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23 WIST MAM STRUT
WnSTIR,N.Y. UStO
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■.;**«!"5wyS'-
T H fe
NATURAL HISTORY
O F
BIRD S.
FROM THE FRENCH OF THE
COUNT DE BUFFODT.
ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS;
A N D A
PREFACE, NOTES, and ADDITIONS^ i3Y THE TRANSLATOR.
IN NINE Volumes. VOL. vn.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR A. STRAHAN, AND T. CADELL IN THE STRAND j AND J, MURRAY, N° 31, F1EET-8TRBET,
M DCC xciir.
6;>L
67 3 /57
\> 7
«> rti.
O. Cx-C-
?)fi
CONTENTS
.OF T H 1
SEVENTH VOLUME.
fT'HE Woodpeckers The Green fVoodpecker
Page — — 6
Foreign Birds of the Ancient Continent^ which are related to the Green Woodpecker
1. The Palalaca, or Great Green Wood-
pecker of the Fhilipines
2. Another Palalaca, or the Spotted Green
Woodpecker of the Fhilipines
3. The Green Woodpecker of Goa
4. The Green Woodpecker of Bengal
5. The Goertan, or Green Woodpecker of
Senegal — —
6. The Little Striped Woodpecker of Senegal
7. The Gray-headed Woodpecker of the
Cape of Good Hope — "~ 2 5
^iRDs of the New Continent y which are
related to the Green Woodpecker , — * aS
1. The Striped Woodpecker of St. Domingo ib.
2. The Little Olive Woodpecker of St. Domingo
28
a a 3. TUq
18
— ib«
19 20
21
24.
CONTENTS.
II'
^j 1
f^:-
^-l 1
Page ^3. The Green Striped Woodpecker of Cayenne
4. The Little Striped Woodpecker of Cayenne 30
5. The Yellow Woodpecker of Cayenne 31 ^. The Ferruginous Woodpecker, Lath, 34
7. The Black breaftcd Woodpecker 315
8. The Rufous Woodpecker — 36
9. The Little Yellow-throated Woodpecker 37
10. The Lcaft Woodpecker of Cayenne 38
11. The Gold winged Woodpecker — 39. X2> The Black Woodpecker — 41
Birds ^fthe New Continent ^ wh ch are related
to the Black tVvurJpecker - — — 46
I. The White billed Woodpecker ib,«
S. The Pileated Woodpecker — 48
3. The Lineated Woodpecker — ^
4. The Red-necked Woodpecker «»• 53
5. The Lefler Black Woodpecker $^ 6« The Red-headed Woodpecker 5«
7, The Greater Spotted Woodpecker 57.
8. The Lefler Spotted Woodpecker 61
Birds of the Jncient Continent ^ which are
related to the Spotted fVoodpecker — 64,
1. The Nubian Woodpecker, Laib. ib,
2. The Great Variegated Woodpecker of
the Iflc of Luijon — 65
3. The Little Brow n-fpotted Woodpecker
of the Moluccas — — 66,
Bird s of the New Continent ^ which are related
to the Spotted fVoodpecker — — 67
1. The Spotted Woodpecker of Canada ib.
2. The Vaiied Woodpicker ■-• 68 , 3. The Variegated Jamaica Woodpecker 69
4. The Striped Woodpecker of Louifiana 71
S. The
CONTENTS.
3+ 35 36
37 38 39. 4«
4^; 48
53;
54
57
61
64 ib.
66 ^7
jj. The Variegated Wooilpcck.tr of Enccnada (t. The Hairy Woodpt\:k.er —
7, The Little Variegated Woodpecker of
Virginia, Bi4^\ — —
8. T he Variegated Woodpecker of Carolina 91 The Variegated Undated Woodpecker 10. The Woodpecker Creepers —
The PTryjjcck -— —
The Barbets -— — -
^he Tamatia — — The Tamatia with the Head and Throat Red
The Collared Tamatia — -^
The Beautiful Tamatia — -«.
The Black and White Tamatias —
The Barbets — »—
The Tellow throated Barbet —
STi&tf Black' throated Barbet — .
37?^ Black-brea/ied Barbet m.
Ti;*? Great Barbet — -.«
^T?/? Greeu Barbet < »— —
7i&^ Toucans — i —
T/&<? Toco — -».
Sn&^ TelloW'throated Toucan — •
5r&^ Red-bellied Toucan —
The Co chic at •— . -. The Hotchicat — -
37:>tf Aracaris —
2l&(? Grigri «—
ir&(? Kou'ick —
The Black' billed Aracari The Blue Aracari —
5?^^ Barbican —
Paffo
72 ib,
73
74 75 77
»7
88
— 9'
— 93
9J 9S
97 9«
— 99 ■~» loa
— 101 103 112
113
116
118 119
120 ib.
122 124
— ib. 126
123
The
M'- I
iv...
CONTENTS.
Tbe CalaoSf or Rhinoceros Birds Ibe Tcck — —
She Manilla Calao — - —
^he Calao, of the IJland of Panay *Ihe Molucca Calao — —
7he Malabar Calao — —
The Brae, or African Calao —
The Ahyffmian Calao — —
Tv^^ Philippine Calao — —
IT/Jj^ Round' helmeted Calao »—
IT/^^ Rhinoceros Calao — ^-
Foreign King Fijhers -^ ^—
^r^^/ Kino Fishers of the Old Continent
1. The Greateft King Fifher —
2. The Blue and Rufous King Fifher
3. The Crab King Fiflier —
4. The Thick-billed King Fiflier
5. The Pied King Fiflier -^
6. The Crcfted King Fiflier — .
7. The Blaclc-capped King Fiflier g. The Green-headed King Fiflier
9. The King Fiflier with Straw* coloured
Head and Tail — —
10, The White-collared King Fiflier
7 he Middle-fized King Fishers of the Ancient Continent — —
1. The Baboucard — —
2> The Blue and Black King Fiflier of Senegal — —
3. The Gray-headed King Fiflier
4. Yellow -fronted King Fiflier
^. The Lon^g-fliafted King Fiflier
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Small
CONTENTS.
Page
Stftall Kino Fishers of the Ancient
Continent — — 193
1. The Blue. headed King Fi(hcr ib.
2. The Rufous King Fifher — 194-
3. The Purple King Fiftier — ib.
4. The White. billed King Fiiher J95
5. The Bengal King Filher — 197
6. The Three-toed King Fiflier 198
7. The Vintfi — — »99
^he Kino Fishers of the New Continent,
Great Species , — — 201
I. The Taparara -— — ib.
a. ThcAlatli — — 203
3, The Jaquacati — — 205
4. The Matuitui — — 207
^ddU-ftzed K.i'mG Fishers c/ //^^ New
Continent — — 209
1. The Green and Rufous King Fiflier ib;
2. The Green and White Kipg Fiflier 210
3. The Gip-Gip — — an
Small King Fishers of the New Continent,
1. The Green and Orange King Fiflier 212
2. The Jacamars — — 213
3. The Jacamar properly fo called 2x4
4. The Long-tailed Jacamar — 216
5. The Todies — — • 218
6. The North American Tody — 219
7. The Tic-Tic, or South American Tody 221 ^. The Orangc-bellicd Blue Tody 222
^he Aquatic Birds
224. the
Hi
f ;
CONTENTS.
the Stork — — —
The Black Stork — —
Foreign Birds which are related to the Stork
1. The M.nguari ■" —•
2. The Couricaca --• —
3. The Jabiru •*- —
4. The Nandapoa ^*- —
'The Crane
The Collared Crane — — —
Cranes 0/ the New Continent —
1. The White Crane — -•
2. The Brown Crane ^^ —
i^oreign Birds which are related to the Crane
I. The Numidian Crane —
1. The Royal Bird — —
3. The Cariama — "-"
4. The Secretary, or Mcflengct
5. The Kamichi — —
'the Common Heron >
The Great JVhite Heron —
The Black Heron — —
T^be Purple Heron — -
The Violet Heron —
T'he iVhite Garzette —
The Little Egret — •
Herons of the New Continent " —
1. The Great Egret — —
2. The Rufous Egret — *-•
3. The Demi Egret — —
4. The Soco *- —
Page 261
365
ib. 267 270
275
277 295
296
ib. 299
301
ib. 306
3«3 316
323
329
350 353
354
35S ib.
357
361
ib.
362
362
364
5. The
CONTENTS.
Pflge
5. The Black -capped White Heron 365
6. The Brown Heron —• ib.
7. The Agami Heron — — 366
8. The Hoai — — 367
9. The Houhou — — 368 JO. The Great American Heron 369 II. The Hud Ton's Bay Heron — 370
— 37«
The Crab Catchers — <
Crab Catchers of the Old Continent 27a
1. The Squaiotta Heron — • ib.
2. The Rufous Heron — 373
3. The Chefnut Heron — 37+
4. The Sguacco Heron «» 375
5. The Mahon Crab Catcher — 376
6. The Coromandel Crab Catcher ib*
7. The White and Brown Crab Catcher 377
8. The Black Crab Catcher — ib.
9. The Little Crab Catcher — 378
10. The Blongios — — 379
Crab Catchers of the New JVorld 381
1. The Blue Crab Catchers — ib.
2. The Brown- ncciced Rlue Crab Catcher 382
3. The Iron-gray Crab Catcher 383
4. The Red-billet White Crab Catcher 384
5. The Cinereous Crab Catcher 385 6' The Purple Crab Catcher — ib.
7. The Cracra — — 3B6
8. The Chalybeate Crab Catcher 387
9. The Grenn Crab Catcher — 388
10. The Spotted Green Crab Catcher 389
11. The Zilatat — — 390
VOL. VII,
12. The
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*^#'r
n
i.
C O N T P: N T S.
Page
12. The Rufous Crab Catcher with Green
Head aiul Tail — — 390
13, The Gray Crab Catcher with Gieen
Head and Tail — — 391
^he Open Bui —
37^^ Bitiern —
Birds of the Old Continent which are related to the Bittern —
1. The Greater Bittern
2. The LifJc iSittcrn
3. The Rayed Grown Bittern
4. Thr Rufous Bittern
5. The Little Senegal Bittern
6. The Spotted Bittern
Birds of the New Continent which are related
to the Bittern ' 411
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1. The Starred Bittern —
2. The Yellow Bittern of Brazil
3. The Little Bittern of Cayenne
4. The Hudfon'i Bay Bittern
5. T he Onore —
6. The Rayed Onore —
7. The Onore of the Woods
^he Bihoreaii ■ • —
7he Bihoreau of Cayenne —
^he tufted Umbre -~ ^he Comlviy or Courlan —
^he Savacou — —
TU IVhite ^poon Bill —
ib. 412
414
415 416
4«7
419 422
423
425 426
431
Ibe
■t 1
J !■
CONTENTS.
^he Woodcock —
Varieties of the Woodcock
I. The White Woodcock . —
3. The Rufous Wcodcocic —
3. The Greater and Leffer Woodcock
Page 4+2
— 458
— ib.
— ib.
459
Foreign Bird which is related to the Woodcock 460
I. The Savanna Woodcock «— jb.
^he Snipe — - — ^g,
^he Jack Snipe — — ^^q
The Brunette
472
Foreign Birds which are related to the Snipes 473
1. The Cape Snipe -^
2. The Madagalcar Snipe
3. The China Snipe —
The Barges m
The Common Barge —
The Barking Barge —
The Variegated Barge —
The Rufous Barge -—
The Gre't Rufous Barge
The Rufous Barge of Hudjon's Bay
The Brown Barge ■
The White Barge —
The Horfemen — .
The Common Horfeman —
The Redfjank -^
The Striped Horfeman —
The Variegated Horfeman
The White Horfeman — •
ib.
474 475
476^
479 480 481 482 483
484 485
486 48 8 489 490 492
494 496
The
CONTENTS.
i
^he Green Horfeman 7 he Ruff and Reeve ^he Maubeches —
*tbe Common Mauheche ^he Spotted Maubecbe ^he Gray Maubeehe ^e Sanderling —
The Green Sandpiper The Common Sandpiper The Sea Partridge -
The Gray Sea Partridge ■The Brown Sea Partridge The Giarole —
The Collared Sea Partridge The Sea Lark —
TheCinde —
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THE
illi
* 'a
I i
:\iuU''--'- ^-f ^^ \ THE
c : ■; .v V ', , ,
Natural history
O F
M. ■: )
B rr D S.
::;^ I
the WOODPECKERS*;
^ ■■ LesPics. BufF. .vvl :• PiVf. Linnxus, &c.
■;k .^
.i>;^.v-
THOSE animals alone, whicli live upon the fruits of the earth, join in fociety. Nature entertains them with a perpetual banquet, and abundance begets thofe gentle peaceful difpofitions which are fitted for ibcial intercourfe. Other animals are con- ftantly engaged in the purfuit of prey j
• In Greek the Woodpecker was called Al^5*50)to^snr1l}f, ifiguoxoXawIflv from hv^oi, a tree, ^^u?, an oak, and xoXxirlu, to hollow out by blows ; alfo Sti^oxoTr©-, from ^vXov, wood* and Mirlu, to cut, and in Hefychius ZircXtxl^, Ariftophanes calls it, OiXixay, from izr(X»Ktf, an ax, alluding to the form and ofRce of its bill : in modern Greek Kov^kovn yis. Pliny terms it Picus jlrborarius. The Hebrew name is Jnapba, and according to others, Ble/chlat, In Italian Pico, or Picchio. In Gerritan Specht. In Flemilh Spi ht. In Spanifh Bequebo. In Polifh Dzie^iol. In Turkifli Sagarieck.
VOL. VII, B urged
9 WOODPECKERS.
urged by want, reftrained by apprelienfions of danger, they depend for fubfiflence on the vigour of their own exertions : they have fcarce time to fatisfy their immediate defires, and no leifure to cherifh the bene- volent afFe6lions. Such is the folitary con- dition of all the carnivorous birds, except a few cowardly tribes which prowl on putrid carrion, and rather combine like robbers, than unite as friends.
And of all the birds which earn their fubfiftence by fpoil, none leads a life fo laborious and fo painful as the Woodpecker. Nature has condemned it to inceflant toil and llavery. \V^hile others freely employ their courage or addrefs, and either flioot on rapid wing, or lurk in clofe ambufh j the Woodpecker is conftrained to drag out an inlipid exiftence in boring the bark and hard fibres of trees, to extra6t its humble prey. Neceflity never fufFers any inter- miflion of its labours ; never grants am interval of found repofe : often during the night it fleeps in the fame painful poflure as in the fatigues of the day. It never fhares the cheerful fports of the other in- habitants of the air : it joins not their vocal concerts, and its wild cries, and faddening tones, w^hile they difturb the filence of the forefl:, exprefs condraint and effort. Its
move-
Woodpeckers. ^
movements are quick 5 its gcftures, full of inquietude ; its looks, coarfe and vulgar ; it fhuns all fociety, even that of its own kind *, and when it is prompted by luft to feek a companion, its appetite is not foft- ened by delicacy of feeling.
Such is the narrow and grofs inftindt fuited to a mean and a gloomy life. The organs with which the Woodpecker is fur- hifhed, correfpond to its deftination. Four thick nervous toes, two turned forwards^ and two backwards*, the one refembling a fpur, being lortgeft and ftouteftj all of them armed with thick hooked nails, con- ne6led to a very fhort and extremely muf- cular foot, enable the bird to cling firmly, and to creep in all directions on the trunks of trees -f-. Its bill is edged, ftraight, wedge- fhaped, fquare at the bafe, channelled long- wife, flat, and cut vertical at its tip like a chifel x this is the inftrument with which it pierces the bark, and bores into the wood, to extra6t the infeQs, or their eggs* The fubftance of the bill is hard and folid ||, and rifes out of the cranium, which is very thick. Powerful mufcles adt upon its fhort neck, and direfl its inceflaftt blows, which
• Aldrovandus.
t AriUotle. Li^. ix, 9.
)i Belon and Aridotle.
B 2
fonie«
Bff.
'. i
4 WOODPECKERS.
fometimes penetrate even to the pith cf the wood. It darts its long tongue, which IS tapered and rounded Hke an earth-worm, and tipt with a hard bony point,* like a needle. Its tail confids of ten fliif quills, bent inwards, truncated at the ends, belet with hard briftles j and this often fervcs it as a red, while employed in a conflrained, and often inverted, pofture. It breeds ia the cavities which it has in part formed itfelf J the progeny iflue from the heart of the tree, and, though furnifhed with wings, they are almoft confined to the verge of its circumference, and condemned to tread the dull round of life.
The genus of the Woodpecker contains a great number of fpecies, which differ in (ize and in colours. The largeft is equal in bulk to the crow ; and the fmalleft ex- ceeds not the titmoufe. But few individuals are included in each fpecies ; which muft ever be the cafe where a laborious courfe of life checks multiplication. Yet nature has placed Woodpeckers in all countries where (he has planted trees, and in greater plenty in the warm climates. There are only twelve fpecies in Europe, and in the arflic regions ; but we may reckon twenty- £evcn from the hot countries of America, of Africa, and of Afia. And thus, though
we
M I
'I'
WOODPECKERS. 5
we have confiderably abridged the number, thirty-nine fpccies ftill remain 5 fixteen of which were hitherto unknown. — We may obferve in general, that the Woodpeckers of either continent differ from other birds in the ftiape of the feathers of the tail, which terminate in a point more or lefs fharp.
The three fpecies of Woodpeckers known jn Europe are the Green, the Blacky and the Variegated. Thefe have no varieties in our climates, and would feem to have migrated from the parent families in both continents. After thele European ones, we (hall range |!^e foreign Woodpeckers ^kin to them,
^ 3
[ 6 3
. I i
:. f
The GREEN WOODPECKER*.
I ,• J : .'. i
,. It Pie Vert, BufF.
Picus Viridis. Linn. Gmel. &c. &c.
Th» Wood' Spite, Kainfo'wU High-hot or Hew-hoU, Will.
'Tp H I s 15 the beft known, and the moft common of the Woodpeckers. It ar- rives m the fpring, and makes the forefls refound with the fhrill harfli cries tiacacan^ tiacacan^ which are heard at a great diflance. Thefe founds are uttercd[ chiefly when it bounds in the air, (inking, and again riling by ftarts, and defcribing its waved tracks j but though it mounts only to a fmall height, it can fly from wood to wood. In the pair- ing feafon, it has, befides its ordinary cry, a call of court ftiip, which refembles in fome meafure a loud continued burft of laughter tio tiot tio, tio^ tio, repeated thirty or forty times in fucceflion -(-.
* Ariftotle terms it KoXt^. Among the Romans it re- celved the appellation Picus Martius, being conftgned to the God of War. In Italian it bears the names Plccio, and Pico Ver3e. In German, Grun-Speckt. In Swedifh, Wed- inarr, Groen-joeling and Groe»-Spick, In Danifh and Nor- wegian, Grott'Spat and Gnul-Spat. In Lapponic, Zhiane,
f Aldrovandus fays, that it is filent in fummer; pro- bably it refumes its cry in autumn, for in that feafon we have heard it make the woods to refound.
The
Wf
ICm^
THE GREETSr\V?)ODPECKEB..
GltEEN WOODPECKER. >
The Green-Woodpecker is fcen oftetier on the ground || than the other Woodpeck- ers, particularly near ant-hills, where we may be fure to find it, and even to catch it \>y means of a noofe. Ir inferts its long tongue into the narrow hole, through which the ants commonly ilTue, and as foon as it feels the tip covered with thefe infefts, k withdraws, and fwallows them. But when thefe little republicans are ina6tive and flill, or torpid with cold, the bird alfaults their citadel, and, employing both feet and bill, foon makes a breach, and at eafe de- vours them, and their chryfalids.
At other times it creeps againd the trees^ which it flrikes with incelTant blows ; and, labouring with the moil (Irenuous activity, it often ftrips them of all their bark. The flrokes of its bill are audible at a didance^ and may be diftin£lly counted. In other refpefls it is indolent, and will fufFer a perfon to approach near it, and will endea- vour only to conceal itfelf from the fportf- man, by warping round the branch, and flinging on the oppofite fide. It has been faid, that, after a few knocks, it removes to another part of the tree to obferve if it has pierced it; but its view is rather to
D Willoghby.
n ■
^ 4
gather
'I M
i^r:
i il
I* ■ i I
i\
W i III
I
> i '
r'*
8 GREEN WOODPECKER*
gather on the bark the infcdls which it has roufed and put in motion : and, what is more certain, it judges from the found of the blow in what cranics the worms are lodged, or where there is a proper cavity for its own accommodation.
It ufually forms its nell in the heart of fomc worm-eaten tree, at the height of fif- teen or twenty feet above the ground, and ofteneft in the fofter kinds of wood, the afpin, or the willow, rather than the oak. Bpth male and female, by turns, labour inceflantly in boring the frefli part of the timber, until they penetrate to the rotteti center. Then they fafhion and enlarge the cavity, and throw out with their feet the chips and wood dull: fometimes they make the hole fo deep and crooked, that the light cannot enter, and they rear their young in the dark. They commonly Liy five eggs, which are greenifh, with fmali black fpots. The infant brood begin to creep before they are able to fly. The parents feldom leave them 5 they rooft very early, and re- pofe in their holes till day.
Some naturalifts have thought the Green- Woodpecker was the rain- bird of the an- cientSi pluvia /^v/St bccaqfe it is generally believed to foretell rain by an unufual cry, which is drawling and plaintive, j[)beu, ph^u^
GREEN WOODPECKER. 9
pbeu^ and may be heard at a very confidcr- able diftance. Hence the Englifli call it rain-fowl, and fome provinces of France, fuch as Burgundy, it is vulgarly termed the miller s procurer (procureur du meunier), Thefe oblervers allege^ that as this bird fhews a forefight of the ftate of the atmo- fphere, fuperftiiion would naturally afcribe to it a more profound and wonderful faga- city. The Woodpecker held a principal rank among the aufpices * ; its hiflory or fable was interwoven with the mythology of the ancient heroes of Lctium -f* ; its geftures were regarded as fignificant, and its appearance foreboded impending fate, Pliny relates a curious incident, which ex- hibits in the ancient Romans two qualities that might be deemed incompatible, fuper- ilitious phfervance, and elevation of fen- timent J, . « .
The
• Pici Martii , . , in atf/picatu magni , , • principal^ tatio /tint in aug¥riis* YWn. Lib. 9f. i8.
f Picus, fon of Saturn, and father of Faunus, was grand- father of king Latinus. For defpifing the love of Circe, he was changed into a Green Woodpecker : he became one of the rural gods, under the name of Piiumnus. While the ihe-wolf fuckled Romulus and Remus, tHis facred Wood- pecker was feen tp alight on their cradle. See farther, Gefner, p. 678.
X A woodpecker alighted on thj head of the prator -/Ellas Tubero,while he was fitting on his^ibunalin the forum, and
buffered
, -l
i f
SJ!
10 GREEN WOODPECKER.
The fpecies of the Green Woodpecker i^ found in both continents -, and, though it contains few individuals, they are widely fpread. The Green Woodpecker of Louifi- ana is the fame with that of Europe || ; and that of the Antilles is only a variety §, Gmelin mentions his having feen, among the Tungufe Tartars, a cinereous Green Woodpecker, which muft be akin to the European *. Nor (hall we hefitate to range with it the gray-beaded Woodpecker from Norway, defcribed by Edwards, and which
fufFered itfelf to be taken by the hand. The augurs being con. fulted on this prodigy, declared, that the empir*? was threaten- ed with deftru£lion, if the bird was liberated, and the praetor with death, if it was kept. Inftantly Tubero tore it with his hands ; (hortly after, Pliny adds, the refponfe was ful- filled. Lib.x. i8.
II Dupratz.
§ There is a bird called carpenter in St. Domingo, no doubt, becaufe it fliapes and hollows trees; if it be not the Green Woodpecker of Europe, it is a bird of the fame fpecies ; it has its colours, its form, its note, and its habits. It does much injury to the palm trees, which it bores in many places, and often quite through, which makes them frail and perifliable. It is alfo very fond of the cocoa nut. We are obliged to hunt it when that fruit comes to maturity. Note of the Chevalier Lefebvre Defnayes,
** • The Tungufes of Nijaia-tunguoka afcribe virtues to the cinereous Green Woodpecker; they roaft this bird, pound it, mix it with any fort of fat, except that of bears, becaufe this quickly grows rancid, and with this compound befmear the arrows which they ufe in tlie chace : an animal ftruck with one of thefe arrows, 4nftantly falls. Voyage en SiberiCf par GmclIn, torn. H. p. 113.
Klein
~~ i
GREEN WOODPECKER. u
Klein and Briflon confider as a diftin^l fpe- cics. In fa£l, the only difference between it and our Green Woodpecker, is, that its plumage is paler, and its head not marked with bright red, though there is a tint of that colour on the front. Edwards very juftly attributes the alteration of its hues to the influence of climate. Briflon makes the yellow Woodpecker of Perfia ano- ther * fpecies, though in all probability it is nothing but a Green Woodpecker. Its fize and almofl: its colours, are the fame ; and AMrovandus formed his defcription from a figure exhibited at Venice ; and fuch (lender authority merits no attention.
Belon conceived the black Woodpecker to be a fpecies of the Green Woodpecker j and this error has been adopted by Ray, who reckons two kinds of Green Woodpeckers. Thefe overfights are occafioned by the mif^ application of terms : fuch has alfo been the cafe with the appellation picus martius^ which is often beftowed on the Woodpeckers
• Picus Perficus. Gmel.
Picus Luteus Perficus. BriJ/.
Picus Luteus Cyanopus Perficus. Aldrov,
Picchio Giallo (yellow). Z/»».
Specific charadler : it is yellow ; its upper furface, the tips of the quills of its wings, and the fpaces about its •yes are ferruginous.
in
12 GREEN WOODPECKER.
in general, though originally it belonged cxclufively to the Green Woodpecker.
Gefner has aflferted, and Aldrovandus has endeavoured to prove, that the Colios of Ariftotle was the Green Woodpecker : but almoll all other naturalifls have maintained that it was the Oriole. It may therefore be proper to difcufs thefe opinions, both with a view to complete the hiftory of thefe birds, and to elucidate two difficult pafTages in Ariftotle.
In Theodore Gaza's edition of Ariftotle, the word kim^, which he tranflates Galgu/us^ or Oriole, occurs twice in the fame chapter. It is fii ft reprefented as hoftile to the At^fi^o;, and then as aifociating with that bird, and haunting the fides of rivers and bufties * : that fort of life is not afcribed to the for- mer, which to avoid confufion ought to be read komo?. And what Ariftotle mentions in another paifage -f , when he treats more fully of the koa«os J ; that they are nearly as large as the turtle, that their voice is ftrong, &c. agrees perfedly with the character of the Green Woodpecker: but it has befides a
V\
4 ^^
I 'I
: Hi
• ITa§it iro1«/*o» )^ A«XfA<K( ; ^o;cfn) denotes a thicket proper for an ambufcade.
f Lib. viii, j,
X Obferve, that he comprehends under the article birds that live open infers and gnats.
property
eIonge4
r. ;
lius has
olios of : but
itained
fore be with thefe
afTages
iftotle, Igulus^ apter.
\ and les *; ; for- to be tions more iy as •ong, fthe es a
proper birds
erty
GREEN WOODPECKER. 13
proper*ty peculiar to itfelf, that it eagerly bores the trees ^ and procures it% fubfijlence from the rotten parts. The epithet xxo^go? too, which Ariflotle bellows, fignifies green^ not yellow, as Gaza renders it ; and when we confider that the anticnt philofopher raiiges the Kox.o? after two Woodpeckers and before the creeper, we cannot for a moment doubt, but that he means by it the Green Wood- pecker. . .,,.,:. ^
Albertus and Scaliger were aflured that the Green Woodpecker could learn to fpeak, and that it fometimes pronounces words diftindtly: Willughby juftly difbelieves it. The ftrudure of its tongue, which is long and worm Ihaped, appears entirely unfit 10 articulate founds , and its wild intrad:- able nature cannot fubmit to education : for how could a bird be trained in the domeftic ftate, which lives only upon the infects that lurk under the bark of trees* ?
According
* The Vifcount de Querhoent rffures us, however, that he kept them at leaft for r.nie time ; but he confirms us iti the idea of their untradable difpoficion. j have feen, fays he> young Green Woodpeckers which 1 was rearing, and which were ftill in the neft, fight with each other cbllinately. When I opened trees where was a brood, the parents con- ilantly forfook them, and left them to perilli of hunger. The woodpeckers are vicious and quarrelfonie ; birds weaker than them arc ever their viftims; they break the fcull with their bill, without afterwards preying on it. I had one in . i a room
■ ' illl
• '.lli
\ %'
i4 GREEN WOODPECKER.
According to Frifch, the pi ales alone have red on the headj and Klein makes the fame affertion. Salerne fays, that they were miftaken, and that the young ones have all the upper fide of the head red^ even in the neft. According to the obfer- tation of Linnaeus, this red varies, and appears mixed fometimes with black fpots, and fometimes with grey ones, and, in a few inftancesj without any fpots at all. Some individuals, which are probably old males, affume a red tint on the two black muftachoes which arife from the corners of the bill, and their colours are in general more vividw
Frifch relates, that in Germany dur- ing winter, the Green Woodpeckers plun- der bee-hives. We doubt this fa6l, efpe- cially as in France few or none of thefe birds remain through the inclement feafon, and it is unlikely that the colder climate of Germany fliould prove more inviting.
When we difle^l them, we commonly find the crop filled with ants. They have no cacum, which is wanting equally in all birds of this kind -, but inftead of it there
a room with partridges, anid it killed them all one after another. When I entered, it climbed up my legs. It walked out into the fields, and returned to eat in its room< Thej are very familiar, but feel no attachment.
li
GkEtN WOODPECKER. j$
is a dilatation of the inteftine. The gall- bladder is large ; the alimentary canal two feet long ; the right tefticle round, the left one oblong and arched , which is the natural flrufture, fince it was verified on a great number of fubje6Vs *,
But the mechanifm of the tongue has been a fubjedt of admiration among all naturalifts. Borelli and Aldrovandus have defcribed the form and fundlions of that organ : Olaus Jacol^aus, in the A£ls of Copenhagen, and Mery, in the Memoires of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, have delineated its curious anatomy. The tongue of the Green Woodpecker is, accurately fpeaking, only the bony tip, and what is ufually taken for the tongue is the os hybides inverted with a membranous coat, and ex- tending backwards into two long branches, at firft offeous, and afterwards cartilagi- nous : thefe, after encircling the windpipe, refle6l towards the head, and running clofe in a furrow along the Ikull, they are in- ferted on the forehead at the root of the bill. They are elaftic cords, furnifhed with an apparatus of mufcles, both extenfors and retraBors^ which ferve to move and direct this fort of tongue. The whole is (heathed
* Willnghby,
by
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1$ CREEN WOODPECKEli.
by the prolongation of the ikin, which lines the lower mandible, and which extends! when the os hybides is protruded, and coU lapfesi in annular wrinkles, as that bone is retracted. The bony tip, which is the real tongue, is connedted to the extremity, and Covered with a fcaly horn, befet with fmall hooks bent back : and that it may be capable both to hold and to pierce its prey, it is naturally moiftened with a vifcous fluid, that diftills from two excretory du(5ls which rife from a double gland.-^After this ftruc- ture the tongue of all the Woodpeckers is falhioned ; indeed we might conclude front analogy, that it alfo obtains in fuch birds in general, as protrude their tongue by extending it, - . > . v .;.
^ The Green Woodpecker has a vety large head, and can briftle the red feathers that cover its crown, which induced Pliny t6 term it tufted*. It is fometimes caught by the decoy, but very rarely : it anfwers not the call fd much as the noife made by flriking the tree where it lodges, and which refembles that ufually occafioned by its own boring. Sometimes it is feized by the neck in fprings, as it creeps along the ftake. But it is very coarfc food, r.nd always ex-
♦ Cirrhos pica martio.
ceedingly
i
I
A. m
GREEN WOOriPECKER. jf
iceedingly lean and dry ; though Aldrovan- dus fays, that thefe birds iare eaten in win- ter at Bologna, and are then pretty fat: this acquaints us, at leaft, that they remain during that feafon in Italy> while they dif- appear iii France [A].
[A] SpeciEc cbaraAer of the fiCM Viridit: it iigiten* its head crimfonfe
1
\ • J i -
VOL. VII.
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i 1.1''
Mm.
f III
£ »» } FOREIGN BIRCSI
a » T H t
Anc?ent Continent, which are related to the GREEN WOODPECKER.
The P A L A L A C Ai
O R.
GREAT GREEN WOODPECKER
of the Philippines.
Firjf Species, Picus Philipparttm. Lath,
#^AMEL, in his account of the birds that ^^ inhabit the Philippines, and Gemelll Carreri, agree, that in thofe iflands there is a fpecies of Green Woodpecker as large as an ordinary hen ; meaning probably with regard to length, and not to bulk. It is called Palalaca by the iflanders, but Her- rero^ or the Forger, by Spaniards, on ac- count of the loud noife which it makes in ftriking againft the trees, and which may be heard, fays Camel, at the diftance of three hundred paces. Its voice is cparfc and raucous \ its head red and tufted ; its plumage of a green ground. Its bill is extremely firm and folid, and enables it to excavate its nell in the hardeft trees*
K-v:-
If
f
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I
d to the
CKER
►irds that
Gemelll
ds there
as large
biy with
^. It is
mt Her-
on ac-
it makes
I which
diflance
is cparfe
ted; its
' bill is
)Ies it to
M'
Another PALALACA,
OR THE
SPOTTED GREEN WOODPECKER
of the Philippines.
Second Species,
Picui Manillenfti, Gmel.
Tht Manula Green Jt^oodpecker* Lath.
'"pHis differs entirely from the former irt ■*• its fize and colours. Sbnnerat calls it the Speckled Woodpecker (Pic Grivel^), It is of an intermediate bulk between the variegated and Green Woodpeckers, though nearer that of the latter : on each feather in the whole of the forefide of the body, there is a fpot of dufky white, framed in blackifll brown, which fofms a rich ena- mel J the mantle of the wings is rufous, tinged with aurora-yellow, which, on the back, afTumes a more brilliant hue, verging oh red ; the rump is carmine ; its tail rufty gray ; and its head bears a tuft, waved with yellowifh rufous on a brown ground.
G 2
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• I "I
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The GREEN WOODPECKER
of Goa.
Third Species* Picus Goenjti, Gmel*
T T is fmaller than the European. The red feathers ort its head are gathered into a tuft, and its tcri pies are bordered by a white ftripe, which widens on the arch of the neck ; a black zone defcends from the eye, and tracing a zigzag, falls upon the wing, whofe fmall coverts are equally black ; a fine gold fpot covers the reft of the wing, and terminates in greenifh yel- low on the fmail quills ; the great ones are as it were indented with fpots of greenifh white, on a black ground j the tail is black ; the belly, the breaft, and the forefide of the neck, as far as under the bill, are mailed lightly with white and black. This bird is one of the moft beautiful of the Wood- peckers j it bears a ftriking refemblarice to the following, which, joined to the circum- ftance, that they inhabit contiguoufly, would induce us to conclude that they arc the fame, or at leaft two kindred fpecies.
C " ]
KER
1. The gathered iered by he arch ds front lis upon
equally ) reft of lifh y el- ones are greenifh s black ', £ of the ; mailed s bird is
Wood- lance to circum- f, would are the s.
The GREEN WOODPECKER of Bengal.
Fourth Spttiti,
Ficus BengaUnJis. Linn. Gmel. Klein and Gerini.
The Bengal Creeper. Albin.
Tkv Spotte4 Indian Woodpecker. Edw,
Tt is olF the fame fize with the preceding, ■*• and fimilar to it. The gold colour is inore fpre^d on the wings, and covers the l)ack alfo ; a white line, rifing from the ^ye, defcends on the fide of the neck like the black zigzag of the Goa Woodpecker 5 the tuft, though more difplayed, appears only on the back of the head *, whofe crown and forefide are clothed with fmaU black feathers, beautifully fpotted with white drops ; the plumage under the bill, and on the throat, is the fame in both birds ; the breaft and ftomach are white, crofled and mailed with blackifli and brown, but lefs fo in this than the preceding. Thefe mi- nute differences would not perhaps be fuf- f cient to diftinguifli the two fpecics j but
• A charafter more remarkable than that of hJack mapu ^y which Linnseu^ defines the fpecies.
c 3 the
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I > >il
22 GREEN WOODPECKER.
the Goa Woodpecker has its hill one third longer than that of Bengal [A|.
With the Bengal Woodpecker. J (hall range not only the Green Bengal Vv ood- pecker of Brillbn f, but aifo his Cape-of Good -Hope Woodpecker J, which indeed bears a clofer refemblance. The reafon perhaps is, that the one from the Gape-of Good -Hope was defcribed from nature, while the other was taken from Edward's figure, which is only fomewhat larger than our Green Bengal Woodpecker. Albin, who defcribes the fame bird, reprefents it as (\\[\ larger, and as equal in bulk to the Euro- pean. But notwithftanding thefe differences in the colours and fize, it is eafy to fee the fame bird through the three defcriptions.
[A] Specific characler of the Picut Bengalenjts : it is green, jts creil red, its nape black ; below aud before it is whiter fpotted with black.
f Picus Viridis BengaXenfis. Brlfl*.
Thus defcribed : " it is crefted ; above yellowifh green, below white; the margins of its feathers, brown ; its creft, red ; the fore part of its head, and the lower part of itd neck, variegated with white and black ; the upper part of its neck, black ; a bright white bar extending from the eyes along the fides of the neck; its tail -quills blackifli, Jhaded with dull green."
X Picus Capitis Bona Spei. BrifT.
Thus defcribed : ** it is orange above, Alining with ft golden hue ; below dirty white ; the margins of its fea- thers, brown; the upper and back part of its head, red; the upper part of its neck and its rump, Itlackiih ; a brighd White bar extended from the hoftrils below the eyes, an4 i|long the fides of the neck; its taii.G^uiljs, blackiHi."^
t »» ]
The GOER TAN, I
Green Woodpecker of Senegal,
Fi/ib S/eda. ...
■ v^ .> .<
PUuj-Gfirtan. Gmel.
The Crlmfon-rumptd I'^todptcktr,
^1p HIS Woodpecker, which ife termed ''^ Gikrtan at Senegal, is not lb large as the Green Woodpecker, und fcdrcdy e<)uai to the variegated one. The upper furfi^e of the body is brown-gray, tinged with dull green- ifh, fpotted on the wings with waves of faint white, and interrupted on the head and rump by two marks of fine red ; all the under fnrface of the body is gray (Gain- ed with yellowifh. This fpecies and the two following were unknown to natu« falifls.
iJ
H
c 4
I U ]
#1
Th^ Little Striped WOODPEeKER pf Senegal.
Sixth Sptdet,
ficus StnigaUnfis* Gmel.
The Gold-backed Woodpecker. Lath.
'TP HIS Woodpecker is not larger than ^ fparrow 5 the upper fide of its head is reds a brown half-mafk paiTes over the front, 4nd behind the eye; the plumage, which is waved on the fore part of the lx>dy, exhibits fmall fefloons, alternately brown, gray, and dull white -, the back \% of a fine gold fulvous, which alfo tingesf the great quills of the wing, whofe coverts, as well as thofe of the rump, are greeni(h* Though much inferior in fize to the Euro- pean Woodpeckers, we (hail find that thi^ African fpecies is by no means the Anallei^ pf this extenfive genus.
"(S
I a$ ]
T|ie Gray-headed WOODPECKER of tht Cape of Good Hope.
Stvtutb Sfeeiet,
Picus Aurantius, Linn, and Gmel, Picut Capitis Bontt Spei. Briff. The Orange Woodpecker, Lath.
A LMOST all the Woodpeckers have ^ •*^ mottled plumage, but in the prefent |io colours are fet in contrail. A dull olive brown covers the back, the neck and the breaft; the reft of the plumage is deep gray, which is only fomewhat lighter oa the head ; there is a red tinge at the origin of the tail. — This Woodpecker is not fo Jarge as a lark. [A]
[A] Specific chara^er of the Picut Aurantius : above it is orange ; its nape, its rump, and the quills of its tail are |>lack.
mm
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'ij
,1''' ■If
f]>, '
■* i
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P I R P S of the New Continent,
► i Which are related to the
GREEN WOODPECKER.
The Striped WOODPECKER of St. DpmingQ,
Firjl Sfecies,
Picus Striatut. Gmel.
Picus Dominicetifis Striatut, Br I^«
The Rayed Woodpecker, Lath.
13 R I s s o N defcribes thi$ bird in two 4if- ferent places j firfl under the name of the Striated Woodpecker of St, Domingo, and again under that of the Little Striated Wood- pecker of St, Domingo, which he aflerts to be fmaller than the former, though the meafures which he affigns in detail are the. fame ; and with the falvo, t/jat the fecond may be the female ofthefirjl, he regards them as two diftindt fpecies. But a fingle in- fpedion of the figures will fuFice to fhew, that the differences refult fclely from age
^^'\ y
STRIPED WOODPECKER. t^
or fex. In the firft, the crown of the head \s black } the throat gray j the olive tinge of the body lighter, and the black ftripes on the back are not fo broad, as in the fecond, which has the whole of the crown of the head red, and the fore part of the body pretty dull, with the throat white ; but, in other refpefls, their (hape and plumage are perfe6lly fimilar. This bird is nearly as large as the variegated Wood- pecker ; all Jts upper garb is cut tranf- verfely with black and olive bars j the green tinge appears on the gray of the belly, and more vividly on the rump, whofe extremity is red ', the tail is blacky
■•1
I
M
k „;
r »8 1
■II. ''i
IhIi
The Little Olive WOODPECKER of St, Domiqga
Second Specif s»
jpicus Paferittus. Linn, and Gmel* Picus Dominicenjii Minor, BrifT. ^be Pajerine Woodpecker, Xiath.
np HIS fpecies is fix inches long, an4 "*" nearly of the fize with the lark % the crown of the head red, and its fides rufty gray 5 all the upper furface is yellow- iih olive, and ail the under furface (Iriped acrofs with whltifti and brown ; the quills of the wing are olive, like the back, on the putfide, and on the infide brown, and fringed on the edge with whitifh fpots, deeply en- grained ; a chara(fler in which it refembles alfo the Green Woodpecker : the feathers of the tail are gray mixed with brown. Not with (landing its diminutive fize, this Woodpecker is one of the rtoutcft ; and it pierces the hardefl trees. It is alluded to in the following extract from the Hiftory of the Buccaneers : ** The carpenter is a bir4 i)ot larger than a lark y its bill is about ai^
incli
1 1'
OkEAt STRli*Eb WOOt>PECkEfe, 2^
irtch long, and fo ftrong, that in the fpace of one day it will bore into the heart of a palm-tree : and we may obferve, that this wood is fo hard, as to fpoil the edge of oui: beft cutting tools [A]."
[A] Specific charafter of the Picus PaferiHut: it is yel- iowiih-olive^ ilriped below with brown and bright whitifli.
I
The Great Striped WOODPECKER of Cayenne.
Third Species,
Picus Melanochlores. Gmel.
The Gold-crejled Woodpecker, Lath,
tXT" E make no doubt but that this is the ^ fame with the American crefted varies gated Woodpecker ''^ y defcdbed incompletely by Briflbn, from a pafiage of Gefner. The creft is of a gold fulvous, or rather aurora- red ; there is a purple fpot at the corner ci the bill ; the feathers are fulvous and black, with which the whole body is alternately
• Picus varius Americanus Crijiatus, Brifl*.
Thus defcribed : ** it is crefted, variegated with fulvous and black ; its creft gold-fulvous, its cheeks reddiih ; a purple fpot between its bill and its eyes; its tail-quills black.'*
variegated :
1
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I:K
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f
II l|
34> LITTLE STRIPED WOODPECKER.
variegated : and thefe charaif^ers are fuf- ficicnt to difcriminate it. It is of the fame fizc with the Green Woodpecker; its plumage is richly mailed with ycllowifh fulvous and fine black, which intermingle in waves, in fpots, and in fefloons j a white Ipace in which the eye is placed, and a black tuft on the front, give a marked afpefl to this bird, sind which is ftill heightened by the red creft and purple muftachio [A].
[A] Speci^c charadler of the Hirutido Metancchhros : this is variegated with black and bright yellow, its creft golden, its tail black.
The Little Striped WOODPECKER of Cayenne.
Fourth Species.
Picus Cayanenjis, Gmel.
^he Cayenne Woodpecker, Lath*
C\ F the Striped Woodpeckers, which Brif-
fon ranges after the variegated Wood-
'fjecker, fevcral belong undoubtedly to the
Green Woodpecker. This is particularly
true of the Striped Woodpeckers of St. Do*
iTiingo, and that of Cayenne, which we are
now to defcribe. In fa<^, thcfe three have
a yeU
LiTTLt STRIPED WOODPECKER. 31
a yellowifti green caft, analogous to the colour of the Green Woodpecker, and the undulated rays that fpread on the plumage feem to be enlarged from the model of thofe which mark the wing of the European bird.
The Little Striped Woodpecker of Cay- l^nne is feven inches and five lines in length. It refembles much the Striped Woodpecker bf St. Domingo in its colours, but is fmaller; black waved bars extend on the olive gray brown of its plumage ; gray, fringed with black, covers the two exterior quills of the tail on each fide, the fix others are black ; the back of the head is red j the front and throat are black, only this black is inter- fc6led by a white fpot lying under and ex- tending back.
\
.:.■>,(
i ii 1
the Yellow WOODPECkfeR
of Cayenne.
Fi/th Swedes*
Picus Exf UfiJui. Gmel. Picus Cayanenfis Albas, firl/T; Pitut Flavicans. Lath.
'^ HOSE birds, which are enamoured of "^ the folitude of the defert, have muU tiplied in the vaft forefts of the new world, and the more {Oi as there man has yet encroached little on the aiitient domains of nature. We have received ten fpecies of Woodpeckers from Guiana, and the Yellow Woodpeckers feem peculiar to that country. Mod of thefe are fcarcely known to natu- ralifls, and Barrere has only noticed a few* The firft fpecies is defcribed by BrifTon under the name of fFbite Woodpecker * : its plumage is of a foft yellow ; the tail black ; the great quills of the wing brown, and the middle ones rufous ; the coverts of the
• Picut Cayanenfis Alius, Brifl*.
Thus defcribed : " it is dirty-white ; a red longitudinal bar on either fide upon the lower jaw ; its tail-quills black* i(h.».
wings
YKLLOW WOODPECKER. 33
Vvings are brown gray, fringed with yellow- ifh white. It has a creft which reaches to its neck» and which, as well as the whole of th« nead, being pale yellow, is (liongly contrafted with its red muftachocs } its ap- pearance is thus remarkable, and tlie ibft un- common colour of its plumage diftinguifhes it from the reft of its genus. The Creoles of Cayenne call it the Tclhw Carpenter, It is fmaiier ihan the Green Woodpecker, and much more flender; its length nine inches. It forms its neft in large trees, rotten at the core j after it has bored hori- zontally to the decayed part, it defcends, and continues the excavation to the depth of a foot and a half. The female lays three eggs, which are white, and almoft round ; and the young are hatched in the beginning of April. The male (hares the female's folicitude, and, during her abfence, he plants himfclf in the entrance. Mis cry is a whiftle compofed of fix notes, die fiifl of which are monotonous, and the two or three laft flatter. The female has not the bright red bar which appears in tlie mule on each fide of the head.
There is fome vaiiety in this fpecies, certain individuals having all the fmall coverts of the wings of a fiuj yellow, and
VOL. VII. D tl;e
i
'lii
■A
m
34 FKRRUGINOUS WOODPECKEBI.
the great ones edged with that colour j irf others, fuch as that probably which BrilFoii defcribed, the whole plumage is difcoloured and bleached, fo as to appear only a dirty white or yellowifli.
The FERRUGINOUS WOOD- PECKER, LatL
Le Pic Mordore. Buff.
Sixth Species. Picus Cinnamo}neus. Gmel.
A FINE bright red, which is brilliant and golden, forms the fuperb attire of this bird. It is almoft as large as the Green Woodpecker^ but not To ftout. A long yellow creft in pendulous filaments covers the head, and falls backwards j from the corners of the bill, rife two muftachoes of a fine light red, traced nicely between the eye and the throat; fonie white and citron Jpots embellifli and variegate the rufous ground of the middle of the upper furface ; the rump is yellow, and the tail black, 'j^'he female, both of this fpecies, and of the Yellow Woodpecker which comes from the fame country, has no red on the cheeks.
t 3S 1
The BLACK-BREASTED WOOD- PECKER.
Le Pic a Crava/e Notre. BulF.
Stvtnth SpecUst Picus Multicolor. Gmel.
'TpH I s is alfo one of the Yellow Carpen^ ters of Cayenne. It has a fine black horfe-fhoe, which meets the neck behind, covers all the forepart like a cravat, and falls on the bread ; the reft of the under- fide of the body is rufly fulvous, and alfo the throat and the whole head, whofe crefl extends to the neck ; the back is of a bright lufousj the wing is of the fame co- lour, but the quills crofled with a few black flreaks pretty much afunder, and fome of thefe extend to the tail, which has a black tip. This Cayenne bird is as large as the Yellow Woodpecker, or even the Ferruginous Woodpecker : all the three are alike llender, and fimilarly crefted. The natives of Guiana give them the com- mon name of toiicoutnari.^ It appears that the Black- breaded Woodpeckers lead a life as laborious as the others, and that they inhabit St. Domingo alfo 3 for Father
D 2 Charlevoix:
i
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36 RUFOUS WOODPECKER:
Charlevoix aflures us, that the wood em'- ployed for building in that ifland is often: found bored fo much by thcfe wild ca.-pen- ters, as to be unfit for ufc *.
The RUFOUS WOODPECKER.
Eighth Spedes. Pitus Rufut, Gmel.
'Tp H E plumage of this little Woodpecker •^ haf a fingular property, viz. the un- der fide of its body is of a deeper hue than the upper, contrary to what is obfcrved in all other birds. The ground colour is rufous, of various intenfity j deep on the wings ; more dilute on the rump and back, more charged on the breaft and belly, and mingled, on all the body, with black waves, which are very crowded, and which have the efFe6l of the mod beautiful enamel : the head is rufous, embellilhed and crofTed by fmall black waves. This Woodpecker, which is found in Cayenne, is fcarcely larger than the Wryneck, but it is rather thicker : its plumage, though it confifts of
• Hifloire de Tifle de Saint Dominique, par le P. Char- Ifvoix. Paris, 1730, t. i. p. 29.
only
YELLOW-THROATED WOODPECKER. 37
only two dull tints, is one of the moft beautiful and moft agreeably variegated [A].
{A] Specific charaftcr ot the Picus Ru/us: " It is rufouf* waved wall black."
The LITTLE YELLOW-THROATED WOODPECKER.
Picus CUorotephalus, Qmt\. Picus ISicrocepbaidt, Lath,
'Tpnis Woodpecker is not larger than the Wryneck. The ground colour of is plumage is brown tinged with olive, and having white fpots or fcales on the fore- part of the body, and under the neck, which is fpread with a fine yellow that ftretche* under the eye, and on the top of the neck ; a red hood covers the crown of the head, and a muftachoe of that colour diluted rifes from the corners of the bill. This Wood- pecker is, as well as the preceding, found }ti Cayenne [A].
[AJ Specific charuder of the Picus Cblorocepbahs : " it \i> olive, below fpotted with white : its neck and its half ^celled head bright yellow ; its top red."
J> 3
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The LEAST WOODPECKER
of Cayenne.
7'enth Species,
Tunx MinutiJJimus. Gmel.
Picus Cayanenjis Minor. BrifT*
Picus Minutus. Lath. Ind.
The Minute Woodpecker, Lath. Syn.
np HIS bird, as fmall as the gold crefted •*■ wren, is the dwarf of the large family of Woodpeckers. It is not a creeper, and its flraight fquare bill (hews it to be a real Woodpecker. Its neck and breaft are waved diftindlly with black and white zones j its back is brown, fpotted with white drops, and fliaded with black ; the fame fpots, only clofer and finer marked, appear on the beautiful black that covers the arch of the neck; and laftly, a little gold head makes it look as handfome, as it is delicate. This little bird, at leaft if we judge from the fluffed fpecimen, muft be more fprightly and agile than any of the other Woodpeck- ers 5 and nature would feem to have thus compcnfated for its fmallnefs. It is often found in company with the creepers, and
like
l>l''M
GOLD-WINGED WOODPECKER. 39
like them it clambers on the trunks of treeSj and hangs by the branches [A],
[A] Gmelin makes this bird a fecond fpeciesof wryneck under the nanrae of yunx Minutijpfnus ; its fpecific charaflcr : «* Above, it is black cinerous, below dirty white,'*.
The GOLD- WINGED WOODPECKER,
Eleventh Hfecies.
Picus Juratus. Linn. Gmel and Borowfk. Ficus Cafiadenjts Striatus. Briff. Cuculus alls deauratis, Klein,
np HOUGH I place this beautiful bird iiT ^ the clofe of the family of the Green Woodpecker, I muft remark, that it feems to emerge from even the genus of the Woodpeckers, both by its habits and fome of its features. Catefby, who obferved it in Carolina, tells us, that it is ofteneft on the ground, and does not creep upon the mks of trees, but perches oi> their branches like other Iwrds. Yet its toes are difpofed two before, and two behind, like the Woodpeckers i and, like them too, the feathers of its tail are fliff and hard ; and, what is peculiar to itfelf, the fide of each is terminated by two fmall filaments. Its \ P 4 ^i^l
P- li
40 GOLD-WINGED WOODPECKER.
bill is, however, diffimilar to that of the Woodpeckers -, it is not fquared, but round- ed, and fomewhat curved, pointed, and not formed into an edge. If this bird refembles then the Woodpeckers in the ftructure of its feet and tail, it differs in the Ihape of the bill, and in its habitudes, which necef- farily refult from the conformation of that principal organ in birds. It feems to form an intermediate fpecies between the Wood- peckers and the Cuckoosi with which fome iiaturalifts have ranged it -, and it furniflies another example of thofe (hades by which nature connedls her various produ6lions. it is about the fize of the Green Wood- pecker, and is remarkable for its beautiful form, and the elegant difpofition of its rich colours 5 black fpots, like crefcents and hearts, are fcattered on the (lomach and belly on a white ground of a dingy caft ; the forepart of the neck is vinous cinereous or lilack, and, on the middle of the breafV, there is a broad black zone, fliaped like a crefcent; the rump is white; the tail black above, and lined below with a fine yellow refembling dead leaves $ the upper fide of the head, and the top of the neck, are of a lead- gray, and the back of the head is marked with a fine fcarlet fpot j from the CQrners of the bill two large black mufta-
chocs
'ilii'^i;:
J\r^j63
•HI
'J 'II
Ufflj
i rl|[
THE GKK.AT BLACK WOOD PECKRR.
GOLD.WINGED WOODPECKER. 4^
choes take their origin, and defcend on the iides of the neck, and they are wanting in the female ; the back is of a brown ground, with black ftreaks j the great quills of the wing are of the fame call: ; but what deco- rates it, and fuffices alone to difcriminate the bird, the ihafts of all thele quills are of a gold colour. It is tound in Canada and Virginia, as well as in Carolina [A],
[A] Specific charafter of the Picus Auratus : *' It is ftreaked tranfvcrfely with gray and black, its throat >nd ^leaft are black, its nape red, its rump white."
The BLACK WOODPECKER.*
Picut Martius. Linn, and Gmel.
Picus Niger. Briff. Klein and Frif.
Picus Maximus. Ray and Will.
The Great Black Woodpecker. Alb. and Lath.
np^iirs fccond fpecies of European Wood- pecker appears to be confined to fome particular countries, and efpecially to Ger- many. However, the Greeks, as well as
• In ftalian Picchioy Sgiaia: In German, Holtz Krclhet or Woodcrow, and KrdbeSpechty Gro/s-Specht, Sc/jivartz- Specht, or the crow, the large, the black fpight or wood- pecker: In Swedifli, Spill-Kracka: In Norwegian, Sort «?/<ar/, Trapikke, lie Haji : In Polilh, Dxieciol Naywiekj'zy.
we
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42 BLACK WOODPECKER.
we, were acquainted with three fpecies of Woodpeckers, and Ariftotle mentions theni all -t* : The firft, fays he, is fmaller than the Blackbird, and is our variegated Wood- pecker ; the fecond is larger than the Blackbird, and is the Ko^•i>', or our Green
Woodpecker:}:; and the third, he repre- fents as equal in fize to a hen, which muft be underftood of its length, and not of it$ thicknefs ; and it is therefore our Black Woodpecker, the largeft of all the Wood- peckers of the antient continent. It U lixteen inches long, from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail ^ the bill mea- fures two inches and a half, and is of a horn colour ; a bright red hood covers the crown of the head ; the plumage of the whole body is deep black. The German names Krabefpecht and Holtz-krahe, crow fpight and woodcrow, mark both its colour and its fize.
It is found in the tall forefts on the mountains of Germany, in Switzerland, and in the Vofges : it is unknown in mod of the provinces of France II , and feldom de- scends into the low country. Willughby
■i.'ii-
f IfiJI. AuliH. Lib. Ix. 9. :|; Id, Lib. viii. 3.
II •' The Black Woodpcclcer is not found in Normandy» aor \\\ the vicinity of Paris, ugr in. the Orleanois. Saki-ne,
alTures
BLACK WOODPECKER. 43
aflures us, that it never occurs in England ; and indeed that country is too open for a bird of fuch a nature, and for the fame reafon, it hasdeferted Holland* : And this is evidently not on account of the cold of thofe regions, fmce it inhabits the forefts of Sweden -f*. But it is difficult to imagine why it is not found in Italy, as Aldro- yar'^us afferts.
i -^n in the fan < ..ountry, thefe birds prefer particular diftridls that are folitary and wild j Frifch mentions a foreft in Fran- conia J, noted for the multitude of Black Woodpeckers which it contains. In eene- ral, the fpecies is not numerous ; and, in the extent of half a league, we can fel- dom find more than a fingle pair. They fettle in a certain fpot, which the) fcarft% ^ver leave.
This bird ftrikes the trees with fuch force, that according to Frifch, it may be heard as far as a hatchet. It bores to the heart of the trunk, and forms a very capacious cavity j as much as a bufhel of wood-duft and chips is often feen on the ground below its hole ; and fometimes it hollows out the fubftance of the trees to fuch a degree that they are foon borne
• Aldrovandus,
•f Fauna Suecica. No. 79,
X The foreft of Speffcru
down
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44 BLACK WOODPECKER,
down by the wind ||. They prefer the de- cayed trees, but, as they alfo attack thofe which are found, the careful proprietors of woods are at pains to deftroy them. M. Deflandes, in his EHay on the Ship- Build- ing of the Ancients, regrets, that there are fevy trees fit for making oars forty feet long, which are not bored by the Woodpeckers §.
The Black Woodpecker lays, in the bot- tom of its hole *, two or three eggs, which are white; as in all birds of the genu^, according to Willughby ; It feldom alights on the ground ; the ancients affirmed even, that no Woodpecker ever dcfcends from its tree-f* : When they clamber, the long hind toe is fometimes placed (idewife, and fome- times forwards, and is moveable in its joint .^ith the foot, fo as accommodate itfelf to every pofition : This power is common to all the Woodpeckers.
After the Black Woodpecker has perfo- rated into the cavity of the tree, it give^
II Ariilotle, Ilijf. At/im, Lib. Ix. 9.
^ But M. Deflandes is much mirtaken in the fame place, when he fays that this Woodpecker employs its tongue like an angre to bore the largeft trees.
* Pliny has afierted with too great latitude that the Woodpeckers are t!ic only birds which breed in hollow frees ^Lib. X. 18) ; many other fmall birds, ^fuch as the Titmice, ^o tlie fame.
f Arilloile. ////?• J/jtw. Lib, ix. 9,
a loud
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i
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i
t 't
B LA C K WOODPECKER. 45
a loud fhrill and lengthened fcreani, which is audible at a great diftancc. It alfo makes at times a cracking, or rather afcraping, by rubbing its bill rapidly againft the (nks of its hole.
The female differs from the male in its colour, being of a lighte black, and hav- ing no red but on the back of the head, and fometimes none at all. It is obferved that the red defcends lower on the nape of the neck in fome individuals^ and thefe are old males.
The Black Woodpecker difappears dur- ing winter. Agricola fuppofcd that it re- mained concealed in hollow trees * : but Frifch affirms, that it retires before the rigour of the feafon, when its provifions fail J for, continues he, the worms then fnik deep into the wood, and the ant-hills are covered with ice and fnow.
We know not of any bird of the ancient continent, whether in Afia or Africa, that is analogous to the European Woodpecker ; and it would feem to have migrated hither from the New World, where many fpecies occur that clofely refemble it. I proceed to enumerate thefe [AJ :—
• jfpud Ge/neruttit p. 677.
[A] Specific charafter of th» Plan Mariius, Linn, *• It is black with a crimfon cap."
-VM
'^!^
II
m
J. II
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t 40 1
BIRDS of the New Continent^
Which are related to the
BLACK WOODPECKER.
rJ-.j
The WHITE BILLED WOODPECKER.
Ze Grand Pic Neir a Btc Blanc. B ufF. • Firji Specits*
Picus Principalis. Linn, arid Gmel. Picas Carolinenjis Crijlatus, Briff. f
'T^ H I s Woodpecker is found in Carolina, and is the largeft of the genus, be- . ing equal or even fuperior in bulk, to the crow. Its bill is white like ivory, and three inches long, channeled through its whole length, and fo (liarp and ftrong, fays Catelby, that, in an hour or two, the bird often makes a bufhel of chips : Hence the Spaniards term it carpenteros^ or carpenter.
• The Great Black Woodpecker with a white bill.
f Briflbn prcbably meafured a very fmall fpecimen, when he ftated the length of this Woodpecker at fixtecn inches ; that in the Royal Cabinet, iigurcd in t\^Q Illumined PlattSt was eighteen inches.
Its
WHITE BILLED WOODPECKER. 47
Its head is decorated behind by a great fcarlet tuft, parted into two tufts, one of which falls on the neck, and the other is raifed, and covered by long black threads, which rife from the crown and invcd the whole head, for the fcarlet feathers lie be- hind : a white ftripe, defcending on the fide of the neck, and making an angle on the flioulder, runs into the white that co« vers the lower part of the back and the middle quills of the wing; all the reft of the plumage is a jet deep black.
It hollows its neft in the largeft trees, and breeds during the rainy feafon. It is found, too, in hotter climates than that of Carolina ; for we recognife it in the picus imbrtfatus of NieremKerg J, and the qiiatotomomi of Fernandez §, though there are fomc differences which would leem to indicate a variety || ; its white bill, three
X p. 223.
§ Htjl. Nov. Hi/p, p. 50. cap. 186.
II The Quatotomonii a kind of Woodpecker of the bulk of a hoopoe; it is variegated with black and fulvous, its bill with which it hollows and bores trees, is three inches long, flout, and bright white ... Its head is deco- rated by a red creft three inches long, but its upper pan black on either fide of the neck, a bright white bar dcfcends to near the breaft. It inhabits Tototepeco, in higlier Mijfim not far from the South Sea, It neftles in lofty trees : feeds on the graflioppers, tlaolU, and on fmall worms. It breeds in the rainy feafon, that is, between May and September ;" Fernandez, Hiji, Nov. Hi/p. p. 50. cap. 186.
inches
•!i:
r.
'.iv-v-
/VA
:
4S P T L E A T E D \V "O O I) P E C K E R.
inches in length, fufficcs to clifcriminate it. This Woodpecker, fays Fernandez, inhabit!) the regions bordering on the South Sea : The North Americans work the bills into coronets for their warriors, and as they can* not procure thefc in their own country, they buy them of the more fouthern In- dians, al the rate of three deer-lkins for each bill [A].
[A] Specific charafter of the Pieus Principalis: It is black, its crell fcarlet, a line on cither fide of the neck ; the fe- condary feathers of its tail, white." It is a fcarce bird in North America, and never penetrates beyond the Jerfeys. It breeds in a winding hole, the better to fcrcen the young from the infinuating rains.
ThePILEATED WOODPECKER
Le Pic Noir a Huppe Rouge. Buff. * Second Species,
Picus Pileatus. Linn, and Gmel.
Picus Niger Firginianus Crijiatui. ErlfT. Picus Niger, toto capite rubra. Klein. The Larger red-creJiedWcodpicker. Catcfby.
np H I s Woood pecker, which is common in Louifiana, occurs equally in Caro- lina and in Virginia : It refembles much the preceding, but its bill is not white, and it
• The Red-crefted black Woodpecker.
18
P 1 L E A T E D W 6 O D P E C R E R.
J
49
•j 'i
h rnthcr fmallerj though it fomewhat ex- ceeds the Black Woodpecker of Europe. The crown of the head, as far as the eyes, is decorated by a large fcarlet crcft, col- le6ted into a fingle tuft, and thrown back- wards in the (hape of flame ; above there is a black bar, in which the eye is placed; a red muftachoe is traced from the root of the bill on the black fides of the head j the throat is white ; a fillet of the famo colour pall'cs between the eye ar d the muftrchoe, and extends on the neck as fai as the (lioulder j all the reft of the bodv is black, with feme flight marks of white on the wing, and a larger fpot of that cok ar on the middle of the backj under ihe body, the black is lighter, and mixed with gray waves ; in the female, the forepart of the head is brown, and there are no red fea- thers, but on the hind part of the head.
Catefby fays that thefe birds, not con- tent with rotten trees which fupply their ufual food, attack alio the plants of maize ; and do much injury, vj- the wet infinuates into the holes which they make in the hufk, and fpoils the fee Is. But is their motive not to get fon-e kind of worms that lurk in the ear, fince no bird of this genus feed*? on grain
Vol.
? vir,
B
With
mm
»
5« PILEATED WOODPECJCER.
With this bird, we muft alfo join a Woodpecker which Commerfon brought frcm the country contiguous to the Straits of Magellan : Its bulk is the fame, and its other characters pretty iimilar ; only it has no red, except'^on the cheeks and the fore- part of the head, and the back of its head bears a tuft of black feathers. Thus, the fame fpecies occurs, in the correfponding latitudes at the two extremities of the great continent of America. Commerfon re- marks that this bird has a very (Irong voice, and leads a very laborious life} a character that belongs to all the W^ood- peckers, which are enured to toil and liardfhip [A],
[A] Specific charafter of the Pieus Pileatus : ** ft is black, its creft red, its tempics and wings marked \rith white fpots." It is half the weight of the preceding fpecies : It fpreads over the whole extent of North America : lays fix eggs, and hatches in June. The Indians decorate their calumets with its fcarlec tuft.
b:1
I !1
[ si 1
tHe L I N E A T E D WOODPECKER.
* VOHMttUf eu Pic Noir Huppe dt CayenrK, Buff, Third Specitt.
Picus Lineattts, Linn, and Gmel*
Picus Varius BraJiUen/is, Ray.
Picus Niger Cayansn/is Crijiatus* Brifl*.
'T^ H 1 8 bird is the ooantoo of the Ame- ricans, which Barrere has inaccu- rately pronounced ventooy and the hipecop of Marcgrave. It is as long as the Green Woodpecker ; but not fo thick ; its upper furface is entirely black, except a white line which, rifing from the upper man- dible, defcends like a cin6bure on the neck, and ftrews fome white feathers on the coverts of the wings ; the ftomach and belly are waved with black and white bars, and the throat is fpeckled with the fame ;* from the lower mandible, proceeds a red muftachoe ; a beautiful creft of the fame colour covers the head and falls backwards i laflly, under the long threads of this creft,
* The Qantoo, or Crefted Bl^ck Woodpecker of Cayenne.
£ 2 we
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52 LINE ATE D Woodpecker.^
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we perceive fmall feathers of the fame red which clothe the top of the neck.
Barrere is right in referring this Wood- pecker to the hipecoo of Marcgrave, as much as Briirori is wron^ in referrins: it to the great Carolina Vv'oodpccker of Carefby : the latter is larger than a crow, and the hipecoo exceeds not a pigeon. And the reft of Maregrave's defcription agrees with the ouantoo as much as with the great Carolina Woodpecker, which has not the underfide of its body variegated with black and white, as the ooantoo and the hipecoo ; and its bill is three lines, not fix. But thefe characlers belong as little to the Black Woodpecker of Louifiana j and BrilTon was mlftaken too in placing with it the ooan- too, which as we have juft feen, is nothing but the hipecoo^ and would have been bet- ter ranged with his eleventh fpecies.
The ooanto of Cayenne is alfo the tlauh-. quechultototl of New Spain, defcribed by Fernandez. It. bores trees, its head and the upper part of its neck are covered with red feathers. Bat there is a circumftance accidentally introduced in his account which feems to difcriminate it from the other Woodpeckers : ** The red feathers on the top of the neck, if applied or ra- ther glued to the head, relieve a head-ach ;
whether
« 'k'
RED NECKED WOODPECKER. 53
whether this was learnt from experience, or was fuggefted by feeing them glued near the head of the bird [A].
[A] Specific charadler of the Picus Lineatus : ** Tt is black, its cieft crimfon ; a white line on either fide of the neck from the bill to the middle of the back."
The RED NECKED WOODPECKER.
Fourt/j Sfecu's, ' . s Picus JRulrlcol/is Gmel. ,,. . ..''■
npHis bird has not only its head red, but its neck as far as the breaft of the fame beautiful colour. It is rather longer than the Green Woodpecker, its neck and tail being elongated, which makes its body appear lefs thick, all the head and neck is covered \yith feathers to the breaft, where the tints of that colour melt into the fine fulvous that povers the breaft, the belly and the fides j the reft of the belly is deep brown, almoft black where the fulvous mixes with the quills of
E 3 ■ • the
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54 LESSER BLACfc WOOpPECKElR.
the wing.— This bird is found in Guiana, as well as the preceding and the following ones I A].
[A] Specific charaaer of the Picus RulricoIUst «' It is brown, below fulvous ; its crefted head, aud its neck, fer- ruginous.'*
The LESSER BLACjK. WOODPECKER.
{
Fifih Specter ,
Picus Flavipes Gmel.
Pieus Hirundinaceus, Linn, and Gmel*
picus Niger Ntmee Anglia. Brifl*.
Picus Ni^er Minimus, Klein.
The Tellow legged IVoodpetker* Penn.
'T^His is the fmalleft of all the Black Woodpeckers, being only of the (ize of the Wryneck. A deep black with blue lefleflions, covers the throat, the breaft, the back and the head, except a red fpot found on the head of the male ; it has alfo a flight trace of white on the eye, and fome fmall yellow feathers near the back of the head ; below the body and along the fternum, there extends a bar of a Hne poppy-red 3 it terminates at the belly, which • like
'.11
■»■' :.■
LESSER BLACK WOODPECKER. 55
like the (ides is well enameled with black and light gray ; the tail is blacl.
There is a variety of this Woodpecker, which, inftead of the red fpot on the crown of the head ; has a ycllowifh crown com- pleatly encircling it ; and this is the open- ing of thofe fmall yellow feathers feen in the former, and probably refults from age. —The female has neither a red fpot nor a yellow circle on the head.
To this fpecies, we (hall refer the UJfer black creeper of Albin, which BrilTon makes his feventh fpecies, under the name of tb^ Plack Woodpecker of New England *.
* Mr. Pennant reckons the authority of Albin very fu/jpiip clous.
'M \
The R E D - H E A D ED WOODPECKER.
te Pic Noir a Domino Rouge. BufF. Sixth Species.
Pictts Erythroeephalus. Linn. Gmel. zfkA ^rifT. Picus capite colloque ruhrif, J^lein.
^T^ H I s bird defcribed by Catefby, is found
in Virginia : It is nearly as large as
the variegated yV^ood pecker of Europe. Its
£ 4 whole
m
m
56 RED HEADED WOODPECKERS.
whole head is enveloped in a beautiful red domi?iOt which is filky and glofly, and falls on the neck ; all the under furface of the body and the rump are white, and fo are the fmall quills of the wing, of which the black joins that of the tail, to form, on the lower part of the back, a great white fpace ; the reft is black, and alio the great quills of the wings, and all thofe of the tail.
Very few of thefe birds are feen in Vir- ginia during winter ; there are more of them in that feafon in Carolina, though fewer than in fummer ; it would feem that they retire to the South to efcape the cold. Thofe which remain approach the villages, and even rap on the windows of the houfes. Catefby adds that this Woodpecker con- fumes much fruit and grain j but it pro- bably never recurs to thefe, unlefs in cafe of want of other fuftenance, elfe it would differ from all the reft of the genus.
lf\
t J7 1
The GREATER SPOTTED WOODPECKER.
V Epeiche ou Le Pic Varie, BufF.
Firji Species,
Picus Major. Linn. Gmel. Bor. Kram. Scopo. Picus Varius Major. Ray. Will, and Brifs. Picus Di/color. Frif. •
np H I s is the third fpecies of the Euro- pean Woodpeckers. Its plumage is agreeably variegated with white and black, ei bellifhed with red on the head and belly. 1 le crown of the head h black, with a red bar on the occiput, and the hood terminates in a black point on the neck j thence rife two branches of black, one of which ftretches on each fide to the root of the bill and marks a muftachoe, and the other defcend- ing to the lower part of the neck, decorates it with a collar j this black ftreak unites near the fhoulder with the black piece that
• In Greek Um^t. In Italian Culrojfo : In German Bunt- Specht, yeiJ's-Specht , and Eljlerfpcchy from which the French name Epeiche 'm derived. In Swifs JEgerjl -Specht : In Daniih FLig-Spaet : In SvjcAi^Gyllenrenna : In Norwegian Kraak-. Spittle : aijd in Poliih Dxieciol PJiry Wiskjly.
occupies
m
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58 GREATER SPOTTED WOODPECKER^
occupies the middle of the back j two great white fpaces cover the fhoulders j in each wing the great quills are brown, the others black, and all mixed with white ; the whole of the black is deep, and the whole of the white is pure and unmixed ; the red on the head is bright, and that of the belly is a fine fcarlet. Thus the plumage of this bird is charmingly diverfified, and furpalFes that of all the other Woodpeckers in beauty.
This defcription anfwers only to the male exactly; the female figured in the Plan^ ches Enluminees has no red on the back of the head. Some fpotted Woodpeckers are clothed with a lefs beautiful plumage, and fome even are entirely white. There is alfo a variety whofe colours appear more obfcure, and though all the upper fide of the nead and the belly are red, the tint is pale and dull.
Of this variety, Briffbn makes his fecond Variegated Woodpecker ^ though he had be- fore produced it under the name of the Great Variegated Woodpecker ; yet thefe two birds are both nearly of the fame fize, and have ever been referred to the fame fpecies. Belon, who lived in an age when the rules of nomenclature and the errors of fyfleni had not multiplied the divifions in the ar- rangement
'M
%
GREATER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. ^9
rangemcnt of natural obje6ls, clafTcs all thefe varieties with his epeiche or Varie- gated Woodpecker. But Aldrovandus juftly blames both him and Turner for applying to that bird the name Ficm Martins^ which belongs only to the Green Woodpecker.
The Variegated Woodpecker ftrikes a- gainft the trees with brifker and harder blows than the Green Woodpecker; it creeps with great eafe upwards, or down- wards, and horizontally under the branches; the ftifF quills of its tail ferve to fupport it, when it hangs in an inverted pofturc, and knocks keenly with its bill. It is a ihy bird ; for when it perceives a perfon, it bides itfelf behind a branch and remains Hill. Like the other Woodpeckers, it breeds in a hollow tree. In our provinces, it ap- proaches the habitations during winter, and feeks to fettle on the bark of fruit trees, where the cryfalids and eggs of infefls arc depofited in greater quantity than on the trees of the foreft.
In fummer during droughts, the Varie- gated Woodpeckers are often killed at the wood meres, whither thefe birds repair to drink : it approaches the fpot in filence, fiuttering from tree to tree ; and each time it halts it feems anxioufly to examine if any
danger
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Co (GREATER SPOTTED WOODPECKER.
danger threatens : it has an air of inquie- tude i it lirtens, and turns its head on all fides, and even loo'cs through the foliage to the ground below j and the lead noife is fufficient to drive it back. When it reaches the tree next the mere, it defcends from branch to branch, until it gets to the loweft on the margin of the water j it then dips its bill, and at each fip, it hearkens, and cafls a look round it. After its thirft is quenched, it retires quickly, without ma- king a paufe as on its arrival. When it is ihot on a tree, it feldom drops j but as long as a fpark of life remains, it clings firmly with its nails, fo that one is often obliged to fire a fecond time.
This bird has a very large fternum ; its inteftinal canal is (ixteen inches long, but there is no ccecum ; its ftomach is membra- nous i the point of its bill is bony, and five lines in length. An adult male v^'hich had been taken from a nefl of five young, weighed two ounces and an half j thefe weighed three gros each, and their toes were difpofcd as in the father ; their bill wanted the two lateral ridges, which, in the adult, took their origin beyond the noftrils, went below them, and extended two thirds of the length of the bill j the nails, thougfi
yet
vt.
'I'V,:
LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKF.R. Ci
yet white, were already much hooked. The nell was in an old hollow afpin, thirty fwct above the ground.
[A] Specific charafler of the Pictis Major, •« It is vniis- gated with black and white, its vent and the batic ct itJ head, red." It is found even in the moll northern parts of Europe. Its length nine inches, its weight 2 ' ounces.
a
The LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER.
V"A] t
Le Petit Epeicbe. BufF.
Second Species.
Picus Minor. Linn. Gmel Bor Kram. Sec, Picus Farius Minor. Aldrov. Brifs. and Gerini. Picus Di/cokr Minor, Frifch and Klein.*
^T^ HIS fpecies refembles the former (o clofely, that it might be regarded as the lame formed on a fmaller fcale, only the fore part of its body is dirty white or rather gray j and it wants the red under the tail, and the white on the fhoulders. As in the large fpecies too, it is the male only that has its head marked with red.
• In Italian Pipra or Pipe. In German Spechtle, Grafs Specht. In Norwegian Lillet Trcc-pikke : and in Polifli D%i- ' tciol Pfiry Mnieyszy,
This
I
i 'A
'I
62 LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER.
This little fpotted Woodpecker is fcarcely fo large as a fparroA' ^nd weighs only an ounce. In winter it reibr^s near houfes and vineyards. It does not creep very high on large trees, and feems to prefer the circum- ference of the trunk.* It neflles in fome hole of a tree, and often difputcs the pof- feflion with the Colemoufe, which is com- monly worded in the ftruggle and compel- led to furrender its lodging . It is found in England, where it has received the name of hickwnlL It alio inhabits Sweden : and this fpecies, like that of the greater fpotted Woodpecker, would appear to be difFufed even to North- America; for in Louifiana a fmall fpotted Woodpecker is feen which refembles it almoll entirely, except that the upper fide of the head, as in the Variegated Woodpecker of Canada, is covered with a black cap, edged with white.
Salerne fays that this bird is unknown in France, yet it occurs in moft of our provin- ces. The miftake originated from his con- founding the lefler fpotted Woodpecker with the Wall Creeper, with which he owns that he was unacquainted. He was equally deceived in aflerting that Frifch makes no mention of this Woodpecker, from which he
1;'l
Gefner.
infers
I
f,
tlTTLE SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 63
infers that it cxifts not in Germany : for that naturalift fays only that it is rare, but gives two excellent figures of it.
M. Sonnerat faw, in the ifland of Anti- gua, a fmall Variegated Woodpecker, which we fhall refer to this, fmce the chara<5ters which he gives are infufficient to difcrimi- nate two fpecies. It is of the fame bulk j black, ftriped and ftreaked with white, co- vers all the upper furface of the body ; the under furface is fpotted with blackiOi, on a pale yellow, or rather yellowifli white ground ; a white line marks the fides of the neck. M. Sonnerat did not perceive red on the head, but he remarks that it was perhaps a female.
[A] Specific charadler of the Picus Minor : It is variegated with white and black, its top red, its vent brick«coloured.
filRDS
/
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iri^
f 64 ]
BIRDS of the Ancient Continent,
Which are related to the
SPOTTED WOODPECKER.
The N U B I A N W O O D-
PECKER. Lath.
• VEpekhe de Nubie Onde et Tachete, BufF.
First Species,
Picus Nubicus, Gmel.
np H I s bird is a third fmaller than tlie fpotted Woodpecker of Europe : all its plumage is agreeably variegated with drops and waves broken and, as it wei*e, vermiculated with white and rufty on a gray brown ground,' and blackifh on the back, and tears of blackifh on the whitifh complexion of the breaft and belly ; a half crcft of fine red covers, like a cowl, the back of the head ; the crown and the fore- part con fill of ddicate black feathers, each tip'd with a fmall white drop -, the tail is divided horizontally by brown and rufty waves. The bird is very handfome, and the fpecies is new.
* The waved and Spotted Woodpecker of Nubia.
The
l! I
',■■'♦
t 65 1
The GREAT VARIEGATED
WOODPECKER,
Of the Ifle of Lu9on.
Second Species,
• Pictts Cardinalist Gmel. The Carainal Woodpecken Lath,
np HIS bird, which is defcribed by Soa- nerat, is as large as the Green Wood- pecker : the feathers of the back and the coverts of the wing are black, but their fhafts are yellow, and there are alfo yel- lowifti fpots on the latter ; the fmall coverts of the wing are ftriped tranfverfely with white ; the bread and the belly are varie- gated with longitudinal black fpots on a white ground ; there is a white bar on the fide of the neck, extending below the eye j the crown and back of the head, are of a bright red, and for this reafon, Sonnerat would apply to it the epithet oi Cardinal % but the red hood is rather a generie than a fpecific charader, and therefore the name
VOL. vix. F which
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66 BROWN SPOTTED WOODPECKER.
which that traveller would impofe, is not fufficiently defcriptive. [A]
[A] Specific charafter of the Picus-Cardinalis. ** It ia black ; below, white, fpotted with black, its top and the back of its head red."
The LITTLE BROWN SPOTTED WOODPECKER,
Of the Moluccas.
Third Species*
Pictis Moluccenjis. Gmel. The Brown Woodpecker, Latli*
T^ ri I s little Woodpecker has only two dull and faint (hades ; its plumage is blackifh-browni waved with white on the upper fide of the body, whitifh fpotted with brown fpeckles below ; the head and tail, and alfo the quills of the wings, are all brown. It is hardly io large as the lefler fpotted Woodpecker.
BIRDS
C 67 J
.^ I R D S of the New Continent,
Which are related to the
SPOTTED WOODPECKER.
TheSPOTTED WOODPECKER,
Of Canada.
Tirft Sp
eues.
Piius Canadenjts. Gmel. Fkus Farius Catzadcnjis. Brifl",
'np tt I s bird is of the fame (ize with the European Spotted Woodpecker, and differs only in the diftribution of its colours. It has no red ; and the fpace which encircles the eye is not white, but black : there is more white on the fide of tl; ^ neck, and white or faint yellow on the bac k of the head. Thefe differences however are Ihght, and the two contiguouii fpecH..^ are perhaps the fame» only altered by the change of climate.
The ^uaiihtotctotli alter of Fernandez, which is a Woodpecker vai legated '.vith black and white, appears to be the lame with this Canadian Woodj)ecker j efpeuially as that author never mentions its having any red,
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68 VARIED WOODPECKER.
and feems to inlinuate that it comes to New Spain from the North. And there muft be Spotted Woodpeckers in thofe tra6ts, fmce travellers have foimd them in the ifthmus of Darien [A].
[A] Specific cbarafler of the Pieus Canadenjis : " It is white ; its top, its back, its fhoulders, and the two middle quills of its tail, black; the reft, and the wings, varie- gated with white and black."
The VARIED WOODPECKER.
At-
V Epeiche du Mexique, BufF.
Second Species. Picus Tricolor. Gmel.
Jam much inclined to think that t\\t great Variegated Mexican JFoodpecker of Briifon, and his Little Variegated Mexican Woodpecker, are the fame bird, lie borrov^^s the firft from Seba, on v/hafe authority Klein and Moeh- ring have inferted it in their fyilems : but it is well known how inaccurate are moll of the defcriptions of that compiler. Klein mentions the fame bird twice, and it is one of thofe which we have rejcdled from the family of Woodpeckers. On the other hand, Eriiibn, for a rcitfon which we cannot guefs,
applies
VARIED WOODPECKER. 69
applies to his fecpnd Mexican Woodpecker the epithet little, though Fernandez, the only original author, fays that it is large^ which he repeats twice in four lines. According to him, it is equal in hulk to the Mexican crow J its plumage is varried with white tranfverfc lines on a black and brown ground ; the belly and bread are yermillion. This Woodpecker inhabits the cooleft parts of Mexico, and bores the trees like the reft of the kind.
The VARIEGATED JAMAICA WOODPECKER.
Third Species.
Picus CaraJinus. Linn, and Gmel.
Picas Fart us Jamaicetijts. Briff.
Picus Varius Medius. Sloane.
Picus Vurius Medius 'Jamaicetifis. Ray.
The "Jamaica Woodpecker. Edw.
The Red bellied Woodpecker. Catefby.
The Carolina Woodpecker, Penn. and Lath.
rp H I s Woodpecker is of a middle fizc
between the Green Woodpecker ind
the Spotted Woodpecker of Europe : Catef-
by makes it too fmall, when he compares
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70 VARIEGATED JAMAICA WOODPECKER.
it to the Spotted Woodpecker ; and Edwards reprefents it too large, in aflerting it to be equal in bulk to the Green Woodpecker. The fame author reckons only eight quills in the tail, but probably the two others were want- ing in the fubjed which he defcribes ; for all the Woodpeckers have ten quills in the tail. It has a red hood which falls on the arch of the neck ; the throat and ftomach are rufty gray, which runs by degrees into a dull red on the belly j the back is black, flriped tranfverfely with gray waves in {e(» toons, which are lighter on the wings, broader and entirely white on the rump.
The figure which Sir Hans Sloane has given of it is very defe6live, and it is the only one that this naturalift and Brown found in the ifland of Jamaica, though there are great many others on the continent of America. The prefent occurs alfo in Ca- rolina, and notwithftanding feme differ- ences, it maybe recognized in the red bellied Woodpecker of Catefby. The front is a rufty white, and in the male, red.
[A" Specific charafler of the Picus CaroUnus : " Its cap Ciid its nape are red ; its back marked with black ftripes; its middle tail quils, white, dotted with black."
[ 71 3
The STRIPED WOODPECKER,
of Louifiana.
Fourth Sptcies, Picus Carolinus var, Gmel. and Lath:
T T is rather larger than the Spotted Wood- pecker i all the ijipper furface is agree- ably flriped with white and black, difpofed in crofs bands i of the quills of the tail, the two exterior and the two middle ones, are mixed with white and black, the reft are black -, all the under furface and the fore part of the body are uniform wJhite 5 gray, and a little dilute red tinges the lower belly. Of two fpecimens lodged in the royal cabi- net, the one has the upperfide of the head wholly red, with feme ftreaks of the fame colour on the throat and under the eyes ; the other has its front gray, and no red but on the back of the head, and is probably the female, this being the ufual difference between the fexes : in both of them, this red is of a feebler and lighter caft than in the oth^r Variegated Woodpeckers,
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The VARIEGATED WOODPECKER of Encenada.
Ftyilr Species, Picus Bicolor* Gmel.
'T' HIS bird is not larger than our Lefler Spotted Woodpecker and is one of the handfomeft of the genus ; its colours are limple. but its plumage is richly mailed, and the white and brow n gray, with which it is painted, are fo finely broken and in- termingled, as to produce a charming ef- fe6l. The male has a full creft, and fome red feathers appear in it j the female wants the creft, and its head is entirely brown.
The HAIRY WOODPECKER,
Sixth Species.
Picus Villofus. Linn. Gmel. and Klein. Picus y'aritts yhrginianus. Bn^.
T s H A L L borrow the name of Hairy
Woodpecker from the Englifh fettlers of
Virginia, becaufe it exprefles a difcriminat-
ing chara6ler of the bird, viz. r^ white bar,
confilting
HAIRY WOODPECKER. 73
confifting of loofe feathers, that extends quite along the back to the rump : the reft of the back is black ; the wings too arc black, but marked pretty regularly with fpots of dull white, round, and in the form of tears i a black fpot covers the crown, and red the back of the head, from which a white line extends to the eye, and another is traced on the fide of the neck j the tail is black, all the under furface of the body is white. This Woodpecker is rather fmaller than the Spotted Woodpecker.
;|j- '■■■■■ , ',»*ffl
■!■'>> '^V^l] ■■ ^Vti ■'■■ -1'
The LITTLE VARIEGATED >VOODPECKER, of Virginia. Buf.
Seven tb Species,
Picas Puhe/cens. Linn and Gmel.
Picus Farius Firginianus Minor. Briff. and Klein.
^he Smallefl Woodpecker. Catefljy.
7he Donvny Woodpecker. Lawfon and Penn.
The Little Woodpecker, Lath.
\K7 E owe to Catefby the account alfo of ^ this fmall Woodpecker : it weighs rather more than an ounce and half, and refembles the Hairy Woodpecker fo much, it is faid, in its fpots and colours, that,
but
•! ,!'Hi
74 The VARIEGATED WOODPECKER.
but for the difference of fize, they might be regarded as of the fame fpecies : Itj breaft and belly are light gray, the four middle quilh of its tail are black, and the reft barred with black and v;hite. The female is diftinguiflied from tlie male, as in all the Woodpeckers, by having no red on the head.
' I
The VARIEGATED WOODPECKER, of Carolina.
i ?i
Eighth Species*
Pitus Varius. Linn, and Gmel.
Picus Carol'iHenJis, Brifs. and Klein.
The yellow-bellied Woodpecker. Catelby, Penn, and Lath.
'Tp HOUGH this Woodpecker has a yel- low tinge on the belly, we fliall not exclude it from thofe which are variegated with white and black, fince thefe colours appear on the upper furface, which really charac1:erizes the plumage. It is fcarcely fo la»*ge as the lefler Woodpecker 5 alfthe up- per fide of its head is red ; four ftripes, al- ternately black and white, cover the fpace
betweet^
^i, 3"*
The VARIEGATED WOODPECKER. 75
fpacc between the temple and the cheek, and the laft of thefe ftripes bounds the throat, which is of the fame red with the head ; the black and white intermingle and interfed: each other agreeably on the back, the wings, and the tail j the fore part of the body is a light yellow, fprinkled with fome black fpeckles. The female wants the red. This Woodpecker inhabit'^, according to Briflbn, Virginia, Carolina, and Cayenne.
TheVARIEGATED UNDATED WOODPECKER,
Ninth Spec'tet,
Picus TridaSiylus var. Linn. Gmel. &c. The Southern three-toed Woodpecker, Lath.
^T^H E plumage refembles that of the Spot- ted Woodpecker ; the back is black, with white difpofed in waves or rather fcales on the great quills of the wing, and thefe two colours form, when it is clofed, a check- ed bar: the under furface of the body is white, variegated on the fides with black fcates 5 two white ftreaks ftretch backwards^ one from the eye, the other from the bill, s,: ' -he top of the head is red.
The
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76 The VARIEGATED WOODPECKER;
The figure of this bird agrees perfe<5i|y with Brilibn's defcription of the Variegated CayejtJie Woodpecker, except that the former has four toes as ufual, and the latter only three. We cannot therefore doubt the exiftence of three-toed Woodpeckers : Lin- naeus defcribes one found in Dalecarliaj Schmidt, one in Siberia $ and we are informed by Lottinger* that it occurs alfo in Switzerland. The three-toed Wood- pecker appears therefore to inhabit the north of both continents. Ought the want of the toe to be regarded as a fpecific character, or confidered as only an accidental de- fedi ? It would require a great many obfer- vations to anfw'er that quedion j but it may be denied that the fame bird inhabits alfo the equatorial regions, though after Brif- fon it is termed the Spotted Cayenne Wood'" pecker in the Planches Enluminees,
After this long enumeration of the birds of both continents that are akin to the W^ood peckers, we muft obferve that we have been obliged to rejeft fome fpecies no- ticed by our nomenclators, Thefe are the third, eighth, and twentieth, which Brif- fon ranges with the Woodpeckers, Seba with the herons, and Moehring with the
• Extrait of a letter from M. Lottinger, to M. de Mont- beillard, dated Stralburg, 22d September, 1774.
crows.
The WOODPECyER CREEPERS. 77
crows* Klein calls thefe birds harpooneers ; bccaufe, according to Seba, they dart from the air upon fifli artd transfix them. But this habitude belongs not to the Wood- peckers ; and the difpofition of the toes, which in Seba's figure are difpofed three and 0776^ befides demonftrate that they are quite a diftindt kind.
The WOODPECKER-CREEPERS.
■ ' Les Pic-Grimpereaux. Buff.
'T^ H E genus of thefe birds, of which we know only two fpecies, appears ihanifeftly difcriminatcd, and conftitutes the intermediate link between the Wood- peckers and the Creepers. The firft and largeft fpecies refembles mofl the creepers, by its curved bill ; and the fecond, on the contrary, is more analogous to the Wood- .peckers fince it has a flraight bill. Both of them have three toes before and one be- hind, like the Creepers ; and at the fame time the quills of their tail are lliif and pointed, like the Woodpeckers.
The firfl: was ten inches long ; its head and throat fpotted with rufous and white ; the upper fide of the body, rufous, and the
underfide.
ii
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1
1
^
^8 The WOODPECKEk-CREEPERS.
underfide, yellow, ftriped tranfverfely with blackifh ; the bill and feet black.
The fecond was only feven inches long ; its head, neck, and bread, fpotted with rufous and white; the underfide of the body is rufous, and the belly rufty brown i the bill gray, and the feet blackifh.
Both thefe birds have very nearly the fame natural habits; they creep againft trees like Woodpeckers, fupporting themfelves by the tail 5 they bore the bark and the wood with much noife, and they feed upon the infedts thus dete<fted : they inhabit the forefts and feek the vicinity of fprings, and rivulets. The two fpecies live together* and often on the fame tree, on which ma- ny other fmall birds are perched ; yet they are only fond of each others fociety, and never intermix the breed. They are very agile, and flutter from tree to tree, bu ne- ver perch or fly to a diftance. They are commonly found in the interior parts of Guiana, where the natives of the country confound them with the Woodpeckers j which is the reafon that ; f have received no appropriated name. It is probable that they alfo inhabit the other warm climates of America, though no traveller has men- tioned them.
The
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THE COl^rMOK -WKrNBCK,
I 79 ]
The WRYNECK.
LeTorcol. Buffi ' .
Tunx-Torquilla. Linn, and Gmel. lynx, feu Tor quilla. Aldrov. Gcfner. Will. &c*' r . Torquilla, BrifT*.
HP H I s bird may be diftinguiflied at firft fight by a habit peculiar to itfelf ; it twifts and turns back its neck, its head re- verted on its back, and its eyes half-fliut, |- and the motion is flow, tortuous, and ex- a6lly (imilar to the waving wreaths of a reptile. It feems to be occafioned by a convulfion of furprize and fright ; and it is alfo an effort which the bird makes to dif- engage itfelf when held, yet this motion is natural to it, and depends in a great mea- fure on its ftru<5ture j for the callow brood
• In Greek Uy^\ in modern Latin Ttrquilla ; and al- Inoft all its other names in various languages refer to thft diftortion of its neck ; in French Tonol ; in Italian Torte* foi/o, CapotorfOf Verticellai in Spanifh Tcrzicuelle i in Ger- man Wind-halz, Nafer halx, Naterz ivang, Natsr.fwenJel ^ in Swediih Gioektita-j in Dani(h, £«>}</<?-^a/e; in Norwegi* art Sao-gouk ; in Poli(h Kretoghtu ; in Rufllrin Krutiholowa,
t Ariftotle, Hifl, Anim, Lib. ii. xii. Schwenckfeld.
have
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The WRYNECK.
have the fame vermicular wreathing, and many a timorous neft-finder has fancied them to be young ferpents ||.
The Wryneck has alfo another fingular habit. One which had been fhut twenty- four hours in a cage, turned towards a perfon who approached it, and, eyeing him (leadily, it rofe upon its fpurs, (Iretch- ed flowly forwards, railing the feathers on the top of its head and fpreading its tail $ then it fuddenly drew back, ftriking the bottom of the cage with its bill, and re- tra(5ling its creft. It repeated this gefture, which was alfo obferved by Schwencfeld, to the number of an hundred times, and as long as the fpedlaitor remained befide it.
Thefe ftrange attitudes and natural con- tortions feem antiently to have prompted fuperitition to adopt this bird in enchant- ments, and to prefcribe its flefh as the moft powerful incentive to love ; infomuch, that the name Jynx denoted all fort of enchant- ments, violent paflions, and whatever we call the charm of beauty j that blind power which irrefiftibly commands our affedtions. Such is the fenfe in which Heliodorus, Lycophron, Pindar, iEfchylus, and Sopho-
II Beloa.
des
WRYNECK.
9t
cles employ it. The enchantrcfs in Theo- critus makes this charm, to recall her lover. It was Venus herfelf that, from Mount Olympus, brought the Jynx to Ja- fon, and taught him its virtue, to win the heart of Medea, (Pindar). The bird was once a nymph, the daughter of Echo : by her enchantments, Jupiter became enamour- ed of Aurora; and Juno, in wrath, per- formed the metamorphofis. See Suidas» and the Scholiaft of Lycophron, iEfchylus, Sophocles, Heliodorus, Pindar, and Eraf- mus.
The fpecies of the Wryneck is no where numerous : each individual leads a fequefl- ered life, and even migrates folitarily. They arrive fingly in the month of May-f. They never enter into any fociety but that of the female, and it is only tranfitory, for the domeftic union is diflblved, and they retire in September. The Wryneck prefers, for the fake of foUtude, a draggling tree in the midft of fome broad hedge-row. Towards the end of fummer, it is found alone among the fields of corn, particularly oats, and in the fmall paths that run through patches of buck- wheat. It feeds on the ground.
f Gefner fays that he has feen them ia the month of April.
VOL. VII, G and
Ill
V
§0. WRYNECK.
and does not clamber on the trees like the Woodpeckers, though it is clofely related to thefe birds, and has the fame conforma- mation in its bill and feet. Yet it never intermixes with them, and Teems to form a fmall feparate family.
The Wryneck is as large as the Lark, being feven inches long, and ten inches acrofs the wings ; all its plumage is a mixture of gray, of black, and of tawny, dispofed in waves and bars, contrafted fo as to produce the richeft enamel with thefe dufky (hades ||; the underfide of the body is of a white gray ground, tinged with ruf- ty on the neck, and painted with fmall black zones, which feparate on the bread, and ftretch into a lance-ihape, and are fcat- tered and diluted on the ftomach j the tail confifts of ten flexible quills, which the bird fpreads when it flies, and which are variegated below with black points on a dulky-gray ground, and interfedted by two or three broad waved bars like ^hofe on the wings of night flies ; the fame mixture of beautiful undulations of black, of brown, and of gray, among which are perceived zones, lozenges, and zigzag lines, paints all the upper furface on a deeper and more rufty
il Pindar calls the Jynx, variegated. Ge/ner.
ground.
W R Y N E C-K.
83
ground. Some defcribers have compared the plumage of the Wryneck to that of the Woodcock 5 but it is more agreeably vari- ed, its tints are clearer and diftincter, of a fofter feeland, have a finer effe<ft j the cafl of the colour is rufous in the male, and more cinereous in the female, which difcriminates them j the feet are rufty gray 5 the nails fharp, the twro exterior much longer than the two interior.
This bird holds itfelf very ere6l on the branch where it fits, and its body is even bent backwards. It clings in the fame way to the trunk of a tree when it fleeps j but it never clambers like the Woodpecker, nor feeks its food under the bark ', its bill, which is nine lines in length and fafhioned as thofe of the Woodpeckers, does not affift it in finding its nourifhment, and is nothing but the fheath of a large tongue three or four fingers in length, which it darts into the ant-hills, and which it again draws back covered with ants that ftick to its vifcous hu midity] The point of the tongue is fharp and horny 5 and, to give it exten- fion, two great mufcles rife from its root, and, after inclofing the larynx, and flretch- ing to the crown of the head as in the Woodpeckers, are inferted in the front,
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It atfo wants commonly the cacum^ % and Willughby fays, that in its ftcad, there is only a fort of inflation of the inteflines.
The cry of the Wryneck is a very (hrill drawling whiftle, which the ancients pro- perly termed Jlridori and the Greek name lyl feems to imitate thefound||. It is heard eight or ten days before the cuckoo. It lays in holes of trees, without making any nefl, and on the duft of rotten wood, which it throws to the bottom of the cavity, by ftri- king the fides with its bill. It has common- ly eight or ten eggs, which are white as ivo- ry{. The male carries ants to his mate during incubation -, and the young brood againft the month of June, writhe their neck, and whiftle loud when one approaches them. They foon abandon their lodgment, and ac- quire no attachment for each other, fince they feparate and difperfe as foon as they can ufe their wings. "
f Aibin.
11 Scaliger derives Ivy^ from IkIiu, which occurs in the 17th book of the Iliad, and fignifies to fcream.
X On the 1 2th of June» we received ten eggs of a Wry* neck, taken out of a hole in an old apple-tree, five feet from the ground, and which refted on rotten wood ; and three years before. Wryneck's eggs were brought (o us from the fame hole.
They
WRYNECK.
IJ
They can hardly be raifed in a cage, it being very difficult to procure the proper food. Thofe which had been kept fome time, touched the pafte that was offered them with the tip of their tongue, and af- ter tailing, reje6led it, and died of hun- ger §. An adult Wryneck, which Gefner tried to feed with ants, lived only five days : it conftantly refufed to eat other infects, and periihed feemingly from lan- guor.
About the end of fummer, this bird grows very fat, and is then excellent meat ; fo that in many countries it goes by the name of ortolan. It is fometimes caught by the fpring, and the fportfmen tear out its tongue with the view to prevent its flelh from contra(5ting the tafte of ants. The feafon is from Auguft to the middle of September, when the Wrynecks depart, none of them remaining during the winter in Qur climates. ,
§ On the loth of June, I caufed a Wryneck's nc(! to be taken out of an old crab five feet from the ground ; the male remained on the high branches of the tree, and cried very loud, while his female and his young were diflodged. I fed them with pafte made of bread and cheefe ; they lived near three weeks : they were familiar with the perfon who took care of them, and would come to eat out of his hand. When they grew large, they refufed the ufual pafte, and as no infers could be procured for them, they died of hunger." N»te, (ommunicated by M. Gutneau dt MontbtillarJ,
G 3 The
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86
W. R Y N E C K.
The fpecies is fpread through all Europe, from the fouthern dates to 'Sweden*, and even Lapland-f* i it is common in Greece||, and Italy. = We learn from a paflage of PhiloftratusJ that the Wryneck was known to the Magi, and found in the region of Babylon. Edwards alfures us, that it oc- curs in Bengal. In fhort, though its num- bers are in each country rare, they are difFufed through the whole extent of the ancient continent. Aldrovandus alone fpeaks of a variety in the fpecies ; but his defcription was made from a drawing, and the differences are fo flight, that we have thought it unneceflary to feparate it. ^AJ
i' • ■■ . t
• Fauna Succica.
•f- Rudbeck.
II Belon. . • ■' • :
= Aldrovandus. . ' . •
X Vita Apollon.
[A] Specific charafter of the Wryneck, Tunx-TorquiUa*
** It is variegated with white, gray, and ferruginous.'* Its Swedifh name Gioei-Tifa, fignifies/^t Cuckooes exflainet; and the Welflx Gnu as y gog, means the Cuckoo's attendant. In fad the Wryneck ufually appears a little ibefore the Cuckoo. It weighs an ounce and a quarter. Its egg is white, and femi-tranfparent. - :- ,,,,.-■
■, 1. 1-
The
C 87 J
The B A R B E T S.
"^Jaturalists have applied the epithet bearded to feveral birds that have the bafe of their bill befet with detached feathers, long and ftifF like briftles, all of them di- rected forward. But we muftobferve, that under this defignation, fome birds of differ- ent fpecies and from very diftant climates have been confounded. The tamatia of Marcgravc, which comes from Brazil, has been ranged with the Barbet of Africa and that of the Philippines ; and all thofe which have a beard on their bill, and two toes be- fore and two behind, have been grouped together by our nomenclators. Yet the natives of the old continent are difcrimina- ted from thofe of the new, their bill being much thisker, fhorter, and more convex below. We (hall therefore give the name tamatia to the former kinds, and appropri- ate barbet folely to the latter.
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The T A M A T I A.
Fir/f Specits*
Buceo-Tamatia. Gmel. Tamatia Brafilienjts, Marcg. Tamatia Guacu, Pifon. The Spotted'bellied Barbet, Lath.
TXT* E have already remarked that Briflbn was miflaken in ranging this bird with the little thrufh of Catcfby ; for it is entirely different in the difpofition of its toes, and the fhape of its bill, as well as in its beard, and the largenefs of its head, a property common to the whole genus. Marcgrave is inaccurate too, in alTerting that it wants the tail ; this is indeed (horr, but his fpecimen was probably incom^ kte. All the other charadters correfpond j and as the bird occurs not only in Brazil, but alfo in Cayenne, whence ic has been lent to us» we can eafily compare the defcription.
Its total length is fix inches and a half, of which the tail occupies two inches ; the bill IS fifteen lines, its upper extremity hooked, and as it were, divided into two points 5 the beard which covers it, extends more than half its length s the upper fide of the
head
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THE SPO T TKD -BELLIED BARBETT.
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T A M A T I A. • i^
head and the front, are rufty ; on the neck, there is an half-collar variegated vith black and rufous } all the reft of the plumage above is brown, (haded with rufous ; on each iide of the head behind the eyes, there IS a pretty large fpot ; the throat is orange, and the reft of the lower furface of the body is fpotted with black on a rufty white ground; the bill and feet are black.
The habitudes of this Tamatia are the fame with thofe of all the birds of the fame genus found in the New Continent : they refide in the moft fequeftered parts of the forefts, and conftantly remote from dwell- ings and even cleared grounds : they never appear in flocks, or in pairs : they fly labo- rioudy, and to fhort diftances. and never alight but on low branches, preferring fuch as are thickeft clothed with fprays and leaves : they have little vivacity, and when once feated, they remain a long time : they have even a dull, melancholy afpedl, and they might be faid to afFe6t giving them- felves an air of gravity, by finking their large head between their fhoulders j and it then feems to cover all the forepart of the body. Their difpofition correfponds exactly to their maffy figure and their feri* ous deportment. They are fo unwieldly that they have much difficulty to move}
and
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i
90
T A M ^ T I A.
and a peiTon may advance as near as he pleafes and fire feveral times, without driv- ing them to flight. Their flefh is not bad, though they live on caterpillars and other large infe6ts. In Ihort, they are exceedingly filent and folitary, homely and remarkably ill fliaped [A], r * '. ' ' '
:\:'. ■: I • ■ '
'■■.*• 5 'VI :■
[A] Specific charafler of the Bucco-Tamatia : ** It is ru- fous brown; below rufous white, fpotted with black; its throat orange ; it is half-collared."
vr.'i' 11 -.^
The T A M A T I A with the
Head and Throat Red.
;vfv';
Second Species,
• - * * ! »
", . ^ Buc co-Cay anenjis* Gmel. and Brifl*. . * I'he Cayenne Barbet, Lath.
np H I s bird, which we have delineated in the fame plate under two different denominations, appears however not to form two fpecies, but only to include a va- riety ; for in both, the head and throat are red ; the cheeks mid all the under furface of the body black j the bill blackifh, and the feet cinereous. The only difference is, that in the fiifl figure the breaft is yellow- ifli white, but in the fecond it is brown
COLLARED TAMATIA. 91
diluted with yellow ; the former has black fpots on the top of the breaft ; it has alfo a fmall white fpot above the eyes and white fpots on the wings, which are wanting in the fecond. But as, in other refpeds, they are (imilar, and are of the fame (ize, wc do not regard the differences of colour fuf« ficient to conftitute two diftinft fpecies, as our nomenclators have prefumed. Thefe birds are found not only in Guiana, but in St. Domingo, and probably in other hot climates of America [A].
[A] Specific charafter of the Bucco Cayantnfis : ** It is. hV&k, below ochry-white, its front and throat red."
The COLLARED TAMATIA
J
third Species,
Buec» Cafenps, Linn, and GmeU '
Bucco. BriiT.
The Collared Barhet, Lath.
np H E plumage is agreeably variegated ; the underlide of the body deep orange, ftriped tranfverfely with black lines ; about the neck there is a collar, which is very narrow above and fo broad below as to pver all the top of the breaft -, and this V .. .: .._ ,., . black
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^ BEAUTIFUL TAMATIA.
black collar is accompanied with a half foliar of a tawny colour ; the throat is whitiih} the lower part of the bread is rufly white, which conftantly inclines more to rufous as it defcends under the belly ^ the tail is two inches and three lines in length, and the whole bird meafures fevea inches and a quarter, its bill an inch and five lines, and the legs which are gray, feven and a half lines in height. It is found in Guiana, but is rare [AJ.
[A] Specific charadler of the Bueeo Cafenjis: ** It it rufous with a fulvous flripe on its ihoulder, a black At'ife on its bread.'*
The BEAUTIFUL TAMATIA;
Fourth Species*
Buceo Elegant, Gmel. Bucco Majnanenjis. BritT. The Beautiful Barhet, Lath.
'Tp H 1 8 bird is the moft beautiful, or ra- ther the leaft ugly of the genus : it is better made, fmaller and more (lender than the red, and its plumage is fo variegated that it would be difficult to give a full def*- fcription. It is five inches eight lines in length, including the tail which is near two
inches i
\
i
^iLACIt AWD WHITE TAMATIA8. 93
inches ; the bill meafures ten lines and the legs the fame.
]t is found on the banks of the river Amazons, in the country of the Maynas : but we are informed that it inhabits equally the other parts of South America. '
The BLACK and WHITE T A M A T I A S.
Fi/ib and Sixth Species,
TX7 E can fcarce feparate thefe two birds, for they differ only in fize 5 and befides their general refemblance in the colours, they have both an appropriated charafler j viz. their bill is ftronger, thicker and longer than the other Tamatias in proportion to their body 5 in both alfo the upper mandi- ble is very hooked, and terminates in two points as in the firft fpecies.
The largeft * of thefe Black and White Tamatias is very thick compared with its length, which is hardly feven inches : it is a new fpecies fent from Cayenne by M. Du- val, and alfo the other fpecies v^hich i^
• Bucco Macreryncbos. Gmel. Tk( Greater Pied Barhet, Lath.
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94 BLACK AND WHITE TAMATIAS.
fmaller and exceeds not five inches m length. It would be tedious to enter into a minute defcription Their iimilarity is fo ftriking that but for their difference of fize, we might regard them as the fame fpecies. [A]
[A] Specific chara£ler : It is black; its front, the tips of its tail-quills, and the under-fide of its body, are white; it has • black llripe on its breaft.'*.
•;}ri V.1 C 95 ]
.^ M'-'>;
The B A R B E T S.
Les Bar bus. BuiF.
IIT" E applied the name Tamatia to the bearded birds of America/' and re- ferved Barbet for thofe of the ancient con- tinent. As both thefe fly with great dif- ficulty, on account of the thicknefs and unwieldinefs of their body, it is improbable that they could migrate from one continent into another, (ince they inhabit the hotted climates. Accordingly, they are different, and we have therefore difcriminated them. But ftill they referable in many charafters ; for, befides the long flender briftles that cover the bill either wholly or partly and form the beard, and the pofition of the feet, which is the fame in both ; they have equally a fquat body, a very large head, and a bill exceedingly thick, fomewhat curved below, convex above, and comprcf- fed on the fides. In the Barbets however, the bill is fenfibly fhorter, thicker, and ra- ther lefs convex below than in the Tama- tias. Their difpofitions alfo differ ; the former are fedate and almofl: flupid, while , the latter, which inhabit the Eafl Indies,
attack
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96 YELLOW THROATED BARBET.
attack the fmall birds, and, in their oeco-' nomy, refemble nearly the Shrikes.
TheYELLOW THROATED B A R B E T.
Tirft Species, Bmco Ph'tlippenfts, Gmel. and Brifl;
T T s length is feven inches 5 the tail only eighteen lines ; the bill twelve or thir- teen lines, and the legs eight lines : the head is red, and alfo the breatl$ the eyes are encircled by a large yellow fpot ; the throat is pure yellow, the red of the underdde of the body yellowifti; variegated with longi- tudinal fpots of dull green. The female is fmaller than the male; and has no red on the head or breail. They are found in the Philippines [AJ,
[A] Specific chara£ler of the Bueeo Philipptnfis : " It is green, the top of the head (of the male) ; the fpace about the eyes, the throat, and the underfide of the body, yel- low."
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The BLACK THROATED B A R B E T.
Second Species, > Butco Niger, Gmcl.
np H 1 s fpecies, which, as well as the pre- ceding, is found in the Philipinnes, is yet very different. It is thus defcribed by Sonnerat,
** This bird is rather larger and particu- larly longer than the Grofbeak of Europe ; the front or fore part of the head is of a beautiful red -, the crown, the back of the head, the throat, and the neck, are black ; there is alfo, above the eye, a femi-circular black (Iripe which is continued by another one, ftraight and white, that defcends to the lower part of the neck on the fide j be- low the yellow ftripe and the white one, which continues it, there is a black vertical ftripe, and between this and the throat, there is a white longitudinal flripe, that is loft at its bafe in the breaft, which, as well as the belly, the fides, and the upper furface of the tail, is white j the middle of the back is black, but the feathers on the fide, be- tween the neck and the back, are black,
VOL. VIZ. H fpeckled
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98 bLack throated barbet.
fpeckled each with a flreak of yellow $ the four firft> inckiding the flump, are tipt with white, and the fifth with yellow, which forms a crofs ftripe on the top of the wing -, below this ftripe, are black feathers, fpeckled each a yellow point : the laft featheis finally, which cover the great quills of the wing, are likewife entirely black i but the others have over their whole length, on the fide where the webs are longeft, a yellow fringe; the tail is black in the middle, tinged with yel- low on the fides i the bill and feet are blackifh." [A] • .: . -
[A] Specific charafler of the Bucco Niger : " It is black, below white, a yellow flreak above the eye produced on cither fide to the neck, a white collar."
The BLACK-BREASTED BARBET.
Le Bavhu a Plajiron Noir, BufF.
I'hird Species. Bucco Niger. Var, Gmcl.
'T^ H 1 8 is a new fpecies fent to us from
the Cape of Good Hope, but without
any account of the natural habits of the
bird. It is fix inches and a half long ; its tail
eighteen
BLACK BREASTED BARBET. 99
eighteen lines ; its feet eight or nine lines. It is of a middle fize, fmaller than the Grof- beak of Europe ; its plumage is agreeably mingled and contrafted with black and white ; its front is red j there is a yellow line on the eye, and drops of a bright fhining yellow fcattered on the wings and the back j the fame yellow tinge extends in daflies to the rump ; and the quilisof the tail, and the middle ones of the bill, arc llightly fringed with the fame colour j a black plate covers the breaft as far as the neck j the back of the head is alfo enveloped in black, and a black bar betv/cen two white ones defcends on the fide of the neck.
The LITTLE BARBET.
Fourth Species, BuccQ Parvus. Gmel. << •
'T^ H I s is a new fpecies, and the fmalleft in the genus. It was given to us as brought from Senegal, but without men- tion of any other circumftance. It is only four inches long : its large head and thick bill fhaded with long bridles, fufficiently chara6terize it. Its tail is fliort, and its wings, when dofed, rcvich almoft to its
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5REAT BARBET.
extremity : all the upperfide of the body is of a blackifli brown, (haded with fulvous, and tinged with green on the quills of the wing and of the tail j fome fmall white waves form fringes on the former: the underflde of the body is whitifli, with fome traces of brown » the throat is yellow, and from the corners of the bill a fmall white bar pafles under the eyes. [A]
[A] Specific charafler of the Bucco Parvus: ** It is blackifh brown, below, white, fpotted with brown; in throat yellow."
The GREAT BARBET.
I
Fifth Species. Bueeo Grandit. Gmel.
' I '' HIS bird is near eleven inches long. The principal colour in its plumage is a fine green, which mingles with other colours oil different parts of the body, and efpecially on the head and neck: the head entirely, and the forepart of the neck, are green mixed with blue ; fo that they appear green or blue, according to their expofure to the light j the origin of the neck, and that of the back, are of a chefnut brown, which varies alfo in difFer- ' * ent
GREEN BARBET.
lOt
cnt afpedts, being intermingled with green ; alt the upperfide of the body is of a very fine green, except the great quills of the wings, which are partly black s all the un* derfide of the body is of a much lighter green ; there are fome feathers below the tail, which are of a very fine red : the bill is ten lines in length, and an inch broad at the bafe, where there are black hard briftlcsi it is whitifli, but black at the point : the wings are fhort, and fcarcely reach the mid- dle of the tail. This bird was fent to us from China. [A]
[A] Specific charafter of the Bucca Grandit : " It ii green, the lower coverts of its tail red."
The G R E E N BARBET.
Sixtk Specie/. Bucco Firidis Gmel.
Tt is fix inches and a half long ; the back, ■*■ the coverts of the wings, and of the tail are of a very fine green j the great quills of the wing are brown» but that colour is not feen, being hid by the coverts of the wings; the head is brown gray ; the neck is the fame colour, but each feather is edged with yellowidi, and above and behind the eye,
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GREEN BARBET.
there is a white fpot; the belly is of a much paler green than the back ; the bill is whit^fh, and the bafe of the upper man- dible is furrounded with long black and hard hairs ; the bill -is an inch and two lines in length, and {cwtn lines broad at its bafe, the wings are fhort, and reach only the middle of the tail. We received it from the Eaft Indies. [A]
[A] Specific charader of the BuccoViridis : " It is green, its head and neck gray- brown, the fpace about its eyes white."
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The TOUCANS,
"117 H A T may be termed the phyfiog- nomy of animated beings refults from the afpedl of their head in different pofi- tions. Their form, their figure, their (hape, &c. refer to the appearance of their body and of its members. In birds, it is eafy to perceiVe, that fuch as have a fmall head and a (hort flender bill, exhibit a deli- cate, pleafing, and fprightly phyfiognomy, Thofe, on the contrary, with an over-pro- portioned head, fuch as the Barbets, or with a bill as large as the head, fuch as the Toucans, have an air of ftupidity, which feldom belies their natural talents. A perlbii who faw a Toucan for the firft time might take the head and bill, in the front view, as one of thofe long-nofed m;..ks that frighten children; but when he ferioufly examined this enormous production, he would be furprized that riature had given fo huge a bill to a bird of fuch moderate fize, and his aftonidiment would increafe on reflect- ing, that it was ufelefs and even burthen- fome to its owner, which it obliged to fwallow its food whole without dividing or , ' H 4 cru(hing.
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TOUCANS.
crufhing. And fo far is this bill from ferv- ing the bird as an inftrument of defence, or even as a counterpoife, that it a6ls like ia weight on a lever which tends conftantly to deftroy the balance, and occafion a fort of hobbling motion.
The true chara6ler of nature's errors is difproportion joined to inutility. All thofe parts of animals which are overgrown or mifplaced, and which are ufelefs or incon- venient, ought not to be ranged in the great plan of the univerfe ; they (hould be imputed to her caprice or overfight, which however tend equally to their obje6V, fmce thefe extraordinary produ6lions evince, that whatever can be, a6tually exifts ; and that though a regular fymmetry commonly ob- tains, the diforders, the excelTes, and the defe'^s which are permitted, demonftrate the extent of that power which is con- fined not to thofe ideas of proportion and fyftem that we are apt to regard as the ftandards.
And as nature has beflowed on mod ani- mals all the qualities thatconfpire to beau- ty and perfcdlion of form, fhe has alfo admitted more than one defe<^ in her care- lefs produftions. The enormous and ufe- lefs bill of the Toucan includes a tongue, Aili more ufelefs, and whofe flru6ture is
very
TOUCANS.
t05
very uncommon j it is not flefliy or cartila- ginous as in other birds, but a real feather mifplaced.
The word Toucan means feather in the language of Brazil, and Toucan tabouracit which (ignifies feathers for dancings is ap- plied by the natives to that bird which furnifhes them with the decorations worn on feftival days. Indeed thefe birds, io Ihapelefs and monftrous in their bill and tongue, have a brilliant plumage ; their throat is orange of the moft vivid hue j and though fuch beautiful feathers are found only iii fome fpecies of Toucans, yet have they given name to the whole genus. Thefe feathers are even in Europe in requeft for making muffs. The huge bill of the Toucan has acquired it other honours, and tranflated it among their fouthern conftel- htions, where nothing is admitted but what is ftriking or wonderful *. Befides the ex- cefllve length of this bill, it is through its whole length wider than the head of the bird; Lery has termed it, the bill of bilk "^ ^ other voyagers have named the Toucan the bird all-bill Xi and the Creoles of Cayenne
• Journal des Obfervations Phyfiques da P. Feuillee, p. 428. f Voyage du Brafil. p. 174. J Dampier's Voyage round the World.
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TOUCANS.
apply to it the epithet of Grosbeak. The mag- nitude of the bill would exceedingly fatigue the head and neck, were it not very thin, infomjch that it may eafily be crulhcd be- tween the fingers. Authors || were there- fore miflaken in aflferting, that the Tou- cans bored trees, like the Woodpeckers j or they were at lead miflead by the Spaniards, who have confounded thcfe birds under the fame name carpejtteros (carpenter), or tiicir.acas in the language of Peru. But it is certain that the I'oucans are very differ- ent from the Woodpeckers, and could not imitate them in that habit ; and indeed Scaliger has before us remarked that as their bill was hooked downwards, it feenied im- poflible for them to make a perforation.
The form of this huge uiiwicidiy bill is very different in each mandible : the upper one is bent into the fliape of a fickle, rounded above, and hooked at the extre- mity ; the under one is (horter, narrower and lefs curved below. Both of them have indentings on the edges, but which are much more perceptible on the upper than on the under j and what appears ftill more fmgular, ihefe indentings do not fit into each other, nor even correfpond in their relative pofition, thofe on the right fide not
[j Hernandez.
being
f'
TOUCAN S.
107
being oppofite to thofe on the left, for they begin more or lefs behind, and end alfo more or lefs forward.
The tongue of the Toucans is, if poffi- ble, more wonderful than the bill : they are the only birds which may be faid to have a feather inilead of a tongue, and a feather it certainly is, though the Hiaft is a cartilaginous fub(lance two lines broad ; for on both fides there are very clofe barbs, entirely like thofe of ordinary feathers, and which are longer the nearer they are inferted to the extremity. With an organ fo fingular and fo different from the ordinary fubftance and organization of the tongue, we might fuppofe that thefe birds were mutej yet they have a voice as well as the reft, and often utter a fort of whiftling, which is reiterated fo quickly, and with fuch continuance that they have been denominated the preaching birds. The favages afcribe great virtues to this feathery tongue *, and ule it as a cure in many diforders. Some authors -f* have fuppofed that the Toucans had no noftrils ;
* M. de la Condamine fpeaks of a Toucan which he fawr on the banks of the Maragnon, whofe monftrous bill is red and yellow ; its tongue, he fays, which refembles a delicate feather, is elleemed to have great virtues. Voyage a la riviere des Amazonest Paris t 1745. ^w alfo Gemelli Carreri, Paris, 1 7 19. torn, vj, p. 24, &c.
I Wiliughby and Barrere.
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1)ut \vc m ly fee them by ftroking afidc the leathers at the bafe of the bill, which in mod fpecics conceal them ; in others, they aie bare, atid confcqucntly very apparent.
The Toucans have nothing in common ^vith the WooclpccI<ers, but the difpofition of their toes, two placed before and two behind. Even in this charafter, a diftinc- tion may be perceived j the toes are much longer and differently proportioned than in Woodpeckers j the outer fore-toe is almoll as long as the whole foot, which is indeed very fliort, and the other toes are alfo very long, the two inner ones are the lead fo. The feet of the Toucans are only half the length of the legs, fo that they cannot walk, but hop, and that awkwardly : the feet arc not feathered, but covered with long foft fcales. The nails are proportioned to the length of the toes, arched, and fomewhat flattened ob- tufe at the end, and furrowed below length- wife by a channel ; they are of no fervicc to the bird in attack or defence, or even for climbing, but only to fupport it firmly on the boughs on which it perches.
The Toucans are fcattered through all the warm parts of South America, and never occur in the ancient continent. They flit rather than migrate, following the ma- turity of the fruits on which they feed,
particularly
TOUCANS.
rc9
particularly thofe of the palms ; and as thdTc trees delight in wet places near the margin of water, the Toucans afFe6l fuch fituations, and Ibmetimes they even locl;^e on the mangroi^es, which grow in deluged mud. And hence it has been fuppofed thac they eat fiihes *, but thefe muft at lead be very fmall, fmce they are obliged to fwallovv their food entire.
Thefe birds generally go in fmall bodies from fix to ten j their flight is heavy and laborious, owing to the (hortnefs of their wings and the weight of their enormous bill ; yet they rife above the tailed trees, on the fummits of which they are almoft always perched, and in continual flutter j but the vivacity of their motions difpels not their dull air, for the huge bill gives them a ferious melancholy countenance, and their large dull eyes augment the eftedt : m fliort, though lively and active, they appear the more heavy and awkward.
As they breed in the holes abandoned by the Woodpeckers, it has been fuppofed they excavate thefe themfelves. 'I hey lay only two eggs, yet all the fpecies contain abundance of individuals. They may be cafily tamed, if taken young j it is even
Fernandez and Nleremberg.
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TOUCANS.
faid that they will propagate in the domef- tic ftate. They are not diliicult to rear, for they fwallow whatever is thrown to them, bread, flefli, or filli; they alfo with the point of their bill, lay hold of the bits that are held near them ; they tofs thefe up, and receive them in their wide throat. But when they are obliged to provide for themfelves, and to gather their food from the ground, they feem to grope, and feize the crumb fidewife, that it may leap up, and be caught in' its fall. They are fo de- licate to imprellions of cold, as to be affect- ed by the coolnefs of evening in the hotted climates, even of the new continent j they have been obferved in the houfe to make a bed of herbs, of draw, and of whatever they could gather. Their fkin is in gene- ral blue under the feathers, and their flefli, though black and hard, is yet palatable.
The genus of thefe birds fubdivides itfelf into the Toucans and Aracaris : thefe differ from each other j i. in fize, the Toucans being much larger than the Aracaris , 2. by ♦lie dimenfions and the fubftance of their bill, which in the Aracaris is much longer, harder, and folider; 3. by their tail, which is longer in the Aracaris, and very fenfibly tapered, whereas it is rounded in
the
TOUCANS.
Ill
in the Toucans -f . The Toucans properly fo called, contain five fpecies.
t The Brafilians were the firil who diftinguilhed thefe two varieties, calli ig the large ones touc ms, and the fmall ones Aracaris'. The natives of Guiana have made the fame difcrimination, giving the former the name of kararouima, and the latter that oi grigri.
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The TOCO.
/V/y? Species. RamphaJios'Toco, Gmel.
'T^ H E body rf this bird is nine inches long, including the head and tail j its bill is izvQxx inches and a half; the head, the upper fide of the neck, the back, the rump, the wings, the whole tail, the breafl:, and the belly, are deep black ; the coverts of the upper fide of the tail are white, and thofe of the under fide are fine red ; the under fide of the neck and throat are white, mixed with a little yellow : between this yellow below the throat and the black of the breaft, there is a fmali red circle; the bafe of the two mandi- bles is black ; the reft of the lower mandi^ ble is reddifh yellow ; the upper mandible is of the fame reddilh yellow colour, as far as two thirds of its length ; the reft of this mandible is black to the point : the wings are fhort, and reach hardly the third of the tail ; the feet and nails are black. This fpecies is new, and wc have given it the name of toco. [A]
[A] Specific chara£ler of the Ramphafios-Toco : It isblack- ifh ; its throat and rump, white j its orbits, a circle on ita breaft, and its vent, red.
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The YELLOW-THROATED TOUCAN.
Second Species,
{Ramphajlos Dicohrus, Linn, and Gmel. Ramphajlos Tucanus. Linn, and Gmcl.
^"'■'^"^ ( ^BfaJlUnfts. } i"'"*'' ^"'''' 2"^-
Opw o birds of this kind have been figu- • red in the Planches Enluminees y the firft under the denomination of the Tellow throated Toucan, of Cayenne [A], and the fecond under that of i\iQ yellow-throated tou" can of Brazil, [B] But they inhabit equal- ly both countries, and appear to us to form the fame fpecies. The difFerenc? in the colour of their bill, in the extent of the yellow plate on the throat, as, well as in the vivacity of their colours, may be owing to the age of the bird : It is certain, that the fuperior coverts of the tail are yellow in fome individuals, and red in others. In
[A] Specific charafter of the i2<7w//&tf/or Z)/W(?raj. " It isblackifh; its breaft, its belly, its vent, and its rump red* its throat yellow."
[B] Specific charafter of the Ratnphafios-Tucanus. *• It is blackiih ; a bar on its. bell^, its vent and ramp yellow."
VOL. VII, I both,
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if+ YELLOW.THROATED TOUCAN.
both, the head and upper fide of the body, the wings, and tail, are black j the throat orange, more or lefs bright j under the throat, a red bar of various width ftretches on the bread; the belly is blackilli, and the inferior coverts of the tail are red j the bill is black with a blue ftripe running from its top all its length : the bafe of the bill is furrounded by a pretty broad yellow or white bar ; the noftrils are concealed in the feathers at the root, and their apertures are round ; the legs are twenty lines in length, and bluifh j the bill, four inches and a half long, and feventeen lines high above the bafe; the whole bird, from the end of the bill to the extremity of the tail, is nineteen inches ; and if from this we deduct fix inches and two or three lines for the tail, and four inches and a half for the bill, there remains hardly nine inches for the length of the head and body.
It is from this fpecies of Toucan, that thofe brilliant feathers ufed as ornaments are obtained ; all the yellow part is cut off from the (kin, and fold at a high price. The males only furnilh thefe fine yellow fea- thers, for the throat of the females is white ; and this diftin^ftion has mifled the nomen- clators, who have regarded the male and
female
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VELLOW-THROATEt) TOUCAN. li^
female as of different fpecies *, and finding fome variation of colours in both, have even gone fo far as to make each include two feparate fpecies. But we reduce thefe four pretended fpecies to one, and we may alfo join a fifth mentioned by Laet -f-, which differs only in the white colour of its breafl.
In general, the females are very nearly 4*s large as the males ; their colours are not fo vivid, and the red-bar below the throat is very narrow ; in other refpe6ls, they are exaftly fimilar. This fecond fpecies is the mod common, and perhaps the mod nu- merous of the Toucans. They abound in Cayenne, particularly in the fwampy forefls, and on the mangrove trees. Though like the refl of the genus, they have only a fea- thery tongue, they articulate a found like pinien-coiriy which the Creoles of Cayenne have employed as its defignation, but which
« C Ramphajlos Pi/civorus, Linn, and Gmcl. \ Ramphajlos Erythrorhynchos, Gmel.
f Tucana Cayanenjis gutture albo. BrilT. \ Tucana Brajilienjii gutture albo. BrifT.
Picus Americanus. Fernandez.
Altera Xochitenacatl. Fernande2.
PaJ/er Longirojlrusy Xochitenacatl diSus, Nieremberg*
f The Toucan^ or Brajilian Pye. Edw. \ The Redbeaked Toucan. Edw.
f Hiftoire du Nouveau Monde, p. 555,
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Ii6 RED-BELLIED TOUCAR,
we have not adopted, it being common alfo to the Toco.
Specific charafler of the Ramphajlos Pi/civorus. ** It is blackilh} the bar on its belly, and its vent, are red; it» rump is white."
Specific charafter of the Ramphajios Erythrorynchos : •• Ic is blackifh ; its cheeks, and its throat, white ; the upper coverts of its tail, brimftone-coloured; the lower, and a crefccnt on its bread, red."
The RED-BELLIED TOUCAN,
Third Species,
Ramphajfos Picatus, Linn, and Gmcf-
Tucana, Briff.
Na/utus Simpliciter. Klein.
The BraJjUan Pye, or Toucan. Alb. and Will.
The Preacher Toucan. Lath.
npHis Toucan has a yellow neck, like the preceding ; but its breaft is a fine red, which in the other is black. Thevtt, who firft mentioned this bird, lays that its bill is as long as its body. Aldrovandus admits the bill to be two palms in length, and one palm in breadth 5 and Briflbn reck- ons the palm three inches. As we have never feen the bird, we can only fpeak from the accounts given by the two former writers. V/e may obferve however, that Aldrovandus was miftaken in afiigning it three toes before, and one b&hind; Thevet
exprefsly
fer.
RED-BELLIED TOUCAN.
117
exprefsly mentions, that it has two before and two behind, which is conformable to nature.
The head, neck, back, ..ad wings, are black, with whitifli reflections -, the bread is of a fine gold colour, with red above it, that is, under the throat j the belly, too, and the legs, are of a very bright red, and likewife the extremity of the tail, the reft of which is black j the iris is black, fur- rounded by a white circle, which itfelf is inclofed within another yellow circle 5 the lower mandible is only half as large near the extremity than the correfponding part of the upper mandible i both are indented on the edges.
Thevet alTures us, that this bird lives on pepper, of which it fwallows fuch quan- tities as to be obliged to vomit it. This flory has been copied by ail the naturalifts ; and yet there is no pepper in America. It would be difficult to imagine what fpice Thevet meant, unlefs it was pimento, which fome authors have termed Jamaica fep» fer. [A]
f A] Specific charaaer of the J?«»/i&tf;?o/PiV«^«<. ?' It Is l^lackifh; its breaft, yellow; its vent, and the tipi ofttf $ail-quiUs, red; itirump black."
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The C O C H I C A T.
Fourth Species,
P/Ittacuj Torquaius. Gmel. ' ; ♦
Ramphajlos Torquatus, Lath. Ind, Tucana Mexicana Torquata. Brifl*. The Collared Toucan. Lath. Syn.
"^17 E have fhorteaed the Mexican name Cochitenacatl into Cochicat, Fernandez is the only author who fays he has feen it, and I fhall here borrow his account. " It is nearly of the fame bulk with the other Toucans » its bill is feven inches long, the upper man- dible white and indented, and the lower black 5 the eyes are black, and the iris red- di(h yellow ; the head and neck, black, as far as a crofs red line which encircles it like a collar, after which the upperfide of the neck continues black, and the underfide whitifh, fprinkled with red fpots and fmall black lines ; the tail and wings are alfo black ; the belly is green ; the legs, red 5 the feet, of a greenifhafh colour, and the nails black. It frequents the fca-(hore, and lives onfifh [A]."
[A] Specific charafter of i\e Pfittacus Torquatus : <* Above it is black, below, whiiifh, its belly green, its hin4 part fed, its collar red."
[ "9 1
The H O T C H I C A T.
Fifth Spicitt.
Ramphafios Po'voninus, Gtnel.
Tu:ana Mexicana Firii/is, Briff.
7 he Pavonine Toucan. Lath. ..
HP H I s name is contrafled alfo for the Mexican Xochitenacatl * j and Fernan- dez is the only author who has defcribed it from the life, " It is, he fays, of the lize and fhape of a parrot ; its plumage is almod entirely green, only fprinkled with fome red fpots J the legs and feet are black and (hortj the bill is four inches long ; it is variegated with yellow and black." This bird alfo inhabits the fea-coalc in the hottefl parts of Mexico. [A]
♦ The Xo is pronounced Ho.
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[A] Specific charadler of the Ramphaftos Pavoninus. ** It is green, fprinkled with red and ifis feathers.'
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The A R A C A R I S.
np H E Aracaris, as we have already faid, are fmaller than the Toucans 5 we are acquainted with four fpecies of them, all natives of America.
fir'* if
The G R I G R I.
Firjf Sfecitt of Aracari,
{IBiampbafios Araeari, Linn, and Gmel, Ramphajios Viridis, Linn, and Gmel. f Tucana Brajilitnjis ffriMt, BrlflT. and Gerini. ^ * Tucana Cayanenfis Viridis. BriiT*
{The Jracari Toucan. Lath. The Green Toucan, Lath.
'This bird is found in Brafil, and is very common in Guiana, where it is f:alled Gri-gri, becaufe that word exprefles its fhrill fhort cry. It has the fame natural habits as the Toucans j it alfo inhabits the fwamps, and lodges among the palms [A]. This fpecies contains a variety which our
[A] Specific charafler of the Ramphaftos- Araeari : *' It is green ; the bar on its belly, the vent, and the rump, are red J its belly, bright yellow.
pomenclators
I »
A R A C A R I S.
lit
nomenclators have regarded as a feparate Ipccics [B]. Yet the difference is fo flight that it may be imputed to age or climate : it confifts in a crofs bar of fine red on the breafl. There is likewife fome difference in the colours of the bill ; but that chara6ter is quite dubious, fuice thefe vary in the fame individual according to the age, with- out following any regular order : fo that Linnasus was wrong in drawing the ipc- cific charaflcrs of birds from the colours of the bill. '
The head, the throat, and the neck are black i the back, the wings and the tail are dull green i the rump» red ; the breafl and belly, yellow i the inferior coverts of the tail, and the feathers of the legs, olive yellow, variegated with red and fulvous; the eyes large, and the iris yellow ; the bill is four inches and a quarter long, fixteen lines high, and of a more folid and harder texture than the bill of the Toucans 5 the tongue is of the fame feathery nature ; the feet, blackifh- green, very fhort, and the toes very long : the whole length of the bird, including the bill and the tail, is fixteen inches and eight lines.
[B] Specific chara£l«r of the Ramphajfot Firidis : " Tt is grcei), its belly bright yellow* its ri^inp red."
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' The female differs from the male only in the colour of the throat and of the underfide oi the neck, whicli is brown, but black in the male, which ufually has its bill black and white, whereas in the female the lower mandible is black, and the upper one yel- low, with a longitudinal black bar rcfem- bling a long narrow feather.
The K O U L I K.
^ ' , Second Species of AracarL
Hamphaftos Piperivorus. Linn, and Gmel, tucana Cayanenfis Torquata, BriiT. "^ •' ■• 1 he Green Toucan. Edw. ■ •.«■-.
The f'iperine Toucan. L^th,
in H E word kouliky pronounced fafl:, re- fern bles the cry of this bird, which is the reafon why the Creoles of Cayenne have impofed that name. It is rather fmaller than the preceding, and its bill fhorter in proportion j the head, the throat, the neck, and the bread, are black j on the upper fide of the neck, there is a yel- low narrow half- collar ; there is a fpot of the fame colour on each fide of the head, behind the eyes $ the back> the rump, an4
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K O U L I K.
123
the wings, are of a fine green, and the belly, which is alfo green, is variegaied with blackifti ; the inferior coverts of the tail are reddifh, but the tail itfelf is green, terminated with red j the feet are blackidi ; the bill is red at the bafe, and black through the reft ; the eyes are encircled by a naked bluiOi membrane.
The female is diftinguifhed from the male by the colour of the top of the neck, where the plumage is brown, but black in the male ; the underfide of the body, from the throat to the lower part of the belly, is gray in the female, and the half-collar is of a very pale yellow, whereas it is of a fine yellow in the male, and the underfide variegated with different colours. [A]
[A] Specific charafler of the Ramphajlos Piperiiforus : *f It is green, its forefide black, its vent and thighs red."
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[ 124 J The BLACK BILLED ARACARL
« ^ ^hirtl Species,
Ramfhajtos Lutetts. Gmel. ;^
Tucana Lutea. BrifT.
The Black-hilled Toucan, Lath«
^1X7 B derive our account of this bird from Nieremberg, It is as large as a pigeon i its bill is thick, black, and hooked -, its eyes, too, are black, but the iris yellow 5 its wings and tail are variegated with black and white ; a black bar rifcs from the bill, and extends on each fide to the breaft ; the top of the wings is yellow, and the reft of the body yellowifh white 5 the legs and feet are brown, and the nails whitifh.
The BLUE ARACARL
Fourth Species,
KamphaJIos Caruleus, Gmel* Tucana Carulea, BrifT. The Blue Tucan, Lath.
^r o naturalift has feen this bird but Fer- nandez, and his defcription is this : !* It is of the fize of a common pi|;eon ; its
biU
BLUE ARACART.
12S
bill is very large and indented, yellow above and reddi(h-black below ; all its plumage is variegated with cinereous and blue."
It appears from the fame author, that fome fpecies of Aracaris are only birds of paiTage in certain parts of South America.
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The BARBICAN-
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The Doubtful Bar bet. Lath.
T H A V E applied the term Barbican to dc« note a bird that occupies a middle rank between the Barbets and Toucans. It is a new fpecies, and though it has not hitherto been noticed by naturalifts, it belongs to no very diflant climate, for we received it from the coaft of Barbary, yet without its name, or a\y account of its natural habits. The toes are difpofed two before and two behind, as in the Barbets and Toucans ; it refembles the latter in the diftribution of its colours, in the fhape of its body, and in its large bill, but it is (horter, much nar- rower, and folider than that of the Toucans 5 it refembles at the fame time the Barbets in the long briftles which (hoot from the bale of the bill and extend confiderably beyond the noftrils j the fhape of the bill is peculiar, the upper mandible being pointed, hooked at its extremity, with two blunt indentings on each (ide $ the lower mandi- ble is ftriped tranfverfely with fmall fur- rows j
BARBICAN.
127
rows ; the whole bill is reddifli, and curved downwards.
The plumage of the Barbican is black on all the upper part of the body, the xo\> of the bread and belly ; and it is red oa the reH: of the under furface, nearlv as iji that of the Toucans.
It is nine inches long j the tail three inches and a half; the bill eighteen lines long and ten thick, and the legs are only an inch high j fo that the bird can hardly walk [AJ.
[A] Specific charafler of the Bucco Dul'ms : ** It is black, below red ; the bar oa its breath, and its vent, black."
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The C A S S I C A N.
Coraeias Varia. GtneU The Pied Roller. Lath.
np HIS bird partakes of the properties of the Cafiques and Toucans, and there- fore I have termed it Cajjican, It is a new fpecies fent by Sonnerat. We are uncertain what climate it inhabits, only we prefume that it comes from the fouthern parts of America j it certainly refembles the Ameri- can Cafliques in the fhape of its body ^nd the bald fpot on the forefide of the head, at the fame time that it is analogous to the Toucan in the bulk, and fhape of its bill, which is round and broad at the bafe, and hooked at the extremity. So that if its bill were larger, and the toes difpofed two and two, it might be regarded as a proximate fpecies of the Toucans.
It will be fuperfluous to defcribe the co- lours of this bird ; its body is flender and long, being about thirteen inches j the bill is two inches and a half; the tail five inches, and the legs fourteen lines* We are unacquainted with its natural habits \ but if we were to judge from the fhape of
its
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b A R B I C A N. «39
its bill and feet, we fliould fuppofe that it lives on prey. Yet the Toucans and Parrots which have their bill and nails hooked, fubfift entirely on fruits ; and the nails and bill are much lefs hooked in the Caflican : fo that we (hall regard it as a frugivorous bird till we are better informed. [A]
[A] Specific charafiler of the Coracias Faria:^ ** It is black ; its underfide, the lower part of its back, its rump, and the fuperior coverts of its tail, white ; its tail equal and black, tipt with white." Mr. Latham juftly obferves that this bird partakes fo much of the characters of the kollers, of the Orioles, and of the Toucans, that it can hardly be referred to any one genus.
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■■'■11 1' 1. ^
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The C A L A O Si^
Or RHINOCEROS BIRDS.
\\7e have feen that the Toucans, Co re- markable for their enormous bill, belong all of them to the continent of South America. We are now to vie.v other birds, natives of Africa and of India, which wear a bill as prodigioufly large, and of a fliape ftill moreexceflively monftrous. For nature is more vigorous in the ancient than in the new world, and even her errors are more luxuriant.
When we confider the uncommon expan- fion and cumbrous overgrowth which fwells and deforms the bill of thefe birds, we are ilruck with the incongruity and difcordance of their ftru8:ure. But nature exhibits other examples of inconfiftency; the crofs^ bills are almoft incapacitated for taking their food, and are unable to defend theni- felves againft even the weakeft and fmalleft tribes. In the quadrupeds alfo, the floths, the ant-caters, the fliort-tailed manis, &c. naked or miferable, by reafon of the fhape of their body, and of the difproportion of their members, drag out a laborious and
painful
C A L A O S.
i3>
painful exiftence, continually opprefled by the exuberance, or cramped by the deficit ency of organization. The life of fuch fee- ble imperfc(5l fpecies is protected by folitude alone, and could never be fupportcd and maintained, but in defert recefles, untrod by man or the powerful animals.
The bill of the Calao, though large, is weak and ill compared, and fo far from be- ing ufeful, it proves burthenfome : it is like a long lever where the force is applied near the fulcrum^ and confequently the extremity a6ls feebly : its fubftance is fo tender, that it (hivers by the leaft attrition, and thefe accidental cracks have been mida- ken by naturalifVs for a regular and natural indenting. Thefe produce a remarkable efFe6l on the bill of the Rhinoceros Calao ; for the mandibles meet only at the point and the reft remains wide open, as if they were not formed for each other. The in- terval is worn and broken in fuch a man- ner, that this part would feem intended to be ufed only at fir ft, and afterwards neg- leaed.
We follow our nomenclators in applying the name calao to the whole genus of thefe birds, though the people of India have be- ftawed it only on one or two fpecies. Many naturalifts have given them the appellariori
K 2 RhinocercSf
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C A L A O S.
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Rhinoceros^ i on account of the fort of horn which rifeson the|)ill ; butalmoft all of them have feenonly the bills of thofe extraordinary birds -f. We will range the calaos accord- ing to the moft ftriking character, the fin- gular fhape of the bill. We fhall find that even in her aberrations, nature proceeds by infenfible gradations, and that of the ten fpecies which compofe the genus, there is only one perhaps that merits the defigna- tion of Rhinoceros bird*
Thefe ten fpecies arc j
1. The Calao-rhinoceros.
2. The round-helmeted Calao.
3. The concave helmeted Calao of the Philippines.
4. The Abyffinian Calao.
5. The African Calao, which we fhall term Brae.
6. The Malabar Calao, which we have feen alive.
7. The Molucca Calao, of which we have a fluffed preparation.
8. The Calao of the ifland of Panay, of which we have fluffed fpecimens of both the male and female.
m
• Edwards.— Gre^.^Clufius.— Willughby, &c f £dward$4 Belon, &c.
9. The
C A L A O S.
»33
9. The Manilla Calao, of which we have a (luffed fpecimen.
10. Laltly, the Tock, or red-billed Calao of Senegal, of which we have a (luffed fpe- cimen.
Il we invert the order of thefe ten fpe- cies, we (hall be able to trace all the (leps by which nature arrives at this mondrous conformation of bill. The Tock has a broad bill fafhioned as the reft like a fickle j but it is fimple, and without any protuberanwC. In the Manilla Calao, a fwcU may be per- ceived on the top of the bill : this is mor^ diftin6l in the Molucca Calao : ftili more confiderable in the Abyffinian Calao : the excrefcence is prodigious in thofe of the Philippines and Malabar, and quite mon- drous in the Rhinoceros-Calao. But though thefe birds admit of fuch varieties in the bill, they have one general refemblancc in the conformation of the feet, the lateral toes being very long, and almoft equal to the middle one.
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The T O C K.
Fir^ Species,
Buceros Nn/utus, Linn, and Gmel.
{Hydrocorax Senegalenjif Erythrorynchos. Hydrocorax Senegalenjis Melamrynchos. The Black- billed Hornbill. Lath.
}
Briff.
'np HIS bird has a very large bill, but this is fimple, and without any excrefcence; yet ftill fafhioned as in the other Calaos, like a fickle. It refembles them for the moft part alfo in its natural habits, and occurs too in the hotted climates of the ancient continent. The negroes of Senegal give it the name of Tock, which we fhall retain. The young bird differs very much from the adult ; for its bill is black, and its plumage afh-gray, and, \yith age, the bill becomes red, and the plumage blackifti on the up- per fide of the body, on the wings, and on the tail, and whitifh quite round the head, on the neck, and on all the lower parts of the body : it is alfo faid, that the legs are originally black, and grow afterwards red- difli. It is not therefore furprizing that Priflbn has made iwo fpecies -, his firft de-
fi.enation
T O C K.
"35
fignation feems appIicabJe to the adult 7ock, and his fecond to the young Tock.
This bird has three toes before and only one behind : the middle one is clofely con- nected to the outer toe as far as the third joint, and much more loofely to the inner toe, and at the firft joint only. The bill is very thick, bent downwards, and llightly indented on the fides.
The fubjed which we defcribe was twenty inches long ; its tail fix inches, ten lines : its bill three inches five lines, and twelve lines 3nd a half thick at the bafe ; its horny fubftance of the bill is thin and light : the legs are eighteen lines high.
Thefe birds which are pretty common ir^ Senegal, are very fupple when young j they fiiffer a perfon to approach and catch them; and they may be Ihot at without being feared, or even without their ftirring. But age inftructs them by experience ; their dif- pofition quite alters j they grow extremely Ihy, and efcape to the fummits of the trees ; while the young ones remain on the loweft branches and the bufhes, and continue per- fectly ftill, their head funk between the flioulders, io that the bill only is feen. Tlie young birds fcarce ever fly, whereas the old ones foar in a lofty and rapid courfe.
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The young Tocks are numerous in the months of Auguft and September: they may be caught with the hand, and appear as tame as if they had been reared in the houfe. But this condu6t proceeds from their flupidity, for they do not pick up the food that is thrown to them, and it muft be put in their bill; which affords a pre- fumption that the parents are obliged to maintain them for a great length of time.
The Tock is very different from tlie Tou- can, and yet one of our moft intelligent na- turalifts has confounded them.. Adanfon fays, in his voyage to Senegal, that he kil- led two Toucans in that country j but it is certain that there are no Toucans in Afri- ca. I fhould therefore vprefu me tliat our philofophical traveller iheant the Tocks.
[A]
[A] Specific charafler of the Buceros Na/utus: ** Its front is fmootb, its tail-quills white at the bafe and at the tip."
[ '37 ]
The MANILLA CALAQ.
Second Species.
Buceros Manillen/is. Gmel.' The Manilla Hornbill. Lath.
^T^ HIS fpecies was hitherto unknown ; it was fent to the King's Cabinet by M. Poivre, to whom we owe much other in- formation, and many curious preparations. The bird is fcarcely larger than the Tock ^ it is 20 inches long } its bill two inches and a half, lefs curved than that of the Tock, not indented, but as (liarp at the edges, and more pointed ; above this bill, there is a prominent light feftoon, adhering to the upper mandible, and forming a fimple in- flation; the head and neck are white, flained with yellowiKh, and marked with brown waves J there is a black fpot on each fide of the head at the ears ; the upperlide of the body is blackifh brown, with fome whitifli fringes wrought flightly in the quills of the wing J the underfide of the body is dirty white i the quills of the tail are of the fame colour with thofe of the wings, only they are interfered in their n(iiddle by a rufous
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C A £ A O.
bar, two fingers broad. We are unacquaint^ cd with the ceconomy of this bird. [A]
[A] SpeciRc ch&raS:tr of the Buceros Manillieft^s : *' Above it isblackiih brown, below dirty white, its bill not ferraced ; a fmall prominence."
The CAL AO, of the Ifland of Panay,
T^irJ Species,
Buceros Panay enjis, Gmel. ^fhe Panayan HornlilL Lath*
^Tp H I s bird was' brought by M. Sonnerat, Correfpondent of the Cabinet. I fliall tranfcribe the account which he gives of it in his voyage to New Guinea : he calls it the cbifeled bill Calao ; but that epithet is equally applicable to other Calaos.
'* The male and female are of the fame fize, and nearly as large as the great Euro- pean Raven, rather longer and narrower ihapcd ; their bill is very long and arched into the form of a fickle, indented along its edges above and below, terminated by a (harp point, and deprefled at its fides ; it is furrowed up and down, or acrofs two thirds, of its length ; the convex part of thefe fur- rows is brown, and the concave fpaces are of the colour of orpiment y the reft of the
l?iU
l1
C A L A O. "139
bill near the point, is thin and brown j at the root of the bill, there rifes upwards an excrefcence of the fame horny fubftance, flat at the fides, (harp above, and cut at right angles before; this excrefcence extends v along the bill to its middle, where it termi- nates, and its uniform height is equal to half the breadth of the bill ; the eye is en- circled by a brown membrane devoid of feathers i the eyelid bears a ring of hard, fhort, ftifF bridles, which form real eye- lafhes ; the iris is whitifh : in the male, the head, the neck, the back, and the wings are greenifh black, changing into bluifh, according to the pofition. In the female, the head and the neck are white, except a broad triangular fpot, which ex- tends from the bafe of the bill, below and behind the eye, as far as the middle of the neck acrofs the fides ; this fpot is dark green, fludluating like the neck and back in the male : the female has alfo the neck and wings of the fame colour as in the male ; the top of the breaft in both fexes is of alight brown red ; the belly, the thighs, and the rump are equally of a deep brown red J they both have ten quills in the tail, of which the upper two thirds are of a rufty yellow, and the lower third is a black tranf- verfe bars the feet are lead colour, and
compofed
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140 MOLUCCA CALAO.
compofed of four toes, one of which is directed behind and three before j the mid- dle one is connetfled to the outer toe as far as the third joint, and to the inner toe as far as the firft only." [A]
[A] Specific charadler of the Buceros Panayenjis. ** It is greeniih black, below red brown, the prominence of the upper mandible (harp above> and fiat at the fides."
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The MOLUCCA CALAO.
Fourth Species,
Buceros-HyJrocorax. Linn, and Gmel.
Hydrocorax firifT.
Corvus Inditui Bontii* Will,
Cowus Torquatus. Klein.
CariocataSles . Mcerh.
^he Indian Hornbill, Lath*
^T^ H E name Mcatraz has improperly been applied to this bird ; and Clufius is the author of the miftake. He has inac- curately tranflated the paflage of Oviedoj for the Spanifti word alcatraz^ according to Fernandez, Hernandez, and Nieremberg, denotes the Pelican of Mexico. This mif- take has occafioned another, which our nomenclators have transferred to the whole gepus of the Calaos j they fuppofe that thefe
MOLUCCA CALAO. lA^i
*
birds haunt the margin of water, and hence they beftow the appellation of hydrocorax (Water-raven.) But this opinion is refuted by all the obfervers who have viewed them in their native abodes : Bontius, Camel, and, what carries ftill more weight, the Calao itfeif, by its ftru6ture, the (hape of its feet and bill, demondrate that it is neither a Raven nor an aquatic bird.
The Molucca Calao is two feet four inches long ; the bill eight inches ; but the legs are only two inches two lines v this charafter of the fhortnefs of the legs be- longs not only to it, but to all the other Calaos, which wnlk with the utmoft diffi- culty J the bill is ve inches long, and two inches and a halt thick at its origin j it is blackifh cinereous, and fupports an excref- cence, whofe fubftance is folid and like horn ; this excrefcence is flat before, and extends rounded to the upperfide of the head ; it has large black eyes, and its afpe^t is difagreeable ; the fides of the head, the wings, and the throat, are black, and that part of the throat is furrounded with a white bar ; the quills of the tail are whitifh gray ; all the reft of the plumage is variegated with brown, with gray, with blackifli, and with fulvous i the feet are brown gray, and the bill blackiHi.
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Thefe birds, fays Bontius, do not live on flefh, but on fruits and particularly nut« megs, to which they prove very deftruftful 5 and that food communicates to the fiefh, which is tender and delicate, an aroma- tic odour, that renders it more grateful to the palate. [A] '
[A] Specific charafler of the Buceres Hydrotorax : ** Its bony front is flat and truncated before, its belly fulvous.
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The MALABAR CALAO.
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j^uceros Malaharicus. Gmel. /
The Pied Hornbill, Lath.
'np HIS bird was brought from Pondi- chery ; it lived the whole of the fum- mer 1777, in the court-yard of the Mar- chionefs de Pons, who was fo kind as tO' prefent it to me, for which I take this op- portunity of exprefling the warmeft grati- tude. It was as large as a Raven, or twice as large as the common crow ; it was two feet and a half long, from the point of the bill to the extremity of the tail, which had dropt off in its palFage home, and the feathers were begun to grow again, but
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Malabar calao. 143
liad not nearly attained their full fize : fo that we may prefume that the entire length of the bird was about three feet $ its bill was eight inches long and two broad, and bent fifteen lines from the ftraight pofition ; a fecond bill, if it may be fo called, fat like a horn clofe on the firft, and followed its curvature, and extended from the bafe to within two inches of the point of the bill, it rofe two inches three lines 5 fo that, meafuring in the middle, the bill together with its horn formed a height of four inches; near the head, they were both of them fifteen lines thick acrofs ; the horn was fix inches long, and its extremity ap- peared to have been fliortened and fplit by accident, fo that we may reckon it to be half an inch longer: on the whole, this horn has the (hape of a true bill, truncated and clofcd at the extremity, but tlie junc- tion is marked by a very perceptible fur- row, dravvn near the middle and following all the curvature of this falfe bill, which does not adhere to the fkull ; but its pof- tcrior portion, which rifes on the head, is ftill more extraordinary, it is naked and fiefliy, and covered with quick flcin, through which this parafite member receives the nutritious juices.
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The true bill terminates in a blunt pc' /; it is ftrong, and confiding of a horny, l 1 almoft bony, fubftance, extended in lamina ^ and we may perceive the layers and undula- tions : the falfe bill is much thinner^ and may be bent even by the fingers j it is of a light fubllance difpofed internally in little cells, which Edwards compares to thofe of a honey comb: Wormius fays that this falfe bill confids of a matter like crabs lliclls.
The falfe bill is black, from the point to three inches behind, and there is a line of the fame black at its origin, and alfo at the root of the true bill ; all the reft is yeU lowiQi-white. Wormius remarks precifely the fame colours ; only he adds that the infide of the bill and of the palate, is black.
A white folded (kin meets the root of the true bill above on both fides, and is inferted near the corners of the bill in the black fl<in that encircles the eyes j the eye- lid is bordered with long lafhes arched be- hind } the eye is red brown, and grows ani- mated and fparkles when the bird is in commotion ; the head, which appears fmall in proportion to the enormous bill which it bears, refembles much in its fhape that of the Jay : in general, the figure, the gef- ture, and the whole form of this Calao,
ap-
MALABAR C A L A O. 145
oppears to us compofed of the features and movements of the Jay, the Raven, and the Magpie. Thefe refemblanccs have ftiuck moft obfei vers, and hence the bird has been called, the India Raven, the Horned Crow, The Horn d Pie of Ethiopia,
The feathers on the head and neck were black, which it had the power of bridling, and they were often in that ftatc, as in the Jay ; thofe of the back and wings were alfo black, and all of them had a flight reflec- tion of violet and green : on fome of the coverts of the wings, there was an edging irregularly traced, and the feathers feemed bunched out like thofe of the Jay ; the ftomach and belly were of a dirty white * among the great quills of the wings, which are black, the outer ones only are white at the point; the tail, which had begun to grow- again, confided of fix white quills black at the root, and four which were fpringing from their Ihafts entirely black 5 the legs are black, thick, and flrong, and covered with broad fcales ; the nails, which were long, but not (harp, feemed calculated for holding and clenching. This bird hopped with both its feet at once, forward and fide- wife, like the Jay and Magpie, but did not walk. When at reft, its head feemed to
VOL. VII. L recline
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recline on its ftioulders j when difturbed by furprize and inquietude, it fwellcd and railed itfelF* and Teemed to afTume an air of boid- nefs and importance. Yet its ufual gait was mean and ftu, id -, its movements iudden and c.lfagreeable ; and its. refemblance in features to the Magpie and the Raven, gave it an ignoble alpecl *, fuited to its difpo- f.tions. Thougi\ there are fpecies of Calaos that appear to be frugivorus, and we have feen this bird eat lettuces, which it firft bruifed in its bill ; it fwallowcd raw flefh : it caught rats, and devoured even a fmall bird, which was thrown to it ahve. It often repeated the hoarfe cry 00k , 00k 3 it uttered alfo from time to time another found, which was feebler, and not fo rau* cous, and exadly like the clucking of a Turkey-hen when fhe leads her brood.
Wc have feen it fpread and open its wings to the fun, and (hudder at a pafling cloud, or a flight breeze. It dd not live more than three months at Paris, and died before the end of fummer. Our climate is therefore too cold for it. , We cannot forbear remarking, that Brif- fon is miftaken in referring the figure d of the bill in PL 281 of Edwards Glean- ings to his Philippine Calao : for that
♦ Boniius.
figure
BR AC OR AFRICAN CALAO. 147
figure reprefents our Malabar Calao, which bears a fimple excrcfcence, and not a con* cave double horned-helmet, like the Phi- lippine Calao. [A]
[A] Specific charaftcr of the Bucco Malaharicus : " It is black, below white ; the prominence of its front rounded above, fharp towards the front, extended behind the eyes."
The BRAC or AFRICAN CALAO.
Sixth Species*
Buceros Africanus, Gmel. Hydrocorax Africanus. Brifl*.
The African Hornhill. Lath. •
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"IXT" E (hall retain the name Brae given to ^ this Calao by father Labat, efpecially as that traveller is the only perfon that has feen and obferved it. It is very large, its head alone and its bill making together eighteen inches in length ; this bill is partly yellow, and partly red j the two mandibles are edged with black : at the upper part of the bill, there is an excrefcence of a horny fubdance, which is of the fame colour, and of a confiderable fize ; the fore part of this excrefcence projects forward like a horn, it is almofl Araight, and does not bend
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148 ABYSSINIAN C A L A O.
upwards ; the hind part is on the contrary rounded and covers the top of the head ; the noHrih are placed below this excrcf- cence, near the origin of the biH : the plumage of this Calao is entirely black.
TheABYSSINIAN CALAO.
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Seventh Species,
Buce^ s AhyJJinicus. Gmel. ^he AhyJJiniau HornhilU Lath.
'T^ HIS Calao appears to be one of the "■• largeft of the genus ; yet, if we were to judge from the length and thicknefs of the bii^s, we (hould reckon the Rhinoceros Calao ftill larger. The bill of the Abyf. finian Calao feems fafliioned after that of the Raven, only it is more bulky ; the total length of the bird is three feet two inches ; it is entirely black, except the great quills of the wings, which are white, the middle ones and a part of the coverts, which are of a deep tawny brown j the bill has an eafy, equal arch through its whole length, and it is flat and comprefTed at the fides ; the two mandibles are hallowed internally with furrows, and terminate in a blunt point. The bill is nine inches long; it bears a femi-
circular
ABYSSINIAN CALAO. 149
circular prominence that reaches from its root to near the front, two inches and a halF in diameter, and fifteen lines broad at its bafe over the eyes -, this excrefcence h of the fame fubftance with the bill, but thinner and yields under the fingers; the height of the bill taken vertically and joined to that of its horn, is three inches eight lines ; the feet meafure five inches and a ha]f; the great toe, including the nail, is twenty- eight lines j the three fore toes are almoft equal ; the hind one is alfo very long, being two inches ; all of them are thick, and covered, as well as the legs, with blackiih Icales, and furniftic.^ with ftrong nails, but which are neither hooked nor fharp : on each fule of the upper mandible near its origin, is a reddifh fpot j the eye- lids are provided with long la(hes : a naked fkin of violet brown encircles the eyes, and coveis the throat and part of the fprefide of the neck.
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The PHILIPPINE CALAO.
Eighth Species,
Buceros Bicornis. Linn« and Gmel. Hydrocorax PhilippeHjis, Briff. The Philippine Hornbill. Lath;
np HIS bird is, according to Briflbn, of the fize of the Turkey-hen ; but its head is proporrionally much larger, which is indeed requifite to fupport a bill nine inches long, and two inches eight lines thick, and which carries, above the upper mandible, a horny excrefcence fix inches long, and three inches broad ; this excref- cence is a little concave on the upper part, and the two anterior angles are produced before into the fhape of a double horn ; it extends rounding on the upper part of the bead \ the nollrils are placed near the origin of the bill, below this excrefcence. Ail the bill, as well as this excrefcence, is of a reddifli colour.
The head, the throat, the neck, the up- perfidc of the body, and the fuperior coverts of the wings and tail, are black ; all the underlide of the body is white; the quills of the wings are black, and marked with
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PHILIPPINE C A L A O. 151
a white fpot j all the quills of the tail are entirely black, except the two exterior ones, which are while ; t) e legs are greenifh.
George Camel has, along with the other birds of the Philippines, defcribed a fpecies of Calao, which items to be much like the prefent, but not exactly the fame. His ac- count was communicated to the Royal So- ciety of London, by Dr. Petiver, and printed in the PhilofophicalTranfadVions, No, 285. j4rt. III. It there appears, that this bird termed Oilcio or Cagao by the people of India, does not haunt ftreams, but inhabits the uplands, and even the mountains, living on the fruits of the baliti, which is a fort of wild fig-tree, and alfo on almonds, pif- tachio nuts, &c. vvhich it fwallows entire. Vv^e ftiall here infert a tranflation : ** The bill is black ; the rump and back dufky afli colour j the head fmrdl, and black about the eyes ; the eye lafhts black and long; the eyes blue ; the bill is a fpan in length, fomewhat turved, fcnated, diaphanous, and of the colour of cinnabar ; the lower man- dible is about an iitch and a hal< 'nu'a-t .it the middle ; the upper mandible ^ pal d in height, more than a fpan in le • li, t'le top flat and about a fpan in mec .?e, ind bearing a helmet of a palm in brea f'i 1 he tongue is fmall for fuch a bill, being hardly
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an inch. Its voice refembles more the grunting of a fow, or the bellowing of an ox, than the cry of a bird. Its legs with the thighs are a fpan in length : the feet have three toes before, and only one be- hind, which arc fcaly, reddifh, and armed with folid black talons : the tail confiils of eight great white quills, of a cubit in length; the quills of the wings are yellow. 1 he Gentiles revere this bird, and relate ftories of its fighting with the Crane which they call ^i'j>ul or Tiboli they fay, that atter this battle, the Cranes were obliged to remain in the wet grounds, and that the Calaos would not fufFer ihcm to approach the mountains *."
•We are forry to ren.ark that the 'tranflation which the Count de Bjffon here gives is exceedingly inaccurate. Se/- quiuncia is rendered half an incby Sec. We have therefore altered it in fome places ; but. as the lall fentence is that from which our ingenious author draws his conclufion, we have preferved it as it flood in the text We fhall now compare ic with the original : *< Calaoy (fays Camel,) Gen- tiles ruj/erftitiofe colunt et obfervant, fabulantur cum Grue Tipul lou i'khol pndlaiTe, ut hxc palullribus, Calao fylvofi}, contenta viverent (hinc Tipol ii ligno quocunquc inl'ederit, in pxnam tranfgre ;'r ioed.sis fefe loco movere non valere, e contra Calao fi aqii< iis et humilibus.'' That is, the idola- trous Indians have s .'uperllitious veneration for the Calao. and relate that it haa entered into a compa£l with the Crane that it iliould live contented with its marihes, and the Calao with the woods, thence the Crane, if it perch on a tree, cannot llir from the fpot, as apunifhment for infring- ing the treaty ; and on the other hand, the Calao incurs the fame punifhment, if it alights in the low fens.
This
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PHILIPPINE CALAO. 153
This fort of defcription feems to prove clearly that the Calaos are not aquatic birds; and as the colours and fome other charac- ters are different from thofe of the Philip- pine Calao, defcribed by Briflbn, we con- ceive that this ihould be reckoned a variety of the other.
The ROUND HELMETED CALAO.
Ninth Species.
Bueeros GaUatus, The Helmet Hornbill,
Lath.
"W/" E have only the bill of this bird, and it is like that given by Edwards. If we judge of the fize of the bird from the bulk of the head, which remains attached to the bill, this Calao is one of the largeft and ftrongeft of the genus j the bill is fix inches long, from the corners to the point ; it is almoft flraight, and not indented : from the middle of the upper mandible there rifes and extends as far as the occiput, a wen Ihaped like a helmet, two inches high, almofl rouRd, but a little comprelTed on
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154 ROUND HELMETED CALAO.
the fides ; this protuberance where it joins the bill, has an altitude of four inches and a circumference of eight. The faded and embrowned colours of this bill, which is depofited in the Cabinet^ no longer exhibit that vermillion tinge which appears in Edwards* figure.
Aldrovandus gives a diftin^t figure of the bill of this round helmeted Calao under the nam© of Semenda, a bird of India^ nvbofe biflory is fiill almoft entirely fabulous. This bill, which belonged to the Cabinet of the Grand Duke of Tufcany, had been brought from Damafcus, The helmet was of an oval 111 ape j it was white before and red behind 5 the bill was a palm in length, pointed, and channeled. When we com- pare this defcription wit'i the figure, we find that this is the bill of the round heU meted Calao.
[ »SJ ]
The RHINOCEROS CALAO.
Tenth Species,
Suciros Rhingeeros, Einn. and GmeU " -^ Na/utMs Rhinoceros, Klein. ,
Hydrocorax Indicus, Brifl*. . > Topau. Borouflc. Rhinoceros Jvis. Johnlt. Cervus Indicus Carnutus, Bontius. Tragopan. Moehrlng. The Horned Pie of Ethiopia, Charlton.
The Horned Indian Ravettt or Rhinoceros Bird. > pj The Rhinoceros Hornhill. Lath.
Come Authors hare confounded this bird with the T^ragopanda of Pliny, which is the caflbwary, known to the Greeks and Romans, and which was found in Barbary and the Levant, very remote from the native feat of this Calao.
The Rhinoceros bird feen by Bontius in the ifland of Java, is much larger than the European Raven j it has an offenfive fmell^ and is very ugly. Bontius thus proceeds ; " Its plumage is all black, and its bill oddly falbrioned j for on its upper part, there rifes an excrefcence of a horny fubftance which extends forward, and then bends back towards the top like a horn, and which
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is of a prodigious fize, for it is eight inches long, and four broad at the bafc : this horn is variegated with red and yellow, and as if divided into two parts by a black line that extends on each of the fides lengthwu'e ; the noflrils are placed below this excref- cence near the root of the bill. It is found in Sumatra, in the Philippines, and in other hot parts of India." " .
Bontius relates fome particulars with re- gard to the ceconomy of thefe birds; he lays that they live on carrion, and com- monly follow the hunters of wild cows, boars, and flags, who to leflen the trouble of conveying their game, are obliged to divide carcafes. and fend them to the boats on the river, led the Calaos fiiould devour the IK Yet thefe birds attack no animals but rats and mice, and for that reafon the Indians rear fome of them. Bontius tells us that the Calao firfl: flattens the moufe in its bill to foften it 5 and then tolfes it in the air, receives it in its wide throat, and fwallows it entire : indeed this is the only mode of eating compatible with the flru61ure of its bill, and the fmallnefs of its tongue, which is conce;fled almofl in the throat f.
t Philorpphical Tranfaaions, No. 285.
Such
PHINOCEROS CALAO. ,57
Such is the manner or life to which nature has reduced it, by beltowing a bill ftrong enough for prey, but too weak for fight- ing; cumbrous for ufe, a mere fliapelefs exuberance. The external fuperfluities and defefls feein to have afFefled the mental faculties of the animal : it is melancholy and ravage ; its afpe^S is coarfe, its attitude heavy,— Bontius* figure is inaccurau.
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The KING -FISHER.
Le Martin Ptchtur, ouVMcym. Boff. * Alcedo'lfpida, Linn. Gmel. Jffida, Briff. AldrOv. Will. Klein, &c. . ' Alcedo Fhtviatilis. Schyvenckf.
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'Tp H E French name Martiri'fijher is be- ftowed on this bird, becaufe, like the Martin, it fkims along the furface. Its ancient appellation Alcyon or Halcyon is nobler. It was celebrated among the Greeks : the epithet Alcyonian was appli- ed by them to the four days before and after the winter folftice -(-, when the Iky is ferene, and the Tea fmooth and tranquil %*
Then,
* In Greek AXxv«r, Yiw% and K^^vXo; ; in modern Greek ^auri^ont'. in Latin AUedo and Alcyon % in modern Latin lfpiia\ ill Italian Piombinot Picupiolo & Uccello Pe/catore, Uccello del Paradifot Uccello delta Madonna^ Pe/catore del Re ; (i. e. Fifher>bird, Bird of Paradife, Bird of our Lady, King-fi(her) ; in Lombard/ Merlo Acquarolo^ (i. e. water Black-bird); in German, Ei/s-vogely Wajfer heunlein, and See Schvaalme (Ice^bird, Water-pullet, Sea-fwallow) ; in Polifli Zimorodek Rxeezny,
f Seven according to Ariftotle.
X We fhall quote Ovid's defcription : Perque dies placidos hiberno tempore feptem Incubat halcyone pendentibus aquore nidis : Turn via tuta maris : ventes cnjlodit, et arcet JEolut tgrejfu. Met. lih» xi«
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Then, ventur( (hape t the m horrors of cala her yo iimpie of the was ms ocean || cyone, called c Ccyx, V Thts is, like of its n that A] difcuilit the bin of Aril it, and
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Then, the timorous navigators of axitiquiry ventured to lofe (ight of the fliore, and lo (hape their courfe on the glaffy furfacc of the main. This kind fufpenfion of the horrors of the feafon, this happy interval of calm viras granted the Alcyon, to breed her young:}:. Imagination amplified the iimpie beauties of nature by the addition of the marvellous ; the nefl of that bird was made to float on the placid face of the ocean || ; ^olus bound up his v^inds ; AU cyone, his plaintive folitary daughter §, ilill called on the billow^s to reOore her haplefs Ceyx, whom Neptune had drowned, &c. *• ; This mythological tale of the bird Alcyon is, like every other fable, only the emblem of its natural hiftory ; and it is adonifhing that Aldrovandus ihould clo(e his long difcudioii on the fubjed by concluding that the bird is now unknown. The defcription of Ariftotle alone fuitioiently difcrlmina^ it, and ihews that it is the fame with the
/,. U *rhus tranilated by Mr. Prydea. ^^^^ v^ ,; ^ •* Aicyone comprefs'd V Seven days fits brooding on her watery neft ** A wintry qaeen ; her fire at length is kind* '< Calms evtry ftorm, and hu(hes every wind. t Ariftotip, Hifi.^nim. lib. v. 8. tl ^lian and Plutarch. ' " ■ . *.
% ** Defertbs alloqoor alc70Tias." Profertius, ** Euripides, Ovid, ArIoA(^.
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King fifher. The Alcyon^ fays that philofo* pher, is not much larger than a ff arrow - its plumage is fainted with blue and green ^ and lightly ting'd with purple^ tbefe colours are not difiin^y hut melted together ^ andjhining vari^ oujly over the whole body^ the wings, and the neck ; its bill is yellowijh *', long andjlender -f*. It is equally charadlerized by the com pa- rifon of its natural habits. The Alcyon was folitary and penfive; the King-fiiher is feen almofl always alone, and the pairing feafon is of (hort duration ||. Ariflotle, while he reprefeuts the Alcyon as an inha- bitant of the fea-fhore, relates that it alfo afcends high up the rivers, and haunts their banks: and there is no reafon to doubt, but that the river King-fiiher is equally fond of the fea-fliore, where it can obtain every convenience fuited to its mode of life. The faft is proved by eye-witnefles -f- 1 yet Klein denies it, though he fpeaks only
' * The epithet wiro^(Ku^$ fs tranflated greenijh by Gasa ;
Scaliger more properly renders it jtUowiJh, The primitive
;(XoD is applied not only to the verdant mekd, but to the
ydlow harveft. T
f Lib. ix. 14. '^'^- ^54. »♦■» . ■ <^ ■'** ^'■r^'i*:'**^'^, "
II Aldrovandus. T^r»i ;s vi« ^4 t^ra^op x?^Br% A »;
t The King-fi(her is fond of the brink of the fei ind of the little rivulets which flow into it ; it feeds on the fmalieft fliell-fifh, takes them in its bill, and crufhes them by dafti- ing againft the pebbles. It feeks alfo the large worms which abound on the fea-fliore. its flefu fmelh of mulk. Hotf tutomfarying a f achate from M* Gmt^
of
»'r.
'.i:m:,-A
K IK G-PI S HEft.
i5f
ef the Bahic Sea, and was little acquainted, as we (hall find, With the King-fifher. The Alcyon was not common in Greece or Italy 5 Choerephon, in Lucian's Dialogues §> admires its fong as a novelty. Ariftotle and Pliny fay, that the appearance of the Alcyon was rare and fugitive, that it wheeled rapidly round the fhips, and in- ftantly retired into its little grot on the fhorej. This chara6ler agrees perfeftly with the King-fi(her, which is feldom fcen.
The King-fifher maybe recognized a! fo from the mode in which the Alcyon caught Its prey : Lycophron calls it the diver *, and Oppian fays that it drops perpendicularly% and plunges into the Sea, This peculiarity of diving vertically has given occafion to thd Italian appellation piombino, or plummet. Thus all the external chara6ters, and all the natural habits of our King-fifher, are applicable . to the Alcyon defcribed by Ari- ftotle. The poets reprefented the neft of the Alcyon as floating on the furface of the Tea : the naturalifts have difcovered (hat it has no neft, but drops its eggs in horizon- tal holes in the brinks of rivers or in the fea-beach,.,^ ,.,,,,
J*-:-^
;'f.*ij^'-'
% DiaL Aleyon,
X Ariftotle, lib. v. 9. Fllny, lib. v* 9*
• Aufflt)
;}
VOL. VII,
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KING-FISHER.
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The love feafon of the Alcyon, which wad placed about the time of the foKticc, is the only ciicumftance that does not coincide with the hiftory of the King filhcr, which however breeds earJy and before the vernal equinox. But, be(ides that this fab'e may. have been added for embelliihment, it is poflible that, in a hotter climate, the amours of the King- fiflier commenced ear- lier. There are different opinions too with regard to the time of the Alcyonian days : Ariftotle fays that in the Grecian Archi- pelago, they were not always contiguous to the folflice, but more conflantly fo in the fea of Sicily -f. Nor did the ancients agree in refpeft to the number of thefe days |[.. And Columella refers them to the Kalends of March, J which is the time when our King-fifiier begins to hatch.
Ariftotle fpeaks diftinflly of one kind only of Alcyon ; and it is from a doubtful and probably corrupted pafiage, where accord- ing to the corredion of Gefner, he treats of two fpecies of Swallows *, that natura-
e/; if
II Hi/e Goel. Rhodig, /e^i. antij. lib. xiv. if. dOO iiii
X Ibidem, . ■'
* Lib. VI ii. 3> To TA/y K.-nl<jiitcf T'li'of, which Gaza and
Niphus tranilate Mcedon$s, though ofn^uv properly fignifies a nightingale. It were better therefore to read with Gefner, Xt>^iiavut, or •* the tribe o//waIloxvs -,*' e^pecia.Uy as in the fol- lowing line, Ariftotle begins to fpeak diflin£ily of the Alcy- on as of a diiTerent bird.
lifts
KING-FISHER. . 163
lifts have inferred the exigence of two AU cyons, the one fmall and endowed with voice, the other large and dumb. Belon makes the need thrufh the vocal jilcyon^ and the King fi (her the mute Alcyone though its character is quite the reverfe.
Thefe critical difcuffions feemed neceflary in a fubjeft which mod of the naturalifts have left in the greateft obfcurity. Klein, who makes the fame remark, only increa- fes the confufion, by afcribing to the King- filher two toes before and two behind. He appeals to Schwenckfield, who has fallen into the fame error -f*, and to a bad figure of Belon, which however that naturalift has himfelf correded, by defcribing accurately the foot of this bird, which is Angular. Of the three fore toes, the outer one is clofely connedled to that of the middle as far as the third joint, fo as apparently to make only one toe, which forms below a broad flat fole ; the inner toe is very (hort, more fo than the hind one ; the legs are alfo very ftiort j the head is large j the bill long, thick at the bafe, tapered ftraight to a point ; the tail is commonly (liort in this genus.
It is the handfomed bird in our climates; ifone in Europe can compare with the King-
f This error was firft propagated by Albertus, as Aldro- vandtts remarks, while he reAifies it. '
M 2 filher
AW
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r64
KING- FISHER.
fifher in the elegance, the richnefs, and the luxuriance of colours } it has all the (hades t)f the rainbow, the brilliancy of enamel, and the glofl'y foftnfcfs of filk : all the mid- dle of the back, with the upper furface of the tail, is light blue and brilliant, which, in the fun has the play of fapphire, and the ludre of turqnois (lone ; green is mixed on the wings with blue, and niofl of , the feathers are terminated and dotted with the tints of beryl} the head and the upper fide of the neck are dotted in the fame manner, with lighter fpecks on an azure ground. Gefner compares the glowing yellow- red. Which colours the bread, to the red glare of a burning coal.
It would feem that the King-fi(her has ftrayed from thofe climates where the fun pours incefiant torrents of the pureft light, and (beds all the treafures of the richeft colours *. And though our fpecies belongs not precifely to the countries of the Eaft and South j yet the whole genus of thefe charming birds inhabits thofe genial regions.
• ** There is ' a fpecies of King-fifher common in all the iflands of the South Sea : we have remarked that its plumage is much more brilliant between the tropics, than in the regi- ons fituated beyond the temperate zone, as in New Zealand.'* Forfter, Obfervations made in Captain Cook*s /ectnd Foyagth The King-fi(her is called woortt in the language of the So- ciety Iflands.. , ,
.^'■: ,.A • ■/ '^ .*.... ' There
IM^,
KING-FISHER.
165
There arc twenty fpecies in Afiica and in Afia, and wc are acquainted with eight n[iore, tliat are fettled in the warm parts of America. Even the European King-fiflier h fcattered through Afia and Africa ; for many King 6(hers fent from China and Egyp^ are found to be the fame with ours, and Belon fays that he met with theni in Greece-j-, and in Thrace J. - ,. • ^v
Th^s bird, though itderives its origin fron^ th^ hotted climates, is reconciled to, the ri- gours of our feafons. It is feen in the winter along the brooks, diving under the ice and emejfging \yith its fifliy-prey ||. flencc the Gernnans have called it Eifvog^i, or Ice- bird §; and Belon is midaken in a^^erting
that it h only migratory In our climates.
It fpiiis with a rapid flight ; it ufually traces the windings of Uie rivulets, razing the furface of the water. It fcreams while on the w\ng kt\ ki, ki, kty vviih a (brill voice, which makes the bank.' to refound.
t Nat. des Oifeaux, p. 220,.
\ The banks cf the river Htbrus, (now MtHflit) are in fome places pretty high, where the river-alcypns, vulgarly called the martitun j-echiuri (King-filhers), make their nelh.'* Id. Ob/trvatiotUt p. 63. The K>ng fift^'r " probably not found ia Swedes, fince Linnaeus does not mention it: but we ai^e more furprized that he places in that northern cli- mate the Btt-tattTt which is little known in France, and even rare in Italy.
}| Schweockfjld, Gc(n^r, Qlm., .; ' \ G^fnct.
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KING- FISHER.
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In fpring, it has another fong which may be heard through the murmur of the ftream^ or the nbify dalhing of the cafcadc J. Jt is very fhy, and efcapcs to a diftance j it fits on a branch projc<5ling over the current 5 there it remains motionlefs, and often watches whole hours to catch the moment when a little fifli fprings under its (lation $ it dives perpendicularly into the water, where it continues feveral feconds, and then brings up the fi(h $ which it carries to land, beats to death, and then fwal- lows it. ' " ■''''■'' ''-*' •■= ' ■'■ "^^ '' '•''' '^'■'^* • When the King-fifher cannot find a projefting bough, it fits on fome (lone near the brink, or even on the gravel ; but the moment it perceives the little fi(h, it takes a fpring of twelve or fifteen feet and drops perpendicularly from that height. Often it is obferved to flop (hort in its rapid courfe and remain ftill, hovering in the fame fpot for feveral feconds : fuch is its manner in winter when the muddy fwell of the flream, or the thicknefs of the ice, conftrains it to leave the rivers, and to ply along the fides of the unfrozen brooks: at each paufe, it continues as it were fufpended at the height of fifteen or twenty feetj
X The name I/pida is^ according to the author de natura rerum, in Gefner, formed from the cty of the bird ; probably f(0|n fhe liril, ; v ' ■ ■' -^ -^^ '
Hn4
\\
KING-FISHER.
167
and when it would change its place, it finks and ikims along within a foot of the furface of the water } then rifes and halts again. This repeated and almod conti- nual exercife (hows that the bird dives for many fmail objc6)s, fifhes or infects, and often in vain -, for, in this way, it travels many a league. ;: 7 - ,,;j ;-r vi' It neflles in the brinks of rivers and brooks, in holes made by the water-rats, or by crabs, which it deepens and fafhions ; and contra6ts the aperture. Small fifh- bones and fcales are found in it among fand, but without any arrangement, and here its eggs are depofited : though we cannot find thofe little pellets with which Bclon fays it plafters its neft, or trace the form imputed to it by Ariflotle, who compares this neft to a gourd, and its fubftance and texture to thofe fea-balls or lumps of interwoven filaments which cut with difficulty, but when dried become friable.* The hakvonia, of which Pliny reckons four kinds -j-, and which ■ fome have fuppofed to be the neth of the King-fifhers, are only clutters of Sea-weeds : and with regard to the famous nefls of Ton- quin and China, which are efteem^d fuch delicacies, and have alfo been afcnbed to the Alcyon, we demonftrated that they
* AXO'«;(rt), or Sea-fpome. Hijl. Anim, Lib. ix. 14^ ' f Lib. xxxii. 8*
M 4
were
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K I N G-F I S H E R.
i
w
p
were the produ6lion of the Salangane or cfculent Swallow.
The Kmg-fifliers begin to frequent their hole m the month of March; and at this time tiie male is obferved in ardent purfuit of the female. The ancients believed that the Alcyons were extremely amorous, for they relate that the male expires in the embrace^ J and Ariftotle aflcrts that they begin to breed when only four months old -f*.
1 he fpecies of our King fi (her is not nu- merous, though thefe birds have fix, feven, or even nine in a hatch, according to Gef- ntr. Their mode of life proves often fatal, nor do they always with impunity brave the rigours of our winters, for they are found dead under the ice. Olina defcribes the method of catching them at day break, or in the dulk of the evening, by fetting a trap at the edge of the water j he adds, that they live four or five years. We only know that they may be kept fome time in rooms, where are placed bafons of water full of fmall fifli J. M Daubenton, of the Academy of Sciences, fed fome for feveral months, by giving them every day young fry, which i^
• Tzetses, and the Scholiall of ^fi^o^hanes. f Lib. ix. 14,
their
K I N G . F I S H E R.
r6f
the^r only proper nouriftiment: for four
King filhers were brought to me on the
twenty- iirft of Auguft, 1778; which were
as large as their parents, though taken
out of their hole in the bank of a river, and
two of thefe cpndantly reje6led flies, ants,
earth worms, palle and cheefe, and died
of hunger in two days j the two others ate
^ little cheefe and fome earth-worms, but
lived only fix days. Gefner obferves that
tfee King-fifher can never be tamed, and is
always equally wild. Its flefh has the
odour of baftard mulk *, and is unpalatable
food I its fat is reddlih'f'} its (lomach is
roomy and flaccid, as in the birds of prey ;
and like them too it difcharges by the bill
the indigefted fragments, fcaies and bones
rolled into fmall balls : the flomach is placed
very low, and confequently the aefophagus
is very long || ; the tongue is fhort, of a
red or yellow colour, like the infide and
the bottom of the bill §.
It
♦ Tragus.
f Gefner.
|( Idem.
^ " On the feventh of July, 1771, fays M. <ic Mont- beillard, I received five young King'fi(hers (there had been feven of them in the neft by the brink of aiivulet): they ate earth-worms, that were given to them. In thefe young King-fiihers, the outer toe was fo clofcly connected to the i^ifidle one as far as the lail joint, as to give (be appearance
rather
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1JO
KING-FISHER.
It is fingular, that a bird which flies fo fwiftly and with fuch continuance, has not broad wings; they are, on the contrary, very fmall in proportion to its bulk, and we may hence judge of the vaft force of the mufcles that impel them. For no bird perhaps flies fo rapidly ; it (hoots like an arrow : if it drops a fi(h from the branch on which it is perched, it often fnatches it before it touches the ground. As it feldom fits but on dry branches, it is faid to wither the tree on which it fettles J.
It has been fuppofed, that the dried body of the Kingfiftier has the property of pre- ferving cloth and woollen fluffs from mothss
B'
'^1
rather of a forked toe than of two diftindl toes ; the tarfus was very fhort ; the head was flriped acrofs with black and greenilh blue; there were two fire-coloured fpots, one on the eyes before, and the other longer under the eyes, which extending behind, becomes white ; below the neck, near the back, the blue grows predominant, and a waving band ■ of blue mixed with a little black runs the whole length of the body, and extends to the extremity of the coverts of the tail, where the blue becomes more vivid; the twelve quills of the tail were of an enbrowned blue; the twenty-two quills of the wings were each half brown, and halfeinbrown- ed blue lengthwife ; the bread was rufous ftiaded with brown ; the belly whitiOi; the under fide of the tail rqfous inclined to orange ; the bill was fcventeen lines; the tail was very ihort, broad, and pointed ^ the ventricle very ca* pacious." Oh/ervation communicated hy M. di Montheillard.%
X Schwcnckfeld,
1 _ •■ ■ '
i)" i
■'li :j'
KING-FISHER.
171
and for this rfa'' a drapers hang it in their fhops. Its ♦ jell of baftard mufk may perhaps repel jhofe infefts, but the efFeft can be no greater than that of any other kind of penetrating odour. As the body dries eafily, it has been alledged that the flefh never putrefies *. But thefe imaginary vir- tues are nothing compared to the wonders related by fome authors, who have colle(fted the fiiperftitious notions of the ancients on the fubjedt of the Alcyon : it averted the thunder ; it augmented hidden treafure ; and though dead it renewed its plumage each feafon of moulting -f- : it beftows, fays Kirannides, on the perfon who carries it, graceful.nefs and beauty ; it preferves peace at home ; it maintains calm at fea ; it draws together the fifhes in abundance. J Such fables charm thefondnefs for credu- lity i
* Gefner.
f Aldrovandus. Lii, Hi. p. 621.
X What is fingular, they are found alfo among the Tar- tars and Siberians. *' The Kingfiihers are feen over all Siberia, and the feathers of thefe birds are employed by the Tartars and the OHiacs, for many fuperftitious ufes. The former pluck them, caft them into water, and carefull/ preferve fuch as float; and they pretend, that if with one of thefe feathers they touch a woman or even her cloaths fhe will fall in love with them. The Oftiacs take the ikin, the bill* and the claws of this bird, and fliut them in a purfe ; ^nd as long as they preferve this fort of amulet, they believe
tha^
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lb
If':'
:h'.
172
K I N G-F I S HE R.
lity ; but unfortunately they are only the offspring of an heated imagination. [A]
that ibcy have no ill to fear. The perfon who taught me this mean of living happy, could not forbear ihedding tears ; he told me that the lofs of fuch a ficin that he had, ipade bio^ Ip^e ^llb his wife apd his goods. I told him th^t fach a bird could not be To very rare, fincc a countryman or his had brought me one, with its fkin and its feathers : he was much furprized, and faid, that if he had the luck to find one, he would give it to no perfon." Fojage en Sibe* r/i^, par M. Gmelif, torn. ii. p. iiz,
[A] Specific chara£ler of the King^fiiher, Akedo-Ifpida : '* It is ftiort-tailed, fky-blue above, fulvous below, its ftraps rnfous.'* Mr. Pennant has given an excellent hiltory of this bird, with f:riucal difcuillons, ia the Britifh Zpologfy.
„; i-N. .'. .:^i:.
. . i
1*'IK
t ^73 1
Foreign KING-FISHERS.
A s the number of foreign fpecies is very conftderable, and as they are all inha<«> bitants of the warm climates, we may regard the European King-fifher, which occurs fmgle and detatched, as expatriated from the original (lock. To give regularity to the enumeration of this multitude, we (hall firft feparate the King-fiOiers of the Ancient Continent from thofe of America, and then range them in the order of their mag- nitude, beginning with fuch as are larger than the European fpecies.
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I 174 I
GREAT KING-FISHERS
of the Old Continent.
•. , '■! J •• .(';.
<'i J s i* ; * - 1 1 1
1:
if '*,
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The GREATEST KING-FISHER.
>' )"
, : ^'f^ Speciet.
Alcedo Fufca* Gmel.
Alcedo Gigantea, Lath. Ind. " '
The Great Brown King-fijh$r. Lath. Syn. »
np HIS bird, which is the largeft of its kind, occurs in New Guinea ; it is fix- teen inches long, and of the bulk of a Jack^ daw; all the plumage, except the tail, appears ftained with biftre*, and embrowned on the back and on the wing \ the colour is lighter and faintly crofled by fmall black- ifh waves on all the forefide of the body and round the neck on a whiter ground ; the feathers on the crown of the head, as well as a broad ftreak below the eye, are of the brown biftre of the back ; the tail is of a rufty fulvous crofled with black waves, and is white at the end : the lower mandible is
* '* A colour made of chimney foot boiled and then dilated with water ; ufed by painters ia waihing their draw- ings."
orange,
The
'i: <
BLUE AND RUFOUS KING-FISHER. 17J
orange, the upper one black, and (lightly bent at the point ; a charafler which, in fome degree, detaches the bird from the King-fiQiers, though all its other properties agree with thofe of that tribe. .
:v, , ) t'i' » ^h •'-
The BLUE and RUFOUS KING-FISHER. '
Second Species.
j§kedo Smjrnenfis Var.. ift. Linn, and Gmel.
IJ'pida, Klein.
J/pida Madagafcarienfis Carulea. Briff,
The Great Gambia King-fijher, Edw. and Lath.
Tt is a little more than nine inches long, ■*■ and its bill, which is red, meafures two inches and a half; all the head, the neck, and the upperfide of the body, are of a fine brown rutous \ the tail, the back, and half of the wings, areblue^ varying accord- ing to its pofition into iky-blue and fea- green; the point of the wings and the flioulders are black. This fpecies is found in Madagafcar, it is alfo feen in Africa, on the river Gambia, according to Edwards. A King-fiflicr from the Malabar coaft, figured in the Planches Enluminees^ and
which
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t;6 BLUE ANi) RUFOUS KING-^ISHER.
which BrifTon makes his fourteetith fpc^ cies *, refembles exa6tly the prefent, ex- cept that its throat is white, a difference which may be imputed to di(lin£lion of fex. In that cafe, it mud inhabit the zone that ftretches acrofs the whole continent i and if the Smyrna King-fifher of Albin, which BrifTon reckons his thirteenth fpe- cies -f*, be the fame, as appears to. us mod probable, this bird is difperfed through a ftill greater extent, [AJ
• jfleetfo Smyrnenfis Vdr. zd. Lino, and Gmel. Ifpida Bengalenjis Major, Briff. The Great Bengal King fi^er. Albin. and Lath, f Alcedo SmyrneHfts, Linn, and GmeL Ifpida Smyrnenfis, BrifT.
[A] Specific charadler: *' It is long- tailed, ferruginous} its wings, its tail an4 its back green." .: . . i .
•-!' i'
IP . ■
TheCRAB KINGFISHER.
Third Species.
f '■
Alcedo Cancrophaga, Lath. Ind. Alcedo Senegalenjis, Far. I. Gmel. The Crab-eating King-Jijher. Lath. Syn,
'T^ HIS King-fifher was fent us from Se-
hegal under the name of Crabier. It
is probably found alfo at the Cape de Verd
idandsy
»'»
C R A 1] K IN G-P I S HE R. 277
iflands, and the following indication, given by Forfter in Cook's fecond voyage, feems to refer to it. *' The mod remarkable bird we faw at the Cape de Verd iflands was a kind of King-fiflier, which lives upon the large red and blue land crabs that croud ia the holes^of the dry and parched foil*." The tail and all the back are of a fea-blue. which alfo paints the outer margin of the great and middle quills of the wing, but their points are black, and a large fpot of that colour covers all the part next the body, and marks on the wing the trace, as it were, of a fecond wing $ all the under- fide of the body is light fulvous ; a black fireak flretches behind the eye, the bill and legs are of a deep ruft colour. The length of this bird is afoot.
* This obferver adds : ** The ftme fpecies is fband in Arabia F«lix, and alfo in Abyflinia, as appears from the ele- gant and precious drawings of Mr. Brace.'*
Vot. VI !•
II
t
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The THICK-BILLED KING-FISHER.
, ., : , , • , Fturth Sfeciet,
«
^leeJo Capenfit, Linn, and Gmel. J/pida Capita Bona Spti. BriiT. • i Tbe Cape King-Jifitr, Lath.
'Tp H E bill of the King-fifhers is in genc- •*f r^l large and flrong : but in the pre- fent, it is uncommonly thick and flout. The whole length of the bird is fourteen inches \ that of the bill alone is above three inches, and its thicknefs at the bafe eleven lines; the head is capped with light gray; the back is water- green; the wings are aqua- marine ; the tail is of the fame green with the back, and lined with gray; all the underfide of the body is a dull weak ful- vous ; the bill has the red tint of Spanifh wax. [A]
[A] Specific charader of the Alcedo Capenjis: " Tt is ftiort-tailed, afh-blue, below fulvous, its breaft brick colour, its bill red."
■S' 1
•'I '
t 179 J
, *
7 t >% '
i:«
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"1 r % H r ' I ;
I'y.v '■' • I-
The PIED KING-FISHER.
i#/!r/4/0 /?«<///. Linn, and Gmel.
IJ^ida ex albo tt nigra varta. BriflT.
TAe Black and IFhitt King-Jifiiir. Edw. and Lath.
'T^ H E whole plumage of this bird con- fifls of black and white, broken and intermixed ; and we have therefore termed it the ?ied King'fijher, The back is of a black ground, clouded with white; there is a black zone on the bread ; all the fore- fide of the neck, as far as under the bill, is white ; the quills of the wing are black on the outer edge, interfedted within by white and black, and fringed with white : the top of the head and the crefl are black $ and th$ bill and legs of that fame colour : The total length of the bird is near eight inches. £B]
This King-fi(her came from the Cape of Goo4 Hope. On comparing it with ano- ther fent from Senegal, and delineated in^ the Plancbes Enluminees, we cannot help regarding it one of the fame fpecies : (ince-
[B] Specific charaaer of the Jlcedo Rudis : ** It is ihort- tailed, black' variegated with whitifh, below white."
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the differences which occur in the two figures are inconfiderable j for indance, the black in the Senegal bu'd is lighter and more dilute ; the feathers on the head which are reprcfented lying flat arc yet capable of rifmg to a crell: but the mod material difparity is, that it has a larger proportion of white, and the other from the Cape of Good Hope, has a fomewhat larger pro- portion of black. Edwards gives one of thefe birds fent from Perda $ but his figure is defedlive, and the colours altogether mif- taken. He tells us indeed that he received it prepared in fpirits of wine, and obferves himfelf, that after a long immcrfion in that liquor the tints of the pliimage are greatly weakened and difordered. But it is quite improbable that the black and white varie- gated King-tiiher of Jamaica mentioned by Sloane, of which he gives a figure that merits hardly any attention, is the fame fpecies with that of Senegal or of the Cape of Good Hope ; yet Brilfon makes no fcru- ple in ranging them together. A bird which ilies only iliort diftances, and Ikims along the fliores, could never traverfe the vafl: Atlantic Ocean ; and nature, fo diverfified in all her operations, feenis never to have repeated any of her forms in the other con- tinent, but to have fafliioned her produc- tions
PIED KIN G-F I S H E R. 181
tions after entirely new models. This is mofl likely an indigenous fpecies, and ap- propriated entirely to thofe countries where it occurs) and the fame may be the cafe with the King fifhers feen in thofe iflands which are fcattered in the midd of the South Sea, and difcovered by the lateft navigators. Forder, in his account of Captain Cook's fecond voyage round the world, obferves that they were found in Otaheit^, Xuaheine, and Ulietea, which are mpre than ope thoufand five hundred leagues didant from any con« tinent. Thefe King-fifhers are of ^ dull green, with a collar of the fame about their white neck. It appears that fome of the iflanders entertain a fuperftitious veneration for thefe birds ; and thus, from one end of the world to the other, have marvellous qualities been afcribed to the family of the Alcjons *.
* In the afternoon we (hot (at Ulietea) Tome King-fifhers. The moment that I had fired lad, we met with Oreo and his family, who were walking on the beach with Captain Cook. The Chief did not obferve the bird which I held in my hand, but his daughter wept for the death of hef iatuaOT genius, and Bed from me when I offered to touch her : her mother and mod of the women who accompanied her, (eemed alfo concerned for this acciident ; and the Chief, mounting on his canoe, entreated us in a very ferious tone to fpare the King«fi(hen and the Herons of his ifland, at the fai^e time granting us permiffion to kill all the other birds. We tried in vain to difcover the caufe of this vene- ration for thefe two (pecics." Captain Ctolji't S^ftti/i f^oj<*i'% iy Ferjftr,
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The CRESTED KING-FISHER.
,5/jf//& Sfecifs, '" .
' Jlcedo Maxima. Far, Linn, and Gmel. The Great .King fifhir. Lath.
'T^ HIS King-fifher is oi|e pf the largeft, being fixteen inches in length ; its plumage is richly enamelled, though not marked with brilliant colours j it is entirely fprinkled with white drops, ftrewed in tranf- yerfe lines on a blackifti gray ground, from the back to the tail; the throat is white with blackifh flreaks on the (ides ; the bread is enamelled with the fame two colours, and with rufous j the belly is white ; the flanks and the coverts under the tail are of a ruft colour.
Sonnerat defcribes a fpecies of Ki^g-fifher from New Guinea, which bears a great re- femblance to this, in its fize and in part of its colours. We fhall not however venture to decide on their identity.
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[ >»3 3
The BLACK CAPPED KING-FISHER.
Stvtntb Specter, Jlcedo Atricapilla, Gmel.
np H I s is one of the moil: beautiful of the King-fifliers ; a foft filky violet covers the back, the tail, and half the wings 5 their tips, and the fhoulders are black; the belly is light rufous v a white plate marks thebreail and the throaty and bends round the neck near the back ; the head wears a large black capj a great bill of a brilliant red completes the rich decora- tion of^this bird: its length is ten inches. It is found in China; and we reckon the Great King- fiiher of the ifland of Lu^on, mentioned by Sonnerat, as a contiguous fpecies, or merely a variety.
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[ 184 ]
The GREEN HEADED KING-FISHER.
Eighth Sptciet,
Aleedo Cbkrocephala,
A
GREEN cap, with a black edging, covers the head ; the back is of the fame green, which melts on the wings and tail into a fea-green $ the neck, the throat, and all the fore fide of the neck, are white ; the bill, the legs, and the underfide of the tail are blackifh : the length is nine inches. This bird, which appears to be of a new fpecies, is reprefented in the Planches Enlu- minies as a native of the Cape of Good Hope; but we find from Commerfon's papers that he faw and defcribed it in the Uland of Bouro, near Amboyna and one of the Moluccas.
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The K I N G - F I S H E R,
with Straw-coloured Head and Tall*
Ninth Specitu
Aletdo Leueocepbaia, Gmel. The IVhitt'headei Kittg'jijbtr,
'T^ HIS is a new fpecies : the wings and the tail are of a deep turquois-blue; the great quills of the wings are brown, fringed with blue; the back is of a fea-green^ the neck, the fore and under (ides of the body white, tinged with ftraw or doe co- lour ; fmall black f^rokes are traced on the white ground of the crown of the head ; the bill is red and near three inches long; the total length of the bird is a foot. [A] The K.ing-fi(her of Celebes, mentioned by voyagers, feems to belong to a fimilar fpe- cies, though rather fmaller : but it is fome- what embellifhed perhaps by their imagi- nation. This bird, fay they *, lives on a fmall fi(h which it watches to catch on the river. It circles, razing the furface of the
[A] Specific charafler of the Alctio Leucoeephala : ** It is bloe>green; its head, its neck, and its under furface white ; its wing-quills brown."
* Hiftoire Generale des Voyages, tern x, /. 459.
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iS6 WHITE CELLARED KING-FISHER.
water, till its prey, which is very nimble, fprings into the air, as if to dart down upon its enemy ; but the bird is always dextrous enough to prevent the blow. It feizes the liili with its bill, and tranf- ports it to its neft, where it iubfifts a day or two on its fpoil, and fpends the whole time in finging. It is fcarccly bigger than a laik ; its bill is red ; the plumage on its head and back is entirely green ; that of the belly verges on yellow, and its tail is of the fined blue in the world. This wonderful bird is called Ten-rou-joulon *.
* This bird is reckoned by Gmelin and Latham a 6.Hkr'' eitt fpecies under the name of Alcedo Flaviccms, Specific ♦"haradler : «• Below yellowifti, its head and back green ; its bill and its tail blue/'
The WHITE COLLARED ,;K I N G-F I S H E R. ;
Tenth Species,
Alcedo CoUaritt
?.H i.;lil
Conner AT defcribes this new fpecies. It is rather fmaller than the Blackbird ; its head, its neck, its wings, and its tail, are blue, (haded with green ; all the under- fide of the body is white, and there is
a white
WHITE COLLARED KING-FISHER. 187
a white ring round the neck. He found this bird in the Philippines, and we have reafon to believe that it occurs alfo in China.
The bird which BrifTon defcribes, from a drawing, under the name of the Collared Indian King-fifher^ and which he fays is much larger than our European King-fi(her, may be a variety of this tenth fpecies.
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The Middlc-fized KING-FISHERS of the Ancient Continent.
The B A B O U C A R D.
Firft MiddU Species.
J/pida Zenegalenjis, BriiT. Aletdo i/pida. Far, Gmel.
^TpH E name of the King-fillicr at Senegal ' is in the language of the country Bahoucard, The fpecies are numerous on that great river *, and they are all painted with the moft variegated and vivid colours. We apply the generic term Bahoucard to Briflbn's feventh fpecies, which refembles fo clofely the European King-fi{her, that they may be regarded as contiguous kinds, or perhaps as really the fame ; fince we have already obferved that our own derives origin from the hot climates. [A]
* Adanfon.
[A] Specific charafler of the Jkedo $tnegaltnji$ : " It Js long-tailed, helotv iky-blue, its head hoary, the coverts of its wings black."
f «89 1
The B L U E AND BLACK KI N G-F I S H E R of Senegal.
Se<OHd Middh Species* Akedo Senegalenfis. ^<tr. 3. Gmel*
T
HIS appears to be rather larger than our King-fi(her, though it is fcarcely feven inches long : the tail, the back, the middle quills of the wing, are deep blue ; the reft of the wing, including the coverts and the great quills, is black ; the under- fide of the body is rufty fulvous as far as the throat, which is white, (haded with bluifh ; this tint a little deepened covers the upper fide of the head and neck ; t^he bill is rufous, and the legs reddifh*
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The GRAY HEADED KING-FISHER.
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Third MiddU Sfeciii,
Mcedo Senegahnfis. Linn. and. Gmel.
The Senegal King-fijher, Lath.
npH I s King-filhcr is intermediate between the large and the fmall kinds. It is nearly of the fize of the Throftle, being eight inches and a half long. Its head and neck are enveloped with brown gray, which is lighter and inclined to white on the throat and the forefide of the neck ; the under furface of the body is white ; all the upper furface fea-green, except a great black bar ftn 'ching on the coverts of the wing, and another which marks the great quills -, the upper mandible is red, ,the lower black. [A]
[Al Specific charafter of the Alcedo Senegalettfit : ** It is long-tailed} iky.blue, below white, its head hoary, the coverts of its wings black.
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The YELLOW FRONTED KING-FISHER.
Fourtb MidJh SpecUs,
Jlcedo-Eriibaca. Linn, and Gmel. Ifpida Btngaltnjis Torfuata, Brifli'. TAe Bengal Kittg-Jijber. Alb. ^ Tbt Red-headtd King-jijhtr* Lath.
^ 1
A L B I N gives an account of this bird, and tells us that it is the (ize of the Englifh King-fi(her. If wc may truft more to the defcriptions of this author than to his engravings, this fpecies is diflinguilhed from the reft by the teautiful yellow which tinges all the underfide of the body and the front; a black fpot rifes at the bill and furrounds the eyes ; behind the head there is a bar of dull blue, and then a ftreak of white ; the throat alfo is white ; the back deep blue ; the rump and tail dirty red 5 the wings, faint iron gray. [A]
[A] Specific chara£^er of the Alcedo Erithaca: •* It is fhort-tailed» its. back, blue, its belly yellow, its head and rump purple, its throat and nape white.'*
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The LONG SHAFTED , KING-FISHER.
Fifth MiJdU Spieia,
Jkedo-Dea, Linn, and Gmel. J/piJa Ternatana, Brifl*. Pita Ternatana. Klein. Tbt Terttatt King-fifitr, Lath.
^'T^ HIS fpecies is diftinguKhed by a re- ^ markable charafter; the two middle quills of the tail project and taper into two long fhafts, which are naked three inches of their length, and have a fmall beard of feathers at their ends ; foft and deep turquois blue, and black velvet brown cover and interfeft the upper furface with four large fpots ; the black occupies rhe top of the back and the point of the wings, the deep blue their middle, the upper part of the neck and head; all the under furface of the body and tail is white, lightly tinged with dilute red $ the bill and legs are orange , on each of the two feathers in the middle of the tail, there is a blue fpot, and the long (hafts are of the fame colour. Seba calls this bird, on account of its beauty, l!he Nymph of Ternate : he adds, that the feathers of the tail are one third longer in the male than in the femaje.
[A] Specific charaacr of the AIceA-Diu: *« Two of Its tail quills are very long, attenuated U the middle, it» body dark-bluilh, its wings greenUh.'*
C »93 ]
i^f
Small KING- FISHERS
of the Ancient Continent.
the BLUE HEADED KING-FISHER.
fir^ Small Species, Alcedo Casruleocephalat Gmel.
Come King-fi(hers are as Tmall as the Gold Crefted Wren, or, to compare them with a family that bears more affi- nity to them, they are as fmall as the Todies. That from Senegal is of this num- ber; it is fcarcely four inches long; all the under furface of the body, as far as the eye, is of a fine rufous j the throat is white } the back is of a fine ultramarine blue, the wing is of the fame blue, except the great quills which are blackifti ; the crown of the head is of a bright blue, ftained with fmall waves of a lighter and verdant blue ; the bill is very long in pro« portion to the body, being thirteen lines. This bird was fcnt to us from Madagafcar. VOL. vu, o
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The RUFOUS KING-FISHER.
Second Small Species,
Alcedo Madagnfcarienlis. Linn, and Gmcl. Ifp'ula Madagajcavifnjis. Brill".
I
T is fcnrce five inches long j all the upper fi'.rface of the body from the bill to the tail, is of a bright Ihining rufous, except that the great quills of the wing arc black, and the middle onea only fringed with that rufous on a blackidi ground ; all the under furface of the body is white tinged with rufous j the bill and legs are black. Comrnerfon faw and defcribed it at Madagafcar.
The PURPLE KING-F!SHER.
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Third Small Species^ Akedo Purpurea, Gmel.
T T is of the fame (ize with tiie preceding r of all thefc birds it is the handfomell, and perhaps the richeft in colours j a fine aurora rufous, clouded with purple, inter- iniingled with blue, covers the head, the
rump,
WHITE BILLED KING-FISHE tl. 195
rump, and the tail ; all the under fide of the body is gold rufous, on a white ground ; its mantle is enriched with an azure blue on a velvet black ; a fpot of light purple rifes at the corner of the eye, and terminates behind in a flreak of the molt vivid blue ; the throat is white, and the bill red. This charming little bird was brought from Pondicherry.
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The W H I T E BILLED KING-FISHER.
Fourth Smull Sptcitt,
Alctdo Ltucoryncha» Gmely
Jfpida Americana Carulea% BrliT.
J/pida roftro alho, Klein.
Alctdo Americana^ ftu Apiajira, Seba.
C E B A, from whom we borrow the ac- count of this little King-fifher, fays tbat its bill is white, its neck and head of a red bay tinged with purple ; the fides are coloured the fame; the quills of the wing are cinereous; their covens and the feathers of the back are of a very fine blue, the breaft and belly are light yellow : its length is about four inches and a half. When Seba
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196 WHITE BILLED KING-FISHER.
aflerts that thefe birds of the Alcyon tribe live on bees, he confounds them with the Bee-eaters; and, for the fame reafon, Klein corre6ls a capital error of Linnaeus, who takes the Jfpida for the Merops\ whereas the latter inhabits the wild trads near for- rcfts, and not the margin of ftreams, where it would find no bees. But lyein himfelf is guilty of an inaccuracy, in faying that the Alcyon of Seba appears like our King- fiflier ; (ince, befides the difparity of bulk, the colours of the head and bill are totally different.
Vofmaer has defcribed two fmall King:- fiHiers * which he refers to this Alcyon of Seba, but at the fame time afferting that they have only three toes, two before and one behind. This fadl required to be proved, and has been fo by an excellent obferver, as we (hall afterwards find.
• J/cea'o Tridcu^yla, Linn, and Gracl.
^■■:
I '97 ]
The BENGAL KING-FISHER.
Fifth Small Spettes^
Jllcedo Bengatenfit. Gmel.
Jjpida Bengalenfis, Brifl*.
7be Little Indian King-fjher. Edw. and Lath.
T^D WARDS gives in the fame plate two fmall King-fi{hers which appear to be iclofely related fpecies, or perhaps the male and female of the fame, though Briflbn makes them two feparatc fpecies. They are not larger than the Todies ; in the one the upper furface is ll<:y-blue, and in the other fea-green ; the quills of the wings and of the tail are brown gray, in the former, and of the fame green with the back, in the latter ; the under fide of the body is orange fulvous in both. JClein fays that this fpecies is like the European in its colours J he might have obferved that it differs widely in fize : but always imprelTed with the falfe notion that the toes are placed two and two in the genus of the King-fiftiers, he complains that Edward? is not fufficiently diftin6t on that point, though the figures of this naturailft are here, as ufual, very accurate and well delineated. ' .
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The THREE TOED KING-FISHER.
Sixth Small Species. AUedo Trida£iyla, Far, Linn, and Gmel.
VITe have already found in the Wood- ^ peckers a fingularity of this nature in regard to the number of the toes : this is lefs furprizing in the family of the King- iiQiers, where the little inner toe is fo fhort and almofl ufelefs, that it may be eafily omitted. We are indebted to Sonnerat for the account of this fmall three-toed King- fifli r, which is one of the richeft and moft brilliant in regard to plumage of the genus : all the U'f)peifide of the head and back is of a deep lilac ; the feathers of the wings are of a dull indigo, but heightened by a border of vivid and (hining blue, which furrounds each feather ; all the under- fide of the body is white j the bill and legs are rtddifh. Sonnerat found this bird in the ifland of Lu9on. Vofmaer fays merely that his fpccimens came from the Eaft Indies.
We regard this fnecies, the preceding of Seba and that of our purple King-fi(her,
as
hi ■■!'
THREE TOED KING-FISHER. 199
as three contiguous fpecies, and which might be reduced to two, or even to one, if it were eafier to eftimate the arbitrary differences of defcriptions, or to reflify theni from the objefls themfelves. Volmaer gives, under the name of Alcyon, two other birds which are not King-fiftiers ; the firft, which he calls the Long-tailed American Alcyon, befides that its taifl is too long in propor- tion, is excluded from the genus by the cur- vature of its bill 5 the fecond has a longifh, (lender, quadrangular bill, and its toes bent two and two,, and is therefore a Jacamar -f.
f In a long note, which we (hall omit, our author ex- pofes the peculiarities, the ineieeancies, and the Qiiitakes vf Vofmaer,
The V I N T S I,
Seventh Small Species, .
Alcedo Crijiata. Linn, and Gmel. J/pida Philippenfis Crijiata. Briff. Ifpida rojlro luteo. Klein.
The Crefted Kingfjher, Lath.
■ ■ "• t
'\7'iNTsj is the name given by the inha- bitants of the Philippines to this fmall King-fifher, which thoie of Amboyna, according to Seba, term the T^ohorkey and
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Hitff, The upper furface of the wings and the tail are Iky- blue ; the head is thick covered with long narrow feathers, neatly dotted with black and greenifh points, that rife to a creft ; the throat is white j on the lide of the neck, there is a tawny rufous fpot; all the under furface of the body is dyed with this colour : the whole bird is harlly five inches long.
The feventeenth fpecies of Briffon ap- pears to be n)uch related to the prefent, jf it is not entirely the famej for the flight difference that occurs feems to indicate no more at leaft than a variety. We cannot afcertain to what fpecies the fmail bird of the Philippines, which Camel ckWs Salaczac*, and which appears to be a King-fifherj but nothing more than the name is given in the enumeration of the Philippine birds inferred in the Philofophical Tranfa6lions.
Brifibn defcribes alfo another fpecies of the King-fifher, from a drawing that was fent him from the Eaft Indies j but as we have not feen the bird, we can add nothing to his delineation.
• Latham fuppofes it to be a variety of the Fitit/i : it is the jihefio crifiata elegantiffime piQa of Seba, and the Ifpida Indica ^ri^Ji^a, qf JBriiTon, meationed in the next paragraph.
( 1 /
I 20' 1
The K I N G - F I S H E R S
of the New Continent.
Grfaf Species,
The T A P A R A R A.
Pir^ Great Sptcies
Alcedo Cayanenfis, Gmel.
Ifpida Cayanenfis, Briff.
The Cayenne King-fijher, Lath.
^Tp apararaIs the generic name of the King-fifherin the language of the natives of Cayenne j and we (hall apply it to this fpecies, which is found in that ifland. It is as large as a Stare ; the upper fide of the head, the back, and the (boulders, are of a fine blue ; the rump is of a fea-green ; all the underfide of the body is white ; the quills of the wing are blue without, black with- in and below ; thofe of the tail are the fame, except that the two mid-ones are entirely blue ; below the back of the head, there is a black crofs bar. The vaft abundance of
water
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TAPARARA.
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water in the country of Guiana is favour- able to the muhiplication of the King- lifhers. Accordingly, their fpecies are nu- merous, and ferve to point out the rivers that are flored with fifh,they being frequent- ly found by their bank?. There are many King- fi fliers, fays M. de la Borde, on the river OuafTa ; but they never congregate, and always appear fingle ; they breed in thofe regions, as they do in Europe, in the perpendicular banks ; there are always a number of thefe holes near each other, though each of their lodgers lives folitary. M. de la Borde faw their young in the month of September, which in that cli- mate is perhaps the time of incubation j the cry of thefe birds is car ac, carac. [A]
[A] Specific charaiSler of the Jlcedo Cayanenfis : *' It is blue, beiow white> a tranfverfe black bar below the back, qf the head,"
^l.
[ J03 ]
The A L A T L I.
i,,:,.
Second Great Species.
Alcedo Torquata. Linn, and Gmel. Ifpida Mexicana Crijlata. Briff. The Cinereous King-Jijher, Lath.
TIT" E form this name by contra6lion for achalalaSili or michalalaSili^ which the bird receives in Mexico, according to Fernandez. It is one of the largeft of the King-fiftiers, being near fixteen inches long 5 but its colours are not fo brilliant as thofe of the others : bluifh gray is fpread over all the upperfide of the body, and that colour is variegated on the wings with white fringes in feftoons at the point of the quills, the largefl: of which are blacki(h, and interfered within by broad white indent- ings J thofe of the tail are marked with broad flripes of white ; the underfide of the body is chefnut- rufous, which grows more dilute as it rifes on the breaft, where it is fcaled or mailed with gray i the throat is white, and that colour, extending on the fide of the neck, makes an entire circuit, and hence Nieremberg calls it the collared bird', aljl the head and the nape of the
neck
11
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•:V i"** it St.. A-
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neck are of the fame bluirti gray with the back. This is a migratory bird j it ar- rives at a certain time of the year in the northern provinces of Mexico, and proba- bly comes from the hotter regions, for it is found in the Antilles, and we received it irom Martinico. Adanfon fays, that it oc- curs Jikewife^ though rarely^ in Senegal^ in the places near the mouth of the Niger, But the difficulty of fuppofing that a Mexican bird could be found alfo in Senegal ftruck hirafelf, and he fought to trace the differ- ences between the Achalaladli of Fernan- dez and Nieremberg and this African King- iiiher ; and it thence appears that the bird defcribed by BrifTon, and delineated in our Planches Enluminees is not the real Mexican Achalaladtli, but that of Senegal. Indeed the diftance between the climates is fo vaft, that we cannot doubt that birds unable to perform a long palFage muft be different fpecies. [A]
.tvV
lil
[A] Specific charafler of the Alcedo Torquaia : •* It i( ftort tailed, half-crefted, hoary bluifh, with a white col- lar, its wings and tail fpotted with white."
■r (■.!.,
m
[ »os )
The J A G U A C \ T I.
. ; ". Third Great Specter.
Jlcedo'Altyon, Far. ^d.
lji>ida Brafdienfti Crijiata. BriiT.
X%J E have*(cen that the European <pecic9 of King fiflier occurs in Afia, and oc- cupies perhaps the whole extent of the an- cient Continent : the prefent is another which is found from the one extremity to the other in the new, from Hudfon's Bay to Brazil. Marcgrave has defcribed it un- der the Brafilian name Jaguacati-guacuy and the Portuguefe appellation Papapeixe, Catefby faw it in Carolina, where he fays it preys both on lizards and on fifli. Ed- wards received it from Hudfon's Bay, where it appears in the fpring and fummer ; Briflbn introduces it three times from tbefc three authors, without comparing them, though the refemblance is obvious and re- marked by Edwards himfelf. We have re- ceived this bird from St. Domingo and from Louifiana : fome flight differences may be perceived ; the moft material one is that the fcarf of the throat is marked with lit- tle rufous feftoons in that from St. Do- mingo,
ii'fl
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206 J A G U A C A T 1/
mingo, but is merely gray in the other, and the tail of the former appears fomewhat more dotted and regularly fprinkled with drops on all the quills, which drops are lefs viftble in the latter, and never appear ex- cept when the tail is fpread : the compafs of the neck is white, and alfo the throat ; there is fome rufous on the bread and on the (ides ; the quills of the wing are black, marked with white at the point, and in- terfe6led in the middle by a imall white fringe, and which is only the border of the indentings on the inner webs, whicli appear when the wing is expanded. Marc- grave compares the bulk to that of the Field- fare, Klein, v^ho was not acquainted v;ith the Great King-fi(hers of New Guinea, takes this for the largeft of the kind *.
* It nedles in high banks, into which it penetrate» deep in a horizontal direAion. It lays four eggs, and hatches in June. It feems to migrate from the northern parts of Ame* rica to Mexico ; where it is eaten, though it has a rank fifty tafte. T-
\ '^
i: 207 ]
' .iij
■l.'H'.
M
The M A T U I T U I.
Fourth Sfcciei.
Alctdo Muculata, Linn, and Gmel',
Ifpida PrafiUenJis Navia, Briff.
The Braftlian /potted King fjher. Lath.
A R c G R A V E alfo defcribcs this Bra- filian King-fifhcr, and marks its true charaflers : the neck and leg?, fliort j the bill, ftraight and ftrong, its upper mandi- ble Vermillion, extending over the lower, and bending fomewhat at its point, a pecu- liarity obfervid already in the Kingfilher of New Guinea. It is as large as the Stare j all the feathers of the head, of the upper- fide of the neck, of t.ie back, and of the tail, are fulvous or brown, fpotted with yellowifh white, as in the Sparrow-hawk ; the throat is yellow, the breaft and belly are white, dotted with brown. Marc- grave mentions nothing particular of its natural habits. [A]
In Fernandez and Nieremberg we find fome birds which are improperly termed
[AJ Specific charafler of the Alccdo Moculata: " It is brown, fpotted with yellow! Hi ; below white, fpotted with brown; its throat, bright yellow."
King-
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. '.mm
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908
M A T U I T U I.
King-fifhcrs. Such are i. the hcaWiwhoC^ legs are a foot long, and therefore is by no means a King-Fifher : 2. the axoquen whofe neck and legs are equally long : 3. the acacahoaSlli^ or the aquatic bird with a raucous 'voice of Nieremberg, which Jiretchcs and bends back its long neck^ and appears to be a kind of Stork or Jabiru, much lik': the boaBon^ which Briflbn terms the crefled Mexi^ can heron. We may fay the fame of the tolcomo5lli and hoexocanaubtli of Fernandez, which refemble more this genus, but have fome habits oppofite to thofe of the King- fifhers ^, though the Spaniards name them, as they do the preceding birds, Martinetes Pef- cadors (Martin-fifhers) : Fernandez obferves that the fame appellation has been beftow. ed on thefe very different fpecies, merely be- caufe they all live on fifh.
• Fernandez fays of the firft, that the firoke ofitshillit dangerous } this cannot be a King-fi(her, which is an inno- cent timid bird : and of the fecond, that it nefiles among the nuillowj i but all the King>fi(hers which have been obferved:, breed in the banks of ftreams.
ti.
i '
t aof 1
Middle-fizcd KING-FISHERS,
of the New Continent.
I' ; I
I'.l
The GREEN and RUFOUS K I N G - F I S H E R.
Fir/f Middle Sftcitt. JlceJo Bicclor. Gmtl.
'T^ HIS King-filher is found in Cayenne : all the underfide of the body is of a deep gold rufous, except a zone waved with white and black on the bread, which* didinguilhes the male; a fmall (Ireak of rufous extends from the noftrils to the eyes ; all the upperfide of the body is of a dull green, fprinkled with fome fmall whitifh fpots, thinly fcattered ; the bill is black and about two inches long ; the tail meafures two inches and a half, which gives the bird a length of eight inches, though it is not thicker than the common King-fifher.
VOL. VII. f
f-
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t
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m^
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The GREEN and WHITE KING-FISHER.
Second Middle Sfeciesl Alcedo Americana. Gmel*
'T^ HIS fpecies too occurs in Cayenne : It is fmaller than the preceding, being only feven inches long, though its tail is flill of coniiderable length \ all the upper- fide of its body is gloffed with green on a blackifh ground, interfeded only by a white horfe-fhoe, which, rifing under the eye, defcends on the back of the neck, and by fome white ftreaks thrown on the wing; the belly and ftomach are white, and varie- gated with fome fpots of the colour of the back J the breaft and the fore part of the neck are of a fine rufous in the male, and this character didinguiihes it from the fe- male, which has a white throat.
f ail ]
The G I P - G I P.
Third Middle species,
Mcedo Brafiliettfis. Gmel. I/pida Brafilitnfis, Briff.
'T^ H I s is the anonymous bird of Marc- grave, which may be called Gif-gip on account of its cry. It is as large as the Lark, and of the form of the Matuitui^ which is the fourth great fpecies of Ame- rican King.fifliers ; its bill is ftraight and black J all the upperfide of the head, neck, wings and tail, is reddilh, or rather fliady^ bay, mixed with white j the throat and the underfide of the body, are white, and a brown ttreak runs from the bill to the eye : its cvjgip gip refembles the puling of young turkeys.
m
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[. an ]
SMALL KING-FISHERS
of the New Continent.
The GREE N and ORANGE K I N G . F I S H E R.
jllcedo Supercilio/a var. Linn, and Gmel. I/pida Americana Viridis. BrifT*
np H I s is the only fpecies in America which may be termed a Small King-, fijheri and it is fcarce five inches long : all the underfide of the body is of a brilliant orange, except a white fpot on the throat, another on the ftomach, and a deep green zone below the neck in the male, and which is wanting in the female j both of them have a half-collar of orange behind the neck; the head and all the upper fur- face, are covered with green-gray, and the wings are fpotted with fmall rufty drops near the fhoulder and on the great quills which are brown. Edwards, who gives the figure of this bird *, fays that he could not difcover from what country it was brought; but we received it from Cayenne.
• The little green and orange-coloured King-fiih»r. Cleanitigt, pi. 245.
ciri, fifliersj two be the Kii one be them ii bill, ar middle probab have ra clafled the dif; and th< though] are dii fince tl bill, am ftiff, n( fore, tl rate gel
• Edwa t WillJ
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t ai3 ]
1 1'
The J A C A M A R S.
1X7 E have formed this name by (horten- ing the Brafilian appellation Jacama* ciri, Thefc birds differ not from the King- fi(hers, except that their toes are difpofed two before and two behind, while thofe of the King-fifhers are placed three before and one behind. But the Jacamars refehible them in the ftiape of their body and of their bill, and they are of the fame fize with the middle fp'^riies of King-fifhers ; and this is probably t reafon that fome authors * have rangt-d ihem together. Others -f have clafTed the Jacamars with the Woodpeckers, the difpofition of their toes being (imilar, and the fhape of their bill nearly the fame, though longer and more flender ; but they are difcriminated from the Woodpeckers, fince their tongue is not longer than their bill, and the feathers of their tail are neither ftifF, nor wedge- fhaped. It appears there- fore, that the Jacamars conflitute a fepa- rate genus, which has as great affinity to
• Edwards, &c.
t Willughby, Klein, &c.
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214 J A C A M A R S.
the Woodpeckers, perhaps, as to the King- fifhers ; it contains only two fpecies, which are both natives of the hot climates of America.
The J A C A M A R,
properly fo called. .
FirJI Species,
jilcedo Galhula. Linn, and Gmel.
Gulhula. BrifT.
Galhula Vtridis. Lath. Ind.
The Cupreous facamar, Penn.
• The ^^reenJacamar, Lath. Syn.
npHis bird is about the fize of a lark, and its whole length is fix and a half inches ; the bill is an inch and five lines ; its tail, only two inches, yet it projects an inch beyond the wings, when they are clofed ; the quills of the tail are very regu- larly tapered ; the legs are very (hort, and of a yellowifh colour j the bill is black, and the eyes are of a fine deep blue j the throat is white, and the belly rufous j all the reft of the plumage is of a very brilliant gold- green, with red copper refledions.
• Thf favages of Cayenne call this bird Venetou ; and the Creoles give it the appellation Co//^r: <ii:j ^ra^/f bois (the i^orcft-CoIibn).
In
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THE GiREETV JACAMABl.
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Jn fome fubje6ts, the throat is rufous, as v^ell as the belly; in others, the throat is only a little yellowifh j the colour of the upperfide of the body, alfo, is more or lefs brilliant in different fpecimens, which may be attributed to age or fex,
Thefe birds are found both in Guiana and in Brazil ; they inhabit the forefls, and prefer the wet placer, '^- affording in moft abundance their iiuwfti ;di they nev.r join in fociety, but conftantly refide in the moft fequeftered and darkeft coverts ; their flight, though rapid, is ihort j they perch on the middle boughs, and remain at reft the whole of the night and the greateft part of the day j they always are alone, and almoft perpetually tranquil : yet there is ufually a number in the fame diftrift, that make re- fponfes in a feeble broken warble, but which is tolerably pleafant. Pifo fays that their flefh, though hard, is eaten in Brafil. [AJ
[A] Specific charafter of the Akedo-Galhula: ** Its tail is wedge- ihaped, its body green gold, below rufous, its feet fcanfory."
hmi
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The Long-tailed J AC A MAR.
Se:ond Speciet,
Jlcedo Paradifea. Linn and Gmel. Galbula Longicauda. BrifH Galbula Paradifea. Lath. Ind. J/pida Surinamenjis. Klein; The Siuallonx -tailed King-fijher. Edw. The PaYadifeJacamar. Lath. Syn.
^T^ H I s bird is rather larger than the pre- ceding, from which it differs by its tail having twelve quills, while in that of the other there are only ten j the two mid- dle quills of the tail are befides much longer, exceeding the reft two inches and three lines, and meafuring in all fix inches. It refembles the former Jacamar however in the form of its body and of its bill, and in .the difpofition of its toes j yet Edwards gives it three toes before and one behind, and this miftake probably has induced him to reckon it aKing-fi(hen It differs from the firft Jacamar by the tints and diftribution of its colours, which have nothing common to both but the white on the breaft ; all the reft of the plumage is of a dull and deep green, in which we diftinguifh only fome grange and violet refledlions.
We
'i "/■'!?" I
LONG-TAILED JACAMAR. 217
We are unacquainted with the female of the preceding fpecies ; but that of the pre- fent is diftinguifhed from the male by the two middle quills of the tail, which are much (horter, nor has its plumage any of the orange and violet refledlions.
Thefe long-tailed Jacamars live on infefls like the others. But all their other habits perhaps differ j for they fometimes frequent the cleared grounds, they fly to great diftances, and they perch on the tops of trees ; they go alfo in pairs, nor are they fo folitary or fedentary as the others j they have not the fame warble, but a cry or ra- ther a foft whiftle, which is heard only when near, and is feldom repeated. [A]
(A] Specific charafter of the Alcedo Paradlfea: ** Its two middle taiUquills very long, its body green gold, its feel; fcanfory."
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[ 238 ]
The T O D I E S.
Lts Tediirs. BulT.
Cloane and Browne are the firfl who have defcribed one of thefe birds, which they term Todus, But bcfides this fpecies from Jamaica, we know two or three others, which all feem to be natives of the hot climates of America. The difcriminating character of the genus is, that as in the King-fifhers and the Manakins, the mid- toe is clofely connedled, and as it were glued to the outer-toe as far as the third joint, but cohering to the inner-toe in the fame way only at the firft joint. If we rcfted on this property therefore, we (hould clafs the Todies with the Manakins or King-fifhers j but they are diftinguifticd from thefe and indeed from all other birds, by the form of the bill, which is long, ftraight, blunt at the end, and flattened above and below, fo that they have been called by the Creoles of Guiana, Little Pallets or Little Spatulas^ This Angular confirmation of their bill is alone fufficient to conilitutt a diftinft genus.
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THE. OREBX TOVnr.
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[ *>9 ]
The NORTH AMERICAN TODY.
Tirfi Specitt, ^
Todus Firidis. Linn, and Gmel.
Sylvia Guld Pbanicea. Klein.
Todus Viridis pt3ort rulro. Browne.
Rubecula Firidis t'UgantiJJima. Ray and Sloane.
'the Green Sparrow^ or Green Humming-bird, £dv/.
The Green Tody. Penn. and Lath.
np H I s Tody is not larger than the Gold-Crefted Wren, being about four inches long. We (hall not here copy the long defcriptions given by Browne, Sloane, and Briflbn ; becaufe it will always be cafy to diftinguilh the bird ; for, befides the peculiarity of the bill, the upper fide of the body, in the male, is of a dilute blue, and the under fide rofe colour j and, in the female, the back is of a fine green, and the reft of the plumage (imilar v.> ihat of the male. In both, the bill is reddifh, but lighter below and browner above j the legs are gray, and the nails long and hooked. The bird feeds on infe^h and fmall worms, and inhabits wet and fequeftered fpots. The two iubjeds defigned in the Planches Enlumi^
nees
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326 NORTH AMERICAN TODY.
fiees were fent us from St. Domingo by M. Chervain, under the name of X^w^P^r- ri)fSt but with the defcription of the female only. He obferves that, in the love feafon, the male has a feeble, though pleafant, warble ; that the female builds her nefl on the dry ground, and preferably on the fri- able mold ; and, for that reafoh, thefe birds chufe the ravines and water-gullies ; they often neftle alfo in the low galleries of houfes, yet always on the ground; they make an excavation with their bill and claws, give it a round form, hollow out the bottom, and place pliant ftraws, dry mofs, cotton, and feathers, which they artfully arrange; they lay four or five cggS| which are gray and fpotted with deep yellow.
They catch, with great dexterity, flies and other fmall winged infedts ; they are difficult to tame, yet we may fucceed if they are young, and fed by their parents in a cage until they can eat by themfelves ; they have a flrong attachment to their brood, and will not leave them as long as they hear them cry.
We have feen that Sloane and Browne found this bird in i imaica ; it occurs alfo in Martinico, whence M. de Chanvalon fent it to M. de Reaumur. It appears therefore
that
SOUTH AMERICAN TODY, sai
that this rpecies inhabits the iflands and continent in the warmeft parts of North America ; but we cannot difcover whether it alfo refides in South America, at leall Marcgrave makes no mention of it.
[A] Specific charafter of the 7o</«/ Firidis : " It is green, its bread red."
f ■]:'
The T I C-T I C, OR SOUTH AMERICAN TODY.
Second Species^
Todus Cinereu*, Linn, and Gmel.
The Gray andTelloiu Fly-catcher, Edw.
^ he Cinereous Tody ,\j^.\\i,
♦np H E natives of Guiana call this bird Tic- tic y in imitation of its cry j it is as fmall as the preceding, which it refembles exactly in the fhape of its bill, and in the conformation of its toes ; it differs in its colours, being cinereous mixed with deep blue on the upper fide of the body, whereas the former is of a light (ky-blue on the fame parts : this difference in the (hade of the colours would only mark a variety ; but all the under fide of the body is yellow, there is no rofe-colour on the throat or on the flanks, and as the bird belongs to a different climate, we reckon it a diflinft
fpeciest
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til SOUTH AMERICAN TODY.
fpccics. It differs from the North Amerii can Tody, alfo, becaufe the tips of the lateral quills of the tail are white, for the fpace of five or fix lines j yet this property is peculiar to the male, for in the female, the extreme quills are of an uniform colour, and of the fame afh-gray with the upper fide of the body -, all thefe tints are al(a fainter and more dilute than in the male.
This bird lives on infedls, like the pre- ceding 5 it prefers the cleared grounds for its haunts; it is fcarcely ever found in the forefls, but often among thickets and buihes.
[A] Specific charader of the Todus Cinereus : duerous, below yellow.'
<«
It is
»
The O R A N G E BELLIED BLUE TODY.
Third Species,
Todus Ceeruleus. Gmel. The Blue Tody. Lath.
"lie/ E have caufed this Tody to be deli- neated from a fpecimen in good pre- fervation in the cabinet of M. Aubry, rec- tor of St. Louis : it is three inches and fvx lines in length s the upper part of the head,
neck.
ORANGE BELLIED BLUE TODY. 223
neck, and all the back, are of fine deep blue; the tail and the tips of the wing-coverts are of the fame colour j all the under fur- face of the body ; and alfo the fides of the head and neck, are of a fine orange, the lower part of the throat is whitifli 5 near the eyes are fmall dafhes of violet purple. This defcription will fuffice to diftinguifh this Tody from others of the kind.
There is a fourth bird which BrifTon has defcribed from Aldrovandus under the name of the Variegated Tody *, and we fhall here condenfe the account given by thefe two authors. It is of the fize of the Gold Crefted Wren j its head, throat and neck are blackifli blue, th€ wings green, the quills of the tail black edged with green, and the refl of the plumage variegated with blue, black and green. But as BrifTon takes no notice of the (hape of the bill, and as Aldrovandus, who is the only perfon that has feen this bird, is equally filent on that point, I cannot decide whether it really belongs to the genus of the Todies. [A]
• Todus Farius. Gmel. J/pida Indica. Aldrov. ^he Varitgated Tody. Lath.
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[A] See note at the end of No. 8.
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The AQ^U A T IC BIRDS.
'T^ H E Aquatic are the only clafs of birds, ■*' which, to their common inheritance of the air and of the earth, join alfo the pofleflion of the fea. Numerous fpecies, containing vaft multitudes of individuals, inhabit its fhores and its level furface ; they float on the billows with as much eafe and with more fecurity than they foar in their native element. Their provifions are ever abundant, their prey cannot efcape their purfuit : fome plunge into the waves, others only fwcep the face of the water : all of them dwell on the fluduating face of the deep, as if it were a ftable abode ; they form a great fociety, and live in tranquillity amidft the ftorms : they feem even to play with the billows, to contend with the winds, and to expofe themfelves to the vehemence of the tempeft, without apprehending or fuflFering fhipwreck.
It is with reluctance that thev leave their favourite refidencc, and never until the concerns of incubation detain them on (hore, or permit only Ihort excurfions into the fea 3 but, as foon as their young are
hatched,
'W
A dU A T I C B I R D S. 22$
hatched, they introduce them into their proper element: there, they may continue as long as they chufe j no water can penetrate their plumage, and when fatigued by flying, they may recruit their exhaufted vigor by relling on the furface. The long dark nights, or the continued violence ot ftorms * arc the only hardihips to which they are expofed, and which at times oblige them to retire to the fhore. Then they announce to the navigator the proximity of the land, and ferve, by their flight, to guide his courfe. Yet Captain Cook advifes to regard the appearance of thefe birds as no certain fign -f-, fince they often rove at vafl: dift* ances on the main -, and it appears from
the accounts of mariners that the greater
•' - ' ■ . \
* ** Thediforder of the elements (in a great ftorm) drove not the birds from us : from time to time a Black Tern fluttered on the troubled face qf the fea, and broke the force of the wavesby expofing itfelf to their aftion. T!fe afpetSl of the ocean was then threatning and terrible." ForJier»
i f •* The Blue Petrels which are found on this Immenfe fea are no lefs infenfible to cold than the Penguins. We have feen them between New Zealand and America, more thaa feven huudr'-d leagues from any land." ForJIcr, ** Wc fre- quently had occafion to remark that thefe birds give not more certain figns of land than the fea-weed, except ihofe fpecies which never rove very far from the coafts. With regard to the Penguins, Petrels, and AlbatrofTes, asw^ meet with them fix or feven hundred leagues at fea, we cannot reckon at all upon their indication." Id.
Vol. VII, Q^ number
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A Q,tJ A T I C BIRDS.
number do not return each night to the beach, but repofe among the Ihelves, or flumber on the water J
The fliape and confirmation of thefe
birds Ihew fufficiently that they are deflined
by nature to inhabit the watry clement $
their body is arched and bulged like the
hulk of a fhip, and this figure was perhaps
copied in the firft conftru£lion of vefTels j
their neck, which rifes on a proje6ting
breaft, reprefents the prow ; their fhort
tail, colledied into a fingle bundle, ferves
as a rudder § 5 their broad and palmated
feet perform the office of oars 5 and their
thick down, gliftening with oil, which
entirely invefts them, is impenetrable by
humidity, and, at the fame time, enables
them to float more lightly on the furface
of the water j|. The habits and oeconoray
of thefe birds correfpond alfo to their
organization ; they never feem happy but
in their appropriated element -, they are
averfe
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X '* There is reafon to Aippofe that they even fleep upon the water. We pa/led near an Albatrofs that was retting gfleep on the furface, having been fatigued by the preceding ftorni." Fcrjier,
% Arillotle, hijl. Anim. Lib. ii. 5.
II •' Thebirdi of warm countries are moderately cloathed, while thofe of cold countries, particularly fuch as fly incef« fantlv on the fea, have a prodigious quantity of feathers, each of which is doubie."
r;;
A Q.U A T I C B I R D S. 127
averfe to alight on the land } and the leaft roughnefs of the ground hurts their foles, which are foftened by the perpetual bath- ing. The water is to them the fcene of pleafure and repofe, where all their motions are performed with facility, and their vari- ous evolutions traced with elegance and grace. View the Swans moving fweetly along, or failing majeftically with expanded plumage upon the wave j they gaily fport, they dive and again emerge with gentle un- dulations, and foft energy exprellive of thofe fcntiments which are the foundation of love: the Swan is the emblem of gracefulnefs, the quality which firft ommands our atten- tion, even prior to tb fafcination of beauty^ The life of the A^juatic Birds therefore is more peaceful and lefs laborious than that of mole other tribes j fmaller force is required in fwimming than is expended in
*' It is a miflake to afcribe to the Alcjon alone the inflinft of following veflels : fince many fea-birds pafs the greateft part of their life on this element, far from the Ihores, and they can fcarce pofTibly find fubfillence during a dorm on the troubled face of the deep : they then keep in the veiTcls wake, often before the wind comes on, and feed upon what is thrown over- board. Befides they can repofe on the fmooth track which the vefTel leaves." Remarks tnadt by the Vifcount de ^erhoent.
N. B. This Aicyon of the mariners is different from the true Alcyon of the ancients or the King-fi(her ; it is pro- bably a fea-fwallow.
0^2 flying;
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228 A Q^U A T I C B I R D S'.
flying ; and the element which they inhab'-t perpetually yields them fubfiilence : they rather light on their prey than fbarch for it, and often a friendly wave conveys it within their reach, and they feizc it without trou^ ble or fatigue. Their difpofuions alfo are more innocent, and their habits more pacific. Each fpecies congregates, from mutual at- tachment ; I hey never attack their compa- nions nor dtftroy other birds ; and, in this great and peaceful nation, the ftrorg never opprefs the weak. Very different from thofe tyrants of the air and of the land, which fpread through their empire diforder, devaf- tation, and war; the winged inhabitants of the water, live in profound Karmony with each other, and are never polluted by the blood of their kindred : they refpet^l evfjn the whole cUfs of biids, and employ tln^ir firength and their weapons only againfl: the ahjecl: fwarms of infc6ls, and thw dumb tribes of fifties. Yet moft of the Aquatic Birds have a keen appetite, and are furnilhed with arms correfp'jtyJijig. Many ipecies, fuch as the Goofander, the Brent- goofe, the Shell-drake, 6rc. have the inner edges of thtir bill ferrated with fharp indentings, the better to fecure their prey ; all of them almoft are more voracious than the land birds, and there are fome, as the
Ducks
A Q.U A T 1 C B I R D S. 219
Ducks and Gulls, &c. which devour indif- criminately carrion and entrails.
We muft divide the numerous clafs of Aquatic Birds into two great families : fuch as fwim and have palmated feet ; and fuch as haunt the fliores and have divided feet*. The latter are differently fliaped, their body being flender and tall, and as their feet are not webbed, they cannot dive or reft on the water ; they keep near the margin, and, wading with their tall legs among the fhallows, they fearch by means of their long neck and bill for their fubfiftence in the mud : they are a fort of amphibious animals, that occupy the limits between thtf land and the water, and fill up the gradations in the fcale of exiftence.
Thus the aerial inhabitants confift of three divifions, which have each their fepa- rate abode : fome are appointed by nature to refide on the land ; others are dertined to fail on the water ; and to an intermediate tribe, the confines of thefe two elements have been allotted : life has been varied in all its poflible forms, and the immenfe rich- nefs of creation difplayed to our admira- tion and aftonilhment.
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A Q.U A T I C BIRDS.
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We have often had occafion to remark that none of the quadrupeds and fev of the birds which inhabit the Southern re- gions of the one continent, are found in the other; being unable to traverfe the vaft extent of intervening ocean. But this law entirely fails in the prefent inftance ; the Aquatic birds occur equally in the Old and in the New World, and even in the rcmoteft idands of the habitable globe ^. And this privilege is even extended to fuch as fre- quent only the (hores : for, by tracing the line of coafl, they may arrive at the exivi^ mities of both continents ; nor, in their progrefs, will they experience much change of climate, fince the heat is tempered and the cold mitigated, by the fea-breezes. Accord* ingly many fpecies of fhore- birds, which in our continent retire to the North in fum- mer, feem to have pafTed by degrees iato the boreal tra£ls of America -f*.
Moft of thefe Aquatic birds appear to be half noflurnal J J the Herons roam during the night j the Woodcock only begins to fly in the evening ; the Bittern ftill fcreams after the decline of day -, the Cranes are heard to
• See the articles of the Flamingos, of the Pelican, of the Frigat, of the Tropic Bitd, &c.
f See the articles of the Ph^'ers, of the Herons, of the '^poon-bills, &c.
X Edwards.
cry
«
A aU A T I C B I R D S. 431
cry aloft in the air, -admidft the filence anc| darknefs of night ; this alfo is the period when the Gulls range abroad, when the wild Geek and Ducks alight in our rivers, and flay ufually longer than during the day, Thefe habits are derived from feveral cir- cumdances connected with their fupport and fecurity : the coolnefs of the evening en- tices the worms to come out of their holes; the fifhes are then in motion, and the gene- ral obfcurity conceals thefe birds from their enemies. Yet not always prudent in di- refling their attacks, they fometimes fall vi£lims of their own rafhnefs or impc- tuofity. We have found a King fi (her in the. belly of an Eelj the Pike often caiches the birds that dive or glance over tlie fur- face, and e\en thofe which come to drink or bathe at the margin of the pool j and^ in the frozen feas, the Whales open their enormous jaws, to fwallow not only whole columns of Herrings and other fifhes, but alfo the birds which hover in purfuit of thefe, fuch as the AlbatroiFes, the Penguins, and the Scoter Ducks, &c.
Thus nature, while (he beftows great privileges on the birds of the water, annexes alfo to their condition fome inconveniences; and fhe has even withheld from them one of her nobleA gifts. None of them has
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431 AQUATIC BIRDS.
the power of warbling, and what has l»f< ;^ fald of the fong of the Swan is altogether fabulous. The voice of the Aquatic Birds is ftrong, harfli, and loud,^ calculated to be heard at a diflance, and to refound on the wide-fpread (hores : it confifts of raucous notes, of cries, and of fcreams, and has none of thofe flexible and foft accents, nor that fweet melody with which our rural chanters enliven the grove, when they pro- claim the delights of fpring and of love : as if the formidable element, the fcene of florms, had for ever repelled thefe charm- ing birds, whofe peaceful fong required days of ferenity and nights of calm j as if the ocean permitted its winged inhabitants to utter nothing but coarfe and favage founds, which pierce through the horrors of the temped, and are heard amidfl the roaring of the blaft and the dafliing of the furge.
The number of Aquatic birds, including thofe which haunt the fhores, and reckoning the individuals, is perhaps equal to that of the Land-birds. If the latter are difperfed through the hills and the vales, through the forefts and the open fields : the former, plying by the c(\gc of the water, or riding on the waves, inhabit a fecond element as vail: and as free as the air itfelf j their food,
alfo.
?.l».r,
A Q.U A T I C BIRDS. 133
alfo, is more abundant, and depends not on the caprice of the feafons, or on the produce of human induftry. Hence, too, the water birds aiFociate more habitually than the land birds, and form larger flocks ; for inftance, few fpecies of thefe, at leaft of an equal bulk, are fo numerous, in the (late of nature, as the Gecfe and the Ducks. In general, there is greater union among animals, the fuither they are removed from the controul of man.
But both the fpecies and the individuals of the land birds are more plenty in propor- tion as the climate is hotter; whereas the wa- ter birds feem to prefer the cold regions. Ma- riners inform us that the Herring-gulls, the Penguins, and the Scoter-ducks appear in myriads on the frozen (hores of the North, as do the Albatrofles, the Manchots, and the Petrels, on the frigid iflets in the high fouthern latitudes.
Yet the birds of the land feem to furpafs thofe of the water in fecundity ; none of an equal fize are fo prolific as the gallina- ceous tribe. Nor can this difference be attributed to the abundant and generous food which the domeftic (late affords, for the tame Goofe and Duck never lay fo many eggs as the common Hen. Thefe Aquatic
birds
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birds are rather prifoners than domedlcs; they ftill retain the traces of their primaeval liberty, and fliew a degree of independence, which the land-fowl leem to have totally loft. They die if kept confined j they re- quire to roam at large, and enjoy part of their natural freedom in the frefuning pools. Nay, if their wings be not clipped, they will often join their wild brethren, and make their efcape *. The Swan, that ornament of the artificial lakes in our fuperb gardens, fails along rather with the firm dignity of a mafter than the humble deportment of a flave.
As domeftication impofes little conftraint on the Aquatic birds, it introduces but (light alterations in their fliape or plumage. The tame Duck admits of few varieties ; •while the Cock prefents fuch a number of new breeds, that they feem almoft to con- found and obliterate the original ftock. The birds of the water are alfo Icfs known than thofe of the land j and, by placing
•Though there areinflarccsoftameDucks irid Geefe join- ing wild ones, they probably meet with harfh ufage from their affociates : for the antipathy between the domcftic and the wild birds fubfifts in thefe fpecies as in all others. The Sieur Irecourt, a perfon of veracity whom I have frequentl3r cited, having put into a pond wild Ducks taken from the neft in a mar(h, with other tame Ducks of nearly the fame age, the latter a/Tailed them, and in lefs than two or three iays killed them outrighu
them
A dU A T I C B I R D S. 335
them on the ocean, nature feems to have removed them from the empire of man.
The Teas which abound moft in fifli, attraft and eftablifti on their (bores infinite multitudes of Aquatic birds. Innumerable flocks inhabit the Sambal iflands and the coaft of the ifthmus of Panama, particu- larly on the Northern fide ; nor is the Weftern fide of the continent lefs fre- quented on the Southern coaft, but there are few on the Northern, Wafer afligns for the reafon, that in the bay of Panama the fifties are not fo plenty as at the Sam- bal iflands. The great rivers of North America are entirely covered with water birds. The fettlers at New Orleans, who kill them on the Mifliftippi, formed a fmall branch of commerce in the fat or oil extra6led from them. Many iflands have been called Bird Iflands^ being defert and wholly overfpread with fea-fowl. The ifland of Aves among others, fifty leagues to the leeward of Dominica is fettled by unequaled numbers. There we find Plo- vers, Red-flianks, Gallinules, Flamingos, Pelicans, Gulls, Frigats, Boobies, &c, Labat, who publiflies thefe fads, remarks, that this coaft is exceedingly rich in fifti, and that the high- water mark is conftantly covered by an immenfe quantity of fliells.
The
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The fifli fpawn, alfo, which often floats on the furface of the Tea near the great banks, attra^ls equally the birds *. There are cer- tain parts on the coads and in the lilands, where the whole fjil, to a co'jfiJerabie depth, confils entirely of the excrements of water fowls j fuch is the cafe near the Peruvian coaft, on the ifl.md of iquique, whence the Spaniards carry ti.e dung to manure their lands on the continent ■f-. The rock of Greenland are covered to their tops with a fort of turf compofcd of the fame fubilance, and the relics of old nefts :}:. Thefe birds are numerous alfo on the rocks of the Norwegian lliore §, and on
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• " In the 41ft degree of South latitude near Chili, wc met on the furface of the fea with a bed of fifh-fpiwii, which extended about a It-ague, and as we had obferved another bed the day before, we judged what it was that had attrafted the birds which we had feen for two or thre^days." i^bfervations du P. feuilh'c (edit, lyi^.) p, 79.
■\ Ftir more than a century pali feveral fhips hav? been zn;5ually loaded with this dung reduced to mouid, which the Spaniards call guana, and carry it to fertilize the neigh- bouring vai! es, particularly that of Arica, which by the .afTiihnce of this manure, bears the pimento. See Frezier and FcuilUe. " Fiom Cape Horn we fteeied without the rocks that lie oft' Millaken Cape. Thefe n cks are white with the dung of fowls, and vail numbers were fcen about them." Cook' s Second Voyage. Vol. ii. p. 190.
X See Hijl. Gen- des Foyages torn. ig. p. 27.
% the Aquatic birds of the coalts of Norway are common alfo to Iceland and Ferjjl ; they are fo numerous that the
inhabitants
A Q.U A T I C B I R D S. 237
the iflands of || Iceland, and Feroe, where the eggs are the princi; al fupport of the inhabitants, who gatlier them in the pre- cipices and moft frightful cliffs *, Such
alfo
inhabitants live on their flefh and their eo;g8. They fattea the country with their dung, and their feathers afford a confiderable branch of trade to the town of Bergc. • Pcntoppidans Natural Ilijlory of Nortjuay.
II I'he fea-fowl appear in vaft flocks on the iflets near Iceland, and fprtad to the diftance of twelve or fifteen leagues : the fight of thefe betokens the approach to the JHand. Among thefc birds are different kinds of Gulls, inofl of them defcrjbed in Marten's Voyage to Spitzbergen. Korrehonxi'' s Defcription cf Iceland.
* ** The birds which ftock the coafts of Fceland, feek to make their nefts in the moft inaccefilbi. places and on the moft craggy rocks: however, the inhabi^unts can plunder thefe, notvvithftanding the danger of the purfuic. 1 have niyfelf," lays Horrebow, " Icen the manner of taking thenn, ahd I muft confcfs that I never could behold, without (hud- dering, the intrepidity with which the men rlflttd their lives : feveral of thefe people have fallen into the fea, or been dafhed againft the precipices over which they were obliged to be fufpeviJed. On the top of the rock is faftened as firmly as poinble, a beam that projects a confid:rablc way : this bears a pulley and a rope, by means of v/hich r. uian tied by the middle of the body defcends along the nek;,; he holds a Idn;^ pole armed with an iron hook, by which he guides himfelf among the crags. Upon a c :•, lin fignal beini"- made, the men who are ftationed on the fummit of the precipice draw him up with his plunder of one or two hundred eggs. The fearch is continued as long as any eggs can be found, or as long as it is pofiible to endure this fuf- penfion., which becomes very fatiguing. During thia em- ployment, the birds are feen flying in thoufands, uttering frightful fcreams. The inhabitants of thofe places reap great profit from this fpccies of induflry; for befides the
eggs.
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alfo are the defert and almod inaccefllblff iflets in the Barra Firth, near the coaH: of Scotland, which are viiited annually by the people from Hirta, who colledl the eggs by thoufands and kill the birds ^, And ladly, they are fo plentiful in the Greenland feas, that in the language of the country there is a word to exprefs the method of fowling
eggs, they find many young birds, of which fbme ferve as food, and others yield abundance of feathers, that are fold to thejDanifti merchants. "//crr^^ow.—Pontoppidan defcribes , the feaich for eggs which is made in Norway, as no lefs frightful. •* The cavities where thefc birds breed occur in the craggy perpendicular rocks all along the coaft. To climb to them, a perfon puts a rope round his body, while his companions pufh againft his back with a long pole, to help him up to fome place where he can reft his foot and faften his rope; then they withdraw the pole and a fecond clambers up in the fame manner. After they have joined, they both tie themfelves to the fame rope, and aflift each other in mounting higher by means of an iron hook, pufli- ing and drawing up each other by turns. The birds fufFer themfelves to be caught by the hand on their nells in the caverns, and the fpoils are thrown to thofe who wait below the rock in a boat. Thefe fowlers are fometimes eight days abfent from their companions, and often tumble toge- ther into the fea. When they want to enter the hollows of mountains, the boldeft is let down by a rope from the top of the rock. He wears a large ftrong hat, to fcreen him from the blows of the ftones that may fall : when he would enter any cavity, he preiTes his feet againft the mountain, pufhes back with all his force, and dire^s fo well his bod/ that he lands ftraight in." Hijf, Nat. de Nor'wegtt par Pontoppidan, part it. Journal Etr anger ^ mots dtfevrier, 1 757* f See Colledlion of dift'erent treatifef on Phyfics and Natii- 19I Hiftory, by M. Dtjlandt^t torn. i. p. 163.
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by chafing the birds into the narrow inlets, where, being hemmed in, they are taken in vaft numbers §\
The Water- fowl are alfo the inhabitants which nature has afligned to the diftant iilands that are loiV in the midd of an im- menfe ocean, whither the other fpecies which live on the furface of the land could never have penetrated *. Navigators have found birds in pofTeflion of thofe folitary and inhofpitable fpots which feemed unfit for the abode of animated beings -f-. They are fpread from Nprth to South J, but no
where.
i SarpftpQCk. Di^. Greenland. Hd/nia,
* " Scarce had the veffel anchore4 (at the ifland of Afccn- fion) than thoafanda of birds perched oa the mads and rigging ; the fall of five hundred, which were killed in the fpace of a quarter of an hour, did not deter the reft from flying about the (hip ; they became fo importunate that they bit the hats and caps of twenty men who went afliore." Relation de Rennef or* . Hifi. Gen. des yoyagest torn, viii,
f- 583.
t ** We obferved thefe rocks (at Eafter-ifland,) whofe cavernous afped and black ferruginous colour, bore the marks of a fubterraneous fire. We remarked two in partly cular, the one like an enormous coIu.-nn or obeliflc, and both filled with innumerable Sea-fowU whofe difcord^nfi cries ftunned our ears. Forjler.
I I went on Ihore (at Port Defire in the Straits of Magel- lan), the river as far as 1 could fee, was very broad ; there tvere in it a number of iflands, feme of which were \^t^ large, and I make no doubt but that it penetrates the coun- try for Ibme hundred miles. It was upon one of thefe iflands th^t I went ou fliore, and I found there fach a number of
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where more numerous than in the Frigid Zones § i becaufe in thofe dreary regions, the naked earth bound in icy torpor, is blafted with perpetual fteiilityj while the fea yet teems .vith hfe ||, Accordingly, navi- gators and natuialifls have remarked, that in the ardlic countries there are few Land- birds in comparifon of Water-birds *:
birdf, that when they rofe they literally darkened the air, and we could not walk a ftcp without treading upon theij^ eggs." Byron's Voyage in Hanukefworth's ColleSiion. Fal. ij
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§ Gmelin fays, that he never faw Aich a large number of birds afTembled in flocks as at Mangafea on the Jcnifea : it was in the month of June; the mod numerous were the Water-fowl, Geefe of all kinds, Ducks, Gallinules, Gulls, and the Shore-birds, Woodcocks, Divers, &c. Hifi. Gen, des Voyages, torn, xviii. p. 357.
II The AlbatrofTes now left us during our palTage amidd the iflands of ice ; and we faw only one from time to time. The Tropic-birds, the Cut-waters, the little Grey-birds, the Swallows, were no longer fo numerous. On the other hand, the Penguins began to appearjYor to-day we faw two. Notwithftanding the coldnefs of the climate we obferved the White Petrel confiantly among the maffes of ice, and we may regard it as a certain fore-runner of ice. From its colour we took it for the Snowy Petrel. Many Whales ihewed themfelves among the ice, and varied a little the frightiTul fcene. We pafled more than eighteen iflands of ice, and faw New Penguins." Captain Cook's Second Voyage,
• See the Fauna ^.-i-cicc .f Linnaeus, the Ornitbologia Bo- realis of Brunnich, the Zoologia Danicr of Muller. The fame obfervation holds - ' th regard \o the Antardlic regions." •• Very few Land-birds are found in Terra del Fuegc: Mr. Banks faw none larger than our Black- birds ; but there was great abundance of Water-fowU particularly Ducks." Cook's Firji Voyage.
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A Q,U A T I C B I R D S. 241
the former require lieibs, feeds and fruits, of which the ground yields only a few fliinted fpecies ; while the latter feek the land only as a place of refuge, a retreat in tempeils, a fiation in dark nights, and a fuppurt for their nefts. Cook and Forfter, in their voyages to the South Sea, faw many of thefe birds refting and fleeping on the floating ice * j and fome of them even breed on the ice -f. Indeed what can be colder or harder than their ufual beds on the frozen fummits J.
This laft fa6t proves that the Water- fowls are the remotefl: inhabitants of our globe, and are well acquainted with the Polar regions. They penetrate into lands where the White Bear no more appears j
• Sec the articles of the Petrels and Penguins.
f •• We met with a great bank of ice, on which we were obliged to moor (at Nova Zembla) ; foine Tailors mounted upon it and gave a very itrange account of its figure, it was all covered witii earth to the top, and they found on ic near forty eggs." Relation de Hemjkerke and Barcntz. Htjl, Gen, des Voy. torn, xnj'i, p. \\z,
\ On the 2 2d July, being near Cape Cant (at Nova 7,p.m.' bla) we went repeatedly afhore to feek for birds f^ggs : there was plenty of nefls, but in deep precipices ; the birds feemed not to be afraid of the fight of men, and moii of them fuffered themselves to be caught by the hind. Each reft had but a fingle ^"g^-, on the bare rock without ftraw or feathers to keep it warm : a fight which aftonifliod the Hollanders, who could not conceive how eggs'were covered and hatched in fuch intenfc cold." Id. Ibid.
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into Teas abandoned by the Seal, the Wal- rus, and the other amphibious animals. They live agreeably in tliofe climates dur- ing the whole fummer, and retire about the autumnal equinox, when the night encroaches faft on the day, at laft totally extinguifties it, and wraps the awful fcene in tedious darknefs. They fpend the fhort winter-days in lower latitudes, and re- turn again in the fpring to their frozen abodes.
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•In Greek ^E^(x§yoj : in Latin Ciconia : in Ftalian Cigognaz in Spanifti Ciguenn.% : in Hebrew and Perfian ChaPJa : in Cha]de&n C&avarita, Deiutha and Macuarta: in Arabic ZaiiJ, according to Gefner, and Leklek, according t* Dr. Shaw: in Moorifh Bell-Arje.- in Polidi Bocian-Czarni, Bccian 'Snidi : iti FUtaiili faeri in German -^torck.
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difregarded, were not their inftin6ls and habits widely different. Tlie Black Stork prefers defert trails, perches on trees, haunts unfrequented marili.s, and breeds in the heart of forelis. The White Stork, on the contrary, fettles befide our dvvellingsj inhabits towers, chimnies, and ruins : the friend of man, it lliares his habitations, and even his domain j it fiflies in our rivers, purfues its prey into our gardens, takes up its abode in the midft of cities, without being diftnrbed by the noife and buftle *, and ever refpecled and welcomed, it repays, by its fervices, the favours beftowed on it : as it is more civilized, it is alfo more pro- lific, more numerous, and more difperfed, than the Black Stork, which appears con- fined to particular countries, and refides always in the moll fequeftered fpots.
The White Stork is fmaller than the Crane, but larger than the Heron j its length, from the point of the bill to the end of the tail, is three feet aV an half, and to the nails, four feetj meDi/, from the tip to the corners, meafures feven inches ; the leg eight inches -, the naked part of the thighs five, and the extent of the
* Witnefs the Stork's neft built on the temple of Concord in the Capitol, and mentioned by Juvenal, Sat. i. ver. ii6, and which is alfo reprefented in the medals of Adrian.
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wings is more than fix feet. It is eafy to form an idea of it ; its body is of a bright white, and its wings black, charafters w hicji its Greek name expreffes -f* ; its legs and bill are red, and its long neck is arched : thefe are the obvidus features ; but on clofer examination, we perceive, on the wings, violet reflections and fome brown tints, we may count thirty quills in the wing, when it is fpread ; they forai a double fcalloping, thofe next the body being almoft as long as the outer ones, and equal to them when the wing is clofed : in that fituation, the wings cover the tail j and when they are expanded for flying, the great quills fliew a Angular difpofition j the firfl: eight or nine part from each other, and ap- pear diverging and detached, fo that a fpace is left between each, a property to be found in no other bird : the feathers below the neck are white, longifli, and pendulous ; in which refpe61:, the Storks rcTemble the Herons, but their neck is fliorter and thicker : the orbits are naked, and covered with a wrinkled Ikin of reddifli black j the feet are covered with fcales in hexagonal tablets, and broader the higher they are placed. There are rudiments of membranes
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between the great toe and the hiner toe as far as the fiift joint, which, projecting on the outer toe, feem to foi m the gradation by which nature palHs from the birds that have the feet parted by toes, to thole that have them webbed : the nails are blunt, broad, flat, and much like the human nails. The Stork flies fteadily and with vigour, like all the birds furnithtd wi;h broad wings and a fliort tail : it holds its head ftraighr forward, and ftretches back its legs, to direds its motion J : it foars to a vaft height, and performs diflant journies, even in tempeftuous feafons. The Storks arrive in Germany about the eighth or tenth of May §, and are (eei\ btfore that time in the provinces of France. Gefner fays, that they precede the bwallows, and enter Swit- zerland in the month of April, and fome- times earlier. They arrive in Aifa^e in March, or even in the end of February. Their return is ever aulpicious, as it an- nounces the fpring. They inftantly indulge thofe tender emotions ^hich that feafon infpires : Aldrovandus [ its with warmth their mutual figns of felicity and love, the ^ager congratulations, and the fondling en- dearments of the male and female, when they
J Ariftotle, Ltk U. 15,
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STORK.
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arrive at their neft after their diftant jour- ney II : for the Storks always fettle in the fame fpots, and, if their neft has been deftroyed, they rebuild it with twigs and aquatic plants, and ufually on lofty ruins, or on the battlements of towers, and fome-» times on large trees beflde water, or on the point of bold cliffs. In France, it was cuftomary in Belon's time, to place wheels on the houfe-tops, to entice the btork to neftle. This practice ftill fubfifts in Ger- jnany and in Alface : and in Holland, fquare boxes are planted on the ridge, with tiie fame viev/ *.
Wheti the Stork is in a ftill pofture it refts on one foot, foils back its neck, and reclines its head-on its ftioulder. It watches the motions of reptiles with a keen eye, and commonly preys on frogs, lizards, ferpents, and fmall fifti, which it finds in
Jl •* When they have arrived at their neft .... good God ! what fweet ralutadon ; what gratulatiun for their profperous return! what embraces ! what honied kiiFes ! what gen- tle murmurs they breathe !" Tom, Hi, p 298.
• Lady Montague in her Letters, No. 32. fays that the Storks nellle on the ground ia the llreet3. If (he is not miilaken with regard to the ("(jecies of thefe birds, the pro- tedion which the Stork enjoys in Turkey mud have Angu- larly emboldened it ; for in our countries, it always chufes the moft innacceiTible places, which may command the vici. nity, and conceal it in the neft.
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marfhes, by the fides of the ftreams, an4 in wet vales. ^
It walks like the Crane with long niea- fured ftrides. When it is irritated or dif- compofed, or even actuated by the amo- rous paflion?, it makes with its bill, a repeated clattering, which the ancients exprefs by the fignificant words crepitate glotterat -j-, and which Petronins accurately marks, by the epithet crotaliftria J, formed from crotalum^ the caftanet or rattle. In this flate of agitation it bends its head back in fuch a manner,, that the lower mandible appears uppermoft, and that the bill lies abnoft parallel on the back ; and in this attitude, the two mandibles ftrike violently againft each other ; but in proportion as it raifes up its neck,* the clattering abates, and ceafes when the bird has relumed its ordinary pofture. Such is the only noife which the Stork ever makes, and, ^s it feems dumb, the ancients were probably induced to fuppofe that it had no tongue § : this, indeed, is Ihort and concealed in the entrance of the throat, as in all the birds with long bills, which have alfo a particular
+ ^<^que falutato crepitat (oncordia nUo. Juvenal^ Sat. I.
Glotterat immenfo de turre ciconia rojiro. Aut. Philomel.
X Publius Syrus had made the fame application of thi^ word. ' 4 Pliny, lii, jf. 31,
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STORK.
249
mode of fwallowing, they by a certain caft of the head, toffing their food into the throat. Aiiilotle mnkes another remark with regard to birds which have long necks and bil's, that their excrements are always thinner than thofe of other birds ('.
The Stork does not lay more than four eggs, oftnernot more than two j they are of a dirty and yellowiQi v\hite, rather fmiller, but longer, than thofe of a Goofe. The male fits when the female goes inqiuft of food; the incubation lafts a month; both parents are exceedingly attentive in bringing provifions to the young, which rife up to receive it, and make a fort of whiftling noife *. The male and female never leave the neft at once; but, while the one is employed in fearching for it$ prey, the other (lands near the fpot on one leg, and keeps an eye conftantly on the brood. When firft hatched, the young are covered with a brown down, and their
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• .^Han fays that the Stork vomits food to its young, which muit not be underllood of alinients partly digeited, but of recent prey which it difgorges from its sefophagus, or even from its ftomach whofe aperture is fufHciently large. See the obfervation of Peyerus deciconits ventre 13 afinitate qua- damcum ruminantibtis. Ephem. Nat. curios, dec. 2. attn. 2. otf. 97. See alfo two anatomical defcriptions of the Stork, the one by Schelhammer, Colled. Acad, part etrang. vol. iv. obf. 109, ^d the other by Olaus Jacobsus. Id* ohf, (^i^%
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long flender legs not having yet ftrcngth enough to fupport them, they creep upon their knees -f. When their wings begin to glow, they eflay their force in fluttering about the neftj though it often happens, that, in this exercife, fome of them fall, and are unable to regain their lodgement. After they venture to commit themfelves to the air, the mother leads them, and exercifes them in fmall circumvolutions about the jieft, whither (he conduds them back. And about the latter end of Auguft, the young Storks haying now attained ftrength, join the adults, and prepare for migration. The Greeks have placed their rendezvous in a plain of Afia, called the Serpent s Dlf' iridic where they afTembled t as they do now in fome parts of the Levant §, and even in Europe, as in Brandenburg and elfewhere.
f Obfervation of Bifliop Grunner. Mem. Soe. of Drontheim.
X PytboMos comea, quaji ftrpentium pagttmt 'vacant in AJid^ patentibus campis, iibi congregatts inter fe commurmuratit y tarn- que quet nouij/ima advenit lacerant^ atque ita abcunt, Notci' turn poji idus auguftas non temere 'visas ibi. Plin. Lib. X. 31.
From this pafTage it appears that the afTcmbly of the Storks is not without tumult and even fighting ; but that fhe\' tear the lajl comer, as Pliny afTcrts, is doubt a fable.
§ " It is remarked that the Storks before they pafsk from one country into another, afTemble a fortnight beforehand, from all the neighbouring parts, in a plain, holdingonce a day fi di'van, as they fay in that country, as if their obje£l was to fix the precife time of their departure and the place of theif retreat." Sb'aiv's Travels,
When
STORK.
251
When they are convened previous tb their departure, they make a frequent clattering with their bill, and the whole flock is in tumultuary commotion ? all feem eager to form acquaintance, and to confult on their projected rout, of which the (ignal in our climate is the North wind. Then, the vaft body rifes at once, and, in a few fe- conds, is loft in the air. Klein relates, that, having been called to witnefs this light, he was a moment too late, and that the whole flock had already difappeared. Indeed, this departure is the more difficult to obferve, as it is conducted in filcnce ||, and often during the night *. It is af- ferted, that in their paflage, before they venture to crofs the Mediterranean, the Storks alight in great numbers in the neigh- bourhood of Aix "f* in Provence, Their departure appears to be later in warm countries ; for Pliny fays, that after the retreat of the Stork^ it is improper to fow J.
)| Belon fays, that it is not remarked, beeaufe they fly ivithout noife or cries, while the Cranes and Wild-geefe, on the contrary, fcream much on the win^.
• Nemo vidit agmen difcedentiuniy cum difcejfurum appareat ; nee <venirey fed veniffe cernimus ; utrum^ue noSiurnis Jit temper- thus. Pliny, l.ib. x. 31.
•f- Aldrovandus.
\ Poji ciconia difccjjum maleftru Lib. viii. 41.
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Though the ancients had obfcrvcd the migrations of the Storks, they were igno- rant of the countries to which they retired§. Some modern travellers have made good obfervations on that fubje(5t : in autumn the plains of Egypt are entirely covered with thefe birds. " It is perfectly afcer- tained, fliys Belon, that the Storks winter in Egypt, and in Africa; for we have fcen the plains of Egypt whitened by them in the months of September and Ov^tobcr. At that feafon, when the waters of the Nile have fubfided, they obtain abundance of food 5 but the exceflive heats of fummer drive them to more temperate climates ; and they return again in winter, to avoid the feverity of the cold ; the contrary is the cafe with the Cranes, which vifit us with the GQQ(e in winter, when the Storks leave us." This remarkable difference is owing to that of the climates which thefe birds inhabit ; the Geefe and Ducks come from the North, to efcape the rigors of the win- ter J the Storks leave the South, to ayoid the fcorching heats of fummer j|.
. fielou
§ Jcrenjiah viii. 7.
II Several authors pretend that the Storks do not retire iii winter, but then lurk in caverns, or even at the bottom of lakes. This was the common opinion in the time of Alber- ^us Magnus, Klein relates, that two Storks \yere dragged
out
STORK. 25J
Belon fays alfo, that he faw them win- tering round Mount Amanus near Antioch, and pairing about the end of Auguft towards Abydus, in flocks of three or four thoufand, from Ruflia and Tartary. They crofs the Hellefpont ; and on the fummits of Tencdos, they divi^de into fqiiadrons, and difperfe themfelvcs Noithwards.
Dr. Shaw faw at the foot of Mount- Carmel, a flight of Storks from Egypt to Afiaj about the middle of May 1722. ** Our vefTel, fays that traveller, being an- chored under Mount Carmel, I faw three flocks of Storks, each of which was more than three hc^urs in pafTing, and extended a half mile in breadth "f*." Maillet fays,
out of the water in the pools near Elbing {De avibus errat, ' iff migrat. ad culcem.) Gervais of Tillebury {Epijf. ad Othon iv.) fjieaks of other Storks that were found cluftered in a lake near Aries ; Merula in Aldrovandus fpeak of thofe uhich fiihermen drewout of the lakeof Conno;andFu]gofus, of others that were fiflied near Metz [Memorah.lib. i. cap. 6.) Martin Schoockius, who wrote a fmall treatife on the Stork, printed at Groningcn in 1648, fupports th:fe teftimonies* ' But the hiHory of the migrations of the Storks is too well known, not to attribute to accidents the fa£ls juft men- tioned, if they indeed may be relied on. See further the Article of the Swallow.
f He adds ;"" Thefc Storks came fromEgypt, becaufe the channel of iheNile and the marfhes which it makes annually, ^ being dried, they retire to the North Eaft." But this au* ' thor is miftaken ; the Storks rather flee from the inunda* ' tion which covers the whole country ; the river having no ^ bank» after the end of ApriU
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that he faw the Storks defccnd towards thd end of April from Upper Egypt, and halt on the grounds of the Delta, which the inundation of the ISiilc foon obliges them to leave $.
Thefe birds which thus remove from climate to climate, never experience the rigors of winter j their year confifts of two fiimmers, and twice they tafte thepleafures of the feafon of love. This is a^ remark- able peculiarity of their hiftory, and Belon pofitively affures us that the Stork has its fecond brood in Egypt.
It is faid, that Storks are never feen in England, unlefs they are driven upon the idand by fume l^orm. Albin remarks as a fingular circumftance, that there were two of thefe birds at Edgwar« in Middlefex, and Willughby declares, that the figure which he gives was defigned from one fent from the coaft of Norfolk, where it had accidently dropped. Nor does the Stork occur in Scotland, if we judge from the filence of Sibbald. Yet it often pene- trates into the Northern countries of Eu-
X Some Crows intermingle at times with the Storks ia their paflage, which has given rife to the opinion of St. Bafi- li^s and Ifidorus, that the Crows ferve to dire£l and efcort the Storks. The ancients have alfo fpoken much of the combats between the Storks and the Ravens, the Jays, and other fpecies of birds, when their flocks returning from Lybia and Bgypt, met about Lycia and the river Xanthus.
rope ;
STORK.
V5
rope \ it is found in Sweden, according ta Linnaeus, and over the whole of ^ Scania, in Denmark, Siberia, at Mangafea on the river Jenifca, and as far as the territories of the Jakutes §. Great numbers of Storks are feen alfoin Hungary ||, in Poland and Li- thuania *i they are met with in Turkey, and in Perfia, where Bruyn obferved their neft carved on the ruins of Perfepolis ; and ac- cording to that author, they are difpcrfed through the whole of Afia, except the defert paits, which they feem to fliun, and the arid trails, where they cannot fubfift.
Aldrovandus aflfures us, that Storks are never found in the territory of Bologna ; they are rare even through the whole of Italy, where Willughby during a refulcnce of twenty-eight years faw them only once, and where Aldrovandus owns he never faw them. Yet it appears, from Pliny and Varro, that anciently they were common ; and we can hardly doubt, but that in their rout from Germany to Africa, or in their return, they muft pafs over Italy and the iflands of the Mediterranean. Koempfer fays, that the Storks refide the whole year in Japan -, that would be the only country where they are ftationary ; in all others, they retire a few months after their arrival.
§ Gmel'n. Hifi, Gen, det Voy, torn, x^iii, /. 300. IIMdrfjgli. '
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In France, Lorraine and Alface, are ttic provinces where thefe birds are the molt numerous ; there they breed, and few towns or villages in Lower Alface are without Storks* nefls on their belfries.
The Stork is of a mild difpofition, nei- ther fhy nor favage j it is eafily tamed; and may be trained to refuie in our gardens, which it will clear of inlefts and reptiles. It Teems to have an idea of cleanlinefs, for it feeks the by-corners to lay its excre- ments. It has almoll always a grave air^ and a mournful vifage ; yet, when roufed by example, it Iliews a certain degree of gaiety, for it joins the frolics of children, hopping and playing with them *. In the domeftic condition it lives to a great age, and endures the feverities of our winters -f .
To this bird are afcribed moral virtues, whofe image is ever venerable ; temperance,
• ** I faw in a garden, where the children were playing at hide and feek, a tame Stork join the party, run its turn vhen touched, and diilinguifh the child, whofe turn it was to purfue the reft, fo well as to be on its guard.'* Notes oit the St$rk by Dr. Hermann of Strajhurg.
f Ger. Nic. Heeikens of Groningen, who has written « fmall Latin poem on the Stork, fays that he kept one iifteea years, and fpeaks of another which lived twenty-one years in the Fifh-market of Amfterdam, and was interred with folemnity by the people. See alfo the obfervation of Olau^ Borrichius on a Stork aged more than twenty-two years, and which became gouty. Colhii, acad, fart, etran. torn* iv.
conjugal
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STORK.
457
conjugal fidelity :{:, filial and paternal piety §. It is true, that the Stork beftows much time on the education of its young, and does not leave them till they have ftrength fufficient for their defence and fupport ; that when they begin to flutter out of the neft, the mother bears them oa her wings ; that ihe protefts them from danger, and fometinies perifties with them rather than forfake them ||. The Stork (hews tokens of attachment to its old haunts, and even gratitude to the perfons who have treated it with kindnefs. I am aflTured, that it has been heard to rap at the door in pafiing, as if to tell its arrival, and give a like fign of adieu on its departure *. But thefe moral qualities are nothing in comparifon of the afFeclion and tender offices which thefe birds lavifh on their
X ** A great number of Storks neftle and breed in the neighbourhood of Smyrna. The inhabitants amufe them- felvcs with putting Hens* eggs into a Stork's neft : when the Chicks are hatched, the male Stork, feeing thefe ftrange figures makes a friglitful noife, and thus attracts a multi- tude of other Storks, which peck the female to death, while the male vents lamentable fcreams." AnnualRegijierfor ijdS.
% Hence Petronius ftyles \x. pietatU cuitrix.
II See, in Hadrianus Juniust {jinnal. Battav. ad ann. 1 5 36,) the hiftory, famous in Holland, of the Delft Stork which in the conflagration of that city, after having in vain at- tempted to refcue her young, periflied with them in the flames.
* Aldrovandus,
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aged and infirm parents -f. The young and vigorous Storks frequently carry food to the others, which rcfting on the brink of the neft feem languid and cxhaufled, whether hurt by fome accident, or worn out by years, as the ancients afl'ert, nature having im- planted in brutes that venerable piety, as an example to man, in whofe bread the delicious fentiment is too often obliterated. The law which compelled the maintenance of parents was enaded in honour of them, and infcribed by their name. Ariftophanes draws from their conduct a bitter latyr on the human race.
JEWan tells us, that the moral qualities of the Stork were the chief caufe of the refpect and veneration which it enjoyed among the Egyptians * -, and the notion
which
f Ari(lct!e, IliJ?. Juhn. Lib. ix. 20.
CicoKtte fenesy impates 'uolandi, nido fe continent^ ex his prog" natte terra marique 'vo/irant, l^ ethos parentibus afferunt^ Jit illttt ut earum at ate digt.um ejit quiete fruuntur l£ copid\ jun- ior es -vero laburetn JolatUur pietate^ ac Jpe recipienda in /enedutt gratis. Pbilo.
Genitricumfene^aminixicemalunt. Plin. ^/^. jt. 31,
See Plutarchy and all the ancients cited by Plutarch.
* Alexander the Myndian, in iElian, fays that the Storka worn out with old age, repair to certain iflands in the ocean, where, in reward of their piety, they are changed into men. In auguries the appearance of the Stork denoted union and concord. ^Altxand. ab Alex, genial, dies) ; its departure in
the
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which the vulgar ftill entertain, that its fettling on a houft tokens profperity, is perhaps a veHige of tuc ancient opinion.
Among ihe ancients, it was held a crime to kill the Stork. In Theflaly the murder of one of thefe birds was puni(hed by death} fo precious were they held in that country, which they cleared of Serpents *. A portioa of that regard is ftill retained in theLevant-f*. The Stork was not eaten among the Ro- mans, and a perfon who from a ftrange fort of luxury ordered it to be brought to hi$ table, drew upon himfelf the obloquy of the people J. Nor is the flefh recom-
s 2 mended
the time of public calamity was regarded as a difmal prefage. Paul the Deacon fays, that Attila, having purpofed to raife the fiege of Aquileia, was determined to renew his opera- tions, upon feeing Storks retiring from the city and lead- ing away their young {Mneas Sylvius Epiji, it.) In hiero- glyphics it iignified piety and beneficence, virtues which its name exprefled in the moft ancient languages {chaftda, in Hebrew, according to Bochart) ; and we often fee the em- blem, as on the two beautiful medals of L. Antonius, given in Fulvius Urfinus, and in two others of Q^ Metellus, fur* named the P'tus^ as reported by Paterculus.
• Pliny, Lib, x. 31.
f '* The Mahometans have a great edeem and veneration for the Stork, which they call Belarje ; it is almoil as facred among them as the Ibis was among the Egyptians, and they would look upon a perfon as profane, who ihould kill or even harm it." Shanu's Travels, X As this ancient epigram attells : Ciconiarum Riifus ijie conditor P lands duo bus efi hie elegant tor.
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mended by its quality §; and this bird formed by nature our friend and almoft our domtftic, was never deilincd to 'oe our victim. [A]
Sujragiorum punSa feptetn non tulit. ■
Ciconiaruvt populus mortem ultus eji» § Cornelius Nepos, qui di'vi Augvjii principatu obiit^ turn j'criberei turaos paulo ante ta-ptot faginarit addidit^ ciconiat magis placere quatn grues ; cum bae nunc ales inter primarias expetatur, illam nemo velit attigijfe, Plin. Lib. x.
[A] Specific chara£ler of the White Stork, Ardea Ciconia : It is white : its orbits and wing-quills, black } its bill, it» legs and it& ikin, blood coloured.
[ »6i ]
The B L A C K STORK.
Ciconia Nigra. Linn. Gmel. Sec. jpc. • Cicouia Fufca. Ray. Will, and Klein.
np HOUGH, in all languages this bird is termed the Black Stork, it derives its epithet rather from the oppolition to the White Stork, than from the dye of its plu- mage, which is generally brown mixed with fine changeable colours.
The back, the rump, the (boulders, and the coverts of the wings, are of a brown, which varies with violet and gold green ; the bread, the belly, and the thighs, are cloathed with white feathers, and of the fame colour are the coverts under the tail, which coniifts of twelve brown quills, chang- ing with viojet and green; the wing con- tains thirty quills, which are of a varying brown, the green predominating in the firft ten, and the violet in the remaining twenty j the feathers at the origin of the neck are of a brown glofled with violet,, and wafhed with grayilh at the tips : the throat and neck are covered with, fmall
* Jn Italian Jghiren Nero . in German Sc&wartze Storck,
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brown feathers, terminated by a whitifli point i but this character is wanting in fome individuals ; the top of the head is brown, mixed with a violet glofs and gold green : the eye is encircled by a very red (kin, the bill, too, is red, and the naked part of the thighs, the legs, and the nails, are of the fame colour j yet that property ftems to admit fome variety, for feveral naturalifts, as Willughby, make the bill to be green- ifli like the legs : it is only a flght degree fmaller than the White Stork, its alar ex- tent being five feet fix inches.
Savage and folitary, the Black ^toik flinns our habitatioi'S, and haunt> only the d-J-^rt fens 5 it neftles in the heart of the woo^cj, on old trees, efpecially o > lofty pines, it is common in the Swif. Alps $ it is ken by the edge of the lakes, watching itb prey, flying on the furiace of the water, and fometimes diving haftily for fi(h : yet it does not depend on that mode of fubfiiling only ; it gathers infects among the herbage and the mountain dales ; veftiges of cater- pillars and grafshoppers are found in its ftomach. When Pliny fays, that the Ibis occurs in the Alps, he miftook the Black gtork for that Egyptian bird.
$Scl
W H I T E S T O R X. 263
It is found in Poland *, Pruffia, and Lithuania -f*, in Silefia X* ^"d in many other parts of Germany § : it penetrates as far as Sweden, always feeklng the wild fenny trafls. How favage foever it appear, it may be kept in coniinement, and even in (bme degree tamed. Klein aflures us, that he fed one fome years in his garden. We are not informed whether it migrates like the White Stork, nor whether the fea- fons of its paflage are the fame. Yet there is every reafon to entertain that opinion, for even in our climates there could be no provifion for it in winter.
This fpecies is not fo numerous, or fo widely difperfed, as that of the White Stork 5 it ftldom fettles in the fame places II , but feems to occupy the countries which the other negledls. Wormius, while he remarks that the Black Stork is very frequent in Sweden, adds that it is exceed- ingly rare in Holland, where the White Storks are known to be very numerous. Yet the Black Stork is not fo rare in Italy
* Rzaczyn&i. t Klein. X Schwenckfeld.
§ Willughby. It is very rare in all thefe countries. 11 The Brown Storic only pafTes through Lorraine and 409s noi'halt. Neig commumcattd bj M» Lottin^tr.
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as the white one * ; and according to Willughby it is frequently feen with other Marfh-birds in the markets of Rome, though its flefh has an unpleafant filhy tade and a rank fmell. [AJ
* Jo. Lincaeus.
[A] Specific chara£lpr of the Black Stork, Jrtfea Nigra: « It is brown; its bread and belly white." C^eh i.irds foar to a vafl height. Great flocks of them paf- in the fpring over Sweden, and ftretch Northward^. They nuke no halt in that country. They return to the South in ■utumn.
C *6s ]
Foreign Birds which are related to the STORK.
The M A G U A R I.
Ardea-Maguari Gmel. Maguari Srafilienjibut, Marcg* CicoHta Americana. Klein, and Brl/T. The American Stork, Lath.
'Tp H E Maguari is a large bird which in- habits the hot parts of America, and was firft defcribed by Marcgrave. It is of the bulk of the Stork, and, like it, clatters with its bill, which is long and ftraight, greenifh at the root, bluifh at the point, and nine inches in length. All the body, the head, the neck, and the tail, are invefled with white feathers, which below the neck are of a confiderable length and pendulous ; the quills and the great coverts of the wing ace black gloffed with green, and when it is clofed, the quills next the body appear equal to the exterior ones ^ property com- mon to all the Marfh- birds ; the orbits are naked and covered with a bright red fkin ;
the
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the throat alfo is flieathed with a (kin, which may be inflated and formed into a bag -, the eye is fmall and fparkling, the iris of a (li- very white; the naked part of the thighs and legs, red; thenflils of the fame colour, broad and flat. We know not whether this bird migrates like the Stork, which it reprefents in the New World. The nature of the climate would feem to render the change of refidence unneceflary both to the Ma- guari, and all the other birds of thofe coun- tries, where the feafons are couftantly uni- form, and the earth, teejning with unceaf- ing fertility, prefents them a perpetual repaft. We are ignorant, too, of all the other habitudes of this bird, and indeed of almoft all the fafls relating to the natu- ral hiftory of thofe vaft regions of America. But can we complain of thi^ negleft, or even wonder at it, when we reflect on the chara6ler of the people, whom Europe has^ for ages pa(l, fent into the new climates ; men, whofe eyes are (hut to the beauties pf nature, and whofe hearts arc ftill more impenetrable to the fentiments which thq contemplation of it infpires.
I 267 1
The C O U R I C A C A.
TaHtHlus Leculator, Linn. Gmel. and Kleta. Curicata Brafilien/ibui. Macrg. burnetii us Americanus Major. firifT. The Wood Pelican. Catefby. The fVood Ibis. Pemi. and Lath.
np H I s bird is a native of Guiana, of Brafil, and of fome countries of North America, which it vifits. It is as large as the Stoik, but its body is more ilender and longer (haped; nor would it reach the height of the Stork, but for the length of its neck and legs, which are larger in proportion : it differs alfo by the (hapc of its bill, which is ftraight three fourths of its length, but curved at the point, very ftrong and thick, not furrowed, and of an even roundnefs, gradually enlarging as it approaches the head, where it is fix or feven inches in girth, and near eight inches long ; and this large bill is of a very hard fub- fiance, and fliarp at the edges : the back of the head and the arch of the neck are covered with fmall brown feathers, ftifF, though Joofe : the quills of the wing and of the tail are black, with fome bluiOi or reddifh re- jie<5lions; all the reft of the plumage is
white :
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white : the front is bald, and only covered, like the orbits, by a dull blue ikin : the throat, which is equally naked of feathers, is inveded with a ikin capable of inflation and extenfion ; which has induced Catefby to term it, very improperly, the H'ood Pelican In fafl, the fmall bag of the Couricaca differs little from that of the vStork, which * alfo can dilate the ikin of its throat } whereas the Pelican carries a large inc under its bill, and, befides has its feet pal- niated. Briffon has committed an over- fight in referring the Couricaca to the ge- nus of Curlews, to which it bears no fort of refemblance. Pifo appears to be the caufe of this error, by the compariibn which he draws between this bird and the Indian Curlew of Clufius, which is the Red Curlew, (Scarlet Ibis, Lath.) and this miflake is the lefs pardonable, as in the preceding line, Pifo had reprefented it as equal in bulk to the Swan. He had better reafon to compare its bill to that of the Ibis, which differs in fa6t from the bill of the Curlews. This large bird is, according to Marc- grave, frequent on the river of Seregippa or of St. Fran9ois. It was lent to us from Guiana, and it is the fame with what Barrcre denominates the Curved Bill Crane,
and
li I
C O U R I C A C A.
269^
and the Great American Curlew * j an appel- lation which might have deceived thofe who reckon this bird a Curlew, but which Briflun, by another mlflake, refers to the Jabiru.
Catelby tells us, that every year, nume- rous flocks of Couricacas arrive in Caro« lina about the end of fummer, which is the rainy feafun in that country. They haunt the Savannas, which are now over- flowed; they fit in great numbers on the tall cypreffes. Their altitude is very ere£l, and their ponderous bill is fupported by reding it on their neck reclined. They retira before the month of November. Catcfby adJs, that they are flupid birds, cannot be feared, and are eafily (hot ; and that thei^ fleOi is excellent, though they feed on fifh» and aquatic animals. [A]
* Of this number is Klein ; and to exprefs the fac under the throat of this bird, he frames the fiAitioiis and barbarous appellation of Tantulut Lotulator (from Iculut) ; and mifled by the falfe name o( i^elican, he refers to Chardin, and ap- plies to it the Perftan names of Tacab and Mi/e, which pro- bably belong to the Pelican, but which furely belong not to a bird of Guiana.
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[A] Specific charafter of the Tantalus Loculater . ** Its face is bluifh ; its bill reddifti ; its legs, the quills of its wings and of its tail, are black j its body white."
«iii,i
t 270 i
I *(!'• ''
The J A B I R U.
My^eria Americana» Linn< and Gmel« Jabiru BrafiUenfibus. Marcgr. Ciconia Brajilienjis, BrifT. The American Jabiru, Lath.
A 5 nature has multiplied the reptiles on the low grounds overflowed by the waters of the Amazon and of the Oro- nooco, (he has alfo created birds to deftroy thefe pernicious creatures : ihe feems even to have proportioned their ftrength to that of the enormous ferpents which they are dedined to combat, and their ftature to the depth of the mud where they are appointed to wade. One of thefe birds is the Jabiru, which is much larger than the Stork, taller than the Crane and twice as thick ; and, if force and magnitude confer precedence, it may be ranked the firft of the inhabitants of the marfti.
The bill of thejabiru is a powerful weapon j it is thirteen inches long, and three inches broad at the bafe ; it is fharp, and flat, and edged at the fides, like a hatchet, fixed into a large head, and fupported by a thick and nervous neck \ this bill confills of hard
horn.
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J A fi I R U. . 371
horn, and is (lightly bent upwards ; a cha- railer of which the firft trace may be per- ceived in the bill of the Black Stork : the head, and two-thirds of the neck of the JabirUj are covered with a black naked Ikin, fliaded on the occiput with feveral gray hairs i the fkin under the neck, for a length of four or five inches, is of a vivid red,, and forms a broad and beautiful collar, the plumage of the bird being entirely white ; the bill is black j the thighs flout, covered with large fcales, black like the bill, and featherlefs for the fpace of five inches, the leg is thirteen inches j a membranous ligament appears on the toes> and connects nnore than an inch and half of the outer toe to the inner one.
Willughby fays, that the Jabiru is at leaft as large as the Swan ; which is true, con- (ideri»)g, however, that the Swan is of a longer and more flender fhape, and that the Jabiru has exceeding tall legs. He adds, that its neck is as thick as a man's arm ; which is likewife true. But that author mentions, that the Ikin on the back of the neck is white, and not red ; which may be owing to the difference between the dead and the living fubjecV. The tail is broad, and extends not beyond the clofed wings $ the bird, when (landing, is at leaft four
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feet and an half in perpendicular height, and if extended, it would, conlidering the length of the bill, meafure near fix feet. It IS the largeft bird in Guiana.
John ft on and Willughby have only cc- pitd Marcgrave on the fubjedt of the ja- biru J they have !ven copied his figures with all their faults : and there is in Marc- grave a confufion, or rather a miftake of the editor, which our nomenclators, far from corre6ling, have really increafed. We fhall endeavour to clear up the matter.
** The Jabiru of the Brafilians, which the Dutch term negro, fays Marcgrave, has a thicker and even a longer body than the Swan J the necl: is as thick as a man's arm ; the head proportionally large j the eye black ; the bill black, ftraight, twelve inches long, two and an half broad, fliarp at the edges -, the upper mandible a little raifed, and ftronger than the lowers all the bill is (lightly curved upwards."
Thefe characters are alone fufficient to mark out the Jabiru of Guiana, which we have juft defcribed from nature. But we are furprized to find in Marcgrave, under the foregoing account, the figure of a bird with a flender body, and a bill arched downwards ; in fhort, except the thick- nefs of its neck, differing in every refped
from
J A B I R U, - 173
from his defcription. On cafting our eyes however on the other page, we perceive under his Jabiru Guacu PetiguarenfihuSy or Nhandu Apoa I'upinambist which, he fays, is of the bulk of the Stork, and its bill arched downwards, a large bird in an ere6l poflure, with a thick body, and with a bill arched upwards, and which we readily difcover to be the Great Jabiru, the real fubje6l of the preceding defcription, except only the thick- nefs of the neck, which is not reprefented in the figure. Here therefore is a double miftake, one in the engraving, and another in the tranfpofition j fo that the thick neck of the Jabiru has been given to the Nhandu Apoa^ which has been placed below the defcription of the Jabiru, while the figure of this bird has been placed below the de- fcription of the Nhandu Apoa,
AH that Marcgrave fubjoins ferves to point out this miftake, and prove the juft- nefs of our remark. The Jabiru, he tells us, has ftrong legs, black and fcaly, and two feet high ; all the body is covered with white feathers ; the neck is naked, two-thirds covered with black Ikin from the head, and forming below a circle, which he aflerts to be white, but which we believe is red in the living bird : — This is precifely the charafter, in all its features, VOL, vu. T of
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of our Great Jabiru of Guiana *. Pifo has fallen into no fuch rnirtake as Marc- grave 5 he gives the true figure of the Great Jabiru under its true name of Jabiru Guacu, and he fays that it occurs at the fides of lakes and rivers in remote places j that its flelh, though commonly very dry, is palatable, This^bird grows fat in the rainy feafon, and then the Indians feaft on it j they eafily kill it with a fowling piece, or even with their arrows. Pifo alfo remarks in the quills of the wings a red refledtion, which we could not perceive in the bird fent us from Cayenne, but which may appear in the Jabiru of Brazil.
• Dr. Grew defcribes a head of the Jablrq* which i? exaaiy like that of the Cayenne Jabiru. The great bill of this bird occurs in moft cabinets, as that of an unknown rpecies.
[ VS ]
The NANDAPOA.
Myiltria jimericana, Linn, and Gmel.
'Tp H IS bird, which is much fmaller than the Jabiru, has however been termed the Great Jabhu (Jabiru Guacu) in ibme countries, where the true Jabiru was pro- bably ftii nknown : but its real Brafilian name is Nanddpoa, Like the Jabiru, it is featherlefs on the head, and on the top of the neck, and covered only by a fcaly fkin : It is diilinguiQied from that bird by its bill being arched downwards^ and only feven inches long. This bird is nearly of the bulk of the Stork ; the crown of the head is cover- ed by a bony protuberance of grayifti white ; the eyes are black ; the ears are large and widej the neck is ten inches long ; the thighs are eight, and the legs fix, and they are of an afh colour; the quills of the wing and of the tail, which does proje6l beyo'id the wing, are black, with a rtfleftion of a fine red in thofe of the wing j the reft of the plumage is white ; the feathers belov/ the neck are fomewhat long and pendant. The fiefti of this bird has a pleafant tafte, and i$ eaten after it is fkinned.
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It is evident that this fecond defcription of Marcgrave fuits his firft figure, in the fame manner as his fecond one correfponds to the defcription of the Brafilian Jabiru, or our Great Jabiru of Guiana, which is undoubtedly the fame bird. Such in Na- tural Hiftory is the confufion occafioned by a flight miftake, which goes on increafing, when nomcnclators implicitly copy each other, and multiply books> to the great detriment of fcience.
THE CRA>rE
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The CRANE.
La Grue. BufF.
Jrdea-Grus. Linn, and Gmel.
Cr«/ *. All the Naturaliftd.
F all the migratory birds, it is the Crane which undertake;> and performs the boldeft and mod dillant journies. Ori- ginally a native of the North, it vifits all the temperate climates, and even the re- gions of the South. It is ieen in Sweden -f*, in the Orknics of Scotland ||, in PodoliaJ, in Volhinia §, in Lithuania, and in the whole of the North of Europe^. In au- tumn, it alights in our low fens and our
* It is remarkable, that in all languages the name of the Crane imitates its cry : In Greek Ff^avo;. In Latia Grus : In Italian Gru^ or Grua : in Spanifli GruJla, or Gruz: In German Krufie, or Kranich : In Swcdilh Trana: In Dam (h Traiie : In Sw'xkKrye: In Polilh Zoraiu. It is uncertain whe:her the Crane had a name in Hebrew, at leall it cannot be determined in that barren but obfcure language. In Jeremiah, chap. viii. Jgur is by Bochart thought to be the Crane; but the vulgate renders it Stork ; and again in Ifaiah xxxviii, the fame word is interpreted Sivallo'W*
"f Fauna Suecica.
II Sibbald, Scotia Illttjirata,
X Rzaczyniki,
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278 CRANE.
fovvn fields ; then it h.iftcns to the South, from whence it returns with the fpring, and again penetrates into the Northern countries, thus completing its circuit with the round of the fcafons.
Struck with thefc continual migration?, the ancients termed it the bird of Libya *, or the bird of Scythia-I-} fince, by turns, they faw it arrive from both of thefe op- pofite extremities of the then- known world. Herodotus and Ariftotle make Scythia to be the fummer abode of the Cranes : and thofe which halt in Greece really dcfcend from that extenfive region. Theflaly is called by Plato tbe Pajiure of the Cranes \ xhtvt they alight in flocks, and covered alfo the Cycladcs. Hefiod marks the time of their paflage, when he fings, " that the hufbandman Ihould obferve the fcream of the Crane from aloft in the clouds, as the fignal to begin his ploughing ||." India and i^^.thiopia were the countries alligned as its fouthern refidence §.
• F.urlpides. f Ariftotle.
Ht' OtgoloJO TS (T1fifJl.X <pl^H, ' "»
Heftodi Opera tt Diet. Lib. ii. 65. § Higher Egypt is full of Cranes during the winter ; they arrive from the northern countries, to fpend the cold months." Vojjagi de Granger ^ /. 238.
Strabo
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Strabo fays, that the people of India cat the eggs of Cranes -f- ; Herodotus, that the Egyptians cover bucklers with their fkins X : And to the fource of the Nile the ancients referred the fcene of their combats with the Pygmies, a race of little men^ fays Arirtotle, mounted on Jmall horjest ^^^ '^ho live in caves §. Pliny places the country of the Pygmies among the remoteft moun- tains of India, beyond the fountains of the Ganges ; he relates, that their climate was falubrious, perpetually mild, and fanned by the northern breeze. *' It is reported, he continues, that fitting on the backs of rams and of goats, and armed with bows, the whole nation defcends in the fpring, and confumes the eggs and young of thefe birds; and that this expedition lafts during the fpace of three months, othervvife it could not refill the invafions of future flocks ||.** In another part of his work he tells us, that the northern part of Thrace was pof- fefled by a tribe of Scythians, and he adds, that the towns Aphrodifias, Libiftos, Zi- gere, Borcome, Eumenia, Parthenopolis, Gerania, are faid to have been inhabited by
f Lib. XV.
X Lib. vii.
% Hift. Anim. Lib, viii. 15.
|{ Lib. vii. 2.
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the race of Pygmies, whom the Barbarians call Catizi, and believe to have been de- ftroyed by the Cranes f .
Thefe ancient fables * are abfurd, it will be faid ; and 1 will allow it : but popular traditions generally contain important fad^s, though obfcured by exaggeration, or con- cealed under the veil of allegory. I am. therefore ftrongly difpofed to believe, that this ftory alludes to fome fingularitics in the hiftoiy of the Crane. It is well known that the apes, which rove in large bodies in mod parts of Africa and India, wage continual war with the birds ; they feek to furprize them in the neft, and lay perpetual fnares for them. The Cranes, on their arrival, find thefe enemies affembled, perhaps in numbers to attack, with more advantage, their new and rich prey. The Cranes, confident in their own ftiength, enured to fight by their difputes with each other, and naturally prone to combat -f , as their atti- tudes, their movements, and the order with which they marfhal, fufficiently evince,
f Lib. iv. II.
• They are anterior to the time of Homer, who com- pares {Iliad III.) the Trojans to the Cranes lighting cla- jnouroufly with the Pygmies.
t «* The Cranes fight fo obftinately with each other, that they may be caught while engaged," Arifloile, Hijl, Aninu Lib. ix. iz.
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CRANE.
281
make a vigorous defence. But the apes, obftinately bent on plundering the eggs and the young, return repeatedly in troops to renew the battle; and as, by their fubtlety, their gait and pofture, they imitate human aftions, they appeared a band of little men to the rude fpe(5tators, who viewed them from a diftance, or who, captivated by the marvellous, chofe to embellilh their rela- tions J — Such is the origin and hiftory of thefe fables.
The Cranes fly very lofty, and arrange themfelves for their expedition j they form a triangle, alinoft ifofceles, the better to cleave the air. When the wind frefliens, and threatens to break their ranks, they collect their force into a circle ; and they adopt the fame dilpofition when the Eagle attacks them. Their voync;e is ofteneft per- formed in the night j but their loud fcreams
X This is not the fir{li,iime that troops of apes have been taken for hordes of Barbarians ; not to mention the battle which the Ciirthapir.ians fought with the Orang-Outangs on the coaft of Africa, and the fklns of three femalei hung up in the temple of Juno at Carthage as the fkins of three wild women {Ilanno's C'erip/ns, Hagoc 1677, p. jj) Alex- ander, in his march through India, would have fallen into this error, and have fent his phalanx againll an army of Pongos, if king Taxilus hail not I'ndeccived him, by re- marking to him, that this muititude which he favv follow- ing on the heights confaled of peaceful animals, attrafted by cunofity ; but, in fart, far lefs fcnfclefs and Icfs Moody that) the plunderers of Afia. See Strabu, Lib, xv.
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betray their courfe. During this no6^urnal palFage, the leader frequently calls to rally his forces, and point out the track i and the cry is repeated hy the flock, each an- fwering, to give notice that it follows and keeps its rank.
The flight of the Crane is always fup- ported uniformly, though it is marked by diff^erent inflexions j and thefe variations have been obferved to indicate the change of weather: a fagacity that may well be allowed to a bird, which, by the vaft height to which it foars, is able to perceive or to feel the diflant alterations and motions in the atmofphere *. The cries of the Cranes during the day forebode rain j and noify tumultuary fcreams announce a dorm : if in the morning or evening they rife up- wards, and fly peacefully in a body, it ia a fign of fine weather ; but if they keep low, or alight on the ground, it menaces a tempcft: -f-. Like all other large birds, except the rapacious tribe, the Crane has much difliculty in commencing its flight. It runs a few iteps, opens its wings, mounts a little way, and then, having clear fpace, it difplays its vigorous and rapid pinions.
• Ariftotle, Lib. ix. lOi t Id ibid.
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When the Cranes are alTembled on the groand, they fet guards during the night; and the circumfpe^tion of thefe birds has been confecrated in the hieroglyphics, as the iymbol of vigilance. The flock fleep with their head concealed under their wing, but the leader watches with his head ere6t, and if any thing alarms him, he gives no- tice by a cry *. It is to direct their retreat, fays Pliny, that this leader is chofen -f. But without fuppofing an authority c6nfer- red, as in human focietics, we muft allow that thefe animals are prompted by focial inftincl to congregate, and to follow the one which calls, which precedes, or which, regulates their courfe. Accordingly, Arif- totle ranks the Crane at the head of the gregarious birds J,
The firft cold days of autumn inform the Cranes of the revolution of the feafon ; and then they retire to milder climates. Thofc of the Danube and of Germany pafs into Italy §. They appear in France in the
• IJ. ihid. Alfo Pllny, Lib. x. 30.
•J- Li6. X. 30.
X Arirtotle, ////?. Anim. Lib. viii. 12. Fertus gives the ety- mology of the word congruere, quaji ut grues convenire.
§ Willughhy fays that they are pretty common in th« markets at R» me ; and Rznczynjli affirms that a few re- main during the winter in Poland, about certain marihet which never freeze*
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months of September and Oilbber, and even in November, when the latter end of the autumn is foft and temperate j but moft of them pufh rapidly on their journey and never halt: they return early in the fpring, in March or April. Some of them ftray from the main body, or haften back -, for Redi faw them on the 20th of February near Pifa. It would appear that formerly they fpent the whole winter * in England ; fince in Ray's time about the beginning of the prefent century, they frequented, ia great flocks, the fens of Lincolnftiire and Cambridgefhire : but the authors of the Britilh Zoology inform us that now they very feldom vifit the ifland of Great Bri- tain, where however they have been known to breed ; that there was a penalty againft breaking their eggs ; and that according to Turner the young Cranes were common -f,
•In the text it is put ///or fummer\ but the palTage quoted below fliews that this is a mifprint, or an inad- vertancy.
t " This fpecies we place among the Britiih birds on the authority of Mr. Ray, who informs us, that in his time they were found during the winter in large flocks in Lincolnfhire and Cambridgefliire : but on the ftrideft enquiry we learn that at prefent the inhabitants of thofe counties are entirely unacquainted with them. Though this fpecies feems to have forfaken thefe iOands at prefent, yet it was formerly a native, as we find, in Willughby, that there was a pe- nalty of twenty-pence for dcllroying an egg of this bird^
and
CRANE.
'285
But I know not what degree of credit is due to the aflertion of thefe Zoologies : no reafon appears why the Cranes (hould have forfaken England, nor have thefe authors told us whether the fens in the counties of Cambridge and Lincoln have been drained. There is certainly no diminution of the fpe- cies, for we learn from Linnaeus that in Sweden it is as numerous as ever: it is indeed in the Northern countries among the marfhes that the Cranes generally breed J. On the other hand, Strabo § aflures us that they neftle in India ; which would prove that like the Storks, they have two hatches annually in two oppofite cli- mates. The Cranes lay only two eggs || ; and the young ones are fcarcely reared when the feafon of their departure arrives^ and they muft employ their newly acquired flrength in accompanying their parents in their rout *.
and Turner relates that he has very often feen their young in our /narfhes." Britirti Zoology.
N. B. The laft word marjhes is, by a ridiculous miftake, tranflated marches or markets^ and M. Buftbn immediately fubjoins that ** the flella of the Crane is delicate, and was much efteemed by the Romans.'*
X Klein. Rzaczynflci. Belon.
§ Geograph. Lib. x'v,
\\ Ar\^Qt\Cy Hijt. Jnim. J^ib. JJf. 18,
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The Crane is caught in its piflage with the noofe -f* ; and the Eagle and Falcon are alfo flown at it X' In certain di{Vri(5ts of Poland, the Cranes are fo numerous that the peafants are obliged to build huts in the midfl of their fields of buck- wheat, to drive them off §. In Perlia, where they are likewifc very common j|, it is the pre- rogative of the prince to hunt them *. The fame is the cafe in Japan ; and that pri- vilege, joined to fuperftitious motives, has induced the people to treat the Cranes with
f Turn gruibus pedicas, 13 retia pottere ctrvit, Virgil Gfora, I.
O
X iiernier faw in the Mogul's dominions the chafe of he Crane. '* This chafe is fomewhat auiiifing; it is pleai'aat to fee them exerting all their force to defciui thomkivcs ia the air againll the birds of prey. They kill tliefe fome- times, but as they want dexterity in turning thcmfelves, feveral good birds will in the ilfue prove Victoiious." HijK Cen. Jes Voyages, torn, x p. 102,
\ Rzaczyiiiki. *
II Lettres Edifiantes, tivenfy- eighth ColleSfion. P. 317.
• ** At early dawn, the king (of Pcrfia) fcnt to inform the ambafladors that he would go with a very few at- tendants to the chafe of the Cranes, entreating them not to bring their interpreters, that the Cranes might not be feared by a multitude, nor the pleafure of the fport dif- turbed by noife. It began with the day. A covered way had been made under ground, at the end of which was the plain, where corn had been fcaitcrcJ ; the Cranes came in great numbers, and more than four-fcore were caught. The king took fome feathers to put into his turban, and cave two to each of the ambaffcJoi s, who lluck them into their hats." ycyage £ OUariusy i'aris, 1636, tsm. /./. 3°9*
great
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CRANE.
287
great refpe6t -f*. They have been reared and trained in the domeftic ftate j and as they naturally fport in various capers, and then walk with oftentatious gravity J, they can be inftru£led to perform dances §.
We have faid, that birds, having a fofter texture of bones than quadrupeds, live pro- portionally longer ; the Crane affords an example. Many authors mention its lon- gevity : the Crane of the philofopher Leo^ nicus TomauSt in Paulus Jovius, is famous ; he fed it forty years, and it is faid that they died together.
Though the Crane is granivorous, as the conformation of its ftomach feems to indi- cate, and as it generally arrives after the grounds are fowed to gather the feeds which
f The wild birds are become fo familiar in the iflands of Japan, that many fpecies may even be ranked with the do- medic animals ; the principal is the 7/urit or the Crane, which a fpecial law has referved for the divciTion or ufe of the emperor. This bird and the tortoife are held to be ani- mals of good omen ; an opinion founded on the long life which is afcribed to them, and on a thoufand fabulous anec- dotes with which their hillury is filled. The apartments of the emperor, and the walls of the temples are decorated with their figures, as for the fame reafon we there fee thofe of the fir and of the bamboo. Never do the people call a Crane by any other name than O tfurifama, that is, My Lord Crane.** Koempfer, Hift, Nat, du Jafottf torn, i. p. 112.
X Klein.
§ Pliny, Lib, x. 30,
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the harrow has not covered |( j yet it pre- fers infects, worms and Anal I reptiles : and, for this rear>n, it haunts the fens, where it obtains its chiet fubfjltence.
The membrane, which in the Stork con- Ticdis the three tot:s, joins only two in the Crane, the middie and outer ones. The trachea arterla is of a very remarkable ftruc- ture; for, perforating \\\^ flernum, it dcf» cends to a confiderable depth, and, after making feveral twiliings, it returns by the fame aperture, and pafies to the lungs. To the circumvolutions of that organ and to the echo which they produce, we muft attribute the ftrong voice of this bird *. The ftomach is mufcular, and there is a ilouble ccecum\\ and in this refpe6lthe Crane differs in its internal ftru6lure from the He- rons, which have only one f^a//7?. It is dif- tinguiflied externally by its magnitude, by its fiiort bill, by its fuller habit, and by the colour of its plumage. Its wings are vei y large, and furniflied with flrong mufclcs J, and contain twenty -four quills.
The
II AlJrovandiis conjeflures that the Greek name of the Crnne, ^f^a; is compounded of 7»j, the earth and igfrw, to jearch ; becaiife it feathers feeds on the ground.
* Bf^lcn, ^at. des Qifeauxy p. 187. — Duvemey, Hijl^ t^e V Acad des Scifn. Ann. 1666.— 1686. tome, ii. p. 6*
t vVillughby.
X I !is prodigious force of mufcles requifite to urge fuch a dillant flight, had probably given rife to the prejudice
^ which
which pi Support J xxviit. 8| § It hf which, if Cation.
vol]
, *^vt^'
CRANE.
289
The Crane has an ere6l gait, and a (len- der figure } the whole field of its plumage is of a fine waved light aih-co^'^ur, except the tips of the wings> and tne covering of the head ; the great quills ot the wing are black ; thofe next the body extend beyond the tail ; the middle and great coverts are of a pretty light alh-colour on the outfide, and black on the infide, as well as at the point 5 from under the la ft and neareft the body, rife broad unwebbed feathers, which fwell into a tuft, and fall back gracefully, and by their fliexibility, .their pofition, and their texture, refemble the plumes of the Oftrich J the bill meafures four inches from the tip to the corners ; it is ftraight, pointed, comprefled at the fides § ; its colour is of a greenifli black which whitens at the tip : the tongue is broad and fhort, hard and horny at the end: before the eyes, and on the front and the fkull, there are black hairs fo thinly fcattered that thofe parts appear almoft bare : that Ikin is red in the living animal ; a difftrence which £elon marks between the male and female,
which prevailed in the time of Pliny, that a perfon could fupport any fatigue, who wore a Crane's iinew. Lib, xxviii. 87.
§ It has given name to the plant Geranium or Crane* sbillt which, in all its fpecies, bears this chara^er of fxuAifi- Cation.
VOL. VII.
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in which it is not red : fomc feathers of ^ very deep alh colour cover the back of the head, and extend a little on the neck : the temples are white, and this colour defcends three or four inches from the top of the neck : the cheeks, from the bill and below the eyes, and alfo the throat and a part of the foredde of the neck, are of a blackidi afh-colour.
White Cranes fomctimes occur j Longo-k lius and others fay that they have feen them. Thefe are only varieties of the fpecies, which admits alfo of very confiderable dif- ferences in regard to bulk. Briflbn ftates the length of his Crane, from the point of the bill to the end of the tail, to be three feet and an inch, and meafured to the toes, three feet nine inches : he defcribes there- fore a very fmall bird ||. Willughby makes his to be ^ve Englifli feet, and fays that it weighs ten pounds ; in which, Ornitho- logifts agree with him. In the King's cabi- net, there is a Crane, reckoned indeed among the largeft, which is four feet two
II Rzaczynfkl appears to admit two families cf Cranes ; to the fmaller one he attributes rome paaicular properties, which do not feem however to conllitutc a different Tpecies ; the lefl'er Cranes bear crefts hoary behind the ears, but blackifh under the throat. The fmall breed occurs in Vol- hinia and in the Ukraine; the large one in Cujavia, and both together in Podolia.
inches
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inches
CRANE. 291
inches in perpendicular height, and if fpread out, would ineafurc more than five feet between the tip of the bill and the toes ; the naked part of the thighs is four inches, the legs are black, and only ten inches and a half.
Confir^ering its force of wing and its migratory inltinft, we cannot be furpriztd that the Crane (hould vifit every climate. Yet we fufpccl that it never advances fur- ther South than the tropic : all the coun- tries where the ancients placed the winter refidence of the Crane, Lybia, the regions fituate at the origin of the Nile, of the Indus, and o^ the Ganges, are within this limit, which alfo bounded the Geography of antiquity. The Cranes, natives of the North, feek only a moc^srate degree of tem- perature, and not the fcorching heats of the Torrid Zone. The fens which invite them never occur in the midft of arid plains and burning fands ; and if a few tribes follow- ing gradually the chain of mountains, where the heats are mitigated, at laft pafs the equator and advance into the South, they become loll in thofe countries, difmem- bered from the reft of the fpecies, and never join in the migrations to the North. Such in particular are the Cranes which, Kol- ben fays, are numerous at the Cape of
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Good Hope; and exrif^ly the fame with thofe of Europe j a fadl which we fhould iV.trcc hate admitted on the fingle tcfti- rnony of that traveller, had not others fotind Cranes in almoil ts high Southern l.iiitudes, as in New Holland * and in the Phiiipptnes where there are two fpec'res -f-.
The Eaft India Crane fueh as the modems have ohferved it, fccms not to differ in fpe- cies fioin the European j it is fmaller, its bill rather longer, the fkin on the top of its herrd, red and hard, and extending to the bi!l ; in other rerpe<5tj, it is exadly like the ordinary one, and its plumage is of the faaie afh-gray. This is the dctcrip-
tion which Willughby gives of one which he (aw alive in St. James's Park. Edwards difcribcs another Crane brought from In- dia :|.. It was, he tells us, a large fine bird, Orcngcr than ordinary, and its ex- tended height near fix feet. It was fed v/ith barley and other grain ; it laid hold of its food with the point of its bill, and giving its head a quick tofs backwards, it threw it into the throat j a red naked
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* Captain Cook's firft Voyage;
I Camel, No. 285, Pbilo/opbical Tran/a£tioHt,
t Ardea- Antigone. Linn, and GmeU
Gras Orientalis indica. BriJT.
The Greater Indian Crane. EJw*
The fndian Crane. Latb,
(kin
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1*1
CRANE.
*93
(kin with a few black hairs covered the head and the top of the neck } all the plu- mage was of a blackiih adi-colour, only ra- ther lighter on the neck ; the thighs and legs were reddifh. In all thei'e features, no very precife fpecific difference can be traced ; yet Edwards reckons his Greater Indian Crane as quite a dilVm6l bird from that of VVil- lughby, and what mo(l of all induces him to entertain the opinion is the great dif- ference of fize : and we might agree with him, did not the European Cranes vaiy widely in that refped §. Tl^is Crane is probably the lame with that which inha- bits the Eall of Afia oppofite to Japan [|, and which migrates in winter into Judca, and even defcend-s into Chiiw, where thefe birds are numerous *.
% It feems impofltUJe to draw any pertain Lionel u Hon from the following pailage of Marco Polo. «♦ Near the coaJls of ihe Ciaoiganians ar.e Ave fofts of Cranes : Tome have black wings like Raveos ; others are very white with golden fpangles on their plumage, as in Peacocks tails ; others are like ours, And others ftrll are fmalier, Kut have their feathers very long and beautiful intermingled with red and black colour; thole of the fifth kind are gray, having red and black eyes, and thefe are very large."
11 The Cranes are feen in Siberin among the Jakutej, Innumerable flocks appear in the plain of Mangafea, on the Jenifca. Gmel.
• ** The Cranes are very numerous in China ; thJs bird accommodates itfelf to all climates. It is eafily tamed, and even learns to dance. Its flelh is reckoned very good food.'* Htfi, Gtn. dfi Voyage$i torn* vi. p. 487.
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To the fame fpecies we muft refer the Japan Crane feen at Rome, which Aldro- vandus has figured and defcribed. ** It was equal in bulk to our Crane, the top of its head was of a bright red, ftrewed with white fpots, and ihe colour of its plu- mage bordered on white -f-.'* Kcempfer fpeaks likewife of a White Crane at Japan ; but as he makes no other diflindion between it and the gray one, which he mentions in the fame place J, there is every proba- bility that it was only the variety obferved in Europe. [A]
t Grus Japonenfis Alia. Aldrvu* Johnft. Cbarietcn, and Klein.
Grus Japonenfis. Brif.
X ** There are two forts of Cranes in Japan, the one is white as alabafter, the other gray or afli- coloured." Nat.. Htft. du Japany torn i. p. 112.
[A] Specific chara£ter of the Common Crane, Ardea- Grus: ** Its head is naked and p^tpillous ; the tuft and the quills of the wing, black ; its body cinerfous; its inmoft tail-quills, unwebbed." It breeds in fens, and lays two bluiih eggs. It refts on one foot. Linnxus aiferts, that, in its pafTage, it flies at the height of three miles.
I m 1
TheCOLLARED CRANE,
JlrJea-Jntigone. Var. Gmel.
'T^ H J s Crane feems to differ fo much from the common fpecies that it could not be claffed with it by the fame analo« gies as the preceding varieties. Beiides that it is much fmaller than the ordinary Crane, its head proportionably thicker, and its bill larger and flronger ; it has the top of its neck decorated by a fine red collar, with a broad white belt under it, and all the head naked, and of an uniform reddlih gray, without thofe (breaks of white and black, which encircle the head of the common Crane : the tuft of the tail alfo is of the fame bluifh^ray with the reft of the body,
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C R A N E S xyf the New Continent.
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Ardea Americana,
^he Hooping Crane. Catefby. Edw. Penn. and La(h.
T T is extremely probable that the Crane^ have migrated from the one continent into the other, iince they haunt the North- ern parts of Europe and of Afia. Accord- ingly, we find in America a White C rane, and one or two kinds of Gray or Brown Cranes. But the White Crane, which in our Continent is only an accidental variety, appears to have formed in the other a per- manent race, difcriminated by ftrong and decided characters ; fo that we may con- ceive it as anciently feparated from the common fpecies, and long mod fied by the influence cf climate. It is as tall as our largeft Cranes, but of a ftronger and thicker make, its bill longer, its head bigger j its neck and legs not fo flender: all the plu- mage is white, except the great quills of the wings, which are black, and the head,
which
WHITE C R AN E. tgj
which is brown ; the crown is callous and covered with black hairs, ftraggling and delicate, under which the reddifh ikin ap- pears naktd j a limilar fkin covers the cheeks : the tuft of loofe feathers in the tail is flat and pendant : the bill is fur*- rowed above, and indented at the edges near the tip ; it is brown, and fix inches long. Catefby has defcribed this bird from an entire Ikin given him by an Indian, who told him that thefe birds frequent, in great numbers, the lower parts of the rivers near the fea in the beginning of fpiing,. and retu lo the mountains in fummer. ** This i;*ct, fays Catefby, has been fince confirmed by a white, who informed me that thefe Cranes are very noify, and arc feer. in the Savannas at the mouth of the Altamaha, and other rivers near St. Auguf- tine in Florida, and alfo in Carolina j but that they are never found further North.**
Yet it is certain that they advance into the higher latitudes : for the fame White Cranes are found in Virginia *, in Canada -f*,
* De LaSi.p. 83. The firft voyagers to America fpeak of Cranci which they fa V : Peter Martyr fays, that, in the Savannas of Cuba, the Spaniards met with flocks of Cranes tw ce as large as ours.
f •* We have (in Canada) Cranes of two colours; fome are entirely white, others of a gray gridelin : they all make excellent foup." Charlevoix. Hiji» de la Nov, Franc» torn* in, p. 135,
and
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and even in Hudfon's Bay, as Edwards remarks. [A]
[A] Specific charafler of the Hooping Crane, Jr/fea Ame- ricana: " Its top» its nape, and its temples, are naked and papillous ; its front, its nape, and its primary wing quilli Are black ; its body is white." The extreme length is fiv« feet feven inches. We ihall extradt the following palTage relating to thefe birds, from Mr. Pennant^s Ar£lic Zoology. '* They make a remarkable hooping noife : this makes me imagine thefe to have been the birds, whofe clamor Captain ^Philip Amidas (the firil Lnglifhman who ever fet foot on North America) fo graphically defcribes, on his landing on the ifle of Wokokou, off the coaft of North Carolina "When, fays he, fuch a flock of Cranes (the mod part white) arofe under us with fuch a cry, redoubled by many echoes, as if an army of men had (houted together." This was in the month of July ; which proves, that in thofe early days thi» fpecies bred in the then defert parts of the fouthern pro- vinces, till driven away by population, as was the cafe with the common Crane in England ; which abounded in our nndrained fens, till cultivation forced them entirely to quit jpur kingdom. V-ol* it. f. 442.
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The B R O W N CRANE.
Arita Canadenfis. Linn, and Gmel.
Grus Frtti Hud/ouis, BriiT.
T]be Ertmrn and Ajh'coloured Crane. £dv«r.
T T is about a third fmaller than the pre- ceding : the great quills of its wings are black; their coverts, and the fcapular feathers reaching to the neck, are rufty brown, and fo are the large flowing feathers difpofed near the body : the reft of the plumage is cinereous : the red fkin of the head co- vers only the front and the crown. Thefe differences and that of the fize, which in this family of birds varies much, are not perhaps fufHcient to feparate this fpe- cies, from that of our Crane, they are at lead two kindred fpecies, efpecially, as their habits and climates are fimilar; for they ufually advance into the North, as far even as Hudfon's Bay, where they breed, but, on the approach of winter, again return towards the South, holding their courfe, it would appear, through the country of the Illinois*, and of
* " Among the Illinois there are many Cranes. EdifanttSf eleventh colle£^ion, p. 310.
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the Hurons -f, and pufliing onwards to Mexico J, or even further. Thefe American Cranes have th€ fame inilifK^l tlierefoie as thofe of Europe j they travel alfo from North to Souths and this is probably what the Indian meant, who told Catciby, that they, retired from the fea to the moun- tains. I A] ,. /...,,
^ *• Jn the feafon the "freWs (of the Horons) arc all covered with Cranes, or toc/jtngo, which repair toieed on their corn when planted, or when near ripe. They kill th,efe (Cranes with their arrows, but not often, becaufe if this large bird has not its wings brokeot or is not ihot dead, it eaiily bears away the arrow in its wound, which in time heals c^p ; as our Canadian miflionaries have experienced, a Crane beln^ taken at Quebec which had been ilruck with a Huron's arrow, three hundred leagues drftant ; the wound on the l>umpwas healed, and the end of the arrow, wish its fiint, was inclofed. They are cau:ght fomeitimes wich gins.'* Voyage au^pays des Hurons^ par le P. Sagard Theodat, Paris, t6$2 p, 302, 303.
t It is leafy to recogniie this Crane in the Toquilcopt-i of Fernandez. *' To tlie Crane a fpocies may be referred, which is of the fame fize, and has fimilar habits and inllin^ts; it -is called Toquilcoyott, in imitation of its cry: its whole body is brown mixed wich black and cinereous ; itsiiead is decorated above with a fcarlet fpot, &c. ^-vi., Nov. Uifp, icap. cxlviii. p. 44. This Norrh /Imerican Crane, which migrates from tlie regions of the South, RriiTon has made ilis eighth fpcties under the name of Mgxkan Crane,, and -which Willughby, Klein, and Ray, Jiave termed the Grus 'hufica.
[Aj Specific chara^r of the /Brown Crane, jirjM Gzc«- Jen/is : ** Its forehead is naked and papillous, its body cine- M0|||> its wings externaHy brick.colaured" Thisfpecics advances from Mexico, to the northera forts of the conti- OMflt, early in the fpring. It appears in Hodfon's Bay about the month of May, frequents the lakes and pools, 9Xid retires again in autumn.
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Foreign Birds which are related to the C R A N E.
TheNUMIDIAN CRANE.
La DemoiftUe dt Numidle. Buff^ Ardea-Virgo. Linn, and Gmel. Grui Niimdica, BrKT. and Klein. The Dancing Bird, Pocock.
^^ H E Demoifclle of Numidia has all the^ proponions and the {hdpe of the Crane, only on a fmaller fcale ; its port, its garbj are the fame ; and the fame diftribution of colours on the plumage, only the gray is purer, and more pearled. Two white tufts of unwebbed and hairy feathers, falling on each fide of the head, form a fort of head-drefs ; long, foft and filky hairs of the fined black lie on the crown of the head ; fimilar feathers defcend from the fore- part of the neck, and hang gracefully below it ; between the black quills ot the wings, appear bending tufts, which are long and pendant. This beautiful bird has received the name of Demotfelle^ or Mifi^
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on account of its elegant form, its rich garb, and its afFe£ted airs . it makes re- peated reverences ; it walks with a iprightly often tation, and it bften leaps and fprings from gaiety, as if it meant to dance.
This bent, which, in a certain degree, was remarked in the Crane, is fo (Iriking in this Numidian bird, that for more than two thoufand years, during which it has been known, authors have conilantly de- nominated it from its mimic geftures. Arif- totle calls it the aflor or comedian ^', Piinyi the dancer or vaulter 'f ; and Plutarch men- tions its frolics and its addrefs %» It ap- pears even to imitate the actions which it beholds: Xenophon, in Athenasus, feems perfuaded of this ; ** for, fays he, the fowl- ers rub their eyes before it with water which they pour into bafons, and theii filling thefe up with bird lime they retire, and the bird copying their example rubs its eyes and feet." Accordingly Athenaeus terms it The Imitator of Man §. The Danc- ing Bird of Numidia feems alfo to have copied our vanity ; it loves to be feen, ^nd to exhibit itfelf, it feeras even to prefer
• Hi(t. Anim. Lit, viii» is.
•fLii. X, 23.
I De Solert. Aninal.
(how
m
NUMIDIAN CRANE. 3^3^
(how to its food, and follows after a per- fon to foUicit as it were another look.
Thefe are the remarks of the academi- cians on the Numidian Cranes, of which they had feveral in the Menagerie at Ver- failles. They compared their fteps, their poftures and their geftures to Gipfey dances \ and Ariftotle feems to allude to their manner of jumping and vaulting, when he fays that they are caught when they dance oppofite one another ^
Though this bird was famous among the ancients, it was little known, and feldom feen in Greece or Italy ; and confined to its own climate, it enjoyed a fort of fabu- lous celebrity. Pliny after terming it in one place the pantomime^ joins it in another paflage with || the Syrens, the Griffins, and the Pegafufes. It was late before the mo- derns were acquainted with it ; they con- founded it with the Scops and Otus of the Greeks and AJio of the Latins, on account of the odd geftures of that Owl, whofe cars were fuppofed to be reprefenled by the long delicate filaments that hang from each fide of the head of the Numidian Dancing Bird.
I he fix Demo:felles which were kept fome time in the menagerie, came Jrom Nu-
II Lib, X. 49.
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midia. Wc can find nothing more precife in naturalids with regard to the countries which it inhabits ♦. Travellers have met with it in Guinea -I*, and it appears to be a native of the tropical parts of Africa. Yet it would not be impoOible to reconcile it to our climatei to naiuralize it in our court-yards, and even to perpetuate the breed. The Numidian Cranes of the Royal menagerie have propagated, and the one which died laft, at the age of twenty-four, was hatched in it %»
The academicians give very minute de- tails of the internal ftrudlure of the fix birds which they dilledied j \\\t trachea arte- ria, which was of a hard and almofl bony fubftance, was inferted, by a double cir- cumvolution, into a deep groove formed in the top of the fternum j below the tra- chea, they perceived a bony knot, that had the (hape of a larynx^ parted internally into two by a little tongue, as in the goofe and in fome other birds j the cerebrum and cere- helium together weighed only a dram and a half; the tongue was fleHiy above and
• The Demoi/elU of Numidia. Edw,
•f Hill. Gen. dcs Voyages, torn. Hi p. 307.
X Thi^ faft was communicated to us by order of the Mar- (hal duke de Moucby, governor of Vcrfailles aod of the king's pitnagirit,
cartilaginous
KUMTDIAN CRANE. 305
drtilaginous below i the gizzard was fimi- Jar ro ti>at of a hen, and like all the granivoious birds, it contained bits of gra« vcl. lAJ
[Al Specific charafter of the Numidian Crane, Ardia Virgo; *• Its eye-brows are wliite, with tufti behind ftretch* ing far back."
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T!ie ROYAL BIRD.
v^rrfi^a Pavoftifta. Linn, and Gmel.
Gr//j Balearica, Aldrov. Will. Johnft. &C.
Ctus Japonic a Fufca. Petiv.
Pttvo Marintis. Clufius.
The Balearic Crane, Sloane and Will.
The Ci-onxned African Crane. Edw.
The Croiwied Heron. Lath.
'TpHis bird owes its appellation oi royal f^ to a fort of crown, which a bunch of feathers, or rather of fpreading bridles, forms upon its head. It his a noble port, and, when it ftands ere6l, it is four feet high. Fine feathers of a leaden-black, with bluiih reflections, hang along its neck, and are difplayed on its fhoulders and its back : the firft quills of the wing are black, the reft of a brown rufous, and their coverts, which are broken into threads, divide the dark ground of the mantle by two large white fpots J a broad membranous fkin, which is of a fine white on the temple, and of a bright carnation on the cheek, covers
• The Dutch, who trade on the coafts of Africa, call ic 'Kroen-f^e^i or Crown -Bird.
the
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ROYAL BIRD. 307
the face, and defcends under the bill -f* j a bap of black down, delicate and clofe as velvet, decorates the front, and its beauti- ful creft is thick, wide fpread, and com- pofed of bulhy fprigs of a pink colour, flat, and wreathed into a fpiral ; each fprig is befet lengthwife with minute filaments, pointed with black, and terminated by a fmall pencil of the fame colour ; the iris is pure white j the bill black, as well as the thighs and the legs, which are ftill taller than thofe of the Cranes, which this bird re- fembles much in its conformation. It dif- fers from them, however, in feveral im- portant charaders ; it is a native of the hot climates, the Cranes draw their origin from the cold countries ; they have a dufky plumage, while the Royal Bird is decorated with the garb of the South, of that burn- ing zone, where every thing is niore bril- liant, but more fantaftic ; more animated, but lefs graceful than in the temperate climates.
f Of the two figures which Edwards has given for the male and female, the one has only an earlet behind the eye, and the other the two pendants under the throat. This charafter feems to vary ; it occurs not in the defcrip- tion of Clufius, in other refpefts exadl ; and probably ic depends rather on age than on fex, fince the academicians did not 6nd it in one of the fubjefts which they defcribed, thgugh both were females.
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They inhabit Africa, efpecially Gambra< the Cold Coaft. Juida, || Fida, and Cap6 Vcfd. Travellers relate, that thev are fie- quently ktn by the large rivers j they feed on fmall hfh, and alfo fcarch in the fields for herbs and feeds j they run very fwifily, fpreading their wings, and catching the wind : at other times their pace is flow, with meafured ftei'S.
This Royal Tiird is gentle and pacific j Its defence is its ftature, and the rapidity with which it runs or flies. It is lefs afraid of man than of its other enemies ; and feems to approach with chearfulnefs and confidtnce. We are aflured, that at Cape Verd this bird is half domefl:ic, and that it comes into the court-yards to eat grain with the pintadoes and other fowls. It perches in open air to fleep, like the pea- cock, whofe cry it is faid to imitate; and, as it alfo bears a refemblance by the tuft on its
II HJ^. Gen. des Voyages^ torn, i-v, p. 355. It appears that the Europeans on thefe coalls have given the fame name of Royal Bird to a qaite different fpecies. ** Smith diftin- guilhes two kinds of Cro'vun- Birds i the firft has its head and neck green, its body of a fine purple, its wings and tail red, and ics tuft black ; it is nearly as large as the great parrot*. The other kind (and this is the true Royal Bird) is of the ihape of a Heron, and is not lefs than three feet high ; it feeds on fifh : its colour is a mixture of blue and black, and the tuft, with which it is crowned, re fcmbleo iiiore hogs' brilties thau feaiheri*" Id. /. 247.
heady
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ROYAL BIRD.
309
head, it has been termed by fome naturalifts the Sea Peacock J ; others have called it the Short-tailed Peacock §, and others have af- ferted that it is the fame with the Balearian Crane (Grus Balearica) of the ancients, but which is not at all proved ^ : for Pliny, the only one who has mentioned the Bale- arian Crane, does not fufficiently charac- terize it } both the Woodpecker (fays he) and the Balearian Crane wear a tuft * ; but no two things are lefs limilar than the fmall creft of the Woodpecker, and the crown of the Royal Bird, which befides h?.s feveral remarkable properties that Pliny might have pitched on. If, however, it was for- merly brought to Rome from the Raleaiiaji iilands, where it is no longer found, it would corroborate my pofition, that ani- mals are making a gradual progrefs from the North to the South.
We received this bird from Guinea, and kept it fome time in a garden. It pecked the herbs, particularly the core of lettuce and fuccory. But the food which agrees bell with it, is rice, cither dry, or flightly
X Clufius. Exotic. Lib. v,2. § Johntion, Barrere, Linnseus.
<[[ See Memotfcs pour i'ervir a I'Hiiloire des Animaax, torn. iii. 2.
• Cirrot pico martio tt Grui BaUaricat Lib. x\. 37.
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boiled, previoufly foaked in water, or z,% leaft waQied and well picked 5 for it rejects what is of a baH quality, or foiled with dull, it feems alfo to eat infeits, and par- ticularly earth-worms j and we have feea it among new- turned mould, gathering worms, and catching fmall infects on the leaves. It is fond of bathins;, and ought to have a fliallow tray, in which the Wuter fhould be renewed from time to time. As a regale, we may throw into ihe tray a few fmall living fiOi, which it cats withl avidity, but rejedls thofe that are dead Its cry refembles much that of the Crane, and is clangorous, like the found of a trumpet or horn : it i: repeated at fhort intervals when the bird wants food, or when it feeks a place of lodgment for the evening -f-. This cry is alfo the expreffion of inquietude and wearinefs ; for it tires if left too long by itfelf. It is gl^d of a vifit, and if the company (after fatisfy- ing their curiofity,) retire without taking farther notice, it follows or walks by their fide, and thus makes fcveral turns: and if it is then amufed and detained by any novelty, it haftens to rejoin them. When it is in a quiefcent pofture, it rtfts on one leg, its large neck is folded bark like the lock of a mufket, and its body, fhrunk and
t I'his bird has Hill another voicd, or rather an inward duckiogi like that of a fitting hen, but harfher.
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H O Y A jL BIRD.
3"
^$ it were tottedng on Its tall ITtnb^, bears horizontally. But if it is alarmed or difturbed, it extends its neck, raifes its head, and aflTumes a (lately air, fVnving by the boldnefs of its attitude, as it were, to ilrike awe : its whole body is then almod erect ; it advances gravely, ?ind with mea- fured ftepsi and the dignity of its demeanor, recommended too by thecrownwhicb it wears, juftly entitles it to the appellation of roya/. Its long legs, which aid it much in rifing, prove troublefome when it alights ; and it therefore fpreads its long wings to break the fall J but we v^re obliged to keep them fhort, by repeatec j clipping the feathers, to prevent it froi^ flying away, which it often attempted to do. It p^fled the whole of the winter (1778) at Paris, without appearing to fuffer from the rigours of a climate fo different from its own. It had chofen for itfelf a room with a fire to fhelter it during the night, and it repaired every evening to the door, founding for admiflion, The f rft birds of this kind were brought into Europe by the Portuguefe, in the fifteenth century, when they difcovered the Gold Coaft in Africa J Aldrovandus cele-
J **Itreems that thefe birds are much prized in Europe, Cnce fome gentlemen continually aflc us to fend fome.'* Voyage de Gmne'tf par Guill. Bofmant Utrecht^ 1705, lettre XV. '
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brates their beauty || ; but Belon feems not to have known them, and he is n.iflnken in averting that tlie Balearian Crane of the ancients was the Night Heron f . Some authors have nanied them Japan Cranes^, which feems to imply that they are found in that ifland, and that the fpecie-^ extends over the whole zone in /Africa and Afia — The famous Royal Biid, or Fum-hoam of the Chinefe, of which fo many marvtilous flories are told, coUefled by the credulous Kircher ^, is only a creature of the imagi- nation, like the dragon, which they paint along with it on their mudins and poiceiaiii.
II Avis 'vifu jucuHdiJJima»
X ** We aifo faw at <^leppo a bird refembing a C'iane, but fmaller, having its eyes edged with red. the tail of the Heron, and a weaker voice than the Crane's. We believe it to be what rhe ancients called the Balearian Cyane." Ob/ervaiions de Belotit p. 159. What leads us to tlink that this account refers not to the Royal Bird, is, that Belon makes no mention of the crown, a character fo diilinfl and ftriking» that it could not aave cfcaprd this excellent obferver.
§ Charleton and Petiver.
f See la Chii^e illuAree. Amjlerdamt 1670, /. 263.
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[ 313 1
The C A R I A M A.
Palamedea Criftata, Linn, and Gmel. Cariama. Marcg. Pifo. Ray. Will, and BriflT. The Crejled Sereamir, Lath.
\X7 R have feen that nature, moving with an uniform pace, connefts all her produ6lions by fucceflive gradations. She has by her tranfitions, filled up the inter- vals where we would place our divifions, and paufe in the wide furvey. No void ap- pears in the vaft concatenation of the uni- verfe, and the mod diftant parts are linked together. Our fyftems prove inconfiftent, therefore, when they attempt toaflign limits which no where exift: nay, produftions that ftand moft detached in our methods, are really connected with others by the greateft number of relations. Such are the Ca- riama, the Secretary, and the Kamichy. The two firft are akin to the birds of prey 5 the laft is, on the contrary, related to the gallinaceous tribe j but all the three refera- ble moft, in their inflin6ts and habits, the marfh birds.
The Cariama is a beautiful bird, which frequents fens, where it feeds like the He- ^* ron-
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ron, but is larger * j it has long legs and the lower part of its thigh is naked, as ir; the Marih-birds ; and its bill is (hort and hooked, as in the biixls of prey.
Its neck is high, and its head lofty ; under
the root of the bill, which is yellowifh,
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plumage is like that of the Falcon, gray
waved vvith brown j its eyes are brilliant
^nd gold-coloured, and it? eye-lids furnifbed
with long black hairs j its legs arc yellow-
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iictiled at tlieir origin by a portion of a
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Ihorteft ; the nails are fhort and rounded rf- 5
the hind toe is placed fo high, that it will
not reach the ground j and the heel is
thick and round, like that of the Oflrich.
The cry of this bird refembles that of a
Turkey-cock j this is loud, and betrays it
to the fowlers, who prize it on account of
its tender and delicate flefh. Jf we may
credit Pifo, molt of the birds which haunt
• E^regia avis fylvejirii cariama ex aquaiicorion 'jjuere, itclofifqve locis oh pr^dam deleSiatur more ardearum, qt^ mole ttrporis io»ge /ftperot. Pifon. Hiji. Nat. l£ Medic lad. p. 81. ......
f Ungues bre'viu/cuU, lunati. Ibid,
C A R I A M A.
31S
^he marfhcs in thefe hot parts of America are not inferior in the quality of their HeQi, to thofe which inhabit the mountains X» He fays alfo that the fettlers have begun to domeflicate the Cariama. It appears, there- fore, that the Cariama, which occurs only in vmerica, is both with regard to its flruc- ture and its difpofitions, the reprefenta- tive of the Secretary of the Old Continent, which we now proceed to defcribe. [AJ
X Manfuefa£ia, aque ac f'il'vejiris^ajfatur Isf coquitur. Idem.
. [AJ ^^eclfic character of the PalamdM Cri/fata; ** It is unarmed, its front crefted«"
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The SECRETARY,
Or the M E S S E N G E R.
Falco Serptntarlui. Gmel. and Miller. Sagitiarius Voimaer. Vultttr Serpentariii}, Lath. Ind. Tht Secretary Vulturt, Lath. Syft.
'T^ H IS bird, alike confpicuous by its mag- nitude and by its figure, is not only of a new fpecies, but of a diftindl and de- tatched family -, (o that it eludes and con- founds all our artificial claffitications. While its longjcgs feem to ihew that it is dcftined to haunt the fens, ks hooked bill declares its affinity to the birds of prt;y. It has, fo to fpeak, the head of an Eagle joined to the body of a Stork or Crane. 1 o what clafs then can we r^fcr it ? So free and unre- {Irained is nature, and fo rich and fo vad the range of her proda*Uons !
The Secretary is as tall as a large Turkey Cock ; its colours on the head, the neck, the back, and the coverts of the wings, are of a bro^yner gray than th^t of the Crane, and become lighter on the fore part of the body ; the quills of the wings and of. the tail, are Aained with blac]^, and the
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SECRETARY.
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thighs with black waved with gray ; a bundle, of long feathers, or rather of ftiff black quills, hangs behind the neck j moft of thefe feathers are fix inches in length, fume are (hotter, and a few are gray ; all of them are narrow near the bafe, more fully web- bed towards the tip and inlerted on the top of the neck, rhe fubjefl which we defciibe was three feet fix inches high, the tarfus alope near a foot -, a little above the knee, there were no feather^ j the toes were thick and fhort armed with hooked nails j the mid one is almoft twice as long as the lateral ones, which are connected by a membrane near half their length, and the hind toe is very ftrong : the neck is thick, the bill is ftrong and clefc beyond the eyes ; the upper part of the bill is equally and boldly hooked, nearly as in the Eagle, and it is pointed and (harp ; the eyes are placed in a fort of naked ikin, of an orange colour, which extends beyond the outer corner of the eye, and takes its origin at the root of the bill : there is befides a lingu- lar chara6Ver, which ftill more (hows the double nature of this bird ; it is an eye- brow formed of one row of black hairs, from fix to ten lines in length * : this fea-
• This eye-brow is fifteen or iixteen lines long, the lafliet. are ran -ed very cio^e, widening at the bafe, fcooped into channels, concave below, and convex above.
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ture, with the tuft of feathers on the top of its neck, its head like that of a bird of prey, its legs like thofe of a Shore-bird, form altogether an extraordinary ambiguous af- femblage.
The habits of this bird are as mixed as its ftru6lure. Though it has the weapons of the rapacious birds, it is exempt from their ferocity j and it never employs its bill, either for defence or for attack. It feeks fafety by iight, and often in the hurry of its efcape, it takes leaps of eight or ten feet high. It is gentle and fprightly, and foon grows familiar. At the Cape of Good Hope it has even been domefticated, and is pretty frequent in the houfes of the colo- nifts : they find it up the country, a few leagues from the fliore ; they take it young from the neft, and rear it as much for utility as pleafurc, for it deftroys Rats, Lizards, Toads and Serpents.
The Vifcount de Querhoent has commu- nicated the following obfervations on this bird. " When the Secretary," fays that ex- cellent obferver, " lights on a ferpent, it firft tires him out, by ftriking with its wings ; it then lays hold of him by the tail, lifts him up on high, and drops him, which it repeats till the ferpent is killed. It fpreads its wings, and is thus often fe&n running
and
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SfeCRETAfeY.
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and flying at once. It neftles in bufhes a few feet from the ground, and lays two eggs, which are white with rufty fpotSi V/hen diihirbed, it makes a hollow croak- ing. It is neither dangerous, nor mifchie- vous. Its diipofition is gentle j and I have feen two birds of this kind live peaceably in a court-yard amidft poultry. Ihey were fed with flefh, and were greedy after guts and entrails, which they held under their feet while devouring them, as they would have done a ferpent. They flept every night together, and the head of each was turned to the tail of its companion."
This bird, though a native of Africa, feems to accommodate itfelf to an Euro- pean climate ; it is kept in fome of the menageries of England and of Holland. Vofmaer who fed one in that of the Prince of Orange, has made fome remprks on its manner of living. " It tears and fw^Hows greedily the flefli that is offered to it, and does not refufe fi(h. When it prepares itfelf to repofe and (leep, it relb with its belly and brcaft upon the ground : a cry which it rarely utters refembles that of the Eagle : its mod: ufual exercife is to walk with long fl^ep^ from one fide to another, and for a confiderable time without halting or flack-
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cning its pace -f* : it is of a cheerful, quiets and timid difpoficion. If a perfon ap- proaches while it runs hither and thither with a fupercilious air, it makes a conti- nual cracking; but after it has recovered from its fright, it appears familiar, and even prying. When the painter was em- ployed in defigning it, the bird drew near him, looked attentively upon his paper, flretched out its neck, and ereded the fea- thers of its head, as if it admired its figure. It often came, with its wings raifed and its head projected, to obferve curioufly what was doing. It thus approached me two or three times, v/hcn I was fitting at a table in its hut, in order to defcribe it. On fuch occafions, or when it eagerly gathers fome fcraps, and in general when it is moved by curiofity or defire, it briftles high the long feathers on the back of its head, which commonly fall irregularly on the top of the neck. It was obferved to moult in the months of June and February j and Vof- maer fays that, in fpite of the clofefl: at- tention, they could never dete<5l it drinking;
f This quality has probably conferred on it the name of MeJftngtTt as the bundle of feathers on the top of the neck has procured that of Secrttarj ; though Vofmaer fuppofes it derived from the appellation of fagitary applied to it. becaufe it often amufes itfelf by taking a draw in its bill or ils foot and darting it repeatedly into the air.
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SECRETARY.
3"
yet its excrements are liquid and white, like thofe of the Heron. To eat with eafe, it fquats on its heels, and thus half-repofed, it fwallows its food. Its ftrength fcems to lie chiefly in the leg ; if a il c- hen be pre- fented, it hits her a violent bbw with its fole, and knocks her down by a fecoucl ''roke. It treats rats in the fame manner. It watches afTiduoufly before their holes. In general it prefers living to dead animals, and flefh. tofini."
It is not long that this (ingular bird has been known even at the Cape, fmce, neither Kolben, nor the others who have defcribed the productions of that country, make any mention of it. Sonnerat found it in the Philippines, after having feen it at the Cape. We perceive feme differences between his account and the preceding ones, that feem to deierve notice : Sonnerat, for indance, reprefents the feathers of the creft as rifing on the neck at unequal intervals, and the longert as placed the lowed ; but neither this order nor proportion occur in the fub- je6t whi'^h I infpetted, thcfe feathers being colkcted into an irregular bunch : he adds, that they are bent in the middle next the body, and that their webs are crifped j Vofmaer g'ves the fame ftatemcnt, yrt in the one which we have defcribed they were vol,, vn, Y fmooth.
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fmooth. Are thefe differences to be aftli- butcd to the objefts thcmfelves, or only ta the defcriptrons ? But a (till greater dlf- agreement occurs tn the colour of the piumagCt which Vofmaer fays is of a blu- ish lead gray, though we found it to be verg- ing on brown : he fays that tiie bill is bluifh, and we found it to be black above and white below. The fii|>je£|b which we de(cnbe is lodged in the cabinet of Dr. Mauduit ; the two feathers do not as ufual exceed the tail, they only prc^edt five inches beyond the wings when clofed. But ano- ther fubje^l, from which our figure was / taken, has three long feathers, fuch as they are defcribed by Vofmaer and Sonnerat, We conceive this to be the chara6^er of the male. Sonnerat is miftaken when he reckons the bill of the Secretary as ga/Iina* teous ; which is the more ftrange, as that naturalift remarks that the bird itfelf is Carnivorous.
Receding on the focial and familiar dif* pofitions of this bird, and its facility in domeftica^bn, wearedifpofed to think that it would he advifabk lo multiply the fpc- cies, particularly in our colonies, where it might be ferviceable in deftroying the per- nicious reptiles and rats.
(A) Specific charaaer of the FaUo Sirpntariut : •* It \% black, its head crefted, the tip of its t«il-qailli white* ihe two middle onei very long."*
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PdfameJea Cornuta. Linn, and Gmel. Jnbima Brafilitnfibtu, Marcg. and Pifo. jiHbima. BrifT.
Cahuitahm, Condamine. 7be Horntd Screamtr. Lath.
^j^ATURE is not to be ftudied in the ^ cultivated fields, that fmile under the forming hand of induftry. We muft vifit the burning- fands pf the tropical regions, and the eternal ice of the pole j we muft deicend from the fummits of mountains into the bed of the ocean 5 and we muft compare remote wilds and deferts : and fuch magnificent contrafts confer add tional fub- limity on the fcenes of the uni\erfe. We have formerly painted the arid plains of Arabia Petroea; thofe naked folitudes, where man has never taftcd the coolnefs of the Ihade, where the fcorched earth, never re- freshed by rain or dew, refts torpid and denies all fubfiftence to every fpecies of being. To this picture of extreme drynefs in the Anci- ent Continent, let us oppofe the vaft deluged Savannas of the New World, Immenfe rivers, fuch as the Amazons, the Plata, the Orouoco, roll their majeftic billowy
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K A M I C H I. 315
Amidft the difcordant founds of the fcreaming birds and croaking reptiles, there is heard at intervals a powerful note, which drowns the reft, and rebellows from the diftant fhores : it is the cry of the Kamichi, a large black bird, diftinguifhcd by its voice and its armour. On each wing, it has two ftrong fpurs, and on i^'' head a pointed horn * three or four inches long, and two or three lines in diame* ^ at the bafe: this horn, which is infeL^^a in the top of the forehead, rifes ftraight, and ter- minates in a (harp point bent fomewhat forward; near the bafe it is iheathed like the quill of a feather. We fhall afterwards fpeak of the fpurs on the fhoulders of certain birds, fuch as the Jacanas, many fpecies of Plovers, Lapwings, &c. but the Kai.^l- chi is by far the beft armed : for befides the horn which grows out of the head, it has in each piriion two fpurs, which projeft forward when the wing is clofed. Thefe fpurs are the apophyfes of the metacarpal bone, and rife from the anterior part of
• The ravages of Guiana have named it Kamichi ; thofe of Brazil call it Anhima, and on the river Amazone cahuitahu, in imitation of its powerful crjr, which Marcgrave denotes more precifely by Vyhv ' «; and which he reprefents as fqmething terribJe. ..
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tkefe extremities ; the upper ^ur is largeft, of a ttiangular form, two inches long, and nine linea broad at the baCe, fomewhat curved, and terminating in a point ; it is alfo invsefted with a (heath of ^he fameAib^ Aance as the bafe of the horn. The iower apophyiis of the metacarpal bone is only four lines lon|^, of the fame breadth at its opi^n, and (imilarly (heathed^ ' • ' ^ ^* ' ^^■^ With this furniture of offenfive arms', which would render it formidable in combat, the Kamichi never attacks other birds, but wages war only againA reptiles. It (eems even to have a gentle and a feeling A9po^ ittion ; for the male and female keep conw Aantly together. Love binds their aie^lions by an indifiblublo chain : if one happens to- die, the fiirvivor can hardly fupport the lofs of its. companion ;. it wanders perpe* tttally moaning, and confume&the wretched remainder of its life near the fcenes of tender recoHeflion and of pad joys •(•. •
If the alffeflionate character of this bird forms a contraft to its mode of life, alike oppofition ob^ins in its phyfical ftruAure.
• Und nurtuiy altera a fepvltura nunquam difcidU. Marc- grave . . . RtunJtHa iuceiit ; merttm junSHm^ mas tS famina* TtfiatUu.^ omtus f€ir$ttrinc»i^, mtid mortuii alnram injlar tur* turum iugert, W t/ix a /epuUbro difctifrt, • Pifo. Uifi". Hat, Jm(» p. 91.
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It fiiAkfifts 6IV prey, smd yet h has the bill of a graiiivoroas bird ; aiiid, notwithHandrng its rpurs and its horn, the head refembles that of a gallinaceous bird ; its legs ar^ (hoFt, but its wings and tail are very long ; the upper mandible proje^s over the lower, and bends fpmewhat at the point; the head is cloth^ with fmall downy fea- thers, briftled atid crifped, intermixed with black and white ; the fame curled plumage covers the top of the neck; i^e lower partr is covered with broader, thicker feathers, black at the edge, and gray within ; all thtf mantle is brownifh-bliack; with greeniily reflexions, and fometimes^ihixed with whi|:e fpots; the fhouldei^s are' marked with ru» fous, and that <!ol6ui' extertds on t^e edge of the wings, wHioh are' fpacious j: ; they reach almoft to die end of the tail, which iff nine inches longs the bill iis tWoinches longy eight lines broad, and vcn' thick at its bafe » the leg joins to a fmall- naked part of the thigh, and is feven inches and a hglF high, it is covered with a rough and black ikin, whofe fcales are (Irong)y marked on th^ toes, which are very long s the middle one, including the nail, is five inches, and the nails are half-hooked, fcooped out below, the hind one |i)eing of a peculiar form,
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Header, almoll flrsiight, and very long, liko : that of the Lark. The total length of the bird is three feet : we could not perceive the great difference in point of fize noticed by Marcgrave between the male and female. Several of the birds which we examined. ap-, peared to be nearly of the magnitude of the Turkey-cock; •iUsjji,_4-iv/:..,b;ym-»-;^,,^ iivj^mt'' . Willughlyjuftly remarks, that the Ka- m'lchi is the iblefpecies of its genus. Jts foim is compofedofdircordant parts, and nature l^as beHowtd extraordinary qualities on it: the horn which projects, from its head lypuld alone difcrimuiate it from the whole dafs of bird^ *, Barrere .was mi ilaken there- fore in ranging it with the Eagles -f* ; fince it has neither their bill, their head, nor their fieet. Pifp fays jqftly, that the Ka- xnichi is half an Aquatic Bird ^ : he fub- joins, that it builds its neil like an ovei;i ^tthe foot of fome tree, and that it walks with its neck ered and its head, lofty, and haunts the forefts. Yet feveral travellei's have aflfurcd us tha^ ** is oftener found in the Savannas. [Aj ^ .;^ ^m i^i-^i iis;il ,
* Frequens feeora cornuta i rata in atre avem cornua gerett' Um fuideris. Pifon. . /. ' '^'.,\,--
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• { Ardea Criftata. ^''^^' . • ^
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ArJea Subcterulea. Schwenckf. . • The Common Heron, or Heronfiu'W, Will. .... ; ,
VThe Crejled Heron, \ The Common Heron,
Pennant *.
TJa p p I n e s s is not equally beftowed on ■ all fentient beings. That of man aiifes from his complacency of mind, and the proper employment of his moral fa- culties : that of the lower animals refultSy on the contrary, from their phyfical qua- lities, and from the exercife of their cor- poreal (Irength. But if nature revolts at the unequal allotment that prevails in hur man fociety, ihe has herfelf advanced with
• In Creek Ejtf^oxdr Eg«Ja/, derived, according to Suidas, from EXaiht, belonging to a marfl?: and hence the L^tiii Ardea or Ardeola : In Hebrew Schalach : In Chaldean^r^<z- Ununa : In Arabic Babgacb: In Perfian Aukoh: In Tui-kilh Batakzel : In Hungarian Cziepie : In Polifti Cafl/>Ai and Zoraw : In Italian Airone, Sgarza : In Spanilh and Portu- ^ueze, Garza: In German Reiger: In Swifs Reigel: la Flemifh Reigher: In Swedifh fla^^^r : In Daniih i7{y»; ; In Norwegian Heger or Kegger^
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rapid Axldes in the fame path of injudice; and by the imperfedion of the organs be« ilowad on fome of her creatures, flie has con* demned them to flruggle perpetually with mifery and want. Negle6l<ed children, fent naked into the world, to live in continual penury ; their toilfome days are fpent in perpetual folicitude, iickened by the redlefs cravingsof a famifhed appetite : to fuifer and to endure, are often their only refources, and this inward pain traces in ghaiVly im* predion on their external figure, and ob« literates all the graces which attend on feli- city. The Heron prefents ta usf the pit6liir# df wretchednefs, anxiety, and indigence; stnd as it can procure its prey only by lying ih ambufh, it remains^ whole hours, vfhoiif days in the famefpot, and fo perfeflly ftil}> sf^* to diftovtf no fighs of life. When* ob«- (eryed by a telefcope (for it cm kldomW approached) it appears bent^mbed; feated pn a ftonc, it$ body almod^ er«€t, arld"^ reft- iflg ori a fihgle fdot ; its necH folded back along its brcaft and belly, its head <ind bill funk between its (hoiKders, which rife, and n^uch over-t6p' the breafl. If it changed pts pollure to put itfelf in motion, it af« (titnes another, which i^ l^iU more con- ftrained; it gdVance^ intd the water to the height of its knee, and, holding its head^ jbttwten its legs, it watches the paHing frog
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or fifli. But as it mud; wait the fpon- taneous occurrence of its prey, and ha» only a moment to make the fetzure, it ik often conilrained to fufFer long fallings^ and fometimes to perifh of abfolute hunger: for when the waters are bound with ice, it has not the inftin^ to retire into milder climates. Some naturalifts are miftaken in ranking it among the birds of paflfage * ^ for here we fee Herons at all feafons,, and* even during the fevered and mod continued frofls. Then they are compelled to q^uit the frozen marfhes and rivers, and^tk). repair to the rivulets and perennial fprings i and at this time they are mod in motion, and make coniiderable flitting^ though* only to^ different parts of the fame country. Thef feem therefore to multiply, as the feafon grows chiller I and, by dim of patience and^ fobriety, they endure equally both hutR^r^^K" and cold. But thefe frigid virtues are com** monly attended \yith a difgult for life. When, a Heron is caught, it may be kept a fortnight, without (hewing, the lead delire of food, which it even reje<3s when cram« med in its throat ; its native gloom^ che- rilhed doubtlefs by captivity, fmothers the dronged: indin£t implanted in animated beingsi that of felf-prefervatton : it wears
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out its exidence in complete apathy, with- out venting a complaint, or betraying the Icaft fymptom of tender regret -f. " * "'"^ Infenfibility, negledl of felf-prefervation, and f >me other negative qualities, charac- terize it better than its poHtive properties. Penfive and lonely, except in the breeding feafon, it fccms to talVe no pleafure, nor even to poflefs the means of avoiding pain. In the worft weather it remains folitary and expofed, leated on a (lake, or on a libne, befide the brink of a rivulet, or on a little eminent in a delugied meadow; while the other birds feek a cover among the foliage: and in the fame fpots where the Rail fheU ters itfelf in the thick herbage, and the Bittern amidft the reeds, the mif/rable He- ron (lands unproteded from the violence of the temped, or the piercing feverity of the told. M. Hebert tells iis, that he caught one which was half frozen, and entirely incrufted with ice; he avers alfo, that he has often found the fnow or the mud marked with the prints of their feet, but could never follow the traces more than twelve or fifteen paces; a proof of the narrow compafs of their qued, and of
•f Experiment made by M' Hebert, to ^whofb Excellent obfervations w£ awe tbe principal fkOs of the natural hiftor/i of the Heron. ' . '
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their inaftion in the mod urgent occafion^. Their long legs are only (lilts, unfit far running ; they hold themfelves in an ercft pofture, and perfedtly ftill the greatcft part of the day, and this reft fervcs inftead of fleep i for they fly a little in the night * 5 then they are heard fcreaming in the air at all hours, and in all feafons : their cry confifts of a fingle dry (harp note, which might be compared to that of a Goofe, if it were not (hortcr, and fomewhat plaintiff -f* : it is repeated almoft ince(rantly, and pro- longed by a (hriller and more difagreeabie tone when the bird ftruggles with pain and adverfity. - j ..; , : /,
To the hard(hips necc(rarily attendant iou its toiifome life, ithe Heron adds ills of its own creation, fear and diftruft. Every thing difconcerts and alarms it : it flies from a man at a vafl diftance ; and as it is often attacked by an Eagle or Falcon, it endea- vours to efcape their alfeult by rifing into the air, and vanifhes with its purfuers in the region of the clouds :{:. It was enough
* The ancients had obPerved this : Euftathlus remarks, at the tenth book of the Iliad, that the Heron filhes at nfght.
f The Greeks exprefled the cry of the Heron, from the time of Homer, by the verb x^nf*). Iliad x. '^** '
t It is aiferted, that when driven to the lafl extremity, it paiTes its head ander its bill, and prefents its pointed biil to its afTiilant, which darting with impetuofity, is itfelf transfixed. Belon. Nat. ties Oi/eaux, p, 190. - •'
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that nature conflituted thefe too formid* able cnemiesi and man might have forborne to whet, againft the unhappy Heron ||, their in(lin6ts, and inflame their antipathies : yet the chafe of that bird was once the moft iliuftrious in falconry ; it was the fport of Princes, who referved for themfelves its lean carcafe as honourable game, qualified by the name of Rcyal Meat^ and ferved up for (hew at their banquets §.
Hence undoubtedly the pains that have been taken to fettle Herons in forells, or even in towers, commodious eyries being provided for their neftiing. Some profit was drawn from the fale of the young Herons, which were fatted, fielon fpeaks with raptures of the Heronries which Francis I. caufed to be conAru6led at Fon- tainebleau, and^f the aftonifhing effe6t of art which had reduced fuch favage birds under the dominion of man f . But the fuccefs refulted from their natural difpo- fitions) they love to breed together, and
g The ancients added many other croflea to its lot; the ij^rk bfolce its eggs* the Woodpecker killed its young ; all were its ^oemies, b^t the Crow. Stt Ariftotle, Lib, ix. 18 0 >.— PliDy, lit. ft. 9<S.
S Ste Jo. Bruyerinus, 4r rt tibttriit Lib. xv. $6.— Aldro« Va^idtts, fm iH. 367. ** It is commonly faid, that the lleroa is royal meat, f n whieh the French nobility fet great value." Belon. Nai. de* Oi/i4mx, /• 190*
f Nai, dit Oi/tauic, /. 189,
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tor that purpofe multitqdes jalTejmble in the fame didrid of the foreft * and often on the fame tree : and we may fuppofe that they adopt this meafure, to repel the Kite and VuUure by their combined force, or at lead, to intimidate them by their num- bers. It 18 on the tilled trees that the He- rons build their nefts, and often befide thofe of the Crows f which might have led the ancients to imagine that an amity fubfifted between thefe two fpecies, whofe habits and inftin6ls are fo incongruous. Their nefts arp fpacioDS, built of fticks, with abundance of dry grafs, of rplhes}:, and fieathers; their eggs are of a greenish blvie, which is uniformly pale, i^^arly as (arge as thofe of the Storks, but rather longer, and ahnoft equally thick 9t both ends. The hatch, we are alTured* confifts of four or five eggs, which ought to make the fpecies more numerous than it appears to be j many mud perifh therefore in the rigors of winter, and perhaps, as they are of a gloomy difpofition and ill fed, they foion lofe the power of procreating.
* There is no country where the Herons do not aff«ft certain woods, where they colie£b together, and make nata, ral heronries. They aflemble not only on the great oaks, but alfo on the pines, as SchwenckfiBld remarks of ibmc forefts in Silefia.
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COMMON HERON.
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^hey feed on ferpents or other reptiles. We know not why in England it is prohibited to kill this bird -f*.
We have feen that the adult Heron rejeds food and dies of hunger : but, if caught young, it may be tamed, reared and fattened. We have feen fome carried from the neft to the court-yard, where they lived on fi(h guts, and raw flelh, and affociated with the fowls. They are fufceptible, not indeed of education, but of certain communicated movements ; they have been taught to wreath their neck in different fafliions, and to entwine it about their matter's arm. But if they were not Simulated, they foon re- lapfed into their natural melancholy, and remained flill and fixed J. The young Herons are at firft covered, for a confider-
their young with fifties, many of thefe fall to the ground : feveral perfuns have therefore taken occafion to fiiy, thac they had been in a country where the fifti which dropt from the trees, fatten the fwine." Belon, Nat. des Ois. p. 189.
f Ardeam in Anglid occiiire capitate ejfe ferunt. Muf. Worm. Johnfon fays the fame. [This matter feems to be exagge- rated. It was formerly reckoned in this country a bird of game, and to preferve the fpecies, the breaking of the eggs was fubjefl to a penalty of twenty ihillings. T.]
t " I kept one in my court; it did not feck to efcape, it never fled when approached, but remained motionlef? where it was fet ; the firft days, it prefented its bill and even ftruck with the point, but without hurting. I never faw an animal more patient, more motionlefs, and more fiknt." M. Hebert.
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able time, with a thrck hairy down, chieffy on the head and the neck.
The Heron catches numbers of frogs, and fwaltows them entire } this fa£t is afcer* tained from its excrements, which contain their bones crufhed and enveloped in a vifcous mucilage of a green colour, formed mod probably of the frogs Ikins reduced to glue. Its excrements, like thofe of the Aquatic Pi ids in general, (hew an acrid quality on herbs. In times of fcarcity, it fwallows fome fmall plants, fuch as the water lentil * ; but its ordinary food is fifh. It catches very fmall ones, and muft necef- farily have a nice and prompt aim to ftrike prey that glances with fuch rapidity. With regard to large filhes, however, Willughby fays, with great probability, that it pecks and wounds much more than it draws out of the water. In winter when the froft generally prevails, and it is obliged to re- fort to the tepid fprings, it wades feeling with its foot in the mud, and thus difco^ vers its prey, whether it be a frog or a fi(h»
By means of its tall legs, the Heron can enter into water more than a foot deep without wetting itfelf : its toes are extremely long, the n)iddle one being equal to the
* Salerne.
Tarfus,
COMMON HERON. 339
Tarfus, a the nail which terminates it is indenttu within, like a comb •f, and ferves to fupport it, and to cling to the len- der roots entangled in the mud. Its bill is jagged with points turned backwards, which fecure the filli from flipping out of its hold. Its neck often bends double, and this motion would feem to be per- formed by a hinge 5 for it can be bent fo, feveral days after the bird is dead. Wil- lughby has falfely aflerted, that the fiftli vertebra is reverfed ; (ince on examining the fkeleton of a Heron, we counted eighteen vertebra^ and of thefe we remarked, that only the five firft were fomewhat compreffed at the fides, and jointed one to another by a proje6lion of each preceding upon the next following, without apophyfes, which did not begin to appear till on the fixth vertebra. By this fingular flrudture, the part of the neck adjacent to the breaft is ftifFened, and that contiguous to the head plays in a femicircle on the other, and applies to it in fuch a manner, that the neck, the head, and the bill, are folded in three pieces, one upon another. The bird fuddenly, as if by the a6lion of a fpring,
f This comb-like indenting is carved on the dilated and protuberant edge of the inlide of the nail, without extend- ing To far as the point which is iharp and fmooth.
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340
COMMON HERON.
I:.-
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extends this doubled portion, and darts its bill like a javelin By ftretching out its neck to the full length, it can reach at leaft t!iree ftet all round : and, when at reft, the neck almoft difappears, and is hid be- tween tlie fhouiders, to which the head feenis attached J. Its clofed wings project not beyond the tail, which, is very fliort.
To fly, it extends its legs ftifF backwards, bends its neck upon its back, and folds it into three parts, including the head and bill ; fo that from befow the head is not vifible, and the bill appears to pro- trude (Vom the bieaft. It difplays larger wings than any bird of prey, and they are concave, and ftrike the air with an equal and regular motion : and by this uniform flight, tiie Heron is enabled to (bar fo high as to be loft in the clouds §. It flies ofteneft before rain 1| ; and from its actions and pof- tures, the ancients drew conjectures with regard to the (late of the air and the changes of the weather, if it remained ftill and forlorn on the beach, it foreboded wintery cold *} if more than ordinarily reftlefs and clanorous, it promifed rain ; and if its head
I Wlllughby. § ^
notafq^ue paludes
De/critf at que altam fupra volat ardea nubem.
Virg. Giorg i. 365. li Aldrovandus. * Jrdsa. in msdiis arenis trijiii, hiemtm, Plin. Lib, ixiii. ^7.
reikd
COMMON HERON:
341
wfted on its breaft, the dire6lion of the bill iignified the quarter from which the wind wa* to blow -f*. Aratus and Virgil, Theo- phraftus and Pliny, eftablifh thefe indica- tions, which have been ncglefled as ufelefs, iincc means of art more certain have been dicovcred.
Few birds foar fo high as the Herons, or traverfe fuch extenfive tra<fts in the fame climate: and often, fays M. Lottinger, fome are caught which bear the marks of the places where they haunted. Indeed it muft require fmall force to tranfport fo flender and meager a body, which is (hrunk, alfo flat at the fides, and much more co- vered with feathers than with fle(h. Wil- lughby imputes theleannefs of the Heron, which is excelfive, to the perpetual fear and anxiety which torture it, as well as to the want and inactivity of its condition J.
z 3 The
f Aldrovandas.
t '* I fired at a Heron, wTien tlie weather was exceffive cold; the bird was only flightly woundfd, and bote the (hot to a good diftance. A large dog wh'ch I had with me, a^d which was vigorous and bold, hefitated to run in upon this Heron, till he perceived me near him % the bird fcreamed frightfully, turned on its back, and prclentcd its feet to ftield it when one approached nigh ; yet when I took it up, though it was full of life and of llrength, it did not hurt me, nor even attempt any injury. I (kinncd it for a pre- paration ; it was exceffively lean. I had furprized it early
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34* COMMON HERON.
The whole genus cf the Herons have; like the quadrupeds, only one cacumi whereas, hi all other birdi* in which that gut i^ found, it is double § : the ajephagus is very broad and ca; able of a great dila- tation: the trachea arteria is fixteen inches long, contains about fourteen rings, and is nearly cylindrical as far as its bifurcation, where it fwells confiderably and fends off two branches, which internally confift of only one membrane : the eye is placed in a naked greenifh fkin, which extends as far as the corners of the bill ; the tongue is pretty long, foft, and pointed : the bill is cleft up to the eyes, and difcovers a long wide aperture j it is ftrong, thick near the head, fix inches long, and terminating in a (harp point : the lower mandible is (harp at the edges, near three inches long, and hollowed by a double groove, in which the noftrils are placed j it is of a yellowi(h colour, and brown at the point : the lower mandible is yellower, and the two branches that compofe it, do not join till within two
in the morning on the brink of a vtry deep river, where it certainly could not make frequent captures ; and feveral days ago I n et with H' rons at the fame place, as I was feek- ing for Wild Ducks *• Note extraaed from the excellent Memoir of M. Hebcrt on Herons.
§ Ariftutle was little acquainted with the Heron, when he fold that it was adtive and craft/ in procuring its food.
inches
COMMON HERON.
343
inches of the tip; the interftice hetween them is furnifhed with a membrane covered with white feathers ; the throat too is whiter and beautiful black (Ireaks mark the long feathers which hang on the fortfide of the neck. All the upper (ide of the body is of a fine pearl gray ; but, in the female, which is fmaiier than the male, the colours are paler, not fo deep or glofly ; the black crofs baf pn the breaft is alfo wanting, and the tuft on the head : in the male, there are two or three long fprigs of thin, (lender, flexible feathers of the hneft black ; thefe feathers af c highly pri zed in the Eaft *. The tail of the Heron contains twelve quills, in the flighteft degree tapered : the naked part of the thigh is three inches j the tarfus fix j the great toe above five, and is joined to the inner toe by a portion of a membrane j the hind toe is alfo very long, articulated with the outer, and inferted into the fide of the heel, a fingular property which obtains in all birds of this family : the toes, the legs, and the thighs, of the Common Heron, are of agreenilh yellow : it meafure.- five feet acrols the wings, and near four from the
• Klein.— There are three famous plumes conipofed of thefe rare Herons' feathers; that of the Emperor, that of $he Grand Turk, and that of the Mogul ; but if thef.^ fea- thers be really white, as it is ailedged, they mull belong to the Night Heron.
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344
COMMON HERON.
tip of the bill to the nails, and a little more than three to the end of the tail ; its neck is fixteen or feventeen inches, and when it walks, it carries more than three feet of height : it is therefore alnioft as large as the Stork, but of a much thinner body, fince, notvv'ithftaiiding its bulk, it weighs fcarce more than four pounds "f*.
Ariftotle and Pliny feem to have known only three kinds of Herons : the Common or Large Gray Heron, which we have juft defcribed, and which they termed Pellos or the cinereous ; the White Heron, or Leucos; and the Stellated Heron, ov Afterias%, Yet Oppian remarks, that the fpecies of the Heron aie more numerous and varied. In fa6l, each climate has fome appropriated to itfelf, as we fliall perceive from the enu- meration; and the Common Gray Heron feems to have penetrated into almoft all countries, and fettled with the indigenous kinds. No fptcies indeed is fo folitary or fo fcanty in each country ; but, at the fame time, none is more widely difperfed, or fcat- ered more remotely in oppofite climates. Its phlegmatic temper and its laborious life,
f A male Heron, taken the ictb of January, weighed three pounds 'en ounces ; a female, three pounds five ounces. Obfervation made by M. Gueneau de Montbeillard, " X Arill. Lib, ix. 2. Plin. Li6. x. 79.
have
'■■!"
COMMON HERON.
345
have reconciled to every viciffitude. Da- tertre aflTures us, that among the multitude of Herons peculiar to the Antilles, the Eu- ropean Gray Heron often occurs. It has been found even in Otaheite, has an appel- lation in the language of tliat ifland ^, and like the King-fifher, it is venerated by the natives. In Japan, we dirtinguifli, fays Koempfer, amidd many fpecies of Saggis or Herons, the Goi-faggi or Gray Heron, It is m^t with in Egypt -f, in Perfia J, in Siberia, and in the territories of the Ja- kutes §. The fame fpecies appears in the ifland of St. Jago ; at Cape Verd || ; in the Bay of Saldana**} in Giunea -f -fj in the ifle of May XX* >" Congo §§ ; in Guzarat |||| $
• Otoo, '
t Voyage de Granger; Parisy 17451 /. 237. — Voyage de P. Vanfleb ; Paris, 1677,/. [03.
t Voyage de Chardin ; Amfterdam, 1711, torn. i7. /. 30*
§ Gmelin ; Hiji. Gen. des Foyagesy torn, xviii. p. 300.
II Hift. Gen. des Voyages tok. it. p. 376.
** Idem, torn. i. p. 449,
ft ** Here are found (on the GolH Coaft) two kinds of Herons, blue and white." Foyage en Guinee par Guillauoie Bofman, Utrecht, 1705.
%{ See Roberts' account in Ht^. Gen. det Vcyagett toni. ii.
P- 37-
§^ Bcfides the birds which are peculiar to the kingdom of Congo and of Angola, Europe has few that occur not in one or other of thefe two countries : Lopp^z obferves that the pools are filled with Herons and Grav Bitterns, which are ftyled Royal Birds. Hiji, Gen. des Voyages, torn, v, p. 75.
nil ManUeflo in Oiearius torn. ii>p. 145.
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COMMON HERON.
in Malabar * j in Tonquin -(-; in Java J, ar d in Timor §, The Heron called Dangcanghac in the ifland of Lu9on, and to which the fettlers in the Philippines apply the Spani(h name for a Heron, Garza, appears to be the fame ||. Dampier exprelly fays, that the Heron of the Bay of Canipeachy is exadtly like that of England ; which, joined to the teftimony of Dutertre, and Dupratz who faw the European Heron in Louifiana, leaves no room to doubt that it is qpmmoii to both continents ; though Cate(by alferts, that all thofe which he found in the New World were of a different fpecies.
bifperfed and folitary in the inhabited countries, the Herons are colledled and numerous in fome defert iflands, as in thofe in the Gulph of Arguim at Cape Blanc, which, for that reafon, the Portuguefe have termed Jfola das Gafzas : the eggs were found in fuch quantities as to load two boats ^. Aldrovandus fpeak^; of two iflands on the African coaft which received the
• Rccueil des Voyages qui on fervi a letabliflement de ]a Compagnie des Indes ; Atnjierdamy 1702, torn. vL p. 479. f Dampier.
t Nouveau Voyage autoor du monde, par le Gentil, torn. iii. p. 74. § Dampier.
II See Camel. Phik/, Tranfaa. No. 288. f Cadamoflo, Hiji, Gen. des Foyages. tom. ii. p. 291.
fame
COMMON HERON.
34T
fame name from the Spaniards. The iflet of the Niger, where Adanfon landed^ me- rited a like appellation ** In Europe, the Gray Heron has penetrated to Sweden -f-, Denmark, and Norway %. It is feen in Poland §, in England ||, and in mofl: of the provinces in France. It is mod abund- ant in countries interfperfed with (Vreams and marfhes, fuch as Switzerland ** and Holland f f.
We ihall divide the numerous genus of the Herons into four families : that of the Heron properly fo called\ that of the Bittern i that of the Biboreau or Night Heron ; and that of the Crab Heron, Their common cha- racers are the length of neck $ the Oraight* nefs of the bill, which is pointed in the upper mandible and indented at the edges near the tip : the length of the wings, which,
* ** We arrived on the 8th' at Lammai (a little ifland in the Niger ;) the trees were covered with fuch a prodigious mul- titude of Cormorants and of Herons of all kinds» that the Laptots who entered into a ftream which we then crofled, filled in lefs than half an hour a canoe, wit4i the young ones, which were caught by the hand, or knocked down with fticks, and with old ones, of which feveral dozens fell at each (hot of the fowling piece. Thefe birds tailed of filh-oil, which does not fuit tvny body's palate.*'
•\ Fauna Stttuea, No. I33>
X Brunnich, Ornithol. Boreal. No. 156.
^ Rzaczyniki.
II Natural Hiftory of Cornwall.
•• Gefner.
ft Voyage hiftori^ae de 1* Europe : Paris, i6$3, torn. v.
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^hen dofed, cover the tail ; the height of the tarfus, and of the naked part of the thigh ; the great length of the toes, of which the middle one has its nail in- dented, and the fingular pofition of the hind one, which is articulated at the fide of the heel near the inner toe ; laftly, the naked greenifli fl^in which fprcads from the bill to the eyes in them all. Their habits alfo are nearly the fame ; for they all haunt the marHies and margins of water ; they are patient, flow in their motions, and have a melancholy deportment.
The peculiar features of the family of Herons, in which we include the Fgrets, are, the neck cxceflively long, very Iknder, clothed below with pendant loofe fea- thers ; the body ftrait, (hrunk, and, in moft fpecies, fet on tall ftilts.
The Bitterns have a thicker body, and not fo tall legs as the Heron j their neck is fliorter, and {o well clothed with feathers, as to appear very thick in comparifon with that of the Heron.
1 he mhoreaus, or Night Herons, are not io large as the Bitterns ; their neck is fhorter, and two or three long feathers infertcd in the nape of the neck diftin- guifh them from the three other families $ their upper mandible is ilightly arched.
The
v-m
COMMON HERON.
349
The Crab Herons which may be termed the fmall Herons, furm a fubordinate fa- mily, and are nothing but- a repetition of the Herons on a fmaller fcale. None of them equal the K^ret, which has only one quarter of the bulk of the Comniaii Heron. The Bhngios, which exceeds not a Rail, terminates the extenfive range of fpecies, of a genus more than any other varied both in (ize and form. [A] '
[A] Specific charaAer of the Creded Heron of Pennant, Ardta Major, ** On the back of the head is a black pen. dulous crell, its body is cinereous; a line on the underfide of its neck, and a bar on its breaft, black." To this fpe- cies Linnxus refers as a variety the Common Heron of Pen- nant, Jrt/ea Cinereat thus characterized ; " the back of its . head is black and I'mooth, its back bluiih, below whitidi, with oblong black fpots on its breall." Mr. Latham, with the illurtrious Buifon, very properly ftates the former as the male, and the latter as the female.
The Heron is faid to live to a great age : Kcyfler men- tions one above fi.xty years old.
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I 350 J
the GREAT WHITE HERON.
Le Heron Blanc, Buff.
Second Species, ArdeaAlha. Linn. Gmel. Gefner. Aldrov. and Johnft. Ardea Candida, BrifT. and Schwencf. Ardea Alba Major. Ray. Will. Brown. The Great White Oaulding. Brown and Sloane *,
A s the fpecies of Herons are numerous, we (hall feparate thofe of the Anci- ent Continent, which amount to feven, from thofe of the New World, of which we already know ten. The firft of the fpe- cies that inhabits our continent, is the Common Heron juft defcribed ; the fecond IS the White Heron, which received that appellation from Ariftotle. It is as large as the Gray Heron, and its legs are even taller i but it wants the tufts, and fome naturalifts have inaccurately confounded it with the Egret -f*. All its plumage is white, its bill is yellow, and its legs are black. Tur- ner feems to allege, that the White Heron has been feen to copulate with the gray :
* In Greek E^u^io; Xivxo;, or AEvx(g&;^iof : in Latin Ardea Alha^ or Albardeola : in Italian Garza Bianca : and in German fVeiJfsr Reiger,
t Salcrne.
but
(JREAT WHITE HERON. 3;
but Belon, with more probability, fays only that the two fpecies confort, and live in fuch friendihip as often to rear their young in the fame eyry. It appears there- fore that Ariftotle was mifinformed, when he aflerted that the White Heron conftrufts its neft with more art than the Gray Heron *.
BriflTon gives a dcfcription of the White Heron -f*, to which we muft add that the naked Ikin about the eyes is not entirely green, but mixed with yellow on the edges ; that the iris X is lemoi\-colour s and that the naked part of the thighs is greenifh.
The White Herons are frequent on the coafls of Britany § ; and yet the Species is very rare in England ||, though common in the North, as far as Scania **. They are not fo numerous as the Gray Herons-f-f*. but equally difperfed : for they are found
* Hifl. Animal. LiB. Ix. 24.
f •• Its whale body white ; a naked green fpace between ' its bill and its eyes ; its bill fafFron yellowifh ; its legs black." Bnjjr.
X Extrafl of a letter from Dr. Hermann to M. de M^nt- beillard, dated Scraiburg, 22d September 1774.
§ Belon.
II Britilh Zoology,
•*■ Fauna Suecica.
ft Schwenckfeld.
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iSi GREAT WHITE HERON.
in New Zealand *, in Japan -f, in thei Philippines J, at Madag^fcar §, in Brazil ||, where it is called Guiratinga, and at Mexico * *, under the name of Aztatl,
• *' One of the party (hot a White Heron, which agreed exactly with Mr. Pennant's defcrption, in his British Zoology, of ctie White Herons that either now are, or were formerly in England.'* In the language of the Society-ifles, the White Heron is called tra-pafpa. Cook's Second Voyage, vol. i . /. 87,
t It is there called Suro-faggi, according to Kcempfer.
J Camel, Pbilo/ophical Tran/aSionSt No. 285.
§ In the language of that ifland it is termed Fahon-vahon- fouchif according to Flaccourt.
\\HiJi. Nat. Brajil, p. 210. De Laet defcribes the Gui- ratinga in terms that exaAly define the White Heron . ** The Guiratinga is one of the birds which live in the fea ; it is as large as a Crane, its feathers bright white ; its bill long and (harp, of a fafFron colour ; its legs long, and of a yellowiih red ; its neck cloathed with feathers fo fine and elegant, that they may be compared to the plumes of the Oftrich." Nov. Oib. / 575.
•• The Aztatl, or White Heron, has either the fame iize and fhape with pur Heron, or very nearly fo ; the feather^ on the whole of the body are fnowy, very foft, and wonder- fully crifped and cluttered; the bill long and palifh, near its origin greenilh i its legs long and black/*
[A] Specific char after of the j^rdea Alba : its head is fmooth, its body white, its bill fulvous, its legs bla'cki,'*
I 3S3 1
-::l./:
!."•'!
The BLACK HERON.
Third Spiciit,
Ardea Atra. Gmel.
Ardea Nigra* BrifT. Klein and Schwenck.
CcHWENCKFELD would havc been the only naturalill that ever noticed this Heron, had not the authors of the Italian Ornitho- logy mentioned a Sea Heron, which they fay is black : and as Schwenckfeld faw his in Sileda, which is far inland, thefe two birds may be different. It was as large as the Common Heron % all its plumage black- ifh, with blue reflexions on the win?s. It would feem, that the fpecies is rare in Silefia j yet we may pre fume that it is more frequent in other parts, and that it vifits the feas ; for it probably occurs in Mada- gafcar, where it has a proper name *. But we ought not, as Klein has done, to refer to the fame fpecies the Ardea caruleo-nigra of Sloane, which is much fmaller, being the Crab Heron of Labat. [A.]
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[A] Specific gharafter of the Ardea Atra: *' Jt i> idj^ black, it9 face naked, its head fmooth.'*
vol., VII,
Aa
, t ^:'#[;4^ J ,y«,l.'f,"> > 1 '(
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t 35-4 ]
The P U R P L SE HERON,
1^
Fou/fh Species,
C j^rifen Purpitrata.
*■ Ardea I'irpurfei. Linn, and Gmel,
{Ardea P'rpura/cens. Ardea d-ifiata PurpurafieHs, BrJit. '
I The Purple Her\fn. ':■ ..'-■• h
^ The Crejl id Purple Heron. L^h. , . ;o.' .
^Tp H E Purple Heron of the Danube^ ii^" fcribed by Marfigli, and the CreftedPur^ pie "Heron of our Planches Enluminees fe^m to be the fame. 1 he creft is the attribute of the in-ale. and the fmall differences in their colours may refult from age or fex : the bulk too is the fame, though Briflbn reprefents his Purplijh Crefted Heron, «s much fmaller than the Purple Heron of Marfigli. Their diinenfions are nearly equal to each other, and to thofe of the Common Heron : the neck, the ftomach, and part of the back, are of a fine purple rufous ; Jong {lender feathers of the fame colour rife from the fides of the back, and extend to the end of the wings, falling back On the tail. . ,
\
f\
I 355 ]
The VIOLET HERON.
fifth Speciet. Ardea Ltucocephala, Gmel.
rjpHis Heron was fent to us from the Coaft of Coromandel : the whole of the body is a very deep bluilh, tinged with violet J the upper fide of the head is of the fame colour, and alfo the lower part of the neck, the reft of which is white : it is fmaller than the White Heron, and not more than thirty inches long.
The WHITE GARZETTE.
Stxtk Species.
Ardea Mquinoilalis, Far, i. Gmel. Ardea Candida Minor, BriiT.
Aldrovandus beftows on this White ■"• Heron, which is fmaller thin the firft, the names Garzeita and Garza- bianca $ dif- tinguifliing it at the fame time from the Egret, which he had previoufly charac- terized. Yet Briflbn has confounded them; he refers Aldrovandus's Garza-bianca to
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i ■ |4,
§^
the Egret, and fubrtitutes in its place^ under the appellation of Litile White Herons a fmall fpecies whofe plumage is white, tinged with yeliowifh on the head and breafl: *, and which appears to be only a variety of the Garzette, or rather the Gar- zette itfelf, but younger and with a trace of its early garb, as Aldrovandus fhews by the epithets which he applies -f*. The adult bird is entirely white, except the bill and the legs which are black *, it is much fmaller than the Great White Heron, not being two feet long. Oppian feems to have known this fpecies %' Klein and Linnaeus make no mention of it, and probably it is not found in the North. Yet the White Heron which Rzaczynflu fays is feen in Pruflia, and whofe bill and legs are yeliowifh, appears to be only a variety of this fpecies j for in the Great White Heron, the bill and legs are conftantly black : and this is the more pro- bable, as in France even this fmall fpecies of Garzette is fubjedt to other varieties. M. Hebert afTures us, that in Brie, in the month of April, he killed one of thefe 3mall White Herons, which was not larger
• Ai-Jea Minor alia, n^rtice crocto, Aldrov. f Its body rmalier, not fo compad» its bill entirely .yellow, &c. J ** There are fome Small and White Herons." Exeutic:
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LITTLE EGRET.
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than a Field-pigeon j its legs green with a fmooth fkin, while in other Herons the legs have commonly a rough mealy furface §,
§ " I again faw. In 1757, *^^^^ °^ '^* ^*™<' Herons on the margin of the lake of Nantua during an exceffive cold ; they appeared there about eight days, till the lake was frozen over.** Nou communicated by M. Hthtrt,
The LITTLE EGRET.
L*Aigrttti, Buff,
Seventh Species,
Afdea-Garxette. Linn, and Gmel. , Egretta. Briff.
Garzetta Italorum. Johnft. and CharI«ton. The Criel Heron, Harris. Coll. Voyag.
T3 E L o N is the firft who gave the nam^ of Aigrette (tuft) to this fmall fpecies of White Heron, and probably becaufe of the long (ilky feathers on its back ; thefe being employed to decorate the ladies head drefs, the warrior's helmet, and the fultan's turban. They were in great requeft for- merly in France, when our doughty cham- pions wore plumes. At prefent, they ferve for a gentler ufe ; they deck the heads of pur beauties, and raife their flature : the
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flexibility, the foftnefs, and the lightoers of thefe feathers, bedow grace on their motions.
Thefe feathers con fid of a fingle delicate fhaft, from which zx fna^U intervals, rife pairs of very fine threads, as foft as fllk : on each fhoulder, there is a tuft of thefe fine feathers, which extend on the back and beyond the tail j they are of a fnowy white, as well as the other feathers, which are coarfer and harder. Yet the bird, before it firfl moult, and perhaps even later^ has a mixture of gray or brown in its plumage. One of thofe killed by M. Hebert in Bur- gundy *, had every appearance of being young, and particularly its plumage was ilained with dark colours.
The Egret is one of the finalleft of the Herons, being commoniy not two feet long. When full grovyn, its bill and legs are black. It prefers the haunts of the fea- fhorej yet it perches ancj neftles on, trees, like the other Herons.
It appears that the European Egret oc- curs in America -f-, with anpther larger
fpecies
Li i
• At Magny, on the banks of the Tille, gth May 1778.
f Dutertre, Hiftoire des Antilles^ torn, it, p, yyy, ** Among the birds that haunt rivers and pools . . . there are Egrets of an admirable whitenefs, of the bulk of a Pigeon . . . They arc particularly fought for on account of the precious
bunch
wm
LITTLE IGRET,
359
fpecies, which w& fhall dcfci ibc la the fol- lowing article. It is difperfed alib ta the moft remote and lonely iflands, fuch C3 that of Bourbon ty and the Malouines §. It is found in Afia in the plains, of the Araxes ||, on the fhores of the Cafpiaa Sea ^, at Slam **, at Senegal and Madagaf-
A a 4 car,
bunch of feathers* fine and delicate like filk, with which they are decQraced, and which gives them a peculiar, graca.*' Hi^ Nat y Moral des Antilles i Kotterdam* 1658, /.. 149.. Father Charlevoix fays that there arc F'Jl?ers or Egreff in St. Domingo, which are real Herons, littl^ different fr.op^, <)nro>yn« Hijl. d^ St. Domlngufi, Paris 17^0, t^m. i.
t Voy4^e de Ffan^ois Leguat ^ ji/^erdaaf, 170.8» tpm, i»
P' 55- § •* The Egrets are pretty coiqmon (4^ the Malouinq or.
Falkland Iflands) ; we took them for Herons, and Vf.e 1^ new not at firft the value of their plumes. Thefe birds begin to fiih about the clofe of the day : they l»ark from time to time, infomuch that one might believe they were the Wolf- foxes already mentioned." Fcyage autur du Monde, par M. de Bougainville, torn. i. /. 12;.
II VoyagQ de Tournefort, torn, ii.p, 353,
^ The Heron and the Egret are common round the Caf- pian Sea and that of AzofF: the Ruffians and Tartars know thefe birds, and efteem them for their precious plumes; the former call them T/cbapla-belaya, the Utter, Jk koutan, J)i/cour/e on the Commerce of RtiJJia^ by M. Guldenftaed.
'f* *• Nothing is more charming to fee than the great number of Egrets, with which the trees are covered (at Siam) : at a dillance, they would feem to be the flowers ; the mixture of the white of the Egrets with the green of the leaves, has the fineft efFeft in the world. The Egret is a bird of the figure of a Heron, but much fmaller ; its fhape U delicate \ its plumage beautiful, and whiter than fnow ;
it
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LITTLE EGRET.
where it is called Langbouron "f; But the Black, Gray, and Purple Egrets, which the navigators Flaccourt and Cauche place in that fame ifland, may, with the greatefl probability, be referred to the fore- going fpecies of Herons.
it hai tufts on its head, on its back, and under its belly, iKrhich conftitute its principal charm's, and render it extra- ordinary." Dernier Veyage de Siam, par le P. Tachard, Parht 1686, p. 201.
* Along the river (Gambia) the Dwarf Heron is found, which the French term jiigrette; It refembles the Common Herons, except that its bill and legs are entirely black, and its plumage pure white ; on the wings and the back is a fort of delicate feathers, twelve or fifteen inches long, which in French are called Aigrettes » They are much efteemed by the Turks and Perlians, who employ them to decorate their turbahs." Hift,Gtn»des Foyagttt torn* Hup, 10^,
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HERONS of the New Continent.
i*
The G R E A T EGRET.
JLt Grande Aigritti. BufF.
Firft Sftdtt* jSrJea-Egretta, Gmel.
A L L the preceding fpecies of Herons are natives of the Old Continent 5 all thofe which follow belong to the new. They are exceedingly numerous in regions where the water fpreads unreftrained over vafl: tracts, and where all the low grounds are deluged. The Great Egret is undoubtedly the mofl beautiful of thefe fpecies, and never occurs in Europe. It refembles our Egret in the beautiful white of its plumage, without mixture of any other colour : it is twice as large, and confequently its mag- nificent attire of filky feathers is the richer and fuller. Like the European Egret, it has its bill and legs black. At Cayenne it breeds in the fmall iflands that rife out of ^he overflowed Savannas : it does not fre- quent
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GREAT EGRET.
quent the margin of fait mardies or of the fea ; but conftantly haunts the ftagnant waters and the rivers, and lodges among the ruihes. It is pretty coalman 141 Guiana, though it does not form flocks like the Little Egrets. It is alfo fhyer, more dliii- cult of approa^cb, and feldony perches. It is feen in St. Domingo, where, in the dry feafon, it lives befide the maiihes and pools. Nor is it confined to the hottell parts of America, fince we have received fome fpeci- mens from Louifiana.
[A] Specific charaftcr qf the Jrdea, Mgretfa,: ** It i» fomewhat crefted white, its legs black, the feathers on its back and breaftloofe and narrow, its pendants very long.'*
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The R y F O U 5 EGRET.
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Sectnd Species*
jlrjea Rufe/ceaf. Gmel.
The Reddijh Egrets Penn. ar^d Lath.
np H I s Egret has a bhckiCh gray body ; "T tufts on the back and rufljy unwebbed feathers on the neck. It is found in Louifi- ana, and is not quite two feet lon^.
f 3^3 1
The D E M I - E G R E T.
Third Species, Ardea Leucogafter* Gmel.
XX7 E have in the "Planches Eniuminiei termed this bird the Blutjh White bel- lied Heron of Cayenne : it feems to be inter- mediate between the Egrets and the Herons: for, inftead of the large bunch of feathers of the Egrets, it has only a tuft of rufous unwebbed fhoots, which is wanting how- ever in the other Herons. It is iiot two feet long ; the upperfide of the body, the neck and the head are deep bluilh, and the under fide of the body is white. [A]
[A] Specific charader of the Ardea Leucogafitr : " It is darl^ blue, below white, a doable>feathered creft on the back of its head ; its bill, ijcs naked face, and its legs yellow."
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The S O C O.
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Fourth Species,
Ardea-Cocoi. Linn, and Gmel.
Cocoi Br^f:Umfibtis. Marcg. Johnft. Will. Ray.
Ardea Cayanenjis Crijiaia, Briir
7be Cocoi Heron. Lath.
Coco, according to Pifo, is the generic name of the Brazil Herons j but we fliall appropriate it to the large beautiful fpecies, which Marcgrave makes his fecond fpecies, and which occurs in Guiana and in the Antilles, as weH as in Brazil. It is equal in bulk to our Gray Heron j it has a creft, which confifts of fine pendant feathers, fome of them fix inches long, and of ap handfome alh-colourj according to Du- tertre, the old males alone wear thib bunch of feathers j thofe which hang under the neck, are white and equally delicate, foft, and flexible j thofe of the fhoulders and of the mantle are of a flaty gray. Pifo fays that this bird is commonly very lean, but remarks however that it grows plump in the rainy feafon. Dutertre calls it the Crabeater, (Crahier) as ufual in the ifland, and fays that it is not fo frequent 3s the other Herons, but that its fleih is as goodj or rather is not worfe.
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I 365 1
The BLACK CAPPED WHITE HERON.
Fifth Species,
Jirdea Pileata, Lath. Ind.
The Black'Crefttd White Heron. Lath. Syn,
'Tp HIS Heron is found in Cayenne. Its whole plumage is white, except a black cap on the crown of its head, which bears a tuft of five or fix white feathers ; it is fcarce two feet long j it inhabits up the rivers in Guiana, but is rare. We (hall clafs with it the White Heron of Brazil $ the difference of (ize being accidental, and the black fpot and tuft may, as ufual in the Herons, be the attribute of the mal^,
The BROWN HERON.
^ixth Specisst Ardta Fu/ca, Lath.
T T is larger than the preceding, and is
alfo a native of Guiana. All the upper
fide of the body is blackifh brown, the tint
being
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366 A G A M I H E R O N.
Wing deeper on the head, and (haded with bluifh on the wings; the forepart of the heck is white, charged with brownifli dafhes j the under fide of the body is pure white.
The A GAM I HERON.
viMM
Seventh Speciet* Ardea Ag&mt% Gfaiel.
yjj te know not why this Heron, which we received from Cayenne, had the name of Agami ; unlefs becaufe of the long feathers in the tail of both birds, Thefe fea- thers are of a deep blue : the underfide of the body is rufous ; the neck is of the fame colour before, but bluifh below, and dark blue above ; the head is black, the occiput bluifh, from which hang long black fila- ments.
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Ardea'Hoa^li. Gmel.
Hoaaii, five TohalL F«rnJi'rtd. and Ray.
Ardea Mexicana Cr'tftata* Brifl*.
91&> ©Vj» -Sff/dw. Lath.
"^r lEREMBERG interprets the Mexicart name of this bird, HoaSili or Tolo4iBH% by Avis Skca^ dry or lean bird ; an appel- lation which well fuits a Heron. The pre- fent is only one half the bulk of the Com- mon Heron. Its head is covered with black feathers which extend to the nape in a bunch } the upper fide of the wings and the tail are of a gray colour ; on the back, there are fome black feathers, glofled with green ; all the reft of the plumage is white. The female has a different name, Hoadlon 5 it is diftinguiflied by fome colours of its plumage ; it is brown on the body, mixed with feveral white feathers, and white on the neck, interfperfed with brown feathers. This bird is found in the lake of Mexico j it breeds among rhe ruihes, and has a ftrong hoarfe voice rerembling that of the Bittern. The Spaniards term it very improperly a Kingfilher, Martinete Pefcador*
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The H O U H O U.
NtHtb Sftci'es,
Ardea-Houhou. Gmel. jirdea Mexicana Cintrea,
BriiT.
"11^ E have formed this name by contrac- tion from the Mexican word Xoxouqui- boaSllit which is pronounced HohouquihoaSili^ iyo«i6o« reprefents its cry: Fernandez, who mentions it, fubjoins that it is a fmall fpe- cies J yet its length is two cubits. The belly and neck are cinereous ; the front is white and black ; the crown of the head and the tuft on the occiput are of a purple colour, and the wings are variegated with gray and bluifh. This bird is rare ; it is feen from time to time on the lake of Mexico, where it probably arrives from the more northern countries. '
t 369 ]
*, I ,j.; <
The GREAT AMERICAN HERON.
Tenth Species,
Jlrdea-Herodias. Linn, and Gmel. Ardea Virginiana Crijiata, BrifT. and Klein. The Largeft Crefted Heron. Catefty. The Great Heron. Penn. and Lath.
C\Y the Marfli birds, the largeft and the moft numerous fpecies occur in the New World. The Heron found by Catefby in Virginia is the largeft in the genus : it is near four feet and a half high yvhea erefl, and meafures almoft five feet fronx the bill to the nails ; its bill is feven or eight inches long j all its plumage is brown, except the quills of the wing, which are black i it has a creft of brown unwebbed feathers. It feeds not only on fifti and frogs, but alfo on large and fmall lizards. [A]
[A] Specific charader of the Ardea Herodias : ** The bacl^ of its head is crefted, its body brown, its thighs rufouSf its breaft marked with oblong black fpots/'
Vol. VII.
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The HUDSON'S BAY HERON.
i
EUveitth Species.
^ Avdea Hueifnitias. Linn, and Gmel.
Jrdea Fret I Hudfonis. Brifl*. The AJh-colmred Heron. Edw. The Red-Jhouldared Heron. Penn, and Lath.
'Tp H I s Heron too is very large ; it is near four feet from the bill to the nails, a fine creft of black brown, difpofed be- hind, (hades its head j its plumage is light brown on the neck, deeper on the back, and flill browner on the wings ; the fhoulders and thighs are of a reddifh brown ; the ftomach is white, and alfo the great fea- thers which hang from the forefide of the neck, which are da(hed with brown ftreaks. Thefe are all the fpecies oF Herons known to u'' 5 for we do not admit into their number the eighth fpecies defcribed by BrilTon from Aldrovandus; becaufe the bird was young, and had ftill its firft garb, as Aldrovandus himfelf informs us. We exclude alfo the fourth and twenty-eighth fpecies of BiifTon ; fince the firft has its bill hookedj and its thighs clothed with fea- thers to the knee, and the fecond has a fliort bill, which rather belongs to the Crane, Laftly, the ninth fpecies of the fame author is only the female of the Night Heron.
C 37> ]
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The CRA.B-*:>ATCHERS.
;.*
Les Crabiers, BufF.
'Tp H E s E are fpecies of Herons ftill ftnaller than the European Egrets: they feed on lobfters and crabs; whence their name. Dampier and Wafer found them at Brafil, and at Timor in New Hol- land, They are therefore fpread through both hemifpheres. Barrere fays, that though thofe of America catch crabs, they alfo eat fifli, and haunt the margins of frefh water, like the Herons, We know of nine fpecies in the Old Continent^ and of thirteen in the New.
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CRAB-CATCHERS
of the Old Continent.
TheSQUAIOTTA HERON.
Le Crabier Caiot. BufF,
Firji Specitt*
jSrdta Squaiotta. GmeR
C^ncrofagus. BrliH
Squaiotta. Aldrov. Will. Jobnft. Charleton 'and Ray.
Aldrovandus fays, that this bird is called Squaiotta by the people .of Bologna j probably from the refemblance of that word to its cry. Its bill is yellov/ and its legs green : it has a fine creft on the head, compofed of unwebbed feathers, white in the middle, and black on both €dges : the upper part of the body is clothed with a frieze, riling from the long thin pendant feathers, which form a kind of fecond mantle in moft of the Crab- catchers ', in this fpecies they are of a fine rufous colour.
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[ 373 ]
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The RUFOUS HERON.
le Crahitr Roux. BufF.
Stce.nd Speeiet.
Atdea Badia* Gmel. Caftcrofagut Caftaneus. BriflT. tbi Che/nut Heron. Lath.
A
c CORDING to Schwenckfeld this bird is red (ardea rubra)^ that is a bright ru- fous, not chefnut, as BrifTon tran Hates it. It is of the bulk of a Crow ; its back is rufous, its beHly whitifti ; its wings have a bluifh tint, and their great quills are black. It is well known in Silefia, where it is called the Red Heron [Rodter-reger) : St neftles in largfi trees.
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TheCHESNUT HERON.
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Le Craiier Marron. Buff.
ThirJ Species,
Jrdea Erytbropus. Groel.
Cancrofagus Rufus. BrliT.
jlrdea Hamatopus, feu Cirris. Aldrov. Will, and Ray.
TJbe Red-leggtJ Heron. Lath.
T T s colours arc deeper beneath, and lighter on the back and the ^wings 5 the long narrow feathers which cover the head and float on the neck, are variegated with yel- low and black j a red circle furrounds the eye, which is yellow $ the bill is black at the point, and bluifli green near the head 5 the legs are deep red. This bird is reckoned by AlJrovandus almoft the lead of all the Herons. The fame naturalift gives, as a variety, the one which Briflbn makes his thirty fixth fpecies j its legs are yellow, and there are a few more fpots on the neck, than in the other: in all o her refpeds, they are exactly fmiilar. We will not hefitate therefore to range them together. But Aidrovandus feems to have little reafon in appropriating the name Cirris to this fpecies. Scaliger proves indeed that Virgil did not mean by that term the Crefted-lark
as
,-MWI
SGUACCO HERON. 375
as ufually tranflated, but a Shore- bird whieli is the prey of the Seaenglc. We cannot however infer that the Cirri's is a fpccics of Heron ; far lefs afllgn the Chefnut Crab-catcher in particular. |A|
[A] Specific charaAer of the jirt/ca Etythropus : " Its head is crefted, its body is falFron inclining to bay."
r'
The SGUACCO II E R O N.
;f. r
Lt Guaceo, BufF.
Fourth Sptcits,
Ardea Cemata. Gmel. Cancrofagus Luteus. Brlff. Sguacco. Aldrov. Will, and Ray.
'T^ H I s is alfo a fmall Crab-catcher, known in Italy in the vallies of Bo- logna by the name of Sguacco, Its back is of a ferruginous yellow; the feathers of the thighs aiie yellow jthofe of the belly whitifh; the feafhers thin and pendant from the head and neck, are variegated with yel- low, with white, and with black. This bird is bolder and more intrepid than the other Herons; its legs aregreenifh, the iris
yellow, encircled with a black ring.
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TheMAHON CRAB-CATCHER.
Le Crabier de Mahon, Buff.
Fifth Species, Ardea Comata, Gmel.
T T is fmall, being not eighteen inches long, its wings are^vhite ; its back rufty; the upper fide of the neck yellowifli rufous, and the fore part white gray j on the head is a fine long creft of white gray and rufty feathers.
The COROMANDEL CRAB-CATCHER.
Le Crabier de Coromandel. Buff.
Sixth Species.
np HIS bird refembles the preceding : its back is Itained with the fame rufous, its head and the lower part of the forefide of the neck with gold and yellow rufous j the reft of the plumage is white : but it has no creft, which defeat may be attri- buted
WHITE AND BROWN CRAB-CATCHER. 377
buted to its fex •, and we fhould therefore range it with the foregoing, were it not near three inches longer.
The WHITE and B R O W N CRAB-CATCHER.
T
Seventh Species,
Ardea Malaccenfis. Gmel. 'the Malacca Heron. Lath.
H E back is brown or umber, all the neck and the head marked with long ftreaks of that colour on a yellowifh ground; the wing and the upper fide of the body, white : fuch was the plumage of this bird, which we received from Malacca; it was nineteen inches long.
The BLACK CRAB-CATCHER.
Eighth Species.
Ardea Nova Guinea. Gmel. The New Guinea Heron, Lath.
CoNNERAT found this bird in New Guinea : it is entirely black, and ten inches long. Dampier mentions his hav- ing
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378 LITTLE CRABCATCHER.
ing feen in that country Small Crab catch* ers with a milk white plumage. We ar© unacquainted with them.
The LITTLE CRABCATCHER.
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Ninth Species*
Ardea Philippenfis. Gmel. Cancrofagus Philippenfis, firifT. • The Philippine Heron, Lath.
T is the leaft of all the Crab- catchers, and even more fo than the -9/?wgf/w 5 being only eleven inches long. It is a native of the Philippines ; the upper fide of the head, of the neck, and of the back, is of a brown rufous ; and that colour is traced on the back in fmall crofs lines, that wave on a brown ground ; the upper furface of the wing is blackifti, fringed with fmall unequal feftoons of a rufty white ; the quills of the -wing and of the tail are black.
t 379 J
The B L O N G I O S.
T/w/^ Species,
Ardea Minuta. Linn, and Gmel. Ardeola. BrifT.
The Little Bittern, Penn. and Lath.
'T^ H E Blongios (lands at the bottom of the extenfive fcale of Herons : it difFers from the Crab-catchers, only hecaufe its legs are rather lower, and its neck proportionally longer : infomuch, that the Barbs, accord- \xx to Dr. Shaw, call it Boo onk^ long neck, cr iuerally Father-necL It extends the neck, or darts it forward as if by a fpring, when it walks, or feeks its food. The upperfide of the head and of the back is black, with greenifh reflexions, and alfo the quills of the wings and of the tail ; the neck, the belly, the upper furface of the wings, are of a tawny chefnuf, mixed with white and yellowifli j the bill and legs are greenifh.
It appears that the Blongios occurs fre- quently in Switzerland. It is fcarcely known in the provinces of France, where it is never found, unlefs ftrayed from its com- panions, driven by a guft of wind, or
purfued
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B L O N G I O S.
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purfued by fome bird of prey *. It is met ^vith on the coafts of the Levant, as well as on thofe of Barbary. Edwards figures one which was fent from Aleppo -f- : it dif- fered from that juft defcribed, in having its colours more dilute, and the feathers on its back fringed with rufty, and thofe on the forefide of the Jieck and body, marked with fiTjall brown ftieaks ; differences which feem to refult from age or fex. Thus the Blongios of the Levant J, that of Barbary, and that of Switzerland, are all the fame. All the preceding fpecies of Crab-catchers belong to the Old Continent : we now pro- ceed to enumerate thofe of the New, ob- ferving the fame diftribution as in the Herons,
• ** I faw one ofthefe HttleHerons, of thelize of a Black- bird, it fuiFered itfelf to be caught with the hand in the garden of the Dames du Bon-pafteur at I^ijon : I faw it (hut in a cage for breeding Canaries ; its plumage refembled that of a meadow Rail ; it was very lively, and continually buillei about in its cage, rather from a for|: of inquietude* thnn from a defire to efcape ; for when a perfon approached j it Ilopt, threatened with its bill, and darted like a fpring. I never met with this very fmall Heron in any of the pro- vinces where I have fowled ; it muft be a bird of palfage," Ncte covtmufiiiated hy M. Hebert.
•f The Little Broivn Bittern. Edwards, Gleanings.
I Ardeola Navia of Bri/Ton. (Mr. Latham fuppofes it to be the female. T.)
[A] Specific charafter of the Ardea Uinuta : "Its head is fmooth, its body brown, below tawny, its tail-^uilU black greeniih, its ftripes ycllowilh,"
C 381 ]
CRAB CATCHERS
of the New World.
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The BLUE CRAB-CATCHERS,
Fir^ Specks.
Ardea CaruUa. Linn, and Gmel.
Ardea Cyanea. Klein.
Ardea Plumhea. Brown.
The Blue Hercn. Catefby. Penn. and Lath.
^^17 H A T is very fingular in this bird, its bill is blue like the reft of the plumage j and were not the legs green, it vvould be entirely blue The feathers of the neck and head have a fine violet glofs ; thofe of the lower part of the neck, behind the head, and on the lower part of the back, are thin and pendant ; the laft are a foot long, cover the tail, and project four fingers be- yond it. The bird is rather fmaller than a Crow, and weighs fifteen ounces. It is feen in Carolina, but only in the fpring ; and Catefby believes that it does not breed in that province, though he is ignorant whence it comes. The fame beautiful fpe-
cies
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382 BROWN NECKED BLUE CRABCATCHER/
cies is found in Jamaica, and appears to be divided into two varieties in that iiland.
[A] Specific charaAer of the Ardea Carulea : " Itt liead is crefted, its body blue."
The BROWN- NECKED BLUE CRAB CATCHER.
Second Species, Ardea CaruU/cens, Gmel.
All the body of this bird is of a dull blue; and though that tint is deep, we fhould have reckoned it the fame fpe- cies with the preceding, if the head and neck had not been tawny-brown, and the bill intenfe yellow. It occurs in Cayenne, and may be about nineteen inches long.
t 383 3
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The IRON-GRAY CRAB- CATCHER.
T^irJ Speciet.
Ardea VioUcea, Lmn. and Gmel.
Ardca Z' ir. '^ (lata Americana. R cia»
Cancrofagus Bahamenfis. BriiT.
Ardea CaruUo-Nigra. Ray and Sloane.
The Gray crejied Gaulding. Brown.
The Crejied Bittern. Catefty.
The Telloiv Croiuned Heron. Pcnn. and Lath.
ALL the plumage is of a dull, blackifh blue, except the upper fide of the head, which is cniamented with a pale, yellowr creO, from which three or four white feathers rife on the back of the head. There is alfo a broad white ftripe on the cheek, reaching to the coiners of the bill : the eye is protuberant, the iris red, and the eyelid green; long flender feathers
gi
ow on the fides of the back, and fall
over the tail ; the thighs are yellow, the bill is black and firon*;. and the bird weighs a pound and nt^ half. It is feen, fays Catefby, in Carolina, during the rainy fea- fon ; but is more numerous in the Bahama Iflands, and breeds in the bufhes that grow- out of the clifts of the rocks ; and fo great
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384 RED BILLED WHITE CRAB-CATCHER.
IS the multitude in fome of the idands, that, in a few hours, two men may load a canoe with the young j for though able to fly, their motions are laborious, and they fufFer themfelves to be caught through mere fupinenefs. They live more on crabs than on fi(h, and the fettlers call them crab" catchers* Their flefh, fays Catefby, is very well tafted.
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The RED-BILLED WHITE CRAB-CATCHER.
Fourth Species,
jirJra uEquinoSiialis, Linn, and Gmel. Jlrdea CaroUnenfis Candida, BrifT. and KleiB. The Red billed Heron. Penn. The Little While Heron, Catcfijy and Penn.
A R E D bill, green legs, the iris ydlow, and the fkin that encircles it red, are the only colours which interrupt the fine tvhite plumage of this bird. It is fmaller than a Crow : it is found in Carolina in the fpring, but never in winter : its bill is a little curved, and Klein remarks that many of the foreign fpecies of Hei\/ns have not fuch flraight bills as thofe of Europe.
[A] Specific chara£ler of the Ardea ^quinoaialis : "Its head is fmooth, its body white, its two firft wing-quills brown on theii- outer margin.'*
[ 38s J
The C i N E R E O U S G R A B- CATCHER.
Fifth Species,
Ardta Cyanopus, Gmel.
Ardea Americana Cinerea, Bri^.
'T' H I s bird inhabits New Spain, and is **• not larger than a Pigeon. The upper furface of the body is light afh-colourj the quills of the wing are partly black, partly- white ; the bill and legs are bluifli. From thefe colours we may perceive that Father Feuillee is miflaken in claiTing it with the Bitterns.
The PURPLE CRAB-CATCFIER.
' , Sixth Species t
Ardea Spadicea, Gmel.
Ardea Mexicana Purpurafcens, Bri/T.
The Mexican Heron. Lath.
C E B A fays that this bird was fent to him from Mexico ; but he applies to it the name Xoxouquihoadllij which Fernan- dez beftowed on a fpecies twice as large.
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It is only a foot long ; the upper fide of the neck, of the back and of the (houlders, is purple chefnut j the fame tint diluted, covers all the underfide of the body ; the quills of the wing arc deep bay i the head is light bay, and its top black.
The C R A C R A,
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Srvenih Sfeciet.
Ardta-Cracra, Gmel. Cancrofagus Americanut» Briff".
/^ R A c R A is the cry of this bird oii ^^ the wing, and the name which the French fettlers at Martinico have given to it. The American natives call it Jaboutrai and Father Feuillee, who found it in Chili, defcribes in the following t>.'rms : it is as large as a well grown Hetiy and its plumage is much variegated ; the crown of the head \% afhblue ; the top of its back, tawny, mixed with the colour of dry-leavesj the reft of the upper furface is an agree- able mixture of ?.fii-blue, of brown-green, and of yellow ; the coverts of the wing fiU-e partly of a dull green, edged with yel-
lowiih,
CHALYBEATE CRAB-CATCHER. 387
lowifti, and partly black j the quills are of this Lilt colour, and fringed with white j the tiu'oat ana bread are variegated with fpots ot hlcmot, on a white ground ; the legs are of a fine yellow.
1^
The CHALYBEATE CRAB. CATCHER.
Eighth Specits,
Jrdeola, Marcg. Johnft. and Will. Cancrofagus Brafilienjis, BriflT. • .
The Blue Heron* Lath.
♦npHE back and the head of this bird •^ are chalybeate or fteel- coloured j it has long grcenifh quills in the wing, marked with a white fpot at the tip ; the upper fide of the wing is variegated with brown, yellowifh, and (leel-colour i the breail and belly are white, variegated with cinereous and with yellowifh. The bird is of tho fize of a Pigeon 5 it occurs in Brazil, and this is all that we learn from Marcgrave.
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The GREEN CRAB-CATCHER.
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Ninth Sfidtt,
Arita Virtfctm Linn, and Gmel* Ardta Stellaris Mini.:::. Klein. C alter of agus Firidii, Briff. Tht Small Bittern, Catcfby. Th$ Green Heron, Lath.
'T^ HIS bird is very rich in its colours, and one of the moft beautiful of the genus. Long feathers of gold- green cover the upper fide of the head, and form into a crefl -, feathers of the fame colour, nar- row, and flowing, cover the back$ thofe of the neck and bread are rufous or deep reddifli : the great quills of the wing are very dull green j the coverts of the wing, bright gold green, and moft of them edged with fulvous or chefnut. This handfome bird is feventeen or eighteen inches long ; it feeds on frogs and fmall fi(h, as well as on crabs. It appears in Carolina and Vir- ginia only in fummer; and it probably retires in autumn to warmer climates, X9 pafs the winter.
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t 389 1
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The SPOTTED GREEN CRAB-CATCHER.
Tent/If Sfteiii,
Ardta Virefcim. Var. i . Gmel. Cantrofagus Viridit Navins, BrifT.
npHis is rather fmaller than tb pre- ceding, but differs little in its colours^ only the feathers on its head and on the nape are of a dull gold green, gloffed with bronze, and the long (lender feathers on the mantle are alfo gold green, though lighter } the quills of the wing are deep brown, and their outer edge maded with gold green, and thofe next the body have a white fpot at the tip ; the upper furface of the wing is fprinkled with white fpots ; on a brown ground, (haded with gold green j the throat is fpottcd with brown on white, the neck is chefnut, an.! clothed below with gray pendant feathers. This fpecies is found in MartinicO;.
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[ 390 3
The Z I L A T A T.
' ' Eleventh Species.
Ardea Mexieana Candida. BriflT.
TTjTE have formed this name from the Mexican Hoitzilaztatl, It is entirely white, with its bill reddifti near the point, the legs of the fame colour i it is one of the fmalleft of all the Crab- catchers, being fcarce equal in fize to a Pigeon,
m
The RUFOUS CRAB-CATCHER,
with Green Head and Tail*
Tiuelfth Species,
jlrdea Ludo<viciana. Gtnel. The Louiftane Heron* Lath. •
Tt is fcarce fixteen inches long; the •■■ upper (ide of the head and tail is of a dull green ; the fame colour appears on a part of the coverts of the win j, which are fringed wi{> fulvous; the long thin fea- thers on the back are tinged with faint purple ; the neck is rufous as well as the belly, whofe tint borders upon brown. This fpecies was fent to us from Louifiana.
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[ 39« )
The GRAY CRAB -CATCHER^
with Green Head and Tail.
Thirteenth Species; Ardea Virefcens, Far, 2. Gmel.
np HIS was fent to us from Cayenne: and it refembles the preceding in many refpefls, and both of them are much related to the tenth fpecies. The head and tail are equally of a dull green, and alfo a part of the coverts of the wing 5 a light flate gray predpminates in the reft of the plumage^
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The O P E N BILL.
Le Bec-Owvert. BuiF. jlrdea Fondiceriana, Gmel. 7he Pondicberry Heron* Lath.
After the enumeration of all the He- ^ rons and Crab-catchers, we fhall range a bird, which, though it does not belong to their family, is more nearly related to them than to any other. It is not the bufi- nefs of the naturalift to follow the reftraints of fcholaftic forms j he fliould endeavour to trace the productions of the. univerfe through their various (hades and grada- tions; and the delicate tranfitions of nature are the moft interefting fubjeds to the eyes of a philofopher. Such is the bird which we denominate Open- bill : in fome refpeCls, it refembles the Herons'; and in others, it differs from them. It has, bo- lides, one of thofe defeds or natural im^ perf^dions, which we have remarked in a few fpecies: its bill is wide open two-thirds of its length, both the upper and under mandible parting at that fpaCe and meeting again at the point. This bird is found in India, and we received it from Pondi-
' " '' ^ ' • cherry;
O P E N B I L L. 393
cherry ; it has the legs and thighs of the Heron, but has only half the chara<5ler noticed in the nail of the middle-toe, which fpreads indeed into a thin plate, though it is not indented at the edges ; the quills of the wing are black ; all the reft of the plumage is a light afli-gray j the bill black-* ifh at the root, the reft of it white or yeU lowifh, and thicker and broader than that of the Heron. Total length of the bird thirteen or fourteen inches. We are not informed of its natural habits. [A]
[A] Specific chara£ter of the Ardea Pondkeriana: ** It is dirty aih-colour, its wing-quills long and black, its mid- dle nail not rerr£.;ed." . . <
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I 394 t
The BITTERN.*
Le Butor. BufF.
uirdea Siellaris. Linn, and Gmel. r
£cta::rus, Bri/T.
The Ii,lyredromlle. Turner f .
The Bittour, Bittern, or Mire-Jrum. Will.
'Tp HOUGH the Bitterns refemble much the Herons, their differences are fo marked as eafily to difcriminate them. Their legs are longer than thofe of the Herons, their body rather more fleftiy, and their neck thicker clothed with feathers, which make it look larger. Notwithftanding the difgraceful implication of its name J, the Bittern is not fo ftupid as the Heron, though it is more favage : it is hardly ever feen ; it inhabits only marfhes of a certain limited extent, and abounding with rudies;
• In Gicek A^i^tix;, E^wJio? A^c^xtf, Oxrof : in Latin Ardea Stellarii, Butio, in Italian, Tarabufo, Trombotto, Trombone or trumpeter : in Portuguefe, Gaxola : in German Meer-- Ri»d {Sea-ox), MoJ's-Qcbs (Mofs-ox), Rohr-Trummel (Reed' drum), Rr/s. Reigei {Hor(ehe:on)t Wajfer-Ochs (Water-ox), Erd Bull (l£arth-bull) ; names that allude to the bellowing noife which this bird makes in the marflies : in Dutch Pitoor: in Swedilh and Danilh Roer-Drum (Reed- drum) : in Polilh £ak or Bunk : in Turkifti Gehe.
f That is, the Mire-drum, from the German TrummcL
X Butor, in French, fienifies alfo Mtr,
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395
it prefers the large pools fkirted with wood : there, it leads a lonely peaceful life, covered with reeds, fheltered from the wind and rain, and concealed equally from the hunter whom it dreads, and from its prey, which it watches, it continues whole days in the fame fpot, and feems to place its fafety in concealment and inaftion. The He- ron is more reftlefs, and ventures abroad every evening ; at which time t-ie fowlers expeft it at the c'dj,e of the leedy-fens, where it alights : the Bittern, on the con- trary, fifes in the dufk, and takes a final departure; and Mius thefe two birds, though they inhabit t c fame tra6ls, never aflb- ciate together,
It is in autumn only and at fun-fet, ac- cording to Willughby, that the Bittern commences its journey, or changes its abode. In its flight it might be taken for a Heron, did it not utter from time to time a quite different cry, deeper and more re- founding, COB, COB. But this is flill lefs difagreeablc> than the frightful voice, to which the bird owes its name * : it is a fort of lowing hi-rhond, repeated five or fix times in (bcceffion in the fpring, and which may be heard at the diflance of
• Botaurust from boatus and taurus, denotes the helknuing •fa bull, Willughby, -i
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396 BITTERN.
Haifa league. This dumping, as it is called, exceeds the grunt of the largeft bafs ftring. Could we imagine this alarming found to be the expreffion of tender love ? It is indeed only the call of a rude and wild bird, ftimulated by luft, not mollified by attachment : and as foon as his appetite is fatisfied, he deferts or rejefls the female, though (he plies him with her afliduous carefles -f ; nor are her folicitations fuffi- cient to incite him to repeat the almoft momentary embrace. Accordingly the cock and hen live feparate, " I have often, fays M. Hebert, put up two of thefe birds at the fame time, and 1 conftantly perceived that they fprang more than two hundred paces from one another, and alighted at an equal diftance." But the moments of fruition muft return perhaps after long intervals, if it be true that the Bittern is in feafon during the whole time that he bumfs Xi ibr the lowing begins in Febru-
f According to Salerne, fuch is the indolence of the male, that the female alone takes all the trouble of court- fhip, and of the rearing of the yoiing, ** It is (he that folicits and invites him to love by the frequent viAts which ihe pays him, and by the abundance of food which fhe brings.*' But all thefe particulars, taken out of an old moral difcourfe, {Di/coursde M, de la Cbambre, fur I* amitie), are probably romance.
t Willughby. ' .
♦ . , •
BITTERN.
397
ary §, and is yet heard in the harveft. The people of the country fay, that to make this noife the Bittern plunges its bill in the mud II : the firft note refembles indeed a ftrong infpiration, and the fecond an .expi- ration rebellowed in a cavity *. But it would be difficult to afcertain the truth of this alTertion ; fince the bird lurks always fo clofe as to efcape fight, and the fowlers cannot reach thefpots where it fprings, without wading through the reeds in water often as high as the knee.
All thefe precautions for concealment and protedion are fortified by caution and
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§ It is certainly the cry of the Bittern which Ariftotle confiders in his problems (5V^. it. 35), where he fpeaks of a bellowing like that of a bull, which is heard in the fpring from the heart of the marOies, and of which he feeks a phy** fical explanation in the winds iinprifoned under the water and burning from their caverns.
II This notion is well expreflcd by a charming poet :—
■- ** So that fcarce
The Bittern knows his time, with bill ingulpht« To Ihake the founding marih."
Thomson.
• Aldrovandus his iri(julred into the ftrudlure of the /ra- chea-arferia with a reference to the produdlion of this found ; many (Irong voiced Aquatic birds, fuch as the Swan, have a double larynx \ the Bittern, on the contrary, has none, but the trachea, where it forks, forms two inflated facs, of which the rings of the trachea cover only one fide ; the other is covered with a thin fkin, expanlible, and elaftic ; ic is from thefe inflated facs that the imprifoned air efcapes with violence in bellowing.
artifice.
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398 BITTERN.
artifice. The Bittern fits with its head cre6l, which being more than two feet high, it eafily fees over the reeds, without being perceived by the fportfrnan. It does not change its feat until the approach of night in the autumnal feafon, and paflfes the reft of its life in fuch inactivity, that Ariftotle gives it the epithet lazy *. Its whole motion confids in feizing a frog, or final) fifh which throws itfelf in the way of the indolent catcher.
The appellation of ftary, «<rTi{.«< oxJieU Jarisy given by the ancients to the Bittern, is derived, according to Scaliger, from its evening flight, when it foars aloft, a;id feems to lofe itfelf in the ftarry-vault: others alfert that the name refers to the rpots fcattered on its plumage. But thefe are difpofed more like dafhes than (lars : the whole body is covered with blackifii fpeckles : they are flrewed tranfverfely on the back upon a fulvous brown ground, and run longitudinally on a whitifh ground upon the forcfide of the neck, upon the breaft and the belly : the bill has the fame fliape as in the Heron ; both it and the legs are greenifh, its opening is very wide, and the cleft extends beyond the eyes, fo that they
* Oxvc(, Hill. Aa. 1. ix. c. 18.
may
a.
B 1 T T £ R N.
m
may be faid to be fituated upon the upper mandible : the hole of the ear is large ; the tongue fhort and (harp, and does not reach half the bill j but the throat may be opened fo wide as to admit the fift*: its long nails clafp the reeds, and fu;>port it ^pon their floating wrecks -f* : it catches many frogs J and in autumn, it goes to the woods in purfuit of mice, which it feizes with great dexterity and fwallows entire % : and in that feafon, it grows vei*y fat §. When caught it (hews much rancour ||, and ftrikes chiefly at the eyes**. Its fleih muft be of a bad quality, though it was formerly eaten, when that of the Heron was held in e(ti- mation •f-f.
The Biiiern lays four or five greenifh light-brown eggs tj: ; and makes her neft amidft the n-eds, or a bunch of ru(hes. Belon furely confounded it with the Heron, when he aflertcd, that it breeds on the tops
• Willughby.
f The great length of the nails, particularly of the hind one, is remarkable ; Aldrovandus lavs, that in his time it WHS ufed as a tooth-pick.
X Willughby.
§ Schwenckfeld.
II Idem.
•* Belon.
f f Idem,
XX Mr. Pennant fa/s five or fix. T.
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400 BITTERN.
of trees*. That naturalift fccmu jtfo to miftake it for the Onocrotalus of Phny, though the Roman delineates it by difcri- minating characters. There is another paf- fage of Pliny, which, according to Bclon, refers to the Bittern : ** In the diftrift of Aries, there is a bird which imitates the lowing of oxen, and ^is called the Bull (Taurus) though it is little 'f'* In that cafe the epithet little is applied to the Bittern only by way of contraft to the appellation, Bull, The Bittern occurs wherever there are marfhes of fufficient extent : it is known in moft of the French provinces ; it is not lincommon in England ij: j it is frequent in Switzerland §, and in Auflria || ; it is feen alfo in Silefia **, Denmark •f-f-, and in Sweden %%, The moft northern parts of America have alfo their fpecies of Bit- tern ; and other fpecies occur in the fouth- ern regions. It appears however, that our Bittern is not fo hardy as the Heron, and cannot fupport our winters, but removes
* Gefner was not better acquainted with its ncA, when he faid that it layed twelve eggs. f Lib. X. 57. X Britifh Zoology. § Gefner,
II Elench. Auftr. 348. •• Schwenckfeld. ft Brunnich, Oraithol, SoreaL iX Fauna Suecica*
when
BITTERN* 4«f
when the cold becomes excefTive. Intel- ligent fportfmen ailure us, that they nevet found it by the fides of rivulets or near fprings in the inclement feafons : and WiU 1 ugh by feems to regard its lofty flight after fun-fet in autumn, as its departure to warmer climates.
No obferver has given us fuller informa- tion on the fubjed of this bird than M. Baillon } and I (hall here give an extradl of the account which he obligingly fent to me.
" The Bitterns are found almoft every feafon of the year at Montreuil-fur-Mer, and on the coafts of Picardy, though they are migratory. Ihey are feen in great numbers in the month of December, and fometimes dozens lurk in a fingle tuft of rfceds.
*< Few birds make fo cool a defence i it never attacks, but if once aifailed, it fights with intiepidity and temper. If darted upon by a bird of prey, it does not fly j ii ftands ere6l and receives the fhock on the point of its bill, which is very (harp -, and its wounded antagon'ut retre^.ts fcreaming. Old Buzzards ntver attack the liittern, and the Coinmon Falcons nevei feize it, but by rulhing upon it behind, while it is on
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the wing. It even makes refiftancc wheit wounded by the fportfman j and inftead of retiring, it waits his onfet, and gives fuch vigorouc pufties with its bill as to pierce \ he leg through the boots ; and many have in \h\^ way been forely wounded. It muft be kiiied Ly blows, for it would contend till death.
*' Sometimes, though feldom, the Bittern turns on its back like the rapacious birds, and fights both with its bill and its claws, which are very long. It throws itfelf into that pofture, when furprized by a dog.
The patience of this bird is equal to its courage ; it remains whole hours, without ftirring, in the water concealed by the rufties : it watches the eels and frogs ; and except in the love feafon, when it takes fome excercife, it is as indolent and melancholy as the Stork. At other times, it cannot be difcovered but bv dogs. During the months of February and March, the males utter, in the morning and evening, ?? cry, which may be compared to the expbfion of a large mufket. The females run to the found, fometimes a dozen round one male ; for the Bitterns are, like the Ducks, poly- gamous : the males ftrut among their mates, and drive off their rivals.' They
make
BITTERN. 4aj
make their nefts almoft clofe on the water amidft rufhcs in the month of April : the. incubation lafts twenty-four or twenty -five days : the young ones are hatched naked, and of an unfightly figure, for they feem to be all neck and legs. They do not venture abroad until twenty days after their birth. The parents hed them firft with leeches, lizards, and frogs* fpawn, and afterwards with fmall eels. Their fea- thers are rufous at firft, as in the adults j their bill and legs rather white than green. The buzzards, which plunder the nefts of moft of the Marfli-birds, feldom touch thole of the Bittern. The parents main- tain a conftant guard and defence. Chil- dren dare not approach, for they fhould riik the lofs of their eyes."
** It is eafy to diftmguiih the males by their colour and their fize, they being more beautiful and larger than the females, and their plumage having more the rufous tint; the feathers too on the breaft and neck are longer.
" The flefh of this bird, particularly that of the wings and breaft, is tolerable food, provided that the ikin be removed, whofe capillary veiTels are filled with an acrid oil, that fpreads through the fubftance in
D d 2 cooking.
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404 BITTERN.
cooking, and communicates a rankunplea>i fant tafte." [A]
[A] Specific charter of the Bittern, JrJea SteUarit : *' Its head is fmoothifh ; above, brick-coloured with crofs fpots; below, paler, with oblong brown fpots." This bird is foand alfo over the whole extent of North America : in Hudfon's Bay it appears in May, and takes«up its abode among the fwamps and willows ; it there lays two eggc : it is exceeding lazy, and when difturbed it flies only to a Ihort diilance. — The flelhof the Bittern taftes fomewhat like hare, and is not unpleafant.
C 40s ]
BIRDS of the Old Continent which are related to the BITTERN. [
TheGREATER BITTERN.
Li Grand Butnr. Buff.
Firjf Specifs.
jlrdea-Botaurtu, Gmel*
Botaurut Major. BrifT.
Tbt Greater Speckled or Red Heron. Will.
f^ E s N E R is the tirft who has mentioned this bird, which appears to form the fliade between the Herons and the Bit- terns. The inhabitants of th^ fhores of Lago Maggiore in Italy, cnll it Eitfey^ according to Aldrovandus. The neck is rufous, with fpots of white and black ; the back and the wings are brown, and the belly is rufous ; its length from the point of the bill to the end of the •lail, is at leaft three feet and an half, and to the nails, more than four feet ; the bill is eight inches, and is yellow, as well as the legs. Aldro- vandus's figure reprefents a crell^ which is
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406 LITTLE BITTERN.
not mentioned by Gefner. But he fays that its neck is flender, which feeins to (hew that it is not a genuine Bittern : Aldro- yandus ^coi'difligly obfcives, th^at-thisi'pe- cies appears to have the chara6lers both of the Common Heron and of the Bittern 5 refembling the former in the head, the fpots on the breaft, the colour of the back 5Hd of :the wings, and in its bulk 4 at the fame time that it is fimilar to the latter in the form of its legs, and in the reft of its plumage, except that it is not fpotted.
MHM
The LIT T L E B I T T E RI^
■ ' ■ , ■ Second Species, -, .
4- ' ' ' '
jtrdea-MarJtgU. Gmel. • .
£otauru: Minor, Briff". Ardea Firide Jlavefcens^ Klein ^he Siuabian Bittern. Lath.
npHis fmall fpecies of Bittern was feen on the Danube by Count Marfigli. Its plumage is rufty, ftriped with little brown lines ; the forcfide of its neck is white, and its tail whirifli ; its bill is not three inches long. If we judge from this and its other diraenfions, and admit that
tlic
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RAYED BROWN BITTERN. 407
the fame proportions obtain, we (hall be cor -vi need that this Bittern is the fmalleft of all thofe of pur Continent.
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The RAYED BROWN BITTERN.
Third Species* ,
Ardea Danubialis, Gmel. Botaurus Striatus.
'np HIS is alfo a bird of the Danube. Mariigli terms it the Brown Bittern^ and reckons it a diftin6t fpecies. It is as fmall as the preceding; all its plumage is ftriped with brown black, and rufty lines, confufedly intermixed, fo that a brown colour on the whole is produced. [A]
[A] Specific charafter of the Ardea Danubialis : ** It is brown, marked with lines of black and tawny ; its headf fmooth ; its ftraps, naked and yellow ; its throat and breail, whmft.»» . .
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The RUFOUS BITTERN.
A'
Fourth Species*
Ariea Solonienjis. Gmel. Botaurus Rufus, BriiT.
L L the plumage is of an uniform colour, light rufty under the body, and of a deeper caft on the back ; the legs are brown, and the bill yellowifh. Aldrovandus fays that this fpecies was fent to him from Epidaurus ; and he clatles it with that of a young bird, caught in the fens near Bologna, wbicb had not yet ac- quired its full colours} he adds i.hat it feemed to be more i elated to the Bitterns than to the Herons. And perhaps, as Salerne conjedures, it may be the fame with the fmall Bittern, which appears fometimes in Sologne, and is known under the name of ^oimeau, Marfigli affigns the Danube alfo as the haunt of this fpecies, which is the ti 'rd of Aldrovandus; and the au- thors of the Italian Ornithology fay, that it is a native of the country of Bologna *. It is alfo found in Alface ; for Dr. Her- mann writes us, that he had one of the
• Sgarza Jiellare rojficcia. GerinI, «m. iv, f. 50.
birds,
LITTLE SENEGAL BITTERN. 409
birds, which refufed all fuflenance, and died of hunger. He adds, that notwith- jdanding its long legs, this Bittern climbed up a fmall tree, of which it could em- brace the trunk, while its bill and neck were V -tical and in the fame line -f. [A]
f ExtraA of a letter from Dr. Hermann, dated Stratbarg, 22d September 1779.
[A] Specific chara£ler of the Ardea Solonien/ts : ** Its top is black ; its fmootU head and its neck are ferruginous ; its body is blackifti above, and tawny below."
7*
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The LITTLE SENEGAL BITTERN.
Fifth Species,
Ardea SenegaUn/is. Gmel. The Senegal Bittern. Lath.
nr H E fhort, thick- clothed neck of this bird belongs more to the Bitterns than to the Herons j and we therefore range it among the former. It is very fmall, not exceeding a foot in length. [B]
[B] Thus defcribed by Mr. Latham : ** It is brown ; it* belly, its wings, and its tail, are white ; its head and neck, ftreaked with black ; on the middle of the wings th«re is « longitudinal bar of pale rufous" He adds, chat it is twelve inches long; that its bill is brown, its legs yelloWj, ^^nd (he feathers of its neck loofe and all rufous.
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jtrdfa'Gardeni Gmel. Botaurus N<tvius. Brifl". ,7!tfi Sf.i::-' Heron. The Gardenian Her
,C p o R T s M E N call this bird the Sloven *. It is as large as a Crow, and meafures more th.ui twenty iaches from the bill to the nails. All the ground of its plumage is brown, which is deep on the quills of the wing, and light on the forefide of the neck and under the body ; fprinkled on the head, on the upperfide of the neck, on the back, and on the flioulders, with fmall white fpots, placed at the tips of the fea- thers : each of the wing quills is termi- nated by a white fpot.
To the fame fpecies we fhall refer the Cayenne Fouacre^ No. 939. PI. Enl the only difference being, that the plumage on the back has a blacker ground, and that the forefide of the body is fpotted with brown daflies on a whitifh ground -j-.
• Ponacre, a loufy lubberly fellow.
f This feems to be the fame with the Gar,denian Heron, jirdea Qardeni : " It is brown, its head fmooth, its back blackifh ; its throat and breaft whitifh fpotted with brown." Mr. Pennant has named it after Dr. Garden, an ingeniow phyflcian, who formerly refided in Soath CaroUna.
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B I R D S of the New Continent which are related to the BITTERN,
ii'
The STARRED-BITTERN.
w
V EtoiU. .Buff. ,
//>/? Speciesi
Ardia Virefcem. Far. zd. Lath.
Ardea Fufca. Klein.
Botaurus Americanus Ua'vius. Brifl*.
Ardea Stellaris Minor. Ray and Sloane.
The Crab-catcher. Brown.
The Brown Bittern, CateJby a id Lath.
E have given this bird the epithet of ftarrea^ becaufe its plumage, which is entirely brown, is fprinkled on the wing with a few white fpots thrown irregularly, and that give it fome refemblance to the preceding fpecies. It is fomewhat fmaller than the iiuropean Bittern •, it haunts pools and river^ remote from the fea and in the higheft parts of the country. Befides this fpecies, which is fpread through moft of the provinces of North America, there
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412 YELLOW BITTERN or BRAZIL.
ieems to be another in Louifiana more like the European ^.
• •• The Bitterns are Aquatic Birds that Tiv<f on fi(h ; they Kave a very large bill : they are known in Fiance, and I foall therefore omit faying any thing more of them," Le Page Duprata> Hijloirt de la LauificMt, torn. ii. p* 21 8.
ff«!
TheYELLOW BITTERN of BRAZIL.
m
Second Specieu
Jrdea Tlava. Gmel.
Botaurus BraJiUenfis. Brifl*.
Jrdea BrafilieHfis riifiro fcrrato. Ray. and Will.
1X7 E may conclude from the proportions affigned by Marcgrave, that it is a Bittern. It is as large as a Heron ; its neck is a foot in length ; and its body five inches and a half; its tail four ; and its thigh and leg more than nine ; all the back and the wing are clothed with brown feathers, wafhed with yellow ; the quills of the wing are partly black, partly cinereous, andinter- feited tranfverfcly with white lines j the long feathers, which hang from the head and neck, are of a pale yellow, waved with black \ thofe on the underiide of the neck,
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LITTLE BITTERN or CARYNNE. 413.
on the bread, and on the belly, are white, waved with brown and fringed round with yellow. We (hall remark, as a fingulaf circumftance, that the bill is indented near the point both above and below.
TheLITTLE BIT /ERN of C A Y E N ^ n .
. Third S fen a,
Ariea tJndulata. Gmel. The Zigzag Bittern, Lath.
Op H I s Little Bittern is a foot or thirteen inches long j all its plumage has a rufty gray ground, and is fpotted with dark brown in fmall crofs lines very clofe toge- ther, waved and twifted in zigzags, and dotted below the neck, on the ftomach, and on the flanks ; the upperfide of the head is black, the neck very thick qf feathers, and appears to have as much girth as the body.
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The HUDSOM'S BAY BItTERN.
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..y/fa foirtb'Sfta'et* 'IhMt ;i(U<."; r/t:
^rdT/a Stellaris, Far. Gmel. Botaurus Freti Huifonit. Brifl*.
np H k garb commen to alt tke Bitterns is a plumage of rufous or rufty ground, broken more or lefs and interfered with lines, and brown or blackilh ilreaks; and this is the garb of the Hudfon's Bay Bittern. It is fmaller than the European, its length from the bill to the nails being fcarcely two feet and an half. [Bj
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[B] Thus defcribed by Briflbn : « Above, it is rafty» fi'reaked acrofs with blackifh ; below, whitiAi, variegated with tawny lohgitudrnai fpots, fprinkled with black ; its tdp, blacktfti ; the lower part of its neck white, vttriegated with tawny longitadinal fpots, margined with black ; the feathera at the origin of the neck very long; the tail- qtiilh tawny, ftreaked tranfVerfely with blackifh^ HDe bill blaekiih above, and at the ti|;, below yellow; the leg*, bright yellow,"
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The Tiger Bittern, L«th . ^, "^ , ,. av ; -^
A F T & R the Bitterns of the New World we place the birds termed Ow<?r/i in the Planches Enluminks, That name is applied in Cayenne to all the fpecies of Herons j but the birds to which we reflrift it, are more, related to the Bitterns: they have the fame form and colours^ and dif- fer only becaufe their neck is not fo well clothed with feathers, though it has a cloftr fur, and. is not fo (lender, as the neck of the Herons. The prefent is almod as largCg but not lb thick as the European Bittern i all its plumage is agreeably marked, and widely interfe^led, by black crofs bars in zigzags, on a rufous jground on the upper fide of the body, and. of a light gray on the unider. -^
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Sixtb ipteiii.
Ardea Lineata* Gmel. Tie LiHeated Bitttru. Lath*
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'TT HIS fpecies is rather larger than the preceding, being two feet and a half long ; the great quills of the wings and the tail are black ; all the upper furface is handfomely inlaid with very fine fmall lines of rufous, yellowifh and brown, which wave tranfverfely, and form demi-feftoons s the upper fide of the neck and the head are of a bright rufous, interfedted alfo with fmall brown lines; the forepart of the neck and of the body is white^ marked lightly with fome brown (treaks.
Thdfe two fpecies were fent to us by M. De la Borde, King's phyfician at Cay* enne. They lurk in the gullies excavated by the rills \ ' :h flow into the Savannas ; they haunt ai.o the fides of rivers. In droughts, they lie clofe in the thick herb- age ; they are flufhed at a great diftance, and never two appear together. If we wound one, we muft be cautious in ap- proaching it 5 for it adts o\\ the defenfive,
and
RAYED ONOR&
4T7
and, drawing back its neck, it fVrikes a violent blow with its bill, aiming at the eyes. Its habits are the fame, with thofe of our Heron. ' '
M. De la Borde faw a tame, or rather, a captive Onori in a houfe. It was contt<* nually on the watch for rats, and it caught them more dextroufly than a cat. But though kept above two years, it always remained in hiding places, and if aperfon went near its retreat, it fought with a threatning afpeft to dart at his eyes. Both fpecies feem to be ftationary in their na* tive tracts, and are rare.
The ONORE of the WOODS.
Seventh. Speciet,
Ariea Brafilienfis* Linn. Giqel. and Bri^T.
Soco Brajilienfihut, Marcg.
Cecoi Tertiut' Pifon.
The Clucking Hen. Brown and Dampler.
The Brafilian Bittern. Lath.
T T is found in Guiana and Brazil. Marc- grave ranges it under the general name Socot with the Herons. But it appears to be much related to the Onores, and con- fcquently to the Bitterns. The back, the VOL. VII, E e rump.
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ramgki and the flioulders^ art qitk ely blsokw i£ii^ dotted with yellowifh ; andr what is uticamtnon,. the pltimage is the fkme on the breaft, the belly, and the Bdtsu the upper furface of l^e neck is whiter mixed ^ith lofigitudinal black and white fpots. Marcgrave fays ^at the neck meafures a foot, and that the t0tal length, from the bill tOf the nsuU i» abottt thrd» ftel^^^^ '
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The B I H O R E A U.
Ariea-NyQitoraxt Linn, and Gnel.
Nj£licorax. Gefner. Aldror, Johnft. Sibb. BriflT. &c.
jlrJta Varia, Klein, and Schwenclu
The Kight kavtm. Will, and Alb.
^k* Night Htnn. P«nn« and Lath *.
1^0 ST of the naturalifts have given this bird the appellation of Ny£li^ corax, or Nigbt-raven, on account of a ftrange fort of croaking, or rather a fright- ful and difmal rattling, which it makes during the night -f. And this is the only refemblance which it beairs to the Raven ; for in other ^'efpe(Ss, it is analogous to the Heron: the only difference is„ that its neck is fhorter and better feathered ; its head larger, and its bill thicker ; \t is alfo fmalleri not exceeding twenty hahc^ in length. Its plumage is black, with a green glofs on the head and the nape of the neck; dull green on the back ; pearl- gray on the wings and the tail, and white on the reft of the body. The male has
* In Italian NMietraet : in German NicAt-./tai (Night raven); Bunter Regtr (^tfottled Heron) or Sthild-Regen (Shield Heron) : in Flemish ^ack,
t Vtfptri ^ no3u ah/ona ittce mateftat, Schwenckfeld,
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on the nape of the neck fomc feathers, commonly three in number, exceedingly delicate, of a fnowy white *, and about five inches long; and of all ciefl^^Iumes. thefe are the mod beautiful and the mofl precious -f- i they drop in the fpring, and return only once a- year. The female wants this ornament, and differs confiderably from the male; fo that fome naturalifVs have niiflaken it. BrilTon has made it his ninth fpecies of Heron. It has all the upper furface of a rudy-afh colour; dafties of the fame tint on the neck ; and the un- derfide of the body is light gray.
The Biboreau breads in rocks, according to Belon, who thence derives its ancient French name, Roupeau : but Schwenckfeld and Willughby agree, that it builds its neft on alders near marfhes. Thefe oppo- site accounts cannot be reconciled without fuppofing, that thefe birds vary their habits according to circumftances ; that in the jplaiiis of Silefia and Holland they fettle on the acjuatic trees, and that on the coafls of BiitaiVy, where Belon faw them, they
J ,. ■ ' •
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t *' They are fold at a high price, fays Schwenckfeld, and our yoang nobility are foad of wearing the plumes in .Ihcirhai."
neftle
i I !T O R E A U.
4tt
yieftle in the cliffs. It is affirmed that they lay three or four white eggs *,
The Biboreau feems to be a bird of paf- fage. Belon faw one expofed in the market, in the month of March ; Schwenckfeld aflTerts, that it retires from Silefia in the beginning of autumn, and returns with the Storks in the fpring. It frequents equally the feafliores, or the rivers and inland marfhes. It is found in France at Sologne ; in Tufcany on the lakes Fucecchio and Bi- entine -(- j but the fpecics is every where more rare than that of the Heron : it is alfo lefs difperfed, and is not fpread to Sweden %,
As its legs are not fo tall and its neck fliorter than the Heron, it lives partly on the water and partly on the landj and fabfifls as much upon crickets and flugs as upon frogs and fi(h. It remains con- ;cealed during the day, and does not ftir until the approach of night, when it utters its cry ka^ ka, ka, which Willughby compares to the groans of a perfon reaching §.
• Willughby and Schwenckfeld.
f Italian Ornithology, torn, t'v p. 49. ^
X We judge fo, becaufe it is not mentioned in the Fauna Suecica. /
§ NySicerax, quod interdiu tlamet 'Voce alfondy ^ tanquam vomiturientis*
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, The Night Heron has very long toes \ its thighs and legs are greenlfh yellow } its bill is black, and the upper mandible (lightly arched ; its eyes are brilliant, and the iris forms a red or orange circle round the pupil. [A]
[AJ Specific charaAer of the Night-heron, Jrdtm NiOi- £orax: ** It bai a horiaontal three- feathered creft On the back of its head, iti back black, iti belly ycllowifli."
The BiHOREAU o f CAYENNE.
«
jfrJea Cayantnfii. Gmel. Tht CaytHttt Night Htron, Lath.
T T is as large as the European Night Heron ; but is in general not fo thick. Its body is hiore ilender } its legs taller % its neck, its head, and its bill, are fmaller ; the plumage is of a bluifh-afh colour on the neck, and on the underfide of the body ; the upper furface is black, fringed with cinereous on each feather ; the head is enveloped with black, and the crown is white i there is alfo a white flreak under the eye. The tuft in this bird confifts of five or (ix feathers, of which fome are white, others black. [B]
[B] Specific charafterof the ArJea Cayantnjis: ** It is cinereous , its head black, and its top white ; the creft un- eq[ual, confining of fix feathers, partly black, partly white."
t 4*3 }
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The TUFTED UMBRE.
£' Omiritit. Buff.
5f «/»/• Vmbritta. G mel .
Seofur*. Briflf.
fpoR the knowledge of tfaifi bird we are ^ indebted to Adanfon, who found it at Senegal. It is rather larger than the Night Heron. It owes its name to the dun or umbre caft of its plumage. It ought to be regarded as an anomalous fpecies in the tribe of Marfh-birds; for it belongs not exaflly to any of them. It might be claffed with the Herons, if its bill had not been of an entirely different form, and even peculiar to itfelf j being very broad and thick near the head, growing flatter at the fides as it extends ; the ridge of the upper mandible is prominent the whole length, and feems to be detatched by two grooves that run on each fide, which BriiTon defcribes, by faying that the bill appears compofed of feveral jointed pieces : the ridge is reflefted at the tip of the bill, and terminates in a curved point j the whole
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length of the bill is three inches and three lines. The leg is four inches and a half, and the naked part of the thigh two inches. Thefe meafures were taken from one of thefe birds depofited in the king's cabinet. Briflbn fcems to make them larger. The tous are invefted near the root by the be- ginning of a membrane, which fpreads more between the outer and middle toe : the hind toe is not joined as in the Herons to the fide of the heel, but to the heel itfcif;
C 4^5 1
MP-
The COURLIRI, or COURLAf^.
Ardea Scolopaeea. Gmcl. The Scelopaceeus Heron. Lath.
'T^ HIS bird is nearly of the fame height and bulk with the Herons. Its length from the bill to the nails is two feet eight inches j the naked part of the thigh, reckon- ing from the Xtg^ is ky^xx inches ; the bill is four, and is flraight almoft its whole length, and (lightly curved near the point; and this is the only circumftance in which it refembles the Curlews. On the nail of the great toe, there is a protuberant nd^^ on the infide, which reprcfents the indented comb of the Heron. The plumage is a beautiful brown, which becomes reddifh and coppery on the great quills of the wing and of the tail. Each feather of the neck has a white dafh on its middle. This fpecies is new, and was fent to us from Cay- enne under the name of Ccurliri. [A]
[A] Specific charafter of the Ardea Scohpacea : ♦• It is brown, its throat and bread ftreaked with whice, its chin and legs white ; its tail and its wing<c[uills have a copper glofs." ■ : . .■
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Cancroma. Linn, and Gmel. CaHcrcma Cochlearia, Lath* f Cochlear ius. CocbUarius Fu/cus. Brifl*.
I
The Boat bill. Brown and Lath *.
O^ H E Savacou is a native of Gmana and Brazil. It has nearly the bulk and proportions of the Bihoreau ; and, by its general ftru6ture and its mode of living, it would approach the Heron-tribe, did not its broad and remarkable flat bill fepa- rate it widely, and difcriminate it even from all the other MarQi-birds. It has been called Spoon-billy from the refemblance to two fpoons applied to each other at the concave (ides. On the convexity of the upper mandible, there are two deep grooves, which are fent off from the noftrils and produced, fo that the middle fpace makes a high ridge terminated by a fmall hooked point. The lower mandible, upon which the upper is fitted, may be faid to be the
* Called Savaceu or Saouacou at Cayenne, Rapapa by the Garipane favages, Tamatia in Brazil.
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frame, VvWcon the fkin prolonged from the throat is extended. Both mandibles are (harp at the edges, and confift of a folid and very hard horn. The bill is four inches from the corners to its point, and its greateft breadth twenty lines.
Kotwithftanding its formidable weapon, the Savacou feems to have a mild difpofi^r tion, and to lead a calm peaceful life, if we may judge from the names applied by nomenclators : the appellation Cancrofagui given by Barrere implies that it fubfiils on crabs. But on the contrary, it removes from the feaihore, and haunts the deluged Savan^ nas, or the fides of rivers where the tide never afcends *. There, perched on the aquatic trees, it vvatchcs the fi(h as they pafs by it, and plunges after them under the water, and again emerges with its prey "f*. It walks with its neck beat, its back arched, its carriage constrained, and its air as mournful as that of the Heron %. It is iavage, and fhuns the fettlements § Its eyes are placed very near the root of its
* Obfcrvations made at Cayenne by M. Sonbi de Maa- noncour.
f Memoirs communicated by M. de la Bcrde, King'« phyfician at Cayenne.
X Dor/o incurvato incedtut, i^ collo incurvato, Marcgrave.
§ M. de la Borde.
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bill, and give it a wild arpe£l'. If it id caught, it cracks its bill ; and when it is irritated, or thrown into agitation, it erects the long feathers on the top of its head.
Barrere reckons three fpecies of the Sava- cou, which Briflbn reduces to two, and which may probably be comprehended under one. In fa£l, the gray and the brown have no remarkable difference, except that the latter is furnifhed with a long tuft, which may be the charafter of the male. The other, which we conceive to hi the female, has a trace of the fame charadler in the feathers which hang from the back of the head. The difference between the colours of their plumage may be attributed to age or fex ; efpecially as the Variegated Savacou * forms the uniting fhade. Their forms and proportions, too, are precifely the fame j and we are the more convinced that they conftitute but a fingle fpecies, becaufe nature, though (he fports with variety in the general plan of her works, leaves fome folitary and infulated produc- tions of peculiar ftrudture on the confines of the grand divifions. The Avofet, the
* Brought from Cayenne by M. Sonini.
Spoonbill,
S A V A C O U.
419
Spoonbill, the Flamingo, &c. are examples of this remark.
The Brown and Crefted Savacou, which we take to be the male, has more of the rufous-gray than of the blui(h-gray, on its mantle. The feathers of the nape are black, and form a bunch of eight inches long, falling on the back : thefe feathers are float- ing, and fame of them eight lines broad.
The Gray Savacou, which appears to be the female, has the whole of its mantle of a bluifli light gray, with a fmall black zone on the top of the back ; the under- fide of the body is black, mixed with rufous ; the forepart of the neck and the front, are white ; the head-dre(s falls back into a point, and is of a bluifh black.
in both, the throat is naked ; the (kin which covers it, feems capable of a confi- derable dilatation : and this is probably what Barre means by the expreflion ingluvie extuberante. This fkin, according to Marc- grave, is yellowilh, as well as the legs ; the toes are flender, and the phalanges long. We may alfo remark, that the hind-toe is arti- culated with the fide of the heel, near the outer toe, as in the Herons. The tail is (hort, and does not proje61: beyond the wing. The total length of the bird is
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about twenty inches. Our, meafures ver« taken from larger fpecimens ths^n.that de« fcnb«)d by Britibn, whicb was probably a young one. ^AJ . ^ , :
(A) Linnaeus erefls the Boat-bill into a diftinA genus, ttnder the name of CoHcrema,. which is divided into two fpeciet^ the Cechltaria and the Cantrapimgat the former havlDgi a tawny. belly» and the latter a whitiil;u Rut Mr. Latham, with mote propriety, follows our anchor ia inaking only one fpecies, inclttding two varieties.
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la Sfatult. Buff*.
Platelta Ltncerodia. Linn, and Omel.
P/«/M» fivt Pilieanus. GeHicr. Aldrov. Will, and Sib*
j^r</(ra ^/^o. Johnft.
Tht Speou-biU or Ptli€Mi, Alb* and Ray*.
npHOUGH thc^ Sjpoon-bill is diftin- guiflied by a lingular figure, nomen- clators have, under improper and foreign appellaiion$, confounded it with quite different birds. It is neither a White- Heron, nor a Pelican, as fome have repre- fented it : and the name Spatula or Spoon- bilh adopted in moft languages, feems to fuit it the beft. The bill is flat ; and near its extremity, it fpreads like a (hovel, and terminates in two rounded plates, thrice as broad as the body of the bill itfelf. On account of this conformation, Klein has denominated the bird Anomalorofter, or Anomalous-bill; the fubflance of this bill is as anomalous as its (hape, being flexible like leather, and therefore by no means fitted for the oflice which Pliny and Cicero
* In Greek Aivxo(«^«$ : in Latin Platea or Platelta : in Hebrew Kaath : in Italian ^eccaroveglia : in German Pele- fttH, or Lvefflet : in FlemilH Lepdaer : in SweidiAi Pelecan : in Ruffian Calf arc: in Poliih Pdifon ox Plajkwos,
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aiTign to it, applying inaccurately to the Spoon-bill what Ariftotle had juftly aflcrted of the Pelican } viz. that it darts at the Diving- birds, and bites them on the head until they refign their prey -fj Scaliger, inftead of correding thefe mi()akes, accu- mulates others : he confounds the Plat flea and Pelican, and then adds from Suidas that the latter was the *i»i^««At;irV, which is the Woodpecker % thus tranfporting the Spoon-bill from the margin of lakes to the heart of forefls, and making it bore trees with a bill which is defined folely to fearch in the mud. Such confufion and fuch falfe erudition merit not an exami- nation ; and inflead of wafting our time in obfcure inveftigation, we fhall proceed dire6lly to furvey the fimple beauties of nature.
The Spoon-bill is entirely white; as large as a Heron ; its legs not fo tall, its neck not fo long, but clothed with fmall narrow feathers s thofe below the head
t Ariftotle, Hiji. Animal. Lib. ix. 14. — •< Legi ttiam /crip turn hie ejfe avem quamdam qua plattUa Hominetur ; earn Jibi cibum quttrere advolantem ad eat antes quet fe in mari mer- gerentt quee cum emerjtffenty pi/cemque tepijjentf u/que adeo pre- mere earum capita merdicut, dum iil^e cciptum amitterent^ quod ip/a iwouderet. Cicero, lib. ii. dt Nat, Deoic.—PlaiUa vomeii- atur ad'volans ad eas qucej'e in mari mergunty ^ capita illarun mcr/u corripient, donee capturam extorqtteat, JPlin. Jib, tc. 56.
./..are
WHITE SPOON-BILL. 435
die long and narrow, and form a tuft which falls behind ; the throat is covered, and the eyes encircled, with a naked (kin 5 the legs and the bare pnrt of the thighs, arc covered with a Mack, hard, and cal- lous (kin J a portion ot membrane conneds the toes near their junction, and, by its proJudion, fringes and borders them to their extremity ; black crofs waves mark the ycilowini ground of the bill, whofe extremity is yellow, mixed fometimes with red; a black border, which runs contiguous to a channel, forms a fort of ledge quite round the bill, and within, there is a long groove under the u})per mandible j a fmall point bent downwards, terminates tlie ex- tremity of the fpoon, whofe greattft breadth is twenty-three lines, and which is fur- rowed internally with fmall Jlricc, that make the furface rougher ovi the inlide than on the outfuie : near the head, the upper mandible is fo broad and thick, as to occupy apparently the whole front: the two mandibles near their origin arc equally befet within near the edges, with fmall tubercles, or furrowed prominences, which ferve to bruife ftiells, or hold a (lip- pery prey ; for it appears that this bird feeds equally on fifli, on cruftaceous animals, on aquatic infe6ls, and on worms. VOL. VII. F f The
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The Spoon-bill inhabits the fea-fliore, and feldom occurs in the inland country *, except on fome lakes -j-, and tranfiently by the fides of rivers. It prefers the fenny coaftsj and is found in thofe of Poitou, of Bfitany J, of Picardy, and of Holland : fome places are even famous for multitudes of Spoon-bills 5 fuch are the inarfhes of Sevenhuys, near Leyden §.
Thefe birds neftle on the tops of large trees nea*: the fea-coafl:, and build with flicks 5 they have three or four young. During the breeding feafon, they are very noify in their retreats, and return regularly every night to repofe ||.
Of the four Spoon-bills defcribed by the Academici^^ns ^, and which were entirely white, two had a little black on the end of the wing; which does not denote a dif- ference of fex, as Aldrovandus prefames, for it occurs in botli the male and the female. The tongue is very fmall, of a triangular Ihape, and not exceeding three
* Salerne.
f As on thofe of Bientlna and Fucecchio in Tufcany, 4ccording to Gerini : that author is miiUkea ia uliiog this bird a Pelican*
X Belon.
§ Albin, and Johnft. il Belon.
^ Mem. de V Acad, depuis i656 juf^* en 1669 : torn. Hi. far. 3./. 27 ^ 29,
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WHITE SPOON-BILL. 435
lines in all : the afophagus dilates as it defcends ; and it is probably in this cavity, that the bird detains and digefts the fmall mufcles and other (hell-fifh, which are fwallowed, and the fhells rejected after the pulp is decoded and extracted*: the giz- zard is lined with a callous membrane, as in the granivorous birds ; but inftead of the cacum^ which is found in thefe, it has only little and exceeding Ihort protu- berances at the extremity of the tleon\ the in- teftines are feven feet long : the trachea arte^- ria is like that of th^; Crane, and makes a double infle^lion in the thorax : the heart is furnifhed with a pericardium, though Aldrovandus fays that he could not per- ceive it -f*.
Thefe birds penetrate in fummer as far as Weft Bothnia and Lapland, according to Linnaeus : they appear alfo in fmall numbers in Pruflia, during the autumnal rains, having arrived from Poland J. Rza- czynfki fays, that they are feen, though rare- ly, in Volhinia : fome pafs into Sile{ia,.in the
• Platea cum dcvoratis fe impk'V't conchisy colore ventrii tolias evomity atque ex iis e/culcnta legitf iejias excernens, Plin. Lib. X. 56.
t Mem. de 1' Acad, utifupra,
X Klein.
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months of September and Oclober *. I'hey inhabited, as we have already noticed, the vveftern coaOs of France. They are found alio on thofe of Africa, at Biflao near Sierra Leona-f*; in Egypt, according to Granger :fj at the Cape of Good Hope, where Kolben relates, that they live both on ferpents and fiOi, and are called Shngen-'vreetert or Ser* fent- eaters^: Commerfon faw them in Ma- dagafcar, where the inhabitants denominate them Fcwgali'iim bava, or Spade -bills ||, The Negroes in fome parts name them Vang-'van^ and in others Vourou'doulon^ or the Devil's-birds <([. 1 he fpecies therefore though not numerous is widely difFufed, and feems even to have made the circuit of the Ancient Continent. Sonnerat found Spoon-bdls in the Pliilippine illands **j
• A'viar. Siks. p. 314. ocluvcnckfeld feem5 here to confound the Pelican witji the Spoon-bill ; for he relates at this place, from Ifiodorus and St. Jerome, the fable of the refurrcAion of the young of the Pelican, by th« blood which it difchargcs from its breaR, when the fer- pent has killed them.
f Brue, Hift. Cen. dcs Voy. tern, it p. 590.
J Voyage de Granger, Paris, 1745. p- 237.
§ His account is not altogether accurate, and he impro- perly terms the bird Pelecan j b^^ his figure is that of the Spoon-bill. ''^■■" '
WFourougcndrotti according to Flaccourt.
^[ The Negroes give them this name, becaufe their cry \& helipved to forebode the death of fome pcrfun in the vil- \,c }J':)^lert /)• /If Cct!n>tn-/on
... .\i v'k <.)U.i..t'V, p 89,
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fe their cry in the vil-
^nd
WHITE SPOON-BILL.
437
and though he diftinguifhes two fpecies, the want of the creft, which confiitutes the chief difference, does not to us appear to n\ake a fpecific chara61er ; and hiiherto only one fpecies is known, which is nearly the ilime from the North to the South of our hemifphere. It occurs aifo in the New World, and though the fpecies has been here divided into two, we may join themi together ; and their refemblance is To ftrong to the European Spoon-bill, that we may impute the fmall differences to the infiu- cnce of climate. [A]
The American Spoon-bill * is only a little fmaller in all its dimenfions than the Eu- ropean } it differs alfo by the rofe or car- nation which paints the white ground of its plumage on the neck, the back, and the fides ; the wings are more ftrongly coloured, and the red tint runs into a crimf^jn on the fhoulders and the coverts of the tail, of which the quills are rufous ; the lliaft of thofe of the wing is marked with fine
[A] Specific character of the White Spoon-bill, PUtalea Leucorodia: ** Its body is white, its throat black, the back of its head fomewhat crefted. • ( Plalalea-Ajsii. C Plaialea-Ajtu. I'ar. Linn, and Gmel. f Pl-xtea Roj-a. I Platea Cocci nea. Bri IT.
f ^he Brafilian Rofeate Spoon- bill.
carht Spoon bill. Lath. F f 3
carmine s
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WHITE SPOON-BILL.
carmlhe ; the head and the throat are naked. Thefe beautiful colours are found only in the adult ; for there are fome wHich have much lei's red, and are even almoft entirely white, the huc^d not bare, and the quills of the wing partly brown ; which are the vef- tiges o^" iis firO garb. Barrere affirms, that there is the fame progrefs of colour in the American Spoon-bills as in many other birds, the Red Curlews, for inftance, and the Flamingos, which during the two firft years are almoft entirely gray or white, and do not become red till the third year. It hence follows that the Rofe-coloured Bird of Brazil, or the ^jaia of Marcgrave, de- fcriL*^d in its early ftage, with wings of pale carnation ; and the Crimfon Spoon- bill of New Spain, or the Tiauhquechid of Fernandez, defcribed in its adult ftate, ar6 really the fame. Marcgrave fays, that num- bers of them are feen on the river St. Francis or Seicgippa, and that the fiefli is pretty good. Fernandez afcribes to it the fame habits with our Spoon bill ; that it lives by the Sea- fide on fmail fiflies, that thefe mufl be given to it alive if it is to be reared in the domeftic ftate *, hav-
« The Furcpenn Sooon-hiil wlil live in confinement : it may be fed, fays Belon, with fowls' guts. Klein kept one a long time in his garden, though its wing had been broken by a fhot. ,
m
WHITE SPOON-BILL. 439
ing found by experience^ he adds, that they will not touch dead Jijh -f*.
This Rofc coloured Spoon-bill is dif- fufed in the New Continent, as the white one in the old, over a great extent from North to South ; from the coafts of Mexico and Florida J, to Guiana and Brazil. Jt is found too in Jamaica §, and probably in the adjacent iflands. But the fpecies is no where numerous : at Cayenne, for inftance, there are perhaps fix times more Curlews than Spoon-bills, and their greateft flocks never exceed eight or nine at moft, commonly only two or three, and oftea thefe are accompanied by Flamingoes. In the morning and evening, the Spoonbills are feen on the Sea-fhore, or fitting on trunks that float near the beach ; but about the middle of the day in the fultriefl wea- ther they enter the creeks, and perch very high on the aquatic trees. Yet they are
f This peculiarity perhaps has induced Nieremberg to term it avis -vivi-vora.
X Page du Pratz, Hiji. dela Lctiijtane, torn. ii. p- 116. 'f We have received from Bali/c (in New Orleans) a large bird called the Spatula, bccaufe its bill is of that form : iis plum- age is white, whiclj tuins into a light 'red : it grows fa- miliar, and rcniaWib in the co'irt-yard." Exirad of a lettsr fromM. (ie Fotiictle, zoth OJ/ol>er iji^o.
§ The American Scarlet Polecan, cr Spoon-bill. Tlaui- quechul Fernand, Jjaia Brafil, &c. Sloaae, 'Jumaica» VoU xi.p, 317.
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440 WHITE SPOON-BILLr
not very wild j for at fea they pafs very near the cnnoes, and on land they fufFer a perfon to get within gunlhot of them, whether they be alighted or on the wing. Their beautiful plumage ib often foiled by the mud, in which they wad^ deep in queft of prey. M, De la Borde, who made thefe obfervations on their a:conomy, confirms M. Barrere's account of their colour, and afilires us that the Spoon-bills of Guiana do not aiTume, until about their third year, that beautiful red tint, and that the young ones are almoft entirely white.
M, Baillon, to whom we are indebted for many good obfervations, admits two fpe- cies of Spoon-bills, and informs me, by letter, that both thefe appear on the coafts of Picardy, in the months of November and April, but that neither of them remains : they ilop a day or two near the fea, and the adjacent marfhes 5 they are few in number, and feem extremely flly.
The firll is the Common Spoon bill, which is of a very bright white and has no creft : the fecond fpecics is creiled, and fmaller than the other. M. Baillon thinks that thefe differences, with fome varieties in the colours of tiie bill anr^ plumage, are fulncient to couftitute two diflindt and independent fpccies.
He
'^V^i^
I', ■
WHITE SPOON-BILL. 441
He IS alfo perfuaded, that all the Spoon- bills are hatched gray like the Egrets, which they refemble in the (hape of their body, in their manner of flying, and in their other habits : he regards thofe of St. Domingo as forming a third fpecies. But it appears to us from the reafons already advanced, that thefe are only three varieties of the fame f})ecies, fince they have aU the fame inftinfls and habits.
M. Baillon obferved in five Spoon bills, which he was at the pains to dilTeft, that all of them had their ftomach filled with fhrimps, fmall fifh, and water infects j and, as their tongue is almoft nothing,' and their hill neither fliarp nor indented, it would feem that they cannot catch esls, or any firti that make refiftance, and that they live on very fmall animalb, which obliges them to fearch continually for their food.
It is probable that thefe birds in certain circumftances make the fame clattering with their bill as the Storks ; for M. Baillon, having wounded one, obferved that it made that noife, which was produced by the quick and fuccefTive motion of the mandi- bles, though the bill was fo weak that it could hardly fqueeze the finger.
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[ 442 J
The WOODCOCK.*
k
LaBecaJi. CufF;
Scolcpnx Ruj'Hi-ola. Linn. andGmol.
Scalapax. lii.!!' Ray. .Alclrov. Johnft. &c.
/"'\ F all the birds of pailrige, the Woodcock is that on which rportfrnen fet the mod value ; both on account of the excel- lence of its fiefli, and the facility with which it is caught. It arrives in our v^roods about the middle of O6lober,^ at the fame time with the Thrufnes -j-j it then defcends from the lofty mountains, which it inhabited dur- ing the fummer, and feeks a milder air in the plains J : for it does not migrate into
• Tn Greek DxoAoTral, which alTo fignifies ajiake^ and was applied to the Vi'Dodcock becaule of the length of its bill : in Latin Perdix R:'J::ca, Rujlicda, Gallinago : in Italian Htcajfa, Bcccacia^ Ga.Unclla, Gallina with the epithets arciera, TidiiccUa and fai'atica ; in Rome Pixxarda ; in Tufcar.y /iicggia^ and in Lombardy Sfl///«rt«« ; in Ger- man both the Woodcock and Snipe have the general appel- lation SchK:;^Jc modified with v.irlous epithets; thofe of the WoGilzO'zk g>c/s, iva/d, holtx berg kc. {^reaty nuood, forej}, Vfrnntain, k.) : in Flemilh Sneppe: in Polilh, Slomka and Pardvoa : in Suedlfh, Mcrkulla: in Norwegian Blom-Rokksy Rtttie: in Danifn,' Hnlt-Sneppe : in Turkifli, Tcheluk.
f Aloyfius Mundella. abud Gefntrum,
\ The time of fowling for Woodcocks is well dcfiacd by the poet Ncmcfianus. » Citn nemus omnefito viridi fpoliafur honore
«'■ prada eji facilis ^ amoena /colopiax-
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WOODCOCK.
442
diftant countries, but only fhifts from the higher to the lower regions of the atmof- phere j:. It quits the fuoimits of the An- des and Pyrenees on the firft fall of fnow, which happens on thefe elevations about the beginning of October; it fettles below on the gentle acclivities, or advances into the funny vales.
The Woodcocks arrive in the night, and Ibmetimes during the day, in cloudy weather §, always one by one, or two together, but never in flocks. They alight among large hedge-rows, copfes, and tall clumps, and prefer thofe woods which abound with loofe mould and fallen leaves. they lie concealed the whole day, and lurk fo clofe that it requires a dog to put them
J ** The Woodcock is a bird which refides in fummer among high mountains, the Alps, the Pyrenees, Switzer- land, and Auvergne, where we have often feen it in that feafon. But in aatUmn it defcends into the plains and coppices; and fince Greece abounds with fuch lofty moun- tains, we need not wonder that AriAotle fliould not have faid that it is migratory. In /a£l the Woodcock difters from the other birds which entirely leave a country, for it only fhifts its abode, fpending the fummer in the uplands, and the winter in the valleys, where it haunts the perennial fprings and wet places, while the fummits of the mountains are frozen, and extrafts the worms out of the ground with its long bill ; and fdr this purpofe it flies in the morning and evening, pafTes the day among the brakes, and comes abroad at night." Belon>
Willu^hby.
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W O O D C O C K.
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up, and they often fpring nt the rportfman'a feet. They leave their dark leafy retreats on the ap[»roach of evening, and fpread among the glades, keeping always ih'j little paths J hey feek the foft and wet pafturagc by the fkirts of the wood, and the finall meres, where they walh their bill and feet, which are daubed with earth in learching for tl;cir food. They have all the fame ceconomy j and we miglu fay in general, that the Woodcocks arc birds void of charadler, and that the habits of the individual refult entirely from thofe of the fpecies. ;
The Woodcock makes a noify flappinc: with its wings when it rifes. Jn t 11 groves it fiioots pretty ftraight along, but in copfes it is often obliged to deflect its courfe, and dives behind the bufhes to conceal itfelf from the fowler *. Its flight, though rapid, is neither high, nor long fupportcd. It flops with fuch promptncfs, as to fall apparently like a dead weight. A few moments after it drops, it runs fwiftly ; but foon ftops, raifes its head, and cafts a glance all round, before it ventures to lurk in the herbage. Pliny juftly com- pares the Woodcock to the Partridge in
Willughby.
regard
v/ o o D c o c n.
44J
rcgJird to the celerity \\\\\\ ulilch it runs -f- ; for it conceals itfelf in the fame way, and beft.rc the fportfrnan reaches the fpot where he j)crceivcs it to alight, lie iiiuis that it has ah'eac'y tnppt:d to a g'caC diiiance.
It appears that this bird, though it has large eyes does not fee well but in twilight, and cannot fupport a ftrona; liglu. This feems to he evinced by its manner of life, and by its motions, which are never (o agile as in the dawn, or at the clofe of the day. And fo ftrong is this propen* fity to a<5lion at the rife or defcent of the fun, that Woodcocks kept in a room have been obferved to flutter regulaily every morning and evening; while during the day or the night, they only trij^ped en the floor, without attempting to fly. And pro- bably the wild Woodcocks remain tlill in dark nightb j but in moon-light they come abrjad in queft of food, llcnte the fportf- men cail the full moon oF November, tbe IFoodcocks tnoon {lune dcs becajjes) J, becaufe they are then cauglu in the greateft num^ bers. The ffiaresare laid in the evening or the night ; and thefe are the pantenne, the
f Rujlicula l^ per dices curruah PI in.
J In England, it is ufually teraied i/^e banter's moon, T,
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WOODCOCK.
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fpring or the noofe : the pantenne or fen- iiere is a net fpread between two large trees, in the opening or fkirt of a wood, where ♦he birds are obferved to pafs in their even- ing-flight. They may alfo be fliot in the meres, or on the brooks and fords at fun- let : the fowler (its in a clofe arbour near the fpot which the Woodcocks frequent; and a little after the clofe of day, efpecially when the mild fouth or fouth-weft winds blow, they generally arrive, one or two together, and alight on the water, where they may be fired at, with almoft certain I'uccefs. Yet this fport is lefs profitable and more precarious than that pradlifed by fprings fet in their paths. Thefe are fwitches of hazel, or other flexible and elaftic wood, driven into the ground, and tied down to a trap that encircles a noofe of hair or pack-thread: the refl: of the path is inclofed with boughs ; or if the fpring be planted on pad u re- ground, brooms or junipers are ftuck in rows, fo as to leave only a fmall paflage. The bird advances in the track, and being averfe to leap or fly, it brufhes on the trap, which Itarting, it is feized in the noofe and lifted into the air by the recoil of the fwiteh. The Woodcock thus fufpended flruggles much, and the fportfman mull make more
than
WOODCOCK. 447
tlian one progiefs among his fnarcs in the evening, and (till more towards the tnd of the night, elfe the fox, a more diligent hunter, informed by the flapping of iheic wings, will pay a viut, and cany tht^m olf one after another, and, without taking time to eat them, will conceal them in different places, to be devoured at leiuire. The haunts cf this bird may be difcovered by its excrements, which are large, white, and inodorous. To invite it into puftures where there are no paths, farrows are traced, which it follows in fearch of the worms that are turned up, and it is entangled in the gins or hair-noofes placed in the hne^ But are thefe not too many iiiares for a bird which can Hiun none ? The Wood- cock is naturally dull and flupid : it is a very Jot tijlj creature [mcult fotte bJic) fays Belon *\ It mud indeed be fuch, if it can be caught in the way which he relates, and which he calls a waggery {iolatrcj'k), A maa covered with a hood of the colour of dry leaves, walks beat on two (liort crutches, and approaching gently, heilopswhentUe Wogd^
• ** With us, fays Willughby, this bird is notorious foi: its ftupidity, infomuch as to have become proverbial." And probably for the rnme rervion, the Woodcock, as we are told by Dr. bhaw, is called in Barbery, Hanmar el Hadjcly or th^ Afs of the Partridges.
cock
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cock ftops, and refumes his motion when •it does, until he fees it fix.d with its head Jow 5 he now liiikes his two flicks againft each other, and the bird Jo amu/es ana befools itft'lf\ lays our old naturalifl:, that the per- foil can get fo near it as to flip a noofe over its neck. Might not this ftupidity and this facility of difpofition induce the ancients to aflert that the Woodcock had a wonderful attachment to man* ? On that fuppofition, its affections are very mifplaced, and beftowed on its greatefl: enemy. In fad, it ranges through the woods as far as our farm-hedges and country-houfes : fo much Ariftotle remarked -f*. But Albertus was miftaken when he faid, that it feeks the cultivated fpots and the gardens, to gather feeds J fince neither the Woodcock, nor any bird of that kind, will touch fruit or grain J. The ftraight fliape of its bill, which is very long and weak at the point, would alone preclude that fort of food; and in fa6l, it lives wholly on worms §.
It
• Arlftotle, ////?. Jnim. Lib. ix. 26.
f "It is caught by the garden- hedges-'* Id. Ibid. *' It is alfo feen near inhabited places, particularly along hedges." Olina.
X In Lib. ix. Ariftot.
% Schwenckfeld. ** As Toon as they enter the woods, they run on the heaps of dry leaves, which fcney turn over
and
1 [■
Woobtoct.
m
'1/
it digs in the foft foil near bogs and fprings, in loofe pafture-mould, and in the wet meadows that (kirt the woods : it doss not fcrape the earth with its feet j it only turns over the leaves with its bill, and tofles thein brilldy from right to left. It feems to dllcover its food by the fmell j|
and fcatter to find the worms that lurk undernenth. The Woodcocks have this habit in common with the Lapwings and the Plovers, v.bich take the worms by the fame meani under the green heibage. But I have remarked ;hat thefe latter birds, of which I have railed fevcral in my garden, Uruck tht: ground with their foot about the holes where the wo'ins were lodged, probably to make them come out by this commotion, and feized them often bef^jre they were entirely emerged." Noie communicated by M. Baillon, ofMon- treuil-fur-mei',
II Here is the way in which M. Bowles faw Woodcocks feed at St. lldcphonfo, where the infant Don Louis had ^ volery filled with all forts of birds.
" There wa^^ f.iys he, a fountain which fiowed perpe- tually to keep life ground moiil . . . and in the middle a pine tree and j(hrubs, for the fame purpofe, Frefh fod was brought to them, thcricheil in worms that could be found: in vain did the worms feck concealment, when the Wood- cock was hungry; it difcovered them by the fnicll, Ituck its bill into the ground, but never higher than the nollrils, drew them cut fingly, and raifing its bill i;ito the air, it extended upon it the entire length of the worm, and in this way fwal lowed it fmoothly, without any aiflion of thd jaws. This whole operation was performed in an inflantj and the morion of the Woodcock was io equal and imper- ceptible, that it feemed doing nothing. ( did not fee it once mifs its aim ; for this reafon» and becaufe it nevet plunged its bill up to the orifice of the noftrils, I con- cluded that fmell is what direfts it in fcarch of its fjod.V NaturalHiJIoryofSpaint by G. Bowles, in So-o. /. 4S4» \^c.
VOL, VII.
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WOODCOCK.
: rather than by the fight, which is weak ^. But nature has given, at the extremity of its bill, an additional organ, appropriated to its mode of life ; the tip is rather flefli than horn, and appears fufceptible of a fort of touch, calculated for detecting its prey in the mire : and this advantageous ftruclure has been beftowed alio on the Snipes, and probably on the Red-fhank^ the Jadnekas, and other birds which fearcli for food in wet earth "f.
The bill of the Woodcock is rough, and almoft barbed at the tides near the tip, and hollowed length wife with deep fur- rows ; the upper mandible alone forms the round point of the bill, proje6ling over the lower mandible, which is fomewhat truncated, and fitted below by an oblique joint: it is from the length of its bill, that the name of the Woodcock is derived in moll languages J. The head is equally remarkable ; it i^^ rather fquare than round, and the cranium makes almofl a rieht
ts
• Non ilia oculis, qu'ihus eji ohtujiory 13 ji Sint nimium grandest Jtd acutis naribui injiaty Imprejpj in terram rojlri mucro»e . . . Ncmcfianus. t This excclleut rema/k ua5 communicated by M. Hipbert.
X The Greek name IxoXotrai fignifies flake, and fo does the Hebrew Kore : the Gerixiau Lang-nafen, or Lang-fchna- iclf (long-Qole, or long-neb) has a finiiLr meaning.
angle
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WOODCOCK.
4Sf
1;'
■ angle at the orbits of the eyes : its plum- age, which Ariftotle compares to that of the Attagas^ or Red Grous, is too well known to require defcription 5 and the fine efFe£l of the contrail of light and Ihade, produced by intermingled and broken tints, wafhed with gray, with biftre, and with umbre, would be tedious and difficult to defcribe in detail.
We found a gall bladder in the Wood- cock, though Belon was perfuaded that it had none ; this bladdtr difcharged a liquor by two dufts into the duodenum : befides the two ordinary caca, we perceived a third placed about feven inches from the firft, and which had a didindl commur^icatioti with the inteftinal canal 5 but as we ob- ferved only one individual, this additional cacum may have been accidental. The gizzard is mufcular, lined with a wrinkled inadhefive membrane ; it often contains fmall bits of gravel, fwallowed no doubt along with the earth-worms : the length of the inteftines is two feet nine inches
Gefner gives a jufter notion of the bulk of the Woodcock, when he makes it equal to that of a Partridge, than Arillotle, who compares it to that of a Hen *. 1 hat com-
Ari(tjDt, Lii, i)(, 26.
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452
W O O C O C K.
parlfon however would fcem to (hew, that the breed of poultry in ancient Greece was HiUch fmaller than ours. The Woodcock is always plump j and about the end of autumn, it is exceeding fat*. At that feafon, and during the greateft part of the winter, it is reckoned one of the moft cxquiiitc difhes -f j though its fieQi is black and not very tender: that firmners makes it keep long untainted. It is cooked with- out being emboweled ; and its entrails pounded with their contents, make the beft fauce for it. It is obferved that dogs will not touch this game, and its odour muft be offenfive to them, for none but fpaniels will fetch a Woodcocks The young birds have k(s fuwety but their flefh is whiter and tenderer. They all grow lean as the fpring advances, atid luch as remain during the lummer are dry, hard and rank.
• Olina and Lonj*r)lius fay that It is fattened wJth aipaRe wade of the meal oF butk-wheat {farina d* orzo), and with figs : in a bird fo fhy and Co fat in its proper feafon, we cannot imagine how thiii piau woald be «kber pra^icable or ufeful.
f It appears from Olina's account, that, in Italy, the Woodcocks are caught during the whole of the winter: the 'intertfe cold which prevrails in France at the d«pth cff that ■feafon, obliges th« Woodcocks to ihift their refideQce a little ; yet fome of tbexu ftill remain., in the woods, near the warm fprings.
It
WOODCOCK. 453
It is in the end of winter, or in the month of March, that almoll all the Wood- cocks kave our plains, and return to their mountain^ invited by the pleafures of love and folitude *. They are obferved to retire in pairs -f*, and they fly then rapidly, v^rith- out halting in the night -, but in the morn- ing, they conceal themfelves in the woods^ where they pafs the day, and in tht evening refume their journey J. During the whole of the fummer, they live in the moft foli-» tary and lofty parts of the mountains, where they breed ; as in thcfe of Savoy, of Switzerland, of Dauphine, of Jura^ of Bugey, and of the Vofges. A few remam in the hilly parts of England and of France^ fuch as Burgundy, Champagne, ^c. Aiu| inilance|5 may occur of ibme pairs of Woodcocks halting even in our low pro- vinces ^nfl oe^ling there; detained pro-? bably by accid^ts.. and furprized by the fcafon of Ipve, when 2k a great diftanc^ from their proper retreats §, Edwards fuppoied,, that, like fo many other birds.
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m
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♦ Belon: . ^ '
f •♦ Tbey leftve England in the beginning of the Tpring,
after having paired, and the Cock and Hen fly together."
% Oblervation made by M. Baillon of Montreuil-faNmer. § A Woodcock's nell was found on the 14th May lyyu on the eftate of Pont-de-Remy, near Abbeville*
9S3
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454.
WOODCOCK.
thev all advanced into the remoteft oarli ot the north. Probably, he was not ui- formed that they removed to the moun- tains, and that their nn^^atio^s were of a nature different from xhc common.
The Woodcock makes its neft on the ground, like the other birds which do not perch * : in the conftrudion, it employs leaves, or dry herbs, intermixed with fmall ftick i J the whole artlef^ly faftiioned and heaped agv^inft the trunk of a tree, or under a thick root. It lays four or five pggs, which are oblong, fomewhat larger than thofe of a common Pigeon, of a rufty gray, marbled with deeper and blackifh waves. One of thefe nefts with the eggs, was brought to us, fo early as the 15th 6f April. When the young are hatched, they !• ave the neft and run, though ftill covered with down : they begin even to fly before they have othB' feathers than thofe of the wings.' They thus make their efcipe, flickering and tripping when difco- vered- I he parents fometimes take a weak one under their throat, and convey it more than a thoufand paces ; and the male
• ** The Partridges, and other birds which feldotn fly, nef^lenn the ground ; of thcfe alfo the Sky Lark, the Woodcock, and the QuaH, never alight on a tree but on the ground." Ariilotle, liL ix. 8.
V . ' . ^ - never
li", ,;'
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WOODCOCK.
never deferts the female, until the brood no longer need their afTiftance. He is never heard biu in his amours, and during the education of ..\e young ; for, as well as his mate, he is fUent the reft of the year *. During incubation, he fits con- ftantly befide her j and they fe^m ft. 11 to feek mutual enjoyment by refting their bill upon one anothers back. Thefe birds, whofe temper is folitary and wild, are difpofed to tendernefs and love : they are even liable to be jealous ; for the males fometimes fight about the female, and perk one another until they fall to the ground. They become not therefore ftupld and timo- rous, till after they have loft t'ne feeling of love, which almoft ever infpii es courage^ The fpecies of the Woodcock is univerf- ally difFufed: which is remarked by Aldro- vandus and Gefner. It is found both in the north and the fouth, in the Old and the New World : it is known over the whole of Europe, in Italy, in Germany, in France, in Poland, in Ruflla -j-, in Sile-
♦ Thefe weak cries are of different toncp, p^iffing from low to high, go, go, go, go ; pUi, p:Ji, pidi ; cri, cri^ a'i\ eri : thefe lallfcem to be the cxpreili>nj of anger uv:cwt'en fe- veral males aflembled toiTiither. '"Ihcy hr.i/e alfo ;• '"^r'; of croaking coua/tt cvuati, uti-i a certain growling, nou, f-uu, frou, when they purfue each other.
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fia*,' in Sweden -f-, in Norway J, and even in Greenland, wheie it is calkd fauar/uck^ and th<i Greenlandcrs have, acconiing to the genius of their language, a compound name, to exprefs the IVjodcockfoivUr §. la Iceland, the Woodcock conllitutcs a part of the game which there abounds |). It . occurs, too, in the northern and eaftern extremities of Afia, where it is common, iincii it has appellations in th^^ languages of the Kamtchadales, the Koriaks, and the Kuriles ** Giielin faw many of them at Mangafea, on the Jenifca in Siberia : but thefe were only a fmall portion of that mul- titude of Aquatic Birds, which, in the. proper feafon, collect on the banks of that fiver.
The Woodcocks are found alfo in Per- sia '\"\'i in Egypt in the neighbourhood of Cairo %%% and thefe are probably what pafs the ifland of Malta in November, con-
• Schwenckfeld.
\ Fauna Succha.
\ Brunnich, OrnithoL Boreal
§ Saur/ukjiorpokt the Grccnlandic Dldliofrary.
il Anderfon, Hifl, Gen. da i''oyages, torn, xviii. p. 20.
*• Among the Kamtfchadales fiiakouloutcb ; among the Koriaks tcheieiai and in the Kuriie iflands /^r/ero/. See the vocabularies of thefe languages in I'HiJioire Generale des f^cyages, torn xix, p. 359.
ft Voyage de Chardin, A:Hj}crJamt 1711, um. ii. p, 30.
\\ Voyage d' Egypte, par Gntn^er, p. 237.
veyed
WOODCOCK. 457
vcyed by the north and north- eaft winds, and which halt not, unlefs detained by con- trary winds *. In Barbary, they appear as in the temperate parts of Europe, fronx 06tober to March -f-, and it is fomewhat fingular, that this fpecies, which feems tp be a native of the Frigid Zone, fliould likewife inhabit the Torrid : for Adanfon found a Woodcock on the iflets of Sene- gal J 5 and other travellers have feen thefe birds in Guinea §, and on the Gold-coad ||) Koempfer obferved one at fea, between China and Japan f ; and Knox feems to have difcovered them at Ceylon **. Since the Woodcock therefore occupies every cli- mM€, we need not wonder that it ihould ' occur in America : it is common in the Illinois, and in all the fouthern part of Ca- nada ^"f-, tj well as in Louifiana ; where it is larger than in Europe, which may be afcribed to the abundance of food f J. It
* Obfervation communicated by the Chevalier Deihayes* f Shaw's Travels. X Voyagt au Senegal, /. 169. § Boiman, Foya^e en Gttinee \ Utreebt, 1705, II Hiftoire Generale des Voyages, torn, iv. p. z^Ci ^ Hift. Nat- du Japotty torn, i. p. 44. •• Hiji. Gen. des Voyages, torn i»ii.p. 547. ft Hr^, de la Nowv. France» par le P. Charlevoix, torn, iii. 15$. ^ ik fa^ dtt^ratz, Hj/f. d«k Imjisntt *m, it, /. 12^*
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45* VARIETIES of th£ WOODCOCK.
Is inofc rare in the northern provinces' of America ; but the Woodcock of Guiana, known at Cayenne under the name of the Savanna f^'oodcock, feems to differ io much from ours as to conftitute a new fpecies. We fliall defcribe it, after enumerating the few varieties of the European fpecies.
Varieties of the W O O D C O C K.
I, The White Woodcock. This va- riety is rare, at lead in our climates * Some- times its plumage is ci.rirely white j oftener intermingled with fome waves of gray or chefnut; itr> bill is yellowifh-white j its legs pale yellow, with white nails : that circumftance would feem to fhew that the whitenefs is a different fort of dei^eneracy from the change of black into white, and much fimilar to that of the Blanchards in Negroes.
II. The Rufous Woodcock. The whole plumage confifts of different fhades of ru- fous, difpofed in waves of a darker cafl on a lighter ground. This bird is ftill more
* One was killed near Grenoble in the month of Decem- ber 1774. : Letter o/M, de Morges^ dated Grenoble z^th Fehru" mry 1775.
'■-' rare
VARIETIES or the HvOODCOCK 45^
rare than the preceding. Both were killed by the king's fowling party in the month of December, 1775, and his majefty did U8 the honour of fending them by the Count d'Angivillcr, to be placed in his cabinet of naiural hirtory,
III. Sportfmen pretend to diftinguifh two breeds of Woodcocks * a greater and a lejfer: but as their inftin6ls and habits are the fame, and in every other refped: they are perfedly fimilar, 1 (hall regard the fmall variation of fize as only accidental or individual. LA.J '
* I have frequently remarked that there are two kinds of Woodcocks. The firft that arrive are the largell; their legs are gray» (lightly inclined to rofe-colour : the others are fmailer, their plumage fimilar to thai of the Great Woodcock, but their legs are blue. It is remarked that when this little kind is taken in the neighbourhood of Mon- trcuil in Picardy, the Great Woodcock becomes then rare. Note communicatid by M, Baillon of Montr euil-Jur-mer»
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[A] S pacific charafier of the Woodcock, Scolopax Rufti- cola: *' Its bill is ftraight and tawny at the bafe, it legs jpinereous, its thighs feathered, a black ilripe on its head."
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i^'oreign Bird which is related to tfic WOODCOCK.
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The SAVANNA WOODCOCK.
Scolopax PaluJo/s, Grael.
^T^ H I s Woodcock of Guiana, though one fourth fmaller than that of France, has a (lill longer bill $ it is alfo rather taller : its legs and bill are brown ; light gray interfered ami variegated with bars of black, predominates in its plumage, which is lefs mixed with rufous than in our Woodcock. With thefc exterior differ- ences, which the climate has jierhaps occa- iioned, thofe of its oeconomy and habits, which it al^ produces, may be traced, in the Savanna Woodcock : it dwells conftantly in thofe immenfe natural meadows where it is never molefted by men or dogs j it lodges in the bottoms where the mud is collected, and where the herbs are thick and tall ; avoiding however thofe fliallows where the tide rifes, and makes the water brack- ifh. In the rainy feafon, thefe Little Wood- cocks
vy:-
SAVANNA WOODCOCIt. 461
cocks remove to the uplands, and lodge among the grafs : at this time they pair and neftle on the gentle elevations in holes lined with dry herbs. They lay only two eggs 5 but they have a fecond hatch, and in July, after the ra?ns are over, they again defcend into the bottom grounds, Ihifting their refidence from the heights to the vallies the fame way as thofe of Euj'opc. When the Savannas are fet on fire, whidi is often done in September and 06lober, they efcape in great numbers into the cir- cumjacent tra6ts, but feem to avoid the woods, and when purfued they never halt, or endeavour to regain their ancient (itej which is contrary to the habits of the European Woodcock. Yet they fpring, like the latter, always under the fportf- man's feet ; they make the fame effort in riling, have the fame noify flight, and dif- charge their excrement, too, in commenc- ing their motion. If one is fhot, it does not efcape to a diflance, but wheels round until it drops. They are generally fluflied two and two, fometimes three together; and when we fee one v/e may be fure that the other is not far off. They are heard on the approach of night calling on each other with a raucous voice, much like the low cluck often made by the domeHic hen
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ka^ kay kay ka» They come abroad at night, and in moon-light they fit even at the planter's doors. M. de la Borde, who made thefe obfervations at Cayenne, affures us, that the Savanna Woodcock is at leaft as delicate food as the Woodcock of France. [A] .;
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[A] Specific charadler of the Seolopax Paludo/a: " Its bill And leg^i are brown, its firaps and eye-brows black ; its bod/ black viriegated above with rufous, below partly white."
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The SNIP E.
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Le BecaJJint, BufF. *
Firfi Species,
' Scolopax-Gtillittago: Linn, and Gmel. &c.
Sahfax Media. Klein. GaUinago. Briff. Gallinago Minor^ Aldrov. and Belon *.
T N the French and German languages the name of the Snipe is the diminutive of the appellation given to the Woodcock 5 and upon viewing its figure, we Ihould naturally take it for a fmall fpecies of that bird : It would be a little Woodcock^ fays Belon, were its habits not different. It has a very long bill, and a fquare head j its plumage is alfo fpeckled the fame, except that the rufous is lefs intermingled, and that the light gray and the black predominate. But its refcmblance to the Woodcock is con- fined to externals only, and its natural
• In Italian Pizxardella : in German Schnepffe with the epithets 'waj/lr, heers, grajp. (--water., hrd^s, grafsj : in Swediih, MaJ Siiaeppa, IVald-Snneppa: in Danifti, Dohbdt Sneppey Stcen S/ieppe : in Norwegian Trold Rukei in Ite- landic Myr S/iipfe : in Polilh Bekas^ Kofiele^, Baranek : in Turkish Jehe, • • '
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habits are oppofite. It never frequents the woods ; it lives in wet meadows, or among the herbs and ozicrs which edge the brinks of ftreams. It foars to fuch height as to efcape from view, though its cry is ftill heard ; this is a feeble note like the bleat of a goat, mJeytn^e mie^ which has induced fome nomenclators to term it the tlying- gcat*: it alfo vents a (hoit weak whiftle in taking wing. It differs frcwn the Wood- cock as much, therefore, in its difpofitions and habits, as it refembles that bird in its plumage and figure.
In France, the Snipes appear in autumn 5 they are feen fometimes three or four toge- ther, but ofteneft fingly. They are fluflied at a confiderable diftance, and fly very nimbly j and after three turnings, they fhoot onwards two or three hundred pace?, or tower aloft out of fight. The fportf- man can bend their courfe and lead them near him by imitating their voice. They continue the whole winter in our pro- vinces, near the unfrozen fountains and the fmall contiguous bogs ; they retire in great numbers in fpring, which alfo appears to be the feafon of their arrival in many countries where they bpeod j iis ip ^er-
* Klein, Schwenckfeld, Rzaczynfki.
many,
5 N I P E.
465
taiany *, in Silefia -f and in Switzerland :{:. But in France, a few Snipes remain the whole fummer, and neftle in our marfhes : Willughby makes the fame remark with regard to England, they build in June, on the ground, beneath fome large root of alder or willow, in morafles where the cat- tle cannot reach : their neft is compofed of dry ht s * i feathers, ar * ..ontains four or five oblong eggs, of a whitifli colour, with rufty fpots. The young ones leave their manfion, as foon as they burft from the (hell ; they appear ugly and ihapelefs : the mother neverthelefs is afFe6lionate to them, and never deferts them till their long bill is firm enough to enable them to pro- cure eafily their food.
The Snipe continually nibbles in the ground, though we can hardly fay what i^ eats : nothing is found in its ftomach but an earthy fediment and a watery liquor, which is probably the diflblved fubftance of the worms on which it feeds ; for Aldro- vandus remarks that its tongue is termi- nated as in the Woodpeckers by a (harp point, proper for piercing the worms which it digs out of the mud.
• Aldrovandus. f Schwenckfeld. I Gefner.
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The head of the Snipe has a honzontd balancing, and the tail a motion upwards and downwards; it walks leifurely, its head eie6l, without hopping or flickering : but fcldom is it furprized in that ftate; for it carefully conceals itfdf among the ruflies and herbage of flimy bogs, where the fowl- ers cannot approach, without the afTi (lance of a fort of rackets made of light deal, fo broad as not to fink in the mud. And as the Snipe fprings at a diftance, with great rapidity, and makes feveral inflexions be- fore it fpins along its courfe ; it is one of the mod difficult birds to flioot. It may be caught eafier with a fpringe, fimilar to what is fet in paths for the Woodcock.
The Snipe has commonly abundance of fat, which is of a delicate flavour j and not apt to cloy like ordinary fat * j it irs cooked like the Woodcock without extraft- ing the entrails, and is every where efteemed delicious game.
Though we fcldom fail in autumn to find Sniper in our niarfhes "f-, the fpecies is no& fo numerous now as formerly J •, it is how
• Belon.
t Prodigious numbers of thefe Urds are fcen in the marlhes between Laon, Notre-Dame-de Lieffe, la Fere, Peronne, Amiens, Calais ** Note communicated hy M. Hehirt.
X *• It is a game fo frequent in the winter feafo", that we fee nothing more common in the, plains of the inland
countries
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SNIPE. 462
fever dlfFufed more univerrally than that of the Woodcock. It occurs in all parts of the world ; and foms intelligent voyagers have made this obfervation *. It has been fent to us from Cayenne, where it is called the Savanna Snipe -f* : Frezier found it in the plaino of Chili z it is common iri Iiouifi- ana J, where it reforts near the habitauons: and it is equally frequent in Canada §, and at St, Domingo |{. In the Old Cond- nent, it is found from Sweden ^ and Siberia ** to Ceylon -f -f* and Japan :J:J : and we have received it from the Cape of
•** We may remark, that Snipes occur in far more coun- tries of the world than any other bird ; they are common in almoll the whole of Europe,^ of Ada, and of America." Cook's Voyage.
f Though its flelh is very well taded, this Guiana Snipe never grows fat, no more than the Woodcock of the fame country, and according to M. de la Borde, it lays no mure than two eggs. It would feem, that, in all countries where the hatches are repeated, the number of eggs ia eacn is 4iniini(hed.
} Le Page du Pratz, Hift, de la Loui/tane, tcm. xi. p. 127.
f Nouvelie France, torn. in. ps 15;.
(I M. le Chevalier Lcfebre Defliayes remarks, that, a month after their arrival they grow fo fat as to appear as nnwieldly as the quails : they remain in that ifland until February.
^Fauua Sutcica.
•• Gmelin, Voyage en Siierie, torn. 1. /. 218, iff torn, it,
p. 56-
ft Knox, in /' Hiji. Gen. des Voyages, torn viii, pi s^^y, JJ Koempfer, Hi^. Nat. du Japon^ torn. i. pp. 1 12. {sT 1 13.
H h 2 Good
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46i SNIPE.
Good Hope *, It has fprcad into the re- mote iflands in the Southern Ocean f"; in the Malouines it was fecn by Bnuganvilie, Vvho difcovered that its habits were corrcf. pondent to its undifturbcd folitude ; its ncft was in the open country, it was eafily fhot, it betrayed no Tufpicion, and made no turnings as it rofej: another proof, that the timid habits of animals which fly before man are iniprefled by fear. The Snipe feems even to have averfion to man ; for Longolius avers that the Wood- cock may be reared and even fatted j but that the experiment never fucceeded with the Snipe §.
It wouid feenn that there is a fmall kind of Snipes, as of Woodcocks; for befides the Jack-Snipe, of which we fiiall imme- iliately fpeak, there are, between thefe and
• Tills Snipe of the Cape oif Good Hope is fomewhat larger, with its bill longer, and its legs r-rhcr thicker, than "OBrs ; yet it is evkien-tly «f the fame fpccics : it is different frutn another Snipe, whifch i'eeics indigenous to the Cape, ianxi which wc ftiall prefenily confider.
f We found on the northerh (hie of UHetea (an ifland «ear Otaheite) very deep creeks, which took their rife from fens filled with vail numbers of Ducks and Snipes, fliyer than we expeded : we foon learned that tlie^^epple of the /sflan^l, who ate fond of eating 'them, ufually hunt thrrn. forjfer.
X Fojage autour du Monde » parM. de BougainvilUf torn, i,
t. 122.
\ In Aldrovaadus, torn. Hi. /* 478.
the
SNIPE.
469
the common fort, fome greater and fome lefler. But this difference of bulk, being accompanied with no other, either in the inftin6ts or the plumage, (hews at mod a diverfity of breed, or only in accidental or individual variety ; which however has no connection with fex, for there is no apparent difference between the male and female in thi« fpecie«, qf in the following*. [A J
•Willoghby,
(A] SpodiBc cWaacr of ^h^ ^ipe, S^ffax.-Q^ifiMagtt <' Its bill is ftraight ^nd tu^erculated, its legs brown ; fpjir brown lines on its front.*' The 'Snipes breed conftantly in the fens of Linc«rfnfliire, in Woimar foreft, and in i{odiny]i/> down;, »nd as thieir nefts are irequently |in .other pa/^s of Great Britain, it is QOt improbable that they conftantly refidp in our ifland. Irt the breeding feafon, they are ub- ferred to play over the moors, piping and humming. It |S uncertain whether this humming, which ;is alw^ays hea«4 when the bird defcends, be ventriloc^uoMs, or be produc«4 hy the motion of (he winjgs.
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The JACK-SNIPE.
La Petite Becajpntt furnommee La Sourdt, BuiF *,
Secctid Species,
ScrlopaX'Gallinuk. Linn, and Gmel. CuJlifiaf(o Minima Ray. Will. Klein, fiarr.
*» ''1*
Callinago Minor. Brifl*.
Cinc/us. Charletun and JohnAon.
7ibe Jack Suiptt GiJ, or Judcock, Will f.
'Tp H I s Snipe is only half the bulk of the other, and hence, fays Belon, the fur" "veyors call it two fir one J. Jt lurks in pool? among the reeds, and under the dry bull- ruihes and flags that have dropped on the brink of the water ; and fo obftinately does it cling to its concealment, that it will not flir till ahnoft trampled on, and rifes from under our feet, as if it heard not the ruft- ling of the approach. For this reaion, fportfmen have given it the epithet deaf. It flies fwifter and more direct than the Com-non Snipe ; its flefh is not inferior, and
• Thii is, the Little Deaf Snipi.
fin Kleiiiiih Hals-Schtiepff: in Danifh Ror-Sneppe; h Polij'h Kijik.
X Our H no^itdi fportfaicn, for the fame reafon, call it the Halfjnipe, T.
the
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J A C K S N I r E. 471
the fat as delicnte. But the fpecies is not fo numcroi'j, or at Icaft, not fo widely dhTufed ; Willughby remarks, that it is lefs frequent in England : Linnasus otnits it in his enumeration of the Swedilh birds; but it is found in Denmark, according 10 Brunnich. The Jack- Snipe has a propor- tionally fhorter bill than the Common Snipe; its plumage is the fame, with fome copper-retiexions on the bac'; and long rufly dailies on the feathers which are laid on the fides of the back, and which hemg long, filky, and fomewhat filamentous, have probably given occafion to the German name baarfchnepffe or Hair-fnipe*
Thefe birds are ftationary, and breed in cur marflies ; their eggs are of the fame colour with thofe of the Common Snipes, but fmaller, correfponding to their bulk, which exceeds not that of a Lark. They have often been taken for the males of the ordinary kind, and Willughby corre6ls ihat popular error, owning rX the fame time, that before comparing them he enter- tained the fame notion Yet Albin has fallen again into that miftake.
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[A] Specific chararter of the Jack-fnipe, Scalopax-Gall/'n" ii!a,: ** Its bill is ftraight and tuberculatcd, its legs greenifha, its flraps brown, its rump variegated with violet*'*
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Tringa Alpina, Linn, and Gmel. "jT Cinclus 1'orquatut. 1 Gallinago ulnglicana, BrliT.
\\T ILLUGHBY gives thls bird the name of Dunlin, probably a dimi- nutive of dum He fays that it is peculiar to the North of England, it feems to dif- fer little from the preceding ; its belly is blackifh waved with white, and the upper furface of the body is ijpotted with black, and a little white, on a rufous browh ground. In oth*?r refpeds it refembles the Jack-fnipe, ^nd muft be a contiguous fpe-^ cies or perhaps only a variety of it *.
• This bird is really a Sandpiper, and the fame with the Cincky which is treated of in the fequel. BrifTon led ihto this millake, by making two different fpecies of the lame bird. T.
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Foreign BIRDS which are related to the S N I P E S.
iip
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The CAPE SNIPE.
Fir^ Specitf*
$colopax Capen/is, Gmel. GalUnago Capitis Bona Spei, BriiT. *tBe Keifvit, Bparrih.
T is rather larger tlian the Common Snipe, but its bill is much fliorter : the colours of its phimage are not quite fo dark j a bluifh gray, broken with little black ,waves, forms the ground of the upper furface, which is interftCled by a white line that runs from the (houider to the rump ; a fmall black zone marks the top of the bread 5 the belly is white ; the head bound with ii^^f: bars, one rufty on the crown, two gray on each fide, theft two white, which enclofe the eye and ex- tend behind. [A]
[A] Specific charafter of the Scohpax Capenjis : *' Its bill ftraight, an4 a lin« on its top, tawney ; a black bar Oq its breaft j a white line oa each ilde of its back."
m
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f 474 3
The MADAGASCAR SNIPE.
Scolopa.f Capenjis. Far. 3. Gmel. Second Species.
np H E difpofition and mixture of the colours on its plumage, make this bird very handfome j the head and neck are rufous, crofled by a white flreak, which pafles under the eye, with a black flreak over it ; the lower part of the neck IS encircled by a broad black collar; the feathers of the back are blackifli with fef- toons of gray ; rufty, gray, and blackifh, are interfe(5ted on the coverts of the wings by fmall undated and clofe fcftoons -, the middle quills of the wing, and thofe of the tail, are cut tranfverfely by bars varied with that agreeable mixture, and parted by three or four rows of oval fpots, from a fine light rufous framed in black ; the great quills are traverfed with bars alter- natively black and rufous j the underfide of the body is white. This Snipe is near t^n inches long, ■ ' ,
■ 1-
i: 47S J
The C H I N A SNIPE,
Scolnpax Capenfii. Var. 2. Gmel. Scolopax Sinen/is. Lath.
T T is rather fmaller than the Common Snipe, but taller ; its bill is almod as long ; its plumage not fo dark j it is marbled on the back with pretty large fpots and feftoons, of dun-gray, bUiifh, black and light rufous ; the breaft is decorated with a broad black feftoon -, the underfide of the body is white 5 the neck is dotted with light gray and rufty ; the head is |:roffed with black and white ftreaks.
The Madrafs Snipe * defcribed by BrifTon refembles the above pretty much in its colours, but its hind toe is as long as thofe before, from which, methinks, the rules of nomenclature fhould haye excluded it from the genus of Snipes.
• Scolopax Maderafpatana. Gmel. . '
Gallinago Maderafpatana. BrifT,
The Partridge Snipe. Ray.
7' he Madras Stiipe. Lath, '^hus dfcribed by BriiTon : ** Above it is blackifti, and variegated with fulvoust below white ; its throat and the lowe^ part of its neck fulvous, variegated with blackifti fpots ; the upper part of its head marked with a triple longitudinal bar of blackiih brown ; its back diftinguifhed by two longitudinal bars of blackiih brown : a tranfverfe |>lack bar on the breaft; its tail-quills variegated witK bla^I^, with fulvous, and with gray."
4r (;ii :
ilii.i4**.. ' . i.. r ■.:"i'
i 476 J
The BARGES.
/^ F all the volatile beings on which na- ture has bellowed Co much vivacity and grace, and which Ihe leems to have dif- fufed through the grand fcene of her pro- ductions, to animate and fill up the void fpace ; the Marih- birds are thofe to which file has been the mod fparing of her favours. Their perceptions are obtufe, and their mode of fubfiftence conllrains them to fpend their lives amidft the fen^ fearching in the mud and wet foil : and the inha- bitants of the primaeval (lime feem nol^ to participate in the happy progrefs which all the other produ^ions of the univerfe have made towards perfe6lion, aided and embellifhed by the induftry of man.
None of them has the gaietyl or the ele- gance of the rural fongfters ; they cannot toy and frolick, or wanton in harmlefs combats : they only fly from one cold marlh ito another ; chained to the damp ground, they cannot like the tenants of the grov^, fport amidft: the boughs, or even alight oa ^them: during the day, they keep in the ^flvadci and their weak fight and natural
timidity,
• Ai Godwi think fame c
3 A R G E S.
477
timidity, makes them prefer. the obfcurity of the night. In fearching for their food, they are alfo indebted to their eyes rather than to their touch and their fmell. Such \s the life of the Woodcocks, of the Snipes, and other birds of the marfli ; among which the Barges form a Imall family immediately below that of the Snipes. The (hape of their body is the fame $ but their bill is ftill longer, though falhioned (imilarly with. a blunt fmooth tip, and ftraight, or a little bent and fligi^tly raifed. Gcfner is mif- taken when he defcribes their bill as (liarp and proper for darting fillies ; for they live only on worms, which they extract from the mud. Their gizzard alfo contains lit- tle pebbles, moftly tranfparcnt like thofe in the gizzard of the Avofct. *. Their voice is fomewhat extraordinary, for Belon compares it to the fmothered bleating of . a goat. They are very reftlefs, fpring at a great diftance, and make a fcream as they rife. They are rare in countries re- mote from the fea, and they delight in fait mardies. They appear regularly on our coafts, particularly thofe of Picardy in the
* An obfervatlon made by M. BalUon on the migratory Godwits of the coaib of Picardy, and which led him to think that thefe birds and the Avofet then come from the fame countries.
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fe A R G E S.
month of September * : they are feen iri flocks and heard pading at a vaft height^ ii> the moon-light evenings. Moft of them halt in the marfhes ; and fatigue renders them not fo fugitive. They fpring with difficulty, but run like Partridges 5 and the fportfman by making a circuit can coUeft fo many as to kill feveral at one fhot. They flop only a day or two at the fame place, and it often happens that in the morning not one is to be found in thofe marfhes where they were fo numerous the night before. They breed on our coafts-f-, and their fiefli is delicate and excellent
food f. :•- - ■ ■"'■" ' ' " - .••.-/•..■.' ^^v.. ■ ;,
We divide this genus into eight fpecies.
• There called the Taterlas.
f Obfervation made on the coafts of Ficardy, by M. Baillon of Montreuil-fur-mer. u'.
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THK, JAKJ1K.KA. SlJTlPE .
t 479 ]
The C O M M O N BARGE.
Firjl Species.
ScoljpGx-Lmo/a. Linn, and Gmel.
Totai.us. Aldrov.
Litncja. Brifl".
Fedoa nojira fecunda, Ray and Will,
Tot anus Cinereus, Barrere.
The Stone Plover, Ray.
The Lejfer Godiuit. Penn.
The Jadreka Snipe. Lath.
HTh e plumage is of an uniform gray, except that of the front and throat, where it is rufty-coloured j the belly and rump are white : the great quills of the wings are blackifli without, and whitifh within J the middle quills and the great coverts, have much white ; the two outer feathers are white, and the bill is black at the point, and reddifh its whole length, which is four inches ; the legs with the naked part of the thighs are four inches and a half; the whole length, from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail, i|^ iixteen inches, and to the extremities of the toes eighteen.
Kcbert tells us, that he killed fome birds of this kind in Biie. It appears therefore that they fometimes alight in the interior
parts
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'48o B A k k I N G fi A k G E.
parts of a country, when driven by the violence of the wind. [A]
[A] Specific charaAer of the Jadreka Snipe, Seolopax-Li- mo/a: ** Its bill fomewhat bent back, red at the bafe; its legs brown, a white fpot on its wing-quills, but none on the four firft." It inhabits Iceland, Greenland, and Sweden.
The BARKING BARGE.
Second Species*
,>
Scolcpax-Totanus. Linn, aod Gmel.
Limo/a Grifea. Brifl*. : Tgtanus. Gefner. Aldrov. and Ray.
Gl areola* Klein.
The Barker. Albin. - * . .
• The Spotted Red-Jhank, Penn.
The Spotted Snipe. Lath.
T T s upper furface is of a brown-gray, •*■ fringed with whitilh round each fea- ther; thofe of the tail are ftriped acrofs with white and blackifh. It differs from the preceding alfo in fize, being only four- teen inches long from the point of the bill to the end of the toes.
It inhabits the fens on the maritime coafts of Europe, both thofe on the Atlantic ocean and on the Mediterranean *. It is found in the fait marfhes, and like the
•Albin. .
Other
VAitlEGAtED BARG 481
bther Barges it is timid, and flufhes at a Hidance. It feeks its food only during the night *»
Adanfoh^
i.
[A] Specific chai-aAer of the Spotted Snipe, Seo/ofax- Tttanus : "Its bill fumewhat ilraight, its legs brown 1 ita eye-brows^ its bread, its belly, and its rump white*'*
the VARIEGATED BARGE.
I •■ .. 1
• -i . Third Speciesi
''•...■ ^<elopax-Glettis. Lion, and GmeK
{Limo/a* *" Glottis. Gcfn^r. • •
Limoja Gri/ea. Major Briff. Pluvinlis Major. Ray and Wilh ' The Green legged Horfcman, Alb. The Green -Jhank, Pcnn. and LatW.
Y F moft of the naturalifts hid not diA criminated this froni. the preceding, we fhould have regarded it as the fame. The colours are alike, the (hape entirely iimilar, and the only difference is that of (ize, and we have found by experience that in the fame fpecies there are fometimes varie- ties wherein the bill and the legs are often half an inch fhorter or longer than ufual. VOL. vii. I i This
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491 VARIEGATED BAP
This Barge has its plumage Va iga^'id with white, and that colour fringes and enclofes the brown gray of the feathers on the back ; the tail is flriped with the fame, and the underfide of the body is white. The Germans give to both the appellation Meer'baun {Sea- ben) } the Swedes call them glout. Might not the latter name have led Gefner by a falfe analogy to take thefe birds for the glottis of Ariftotle, which in another place he (hows to be a Rail ? Albin falls into a palpable error, in fuppofing this bird to be the female of the Red-fhank. [A]
[A] Specific charafter of the Green-Shank, Seolopax* Glottis : ** Its bill is ftraight, red at its lower bafe ; its body (aowy below ; and its legs greeniih.
The RUFOUS BARGE.
Fourth Species.
t ^(olopax Lapponica. Linn, and Gmel.
Linto/a Rufa. BriHT.
Totaxus Fulvus. Barrere* '"*
The Red Godiuit, £dw. Penn. and Lath.
T T is nearly as large as the Barker ; all
the fore-part of the body and the neck
is of a fine rufous j the feathers of the
upper furface of the body are brown and
blacki(h>
GREAT RUFOUS BARGE 483
blackilh, flightfy tringed with white and rufty i the tail ii» ftriped tranfverfely with the laft Colour and with brown. This bird is fcen on our cuads : it is found alfo in the north, as far as Lapland. It oc- curs in America, and was fent from Hud- ibn's Bay to England. It is another inftance of thofe water-fowls which are common to the northern extremity of both continents. [Aj
[A] Specific chara£ler of the Red God-wit, Bcolopiut Lappottica i " Its bill yellowi(h and fomewhat bent back. Its legs black ; the underfide entirely of a rufty rufous."
' 1 a *
Hi
■•'t.
The GREAT RUFOUS BARGE.
fiyti Species*
Scohpax JEgocephala. Linn, and Gmel. ,
Limo/a Ri'/a Major. Briff.
The Goduuitt Tarnjuhelp, or Tarnvip* Ray and Will. The Lommon Godwuit, Penn.
T T is much larger than the preceding ; but it has no rufous, except on the neck and the edges of the blackidi fea- thers on I'le back, which are rufty; the bread and the btlly are ftriped acrofs with blackilh, oi^ a dirty white ground ; the length of the bird, from the bill to the
I i 2 . nails.
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484 GREAT RUFOUS BARGE.
nails, is feventeen inches. Befides thefe differences which fufficiently difcriminate the tA^o fpc-cies, we are informed by an obferver that they arrive always feparately on our coafts. The Great Rufous Barge differs even from the rclt in its ceconomy, if what Willughby fays be true, tliat it walks with its head ereft on the fandy bare ihores without feeking to conceal itfelf.— It is obvioufly the fame with the Barbary Godwitf defcribed in Shaw*s Travels. [A]
[A] Specific charafter of the Scelopax-^gocephala : ** Its bill is ftraight, its legs greenifli, its head and neck tawny; three of its wing-quills black, and white at the bafe»
Tlie RUFOUS BARGE of Hudfon*s Bay,
Sixth Species.
Scolopax Fedoa. Linn, and Gmel. Limofa Americana P.ufa. Brlff". The Greater American Godivit or Curlew from Hud/on* s Bay,
Edw.
np HOUGH this bird is more rufous in its plumage than the preceding, and is rather bigger, we cannot help regard- ing it as a contiguous fpecies. It is, as
Edwards
I
"Vr.'
BROWN BARGE;
4«5
Edwar4s remarks, the larged of the genus, being fixteen inches long from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail, and nineteen to that of the toes. All its upper furface is of a rufous brown ground ftriped acrofs with blacky the firfl: great quills of the wing are blackifh, the next bay dotted^ with black; thofe of the tail are ftriped tranfverfely with the fame colour and with rufous. [A]
[AJ Specific charafter of the Scolopax-Fedotf : «* Its bill
is ftraight and yellowiih, its legs brown, its fecondary wing-siuills rufous^ dotted with black>"
The B R O W N BARGE.
4S';
Seventh Species.
$
cohpax Fu/ca. Linn, and Gmel. Limo/a Fu/ca, BrilT. The Dujky Snipe. Penn. and Lath.
T T is about the (ize of the Barker j the ground of its colour is deep brown and blackifh, and the feathers of its neck and wings are fringed with fmall white lines, which give them an agreeable cloudy or fcaly appearance ; the middle quills of the wing and the coverts are alfo bordered and
113 dotted
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48^ WHITE BARGE.
dotted with whitiih on the edges, the firft great quill fhow ( x^v.rnally only an uniform brown; t'loic of the tail are ftriped with brown and white. [A]
[A] Specific charadler of the Scolopax Fu/ca: •* Tts hill is bent at itie tip ; it- bo^U bla \<. clou !«d with wliue; its rump and wings whttc bsiow : it is *>•. ctve inches long, its bill (wd inches and a quarter. It breeds in the ArfUc regions.
The W H I T E BARGE.
Eighth Species.
Recuwirofira Alba. Gmel. \ Scolopax Alba. Linn.
/ Limo/a Landida. 3riC
*The IV hit e Godwit. Edw.
The White Jvo/et. Lath.
Tp D w A R D s obferves that the bill of thi^ birci is bent upwards as in the A volet j ^ character which in fome degree obtains in all t\it. Barges It is nearly as large as the Rufous Barge j its bill black at the tip, and orange the reft of its length ; all the plumage is white, except a tint of yellow lih on the great quiils of the wing and of the tail. Edwards fuppofes that the whirenefs is produced by the cold climate of Hudfon's Bay from which he received it, and that
WHITE BARGE.
487
fhey refume their brown feathers dialing the fummer.
It appears that feveral fpecies of Barges have fpread further into America, and have even reached the fouthern provinces : for Sloane found our third fpecies in Jamaica ; and Fernandez feems to indicate two Barges in New Spain by the names Chiquatototly and Ehtototl, the former being like our Woodcock, and the latter lodg- ing under the (talks of maize.
[A] Specific charafter of the Recurviro/lra Alba : " It is entirely white, the inferior coverts of its wings dufkifh, its bill orange, its legs brown."
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The HORSEMEN.
l,es Chevaliers, Buff.
** ^np H E French, fays Belon, feeing a tall little bird, fquatting upon its legs as if fcated on horfeback, denominated it the Horfeman'* It would be difficult to difcover another etymology of their name. They are fmaller than the Barges^ but their legs are as long ; their bill is (horter, yet falhioned the fame. They live in wet marfliy places, and alfo fre- quent fides of pools and rivers, and even wade to the knees in the water. They run fwiftly on the banks, and their little body, fays Belon, mounted on fuch tall ililts trips along gayly and nimbly.** Theif ufual food is worms j and in droughts they are contented with the earth infects, and catch beetles, flies, &c.
Their Jlelh is efteemed *, but it is a very i'are difli ; for they are no where numerous, and are befides very difficult to
api^roach* We are acquainted with fix fpecie§ pf
thefe bi|:d§»
C 489 I
TheCOMMON HORSEMAN.
Firft Species,
^ringa Equejiris. Lath. Totanus, BriiT.
T T appears to be as large as the Golden Plover, bccaufe it is very thickly clothed with feathers ; a property which belongs to all the Horfemen. It meafures near a foot from the bill to the tail, and a little more from the bill to the nails ; almofl all its plumage is clouded with light gray and rufous ; all the feathers are fringed with thefe two colours, and blackifti in the middle ; the fame white and rufty are finely dotted on the head, fpread on the wing, and border its fmall feathers 5 the great ones are blackifli $ the underfide of the body and the rump are white. Briflbn fays that the legs of this bird are pale-red, and he accordingly applies epithets to it, which would better fuit the following fpecies, which is perhaps only a variety of the prefent.
It is from a flight analogy in the colours, that Belon infers this bird to be the Cali^ 4ris pf Ariftotle, It frequents the fides of
rivers
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:, 't.
490
RED- SHANK.
rivers and fonetimes our pools, but mort commonly the fea-fliore. It is feen in fome of the provinces of France, and particu- larly in Lorrahie : it occurs alfo on all the downs on the Englifh coafts ; it extends to
Sweden *, to Denmark^ and even to Nor- way -f*.
• Fauna Suecica*
+ In Danilh Rodheene : in Norwegian Lan-TUe, han- TitriKg. firunnich*
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The R E D - S H A N K.
Le Chevalier aux Pieds Rouges, BufF.
Second Species*
Scohpax42aUdris Linn, and Gmel. Totanus Ruber. Briff. Gambetta, Aldrov. *J'he Redjhank, or Poolfnipe» Will. Alb. Pcnn. U Latl^
'T^]H E red legs of this beautiful bird the more diftinguifli it as more than half of the thtgh is naked ; its bill is blackifli at the point, ati'i of the fame bright red at the root. This Horfeman is of the fame fize and figure with the preceding : its plum- age is white under the belly, lightly waved with gray and rufty on the breaft, and L *? forefide of the neck s variegated on the
THE RE1>SPIA2«K,
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Snipe
R E D . S H A N K. 491
back with rufous and blackifh bv li'tlc crors bars diftindly markai on the fmall quills of the wing ; the great quills arc blackifh.
1 his is certainly the fpecies which Belon has mentioned by the name Red horfeman^ though Briffun has taken it dittercn Jy. Ray fecms to have been no better acquainted with the bird, fince he conjedlures that it is the Tame with the Great Gray Barge.
The Red Ihank is called Co«r/Vr on the Saone. U is known in Lorraine *, and in Orleanois, where however it is rare-f*, M. Hebert tells us that he law it in Brie in April. Ii fits in the (hallows of pools; it has a difagre^iable voice, and a feeble whiftle like that of the Snipe It is known in the territory of .bologna, under the name Gambetta^ which is diminutive of gamba^ a leg. It occurs alio in Swe- den J, and has probably migrated into the New World. The Tacatoptl of Mexico, as defcribed by Fernandez §, appears to
• M. Lot linger.
•f- Salerne,
;J; Fauna Suecica, No. 149.
^ Tacatopil, or bcake-bill, is a bird pf the bulk of a Wood»p*geon, its bill being four inches long and flender, its legs yellow. The colour of its whole body is mixed with white, cinereous, black and brown, it arrives ia Mexico, it feeds on worms, mull be claffcd with the Snipes." Fernandez, Hiji, Nov, Hifp, pp. 29 and 69.
rerenible
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492 R £ D - S H A N K.
refmble it much both in its dimenfions and colours. Some fpccies jf this kind mult even advance further into America, fmce Dutertre reckons the Horfeman among the birds of Guadeloupe, and Labat difcovered it • among the multitudes that frequent the ifle of Aves : on the other hand, one of our correfpondents * alTures us that he faw great numbers of them at Cayenne and Martinico. So that w<: cannot doubt that thefe birds are difFufed through almod all the temperate and warm countries of the two continents. [A]
* M. de la Borde.
[A] Specific chara£ler of the Red-ihank, Scolopax-Cali- iris: "Its bill is ftraight and red, its legs crimfon, its fecgndary wing.quills white."
The STRIPED HORSEMAN.
l,e Chevalier Raye, Buff.
Third ZpecHs,
7'ringa Striata, Linn, and Gmel.
Totanus Striatus. Briff.
^he Striated Sandpiper, Lath*
T T is nearly as large as the Common
Snipe: all the upper furface is (triped
on a gray ground intermixed with rufly,
with
STRIPED H O ftS E M A N. 493
With blacklfli (Ireaks difpofed tranrverfely s the tail is interfefted with the fame on a white ground} the neck has the fame colours, except that the brown dafhes are laid along the (haft of the feathers : the bill is black at the tip ; but, at the root, it is of a pale red, as well as the legs. To this fpe- cies we ftiall refer th Spotted Horfeman of Briflbn -f*, which a[ pear to be only a mi- nute variety. [A]
f Above, it is clothed with feathers blackifh in the mid- dle, and rufty-gray at the edges ; below, white, variegated with blacki(h fpots ; its rump and its lower belly, bright ' white ; its lateral tail^quills fti iped tranfverfely with white and blackifh ; its legs red." Tetanus Naviut, BrifTon.
[A] Specific cbarafler of the Tringa Striata : '* The bafe of its bill and its legs are bright yellow ; its tail-quills white, flriped with brown; many of its wing-quills white."
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The VARIEGATED HORSEMAN.
Fourth Species,
Tiriuga Ocbropus. Far. Gmel* ^ Tringa Littor'ea, Linn. • ;
Tetanus Cinereus. Brifl*. ^
Calidris Nigra. Belon. Aldrov. Johnft. and Charl. Charadrius Nigricans. Barrere. The Shore Sandpiper. Pen. and Latlr.
Tts colours confift of blackifh, rufous, -■• and gray ; the blackifh covers the upper fide of the head and the back, and the edges of thefe feathers are marked with the rufous ; the wings, too, are blackifh, and fringed with white or rufty; thefe tints are intermingled with gray on all the forepart of the body; the legs and the bill are black, it is as large as the Red-(hank, but its legs are not fo ralL
It appears that this bird builds its neft very early in the feafon, and that it returns into our provinces before the fpring: for Bclon fays, that in the end of April the young ones were brought to him, and that their plumage then refembled much that of the Rail, and that " he bad not been accuftomed to fee thefe Horfemen, but in winter.*' They do not breed equally
on
i:a
Variegated HORSEMAN. 49s
on all the coads of France ; for example, we are afTured, that they only pay a tran- fieht vifit in Picardy : they are driven thi- ther in the month of March by the north eaft wind along with the Barges i they make but a fhort flay, and do not repafs till the month of September. They have fome habits fimilar to thofe of the Snipes, though they come Icfs abroad during the night, and appear oftener in the day-time. They are caught alfo by the fpringe *. Linnaeus fays that this fpecies is found in Sweden. Albin, from an inconceiveable midake, calls it, a White Heron, though the greateft part of its plumage is black, and though it has not the fmalleft refemblance to the Heron.
*M. 6ai?lon, who communicated to us thefe h&s, adds the following obfervatiou on one of thefe birds which he kept. ** I preferved one of thefe birds laft year in my garden more than four months. I remarked that in time of drought, it caught flies, beetles, and other infe£ls, no doubt for want of worms. It alfo ate bread foaked in water, but the macer.uion needed to be conrinued a whole day. Moultin^j gave it, in the month of Auguft, new feathers to the \\/ings, arui it eloped in September. It was grown v«ry familiar, infomuchthatit followed the gardener, when he brought it food. If it faw him break off" the leaf of a plant, it ran to pick up the worms that were diflodged : a? fuor as it had eaten, it repaired to wafh itfelf in e bowl filled 'vith water. I never faw it with dry earth ct its bill or its lej-s. 7 iiis attention to cleaalinefs is com- mon to all the vermivorous birds."
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t 496 ]
The WHITE HORSEMAN.
F\fth Specits.
Scolopax Candida. Gmel. • ■ • ^
Tetanus Candidus, BrifH
The White Red-Jhanky or Pool-fnipe. Edw. and Lath.
'T^ H I s bird occurs at Hudfon's Bay. It is nearly the bulk of the firft Ipe* cles ; all its plumage is white, and its bill and legs are orange.
Edwards thinks that it is one of thofe birds whofe plumage turns white from the influence of an ar6lic winter, and that the brown colour returns in fummer ; and in the figure, which that author gives, a tint of that colour appears on the great quills of the wings and of the tail and marks the upper furface with fmall waves.
t 497 )
the GilEEN HORSEMAN.
Sixth ^pecia.
Rattus tttkgaltujiu Gmel. fetanut BengaUnfii, firiJS*. tht BtMgtd fTattr-Raii. AlB;
A i* B t N defcribes this t^ird ; but the figure *^ which he gives is a very bad one: We may trace, however, the bill and legs bf the Hoj^femaii. It has a green tinge on the back and the wing, except the three firft quills, ^hich ^re purple and interfeded by orange fpots : there is fome brown on the neck and the fide$ of the head, and white on the crown» as w^l as on the breaft.
;|:,,;:'-
VOL. VII.
K k
:i:r.'^i -'
■I,:- - ■ i
[ 498 ]
m
The RUFF and REEVE *.
I.es Combattans, vulgairement Paott d$ Mer» BufF. Tringa Pugnax. Linn, and Gmel» Pugnax. BrliT. and Brun, Glareola Pugnax^ Klein* Philomacbus, Mcehr.
np H E s E birds are well entitled to the appellation of combatfants^ for they not only contend with each other in fingle rencounters, but they advance to battle in marfhalled ranks -f : and thefe hoftile iarmies are compofed entirely of the males, which, in this fpecies, are more numerous, it is faid, than the females : the latter wait the iffue of the confli6V, and become ^he prize of the vidors. Love is then the fource of thefe contentions, which nature feems to countenance by the difproportion Jbetween the number of the males and that of the females %,
Every fpring thefe birds arrive in great flocks on the coafls of Holland ; Flanders
• In German KampfhoehnUin : in Flemifli Kemperkens :■ in Swedilh and Daniih Brunjhane : and in Polifh Ptak-Bitny, t Klein. 4 Aldrovandus.
a»d
2^:290
.;|.^,
l|i1h-'.
'(M,*:*
«n.
THE RTTF.IN^THE. 3EASOIJ- OF liOVK
<f.«:i
;i»'tu
il t) P F AND R E E V E.
499
iihd England; and in all thefe countries they are believed to come from the north. They are known alfo on the fnores of the German-ocean, and are numerous in Swe- den, particularly in Scania * : they occur likewife in Denmark and in Norway -f-j and MuUer fays that he thrice received them from Finmark. It is uncertain where they fpend the winter J. Since they appear regularly on our coafts in the fpring, and flay two or three months, it would feem> that they feek the temperate climates ; and if obfervers had not aflured us, that they come from the north, we might juftly draw the oppofite inference, that they arrive from the louth. I fliould therefore prefume that it is the cafe with thefe birds as with the Woodcocks, which are faid to tome from the eaft, and return to the weft or the fouth, but which only defcend from the mountains to the plains and again r< t?^e to their heights. It is even probable that the RufFs remain in the fame country, only fhifting to different parts of it accord- ing to the change of feafons ; and if their battles be fcen only in the fpring, it is
• Fauna Suecica.
■f" Zoolog. Danic, p. 24.
X Charleton fays, that they annually arrive in the fens of Lincoln, and, after three months, retire he knows not whither.
K k 2
probable,
■.»j ,.
jOO
RUFF AHD REEVE.
probable, that at other times, they paf^ unobfervecl, intermingled perhaps with the Duiky Sandpipers, or the Horlemen, to which they bear great analogy.
The RufFs and Reeves are nearly the ftature of the Red-(hanks, though their legs are not quite fo tall $ the bill has the fame form, but (horter. The females are com- monly Imaller than the males *, and refem* ble them in their plumage, which b white with a mixture of brown on the upper furface. But the males in the fpring are fo diflerent from one another, that each might be taken for a bird of a diftlnft fpecies : of more than a hundred, compaired by Klein at the honfe of the governor of Scania, there were only two precifely fimi- )ar; they varied either in (hape or in the bulk of their fwelled rufF round the neck. The feathers which compofe that bunch appear in the beginning of the fpring, and rtmain only during the feafon of love. But befides the exuberance of growth at that time, the fuperabundance of organic mole- cules difplays itfelf alfo in the eruption of flefhy turgid pimples on the forelide of the head and round the eyes 'f. This double pro-;
* Rzacxyniki.
f LinnsBUSf Fauna Sueeiea,
duftion
1 V ■(
ft U F F AMD R E E V F.
501
^udion implies great prolific powers in the Ruffs. ** I know ^f no bird, M. Ba3lo Ion writes us, in which the appetite of love is more ardent $ none whofe telticles are fo large in proportion, each being near fix lines in diameter, and an inch or more in length ; the other organs of gene- ration are equally dilated in the feafon of its amours. We may judge of the impe- tuofity of their hofiile aflautts, from the ftrength of that pafiion which blows up the fires of jealoufy and rivalihip. I have often followed thefe birds in our marflies (in Lower Picardy) where they arrive in th^ month of April with the Horfemen, but in fmaller numbers. Their firft objeft is to pair, or rather to contend for the females, wrhofe feeUe fcreams roufe and exafperate the antagonifts ; and this battle is long, obftinate, and fometimes bloody. The van- quifiied betakes himfelf to flight, but the cry of the firft female which he hears, difpels his fears and awakens his courage ; and he again renews the confli6t, if another oppo- nent appears. Thefe ikirmi(hes are repeated every morning or evening until the depar- ture of the birds, which happens fometime in May ; for only a few ilragglers remain, and their neds are never found in our laarlhes/!
K k 3 ThU
U?-
t m-9 • 9 ' — ■
502
R U F F AND R E E V E,
This
ferver
accurate and very intelligent oIk remarks, that they leave Picardy with
a fouth, or fouth or fouth-eafl wind, which carries them to the Englifh coafts, where they breed in very great numbers, particularly in the fens of Lincolnshire. In that county, they afford confidcrable fport : the fowler watches the inftant when they are fighting, and throws his net over them*. They are fattened for the table with milk and crumbs of bread ; but, to keep them quiet and peaceful, they mud be (hut vp in a dark room, for whenever the light is admittted they fall a quarrelling -f. Nor can confinement ever eradicate the feeds pf difcord 5 and in their volerics, they bid defiance to all other birds :{:, and if there were only a bit of green turf, they will fight for the pofTelTion of it § j as if they gloried in their combats, they feem moft animated in the prefence of fpedlators ||, The tuft in the males is i^ot a warlikg
• Willughby,
t M
X The Chinefe have many birds which they c&W^ghterjf yvhich they rear not for the fake of fong, but to exhibit thei^ I'ancorous battles. ^^^Hilh Gen. des Voy. torn. vi. p. 487. Jiowever thefe are manifeilly not our Ruffs, fmce they 9re not larger th^n Linnets.
§ Klein.
(jWillughbjr.
ornament,
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R U F F AND R E E V E.
SOJ
ornament only, it is a fort of defenfive armour which wards off the blows : its feathers are long, ftiff and clofe. They briflle in o. threatning manner when the bird makes an attack, and their colours form the chief difference between the indi- viduals. In fome, thefe feathers are rufous, and in others, gray ; in fome, white, and in others, of a fine violet black, broken with rufous fpots : the white complexion is mod rare. In its form, too, this tuft is as variable as in its colours, during the whole time of its growth *.
This beautiful ornament drops in a moult which thefe bird undergo about the end of Jtme ; as if nature referved her decorations and armour for the feafon of love and of war : the vermilion tubercles grow pale, and obliterate, and their place- becomes occupied by feathers : the males are no longer to be diftinguiftied from the females, and they all abandon the places
• Of the eight "figures which Aldrovandiis gives from drawings fent him by the Count d'Arcmberg from Flan- ders, the one appears to be the female, five others males ©f moulting or of the growth of their ruflr ; and the eighth, which Aldrovandus himfelf thought to have fomething monftrous, or at lead foreign to the fpecies of the Rufi^, is nothing but a bad figure of the Horned Grebe, which this naturalift was ignorant of j we ihall treat .of it ia the fej^uel.
li
..M
i •■■ ■■•■■■ \ f III,, t '<<■ .
•i m
K k 4
where
504 R U F F UNp R £ £ V £.
where ^hey bred anid hatched. They builc| in cpmpanies like the Herons } and that property alqne induced AIdroyandu3 tp clafs thefe birds tqgether -, bqt the ftature and conformation of the Combatants re- moye them far from all the fpecies of Herons. [A]
(A] Speci^c charafier of the RtiS* and Reeve, Tringa Pupnax: ** Its bill and lees are rufous, its three lateral tail- quills ipotlefs, its face inarked with fleOiy granulated /a- filla, Thefe birds appear about the end of April in Lincolnihire, in the ifle of ^ly, and in the Eaft Riding of Yorklhire. The^ are caught with a net about forty yarJs long, and about feven or eight feet high, propped in an Inclined pofition near the reeds, where the fowler lurks until the birds, entice4 by a flale, aligfht under the net; he' then pulls a cord, which lets it fall and fecures them. They are fattened' with milk, heropfeed, and fometimes with boiled wheat; and to hafien theprocels, fugaris frequently added, ^hey are then fold for half-a-crown a-piece; and i^ yeqnires judgment to difcern when (hey have attained ithe atmolt pitch of fatnefs : for i^ the regimen be longer continnea, they will ficken and pine away. At this critil cal period they fell at half-a-crown a- piece. The method of killing them is to fever the head with fciflars ; they finim a profufipn of blood." They are drefled like fW Woodcocks, and eileemed moft delicious.
C $05 1
m
The M A U B E C H E S.
np H E s E birds may be ranged after the Horfetnen and before the Green Sand- piper : they are rather larger than the latter, but fmaller than the former : their bill is ihorter, their legs not fo tall, and their (liape is rounder than that of the Horfe- men : their habits mud be the fame, thofe at leafl which depend on their {lru£lure and their haunts -, for they equally frequent the beach. We know nothing more of their economy, though we can enumerate four different fpecies.
':!;
^he epMNiPN MAUBECHE.
Firfi Species,
XringaCaliJris, Linn, and Gmel.
Calidris. BriiT.
7bt Dujky Sand-piper, Lath.
Tt is ten inches from the ppint of the ^ bill to the nails, and a little more than pine inches to the end of the tail; the jfeathers on the back^ on the upper fide of
•■ " 'the
ii;.il:;
Ml'-.
$o6 COMMON MAUBECHE.
the head, and on the neck, are blackifli brown, edged with light chefnut : all the forepart of the head, of the neck, and of the back, is light chefnut ; the nine firft quills of the tail are deep brown above on the outfide j the four next the body are brown, and the intermediate ones are brown gray, and edged with a narrow hem of white. The Maubeches in general have the under part of the thigh naked, and the mid-toe conneded as far as the firfl arti- culation to the outer toe, by a portion of membrane. V/e cannot, with BrilFon, refer to this bird the Rufticula Syhatica of Gefner, which " is larger than the Woodcock, and equal to a common Hen." It would be difficult to clafs that with any known fpecies ; and we may fave ourfelves the trouble, iince Gefner acquaints us that he lays little ftrefs on thofe of his defcriptions which were made from rude and apparently inaccurate drawings. [A]
(A] Specific charadler of the Dufky Sandpiper, Tringa- Calidrh: '* Its bill and legs are blackifh, its body olive bclpw, its riimp variegated."
[ 507 1
The SPOTTED MAUBECHE.
Second Species*
Tringa N<evia. GmeU
Calidris Navia. BrifT.
Glareola Cajianea. Klein.
The Freckled Sandpiper » Penn. and Lath.
'Tp H I s is diftinguiflied from the preced- ing, becaufe the brown afh colour of its back and fhoulders is variegated with confiderable fpots, fome rufous, others blackifh bordering on violet ; it is alfo fomev^hat fmaller.
If
m
\
\'m\
The GRAY MAUBECHE.
Third Species,
Tringa Gri/ea. Gmel. Calidris Gri/ea, Briff. The Grijled Sandpiper. Lath,
np H I s bird is rather larger than the pre- ceding, but fmaller than the firft fpe- pies. The ground of its colour is gray j the back is entirely of that colours the J^a^k ^s gray waved with whitiih > the fea- thers
So8
SANDERLING.
thers of the upper (ide of the wings, and ihofe of the rump* are gray and bordered with white -, the firft of the great quills of the wing are blackiih brown, and the forefide of the body is white, with fmall black zig-zag flreaks on the flanks, the breaf^, and on the forepart of the neck.
The SANDERLING.
Fourth Species,
Cbaradrius CatiJrii, Linn, and Gmel. Tringa Arenaria* Ray and Will. Cdtidrit Grifea Minor* Brifl*. Xhe SaKderling, or Curwi/^/.Alb. Will. Pens, and Latb.
'T^ H I s is the fmalleft of the genus, not exceeding feven inches in length. Its plumage is nearly the fame with that of the preceding, exjcept th^t all the forefide of its neck, and the und^riide of its body, are very white. Thefe birds fiy in flocks, and light on the beach* Wil|ughby gives them four toes to each foot ; but Ray, who feems however to copy that naturaliil's fdefcription, afligns only three, which would rather characterize the Plover. [A]
[A] Specific charaSer of the Sapdierling, Cbaradrint Calidrit :'. f* Its bill [and legs are black, its firaps and ita furop are grayiih, its body fpotlefs, white below." It ia cpmmoii on the Corniih coafts, where it is called Qgr^UUf*
C S09 ]
! S
I
TheGREEN SANDPIPER.
Li BecaJJiau. BuflT. Trittga-Qchropui, Linn* and Gnie1« Tringa. Aldrov. Ocfoer. && Cineltts. Belon. Glarnla. Klein*
•|« T T is as large as
, common Snipe, but not fo long Qiaped ; its back is rufty a(h colour with fmall whitifh drops on the edges of the feathers ; the head and neck are of a fofter cinereous, mixing in ilreaks with the white of the brea(t, which extends from the throat to the (tomach and the belly ; the rump is of the fame white ; the quills of the wing are blackifh, and agreeably fpotted with white below % 5 thofe of the tall are (Iriped acrofs with blackiih and with white; the head is fquare, like that of the Snipe, and the bill is of the fame form on a diminifhed fcale.
The Green Sandpiper frequents the fides of water, and particularly running brooks : it runs among the gravel, or fkims along
* In Iralian Gambettola, GiaroUt and Pivinello. Alfo Cul-biancai and hence the French Cul-blanc or white arfe. t Some ftrid^ure» on the aomendators are here omitted T» X Beloiu
the
r
i'"-^
II:
'if?'
$10 GR^ENSANDPlPEft.
the furface. It utters a fcreams as it rifes and flies, beating its wings with diftinft and feparate ftrokes. When purfued it fometimes dives into the water. The Ring- tails often chafe it, and take it by furprize while it is repofing by the edge of the ftream, or is occupied in the fearch of its food : for the Green Sandpiper has not the fecurity of birds that go in flocks, which commonly appoint one of their number to watch, as a centinel, the com- mon fafety. It lives folitary in a fmall dif- tri6l, which it fele6ls by the banks of a river, or on the fea-fliore*^ and there it remains conftantly, without roving, to any confiderable didance. But this lonely favage mode of life does not extinguifh its fenfi- bility ; at leaft its voice has a manifeft expreflion of fentiment : it is a gentle fweet whiftle, modulated, with accents of lan- guor, which being difFufed over the placid furface of jhe water, or mingled with its murmur, infpires refleftion and tender melancholy. It would appear, that this is the fame bird with what is called the Sifflc'ffon {the Whijiler) on the Lake of Geneva, where it is caught by the call, with limed bulUrufhes. It is known alfo on the
• Willughby.
Lake
GREEN SANDPIPER. 51*
Lake of Nantua, where it is terminated the Pivette^ or Green foot. It is fcen likewife in the month of June on the Rhone and the Saone; and in autumn among the gravel on the Ouche in Burgundy. Thefe birds occur, too, on the Seine j and it is remarked that though folitary the whole fummer, they form fmall bodies of five or fix ia the time of their paflTage, and are heard in the air in ftill nights. In Lorraine, they arrive in the month of April, and retire in July *.
Thus the Green Sandpiper, though at- tached to the fame place during the time of its ftay, paffes from one country into ano- ther, even in thofe feafons when mod other birds are detained by the duties of incuba- tion. Though feen two thirds of the year in the coafts of Lower Picardy, it cannot be faid to breed there : it is called the Little Horfeman in thofe parts -f ; it haunts the mouths of rivers, and follows the tides ; it picks up the little fry of fifti, and worms, on the fand which is left bare and covered alternately by a thin fheet of water. The flefh of the Green Sandpiper is very deli- licate, and even fuperior in flavour to that
• Obfervations of M. Lottinger.
f Obfervations on the bird* of our Weft coafts, commu- nicated by M. flaillon.
of
m
«
'b-': '
I-
! :
512 GlLtEUsAliDpiPtK.
of the Snipe, according to Belon, tbougn it has a (light odour of mufli. As it per^ petually wags its tail in walkings natura* lids have applied to it the name Cinclus^ whofe primitive fignifies to (hake or agi- tate * : but that character belongs as m)ich to the common Sandpiper, or to the Purre ; and a palTage of Ariftotle proves clearly^ that the term does not corr«rpond to the Green Sandpiper. That philofopher deno- minates the three fmalleft Mar(h Birds T^iyyai c-xotNx^of, mytAi^'. *' Of the(e, (ays he, the Cinclus and Scbaniclus are the fmalle(t| and the Trinjas the largeft, being equal to a Thru(h."-j- The Tringas is therefore indicated by its bulk to be the fame with the Green Sandpiper ; but we have not data to decide whether the two others correfpond to the common Sandpiper, or to the Purre, or to our little Cincle. But nothing can equal the confu(ion in which nonxenclators have involved this fubjefl : fome term the Green Sandpiper the Water- befit others the Sea- partridge \ fome, as we have feen, call it by the name Cincle, but the greater numbsf apply the term Tringa ; perverting its (igni- fication however by making it generic.
* Kl7x^9(, from xtyx^t^, and this from mhv, to move, f Hift, Animal. Lii. viii, 4.
Hence
tJR£EN SANDPiPEl^. ^i^
Hence the profufion of epithets and phrafes that have been employed, and the multitude of inaccurate figures and of vague references : and Klein juftly laments the impoffibility of reconciling the chaos of defcriptions \vhich abound in the works of authors, who have blindly copied and compiled^ ^vithout confulting nature, [A]
[A] Specific charafter of the Green Sandpiper, TriM^a t)chropus : ** The tip of its bill is pointed, its legs green- iih, its back brown-green ; its belly and its utmofl tail<> l^uills^ white*'*
friii
ii:^'
VOL* VII#
h\
!f.,::
\\
fv.
t S>4 1
The COMMON SANDPIPER.
Lm Guigmtttt* HufF.
9'riitga Hjpoliueott Linn, and Gmel.
Gminma. Brifl*.
TrtHga Mintr, Ray.
CallinuU Hypohuces. Johnft. •
T T exactly refembles the preceding in itj form and plumage, only fmaller. Its throat and belly are white j its bread fpotted with gray daflies on white ; its back and rump gray, not fpotted with white, but flightly waved with black, with a fmall ftreak of that colour on the fliaft of each feather; and upon the whole, there is a reddifh reflexion 5 the tail is a little longer and more fpread, than that of the Green Sandpiper : it fikewife wags its tail as it walks; and hence fome naturalifls have termed it Motacilla^ which has already been beftowed on a multititude of fmall birds.
The Sandpiper lives folitary by the verge of water, and haunts the fandy ftrands and lliores. Many of thefe birds are feen near the fources of the Mofelle in the Vofges, where they are called Lambiche. It leaves that country in the month of July, after haying reared its young.
* In Germaa Fjifierlia ; in Swediih, Snaefpa,
It
2i:is?2
I
•I '
I'll I
Ik*
.i-f
i:
THE S.VNDriPER.
■;!i' i
fci m Vo be
nc
CO
tir
to
E\
hy
ireo
tbiVIMON SANDPIPER, rr^
It fprings at a diftance, and utters fome fcreams * ; and it is heard during the xiight to cry on the beach with a wailing Voice : apd the fame property feems to belong to the Green Sandpiper -f*.
Both thefe fpecies advance far into the north X, and have thence migrated into the cold and temperate parts of the New Con- tinent : in fad, a Green Sandpiper which was fent to us from Louiftana, feemed to differ little or nothing from that of Europe [A J
• Willughby.
t The Pilvenckigefti According to Willughby, repr6fentcd by Gefner as a moaning bird.
X Fnuna Suecicat Nos, 147, and 152.
[A] Specific charafler of the Sandpiper, Tringa Hypo- keucos: « Its bill is fittooth, its legs livid ; itc body cine- l«otts, wiih black daihes^ below white."
•Mr
L 1 2
!ii
t SiG I
The SEA PARTRIDGE*
'T^ H E name Partridge has very impro- perly been applied to this bird j fince the only relation confifls in a fmall refem- blance of the bill, which is pretty fliort, convex above, comprefled at the fides, and curved near the point, as in the gallina- ceous tribes. In the form of its body and the fafhion of its feathers, it bears more analogy to the Swallows ; for its tail is forked, its wings have great extent and itretch to a point. Some authors have called it Glareola^ alluding to its frequent- ing the flrands by the fea-fliore. It feeds chiefly on worms and Aquatic infe6ls. It alfo haunts the brinks of brooks and rivers, as on the Rhine near Strafburg, where according to Gefner it has the German appellation Kappriegerk, Kramer deno- minates it Prattncola (Pratiincola) becaufe he faw many of them in the extenfive mea- dows which border on a certain lake in Lower Auftria. But whether it inhabits the verge of rivers and lakes, or the fea- fhore, it univerfally prefers the flrands and fandy channelsi to the muddy bottoms.
We
SEA PARTRIDGE.
517
We know four fpecies or varieties of thefe Sea- partridges which feem to form a fmall diftindt family amidd the nurnerous tribe of little Shore-birds.
w
I
The GRAY SEA-PARTRIDGE.
Fir^ Species, ■
Hirundo-Pratincola. Linn.
Clareola-Aujlria. Gmel, ,i
Pratincola. Klein.
Glareola. Briff,
Hirundo Marina. Ray. Will, and Jojinft. &c,
^he Aujlrian Pratincole. Lath.
np HIS, with the following fper'^s, ap*^ pears fometimes, though feldom, on the rivers in fome of the provinces of France, particularly in Lorraine, where Lottinger aflures us he has feen it. All the plumage is gray, tinged with rufous on the flanks and On the fmall quills of tli^ wings 5 the throat only is white inclofed by a black rim ; the rump is white, and the legs red : it is nearly as large as a Blackbird. The Sea-fwallow of Aldrovandus, which, in other refpefls, is much analogous to this fpecies, appears to form a variety, it hav- ing, according to that naturalift, very black legs.
1 1 3
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The BROWN SEA^PARTRIDGE,
$t.:oml Species,
Glareola Senegalen^s, Gmel. 9ild Bri^;
^ringa i u/ca. Linn.
^he Senegal Pratincole. Lath*
np HIS fpecies, which is found in Senegal and is of the fame fize with the pre- ceding, differs however in being entirely brown. We are inclined to think that this variation refults ivonx the itifluencQ of clitnate.
«M*
The G I A R O L E,
Third Species,
Glareola Navia, Gmel. and Briff.
Gallinula Melampus, Aldrov. Qefn. Ray and KleiQ^
The Spotted pratincole. Lath.
/^ I A R o L A is the name which this bird ^^ receives in Italy. Aldrovandus pro- perly refers to it the Melampus (Black foot) of Gefner, all thofe of this genus being diftinguiflied by their black legs. The Qerman appellation RotkniHi$ {red- clouded)
alludes
COLLARED S E A-PARTRI DGE sif
alludes to the reddifh ground of its plum> age, fpotted with whitifh or brown ; the wing is cinereous, and its quills black.
■r*"
The COLLARED SEA- PARTRIDGE.
Fattrtb Sfnits,
Clareela Aufiriaca, Vat, I. Gnel. Clauola Torquata. Briff,
^T^ H E German name of this bird Riegerle^ implies that it is perpetually in motion. In fa6t, when it hears any noife, it is alarmed, and runs or flies away with a fee- ble (hrill cry. It frequents the (hores, and its habits are perhaps the fame with thofe of the Common Sandpiper. But if we admit the accuracy of Gefner's figure, both the form of its bill and the colours of its plumage, import its relation to the Sea-partridges : the back is cinereous, and alfo the upper furface of the wing, of which the great quills are blackifli ; the head is black, with two white lines on the eyes j the neck is white, and a brown circle furrounds it below like a collar i the bill is black, and the legs yel-
L \ 4 lowiih;
52® COMMON SEA-PARTRIDGE.
lowifli. It is one of the fmalUtft fpecies \ Schwenckfelci fays that it breeds on the fandy brinks of rivers, and lays feven oblong Cggs; he adds a at it runs very faft, and„ in the fummer aights, utters a little fcreaiQ tul, ttil, with a ringing voic^.
I 521 ]
The S E A - L A R K.
Tringa Cinclus. Linn, and Gmel. The Leaji Snipe. Sloane and Brown. The Purret or Stint *, Penn. and Lath.
T
HOUGH this bird has the name of Lark, it bears fcarce any refemblancc to it, except in its bulk and in the plumage of its back •{• ; in its form and its habits, it is entirely different. It lives by the verge of water; and never leaves thefhores; the under part of its thigh is naked, and its bill (lender, cylindrical, and obtufe, as in the other Scolopacious birds, and this is only ihorter in proportion than that of the Jack-fnip^, which it refembles in its air and figure.
It prefers the feacoafV, though it alfo frequents the rivers ; it flies in flocks often ib thick that a number may be killed by ^ fmgle fhot J apd Belon exprefTes his won- der to find the markets on our coafls fo well fupplied with thefe birds. According to him, the fiefli is better than that of a common Lark 5 but if kept for any length
^ In Suflex, it is called the Ox-eye, according to Ray; T. i B,eloQ.
II if
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W-
'An
m
522
S £ A . L A R K.
of time, it contra^s an oily tafte. Whcii one is killed, the refl crowd round the fportfman, as if to prote6l their compa- nion. Faithful to each other, they give a mutual fcream in rifing, and in a body ikim along the furface of the water. At night, they are heard to call and cry on the ftrands and little iflets.
They aflemble in autumn i thofe which had feparated to breed re- unite with their new families which ufually confift of four or five young. The eggs are very large in proportion to the fize of the bird : they are dropped on the naked fand. The Com- mon and Green Sandpipers have the fame habits, and build no neft. The Sea Lark procures its prey along the fhore, walking^, and perpetually wagging its tail.
Thefe birds pafs into other countries ; and it appears that on fome of our coafls, they are migratory only. Of this we are aflbred, at leaft with regard to Lower Picardy, by an excellent obferver *: there they arrive in the month of September with the weft- erly winds, and make only a tranfient halt; they will: not fufFer a perfon to approach to them nearer than twenty paces, which ^ould make us conjedure that they are not
* M, Baillon*
hunted
SEA-LARK. 513
hunted in the country from whence they come.
They muft alfo have penetrated far into the north, and have palfed into the other continent 5 for the fpecies is found to be fettled in Louifiana * in the Antilles ^f*. Jamaica i, St. Domingo and in Cayenne §. The two Sea-larks from St, Domingo which Briflbn has given feparately, appear to be only varieties of the European fpecies. lit the Old Continent they are fpread from north to fouth; for according to Kolben it occurs in the Cape of Good Hope, and Willughby and Sibald repi-efent the Stint 93 a native of Scotland. [A]
•Le Page du Pratz; Hijl. 4t la Louifiane^ torn. it. /♦ ii8.
f The Sea-larks and other imall Sea-birds areaftoniihingly liamerous in all the fait marihes, Putertre, torn, xi. p. 277,
X Sloane and Browne.
§ *• Every jxar thefe birds are feen in Cayenne, and on ihe whole coaft; they aiTemble ht fpring tides, and fome- times in fuch numbers, that the banks of the rivers where |he influx reaches are covered with them, either on the ground or in the air ; their flocks are fo thick, that a perfon will fometimes kill forty or fifty of them at one fhot. The inhabitants of Cayenne alfo hunt them at night on the fands, where thefe birds eat the little worms left by the fea.-^ They fometimes perch on the mangroves by the water's edge ; their flelh is very good eating. In the rainy feafon, they are very numerous in St. Domingo and Martinico ; but it is uncertain how they breed, or where they lay their eggs." Remarks made by M. dt la Border King^s fhyjiciait ^t Caytnne,
[A] Specific charafter of the Purre or Stint, Tringa-Cin,' flus : ** Its bill and legs are black, it» ilraps^ white, its tai^ ^nd rump ^ra^ an4 brown*".
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The C I N C L E.
Tringa Jlpiaa. Linn, and Gmel. J Cinclus Torquatut, *■ GalUnago AtigUcana, BrifT. The Dunlin. Penn. and Lath.
Aristotle has applied the name Ciiichs to the leaft of all the Shore- birds ; and we have adopted it. It appears to be fubordinate to the preceding fpecies 5 rather fmaller, not fo tall \ it has the fame colours, with this fingle difference, that they are more diflin6l } the dadies on the upper furface are more finely traced, arci there is a zone of fpots of the fame colour on the bread : which has induced BrilTon to call it the Collared Sea Idirk. In other refpe6ls, it has the habits of that bird, and it often alFociates with it. Its tail has a fort of tremulous motion, which Ariftotle feems to afcribe to his Cinclos, But we have not been able to difcover in it the other pro- perties which he mentions j viz. that being once caught it grows very tame, though it (hews much cunning in avoiding fnares^ With regard to the long and obfcure difTerT
tatipft
C I N C L E.
i«l
tation of Aldrovandus on this rubje6l, wo can derive nothing more than that the Italians apply the names Giarolo and Giaron^ cello to the Dunlin and the Stint. [A]
[A] Specific charafler of the Tringa Alpina : «* It it browa brick-coloured, its bread blackidi, iti tail-quilU whitifh cinereous, its legs duflcifh."
^4i^-««taH«itfn«
'T^o the hiftory of the Land-birds we fhall fubjoin the following particu- lars, tending to throw light on the fubje6l. The hufbandmen of antiquity were di- refled in their agricultural labours by the rifing of fome noted conftellations, by the Appearance of certain birds, and by the flowering of particular plants. An atten- tion to thefe phenomena is now fuper- feded by our (imple and accurate chrono- logy; yet as a fubjetl of curiofity, it ought not to be wholly difregarded. With this view one of the difciples of Linnaeus con- ftru(fted, at Upfal in Sweden, what he terms a Calendar of Flora» We have fe- ledted frotn it the circumftances relating to birds, and have joined the obfervations made at Stratton in Norfolk, by Mr. Stil- lingfleet. Upfal is in latitude 598 51', Stratton in 52'' 45'.
;|
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t Sa6 J
The Wood Lartc fihgs Rooici begin to pair - Geefe begin to !ay . The Wlute Wagtail) appears j
The Thrulh fines - - The Chaffinch fings - t^artridses begin to pair Rooks begin to build The Thrulh fingi The Rine Dove cooes The Swallow returns The Nightingale fings TheBittern makes a noife The Red-Hart returns The Cuckoo fines - The Black cap fings The White-throat fings The Goat'-fucker heard The Nightingale fings The Rooks ceafe to) refurt in the even- ( ing to their iieft^trecs j Young Partridges feen Hens moult - The Ring Dove cooes The Nuthatch chatters Rooks vifit their neft II trees in the evening, \ without roolHng j The Stone Curlew }
whillles at night TheGoacfui ker makes a noile in the even- ing ^ouks roj(l on their
neft trees The Goatfucker no
longer heard The Robin finga The Chafiinih chirps Swallows gone - The Wood-lark fiogs
At Strttton.
February 4
' ■ ■ 12 — 12
March
April
I
June aboot
July
Augaft
12
16 16
22
2
4
I
9
M 16
17 28 28
5
15
21
18
20
3' 7
12
14
«5
*7
At XJphU March 20-
April 13^
Lajpwing returns. Wild Dock returns. Swan & Land Rail rtfi KLeftrel returns. Turkey fits. May 12.
May 5, the Stare retu. May 9, Swallow and
Stork return. May ij;^ Nightingale
returns.
Jaly 1$) the Cuckoo filent.
Birds of paflfage pre'- pare for their de» parturCk
— • 17
— 26 September 16
— — * 2 1 September 17, Waf- ' 25 1 tail departi.
t Si7 1
The Fieldfare appears '.
The BlHtkLird fings
The Thrufti fingj
TbeRoyUon Ci"w rtturnt
The Blackbird fingi
The Wo jd-laik iingi
The Ring Dove cooca
The Wild Gee(ie retire from the fens
The Woodcock return!
The Sky.lark
At Stratfiii* September 2$
Oduher
2
7 10
10
16
ti 24
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The following TABLES which we have extrafled froni Mr. WHIT E's Natural Hiftory of Selborne, cxhi- bit a fynoptic view of our fingiog birds, and illaHratc the climate of the South of England.
List of the Summer Biros of Passage, ranged ia the order of their appearance in the neighbourhood of $elborne in Hampfliire.
1 The Wryneck - -
2 The SmaJleft Wil- 7 low-w;cn 5
3 The Swallows and ) Martins J
^ TKe Black cap -
5 The Nightingale -
6 The Cuckoo -
7 The Middle Willow- } wren 3
8 The White-throat
9 The Red-llart -
10 The Stone Curlew
11 The J urtle Dove - J 2 The Gralhopper-lark
13 The Swift -
14 The Lefs Reed -fparrow
15 The Land-rail
1 6 The Largeft Willow- ] wren j
17 The Goatfucker - a 8 The flycatcher -
The middle of March : harOi note, March 23 : chirps till September^
April 13,
Apr 1 13 : fwect wild note.
begiiiuing of April.
Middle ot April.
Middle of April j fwect plaintive
note. iVliddie of April: mean note:
fings (ill September. iVliddle of April: more agreeable
fong. End of March : loud nodurnal
whitUe. Middle of April : a fmall fibiloua
note till the end of July, About April 27.
End of April.
Beginning of May, iViay 12.
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t 528 5
A List of the Winter Birds of Passage,
t The Ring-ouzel
2 The
3 The
4 The
5 The
6 The ^ The
8 The
9 The
10 The
11 The
12 The
13 The
14 The
15 The
16 The
17 The
Redwing -
Fieldfare
Royfton-crow
Woodcock
Snipe
jack-fnipe
Wood-pigeon
Wild Swan
Wild Goofe
Wild Duck
Pochard
Wigeon
Teal
Crolbill
Grofbeak
Silktail
}
Michaelmas week and again about
the 14th March. About Old Michaelmas;
Appears about Old Michaelint»i
Appear only occafionallyi
.A List of Birds that continue their Song till aftef
MlDSUMMfiR;
1 The Wood-lark
2 The Song-thruOi
4
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The Wren and Red- "I breaft. J
The Hedge-fparrow The Yelluwbunting The Sky. lark - - The Swallow The Black-cap - The Tit-lark The Black-bird .
I r The White-throat - ^2 The Gold-finch -
13 The Green-finch
14 The CominQa Linoet
Fiom January to the end of
autumn. From February to Augu(l> and
again in Autumn. The whole year except in hard
froft. Early in February till loth July. Early in February till 21ft Aug. From February to Oftober. From April to September. Beginning of April till 13th July. Middleof April till i6th July. February till 23 July, and agaia
in autumn. April till 23d July. April till i6th September. Tilt July and 2d Auguft. Whillles till Auguft, and refumii
its note ia. October.
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A |
List of Soft- |
BitLED Insectivorous Birds |
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which remain with us the whole Winter. |
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1 The Red -bread. 2 The Wren. 3 The Way tails. 4 The Whicit-c^i', 5 TheWin-chat. 6 The Gtone-chat. 7 The Gold-treit'.d Wre», |
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A List of Birds that Stn^j while on Wing. |
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1 The Sky-lark - 2 The Ht-lajk - 3 The Wcod lark - 4 The White-throat 5 The Black-bifd - 6 The Swailcw 7 The Wrtn - |
Rifing fufpendcd, and falling. Delcendiny ; ruting; en trees j and walking on th*"' ground. S«{pendfd. Sumcunies whale fum- iner nights. With jerks and ^efticuiaiion.s. Sometimes fiorri bulft to buih. In foft lunny weather. Sflinctimes from balh to buih« |
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Birds tha |
t Sing in the Night. |
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i 2 3 |
The Night in 5,'ale - ! The Wcod -iurk - Lefs RetU-ii);.now • |
[n -^ha^ly coverfr, bulpeudcu in Mid air, .'\n!Oiig iccds and wiliQ^ys. |
|
vol.. vn. |
M m |
C 530 1
The following Table is borrowed from the Philofo- fophical Tranfa<aions for 1773. Every perfon will not perhaps form the fame opinion with Mr. Barrington on a fubje<^ fo difputable as the comparative merits of Singing Birds, We infert it however for its curioHty.
A Table of the CoMPARiTivE Merit of the Bkitish Singing Birds.
N. B. 20 is the point of abfolute pcrfe£lion.
The Nightingale - The Sky lark - - The Wood lark - TheTit-lark - • The Linnet The Gold finch The Chaf-finch - The Green-finch The Hedge-fparrow The Siikin - The Red poll - The Thruih - - The Black-bird - The Robin - The Wren The Reed-fparrow The Black-cap -
|
Mel- |
Spright |
Plain- 1 |
Com- |
|
fownefs |
ly notes,tive |
pafs. |
|
|
of tone |
notes. |
||
|
»9 |
H |
»9 |
19 |
|
4 |
»9 |
4 |
18 |
|
18 |
4 |
>7 |
12 |
|
12 |
12 |
12 |
12 |
|
12 |
16 |
12 |
16 |
|
4 |
>9 |
4 |
12 |
|
4 |
12 |
4 |
8 |
|
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
|
6 |
0 |
6 |
4 |
|
2 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
|
0 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
|
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
|
4 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
|
6 |
16 |
12 |
12 |
|
0 |
12 |
0 |
4 |
|
0 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
|
14 |
12 |
12 |
•4 |
Execu- tion.
19 18
S It 18 12
8
6
4 4 4
4
2
12
4
z
«4
END OF THE SEVENTH VOLUME.
Its