers round the ears and neck, and in the power it possesses of turning the head in every direction even over the back, a habit it is constantly practising.” THE O1L-BirRD oR GUACHARO. Family S7#ATORNITHIDA. Forming a family group by itself, the South American oil-bird (Steatornis caripensis) in external appearance is not very unlike a nightjar; to which group it also approximates in habits, only coming out to feed in the dusk of the evening. It is, however, more nearly allied to the frog-mouths, having a similar bridged palate, although differing in certain features of the skeleton. The plumage is less soft than in either the goatsuckers or frog-mouths; while the beak and the form of the wing are not unlike those of the rollers. The tail carries ten feathers, and in the wing the third and fourth primary quills are the longest; while the naked metatarsus does not exceed the third toe in length. In the skull the basal rostrum carries articular basipterygoid processes. Measuring from 17 to 20 inches in total length, the oil-bird is chestnut-brown in general colour. On the upper-parts the plumage is marked by numerous dark cross-bars; the median wing-coverts are ornamented with large white spots, sumilar spots also occurring on the lateral upper tail-coverts; while the under surface is pale chestnut, with a greyish tinge, each feather being marked with three rhomboidal spots of white bordered with black. The beak is chocolate-brown; the feet are flesh-coloured, with a violet tinge ; the claws are grey; and the iris of the eye is black with a narrow dark brown ring. The gaucharo is principally known as an inhabitant of the island of Trinidad, where it frequents certain caves, building therein huge nests, having the appearance of large cheeses. The popular name of oil-bird is derived on account of the peculiar covering of the nestlings, which are simply masses of yellow fat. Numbers of the stones of a fruit upon which these birds apparently feed strew the floor of the caves where they dwell. Elsewhere local, the oil-bird is found not only in Trinidad, but also from Guiana and Venezuela to Ecuador and Peru, occurring in the latter countries in valleys at an elevation of some seven thousand feet. In the Tatora district of Peru there are several caverns, situated in a very wild country, clad from the base to the summit of the hills with dense virgin forest, frequented by these birds. According to Dr. Stolzmann, if a gun be fired, or any other loud noise made near these caverns, the birds quit their retreats in the nooks and crannies, flying to the roof with piercing cries; and the only way to obtain specimens is to fire at random in the darkness. This, however, is haphazard work; and in the Ninabamba cavern only eleven birds were killed in return for sixty shots. When the birds are tired out, they gradually retire to their hiding-places, from which no amount of firing or shouting will induce them to again emerge. When undisturbed, the guacharos quit their retreats as the sun is setting, to fly about the forest ; some of them rising to a considerable elevation, apparently in pursuit of moths. Their go PICARIAN, BIRDS. noiseless flight much resembles that of goatsuckers; but in descending rapidly the wings are frequently raised and held together in a point. Their principal food consists of the fruit of the nectandra trees; these fruits being seized by the birds while in full flight from the tips of the slender boughs which would be too frail to bear the weight of the robbers. For seizing such fruits the hooked and powerful bill of the oil-bird is most admirably adapted. The rapidity with which the guacharos feed is remarkable; two specimens killed by Stolzmann early one evening having their crops empty, whereas one shot a quarter of an hour later had swallowed seven fruits, and a second bagged after another quarter of an hour no less than eleven. The same observer remarks that it would be curious to know what the birds did for the remainder of the night, after having satisfied their appetite, for he has seen them in moonlight evenings on the wing as late as eleven. The note of the guacharo is harsh and disagreeable, and has been compared to the syllables eri-ceri-cirri ; although there is another ery which cannot be rendered in words. From observations on a young bird, in the grey nestling plumage, Stolz- mann found that the large nectandra stones are regurgitated after the fleshy covering has been digested. This rejecting process is accomplished without any apparent effort on the part of the bird; a sight movement of the feathers of the throat takes place, the beak opens gently, and the stone appears; while, if any of the fleshy covering still adheres to it, the bird picks it off The old birds appar- ently cast up the stones during flight; and although no insects were found in the stomachs of the specimens shot, Stolzmann is of opinion that guacharos are partly insectivorous. Humboldt and Bonpland visited the celebrated cavern of Caripe, from whence these birds take their specific name; and the following account of the visit is taken from a biographical work. “The Indians,” it is written, “showed the travellers the nests of the guacharos by fixing a torch to a long pole. These nests were fifty or sixty feet high above their heads, in holes in the shape of funnels, with which the roof of the grotto was pierced like a sieve. The noise increased as the travellers advanced, and the birds were scared by the light of the torches. When this noise ceased for a few minutes, around them they heard at a distance the plaintive ery of the birds roosting in other ramifications of the cavern; and it seemed as if different groups answered each other alternately. The Indians were in the habit of entering this cavern once a year, near midsummer; when they went armed with poles, with which they destroyed the greater part of the nests. At that season several thousand birds were killed; and the old ones, as if to defend their brood, hovered over the heads of the Indians, uttering terrible cries. The young, which fell to the ground, were opened on the spot for their fat. At the period commonly called at Caripe the oil-harvest, the Indians built huts with palm leaves near the entrance, and even in the porch of the cavern. There, with a fire of brushwood, they melted in pots of clay the fat of the young birds just killed; this fat being known by the name of guacharo-butter.” The nest is formed of clay ; and the eggs, varying from two to four in number, have a thick shell, which is at first chalky white, but by contact with the nest becomes yellowish green. R. BOWDLER SHARPE. CH A Pl Wiki, x. THe Parrot Tripe,—Order PsIrract. ONE of the most interesting groups of birds is that of the parrots, under which general term may be included not only the true parrots, but likewise the macaws, lories, love-birds, cockatoos, etc. This general interest is due not only to the beauty of form and gorgeousness of plumage characterismg so many members of the group, but likewise to the ease with which they are domesticated, their pleasing manners when in this state, and above all to the extraordinary facility with which they recollect and repeat sentences of human speech. That the memory of parrots is very strongly developed, there can be no sort of doubt; but whether their intellectual powers rank really higher than those of some of the Passerine birds is problematical. The appropriateness to the occasion with which sentences learned by these birds are sometimes uttered is probably mainly or entirely due to associa- tion, and in no sense implies any knowledge of the meaning of the phrase. It may be added that the occasions when such phrases are introduced inappropriately are, perhaps, not much less infrequent than when they are apposite. Parrots form a large group, including considerably more than five hundred species, which present well-marked characters by which its members can be readily distinguished from all other assemblages of birds. Their most obvious external characters are displayed by their feet and bills. In the feet the fourth toe (as in some of the Picarians) is permanently turned backwards, and as the first toe has likewise a similar direction, the whole foot is divided into a front and back portion, each comprising two digits: this type of foot-structure being termed zygodactyle. The covering of the feet takes the form of rough granular scales. As regards the beak, its base is invested with the wax-like protuberance termed the cere, which is frequently feathered, while in form it is short, stout, and strongly hooked at the extremity. In addition to the above, it may be noted that, owing to the presence of a transverse hinge in the skull, the upper half of the beak is movable; while the palate is of the bridged (desmognathous) type. The skull, as shown in the figure in the introductory chapter, is also very generally distinguished by the presence of a complete bony ring surrounding the socket of the eye; and the symphysis of the lower jaw is short, obtuse, and deeply channelled. The tongue is also thick and fleshy, and may be fringed or brush-like at the extremity. Extreme shortness characterises the legs of most of the species, this shortness being most marked in the metatarsus, of which the bone is greatly expanded. The leg- bone, or tibia, generally has no bony bridge at the lower end. The furcula is always weak, and it may be incomplete or even wanting. The feathers are pro- vided with aftershafts; and the number in the tail is, except in one genus, ten. If 92 PARROTS. an oil-gland is present it is furnished with a tuft of feathers. Finally, the young are born in a nearly naked and completely helpless condition; and the eggs are usually, if not invariably, white. Distribution and For the most part parrots are thoroughly arboreal and climbing Habits. = birds; and are essentially characteristic of the tropical and subtropical regions of the globe. At the present day none inhabit Europe, although the remains of an extinct species, apparently allied to a living West African species, have been obtained from the Miocene rocks of France. In America one species extends as far south as the Straits of Magellan, while another ranges far into the United States; and in the Macquarie Islands of the Australian region, the group extends as far south as the 55th parallel. Although ranging over all the warmer regions of the globe, these birds are very unequally distributed, being poorly re- COCKATOOS AT HOME, presented in India, and still more so in Africa, while in Malaysia and Australia they attain their maximum diversity of type, and in South America their greatest numerical development. All the parrots make their nests in the hollows of trees, where they usually lay from two to three white eggs, although in the case of some of the smaller species the number is often considerably more. Frequently the males take their share in the work of incubation, which generally lasts for about twenty-one days. The young parrots are fed by the parents disgorging half-digested food from their own crops into their open mouths, after the manner of pigeons. The food of the adult consists in most cases of various fruits and nuts. Regarding their general habits, and the important part these birds play in tropical scenery, Mr. Wallace writes as follows: “ They usually feed in flocks; they are noisy, and so attract attention ; they love gardens, orchards, and open sunny places; they wander about far in search of food, and towards sunset return homewards in noisy flocks or in constant pairs. Their forms and motions are often beautiful and attractive. The immensely si ie on y , wae " fe a * wv KAKA PARROTS INGO SIMOVKES. 93 long tails of the macaws, and the more slender tails of the Indian parraquets; the fine crests of the cockatoos; the swift flight of many of the smaller species, and the graceful motions of the little love-birds and allied forms; together with their affec- tionate natures, aptitude for domestication, and powers of mimicry, combine to render them at once the most conspicuous and the most attractive of all the specially tropical forms of bird-life.” As is so generally the case with arboreal fruit-eating birds, the prevalent colour among the parrots is green. This is, however, frequently relieved by patches, bands, or spots or other hues; while in certain groups or species it is replaced by blue, yellow, cinnamon, crimson, white, and occasionally black. Judging from the characters of the skeleton, it appears to us that the nearest allies of the parrots are the owls. They may, however, have some kinship with the diurnal birds of prey, and possibly with some of the Picarians. According to the arrangement proposed by Count Salvadori, who has paid special attention to this group of birds, the parrots may be divided into five families, of which first is the NESTOR PARROTS. Family NzsTorIDz. Under the common title of nestors may be included a small group of peculiar parrots confined to New Zealand and certain neighbouring islands, all of which belong to a single genus (Nestor), and one of which is known to the Maories as the Kea and the other as the Kaka. The nestors belong to an assemblage of three families of the order, characterised by the under surface of the hook of the beak being either smooth or merely marked by some fine longitudinal lines. As a family they are distinguished by the more or less elongated beak being much compressed, and longer than deep, with the middle line (culmen) of its upper moiety marked by a longitudinal groove, while the profile of the symphysis of the lower mandible slopes upwards to the tip with scarcely any curvature. The tip of the tongue is provided with a fringe of fine hairs; and the cere of the beak is partially feathered. All the feathers are soft; those situated at the base of the lower mandibles are hairy, and project forwards; and the rectrices of the tail have pointed shafts projecting beyond the vane. The metatarsus is longer than usual; and the bony ring round the socket of the eye is imecomplete. The nestors are represented by four well-defined species, two of which are now extinct. Of these the kea (Nestor notabilis), which is restricted to the South Island of New Zealand, has the general hue of the plumage dull olive-green, with black edges to the feathers. There is no yellow band across the breast, and the under- parts are olive-brown without any tinge of red; orange-red is, however, present on the under-wing coverts and axillaries. The wing-feathers are dusky brown, the primaries having the outer web bluish, and the inner one toothed with lemon- yellow. The tail is bluish orange, with a broad transverse band of blackish brown near the end; the inner webs of the feathers being toothed with yellow. In size the kea may be compared to a raven; its total length being 19 inches, of which 1} is taken up by the bill) The kaka (VY. meridionalis), which inhabits both 94 PARROTS. islands, and is the species represented in our coloured Plate is a rather smaller bird, readily distinguished by the presence of a red tinge on the abdomen and under wing-coverts, as well as by a wash of golden-yellow on the ear-coverts. It is subject to a considerable amount of local variation. Still smaller, although with a longer beak, is the extinct Phillip Island parrot (NV. productus), of which a figure is given on p. 95. This bird attained a length of about 15 inches, and was distinguished by the broad yellowish white band across the chest. Also extinct, the Norfolk Island parrot (NV. norfolcensis), the smallest of the group, was distinguished from the Phillip Island species by the high curvature and length of the bill, which measured 34 inches, and by the absence of a dark bar on the tail. Confining our attention to the New Zealand representatives of the genus, it may be observed in the first place that the brush-lke extremity of the tongue of these birds indicates flower-sucking habits. They are generally found in mountain regions, the kea ascending to elevations of some six thousand feet. The kaka is an eminently social bird, and by far the noisiest of the Habits. denizens of the woods of its native islands. “Being seminocturnal in its habits,” writes Sir W. Buller, “it generally remains quiet and concealed during the heat of the day. If, however, the sportsman should happen to find a stray one, and to wound instead of killing it, its cries of distress will immediately raise the whole fraternity from their slumbers, and all the kakas within hearing will come to the rescue, and make the forest echo with their discordant cries. Unless, however, disturbed by some exciting cause of this sort, they remain in close cover till the approach of the cooler hours. Then they come forth with noisy clamour, and may be seen, far above the tree-tops, winging their way to some feeding-place ; or they may be observed climbing up the rough vine-clad boles of the trees, freely using their powerful mandibles, and assuming every variety of attitude, or diligently tearing open the dead roots of the close epiphytic vegetation in their eager search for insects and their larvee. In the spring and summer, when the woods are full of wild blossom and berry, these birds have a prodigality of food, and may be seen alternately filling their crops with a variety of juicy berries, or sucking nectar from the crimson flowers of the rata (Metrosideros) by means of their brush-fringed tongues. With the earliest streaks of dawn, and while the underwoods are still wrapped in darkness, the wild ery of this bird breaks upon the ear with strange effect.” It is from the oft-repeated ery of kaka-kaka, that the bird derives its name. In dull weather kakas may often be seen abroad in the daytime, while occasionally flocks may be observed sweeping across a forest glade in the full sunlight. In spite of their slow and measured flight, these birds periodically migrate from one part of the country to another, generally travelling in parties of three or more, and frequently stopping to rest on the bare boughs of some dead forest tree. During the pairing-season the male and female are constantly in each other’s company, flying side by side, and calling as they go. The breeding commences in November, the nest being a poor affair, made in the hollow of the trunk of a decayed tree. Here four eggs are usually laid, although it is said that there may sometimes be as many as six; and the young are able to fly early in January. Being an excellent mimic, the kaka is highly esteemed by the Maories as a pet, and, like most parrots, will live many years in captivity. NESTORS. 95 The habitat of the kea is very different from that of its cousin. In place of being confined to wooded districts, this bird frequents the almost inaccessible rocks of the mountains of the South Island at elevations where only dwarf vegetation is to be found. Here the keas may be seen among the crevices of the rocks when the mountains are shrouded in mist or sleet, or covered with a mantle of snow; while at other times they may be observed soaring with motionless wings from peak to peak. During the depth of winter these birds are, however, driven to seek their food at lower elevations. The usual ery of the kea has been com- pared to the mewing of a cat, but a scream not unlike that of the kaka is also uttered at times. The most remarkable feature in con- nection with the habits of the kea is its carnivorous propensities, which appear to have been developed since the introduction of sheep into the colony, and have led to a great increase in the number of these birds. Sir W. Buller writes that those keas which “frequent the sheep-stations appear to live almost exclusively on flesh. They claim the sheeps’ heads that are thrown out from the slaughter - shed, and pick them perfectly clean, leaving nothing but the bones. The plan usually adopted on the stations for alluring this bird ? PHILLIP ISLAND PARROT. is to expose a fresh sheep- skin on the roof of a hut; and whilst engaged in tearing up the bait, it is easily approached and snared. Of recent years the keas have gone even farther than this, and now actually kill sheep for themselves, alighting upon the backs of the unfortunate Ruminants, and tearing down through the skin and flesh until they reach the kidneys, the fat of which is greedily devoured. In disposition keas display extreme curiosity, and in the mountains they display so little fear of man that they may easily be knocked over with a stone.” 96 PARROTS. THE LoRIES AND LORIQUETS. Family LORUD. Although agreeing with the nestors in the general structure of their beaks, the beautiful birds known as lories and loriquets, of which there are several genera, differ by the tongue being furnished with a kind of brush instead of a fringe, and also by the middle of the upper mandible being devoid of a groove. The beak, which is much compressed and generally longer than deep, has no notch; and the cere decreases in width from the middle line of the head to the sides of the beak. There is great variation in the length of the tail, but it is generally shorter, although occasionally longer than the wing ; while in form it may be either graduated or rounded. The wings are sharply pointed (acute), and generally have the first three feathers the longest. Although unrepresented in New Zealand, the members of the family are confined to the Australasian region, inclusive of Polynesia. They comprise upwards of fourteen genera, of which only a few can be noticed in this work ; the dimensions of the species varying from those of a turtle-dove to little more than those of a sparrow. There is one genus (Oreopsittacus), represented in New Guinea, in which the tail has fourteen feathers, and thereby differs from that of all the other parrots. We select as our first example of the family the well-known purple-capped lory (Lorius domicella), from Ceram and Amboyna, which is the typical representative of the genus to which it belongs. All the members of this genus—ten in number—are characterised by the tail being of moderate length and rounded, with the two middle feathers longer than the others. The bill is orange-red, thus distinguishing the group from the black lory and its allies (Chalcopsittacus), where it is black; while the green wings serve to differentiate these parrots from the blue-necked lory, and the other members of the genus Hos, in which there is a considerable amount of red on the wings. The purple-capped lory measures about a foot in total length, a third of which is taken up by the tail. It is a gorgeously-hued bird, the general ground-colour of "a meteacricOTTTUTCTLCAAA HEAD AND TONGUE OF LORY. (From Garrod, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1872.) True Lories. the plumage being scarlet, while the breast is adorned with a gorget of gold; the wings are green, with blue at the bend and on the under-coverts; and the tail is red, with a band at the tip, which is dark purple-red above and golden-red below. The feature from which the species takes its popular name is the deep purple cap on the head, which is often of so dark a tint as in some lights to appear almost black. LORIQUETS. 97 Like other lories, this species 1s a honey-sucker, but as the brush on its tongue is less developed than in some of the other members of the family, it is capable of living on other substances than honey, and is thus more easily kept in captivity. Lories are generally found in small parties of half a dozen or so; and Dr. Guillemard states that in the Moluccas they may frequently be seen devouring the soft fruits of various kinds of figs. They generally lay from three to four eggs on the bare wood in some hollow bough; and the young leave their domicile in about six weeks after the commencement of incubation. The species here figured is re- markable for its gentle and affectionate disposition, as well as for its talking PURPLE-CAPPED LORY (4 nat. size). powers; for which reasons, together with the gorgeousness of its plumage, it is in much request as a pet. Mr. Gedney writes that “as a ventriloquist the purple- cap possesses no equal, and the manner in which he will imitate domestic sounds, throwing his voice to the opposite side of the room, is perfectly startling to a stranger.” The black-capped, or tri-coloured lory (L. lory), from New Guinea, ete., belongs to the group in which there is no yellow gorget; it has the whole of the abdomen blue, a red throat, green wings, and a black cap. The loriquets are smaller birds than the lories, with the tail- feathers elongated and gradually tapering to a more or less acute point. In the present genus, of which we take Swainson’s loriquet (7richoglossus nove-hollandie) as a well-known example, the prevailing colour of the plumage, VOL. IV.—7 Loriquets. 98 PARROTS. both above and below, is green; the tail-feathers being entirely of this hue, and moderate in length. The two middle feathers of the tail are not greatly elongated ; while the four or five first primaries of the wings are not greatly narrowed at their tips. On the forehead the streaks on the shafts of the feathers are more or less blue, while the breast is more or less tinged with red; these two characters serving to distinguish these birds from the members of the allied genus Psitteuteles. The range of these loriquets extends from New Guinea to Celebes. Swainson’s loriquet attains a total length of 12 inches, of which 52 are taken up by the tail, and is thus one of the largest representatives of the genus. In coloration it is, perhaps, the handsomest of all the Australian parrots; the head and throat SWAINSON’S LORIQUET (3 nat. size). being of a brilliant purplish blue, the nape of the neck greenish yellow, the abdomen blue; and the remainder of the body, together with the upper surface of the wings and tail, green. The under tail-coverts are yellow at the base and green at the tip, while the under wing-coverts are red. A yellow tip characterises the red bill, and the feet are slaty grey. This handsome bird is an inhabitant of East Australia, ranging from Cape York to Victoria, and is likewise found in Tasmania. By the colonists it is commonly termed either the Blue Mountain lory, or the Blue Mountaineer. Like its allies, it is almost exclusively a honey-sucker: and so much honey do they gather, that when shot, as Professor Moseley tell us, it is quite com- mon to see this fluid streaming out of their beaks. They generally associate in small flocks, and during their flight utter loud screaming cries. During their COCKATOOS. 99 migrations, according to the“ Old Bushman,” they may, however, congregate in immense numbers, and may then be seen flying at great heights. With regard to these periodical movements, the same observer writes that these birds are “ migrants to and from different districts, and their migrations are regulated by the state of the blossoms of the gums and honeysuckles upon which they feed; not that they ever entirely left our forests, for I rarely at any time went out without seeing a pair or so. But the large flocks of them only come at such times as the trees are full of honey, and depart as suddenly as they come. They are always in larger or smaller flocks, do not associate with the other parrots, and are never seen feeding on the ground.” The female lays from three to four eggs; and in their first plumage the young have the breast yellow, with scarcely any tinge of red, while the band on the nape of the neck is scarcely visible. In captivity this parrot is by no means a desirable species, since it is exceedingly noisy and very difficult to keep for long. In this state it will eat insects and seeds, as well as honey and syrup. The Arfak parrot (Oreopsittacus arfaki) already referred to as having fourteen tail-feathers, is a native of the Arfak Mountains in New Guinea, and only measures 6 inches in length. The general colour is dark green, with the cheeks and ear-coverts blue, a tinge of red on the abdomen, the tail-feathers black, with red tips, and the beak black. Arfak Parrot. Family CYCLOPSITT ACID. Two genera of parrots from Australia, New Guinea, and the Eastern Malayan Islands, known as Neopsittacus and Cyclopsittacus, are regarded by Count Salvadori as indicating a distinct family of the order allied to the lories. While agreeing with the two preceding families in having the under surface of the hook of the bill nearly smooth, they differ in that the bill is deeper than long, and much swollen on the sides, the profile of the symphysis of the lower mandible being highly convex. In these respects these parrots serve to connect the lories with the following families. The nature of the tongue is unfortunately still unknown. Perhaps the best known representative of the group is the iris parrot (VY. zis), from the island of Timor—a small, green parrot, measuring 7? inches in length, with a yellow-orange bill. There is but one other species of this genus CV. nvusschen- broeki), from New Guinea; all the species of the allied genus Cyclopsittacus being distinguished by the dark colour of their beaks. THE COCKATOOS. Family CACATUID. The remaining groups of the order are distinguished from those already noticed by the nature of the under surface of the hook of the beak. This, in place of being smooth or with fine longitudinal striz, is marked by a series of bold transverse ridges, running from either side of the middle line in a more or less oblique direction, so as to produce a file-like surface. Moreover, in all cases the tongue is quite simple, being unprovided with any kind of brush or fringe. 100 PARROTS. The cockatoos are readily distinguished by the presence of a crest of feathers on the head, which is wanting in all the mem- bers of the next family, with the exception of the peculiar horned and Uvean parraquets (Nymphicus), respectively from New Caledonia and the island of Uveea in the Loyalty Group. An absolutely distinctive feature between the two families is, how- ever, to be found in the skull. Thus in all the cockatoos the socket of the eye is surrounded by a complete ring of bone, from the lower border of which is given off a process extending backwards to the hinder part of the skull; whereas in the true parrots (Psittacide) this ring is generally incomplete, while in such instances as it 1s entire, it lacks the posterior bony process. As minor characters, it may be mentioned that the nostrils open in a cere which is not much swollen, and is generally naked, although occasionally feathered. The bill is of great depth, and usually very short, the upper mandible being generally much compressed, with its hook at right angles to the axis of the base. In all cases the metatarsus is extremely short. The cockatoos are characteristic of the whole Australasian region, ranging as far west as the islands of Celebes and Lombok, and also represented in the Philippines; eastwards, however, their range is limited by the Solomon Islands, and they are consequently unknown in New Zealand. With the exception of the aberrant cockatiel (Callopsittacus) of Australia, which constitutes a separate subfamily, the whole of the members of the family are characterised by their short and broad tails. Their coloration differs markedly from that of the other groups of the order. In the majority of the species white is the predominant colour, but this may be more or less tinged with red or yellow, more especially in the crest and on the under surface of the tail. In the rose-breasted cockatoo the whole breast is, however, red, while the upper surface of the body, together with the wings and tail, are various shades of grey, while the ganga is all grey. with the exception of the red head. In other species the prevalent tint is black or dark blackish brown. All lack the green, so characteristic of the parrots in general, although a tinge of this colour exists on the wings of the ganga. COCKATOOS. COCKATOOS. IO! Great Black The largest of all the cockatoos, and indeed one of the biggest Cockatoo. of the whole parrot tribe, is the great black cockatoo (Microglossus aterrvmus), of the Papuan Islands and North Australia, which is the sole represen- tative of its genus, and may be compared in size to a raven. It differs from all the other members of the family in that the flesh-coloured cheeks are entirely naked; and it takes its generic name from the small size of its tongue, which is HEAD OF GREAT BLACK COCKATOO, WITH CREST DEPRESSED. (From Guillemard’s Cruise of the Marchesa.) slender and worm-like, and thus quite unlike that organ in other parrots. It is further characterised by the upper mandible being much compressed, and narrower than the lower one; while the great elongation and narrowness of the feathers of the crest are also distinctive. In the living state the plumage is of a slaty black tint, powdered with grey; the forehead and lores being deep velvety black ; while the feathers of the wings and tail exhibit green reflections. The naked cheeks are pale red, bordered with equally pale yellow, and the bill and feet are black. In length this magnificent, but funereal-looking bird, measures from 29 to 102 PARRO TS: 31 inches, some 10 of which are taken up by the tail. The largest specimens come from the mainland of New Guinea, those inhabiting the Aru Islands being con- siderably smaller. The tongue occupies only a small space in the enormous mouth, and has been compared to a round pink worm with a black head, and is partially extensile. The colour of the naked skin of the face is subject to considerable varia- tion in the living bird, and, at times of excitement, owing to a kind of blushing GREAT BLACK COCKATOO, WITH CREST ERECTED (+ nat. size). process, becomes of a deep blood-red. That the enormously powerful bill of this bird must have some special use is quite evident, and its particular office has been described by Mr. Wallace in the following interesting account of the ecreature’s habits: “The great black cockatoo,” writes this observer, “frequents the lower parts of the forest, and is seen singly, or at most two or three together. It flies slowly and noiselessly and may be killed by a comparatively slight wound. It eats various fruits and seeds, but seems more particularly attached to the kernel of the kanary-nut, which grows on a lofty forest-tree (Canarium commune), abundant in the islands where ee arti : | ee St Nee =), v ll las BANKSIAN AND SLENDER-BILLED COCKATOOS, COCKATOOS. 10s this bird is found; and the manner in which it gets at these seeds shows a correlation of structure and habits, which would point out the kanary as its special food. The shell of this nut is so excessively hard that only a heavy hammer will crack it; it is somewhat triangular, and the outside is quite smooth. The manner in which the bird opens these nuts is very curious. Taking one endways in its bill, and keeping it firm by a pressure of the tongue, it cuts a transverse notch by a lateral sawing motion of the sharp-edged lower mandible. This done, it takes hold of the nut with its foot, and, biting off a piece of leaf, retains it in the deep notch of the upper mandible, and, again seizing the nut, which is prevented from slipping by the elastic tissue of the leaf, fixes the edge of the lower mandible in the notch, and by a powerful nip breaks off a piece of the shell. Again taking the nut in its claws, it inserts the very long and sharp point of the bill and picks out the kernel, which is seized hold of, morsel by morsel, by the extensile tongue. Thus every detail of form and structure in the extraordinary bill of this bird seems to have its use, and we may easily conceive that the black cockatoos have maintained themselves in competition with their more active and more numerous white allies by their power of existing on a kind of food which no other bird is able to extract from its stony shell.” Dr. Guillemard adds that in New Guinea it is extremely difficult to obtain these birds alive, and that when in captivity their movements are slow and clumsy in the extreme. Moreover, as the pectoral muscles are small and meagre, when compared to the enormous head and beak, it is probable that these cockatoos resort to flight as seldom as possible. Raven- Under the general name of raven-cockatoos may be included a Cockatoos. croup of seven species, which, while agreeing with the last in their black or brown coloration, are distinguished by their completely-feathered cheeks, the more ordinary form of the beak, and the shorter and broader feathers of the chest. Of this group the Banksian cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banks:), represented in the upper portion of our plate, may be taken as a well-known example. In all these birds the tail-feathers are rather long, with the middle ones shorter than those on the sides, and they are crossed by a light-coloured transverse band. The beak is characterised by its shortness and depth, and its highly-curved profile. The whole seven species are confined to Australia. The Banksian cockatoo belongs to a group of four species in which there is no lght-coloured patch on the ear-coverts; while in the adult males the band on the tail is red, although more or less tinged with yellow in the young and perhaps in females of all ages. On the other hand, in the second group, of which the funereal cockatoo (C. funereus) is a well-known representative, the ear-coverts are marked by a yellow or white patch, while the tail-band is of one of these two tints at all ages. The Banksian cockatoo, which measures 24 inches in total length, has the general colour of a greenish black, with a vermilion tail-band. It is contined to Eastern Australia. Writing of a South Australian species (C. wanthonotus) belonging to the group with a yellow tail-band, the “Old Bushman” observes that it “was common in our forests from about December, when the old and young birds came down from their breeding-places, and remained with us during the winter. They did not breed in our neighbourhood [near Port Phillip]; but I think they went to nest very early, for I once shot a female in May with a large egg in 106 PARROTS: her. They principally frequent the honeysuckles, but are often in the large gums. The old birds are very shy, and have a loud, hoarse eall-note, or cackle. When they first come, they are in large flocks, and they then always frequented the large honeysuckles, over the tops of which they would fly, or rather float through the air, with a wavering kind of flight, toymg and playing with each other, after the manner of the rook at home. As the winter advanced, they appeared to separate, and, although you hardly ever see a single bird, they disperse themselves much more generally over the forests. Their principal food appeared to be large seeds and grubs, and they score the young honeysuckles round with their powerful beaks in search for these latter as if cut with a knife. The young birds are excellent eating.” Basing his experi- ence on another species, Dr. Guil- lemard also vouches for the excellent quality of cockatoo-pie. The curiously- coloured ganga, or helmeted cockatoo (Callocephalum galeatuin), of South-Eastern Australia and Tasmania, differs so decidedly from all its allies as to constitute a genus by itself. The tail, as in the two following genera, is of moderate length and nearly even; while the head and crest of the male are of a flaming red, and the general colour of the upper and under-parts grey. The cere is peculiar in being feathered, and, while the beak is horn-coloured, the feet are nearly black. There is a tinge of green on the primaries of Ganga Cockatoo. oun i, ial =| ) Kyat NS} UNOS HEAD OF DUCORPS’ COCKATOO. ‘ (From Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1871.) the wings. The length of this cock- atoo is 134 inches. It is a shy and forest-loving species, generally leading a solitary life among the topmost boughs of the tallest gum-trees, on the seeds of which it subsists. Typical With the exception of the rose-breasted species, in the typical Cockatoo. = eockatoos, which are those generally kept as pets, the predominant colour of the plumage is either white or rosy white, while in the whole of them the upper mandible has a short hook curving downwards nearly at a right angle to its base. The species, fifteen in number, range over Australia and the islands to the north as far as the Philippines, and include the most gorgeously-coloured representatives of the family. The crest is subject to considerable variation in form and colour, such variations being of the highest importance in the determination of the various species. In the first place, the genus may be divided into two groups, according to the form of the crest. In one of these two main groups the crest-feathers are slender and terminate in sharp points COCKATOOS. 107 which curve forwards. One of the best known representatives of this group is the greater sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatwa galerita) from Australia, in which the feathers of the body are pure white, the cere naked, the crest sulphur-yellow, and the naked skin round the eyes white. This is one of the largest species, measuring from 18 to 20 inches in total length. In the much smaller lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo, in which the length does not exceed 13 inches, the body- feathers are slightly tinged with yellow, while there is also a patch of yellow on the ear-coverts, in addition to that on the crest; this species inhabiting Celebes and some of the neighbouring islands. From both of these the citron-crested cockatoo (C. citrino-cristatus), from the island of Timor-Laut, is readily distin- guished by the orange-yellow of the crest. Far more gorgeous than all the others is, however, the beautiful Leadbeater’s cockatoo (C. leadbeatert) of South Aus- VEN tralia, in which the erest is vermilion at LY the base, with a yellow band traversing a \K IWS this coloured area; while the tips of the oe YAN \ feathers are white. The cere is also eNO feathered. While the plumage of most of © X & ING the upper-parts is white, the sides of the SSS ai, ' head, neck, together with the breast, under- parts, and tail-coverts, are tinged with a pale rose-colour, being very bright under the wings. In size this species comes next to the greater sulphur-crest, its total mos ‘ WW y ay WU Nein: NSH SW length being about 16 inches. it ae ny (ENE a a fog Me ptf | \ { In the second great group the feathers i of the crest, as shown in our figure of the { ali Mi Bs i Wey | yi head of Ducorps’ cockatoo (C. ducorpis) of the Solomon Islands, are broad with J i HEAD OF BLOOD-STAINED COCKATOO. rounded tips, which do not curve for- (From Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1871.) wards. In the larger forms, which correspond in size to the greater sulphur-crested species, the feathers of the crest are very long, and the cere is naked. One of the best known forms is the great white-crested cockatoo (C. alba), from the Halmahera Group of the Moluceas, in which the whole plumage is white. Readily distinguished by its vermilion crest the rose-crested cockatoo (C. moluccensis), which appears to be confined to the islands of Ceram and Amboyna, is represented in the figure on the next page. The remaining species are smaller, and have the cere feathered. Most of them have the under surface of the body white; but ‘the red-breasted cockatoo (C. roseicapilla) differs from all the other members of the genus in having the whole of the under surface of the body of a brilliant full rose-colour, and the upper-parts grey, the crown of the head being pale rosy white. It is widely distributed in Australia, and measures 14 inches in total length. The blood-stained cockatoo (C- sanguined) is from North Australia. All the cockatoos of this group are gregarious, some of the Habits. < : aye eet species, like the greater sulphur-crest, associating in immense flocks ; 108 PARROTS. and those who have seen these birds soaring over the trees of an Australian forest bear testimony to the beauty of the spectacle. At times they will ascend in the sky, during the full blaze of a tropical noon, far above the range of the unaided human vision, while at others they may be seen scattered so thickly over a field as to give almost the appearance of a coating of snow. Some years ago it was attempted to naturalise these birds in the woods of Norfolk, but the attempt was t LN ‘e ROSE-CRESTED COCKATOO (} nat. size). to a great extent rendered abortive through their wandering habits, whereby many fell victims to the guns of the idlers of the neighbourhood. When flying at such a height in the air as to be invisible to the naked eye, the whereabouts of the flock of great white cockatoos is often revealed on a calm day by the sound of the characteristic ery from which these birds derive their name. This repetition of the syllables cockatoo-cockato is the ordinary ery of that species, but the harsh, screaming’ yell, denoting anger or surprise, 1s only too well known to all who have kept these birds as pets. Their food consists mainly of seeds, but it is probable COCKATOOS. 109 that in the wild state larvee of insects form a considerable portion of the diet of many of the species, as in captivity they will readily eat both gnats and flesh. Like most of the parrot tribe, cockatoos do little or nothing in the way of nest- making, generally laying their eggs on the bare wood in some hollow tree. The eggs vary from three to four in number, and usually two broods are reared in a year. In those species which have been bred in Europe, the season extends from May till September. Their elegant plumage, graceful movements, and the readiness with which they are tamed, render cockatoos great favourites as domestic pets, although their discordant cries—worse in some species than others—are a most serious drawback. Writing of the great white cockatoo, Mr. W. T. Greene observes that “ occasionally one of these birds will learn to pronounce a few words with tolerable distinctness, but their forte les in the imitation of the barking of dogs, the crowing of cocks, the gabbling of turkeys, and the cackling of ducks, hens, and geese; and more particularly in the rendering, with much fidelity but in an exaggerated key, the outcries of a domestic fowl that has just produced an ege. They may be readily taught to throw up their wings, dance on their perch, hold out their foot to shake hands, and bow their heads in salutation of a visitor.” Not unfrequently these birds can be tamed sufficiently to admit their being allowed to wander at large, and the writer is acquainted with an individual of one of the Australian species which is at times let loose in the garden of its owner. Here the bird will generally remain within accessible distance, although it will occasionally fly to the tops of some tall trees. From such an elevated perch “cockie” will generally descend at the call of its mistress, but occasionally it is obdurate, and cannot be recaptured without much trouble. The rose-breasted species assembles in smaller flocks than most of the other kinds, from which it also differs in its fondness for shade, resting quietly in the tree-tops while its white cousins are soaring in the empyrean above during the midday heat. From its splendid colours and engaging ways it would make an attractive pet, were it not that its dis- cordant screams are more piercing and more frequently uttered than are those of its allies. Slender-Billed The slender-billed cockatoos, of which there are two species, one Cockatoos. = (Jichmetis nasica) having a wide range in Australia, while the other (L. pertinator) is confined to Western Australia, take their name from the great length and slenderness of the upper mandible, which projects obliquely forwards. The former species is represented in the lower figure of the plate on page 104; and measures 15 inches in length, the general colour of the plumage being white. The lores and a narrow band on the forehead are, however, red; while the feathers covering the head, neck, and breast are scarlet at the base, and the under surfaces of the wings and tail are washed with yellow. The crest is small, and confined to the front of the head. The small long-tailed Australian species, known as the cockatiel (Callopsittacus novee-hollandie), differs so remarkably in appearance from the other members of the family that it has been considered to be an ally of the grass-parraquets. Nevertheless, as it has the crest and skull of the cockatoos, it is referred by Count Salvadori to the present family. It differs from all the other members of the family in its narrow and pointed tail-feathers, of which the The Cockatiel. 110 PARRODLS: middle pair are much longer than the others. The male measures about 124 inches, rather more than half of which is taken up by the tail. Its coloration, without being very striking, is pleasing. The prevailing hue is dark grey, COCKATIEL. becoming much paler on the upper tail-coverts; the forehead and cheeks are lemon-yellow, while the feathers of the crest, which ecannot be de-. pressed, are yellow at the base and grey above. A bright patch of reddish orange on the ear-coverts occupies the middle of the yellow area, and the median and greater cov- erts, as well as a portion of the secondaries of the wings, are ornamented with a broad band of white. The female lacks the brilliant head-colours of her consort. The cock- atiel is found all over Australia, with the ex- ception of North-Eastern Queensland, and associ- ates in flocks of con- siderable size. The female lays from five to seven, or even nine eggs, in the incubation of which the male takes a full share. Strong in its flight, the cockatiel is a -somewhat restless, and at the same time a noisy bird. Myr. W. T. Greene writes that, “taken when about half- fledged from the nest, and brought up by hand, or rather by mouth, the young male cockatiel becomes the most charming pet that can be imagined ; in point of fact, there is scarcely any accomplishment that be cannot be taught. He will perform all manner of little tricks, such as kissing his mistress, pretending to be dead, flying out of window, and returning at the word of command ; and he will also learn to repeat, with great distinctness, not only words, but short sentences, and even to COCKATOOS. III imitate, in a disconnected and rambling fashion, it is true, the chattering of his compatriot, the budgerigar, or the warbling of his rival the canary.” These birds will breed freely in confinement ; and they have the advantage of an equable and contented disposition, which enables them to live peaceably with the other inhabit- ants of an aviary, whether great or small. Indeed, so easy-going in disposition is the cockatiel, that it will frequently allow itself to be hustled about and bullied by its smaller cousin, the budgerigar, the description of which comes later on in the chapter. THE TypicaL PARROTS. Family PsITTAcID@, With the exception of the peculiar owl-parrot of New Zealand, the whole of the remaining members of the order are included in a single family, which comprises a far larger number of genera and species than either of the others. The group is one very difficult to define; but, with the exception of the Uvzean parrot and a kindred species, all its members are distin- guished from the cockatoos by the absence of a crest; while in the skull the ring of bone is generally imperfect, and if complete it always lacks the posterior process characteris- ing that part in the cockatoos. The members of this family have a very wide geographical distribution, ranging over the —=S whole of the tropical regions, | and being the only represen- tatives of the order met with in Africa and America. In the Australasian region they are found in association with all the other five families. The family is divided into six subfamilies. . ; PIGMY PARROT (nat. size). Subfamily NasirerNinx. New Guinea is a country of strange creatures, but none of its living products are more remarkable than the pigmy parrots, some of which are actually smaller than an English sparrow. These birds have their beaks shaped as in the cockatoos, with a broad band-like cere, which becomes Pigmy Parrots. = PARROTS, narrower in the middle line. They are, however, specially distinguished by their short and squared tails, in which the pointed extremities of the shafts of the feathers project beyond the vanes. When folded, the long wings reach beyond the end of the tail; and the claws are remarkably elongated. The males of these pigmies are most gorgeous in colour, but their consorts show much more sober RED-CAPPED PIGMY PARROT. (From Guillemard’s Cruise of the Marchesa.) tints. Altogether nine species of these parrots are recognised. In the species figured on p. 111 (Vasiterna pygmea), the total length is just over 3 inches, but it is rather more in the red-capped species (WV. bruijni). THE AMERICAN SHARP-TAILED PARROTS. Subfamily Conurin&. The pigmy parrots constituting a subfamily by themselves, we come now to a second very large subfamily, exclusively confined to the New World, and ranging from Carolina to Patagonia. These parrots, which include the well-known macaws and the smaller conures, are characterised by their graduated and generally long tails, in which each of the feathers tapers to a point, and the middle pair are longer than any of the others. The bill is strong, almost always deeper than long, and generally devoid of any notch; while its usual colour is whitish or pale brown. Except in one genus, the two sexes are alike; and the predominant colour of the plumage is usually green, although in some species blue or yellow. The cere, which may be either naked or feathered, surrounds the whole base of the bill like a band, “and the nostrils may be either exposed or concealed among the feathers. In the skull the ring round the socket of the eye is generally complete. As there are no less than fifteen genera in the group, only some of the more interesting can be noticed. 7 > a he Se cn MACAWS. MACAWS. 113 Hyacinthine From their large size, the length of their tails, and the gorgeous Macaw. tints of blue, red, and yellow adorning their plumage, the macaws are the most showy and conspicuous of all the parrots; but they have the disadvantage of being the most noisy of the whole confraternity, and are therefore far from wy yy ‘S x > \ ( . ) HYACINTHINE MACAW (2 nat. size). desirable in the house. By many writers the whole of them are included in a single genus, but Count Salvadori considers that they may be divided into three generic groups. The hyacinthine macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), from Central Brazil, of which a figure is given on the left side of our coloured Plate, is the best known representative of a small genus, characterised by the general colour of the plumage being blue both above and below, while the lores are feathered. In the figured species the whole plumage is of a nearly uniform cobalt-blue, becoming a little lighter on the head and neck, and somewhat duller below, while the under surface of the wings and tail is black. In marked contrast to the prevailing azure, stands out the yellow of the naked skin surrounding the eye and at the VOL. EV.—S 114 PARROTS. base of the lower jaw. The black beak is of unusually large size even for a macaw, and the feet are blackish. The total length of this fine bird is about 34 inches, of which 203 are taken up by the tail. The hyacinthine macaw is a somewhat rare species, and although inhabiting the dense tropical forests aftected by the other macaws, it is said by Azara to differ markedly in regard to its breeding-habits. In place of building in some hollow tree, it is stated to scoop out a burrow on the bank of a river, where it lays a pair of eggs; two broods being reared in a season. ‘These birds—the ararauna of the natives— fly, according to Bates, in pairs, and feed on palm-nuts, which, although so hard as to be difficult to break with a heavy hammer, are crushed to pulp by their’ beaks. The skulls of the hyacinthine macaw and its congeners differ from those of ordinary macaws in the incompleteness of the bony ring round the eye. The same feature is probably also characteristic of Spix’s macaw (Cyanopsittacus sprxr), Which, although agreeing with the ararauna in its blue coloration, differs by the naked lore, on which account it is regarded as representing a distinct genus. The true macaws differ from the preceding in the absence of blue on the under part of the body, and also by the completeness of the bony ring in the skull round the eye. In all of them the lores, as well as a larger or smaller area of the True Macaws. cheeks, are devoid of feathers. The range of these splendid birds, which are locally known as araras, extends from Mexico to Bolivia and Paraguay, certain species ranging in the Andes to elevations of some ten thousand feet above the sea. Of the fourteen recognised species, a few of the better-known will alone be mentioned. Among these the red-and-blue macaw (Ara macao), represented on the right side of our coloured Plate, is one of the handsomest. In this species the general colour of both the upper and under-parts is vermilion red, while the upper wing-coverts are chrome-yellow ; the lower part of the back, the rump, upper and lower tail-coverts, together with the quills of the wings being blue. The tail- feathers are scarlet, with more or less blue at their tips (except in the central pair) and on their outer edges, the outermost being almost wholly blue. Beneath, both the tail and wing-feathers are golden-red, while the greater and upper median HEAD OF MACAW. wing-coverts, as well as the scapulars, are yellow tipped with green. In size this splendid bird attains a total length of 3 feet, nearly 2 of which are taken up by the tail. Its range is large, extending from Mexico to Guiana and the Amazon Valley. In marked contrast to the above, is the coloration of the blue and yellow macaw (A. ararauna), depicted at the top of our Plate. In this bird while the upper surface of the body, wings, and tail is blue, almost the whole of the CONURES. Tis under-parts are yellow, while the throat is marked by a broad black gorget. The crown of the head is grass-green ; and the contrast of the light blue of the feathers of the back with the dark blue of the quills of the wings is very pleasing. This species, which is smaller than the last, is also widely distributed in tropical America, ranging from Panama to the Amazon Valley. A third type of coloration is presented by the still smaller military macaw (A. militavis), in which, as in the majority of the species, the prevalent tint is green. The forehead is, however, scarlet, while the lower part of the back, the rump, and the upper tail-coverts are hight blue. Blue also appears on the quills of the wings, as well as on the primary and outermost greater wing-coverts; while in the tail the four middle feathers are brownish red tipped with blue above, and the outer ones largely blue. The length of this species is only 27 inches, and its range extends from Mexico to Peru and Bolivia. All the macaws of this genus are denizens of the dense forests of tropical America, associating in flocks, and feeding on fruits, seeds, and nuts. Bates compares a flock of the red-and-blue species, feeding on the fruits of a palm-tree, to a cluster of flaunting banners suspended beneath its crown. When’ on the wing, such flocks make the air resound with their loud harsh screams. In the fruit-season, Waterton describes the palms in the neighbourhood of the Macoushi country as being sometimes absolutely covered with these birds ; and states that any number may be killed with the blowpipe and arrows. They Habits. all nest in the hollows of trees, which they enlarge according to their requirements. The eges, usually two, but occasionally three in number, are about the size of those of a hen, but less pointed. Both males and females take their share in the incubation, and there are usually two broods in the year. Not unfrequently the whereabouts of a macaw's nest is betrayed by the protruding tail of the sitting bird. Macaws awake from slumber with the first streaks of dawn, and at once commence their deafening clamour; the whole flock generally repairing to some common meeting-place, where they open their wings and warm themselves in the sun’s rays. Soon, the flock departs to its feeding-ground, which may be either in the forest or among the cultivated lands. Feeding is continued till about ten o'clock, after which the host repairs to a neighbouring stream to drink and bathe. Towards noon the macaws seek the deepest shade of the forest, where they spend the hottest hours of the day, till the declining sun once again ealls them forth. Before settling down to roost for the night, the flock, after the manner of rooks, assembles at the meeting-place—usually some large bare tree. Most of the macaws can be readily tamed, and will live in captivity for long periods. They are, however, but poor talkers, and never give up their pernicious habit of screaming. Moreover, although properly-tamed birds seldom attempt to bite adults, many of them cannot safely be trusted where there are children. Next to the macaws, the best known representatives of this subfamily are the smaller parrots, termed, from the form of the tail, conures, most of which are included in the genus Conwrus, although our figured example (C. carolinensis) is the sole representative of the distinct genus Conuropsis. The conures differ from the true macaws by the lore being Conures. 116 IPARROTS feathered; and they are further characterised by the rather swollen form of the beak, which is not in the least degree compressed, while the lower mandible is broad and not grooved. In the typical conures, or those included in the genus Conwrus, the fourth primary feather of the wing is attenuated, and the nostrils are exposed; whereas in the Carolina conure (Conwropsis) the corresponding feather is not narrowed, and the nostrils are concealed among the feathers covering the cere. Various shades of green, yellow, and orange may be described as the prevalent colours of the conures, although there is \ \ _— CAROLINA CONURE (3 nat. size). frequently more or less blue on the quills of the wings, while there may be red on the head and breast; the under-parts are, however, never blue. In the Carolina conure, which measures 124 inches in length, the general colour is green, becoming yellowish on the under-parts; while the forehead and cheeks are orange-red, and the rest of the head and neck bright yellow. Spots of orange-red with patches of yellow adorn the shoulders; and the outer webs of the quills are bluish green, becoming yellow at the base. The true conures, of which there are no less than twenty-eight species, range from Mexico, through Central America and the West Indies, to Bolivia and Paraguay. Formerly, the Carolina conure had CONURES. Tay a more northern range than any other parrot, extending to Iowa, the great Lakes, and New York; but it is now contined to the States bordering the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi Valley, and is very local. At one time they were found in enormous flocks, which used to do great damage to the crops, but of late years their numbers have been greatly reduced. Wilson writes that the Carolina conures “are particularly attached to the large sycamores, in the hollows of the trunks and branches of which they generally roost; thirty or forty, and sometimes more, entering at the same hole. Here they cling close to the sides of the tree, holding just by the claws, and also by the bill. They appear to be fond of sleep, and often retire to their holes during the day, probably to take a regular siesta. They are extremely sociable and fond of each other, often scratching each other’s heads and necks, and always at night nestling as close as possible to each other, preferring at that time a perpendicular position, supported by their beak and claws.” They lay from three to five eggs; and, if taken young, are readily tamed. The golden conure (C. solstitialis), of Guiana, is golden-yellow, with the exception of parts of the wings which are green and blue. Slight-Billed The great length and comparative straightness of the upper Farraquet. mandible of the parrot represented in the illustration on the next page, serves to distinguish it at a glance from all its kindred. This bird is the slight- billed parraquet (Henicognathus leptorhynchus), the sole representative of its genus, and restricted to Chili, where it appears to be abundant. It is about 15 inches in total length: and the general colour of its plumage is dull green, becoming somewhat brighter on the top of the head, in which region each feather has a dusky edge. This colour is relieved by dull crimson on the forehead, lores, and round the eyes; and there is a faint patch of dull red on the abdomen, and some amount of bluish tints on the wings. The iris of the eye is orange, while the beak and feet are lead-colour. These parrots are met with in large flocks; which may number hundreds or thousands of individuals, and keep up an incessant screaming. For a part of the year they inhabit the forests, but from October to April they make their appearance in the cultivated districts of Valdivia, for the purpose of feeding on the crops. At this season they appear every morning in large flocks flying from the northward, and returning in the evening. With their long beaks they extract the grains of maize and wheat from the growing crops, and also dig up roots of grass, which form their staple food. Indeed, they are more terrestrial than arboreal in their general habits, although they nest in hollow trees. It is but seldom that these parrots are brought alive to Europe. Grey-Breasted The grey-breasted parraquet (Myopsittacus monachus) belongs Parraquet. to a group of genera, distinguished from the three preceding ones by the bony ring round the eye being incomplete; this particular genus being char- acterised by the beak being rather swollen at the sides and rounded above, as well as by the tufted oil-gland, and the concealment of the nostrils by the forward projection of the feathers at the base of the beak. The general colour of this parrot is green, with the upper part of the head, lores, cheeks, throat, and breast grey ; the under-parts yellowish green, and the primary feathers and wing-coverts blue, edged with green on their outer webs. The bill is reddish white, the iris 118 (PARROTS: : The total length of the bird is 114 inches. It is a native of Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay. The most interesting point in connection with this parrot is its habit of building nests in trees, brown, and the foot grey whereby it differs from all other meibers of the order; our illustration repre- senting one of these nests built by a pair in captivity in one corner of their eage. Darwin states that these birds in Parana select tall trees in which to build; and that a number of nests are placed so close together as to form one great mass of sticks. They always associate in immense flocks, and commit SLIGHT-BILLED PARRAQUET (2 nat. size). great ravages on the corn-crops. On this account they are much persecuted by the inhabitants, Darwin relating that as many as two thousand five hundred of these birds were killed near Colonia in the course of a year. In some districts the nests are constructed in the trees growing in swamps, and attain a huge size; each nest generally having several entrances, and being frequented by two or three pairs of birds. On this account the name of swamp-parrot is frequently applied to the species. From observations made on captive specimens, it appears that although the cock aids in building the nest, the work of incubation is performed by the hen alone; the usual number of eggs being two. PARROTLETS. 119 Nearly allied to this species are several South American parrots constituting the genus Bolborhynchus, distinguished from the one under consideration by the nostrils being exposed and opening in a much swollen cere, from which the name of the genus is derived. These parrots range from Mexico to Northern Chili and the Argentine, a well-known species being the Aymara parraquet (B. aymara). GREY-BREASTED PARRAQUET (#2 nat. size). The smallest representatives of this subfamily are the pretty little green and blue birds, which may be termed, from their Latin name, parrotlets, and occupy a position in this section analogous to that held by the love-birds in the parraquet group. The largest of these parrotlets is only 54 inches in length, while none of the others exceed 5 inches. They differ from all the other members of the subfamily in the relative shortness of their tails, and also in that the two sexes are unlike, while their skeletons are distinguished by the absence of the furcula. They range from Mexico to Bolivia and Brazil, and are divided into three groups, according to the colour of the rump in the male. In Parrotlets. sae PARROTS. the first group, as represented by the blue-winged parrotlet (Psittacula passerina) the rump is ultramarine blue; in the second (P. speugelz) it is turquoise; and in the third (P. guianen- sis) green. We may remark here that the reader will scarcely fail to notice what a number of members of the parrot tribe are restricted to the — Southern Heinisphere, IM ———_—_ | 2 ui where they’ are es- pecially numerous in South America, Aus- tralia, and the Papuan Islands. This has : been taken to indicate ee Np ZZ that these birds con- on ffs = stitute an originally BLUE-WINGED PARROTLET. southern group, al- though it is much more probable that they were primarily developed in the Northern Hemisphere. All-Green Our last example of the subfamily is the all-green or tirika Parraquet. parraquet (Brotogerys tirica), representing a genus with several species, distinguished by the long tail, the somewhat compressed form of the beak, in which the nostrils open in a completely naked cere, and the absence of a tufted oil-gland. The species figured on the opposite page is the largest of the genus, measuring 10 inches in total length, whereas some of the others are less than 7. It takes its name from the all-pervading green of the plumage, to which the only exceptions are the blue primaries and primary coverts, a slight tinge of olive- brown on the lesser upper wing-coverts, and of blue on the middle tail-feathers. This species is an inhabitant of Eastern Brazil; the range of the genus extending from that country, Peru and Bolivia, to Central America. In Eastern Brazil the tirika is one of the commonest of the parrot tribe, associating in countless flocks, which may be seen flying from grove to grove, or descending to ravage the rice and maize fields. Their ery is a short, sharp, clear scream. In captivity these parraquets thrive well. BLUNT-TAILED GREEN PARROTS. Subfamily Pron. The familiar Amazon parrots are among the best known representatives of a large subfamily, containing several American genera and also a single African one. All these parrots are distinguished from the members of the preceding subfamily by their broad and short or moderate tails, which are never of the acuminate and AMAZONS. 12) pointed form characteristic of the conures, and have the tips of the feathers rounded. In the whole of them the cere is entirely naked, and the predominant colour of the plumage green. Usually the tail is about half the length of the wing, and may be either squared or rounded at the end; and the bill is of moderate ALL-GREEN PARRAQUET (3 nat. size). strength, sometimes rather longer than deep. The New World forms are all of them tropical. Pues oer ean The Amazon parrots, of which there are over forty species, are mostly comparatively large birds, sometimes exceeding 17 inches in length, and range from Mexico to Argentina, although especially characteristic of the great river valley from which they take their name. They are characterised by the tail being of moderate length and rounded, with the under-coverts always green; and also by the absence of a tufted oil-gland, as well as by the completeness of the bony ring round the eye. One of the best known species is the festive amazon (Chrysotis festiva), from the Amazon Valley, which is a green bird with a red frontlet, a line of blue above and behind the eye, the back and rump red, 122 ' IPAIRLUO TS. and the bastard-wing, together with the primary wing-coverts and the outer webs of the primaries deep blue. Most of the species are distinguished from one another by the markings of the head and face, while a few differ by their smaller size. They are all essentially forest-dwelling birds, associating in flocks, and feeding upon the fruits of palms and other trees. They usually lay from three to four eges, and produce but one brood in the year. If taken sufficiently early, the young are extraordinarily tame; and as these birds are very hardy, they are favourites in captivity, more especially as many of them rival the grey parrot in talking and mimicry. Indeed, the festive amazon frequently becomes sufficiently domesticated to be allowed to wander in gardens at large. “OR al Pep t WZ @ f Za Nf Tn /44, Lf x ts Poy a Wee ~~ wos HAWK-BILLED PARROT (} nat. size). Hawk-Billed One of the most remarkable members of this subfamily is the Parrot. = hawk-billed parrot (Deroptyus accipitrinus) of Guiana, the Amazon Valley, and North-East Brazil, which is the sole representative of its genus. It differs from the amazons by the presence of a tufted oil-gland, and by the relatively longer tail, and is specially characterised by the beak being rather short, and deeper than long, but above all by the elongation and breadth of the feathers on the hinder part of the neck, which form an erectile collar or ruff. The coloration of this extraordinary bird is very striking. While the back and upper surface of the wings are green, the head is brown, with hoary streaks on the sides; the elongated feathers of the nape, together with those on the abdomen GREY PARROT. 123 and breast are dark red, with blue edges; and the bastard-wing, primaries, and primary-coverts are black. The tail-feathers are green, tinged with blue near the tips; and below both the tail and wings are black. The colour of the bill is dusky horn, the iris is brown, and the feet are black. In length this bird measures about 14 inches. In repose, the elongated feathers of the nape are depressed, and it is only when the bird is excited or angry that the ruff is raised in the manner depicted in our illustration. But little is known of this parrot in its native state, beyond the fact that it is an inhabitant of dense forests, and is far less common than most other species. It is frequently found on the sawari- palms, and its ery is described as of piercing shrillness. The usual number of eggs laid is stated to be four. Although but rarely imported into Europe, the hawk- billed parrot, according to Mr. W. T. Greene, is an admirable bird as a pet, being very hardy, agile and graceful in its movements, readily tamed, and almost as good a talker as the grey parrot. African Passing by the other American representatives of the present Green Parrot. subfamily, brief mention must be made of the African genus Peocephalus, which contains several medium-sized parrots, with rather short tails, and the bill very short and deep, especially as regards its lower mandible, in which the depth exceeds the length. These parrots are found throughout Africa south of the Sahara, and agree with their American cousins in the general green hue of their plumage; well-known examples being Levaillant’s parrot (P. robustus) of South Africa; Jardine’s parrot (P. guliem7) from the West Coast, and the brown-headed parrot (P. fuscicapillus) from Zanzibar. In the second of these, while the general hue is green, the feathers of the back are black edged with green, the tail-feathers and primaries black, and the other wing-feathers like those of the back. These colours are relieved by red on the front of the head, the bend of the wings, and legs. The whole length of the bird is about 11 inches. All are readily tamed, and may be often trained to talk fairly well. Subfamily Psirraciy 2. Grey and Black This second group of short-tailed parrots, which are mainly Short-Tailed confined to Africa and Madagascar, although represented by one Parrots. 3 genus in New Guinea, are readily distinguished from the members of the preceding subfamily by their prevalent colour being either grey or black, with or without an admixture of red. The sides of the head are more or less naked, the bill is never red, and in the skull the bony ring round the eye is always incomplete. The cere is broad, but narrows towards the nostrils, which it does not enclose in a swelling; while the bill is without a notch, and has its lower mandible longer than deep. The tail may be either square or rounded, and is sometimes rather more and at others rather less than half the length of the wing. Beton Such a universal favourit » as the common grey parrot ( Psittacus erithacus)—the type of the whole order—scarcely requires deserip- tion, as its appearance is familiar to all. It may be mentioned, however, that it is characterised by the squared tail being less than half the length of the wing; by 124 PARROTS. the rather compressed and lengthened bill, and by the papillae covering the naked portions of the face. The general colour of the plumage is ashy, with a bright red tail. The range of this species extends from the Congo and Guinea coast across Equatorial Africa to the east of Lake Nyasa. In Liberia and lower Sierra Leone it is replaced by P. timneh, distinguished by its dark grey plumage, and the dark red of the tail. The best account extant of the habits of the grey parrot in its wild state is one by Mr. J. G. Keulemans, who had an opportunity of studying these birds during a long residence on Prince’s Island, where they especially frequent a hill, known as the Pico do Papagaio. Mr. Keulemans writes THE GREY PARROT (2 nat. size). that “these parrots are always found in flocks which go about the island during the day, returning to their own appointed place on the mountain in the evening to roost. Their food consists of fruits, such as the palm-nut, the avocat, the banana, goyave, mango, and many other fruits of a smaller kind, but they always give the preference to the palm-nuts. They drink but little, and as no water is found - on the Pico, they must obtain what they require during the day on the lowland. They make no nest, but deposit their eggs (which are from two to four in number) on the bottom of the hole. The eggs are in size, shape, and colour similar to those of the wood-pigeon ; when unblown they are of a pinkish hue, which may be owing to the thinness of the shell. Both birds take it by turns to sit, and while one 1s sitting the other often comes and feeds it out of its crop. The young ones are fed PARRAQUETS. 125 in the same way. In time of danger the old birds defend their progeny vigorously, and should the enemy prove too strong to be successfully resisted by one, other parrots come up to their assistance, and, joining forces, either kill or put the aggressor to flight. The grey parrot delights to dwell in companies; many nests are found within a few feet of each other, and often in one tree two or more holes may be seen occupied by hatching pairs. The young birds are covered with a long and fluffy down, which afterwards, when moulting, falls off. Their first plumage is darker, and the iris dark grey, instead of pale yellow. They leave the nest when about four weeks old, but may be seen looking outside the hole some time before they are able to fly.” In captivity this parrot is the best of talkers; and, did space permit, many interesting anecdotes might be quoted relative to this accomplishment. Contrary to what usually prevails among higher bipeds, the male is commonly the more voluble and fluent speaker of the two, although the female pronounces her words more distinctly. Like most parrots, this species attains a great age, and there seems no doubt that examples have been kept in captivity for periods of between sixty and eighty years. Whether, however, they have lived in this state for upwards of a century, as reported, seems doubtful. The anecdote of the old lady of eighty, who purchased a parrot with the view of testing by experiment the truth of such report, is probably well known to our readers. SPS ote Five pecuhar parrots inhabiting Madagascar and certain neigh- bouring islands, constitute a genus easily recognised by their black or blackish brown plumage, which gives them at a distance somewhat the appearance of crows. The region round the eye is naked, the lore also partially bare, and the whitish bill somewhat thickened and swollen. The greater vasa (Coracopsis vasa) attains a length of about 20 inches. Although common in their native islands, very little is known of the habits of these parrots in the wild state. The few that are brought to Europe are readily tamed, and soon learn to talk. New Guinea This species (Dasypterus perqueti) is distinguished from its Black Parrot. Malagasy allies by its longer and shallower beak, and the larger amount of bare skin on the sides of the face. The general sable hue is relieved by a red band on either side of the back of the head; while the under wing-coverts are likewise red. THE PARRAQUET GROUP. Subfamily PaLZorNITHIN®. The true parraquets, together with the love-birds and certain other allied forms, constitute a fifth subfamily, confined to the Eastern Hemisphere, but exceed- ingly difficult to define from external characters. All of them differ, however, from the members of the foregoing groups, except the pigmy parrots, by certain peculiarities connected with the course of the carotid arteries. As a rule, the females are markedly distinct from the males, which, with the exception of the parrotlets, is not the case in the preceding groups; the tail-feathers are frequently pointed; and the sides of the head are either completely feathered, or only naked Just round the eyes. The bill is often very strong, and frequently, especially its 126 PARROTS. upper moiety, red in colour. In the skull the ring round the eye is incomplete. The cere is always narrow, surrounding the whole base of the bill with a band of equal width, and is generally partially feathered ; while the nostrils may be either exposed or concealed. The group ranges over the Oriental, Ethiopian, and Australasian regions. The Moluccas and Papuan Islands are the home of a genus of parrots of this group, of which the typical red-sided eclectus (Aclectus pectoralis) exceeds the green parrot in size; its total length being from 16 to 18} Eclectus Parrots. arth »s avatiay NL ‘ f —<- ESOS ae RED-SIDED ECLECTUS (+ nat. size). inches. In this genus the bill is thick, notched, and very deep, with its lower mandible marked by a keel along the middle line of the symphysis. The tail is of moderate length and nearly squared, with its central feathers of normal form; and the nostrils are hidden. In the females the general hue of the plumage is red, while in the males it is ereen. So different are the two sexes of the red-sided eclectus, that it is at first sight PARRAQUETS. 127 difficult to believe that they belong to the same species. In the female, the beak is black and the eye yellow; the plumage of the head and upper-parts of the neck and breast is rich crimson-red ; a band across the upper part of the back, the lower breast and abdomen, as well as the edge of the wing and under-coverts, are blue ; the back, rump, upper tail, and wing-coverts, and the secondaries are blood-red ; the primaries and their coverts are blue, edged with green on their outer webs; while the tail is blood-red above, and more dusky beneath. In the more soberly clad male, the general green hue is relieved by red on the axillaries and under wing- coverts ; while there is blue on the angle of the wing, and the primaries and their coverts; the under surface of both the wings and tail-feathers being black. In the beak, the upper mandible is vermilion, and the lower one black. No adequate conception of the gorgeous coloration of these birds can, however, be conveyed without the aid of coloured illustrations. This splendid parrot ranges from the Aru Islands through New Guinea to the Solomon Islands; but, as with its allies, scarcely anything is known concerning its habits in the wild state. In captivity it is readily tamed; but its chief attraction lies in its brilliant plumage, as its movements are listless and devoid of interest, and it is at times subject to fits of deafening screaming. EL ee All who have travelled or resided in India are familiar with the flights of long-tailed parraquets which swarm in every jungle, and form one of the most characteristic features of an Oriental landscape. These parraquets, of which there are many species, belong to a genus ranging from Africa north of the Equator, through Mauritius and the Seychelles, to India, Burma, the south of China, and Malaysia, and taking its name from the circumstance that one of the species was brought to Europe by Alexander the Great from the Punjab. They are characterised by the long and graduated tail, in which all the feathers, but especially the middle pair, are narrow; and by the presence of a notch in the upper mandible; while very frequently there is a rose-coloured collar round the neck, at least in the males. The general hue of the plumage is green; but while in one large group the head is of this colour, in a second it is only partially green, or not green at all. The best known species is the ring-necked parraquet (Palewornis torquatus), belonging to the former group, and ranging from India to Cochin-China. In length, this bird varies from 16 to 17 inches, of which from 9} to 10 are taken up by the tail; and while its general colour is green, the neck of the male is ornamented with a rose-red collar, incomplete in front, above which is a black ring incomplete behind. Far handsomer, however, is the Indian blossom-headed parraquet (P. cyanocephalus), in which the head of the male is red, tinged with plum-colour on the sides and back, and defined by a narrow black collar, while the middle feathers of the tail are blue. The following account of the habits of the Indian ring-necked species is given by Jerdon, who writes that it frequents “cultivated grounds and gardens, even in the barest and least wooded parts of the country, and it is habitually found about towns and villages, constantly perching on the house- tops. It is very destructive to most kinds of grain, as well as to fruit-gardens. When the grains are cut and housed, it feeds on the ground, on the stubble corn- fields, also on meadows, picking up what grains it can; and now and then takes 128 PARROTS: long flights, hunting for any tree that may be in fruit: and when it has made a discovery of one in fruit, circling round, and swirling with outspread and down- pointing wings till it alights on the tree. It associates in flocks of various size, sometimes in vast numbers, and generally many hundreds roost together in some garden or grove. It breeds both in holes in trees, and very commonly, in the south of India, in old buildings, pagodas, tombs, ete. It lays four white eggs. Its breed- hora / fu sy ji LAY) M7) ROSY-FACED LOVE-BIRDS (2 nat. size). ing-season is from January to March. Its ordinary flight is rapid, with repeated strokes of the wings, somewhat wavy laterally or arrowy. It has a harsh ery, which it always repeats when in flight, as well.as at other times.” These parraquets are readily tamed, and in India will breed in that state. If well trained, they are fairly quiet, but if their tempers have been unduly tried they are wont to exercise their powers of screaming. The pretty little parrots (of which a group is represented in Love-Birds. : : a 3 : our illustration), commonly known as love-birds, derive both their LOVE-BIRDS. 129 popular and scientific titles on account of the attachment the pairs appear to entertain for one another. Mr. W. T. Greene remarks, however, that a single bird will live in captivity for years without any apparent signs of pining, and will actually become more attached to its owner than if it formed one of a pair. And he adds that the reason why if one of a pair dies the other generally soon follows its companion, is that the constitutions of the two have been undermined by the hardships of the voyage to Europe; thus demolishing the pretty fable that the death of the survivor. of a pair is due to inconsolable grief at the loss of its mate. The love-birds, of which the largest does not exceed 6$ inches in length, differ from all the other members of the subfamily, in that the thick and deep beak has no ridge along the inferior surface of the symphysis of its lower mandible; and they are further distinguished by the shortness of the tail, which is marked with a black band near the extremity. Their skeletons are peculiar, in that the furcula is absent. In the latter : ye respect as well as in their small size, i) a y i/ and the occasional difference in the : coloration of the two sexes, the love- birds resemble the American par- rotlets (p. 119), with which they have frequently been classed. They may, however, be at once distin- guished from the latter by their rounded instead of pointed _ tail- feathers. The love-birds, of which there are seven species, are confined to Africa south of the Sahara and Madagascar, although they have been introduced into the Mascarene Islands. The rosy-faced species (Agapornis roseicollis) belongs to a group in which the rump and upper tail-coverts are blue, and the under wing-coverts green. In both sexes the general colour is green, becoming yellowish beneath; the rump and upper tail- coverts being light blue, the forehead bright red, and the sides of the face and throat rose-colour. This species inhabits South-Western Africa from Angola to Namaqualand, and is also reported from the opposite side of the continent, in the neighbourhood of the Limpopo. The two sexes are almost undistinguishable in this species. BM iuuidawiniuieyiunuyuteidinrun GREY-HEADED LOVE-BIRDS. Andersson writes that these love-birds are common in Namaqualand, and are met with in small flocks, never far removed from the vicinity of water. Their fight is rapid; and while on the wing they utter their sharp ery. Their food consists of berries and large berry-like seeds. Instead of making nests for themselves, they take possession of those of other birds; but Andersson was unable to ascertain whether they did so by dispossessing the rightful owners, or VOL. 1V.—9 130 PARROTS. whether they were content with deserted domiciles. The number of eggs is not mentioned. From their small size and engaging manners the love-birds are great favourites in captivity, although they are all more or less delicate. The rosy-faced species is, however, the most hardy, and will readily breed in confinement, often producing two broods in the year. That love-birds have not always the angelic disposition commonly attributed to them, is indicated by the following extract from a correspondent of Mr. Greene's, who writes, that “I have a red-faced love-bird, to which it would puzzle you to apply the epithet ‘amiable, for a more surly, ill-tempered little glutton never existed. She quarrels with her husband, whom she drives about, compels to feed her with partly digested food from his craw, and then thrashes if he does not sit closely enough to her, or if he dares to move before she is ready. In fact, a more hen- pecked wretch never lived, and yet he seems to like it, and to be specially proud of his beautiful but A GROUP OF HANGING PARROTS. utterly unamiable wife.” The last group of this great subfamily is formed by the curious hanging parrots,—so called from their habit of sleeping head down- wards, suspended by their feet from a bough. These parrots, which are about the same size as love-birds, comprise twenty species, ranging from India and the Philippine Islands through the Malayan region as far east as Duke of York Island. They differ from all the other members of the subfamily in the thinness of the beak, in which the length exceeds the depth; the upper mandible being long and but little curved, while the profile of the lower one slopes upwards with very little convexity. In all of them the under surface of the remiges and tail-feathers is of a bright verditer blue. They are brilliantly coloured, with green as the predominant tint; and Dr. Guillemard describes a species from the Hanging Parrots. HANGING PARROTS. Ton Sulu Islands (Loriculus bonapartei) as looking like a little glowing ball of vivid crimson, yellow, and green. The blue-crowned species (L. galgulus), here figured, is an inhabitant of the Malay Peninsula and Islands, and measures just BLUE-CROWNED HANGING PARROTS ASLEEP (2 nat. size). over 5 inches in total length. In the male the general colour is green, with a deep blue spot on the top of the head, another of yellow on the interscapular region, a broad band of yellow across the lower part of the back, the rump and upper tail-coverts scarlet, and a patch of the same colour on the throat. The female is duller. As might be inferred from the conformation of their beaks, all the hanging parrots are flower-suckers, subsisting largely on honey, although they also. eat flower-buds and young shoots. The Indian species (LZ. vernalis) is usually found in open spaces in the forests, where it associates in small flocks. When feeding, it keeps up a continual chirping ery; and it is said, like the fruit-bats, to be at times taken in a stupefied condition, lying beneath the pots suspended to catch palm- juice. They appear to pass a large portion of their time in sleep; but when awake exhibit marvellous activity in climbing. From the nature of their food, these little parrots are not well adapted for captivity, although they can be kept on a diet of rice boiled in milk and well sweetened, with the addition of fruit and IZ PARROTS. ants’ eggs. Mr. Greene says that if several are kept in a cage, they will hang suspended side by side from the roof for hours at a time, in which position they will caress and feed one another. THE BROADTAIL GROUP. Subfamily Pratycercina&. The last subfamily of the Psittacidew is represented by the broadtails, grass- parraquets, and their allies, and is entirely confined to Australia, New Zealand, SSSSSS < Ss SAD aS = Ti AN WF ai Z ‘as By B ay 9° ROSE HILL BROADTAIL (2 nat. size). New Caledonia, and the Society Islands. They are distinguished from all the preceding groups, with the exception of the parrotlets and love-birds, by the absence of the furcula;! while in the skull the ring round the eye is incomplete. The tail is rather long, graduated, and often pointed; and the beak of moderate size, and never red in colour. The cere is small, merely surrounding the nostrils: the beak short and thick, with the lower mandible generally concealed by the feathers of the cheeks; and the plumage much variegated. 1The single species of Naunodes is an exception in this respect, while it also differs from all other Psittacida in its brush-like tongue. PARRAQUETS. 133 The broadtails, of which the best known example is the Rose Hill broadtail, or Rosella parraquet (Platycercus eximius), take their name from the breadth of the tail-feathers, which are not acuminate. The bill is distinctly notched; and the feathers of the back are black, with broad, light edgings, and presenting a general scale-like appearance. The genus, of which there are thirteen species, 1s restricted to Australia, Tasmania, and Norfolk Broadtails, Island. The Rose Hill broadtail is one of the handsomest of the Australian parrots, and belongs to a group of three species, in which the cheeks are white and the head red. Its coloration may be briefly indicated by saying that the head, neck, and breast are red; the cheeks white, the nape yellow; the feathers of the back black, with greenish yellow borders; the rump, upper tail-coverts, and lower part of the abdomen yellowish green; and the lower breast yellow, with a scarlet band in the middle. A large portion of the wings is blue; and while the two middle tail- feathers are green tipped with blue, the outer ones are darker. The total length is 135 inches. This species inhabits South-Eastern Australia and Tasmania. It generally assembles in small flocks, and, although strong on the wing, is not migratory. Its favourite haunts are open districts, and it specially frequents cultivated lands, where it inflicts much damage on the crops. In addition to seeds of various kinds, this parraquet is believed to consume insects and their larvee. It may be distinguished from most other parrots by its ery, which is described as a kind of chattering or warbling, with some approach to a whistle. Frequently the flocks may be observed feeding on the ground, and exhibiting little fear of man, except when they have been much fired at. In the breeding-season these birds collect in large companies, making their nests in hollow trees, where from four to eight or occasionally twelve eggs are laid; the males taking no share in the work of incubation. Although a very noisy bird, the Rose Hill broadtail is well adapted to captivity, being active and lively in its habits, and during the breeding-season dancing and singing in an amusing manner. It has frequently bred in Europe. Grass- The grass-parraquets, of which the turquoisine (Veophema Parraquets. = ulchella) is the most familiar example, form a small genus restricted to the south of Australia and Tasmania. They belong to a group of genera readily distinguished from the broadtails by the uniform coloration of the feathers of the back; and are specially characterised by the bill being deeper than long, without any notch in its upper mandible, by the absence of a yellow collar on the neck, and the nearly uniform length of the four middle feathers of the tail. The turquoisine is about the size of a lark, its total length being 8} inches, of which rather more than half is occupied by the tail. It derives its name from the turquoise-blue on the front of the head and wing-coverts. The general colour of the upper-parts is green, with the forehead, a streak over the eye, the cheeks, and wing-covers turquoise-blue; the breast, abdomen, and the under tail-coverts are rich yellow, the sides green, and the inner wing-coverts marked by a chestnut-red patch. The outer upper wing-coverts, together with the under-coverts, are bright blue; while the primaries and primary-coverts are deep blue. In the tail the four middle feathers are green with black tips, and the remainder bluish green at the 134 PARROTS. base, with the inner webs black and the tips yellow. The female is somewhat paler. Turquoisines inhabit the south east of Australia, not ranging far inland, and being generally found in family-parties of from six to eight, although when the grass is in seed they assemble, with others of their kindred, in large flocks, to feast on their favourite food. These parrots are largely terrestrial TURQUOISINE GRASS-PARRAQUET (#2 nat, size). in their habits; and although the turquoisine nests in hollows of trees, other species select clefts of rocks in which to lay their eggs. .The number of the latter is generally eight; and the male is said to render no assistance in incubation. In New Zealand and some of the neighbouring islands this group of parrots is represented by the genus Cyanorhamphus, characterised by the upper mandible of the beak being black at the tip and pearly grey at the base; the red-fronted parraquet (C. nove-zealandic) being a well-known species. PARRAQUETS. 135 Crested Agreeing with the above-mentioned New Zealand parraquets in Parraquets. their parti-coloured beaks, the crested parraquets of New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands differ from other members of the family in the presence of a small crest of feathers on the head. In the New Caledonian crested parraquet (Nymphicus cornutus), of which the general colour is green, and the total length about 14 inches, the crest consists of two black feathers tipped with red, the nape has a yellow collar connecting the ear-coverts, the top of the front of the head is red, and the face black. In the smaller Uvean ee species (CV. weensis), contined to Uvea TA WW = SENS and perhaps Lifu in the Loyalty Group, pens REA the crest consists of six dark green feathers, curving forwards at the tips; there is no yellow collar on the neck, the middle of the forehead is red, and the i - “ty, face dark green. HEAD OF UVHAN PARRAQUET.—After Layard. One of the prettiest, and at the same time the best known, of the smaller parraquets is the Australian budgerigar (M/elopsittacus wndulatus), also known as_ the Australian love-bird, undulated grass-parraquet, or shell-parraquet, which is the sole representative of its genus. It differs from all the members of the subfamily yet noticed by the long tail-feathers being narrow and acuminate; and is distinguished from the allied genus Nanodes by the absence of a notch in the beak. It is widely distributed in Australia, and attains a total length of 74 inches, 4 of which are taken up by the tail. Such a well- known species as the budgerigar (a term meaning “pretty bird”) requires but little description; and this is the more fortunate, as the complex coloration renders any exact description somewhat difficult. Its general colour is grass- green, with the front of the head primrose-yellow, the tail blue, and the remainder of the head, neck, back, and wings mottled with undulating and alternating bands of greyish black and yellow. Each cheek has an oblique patch of blue, below which are three round black spots. The male is distinguished by the cere being black, instead of brown or cream-coloured, as it is in the female. The budgerigar is a very common bird in the neighbourhood of Adelaide, where it may be seen in large flocks, either perching on the gum-trees or Budgerigar. feeding on the ground. Its food consists mainly of seeds; and the female lays from four to nine eggs at a time, and produces two broods in the year. Its voice is a kind of warble, not devoid of melody, and in constant use. In the domestic state these little parraquets breed very freely; and, according to Mr. Greene, the great majority of those imported into England are bred on the Continent. Although readily tamed, the budgerigar is always apt to bite 136 PARKOTES. 3 severely ; while it is an undesirable inhabitant of an aviary, on account of its propensity to attack and disable smaller birds. Ground- The long-tailed Parraquets” oro wid pa rica Ole tenes ZH} Z iY Y swamp-parraquet (Pezoporus formosus), and the short-tailed ground-parraquet (Geopsittacus occidentalis), are two peculiar Australian species, of terrestrial habits, and easily distinguished from all others by the alternate dark and light bars with which the feathers of the tail are marked: hence the name of “pheasant-cuckoo” which is some- times apphed to the former. The swamp-parraquet may be compared in size to a thrush, its total length being 12} inches, of which the tail takes up 7} inches. It is characterised by the length of the tail, which exceeds that of the wings, and also by its long and straight nails; while the legs are also of considerable relative length. Its general colour is green, with a band of dark orange on the forehead, and the feathers of the crown and nape marked with a broad median streak of black. The remainder of the body plumage is mottled with irregular bands of black and yellow; the quills are brown, greenish outwardly, and marked W] Cvclen. \ with a yellow spot; and the bars on PVIMTIMIMNULUIUUUOO IDLE CCLLTUTUTUUIUOLLLLLLOUUTDLLUDLLUUULILUCLOOLILCOULIOOOLUA UDOT the ta il-feathers are alternatel y green ; ‘ y a BUDGERIGARS. and yellow. The “Old Bushman” writes that the swamp-parraquet “lives on the ground (but I have seen them perch on the tea-tree scrub), runs much and quickly, is hard to rise, flies in jerks, goes away very sharp before a wind, and is very pretty shoot- ing, rising from the grass and heather. We used to find them during the whole year, frequenting different localities at different times; and although they could scarcely be said to flock, I generally rose three or four on the same spot. Dogs will set them like quail.” They generally frequent sandy tracts covered with sparse grass and other herbage, and are but rarely seen in the neighbourhood of trees. The eggs are laid on the bare ground, and are brooded by both sexes in turn. The short-tailed ground-parraquet of the south and south-west of Australia differs by the tail being shorter than the wings, and the short and curved claws, as well as in coloration. It is essentially a nocturnal bird, spending the day in holes in the ground, and only issuing forth at sunset to wander abroad in search of food. OWL-PARROT. 137 re) A specimen in the London Zoological Gardens remained quiet and drowsy during the daytime, and only became lively and inclined to feed towards evening. It never attempted to perch, always remaining on the floor of its cage. Its ery was a sharp monotonous whistle; and its food consisted of corn and young shoots of grass. The flesh of both species of ground-parraquets is said to be delicate and well flavoured. THE OwL-PARROT. Family STRINGOPID.Z. From the practical absence in those islands of indigenous mammalian life, many of the birds of New Zealand have more or less completely lost the power of flight, owing to the disuse of their wings; and among these flightless species is a very remarkable member of the present order—the owl-parrot, or kakapo (Stringops habroptilus), which is not only the representative of a distinet genus but likewise of a separate family. This bird is distinguished from the other members of the order by the rudimentary condition of the keel of the breast-bone or sternum; and likewise by the radiating dise of feathers around the eye, which communicates the characteristic owl-like appearance to the head. The beak is thick and swollen on the sides, with no notch; and the nostrils open in a much inflated cere. The wings are short and rounded, with the fourth, fifth, and sometimes the sixth primaries the longest; and the tail is also comparatively short, with its extremity rounded, but the individual feathers pointed. The metatarsus is somewhat elongated, the nails moderately long, and the whole plumage rather soft. The ground-parrot is a somewhat large bird, attaining a total length of about 24 inches, 9 of which are occupied by the tail. The general colour of the plumage of the upper-parts is sap-green, each feather having a median yellow line margined with black, from which spring irregular black rays. The feathers of the front and sides of the head are, however, pale umber-coloured, with median lines of yellowish white; and those of the wings and tail are mainly brownish buff, variously mottled with black and lemon-yellow. Beneath, the prevailing tint is greenish yellow, tinged with lemon-yellow, and with somewhat similar dark markings. Although formerly distributed over the whole of New Zealand, the kakapo is now confined to the North Island and the northern half of the South Island; its semi-fossilised remains being found in association with those of the extinct moas. From many parts of the country it has been recently exterminated, and is rare in most regions, and mainly restricted to mountainous regions, and it is probably doomed to extinction at no very distant date. Many accounts of the habits of this interesting bird have been given, from among which we select the following from the pen of Sir George Grey. This observer writes that during the day the kakapo “remains hid in holes under the roots of trees or rocks, or very rarely perched on the boughs of trees 1 a very dense thick foliage. At these times it appears stupid from i found sleep, and if disturbed or taken from its hole, immediately rut tries to hide itself again, delighting, if practicable, to cover itself in a soft dry grass; about 138 PARROTS. sunset it becomes lively, animated, and playful, issues forth from its retreat, and feeds on grass, weeds, vegetables, fruits, seeds, and roots. When eating grass, it grazes rather than feeds, nibbling the grass in the manner of a rabbit or wombat. It sometimes climbs trees, but generally remains upon the ground, and only uses its short wings for the purpose of aiding its progress when running, balancing itself when on a tree, or in making a short descent—half jump, half flight—from Si THE OWL-PARROT (2 nat. size). an upper to a lower bough. When feeding, if pleased with its food, it makes a continued grunting noise. It eats greedily, and is choice in its food, showing an evident relish for anything of which it is fond. It cries repeatedly during the night, with a noise not very unlike that of the kaka, but not so loud. The kakapo is a very clever and intelligent bird, in fact singularly so; contracts a strong affection for those who are kind to it; shows its attachment by climbing about and rubbing itself against its friend; and is eminently a social and playful bird. It builds in holes under trees and rocks, and lays two or three white eggs about the size of a pullet’s in the month of February; and the young birds are found in OWL-PARROT. 139 March. The natives assert that, when the breeding-season is over, the kakapo lives in societies of five or six in the same hole; and they say that it is a provident bird, and lays up in the fine season a store of fern-root for use in the bad weather.” The extermination or reduction in the numbers of the owl-parrot in certain districts is attributed to the ravages of dogs, cats, or rats, which have run wild in many parts of the island ; and it is not improbable that in some parts, at least, pigs have likewise had a share in the work of destruction. According to Haast these birds are generally found in the open mossy glades of the beech-forests; although they also frequent open hillsides, where they hide among blocks of stone. On two occasions the same observer met with a single kakapo during broad daylight, from which he is led to consider that these parrots are not so strictly nocturnal as has been supposed. CPAP eR xe: THE OwWLs AND OspREYs,—Orders STrIGES AND PANDIONES. THE well-known and peculiar physiognomy characterising most of the owls renders the group as readily distinguishable as that of the parrots. This characteristic “ owl-face” is due, firstly, to the forward direction of the eyes; and, secondly, to a circular dise of radiating feathers, more or less distinctly developed round each eye, and which may be bounded by a ruff of closely-set feathers. In common with many diurnal birds of prey, the owls have a short, stout beak, of which the upper ridge is strongly curved, and the tip deflected in a perpendicular direction; at its base is a cere, usually covered with stiff bristles concealing the nostrils. The feet are furnished with strong, curved, and sharp claws, and have the fourth toe reversible. The metatarsus, or cannon-bone, although longer than in the parrots, is comparatively short and wide, with the upper part of its front surface deeply excavated, and usually furnished with a bony bridge over the outer part of the hollow ; at its lower end the three pulley-like trochlez, when viewed from below, are arranged in an arch. In the tibia, or leg-bone, there is no bony bridge at the lower end, as in most parrots. The short skull has no well-marked hinge at the root of the beak; the palate is of the bridged, or desmo- gnathous type ; and the lower mandible has a short and shallow symphysis, and its angle is not produced behind the surface for articulation with the quadrate bone. The oil-gland is pre- THE RIGHT CANNON-BONE, gent, but naked. a Baa ed The foregoing characters, especially those of the toes and leg-bones, serve to distinguish the owls from the parrots on the one hand, and the diurnal birds of prey on the other; but the two are very closely connected in these respects by the ospreys. In addition to the features noticed, owls, as a rule, are characterised by the large size and dense feathering of their heads, the softness and fluffiness of the whole plumage, and their big, round eyes; the feet being usually feathered down to the toes. The ears are usually of large size, and are often protected by an operculum or lid; from which we may infer that the sense of hearing in these birds is highly developed. Many owls are furnished with tufts or erests of feathers above the eyes, popularly known as horns or ears, but more properly termed ear-tufts. The coloration is usually a mottled blending of various sombre tints; bright colours being, as might be expected in 1 The bridge over the hollow at the upper end is imperfect. GENERAL CHARACTERS. 141 nocturnal birds, invariably absent. The young are born in a helpless condition, and covered with down; and the eggs are invariably white, and of a rounded form. In size these birds are subject to great variation; the eagle-owls reaching to 28 inches in length, while the owlets are not larger than a thrush. Considerable diversity of view has obtained as to the affinities of the owls, some authorities considering that their nearest relationships are with the diurnal birds of prey, while others regard them as more nearly related to the Picarians. From their osteology alone they appear, however, to be related on the one hand to the parrots, while on the other they are intimately connected through the ospreys with the diurnal birds of prey; in their soft internal parts they differ, however, very con- siderably from the latter. Distibution and Unhke the parrots, the owls (of which there are probably about Habits. — two hundred species), enjoy a cosmopolitan distribution, ranging from the Arctic regions to the most distant islands of Oceania. The great majority of them are crepuscular and nocturnal in their habits, and are more or less completely dazed if disturbed and driven from their haunts during the daytime. Others, how- ever, are but little incommoded by daylight; while the hawk-owls actually seek their prey in the full glare of the sun. As owls subsist entirely on living prey, which at night must be closely approached before it can be detected, an absolutely silent flight is essentiai, and this is effected by the soft and fluffy nature of their plumage. It is doubtless from this ghost-like, stealthy flight, coupled with their nocturnal habits, their large glaring eyes, and their weird hootings and screechings, that these birds have in all ages and in all countries been regarded as creatures of ill-omen. Indeed, in this respect, owls hold a position among birds precisely similar to that occupied by lemurs among mammals; with the difference that, owing to distribution, while in the one case the superstition is universally diffused, in the other it is confined to certain races inhabiting the warmer regions of the Old World. While the majority of owls are arboreal, some of the species roost in holes or clefts of rocks or in buildings. It is common to see owls in museums mounted with three toes in front of and one behind the perch on which they are seated. An anonymous observer states, however, that this is totally incorrect, and that no living owl ever places three toes in front of his perch, although he could do this for a moment if he felt so minded. The same writer also observes that “no owl seizes his prey or holds it with both feet, though both feet may be used to carry it when the prey is a large one; such quarry, for instance, as a full-grown rat. With one foot the owl grasps his prey, the other foot grasps a tuft or some other inequality of the ground. Then the bird goes to work.” Owls feed chiefly on small mammals, such as rats, mice, voles, and shrews— more especially the two latter The large eagle-owls will readily attack and kill hares, rabbits, and the largest game-birds ; and it is undoubtedly the case that such species inflict much harm on game-preserves. The smaller kinds do, however, far more good than harm to the as well as on birds, reptiles, fishes, and insects. agriculturist ; and although they were formerly shot down ruthlessly, both by the gamekeeper and the farmer, there is some reason to believe that the latter, at least, is beginning to see the error of his ways. If proof were needful of the usefulness of these birds in keeping in check the pestilential field-vole, it is afforded by the flocks 142 OWLS. of owls that collected from all sides to prey on the hosts of these rodents which recently infested portions of Scotland. In all owls the indigestible remnants of their food, such as bones, feathers, hair, scales, etc., are formed into pellets in the stomach, and disgorged; such castings affording incontestible evidence of the nature of the food of these birds. All owls are furnished with a syrinx, or organ of voice, which most of them know only too well how to use; their cries taking the form of hooting, howling, screeching, or a weird kind of laughter. It is from these cries that the names of these birds are derived in many languages, as witness the English owl, the German ewle, the Latin ulula, and the Hindustani wu. Barn-OwLs. Family STRIGIDZ. Although one of the commonest and most familiar of all the group, the barn- owl (Strix flammea) is of special interest as constituting, together with a few nearly-allied forms, a family apart from that which includes all the other repre- sentatives of the order. This family (Strigid@) is characterised by the breast-bone, or sternum, having its lower margin entire, and also by its keel being firmly united with the furcula. Then, again, the third claw has its inner margin serrated, while the second and third toes are of equal length. An additional peculiarity is to be found in the presence of a small patch of stiff feathers between the adjacent portions of the face-discs. In the cannon-bone the bridge over the hollow at the upper end is absent. As a genus, the barn-owls are characterised by the completeness of the dises round the eyes, which are large, and narrow rapidly as they approach the beak. The wings are long, and extend considerably beyond the tail; the beak is straight at the base, and decurved only at the tip; and the aperture of the ear is large, and furnished with a distinct lid. The head is devoid of tufts, and the rather long legs are feathered down to the origin of the toes. The common barn-owl has a wider distribution than any other member of the order, being in fact almost cosmopolitan, although comparatively rare in the extreme north, and unknown in New Zealand, parts of Oceania, Persia, Japan, and China. With this extensive distribution, it would be only natural to expect great variation in the colour of the plumage; and, as a matter of fact, we find representatives of this owl from widely distant regions so unlike one another that it is at first sight difficult to believe that they belong to the same species, more especially as there are also differences in point of size. In the ordinary British form, of which the length averages 14 inches, the face-dises are white, with their margins defined by the feathers being tipped with brown; the top of the head and neck are pale buff, dotted with specks of black and white; on the back and wings a darker buff, speckled with grey and irregularly mottled with black-and-white, obtains; the tail-feathers are pale buff above, marked with five transverse grey bands; and the whole of the under-parts are white. From this normal coloration there is every intermediate stage to one where the eye-dises are rusty red, the under-parts tawny, and the back darker than usual; while in other cases the discs may be grey, and the whole plumage tending more or less to this tinge. In other instances, however, BARN-OWTLS. 143 grey may exist only on the discs, while both the upper and under-parts are of various shades of tawny and yellowish brown. Mr. Dresser remarks that the American form is slightly larger and darker, and the Indian variety both darker and of a clearer grey above than the ordinary type. In Britain the barn-owl is generally distributed, and resident throughout the year, although it becomes less numerous in Scotland, and as far north as Ross and Caithness but seldom nests. Strictly nocturnal in its Habits. mn AAI BARN-OWLS (4 nat. size). habits, this owl spends the day in the recesses of buildings, or in hollow trees, generally standing with closed eyes. Like other owls, it associates in pairs, and such pairs, if undisturbed, will return year after year to the same nesting-place. In hunting, the barn-owl quarters its ground with the regularity of a spaniel, and its food consists chiefly of voles. Its usual ery is a kind of scream, but the young utter a snorting sound. In Europe this owl is a late breeder, usually commencing to lav from the middle to the end of April, but sometimes not till May. The number of eggs in a nest generally ranges from three to six, although seven have 144 OWLS. been taken. In California the nesting may be as early as January, and there, as in other parts of America, the nest may be made in some hole in a bank, which is enlarged to suit the requirements of its tenants. Writing of the habits of the American barn-owl (which he regards as a distinct species), Captain Bendire observes that, strictly speaking, this owl “makes no nest. If occupying a natural cavity of a tree, the eggs are placed on the rubbish that may have accumulated at the bottom; if in a bank, they are laid on the bare ground and among the pellets of small bones and fur ejected by the parents. Frequently quite a lot of such material is found in their burrows, the eggs lying on and among the refuse. Incubation usually commences with the first egg laid, and lasts about three weeks, The eggs are almost invariably found in different stages of development, and young may be found in the same nest with fresh eggs. Both sexes assist in incubation, and the pair may be sometimes found sitting side by side, each with a portion of the egas under them.” When the eggs are hatched at distant intervals, it is probable that the warmth of the young birds aids in their incubation during the absence of the parents. It is on record that the eggs of a barn-owl have been removed and replaced by those of a hen, which have been successfully hatched. The grass-owl (S. candida) is an allied species, ranging from India to Japan and Formosa, and found almost exclusively in long grass; while in South Africa the common species is replaced by the Cape barn-owl (S. capensis). Both these species differ from S. flammea in having the upper surface of a uniform brown colour, with spots of white, and lacking the mottlings of grey and black characteris- ing the former. Family BUBONID.Z. With the comparatively small species, represented on the left side of the figure on the opposite page, known as Tengmalmn’s owl (Vyctala tengmalini), we come to the first representative of the second family of the order, distinguished from the last by the breast-bone having two or more distinct notches in its lower border, and also by its keel being firmly attached to the furcula; in addition to which the third toe is not serrated, and is always longer than the second. The cannon-bone, or metatarsus, has a bridge over the hollow at the upper end. Tengmalm’s owl belongs to a group of three genera, characterised by having the tube of the ear large and furnished with a well-developed lid; and also by the face-dise being distinct and extending as much above as below the eye. Tengmalm’s owl, together with the Acadian owl (Y. acadica) of North America, are the representatives of a genus distinguished by the absence of tufts on the head, by the extreme shortness of the cere, and the curious circumstance that the bony tube of the ear is quite unsymmetrical on the two sides of the skull. The toes are thickly feathered, the head is relatively large, the under mandible notched, the wings long and rounded, and the tail short. This owl measures only from 84 Tengmalm’s Owl. to 10 inches in length, and may be easily recognised by its thick and fluffy plumage, which stands out widely on each side of the head, and by its prettily-mottled coloration. The general colour of the upper-parts is pale brown, mottled with white bars, and the forehead spotted with white. The tail-feathers are marked with five interrupted whitish bars, and the under-parts are greyish white, mottled with clove- TENGMALM’S OWL. 145 brown. This species, which is rarely met with asa straggler in the British Isles, is an inhabitant of the forest-regions of Northern Europe and Siberia, ranging in Russia as far as the Urals; and also occurring as a straggler in Nipal, Southern Europe, and North Africa. Across the Atlantic it reappears in Eastern North America. In habits it is strictly nocturnal, rarely being seen abroad in the daytime, and always dazed and stupid in a strong light. It frequents the densest recesses of the forests, and nests early in hollow trees, laying its eggs, from four to six in number, on the bare wood at the bottom of the hole. The Acadian owl], in addition to its smaller size, differs by the nearly uniform TENGMALM’S OWL AND PIGMY OWL (4 nat. size). 3 colour of its upper surface, by the replacement of the spots on the forehead by stripes, and the presence of only three white bars on the tail. In length it only measures 64 inches, so that it is smaller than a robin. Both species feed chiefly upon insects. Writing to Dr. Coues of the Acadian owl, a correspondent observes that, “in the hollow of an oak tree, not far from Germantown, lives an individual of the common ehickari squirrel with a specimen of this owl as his sole companion. They occupy the same hole together in perfect harmony and mutual goodwill. It is not an accidental temporary association, for the bird and the squirrel have repeatedly been observed to enter the same hole together, as if they had always shared the apartment. But what benefit can either derive from the other ?” Beer The clear, hooting cry or laughter-like scream of the common English tawny or wood-owl is probably familiar to most residents in VOL. IV.—10 146 OWLS. wooded districts. The genus of which this owl is the best known representative includes comparatively large species, distinguished from Nyctala by the ears and their tubes being symmetrical, while the toes may be either feathered or bare. All of the species frequent woods and groves, where hollow trees are abundant, and the whole of them are strictly nocturnal in their habits. Their flight is soft and noiseless, and their food, in addition to small birds and mammals, may THE TAWNY OWL (} nat. size). include frogs and fish. They breed early; and while some of the species select woods as their nesting-places, others prefer old buildings. Nearly thirty members of the genus are recognised, whose range embraces the whole world, with the exception of Madagascar, certain of the Malay Islands, Australia, and Oceania. The tawny brown, or wood-owl, as it is indifferently called (Syrnium aluco), belongs to an extensive group of the genus, characterised by the crown of the head being either barred or mottled, and the completely feathered toes. It is by no means one of the largest representatives of Tawny Owl. WOOD-OWTLS. 147 the genus, its total length being about 15 inches. The colour of the face-dise is greyish white, margined with brown; the crown of the head, neck, back, and wings, are a mixture of ashy grey mottled with shades of brown; the primary quills are barred with dull white and brown; and the tail-feathers, with the exception of the middle pair, are also barred with the latter colour. On the under-parts the ground- colour is greyish white, upon which there are longitudinal streaks and mottlings of brown, without any trace of transverse bars. The tawny owl is still common in Britain, although rare in Scotland, most English woods having a pair of these birds. From Britain their range extends over Europe as far as 67° north latitude, and eastwards to the Urals; while it also embraces North Africa, Syria, and Turkestan. This owl is essentially nocturnal, seldom stirring from its sylvan resting-place during the daytime, and if driven forth being more completely dazed than any other British species. It is this species which is generally mobbed by a crowd of small birds, such as tits, finches, and warblers, when seen abroad by day. Oak and beech-woods, where hollow trunks are numerous, are the favourite haunts of the tawny owl; although occasionally the choice falls on ruins or towers. In addition to voles, shrews, rats, and mice, its food includes an occasional young hare or rabbit, and sometimes frogs, fish, and beetles. It is an early breeder, laying its three or four eggs in March, or even earlier. These are usually deposited in a hollow tree, but sometimes in ruins or old chimneys, or even in a deserted rabbit-hole, or on the bare ground; while occasionally an old rook’s nest is selected. The clear hooting ery, like the words tu-whit, to-who, is uttered at morning and evening; while the laughter-like cry appears to be peculiar to the breeding-season. The young owls are fed by the parents for a considerable time after leaving the nest, and are reported to be more easily reared in captivity than are those of any other species. The great grey owl (S. cimereum) of Arctic America, and the closely allied Lapp owl (S. lapponicum) of Northern Europe and Asia, are much larger birds than the tawny owl, and are easily recognised by the grey face-dise being marked by a number of fine concentric brown lines. The great grey owl has the plumage darker, with less distinct streaks on the breast, than its European cousin; but Captain Bendire regards the two as merely varieties of a single species. The great grey owl ranges from the shores of Hudson Bay to the limits of forest in about latitude 68°, but in winter it migrates southwards even beyond the Canadian border into the Northern United States. The Lapp owl, which is one of the rarest of the European species, is confined to the boreal districts, in the upper part of the forest-belt, occasionally straying to North Central Europe. It is distributed over Northern Seandinavia, Finland, and North Russia. The total length of the grey owl may be as much as 30 inches. The Lapp owl nests on the summits or forked branches of broken firs, in the former case making little or no nest, but in the latter erecting a large structure of twigs. The number of eggs in a clutch is probably from two to four. Writing of the great grey owl, Captain Bendire observes that “from the limited information we possess about the nesting-habits of this species it appears that in Alaska these birds nest sometimes as early as April, and in the interior as late as June. From two to four eggs seem to be laid to a set, and these are small for the size of the Great Grey Owl. 148 OWLS. bird. The body of the great grey owl is, however, much smaller than that of the ereat horned owl, in fact but little larger than that of the barred owl. The long tail and the loose fluffy plumage of the bird make it look much larger than it really is.” The Ural owl (S. wralense), of which a pair are represented in our illustration, belongs to a subgroup distinguished from the preced- ing forms by the feathers of the head and neck having a simple median dark Ural Owl. URAL OWL (2 nat. size). streak, without any lateral bars. In this species the facial disc is dusky white, and the ruff pure white with dark median streaks to the feathers; on the upper- parts the general colour is dull white streaked with dark brown, each feather being brown in the middle and white on the sides; on the under-parts below the head the hue is whitish, some of the feathers being tinged with yellow, and all of them with a dark median streak. The quills of the wings are brown, with whitish tips, and marked with bands of paler brown, tending to ashy on their outer webs; and the tail-feathers are very similarly coloured. The total length of this fine bird is 274 inches. The Ural owl is distributed over Northern and Eastern Europe, and North WOOD-OWLS. 149 and Central Siberia, where it is locally not uncommon, especially in Scandinavia, Russia, South-East Germany, and Transylvania. In Mongolia, China, and Japan, it is replaced by the dusky owl (S. fuscescens), which is smaller in size and darker and redder in colour. Its habits, according to Mr. Dresser, are still imperfectly known; but in the breeding-season it frequents forests and hills, while in the winter it seeks the open country. It nests early in April; and its pairing-call has been compared to the bleating of a goat. Occasionally it may be seen hunting during the daytime. Another well-known representative of the genus is the barred owl (S. nebulosum) of Eastern North America, distinguished from all the preceding species by the chest having a regular series of dark cross-bands, in addition to the longitudinal streaks. The general colour of the upper surface is light brown, with white cross-bands ; the dark tail being marked with six light brown bars; and the beak greenish yellow. Captain Bendire writes that the barred owl “is nocturnal in its habits, but nevertheless sees well enough, and even occa- sionally hunts, in the daytime, especially during cloudy weather. The flight is easy, and though quite swift at times it is perfectly noiseless. A rapidly passing shadow distinetly cast on the snow-covered ground, is often the sole cause of its presence being betrayed as it glides silently by the hunter’s camp-fire in the still hours of a moonlight night. Far oftener, however, it announces itself by the unearthly weird call-notes peculiar to this species, which surpass in startling effect those of all other owls with which I am familiar. It is necessary to listen to such a vocal concert to fully appreciate its many beauties (7), as it is impossible to give an accurate description of the sounds produced when a pair or more of those birds try to outdo one another.” The barred owl generally nests in hollow trees among damp forests, the time of laying ranging from February to April, according to the latitude. Occasionally eggs have been taken resting on a solid cake of ice. No matter how frequently the nest be despoiled, a pair of birds will return to the same site year after year; and if one clutch of eggs be taken, they will soon be replaced by a second. Barred Owl. Mottled Wood- The mottled wood-owl (S. ocellatum) of India, which attains a Owl. length of 21 inches, may be selected as an example of another section of the group with feathered toes, characterised by the under surface of the body being marked with regular eross-bars without any dark longitudinal streaks. This particular species has a blackish beak, the dark bars on the breast very narrow, and the upper surface uniform brown with spots or bars of white. Mr. Hume says that this ow! is most commonly met with in moderately dry country, well furnished with large groves. It usually lays two eggs in a cavity or fork of some large tree, at a height of from eight to twenty-five feet from the ground, without attempt to form a nest. Certain other species of the genus, such as S. lepto- grammicum. of Borneo and several South American forms, while agreeing with all the preceding in having the plumage of the crown of the head either mottled or barred, differ in their more or less completely naked toes. In the second main group of the genus, comprising five species, of which the Indian brown wood-owl (S. indian?) will serve as an example, the crown of the head is, on the contrary, always of a uniform brown; the toes being either feathered or bare. The Indian 150 OWLS. brown wood-owl, which is uniform chocolate-brown above, becoming darker on the head, attains a length of 28 inches; it is replaced in the Himalaya by the rather smaller Nipal brown wood-owl (S. newarense). Although several groups of owls are furnished with the tufts of feathers, commonly denominated ears, it will be convenient to restrict the title of eared owls to the members of the genus Aszo, which includes the common Eared Owls. SHORT-EARED OWL (4 nat size), long and short-eared owls of Britain. While agreeing with those of the two preceding genera in the structure of their ears and the form of the facial dise, the owls of this genus are readily distinguished by the presence of longer or shorter ear-tufts, and also by the cere being of much greater length. In all of them the lower mandible is notched, the tube of the ear very large, the wings long, usually with the second quill the longest, and the legs and toes are generally more or less feathered to the claws. They are all purely nocturnal birds, seldom or never hunting by day, and not leaving their roosts till evening. They may frequent either woods or open country, and nest either in trees or on the ground. Their flight is very silent, and their ery a loud hoot. The species are few. EARED OWLS. 151 The short-eared owl (A. accipitrimus) is a common and well- known British species, having an almost world-wide distribution, and ranging from the Arctic regions to South America and Africa, although unknown in Australia and Oceania. The distinctive character of the species is the shortness of the ear-tufts, which are less than the length of the third toe and claw. The general colour of the upper-parts is fulvous or tawny, with each feather streaked with brown down the middle; whereas in the allied Cape eared-owl (A. capensis) the same surface is uniform brown. In the common species the under-parts are pale buff, with streaks of blackish brown; the wings and tail are barred with brown (five stripes on the latter); the facial dise dusky with a whitish border; the beak horn colour; and the iris golden-yellow. The whole length of the bird varies from 14 to 15 inches, and, when closed, the wings reach beyond the end of the tail. Widely distributed in Great Britain, the short-eared owl breeds but sparingly, many of the specimens seen being merely winter visitants. In place of frequenting woods and groves, this owl haunts open moors, fields—either stubble, grass, or turnips,—and generally nests on the ground rather than on trees or bushes. Although mainly nocturnal, if flashed during the day—as not unfrequently happens in partridge-shooting—it flies strongly and well; and it is even said to Short-Eared Owls. hunt its prey at times in cloudy weather during daylight. Its cry is said to resemble the words keaw-keaw. In most parts of Europe the chief food of the short-eared owl consists of voles, but in Scandinavia it preys almost exclusively on lemmings. It also kills small birds and beetles. At such times as plagues of the short-tailed vole have made their appearance in the British Islands it has been this owl which has made its appearance in the greatest numbers to prey upon the obnoxious rodents; and it also collects in similar flocks during the periodical migrations of the lemming in Norway. It is a curious circumstance that although the number of eggs laid by this bird is generally four, yet when food is unusually abundant, as during a lemming-migration, the number in a clutch will rise to seven or eight; and during the recent vole-plague in Scotland even larger numbers are recorded, reaching to as many as thirteen. The eggs are usually laid in a hollow of the ground, with only a very slight nest. In India Jerdon states that this owl “is almost exclusively found in long grass, and in beating for florikan many are always flushed; one now and then paying the penalty of keeping com- pany with such a game-bird by falling to the gun of some tyro. It is migratory in India, coming in at the beginning of the cold weather, and leaving about March.” In North America the breeding-range of this owl extends from the middle of the United States to the Arctic regions. “Its home,” writes Captain Bendire, “is amidst the rank grasses or weeds usually found along the borders of lakes and sloughs in the open prairie country, where it hides during bright sunshiny days. If the sky is clouded, this owl may be frequently seen hunting in the early morn- ing or evening, and sometimes in the middle of the day, and at such times it flies very low, not more than a few feet from the ground, which it carefully scans for its humble prey. Its flight is remarkably easy, graceful, and perfectly noiseless. From the fact that these owls are generally seen in pairs at all seasons of the year, it is very probable that they remain mated through life.” While in the Arctic regions the nesting of this owl is often deferred till June, in the more southern 152 OWLS. portions of its range it takes place in March or April. In defence of their eggs or young, both sexes of the short-eared owl display but little boldness, usually circling round and round the intruder, uttering a shrill ery, accompanied by a snapping of the beak, but not making any attempt at a direct attack. As its name implies, the long-eared owl (A. ofus) belongs to a group of which there are three or four representatives, characterised by the great length of the ear-tufts, which are about as long as the third toe and claw. From its beautifully mottled plumage, of which the general colour above is Long-Eared Owl. "aii al Wanwndlctnin “Mh JA inh =n SS - = mN: h \ = \ = = — —— i i UNS. ee He } i SCOPS OWL AND LONG-EARED OWL ({ nat. size). blackish brown variegated with orange-buff, while beneath it is orange-brown streaked and barred with black, this owl is one of the handsomest of the British species. The facial dise is dusky white, with hair-like lines of brown, while immediately round the eyes the feathers are blackish. The head is finely mottled dusky and tawny; and both the quills and tail feathers are barred with dark brown, the number of such bands on the tail being seven. The bill is dusky horn- colour, and the iris of the eye orange-yellow. In size this owl is rather inferior to the short-eared species, its total length being 134 inches. The typical form of the long-eared owl] is distributed all over Europe as far north as the 64th parallel, while southwards it ranges to North Africa in winter, and eastwards it extends to China, Japan, and North-Western India. In North America, as far south as Mexico, it is replaced by the American long-eared owl, regarded by Dr. Sharpe as a mere EARED OWLS. 153 variety, but considered by Captain Bendire and others to represent a distinct species (A. americanus). It is distinguished from the European form by the darker tone of the entire plumage, and by the white feathers of the breast being striped down the middle with brown, and barred on the sides with the same tint. The European long-eared owl is a forest-dwelling bird; and while in Britain it is resident through the year, on the Continent and eastwards it is more or less migratory. On the Continent it is much more numerous in winter than summer ; and it is not unfrequent in the former season to see parties of from ten to sixteen, or even more, together; such parties assembling in the open fields. Im England a pair of these birds always keep to one particular wood. Unlike the majority of its kindred, this owl is a silent bird, making little or no noise, except when young ; on which account its presence is often unsuspected in districts where it may be comparatively common. It nearly always nests in woods, frequently selecting a deserted squirrel’s drey or crow’s nest in which to deposit its four or five eggs; the usual laying-time being March. Although mainly nocturnal, this species is not exclusively so, Mr. Tuke observing that in Yorkshire he has met it “in the woods, sailing quietly along, as if hawking, on a bright sunny day.” In their nests the same observer has detected remains of numerous small birds, as well as the foot of a young hare or rabbit. Both in Europe and America their chief food consists, however, of the various kinds of smaller rodents, although, where frogs are numerous, these also contribute to the menu. In America, Captain Bendire states that very few of the nests are built by the birds themselves; but one which had been thus constructed was formed of twigs of willows and aspens, and was re- markable for the depth of the cup, which was lined with hair. In mountainous regions it is stated that nests are occasionally made on cliffs Writing of the American form, the observer just referred to states that “in the daytime, parti- cularly on a bright sunny day, the long-eared owl will allow itself to be closely approached, and on discovering the intruder will try to make itself look slender and long by pressing the feathers, which are usually somewhat puffed out, close to the body, and sitting very erect and still. It might in such a position very readily be mistaken for a part of the limb on which it may be sitting. Occasionally, while on the ground, for instance, and being suddenly disturbed at a meal, they throw themselves into quite a different attitude—one of defiance, making themselves look much larger than they really are, and presenting a fierce and formidable front. I nearly stepped on one of them once while it was busily engaged in killing a ground- squirrel, which it had evidently just caught. The owl was sitting by the side of a fallen pine-tree, and as I stepped over it my foot was placed within twelve inches of the bird. All at once she seemed to expand to several times her normal size; every feather raised and standing at a right angle to the body; the wings were fully spread, thrown up, and obliquely backward, their outer edges touching each other over and behind the head, which likewise looked abnormally large; and this sudden change in appearance, combined with the hissing noise she uttered, made it appear a very formidable object at first sight.” The Jamaica long-eared owl (A. grammicus) differs from all the other repre- sentatives of the genus in that the number of light bands on the quills is ten; there being also about the same number on the tail-feathers. It is also dis- 154 OWLS. tinguished by the toes being completely bare, although it is approached in this respect by the Stygian owl (A. stygius) of Brazil. The pigmy owls, few of which exceed 8 inches in length, while several are less than six, bring us to the first representatives of the second subfamily of the Bubonide, which includes all the remaining members of the order. The group is characterised by the ear-tube being not larger than the Pigmy Owls. eye, and unprovided with an operculum, and also by the facial dise being unequal, and in some cases very imperfectly developed, the portion below the eye being always much larger than that above the same. The latter difference may be seen by comparing the figure of the Ural owl on p. 148 with that of the little owl on p. 159. The pigmy owls, of which the common species (Glaucidiwi passerinum) is represented on the right side of the illustration on p. 145, in addition to their small size, may be distinguished by the absence of ear-tufts, the inflated and swollen cere, in which are pierced the nostrils, by the first primary of the wing being short, the whole wing short and rounded, the tail also rounded, and more than half the length of the wing, and the metatarsus of moderate length, and densely feathered. There is not unfrequently some confusion between the members of this genus and the little owls of the genus Carine; but if it be remembered that while in the former the first primary is short, in the latter it is long, the difficulty will vanish. ‘There are some twenty species of pigmy owls, ranging over the greater part of the Old World, but not found eastwards of the Malay Islands; and also occurring in Southern North America and the whole of South America. For their size these little owls are bold and rapacious, many of them flying at birds of larger bulk than themselves. Usually nocturnal, and hunting in the morning and even- ings, they may at times be seen abroad in daylight. Mice, voles, lemmings, small birds, and large insects form their chief food; and their ery is a kind of whistling note, which may be imitated by blowing into a key. They build in hollow trees, without forming a nest. The common pigmy owl, which is unknown in Britain, is the smallest European representative of the order, and ranges over Europe and Northern Asia from Norway to Eastern Siberia. It belongs to a group of the genus in which the head is usually spotted or streaked, although oceasionally nearly uniform ; the second great group of the genus being distinguished by the regular barring of the top of the head. In size this species attains a length of 84 inches; and its general colour above is umber-brown, becoming ashy on the head and back, and variegated with yellowish white spots, tending to bars on the back. The head is thickly dotted with these round spots; the sides of the face are white, barred with dark brown; and the white breast is marked with longitudinal splashes of dark brown. The toes are thickly feathered. This owl is generally distributed in Norway, where it is commonly found during the summer in forests, either evergreen or deciduous; but in winter it approaches human habitations. A certain number of individuals migrate in winter. It may frequently be seen at midday, sitting silently on some bare tree; and when made bold by hunger, it will fly at and seize sparrows and tits while on the wing. It generally nests in hollow aspen trees, and lays four eggs at a time. Among the second group of the genus, or those in which the head is reoularly barred across, we may refer to the jungle owlet (G@. radiatum), of the plains of ORIENTAL HAWK-OWLS 155 India, and the large barred owlet (G. cuculoides), ranging from the Himalaya to Burma, and attaining a length of 11 inches. The former does not exceed 8 inches in length, and has nine bars of white, including the one at the tip, whereas in the larger species there are seven such bands. The large barred owlet has the whole plumage brown, banded with five transverse white bars, giving it a very unmistakable appearance ; but in the jungle owlet there is a large white patch at the base of the neck in front. The latter species is dispersed in forest regions all over India, and breeds in April and May, laying three or four eggs in the hollows of trees. These owlets are strong fliers, and will kill small birds on the wing in the daytime. Mr. Hume says that they can easily be tamed, and will then eat cooked meat, frogs, insects, or almost anything that may be offered them.