t ‘ ye : § & ¥. } Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924090302138 REPTILES AND BIRDS." Ce — Q ee say a2 ae PO” La CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY DONUT A 3 1924 090 302 138 HAWKING IN TIE MIDDLE AGES. REPTILES AND BIRDS. POPULAR ACCOUNT OF THE VARIOUS ORDERS WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE Flabits and Economy of the Most Interesting. BY LOUIS FIGUIER. EDITED BY PARK Bok Gelli MO BE, Author of ** Gun, Rod, and Saddle,” Ec. WITIL 307 ILLUSTRATIONS. W. J. HOLLAND & CO., SEUBSCRLETION BOOK PUBLISHERS, SPRINGFIELD, MASS. ann Spec. Coll, Qe So FuUy 1 B67 PREFACE, —— In presenting to the public this English version of Louis Ficuimr’s interesting work on Reptiles and Birds, I beg to state that where alterations and additions have been made, my object has been that the style and matter should be suited to the present state of general knowledge, and that all classes should be able to obtain useful information and amusement from the pages which I have now the honour and pleasure of presenting to them. On commencing my undertaking I was not aware of the immensity of the labour to be done, and fear that I must have relinquished my arduous task but for the kind encouragement of Frank Bucxanp, Esq., Inspector of Salmon Fisheries, and Henry Les, Esq., F.L.S., F.G.S., &., to both of whom I take this oppor- tunity of returning my sincere thanks. PARKER GILLMORE (“‘ UBIQUE”’). December, 1869. IntRopucTory CHAPTER Structural Distinctions Intelligence . . Characteristics . . Historical Antiquity Distribution . Frogs . . . Habits of Life Development of Young Green . Common Green Tree Snakes . Burrowing. Ground . Tree. . . Fresh-water Sea . Innocuous . Blind .. Shield-tail . Black Rat... Ring Viperine Desert . . - Whip .. Blunt-heads Boas . Diamond . Carpet . - - ed . 7 Gronn and Yellow , CONTENTS. PAGE 34 Transformations and Reproduction 35 REPTILES. CHAPTER I. AMPHIBIA, OR BATRACHIANS. PAGE 8 Toads. . 13 Natterjack - . 16 Surinam P - . 18 Land Salamanders . zs -=3 19 Spotted . . 19 Black j ‘ . 21 Aquatic Salamanders . - 22 Crested. . 1+. . 23 Gigantic s 22 . 24 CHAPTER II. OPHIDIAN REPTILES, OR TRUE SNAKES. 88 Snakes— 42 Rock. . . 43 Natal Rock 43 Guinea Rock . 43 Royal Rock 43 Aboma . 46 Anaconda . 46 Cobra 47 Asp . ‘ 49 Bungarus . . . 49 Pit Vipers. . . 49 Fer-de-lance . 52 Jararaca 52 Trimeresurus . 53 Rattle . 54 Copperhead. 56 Tic-polonga 56 Puff Adders 59 Common Adder . 59 viii CHAPTER III. THE ORDER OF LIZARDS—SAURIANS, % PAGE Lizards, Distribution and Division . 99 Lizards— Grey . ror . 109 Gecko Green . . 110 Chameleons Ocellated .- . . 110 Crocodiles . Ameivas 3 . 112 Jacaregs. . Iguanas. . 117 Alligators . Basilisk . = 17 Caiman . Anoles . . 129 True. . . Flying . . 182 Gavials . . CHAPTER IV. CHELONIANS, OR SHIELDED REPTILES. Formation . . 155 ~~ Elodians, or Marsh Tortoises : Distribution and ‘Classification . a el OT MUG tes ies say Sey ahh ee os Tortoises . js - . 158 Emydes. . Land .. . . 158 Pleuroderes Margined . - 159 Potamians, or River Tor toises : Moorish. . 159 Trionyx . . Greek . . - 160 Thalassians, or Sea Tor toises : Elephantine - 160 Green . . sexes Genus Pyxis . . 161 Hawk’s-bill Ditto Kinixys . 161 Loggerhead Homopodes . 161 Leather-back . BIRDS. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. Anatomy . - . . 181 Nests . Plumage . » « . 184 Reproduction Beaks . 2 Digestive Organs Powers of Sight Vocal Organs Divers . . . Great Northern F Imbrine . : Arctic . . " Black- throated Red-throated . CONTENTS. - 189 Longevity . .191 Utility. . . . 193 Classification . - 195 CHAPTER I. THE NATATORES, OR SWIMMING BIRDS, .» . 212 Penguins . i . 213 Manchots . + « » «216 Grebes. . i » . 216 Castanean . iis . 216 Crested . .« « «217 Guillemots . - 162 - 163 - 164 - 164 177 - 177 . 178 . 178 - 197 . 201 » 203 205 . 207 . 218 . 219 » 221 » 222 - 228 « 224 CONTENTS. ix CHAPTER II. DUCKS, GEESE, SWANS, AND PELICANS. PAGE PAGE Mallard . soe ew es 232 ©~Goose— LC ariear ae Garret ea ee rqeae White-fronted Bernicle . . . . 269 Poachard . oe an ESP Swan 5 se car eee 20 Shoveller . 2. 2. 1. 1. 1. 1 1. 244 Whooping. . . 2. 1. ee + 278 Shieldrake . . . . . 1 1. . 246 Black se oe Gk ee ee DET Eider Duck . . . . . . . . . 247 «Frigate Bird. 2. 2 2 1 1 1. 277 Common Teal . . .... . .250 ‘TropicBird. ....... =. 279 Velvet Duck. . . ... =.=. .258 (Darter. . . . ...... . 281 Scoter, Black. . . . . . . . . 258 Gannet . . . . 2... . . . 288 Great-biled . . . . . . . . 258 Cormorant . ....... « 285 Goosander . ...... . .259 Shag . .... 1. ee es « 289 Smew.......... .260 Pelicans . . 1... + « + 291 Goose 6 2 6 i es w ee ee « 261 White . 2... 1 1 ee ws 294 Wild 3. 8 we wwe ee a BOD Crested. 2. 1. 1. 1 2 we es 295 Beal's ¢ s 2 6 & * ¥ e « 4 266 Brown . . 1. 6 ee ee ee 296 Domestic . . . . . . . . . 266 Spectacled. . . . . 1. . . 297 Bernicdle «© « «& 2 @ % © « » 269 CHAPTER ITI. THE LARIDZ. TOP ie eck we Se ae eo BOO’ SEMA? Sa ae oe GP eo a 808 Tittle: se a ce ws BOL Parasite . . . 1. 1 + ss « 809 Noddy cece @ wa a %) @ BOB Richardson’s . . . . .. . . 809 Silver-winged . . . . . . . 802 Pomerine . . . . . ss . . 309 ATCHG 206 4 wu we 6 8 eo BOD Common ....... + - 810 Whiskerel . . . .. . . . 808 Petrels. . . . ~~... + + . 810 Gull-biled . . . 1... © . 808 Giant . . 2... .. s s . Bll Roseate. 2. 2. . 1 ee es 808 Chequered. . . . . . ~~ . 811 Sandwich . . .. . + « 803 Fulmar i 2 2 e 6 se 2 « « B11 Caspian. . 2. ©. . . . . . 808 Stormy... ...... + 38il Scissors-bills. . . . . . . . . 808 Blue. 6 6 «06 8 & aoa ne BIZ Black: «24 6 we ae ey we 4 804) ~=Puffings 6 2 i we pe we we a BID Gulls .. srtaif sa ge ae 804 Grey 6 ow ee we ee a ID Large White-wing ed... . . 806 English. . 2. 2. 1.» s ss . 812 Great Dipole backed oe + » » 806 Brown... se + se es B12 Herring . .... .. . .806 Albatross... 1... ss . 812 Sea Mews. . . oe on w 804 Common ......+. + . 814 White, or Senator eo & os a 2 807 Black-browed. . . . .. . . 314 Brown-masked fe Sw ee 2 207 Brown . . . 814 Laughing . . ...... . 807 Yellow and Black-beaked. . . . 314 Grey. 2 2 6 «ew we eo 2 808 CHAPTER IV. GRALLATORES, OR WADING BIRDS. Palmidactyles : COO. en oe we ae a ww BIE Flamingo. ....... .817 Baldi vs. Grouse Rae a www BRE Avocet. «© « « 6 «© «© » a «820 Crested. . 2 1 - ee ee B28 Stilt Bird . . . .... . . 821 Blue. . . - 1s 6 ee © 82 Macerodactyles : Glareola . . . . «1 + + + 828 Water Hens. ....... =. 822 Jacana. . . . + + + + «© + « 828 Common . . . 828 Kamichi . ..... +. + «= « 88 Purple, or Sultana Fowl « «824 Horned. . . . «. « « + « « 88% Rails. one 6 825 Faithful . . . . 1. e+ . 88! x CONTENTS. PAGE PAGE Longirostres : Tantaluy . . ... +... - + 860 Sandpipers . . ..... . . 882 Boatbil ........ .- . 360 Brown. ....... . . 834 Herons... .... sss - B61 Greenshank . . . ... . . 884 Common ‘ oat Se, Redshank . . . .... . « 834 Purple. . . . + + « « » + 364 Pond. «a @ 2 ee ee « » 884 White. ....... . . 864 Wood) . a ge ew we ee oe B86 Bitterms oc we ew we w= 868 Green . ....... =. . 384 (QCrane... os 2 & @ « & » 866 Common ..-..... . « 884 ‘Ash-coloured. |. . . . + + 366 ae dy te : . « 884 Demoiselle . . ....- . + 87l ae tee eer ato era, ty e888) Crested. 2. 2 1. ee ee ee OFT Knot i Be “were Ja), o “eats HOO Hooping . .......- 871 Sanderlings oe ee a ba eo B89 (Cautale as sk se eye eo BUS Woodcock ...... ~. . «. 889 Pressirostres: Snipe... . ... +s + « . 848 Cariama . - - 2 6 ws ws . 878 Common ...... . «:. 844 Oyster-catchers. . . 1... . « 873 Great. ke ke we ew eh» 6 B48) CRumnerg 4 se we kk tt wm BIE Jack. . . ...... . . 345 Tapwings. .... 5. E Wilson’s . .... .. . . 845 Plovers. . bos a ew a BTS Godwit ........ . . 846 Great Land fee eR we os oe OTD Curlew ...... 4... . 846 Doterel. . 2. 2. 2... ~ «879 Thisss 6 4 2 3 se ee & w = 848 Ringed . . 2. 1. 1. 879 Sacred . . . . . . . . s 848 Kentish . . ..... Gren . ........ . 851 Golden. . . ..... . . 880 Scarlet... . ... . . . 851 Pluvian ie ee Bowe Cultrirostres : Bustard . ....... . . 881 Spoonbills . . . . . . . + + 852 Great 6 se ee we ee 2 OBL White... ..... . . 852 Brevipenne: Rose-coloured . . . . . . . 852 Ostrich ow w ce & ¢ 883 Storks ss « « « » » « » » « 868 Rhea «ow yg 2 we « eos es » 890 White . ....... . .853 Cassowary . . ..... . . 892 Black . . . 1... . . 857 Emu oe egy ce ee = 808 Argala, <« . «+ w# @ « « 9 « © 85¢ Apteryx «= 2 bo e a we es « 898 Jabiru. . . 1 ee we ee « 859 = Extinct Brevipenne : ‘Ombrette: i a a 4g es sw ee a 809° ~—Dodo yw we ee ee ew a HOOT Bec-ouvert . ..... =. =. . 859 j|Epiomis .......=. 2. =. 897 Drome, . ..... ss. + « 859 Dimormis ........ . . 897 CHAPTER V. GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. Habits, origin, &.. . . . . . . 399 Partridges, Hed-legeet 2 eo « 2 417 Tetraonide : Gambra . se a aw « ALT Capercailzie. . . .... . . 401 Colin, Virginian eo is a wm ew 41E Grouse, Black . . ..... . 402 Californian eo we ge ae mee BTS Pinnated ». 2... . ww. . 402 Solitary ....... =. . 419 Ruffed . » . . . . «408 Francolins . . ..... . 419 Cock of the Plains. 3) vee oy 2402: Chinese . ....... . 419 Gelinotte . . . . 1. 1 we . . 408 European . ep a ws 3 420 Ptarmigans . . ...... . 404 African and Indian. . . . . . 420 Common ....... . . 404 Coturnix . ee @ « « 420 Red Grouse . . . . . . . . 405 Turnix tachydroma. soe ew es 420 eer : Tinamides . . ...... . 420 Ganga » . . » «405 Chionide. . .... . . . . 421 Pin-tailed ‘Sand “Grouse + . . + . 406 Megapodide. . . ..... =. 421 Heteroclites . . . . . . . « «406 © Phasianide : Quails. . ...... =. . .406 #;QPheasants ........ . 422 Partridges . . . . « «© + « « 410 Common . ....... . 422 Grey 2. ee ee ee ee 416 Golden. . 2 2 ew we ee 426 Pheasants— Silver . . Ring-necked . Reeves’s . i Lady Amherst's . Argus. .... Gallus. . . Common . Bankiva . Jungle-fowl Bronzed . Fork-tailed egro . Tragopans . Pintados . . Turkeys Wild Domestic . Ocellated . Peacocks . Domestic . Wild .. Polyplectrons Parrots . . Macaw . ji Parrakeets . Tabuan . e Parrot, Grey . Green . Cockatoos . Toucans Proper. . Aracaris Cuckoos . Syndactyles : Hornbills . Rhinoceros Fly-catchers . King-fishers . Ceyx Meninting Bee-eaters Common . . Momots .. . Tenuirostres : Hoopoes . . . Epimachus . . Promerops . Colibri. . . Proper . Humming-birds ‘ CONTENTS. PAGE 425 427 427 427 . 427 . 427 . 427 . 429 . 429 . 429 . 429 . 429 . 429 - 485 . 435 . 487 « 487 . 440 . 441 . 441 . 442 . 444 . 444 see Impeyan Pheasants Alectors . . . Hocco, or Curassow | Pauxis. . Penelopes, or Gruans Hoazins . Columbide : Colombi-Gallines Pigeons (Colombes) Ring or Wood Wild Rock Common Domestic . Pouter . Roman . Swift Carrier . Tumbler Fan-tailed . Turtle Dove . Ring Dove Passenger . Columbars CHAPTER VI. SCANSORES, OR CLIMBERS. . 457 Cuckoos— . 464 Grey. . 465 Indicators . .465 Anis . . . 466 Barbets . . 466 Trogons Sx - 466 Resplendent . « 467 Mexican - 468 Woodpeckers . 469 Wry-necks . 469 Jacamars . CHAPTER VII. PASSERINES. Creepers . . . 482 Picumnus. . 483 Furnarius. . 488 Sucriers . . . 484 Soui-mangas. . . . 486 Nuthatches ‘ - 486 Controstres: . 488 Birds of Paradise . . 487 Great Emerald King Bird oe» 488 Superb . » . « 490 Sifilets . . . 490 Crows . » . 491 Raven . . . 491 Carrion . - 491 Royston xi PAGE « 444 « 444 . 444 . 446 . 446 « 446 . 447 . 448 - 460 . 460 . 450 » 461 . 461 - 462 . 462 . 452 . 452 . 452 . 462 . 458 - 453 . 453 - 456 . 469 - 472 - 473 . 474 « 475 « 476 - 476 - 476 . 479 . 480 » 495 . 496 - 496 . 497 . 497 - 498 . 499 - 500 - 600 - 600 - 601 - 602 . 602 . 602 - 602 Crows— Rook Jackdaw Magpies Common . Brazilian Chinese Jays ~ : Nut-cracker . Rollers . Starlings . Common Sardinian . Baltimore Oriole Beef-eater Crossbill Grosbeak . Bullfinch . Siskin . a House Sparrow . Goldfinch . Linnets Chaffinch . Canary Widow Bird . Java Sparrow Weaver Birds Republican Buntings . Long- tailed Larks . . Crested Teak : Fissirostres : Swallow Salangane . Goatsuckers . Night-jar . Guacharos Nocturnal : Horned Owls Great . . Virginian . Short-eared Ketupu . Scops . r Hornless Owls Sparrow Small Sparrow De a BE CONTENTS. PAGE - 602 - 602 - 607 . 508 - 609 + 509 - 609 - 510 - 611 . 612 . 518 . 618 . 614 . 614 . 615 . 516 - 517 . 617 - 518 . 619 . 519 Dentirostres : Manakins. . F Cock of the Rock ‘ Warblers . “ta Nightingale Sedge Warbler Night Warbler . La Fauvette Couturiére Garden . Robin tr ae 8 Wrens. . 2 Golden- crested. European Wood . Stone Chat Wagtails Pied . . Quaketail . Pipits . . Lyretail Orioles . Golden . Mino .. Honey-sucker| Ouzel, Rose- coloured : Water . . Solitary Thrush . Blackbird, Common Ringed . Solitary. . Thrush, Polygtot Song. . Redwing Tanagers . Drongos Cotingas . Caterpillar-eater . Chatterers . Fly-catchers . Tyrants Cephalopterus ornatus . : Shrikes . Vangas . Cassicus CHAPTER VIII. RAPTORES, OR BIRDS OF PREY. . 576 . 576 . 679 . 679 . 681 « 683 - 583 . 584 Hornless Owls— Pampas Sparrow Burrowing Tawny . Barn White . | Caparacoch Harfang PAGE . 542 . 542 . 542 . 643 | 545 ; 546 : 671 - 584 . 685 - 685 - 686 - 688 . 589 - 589 - 590 - 590 Hornless Owls— Lapland Ural. . Diurnal : Eagles. . . Royal Imperial . Bonelli’s . Tawny . Booted . Reinwardt’s Vulturine . Sea Eagles European . American . Marine . Piscivorous Caffr . aoe 8. ondiche: . poe oe : sprey . Huppart Falco ee Harp White-bellied Eagle Gane 3.4 cons . White . Iceland . Norway Falcons . Lanier . ae. ie eregrine . Hobby. . Merlin. . Kestrel . . a @ we & © Bengal . Goshawk . Sparrow-hawks Common . Dwarf. . CY CONTENTS. PAGE - 591 . 591 . 592 - 602 - 602 602 - 602 - 602 - 602 - 602 - 603 604 604 604 604 604 604 604 « 605 - 606 « 606 - 606 - 607 - 608 - 608 - 609 - 609 - 609 - 610 - 610 610 610 613 613 613 613 622 623 623 628 re Sparrow-hawks— Kites Common Black Parasite American . Buzzards... Common . . Honey . Rough-legged Harriers . Hen. Moor ... Frog-eating . Pale-chested . Jardine’s Ash-coloured . Caracaras. . Brazilian . Chimango . Long-winged . Chimachima . Funebris . . Vultures . Griffons . . Bearded . Sarcoramphi . Condor . . Chanting ips King Vulture . Cathartes . . Urubu Turkey Buzzard Common Vulture Percnopterus Vulture, Pondicherry : Kolbe’s . . Yellow . . Sociable. . Chinese. . Oricou . Serpent-eaters Secretary Bird ee we te we ew ee © © © © ee ew we Ce ee rd ERRATA. Phasianus cristatus indicus, in page 448, should be attributed to Brisson, not Latham. : The synonym for Ring Pigeon, in page 448, should be Columba palumbus. Woodcut 182 represents the Stock Dove, erroneously named Wood Pigeons in page 450. REPTILES AND BIRDS. INTRODUCTORY. Tuer: is little apparent resemblance between the elegant feathered warbler which makes the woods re-echo to its cheerful song, and the crawling reptile which is apt to inspire feelings of disgust when the more potent sensation of terror is absent—between the familiar Swallow, which builds its house of clay under the eaves of your roof, or the warbler whose nest, with its young progeny, care- fully watched by the father of the brood in the silent watches of the night, is now threatened by the Serpent which has glided so silently into the bush, its huge mouth already open to swallow the whole family, while the despairing and fascinated parents have nothing but their slender bills to oppose to their formid- able foe. ‘Placed side by side,’ says Professor Huxley, “a Humming-bird and a Tortoise, or an Ostrich and a Crocodile, offer the strongest contrast; and a Stork seems to have little but its animality in common with the Snake which it swallows.” Nevertheless, unlike as they are in outward appearance, there is sufficient resemblance in their internal economy to bring them together in most attempts at a classification of the Animal King- dom. The air-bladder which exists between the digestive canal and kidneys in some fishes, becomes vascular with the form and cellular structure of lungs in reptiles; the heart has two auricles, the ventricle in most is imperfectly divided, and more or less of the venous blood is mixed with the arterial which circulates over the body; but retaining their gills and being therefore transitional in structure, they are also cold-blooded. In B 2 INTRODUCTORY. birds, the lungs are spongy, the cavity of the air-bags becoming obliterated by the multiplication of vascular cellules; the heart is four-chambered, transmitting venous blood to the lungs, and pure arterial blood to the body; the temperature is raised and maintained at 90° to 100° Fahr. Thus Reptiles, like Birds, breathe the common air by means of their lungs, but respiration is much less active. “ Although,” remarks Professor Owen, “the heart of Birds resembles in some particulars that of Reptiles, the four cavities are as distinct as in the Mammalia, but they are relatively stronger, their valvular mechanism is more perfect, and the contractions of this organ are more forcible and frequent in birds, in accordance with their more extended respiration and their more energetic mus- cular action.” It is true, as Professor Huxley informs us, that the pinion of a bird, which corresponds with the human hand or the fore paw of a reptile, has three points representing three fingers ; no reptile has so few.* The breast-bone of a bird is converted into membrane-bone: no such conversion takes place in reptiles. The sacrum is formed by a number of caudal and dorsal vertebra. In reptiles the organ is constituted by one or two sacral vertebra. In other respects the two classes present many obvious dif- ferences, but these are more superficial than would be suspected at first glance. And Professor Huxley believes that, structurally, “reptiles and birds do really agree much more closely than birds with mammals, or reptiles with amphibians.’ While most existing birds differ thus widely from existing rep- tiles, the cursorial or struthious genera, comprising the Ostrich, Nandou, Emu, Cassowary, Apteryx, and the recently extinct Dinornis of New Zealand, come nearer to the reptiles in structure than any others. All of these birds are remarkable for the short- ness of their wings, the absence of a crest or keel upon the breast- bone, and some peculiarities of the skull, which render them more peculiarly reptilian. But the gap between reptiles and birds is only slightly narrowed by their existence, and is somewhat unsatis- factory to those who advocate the development theory, which asserts that all animals have proceeded, by gradual modification, from a common stock. * Vide, however, p. 8.—Ep. CONNECTING LINKS IN CLASSIFICATION. 3 Traces had been discovered in the Mesozoic formations of certain Ornitholites, which were too imperfect to determine the affinities of the bird. But the calcareous mud of the ancient sea-bottom, which has hardened into the famous lithographic slate of Solen- hofen, revealed to Hermann von Meyer, in 1861, first the impression of a feather, and, in the same year, the independent discovery of the skeleton of the bird itself, which Von Meyer had named Archeopteryx lithographicus. This relic of a far-distant age now adorns the British Museum. The skull of the Archzeopteryx is almost lost, but the leg, the foot, X a Fig. 1.—Archeopteryx lithographicus. the pelvis, the shoulder-girdle, and the feathers, as far as their struc- ture can be made out, are completely those of existing birds. On the other hand, the tail is very long. Two digits of the manus have curved claws, and, to all appearance, the metacarpal bones are quite free and disunited, exhibiting, according to Professor Huxley, closer approximation to the reptilian structure than any existing bird. Mr. Evans has even detected that the mandibles were pro- vided with a few slender teeth. On the other hand, the same writer points out certain peculiari- ties in the single reptile found also among the Solenhofen slates, which has been described and named Compsognathus longipes by the B2 4 INTRODUCTORY. late Andreas Wagner. This reptile he declares “to be a still nearer approximation to the missing link between reptiles and birds,” thus narrowing the gap between the two classes. While we think it proper to point to these structural resem- blances of one class of the animal creation to others very different in their external appearance, it is necessary to guard ourselves and our readers from adopting the inferences sometimes deduced from them; that “these infinitely diversified forms are merely the final terms in an immense series of changes which have been brought about in the course of immeasurable time, by the operation of causes more or less similar to those which are at work at the present day.” Domestication and other causes have no doubt produced changes in the form of many animals; but none from which this inference can be drawn, except in the imagination of ingenious men who strain the facts to support a preconceived hypothesis. In spite of the innumerable forms which the pigeon assumes by cross-breeding and domestication, it still remains a pigeon; the dog is still a dog, and so with other animals. Nor does it seem to us to be necessary, or calculated to advance our knowledge in natural history, to form theories which can only disturb our existing systems without supplying a better. Systems are necessary for the purpose of arrangement and identification ; but it should never be forgotten that all classifications are artificial —a framework or cabinet, into the partitions of which many facts may be stowed away, carefully docketed for future use. ‘“‘ Theories,” says Le Vaillant, “are more easily made and more brilliant probably than observations; but it is by observation alone that science can be enriched.” A bountiful Creator appears to have adopted one general plan in the organization of all the vertebrate creation ; and, in order to facilitate their study, naturalists have divided them into classes, orders, and genera, formed on the differences which exist in the structure of their vital functions. The advan- tages of this are obvious, but it does not involve the necessity of fathoming what is unfathomable, of explaining what is to man inexplicable in the works of Gon.* * This, however, is a subject upon which naturalists of the highest rank hold different opinions, many of those most highly qualified to form a correct judgment advocating the tenets propounded by Mr. Charles Darwin.—Ep. CONNECTING LINKS IN CLASSIFICATION. 5 In previous volumes of this series* we have endeavoured to give the reader some general notions of the form, life, and manners of the branches of the animal kingdom known as Zoophytes, Mollusca, Articulata, and Pisces. We now continue the superior sub-kingdom (to which the fishes also belong) of the Vertebrated Animals, so called from the osseous skeleton which encircles their bodies, in which the vertebral column, surmounted by the cranium, its appendage, forms the principal part. The presence of a solid frame in this series of animals admits of their attaining a size which is denied to any of the others. The skeleton being organized in such a manner as to give remarkable vigour and precision to all their movements. In the vertebrated animals the nervous system is also more developed. There is, consequently, a more exquisite sensibility in them than in the classes whose history we have hitherto discussed. They possess five senses, more or less fully developed, a heart, a circulation, and their blood is red. We have now to deal with a class advanced above that of fishes, that of Reptilia, which is divided as follows :— Ampuipra—(Batracuia, Ovv.) Animals having ribs or processes, or short, slight, and free ver- tebree, forming a series of separate centrums, deeply cupped at both ends, one of which is converted by ossification in the mature animal into a ball, which may be the front one, as in the Surinam Toad, Pipa, or the hind ones in the Frogs and Toads, Rana. The skin is nude, limbs digitate, gills embryonal,—permanent in some, in most lost in metamorphosis, -— to be succeeded by pulmonary respiration,—or both; a heart with one ventricle and two auricles. They consist of :— I. OPHIOMORPHA. Ceciliadee or Ophiosomes. II. IcrHyomonrrHua. Proteids or Sirens, Proteus, Newts, and Salamanders. * “The Ocean World,” from the French of Louis Figuier. “The Insect World,” from the French of the same author. 6 INTRODUCTORY. ITI. THERIOMORPHA. Aglossa . . . Pipa or Surinam Toads. Fanide . . . Frogs. Hylide . . . Tree Frogs. Bufonide . . Toads. CHELONIA, OR TURTLES. Distinguished by the double shield in which their bodies are enclosed, whether they are terrestrial, fresh-water, or marine. The Turtles, Chelonia, have the limbs natatory. Mud Turtles, Trionys, Terrapens, Emys, Tortoises, Testudo, limbs terrestrial. } limbs amphibious. Lacertizia. Having a single transverse process on each side, single-headed ribs, two external nostrils, eyes with movable lids; body covered with horny, sometimes bony, scales. Lacerta—the Monitors, Crocodiles, Lizards; haying ambulatory limbs. Anguis—Ophisaurus, Bimanus, Chalcides, Seps ; limbs abortive; no sacrum. OPHIDIA. Having numerous vertebra with single-headed hollow ribs, no visible limbs, eyelids covered by an immovable transparent lid; body covered by horny scales. It includes :— Viperine—the Vipers and Crotalides. Colubrina—the Colubers,. Hydride, and Boida. CrRocopDiLia. Teeth in a single row, implanted in distinct sockets; body de- pressed, elongated, protected on the back by solid shield; tail longer than the trunk, compressed laterally, and furnished with crests above. The several families are :— Crocodilide—the Gavials, Mecistops, Crocodiles. Alligatoride—Jacares, Alligators, Caiman.* * By some naturalists the Amphibia are considered as a distinct class, by other as a sub-class either of Reptilia or of Pisces. Of the reptiles proper (at present existing), the arrangement into the orders Testudinata (or Tortoises), Sawria (or Lizards), and Ophidia (or Snakes), is the one most generally adopted; but De Blain- ville elevates the Loricata (or Crocodiles) to the rank of an order, and others have adopted a division of corresponding rank, Sawrophidia, for the Angwis series above referred to; but the latter are merely limbless Lizards (or with abortive limbs) akin to the Scinques.—Ep. CHAPTER I. AMPHIBIA, OR BATRACHIANS. THose geographers who divide the world into land and sea over- look in their nomenclature the extensive geographical areas which belong permanently to neither section—namely, the vast marshy regions on the margins of lakes, rivers, and ponds, which are alternately deluged with the overflow of the adjacent waters, and parched and withering under the exhalations of a summer heat ; regions which could only be inhabited by beings capable of living on land or in water; beings having both gills through which they may breathe in water, and lungs through which they may respire the common air. The first order of reptiles possesses this character, and hence its: name of Amphibia, from apupiBvos, having a double life: The transition from fishes to reptiles is described by Professor Owen, with that wonderful power of condensation which he possesses, in the following terms :—‘“ All vertebrates during more or less of their developmental life-period float in a liquid of similar specific gravity to themselves. A large proportion, constituting the lowest organised and first developed forms of this province, exist and breathe in water, and are called fishes. Of these a few retain the primitive vermiform condition, and develop no limbs; in the rest they are ‘fins’ of simple form, moving by one joint upon the body, rarely adapted for any other function than the impulse or guidance of the body through the water. The shape of the body is usually adapted for moving with least resistance through the liquid medium. The surface of the body is either smooth and lubricous or it is smoothly covered with overlapping scales ; it is rarely defended by bony plates, or roughened by tubercles. 8 BATRACHIANS. Still more rarely it is armed with spines.” Passing over the general economy of fishes we come to the heart. ‘The heart,” he tells us, “consists of one auricle receiving the venous blood, and one ventricle propelling it to the gills or organs submitting that blood in a state of minute subdivisions to the action of aérated water. From the gills the aérated blood is carried over the entire body by vessels, the circulation being aided by the contraction of the surrounding muscles.” The functions of gills are described by the Professor with great minuteness. ‘The main purpose of the gills of fishes,” he says, “being to expose the venous blood in this state of minute sub- division to streams of water, the branchial arteries rapidly divide and sub-divide until they resolve themselves into microscopic capillaries, constituting a network in one plane or layer, supported by an elastic plate, covered by a tesselated and non-ciliated epithe- lium. This covering and the tunics of the capillaries are so thin as to allow chemical interchange and decomposition to take place between the carbonated blood and the oxygenated water. The requisite extent of the respiratory field of capillaries is gained by various modes of multiplying the surface within a limited space.” “ Each pair of processes,” he adds, “has its flat side turned towards contiguous pairs, and the two processes of each pair stand edgeway to each other, being commonly united for a greater or less extent from their base; hence Cuvier describes each pair as a single bifurcated plate, or ‘feuillet.’ ”” The modification which takes place in the respiratory and other organs in Reptilia, is described in a few words. ‘“ Many fishes have a bladder of air between the digestive canal and the kidneys, which in some communicate with an air-duct and the gullet; but its office is chiefly hydrostatic. When on the rise of structure this air-bladder begins to assume the vascular and pharyngeal relations with the form and cellular strueture of lungs, the limbs acquire the character of feet: at first thread- like and many jointed, as in the Lepidosiren ; then bifurcate, or two-fingered, with the elbow and wrist joints of land animals, as in Amphiuma ; next, three-fingered, as in Proteus, or four- fingered, but reduced to the pectoral pair, as in Siren.” In all reptiles the blood is conveyed from the ventricular part STRUCTURAL DISTINCTIONS. 9 of the heart, really or apparently, by a single trunk. In Lepi- dosiren the veins from the lung-like air-bladders traverse the auricle which opens directly into the ventricle. In some the vein dilates before communicating with the ventricle into a small auricle, which is not outwardly distinct from the much larger auricle receiving the veins of the body. In Proteus the auricular system is incomplete. In Amphiuma the auricle is smaller and less fringed than in the Sirens, the ventricle being connected to the pericardium by the apex as well as the artery. This forms a half spiral turn at its origin, and dilates into a broader and shorter bulb than in the Sirens. “The pulmonic auricle,” continues the learned Professor, “thus augments in size with the more exclusive share taken by the lungs in respiration; but the auricular part of the heart shows hardly any outward sign of its diversion in the Batrachians. It is small and smooth, and situated on the left, and in advance of the ventricle in Newts and Salamanders. In Frogs and Toads the auricle is applied to the base of the ventricle, and to the back and side of the aorta and its bulb.” In the lower members of the order, the single artery from the ventricle sends, as in fishes, the whole of the blood primarily to the branchial organs, during life, and in all Batrachians at the earlier aquatic periods of existence. In the Newt three pairs of external gills are developed at first as simple filaments, each with its capillary loop, but speedily expanding, lengthening, and branching into lateral processes, with corresponding looplets; those blood- channels intercommunicating by a capillary network. The gill is covered by ciliated scales, which change into non-ciliated cuticle shortly before the gills are absorbed. In the Proteus anguinus, three parts only of branchial and vascular arches are developed, corresponding with the number of external gills. In Siren lacertina the gills are in three pairs of branchial arches, the first and fourth fixed, the second and third free, increasing in size according to their condition. The Ampuista, then, have all, at some stage of their existence, both gills and lungs co-existent: respiring by means of branchizw or gills while in the water, and by lungs on emerging into the open air. 10 BATRACHIANS. All these creatures seem to have been well known to the ancients. The monuments of the Egyptians abound in represen- tations of Frogs, Toads, Tortoises, and Serpents. Aristotle was well acquainted with their form, structure, and habits, even to their reproduction. Pliny’s description presents his usual amount of error and exaggeration. Darkness envelops their history during the middle ages, from which it gradually emerges in the early part of the sixteenth century, when Belon and Rondi- letius in France, Salviani in Italy, and Conrad Gesner in Switzer- land, devoted themselves to the study of Natural History with great success. In the latter part of the same century Aldrovandi appeared. During fifty years he was engaged in collecting objects and making drawings, which were published after his death, in 1640, edited by Professor Ambrossini, of Bologna, the Reptiles forming two volumes. In these volumes, twenty-two chapters are occupied by the Serpents. But the first arrange- ment which can be called systematic was that produced by John Ray. This system was based upon the mode of respiration, the volume of the eggs, and their colour. Numerous systems have since appeared in France, Germany, and England; but we shall best consult our readers’ interest by briefly describing the classification adopted by Professor Owen, the learned Principal of the British Museum, in his great work on the Vertebrata. The two great classes Batrachians and Reptiles, include a number of animals which are neither clothed with hair, like the Mammalia, covered with feathers like the birds, nor furnished with swimming fins like fishes. The essential character of rep- tiles is, that they are either entirely or partially covered with scales. Some of them—for instance, Serpents—move along the ground with a gliding motion, produced by the simple contact and adhesion of the ventral scales with the ground. Others, such as the Tortoises, the Crocodiles, and the Lizards, move by means of their feet; but these, again, are so short, that the animals almost appear to crawl on the ground—however swiftly, in some instances. The locomotive organs in Serpents are the vertebral column, with its muscles, and the stiff epidermal scutes crossing the under surface of the body. ‘A Serpent may, however, be TADPOLE LIFE. 11 seen to progress,” says Professor Owen, “without any inflection, gliding slowly and with a ghost-like movement in a straight line, and if the observer have the nerve to lay his hand flat in the reptile’s course, he will feel, as the body glides over the palm, the surface pressed as it were by the edges of a close-set series of paper knives, successively falling flat after each application.” Others of the class, such as the Tortoises, Crocodiles, and Lizards, move by the help of feet, which are generally small and feeble— in a few species being limited to the pectoral region, while in most both pairs are present. In some, as in various Lizards, the limbs acquire considerable strength. There is one genusof small Lizards, known as the Dragons, Draco, whose movements present an exception to the general rule. Besides their four feet, these animals are: furnished with a delicate mem- branous parachute, formed by a prolongation of the skin on the flanks and sustained by the long slender ribs, which permits of their dropping from a considerable height upon their prey. Batrachians, again, differ from most other Reptilia by being naked: moreover, most of them undergo certain metamorphoses ; in the first stage of their existence they lead a purely aquatic life, and breathe by means of gills, after the manner of fishes. Young Frogs, Toads, and Salamanders, which are then called tad- poles, have, in short, no resemblance whatever to their parents in the first stage of their existence. They are little creatures with slender, elongated bodies, destitute of feet and fins, but with large heads, which may be seen swimming about in great numbers in stagnant ponds, where they live and breathe after the manner of fishes. By degrees, however, they are transformed: their limbs and air-breathing lungs are gradually developed, then they slowly disappear, and a day arrives when they find themselves conveniently organized for another kind of existence; they burst from their humid retreat, and betake themselves to dry land. “‘The tadpole meanwhile being subject to a series of changes in every system of organs concerned in the daily needs of the coming aérial and terrestrial existence, still passes more or less time in water, and supplements the early attempt at respiration by pullu- lating loops and looplets of capillaries from the branchial vessels.”’ (Owen.) 12 BATRACHIANS. Nevertheless, they do not altogether forget their native element; thanks to their webbed feet, they can still traverse the waters which sheltered their infancy; and when alarmed by any unusual noise, they rush into the water as a place of safety, where they swim about in apparent enjoyment. In some of them, as Proteus and the amphibious Sirens, where the limbs are confined to the pectoral region, swimming seems to be the state most natural to them. They are truly amphibious, and they owe this double existence to the persistence of their gills; for in these perenni- branchiate Batrachians, arteries are developed from the last pair of branchial arches which convey blood to the lungs: while, in those having external deciduous gills, the office being dis- charged, they lose their ciliate and vascular structure and disap- pear altogether. The skull in Reptiles generally consists of the same parts as in the Mammalia, though the proportions are dif- ferent. The skull is flat, and the cerebral cavity, small as it is, is not filled with brain. The vertebral column commences at the posterior part of the head, two condyles occupying each side of the vertebral hole (Fig. 2). The anterior limbs are mostly shorter than the posterior, as might be expected of animals whose progression is effected by leaps. Ribs there arenone. The sternum is highly developed, and a large portion of it is cartilaginous; it moves in its mesial portions the two clavicles and two coracoid bones, which fit on to the scapula, the whole making a sort of hand which supports the anterior extremities, and an elongated disk which supports the throat, and assists in deglutition and respiration. The bone of the arm (humerus) is single, and long in proportion to the forearm. In the Frogs (Rana), the ilic bone is much elongated, and is articulated in a movable manner on the sacrum, so that the two heads of the thigh bones seem to be in contact. The femur, or thigh, is much lengthened: and slightly curved, and the bones of the leg so soldered together as to form a single much elongated bone. The respiration of Reptiles and some of the Batrachians, like that of Birds and Mammals, is aérial and pulmonary, but it is much less active. Batrachians have, in addition, a very considerable cutaneous respiration. Some of them, such as Toads, absorb more oxygen through the skin than by the lungs. Their circulation is INTELLIGENCE OF BATRACHIANS. 13 imperfect, the structure of the heart only presenting one ventricle ; the blood, returning after a partial regeneration in the lungs, mingles with that which is not yet revivified: this mixed fluid is launched out into the economic ff, eae. ‘ system of the (. J. SDN AN animal. Thus oe i Reptiles and Ba- trachians are said to be cold-blooded animals, more es- pecially the for- mer, in which the respiratory organs, which are a con- stant source of in- terior heat, are only exercised very feebly. Owing to this low temperature of their bodies, reptiles affect warm climates, where the sun exercises its power with an intensity unknown in tem- perate regions; hence it is that they abound in the warm lati- tudes of Asia, Africa, and America, whilst comparatively few are found in Europe. This is also the cause of their becoming torpid during the winter of our latitudes: not having sufficient heat in themselves to produce reaction against the external cold, they fall asleep for many months, awakening only when the temperature permits of their activity. Serpents, Lizards, Tortoises, Frogs, are all subjected to this law of their being. Some hybernate upon the earth, under heaps of stones, or in holes; others in mud at the bottom of ponds. The senses are very slightly developed in these animals ; those of touch, taste, and smell, are very imperfect; that of hearing, though less obtuse, leaves much to be desired; but sight in them is very suitably exercised by the large eyes, with contractile eyeballs, which enables certain reptiles—such, for instance, as the Geckos, to distinguish objects in the dark. Most Reptiles and Batrachians are almost devoid of voice: Serpents, i 4 J Fig. 2.—Skeleton of a Frog. 14 BATRACHIANS. however, utter a sharp hissing noise, some species of Crocodiles howl energetically, the Geckos are particularly noisy, and Frogs have a well-known croak. In Reptiles and Batrachians the brain is small, a peculiarity which explains their slight intelligence and the almost entire impossibility of teaching them anything. They can, it is true, be tamed; but although they seem to know indi- viduals, they do not seem to be susceptible of affection: the slight compass of their brain renders them very insensible, and this insen- sibility to pain enables them to support mutilations which would prove immediately fatal to most other animals. Yor instance, the Common Lizard frequently breaks its tail in its abrupt movements. Does this disturb him? Not at all! This curtailment of his being does not seem to affect him; he awaits patiently for the return of the organ, which complaisant nature renews as often as it becomes necessary. In the Crocodiles and Monitor Lizards, however, a muti- lated part is not renewed, and the renovated tails of other Lizards do not develop bone. In some instances, the eyes may be put out with impunity, or part of the head may be cut off; these organs will be replaced or made whole ‘in a certain time with- out the animal having ceased to perform any of the functions which are still permitted to him in his mutilated state.