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IIMar'60

NATURAL HISTORY

OF

BIRDS, FISH,
INSECTS, AND REPTILES.

EMBELLISHED WITH

UPWARDS OF TWO HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS.

IN SIX VOLUMES.

VOL. VI.
07?, SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUME -y

Containing a description of rare and curious Birds, discovered
since the death of BufFon, selected and arranged by Son-
nini and J.J. Virey, and translated from the last edition
of BufFon.

Hoiiton:

PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETOR,
AND SOLD BY H. D. SYMONDS, PATERNOSIER-ROW.

1808.

C Squire, Printer,
FurnivalVInn-Court, Holfcorn.

PREFACE.

In compiling this supplementarj' volume
to the present edition of Buffon, it has been
studiously endeavoured to adapt it to the pre-
ceding ones, by following the same arrange-
ment. He, therefore, who should wish" to
know, in his progress through this part of
natural history, what new species of each
bird may have been discovered since the time
of the illustrious original, will iind them ar-
ranged in this volume, in a correspondin*^
order with that of the former ones. It was
thought that the utility of the work would be
thus increased.

In selecting from a great mass of materials,
the guiding principle has been to collect what
is most rare, and at the same time most defi-
cient in the former part of the work. A very
great proportion of the articles is entirely new
to any English system of ornithology, being
such as have been amassed by Sonnini and
Virey, either in the personal travels of the

fl 2 former.

\ K ^ ^

PRFFACE.

former, or in their mutual access to rare col-
lections in Paris and other parts of the conti-
nent. The splendid edition of their great
countr}man, which has heen produced under
their inspection, and with their numerous
additions, in 114 volumes, is an honourable
testimony of the munificence of French
literature.

In some few instances, where, from the
ambiguity of nomenclators, or from the cur-
sory and consequently obscure description of
the individual?, it has not been easy to discri-
minate them, we have ventured to insert, what
may, or may not, be the same bird; but, if
the former, the copious additions of our
original -Nvill prove the propriety of our pro-
ceeding.

On the whole, w^e trust we have here pro-
duced a volume which, whether singly consi-
dered, or in connexion wnth the former ones,
will not be denied the praise of interest and
curiosity in its contents.

London f July 16, 1808. «

CONTENTS

OF THE

SIXTH VOLUME.

Page

The Cassowary of New Holland 1

The Eagle 4

Observations on the Common Eagle. By

Sonwn?

The Griffard ^'^

Eagle of Gottingen 1^

of Astracan (Plate) IS

. of Java • ^^

— — great, of Guiana 21

' Destroying Eagle -^

Ouira Ouassou ^^

^ Eagle of Monte Video (Plate) 36

The Vulture:

The Percnoptere (Plate) 37

Oricou

. ■ Chmcou ^"'

Jota ^"^

The Gypaetes 49

The Gypaete of the Alps (Plate) 51

( vi )

Page

The Chesnut coloured Gypaeie ........ 54

Gypaete of Africa (Plate) ...... 54

The Falcon :

The Singirtg Falcon 59

• Falcon of the Island of Java 63

— — Kober 65

— ^— Fcf/cA: 66

Observations on the Butcher Bird. By

Sonnini 68

Foreign Birds, which have an Affinity with
the Butcher Bird :

The Fingah 73

Red-tail 74

' Bnihru 75

The Cubla 77

Sile7it Butcher Bird -, . , 79

Oliva 81

Kites and Buzzards;

The Kite of Egypt . 83

— Korschun 85

— Siberian Kite 86

— — Parasitical Kite 86

■' Bacha 89

Small crying Buzzard 91

— Jackal Buzzard 92

The Owl :
Some Observations upon nocturnal Birds of

Prey. By J. J. Virey 96

( Til )

Page

The pretty horned Owl 102

Mottled Owl 101

< Great horned Owl of Ceylon 105

Owl of Coromandel lOG

Mexican Owl 107

White-tufted Sereech Owl 109

Caspian Screech Owl 110

Screech Owl of Java Ill

of Trinity Island .... 113

Choncouhou 114

- Screech Owl of Porto Rico 1 1 (5

' Masked Screech Owh «.... 117

' Collared Screech Owl 1 18

Of the Poultry Kind :

The Bustard of the Island of Lucon .... 120

'— White Bustard 122

Bluish Bustard 1 23

^ Piouquen ,.,,.,., 124

Wild Cock and Hen (Plate) 125

■ Spotted Guinea Hen 142

Tufted Guinea Hen 144

The Pheasaut and Peacock:

The ylrcrjts 146

Addition to ditto. By Sonnini ibid

The elegant Peacock 149

Fire-coloured Pheasant 1 50

' African Pheasant 152

The Hoccos:
The Black Hocco, or the Hocco of French

Guiana (Plate) , 154

( viii )

Page

The Sasa 16(5

Parraka (Plate) loii

The Partridge :

Partridge of the Cape of Good Hope. ... 175

of Pondicherry 176

of Gingi 177

of Madagascar 178

The Quail of Cayenne 119

of Madagascar 189

Brown of ditto IS.i

Small of Manilla ibid

Three-toed of the Island of Lucon. . 1S4

Kakelik 186

— ^ — Gibraltar Quail ISG

Of the Pie Kind:

The cross-beaked Raven 188

Raven of the southern Regions. ... 189

Corbivau 190

Crow with white down 193

Whiskered Jack Daw (Plate) 194

Magpie of Macao 1 95

Red Magpie of China , -, . . 196

' Magpie of Nova Scotia 193

with Ear-rings ibid

Jay of Nootka Bay 199

Green Jay 200

Purple-headed Jay 202

Sinall Chinese Jay ibid

The Cuckoo:

The brown striped Cuckoo 204

( ix )

Page

The dotted CiicJcow , 205

Small Indian ditto ibid

Balder 206

Malkoha 207

The Pahrot :

The Papon Lory 209

Paroquet Lory 211

* of the Island of Luc on . . 212

' Pigmy Paroquet 213

Paroquet of China 214

Of the Sparrow Kind :

The white-tailed Blackbird 215

Rocar 216

Spy 221

Talker 225

Green collar d Blackbird 227

Scaly Blackbird 221)

Blackbird of the Savannahs 230

Starling of Daouria 233

Shining Starling 235

Geoffroy 236

Tifted Lark of Malabar 240

Small grey Lark of Gingi 241

Lark of Tartary 242

LarkofYelton 245

Of the Wren and Tit-molse:

The Wren of Surinatn 246

— — Norwegian Tit-moUse 247

" Tit-mouse of Malabar ibid

VOL. VI. b

Page

The Tit-mouse of Hudson's Bay 248

Large-headed Tomtit 249

Tit-mouse of New Zealand 250

ofScehij 251

of India and China .... 252

Humming Bird ....*... 254

The blue-headed Humming Bird 256

White-beaked ditto 257

! Sasiii 259

— Ash'Coloured CoUbri - 20*1

Golden Gorget Colibri 262

Spotted-belly ditto 264

Chaffinch/Goldfinch, Linnet, &c.

The Redhead 2(58

Iliac 270

Greenfinch of China 272

Red-headed Greenfinch 273

Green Bullfinch . . . .- 274

Dwarf ditto , 275

Red-throated ditto * 277

^ Red-faced Goldfinch 27S

The Pigeon:
Grey-headed green Pigeons of Antigua . . 281

The Pompadour Pigeon 282

Pigeon with red icings 283

Hook-beaked Pigeon 284

Crowned Pigeon of Banda (Plate) 9S5

Purple Pigeon of Java 285

Blood-coloured Turtle-dove .,..., 28S

( xi )

Page

The Turtle-dove of Surinam 289

Small ditto of Qiteda, ibid

Turtle-dove of Surat 290

Golden-voinged Turtle-dove 291

The Curlew:

The brilliant Curlew 293

Hagedash 294

African Curlew 295

Pillu 29()

First Curlew of Hudson's Bay .... 297

Second ditto 298

Tevrea ibid

The Penguin :

The Penguin of the Baltic 299

Small, tufted Penguin 300

Small, blackish ditto 302

Parrot ditto 303

Of the Goose, Swan, and Duck :

The Hyperborean Goose 307

Kasarka Goose 312

Cage 315

Black-headed Swan 317

Ash-coloured Swan 318

•— — Duck of the Nile 319

Crooked-beaked Duck 321

Heturrera . , 309

Succe 323

Spotted-billed Duck ibi4

Pink-headed Duck ,...., 324.

{ xii )

Page

The Duck of Steller 325

Nyroca 327

Grey Duck of Egypt 329

Wafpis ibid

The King Fisher :

The King Fisher of Mallmbo 331

NATURAL HISTORY

OF

BIRDS, FISH, REPTILES, 4c.

SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUME.

THE CASSOWARY.

THE CASSOWARY OF HBW HOLLAND.

''T^HIS bird, which cannot fly, is peculiar
to New Holland. It does not seem to
be a singularity there, but is to be seen very
frequently in the vicinity of Botany Bay and
Port Jackson. It has been denominated the
Cassowary, because, in fact, it has many points
of resemblance with that East Indian bird ;
yet, however, its many dissimilarities sepa-
rate it absolutely from this species, while they
approximate it to that of the ostrich: so that
VOL. VI. B it

2 NATURAL HISTORY

it may be considered as a particular species,
placed between the ostrich and the common
cassoweiry, and forming the intermediate link
or passage from one to the other.

Its size is hirger th^an tluit of the Indian
cassowarv, and it is about seven feet in length.
It stands also higher upon its legs ; its neck
is more elongated ; its wings arc shorter, and
quite useless for any purposes of flight ; they
are not furnished with large feathers, but are
wholly formed of small ones similar to those
that cover the rest of the body. But its most
distinguishing peculiarity, is, that it is with-
out the bony protuberance in the form of a
helmet, which covers the top of the casso-
wary's head ; another singularity is a sort of
notching or denting which runs along the
hind part of the legs.

On the other hand, this bird approaches to
the ostrich in the form of the btak, and the
head being covered on the top with thinly-
scattered feathers, very similar to hair. The
neck is covered with feathers as low as the
throat, and those parts which are naked are
somewhat of a purple colour : the colour of
the plumage is a mixture of a dirt}^ brown
and grey, in which it resembles the Indian
cassowary ; the feathers of the belly alone are

rather

OF KIllDS, FISH, &C. 3

ratlier white, and they all have their tips a
little beiit

One of the cassowarys of New Holland has
been dissected ; the liver was so small that it
did not exceed in size that of a blackbird ; the
gall bladder was large and full of bile; the
intestinal canal nearly six ells in leng^, lar^^^,
of a cylindrical form, and regular from its
origin to its extremity; the heart and lungs
were separated by a diaphragm proportionate
to the size of the bird; the stomach was
filled with flowers, berries, and herbs of all
sorts.

This bird is very fierce: its motion is very
rapid, and quicker than tliat of a greyhouniJ.
It is not delicate eating; yet its flesh is n^t
bad, hut approaches, in flavpiir,;spmevvb^t^tj^
that of beef.

B

o

NATURAL HISTORY

THE EAGLE.

OBS£RyATi;oNS On the common eagle.
' / By Sonnini,

ALMOST all naturalists who have written
upon birds have made two distinct species oi
the brown and black eagle: some, indeed,
have considered them only as the male and fe-
male of the same species, and, in the eyes of
Buffon they appeared to be simple varieties.
Although this opinion (adopted by a more
recent ornithologist, Daudin) is very probabk,
it jsu noty-however, proved. The question
does not appear to me to be quite decided,
and we need a greater number of observations
for that purpose than are yet within our reach.
It is not, in fact, by a minute comparison of
the dead carcases of birds, nor by a scrupu:
lous indication of their colours, that we can
hope to trace with a steady hand the line of
demarcation which separates the species.
'Age, sex, season, all produce various changes

in

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 5

in the covering of birds of prey; and diver-
sities of plumage, in various situations, are
common to them with many other species of
birds.

Observation alone can guide the steps of
the naturalist in these yet uncertain divisions;
when that is silent, error is superinduced,
and attaches itself to the labours of those who
rather love to write dissertations than to ob-
serve ; and to whom it too often happens,
nothing is left but regret for having con-
sumed their time in fruitless occupations,
that oppress the mind, and exhaust the ima^
gination over which opinion reigns and na-
ture disavows.

But, what an astonishing mass of observa-*
tion would be necessary to. arrive at a com-
plete knowledge of birds, and to connect our-
selves, as it were, to the labours of nature, in
order to distinguish with certainty, and in a
luminous manner, the various families of
which the tribes are composed that wing the
air ; ages would scarcely suffice for the col-
lection of these observations, without which,
the natural history of birds must necessarily
otfer uncertainty and confusion. Few per-
sons have either time or inclination to give
themselves to such researches, and the zeal

for

6 NATURAL HISTORY

for this sort of knowledge is yet too limited
to hope for so brilliant a success.

Yet, the history of birds would soon attain
this desirable perfection, if there were many
observers so ardent and persevering in their
researches as Levaillant. A celebrated travel-
ler, and indefatigable ornithologist, great and
numerous discoveries have become his ho-
norable property and the domain of his glory,
as well as the gratitude of naturalists; and
.under this denomination, I do not comprehend
certain men, who, having studied nature
only in their cabinets, and travelled only in
their clKimber, yet arrogate to themselves the
right of distributing reputation; and who,
from a marked conformity with certain beings
that we have described among the quadrupeds,
have an irresistible inclination to bite and
tear. Levaillant, who passed a great part of
his life in traversing unexplored and distant
countries, and in accumulating the most in-
teresting observations, found himself exposed,
more than any other, to indecorous and in-
sulting imputations and criticism ; yet no one,
perhaps, ever merited them less ; and if they
do not respect his labours and his brilliant re-
putation, they ought at least to have regard for
the simple and unaffected manner in which

he

OF BIRDS, FISJI, Sec, 7

he communicates the results of his researches,
and for the frank and aenerous aftabiUty
which induced him to communicate his trea-
sures of natural history.

It is in the collection of this bold and pa-
tient naturalist that we behold the different
shades of colour, often opposite, that cover
birds from their state of infancy to perfect
growth, as well as the no less striking dispa-
rities which exist between the male and fe-
male of certain species. It is in his magnifi-
cent work,* that the beauty of the figures
answers the interest of the discoveries, and the
conclusion of which is too tardy in its appear-
ance for those who know the first volumes,
and who are eager for the most interesting and
the most complete details upon the habits of
many, hitherto unknown, birds, in which he
has, at once, brought their history to a point
which has hardly been attained in that of tlie
most familiar birds.

Entrusted to write the history of birds be-
fore it was possible to consult all the records
that are preserved in the archives of nature,
1 shall often be compelled to use conjecture
instead of fact; but I will present them af
least as conjectures, and will cautiously avoid
to give my own feeble conceptions as the

sublime

* The Natural hist or)- of African birds.

8 NATURAL HISTORY'

sublime views and results of nature, who,
alwaj'S great, always majestic, has developed
an immense variety of combinations, and shed
all the lustre of ornament upon the most bril-
liant class of animals.

It is upon this principle that I am now going
to state the reasons which lead me to doubt
the identit}'^ of species of the brown and black
eagle, until, more acquainted with their na-
ture, we shall know the differences which
exist between the male and female of the com-
mon eagle, and between the young bird and
the one more advanced in age. Should this
future knowledge prove that my opinion is
not founded, this discussion will not, how-
ever, be useless, for it contains some interest-
ing details upon the common eagle, whose
habits seem not to have been well known to
Buffon ; and these scattered tacts form, in
the strictest sense of the word, the science
of natural history.

If we may rely upon difference of colour
for the distinction of species among birds,
the brown eagle will not, of course, be of the
same species as the black. In fact, 'there exist
between these two birds, discrepancies, which
I shall enumerate.

The brown eagle has the top of the head
and the neck approaching to red : these parts

are

OF BIRDS^ FISH, &C. 0

are much deeper in the black eagle. The same
difference may be remarked upon the back,
the rump, the throat, the under part of the
neck, the breast, the belly, the sides of the
body, the covert feathers of the wings, and
those upon the top of the tail; all these parts
are brown, upon the brown eagle; and black-
ish upon the black eagle. The former has
the under covert feathers of the tail, brown ;
those of the latter are white, terminating in
brown ; the feathers that cover the legs of
the brown eagle as far as the talons, are
brown on the outward side of the legs, and of
a brown, approaching to red, on the inside :
the black eagle has these feathers brown both
on the inside and outside. The brown eagle
has the first five large feathers of the wing
blackish, and the black eagle has only the
first two of this colour ; it has also blackish
spots scattered over the white side of the other
wing feathers and those of the tail ; and these
spots are entirely wanting in the wings and
tail of the brown eagle. The skin which
covers the base of the beak in the brown
eagle, is yellow, and the feathers of the feet
are a reddish brown ; while the black eagle
has the skin of the beak reddish, and the fea-
thers of the feet a dirty white.

There are also some differences, small to be
VOL. VI. C gure.

10 NATURAL HISTORY

sure, in the dimensions of these" two bird^,
the black eagle not being so large as the
brown.

Whatever there may be of these discre-
pancies, upon which observation alone can de-
cide, I shall proceed to the natuml habits of
these two eagles, of which we do not know
enough to speak of them separately; and I
shall relate what is known of them, using the
denomination o( common eagle, under which
head Buffon has classed them.

These eagles are, in fact, more common
than the great eagle, or the royal eagle. They
live upon mountains, whence they descend
into the plains during winter : they retire into
forests, and it is not uncommon to take them
with springes. They are seen every winter
in the forests of Orleans and Fontainbleau.
They choose the steepest rocks and loftiest
trees, in which to build their nests, which are
very large; some of them have been found
more than five feet square in the mountains of
Auvergne. Their eggs are of a deep iron
grey, with stripes of a darker colour.

The species of the common eagle is also
found in hot countries. Poiret saw them in
Barbary, in tlie plains of which, they are fre-
quently to be met with, and where they utter
a shrill and piercing cry; they attack every

kind

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 11

kind of bird, and when hunger presses them,
they will feed upon carcases.

It is said also that they are found in Persia
and x\rabia, so that they are comnaon to every
quarter of the globe.

It is not only in Hudson's Bay that this
species of eagle is found in America; they
are to be seen in the more southern countries,
in Carolina and Louisiana, whence they were
sent to Mauduyt.

This bird presents a phenomenon which is
peculiar to it. When it swallows pieces of
food, two drops of liquor issue from the aper-
tures of the nostrils, run along the top of the
beak, unite themselves at the point, and then
enter the mouth and mix with the aliments.
This liquor is rather salt, and of a hght blue
colour; it continues to flow as long as the
repast of the eagle continues. The ejection
of this fluid is most probably produced by the
compression of the glands which contain it :
its use is not known ; but it is hkely that it
mixes with the aliments to soften them and
facilitate digestion.

The eagle of Hudson's Bay has been use-
lessly exalted into a variety; butBuflbn, with
every appearance of propriety, united it to the
common eagle, from which it seems to differ,
in fact, by characters too slight to render it

C 2 a distinct

12 KATURAL HISTORY

a distinct species. Another eagle, presented,
by Daudin, as a variety of the common eagle
has a black tail, marked towards the middle
with a large transverse Virhite band. But as
this ornithologist gives no description, aor
any indication, we are not enabled to judge
whether tliis bird with the barred tall be really
an eagle, or whether it may not have some dis-
tinctive tnarks which approximate it to some
species that approach to that of the eagle.

THE GRIFFARD.

THIS great eagle of Africa is one of those
numerous conquests of Levaillant in ornitho-
logy, and one of those claims which he has acr
quired to the gratitude of the lovers of this
branch of natiiral history. It was but fair that
this celebrated traveller should give names to
those animals which he discovered, and it is
equally fair that they should retain those
names, which recal to memory the intrepid
individual who conferred them.

Besides, the name o{ giiffard denotes a pro-
minent character of that species of birds of
prey to which Levaillant has applied it. In

fact|

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 13

fact, the griffard, though nearly the size of the
royal eagle, has stronger talons, the toes more
scaly, and the legs longer and more muscular;
the head is rounder and the beak weaker, and
Jess prominent at the curvature. The eye
is large and deeply sunk; the crop projecting
and covered with a fine glossy down. Behind
the head, the feathers are a little longer than
tlie others, forming a sort of small pendant
tuft. The feathers of the tail are of an equal
length; the wings, when folded, do not pro-
ject beyond them ; the feet are covered with
short feathers as far as the insertion of the
toes. The female is eight feet seven inches
from tip to tip of the wings when extended ;
and the male is only seven feet five inches.
This latter is one fourth less vigorous than
the former.

The plumage is of a beautiful white under«
neath : white and greyish brown on the head,
on the back part and on the sides of the neck,
each feather being white at its insertion, and
of a greyish brown towards the point: a clear
brown on the back and the upper covert fea-
thers of the tail. The large quill feathers of
the tail are black ; the middling ones, as Well
as those of the tail, are transversely striped
with a dirty white and blackish colour, and
the small ones are terminated with white.

The

14 NATURAL HISTORY

The beak is bluish at its base, and black
towards its extremity : the toes are yellowish,
and the talons rather black. The iris of the
eye is a beautiful and lively light brown.
The female differs from the male in its colours
not being so deep.

The griffard possesses much strength, cou-
rage, and boldness : he attacks the other birds
of prey that approach the spot he has marked
out for his abode, and where he chooses to
reign in tyrannical supremacy : he will not suf-
fer any to be in his vicinity : he pursues them
and does not quit them until he has forced
them to fly, and yield entirely to him the em-
pire of destruction which he has established
around. Like all tyrants, his character is
gloomy and distrustful : he perches upon
the tops of the most elevated trees, whence
his wandering gaze may be directed to a great
distance. The various species of small ante-
lopes and hares form his ordinary nourish-
ment. When he has killed one of these inno-
cent animals, troops of ravens and vultures
arrive from all parts to share the prey with
him; but his fierce and menacing posture,
even on the body of his victim, is sufficient to
keep at a distance this troublesome legion of
cowardly and voracious birds.

The griffards are generally found in couples.

The

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 15

The male and female rarely separate : they
place, like the eagles, their nests on the sum-
mits of the loftiest trees, or on the points of
inaccessible rocks: this nest also is formed
like that of the eagle, viz. it is not hollow,
but flat and level, like a planched floor. It
is composed of twigs and flexible branches,
and is solid enough to support a man with-
out any danger of sinking. The female de-
posits on the surface of this nest, which is
formed of nothing but sticks without any
soft substance, two eggs, almost round and
entirely white. While she covers them, the
male is occupied in the chase and in the care
of providing for the support of his family :
but when the young ones have acquired sonie
growth, their appetite becomes so great, that
the male is no longer able to satisfy it, and
the female is then obliged to lend her assist-
ance towards this duty.

The grilTard is, in fact, very voracious.
Levaillant preserved a live one, whose wing-
only he had broken by the shot of a gun.
This bird refused all kinds of aliment for
three entire days ; but as soon as he resolved
upon taking any nourishment, he became in-
satiable: he was extremely agitated at the
sight of meat when presented to him ; and
he often swallowed entire morsels of a pound

weight:

1(> NATURAL HISTORY

weight: though his crop were full he would
refuse nothing : without any other incentive
than that of gluttony; he swallowed indis-
tinctly all sorts of flesh, even that of other
birds of prey.

The griffard frequently utters acute and
piercing cries, mingled with mournful and
hoarse tones. They rise to so great a height,
that their cries may often be heard when they
themselves are not perceptible.

Levaillant found the griffard in the country
of the great Namaqnois in the southern part of
Africa : he never saw any of them in his tra-
vels through Caffraria, whence it may be pre-
sumed, that the countries frequented by this
species of eagle may be comprized between
the twenty-eighth degree of latitude and the
tropic.

■SE

THE EAGLE OF GOTTINGEN.

THE appellation given to this bird does
not strictly belong to him, since, probably, he
inhabits less the environs or territory of Got-
tingen, (where he has only been once found)

than

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 17

than other more northern countries. I have
continued this name only until it shall be
known what one he bears in the places where
he is more common, or until we know whe-
ther it be or not a particular species. The
name of glaucopis, which signifies a greenish
nose or heak, which Merrem proposed, and
which has been adopted by some authors,
is no less improper. Many other birds of
prey have greenish beaks, and besides, the
colour of the beak being so often liable to
vary, is not a sufficiently distinguishing and
characteristical trait to be singly employed
for the designation of a species.

The description of the eagle of Gottingen
is all that we know of it. Its total lengthy
that is, from the point of the beak to the
extremity of the tail, is one foot, nine inches,
three lines. It has the apertures of the nos-
trils large and oval : black bristles cover them
behind. The tongue is fleshy in tlie middle,
of a harder substance and approaching to
horn at the sides, and hardly divided at its
point: its legs are short, and furnished with
feathers that are soft to the touch: a woolly
down covers about one half of the tarsus in
front.

This bird has the breast and back brown:
f OL. VI. D on

18 NATURAL HISTORY

on the front of the head there are small brown
spots m the form of a crescent: the head and
the upper part of the neck are of a yellowish
white variegated with bro\vn: the tail of a
reddish brown at top, and of a dirty white at
bottom, with six black bands : the beak
greenish : the tongue and all the interior of
the mouth, a rose colour : the iris a yellowish
white : the membrane at the base of the beak
and the feet, a citron yellow, and the claws
black.

THE EAGLE OF ASTRACAN.

THIS eagle is nearly double the size of
the preceding one, its length being nearly
five feet one inch. It is also more vo-
racious and more destructive, and its insa-
tiable eagerness for prey induced Gmelin,
who describes it in the Recueil des Memoires
de r Academic de Petersbourg, to give it the
name of the ferocious eagle (falco ferox).
But that sort of ferocity which impels it to
slaughter, is common to it with other birds

of

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C • 19

of the same species, of a larger size, and con-
sequently with a greater appetite, and pro-
vided with more terrible arms for satisfying
it. It appears even, that the eagle of Astra-
can, which is uniformly denominated ferox,
in the nomenclatures of ornithology, has less
courage than other eagles, and that its
ferocity consists merely in a gluttony not
easily appeased, for Gmelin assures us that
it will feed with equal avidity upon the most
infected carcases.

The membrane of the beak of this bird is
green : its head and neck are a greyish brown,
mixed with a whitish tint. Its plumage is
generally brown ; but its back, belly, and
rump, are white variegated with spots of a
chesnut colour: the twenty-six feathers of
which the wings are composed, have the top
black, the under part white, and grey towards
the tips: the twelve feathers of the tail, all of
an equal length, are white beneath, and brown
above, with four bands or rings of a still
lighter brown: the beak is a leaden black
colour ; the eye-lashes are blue, the iris yellow,
and the nails pointed.

It was in the environs of Astracan that

Cmelin discovered this species of eagle,

D 2 which

so NATURAL HISTORY

which perhaps is only a variety of the
brown eagle, or probably the brown eagle
itself.

THE EAGLE OF JAVA,

THIS eagle has been described for the first
time in a foreign journal.* It is found in the
island of Java, where it frequents the borders
of the sea. Fish forms its principal nourish-
ment: its voracity, however, impels it to
devour dead animals.

Its length is about four feet five inches,
and its height one foot six inches. The
body and the end of the tail are white, the
feathers of the legs of a white and red colour,
and the membrane of the beak and the feet
yellow.

This description, incomplete as it is, is
sufficient to shew that the eagle of Java is
really a particular species.

* Wurmb. Lichtenberg Magazin fur des neueste ans dcr
fhya. iv. 2. p. 6.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. ^1

THE GREAT EAGLE OF GUIANA.

By Sonninu

THE great eagle of which I am now going
to give the description, is from all appearance,
of the same species as that which Mauduvt,
described in the Encyclopedie Methodique,
under the same denomination, the great ea^leof
Guiana: this last may indeed be the male, bein^-
smaller than the other, and having different
colours. But though I discovered and killed,
myself, this eagle in the forests of Guiana, I
am not prepared to decide whether or not
they are distinct species.

However this may be, the following are the
obsen^ations which I have collected from a
very attentive examination of the greatest
eagle hitherto known, and the discovery of
which was the fruit of my travels. I drew
up this description on the very spot, and at
the moment when I had brought down this
great bird.
Jn size it surpasses much the gi*eat eagle,

or

*22 ' NATURAL HISTORY

or the royal eagle. Its total length, measunng
from the beak to the tail, is three feet and a
half: its beak is three inches long, and about
fifteen lines broad at its base ; and one inch,
nine lines in thicknees : the overtures of the
nostrils are five lines and a half in length, and
two in breadth : they are placed about thir-
teen lines from the anterior angle of the eye,
which is about an inch from one angle to the
other. The tail is one foot four inches and
a half in length, and it exceeds the wings
when folded, four inches and a half: the foot
is six inches: the middle toe, without the
claw, measures three inches, and the hind
toe, two inches two lines : the length of the
middle talon measured in a straight line, is
one inch and a half, and that of the hind one,
two inches and a half.

The form of this bird approaches much
more to the eagle than to any other: the
beak is straight at its insertion, and the
hind talon is the longest, which is one of the
principal characteristics of eagles : the flesh,
however, between the eye and the beak is
entirely bare of feathers, and only sprinkled
with a few black hairs : and the feathers of
the feet do not descend so low as the talons,
which they do in the feet of eagles : these are

the

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 23

the. only prominent discrepancies tliat exist
between the eagle and the bird now de-
scribing; discrepancies which are, as it were,
compensated for by the great number of simi-
larities that they have in common.

The feathers of the head of this noble bird
are of a cinereous grey terminated by a dirty
white. From the summit of the head issue
long feathers, of which the two middle ones
are the longest, being more than five inches :
they are of a reddish grey as far as about one
half of their length : the rest is black, and ter-
minated like the former. These long feathers
are flat behind : those on the top of the neck
and on the back are, for the most part, of the
same colour: other feathers, irregularly inter-
mingled among these, are, as it were, veined
with black and a reddish grey, but all of them
are terminated with the latter colour: the
feathers of the rump are grey, as well as the
under covert feathers of the tail, but these
last are streaked more irregularly with black.

Some of the upper covert feathers of
the wings are black, and terminated with
grey; others black, and terminated with a
reddish grey; and others veined with black
and a reddish grey. The first quill feathers
of the wings are black on their external side,

that

'24: NATURAL HISTORY

that is, on the side which is apparent when the
wings are folded. Large bands of a reddish
obscure bown, and spotted with black, cover
the interior side of these same quill feathers ;
and the others are black, waved as it were,
with grey and a reddish grey.

The quill feathers of the tail are grey, with
large bands of black spots: they are terminated
with a reddish grey, except the two interme-
diate quill feathers, which have their extre-
mities grey bordered with white.

All the under part of the body, with the
exception of a semi-collar, black and veined
with a reddish grey, are of a dirty grey : the
feathers of the belly are white, and as soft as
down to the touch. The small covert fea-
thers on the under part of the wings are of
a dirty grey : the others are white, and some
of the large ones have blackish bands. The
feathers of the feet are white, streaked with
black: these feathers extend two inches in
length beyond the tarsus, the posterior side
of which is entirely bare.

The beak, the membrane at its base, the
naked skin upon the cheeks, and the nails,
are black : the feet and the toes are covered
with yellow scales.

I have been very diffuse in my description

of

nentrr LIBRARY

V, C, State CrV

OF BIRDS, FISH, &€. *■ 66

of tliis bird of the hot and humid countries of
South America, because I am the first who
have described it, and in order that this de-
scription may thus be enabled to be compared
with other details of species that are more
known.

These eagles are rare in Guiana; they are
not known in the island of Cayenne ; nor in
the environs of the habitations. They can
only be found by advancing into the inteiior
of the country : I never saw but three in the
two voyages which I made to Guiana. It is a
solitarj^ bird that lives in the depth and ob-
scurity of the most impervious forests : he
feeds upon the game which is abundant there :
and when he is moved or irritated, he elevates
the long feathers of his head in the form of a
tuft, or crown.

THE DESTROYING EAGLE.

(Falco Destructor.J

THIS bird is also one of my discoveries in
Guiana. No person, before me, had ever
VOL. VI. E mentioned

29 NATURAL HISTORY

mentioned it, and I brought to Paris the first
that was ever seen there. Mauduyt had it in
his fine cabinet which he afterwards sold to
the Duke of Deux Fonts: and this eagle,
as well as the other articles of this rich col-
lection, became a prey to the flames at the
commencement of a bloody war which seemed
to be directed by a dreadful spirit of
Vandalism.

Another individual of the same species,
or at least, of a very approximate one, is at
present preserved in the Cabinet of Natural
History at Paris. The name of the destroying
eagle has been affixed to it there, thougli it
is not known whether it be naturally more
destructive than other species of the same
genus. I shall, nevertheless, retain this de-
nomination, however ill applied it may be,
for there is nothing so embarrassing, when
studying natural history, as frequent muta^
tion of names.

Mauduyt called it The great eagle of Guiana:
hut that designation is equally improper,
since the bird from the same country, de-
scribed in the preceding article, is still larger
than the present one.

Its length is three feet two inches ; the
bone of the foot measures at the middle, three

inches

or 13IRDS, FISH, &c. 27

mdies three lines in circumference : the hind
toe is three inches seven lines long, and the
-curvature of the talon is tw^o inches nine
lines : the internal toe measures, from the
commencement of the claw, two inches ten
lines, and the claw is two inches long.
AVhen the bird is standing on its feet, the
space between the extremity of the talon of
the -middle toe in front, and that of the talon
of the hind toe, is eleven inclies. It is evi-
dent that these dimensions are much greater
than the corresponding ones in the eagle which
I have called tlie Great Eagle of Guiana,
though the size of the latter is greater than
that of the present one : and this disparitj^ of
proportion, joined to those of form and colour
which exists between them, may lead us to
conjecture with some probability, that they
are different species.

The tuft, which is common to the heads
of both these birds, has also some differences:
that of. the destroying eagle is not so long ; it
has only one feather, which is larger than the
others; while in the tuft of the gTeat eagle of
Guiana, the two middle feathers are lon£fer
than the rest: and this single feather of the
*tuft of the destroying eagle is only four

E 2 inches,

28 NATURAL HISTORY

inches, while the two intermediate ones of
the other are five and a hatf.

Besides, the destroying eagle has the top and
the sides of the head of a blackish grey : the
tuft is grey, and its long feather black termi-
nated with grey : the under part of the tuft and
the neck are grey ; the back and the large
covert feathers of the wings are black inter-
mingled with greyish circles: the top part
of the wing grey mixed with black : the quill
feathers black, and extending two-thirds over
the tail : the tail itself is black shaded with >
grey, whitish underneath, and terminated by
a black band : the breast and the belly of a
dirty white mixed with grey: the feathers
of the legs white and striped with black :
the sliort close feathers which cover the feet
about one inch below the knee, are whitish ;
the tarsus and the toes of a pale yellow, and
the beak and talons of a horn colour.

Independently of the shades of colour, we
may remark another disparity of form between
the destroying eagle and the great one of
Guiana ; viz. its feet are covered with a sort
of down as far as one inch below the knee ;
while the great eagle of Guiana has these
same parts covered with feathers as far as two

inches

OF BIRDS, FISH, &G. 21)

inches below the knee and in front onl}', the
tarsus being entirely bare on the posterior side.
The sohd and strongly curved beak of this
bird, and its powerful and pointed talons,
are certain indications of its strength, and
prove that nature has destined it to attack
large animals. Its ordinary food, according
to IMauduyt, who says he had his informa-
tion from travellers, is the flesh of the 7man
and the di : it carries away also fawns and
other quadrupeds. This maybe; indeed it
is very probable ; but what travellers can have
followed with sufficient constancy a rare bird,
and which is only found in the deepest parts
of the forests of Guiana, as to be certain of
these peculiarities ? As for myself, who, in
the course of many months, in the midst
of the forests of this country, discovered the
first of these eagles that had ever been seen
" in the cabinets of natural history, the first
even that had ever appeared in the colony of
Cayenne, I am far from knowing its habits
and customs ; and as, since the epoch of my
voyages in these desert countries, I have not
heard that many others of these eagles have
been sent into Europe, I am at a loss to con-
ceive how any travellers have had an oppor-
tunity of observing them with so much atten-
tion as to discover their tastes and manner

of

30 NATURAL HISTORY

of living. But, one thing may be advanced
without any fear of error : it is not a piscatory
eagle, which might have been suspected from
the nudity of its feet. To deduce the man-
ners and the regimen of a bird from so trivial
a character as the greater or less elongation
of the feathers on the legs, is it not to expose
ourselves to contempt? But, the eagle of
which we are now speaking, confines itself
to the interior of the country, where the
rivers are not very fertile in fish; the species
of fish also are not large, and would not re-
<]uire on the part of the bird the application of
very powerful arms : and besides, it is a ge-
neral remark which I have made, that the fish
of these rivers, very rarely, indeed hardly
ever, shew themselves on the surface of the
water, and it cannot be supposed that a bird
so large as this could seize them in the water,
nor even that the rivers, which are not very
jarge, and which are covered on their sides
with lofty and thick trees, could furnish free
room enough to enable the bird to fish with
any advantage.

1 have found this eagle perched on the top
of a very lofty tree, towards the source of the
Orapu, a large river of French Guiana. It
was motionless, and uttered no kind of cry.
The ball of the musquet having only broken

one

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 51

one wing, I kept it some days alive : I fastened
it by one foot to a bench in the middle of my
canoe. It did not appear mischievous: it did
not endeavour to attack the persons by whom
it was surrounded : but this tranquillity was,
perhaps, the effect of its captivity, or of the
pain which the wound caused : it constantly
refused every kind of nourishment; and to
abridge its sufferings I had it killed and
skinned. Its flesh not presenting a very de-
licate food, the person who preseiTed my
birds, threw it away, so that I could not
examine whether it v/sls a male or female.
Mauduyt conjectures that it was a female,
and that the male is precisely the same,
unless perhaps, that it is not quite so large,
that its breast is black, and that its plumage
is altogether more lively. But this is merely
presumption which does not seem to have
much foundation.

THE OXJIRA OUASSOU.

NO naturalist has given either a description
or a figure of this animal : both the one and

the

32 NATURAL HISTORY

the other are to be found in a Portuguese ma-
nuscript addressed to M. de la Condarriine, by
Don Laurent Alvarez Roxo de Potflitz, grand
chajitie of the cathedral of Pora and corre-
spondent of the Acadenny of Sciences at Paris.

Oiiira ouassou or vyra vassu signifies in the
language of Brazil, great bird.* It is in fact,
of a consideiuble size, being double that of
the eagle. Its head is large, and ornamented
with a tuft in the form of a helmet: its beak
is long : its eyes are clear, lively, and piercing:
the apertures of tlie nostrils are large, and
furnished with hairs on the side next the
l)eak : the neck is big : the feet are bare,
scaly, and reddish, the same as the toes: the
talons are black and crooked.

The feathers of the back, the wings, and
the tail, ar.e generally brown spotted with
black, and variegated with whitish or almost
yellow lines : the belly is covered with white
feathers, very soft to the touch, and not less
beautiful than those of the egret.

The ouira ouassou is a very beautiful bird ;
its plumage is agreeably varied, and its atti-
tudes are full of fierceness and dignity. His

motions

* The Portuguese of Brazil know this bird under the
<lenomination of gavian real or gavito real^ viz. the royal bird

Hf prey.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 33

motions are imposing, and announce his
strength and power: his flight is majestic,
but at the same time rapid. Dreaded by the
other animals, who tremble and hide them-
selves at his approach, he seems to be the
king, or rather, the tyrant of them. His
Avings have such an amazing extent, that they
often seiTe to kill in the air, the birds which
he has pursued, and which he afterwards
seizes with his talons. His tail, which is
large and long, contributes to the elevation
of his flight.

His strength is so great that he tears to
pieces in an instant the largest sheep. He
pounces with rapidity on the cariocous:
and experiencing no resistance in his empire
of destruction^ he pursues indifferently every
species of wild animal : he dares even to at-
tack men, no matter whether he see them
prepared or unprepared; the pursuit of him,
therefore, is dangerous, for when he feels him-
self wounded, he throws himself upon his
back, folds his feet upon his breast, and re-
mains immoveable as though he were dead :
but if any one approach to take him, he rises
suddenly by the help of his tail, and throws
himself with such violence upon the arms of
the hunter, that he pierces them through and
VOL. vr. F through

34 $IXTJJfiAL JIIS^ORy

.jbljjrojuigh with his talon?. But his most ordinary
fopcj is apes, particularly that species whiclj
they call at Brazil ^uari^qs, which he kills with
his b^ak and talons, and which he carves and
deyoup in an instant with a degree of skill and
Yoracity that is astonishing. 'JThis predilec-
tiofi for jth^t peculiar race of apes has occa-
^iop^^ \\v(\ f;o (be called by the natives, eafer

ThQi|gh ppss(essing . ^xx extrpnap vpracify,
pt this J)ird c^n pass fifteep or J:wpnty (jay?
without taking any nourishment. Ifs orcji-
pary y^sidenpe is wppn Jiigh mountainp: it
places \t^ pe^j: pji tji^ Ipftkst trees; it epi-
plojl in ifs ^postructjpn th^ hor|^S pf ^ni(pals,
l^hfch it |]as deyo^f^d, ^nc) sppif diy Jjr^ncji^
^{lipii it f^f te{)p ^it|i stepder twigs. " S^mi^
g^rspns," ^^^5 t]ie ^ut|ipf pf t\\^ ]VIS. " ip^^-

4 XfJepfstWP pf l^hep; (:)^t oj^servratip^ h^?
B^y^^ t|iaf |hg ja:j's p^ly oue, ^ncj ^hat if
cp^'ers this one ^ith gre^t care." The sa^Jjne
tiling ^^as ^if p said of ij^f §^§k, and if- is prp^^
b^blQ that t^he^e iabl^s IjaY^ -c^ps^e^ thf? s^a,^
w\th pvejjud^ce^ pbs§ry;^r?, ^yjip havq applied|
tp th^'ea^le qf Am^ri^a, i^e stories that h^vq
been fap|ficated respecting the Ei^rppe.ai|

faeie, Thg ^fW^f ^^^M^ 9#§f,^;^ f^^» ^^^

P/ob^bhf,.

probably, two eggs, the same as the female
of th€ 6ag1e. Th^g^ €gp ar6 Whim, spotted
with reddish brown.

This species is more numerous, and at the
same time larger, on the borders of the Ama-
zon, than in any oth^ part of these countries.
The quill feathers of its wings, the largest of
which are^ al)6utf a cubit iii length, seiVe to
Writ;e with. The natives o^ Cartoes iriake
vli'histles of its cliiws, which they ornariient'
with' different feathers. Its feathers, burned'
and appHed in tlie form of powder to the
bite of spiders, possess a p^nicular pfoperiy
of ej^tracting the venoiil arid appeasing the
pains wliich it Occasions : they have also the'
sam^ property df cUiing thfe bitef of other
vetlbtiiOus' aiiini^ls^ exdept* th^ rattlef-snake;
Lastly, its tkloris, burned atid reduced to a
po\^de'r, and a dose of t'^6 drdfc'hms being^
8 Wallowed, is said to be* an excellent' refhedy
fbr gonorrhoeas aind the fluot albtis.

it Will ea'^ily be" Believed that I r^litfe these
pretended properties oTthe ouh^'oii^SKOu otfl/
because I wish to omit nothing that is- kno'v^h
of so large and so rare a bird: and T believe,
that notwitlistandirig' the testimbny of Doii
Laurent" de Potflitz, no one will be tempted'
to try the efficacy of his recipes.

F2

36 NATURAL HISTORY

THE EAGLE OF MONTE VIDEO.

THE drawing of tliis bird of prey which,
in its form, and particularly in its bare feet,
is very similar to the Balbuzzard, was found
by Sonnini among the plates of the late M.
Commerson, a much regretted traveller and
naturalist. As the figure lias never been be-
fore published in any English work, it has
been engraved for this supplementary volume.

This bird is about fourteen inches high,
and about sixteen or seventeen in length..
The talons are long and crooked, and an-
nounce great strength. The plumage was
in general of a yellow colour : the sides of the
head grey: the breast covered at intervals
with spots in the form of tears, and the tail
white underneath, with straight and trans-
versal bands.

This piscatory eagle, or crab eater, is from
Monte Video : that being the only note which
accompanies the drawing of Commerson.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 37

THE VULTURE.

THE PERCNOPTERE.

THIS name has been adopted from the
Greek to distinguish this bird from every other
one: it certainly is not an eagle, and it is
as certainly a vulture, or, more strictly speak-
ing, it forms the connecting shade between
these two species of birds, being however,
infinitely more approximated towards the
vulture, than towards the eagle. Aristotle,
who has placed it among the eagles, con-
fesses, himself, that it approaches nearer to
the vulture, having, says he, all the vices
of the eagle without any of his good qualities :
suffering himself to be hunted and conquered
by ravens, indolent in the chase, heavy in
flight; always lamenting and moaning, al-
ways standing and seeking for dead carcases :
he has also shorter wings and a longer tail

than

3d NATURAL HISTORY

than eagles : his head is a clear blue colour:
the neck white and bare, that is, covered
lite the Bread simpIj^wTtti "a wIiite*dow"n,' with
a collar of small white and stiff feathers under
the neck in the form of a ruff: the iris of the
eye is of a redcTish yellow : the beak, and the
naked skin which covers the base of it, are
black : the crooked' extremity of the beak is
whitish : the lower part of the legs and the
feet are bare, and of a lead colour : the talons
are black, and neither so long nor so curved
^<s those of the eagles : it is, besides, very re-
rtiarkable foi* a broNVn spot in the form of a
Jieart, which it bears upon the breast beneath
the ruff, and this brown spot appears to be
surrounded, or rather embroidered, with a
stYaight white line. Tn general this bird is a
hideous figure, and badly proportioned : he
ie even disgusting on account of a continu-
ally flowing humour from his nostrils, and'
the two other holes which are in his beak, and*
by which the saliva issues : he has a promi-
nent crop; and when he is upon the ground
lie always keeps his' w'ings extended.* In

fact,

* The custom of keteping the wings extended bdon^
not only to this species, but also to thfe greater pArt of'
vultures 5 and also to some other birds of prey .

OF BIRD.-, FISH, &C. "QO

fact, he resemliles the eagle only in his ^iie,
fpr he is longer than the common eagle, and
approaches to the great eagle in the bulk of
his body, but has not the same extent of
flight. The percnoptere seems to be more
rare than that of other vultures, yet it is
found, though in small numbers, in the Py-
renees, in the Alps, and in the fountains of
Greece.

The ordinary length of the male percnoptere
.i§ three feet t\yo inches, ^nd. tha^ ,of the fe-
male three feet eight inches: its hre_adthfrorp
tip to tip, of the wings, when extended, is
nine feet: tlx^t .of the rnale is only eigtit feet.
The plumage of both of them is a reddish
colour, mixed mith some brown spots: the
quill feathers of the wings and those of the
tail are black: the belly and the hind part of the
thighs are white : the head is elongated : the
eyes are small : the head and neck void of
feathers, but covered with a smooth down,
thick and very white, through which rnay be
aeeji th^ bluish colour of tfee slsii?.: th^ ^rop
is very prominent, covered with a^ bfowfi
.4o\yn surroundeci with white: ^ha la^j^
part of the neck is encircled with loi^, str^i^i^
^nd rather stiif feat,hejs, whig}i ^x-^. a s^r^ (j^

cravat;

40 NATURAL HISTORY

cravat; the feet are bare, and of a leaden
grey colour.

This description of the percnoptere is by
a learned naturalist, Picotde la Peyrouse, who
also assures us that vultures are migratory,
that they love warm countries and elevated
regions, and that they quit during winter the
Pyrenees, where they are found in great
numbers during the summer months.

In the Levant the Greeks and Turks value
very highly the fat of the percnoptere : they
use it as an excellent tonic to mitigate the
pains of rheumatism. The name of this
bird in modern Greek is skania.

THE ORICOU.

THE name of oricou which Levaillant gave
to this vulture that he discovered in Africa,
appears to be composed of the words oreille
and couy because these parts of the bird pre-
sent a very remarkable singularity. A mem-
brane about four lines in height lines the

apertures

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 41

apertures of the ears above and in front, and
projects over the neck in a straight line.

Besides this border, which ornaments and-
defends the ears, the oricou has some other
chamcteristics which easily distinguish it.
Its crop is very prominent, and covered with
a fiiie, silky, shining down, and which has a
strong resemblance to the fur of a quadruped.
A semi-collar, large and crisped, covers the
upper part of the neck: all the lower part of
the body is covered with long stiff feathers,
straight and curved at the end like a sabre:
A very fine down embellishes the legs and
one half of the foot; and the same down
spreads over all the under part of the body,
and it may be perceived between the stiff
bristly feathers. The feet and the toes are
very large, and covered w^ it h great scales:
the talons are large and short, and not much
curved.

This is one of the largest and finest species
of the vulture: its breadth from tip to tip of
the wings when extended, is more than ten
feet, and its height exceeds three feet.

The naked skin of the head and one half
of the neck is of a red flesh colour, slightly
tinged with a violet blue towards the beak,
and white near the ears : the eyes are sur-
YOL. VI. G rounded

42 NATtJRAL HISTORY

rounded with long, black eye-lashes .• the
throat is black, and covered with hairs of the
same colour: the feathers on the upper part
of the body, the wings, and the tail, are of a
dark brown, bordei-ed With the same colour
of a lighter hue. The wings and tail are of
the same sombre colour as the upper part of
the body: the base of the beak, as well as
the skin which surrounds it, are yellowish:
the tip of the beak and the claws are of the
colour of horn : and the iris of the eye is of a
chesnut brown.

The young bird, when just hatched is
covered with a whitish down. When it quits
die nest, the feathers on the upper part of the
body are of a clear brown, bordered with m
reddish colour : those on the under part are
not yet developed: the head and neck are
entirely covered with a very thick down.

The oricou retires into the caverns and
clefts of the rocks which cover the high moun-
tains of the interior countries at the Cape of
Good Hope, where it is very common, and
particularly in the province of the Grand Na-
maquois. Levaillant never saw it in the
environs even of the Cape. The female lays
only two white eggs, and rarely three: it is
in th^i month of January that the young ones

are

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 4S

are hatched. During the time of incubation
the male watches at the entrance of the ca-
vern where the female is sitting, and this is
always a certain indication of a nest; but
being always constructed in inaccessible
places, it is very difficult to approach.
** Nevertheless,** says Levaillant, " I have
sometimes overcome, with the assistance of
my Hottentots, all the difficulties, and often
risked my life to examine the eggs : the den
in which they are contained is a most dis-
gustirig place: it is a true Cloaca, and ia-
fected with an insupportable stench. It ia
the more dangerous to approach these obscure
retreats because the entrance is covered with
dung, liquified by the moisture which con-
tinually exhales from the rocks, so that there
is a constant hazard of slipping from the
points of the rocks, and falling into dreadful
precipices, over which the oricou establishes
itself from preference. I have tasted their
eggs, and I have found them good enough to
be made use of: it is to be remarked that
vultures never rest in trees, at least in Africa ;
mnd I am much deceived if it be not the same
w"lth vultures in every part of the world."

At the rising of the sun, tlie oricous may be
perceived in great numbers at the entrance of

G 2 their

44 NATURAL HISTORY

their gloomy residences ; sometimes an entire
chain of mountains is strewed with them from
spot to spot : they always keep together, and
fly in troops, and these immense bodies of
(Carnivorous birds seem to live in a very
friendly manner among themselves; for some-
times three ditierent nests may be found con-
tiguous to each other in the same hole of
the rock.

The voracity of these vultures is excessive.

Levaillant relates that having wounded an

oricou occupied in devouring the body of a

hippopotamus, the bird endeavoured to

•snatch lumps of his prey while endeavouring

to fly, and although he had at that time six

pounds and a half of meat in its stomach.

Weighed down by this great quantity of food,

and detained by his wound and his voracity,

he gave time for Levaillant to approach near

him before he could rise. With the assistance

•of his Hottentots he overcame him, but with

difficulty. The bird defeiided itself a long

time with intrepidity: he bit the musquets

with his beak, or struck them with his wings

and talons with such force, that at each blow

he scratched the barrels.

It is only, however, in the imperious act of
gelf defence where his Ufe is at stake that the

oricou

OF MRDS, FISH, &C. 45

oricou shews courage. Cowardice and base-
ness form the basis of his character, as of all
birds of the same class : his strength and his
great size do not render him bold : he does
not attack animals, however weak they may
be ; and he contents himself with gorging
upon their remains and the most infectious
drains, sewers, &c. Even when in a body
the oricous are not more courageous; they
may be seen when any ferocious quadruped
has possessed itself of some prey, waiting in
a crowd and with patience, but at a distance
(indicative of their base timidity) till he
has finished his repast in order that they may
feed upon what he leaves.

THE CHINCOU.

THE size of the chincou is nearly equal to
that of the oricou, but it has a particular cha-
racter which distinguishes it. This is a tuft
of down of a greyish brown colour, which it
has on the top of its head, and the form of
which is exactly that of a powder puff, and

which

40 NATURAL IIISTOJIY

which we call houppes de cygne,* The head
and the throat are covered with a fine black
down: the eye is surrounded with a white
eyelid: a collar of long feathers separated
from each other: all the bare part of the neck
is comprised between this collar and the black
down of the head, of a pale white, and having
the appearance of a white cravat underneath
the ruff: the skin in the front of the neck
is wrinkled, and of a bluish colour: the crop
very prominent, and, when full, like a blad-
der; but when empty, it contracts and en-
tirely disappears under the long feathers,
which parting from each side of the neck,
meet together naturally in front. The feet
and the toes are whitish : the talons are of a,
horn colour, as well as the end of the beak,
the basis of which is of a blueish white. The
beak is rather thick at its origin, but it insen-
sibly diminishes towards its point.

When this bird has fed and digested bis
food, he sinks his head entirely between his
shoulders : his beak then rests along his crop:
his cravat surrounds his head, round which it
forms a sort of sun with diverging rays: and
his wings, which are pendant, conceal his

feet ;

* Probably the same ais is called in English a ncandown

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 47

feet; his feathers stand so on end, that in this
attitude he might rather he taken for a form-
less mass of something feathered, than for a
bird.

The general colour of this hird is a uniform
brown, deeper on the wings and on the tail,
and also on the belly.

It is to Levaillant that we are also indebted
for the discovery of this vulture : he has de-
scribed it and had it drawn in Holland. It is
fed with raw flesh, which it eagerly devours.
It is very mischievous, and will not suffer
itself to be approached : by dint of teazing
Levaillant induced it to spread its wings, and
he thinks that their breadth from tip to tip
is at least nine feet When tranquil and
perched, his wings are never pressed close to
his body, but hang negligently down.

THE JOTA.

THIS vulture from. Chili, which bears the
name of jota, differs but little from the aura ;
yet it has some remarkable varieties which

serve

48 NATURAL HISTORY

serve to distinguish it. Its beak is grey, with
the exception of the point, which is black.
All the body is black: the quill feathers of the
wings are brown, as well as the legs. The
skin on the head is Wrinkled, and of a rose
colour.

The jota acquires its black colour only
from age and by degrees. When young it
is almost white, and it is not till after it has
quitted the nest that it changes its colour.
The first black spot appears upon its back ;
and it extends itself gradually over the whole
of the body.

This bird appears to be more cowardly
and more indolent than the rest of the species.
It may be seen sometimes for hours together
basking in the sun, on the rocks or the roofs
of the houses, immoveable, and with the wings
extended. It is never heard to utter any
cry : it is only when tormented that it sendi
forth a dolorous note, something like that of
a rat, and which is generally accompanied
with a throwing up of all that he had swal-
lowed.

The jota exhales a fetid and disagreeable
odour : disgusting and indolent, he seems to
surpass all other vultures in cowardice and in
bad qualities. Its natural indolence is con-
spicuous

OF BIRDS, fISII, &C. 40

spicuous even in the formation of its nest :
he rather places than builds it between the
rocks, or even on the ground, and it merely
consists of some dried leaves disposed without
care and without foresight. The female lays
two eggs, which are of a dirty white colour.*

THE GYPAETES.

BETWEEN the powerful and generous
eagle and the cowardly and disgusting
vulture, there exists, a race of large carnivo-
rous birds, whose nature and whose external
form approximate them both to one and the
other. This family of voracious and destruc-
tive animals, which forms the shade between
these two species, is sufficiently remarkable
not to be confounded with them as they have
been hitherto. Modern naturalists have every
reason to separate them, and to make them a
dsitinct genus ; a separation which the nature
even of these birds indicates, and to which
they have given the name of gypa'ete, com-
voL. VI. . H posed

* See. Natural History of Chill, by the Abbe Molina

50 NATURAL HISTORY

posed of the Greek words guyps, vulture, and
a'etos eagle,* because these birds have great
affinities with the eagle and the vulture with-
out, however, being either one or the other.
The distinctive characters of the gypaetes
are a large head, the top flat: the beak
straight, strong, elongated, and with the
upper mandible puffed, crooked at the
end, and longer than the under one: the
head as well as the throat covered with
very short, straight feathers : the feet short
and covered with feathers : the talons elon-
gated, pointed, and covered. But that which
characterises more particularly these birds,
is a brush of hair or stiff bristles, which hangs
from the beak and forms a sort of beard.
. Like the vultures and the eagles, gypaetes
are found only on the highest mountains
and inaccessible rocks. But they do not live
solitary like the eagles; they assemble in small
troops, and devour like the vultures dead ani-
mals and corrupted flesh : they have, how-
ever, the courage and the audacity of the
eagle: so that, by their appetites and their
natural habits, they approach as much to
eagles and vultures, as by their exterior.

The

* In order to preserve the etymology we ought to pro-
nounce n guypaetey and nol gi'paetCy as is usually done.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. -51

The species of this genus are not very nu-
merous: we are acquainted only with four,
and even of these it is not certain that they
are really separate and distinct species.

THE GYPAETE OF THE ALPS.

THIS formidable bird is the lamme geier.*
Some naturalists have supposed that it is the
same bird as the condor of South America,
though this is of a distinct species, and even
of a ditferent genus.

The weight of this bird is about ten pounds :
its length measures from the point of the
beak to the extremity of the tail three feet
ten inches ; and its breadth between the
wings, from tip to tip, when extended, is
about eight feet and a half. Its beak is four
inches long : it is covered on the top, from
the base to about the middle, with numerous
long hairs, black and inclining forwards : un-
derneath hangs a tuft of these same hairs,

H 2 which

* These are two German words, and signify literally, the
vulture of lambs. Trans.

52 NATURAL HISTORY

which forms a true beard about an inch and
a half long. These hairs are also scattered at
the corners of the beak and on the throat, on
the eyeHds and on the eyebrows. The tail is
three inches broad and sixteen long^ round
and composed of twelve large quill feathers:
the wings have thirty- two.

A white down, beautiful and thick, covers
the entire head, on the back of which there
is a large black spot : the neck and the under
part of the body are of a white colour mixed
with orange, deeper on the throat and breast,
and weaker on the belly, legs, and feet. The
under part of the wings is grey : the tail, the
covert feathers of the wings and those of the
rump, are of a clear grey, bordered with black i
the end of the covert feathers of the wings is
spotted with orange : the quills of the fea-
thers are white : all the rest of tlie plumage
is of a very deep brown. Some of these birds
may sometimes be seen, and particularly the
females, that have no orange colour at all
upon their plumage; they are then of a red-
dish brown : the iris of the eyes is of a lively
red, and the toes are grey.

The gypaete of the Alps is not very com-
mon on these high mountains, but the specicg
is scattered throughout the vv hole range ; for

they

OF BIRDS, FISH, ScC. 53

they are found on the Rhetiaii, Helvetic, and
Noritic branches. It is equally an inhabitant
of the Pyrenees and other chains of elevated
and inaccessible mountains in Europe. Pallas
met with it in Siberia on the granite moun-
tains of AdoU'Scholo : the Mongols call it
ielioo : and the Abbe Fortis saw one of these
great gypaetes, that measured twelve feet
from tip to tip of the wings when extended,
in Dalmatia, where these terrible animals
snatch up with their talons and cany to their
nests, lambs, and sometimes sheep, and even
the children of the shepherds.

Many naturalists have mistaken for a variety
of the gypaetes of the Alps the golden vul-
ture of Brisson.

There are in the Cabinet of Natural History
at Paris, two varieties of the gypaete of ihe
Alps : the one brown, with the under part of
the body red, and the toes brown : the other
with a plumage and toes blackish, and the
head in part white. It is the last variety from
whence the plate is taken.

54 NATUJIAL HISTORY

THE CHESNUT COLOUllED GYPAETE.

THIS gypaete is found, according to
Gnnelin, in the mountains of Persia : the dif-
ference of climate, however, as v/ell as that
of the colours of the plumage, may authorize
us to consider it as a distinct species from the
gypaete of the Alps, though naturalists have
represented it as merely a simple variety.

This bird has the membrane at the base of
the beak bluish, the tail cinereous, the under
part of the body, as well as the feet, a ches-
nut colour mixed with white.

THE GYPAETE OF AFKICA.

THIS is not a variety of the gypaete of the
Alps, as some naturalists have presumed, but
a separate species, having distinguishing cha-
racteristics

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 55

racteristics sufficient to entitle it to this rank.
For the knowledge of it we are indebted to
Bruce, the Abyssinian traveller. He killed
one of these birds on the summit of the high
mountain of Lamalmon in Abyssinia.

While Bruce was preparing to take some
nourishment in the open air, this gypaete
presented itself all at once : he did not pounce
from his height with rapidity, but flying
slowly and almost grazing the ground, he
placed himself near several dishes of boiled
kid, and in the midst of Bruce's travelling
companions. He first of all fastened one of
his talons upon a great piece of meat which
was in a pan of boiling water, but pain soon
made him abandon it. He carried away a
shoulder and a leg of the kid, but still look-
ing at the piece which was in the boiling
water. A few instants afterwards he ap-
peared again; and in spite of the cries of
the Abyssinians, he placed himself with
great fierceness and couraji^e, near the pan
of boiled meat, and about ten paces distant
from Mr. Bruce, who shot him dead with a
musquet loaded with ball.

This large and beautiful bird was eight
feet four inches from tip to tip, and four
feet seven niches long. It was very fleshy,

and

Jtf NATURAL HISTORY

and weighed twenty-two pounds : its talons
were not very pointed, but they were ex-
tremely strong: its beak was thr.ee inches
and a quarter long, and one inch three quar-
ters broad at its base. A long tuft of hair,
dividing itself into the form of a fork, issued
from under the neck. Its eye was very small
in proportion to its size, for it was not more
than one quarter of an inch in the aper-
ture. All the upper part of its head, as far
as the beak, was entirely void of feathers.

When Bruce went to pick up this mon-
strous bird, he was not a little surprised to find
his hands covered with a yellow powder ; he
turned it up, and found that the feathers
on the back yielded also a brown powder,
that is, a powder of the same colour as
the f-rathers themselves. There was a great
quantity of this pov/der, and when the fea-
thers were a little shaken, the powder flew
as if it had been thrown from the puff of a
hai: -dresser. The feathers of the throat and
belly were of a beautiful golden colour, and
did not appear to have any thing particular
in them ; but the great feathers on the top
of the wings and on the upper part of the
back, were formed into small tubes, so that
when they were pressed, a powder issued

out

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. ^7

out and spread itself over the feathers, and
this powder, as already observed, was of a
brown colour. The large quills of the wings
were also stripped of their feathers as if
they had been used ; but it is probable they
would be renewed.

It . is not easy to say why Nature has
provided this bird with so large a quantity
of powder; all that can be done is to con-
jecture that it has been given for the pur-
pose of protection against the heavy rains
that fall six months in the year in Abys-
sinia, for it is common to all the other Avinged
inhabitants of this country. The pigeons of
Lamalmon are not furnished with this
powder, and hence it may be concluded
that they are migratory : but the gypaete
is indigenous, and is never seen in Lower
Ethiopia.

This conjecture of Bruce, as to the use of
the powder, cannot be admitted, for, if the
gypaete and other birds of Abyssinia be so
abundantly provided with it as a defence
against the rains that fall in that country
for six months in the year, why has not
Nature given the same defence to the birds
of Guiana, where it rains incessantly for
VOL. VI. I eight

58 NATURAL HISTORY

tight months? Whatever maybe the uti-
lity, however, the thing itself is remarkable,
and it is one of those modifications, mul-
tiplied to infinity, with which nature va-
ries the forms and attributes of animated
nature.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. ^9

THE FALCON.

THE SINGING FALCON.

IT is ditricult to unite the idea of a singing
bird with that of a bird of prey. The harsh
and Hngering cries of want, the piercing
clamours of ferocity constitute all the harmony
of birds of this class. And however much
these accents may be prolonged, they are
never any thing else but mournful and dis-
cordant sounds, which disgust the ear and
make the mind melancholy. The species of
falcon which Levaillant has discovered in the
southern countries of Africa, and which he has
denominated the *' singing falcon" possesses
says he ** an organ with which he alone, ex-
clusively of all other birds of prey, seems to
be gifted, if we except the vocijer." But this
vociferous eagle, utters, with effort, loud cries,
brayhig intonations without inflexion, with-
out any thing agreeable, and which are re-
duced, according to Levaillant himself, to

i^ four

60 NATURAL JJISTORY

four syllables ca-hou'Coii-cou pronounced and
repeated always in a similar manner.

The voice of the singing falcon is, accord-
ing to Levaillant, equally strong. Pej'ched
upon ^he summit of a tree, near its female,
which it never quits all the year, or else in the
vicinity of the nest where she is brooding, he
sings for hours together, and in a particular
manner. Like our nightingale he is to be
heard only in the morning at the rising of the
sun, in the evening at its setting, and some-
times during the whole night. It musf be ob-
served that Levaillant has not, as usual, ex-
pressed by syllables or by musical notes the
particular manner in which this bird sings.
We should deceive ourselves were we to com-
pare its sounds to the harmonious modula-
tions of Philomela ; and it is evident that Le-
vaillant has made mention of the nightingale
only to intimate that it has the particular
circumstance in common with the singing-
falcon, of chaunting its amours in the evening
and during the night. But it is ih^ vocifer
that forms the true point of comparison : it is
to his resounding ca-hou-cou-cou, that we
must approximate the equally boisterous cry
of the singing falcon : it is to clamours a long
time repeated, but monotonous, that all its

musical

OF BIP.DS, FISH, &C. 61

musical art is reduced : so that this rapacious,
bird ought rather be called the crying than the
singing, falcon, and we must not censure na-
ture so grossly as to imagine that she would
unite delicate and touching sounds to feroci-
ous tyranny and the revolting habits of ciir-
nasfe.

But if this singing falcon, like all the birds
who share his insatiable avidity and bloody
habits, possess not the charms of voice, he
cannot be refused elegance of form nor beauty
of plumage: and it is not in birds only that
harshness and cruelty of character are con-
tained beneath the most flattering external
appearance.

This bird is almost entirely of a light grey,
the shades of which are deeper on the top and
sides of the head, and on a part of the scapu-
lary feathers. The rum.p is white and on each
side there are stripes and spots of a greyish
brown. The belly and the legs are whitish
with transversal lines of blueish grey. The
wings are black ; the tail blackish and termi-
nated with white ; large white bands cross it
all along. The iris of the eyes is a deep reddish
brown ; the beak and the claws are black ;
the base of the beak and the feet are yellow,
and become an orange colour, in the season

of

()'i NATURAL HISTORY

of their amours. When the bu'd is young its
plumage is considerably intermingled with
a reddish colour.

The size of this bird is about the same as
the falcon of Europe : its feet are very long,
and this particularity approximates it to the
sparrow-hawk, with which it has greater affi-
nities than with the falcon. The female is
one thiid stronger than the male. She lays
four white eggs, almost round. " In voy-
ages such as I have made," says Levaillant,
** one tastes of every thing: I have eaten of
these eggs when newly laid; when baked,
the white retains a great transparency and a
blueish tinge: the yelk is of a fine red or saf-
fron colour, and the inside of the shell of a
green colour."

Levaillant found this beautiful species of
falcon in Caffraria and the neighbouring
countries, as well as in the Karrow and
Cambdeboo.

<TF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 63

THE FALCON OF THE ISLAND OF JAVA.

THIS falcon was only seen once in the
island of Java by Van Ernest, a naturalist of
the north : he was perched upon the point of
a rock, where he waited for the small birds
that flew about. He was either fatigued, or
else not very fierce : for a negro approached
near enough to kill him with a stone.

The same naturalist who relates this fact,
has designated the falcon under the name of
Falco testaceusy or brick colour*, and Dau-
din has rendered it by testace. But this word
not being received into the French languaoe
as indicative of a colour, Sonnini did not
adopt it, but rather chose to call the bird after
the country whence it came, until future de-
tails shall confirm whether the island of Java
be its natal place, and under what name it
is there known.

Its size is that of the common goss hawk,
and its length about twenty one inches. Its

beak

* From the Latin, Testa, a brick.

61 NATURAL HISTORY

beak is very crooked, its tail exceeds the wings
a little, and the feet are very short. It has
the feathers of the head, the top of the neck
and the back of a reddish brown, and their
quills blackish ; the scapulary feathers and
those of the rump are of a clear red ; the
throat and the front part of the neck whitish ;
the feath.ers of the breast of a reddish white,
and the quills brown : the belly and the legs
are of a reddish, uniform brown ; the under
covert feathers of the tail white ; the large
quill feathers of the wings blackish, with
whitish spots ; the tail brown on the top, and
on the under part white, with fine transversal
blackish spots ; the feet and the toes yellow ;
the talons black, and the beak blueish.

Van Ernest observed in the collection of
the Society at Batavia another falcon very
similar to this, and which he considers
as the female of the falcon of Java, from
"which it diti'ers only in the paler tinge of the
plumage and by the reddish colour of the
under covert feathers of the tail.

OF Blli-Di?, FISH, &C. 65

THE KOBER.

THIS is a species of falcon called by tlic
Russians Kober and derhnisclioclc. It ap-
proaches to nocturnal birds from its habit of
flying and hunting during the evening and
night, a circumstance doubtless owing to the
sensibility of its eyes : so that this bird,
which has all the external characteristics of
the falcon, differs from it nevertheless by dis-
crepancies of formation yet more decisive, and
which pronounce it a nocturnal bird. It is
one of those numerous beings, which mere
systematists cannot comprehend, and of
which nature has availed herself to connect
mutually the animals which she has varied
with an admirable profusion.

This species is common in Ingi'ia, all Russia,
and in Siberia, where^ it has been observed
by various travellers well skilled in natural
history. It is most frequently in the environs
of Lake Baikal.

The prey of these birds consists principally
VOL. VT. K of

66 NATURAL HISTORY

of quails : they place their nests in the holes
of trees which is a still further similarity with
nocturnal birds.

They are not larger than a pigeon : their
feet are naked. The skin which is upon the
beak, the eye-lids, and the feet is yellow :
the head, and the covert feathers of the legs
and the under part of the tail are brown ; all
the body is of a brown colour, shaded with a
bluish tinge, with the exception of the belly;
the wings are of a bluish brown ; the first
seven large quill feathers have their tips
blackish. The tail, consisting of twelve large
feathers, is brown both above and below.

THE FALCK.

THE name of Faick has been given to
this bird in honor of the traveller who intro-
duced it to the notice of naturalists,* and be-
cause the colours of its plumage do not present
any characters sufficiently striking to serve as
a denomination that may distinguish it clearly

from

♦ Falck. Voyages, Tom. iii. p. S29.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. ^7

from other birds of the same species. Be-
sides, the names by which it has been desig-
nated by ornithologists who have spoken of it
since faick, are still more improper. What
difference, for instance, can be tound between
the epithets vespertinus and vespcrtlnoides
given by some to the preceding and the pre-
sent bird, and the appellations woc/wr/?a/ and
tvatching, affixed to them by Daudin ? And
since we are ignorant of the real name of the
second of these birds, that is, the name which
it bears in its natal country, the appellation of
Faick will at least recall to memory the travel-
ler who discovered this species, or who first
mentioned it.

Like the Kober, this bird is a nocturnal
falcon : it does not commence its chase till
the evening, and continues it during darkness ;
but it is one half less than the Kober, and it
hardly weighs two ounces. It inhabits nearly
the same countries : it is found in Permia, a
province of Russia, in Siberia, &c. &c.

It has the membrane at the base of the
beak, the eye-lids, and the feet yellow ; the
legs black, the neck, the breast, and the'belly
of a colour nearly brown, spotted with white.

K g

68 NATURAL HISTORY

OBSERVATIONS ON THE BUTCHER BIRT5,

By Sonninu

THE wickedness of the butcher bird has
become proverbial : we compare to it
nuarrelsome and peevish women : but as lo-
quacity and sourness of character do not al-
ways exclude the existence of good qualities,
so we find many in the butcher bird. It pos-
sesses in a high degree that courage which
multiplies strength, and that prudence which
foresee^ and avoids the wants of the future :
it is not even useless to agriculture, and the
cultivators of many countries hold it in much
esteem, because it wages war with field mice
and other vermin : it destroys also many
noxious insects, and particularly May bugs,
for which food it has a decided })redilection.
Thus its wickedness has nothing pernicious
in it ; it turns to the profit of man, as it frees
the harvests and the groves of many destruc-
tive animals: and under this relation, the
butcher bird, as it never injures the crops,

merits

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 69

merits like almost every other bird of prey,
to be preserved and even favored in its pro-
pagation.

The appetite which the butcher bird ])os*
sesses for insects, leads him to use precautions
that he may not be disappointed of his fa-
vourite food : and this foresight supposes
combinations which denote a great sagacity
of instinct. The insects appear only at stated
periods, and some species, particularly the
larger ones, only appearing during a very
short time, the butcher bird would often be
exposed to the jxiins of hunger, if it did not
form a sort of magazine where it finds, upon
necessity, resources which secure it from in-
evitable distress, but for these means. It is
not in the holes of trees, nor in the earth that
it deposits these provisions, which are of such
a nature that they would soon corrupt if kept
in a close place : it is in the open air that the
butcher bird arranges them here and there ;
it sticks its superfluous prey upon the thorns
of bushes, and it knows where to find it when
in want of it.

The custom of hanging its prey upon thorns,
&c. is not peculiar, as Levaillant thinks, to
tbreign butcher birds : it seems to be common
to every species.

The

70 NATURAL HISTORY

The flight of the butcher bird is similar to
that of the magpye, by successive diirtings
and undulations, which arise from its wings,
when extended, being round and presenting
but a small surface. 1 his difficulty of flight
obliges the bird to endeavour to raise itself in
the air over its prey, so that it may pounce
upon it and strike it to the earth, where it
instantly seizes and destroys it It is in this
manner that the butcher bird succeeds in
seizing small birds. Falconers have availed
themselves of its courage and address, and
have sometimes reared it for artificial pur-
poses. Turtierus relates that Francis I. was
accustomed to hunt with a tame butcher bird,
that spoke and came back upon the hand ;
hunters also have made use of the butcher
bird to discover the approach of a sparrow-
hawk; the former, on such an occasion, never
failing to utter a peculiar cry, and in Sweden
they are much employed lor this purpose.
When the butcher bird has taken a bird, it
opens the skull and eats the brains, which
forms one of its peculiarly delicious morsels.
It makes its nest in the month of May, in the
recesses of solitary forests, and sometimes
also in tufted and spiny hedges: it erriploys
for this purpose hay, carefully chosen, and

verv

OF BIRDS, FISJI, &C. 71

very fine small fibrous roots, of which it
forms a semi-spherical building of one inch
and a half in thickness : the interior of the
nest is furnished with a profusi on of feathers
and down ; and the female deposits on this
soft bed from three to five white eggs, spotted
with a dirty brown, which assumes a black-
ish tinge towards the large end of the egg.
The young ones, when hatched, are entirely
naked.

It is said that the butcher bird does not ex-
ist above four or five years ; but one of my
friends preserved one a much longer time :
he nourished it with boiled and hashed meat.

This species is found at all times in the
mountains of Loi-raine : they may be seen
perched at the extremities of the highest and
most isolated branches of trees and bushes ;
and this position is necessary to the bird in
order that he may rise into the air, or preci-
pitate himself without obstacle upon his
prey.

The butcher bird is of a clear cinereous
grey colour on the top of the head, the hind
part of the neck, and all the upper part of the
body ; the scapulary feathers are white. On
the sides of the head is a large black band,
which, issuing from the corner of the mouth

passes

7^ NATURAL HISTOUY

passes above the eyes, and extends towards
the commencement of the neck. The throat,
the fore part of the neck, and all the under
part of the body are white. The large covert
feathers of the wings are black, and the quills
white, from their insertion to about half their
length, and the rest is black. Twelve fea-
thers form the tail ; the two middle ones are
white at their origin, then black, and termi-
nated by white : the three next on each sidfi
have the same colours with the exception that
the white at the extremity increases in pro -
portion as the quill is more exterior : the
fifth feather is entirely white on the outer part,
marked with black at the middle, on the in-
terior side ; and lastly, the outermost one is
totally white ; the beak, the feet, and the
claws are black.

The ordinary length of this bird is about
nine inches and a half from the tip of the
beak to that of the tail : its breadth from
point to point of the wings when extended, is
thirteen inches, and its wings when folded,
project about one quarter over the length of
the tail. The nostrils are covered with small
feathers and black bristles ; and similar bris-
tles are visible at the corners of the mouth.

The female is distinguished from the male

only

OF BIUDS, FISH, SCC 7!»

ortly by a few shades of brown on the under
part of the body. There are also some other
differences, but they are so sHght and so litth^
remarkable, that they are hardly perceivable.

FOREIGN BIRDS WHICH HAVE AX AFFINITY
WITH THE BUTCHER BIRD.

THE FINGAH.

THlS East Indian bird, called at Bengal
Jingah, is of a species very distinct from
every other kind of butcher bird. The form
of the beak, the mustaches or hairs which
rover its basis, and the strength of its legs,
have induced some naturalists to consider this
as a butcher bird, though its tail is formed very
differently from that species, in which the
middle feathers are the longest, while in that
of the fingah they are much shorter than the
.side ones, so that the tail appears forked, that
is, hollow in the middle towards its extre-
mity. The beak is thick and strong, arched,
something like that of the sparrow hau'k, but
longer in proportion to its thickness, and less
VOL. VI. L crookec?,

74 NATURAL HISTORY

crooked, with the nostrils equally large ; the
basis of the upper mandible is surrounded
^vith stiff hairs. The entire head, the neck,
tlie back, and the covert feathers of the \ving3
are of a brilliant black, "with a slight shade
of blue^. purple, and green, and which per-
petually vary according to the reflection of
the ravs of Ikht. The breast is of a cinereous
colour, dull and dark ; the whole of the
bel!3% the legs, and the covert feathers of tlie
under part of the tail are white ; the legs, the
feet, and the claws arc of a blackish brown.
Some naturalists, and among those Mr.
lEd wards, liave doubted whether tbis bird
ought to be classed with the butcher bird, or
with the pie species, for it appears to have an
equal affinity with both of them.

THE RED TAIL.*

THIS East Indian bird is about the same
size as the grey butcher bird of Europe : the

beak

♦ This bird is to bo found in almost the vfhole of India.

Iti

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 75

beak is of a cinereous brown colour ; the iri??
of the eye is whitish ; the top and back of
the head black ; under the eyes there is a spot
of a bright red colour, terminated with white,
and on the neck four black spots of a circular
form; the upper part of the neck, the back,
tlie rump, the covert feathers of the top of the
tail, those of the under part of the wings and
the scapulary feathers are brown ; the throat,
tiie upper part of the neck, the breast, tlie
sides, and the legs are white; the covert fea-
thers of the under part of the tail are red ;
the tail is of a clear brown colour ; tlie feet
and the nails are black.

THE BRUBRU.

THE name which Levaillant has given to

this bird expresses at once its cry: it pro-

X 2 nounces

Its length is about five inches. Levaillant observe?; th.it
krisson has de>cribetl this bird twice over, first by the name
of Red tail^ and afterwards by that of the tufted blacklird of
China \ and he assert; that.it is no.t a butcher bird, brit ac-
tually a blackbird.

T6 NATURAL HISTORY

nounces distinctly the syllable hru, repeated
two or three times successively, and resting a
little upon the letter r. The samo naturalist
also compares the notes of this butcher bird,
^vhicli he discovered during his travels in
Africa, to the sounds of the greenfinch during
the season of pairing, when perched upon the
top of the trees, it calls the female.

The male hruhru is entirely black on the
upper parts of the body with a shade of white
on the back and rump ; and it is wholly white
on the under parts : a white line, beginning
at the base of the beak, passes above the eyes,
and terminates on the sides of the neck : a
great white spot covers the middle of the
wing of which the quill feathers are edged
with white : the quill feathers of the middle
of the tail are black ; the others have a whit-
ish tinge, which increases in projjortion to their
distance from the middle of the tail : so that
the last feather on each side is entirely edged
with white. The eye is brown, and the beak

black.

ThehruhruS'S.ve frequently found in small
troops, except during the season of love,
when each couple lives separately ; they form
their nest with moss and small roots, and
they line it with wool and feathers. They lay

five

OP BIRDS, FISH, &C. 77

five eggs;, which are white, spotted witli
brown.

Levaillant did not begin to perceive this
species of butcher bird until he approached
towards the twenty eiehth degree of south
k\titude on the bunks of the great river, where
these birds are very numerous and not at all
ferocious. But he never met with it in his
travels towards the eastern part of Africa,
nor in the interior of the country, on his re-
turn from Caifraria.

THE CUBLA.

THE species supplies, on the eastern coast
of the south of Africa, the place of the hrubrit,
which is not to be found there: they live,
like this last, in small troops of six or seven,
hut they present a more perfect image of a so-
ciety without trouble, without dissention,
where mutual good understanding and con-
cord reign, and in which the pleasures and
the pains are divided^, and the good as well as

the

78 NATURAL HISTORY

the evil reduced to common use: a society-
very rare among animated beings, and for
examples of which we are almost com-
pelled to seek among the wild retreats of Afri-
ca, where nature only reigns, and where
man has not yet been tempted to ravage.

If one of these birds, which unites in it-
self, in an interesting degree, the social quali-
ties, perceives a nest of caterpillars, of v;hich
they are peculiarly fond, he calls, by a parti-
cular cry, his companions, in order to com-
municate to them his discovery. When the
season of love arrives, the little troop separate
from each other, and the society of friends di-
vide themselves into pairs of lovers : they
place their nests, formed of moss and flexible
roots interwoven, in a tranquil spot upon
bushes, and the female deposits there five or
six eggs.

The cry of the male may be expressed by
the syllables did, chd, resting considerably
upon the vowel. When he perceives a man
or an animal, he erects his feathers and spreads
his wings a little, and he approaches towards
him, constantly repeating his cry. These
birds are in general but little ferocious, and
very common, especially in the forests of
Anteniquoi,

The

OF BIRDS, riSH, <&c. 79

The female of this species is smaller than
the male, ciiid its colours are less line. 'I'lie
male has the head, the top of the neck, and
the back, of a fine black ; long silky feathers,
very fine, and of a dazzling white cover the
rump, 'i'he scapulary feathers are variegated
with black, white, and a greyish tinge : all the
under part of the body is white ; the quill
feathers of tlie wings and of the tail are black,
those of the first bein<? bordered co^teriorlv
with white, and those of the latter terminated
with that colour; the first quill feather on
each side is embroidered externally with
white. The eye is of a lively yellow ; the
beak and the nails are blackish ; the young
bird is of a reddish grey instead of white,
and a reddish brown instead of black.

THE SILENT BUTCHER BIRD.

WITH the idea of the butcher bird natu-
rally presents itself that of a clamorous,, noisy
being. Here, however, is a. species which

forms

so NATURAL HISTORY

forms an exception. Levaillant, who saw-
many of these birds in Africa, and in all sea-
sons, never heard it utter any cry or attempt
any note : and this particularity is sufficiently
remarkable to form the basis of its denomina-
tion. It is very common in the forests of An-
teniquoi, aud a!so in many parts of the in-
terior of southern Africa, but more particu-
larly in those regions covered with forests.

This bird is a little larger than the common
red butcher bird ; it is a fine black on the
upper part of the body, and white on the
under. It has a white stripe on the Avings,
and a border of the same colour on the exte-
rior side of the lateral quill feathers of the
tail. The beak is horn colour, and the iris
of the eyes brown ; the feet are of a clear
brown, and the claws black. The female is
something smaller than the male, and the
colours of her plumage are less pure and less
strongly marked. These birds live in pairs,
and feed on insects. It is in the month of
November that they betake themselves to the
pleasing care of propagating their species.
Their nest, which they build upon trees, is
constructed with a great deal of art ; they
employ for this purpose small flexible branch-
es, and they line it with a soft tliick bed af

hair.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 81

hair. They generally lay three or four eggi
of a pale green colour, daubed, as it were,
with a light reddish tinge. When first hatch-
ed, all the young ones, without distinction of
sex, resemble entirely the mother.

THE OLIVA.

TO name this bird is almost to describe it.
It is in fact of an olive green colour all jver the
body : underneath, it is yellow with shades of
olive green upon the sides, and the under
covert feathers of the tail. A yellow band
surrounds the fore part of the head ; the eye
is placed in the middle of a large black spot on
the upper edge of which there runs a yellow
line. The tail is oblique, and its quill feathers,
{with the exception of the two middle ones,
which are of the same olive green as the rest
of the body) have more or less of yellow on
their exterior side. The beak is black ; the
iris, the feet, and the talons are brown.

But it is not till its second year that the
plumage of this bird acquires the colours
TOL. VI. M which

3^ NATURAL HISTOJIY

>vbich have just been described. Previously to
this age it changes its livery twice, and at
each mutation presents so distinct an appear*
ance, that it might be taken for quite a differ-
ent species. It would be difficult to convey an
idea by words of this astonishing variation of
plumage at the different epochs of the youth
of this bird : well delineated plates alone
could give a clear and precise idea ; and the
curious reader therefore is referred to the
plates in Levaillant's work, in which there are
three figures of the oliva, executed with that
fidelity which characterizes all the delinea-
tions of this naturalist.

The size of the oliva is nearly the same
as that of the red butcher bird : the female
is a little larger. She lays usually five
eggs, and the nest is placed on trees and
in bushes. Levaillant found many of these
birds in the forests which border on the
bay of Logoa, as well as on the holders
of the Gamtoos, the Soudag, and the Swacte-
Kop.

or »IRPS, FI5H, &c. 83

wmjMf- if- J ^WW^ma.1

KITES AND BUZZARDS.

FOREIGN BIRDS WHICH HAVE AFFINITIES
WITH THE KITE AND THE EUZZAilD.

THE KITE OF EGYPT.

WHETHER it be that the kite species
undergo variations from the influence of tem-
perature and climate, or that they arise from
the appropriate distinctions of age, there are
various races of this bird in different regions
of the old world.

Forskahl describes a species of kite which
he found in Egypt. During winter, it tra-
verses with rapidity the fertile plains covered
by the mud of the Nile. It is about a foot
and a half long, and has the under part of
its body of a fine ferruginous brown colour.
The upper parts are tinged with a cinereous
M 2 colour

84 NATURAL HISTORY

colour, more or less deep. The under part of
the wing is of a brownish grey ; its tail is
very oblique. The upper part of the leg is
covered with a downy plumage, and on its
head are feathers of a reddish grey. The
quill feathers of the wings, black at their ex-
tren)ities, are brown with grey stripes in the
interior.

Although this bird has not any feathers of
a whitish colour on the head, yet it differs
but little from the European kite, and it may
be considered as being of a species, if not ab-
solutely the ^ame, yet very approximate to the
former. It is well known that our kites emi-^
grate during the winter into these countries.
It is very probable that a moulting, occasion-
ed by the change of country, and producing
other shades of plumage, may have altered
the external appearance of this bird, in
which, otherwise, w^e find the same habi-
tudes as in those of Europe.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &G. 8d

THE KORSCHUN.

THE new Memoirs of the Academy of
Sciences at Petersburg make mention of a va-
riety of the kite* which they call korcshun.
The extremity of all the quill feathers is ter-
minated by a border of a chesnut colour : this
tint is also to be observed on the head, the
nape of the neck, and the neck itself. The
membrane of the base of the beak is green-
ish ; the feet are covered with down, and the
tail is about a foot long, while the body is not
more than ten inches in length. It is found
towards the river Ural.

♦ Vol. XV. byS.G. Gmeiin, p. 445. tab. 2, fig. A.

85 NATURAL HISTORY

THE SIBERIAN KITE.

THIS is also another variety observed b}'-
the traveller Lepechin* in the deserts of Jaik.
Its length is nearly tvi^o feet ; its beak is blacky
and the circle of the eyes white. The sides
of the head are brownish ; the rest of the
neck is of a fine chesnut colour : the quill
feathers of the wings and of the tail are of a
violet black, and the extremity of each quill
feather is marked with a white spot.

THE PARASITICAL KITE.

IF we knew all the different races of kites
which will be found one day in the various

countries

♦ Feiie durch Siberien, T. ii. p. 180, tab. 2.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 87

countries of the globe, the number would be
very cousiderable; above all, in those countries
under the equator ,whcre the fecund earth daily-
discloses living productions and animal prey.
The regions of Africa present in fact various
{Species of carnivorous birds. Among these
wild and ferocious beings is found a singular
sort of kite which is very common in the
soutiiern part of this country. Among the
Caffres, and theNamaquois the parasitical kite
has a more bold and decisive character than
our kite : he attacks with mere temerity ; he
pounces with more impetuosity on his prey ;
and when the smell of flesh or ,the sight of
some weak animal attracts it, he rushes, and,
tears with ravenous voracity every thing which
he touches. He becomes enraged in the pur-
suit of his victim ; he disputes it courageously
with other carnivorous creatures, more cow-
ardly or more weak than himself; and re-
tiring from his combats a conqueror, he darts
towards the heavens, uttering loud and pierc-
ing cries in sign of triumph.

This continual rapacity which urges th§
animal incessantly to the pursuit of prey, is
not however the consequence of deliberate
courage which surmounts danger by intrepi-
dity : it ia a vehement appetite for flesh, a

thirst

S8 NATURAL HISTORY

thirst for blood, which consume him. Like
those harpies which ancient mythology has
painted, the parasitical kite has acquired this
name only from the importunate audacity
with which he comes to snatch the nourish-
ment which man has prepared for himself.
He darts even, near the margin of rivers, upon
fish which he perceives while in the air : all
animal prey is in fact acceptable to him. Le-
vaillant affirms " that the passage of these
birds in the same countries is always at the
same hour nearly ; it appears to be a custom
peculiar to this African and to the European
kite." He says that he has often verified this
observation.

This bird is about the size of our hen-har-
Tier ; its eyes are of a hazel colour, and its
beak is yellow as well as its feet : a tawny
colour spreads itself over the upper parts of
the body, with shades rather browner towards
the occiput and back ; the throcit is of a
wliitish colour. The belly, the legs, and the
under part of the tail are of a fine mahogany
colour, variegated with other tints. The large
quill feathers of the wings approach towards
a blackish brown, which is somewhat lighter
on the smaller quill feathers. The tail is i-a-
ther long and sloping ; it has some transversal

stripes

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 89

stripes of a blackish brown on a lighter ground :
a light fawn colour borders the extremity of
the tail. The plumage of the female is more
cinereous and more dull, and the young ones
are covered with a greyish down, to which
succeeds a brownish plumage that gradually
becomes darker and darker. The female is
larger than the male.

This bird places its nest in the sombre glens
of some solitary rock, or upon an isolated tree
in the bosom of the deserts, or even among
briars and in uncultivated places. The female
lays four eggs with red spots.

THE BACHA.

IT is on the arid and rugged rocks of south-
ern Africa that the buzzard, called hacha, is to
be met with : among these rocks, burned by a
continual sun, this animal utters his lamentable
cries. Solitary, upon some overhanging emi-
nence, stretching his piercing sight over the
VOL. VI. N plains

90 NATURAL HISTORY

plains that surround him, he seeks his prey :
it is principally on the klipdas, a sort of deer,
very common in this part of the world, that
he makes his daily repast. Hedtlights in re-
peating occasionally his monotonous tones of
honi-ni, honi-hl-hi, honi-hi, ho-vi-hi-hi. His
head sunk between his shoulders, he watches
in silence, and with such remarkable immove-
abiiity that he is often mistaken for the point
of a rock, and thither he carries his victim to
devour it at liberty and with a voracily which
seems to be increased by anger. It would
seem as if these wild and sanguinary manners
^vere made to correspond with the frightful
deserts which they inhabit. Love alone unites
the sexes of these animals: the female
places her nest in almost inacessible caverns,
and lays two or three eggs. The bacha which
is about the size of a buzzard, has its legs
naked. It is quick in flight. A tuft of white
feathers terminated with black, form a kind of
crest behind its head, and which it can com-
press or enlarge. A dirty brown colour covers,
in totOy the body of this bird, but the under
part is somewhat paler and covered with
white round spots. Some w^iite and brown
ptripes are perceivable on the abdomen ; a

large

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 91

iarae band of a clear fawn colour crosses the
tail transversely, which is embroidered with
white. The female, which is the most pow^er-
ful, is marked with a whitish yellow.

THE SMALL CRYING BUZZARD.

SONNERAT describes a buzzard which is
iibout the size of a pigeon, and which inha-
bits the coasts of Coromandel. It is in the
midst of the humid fields of rice, where nu-
merous small frogs are to be found, that this
bird takes up its ordinary residence, and there
also it finds its nourishment.

As this animal is very fierce and wild, it
cannot be approached very nearly : and be-
sides, he perceives the hunter at a great dis-
tance and takes precautions against his ap-
proach. When he is upon the point of taking
wing, he utters a continued cry, from which
N 2 custom

09 NATURAL HISTORY

custom he has acquired the name here given to
him.

All the under part of the body is whitish.
A cinereous grey covers the upper part ; the
small covert feathers of the wings are black :
the iris and the feet are yellow ; the talon of
the middle toe is large and sharp on the in-
ternal side ; the skin round the eyes is red.

THE JACKAL BUZZARD.

AMONG so many rapacious animals which
seem formed only to destroy living creatures,
man beholds with pleasure certain species
which, although depredatory, exercise their
ravages only on those aruimals which are in-
jurious to agriculture.This is a real kindness of
nature, which man ought to acknowledge by
sparing those animals which she has produced
for the purpose of preserving the vegetable pro-
ductions from the attack of so manyparasitical

species*

OF iiiRDS, risH, &;c. 03

Species. This bird is one of these animals :
during a whole day it places itself in silence
upon a little eminence of earth in cultivated
fields. There, his eye always upon the watch,
attentive to the smallest motion, he waits for
those small destructive quadrupeds on which
he feeds. Hence, the colonists of the Cape
of Good Hopej where these birds are found,
acknowledge their services by the preservation
of their lives. The male and female, always
in company, approach towards the habitii-
tions when the day closes in : they fly in a
circular manner in the air, uttering shrill and
harsh cries, something similar to the gloomy
yelping of the wolf-jackal 1. Hence its de-
nomination. After having thus described
many circles in the air, they alight on the
hedges of enclosures where cattle are feeding.
It is in the midst of the thickest bushes that
they construct their nest with moss and bits
of straw. They line it with feathers and wool,
on which they deposit two or four eggs.

This bird is very sedentary, very cow^ardly,
and very timid, and yet it is common in the
whole of southern Africa, particularly near
cultivated spots. Its size is about that of the
common buzzard, though more solid: the
upper part of the body is covered with a dark

' brown

9-1 NATURAL HISTORY

brown colour, which becomes lighter and
more intermingled with red on the under
parts, which are also spotted with long black
marks. The abdomen is variegated with
black and white ; the colour deepening towards
the anus. The large quill feathers of the
winces are of an earthy colour ; the others are
variegated with black and white, the extremi-
ties being black. The tail is of a deep red
colour, which is terminated by a black band ;
the under part is of a greyish red. The
feet are yellowish. The female, which is
larger than the male, is of a dark brown
colour.

To this species may be added that which
Levaillant has described under the title of
roiigri, because their characters are the same
and their manners similar. This last however
is not so large nor so powerful as the preced-
ing one: it is also more wild and more fear-
ful, while the former is so familiar that it may
be regarded as domesticated. The rougri in-
habits only deserts.

The female of the rovgri never lays more
than four egsfs ; the species is also more rare
than the jackal buzzard: its form is more dense,
its tail longer, and its beak tiot so strong.
Like the latter however, the male and female

always

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 95

always keep together. The discrepancies
between these birds are to be found only in
the colour of their plumage : a deep ferru-
ginous red colour prevails over the whole of
the upper part of the body : Avhile the under
are of a lighter red, sprinkled with blackish
streaks. The feet are yellow ; the iris is
reddish ; the prime quill feathers of the
wings are black ; the tail is red at top and
grey at bottom ; the breast and tlie neck are
a whitish groy.

i)G NATURAL HISTORY

rmwa^am^

THE OWL.

bO!kXE OBSERVATIONS UPON NOCTURNAL
BIRDS OF TREY.

By J. J. Virey,

NATURE seems to pass gradually in ani^
mals from one to the other. Nothing is lost
in the region of existence. Those animals
which, heing the weakest are also the most
fecund, are destined to become the food of
depredatory beings. But, as the shades of
night might conceal from destruction those
who are predestined to it, there are created,
in every class of animals, nocturnal species
which, provided with powerful arms, with an
acute sense of hearing, and with a piercing
sight, traverse the gloomy asylums where
those timid races hide themselves, which are

subjected

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 97

subjected by nature to the sad fate of a violent
death. Among viviparous animals, bats are
well known, and those carnivorous animals
with crooked claws, such as cats, tygers,
lions, panthers, lynxes, &c. and perhaps even
bears, rats, &c. It is probable also that some
sorts of fish may be found that pursue their
prey principally during the night, such as the
different kinds of sea dog, &c. Among in-
sects there are various sorts which are noc-
turnal and depredatory. It is not therefore
an isolated law hi the system of living bodies,
but one of those general princi pies which enter,
as a constituent part, into the universal con-
ception of animated nature.

In nocturnal birds, there are many generic
characters, the importance of which is easily
perceptible, since they influence principally
the vital faculties of these animals. All the
owl tribe have a head much larger than the
greater part of birds ; it is also more flattened,
and in a manner so remarkable, that every
person knows them at first sight. Their
tongue is forked, their body well covered with
a thick close plumage, large eyes projecting
from their orbits, and surrounded with a circle
of feathers ; a very short neck, and feathered
feet; all of which qualities are nearly dis-
tinctive marks of this species of birds.

VOL. VI. O It

93 NATURAL HISTORY

It has been asked why this bird has been re-
g'arded as the symbol of penetration and pru-
dence ? and why it was consecrated to the
wise Minerva by the ingenious Athenians ?
How this hideous animal, with its nocturnal
hootings, and its awkward, constrained ges-
tures, could delight the goddess of the arts
and sciences ? According to Aristophanes,
cited by i\thaniEus, tliis bird was very com-
mon among the sterile rocks of Attica, and
was the emblem of that city, celebrated
throughout all Greece, and which has filled
the universe with its renown. According to
some, Minerva had the eyes of the owl. Dion
Chrysostom cites the apologue of Esop, who
says that it was on account of the penetration
of this bird into the secrets of futurity, that
the divine Pailas delighted in it. In my
opinion, the true cause of this predilection of
a goddess for so dull and stupid a bird has not
yet been ascertained. If we recollect how
much the extent and volume of the brain in-
fluence the intellectual faculties, and how
well jthis was understood by the Grecian ar-
tists,'^vho introduced it into all the statues
of their divinities, we shall see that the
owl presents a very considerable skull and
a face much flattened, which suppose a
great increase of intelligence in the animal.

However,

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 99

Hovvever, all the extent of the head is not
filled with the brain in the owl : but it has,
notwithstanding, all the exterior appearances
of a wise and reflecting bird. Tranquil during
the day, it seems to meditate profoundly : its
large ej^es, full of fire and penetrating to a
distance in the obscurity of night, seem to give
him an air of sagacit}^ All these characters
apply, more or less, to the whole of the noc-
turnal species of birds: and in fact, however
diffident and awkward their motions during
the day may appear, however constrained
and ridiculous they may seem, it is to be as-
cribed solely to the dazzling influence of the
sun upon their eyes. Behold them, when
twilight begins to cover the earth with its grey
and sombre mantle : then they unfold their
limbs at liberty ; then they make the rocks,
the ruined castle, and the dilapidated mansion
echo with their melancholy hootings. The
superstitious and feeling recluse who wanders
among the tombs, hears this dull and plaintive
voice; he believes it to come from the bosom of
the earth, from the charnel-house of the dead ;
the light fluttering of the bird of night star-
tles him, and he fancies he hears the unblessed
dead wandering near him over the ground that
covers in vain their bones. He beheves that
O 2 they

1^^ NATURAL HISTORY

they call him to his last asybjm ; tlie sterile
pomp of grandeur and transitory pleasures of
life touch his heart no longer: he beholds
only the coffin, and the dark cemetery where
repose in peace and in inglorious confusion the
turbuitntand haughty monarch, the peaceful
and unambitious shepherd.

Such are the ideas that the timid vulgar have
conceived when obscurity, veiling objects from
the sight, opens the vast and boundless road
to imagination. Such is the prejudice which
the weakness of reason propagates, and which
renders ominous the bird of night. Yet, far
from being injurious, they wage war with
those species of minute, destructive animals
that undermine our dwellings, pillage our
provisions, or ravage our gardens. As they
swallow mic.?, rats, and dormice entire, they
often regorge lumps of hair, skin, and bones,
which they have not digested. They often
tQuch, in flying, the surface of the earth, on
which, in general, their prey is to be found :
the flight is slow and gentle : they seem to fear
to announce their approach by any noise or
to disturb the silence of the night : their
mournful hootings are heard only during the
season of love. The greater part of them
nest in the holes of trees, or in some ruined

place.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &€. 101

place. They lay two or three eggs, which
the father and mother alternately sit upon,
and they watch over their youthful family
with extreme care.

These animals have a peculiar smell, a
sickly, insipid, nauseous odour : this is also ob-
servable in the greaterpart of birds who place
their nests in close, confined holes : perhaps
this smell may arise from their nourishment,
or from a particular secretion of some hitherto
undiscovered glands.

It appears that some European species of
nocturnal birds are not unknown in the new
continent, above all in the southern regions :
they are more common however, in cold and
temperate countries, and the greater part of
them also have their feet covered with fea-
thers.

Their manner of hunting is a sort of am-
buscade : they dart, unexpectedly on their
prey, like lions, tygers, and lynxes ; they do
not pursue them. There is a very great ana-
logy between the habits of these birds and
those of quadrupeds, and their conformation
approximates them still more. Their cat-
like head, their large eyes capable of nocturnal
vision, their crooked claws, and their short

intestines.

102 KATURALHISTORY

intestines, assimilate them as far as it is pos-
sible for two beings of different classes to be.
In proportion as the senses approach to-
wards perfection in an' animal, their other
part are defective. This law applies equally
to nocturnal birds of prey : their flight is as
imperfect as their hearing and sight are excel-
lent.

FOREIGN BIRDS

Which lutve an Affinity with the different
Species of Owls.

THE PRETTY HORNED OWL

fStrix Pulchellaj

IN the wild and uninhabited deserts of
Tartary where an eternal winter reigns, are
found various birds of prey, that interrupt the
dreary silence of those plains, which is itself
more horrid. It is a consolation to know that
there is something bearing life near you,

though

OF BIRDS, f'ISH, &C. 103

though that consciousness arises only from
the gloomy accents of nocturnal carnivorous
beings: it is preferable to that silent, that
immense solitude which terrifies the soul.

The pretty species of owl, discovered by
the celebrated professor Pallas, and described
by him*, inhabits, in general, the neighbour-
hood of the Siberian habitations near Catha-
rineburgh : it is found also near the shores of
the Woli^a, and in the southern regions to-
wards the Samara and the Jaik.

Its size is about nine inches in length : it
does not weigh three ounces. A pretty cine-
reous grey colour, finely undulated with ferru-
£jinous brown spots, and white points, cover
the upj)er part of the body. White oblong
spots are scattered over its Avings. Its yellow
tail has sonie brown stripes with points of the
same colour. The iris of the eyes is yellow:
the under part of the body is whitish and un-
dulated with spots of a blackish hue. One of
the quill feathers of the wing is notched : the
length of the wings exceeds the end of the
tail which is round : the legs are covered with
a down in the form of undulated spots : the
nails are brown.

We

* Voyages, vol. 1. App. No. 8. p. 711.

104 NATURAL HISTORY

We have no details upon the natural habits
of this bird, or upon the number of eggs
which the female lays ; but it may be sup-
posed with sufficient probability that they are
analogous to those of the same species. The
form of this animal approaches however, nearly
to that of the owl.

THE MOTTLED OWL.

THIS bird is found at New York. The
female lays its eggs in the month of May,
and its young commonly amount to the num-
ber of two or three. The total length of this
bird is eleven inches. Its face is whitish
with light brown spots. The covert feathers
of the wings bear large white spots upon a
greyish ground, which covers the whole of the
upper parts of the body. The feathers of the
breast are dotted with black. The under part of
the body is of a pale red colour. Each feather
on the breast is terminated with white.

Ot BIRDS, FISH, &C, 103

THE GREAT HORNED OWL OF CEYLON.

THIS is a large species of the homed owl,
which has been found in the island of Ceylon,
and which, most probably, is also to be found
on various coasts of southern Asia. It may
also be suspected that it exists in the island of
Sumatra, since Marsden, who has written a
very good description of this island, speaks
of a species of nocturnal bird : but he gives no
description which may lead us to establish the
identity of the species.

The horned owl of Ceylon is almost two
feet in length. Its auricular feathers are
short and pointed ; its iris is a saffron colour ;
a dark brown is the prevailing tint of the body,
but it becomes weaker, and approaches to-
wards a yellow on the under parts. The
feathers which surround the face are of a red
colour approaching to brown, striped with
black. These black stripes are also observable
on the prime quill feathers of the wings, and
transversally on the tail, which has also some
VOL. VI. P white

106 NATURAL IIISTOKY

white and ^^ellow lines upon it. The feet are
almost naked ; the nails and the beak are of an
obscure colour.

We are ignorant of every thing relating to
the manners of this bird, and the mode in
which the female lays her eggs. It delights
to inhabit the rocks and woods of this island,
and appears to be less atfected by the splen-
dour of day than the other congenerous
species.

THE OWL OF COROMANDEL.

THE bird which Sonnerat has described
under the name of the small oiolofthe coast of
Coromandcl, is not so large, by one third, as
the common owl. A reddish grey spotted with
white, forms the general colour of the plu-
mage on the upper parts of the body. The
spots are smaller towards the head and neck,
and the same tint is observable on the small
quill feathers of the wings : they have besides
transversal bands of the same colour, and are
bordered by a" reddish tinge : the large quill

feathers

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 107

feathers are more obscure, with reddish spots r
all the under part of the body is of a reddish
colour as the ground, crossed with black
bands disposed trans versally. The feet, cover-
ed with feathers, are also reddish. The
beak and the claws are brown ; the iris yel-
low.

THE MEXICAN OWL.

THE individual of which we are now going
to give a description is preserved in the gallery
of the Mu>eum at Paris. To this species also
belongs the Ash Americanus of Brisson,
which is the same animal and bears the same
name ftecoloth) according to the testimony
of Fernandez.

The total length of the Mexican owl is
fifteen inches, being nearly the same as that
of the common owl. The feathers of its frill
or collar are bordered with red, and are black
all the rest. This pale red colour, spotted
longitudinally with black, covers all the up-
P 2 per

108 NATUllAL HISTORY

per part of the body. Various red and white
feathers, with black stems are observable
under the throat. Blackish and cinereous
coloured transversal bands prevail upon the
wings : the tail has a number of large irregu-
lar rays of a brown colour : the under part of
the body is ferruginous : the breast has yellow
spots: the rump and the anus are v^hite,
intermixed with black spots. The edge of
some of the quill feathers of the wings is
notched : they are rather shorter than the tail.
The feathers of the legs and the feet are of a
cinereous red : the iris is yellow : the orbits
cinereous ; the beak yellow, as well as the
feet ; the claws black.

P. Feuillee found this animal at Mexico,
and he has given a very exact figure of it.
Peter Barrere describes also this bird under
the name of feliceps Americanus, Of its
natural habitudes nothing is known.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 109

THE WHITE TUFTED SCREECH OWL.

IF there be a connecting link between the
species of the large horned owl and that of the
screech owl, doubtless the present one, de-
scribed by Levaillant, would be that interme-
diate chain.

This bird has not the sort of horns common
to the former, but instead, a kind of long,
flexible feathers, which do not erect them-
selves, but fall on the sides of the head. They
spring from near the basis of the beak, and,
passing above the eyes, descend towards the
lower part of the neck. The colour of these
feathers is very brilliant, and the end ones are
longer than the rest.

The size of this bird approaches towards
that of the small horned owl. Its wings do
not extend to above one half of its tail. A red-
dish brown colour, finely striped with deep
brown lines and intermixed with white spots
on the wings and tail, form the prevailing

colour

110 NATURAL HISTORY

colour of the upper parts of the body : the
front and under part have a whitish ground,
tinged with a light red oh the sides and breast,
and covered with fine stripes of a brown
colour. The tail is rounded at its extremity :
the legs are covered with down : the toes are
brownish : the beak is yellow.
This species, described by Levaillant, is found
in Guiana : it appears to be very rare, and has
some affinities with the tera chyotos of Lin-
naeus,

THE CASPIAN SCREECH OWL.

WE are of opinion with Pallas, that this may
be considered as a distinct species. It seems
however, in some of its habits to have an
analogy with the screech owl of Coquimbo ;
for it prefers to build its nest in some depres-
sion of the earth on the arid soil of the deserts
near the shores of the Caspian sea. It is also
scattered over various countries of Siberian

Tartary,

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. Ill

Taitafy, where S. G. Gmelin bad met with
it before Pallas.

The size of this bird is about that of our
screech owl : the frill round its neck is of a
pure white colour, mixed with some black
and yellowish streaks ; all tlie upper part of
the body has a yellowish ground, which be-
comes somewhat paler as you approach to-
wards the under: the quill feathers of the
wings are yellowish and spotted with a dark
brown ; the tail, which is shorter than the
wings, is rounded, blackish, and lias some
stripes of a deeper colour; besides this, its
edges are whitibh. There is a blackish spot
above the eyes. A yellowish down covers
the feet, the toes of which are terminated by
claws of a blackish colour : the beak is black ;
the iris of a pale yellow.

THE SCREECH OWL OF JAV.A,

THE different species of nocturnal birds
are spread over the most distant countries of

the

112 NATURAL HISTORY

the globe and over both continents. In fact,
they are not, as in the class of quadrupeds,
beings fixed to the soil, and whose spreading
is limited by the ocean. Transported by
powerful wings, and moved by muscles that
rarely tire, birds of a lofty flight traverse the
vast latitudes of the earth. Our species even
of nocturnal birds, which seem too weak for
long voyages, and which cannot fly at all
"during the day, and which are confounded by
the light of the sun, are yet found as far as
the Cape of Good Hope, and often in many
of the regions of America : and as they have
been inured for a length of time to these cli-
mates, they have undergone, like all animated
bodies, variations arising from the influence
<)f the temperature and the soil. Birds have
tiot a prescribed country, like quadrupeds, in
the same regions. The bird of the north can
live beneath the torrid zone ; but the qua-
t^ruped, more dependent on the soil, and
more subjected to its lively influence, cannot
equally brave the snows of the pole, nor face
the fires of the south.

M. Wurmb discovered in the island of Java,
a screech owl, which he has very succinctly
described. Its body is cinereous, with shades
of a reddish colour ; on the upper part of the

bodv.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 113

bbdy, there are observable, some white spots,
and also some black ones. These last are also
to be found on the under parts ©f the body, the
ground of which is white, streaked with a
dirty and cinereous yellow colour, which be-
comes deeper on the rump.

THE SCKEECII OWL OF TRINITY ISLAND.

THE rich collection of the Museum of Na-
tural History at Paris,which is daily augmented
by the offerings of naturalists and travellers,
contains a species of screech owl which is not
jarger than the Chevechette of Levaillant ; it
is not more than six inches in length. A yel-
low plumage covers, the upper part of the body,
with six white spots on the covert feathers of
the wings; the face is varied with red and white,
as .well as all the under part of the body ; the
t^il is short, and the wings cover it ; the legs
and the toes are furnished with a reddish
down ; the na,ils and the beak are blackish.

We are indebted for this new species, to
Captain Baudin, who has, many times, braved
VOL. VI. Q the

;11;4 NATURAL HlSTOllY

the dangers of a long navigation for the ad-
vancement of the sciences, and particularly of
natural history. It is probable that this bird,
found in the island of Trinity, is also spread
over the continent of America.

THE CHOUCOUHOU.

TOWARDS the flow^ery banks of the
Orange river, and in the country of the Great
Namaquois, at the southern extremity of
Africa, Levaillant frequently sav^^ a new spe^
dies of screech owl, which seemed to differ
a little from the family to which it belongs,
and to approximate in prop/ortion towards the
diurnal birds of prey. Although it hunts only
during the night, yet it flies very well in day-
light, when forced so to do ; but then the small
birds become cotrtrageous, on account of the
we^kiiess of sight of this bird at that time, html
and pursue it, while at the same time they-
are secure from injury ; but scarcely have the
shades of evening approached, when they dis-
play their ardour for the chace, and carry fear

and

OF fclRDS, FISH, &C. 115

and consternation among the timid beings who
only shew courage when free from danger.
The choucouhou utters, in flying, a plaintive
cry, and also produces a cracking of the beak,
which is very singular, but which is also found
in many others of the same species.

The size of this bird equals that of the small
homed owl : the beak is almost hidden in the
feathers which surround it. Its iris is of a
topaz yellow colour* ; on the throat may be seen
a kind of circle of white feathers. The general
colour of the plumage is brown, varied with
white, less deep on the under parts of the body,
than on the upper; on the breast there is a
stripe festooned at its edges ; the belly and the
legs are of a lighter and more gay colour ;
the wings reach over the greater part of the
tail, which has deep brown stripes, and a red-
dish white underneath, being of a pure white
and a light brown on the upper ; it is long and
slanting ; the legs, which are very large, are
covered as well as the toes, with silky feathers
of a greyish colour ; the talons and the beak
are of a blackish brown ; the female is a little
larger than the male, and has less white in
its plumage.

Q2

116

NATURAL HISTORY

XIJ^.SfpREECH OWL OF PORTO RICO.

IN the Museum of Natural History at Paris,
is a new species of screech owl, which Maiig^
brought from America, frpm the island of
Porto Rico, and which is also to be met with
at Cayenne. Daudin has described it under
the name of the bare-footed screech oicl (strix
nudipesj but which, not being a characteristic
confined solely to this species, cannot be with
exclusive propriety applied to it.

The size of this animal is about seven inches,
A biownish yellow^ colour covers the back.
The smaircovert feathers of the wings have
small wliite spots upon theim, and there is
one which is particularly remarkable, towards
the two sides of the neck. A 11 the under part
of the body is white, with brownish spots in
the shape of a lyre placed longitudinally. The
wings are as long as the tail. The legs are
elongated, naked, and brown. The beak and
the nails are blackish. The young ones have
spots in the form of a lyre on the belly, but
much less apparent than those of the adult
bird; and hence the belly appears to be of a
more uniform and more pure white colour.

OF UIKDS, FISH, &C.. U7

THE MASKED SCREECH O^YL.

NOTHING is more easy to recognize than
tftis bird. The two orbs of feathers which
surround the eyes are biack. A beautiful
white plumage is .the prevailing colour, exce[)t
the large quill feathers of the wings, and of the
tail, which are brownish. The wings extend
almost to the very extremity of the tail ; the
scapulary feathers, wdiich are blown, have on
them some black and white spots ; tlie feet
and the toes are covered with fine white fea-
thers ; the talons and the beak are blackish.

It appears that this pretty screech owl,
which belonged to M. Dorcy, and which Le-
vaillant has described, was killed during moult-
ing time, and while very young, according to
the observations of the latter ; it is therefore
very probable, that the adult individual has a
different plumage. It is said to be a native of
Cayenne, and it has great affinity with a spe-
cies of screech owl of the same country, de-
scribed by Latham ; this last was twenty-one
inches in length. Its head was small, covered
with a white plumage, like cotton ; its face

was

118 l^ATURA'r HISTORY

was chesniit colour, as were also the throat
and the upper part of the body; a stripe of
the same colour passes underneath the breast;
the belly is of a reddish brown • the feet are
covered with feathers, as well as the toes.

THl: COLLARED SCREECH OWL.

WE are indebted to Levaillant for the figure
and the description of a new species of screech
owl, which is very rare, and which is found
at Surinam. Its size is very large, and forms
a medium between that of the small horned
owl^nd the owlet. Nothing is more remark-
able in this bird than two large white stripes,
and its white throat ; this plumage is deeply~
furrowed by a light brown colour, which
surrounds the eyes, covers the top of the
head, and encircles the breast with a large
collar. All the upper part of the body is of
the same colour ; but the feathers are edged
with white, with transversal stripes of the
same colour ; the belly, the rump, and the
anus, are white ; greyish stripes run across

the

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 119

the scapulary feathers, and the covert feathers
of the wings ; the under part of the tail is
tinged with a brownish colour, and on whicfh
also are some deep brown stripes. Silky fea-
thers, of a dazzling white colour, cover the
toes; the talons are black; the beak is bluish,
and its tip is yellow.

190 NATURAL HISTORY

OF THE POULTRY KIND.

VARIOUS FOREIGN BIRDS

Which have Affinities with the Bustard, the
Cock, the Peacock, S^c,

THE BUSTARD OF THE ISLAND OF LUCON.

SOME naturalists, and among others Mr.
Latham, have confounded this bird, described
by Sonnerat in his Voyage to New Guinea,
p. 86, with the Lohiing, or tufted Bustard of
Arabia^ described byGuenau deMontbeillard.*
If, however, we compare the two descriptions,
we shall fmd it impossible to coincide with
this opinion. In fact, although this bird has,
like the Lohung, a crest of long feathers on
its head, pointed, horizontal, and parellel with
the body, yet it differs in the colours of its
plumage, and in those even of its tuft, the

upper

» The coadjutor of the illustrious Buffon.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 121

Upper feathers of which are all black, and the
under ones grey, and crossed Avith black
stripes.

The head, the neck, and the breast, are of a
clear grey colour, and intersected by black
and semicircular transversal stripes. The
back, the wings, and the tail, are of a brown
colour. The feathers which cover the wing
when folded, or the bastard wing, are white,
and terminated with grey. The belly is white,
and the beak of an irregular black colour.

Bu t if this bird does not appear to be the same
as the Cohimg, it is still less entitled to be con-
sidered as a wild peacock, under which deno-
mination Sonnerat has introduced it. This is
the name, however, which it bears in the Phil-
lippine islands, " perhaps,'* says Sonnerat,
** on account of some attitude, or some posi-
tion, which is usual to it, like that which the
peacock affects.'* This bird is also found at
the Cape of Good Hope, where, according to
the same traveller, it is likewise called the
wild peacock.

VOL. VI, R

123 NATURAL HISTORY

THE WHITE BUSTARD.

IT is with some diffidence, says Sonnini,
and merely as an indication to future travel-
lers, that I place here a bird, for the authoiity
of whose designation I have only the work of
the Chevalier Jauna.* But this author hav-
ing given no proof of his knowledge in natu-
ral history, but having, on the contrary, shewn
on more than one occasion, that the most
common parts of this science were new to
him, it is possible, and even probable, that he
has taken, for a species of bustard, some birds
of quite a different genus.

However that may be, the following is the
passage from the Chevalier's book, in which
he mentions this white bustard. " They take
sometimes," says he, " in the islawl of Cy-
prus, bustards of a prodigious size, the plu-
mage of which is extremely white, and the
flesh very delicate.** Naturalists, who may
visit the same country, will decide as to the
justice of the application of the name of bus-
tard, to this extremely white bird.

* General History of Cyprus, Jerusalem, Armenia, and-
Egypt. By the Chevalier Jauna, 4to, Vol. l.p.C9.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 1*23

THE BLUISH BUSTARD.

THIS is a new species found in the southern
parts of Africa; we know nothing more of it
than what is to be found in a slight indication
given by Levaillant, in his first travels in the
interior of Africa, vol. <2, p. 9Q6. This able
ornithologist, intending, no doubt, to be
more full in his Natural Historii of African
Birds, the continuation of which is expected
with impatience and with curiosity, expresses
himself simply, in the following manner, on
this bustard, lo which Sonnini added the epi-
thet of bluish, to designate the most remarka-
ble colour of its plumage.

** In CafFraria, my dogs," says Levailkmt,
" put up a bustard, which I killed; it will
foiin a new species to be described. Larger
than the small bustard of Europe, the plu-
mage of the neck in front, as well as the
breast and the belly, are of a uniform greyish
blue. All the upper part of the body is of a
reddish colour, dotted and striped with an al-
most fcrtack colour; its note is very similar to
that of the toad, but it is more powerful.**

R2

124 NATURAL HISTORY

THE piouqyEN.

IF we consider, as a character! stical and in-
dispensable mark of the bustard, the having
only three toes on the feet, then the bird, which
is called in Feru piouqueriy cannot be considered
as one, for it has four large toes, three in front*
and the fourth, which is a httle more elevated,
behind. But, if we examine this bird und e
a general point of view, it will be found to
possess all the prevailing characters of the
bustard, and we shall not be able to refuse it
a place among the birds of this species.

Such, at least, is the opinion of Molina,
who, in his natuml history of Chili, has not
hesitated to present the piouquen as a species
of bustard, although it has the feet divided in-
to four toes. It is true, indeed, that this au-
thor has, more than once, advanced things
rather bold, in natural history : but until fur-
ther observations shall produce further know-
ledge, the piouquen must hold its present
station.

This bird is larger than the common busr

tard

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 1^5

tard of Europe : it is almost entirely white,
with the exception of the head, the anterior
part of the wings, which is grey, and the prime
quill feathers of the same, which are black.
The tail is composed of eighteen quill feathers,
which are short, and of a white colour.

This species is found in the plains of Chili,
and it is almost always seen in troops. Its
nourishment consists entirely of herbs. They
do not begin to propagate till they are two
years old : the female lays six white eggs,
which are larger than those of a goose. They
are easily tamed, and many of the country
people of Chili have rendered them domestic.

THE WILD COCK AND HEN.

By Sonnini,

ON my return from my first voyage to
Guiana, in 1775, I published a short notice*
on the wild cock and hen, which 1 had every
reason to believe natural to South America, or
at least to some particular regions of this part

of

* See the Journal de Physique, Aug. 1775.

126 NATURAL HISTORY

of the new world. All naturalists agreed in
making the cock a species of bird peculiar to
the old world, and absolutely unknown in
America: and, of all travellers who had pre-
ceded me, the Jesuit Acosta alone had asserted
that hens existed in Peru before ihe arrival of
the Spaniards, and that they called them, in
the language of that country, talpa, and their
eggs joo72fo*. I agree with Acosta in opinion,
and these are my reasons for it :

Travelling in the gloomy and solitary forests
of Guiana, which yield only to the destroying
hand of time, and when Aurora begins to
chase away the shadows of night, I frequently
heard a cry perfectly similar to the crowing
of our cock, but less strong and less shrill.
Being at a considerable distance from all
habitations, I could not suppose that this
cry, which my travelling companion heard
also very distinctly, could he produced by
domestic birds, and the Indians, by whom we
were followed, told us it was the crowing of

the wild cock.

In

* Acosta was a Spaniard, and the head of the Jesuits at
PertT; he died at Salamanca in 1599. He published a natu-
ral and moral history of the Indies, in Spanish, and a treatise
de procuranda indorum Salute. The testimony of such a man
may appear of some weight.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 197

In one of these journies I saw, myself, upon
a mountain, a bird about the size of a pigeon,
with a brown plumage, having on its head a
red flesh}^ crest, short wings, and the tail hke
that of a hen, which it also resembled in its
deportment and walk. I was enabled to ex-
amine it very leisurely; it did not seeni to be
at all ferocious. The negro who carried my
gun, had stopped at some distance, and when
he rejoined me the bird had taken refuge in
the thickness of the forest, and we sought for

it in vain.

This circumstance, joined to the crowing of

the cocks heard in the woods, and the know-
ledge which the natives had of wild cocks at
Guiana, left me in no doubt as to their exist-
ence in South America, and I communicated
to the world all that I was enabled to learn of
this circumstance, without any other motivd
than to intimate the existence of a new species
in this class of birds.

Some time after the publication of the noti-
fication in the journal already mentioned, ap-
peared Sonnerat's Voyage to tlie Indies mid
China. Sonnerat was comtnisSary of marine,
and, like myself at that time, correspondent of
the king's cabinet. This traveller described
very nnnutely two birds, male and female, of

the

128 NATURAL HISTORY

the cock species, found in the Gates, moUn-
lains of India, wliich separate Malabar from
Coromandel : he mentioned them as the pri-
mitive stock from whence all the different
races of our domestic hens had sprung. From
that time naturalists rejected without much
difficulty, my assertion on the subject of the
wild hens of Guiana as mere vague and uncer-
tain/acts, relative to the origin of the cock and
hen* Sonnerat himself occasioned this rash
decision, from the manner in which bespoke
of the hens of the Gates : as if to support the
existence of certain wild birds in certain coun-
tries of India, it was necessary to destroy the
testimonies of other writers, who asserted hav-
ing seen similar ones in other countries. In
fact, that we may feel how much such a mode
of reasoning is inconclusive, I will here extract
the very words of Sonnerat; they will throw
a new light on the natural history (yet but im-
perfectly known) of the wild cock and hen.

" Although the species of the domestic
cock and hen," says he, ** has been very an-
ciently known, although the varieties are very
numerous, although they are found in the re-
gions

* Mauduyt, Encycl. Method, partie Grniibologiqua. Arj
ttcle du coq .

6't BlRt)S, tiSH, kc. l99

fefens of the old world, and in many countries
of the new, still we are absolutely ignorantwhat
country gave birth to these birds originally, and
still possesses them in a state of liberty. All
that is to be found upon this subject in writers
of natural history, and in travellers, is full of
incertitude, does not present the necessary
proofs and details, and is not sufficient to
preclude further researches i

** Dampier speaks of wild cocks, which he
says he saw in the Island of Fuh Condor, at
Timor, and at St Jago. These cocks, accord-
ing to his account, are about the size of our
crows, and their notes similar to that of our
dunghill cocks, only a little more sharp. But
Dampier had not studied, accurately, the sci-
ence of natural history : he has not given a de-
tailed description of the bird which he saw:
We cannot, from any thing which he has said,
compare it with the domestic cock, and judge
of the identity or the difference of the species.

** Gemelii Careri says that he saw wild
cocks at the Phillipines* ; Merolla pretends to
VOL. VI. S hiave

* Gemelii Careri is not the only one who has seen wild
cocks at the Phillipines 5 a more modem traveller relates,
thiit among other birds which abound in the woods of the!
island of Samar, the most eastern of the Phillipines, there

130 KAtURAI' HiSTORir

have seen them in the kingdom of Congou.
Sonnini, who has travelled in Guiana, says h^
has heard in the forests of this vast country, a
note similar to that of our cocks : he has seen
too at a distance, the bird which uttered it:
he found in it a resemblance with our cock,
and he perceived besides, a fleshy cregt on the
head, and two fleshy appendages under the
beak towards the base* : but he only saw thes^
birds at a distance ; he could not get into his
possession any individual of the species; he
has decided therefore upon thti subject, inereJy
io a conjeetiiral manner ; yet the observation
becorpes interesting, because the earliest au-
thors, who have written upon America, agree.
in asserting that there were no cocks in the
whole of this vast continent before its disco-
very, Coreal piaintaiiig, ^s a fact, that hens?

wey^

are a great quantity of wild hens, which differ from ours
only in the more compact formation of their body, and
their short feet ; they are of ?i grey colour, spotted like the
partridge. See Voyages rourtd the World y find toicqrds the Ttao'
TokSi by land and by sea, by M. Pages, captain of the vessel^
vol. l.p. 160.

* I said nothisg about the fleshy J>ppeudagas uijderneath
the beak, because the bird was continually in motion, a;id
did not leave me sufficient leisure to make such observation*

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. l31

were caiTied to Brazil by the Spaniards, and he
gives a strong proof in support of this asser-
tion, viz. the Brazilians had, at first, an invin-
cible disgust at the flesh of hens, and they re-
garded the eggs as a certain poison ; never-
theless the greater part of the birds at Guiana^
are the same as those at Brazil, and it is not
probable that the birds, found in the former
country, should not have spread, in the course
6f time, into the latter, and where, of course,
they vjrould have been known by the inhabit-
ants. Hence, the cocks of which M. Son-
liini speaks, do nbt belong to that species of
bird ; or if they do, they derive their origin
from those domestic ones which have been
carried thither, and have afterwards become
wild*.

" The observations of M. Sonnini, there-
fore cannot, any more than those of the pre-
ceding writers mentioned, determine our ideas
as to the country whence the cock and hen
drew their origin. Am I, in this respect^

S 2 more

* It is impossible to suppose that the cocks and hens of
Guiana, have originally proceeded from the domestic ones car-
ried thither, and some of which had escaped. In fact, the for*
mer are heard only in the interior of the country, and at a
great distance from all inhabited spots.

132 NATURAL HISTORY

more fortunate tlian all other travellers ? The
birds, male and female, which I have brought
from India, which I have found wild and free
in the forests, are they in fact, the one a cock,
the other a hen, and may they be considered
as the primitive stock of our domestic cock
and hen? It is by an exact description of
these birds, and by a detailed comparison of
them with those which I consider as similar,
and the parent stem, that this double ques-r
tion must be solved. It must first be decided
whether the birds, the description of which I
am about to give, are, in fact, a cock and
hen."

It cannot, in fact, be doubted, that these
birds, brought by M. Sonnerat, are of the cock
species ; but, because wild cocks are -certainly
found between Malabar and Coromandel, are
we therefore to infer that they exist no where
else, and even in another continent? The
ostrich, which flies still less than the cock, is
it not found, with some modifications, in
Ciiili, and the territories round the streights
of Magellan? And is it not a very faulty-
mode of reasoning, to maintain that an animal
cannot be found in one country because it is
already found in another ?

I have said, that I have every reason to be-
lieve

or BIRDS, FISH, &c. 133

lieve in the existence of wild hens in the desert
forests of Guiana. This bird, which I saw
there myself, and which had all the attributes
gf the hen, the note of the cock, which I
heard in the midst of these vast solitudes, the
opinion so rife among the nations of their ex-
istence, all incline me to believe that the cock
and hen are actually to be found there in a
state of nature. During a second voyage
which I made to Quiana, ma;iy persons con-
firmed to me, what I had already strong rea-
sons for presuming. I will mention, in pre-
ference, a planter who had collected a vast
deal of local Knowledge, M. Salines, major of
militia in the colony of Cayenne. He told
me that in an excursion, which he made in
the commencement of the year 177^, in the
great wood of Guiana, he met, and had sufTi-
cieot time to observe, a bird exactly similar to
a hen in shape, and similar to that which I had
myself seen, with the exception of a reddish
colour, not far from the brown of the other,
which tinged the plumage. Another testi-
mony likewise, that of a traveller, who visit-
fed Guiana after me, may be adduced in sup-
port of these facts already certain. Captain
Stedman observed, that the Indians, in the inte-
porofDutch Guiana, brought up a small species

of

134 NAfURAL HlStORT

of hen, with curled feathers, and which seem-
ed native to the country. It appears then in-
contestible, that the wild cock and hen are
equally to be found in both continents, with
some varieties in the form and plumage,
which are, however, a natural consequence of
the difference of climate and situation. But
the species which inhabits the ancient land of
India, is more numerous than that of America,
xvhere it is, in a manner, lost in the immense
forests, which cover entirely the humid and
mountainous soil of Guiana. This last species
is yet little knovm, nor are the cock and hen
of the Gates more so, except by the two indi-
viduals which M. Sonnerat has mentioned in
his voyages, and by the description he has
given*. It will be proper to let this traveller
relate, himself, his discovery, since he is the
only one who has written upon this species of
wild hen. After having compared the exterior
characters of these birds with those which na-r
turalists have assigned to the cock species, and
verified that they are exactly the same, M.
Sonnerat continues thus ;

" The cock, from the upper extremity of
the beak to that of the tail, stmightened and
extended, is two feet four inches in length.

** Its beak is four lines from the upper ex^

tremity

* See the accompanying plate.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 133

tremity of the angle which it forms in open-
ing, and an inch from the same angle to the
point of the under part.

** The leg is five inches in length, measur-
ing from the knee to the extremity of the mid-
dle talon ; this toe, including the nail, is two
inches five lines in length ; the spur is one
inch and four lines.

" The size of the body, which I could not
accurately determine, and which varies in dif-
ferent individuals, is about one third less than
that of the common domestic cock.

" The beak is conical ly formed, and curved
at its upper extremity ; it is of a horn colour,
and similar in every respect to the beak of the
common cock..

" The top part of the head is ornamented
with a crest, which is depressed at its sides,
flat, and notched on its upper edge ; it arises
from the basis of the beak, and increases gra-
dually as it extends backwards ; it adheres to
the upper part of the cranium, and flows be-
hind on the top of the occiput, over which it
hangs ; its form is nearly that of a reversed
scythe ; is is of a Uvely red in the living
animal.

"On the two sides of the under partof the^
beak, are placed two membranous append**

1S6 NATURAL HISTORY

ages of the same colour as the crest, of a forni
almost triangular, and such as are seen in the
same places in the common cock.

** The sides and under part of the throat
are bare of feathers, as Well as the longitudinal
line on the top of the head, between the crest
and the eye. These naked parts are of a pale
red or flesh colour in the living bird.

** On each side of the head, under the eye,
is a pearl-coloured spot, about the same size
and form as the nail of the little toe of the
human foot; it consists of short feathers,
pressed close upon each other.

" The legs are, as in the common cock, bai'e;
of feathers up to the knee, and covered with
scales of a dull greyish colour : the nails and
the ■ spurs are blackish ; the spur is of the
form of an elongated cone, of a horny sub-
stance, terminated by a sharp point, and
placed in such a manner, that making an
angle with the leg, it bends towards the
breast.

** The feathers on the top of the head, and
those of the neck, in front and on the sides, are
long and straight ; they increase in length ac-
cording as they are placed lower. When the
neck is bent, and in its natural state, they float
upon the back and wings.

" These

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 137

" Tliese feathers are flat ; they are soft to
the touch, and of an equal length on both
sides.

" The quill is large, and plainly percepti-
ble throuiJjh the whole length of the feathers,
till within a few lines of its extremity, whence
each feather seems to be striped, lon-
gitudinally, to its centre.

" The feathers which cover the back, as far
as the covert leathers of the tail, are long and
straight : their greatest breadth is towards the
middle of their length; they afterwards gra-
dually diminish on both sides, and terminate in
a round point. These feathers are crossed,
longitudinally, by a white stripe ; this stripe is
accompanied on each side with a black one,
edged with a very straight whitish border.

*' The feathers which cover the lower part
of the neck in front, the top of the breast, the
sides, and the thighs, are formed and coloured
like the feathers of the back, with these two
differences however, that the feathers of the
thigh are proportionably longer, and less long,
and those of the sides more large. It must
also be remarked, that those near the sternum,
on both sides, are of a red colour for the last
third of their length, and that we find upon
these feathers a lustre, and an appearance of a
¥0L. VI. T small

138 NATURAL HISTORY

small cartilage, which is also observable at
the extremity of the feathers of the neck.

*' The feathers which cover the extremity
of the belly, and those of the under part of the
tail are a sort of down, similar to that which
the common cock has in other parts ; this
down, in a wild cock, is mixed with white,
black, and a dull grey.

** The wings terminate at the origin of the
tail. The large feathers are of a dull black
colour, and present nothing particular in their
conformation. Those which cover the bend
of the wing, or the small covert feathers, are
long, straight, and of the same colour as the
feathers on the back, but smaller in all their
dimensions.

*' The large covert feathers of the wings
are short, stiff, and glossy at their extremities,
which are also deeply tinged with a dark red
colour. These feathers are so disposed, that
partly covering each other, they leave no other
portion visible, but that which is thus tinged ;
that part which is hidden is striped with
whit« in its middle, and with black on the
sides.

" The colours and dispositions of the large
and small covert feathers of the wings make
them appear, towards their fold, as if they

were

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. lS9

were striped with black and white, and co-
vered underneath at the part where they at-
tach to the body, with a red shining colour.

" The covert feathers of the tail are long
and floating, of a deep violet colour, and re-
flecting the rays of light like polished steel.

*' Lastly, the tail is composed of fourteen
feathers separated into two portions, inclining
one towards the other, and forming an acute
angle. The two middle feathers ^ longer than
the others, form an arch, the convexity of
which is turned from the side of the bird.

" The wild hen is one third less than the
cock : and this difference of size prevails pro-
portionably in all the different species of the
cock and hen.

" The wild hen, as well as the male, has all
the characteristics which strictly belong to
this genus, one only excepted, viz. the crest
and the membranous appendages under the
beak. This difference, I must confess, ap-
pears a very great one, but it is sufficient to
establish a real distinction ? I believe no one
will be inclined to think so, when it is remem-
bered that there are the most astonishing va-
rieties in this respect in all species, and even
between individuals of the same species. In
fact, there are races of cocks and hens, such
T2 as

140 NATURAL HISTORY

as the tufted for example, in which neither
male nor female have any crest nor append-
age under the beak ; in others, such as the
dunghill, for instance, the male has some-
times an enormously large crest and append-
ages, while the females have these parts dimi-
nutive and badly conformed. These discre-
pancies, how^ever, establish no difference be-
tween the individuals, because we are certain
and well convinced of their identity. Ought
we then to consider the wild cock and hen as
individuals of a different species, merely be-
cause of this variation ? But every difficulty
will be done away, if, as persons deserving of
credit have informed me, and who live in the
country, there are hens absolutely deprived of
crests and appendages ; this, however, I can-
not affn'm, because I have never had an oppor-
tunity of verifying it.

" The top of the head, and the commence*
ment of the neck behind, are covered with
short, straight, and greyish feathers. The
cheeks, and the under part of the throat, are
whitish ; and those parts naked in the cock,
are covered in the hen with very small and
numerous feathers.

" The feathers of the neck behind, are

brownish,

OF BIJIDS, nsii, &c. 141

brownish, striped longitudinally in the middle
with a kind of reddish white.

" The feathers of the neck in front, those
which cover the sternum and the belly, are
brown, striped longitudinally with a dirty
white in the middle.

** The feathers which cover the sides are
grey.

** Those of the back are of a clear brown,
tinged wi;h grey ; and the quill, in the length
of these feathers, forms a straight longitudinal
stripe, of a light red colour. The great and
the small covert feathers of the wings pre-
sent the same colours and the same stripe.

" The large feathers of the wings are black-
ish on the internal side, brownish, and spotted
with grey, on the external one.

*•' The feathers of the tail are srrevish.

" Lastly, the legs and the toes are covered
with grey scales. In the place where w^e find
the spur in the male, there is a small protu*
berance in the female.

" It is eas}' to remark, from the description
which I have given, that the colours of the
wild hen are those which are most usual
and most common in the farm yard one.

" I shall conclude, by observing, that the
Indians rear two different races of the cock and

hen ;

142 NATURAL HISTORY

hen; the one is purely domestic, and is, to
these people, who eat no sort of animal flesh,
simply an object of amusement, of commerce,
or of curiosity ; the other is a slave, and serves
for cock fighting, a species of amusement of
which these people are very fond.

** The first race is similar to our domestic
cock and hen, and is perpetuated distinctly.

* ' The second race is that of the wild cock
and hen, which the Indians keep and renew,
by bringing individuals from the forests where
they are born."

THE SPOTTED GUINEA HEN*

THE gi.iinea lien lias been for some time
spread over the different regions of the globe,
by civilized nations who collect the varieties of
every clime for their own peculiar enjoyment;
but it has only been within these few years that
any new species of this bird has l>een known.
Natives of the burning climate of the torrid
zone, the spotted guinea hen is to be found in
the bosom of the humid groves of Madagascar,

or

OF BIRDS, FISH, &;C. 143

or on the glowing shores of Guinea. They
have the same manners as the common guinea
hen, according to Pallas, who was the first
that described them; but it appears that they
are never found, except in a wild state: they
are besides very rare. Their shape approaches
that of the common guinea hen ; the helmet
is of a conical form, and the hood on the top
of the head is red ; the upper part of the neck
is bare, and of a bluish colour ; the feathers
are waved transversally, and cover the under
part of the neck; the ground colour of the
body is black, with white spots, wh'ch are
larger than those on our guinea hen ; the feet
are blackish, and the beak is somewhat yellow.
The distinctive character of the spotted gui-
i)ea hen is a longitudinal -'fold towards the
throat, which is not to be found in the ordi-
nary species. The flebhy glands under the
throat are double in both species.

144 NATURAL IIISTORY-

THE TUFTED GUINEA HEN.

WE are indebted to Pallas also for this new
species of guinea hen. Its size is less than that
of the common guinea hen ; it is an interme-
diate one between that and the partridge.
The distinctive characters of the tufted guinea
hen are more decisive than in the former, for
the present one has no fleshy glands under the
throat, and it has a longitudinal fold on each
side Oi the mandibles : the auditory carnal is
more open, and edged with slender feathers ;
more so than in any other species of guinea
hen. Besides, the red and even bloody colour
of the throat, and the black colour of the fea-
thers covered with spots of a bluish white, not
bigger than grains of millet, sufficiently dis-
tinguish it These spots are disposed in a
sort of regular quincunx. The down of the
feathers is brown, and the prime quill fea-
thers of the wings are of a blackish brown ;
the tail is round and, being pretty long, trails
on the ground ; on the forehead there is a

pretty

OF BIRDS, FISH, See 145

black tuft, bending forward ; the upper part
of the neck and the head have some hairs
thinly scattered, on a skin of a dark blue
colour.

This animal inhabits various countries of
Africa, and it is much less common than or-
dinary guinea hens. Of its manners little
is yet known ; but as its conformation is very
analagous to that of other individuals of the
same species, it is allowable to suppose that
its habits are the same. As the native dispo-
sition of animals is nothing more than the re-
sult of their conformation, all analagous spe-
cies ought to display a proportional analogy in
their mode of life.

VOL. VI. U

146 NATURAL HISTOIlY

P II E A S A N T.

FOREIGN BIRDS

Which have an Affinity with the Fheasant,

THE ARGUS.

THERE is found, to the north of China,
a species of pheasant, the wings and tail of
which are covered with a vast number of
round spots Hke eyes, whence it has been de-
nominated the Argus. The two feathers
of the middle of the tail are very long, and
exceed, considerably, all the rest. This bird
is of tlie size of a turkey-cock ; it has upon the
head a double tuit, which falls behind.

ADDITION TO THE ARTICLE OF THE ARGUS.

By SonninL

TO the short mention which Guenau de
Moutbeillard has given of the characters of

this

OF iURDS, FISH, &C. 147

this bird, from tlie Pliilosophical Transactions,
I sliall now add such further details as have
come to lisfht since that period.

I'he argils has the forehead and the throat
naked, and of a line red colour; the circle
round the eyes, and the whiskers at the base of
the beak, blackihh ; tlie top part of the head
and neck, blue; the fore part of the neck,
the breast, the rump, and the upper covert
feathers of the tail, yellow, and dotted
with obscure spots : the back and the co-
vert feathers of t!ie \vings, of a black co-
lour, varied with a red bay ; the nine exte-
rior quill feathers of the Avings are of a
yellowish brown, spotted with black on the
outside, and with white on the inside; the
eleven other quill feathers are of an obscure
brown, with round and oblong spots ; the
tail is composed of fourteen quill feathers,
about three feet long, brown, and spotted
with white ; the covert feathers of the under
part of the tail are black, variegated with
brown ; the feet are of a cinereous colour,
armed with a spur; the beak yellowish, and
the iris of the eyes yellowish.

This pheasant inhabits Chinese Tartary ; it

is also found in Sumatra, where, according to

Marsden, it is called Coo- ox : this traveller

Us calls

148 NATURAL HISTORY

calls it the celebrated pheasant of Sumatra,
and for beauty of plumage, he places it far
above all other birds ; but though Marsden
declares that there is no exaggeration in what
he says, yet it is easy to see, from the descrip-
tion given above, that the argus, though of a
plumage agreeably variegated, is less rich in
colours than many other birds, and even than
species of the same genus.

This bird is very fierce and difficult to
keep alive for any length of time, after it has
been taken in the woods ; it never survives
its captivity more than a month. Its eyes
are dazzled by a strong light, and it remains
quiet and drooping while exposed to it ; but
it delights in shade. It is a noisy bird like
the peacock, but its flesh is very savoury,
and has the same taste as that of the com-
mon pheasant.

UF IJlRIXs, FISH, &C. 140

FOREIGN BIRDS

Which seem to have an Affinity icith the Phea^
sant and the Peacock*,

THE ELEGANT PEACOCK.

THE figure of this superb and beautiful
bird is often seen on the painted papers of
China, and in Chinese books; and it is
probable also that it is the same species, the
likeness of which they embroider upon appa-
rel, and which is thus rendered of a very high;
price.

On the forehead of this bird there is a round
fleshy gland ; two other elongated ones hang
under the throat, and they are all of a lively
red. A tuft in the form of a fan, and of a blue
colour, rises from the top of the head which is,
itself, green as w^ell as the u])j)er part of the
neck ; on this last part there are long feathers

varieg"ated

* Under this indecisive title are arranged certain foreign
birds, which are loo little known (but yet curious) to be
assigned a more determinate rank.

150 NATURAL HI STORY

variegated with green and blue. The colour of
the body is a mixture of red, bhie, and green ;
the fold of the wing is green, fcj)otted with
Aviiite; the wings are red, with the exception
of the large quill feathers, which are blue ; the
long covert feathers of the upper part of the
tail fall in the form of an arch on both sides ;
they arc variegated with divers colours, and
the quill feathers, wliich are themselves very
long, are tinged with blue and red ; the beak is
red, and the feet are j ellow, and without spurs.
This is all that is known of this beautifully
feathered pheasant ; it has hitherto been seen
only in paintings, and perhaps it exists only
in the imagination of Chinese painters.

THE FIKE-COLOURED PHEA.SANT.

THIS is one of those species which we are
necessitated to call neio, because it is not found
described nor even indicated in the works of
any naturalist. Sir George Staunton, secre-
tary to the English Embassy to China, is the
oil iy. traveller who has mentioned it. He saw

it

OF BIRDS, FISH, Scc. 1.51

it at Batavia, in a menagerie, and the owner
oF it presented it to Lord Macartney, who
sent it to England, and it was the o[)inion of
Dr. Shaw, after an attentive examination, that
this bird has never yet been described by any
natnraUst whatever.

The species which this pheasant appears
the most to resemble, is the momovl fphasia-
nus mpcjanusj : the beak is long and crooked ;
but, after some attentive inspection, there
were found a number of discrepancies between
these two birds.

The plumage of the one now imder consi-
deration, is principally black, with a strong
n flexion of dark blue. A dazzling lustre co-
vered the lower part of the back, and appear-
ed, at different times, sometimes of a light
black, and sometimes of a lively red colour:
this brilliant colour formed round the body of
the bird a large zone, more obscure under the
belly than on the back. The tail is in the
form of a fan, and the two middle quill fea-
thers are of a pale yellow.

Two fleshy glands, or appendages, wiiich
form almost an angle, and unite above the
aperture of the beak, hang under the throat;
long feathers, which hang behind, form, by
this union, a sort of tuft on the head. The

feathers

i52 NATURAL HISTORY

feathers of the neck, of the back, and the
throat, are round, and in the form of scales,
like those of the Indian cock: the feet are
thick, and armed with spurs extremely strong,
long, and pointed. The colour of the legs,
as well as that of the beak, is whitish.

Sir George Staunton does not say whether
this bird, which has more affinity with the
pheasant than with any other species, is natu-
ral to the island of Java, or whether the indi-
vidual, which was given to him, had been
brought from any other country of India.

THE AFRICAN PHEASANT.

THE skin of this bird is preserved in the
British Museum, and little of its history
is known, except that it was sent from
Africa.

Its feathers are of a cinereous blue on the
body, and white underneath, with black
stems ; the quill feathers of the tail are round-
ed at their ends, and entirely black, with the

exception

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 153

exception of the two middle ones, which are
black only at their extremity.

This pheasant, or this bird approaching to
a pheasant, is eighteen inches in length, mea-
suring from the tip of the beak to that of the
tail. It has a thick and yellow beak, and a
tuft of long feathers, which are brown, and
ed.ired with white.

THE HOCCOES.

ALL the birds, observes Guenau de Mont-
beillard, which have usually been designated
under this denomination, taken in a generic
acceptation, are strangers to Europe, and be-
long to the hot climates of America; the va-
rious names which the different savage tribes
have given them, each according to his own
jargon, have, like the multiplied phrases of
our nomenchitors, contributed only to enlarge
the list ; and it shall be here attempted, as far
as the dearth of accurate data will permit, to
reduce ihese nominal to rea/ species.

VOL. VI. X

134 NATURAL HISTORlr

THE BLACK HOCCO ; OR, THE HOCCO OF
FRENCH GtJIANA*.

WITH a simple, but elegant appearance,
with peaceable, but social manners, the hocco
of Guiana offers also a healthy and savoury
nourishment, an easy and abundant resource
for the tables of the colonists of South Ame-
rica, and, above all, for the subsistence of tra-
vellers who penetrate into the immense forests
of this part of the world. These good quali-
ties render his history sufficiently interesting
to make us eager to know more of this bird
than has hitlierto been communicated. Not
but that ornithologists have spoken of it ; but,
in copying each other successively, they have,
in fact, added nothing to the accounts given
by Marcgrave, Laet, Hernandez, and Fernan-
dez ;

* In this article Sonnini throw's some light upon the
ilocco properly so called^ under which head Guenau de
Montbeillard, the coadjutor of the illustrious Buffon, in his
history of the birds,- ranges a great variety of species, whicJi
he considers as differing only in name. See the plate accom-
panying this volume. Trans.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 155

dez ; for, we may consider as nothing, the ar-^
bitrary denominations and phrases which have
nothing scientific about them but their name,
since they tend i*ather to impede the science
of nature than to accelerate it.

Though this bird has often been compared
to the Indian cock and the pheasant, though
it even has some traits of similarity with both
of them, yet it differs from both in some very
remarkable peculiarities. It must, however
be confessed, that to the eye of a careless ob-
server it would appear more like an Indian
cock than a pheasant ; it is of the same size,
has the same walk ; it resembles it also by its
native stupidity, and by its great inclination
to a domestic state. Hence, I was surprised
that Aublet, who, like myself, has had oppor-
tunities of examining this bird in its native
clime, should have considered it as a phea-
sant, when, on the contrary, it approaches so
much more nearly to the Indian cock.

The hocco differs from the pheasant by its
size, by the fleshy membrane which surrounds
the base of the beak, by its singular tuft, and
by other particularities. It differs also from
the turkey-cock, because it has no fleshy
gland hanging from the top of the beak, nor
the bunch of bristly feathers at the breast, nor
X 2 the

155 NATURAL HISTORY

the skin at the throat, nor the power of repre-
senting a wheel b}' unfolding the large feathers
of its tail. It forms, therefore, a very distinct
genus, the principal characters of which are,
having the beak of the cock, with a naked
membrane, which covers tiie top of the beak
to its base, and which naturalists have called
cera : the temples, that is, the space compris-
ed between the eyes and the beak, bare of fea-
thers ; the tail long, and composed of fourteen
sloping quill feathers; lastly, the feet, like
those of the cock species, only they are des-
titute oi the spur. But its most remarkable
attribute is a tuft of two or three inches in
height, which extends from the insertion of
the beak to the back part of the head, and
which the bird can raise and depress at its
pleasure, according as it happens to be vari-
ously affected. This beautiful tuft is com-
posed of sloping feathers, a little inclined be-
hind, and the points bent a little forward.

This genus of birds is peculiar to the hot
climates of America ; if any differences be
observable in the individuals which compose
the tribe, they are variations, probably, which
are to be attributed to situations rather than
to distinct species. These varieties, and the
different languages of the people who live in

these

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 157

these regions have occasioned multiplied deno-
minations, which it would be at once tedious
and useless to recapitulate. Linnaeus has consti-
tuted a new genus of birds in the hocco, under
the appellation of crax; and he lias designat-
ed the species which I am describing, under
the title of the fury Alecto, daughter of
Acheron and Night. It is not very easy to
comprehend the reason of this denomination.
I shall speak only of the black hocco, the
only variety or species which I saw on the
continent of French Guiana, and the only one,
indeed, which appears' to exist there. It is
the fourth black pheasant of Barrere, the
twelfth of Brisson, and, as I have already said,
the crax alecton of Linnaeus. It approaches to
the size of a turkey-cock ; it has the head, the
tuft, and the neck, of a beautiful velvet black
colour; the belly, the inferior covert feathers
of the tail, and a part of the feathers which
cover the legs, are of a dull white, the rest of
the plumage of a deep black ; the membrane
of the beak, the temples, and the circle round
the eyes of a beautiful yellow ; the end of the
beak and the eyes black; the feet of a bluish
cinereous colour ; and lastly, the claws of a
white colour, tinged with yellow. The sides
of the head are covered with short feathers,

which

158 KATURAL HISTORY

which are soft to the touch, and there is also
a semi-circle observable, which is white an4
bare ; these are the ears. The wings when
they are folded, that is^ when they are in a
state of repose, do not project further than
the origin of the tail.

Dimensions. The total length, taken from
the extremity of the beak to the end of the
tail, two feet ten inches and a half; the beak
is two inches long, nearly an inch broad at its
base, and about thirteen lines in thickness ; the
apertures of the nostrils are four lines in
length, and nearly three in breadth. The
length of the foot is four inches ; the middle
toe, including the nail, is three inches three
lines: the hind toe one inch eight lines; the
wings fourteen inches, and the tail nearly a
foot ; it projects six inches and a half beyond
the wings when they are folded.

Plates, in natuml history, are destined
to shew to the eye what description but im-
perfectly communicates to the mind. But
the reader would be deceived, who should ex-
pect to find a true representation of the black
hocco in a collection of coloured engravings
published at Florence, with more splendor
than precision, under the title of Storia degli
uccelli. This bird is there hardly recognizable;

it

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. l59

it is painted without a tail, with a tuft which
is not its own, and other gross errors. The
notes which accompany this plate, are not
less defective ; the hocco is confounded with
the pavxi and the hoatzin. The coloured
plate, No. 4, of the Natural History of Birds,
represents exactly the black hocco, under
the denomination of the male hocco ; but the
plate. No. 0. of the same collection, indicates
very badly the figure of the female of tliis
species, being that of the white spotted hocco,
which constitutes quite a different race.

The species of the black hocco is constant,
and although it is very numerous in French
Guiana, it is the same in all the individuals;
I have seen a great quantity of them, and I
never met with but one on the banks of the
river Sinamari, which differed from the others,
and this difference was, that it had on each
feather of the tuft two small white transversal
stripes; the iris of the eyes was blue; some
grey feathers were on the black part of the
legs ; and lastly, the beak was bluish, with a
little white at its extremity.

Many naturalists have mistaken the white-
spotted hocco for the female of the black
hocco. But the former constitutes a separate
variety, which lives in the environs of the Ama-
zon

160 NATURAL HISTORY

zon river, and which is never seen, or at least
very rarely, in French Guiana. The true fe-
male of the black hocco is but a little degree
snaaller than the male ; the tail is not so long",
the tuft is not so beautiful, it is less elevated,
and it is of a less lustrous" black ; the beak is
grey at its end, and the feathers of tbe stomach
terminated by a straight, grey line ; in every
other respect it is like the male.

The hoccoes of Guiana live in numerous
troops in the vast forests, with which this
country is almost entirely covered ; but they
have nothing wild except their residence. Mild-
ness and tranquillity form their character; they
do not seem to fear, nor even to know danger;
little anxious, apparently, about the preser-
vation of their own existence, they do not fly
from those circumstances that occasion its
loss. I have often found myself in the midst
of considerable flocks of these peaceable birds,
which my presence did not seem to intimidate.
This kind of indifference renders it easy to de-
stroy them. Many of them may be killed,
even with a musquet, without their making
any other eflbrts to escape than simply flying
from tree to tree.

Such are these birds in the vast solitudes
where, having nothing to fear, they are natu-
rally

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. I6l

rally without distrust. On the contrary, the
small number of those who frequent the envi-
rons of inhabited places, become fierce and
gloomy ; eveiy thing alarms them ; the least
noise puts them to flight. This continual
agitation, and the frequent necessity of a
prompt flight, do not suffer them to form large
associations : they are seldom seen more than
two or three together. So much does the vici-
nity of man influence the character of animals
which surround him ! I mean civilized man ;
for the uncloathed savage traverses without
noise through the thickest woods. His step is
so light that he scarcely bends the grass over
which he passes ; he surprises and pierces with
his arrows the animals which have had no oc-
casion for alarm, and thus, by appearing in-
noxious, they in fact do not learn to fear liim ;
but the European, spreading terror to a dis-
tance by the explosion of his arms, the cry of
his dogs, and all apparatus of the chase,
drives away the game from the spots which
they once inhabited, and renders them difficult
of approach. This difference of character
shews how little we ought to appreciate the
discrepancies of habit in animals: though Gue-
nau de Montbeillard has thought such a dissi-
milarity sufficient to exclude the hocco from
VOL. VI. Y the

162 NATUllAL HISTORY

the genus of pheasants. If, however, numer-
ous and easily comprehended diflerences do not
separate them, contrariety of manners, which
is a necessary result of contrariety of situation,
will not be deemed an adequate ground for
not ranging them under the same class.

The Mexicans called the hocco tepetotol,
which signifies the bird of the mountains. In
fact, it usually keeps upon the lofty elevations
of this country, but always in the midst of
thick woods ; it perches upon the highest
trees; and it sometimes seeks upon tlie
ground for those fruits which form its subsist-^
ence. The fruit upon which it feeds from
preference, according to Aublet, is that of the
thoa iirenSy which it swallows whole. Its walk
is slow and solemn ; it flies but little, and its
flight is heavy and noisy. When it is aff'ected
by joy or fear, when it is pursued, or when it
takes to flight, it utters a piercing cry, which
may be pretty accurately expressed by the
two syllables jio-hie, and which forms the name
which the Spaniards in some parts have given
to it.

When it walks, and is free from any kind of
apprehension, it utters also a sort of murmur
or buzzing, which no naturalist has taken no-
tice of. It is not a cry, but a concentrated

sound.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 163

souiicl,and similar to that of a violoncello. This
dull, heavy noise does not issue from the
beak; it is formed in the capacity of the abdo-
men, and does not issue by any aperture, but
only by the pores of the skin ; so that the
hocco, as well as the agami, is a bird which
may be considered as a ventriloquist.

These different sounds which the hocco
utters, depend doubtless upon the conforma-
tion of the tmchea, which differs in some re-
spects from that of other birds. Composed
of a very firm substance, with solid rings in
proportion, this artery proceeds in a straight
direction as far as the lower part of the neck;
there it loses its cylindrical form, and be-
comes larger and flattened. It then makes a
circumvolution round itself, of about an inch,
and enters again before and behind, above the
crest of the sternum ; its two bronchias enter
into the wings. These observations were
made upon two male hoccos, and there is
every probability that this particular confor-
mation does not exist in the females.

Like almost all the birds which inhabit the
same climates, the hoccos have no fixed time
for the laying of their eggs. It is, however,
more frequently during the rainy season, which
lasts for seven or eight months at Guiana,
y 2 than

364 NATURAL HISTORY

than during the dry, that they occupy them-
selves in the propagation of their species.
They generally brood only once a year. They
employ but little industry in the formation of
their nests ; they place, upon sufficiently strong
branches, some dry twigs, among which they
interweave, very inartificially, slips of grass;
they cover the bottom with leaves, and the
female deposits there two white eggs, nearly
of the same size and of the same form as those
of the Indian hen, but the shell of which is
thicker. The number of these eggs varies
according to the age of the female, but they
are never less than two nor more than six.

Though I suspect the accounts of Fernan-
dez, and, after him, of Nieremberg, respect-
ing the extraordinary familiarity of certain
hocr.os, to be exaggerated, yet, it is certain,
that no bird can have a greater aptitude to a
state of domesticity. They are very common
in the streets of the town of Cayenne; no-
thing frightens them, they enter into all the
houses, and leap on the tables for something to
eat. Though they run at liberty through the
town, and even beyond it, yet they knov/ how
to distinguish the houses in w^hich they are
kept. From their love of elevated situations,
they perch, to pass the night, on the highest

roof

OF BIRDS, f ISH, &C. l65

roof in their vicinity. They are not delicate
in their choice of food ; every thing agrees
^vith them ; they eat indifferently maize, rice,
bread, cassavi, bananas, potatoes, and all sorts
of fruits. Flocks of them may be easily kept.
The colonists of Guiana, however, had not
made this attempt at the period of my voy-
ages to this country. It would be, however,
a complete union of the useful and agreeable ;
for, independently of the beauty of these
birds, their flesh is white, and of an excellent
flavour, and the care which is shewn them in
a domestic state, renders it more succulent.
The tuft with which dieir head is furnished,
would provide a pretty accession to the dress
of the female sex, who might form from it
embellishments at once simple and elegant.
I have seen the inhabitants of Cayenne seeking
for these tufts ; they buy them of the hunters,
who are careful, immediately they kill the
bird, to take off this natural ornament.

166 NATURAL HISTORY

THE SASA.

IT is thus that this bird ought to be spelled
and pronounced, and not zaza^ as Mauduyt
and others have labelled it in their collections.
It is found in French Guiana, and probably in
other southern countries of America; yet no
book, which treats of the natural history of
this part of the new world, contains any thing
respecting it.

Of all European birds there is none with
which the sasa has a greater affinity than with
the pheasant; in size, manner, form of the
body, and that of the beak and feet, it is simi-
lar. Though the colours of its plumage are
in general a little sombre, 3 et when viewed
altogether they have an agreeable appearance.
The feathers on the top and sides of the neck,
as well as those on tlie back are brown, mark-
ed with white in the middle. The upper co-
vert feathers of the wings are brown, edged
with white, and their quills are brown, gra-
dually changing to red as they recede farther

from

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 1G7

from the body. Shades of green and Hght red di-
vei*sify the dark ground of the back and wings.
The quill feathers of the tail are long, of a
greenish brown, and terminated by a dirty
white. White, shaded with red, is the colour
of all the under parts of the body, except that
the red is unmixed upon the under covert
feathers of the wings, upon the belly, and on
the legs ; the feet and toes are red, and the
claws black. But what distinguishes it most
particularly is a long tuft, formed of straight
feathers, red from the point of their insertion
to about one half of their length, the rest
black, and the largest of which hang down
behind to the middle of the neck. It has not
the power of erecting this beautiful crest like
some birds ; when it is moved in any manner,
it has simply the power of raising the fea-
thers, or rather stiffening them, so that they,
remain horizontal; and under the same cir-
cumstances the tail enlarges itself, and be-
comes rounded like a fan.

This species of bird is not very numerous,
at least in those parts of Guiana which Son-
nini traversed. He sometimes met them in
pairs, and sometimes in troops of six or eight
at most. They are never to be found in the
large woods, nor in elevated places; they

frequent.

lOS NATURAL HISTORY

frequent, in preference, the marshy savannahs,
and this preference is founded upon their wants,
for they live upon the leaves and herries of a
large species of tree called moitcon-moucou by
the inhabitants, and which grows in none but
watery places. Wherever there are many of
these aquatic plants, there is almost certain to
be a number of ^a^a^, being great or small, in
proportion to the quantity of subsistence.
This species of food, which they can take
only when they are perched (for the root of
the moucous-nioucons is in the water) gives
them a habit of this situation: and hence they
are rarely seen upon the ground. During a
great part of the day they remain tranquil on
some low and shady branch by the side of
the water; their flight is short and heavy ;
they are not fierce, but, on the contrary, their
manners appear to be mild, peaceable, and
social ; when they are in troops they keep all
on the same branch, ranged in a line close
against each other, and without any disagree-
ment They pronounce their own name sasa,
very distinctly, and with a strong voice, but
which is rough and disagreeable. Nor is this
the only disagreeable feature about them ;
they exhale, likewise, so strong an odour of
castoreum, that their flesh is not eatable ; yet

it

or BIRDS, FISH, &c. 169

it is not altogether useless. The fishermen of
this country cut it in pieces, and make use of
it as an excellent bait for catching a large spe-
cies of fish, which they call torche, and which
is a kind of mullet.

THE PARRAKA*.

THIS bird, which should be written parra^
koua, and not parraka, as Barrere has done,
pronounces its own name distinctly. It has a
considerable affinity wit^ the marail, only it is
somewhat less ; otherwise it has the same ap-
pearance, and the same habits ; the conforma-
tion of the beak is the same, as well as that of
the feet and toes, which are also reddish: un-
der the throat may be seen the same naked red
place; it is divided lengthways by a straight
band of hard, black, and thick hairs : the fea-
thers of the head, which are longer than usual,
form a kind of crest, which the bird bristles
up when it is affected in any manner; this
VOL. VI. Z crest

♦ See the plate accompanying this volume.

170 NATURAL HISTORY

crest is of a brown colour approaching to red •
the ground of the plumage is a mixture of
grey, red, and green ; the under part of the
body is grey ; the quill feathers ot" the wings,
and of the middle of the tail, have tinges of a
shining green colour; the side feathers of the
tail are red, with the exception of those which
touch on each side, the two middle quill fea-
thers, they being divided in two by a shining
green and red colour. The beak is black until
towards its extremity, when it becomes of a
horn colour, of which colour also are the claws.

The apertures of the nostrils, which are
large and oval, are placed about the middle of
the beak, the feathers on the forehead project
towards the beak, and almost reach the nos-
trils. The eyes are surrounded with a naked
and bluish skin.

Dimensions. Total length, one foot nine
inches, three lines ; of the beak, fourteen
lines ; its upper chap, a little swelled at the
basis, and about six lines in thickness ;
straight above the nostrils, then crooked and
two lines thick at its extremity, turning in-
wards, and projecting over the under chap two
lines. The breadth of the apertures of the
nostrils is two lines, and their length three :
they are about nine lines from the anterior

angle

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 171

angle of the eye. Length of the wings, seven
inches two lines : length of the tail, eight
inches; it projects beyond the wings when
folded, six inches and a half. Length of the
tarsus, two inches; of the middle toe, two
inches; of the hinder one fourteen lines.

The hoitlallotl of Fernandez, without being
of the same species as the parrakoua, for their
cojours are different, is however, only a variety
perhaps. But it seems pretty certain that the
parrakoua is the same bird as the wild hen.,
the Katraca of P.Feuillee; some diiferences, to
be sure, may be observed between them in the
colour of the plumage ; but, besides that these
differences are not considerable, it is well
known that, particularly in hot countries, they
are the ordinary consequences of diversity of
climate, and even of situation. It must be
confessed, however, that the form of the beak,
which in the katraca, is almost like that of our
wood-pigeon, only being somewhat shorter
and more solid, is a very considerable difficulty,
and which cannot be removed by recourse to
any supposition of the influence of climate.
But otherwise, the resemblances are so marked
in these two birds, that we cannot hesitate to
consider them as one; they have both the
same shape, the same manner (viz. that of

Z 2 pheasants)

172 NATtJIlAL HISTORY

pheasants) the same walk, the same citstom^,
and the same cry. But there is one thing
which puts, beyond all poysibility of doubt,
the affinity of these two birds, viz. the singular
conformation of the tracheal artery of the male,
equally observed in the katraca by P* Feuillee,
and in the parrakoua by more modern ob-
servers.

This conformation of the tracheal artery of
the parrakoua was well known by the hun-
ters and Creoles of the colony of Cayenne : I
myself mentioned it both to BufFon and M.
Daubenton ; and this discovery (if such it may
be called, for its priority is due to P. Feuillee)
was to have been published in a work which
I was writing in 1776, but the prosecution of
other travels called me away from it, and pre-
vented its taking place. Bajou*, a year after-
wards, took to himself the honour of the ob-
servation, as if it had never before been men-
tioned ; but the academy of sciences, to whom
he addressed the account of this pretended dis-
covery, observed to him, that he had been
already anticipated by P. Feuillee.

The tracheal artery, (see th^ plates accorti-
panying this volume J does not accompany the

aesophagus

* Remarks upon Cayenne, vol. 1, p. 374.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 173

aesophagus as in other birds, to enter into the
cavity of the breast: this channel of respi-
ration continues its course outside of the
breast, fastened by small membranous liga-
tures to the right side of the sternum, on a
level with the top of this bone. When ar-
rived at the extremity of the sternum, the
tracheal arterj^ bends, forms a cross, and re-
turns near the top of the same bone, like a
trumpet : and in this return it is attached to
the other tube by small membranous fibres as
far as the upper part of the sternum ; passing
lastly, above the right clavicle, it enters the
cavity of the breast to inflate the lungs, the
same as usually takes place in other birds.
(See the plate, in which there is a dissected
parrakoua engraved, in order that the reader
may trace the involutions of the tracheal
artery.)

The males alone, in this species, have this
peculiarity of conformation ; it is, in them, a
general rule : the marail appears, however, to
be an exception, if Bajou be not deceived in
asserting that the female of this bird has the
tracheal artery formed the same as the male.

The parrakoua, at Guiana, is found only in
the forests at a small distance from the coasts,
and never in the interior of the country. It

lives

174 NATURAL HISTORY

lives on wild fruits and grains ; it runs quickly
upon the ground ; its flight is short and
heavy ; and its voice is powerful and disa-
greeable.

The parrakoua frequents, in general, the
most open spots, the least impervious woods,
and even the savannahs.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 175

THE PARTRIDGE.

FOREIGN BIRDS

Which have an Affinity with Partridges and
Quails,

PARTRIDGE OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

THIS is a large species of partridge, some-
what similar to the pearled partridge of China,
but its size is more considerable. It is nine-
teen inches in length ; and its chief residence
is among the arid and sandy spots of the Cape
of Good Hope, in which it seems to delight.
Though it does not approach very near to any
habitations, yet it does not fly from tiie sight
of man, and, doubtless, it would be very
easy to domesticate it in the same manner as
hens.

A 11 the body of this bird is of a grey cine-
reous colour, with undulated shades of a
darker colour, especially on tlie back. The

feet

176 NATURAL HISTORY

feet are red, and one of them has a short spur.
The beak is of a horn colour, with a slight red
tinge of the colour of blood. The claws are
black.

THE PARTRIDGE OF PONDICHERRY.

ON the coast of Coromandel, in the odo-
riferous plains of maritime Asia, Sonnerat
found a new species of partridge, which is
about the size of our common partridge. A
reddish colour covers the occiput: yellow
feathers surround the root of the beak, as well
as the throat, and upon this last there are some
black spots observable. The top part of the
neck is of a greyish undulated colour, with
black stripes. White lines, in a zigzag form,
cross the red ground which covers the back.
The white feathers of the belly are embroi-
dered with black, with yellow spots on the
sides. The two middle quill feathers of the
tail are red, with numerous brown angular
lines, and four stripes of a yellowish white
which cross them. The rump, which is grey,

has

OF BIRDS, FISH, 8CC, 177

has some whitish stripes edged with black.

The beak is blackish. The iris and the feet

are red. A strong spur distinguishes the
male.

THE PARTRIDGE OF GINGI.

THIS species of partridge, which is smaller
than our grey partridge of Europe, inhabits
the countries on the coast of Coromandel, near
Gingi, where Sonnerat met with it. Its race,
no doubt, extends farther into Southern Asia!
We have no details as to its manners; and
though we ought to praise the zeal of those
travellers who combine a knowledge of natu-
ral history, yet we think they should never
confine themselves simply to a bare descrip-
tion of an animal, unless they are absolutely
unable to furnish any details on its mode of
life. This part is, in fact, one of the most
agreeable in natural history, and we should
strive rather to render the science interesting,
than to reduce it to a bare and sterile nomen-
clature. What we admire in animals is not
VOL. VI, 9 A . their

t78 NATURAL HISTORY

their inanimate skeleton, however ornamented
it may be by the most beautiful colours, but
the life which actuates them, and their habits
and manners which seem at least to have some
affinity with ourselves, since they owe their
origin to the same vital sensibility.

The partridge of Gingi is distinguished by
a black beak ; the rump and tail of a brownish
grey colour, mixed with black ; it has also a
kind of white eyebrows. Each quill feather
of the tail is marked with a black spot.
The belly is white, and each of the feathers
that covers it has a double longitudinal reddish
stripe. The feet are yellowish. The female,
which is smaller than the male, has some black
stripes on the quill feathers of the tail. Its
belly is reddish, and its feet are of a dirty grey
colour.

THE RED PARTRIDGE OF MADAGASCAR.

THIS bird, which approaches considerably
in size to the grey partridge, is very analogous
to the partridge of Pondicherry, and we are

indebted

OP BIRDS, risH, &c» 179

indebted for the knowledge of it to the same
tiuveller, Sonnerat. All the plumage of its
body is of the colour of onion peel, or of a
dirty, brown red. This colour becomes more
dull and deeper towards the back part of the
head and neck, and on the under parts of the
body it is paler. The iris and the feet are of
a brilliant red, the same as in the red par-
tridge. The beak is yellow; and the male has
two spurs on each foot.

THE QUAIL OF CAYENNE.

SONNINI found, in the different countries
of French Guiana, a bird which belongs to the
family of quails. It is not migratory, and it
lives all the year in the same country. In
fact, the rainy season, which in those regions
supply the place of our winter, is not so rigor-
ous as European winters, nor does it check all
the productions of the earth. Animals, there-
fore, who inhabit these countries, may remain
constantly in them, without any fear, as in the
2A2 northern

ISO NATURAL HISTORY

jiorthern climates, of perishing for want of
food..

The flight ofthe Cayenne quail has, accord-
ing to M. De la Borde, a considerable simila-
rity with that of the ordinary quail. It begins
to lay in November or December, and it is
even probable that they have more than one
brood in a year, for M. De la Borde saw young
ones at all seasons.

The quails of Cayenne fly in cornpanies
from seven or eight to fifteen or sixteen in
number ; the old ones are the most alert, and
rise the first.

These birds inhabit, from preference, places
near the skirts of woods. They are not so
wild but that many of them may be met with
in the vicinity of dwellings. The young ones
are not easily put up ; they hide themselves
very securely among the large plants, &c.
where they inhabit.

The Cayenne quail is not very numerous ;
it feeds upon various sorts of grain, and upon
insects. AVhen they rise they do not utter
any cry, and they file off to the right one after
the other ; their flight is not very high, being
about five or six feet. The young quails
which are scattered about, are recalled by a
slight whistling, something like our partridges.

Sonnini

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 181

Sonnini says that he has seen these birds
brought up in a cage with grains ; but that
they always preserved a certain degree of fe-
rocity and wildness of character, and were
uncommonly agitated when any one approach-
ed them.

This quail, which has much affinity with
the Madagascar one in its colours, though it is
smaller, has the beak nine hnes in length,
six in breadth, and four in thickness. The
upper chap is convex, and covers the under
one; it has a tuft six hnes high on its head,
the feathers of which are of a reddish colour,
as well as those on the nape of the neck ; the
throat is fawn colour ; the sides of the neck
are grey and black ; the back, the under part
of the neck, as well as the covert feathers of
the wings, are covered with grey feathers,
with a red tinge, and undulated with black
stripes more or less fine. Towards the rump
the feathers are red and black ; the wings are
four inches in length, and their quill feathers
are of a greyish tint, dashed with red ; the
tail is brown on the top, undulated with a
reddish colour, and underneath it is of a light
grey, shghtly undulated ; it extends beyond
the wings when folded, about an inch ; the
feet are yellowish, and the claws black.

182 NATURAL HISTORY

TRE LARGE QUAIL OF MADAGASCAR.

THIS Species, which is twice as large as
that of the European quail, is easily cogni-
sable, by its reddish coloured feet, with white
bands : and by its throat, its breast, and its
belly, being black, spotted with white. The
top part of the body is of a yellowish brown
colour, with white stripes upon the back and
the nape of the neck, which last are also cross-
ed with black stripes; a white line, which
commences at each corner of the beak, passes
over the eyes. The prime quill feathers of
the wings are of an earthy brown colour; the
others are black, with white stripes : the tail,
which is black, is furrowed with yellowish
lines ; the feet are reddish, and the beak is
black.

M. Sonnerat was the person who first dis-
covered and first described this bird ; but he
has added nothing which can give us any
knowledge of its manners.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 183

THE BROWN QUAIL OF MADJk.GASCAR.

THE same traveller has introduced us to
another species of quail, which is by no means
so large as the common species.

A plumage generally of a dirty grey co-
lour, and dashed here and there with blackish
stripes, distinguishes this animal. Its head and
the nape of its neck are mixed with black and
red ; the throat is of a dirty greyish colour ;
all the feathers of the under part of the body
have, each of them, two black stripes parallel
with their extremities ; the wings are brown ;
the iris is yellow, the beak and the feet are
black.

THE SMALL QUAIL OF MANILLA.

IN the island of Lucon there is a small spe-
cies of quail which is not much bigger than

a sparrow;

184 NATURAL HISTORY

a sparrow; its length is four inches. The
upper part of the body is black, as well as its
feet and beak. Its throat is white, its breast
grey, spotted with black. The belly is yel-
lowish, with black stripes. Upon the wings
may be remarked some grey stripes, and the
sides are coloured with a lively red. This
quail has four toes on each foot, and differs
from the other species which is to be found
upon the same island, and which the reader
will find an account of in the following
article.

THE THREE-TOED QUAIL OF THE ISLAND
OF LUCON.

WHATEVER difference may appear to
be established by the want of a toe in birds,
which usually have four on each foot, yet it is
not without a precedent. Not only this spe-
cies, but the quail of Madagascar, that of
Gibraltar and of Andalusia, are of this num-
ber. The external form, the manners, the
motions of the bird, all tend to approximate

it

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 185

it to the quail species ; hence nature seems to
sport with method, by the immense variety of
her productions. She is more vast than the
circle in w^hich we would vainly endeavour to^
limit her.

This quail is one third smaller than ours.
Its head, the nape of its neck, and its throat,
are of a black colour, intermingled with white;
the belly is yellow ; the feet and the beak are
of a clear grey colour. The back, and the quill
feathers of the wings, are grey, with a yellow-
ish edge.

THE KAKELIK, AND THE QUAIL OF
PERSIA.

THOUGH we do not possess very distinct
information respecting these two species of
quails, yet we will mention them, in order
that naturalists may be stimulated to acquire
more authentic matter concerning them.

The kakelik, thus named by Onomatopee,
on account of its cry, which is analogous to its
VOL. VI. 2 B name.

186 NATURAL HISTORY

name, lives in troops in the vast sandy desarts
of Bucharia towards the regions of the Songar
Tartars, and those of Chiwa. Its shape is
very similar to that of the large-cropped pi-
geon. The top of the body is white, undu-
lated with shades of a cinereous colour. The
breast is of a deeper cinereous hue. The beak,
the eyelids, and the feet, are of a lively red,
approaching to orange. This bird was dis-
covered by Falk.

The other species, which is found in the en-
virons of Astrabat, in Northern Persia, is also
of a cinereous colour ; the beak at its basis,
the circle of the eyelid, and the temples, which
are bnre, are of a deep yellow colour, as well
as the feet. For this description we are in-
debted to S. G. Graelin.

THE GIBRALTAR QUAIL.

TWO species of quails have been described,
which are found on the coast of Spain, oppo-
site to Barbary, and both of which have only
three toes on each foot. The first, which is

- towards

OF BIHDS, FISH, &C. 187

towards Gibraltar, is about six inches and a
half in length ; its wings and its tail are black;
the back is brown, striped with black; the
covert feathers of the wings are iron colour,
edged with white, with a black spot in the
middle, enclosed within a white circle. The
throat is black, with white stripes; the fea-
thers of the breast are white towards their
edges, iron colour in the middle, and sur-
rounded with black. The tail is fringed with
w^hite, and has, besides, some black stripes.
, The other quail, which traverses the rugged
country of Andalusia, is red, with black spots.
Underneath the body there prevails a whitish
red. The breast and the throat are tinged
with a light yellow colour ; the quill feathers
of the wings are black. The feet and the
beak are of a pretty red coloui*.

9B2

188 NATURAL HISTORY

OF THE PIE KIND.

THE CROSS-BEAKED RAVEN*

ONLY one individual of this singular spe-
cies has hitherto been found ; it was killed at
Porto Rico, by Maug6, a traveller and natu-
ralist, and its skin is preserved in the cabinet
of natural history at Paris.

This bird does not differ in its form or plu-
mage from the common raven ; but its beak
has a very singular conformation ; its two parts,
or chaps, are crossed one upon the other. It
is impossible to decide whether this bird there-
fore, hitherto alone in the collections of natu-
ral history, be a distinct species ; or whether
the peculiar shape of its beak have arisen from
some accident. The latter, indeed, may be
argued with some degree of plausibility ; but
besides that we have a similar conformation in

a whole

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 189

a whole race of birds, who shall limit the
povyers of nature ? It is a narrow and un-
worthy philosophy that would refer to acci-
dent what may be the result of design.

THE RAVEN OF THE SOUTHERN REGIONS.

(Corvus Australis.J

THIS bird is remarkable on account of its
beak, which is thicker at its basis, and more
flattened on the sides than the beak of the
common raven ; and also for the feathers of
the throat, which are soft and thinly scat-
tered.

The colour of the plumage is not a deep
black, but rather what is expressed by the
word blackish ; and the quill feathers of the
wings approach towards a brown. These
discrepancies in the form and colour are suf-
ficent tQ entitle the raven of New Holland and
the Friendly Islands, to be considered as a

distinct

190 NATURAL HISTORY

distinct species. Its length is about eighteen
inches, and that of the quill feathers of the
tail about seven inches.

THE CORBIVAU.

BY this epithet, corbivau, Levaillant has
designated an African bird, whose external
characters, and whose natural disposition ap-
proximate it equally to the mvenand the vul-
ture, between which nature seems to have
placed it as the connecting link which unites
these two ignoble and uncleanly species. It
appears, however, to approach nearest to the
raven, the form of whose body it has, as well
as the feet, toes, and feathers on the forehead
inclining forwards and covering the nostrils.
Its points of similarity with the vultures, are
its beak, compressed on the sides, convex at
top, very much curved and rounded ; the
length of the wings, which project beyond the
tail three inches ; and lastly, the feathers of
the tail being sloped. A very singular cha^

racteristic.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 191

racteristic, and which Levaillant assures us
belongs only to a small number of birds, is the
conformation of the feathers of the throat,
which are forked.

The corbivau approaches also to the
raven, by the colour of its plumage ; it
is entirely covered with a shining black,
somewhat less deep on the throat, and inter-
rupted on the back of the head by a white
spot, whence parts on both sides, a line of the
same colour, scarcely however perceptible,
which encircles the breast. The feet and the
beak are black; the end of the beak is white,
and the iris of the eyes of a blackish brown
colour.

The female is smaller than the male, and
its colours are less decided. She lays, in the
month of Ootober, four greenish eggs, spotted
with brown ; these are deposited in a very
ample and deep nest placed upon large
bushes made of branches, and lined with soft
materials.

This bird, which the Dutch of the Cape of
Good Hope call ring-hah-kraey, i. e. the col-
lar'd raven, is also like the raven in its croak-
ings,and its fondness for cadaverous flesh; but
it has also an appetite for living pre3\ It at-
tacks and kills lambs and young gazelles, after

having

192 NATURAL HISTORY

having began by tearing out the eyes and the
tongue,* They may be seen perched in great
numbers upon the backs of buffaloes, oxen,
horses, rhinoceri, and elephants, whom it re-
lieves from the larvae of insects which are
lodged upon them.

Levaillant met with the Corbivau in the
whole course of his travels through Southern
Africa ; yet it is more rare in the environs of
Cape Town, and more common among the
Great Namaquois, and in Negroland.

Bruce mentions, in his travels in Nubia
and Abyssinia, a very large species of raven,
the plumage of which is mixed with a black
and brown colour, the tip of the beak white,
and the back part of the head crowned with
white feathers in the form of a calix. This
African raven does not, however, seem to be
much difterent from the corbivau, and per-
haps it may be of the same species.

* TlV'S singular fact i? attested by Levaillant, as well as
a!I the other particulars of the corbivau.

OF BIRD^, FISH, &C. 193

THE CROW WITH WHITE DOWN.

DAMPIER, in his voyages, says that the
crows of New Guinea difier from ours in no-
thing but the plumage, of which all the ex-
ternal part is black, and all the interior white.
But this species does not appear to be peculiar
to the southern countries of Africa, for Mauge,
a veiy ingenious naturalist, found them in the
Antilles, at Porto Rico, and deposited an in-
dividual in the cabinet of natural history at
Paris, where Daudin saw and described it.

This bird has a great affinity with the Ja-
maica crow, described by Sir Hans Sloane, in
its shape, and even in its colour, if only the
exterior of its plumage be considered, which
is of a beautiful deep black ; but if the feathers
be raised, there miglit be seen a white down,
with which they are fumislied at their basis.
From this peculiarity it may be presumed
that the present bird and the Jamaica crow
are the same species, more accurately ex-
amined bv naturalists than tmvellers, which
VOL. vi. 2 C last

104 KATURiltL HISTORY

last are contented with simply relating wliat
strikes their eyes, without carrying their re-
searches any further.

The tail of this crow is round at its extre-
mity, and it extends a little beyond the wings.
Its cry has no affinity with that of the com-
mon crow.

THE WHISKERED JACK DAW.

THIS bird, which is found at the Cape of
Good Hope, is nearly the size of a black-bird ;
it has the black and variable plumage of the
jackdaw, and the tail longer in proportion than
any of that species ; all the quill feathers in
the tail are of an equal length, and, the wings
being folded, reach only to one half of its
length. It is the fourth and fifth quill fea-
thers of the wings which are the longest, be-
ing two inches and a half longer than the first
or prime ones.

There are two things which are remarkable
in the exterior of this bird* : first y those black

hairs,

* See the plate accompanying this volume.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 195

hairs, long and flexible, which spring from the
root of the upper chap, and which are as long
again as the beak, besides other feathers,
shorter, niore stiff, and inclining forwards,
which surround the basis of the beak as far as
the comers of the mouth : and secondly, those
long and straight feathers on the upper part
of the neck, which wanton on the back accord-
ing to the different motions of the head, and
which form a sort of mane.

The beak, the feet, and the claws of this
bird, are black. Its total length is eleven
inches four lines ; the tail is five inches long ;
and the wings, when extended, measure one
foot seven inches ; when folded, they project
about one half over the tail, the quill feathers
of which, as already mentioned, are equal.

THE MAGPIE OF MACAO.

THIS magpie is one third smaller than ours.
The forehead, the tail, the beak, and the feet,
are black ; the top of the head and the rump
are of a cinereous grey ; the neck and thp

2 C 2 breast

196 NATURAL rilSTORY

bfeast are of a bfown grey; the belly and the
legs of the same colour, only clearer: the back,
the srnall covert feathers of the wings, and
those of the under part of the tail, are a red
colour; the. prime quill feathers of the wings
are of a shining black, with shades of green.
On the four longest quill feathers there are two
white Spots, one on each side of the stem ; so
that when the wings are folded, only one of
these spots is visible. The iris of the eyes is
yellow.

Solinerat found this species in the island of
Macoa in China; but he could only obtain a
description of it, which does not form the most
-tftterestiflg portion of natural history.

THE RED MAGPIE OF CHINA.

ANOTHER bird, which Sonnerat observed
in China, and which he has called the Red
Magpie of Chi7ia, possesses, in fact, all the
characters of the magpie, viz. a strong beak in
the form of an elongated cone, and a little
curved ; the feathers at the basis of the beak

projecting

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 197

projecting forwards ; the toes and the nails
crooked ; ten quill feathers in the tail, which
is as long as the whole body, and sloped.

" This magpie," says Sonnerat, " is, in ap-
pearance, like the European blackbird; the
head is brown ; the neck of the same colour,
but much clearer ; the breast and the belly
are of a reddish white ; the back and the rump
are of a yellowish red ; the small feathers of
the wings are of a dirty red colour; the
shortest of the large ones are grey on the ex-
ternal side, and brown on the mtemal ; the
largest are entirely of a brownish black ; the
first two feathers of the tail, or the longest,
are grey, terminated by a transversal brown
stripe ; the lateral ones are grey, as far as one
half, brown the rest of their length, and ter-
itilnated by a transversal white stripe ; the iris
is of a leddish yellow colour ; the beak and
the feet are black."

It appears that this species of magpie is dif-
fused over a vast extent of country ; for Le-
vaillant, who has also described it, saw one in
a cargo of birds, arriving ft'om Bengal.

198 NATURAL HISTORY

THE MAGPIE OF NOVA SCOTIA.

AMONG the different birds which Labil-
lardiere killed in Nova Scotia, this learned
traveller remarked a magpie, the plumage of
which is entirely black, with the exception of
the neck, the belly, and the back, which are
white. The beak is of a light black colour for
two thirds of its length ; the rest is yellowish ;
it is slightly notched at the extremity of each
chap. The tail is long and sloping.

THE MAGPIE WITH EAR-RINGS.

THIS is a bird of New Zealand, very re-
markable for a fleshy excrescence, cylindrically
formed, and about ten lines in length, which,
springing from the cheeks, hangs on each
side of the head. The plumage is grey, ap-
proaching

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 199

preaching to brown; a whitish streak edges
the feathers of the head and neck, while a
clear-brown spot occupies the centre of those
in front of the neck, and all the under part of
the body, upon a dirty white ground. The
throat is white. ' A large spot of a beautiful
yellow colour covers the middle of the belly.
The large quill feathers of the wings are ter-
minated by white ; those of the tail have a
spot of the same colour towards the extremity.
The beak is black ; the feet are of a yellowish
grey ; and the claw^s of a brown grey colour.

The total length of this bird is fifteen
inches ; the beak is elongated and attenuated ;
the tail is very sloping, and about seven inches
long; lastly, the claw of the interior toe is
more curvated and longer than the others.
A bird of this species is preserved in the Ca-
binet of Natural History at Paris.

THE JAY OF NOOTKA BAY.

THE blue jay, described by Buffon, is not
the only bird of that species found upon the

north

200 NATURAL HISTORY

north west coasts of America, nor even the
only one that has much of blue upon its
plumage. Steller discovered a sort, the wings
and tails of which are blue, and the rest of
the plumage blackish. The middle quill fea-
thers of the wings, and the two middle ones
of the tail, are striped with black ; and the
small covert feathers of the wings, as well as
their large quill feathers are of a dirty white
colour on the inside. The beak and the feet
are blackish. The feathers of the head form a
very short kind of crest. The total length of
the bird is fourteen inches. Its tail is long
and sloping.

THE GREEN JAY.

IN that p^rt of America opposite to where
the blue jays are found, exists a species which
is entirely green. To this difference of plu-
tnage they add an attribute which is peculiar,
viz. having the iris of the eyes of a silvery
white colour, an attribute which naturalists
have employed for designating this bird by.

Brown,

OF BIRDS, FISH, kc, 501

Brown, who first described it, considered it as
a jackdaw, and it must be confessed that on a
superficial view, the figure which this author
has given might be mistaken for a jackdaw
rather than a jay.

The size of this bird is that of the common
jay. Its head is of a deep green, marked
with blue on the top, and lower down with a
pale green, with a spot of the same colour
under each ear, and another on the hinder part
of the head. The neck, the breast, the belly,
the back, and the covert feathers of the wings,
are of a deep varying green colour : an ob-
scure brown hue covers the quill feathers of
the wings, and those of the tail ; the first are
terminated with blue, and the second with
white. The feet and the beak are blackish.

This species lives in the thickest forests of
Surinam and Carthagena, and it feeds upon
fruits, grains, and insects. Its voice is sono-
rous, but monotonous. It is easily domesti-
cated, and it may be reared by feeding it Avith
raw and baked meats.

VOL. VI. 2 D

?02 KATURAL HISTORY

THE rURPLE-HEADED JAY,

THIS jay is supposed to be a Chinese bird.
Latham saw a figure of it in the collection of
Dr. Fothergill. Its head is of a beautiful
purple colour; but the rest of its plurnage
does not correspond with this brilliant hue of
the feijithjers on the head ; the upper part of the
body is reddish, and the under yellow.. The
quill feathers of the wings and the tail, aqd the
beak, are blackish, and the feet are red.

THE SMALL CHINESE JAY.

SONXERAT gave this name to a small
species of jay, which he saw in China, near
the edges of the waters.

This bird has all the characters of the jay,
though it has not the ordinary brilliancy of

colours

cJf birds, risH, &;c. S03

colours of this species; its beak is straight,
long, and compressed at the sides; the fea-
thers at the base of the beak incline forwards,
and cover the nostrils. It has strong feet,
crooked claws proper for seizing small birds,
ten quill feathers in the tail, the two prime
ones being longer than the lateral ones.

It is one third less than the European jay ;
the front part of the head and throat are black;
the forehead is white; the top part of the
head and the neck are of a deep cinereous
grey ; the cheeks w hite ; the back, the rump,
and the small quill feathers of the wings
grey ; the breast and the belly the same, but
not so clear; the large quill feathers of the
wings and tail brown ; the iris of a reddish
yellow^ ; the beak and the feet black.

2D 9

204 NATURAL HISTORY

THE CUCKOO.

THE BROWN-STRIPED CUCKOO.

THIS is a doubtful species, the native
country of which is not known. Sparmann
was the first who described it, but from a pre-»
served carcase only, and which may have
been badly kept or prepared.

The total length of this bird, according to
Sparmann, is thirteen inches and a half; the
feathers of the body are striped with black
and brown; the rump a reddish colour; the
body underneath whitish, undulated with
black ; the quill feathers of the tail sloping,
and of a reddish brown colour, with black
stripes at their extremity; the beak black,
and the feet yellow.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 205

THE DOTTED CUCKOO.

THE body of this bird is, on the top, of a
shining brown colour, dotted with red; on
the under part it is a dirty white. Its tail,
which is sloping, has the upper covert fea-
thers very long ; the beak is black, and the
feet, which are long, are brown.

Some naturalists suppose that this bird is a
native of Cayenne ; but Sonnini doubts it
very much, for he never met with any of the
species at Guiana, nor observed any in the
various birds which have been sent from
hence.

THE SMALL INDIAN CUCKOO.

THIS is about the size of a blackbird, but
not so thick, and more elongated in. its form..

The

206 NATURAL HISTORY

The head, the top part of the neck, the back,
and the wings, are of a brownish red, striped
transversally with black ; the tail is of the
same colour, and it has besides some black
irregular spots along the stem of the quill
feathers ; the under part of the neck and of
the body is white, and striped transversally
with black ; the iris, the beak, and the feet,
are yellow.

This is entirely a new species, and was
discovered by Sonnerat.

THE BAWLER.

THERE is nothing remarkable in the plu-
mage of this bird ; it is almost entirely of a
blackish brown colour. Its note consists of
many sounds variously accented, and which is
heard at a great distance. As he passes many
entire hours in singing, without any cessa-
tion, he betrays himself to the hunter, and
consequently falls a prey.

Levaillant has called this cuckoo the hawler,
and he was the first that discovered it; he found

it

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 207

it in the interior of the sourthern part of Afri-
ca, and what is said above has been extracted
from the travels of this celebrated writer.

THE MALKOHA.

IT is thus that the natives of the island of
Ceylon denominate a bird which is ranged by
nomenclators in the list of cuckoos, though its
habits separate it from birds of this genus, all
of which are devourers of insects, while the
Malkoha, according to Foster, feeds solely
upon fruits. This bird, therefore, cannot be
considered as a cuckoo, since it differs from it
by a feature so characteristical and so decided
as that of food, which necessarily supposes a
dissimilarity of organisation in the internal
parts ; but, as the external conformation of the
malkoha approaches nearer to the cuckoo than
to any other bird, it may, properly enough,
be here mentioned, WMth the above salvo;
though we agree w^ith Sonnini in protesting
against a classification of it with the cuckoo
genus, after the example of certain nomen-
clators.

208 NATURAL HISTORY

clators. In the absence, however, of certain
data, which may specifically designate its
place in the scale of creation, it becomes a ne-
cessity to place it as near as possible, accord-
ing to our erring and fallible judgments.

The total length of the malkoha is sixteen
inches, and its weight four ounces ; its beak
is thick, very much curvated, and of a green-
ish yellow colour ; its tail is very long and
sloping; and a sort of large cap, as red as
fire, surrounded with white, covers the head
as low down as the eyes ; the hind part of
the head, and the top of the neck, have white
spots upon a blackish green ground ; the fore~
part of the neck, the back, the wings, and the
quill feathers of the tail, are of a black colour,
shaded lightly with green ; the throat, the
breast, and the belly, are w^hite, the same as
the end of the tail ; the feet are of a pale blue
colour.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 209

THE PARROT.

THE PAPOU LORY.

SONNERAT has thus desif^nated a verv
prett}^ species of lory which he found among
the Papous. Its motions are vivacious and
graceful, its look full of fire, and its voice
piercing. In other respects it approaches to
the lory genus, only its beak is smaller, more
pointed, and more curvated. Its shrill voice
seems to articulate the word lori, whence, by
an onomatopaeia, the name is derived.

There are no species of lor}?^ found in China,
in the East Indies, or even in the Phillipine
Islands, except those which are carried thi-
ther ; but they exist in the Molucca Islands,
in those of the South Sea, and in New Gui-
nea. Besides, these birds are very delicate,
and often perish from cramps and other affec-
tions arising from an excess of muscular con-
traction ; and hence they are rarely trans-
ported alive into Europe.
VOL. vT. 2E Our

210 NATURAL HISTORY

Our small I^apou lory is one half less thart
the common parrot. A beautiful lively red,
colours the head, the neck, and the breast.
Towards the occiput there is a double spot of
a lustrous blue colour, and a violet black. A
yellowish green tinges the wings and back,
with the exception of the rump, which is a
beautiful blue in the middle, and a shining red
on the sides. Towards the sides of the
breast are two yellow spots. The belly is blue
in the middle, and red on the upper part.
The tail is green at its insertion, and yellow at
its extremity ; its two middle quill feathers
are very long. The beak and the feet are red-
dish. There are three varieties of this spe-
cies ; the first, with the breast purple, and a
transversal black stripe bordered with green,
on the belly; the second species has the
lower part of the back of a blackish blue,
with a green or yellow spot between the
wings ; the thighs and the sides yellow ; the
third species is distinguished by a green spot
on the belly, and an irregular yellow crescent
on the breast.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 911

THE PAROQUET LORY*.

THIS beautiful paroquet has never yet
been described by any ornithologist ; and the
plate which we have given is copied exactly
from nature.

This species has many afFmities with a va-
riety of the paroquet of the Pacific Ocean :
yet it differs from it in some essential charac-
ters. Its head and neck are of a beautiful scarlet
red, except the under part of the lower man-
dible, which is of a clear yellow colour. The
head is of an olive tinge, and the prime covert
feathers of the wings are formed of blue fea-
thers, bordered with a delicate green. The
quill feathers of the wings are of a lively and
dazzling blue colour, as well as the lateral
quill feathers of the tail. The intermediate
ones are of a yellowish green, the same as the
breast and belly. Under the tail, near the
vent, the feathers are of a beautiful red, the
2 E 2 same

♦ See the plates accompanying this volume.

512 NATURAL HISTORY

same as on the head. The iris is a hazel co-
lour, the feet cinereous, and tlie beak of a
bluish grey.

The size of this paroquet is about that of a
large lark. It was brought from the islands of
the South Sea. It had been made a present
to Madame Bonaparte, and Sonnini obtained
permission to have an engraving made from
it Like many other species of paroquets, the
tail of this beautiful bird is long and formed
en coin* It has affinity with the lorys, as the
name which we have given it indicates. Of
its manners nothing is known, but most
probably they do not differ much from the
congenerous species. It is about seven or
eight inches long.

THE PAROQUET OF THE ISLAND OF LUCON.

SONNERAT describes, in his voyage to
New Guinea, this pretty, long tailed species :
its general colour is a beautiful green ; a hood
of a lively blue colour covers the head ; the
small covert feathers of the wings are black,

with

OF BIRDS, FISH, &€. 213

with borders of a yellowish brown; the large
covert feathers are terminated with blue.
This paroquet has a large reddish beak ; the
top part of the body approaches towards a
grass green colour ; the under part is a faded
yellowish green: the feet are black, and the
eyes whitish or grey.

THE PIGMY PAROQUET.

THIS is one of the smallest species yet
known in the family of paroquets, for it is not
above six inches in length ; and its size does
not exceed that of a canary bird, which forms
a striking difference between this and someof
the other species, which often attain to the
size of a hen.

This small mce, which is found in the
islands of the Pacific Sea, is covered with green
feathers, the edges of which are of a greenish
yellow colour. The under part of the wings
is brown ; the beak is whitish, and the feet
are a livid colour.

214 NATURAL HISTORY

THE LARGE PAROQUET OF CHINA.

WE have continued to tins animal the
name imposed upon it by Sonnerat. It is
particularly distinguished by its large red
beak, the size of which is almost equal to that
of the whole head together. The iris of the
eyes is bluish ; the head and the breast are of
a greenish grey, and the covert feathers of
the wings of a clear yellow. The rest of the
body is green.

This bird has hitherto been found no where
but in China.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 215

OF THE SPARROW KIND.

THE WHITE-TAILED BLACKBIRD.

THIS rs a species which is found in Eu»
rope, but of which neither Buffon, nor his co-
adjutor Guenau de Montbeillard, makes any
mention. There may indeed be some doubts
whether it is a blackbird, for the author of
the work on the natural history of the coun-
try in which it is found, calls it a crow ; and
yet, to judge from its figure, there can be no
doubt that it is mther a blackbird than a
crow.

All its plumage is black, except the rump^
the legs, and the quill feathers of the tail, the
pure white of which gives a lustre to the rest
of the bird. A black band forms the extre-
mity of the tail, and it extends to the two
middle quill feathers as far as nearly one half
of their length. The beak has a blackish
tinge, and the feet and the claws are of a
light yellow colour.

This

21G NATURAL HISTORY

This bird is not so large as the common
blackbird ; it is about eight inches from the
tip of the beak to that of the tail; it is found
in Spain, and particularly in the kingdom of
Arragon ; but it is not known whetlier it mi-
grates from hence ; of its manners and habi-
tudes also nothing is known.

THE ROCAR.

THE foreign and native birds, which are
classed under the head of blackbird or thrush
(for some naturalists unite these two under
the generic name of turdusj are numerous;
and yet the list is far from complete. Since
the period when Guenau de Montbeillard
fmished this portion of the natural history of
birds, the taste for travelling, the spirit of
enterprize and research, have been more gene-
rally diffused, discoveries have succeeded each
other with rapidity, and numerous species of
birds, among which are to be found many
blackbirds, have augmented our knowledge in
ornithology, though not always, it must be

confessed ,

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 2l7

confessed, with the same degree of precision.
This observation indeed may apply to many
birds -which naturahsts and travellers have
considered as distinct species in the genus
which we are now describing ; most proba-
bly many of these are misplaced. Error is
inseparable from all incipient knowledge;
and the most powerful genius cannot be se-
cure from it, because nothing can supply the
place of facts ; when they are deficient, the
field of conjecture, fertile in error, is thrown
open without reserve. But surer observation
finally comes to confirm or destroy conjec-
ture, and to dissipate uncertainty.

These reflections often arise when we read
in the work of a celebrated observer perpetual
attacks (and those too strong to suppose that
they are dictated by a love of the science)
against Buffon and his excellent coadjutor
Guenau de Montbeillard. Doubtless, the
highest praises are due to the intrepid indivi-
dual whom an ardour for discovery has en-
gaged in distant and perilous voyages; but
this admiration might be bestowed, and
would be bestowed, more willingly, if we saw
that individual possessing a manly conscious-
ness of his own services, and a liberal candour
towards the services of others, and not perpe-
voL. VI. 2F tuallv

218 NATURAL HISTORY

tually indulging in a waspish and petulant
irritability towards those whose names fame
has consecrated for ever.

It is not until he has vented freely a
deal of abuse upon those naturahsts who have
not gone into Africa to examine the rocar in
its wild state, that Levaillant begins to give
the history of this species of blackbird, which
is one of his numerous and interesting disco-
veries in ornithology. This bird has a great
affinity with the rock blackbird, not only in
its external characters, but also in its natural
habitudes. It establishes its residence in the
midst of rocks, in the most rugged and deso-
late spots; it is very fierce and very wild, and
when one approaches near enough to take aim
with a musquet, the pains which we have taken
are often lost, for the bird, placing itself up-
on the projecting points of the rock, over-
hanging some precipice, falls into it, and
baffles the hunter in his expectation of his
prey. Hence this species, which is very com-
mon in nature, is very rare in our collections.

Like the rock blackbird of Europe, the ro-
car hides its nests in the holes of the most in-
accessible rocks ; the female lays five eggs,
never more, and sometimes less. Its note is
as agreeable as the rock blackbird of Europe,

and

OF BIUDS, FISH, &€. 219

and its voice, which is soft and flexible, easily
appropriates to itself the song of all t>ie birds
within its hearing.' This striking conformity
in the manners of these two birds is accom-
panied with a very considerable resemblance
in the colours of their plumage; the African
one differs from ours only in having all the
under part of the body from the breast to the
tail of a lively red colour, as well as the rump ;
the iris of the eyes is of a reddish brown.
Such a similitude between birds of distant
countries made Levaillant suspect that they
did not belong to distinct species ; and though
very reserved upon the supposed influence of
climate in these particulars, he did not hesi-
tate to consider the rocar as the same bird as
our rock blackbird, having simply undergone
some modifications from the change of situa-
tion. But one thing checked him, and seems
to forbid our uniting these two blackbirds in
one species, viz. the diflerence of certain ex-
terior formations, upon which the variation of
climate has less influence than upon the co-
lours of the plumage. In fact, the length of
the wings presents a remarkable disparity.
When they are folded they extend nearly to
the extremity of the tail of the rock blackbird,
while in the rocar they do not project above
2F2 one

tfcSO NATURAL HISTORY

one half so far. Another discrepancy, which
in the opinion of Levaillant, ought to be consi-
dered as characteristical is, that the female of
our rock blackbird is distinguishable from the
male only by a diminished lustre of colour,
while the female of the rocar is not only
smaller than the male, but of a clear brown co-
lour on the head and neck, w^hereas these parts
in the male are of a whitish grey. The re-
sult of an attentive examination of the two
birds, which are very nearly approximated
in many particulars, proves, however, that
they cannot be united in such a manner as to
form but one distinct species.

The male rocar is nearly the size of the Eu-
ropean blackbird, but its tail not being so long
the form of its body appears more concen-
trated; when young it has not a bluish head,
which gives it a greater affinity with the fe-
male, as the hues of the plumage of both are
very weak, and the red feathers are edged with
brown, and the brown with red : this disposi-
tion of the colours gives them the appearance
of being covered with scales.

Levaillant killed, upon Table Mountain, a
young male rocar that had a white tail, as
well as a part of the wings, of the same
colour; he saw this species of blackbird

upon

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 221

upon all the mountains in the vicinity of Cape
Town, and in the interior of the southern
countries of Asia.

THE SPY*.

THIS is another species of rock blackbird
which Levaillant found in Africa, and which
he is the first that has described. No bird
has more cunning, more mistrust, and even
malice, than the spy; to him, in particular,
may be applied the common proverb, Jin
comme un merlef, for, according to Levaillant,
he possesses in the highest degree the intelli-
gence and finesse of instinct. To his subtlety
he joins a great celerity of motion ; he delights
in letting the hunter approach towards him,

while

* Leva'llant called this the espionveurj but Sonnini
abridged it to espioriy ihe French language not admitting the
former vocable.

■t The translator is not aware of any synonimous, or even
analogous proverb in English j its literal meaning is, as cun-
ning as a blackbird.

922 NATURAL HISTORY

while he gradually moves forward, but never
so much at a time as to take away the hope
of being finally caught. He accompanies
this with certain motions, as if he purposely
endeavoured to brave his enemv, and to mock
him ; each time that he places himself on the
point of a rock, he turns quickly round to
front the hunter, then he elevates himself up-
on his feet, spreads out his tail, and beats his
wings, at the same time uttering a piercing
cr3\ If his pursuer hides himself in order to
surprise him, he makes a considerable circuit,
and then places himself in such a manner that
he can watch all his motions ; and if at last
the hunter can approach near enough to fire,
he must wait till he takes flight, for, having
his eyes fixed upon the marksman, his sight
is so correct and piercing that he plunges to
the earth the moment the flint strikes against
the lock, and thus escapes the shot. The only
method of overcoming the cunning of this
bird, and of taking a sure and eflective aim, is
to hide the musquet in the bushes, and to
shew both your hands empty, walking about
without seeming to take any notice of the
bird ; emboldened by this, he will become
less mistrustful, and if the moment be
seized when he appears to have the least pre-
caution

OF BifiDs, nsir, kc. ??<>

caution about him, and the gun slowly and
leisurely resumed, then there is a chance of
finally succeeding.

This bird, which it is so difficult to deceive
or to surprise, hides, in the profound cavities of
the rocks, its nest and its eggs, which are ge-
nerally four or tive in number; both the fa-
ther and the mother join their efforts to defend
to the last extremity, their young ones, against
any enterprising intruders ; threatened in
what they hold most dear, they disdain the
artifices to which they have recourse when
they are less interested, or when they are
concerned only for their own welfare; their
own preservation no longer deters them, re-
signed entirely to the sweetest and liveliest
affections of nature, they despise dangers, and
consulting more their feelings than their
strength, these feeble creatures attack, with
uncommon energy, the ravagers whose ap-
proach they cannot prevent. But the care
which they take in placing their nests at the
bottom of narrow cavities, and the precaution
which they always have of not entering it
while any person is in the vicinity, from the
fear of disclosing the retreat of their young
ones, prove of more use to them than all their
vain but natural courage, and save them'

from

224 NATURAt. HlStORY

from the pain of being separated from the fruit
of their loves.

The colours of the plumage of this spe-
cies, which approaches still nearer to our rock
blackbird than the preceding, are nearly the
same 9,s in the rocar ; but their distribution is
somewhat diiferent. The blttish grey extends
as far as the back, on the upper part of the
body, and as far as the breast on the under;
the quill feathers of the wings, and the two
middle ones of the tail, are of a blackish
brown, and are edged with a small white
stripe ; the breast, the rump, the upper co-
vert feathers of the tail, and even the quill fea-
thers, with the exception of the two interme-
diate ones, are of a lively red, which becomes
weaker as it approaches towards the belly ; the
iris of the eyes is of a yellowish brown ; the
beak, the feet, and the claws, are black. The
tarl is a little rounded at its extremity, and the
wings, when folded, extend to above one half
of its length. The body of the female is
smaller, and the tints of the plumage weaker.
The bird, when young, is a brownish grey on
the top of the body, arid a reddish grey on the
under part.

'This species of blackbird is found on the
Table' Mountain "at'tlie Cape of Good Hope,

and

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 22»

and in general, on all the mountains of the
same country, formed by the rocks; yet Le-
vaillant did not meet with it along the eastern
coast of that part of Africa, though it con-
tains many lofty eminences of this nature.

THE TALKER.

THE preceding bird is always spying ; the
present one is always talking or crying, and
its cry expresses very distinctly the Dutch
words Piet, inyn vrouw, which signify, Peter,
my loife. One of the Hottentots in the train
of Levaillant, having killed a female blackbird
of this species, was so struck with the voice of
the male, which seemed to call for his wife,
that he would not fire upon any more of
them.

Besides this cry, and a slight sort of whist-
ling which the male has, this bird, which Le-
vaillant described the fust, sings its amours in
a very agreeable and sonorous tone ; it Ts
principally in the morning and the evening
that he utters his melodious notes; sometimes
VOL. VI. SG he

226 NATURAL HISTORY

he prolongs them through the night hke the
nightingale, and hke it, he is silent when he
has fulfilled the destiny of nature, by uniting
himself to a companion for the production of
beings like himself.

The colour of the plumage of this bird is a
mixture of brown, bluish grey, and olive, on
the upper part of the body, and on the under
part an orange yellow colour, which becomes
weaker on the belly. The quill feathers of
the wings are black, edged with a bluish grey ;
the four middle ones of the tail are blackish ;
a beautiful yellow colour prevails on the
others, with a blackish border. Thefi*et are
yellow; the iris of the eyes is a deep brown,
and the beak is horn colour. The tail is qua-
drangular at its extremity, and the wings,
when folded, do not extend far beyond the
point of its insertion.

The female is smaller than the male, and
its colours are less decidedly marked. In the
young bird, some feathers on the back, and the
upper covert feathers of the wings, have an
orange-coloured border.

This species of blackbird is found in the
south of Africa, in the forests of Anteniquoi,
and in the environs of Bruyntjes-Hoogte, as
wellas in the country of Caifraria.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 22?

THE GREEN, COLLARED BLACKBIRD.

NO naturalist whatever has taken any no-
tice of this species of blackbird, of which, an
extremely well preserved individual makes
part of the collection of Viellot, who permitr
ted Sonnini to describe it. He received it
from a friend at Bourdeaux, who had brought
it from the kingdom of Congo, where this
beautiful bird is very common.

The plumage is, in general, of an olive
green colour on the top of the body, and of a
lighter tinge on the under part. But there are
brilliant exceptions to this general hue, which
interrupt its uniformity. The forehead is yel-
low ; a black covering, which is attached by
a straight stripe of the same colour to the
angles of the beak, forms a sort of gorget,
which is hung upon the lively red feathers of
the throat, and spreads over the front of the
neck and the breast. This dazzling colour of
the breast changes into a dull brown colour,
and continues in a straight line as far as the
2 G 2 inferior

228 NAtrURAL HISTORY

inferior covert feathers of the tail, which are
also of a brillhint red. The tail, wliich is
slightly rounded at its extremity, is of a
blackish brown, the same as the beak, the
feet, and the claws : the eyes have their iris
yellow.

Dimensiqns, Total length, eight inches ;
the beak ten lines and a half : the h^t, thir-
teen lines; the middle toe, ten lines ; the la-
teral toes are somewhat shorter ; the hind toe
is seven lines: the breadth of the wings,
from tip to tip, when extended, eight inches;
length of the tail, three inches; the wings,
■when folded, d^ not exceed the point of the
insertion of the tail more than an inch.

The chief food of this bird is berries: it
perches upon the top of the loftiest trees ; its
voice is strong and sonorous; its whistling
noise js heard at a great distance, and which
has some aflfmity with the note of the Eu-
ropean quail. It is only at those moments,
when he deafens himself by his own clamours,
that he can be approached, being naturally
timid and distrustful.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 229

THE SCALY BLACKBIRD.

THE plumage of this bird being regularly
festooned, so as to resemble the appearance
of scales on a fish, has given rise to its deno-
mination by Levaillant. This traveller was
the first that ever described it, and he saw one
preserved in the collection of M. Temmink,
envoy at Batavia.

The upper mandible is more curvated than
is usual in blackbirds ; the tail is a little slop-
hig, and the wings, folded, reach to about pne
half of its length. It is about the size of a
thrush; tlie head, the neck, and the breast,
are of a dull black colour; each feather on
the breast is marked with a spot in the form
of a V ; the rest of the under part of the body
is a dirty white colour, shaded with yellow,
and each feather is terminated by a sort of
black festoon ; the feathers on the upper part
of the body, as well as the upper covert fea-
thers, and the quill feathers of the wings and
tail, are black, edged with yellow, except the

middle

230 NATURAL HISTORY

middle quill feathers of the tail, which have
no border. The beak and the feet are of a
blackish brown.

THE BLACKBIRD OF THE SAVANNAHS.

SONNINI had communicated a descrip-
tion of this bird (which no naturalist had
hitherto described) to Guenau de Montbeil-
lard, towards the end of the year 1775;
but his history of the blackbird, was at that
time published*, and he could therefore make

no

* The general reader mar, perhaps, require to be inform-
ed, that BufFon, while employed in that part of his natural
history which embraced ornithology for its subject, was
taken ill, and laboured under a severe indisposition for near-;
ly two years. Being then at an advanced period of life, two
years lost, in the prosecution of such a vast design as his na-
tural history, were a serious consideration j and being him-
self particularly anxious to complete the mineralogicai part,
about which he confesses himself to be more conversant,
and besides, more attached to the study, he engaged Guenau
de Montbeillard to carry on the ornithological part, and their
respective labours are distinctly noticed in Sonnini's edition
of Buffon. Trans.

OF BIRDS, FISH, ScC 231

no use of Sonnini's communication. The
form of the beak, and that of the body, which
is very much elongated, the length of the tail,
which is considerably sloped, the short wings,
compared with the size of the body and that
of the tail, and, above all, a great conformity
in manners and habits, approximate it to the
blackbird more than to any other species.
But it has one attribute, which is particular to
it, namely, a naked place on each side of the
neck, which commences at the under chap,
and extends about ten lines, that is, almost
towards the lower part of the neck ; this naked
skin, which is somewhat more than two lines
in breadth, forms the separation between the
black feathers wMth which the upper part of
the neck is covered, and the yellow ones of
the under part; and it is tinged with this last
colour the same as all the under part of the
body. The top, and the sides of the head, as
well as one half of the upper part of the neck,
are black ; this colour becomes lighter in ap-
proaching towards the back, where it is brown,
and still continuing to grow weaker, it be-
comes reddish on the rump.

The upper covert feathers of the wings are
blackish ; those which are near the body have
a reddish border; the (^uill feathers have the
same blackish tinge, but they have, each of

them.

232 NATURAL HISTORY

them, on their under side, and towards their
insertion, a white spot, wliich gradually in-
creases in size ; the more external covert fea-
thers on the under part of the wings are black
and white, and the others striped with yellow
and black. The tail is black, and terminated
with white ; the first quill feather on each
side, which is also the shortest, is white for
one half of its length; there is less upon the
others, and the white place diminishes by de-
grees until the two middle quill feathers,
which have only a small spot of this colour
at their extremity. The beak is black. The
feet and the toes are yellowish, and the claws
are blackish.

Dimensions. Total length, nine inches ;
of the beak, fifteen lines; of the tail, three
inches, three lines and a half ; of the wings,
three inches ; of the tarsus one inch ; of the
middle and the hind toe, ten lines.

This bird is an inhabitant of those vast
watery spots, of those extensive spaces, those
singular mixtures of earth and water, which,
in different parts, form the irregular soil of
French Guiana. Though it is very common
there, yet it is not seen in troops ; it remains
isolated, or, at most, in couples ; its flight is
short and heavy; it utters a dull, monotonous
kind of whistling.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &;c. 233

THE STARLING OF DAOURIA.

IN the northern countries of Asia^ between
the Onon and Argoun rivers, which bathe the
regions of southern Daouria, Pallas met with a
species of starling that had a most superb
plumage, and which appears to be confined to
this part of Siberia, for this learned traveller
has not met with it in any other part.

This bird keeps principally among willows,
where it eats insects, and even the leaves of
certain plants. The female lays her eggs in
the holes of rocks, and sometimes in the nests
of sparrows, under the roofs in villages ; the
eggs are of a deep green colour. In other re-
spects it has all the habits of a common star-
ling, but it differs greatly from it in the splen-
ilour of its plumage. The crown of the head,
and the back between the wings, are of a beau-
tiful blackish violet colour ; green shades ap-
pear upon the black quill feathers of the wings
and tail, and they derive an additional lustre
from tw.o white stripes. The rest of the plu-
•VOL..VI. 2 H mage

234 NATURAL HISTORY

mage is of a cinereous white. The total
length of the bird is somewhat more than six
inches ; its tail is a little forked, and its beak
is black. The colours of the plumage of the
female are not so bright ; she is generally of a
dirty cinereous white colour; her back is
brown ; the wings and tail are black, but with-
out any lustre or shadings of green.

Pallas has described the starling of Daouria
in two different works, and under two different
names ; first, in the fourth volume of his Tra-
vels in Russia, and afterwards more minutely
in the Acts of the Academy at Stockholm, for
the year 1778. It might be supposed that
these two descriptions are in fact the descrip-
tions of two distinct birds, but if they be ac-
curately and carefully collated, they will be
found to be the same.

This may teach us a useful lesson in natui-al
history, viz. that it is impossible to ground
certain facts upon the mere descriptions of ex-
ternal particulars. It is pretty certain, that
were a bird to be given to three different na-
turalists, and each of them required to pro-
duce a description of the colour of its plu-
mage, &c. every one would differ more or
less. There is, in fact, nothing so fallacious
as colours, unless such as are simple and uni-
form ;

OF BiRiSs, FISH, &C. ^So

form ; but those minute shadings which are
attempted to be embodied by the pen, are
absolutely beyond the reach of precise lan-
guage.

THE SHINING STARLING.

THE phimage of this bird is in fact ex-
tremely glossy. The eye is struck by the
brilliant shades which alternately appear and
disappear according to the motions of the
bird ; in the sun they absolutely dazzle. A
velvet black colour, a green, shaded with blue,
the purple and gold mixed and intermingled
with a delightful skill, compose the ground of
that rich ornament in point of hue, which
this bird possesses. A wliiLe stripe, which
extends longitudinally on the wings, adds to
the relief and the richness of these various
colours. The beak and the feet are black.
The size of this bird is about that of the com-
mon blackbird, and the quill feathers of the
tail are very much sloped.

This beautiful starling forms a part of the

superb cabinet of M. J. Temmink, of Amster-

2 H 2 dam.

23() NATURAL HIiiTORY

dam, and Levaillant has copied it in his
splendid work on the natural history of Afri-
can birds. He believes this one to be of African
origin, and that it is gregarious, though he
confesses that he has not been able to collect
any data as to its habitudes or its natal
country.

THE GEOFFROY.

THIS appellation is a deserv^ed homage
\vhich Levaillant has rendered to the zeal and
science of Geojftroi de Villeneuve, who brought
from Senegal the first birds of this species
which were ever seen in France. Many na-
turalists have thought that it ought to be
ranked among the butcher birds, and the
name of the tvfied butcher bird of Senegal has
been given to one of this species, which is
preserved in the cabinet of natural history at
Paris. It is not, however, possible to refuse
concurring with Levaillant in the ejection of
this bird from the tribe to which it has been
ash^imilated. • .

Although

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. S37

Although it has a very remarkable curva-
ture in the upper chap, yet it difl'ers from that
of the butcher bird by its straight form, and
by the flatness of its sides. Other chan.ic-^
teristics likewise, which are easily perceivable,
remove it from the genus of butcher birds. A
large eyelid hangs round the eye ; the base
of the beak, and the apertures of the nostrils
are entirely covered with the feathers of the
forehead, which project forwards ; the head
is ornamented with a tuft of soft feathers
which fall backwards ; the quill feathers of
the tail are cut in a square form at their ex-
tremity, and the wings, when folded, reach to
about one half of their length; all which cha-
racters are distinct from those that belong to
the butcher bird.

" I am even persuaded," adds Levaillant,
** that, in its manners, the geoffroy differs
greatly from birds of this last species; and,
from the accounts which I have received, and
from the examinations which I have made
upon different birds that have passed under
my notice, I do not think I am deceived in the
opinion that they live in troops like the star-
ling, that they feed in the same manner, and
seek for their subsistence in humid earth, into
which tliey probably plunge their beaks ; and

this

238 NATURAL HISTORY

this last opinion has arisen from the circum-
stance of my having always found upon the
beak of all the individuals that 1 have seen, a
sort of earthy incrustation."

From these remarks by an able and expe-
rienced observer, it seems allowable to place
the geoffroy among the starlings rather than
among the butcher birds, for it has striking
and obvious affinities with the former, and
but slight and dubious ones with the latter.
With regard to the colours of its plumage,
Levaillant thus describes them :

" The feathers near the root of the beak, as
v/e\\ as the tuft and the cheeks, are of a pure
white. The head, and the feathers which
surround the ears are black, approaching to
an iron grey colour. The lower part of the
neck behind, the throat, the front part of the
neck, the breast, the sides, the belly, and the
covert feathers on the inside of the wings, are
of a snowy white colour. The scapulary fea-
thers and the wings are black, which, in a cer-
tain light, presents a bluish tinge. A broad
white stripe, which forms part of the large
covert feathers of the wings, and of tlie edges
of the longer scapulary ones, as well as the
last quill feathers nearest to the body, crosses
the wing longitudinally. The tv.o lateral

ones

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 239

ones oil each side of the tail are entirel}^ white ;
the third has a Httle black at its root, and the
others assume successively an increased por-
tion of that colour. The beak is black ; the
eyeUds are yellow as well as the feet and the
claws.

240 NATURAL HISTORY

THE LARK.

THE TUFTED LARK OF THE COAST OF
MALABAR.

SONJ^ERAT saw this species of lark on
the coast of Malabar, and has thus described
it:

" This lark is about five inches nine lines,
from the tip of the beak to the end of the tail ;
the wings are three inches four lines, when
extended ; the feathers on the top of the head
are long, and form a crest which the bird can
raise and depress at pleasure ; they are brown,
terminated by a white stripe. The feathers
of the neck are of a clear red, marked by a
longitudinal black band. The throat and
the belly are of a reddish white : the feathers
of the back, and the small ones of the wings,
are brown, terminated with an edge of clear
red ; upon the extremity of each feather there

is

or BiiiDs, FiSH, &c. 241

is a white spot ; the large quill feathers of the
wings, and those of the tail, are of a reddish
brown, terminated by a border of red. The
beak is black ; the feet are reddish."

THE SMALL GREY LARK OF GINGl.

THIS was also discovered by Sonnerat, on
tlie coast of Coromandel. Its size is about
that of a goldfinch ; its total length four
inches and a half; and its wings, when ex-
tended, two inches nine lines. The head is of
a cinereous grey colour; on the sides of the
head there is a black stripe which commences
at the upper angle of the beak, and terminates
a little beyond the eye ; the hind part of the
neck, the back, the rujup, the wings, and the
tail, are of a dull grey colour; the throat, the
front part of the neck, the belly, the small un-
der covert feathers of the wings, and those
under the tail, are black ; the beak and the
feet are of a reddish £!rev.

VOL. VI. 2 I

942 _ NATURAL HISTORY

THE LARK OF TARTARY.

THIS species appears to differ from all
others in some particular characteristics which
are pecuhar to it. Its beak is thicker and
more convex than that of other larks; the
angles of the chaps and its nostrils are covered
with feathers, or rather with thick hairs; and
its tail, Avhich is of a middling length, is a
little forked. Add to these differences a form
very considerable, and w^hich is similar to that
of the starling.

When the bird is old, the whole body is of
a deep black colour ; a small whitish stripe,
with which the feathers of the head and the
under part of the neck are encircled, is scarce-
ly perceptible ; this border is somewhat
larger on the feathers of the back and under
the wing, and hardly apparent on the upper
covert feathers ; the quill feathers are black ;
from the tenth quill feather to the nineteenth,
they have a whitish edging ; all the quill fea-
thers

OF BIRDS, fisir, <&c. 243

thers of the tail are very black ; the middle
ones have a little white stripe, and the rest
have somewhat of a white tinge at their ends.
The beak is horn colour, and a little yellowish,
but its point is brown ; the feet are black.

The young ones and the females have their
plumage nearly the same as the common lark,
and their feet are brown.

During summer, it lives in the dry and sandy
solitudes between the Volga and the Jaik, and
it may be found in all the most desert parts of
Southern Tartary, where it is seldom heard to
sing. In winter it approaches towards inha-
bited places, and they may then be seen in
small troops. It passes this period of the year
in the northern regions of the Caspian Sea>
but not far beyond the fiftieth degree.

For these interesting details upon the lark
of Tartary, we are indebted to the celebrated
Pallas, who has consigned them to the world
in his travels in Russia and the north of Asia. '
Sparrman has described this same bird under
a difterent name; and in the New Commen-
taries of the Academy of St. Petersburgh,
there is a description which S. G. Gmelin has
given of another lark of the same northern
country, and which he regards as a distinct
species ; but it is highly probable that it is
2 I ? only

244 UATUllAL HISTORY

only a simple rariety of the lark of Tartary.
In fact, this variable lark falauda mviahilisj
of Gmelin, is, like that of Tartary, of a re-
markable size ; the tail is somewhat forked,
the plumage is black, the feathers of some
parts edged with white, the beak whitish, and
its tip blackish; it seems to difier only in the
brown colour of its wings. Gmelin adds that
Its eyes are small, and of a livid brown. Age
and sex produce also gieat differences in the
colours of this bird ; the female has the fore-
head wliiti.sh ; the young ones are all of a ci-
nereous or reddish colour, variegated with
grey, and it is not till they become old that
their plumage changes to black.

Another conformity between the variable
ark of Gmelin and the lark of Tartary is, that
the former is also silent like the latter ; that
n summer it keeps in the northern countries
watered by the Volga, and that during winter
it seeks the vicinity of inhabited places ; it is
then seen very common in the environs of
Astracan.

or BIRDS, FISH, &;c. 245

THE LARK OF YELTON.

THIS is another large lark of the northern
regions ; it has been found beyond the Volga,
on the borders of the lake Yelton. It lives in
troops. Its flesh is very delicate, and loaded
with fdt in the month of August.

Its size is the same as that of the lark of
Tartary, but the form of its beak is different ;
it is cylindrical and en alene, nearly like that
of all larks ; but it is thicker; its tongue is also
forked, and the claw of the hind toe, longer
than the toe itself, is almos-t straight, so that
it is impossible to doubt that this bird is in
fact of the lark species.

It is almost entirely black ; there are some
reddish feathers on the head, the back, and
the covert feathers of the wings ; the sixth
quill feather of the wing is edged, externally,
with white, and the two middle ones of the
tail are red. The beak is black at the basis,
and whitish all the rest.

246 NATURAL HISTORY

OF THE WREN AND TIT-MOUSE.

THE WREN OF SURINAM.

WE find in Fermin* a short account of a
wren which frequents the island of Surinam.
Brown has (Jrawn and given the figure of it.

This small animal, about four inches and a
half long*, is not so remarkable, or so interest-
ing for the beauty of it^ plumage, as for its
song, which is very sweet and agreeable. It
utters soft musical tones like those of the flute.

Its body is entirely brown ; but the back,
the wings, and the tail, are striped' with black
lines, which are fixed and close. The feet are
of a yellowish colour, approaching to brown,
and this tinge is also observable upon the beak.
The under part of the body is paler than the
back.

* Hist, de la Colo» Holland de S?:nnam. torn. II. p. SOI-

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 247

THE NORWEGIAN TIT-M0U3E.

BRUNNICH was the first that ever men-
tioned this species, which is distinguished by
a greenish yellow on the top part of the body ;
its breast is spotted with red, and its belly is
bluish ; the head is not black as is usual, but
the throat is yellow, and towards the vent
the feathers are also yellowish ; the tail,
which is forked, is of the sailie colour as the
back, with the exception of the last lateral
quill feathers, which are white on their exte'-
rior side.

THE TIT-MOUSE OF THE COAST OF MALABAR,

THIS species of bird is found even in tlie
East Indies ; it lives principally upon cater-
pillars,

S48 NATUftAL HtSTOIlY

pillars, aurelias, and other small insects,
which the viscous quality of certain plants
fetaius prisoners. They fly round about with
great vivacity, and climb trees with great ra-
pidity ; they are also very fond of oily al-
monds, and other sorts of grain.

The species which Sonnerat mentioned is
grey upon the body ; the throat, the wings,
and the two quill feathers of the middle of the
tail, are black ; the under part of the body is
of a flaming red colour; and part of this beau-
tiful hue appears also at the base of the la-
teral covert feathers ; the rump is red also ;
but in the female a lighter tinge prevails on
all the under parts of the body ; the bird is
five inches, eight lines in length; its beak and
its feet are black ; the iris is red.

THE TIT-MOUSE OF HUDSON S BAY.

THE groves of juniper which cover the
steril and frozen ground of Hudson's Bay, are
peopled with a species of tit-mouse which
lives upon these berries and blossoms ; this

bird

OF feinD?, FISH, kc. ^49

bird easily supports the most intense cold;
they fly in troops during the winter, and fix
their nest in spring in the most obscure
places. The female lays onl}- five eggs. This
bird, which is somewhat more than five
inches in length, was first described by Fors-
ter, in the Philosophical Transactions, and af-
terwards by Muller.

All the feathers of this aniitial are long and
thinly disposed ; its beak and its feet are
black; its sides of a rusty colour; the tail,
which is rounded, is about two inches and a*
half long ; a reddish brown covers the bpdj%
with the exception of the back, which is of a
greyish cinereous colour. The throat is black,
and edged, towards the breast, with a white
stripe, which extends under the eyes; the
quill feathers of the wings have a cinereous
coloured border.

THE LARGE HEADED TOM-TIT.

THE particularity whicJi distinguishes this
bird arises from the swelling of the feathers
voL.vi. eK Avhich

250 NATURAL HISTORY

which cover the head ; each of them is broad
and pliant, approaching near to each other,
and so producing a sort of puffed appearance.
The tail of this animal is very long, and its
two lateral quill feathers are white at their
extremity, while the others are black ; this
last colour covers the upper part of the body ;
the belly is whitish, and the breast of a red-
dish orange colour; the forehead and the
wings have a white spot ; the female is brown
in those parts that are black in the male;
their length is about four inches and a half;
they are found in New Zealand.

There is also a variety of this species which
is found in Norfolk Island, and which is al-
most entirely black, except the white spots
that are on the wings and forehead ; and the
breast, which is of a pretty scarlet colour.

THE TIT-MOUSE OF NEW ZEALAND.

THIS is another bird which is Very nearly
approximated to the preceding species, but

which

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 251

which is however distinct from it by the cha-
racters of its plumage ; it is about five inches
in length ; its beak, its feet, and the interme-
diate quill feathers of its tail are black;
the top part of the body is of a cinereous red
colour, and of a clear red on the under part.
There is a white stripe on each side of the
head ; on the middle of the lateral quill fea-^
thers of the tail may be observed a white spot
of a square form ; the forehead is yellow, ap-
proaching to red, and the cheeks are of a
cinereous colour.

Before concluding this account of foreign
birds, which have a greater or less affinity with
the tit-mouse, we will mention two other spe-
cies, i. e. the tit-mouse of Swby, and that of
India and China,

The tit-mouse of Sceby is found in a country
of Sweden so called. It is entirely a new spe-
cies, which was discovered by Sparrman. It
is almost wholly white, and has some light
blue spots upon the tail and covert feathers
of the wings ; there is also a transversal mark
on the nape of the neck ; towards the eyes
there is a black stripe ; five quill feathers of
the wings are brown, edged with white; the
others are edged with a bluish colour ; per-

2 K 2 haps

?53 .NATURAL HISTORV

haps this bird, though very pretty, is merely
9- variety resulting from the influence of cli-
mate. We should hesitate to multiply spe-
cies in the theatre of the creation, simply up-
on the circumstance of a variation of colour ;
perhaps it would be more philosophical to
reject such a trivial foundation, and confine
ourselves to internal organization, to manners
and to habits ; where there is observed a
striking difference between these last, there
can be no fear of error in establishing a new
species; but when no discrepancy betweei)
^ny of these obtains, there is always danger
jn extending the views of nature upon the
simple data of colours.

The Indian qnd Chinese tit-mouse is dcr
scribed by Sonnerat, and is the same as the
parus indicus oi Sparrman. Both these birds
have a plumage of a more or less deep cine.-
reous colour, and greenish on the top part of
the body ; the breast and the belly are of a
brownish orange colour, approaching towards
ferruginous; the beak, the feet, and the
wings, are of a brown colour, more or less
deep ; in the individual which Sonnerat saw
^nd described, the colours are more brilliant
and lively ; the breast is of a shining yellow

approaching

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 553

approaching to red ; the lateral quill feathers

of the tail are black. Nomenclators have not

hitherto mentioned the one described by
Sonnerat.

254 NATURAL HISTORY

HUMMING BIRD.

OF all animated beings the humming bird
is the most elegant in its form, and the most
brilliant in its colours. Stones and metals po-
lished by art are not to be compared to this
jewel in nature ; she has placed it, in the
order of birds, upon the lowest step of bulk,
maximi miranda in minimis : her chef cTceuvre
is the small humming bird ; she has bestowed
upon it all those gifts which she has only dis-
tributed in part to other birds ; celerity, rapi-
dity, grace, rich ornament, all are to be found
in this little favourite. The emerald, the
ruby, the topaz, all are to be seen in the brilli-
ant colours of its plumage ; it never sullies
these colours by the dust of the earth, and, in
its existence, purely aerial, it is hardly seen to
touch the flowery turf, even for a moment; it
is always in the air flying from flower to
flower; it possesses their freshness and their
splendour, it lives upon their nectar, and is to

found

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 255

found only in climates where this, its food, is
perpetually renewed.

It is in the hottest countries of the new
world that are found all the different species
of humming birds. They are very numerous,-
and appear to be confined between the tropics,
for those who in summer advance into the
temperate zones make only a short stay there^
They seem to follow the sun, to advance and
to retire with it, and to fly upon the wings of
the zephyrs in the train of an eternal spring.

The Indians, struck with the lustre and the
sparkling beauty of the colours of these birds,
called them rays or hairs of the sun. The
Spaniards called them tomineos, a word ex-
pressive of their extreme minuteness; they
weigh only 12 grains. We shall here men-
tion some of the most remarkable species and
varieties. There have been many discovered
since the period when Buffon wrote their his-
tory, and we shall here notice some, accord-
ing to their degrees of size, beginning with
the smallest, as Buffon has done.

2^(> NATURAL HISTORY

»"■■■"■■»-==

THE blue-Headed hummikg bird.

e=

THE humming bird, which the Abbe Mo-
lina has denominated blu6-headed, is not big-
ger than a hazel nut or filberd, but its tail is
three times as long as its whole body. Its
head shines with a beautiful golden blue co-;
lour, and its back is of a brilliant green ; the
colour of the belly is orange yellow ; and, that
every part of this little animated jewel should
be in splendid concord with the body and the
head, the quill feathers of the wings have
purple stripes upon a blue ground ; the tail
is also of this last colour, and the beak is
whitish.

This species is found at Chili, according to
Molina, who is the first and only person that
has made mention of it.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 257

THE WHITE-BEAKED HUMMING BIRD.

THIS is a new species which Viellot has
preserved in his collection, and which he has
described, the first, in his natural history of
humming birds, p. 88. Its most remarka-
ble and prominent character is the whiteness
of its beak, the point of which is, however,
black ; the feathers which cover the head are
brown, with shades of a gilded carmine co-
lour; on the back may be seen some light
shades of gold upon a brown ground; the
neck, the throat, and the breast, are green,
gilded and edged with white; the belly is
brown, with some shades of gold ; the under
covert feathers of the tail are of a dull white
colour ; the wings are brown, the feet yellow-
ish, and the toes, like the claws, black.

The whole size of this bird is three inches
three lines in length ; it is found in French
Guiana.

Viellot has also given the description and
figure of a humming bird, which has a sort of
VOL. VI. 2 L golden

238 NATURAL IHSTORY

golden gorget on its breast. He presumes,
with much probability, that it is a young in-
dividual, which has been caught at the period
when they put off their first feathers in order
to assume that rich covering, which, in this
species of birds, is the attribute of an age al-
ready advanced*. The bird, which Viellot
has described in the present instance, came
from Surinam.

A small space, of a golden red colour,
shines upon the dull grey colour of its breast ;
the rest of the under part of the body is of a
cinereous grey ; a dull green, which is slightly
tinged with a golden hue, covers the top part
of the head , the neck, and the body, as well
as the upper covert feathers of the wings, the
quill feathers of which are violet; those of the
tail are green, and the two middle ones have
their extremities white.

To this same ingenious naturalist we are
indebted for the knowledge of another spe-
cies of humming birds, which he calls the
blue-throated one. Its throat is, in fact, of a
beautiful blue colour, imitating that of sap-
phire ; but this brilliant hue is only perceiva-
ble

* It is not till after the first moulting that the humming
birds assume their lively and brilliant colours.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 259

ble when the bird is contemplated in front, or
when he is placed lower than the eye ; when
seen sideways the throat appears brown ; the
plumage on the top of the body is of a very
brilliant gilded green colour ; on the under
part also it is of a shining green ; shades of
red and copper-colour sport upon the covert
feathers of the wings and tail ; the quill fea-
thers of the wins^s are mixed with black and
violet, and those of the tail with green and in-
digo blue ; the feet, as well as half of the
upper mandible, are black; underneath the
beak is of a yellov/ish brown.

French Guiana is the natal country of this
bird ; it is three inches five lines long.

THE SASIN.

THIS name of sasin has been simplified by
Sonnini, from the compound sasinneer sasin,
the appellation by which this species of hum-
ming bird is known in the bay of Nootka. It
is sufficiently remarkable, particularly from
the fiery red colour with which the throat,

2 L 2 and

t60 NATURAL HISTORY

and a part of the front of the neck, are co-
vered. On the sides of the neck small tufts
of detached feathers, longer than the others,
&nd of the same brilliant colour, form a kind
<of ruff or collar ; the rest of the under part of
the body is white, very slightly tinged with
the same beautiful red colour which prevails
on the throat : the head is a gilded green ; on
the bod}/ a red brick colour prevails, and on
the covert feathers of the wings a dull green ;
the quill feathers of the tail are red, which are
pointed at their ends, and sloping, forming
other characteristics which distinguish this
humming bird : the length of which is about
three inches and a half.

Instead of the fiery red collar v^^hich the
inale has, the female has, upon the throat,
only some spots of a lively red colour ; her plu-
mage on the top of the body is a gilded green,
and the lateral quill feathers of the tail are
terminated with wh'ij^.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C 961

THE JLSH-COLOURED COLIBRl*,

IT is only the under purts of this bird that
are ash-coloured ; the upper, as well as the
middle quill feathers of the tail, are orna-
mented with that rich mixture of green and
gold, that resplendent cloathing which nature
has so prodigally bestowed upon all the indi-
viduals

* This name is derived from the Caribee language, and is
used by Buffon to designate a second sort of humming birds ;
Marcgrave, however, does not distinguish between the coli-
bri and the humming bird. What, in fact, has been said
of the latter, is precisely true of the former ; the colibri
has the same manners, the same beauty of plumage, the
same agility, the same grace, the same manner of building
its nest, and the same rapidity of flight ; the only difference
between the two species is, that the beak of the colibri is
regular and slender, slightly swollen at the end, and not
straight as in die humming bird, but curved in its whole
Jtength ; it is also longer. The slender and airy form of the
colibri too, appears to be more elongated than that of the
hummingbird; they are also in general, larger ; yet there
are colibris smaller than the smallest humming bird. All
naturalists attribute to both these species precisely the same
manner of living. Translator.

262 NATURAL HISTORY

viduals of the humming bird and the colibri.
There is a small white spot observable at
the posterior angle of the eye ; there are also
shades of violet upon the prevailing black hue
of the vikings, and a black colour is to be seen
upon a part of the quill feathers of the tail,
besides the middle ones ; the beak is brown
underneath, and black on the top ; the feet
and the claws are of this last colour ; the tail
is rounded.

It is not certain to what country of America
this species belongs ; there is an individual of
it preserved in the collection of Dufresne in
Paris.

THE GOLDEN GORGET COLIBRI.

THIS species may be regarded as a new
and distinct one. The following is the descrip-
tion given of it by Audebert, from the pre-
pared specimen of one which w^as sent to him
by Mauge, who first discovered it in the
island of Porto Rico.

"the

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 2G3

" The golden gorget colibri," says he ** has
the top part of the head and neck, the back,
and the rump, of an obscure golden colour ;
the upper covert feathers of the tail are green ;
the intermediate quill feathers are of a green-
ish brown colour ; the lateral ones are violet,
terminated with blue ; all the throat of this
colibri is of a beautiful gilded green colour ;
and, on the sides of the neck may be seen
some shades of blue ; the breast is black, and
this colour extends as far as the belly, where
it becomes of a brownish hue ; the sides of
the body are intermixed with green and gold.
The beak is black as well as the feet.

*' The top part of the head of the female is
brown ; the neck, the back, the rump, and
the two intermediate quill feathers of the tail
are of a brownisli green, with some shades of
gold ; the lateral quill feathers of the tail are
of an obscure red colour for the first half of
them, and the rest is black, terminated with
white ; the under part of the beak, the throat,
and the breast, are of a dirty grey colour,
which becomes more and more obscure as it
approaches the belly ; the beak and the feet
are black.'*

2(54 NATURAL HISTORY

THE SrOTTED-BELLY COLIBRI.

IT is upon the assertion and judgment of
Audebert that we make a distinct species of
this bird, though it is not easy to discover in
it any thing which might entitle it to be
placed higher than a variety of some of those
already described. Audebert himself con-
fesses that the plumage of this bird, which is
not very various nor very beautiful, seems to
indicate a female or a young individual ; but
as it is not easy to determine what species it
belongs to, he rather prefers to consider it as
a distinct one, until further observation shall
clearly point out its true classification. Thus
circumstanced, there are no means of deviating
from the plan of Audebert, as nothing is
known of the bird but what he himself has
communicated.

At first sight, this bird appears to be the
same as the zitzil or spotted colibri : but
the zitzil, in its total length, is nearly six
inches, and this one is not more than four

from

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 265

from the extremity of the beak to that of the
tail. On the other hand, there exists a slight
difference in the distribution of the small white
spots which are to be found only on the throat
and belly of this bird, while they are spread
over the covert feathers of the wings and even
on the back of the zitzil. These disparities,
however, are not to be absolutely considered
as specific, and this restriction might equally
apply to many other colibris, of which writers
on ornithology have made distinct species,
while there is every reason to believe that
they are, for the greater part, to be attributed
to age, to sex, or to moulting ; and sometimes
even to extraneous causes, such as the prepa-
rations of preserved birds, and even the igno^
ranee or the quackery of those who prepare

them.

But we have nothing positive with regard
to the colibri of the present article ; it is evi-
dent that it is very nearly approximated to
some others ; there is even a sort of affmity
visible between them, though it is not easy to
say to which species to assimilate it. In this
state of incertitude, which it is hoped the zeal
of future travellers, who combine a knowledge
of natural history, will dissipate, it will be
sufficient simply to give the description of this
yoL.vi. 2M colibri

2(30 NATURAL HISTORY

colibri from a prepared specimen of it which
is to be found in the Cabinet of Natural His-
tory at Paris.

A shining green colour covers all the upper
parts of the body, as well as the two middle
quill feathers of the tail ; the under part is of
a brownish grey, deeper on the breast than on
the throat, and spotted with white ; the wings
have shades of violet colour, which appear
upon c> dark brown ground ; the black quill
feathers of the tail have their extremities
white, and a stripe of the same colour on the
top extends to about two thirds of their
length ; the beak and the feet are blackish.

Before w^e conclude this account of the most
singular and beautiful part of the feathered
creation, we will mention the variegated coli-
bri, the smallest of the species that has yet
been discovered. It hardly weighs fifty grains,
and its whole length is scarcely an inch and a
half.

On the head of this minute animal appears
a tuft or crest of shining green feathers, and the
tips of which reflect a golden hue ; the wings
and the tail are black, and the rest of the plu-
mage is of a greenish brown, with shades of
purple. The beak is black. This brilliant
variety of shades and colours hJis given rise to

its

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. $67

its present denomination, though some natu-
ralists, Gmelin for example, have classed it
under the appellation of the small colihri.
But Buffon had aheady employed this epi-
thet to designate a different species, and it
became therefore expedient to adopt such a
name as might convey an idea of the bird
without, at the same time, confounding it with
any other. It may here also be observed, that
Gmelin has used the term variegated colibri td
denote a small bird of South America, which
he ranks among the colibris, though it cer-
tainly does not belong to this genus, for it has
twelve quill feathers in the tail, whereas the
colibris, and those that are specifically called
humming birds (oiseaux mouchesj have only
ten. It is the same with two other birds
which Gmelin has improperly placed among
the colibris ; the first has the shape of a spar-
row ; and the second, which is as large as the
house swallow, is found at the Cape of Good
Hope, where, as is well known, the humming
bird does not exist ; neither is it to be met
with in any part of the old continent.

9M 2

208 NATURAL HISTORY

CHAFFINCH, GREENFINCH, GOLDFINCH,
LINNET, &c. &c.

THE works of modern naturalists, who
have written since the time of BufFon, contain
the descriptions of many species of birds that
were unknown to that celebrated writer, be-
cause undiscovered. Among these are some
Varieties or species of the chaffinch, &c. and
which we shall now present to our readers.

THE REDHEAD.

OF those new species, recently discovered,
which we have alluded to above, there is, in
general, so little known (comparatively speak-
ing) that it is not always easy to decide to what
genus they belong. Such is the bird which

Sparrman

OF BIRDS, FISH^ &.C. 20.Q

Sparrman has described under the name
of the red-hatred yellow-hammer, without
however designating either the country in
which it Hves, or what are its habits. Mr.
Latham thinks that it ought to be classed with
the sparrow genus (which nomencjators have
already rendered too numerous), and he ac-
cordingly places it at the conclusion of chaf-
finches. But Sonnini is of opinion that there
is no more reason for considering it as a spar-
row than there is to regard it as a yellow-
hammer, and he therefore very properly pre-
sents it to the reader as a particular species
having quaUties that approximate it to both ;
and in order to avoid all compounded and ge-
neric terms, he has simply denominated it the
red-head, in which particular we have thought
ourselves justified in following him.

The bird has, in fact, on the top and be-
hind the head, a sort of head-dress or cover-
ing, which is of a brilliant red colour, border-
ed with black in the front and on the sides ; a
whitish stripe, with black spots, covers the
forehead and the cheeks; the body on the
top is black, and ash-coloured underneath, but
the colour is deeper on the breast ; the throat
is of an iron grey colour ; the tail is of a

blackish

570 NATURAL HISTORY

blackish brown ; and the beak of a brovtn
colour.

THE ILIAC.

*• WERE 1 asked," says, Sonnini, " why
this name is given to this bird, I could not
tell ; neither could I (for I am absolutely ig-
norant of it) declare the origin of this denomi-
nation, nor the motives that have concurred to
its adoption ; my own reasons for retaining it
are an unwillingness to change names without
some urgent necessity, for such mutations are a
fruitful source of errorand perplexity in natural
history ; and I therefore transmit, as I have
found it in ornithological works, until, being
more conversant with the bird it designates,
some naturalist may substitute a more correct
denomination ; the one, for example, that it
bears in its native country."

All that is known of the iliac is confined to
a cursory description, and a doubtful indica-
tion

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 271

tion of its natal spot. Merrein*, who was
the first that spoke of it, says, that it is a bird
of North America ; but whether it be a spar-
row or a chaftinch, it is a very large species,
for it is equal to the starling in size. Its tail
is quadangularly formed, and its total length
is about six inches and a half. A mixture of
ash-colour and olive is spread over all the up-
per parts of the body, each feather of which
is terminated by brown; the rump alone has
a reddish tinge, as well as the tail, the under
part of which is grey ; the cheeks are white,
the quill feathers of the wings brown, and
edged with red ; the under parts of the body
are entirely white, with the exception of the
breast, which has on it some brownish grey
stripes. The beak and the feet are yellow.

In reading this description it is impossible
to prevent a suspicion from arising of some
mistake on the part of naturalits who have
represented this bird as of the sparrow species.

♦ Fringilla iliaca. Merrem. Icon. avi. p. 37 tab. 10.

27^ NATURAL HISTORY

THE GREENFINCH OF CHINA,

•' THIS bird," says M. Sonnerat, *' has
some affinity in its colours and in its size,
with the greenfinch of Brisson, or the yellow-
hammer of bird-catchers. The head and the
neck are of a greyish green colour ; the back
and the small feathers of the wings are of a
clear brown, except those which are on the
edge of the wings, they being black; the
shortest of the large feathers of the wings are
black on the interior side, and of a reddish
grey on the exterior ; the largest are yellow
for one half of their length, black the rest, and
terminated by a grey semicircular stripe ; the
belly is of an earthy red ; the covert feathers
of the tail are yellow on the under part ; the
feathers of the tail are black, terminated by a
white stripe ; the beak and the feet are of a
greenish yellow colour." — See Voyages aux
Indes et a la Chine, par M. Sonnerat.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 273

THE RED-HEADED GREENFINCH.

THIS species is nearly the same size as the
common European greenfinch, and its length
is about five inches ; the tail is sHghtly forked ;
and the claw of the hind toe is longer and
more curved than the claws of the other
toes.

A brownish red covers the top of the head
and the upper part of the neck ; the throat,
and the front part of the neck, are of an olive
green, the colour of which becomes deeper on
the back ; the under part of the body is yel-
lowish, being somewhat paler on the belly ;
the large covert feathers of the wings are
brown, with a yellow border; and the third,
fourth, fifth, and sixth quill feathers, have a
yellow spot in their centre ; the tail is black-
ish, and terminated by an ash colour. The
beak is blackish at its root, and the under
chap or mandible is of a pale grey colour.
The feet are of a clear brown, and the claws
are blackish.
VOL. VI. 2N Yaa

274 KATURAL HISTORY

Van Ernest saw, in Holland, a bird of this
species alive ; it had been taken on the coast
of Cochin China; its cry was very similar to
that of our greenfinch ; but besides this cry, it
had a dull kind of warbling', which it uttered
only after having fed, and in its moments of
gaiety.

THE GREEN BULLFINGH.

THIS bird is found in the island of Java,
and in the greater part of the islands of Sunda.
It feeds upon various sorts of grains and par-
ticularly on rice, whole plantations of which
it ravages. Its song is sonorous; it builds
its nest in trees and bushes, and it is composed
of strips of grass.

It has the rump red, and one or two fea-
thers of the same colour on the belly, except-
ing which, all the rest of the under part of the
body is of a yellowish white colour ; the quill
feathers of the wings are black, the two mid-
dle ones being marked with a red spot, and
the first eight edged with red on their exte-
rior

OF BIRDS, FISH, &c. 275

rior side. The rest of the plumage is of an
olive green colour ; the feet are yellow ; the
beak is black ; and the iris of the eyes of a
clear chesnut colour. The tail is of a mid-
dling length, and rounded at its extremity.

The female differs from the male, in being
somewhat smaller, and the beak being brown ;
the top of the wings also are of an olive brown,
with stripes of pale yellow; the wings are
ash-coloured, the eight middle quill feathers
whitish, edged exteriorly with a dirty white
colour; the rump is reddish; the tail black,
white at the extremity, and the feet yellow.
It is said that this female has the same shrill
voice and song as the male.

The colours of the plumage of the young
bird are paler, and half of the under chap is
yellowish.

THE DWARF BULLFINCH.

THIS little bullfinch is smaller than a tom-
tit; it is common in India and China. The
upper parts of the body are brown ; the under
2 ^' 2 ones

$7S NATURAL HISTORY

ones of the colour of brick ; the quitl feathers
of the wings are white at their basis, and those
of the tail are of a pale brown. The beak is
black, thick, and very short ; the feet are
brown; and the quill feathers of the tail equal
in length, and a little pointed at their extre-
mities.

There are two varieties of this species. The
one has the under parts of the body of a
whitish cinereous colour, and the space com-
prised between the beak and the eyes yellow-
ish, as well as the edges of the quill feathers
of the wings. The other is white under the
body and on the rump. Daudin, in his Orni-
thology, thinks it a great and manifest error to
describe these two birds as varieties of the
dwarf bullfinch ; because, according to him,
they ought to be placed in the genus of yel-
low-hammers, both on account of their beak,
and on account of their plumage, which is
indicative of a true yellow-hammer.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. , 277

THE RED-THROAT BULLFINCH.

THIS is an entirely new species. Van
Ernest, says Daudin, has described it from
an individual which he saw among the rarities
of a merchant at Amsterdam, and which had
been brought, among other birds, from the
Floridas.

The pUimage of this bullfinch is of a deep
black colour, with shades of a bluish hue on
the top of the body, and particularly on the
wings and tail ; the throat is of a red colour ;
the rump is brown ; a white spot, which is
more apparent underneath, forms the end of
the first two quill feathers on each side of the
tail; the beak, the feet, and the claws, are
black.

This bird is about six inches and a half in
length, and its tail is a little forked.

There is also another species of bullfinch,
which comes from Porto Rico. Mauge, a
French traveller and naturalist, has recently
discovered it there ; a male and female of

which

278 NATURAL HISTORY

which he brought with him, and deposited in
the Cabinet of Natural History at Paris.

The male is six inches nine lines in length :
on the head there is a large red crescent, each
point of which protrudes on the sides of the
neck ; the throat, the fore part of the neck,
and the lower part of the belly, are of the
same red colour ; all the rest of the plumage,
the feet and the claws are of a deep black.

Daudin,who has just published the descri ption
of this bird, says, that he has found the black
sparrow with yellow spots, of which Sir Hans
Sloane speaks in his History of Jamaica, to be
the same species as this bullfinch of Porto
Rico ; in that case, this species will be found
equally in Jamaica, and many other of the
West Indian Islands.

THE RED-FACED GOLDFINCH.

THE sides of the head of this goldfinch are
tinged with crimson, and its tail is of the
same colour, only less brilliant. The large
quill feathers of the wings are of an obscure

brown

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 279

brown, edged externally with a dull orange
colour ; the rest of the plumage is of a deep
green ; the beak is of a yellowish white co-
lour, mixed with a little red, and the feet are
yellow. It is nearly six inches in length ; it
comes from the kingdom of Angola, accord-
ing to Brown, who has given a description of
it from a preserved one in the cabinet of M.
Taustall.

To the same author also we are indebted for
another species of goldfinch, which he calls the
red-headed. Of this bird not only the cheeks
are coloured with red, but the whole head and
neck, both above and below, are of a fine scar-
let colour, with the exception of a black spot,
in the middle of which the eyes are placed.
The rump is crimson ; the back, the breast,
and the belly, are of an olive green ; the wings
are black, with two white transversal stripes
upon the covert feathers ; the feet are of a red-
dish grey, and the beak and tail are black.

This bird is nearly the size of a nightingale,
and has been described from a preserved spe-
cimen in the same cabinet as the former. It
is said to be a native of the Isle of France; but
it is doubtful whether the same bird has not
been already described by naturahsts under
another appellation.

There

S80 NATURAL HISTORY

There is also a new species, described by
Virey, called the parrot goldfinch , which is
found in the Sandwich Islands of the South
Sea. Its beak, is, in fact, similar to that of
a parrot ; but it must not be confounded
with the. parrot-finch of Latham, which has,
in reality, nothing of the parrot about it, ex-
cept the distribution of its colours.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 281

THE PIGEON.

GREY-HEADED GREEN PIGEONS OF
ANTIGUA.

IN" the islands of Lucon and Antigua there
are various sorts of green pigeons, which may
all be classed under the same species, as the
difference in their colours is but small, and by
no means sufficient to establish a variety of
species.

The green pigeon of the islands of Lucon
and Antigua is about the size of our ring
dove. A pale grey colour covers the head,
and the neck is tinged with a faint lilac hue ;
on the breast is a large deep yellow spot ; a
pretty green colour prevails on the covert fea-
thers of the wings, which are, besides, edged
with a stripe of yellow; the quill feathers of
the tail and of the wings are black, and a red-
dish brown is seen towards the vent ; the belly
is of a pale green and yellow colour ; the
VOL. VI. oQ boak.

282 NATURAL HISTORY

beak, which is short, is grey; and the feet are
of a dull red colour, approaching to violet.
The female has the head and the top part of
the body of a greyish green colour ; the wings
are black, with yellow edges ; tlie feet are ash-
coloured. These individuals are represented
in plate 64 and 65 of Sonnerat's Voyage to
New Guinea.

The other green pigeon, which is found in
the islands of Panay and Antigua, is the size of
our stock dove. A greyish white, colours the
head, and a reddish brown prevails on the
nape of the neck, the neck, and its sides ; and
this colour reflects the most brilliant shades
in the rays of the sun. An obscure grey co-
vers the belly and the thighs ; there is a briU
liaut green that has a metallic lustre, which
is seen on the small feathers of the wings.
This colour changes according to the aspect
of the light, like the throat of the ordinary
pigeon ; the large quill feathers of the wings
and of the tail are black ; the beak and the feet
are of a sanguineous colour, and the iris is
yellow.

We will mention one or two other species
of foreign birds that have affinity with the
pigeon.

The Pompadour pigeon is a new species,
which inhabits the island of Ceylon, and

which

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 283

which has been hitherto unknown. Brown has
drawn and described it. This bird delights
to be upon large trees, and its flesh is very
much esteemed by the natives of the island.
Its size is smaller than that of our turtle dove,
and it is easily taken with bird-lime. As its
throat and the sides of its head are of a very
fine yellow colour, it is sometimes called the
yellow-faced pigeon. The general colour of
its plumage is a greenish hue ; the covert fea-
thers of its wings are of a fine red, and their
large quill feathers are black, with a yellowish
stripe, which borders them ; the beak is blue,
and the tail is very long.

The pigeon with red wings was brought
from the islands of Otaheite, Taima, and
Eimeo. There are many varieties of it. Its
length is nine inches and a half; its plumage is
black in general, with the forehead and the
eye-brows white. On the covert feathers of
the wings, towards the neck, there is an ex-
tremely brilliant red colour; the tail is ash-
coloured from the point of insertion to about
the middle of it ; and the feet are brown. The
beak is yellowish or black. There is a variety
with the throat and the breast white, and the
eye-brows of a ferruginous colour. The tail
9,nd the large quill feathers of the wings are
20 2 blackish.

2S4 NATUItAL HISTORY

blcickish. In another variety at Tanna, the
colour of the plumage is a reddish black ; the
feet are red, and the eye-brows and the breast
white.

The hooJcecUbeak pigeon is also found in
the island of Tanna. Its length is about
seven inches : it is green, and yellowish on the
under part of the body ; the back and the
covert feathers of the wings are of a light
cinnamon colour, and the wings have two
yellow stripes. The intermediate quill fea-
thers of the wings are green, and those of the
sides are ash-coloured, w^th a black stripe.
But what is remarkable in this bird is its sharp
and curved beak ; and the nature of its food
must necessarily be accommodated to this
peculiar conformation. Its colour is yellow,
and red towards its basis. The tail is
rounded. There is a variety which has the
back and the shoulders green.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 2S5

THE CROWNED PIGEOJf OJ' BAJfDA.

THIS bird is called by the Dutch, crown
vogel, and although it is in size as large as a
turkey, there is no doubt of its belonging to the
pigeon genus ; its beak, head, neck, the whole
fornn of its body, its legs, feet, claws, voice,
manners, &c. decide it to be of that family.
But, deceived by its size, some naturalists
have hesitated to consider it as such, and
have called it a pheasant. Edwards speaks
of it thus: " It is of the family of pigeons,
though as large as a middle sized turkey ; M.
Loten brought from India many of these birds
alive.* It is a native of the island of Banda.

M. Loten

* Lablllardiere, in his voyage in search of Peyrouse (toLS,
p. 291) saw many crowned pheasants of the Indies, in the
island of Way giou. Sonnerat, in his voyage to New Gui-
nea (p 169, pi. civ.) has given a figure of one. He asserts
that this bird does not inhabit the island of Banda, but that
it is to be found^ and that it multiplies on^y in New Guinea.
Captain Forrest, in his Toyage to the Moluccas, (p. 86)

266 NATURAL HISTORY

M. Loten assured me that it is, properly, a
pigeon, and that it has all the motions and
tones of one in caressing the female ; I con-
fess that I should never have thought to find
a pigeon in a bird of this size, but for this in-
formation."

Five or six of these birds were sent to Paris,
but they were all so similar to each other in
size and colour, that it was not possible to
distinguish the males from the females, espe-
cially as the latter did not lay. M. Mauduyt,
a very able naturalist, also atfirms, that he
gaw many of them in Holland, where they also
do not lay, any more than in France. In some
parts of India they are brought up and fed in
court yards, like domestic fowl.

THE PURPLE PIGEON OF JAVA.

VIREY, the coadjutor of Sonnini, hi edit-
ing the late splendid edition of Buffon's works,

thinks

found them at Tomogui. The natives of the country call
them 7nututUf and the Papous manipi. This bird may be
tamed J it eats Indian corn j it strikes very loudly with its
•wings. See the plates accompanying this VQlunae.

OF BiRD?^ FISH, See. 287

thinks that the purple pigeon of Brown, and
i^\^ purple crowned pigeon oi Latham, ought
to be united under one head, as they seem to
be sufficiently similar to enter into one spe-
cies. The first inhabits the island of Java,
and the second the islands of the South Sea,
between the tropics. Their size is from nine
to ten inches. The second may be easily
tamed ; and it feeds upon bananas.

That of Java is greenish, with light purple
tints upon the head and neck ; the breast is
orange coloured ; the vent of a scarlet hue.
That of the South Sea is green also, with ash-
coloured tints underneath. The forehead and
the nape of the neck are purple ; the vent is of
a yellowish red : the quill feathers of the wing '
are black. The beak is yellow, and some-
times black ; the iris is yellow. Grey and yel-
low stripes cross, sometimes, the quiil feathers
of the wings ; tne feet are black and wrinkled ;
the claws are also black.

There is also a species of pigeon, called the
Jainboo pigeon, of which iMarsden makes
mention in his description of the island of Su^
matra ; it is a sort of ring dove pigeon, and the
plumage is green. Upon the forehead there
is a deep cinnamon colour ; the breast and
throat are white; the beak and the eyes are

yellow ;

2S8 KATURAL HISTORY

yellow ; a green lateral stripe, and another of
cinnamon colour, proceeds from the breast as
far as the orbits of the eyes. This pigeon is
principally found in the island of Java, where
the Malays call it poonijamhoo. Its stature is
not very great.

THE BLOOD-COLOURED TURTLE DOVE.

SONNERAT has described two turtle
doves, which have -a sanguineous spot on the
feathers of their breast, as if they had been
mortally wounded with the stroke of a dag-
ger in this part. This mark of cruelty, im-
pressed upon an animal so singularly mild, so
full of innocence, recalls to our recollection that
the weak in our own species often carry thus
the stigma of violence, while powerful and
depredatory beings are veiled beneath the co-
Tering of pleasure and the decorations of opu-
lence. One of these turtle doves is entirely
white, with the exception of this bloody spot
upon its throat and breast; its eyes and its
beak are red*

The

of Eini)s, FISH, &c. 289

The other has its head, belly and vvingSj
distinguished from the preceding one by three
grey transversal stripes : and the sanguineous
spot does not extend to the throat, which is
white, but only to the breast. These birds
inhabit the Manilla islands.

Two or three other species of turtle doves
deserve to be mentioned ; of which the first
is the turtle dove of Surinam, mentioned by
Firmin. It is about ten inches long, and
builds its nest on the highest trees, and in fo-
rests the most wild and unfrequented. The
female lays twice a year. Its flesh is very
much esteemed in the country. Its plumage
is ash-coloured and whitish under the body ;
its throat black, shaded with greyish stripes ;
the largest quill feathers of the wings are
brown, and the intermediate ones cinereous.
The beak of this bird is long ; blue on the
outside, and red within.

The s}7iaU turtle dove of Queda is found at
Malacca, and in the island of Fmnce. It is
small, being not much larger than a sparrow,
but the body is more elongated. A cinereous
grey colour covers the forehead and the throat.
The nape of the neck is of an earthy colour,
and there are black transversal lines upon the
feathers of the top part of the neck. The back,
VOL. VI. 9 P the

290 NATURAL HISTORY

the rump, and the covert feathers of the wings^
are of the same colour as the throat ; but each
feather is terminated by a black stripe. On
the sides of the neck may be seen a white co-
lour striped with black. The belly and the
breast are covered w^ith a light grey ; the thighs
are of the same colour, crossed with undulat-
ed black lines. The large quill feathers of the
wings are reddish underneath, and brown on
the top. The tail is brown also.

This bird, which is very pretty, is also
Very agreeable to the taste when dressed.

The turtle dove of Surat is found towards
Cambaye, and the environs of Surat. There
are two species of turtle dove, about the size of
our collared one. The first is of a light grey ;
the feathers upon the nape, and behind the
neck, are black, with a white stripe upon the
former, and a red one upon the latter. The
large quill feathers of the wings are black, as
well as the beak ; and a dirty grey covers the
back, the rump, and the tail. The iris is red.

The second race is grey, and its belly white.
The quill feathers of the sides of the tail are
black, as well as the beak and the feathers of
the throat. The quill feathers of the wings
are of a lively black, and the iris is a red co-
lour. Under the same species of turtle dove

may

OF BIRDS, FISH, &G. 991

may also be rangfed the grey one of the coast
of Malabar, which differs from the preceding
in nothing but a few oval spots on the wings.
The beak is red as well as the iris. The
middle of the tail is white towards its ex-
tremity, and its sides are black. Sonnerat
describes this species.

We shall conclude this division with men-f
tioning the golden winged turtle dove, which is
described by Philips in his voyage to New
South Wales. Its size is that of a large
pigeon ; the general colour of the plumage is
cinereous in the upper parts of the body.
Each plume is edged with white. The under
part of the body is of a whitish grey ; the top
part of the wings is of the same colour as the
back. A large oval spot, of a bronze colour,
may be observed near the edge of each quill
feather of the wing. These spots, when the
wings are folded, form, by their re-union, two
stripes of a dazzling colour, which changes to
red, green, and copper colour, according to
the. various reflexions of the rays of light
Others of the covert feathers of the wings
have also white spots irregularly placed . The
quill of the feathers is red. The tail is com-
posed of sixteen cinereous-coloured quill fea-
thers, with a black stripe at their extremity.
2P2 The

293 NATURAL HISTORY

The two middle feathers are brown. A deep
red is the colour of the beak and the feet ; the
throat is a clear grey, j^nd the forehead of a
pale grey colour.

White, in his voyage to Port Jackson, ob*
served also this species of pigeon. Its wings
are covered with brilliant points of a shining
yellow colour, and the green and copper-colour
reflexions of the plumage, according to its
exposition to the light, are remarkable. The
breast is of the same colour as our pigeons. A
buff colour covers the under part of the neck,
A-W)wnish red line extends from the root of
the beak to the eye.

This is one of the prettiest species of pigeons
known. Labillardiere, who killed one of
them also at New Holland, had already met
with them at Cape Diemen, and it appears
that it is to be found in the greater part of the
continent of New Holland.

OF bihds, fish, &c. 203

THE CURLEW.

THE BRILLIANT CURLEW.

GMELIN saw this species of bird near the
Tanais and Choper; but it is not limited to
those countries of the north where GmeUn
observed it ; for, according to Mr. Latham,
an individual of this species has been killed
in the county of Cornwall.

It is not without reason that this bird has
been denominated the fiery curlew, and the
brilliant cvrlew, for its plumage is tinged with
the most vivid and beautiful colours. On its
body there are hues of shining blue, black, and
golden green ; underneath they are less lively
and less varied, and the ground colour is a
shining blackish red ; black feathers, with a
whitish fringe, like a border, cover the head
and neck ; the quill feathers of the wings and
the tail glitter with a golden green, and the

feet

294 NATURAL HISTORY

feet are green as well as the beak. Its total
length is nearly fourteen inches.

Before passing to the recently discovered
species of this bird in the new world, we will
mention two or three of the old one that are
curious.

The Hagedash is so called by the colonists
of the Cape of Good Hope. It is common at
Houtinquas, and near Zwart-hops-river. It is
also called nadelde, a word which expresses
pretty accurately the cry of the bird; but the
Hottentots denominate it in their language by
the syllables ta-kai-kene, which is more diffi-
cult for a stranger to articulate than the lan-
guage of the curlew itself, if indeed, the pre-
sent bird be a curlew, a matter which is doubt-
ful from the habits which have been described
as peculiar to it.

It feeds principally on bulbous plants and
roots, which it eradicates very easily and very
quickly, with its twisted beak ; it is always
upon its guard, and is with difticulty ap-
proached, and it passes the night perched up*
on trees. The colonists assert, that when
these birds are seen assembled in great troops,
and flying against the wind, it is a sign of
ruin.

Sparrman,

OF BIRDS, fISH, &C. 295

Sparrman, to whom "we are indebted for
these facts, adds, that the hagedash is some-
tvhat larger in the body than a hen, that
the beak is five inches long, red at the top,
and black underneath. The neck and the
legs are a cinereous grey, with a green tinge,
approaching to yellow, on the top of the neck ;
the upi^er part of the wings is of a brown co-
lour, approaching to black ; the under part
blackish , and the covert feathers violet ; the
tail is formed de coin, and about twice as long
as the beak. The f^et and claws are
blackish.

The African curlew is also a native of the
Cape of Good Hope, but with regard to its
real genus naturalists differ. Mr. Latham is
the only one who has described this bird from
nature, he having obtained permission to de-
lineate a preserved one in the Leverian col-
lection.

It is hardly so big as a woodcock, and it
lives in troops in the humid and marshy parts
of the southern point of Africa. Its plumage
is cinereous on the top part, and white un-
derneath, spotted with dark red ; its head and
lump are white ; the quill feathers of the
wings brown with a white edge, and its beak
and feet blackish.

The

906 NATURAL HISTORY

The smallest of curlews is so called on ac-
count of its diminutive size, not being bigger
than a krk. It is found in Holland, and
sometimes, though very rarely, in England.
This small bird, a true pigmy among the
genus of curlews, is tinged on the top with
brown, red, and w^hite ; this last colour also
prevails on the rump and under the body ; the
quill feathers of the tail are blackish, and the
lateral ones have a white border ; the beak and
the feet are black.

, Of the curlews of the New Continent we
shall mention, first.

The Pillu, which is so called at Chili, ac-
cording to the Abbe Molina ; but from his de*
scription of it, it may be very much doubted
whether it has not been improperly placed
among the genus of curlews by this author.
Of all aquatic birds the legs of this bird are the
largest, for they are two feet eight inches in
height ; but the bulk of the body does not cor-
respond with this length of the legs, for it is
not larger than that of a goose. The neck is
two feet three inches long, with a small crop,
bare of feathers. The head is of a middling
size; the beak is large, convex, pointed, and
about four inches long ; the forehead is naked,
and the tail short; a small membrane unites the

toes

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 297

toes at their basis . The Spaniards call this
bird the stork of Chili, and in truth it appears
to have more affinity with that genus than with
the curlew. With regard to the plumage, it is
white, striped with black.

The pillu almost always keeps in marshes
and on the the margin of rivers and lakes of
fresh water. It feeds upon reptiles : it is ne-
ver upon trees, or on any sort of eminence ; it
generally places its nest among reeds, and the
female lays two white eggs which have a
bluish tinge.

The first curlew of HudsorCs Bay is about
the size of the small curlew, and has many
affinities with it ; so that it will not be sur-
prising if future observation should prove that
this curlew of Hudson's Bay is but a simple
variety of the small curlew, from which, in
fact, it differs only by a white stripe, which
divides longitudinally the top of the head, by
another white line in the form of an arch above
the eye, and by the rump being of the same
colour as the back. Mr. Pennant was the first
that mentioned this species. It arrives in nu-
merous flights upon the coast of Labrador, in
the months of August; and September, and at
Hudson's Bay in April and May. These birds
keep in open places, and their flesh acquires
VOL. VI. 2 Q much

208 NATURAL HISTORY

much fat and flavour. Their cry is a sort of
whistling, and the female lays four eggs.

The second curlew of Hudson'' s Bay^ differs
from the common curlew (with vvhich how-
ever it has many affinities) in the size, being,
at least, three times smaller, and the beak also
smaller. The back is a deep brown colour,
and the belly is white, mixed with ochre-yel-
\o\\'. It is found at Hudson's Bay, in inun-
dated places, and humid meadows, and it lives
upon worms and insects. Gmelin is wrong in
confounding this bird with the preceding one,
as it is entirely distinct

The ievrea is the name which a species of
curlew bears in Otaheite, the size of which is
nearly that of the common curlew. It differs
from it, however, in the shades and in the dis-
tribution of its colours ; a whitish stripe sur-
mounts the eye, and the neck is striped with
black. On the back, and on the upper co-
vert feathers of the wings, there are undulated
black and white stripes upon a ground of
white and clear red, w^hich is the prevailing
colour of the plumage. The tail has some
black spots towards its insertion, and transver-
sal stripes of the same colour towards its point.
The beak is brown, with some red at its
b»sis ; the feet are bluish.

OF BIRDS, FISHj &C. 299

THE PENGUIN.

THE TENGUIN OF THE BALTIC.

M. PALLAS, who describes this penguin^
confesses that he has not had sufficient op-
portunities of observing it to decide whe-
ther it is a variety of the small penguin,
or a distinct species \ finally, however, he de-
cides for the former opinion. M. Brunnick,
however, thinks that it constitutes a distinct
species, and he has called it the penguin of the
Baltic Sea. But the opinion of Pallas is, per-
haps, the most correct, from the almost per-
fect resemblance which there is between the
small penguin and the subject of this article.
The only difference which there is between
them is, that the penguin of the Baltic has
not the small stripe which proceeds from the
beak to the eye, and that its plumage is en-
tirely white on all the under parts from the
2 Q 9 beak

300 NATURAL HISTORY

beak to the tail. Hence Mr. Latham, struck
with such a conformity, supposes that this
bird is the young one of the small penguin,
newly hatched.

Of this singular part of the creation there
are some other species, among which the
following are most deserving of notice :

The small tufted penguin. The tuft which
this bird has upon its forehead, is formed of
several feathers, from the middle of which
proceed 'six large feathers, silky and slender,
which hang gracefully, bending towards the
beak. This pretty tuft has a very striking
conformity with that of the tufted blackbird
of China ; and it crowns one of the most sin-
gular of beaks. Let the reader imagine a
short and nearly conically formed mass, as red
as scarlet, and white at its end, the upper
mandibki of which is convex, and the under
more flattened, and truncated obliquely,
marked on each side by a furrow, which be-
gins at the root of the beak, and forms a
sort of triangular abajoues near the angle of
the mouth ; lastly, above this angle, a fleshy
excrescence, of a beautiful red colour, having
the form of a heart, and flattened underneath ;
and he will have a tolerably precise idea of

this

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. SOI

this complicated beak, upon which are perfo-
rated the oblong apertures of the nostrils.

The tongue is entire, and rather thick ; the
gullet is large ; the head is smaller in propor-
tion than that of the small guillemot ; and the
whole bird is not very large.

Under the eyes, which are small, may be
seen a white stripe, and on each side of the
neck, near the head, there are some silky and
very fine feathers of the same colour ; the
head is black, as well as the top of the neck
and back; but this last part is variegated
with large and scattered lines of a reddish
brown colour ; the rump is a whitish grey ;
and the down which covers the whole body is
cinereous. The covert and the quill feathers
of the wings are of a sooty black colour;
those of the tail are a common black, and the
feet are a clear brown.

This species is common towards the islands
at the extremity of Lapland, and particularly
near the island of Matmey. During the day
these birds keep at sea, and they retire, to-
wards the approach of night, into the holes
on the shore, or clefts of the rocks, where they
may be easily taken by the hand ; they even
fix themselves on the vessels, so very thought*
less and stupid are they. Steller and Kra*

chenniuikow

302 NATURAL HISTORY

chennninikow say, that these penguins are to
be found also in the sea which bathes the
coast of Kamstchatka.

There are two other species of penguin
which deserve to be noticed. I'he first is

The small blackish penguin, which has a
considerable affinity with the preceding; its
beak is formed nearly in the same manner,
but with smaller dimensions ; and besides, it
is of a yellowish brown colour. On the fore-
head there is only the rudiment of a small
tuft, a sort of frizzled toupee, and divided
longitudinally into two parts ; but it has none
of the long, fine feathers, which bend forward
so gracefully over the beak of the small tufted
penguin, A whitish stripe descends behind
the eye, the iris of which is white ; the feet are
a livid brown ; and the membrane of the toes
a deep black. In other respects, the descrip-
tion of the tufted penguin agrees almost in
every point with this, only that the colours
of the plumage are less vivid.

It is found very frequently upon the penin-
sula of Kamstchatka. It nests in the month
of June, and each female lays only one large
^gg. Its manners are the same as those of the
small tufted penguin, which it seems however .
to surpass in stupidity ; for Steller says that

this

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 303

this bird came not only on the vessels, but even
on the shoulders of the men. Lice of a peculiar
form torment them while living ; and, when
dead, they are uselei«s, for the dryness and
hardness of their flesh, which is covered with
a short tenacious down, renders it impossible
to be divided, and it can be palatable only to
the most wild and gross nations, such as the
Kamstchadales, who live on the w^orst and
most disgusting food.

The parrot penguin. Some resemblance in the
form of the beak of this penguin with that of
the parrot, induced Pallas to suppress the bar-
barous appellations which this bird has in the
northern countries, where it is usually found,
and to adopt in its stead a specific denomina-
tion, which should designate its most remark-
able attribute. There is no membrane at the
basis of this parrot-beak, but in lieu of it, a
wrinkle of the skin on the forehead ; the up-
per mandible is an exact representation of a
gmin of gourd, and the under one has the
shape of a sickle ; both are striped with a fur-
row, which is deeper on the upper chap. The
apertures of the nostrils are large, oblong, and
parallel to the edges of the beak, from which
they are a little distant ; the tongue is en
alene; the eyes are small, like those of all

the

304 * NATtTRAL HISTORY

the birds of this species ; in a state of repose
the wings do not extend beyond the tail, the
quill feathers of which are short and almost
equal. The whole bird is nearly the size of
the small guillemot, but it is fatter ; it is black
on the head, the top part of the neck, the
back, the wings, and the tail ; a white spot
occupies the middle of the upper eyelid, and
another spot, of the same colour, is under the
eye. All the under parts are white; there is
a grey shade on the front of the neck, and a
little black on the thighs and the feathers of
the legs. The beak is of a beautiful red ; the
feet are of a dirty yellow, and the membranes
of the toes brown.

M. Pallas was the first that ever spoke of
this penguin ; and to that indefatigable tra-
veller, Steller, we are indebted for all the fol-
lowing information :

During the day, these parrot penguins may be
seen swimming in troops in the seas of Kamst-
chatka ; but they do not move far from the
islands and rocks, where they shelter them-
selves during the night. The people who in-
habit the coasts of the Archipelago of Kamst-
chatka, have discovered so much stupidity in
these penguins that they do not use much art
in catching them ; they go in the evening to

the

OF BIRDS, FISH, kc. 305

the shore covered with their lar^e coats, which
consist of skins sewed tofrelher, and which
they call Jaiklanka; they take tlieir arms from
the sleeves which hang pendant; they sit,
motion le>'5S, and waiting for the penciuins,
who, in the obscurity of the evenin^r, mistake
the sleeves and the opening of the coat, for a
safe retreat, push in without fear, and are
taken, one after the other, by the huntsman,
and killed. In fact, they would not be worth
hunting were the chase more difficult ; their
flesh is blackish, and ver\^ tough, and the
down adheres to it with such tenacity that it
cannot be removed without tearing the skin,
This stuj)idity of tlie parrot penguins is not
without its utility to those who brave the
tempests and terrible agitation of this part of
the ocean which separates Kamstchatka from
America. When, in approaching the islands,
these birds come upon the vessels, and allow
themselves to be taken with the hand, it is
a certain presage of the approach of bad wea-
ther, and the signal of danger. The female
lays towards the middle of June ; it consists
of a single e^gy which is rather large, and has
a pleasant taste; sometimes it is wiiitish,
sometimes a pale yellow, and always spotted
with brown; the female lays it upon the sand,
or upon a stone, without any precaution.
VOL. VI, 5R The

30(5 IfATURAL HISTORY

The particular species of penguin to which
ornithologists have given the fantastic namtj.
oi antique penguin^ need not be conijiciered as
a distinct one. It Hves hke the preceding
ones, near the coast of Kamstchatka, and the
Kurile islands ; it has so many affinities with
the parrot pengliin and the small tufted pen-
guin, that it may be referred to one or other
of those species ; and the discrepancies which
may be observed in the descriptions^ are to be
attributed probably to the ignorance of the
descrihers.

In the same predicament also stands another
species, which ornithologists call the p'gniy
penguin, whose very existence is even
doubtful.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C* 307

OF THE GOOSE, SWAN, AND DUCK.

Till:: HYPERBOREAN GOOSE*.

IF this denomination belongs to any species
of goose, it is, doubtless, to the present one,
whichadoptsforits habitual residence thearctic
regions of our globe, and those places which
are most refrigerated by snow and frost. In
the earliest part of Spring, and before the ap-
pearance of any other water fowl, immense
colonies, to the amount of three or four hun-
dred, of these hyperborean geese are seen to
arrive in Siberia. These numerous winged
cohorts alight first near the river Kolyma;
and they then set forth again to reach th^

2 R 2 mouth

* This appears to be something similar to the white goose^
(see vol. 3, p. 160, Birds;) but if it be the same, which how-
ever is very doubtful, yet the additional information of
Sonnini would entitle it to a place here.

308 NATURAL HI8T0RY

mouth of the Jana or Lena, before even th^
melting of the snow or the breaking of the
ice. Want of pasture soon forces them to di-
rect their course towards the south, following
principally the course of the Lena, in order
to search the lakes, marshes, v^c. which, at
this period, present them with insects and
aquatic plants. In this manner they extend
as far each year as Jakutsk ; but they do not
go beyond ; if they are occasionally seen near
the river Olecman, it is only in small troops, of
ten at most, in number; and nothing is less
common than to see any one of them near the
place where the Wittim empties itself into
the Lena. They do not abide long in these
places, as do the common wild geese and the
laughing goose, which arrive from all sides at
the same time ; but the hyperborean goose,
not being able to endure the heat returns to the
shores of the frozen sea, as soon as the mild
temperature of spring begins to shed its tardy
influence upon countries long hardened by
excessive frosts. It is on the shores of this
ocean, yet half frozen, that they occupy them-
selves with the propagation of their species.
It must be observed, that they do not take
the same road in returning as they' did in
setting out ; but when they have arrived at

Jakutsk,

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 300

Jakutsk, they change their direction, and turn
a little towards the east, passing hy the lakes
of Jana and Indigirkan, and thus regaining
their chosen place of residence.

Some scattered individuals, however, occa-
sionally appear in less cold regions. Schwenck*
feld has mnged this bird among those which
are to be found in Silesia ; and Marsigli has
given a drawing of it in his History of the Da-
nube. Brisson describes it after Schwenck-
feld, under the name of the Smno Goose,
which appellation may belong either to the
whiteness of tiie bird, or to the region of ice
and snow, v^hich it inhabits from choice.

The hyperborean geese also make excur-
sions to America, regulating themselves al-
ways by the quantity of food, and never wan-
dering far from the north. They are seen in
innumerable troops at Hudson's Bay ; they,
appear also to frequent the opposite coasts, for
Ellis says that he has seen them at Onalaska;
but it may be presumed that they are not very
numerous. The natives of Hudson's Bay,,
those of Kamstchatka, and many other people
of the north, where rigorous frosts condense,
perpetually, the earth, and do not permit it to
thaw beyond one foot in depth, heap up, in
spacious excavations, thousands of these geese,:

deprived

310 NATURAL HISTORY

deprived of their feathers and their entrails, and
cover them simply with the earth. They iiave
observed indeed , that if, from motives of clean-
hness, they have placed between the earth
and the geese, branches or hay, all the provi-
sions have become corrupted, while, on the
contrary, the mere earth throwTi immediately
on the top of them, preserves them perfectly.
These subterraneous magazines form, in win-
ter, an ample and excellent resource for those
who live in these harsh and severe countries.

This species has not the distrustful and sa-
vage nature of the wild geese of the common
species ; the hyperborean goose may be ap-
proached near enough to be killed with
stones ; the manner in which the Russians,
and the Jakuts of Jana and Indigirka con-
duct the chace of them, proves to what a
degree they are heedless and stupid.

The most favourable season for this chace is
between the month of April and the end of
June, because at the time when the hyperbo-
rean geese arrive, they are very thin ; and in
June, when they have moulted, they lose a
great portion of that fat which they have ac-
quired from abundant nutrition. Three or
four hunters unite themselves, and when they
Ijave discovered a band of geese pasturing near

a river.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 311

a river, they extend, upon the bank of the
river, a large net, or they make a cabin of
skins sewed together; then, one of them, en-
tirely covered with the white skins of rein
deer, goes straight towards the band of geese,
which the others surround in the rear, and
drive them forward by hissing. The troop
follows, without fear, and better than domestic
geese, the man cloathed in white ; and this
false conductor leads them near the net, which
falling, often entirely covers them. If, instead
of a net, they have reared a cabin, the geose
also follow the hunter ; when they have filled
it the door closes, and they meet with a cruel
death as the reward of their confidence ; and
this confidence is so entire, and so general,
that a flight of geese, which perceives one of
these troops led b}' the hunters, alights near
them, and accompanies them without any
difficulty.

It has already been observed, that the hy-
perborean goose is as white as snow ; from
which general colour, however, we must ex-
cept the forehead, on which appears a } ellaw-
ish tinge, and the quill feathers of the win^s,
the first eleven of. which are "always black for
one half of their length, and the others have,
in general, their tips of a cinereous colour;

this

312" NATURAL HISTORY

this last colour, indeed, sometimes tinges a
part of the covert feathers of the wings. The
beak is a lively red, but the edges of the imder
mandible are somevi-hat white, as well as a
spot between the nostrils ; the iris is a yellow-
ish brown ; the feet and the membrane of the
toes are red, but the toes themselves are black.
The young ones have not only the forehead
yellowish, but the top part of their head and
neck, as well as their shoulders, and some-
times their throat, have the same shade
united with a reddish tinge. The size of this
bird is between that of a domestic goose and
of the laughing goose, and its weight is not
more than five pounds; the wings, when
folded, extend a little bevond the tail.

THE KASAHKA GOOSE,

THE name oihasarUa, or kassarka, which
travellers have applied to many species of '
geese in the northern parts of Europe, is spe-
cially appropriated in Russia to the present '
bird, which is one of the smallest species of '

*-- - " wild

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. Sl^

wild geese. It is hardly bigger than the wild
duck, but it stands higher than the common
goose ; its total length is one foot ten inches ;
the prevailing colour of its plumage is a lively
brick red ; the head is of a light fawn colour,
and the rump brown, striped with fawn co-
lour ; the quill feathers of the wings and tail
are black, as well as the beak, the iris, and the
feet; the covert feathers, and the under part
of the wings, are of a white colour. The
male has a black collar, which is wanting in
the female.

The kasarka has some points of resemblance
with the Egyptian goose; but it notwith-
standing difters sufficiently to constitute it a
distinct and absolutely different species,
which never visits the burning climate of
Africa. It lives in the most southern coun-
tries of Russia and Siberia, and it is said that
it passes the winter in Persia and India.
These geese do not fly in numerous troops
like others of the kind ; they are only met in
couples. Confidential and peaceable inclina-
tions accompany, in general, this perseverance
in the most amiable and intimate of con-
nexions ; and hence, the kasarkas are neither
fearful nor ferocious ; they suffer themselves to
be easily approached, but man has not any great
VOL. VI. t^ s ijiter«st

Si4 NATURAL HISTORY

interest in killing them ; their flesh is good for
nothing ; the Tartars of the Crimea affirm that
it is even dangerous. *' Nevertheless," says
the Baron de Tott, " I have tasted it, and I
only found it very disagreeable*/'

To the interior qualities the kasarka joins
exterior graces; it has neither the painful ba-
lanced walk, the awkward heaviness, nor the
ignoble look, which belongs to its family. Its.
long feet permit it to advance' with celerity ;
its attitudes have dignit}^, its deportment
is graceful, and its flight easy, and without
noise ; its voice even is not rough or dis-
agreeable ; it is, indeed, asserted that its tones
are even pleasant, and do not offend the ear
like those of the common goose.

These geese establii-h their nests in the
clefts of rocks and in caverns ; they very sel-
dom place them either in the holes of trees or
in pits in the earth ; the female lays eight
or ten white eggs, and which are larger than
those of the wild duck.

* Mem. du Baron deTott, sur lesTarlares, torn. 1, p.22£.-
This is a positive assertion, and wliich destroys that of
Gmelin, who says that the flesh of the Kasarka goose fs"
\ery savory; caro sapidissiina, ' •■'

OF BIRDS, JTISH, &C. 315

THE CAGE.

THIS is a species of bird described by Mo-'
lina, in his Essay on the Natural History of
Chili ; and it is found in the islands of the
Archipelago of Cluioe. It is of the size of on?
domestic goose, but its neck is shorter, and its
wings and its tail, which last terminates in a
point, are longer. Its beak is semi-cylindrical,
lind furnished, at its base, with a red membrane.
In this species the male is entirely white,'
with theexceptionof its beak and feet, which
are yellow. The female, on the contrary, is
black ; many of its feathers have merely
a little Avhite like a border, and its beak
and its feet are red. " I have given to this
bird," says the Abbe Molina, " the name of
hyhride, or mulatto goose, which appears to
me to express the remarkable ditlereiice be-
tween the two sexes." But Sonnini preferred
the name of cage^ being that which is given it
by the iiatives of its natal country.

2 S 2 The

316 NATURAL HISTORY

The extreme disparity which exists between
the plumage of the male and female,, is not
the only singularity which distinguishes this
from every other species of goose. It is
a solitaiy bird ; it is never seen, like other
geese, in noisy troops, flying in the air, or
alighting in the fields; but, more cairn, and
above all, more constant in its tastes, it flies
from tumultuous associations to give added
charms to the pleasures of solitude, in partak-
ing it with a companion which it never quits ;
these inseparable couples live happily, for they
live retired, faithful, and loving. The kusarka
has already furnislu'.d us with an example of
this sort of anomaly in the habits which are
common to the goose genus. During the
time of laying, the cage goose retires to the
shore, and the female deposits eight white
eggs, in a cavity which she hay herself dug in
the sand.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. S17

T"— -r-

THE BLACK-HEADED SWAV.

IF we imagine a domestic swan with the
fiead and part of the neck of a fine velvet
black, and the beak entirely red, we shall then
have the description of a species of swan
which Bourganville and Pernetty saw in tlie
Malouine islands, on the river Plata, and in the
streights of Magellan. Coreal also (torn. 2,
p. 213) saw it on the coast of the South Sea,
and Frezier and the Abbe Molina at Chili.
This last is the only one who has spoken of
the habits of the black-headed swan, and he
mentions a very singular peculiarity, viz. that
the female, who generally hatches six youngs
ones, never leaves them alone in the nest, but
carries them on her back every time she goes
out to seek for food.

The black swan. In our minds the word
swan ciills up the idea of a bird of a beautiful
white colour ; but not so to the inhabitants of
New Holland There, our proverbial expres-
sion has no longer any application, and they
ought to say black as a swan. A shining

black

3J8 NATURAL llIrJTORY

black colour is, in fact, that of the plumage
of swans in tins country :i they have onjy six
quill feathers in each wing that are white.
Tlie upper mandible of the beak would be en-
tirely red were it not for a' blackish transver-
sal stripe towards its point. As in the com-
mon species, this mandible is surmounted,
at it^ base, by a fleshy tubercle, forming two
protuberances, which are scarcely perceptible
on the beak of the female ; the under man-
dible is red ; the feet and the toes are of a
deep grey.

These. birds',i which iire somewhat larger
than our swans, have the same majestic port,
and the same grace in their motions; the vel-
vet black colour of their plumage emits the
same lustre as the white of our swans; and
when they take flight the white quill feathers
of their extended v.'ings form an agreeable
contrast with the general colour of the plu-..
mage. They appear to be very common in
New Holland, for those who have navigated
this part of the world have killed enough in
one day to load a canoe with.

The ash'CoIoured swan is entirely a neio
species J and lives, like the preceding one, in
the waters and marshes of New Holland.
We are indebted for the knowledge of it to
Labillardiere, the first and the only one

who

OF BIRDS, riSH, &C. oil)

who has spoken of it, and we cannot there-
fore do better than to repeat his words :

" On the coast of New Holland, in 35° 17',
south latitude, and 115" 12', of east longitude,
>ve found a numerous troop of swans, many
of which suffered themselves to be taken by
the hand ; but the others, aware of their danger,
soon Hew away. This new species is some-
what larger than the wild swan, and of a ci-
nereous grey colour, the hue of which is
somewhat clearer under the belly ; the beak
is blackish, and at its base it is puffed out, and
of a sulphureous yellow colour; the feet are
slightly tinged with red." See Voyage a la
recherche de la Perouse, par Labillardiere,
torn. 1, p. 394.

THE DUCK OF THE NILE.

THERE are various species of wild ducks
to be seen swimming on the waters of the
Nile both in upper and lower Egypt ; they
keep on those parts of the river where project-
ing pieces of the land secure them from the

rapidity

3i£0 NATURAL HISTORY

rapidity of the current, and from the agitation
of the winds ; they suffer themselves to gUde
along with the hardly perceptible course of
the stream, and when they arrive at a certain
point, they take flight in order to regain the
spot from whence they proceeded. Sonnini
observed troops of these ducks which re-
peated this method days together; but among
those birds, which may be exclusively called
ducks of the Nile, as they never leave that
river, he saw none of that species to which
Hasselquitz has appropriated this denomina-
tion*. Forskael, who has described various
species of Egyptian ducks, makes no men-
tion of this one. It may be doubted even
whether it be really a species of duck proba-
bly it is a sort of goose, perhaps the Egyptian
goose, to which, indeed, the brief description
of Hasselquitz is sufficiently analagous, and it
is well known that in the methodical style of
Linnaeus, the goose and the duck are con-
founded under the same generic denomi-
nation.

Till, however, future observation shall
confirm or destroy these conjectures, we shall

describe,

* See a voyage in the Levant by Hasselquitz, published
by Linnaeus.— ^nas nilotica.

OF J5IRDS, FISH, &c. 321

describe, accordins^ to Hasselquitz, this pre-
tended duck of the Nile, which, if it must be
ranged under that genus, approaches nearly to
that^ which is distinguished by the denomina-
tion of the w?/.9A- c??/c/j.

The Arabs call this hack, and it may be re-
marked, that bank is the Arabic term for the
Egyptian goose; and this similarity in desig-
nations badly pronounced or badly written, is
another proof of the identity of the Egyptian
goose and the duck, which Hasselquitz has
called the duck of the Nile. It has the neck
and the top of the head white spotted with
grey ; a white stripe extends behind the eyes •
the back is whitish ; the under part of* the
body greyish, and striped with black; the
thighs striped with grey ; the tail long and
rounded; the iris of the eyes yellow; the teet
red, and the callosity on the ei\ge of the beak,
as well as the fleshy excrescence at its basis, is
yellow. It is found, according to Hasselqui'tz,
in Upper Egypt and in the Red Sea; it is'
easily tamed, and the Egyptians bring it up in
their yards.

We shall mention several other species of
this numerous family of birds.

The crooked-beaked duck. If this duck be,
m fact, a diiferent species from the common
"^^^•^^- ^T duck,

329 NATURAL 111ST0?.Y

duck, as ISI. Pallas thinks, it is certainly a
most rare and uncommon one, for only one
individual of it has hitherto been discovered,
and that one served M. Pallas for his descrip-
tion; and even this naturalist only saw the
preserved skin in a cabinet. This duck W2ls
taken in Belgium, and it is a little larger than
our wild duck ; its beak is curved, or rather
turned up like that which Brisson has called
the canard a bee courbe, and which is only
a variety in the species of common duck, thus
deformed by the influence of a domestic state.
Almost the whole bird is black; the head, the
neck, and the rump, have slight shades of an
obscure green ; a white oval spot covers the
throat, and the five external quill feathers of
the wings have the same colour ; the iris of
the eye is fawn colour.

The Heturrera. Such is the name which
the natives of New Zealand give to a duck,
the species of which has since been found on
the coasts of Queen Charlotte's Streights. It
is the size of our wild duck, and its length is
about twenty inches. A white stripe, which
is in the form of an arch above and below the
eye, has induced some nomenclators to call it
the eye-brow d duck ; but this is too unimport-
ant a designation, and may belong to others as

well

OF BIRDS, risii, &c. 323

well as to this. The name which it bears in
its native country is preferable. The throat
and the front of the neck are whitish ; the
large plate on the wings, which is common to
the species of this genus, and which ornitho-
logists call the mirror ^ is of a bluish green co-
lour, surrounded with a black line ; the rest
of the plumage is of a deep grey; the beak
has a leaden hue, and the feet are of a cine-
reous brown.

The Sued is the name of a species of duck
at St. Domingo, which approaches a good
deal to the common grey-headed widgeon. Mo-
dern ornithologists have called it the Jacquin
duck, from the name of the traveller Jacquin
whQ was the first that spoke of it. The size
of this duck is equal to that of the white-
faced duck ; its plumage is of a bay red, with
the exception of the back, which is blackish.
Its beak and feet are black. It is a noisy bird,
and its voice is ver\^ shrill.

The spotted-hilled duck. The variety of the
colours of the beak of this duck is the most
striking attribute on a first observation, and
from it has been derived the distinctive deno-
mination of the species. This beak is
elongated, and black for the greater part; the
point is white, and on each side of its root is
2T2 a red

9^4 KAIURAL HISTOilV

a red spot. A black strijie, which begins at
the beak, extends along the sides of tlie head,
and crosses the eyes ; the cheeks and a part of
the front of the neck, are of a whitish ash
colour, and the feathers of the belly black*
An ash-coloured stripe surrounds the quill
feathers of the wings, of which the large ones
are black, and the middle ones white; a shin-
ing green juirror, surrounded by a circle, half
black and half white, appears upon the
wings ; the rest of the plumage is black, and
the feet are of a red mixed with yellow.
This duck is very common in the island of
Ceylon, and in the East Indies.

The pink-headed duck. Were we to judge
of this bird from the plate of it, which Mr.
Latham has published, we should mther con-
sider it as belonging to the goose species than
the duck, principally on account of the form
of the beak, which is perfectly that of a goose.
It is of a lively cinnamon colour both on the
head and the upper half of the neck, which
are covered with close and short feathers;
those of the body are of a chocolate brown ;
the covert feathers of the wings, are long and
turned up, and the mirror, which occupies a.
part of them, is not very brilliant, and is of the
colour of rust; the iris of the eye is red, and

the

OF BIRDS, FIbll, &C. 325

the feet are tinned with a bluish grey. The
total length of the bird is about twenty inches.
The female differs but little from the male.
This species exists in many parts of India,
and principally in the province ofOude; it is
rarely seen in troops, and almost always in
pairs ; many of them are kept tame in India.

THE DUCK OF STELiER.

PALLAS has consecrated this rare and
new species of duck to the memory of Steller,
a learned and laborious traveller, to w^hom
we are indebted for the discovery of it. It
would be unjust to change a denomination
which is equally honourable to the giver and
receiver.

It was in the shoals and inaccessible rocks
of Kamtschatka that Steller saw those ducks,
the species of which bears his name ; there
they place their nests, and fly in troops upon
the waters of the sea, from which they never
retreat to enter the rivers. They frequent
also, the most nortliern countries of America.

A couple

S'^G WATUJiAL HISTORY

A couple of these birds have been seen on a
river in Ostrogothia. The beak is very mucli
like that of a goose, and the apertures of the
nostrils are placed in about the middle of it ;
some feathers, of an irregular length, form a
sort of small tuft on the back part of the head ;
the tail is short, and terminates in a point;
and the wings, v^^hen folded, scarcely reach as
far as the rump. There are, upon the head,
two spots of an emerald green colour, one
transversally across the nape of the neck, the
other larger, which extends from one eye to
the other, passing over the forehead ; a circle
of small black silky feathers surrounds the
eyes ; the back, the throat, and the front part
of the neck, are black ; there is a sort of col-
lar also, of the same colour, but sparkling
with violet shades ; the rest of the body is
white, with the exception of the breast, upon
which there is a slight reddish tinsfe; the
large quill feathers of the wings are of a
blackish brown ; the middUng ones a mixture
of black and blue, with a vi'hite edge ; and
the small ones a violet black externally, and
white underneath. The tail is brown, and
the iris of a clear brov/n ; the beak and feet
are black.

The plumage of the female, variegated with

brown.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 3*27

brown, and a reddish yellow; it has a great deal
of resemblance with that of the woodcock ;
all the quill feathers of its wings are straight,
and blackish, and there are two white spoty,
one larger than the other, on their covert
feathers.

According to all appearance it is this fe-
male which Linnaeus, Gmelin, and others,
have considered as a distinct species, under
the appellation of the red duck ; the indica-
tions which they give, however, accord, al-
most in every point, with the present.

THE NYROCA.

UNDER tliis name, in the New Commen-
taries of the Academy of St. Petersburgh, is
the description of a northern duck, by M,
Gueldenstaedt. This bird approaches nearer
to the spoon-bill duck than any other of the
same genus, and perhaps, therefore, it is only
a variety of it. Yet it differs from it in hav-
ing the head free from the tuft and the ches-
hut colour, as well as the breast and thighs;

alb'o

SQS natuhal history

also in the whitish tinge of the iris of its eyes ;
in its belly being variegated with brown and a
dirty white ; and, lastly, in the snowy white-
ness of the under covert feathers of the tail.
Its total length is about fifteen inches. On
the other hand, the female of the nyroca dif-
fers from that of the spoon-bill duck, in not
having even the vestige of a tuft on the head,
in having the iris of its eyes whitish, and the
covert feathers of the under part of the tail of
the same dazzling white as the male. It is
distinguished from the male of its own spe-
cies, by its being smaller, the reddish tinge
on its back, the rust-coloured shade on the
head, throat, and breast, and by the brown
undulated stripes on its belly.

M. Gueldenstaedt relates, that the nyroca
lives on plants, grains, and hardly ever on
fish ; it is found on the waters of the Tanais ;
it migrates according to the seasons, as do al-
most all species of the same genus; the male
and female never quit each other ; the female
lays six or eight whitish eggs, in a hole dug
in the earth upon some little eminence above
the water, and she alone takes charge of the
incubation ; it is a game much sought after on
account of the savoury and tender quality of
its flesh.

The

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 390

The grey duck of Egypt. Hasselquitz, who
was the first that mentioned this duck, calls it
the duck ofDamietta; but as there are many
species of ducks in the lakes of Damietta, \t
became necessary to change such a vague de-
nomination, though it has been adopted by
modern nomenclators.

The size of this bird, which Sonnini him-
self saw in the canals near Aboukir, is nearly
equal to that of our wild duck. The general
ground of its plumage is a grey, which be-
comes somewhat blackish on the neck, lli^
scapular feathers and the tail ; a spot, in the
form of a crescent, surrounds the nape of the
neck, and the quill feathers of the wings are
of a blackish green.

This species is common in the lakes and
ponds of the northern part of Epypt. The
inhabitants catch them with nets.

THE WAFPIS.

THIS is a species of teal, and its name is
formed by a contraction of the long denomina-
VOL.VI. ou ^ ^.^^^

330 NATURAL HISTORY

tion tcaw pew ne way se pis, which is the one
given to it by the natives of Hudson's Bay.
It IP, in fact, in the most northern countries
of America, that this species of teal -has been
observed. It arrives in Hudson's Bay in the
month of June, and it departs again in Octo-
ber, the female having laid ten v^^hite eggs,
which she deposits in holes of trees growing
by the sides of lakes. It feeds upon aquatic
plants.

The total length of this teal is a little more
than a foot. On the top of the head it has
a sort of black cap ; the tail and the feet are
of the same colour ; the breast, the bell}', and
the covert feathers of the wings are blue ; the
largest of these covert feathers have a white
spot; the throat and the under part of the
middle quill feathers are white.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 331

THE KING FISHER.

THE KING FISHER OF MALIMEO.

THIS bird has a thick, strong beak. It is
nine inches and a half in length ; the beak
alone is two and a half, and ten inches in
diameter at its basis. The tail is three
inches, and the wings, when folded, reach to
about the middle of its length. The wings,
from tip to tip, when extended, are ten inches.
The length of the tarsus is seven lines, that
of the middle toe, eleven, that of the exterior
one, nine, and that of the interior, six and a
half.

The similarity in the form of the beak, and
some other traits oi' affinity, at tirst led Sonnini
to think that this was the same as the large
beaked king fisher, which is also found towards
the south of Africa ; but, comparing them at-
tentively together, it was evident that they were
distinct species; for, besides, the difference of
of size (the present one being much smaller)

there

332 NATURAL HISTORY, &C.

there was also a remarkable disparity in the
colours of the plumage. This bird has a grey
forehead ; the head, the neck, the back, the
rump, the tail, aud the breast, are of a clear
marine blue; the throat and the belly are
whitish ; on the sides of the head there is a
black stripe which traverses the eye ; the co-
vert feathers of the wings, and the scapular
feathers are black ; the external side of the
quill feathers of the wings is the same ma-
rine blue as what prevails over the body, and
their internal side is brown, as well as their
end. The iris of the eyes is rose colour ; the
feet, the toes, and the nails are brown.

The female has the head, neck, back, and
breast, of a bluish grey, and has brown in-
stead of black, on the wings.

This, therefore, is absolutely a new species,
for the discovery of which we are indebted to
the researches of Perrein, an ingenious traveller.
His manuscript notes say that this king fisher
is common at Malimbo, upon the sea shore,
from which it very rarely departs, and that it
feeds upcTh fish and small worms.

FINIS.

G. Squire, Printer,

"^uiniTal's Iria-Court.

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