^t^&Sr tV^. if .-s and their hatching an exclusive characteristic of the feathered */ ^> ^C* tribes, for we have birds which leave the hatching to be done by the heat of decaying vegetable matter heaped upon them, while the latest indications are that the old report of the Monotremes laying eggs, hitherto regarded as a fable, is substantially true. The so-called 'pneumacity ' of the bird-skeleton, or the peculiarity of the bones being hollow and filled with air through the canals in connection with the respiratory organs, has also been regarded as belonging to the birds only, but the bones of the extinct Pterosaurians and some other forms were also filled with air, air-canals being present in nearly all the bones of the skeletons of the larger species, while several recent birds, for instance the kiwis and the penguins, are entirely destitute of pneumacity in any part of the skeleton. "We will mention one more character which cannot be upheld as peculiar to the birds in view of our present knowledge. It is well known that in birds the different bones of the skull grow together at an early age, fusing so completely that the borders of the individual bones are completely obliterated, while in most other vertebrates these bones remain separated by sutures during the whole lifetime of the animal. Still there have been found remains of an extinct bird, the remarkable Gastornis, in which the sutures were permanent, while, on the other hand, all tends to show that the ancient Pterosaurians had the different pieces of the skull fused together as com- pletely and as early as any bird now living. Since we thus have to fall back upon the feathers as the most distinctive feature of a bird, a brief comment upon their structure and origin may not be out of place. Comparing the scales of reptiles, the feathers of birds, and the hairs of mammals, the popular verdict would probably be in favor of regarding the hairs and the feathers as more resembling one another than either of them do the scales, particularly when we remember the many hair-like appendages in birds. Scientific investigation, however, seemed to prove the correctness of quite the opposite view, and the alleged identity of scales and feathers has been frequently used as a further argument for the close relation- ship between reptiles and birds, the scale-like feathers along the edge of the penguin's wiiK>- behiT regarded as a structure intermediate in character between the two kinds of O O O integument and a proof of their common origin, while much stress was laid upon the differences between hair and feather. True, the latter differ radically, particularly in their early stages, for a hair is formed in a solid ingrowth of the epidermis, while the feather originates on the top of a large papilla ; but the homology of the latter Avith the scales of the reptiles is not therefore a sure thing, and Mr. J. A. Jeffries has recently brought forward arguments which indicate a different nature of the two structures, the strongest being that feathers may grow upon scuta. It should also be remarked that the above-mentioned scale-like feathers of the penguin are in every respect true feathers, and not half feather, half scale. Young birds, when breaking the egg enclosing them, vary greatly in their develop- ment, some being quite naked, as, for example, most Passeres, Picaria?, herons, and cormorants, but soon assuming a more or less full covering of soft down, which again is replaced by firmer feathers; other kinds are not hatched before the downy clothing is perfected within the egg-shell, while the final feather plumage is put on afterwards; the former are called Gymnopaedes (yi/nuws, naked; paides, children); the latter group ; Dasypa3des (dasys, downy). All the Gymnopcedes are fed in the nest by the INTRODUCTION. 3 parents (Altrices), and so are many of those which are born down-clad, but a great number of the latter are able to run about immediately upon leaving the egg (Pra> coces). A few birds remain so long within the egg that the feathers are developed before the shell bursts, this being the case with the young talegallas, and these might be called Pteropsedes. As remarked above, the feather is formed on a dermal papilla. At an early stage such papillae arise above the surface of the skin, each of which is grooved longitudi- nally on one side. This median groove sends off laterally numerous smaller ones in an obliquely upward direction, gradually becoming shallower. The secretion of the papilla moulds in these furrows, and, when pushed upward by new formations below, dries and splits into a feather, consisting of a scape and disconnected lateral barbs. These imperfect feathers are called plumules, and, taken collectively, constitute the down. While the papilla from which these plumules were formed sinks later on into a pit or follicle of the skin, another crop of more perfect feathers starts from papilla? at the bottom of pits which are situated at the intersections of numerous ridges of the skin (the latter without sudoriferous glands and sebaceous follicles). These papillae are more deeply grooved, and have, moreover, ATery often a corresponding but slighter furrow on the opposite side, from which originates a usually small extra feather, known as the after-shaft (hyporachis), and attached to the under side of the main shaft. These stronger and more perfect feathers, which are called contour feathers, consist of a central stem and a lateral ' web ' on each side. The former is composed of two parts ; a lower, cylindrical, and hollow portion, the quill proper, enclosing the papilla, which shrivels when the feather ceases to grow; it merges into the terminal part, the shaft, which is four-sided and solid, and from which spring two lateral sets of barbs or radii ; these have on their margins secondary processes, barbules, which by means of small hooks or barbicels interlock with the neighboring barbs, thus unitin"1 o o ' o them into continuous and elastic 'webs,' termed the inner or outer web, according to the relative position to the median line of the body. Only in a few of the recent birds, as in penguins and ostriches, are the feathers dis- tributed evenly over the whole body. In all Euornithes they are arranged in special and regular groups or tracts (pterylae), separated by naked or downy spaces (apteria), which are concealed by the overlying feathers of the neighboring tracts, an arrangement by which smoothness of the plumage is secured whatever movement the bird may under- take. It may be regarded as a rule that the smaller the feathers in a tract the smaller are the separating spaces, the latter sometimes becoming so narrow as to be nearly obliterated. The different grouping of the tracts, their distribution and ramification, are subject to considerable variation, and are to a certain extent valuable for syste- matic purposes, because sometimes diagnostic of important divisions. Two of the pterylas are of special interest and importance — the alar and the caudal tracts, both including the strongest feathers of the whole body. From the former spring the remiges, which form the essential part of the wing, and without which no bird can fly. Those which are fixed to the hand are called primaries ; secondaries are those on the forearm, the three innermost of which are styled tertiaries. The number of primaries is usually ten, often nine, very seldom eleven ; that of sec- ondaries from six to forty. The bases of these are overlaid by several rows of larger and smaller contour feathers, the upper or under wing coverts, according to their posi- tion on the upper or lover surface of the wing. For further detail we refer to the accompanying cut, which will give more information at a glance than we can detail in NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. -y S p FIG. 1. — Feathers of a passerine wing, seen from above; a, alula; j>, primaries; Ic, lesser coverts; gc, greater coverts; }»:, primary coverts; me, middle coverts; s, secondaries; sc, scapulars; t, tertiaries. a long description ; but we would like to call attention to the middle row (me in the figure), the so-called ' middle coverts,' which in many birds, particularly among the Passeres, are arranged in a manner dif- ferent from the other feathers, as they overlap each other with their inner edges, while all the other feathers have the outer margin free, and the inner one covered by the overlying feathers. The caudal tract embraces the tail feathers (rectrices) and their upper and under coverts. They are in pairs, and are counted from the outside towards the centre. Their number varies from eight to thirty-two, but twelve is the rule, less the rare exception. Besides these normal feathers there are several modifications for special pur- poses ; filoplumes, with slender axis and rudimental barbs, are often merely for ornament, while the hair-like vibrissa?, which have no barbs at all, line the mouths of many insect- eating birds, and the eyelids of many birds of prey, toucans, and ostriches. " Some plumes have the barb-tips breaking off as dust (powder-down), and these may be scat- tered (and transitory, as in the laeiumergeier), or dorsal, or on each side of the spinal tract (some kites) ; or post-femoral and inguinal (herons, Leptosoma, tinamous)." We may also mention the so-called semiplum.es, feathers intermediate between contour feathers and down, and occupying the edges of the feather-tracts ; in the hoatzin the apteria are nearly filled with them, and Garrod asks why they may not be regarded as degenerated feathers ; they are usually concealed by the contour feathers, but long semiplumes are found in some forms, as, for instance, the ornamental feathers in the Marabou stork (^Leptoptilos dubius). Feathers, generally, do not, like hairs, continue to grow indefinitely. Where they have attained their full size, the vascular papilla enclosed in the quill dries up, forming the ' pith,' and from that moment no further growth, nor any renewing of tissue, takes place in the feather. Therefore, as soon as the feathers are worn out, they are thrown off, shed, and replaced by an outgrowth of new ones. This process, which we call molting, presents some variations and modifications in the different groups of birds, but may, as a rule, be said to take place annually after the breeding season, with its wear and tear to the feathers, is over. During this general molt, all the feathers, including wing and tail feathers, are shed gradually, and equally, on both sides of the median line of the body ; the feather of one wing is thrown off simultaneously with the corresponding one of the other, and the same relation takes place in the molt of the feathers in each half of the tail. It is the exception, when ducks and some other birds lose all the wing feathers at once, thus being deprived of the power of flight for a short time. While wing and tail feathers are only molted once a year, a partial molt of the smaller feathers often takes place early in spring, at which time also most of the ornamental feathers, borne only a short time, make their appearance. This renewal of a part of the plumage is generally very rapid, and the time between the autumnal total molt and the partial one in spring, as a rule, perhaps, shorter than between the spring and the autumn changes, sometimes being often a brief period of INTRODUCTION. 5 a few weeks, as in the eiders (Somat&rice)^ but we have, on the other hand, examples of the reverse, as in the ptarmigans (Lag opus), some of which, at least, show the peculiarity of a permanent molt during the whole summer. Many birds retain the first plumage during the first winter of their life, while others change it a short time after they have put it on ; and in some — for instance, in the grouse family — even the wing-feathers are shed before the first winter sets in. Very frequently the new plu- mage has a color quite different from the one which was thrown off, and particularly where two molts occur, the seasonal change in the color of many birds is thus accounted for. But there are a whole category of cases in which a radical change in the coloration according to season is effected without the feathers being molted. In many birds, notably among the Passeres, the feathers of the new autumnal plumage will be seen to be parti-colored, the centre being of a hue different from that of the edge. Let us examine the fall plumage, for instance, of the adult common snow- bunting (Plectrophanes nivalis). The general color is white, the back, however, spotted with black, and parts of the plumage, especially the head, suffused with brownish ; looking closer at the individual feathers, we find that those on the back are really black, with broad white margins, while the white feathers of the head are tipped with brownish. These edges and borders become very brittle towards the approach of next year's breeding season ; they fall off, leaving the black feather-centres of the back and the pure white part of the other feathers exposed, so that the bird next sum- mer appears white, with black back. It is a similar process which changes the appear- ance of the bobolink (Dolichonyx, oryzivorus)^ besides that of numerous other birds, so radically. Changes in color may also take place between the molts and independent of the edge-shedding. In most birds the color of the plumage changes notably towards the end of the breeding season : wing-feathers which formerly were black become light brownish or grayish, vivid colors become dull, and a general fading seems to take place, caused by the wear and tear, rubbing, direct influence of the atmosphere, of rain, and of sunshine, or, as \ve are accustomed to call it, by abrasion. But the colors may also be intensified, or even radically changed, by abrasion, provided the super- ficial layers which rub off are of such a nature as to conceal or obscure the deeper and differently colored strata. We may mention the common red-poll (Acanthis liiiaria) as an example. It is but fair to confess, however, that our knowledge of the change of color in the individual feather, after having finished its growth, is still very defective, and that we have to look toward future investigations for answers to many a question. The same remark applies to our knowledge of the pigments in feathers Avhich produce the colors. A coloring matter which is called zoomelanin, and thought to be identical with coriosulphurine, seems to produce all the black and dark hues in birds, while some green colors are due to an admixture of a yellowish pigment called psittacofulvine. A really green pigment has only been found in the touracos, — hence the name turacoverdin, — and no blue or violet pigment has yet been dis- covered, while red (zooerythrine) is quite common. Another red, turacin, causes the magnificent red on the wings of the Musophagida?. There is no white pigment, but wherever that color occurs it is due to the countless number of interstices between the molecules of the feather, the substance of the latter being colorless. Many tints - for example, blue, violet, and certain greens — are not due to the pigment, which is black-brown to yellow, but the blue results from a particular surface-structure of the feathers, so that it must disappear if the color-producing parts be destroyed. Thus, if 6 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. we hammer carefully the deep blue feathers of a macaw, the blue color immediately dis- appears, and the injured part looks gray or brownish, according to the underlying pig- ment. Some green parrot feathers, when treated in a similar way, become yellow, since this is the color of their pigment. Here we have the explanation of the dark appearance of the abraded parts of feathers of parrots and other brightly colored birds. The gloss of feathers, independent of the color itself, is the result of their surface being smooth and polished, while the metallic lustre is due to a transparent sheath which acts like a prism, a fact ascertained by Mr. Gadow. The theory of the metallic lustre being due to structure of a prismatic nature originated, however, with Professor B. Altum. We mentioned above that the seasonal shedding of feathers or of their edges usually causes a change in the color of the plumage. In some birds we distinguish summer and winter plumages, in others nuptial and post-nuptial garbs, and in some ptarmigan may be observed even four more or less distinct attires nearly corresponding to the four seasons. There are also some interesting relations connected with the similarity and dissimi- larity in color between the two sexes, and between the adults and the young. Though it might seem to be the original arrangement, or perhaps just, therefore, young birds and the adults of both sexes and at all seasons are comparatively seldom quite alike. The Procellaridw, or petrels, may be quoted as an example, besides several others. If the adults of both sexes, for some reason or another, haAre developed alike seasonal colors, the first plumage of the young is very often like that which the parents assume about the same time, — that is to say, their post-nuptial or winter dress. In such a case the young birds undergo a change in the spring similar to that of the old ones ; many of the auks (Alcidoe) demonstrate this rule. Whenever one of the adults, no matter what sex, is more richly colored than its mate, the young usually resemble tin- more plainly colored of the parents ; this rule is followed by a great many, perhaps the majority of birds, but exceptions and many modifications occur. We are, how- ever, justified in making this generalization, that species in which both parents differ materially from the plumage of the young are still more specialized as to color than the foregoing categories ; for we may without hesitation take for granted that the plumage of the young is the more generalized, and that the amount of specialization is in proportion to the departure from the first garb. It follows that we have to go to the birds in the later plumage, or in that more like it, whenever we wish to ascertain the relationship of different forms. It will, therefore, be necessary to arrange the species according to the characters furnished by the young, or plain-colored females, and not by the secondary, often highly specialized, structure of the males, if we aim at a natural classification based upon affinities. It will seem as if there may be a possibility of finding out the relation between the different classes of plumages, so that it might be deduced whether one kind of plumage in a given case — for instance, a barred or spotted one — is a more specialized condition than another, say a striped or plain dress ; but no investigations, covering a sufficient number of species of all orders and from all parts of the world, have been made as yet, without which all generaliza- tions and speculations are premature and next to valueless. Finally, we have to consider a color problem which has only come forward of late, and which still awaits its solution. There has been invented a name for the phenom- enon, and we are accustomed to call it dichromatism, but of its true nature and its INTRODUCTION. 7 significance in the animal economy we are quite ignorant. By this term we designate the peculiarity in certain species of birds, that individuals present t\vo different styles of coloration, or ' phases,' presumably more or less independent of geographical dis- tribution, present or past, or, in fact, of any apparent cause whatsoever. The difficulty in finding a plausible theory is much increased by the circumstance that there are nearly as many kinds of dichromatism as there are dichromatic species. We shall mention a few examples. It has been known that the so-called Richardson's jjcger (Stercorarius parasiticus) appears in two different styles, one uniformly sooty all over, the other with the whole under side white. At one time they were regarded as different species, while some observers thought that the difference was a sexual one ; but it is now demonstrated beyond doubt that the white and the dark bird are only individual phases of the same species, irrespective of sex or locality. It is interesting to remark that the closely allied species 8. longicaudus has only one, the light phase. The relation between the common and the spectacled murre ( Uria troile and ringvici) seems to be somewhat similar, the latter having a white ring round the eye and a post- ocular stripe which is wanting in the former, a strong argument being the relative paucity of the spectacled form, in connection with the fact that it does not occur in any locality where the plain-colored one is not found. A more striking and also more puzzling example of dichromatism is exhibited by several members of the heron family, a question which has been particularly studied by Mr. R. Ridgway. Already Peale's egret and Wtirdeman's heron have disappeared, as separate species, from the lists of North American birds. It is regarded as proven that the former is only a white phase of the reddish egret (Dichromanassa ritfa, the generic name of which has been given according to this view) ; for, according to Ridgway, in Florida, where they breed abundantly, both forms have been found in the same nest, attended by parents either both reddish, both white, or one in each of these stages of plumage, other circumstances at the same time leading to the conclusion that the two phases are not only not specifically distinct, but that they have nothing to do with either sex, age, or season. In the little blue heron (Florida coerulea) the facts are still more con- vincing; for here the white phase is seldom, if ever, perfectly developed in the adults, while intermediate specimens are much more numerous. The question is considerably more complicated when we come to the great white and the great blue herons of this country. We shall state the facts briefly, first giving a clue to the different forms, which may be distinguished thus: — / Ardea occidentalis, white all over. Legs olive; size larger, ) Ardea wurdemanni, parti-colored; occiput and plumes white. ( Ardea wardi. ) T 11 i • 11 f parti-colored; occipital streak and plumes black. Legs black; size smaller, Ardea herodias, ) * No white phase of herodias is as yet known, which seems rather strange when we consider that Ardea wardi, which is almost an exact counterpart of A. herodias, except in the coloration of the legs and the size, is matched so absolutely by A. occi- dentalis, as far as structure is concerned, that the two could not possibly be told apart if the colored bird be bleached so as to become pure white. The same may be said of A. wurdemanni, and we might be led to suppose a kind of trichromatism, the white occidentalis with two different colored phases, were it not for the fact that the type specimen of A. wurdemanni is still unique, and therefore most probably nothing more than an individual variety, or an adolescent bird not having yet lost the last traces of 8 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. the young plumage. Candor compels us to state, however, that the evidence for the white and the colored birds being only phases is yet insufficient, the more so as geo- graphical distribution seems to have something to do with the matter, for it is stated that, in Florida, the white birds are confined mainly to the Atlantic coast, while the colored ones chiefly inhabit the Gulf side. The example from the herons can be nearly duplicated by the status of some forms of fulmars from the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans, although in this case the geographical distribution seems to lie a moment of still greater importance, for I think I have proved that, in both oceans, the dark phases are predominant to the westward. We have other examples of dichroma- tism in the same group as the dark and the white form of Ossifraya yiyantea ; and Mr. Ridgway's suggestion, that it will be found more extensively all through the super- family of the Tubinares or Proeellaroideae, is well worth consideration. Dichroma- tism among the owls, or erythrochroism, as it is here called, because of rufous being the color producing one of the phases, is not uncommon, but seems to be still more influenced by the geographical distribution, at least in our little screech owl (Mega- scops asio), which, in the Mississippi Valley, has more rufous than gray individuals, in the Atlantic states both phases nearly equally represented, while west of an'd includ- ing the Rocky Mountains, only gray birds occur. Want of space compels us to pass in silence many more examples, for instance, the white and the blue-winged snow- geese, the dark and light-colored phases of many hawks (JButeones), but we cannot dis- miss this matter without having mentioned that most perplexing question to American ornithologists: What are the relations of the two forms of flickers (Cohiptes) and their numerous intermediate individuals? The two flickers are mainly characterized by the color of the under surface of the wing and tail feathers, these being red in the red-shafted (Colaptes mexicanus), gamboge yellow in the yellow-shafted flicker (C. ax- ratus), in addition to which the latter has a red nuchal crescent; besides, the males are distinguished by having a malar stripe, which is red in the red-shafted species, but black in the other; the former is chiefly a western bird, the latter inhabits the east and the north. Hardly two species could look more distinct than the typical specimens of these remarkable birds ; but the characters are mixed in every possible degree in the individuals inhabiting the region intermediate between the two, to such an extent as to be completely without parallel among birds. They were generally declared to be hybrids until intermediate specimens were found in localities — for example, Florida - where only one of the typical species occur, and, consequently, hybridity is an impos- sibility. Are they incipient species? are they local varieties? or what? As there are no structural characters involved, the question is merely one of color ; why then not seek refuge in l dichromatism ' or rather ' trichromatism,' affected by geographical dis- tribution, it is true, but not in the usual way, as there are geographical sub-species of the common kind besides. We shall not attempt a solution here, but would like to put the question thus : Why may not the birds with red crescent and red moustache (this probably being the most numerous form of the so-called ' hybrid us'), be the original stock, which, westward, became modified into mexicanus, eastward into auratus, the isolated individuals, with mixed characters, being due to atavism, or occa- sional outbreak of the characters of the original stock, Avhile a great many of the mixed individuals from the intermediate region might be regarded as products of hybridization? In other words, why not a trichromatism on the verge of forming- three different species, or two if — as would be expected — the original (intermediate) stock died out at last? A point which seems to strengthen such a view is the fact INTRODUCTION. 9 that there exists another yellow-shafted species with red mystacal stripe and red nuchal crescent, viz., Colaptes chrysoides. If this theory be correct, we would have a c-lew to another class of dichromatic species, viz., those which now are stereotyped into two invariable forms or species, separated geographically, but still identical in structure. We shall only mention an example recently brought forward by Mr. Ridgway, that of the scarlet and the white ibises (Guam rubra and alba), of which he very character- istically remarks that they are now so different in color that probably nobody would deny their specific distinction, though structurally so alike that a specimen of the white one dyed scarlet would be indistinguishable from G. rtibra. The question which finally impresses itself upon the inquirer, in view of the above facts, is this: Are not the two or tln-ee 'phases 'of dichromatic or trichromatic species 'incipient species,' the final fate of which will be that of the white and the scarlet ibises? We have enlarged considerably upon this subject, because it is one of the most perplexing, and, consequently, most interesting questions in modern ornithology. It shows what we know, and particularly what we do not know ; it shows that ornithology means more than a mere description and naming of birds, that one of its aims is to con- tribute to the solution of the great problem of the age : " The origin of species." Besides feathers, AVC recognize in birds other epidermal appendages, as the horny sheaths of the beak, the teeth in some extinct forms, the scaly covering of the feet, spurs, and nails. Most of these different structures will be more advantageously treated of in other connections, and under the head of such groups in which they may be of special interest, although we wish here to call attention to the fact that parts of the horny beak and the nails of the toes may be shed in a way analogous to that of the molt of the feathers, referring, as we do, to the deciduous nature of the basal parts of the bill in several members of the auk family (puffins and dwarf-auks), to the ' centre- • board' of the white pelican's bill, and to the seasonal claw-molt in the grouse-family, particularly the ptarmigans. The most primitive form of the horny covering of the feet seems to be its division into uniform hexagonal scales, and is called reticulate ; the next stage is when some of these scales fuse together, forming what is termed scuta, or scutella, which particularly cover the anterior part of the tarsus and the upper sur- face of the toes ; still further specialization is indicated by the tarsal scuta fusing into a continuous covering which, in its extreme development, embraces both the front and the back of the tarsus, as in some of the higher group of passerine birds ; such a tarsus is said to be ' booted.' It has already been remarked that the skin has no sudoriferous glands nor sebaceous follicles; but we cannot dismiss the dermal system before having mentioned the bilobed oil-gland placed at the base of the tail-feathers on the ' pope's nose,' and seldom miss- ing, as it is in the ostriches and some few other birds. When 'preening' their feathers, birds press the fatty substance out of this oil-box with their beaks, and by passing each feather between the mandibles, anoint the whole plumage in order to keep it in repair and protect it against getting wet, as particularly noticeable in water birds. Turning now to the other structural systems of the bird's body, it is not our inten- tion to enlarge upon or even mention such general features as are. regularly found in the text-books, only those being deemed worth our attention, in the- present connection, Avhich are of particular importance for an intelligent understanding of modern orni- thological classification, or questions which at present are most occupying the lovers of our beautiful science. 10 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. The different bones of the head anchylose very early, it being a distinctive char- acter of all living birds to possess a continuous skull-case without sutures; but it must be borne in mind that we know of an extinct group of birds, the Gastornithes, in which the sutures were permanent. Notwithstanding a general uniformity in the bird cranium, certain variations of the osteological structure, particularly of the palate and the base of the skull, have of late obtained a great prominence as systematic characters by the investigations of Professor Huxley, and his famous classification of the birds based upon them. Although not prepared to attach so great an importance to these features as has been at- tributed to them by many ornithologists, we will have to pay special attention to them, as in many cases they play a role in the ornithological classification similar to that of the teeth in mammals. Professor Huxley distinguished four different types of the palate, which he has called dromceognathous, schizo- ynathous, desmognathous, and tvyithoynatlious, and Pro- fessor Parker has separated a fifth type, which he styles saurognathous. Referring for explanation to the accom- panying cuts, which will give the desired information much easier than the best description, we abstain from any detailed account, only calling attention in a few words to the most salient features. Fig. 2 represents the dromrcognathous structure of the palate, as found in the emu and, with some modifications, in the other ostriches and the tinamous. In these, to use Huxley's own words, "the posterior ends of the palatines (pi) and the anterior ends of the pterygoids (pt) are very imperfectly, or not at all, articulated with the basi-sphe- noidal rostrum (-ft), being usually separated from it, and sup- ported, by the broad, cleft, hinder end of the vomer " (vo). The rest of the birds, consequently, have the palatine and pterygoid bones articulating with the sphenoidal rostrum, and not borne up by the posterior ends of the vomer. The arrangement illus- trated by Fig. 3 is the one called desmognathous, since the maxillo-palatines (mxp) are united medially in the palate (des- mos, a bond), the vomer, at the same time being rudimentary, or quite absent, as, for instance, in ducks, flamingos, herons, cor- morants, pelicans, birds of prey, parrots, cuckoos, etc. Fig. 4 shows a palate quite different. Here is a cleft between the maxillo-palatines (ma-p), and another between them and tlie vomer (vo), hence the name schizognathous (schizo, I cleave) ; but, in addition to this, the character of the vomer, being pointed in front, is essential, since by this mark the true schi/o- gnathous birds, — for instance, the penguins, auks, gulls, snipes, fowls, grouse, pigeons, etc., — are separated from another great group of birds, which have the palate " aegithognathous, or sparrow-like, for in these, as exemplified by FIG. 2. — Under view of the skull of the emu (Dromseognathous); bptp, basipterygoid process of the sphe- noid; mxp, maxillo-palatine; pi, palatine ; pm.r, prsemaxilla ; pt, pterygoid; TO, vomer; It, basisphe- noidal rostrum. pmx •• FlG. 3. — Under view of the skull of a cormorant (Des- mognathous). The letters as before. INTRODUCTION. 11 FlG. 4. — Under view of the skull of the ea|ierc;illie (schizognathous). The letters as before. Fig. 5, we also find the maxillo-palatines (myp) separate medially and from the vomcr (ro), but the latter is truncate in front and cleft behind, embracing the basisphenoitl rostrum (72) between its forks. Finally, the saurognathous pal- ate, which is peculiar to the super-family Picoideoe, is particu- larly remarkable for having the t\vo lateral halves of the vomer separate. It may be well, however, to state that these characters are by no means always very trenchant, as two types often inter- grade insensibly, while in other cases we find them sharply ex- pressed in nearly related forms, as an example of which we shall only mention the closely allied genera Meyalaima and Tcf- ragonops, besides several of the birds of prey. The anterior nostrils are situated at the base of the beak (except in some Struthious birds, for example, Apteryx, in which they open near its tip), and may have a well-defined and rounded hinder edge, a condition called holorhinal by Pro- fessor Garrod, or be prolonged backwards as a fissure, when the term schizorhinal is used. A peculiar feature of the bird's beak is the flexibility of its union to the frontals by the long nasals and frontal processes of the premaxilla? ; this is carried to an extreme in the parrots, in which the connection between the beak and the forehead is formed by a movable joint. The two halves of the lower jaw anchylose early, except in some fossil forms, and the sym- physis (and consequently the gonys) is of very varying length. None of the recent birds have teeth in their jaws, and this negative character was a long time regarded as distinctive of the class, as compared with the great ma- jority of reptiles and mammals. Rudimentary teeth have lately been demonstrated in the grooves of the lower jaw of the embryonic penguin. It is also claimed that rudiments of teeth, in sockets and covered by den- tine, have been found in embryos of parrots. Late in- vestigations have failed to discover the dentine. Uesidcs, important groups of fossil birds have of late been dis- covered, which were more or less richly supplied with teeth; as, for instance, Archceopteryx, JLaopteryx, Gas- tornis, Argillornis, Jlesperornis, Ichthyornis ; the last had teeth in sockets, while those of lfc*j>< :r<»-ii!.^ were fixed in grooves, and were shed in a similar way to those of the reptiles. The "saddle-shaped" vertebra is peculiar to the bird FIG. 5. -Under view of the skull of a class' tnat is to sav> the vnst majority of living birds have !e«^Isbefoihe?gnathous)' The the antesacral vertebra saddle-shaped, a form not seen elsewhere ; but opisthocoelian vertebra? may occasionally occur, being even the rule among the penguins, while biconcave or amphierelian verte- bra?, such as we find in fishes and many batrachians and reptiles, particularly fossil forms, are one of the most remarkable features of the extinct Arch« <>j>f< ri/.<\ /rhfhi/ortti'x, . !/>nx has the gizzard provided with "four crushing-pads, instead of two, as in all other birds, including even Treron" Of the genus Carpophaga, two species, litnins and yoUatli, have the epithelial lining of the gizzard developed into a number of bony conical processes, like the spines of certain sea-urchins, while no other species of the genus are known to show any trace of such a structure. The birds are the first class of existing vertebrates with a complete double circu- lation, a four-chambered heart, with two entirely separate halves, and a blood of a temperature considerably higher than that of the surrounding atmosphere, ranging as it does from 100 to 112° Fahr. We say "existing vertebrates," for there seems to be reason to suppose that the Pterosaurians, the remarkable extinct gro'up of flying reptiles, also had hot blood, and we said ''considerably higher than that of the sur- rounding atmosphere," because there are well-known examples of fishes and reptiles, the temperature of which is higher than the medium they live in, though not to such a degree as in birds and mammals. Only a single permanent aortic trunk carries the blood from the heart, not two as in reptiles; but contrary to what takes place in mam- mals it is the right aortic arch which remains. Of special interest is the arrangement of the carotids, which carry the arterial blood to the head and neck, since their arrangement is widely different in different birds. Without going into detail we may say that the chief difference consists in the absence or presence of the right carotid. 16 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. The comparatively smaller number of birds possess the original arrangement of two distinct carotids, one right and one left, since in all the Passeres and a number of other groups the left only is preserved, which, however, branches off before reaching the head, thus performing the duty of both carotids. So radical this difference may seem at first sight, so unreliable are the characters furnished by it as indicating relation- ship, that it is altogether out of the question to use it as a means of primary division. For, while it is true that all Passeres — that is to say, all that have been examined, and many are still to be investigated-- have only the more specialized arrangement indicated by the presence of the left carotid only, we find in other groups nearly related forms, with one or two carotids, as, for instance, among the auks, the parrots, and the herons. In nearly all birds the crural artery is derived from the sciatic, and the chief vein of the legs, the femoral ; and only in a few passerine forms, the Pipras and the Cotingas, is the artery of the thigh formed by the femoral artery. During incubation the vessels of the abdominal wall dilate enormously, forming the so-called brood-organ. The blood corpuscles of birds are, on the average, of a size twice those of man, and the shape of the red ones is oblong as are those of reptiles, while in most mammals they are round. Very characteristic, though not absolutely peculiar to birds, as we have seen above, is their pneumacity, several of their bones being hollow, and connected by openings with air-sacs, which again communicate with the lungs ; by this, air is distributed all through the body, even to the interior of the bones. The enormous importance of this feature to creatures destined to inhabit the air will be readily understood when we learn that a bird with a specific gravity of 1.30 may have this reduced to only 1.05 by pumping itself full of air. The lungs themselves are two rather large sacs wedged in around the vertebrae and the heads of ribs, not free, nor enclosed in a pleura, as in mammals. The voice of birds is generally thought not to be formed in the larynx, as it is in mammals, but in a separate, and to the class quite peculiar, " lower larynx," the so-called syrinx, usually situated at the lower end of the trachea, or between it and the bronchi, though the correctness of this view concerning the formation of the voice has been recently seriously questioned. The syrinx consists of a modification of the cartilaginous and coalescent rings, forming a tympanic chamber, in the middle of which occurs a vertical membranous fold, the free edge of which is called the semilunar membrane, while on each side is attached another free-edged membrane ; the voice is formed by the air causing these membranes to vibrate when forced out through the slits between the central and the lateral membranes. Intrinsic muscles run from the trachea to the bronchial rings, and are supposed to serve in varying the tension of the membrane. The peculiar arrangement of these muscles, and their importance to systematic ornithology, will be more fully treated of under the introduction to the order Passeres. The syrinx is not absent in any known bird, though somewhat rudi- mentary in some Struthious birds, and still more so in some of the Cathartidse. The anatomical investigations of later years have added very little to our knowledge of the neural system of birds and of the organs of sense, having been directed mostly to those features which seemed to promise greater results in the study of the affinities, the morphological development, and the systematic arrangement, thus leaving nothing of general interest to be added to what is contained in the ordinary text-books. There is another question which is just now occupying the studies and thoughts of ornithologists, and which therefore cannot be passed by in the present work, namely the question of the migration of birds. INTRODUCTION. 17 Taking it for granted that all our readers know what is understood by the migration of birds, — the regular travel towards the north in spring, and the regular return in fall towards the south, of certain birds, — and also what is understood by the term a permanent resident, we will at once remark that there is no fundamental difference between the categories, since perhaps the greater part of the permanent residents travel about more or less extensively during the cold season, and the range of migra- •J ^j ^j O tion of many so-called migrating species is very limited, while not a few are residents in one country, though migrating in other localities, as for instance, the meadow lark, the purple grackle, the bluebird, etc. A moment's reflection will therefore convince us that the migrating state has developed in originally sedentary birds. The next thing to take into consideration is the fact that it is not the cold that •C7 drives the migratory birds away in fall, since other birds equally equipped stand the climate very well, and remain in the country the migrants left ; the only reason why the latter go is because they are in some way or another deprived of the special food upon which their existence depends. The fact is simply that they have the choice either to go or to starve. It is also clear that they will generally not go farther than is absolutely necessary. The residents, on the other hand, are able to stay, because their principal food is to be had at all seasons in the region where they are born. It is furthermore evident, from what daily experience teaches us, that no life-sustain- ing possibility is left unoccupied by nature, so that when she opens a new field where a living can be made, there the invitation to immigrate is at once accepted. Birds organized like those of which we said above that the approaching winter gives them the choice between going away or starving, but which only go so far as barely neces- sary, would be the first ones to avail themselves of the abundance of food in their old quarters with the returning summer. A conjectural case will help to elucidate the above remarks. Suppose, then, that the bluebird originally inhabited a great area having a uniform climate enabling the individuals throughout the range of the species to find their food all the year round, they would then be sedentary over the whole area. Suppose the climate became gradually colder in winter at the northern border, suspending insect life during a part of the year. Those living in that region would have to go or starve, and it cannot be doubted that those going in the right direction - viz. southward — and they only, would survive, while the rest would be killed. The next year the survivors will return and breed, and again only the travelers going soulh will save their lives. We can now understand how a migratory habit might originate ; and as we know that habits easily become hereditary when necessary for the preserva- tion of the species, we are compelled to concede that the so-called " instinct of migra- tion is nothing but a hereditary habit forced upon certain kinds of birds by ' natural selection.' ' But it will be seen that the result may be the same if we reverse our conjecture, and suppose that a bird — for example, the nightingale — originally inhabited a rather restricted area, which subsequently became extended for a part of the year, the summers of the adjacent territory gradually becoming inhabitable ; the result would be the same. The theory, thus far, looks acceptable; the question is now whether sufficient evidence can be had to make it probable that such conditions as those supposed above have actually existed, in answer to which I shall quote the following from Professor J. A. Allen's pen : " In reference to this point, let us revert for a moment to the geological history of North America. Nothing is doubtless more thoroughly estab- VOL. IV. — 2 18 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. lished than that a warm-temperate or sub-tropical climate prevailed, down to the close of the tertiary epoch, nearly to the northern pole, and that climate was previously everywhere so far equable that the necessity of migration can hardly be supposed to have existed. With the later refrigeration of the northern regions, bird life must have been crowded thence toward the tropics, and the struggle for life, therefore, greatly intensified. The less yielding forms may have become extinct ; those less sensitive to climatic change would seek to extend the boundaries of their range by a slight removal northward during the milder intervals of summer, only, however, to be forced back again by the recurrence of winter. Such migration must have been, at first, incipient and gradual, extending and strengthening as the cold wave receded and opened up a wider area within which existence in summer became possible. What was at first a forced migration would become habitual, and, through the heredity of habit, give rise to that wonder- ful faculty we term the instinct of migration." While we thus feel justified in accepting the theory as applicable to North America, similar evidence can be had from the Old World, only that the phenomenon here is somewhat different, and more con- formable to the second supposition mentioned above. It is probably safe to say that northern and central Europe during the glacial period were inhabited by few if any birds, while most of those which now live there were crowded together in the warmer regions to the south of the Alps. They have consequently im- migrated to their present home from marine- the south, gradually, as the ice re- ceded and the summers made the countries inhabitable, but were driven back every winter when the cold reduced the insect-life, and covered the fields with snow and the waters with ice. We are now prepared to accept the theory that the regular habit is due to ' natural selection ' caused by the forced immigration or emigration according to change of climate during earlier geological periods. Here is an appropriate place to consider for a few moments a painstaking work, which started a new era in this branch of ornithology, viz., the book " On the Migrat- ing Routes of Birds," by Dr. J. A. Palm.cn, the genial Finnish zoologist. Earlier authors had been aware that some birds followed well-defined and rather narrow paths while traveling to or from their summer homes, and Professor Suudevall had already in detail laid down the route of the common European crane (Grus grus); but not before 1874, when Palmen published his book, was it made evident that most migrating birds travel along geographically defined routes which do not follow one FlG. C. — Diagram showing the main migrating routes of the lit- toral (except fluvio-littoral) birds in Europe. _ and submarine-littoral migrants, e.g. the razor-bill and the divers pelago- and glacial-littoral migrants, e.g. the common eider and the king eider. INTR OD UCTION. 19 single direction of the compass, and that the birds usually do not travel in the region lyino- between these high-roads. He furthermore demonstrated that the routes of the water-birds chiefly follow the coast, or, where they cross the continents, along the large inland watercourses, and admirably mapped the Old World routes of the "littoral mi- grants," as he termed them, the preceding chart (Fig. 6.) giving an idea of the plan. Lookino- at this map, two features strike us at first as difficult to understand, viz., the distinct routes across the open ocean, — for example, the routes A, B, and A*; us also the crossing of the Mediterranean at certain points, — which, besides, are not always the shortest distance between the two continents. We might also think it strange that marine birds should go inland as indicated by the routes C and D. In order to explain this, we have again to go back to an earlier geological period, — in fact, to the time when the migration originated. In re- irard to the first kind of routes O — those across the open ocean — we can do nothing better than transcribe Wal- lace's remarks, which are as follows : — "Migrations of this type probably date back from at least the period when there was continuous land along the route passed over ; and it is a suggestive fact that this land connection is known to have existed in recent geo- logical times. Britain was O connected with the continent during, and probably before the glacial epoch, and Gib- raltar, as well as Sicily, and Malta, were also recently un- ited with Africa, as is proved by the fossil elephants and other large Mammalia found in their caverns, by the comparatively shallow waters still existing in this part of the Mediterranean, while the remainder is of oceanic profundity, and the large amount of identity in the species of land animals still inhabiting the opposite shores of the/ Mediterranean. The submersion of these two tracts of land would be a slow process, and from year to year the change might be hardly percep- tible. It is easy to see how the migration that had once taken place over continuous land would be kept up, first over lagoons and marshes, then over a narrow channel, and subsequently over a considerable sea, no one generation of birds ever perceiving any difference in the route." The distribution of land and water, as alluded to by Wallace, is indicated on the accompanying sketch-map (Fig. 7.) by the dotted lines which represent the 100 and 500 fathom lines ; a comparative glance upon the two maps obviates any further expla- nations of the routes A, J5, and A" The conclusion is obvious that the oceanic routes FlG. 7. — Diagram showing the depth of the seas surrounding Europe. is the 100 fathom line; is the 500 fathom line. The areas on the present land included within the dotted line '\vere sub- merged at uo time during the glacial period. 20 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. indicate the ancient coast-lines along which the birds originally migrated, and further- more, that they show the ways by which the species immigrated into the countries where they now pass the summer. This conclusion, however, is also applicable to the land routes C and I). The o-eological history of that part of the earth shows most conclusively that the great Russian and the central European low-lands, during a not very distant period, geolo- o-ically speaking, were submerged, forming the bottom of a rather shallow sea, the shores of which, at different times, are well indicated by the lines alluded to. Even when crossing the continents, the migrating routes of marine birds indicate ancient coast-lines, and the immigration-road of the species inhabiting the north. We note how closely these results agree with those arrived at above, where theorizing about the origin of the migrating habit. Having thus accounted for the theory as first proposed by Palmen, and nearly simultaneously by Wallace, it remains to be shown how the birds are enabled to find their way, often thousands of miles. We need not assume a miraculous or imperative instinct, nor a sixth sense, nor the influence of terrestrial magnetism, in order to explain the remarkable fact that small birds travel over large continents and vast seas twice a year to and from the very spot where they were born. Practice is the mysterious agent, though not only the practice of the individual, but the practice of the' species, the accumulated practice of thousands of generations, originating and strengthening the faculty of orientation. "It is an ascertained fact" says Wallace, "that many individual birds return year after year to build their nests in the same spot. This shows a strong local attachment, and is, in fact, the faculty of feeling, on which then- very existence probably depends. For were they to wander at random each year, they would, almost certainly, not meet with places so well suited to them, and might even get into districts where they or their young would inevitably perish. It is also a curious fact that in so many cases the old birds migrate first, leaving the young ones behind, who follow some short time later, but do not go so far as their parents. This is very strongly opposed to the notion of an imperative instinct. The old birds have been before, the young have not, and it is only when the old ones have all or nearly all gone, that the young go too, probably following some of the latest stragglers. They wander, however, almost at random, and the majority are destroyed before the next spring. This is proved by the fact that the birds which return in spring are as a rule not more numerous than those which came the preceding spring, whereas those which went away in autumn were two or three times as numerous. Those young birds that do get back, however, have learnt by experience, and the next year they take care to go with the old ones." Taking into account the " inherited talent for geography," as Weissmann happily styles it, with which every migratory bird is born, and remembering that the birds, when traveling, fly very high, and consequently overlook a great distance of their route, taking a 'bird's-eye view' of the country spread out beneath them, their performance is scarcely more wonderful than is that of the pilot who safely guides tin- vessel for hundreds and hundreds of miles along rocky shores and islands, all of which seem identical and indistinguishable to the inexperienced passer-by; or more admir- able than the infallibility with which the Indian finds his way back, even if he has passed that way but once, through an endless forest of trees, which to any of us seem to be absolutely alike. LEOXHARD STE.TNEGEK. BIRDS WITH TEETH. 21 SUB-CLASS I.— ORDER I. — ORNITHOPAPPI. In 1861 Hermann von Meyer, the distinguished palajontologist, described a bird's feather found in the lithographic slate of Solenhofen, in Bavaria, belonging to the upper Jurassic deposits. To the bird revealed by this feather, he gave the name of Archceopteryx lithographies. The discovery was received with some incredulity, but doubts were soon dispelled by Professor Owen's memoir in 1863. Herein he described a slab found in the same deposits, which showed with remarkable clearness the hind- quarters of the bird, which he rechristened Griphornis macrurus, a name he afterwards abandoned. The pelvis, the legs, and the long tail furnished with feathers, were splen- didly preserved ; but, except the wing feathers, which were disordered, and some loose and dislocated bones belonging to the anterior extremities, all the rest of the skeleton was wanting. In 1877 another slab was found, containing a second example of Archceopteryx, which in many respects supplemented the other, as it is nearly or quite complete, show- ing the head, the vertebra?, ribs, and fore extremities, while the hind parts are in a less satisfactory condition. The first specimen was bought by the British Museum in Lon- don, while the second one was secured by the museum at Berlin, Germany ; both have been examined with the utmost care by men like Richard Owen, Carl Vogt, Professor Marsh, and Dr. Liitken, and from their descriptions the present account has been compiled. The second specimen is shown in our plate. This bird is of the greatest interest on account of its age and its remarkable struc- ture ; for not only is it the oldest bird known, although the first types of this class may be expected to have originated as early as paleozoic times, but its wonderful state of preservation enables us to throw light upon the history of the reptiloid ances- tor's development into a feathered and flying bird, since in view of late discoveries it cannot be denied that we have here one of the "missing links" between the two classes, though Archceopteryx may still be regarded as belonging to the ornithic side of the boundary. The first specimen was about as large as a crow, or a peregrine falcon ; the second one is considerably larger, which may be due to sex; but I should not be surprised if they turned out to be two different species, as suggested by Professor Seeley, the Berlin specimen having relatively longer digits, forearm, and legs, with proportionally shorter feet. Carl Vogt remarks that the head is small, pyramidal, the top nearly flat, the occi- put obliquely truncated, and the orbits large. Both he and Professor Marsh found teeth actually in position, apparently in the premaxillary, as they are below or in front of the nasal aperture. The form of the teeth, both crown and root, is very similar to the teeth of Hesperornis, one of the toothed birds of the cretaceous formation. The fact that some teeth are scattered about near the jaw would suggest that they were implanted in a groove. No teeth are known from the lower jaw, but they were probably present. The presacral vertebra, apparently twenty-one in number, are all, or nearly all, biconcave, resembling in general form those of Ichthyornis, another cretaceous 22 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. bird. The sacral vertebrae are fewer in number than in any known bird, those united together probably less than five. One of the most remarkable features of the Archceopteryx is the length of the tail, which is as long as the rest of the body, consisting of twenty or twenty-one long and thin vertebrae, exactly as in the reptiles, and widely differing from all other known birds. It is in reference to this unique structure of the tail that the sub-class has been named Saururae, or lizard-tailed birds. Professor Marsh has been able to determine the presence of a single broad plate, constituting the sternum, which he thinks probably supported a keel, as the scapular arch, with its distinctly avian furculum, strongly resembles that of modern birds. The ribs are very fine, thin, curved, and pointed at the end like surgeon's needles, and show no flattening nor uncinate processes, according to Vogt ; but Dr. Liitken thinks that he observed a trace of these processes, though admitting that the ribs are remarkably thin, and unlike those of other birds. The arm proper is truly avian. Only one carpal bone seems to be present, but with that exception the hand is just what may be seen in embryonic birds of to-day, the three metacarpals being absolutely free, as in reptiles. When describing the first specimen, Professor Owen assigned four digits to it. The new one shows that this was erroneous, as it has only three long, slender digits, armed with claws, hooked and sharp-edged, on each hand ; the radial digit, or the pollex, is the shortest ; the other two are nearly equal, the second slightly the longer. The pollex is composed of a short metacarpal, a pretty long phalanx, and of a terminal claw-bearing phalanx ; the other two digits have, besides the metacarpal, three normal phalanges. The pollex was free, like the other two digits. One of the most interesting results of Professor Marsh's study of the London specimen is the determination of the separate condition of the pelvic bones, which, in all other known adult birds, recent and extinct, are firmly anchylosed, while in the young birds and in the Dinosaurians they are distinct. The thigh and leg bones do not present any peculiarity worthy of our attention in the present connection, except that the distal end of the fibula stands in front of the tibia, as in Iguanodon, but contrary to the condition in the birds. The feet do not differ essentially from those of living birds, though deep grooves between the three elements of the metatarsus seem to indicate that the metatarsals of the second, third, and fourth toes were distinct, or, at least, only imperfectly united. There remain the feathers, which, no doubt, are true bird's feathers, with a median shaft, having barbs perfectly formed. The remiges of the win^s are fixed to the ulnar edge of the arm, and to the hand; they are covered for nearly half their length with a fine filiform down. None of them project beyond the others; the wing is rounded in its outline like that of a fowl. It is possible that at the base of the neck there was a ruff, like that of the condor. Some traces of it are perhaps visible. The tibia was clothed with feathers for the whole of its length. The Archoeopteryx thus wore breeches, as do our falcons. Each caudal vertebra bore a pair of lateral rectrices, an arrangement totally different from that of all other known birds. All the rest of the body — the head, neck, and trunk — were apparently naked and unprovided with feathers, for no traces of either down or feathers are there to be seen ; but it must be remembered that the specimen may have been completely decom- posed before imbedded, and the small feathers or down carried away, while the larger - '• W Arch&opteryx lithographica. BIRDS WITH TEETH. 23 ones only adhered to the skeleton. The theory of the nakedness of the body, as advocated by Professor Vogt, is not very probable, in view of the fact that the thighs were feathered ; and to suppose that the rest of the body was scaly is hardly defen- sible, for we may with greater right ask where the scales are than where the feathers. The conclusion we gain from the above is that the oldest bird known was a laud- bird, and arboreal in its habits. But in spite of its feathers it can hardly have had a great resemblance to the forms which now inhabit the woods. Nor is it probable that it was a very expert flyer; the broad, rounded wings and the curious tail suggest a locomotion of a somewhat similar nature to the 'flight' of the flying squirrel, the tail of which in fact strikingly recalls that of the Archceopteryx. There have been and still are authors who regard this animal as a reptile, but apparently with no good foundation. If we accept the theory that the birds have developed from the reptiles, the transition must have been gradual and nearly imper- ceptible, so that the line to be drawn between the two classes must be more or less artificial. But if we do not accept a feathered and warm-blooded vertebrate as a bird, where then is the criterion to distinguish it from a reptile ? The Archoeopteryx was long the only Jurassic bird known. In addition to his many other discoveries of fossil birds, Professor Marsh has of late added that of an American Jurassic bird, from the Atlaittosaxms-'beds of Wyoming, a form which in 1881 he described as Laopteryx prisons. The most important specimen is the poste- rior portion of the skull, indicating a bird rather larger than a great blue heron. Professor Marsh remarks further that in its main features the type specimen resembles the skull of the Ratitre more than that of any existing birds. In the matrix attached to this skull a single tooth was found, which most resembles the teeth of birds, espe- cially those of Ichthyornis ; and Marsh thinks it probable that it belonged to Laop- teri/x, and that this bird also possessed biconcave vertebrjEe. Like Archceopteryx^ it was a land-bird. It would be futile to attempt a reconstruction of the Avhole bird from the few remnants on the old Cuvierian plan, since modern discoveries have proved the utter failure of the method. Nobody can tell how the tail of Laopteryx was formed, and when Ave place it with the Saururre, we do so because that position is as good as any other, and because its geological age probably corresponds to that of Archceopt&ryx. LEOXHARD STEJXEGER. SUB-CLASS II. — ODOXTOTORM^E. ORDER L — PTEROPAPPL With the exception of the Solenhofen bird, only a few scattered remains of fossil birds, save from the most recent deposits, had been found prior to those startling dis- coveries which afterwards were figured and described in Professor Marsh's famous O monograph on the extinct toothed birds of North America. Not only were the re- mains of these cretaceous birds in an unusually splendid state of preservation, but they reversed in many respects both the popular and the scientific ideas as to the charac- ters and the origin of birds. As these Odontornithes, or toothed birds, form one of the most interesting and important contributions to modern ornithological science, and as a thorough under- standing of their remarkable structure, so different from that of any living bird, is 24 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. necessary in order to obtain an intelligent idea of the state of that science, and of the class it treats of, a full account of these ancestors of the feathered tribes has been deemed desirable, and, as Professor Marsh's work is the only source of information, the following statements are given as nearly in his own words as possible. The geological horizon of the known Odontornithes is in the middle cretaceous, and corresponds to the strata named by Marsh the ' Pteranodon beds,' situated along the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, and especially on the adjoining plains in Kansas and Colorado. These beds consist mainly of a fine yellow chalk and calcare- ous shale, both admirably adapted to preserve delicate specimens. The first bird fossil discovered in this region was the lower end of the tibia of Hesperornis, found bv Pro- fessor Marsh in December, 1870, near the Smoky Hill River, in western Kansas. In June, 1871, he made the discovery of the skeleton which forms the type of II. regalis. In the autumn, 1872, another skeleton of the same Avas found, and the type of the genus Apatornis. The fossil birds procured in that region between 1870 and 1880, by the different explorations, include remains of more than one hundred individuals of the toothed birds. It was soon found that these toothed birds were of two different kinds, which, although united under the common heading, Odontornithes, were more different than almost any two living birds of the present day, and which had very little in common save the teeth. But even k h %||} ^jH ("H these were extremely dif- ferent, being placed, as they were, in a continuous groove in one group, while in the other they were implanted in individual FIG. 8. — Quadrate bone of Ichthyornis. Sockets. The former Were therefore styled Odonto- holcaj (from the Greek odontoi, teeth, and holkos, a groove) while the others received the name Odontotormae (odontoi, and tormos, a socket). The latter form the sub- class here under consideration. The Odontotormae, or birds with teeth in sockets, so far as now known, were all of small size, and possessed powerful wings and very small legs and feet. Some of their characters — as, for instance, their vertebra?, biconcave or hollow both behind and in fi-ont — separate them widely from all birds recent and extinct. The remains of this group preserved are more or less pneumatic, and this fact, in connection with their small size, is perhaps the main reason why so few have been dis- covered. As might naturally be expected, the hollow bones of flying birds, being- filled with air, enable the carcass to float upon the water much longer than it other- wise would, and it is thus liable to be destroyed by fishes or other animals. Hence, the chances of complete skeletons being buried entire are greatly diminished. The plains east of the Rocky Mountains have yielded remains of not less than seventy- seven different individuals of Odontotormae, belonging to two well-marked "genera," Ichthyornis and Apatornis, the former represented by several species (some of which Avere formerly referred to the genus Graculavus), and the latter by only one. These were all small birds, scarcely larger than a pigeon. In their powerful Avings and small legs and feet, they remind one of the terns, and, according to present evidence, they Avere aquatic birds, of similar life and habits. BIRDS WITH TEETH. 25 The skull was very large in proportion to the rest of the skeleton, the dispropor- tion being well shown in the accompanying cut, Fig. 9. The cranial sutures were nearly obliterated. The quadrate bone, as shown in Fig. 8, has only a single facet on its articular head, agreeing in that respect with Hesperornis and the Struthionine birds. The brain was small, and, like that of Hesperornis, which it resembles more nearly than that of any other known bird, in its main features strongly reptilian, as in the elongated form and the prominent optic lobes. The two rami of the lower jaw were entirely separate, having been united in front only by cartilage, and the tooth-bearing portion is so similar to that of some of the smal- ler Mosasauroid reptiles that, without other portions of the skel- eton, the two could hardly be dis- tinguished. The teeth were im- planted in distinct sockets, thus differing widely from what was the case in Hesperornis ; they were all sharp, pointed, and strongly recurved, those of the upper jaw apparently larger than the lower ones. Whether the an- terior portion of the upper jaw, the premaxilla, contained teeth is uncertain, but Professor Marsh thinks it probable that they were absent, as in Hesperornis. The whole surface of the tooth above the jaw was covered with smooth enamel. The succession of the teeth took place vertically, as in crocodiles and Dinosaurs, and not laterally, as in Hesperornis and the Mosasaurs. The young teeth were much inclined when they first appeared above the jaw, after the old teeth had been expelled. The presacral vertebras were more remarkable than those of any other known bird except Arcliwopteryx, for they were not saddle-shaped, but biconcave as shown in Fio-s. 10, 11, which show clearly the cup-shaped articulation of the centrum. However, the third vertebra of the neck, but no other, presents a modified form (Fig. 12), evidently produced by the necessity of providing for an easy vertical motion of the neck at its first bend. The tail is remarkable for being of the same type as is that of all mod- ern birds, namely, comparatively short, and the last vertebra} anchylosed into a pygostyle. The fore extremities, including the shoulder girdle, were, so far as known, essen- .-^^-•~ , . .xi«. ^x- • .!, .; .:.-- **.< :i !•. ;• ..• ••• -•> '••''. ' , -I' i , . 1 . J>- . - . .'t?*j£- _, - _>*- ^L-i n . •'.•&'*:' ''-' FiG. 9. — Restoration of Ichthyornis. 26 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. tinlly as in living birds, as apparently was the sternum also. Of the clavicles only a fragment of the upper end has yet been found. The wings clearly indicate very strong power of flight. The humerus had an enormous radial crest, surpassing in comparative size that of any living bird, and was placed in a plane nearly parallel with the long axis of the head of the humerus, instead of considerably inclined, as in most birds, thus strongly resembling, in these two points, the humerus in the pterodactyls, the extinct flying reptiles. The carpal bones wrere two in number, and the metacar- pals united as usual ; a noticeable feature of the second linger is that the thin lateral expansion of the first phalanx ends in a prominent flattened, hook-like process beyond the rest of the bone. The pelvic arch exhibits some interesting reptilian characters. The sacrum con- sisted of about ten vertebras thoroughly anchylosed, as were also the pelvic bones. Of these the ischium was expanded in the middle, extended further back than the ilium, and was not united with the latter posteriorly, agreeing in that respect with Hesperornis and a few modern reptilian birds. The legs and feet do not differ more from those of modern birds than did the wings. The metatarsals are anchylosed firmly and present no peculiar features. The phalanges, with the exception of one, have not yet been found. That Ichthyornis was provided with feathers is proved beyond question by the tubercles for the attachment of quills on the forearm. It will thus be seen that Ich- FIG. 10. FIG. 11. FIG. 12. Vertebrse of Ichthyornis. tJiyornis, " the fish-bird," as it is fitly called from its fish-like vertebra?, was a remarkable combination of very old and very modern characters, biconcave vertebra? and large head with separate lower jaw and teeth, in connection with anchylosed metacarpals and metatarsals. Referring to the accompanying cut (Fig. 9), which represents Marsh's restoration of one of the species, for information concerning the general aspect of the bird, we may remark, however, that the missing parts are supplied from a tern, a rather specialized modern bird, and that consequently many features of the restoration are unreliable, while one, at least, is manifestly incorrect. For we may safely assume that Ichthyornis was holorhinal like Ilesperornis, and not schizorhinal like a tern, as repre- sented in the figure, and it seems rather strange that the head has been restored after C7 ' O the fashion of the latter, when it is admitted that it resembles that of the former "more nearly than that of any other known bird." We may, perhaps, also take excep- tion to the restoration of the neck, as not in harmony with the disproportionate large head. The gap between Ichthyornis and all other birds is very great, so it would be quite unsafe to advance any opinion as to its genesis and relationships. All that we can say at present is, that it sprung very early from the ancestral stock, preserving the primi- tive character of the vertebra? and the skull long after other parts had reached an advanced speciali/ation, thus adding new evidence to the principle, "that an animal may attain great development in one set of characters, and at the same time retain other low features of the ancestral type." BIRDS WITH TEETH. 27 SUB-CLASS III. — ODOXTOHOLC^E. ORDER I. — DROMyEOPAPPI. Contemporaneous with the Ichthyornis^ other toothed birds of quite different aspect and characters inhabited the same cretaceous sea which then covered the central ami western parts of our continent. The former went hovering over the waters, darting, like the terns and gulls of the present day, upon the unfortunate fishes which cami.> too near the surface ; while the type of the present sub-class, the Hesp&rornis^ or 'the western bird,' as that name literally means, followed the prey to the very bottom of the sea, in diving power and speed surpassing any other bird, living or fossil, and even more fitted for aquatic life than the penguin, as it had no wings whatsoever, and its feet were so specially modified for propelling their large bodies through the water that they could hardly move on land. We will further on have opportunity of characterizing the penguins as the seals among the birds : Hesperornis and its allies represent the dolphins. It is most fortunate for science, Professor Marsh remarks, that Hesperornis regaUs — with the exception of Archceopteryx and Laopteryx, the oldest bird known — should now be represented by remains as complete as any fossil skeleton yet discovered, even in the later formations, as nearly all the bones of the specimens obtained, when first found in the matrix, were almost as perfect as in life ; and the various remains belong- ing to about fifty different individuals of Hesperornis are now in the museum of Yale College. With a general superficial resemblance to that of a loon, the skull of Hesperornis, in its more important characters, approaches that of the Struthious birds, being like the latter dromasognathous, and having, like them and IchtJujornis, only one facet on the articular head of the quadrate bone. The nostrils are holorhinal. The brain-case is small, and its sutures entirely fused together. As in Ichthyornis and many recent water- birds, well-marked glandular depressions extend along the roof of the orbits. The premaxillaries were1 elongated, forming a long, pointed beak, which in front of the nostrils was apparently covered with a horny sheath, as in modern birds. There were no teeth in these bones, as in the upper jaw they were con- fined to the maxillary bones, which were armed with (in II. regalis fourteen) teeth set in a deep, continuous groove, with only faint indications of separate sockets. The lower jaw was thickly set with teeth to the end (in regaUs thirty-three), and the two halves were separate, as in Tchthi/ornis, only united in front by ligament. The teeth, which are so reptilian in their characters that nobody would hesitate to refer them to that class, had they been found alone, were gradually replaced by successional teeth, the germ of the young tooth growing in a pit made in the old one by absorption, thus undermining and at last expelling the latter (Fig. 13). In strange contrast to Icht/iyornis, the present group of fossil birds had vertebra? resembling in their more important characters the corresponding vertebras of existing Fir,. 1.3. —Tooth of Ih-sper- iix, eiil:u'L:<-il: '•, germ of second tooth. 28 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. birds. Their number was about forty-nine, a high number for the class; but the most interesting part of the vertebral column is undoubtedly the tail, which was composed of the great number of twelve vertebras. The middle and posterior ones had very long and broad transverse processes, which restricted lateral motion, clearly indicating that the tail was mainly moved up and down, evidently as an aid in diving, the lateral FIG. 14. — Caudal vertebrae of Hespcrornis. motion being confined to the tail as a whole, and performed between the foremost vertebras. The last three or four caudals were firmly fused together, forming a flat plate, analogous to, but quite unlike, the ploughshare bone of modern birds. Thus the tail formed a sort of an oar, similar to a beaver's tail (Fig. 14). The shoulder girdle, in its retrograde development, is particularly interesting as showing strong resemblance in many respects to that of the existing dromasognathous birds, especially when we remember that Ilesperornis itself had a palatal structure of a similar type ; for not only is the sternum devoid of a keel, but the long axes of the adjacent parts of the scapula and coracoid were parallel, or identical, as shown in the accompanying cut (Fig. 15). The breast bone was thin and weak, with a rounded mesial projection in front, corre- sponding to the manubrium; the posterior margin was quite thin, and had two shallow emarginations. The ribs show only little difference from those of modern birds, and some of them supported uncinate processes. The clavicles were sep- arate, resembling the correspond- ing bones in the embryos of some Fi<;. 15. — Scapular arch of ffesperorms, reduced. modern forms. The coracoids and the scapula were quite small. The wing is represented by the rudimentary humerus alone, the other bones having become atrophied. The pelvis, though in its general form resembling that of Colymbus, exhibits many features common to that of reptiles, and of several dromreognathous living birds. Most interesting, perhaps, is that the condyloid cup of the hip-joint is closed by bone, except a foramen that perforates the inner wall, entirely unlike the acetabulum of other birds, but resembling that of the crocodiles. The three constituents of the pel- BIRDS WITH TEETH. 29 vis, which are firmly fused together, have their posterior extremities free, as in the emu and in Tinamus. As the legs of the ostriches have been extremely modified, in order to adapt them for swift movements on terra firnia, so were those of Hesperornis specialized for a life more completely aquatic than that of any known bird. Professor Marsh thinks that it might even be questioned whether it could be said to walk on land, though admit- ting that some movement on shore was a necessity. Considering the posterior limb as a whole, it will be found a nearly perfect piece of machinery for propulsion through the water. Provisions were made for a very powerful backward stroke, followed by a quick recovery, with little loss by resistance, a movement quite analogous to the strong- stroke of an oar feathered on its return. To a certain degree the legs of Hesperornis may be said to resemble those of the grebes, though the differences are both many and impor- tant. The thigh bone is shorter and stouter O than in any known aquatic bird, recent or fossil, and is very much flattened trans- versely, being considerably broader than thick. The fourth trochanter (Dollo) is plainly visible on the figure. The leg bone is much the largest bone in the skeleton ; the cnemial process rises into a powerful tuberosity above the articulation with the thigh bone. The patella, or knee-pan, is a large separate bone, perforated by a large hole for the tendon of the ambiens muscle. The second, third, and fourth metatarsals were thoroughly fused together, as in all recent birds except the penguins, but in most specimens traces of the sutures remain. The fourth metatarsal so greatly exceeded the other two in size that it forms by far the greatest part of the entire tarso-meta- FIG. 16.— Kestoration of Hesper<>r>'s, a recently found, nearly perfect, egg measuring about ten inches in length by seven in breadth, or " so large that a hat would make a good egg-cup for it," but without equalling in capacity those of the In one of them the bones of a young foetus were found, from which could be demon- strated that even at that early age the bones be- . . FIG. '20.— Diiiornis ingens. longing to the hind extremities were much more voluminous than in the now existing types of Struthiones. But not onlv have the bones and eggs of moas been found in great numbers, but «/ oo o also single feathers and parts of skeletons, with muscles, shreds of skin, and feathers adhering, in a remarkable state of preservation. Some of the feathers were as bright as if they had just been pulled out. They were double, — in other words, were furnished with an ' aftershaft,' resembling some- what those of the Australian wingless birds. In one species they were of a reddish brown near the base, passing into black, while the rounded tip was pure white. Others have been found of a pale yellowish brown color, others again of a blackish brown. Feathers from a cave near Queenstown were reddish brown with a terminal dark-brown shaft streak. These large feathers (some measuring as much as six inches) probably covered the body. A most extraordinary specimen, consisting of seven vertebra? from the lower end of the neck, with their muscles, skin, and feathers, is so interesting, that we allow ourselves to make an abstract of the best description accessible to us. Upon the portion of this specimen corresponding to the first dorsal vertebra?, the skin is seen to be covered with large conical papilla? which nearly touch each other, and give the whole the appearance of a rasp. A certain number of these papilla? bear double-stemmed feathers of a reddish-chestnut color, furnished with barbs, and nearly two inches long. The papilla? diminish in size, and the feathers in length, on arriving at the level of the vertebra? of the neck. Soon the feathers appear to be 46 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. reduced to mere hairs, and they disappear entirely upon about half the specimen. There the papilla? are much smaller and are distinctly separated from each other. With the data furnished by the skeletons and the other remains now in the differ- ent museums, we are enabled to give a pretty reliable picture of these birds, which probably became extinct before civilized men discovered their native land, supplying the wanting details from their nearest allies among the living dromreognathous birds. They are described as representing the general form of the cassowary, but upon a much larger scale, particularly in regard to the hind extremities, while the anterior ones were still more abortive. Like the cassowary, they had the greater part of the neck naked, but were destitute of the bony crest, in this respect resembling the emu. Very probably the legs were naked, and the body was covered with silky plumes, in which darker or lighter and more or less reddish tints of brown predominated, varie- gated with black and white, at least in some species. To Mr. John White, who devoted more than thirty-five years in collecting all possible information from the Maori, the natives of Xew Zealand, and to various other gentlemen (among them Sir George Grey), the scientific world is indebted for much valuable information concerning the habits of these birds, derived from the folk-lores, songs, and proverbs of the natives. Thus the Maori have a- proverb, " as inert as a moa," which indicates that these birds were sluggish and stupid animals ; and the following- life history has been drawn from similar sources. They were essentially sedentary, and went about in pairs, accompanied by their young. No doubt they sometimes disputed the field on which they were seeking the same food, for the Maori still, in speaking of a struggle between two pairs of combatants, say : " Two against two, like the moas." Their nests were formed of various dried grasses and fragments of ferns, simply brought together in a heap. They ate various species of plants growing upon the borders of the woods and marshes, the young shoots of certain shrubs, etc. ; but their principal food appears to have been the root of a species of fern (Pteris esculenta), which they dug up either with the beak or with the feet. To assist in the grinding of the food swallowed, the moas, like many other birds, ate small pebbles, which, when rounded and polished by friction in the stomach, and thus rendered unfit for further service, they disgorged, just as do the ostrich and the emu. These "moa-stones" are found in great numbers, often in small heaps near skeletons, in a position indicating the place of the gizzard, thus proving that the bird died on the spot where the skeleton is now found. Being the only large indigenous warm-blooded animal, the moa was, of course, eagerly hunted by the Maori, although Mr. White writes that they were afraid of it, as a kick from the foot of one would break the bones of the most powerful brave ; hence the people made strong spears of maire, or manuka wood, six or eight feet long, the sharp end of which was cut so that it might break and leave six or eight inches of the spear in the bird. Before the chase, the Imnters engaged in prayers, invoking the assistance of those spirits to whom they attributed the power of sending good or ill fortune, supplicating, for instance, the "mist of the hills where the chase was to take place so to act that the fat of the birds may flow like the drops of dew Avhich falls from the leaves of the trees at the dawn of a summer clay; or the god of silence to keep the moas free from apprehension and fright." Some of the hunters would then conceal themselves behind the scrub on the side of the track (many of which are still visible, being about sixteen inches wide, and of a seemingly fresh appearance), while others drove them from the lakes towards the ambush. " Here the jEPWRNITHES. 47 spears were thrown at them, and the scrub on the sides of the track would catch the spears and break the jagged end off, leaving it in the bird. As it had to pass many men, the broken spear-points caused it to yield in power when it had gained the open ^ern-country, where it was attacked in its feeble condition by the most daring of the tribe." The killed bird was cut up with a knife of obsidian, made for that exclusive use, and which only served a single time. "What wild, weird scenes," exclaims Russell, "those deep valleys of the southern Alps must have witnessed, when, after the successful hunt, the natives gathered about their camp-fires, that lit up their dark tattooed faces, and shone on the strange vegetation around, to feast on the flesh of moa, or partake of its huge eggs, roasted on the hot stones of the oven ! " It will be perceived from many of the facts related above that the extermination of the giant-birds of New Zealand cannot have taken place at a very distant period. Dr. Haast, on the contrary, has taken the position that the moas were extinct before the immigration of the Maori race, which now inhabits the islands, occurred, and that these huge birds had been exterminated by an aboriginal people which he calls the "moa-hunters." This theory has been successfully opposed by Mantell, Dr. Hector, Hochstetter, and especially by Mr. A. de Quatrefages, from whose interesting memoir (1883) much of the above has been borrowed. We may perhaps not be prepared to accept as fully trustworthy the testimony of Haumataugi, the old Maori, who in 1844 related that during his childhood he had seen living moas, a statement which would bring the year of extinction down to about 1770 or 1780 ; still we cannot doubt that the extinction took place at a comparatively recent date, as it is otherwise impossible to account for the discovery of remains of soft tissue in such a condition that the muscles co\ild still be dissected ; especially if we remember that the climate of New Zealand is mild and moist, conditions favorable to a speedy dissolution of the car- casses. We may finally record the view of a man who, more than anybody else, has a right to be heard in this question, viz., Professor Richard Owen. As late as 1882 he expresses the opinion that " in the remote, well-wooded, and sparsely populated dis- tricts of the southern division of New Zealand, a recovery of a still-existing specimen of moa might be less unlikely than that of the JVbtornis, also originally i-ecognized by fossil remains." ORDER IL--^EPIORNITHES. Eleven years after the discovery of Dinornis had been announced by Owen in England, some few remains of a not less gigantic bird from Madagascar reached the museum at Paris, and two days after, on the 27th of January, 1851, Isidore Geoffrey- Saint-Hilaire read before the Parisian Academy of Sciences a paper, in which he described two enormous eggs and part of the metatarsus of a bird which he called jEpiornis maximns, meaning "the bird big as a mountain." This brought again to mind the old story of the famous Venetian traveler, Marco Polo, who located the rue or roc, the giant bird of the Arabian tales, upon Madagas- car, and related that the Great Khan of the Tartars, having heard of the bird, sent messengers to Madagascar, who brought back a feather nine spans long, and two palms in circumference, at which His Majesty expressed his unfeigned delight. This, like so many others of his strange tales, had been regarded as a fable, but now there were enough of believers who were satisfied that the egg of the rue had been found ; for the eggs exhibited measured nearly 84 inches in circumference, and would hold more than two gallons : in other words, had a capacity of nearly 150 hen's eggs, 48 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. or 17 cassowary's eggs, or 6 ostrich eggs ! The length measured 12.6 inches, the breadth 8.6 inches, and the shell had a thickness of 0.11 of an inch. No wonder that the natives employed them for different domestic purposes. In fact, the first knowl- edge of the eggs was received when some Madagascar natives came to Mauritius to o oo o buy rum, bringing ^Epiornis eggs with them to hold the liquor. This led to inquiries, and two eggs and some fragments of bones were obtained by Mr. Malavois, and sent to Paris. Since that time other remains, which have furnished the material for Alphonse Milne Edwards's investigations, published in 1869 and 1873, were discovered by Grandidier and others. It has been shown that the earlier calculations of the size of ^Epiornis were much too high, and that ^33. maximus in reality was not taller than a large African ostrich, notwithstanding the enormous size of the egg, and that the smallest of the three species known, ^E. modestus, was not much larger than the great bustard. The more astounding is the stoutness and massiveness of the hind extremities, which were still more ' elephantine ' than those of the elephant-footed moa, The characters of the bones at once refer the elephant-birds of Madagascar to the neighborhood of the ostriches and moas, particularly the former; and, as they seem to have had only three toes, Professor Bianconi's idea that they were rapacious, or rather condor-like, birds -the rue was said to be a bird of that order — is not well founded. An additional proof is that the microscopic examination of the egg, according to Nathusius, shows an approach to that of Struthio, and bears no resemblance to that of the larger raptores. The chief characters of the bones known are the remarkable widening and flatten- ing of the metatarsal bone ; the enormous size of the leg-bone, which is over "2o inches long, with a circumference at its upper extremity of 18 inches, while the bone at its most contracted portion is only 6 inches round, thus showing a singular enlargement of the articular ends ; it differs from the same bone in the Dinornithoideae in having no osseous bridge over the groove of the extensor muscle of the toes, in this respect agreeing Avith the existing Struthiones. The thigh-bone was of singular proportions, being of extraordinary thickness, while in length it does not measure one half more than its lower extremity ; it was pneumatic, contrary to what exists in Apteri/x and Dinornis. The natives of Madagascar assert that a few of the giant birds are still alive in O •— ' some of the most secluded and unexplored parts of the island, and occasionally an exciting report of some traveler having been in the neighborhood of them reaches us through the newspapers, but the probability is that they are totally exterminated, and without doubt by the hand of man, as the famous French traveler Alfonse Grandidier emphatically assures us ; but there are reasons to believe that the report of some having been still alive not more than two hundred years ago is not entirely unfounded. The whole history of the ^Epiornithes, the enormous, massive Struthious birds, con- fined to a large island in the southern seas, and extinguished by the action of man, is a remarkable counterpart of that of the moas on New Zealand. ORDER III.-- APTERYGES. The English naturalists who, about seventy years ago, received the first kiwi skin 'from New Zealand through Captain Barclay, of the ship 'Providence,' were greatly perplexed as to the relationship of that singular bird, not larger than a hen, and which had no wings, was covered with hair-like feathers, possessed a long beak with KIWIS. 49 the nostrils placed at the tip, and had four toes. Latham called it the " apterous pen- guin," since it had four toes and no wings, remarking, however, that "the form of the foot is not greatly unlike that of the dodo, and in the above specimen the toes were not connected by an intervening membrane; yet from certain inequalities on the sides it is possible that there may have been one, and that it had been eaten away by insects." Shaw, making it the type of the genus Apteryx, 'the wingless bird,' did not remove it from the neighborhood of the penguins, pointing to the fact that the bill also was "somewhat in the form of that of the Patagonian penguin." Temminck united Apteryx and IJ ictus, the dodo, into a separate "order," the "Inertes," but " could not find a more convenient place for these two genera than by associating them in some way or another with the penguins." It was not before Yarrell in 1833 described the curious bird, that its true nature as a near ally of the Struthious birds was generally understood and admitted. Numerous specimens of kiwis (Fig. 19), have since been obtained, and not less than four living species arc now represented in the different museums, while a fifth one (A. maxima, the largest one, being of the size of a turkey) is only known from remains of a skin forming part of a Maori-chief's dress. We have now also full and excellent descriptions of the internal anatomy of these birds from the master-hands of Richard Owen and Huxley, besides not less valuable information concerning their habits and way of living, as observed by such men as Dr. Buller and the other New Zealand naturalists of recent fame. Like the other related birds, the kiwis are dromaeognathous, but the vomer unites with the palatines and pterygoids, contrary to what is the case in the ostrich ; there are no clavicles at all, and the arm, or wing, is rudimentary, as in the Casuaroideas, the hand having only one ungual phalanx, which is provided with a long external claw ; like the latter, they have both ischium and pubis free except in front. The ambiens muscle is strong, as in Struthio and Hhea, while it is absent in Casuarius and Dromaius. It was long believed that the respiratory system was quite peculiar, and more especially that the kiwis possessed a kind of diaphragm corresponding to the membrane dividing the cavity of the body in mammals, but quite recent investigations of Professor Hux- ley show that the respiratory organs on the whole are like those of most other birds, and that the diaphragm is a myth, there being not a trace of such a membrane. Only the left carotid is present, there being two in other Struthious birds except Ehea. The most noteworthy external features are the long snipe-like bill, with nostrils open- ing near the end ; the rudimentary wing, which supports a row of numerous rudimen- tary quills, evidently degraded rectrices; absence of separate tail-feathers; presence of a short, elevated hind toe ; finally, a covering of more or less bristly feathers with downy bases, but without aftershafts, in this respect differing highly from the cassowa- ries, emus, and moas ; the fore part of the head and sides of the face are beset with straggling hairs, or feelers, varying in length from one to six inches. Dr. Buller says that a full and complete history of the wingless birds which, even to the present day, form the most distinctive feature in the avi-fauna of Xew Zealand, would necessarily fill a volume. We shall therefore here only remark that of the four existing well-known species, one, A. mantelli, inhabits the North Island alone; two others, A. australis and Jiaasti are confined to the South Island, while A. oweni is found on both islands. The general color is a dull mottled brownish or grayish, the latter and smaller species being rather gray, and therefore usually called the gray kiwi. A. Jiaasti is the "roa-roa," of the natives, and is the larger one. The two other species can hardly be told apart by sight alone, but are said VOL. iv. — 4 50 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. to be readily distinguished by the touch ; for in the South Island kiwi (A. australis) the feathers of the upper parts feel soft and yielding when stroked against the grain, whereas in Mantell's kiwi, from the North Island, the feathers have stiffened points, and are harsh and prickly to the touch, owing to a peculiarity in the structure of the shaft. The kiwis are nocturnal birds, the different species having nearly identical habits, and the following life history of the commonest species, A. mantelli, which we borrow from Buller's excellent account, will therefore also cover the other. Of a bird kept in captivity, he writes; It appears to be blinded by the strong glare of sunlight, and although it recovers itself in the shade, it can then only detect objects that are near. Night is the time of its activity, and the whole nature of the bird then undergoes a change. Coming forth from its diurnal retreat full of animation, it moves about the aviary unceasingly, tapping the Avails with its long, slender bill, and probing the ground in search of earth-worms. The feeding of this bird at night with the large glow-worm is a very interesting sight. This annelid, which often attains a length of twelve, and sometimes twenty inches, with a proportionate thickness, emits at night a bright phosphoric light. The mucous matter which adheres to its body appears to be charged with the phosphorus, and on its being disturbed or irritated, the whole surface of the worm is illumined with a bright green light, sufficiently strong to render adjacent objects distinctly visible. Seizing one of these large worms in its lonu; mandibles, the kiwi proceeds to kill it by striking it rapidly on the ground, or against some hard object. During this operation the bird may be clearly seen under the phos- phoric light ; and the slime which attaches itself to the bill and head renders these parts highly phosphorescent, so that, even after the luminous bod}r itself has been swallowed, the actions of the bird are still visible. There is no longer the slow and half stupid movements of the head and neck ; but the bill is darted forward with a restless activity, and travels over the surface of the ground with a continued sniffing sound, as if the bird were guided more by scent than by sight in its search for food. Of some young birds he remarks that they are particularly savage, using their feet as weapons of offence, and manifesting their anger by an audible snapping of the bill ; at other times they emitted a peculiar chuckle, but only once he heard them produce the loud whistling cry which is so familiar to the ear in the wild mountain-haunts of the kiwi. They often huddled together when at rest, laying one upon another, like little pigs; and when sound asleep no amount of noise would rouse them. The kiwi, Dr. Buller continues, is in some measure compensated for the absence of wings by its swiftness of foot. When running, it makes wide strides, and carries the body in an oblique position, with the neck stretched to its full extent and inclined for- wards. In the twilight it moves about cautiously, and as noiselessly as a rat, to which indeed, at this time it bears some outward resemblance. In a quiescent posture, the body generally assumes a perfectly rotund appearance ; and it sometimes, but only rarely, supports itself by resting the point of the bill on the ground. It often yawns when disturbed in the daytime, gaping its mandibles in a very grotesque manner. The story of its striking the ground with its feet to bring the earthworms to the sur- face, which appears to have gained currency among naturalists, is as fanciful as the statement of a well-known author that it is capable of "inflicting a dangerous blow, sometimes even killing a dog." While hunting for its food, the bird makes a continual sniffing sound through the nostrils. Whether it is guided as much by touch as by smell, I cannot safely say ; but TINAMOUS. 51 it appears to me that both senses are called into action. It is probable that, in addi- tion to a highly developed olfactory power, there is a delicate nervous sensitiveness in the terminal enlargement of the upper mandible. It is interesting to watch the bird, in a state of freedom, foraging for worms, which constitute its principal food; it moves about with a slow action of the body, and the long, flexible bill is driven into the soft ground, generally home to the very root, and is either immediately withdrawn with a worm held at the extreme tip of the mandibles, or it is gently moved to and fro, by an action of the head and neck, the body of the bird being perfectly steady. On getting the worm fairly out of the ground, it throws up its head with a jerk, and swallows it whole. The enormous size of the kiwTi's egg has often been the subject of speculation and comment, for, until the fact was established beyond all question, it seemed almost impossible that the very large eggs occasionally brought in by the natives were the produce of this bird. The evidence has been furnished by eggs laid in the Zoological Gardens, and by another taken in utero. One of the former is stated to have weighed 14^ ounces, or about one fourth of the bird's own weight. The probability is that the male alone sits on the egg. The kiwis are monogamic. ORDER IV. — CRYPTURI. Even the older authors were aware of some of the Struthious features of these small South American ground-birds, which usually are referred to the Gallinaceous order. Illiger remarked as early as 1811 that " the bill is Avonderfully conformable with that of JRhea" and later on (1835) Sundevall stated that they " recall small ostriches." Their small size, and a certain superficial resemblance to the gallinaceous birds pre- vented the recognition of their true nature until Parker's celebrated anatomical monograph appeared in 1865. The presence of a crest on their breast-bone, however, seemed to Huxley to be so strong a character, that he would not admit them to the division including the ostriches, and so he made of them a separate order, the distinc- tive feature of which was the predominance of Struthious characters. We have stated above, why the presence or absence of a keel to the sternum seems to us to be a matter of only slight consequence, particularly when seeing that most of the other characters of importance are chiefly struthionine. That certain birds of other orders for instance, Dendrortyx, Ilemipodius, Syrrhaptes, the rails, and the plovers, present characters to a certain degree also found in the Crypturi, is quite natural, as these forms are comparatively generalized and therefore possess the reptilian features of the common ancestors less obscured than their more specialized relatives of the Euornithic series or super-order. It is therefore not quite correct to say that the Crypturi are intermediate between the Struthious and the Gallinaceous birds, when the fact is that the latter are intermediate between their own and the Droirueog- O nathous birds' common ancestors, on the one hand, and those of the rest of the Euornithes on the other. Not only is the bill struthionine, but still more so the palatal arrangement, for the broad coalescing vomer in front joins the end of the broad maxillo-palatines, receiving behind the hinder end of the palatines (which do not articulate with the basisphenoid), and the anterior ends of the pterygoids. Another Struthious feature is that the head of the quadrate bone is single. Notwithstanding the fact that the wings of the tinamous, as the birds of this order are called, are functional, the shoulder-girdle and the sternum present enough characters to show that they have " not escaped from the 52 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. struthious group, yet," as Parker puts it. According to this authority, the wings also seem to be struthious rather than gallinaceous, for in the humerus the crest for the insertion of the pectoralis major is not turned over as in the fowl ; this answers to the extreme (struthious) thinness of that muscle in the tinamou, this bird havino- but little power to depress his wings. He can elevate them, however. It is highly inter- esting, he says, to see the tinamou lift his wings, just in the same manner as the ostrich elevates hers. The tinamou's "organs of flight " are still much more rudimentary than those of the foAvl, seeing that they are constructed far more for elevation than for depression, the latter movement being the one so necessary to flight. Again the pelvic arch presents the Arery mark common to the birds we have hitherto treated of, namely, that the ischium is not united with the backward extension of the ilium by bone, as is the case in all other birds. To the struthious character of the breast-muscles corresponds peculiarities of the muscles of the legs, of which the ac- cessory femoro-caudal has a slip arising above the sciatic foramen, found elsewhere, according to Garrod, only in the Struthiones. Finally, Dr. Nathusius has found that the minute structure of the tinamou eo-o'-shells ~~ is quite different from those of the true Gal- linre, in that respect showing most resem- blance to Apteryx. Among external characters may be men- tioned that the bill is depressed, and the mouth split open to under the eyes ; the head is comparatively small, the neck FIG. 21.— Crypturus megapodius. rather long and narrow. The wings are short and rounded, the tail feathers con- cealed under the coverts, or altogether absent. The feet are provided Avith a rather short hind toe, elevated from the ground. Powder-downs are present among the feathers, and in some the feathers have aftershafts. Several genera with a number of species, about fifty, distributed in two sub-families, are recognized from Central and South America, Avhere they are usually knoAvn as Perdiz, partridge, being in fact, as game birds, a kind of substitutes for true Gallinae. Their size ranges between that of a ruffed grouse and a ring plover. They are emi- nently ground-birds, Avhich never perch on trees or shrubs. The largest and best known species is the Perdiz grande or 1' Ynambu (Rhyncho- tus rufescens) from Brazil southward. It is of a rusty yellow, banded crosswise on the upper surface with blackish ; bill rather long, Avith the nostrils in the basal part, hind toe well developed, and tail feathers short and soft. Mr. Hudson, having the opportunity of studying the habits of several species of tinamou, has published TIN A MO US. 53 some interesting sketches, from which the following concerning the present species is selected : — This bird has no cover but the giant grasses, through which it pushes like a rail, and wherever the country is settled it soon disappears. It is solitary in its habits, con- FIG. 2-'. — rJujnchotus rufcscens, Perdiss graude, 1'Ynambu. ceals itself in the grass very closely, and flies with great reluctance. I doubt if there is anywhere a bird with such a sounding flight as this ; and I can only compare the whirr of its wings to the rattling of a light vehicle driven at great speed over a hard road. From the moment it rises till it again alights, there is no cessation in the rapid vibration of the wings; but, like a ball thrown by the hand, the bird goes gradually sloping v towards the earth, the "^^ ^^ ^^a^^^^^X7 P distance it is able to ,. , „• i FIG. 23. — Pelvis of Tinamus robustus ; a. acetabulum ; il, ilium ; is. ischium ;/j,pubis. accomplish at a flight being from fifteen hundred to two thousand yards. This flight it can repeat, when driven \ip again, as many as three times, after which the bird can rise no more. The 54 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. * call is composed of five or six long notes, with a, mellow, flute-like sound, and so impressively uttered and sweetly modulated, that it is, perhaps, the sweetest bird- music heard in the Pampas. The tinamous are considered rather stupid birds, and Darwin relates of another species, Notliura major, which is smaller, has a short bill, and no tail, that a man on horseback, by riding round and round in a circle, or rather in a spiral, so as to approach closer each time, may knock on the head almost as many as he pleases. The more common method is to catch, them with a noose, or little lasso, made of the stems of an ostrich's feather, fastened to the end of a long stick. A boy on a quiet old horse will frequently thus catch thirty or forty in a day. The smallest species is the Ynambu carape (Taoniscus nanus) from Brazil and Paraguay, it being only six inches long. It has no rectrices, but the coverts are dense silky, and greatly elongated so as to form a kind of a train. It seems to be still more unable to keep up a continued flight than the Hhynchotus ; but little is known of its habits beyond Azara's account. The foregoing birds, together with most of the species composing the family, belong to the group Tinaminae. In the martineta ( Calopezus eleyans) we have a representation of the Tinamotinae. Mr. Hudson dissected a specimen, and found a most extraordinary structure of the intestinal canal, which he describes as divided near the stomach into a pair of great ducts that extend almost to the entire length of the abdominal cavity, and are thickly set with rows of large, membranous, clam-shaped protuberances. Externally, the martineta. from size and mottled plumage, somewhat resembles the jRhynchotus, but is less reddish, and has a shorter bill, while its head is ornamented with a long, slender crest, " which, when excited, the bird carries direct for- ward, like a horn." Mr. Hudson remarks further that it is found in the northwestern portion of the Plata States, and south to the Rio Negro of Patagonia, frequenting the elevated table-lands, where patches of scattered dwarf sci'ub occur among the close thickets, and subsisting on seeds and berries. They go in coveys of from half a dozen to twenty individuals, and, when disturbed, do not usually take to flight, but start up one after another, and run off with amazing swiftness. They are extremely fond of dusting themselves. ORDER. — GASTORNITHES. In March, 1855, it was announced to the French Academy of Sciences that M. Gaston Plante had found in the conglomerate underneath the plastic clay at Bas- Meudon, France, a leg-bone of a gigantic bird, to which Mr. Herbert gave the name Gastornis parisiensis, " in order to indicate both the name of the discoverer and the locality where it was found." Shortly after, a thigh-bone was discovered, only three metres distant from the place where the leg-bone had been found. These remains, from the lowest eocene beds, were conscientiously studied by several savants, but the great difference in their conclusions did not throw much light upon the affinities of the bird. Mr. Herbert, Milne-Edwards, and Lemoine came to the conclusion that Gastornis — or rather its legs — showed relationship to the Lamellirostres, or the duck order. Valenciennes referred it to the neighborhood of the albati'osses, while Lartet and Owen demonstrated some points of resemblance to the waders, particularly the rails. Recently additional material was discovered by the indefatigable Dr. Lemoine, of Reims, France, who has been enabled to describe two other species of Gastornis, G. minor and G. edwardsii, the former, however, from the fragment of a leg-bone only, GASTORNITHES. 55 2.00 100- 0.50W while numerous bones, and fragments of bones, of the latter, have been preserved. Both were found in lower tertiary deposits near Reims, and from the same geological horizon as the typical species, and in 1883 L. Dollo announced a thigh-bone from the same formation in the neighborhood 2.25™ of Mons, Belgium. Upon these fossils is based the restoration represented in the accompanying cut, in which the shaded portions indicate the parts Avhich have been found. The most unique and re- markable character of the bird is said to be the distinctness in the adult bird of the sutures between the different bones of the skull, since in all other known birds these bones are anchylosed, and the sutures ob- literated. This feature alone justifies the view that Gastornis is a peculiar type of at least ordinal rank, which accordingly has been attributed to it here. On the other hand, we cannot assign it a place very re- mote from the dromreognathous birds, with which the pelvic remains and the anterior extremities seem to indicate relationship. It may be that here is a representative of the ancestral stock from which flamingos, screamers, and ducks have sprang, or rather a form which takes the same position to the latter forms as do the Crypturi to the Galli- naceous birds. The true position of this type is impossible to make out at present, how- ever, and it has therefore been placed at the Fm 24 _ Gastornis cdwar(jsii> as restored by L. Dollo. end of the series called Droma3Ognatha3. Before closing the chapter of the Droma3Ognathous birds we may mention a few fossil remains which seem to belong to this group, the greater abundance of which dur- ing former geological periods is evident. Professor Brandt has described a gigantic egg found in an old watercourse on the o o ~o steppes of southern Russia. It had a capacity of about forty-two hens' eggs, and showed distinct struthious characters. He called the supposed bird Struthiolithus chersonensis. It may have been related to Gastornis. The Diatryma giganteum, from the eocene of New Mexico, was described by Professor Cope from a tarsus-metatarsus discovered by himself. " The charactei's of its proximal extremity resemble in many points those of the order Cursores (repre- sented by the Struthionida3 and Dinornis), while those of the distal end are, in the middle and inner trochleas, like those of the Gastornis of the Paris basin. Its size indicates a species with feet twice the bulk of those of the ostrich." The discovery introduces this group of birds to the known faunas of North America recent and extinct, and demonstrates that this continent has not been destitute of the gigantic forms of birds heretofore chiefly found in the faunas of the southern hemisphere. LEONHARD STEJISTEGER. 56 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. SUPER-ORDER II. — IMPENNES. This group, which, for reasons given further on, we here propose to treat as a superorder equivalent to the Dromseognathae (ostriches, etc.) and Etiornithes (including the rest of the living birds), has suffered a curious fate under the hands of ornitholo- gists. Although one of the most distinct and peculiar divisions within the homo- geneous bird-class, its position among the other groups has, until lately, been a very subordinate one. Linnaeus did not even recognize the penguins as a separate genus. He placed one of these fin-winged species together with the swift-flying sun-birds, or tropic-birds, while another was ranked with the albatross. Brisson, the great contemporaneous ornithol- ogist, however, made both those species types of separate genera, the latter of the genus Spheniscus, the former he called Catarractes. They were shortly after com- bined, by Forstcr and Gmelin, with other species into the genus Aptenodytes. The efforts of Cuvier and the ornithologists of his age resulted in the cutting up of Linnseus's 'families,' --as his 'ordines' were styled at that time, — into several orders, the Natatores, among which the penguins had been placed, being divided in Pinnipedes (Steganopodes), Macropteres (Longipennes), Serrirostres (Lamellirostres) and Brachyptercs (Pygopodes), and among the latter Avere placed the divers, auks, and penguins as genera of equal rank. A decided progress was made by Illiger in 1811, who divided the 'order' Natatores in six families, the last being the Impennes, which only included the genus Aptenodytes. But when Vigors in 1825 established the families ending in idee, the penguins were again included among the ' Alcidae.' Bonaparte, soon after (1831), made them the types of the family Spheniscidae, a posi- tion they held for nearly forty years without any serious challenge, as even Huxley failed to recognize their true position, assigning them, as he did, a place as a ' family ' of equal taxonomic value with the plovers, cranes, gulls, etc. G. R. Gray had placed the penguins between the auks and the guillemots, consequently between two groups the typical species of which (the razor-billed auk, and the common guil- lemot), by many prominent ornithologists of the present day, are regarded as not even generically distinct; but it was not before he (in 1871) repeated this master- piece of systematical perversity, that it became evident to all that the true relation- ship of these remarkable birds had been grossly misunderstood. Nevertheless, the rank of ' order ' was all that could be afforded at the time, and it is not until very recently that it has been set clearly forth that the penguins, notwithstanding the keel on tlieir breast-bone, are as remote from the other Carinatae (birds with keeled sternum) as these are from the ostriches, if not more so. "We have discussed this point at some length because of the interesting parallelism it presents with the fate of the Struthious birds, which at times also have been treated as a genus merely under different families, or orders even (Cursores; Otididse), until the truth of their distinctness was recently acknowledged. The assertion of Profes- sor Huxley, that the extinct great auk (Plant us impennis) " shows itself to be an almost intermediate form " between the penguins and the auks, for a short while pre- vented the full recognition of the broad gap between the former and the rest of the living birds, but recent investigations show quite an opposite result. In 1883 Professor Watson, in the seventh volume of the Report on the Results of the Challenger Expedition, presented an excellent " Report on the Anatomy of the PENGUINS. 57 Fir;. 25. — Pelvis of Ciitarractes dcmer- sus, dorsal view. Spheniscidse," from which, on account of the importance of determining the rela- tionship of the higher group of birds, we shall quote freely in the following. The vertebral column is characterized by the opisthoecelous character of the dor- sal vertebrae, a character which, judging from the frequency of its occurrence in the two groups, is more truly reptilian than avian, and by the mobility of the dorsal vertebrae upon one another, and the absence, even in the adult, of that complete anchylosis between the dorsal and lumbo- sacral vertebrae on the one hand, and of the latter with the pelvic bones on the other, which obtains in the majority of birds. The opisthocoelous character of the vertebrae shows itself for the first time in the third dorsal ; the cervical and the two first dorsal vertebrae being saddle-shaped. The succeeding dorsals differ in having the ante- rior surfaces rounded and globular, while their posterior surfaces are deeply concave. The Jumbo-sacral portion of the vertebral column never becomes anchylosed with the pelvic bones, not even in the adult (Fig. 25). The pubis does not coalesce with the ischium, ex- cept where it enters the acetabulum. The uncinate processes of the ribs are exceptionally large, and are only connected with the ribs by articulations, never becoming anchylosed with them as in the majority of birds. The shoulder-blade (Fig. 26) is remarkable for its enormous size and its great width posteriorly, and the coracoid bone for its great strength. The most characteris- tic feature of the wing, as a, whole, is perhaps the great amount of compression exhib- ited by all its bones, offering, when the wing-paddle is carried forward while swimming, the minimum resist- ance to the surrounding water. Furthermore, the movements permissible between the different bones are much more limited than in other birds — so much so that flexion and extension in the joints beyond the shoulder can scarcely be said to be possible. These articulations, however, admit of a very considerable amount of rotation, converting the wing into a screw-like blade. The wings are never used as oars, but are brought, into use alternately. The metacarpal consists of a single bone, which shows, however, the three elements of which it is composed. The first or radial metacarpal is destitute of any phalanx, and the pollex is consequently absent; the second finger has two phalanges, and the third only one. The legs are less modified than the wings, but the tarso-metatarsus presents fea- tures which serve at once to distinguish that bone from the corresponding skeletal element of any other group of birds, being altogether shorter and broader than in these, with the single exception of the genus Fr< (/'7/Mji\ ' i .-B^rfl •£.;$», I! ? jW^!J:*f ' : GULLS. 79 of the terns, which they approach both in general coloration, structure, movements, and habits. A not distantly related species, without black on the head, however, is the mackerel-gull of New Zealand (H. scopulinus), the ' tarapunga ' of the Maori, which seems to be somewhat similar in habit to Richardson's jagger, just mentioned on a previous page, judging from Dr. W. L. Bailer's account, which is to the follow- ing effect : " This pretty little gull is one of our commonest birds, frequenting every part of the coast [of New Zealand], and being equally plentiful at all seasons of the year. It is a bird of very lively habits, and its presence goes far to relieve the mono- tony of a ride over such dreary stretches of sand as the Ninety-mile Beach, and the coast-line between Wanganui and Wellington. At one time you will meet with a flock of fifty or more in council assembled, fluttering their wings, chattering and screaming in a state of high excitement ; at another you will observe them silently winnowing the air, turning, and passing up and down at regular intervals, as they eagerly scan the surface of the water. Here you find them ranged apart along the smooth beach, like scouts on a cricket-ground ; there you see a flock of them packed together on a narrow sand-pit, standing closer than a regiment of soldiers — heads drawn in, one foot up, ' standing at ease.' Then, again, if you observe them closely, you may see them following and plundering the oyster-catcher (Hcvmatopns) in a very sys- tematic manner. Nature has furnished the last-named bird with a long bill, with which C_3 * it is able to forage in the soft sand for blue crabs and other small crustaceans. The mackerel-gull is aware of this, and cultivates the society of his long-billed neighbor to some advantage, he dogs his steps very perseveringly, walking and flying after him, and then quietly standing by till something is captured, when he raises his wings and makes a dash at it. The oyster-catcher may succeed in flying off with his prey ; but the plunderer, being swifter on the wing, pursues, overtakes, and compels a surrender. The gentleman of the long bill looks gravely on while his crab is being devoured, and, having seen the last of it, he gives a stifled whistle, and trots off in search of another, his eager attendant following suit." o o From the Antipodes we turn our attention towards the icy shores surrounding the North Pole, where one of the most beautiful species of the whole family of gulls has taken up his summer residence, and whence — even in winter — he only very seldom makes a visit to countries inhabited by civilized man. We refer to Ross's gull (^Rho- dostetlda rosea), or the wedge-tailed gull, as it is also called, on account of the form of its tail. It is a rather small species, white, with a light pearl-gray mantle, and a very characteristic black collar round the middle of the neck ; the white being suf- fused with a delicate peach-blossom red in the fresh bird, which gradually fades away after death. The bill is black, the feet are red. The history of this bird deserves to be given in detail, since it is also the history of how slowly our knowledge of the birds inhabiting the locality where it lives has advanced, and the efforts which have been made by heroic explorers to elucidate the mystery as to the true locality of the species. The first two specimens were obtained at Alagnak, Melville Peninsula, 69° 30' north latitude, by Sir James C. Ross, during the latter part of June, 1823, on Parry's second voyage. Since then a few birds wrere seen by some of the following expeditions. Ac- cidental stragglers to southern countries were obtained in Kamtschatka, England, Faroes, Heligoland, and six specimens found their way to European collections from Greenland. During the Austro-Hungarian 'Tegethoff ' expedition, one was obtained off Franz-Josef Land, but was lost when the vessel was crushed in the ice, and Profes- sor Nordenskjold was fortunate enough to secure at the ' Vega's ' winter quarters a bird 80 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. in summer plumage, on July 1, 1879. None had been obtained by Americans, or had found their way to any American collection, though all our earlier expeditions had been on a sharp lookout for the rare and beautiful bird, until Mr. E. W. Nelson, the col- lector of the U. S. National Museum, brought home from Alaska a young one obtained at St. Michaels, Oct. 10, 1879. Three days earlier, in north latitude 71° 50' north of Siberia, on the ill-fated ' Jeannette,' Mr. R. L. Newcomb shot two in au- tumnal plumage, and, during the drift of the vessel in the ice the following year, he secured specimens in the latter part of June ; altogether he obtained eight birds. But when he had to leave the doomed ship, " when it was a question of saving their bare lives, and the necessaries of existence which each one of the shipwrecked crew could carry had to be weighed literally by the ounce, Mr. Newcomb gallantly stuck to three of these birds, and brought them in safety across Asia and Europe to the Smith- FIG. 34. — Rhodostethia rosea, Ross's gull. sonian Institution." In the records of collecting, we can call to mind no similar instance of bull-dog tenacity, remark the editors of " The Ibis," when commenting upon the heroic deed. Finally, Mr. J. Murdock, naturalist of the Point Barrow expe- dition, collected a great number of adults and young during the latter part of September and the beginning of October, 1882, when flocks, evidently migrating, passed the Point, coming along the coast from the southwest. He sent home to the National Museum a greater number of specimens than had ever been observed before. For all that, nobody has yet found the breeding place, and no one has collected its eggs or its downy young, or observed its habits ; nor have we any information con- cerning where it spends the Avinter. But the mystery is not so great as it was ; Ross's gull has been found all round the North Pole, and it is safe to predict that it TERNS. 81 breeds on the islands of that yet untrodden region, inhabited by several other species of birds, the breeding grounds of which have not been reached by the explorer and collector. In winter it probably follows the edge of the ice, thus avoiding the shores and the vicinity of man. The gulls having already occupied more space than was originally allotted them, we will have only to mention the kittiwakes (Hissa tridactyla and brevirostris) popu- lating the Arctic bird-rookeries, the dazzling white ivory-gull ( Gavia alba) from the icy circumpolar regions, and the fork-tailed gulls, constituting the genus JCema, one of which, X. sabimi, inhabits the high north, while the other, X. furcata, a bird ex- tremely rare in collections, is a resident of a probably very restricted area in the tropics, possibly of the Galapagos Islands alone. Of those just mentioned., the kittiwake is perhaps most interesting, because of the immense number of birds composing their breeding colonies, an account of which will be of great interest, and we therefore take pleasure in introducing the following sketch, by Henry Seebohm, of one of those rookeries. " The largest colony of birds which I have ever seen is that at Svaerholt, not far from the North Cape, in Norway, on the cliffs which form the promontory between the Porsanger and the Lakse Fjords. It is a stupendous range of cliffs, nearly a thou- sand feet high, and so crowded with nests that it might easily be supposed that all the kittiwakes in the world had assembled there to breed. The number of birds has, however, been grossly exaggerated. If we estimate the surface of the cliff covered by the nests at about 640,000 square feet, and allow for each nest a foot in width and two feet and a half in height, we obtain a total of (say) a quarter of a million breed- ing birds. Supposing the non-breeding birds to be ten to one, surely a very high esti- mate, we only reach live and a half million birds. When a recent writer says that ' the number of individuals must amount to milliards,' or thousands of millions, he is simply talking unmitigated nonsense, and obviously has no conception of what a mil- liard is. One milliard kittiwakes laid in a row, and touching one another1, would reach twenty times round the world. But in spite of all this tall talk, the number is in- credible. It is the custom to fire off a cannon opposite the colony ; peal after peal echoes and re-echoes from the cliffs, every ledge appears to pour forth an endless stream of birds, and long before the last echo has died away, it is overpowered by the cries of the birds, whilst the air in every direction exactly resembles a snowstorm, but a snowstorm in a whirlwind. The birds fly in cohorts ; those nearest the ship are all flying in one direction, beyond them other cohorts are flying in a different direction, and so on, until the extreme distance is a confused mass of snowflakes. It looks as if the fjord was a large chaldron of air, in which the birds were floating, and as if the floating mass was being stirred by an invisible rod. The seething mass of birds made an indelible impression on my memory; it photographed itself on my mind's eye, as such scenes often do." The chief characteristic of the terns, as distinguished from the gulls, have already been given on a previous page. In their habits they resemble the gulls, especially the smaller species, but in the same way as their appearance and structure is, so to speak, a kind of intensification of the gull type ; so are also their habits and peculi- arities, like those of the gulls, in a maximized and intensified degi-ee. Let us, for instance, mention only their curiosity. Thus writes J. F. Naumann, the famous German ornithologist, of Sterna paradiscea, the arctic tern : "When something new happens, such a bird soon arrives, inspects it closely, and, fluttering over it, gives out a VOL. IV. —6 82 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. cry that in a moment brings together quite a gathering, which, after having satisfied their curiosity, disperses by and by. If a new mound of earth be thrown up, or a handkerchief or a piece of paper be lost, or if they see a recently killed bird lying, or a captured one flapping its wings, immediately are they at hand, flutter and vacillate, screaming over the object of their admiration, and, when through gaping and tired of crying, fly off in different directions." Did space permit, long and interesting accounts could be given of the terns, but we are compelled to dismiss them with but few words. -T -^ •- ^<^=>- X*YN * ^= FIG. 35. — Sterna tschegrava, Caspian teru. The terns exhibit in their flight some remote resemblance to the swallows, which, in connection with the usually deeply forked tail, has given rise to the name of sea- swallows, as they are called in many languages ; while the elegance of their motions when on the wing has caused many an enthusiastic outburst both of poets and naturalists. " Light as a sylph," says Audubon, " the arctic tern dances through the air above and around you. The Graces, one might imagine, had taught it to perform those beautiful gambols which you see it display the moment you approach the spot it has chosen for its nest." The terns only seize their prey, which usually consists of small fishes, by darting headlong upon them from a considerable height, and the force of their sudden and dashing plunges is really astonishing. " The descent of a tern," SKIMMERS. 83 to quote from Mr. William Brewster's excellent paper on the terns of the New Eng- land coast, " upon its victim is performed with inimitable ease and grace. The bird frequently disappears entirely beneath the surface, and occasionally even swims a short distance under water before reappearing." His description of the scene when a flock of terns have discovered a school of blue-fish is so animated and picturesque, that I feel jiistified in quoting once more : " Dozens dash down at once, cleaving the water like darts, and, rising again into the air, shake the salt spray from their feathers by a single energetic movement, and make ready for a fresh plunge. Every bird amonir them is screaming his shrillest, and the excitement waxes fast and furious. o c? ' Beneath, the blue-fish are making the water boil by their savage rushes, and there is fun and profit for all save the unfortunate prey." Though a group of considerable homogeneity, the Sternea? comprise a few somewhat outlying genera, as the noddies (Anous~), dusky of color, and the white terns ( Gygis) pure white ail over, both forms with graduated or wedge-shaped tails. Both are trop- ical, the latter especially inhabiting the islands of the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, Polynesia, and Australia, while numbers of the former genus also occur in the New World, a single species {A. stolidus) even belonging to the fauna of the United States. The genus (or rather super-genus) Sterna, includes about fifty species, among them our common terns, but is divisible into several more or less well-defined groups. Thus the bird represented in our cut (/Sterna tschegrava or caspia), the largest species, is the type of ThcdasseuSj while the smallest species — for instance, our S. antillarurn and the European S. minuta — form the group Sternula. We now come to a small group of Laroid birds, remarkable for their curious bill, the lower mandible of which has been compared with a " short-handled pitchfork," and for their long wings, viz., the skimmers, the Rhynchopinse, not less remarkable for their peculiar habits and their geographical distribution, parts of America, Asia, and Africa being inhabited by one species each. The American species (Rhynchops nigra), the black skimmer, or shearwater, as it is also called, which occurs on our east coast up to New Jersey, has found many excellent biographers and describers, from whom we only make two selections. Our immortal Wilson thus describes this singular bird : " The shearwater is formed for skimming, while on wing, the surface of the sea for its food, which consists of small fish, shrimps, young fry, etc., whose usual haunts are near the shore and towards the surface. That the lower mandible, when dipped into and cleaving the water, might not retard the bird's way, it is thinned and sharpened like the blade of a knife ; the upper mandible, being at such times elevated above water, is curtailed in its length, as being less necessary, but tapering gradually to a point, that, on shutting, it may offer less opposition. To prevent inconvenience from the rushing of the water, the mouth is confined to the mere opening of the gul- let, which indeed prevents mastication taking place there ; but the stomach, or gizzard, to which this business is solely allotted, is of uncommon hardness, strength, and mus- cularity; far surpassing, in these respects, any other water bird with which I am acquainted. To all these is added a vast expansion of wing, to enable the bird to sail with sufficient celerity while dipping in the water. The general proportion of the length of our swiftest hawks and swallows to their breadth is as one to two ; but in the present case, as there is not only the resistance of the air, but also that of the water, to overcome, a still greater volume of wing is given, the shear- water measuring nineteen inches in length, and upwards of forty-four in extent. In short, whoever has attentively examined this curious apparatus, and observed the pos- 84 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. sessor, with his ample wings, long bending neck, and lower mandible, occasionally dipped into, and ploughing, the surface, and the facility with which he procures his food, cannot but consider it a mere playful amusement, when compared with the dash- ing immersions of the tern, the gul], or the fish-hawk, who, to the superficial observer, appear so superiorly accommodated." Darwin observed the skimmer in South America. That excellent observer gives us the following account of its habits: "Near Maldonado (in May), on the borders of a lake which had been nearly drained, and which in consequence swarmed with small fry, I watched many of these birds flying backwards and forwards for hours together, close to its surface. They kept their bills wide open, and with the lower mandible half buried in the water. Thus skim- ming the surface, generally in small flocks, they ploughed it in their course ; the wrater was quite smooth, and it formed a most curious spectacle to behold a flock, each bird leaving its narrow wake on the mirror-like surface. In their flight they often twisted about with extreme rapidity, and so dexterously managed, that they ploughed up small fish with their projecting lower mandibles, and secured them with the upper half of their scissor-like bills. This fact I repeatedly witnessed, as, like swallows, they continued to fly backwards and forwards, close before me. Occasionally, when leaving the surface of the water, their flight was wild, irregular, and rapid ; they then also uttered loud, harsh cries. When these birds were seen fishing, it was obvious that the length of the primary feathers was quite necessary in order to keep their wings dry. When thus employed, their forms resembled the symbol by which many artists i*epresent marine birds. The tail is much used in steering their irregular course." It has already been hinted at, on a previous page, that the super-family PROCELLAROI- DE^E might perhaps better constitute a sepa- rate order, Tubinares. Their differences from all the foregoing birds are many and important, and their affinities seem to be more with the Steganopodes and Herodiones than with the gulls or the auks, to some of which many of the petrels show a remarkable external and superficial resemblance. We will give their essential characters, as contrasted with those of the Laroidea3, in order to show this. The petrels are holorhinal, the gulls schizorhinal ; the former have tubular nostrils, the latter normal ones ; whenever a hind toe is present, it consists in the petrels, of one phalanx only, while, in the gulls, the normal number of two phalanges is always present, however rudimentary the toe ; in the petrels, the great pectoral muscle is disposed in two quite separate layers, an arrangement unknown in the gulls, and the pectoralis tertius of the former is entirely unrepresented in the latter ; the muscular formula of the legs in petrels is, as a rule, A B X Y, a combination, so far as we know, never found in the gulls ; the form FIG. 36. — Skeleton of giaut fulmar. ALBATROSSES. 85 of the stomach and the characters of the creca are entirely different in the two groups, and so are the characters of the plumages of the young (adult of both sexes, and young, except the Albatrosses, being alike); the number and color of eggs, etc., all points of special importance in settling the question of affinity. Some of the peculiarities are quite unique among existing birds ; for instance, the tubular nostrils, the structure of the hind toe, and the form of the stomach, — features which should secure a distinct position for the group, it being, as mentioned above, rather probable that the Tubinares should be placed in the neighborhood of the Steganopodes and Herodii, notwithstanding the desmognathism of the latter, since the palate in the albatrosses, though yet schizognathous, shows a decided tendency towards becoming desmognathous, being, in fact, intermediate between these two categories of palatal structure. At all events, Professor Huxley's remark, that " the gulls grade insensibly into the Procellariidae," has been shown, by the researches of Garrod and Forbes, to be entirely erroneous, since, from their investigations, it is evident, that the Procel- laroidere represent the rather specialized offshoot (in some features) of a very general- ized ancestor, being certainly a group of considerable isolation, great antiquity, and consequently highly interesting to the systematic ornithologist. We shall here adhere to the commonly accepted division of this group, in three families, Diomedidre, Procellariidre, and Pelecanoididie ; the first one characterized by the lateral and separate position of the nasal tubes, while the last is remarkable for the shortness of its wings and the total absence of a hind toe. The albatrosses have usually been regarded as three-toed, but, while one genus really has a minute external hind toe, the ossicles, or rudimentary bones of a fourth toe, have been found under- neath the skin in the others ; the toe proper, in all cases, consisting of one phalanx only. We cannot pass by in silence, however, the arrangement proposed by Garrod and Forbes, distributing the Tubinares in two primary groups, according to the presence (Oceanitidre) or absence (Procellariidaj) of the leg-muscle Y (accessory semiten- dinosus), and the corresponding absence and presence of colic cceca, together with a number of other characters : but we are not prepared to regard these features as so important as those which constitute the characteristic marks of the three families mentioned above, though, with Robert Ridgway, we are willing to admit the Oceani- tinas as a sub-family under the Procellariidae. The first family, then, consists of the albatrosses (DIOMEDID^E), those long-winged ocean-birds, which, for hundreds and hundreds of miles, follow the vessels over the tropical and southern seas, circling about them monotonously day after day, picking up the offal, arousing the tired sailor's admiration by the power and endurance of their scarcely moving wings, which seem never to know or need a rest. One of the most important characters of the family has already been mentioned, viz., that the tubes by which the nostrils open outwardly are situated one on each side of the bill, and not more or less closely united on top of the culmen, as in the other families. Whether this feature is an old and generalized one, indicating the way by which, finally, the curious and unique 'double-barrel' on top of the bill was formed, or whether it represents an arrested development during embryonic life, cannot be dis- cussed here. It can only be noted that the albatrosses, so far as color of plumage is concerned, seem to be more generalized than the rest, the young ones being decidedly different from the adults. On the other hand, they have reached a high degree of specialization in some respects; for instance, the proportionate great length of the upper arm-bone, the consequent enormous length and peculiar shape of the wing, and 86 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. the great number of secondaries. Formerly, two other distinctive marks were attri- buted to the albatrosses, viz., want of aftershafts, and lack of hind toe, but rudiments both of the former and of the latter have recently been proved to exist. The longest and perhaps best known species is the wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans), the one represented by the accompanying cut, the largest water-bird in exis- tence, and the bird with the greatest stretch of wing, some specimens being said to FIG. 37. — Diomedea exulans, wandering albatross. measure fourteen feet between the tips of the wings. The color is white, more or less waved, and vermiculated with blackish, the hand-feathers being black ; the eye is brown, the naked ring round it light greenish, the bill pinkish white, and the legs of a light flesh color. Like all the members of the family, they are inter-tropical and sub-antarctic in their distribution, and it is a significant fact which should not be lost sight of, when discussing the affinities and genesis of the Tubinarcs, that the group reaches its greatest development and number of forms south of the equator. No traveler has witnessed the albatross in the state of nature without expressing ALBATROSSES. 87 his enthusiasm when describing its sailing flight. Says Dr. Bennett : " It is pleasing to observe this superb bird sailing in the air, in graceful and elegant movements, seem- ingly excited by some invisible power ; for there is scarcely any movement of the wings seen after the first and frequent impulses are given, when the creature elevates itself in the air, rising and falling as if some concealed power guided its various motions, without any muscular exertion of its own." J. Gould is still more enthu- siastic : " The powers of flight of the wandering albatross are much greater than those of any other bird that has come under my observation. Although during calm or moderate weather it sometimes rests on the surface of the water, it is almost con- stantly on the wing — and is equally at ease while passing over the glassy surface, during the stillest calm, or flying with meteor-like swiftness before the most furious gale ; and the manner in which it just tops the raging billows, and sweeps before the gulfy waves, has, a hundred times, called forth my wonder and admiration. Although a vessel running before the wind frequently sails more than two hundred miles in the twenty-four hours, and that for days together, still the albatross has not the slightest difficulty in keeping up with the ship, but also performs circles of many miles in extent, returning again to hunt up the wake of the vessel for any substances thrown overboard." It is generally asserted that the albatrosses and petrels which follow the vessels are able to continue their flight without any rest, to speak of, for days and weeks, thus showing an almost incredible power of flight, and many interesting experi- ments with captured and marked birds are cited. Of another species, the black-eyebrowed albatross, (D. melanophrys) Mr. Gould, for instance, says ; " It is very easily captured with a hook and line, and, as this opera- tion gives not the least pain to the bird, the point of the hook merely taking hold in the horny and insensible tip of the bill, I frequently amused myself by capturing specimens in this way, and setting them at liberty again, after having marked many, in order to ascertain whether the individuals which Avere flying round the ship at night-fall were the same that were similarly engaged at daylight in the morning, after a night's run of 120 miles; and this, in many instances, proved to be the case," Capt. F. W. Hutton, however, who has made the flight of these birds a special study, came to different conclusions and asserts that the cases where a single individual is found to follow a ship for any length of time are exceptions, and that the habits of the alba- trosses are quite diurnal. "It is, I believe," he says, "the generally received opinion of naturalists that these birds, when seen for several days together, have never slept during the whole period, but have followed the ship night and day. To me, however, it appears incredible that any animal should be able to xindergo so much exertion for so long a time without taking rest ; and 1 hope to show that it is not necessary to suppose that it does do so. Mr. Gould says that birds caught and marked are generally seen next day ; but such is not my experience. I have sometimes marked ten or twelve Cape-pigeons (Daption capense, one of the Procellariidas) in a day, and seldom seen one again. Mr. Gould, however, is quite right when he says that sometimes a marked bird turns up after being absent for two or three days ; and how can this be accounted for except by the theory of the birds constantly following the ship ? A few certainly can be often seen flying under the stern at night. Still they are never numer- ous ; and where there were fifty or a hundred birds in the daytime there are only one or two at night. I therefore believe that, although a few may follow a ship for a night, most of them sleep in the sea, and in the morning, knowing very well that a ship is the most likely place to obtain food, they fly high with the intention of looking for 88 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. one. Some find the ship that they were with the day before, some another one. In the latter case, if the second ship is going in an opposite direction to the first, they are never seen by the first again ; if, however, the course of the two ships is the same, the bird might, very likely, lose the second ship, and rejoin the first, after a lapse of two or three days. A height of 1000 feet would enable a bird to see a ship '200 feet high more than fifty miles off, and often, although unable to see a ship itself, it would see another bird which had evidently discovered one, and would follow it in the same way that vultures are known to follow one another. This opinion is much strength- ened by the fact that at sunrise very few birds are round the ship, but soon afterwards they begin to arrive in large numbers." The same author enlarges on the general history, especially the breeding habits of the albatross, a condensed account of which will be found very interesting. The wandering albatrosses are very common south of latitude 40° S. and monopolize nearly the whole of the Prince Edward's Islands and the south-east portion, or lee-side, as the sealers call it, of Kerguelen Island, to which places they retire to breed in October. The nest, which is always placed on high table lands, is in the shape of the frustrum of a cone, with a slightly-hollowed top, and is made of grass and mud, which the birds obtain by digging a circular ditch, about two yards in diameter, and pushing the earth towards the centre, until it is about eighteen inches high. In this nest the female bird lays one white egg, which is not hatched until January. It is asserted, upon the authority of Mr. Richard Harris, engineer of the Royal Navy, that the old birds leave their young and go to sea, and do not return until the next October. " Each pair goes at once to its old nest, and after a little fondling of the young one, which has remained in or near the nest the whole time, they turn it out, and repair the nest for the next brood." Hutton thinks that the old ones go to sea when the young are about three months old, and that the latter are nocturnal in their habits, and go down to the sea at night to feed, returning to their nests in the morning, though Harris's testimony is to the effect that the young during that period are unable to fly. Mr. C. J. Anderson has suggested that the young birds " live on their own fat " while the parents are absent, and asks : " If other animals can live for several consecutive months on their own fat, why not birds ? " The PROCELLARIID^E is the group richest in species, comprising, as it does, about seventy different forms, in size varying from that of a sparrow, as the stormy petrels (Procettaria, and Oceanodroma)^ to that of one of the smaller species of albatrosses, as the giant fulmar ( Ossifraga giganted). The most essential external characters are the tubular nostrils on top of the culmen, combined with long wings, and the presence of a small hind toe. Inter se the members of this family group themselves around several somewhat diverging centres, forming more or less separate groups ; most inter- esting, as far as anatomical peculiarities are concerned, being the so-called sub-family Oceanitinse, which comprises four genera of small stormy-petrel-like birds, the most striking feature of which are the small number of secondaries (ten only), the booted or transversely scutellate, but never reticulate tarsus, the flat and depressed claws, the length of the tarsus, absence of colic coaca, presence of an accessor)/ semitcndi- nosus muscle, etc. Typical is Wilson's petrel (Oceanites oceanica), like a 'Mother Carey's chicken,' but with long, booted tarsus, and the webs between the toes yellow, and also belonging to the North American fauna, though its centre of distribution seems to be in the southern seas. It breeds, among other places, also on Kerguelen's Island, to Avhich the following sketch of its breeding-places by Rev. A. E. Eaton DIVING PETRELS. 89 applies : " Carefully watching the lirds flying to and fro about the rocks, we observed that they occasionally disappeared into crevices amongst piles of loose stones, and crept under loose masses of rock. Having meanwhile ascertained their call, we were able, by listening attentively, to detect the exact positions of several of these hidden birds. They were easily caught when the stones were rolled aside ; but they were in couples, merely preparing for laying, and therefore we did not find any eggs." It may be remarked that the petrels usually are found in pairs in the holes before the breeding commences. Later, only one of the parents occupies the nest, while the other one brings food to the breeding mate during the night; after the chick is hatched, both parents stay away during the day, only visiting and feeding it after dark. " The egg," Mr. Eaton continues, " is laid upon the bare ground, within the recess selected bv the birds, either in a chance depression formed by contiguous stones, or in a shallow, circular hollow excavated in the earth by the parent. Having found numbers of their nesting-places I will describe my method of searching for them. Whenever there was a calm night, I used to walk with a darkened bull's-eye lantern towards some rocky hillside, such as the petrels would be likely to frequent. It was best to shut off the light and keep it concealed, using it only in dangerous places where falls would be attended with injury, and progress in the dark was hardly possible, lest the birds, see- ing it, should be silenced. On arriving at the ground selected, it was probable that storm petrels would be heard in various directions, some on the wing, others on their nests, sounding their call at intervals of from two to five minutes. Those on nests could be distinguished from others flying, by their cries proceeding from fixed posi- tions. Having settled which of the birds should be searched after, a cautious advance had to be made in her direction, two or three steps at a time, when she was in full cry. As soon as she ceased, an abrupt halt was imperative, and a pause of some min- utes might ensue before she recommenced her cry and permitted another slight advance to be effected. In the course of this gradual approach, the position of the bird might be ascertained approximately; but it had to be determined precisely, and to learn exactly where she was, she had to be stalked in the dark noiselessly. No gleam could be permitted to escape from the lantern. Loose stones, and falls over rocks, - to avoid them it was sometimes necessary to dispense with slippers, and feel one's way in stockings only, for should the petrel be alarmed once with the noise or the light, she would probable remain silent a considerable time. ISTow and then it would happen that, upon the boulder beneath which she was sitting being almost attained, the bird would cease calling. When this occurred, and many minutes elapsed without her cry being resumed, it was advisable to make a detour, and approach the rock from the opposite side, as her silence might be attributed to her seeing a person advancing towards her, and she would probably recommence her call as soon as he was out of sight. If she did not, a small pebble thrown amongst the rocks would usually elicit some sounds from her, as she would most likely conclude that the noise was being made by her mate returning to the nest. When the stone beneath which the bird was domiciled was gained at last, redoubled care had to be exercised. By stooping down, and listening very attentively, her position could be accurately ascertained. Then the lantern was suddenly turned upon her before she had time to creep out of sight, and her egg could be secured with the hand, or with a spoon tied on to a stick." Among the Procellariinas several groups may also be distinguished : first, the small stormy petrels, 'Mother Carey's chickens.' as they are usually called. 90 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. Another group is represented by the genus Prion, very remarkable for its very peculiar and broad bill, which is provided with a fringe of lamellae, somewhat similar to those of the ducks. The well-known ' Cape pigeon ' (Daption capense) also shows rudiments of lamellae, but is rather referable to the next group, including the fulmars. The bird represented in the cut is the Fulmarus glacialis, already mentioned in the Introduc- tion for its remarkable dichromatism. To this group also belong the giant fulmar (Ossifraga gigantea), from the southern seas, nearly as large as the smaller albatrosses, and dichromatic, like its northern relative. The last group comprises several genera FIG. 38. — Fulmarus glacialis, arctic fulmar. of shearwaters (which are characterized by a four-notched sternum), including the very remarkable genus JBnhceria, which has a wedge-shaped tail, and the highly specialized muscular formula AX. The third and last family of the Tubinares are the PELECANOIDID.E. In their external appearance they present a striking resemblance to several of the smaller auks, being adapted to the same mode of life, and this adaptation has not only affected their external characters, the length of wings, etc., but also some of their anatomical features ; for instance, the compressed form of the wing bones, the elongated sternum, and the very long and obliquely placed ribs, have been modified in the same direction, so as to resemble the corresponding parts of auks and guillemots, though these analo- gies do not indicate any nearer relationship; of course, the opposite view being only founded upon a complete misconception of their whole, structure. Compared with other Tubinares, we note that the end of the nasal tubes, on top of the bill, is cut off DIVING PETRELS. 91 obliquely, so that the nostrils open upwards, a feature evidently produced by the div- ing habit, in order to prevent water from being forced into the ' nose,' as this tube, with great propriety, may be called. The total absence even of a rudiment of a hind toe is notable, and so is the absence of an ambiens muscle, and of the accessory femora- caudal, and accessory semitendmosus. It is, in short, a group quite generalized, as is evident from many of its anatomical features, though highly specialized in all that is affected by its diving habits. The group is very restricted in forms, and its geograph- ical distribution is tropical and antarctic. Rev. A. E. Eaton, from whom we have quoted above in another connection, writes of Pelecanoides urinatrix, the common diving petrel, which he observed at Kerguelen Island, as follows : " This bird, as Professor Wyville Thomson well observes, has a close general likeness to Alle alle. Both of them have a hurried flight ; both of them, while flying, dive into the sea with- out any interruption in the action of their wings, and also emerge from beneath the surface flying, and they both of them swim with the tail rather deep in the water. But this resemblance does not extend to other particulars of their habits. The rotche, when breeding, usually flies and fishes in small flocks of six or a dozen birds, and builds in communities of considerable size, which are excessively noisy. Diving petrels, on the other hand, are more domestic in their mode of living, fishing and flying for the most part in pairs or alone, and building sporadically. — They had begun to pair when we reached Kerguelen Island. The first egg was found on the 31st of October. Their burrows are about as small in diameter as the holes of bank martins ( Clivicola I'iparia^ or kingfishers (Alcedo ispida). They are made in dry banks and slopes, where the ground is easily penetrable, and terminate in an enlarged chamber on whose floor the egg is deposited. Some of the burrows are branched, but the branches are without terminal enlargements, and do not appear to be put to any use by the birds. Before the egg is laid, both of the parents may be found in the nest-chamber, and may often be heard moaning in the daytime : but when the females begin to sit, their call is seldom heard, excepting at night, when the male in his flight to and from the hole, and his mate oil her nest, make a considerable noise. There seems to be a difference of a semi-tone between the moans of the two sexes. The call resembles the syllable ' oo ' pronounced with the mouth closed, while a slurred chromatic ascent is being made from E to C in the tenor." ORDER VII. --ORALLY. The order Grallre, as here defined, is still a rather heterogeneous assemblage, though formerly in a much worse condition, for the Grallas of olden times comprised, besides those here admitted, the whole order Herodii, and the super-families, Anhini- oidere and Phoenicoptroideas. It would, perhaps, be an improvement to remove the first two super-families of the present order, viz., Chionoideaa and Scolopacoiderc, to the foregoing order, retaining the name Grallaa for the remaining forms only, and we may expect to see the step taken some day. As it is, the members of the present order may, in general, be distinguished from those of the foregoing one by the absence of full webs between the anterior toes. True, we have a few ' waders,' with entirely palmate feet, viz., the avocets, but the enormous length of their legs, and the long and thin bill, make them separable from any and all of the Cecomorphas at first sight. They are all schizognathous, most of 92 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. them with the vomer pointed in front, have two carotids and aftershaft ; they all pos- sess the ambiens muscle, as also the semitendinosus, and the accessory slip of the latter. Generally, the ' waders ' may be said to be littoral in their habits, only few of them being exclusively terrestrial, avoiding the water as carefully as most of them do the open ocean ; the shores of the sea and the lakes, the banks of the rivers, and the swamps and marshes are inhabited by some form of this polymorphic group, the mem- bers of which are distributed all over the globe, from the icy neighborhood of the poles to the hottest regions under the equatorial sun. One of the most interesting of all the many interesting and puzzling forms of this order are the birds which compose the super-family CHIONOIDEJE. The early systematists realized the isolated position of the sheath-bills, and gave the group set aside for them various names, as Vaginati, Coleoramphi, etc., the curiously con- structed bill being the most obvious character. But in regard to the relative taxo- nomic rank of the group, opinions have differed widely, as it has been referred to every possible grade from a mere genus to an order. Equally variable have been the opinions of ornithologists as to their relationship, since some have referred them to the Gallinaceous birds, others to the Longipennes near the gulls, others again to the GrallaB. The former based their conclusions chiefly upon the most external characters and the alleged gallinaceous habits of the birds, the latter took chiefly the internal anatomy into consideration. And, indeed, it seems as if both those advocating their place near the gulls, and those urging their affinity to the plovers and oyster-catchers, are right, for the sheath-bills are so intermediate between them that it is difficult to say where they should rather go, though the present writer is inclined to place them with the latter. In fact they arc hardly well placed before both Laroideas and Cliara- drioideae are united with the Chionoideae in the same order. Notwithstanding the external difference between the members Zj of the two families composing this super-family, their mutual rela- tionship has been understood for a considerable length of time, chiefly, we think, on the authority of Bonaparte, who as early as 1832 united them in one family. Of characters which both Chionidse and Thinocoridae have in common, it may be mentioned that they are schizorhinal, that they lack occipital foramina and basipterygoid processes, but have supra-orbital impressions, that the ambiens muscle, as well as the femoro-caudal, with the acces- sory, and the semitendinosus, with its accessory slip are present (ABXY-)-), that they have two carotids, etc. The most remark- able internal feature is, perhaps, the shape of the vomer, which is broad and rounded in front, while in other allied forms, Ccco- morphous and Charadriomorphous, that bone is pointed or bind anteriorly. The palate, indeed, in this and some other respects, shows some resemblance to that of the Passerine birds, this being especially the case with the Thinocorine palate, in which the vomer is connected with the nasal cartilages in a manner recalling that of the ^Egithognatha3. Like many, not to say most, of those perplexing forms which represent the earlier offshoots, or remain as the last survivors of groups once numerous but long since decimated, the CHIONIDSE, only two species, inhabit islands in the vast oceans of the FIG. 39. — Lower sur- face of skull of At- tayis f/rayl. SHEATH-BILLS. 93 southern hemisphere, they being chiefly found on the islands adjacent to the southern extremity of South America, -- Kerguelen's Island and the Crozets. The most remarkable and quite unique structure of these birds is the saddle-shaped horny sheath, overlying the base of the culmen and partly concealing the nostrils, - hence the name sheath-bill. This sheath is continued backward into a kind of IKK id covering the face, being naked and carunculated on the lores and ocular region, but densely feathered on the forehead, as represented in the accompanying cut. The bill and the naked skin are yellowish in Chionis alba, black in Ch. minor, the latter also dif- fering considerably in the shape of the sheath. On the carpus is a knob-shaped promi- nence which supports a wing spur. The plumage of both species is dazzlingly white all over. The feet are covered with a reticulate skin, both in front and behind ; four toes are present, having the normal FIG. 40. — Head of Chionis alba, white sheath-bill. number of phalanges, which diminish in size from the basal to the terminal one, only very small webs connecting the an- terior toes at the base. The habits of Ch. minor, which in- habits Kerguelen's Island and the Cro- zets, — unless the bird of the latter, which seems to have darker legs, is a separable form, — have been only very recently in- vestigated, and specimens are still very rare in collections. The recent Ameri- can, English, and German Transit-of- Venus expeditions to that desolate shore have furnished us with excellent descriptions of the manners and peculiarities of that species. All observers agree as to their resemblance in appearance, manner of caressing one another, gait and flight, to pigeons or ptarmigans. Dr. Kidder saw them eat only soft, green seaweed when in the wild state, but Mr. Eaton, of the English party, asserts that they also feed on mussels and isopod Crustacea, and that they greedily devour shags' and penguins' eggs. The former observer enlarges upon their great tameness and curiosity. They nest in holes between or behind rocks, laying- one to three eggs, which somewhat resemble those of the oyster-catcher, toward the end of December and the beginning of January. The chicks are covered with a uni- form slate-gray down. Males and females are alike, but the loral caruncle is smaller in the latter, which also has the carpal spine smaller and flesh-colored, and not black as has the male. The young birds are like the adults, but have pink tips to their wings. The THINOCORID.E, a family consisting of two genera, Thinocorus and Attagis, with together a little more than half a dozen species, inhabit South America down to Magelhaen's Strait and the Falkland Islands ; in the tropical portions they occur, how- ever, only in the elevated regions. Externally they resemble, in size and color, quails or partridges, the analogy being carried so far as to also embrace the shortness of the legs, but the long and pointed wings, with the long secondaries, at once suggest their affinity with the Scolopacoid birds. At first they were regarded as Gallinaceous birds, while some authors referred them to the pigeons or sand-grouse ; but the Limicoline pterylosis and the many obvious structural characters soon secured place for them among the Gralla?. Finally, Professor Garrod, in 1874, settled the question beyond dispute, by giving an account of all their anatomical characteristics. From his inves- 94 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. tigations it is clear that they have strong affinities to Glareola and other Charadroid Grallas. In fact, they incline toward the latter as does Chionis toward the gulls. The most noteworthy peculiarity of their structure is the formation of the palate, which is of a " spuriously aegithognathous nature," on account of the broad, anteriorly rounded vomer, and the manner in which the nasal cartilages are there connected, as originally shown by Professor Parker. The habits of the Thinocoridae are very little known, and what we know consists chiefly of what Darwin and — nearly forty years after — Mr. Durnford have ascer- tained and published concerning the ' gachita,' as Thinocorus rumicivorus is called in Buenos Ayres, according to Mr. Hudson. The former says : " This very singular bird, which in its habits and appearance partakes of the character both of a wader and one of the Gallinaceous order, is found wherever there are sterile plains, or open, dry pasture land, in southern South America. Upon being approached they lie close, and then are very difficult to be distinguished from the ground. When feeding they walk rather slowly, with their legs wide apart. They dust themselves in roads and sandy places." He goes on, showing that in all these respects of habit and external appearance the bird resembles a quail. "But," he continues, "directly the bird is seen flying, one's opinion is changed ; the long, pointed wings, so different from those in the gallinaceous order, the high, irregular flight, and plaintive cry uttered at the moment of rising, recall the idea of a snipe. The sportsmen of the 'Beagle' unani- mously called it the 'short-billed snipe." Mr. Durnford ascertained that they breed in Patagonia and visit Buenos Ayres in winter [May to September], sometimes in large flocks. He lays especial stress upon this similarity in habits to the quails and sand-pipers. "When disturbed," he says, "they fly round, uttering a low whistle, and invariably alight head to wind. They remind me of flocks of Calidris arenaria (the sanderling) as they stand motionless on the ground." During his journey in central Patagonia (1877-78), he was able to discover its breeding habits, of which he gives the following account : " I took eggs at the end of October ; and the young- were running in the middle of November : but this species probably has two or more broods in the season ; for I found chicks in March. The nest is a slight depression in the ground, sometimes lined with a few blades of grass ; and before leaving it the old bird covers up the eggs with little pieces of stick. The eggs are pale stone ground-color, very thickly speckled with light and dark chocolate markings. The chick is finely mottled all over with light and dark brown." As far as species and individuals are concerned, the super-family now following, the SCOLOPACOIDE./E, makes up the bulk of the present order. The group is a rather well circumscribed one, though a few forms are still in dispute, since some authors, following Huxley and Forbes, are inclined to exclude the bustards and thick-knees as being holorhinal. The question is one of the many in systematic ornithology which cannot be settled at present, and the most judicious course is, probably, to establish a separate super-family for the bustards, equivalent to those of the snipes and the cranes. As the arrangement now is, the characters defining the groups are hardly absolutely trenchant, but may be said in general to be the presence of narrow and prominent basi- pterygoid processes and the slender and abruptly recurved process of the angle of the mandible in the Scolopacoideae. They are all schizorhinal, except the Otididoe and (Edienemidse. The myological formula of the schizorhinal forms is ABXY or AXY ; that of the holorhinal members, ABXY or BXY. The bill is elongated and compara- tively slender. The ratio of the phalanges of the toes is normal, that is, they diminish PR A TINCOLES. 95 in length from the basal phalange to the penultimate one. The pterylosis has no characteristic features. This super-family is equivalent to the ' order ' Limicoloe, as usually adopted, and the ' group ' Charadriomorphse of Huxley. The first family to meet us is that of the pratincoles or GLAREOLID^E, a small group of Old World birds of very peculiar appearance. They have long pointed wings _and a rather long, deeply forked tail, a feature quite iinique among Limicoline birds. To this is added a rather compressed bill and deeply split mouth, besides com- paratively short feet. On the whole they have a very great resemblance to some of the smaller terns both in flight and habits. Nothing is more certain, however, than FIG. 41. — Glareola pratincola, common pratincole. that these birds are closely allied to the plovers, as also to members of the foregoing super-family, especially the Chionis, with which they agree in lacking occipital foramina and basipterygoid processes. That Linnaeus placed the common pratin- cole ( Glareola pratincola) in his genus Hirundo, on account of its forked tail and deeply split mouth, is perhaps not so strange. But that Sundevall, as late as 1874, denied the Charadriine affinities entirely, giving it place in the ' family ' Caprimul- ginae as an aberrant group of goat-suckers, referring, as he did, to the large size of the eyes, the form of the bill, the pectination of the long middle claw, and the somewhat sideways position of the hind toe, shows how unsafe it is to rely upon external char- acters alone in cases of intricate relationship. The species represented in the accom- 96 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. panying cut, Fig. 41, is the common pratincole, which is a regular summer visitor to the Mediterranean sub-region and the valley of the lower Danube, sometimes stragglino- northwards as far as Denmark and the British Islands. The color above is a fine mouse-gray, the breast is similarly only somewhat lighter colored, shading backward into buff and white ; chin and throat of a rusty yellowish buff circumscribed by a narrow velvety black band, which is set off by a white border ; the under wing-coverts 1 B>> FIG. 42. — Eudromias morinellus, dotterel, and Charadrius apricarius, golden-plorer. and axillaries are beautiful chestnut; the bill is black, brilliant vermilion at base; feet reddish black. Size that of a small tern. The pratincole, says Mr. Seebohm, who made the acquaintance of this bird in the valley of Danube, in Greece, and Asia Minor, is an inhabitant of sandy plains, large marshes, and bare elevated country, spending a considerable portion of its time in the air, hawking for insects like a gigantic swallow, skimming along with graceful motion, wheeling and darting about, chasing its prey in all directions. Upon the ground it is equally at its ease, and runs GRALL^E. 97 to and fro with surprising swiftness, in spite of its short legs. The flight is described as swallow-like, or rather like that of the terns. The note, according to Seebohm, is a peculiar rattle, impossible to express on paper, though the principal sound may be represented by kr rapidly repeated. Naumann mentions a peculiar movement of this bird, which he says is exactly like the dipping of the body and jerking of the tail of the wheat-ear (/Saxicola otnanthe). The food of the pratincole consists exclu- sively of insects, and an allied species (G. melanoptera), differing in having black under win^-coverts, which occurs from southeastern Russia southwards as far as the S * Cape Colony, is highly estimated as a valuable destroyer of the grasshoppers, accord- ing to the interesting account given by the Austrian traveler, Mr. Holub. •*™gsi -W53fe* FIG. 43. — Arenaria interpres, turns-tone. A small family, DROMADID.E, with a single living representative (Dromas ardeohi), may find a proper resting place here after having been knocked around between the herons and the terns. The aspect is that of a plover, or rather a thick-knee with a somewhat large and peculiar bill, and Temminck guessed pretty near the truth when he referred it to the neighborhood of the latter, for the Dutch zoologist, 3. van dor Hoeven, has shown that the skeleton is very much like that of the oyster-catcher, next to which we place it with the remark that it differs from the true Ch.aradi.idse in hav- ing no occipital foramina and no basipterygoid processes, in these respects agreeing with the foregoing families. The ' crab-plover ' inhabits shores from India, westward VOL. iv. — 7 98 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. to Africa, and southward to the Seychelles and Madagascar. Its habits remind us both of the plover and the terns, and so do the unusually large eggs. The family CHAKADEIID^E, comprising the Plovers, forms a central and important group of the present order, pretty well circumscribed and homogeneous, though a number of outlying genera present rather trenchant characters, thereby tempting the system atist to establish groups of family rank for their reception. I refer to the coursers, the turnstones and the oyster-catchers, of which only the latter group has caused me some doubt. The turnstones (Arenaria) are somewhat peculiar, having a bill of a type different from the common plover bill, and present in the muscular formula of the leg, an unusual specialization, it being AXY against ABXY in the '"• ' -'v /^mkr'/ lrO > FIG. 44. — Hosmatopus ostralegus, oyster-catcher. rest. But the disappearance of the accessory femoro-caudal muscle cannot set off the fact that the genus Aphriza, the affinities of which in both directions are manifest, links the turnstones close to the plovers proper. The oyster-catchers (Hcematopus) are more isolated, having a peculiarly wedge-shaped bill and large supra-orbital de- pressions for the glands, but can hardly claim family rank, related as they are to the turnstones. The latter form a genus consisting of only two species, the blackheaded one (Arenaria melanocephcdus] , blackish and white, and exclusively Pacific, besides the common species (A. interpres), which is nearly cosmopolitan in its distribution, and dis- tinguished from the former by having rusty-brown margins to the feathers of the back and wings ; the feet are a beautiful vermilion red, and the bird is well represented in GRALLM. 99 the accompanying cut. Together with Pluvianellus sociabilis, from Magelhaen's Strait, and the surf-bird (Aphriza virgata), found on our western coast up to Alaska, they constitute the sub-family Areuariinie. The Hsematopodinae consists of a single genus, the different forms of which are distributed over nearly all the shores of the globe, except the very Arctic regions. There are two styles of them, — one black and white, like the European oyster-catcher on the foregoing page, and another wholly black, both with intensely red beaks and reddish flesh-colored feet. They are *1S- ^ -s- c T^^ZZ- ~~"Jft. R-MLK1?. '. FIG. 45. — Vanellus vaneltus, peewit, lapwing. very noisy and shy, and make themselves disagreeably conspicuous to the shore-hunter, warning all other birds with their penetrating cry. The ChavadriinaB proper are cosmopolitan in their distribution, embracing the dif- ent kinds of plovers, being the most numerous group of the family, and are partic- rly characterized by the form of the bill, which is somewhat like that of a pigeon, convex anteriorly and restricted at base. Being well-known birds we shall save space unusual forms by only referring to the drawings (Fig. 42), and by quoting the tollowmg, from Seebohm, concerning the peewit or lapwing (Vanellus vanelhts, ^ig. 45), which is a strictly Palsearctic bird, sometimes straggling to Greenland and The flight of this bird is very erratic and peculiar, 'its wings are very 100 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. long and broad, and it flaps them in a regular, sedate manner. Now it soars upwards for a few yards, seemingly without effort, then flapping its broad and rounded wings it wheels round and round ; then it darts rapidly down as if hurling itself to the ground, and then, mounting the air again, with easy grace flies in everchanging course, darting, wheeling, trembling, and reeling, as though beating time with its pinions to its wailing and expressive cries. The lapwing becomes particularly clamorous at night, and obtains much of its food in the dusk of the evening. At all hours its wild expressive call may be heard, as it floats on ever-moving pinions above its favorite haunts. Its common note resembles the syllables pee-weet, or iveet-a-weet, pee-weet-weet, from which is derived one of its best known names. The eggs of the lapwing are highly prized as articles of food, and a regular and extensive trade is done in them. Thousands find their way to the London markets in the season, and fetch from four to FIG. 46. _ Hoplopterus spinosus, spur-winged plover. ten shillings a dozen." This bird is one of the few waders that show metallic colors in their plumage, the general color of the upper parts being a greenish to coppery bronze. Remarkable for the strong and sharp spur at the bend of the wing is the so-called spur-winged plover (Hoplopterus spinosus), hairbrown, black and white, a native of Africa, where it is one of the commonest birds of the Nile valley, but it occurs also in southeastern Europe and the intermediate countries of western Asia, It claims the distinction of being the 'leech-eater' or ' trochilos ' of Herodotus, whose de- scription, which is as follows, may rather belong to the black-headed plover, or, as it is frequently called, 'the crocodile bird' (Pluviamis cegyptius), also a native of Egypt. "As the crocodile lives chiefly on the river, it has the inside of its mouth constantly covered with leeches ; hence it happens that, while all other birds and CROOK-BILL PLOVER. 101 beasts avoid it, with the trochilos it lives at peace, since it owes much to that bird, for the crocodile, when he leaves the water, and comes out upon the land, is in the habit of lying with his mouth wide open, facing the western breeze; and such times the trochi- los goes into his mouth and devours the leeches. This benefits the crocodile, who is pleased, and takes care not to hurt the trochilos" There is, however, some truth in the old fable, for Alfred E. Brehm, who, during his travels in northeastern Africa, studied the habits of these birds, asserts that he several times saw this plover without hesitation running up and down the back of the crocodile, as if it were a green lawn, in search of bugs and leeches, even daring to pick the teeth of its tremendous friend, that is, litei'ally to snatch away food particles which stuck between the teeth, or para- sitic animals which had attached themselves to the mandibles and the gums. Related to the last-mentioned bird, but on longer legs with shorter toes, a bill somewhat resembling that of the pratincole, and of an isabel color corresponding to the sand of the desert it inhabits, is the cream-colored courser (Cursorius cursor), found throughout the southern portion of the Mediterranean province, but known as a not uncommon straggler to the British Islands during the autumnal season. It lives on the arid sand-plains or on the bare elevated plateaus, where scarcely a tuft of scanty herbage or a bush is to be found. It loves to frequent the bases of sand-hills, and is sometimes seen in the miserable desert pastures or amongst the sand-dunes on the outskirts of the oasis. In these dismal uninteresting regions the courser trips about in pairs, or less frequently in little parties." Completely unique in the shape of the bill, and probably forming a small group of its own, is the so-called wry-billed, or crook-billed plover (Anarhynchus frontalis}, since the end of the bill is not bent down, nor recurved, but turned horizontally to the right, as shown in the accom- panying cut. It was discovered in New Zealand by the French natura- lists, Quoy and Gaimard, who, in 1833, published the first description of / , this curious bird. The type in the Paris museum remained unique until FlG_ 47 _ 1869, and the Anarhynchus became so apocryphal and dubious that G. R. Gray finally declared the alleged crook-bill to be an individual de- formity, an opinion shared by many ornithologists of that day. Never- theless, the strange crookedness proved to be the normal shape of the bill, the deflex- ion being obvious even in the chick in the egg. The singular beak is thus described by Mr. Potts from a fresh specimen : — " Bill longer than the head, pointed, curved to the right or off side, curled slightly on itself in a leaf-like manner, a long groove on each side of the upper mandible ; the nostrils long, pierced not far from the base of the bill, fitted with a membranous pro- cess, which, apparently furnished with a system of nerves, extends some distance along the mandible ; interior of both upper and lower mandibles concave or sulcate, which form is maintained to the point ; thus the inside of the bill, when the man- dibles are closed, becomes a curved pipe, with a very slight twist. The tongue, when at rest, lies well within the lower mandible ; it is partly sulcate in form, tapers to a fine point, is much shorter than the beak, leaving a vacant space of six lines from its extremity to the end of the lower mandible ; the base is furnished on either side with a few spines (three or four), planted in the same direction as those in the roof of the upper mandible ; the thick portion of the tongue is indented with four or five very slight longitudinal furrows, terminating in the channel into which the tongue now resolves itself, till it ends at the very acute point ; this sulcate form is attained by the 102 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. edges being raised. From this peculiar form of tongue it may be observed that no hindrance is presented by that organ to the sucking up of water ; the spines would prevent the escape of the most slippery or minute prey, which could be crushed by the closing of the beak and the pressure of the tongue against the upper mandible, the water finding ready egress." The same gentleman, after having remarked that this bird is of frequent occur- rence near the streams or back waters of almost any of the rivers, which in their course disclose sandy spots and wide areas of shingle, continues thus : " A conside- ration of the natural features of its favorite haunts permits us to indulge in surmises as to the convenience and adaptation of its remarkable form of beak for obtaining its food. Where we have seen this bird it has never been far from water ; and if, as I presume, the species is peculiar to this country (New Zealand), I can point to our larger river-beds as affording it desirable feeding gi-ounds. These rapid shallow streams are perpetually wandering and shifting in their course, cutting new channels after every freshet, whether occasioned by heavy rainfalls or by the melting of snow from the alpine crests of the ' back country.' Any one acquainted with our ' plains ' must have observed, here and there, how certain parts (termed by the geologists 'fans') are thickly covered with stones, as, for instance, some miles below the gorges of the Rakaia and Rangitata. However unpromising or useless they may appear to the inexperienced, the practical grazier is aware that these stones assist in keeping the ground cool, and in retaining beneath them a certain amount of moisture, which dur- ing the drier portion of the year (when the parching northwest winds prevail) thus invigorates the thirsty rootlets of many valuable grasses, and the result is the main- tenance of a fair number of sheep on this rather barren-looking stretch of country. When any of these stones are disturbed from their bed, who can have failed to notice the commotion produced amongst the insect community thus suddenly disclosed to view ? What scuttling ensues to gain fresh concealment from the garish light of day ! In a somewhat similar manner, after a stream has deserted its temporary bed, numer- ous forms of aquatic insect life, attracted, in all probability, by the moisture, are to be found in the sand in which the shingle lies half embedded. The horny point of the bill of this bird, from its peculiar form, is sufficiently strong to be used for thrusting between and under stones and pebbles. The flexibility of the upper mandible, derived from the long grooves and flattened form (extending to nearly half its length), tends materially to assist the bird in fitting its curved bill close to a stone, and thus aids in searching or fossicking around or beneath the shingle for its food, while at the same time the closed mandibles would form a tube through which water and insects could be drawn up, as water is sucked up by a syringe. As the flexure of the bill is lateral, the bird is enabled to follow up retreating insects, by making the circuit of a water- worn stone, with far greater ease than if it had been furnished with the straight beak of the plover, or the long flexible scoop of the avocet. The inspection of these spe- cimens must clear away any little cloud of doubt that might remain on the minds of persons unfamiliar with the bird, and convince them that this singular form of bill, so far from being an accidental deformity, is a beautiful provision of nature, which con- fers on a plover-like bird the advantage of being able to secure a share of its food from sources whence it would be otherwise unattainable." Concomitant with the laterally deflected beak, is a curious asymmetry in the coloration of the plumage, which has been pointed out by Dr. Buller in the following interesting account : — " As already explained, the curvature in the bill is congenital, being equally present in the J AC AN AS. 103 embryo chick, although not so fully developed, and this fact furnishes a beautiful illus- tration of the law of adaptation and design that prevails throughout the whole ani- mal kingdom. A bird endowed with a straight bill, or with an upcurved or decurved one, would be less fitted for the peculiar mode of hunting by which the Anarhynchus obtains its living, as must be at once apparent to any one who has watched this bird running rapidly round the boulders that lie on the surface of the ground, and insert- ing its scoop sidewise at every step, in order to collect the insects and their larvae that find concealment there. But there is another feature in the natural history of this species that is deserving of special notice. As already described, the fully adult bird is adorned with a black pectoral band, which, in the male, measures .75 of an inch in its widest part. Now it is a very curious circumstance that this band is far more conspicuous on the right-hand side, where, owing to the bird's peculiar habit of feed- ing, there is less necessity for concealment by means of protective coloring. This character is constant in all the specimens that I have examined, although in a vari- able degree ; the black band being generally about one third narrower, and of a less decided color on the left side of the breast, from which we may, I think, reasonably infer that the law of natural selection has operated to lessen the coloring on the side of the bird more exposed to hawks and other enemies whilst the Anarhynchus is hunting for its daily food. There can be no doubt that a protective advantage of this sort, however slight in itself, would have an appreciable effect on the survival of the fittest, and that, allowing sufficient time for this modification of character to develop itself, the species would at length, under certain conditions of existence, lose the black band altogether on the left-hand side." It is now generally conceded that E. Blyth was right when asserting that the JACANID^E are closely allied to the plovers, and that they consequently do not belong to the Rallidae, or rails, as has been nearly universally thought until recently. In their general aspect, the long toes, and the nearly incumbent hind toe, the ja9anas present great analogy to the rails, but the internal anatomy, the knowledge of which is mainly due to Garrod and Forbes, conclusively proves that they belong to the present super- family. Forbes remarks that, perhaps, no very definite conclusion as to their affinities could be drawn from a consideration of the pterylographic, visceral, and myological features only, but that their osteological characters leave no doubt as to their real position. All the skulls of Jacanidre examined by him are strongly schizorhinal, therein differing completely from those of the rails, and resembling the plovers and their allies. There are well-developed basipterygoid processes, which are always absent in the rails, though occurring in all the Charadriidae and Scolopacidaa which he examined. The vomer is emarginate apically, while in the RallidaB it is sharp at the point. From the Scolopacidre and Charadriidre the skull differs chiefly in lacking occipital foramina and supra-orbital impressions. The sternum is quite unlike that of the Eallidre. In the latter group the sternum is always peculiar, in that the xiphoid processes exceed in length the body of the sternum, which tapers to a point posteri- orly, and from which they are separated by very long and well-marked triangular notches. The keel is also less well-developed, and the clavicles are weaker and straighter, being less convex forward, than in the Jacanidre. The pelvis of the latter is also essentially plover-like, the ilia being wider and more expanded anteriorly, the postacetabular ridge having hardly any median projection, and the pelvis being widest dorsally, just behind the antetrochanters ; in these and other points differing from the rails. The toes are enormously elongated and so are the claws. Another external 104 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. character distinguishing the ja9nnns from the plovers and snipes is the number of rectrices, said to be ten in the former, against twelve or more in the latter. All the forms belonging to this very distinct family have a metacarpal 'spur,' which in the genera Jacana and Hydrophasianus is large and sharp, while in the others it is small and blunt. Of this spur Professor Forbes remarks, that it has no relation whatever to the claw or nail of the pollex, which is also present, though small. The spur in Jacana spinosa at least " consists of an external, translucent, yellow epidermic layer, which invests a central core of compact fibrous tissue, this in turn being supported by a bony projection developed at the radial side of the first metacarpal." This spur is a formidable Aveapon, but it seems that the forms in which it is small and blunt have received a compensation for the absence of a real spur in an extraordinary development of the radius. In birds, as a rule, this bone is slenderer than the ulna, but in the members of the genus Metopidius, and probably also in Uydralector cristatus, the radius is dilated and flattened into a sub-triangular lamellar- like expansion for its distal half, as shown in the accompanying cut. The margin of the bone, where it is superficial, is slightly roughened; and no doubt, as Forbes remarks, the peculiar form of radius is asso- ciated with the quarrelsome habits of these birds, this dilated and somewhat scirnetar- shaped bone being probably capable of inflict- ing a very severe downward blow. FIG. 48. — Cubitus of Metopidius ; h, humerus ; r, The iacanas form a small family of tropi- radius ; u, ulna. _ J •> cal birds, one genus, Jacana (or Parra, as it erroneously has been called by most ornithologists), of about four species, being tropical American, with one representative, J. gymnostoma, a native of Central America and Mexico, just entering the United States on the border of Texas; while the one figured is the commonest South American species ; another genus, Metopidius, is Indo-African in its distribution, and Hydralector is Malayan, while Hydrophasianus chirurgus, hails from India and the countries to the east, including the Philippine Islands and Formosa. The latter, which is the pheasant-tailed ja9ana of writers, is a remarkably striking bird. It is devoid of the naked lobes on the head, so character- istic of the true ja9anas, but is especially noticeable for the four enormously elongated tail-feathers, which are gracefully arched like those of a pheasant. The length of the bird is about eighteen inches, the tail alone measuring ten inches. On the authority of Blyth we introduce the following notice of their habits: "These birds breed during the rains, in flooded spots, where the lotus is plentiful, the pair forming a rude, flat nest of grass and weeds, interwoven beneath with the long shoots of some growing, aquatic plant, which retain it buoyant on the surface. Herein are laid six or seven olive-brown, pear-shaped eggs, of an inch and a quarter in length. Their slender bodies and widely extending toes enable ja9anas to run with facility, apparently on the water, but in reality, wherever any floating leaves or green herbage ineets their light tread. The food consists of the green, tender paddy, or other vegetable growth, dependent on inundation for its production, and the numerous species of insects that abound in such spots. The cry is like that of a kitten in distress, whence their native name of meewah. In flight, the legs are trailed behind like those of the herons. The flesh is excellent." Blyth adds that he has sometimes seen it to all appearance walk- ing on the water, the supports on which its long toes really rested being slight and little visible. Legge says that in Ceylon it is wonderfully numerous on the northern SNIPES. 105 tanks in the ""Wanny" district, their musical notes resounding all day and all night long through the picturesque forests on their borders. These sounds are essentially typical of the wild regions in the northern forests of this island, and must always associate themselves in the mind of the naturalist with his wanderings in Ceylon. The snipes, sandpipers, curlews, etc., form another and still larger family than the plovers, being known as the SCOLOPACID.E, a group of considerable homogeneity, :md chiefly characterized by the long, thin, and flexible bill, which is covered by a soft skin, at the end richly provided with nerves that make the bill a very sensitive probe FIG. 49. — Jacana spinosa, jayana. fit to detect in the soft mud and extricate the worms and animalcules upon which they feed. Otherwise they agree pretty much with the Charadriidae, having a similar pterylosis, and similar muscular and intestinal arrangements. Like those they also possess occipital foramina, basipterygoid processes and supra-orbital impressions. Distributed all over the world, from the icy regions of the north pole to the equa- tor, the snipe tribe populates the sea-shores, the river-banks, the swamps and marshes, while a few only — as, for instance, the woodcock — prefer the drier woodlands to moister localities near the water. 106 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. We mentioned above that the present family resembles the Charadriidae as to the muscular arrangement, but we should have qualified the statement in regard to the muscles of the legs by saying that the myological formula is reversed in the two fami- lies, that is to say, that while in the plovers ABXY is the rule, and AXY the excep- tion, so is among the snipes the latter combination the usual one, while only few have all four muscles. Noticeable among the snipes having this more generalized muscular arrangement ai-e the curlews, a small group, the external characters of which are alone sufficient to warrant us in assigning them a somewhat separate position ; for the Numeniinre are characterized by a very long and stiongly decurved bill, and by having the tarsus entirely reticulate, or scutellate only for the lower half of the front. FIG. 50. — Numenius arquatus, cm'lew. As an additional character may be quoted their comparatively short tongue. The tarsus is totally reticulate in the Asiatic genus, IbidorhyncJia, in which, besides, the hind toe is absent, thus to a certain degree justifying the saying that it is a snipe with the bill of an ibis and the feet of a plover. Of this very remarkable form only one species, the red-billed curlew (I. struthersii), is known. It was originally obtained in the Himmalehs, but recent explorations in central Asia have shown that it inhabits sandy river banks from Pekin in the east to Turkestan, or perhaps the Kirghis steppes in the west. Its coloration is entirely different from that of the curlews of the genus Numenius, which are of a more or less rusty gray with dusky spots all over, while in Ibidorhyncha the back is olive colored, the under side pure white, witli the top of SANDPIPERS. 107 he:ul, face, and throat black, as is also a band across the breast; bill and feet vivid red. The arctogaean genus (Numenius}, consists of four-toed curlews, the migratory habits, extreme shyness, and culinary excellency of which are well known to the sportsman. They range in size from that of the domestic fowl to that of the wood- cock. Five species are enumerated as belonging to North America, among these the curious N. tahitensis, in which the shafts of the thigh-feathers are prolonged into thin and long, glossy bristles. It inhabits especially the Pacific islands, and has been taken twice in Alaska as an accidental straggler. In the following sub-family, the Recurvirostrinse, the length of bill and feet, espe- cially that of the latter, is carried to an extreme, but, unlike the curlews, the bill is either straight or bent upwards, and in both cases very much pointed. Those with straight bills are called stilts ; those with the beak recurved, avocets. The tarsus is covered in front by reticulate scales. They are tropical or subtropical in their distri- bution. The species are not numerous and are referable to three genera, the distin- o-uishino- characters of which Mr. Seebohm has tabulated in the following ingenuous O ^ and laconic way : ( Eecurvirostra, Feet webbed . . . . j ciadorhynchus, , Himantopus, > .... Hind toe absent. He mio-ht as well have said "Bill not recurved" instead of "Hind toe absent," how- S ever. This table confronts us with one of the peculiarities of some of the forms, their fully palmate feet being unique among limicoline birds. Ciadorhynchus is confined to Australia, the two other genera occur both in the Old and the New World, and in the latter both in North and in South America. A still smaller sub-family comprises the three species of Phalaropes, small, rather short-billed, and short-legged birds, with the tip of the bill pointed and the toes fur- nished with a lateral membrane, which is more or less lobate. The Phalaropodinse are more oceanic during their migrations than most birds of this sub-family, and swim with grace and ease. They are arctic and circumpolar in their distribution, wander- ing far southward in winter. O The central group of the Scolopacidse is formed by an assemblage of birds, of mostly plain grayish or brownish plumage, spotted with dusky, and more or less white underneath, among which are the sanderlings, the godwits, tattlers, sandpipers, the knot, the dotterel, and many other familiar birds. We call this assemblage Tringinas assigning to them as characters the absence of those features which have been pointed out as peculiar to the foregoing groups, adding that they differ from the fol- lowing sub-family — the true snipes — in having the eyes placed normally. On the whole, the structure of the members is very normal, excessive developments and spe- cializations in any direction being unusual. In this respect the curious spoon-billed sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmceus) is a noteworthy exception. The end of its bill is greatly depressed and flattened out, so as to form a broad spade much more dispro- portionate than the similar formation of the spoon-bill or the shoveller. This bird, which is about the size of the dunlin, and normally sandpiper-colored, is very limited in its distribution and correspondingly rare in collections. It seems to breed some- where in the neighborhood of Bering Strait, whence most of the specimens have been obtained, traveling south in fall, and wintering on the shores of the Indian Ocean. The habits of the sandpipers are, on the whole, not greatly diversified, although, of 108 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. course, each species has peculiarities of its own. They need, however, not detain us here, with the exception of one feature which does not seem to be generally known, viz., that some of the species during the breeding season are capable of producing a real song, which is considerably superior to that of many a " song-bird " proper. Says Mr. Seebohm, for instance, of Actodromas temminckii: "I first made the acquaint- ance of Temminck's stint at Tromsce, on the west coast of Finmark, where it was very common. These charming little birds were in full song in the middle of June. It was a most interesting sight to watch them flying up into the air, wheeling round and round, singing almost as vigorously and nearly as melodiously as a sky-lark. Some- times they were to be seen perched on a rail or a post, or even on the slender branch of a willow, vibrating their little wings like a wood-wren, and trilling with all their might; and often the song was uttered on the ground as they ran along the short grass with wings elevated over the back. The song of this bird is not unlike that of the grasshopper warbler, but is louder and shriller." Of Totanus glareola, the wood- sandpiper of the Old World, the same author says : " The note which the male utters during the pairing season is much more of a song than that of the grasshopper war- bler, which it somewhat resembles; it is a monotomous til-il-il., begun somewhat low and slow, as the bird is descending in the air with fluttering upraised wings, becom- ing louder and more rapid, and reaching its climax as the bird alights on the ground or on a rail, or sometimes on the bare branch of a willow, the points of its trembling wings almost meeting over its head when its feet find support. This song is a by no means unmusical trill, and has an almost metallic ring about it." Concerning another species, the pectoral sandpiper (Actodromns maculatus), Mr. E. W. Nelson made some very interesting notes during his explorations in Alaska, to the effect that the male, during the breeding season, can fill its oesophagus with air to such an extent that the breast and throat are inflated to twice or more the natural size, the great air-sac thus formed giving a peculiar resonant quality to the note which lie describes as deep and hollow, but at the same time liquid and musical. The skin of the throat and breast becomes very flabby and loose, so as to hang down " in a pen- dulous flap or fold, exactly like a dewlap, about an inch and a half wide," even when not inflated. " The male may frequently be seen running along the ground close to the female, its enormous sac inflated, and its head drawn back, and the bill pointing directly forwards ; or, filled with spring-time vigor, the bird flits with slow but ener- getic wing-strokes close along the ground, its head raised high over the shoulders, and the tail hanging almost directly down. As it thus flies, it utters a succession of the booming notes adverted to above, which have a strange ventriloquial quality. At times the male rises twenty or thirty yards in the air, and, inflating its throat, glides down to the ground with its sac hanging below ; again he crosses back and forth in front of the female, puffing out his breast, and bowing from side to side, running here and there as if intoxicated with passion. Whenever he pursues his love-making, his rather low but far-reaching note swells and dies in musical cadence, and forms a striking part of the great bird chorus at that season in the north." When speaking above of the uniformity in structure and habits of the birds com- posing this sub-family, a mental reservation was made in regard to the ruff (Pavon- cella pugnaV) . The male, during the breeding season, has the face covered with naked yellowish tubercles, and an enormous ruff of erectile feathers appears simultaneously on the neck. The colors of this ruff especially, as well as of the body, are so diver- sified that hardly two individuals can be found precisely alike, though it is said that RUFF. 109 these infinite variations may be reduced to thirty-three typical ones, the remainder being to all appearance intermediate forms or crosses. The accompanying cut «ives only an inadequate idea of its peculiar aspect at this season, but will serve as an illus- tration for the following account, the excellency of which may be an excuse for a^nin introducing Mr. Seebohm : "There are two points of special interest attaching to the history of the ruff, which are probably intimately connected with each other. One of them is the extraordinary variety of the plumage of the males in the breeding season, and the other is the fact that the ruff is polygamous. It is said that the females largely outnumber the males. Naumann estimates the proportion as three to one, and this discrepancy is confirmed by African collectors. The males contend in FIG. 51. — Pavoncellapugnax, ruif. single combat for the right of being ' cock of the walk,' and for this purpose battle- fields are chosen, like the ' laking-places ' of the capercaillie and the blackcock. These are sometimes on a slight elevation, but usually are nothing more than a spot of open ground in the mai-sh, where a patch of level short grass is to be found, four or five feet across, and so situated that it may be exposed to the view of the admiring females. The same piece of ground is chosen year after year, and Naumann mentions an instance of one which had been thus used for half a century. Frequently two or three duels are going on at once on the ground, but they seldom last long. After what looks like furious sparring, the weaker cock retires from the ' hill,' seldom, any worse for the fray, and the conqueror awaits another foe. These cock-fights are not commenced until the ruff or collar is fully grown, which is seldom before the middle 110 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. of May, and are discontinued as soon as the feathers on the neck begin to fall out, which happens about six weeks later. Soon after sunrise is the best time to observe them, but I have watched them in Russia and in Holland as late as eleven in the fore- noon. The excitement of the birds is intense ; they stoop with their heads low, and their ruffs expanded, and fly at each other like game-cocks, but, unlike those birds, they fight with the bill and not with the foot. The warts on the side of the face of the ruff only remain during the spring, and, doubtless, serve as a protection against the sword-thrusts of their adversaries." The Scolopacinre are birds of the twilight, and, like all birds of similar habits, are structurally adapted to their peculiar manners of life. Thus, the plumage is soft, and the coloration has that curiously mottled character which we will find in the owls and goat-suckers. The eyes are large and full, but in order to give them place in the little snipe-head without diminishing the ears, which also are of great importance to noc- turnal birds, the eyes have been pushed so far behind in the skull as to be situated just above the ear-openings. The bill is very long, flexible, and covered with a soft skin, richly supplied with nerves. The tarsus, like that of the Tringinre, is scutellate both in front and behind. The snipes proper, including the so-called woodcocks, are cosmopolitan in their distribution, and of migratory habits in cold climates, the many different species being of a bewildering similarity. A curious feature of these birds is, that a number of species present strangely modified tail-feathers, the number of which is often enormously increased over the normal, for instance, Gallinago stenura, from eastern Asia. This abnormality of the tail-feathers in many forms has been taken as an argument in favor of the theory that the bleating sound of the common snipe (Gallinago gallinago), is produced by aid of the rectrices. Others have contended tli at the wing-feathers are the instrument by which it imitates so closely the goat, and bitter discussions have been carried on between eminent ornithologists for more than twenty years. Together with several distinguished observers, I hold that the sound usually emanates from the throat, but that its bleating quality is produced by the vibration of the wings when the bird descends from its height. We quote the following from our own experience : - "Very often the snipe would rise so high in the air as to become almost invisible to the unaided eye, but still the strange sound rang vigorously down to the observer. Not only this power of the sound, but even more so the nature of the tune itself, con- vinced me that it originates from the throat, and not in any way either from the tail or the wing feathers, as suggested by many European writers. It is true that the wings are in a state of very rapid vibration during the oblique descent when the note is uttered, but this circumstance does not testify only in favor of the theory of the sound being produced by the wing, as the vibration most conclusively accounts for the quiv- ering throat-sound. Anybody stretching his arms out as if flying, and moving them rapidly up and down, and simultaneously uttering any sound, is bound to ' bleat.' ' This group includes a small, strongly-defined genus which we designate by its oldest name as Itostratnla, more commonly known as Rhynclma. The geographical distri- bution is somewhat remarkable, a representative species being found in each of the following provinces : Africa and Madagascar, India and south-eastern Asia, Australia and southern South America. It will be observed that this peculiar distribution is similar to that of many isolated forms; for instance, the Jacanidoe, Heliornithida3, Trogonidce, Dendrocygna, Plotus, etc., affording a valuable hint as to the origin and past distribution of these more or less ' aberrant ' forms. Rostratula has other peculi- PA INTED-SNIPE. Ill arities, however, not the least interesting being the fact that the secondary sexual char- acters are completely reversed, the female being considerably larger and more brilliantly colored than the male. In addition to this the females "deputize the duty of incuba- tion to the other sex, and reserve the business of courting to themselves." Still more remarkable is that, in the female of R. benyalensis, the windpipe is more or less tortu- ous, forming a distinct loop lying between the integument and the inter-clavicular membrane on the left side," while in the male it is straight and simple ; for, as Darwin says, whenever " the trachea differs in structure in the two sexes it is more developed and complex in the male than in the female." The arrangement is even more extra- ordinary in the female of the Australian species (M. australis), in which, according to FIG. 52. — Rostratula capensis, painted-snipe. Gould, the trachea passes down between the skin and the muscles of the breast for the whole length of the body, making four distinct convolutions before entering the lungs. The painted-snipe, as the species is called, is well represented in the accompanying cut. The predominating color is olivaceous, with buff and black markings, underneath olivaceous, brown, and white. Blyth states that the Asiatic species, when surprised, has the habit of spreading out its wings and tail, and so forming a sort of radiated disk which shows off its spotted markings, menacing the while with a hissing sound and contracted neck, and then suddenly darting off. While all the foregoing families of the Charadroid types are schizorhinal, the two following ones are distinguished as being holorhinal. On account of this arrangement of the nostrils they have by some systematists been removed from this superfamily 112 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. and placed near the rails, but the total sum of characters seems to demand that the bustards and thick-knees be left with the Limicolae, as a kind of connecting link 7 O between these and the rails and cranes. The (EmcjiTEMiDJE — in English called thick-knees, stone-curlews, or, better, stone- plovers — have the general aspect of large plovers, with a rather long bill, the gonydeal angle of which is strongly pronounced. The wings are pointed, the tarsi are reticu- lated, and the hind toe absent. The number of forms composing this family is small. Their distribution is inter-tropical on both hemispheres, and no species belongs to the fauna of North America, while a single species, (Edicnemus cedicnemus, extends its range into southern and central Europe, including England. Like its congeners it IF****? T~ -7 /- - f ~ .^ ' ' ' - •• , _ , FIG. 53. — (Edicnemus cedicnemus, stcme-plover, thick-knee. frequents the lowland heaths and bare lands where it has an unobstructed view all round. Its habits are to a great extent nocturnal, and it is particularly at nightfall and on moonlight nights that its clamorous voice is heard when out in search for food, ^j Zj * which coneists of insects, snails, etc. Mr. C. C. Nutting, who collected in Nicaragua, gives the following account of the Central American species, (E. bistiratus : " This curious bird is gregarious, and lives in the pastures surrounding the hacienda, where it makes itself useful by eating the various insects that annoy and injure the cattle. On this account it is protected by the inhabitants of the country, and it was only as a particular favor that I could per- suade 'Don Alejandro' to allow me to shoot a couple of specimens. The bird is exactly like a gigantic plover in appearance and motions, and is frequently seen in a GRALLM. state of domestication in the little flower-gardens which occupy the inner courts of the houses of the aristocracy, and here it works for its living by keeping the garden clear of insects, worms, reptiles, etc." The Indian and Australian genus, Esacus, is characterized by its much larger bill. Its coloring is gray above, whitish beneath, with no spots. In size it is considerably larger than the stone-plovers, and equal to that of the smaller bustards. The OTIDID^E, or bustards, compose the second holorhinal family, forming a well- circumscribed group, externally characterized by the short, somewhat vaulted bill without prominent chin angle, the long and stout legs finely reticulated anteriorly and behind. The toes are very short and stout, their number only three, and Forbes failed in discovering even a trace of the hind toe underneath the skin. In their gen- O O eral aspect these birds closely resemble the gallinaceous type, which in their habits they also recall to a certain extent. Some of the species are very large, the size ranging from that of a turkey to that of a willow-ptarmigan, being generally very stoutly built. Notwithstanding this apparent clumsiness the bustards fly well, and run with amazing swiftness, which once caused them to be included with the Ostriches in an " order " called Cursores. They are, consequently, especially adapted to the open country, and are, in fact, " the birds of the steppes par excellence" Their food is chiefly vegetable, thus differing widely from most of the members of the present order. It is strange that, notwithstanding the fact of some of the species occuring and breeding in central Europe, the question whether these birds are polygamous, as has been asserted, or not, cannot be said to be finally settled yet, though the nega- tive evidence seems to be the stronger. The family belongs exclusively to the Old World, no form being found in America. The centre of distribution of its about » O thirty-five species may be said to be Africa, but many species occur in central and southern Asia, and two are regular inhabitants of the temperate lowlands of Europe. Also Australia has its representation, but it is a significant fact that bustards are absent in Madagascar and the Malay Islands. Of structural peculiarities in this group may be mentioned that several species have a gular pouch with an opening under- neath the tongue. This pouch is capable of being inflated. It is especially well developed in the great bustard of Europe ( Otis tarda), and much speculation as to its use has been indulged in. Some thought it a water-reservoir, while others, from the fact that sometimes a few seeds or some trifling quantity of grass have been found in it, believed that it was used as a receptacle for food. There is no doubt any longer, however, that the presence of this sac during the breeding season is simply a secondary sexual character, and that it is only a temporary air-chamber, to be inflated and dis- tended during the " showing off." Not less interesting is the fact that the pouch is absent in many species, and that a simple distension of the oesophagus in some results in the neck swelling and depending in a similar manner. Another anatomical peculi- arity is that members of the genus Eupodotis have only one carotid artery, — the right one, — while in other birds with only one carotid it is the left that is present. Many of the species are adorned with strutting bristles, ruffs, or feather-tufts. One of the smallest species is the one figured, the little bustard (0. tetras}, of common occurrence in southern Europe, and not larger than a grouse. Another species which also occurs in Europe, though only as an accidental straggler, is the western Asiatic houbara (Honbara macqueenii). How this bird, which is intermediate in size between the great and the little bustards, is chased by the aid of the camel, may be of interest to the sportsman, and the following is therefore borrowed from Hume's VOL. iv. — 8 114 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. " Game Birds of India." " It is weary work trudging on foot, under an" Indian sun, after birds that run as these can and will, and in the districts where they are plentiful, people always either hawk them or shoot them from camels. Taking the camel at a long, easy, six miles an hour trot across one of those vast wildernesses they affect, you will not be long before — raised high up as you are on camel-back — you catch sight of one or more houbara feeding amongst the bushes. To them camels have no evil import; everybody uses them; none but the veriest pauper walks, every one rides, V^fxK'l. I3 Ai ^sk « -ty/ %•' : , • ife ':•'>,: ^Ppf; ' ^Siimi^ y FIG. 54. — Otis tetrax, little bustard. and rides camels. When, therefore, the houbara see you coming along on a camel, they only move a little aside, so as to be out of your line of march, and you at once begin to describe a large spiral round them, so that, while appearing always to be passing away from them, you are really always closing in on them. Sometimes, if the time be early or late, or if the day be cold or cloudy, long before you are within shot, they start off running, and, if you press them further, ultimately take wing, flying heavily, and soon re-alighting and running on, never, so far as I have seen, taking the SUN-BITTERNS. 115 long flights that the great bustard does, and never fluttering and skylarking in the air as do the little ones. Generally, however, if the time be between ten and four, and the day bright and warm, as your spiral diminishes, the birds disappear suddenly. They have squatted. Still you go on round and round, closing in, in each lap, and straining your eyes, usually in vain, to discover their whereabouts ; suddenly, perhaps from under the very feet of the camel, up flutters one of the birds, and, after a few strides, rises, to fall dead a few yards further on, as they are easy to hit and easy to kill. At the first shot all the houbara that are at all close usually rise; but after shooting a brace right and left, and having them picked up and slung, I have known a third to blunder up from within a few yards. The way they will squat at times on an absolutely bare patch of sand is astonishing; their plumage harmonizes perfectly with the soil, and you will have a bird rise suddenly, apparently out of the earth, within five yards of you, from a spot where there is not a blade of cover, and on which your eyes have perhaps been fixed for some seconds. This is especially the case about mid-day, when the sun is nearly vertical, and no shadow is thrown by the squatting bird. Sometimes they try another plan: they get behind a single bush, and as you circle round they do the same, always keeping the bush between themselves and the sportsman. Here, xinless the sun be quite vertical, their shadow projected on the ground, apart from that of the bush, is sure, at certain positions in the circle, to betray them, and a shot through the bush brings them to bag." Like most of the erratic and isolated types of birds, the members constituting the super-family EURYPYGOIDE^E have been hunted round the ornithological system from order to order, until, of late, anatomical researches have proved their mutual relationship and their remoteness from the forms with which they were more or less commonly associated. As long as external characters alone were relied upon, the sun- bitterns were considered rails by some, herons by others; while the curious Mesites was in turn one of the Passeres and a Gallinaceous bird. When the anatomists finally decided their relationship and united with them the kagu, placing them all near the Scolopacoid birds, more nearly related inter se than to any other group, the verdict had to be, and to a great extent has been, accepted by ornithologists at large. In the first place these birds are schizorhinal, and furthermore they lack occipital foramina, basipterygoid processes, and supraorbital impressions. To these important characters of the skull, besides important ones from other parts of the body, — for instance, the comparatively low insertion of the hind toe, — may be added the presence of powder-down patches among the feathers, a feature elsewhere only met with in the herons, some parrots, goatsuckers, hawks, and a few others. Three families compose the super-family, each of which are represented by a single genus only, the genera again being nearly monotypieal. The sun-bitterns are South American, Ehynochetos is from the island of New Caledonia in the Polynesian Archi- pelago, and Mesites is peculiar to Madagascar. This distribution is considerably disconnected, and seems at first glance to oppose the view of the relationship of these birds, but we need only refer to what has been said on a previous page, under Rostratula, in order to show that the peculiar geographical distribution of these forms, the antiquity of which cannot be doubted, is rather in favor of the present arrange- ment, and they can only be regarded as the last survivors of a group which, simulta- neously with others of similarly old-fashioned aspect, once populated continents now sunk, or inhabited by forms of a more modern type. Just how the ancestors of the recent Limicolae, on one hand, and the cranes and rails, on the other, branched off 116 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. from that common stock of wtich we here see the more or less direct descendants, will not be ascertained before the embryology of all these forms shall be known, and perhaps not even then. Nor may we expect much from future palreontological discoveries; here and there a find may throw some light upon affinities and the history of development, but the gaps are great and many. We will therefore, for the present at least, have to content ourselves with such reasonable probabilities as can be derived from the comparative anatomy and the geographical distribution. The sun-bitterns, family EUKYPYGIDJE, genus JEurypyga^ as already indicated, are South American birds of a rather peculiar appearance, something between a rail and FIG. 55. — Eurypyga helias, sun-bird, sun-bittern. a heron, though the long tail, the ample, broad wings, and the peculiar coloration at first glance distinguishes them from both. Referring to the cut for further details of external structure and for the general aspect, we need only mention in regard to col- oration that the sun-bird, as it is also called, is beautifully variegated with white, brown, and black bands and mottlings, the head being black with white marks. The eye is red, bill and feet yellow. The feathers are soft, and the shafts of those on the back and rump are extremely fine and delicate in the centre, which causes the tips of each feather to turn the reverse way directly the bird is dead. Another remarkable fea- ture is the extremely thin neck. The sun-bitterns inhabit the banks of the great KAGU. rivers and are said to be very shy. Nevertheless, they are easily tamed, and travelers assert that they are often kept in captivity by the natives inhabiting the valleys of the Amazon and Orinoco. They are therefore often found in the zoological gardens, where they thrive very well. They bred first in the London Zoological Garden, and from the account by the superintendent, Mr. A. D. Bartlett, we select the following concerning this event: "Early in the month of May, 1865, they began to show si 3 o CD •J • ta ^ a o 1- § P > t^ 6 W % V> 1-5 S3 s Co •S 8S a o 3 3 o a >-i O T3 CD -f 3 CD CRANES. 125 the approach of the V-shaped flight above. The four birds in the foreground, having the peculiar crest or crown on top of the head, much like that of a peacock, are the northwest African crowned-crane (Balearica pavoniiid) ; the southern species, H. chrysopelargus, having a large, pendulous, naked throat-lappet. In this genus the windpipe is simple and does not enter the keel. The light-colored bird to the left, in front of the others, is a ' demoiselle ' or ' Numidian ' crane ( Tetrapterix, or Antro- poides virgo), of which a better representation will be found on the full-page cut of the BalcKniceps rex, in the upper right-hand corner (facing p. 172). Like the other cranes, the demoiselle, which occurs from Mongolia in the east to northern Africa in the west, is fond of dancing, as described in the following graphic account of the Russian naturalist, Prof, von N'ordmann : " They arrive in the south of Russia about the beginning of March, in flocks of between two and three hundred individuals. O ^j * Arrived at the end of their journey, the flocks keep together for some time, and even when they have dispersed in couples, they re-assemble every morning and evening, preferring in calm weather to exercise themselves together, and amuse themselves by dancing. For this purpose they choose a convenient place, generally the flat shore of a stream. There they place themselves in a line, or in many rows, and begin their games and extraordinary dances, which are not a little surprising to the spectator, and of which the account would be considered fabulous were it not attested by men worthy of belief. They dance and jump around each other, bowing in a burlesque manner, advancing their necks, raising the feathers of the neck-tufts, and half unfolding the wings. In the meantime another set are disputing, in a race, the prize for swiftness. Arrived at the winning-post they turn back, and Avalk slowly and with gravity ; all the rest of the company saluting them with reiterated cries, inclinations of the head, and other demonstrations, which are recipi'ocated. After having done this for some time, they all rise in the air, where, slowly sailing, they describe circles, like the swan and other cranes. After some weeks these assemblies cease, and from that time they are seen constantly walking in loving pairs together." It would not do to leave the cranes without having given the readers a taste of J. ^J C7 Wolley's account of the breeding of the crane in Lapland, which Professor Newton has styled " one of the most pleasing contributions to natural history ever written," and I only regret that want of space prohibits the reproduction of it unabridged. Wolley, in 1853, went to Swedish Lapland in order to find out, among other things, whether the young crane, on first leaving the egg, is helpless like a young heron, or able to run about like the young of most waders and Gallinaceous birds, and to observe the breeding habits for himself. He came after the birds were hatched, but he satis- fied himself that the young cranes, after leaving the eggs, could run about. He had to wait a year to get the eggs. Here are his words: "The following year, 1854, on the 20th of May, I went with only Lud wig — my servant-lad — to look for the crane's nest in ^0fefe= FIG. 68. — Branta bernicla, common brant. America, where several handsome species, peculiar by the metallic reflections of the wing speculum, have their home. One of these, Chlcephaga melanoptera, inhabits the high Andes of Peru and Boli- via, as high up as 14,000 feet above the sea-level, and has not been met with south of 35° south latitude. It descends in winter to the plains, but retires in summer to the high Cordillera, to the verge of the line of perpetual snow. Another beautiful species is the emperor-goose (Philacte canagicci), from islands in Bering's Sea and Alaska. Be- sides these there are numerous other kinds, of which we can only mention the names, the red-breasted brant (Eufibrenta ruficollis), from eastern Siberia, the barred-headed goose (Eulabeia indicci), from India, the swan-goose (Cygnopsis cygnoides), from China, the Hawkesbury bernicle ( Chlamydochen jubata), from Australia, etc. We will have to stop a moment, however, to consider a genus, containing only a few diminutive species of geese, the so-called goslets (Nettepus), of which representatives SWANS. 143 are found in South Africa,, Madagascar, India, and Australia. Notwithstanding their size, which is not greater than that of a teal, they are true geese with a typical bernicle bill. They are excellent swimmers, however, and pass the greater part of their life on the water, thus differing from most other geese. The Indian species (A7^ coromandelicus), is described as having a peculiar .shuffling gait when on land, as " after walking a few steps they always squat." Jerdon thinks it probable that in the wild state they never alight on the land. The swans are distinguished by the extraordinary elongation of the neck, Avhich is affected by the great number of cervical vertebrae, arid not by their being unusually lengthened, as is the case with most other long-necked birds. There are no occipital foramina as in most other ducks, and the pelvis is considerably lengthened and rather narrowed in the postacetabular region. The feet are placed far back, indicating that the swans are more at home on the water than on the land, as is also evident from the shortness of the tarsus. The base of the bill, which is anatine in its form, and the loral region are naked in the adults. The swans are highly ornamental on ponds and lakes, and several of the species are kept in semi-domestication for that purpose, especially those with a gracefully curved neck. They inhabit the temperate regions both north and south of the equator, one genus with one species being peculiar to Australia, one to South America ; one genus is circumpolar, and the fourth is Palaaarc- tic ; Africa alone has no swans at the present day, This group is apparently nearer related to the ducks proper than to the geese, but from the caverns of Malta is known a gigantic fossil form, Palceocygnus falconeri, which, on account of its high, stout, and short-toed feet, seems to take an intermediate position between geese and swans. The discovery of Australia altered many an Old World notion in regard to ani- mals and plants, and the saying " white as a swan " had to be modified when the Aus- tralian black swan {Chenopis atrata) was discovered towards the end of the last century. It is a most beautiful species ; the neck is very long and thin, its curvature very graceful, and the inner Aving-feathers are curled and raised ; the color is entirely dull black, with white on the wing ; the eye is red, and the bill vivid carmine, adorned with a white cross-band. It is entirely acclimatized in the northern hemi- sphere. The white swans of the genus Olor, of which two species are peculiar to the Palsearctic region and two to this continent, do not carry their neck in an S-like curve as do the other forms, but straight, more after the fashion of the geese. They have a loud and sonorous voice, the resonant quality of which is due to the convolutions of the windpipe within the breast-bone, similar to the arrangement already described in some cranes. The trumpeters or whistling-swans breed chiefly in the Arctic regions, mi- grating southwards in winter. Somewhat similar in appearance, on account of the dazzlingly white plumage, but differing in having a most elegantly S-like neck, a high frontal knob, wedge-shaped tail, and simple windpipe, is the European so-called tame or mute-swan (Ci/ynus gibbus), the habitat of which seems to be the western temper- ate portion of the Palrearctic region. When this snow-white bird with the scarlet bill is leisurely swimming, the wing-feathers half raised like sails, and the neck doubly curved, it certainly is one of the most majestic and beautiful members of the feathered tribes. Among water birds it has no rival on the northern half of the globe, and it is very doubtful if it does not even excel the South American black-necked swan (Stlienelides melancorypka), the exquisite grace of which is beyond description. The plumage of the last-mentioned species is of the purest white, except on the head and neck, which are of a velvety seal-brown of the darkest shade, in the most striking con- 144 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. trast. The bill, which bears a double frontal knob at base, is light plumbeous ; the knob, intense rose-color, the nail whitish ; the legs are flesh-colored. This species, the smallest of the swans, inhabits South America, from Chili, across the continent, and southward to Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands. Mr. Gibson gives some notes on its occurrence and habits in Buenos Ayres, from which we select the follow- ing : " As there are a great many swamps and fens here, it is but natural that all the water-fowl should be represented in extraordinary numbers; and accordingly even FIG. 69. — Chenopis atrata, Australian black swan. swans are nearly as abundant with us as ducks are in other districts. I have counted about two hundred on one small lagoon in a swamp ; and the latter is but one in a whole network of swamps and watercourses. Another great fen, bordering our land, is known as the Canada de Cisneros, or Swamp of the Swanneries, an eminently suggestive name for the oologist, one which its character well bears out. About the besrinnino; O ' o O of the century, the first Christians (so-called in contradistinction to the Indians) who reached this district were Gauchos, who, in pursuit of swans for the sake of their skins, DUCKS. 145 made occasional excursions from inside the frontiers. Their weapon was the 'bolea- dores,' or balls, of the same nature as those used for catching cattle and horses, and which are now sufficiently well known for me to dispense with a description of them. These ' swan-balls ' differed only in being made of wood, so that they should float on the water if the Gaucho missed his aim. The swans were tamer and easier to ap- proach then, and the rider took care always to come down the wind, getting within forty or fifty yards before they took the alarm. Then a desperate push, if the water was not too deep, would gain another ten yards, as the swans are taken at the disad- vantage of being compelled to rise doivn the wind. The balls are whirled, thrown, and, twisting round the wings and neck of the bird selected, render it quite helpless. Nowadays it is difficult to get within gunshot-range without regular stalking. It nests very early, July and September, however, being the favorite months. The posi- tion chosen is always in one of the largest and deepest swamps, the nest being placed among the thickest rushes, at some distance from one of the lagoons, but connected with it by a lane of clear water; for the birds always leave the nest by swimming. It is built from the bottom of the swamp, sometimes through four or five feet of water, above the surface of which it rises a foot or a foot and a half. The diameter at the top is about two feet. The general clutch of eggs is either three or four. They are of a smooth, glossy cream-color." The Anatinse comprise the group of sub-family rank, which, with a general term, we call ' ducks,' including within it tree-ducks, river-ducks, sea-ducks, and a few minor sec- tions, which at present we cannot satisfactorily place elsewhere. The common char- acter is the shape of the bill which is constructed upon the plan of that of the tame duck, rather broad, more or less depressed, with thin and flat lamella? and mostly nar- row nail, but modified in many ways to conform to the requirements of the different habits and the different food of the members. The sub-family is rather numerous in species, and somewhat polymorphic, for some of the forms show strong affinities towards the swans, others to the spur-winged geese, others again to the mergansers. It will here be necessary to go a little into details in describing the peculiar bulbous enlargement of the windpipe so characteristic of most ducks, since in most works of a general character this feature is usually dismissed by simple mention that such an enlargement occurs. In the females the windpipe descends regularly to the lower larynx, where it becomes more or less contracted. The rings coalesce into a small pyramid with bony walls, from which the two bronchi depart. In no species known has the female an enlargement like that of the male, with the exception of the Aus- tralian Virago castanea, the female of which has an arrangement similar to that of the male, but smaller, as shown by Prof. Newton. The peculiar structure of the male windpipe consists in a round, bony, bladdery appendage, situated on the left side, just above the bronchial tubes, forming the so-called labyrinth, or bulla ossea. This ap- pendage is only absent in a few sea-ducks. In the fresh-water ducks it is of a pretty uniform structure, as typified by the labyrinth of the mallard. Nevertheless every spe- cies presents minor differences which are constant and peculiar to it. The sheldrake (Tadorna) has a double labyrinth, with the enlargement on the right-hand side. In most of the sea-ducks, the labyrinth is of a somewhat different structure, it being not uniformly osseous all round, but more or less angular, pierced through by numer- ous openings, the so-called fenestrse, which are covered by membrane. This difference has been regarded as of systematic importance in separating river-ducks and sea-ducks ; but the fact that the presence or absence of a lobe to the hind toe is not co-extensive VOL. iv. — 10 146 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. with a fenestrated or closed labyrinth renders the character useless as such. As ex- amples may be quoted the common eider, which has a labyrinth much like that of the mallard, while it is fenestrated in Sarkidiornis and Rhodonessa. Some species have, in addition to the labyrinth, or alone, a bulbous expansion higher up on the trachea, as in the rosy-billed duck ( Metopiana peposaca) from South America, without lobe to the hind-toe, and in the velvet-scotor ( Oidemia fusca), one of our common sea-ducks. We shall now briefly review the minor groups into which this sub-family is divis- ible, commencing with the tree-ducks, which seem to be somewhat isolated, and, perhaps, might have been made to form a separate sub-family in connection with the Muscovy duck and the genus Sarkidiornis. The tree-ducks (DendrocyyncC) are remarkable for their long thin neck, the long hind-toe, their arboreal habits, and their curious geographical distribution. The genus consists of about a dozen forms, which inhabit the tropical regions of the earth, chiefly America and the Malayan archipelago, but also India, Madagascar, Africa, and Australia. This general distribution is not so strange, since we have numerous parallels, as repeatedly observed on previous pages. But in this case we are confronted with the fact that one species, D. mduata, occurs both in Africa and in South America. Dr. Sclater, however, thinks it probable that it has been introduced to the latter country by negro slaves, but we are not aware that this is more than a mere guess. The Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata), originally neotropical, but now domesticated nearly all over the earth, is too well known to detain us further, and the 'black-backed geese' (Sarkidiornis) need only be men- tioned for the curious, compressed, high wattle, that surmounts the culmen for nearly the whole of its length. The three species, one of which is found in South America, one in South Africa and Madagascar, and one in India, are exceedingly alike, and were once thought to be only one species, making one more instance of the kind of geographical distribution alluded to above. Not very distantly related to the foregoing genera are the true sheldrakes, Tadorna, of which the typical species (T. tadorna) is well worth mentioning. Considering its striking coloration, the head and neck being greenish black ; anterior part of back, sides, and breast rusty brown, shoulders and middle of under parts black ; wing- speculum green, rusty brown behind ; bill and frontal knob bright carmine, legs flesh- color, it will be perceived that it is one of the most striking-looking ducks. The size is that of a mallard, but it stands higher on the legs, and looks much statelier and walks better, on account of the more central position of the feet. The sheldrake inhabits the coast of temperate Europe, and is also found in corresponding latitudes on the eastern shores of the Palrearctic continent. It is sedentary, and, in spite of its unlobed hind toe, is strictly confined to salt water. The plumage is only molted once a year; there are no seasonal changes, and both sexes are nearly alike in coloration. Its breeding history is most interesting, for it nests in burrows made in the sand-dunes of the coast, either made by themselves or other buiTOwing animals, as rabbits or foxes. The inhabitants on several of the small sandy islands off the western coast of Jutland - notably the island of Sylt — have made the whole colony of sheldrakes breeding there a source of considerable income, by judiciously taxing the birds for eggs and down, supplying them, in return, with burrows of easy access, and protecting them against all kinds of injury. The construction of such a duck-burrow is described by Johann Friedrich Xaumann, who says that all the digging, with the exception of the entrance- tunnel, is made from above. On top of a small, rounded hill covered with grass, the breeding chambers are first dug out to a uniform depth of two to three feet. These DUCKS. 147 are then connected by horizontal tunnels, and finally with the common entrance. Each breeding chamber is closed above with a tightly-fitting piece of sod, which can be lifted up like a lid, when the nest is to be examined and plundered. Such a complex burrow may contain from ten to twenty nest-chambers, but in the latter case there are usually two entrances. The birds, which, on account of the protection extended to them through ages, are quite tame, take very eagerly to the burrows. As soon as the female has laid six eggs the egging commences, and every one above that number is taken away, a single bird often laying twenty or thirty eggs in a season. The birds are so tame, that, when the lid is opened, the female still sits on the nest, not walkino- off into the next room until touched by the egg-gatherer's hand. When no more fresh eggs are found in the nest, the down composing the latter is also collected, being in quality nearly equal to eider down. FIG. 70. — Tadorna tadorna, sheldrake. The coscoroba duck (Coscoroba coscoroba), is a South American form which, on account of its large size, graceful neck, and wThite color is usually referred to the swans. It is a true duck, however, as proven both by external and internal characters. The true and typical ducks (Anatinse), the central and most numerous group of the family, are conventionally divided into two smaller divisions, according to the presence or absence of a membranaceous lobe to the hind toe, but while there gener- ally is an easily appreciable difference between a river-duck and a sea-duck, several forms are so completely intermediate that it is nearly impossible to decide to which category they should be referred. As far as we know, there is no character, external or internal, that will naturally divide the sub-family in two. As to the value of the formation of the trachea and its labryinth, we have already spoken above. The sub- family is a tolerably homogeneous one, and only few outlying forms belong to it. 148 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. Some species have one or the other organ extremely developed or abnormally devel- oped, as the common shovelers (Spatula) and the lobe-billed shovelers (Malacorhyn- c/ms), which have the bill extremely expanded towards the extremity, and the lamella? very long and thin, like a horny fringe around the tomia; the latter, an Australian species of peculiar coloration, light brownish gray with dark lunules, giving the plu- mage a scaly appearance, and a small, glossy, pinkish spot behind the eye, has besides, a soft membranaceous flap attached to each side of the anterior part of the bill. The male mallard (Anas boschas) has some of the upper tail-coverts recurved in a peculiar manner ; the mandarin-duck (Dendronessa galericulata),from Eastern Asia, has a ruff on the side of the neck, and the inner tertial modified into an erect fan or sail-like ornament ; the pin-tail (Dafila acutd) and the 'old squaw' (Clangula hyemalis) have FIG. 71. — Spatula clypeator, shoveler-duck. the middle tail-feathers extremely lengthened and pointed ; the scoters and surf-ducks ( Oidemid) have a variously formed knob or tumor at base of the bill ; many forms have shoulder-feathers and tertials greatly lengthened and pendant, etc. ; but all are closely connected otherwise. The geographical distribution offers no peculiarities of a general nature, except that the sea-ducks are more numerous in the boreal regions than elsewhere. Some of the most tastefully and delicately colored birds are found among the ducks, and some of the rarest colors in the class are here met with. We have already mentioned the pink spot behind the eye of the lobe-billed shoveler. An Indian species, Wiodonessa caryophyllacea, remarkable as a fresh-water-duck with the wind- pipe of a sea-duck, is still more extraordinarily colored, both sexes having the head and the back of the neck of a beautiful, pale, rosy pink, with a small tuft of still DUCKS. 149 brighter rosy on the top of the head in the breeding-season. Mr. F. B. Simson, in 'The Ibis' for 1884, gives some interesting notes about this lovely duck, and tells how, during a shooting-party at Purneah, he secured a couple of specimens for Dr. Jerdon as follows: "Whilst going on I marked a small party of pink-headed ducks into one of the pools, and immediately told Jerdon that if he would leave the party and come with me I thought I could get a nice shot at his long-coveted birds. So we took four elephants and started. Of course with noisy, splashing animals any approach to ducks was impossible; on the other hand, the pool was full of huge crocodiles. We could see them with owl' glasses. However, I agreed to go on foot, the elephants to come to me the moment the shots were fired. I passed through the tall bamboo-grass in water deepening till it was nearly up to my waist as I came to the edge, and found myself about twenty yards from ten or a dozen of the ducks. They were not sitting close together, so I shot the finest with one barrel, and another as they rose, and I made off to the elephants as hard as I could. Once safe on Behemoth, I surveyed Avith Jerdon the sight, familiar to every Indian ornithologist, but always enjoyable and never to be forgotten, of the wonderful variety of bird-life to be seen in a spot like this. After having discussed all the species we saw, we examined the two pink-headed ducks we had picked up with the aid of the elephants. Jerdon was delighted with them, and said that the pink of the head was far more beautiful than in dried specimens." Mr. Simson states that this species is far from uncommon in a restricted area of Bengal, its home being the southern part of the district of Purneah, and in the country bordering the left bank of the Ganges, between the Coosy River, which separates Purneah from Bhangalpore, and in the Maldah district. For various reasons it is little known, however, to the Bengal sportsman and ornithologist, and is considered rare, the chief reasons being that it is poor on the table, and that it is never very numerous, nor goes in flocks, nor associates with other ducks. It is resident all the year round, pairing and nesting in short grass on dry land at some distance from the pools. At the southern extremity of South America lives a singular sea-duck, with lobed hind toe, which, on the other hand, seems to have the trachea of a fresh-water duck. The early travelers, on account of its curious habits, bestowed upon it the cognomen of the 'race-horse duck,' but those of the present century prefer to call it the ' steamer duck ' or ' side-wheel duck,' " on account of its movements when swimming presenting a strong resemblance to those of a paddle-wheel steamer." Others call it the ' logger-head duck,' and its systematic name is Tachyeres cinereus. At one time it was thought that there were two species, one incapable of flight, the other possessed of volant powers, but Mr. R. O. Cunningham seems to have established the fact that the < flying logger-head ' is only the young bird, and that the power of flight departs from it as it grows old, or, to use Cunningham's own words, "that, as the bird increases in size and weight, owing to the deposition of an increased amount of mineral matter in the bones and various other causes, it gradually abandons the habit of flight, finding that the speed Avith which it can progress through the water by means of the rapid movements of its wings, together Avith its diving-powers, are sufficient to preserve it from threatened danger." The eiders form a particularly striking group among the sea-ducks, also peculiar in some structural characters, having an unfenestrated labyrinth like the foregoing species. Also, in the great difference in the coloration of the sexes, and in the males assuming the plumage of the female for a short season following the breeding, they 150 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. approach the river-ducks. They inhabit the boreal regions, and in countries where they are numerous and protected, they are of considerable economical importance, the down of which they build the nest being highly valued. Each nest yields about an ounce and a third. From Greenland and Iceland alone six thousand pounds, or the contents of seventy-two thousand nests, are yearly exported. This gives an idea of FIG. 72. — Somateria mollissima, eider-duck. the number of these'birds in the high north. All along the coast of Norway, where the bird is protected by law throughout the year, the common eider (Somateria mollis- sima~), is now exceedingly common and very tame. The inhabitants take great care of the breeding birds, which often enter their houses to find suitable nesting-places, and cases are authenticated in which the poor fisherman vacated his bed in order not to disturb the female eider, which had selected it as a quiet corner wherein to raise DUCKS. her young. In another instance the cooking of n family had to be done in a tem- porary kitchen, as a fanciful bird had taken up her abode on the fireplace. Nearly related to the eiders is one of our North American sea-ducks, the history of which is extremely interesting. We refer to the Labrador duck ( Camptolaimus labradorius), which, to all appearance, is now extinct, or at least very nearly so, since no capture of a specimen has been reported since December, 1878, while during the preceding ten years scarcely more than half a dozen birds were obtained. Altogether only three dozen specimens are preserved in collections, of which eleven are in Europe, the remainder in North America. The Labrador duck, consequently, is twice as rare in museums as the great-auk. As it was a good flyer, the circumstances which led to its destruction must have been quite different from those extinguishing the auk. Within historical times its distribution seems to have been very limited (the north- eastern Atlantic coast, presumably breeding in Labrador and migrating southwards in winter as far as the Chesapeake), but it has always been comparatively rare, even at the time of Wilson. It is difficult to say what ultimately brought on their extermina- tion, and the suggestion of an epizooty may be as good as any, but I would submit another possibility. It seems to be a fact that when a migratory species has reached a certain low number of individuals, the rapidity with which it goes towards extinction is considerably increased. Two circumstances may tend towards this result. We know that when birds on their migrations get astray, having lost their route and com- rades, they are nearly always doomed to destruction, that fate not only overtaking single individuals, but also large flocks to the last member. If the safety of the wan- derers, therefore, greatly depends upon their keeping their correct route, then safety decreases disproportionately the scarcer the species becomes, since, if the route is poorly frequented, the younger and inexperienced travelers have less chance of fol- lowing the right track, and more chance of getting lost, and consequently destroyed. The fewer the individuals, the more disconnected become the breeding localities, the more difficult for the birds to find each other and form flocks in the fall. Finally, the number will be reduced to a few colonies, and the species, consequently, in danger of extinction, since a casualty Avhich under ordinary circumstances only would affect a fraction of the members, now may easily prove fatal to all the remainders of the species. We need only suppose that during one unfortunate year nearly all the broods were destroyed by inundations, fires, or frost, to perceive what difficulty the few birds left in the autumn would have in winding their way without getting astray. We know that the proportion of birds returning in spring is comparatively small, and the flocks are considerably thinned down. Under the circumstances presumed, there will hardly be birds left to form flocks. But birds used to migrate in flocks do not like to or cannot travel alone ; hence they are forced to follow flocks of allied species, which may take them to localities far from their home. In that way a few scattered pairs may survive, and breed here and there, a number of years after the rest are destroyed, and such survivors are probably those few Labrador ducks which have been captured occasionally during the last twenty years or more. There is ;i possibility that a few such pairs may still be in existence, but, however hardy, their fate is sealed, and perhaps not a single one will get into the hands of a naturalist. Well may the Erismaturina3 be called quasi-cosmopolitan. The group, which is related to the sea-ducks, in reality belongs to the same category as Jtostratnla, Sarki- diornis, etc., having one or a few ' aberrant ' representatives in South America, Austra- lia, and South Africa, in this case somewhat modified, as no species is found in India, 152 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. •while one invades the Paltearctic region, and one, our ruddy duck (Erismatura ru- bidd), is peculiar to North America. The birds of this family are especially charac- terized by the narrow and rigid tail-feathers, which are only scantily protected with coverts at the base. The strangest bird of the group is the Australian musk-duck (Blziura lobata}, the male of which has a large, compressed wattle underneath the chin, very much like that which Sarkidiornis has on the top of the bill. It very seldom takes to the wing, even when hard pressed, but it dives with great ease and can remain Tinder water for an incredible space of time. Its chief mode of progres- sion is by swimming with the head and part of the neck alone above the surface. The male is nearly twice as big as the female, and the color of both sexes is a blackish brown. During the pairing and breeding season the male emits a strong odor of ^w, FIG. 73. — Merganser merganser, European goosander. musk, Avhicli may be smelt long before the bird is seen, and hence the name. The eggs, which usually are only two in number, are comparatively large, and of a pale olive color; the shell is rough and very strong. The peculiar voice of the musk-duck is said to resemble "the sound caused by a large drop of Avater falling into a deep well." The last sub-family consists of the mergansers, which are directly and closely related to several of our sea-ducks, but adapted to a diet of living fish instead of the molluscs which serve the sea-ducks for food. In consequence the bill has been greatly modified. The great width, being unnecessary, has been reduced, the lamellae, no longer serving as a sieve, have been changed into strong teeth which will prevent the escape of the unfortunate victims, and the nail has assumed the character of a strong hook. The result is that these birds are among the greatest destroyers of fish life. FLAMINGOS. 153 The true mergansers — perhaps not more than seven species — are all adorned with a more or less conspicuous crest on the head, our North American hoodnl- merganser (Lophodytes cucuttatus ) being in that respect the most noteworthy, as it is also altogether the prettiest species of the group. A small genus of South American ducks are doubtfully referred to this sub-family, and may probably constitute a separate group, viz., the so-called 'torrent-ducks' (^[er- ganetta). The bill is more like that of the ordinary ducks, but their plumage recalls that of the mergansers, while a sharp and large spur at the bend of the wing is en- tirely peculiar. They inhabit only the highest Andes from Columbia to Chili, and the rapidity with which they swim and dive against the mountain-torrents is described as truly astonishing. Among all the curious modifications of the typical bird-beak, none is more strange and aberrant than that of the flamingos (PHCENICOPTERGIDE^). The lower mandible forms a deep and broad box, into which the upper one, which is much lower and narrower, fits like a lid ; the sides are provided with quite duck-like lamellae ; and, to complete the oddness of the structure, both mandibles at the middle are bent abruptly downwards. This makes the flamingo a ' sifter,' indeed, and the bill is used to great advantage in sifting out the various minute crustaceans, molluscs, and vegeta- ble matter which they gather from the soft mud of the salt-water lagoons frequented by them. In feeding, the head is bent forwards until the anterior deflected part of the bill is parallel with the ground. The gullet is remarkably narrow, and allows only the minutest particles to pass into the stomach. In this particular, and also in the lamellae and the narrowness of the upper mandible, the flamingos present a most striking and interesting analogy to the baloenid whales, the 'whale-bone' of which has the same function as the lamellae of the Anatidas and the flamingos. On account of the extreme elongation of the neck (which, by the way, is not caused by a particularly great number of vertebrae, there being only eighteen, but by a prolongation of the individual vertebras, especially in the middle portion), and also on account of the equally lengthened legs, the flamingos were associated with the waders by the early authors. Some recent ornithologists who still adhere to this view have strengthened it by adducing several anatomical features in support of the affinity to the Herodii, especially to the ibises. According to them the characters of the breast-bone, and still more the pelvis, the number of ribs, the pterylography, and the visceral arrangement point dii-ectly toward the latter order. Huxley, on the other hand, thinks that the flamingo is " so completely intermediate between the Anserine birds on the one side, and the storks and herons on the other, that it can be ranged with neither of these groups, but must stand as the type of a division by itself." This position, however, seems to us indefensible, since the flamingos show no such peculiar characters that warrant their independent position. Combining characters of both, it must belong to one or the other of the two groups, and it does not seem to us that the characters are so nicely balanced as to leave us in doubt in regard to the place of the flamingos, following, as Ave do, those authors who associate them with the Anseres. It will suffice to mention the following characters : The lacrhymo-nasal region is elongate'd ; the frontalia are narrow, not covering the orl its above: grooves for the orbital glands are present ; so are also basi-pterygoid processes, th< ugh rudimentary; all characters which are duck-like and not at all herodinine, and the furculum and the shoulder-blades are distinctly anserine too. The muscular formula, BXY, points neither way, nor does the pterylosis strike us as so extremely distinct from that of the Anseres. The partly 154 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. li stork-like arrangement of the viscera, on the other hand, is completely counterbalanced by the strongly and unmistakably anserine nature of the tongue, and by the presence of well-developed coeca. We do not lay much stress upon the external characters, though the lamella? of the beak, the palmation of the toes, and the number of tail- feathers — there being fourteen in the flamingo, but only twelve or ten in all Herodiones — point in the same direction. A peculiar character is the number of primaries, the flamingo having eleven, or one more than most birds. The arrangement of the carotids is also worth mentioning. It is usually asserted that Phoenicopterus has only one carotid, the right — a very unusual arrangement, since nearly all birds which possess only one have retained the left one. Professor Garrod, however, has shown that this is a mis- take, and that the flamingo has two carotids, though the left one is very small, and unites with the right one at the point where, in allied birds, the two arteries meet in order to follow alongside of each other, — a unique modification, as illustrated by the accom- panying diagram. The characters which seem to connect the flamingo with the ibises and storks we regard partly as ancestral, and partly as the result of adaptation to a similar mode of life. On the other hand, placing them, as we do, next to the latter group, we, of course, do not deny their mutual relationship. The group is now a very small one, only about eight species being recognized at present. Otherwise during earlier geological periods, as there are more fossil Pho3nicopteroid Fir,. 74. — Carotids in phcenicop- birds known from the deposits in France alone than are now distributed all over the tropical and sub-tropical world. The t)rPe ^s therefore a rather antique one, and at one time num- erous species and genera inhabited the shore of the lakes and estuaries under latitudes considerably north of the pres- ent limit of the family. In the eocene beds of France have been found remains of ap- parently flamingo-like birds, upon which have been based the genera Agnopterus and Elornis. From the miocene deposits there are described a Phcenicopterus croizeti, and not less than five species of the genus Pal&olodus. As will be seen from the accompanying sketch of the restored skeleton of one of these, they were essentially like the flamingos of the pi-esent day in regard to the length of the legs and neck, but the bill was straight and altogether more normal than in the latter, the undeveloped young of which likewise has a straight bill. They very properly constitute the family PAL^EOLODONTID^E. The recent PHCENICOPTERID^E embrace only two genera, PJuxnicoparra and Phoe- nicopterus. The former, which is characterized by its thick, short, and otherwise aberrant beak and the absence of a hind toe, is peculiar to the Andes of Chili and Peru, and consists only of one imperfectly known species, P. andimis. Of the true flamingos the species belonging to the fauna of the United States, P. ruber, has been known under this name since the time of Linnaeus, but he and his successors dui'ing the last century believed it to be conspecific with the Mediterranean species. Bonnaterre, in 1790, and Temminck thirty years later, expressed a belief of their being separable ; but Brehm in 1823 seems to have been the first author to take their distinctness for granted, adopting without hesitation the name P. antiquorum, which Temminck had only proposed hypothetically. rotiil ; ri, right innominate rs, right subclavian. FLAMINGOS. 155 The flamingos are often kept in captivity, and their manners and habits, so far as they could be observed in a zoological garden, are well known. In the wild state, however, they are extremely shy birds, and of their breeding history nearly nothing was known, the old fable of their riding astride on top of high pyramids being copied from age to age in words and pictures, notwithstanding that Naumann, as early as 1838, demonstrated the anatomical and physiological impossibility of the alleged position of the breeding bird, and in spite of Dr. Cresson's assertions to the contrary. The story originated with the famous trav- eler Dampier, but from his narrative it is clear that he was only speaking upon hear- say evidence ; for when, in 1683, he visited the Cape Verde Islands, he found only nests and young ones, but no eggs ; and the ac- count of the breeding is therefore evidently based upon the tales of the natives. It runs as follows : - " When incubating they stand with their legs in the water, resting themselves against O ' O ~ the Hillock, and covering the hollow Nest upon it with their Rumps ; for their Legs are very long ; and building thus as they do upon the Ground they could neither draw their Legs conveniently into their Nests, nor sit down upon them otherwise than by resting their whole Bodies there, to the Prejudice of their Eggs or their Young, were it not for this admirable Contrivance which they have by natural Instinct." His statement has, however, been generally, if not universally, accepted, for want of a better, inasmuch as no competent observer had succeeded until 1881 in watching the manner in which the flamingo performed the task of incubation. Eggs have, indeed, been obtained by the bushel, but the \variness of the birds precluded any trust- worthy account until the visit of H. H. Jonston, in 1881, to a small colony in the Lake of Tunis, and of Mr. Abel Chapman, in 1883, to a large one near the mouth of the river Guadalquivir in Spain. The former says : " I took up my opera-glass and saw on two mounds, some foot and a half high, two flamingos sitting with their legs under them. Of this I am certain : I could see the tarsi protruding beyond the loose plumes of the wings." The latter gentleman's account is fuller, so we give the following extract from his narrative : — "The islands were about six miles distant from the low shores of the 'marisma,' and at that distance no land whatever was in sight. The only relief from the monot- ony of endless wastes of water were the birds ; a shrieking, clamoring crowd hung overhead, while only a few yards off the surface was dotted with troops of stilts, sedately stalking about, knee-deep. Beyond these the strange forms of hundreds of flamingos met one's eye in every direction, — some in groups or in dense masses; others, with rigidly outstretched neck and legs, flying in short strings or larger flights, FIG. 75. — Restoration of the skeleton of Pakeolodus ambiguum. 156 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 'glinting ' in the sunlight like a pink cloud. Many pairs of old red birds were observed to be accompanied by a single white (immature) one. On examining narrowly the different herds, there was an obvious dissimilarity in the appearance of certain groups: one or two in particular seemed so much denser than the others ; the narrow white line appeared at least three times as thick, and in the centre it looked as if the birds were literally piled upon each other. Felipe suggested that these birds must be at their 'paj are ra,' or breeding-place; and after a long ride through rather deep water we found that this was so. On our approach, the cause of the peculiar appearance of the herd from a distance became clearly discerni- ble. Many of the birds were sitting down on a low mud island; some were standing on it, and £j * others, again, were in the water. Thus the differ- ent elevations of their bodies formed what had appeared a triple or quad- ruple line. On reaching the spot we found a per- fect mass of nests ; the low mud plateau was crowded with them as thickly as the space per- mitted. These nests had little or no height: some were raised two or three inches, a few might be five or six inches; but the majority were mere- ly circular bulwarks of mud, with the impression of the birds' legs dis- tinctly marked on it. The general aspect of the FIG. 76. — Pluenicopterus anticpwrum, flamingo. plateau was not unlike a large table covered with plates. In the centre was a deep hole full of muddy water, which, from the gouged appearance of its sides, appeared to be used as a reservoir for nest-making materials. Scattered all round this main colony were numerous single nests rising out of the water, and evidently built up from the bottom. Here and there two or three or more of these were joined together, — ' semi-detached,' so to speak ; these separate nests rose some six or eight inches above the water-level, and were about fifteen inches across. The water was about twelve or fifteen inches deep. None of these nests as yet contained eggs, and though I returned to the ' pajarera' on the latest day I was in the neighborhood (May 11), they still remained empty. On both occasions many hundreds of flamingos were sitting on their nests, and on the llth we had a good view of them at close quarters. Linked arm and arm with Felipe, and crouching low on the water, to look as little human as possible, we approached within HERONS. 157 some seventy yards before their sentries showed signs of alarm, and at that distance with the glass observed the sitting birds as distinctly as one need wish. Their long red legs doubled under their bodies, the knees [heels!] projecting as far as or beyond the tail, and their graceful necks neatly curled away among their back-feathers, like a sitting swan, with their heads resting on their breasts, — all these points were unmis- takable. Indeed it is hardly necessary to point out that in the great majority of cases (the nests being hardly raised above the level of the flat mud), no other position was possible. Still none of the crowded nests contained a single egg! How strange it is that the flamingo, a bird which never seems happy unless up to its knees in water, should so long delay the period of incubation ! for, before eggs could be hatched in the nests, and young reared, the water would have entirely disappeared, and the flamingos would be left stranded in the midst of a scorching plain of sun-baked mud. Being unable to return to the marisma, I sent Felipe back there on 26th May, when he found eggs." So much for the breeding habits, of which the accompanying cut gives a most excellent illustration. To complete the picture of these interesting birds we add the following, also from Mr. Chapman's pen : — "In herds of three hundred to five hundred, several of which are often in sight at once, they stand feeding in the open water, all their heads under, greedily tearing up the grasses and water-plants from the bottom. On approaching them, which can only be done by extreme caution, their silence is first broken by the sentries, who com- mence walking away with low croaks ; then the hundreds of necks rise at once to the full extent, every bird gaggling its loudest, as they walk obliquely away, looking back over their shoulders as though to take stock of the extent of the danger. Pushing a few yards forward, up they all rise, and a more beautiful sight cannot be imagined than the simultaneous spreading of their crimson wings, flashing against the sky like a gleam of rosy light. In many respects these birds bear a strong resemblance to geese. Like them, flamingos feed by day ; and great quantities of grass, etc., are always floating about the muddy water where a herd has been feeding. Their cry is almost undistinguishable from the gaggling of geese, and they fly in the same catena- rian formations." ORDER IX. — HERODII. The limitation of the present order, as it is adopted here, dates back only to 1867, when Huxley founded the 'family' Pelargomorphre for all the desmognathous 'waders' except the flamingos. His action was then cordially welcomed as a relief from the different attempts of separating the larger and hard-billed waders and the Scolopacoid birds, attempts which had failed, since the separation Avas based upon the length and position of the hind toe, or the condition of the feathering of the face, or the situation of the nostrils, or the nature of the bill, or the condition of the young when leaving the egg, or some other trifling character. Broadly speaking, the group pro- posed by Huxley consists of three types, — ibises, storks, and herons, which, in addi- tion to the desmognathous character of the palate, agree in having no trace of basi- pterygoid processes, therein differing from the members of the foregoing order, and in having long ' wading ' legs with no full webs between the toes, therein different both from the foregoing order and from that following, the Steganopodes. At first the group was generally regarded as a very natural and rather homogeneous one. The only dis- 158 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. sent came from those authors who expected to add to the naturalness and homoge- neity by including the flamingos, though Professor Parker, it must be admitted, all the time tried to show that the distance of the Pelargomorpha? from some of the schizo- gnathous waders was not so great as most authors were ready to concede since Hux- ley's scheme of classification had commenced to overthrow the old notions. As to the mutual relationship of the forms included, the views were a little divided, some authors holding that the ibises and storks were more closely allied than the storks and herons, others defending the opposite opinion. The latter are now generally conceded to be right, but so far have some modern anatomical systematists gone as to assert that the ibises are so different from the storks and herons, and so much like the schizo- gnathous waders, that they are better classified with the latter than with the former, Forbes being foremost among the authors recommending this course. Forcible argu- ments are produced on both sides, but a final decision is extremely difficult, since it seems to depend upon the question whether the desmognathism is so important a character that it counterbalances the many characters in which herons and storks dis- agree with the ibises, and which the latter have in common with the Gralke. For obvious reasons Ave shall not try to solve the question here, but will retain the ibises in this order, though regarding them as a group of equal taxonomic value to the storks and herons combined. We therefore propose to treat them as a super-family under the name of IBIDOI- DE^E, and shall at once proceed to point out the chief characters by which they differ from the Ardeoideffi. The former, which embrace ibises and spoonbills, are schizo- rhinal ; the posterior angle of their mandible is recurved ; occipital foramina are pres- ent ; the edge of the cranium above the orbits is truncate, indicating the position of the nasal glands; the breast-bone is four-notched behind, like that of the curlews; the accessory femoro-caudal is present. They also differ from the storks and herons in the form of the furculum and its relation to the breast-bone, the number of ribs, and several other characters of more or less importance. Externally the two super- families are easily distinguished by the bill, the Ibidoideffi having it weak and fur- rowed by a long groove for nearly its whole length. As indicated above, the present super-family embraces the ibises and the spoon- bills, but while the members of these two groups look extremely dissimilar on account of the apparently enormous difference in the shape of their bills, they are otherwise so closely allied as to be hardly allowed more than sub-family rank; hence we recog- nize only one family, the IBIDID^E. The bill of the ibises is more or less cylindrical, and evenly arched from the base, much after the fashion of a curlew's bill. The spoonbills have the beak greatly flattened and broadened, anteriorly widened into a spoon-like or spade-like expansion. The Ibididas inhabit the warmer portions of the globe, but are not very numerous, some thirty living species being known. Several fossil forms have been described, however; for instance, Ibis pai/ana and Ibidopodia palustris, from the miocene deposits of France, which are said to show even greater affinities to the curlews than the recent species. First in the line comes, of course, Ibis ajthiopica, the sacred ibis of the ancient Egyptians (and of the British Ornithologists' Union). In explanation of the accom- panying cut, it may be stated that the head and neck are entirely naked, and the skin black ; the feathers of the body are white ; the lengthened and disconnected barbs of the tertiaries are beautifully blackish purple. According to the Rev. E. C. Taylor, the buff -backed heron " does duty on the IBISES. 159 Nile as the ibis, being generally pointed out to travelers by dragomans, etc., as the real Ibis religiosa" This is due to the fact that the " sacred ibis," to quote Mr. D. G. Elliot's words, " is no longer met with upon the Nile north of Khartum, and I do not know of any authentic account of its having been seen in Egypt in modern times;" and Dr. A. L. Adams finds " no reason for considering the sacred ibis to have been a native at any time of either Egypt or Nubia." A few straggling individuals to lower Egypt have, however, been recently reported. The latter author continues as follows : " No doubt it was imported by the ancient Egyptians ; and judging from the numbers which are constantly turning up in the tombs and pits of Sakkara and • •-<• • FIG. 77. — Ibis cethiopica, sacred ibis. elsewhere in Egypt, and the accounts of Herodotus, Diodorus, Strabo, etc., the ibis must have been very numerous, and, like the brahmin bull in India, 'did as it choosed.' The last-named writer says, ' every street in Alexandria is full of them. In certain respects they are useful, in others troublesome. They are useful because they pick up all sorts of small animals, and the offal thrown out of the butchers' and cooks1 shops. They are troublesome because they devour everything, are dirty, and with difficulty prevented from polluting in every way what is clean, and what is not given to them.' The late Mr. Rhind informed me that he found several jars of white eggs, as large as a mallard's, along with many embalmed bodies of ibises, at Thebes. Mummied ibises are usually found alone, but sometimes with the sacred animals; and 160 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. although Hermopolis was the patron city of the bird, as Buto of the kestrel and other hawks, we find it also among the tombs of Thebes and Memphis. No doubt the white ibis was imported into Italy and kept about the temples of Isis. It was the emblem of Tliotli, the scribe or secretary of Osiris, whose duty it is to write down and recount the deeds of the deceased ; in consequence the bird is constantly seen on the ancient monuments under various forms." The sacred ibis inhabits tropical Africa down to the Transvaal ; a very near ally, I. bernieri, is peculiar to Madagascar, while another, also very closely related form, I. strictipennis, inhabits Australia and several of the Moluccan islands. In regard to the habits of this famous bird, the " well-known portrait of which greets us — ever welcome — every quarter," we make the following abstracts from the account of Dr. R. Vierthaler, who had rich opportunities for studying these birds in their native haunts. "In the beginning of September they build, in the neighbor- hood of Khartum, their nests on the mimosas which stand in the middle of the inun- dated marshes, twenty to thirty on a single tree. The nest is more or less skilfully made, of the size of that of the rook, and woven together of coarse twigs, with an inner layer of fine grass and a few feathers. The eggs, which are of a greenish white, are generally three — rarely four — in number, and the size that of the mallard. It only breeds once a year, but does not confine itself strictly to one quite fixed time, as I found young ones in November of the same size as those taken in the latter part of September, and it is not probable that this was caused by any disturbance during the breeding, since the nests are nearly inaccessible, small boats being entirely wanting. In freedom the ibis shows a considerable cunning, and is so shy that the hunter can- not creep up to it, and almost always follows it in vain. It does not show any fear at all for the natives, and I saw it often among the cattle, quite regardless of the shep- herd or any other black man who happened to be quite near. The flesh of the young as well as the old birds is savory and tender, and when well prepared it is a great dainty. The old Egyptians do not appear to have been acquainted with this fact, or they would not probably have embalmed them." The extent of the feathering on the head and neck is very variable in the ibises, and numerous generic appellations have been created in consequence. In other respects the group is rather homogeneous, and few striking abnormalities can be recorded. A curious modification of the feathers is found in the straw-throated ibis (Carphibis spinicollis} from Australia, which has the feathers of the front of the neck and breast changed into stiff and blunt spines, which in appearance and color are surprisingly like short bits of straw hanging down over the breast in front. Both males and females are said to possess this ornament, and, in fact, the sexes are similar in all these birds. We have already, in the introduction (p. 9), alluded to the fact that the two alleged species of the genus G-uara, the white and the scarlet ibises, are structurally identical, only differing in coloration as indicated by the names. The scarlet species is a native of northeastern South America, and has only been reported as seen, but not obtained, within our fauna. On account of the brilliancy and pureness of its red color, it is one of the most beautiful water-birds, and as it bears the captivity quite well, it is often kept in the zoological gardens. Here, however, the scarlet coloration soon gives way to a regular rosy tint. Only one species, namely the glossy ibis (Plegadis autumnalis), is distributed over all the warmer regions of the globe. Like its congeners it has nearly the whole head SPOON-BILLS. 161 feathered, except a stripe between the eye and the base of the bill. In that respect they represent the opposite extreme to the sacred ibis. The name of the spoonbills explains itself, and it is hardly necessary to refer to the accompanying illustration, for no one who ever saw any of these large and beauti- ful birds with the singular beak mistook it for anything else. The Old World species . *g^iMl • x,1^; * FIG. 78. — Platalea leucorodia, spoon-bill. (Platalea) are all nearly pure white, while the American spoonbill (Ajaja ajaja) is light rose-colored, with brilliant carmine wing-coverts. In their general habits, as in their structure, the spoonbills are only modified ibises. Like these they also fly with outstretched necks, perch on trees, and also generally breed in trees. Messrs. Sclater and Forbes have demonstrated that, in certain localities at least, the spoonbill of Europe, P. leucorodia, breeds on the ground among the reed-beds. In 1877 they vis- VOL. IV. — 11 162 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. ited a breeding colony near Amsterdam, in Holland, from the interesting account of which we select the following : — " Having inspected the cormorants' breeding-place, we proceeded about fifty yards further through the reed-beds, over a still more treacherous swamp, to the breeding- place of the spoonbills. The nests of these birds were not situated so near together as those of the cormorants, but scattered about two or three yards from each other, with thin patches of reeds growing between them. There was, however, a clear open space in the neighborhood, formed of broken-down reeds, in which the birds were said to congregate. The spoonbill's nest, in the Horster Meer at least, is a mere flattened surface of broken reed, not elevated more than two or three inches above the feneral O level of the swamp ; and no other substance but reed appears to be used in its con- struction. What the proper complement of eggs would be if the birds were left undisturbed we cannot say, for, as in the case of the cormorants, the nests are robbed systematically twice a week, until the period when it is known by experience that they cannot produce anymore eggs. Then at last the birds are allowed to sit undisturbed. At the time of our visit the season for collecting esgs was just past ; but we helped ourselves to eight fresh eggs, from different nests, laid since the last collection had been made. During all the time that we were in the reed-beds, the cormorants and spoonbills were floating about over our heads, fully aware that there was an enemy in the camp." The characters of the super-family ARDEOIDE^E having already been stated to be the reverse of those given for the Ibidoideae, we may at once proceed to treat of the separate families. Through the wood-ibises, which, indeed, until very recently, in the systems were associated and more or less confounded with the true ibises, we are led into the CICONIID^E, the storks. With a general resemblance to the herons, the storks combine quite important external and internal characters of their own. Of the former it is sufficient to mention the connection of all the anterior toes at the base, the scutella- tion of the tarsus, the evident, though slight, elevation of the hind toe, and the broad- ness of the feather-tracts. The internal peculiarities are still more important. The pectoral muscle, which in all members of the super-family is more or less separable into two layers, is completely double in the storks; the ambiens is rarely absent ; flexor hallucis sends a special slip to the second toe ; an expansor secundariorum is present ; in regard to the respiratory organs it is to be remarked that the syrinx has no intrinsic muscles, and that the storks consequently are deprived of voice, and the only sound they produce is a loud clatter, by beating their huge mandibles together ; the rings of the bronchi are complete. Rudiments of two caeca are visible. The storks are diurnal birds, usually of solitary habits, though some of them nest in colonies, as, for instance, the wood-ibises. Their peculiar clattering of the bill in defect of the voice is already mentioned. Their flight is easy, powerful, and quiet. A flying stork may always be told from a heron on the wing, as it keeps the neck directed straight forward, like the ibises, while the heron flies Avith the neck bent and the head withdrawn so far back as to rest above the shoulders. The family comprises about two dozen species of a somewhat peculiar geographical distribution. While occurring all over the tropical and temperate regions of the world, they are nearly wanting in North America ; for although both the wood-ibis and the jabiru are enumerated in our faunal lists, only the former occurs and breeds regu- larly in the southern parts of the country, the latter being only an occasional visitor. STORKS. 163 Australia also lias only one species. The different forms, with the exception of the true storks, are so distributed that it would seem as if a species inhabiting one part of the world is nearer related to those inhabiting distant regions than to those which live on the same continent. The South American maguari stork, for instance, is more nearly allied to the Old World forms than it is to either the jabiru or the wood-ibis, which are both American. The true storks are strictly Palteogasan, while the curious open-bills are ludo- African. > FIG. 79. — Tantalus loculator, wood-ibis. The stork family has been traced as far back as the miocene formation, from the beds of which, in France, A. Milne-Edwards has described a species, Pelargropappus magnus. The wood-ibises form a somewhat isolated group of apparent affinities to the true ibises, with which they were formerly associated by most systematists, and one species, Pseudotantalus rhodinopterus, was, indeed, regarded as the ibis, — that is, the sacred ibis of the Egyptians, — until the beginning of this century. The resemblance is quite obvious in the sub-cylindrical and gently curved bill as represented in the accom- 164 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. panying cut ; but the bill is yellow, and the naked face and the feet are red. The plumage is white, tinged with rosy on the wing coverts. It is common throughout the Ethiopian region, but is scarce in Egypt. The American wood-ibis (Tantalus loculator) is especially at home in South America, but its range includes also our southern states. It breeds abundantly in Florida. FIG. 80. — Leptoptilos crumenifer, marabou, adjutant. The genus Leptoptilos, as typified by the African marabou-stork (Z. crumenifer), white, with a greenish slate-colored mantle, offers some interesting features. Ana- tomically, the absence of the femoro-caudal with its accessory slip is noteworthy as unique among the storks. A striking feature is the long pendant pouch underneath the flesh-colored and black-spotted naked neck, which gives the birds a peculiar, unattractive, not to say ugly, appearance, as well pictured in our cut. The exact use of the pouch is not yet ascertained ; so much is sure, however, that it connects with STORKS. 165 the respiratory system, not with the oesophagus, as is the popular notion ; Blyth regarded it as a reservoir of air for supply during protracted acts of deglutition in the species which feed upon carrion. They also present another unique feature, as the serai-plumes of the anal region are lengthened so as to protrude beyond and conceal the true feathers, thus forming a downy ornament of a most interesting character. These under tail-coverts are the so-called marabou feathers, which — especially formerly — were used extensively on ladies' hats. Jerdon informs us of the habits of the large Indian species, L. dubius, as follows : — FIG. 81. — Anastomus lameliigerus, open-bill. "In Calcutta and some other large towns, the adjutant is a familiar bird, unscared by the near approach of man or dog, and protected in some cases by law. It is an efficient scavenger, attending the neighborhood of slaughter-houses, and especially the burning-grounds of the Hindus, where the often half-burnt carcasses are thrown into the rivers. In the Deccan it soars at an immense height in the air, along with vul- tures, ready to descend on any carcass that may be discovered. After it has satisfied the cravings of its appetite, the adjutant reposes during the heat of the day, some- 166 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. times on the tops of houses, now and then on trees, and frequently on the ground, resting often on the whole leg (tarsus). The adjutant occasionally may seize a crow or a myna, or even, as related, a small cat; but these are rare bits for it, and indeed it has not the opportunity, in general, of indulging its taste for living birds, notwith- standing Clavier's statement that its large beak enables it to capture birds on the wing." V \ FIG. 82. — Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis, saddle-billed stork. The name of open-bill is suggested by a glance at the bird illustrated in the accom- panying cut. Towards the end of the beak the lateral margins of the mandibles are separated by a more or less open space, as if they were worn away, so as to assume the shape of a pair of pinchers. The gap between the mandibles is said to exist even in the young individuals, thus not being the result of attrition, as is generally sup- posed, and the curious shape is believed to be " a provision of nature to enable them to open the shells of the Unio, on which they feed." Their principal food being STORKS. 167 molluscs, they have also been called ' shell-ibises.' Jcrdon tells how he saw a blinded open-bill extracting the whole animal of an Ampullaria without breaking the shell, the bird first securing it by its feet and cutting off the operculum. Two species com- pose the genus Anastomus, one from India and Indo-China, the other from the Ethio- pian region. The latter, which is the species figured, differs chiefly in having the FIG. 83. — Sphenorhynchus abdimii, white-bellied stork. feathers of the neck and lower parts ending in a hoi'ny lamella, hence the specific name, A. lamettigerus. The general color is blackish, shining green, and purple. The American jabiru (Mycteria americana) differs from its Indian and Australian relatives in having the whole head and neck naked, and black, with a flesh-colored ring round the lower end of the neck. In having the end of the bill slightly turned up, the saddle-billed stork (JEJphippiorhynchus senegalensis) agrees with the jabirus, but it has a peculiar, soft mcmbranaceous shield on top at base of the bill, therein agreeing with the following species (fyihenorhi/nchus abdimii), of which a figure is 168 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. also given. These two, furthermore, agree in being the only two storks in which the ambiens muscle is wanting. Both are natives of Africa. The former was met with by Dr. J. Kirk in the Zambesi region. He states that it feeds on snakes, frogs, and fish, which latter it was seen catching in the shallow water of the river Rovuma, by running forward rapidly, so as to make the fish rush past it, when it caught them, keeping its bill all the while in the water. He asserts that they are commonly found in pairs, — never in large flocks. Mr. Ayres says that occasionally, when the pairs are feeding together, they suddenly stop and skip or dance round and round in a small circle, then, stopping to bow to each other, again resume their quaint dance. The bird is white, with the head and neck black, glossed with bronze-green ; scapulars and wing and tail feathers black. The bill is described as bright crimson with a black ' saddle,' as seen in the figure ; the frontal shield bright yellow ; shanks and tarsi black, heels and feet brick-dust red. The female is said to have the iris yellow, while it is brown in the male. The white-bellied stork (8. abclimii) is characterized by its short legs. Above, it is greenish purple, the neck brown with purplish gloss. The bill is greenish with orange-red tip. Dr. Alfred E. Brehm writes thus of it in his journal : — " This bird, especially seeking the presence of men, confidingly perches on the tops of those peculiar, round, wedge-shaped straw huts of the interior of Africa, adorned with eggs of the ostrich, and here called 'tokahl;' the dweller in the hut rejoices in these ' birds of blessing,' as he calls them, and protects them from foreign disturbance ; in fact, he offers the same perfect hospitality to every bird which estab- lishes its nest near his dwelling. In the storks' nests the chattering host of house- sparrows build their nests; on the lower bushes, at hardly man's height, are seen many old nests of turtle-doves. I sent my servant Aali, in spite of his opposition, up the trees to fetch me down eggs of the storks. He brought me many, three or four from each nest. The Arabs raised a cry of murder, that we disturbed their holy birds, * simbere, ' and invoked the curse and punishment of heaven upon Aali and myself, which brought him quite to rage and despair." The following account by Sir Samuel Baker is said to relate to the present species. The copper-colored 'fly-catcher,' mentioned therein, is thought to be a Lampro- tornis : — " During the march over a portion of the country which had been cleared by burn- ing, we met a remarkably curious hunting-party. A number of the common black and white storks were hunting for grasshoppers and other insects, but mounted on the back of each stork was a large copper-colored fly-catcher, which, perched like a rider on his horse, kept a bright lookout for insects, which, from its elevated position, it could easily discover upon the ground. I watched them for some time. Whenever the storks perceived a grasshopper or other winged insect, they chased them on foot ; but if they missed their game the fly-catchers darted from their backs, and then return- ing to their steeds to look out for another opportunity." The ibises and storks have generally been regarded as sacred birds by the people among which they occur, and as the Arabs in Africa and Asia are averse to killing or disturbing them, so the European farmer protects the white, red-billed, and red-legged stork ( Ciconia ciconia) which has built its large nest on top of his house ; and those who are not so fortunate as to possess a stork-nest on the roof, fix an old cart-wheel on the ridge, in order to induce a stork family to construct their bulky nest on the foundation thus offered. Year after year the same pair return to the same house, after STORKS. 169 having passed the winter in the south, and the farmer and his children gi-eet them joy. fully, as if they were members of the family. The storks, when migrating, travel in large flocks. Canon Tristram thus describes his experience in Palestine, in 1881, with the migrating storks : " The stork kept its appointed time, and stalked solemnly over the plains from the 10th April. I never saw one after the 22d April. Up to that date there was a constant succession of arrivals from the south and departures for the north. The most wonderful flight of storks was one which passed over us in the plain of the upper Jordan on 19th April, steering due north, in the long V-like wedges with which we are so familiar in the flight of wild geese. Party after party passed, per- petually changing their leader, and the hindmost of the longest limb 'frequently cross- ing over to take the rear of the other limb ; but never, countless though their num- bers were, did they fly in a mass, or in any other order than that of the wedge." There remains still to be mentioned two genera of storks in which the structure of the tail is curiously modified. The genus Dissoura, with the plumage of the head and neck downy, size small, and with metallic reflections above, inhabits India and Africa, while Euxemira is South American. The latter is as large as the European stork, and similarly colored, but with the bill black. Both agree, however, in having the tail proper strongly bifurcated, the outer tail-feathers being much larger than the middle pair. This character alone would make these birds unique within their order, but the tail is still more strangely constructed, for the lower i/:.il-coverts are stiff and longer than the tail-feathers themselves ! To a superficial observer it appears as if the tail is white, slightly rounded, and protected at the base by some stiffened black iipper coverts, arranged in an abnormal manner, while the fact is that the tail is black, and bifurcate, with white long under tail-coverts! Thus a well-known author in 1877, while monographing the order, in the species diagnosis, speaks of the upper tail-coverts being bifurcate and raven-black ! The mistake is easily discovered by a close inspec- tion, for the black feathers have the groove on the under side of the shaft, while the white ones are grooved on the side turned up. Mr. Robert Ridgway, in establishing the genus Euxenura, seems to have been the first to understand, and clearly describe, the true nature of these feathers in the American species. The maguari stork (Euxenura, maguari), the only known species, is confined to South America. Mr. Gibson says that it is very common in Buenos Ayres, and not entirely confined to the swamps, but is also found on the plains, " at offal, or stalking about in search of snakes, frogs, lizards, rats and mice, locusts, and birds' eggs, — any- thing and everything, in short." Of a tame maguari, which was called ' Byles, the lawyer,' he relates that it seized snakes by the nape of the neck, and passed them transversely through its bill by a succession of rapid and powerful nips, repeating the operation two or three times before being satisfied that life was totally extinct. "Byles inspired a wholesome respect in all the dogs and cats, but was very peaceable as a rule. One of our men had played some trick on him, however ; and the result was that Byles incontinently 'went for him' on every possible occasion, his long legs covering the ground like those of an ostrich, while he produced a demoniacal row with his bill. It was amusing to see his victim, dodging him all over the place, or some- o ~ o •*• times, in desperation, turning on him with a stick; but Byles evaded every blow by jumping eight feet into the air, coming down on the other side of his enemy, and there repeating his war-dance; while he always threatened (though these threats were never fulfilled) to make personal and pointed remarks with his formidable bill." In order that the reader may be enabled to distinctly understand the intermediate 170 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. position, and, on the whole, the relationship of the perplexing and curious species which alone constitutes the family SCOPID^E, we shall here introduce a slight modifica- tion of the synoptical table which Prof. F. E. Beddard laid before the Zoological Society of London, in November, 1884 : — Storks. Scopus. Herons. Pectoral muscle, Completely double. Not completely double. Ambiens muscle, Rarely absent. Always absent. Flexor hallucis, With a special slip to the second toe. With no slip to the second toe. Expansor secundar, Present. Absent (except in Cochlearius and Eyretta. ) Origin of obtur. int. Oval. Triangular. Syrinx, Without intrinsic mus- With intrinsic muscles. cles. Anterior rings of Complete. Incomplete, closed by membrane. bronchi, Cceca, Two. One. Powder-downs, Absent. Present. Neck, during flight, carried, Straight. Curved backwards. In view of this table one must agree with Prof. Beddard that Scopus is in many respects an intermediate type between the Ciconiidre, on the one hand, and the Ardeidre on the other. As Sco2ms also has many peculiarities of its own, especially in the skeleton, we also follow him in separating it as an equivalent family. The umbrette (8. umbretta), as the name indicates and the accompanying cut illustrates, is a sombre-looking bird, dull brownish dusky all over, with a long occipi- tal crest. The bill is rather peculiar : the culmen is elevated at the base, keeled, and curved at the tip, which is hooked ; the sides are much compressed, and grooved near the culmen from the base to the tip ; the gonys is long and curved upwards, and the nostrils are partly closed by a membranous scale. All three anterior toes are con- nected with a membrane at base, as in the storks, but the nail of the middle toe is pectinated, as in the herons, and the tarsus is reticulate. The habits of the bird, especially in nesting and breeding, are nearly as remarkable as its internal structure, and quite as interesting. We first introduce a general account by Dr. Anton Reicheno\v, who made its acquaintance in western Africa. "The umber bird is sociable only in a slight degree. It is usually found single except at the nest, in wooded districts, watching for fishes with its neck drawn in, or walking with measured steps in search of frogs which, besides worms, snails, and insects, constitute its food. Its flight resembles that of the ibises, neck and feet being carried straight out, the former, however, as I had the opportunity to observe, slightly curved. Its voice is a harsh quack, similar to that of the spoon-bill. It roosts in trees or passes the night in its nest, which is a very peculiar structure, com- pletely over-vaulted, and shaped like an oven, with an entrance from the side. The interior is said to usually contain several divisions. The diameter of such a nest, which is built of branches and twigs, is five or six feet. The eggs, three to five in number, are white, and resemble those of the storks. It seems to be a stationary resident throughout its range." Dr. Kirk says that the Africans look on this bird as unfit for food, and also as sacred, or as possessing the power of witchcraft; and to injure it is everywhere regarded as unlucky, lie asserts that the colossal nest serves for many years, and Mr. E. L. Layard describes a place where he counted six or eight within fifty yards, SHOE-BILL. 171 all exhibiting the same form and structure, and some of them containing at least a large cartload of sticks. The latter author also informs us that the nests are so solid that they will bear the weight of a large, heavy man on the domed roof without collapsing. Such an enormous structure is built by a single pair, and the bird itself is not larger than our night-herons. Remarks similar to those which preceded the foregoing family might equally well apply to the present one, the BAL^NICIPITIDJE. This too is African, and comprises a single species, which in a somewhat similar way is intermediate between storks and • -- V .^, .- -^ ' $ ~~ - J ' "^V( FIG. 84. — Scopus umbrctta, umbrette. herons. Considerable diversity of opinion exists as to its real affinities. Some authors make it unconditionally a heron ; others regard it as separate ; others again unite it with the umbrette. The anatomy of its soft parts are as yet unknown, so our con- clusions have to be based upon the skeleton and the external characters. It appears to us that the shoe-bill (JBaloBniceps) is intermediate between storks and herons, but as the umbrette inclines towards the storks, so does the shoe-bill to the herons. The two birds themselves are also rather closely related, perhaps more so inter se than with either storks or herons proper. There seems, however, to be 172 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. numerous peculiarities besides, which warrant us in regarding it as the type of a separate family. The first feature to attract our attention in this singular bird, of which an excellent illustration faces this page, is the enormous bill, broad and swollen, justifying the expression of Prof. Parker that the -Balwniceps has "in its strange countenance an artistic, if not a family likeness to the crocodile." Most interesting is the groove along the culmen, and the hooked nail at the end, showing a near approach to similar features in the umbrette. The tarsi are reticulate, the anterior toes are entirely deprived of basal membi'anes, and the middle claw is not pectinate. In the pterylosis it agrees with the herons in possessing powder-down tracts, of which, however, it only has one pair. The skull has been considerably modified in consequence of the exaggerated development of the bill. Otherwise the shoe-bill, in its skeleton, shows many near affinities to the herons, but the sternal apparatus is rather stork -like, with some very remarkable peculiarities of its own, as shown by the following, which is selected from Prof. Parker's monograph : In JBalceniceps we encounter a host of difficulties, both in the breast-bone and also in the furculum, although its general shape and proportions agree well with that of the gigantic storks. The costal pro- cesses are exactly like those of the adjutant, but the episternal process, which is dis- tinct in the adjutant and long in the typical herons, is not differentiated in JBalce-ni- ceps. In parrots, woodpeckers, and horn-bills, that emargination is absent which separates the episternum in most birds from the tip of the sternal keel. The same thing occurs in the Balceniceps ; so that in this wader, as well as in those arboreal birds, the keel of the sternum projects some distance in front of the coracoid grooves. In most of the larger herons and in the storks, the end of the furculum has a gliding, synovial joint with the tip of the keel of the breast-bone ; and this appears to be persistent even in very old birds. The same thing occurs in gannets and in cormo- rants. In several other birds the joint becomes obliterated in full age; for instance, in the cranes. But in the young Balcvniceps not only is all trace of a joint gone, but the amount of ossification and the actual strength of' this part are very strong ; indeed, it is a seven-times-strengthened anchylosis. In some of the storks there are very small rudiments of a pair of sub-mesial emarginations besides the large lateral ones. In Halceniceps, however, these notches are nearly half an inch broad, while the outer notch is nine lines across. In 1860 Mr. J. Petherick, then English consul for the Sudan, brought to the Zoo- i ^j ZD logical Gardens in London two shoe-bills, at which occasion he gave the following account of these birds, which at the time caused an intense interest in ornithological circles : — " The birds here are seen in clusters of from a pair to perhaps one hundred together, mostly in the water, and, when disturbed, will fly low over its surface, and settle at no great distance ; but if frightened or fired at, they rise in a flock high in the air, and, after hovering and wheeling around, will settle on the highest trees, and as long as their disturbers are near will not return to the water. Their food principally is fish and water-snakes, which they have been seen by my men to catch and devour. They will also feed on the intestines of dead animals, the carcases of Avhich they easily rip open with the strong hook of the upper bill. The breeding-time of the Balw- nlceps is the rainy season, during the months of July and August, and the spot chosen is in the reeds or high grass immediately on the water's edge, or on some small ele- vated and dry spots entirely surrounded by water." He continues to tell how he m sB Balceniceps rex, shoe-bill. HERONS. 173 failed in rearing young birds taken from the nest, but that he finally succeeded in hatching some eggs under hens. The veracity of Mr. Petherick has been doubted in regard to an alleged statement by him that the young shoe-bill " runs about in search of food immediately after it is hatched," — a feature which, if true, would be " one of the most extraordinary facts I have yet met with," as Mr. A. D. Bartlett puts it. I can find no such statement in Mr. Petherick's paper, however ; and he only says that the young ones " ran about the premises of my camp," but nothing seems to indicate that they did so immediately after leaving the eggs. On the contrary, he says a little before that his men had robbed the nest " of both eggs and young," there- by indicating that the young ones remain in the nest for some time at least. Finally it may be mentioned that observers fail to state whether it has a voice, only saying that they clatter the bills like storks. The flight is said to be like that of the marabou, but whether that means that it flies with outstretched neck I do not know. The eggs are covered with a chalky layer, as are those of the adjutants. To complete the picture of " the father of the shoe," as it is named by the Arabs, we give the following description of the coloration : Bill yellow, blotched with dark brown ; legs blackish ; orbits pale yellow ; general color dusky gray, with lighter edg- ing ; head, neck, and breast slaty, — the feathers of the latter Avith a dark stripe along the centre ; rest of under surface much paler gray. As already stated, there is only one species known (J?. rex), from the region of the White Nile, in eastern Africa. Enough has been said under the head of the foregoing families as to the characters C ^J ^2 of the ARDEID^E, so that, in this place, it will only be necessary to mention that the family is the most numerous in species of those constituting the order. Herons are found all over the world, except in the coldest regions, each one of the primary zoo- geographical divisions having a fair share, though North America is poorest and South America richest in that respect. We recognize three sub-families, — the bitterns, which have two pairs of powder-down patches only; the true herons, which have three ; and the boat-bills, with four pairs. The powder-downs, though present also in some few birds belonging to other orders, are very characteristic of the herons, and many are the speculations which have been indulged in to find out their use to the birds. Some have thought that these patches of dense, clammy, yellowish down may be the cause of the herons being so singularly free of lice and vermin. It has also been hinted at that the old tale of a mysterious light emanating from the heron's bosom when fishing in the dark might have some foundation of fact, and that the powder-down might be the seat of such a light-emitting power. We shall, in the following, give some extracts of a most excellent account by Mr. W. H. Hudson of the habits of some South American herons ; the more since, as he correctly remarks, there is such a sameness in the way of life of these birds that most of what can be said about one species will equally well apply to others. " Two interesting traits of the heron (and they have a necessary connection) are its tireless watchfulness and its insatiable voracity ; for these characters have not, I think, been exaggerated even by the most sensational of ornithologists. In birds of other genera, repletion is invariably followed by a period of listless inactivity, during which no food is taken or required. But the heron digests his food so rapidly that, however much he devours, he is always ready to gorge again ; consequently he is not benefited by what he eats, and appears in the same state of semi-starvation when food is abun- dant as in times of scarcity. An old naturalist has suggested as a reason for this that the heron, from its peculiar manner of taking its prey, requires fair weather to fish ; 174 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. that during spells of bad weather, when it is compelled to suffer the pangs of famine inactive, it contracts a meagre consumptive habit of body which subsequent plenty cannot remove. A pretty theory; but it will not hold water: for in this region spells of bad weather are brief and infrequent ; moreover, all other species that feed at the same table with the heron, from the little flitting Ceryle to the towering flamingo, become excessively fat at certain seasons, and are at all times so healthy and vigorous that, compared with them, the heron is but the ghost of a bird. In no extraneous cir- cumstances, but in the organization of the bird itself, must be sought the cause of its anomalous condition. It does not appear to possess the fat-elaborating power; conse- quently no provision is made for a rainy day, and the misery of the bird consists in its perpetual, never- satisfied craving for food. "The heron has but one attitude, — motionless watchfulness; so that, when not actually on the wing or taking the few desultory steps it occasionally ventures on, and in whatever situation it may be placed, the level ground, the summit of a tree, or in confinement, it is seen drawn up, motionless, and apparently apathetic. But when we remember that this is the bird's attitude during many hours of the night and day, when it stands still as a reed in the water ; that in such a posture it sees every shy and swift creature that glances by it, and darts its weapon with unerring aim and lightning rapidity, and with such force that I have seen one drive its beak quite through the body of a fish very much too large for the bird to swallow, and cased in bony armor, it is impossible not to think that it is observant and keenly sensible of everything going on about it." The herons are remarkable for their habits of perching and nesting on trees, not- withstanding their long neck and legs, and their 'gressorial' feet. But the length and the low position of the hind toe enables them to live an arboreal life, which seems so incongruous with the rest of their structure. "We quote again from Mr. Hudson : " In the variegated heron (Ardetta involucris} [a bittern inhabiting southern South Amer- ica], the least of the tribe, the perching faculty probably attains its greatest perfection, and is combined with locomotion in a unique and wonderful manner. This little heron frequents beds of reeds growing in rather deep water. Very seldom, and prob- ably only accidentally, does it visit the land ; and only when disturbed does it rise above the reeds, for its flight, unlike that of its congeners, is of the feeblest ; but it lives exclusively amongst the reeds, that, smooth as a polished pipe-stem, rise verti- cally from water too deep for the bird to wade in. Yet the heron goes up to the summit or down to the surface, and moves freely and briskly about amongst them, and runs in a straight line through them almost as rapidly as a plover runs over the bare level ground. " When driven from its haunt, the bird flies eighty or a hundred yards off, and drops again amongst the rushes ; it is difficult to flush it a second time, but a third impossible. And a very curious circumstance is that it also seems quite impossible to find the bird in the spot where it finally settles. This I attributed to the slender figure it makes, and to the color of the plumage so closely resembling that of the withering yellow and spotted reeds always to be found amongst the green ones ; but I did not know for many years that the bird possessed a marvellous instinct that made its peculiar conformation and imitative color far more advantageous than they could be of themselves. "One day in November, 1870, when out shooting, I noticed a little heron stealing off quickly through a bed of rushes, thirty or forty yards from me ; he was a foot or V %..^:-:; $»$&» : ;a;ji £!iM- : -;..r/;'..,/ ' -; ^v'" EUROPEAN HERONS. 1. Nycticorax nycticorax, night-heron ; 2. Ardfn I'/nerea, common lierori ; 3. Ardetta minuta, little bittern ; IfrrcxlinK i/lha, egret. BITTERNS. 175 so above the ground, and went so rapidly that he appeared, to glide through the rushes without touching them. I fired, but afterwards ascertained that in my hurry I missed my aim. The bird, however, disappeared at the report ; and thinking I had killed him, I went to the spot. It was a small isolated bed of rushes I hud seen him in ; the mud below and for some distance round was quite bare and hard, so that it would have been impossible for the bird to escape without being perceived ; and yet, dead or alive, he was not to be found. After vainly searching and re-searching through the rushes for a quarter of an hour, I gave over the quest in great disgust and bewilderment, and, after reloading, was just turning to go, when, behold ! there stood my heron as a reed, not more than eight inches from, and on a level with, my knees. He was perched, the body erect and the point of the tail touching the reed grasped by its feet ; the long, slender, tapering neck was held stiff, straight, and verti- cally; and the head and beak, instead of being carried obliquely, were also pointing up. There was not, from the feet to the tip of the beak, a perceptible curve or inequality, but the whole was the figure (the exact counterpart) of a straight tapering rush; the loose plumage arranged to fill inequalities, the wings pressed into the hollow sides, made it impossible to see where the body ended and the neck began, or to distinguish head from neck or beak from head. This was, of course, a front view ; and the entire under surface of the bird was thus displayed, all of a uniform dull yellow like that of a faded rush. I regarded the bird wonderingly for some time ; but not the least motion did it make. I thought it was wounded or paralyzed with fear, and, placing my hand on the point of its beak, forced the head down till it touched the back ; when I withdrew my hand, up flew the head, like a steel spring, to its first position. I repeated the experiment many times with the same result, the very eyes of the bird appearing all the time rigid and unwinking like those of a creature in a fit. What wonder that it is so difficult — almost impossible — to discover the bird in such an attitude ! But how happened it that while repeatedly walking round the bird through the rushes I had not caught sight of the striped back and the broad dark-colored sides? I asked myself this question, and stepped round to get a side view, when, mirabile dictu, I could still see nothing but the rush-like front of the bird ! His motions on the perch as he turned slowly or quickly round, still keeping the edge of the blade-like body before me, corresponded so exactly with my own that I almost doubted that I had not moved at all. No sooner had I seen the finishing part of this marvellous instinct of self-preservation (this last act making the whole entire), than such a degree of delight and admiration possessed me as I have never before expe- rienced during my researches, much as I have conversed with wild animals in the wilderment, and many and perfect as are the instances of adaptation I have wit- nessed." The uncouth 'booming' of the bittern is a mysterious sound of which most authors only speak with reservation and at second hand. Mudie's account of the " savage laughter that sounds as if the voices of a bull and a horse were combined " is often quoted, but he describes it as being produced by the flying bird. This "is evi- dently the offspring of his fine imagination," as Macgillvray correctly remarks, adding : " What a pleasant thing it is to be able to write copiously and with ease on a subject about which one knows nothing!" But we have better evidence that the English names of the European JBotaurus stellaris, such as 'mire-drum,' ' bitter-bump,' 'bog-bumper,' only faintly express the roaring ability of this nocturnal performer. J. F. Naumann — a keener and trustworthier observer than whom was never born — asserts 176 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. that he has heard the bellowing and rumbling of the male bittern innumerable times, often throughout the whole night. He describes the sound as " u prumb" the latter syllable much louder than the former, repeated several times. He sometimes heard, when he succeeded in getting close enough, a low sound precede the bellow, as if the surface of the water was beaten with a reed. ' The roar sounds, close by, nearly as strong as the bellow of an ox and may be heard, during a still night, at a distance of from three to four miles, according to circumstances. Naumann himself was never so 1 •••-. "m C/r : S8 ^ S « te.= FIG. 85. — Ardeomeya goliath, African giant-heron. fortunate as to see the bird during the performance. Count Wodzicki, however, — also known as an excellent observer, - - was more successful, and describes it in the fol- lowing manner : " The artist was standing on both legs, with the body horizontal, and the bill in the water, and then a rumbling began, the water spouting about all the time. After a few sounds I heard the ' ii ' described by Naumann ; the bird lifted the head, threw it backwards, put it again rapidly into the water, producing a roar that startled me." The sound of the American bittern (.Z?. lentiginosus) is described as HERONS. 177 somewhat different. Dr. Bachman, in a letter to Audubon, said that " their hoarse croakings, as if their throats were filled with water, were heard on every side." Others compare it with the sound produced by driving a stake in boggy soil, hence the name ' stake-driver.' 3Ir. Samuels renders this love-song of the male with chunk-a- lurik-chunk) quanJc cJiunk-a-huik-chunk, "almost exactly resembling the stroke of a mallet on a stake." FIG. 86. — Hvrodias alba, egret. The cuts representing species of this family have been selected with the view of illustrating the chief forms under which the heron type appears. The first one is a characteristic reproduction of the African giant heron (Ardeomega yoliath}, the largest species of the tribe, with the back ashy, head and under side chestnut, and the ornamental plumes, except the crest of the head, whitish. It is nearly related to the true and typical herons, the interesting dichromatism of which we have mentioned in VOL. iv. — 12 178 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. the introduction (p. 7). The second cut shows very well the graceful plumes of the egrets (Ilerodias), a group characterized, besides, by slender but elegant proportions and the dazzling whiteness of the plumage. The species here figured is II. alba, of nearly cosmopolitan range, and represented on. our continent by a slight race, H.*alba egretta. Similarly white, but with the ornamental feathers of the head, breast, and back of a rusty isabella color, is the buff-backed cattle-egret (Bubiilcus ibis), which has already been mentioned as the bird usually shown to the travelers in Egyjit as 7 rV, - — g^- Fin. 87. — Cochlearius cnchlearius, boat-bill. the sacred ibis of the ancients. In its rather stout build, short neck, short and strong bill, it approaches the night-herons (Nycticorax), which, besides, are easily recognized by the extremely lengthened linear and compact webbed plumes on the occiput. Two authors, each holding a leading position as ornithologist in their respective countries, in 1877 monographed the herons. One of them made the boat-bill (Cochlea- rius, or Cancromd) a sub-genus under the genus Nycticorax, the other regarded it as constituting a separate family, equal in rank to the Ardeidae. It will be seen that the STEGANOPODES. 179 curious original of the accompanying wood-cut, the South American boat-bill ((7. cochlearius) is the object of considerable diversity of opinion. To all external appearance, with the exception of the remarkable bill, which is greatly depressed and dilated laterally, the lateral outline much bowed, the boat-bill is a night-heron, that is, its general proportions, size, ornamental feathers, and coloration are those which char- acterize the night-herons. But while it resembles a night-heron, and originally may have.sprung from the same stock, it is modified and specialized in so many ways and so important features, besides the bill and the consequent alteration of the skull, that we necessarily must regard Mr. Robert Ridgway's view as the most justifiable of the two" mentioned above. As specializations additional to the strange conformation of the beak may be mentioned that the boat-bill has lost both the femoro-caudal muscle and the feather tufts on the oil gland, and that it has acquired a fourth pair of powder-down -patches. Grading our groups on a somewhat different principle, how- ever, we include the two species of boat-bills (a new species from Central America having been described this year by the last-named gentleman as Cochlearius zeledoni) in the sub-family Cochleariinse. At first sight the Cochlearius seems to represent a pigmy Balasniceps, between the legs of which it can stand upright without bending its neck, and the view of their "being closely related has also been urged by different authorities ; but we cannot belp thinking that Professor Reinhardt was right when he opposed Professor W. K. Par- ker's opinion to that effect, for, as Reinhardt remarks, even the outward likeness between the two bills is, on nearer inspection, by no means so great as would appear at first sight. The bill of Cochlearius is remarkably flattened, and not so much calcu- lated for great strength as for great roominess ; and this is still more increased by the naked dilatable skin between the branches of the lower jaw, which can be distended into a complete pouch or bag hanging down as far as the throat. ORDER X. — STEGANOPODES. f Notwithstanding the shortness of the legs and the ' Steganopodous ' character of the toes,. — that is, the connection of all four toes by membranes, — the birds of the present order are unquestionably nearly related to the Herodii. Like these, they are clesmo- gnathous, and lack basipterygoid processes; "but the inner edges of the palatine bones unite for a much greater distance behind the posterior nasal aperture, and a median ridge is sent down from the line of junction of the palatines." Authors have been equally unanimous in asserting the great homogeneity of the group, until Professor St. G. Mivart, in 1877, in his valuable memoir, "On the Axial Skeleton of the Pele- canidas," raised doubts as to the propriety of referring the tropic-birds and frigate- birds to the Steganopodes, though it is not quite correct to say that, "according to him, the tropic-birds are wrongly placed with this order." Here are his own words: "Besides [JPelecanus, Sula, Phalacrocorax, and Plot us~], the two genera Fregata and Pha'ethon are usually classed with them to contribute to the group of the Steganopodes. But, from the point of mew here adopted (that of the postcranial part of the axial skeleton only}, I have found it impossible to detect characters which seem to me good and sufficient to unite such Steganopodal groups together, and at the same time divide them off from other forms." It appears, however, that in the above-mentioned struc- ture of the palate and the feet, which Mivart, together with the rest of the cranium and the extremities, intentionally excluded from his comparison, there are characters 180 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. " good and sufficient to unite the Steganopodal group together, and at the same time mark it oft' from all other groups of birds." Another thing is, that Mivart has shown that the four supergenera, included in brackets above, are more intimately related inter se than to the two other ones. These two, on the other hand, chiefly agree to differ from the former four in negative points, and hence their exclusion from these does not indicate any particular mutual intimacy. On the contrary, the tropic-birds and the frigate-birds are as different between themselves as each of them is from the rest. We therefore propose to dis- member the order in three superfamilies, Pelecanoideas, Fregatoidere, and Phaethon- toidea?, an arrangement which is essentially the same as that proposed by Professor Brandt forty years ago. This arrangement needs a short explanation. There will be found, later on, a few more details concerning the peculiar arrangement of the neck vertebra of the first- mentioned superfamily. In the last two the neck is normal, and, consequently, they have not developed as off-shots from the stem of the Pelecanoideae. The extreme specialization of Freyata in regard to the thigh muscles, A+, can, therefore, not be derived from the Pelecanoidere, notwithstanding that the myological formula of the latter, AX+, otherwise would allow of such an interpretation. On the other hand, it is even more plain that the myological formula, AXY +, of the tropic-bird cannot directly or indirectly be derived from the pelicans or the frigate bird, nor, indeed, the latter two from the former. We are, consequently, compelled to assume a common ancestor with normal arrangement of the cervical vertebrae and a myological formula consisting of, at least, AXY+. We have occasionally had opportunity to hear people ridicule the stress laid upon the presence or absence of such a trifling thing as a small muscle of the leg seems to be. In some instances the presence or absence, considered alone, throws no light upon the manner in which two forms have developed, and in other cases it seems to the superficial observer to have no systematic importance, — for instance, when a species has a certain muscle which is wanting in a closely allied form of the same genus; but even then it is of considerable interest, since it shows that the latter has developed out of the former, and not vice versa. The above example, however, derived from the present order, should convince even the most superficial observer that there are cases in which these tiny muscular slips play a most important role. We have discussed the distinctness of the three groups here proposed only on the basis of a few characters, since want of space prevents us from going further into details ; but in order to show that the differences are rather deep-rooted, it will be suf- ficient to remind one of the fact that they are apparently not due to direct teleological causes. In all three groups there are excellent flyers, with long wings ; but one of them also comprises rather short-winged divers. Similarity in habits and manner of life may account for the external and superficial resemblance between a gannet and a tropic-bird, but we know of no difference in their habits sufficient to explain the anatomical diversities alluded to above. In addition to the characters common to all the members of the group, as given at the beginning of this chapter, the double condition of the pectoral muscle is here described in Professor Garrod's words : — "The great pectoral muscle is composed of two independent layers, — a superficial large one, arising from the inferior border of the sternum, its carina, and from the outer border of the furcula; and a deep one from the upper two thirds of the deeper TROPIC-BIRDS. part of the carina, superficial to the pectoralis secundus, and from the symphysial half of the outer border of the furcula. The superficial layer is inserted by a broad linear attachment to the pectoral ridge of the humerus, whilst the deeper layer ends in a rounded tendon." According to Garrod, this arrangement is exactly alike in Plotus, Phaethon, Pdecanus, Sula, and also in Phalacrocorax, though not so easily recognized in the latter. The birds of other orders which show a similar condition, are the American vultures, the storks, and the petrels. Professor Huxley, in enumerating the characters of the ' Dysporomorphae,' as he styled this order, indicates that the phalanges of the anterior toes decrease in length from the basal to the penultimate. A re-examination of the group has convinced me that this is not correct. It will be seen from the figure, further on, of the bones of the foot of Fregata, that the ratio of the phalanges is quite different, — the basal ones of the second and third toes being shorter than the next ones. A similar ratio is also found in the gannets, especially the smaller species, and likewise in the darters. In common with the frigate-birds, the PHAETHONTOIDE M have a compara- tively large head, mounted on a short and thick neck, consisting of fewer and nor- mally articulated vertebrae. The wings are long and pointed, the tail cuneate, with the two middle feathers extremely lengthened. The feet are rather small, but the webs are ample ; they are totipalmate, like all the members of the order, — that is, even the first toe is connected with the next one by a membrane ; and in this particu- lar group it is short, and turned nearly forwards. Another peculiarity of the hind toe is that it articulates with the metatarsus considerably above the level of the other toes, herein differing from the other members of the order. The claw of the third toe is not pectinated. In having an undivided sheath, without any groove or detached pieces, the bill resembles that of a tern, but the edges are serrated. Like the terns, the tropic-birds have pervious nostrils, therein differing considerably from the other members of the order, in some of which the external openings of the narcs are absolutely closed in the adult birds; but in contradistinction to the terns and gulls, the tropic-birds are strongly holorhinal. Additional osteological characters will be mentioned under the descriptions of the other groups, though we may remark here that the hind border of the breast-bone has two notches, and, consequently, two lateral processes on each side, somewhat similar to the condition in the gulls. The myological peculiarities are described thus by Garrod : "Phaethon possesses the fernoro-caudal (small), the semitendinosus (strong), and the accessory semitendi- nosus ; the ambiens, the accessory femoro-caudal, and the postacetabular portion of the tensor fasciaa are absent. In this bird the biceps cruris is inserted into the fibula-head directly, without passing through a loop." Pterylographically there is only little difference between the present super-family and the Pelecanoideas, but the structure of the feathers is different, they being more elastic and more curved, rather resembling, according to Nitzsch, those of the geese. The skin is pneumatic, similar to that of the gannets, and each- oil-gland has three openings. The tropic-birds — an appropriate name for these intertropical birds — • are also called ' boatswains,' for the same reason as the jaggers, namely the extremely elongated middle tail-feathers. In their general aspect, the white color of the body, and the red or yellow bills, size, etc., they closely imitate the gulls or terns; and many travel- ers have described their habits as similar to the latter, but the resemblance seems to be very slight and very superficial. The tropic-birds are very oceanic, and are often 182 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. met with many hundreds of miles from any shore. Their flight is described by Pro- fessor Newton as not resembling that of any sea-bird with which he is acquainted, its chief peculiarity consisting in the regular and rather rapid strokes of the wing, with- out any intermission, as far as he could see ; and Mr. C. B. Cory expressly says that it " does not at all resemble the long, easy movements of the gulls, but is hurried and rapid, more resembling that of a duck." They usually breed in cracks of the cliffs, on the ledges of rocks, or under overhanging boulders, but build no nest. The single egg, rather large and of a reddish-brown color, with fine markings, is said to be good eating, and in some localities large quantities are gathered for food ; hence the name FIG. 88. — Phaethon cethereus, red-billed tropic-bird. ' egg-bird ' in the Bahamas. Also the long and stiff central tail-feathers are collected, especially those of Phaethon rubricauda, in which they are red, in beautiful contrast to the rest of the plumage. Mr. Edward Newton describes the visit to a breeding- place of this species on Round Island, a small islet close by Mauritius, as follows : " Here the red-tailed tropic-bird breeds in very large numbers. They are the tamest birds I ever saw, and do not know what fear is. They never attempt to leave their single egg or nestling at one's approach, but merely stick out their feathers and scream, pecking at one's legs with their beaks. It is the fashion on the island for visitors to remove the old bird from its egg by a slight shove, and then placing the foot gently FRIG A TE-BIRDS. 183 on its head, to draw out the long tail-feathers. It resents this insult by screaming and snapping, but never tries to escape by flying or shuffling along the ground; in fact, like all birds which have their legs placed so far behind, they cannot rise off a flat surface, but require a drop of a few feet to give them an impetus." Where rocks are wanting, however, the tropic-bird breeds in trees. The same gentleman, during a mountain ascent on one of the Seychelles, observed a yellow-billed tropic-bird (P. flavirostris) enter a hole in the stump of a dead tree. "On returning," he says, "I tb made for it. After a scramble over dead wood and granite boulders, I got to it. The hole was about fifteen feet from the ground, and my man soon ascended, not, however, without fears on rny part that the rotten old stem would come down with his weight. Unfortunately there was only a young bird inside it. This I took home and endeav- ored to rear, but it only lived four days." The young is cov- ered with pure white down, and consequently is very unlike the downy youngs of the Laridre. The chick, like that of all the members of the order, is reared in the nest, or rather on the spot where the egg was hatched, until able to fly. Only three species are known, --the two above mentioned, and the red-billed, white-tailed P. cethereus, which is the species represented in our Avood-cut. In Fig. 89 is shown one of the more obvious characters of the FREGATOIDE^E, namely, the remarkably short tarsus, the short- ness and breadth of which is absolutely unique amongst the Euor- nithes. It is only equalled by the corresponding bone of the pen- guins, in which, however, the three component metatarsals are nearly separated, and equally well developed. On the whole, the foot of the frigate-bird is short, and abnormally developed, for the " webs " are so deeply excised that they hardly deserve their name, and the tarsus is feathered to the legs and feathered to the toes, — a very extraordinary feature in a " water-bird," it being, in fact, the only one among all the birds so designated that exhibits this character. The abnormal ratio of the phalanges of the middle toe has already been mentioned. The wings are hardly less remarkable, since the cubitus is longer than the upper arm bone by one third of its length ; and as the humerus itself is very long, the stretch of the wings becomes quite excessive in proportion to the size of the body. In regard to the breast-bone we remark that the hind border is described as truncate, without any notches or lateral processes. Peculiar to Fregata is also the fact that there is no interval between the lumbar and caudal ver- tebrae, as the transverse processes are continuously developed throughout these verte- bras. As to the pelvis, it may be remarked that the ilia do not meet together medianly in front of the acetabula at all, as they do in both the other super-families. The caudal vertebrae have very strong transverse processes, and the external tail is long and very forked. In many other external characters the frigate-birds show affinities to the cormorants ; for instance, in the shape of the bill, which is composed of several pieces separated by grooves, ending in a strongly-hooked nail, in the naked gular pouch, and also in the pectination of the claw of the third toe. The pterylosis approaches that of the cormorants, but is peculiar on account of the remarkable sparse arrangement of the contour feathers. FIG. 89. — Leg bones of Frer/nla aijiii/n, from the knee, tb, tibia ; mis, tarso-metatarsus. 184 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. On the whole, the cormorants seem to be the nearest allies, but, as already noted, the differences are many and important. In regard to alleged relationship to mem- bers of other orders, it may suffice to mention that there are peculiarities in the skele- ton and the myology which have been interpreted as indicating affinity to the petrels, — theories which only future investigations Avill be able to decide upon. Only one family, FREGATID.E, and one genus, fregata, consisting of two species, compose the super-family, which, like the foregoing one, is peculiar to the inter- tropical seas. The description of the extreme length of the wings of the 'man-of-war hawk,' as they ai*e often called, indicates the enormous power of flight of the 'hurricane bird,' another name by which they are known to the sailors, and Audubon's graphical account is only one of the many enthusiastic descriptions: — " The frigate-pelican is possessed of a power of flight which I conceive superior to that of perhaps any other bird. However swiftly the Cayenne tern, the smaller gulls, or the jaeger move on wing, it seems a matter of mere sport to it to overtake any of them. The goshawk, the peregrine, and the gyrfalcon, which I conceive to be the swiftest of our hawks, are obliged to pursue their victim, should it be a green- winged teal or passenger-pigeon, at times for half a mile, at the highest pitch of their speed, before they can secure them. The bird of which I speak comes from on high with the velocity of a meteor, and on nearing the object of its pursuit, which its keen eye has spied while fishing at a distance, darts on either side to cut off all retreat, and Avith open bill forces it to drop or disgorge the fish which it has just caught. See him now! Yonder, over the waves, leaps the brilliant dolphin, as he pursues the flying- fishes, which he expects to seize the moment they drop into the water. The frigate- bird, who has marked them, closes his wings, dives towards them, and, now ascending holds one of the tiny things across his bill. Already fifty yards above the sea, he spies a porpoise in full chase, launches towards the spot, and in passing seizes the mullet that has escaped from its dreaded foe. I observed a frigate-pelican that had forced a Cayenne tern, yet in sight, to drop a fish which the broad-winged warrior had seized as it fell. This fish was rather large for the tern, and might probably be about eight inches in length. The frigate-pelican mounted with it across his bill about a hundred yards, and then, tossing it up, caught it as it fell, but not in the proper manner. He therefore dropped it, but before it had fallen many yards caught it again. Still it was not in a good position, the weight of the head, it seemed, having prevented the bird from seizing it by that part. A second time the fish was thrown upward, and now, at last, was received in a convenient position (that is, with its head downwards), and immediately swallowed." Dr. Bryant visited several breeding-places of F. aquila, in the Bahamas. In one place the nests were on the bare rock, and closely grouped together; in another, they were built upon the mangroves, while on the Seal Island they were placed on the tops of prickly-pear. Mr. G. C. Taylor describes his visit to a rookery on a small islet on the Pacific coast of Honduras as follows : - "At a distance the most conspicuous object was a numerous flight of frigate-birds soaring over the island. As we approached, large white patches, caused by the drop- pings of the birds, became visible. The whole island was appropriated by the frigate- birds. Nearly every tree and bush, both high and low, was covered with birds and their nests. The latter were mostly composed of a few sticks laid crossways, hardly as much in quantity as in the nest of the ring-dove (Columba palumbus). Each nest PELICANS. 185 contained a single egg, about the size of a hen's-egg, and of a chalky whiteness. Although the nests were upon low bushes, still they were placed just too high for one to reach the eggs without climbing. The difficulty was to get the birds off their nests. Shouting had little or no effect ; and even the report of a gun would only rouse a few, who would frequently settle again on the bushes. I threw some stones among them, Avithout producing much result, and even tried to poke them off their seats with my gun ; but they merely snapped their beaks at me in retaliation." According to Professor Mivart, the PELECANOIDE^E differ from the two foiv- going super-families in possessing a greater number of cervical and cervico-dorsal vertebras, viz., seventeen to twenty, against fifteen only in the latter. But the HP M marked feature is, perhaps, the peculiarity in the eighth or ninth cervical vertebra, by which it is angularly articulated with the vertebra in front and behind. By this arrangement is caused the characteristic kink in the neck of these birds, which maybe seen plainly in the wood-cuts representing the darter and the cormorant. Indeed, it is literally impossible for these birds to carry their neck straight. This angular condi- tion of the neck is most developed in the darters ; in a less marked degree in the cormorants, and still less so in the gannets and pelicans, though observable in all. Other distinctive characters of the skeleton as compared with the tropic-birds and frigate-birds are the presence of one to three distinct sacral vertebra?, the moderate size of the lateral acetabular fossa, and the presence of fully or nearly completed haemal arches to some of the vertebras; "but in Fregata and Phaethon, not only are there none, but no tendency to form haemal arches is exhibited." The hind margin of the breast-bone has only one lateral pi-ocess on each side. We recognize four groups of equal rank, since it seems "difficult to unite together any t\vo of them to the exclusion of the others." Of these four families Professor Mivart thinks that the darters, as the most exceptional and differentiated type, should form one end of the series, to be begun with the pelicans, which in some points, at least, appears the least differentiated and most generalized form. Accordingly we commence Avith the PELECAXIP.E, the pelicans proper, the appear- ance of which, with the enormous pouch suspended between the branches of the lower jaw, is so familiar to everybody that we feel at liberty to dispense with a general description, — the more so, as the accompanying cut will revive in the imagination of our reader the picture of this grotesque bird if some details should have faded out of the memory. In one anatomical feature, at least, the pelicans stand quite isolated, and Huxley considered it to be so important that upon it he based a subdivision of the order into two groups, one to contain the pelicans, the other embracing all the other ' Dys- poromorphas.' Here is his description of the peculiarity: "In the Pelecanidrc the inferior edge of the ossified interorbital septum rises rapidly forward, so as to leave a space at the base of the skull, which is filled by a triangular crest formed by the union of the greatly developed ascending processes of the palatines." One external character only shall here be mentioned ; viz., that the tail consists of twenty-four rather soft rectrices, a feature well worth noting, since in all the other families are the tail feathers very stiff, and their maximum number sixteen. Pelicans are found in the New World as well as in the eastern hemisphere, but they are confined to the tropics, and the warmer portions of the temperate regions, though a single species or two may breed in more northern localities where the sum- mers are warm. 186 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. Such a species is our North American white pelican (Fdecamis erythrorhynchos), formerly confounded with the species figured. A very distinctive and remarkable feature, however, is the irregular protuberance on the culmen, which is equally devel- oped in both sexes. Mr. Robert Ridgway, who, in 1868, during a visit to the island in Pyramid Lake, Nevada, discovered the regular shedding of this horn, or ' centre- | Ml' • !. ., ». u^*i r FIG. 90. — Pelecanus onocrotalus, European white-pelican. board,' as it was appropriately called by the inhabitants of the neighborhood, describes it as follows : " The maxillary excrescence varies greatly both in size and shape. Frequently it consists of a single piece, nearly as high as long, its vertical outlines almost parallel, and the upper outline quite regularly convex, the largest specimen seen being about three inches high by as many in length. More frequently, however, it is very irregular in shape, usually less elevated, and not infrequently with ragged ante- PELICANS. 187 rior, or even posterior, continuations. This excrescence, which is assumed gradually in the spring, reaches its perfect development in the pairing season, and is dropped before or soon after the young are hatched ; simultaneously with the shedding of this appendage, the nuchal crest falls off, and in its place a patch of short brownish-gray feathers appears; this disappears with the fall moult, when the occiput is entirely unadorned, there being neither crest nor colored patch." Mr. Ridgway first made a visit to the island in July, 1867. Thousands of pelicans, slumbering on the beach, were startled, when he landed with his party in the even- ing, " and as they rose into the air the noise caused by their confusion was so great that we could scarcely hear one another's voices. Our blankets were spread upon the higher ground some distance from the boat, in order to avoid the offensive smell of the roosting-ground. In the morning, when we awoke, the whole beach about fifty yards from us was covered with a dense crowd of these gigantic snow-white creatui-cs, who scarcely heeded us as we arose ; as we approached them, however, they pushed one another awkwardly into the water, or rose heavily and confusedly from the ground, and, flying some distance out upon the lake, alighted on the water. The majority of the flock remained upon the water only a short time, when they arose and flew7 — divided into battalions — passing over us, each turning its head and looking down upon us as it went by." At that time none of the many thousands possessed the appendage. Mr. Ridgway repaired to the lake again in May of the following year, when he found the pelicans in pairs, and provided with the "conspicuous promi- nence on the top of the upper mandible, known among the white people of the neigh- borhood as the ' centre-board,' so called from the fancied resemblance to the centre- board of a sail-boat. This ornament was observable on quite a large proportion of the birds, and was conspicuous at a considerable distance. At this season both sexes were highly colored, the naked soft skin of the face and the feet being fiery orange red, or almost blood-red, instead of pale ashy straw yellow, as in all, both old and young, in August. " In viewing the northern shore from an eminence, it was noticed that the narrow point, which extended some hundred yards or more beyond the main beach, was liter- ally covered with a dense body of pelicans, apparently merely resting, as many of them were standing ; however, upon proceeding to the spot, it was found that the ground was covered with nests, upon which the females had been sitting, each one attended by her mate, Avho stood by her side. The nests occupied fully one half the surface, and consisted of mere heaps of gravel and sand raked into a pile about six or eight inches high, and probably twenty wide on the top, which was only slightly hol- lowed. In each nest we found one egg, and never more. " Soon the number of birds distinguished by the ' centre-board ' daily decreased, while, to account for this phenomenon, a corresponding number of cast-off ones was found upon the ground. Some of these loosened ornaments had been but recently dropped, as was plainly shown by their freshness, while others, which had been cast for some time, were dry and warped by the sun. Towards the last of the month no birds possessing this excrescence were to be seen, but the appendages themselves were scattered so numerously over the ground that a bushel could have been gathered in a short time, though upon our first arrival on the island not one was to be seen." Mr. D. G. Elliot describes them in their winter haunts as follows : " On the south- ern coast of the United States they are very abundant, and I have witnessed them in winter on the sea-beach of Florida, standing close together in long rows of many hun- 188 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. clrecls of individuals, enjoying a siesta after fishing. This species does not plunge into the water after its prey, as is the custom of its relative, the P.fuscus, but swims along, beating the surface of the water with its wings, and scooping up great numbers of fish at once. When raising the bill from the water, the point is held downwards until all the water has been allowed to run out from the sac, and then the small fish contained in the skinny bag are devoured at leisure. Sometimes so many fish, or such large ones, are obtained that the sac hangs down nearly to the ground, it is so very elastic ; while at other times, when empty, it is drawn up between the crura of the lower mandible. When on the wing, the head is drawn in close to the shoulders, the webbed feet extended behind. I have never heard them utter any sound as they thus proceeded." About a dozen species or forms of pelicans are known. All of them have the region between the eye and the bill bare of feathers, except the Australian species, the speckled pelican (P. conspicillatus), which has only a naked ring round the eyes, like spectacles (conspicilla), — hence the names. Next come the gannets or boobies, the SULID.E, the typical species of which is beautifully figured in the accompanying cut. We remark at once that the bill termi- nates rather pointedly, the ' nail ' only "being slightly bent, and not hooked over the tip of the lower mandible, as in both pelicans and cormorants. We have already mentioned the abnormal ratio of the phalanges of the toes. The wings are long and strong, and the birds are consequently excellent flyers, which secure their prey, consist- ing of fishes, by plunging headlong into the water, with a velocity that makes the spray rise several feet. In order to offer the minimum of opposition in the bird's diving progress, the sternal apparatus has been peculiarly modified. The breast-bone itself is unusually long for a bird of this order, being nearly twice .as long as it is broad, and the coracoids, as pointed out by John Flower, are articulated in a direction nearly parallel with the axis of the breast-bone, and not, as in most birds, at nearly right angles to it, an arrangement differing widely from that in the cormorants. Like the other great flyers of the order, the gannets possess a " system of subcutaneous air- cells which pervade almost the whole surface of the body, and are capable of volun- tary inflation or exhaustion," already referred to while describing a similar peculiarity in the screamers. ' Sula ' is an old Norse word, meaning a swallow, and the gannet is, in the Scandina- vian languages, known as the ' hav-sula,' or sea-swallow, probably because of its pow- erful flight. One of the popular English names of the bird, — the 'solan goose,' - is evidently related, and probably directly derived from the Norse word, and would consequently mean ' swallow-goose.' Other names bestowed upon these birds are ' gentleman,' or ' Jan van Gent.' Macgillivray describes its flight thus : " In launch- ing from the cliffs, they frequently utter a single plaintive cry, perform a curve having its concavity upwards, then shake the tail, frequently the whole plumage, draw the feet backwards, placing them close under the tail on each side, and cover them with the feathers. In flying, the body, tail, neck, and bill are nearly in a straight line ; the wings extended, and never brought close to the body, and they move by regular flappings, alternating with regular sailings." It is interesting to remark that they fly with outstretched necks, as do the cormorants, thus presenting a similar difference from the pelicans, as do the storks and ibises from the herons. The food of the gannet consists chiefly of herrings, and having, like the pelicans, a very dilatable ossophagus, it is capable of swallowing fish of considerable size. PELICANS. 189 Being without a gular pouch, it feeds its young by disgorging, and Macgillivray assures us that it never carries fish to the rock where it breeds, in its bill. The solan goose breeds in large colonies on small islands and rocks in the North Atlantic Ocean ; for instance, on the Bass Rock in Scotland, hence the specific name. This rookery has been described and depicted so often and elaborately by everybody who ever wrote of the natural history of this bird, that it would be trivial to repeat FIG. 91. — Sula bassana, gaunet. it here. Suffice it to say that Macgillivray, in 1831, estimated their number on that celebrated rock to be about twenty thousand, and that Dr. Cunningham, thirty-one years afterwards, found no decrease. Much larger is the colony on Gannet Rock, in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence ; for Dr. Bryant, in describing a visit to that island, says : "Their number on the summit could be very easily and accurately determined by measuring the surface occupied by them ; by a rough computation I made it to be about fifty thousand pairs, and probably half as many more breed on the remaining 190 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. portion of the rock, and on the Little Bird." The nest is usually built of grass or sea-weeds, which the birds tear off with their sharp beaks, and a single egg of a chalky whiteness, but usually stained and soiled, is deposited, from which is hatched a naked slaty-blue chick, soon to be covered with snow-white down. The adults are white, head and neck above washed with buff, bill bluish-gray, feet slate-color with light green stripes, indicating the course of the tendons; eye yellow. The immature birds are dusky, speckled all over with white spots. A few allied species inhabit the tropical seas of the eastern hemisphere, and a group of smaller, more or less dusky-colored gannets are entirely inter-tropical. In general habits they differ but little from the typical species, and altogether there are at present hardly ten different forms. The fact that fossil Sulidae have been found in France in miocene fresh-water deposits indicates, however, that this family formerly was wider distributed and richer in forms. A miocene Sula is also known from North Carolina. The two following families are probably more closely related inter se than they are to any of the foregoing. The following are a few characters which the cormorants and the darters have in common, and in which they differ from pelicans and gannets: They have twenty vertebrae in the neck, against seventeen to eighteen ; the ninth vertebra is the first one pressed back preaxially, and not the eighth ; the twentieth to twenty-fourth vertebra? in the cormorants, and the twenty-second to twenty-fifth vertebra? in the darters, are opisthocoelous, while none have that character in the pelicans and gannets ; the latter possess a spinal feather-space, which the former have not, but these have an occipital style unknown in the others. This occipital style is a triangular, elongated bone, articulating with the tubercle on the middle of the upper edge of the occipital bone. The object of this process is to afford surface for the insertion of "the superficial temporal muscles meeting behind the skull along the median raphe, which becomes ossified to form the above-mentioned style in the adult bird." A myological feature, which is not shared by the two foregoing families, is that the biceps muscle of the arm sends a fleshy slip to the middle of the patagial tendon of the tensor patagii longus. Finally may be mentioned the very backward position of the hind limbs, which force the cormorants and darters to carry their body more erect than the other members of the order. The cormorants, PHALACROCOKACID^E, are readily distinguished from other Stegan- opods by the combination of a strongly hooked bill, in shape and structure like that of the frigate-bird, — long neck, short wings, and rather long, rounded tail. The head is often crested, and head and neck frequently adorned with thin filamentous plumes, which are assumed towards the pairing season, and disappear after the breeding. We regard this family as the central one of the order, hence the negative nature of the characters including the anatomical features, the status of which is best found by consulting the diagnoses of the other families. Here shall only be mentioned the peculiarity of the arnbiens muscle in passing through the substance of the large tri- angular patella in a bony canal. The cormorants form a very homogeneous group of nearly forty existing forms, and even the tertiary cormorants seem to be very closely allied to the typical species of the present day, indicating that the group has assumed its peculiarities at quite a distant period. On account of this uniformity, nobody who ever saw a cormorant will be in PELICANS. doubt of the true position of any of the members he might come across, and conse- quently the accompanying figure, although representing a now probably extinct species, will serve as well for illustrating the structure of the existing birds. These, which are distributed all over the globe, except the very Arctic regions, are generally of a blackish color, with more or less bronzy reflections, and the naked face usually brightly colored, but some species, especially from the Australian seas, have the whole under surface white. New Zealand is especially rich in shags, as these birds arc also called, having not less than thirteen species, amongst these the curiously colored spotted shag (Phalacrocorax punctatus) peculiar to that colony; it is beautifully brownish ash above, each feather with a velvety black spot at the end ; the under side is leaden gray ; head and neck blackish, with a broad white band along the sides ; the legs are flesh-colored ; the eyes, like those of most cormorants, green. The cormorants are very sociable, and are usually found in great flocks all the year round. Another feature of their character is their inquisitiveness. I well remember that afternoon when we left Copper Island, steering for the island where the celebrated navigator, Bering, died after having been shipwrecked. I stood with Captain Sand- mann on the deck when we were doubling the northwest cape of the former island. Flock after flock of violet-green shags (P. pdagicus) came up to the steamer, veered round, then passed over the vessel behind the smokestack, bending and stretching their long necks in the utmost curiosity, and, as if they had not seen all they wanted, some of them would return a second time. This lasted as long as we could see the cape. As I expressed my surprise at the enormous number, the captain replied that the sight now was nothing against what it used to be. The shags were, until a few years previous, so abundant at this point that they served as a conspicuous landmark, which could be relied upon even in the thickest fog. But one winter the majority of them died by an epidemic disease. The dead corpses covered the beaches all around the islands, and the natives were much agitated by the prospect of these birds becom- ing entirely extinct, since they form their main source of fresh meat during the long winter. A few survived, however, and their number increased yearly. This incident recalls the fate that has befallen the spectacled, or Pallas's, cormo- rant (P. perspicillatus), which, not more than thirty years ago, inhabited the neigh- boring Bering Island, while now not a single locality is known where this large and conspicuous shag may still survive ; in fact there are no authentic records of it having ever been found outside of the island named. Two of the specimens in museums are said to have come from Sitka, but they were not collected there, and are probably from Bering Island. When, in 1882-'83, I visited that locality, I made all possible efforts to obtain specimens, but all I could learn of it was that the last one was killed about a generation ago. We have therefore taken pains to secure a most excellent illustration of one of the rarest birds in collections. For, while we know of more than seventy specimens of the great auk, and thirty of the Labrador duck, hardly more than three spectacled cormorants exist in European museums, and none in this coun- try. It would be well worth the while to make a thorough search all over the unin- habited rocky islets of the Aleutian chain, as a few specimens, should they still exist in some out-of-the-way place, would amply repay the trouble and expense. That the Chinese fishermen trained cormorants to catch fish for them was known long ago. Subsequently the stories were more or less discredited. We shall there- fore transcribe the following authentic account from the ' Special Catalogue of the Ningpo Collection in the International Fishery-Exhibition at Berlin : ' — 192 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. " Many are the ways used in this province for catching fish of all kinds in the rivers, lakes, and canals ; but none of them are more curious than the cormorant- fishing, which may be seen everywhere about Ningpo. Certain places are noted for the excellence of the birds which are bred and trained there ; amongst these we may name Fenghan and Shaohsing. " The most celebrated place, however, is a small town called Tanghsichen, fifty li northwest of Hangchow, the people of which are currently believed to possess a secret in cormorant-rearing which gives them special success. "The cormorant's book name is Lu tzu, and the common name is Y~u ying ('fish- hawk'), or Yu ya ('fish-crow'). " The females lay early from three to nine eggs, in the first and eighth moons. The color of the eggs is green, but it is much covered with white chalk; their size is that of ducks' eggs. The white inside £3^j is slightly green, and the eggs are never eaten on account of their strong flavor, " The eggs of the first sea- son (first moon) are the only ones retained for hatching. Towards the beginning of the O 0 second moon they are given to the hens to hatch, as the female cormorant is a careless mother. The young break their shell after a month's incubation. When new-born they cannot stand on their legs, and are -very sensitive to cold. They are therefore taken away from the hen, placed in baskets filled with cotton wool, and kept in a warm place. The eggs of the second season are not used, the weather be- FIG. 92. — Phalacrocorazperspicillatus, Pallas' cormorant. ing too cold ; they are given away to children and beggars. " The young birds are at first fed with a mixture, in equal parts, of beancurd and raw eel's flesh cut fine. If eels are not procurable, the flesh of the Hei yii (Ophio- cephalus niyer) is used instead, in the form of small pills. At the end of a month the down begins to be covered by the larger feathers, and the quantity of fish-flesh given to them is increased, while that of beancurd is reduced. A second month elapses, and the young birds, having grown to double their original size, are fit for the market ; a male fetches $1 or $2, and a female half as much. "The birds are now fed with young fish thrown to them. When they have attained their full size, a string is tied to one leg, the other end of it being fastened to PELICANS. 193 the bank of a pond or canal. They are then made to go into the water, the trainer whistling a peculiar call and using a bamboo to force them. Small fish are thrown to them, upon which they pounce greedily, as they have been kept on short allowance of food. They are now called back by a different whistle-call, and forced to obey by means of the string ; as they reach the shore more fish is given them. This teaching having been gone through daily for a month, another four or five weeks are spent in training the birds from a boat; at the end of this period the string is generally dis- pensed with. When old and well-trained cormorants are made to accompany the young ones, the time required in training is reduced to one half. Birds not properly trained after all the trouble thus taken are pronounced stupid and not fit for use. "The teaching being completed, the cormorants are fed sparingly every morning with fish. A small ring of hemp is tied around their necks to prevent them swallow- ing large fish, and they are taken on board the small punt called ' connorant-boat,' to the number of ten or twelve. They are now as docile as dogs, and sit perched on the side of the boat until they are sent into the water by a mere whistle from their master. They dive after fish, and bring their prizes to the boat, firmly held in their hooked beaks. When a fish is too large for one bird, three or more join their forces and capture it together. Sometimes the fisherman signals them to dive by striking the water with a long bamboo. If any cormorant is inclined to be disobedient, his legs are connected by a short piece of string ; this forms a loop, by which the bird may at any moment be brought on board, nolens volens, with a long bamboo hook. "After fishing two or three hours the birds are allowed to come on board and rest. At the end of the day the hempen ring is loosened or removed altogether, and they are either allowed to fish for themselves, or are fed by the hand of their master. Seizing the birds one after another by the upper mandible, the fisherman thrusts into their throats a handful of small fish and a ball of beancurd as large as his fist, the ingurgi- tation of which he helps with the other hand by stroking the neck of the bird, who seems to enjoy it, as he promptly returns for a second supply. The entire scene is most ludicrous. At night the birds are brought home and caged. A cormorant holds out for five years, at the end of which time these birds lose their feathers and soon after die. The females, being weaker than the males, only catch small fish, hence their lower value. Very good birds reach a value of Fls. 10 a pair, a well- trained male being worth $6 or $7. The females lay when one year old." No one who is familiar with the look of the cormorant can fail to appreciate the gen- eral resemblance of the darter as this bird is depicted in the accompanying cut, not only in the way it sits up, but also in several features of form and structure. On the whole it makes the impression of an exaggerated cormorant. The small head is still smaller, the neck still longer and narrower, the 'kink' still more angular, the tail still more elon- gated. The bill is more after the fashion of a heron than a cormorant, being stiaight, compressed, pointed, without nail, lateral groove, but serrated along the cutting edges. However, were it not for the many important anatomical features, the ANHIXGID^E would have to be merged into the family of the cormorants. Having several times alluded to the osteological characters of the darters, the only thing to be mentioned here is, that the occipital style in Anhinga (or P 'lotus) anhinya is considerably smaller than in the cormorants, while in A. levaillanti the medium raphe separating the temporal muscles back of the skull is only fibrous, and not ossified, even in adult specimens, thus clearly indicating the nature and origin of that bone. The muscular arrangement in the neck CD ^J C3 is very peculiar on account of the excessive development of the long neck-muscles in VOL. iv. — 13 194 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. their lower almost inter-thoracic portion, and their sudden concentration into the long and thin tendons which run up the neck. The kink of the neck makes necessary a special arrangement to prevent the tendon which runs along the posterior surface of the neck from breaking away from the vertebral column when the muscle with which it is associated contracts, and therefore a sling-band is found attached to the ninth vertebra, through which the tendon passes, acting exactly in the same way as the well-known sling-band in the knee region. m \ • . \ ' > ^cSC^*ti*H^^ FIG. 93. — Anhinga levaillanti, African darter. The alimentary canal of the darters is extremely peculiar, and has partly been described in the introduction to this volume (p. 15). We may here add that the African species has two small casca, while the American has only one. In both the tongue is obsolete as an independent organ. It is very small in all Steganopods, but in the others it is free at its anterior extremity, which is not the case in the darters, the tongue of which is only indicated by a longitudinal groove and a slight transverse ridge behind. DARTERS. 195 The darters have only one carotid, though this character is not peculiar ; for while nearly all the other Steganopods have two, there is only one in two species of pelican and one gannet. The pterylosis of the darter is very peculiar, and Nitzsch compares it with that of the penguins, Inasmuch as the contour-feathers, which are small and soft, cover the body nearly uniformly, all spaces being wanting except the lateral spaces of the trunk and a narrow inferior space. Four very distinct species, although of very similar appearance, are known, all from the tropics or warmer temperate regions. One is American, one from India and southeastern Asia, one from Australia, and one from Africa, a distribution of the same category as that of the Heliornithidas, Jacanidaa, Rostratula, etc. In the following notes on the habits of the American species, by Dr. Brewer, are found the explanations of the two common names by which the bird is known, namely, ' darter,' and ' snake-bird,' the South American lA.nhingaJ of Portuguese origin, having the same meaning as the latter. Dr. Brewer says : " It lives principally upon fish, wThich it seizes by rapidly darting upon them with its sharply-pointed and slightly-toothed beak. In this movement its neck, which is very long, is thrust for- ward with the force of a spring, aided by the muscles that are large and well devel- oped in the lower and anterior portion of the neck. This is said to be the very first among fresh-water divers, disappearing beneath the surface with the quickness of thought, leaving scarcely a ripple on the spot, and reappearing, perhaps, with its head only above the water for a moment, at a place several hundred yards distant. If hit, and only wounded, this bird readily baffles all the endeavors of the sportsman to secure it. When swimming, and unmolested, it is buoyant, and moves with its whole body above the water; but when in danger it sinks its body, leaving only the head and neck out of the water, presenting the appearance of a portion of a large snake." Dr. Jerclon's account of the Indian species (A. melanogaster) indicates a cormo- rant-like feature in the habits of the darter well worth mentioning. He says that they hunt singly in general, or in scattered parties, but often roost in company, both at night and in the middle of the day, when numbers may be seen perched on the trees overhanging some tank or river. After feeding for some time, they perch on the boughs of a tree, or on a pole or stone, and spread their wings out to dry, as the cormorants do. The darters, like the cormorants, lay four eggs, — light blue, with a white chalky covering ; in fact, typical cormorant eggs, and greatly different from the single egg of the tropic-bird, which seems to resemble the eggs of the petrels. LEONHARD STEJNEGER. 196 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. ORDER XL-- OPISTHOCOMI. The extraordinary bird, Opisthocomus cristatus, which is the sole species of the family OPISTHOCOMID^E, has been for a long time a complete puzzle to naturalists, as it seemed to combine within itself characters of so many groups, that it was almost impossible to decide where it should be referred, and therefore by various writers it has been assigned from one family to another, until there appeared to be no resting- place for it anywhere. Of late years, however, several entire specimens having been obtained preserved in spirits, its myological and osteological structures have been thoroughly studied by several fully competent naturalists, and the general verdict is, that, while allied to several, it belongs to none of the other groups of birds, but consti- tutes a distinct order and family, of which it is the only known representative. Out- wardly it is not an ungraceful looking bird ; having the upper part of the body dark brown, with a white streak upon the feathers of the hind part of the neck ; head cov- ered with a long loose crest, and a bare skin around the eye. Two white bars cross the wing, formed of the tips of the wing coverts. Throat and breast deep fawn, belly and crissum rufous. Tail long and colored like the back, the feathers tipped with brownish white. Its pterylosis, or feather-tracts, presents, among others, some of the following characteristics : There are no lateral neck-spaces. The inferior tract beginning at the bottom of the neck runs in two broad bands to the keel of the ster- num, where they narrow, and pass on — growing gradually narrower — to the anus, terminating in only two feathers in width. The dorsal tract divides between the shoulders into two limbs, and becomes broader from the caudal pit onwards, enclosing the oil gland, which has a circlet of feathers at the tip. The skeleton has many pecu- liarities, among which the following may be mentioned : The antepenultimate dorsal vertebra is free ; the six or seven hindermost cervical vertebra only have very weak median inferior crests, and the inferior faces of the centra of the dorsal vertebrae are flattened and without crests. The sternum is unique, the lateral edges are nearly parallel for two thirds its length, then diverge so that it is wider posteriorly than an- teriorly. The posterior edge has two notches on either side, the outer pair possibly foramina, the inner pair deeper, but not extending a sixth of the sternum's length. The keel is very small and cut away in front, and has a prominent tubercle at its distal extremity (carina sterni), with a somewhat flattened surface, and separating the fibres of the pectoral muscles at this point. This expansion of the sternum is covered by the bare skin, and can be readily seen when the bird is picked. The sternal ribs are attached to the anterior half of the lateral margin. The coracoids are anchylosed with the clavicles ; the furcula is very short, and it is so completely anchylosed with the coracoids as to leave no trace of their distinctness ; and inferiorly the straight hypocleidium is completely anchylosed with the man.ubri.um. The pelvis is without any ilio-pectineal process, and the ilio-sacral fossaj are completely roofed by bone. The skull has no basipterygoid processes ; the vomer is slender and compressed, and the maxillo-palatines are ill-developed. The transverse hinge of the rostrum lies behind the lachrymals, which are coalesced with the nasals and form part of the rostrum. The crop is enormous, occupying all the upper part of the chest, and by its great size, distorts the furcula and sternum, and entirely conceals the superior and anterior halves of the pectoral muscles, and, when it is removed, the upper halves of the pectorals ai-e seen to form a deep cavity in which the crop is placed. The above GALLING. 197 somewhat technical description is rendered necessary from the very peculiar position this species assumes among birds, and although it may be deemed 'dry reading' it may be permitted in view of the explanation needed why the hoatzin, as it is called, should constitute an order by itself. Not much is known of the economy and habits of this species. It is a native of Guiana and the country watered by the Amazon. It abounds on the low shores of that river, and about the lakes, goes in small flocks of from ten to twenty individuals, and feeds on the leaves of the Arum arboreum, which give to it a very disagreeable odor. Its flight is slow and heavy, and it is not seen on the ground nor on high trees, but remains upon the branches of the arum. The nest is composed of sticks loosely laid together, and placed on low bushes near water. On April 14, 1884, Mr. E. A. Brigham, in a paper read before the Chicago Academy of Sciences, gave an account of a remarkable discovery made by him regarding this curious bird, which would seem to show that, for a period after issuing from the egg., it might be considered as almost belonging to the quadrupeds. The following ex- tract contains the pith of his announcement. " While making embryological studies in the interior of the great island of Marajo, on the small river Anabiju, I discovered the quadruped bird. After examining many specimens of various ages, I found that from what corresponds to about the embryonic state of development of the common fowl at the tenth day of incubation, the fore feet showed their characters unmistak- ably throughout their egg-development, and to a period of several days after hatching the fore feet, toes, and claws held their characters as such, as unmistakably as those parts of the posterior members. Later a progressive modification manifested itself by reducing the digits, exfoliating the claws, and developing these anterior members into those characteristic of a bird. There is, among the higher vertebrate animals so far as I know, no other example of post-natal metamorphosis in such fundamental organs to anything like this extent. The law enunciated by Von Baer — that the phyloge- netic development is represented in the ontogenetic — has a wide expression here. An important ancestral feature is persistent beyond the egg or parental development. The animal, progressing in its embryonic course, passes into its reptilian ancestral type, and before its evolution has carried it through this, its reptilian phase, it emerges from the egg. Thus from an egg laid by a two-footed, two-winged bird hatches a quadruped animal. For several days after hatching it retains its quadruped charac- acter, then, in the open air and sunlight, one pair of legs evolves into wings. Front legs are purposeless in a bird." A confirmation of these statements is greatly to be desired. OKDER XII. — GALLING. This great division of the class Aves, sometimes designated as Rasores, from the hnbit indulged in by its members of scratching the earth when searching for food, is composed of two sub-orders and four families, viz., TetraonidaB, Phasianida3, Megapodi- das, and Cracidaa, containing among them between three and four hundred species. The sub-orders are called respectively the Alectoropodous Gallinre, those having feet like a fowl, containing the first two families, and the Peristeropodous Gallinre, or those with feet like a pigeon, which includes the last two families. The two sub- orders compose the group known to naturalists as Alectoromorphre. The order Gallina? contains within it those species of birds which are most impor- tant and valuable to mankind, affording food to multitudes of people, and which are 198 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. the source of all the domesticated poultry throughout the world. As a general rule, they are birds with stout legs and feet, rather small heads with curved bills, the nostrils placed in a membrane covered by a scale, moderately long necks, and heavy bodies with short rounded wings. The tarsi of the males are frequently armed with one or more spurs, and in some species this weapon is present on the legs of the female also. In the pigeon-footed families the hind toe, or hallux, is on the same plane as the three others, which are directed forwards ; but the fowl-footed have the hallux usually very small and raised, sometimes barely touching the ground. The sternum has a double bifurcation on each side, the fissures wide and deep, and provides but little space for the attachment of the pectoral muscles. These last are, however, well developed, giving the plump appearance characteristic of these birds. The tail is frequently short, of various shapes, but in the Phasianidaa it is sometimes lengthened to an extra- ordinary degree. The flight is labored, but rapid, and not often extended to any con- siderable distance. The oesophagus is dilated and foi'rns what is called the crop, which receives and moistens the food. The gizzard is very strong, having a thick and hard interior wall, and, in order to assist in grinding the food, the birds are accustomed to swallow small stones, etc. The ca3ca are frequently highly developed. The spe- cies of this order lay numerous eggs, and the young are at first covered with down, and are able to run and feed from the moment of birth. SUB-ORDER I. — GALLING ALECTOROPODES. The family TETRAONID^B is composed of the quails, partridges, and grouse, and is represented in almost every part of the world. It has been divided by naturalists into various sub-families, but three would seem to be sufficient for all the species. These are PerdicinaB, Odontophorinae, and Tetraoninas. They differ very considerably from each other. The first is a very extensive group, comprising among its species the smallest met with among the Gallinas. It is exclusively an Old World group, no representative having been obtained in the western hemisphere. The Odontophorinae, on the other hand, are only found in the New World, and are known as the American partridges, differing from those of the eastern hemisphere, among other characters, by having the mandible notched on either side. The members of the third sub-family, Tetraoninae, are inhabitants of both hemispheres, one species being found through the Arctic regions of the world. They are large birds, distinguished from the rest of the family by having the legs and feet densely feathered ; in one genus, however, (JBonasa) the feathers extend only to the knee. They have heavy, plump bodies, with short tails, and generally a plumage of contrasting colors suitable for concealing them among the herbage in Avhich they dwell. Of the Perdicinas, the genus Coturinx has representatives in most of the countries of the Old World, the familiar C. communis, or migratory-quail, being its best known species. This little bird travels in great bodies, mainly at night, from its winter homes, generally in the southern portions of its habitats, to the localities selected for its breeding-places, returning again, as the seasons revolve, to warmer climes. It feeds mainly on grass, seeds, grain, and insects of various kinds, and is rarely seen save when flushed by man or dog. During its migrations, great bodies of water, like the Mediterranean, are crossed, and sometimes, after such long flights, the birds become so exhausted as to permit themselves to be picked up by the hand on first reaching Turnix sylvatica, torillo. C'oturnix COHUHKIIIX, migrating quail. QUAILS. 199 the land. The female lays from eight to twelve eggs. About six species are gener- ally included by ornithologists in this genus; one, C. delegorgiiei, from Africa; C. coromandelica, from India, known as the rain-quail ; C. pectoralis, from Australia ; C. novce-zelandioe, as its name implies, from New Zealand ; C. caineana, from China, and C. communis. They are all similar in size and appearance, and a description of the habits of one species would practically answer for all. Australia possesses a genus of quails peculiar to itself, — Synoicus, — containing four species. They vary in length from six and one half to eight and one half inches; of a dark-brown color on the back, transversely barred with gray, black, and chestnut; the under surface grayish-buff or gray, with black zig-zag markings. These, like the species of quail generally, migrate but slightly, if at all, and keep in coveys, flying but a short distance after being flushed. FIG. 94. — Rollulus roulroul, red-crested wood-quails. The bush-quails are contained in the genera Perdicula, Ophrysia, and Microperdix, represented by about six species. They are distributed throughout various portions of India in the thick jungles and bushy tracts, keeping in coveys usually of from six to ten individuals, lie very close, and fly but a short distance when disturbed, and live from the level of the sea to eight thousand feet of elevation. One species, Perdicula raaltenii, appears td be restricted to the island of Timor. The painted-quails are a group of very small birds (one species, E. minima, from Celebes, being the smallest game-bird known), and have been gathered together into a separate genus, — Excalfactoria. They are very pretty birds, the sexes being quite dissimilar in plumage, and are residents of various parts of India, Malay Peninsula, Ceylon, China, Celebes, Philippines, Australia, New Guinea, the Duke of York Islands, and west Africa. The best known, E. chinensis, the blue-breasted quail, is an 200 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. extremely pretty species, the male being olive-brown above, barred with black ; fore- head, lores, cheeks, ear-coverts, and breast dark purple-gray; chin and throat black, enclosing from the base of the mandible a white triangular patch; lower part of throat white edged with black ; middle of abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts deep chest- nut ; bill black, les-s bright yellow, length about five inches. The female has a ' ^j ^ •/ *— ? whitish chin with a rufous throat, the upper plumage generally dark brown and black with buff stripes on each feather, lower parts buff, with black cross-bars on the flanks. Hume says in India they are found singly or in pairs, and not in coveys, except just after the breeding season, when the old birds and their young are together. Swampy grass lands or meadows are their chief haunts; they fly swiftly and straight for about seventy yards, and not more than a foot above the tops of the grass. They feed on grass seeds, lay about six olive brown eggs speckled with reddish brown, and probably breed twice a year. The genus Hollulus contains but two species, inhabiting Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo, one, H. roitlroul, penetrating into southern Tenasserim. Some ornithologists divide the species into distinct genera, placing R. niger in the genus Melanoperdix. The red-crested wood-quail, as the 72. roidroul is called, is a very beautiful species with a rich green plumage, and a long, red, hairy crest upon the back part of the head It is a forest-loving bird, ranging from the sea-level to a height of about four thousand ^j * O vZ? d? feet, goes in small flocks of seven or eight individuals, lives on seeds, berries, insects, etc., and rarely comes into the open country. It is quick in its movements, and has a soft, mellow whistle. The female has a lighter colored plumage, and is without the red crest. This species is noted for having the hind claw almost obsolete. A very beautiful bird allied to the last and called JTcematortyx sanguiniceps, is also a native of Borneo. The general color is dark brown, with the top of the head, crest, and face crimson, throat, neck, and breast deep chestnut, under tail-coverts black, lengthened ones crimson. With the genus Perdix commences the true partridges, of which P. cinerea, the gray-partridge of Europe, is the most familiarly known. Five species may be included in Perdix, viz., the one mentioned, P. barbata of eastern Asia, P. robusta, Altai mountains, P. hodgsonice, Thibet (sometimes placed in the genus Sacfci), and P. mada- gascariensis, of Madagascar, by some placed in the genus Mayaroperdix. These are all fine large birds, affording sport and food to many people. The sexes are very much alike in plumage. The gray-partridge would be a valuable addition to the game birds of any land. The female lays from eight to twenty-four eggs, the flesh is plump and well flavored, and the bird is not of a particularly delicate constitution. Some- times, when food is scarce, this species will leave a district it has been frequenting, and pack in flocks of a hundi'ed or more, as the pinnated grouse are in the habit of doing, and then the birds are very wild and difficult of approach. The flight of the gray partridge is swift and sometimes protracted, and it rises with a loud whirring sound. The Thibetan partridge, P. hodgsonia?, apparently is accustomed to live at great eleva- tions (it having been met with at a height varying from sixteen to eighteen thousand feet), on desolate ground having no grass nor bushes, but only patches of mossy herb- age. Yet at this great height a nest and eggs were discovered : the nest a mere ~ O O ~~ ' indentation in the ground, the eggs pale drab in color, tinged with reddish brown at the ends, and ten to fifteen in number. Two very pretty species of a general rich buff-brown color, with gray crowns and cheeks ; forehead and line over the eye black, and breasts vinous fawn, have been placed in the genus Ammoperdix. They frequent PARTRIDGES. 201 rocky ground and ravines, are very gentle, and feed on seeds and such herbage as grows in the localities they inhabit. One species, A. bonhami, is found in India, Afghanistan, Persia, and Beluchistan, while the other, A. heyi, is a native of western Arabia, the Sinaitic Peninsula, Egypt, Nubia, and Palestine. A partridge from west Africa, of a general earthen-brown plumage, closely allied to the birds of the genera Perdix and Ammoperdix, has been separated by Swainsori as a sub-genus, and called Ptilopachus ventralis. The two lateral toes are nearly equal in length ; the tail is much developed, and the nostrils occupy almost one half the length of the mandible. The shafts of the feathers on the back and rump are thickened as in the pigeons. The single species is the only representative of the genus. FIG. !)6. — Caccabis rubra, red-legged partridge. Thirteen or fourteen species are included in the genus Aborophila, or hill-par- tridges, the greater portion (nine) being found in India and Burmah and the Malay Peninsula, two are found in Java, one in Sumatra, one in the island of Formosa, and one in the Philippines. They are forest-loving birds, live in mountainous districts in the densest thickets, go in coveys, and have a whistling call. The sexes differ slightly in plumage. The Formosan bird has been separated under- the generic title, Oreo- perdix, and has a bare, bright-red throat in the breeding season. The red-legged partridges, together with the species of Ammoperdix, have been con- sidei'ed by some writers as worthy of constituting a sub-family of the Perdicida3, but while perhaps not quite entitled to that distinction, they do nevertheless form a well- marked group. The species have a wide range and are spread over temperate Europe, 202 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. western and central Asia, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and A9ores. The genus Cac- cabis contains about six species, with an unmottled plumage, with bright-colored bands on the flanks, and a general ashy and buff coloring, admirably adapted to con- ceal the birds in the rocky grounds they frequent. As a rule they are not very good eating, being dry and not very tender, although the young, when kept for a time and properly cooked, are said to be very good. They are extremely pugnacious, and it is stated that in former ages they were kept tame for fighting, as game-cocks were, and that the Emperor Alexander Severus was very fond of this sport. They are hardy birds, braving extremes of heat and cold, and in Persia are found in the Elburz moun- tains, at 10,000 feet elevation. They do not lie well to the dog, but run swiftly, and take flight when out of range of the gun, and consequently are not favorites with sports- men. In fact, as game-birds, they have little to recommend them beside their hand- some appearance. The nest is merely a hole scratched in the ground, and the number of eggs varies from nine to as many as twenty-four. The red-legs are noisy birds, calling mostly in the morning and evening ; and when a covey is scattered, each indi- vidual, says Hume, proclaims his own and inquires his fellows' whereabouts. The tone varies. First he says, " I 'm here," then he asks " Who 's dead ? " and when he is informed of the decease of some favorite relative, or perhaps his eldest son, he re- sponds, " Oh lor ! oh lor ! " in quite a mournful tone. The various species feed on grain, seeds, insects, caterpillars, etc., and also on tender shoots. The splendid birds known by the trivial name of snow-cocks or snow-pheasants, are dwellers, as their name implies, of high elevations on the gigantic mountains of the Himmalehs, and of the Altai, also in the Caucasus range. They are met with in Asia Minor, Armenia, Kurdistan, and Persia, while one species, the S. thibetanus, is found not only in Thibet proper, but also in the mountains of western China. They range at from 6 to 18,000 feet in elevation, descending to the lower heights in winter after heavy snow. They are large birds and extremely shy, go in packs occasionally of twenty to thirty individuals, though five to ten is the more usual number. In summer generally but a pair are found together. When feeding, a sentinel is always posted on some commanding spot to give notice of any danger, and as they resort to the rocks and never enter forest or long grass, it is exceedingly difficult to approach them or take them unawares. They breed early in the spring, and the young are very skil- ful in hiding among the stones. The number of eggs laid is from six to nine, of pale olive color, with light or dark red spots. The nests are hollows scraped in the earth, and lined with grass and a few feathers or green fir-needles. The sexes differ slightly in plumage, mainly about the head and breast. In size they vary from a length of nineteen to twenty-nine inches, and in weight from three to six and a half pounds. The genus Lerwa contains only one species, the L. nivicola, known as the snow- partridge, which ranges for a thousand miles along the Himmalehs, and into Thibet and western China. In winter it descends to an elevation of 7,000 feet, its summer abodes being at from 10,000 to 14,000. In habits and haunts this bird much resembles the snow-cocks, but it prefers a mossy vegetation to that of a grassy character. It is generally very tame and will permit one to approach quite near, when it utters a harsh whistle, but it is exceedingly difficult to distinguish the bird from its surround- ings if it remains motionless. It breeds near the snow-line, and the eggs are stated to be large, dull white and freckled all over with reddish brown. It is a handsome bird, the whole plumage being minutely barred with black or buffy white, and tinged with chestnut on the side of the neck. The chin is grayish, throat, breast, and upper part FRANCOLINS. 203 of abdomen deep chestnut red, with dashes of buff on the flanks. Tail dusky, with bars speckled with gray and rufous. The male has short spurs, and weighs from six- teen to twenty-two ounces. The bamboo-partridges, so-called from their habit of haunting dense grass or bamboo jungle, are four in number, and compose the genus Hambusicola. They differ from all the other species of this family which have thus far preceded them, save L. nivicola, by the presence of sharp spurs on the tarsi of the males. They are rather large birds, of a reddish-brown plumage. Two species are found in China, one in Burma and one in Borneo. Allied to these is Caloperdix oculens, a very handsome gamey-looking partridge, the male not infrequently having double spurs. It is a rare species, and but little is known of its habits, for its chosen abode is the dense and primeval forests of the Malay Peninsula, through which wild elephants and buffaloes make the only paths. The head, neck, and under parts are bright rufous, flanks barred with black. Mantle black, feathers edged with white, back and upper tail-coverts black, with V-shaped marks of bright rufous. Wings reddish-brown or grayish, each feather with a black spot near the tip. Its length is about eleven inches, its weight half a pound. The francolins constitute a very extensive group, having rather lengthened bills and tails, and generally a rich plumage of contrasted colors. The rather restricted genus Francolinus (of which F. vulgaris is the most familiar species) is Asiatic, and con- tains but three species. At one time an inhabitant of Europe, the common francolin is now quite extinct on that continent, but is still found on the island of Cyprus ; but in Asia Minor, Palestine, and throughout northern India, Armenia, Persia, and Belu- chistan it is quite plentiful. The male is a bird of very handsome plumage, with the sides of head, cheeks, throat, and lower parts deep black; crown brown with black spots ; a broad chestnut collar round the neck. Breast and flanks spotted with white, and the abdomen, which is rufous, is barred with the same. A line of white under the eye. Back and wing-coverts blackish-brown ; rump and upper tail-coverts black barred with wliite ; under tail-coverts chestnut tipped with white; tail black and broadly barred with white; legs reddish orange, and have a short blunt spur. This is a favorite game-bird with sportsmen, is strong on the wing, flying very steadily, lies very closely to a dog, perhaps too closely, and its flesh is very fair food. It fre- quents meadows, cultivated fields, patches of herbage, and jungle. When flushed, it springs perpendicularly into the air to the height of perhaps three feet, before taking its line of flight. They do not go in coveys, but keep in pairs, although many pairs may be in close proximity to each other, and are monogamous. At earliest dawn, wherever these birds are present, their clear call rings out on the morning air with a "Be quick, pay your debts," sort of a exclamation, and this habit frequently leads to the discovery of their place of refuge, and to their ultimate destruction. The usual number of eggs to a nest is from six to ten, of a dull greenish-white color, and the nest is generally a depression in the ground at the foot of some grassy tuft, and par- tially lined with roots and grasses. The common francolin varies greatly in size among individuals, those from Asia Minor being generally the largest. Like many other species of game-birds, old or barren hens sometimes assume the male plumage, and albinos are not uncommon. The other species of this genus arc F. pictus of central and southern India, and F. chinensis of Pegu, India, and southern China. The remaining portion of the group of francolins are African, and about thirty in number. They have been divided into four genera or sub-genera — Clamator, Sclerop- 204 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. tera, Pternistes, and Chcetopus. They are large birds, sometimes called pheasants, and are very abundant in different portions of the ' Dark Continent.' In habits they resemble the common francolin, prefer running to flying, and feed during the morning and evening on grain, insects, and bulbs, which last they dig up with their powerful bills. The males and old females are armed with spurs on the tarsi, and, when disturbed, the species will frequently take refuge in trees, where they also roost. They appear at times to be migratory, caused possibly by the abundance or scarcity of food or water in certain localities. They are very noisy birds, and in one species, S. adspersa, the voice can be heard at a great distance, the notes uttered resembling a succession of hysterical laughs. A genus of gray partridges, styled Ortygornis, containing but two species, is found in India and Ceylon. They are birds of the lowlands, one of the species, 0. gularis, having been met with as high as four thousand feet, and O. pondicerianus at five O O •* thousand feet, which in that land of gigantic peaks is but the summit of a hill. The individual of the last-named species was deemed, however, but a straggler, and Avas evidently above his range. The flesh is said to be hard, dry, and insipid, hardly worth eating, cook it as you may. These species are extremely pugnacious, and are kept by the natives for fighting, as partridge combats are one of their chief amusements. The 0. gularis, whose trivial name is the swamp-partridge, affects, as its name implies, marshy lands and banks of rivers, jungle, thickets, and reed-beds, but always near water. When flushed, it rises with a loud whirr, and a shrill cackle, but does not fly far, and if not bagged can only with great difficulty be forced to take wing again. They are wary and difficult of approach, one of their number being generally posted as a sentinel on the top of a bush, and they keep together in small parties or in pairs. The males are heavily spurred, sometimes having two spurs on each leg, and it is stated that every one examined will be marked with scars from wounds obtained in fighting. The nest O O is placed on the ground, and the eggs number about five. The 0. pondicerianus breeds twice a year, laying seven to nine white eggs tinged more or less in depth with a light coffee-color. These birds weigh from nine to twelve ounces and are from O O eleven to fifteen inches in length. A rather curious partridge with a very long bill is found in Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo, and is known to naturalists as Hhizothera longirostris. It is about a foot in length, and the bill is as powerful as that of a peacock. It has the throat, sides of the head, upper part of neck, belly, and flanks rufous yellow ; top of head and back chestnut brown with large black spots ; lower part of neck and breast leaden gray ; rump and upper tail-coverts are rufous, crossed with fine zigzag lines of a darker hue, and in the centre and near the end of each feather is a spot of yellowish ochre. A bare red skin encircles the eye. The primaries are rufous, barred with brown. The tarsi are armed with short heavy spurs. The female resembles the male, except that her breast is ferruginous instead of gray, and she has no spurs. The last genus of the PerdicinaB is Galloperdix, consisting of three species ; two, G. spadiceus and G. lemulatus, being peculiar to India, and the third, G. zeylonensis, only found in Ceylon. They are rather peculiar birds, resembling in some of their characters the true jungle-fowl of the genus Gcdlus, having nude skin around the eyes, but without comb or wattles. The sexes are dissimilar, and both are armed with spurs, the male sometimes having as many as three on one leg, occasionally two on one leg and one on the other, the female also at times possessing the same number of weapons. They dwell entirely in woods, and in localities affording dense cover, such PARTRIDGES. 205 as jungle-clad and rocky hills, straying rarely to the alluvial plains, and never re- maining in open districts. They ascend the sides of wooded hills as hio-h as five thousand to seven thousand feet, are always extremely shy and wary, most difficult to flush, preferring to effect their escape by running, as they are very swift of foot. Ex- cept during the breeding season they go in small flocks of from five to ten, are exceed- ingly pugnacious in disposition, and fight with head depressed like common fowls, The hen lays from four to ten coffee-colored eggs, and breeds more than once each year. This species has a kind of cackling cry, most often heard when a covey has I ~- ' — - V -jMy • -.-.vM* ^Ox^fe^S JiJ *c- ^' ^ ;l\-^ /b\ T ^ PIG. 96. — Lophortyx calif ornicus, California quail. been broken up and its members are desirous of getting together again. They have a very handsome plumage, but their flesh is considered dry and rather insipid, unless perhaps when the bird is very young. The American partridges are kept distinct from those of the Old World in the sub-family Odontophorinae, chiefly from having a bidentation at the end of the man- dible, although in some of the species this is hardly apparent. The group consists of nine genera with about forty-five species, some of which are very graceful birds with a beautiful plumage. Two genera, Dendrortyx and Odontophorus, contain species of large size, distributed throughout Central and South America. They are forest-loving birds, and go in flocks of six or eight. Some species frequent the ravines of volcanoes in Central 206 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. America, near their tops, in the sunny spots made by fallen trees, and when fright- ened run swiftly, only taking flight when approached quite suddenly. In Brazil, Odontophorus dentatus is said to resemble the hazel-grouse of Europe in its mode of life, never appearing in the open country, but always remaining in the thick woods, and feeds on fruits, berries, insects, etc. In the morning and evening it is accustomed to perch on a branch, several individuals in a line, and the male utters a loud cry which reverberates to a great distance. It nests on the ground and lays from ten to fifteen pure white eggs. When flushed, the birds fly to the trees, where, amid the dense foliage, it is very difficult to perceive them. The flesh is palatable, and the sexes, like all the species of the genus, differ but little in the color of their plumage. Two beautiful species constitute the genus Lophortyx, L. californicus and L. gam- belii. They bear some resemblance to each other, both having black throats, and sides of the head marked with white, blue breasts, and a black crest composed of from five to ten feathers springing from one spot. These are enlarged at the top and curl over forwards. The webs bend backward, and fold over the feather succeeding, and all form one bunch, usually drooping forward, but' freely movable. The hen's crest is shorter, and brownish in hue. The species differ greatly in the coloring of the lower parts. The L,. gambelii has the upper part of the abdomen buff, lower part black, while the TJ. californica has the upper part golden brown, rest chestnut, each feather edged with black. This latter species is found in Washington Territory and Cali- fornia, while the L. gambelii is a native of Arizona, New Mexico, and northern Mexico. The mountain-quail, or plumed-partridge, as the Oreortyx pictus is usually called, is a large and very handsome bird. Its habitat is limited, being exclusively the mountain ranges of California and Oregon. The head is ornamented by two long slender feathers arching towards the occiput, the throat is chestnut, neck and breast dark gray, sides and abdomen deep chestnut ; the feathers of the former edged with white, those of the latter banded alternately with black and white. It utters a faint chirp when alarmed, associates in flocks of fifteen or twenty, lives on seeds and insects, and the flesh is excellent. CaUipepla squamata, the blue-quail of Arizona and Mex- ico, has a soft, full crest of short feathers, and differs from all the group of so-called quails in America by presenting little or no variation in the plumage of the sexes. It is especially a terrestrial bird, rarely taking refuge in trees or bushes unless very hard pressed, but runs over even difficult ground with much swiftness. Like all quail, the hen lays a large number of eggs, and their color in this species is buffy white, thickly dotted with light-brown specks. Eupsychortyx is the last genus containing the plumed or crested-partridges. The species are natives of Mexico, Guatemala and northern South America, and are all provided with short, soft crests, and are very abundant in the localities they frequent. Three very peculiarly appearing species are contained in the genus Cyrtonyx, their heads being striped with black and white after the manner of a clown in the circus. They dwell in Mexico, one species only, C. mas- sena, extending its range north into Arizona. They are stated to be very gentle in their habits, exhibiting but little fear of man, go in small coveys, and live chiefly amid wild, rocky and barren tracts. Ortyx virginianus, our familiar "Bob White," with his relatives, O.floridanus of Florida and O. texanus of Texas, is most widely and generally known. It is the quail of the northern and the partridge of the southern United States, and is widely disseminated over the eastern states and portions of Canada. It is so well known, both GROUSE. 207 as to its appearance and habits, that it will be unnecessary to devote any space to it here. Cuba possesses a species very similar in plumage, O. cubensis, differing mainly in the greater extent of black upon the head and upper part of breast. A beautiful species, 0. nigrogularis^ is a native of Honduras and Yucatan, having a black throat, and a white breast and abdomen, the feathers of these being bordered with black. The remaining species of the genus, three or four in number, are found in Mexico, one only 0. leylandi, being a native of Honduras and Costa Rica. FIG. 97. — Layopus albus, ptarmigan, in summer plumage. The grouse comprise the sub-family Tetraoninre of the Perdicida?, and are distin- guished from the quails and partridges by having the nostrils, legs, and feet more or less completely feathered, by a bare skin over the eye, a pectination on the sides of the toes, and in some species by a bare distensible skin on the side of the neck. They are confined generally to the northern districts of both hemispheres, but are most numerous in North America. They are usually contained in eight genera, with one or two sub-genera, and consist of about twenty-three or twenty-four species. The ptarmigan, comprising the genus Layopus, differ from the typical grouse by having the toes as heavily feathered as are the tarsi, and also, with one exception, by 208 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. changing their summer plumage at the approach of winter, to one of a pure white. They dwell among the snow-clad hills and peaks, are monogamous, both sexes devoting themselves to the care of the young; and but one brood is raised, as a rule, in a season. The eggs are about a dozen in number, varying in color from buff to a bright rufous, thickly spotted and blotched with black. While the hen is incubating, the male re- mains in the vicinity and keeps a bright look-out for enemies of every kind. One species is restricted to the New World, L. leucurus ; three to the Old World, L. sco- ticus, of Great Britain and Ireland, L. hemileucurus, doubtfully distinct from L. rupes- 7 • - ' ' i - \ " FIG. 9B. — Lagopus albus, ptarmigan, in winter plumage. tris, from Spitzbergen, and L. mutus ; while L. albus and L. riipestris are inhabitants of both hemispheres. They go in flocks, are not wild when not much hunted, and their flesh is tolerably good for food. An exception may be made for the Scotch grouse, whose flesh is excellent, but this species, from causes perhaps incident to its insu- lar existence, has lost some of the ptarmigan traits, and adopted others pertaining more to those of the true grouse. Although apparently nearest allied to the L. albus, of which it may be considered an island form, it does not turn white in winter, and is chiefly a bird of the moors, ascending at times, however, to the base of the higher peaks. It varies in the colors of its plumage according to the localities it frequents, those individuals inhabiting rocky ground being usually lightest in hue. GROUSE. 209 Lagopns leucurus, the white-tailed ptarmigan, inhabits the Rocky Mountains from the Arctic Ocean to latitude 37°; L. rupestris is found in Iceland, Greenland and Arctic America, and L. mutus, the common ptarmigan, is met with in the higher portion of the mountains of Scotland and northern Europe, and on the elevated ranges of southern Europe. The genera Pedicecetes and Cupidonia comprise those grouse generally known as sharp-tails, prairie-hens, or prairie-chickens. The first contains one species composed of two geographical races, which, while differing considerably in appearance in indi- viduals most widely separated in 'their habits, blend together when the two styles meet at the border of their respective ranges. The northern form, whose markings are mainly black, has a white throat spotted with black, and is known as P.pliasian- ellus. It ranges in the interior of British America west to Fort Yukon, and south nearly to the United States boundary, where it meets the well-known sharp-tail grouse, or white-breasted prairie-chicken, which inhabits the northwestern portions of the United States, and southwards to Colorado. The Cupidonia cupido, or common prairie-chicken, which at one time inhabited all of the north-eastern part of the United States, is now only found from Illinois westward to the eastern foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains, and south to eastern Texas. A few still linger in certain localities in the eastern states, notably on Martha's Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts. In western Texas a small form, called C. pallidicinctus takes the place of C. cupido. The habits of all these birds are very similar, and too well known to need recapitulation here. They all possess gular sacs (the member of Pedicecetes in a rather restricted degree), and by their inflation and contraction cause the booming tones that resound over the prairies in the early spring. The sacs in the members of the genus Cupidonia are covered by lengthened feathers, which are raised when the bird is excited. From the continued persecution which the species inhabiting the United States are subjected to by hunters and trappers, and the utter disregard shown for the laws passed to protect them at certain seasons, they are yearly becoming scarcer, and the time cannot be far distant when these fine birds will no longer exist within our borders. The sage-cock, or cock-of-the-plains, Centrocercus uropliasianus, is the largest grouse found in America, and nearly rivals in size the European cock-of-the-woods, but it weighs much less, the heaviest male not often exceeding six pounds. The female, as usual, is much smaller. It is dispersed over the western plains, in the almost desert region where the Artemesia or wild sage grows, which plant affords the bird its prin- cipal food, and consequently, from its bitter character, the flesh of this grouse is very unpalatable. The sage-cock is chiefly remarkable for its lengthened tail of twenty narrow, stiff feathers, which terminate in points, and also for the enormous air-sacs of yellow skin, on either side of the neck, bordered by stiffened, scale-like feathers. These sacs in the spring are inflated, and as the air is being exhausted a sound is produced of a deep, hollow tone, like that arising from blowing into a large reed. The upper parts are brown, varied with gray, black, and buff, and the under parts below the breast are black, less noticeable in the female. Differing from other gallinaceous birds, the sage-cock has no gizzard ; the stomach, instead of being hard and muscular, is soft and membranous, as in the birds of prey. The generic term Tetrao was formerly employed for nearly all grouse except the ptarmigan, but even in its restricted sense as used by later writers, some of its members have been again separated either generically or at least sub-generically. Thus the VOL. iv. — 14 210 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. North American blue-grouse have been placed apart under the term Dendragapus, containing the dusky, blue, or pine-grouse, I), obscurus, of the eastern foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains, south into Mexico, and its barely separable ally, Richardson's grouse, I), richardsoni, of the central Rocky Mountains from South Pass north to Hudson Bay Territory, with its jet black, square tail, differing in this point from the rounded black tail, with its terminal gray bar, of D. obscurus. A third variety is D. fuliginosits from Oregon to Sitka. These birds inhabit exclusively the evergreen forests at elevations of about 6,000 feet, but in winter, in the Sierra Nevada, they descend to 2,000 feet. In the spring the males emit a prolonged sound, like the whir of a rattan cane, caused by the inflation and contraction of two sacs, one on each side of the throat, covered by an orange-colored skin, but which are usually concealed, when collapsed, by the feathers. They are large birds, and their flesh is white and delicate. The genus Canace has three species, the spruce-grouse, distributed throughout the eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains, and northward to the Arctic regions ; Franklin's grouse, abundant in the Rocky, Bitter Root, and Cascade Mountains, Washington Territory; and Hartlaub's grouse, C. (Falcipennis) hartlaubi, from Siberia, differing from the others, beside the coloring of its plumage, by having the primaries falcate or sickle-shape. They are forest and swamp-loving birds, very tame and unsuspicious, and their flesh is dark and generally bitter. The black-cock, T. tetrix (sometimes placed in the genus Lyrurus), has a glossy black plumage with blue reflections, and the under tail-coverts pure white. It is abundant in Great Britain and on the continent of Europe, extending eastward as far as China. In the mountains of the Caucasus a second species is found, T. mlokosieiviczi, differing from the black-cock by its black under tail-coverts, and by having the tail bent downward and slightly outward at the tip, the feathers trough-shaped at the ends. The black-cock is accus- tomed, during the breeding season, to come together in large companies, called in Sweden the 'orrlek' or 'lek.' The locality is an open place surrounded by forest trees, where the males appear before dawn and begin to strut not unlike a turkey-cock. When two or more meet during the performance, a desperate conflict ensues, not unfrequently ending in a regular rough-and-tumble fight. Unlike the capercaili, the black-cock, while ' drumming,' is wide-awake to all that is going on about him, except when engaged in battle. After the males have been occupied with their manoeuvres for a short period, frequently uttering their call-notes, the females appear upon the scene, and the pairing takes place. The female, or gray-hen as she is called, deposits her eggs, eight or nine in number, under some bushes or in the heather, and the chicks, Avhen first hatched, are fed on ants' eggs or insects. Unlike the cock-of-the-woods, although the species under consideration frequents the forests, it prefers the moors and plains, and is very shy and difficult of approach. The magnificent capercaili, T. urogallus, with its relative, the Siberian wood- grouse, T. urogalloides, are the chief species of the genus Tetrao, and are the largest of all known grouse. The first named is still met with in Scotland, having been introduced into that country after having become extinct, and is found throughout northern Europe, and in Asia, but is replaced in eastern Siberia by the smaller species, T. urogalloides. All of these birds are denizens of the forests, delighting in the thick pines and firs, upon the leaves of which the capercaili feeds. Space forbids a detailed account of the habits of this noble bird, and will permit of but a brief notice of the manner in which the male is accustomed to call the hens into his presence. The species is polygamous, and the breeding season commences towards the end of March, GROUSE. 211 The locality to which the cock resorts at such times is either on a level rock in some opening of the forest, or on the upper branches of a pine. Here he begins his per- formances by first uttering a note something like pellep repeated once or twice at intervals, and he is then on the watch for any enemy, as is also the case when he sounds his second note Idiskop, resembling a gulp in the throat. But while emitting the third and last sound hede! hede! hede! the head is thrown backwards, the neck waves to and fro, the tail is raised at right angles to the body, the wings quiver, ami the excited bird either pirouettes upon his perch, or slides sideways along the branch. At this moment, it is asserted, he is both deaf and blind, and knows nothing of what is going on about him, of which fact the hunter takes advantage to approach near for a successful shot. This play, or ' spel ' as it is called, is frequently repeated, and the hens, on hearing the call, assemble from all points, and alight near him, often on the same tree. A little before sunrise the performer descends to some open spot, where the hens collect about him, and between the intervals of the ' spel,' which is still con- tinued, he pairs with each member of his harem. Young cocks are not permitted to ' spel ' in the presence of the old males, but are speedily driven away should any ven- ture to approach. The cocks fight with great fierceness during the breeding season, springing high in the air and striking with their wings and claws, and endeavoring to seize each other with their bills, and, when successful in this effort, the weaker is held down to the ground and severely punished. The female scrapes a hole beneath some tree or bush, and lays from five to fifteen eggs, of a yellowish color spotted with light brown, and incubation lasts, it is said, for one month. The young remain with the mother until the next winter. The male capercaili greatly exceeds the female in size and weight, individuals sometimes turning the scale at twelve and thirteen pounds. The upper parts are blackish-brown, each feather mottled with grayish ; the feathers of the throat are elongated and black ; breast black with green reflections ; flanks brownish-gray sprinkled with black ; under tail-coverts black, tipped with white ; the tail black. The female is reddish-brown, barred and blotched with black ; sides of the neck, throat, and breast rich orange, barred with black on the neck ; lower parts pale orange, feathers tipped with white; tail reddish-brown, barred with blackish-brown. The ruffed-grouse, so called from its possessing tufts of numerous wide soft feathers on each side of the neck, which the bird is capable of elevating, with its allies of both hemispheres, is distinguished from all other grouse by having the lower part of the legs bare of feathers, and constitute the genus jBonasa. The American species consist of the B. umbellus and its two sub-species or varieties, which are distributed throughout the northern United States and Vancouver Island. The Rocky Mountain form has been designated B. ^tmbetto^des, and is a small gray bird with rather different markings from the typical style, and a small ruff, while the variety of the west coast, known as _Z?. sabinei, is a large bird of a general dark orange-chestnut color. All the forms delight in woods and dense thickets, are extremely shy, rise with a great whirring noise, fly straight and swiftly. They roost in trees, and, when disturbed, take refuge among the thickest foliage and remain perfectly motionless. The nest is placed upon the ground, composed of leaves and plants, and the eggs, ten or more in number, are yellowish or cream color, spotted with dull red. The male has a singular habit called 'drumming,' which is indulged in at various seasons of the year. He stands upon a trunk of some fallen tree, and, stretching himself into a horizontal posi- tion, beats stiffly downwards with his wings, slowly at first, increasing the strokes until they become so rapid that the wings are invisible. This produces a loud rolling 212 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. sound that may be heard at a great distance, but partakes somewhat of the character of ventriloquism, as it is difficult to locate the position of the performer. In the breeding season this may be executed to attract the females, but as the same perform- O *• ance is also gone through with in the autumn, it cannot always be for this purpose. Some writers state that the wings strike the flanks, others that they strike each other above the back, while others again, that they strike nothing, — the fact being that the movement is so rapid that it defies the closest observer to determine exactly what does take place. //\ , -/x^',' • Jfek FIG. 99. — Bonasa betulina, hazel-grouse. The allies of the ruffed-grouse in Europe and Asia, the B. betulina, has, with two other lately described species, B. sewarzowi, and JB. griseiventris, been separated by some writers into a distinct genus, Tetrastes. The hazel-grouse is riot found in Great Britain, but is distributed generally throughout Europe and Asia from France to northern China. It has also been met with in Japan. This species is not possessed of the ruff, and is smaller than the American bird, neither does it indulge in the habit of drumming. It is monogamous, the males leaving the young to the cai-e of the GUINEA-FOWL. 213 females. The eggs, from eight to fourteen in number, are buff spotted with brown. It is a rather handsome bird, with a black throat, back ashy-gray varied with black, and the under surface of the body white mottled with brown. The female is without the black throat, but has this part fulvous white varied with blackish spots. The great family PHASIANID^E is the most important of the Gallinae, whether we consider the number, variety, and beauty of the species of which it is composed, or their great value as food-producers for the human race. It contains between eighty FIG. 100. — Numlda cristata, crested Guiuea-fowl, aud N. jJiiclicram, helmeted Guinea-fowl. and ninety species, some of which rank with the most gorgeously plumaged creatures to be found in the class of birds. Although many have been the arrangements pro- posed for the members of this family, as to the number both of the sub-families and genera, some writers considering that certain species should constitute separate fami- lies, yet following the latest work devoted to these birds, the Phasianida? may be divided into eight sub-families and about eighteen genera. The sub-family, Numidinae, contains the Guinea-fowls, consisting of those with crests, 214 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. those with bare heads and bony helmets, or those with an occipital feathery patch. There are five or six species of the first division, about four of the second, and one of the last. The first has been separated by some authors under the generic term, Guttera, and are much more graceful birds than those of which the common Guinea-hen, Nwnida meleagris, is the type. They have a jet-black plumage dotted over with small bluish-white or light-green spots; the bare skin of the neck is blue or purplish, some having these parts diversified with bright red. The top of the head is covered with a long, full, black crest, and the primaries are buff. Several species also have the upper part of the breast black, of a more or less extensive area, sometimes tinted with chestnut. The skin of the neck is full, and forms a pleat or fold behind and on the FIG. 101. — Acryllium vulturinum. sides. The helmeted Guinea-fowls have the upper part of the head bare, with a bony crest in the centre, varying in size according to the species, and with wattles of differ- ent shape and colors pendant from the angles of the mouth. These birds also have a general black plumage covered with white spots, JV. meleagris also having the upper part of the breast and back brown with a lilac lustre. Two species, N. mitrata and Acryllium vulturinum, are found in Madagascar ; the one last-named, and all the other members of the sub-family, are found in various portions of the African continent. They go in large flocks, are very noisy, extremely swift of foot, wild and wary. The A. vulturinum is a peculiar as well as a very beautiful bird, with the lower part of the neck, and upper portion of the back and breast covered with very long lanceolate JUNGLE-FOWL. 215 feathers, having white centres, succeeded by a line of black and fringed with blue the black portion minutely dotted with white. The mantle is black, spotted wit h white; the centre of breast beautiful light blue; Hanks rich purple, spotted with white, the spots encircled with black; tail like the mantle, the central rectrices Ion"- C3 and pointed ; the head and neck naked, with the exception of a patch of short chc-st- nut feathers on the occiput. Two curious west African birds, Agelastes meleagrides, and Phasidus niger, com- pose the sub-family Agelastinre. They seem to be a kind of link between the jungle- fowl, Gallus, and the Guinea-hens, having bare heads and necks, and the tarsi armed with spurs. Not very much is known about them, very few specimens having been obtained. The first has a flesh-colored head and neck, all the upper part of bre:ist and back pure white, and the rest of plumage black vermiculated with white. The P. niger is black, the feathers obscurely mottled with brown. Head and neck flesh- color, and a line of black feathers, very short, from the base of the bill to the occiput. This last was discovered by Du Chaillu near Cape Lopez. He states that the species is not gregarious, a male and one or two females at most being found together, and is extremely wild and wary. The jungle-fowl compose the sub-family Gallinas. There are four well-established species, and a possibly doubtful fifth, Gallus stramineicollis, from Sulu. From these gallant game-birds spring all the different species of the common fowl. Two species are island forms, G. varius from Java, Lombok, Sumbawa, and Flores, and G. lafay- etti from Ceylon. The first is remarkable for having the neck hackles square at the tips, and but a single median wattle, in place of one on each side of the face, as is usual with other jungle-fowls. This wattle, and the comb, which is not serrated, are of brilliant hues, the last being green along the head, succeeded by a narrow yellow line, then reddish shading off into dark purple, while the wattle has two thirds of the upper parts deep rose, then yellow, and the bottom deep green. The sides of the head are flesh-color, and the throat yellow, both bare of feathers. The Ceylon bird has also a curiously colored comb, which is serrated on the upper edge, of a bright red with a central yellow patch that graduates into the surrounding color. The other species are G. sonnerati, of southern India; and G.ferrugineus, of north India, Assam, Burmah, and the Malay countries ; also doubtfully from Turkestan and the islands of Sumatra, Lombok, and Timor; probably imported into the last two named. As their trivial name implies, these birds are native of jungle tracts and deep forests, though they will come out into the open cultivated ground near their retreats to glean among the stubble. In such places, when approached, they take wing readily, flying steadily with rapid beats and alternate sailings, alighting at the edge of the covert, and run swiftly into some place of concealment. The cocks crow and the hens cackle the same as barn-yard fowls, but in somewhat sharper tones. The cocks usually carry the tail drooping, erecting it only when challenging a rival or paying court to the hens. The males fight desperately among themselves, and death often follows the stroke of the terrible spur. In their wild state these birds are said to be monogamous, although some observers doubt if this is always the case. The above remarks apply more particularly to the G. ferrucjineus. Sonnei'at's jungle-fowl is not gregarious, but goes only in small coveys or singly or in pairs. They like the thin bamboo jungle and evergreen forests, and only congregate in numbers where food is exceptionally plenty. This species retains its wildness in captivity and cannot easily be induced to breed. The flesh is not very good, being dry and hard, and the species is considered 216 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. by sportsmen hardly worth shooting. Although armed with very powerful spurs, they are said by some observers to be not quarrelsome, and several males and females will live very quietly together. All these species are omnivorous, eating grain, grass, leaves, seeds, fruits, insects, etc. The end of the hackles of G. sonnerati are very peculiar, being formed of a singularly brittle substance like a fine shaving in texture. The sub-family Phasianina? contains five genera, Ithaginis, Euplocamus, Lobio-- phasis, Thaumalea, and Phasiarms, comprising over forty species, some of which are the most beautiful of the Phasianidoe. The members of the genus first mentioned, known as the blood-pheasants, are by some classed with the partridges, but it would seem that they should more properly be placed with the birds of this family. They are alpine species, the I. cruentis, inhabiting the Himmalehs at a height of ten thou- sand to fourteen thousand feet. The tarsi are armed with numerous spurs, as many as five on one leg and four on the other having been observed on the males. Three species are known, the one mentioned, which is found in Nepal and Sikkim, the I. geof- froyi, from Moupin in north China and Thibet, and the I. sinensls from Chensi. Very little is known of the habits of the two last, but the longer-known species has been met with in its native wilds by several competent naturalists. The I. cruentis goes in flocks of twenty or thirty individuals, always in the immediate vicinity of the snow, but near the forests. In winter it burrows under the snow for protection against storm and the severity of the temperature at the great elevations at which it lives. Its principal food consists of the tops of the pine and juniper, berries and moss. Its flesh has a strong flavor, and is not very tender. The flight is of very short duration, and it quickly runs to shelter. Euplocamus contains numerous species, some fourteen or more, and has by differ- ent writers been divided into several sub-genera, but these have not been generally adopted. The species may be classed in three divisions, — the firebacks, the silver and the kalij pheasants. The first of these is represented by six or eight species ; the second by about four, and the third by three or four. The firebacks are of two styles, those with short, square, hen-like tails observed in both sexes, and those with broad, rather lengthened tails. They are birds of very rich plumage, the lower portion of the back being bright, fiery, metallic red, the face is covered with bare skin extending above the eyes, in some species almost like horns, deep blue or bright red in color, and certain ones also are adorned with full upright crests. They are natives of Siam, the Malay peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, and Formosa, The species of the last-named island, E. swinhoi, niay not strictly be included among the true firebacks, as it has none of the fiery color on the back, this part being black, the feathers margined with brilliant blue, but the entire scapulars are a deep chestnut red. The rufous-tailed firebacks are the smallest species of the group, have no crests, and the females are also armed with sharp spurs. But little is known of the habits of these splendid birds, save that they frequent thick forests, go in small bands of five or six individuals, feed on berries, leaves, insects, and various grubs, are difficult to flush, but when on the wing fly rapidly and for a considerable distance, and are very pugnacious. Nothing is known of the nidification, but an egg obtained from a captured female of E. vieilloti, was large, smooth, and of a pale cafe au lait color. The Siamese fireback, E. proelatus, is a particularly graceful and beautiful bird. It has a long blue upright crest, the shafts bare of webs at the base ; neck, breast, and back bluish-ash color, mottled with black ; middle of back golden ; rump and upper tail-coverts black, with blue and green reflections ; the feathers margined with deep velvety crimson. The flanks and under PHEASANTS. 217 parts are black, glossed with deep blue ; the tail and. long coverts black, with blue and green reflections. The bare skin of the face is crimson ; the legs and feet red. The silver-pheasants, of which the well-known E. nycthemerus of China is typical, are large birds with the entire upper parts and tail white, and all the feathers are more or less minutely mottled with black. The Chinese species exhibits more white than any of the others, and the two central tail-feathers are nearly pure white, the breast and under parts bluish black. Besides China, these birds are natives of Biirmah and 102. — Euplocamus nycthemerus, silver-pheasant. various parts of India. They are forest-loving birds, ascending as high as three thousand to four thousand feet upon the mountains, apparently omnivorous, feed- ing upon insects, grain, seeds, etc., not gregarious, and when disturbed litter a peculiar clicking sound. They are pugnacious, and the males are continually fighting. The E. lincatus breeds in March, the hen laying seven or eight pale-yellowish eggs, minutely pitted all over, in a slight hollow in the ground, thinly lined with leaves and a few feathers. The third division contains the kalij or kaleege pheasants, as the term is vari- ously spelled. They inhabit parts of India, Nepal, Bhotan, Sikkim, Assam, Arakan, et c., are four species — possibly more — in number, with long pendant crests, upper parts of a generally glossy black plumage in some species, with the rump feathers margined with white ; breast and flanks covered with buffy-white lanceolate feathers. One species, E. horsfieldi, has the under parts bluish-black, like the back. The tails are generally of a bluish-black color. These birds range from the foot of the hills to eight thousand 218 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. feet of elevation, are not gregarious in the sense of going in flocks, but three or four are often found together. The males are extremely pugnacious, and Wilson states that, having shot one, and while it was fluttering on the ground in its death-throes, another male rushed out of the jungle and attacked it with the greatest fury. Like many of this genus, the male kaleege makes a singular drumming sound with its wings, either for the purpose of attracting the females, or in defiance of its rivals, and a favorite method of capturing these birds is to fasten a live male in some open place, and imitate the drumming sound, when other males rush out to fight him, and are easily shot or caught in the snares set for the purpose. The general habits and • FIG. 103.— Euplocamns melanotus. nidification of the kaleege pheasant are very similar to the silver pheasants and others of the same genus. The genus Lobiophasis contains but one known species, L. bulweri (the bird de- scribed afterwards as L. castanei-cauclatus, being in immature plumage), and was created for the elegant pheasant obtained by Mr. Ussher on the Lawas River in Borneo. This bird in many particulars is peculiar, if not, indeed, unique. There are two erect horns of nude skin behind the ears, and two smaller ones at the base of the nostrils, while two lobes hang from the angle of the bill. The plumage is metallic of various hues, and the tail is pure white, the feathers, thirty in number, are rather stiff, and the shafts bare of webs towards their extremities. The tarsi are spurred. The female is brownish chestnut, all the feathers finely vermiculated with dark brown. The tail is PHEASANTS. 219 moderately long, and possesses the unusual number of twenty-eight rectrices. The bare skin of the face is bright blue, with one small wattle at the occiput, and one at the chin. The tarsi bear indications of spurs. The golden pheasant, noted for its brilliant colors and magnificent ruff, is the type of the genus Thaumalea. Three species are known, T. picta, T. obscura, and T. amherstia. They are all Asiatic so far as known, being natives of Thibet and China. It is difficult to conceive more gorgeously attired creatures than these birds, and it is FIG. 104. — Thaumalea amherstia, Lady Amherst pheasant. not easy to decide which should bear the palm for beauty, the golden, with its amber- colored crest, green metallic mantle, orange-red ruff tipped with deep blue, scarlet under-parts, golden yellow rump, and lengthened tail, or the Lady Amherst, with its crimson, white-tipped crest, pure white ruff margined with deep green, golden yellow rump margined with dark green, metallic green breast, and pure Avhite under-parts, and the greatly lengthened tail with the median feathers light gray with bars of green and black mottlings. Not much has been recorded of the habits of these pheasants, 220 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. in spite of the fact that the T. pi 'eta has been so long known, and of their nidification nothing has been related. They dwell in thick woods on the mountains of moderate elevation, and are hardy birds, the Lady Amhcrst pheasant being indifferent to both cold and snow, and is omnivorous, like the domestic fowl. It is an extremely jealous species, and will not permit the golden pheasant, its only rival, to approach the bounds of its habitation. The two species are not met with either in the same valleys or on the same mountains. The T. obscura resembles the T. picta, but is a darker bird in all stages of its existence, and is stated to inhabit Japan, although it cannot be said that this country has undoubtedly been established as its habitat. The genus Phasianus includes the typical pheasants, some sixteen in number. It has been divided into several genera, which have been adopted by some writers either wholly or in part, while other authors prefer to consider them as sub-generic distinctions. Thus Calophasis was proposed for C. ellioti, Graphophaslanus foi P. scem- meringii, Syrmaticus for P. reevesii, and Catreus for P. wallickii. The first of these, C. ellioti, is a most lovely bird. It is a native of the mountains near Ningpo, prov- ince of Che-Kiang, China, and has the sides and back of neck bluish-gray, graduating into white ; chin and throat black ; back and breast metallic golden ; lower breast and abdomen pure white, flanks irregularly barred with black, white, and chestnut ; under tail-coverts deep chestnut and black ; upper scapulars black margined with white, forming a bar on the shoulder; lesser wing-coverts maroon chestnut, reflecting a fiery metallic tint, greater coverts deep chestnut with a black bar followed by a broad white tip, making a white band across the wing; lower back and rump steel- black barred with white, upper tail-coverts gray mottled with black ; tail long and barred alternately with stone-gray and chestnut, the latter narrowly bordered basally with black ; legs bluish-gray, armed with well-developed spurs ; skin of face scarlet. The hen is very like a grouse in her coloring; with a black throat, this hue extending onto the breast, under-parts white ; side of head reddish cream-color; upper parts yellowish and reddish brown, barred and mottled with black. An ally to this brilliant bird was discovered by Mr. Hume in Munipur. It has some of the markings of C. ellioti, but differs in the throat and upper breast, which is metallic blue-black, and in the under-parts, which are maroon chestnut with metallic crimson fringes to the feathers. The female has the neck, throat, and breast a dull pale sienna-brown, abdo- men dingy pale ochraceous, upper parts and tail similar to the hen of the other species. It is not so handsome a bird as the C. ellioti, but nevertheless is remarkable for its peculiar coloration. They dwell in the dense forests and are very shy and difficult to shoot, but not much is known of their economy and habits. Japan produces a beauti- tiful species, the P. soemmeringii, and a variety of it called P. scintillans, a most attractive species with a very long tail and a plumage generally of a metallic copper. Very little is known about these birds in their wild state, but in captivity they are pugnacious, the male frequently killing the female when confined in the same enclo- sure. Another gorgeous pheasant is the P. reevesii from northern China. This has a general golden yellow plumage, each feather barred with black ; flanks white, the chestnut margin separated from the white by a black bar, the abdomen black. The tail is ex- cessively long, the central feathers sometimes reaching five and six feet in length. They are grayish-white, margined with deep buff, and barred with black and chestnut. These feathers are sometimes worn by the mandarins in their hats. Reeves' pheasant is a large bird, and its flesh is white and very delicate. It is numerous in the Tung- ling or eastern burial-places of the Chinese emperors, situated northeast of Pekin, and PHEASANTS. 221 FIG. 105. — I'hasianus reevcsii, Beeves' pheasant. in other parts of northern China. The cheer or Wallich's pheasant, P. (catreus) i) is a native of the western Him- malehs to the borders of Nepal. It is a large bird, weighing from two pounds ten ounces to three pounds seven ounces. It has a lengthened dark-brown crest, upper parts yellowish-brown bound with black, a rufous rump, ashy breast, and rufous flanks barred with black. The tail is long and broad. The cheer is a local species, dwell- ing at from four thousand to eight thousand feet of elevation, and haunting grassy hills covered with oak and pine. During the day the birds remain hidden, coming out to feed at morning and evening. They run fast and lie close, and are difficult to flush. Both sexes crow, and may be heard, when engaged in this amusement, for a great dis- tance. This pheasant feeds on roots, grubs, seeds, berries, etc., and roosts on the ground, all the members of a flock, numbering from six to a dozen individuals, huddled close together. It nests from April to Juno, the 222 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. eggs are small, of a pale stone color, with brownish specks towards the ends. A small group of green-breasted pheasants may be here noticed, consisting of three species ; P. versicolor from Japan, P. elegans from Sze-chuen, China, and P. decollatus from Sze- ehuen and Moupin. They are all species of beautiful plumage, the green hues with metallic reflections covering the entire under-parts of P. versicolor, confined to a broad band from throat to vent in the second named, the flanks being a rich chestnut ; while the third, P. decollatus, has the green color restricted to the region of the abdomen, with the flanks golden yellow. In habits, so far as known, they resemble other mem- bers of this genus. The white-winged pheasants, of which the superb P. itisignis and its hardly less beautiful relative, P. mongolicns, may be considered as typical, form another small group, distinguished by the presence of a more or less broad white ring around the lower part of the neck, beneath the rich metallic hues of the head and neck. They are natives of various parts of Asia, China, and the island of Formosa. They are met with in flocks of considerable size in the localities they frequent, and are one of the chief attractions for the table to the people inhabiting the countries in which they dwell. The remaining species of the genus P has i anus are those without rings around the neck, the metallic hues of blue or green coming to the breast. This group embraces the well-known P. colchicus, or common English pheasant so-called, and the superb P. shawi from eastern Turkestan. The English pheasant was naturalized in Great Britain before the Norman Conquest, the earliest record being in the year 1059, when it was mentioned in a bill of fare now preserved in the British Museum. It was probably introduced by the Roman conquerors, who also brought the fallow-deer to Britain. Like all of this genus, these pheasants are lovers of thickets and forests, shy, and, when hard pressed, taking refuge in trees. They have a kind of one-syllable crow, by which, in the spring, the male summons the female into his presence. They are omnivorous, and the male does not trouble himself with nest-building or the care of the young. The sub-family Meleagrinre comprises the turkeys. Some writers place these with tl;e Guinea fowls in a separate family, MELEAGpac.E, but it seems that they should more properly be included as a sub-family of the Phasianidre, to the species of which they are allied by various characteristics. But three species are known, the North American bird, M. yallopava, the Mexican JI. mexicana, and the Central American M. ocellata. The habits of the common species are so well known that it is unnecessary to devote any space to them here. The Central American species is a bird of wonder- ful plumage, excelling the others — brilliantly metallic as theirs may be --by the extraordinary variety and splendid hue of its scintillating coloring. The bare head and neck is deep blue, covered with bright red warts ; the wattle between the eyes is also deep blue ending in yellow ; the upper part of the back feathers metallic green, succeeded by a line of black, and terminating with yellow; back and rump feathers blue, followed by black and tipped with red ; greater wing-coverts deep red ; flanks and lower parts black tipped with brilliant red ; upper tail-coverts and tail-feathers light brown mottled with black, followed by a broad spot of deep blue margined on both sides with black, then a line of yellow and tipped Avith deep red; bill, legs, and feet red. All these bright colors are metallic, and as brilliant as those of the humming-bird. This species goes in small flocks, is never found in the dense forests, preferring dis- tricts where forests and open country prevail. The birds roost in trees, and the male struts in the same manner as the common species, and in other of its habits greatly resembles the M. gallopavo. PHEASANTS. 223 The sub-family LOPHOPHORIN^E contains three genera, -Pucrasia, Ceriornis, and JLophophorus. The species are inhabitants of India and Asia, and number about a dozen in all. The pucras or koklass pheasants, by which trivial name the members of P'ucrasia are known, are found in India and China. They are chiefly remarkable for their long crests, the central one springing from the top of the head, and the narrow occipital ones, on either side, and, at times, these are elevated above the other. They have a general brown and gray plumage, marked in various ways with black, dark brown, chestnut, and white, with the breast and lower parts more or less covered with FIG. 106.— Meleagris ocellata, Central American turkey. * deep chestnut. They have broad cuneate tails, in one species at least (P. danoini} elegantly marked and striped in gray, black, and chestnut. The habits of P. macro- lopha have been thoroughly described by Indian naturalists, and those of the other species, so far as known, closely resemble them. It is a forest bird, ranging from 4,000 feet to the extreme limits of forest on the Himmalehs, is of rather a solitary disposi- tion, generally found singly or in pairs, except when the members of a brood are together. When the cover is slight, it flushes at once or runs quickly, but otherwise lies close. The flight is extremely rapid, and the bird shoots down a declivity like 224 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. lightning. The males crow at daybreak, or at any sudden noise, like thunder or the report of a gun. The species feeds on leaves, buds, roots, grubs, acorns, seeds, ber- ries, moss, or flowers, and grain, and roosts in trees or on low bushes. It nests at elevations of from 6,000 to 9,000 feet, the breeding-time lasting from April to the middle of June. The nest is a slight depression in the ground, and the eggs, seven to nine in number, are a rich pale buff spotted with deep brownish red. The species is believed to be monogamous. The tragopans — by which name the members of the genus Ceriornis are known — are five in number, and are found in India and China. They are birds of extreme beauty of plumage, presenting hues of the most brilliant reds, browns, buffs, and lustrous FIG. 107. — Ceriornis satyra, crimson tragopau. blacks. The backs and breasts are usually covered with round white spots, like those seen in the Guinea fowl, or else with buff spots of various sizes surrounded with black. A fleshy horn, capable of being erected, and of various colors according to the species, exists on either side of the head ; and on the lower part of the throat is an extensible wattle of brilliant colors, in some species deep blue barred with bright red, or yellow and shining green. When excited the males extend these gular aprons over the breast, producing for a moment a most beautiful effect. The best known of these birds are the Indian crimson tragopan, C. satyra, or the black-headed tragopan, C. melanocephala. They are dwellers of the higher ranges, and are found in summer at heights varying from 8,000 to 11,000 feet, are essentially forest birds, very difficult PHEASANTS. 225 to perceive in the thickets, in spite of their rich plumage, and, when disturbed, run swiftly to another cover. When roused by dogs, they fly into trees and call vocifer- ously, but on man's approach they take flight, and do not alight again until a long distance has been traversed. In early spring — April — the males begin to call, inviting the females to some chosen spot. The nest is roughly formed of grass, small sticks and feathers, and the eggs are large and vary from a pale cafe au lait color, to a dull reddish-buff minutely speckled with a darker shade. One of the most characteristic points of these birds is the modes of ' showing off ' adopted by the male. After walking about in an excited manner he places himself before the female, with the body crouching, and the tail bent down; the head is then jei-ked downward, and the horns and wattle become conspicuous. The wings have a napping movement, and the neck appears to swell and the horns vibrate. Suddenly the bird draws himself to his full height, the wings are expanded and quivering, the horns are erected, and the wattles fully displayed. At other times he simply erects his feathers and elevates one shoulder, presenting a greater surface to view, but does not exhibit the wattles, and a third method is to stand on a perch, and, by shaking the head, exhibiting for a moment the horns and wattle. The other known species of Ceriornis are C. blythii from upper Assam, C. caboti of southwestern China, and C. temminckii of central China. A very curious bird was procured by Abbe David in Moupin, Thibet, and consti- tutes the sole known species of the genius Tetraop/iasis, and is called T. obscurus. Possessing the powerful bill of the members of Lophophorus, it has none of the bril- liant colors of those birds, but is clothed in a plumage more like that of the snow- partridges (Tetraogallus}, and would seem to be a connecting link with those species and the Phasianidre. The sexes ai-e alike, their dress being a combination of dark brown and gray, with a yellowish-white abdomen. It is rather a large bird of about twenty inches in length, and is common in the mountain ranges of eastern Kakonoor, goes in small flocks in the depths of the forests, and feeds upon roots which it digs up with its powerful bill. The gorgeously plumaged species of the genus Lophophorus are three or four in num- ber, L. sdateri, L. VJiwysii, and L. impeyanus. It is difficult by means of a written de- scription to give any idea of the magnificent appearance of these brilliant birds to any one who has not seen them. Their metallic hues of fiery red, green, purple, and gold vie in beauty and in their iridescent quality with the brightest of those seen among the humming-birds, and if one could imagine one of these small flying gems increased to the size of a fowl, something of the appearance of these monals might be conveyed to the mind. Sclater's monal from Assam, and L'huysii's from Thibet, are very little known, save that they inhabit the the high ranges of mountains. The latter species, at about 14,000 feet of elevation, goes in small flocks and feeds on roots. The im- peyan pheasant, which ranges throughout the Himmalehs, is well known, and its econ- omy and habits are thoroughly familiar through the observations of many competent naturalists. In summer they ascend to great elevations, having been met with at a height of 16,000 feet, but in winter, when the snows are heavy, they descend some- times as low as 4,500 feet, the females generally coming farther down than the old males. Occasionally they are found in considerable numbers scattered through the forest, the sexes generally by themselves, and if they pair, which is doubtful, the males leave the females and pay no attention to her while sitting, nor to the young when hatched. The call is a plaintive whistle, sometimes heard at all hours of the day. As a rule they are not wild save when much hunted, or in the spring, and when VOL. iv. — 15 226 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. in the forest will at once take wing, but in the open field usually walk or run to cover. They utter, when flushed, a succession of shrill whistles, and, on alighting, commence their plaintive call. They alight often in trees, and remain motionless, sometimes permitting a sufficiently near approach to be killed with a shot-gun. They feed on grubs or maggots, which they find under leaves, etc., and pass a great part of their time dio- of the ethmoid are less swollen between the crura of the nasal. In Pterodes the bones of the face are strong like a pigeon's; the lower jaw bends farther back; the postorbital and squamosal processes and the malar arch are also stronger. The scapula is grouse-like, and there is one more caudal vertebra than in Syrrhaptes^ and the styliform and sacral rilis have no appendage, but both genera have a rudiment attached to the last hannapo- physis. The sternum of Pterodes has the episternum and hyosternal processes as in Syrrhaptes ; but the external hyposternal processes are shorter. The species of sand- grouse are inhabitants of Asia, India, and Africa, especially of the last continent, where twelve of the sixteen or eighteen recognized species are found. J'tcrocles comprises the great majority of known forms, Syrrhaptes having only two species. 236 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. They have a very beautiful plumage, the back generally mottled Avith brown, black, yellow, white, or rufous ; the breast sometimes barred with black, white, red, or rich buff, and the lower parts deep buff, chestnut, black, or barred with black and white. Syrrhaptes differs in the feathered tarsi and toes, as already mentioned, in the extremely lengthened pointed wings, the first primaries of one species, S. paradoxus, being attenuated, and the median rectrices of both species are lengthened and filamentous. They are both Asiatic birds, but in 1863 great numbers of S. paradoxus suddenly, from some cause never explained, invaded Europe and proceeded as far as Ireland in the west, the Faroes in the north, and Perpignan in France on the south. In and about Pekin and Tientsin they go in flocks of many hundred individuals, flying swiftly "1 V...-, FIG. 112. — Pterocles alchata, sand-grouse. like plover, and, although shy when on the ground, yet on the wing will pass within a few yards of an observer. When flying, the species utters a note resembling " truck turticJe" and, like all of the family, are accustomed to visit certain drinking-places every morn- ing and evening. They feed chiefly on seeds, and deposit their eggs in the sand. The female does not sit very closely, and leaves her eggs exposed to the weather when she goes to drink, for these birds cannot exist long without water. The other species, S. thibetamim, resembles its relative in its habits, is a native of Thibet, as its name implies, and, when flying, utters a cry like " caga caga." The species of Pterocles resembles also very much, in their economy and habits, those of the species of the genus Syrrhaptes^ frequenting sandy tracts, sometimes in PIGEONS. 237 bush or tree-jungle, and in Africa, the great desert of Sahara or other similar regions. Some exhibit considerable pugnacity, the males continually skirmishing amon<>- them- selves. The flesh is not very much esteemed, being generally dry and of little or no flavor. When approaching their drinking-places, they are very cautious, and circle about the water several times before alighting, and remain only a few moments. On such occasion, they sometimes congregate in many thousands, but disperse, after allay- ing their thirst, to seek for food. The eggs are usually cream-color, spotted with brownish, and three to ten in number. The young run from the period they emerge from the shell. ORDER XIV. — COLUMB7E. The well-known birds, pigeons and doves, which constitute this order have such a char- acteristic physiognomy that any one, whether a naturalist or not, can at once accord them their proper designation. They are possessed of a moderate size, straight or slightly curved bill, the basal portion covered with a soft, fleshy membrane (this being frequently tumid or bulged into a prominence) in which the nostrils are situated. The apical portion varies much in shape among the different species, being slender or stout, slightly or greatly curved. The gape is wide. The wings are long and pointed in most species, only the ground-pigeons having short or rounded wings, and some have the first primary falcate or sickle-shaped ; others again have this feather notched, as in the Falconidae. The tail is even, rounded, or wedge-shaped, usually long, and contains from twelve to twenty feathers. The coloring of these rectrices is frequently of striking contrasts, and they contribute greatly to the beauty of outline and general appearance of the birds. The eyes are large, set well back from the bill, and often of bright colors. The tarsi are short and stout, feathered in a few species, bare in the rest, and covered in front with small scales. The feet are rather laree, the toes O ' divided to the base, except in some arboreal species which have the outer toe slightly joined to the middle one ; the soles are rather broad and flat. Pigeons also possess certain peculiarities in their internal anatomy to separate them from other orders, such as the narrow sternum, Avith two notches on each side, the outer one deep, the inner often reduced to a foramen, and they have a deep keel for the attachment of the large pectoral muscles. The furculum is flat and Avithout appendages ; the gizzard very muscular ; intestines long and slender, with minute casca. The crop is large and double, becomes glandular in the breeding season, secreting a milky fluid which moistens the food upon which the young are nourished. There is in some species no gall-bladder, but others possess it. The feathers, unlike those of the members of Rasores, do not possess the supplementary plume. Pigeons are monogamous, both sexes occupying themselves with nest-building, incubation, and rearing the young. The nests are loosely constructed, and never more than two eggs are laid, always pure white in hue. The young are born naked, blind and helpless, and are assiduously cared for by their parents, who feed them with the moistened food from their crops. Pigeons eat fruit, seeds, and grain ; and drink by a continuous draught, immersing the bill to the nostrils in the water. In this habit ~ t ~ they differ from all other known birds. The lower larynx is furnished with two pairs of muscles, and the voice is soft and plaintive, either a kind of coo or a rolling whistle. The birds of this order are found all over the world, most numerous in the eastern hemisphere, especially in the islands of the archipelagoes and in Australia. About 238 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. three hundred species are recognized, divided by some writers into many genera, all having agreeably colored plumage, and many are clothed in feathers of most brilliant and opposite hues, varied in numerous instances with bright metallic coloration. The general form of the pigeon is rounded and heavy for the size of the birds, the flesh plump and tender, affording excellent food for man. The order Columbae may properly be divided into rive families, --Carpophagidae, Columbidae, Gouridae, Didun- culidaj, and Didiidae. The last differs in so many respects, however, that it might with some propriety be advanced to a sub-order. The Didiidae is first to be consid- ered in reversing the arrangement given above, as in an ascending scale they occupy the lowest rank. There are two authenticated species of the family DIDIID^E, representing, however, very distinct genera, viz., the familiar dodo, Didus ineptus, of the islands of Rodriguez, Bourbon, and Mauritius ; and the solitaire, Pezophaps soli- taria, also of Rodriguez and Mauritius. Both of these curious and gigantic birds are now extinct. A second species of, dodo was described as D. mazarenus, from a met- atarsal bone, but it is now considered, at least by some naturalists, doubtful if this remnant, although much lar- ger than similar bones of D. ineptus, really does repre- sent a distinct species. The dodo was a huge ungainly bird, incapable of flight, and weigh ing between forty and O O v fifty pounds. It was quite abundant in Mauritius in the commencement of the 17th century, and great numbers were killed by sailors for food. The testimony given as to the quality of its flesh varies somewhat, but the ver- dict would appear to be that it was not very palatable. A live bird was in London in 1638, and its portrait was taken by several artists, the pictures being preserved to-day in different museums in England and on the continent. In 1644 the Dutch introduced dogs and hogs into the island, and these, by destroying the young of the dodo, prob- ably contributed greatly towards its extermination, and in 1693 or thereabout these curious birds became extinct. But few remains of the dodo are preserved, only one or two nearly perfect skeletons and a number of different bones, the majority of which were discovered in a small swamp in the island of Mauritius, called la Mare aux Songes. From a careful study and comparison of these remains it is proved that this FIG. 113. — Dldus ineptus, dodo. SOLITAIRE. 239 species was most nearly allied to the pigeons of all known birds. Its general appear- ance is described by several of the early voyagers in their quaint manner, and Bontius writes of it as follows : " The Dronte or Dodaers is for bigness of mean size between an ostrich and a turkey, from which it partly differs in shape and partly agrees with them, especially with the African Ostriches if you consider the rump quills and feathers ; so that it was like a pigmy among them if you regard the shortness of its legs. It hath a great ill-favoured head, covered with a kind of membrane resembling a hood; great black eyes; a bending prominent fat neck, an extraordinary long, strong, bluish-white bill, only the ends of each mandible are of a different colour, that, of the upper black, that of the nether yellowish, both sharp-pointed and crooked. Its gape, huge wide, as being naturally very voracious. Its body is fat and round, cov- ered with soft gray feathers after the manner of an ostrich ; in each side, instead of hard wing-feathers or quills, it is furnished with small soft-feathered wings of a yellowish-ash colour; and behind the rump instead of a tail, is adorned with five small curled feathers of the same colour. It hath yellow legs, thick, but very short ; four toes in each foot ; solid, long, as it were scaly, armed with strong black claws. It is a slow-paced and stupid bird, and which easily becomes a prey to the fowlers. The flesh, especially of the breast, is fat, esculent, and so copious that three or four dodos will sometimes suffice to fill one hundred seamen's bellies. If they be old, or not well boiled, they are of difficult concoction, and are salted and stored up for provision of victual. There are found in their stomachs stones of an ash colour, of divers figures and magnitudes, yet not bred there, as the common people and seamen fancy, but swallowed by the bird ; as though by this mark also nature would manifest that these fowls are of the ostrich kind, in that they swallow any hard things though they do not digest them." The dodo laid but one large egg and the nest was only a heap of fallen leaves loosely gathered together. Sir T. Herbert, who saw this bird in 1625, was not in any way favorably impressed with it, as he says, " her body is round and fat, which occa- sions the slow pace, or that her corpulence, and so great as few of them weigh less than fifty pounds ; meat it is with some, but better to the eye than stomach, such as only a strong appetite can vanish." The 'solitaire' or 'solitary,' Pezophaps solitaria, was also of large size, somewhat taller than a turkey, and said to weigh forty-five pounds. Leguat, in his voyage to the East Indies, published in 1708, gives the following description of the bird. "The feathers of the male are of a brown-gray colour; the feet and beak are like a Turkey's, but a little more crooked. They have scarce any tail, but their hind part covered with feathers is roundish. Their neck is straight and a little longer in proportion than a Turkey's when it lifts up its head. Its eye is black and lively, and its head without comb or cop. They never fly, their wings are too little to support the weight of their bodies ; they serve only to beat themselves, and flutter when they call one another. They will whirl about twenty or thirty times together on the same side dur- ing the space of four or five minutes. The motion of their wings makes then a noise very like that of a rattle, and one may hear it two hundred paces off. The bone of the wing grows greater towards the extremity, and forms a little round mass under the feathers as big as a musket ball. That and its beak are the chief defence of the ~ bird. It is very hard to catch it in the woods, but easier in open places, because we run faster than they and sometimes we approach them without much trouble. From March to September they are extremely fat and taste admirably well, especially while 240 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. they are young. The female has a sort of peak, like a widow's, upon the breast (lego beaks), which is of a dun color. No one feather is straggling from the other all over their bodies, they being very careful to adjust themselves and make them all even with their beaks. The feathers on their thighs are round like shells at the end, and being there very thick have an agreeable effect." Another writer states that there is also a frontal band resembling black velvet. It laid one egg once a year, and lived on seeds and leaves of trees. Its flesh was good. In 18G5 Mr. George Jenner procured a large number of bones of this species, eighty-one in all, in the caves on the island of Mauritius. They were apparently the remains of no less than sixteen or seventeen FIG. 114. — Didunculus strigirostris, tooth-billed pigeon. individuals and, from the disparity in size, Avere supposed to represent opposite sexes. They all appeared to belong to birds that had been eaten by men or quadrupeds. The family DIDUNCULID^E possesses but one species, the curious bird known as Didunculus strigirostris, or tooth-billed pigeon. It is a native of the Samoan or Nav- igator's Islands, where alone it is found, and is known to the inhabitants as rnanu-mea, or red-bird, from the chief color of its plumage, which is chocolate-red. It feeds on plantains and the fruit of a species of Dioscorea or yam, and is very shy and timid. It is a ground-dweller, roosting on stumps and bushes, and building its nests in such situations. Both sexes assist in the duty of incubation, and are so intent in this occupation that they suffer themselves at times to be captured by hand from the nest. The Didunculus is possessed of considerable power of wing, and flies through the air with a loud noise, which, as stated by one observer, is so great, when the bird rises, PIGEONS. 241 that at a distance it might be mistaken for distant thunder. This species was sup- posed to be rapidly becoming extinct, as its terrestrial habits made it an easy prey to predatory animals, such as cats and rats introduced into the islands from European vessels ; but late accounts state that it has changed its habits, feeding and roosting exclusively upon high trees, and is increasing in numbers. It is in this way, through the struggle for existence, that habits which have been transmitted from parent to offspring through unknown series of generations, are suddenly abandoned, and entirely FIG. 115. — Goura Victorian, crowned pigeon. opposite ones adopted, that give the needed protection to life and continued prosperity, which the inherited methods no longer are able to secure. ^j The peculiar bill of this species, having almost the characters of a rapacious bird, is composed of a powerful curved maxilla ; and a mandible provided near the tip with two or three deep indentations, causing the parts between to appear like teeth. Although generally stated by most writers to be a gentle, timid creature, hiding whenever possible in the darkest portion of its cage, yet one in the possession of the VOL. iv. — 16 242 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. Rev. S. J. Whitmee, a male, was very savage, ruffled its feathers, and tried to bite any one approaching it. He stated that lie knew from experience that if it got hold of the finger it gave a severe grip. It was placed in a large aviary with other birds, and lorded it over the other inmates, only permitting them to feed when it had finished, driving them about in a very savage manner. Some later writers have considered that the proper position for this bird should be next to Treron, but as the reasons given do not seem to be thoroughly conclusive, it is best to leave it next to the dodo and its kindred, where the majority of ornithologists have, up to the present time, considered it should be placed. The GOURID.E comprises the great ground-pigeons, the largest and finest of existing species. There are about six belonging to the genus Goura, known by the trivial name of crowned-pigeons, and remarkable for their great size and the high, open crest with which the head is ornamented. They pass most of their time upon the ground, walking in a majestic kind of way along the forest paths, flying, when disturbed, to the lowest branches of the nearest trees, in which situations they pass the night. They are natives of the Papuan Archipelago, where the absence of predatory animals and scarcity of large reptiles permit them to lead a comparatively secure life and breed unmolested in the localities they frequent. They feed on fruits, and lay two eggs ; the nest is stated to be placed on the branches of trees. Some of the species have, at different times, been inmates of the aviaries in various zoological gardens, where they always attracted attention and admiration from their size, stately bearing, and the harmonious coloring of their plumage. The earliest known species is the G. coronata. Another even more beautiful is G. albertisii, from New Guinea, and G. victoria from Jobi and Misori. The COLUMBID^:, containing those pigeons whose long tarsi fit them more for a terrestrial than an arboreal existence, and also the doves, comprises a great number of species scattered all over the world, divided by different authors into many genera, a large number of which can at the most only be considered of sub-generic value, and many as entirely unnecessary, being of no value at all. Thirty-nine may be considered as sufficiently established to require notice, and in this article a brief review of the species they contain will be given. The first is Otidtphaps, a genus created for the beautiful birds from New Guinea and other of the Papuan Islands. Their exact position is not yet fully established, some authors having placed them, with an expressed doubt, however, in the family Didunculidae, others in the Gouridse. Of the two the latter is certainly more nearly correct, but it would seem that the great crowned-pigeons are sufficiently characteristic to stand in a family by themselves, and then Otidiphaps would occupy the position here assigned it at the foot of the present family. Three species of this genus are known, birds of considerable beauty of plumage and symmetry of form. They have been so lately discovered that very little has been recorded about them, only two or three Europeans ever having seen them alive. They are said to live in woods, feed upon fruits, and one (0. nobilis) is said to have a strong voice like a megapode. The flesh is white, tender, and most excellent for food. They are about eighteen inches in length, with a plumage of green and blue, metallic about the neck, and chestnut on the back. The tail contains the unusual number of twenty feathers. The genus Entry f/on has but a single species (E. terristris), a native of Papua. It is a handsome bird with a rather strong bill, and a plumage of a general dark leaden gray. There is a white spot on the sides of the head ; the back, rump, Avings, and PIGEONS. 243 tail, are shining grayish olive, sides and under tail-coverts rufous. It is a rare species in museums, but not uncommon in the localities it frequents. Starncenas, the next genus, contains also but a single species, /& cyanoceplialus, the blue-headed pigeon of Cuba, said sometimes to visit the Florida Keys. It is a hand- some bird, of a general rich, chocolate hue, the top of the head bright blue, and the throat, blackish, bordered with white. It lives upon the ground. Another o-enus with a single species now follows, viz. : Calcenas. The C. nicobarica, which by some authors has been considered as representing a separate family (called CALCENATID.E), is remarkable for the long plumes, like hackles, which cover the neck and fall over the breast and back. It is widely distributed over the eastern archipelago, feeds upon the ground, and, although it flies heavily, yet is FIG. 116.— Starncenas cyanocepJialus, blue-headed pigeon. capable of. making very extended journeys, it having been captured at sea a hun- dred miles from New Guinea. Scattered generally throughout the Papuan Islands, it is nowhere very abundant, remaining mostly on outlying islets, where it would be free from the attacks of animals. This pigeon has bred in the aviary of the Zoologi- cal Society of London, a pair having taken possession of an artificial nest and laid one white egg, which, after having been incubated for twenty-eight days, produced a young bird, black and naked. On the feathers appearing, those of the tail were black and remained so, although these in the adults were pure white. This form was described as distinct by Gray as C. gouldii. Six or seven species are included in the next genus, Phlcegcenas ; very attractive birds from the Papuan and Samoan Islands, among the most beautiful of which P. 244 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. Johanna and P. stairii, from the Duke of York and Samoan Islands respectively, may be named. All the species possess fourteen tail-feathers. The members of the genus Phaps are confined to Australia, where they are known as the bronze-winged pigeons. They are distributed generally all over that continent, are fine plump birds, weighing about a pound apiece, and afford excellent food. They breed sometimes on the ground, sometimes in the fork of a tree, are exceedingly swift in flight, and are capable of traversing great extent of country, during the sea- son of drought, in search of water, in a very brief period of time. The species, of which there are three, possess a very attractive plumage, and derive their trivial name from the lustrous coppery bronze spots upon the coverts of the wing. The tail con- sists of sixteen feathers. FIG. 117. — Callcenas nicobarica, Nicobar pigeon. Lophopliaps and Geophaps are also also Australian genera, the first containing three, and the last two species. The members of Lophophaps are lovely birds, having, as their generic name implies, a long crest rising from the centre of the head, the back and wings being crossed with rusty-red and brown bands, and metallic bronzy- purple mark on the secondaries. They are small birds about eight inches long, con- gregate on the ground, and rise, when disturbed, like quails, plunging immediately in the long grass for concealment. The species of the other genus are larger birds, with peculiar black and white markings on the face and throat in one (G. scrfpta), and orange black and white in the other G. smithii. They are strictly terrestrial in their habits, and in their carriage and action similar to a partridge. They go at times in pairs, but frequently in coveys, and, when approached, run and hide in the grass. They rise with a loud noise and fly with great rapidity, taking refuge in the nearest tree. The eggs are laid on the ground, but no nest is made. PIGEONS. 245 The genus Leucosarcia, also confined to Australia, contains but one species, a large handsome bird known as L. picata, remarkable for the delicacy of its flesh. It inhabits the brush which stretches along the line of coast of New South Wales, or that covering the hillsides of the interior. It passes its time on the ground, rising with the sudden burst and "noise of a Gallinaceous bird, but does not remain long upon the wing. It has a very pleasing plumage of slate-gray and white. The tail has fourteen feathers. HenicophapS) with its single species, If. albifrons, is a genus restricted to the Papuan Islands, but of a more extended distribution than some which are found in that archipelago. It is a rather dull-looking bird, with a strong plover-like bill ; the FIG. 118.— Ocyphaps Lopkotes, crested-pigeon, and Phaps chalcoptera, bronze-wiiig pigeon. plumage fuscous rufous black, tinged with glossy green, the wing-coverts glossed with a golden-copper hue, forehead white. Very little is known of the bird. It was first procured by Wallace in Waigu, where it feeds from low trees and shrubs, but does not appear to be altogether terrestrial. Chalcopliaps is a genus of brush pigeons, containing about a dozen species, which feed upon the ground on seeds and berries. It is pretty widely dispersed, the species being natives of India, Ceylon, Java, Borneo, Australia, Papuan and Philippine Islands, and Formosa. They have a rich, glossy, mostly green plumage, and a very swift ilight. The best-known species is probably the C. indica, found all over India where forests exist, and all countries to the east of the Bay of Bengal, also throughout the islands 246 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. of the eastern archipelago. The back and wings are emerald green glossed with gold ; two dusky and two grayish bars cross the back and rump, and a white bar on shoulder of the wing. Beneath the body is vinaceous red-brown, with ashy under tail-coverts. This beautiful species feeds upon the ground, walks with a rapid gait, and is seen usually alone. Another very beautiful species of this genus is the C. stephani from Celebes and the Papuan Islands. The genus Petrophassa contains a singular species, P. albipennis, an inhabitant of the rugged and desolate portions of the coast of northwest Australia, where it is common among the sandstone cliffs. It is a brown bird with black lores, and the basal half of the primaries pure white. Another genus with a single species is Ocyphaps, 0. lophotes, also confined to Australia. It is a bird of much elegance of form, with a long slender black crest flowing from the occiput. Its dress is gray and olive-brown, with shining bronzy-green wing-coverts. Tail of fourteen feathers, the two centre ones brown, remainder brown, glossed with green and tipped with white. It dwells on the plains of the interior, assembles in very large flocks, and flies with a rapidity unequalled by any member of the group to which it belongs. South Africa presents us with another genus Tympamstria, having but one species, the T. bicolor. This is a very pretty bird with fuscous-brown back and wings and white under parts. It is confined chiefly to the forest districts, and appears to have certain powers of ventriloquism, throwing its voice to a distance so as to deceive the hunter who may be standing under the very tree upon which the bird is perched. Another African genus is Chalcopelia with three species, the best known of which is probably C. afra. They are pretty little birds, the species just named being of a beautiful vinaceous color on the breast and lower parts, and with some large brilliant purple and green spots on the wings. It is common on the Okovango River, where it constructs a nest of a few sticks placed in a bush or low tree, and so loosely put to- gether that the two white eggs may be seen through the structure by any one looking up from below. Haplopelia was established for three or four species, two from Africa, and one from St. Thomas and Prince's Island respectively. The African birds II. lavata and If. bronzina are beautiful species with considerable metallic gloss of green and copper upon the plumage. They apparently prefer to keep in forests, feeding on berries, and are not uncommon. The bird from St. Thomas (H. simplex), as its name implies, has not so highly colored a plumage as its relatives. By some authors these birds are included in the genus Peristera. We now come to a well-marked Central and South American fyenus with a few O offshoots among the islands of the West Indies, viz., Geotrygon^ with a little over a dozen species. They have a very stout form with a short rounded wing, the third quill longest, the others abruptly sinuated on the outer edge ; the first quill sickle- shaped but not attenuated. These birds are from nine to twelve inches in length, of a very attractive and harmonious plumage, and excellent as food. In the island of Jamaica there are two species, known as ' mountain witch,' and ' partridge-dove.' They are essentially ground birds, feeding on seeds and occasionally on slugs. They fre- quent wooded parts of the country, and are wary and difficult to approach. In cer- tain districts they are abundant, and the nest is a rude affair of a few dry leaves and twigs gathered together. Two beautiful species of this genus are G. veraguensis and G. lawrencei from Central Amei'ica. Leptoptila is another genus of about a dozen species, whose members have nearly PIGEONS. 247 the same distribution as those of Geotryyon. They are birds of about the same size as those of the last-named genus, and of very attractive appearance. The single species from Jamaica, L. jamaicensis, is a very lovely bird, with a white forehead and blue crown, neck reddish-brown, changing to amethyst, the lower feathers brilliant greeu and purple. Under parts pure white, and a blue-gray tail tipped with white. It lives on the ground, has a plaintive voice (the negroes interpreting its cooing tones by the sounds " rain-come-wet-me-through"), and lives upon nuts and the seeds of the orange, mango, etc. It is very gentle, and, when flushed, only flies for a short dis- tance, generally to the branches of some low tree. It builds its nest generally in a moderately high situation, and is known by the trivial name of "white belly." Chamcepelia, with some half-dozen species, contains the ground-doves, little crea- tures which pass their time on the ground almost exclusively. The best known among them is C.passerina, from southern North America, Mexico, Central America, and Brazil. It goes in small groups of seldom more than a dozen, and prefers rather open places, runs with great facility, keeping the tail elevated. It is an extremely gentle bird, and readily becomes domesticated. It feeds on seeds of various grasses and berries. The nest is placed in low bushes, and is composed of twigs and lined with grasses. The flesh is excellent. The plumage is light, purplish-red on the neck, breast, and flanks, with a brownish gray back ; the tail is gray at the base, bluish black towards the end, tipped with white. The female is similar to the male, but paler in tint. The C. erythrothorax, from Bolivia and Peru, has been placed in a distinct genus, Gymnopdia^ on account of its nude orbits. Columbida contains two species, according to some authors, confined to South America, resembling the ordinary dove in form, and are of a brown plumage, with lengthened tail. One (C. campestris), from the interior of Brazil, is a very graceful bird, with a vinaceous breast, olive-brown back, and the lateral tail-feathers black tipped with white. Scardafella has also but two species scattered over Mexico, Guatemala, and Brazil. They are known as the scaly-doves, from the distinct markings of the edge of their feathers, and are diminutive representatives of the wild-pigeon (Ectopistes migratoria), but do not possess the beautiful changeable hues that adorn the neck of that species. Melopelia and Metriopelia, both possessing two species, are New World genera, their species extending from Mexico southward, on the west coast of South America, to Chili. They are plainly clad but gracefully shaped birds, Melopelia leucoptera being characterized by a large patch of white upon the wing, from which it derives its name, while its relative, M. meloda, is dark blue around the eye. Metropelia melanop- tera has the wing blackish, with a white shoulder. Zenaida, with some half-dozen species, is confined chiefly to the West Indies and South America, with one member from the Galapagos Islands. The most familiar species of this genus is probably the Z. amabilis, from the West Indies, occasionally seen upon some of the Florida keys. In Jamaica, where it is not uncommon, it haunts the open pastures, where any intruder can easily be discovered. It is wary and diffi- cult of approach, and flies with great rapidity, making the peculiar whistling with the wings so characteristic of so many doves. It subsists on various fruits and seeds, and its flesh is white and much esteemed. The plumage is pleasing, though of sober colors. Peristera, as restricted by some writers, is also an American genus, of some four species, found in Mexico and Brazil. The species have the usual coloring peculiar to 248 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. doves, P. cinerea being grayish blue on the head, neck, and back, and ashy white below. The tail is slightly rounded, with the lateral feathers black. It is found in Cayenne, Brazil, and Peru, also in Central America. Turtur. to which we now come, is a rather extensive genus, containing something * dJ ' O O like twenty-five or thirty species. They are scattered pretty generally over the Old World, but the genus is not represented in the western hemisphere. The familiar FIG. 119.— Turtur vulgaris, turtle-dove. turtle-dove, T. vulgaris, is a representative species of this genus. Inhabiting Europe generally, it extends eastward into western Asia and southward into Africa. Timid and retiring in disposition, it is universally accepted as the emblem of peace, and lives in amity with all others of its race. While accustomed to frequent trees, it is also at home upon the ground, where it walks with ease. It flies with great swiftness, and turns and twists in its course with marvellous celerity, and pilots its way amid the forest, even when at full speed, with extraordinary skill. When mated, the pair evince PIGEONS. 249 great affection for each other, and should one die, the survivor exhibits his sorrow by mournful cooing, and searches diligently for his companion. Like others of this group, the turtle-dove feeds on seeds of various kinds, and grain, and inhabits districts where fresh water is obtainable; always, when desirous of quenching its thirst, alio-ht- ing near the water in some open spot, and then walking down to the ed^e of the stream or pond. The nest, a slight platform of twigs, is placed upon some convenient branch, on which the two white eggs are deposited. A very pretty species of Turtur is the T. semitorqitatus (separated by some authors in a genus, Streptopelici), from Senegal and the Gambia. The crown is bluish-ash, a black semi-collar on back of neck ; under plumage vinaceous ; belly and vent white • back, Avings, and tail grayish-brown; a broad black bar crosses the tail, which is brond and rounded, with the basal half black. A close ally to this last is the T. uU>!r< iitris, from South Africa, very similar in plumage, but with the outside tail-feathers white. This is a very abundant species, and bred, at least at one time, within the precincts of Cape Town. Without any very technical distinctions the doves are a well-marked group, the chief character being the form of the tail. Their colors, though pleasing and harmo- nious, lack the brilliant and often bright hues of the pigeons. They have a graceful shape and small heads ; the tail lengthened, rounded, or graduated. Macropygla, containing about two dozen species, is confined to India, the Ma- layan islands, and those of the eastern archipelago, and Australia. The birds are dis- tinguished by their long, broad tails, are fruit-eaters to a certain extent, but also feed on the ground, and in their color and general appearance more resemble doves than pigeons. The genus has been subdivided by various authors into several genera or sub-genera, such as Coccyzura, Turacoena, I\ei)i,wardtcena, and Strepto- pelia, but for the present any consideration of these is unnecessary. The Jf. >•<•!»- wardtsi, from the Moluccan and Papuan islands, is one of the finest of this group. It has the forehead and sides of the head, neck, and middle of the breast pure white, all the rest of head and body ashy white ; back, scapulars, and two middle tail- feathers reddish-chestnut; primaries black; other tail-feathers are ash-color, with black bases, and a black bar near the tip. There is also a nude skin around the eye. Feet red. Total length about twenty inches. The general appearance of this bird is very handsome, and the long graduated tail gives a very graceful shape to the body. It is found in several of the Papuan and Moluccan islands. Another, M. modesta, from Timor, is also a striking species of very different ap-' pearance from the one just described. It is, as its name implies, dressed in subdued colors, but there are, over the general leaden hue of its plumage, metallic reflections of green and purple. A lemon-yellow skin surrounds the eye, and the iris itself is red. M. leptoyrammica, from Java, is very different again from both the species given, having the top of head and back or mantle metallic green with purple reflections; similar but brighter reflections are seen upon the throat and breast. The back, wing- coverts, rump, and the six large feathers of the tail are ferruginous, banded trans- versely with black. The other tail-feathers are ashy at their base, then black, and tipped with grayish blue ; the tail is long and graduated; the throat and belly are pale lilac, and under tail-coverts red. The total length is fifteen inches. This species lives on the summit of high rocky elevations in wooded districts, and feeds on peppers and grain and various aromatic seeds, which communicate to the flesh a very agree- able taste, causing it to be highly esteemed for food. 250 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. The only member of this genus found in Australia is M. phasianella, which has a rich, rusty-brown plumage, with the sides and back of the neck glossed with bronzy-pur- ple ; the lateral tail-feathers crossed near the tip by a broad black band ; the iris, blue, with an outer circle of scarlet ; the feet, pinkish-red. The pheasant-tailed pigeon, as it is called, resorts entirely to the brush from Illawarra to Moreton Bay, where it is common. It spends much of its time on the ground, searching for seeds, usually four or five birds being in company. When on the wing, with its broad, lengthened tail spread to the fullest extent, it appears to the greatest advantage. It is of about the same size as the preceding species. Geopelia, our next genus, is composed of about six species, four being natives of Australia, some of which, together with the remaining members of the genus, being found in different Moluccan and Papuan islands. In Australia they inhabit the hills and extensive plains of the interior, passing much of their time upon the ground. They are small birds, with a modest plumage destitute of metallic coloring. The tails are long and graduated, and they have rather lengthened legs, to fit them for their terrestrial life. The G. humeralis is one of the most elegant of these graceful crea- tures, and is extremely abundant at Port Essington, inhabiting swampy grounds and banks of running streams. Its food is seeds of various grasses and berries, and it is very gentle, flitting from one branch to another when disturbed. The head, sides of neck, and breast are delicate gray ; back, Aving-coverts, rump, and upper tail-coverts, brown; feathers of back of neck rufous banded with black on the ends; two middle tail-feathers, dark-gray, rest reddish-brown at base, and largely tipped with white. This is the largest species of the genus. G. cuneata, also from Australia, is a beautiful little species, which makes a frail but pretty nest from the stalks of flowering grasses, crossed and woven together. One was composed of a small species of Composita, and placed on the overhanging grasses of Xanthorrhea. This bird is called by the natives men-na-brunka, from a traditionary idea that it introduced the men-na, a gum which exudes from an Acacia, a favorite article of food of the aborigines. Another species, G. maugei, is found in the Moluccan and Papuan islands ; it differs from the rest in having the entire under parts whitish, barred with black. South Africa presents us with a distinct genus, ^Ena, containing a single beauti- ful species, JE. capensis. The forehead, cheeks, chin, throat, and chest are glossy black ; upper parts, ash-color ; secondaries, bluish with a purple spot ; wing-feathers, deep-red, edged with brown ; a white bar extends across the rump, succeeded by a narrow black one ; the tail is long and graduated. These birds are very abundant, and are chiefly terrestrial in their habits. In the Karroos they breed in the mimosa bushes. They generally go in pairs, feed on seeds, and the eggs have a rosy tint from the thinness of the shells. The young at first are mottled. Zenaidura is well represented by its familiar species, the Carolina dove of North and Central America, the Z. carolinensis of authors. This bird is distributed through- out the United States, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but does not pass further north on the eastern sea-board than southern New England. In its habits it does not differ from other dove-like species, save that its method of nesting depends somewhat upon circumstances ; it deposits its eggs on the ground in many sections of the country, but in districts where many venomous reptiles abound, the nest is placed on cacti and thorny bushes, which afford such protection, by their numerous spines, that even snakes can hardly climb them. This gentle bird is a gleaner of the fields, doing little or no damage, but picking up such seeds and grain as may be on the ground. It PIGEONS. 251 flies with great rapidity and power, and with a whistling sound of the wings, twisting frequently in its flight, and threading its way among the branches, whenever it enters the woods, with unerring certainty. It possesses a graceful form and a soft voice, and although no brilliant colors are seen on its plumage, its modest, quaker-like o-arb is very pleasant to look upon. Two or three other species of the genus have been described, some of doubtful value. Next to this group comes Ectopistes, with its single species, the well-known E. migratoria, the wild or passenger-pigeon. At one time this bird was extremely common in North America, passing over vast portions of the country in flocks of such incredible num- bers that they would obscure the sky, and take a long time, some- times days, to fly by any particular place, notwithstanding the enormous speed with which they p«r.oed * their course. This ra- pidity of flight has been estimated to reach between seven- ty and a hundred miles an hour, and is an es- sential qualification for this species, for their numbers being so great, they are com- pelled to pursue a con- stant migration, as it were, in search of food, and it therefore is of prime necessity that they should be able to pass over a large ex- tent of country in a short period of time. Their form is most admirably adapted for aerial progression, being an elongated oval propelled by long, well-proportioned wings, moved by large and powerful muscles, and steered by a long, graduated, fully-equipped tail. The limits of this article do not per- mit any extended account of this bird, and therefore only a few words can be written of its roosting-places. These are generally in forests where the trees are large, and but little undergrowth occurs. These roosts have been known to extend for a distance of forty miles in length and several miles in breadth. The trees in this tract would be loaded down with nests, crowded closely together, so that large branches have been FIG. 120. — Ectopistes migratorius, passenger-pigeon. 252 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. known to break and fall from the weight of the birds gathered on them. The flocks depart at sunrise and return at night, for they must go great distances to find food sufficient to supply their needs. The arrival of the great host is an impressive sight. Long before their crowded ranks appear, their approach is heralded by a sound resembling the rising of a gale of wind, increasing in loudness until the birds hurl themselves into their chosen nightly abode, when the din caused by the flapping of myriads of wings, the struggles for a place upon the trees, the constant change of position, and the crashing of overloaded branches, is so completely overpowering that not only the human voice cannot be heard, but even the discharge of a gun would pass unnoticed. At one time these roosts were not uncommon, but they are gradually disappearing, for the wild-pigeon, like all other game, from lack of wise and requisite protection in the United States, is being brought slowly but surely to its final extermination. Such is a brief and cursory review of one of the most extraordinary customs of this beautiful species. Lack of space compels us to pass on tc the next genus of the family. This is Iantha?nas, containing eight or ten species ; birds of rich and handsome plumage, having considerable metallic lustre. They are inhabitants of the Moluccan, Papuan, and Polynesian islands. One species, I. ianthina, found in Japan, is not unlike in plumage a species (I. metallicct) from Timor. This last is remarkable for the metallic hues of its plumage, which are lustrous greenish-purple, with various brilliant reflections. Another species from the Fijis — I. vitiensis — has the entire plumage bluish ash color, with a metallic purple lustre, changing to bright green on head and neck ; the back, rump, and breast also metallic green, with the wing and upper tail-coverts edged and tipped with the same. The throat is white. This beautiful bird is not uncommon in the Fiji Islands, where it is seen in parties of three or four. It is about fourteen inches in length. A species from several of the Papuan Islands has been placed in a distinct genus, and called G-ymnophaps albertisii, on account of a bare space around the eye, large feet like Carphophaga, and some other characters. In some parts of New Guinea this species is rather rare, but small parties of eight or ten were seen on the Fly River. It is only lately that this bird has been brought to the notice of naturalists. The last genus of the family Colmnbidae is Columba, formed by Linnaeus, and con- taining a large number of species found throughout certain portions of the Old and the New Woi'ld. It is characterized chiefly by a moderate bill, with the basal half of the maxilla covered with a soft cartilaginous substance; the apical half hard, arched, and hooked at the tip. The nostrils are placed towards the middle of the bill, and the skin is swollen above them. The wings are moderate and pointed, the tail rather short, even, or rounded, the toes moderate and free at the base. The genus has been sub-divided by authors into many sections, but it is not necessary to notice these in this article. The birds of this genus go in flocks of various magnitude, sometimes performing migrations of more or less extent, according to the diversity of climate. They frequent woods and feed on acorns, beech-nuts, or seek grain in the cultivated fields. Some species again dwell among rocks, making their nests in holes or fissures in the sides of precipitous cliffs. There are many large and stately species comprised in the genus, and some of very beautiful and attractive plumage. Only a few can be noticed here. One of the best known is probably the C. cenas, or stock-pigeon of Europe. It is about thirteen inches in length, of a general bluish gray plumage, with the sides of head and neck glossed with metallic green. Breast vinous red. It is a PIGEONS. 253 oraceful bird, walks on the ground with case, and rises on the wing without much loud lj ' ^f C5 flapping. It will raise two or three broods in a season, placing its nest in the hollow of a tree, sometimes in rabbit-burrows or other convenient holes in the ground. Both sexes incubate and assist in rearing their young. It feeds on various grains and seeds, and when numerous is very troublesome to farmers. A remarkably colored pigeon of this genus is C. leuconota from the northwest Himmalehs. The back, neck, and rump are white ; the top of head and ear-coverts •, -S- - _, \ \ ' '' '< *s V. , V...N , FIG. 121. — Columba anas, stock-pigeon, and C.palumbus, ring-dove. ashy black, wings brownish gray, crossed with three or four dusky bars. Tail ashy black, crossed by a broad grayish white bar. This is the snow-pigeon and imperial rock-pigeon of sportsmen. It frequents rocky heights and sequestered valleys from an altitude of 10,000 feet to the snow level. It feeds in the fields, returning to the rocks to roost, and is shy and wary. C. guinea and C. arquatrLv (sometimes placed in a genus called /Stictcenas), are African species of about twelve inches in length, the former with a cinereous or plumbeous plumage, with the neck, breast, back, shoulders and wing-coverts vinaceous, the latter spotted with white; the tail is black. It is a 254 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. rock-dweller, placing its nest in inaccessible places in caves and in the holes of cliffs. The other species has the forehead, chin, neck, and breast dark vinaceous, mottled with black; above dark ashy with a reddish tinge on back and shoulders, and a greenish hue on the tail. This bird congregates in great flocks, and feeds upon wild olives and berries according to the season. It breeds on trees in mountain ravines. The white-crowned pigeon, C. leucocephala, from the West Indies and Florida, is a handsome bird, remarkable for the pure white of the upper part of the head. The general color is dusky blue, the top of neck behind chocolate brown, lower part green with gold reflections. They are shy birds, and breed on the Florida Keys among the mangroves, and occasionally descend to the ground. C. fasciata of western North America, extending southward into Central America, is a very fine species and common in California and other of the Pacific states. It is a forest-loving bird, congregates in immense flocks, some of which have been estimated to consist of a thousand individ- uals. It feeds on berries, acorns, etc., and, where the country is settled, on grain which they procure by visiting the stubble-fields. The band-tailed pigeon, as this bird is called, has the head, neck, and breast purplish-red, with a narrow white ring on hind neck. The upper parts are grayish-blue, as is also the tail with a black band near the tip. This bird is about sixteen inches long. Central and South America contain several species of this genus, of which C. plumbea, and C. araucana, may be mentioned. The latter is a very handsome bird from Chili, having the head, mantle, and under parts reddish-purple shaded with ash-gray ; the back, rump, and upper tail- coverts lead-color. A white bar crosses the hind neck below the occiput, beneath which is a patch of scaly metallic feathers reflecting golden and purple hues. The tail is brown, with a broad black band near the tip. The length of bird is fourteen inches. The next and last family is that one here called CARPOPHAGID^E. This is the same in the main as Treronidre of many authors, and contains the fruit-pigeons. They are birds varying much in size, many of most beautiful plumage, consisting of strongly contrasted colors. The bill varies from stout to slender ; the wings are long ; the tail moderate, with fourteen feathers (one or two exceptions to this) ; the tarsi short, more or less feathered, with bare part reticulated ; and the inner toe is slightly united to the base of middle one. The species of this family are found in India, Malayan Peninsula, China, Moluccan, Papuan, and Polynesian islands, Australia, and Mada- gascar. The first genus claiming attention is Alectroenas, containing four species, one of which, A. nitidissimus, is a bird of very peculiar and striking appearance. It is a native of the Isle of France, and has the head and neck covered with long, loose white feathers that fall over the breast and back. At base of bill and around the eyes is a bare red skin. Body dark violet blue. Tail and rump bright red. It is a very rare bird in collections, and but few Europeans have met with it in its wild state. Some young birds that were in captivity, never went on the ground unless obliged to do so, but showed a wonderful capability in stretching to a great distance from their perch, sometimes with their heads perpendicularly downward so as to pick a fruit from off the floor of their cage. Another beautiful species is A. madac/ascariensis, from Madagascar and the island of Nossibe. It is of a general indigo-blue color glossed with violet ; the tail, which is rounded, is red ; the eyes are encircled with a naked red skin ; the feet are red. This bird dwells in the forest, frequenting the topmost boughs of the tallest trees. Its flesh is said to be inferior to that of other PIGEONS. 255 pigeons. The first primary of the birds of this genus is distinguished by possessing a deep notch in the inner web. We now come to Treron, including the green-pigeons. This is a well-marked division, containing a goodly number of species, of plump form, clothed in a green plumage varied with ash and maroon, with considerable yellow on the wings, and orange hues on lower part of body. The genus has been divided into many genera f\ /^\ • \ i \ i - ; " ,-• ...i ' 'i: j : •• '-x s ' '' ^ : • '• ' W : • <*S / \x \.^1 FIG. 122. — ^4Zec=V>«;\ r^J1 i ^ ,'VA « • / '\.\l V \x\Vv i Cathartes au mage runs up on the back of the neck to a considerable distance. The only bird which, could be mistaken for the carrion-crow is the turkey-buzzard, Cathartes aura, but if the two birds have once been seen side by side they can hardly be confounded. The latter bird is of a more brownish color, the neck is bare all around, the tail is rounded instead of square, and the manner of flight is quite different, the present bird sailing habitually by the hour, while the former flaps the wings vigorously every few moments. The turkey-buzzard is found all over the United States except in the northeastern part, but is most abundant toward our southern border. It occurs also in the West Indies and in South America. Both this and the preceding species breed 268 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. on the ground or in a hollow log or stump, making no nest, but laying a pair of spotted eggs on the rotting wood or decayed leaves. Amonfj the largest birds of the Continent must be reckoned the California!! vul- Zj ^j ture, Cathartes calif or nianus, which attains sometimes the size of average specimens of the condor. It is found from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, and in flight, food, and breeding habits, so far as known, it resembles quite closely the turkey- buzzard. iH| :-. ^fe ^ FIG. 12T. — Sarcorhamphus papa, king-vulture. Beyond question the bird of this group whose appearance is most striking is the king-vulture, Sarcorhamphus papa, a native of tropical America, most abundant in Brazil, but found as far south as Paraguay, and as far north as Mexico, and probably Arizona. Most of the plumage is pure or creamy white, rather more buffy tinted on breast and belly, while the large wing and tail feathers are deep black. The skin of head and neck is naked, or only hairy, and most brilliantly colored. Waterton gives the following description of these parts. " The throat and back of the neck are of a fine CONDOR. 269 lemon color; both sides of the neck, from the ears downwards, of a rich scarlet; behind the corrugated part there is a white spot. The crown of the head is scarlet, betwixt the lower mandible and the eye, and close by the ear there is a part which has a fine silvery-blue appearance. Just above the white spot a portion of the skin is blue and the rest scarlet; the skin which juts out behind the neck, and appears like an oblong caruncle, is blue in part and in part orange. The bill is orange and black, the caruncles on the forehead orange, and the cere orange, the orbits scarlet, and the irides white." Unlike its near relative, the condor, it is strictly a bird of the forest, not often met with among the mountains, but preferring the wooded banks of rivers, the depths of impenetrable swamps, and the margins of broad savannas or stagnant marshes. It gets its common name of ' king ' from the belief of the Indians that the other vultures stand in awe of it, and will not venture to eat until after the royal appetite is satisfied ; and there appears to be considerable ground for this belief, although its size is less than that of the turkey-buzzard, and it seems to be even more sluggish. The condor, jSarcorhamphus gryphus, has iisually been considered the largest of the birds of prey, and the most absurd stories have been told of its strength and dar- ing. In point of fact there are several Old World species fully as large, and some of them probably a little larger, while the Californian vulture frequently reaches the same size. Probably the condor never exceeds twelve feet in expanse of wing, and even this size can be attained but rarely, the average being probably within a few inches of nine feet. In an article by Professor Orton on "The Condors of the Equa- torial Andes," we are told that " Humboldt never found one to measure over nine feet ; and the largest specimen seen by Darwin was eight and a half feet from tip to tip. An old male in the Zoological Gardens of London measures eleven feet. Von Tschudi says he found one with a spread of fourteen feet ten inches, but he in- validates his testimony by the subsequent statement that the full-grown condor meas- ures from twelve to thirteen feet." Yet up to the time when Humboldt visited the Andes and actually measured the freshly killed birds, the wildest statements were made with regard to the size and strength of the condor, from thirty to forty feet being set down as a fair figure for the expanse of wing. Humboldt himself was at first deceived, and was astonished to find that birds which, while perched on the lofty summits of the volcanic crags, ap- peared truly gigantic, were in reality always less than four feet in length, and with an expanse of wing never over nine feet. Perhaps the illusion may be in part accounted for by the lack, in such situations, of all objects for comparison, but, as Darwin has thoughtfully suggested, it may be "fully as much owing to the transparency of the air confounding objects at different distances, and likewise partly to the novelty of an unusual degree of fatigue arising from a little exertion, habit being thus opposed to the evidence of the senses." The strength of the condor has also been much exaggerated, and the stories of its carrying off sheep, and even children, in its claws are at once shown to bo imaginary, not only by the failure to establish a single authentic case of the kind, but by the structure of the foot itself, which is not well adapted for grasping, the hind toe being very small and above the level of the rest, while the claws on all the toes are blunt and little curved, so that it may well be doubted, not that the condor could kill a sheep or a child, but that, having done so, it could then grasp it and carry it away. This same structure of the foot makes it difficult for the condor to perch on a tree, espe- 270 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. cially on a small limb, and so, although they do sometimes roost on trees, they much prefer to rest and sleep on bare rocks and the ledges of sheer precipices. They are said to be such sound sleepers that they are easily caught with a noose while roosting at night. Although frequently descending to the plains at the foot of the mountains for food, their favorite haunts are among the peaks of the higher Andes, not rarely above the line of perpetual snow, and they rise easily above the FIG. 128. — Sarcorhamphus r/ryphus, condor. highest peaks, sweeping in graceful circles far above the snow-capped volcanoes, or gliding thence in a few seconds almost to the sea level and the torrid heat of the plains. Although they feed mostly on carrion, they are equally fond of fresh meat, and often kill lambs, goats, and the young of cattle and deer. Probably the guanaco and vicuna furnish a goodly share of their food. They watch from an immense height the movements of the puma, and, as soon as he withdraws satisfied from his dead game, descend and speedily finish what remains. CONDOR. 271 As the condor is confined to the comparatively narrow chain of the Andes, but ranges from the Strait of Magelhaen to eight or ten degrees north of the equator, its nesting-time would be expected to vary with the latitude, and probably the eggs are laid between November and March. The spot selected for this purpose is commonly an inaccessible ledge or shelf on some precipice in the heart of the Cordilleras. Two white, unspotted eggs, three and one half to four inches long, are laid on the bare rock, and perhaps a few sticks gathered loosely about them. It is at least seven weeks before they hatch, and the young birds are not able to fly until more than a year old, and even then they hunt and roost with 'the parent birds for a year or two longer. Thus their development is slower than that of any other known species of bird. When first hatched, the young condor is covered with rather scanty, whitish down, which soon deepens in color and increases in length and thickness, but is not replaced by the true feathers until the bird is nearly as large as its parents. The adult male is glossy black, with a broad white bar across each Aving, and a collar or ruff of snow-white down about the neck, above Avhich the neck is unfeathered and covered Avith wrinkled, dull red skin. The forehead has a fleshy or cartilaginous comb or caruncle, the throat is Avattled, and there is a large, pendulous Avattle on the upper part of the breast. The terminal part of the bill is ivory white, the rest dark. The adult female lacks the comb, the wattles are smaller or wanting, there is less white on the wings, and the dark colors are duller than in the male. Before reaching this condition the young birds wear, for one or more years, a pretty uniformly brown dress, and in this stage are called by the natives of the Peru- vian Andes ' condor pardo,' or broAvn condor. The comb of the male usually makes its appearance before the downy collar, which latter is not deA'eloped before the second year, and is not at first white. Whatever may be the case under natural conditions, in confinement this species does not acquire its full plumage for several years, as shoAvn by a specimen received at the London Zoological Gardens in 1877, Avhich "was in nearly the same uniform brown plumage " six years later, and was therefore considered by Mr. Sharpe to be an undescribed species, which he named Sarcorhamphus cequatorialis. A specimen in the Central Park menagerie at New York, however, Avhich at the age of six years Avas precisely like this 'new' species, subsequently acquired the full plumage of the true condor, of Avhich therefore probably but one species should be recognized. Humboldt says that the name condor is from a word in the language of the Incas, signifying to smell, and adds: "There is nothing more astonishing than the almost inconceivable O ~ sagacity with Avhich the condor distinguishes the odor of flesh from an immense distance." This belief in the extraordinary power of smell possessed by carrion- vultures is largely an inherited or traditional one, and Avas long ago shown to be without foundation. That they have some power of smell is Avell known, and Owen has even shoAvn that in the turkey-buzzard the olfactory nerves are highly developed. Recognizing this fact in the anatomy of the bird, there is yet very little evidence that the poAver is ever used in the detection of food. Audubon's careful experiments on the black-vulture, Cathartes atratus, make it certain that, in that species, sight, principally, if not solely, guides the bird to its prey. The perfectly dry, stuffed skin of a common deer, placed in the attitude of death, attracted a vulture within a few moments, though there Avas nothing eatable about it ; after satisfying itself of Avhich, by Avalking over and tugging at it, the bird circled 272 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. about over the field until it espied a small snake, not thicker than a man's finger, upon which it at once pounced. Moreover, a large and putrid carcass of a hog care- fully covered by canes and brush so as to. be invisible, remained undiscovered by the vultures in spite of the intolerable stench it sent out, though they frequently passed by accident quite near it, and the dogs at once discovered it. Yet a small, freshly-killed pig hidden near the same place was at once traced out by the vultures, by the blood which was allowed to run from it as it Avas carried to its hiding- place. Bachman subsequently repeated some of these tests at Charleston, S. C., and added some new and perfectly convincing ones. The rough painting of a sheep, skinned and cut open, soon brought vultures to examine and tug at it, and though the experiment was repeated scores of times it never failed, on each fresh exposure, to attract the hungry birds. A wheelbarrow-load of tempting carrion was next covered by a single sheet of thin canvas, above which bits of fresh meat was strewn. The fresh meat was soon eaten, but although the vultures must frequently have had their bills within an eighth of an inch of the carrion beneath, they did not discover it. While at Valparaiso in 1834, Darwin experimented on twenty or thirty condors which were kept in a garden at that place. They were tied in a long row at the foot of a wall, each bird by a single rope, and Darwin walked backward and forward before them, at a distance of about ten feet, with a piece of fresh meat in his hand, wrapped securely in a piece of white paper. No notice whatever was taken of it by the birds. He then threw it on the ground within a yard of an old male condor, who looked at it carefully for a moment and paid no further attention. With a stick it was pushed closer and closer, until he touched it at last with his beak, when instantly the paper was torn off, while every bird in the long row began struggling and flapping its wings. The evidence on the other side of the question is very meagre. Darwin tells us that a "gentleman mentioned at a meeting of the London Zoological Society that he had twice seen the carrion-hawks in the West Indies collect on the roof of a house when a corpse had become offensive from not having been buried ; " and a case is cited by Mr. Gosse in his " Birds of Jamaica," where the stench from the putrid contents of a soup-pot in a house caused one vulture after another, as he passed over, to descend toward the house and sometimes take several turns about it before reluctantly resuming his course. There is nothing however, in either of these cases that would justify us in ascribing any unusual power of smell to the vultures even if we admit that their actions were consequent on the odors they perceived, for the same odors were perfectly perceptible to men in the neighborhood at fully as great a distance as that at which the vultures are supposed to have discovered them. On the whole, when we remember the disgusting character of much of the vulture's food, as well as the similar odor which of necessity the bird usually bears about with it, we can hardly see how it would be possible for it to detect at a distance the odor even of carrion, — much less that of perfectly fresh meat or of living animals. The obvious and simple explanation of ninety-nine one-hundredths of these remarkable discoveries was first pointed out by Audubon and has been almost universally accepted since. Probably in most regions where vultures of any species are fairly abundant, every nook and corner of the surface is carefully scrutinized many times a dny, and by many paii's of hungry eyes. Wheeling in graceful curves at varying heights, some scarcely higher than the house-tops, others only visible to the human eye as mere moving VULTURES. 273 specks in the blue sky — each bird is keeping silent watch not only of all that tran- spires below him, but of every movement of his more or less distant companions. Thus it is sufficient if but one bird discover anything eatable; his change of move- ment at once signals his discovery to his nearest companion, who hastens to share the feast. His eagerness betrays his secret to other watchful eyes, and so by an almost faultless, yet unintended, system, the news is noiselessly spread for miles almost before the original discoverer has reached his prize. If the find be small, such, for example, as a dead rat or small snake, the lucky finder disposes of it without assistance and soon resumes his regular and well-understood motions, thus checking the arriving guests almost as soon as they have received their invitations. If, on the other hand, the supply of food in prospect is large, the invitation may be spread indefinitely, and if the meat be fresh, and covered by a hide too tough to be at once torn, there is nothing to do but to wait until decomposition shall have softened it, or some carnivorous quadruped shall make an opening, thus giving time for some of the birds to come from great distances, often, perhaps, a hundred miles or more. The great bulk of the diurnal birds of prey are included in the family FALCONID^E, to which we now turn our attention. Here we find the largest as well as the smallest of the Accipitres, and the one similar plan on which all are constructed is expressed in so many different ways, and with such endless variations of detail, that at first one is sorely puzzled to know which should be considered the higher and which the lower forms. It would be impossible, however, to arrange the species in any linear series which should show with even tolerable accuracy their true relations, and we shall hence simply assume that the vultures are the lowest, and the falcons the highest, and arrange the intervening groups as best we may, merely remarking that while we here recognize eight sub-families, as being more in conformity with general usage, half as many would, perhaps, answer equally well, and there is much to be said in favor of Mr. Ridgway's proposition to make but two, namely, the Buteoninre and Falconiiue. The purely osteological characters, however, on which these are founded are hardly so suitable for the present purpose as the more superficial ones by which the more numerous divisions which we here adopt are usually defined. These sub-families are : The Vulturinae, or Old World vultures ; the Aquilinre, in- cluding the eagles and buzzards ; Pandioninoe, with its single species, the osprey ; Circinje, the harriers ; Milvinoe, the kites ; Polyborince, the carrion-buzzards ; Accipi- .trina?, the true hawks ; and Falconince, the falcons. Collectively, the Falconidre may be defined as those diurnal Raptores with imper- forate nostrils, in which the legs are either short or of only moderate length, the tarsus never exceeding six inches. If, for the moment, we leave out of consideration the Vulturina?, whose structure will be noticed shortly, we may add that the head is al- ways largely feathered, the bill strongly hooked, and the claws curved and sharp. The minor modifications, as well as the habits, of the birds comprised in this populous family will be most conveniently noted under the sub-families to which they belong. The Vulturinae, or Old World vultures, form a group of carrion-feeding Raptores, which may be recognized by the following characters : Head and neck more or less destitute of feathers, either bare or else bristly or downy, no true feathers on the top of the head. Feet robust and strong, but not very flexible; hind toe inserted at the same level as the rest. Size large, length from bill to tip of tail two to four feet. Young fed at first by regurgitation, later probably by food carried to them in the claws by the old birds. VOL. iv. — 18 274 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. There is now no doubt that the so-called true vultures, i. e., Old World vultures, are simply modified buzzards or eagles, adapted for an almost exclusive diet of carrion. Much as they have been modified, they still retain all the essential characters of the Falconidse. The partial nakedness of the head and neck, together with the weakness of the feet and bluntness of the claws, are the principal external differences from the other members of the family, while the internal anatomy is very similar in both. Like the other Falconidae, they commonly construct bulky nests, or use such nests al- ready constructed by other birds, and this fact, together with the bringing of food to their young, shows a palpable difference in the prehensile power of the foot between these and the American vultures ; for few birds are able to fly with any considerable weight in the bill, and the Accipitres habitually use the feet for this purpose when it becomes necessary to transport food or building-materials. In the countries bordering the Mediterranean no less than six species of vulture are of regular if not common occurrence, and four of these occur in southern Europe ; the remaining two, Gyps ruppelli and Gyps africanus, are African species, only reach- ing the Mediterranean at the northern limit of their range. Three of the four Avhich occur in Europe are among the largest of living birds of prey, having a length of almost four feet, and an extent of wings of nine or ten feet. They are the crested black-vulture, Vultur monachus (otherwise known as the Arabian or cinereous-vulture), the griffin or fulvous-vulture, Gypsfulvus, and the Nubian or eared-vulture, Otogyps auricularis, sometimes improperly called the sociable vulture. The other species, the Egyptian vulture, Neophron percnopterus, is much smaller, measuring only twenty- five inches in length, thus corresponding in size quite closely with the black-vulture, Cathartes atratus, of America. The crested black-vulture, the type and only species of the genus Vultur, is found throughout southern Europe and northern Africa, extending eastward through Asia to China. Its plumage, when adult, is dull, sooty black, with brownish reflections in certain lights, and only relieved by the livid flesh color of the bare skin about the neck, the base of the bill, and the feet. The head and throat are completely covered with short, soft, downy, black feathers, which run down to a point on the throat. The neck, which with this exception is bare, is encircled by a ruff of pointed, downy feathers, longest at the back. Immature birds are much browner. The nostrils are very small and almost circular, thus differing from those of all other members of the sub-family. In Europe it seems to be most abundant along the southern Danube and in Spain. Its nest, which is of immense size, is almost invariably placed on a tree, sometimes high up, sometimes not far from the ground, but commonly on the steeper slopes of mountains, or near their summits. The single egg usually laid in each nest is from three and a quarter to four inches in length, and about two and a half to two and two-thirds inches in breadth, and richly spotted and blotched with red. Several nests are frequently found within a few hundred yards of each other. This species is ordi- narily slow and heavy in its action, but spends many hours each day sailing at great heights watching for food. In Sardinia, where it is quite common but, as elsewhere, rather shy and suspicious, Mr. A. B. Brooke found its nest, containing a single young one, on the first of June. The nest " was built high up in the mountains, on the very top of an old stunted ilex, forming a large shallow platform about five feet long by four broad." Of this bird's voracity the same observer gives the following instance : " On one occasion I had placed the skinned carcass of a moderate-sized sheep in an open vineyard surrounded by thick cove.r, in hope of attracting some birds of prey. VULTURES. 275 I had sat by it for several hours without anything- having perceived it, and, getting tired of waiting, moved away two hundred or three hundred yards. I had scarcely done so when a common kite (Milvus ictinus), flying by, caught sight of the meat, and after soaring round once or twice, lit; he \vas hardly down when a cinereous vulture appeared at a great height, rapidly descending in circles, which became smaller and smaller as he reached the ground ; he was followed in quick succession by two ravens, another kite, another cinereous vulture, and an eagle (Afjuila bonetti, I think), which latter, however, did not light, but kept soaring round and round. " In the mean time I stalked to the spot as quickly as possible, and managed to kill a vulture, and then to my surprise, on looking at the sheep, found literally nothing left but the clean-picked ribs, backbone, and head. I feel quite sure that I am over the mark when I say six or seven minutes was the outside limit of the time the vul- tures were on the ground, and one bird not more than half that time. The one I shot was a fine old female, weighing sixteen and a quarter pounds; the weight of a male I afterwards shot was only fifteen pounds. " The length of the female in the flesh was forty-one inches ; from corpal joint to end of wing thirty inches. Vultures do not appear to begin to hunt very early in the morning, but wait until the sun is well up ; and few are to be seen dining the extreme heat of the day, which seems to show that they rest at that time. Their power of going without food must be very great, as it is improbable that a comparatively small island like Sardinia supplies enough dead carcasses to give each bird a meal every day. These birds hunt over an enormous extent of country ; the pace with which they soar through the air, when going from one point to another, can only be realized from the inconceivable rapidity with Avhich they pass out of sight on a clear day when flying at great heights." There seems to be no evidence that this species commonly attacks living animals of any kind. The griffon-vulture, Gyps fulvus, may be taken as the type of a genus containing three or four good species and as many more doubtful ones, or perhaps more correctly geographical races which are candidates for specific distinction. The griffon is in size and habits very nearly like the preceding species, but differs much from it in color, the large wing and tail feathers alone being black, all other parts quite light-colored, or mottled with light and dark. The nest also is usually placed on cliffs or among rocks, and contains a single large white egg, without spots. Gyps ruppelli, indicus, and bengalensis are similar birds, the first from Africa and the two others from India and the Malay peninsula. Mr. R. C. Beavan, writing of the vultures of India, says the Bengal vulture "breeds in Maunbhoom in February, choosing for the purpose almost invariably a large semul or cotton tree, which at that time of the year loses its leaves and puts forth its fine scarlet flowers ; hence the nest, which is generally placed at the junction of two large limbs, or at the diverging point of several branches from the trunk, is plainly visible, but not easy to get at ; for the vulture chooses the largest trees it can find, and most of them are smooth, large in girth, and devoid of branches hear the ground. The nest is circular, compactly built of fresh twigs with the leaves on. Eggs two, dirty white, frequently blotched with red, which, however, is either blood or dirt, for it is removable by brushing with soap and water. On my way clown to the plains from Simla in October, 1866, I came across several of this species, which I have found abundantly distributed in every part of the plains of India hitherto vis- ited by me. On the occasion alluded to, numbers of cattle had been used for the 276 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. purpose of carrying down baggage from Simla to the plains, and, as a matter of course, several had died on the way. " One which I found on the roadside was surrounded by crowds of these vultures. On going up to examine it, I disturbed about forty of them, most of which flew up into the neighboring trees. On going near the carcass, I was surprised to hear a rum- bling noise proceeding from its inside. There was a good-sized hole dug out by the bills of these birds in the neck of the carcass, and also another near its anus, while the ( ' ' ' V - • .. FIG. 129. — Gyps ruppelli, liiippell's vulture. stomach was swollen out and distended as if with air. On hitting this with my stick it appeared to be filled out by something inside, and in a few minutes, to my great astonishment, I found that there were more vultures, all alive, inside the carcass ! Two following each other in quick succession shortly afterwards walked out through the hole in the neck of the bullock, and the first immediately flew off to a neighboring tree, whilst the other was so gorged he could not do more than waddle off to a rock close by, on which he sat, whilst I left him and concluded my journey." VULTURES. 277 The genus Otogyps is distinguished by its bare head, with fleshy folds arising beneath the ears and falling down the sides of the neck, forming the so-called ear- lappets. The Nubian vulture, Otogyps auricularis, is found only in Africa, and the most typical specimens only in the southern part. The Pondicherry vulture, 0. calvus, occurs in India, and thence eastward to Siam. It is much smaller and darker than the preceding, has a small ruff of black feathers about the neck, and the inner face of Sfr m / •'•^,>^£&£ '^s.. ?<7/l/ FIG. 130. — Otogyps calvus, Pondiclierry vulture. the thigh is bare. It is rather a solitary bird, rarely more than two or three being seen together, nests usually in trees, and lays white eggs. The genus Neophron probably comprises but two species, percnopterus and pilea- tus, the latter confined to Africa, the former having a much wider distribution. In India, a smaller race of percnopterus is found, sometimes considered a distinct species under the name ginginianus, while in tropical Africa a similar race of the more southern pileatus exists. The typical Egyptian vulture, N~. percnopterus, is sometimes found in northern Europe, and has once or twice occurred in England. It is abundant in all the coun- 278 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. tries surrounding the Mediterranean and Red seas, as well as throughout Africa and in northwestern India. Owing to its very light color it is frequently called the white- vulture; in Africa the Dutch colonists call it the white-crow, and, as it frequently figures in the hieroglyphs of Egypt, it is also known as 'Pharaoh's chicken.' Wher- ever it is abundant its usefulness as a scavenger is recognized, and it is carefully pro- tected by law as well as frequently by superstition, so that in nearly all the cities and towns of southeastern Europe, and in fact wherever it is found in tolerable abundance, it is one of the most familiar objects in the streets, and a group of them may often be seen wrangling for some scrap of offal among the very feet of the horses and camels of a market-place. With the giffons and several other species, it is a never-failing attendant on the deserted battle-field, and, with the help of the jackal and hyena, desecrates many a lonely cemetery. According to Mr. F. G. C. Taylor, in and about Constantinople it is very abundant, sitting on the roofs of the houses, and breeding on the ruined walls and towers of Stamboul. The eggs, three or four in number, and unlike those of other Old World vultures (except V. monachus), are strongly blotched with brown and red, the markings often completely obscuring the ground color. The young birds are of a blackish brown color, after the first year becoming more yellowish, but not assuming the final plumage of the adult — mostly white, with the large feathers of the wing black — until the third year. It is stated that the bill of the male, which is ordinarily yellow, deepens in color to a clear orange during the breeding season. The transition from the vultures to the eagles and buzzards is a natural and not very abrupt one, when we consider that at least two of the genera which we now take up have been sometimes included in one group and sometimes in the other, according to the fancy or conviction of the author handling the subject. Under the head of Aquilinae, we propose to consider those forms which are com- monly placed in two separate groups, the Aquilinre or eagles, and the Buteoninae or buzzards. Our reason for this is simply that the two groups are not fairly separable ; that while marked differences aside from size undoubtedly exist between a golden- eagle (Aquild), and a ' hen-hawk ' (Buteo), and even between small groups of which these two are typical members, yet in the presence of the vast number of forms which are admitted to be very closely related, but which cannot come into either group so long as the groups themselves are separated, we cannot do less than merge the two in one and include all the most nearly related forms. The trouble is, however, that having done this, having opened our doors to these homeless robbers, we are in a fail- way to be looked upon as an asylum for discontents, or rattier for those semi-orphans whose parentage we may indeed know, but whose ancestry is as yet involved in obscurity. Thus the harriers will be wanting to come in next, then some of the kites, and perhaps all of the hawks. Under these circumstances, the only thing to do would be to give each applicant a rigid examination and admit him if possible. But at least let us quarantine the carrion-buzzards (Polyborinae) as long as possible, and especially let us be careful not to add insult to injury in the case of the osprey by forcing him into any closer relations with a group the very name of which must always call up painful recollections. But to return to facts: the Aquiline group which we have introduced may be in ' general negatively characterized as follows. Bill not toothed as in the falcons, the cutting edge of upper mandible even or sinuate ; face without the imperfect disk of the harriers ; the bony shield over the eye usually prominent ; legs and feet heavier EAGLES. 279 and shorter than those of the hawks ; tarsus evidently shorter than the tibia, usually scutellate in front and behind, or else feathered; claws always long, much curved and sharp ; wings various, but usually rather short, broad, and rounded. In the progress from youth to maturity the changes in plumage are generally several, and frequently the successive stages are very unlike each other. In other cases, although ihe young plumage is very unlike that of the adult, the latter is assumed very gradually and almost imperceptibly. In very many cases marked changes of general color resulting from the change in color of the feathers themselves without the loss of any old, or the gain of any new ones. The time required to obtain the adult dress is also very different in different species, and probably varies considerably in individuals of the same species. In not a few the young birds molt at once into the mature dress, in others this is not obtained for at least five or six years, and there seems to be no doubt that occa- sionally there are individuals which never assume it, though they may live to old age. Moreover the various stages peculiar to any given species are not necessarily passed through by every individual, and even if they ai'e, all do not assume them in the same order. Finally, melanism is of frequent occurrence, not only black individuals occa- sionally appearing in almost every species, but black races are not infrequent, in which case the melanism may be (?) only temporary, or, as seems more often to be the case, the abnormal coloration is permanent. Much of what has been said here with regard to variation of plumage is applicable equally to other sub-families, but as it is particu- larly noticeable among the buzzards and eagles I have dwelt on it here. In the light of all these facts it will readily be seen how difficult is the discrimina- tion of species, and how perplexing the literature of the subject through the descrip- tion as valid species of all the different forms which a single one may show. As an extreme illustration of the ease with which species are manufactured we may men- tion that in 1875 a European ornithologist of some prominence described as "new" a species, the only example of which was then living in the Zoological Gardens at Ant- werp. This, according to his own description, was extremely similar to a well-known and variable species, and moreover he had actually never seen the bird he described as new. We can therefore hardly be surprised when he mentions as one of the chai-- acteristics of his new species that it is " silent in confinement." Too much reliance has often been placed on the change or permanency of plumage in captive birds ; and while such specimens are frequently invaluable, and we are in- debted to them for much of our true knowledge of change in plumage, yet we should never lose sight of the fact that birds living under abnormal conditions are very liable to become abnormal themselves. The age which birds of prey attain is very uncertain, and the data on this point very meagre. The general statement has always been that " eagles pi-obably live to be at least one hundred years old." Many cases, indeed, are on record where eagles are believed to have lived more than one hundred years, but we know of no instance where this was absolutely known to be true. At least one authentic instance has been recorded, however, of a white-tailed eagle, Halicetus albicilla, which lived in confine- ment until upwards of eighty years old. The eagle-vulture, Gypohierax angolensis, of West Africa, combines, as its name suggests, some characters of both the eagles and vultures. Its size and general bear- ing would place it with the former, but its carrion-eating habits, coupled with the bare skin of the sides of the head, suggest the vultures. It is a beautiful bird in its appear- ance, especially when seen seated solitary, as its custom is, on the bare top of some 280 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. commanding tree, giving a wide outlook over river and forest. Its plumage is mainly snowy white, the wings and tail alone being mostly black, the latter with a broad ter- minal white band. The legs and feet are pink, and the bare skin about the head flesh-colored. Though it ordinarily lives on carrion it has been known to stoop at living prey, Mr. H. T. Ussher having shot one in the act of striking a kid tethered in the woods as a bait for a leopard. The bearded-vulture or Lammergeyer. Gypaetus barbatus, is one of the most noted of all the birds of prey, holding much the same place with regard to the Pyrenees, Alps, and Himmalehs that the condor holds in the Andes. A bird of magnificent proportions and savage aspect, it is nevertheless much less harmful than many of the smaller eagles, though tradition accuses it of the most daring attacks on chamois, mountain goats, and even mountaineers themselves. The mode of attack commonly ascribed to it as follows : Watching stealthily for an unguarded moment, when its victim is near the edge of a precipice, it sweeps down with tremendous velocity, and, by the force of its rush, followed up perhaps by blows of the wings, forces its half-stunned and bewildered quarry over the brink, afterwards descending itself to feast at leism-e on the lifeless body. Dresser, in his " Birds of Europe," says of this habit : " Many of these accounts are greatly exaggerated. It partakes far more of the vulture in its habits than of the eagle, feeds on carrion and such refuse as it can pick up, sometimes doubtless attack- ing weakly lambs or catching mountain hares. There are, however, authentic records of its having attacked children when impelled by hunger." Mr. Salvin, who found several pairs breeding in the Atlas range in northern Africa, says that their food there consisted principally of land-tortoises, Testudo mauritanica, which they carried to some height in the air, letting them fall on a stone to break the shell. Another observer, writing of its habits in Greece, says : " The Lammergeyer may be observed floating slowly at a uniform level close to the cliffs of some deep ravine, where his shadow is perhaps projected on the wall-like rocks. If the ravine has salient and re-entering angles, he does not cut across from point to point, but pre- serves the same distance from the cliff, and when he disappears at any lateral fissure, you feel sure of the very spot where he will emerge on turning the corner of the precipice. Marrow-bones are the dainties he loves the best, and when the- other vultures have picked the flesh off any animal he comes in at the end of the feast and swallows the bones, or breaks them and swallows the pieces if he cannot get the marrow out otherwise. The bones he cracks by taking them to a great height and letting them fall upon a stone. This is probably the bird that dropped a tortoise on the bald head of poor old ^Eschylus." In color the adult male Lammergeyer shows strong contrasts, most of the under parts and the neck being rich, light rusty yellow ; the wings, back, and tail blackish brown with white shaft-streaks ; the forehead and crown creamy white, the sides of the head and a bunch of long black bristles on the chin jet black. The iris is pale orange, but the sclerotic membrane is blood red, giving the bird an almost diabolical ' ^j ^j look when excited. Full grown individuals range from three to four feet in length, and have an extent of wings of nine or ten feet. The bulky nest is usually placed in some inaccessible cleft or cavern in the face of a cliff, and the single egg (rarely one more) is dull yellow, clouded or washed with rusty. The birds are much sought after on account of their feathers, and their nests EA GLES. 281 are likewise robbed whenever they are found in accessible places; the eggs, from their rarity in collections, always bringing a good price. Hence the Lainmergeyer is fast disappearing from Europe, being now very rarely seen in Switzerland, where it was once common, though still found in some numbers in Spain, where it has been less persecuted. A second species of Gypaetus, G. meridional! s, is credited to northeastern Africa, and is said to be easily distinguished by having the lower part of the tarsus bare. It also differs somewhat in head markings, but all the differences are so slight, and the characters themselves so variable in the true Lammergeyer, that probably it will prove to be merely a geographical race of this bird. We give the following anecdote of this species on the authority of Rev. ,1. G. Wood, who says: "Bruce gives a graphic and amusing narrative of the cool audacity that was displayed by one of these birds. The author, with a number of his attend- ants, were seated on the summit of a mountain, engaged in cooking their dinner, when a Lammergeyer came slowly sailing over the ground, and boldly alighted close to the dish of boiled meat around which the men were sitting. Undismayed by their shouts of distress, he quietly proceeded to reconnoitre the spot, while the men were running for their spears and shields, and, going up to the pot in which some goat's flesh was boiling, he inserted his foot for the purpose of abstracting the meat. Not being prepared for the sudden scalding which ensued, he hastily withdrew his foot and fastened on a leg and shoulder of goat's flesh which were lying on the dish, carrying them away before he could be intercepted. The attend- ants were quite afraid of the bird, and assured Mr. Bruce that it would return in a short time for more meat. Accordingly, in a very few minutes, back came the Lammergeyer, but was evidently rather suspicious at the look of Mr. Bruce, who had taken up his rifle and was sitting close to the pan of meat. In spite of the shouts of the attendants, the bird, which evidently held in the greatest contempt the warlike capabilities of the natives, and was not prepared for European weapons and hands, settled on the ground about ten yards from the meat, and the next instant was lying dead on the earth with a rifle-ball through its body. When brought to the scales the dead bird was found to weigh twenty-two pounds, and the expanse of its wings was eight feet four inches, although it was undergoing its moult at the time." Most of the typical eagles are included under the genera Aquila and Haliaetus, each of which comprises from five to twenty species distributed through all countries, but perhaps most poorly represented in North America, where we have only one species of each genus, viz., the golden-eagle, Aquila chrysaetus, common to Europe, Asia, and North America, and the bald-headed eagle, Haliaetus leucocephalus, peculiar to North America. The Old World white-tailed sea-eagle, H. albicilla, which very closely resembles a large and poorly colored bald-eagle, is found in Greenland, but not elsewhere in North America, though abundant in Europe and Asia and even in Kams- chatka and the Aleutian Islands. In Aquila the tarsus is feathered to the toes; in Haliaetus only about half way from heel to toes. The members of the genus A quila are often spoken of as 'true eagles' as distinguished from the equally large but less regal Haliaeti, which are certainly more addicted to fishing, and perhaps oftener feed on carrion, but in this latter particular there is little choice. Other writers call both these genera ' true ' eagles, relegating to the 'so-called eagles' the related genera Haliastur, Helotarsus, Zj i ^ ^3 O Nisaetus, and almost any hawk or buzzard of large size. 282 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. We may take as our type or the eagles the golden-eagle just referred to, one of the largest of its genus, and unfortunately far from common in America. It ranges from Mexico northward, being most abundant in mountainous regions, where it usually nests on inaccessible cliffs, and lays two or three eggs, which are commonly brown-spotted, though occasionally white like those of the bald-eagle. On the other side of the Atlantic it ranges somewhat further south, being abun- dant in the Atlas mountains of northern Africa, and of common occurrence in India, FIG. 131. — Aquila mogilnik, imperial eagle. and, though everywhere a mountain-loving bird, in the two last-named places, it not unfrequently nests in trees. In Great Britain at one time both this and the sea-eagle were verging on extinction, owing to the bounties paid for their destruction on account of their depredations on flocks. It is now, however, not uncommon in Scot- land, and in some localities there even seems to be increasing in numbers, probably owing to two causes combined, one the protection granted it by the owners of many large estates, and the other that extended to it by the shepherds and mountaineers EAGLES. 283 themselves, who have learned that a large price cnn be obtained for its eggs, and so, after robbing a nest once each season, allow a second set of eggs to be hatched and the young to be reared. The American bird has usually been considered a variety of the Old World species, and distinguished by the name canadensis. The only points, however, in which the two forms differ, are the slightly larger size and darker plum- age of the American bird, the latter point being most easily recognized in the young. The adults range in length from two and one half to three feet, and the wings spread from six to seven feet. , «Tl •' i'fc.Mj1,:,- FIG. 132. — Ifaliaetus vocifer, African sea-eagle. The smallest member of the genus is the dwarf-eagle, Aqxila pennata, a native of southern Europe, north Africa, and India, which measures only eighteen inches or two feet in length. Other notable species are the king-eagle, A. heliaca^ of southeastern Europe and Asia, equalling the golden in size, and supposed by many to be the species once adopted as the emblem of the Roman empire; the imperial eagle, A. mogilnik, but slightly inferior to the last, and with about the same range ; A. verreatixi, of south Africa, and A. ( Uroaetus) audax, the bold or wedge-tailed 284 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. eagle of Australia. This latter differs from all the other members of the genus in having the long tail strongly graduated, the outer feathers being five or six inches shorter than the middle ones. Severtzoff, in his "Fauna of Turkestan," says of the king-eagle, A. heliaca, "During summer it is found in all parts of Turkestan, but breeds only in the salt plains near Jorteck. During the breeding-season it is only found near its breeding- haunts, but frequently wanders and changes its residence during the winter. Like other eagles, it breeds only every alternate year. So soon as the young are full- grown they commence to change ; but the plumage changes very slowly. During the winter the moult is arrested, and recommences in the spring of the following year; and they never breed whilst this moult is progressing." Among the sea-eagles, the North American bald-eagle, Ilallaetus leucocephalus, is a familiar example, and too well known to need description. Of about the same size as the golden-eagle, it differs much from it in habits, haunting the shores of lakes and rivers, but especially the sea-shore, living mainly on fish, which it sometimes catches for itself, sometimes robs the osprey of, and probably most often finds cast up dead on the shore. The nest is most frequently placed on a high tree, but in sections where suitable trees are not to be found, it places its nest on rocky cliffs or precipitous banks. The eggs, which are laid very early in the season, are never (normally) less than two, which is the regular number, though sometimes three or four are laid. ^j d? They are nearly spherical, dull white, unspotted, and average about three inches by two and three-quarters. The finest bird of the genus is undoubtedly the northern sea-eagle, Haliaetus pelagicus, of northeastern Asia. It is readily recognized by its large size, with extremely large bill, cuneate or graduated tail (of fourteen feathers), and white thighs, shoulders, rump, and tail, the other parts being brown. The African sea- eagle, II. vocifer^ is remarkable for a coloring unusual in this group. The head, neck, breast, and tail are pure white, the remainder of the under parts, including the thighs, sides of body, and under wing-coverts, deep chestnut ; while the upper parts are brown or black. It is a comparatively small bird, being little more than half the size of the bald-eagle, and closely approaching in size the common red-tailed hawk, Buteo borealis. This is the smallest eagle of the genus unless we except the nearly related H. vociferoides of Madagascar, which is of the same size and with somewhat similar colors. Like the other members of the genus, these birds feed largely on fish, and are seldom found at any great distance from water. Closely allied to Halia'etus, if indeed it is not really congeneric, is the peculiar fishing-eagle, Polioaetus ichthyaetus, of India and the East Indies generally, an eagle with almost the exact habits of the osprey (Pandion), subsisting entirely on fish, and with its external anatomy much modified to suit its requirements, its talons being much curved, very sharp, and rounded almost precisely as in that species. Two species are known. Here may be mentioned a small group of two or three species very closely allied on the one hand to Aquila, from which, however, they are distinguished by their longer legs, and on the other to the hawk-eagles, Spizaetus and allies. The most familiar member of the group in Europe is Bonelli's eagle, Nlsaetus fasciatus, a common bird of the Mediterranean region, and extending eastward to India. Under the name of hawk-eagles are grouped a dozen or more raptors of medium or large size, and often of striking plumage, belonging to several genera, mainly EAGLES. 285 Spizaetus (or Z,imnaetus) and its subdivisions, Lophoaetus, Spiziastur, etc. Several of the species are beautifully crested, as, for example, Lo/>/ioaetus occipitalis, of South Africa, one of the smaller species, but with a black occipital crest over four inches long. This is rather a sluggish bird, feeding much on rats, but frequently helping himself to poultry also. The crowned-eagle, fyiz"'''?"* <'<»'<»t(tttix, which has nearly the same range as the last, is a much larger bird, with the under pails richly banded with black on a bnff ground, and an ample occipital crest of long, blackish - FIG. 133. — Circaetus gallicus, serpent-eagle. . brown feathers. Several species are also found in Central and South America, among which are the crested Spiziaetus (Lophotriorchis) isidori, and S. ornatus. Probably the Malayan black-eagle, Neopus malayensis, belongs witli tliis group, though its remarkably small outer toe and claw — almost aborted it would seem — might be taken as an indication of other affinity. This species is crestless. An interesting bird, related to those just mentioned, is the short-toed or serpent- eagle, Circaetus gallicus, which inhabits the countries about the Mediterranean, and 286 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. extends northward into central Europe, and eastward into India. It is plainly but prettily marked, the under parts being mostly white, profusely spotted with brown, while the upper parts are pretty uniform dark brown. It feeds almost exclusively on reptiles, particularly frogs, lizards, and snakes. Canon Tristram, in writing of this bird, says : "They will often dash down to the field below, sweep for a few minutes like a harrier, and then, seizing one of the great black ground snakes or a Tropidonotus in FIG. 134. — Morphnus yuianensis, Guiana eagle. a ditch, sit down and occupy some minutes in killing the reptile, after which they carry their prize away in their claws, not, like many other eagles, devouring it on the spot." There are several other species of this genus, all crestless or only slightly crested, while as many more with conspicuous crests have been separated under the generic name of Spilornis. Members of both genera might properly be called short-toed eagles, and all seem to have rather similar reptile-feeding habits, with a preference for snakes. EAGLES. 287 < Amongst the scores of other species belonging to this populous sub-family, it is only possible for us to notice a few of the most striking or typical. The species thus far spoken of seem rather closely related to the eagles, and perhaps more especially to Aquila. There are many others, however, which would naturally be associated with the buzzards, although from their size many of them are called eagles, and at once suggest the Ilaliaetus type; while, finally, not a few are referred by naturalists almost as often to one group as the other. An example of this latter class is seen in the short-tailed eagle, Ilelotarsus ecaudatus, from the lower half of Africa, remarkable for its rich maroon and black plumage, crested head, extremely short tail, and coral- red legs and feet. Tropical and South America furnish us witli a group of three remarkably large, crested species, usually referred to as many genera, which may collectively be fairly called buzzard-eagles. The smallest is the Guiana eagle, Morphnus guianensis, in which, however, the tail is longer, both proportionally and actually, than in either of the others, if not indeed than in any other eagle whatever, the Australian wedge- tailed eagle possibly excepted. The wings, on the contrary, are, as in the two following genera, rather short and rounded, these birds being better fitted for pouncing suddenly and at short range on their prey, than for lofty sailing and long stoops, while the lengthened but very strong tail must be of great iise in the close and tortuous pursuit of birds among the dense forests which these birds love to make their homes. This eagle inhabits the dense forests of the Amazon as well as those of Guiana, but is almost exclusively a forest inhabiter, rarely, if ever, ranging over the open country. Ilarpi/Jicdiaetus coronatus is another crested form, but little inferior in size to the bald-eagle, of a pretty uniform ashy brown color, with white-tipped upper tail-coverts, and two white bars on the tail, a narrow one at tip, and a broad one in the middle. Though a powerfully built bird, and on occasion a daring hunter, it frequently, like so many of its 'nobler' relatives, contents itself with carrion. Described by Azara as long ago as 1802, it is still a rare bird in collections, though fairly abundant in some parts of southern South America. The harpy-eagle, Thrasaetus harpy ia (also known as Harpyia destructor}, is one of the most powerful birds of prey in the world. In total length it is slightly greater than the golden-eagle, owing to the great length of tail. In expanse of wings, how- ever, it is rather less ; but when we come to compare the proportions of beak and claws, and the strength of the bony framework, it is evident that the harpy is without a rival. Dr. Oswald, in the " American Naturalist " for March, 1878, thus describes its physique : — "A square, strong head, armed with a most viciously curved, powerful bill, that can crush a man's finger-bones without any special effort, and dislocate the neck of a squirrel-monkey by a single wrench. Broad, compact wings, moved by shoulder muscles of enormous strength, and a pair of stout legs feathered to below the tarsi, that terminate in claws of such extraordinary power and sharpness that they leave marks on the skin of a quadruped, and even on the tough leather of a Mexican saddle, like the bite of a wild-cat. The harpy is often killed for the sake of its feathers— I mean for the feather-bed value of its plumage — by the Mexican Indians, and, if plucked, yields about four pounds of soft, grayish-white down, beside the stiff wing and tail feathers and the bristling tuft which crowns its head. This plumage is so elastic, so compact, and so firmly imbricated, that buckshot, striking the wings or the breast of the bird at a certain angle, glance off or fail to penetrate to vital parts: 288 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. and monkeys or foxes which in their death-struggle snap at what they mistake for the throat of their captor, shut their fangs upon a mass of elastic down, which baffles their efforts till the grip of the destructor closes upon their own throats. "The harpy can overtake the swiftest birds of the tropical woods, and in spite of its size steers its way through the labyrinth of forest trees and hanging vines with - FIG. 135. — Thrasaetus harpyia, harpy-eagle. amazing skill, and rarely fails to rise with a pheasant, a woodcock, or a small mammal in its claws, after plunging like a meteor from the clouds into the leafy maze of the tierra caliente" When adult, its general color above is gray, while the head and neck all round, as well as the entire underparts, are white, excepting the long crest feathers, and an indistinct chest-band, which inclines to gray. The tail-feathers are brown, crossed EAGLES. 289 with six imperfect bands of black, with which color the interspaces also are plenti- fully mottled. The immature bird is very different --one of the characteristic phases being almost white below, with a broad band of glossy black feathers across the chest, the tail with five black bands and a white tip. According to the writer above quoted, the food of the harpy in southern Mexico is very varied, for he " attacks and kills heavy old turkey-cocks, young fawns, sloths, full-grown foxes and badgers, middle-sized pigs, and even the black sapajou monkey (Ateles paniscus}, whose size and weight exceed its own more than three times. He shows a great latitude of taste, and seems to devour with equal relish a fat iguana lizard, a young woodcock, or a tough old monkey. He can catch fish, too ; does not disdain the black water-snakes that glide through the shallow ponds of the coast jun- gles, and even anticipates the trick of the tortoise-hunters, that uncover the oily eggs which the caret turtle has covered with the sand of the shallow river banks. " But during the larger part of the year he seeks his quarry on the trees of his native woods, and causes more distress and dire commotion among the tribes of the ' *U gallinaceous tree-birds, raccoons, frugivorous rodents, and monkeys than all their other enemies taken together. His tyranny over the kingdom of the air tolerates no rival ; the falcons and the Aquila chrysaetos have to confine themselves to the icy rocks of the upper Sierra, the Strix bubo and other owls are bound under heavy penalties to keep the peace during daylight, and the sea-eagle is pursued for miles with implaca- ble fury whenever he ventures to trespass upon the rivers of the tierra caliente." Of the breeding habits of this remarkable bird our author gives the following account : o o o " As soon as the lengthening days of the year approach the vernal equinox, the hen harpy begins to collect dry sticks and moss, or perhaps only lichens, with a few claws' full of the feathery bast of the Arauca palm, if her last year's eyrie has been left undis- turbed. Her favorite roosting-places, the highest forest trees, especially the Adan- sonia and the Pimis balsamifera, and the more inaccessible rocks of the foot-hills, are commonly also chosen for a breeding-place ; and it is not easy to distinguish her compact-built eyrie on the highest branches of a wild fig-tree from the dark-colored clusters of the Mexican mistletoe ( Viscum rubrum), which frequents the same tree- tops. The eggs are white, with yellowish-brown dots and washes, and about as long, though not quite as heavy, as a hen's egg. Of these eggs the harpy lays four or five, but never hatches more than two ; or, if the Indians can be believed, feeds the first two eaglets that make their appearance with the contents of the remaining eggs. The process of incubation is generally finished by the middle of March, if not sooner ; and from that time to the end of June the rapacity of the old birds is the terror of the tropical fauna, for their hunting expeditions, which later in the year are restricted to the early morning hours, now occupy them for the larger part of the day. From the garden-terrace of El Pinal, — a little villa on the ridge of the Organos moun- tains,— I frequently watched a pair of harpies that had their nest in the crags below. The hen bird, which could be recognized by her larger size and the greater energy of her movements, generally made her appearance a few minutes before sunrise, mount- ed to the upper sky, as if to study the meteorological probabilities for the coming day, and then proceeded to business. After wheeling at an elevation of some hundred feet over the tree-tops in a circle, or rather in a contracting spiral, for a couple of minutes, she commonly would stop short, hover with quivering wings for a second or two, and then dive into the leafy ocean below, with a headlong rapidity that could hardly be followed by the eye, but evidently with a practical purpose, for her descents VOL. iv. — 19 290 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. were generally succeeded by the ascent of a cloud of birds, or the shrill piping of the squirrel-monkeys ( Callitlirix sciurus), and the exultant scream of the wild huntress from the depths of the forest. Then followed a pause, devoted to domestic duties, during which the thanksgiving duet of the eaglets ascended from the cliffs, and very soon after one or both parents reappeared in the upper air to resume the work of destruction. The callow harpies, with their pendant crops, their misshapen, big heads, and their preposterous claws, resemble embryo demons or infantine chimeras, rather than any creatures of nature ; but they grow very rapidly, and their appetite during the first six months of their existence, is almost insatiable. " The Incas and Aztec noblemen trained harpy-eagles like falcons, and preferred them to tame panthers, which were used by pot-hunters to capture deer and young peccaries. Devega, the biographer of Cortez, says that the satrap of a Mexican province presented the Great Captain with a hunting-eagle called El Hidalgo del aire, the prince of the air, whose value was estimated at the price of ten slaves ; and adds, that the only bodily injury which Cortez ever received, during his adventures in Mex- ico, was inflicted by this eagle," which, dying from a wound inflicted by Cortez in a fit of passion, " before he resigned himself to death, raised his head once more, grabbed the first finger of the I'icrht hand of his cruel master, and bit it through, — crushed it *_? ^j * ^j ' completely, ' so as not to leave the world unavenged,' as Devega says." The range of this species is from southern Mexico southward over all the tropical forests of America, — as far, at least, as Bolivia and southern Brazil. Turning now to birds which more nearly conform to our idea of buzzards, we may mention the genus Urubitinga (in which we include Leucopternis), a group peculiar to tropical America, whence about a dozen species are known. They are good-sized buzzards, which at once suggest the Buteones by their size, proportions, and habits. Among them are some very beautiful birds ; for example, U. ghiesbreghti of Mexico, which is snowy white with the exception of wings and tail, which have bold markings of deep black. 'U. anthracina, the anthracite-buzzard of Cuba, Central America, and southward, is the very opposite of this species as regards color, being deep black all over, with the exception of a broad white band across the middle of the tail, and a narrow white edging at its tip. This bird has been taken in Arizona. Other American genera, closely allied to the foregoing, but which we have only space to mention, are Asturina, Buteogallus, JButeola, and Busarellus, — this last being remarkable for the long-hooked bill, as Avell as for having the soles of the feet thickly studded with rough papilke or spicules in the manner of the osprey, — evident adapta- tions for the better catching of fish, which constitute its ordinary food. Gruber's buzzard ( Onychotes gruberi), is interesting, not only for its peculiarities of structure — which leave it without near relatives among the buzzards — but because only two specimens have ever been discovered, both probably taken in California. " The elon- gated legs, reaching considerably beyond the rather short tail, the close thigh-plumes, the long and extremely acute claws (somewhat like those of Itostrhamus,) with the short, rounded, and very concave wing, are its most striking peculiai'ities." The genus Archibuteo, consisting of only two species, resembles the typical buz- zards (Buteo) in nearly all points but one, namely the feathering of the tarsi, for these differ from those of all others of the sub-family, except Aquila, in being densely feathered in front to the very base of the toes ; the hinder aspect of the tarsus, how- ever, is entirely unfeathered. The wings are also proportionally longer than in Buteo,. in this respect also resembling the genus Aquila. Both species are found in North BUZZARDS. 291 America, — the squirrel-hawk, or fei-rugineous buzzard (Archibuteo ferrugineus), being confined to the western side of the continent, while the rough-legged buzzard (A. lagopus) reaches from Atlantic to Pacific, and is found in Europe as well. In its nor- mal plumage it is generally ashy-brown, with various lighter and darker markings, and a tendency to form a dark zone across the lower breast and abdomen, while the tail is largely white toward the root. But melanism is of very frequent occurrence, and in this condition the bird is almost entirely black. After much controversy, and FIG. 136. — Archibuteo lagopus, rough-legged buzzard. many years of uncertainty, it is now definitely settled that this black phase is entirely independent of age, sex, or locality, though it is well to note, in this connection, that in Europe, where the light-colored bird is abundant, black individuals are of extremely rare occurrence, only one or two such being on record. In America, the rough-legged buzzard seldom nests as far south as the United States, but from the plains of the Saskatchewan northward it breeds abundantly, com- monly placing its bulky nest in trees, but sometimes on cliffs, or even at the edge of 292 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. a precipitous mud-bank on the border of a stream or lake. The eggs vary in number from three to five, and are of a creamy-white color, sometimes with faint and obscure darker blotches, usually quite heavily marked with spots and clashes of brown. The last group of this sub-family which we shall take up is the genus Buteo, which includes the true buzzards, the number of which varies according to the esti- mates of different authorities as to varieties and geographical races. Probably there are at least twenty-five well-marked species distributed in all parts of the world, except Australia, and perhaps half this number are found in America. The common ' hen-hawks ' (JButeo borealis and B. lineatus) of the eastern United States are familiar examples of the genus, and represent about the average size. Their ' r ' • ./., • • <' '<•'• ' • . ' : ' , - *mx' mm ' FIG. 137. — Buteo vulgaris, common buzzard. habits are too well known to need extended description, and they may "be seen, sum- mer or winter, sweeping in graceful curves over the country, rising and falling in spirals, unless after noting prey, when they sometimes dart down hundreds of yards in a very few seconds. Although they feed much on birds and rabbits, and are frequent visitors to the farm-yard, they seem to have a special predilection for squirrels ; and in regions extensively wooded with pines, where the red-squirrel is most abundant, these noisy little rodents must form a large part of the Buteo's food. Probably the white-tailed buzzard, B. pterodes (albocaudatus) of South America represents nearly the maximum size in the genus, its length being about tAVO feet, the wing eighteen and one half inches, and tail seven ; but females of the African and Himalayan B. ferox, which is not uncommon in south-eastern Europe, sometimes FISH-HA WK. 293 exceed this size, the tail especially being longer. If now we take the broad-winged buzzard (B. pennsylvanicus), only sixteen inches long, wing eleven inches, and tail seven, we have about the minimum. The type of the genus is the common buzzard (2>. vulgaris), of Europe, now quite scarce in Great Britain, and entirely confined, as a resident, to a few large wooded tracts. In northern Africa and eastern Europe it is replaced by the smaller African buzzard (_Z?. desertorum), probably only a geographical variety of vulgaris. In Amer- ica, too, a species (Swainson's buzzard, B. swainsoni), is recognized, which is very near the European vulgaris, if not actually the same. Like some other North Amer- ican Falconidre, it has a large range, occurring under one name or another from the Arctic Ocean to Patagonia. Nearly all the species of this large genus are more or less subject to melanism, a good example of a rather stable race of this kind being the western form of the red-tailed hawk (J5. borealis), known usually under the sub- specific title of calurus, a buzzard of very different appearance from the eastern type, but specifically identical, as shown by the intermediate forms, which show every pos- sible gradation. Such cases as these, coupled with the great differences due to age, and the wide individual variations, have brought confusion little less than hopeless into our lists. Although but one species of osprey (Panclion) probably exists, yet its peculiari- ties warrant its separation from the eagles, with which it has usually been associated, and necessitate the formation of a sub-family (Pandioninas) for its reception. This may be characterized as follows: Outer toe reversible, all the toes without basal webs; superciliary shield rudimentary ; tibia long, closely and evenly feathered ; plumage without aftershafts. As there is but one genus, with a single species, the following characters may be added without attempting to grade them : The bill is strong, tooth- less, but with a very long, sharp hook ; the tarsus reticulate, feet very large, toes with the under surface roughened by close-set papillae ; all the claws of the same length, (unique among FalconidaB), long, much curved, and extremely sharp, not grooved beneath, but smooth, and nearly round, the middle one channelled on the inside. Feathers rather harsh and stiff ; wings long and pointed ; tail rather short. It is difficult to imagine a hawk or an eagle better fitted for its trade than is the O ~ well-known fish-hawk or osprey. The plumage is such that the bird may remain immersed for several seconds in the water without wetting the feathers, and the pow- erful wings enable it to rise lightly after its plunge, and lift with ease the slippery prey which is helpless in the grasp of the marvellously perfect feet. The osprey is found in almost all countries of the globe, but as yet it is not known to occur in Iceland or New Zealand. It breeds, however, in such widely separated places as Hudson's Bay and the Red Sea, Kamtschatka and Florida. The habits of the bird seem to vary somewhat in different countries, and through persecution in some places, or peculiarly favorable circumstances in others, the location of the nest varies considerably. All along the Atlantic seaboard of the United States it breeds abundantly ; and the nests, conspicuously placed on the tops of large, dead trees, are visible from long distances, and where the species is abundant several nests may fre- quently be seen from the same point. Indeed, instances are known of scores or even hundreds of pairs nesting close together, and in organized communities. The European bird, on the contrary, is nowhere abundant, being usually met with only singly or in pairs, and much more frequently about fresh water than along the seashore. In Great Britain the bird is now rarely met with, except as a straggler, 294 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. though a few pairs are still known to breed each summer on some of the least fre- quented Scottish lakes. But the secret of these localities is jealously guarded by the possessors, as the eggs are among the most coveted prizes of the British collector, and no hardship is too great to be endured in obtaining them. In Europe this species usually nests on cliffs or rocky islets in fresh-water lakes, rarely on trees, while in America precisely the reverse is true of it. The eggs are from two to four — usually three — generally so heavily blotched with deep brown and red as almost to hide the lighter ground-color. The European bird is rather smaller than the American, and there is a corresponding difference in the size of the egg. The food of the osprey consists almost entirely of fish, which it catches for itself, usually by a headlong plunge. I am not aware that any particular species is pre- ferred, but the smaller sizes are undoubtedly oftenest captured. It is said that occa- sionally an osprey miscalculates the size of its prey, and strikes its talons into a fish which it is unable to manage — in which case, being unable to withdraw them [?], it is ignominiously drowned. The pictures, therefore, which one often sees, representing this bird seated triumphantly on a dead salmon of a weight apparently of fifteen or twenty pounds, which it has incidentally transported to a convenient mountain-top, are presumably artistic licenses, — not photographs. The long and closely feathered tibia, the reversible outer toe, long and peculiar claws, and roughened soles, seem perfectly adapted for effective fishing; and when we add to this the strength of wing, compactness of plumage, and remarkable power of sight possessed by this bird, we must admit that here is indeed a " complete angler " in one volume. The harriers, Circinse, form a small group of slender, graceful, non-arboreal Falcon- idre, which may be further described as having the bill rather weak, without any notch, but with the tomia usually strongly sinuate. The legs are long and rather weak, the tarsus about as long as the tibia, unfeathered, and scutellate both in front and behind ; the toes are rather short, and the claws, though of no great size, are very sharp; the wings and tail are long, the former straight and but slightly concave, thus giving an easy, gliding flight which the birds seem able to keep up indefinitely, or at least until they strike something worth stopping to eat ; the plumage is soft and loose, and the face has an imperfect ruff, which faintly suggests the owls. The sub-family consists essentially of the genus Circus, which is probably indivi- sible into larger groups than species. Of these there are from ten to twenty, — at present we have not the material to say with certainty how many there may be. Usu- ally the sexes are unlike in color (quite unusual among Falconida?) and size, the females being larger and darker; and the young also differ materially from the adults, though in a general way resembling the females. Add to this the wide range of some species, with. the resultant climatic variation, and the determination of species becomes a problem of no ordinary difficulty. North America has but one species, the marsh hawk or harrier, Circus cyan,eus (Jmdsonius), now considered to be a mere geographical race of the common hen- harrier, Circus cyaneus, of Europe. The North American form is abundant in suita- ble localities ; that is, rather flat open country, from the Arctic circle to Panama, southwaixl from which point, as far as La Plata, it is replaced in similar situations by a larger and totally different species, C. maculosus, when we again meet with a variety of cyaneus — slightly smaller, perhaps, than the northern form, yet doubtless specifi- Pandion haliattus, fish-hawk, osprey. HA WKS. 295 cally the same — to which the name cinereus is usually applied. This form, with maculosus, abounds on the pampas and plains of Patagonia as far as the strait of Magelhaen, and also occurs, without maculosus, in the Falkland Islands. All the harriers are remarkably similar in habits, preferring comparatively level, open country, and with a fondness for wet grounds. They rarely rise to any great height in the air, being usually content to sweep along close to the ground, now glid- ing for several minutes with scarcely a motion of the wings, then flapping vigorously for an instant, turning and returning and quartering the whole ground, ever watching for frog or mouse or sitting bird, and following each discovery by a rapid dart, or a drop and clutch, which is usually effective. Ordinarily the feet are not visible at such times, but sometimes the bird fails to make a capture, and, recovering itself before touching the ground, you may see the dangling legs quickly drawn up to the body again. The expanse of wing is unusually large for the size of the body, a specimen which spreads four feet from tip to tip seldom weighing more than a pound or a pound and a half. The nest is almost invariably built on the ground, and the eggs, three to five in number, are nearly white, either faintly blotched and spotted, or immaculate. Three species are generally credited to Europe ; one has been mentioned already, a second is the ash-colored or Montague's harrier, C. cinerascens, and the largest is the so-called marsh harrier, C. ceruginosus. Jardine's harrier, C. assimilis, of Australia, is noteworthy for its deviation from the ordinary coloring in the group, the head and much of the upper parts being dark chestnut with deep black streaks, while the under parts are bright rufous, sprinkled all over with round white spots. Associated with the harriers by many authors we find a single long-legged, long- winged, slenderly built bird of South Africa and Madagascar, to which the generic name Polyboroicles has been given, from its superficial resemblance to the caracara (Polyborus) of America. The strong bill with the naked skin about its base, and extending back around the eyes, does indeed suggest the face of folyborus, but other points in structure and habits seem to ally it more nearly to the harriers. Under the head of kites are usually included twenty or thirty species of Falconi- da3, of most parts of the world, principally from the warmer regions. Although generally recognized as a sub-family, the elements contained in it are very dissimilar, some of the members showing Buteonine tendencies, while others suggest the falcons. O ' ~O Compare, for example, the European black kite, Milvus migrans, with the fish-eating eagle, Ilaliastur indus, of India, often called the red-backed or Brahminy kite ; also the Mississippi kite, Ictinia subccvrulea, with any species of typical falcon. In Q-eneral the kites are very long-winged and small-footed Falconida?, with a short O •/ O ~ and not veiy strong bill, which is never truly notched like a falcon's, though the approach to it is sometimes quite close. In addition, the superciliary shield is very variable, being small or almost wanting in the more typical genera, but evident or even prominent in others. The tarsus is much shorter than the tibia, generally more or less feathered, and the exposed portion reticulate. The toes are short, but the claws are sometimes lengthened and always sharp. The wings are usually narrow and pointed, and the tail varies from square to emarginate, and often very deeply forked. Kites are birds of very strong flight ; many of them feed largely on insects, and eat their prey from their claws while flying. Not unfrequently they are gregarious, especially during their migrations. The true kites are limited to the Old World, where they are represented by half a 296 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. dozen species of the single genus 3Iilvus^ of which the common or red kite, Milvus ictinus, is the type. This is n bird of comparatively small body, but with wide- spreading wings, and long, deeply-forked tail ; the female, which is largest, measuring about twenty-seven inches in length, and having an expanse of wings of over five feet. The general color is reddish brown streaked with black, the tail being rather lighter red, barred with deep brown. These tail feathers are in considerable demand for use in the manufacture of salmon flies. FIG. 138. — Milvus migrans, black kite, and M. ictinus, common kite. This species was formerly one of the most familiar of British birds of prey, hav- ing, it is said, been abundant as a scavenger in the streets of London three or four hundred years ago ; but, according to Professor Newton, it is now one of the rarest, being restricted to a few wooded districts, where a small remnant still exists. The same authority says Wolley has well remarked of the modern Londoners that " few who see the paper toys hovering over the parks in fine days of summer have any idea that the bird from which they derive their name used to float all day in hot weather high over the heads of their ancestors." KITES. 297 Another European species is the black kite, Milvus migrans, which also extends all over Africa. This is of smaller size, darker plumage, and the tail is less deeply forked. Other species are the Arabian kite, M. wyyptius, of Africa, and the pariah kite, M. govinda, of India. These four are all quite similar in general appearance and habits. They are very active birds, spending much of the time on the wing, feeding principally on small mammals, reptiles, and insects, to which diet several species add fish, while all are much addicted to such refuse as may be picked up about human habitations. Indeed the pariah kite of India does valuable service of this kind directly in the towns and villages of the country, earning thus its common name of village kite. In catching fish and frogs, a favorite habit of the black kite, the bird glides down to the water and seizes with a thrust of the foot one which has risen to the surface, rarely if ever plunging into the water in the manner of the osprey. Milvus isurtis is a very closely allied but crested form, inhabiting Australia. Turning now to the less typical members of the sub-family, we may notice first the beautiful little black-winged kites (Elanus) of the wanner parts of both Old and New Worlds. Several species are usually recognized, but all are so similar to each other that it would be difficult to discriminate between them at gunshot range. They are seldom more than fifteen inches in length, of which nearly half is tail, and the body color is either white or very light gray, sometimes silvery or pearly, while the shoulders are always black. They feed mostly on insects and some of the smallest reptiles and mammals. The black-winged kite, Elanus ccerideus, of Africa and southern Europe, may be taken as the type. The only American species is the very similar white-tailed or black-shouldered kite, Elanus leucurus. A very different yet related bird is the Mississippi kite, Tctinia subccerulea (mississippiensis), which is rather smaller, and readily distinguishable by the decidedly darker general color, with the larger part of the wings and tail black, the latter with spots on the inner webs of the feathers. Unquestionably the most beautiful bird of the group is the swallow-tailed kite, Elanoides forficatus, of the warmer parts of America, extending up the Mississippi valley even to Minnesota. The beautiful black and white plumage, extremely long and slender-pointed wings, and deeply forked tail, suffice for the recognition of this bird at a single glance. It is one of the two largest American kites, its length from o ~ o o bill to tip of tail being about two feet, while the wings expand rather over four feet. The head, neck, and entire under parts are pure white ; the back, wings, and tail, lustrous black ; the rump with a white patch. Its flight is unrivalled in swiftness and grace, and it usually takes its prey, consisting largely of insects, on the wing, tearing and swallowing it as it flies. Occasionally, however, when capturing a snake or li/ard, it may be seen to alight for an instant. It nests in trees, laying several spotted eggs, but these are rare in collections, and the nesting habits of the species are but imper- fectly known. It frequently associates in large numbers, while feeding on insects and while migrating, and there is some reason to suppose that it may occasionally breed in communities, though during the breeding-season it is usually met with only in pairs. While traveling among the mountains of Guatemala, Mr. IJ. Owen observed a large flock — more than two hundred — of these birds engaged in the pursuit of a swarm of bees, which they caught singly with their feet, and, bringing the foot for- ward and bending the head downwards and backwards to meet it, they easily and rapidly transferred the prey to the bill. A closely allied, fork-tailed species is the Nauclerus riocouri of west Africa, a bird 298 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. of very similar form and habits to the swallow-tail, but mucli smaller and of less strik- ing appearance, the upper parts being merely ashy and dusky, entirely lacking the deep black so conspicuous in the American bird. In the kites thus far mentioned, the bill is comparatively short and broad, though not particularly strong. There is a group of American kites, however, which are very different from these, and in which the bill is lengthened, slender, and with a remarka- bly long and sharp hook. The hook-billed kite, Mostrhamus hamatus, of South America, is a good example of the group, and appears to have precisely the same habits as its somewhat more northern relative, the everglade-kite, JR. sociabilis, which FIG. 139. — Ictinia subcserulea, Mississippi kite, and Elanoides forficatus, swallow-tailed kite. occurs in some numbers in the Everglades of Florida. These birds seem to be unusually sociable for birds of prey, several being usually observed together, but it is questionable if this habit is more strongly developed here than in other species of the Milvinae. Perhaps the most interesting thing in connection with the present genus is the entirely unexpected nature of its food. "We should naturally expect a bird of this conformation to take much of its food on the wing, and should be prepared to find that winged insects or active reptiles, such as lizards, made up the bulk of it, although neither of these suppositions would provide an adequate explanation of the long- KITES. 299 hooked bill or the long-clawed feet. It is, therefore, not a little disconcerting to find these rapid and expert flyers preying chiefly on some of the slowest of existing animals, namely, fresh-water snails. In Florida, Mr. Maynard found that their food consisted largely of Pomus depressus, while on the Rio Uruguay I found them eating a species of Ampullaria, and at one time shot a specimen as he circled overhead with a large mollusc of this kind in his claws. Having observed the facts, it is easy to see the adaptation of the long, slender hook with which the bill is provided, as well as the use of the sharp and lengthened but slightly curved claws; while we have an example of the uncertainty which may attend that kind of reasoning from structure to function, which is, unfortunately, too often depended upon. * ')• • FIG. 140. — Pernis apivorus, bee kite. Allied to Rostrhamvs are the species of the American genus, ( //y// />/<#«, ^'hich pass through so many changes of plumage, and are so perplexing in their variations that it would seem unwise for any person without scores or even hundreds of speci- mens before him to venture an opinion as to the actual number of species or geo- graphical races. The genus is restricted to tropical America, and one species ennensis, is the largest of the New World kites, approaching the dimensions of Wlvus ictiuKs of Europe. The honey-buzzard or bee kite, Pernis apivorus, inhabiting Europe and Africa, and ranging from the Arctic Circle to the Cape of Good Hope, is a bird which has ters allying it both to the buzzards and to the kites, while in many points it differs so decidedly from either that not a few ornithologists make it the type of a distinct sub- family, Perninse. 300 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. In its general form it resembles the JButeones, but is more slenderly built, and has a longer tail, in both of which respects it resembles the kites. The sides of the head, however, are softly and densely feathered to the very base of the bill, in this respect differing entirely from most members of both these groups, though we see an approach to this character in Elanoides. It gets its name of honey-buzzard from its habit of digging up or breaking open the nests of wasps and bees, on the larvae of which it delights to feed, and in the gathering of which the densely feathered head is proof against the stings of the infuriated insects. It probably also enjoys the honey, which it certainly eats, for large quantities have been found in its stomach, accompanied by but very few larvae, though it has usually been supposed that the honey was only eaten by accident with the young bees. This fondness for larvae is not satisfied with bees alone, for the bird eats larvae of various other insects, as well as worms, small reptiles, and mammals, and has even been found gorged with maggots, which were obtained from the carcass of a dead animal. It also robs the nests of the smaller birds, and is much persecuted by them in consequence. It is a migratory species, spending the winter in Africa, and moving northward in the spring, frequently traveling in large, loose flocks. Of these migrations as observed at Heligoland, — that little rock in the North Sea so famous as a resting-place for tired migrants, — Mr. J. Cordeaux tells us "Mr. Gatke says this is by far the most common of the buzzards, not, however, appearing in the spring before it really has become warm, returning southward again in August and September. Besides single specimens, and two and three at a time, there are during both periods of migration, not very unfrequently, such flights that they may almost be termed thousands, not all massed together, but passing over from mid-day to evening in batches of from five to fifteen, or twenty to fifty, one following the other so closely that the first batch is not out of sight before the third or even the fourth begins to show already. The ver- nal migration takes place about the latter part of May, or a little earlier, on warm days with a calm clear sky and easterly wind." Contrary to the general rule among birds of prey, it is very late in nesting, its eggs being seldom laid until the young of other hawks and buzzards are hatched or even half grown. The nest, — frequently the deserted one of another kite, — is placed in a tree, and in it two or three beautifully marked eggs are laid. These have long been counted as special prizes by European collectors, and perhaps it is largely owing to this demand for its eggs that the species has of late years ceased to breed abun- dantly in places where it formerly did so. By the time the nest is built, the oaks and beeches are in full leaf, and the nest consequently difficult to find, and its safety is still further assured by a curious habit of the birds themselves, which leads them to line and decorate the nest with an abundance of fresh green leaves, which they renew as fast as they become faded. This is done first before the eggs are laid, and is kept up sometimes until after they are hatched, though more commonly only for a short time after laying. One or two other species of this genus are known. The sub-family Polyborinae, carrion-buzzards, is a small group of eight or nine species, all confined to America, and only two of them found above Panama. In their habits they combine characteristics of the New World vultures with those of ordinary buzzards and eagles. Structurally they are easily separable from both, and although externally they suggest the Aquilinae, Ridgway has shown that osteologically they are nearer the falcons. They may readily be recognized by the webbing between the toes, this being found CARRION BUZZARDS. 801 between the inner and middle toe, as well as between outer and middle, as in most other Falconidae except the osprey. In addition to this, the bill is not usually toothed (the only exception being in Milvago, where there is a trace of a tooth) ; the legs are rather long, tarsi little feathered in front above, mostly reticulate, or with small scales, only really scutellate just above the toes, in front ; the hind toe much shorter than any of the others, which are variable in length. The sides of the head are also more or less destitute of feathers. Two or three of the species reach the size at which most buzzards gain popular recognition as eagles, but the others are smaller. The species have been rather naturally grouped in three genera, namely, Polyborus, with one or two species, Milvago, with five or six, and Ibycter, with two. Polyborus and Jfilcago are chiefly terrestrial ; Ibycter completely arboreal. The legs in all are decidedly long, the toes short in the terrestrial forms, longer in the arboreal. The bill of Pohjborus is much the strongest, being high, laterally compressed, and with narrow, almost linear nostrils, while the other genera have the bill of a more ordinary type, and the nostrils circular. In all the genera there is a patch of naked skin over the crop, not noticeable, however, while the crop is empty. There is also more or less unfeathered and often brightly colored skin about the face. This is least noticea- ble in J\Iilcago chimango, more prominent in the other species of Milvago and in Polyborus, and reaches its maximum in Ibycter americanus, where not only the face and sides of head are bare, but also a large part of the throat. The caracara eagle, Polybomts tharus, is an abundant bird all over South America, and one of its races extends as far north as Texas and Florida. It is strongly and rather clumsily built, spending much of its time on the ground, where it walks about easily in search of food. On the wing it does not usually give the impression of much strength or skill, but it docs often rise to a great height, and during the pairing season frequently goes through a variety of aerial evolutions. It feeds on animal matter of any kind, freshly killed or putrid, is often seen associating with the vultures (Cathartes), and, like them, not unfrequently attacks weak or sickly animals. On the plains of La Plata it is hated and detested by the sheep farmers for its habit of attacking new-born lambs, many of which, in spite of every precaution, are annually killed in this way. Darwin says of this species : " Their vulture-like, necrophagus habits are very evident to any one who has fallen asleep on the desolate plains of Patagonia, for when lie wakes he will see, on each surrounding hillock, one of these birds patiently watching him with an evil eye. . . . At times the carrancha is noisy, but is not generally so ; its cry is loud, very harsh, and peculiar, and may be likened to the sound of the Spanish guttural wllich shuts into a corresponding notch at the tip of the lower mandible. The only approach to such a toothed bill among other Accipitres is in the genus Milvago among the carrion buzzards, already noticed, and in a few forms among the kites, where it never assumes the precise charac- ter seen here. The legs are strong and rather short; the tarsus usually reticulate, — never really scutellate either before or behind ; the middle toe very long, and the claws FALCONS. 309 very sharp and much curved ; the tail short and of stiff feathers, while the wings are long and very sharply pointed, almost straight, and very slightly convex. The number of species varies with different authors from twenty-five to seventy- five, depending partly on the status allowed the numerous geographical races, and partly on the personal equation of the author. Probably most systematists would be content with less than fifty. Taking the peregrine-falcon, Falco peregrinus, as the type of the genus Falco, and this genus as the typical one of the group, the principal outliers are the genera Baza, Harpagus, Hierax, and JEReracidea. There seems to be a tendency all through the diurnal Accipitres to a lengthening of the feathers of the back of the head, and nearly every group contains some species in which this is more positively expressed in a crest. Even the goshawk, Astur palumbarius, shows such a tendency, especially when young; and now in the highest group, the Falccninas, we find several species gathered into the genus Baza, which are conspicuous, in addition to their striking colors and double-toothed bill, for a long and beautiful crest. As an example of this beautiful genus, we may take the crested falcon, Baza lopliotes, a native of India and Ceylon. The general color above, includ- ing the crest and tail, is glossy, greenish black ; the wings partake also of this color, but are much variegated with white and chestnut; the upper neck and throat are deep black, while the lower neck, breast, and abdomen are creamy white, with broad crossbars of rich chestnut. With this genus are often associated the very similar kite-falcons, Avicida, of Africa. The South American notched-falcon, Harpayus bidentatus, probably also belongs here. It is a crestless form, with double-notched bill (more strongly so than Baza}, and inhabits the wooded regions of tropical South America. The colors of the adult are slaty blue above, rich chestnut below ; the throat white, with a broad median line of dull black. The tiny finch-falcons, Hierax, of the East Indies are, from their small size, among the most marvellous of the falcons. Though only five and one half to six and one half inches in length, they have all the spirit of the larger falcons, and feed largely if not entirely on birds and small mammals. One of the commonest, the Bengal falcon, Hierax ccendescens, bluish black above and rusty white below, has been seen at a single foray to strike ten or a dozen quail before alighting. Two or three species from the East Indies are described, and another from the Philippine Islands, but they are probably not all tenable. The sparrow-hawk or quail-hawk of New Zealand, Ilieracidea novce-zealandice, is a larger species, which, according to Professor Newton, may represent the more generalized and ancestral type from which both kestrels and falcons have descended. Spiziapteryx circumcinctus, of the Argentine Republic, is another genuine falcon of small size. We now come to the genus Falco, with the peregrine or duck hawk, Falco pere- grinus, as its type. Not less than a dozen different races of this bird have been recognized, and most of them described as species, but recent writers incline to the belief that there is but one valid species, which is almost cosmopolitan. Says Pro- fessor Newton of this species : — "From Port Kennedy, the most northern part of the American continent, to Tasmania, and from the shores of the Sea of Ochotsk to Mcndoza in the Argentine Republic, there is scarcely a country in which this falcon has not been found. Speci- 310 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. mens have been received from the Cape of Good Hope, and it is only a question of the technical differentiation of species whether it does not extend to Cape Horn. Fearless as it is, and adapting itself to almost every circumstance, it will form its eyry 'equally on the sea-washed cliffs, the craggy mountains, or (though more rarely) the drier spots of a marsh in the northern hemisphere, as on trees (says Schlegel) in the forests of Java, or the waterless ravines of Australia." , FlG. 146. — Falco peregrinus, peregrine falcon. The American race differs slightly if at all in habits from the better known Euro- pean bird. It flies with great swiftness and without sailing, but when on the lookout for prey rises easily in a spiral to a considerable height, whence it generally launches itself like an arrow directly at its victim, which is usually killed almost instantly by the clutch of the talons, and carried off to be eaten at leisure. When intent on its quarry it becomes oblivious to everything else, and its natural boldness is at all times surprising. It not unfrequently makes its appearance at the report of a gun, and carries off a wounded bird before the astonished sportsman can recover himself. In FALCONS. America it almost invariably nests on ledges of rocks in precipitous places, rarely making much of a nest, and sometimes laying its handsome eggs on the bare rock, or in a slight hollow scratched in the debris of the ledge. These are three or four in number, usually so heavily blotched with chocolate and red-brown as to entirely obscure the ground color, which, when visible, is creamy white. Although ordinarily nesting as above, it has been known exceptionally to breed in trees, Mr. N. S. Goss having given an account of his observations on several pairs which he found nesting in the timber along the banks of the Neosho River in Kansas. In one case, three eggs were found in a large sycamore, about fifty feet from the ground, " laid on the fine, soft, rotten wood in a trough-like cavity formed by the breaking off of a hollow limb near the body of the tree." Another pair was found nesting in a knot-hole in a cottonwood, and still another in a hollow limb of a giant sycamore. The general colors of the adult bird are dark bluish ash above, almost black on the head, lighter on the tail. Below, creamy white, barred, except on chin and throat, with black, while a large black patch extends from the bill backward beneath the eye, and downward under the bill. The young are more brownish above, and are streaked longitudinally instead of barred below, said to be a characteristic of all the larger and typical falcons before the first real moult. Another point which some systematists make much of, and which was recognized centuries ago by falconers, is the fact that in all true falcons, the iris is brown, and usually quite dark. This is probably true of all members of the genus Falco, including all the sub-genera except TinnunculuS) in which group some species have yellow irides. But these yellow-eyed birds differ much from their relatives, and seem to have lost most of the spirit of the true falcons. The largest and finest of all the falcons are the gyrfalcons, confined to the colder portions of the northern hemisphere. Just how many species there are is still unsettled ; some naturalists recognize four distinct but nearly related species ; others believe in only a single circumpolar species, in which they consider it difficult if not impossible to distinguish geographical races. The four forms, be they species or races, are certainly very much alike in all but color of plumage, and this is extremely variable even in individuals belonging to the same ' race.' ~ ~ These forms are thus treated by Professor Newton : "Next to the typical Falcons comes a group known as the 'great northern' falcons (Ilierofalco). Of these the most remarkable is the gyrfalcon, F. gyrfalco, whose home is in the Scandinavian mountains, though the young are yearly visitants to the plains of Holland and Ger- many. In plumage it very much resembles F. pereyrinus, but its flanks have generally a bluer tinge, and its superiority in size is at once manifest. Nearly allied to it is the Icelander, F. islandiis, which externally differs in its paler coloring, and in almost entirely wanting the black mandibular patch. Its proportions, however, differ a good deal, its body being elongated. Its country is shown by its name, but it also inhabits South Greenland, and not unfrequently makes its way to the British Islands. Very close to this comes the Greenland falcon, F. candicans, a native of North Greenland, and perhaps of other countries within the Arctic circle. Like the last, the Greenland falcon from time to time occurs in the United Kingdom, but it is always to be distin- guished by wearing a plumage, in which at every age the prevailing color is pure white. In northeastern America these birds are replaced by a kindred form, F. labradorus, first detected by Audubon, and lately recognized by Mr. Dresser. It is at once dis- 312 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. tinguished by its very dark coloring, the lower parts being occasionally almost as deeply tinted at all ages as the upper." The habits of all these forms are, so far as known, essentially the same. They are birds of the Arctic regions, .and even in winter do not wander far southward. Hoi- boll states that in Greenland they prey mostly on waterfowl and ptarmigans, nest in inaccessible cliffs in January (!), and lay eggs similar in color to the ptarmigans, but twice as large. MacFarlane, however, who found many gyrfalcons nesting in the FIG. 147. — Falco lanarius, lanner. neighborhood of Anderson River, says that, out of eighteen nests found, all were in trees except two, one of which was built on a ledge of rocks and the other on the ground on the side of a steep hill. The earliest nest found with eggs was on May 10 ; but at that time the ground was still covered with snow, and the weather was very cold. The eggs are described as varying much in general color and marking, but are usually of a reddish or yellowish brown, due to the fine and even spotting of these tints on a lighter ground. Heavy spots and blotches are unusual in these eggs. FALCONS. 313 These northern falcons or gyrfalcons are said to be the only ones which resemble the peregrine in being streaked below while young, and cross-banded when adult. Another falcon, which much resembles the young of the peregrine, but which is streaked below at all ages, is the lanner, F. l((n«rii(N, of southern Europe, north Africa, and southwestern Asia. Several well-marked races of this form are found in other countries, for instance the lugger, F.jugyer, of India, and the prairie-falcon, F. mexicanus, of Mexico and the southwestern territories of the United States. •-• - FIG. 148. — Falco lltJiofalco, merlin. A better-known American bird is the so-called pigeon-hawk, Falco colnmbarius, which occurs throughout the whole of the United States. Though a much smaller bird than the duck-hawk, it is equally bold and fearless, and frequently kills birds heavier than itself. It is very closely allied to, if not identical with, the European merlin, F. litkofalco; and these two forms, with the Indian F. chiqtiera, and its African race, ritficollis, and a few others, are not unf requently separated from Falco, as a sub-genus j^Esalon, the merlins. 314 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. Very close to these are several beautiful species which are similarly grouped to- gether tinder the sub-generic title Hypotriorchis, and of which the English hobby, F. subbuteo, is the smallest member. This is an elegantly shaped bird of inconspicuous colors, not distantly resembling a boldly marked, immature peregrine, readily recog- nized by its (for a falcon) extremely long wings. It has a wide distribution in the old world, being found almost everywhere in Europe, Asia, and Africa. While it fre- . FIG. 149. — Falco suiibuteo, hobby. quently captures birds of considerable size, and has even a superabundance of courage and wing-power, a favorite food while in England is large insects, especially beetles and dragon-flies, which it catches on the wing, often hunting the beetles in the even- ing until it is quite dark. It is unquestionably one of the swiftest of the falcons, delighting to chase and capture swallows, and frequently striking at and annoying large birds, such as herons and cranes, which it evidently has no thought of attempting to kill. According to FALCONS. 315 Lord Lilford this species is never seen hovering in the manner of the kestrel, but in summer time it sometimes soars to an immense height and 'lies upon its wings' in bright sunny weather for hours together. The following instance of its sagacity is given in Dresser's "Birds of Europe," on the authority of Mr. C. E. Diezel : " In the seegwald stood a large beech tree, on which was a very large old nest, which although the old birds were regularly shot for eight years, either when the nest contained eggs or when feeding their young, was still tenanted again. One year, when, as the birds were so shy, they could not be approached within gunshot, the forester and a com- panion took turns about to watch the nest, which then contained young, in order to shoot the parent birds as they came with food. The old birds never came within shot, and still the young were not starved. After a time, however, the watchers dis- covered that the old birds took food and, hovering far out of gunshot above the nest, dropped it down into the latter, thus feeding the young without danger to themselves. That this really was the case was proved by keeping a careful and continuous watch ; and, moreover, food was found under the tree, which had, in falling, missed its mark." While we would much rather believe than disbelieve, yet there are some elements of improbability about the preceding narrative, and we would suggest that unless the birds were actually seen to feed the young in this way, it would seem less improbable that a bird of well-known crepuscular habits should have chosen the night as a safe time for conveying food to the nest. Another, but much less common bird, of this group is the beautiful Eleanora falcon, Falco (Erythropus) eleanorce, of the Mediterranean region. The adult in full plumage is very deep blackish brown, sometimes sooty black, with black bill and claws, and bright yellow orbits and feet. Its food, like that of the hobby, consists largely of insects, and it is described as eminently crepuscular in its habits. Certain small islands off the south shore of Sardinia are favorite resorts of this rare spe- cies, and on some of them hundreds of pairs breed in caves and fissures of the cliffs. Yet another and the largest species of this group is the femoral or plumbeous falcon, F. femoralis, of South America and Mexico, of whose habits, however, little seems to have been recorded. The common sparrow-hawk, Falco ( Tinnunculus) sparverius, of the United States, is too Avell known to need description. Its nesting habits are singular, as it generally lays its five or six eggs in a deserted woodpecker's hole, or even in a martin-box or dove-cote. This may be taken as the type of a group of beautiful little falcons which have often — perhaps usually — been separated from Falco under the sub-generic name Tinnuncuhis, including the European kestrel, T. alaudarius, and perhaps a half dozen other species. In their relations to man they are probably the most harmless falcons in existence, feeding mainly on mice and insects, though occasionally taking a small bird; and they are so graceful in their motions, so tidy and pretty in their whole appearance, that it is to be regretted they are not more abundant every- where. The kestrel is indeed the most abundant of all British birds of prey, and its hovering form, as it poises in mid-air on the watch for its prey, is familiar to every schoolboy in that country. Fifteen or twenty other names have been highly recommended for specific dis- tinction, but it is impossible at present to say just how the honors should be divided. It seems doubtful whether America has more than one species, sparverius, with its various races. Africa claims at least three, of which one, alopex, is remarkable for its uniform yellowish-red color, with longitudinal dark streaks and black wings. 316 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. Madagascar furnishes another peculiar form, and others still are found in the Malay Archipelago and Australia. Few allusions have purposely been made thus far to the uses of birds of prey in the chase, it being our intention to defer this until most of the species thus used should have been mentioned in their regular places. It is therefore fitting, here, in connection with the group of birds which has given its name to the sport, to devote a few pages to the consideration of that most time-honored of all field sports, hawking or falconry. This, in its broadest sense may be defined as the use of hawks or falcons in the capture of other animals. In strictness, we ought, perhaps, to limit the term to the actual taking of game with hawks or falcons, this being the sense in which it ig commonly understood. Yet trained hawks are still used merely to hover over game and prevent its flying until it can be netted or killed ; and eagles or large falcons were formerly much used in parts of Asia and Africa to annoy and hinder gazelles and deer, by flying in their faces, and striking at nose, eyes, or back, thus retarding their flight, and giving time for the hunters and dogs to come up. In one form or another falconry has undoubt- edly an antiquity as great as that of the Egyptian mummies, as it is known to have been practiced among the Egyptians centuries before the Christian Era, and certainly flourished in China, earlier than GOO B. c., probably existing there over a thousand years earlier still. In Europe, also, it Avas a favorite pastime before the Christian Era, but it was not introduced into England until about the middle of the ninth century, and for the next eight hundred years was by far the most popular sport practised in both England and France. Monarchs kept their hawks by hundreds, knights and ladies paid fabulous sums for the best trained birds, and even peasants took to rearing sparrow-hawks and kestrels, and spent their holidays in hunting sparrows and larks. Men gave their lives to the study and training of falcons, and in many families generation succeeded generation in the practice of this art, father handing down to son his store of experi- ence, and with it often his well-earned place of honor at the castle or the court. At one time we are told, "In the court of the King of Wales there were only three officers of his household above the master of the hawks. This person occupied the fourth place from the sovereign at the royal table, but he was prohibited from drink- ing more than three times, lest he should become intoxicated, and, in consequence, neglect his birds. Not only had he the management of the hawks and of the people employed in this sport, but, when he had been very successful in it, the king was accustomed to rise up and receive him on his entrance ; and even, on some occasions, to hold his stirrup. Ethelston made North Wales provide him not only with so many dogs as he chose, ' whose scent-pursuing noses might explore the haunts and coverts of the deer,' but ' birds who knew how to hunt others along the sky.' In France there was an officer called the ' Grand Falconer,' who was a person of so much impor- tance that his salary was four thousand florins, and he was attended by fifty gentle- men and fifty assistant falconers. He was allowed to keep three hundred hawks ; he licensed every vender of hawks in the kingdom, and received a fee on every one of these birds that was sold. The king never rode out on any occasion of consequence without being attended by this officer." Soon laws became necessary for the regulation and protection of the sport. In the reign of Henry VII. the taking of the eggs of hawk or falcon was punishable with imprisonment for ' a year and a day,' and a fine at the king's pleasure ; and this, too, FALCONRY. 317 even if the eggs were on the offender's own land. The use of the gyrfalcon was restricted to king or queen; an earl might own and fly the peregrine; a yeoman the goshawk ; a priest was allowed the sparrow-hawk, while a servant might get what amusement he could from the kestrel. During the sixteenth or seventeenth century falconry reached the zenith of its popularity in Europe, and before the beginning of the present century it had fallen into pretty general disuse. It is still kept up, however, on many a large estate in England and on the Continent, and in many cities of India and China at the present time, one frequently meets in the streets men carrying hawks on their wrists as their ancestors did a thousand years ago. In fact there are very few countries of the Old World where it is not still more or less in vogue, as well as in some parts of South America, though we are not aware that it has been practised in the United States. The terminology of falconry is quite voluminous, hundreds of terms being used which are peculiar to the art, while many familiar words are used only in a peculiar or limited sense, so that a work on the subject would be hardly intelligible to the average reader without a glossary. We need not here trouble ourselves about many of these terms, introducing as few as possible, and explaining those which seem to need it. There is little doubt, considering the high grade of intelligence of most birds of prey, that any of the forms which commonly catch living birds or quadrupeds might, with proper care and training, be made serviceable for hawking; but those which the experience of ages seems to have shown conclusively to be the best are the true Falconinse (especially the members of the genus Falco) and the Accipitrina3. These are very different in their structure and action, as already pointed out, and are there- fore most often used on different classes of game. By the term game we must here be understood to mean the quarry, whatever it may be, whether eatable or not; for, as the main thing sought for in this pastime is sport, it is often better and more con- veniently obtained from large and high-flying birds like herons, than from such birds as quails and partridges, which are more easily procured for the table in other ways. In all ages and countries falconers have recognized these two classes of ' hawks ; ' the long-winged, dark-eyed falcons, which rise to a considerable height and ' stoop ' on their prey at a single rush, being usually called ' noble,' while the short-winged, often yellow-eyed hawks, which fly low and chase after their prey, were styled ' ignoble.' The first, or 'noble' falcons, were most often taught to rise high above the hunter, and 'wait on ' until game was found, while the second were oftener thrown from the hand on sighting game, and, unlike the falcons, were not often 'hooded.' The really good birds most readily obtained and easily managed were, in Europe, the goshawk and the peregrine, and these are the ones most often used now in England. The 'great northern ' falcons, the various gyrfalcons, were more powerful, and could be used for some birds which the peregrine was no match for, but they were scarce and hard to obtain in the first place, did not thrive except in a cold climate, and were extremely difficult to tame and train. The different species of falcon vary much in their dispo- sitions, and there are many other things to be taken into account in selecting a bird for service. The course of training- is at best long and difficult, and while a week or ^j ^3 two may suffice in some cases for young birds reared from the nest, others will require several months. At the present time it is believed that as good results in the field may be obtained, 318 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. eventually, from young birds reared by the falconer (and then termed ' eyases ' ), as with full-grown, wild-caught birds, known as ' haggards ; ' but old-time falconers held the latter in much the higher estimation. The wild-caught birds are often much stronger, and hence better for large game, while their chief value lies in the fact that they have always been accustomed to hunt for themselves, and have thus acquired habits of watchfulness and daring which are difficult to cultivate in ' eyases.' They are, however, extremely hard to train at first, and very likely to forget their teaching and regain their liberty the first time they are ' flown ' by the falconer. In training a falcon, as in training a horse or a dog, one person should take entire charge of the bird, at least until well broken. The method ordinarily adopted is, briefly, as follows : — At first the efforts should be principally toward rendering the bird quiet and tame in confinement. To this end she should be handled as much as possible, and stroked with a feather, using the voice frequently, and especially at feeding times. With a wild-caught falcon this will be slow work at first ; the bird may refuse to eat for a day or two, and for some time her training will have to be conducted in almost total dark- ness. A leather ' hood ' is placed over the head, and the bird must become accus- tomed to having this put on and taken off at all times, even while feeding, as well as to feeding with or without it, at first in the dark, and finally in broad daylight and in the presence of other persons. Then, "step by step, she must grow accustomed to all sorts of noise and confusion, as well as learn to know the voice of her master, and come at his call. All this time a 'jess' (strap) will be kept on each leg, and when carried about she will perch on the glove or wristlet of her keeper. If more liberty be desired, a line may be fastened to the ' jesses,' and its length increased as desired. Up to this time she has only received food from the hand ; now she must be made to go to it, and this is easily managed by letting her see it at a distance of a few feet, but refusing to give it her until she jumps or flies toward it. After she will thus go twenty or thirty yards Avithout fail, the line may be taken off and the bird be taught to fly to her food from a much greater distance, — even half a mile at last. If the food so far used can be flesh of the game she is to be trained for, so much the better ; and after she has caught a few pigeons, or other birds released from the hand, under favor- able circumstances, she may be tried on wild game. It is important, however, that all her first trials shall be successful, and it is also well that, when first allowed to strike a bird at liberty, that bird shall be too large for her to carry off conveniently. After a little practice it will be found that the moment a falcon is unhooded in the open air and set free, she will immediately rise to a considerable height, and circle about, on the lookout for her accustomed food. This is called ' waiting on,' and if she has not been released until the dog has pointed, the game may now be flushed, and the falcon will be pretty certain to make a successful stoop and kill her bird, in which case she must be at once hooded, and either allowed to eat a little of the game killed, or else some other food must be substituted. Should she fail to kill her game at the first plunge, and the bird take to the grass again, it must be flushed as quickly as possible, and a good falcon will ' wait on ' again until offered another chance to strike. Young hawks, when taken from the nest before they can fly, must be suitably housed and fed until full grown, and no training except simple taming is at first attempted. Usually they are left at liberty during the day, being accustomed to come at the call, or at regular feeding-times, and they must have food enough to prevent their FALCONRY. wandering off in search of it. As soon as they begin to chase other birds it is time their taming was begun, and they must now be caught and hooded, and taught in nearly the same manner as older birds ; but this is much easier and more quickly accom- plished. In order to make good hunters they must always be kept in good condition, fed just enough to keep them up to full strength, yet always with good appetites when brought to the field. Their food, also, when not hunting, should consist, as largely as possible of game, and they must be allowed to eat naturally, swallowing bones, hair, and feathers, and ejecting from the mouth the ' castings ' a few hours afterwards, in the same manner as wild hawks. In general, the more exercise they get the better. As most falcons become much attached to particular breeding-places, it is easy for those who are conveniently situated to obtain the young in successive years from the same eyries. Hawks were also always to be bought at reasonable prices before the beginning of the 'hawking season,' and thus in many cases owners were accustomed to set their birds at liberty at the close of the season, replacing them the next year with new ones, and thus avoiding the care of them through the greater part of the year. But gyrfal- cons were too expensive to be thus released, and as they also retained their powers longer than others, and could be used for many years in succession, they were carefully kept for indefinite periods, occasionally doing good service for even fifteen or twenty years. The taking of wild hawks, usually known as passage-hawks, from their abundance during the vernal and autumnal migrations, was usually effected by means of a net baited with a live bird, though frequently a decoy-falcon was used, being made to flutter as if killing game whenever a passage-hawk was seen in the distance. An owl was often the surest attraction for a hawk, the antipathy existing between the two seeming always to render it impossible for a hawk to pass over by daylight without one or two dashes at his nocturnal rival. In training hawks the falconer had always to bear in mind not only the kinds of game which the bird was best fitted to take, but also the kinds which could conveniently be hunted in his immediate neighborhood. For the same individual was rarelv trained, o j especially at first, for more than a single class of game : one for grouse, partridges, and, perhaps, pheasants; another for hares or rabbits; and others, still, for herons and waterfowl. Thus, to insure a good day's sport in the field, it was often necessary to be provided with a dozen or more of hawks, from which to select according to the game which presented itself. In its native state a hungry falcon would attack almost any bird which presented itself, and such, when captured and trained, Avould necessarily have to be flown with care at difficult game, and it Avas not uncommon, though of course very annoying, to have a falcon forsake the pursuit of a fine heron which was mounting skyward, and dart off after some luckless magpie or crow which chanced to cross his path. And this was the more vexatious because one of these ' small fry ' would frequently evade the falcon by diving into thick shrubbery, whence the 'noble* hawk, baffled and angry himself, was not easily recalled by his master. The heron was always a favorite with falconers on account of the good exhibition which the flight afforded. The best place for this kind of sport was on open, treeless ground, over which the herons were accustomed to fly at a considerable height in passing between their feeding-grounds arid their nests or roost ing-places. When attacked by a falcon under such circumstances, the heron seeks safety by rising high in the air, and so long as she can keep above her pursuer she has nothing to fear. 320 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. Both birds ascend in spirals ; but the heron, with her light body and broad, concave wings, can rise in smaller rings than the falcon. The latter therefore describes a much wider circle, and, traveling with tremendous speed, and using her powerful wings at every turn, gains rapidly upon her quarry. Thus the struggle is steadily carrying both birds higher and higher, while the spectators, in order to keep the race in sight and be 'in at the death,' must gallop ' down-wind ' across country, until they see that the fal- con has at last ' got the sky ' of her victim, and is about to ' stoop.' All eyes watch eagerly now, and the height is often so great that the two birds seem hardly larger than a couple of unequal-sized bees. For an instant the upper one seems to hang sus- pended and motionless, then shoots with incredible swiftness and unerring aim on the doomed heron. The blow may be evaded at first, but this is rarely possible more than a few times, for the long struggle for position has left little strength for any new effort, and so the falcon strikes fair on her back, either killing instantly by the mere shock of collision, as is usually the case with a smaller bird, or more slowly, but with equal certainty, by the driving home of the long curved talons, while both birds come whirling toward the earth, the falcon above, and striving with outspread wings to break the force of the fall. The falconer now runs forward and slips the hood over the falcon's head, after which she is fed, usually with game freshly killed for the purpose, which she is often allowed to eat while perched on the body of the heron. Such a chase, while occupying but a few moments, is full of the most intense interest, and we can hardly wonder at the zeal with which such sport has been fol- lowed in days past. There is much difference in falcons, even of the same species, as to their power of killing, some being very strong 'footers,' while others, with equal power of wing, are unable to strike surely with the feet, and hence there may be a rough-and-tumble fight on the ground, in which the long bill of the heron is an ugly and effective weapon. The goshawk especially is slow in killing a large bird, and hence should never be flown at herons. The full speed of the peregrine has been estimated at not less than one hundred and fifty miles an hour, and the gyrfalcon is believed to much exceed this. Even the gos- hawk, a much slower bird, easily overtakes the passenger pigeon in full flight, so that it is doubtless no uncommon thing for a falcon to take a dash of ten or a dozen miles in as many minutes, in the pursuit of a single victim. The European woodcock is another bird which rises to a great height to escape the falcon, and, unequal as the race would seem to be, the woodcock is by no means always the loser, and not unfrequently both birds rise completely out of sight before the finish. Game which will thus 'take the air' in order to escape affords much better sport than any other kind, for the hawking of rabbits, or even hares, is tame sport, only visible to few, and often with much exertion in riding over rough ground and through thick woods ; and while ducks and other waterfowl are often hunted with fair success by the peregrine, or even the goshawk, yet it can only be done under favorable conditions, as these birds usually escape by diving, if there be water enough at hand. Probably the most difficult game ever successfully attempted was the kite, to the cap- ture of which very few even of the strongest and best-trained falcons were equal ; so that practically this sport was limited to the favored few who could afford to possess the swiftest birds. Thus, hunted mainly by royalty, the kite became known as royal game, and doubtless Milvus reyalis gets its specific designation from this source. OWLS. 321 Newton quotes an incident of this sport which occurred in the reign of the "British- Solomon," King James, according to which it seems that the French king's falconer, when sent to England to show his skill, " could not kill one kite, ours being more magnanimous than the French kite." Whereupon James's master-falconer, Sir Thomas Monson, at an expense of a thousand pounds, obtained a cast (couple) of hawks that took nine kites in succession. But the historian goes on to say that when Kino- James himself was persuaded by this success to witness a flight in person, " the Kite went to such a mountee as all the field lost sight of Kite and Hawke and all, and neither Kite nor Hawke were either seen or heard of to this present." Owls, generally speaking (the family STKIGIDJE), are the nocturnal Accipitres. With all the raptorial nature of the diurnal birds of prey, they are yet very different in many details of structure, a few of which have already been mentioned. The head is relatively large and broad, and the eyes especially are very large, — larger than in any other family of birds except possibly the goatsuckers, or nightjars (Caprimulgi- dre). The feathers surrounding each eye are generally of peculiar shape and texture, often more or less bristly, and tend to form a more or less shallow funnel, or hollow cone, at the bottom or apex of which the eye is situated. The eyes look almost directly forward, and thus, with their setting of radiating feathers — the facial discs — have a goggle-like appearance, which, though often unintentionally and grossly carica- tured, is yet striking and often ludicrous. These circles of feathers about the eyes are evidently adaptations to the nocturnal habits of the birds, and are best developed in those species which are most strictly nocturnal, while in the few species which hunt much by daylight they are quite incomplete. The eyes themselves are not less remarkable. In addition to their great size, they are of peculiar shape, being less nearly spherical than in other birds, and with the anterior portion much produced and cylindrical. They are also but very slightly movable, the bony plates which are found in the sclerotic coat of the eye in all birds being here most remarkably developed, and so closely fitted to each other and to the orbits that there is no perceptible rolling of the eye-ball, as in other birds, the whole head having to be turned instead. The iris is unusually broad, and capable of a sur- prising degree of expansion and contraction, while the pupil, instead of being circu- lar, as in most birds, is, when moderately contracted, a perpendicular oval. In many species, also, we find eyelashes, a rare thing among birds, though seen in ostriches and some others. In closing the eyes, moreover, the upper lid is principally effective, the reverse of what is true in most birds. The nictitating membrane, or third eyelid, is not, perhaps, better developed than in other Raptores; but the large size of the eye, and the fact that owls ordinarily sit during the daytime with this screen drawn over it (in the manner of a sickly chicken), make it unusually noticeable. There is usually a well-developed superciliary shield. The ear also is remarkably developed, the orifice being often of peculiar shape, frequently closable by a movable flap or operculum, and ordinarily surrounded by one or more circles of feathers, which probably perform to a great extent the function of the external fleshy ear among mammals. The openings of these cars are often unlike on the two sides of the head, in at least one genus (Asio), the orifice on one side opening downward, and on the other upward. The bill is not remarkable in any respect, being usually short and frequently almost hidden by the bristly feathers about it, being, as it were, squeezed in between the discs which surround the eyes. It is always sharp and strongly hooked, but never notched. VOL. IV. — 21 322 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. The nostrils are of moderate or large size, and open in or near the anterior margin of the cere, being usually hidden by the bristles. The legs are much longer than they appear to be, yet never very long. They are always feathered to or below the tibio-tarsal joint, and a really naked tarsus, i. e. with- out feathers or bristles, is rarely seen, while even the toes are often well feathered. The fact that the outer toe is reversible has already been noted, and although the presence of a similar structure in the osprey (Pandion) is probably to be regarded more as a coincidence than as evidence of true affinity, yet it is interesting to notice that the claws are very similar in the two cases. It will be remembered that in the osprey the talons are rounded, not grooved, beneath, and that they are of equal length on all the toes ; while in most if not all other Falconidas the hind claw is usually largest, nearly equalled by the inner, and the middle and outer are respectively smaller and smallest. The owls most nearly resemble the osprey in these respects, for, although the claws are not smooth and rounded beneath, neither are they furrowed, but ridged ; and very often all are of precisely the same size. Even when unequal, the middle claw is usu- ally largest, being nearly equalled by the inner, while either the hind claw or the outer may be the smallest, though usually they are about equal. The wings and tail are generally ample and rounded, the former always more or less concave, the latter often, but not always, short. The plumage is very soft, loose, and fluffy, giving a very false impression of size. Almost all the feathers are soft- fringed, and this is noticeable in the large flight feathers, especially on the outer webs of the primaries, where the fringe is stiffer than elsewhere, and the filaments more or less recurved, all combining to make the flight noiseless as possible. All the feathers are destitute of aftershafts, and the oil-gland lacks the iisual circlet of plumes. A great many species show tufts of lengthened feathers on the head, one over each eye, usually called ' horns ' or 4 ears ' though a better word is that suggested by Dr. Coues, who calls them plumicorns or feather-horns. It is almost needless to say that they have nothing whatever to do with the ears, and, as they are not peculiar to either sex, they probably serve no purpose as ornaments. They may be depressed or erected at the pleasure of the bird, but in many species are so large as always to be quite con- spicuous. They increase the somewhat striking resemblance which the face of an owl bears to that of a cat, but what useful purpose they serve, if any, is apparently un- known. They occur in widely different genera, and differ much in size and form, but seem to be of little value, except in artificial classifications, representing perhaps the occi- pital crests so frequently met with among Falconidaa, but entirely wanting among owls. We have spoken of owls as the nocturnal birds of prey, and so most of them are ; yet there is much difference among them as to the power of sight in the night-time, and the corresponding partial blindness by daylight. Not a few of them are entirely helpless in open sun-light, and if discovered under such circumstances may be easily caught in the hand. Others see perfectly well in the light, and even prefer to hunt by day in cloudy or foggy weather. This is especially true of such species as the snowy-owl and hawk-owl, which inhabit the far north, where the summer is one long clay, or at best there are but one or two hours of twilight in the course of the twenty-four. Probably the great majority of species prefer the twilight of morning and evening, or the semi-darkness of more or less moonlight nights. The structure of their eyes renders them very near sighted, and it seems very probable that many of them are able to hear a mouse much farther than they could see him, though there is a wide difference in this respect in different species. OWLS. 323 Most owls are arboreal in their habits, but with quite a fondness for rocks and bushy cliffs, while very few are really terrestrial. In those which are most so, how- ever, the claws are liable to be less curved. The food is quite variable, but owls destroy immense numbers of rats, mice, and other ' vermin,' and are thus of incalculable service to man. Their habit (in common with other Accipitres) of ejecting by the mouth the indigestible parts of their food, renders the absolute determination of the character of their food comparatively easy. This subject has been very thoroughly investigated of late years in Europe, and the results show conclusively that while owls may occasionally do more or less damage in the destruction of useful birds, this is more than compensated for by the wholesale destruction of injurious rodents (especially Mimdae and Arvicolidae) of which the bulk of their food consists. Some forms feed largely on fish, which they catch for themselves, and it has been frequently noticed that in such species the legs and feet are usually bare ; but, as Pro- fessor Newton remarks, we must not be too hasty in drawing conclusions from these facts, for the tarsi are also bare in some species which are not known to catch fish at all, and, we may add, many species which sometimes fish for themselves have both tarsus and toes well feathered. Indeed, the snowy-owl, with its feet so muffled in feathers as even to hide the claws, wras seen by Audubon catching fish very skilfully from the ' pot-holes,' at the falls of the Ohio at Louisville. Most owls follow the rule which obtains among other Accipitres as to relative size of the sexes, the female being usually the larger, but there are some exceptions. The sexes, however, are invariably alike in coloring, and the young do not seem to pass through any well-marked 'stages' of plumage after they once put off the down. Melanism and albinism are both rare in this family, but in a large number of species belonging to several widely different genera, two phases of plumage occur indepen- dently of age or sex; one the 'gray' plumage and the other the 'red,' the prevailing color in the former being brownish gray, and in the latter rusty red. These phases were for a long time a puzzle to naturalists, it being at first supposed that the two colors marked different species ; later, that they indicated either different sexes or ages ; while it is now pretty generally conceded that both colors may be found in young from the same nest, offspring of the same parents, whether these be both red or both gray, or one of each. Moreover, it would seem probable that either phase once assumed is worn through life. Species in which both phases occur are often called dimorphic or dichromatic. Further reference to this subject may be found in the introduction to this volume (page 8). The nesting habits vary much, but the eggs are normally always white, either pure, or yellow- or blue-tinted, and almost spherical. They are commonly more numerous than in other Accipitres, being usually four to six ; but in several cases as many as eight or ten are laid ; while in at least one species, and probably in more, the normal number appears to be two. From the nocturnal preferences of most owls their habits are very slightly known, and many interesting facts are doubtless to be discovered in this direction. More often heard than seen, even their notes are only imperfectly known as yet, but are ordinarily monotonous and mournful, occasionally pleasing and almost musical, while the voices of some species appear never to have been heard. As to the manner of flight and method of hunting in nocturnal forms we know very little, and our infer- ences from structure must be of the most general kind. 324 NATURAL HISTORY. OF BIRDS. The question of the division of the owls into sub-families is one which has long perplexed ornithologists. The group has seemed so homogeneous that good charac- ters on which to found subdivisions were hard to find, and even now it would be pre- mature to say that any unquestionable arrangement has been effected. Over forty years ago Nitsch showed that the feathering (pterylography) of the barn-owl or screech-owl, Aluco flammeus, was very different from that of all other members of the family, and some peculiar osteological characters were also found to exist in the same bird. On these discoveries as a basis, two sub-families were formed, and a few years ago there was a general feeling among systematists that at last the question was nearly settled, and they might safely place the barn-owls and their allies — less than half a dozen species in all — in one group; and all the remaining hundred species or more in a second. . One species, however, Phodilus badius, which had been placed in the smaller group, has now been found by Alphonse Milne-Edwards to combine the peculiarities of both groups, and thus to be a true connecting-link between them. It seems impossible to include Phodilus in either group, yet systematists are re- luctant to allow it to stand by itself as the type of a new sub-family, and equally reluctant to unite all owls into a single group, only subdividing them into genera and species. Under these circumstances, and especially while new species are still being discovered, most ornithologists are inclined to wait for a time, and not commit them- selves. The two main groups alluded to may be thus characterized : — " Sub-family Aluooninae. Barn-owls and their allies. Sternum without manubrium and entire (i. e., un-notched) behind; clavicles united together, forming a furcula, and solidly joined to the keel of the sternum ; tarsus without a bony ring or arch over the extensor tendon of the toes ; claw of the middle toe with its inner margin serrate. J O Sub-family Striginas. Other owls (except Phodilus). Sternum with a distinct manubrium, and with two or more clefts or notches in the hinder margin : clavicles o y never united to the keel of the sternum, often not even united to each other ; tarsus with a bony ring or arch over the groove, in which lies the common extensor tendon of the toes ; inner margin of middle claw not serrate. Phodilus, or Photodilus as it is also written, agrees with the Aluconinoe in want- ing the manubrial process of the sternum as well as the bony arch on the tarsus, but differs from them and agrees with the Striginre in having the hinder margin of the sternum distinctly notched, while the clavicles are neither united to each other, nor to the keel of the sternum. The burrowing-owl, Speotyto cunicularia, is one of the most pecu- liar forms which we meet with among the owls, and, although too FIG. 150. - Bill of ,, , , -. , . . Speotyto, show- well known to warrant extended description, we can hardly pass it without calling attention to its long slender legs, imperfect facial disk, and terrestrial habits. It is about nine and a half inches long, the tail however, being rather short, — only three to three and a half inches. The colors are brown and yellowish-white in about equal proportion, the upper parts being brown with very numerous roundish white spots, while the under parts, wings, and tail are barred with brown and white. The sexes are alike in size and color. It is peculiar to America, where it occurs abundantly in some places, especially on the pampas and adjacent lands of South America, and the plains of the western United States. On the west coast of North America it extends northward to the Columbia River, while on the east coast a few isolated colonies are found in Florida, and it occurs abundantly in Texas. On the island of Guadeloupe, in the West Indies, a form is found which has sometimes OWLS. 325 been ranked as a distinct species, S. gttadeloiipensis, but this seems to be only a variety of the South American bird. Burrowing-owls are notorious from their association with the prairie-dog and other mammals in whose deserted burrows they commonly live, though their relations with the earlier occupants and the intruding rattle-snakes, contrary to popular belief, are usually anything but peaceful. The mistake has doubtless originated from the observed fact that in the so-called ' villages ' of the prairie-dog, owls and snakes as well as 'dogs' are often abundant, and all living in burrows originally made by the rodents. Yet there is no reason to believe that they ever all live in the same under- ground chamber, or that either bird or reptile lays aside its usual instincts and abstains from an occasional meal off each other or the young prairie-dogs. On this subject, Dr. Coues, in his " Birds of the Northwest," remarks : — "The case is further complicated by the introduction of the rattle-snakes ; and no little pure bosh is in type respecting the harmonious and confidential relations imag- ined to subsist between the trio, which, like the ' happy family ' of Barnurn, lead Utopian existences. According to the dense bathos of such nursery talcs, in this underground elysium the snakes give their rattles to the puppies to play with, the old dogs cuddle the owlets, and farm out their own litters to the grave and careful birds ; when an owl and a dog come home, paw-in-wing, they are often mistaken by their respective progeny, the little dogs nosing the owls in search of the maternal font, and the old dogs left to wonder Avhy the baby owls will not nurse. It is a pity to spoil a good story for the sake of a few facts, but, as the case stands, it would be well for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to take it up. "First, as to the reptiles, it may be observed that they are like other rattle-snakes, — dangerous, venomous creatures ; they have no business in the burrows, and are after no good when they do enter. They wriggle into the holes, partly because there is no other place for them to crawl into on the bare, flat plain, and partly in search of owls' eggs, owlets, and puppies to eat. Next, the owls themselves are simply attracted to the villages of prairie-dogs as the most convenient places for shelter and nidification, where they find eligible ready-made burrows, and are spared the trouble of digging for themselves. Community of interest makes them gregarious to an extent unusual among rapacious birds ; while the exigencies of life on the plains cast their lot with the rodents." Wherever these owls are found, they make use of holes in the earth for breeding purposes. Not only do they use the holes above alluded to, but they frequently take possession of those of foxes, badgers, and ground squirrels ; and in South America they live in the burrows of the viscacha, Layostomus tricliodactijlus, the Patagonian 'hare' or cavy, Dolichotis patagonicus, or even of armadillos and large lizards. It is pretty generally believed that when they do not find suitable accommodations of this kind they dig holes for themselves, and this may indeed be the case, but we are not aware that anyone has ever seen them so employed. The burrowing-owls of North and South America, though unquestionably belonging to the same species, are sufficiently different to constitute two fairly well-marked geographical races, the South American bird being larger and ligliter colored than the other. In habits they must differ still more widely, for the bird of the western United States is described as almost entirely diurnal, while the South American bird is as completely crepuscular or nocturnal ; sitting, it may be, at the mouth of its burrow during the daytime, or on the top of a bush near at hand, but seldom feeding at all until towards sunset, when it becomes 326 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. very active. On the pampas it is usually very tame, permitting one to walk up quite close before taking flight for another bush or hillock ; but after sunset it becomes very vigilant, flying up and hovering at a height of thirty or forty feet, and uttering its screams of protest whenever an intruder appears in sight, thus giving ample warn- ing to its neighbors, the viscachas. On the plains of the United States they seem to be more timid and wary, and are said to feed mostly in the daytime. Their food is usually stated to consist mostly of reptiles and insects, but they certainly consume large numbers of mice and some small birds. They neither migrate nor hibernate, but are abroad and active all winter. According to Mr. Agersborg, in south-eastern Dakota, in winter, as many as twenty of FIG. 151. — Athene iioctua, little owl, civetta. these birds may be found living together in the same burrow, and in one such case he found forty-three mice and several shore-larks " scattered along the run to their com- mon apartment." The nest is simply a collection of grass, feathers, and rubbish placed at the end of the burrow, and contains from five to ten short elliptical, or nearly spherical, white, unspotted eggs. The nest, and often the entire burrow, is filthy beyond description, from the accumulation of remnants of food, the ejected pellets of the birds them- selves, etc. The nearest relatives of Speotyto would seem to be the members of the Old "World genus, Athene ( Carine), and one or more species from the West Indies, belonging to the genus Gymnasia. G. laicrenci, found in Cuba, is rather smaller than the burrow- ing-owl, and with proportionally shorter legs, the tarsi and feet, moreover, being per- OWLS. 327 fectly bare of feathers or bristles, and covered with small irregular-shaped plates, as in the tarsal covering of falcons. The genus Athene, in which the burrowing-owl was formerly placed, as now framed includes but two species, one of which, the little owl of Europe, Athene noctua, is the bird which among the Greeks was sacred to Pallas Athene, and is so often represented with the Goddess of Wisdom on their coins and sculptures ; " but," says Newton, "those who know the grotesque actions and ludicrous expression of this veritable buffoon of birds can never cease to wonder at its having been seriously selected as the symbol of learning, and can hardly divest themselves of the suspicion that the choice must have been made in the spirit of sarcasm." For many of the following notes on this species we are indebted to the excellent account of it given in Dresser's " Birds of Europe." It is from eight to nine inches in length, or a trifle smaller than the common mottled-owl of the United States. Its color above is brown with white markings, — O ' stripes on the head, spots on the back, wing-coverts, etc., and bars on the wings and tail. Below, it is buffy white, with dark-brown stripes or longitudinal dashes. Through central and southern Europe it is a common and well-known owl, but rarely reaches England or Sweden, though found regularly in Denmark. Its favorite haunts are in the neighborhood of towns, though it is frequently met with in the country, and in Holland is usually found in the orchards close to farm- houses. In such places it usually nests in the hollow of a tree, laying from three to five eggs without any sign of a nest, but ordinarily it prefers deserted buildings, church-towers, ruins, chinks of rocky walls, or the crevices of bushy cliffs. According to Mr. Keulemans, these little owls have a strong aversion to water. He has kept them in a cage for more than a year without giving them any, while " it is a curious fact than when they get wet, either by heavy rain or by being placed in a damp spot, they have fits and remain insensible for hours, and sometimes it causes their death." In Italy it is known as the ' civetta,' and Mr. Charles Waterton says of it : " This diminutive rover of the night is much prized by the gardeners of Italy for its uncom- mon ability in destroying insects, snails, slugs, reptiles, and mice. There is scarcely an out-house in the gardens and vineyards of that country which is not tenanted by the civetta. "It is often brought up tame from the nest, and in the month of September is sold for a dollar to sportsmen, who take it with them in their excursions through the country to look for larks and other small birds. Perched on the top of a pole it attracts their notice, and draws them within the fatal range of gunshot by its most singular gestures; for, standing bolt upright, it curtsies incessantly, with its head somewhat inclined forwards, while it keeps its eyes fixed on the approaching object. This odd movement is peculiar to the civetta alone ; by it the birds of the neighbor- hood are decoyed to their destruction ; hence its value to the ranging sportsman. "Often and anon, as the inhabitants of Rome pass through the bird-market at the Pantheon, they stop and look and laugh at this pretty little captive owl whilst it is performing its ridiculous gesticulations." Like many other owls which prefer the dusk for hunting, it is, nevertheless, often abroad in the daytime, ('specially when it has young to feed. It would seem to suffer less from the glare of the sun than from the persecutions of small birds which often follow it about in large numbers, harassing it continually from every side. In Germany, according to Naumann, it has a variety of 328 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. notes, some smothered, and dull others loud and clear. " These notes are often vari- ously modulated by the bird itself or the action of the air, and are supposed by the superstitious peasants to form connected sentences, as, for instance, ' Komm-mit, komm- mit auf den Kirschoff-hof-hof (Come with me, come with me to the churchyard- yard-yard) ; ' and the bird is looked on by them as a prophet foretelling death." Al- though this species destroys some small birds, it is in the main decidedly beneficial, feeding mainly on mice and other small rodents, and insects. The single other species of this peculiar genus is the spotted-owl, Athene brama, which is a well-known and abundant bird in India, where it replaces the little owl. In the extreme southwest of the United States, a tiny owl is found, which seems to be somewhat nearly related to the several species already mentioned, although per- haps equally near the pigmy-owls wrhich follow. It is known as Whitney's owl, J\Ii- crathene wliitneyi, and the first specimen was taken by Dr. J. G. Cooper at Fort Mojave in the valley of the Colorado in 1861. During the next dozen years only two or three more specimens came to light, and it is only within the last three or four years that it has been met Avith more abundantly, while it is still very rare in collec- tions. It is undoubtedly the smallest known species of owl, 'and one of the very smallest of all birds of prey ; the only ones which approach it at all being one or two species of the pigmy-owls (Glaucidiwn) and the finch-falcons (Hierax). The total length of large specimens seldom exceeds six inches, the average being probably about five and three-quarters inches. The tail measures between two and two and one-quarter inches, while the wings, which are proportionally longer than in most owls, average about four and one-quarter inches. Like all the owls thus far mentioned, it has no ' plumicorns ' (ear-tufts), the legs are bristly, being feathered but slightly below the heel joint, and the facial disk is im- perfect. This last condition is in most owls found to accompany more or less diurnal habits, but the present species seems to be pretty strictly nocturnal. One of its most peculiar characteristics is seen in the claws, which, as Dr. Coues says, are "remarkably small, weak, and little curved ; hardly more than insessorial instead of raptorial in character." Its coloration is not easily described, but in general it is light brown above, each feather with an angular dot of lighter color. There is an indistinct whitish collar about the neck, and a white stripe along each shoulder. The under parts are whitish, blotched and imperfectly barred with reddish-brown, and the wings and tail are brown, barred with whitish. The face is mostly white, and the iris bright yelloAV. The sexes seem to be exactly alike in size and color. This interesting little owl, so far as now known, seems to be most abundant in Arizona, where several collectors have met with it, and two specimens have also been taken on Socorro Island, off the west coast of Mexico. Mr. F. Stephens recently found it fairly common in the region about Tucson, Arizona, where he found the females frequenting the giant cactuses, and breeding in holes of their stems, while the males were more often met writh in elder and willow thickets. The first specimen Avas discovered by accident, in cutting down a cactus to examine a woodpecker's hole. Mr. William BreAvster has given an account of Mr. Stephens' collection, and pub- lishes many field-notes on the birds observed. Among Mr. Stephens' notes is the folloAving account of the present species. " I was walking past an elder-bush in a thicket, when a small bird started out. Thinking it had flown from its nest I stopped, and began examining the bush, when I discovered a Whitney's OAV! sitting on a branch with its side towards me, and one wing held up, shield-fashion, before its face. I OWLS. could just see its eyes over the wing, and had it kept them shut I might have over- looked it, as they first attracted my attention. It had drawn itself into the smallest possible compass, so that its head formed the widest part of its outline. I moved around a little, to get a better chance to shoot, as the brush was very thick, but, which- ever way I went, the wing was always interposed, and when I retreated far enough for a fair shot I could not tell the bird from the surrounding bunches of leaves. At length, losing patience, I fired at random and it fell. Upon going to pick it up I was sur- prised to find another, which I had not seen before, but which must have been struck by a stray shot." Mr. Brewster adds: "Rather curiously both of these specimens proved to be adult males. It is by no means certain, however, that the males -y, r***£™t.*. £i^§Si&f3&y ,~ y^£2 i , ^<*ESBS>*»O £ -3W 7^ / v=0 r^^s^^^ :h$i--^ ' . "^ "' ~--Y >C' vj v ^ v... ' .< - * * — \^>-K .'-^^-^^ FIG. 152. — Xyctala tciigmalmi, tengmalm's owl, and Glawidium passerinum, pigmy-owl. are not to a certain extent gregarious during the breeding season, for on another occasion two more were killed from a flock of five which were sitting together in a thick bush." The eggs were always laid in deserted woodpeckers' holes in the cactuses, but were rarely accessible without felling the trunks, which always resulted in breaking the eggs. A single whole one, however, was obtained from one nest which was within reach. It was pure white and measured 1.07 by .91 inches. "Fresh eggs were found from May 10 to June 27, dates which indicate that the species breeds rather late in season." Not very much larger than Whitney's owl is the California!! pigmy-owl, Glaucid- ium passerinum, which we may take as a fair representative of the genus Glaucidium. 330 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. The members of this group resemble, in their small size, imperfect facial disk, and lack of plumicorns, the species just described, but are readily distinguishable by their very strong beak and strong, much curved claws, together with proportionally longer tail, much shorter wings, and densely feathered tarsus. Their whole structure is ex- tremely compact and strong, indicating their ability to cope successfully with animals of their own size or larger ; hence the statements that they feed mainly on insects, and are satisfied with a very few of these, need strong confirmation in oi'der to appear even plausible, while the undeniable fact that they habitually hunt more or less during the day gives little ground for the surmise that they are inactive at night ; much less, as some writers assert, that they go to roost at nightfall like the majority of birds. We suspect the truth to be that most of their serious hunting is done under cover of dark- ness, and that the observed insect-catching is only an amusement indulged in to while away the tedious hours of daylight. The pigmy, or gnome-owls, as they are frequently called, commonly inhabit the deep woods, and their manner of life is very slightly known, notwithstanding their comparative abundance in many places. Twenty-five or thirty species have been described, and only ten years ago Mr. R. B. Sharpe admitted twenty-three or twenty- four species, twelve of which were American. There is now, however, little question that we have in America not more than five or six distinct species, one of which (pas- serinwn), is the same as the European, while it is probable that the Old World species must suffer a like reduction. Thus each of the islands, Formosa, Java, Sumatra, and Ceylon, has been credited with its single peculiar species, while China and Japan have another, and India and Africa each two or three more. Just how many of these are local, climatic, or geographical races of the others, we are not prepared to say, but it is our conviction that there are certainly not more than a dozen valid species of Glau- cid'unn known to science at the present time, and even that number may have to be considerably lessened as our knowledge of the group increases. They are mainly dwellers in the tropics, where they are found all round the world, but they appear to be entirely absent from Australia. One species, the sparrow-owl, G. passerimim, is pretty generally distributed through Europe, and is represented in the western United States by a rather darker race formerly separated as a species, G. californicum, but not really distinct from the European bird. It ranges from Vancouver's Island southward to Mexico and Gua- temala, where, however, it seems to be partially replaced by another species, G. ferruyinexm. This latter, like several others among the pigmy-owls, shows the dichromatism already alluded to, some specimens being in gray plumage and othei-s in red, independently of age, sex, or season. The European bird, however, and its American representative rarely show this red phase well, it being much more charac- teristic of the tropical members of the genus. Even among these it is not known to occur in every species, and often wrhere a species shows red and gray forms of the most pronoitnced type, individuals are also found repi-esenting every conceivable in- termediate stage, some examples combining the red and gray in such equal proportion that it is impossible to say which they most resemble. Independently of these phases there is considerable variation of color and markings among individuals of the same species, so that on the whole the pigmy-owls form a very perplexing group. Most of the species, when young, have the upper surface of the head of uniform color, unmarked with either spots or streaks. Few adult birds preserve this character, and frequently the whole upper surface is spotted, streaked, or barred. The wings OWLS. 331 and tail are almost always so, and variations in the number, color, and form of the tail-bars seem often to be of specific importance. The under parts, especially the sides of the breast and belly, are often heavily streaked with a darker color than that which is found elsewhere below, while between the chin and breast, which are light colored, there is almost invariably a darker zone or band, which may be simply an aggregation of spots or streaks, or a belt of uniform color. Equally constant is a narrow half- collar or arc, of various tints in different species, which marks the division between the plumage of the hind-neck and the back. It may consist simply of a few white or red- dish feathers, or it may form a very distinct, single, double, or even triple-striped band, but in any case contrasts strongly with the colors of neck and back which it separates. In size the species vary considerably, the smaller, such as passerinum of Europe, oi'pumilum of South America, being probably not far from six inches in length, while the Himalayan cuculoides and the South African capense, which are among the largest, have a length of about eleven inches. The sexes vary somewhat in size, the female, of course, being the larger, and in some species there seem to be slight differ- ences in color between the sexes. There is also not a little difference among species in the degree of nakedness of the feet, for while most of them have the feet merely bristly and the tarsi well feathered, one or two have the toes fairly feathered; in others they are but scantily provided with bristles, and in some the feathers of the lower part of the tarsus are reduced almost to bristles. The Cuban pigmy-owl, G. sy«, is said to differ from all others in that the nostril opens at the edge of the cere instead of in its middle. Fair examples of the remaining species are the two found in North America — the California!! pigmy, G. passerinum, and the red-tailed pigmy, G. ferrugineum. The normal plumage of the former is chocolate or umber brown above, with numerous small, rounded spots of reddish white; below, pure white, with spots of brown and streaks of black, the wings with three, and the tail with seven or eight incomplete white bars. The red plumage is very similar, except that the umber brown is replaced everywhere, except on the tail, by a rusty brown of varying intensity. The red-tailed pigmy, in normal plumage, is very differ- ent. With much the same general color above, the markings on the head are narrow streaks of dirty white. There are no spots below, but the sides have long dashes of brown. The wings have five rufous bars and some whitish spots, while the tail varies from brownish-red to clear rufous, and is crossed with six or eight bars of dark brown. The red plumage, which is of frequent occurrence, is very marked, often almost hiding both the light markings of the upper parts and all the markings of wings and tail, the black cervical collar alone remaining conspicuous. This species was taken by Mr. Sennett in Texas, and by Captain Bendire in Arizona; but it is properly a more southern bird, ranging from Mexico to Peru and Bolivia. Of its habits little seems to be on record, but they probably do not differ much from those of allied species. The California!! pigmy is perhaps better known; but the records of this bird's habits leave much to be desired. On Vancouver's Island Mr. J. K. Lord watched a pair which had a nest in the hollow of an oak. He considered them strictly insectivo- rous, but never saw them take insects on the wing. During the day they were more or less on the alert for insects, but were especially active in the twilight of morning and evening; yet Mr. Lord believed they did not limit at all during the night. Two eggs only were laid by these birds early in May, but more recently (June, 1883), Captain Bendire found a nest at Fcrt Klamath, Oregon, which contained four young. 332 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. It was in the cavity of a live aspen, and the young birds were feeding on a freshly- killed chipmunk (Tamias). A pigmy-owl, G. nanum, the Cdbure of Azara, which inhabits southern South America, is believed by the natives of that country to attract small birds about it by its bewitching song, after which it picks out and pounces upon one of the fattest of its admirers, which it proceeds to devour. This story, which we have ourselves repeatedly heard in the Province of Entre Rios, is easily accounted for, with the exception of the song, for nearly all owls are objects of curiosity to other birds, many a one of which pays dearly for his inquisitiveness. It does not become us, moreover, in the light of certain facts with regard to the musical ability of some hawks, and the imitative powers of at least one species of owl, to smile too incredulously at these tales ; for, while we may have little or no faith in their trustworthiness, it is certainly not impossible that birds so slightly known as these owls may possess vocal powers not yet officially recognized. From the larger pigmy-owls, especially those with bare feet and somewhat bristly legs, it is but a short step to the owls of the genus Ninox, which differ mainly in larger size, much longer and pointed wings, and in having the lower part of the tarsus mostly hairy instead of covered with feathers. The bristles of the feet are so notice- able in most of the species that they are often called the hairy-footed owls. Were it not for the long and sharp-pointed wings it would be difficult to separate this genus from the preceding, to which it is certainly Arery nearly related. The wings, however, in Ninox, when folded naturally, reach considerably beyond the middle of the tail ; while in Glaucidium they rarely reach even to the middle, usually falling far short of it. In size the species vary fi'om that of a rather large pigmy-owl, say eight or nine inches long, up to more than two feet in length, a size only attained, however, by the powerful-owl, Ninox strenna, of New Zealand. The genus seems to be nearly confined to the Indo-Malayan and Australian regions, ranging from Japan to New Zealand, and reaching Ceylon and the Himmalehs on the west. A single species also, JV. superciliaris, is credited to Madagascar. It is almost impossible at present to do more than guess at the actual number of species included in the genus. As many (twenty-five or thirty) have been described as in the preceding genus, perhaps with no better grounds, and species-makers are still publishing new ones on the strength of single, and oftentimes young or imperfect, specimens. Much of the territory lying within the range of the genus is also as yet unexplored, and may reasonably be expected to yield one or two new forms, as Avell as some new light on the relationship of the various doubtful members of the group. One widely-ranging species, J\r. scutulata, is found throughout the whole extent of the Indo-Malayan region, but is absent from Australia, while a second and closely allied species inhabits the Himmalehs ; Australia has several large species ; New Guinea is credited with as many more, while nearly every good-sized island among the East Indies claims at least one peculiar species. Some of these seem to be well marked, while others are unquestionably only local forms of well-known species, or even mere individual varieties. Many beautiful birds are found among the species of Ninox, the colors being usually soft grays and browns, with black or white touches here and there, and the wings and tail often barred with light and dark. Russet-browns, and even brighter rusty tints, are so common that one cannot help suspecting that dichromatism is common here as well as among the pigmy-owls, though it has not yet been recognized OWLS. 333 so far as we are aware. The hairy-footed owls are more graceful in shape than most of those we have thus far considered ; the long tail and wings, together with the smooth, tuftless head, and less-staring eyes than usual, combining to give a neat and attractive appearance. Though not so notoriously diurnal as some others, the most of them see well by daylight, and seem perfectly able to take care of themselves if disturbed in the middle of the day. A specimen of JV. scutulata (kirsiita), taken in southern Cey- lon by Lieutenant Legge, had its stomach crammed with undigested beetles, although it was shot about two o'clock in the afternoon, showing that it must have been feeding late in the morning ; and, indeed, the same collector observed that this species regu- larly 'hooted' before sunset and long after sunrise, as well as through the night. Mr. Swinhoe found the northern race (japonica) of this same species to be migratory at Chefoo, north China, passing northward in May and returning in October. The powerful-owl, Ninox stremia, of Australia, is said to be chiefly nocturnal in its habits. According to Gray, it is an inhabitant only of the 'brushes,' particularly those along the coast from Port Philip to Moreton Bay, and has a note "hoarse, loud, and mournful, resembling the bleating of an ox." As already stated, it is the largest member of the genus, and also the largest owl of Australia, and only equalled in size among the diurnal birds of prey in that country by the wedge-tailed eagle, Aquila audax, and the white-bellied fishing-eagle, Ichthyaetus leucogaster. Only slightly infe- rior in size is the winking-owl, JV. connivens, also of Australia, a well-known inhabi- tant of the wooded districts, where it hunts by day, and is said to be one of the most merciless enemies of the koala, or Australian bear, Phascolarctos cinereus, the young of which it often carries off bodily. A much smaller bird is the New Zealand owl, JV. novce-zealandice, in which, accord- ing to W. L. Buller, the female is smaller than the male, a statement Avhich, if sub- stantiated, wTill record a fact unique, so far as we know, among birds of prey. Apparently belonging to the same section as the foregoing five genera, is the rare and little-known laughing-owl, or white-faced owl, Sceloglaux albifacies, of New Zealand. Although formerly somewhat more abundant than at present, it is not known ever to have been plentiful, and is now believed to be rapidly becoming extinct. Dr. Buller, long resident in New Zealand, writing in 1874, says of it: "As to the present scarcity of the bird, it may be sufficient to state that I have never heard of more than a dozen specimens, and have never seen but one living example." It agrees in several points, such as the tumid cere and long legs, with the genera already treated ; but its skeleton is remarkable for the great size and strength of the clavicles, as well as for other peculiarities. Owing largely to its rarity, as well as partly to ignorance of the interest attaching to its structure and life history, it seems never to have been made the subject of special investigation, and so is in a fair way to become extinct before its true relations to other species or groups have been fully settled. It is a rather large owl (about a foot and a half long), with about the same proportions as the barn-owl (Aluco), except that the wings are shorter. Its specific name, a//>i- facies, refers to the whitish color of the face and sides of head ; but these parts are all more or less streaked with brown and black, so that this name is not particularly appropriate. The name, laughing-owl, is intended to be suggestive of the odd vocal gymnastics of the bird. Thus far we have been dealing with owls which show a swollen cere, and nostrils opening fairly within it, while the long legs commonly have a tendency to be bare or bristly. The remaining owls of this sub-family, though varying much in other respects, 334 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. agree in having the uninflated cere more nearly as in the diurnal birds of prey, but with the nostrils usually situated on the line between the cere and the bill, rarely en- tirely in the cere, never entirely outside it. The legs, too, in a majority of the species, are pretty well feathered, though the feet may be either perfectly bare, bristly, or densely feathered. This last condition is exhibited in the highest perfection by the hawk-owl and the snowy owl, species which are common to the Old and New Worlds, and inhabit the extreme north of both continents. Surnia funerea, the hawk-owl, so called in reference to its hawk-like appearance and diurnal habits, is a circumpolar species, only found in the temperate zone in win- ter. Fitted to withstand the severest cold, its southward movement even then most probably depends on variation in its food supply rather than on temperature. Its home is in the northernmost regions of America and Asia, and it is rarely seen in the United States except in winter, though it is said to breed in some parts of Maine. It has been taken as far south as New Jersey and Ohio, but ordinarily does not pass south of Massachusetts. An abundant bird of Alaska, yet south of British America it has not been met with west of the Rocky Mountains ; and at any season of the year must be considered an extremely rare bird within the limits of the United States. Yet on rare occasions it appears along our northern border in considerable num- bers, as was the case in October and November, 1884, when a "wave" of them inun- dated northern New England to an extent without a parallel in the history of the species. Hundreds of them were killed in the course of a few weeks, and they sud- denly became as common as ' chicken-hawks ' in places where they had never before been seen. Unlike most other owls, this species flies so much in the daytime that it is not readily overlooked, and the fact that in summer it has not been noted in New Brunswick, or even in most parts of Canada, shows that it is a decidedly northern bird. In summer it is said to feed almost entirely on field-mice (Arvicolce) and insects, and in winter on such birds and small mammals as can be found. It is usually seen perched on the top of some small tree, whence it makes forays for any game which shows itself. It seems to be entirely unmindful of sunlight, and probably does most of its hunting during the day, though known to be active at twilight. Swift and strong on the wing, it is unusually courageous, often even attacking a man in defence of its nest. It is known to nest in hollow trees, and Mr. Dall found the eggs in Alaska placed in the hollowed top of a birch stub some fifteen feet from the ground ; yet it is said by Richardson, McFarlane, and others, to build a somewhat bulky nest of sticks, grass, and moss in large trees. The eggs vary in 'number from four to seven. The heavily feathered toes have already been mentioned, and so completely muffled are they that they are frequently spoken of as ' paws.' The general plumage of the hawk-owl is quite different from that of most owls, being much more com- pact and firm, the feathers lacking in large measure the softness and fringed edgings so characteristic of owls' plumage in general. The form, too, is slender and trim, the wings and tail quite long, the facial disc quite imperfect, and the general appearance, at rest or in action, decidedly hawk-like. The colors are umber-brown, black, and white, the face and throat being entirely whitish, often bordered below and at sides by a varying amount of black. The upper parts are variously spotted with white on a brown ground, and the under parts closely barred from upper breast to tail with reddish brown bars on a white ground. O The hawk-owl of northern Asia and continental Europe is lighter colored than the American bird, and is usually separated as a geographical race (ulula). Dr. Brewer, 0 WLS. 335 however, has recorded the capture of both forms ut Houlton, Maine, while according to Dresser the Asiatic form does not occur in Great Britain at all, but whenever a hawk-owl has (rarely) been taken there, it has proved to be in the plumage of the American bird. The snowy-owl, Nyctea sccmdiaca, is a much better known bird than the preceding, owing, doubtless, in part to its large size and snowy plumage, but also to the fact tli:it FIG. 153. — Nyctea scandiaca, snowy-owl, and Syrnium lapponicnm, great gray-owl. it has a much wider range, being not uncommon in all the northern United States in winter, and having occurred even in Kansas arid Texas. Occasionally it becomes abundant in the United States in winter, several invasions similar to the ' wave ' of hawk-owls mentioned above being on record. Apparently the latest of these took place during the winters of 1861-62 and 1876-77. Of this last inroad, Mr. Ruthven Deane has given an account from which we extract the following : - "About the first of November, 1876, large numbers suddenly appeared along our coast. This being the season when sportsmen and the market gunners were in pursuit 336 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. of water-fowl on the sea-shore, dozens of snowy-owls were shot by them, and sent to the markets and to the taxidermists, so that during the three following weeks it was a common thing to see them hanging with other game in the markets, or confined alive. O O O O ' I first heard of them on our Massachusetts coast as frequenting the islands off Rock- port, where numbers were taken. " One gunner spoke of seeing fifteen at once on a small island one foggy morning, nearly half of which he procured. Several were shot in the very heart of the city of Boston, where they were occasionally seen perched upon the house-tops or church spires. The migration seems also to have extended far to the southward of New England, as I learn from Mr. Boardman that specimens have been taken as far south as Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington. In Philadelphia Mr. John Krider, the well-known taxidermist, had forty sent to him for preparation during October and November. One was taken near Baltimore during the last of September. I have heard of some five hundred specimens that have been seen, the majority of which have been shot." They ai'e found all over northern Europe and Asia, and are occasionally taken in Great Britain, and there seem to be no constant differences of any kind between Ola and New World specimens, unless Mr. Sharpe's observation, that in European birds the toes are much more heavily feathered, should prove always to hold true. The general color of the snowy-owl is pure white, usually more or less distinctly barred with brown, and it is doubtful if these brown markings are ever entirely lacking on the hind neck, while birds which with this exception are entirely white are extremely rare, and are usually very old males. Young birds, even when fully feathered, often show as much brown as white, and it has been noticed that the specimens which range southward in winter are almost always these much-spotted individuals, fairly white birds being always comparatively rare. This owl and the gyrfalcon are probably the only birds of prey which remain in the Arctic regions through the winter, but it seems to be unaffected by the cold, and has been met with as far toward the pole as man has yet reached. It is interesting to notice that no seasonal change in plumage, like that which the ptarmigan undergoes, has been observed in this species, which, when adult, needs no protective coloration, and so retains its white dress through the summer. The nestlings, however, are at first of a uniform sooty-brown, which must be a considerable protection to them during their long stay in the nest, in its exposed position on the ground. This bird is known to breed in Labrador, said to do so in Newfoundland, and suspected of it even as far south as Maine, but its true breeding range probably does not extend south of the parallel of 50°, while it breeds most abundantly very much farther north. The nest is seldom more than a hollow in the moss, or a slight depression in a ledge, with perhaps a few feathers added. In this simple affair from six to ten eggs are laid, usu- ally at intervals of at least several days, so that the first have hatched before the last are laid, and the yonng birds thus contribute their warmth to the other eggs, leaving the parents more at liberty to seek food for themselves and their young. The same habit has been noticed among other owls, especially among those which breed early in the spring, when the weather is still very cold. The snowy-owl is almost as diurnal in its habits as the hawk-owl, hunting, however, both by night and day whenever circumstances favor or require it. Though usually quite shy and diffi- cult of approach, it is said to be easily decoyed within range, when there is snow on the ground, by tying a mouse, a bit of hare's skin, or even a bunch of dark rags, to a OWLS. 337 long cord, and letting this drag behind as the hunter walks. Its fondness for fish has been frequently noticed, and this partly explains why, during its winter visits to the United States, it is more abundant on the seaboard than in the interior. Many other owls are fond of fish and are skilful in catching them, but only two genera seem to have the feet specially modified for this purpose, viz., the African genus ScotopeHa, and the Asiatic Ketupa. In both these forms the under surface of the toes is thickly beset with papilla? or spicules, as in the osprey, and the large, strongly curved talons are of nearly equal length on all the toes. In Scotopelia the head is smooth, and the tarsus is entirely bare behind, and only feathered in front for a little distance below the tibio-tarsal joint ; while in Ketupa rather less than the lower third of the tarsus is bare, and the head has prominent plumicorns two or three inches in length. Three species of each genus have been described, but the characters on which they are founded would seem, from the descriptions, to be very slight. All are very large owls, and are supposed to feed large- ly, if not entirely, on fish and crabs, but, as they are inhabitants of the deep forests and appear to be nocturnal in habits, they have seldom been seen fishing. M r. S w i n h o e, while at Ningpo, China, dissected a specimen of Ketiipa flampes which had the stomach " crammed with bones and other re- mains of fishes, the largest about four inches long." Scotopelia pell is found in western and southeastern Africa, and Ketupa ceylonensis is from India and China, while K. javanensis, the smallest form, inhabits the East Indies and Malay Peninsula. The horned-owls of the genus Bubo, inhabiting nearly all parts of the Avorld except Australia, are remarkable for their large size and great strength, as well as for the great development of the plumicorns or ear-tufts. The number of species is variously estimated at from half a dozen to two or three dozen. Good representatives of these magnificent owls are the great horned-owl, Bubo virginiamis, of America, and the eagle-owl, B. ignavus (or maxiinus), of the northern parts of the Old World. The latter is probably as large as any in the genus, and one of the very largest of all owls, slightly exceeded in linear dimensions, perhaps, by one or two others, but in strength and prowess surpassed by none. An adult female measures about twenty-six inches from bill to tip of tail ; the wing is from eighteen to nineteen inches in length, and the plumicorns from three to three and a half. The weight of such a bird in fair condition is nearly eight pounds. As in all the members of the genus, the tarsi are well feathered, the facial disk is imperfect, the part below the eye much exceeding in area that above it, and the plumage is of a mottled character, — black, white, and various shades of brown being the prevail- ing colors. The eagle-owl is now extremely rare in Great Britain, but in mountainous and VOL. iv. — 22 FIG. 154. — Leg of Scotopelia ussheri, showing spicules. 338 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. wooded regions of the rest of Europe it is rather common, breeding abundantly in Scandinavia, in Spain, on the wooded slopes of the Urals, and thence eastward across Siberia to China. In many parts of Germany it is still common, but probably decreas- ing steadily in numbers. According to Dresser, " An official list states that two hundred and two specimens were killed in Bohemia in 1857, which appears almost doubtful, though the total number of owls of all sorts killed there is in the same list ' O stated to be eight thousand six hundred and seventy." According to the same FIG. 155. — Bubo igiiavus, eagle-owl. author, this bird is one of the boldest and most rapacious of European birds of prey, being a match even for the eagle. Yet, though it sees well in the daytime, it is frequently chased about and stooped at by peregrines and smaller falcons, until com- pelled to seek safety in a dense thicket or beneath a projecting rock. " Usually it remains quiet during the day, hidden in some dark ravine or dense forest, but often appears about in search of prey quite early in the evening, before the twilight has set in. Its flight, like that of all the owls, is noiseless and powerful ; and OWLS. 339 its note, a deep and loud hoot, consisting of the syllables 7w, 7m, modulated in various ways, can be heard at considerable distances. Uttered at night, from some dark, gloomy-looking gorge, the gruff call-note of the eagle-owl sounds peculiarly weird and wild. It occasionally varies its usual note, so that it may be sometimes likened to a hoarse laugh, and at others it is not much unlike the neighing of a horse. The super- stitious peasants in the north believe, when they hear the hoot of this owl, that evil spirits are about; and the various legends of the wild huntsman, the so-called 'wilde Jagd,' so firmly believed in by many of the German peasants, doubtless have their origin from this bird. Few birds of prey are so destructive to game as the present species ; for there is no game-bird, not even the capercaillie, which is too large for him, and he does not disdain to hunt after the smaller species also ; mice and rats, hares, rabbits, young fawns, black-game, pheasants, partridges, and hazel-grouse, all are equally good in his sight, and form a portion of his daily diet when obtainable ; but jays, and especially crows, appear to be favorite articles of food with him, and remains of the latter are very frequently met with in his larder." It seems ordinarily to prefer for nesting purposes a ledge of rock, or some cranny in the face of a cliff, yet in forest regions it is known to nest in trees or even on the ground; and, in the treeless downs of Turkey, according to Messrs. Elwes and Buckley, " it chooses a bank of earth on the side of a ravine for its eyry, and scratches out a hole for the eggs in the bare ground, sometimes within sight of every passer-by. We found a nest of four hard-set eggs on April 8th, and others containing young birds a fortnight later." It also breeds freely in confinement, and in some places in England has been almost domesticated. According to Mr. Gurney, forty-nine young have been reared from a single pair between 1849 and 1873, this pair having laid, in all, seventy-one good eggs and several bad ones. The American great horned-owl, Bubo virginianus, is quite similar in general appearance to the bird just described, but is decidedly smaller, the total length being from four to six inches less, the wings shorter by three inches or more, and other parts in proportion. While the colors themselves are much as in ignavus, the pattern is quite different, the lower parts, instead of being streaked and spotted, are barred with black, there is a black ring nearly encircling the facial disk, and a large, pure white patch on the upper breast and throat. This fine owl is far more abundant in the eastern United States than is generally supposed, and it is probable that there are very few townships in which there are any considerable stretches of woodland where it is not resident. In its habits it is much like the eagle-owl, preying not only on large game, such as hares, grouse, and, according to Audubon, turkeys; but also on rats, field-mice, reptiles, and fish. Although its dispo- sition can hardly be called gentle or affectionate, and it is less easily managed than the snowy-owl, it is far from being always the " fierce and untamable " bird which it has so often been described. Dr. Coues took a pair of young at Pembina, Dakota, which were still in the white down. He kept them through the entire summer, and they became quite tame. We extract the following from his account : - "They became so thoroughly tame, that, as their wings grew, enabling them to take short flights, I used to release them in the evening from the tether by which they were usually confined. They enjoyed the liberty, and eventually used to stay away all night, doubtless foraging for themselves for their natural prey, and returning to their shelter behind my tent in the morning. " These owls were most active during the night ; yet it would be a great mistake 340 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. to suppose their vision is much restricted in the daytime, notwithstanding they belong to a group of owls commonly regarded as nocturnal. They passed most of the day, indeed, crouching in the shadow of the tent, and it was only toward sundown that they became active, flying the length of their tether in the attempt to reach the ridge of the tent ; yet their vision was acute at all hours. I often saw them, look up and follow with their eyes the motions of a grasshopper or butterfly flickering several yards up in the air. On one occasion in particular, I saw them both gazing stead- fastly, and on looking up to see what had attracted their attention, I was myself blinded by the glare, for the direction was exactly in the sun's eye. But a few moments afterwards I discovered a pair of white cranes floating in circles half a mile high. The owl's eyes endured a glare that my own could not, and the birds certainly saw the objects, for they slowly moved the head as the cranes passed over. The best of the supposed performances of an eagle soaring in the sun's eye could not excel this. Nor was the inner eyelid drawn over the ball to shade it. I had abundant evidence, on this and numerous other occasions, that the movements of the birds' iris are entirely under the control of the will, instead, as commonly supposed, of being automatic, depending upon the stimulus of light. I frequently saw them instantane- ously relax or contract the quivering iris in accommodating their vision to different objects or different distances; and, moreover, they could move the iricles indepen- dently of each other; for they often looked at objects with one eye only, the other being sleepily half closed ; and on such occasions the pupils were generally of different sizes. They varied in diameter from that of a small split-pea, to that of a finger- ring ; in the latter condition the iris was a mere margin about a tenth of an inch in diameter. In the night-time I always found the pupil largely, if not fully, dilated ; at every stage of contraction it remained perfectly circular." Others have been less successful in taming these birds, some failing entirely, others making but a partial success. In the " Auk," Mr. J. W. Banks has given some of his experience in this respect, together with many interesting notes, from which we select the following : " Nothing in the shape of fresh fish or flesh is neglected by the owl when hungry, though her choice is for wild birds, and she will take small animals in preference to beef or mutton. A rat or squirrel is always swallowed whole, and about every second or third day the fur and bones are ejected, rolled into a hard pellet as large as a grouse's egg. Just before ejecting these pellets the bird's appear- ance is very distressing. The first time I observed it I thought she must be ill, but as soon as the pellet is out she immediately recovers. The ' hoot ' is made with the bill firmly closed ; the air is forced into the mouth and upper part of the throat, the latter being puffed out to the size of a large orange." The breeding habits of the great horned-owl vary widely in different parts of the country. Audubon's experience led him to believe that it nested usually in hollow trees, but in two cases he knew it to nest in the clefts of rocks. In many parts of the United States it builds a large, open nest, toward the top of a tall tree ; this seems to be usually the case in New England, Avhere the eggs are ordinarily but two (rarely three and never more) and are laid between the middle of February and the middle of March. At that early date there is often scarcely a sign of spring and the eggs must need constant care to prevent freezing. The late Mr. W. W. Coe, of Portland, Conn., who took one or more sets of this bird's eggs every season for many years, informed us that one morning, after a heavy fall of snow, he saw in the top of a tree, while trying to OWLS. 341 locate a nest, what he supposed to be an old nest, as it was heaped high with snow. While looking at it doubtfully, however, his companion struck the butt of the tree a heavy blow Avith a club, and to his surprise the snowy covering of the nest was lifted on the wings of the sitting bird, and scattered in a cloud as she hastily sped away." The American horned-owl has a very extensive range, as it is found from the shores of the Arctic sea to Cape Horn, and although it presents considerable variations in size and color, very few forms seem to be constant enough for recognition as races. Specimens have been taken in which the color is so dark as to strongly suggest melan- ism, while the other extreme is seen in specimens from the far north or the Alpine levels of the mountains, which occasionally resemble quite closely, except for the plumicorns, the snowy-owl. The dusky horned-owl of India, Bubo coromandus, is interesting from the fact that several instances are on record of its laying distinctly spotted eggs, though ordinarily its eggs, like those of all other owls, are pure, unspotted white. Miniatures of the great horned-owls are the little horned-owls, or Scops owls as they are frequently called, from the genus Scops to which they all belong. They agree with the members of the genus E-ubo in most of the characters of that genus except size ; the facial disk being imperfect in the same way and to about the same extent, the plumicorns prominent, and the colors similar. The wings are said to be propor- tionally longer, but this is not very obvious in the best figures we have seen, and even the measurements do not always bear out the statement. The toes, however, are more often bare in Scoj)s than in Bubo, and this nakedness frequently extends some distance up the tarsus, in one or two species even half its length. Moreover, the Scops owls frequently show marked dichromatism, which the species of Bubo never do, and all the former are of small size, the largest not exceeding a foot in length, and the average being only from six to seven inches. Mr. R. B. Sharpe, in his catalogue of the birds of prey in the British Museum, thus speaks of this group. " Difficult to understand as all owls are, the species of the genus /Scops are in every way the most difficult to identify. The impossibility of procuring sei'ies of some of the species to stiidy at the same time, the absence of infor- mation as to the sequence of plumages from the young stage to that of the adult, and the puzzling way in which some species seem to possess rufous phases, while others do not, — these are all problems which time alone can solve. I can hardly expect that all ornithologists will acquiesce in my views as to the sub-species or races which I have believed it to be my duty to recognize. These races do exist in nature, and they may be called by whatever name naturalists please, 'varieties,' 'races,' 'sub-species,' 'cli- matic forms,' etc. ; but it has seemed to me better to keep these forms, many of which are very well characterized, distinct from one another, than to merge them all as one species, and thus to obliterate all records of natural facts, which are plain enough to the practiced eye of the ornithologist, though difficult to describe in words." Mr. Sharpe then proceeds to characterize upwards of twenty-five species, and more than the same number of sub-species or races; about one quarter of the whole being found in America, and the rest in the Old World, excluding Australia and Oceanicn, where none are known to occur. It is, of course, impossible for us to name these here, or to go into questions of the validity of species, the relationships of races, etc. Mr. Sharpe, however, includes in the genus two owls which are perhaps better separated under the generic title Lophostrix, and which in size stand between Bubo and Scops, but rather nearer the former, having a length of from sixteen to twenty inches, and 342 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. the other dimensions in proportion. The plumicorns are about two inches long, and the genus is peculiar to tropical America. A fair representative of the remaining species is the common mottled-owl or screech- owl, Scops asio, so generally distributed through the United States, where it is one of the commonest of the smaller species, and, except along our southern border, the only small owl which has plumicorns. It shows in its perfection the dimorphism which is so common in this genus as well as in Glaucidium and several others, but its habits appear to be about the same everywhere. It is strictly nocturnal, or crepuscular, feeds mostly on mice and similar vermin, and almost invariably nests in the hollows of trees, where it lays five or six eggs in April or May in the Middle and New England states. While its food is doubtless mainly as mentioned above, yet it eats many insects, probably catches small birds oc- casionally, and would seem to be fond of fish from the following account by Mr. A. M. Frazar, of Watertown, Mass. Mr. Frazar says: "On November 29, 1876, I took from a mottled owl's hole the hinder half of a woodcock, PJdlohela minor. Within two weeks after I took two owls from the same hole, and on the 19th of January last I had the good fortune to take another. After extracting the owl I put in my hand to see what else there was of interest, and found sixteen horned-pouts, Amiurus atra- rius, four of which were alive. When it occurred to me that all the ponds in the vicinity were under at least two feet of snow and ice, I could scarcely conjecture where the horned-pouts could have been captured. After visiting all the ponds, I found they had most probably been captured in one fully a mile away, where some boys had been cutting holes through the ice to catch pickerel bait. The owl probably stationed himself by the edge of the hole and seized the fish as they came to the sur- face. What a busy time he must have had flying thirty-two miles after sixteen horned-pouts!" The ordinary cry of the mottled-owl is a tremulous and not unmusical series of notes, and we have never heard a note from this species which would at all justify the common name of screech-owl. A beautiful Mexican and Central American species is the flammulated-owl, Scops flammeolus, which has been taken half a dozen times or more in California, Arizona, and Colorado, and in the last-named state has been found breeding. This is one of the smallest species of the genus, and readily distinguished from S. asio by its per- fectly bare toes and very short plumicorns. The common species of Europe is the scops owl, Scops giu, which is slightly smaller than our common mottled-owl, and differs further in its naked toes. In general appearance and plumage, however, they are quite similar, though specific characters for their separation are easily found, and it has even been proposed to place the American birds of this genus in a sep- J/ arate sub-genus, from that which should include FIG. 156. — Foot of Scops gin. & !' this arrangement the slip to the first toe (hallux) branches off from the main stem above the point where the two tendons blend together. The synpelmous distribution of the deep plantar tendons obtains especially in the swifts, humming-birds, goat- suckers, king-fishers, horn-bills, and their allies, many of which are also syndacty- lous. We may finally state as an important fact that the synpelmous, the heteropel- mous and the antiopelmous arrangements are entirely peculiar to the present order. Garrod thought that he had another set of characters concomitant with the pres- sence or absence of the ambiens muscle, finding as he did that in all homalogonatous birds the dorsal feather tract bifurcates between the shoulder, while in the anomalo- VOL. iv. — 24 370 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. gonatous it is simple until behind the end of the shoulder-blades. A glance at our Figure 172, as compared with Fig. 173, representing the dorsal pterylosis of two ano- malogonatous birds shows that the bifurcation also occurs among these, as, for instance, in Steatomis, Caprimulgus, Coracias, etc., The swifts and the humming birds have neither caaca nor a tufted oil gland. This combination was at first considered unique in the group called by Garrod Anomalogo- natre, since all the rest, including the Passeres, were found to have either the one or the other, hence the Cypseliformes were set apart without further dissent or discus- sion. Then Garrod found that all of the species examined by him which had casca were lacking a tuft to the oil gland, and that those which possessed this circlet of feathers were deficient in caeca. This discovery led to the division of the non-cypse- line Anomalogonataa into two groups, Piciformes with tuft and no casca, and Passeri- formes with caeca but no tuft. As the name indicates, the latter, with several other forms, embraced all the Passeres. As it was found out later on that some of the FIG. 172. — Pterylosis of Ramphastos, dorsal surface. FIG. 173. — Pterylosis of Steatornls, dorsal surface. Momotidre, which are destitute of caaca, were also possessed of a nude oil gland, while other species had a minute tuft, resort was had to the theory that the tuft was lost after the two great divisions had branched off, in order to explain this " excep- tion." We cannot help thinking that too much stress has been laid upon the concomitancy alluded to, and that, by applying it as a divisional character, forms have been artifi- cially separated which are really closely related. With us the concomitancy of the zygodactylous feet with the antiopelmous plantar arrangement weighs much more, especially since cuckoos and parrots conclusively prove that these two peculiarities are entirely independent of each other. It is extremely improbable that such an abnor- mal arrangement as is the synpelmous one should have developed independently in the two groups Piciformes and Passeriformes, while the case of the Momotidae proves that the absence of the feather tuft on the oil gland is a fact of comparatively slight consequence. We explained above the two terms, zygodactylous and heterodactylous. Two more will need explanation, viz. anisodactylous and pamprodactylous ; the former indicates PIC A El AN BIRDS. that three toes are turned forwards, while the latter signifies having all four toes turned in that direction. The reader is now prepared to understand the following attempt at tabulating the chief characters of the Picarian super-families : _ Horaalogonatous ; desmopelmous, Cuculoidece j , > dorsal tract furcate between the shoulders. (Coracwidece > Colioideoa ; feet pamprodactylous > dorsal tract simple be- Alcedinoidece ; feet anisodactylous ( tween the shoulders. schizopelmous; Upupoidew ; dorsal tract furcate between the shoulders. antiopelmous ; Picoidev ; zygodactylous ] dorgal tract g. le Anomalo- gonatous X enters the myo- logical formula ; I ^AUIOO.1 blCbUU Olll heteropelmous ; Trogonoidece ; heterodactylous I between the A alone constitutes the \ [ pamprodactylous ] shoulders, myological formula; Micropodoidea 4 or [ anisodactylous J In regard to the above arrangement it may be remarked that Steatornis is here included among Coracioideae, but that it is an easy matter to change the scheme so as to accommodate a super-family, Steatornithoideae, should it be thought advisable to adopt such a division. The Picariae form a group embracing upwards of eighteen hundred species, highly characteristic of the tropical regions, for while the great majority of the families composing it are " exclusively tropical, none are confined to, or have their chief devel- opment in, the temperate regions." The Neotropical region is richer in peculiar fam- ilies, but the total number of families represented in the Ethiopean region is greater. In regard to the many curious features of the geographical distribution of the Picariag, Mr. Wallace remarks : " We may see a reason for the great specialization of this trop- ical assemblage of birds in the Ethiopical and Neotropical regions, in the fact of the large extent of land on both sides of the equator which these two regions alone pos- sess, and their extreme isolation, either by sea or deserts, from other regions, — an iso- lation which we know was in both cases much greater in early tertiary times. It is, per- haps, for a similar reason that we here find hardly any trace of the connection between Australia and South America which other groups exhibit ; for that connection has most probably been effected by a former communication between the temperate southern extremities of those two continents. The most interesting and suggestive fact is that presented by the distribution of the Megalaimidae and Trogonidae over the tropics of America, Africa, and Asia. In the absence of paleontological evidence as to the former history of the Megalaimidae, we are unable to say positively whether it owes its present distribution to a former closer union between these continents in intertropical latitudes, or to a much greater northern range of the group at the period when a luxuriant sub-tropical vegetation extended far toward the Arctic regions; but the discovery of Trogon, in the miocene deposits of the south of France, renders it almost certain that the latter is the true explanation in the case of both these families." The super-family CUCITLOIDEJE, being homalogonatous, desmopelmous, and zygodactylous, is to all appearance a natural group composed of two families, the plantain-eaters and the cuckoos. The former are characterized by having tufted oil glands and after-shafts to the contour-feathers, at the same time lacking colic caeca. The cuckoos, on the other hand, lack tufts and after-shafts, but possess two caeca. In having small heads and a long neck, as also in the character of the plumage and several structural features, the MUSOPHAGID^E, or plantain-eaters, resemble the Galli- naceous birds, to which they certainly are not very distantly related. Indeed, the 372 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. largest species, Corythceola cristata, presents a most striking similarity to a hokko, and is not much inferior in size. The family is strictly African, however, no species occurring outside of the Ethiopian region proper, not even in Madagascar. The true plantain-eaters (Musophaga) are glossy bluish or violet-black, and have a bony frontal shield as a prolongation of the beak much in the fashion of the coots. They are large and handsome birds, the typical species of which (Jf. violacea) is figured in the accompanying cut. The turacous (Turacus), so called in imitation of their cry, are somewhat smaller, of a peculiar light green color, while the wing-feathers are of a most beautiful carmine; a rounded, strongly compressed feather-crest adorns the head. The most interesting fact in regard to these birds, is, perhaps, the nature of \: R im/mm FIG. 174. — Musophaga violacea, violaceous plantain-eater. the coloring matter. As akeady mentioned in the introduction (page 5), the only green pigment discovered in birds is that which has been called turacoverdin, while turacin, the magnificent red pigment of the wing, is equally peculiar to these birds. This latter pigment is the more remarkable, since it is said to be washed out during heavy showers of the rainy season, leaving the feathers pinky white, their former beauty being resumed, however, in the course of two or three days. The best known species is the white-crested turacou ( T. corythaix) from South Africa, which, like its congeners, frequents the highest trees, feeding on fruits. The colonists call them lories. Another South African species is the gray turacou ( Chizcerhis concolor), similar in form, but uniform gray all over. The following is an abstract of an inter- esting account communicated to Mr. R. B. Sharpe by Dr. Exter: "In traveling through the Betchuana country, one often comes upon a party of five or six of these CUCKOOS. 373 birds, hiding from the mid-day heats under the sheltered portions of dense foliage near the centre of a large tree. Whilst yet undisturbed, the crest lies flat on the head, and can only be seen as a tuft projecting from the occiput. But their first act on becoming aware of an intruder is to run along the branches, either to the summit of the tree, or to the extremity of a branch commanding a good look-out, where, with crest fully erected and well thrown forward, they keep up a constant reiteration of their note. If but little alarmed, they move rapidly from branch to branch, frequently jerking up the crest, and assuming an attitude of attention. Again, after flight from one tree to another, on alighting, they first rest on a branch, with the body somewhat horizontal and the tail drawn nearly to the perpendicular, as if assuring themselves of their equilibrium, and then, raising the body, elongating their neck, and, at the same time, elevating the crest, they seem to take an observation as to the security of their new position. So much is this a habit of the bird, that, during the conversational difficulties of my earlier intercourse with the Betchuanas, when inquiring for the nest of CJiizcerhis (the native name of which is 'Ma-quaai'), as soon as it dawned upon the mind of a native what bird I meant, he has imitated its note, accompanied by a sudden jerking up of the hand, with his fingers extended to the utmost, as if at the same time to mimic the elevation of the crest. I was one day walking along a low ridge of rocks, from which I flushed an owl that flew to some distance to a clump of trees. Presently I heard an agonized scream, such as is made by a young antelope when seized by a dog; and so exact a repetition of the sound was it that even my dogs were deceived by it, and rushed off in the direction whence it came. I also sent a Kafir boy, and presently followed myself, when I discovered it was the frightful scream of Chizcerhis, of which a party were collected round the owl I had previously disturbed, and whose presence appeared to be the exciting cause. At a later period I had second opportunity of verifying this observation." During the early part of the year 1885, Mr. F. E. Beddard, the successor of Garrod and Forbes as prosector of the London Zoological Society, published an attempt to classify the CUCULID.E, or cuckoos, on anatomical principles, relying solely upon the presence or absence of the accessory femoro-caudal (B), the nature of the syrinx, and the confirmation of the pterylaa or feather tracts. He has brought out the con- comitancy of some interesting characters and has succeeded in arranging the genera investigated in groups corresponding to their geographical distribution. But it seems as if the anatomical systematists are going to repeat the error of their predecessors, the ' skin ornithologists,' in paying attention only to a single set of characters, as a trifling or unessential feature is not worth more when anatomical or internal than when external. The investigations of Mr. Beddard show that the syrinx of the Cuculida? appears in three different forms, the bronchial, the tracheo-bronchial, and the pseudo-bronchial syrinx. While for the general description of the syrinx we refer to the introduction to this volume (page 16), a short explanation of the above terms may find an appropriate place here. In the tracheo-bronchial form, the syrinx is formed at the point where the trachea bifurcates to form the two bronchi, in such a way that the last tracheal rings and first bronchial rings partake in the formation, and the tympaniform membrane reaches the bifurcation. Such a syrinx is represented in Fig. 175. The true bron- chial syrinx is paired, and is located farther down, one on each bronchus; the trachea is simply continued in two bronchi, the first rings of which are complete ; at some 374 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. FIG. 175. — Syrinx of Piatja cat/ana, tracheo-bronchial. FIG. 176. — Syrinx of Centropus, pseudo- bronchial. distance from the bifurcation they are replaced by semi-rings, the ends of which are connected by the tympaniform membrane, which, therefore, is not continuous with any of the tracheal rings. This condition in the cuckoos is similar to that of Steator- nis, which is figured later on (page 385). The pseudo-bronchial syrinx, as we propose to call it, is somewhat intermediate between the above two. At some distance down the bronchi are the ends of the semi-rings, separated by a rather broad membrane, but the rings between this and the actual bifurcation are not complete, and the narrow space between their ends is filled by a strip of membrane, which connects the tympa- num proper with the bifurcation, and the lower tracheal rings which may also be similarly incomplete, as shown in Fig. 176. The true bronchial syrinx is only found in two peculiar American forms, Crotophaga and Guira, which also agree in many external characters, for instance, in being the only cuckoos with eight tail-feathers, all the rest having ten. These two are, therefore, fairly entitled to sub-family rank. On the other hand, the muscular formula AXY-j- is concomitant with a certain pattern of the inferior feather tract, as in the cuckoos which have not the muscle B, the ventral tract of both sides is sine;le and not ' O bifurcate. The sub-family thus characterized comprises the true Cuculinse, which again falls in two groups, those of the New World with the inferior space reaching quite to the symphysis of the mandible, an altogether peculiar arrangement, and the Old Woi-ld species in which it only reaches part up the neck. The pterylographic peculiarities are contrasted in figures 177 and 178. However, on the whole, the clas- sification of the cuckoos is in an unsatisfactory condition, and we therefore proceed to the more interesting forms without committing ourselves to any limitation of the minor groups. It is but natural to begin with the bird which is the cuckoo, from the sonorous voice of which the whole family derives its name. The cuckoo ( Cuculus canorus), in different local forms occurring all over the Palasarctic region, and wandering far south in wintei', is astonishingly like, in external appearance, some of the smaller hawks, not only in coloi*, but also in its manner of flight, a resemblance which in Europe caused the superstition that the young cuckoo in the autumn turns into a hawk. The male bird is well represented in the accompanying cut ; the back is slaty blue, throat lighter gray, rest of under side white with dusky cross-bars; feet cadmium yellow, and bill dusky, with the corner of the mouth yellow, as is also the eye. Some Oriental cuckoos belonging to the nearly allied genus Hierococcyx carry the Accipitrine resemblance still further, as the young birds have the dusky markings on the lower surface longi- tudinal, as in many hawks and falcons, later on, like them, changing into a plumage transversely barred. This similarity is not accidental, but evidently a case of protec- tive mimicry, a supposition greatly strengthened by the fact that we know of some small Malaccan cuckoos (Penthoceryx), rusty brown above, and white beneath, barred with dusky, which, in size, color, and general habits most closely ape the appearance of certain diminutive shrikes inhabiting the same country. Still more remarkable, if CUCKOOS. 375 possible, is the mimicry of the Drongo-cuckoo (Surniculus) of which more further on. It is, probably, this similarity to a hawk which causes such commotion among the smaller birds when they become aware of the cuckoo's presence, rather than an in- stinctive recognition of the cuckoo as the parasite which imposes the heavy burden upon them of rearing and educating its gluttonous and ungrateful offspring. We have here arrived at the very vexed questions relative to the reproduction of the cuckoo, of which so much has been written and so little is known. We can certainly do no better than give extracts of the summary which Mr. Seebohm published in 1884 in his excellent work on English birds and their eggs. " The cause of this curious habit is very difficult to discover. It has been suggested that the hereditary impulse to leave its breeding-grounds so early originally obliged it to abandon the education of its young to strangers ; but the same habit is found in many species in India and Africa, which are resident and do not migrate. Othei'S have attributed it to the polygamous habits of the cuckoo, but the cuckoo is not FIG. 177. — Pterylosis of Playa cayana, ventral surface. FIG. 178. — Pterylosis of Eudj/namys orientalis, ventral surface. polygamous, it is polyandrous. The males are much more numerous than the females. The sexes do not pair, even for the season. It is said that each male has its own feeding-grounds, and that each female visits in succession the half dozen males who happen to reside in the neighborhood. A plausible explanation of the peculiar habits of the cuckoo is to be found in the fact that its eggs are laid at intervals of several days, and not, as is usual, on successive days. Very satisfactory evidence has been collected that the cuckoo lays five eggs in a season, and that they are laid at intervals of seven or eight days ; but the American cuckoo and many of the owls very often do the same. This power has probably been gradually acquired by the cuckoo, so as to give the female time to find a suitable nest in which to deposit each egg. It is possible that this singular habit of the cuckoo has arisen from its extraordinary voracity. The sexual instincts of the male cuckoo appear to be entirely subordinate to his greed for food. He jealously guards his feeding-grounds, and is prepared to do battle with any other male that invades them, but he seems to be a stranger to sexual jealousy. He is said to be so absorbed in his gluttony that he neglects the females, who are obliged to wander in search of birds of the opposite sex, and appear 376 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. to have some difficulty in obtaining the fertilization of their ovaries. The extreme voracity of the young bird is an additional reason why the care of the five nestlings should be entrusted to as many pairs of birds. "In its choice of a foster-parent for its offspring, it exercises more discrimination than might be supposed from the long lists which have been published of birds in whose nests its eggs have been found. An insectivorous bird is generally chosen, and preference is given to such as build open nests. Sometimes the cuckoo is unable to find the nest of a suitable bird, and is obliged to deposit its egg in the nest of a granivorous bird, such as the various species of finches, buntings, etc., and occasion- FIG. 179.— Cuculus canorus, European cuckoo. ally cuckoos' eggs have been found in the nests of such totally unsuitable birds as magpies, jays, shrikes, pigeons, and even the little grebe. The young cuckoo is usually much larger than its foster-brothers or sisters, and monopolizes the attention of the parents to the exclusion of the other inhabitants of the nest, who die or are eventually expelled by the young cuckoo. It has been said, on what appears to be incontestable evidence, that the young cuckoo, soon after it is hatched, ejects the young or eggs from the nest by hoisting them on its back ; but one feels inclined to class these narratives with the equally well-authenticated stories of ghosts and other apparitions which abound. " The eggs of the cuckoo are subject to great variation of color, and they very frequently resemble closely the eggs amongst which they have been placed, so much CUCKOOS. 377 so that cuckoos' eggs are often supposed to be double-yolked eggs of the same species. Tins fact has given rise to the extravagant theory that the cuckoo possesses the power of determining the color of her eggs, so as to make them resemble the other eggs in the nest. The explanation, probably, is that the eggs of each individual cuckoo vary very slightly. A cuckoo which lays blue eggs always lays blue eggs, and its descend- ants will continue to lay blue eggs; it was probably hatched in a nest containing blue eggs, and will, to the best of its ability, intrust the care of its eggs to foster-parents of the same species as those which tended it in its infancy." The cuckoo feeds on insects, especially caterpillars, being particularly fond of the large hairy ones which most other birds despise, and the walls of the stomach are --r^s...-^- i—vVw^-^J ^Q^ i^— -^\--V ^-. • . c^^^'^-^y*^^^1"^^:. ~i~-fr ^~^^-=.*\\ r ' FIG. 180. — Coccystes glandarius, great spotted cuckoo. often found lined with the matted hairs of these larvae. It is also fond of hairy bumble-bees, but a most extraordinary diet for a cuckoo is certainly the small crusta- ceans (Gammaridae) which abound on sandy beaches ; still, the present writer was fortunate enough, during a short stay on Copper Island, near Kamtschatka, to shoot a cuckoo which had the stomach crammed with these animals. In justice to the bird, it must be stated, however, that the island had neither hairy caterpillars nor bumble- bees to offer. Another European species, the great spotted cuckoo (Coccystes glandarius)^ of which we also present a cut, is confined to the northern and eastern parts. Its breeding habits are likewise parasitic, though somewhat different, as it usually deposits 378 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. more than one egg, even as many as four, in a foreign nest, and that it usually selects the nest of some member of the crow family. Our next figure represents one of the small golden cuckoos peculiar to the African, Oriental, and Australian regions. The species are not larger than a sparrow, and remarkable for the metallic green reflections on the back, and in some species the neck anteriorly also, in richness and brilliancy equalling the radiant hues of humming- birds and trogons. The species figured is the South African golden cuckoo (Lampro- coccyx cupreus), by the colonists called 'didric,' in imitation of its voice. It is migratory in the Cape Colony and adjacent countries, and is said to be parasitic in its breeding habits, like most other Old World Cuculinae. -, ' i ' \ ' «, I1'1 I \ •' • X ( ' FIG. 181. — Lamprococcyx cupreus, golden cuckoo. The gigantic Australian species and type of a separate genus, the channel-bill, or horn-bill cuckoo of the colonists (Scythrops novce-hollandice) is another form figured. The character of the bill and its whole structure is well represented in the cut ; the coloration is similar to that of the European cuckoo, but the orbits and lores are bare and scarlet red. In flight, and in the posture when resting, it is said to be quite hawk-like, and is probably parasitic. Mr. G. Bennett tells of a young bird which was taken alive and placed in an aviary with a ' laughing-jackass ' (Dacdo giyanted) : "Doubtless feeling hungry after its journey, it immediately opened its mouth to be fed ; and its wants were readily attended to by the Dacelo, who, with great kindness, took a piece of meat, and after sufficiently preparing it by beating it about until it CUCKOOS. 379 was in a tender and pappy state, placed it carefully in the gaping month of the young Scythrops ; this feeding process continued until the bird was capable of attending to its own wants, which it now does, feeding in company with the Dacelo in the usual manner. Structurally, the American members of the Cuculinte differ but slightly from their Old World relatives. The former do not exhibit the peculiar parasitic breeding SiV,. ---{ ' ' "' V"tfl V 'V \ , ':• -^ r Fiu. 182. — Scytlirojis noca-liollandiw, cliaimel-billed cuckoo. habits, and are, on the contrary, credited with great affection for their mate and for their offspring. Still, some individuals, at least, possess the peculiarity of the eggs ripening only with long intervals, which in the European species is thought to have caused its breeding vagaries. Dr. T. M. Brewer, in speaking of our common yellow- billed cuckoo, remarks as follows : - "No writer besides Mr. Audubon makes any mention of, or appears to have been aware of, the peculiar habits of these birds in hatching out their successive depositions of eggs, one by one. In this respect they are eccentric, and do not always exhibit 380 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. this trait. While I have repeatedly observed facts exactly corresponding with those noticed by Mr. Audubon in the garden of Mr. Rhett, at other times I have found in the opening of the season three or four eggs laid before incubation commenced, and all hatched before others were deposited. Then the parents seemed to depend in no small degree upon the warmth of the bodies of the older offspring to compensate to the younger for their own neglect, as well as for the exposed and insufficient warmth of the nest. I have repeatedly found in a nest three young and two eggs, one of the latter nearly fresh, one with the embryo half developed, while of the young birds, one would be just out of the shell, one half fledged, and one just ready to fly." FIG. 183. — Coccyzus americanus, yellow-billed cuckoo. We have already mentioned that certain cuckoos closely mimic other birds in their appearance. A most extraordinary case is that of the Indian so-called drongo- cuckoo (Surniculus dicruroides), which, as indicated by the names, so exactly imitates the king-crow, or drongo-shrike (Dicrurus\ inhabiting the same locality, in size, form, and color, that there is required considerable attention in order not to confound them, though the arrangement of the toes, of course, at a closer inspection is alone sufficient to separate them. This imitation is the more strange since it has even extended to the curiously furcated tail, a feature elsewhere entirely unexampled among the cuckoos. "Does this cuckoo," asks Dr. Jerdon, "select the nest of the drongo in CUCKOOS. 381 which to deposit her eggs? If so, the foster-parents would hardly be undeceived even when the bird has arrived at maturity. One day, in Upper Burmah, I saw a king- crow pursuing what at first I believed to be another of his own species; but a peculiar call that the pursued bird was uttering, and some white in its plumage, which I observed as it passed close to me, led me to suppose that it was a drongo-cuckoo, which had, per- haps, been detected (this being the breeding season) about the nest of the IHcrurus. Mr. Blyth relates that he obtained a pure white egg in the same nest with four eggs of I), macrocercus, and which, he remarks, may have been that of the drongo-cuckoo." The tropical regions of the Old World abound in several large, long-tailed, rather high-legged cuckoos, with strong bills, some of which remind us of those of the smaller toucans. They have a muscular formula of ABXY+, and are generally called ground-cuckoos, on account of their habits. Several are said to mimic pheas- ants in appearance and gait, a similarity which is increased by the large red, naked skin surrounding the eyes of many species, peculiarities which find expression in several of the popular names, as, for instance, crow-pheasant for the common coueal {Centropus rufipennis). This latter belongs to a group which is characterized by the straight and lengthened claw of the first toe, resembling much that of a lark, whence they have been called ' lark-heel cuckoos.' The species constituting the genus Lepidogrammus, residing in the Philippine Islands, is remarkable, above all the others, for its rounded crest and the. black, horny appendages to the feathers of the head and throat. Not very distantly related to the Indo-African ground-cuckoos are those of our hemisphere represented by the curious 'road-runner' (Geococcyx calif orniani(»): From the accompanying illustration it will be seen that this form also has the skin surrounding the eye, and a large space behind it, denuded of feathers. Dr. K. Shu- feldt has recently described the color of these naked parts as follows : " In life, the eye of Geococcyx is entirely surrounded by a naked area of skin, which both above and anteriorly is colored a deep Prussian-blue tint. Beneath the eye this gradually passes into a pale bluish white, — almost quite white in some lights. The naked space behind the eye is the most extensive of all. Posteriorly this merges into the orange of the parietal skin-tract, while anteriorly it blends with the other color just mentioned." The parietal spaces are described as being "of a deep, though very bright, orange color." We remark, however, that in the colored drawing accompanying the descrip- tion the spaces mentioned are pure scarlet. The species in question inhabits California, southern Texas, New Mexico, etc., and northern parts of Mexico, in the southern parts of which it is replaced by a nearly allied species, G. affinis. The habits are described by Col. A. I. Grayson, as follows : - "This remarkable bird, which the Mexicans call 'churea, or correa del camino ' (road-runner), — so called from the habit it sometimes has of running along a path or road, — seldom fails to attract the attention of the traveler by its solitary and peculiar habits, and often, too, in the mountainous regions and desert countries, Avhere no other living creature is to be seen. Although met with in such localities, it is, however, not entirely confined to them, as it is an equal habitant of some portions of the thinly wooded parts of the tierra caliente of the west, where the trees are scrubby and the country open, as the barren and rocky great central plains of Mexico. It seems to prefer a hilly country, but scantily supplied with vegetation, where the numerous spe- cies of cacti form impenetrable thorn thickets. Here the road-runner wanders in soli- tude, subsisting upon grasshoppers, mice, lizards, etc. 382 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. " It is most usually met with upon open ground, and, as soon as it discovers the presence of danger, or the intruder, instantly runs off, with remarkable fleetness, to the nearest thicket or hill, where it generally escapes from its pursuers, either by con- cealment, or a short flight from one hill to another. If a tree with low branches be convenient it will spring into that, and, soon reaching the top, will fly off to the dis- tance of an hundred yards or more. It appears to rise from the level ground with much difficulty. It is very quick in its motions, active, and vigilant; indeed, its fleet- b ' ' • -^ FIG. 184. — Geococcyx calif ornianus, road-runner, chapparal cock. ness enables it to elude its pursuers, although one may be mounted on a good horse, or a dog may be in the train ; but this is only for a short distance, as it could soon be run down by the horse or dog were not some convenient thicket or hill near, from which to take its flight from the latter, or conceal itself among the branches of the former." Capt. Charles Bendire, in 1872, collected some twenty nests of the 'chapparal cock,' as the road-runner is often called, " the first nest on April 8, the last on Sep- tember 10. During the month of April, in which I found several nests, not one con- ANIS. 383 tained more than three eggs, although I allowed incubation to begin before taking the eggs, as I expected the birds to lay more. Nearly every nest I found after the middle of May contained four or five eggs; and I account for the greater number laid later in the season by the fact that insect food during the dry season, which includes April and May, is comparatively scarce. Only occasionally have I found eggs in different stages of incubation, and I do not believe that there was over a week's difference in the time of laying of the eggs in any nests I found. The food of this species consists chiefly of insects, particularly grasshoppers, but embraces occasionally a lizard or a field mouse. I do not believe they kill and eat rattlesnakes, as has been sometimes reported." -^ ^V /C-7 "\_ —**J I.., i -n '! , „ i, , FIG. 185. — Crotophaya ani, smooth-billed aiii. Finally, we have to mention the small American family comprising the two genera and Crotophaga, characterized by having only eight tail-feathers, coincident with a true bronchial syrinx. Three species compose the latter genus, two of which belong to the North Ameri- can fauna, as occasional visitors to the southern parts, the smooth-billed ani ( C. ani) to southern Florida, the groove-billed ani (C. sulcirostris) to the valley of the ll\« Grande, Texas. Both species are black, with steel blue reflections above, but distin- guished by the characters of the bill, as indicated by the names. We have on a previous page related the vagaries of the Old World cuckoos in depositing their eggs in other birds' nests. The breeding habits of the anis, however, are very different, but not less remarkable or aberrant. Unfortunately, no recent author has had the opportunity of studying the process to such an extent as to fur- 384 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. nisli us with unquestionable proof of all the details; but, taking all the evidence into consideration, and weighing it carefully, the following seems to be in accordance with facts : The smooth-billed ani, which inhabits the West Indies, often builds its own separate nest, and rears its young separately. But as often, or perhaps oftener, several females unite to build but one nest. In this they all deposit their eggs, which they incubate in common, rearing the young ones together when hatched. Often as many as twenty eggs — blue, with a white chalky covering — are found in one nest, which is said to be a rude collection of twigs and sticks, lined with leaves, large and deep. In many instances the eggs are found in regular layers, with leaves and grass-straw between, and it has been assumed that it was caused by the females covering the eggs while leaving the nest, to preserve them at an equal temperature. It may be, how- ever, that subsequent females continue building the nest after the first ones have deposited the eggs, though it must be conceded that we know nothing definitely at present, and that the breeding habits of the anis is a very promising field for future researches. De Saussure asserts that the anis "breed together in company as well in Mexico as in the Antilles," referring to the groove-billed species, and, according to Azara, the South American species, C. major, has a similar habit, at least in Para- guay. It is very suggestive in regard to the relationship of the piririgua (Guira guira), that the last mentioned author attributes to it the same communistic breeding habits, and that its eggs are covered with a chalky layer similar to that of the ani's eggs. To those only superficially acquainted with the external habits of the birds com- posing the super-family CORACIOIDE^E, viz., the oil-bird, the podargus, the true goat- suckers, the rollers, and the kirumbo, the statement will be received with some surprise that there has been less doubt in regard to the affinity of the last-named three types, than to whether the first two really belong here. Regarding these, however, the doubt is so great, indeed, that some recent systematists not only make the oil-bird a separate order by itself, but place the podargi and goat-suckers in two different orders. This is chiefly the result of regarding one single character as indicative of relation- ship. In this case it is the palatal arrangement and the form of the palatine bones which have resulted in the separation of these forms, but it would almost seem as if these characters have comparatively little value in the present order, since we may find a desmognathous and schizognathous arrangement within the same group of birds, the intimate relationship of which cannot be doubted in the least. The different palates are illustrated by the accompanying cuts of the arrangement in the oil-bird, the podargus, and the goat-sucker. In the first-mentioned type (Fig. 186A), the vomer is pointed anteriorly and blended with palatines; the maxillo-palatines are united, and the skull, consequently, desmognathous ; the palatines also meet across the median line, presenting a very peculiar feature, each being folded upon itself behind the junction, and lateral posterior processes are absent; basipterygoid facets are present. The podargi have a very different palate (Fig. I860), the palatines being very broad with large lateral posterior processes and only rudiments of basipterygoid facets. Finally, the goat-suckers proper (Fig. 186B) are distinguished by a palatinal arrangement nearly typical passerine, consequently schizognathous, with the vomer truncated anteriorly, but the slender palatines are enormously expanded behind, and small basipterygoid processes are present. Parker calls them ' incessorial schizognaths.' Notwithstanding these important differences in the basis of the skull, we regard these three types as related. Indeed, were it not for the palate we should not think OIL-BIRD. 385 of placing the podargi in a family separate from that of the goat-suckers, since with that exception they are very closely approached by the South American N~yctibius, which has the palate of a goat-sucker, but in other peculiarities in common with the former, and to be mentioned farther on, disagree with the latter. The peculiarities of the pterylosis of the present super-family have been indicated and illustrated on a previous page (page 370, fig. 173); hence we only remark that the first three families have only ten tail-feathers, while the last two possess twelve. pinv mxp FIG. 18G. — A, Palate of oil-bird (Steatornis) ; B, Palate of goat-sucker (Caprimulgus) ; C, Palate of Podargus ; mxp, maxillo-palatines ; pi, palatines ; pt, pterygoids ; vo, vomer. As already intimated, the STEATORXITIIIDJE, which consists only of a single species, the remarkable oil-bird, is possessed of a certain number of structural features which seem to connect this bird with the owls, on one hand, though, on the other, many are so pecu- liar as to make it somewhat doubtful if Professor Garrod Avas not right in claiming for it a more independent position. The sternum has only two notches behind ; the femoro-caudal is absent ; the second pectoral muscle is small ; the syrinx is truly bronchial, as depicted in the accompanying figure ; the oil gland is very large ; and the contour feathers are de- prived of an after-shaft. Their bill is also entirely different from that of the other caprimulgoid birds, being much stronger, more owl-like, and with a narrower gape. The color of the plumage, a sombre brownish, dotted with white, and blended with dusky markings, reminds one equally of the goat-suckers and the owls, indicating' a bird of nocturnal habits. Alto- ' O gether it is a bird of a most singular aspect. The oil-bird (Steatornis steatornis), also called by its South American name Guacharo, was originally discovered in 1799 by the celebrated Alexander Ilumboldt in the caverns near the mission of Caripe (hence it is often called S. caripensis), Venezuela. Since then it has been found in several localities in northern South America, lately also in certain districts of Peru, and for some time it has been known to occur in the Island of Trinidad, the fauna of which strictly resembles that of the adjacent mainland, but not VOL. iv. — 25 FlG. 1ST. — Syrinx of Steator- /tix, front view. 386 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. in any of the West Indian islands proper. Mr. W. I. Hornaday, chief taxidermist of the National Museum visited some of the Trinidad caves a few years ago, and has kindly allowed me to make the following abstracts from an unpublished manuscript of his : — " At the extreme northwestern point of the Island of Trinidad, and directly opposite the extreme northeastern point of the mainland of South America, there lies a group of small islands. The north shore of each of these is a smooth perpendicular wall of rock rising out of deep water to a height of a hundred feet or more. The caves which shelter the guacharo birds are in these cliffs, with their entrance opening only on the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. When the sea is at all rough, an entrance to any of the caves is utterly impossible, and even in the calmest weather it is neces- sary to exercise a due amount of caution. " We set off early one morning when the sea was calmest, pulled westward along the south shore of Monos Island, then out through the Huevos passage into the open sea. Half an hour's pull along the precipitous side of Huevos Island brought us to a tiny bay hemmed in by the same high wall of rock. A turn to the left around some half-sunken rocks and we were at the entrance of the cave, a black, semicircular hole at the base of the cliff, six feet high and twelve wide, into which the swells of the sea dashed every moment. " The oarsmen held the boat carefully in position until a big wave came rolling in, when they sent the boat flying forward on its crest. We passed safely over the sunken rocks, and the next roller, which lifted the boat so high that we had to crouch down in order that our heads might escape the roof of the tunnel, brought us to terra firma. Scrambling out upon the pebbly beach we found rising before us a huge dome- like cave. The moment we entered there arose a perfect storm of rasping cries coming from the throats of about two hundred guacharo birds that circled about the top of the cave. " The walls of the cave were smooth bare rock, but at one side a huge mass of fallen rock formed a series of ledges from the floor up to a height of thirty feet Climbing upon this we found numerous nests of the guacharos. The rocks were cov- ered with guano to a depth of several inches. Whenever a smooth spot offered a safe resting place the nests were placed like so many cheeses, while others were built half swallow-like on the slopes. " As nearly as we could estimate there were about seventy or eighty nests, nearly all of which we searched for eggs. In different nests we found the number to vary from one up to four, so that we are unable to say what is the usual number laid. " Half an hour from the time we entered, the surf began to thunder so ominously against the rocks outside, that our guide announced that we must quit the place with- out delay, or run the risk of being penned up in the cave for an indefinite length of time. Reluctantly enough we tumbled our specimens into the boat and pushed off." At the meeting of the Washington Biological Society, when Mr. Hornaday read his paper he also exhibited one of the nests, very characteristically likened by him to a cheese from seven to nine inches in diameter, and from three to six inches in height, with the top slightly hollowed. It was formed of a brownish, spongy mass of consid- erable solidity, which apparently consisted of the undigested seeds and skins of fruits, ejected by the mouth, and mixed with the droppings of the birds. This indicates that the guacharo feeds upon fruits, which, in fact, constitute its- only food quite in contradistinction to the other caprimulgoid birds, which are exclu- w ,-W Satrachostomus auritus, eared frog-mouth. -. Nyctibius yrandis, grand potoo. PODARGL 387 sively insectivorous, an interesting analogy to the two groups of frugivorous and insectivorous bats. The name ' oil-bird' is derived from the superabundance of fat in the young birds, from which the natives prepare a colorless and inodorous oil, extensively used instead of butter. The characters of the PODAKGID.E, so far as they relate to the palatal structure, have already been pointed out. There remain to be briefly mentioned a few other peculiarities. Dr. Ph. L. Sclater has published the result of the anatomical examina- tion of &Podargus, the most important of which are the total absence of the oil gland, and the presence of a pair of large powder-down patches. The latter he describes thus (Fig. 188) : " Two large powder-down patches were discovered, placed on each side of the rump. Each patch consists of about forty feathers, placed in a line extending from above the outer end of the root of the rectrices to- wards the femur. Each feather consists of a horny sheath, about 0.8 inch in length, of which 0.5 is external. At the termination of the sheath the feather pre- sents the usual decomposed ap- pearance of powder-down patch- es, being divided entirely into numerous elongated minute fila- ments of a dark gray color." The external aspect of the members of this family is very much like that of owls and goat- suckers, but the bill is most enormously widened, and the size, especially that of the gi- gantic podargi, is considerably greater than that of the goat-suckers. Their habits, though quite nocturnal, differ considerably from the latter, since their food seems to consist mostly of insects which crawl along the bark of the trees. The geographical distribution of the Podargidre is limited to parts of the Oriental and Australian regions, the podargi proper belonging to New Guinea and Australia, while the frog-mouths (Batrachostomus) are confined to southern India, Burmah, Malacca, and the Moluccan Islands. A species of the latter genus is figured in t he- accompanying illustration, but their habits seem to be very little known. An inter- esting feature is an apparent dichromatism analogous to that of many small owls, some specimens presenting a gray, others a rufous, phase. The CAPRIMULGID.E, goat-suckers or night-jars proper, have a long second pectoral muscle, a small oil gland, and after-shafts to the feathers. They are easily divided into two sub-families : Nyctibiinre, which have the outer toe consisting of five pha- langes, the normal number, a smooth middle claw, and four notches to the hind border of the breastbone, while the Caprimulginas have only four phalanges in the outer toe, the edge of the middle claw pectinated, and the sternum with two notches only. Nyctibius agrees with the Podargidae in most of the features in which it differs from FIG. 188. — Powder-down patches ot I'odargus. 388 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. the other goat-suckers, but the character of the palate seems to refer it to the latter. It is a small group restricted to South America and the Antilles, in aspect and habits very similar to the other CaprimulgidaB. A striking peculiarity is the tooth of the bill, as depicted in the accompanying cut. The Caprimulginae form a nearly cosmopolitan group of nocturnal birds, which, like the owls, play a great role in the superstitions of all human races, whether white or black, red or yellow. " The harmless, unoffending goat-sucker," says Mr. Water- ton, "from the time of Aristotle down to the present day, has been in disgrace with man. Father has handed it down to son, and author to author, that this nocturnal thief subsists by milking the flocks. Poor injured little bird of night, how sadly hast thou suffered, and how foul a stain has inattention to facts put upon thy character ! Thou hast never robbed man of any part of his property, nor deprived the kid of a drop of milk. " When the moon shines bright you may have a fair opportunity of examining the goat-sucker. You will see it close by the cows, goats, and sheep, jumping up every now and then under their bellies. Approach a little nearer. See how the nocturnal flies are tormenting the herd, and with what dexterity he springs up and catches them as fast as they alight on the bellies, legs, and udders of the animals. Were you to dissect him and inspect his stomach, you would find no milk there. It is full of the flies which have been annoying the herd." The same author, in speaking of the species inhabiting Demerara, and referring to the largest, continues as follows : " Its cry is so remarkable that, having once heard it, you will never forget it. When night reigns over these innumerable wilds, whilst laying in your hammock, you will hear the goat-sucker lamenting like one in distress. A stranger would never conceive it to be the cry of a bird ; he would say it was the departing voice of a midnight murdered victim, or the last wailing of Niobe for her poor children before she was turned into stone. Suppose yourself in hopeless sorrow, begin with a high, loud note, and pronounce ' Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha ! ' each note lower and lower, till the last is scarcely heard, pausing a moment or two betwixt every note, and you will have some idea of the moaning of the largest goat-sucker in Demerara. Four other species of the goat-sucker articulate some words so distinctly that they have received their names from the sentences they utter, and absolutely bewilder the stranger on his arrival in these parts. The most common one sits down close by your door, and flies and alights three or four yards before you as you walk along the road, crying, 'Who are you, who-who-who-are-you.' Another bids you 'Work away, work-work-work-away.' A third cries mournfully, ' Willy-come-go, willy-willy-willy-come-go.' And high up in the country, a fourth tells you to 'Whip- poor-will, whip-whip-whip-poor-will.' You will never persuade the negro to destroy these birds, or get the Indian to let fly his arrows at them. They are birds of omen and reverential dread. If the largest goat-sucker chance to cry near the white man's door, sorrow and grief will soon be inside, and they expect to see the master waste away with a slow consuming sickness. If it be heard close to the negro's or Indian's hut, from that night misfortune sits brooding over it, and they await the event in terrible suspense." The goat-suckers are of a very uniform appearance, their coloration being a blended mixture of brown, gray, black, buff, and white, and to others than the specialist the characters by which they are separated into genera and species seem trifling and unimportant. Few but the ornithologists will therefore care to hear all . Chordediles popetue, night-hawk. Antrostomus cucij'crux, whippoorwill. GOAT-SUCKERS. 389 these minute details by which our whip-poor-will or the night-hawk may be distin- guished from the more than hundred other forms in the different parts of the globe. The tropics, however, have developed, even in this group, strangely ornamented species, as, for instance, the object of the accompanying cut, the pennant-winged night-jar {Cosmetornis vexill, niaxillo-palatines pi, palatines. tendons, Colius, although so peculiar and uncertain in the manner in which it employs its toes, exactly resembles the feeble-footed Alcedinidae, and hardly differs from the Coraciadae, Meropidae, Bucerotidas, and Caprimulgidae. I could find no trace of intes- tinal caBca. Nitzsch has shown that the oil eland is tufted, and O that there are ten rectrices." Only the left carotid is present, and the syrinx is most nearly related to that of Ceryle among the kingfishers. Professor Garrod sums up thus : "From what has been said above, it is evident that Colius must be included among the Piciforrnes, and near those of this division with a left carotid only, a four-notched sternum, and a blended plantar- tendon arrangement. No other piciform bird, however, com- bines these characters. Consequently, the fact that the combi- nation of characters is unique justifies us in retaining the Coliida? in a separate family, related on one hand to the Picidae, and on the other to the Alcedinidas and Bucerotidse." Very interesting is the construction of the foot, which is pamprodactylous, that is, all toes turn forwards, even the first one, though it seems as if the latter is reversatile. Dr. Murie compares the foot " to a human hand strongly clawed, which, i i • j /? • • • c ^.-i T •*. i e by a kind ot griping or squeezing ot the digits, securely fastens to the slightest inequalities of surface." It seems, however, as if the colies are able also to direct the fourth toe more or less backwards, thus some- times grasping thin twigs in a way similar to the yoke-toed birds. Only one genus, Colius, requires recognition. It is strictly confined to the Ethi- opian region, except Madagascar, and the southeni and eastern portions seem to be the richest in species. There are not many known yet, for in the latest review of this genus (July, 1885), Capt. G. E. Shelley only enumerates eight species, besides three geographical races. He gives the following condensed account of their habits : — " The colies are all fruikeaters, live in small bands, frequent thick bushes, and, when disturbed, fly straight to some neighboring covert. Owing to their peculiar structure, they place themselves in the most extraordinary attitudes when they rest or scramble amongst the boughs, and they roost at night in thickly packed companies for warmth, generally, if not always, with their feet above their heads. Their nests are cup-shaped, and placed in thickish bushes at a few feet from the ground, and some, if not all, of the species frequently add green leaves to the interior of their nests during incubation. The eggs are rough, rather obtuse ovals, and generally white. "There are now examples of three species of this genus living in the Zoological Society's Gardens [London], They are admirably adapted for cage-birds, being active, bold, and apparently hardy, and the quaintness of their attitudes is interesting to watch." The species figured is C. macrourus, which inhabits northeastern, eastern, and western Africa. Its bill is red at base, black at- tip, in strong contrast, feet coral red. The general color is gray, more isabella-colored underneath, and a patch of pure sky- blue on the nape. The ' Muis-vogel ' of the boers in South Africa ( Colius colius) is distinguished by having the lower and middle back black, with a broad white baud down the centre. BEE-EATERS. In order to show at once which families we intend to include in the super-family ALCEDINOIDE^E the following table has been prepared : — Sternum 4-notclied 1 carotid ; spinal space Mcropidoe; nude oil-gland ^ sternal notches } developed I 2 carotids ; no I spinal space muscular for- mula A X Y open TodidcK ; tufted oil-gland sternal notches converted into foramina MomotidCB ; aftershaft muscular for- *• mula A X Sternum, at most, 2-notched Bucerottdu Alcedinida I no aftershaft idee ) no caeca. We have already mentioned the synpelmous arrangement of the plantar tendons in the present super-family, and it is interesting to remark that, while a similar arrange- ment is found in some other groups, associated with bifurcation of the spinal feathcr- FIG. 195. — Colius macrourus, long-tailed coly. tract between the shoulders, it is combined with a simple tract and a peculiar conformation of the foot in the present division, as all the Alcedinoideffl are syn dactylous, that is, have the outer and middle toes firmly united, at least as far as the second joint. We shall treat of the families nearly in the sequence indicated by the above table, consequently beginning with the Old World MEROPID.E, or bee-eaters, the typical species of which is figured in the accompanying cut. These are among the most brightly- colored Picarians, and inhabit especially the Ethiopian and Oriental regions, sending a few species northward to breed in the wanner portions of the Palajarctic realm. Their name is derived from the fact that their principal food is bees, wasps, and sim- 396 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. ilar insects, which are seized on the wing. In districts with a flourishing bee-culture they become exceedingly injurious, and are therefore eagerly persecuted, the more so since their flesh is palatable, and their gaudy plumage in high demand by both civ- ilized and savage belles for ornament. The bees are mostly swallowed whole, and it is very remarkable that the birds do not seem to be hurt by the sting, the more so since we know instances of many small birds having been killed by swallowing such poisonous insects; and Naumami states that experiments with ducks had a similar fatal end. The breeding habits of the bee-eaters are peculiar. They nest usually in colonies, >. x , -^ .•• • -• FIG. 196. — Merops apiaster, bee-eater. digging deep tunnels in steep, sandy river-banks. The tunnel, which is often nine to ten feet long, opens into a breeding-chamber, where the bird deposits four or five white eggs on the bare soil. According to Colonel Irby the beak is used for digging the holes, and he asserts that the bills, after the boring, are sometimes worn away to less than half their ordinary length. Of the common European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) it is said that when, in winter, it goes to South Africa, it rears there another brood of young ones ; but Mr. Seebohm suggests that there exists a South African colony, the breeding range of which is overlapped by the winter range of the northern colony. Referring to the wood-cut for the form of a typical Merops, a fuller impression of the beauty of these birds may be had by comparing it with the following description MOTMOTS. 397 of the colors: Lower parts verdigris-blue, and forehead pale whitish-blue; body above chestnut, passing into rufous on the rump; a black stripe through the eye nearly meets another which posteriorly borders the yellow throat. The Meropinaa proper form a group of hardly more than thirty species. Nyctiornis and its allies, which have a more arched bill, and elongated plumes on the throat, like the motmot, form a group of still fewer species. The latter differ also somewhat in their habits, being less active, less sociable, and preferring the dense forests, while Merops is very partial to the open country. During the sway of the old theory that the peculiar birds of one hemisphere were represented in the other hemisphere by corresponding forms, the Meropidae were regarded as represented in the New World by the motmots, or MOMOTID^E, — a family which is as exclusively American as the bee-eaters are palseogaean. In this case the theory worked tolerably well, for not only is there a certain external resemblance between the two groups, but they are also evidently related, notwithstanding the fact that the former have well-developed caeca, while the latter have lost them. It is diffi- cult to see why the same explanation which has been advanced in order to explain the absence of feather-tufts to the oil gland of several Momotida?, viz., that they Avere lost after the ancestral stock had split up into two branches, — one with and another without colic caeca, — should not apply just as well to the presence or absence of caeca as compared with the synpelmous and syndactylous arrangement of the toes. The Momotidae, like the next family, have the edges of the bill serrated, which has caused them to be united in a common group, called by some authors Serratiros- tres. But this character is not exclusive, since there is a genus of kingfishers (Symci), in which the tomia are likewise denticulated. In contradistinction to the Todidae, however, the tail is graduated and elon- gated, the middle feathers especially so, except in the small species composing the genus Ilylomanes. The number of tail- feathers varies in the different genera between ten and twelve. The present family is not rich in species, and the cen- tre of its distribution seems to be Central America. The predominant colors are green and rusty, with bluish or beryl- green ornamental plumes. The habits of these birds have been summed up as follows : " The birds are solitary, or live in pairs, preferring the shady recesses of the forest. They sit motionless on a low branch, often in nooks near rivulets, wherefrom they dart on their prey. Swainson says they catch their prey on the wing, but Kirk avers that they alight to seize it. Ordinarily their food is insects, reptiles, and fruits. In captivity a bold, mistrusting bird, the motmot will then eat bread, raw meat, oranges, watermelons, small birds, mice, lizards, snakes, cockroaches, etc. On pouncing on these latter, they afterwards strike FlG. 197. —Central tail-feathers of (A) Momi'liia in pro- gress of denudation ; (B) of Eiimoinfitu, and (C) of Mninutiis /fsxniii from above, with central feathers half-grown, but yet partially denuded ; all half natu- ral size. 398 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. .• ; - , • - fa; r ' ' - them violently1 ground or perch. the Songless, against their only cry is ' houtoo.' They breed in holes, and about May lay three or four dusky cream-colored eggs. Sexes un- distinguishable ; and the young scarcely differ, except in the more downy texture of their feathers. Primaries shed at the first moult. The story has found credence that they nib- ble off the occasionally absent vanes of the long middle tail- feathers; but this notion has been contradicted." This sentence, which refers to the racket-shaped tail-feath- ers of certain species, as illus- trated in its perfection by the accompanying figure (Fig. 1977?), caused an article by Mr. O. Salvin, in which he re- produced a letter from Mr. A. D. Bartlett in regard to a speci- men of Momotus subrwfescens, which for several years lived in the Zoological Society's Gar- dens in London, to the effect that he had seen the bird in the act of picking off the webs of the central feathers of its tail, and had taken from the bot- tom of the cage the fragments of web that fell from the bird's bill. Mr. Salvin, in addition, furnished drawings of tail-feath- ers from skins in his collection illustrating the gradual progress of denudation, from the newly grown feathers with continuous webs to the finished racket. So far as his material goes it seems to corroborate the theory of the bird voluntarily and pur- posely trimming the feather down. But it will hardly ex- plain the case which is represented in Fig, 197 C, taken from a specimen in the ""••V FIG. 198. — Alomotus momota, motiuot. TODIES, 399 U. S. National Museum. The shaded parts indicate the central tail-feathers, the bases of which are still in the sheaths; they are only half grown, and have not yet reached the end of the next pair; still they are perfectly racket-shaped, only that the discs are larger than usual, so that it may be presumed that any future denudation would take place from the nude stern down towards the end of the feather. This point is of some importance, since we find that the denudation of the full grown feather upwards never does proceed farther than the tips of the next pair. Fig. 197^1 represents a feather which may help to solve the question. In feathers for some reason or other not in prime condition, or part of which are destined by a regularly returning process to fall off, we find by holding them up towards the light, fine transparent lines running across the barbs like strings of minute holes. These so-called 'hunger-marks' indi- X §|!%feS* i _ ^vam^p j \ \ \ FIG. 203. — Jrrisor erythrorhynchos, wood-hoopoe. crest, colored with a rusty buff color, which is paler and somewhat pinkish on the breast, in order to have a picture which will prevent us from ever mistaking a hoopoe, whether met with in nature or in the museum. The hoopoes are confined to the warmer portions of the Old World : but the species figured, IT. epops, is also found in the southern parts of the Palrearctic region, including Europe. It is a bird of ter- restrial habits, feeding on worms and insects, which it extracts from their holes in the earth by means of its long pliable, somewhat snipe-like bill. That such a striking bird has not escaped the fate of playing a great rAlc in all sorts of superstition is quite natural, the more so since its voice, from which are derived its different names, is 412 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. very remarkable. Mr. Ilobert Swinhoe has described well the peculiar way in which the hoopoe produces its notes by puffing out the sides of the neck and hammering on the ground at the production of each note, thereby exhausting the air at the end of the series of three, which make up its song. "Before it repeats its call," he continues, " it repeats the puffing of the neck, with a slight gurgling noise. When it is able to strike its bill the sound is the correct ' hoo-hoo-hoo ; ' but when perched on a rope and only jerking out the song with nods of the head, the notes more resemble the syl- lables ' hoh-hoh-hoh.' Mr. Darwin makes use of this last fact to show that some birds have instrumental means to produce their music." Like the true hoopoes, the wood-hoopoes, IERISOKID^E, are accused of emitting a powerful and offensive smell. They are inhabitants of the forests, where they climb on the trunks of trees much in the manner of woodpeckers. They are described as very noisy and restless birds. The wood-hoopoes are restricted to the tropical and southern parts of the African Continent. The species here figured, Irrisor erythro- rhynchos, has coral-red feet and bill. The three words, homalogonatous, antiopelmous, zygodactylous, at once and trench- antly distinguish the PICOIDE M from all the other Picarians ; and we cannot help thinking that this super-family is an eminently natural one notwithstanding the many yet unfilled gaps between the separate families composing it. These may be tabulated synoptically as follows : — (" Bucconidce ; gonys rounded ; ventral .-.., , , tract without gular Oil gland nude ; caeca developed ; two carotids . . . -{ branch Galbulidce; gonys angular; ventral tract with an inner gular branch. vomer truncate Eamphastidos Oil gland tufted ; no caeca; 1 carotid f vomer truncate .»«*»•• ~ , not saurognathous; manu- > brial rostrum pointed J t Mec/alaimidce ) ( vomer bifurcate ImUcatoridce saurognathous; manubrial rostrum bifurcate Picidoe 10 rectrices. 12 rectrices. It will be seen that the super-family is divisible in two groups : one with nude oil gland and well developed creca, the other with no creca, but a tufted oil gland ; hence Garrod referred the former to his order Passeriformes, the latter being his typical Piciformes. He seems to have been in some doubt, however, concerning the BUCCONIDCE, as to whether they possess caeca or not, having had no specimen of this family for dissec- tion ; but I find that Professor Burmeister has noted two long casca in this family, thus confirming Garrod's supposition. This family has been almost inextricably confused by older authors with the Megalaimidse, from which they are distinguished by many important characters besides those mentioned in the table above. One of these deserves to be treated of a little more in detail since, though being an external one, it is usually overlooked. It deserves our attention the more, as it is a character, the development of which can be traced from the young to the adult plumage, thus afford- ing us a means of telling which condition is generalized and which one specialized. Professor Sundevall was the first author to draw attention to the difference of the upper wing-coverts in Passeres and some Picarians as compared with the rest of the birds, showing not only that the large secondary coverts in the former are shorter, not covering more than the basal half of the secondaries, while in the latter more than the half is concealed by them, but also that in the former the small coverts are PUFF-BIRDS. 413 much less numerous, forming fewer series than in the latter. He furthermore demon- strated the 'perverse' situation of the middle coverts in the Passeres. But even more interesting is his observation that the young birds in the first plumage show more or less trace of the more common arran gement, thus enabling us to decide that O i ~ the latter is the generalized stage, while the ' oscinine ' arrangement is a specialization of it. The oscinine or non-oscinine arrangement of the wing-coverts, therefore, can- not be expected to be always trenchently differentiated, and intermediate forms may occur, which he has termed sub-oscinine, and in fact our present super-family presents all three stages. The Bucconidne have nou-oscinine wing-coverts, these being larger FIG. 204. — Lypomix torquata, double-banded puff-bird. and numerous ; in the Galbulidas they are smaller and fewer, but not so much reduced as in the Oscines, consequently sub-oscinine ; while in Ramphastidre, Megalaimidae, etc., they are quite oscinine in size and number. The Bucconidse, or puff-birds, as they are called from their loose and puffy plumage, are also otherwise distinguishable from the Megalaimidse, or barbets, by having twelve tail-feathers, while the latter have only ten, and by their dull and sombre coloration, as compared with the many and gaudy colors of the barbets. Some of the puff-birds (the genus Monasa) are nearly uniform blackish slate, while others are of a mottled rusty and dusky, with whitish markings, as, for instance, in the species here illustrated, the double-banded puff-bird (Lypornix torquata). They are small birds, the largest species hardly so large as a robin, with a rather short, conical 414 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. and slightly arched bill, which in several species has the end of the upper mandible decidedly hooked. Their food consists of insects, and travelers describe them as dull and stupid birds which inhabit the densest forests. They are said to deposit two white eggs in a deep hole dug into the sandy bank of a ravine or a river. There are known about half a hundred species of puff-birds, which exclusively inhabit tropical America as far north as Guatemala. Closely allied to the foregoing family are the jacamars, GALBULID^E, of similar geographical distribution, though entirely confined to the regions east of the Andes. A very characteristic and entirely unique feature of their pterylosis is the inner branch which is given off from the inferior tract at the lower end of its gular portion, as represented in Fig. 205. Their bill is long, usually straight and angular both above and below ; their feet are very short and feeble, and the anterior toes are united for a consider- able distance, giving the feet the appearance of a kind of zygodactylous kingfisher's foot. The plumage is character- ized by brilliant metallic reflections on the upper surface of the body. The jacamars are of the same dull and stupid nature as the puff-birds, and are therefore called by the Brazilians ' Joao doido,' or 'foolish John,' and altogether their habits are quite similar. Thus, for instance, they build in holes in sandy banks, and lay two white eggs. Hardly two dozen species are known, most of them agreeing in shape and colors more or less with the type, Gulbula galbula. The upper side and breast are of a most brilliant metallic golden green, like that of trogons or humming-birds; hence it is also called in South America ' Bejaflor grande.' The throat is whitish, rest of under surface rusty. Jacamerops grandis is the largest of the group, somewhat similarly colored, but with a shorter, though broader and stouter, curved bill. Jacamaralcyon tridactyhts is notable for having lost the first toe, like the three-toed woodpeckers, thus differing considerably from the three-toed kingfishers, in which it is the second digit that has become rudimentary. The species of the genus Urogalba are blackish with steel-blue reflections, and have the two central tail-feathers greatly elongated. Every well-defined 'family 'has its peculiarity which deserves a rather detailed treatment ; and the RAMPHASTID.E, or toucans, form no exception. The first thing which strikes the observer, when looking at one of the large toucans, is the enormous size of the bill. It is not only as long as the bird itself, but it does not lack much of equalling the body in bulk ; and the observer will most likely make the remark that such an enormous bill must be very heavy. The fact is, however, that the bill is extremely light in comparison with its size, being very thin, and filled with a light, cellular bony tissue. Professor Owen, in his observations on the anatomy of Ram- phastos, thus describes the bill : " The osseous portions of the mandibles of the toucan are disposed in a manner adapted to combine with the great bulk of those parts a due degree of strength and remarkable lightness ; and the bony structure is consequently of a most beautiful and delicate kind. The external parietes are extremely thin, FIG. 205. — Ventral pterylosis of Galbula. TOUCANS. 415 especially in the upper beak ; they are elastic, and yield in a slight degree to mode- rate pressure, but present considerable resistance if a force is applied for the purpose of crushing the beak. At the points of the mandibles the outer walls are nearly a line in thickness ; at other parts, in the upper beak, they are much thinner, varying from one-thirtieth to one-fiftieth part of an inch, and in the lower beak are from one-twentieth to one-thirtieth of an inch in thickness. On making n, longitudinal ^ O section of the upper mandible, its base is seen to be a conical cavity. The walls of this cone consist of a most beautiful osseous network, intercepting irregular angular spaces varying in diameter from half a line to two lines. From the parietes of this cone, a network of bony fibres is continued to the outer parietes of the mandible, the fibres which immediately support the latter being almost invariably implanted at right angles to the part in which they are inserted. The whole of the mandible anterior to the cone is occupied with a similar network. The air is admitted to the interior of the upper mandible from a cavity situated anterior to the orbit. The nasal cavity has no communication with the interior of the mandible." FIG. 20G. — Vertical longitudinal section of the bill of liamphastos toco, to show the cellular structure of the bill. b, cavity at the base; 1 .^-^«-«r-l- . 3 4#".-' ' .„/'/-- r^^ V v / /" /' $fr. - • rc^T 7 Picoides tridactylus, threo-toed woodpecker. WOODPECKERS. 427 the highly-developed nuchal crests in many tropical species. A noteworthy structural specialization in several forms, otherwise not intimately related, is the abortion of the first toe, so that only one hind toe remains — the fourth. Nevertheless, there are sev- eral pretty well defined groups, or super-genera, under which the numerous species may be advantageously classified. Most^ woodpeckers have the nostrils concealed by tufts of bristly feathers directed forward. In many museum specimens from the tropics these may have disappeared, as the putrefaction which in those countries rapidly sets in first affects the feathers around the bill. But a small group of species, about equally numerous in the tropical • if . 1 ! • '*< IP- ;- X-v" \^i|B\^^ .'!\'\V; ^ / • wPsM'it - &^Jg&Szizzi->sr: /'\ X i /) Asii*HM&l > * ,>i «v///;, i *Vt *Re * '/ ' ', '-&-. •" V >£! -4" ' ' m • FIG. 214. — Picus viridls, green woodpecker, yaffle. regions of both hemispheres, have no bristles where the bill joins the forehead, and the nostrils are consequently fully exposed. Noteworthy among these forms is the South American genus Celeus, the members of which have a very long occipital crest. Some of the Indian species have only three toes, for instance the genus Tiff a. The absence or presence of the nasal bristles seems, however, to be of little account, since Nesoceleus fernandince, which is confined to the island of Cuba, has the nostrils entirely nude, though apparently closely related to the following group. Our flicker (Colaptes auratus) and its many allies belong to another group, which are distinguished by having a l«-ss lypical wedge-shaped woodpecker bill, the angles being more rounded, and the whole bill slightly arched. In regard to the remarkable 428 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. polychroic state of the yellow-shafted flicker and the red-shafted species, we refer to the introduction to this volume (p. 8), where this question has been treated of in detail, and where the Cape flicker ( C. chrysoides), with red moustache, like C. cafer (or mexicanus), but with yellow shafts and without red nuchal crescent, like C. auratus, was also mentioned. Closely allied to the flickers are the South American ground flickers (Soroplex). The habits of the typical species, S. campestris, are described by Bur- meister as follows: " This flicker is one of the first peculiar objects to attract one's attention when entering the open campos districts of the interior of Brazil. They are soon discovered hopping about on the lower trees in small companies, and the observer is greatly astonished to see one or the other once in a while jump down and walk about on the ground. This bird is especially engaged in search of the termites, and destroys the covered passages which these insects construct in the grooves of the bark in order to reach their nests undisturbed. But even these structures, strongly made of clay, the ground flicker knows how to open, and how to catch their inhabitants." The South African Geocolaptes olwaceus is still more partial to the ground, for, accord- ing to Layard, " it never pecks wood, but bores its way into the banks of rivers, sides of hills, or the walls of mud buildings, in search of its prey and for a home for its young." The green woodpeckers, as the name indicates, are very conspicuous for their more or less green colors, ornamented, as in most woodpeckers, with red. A well- known representative of this group, which, as shown in the accompanying wood-cut, also spends part of its life on the ground, spearing unfortunate ants by its worm- like barbed tongue, is the yaffle (Picus viridis), the common green woodpecker of Europe, celebrated for its laughing voice, which it is said to produce especially at the approach of rain, and many a farmer on the other side of the ocean pays more atten- tion to the ' indications ' and ' probabilities ' of this sagacious bird than to those of the meteorological stations. The three-toed Indian genus, Gecimdus, seems to be related to this group. Before mentioning the typical pied woodpeckers we will have to say a few words of a somewhat peculiar form from India, as by some ornithologists it has been regarded as forming a ' sub-family ' of its own. The short-tailed woodpeckers (Ifemicircus) are especially remarkable for their short and rounded tails, the feathers of which are scarcely rigid at all. They are small birds, without red in their plumage, and but little is known of their habits. Mr. Jerdon says of H. canente that it has " on the centre of the back a brush of dark sap-green bristly feathers, smeared with a viscid secretion from a gland beneath." A sort of transition from the foregoing to the pied woodpeckers (Dryobates) is formed by the oriental sub-genus Yungipicus, in which the lateral tail-feathers are less rigid than the central ones. Dri/obates proper contains a great number of small or medium-sized species in the more northern parts of the two hemispheres. They are parti-colored, white and black, with red markings on the head and also often on the under side. Three European species are represented in the accompanying cut, from which, in a general way, our North American species differ but little except in not having the white tail-feathers barred with black. This difference is very curious, inasmuch as the Siberian representatives of the European species, and still more those which inhabit Kamtschatka, show a tendency towards losing the dark cross-bars ; but this is followed by a general increase of the white all over the body, while in the Nearctic species the greater amount of white on the tail is independent of the dis- WOODPECKERS. 429 tribution of the two colors elsewhere. A similar distribution of the colors is observable in Picoides, a circumboreal genus of three-toed pied woodpeckers, with a yellow crown in the male. The European species, P. tridactylus, is figured on the plate opposite p. 426, in order to give an idea of this interesting genus, which inhabits the north- ernmost forests in both hemispheres, but which also has a representative in the moun- tains of Chinese Tibet, the sombre-colored P. funebris. FIG. 215. —Dryobates medius, major, and minor, European middle, greater and lesser woodpeckers. v. Finally, we have to consider the thin-necked woodpeckers, a group of large forms, which have the feathers of the neck peculiarly short, thereby increasing the appear- ance of slenderness of the neck. That the neck of the woodpecker is usually smaller than the head, most collectors have discovered when skinning specimens, but exter- nally this feature is most apparent in the present group. Most of the species are very large and powerful birds, with a considerable amount of black in their plumage, while the head, as usual, is adorned with more or less red. Here belongs the well-known great black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius), which inhabits the Palaaarctic region 480 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. from Europe to northern Japan, — black all over, with a crimson cap. Linnaeus, indeed, dedicated this bird to Mars, the Roman god of warfare ; but the evidence seems to show that this was not the woodpecker which the old augurs regarded as Picus, of whom the Roman mythology fabled that he was changed into a woodpecker by Circe when she found that her love for him was not requited, but was possessed by Pomona. In the FIG. 216. — Campephilus principalis, ivory-billed woodpecker. Oriental region are found several nearly allied forms ; for instance, D. leucogaster from Java, which has the abdomen white and the sides of head and throat striped with the same color. Messrs. Motley and Dillwyn give the following interesting account of its habits : — " These birds are not uncommon in Labuan, and frequently fly in small parties of six or eight. They much frequent dead trees whose bark is just beginning to fall, WOODPECKERS. 431 and are very amusing to watch, being always in motion, and very noisy. They begin rather low down on a tree, moving upwards by jumps, with a cry like the chatter of a magpie to the time of our green woodpecker's laugh. Perhaps two or three will be ascending one tree at the same time, trying the bark with incessant taps, and wrench- ing open every likely crack with their powerful chisel-beaks. When they reach the branches, they hold a sort of discussion of tremendous chatter; and then each takes his own branch, and the bark here, being usually more decayed than on the stem, comes down in showers. If you make any loud noise, or show yourself suddenly, all disap- pear in a moment. Perhaps one or two may fly off, with a swift but laborious action of the wings ; but the majority hide behind branches. In a minute or so, if all is quiet, you will see a head peer out from behind some snag, and, alter looking around and seeing nothing, a croak of satisfaction brings out two or three more heads ; but not a body is seen till all the heads are perfectly satisfied of their safety. At last they all come out, and chatter together most vociferously for a minute or two before they go on feeding. Though apparently so wary, they rarely leave the tree they are examining, even if fired at." To this group also belong our pileated woodpecker, or log-cock ( Ceoplilo&us pilea- tus\ and the ' prince ' among the woodpeckers, as Linnaeus called the magnificent ivory- billed woodpecker {Campephihis principalls). This is one of the largest and most striking looking birds of the whole family. It is found in the heavily timbered portions of our Southern States, especially those bordering the Mexican Gulf, but being a solitary and extremely wary bird, and not numerous even in those regions which may be regarded as its headquarters, it is rare in collections, and its habits are but little known. A nearly allied species, named C. bairdi in honor of Prof. S. F. Baird, is a native of Cuba ; and another related species, C. imperialis, the ' empe- ror ' woodpecker, is found in the mountain-forests of Mexico and Guatemala. There has been great difference among authors as to the question whether the woodpeckers are to be regarded as injurious or not, as both sides have had, and still have, vigorous, and, as is too often the case, even fanatical advocates. The fact is, that the question cannot be affirmed or denied in its generality ; for while one kind of woodpecker may be injurious, another may be beneficial, and even the same species maybe injurious during one part of the year and beneficial during the rest, or injurious in one country and beneficial in another. Consequently, an author can scarcely adduce a fact to prove one side, without his opponent producing equally incontestible evidence for the opposite. The woodpeckers' digging holes in the trees is excused by their friends, who say that they never attack a sound tree, and that by hastening the destruction of already more or less rotten trees, they are decidedly beneficial ; but there are undoubted cases where perfectly sound trees have been injured, though this is the exception. Other species are charged with stealing berries; and some might fancy that Melanerpes formicworus, which is famous for its acorn-storing propensities, may do harm by depriving the hogs of their food, as in some parts of Europe they are prosecuted on the plea that by eating the seeds of the forest trees they prevent the forest from renewing itself. But these accusations are evidently insignificant com- pared with the enormous number of insects which the woodpeckers destroy; for insects, no doubt, are nearly in all cases their chief food. But not even this fact can be scored unconditionally to their credit ; for they are justly charged with making no discrimination between injurious and beneficial insects, as some species of wood- peckers largely subsist upon ants, those great benefactors of the woods. We shall 432 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. not stop to consider the trifling injury they may cause by, in a few exceptional cases, boring holes in the weather-boarding of houses in order to store their acorns away, or digging breeding-holes in wooden church-steeples ; but there is one small group of woodpeckers which, on account of their organization and their chief food, may be regarded as perhaps mostly injurious — viz., the so-called sap-suckers (Spht/rapicus). In these, the hyoid bones are not so excessively elongated, and the tongue conse- quently is protrusible only in a very slight degree. The tip is also differently armed, being simply brushed and not barbed, — features which indicate that the food of these birds is different from the rest of the woodpeckers, consisting as it chiefly does of the sap of the trees. The late Dr. Alfred E. Brehni was an enthusiastic defender of FIG. 217. — Jynx torquilla, wryneck. the woodpeckers. When, two years ago, shoi'tly before his death, he visited this country, as we were standing at the entrance to the Smithsonian Institution, nearly driven to despair by the incessant din of the English sparrows which tried to drown our voices, he asked me to show him a characteristic American bird. Just at that moment a bird alighted on the trunk of the nearest tree, and I had the satisfaction of pointing out to him our common yellow-bellied sap-sucker (8. varius). As the bird reached the first branch, it thrust its bill into the smooth bark, leaving a square hole, easily visible from the moist sap which made it look dark against the dusty surface ; and tap-tap-tap-tap, with an astonishing regularity and in a most business-like manner, the little fellow punctured the trunk horizontally and vertically until the tree looked as if it had suffered from small-pox, and ' Bird ' Brehm, who had watched the per- TROGONS. 433 formance with extreme interest, admitted that the sap-sucker, under circumstances, may become an extremely injurious bird. Nevertheless, even this great offender is not entirely without his good sides; for we have Mr. William Brewster's word for it that " after the young have hatched it rises to the proud independence of a fly-catcher, taking its prey on wing as unerringly as the best marksman of them all. From its perch on the spire of some tall stub it makes a succession of rapid sorties after its abundant victims, and then flies off to its nest with bill and mouth crammed full of insects, principally large Diptera." The wrynecks (Jynghue) constitute a single genus (Jynx) of half a dozen species, which all belong to the Old World, especially Africa, while they are entirely wanting in Australia and America. They are rather small birds, with a wedge-shaped but not angular bill, and the tongue extensile. The tail is rather long, slightly rounded, consisting of twelve soft and rounded rectrices; the outer one on each side is very short, however, as in the woodpecker, and completely hidden by the under tail- coverts ; the first primary is also very short, exceedingly so in the Palaearctic species. The tarsus is scutellated both in front and behind. The coloration is a beautiful and intricate mixture of gray, buff, rusty black, and white, very difficult to describe, with a dark longitudinal band along the middle of the back and adjoining part of the neck, the African species with a large chestnut-brown patch on the throat and foreneck. The wryneck or snake-bird (Jynx torquilla), the species depicted in our illustra- tion, is a migratory bird, which in England arrives at the same time as the cuckoo ; hence, it is also called the 'cuckoo's maid,' or 'cuckoo's mate.' The two first men- tioned names are derived from a peculiar habit of twisting the neck with a slow, undulatory movement, like that of a snake, turning the head back and closing its eyes as in a fit, evidently with the intention of frightening its enemies. A captive held in the hand will usually perform this trick, and, taking advantage of the specta- tor's surprise at its strange behavior, suddenly escape. The wryneck's food consists of insects, especially ants. It breeds in hollow trees, and lays white polished eggs. Its cry is very much like that of the kestrel. The trogons (TROGONOIDE^E) are heterodactylous, that is, have the first and second toes turned backwards ; no other birds are. The trogons are also heteropel- mous (see fig. 171 D) ; no other birds are. These features alone are, consequently, sufficient to distinguish the trogons from the other Picarians, but the chief characters may be briefly summed up in order to indicate the relationship of these birds. Their palate is desmognathous, and basipterygoids are present ; the sternum is four-notched behind ; the myological formula is A X ; only the left carotid is developed ; caeca are present, and the oil-gland is nude. The pterylosis is also in other respects very passerine, especially in the distribution and form of the feather-tract, but the after- shafts of the contour-feathers are very large ; the long tail consists of twelve rectrices, the outer ones being graduated ; the first primary is short. Altogether the trogons are rather peculiar, showing no special relationship to any other group of the present order, a circumstance which explains the fact that by the different systematists they have been associated with nearly all the groups of the Picaria3. The trogons form a very well circumscribed family, TROGONID^E, consisting of about fifty species, inhabiting the tropical regions. They are rather numerous in the Neotropical, less so in the Oriental region, and rare in Africa, and are, during the present geological epoch, entirely unknown in the Nearctic, Palsearctic, and Aus- tralian regions. This was quite otherwise during a previous period ; for, as Dr. VOL. iv. — 28 434 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. Wallace remarks : "Remains of Troffonbave been found in the miocene deposits of France; and we are thus able to understand the existing distribution of the family. j At that exceptionally mild period in the northern hemisphere, these birds may have ranged over all Europe and North America; but, as the climate became more severe, they gradually became restricted to the tropical regions, where alone a sufficiency of fruit and insect food is found all the year round." We are not aware that there is any important structural character by which the trogons inhabiting the eastern hemisphere can be separated from those living in the western half of the globe. A considerable difference in their habits, however, is reported, inasmuch as the American species are said to be chiefly fruit-eaters, Avhile Wallace informs us that the Old World forms subsist almost exclusively on insects. Very remarkable is the way by which the former are known to obtain the fruits. Their feet are comparatively small and weak, and, although in a measure ' yoke- toed,' they are entirely iinfit for climbing; the trogon, therefore, darts from its perch after the fruit, like a flycatcher after an insect, seizes it while on the wing, and returns again to its perch. Such is also the habit of the most brilliant, most exquisite, and most celebrated of all the trogons, the quesdl, according to Mr. Osbert Salvin's account. The quesal is only to be found in Central America, where it is represented by two but slightly differentiated forms, one in Costa Rica, the other, the more bril- liant one of the two, in Guatemala, where it has been chosen for the national emblem. Imagine a bird of the size of a magpie, and with the splendor of a humming-bird or a sun-bird, and you may have an idea of the magnificent Pharomacrus mocinno. The whole upper surface, breast, neck, and head, including the curious rounded and com- pressed crest, are rich golden green, and so are the smaller wing-coverts, some of which are lengthened into gracefully drooping plumes, overhanging the wing; four upper tail-coverts, of a similarly brilliant green, are enormously lengthened, especially the two central ones, which in perfect specimens may reach a length of nearly three feet; the true tail-feathei%s are black and white, and the posterior part of the under side is rich vermilion inclining to crimson. Only the males are adorned with the long floating train, the females, as in most trogons, being much plainer. Regretting that want of space forbids us to reprint the whole of Mr. Salvin's account of his ' quesal-shooting in Vera Paz,' we take the liberty to make a few extracts bearing directly on the habits of this remarkable bird : — "My companions are ahead, and I am just balancing myself along the last trunk, when Filipe comes back to say that they have heard a quesal. Of course, being especially anxious to watch as well as to shoot one of these birds myself, I immedi- ately hurry to the spot. I have not to wait long. A distant clattering note indicates that the bird is on the wing. He settles — a splendid male — on a bough of a tree not seventy yards from where we are hidden. It sits almost motionless on its perch, the body remaining in the same position, the head only moving slowly from side to side. The tail does not hang quite perpendicularly, the angle between the true tail and the vertical being perhaps as much as fifteen or twenty degrees. The tail is occasionally jerked open and closed again, and now and then slightly raised, causing the long tail-coverts to vibrate gracefully. I have not seen all. A ripe fruit catches the quesal's eye, and he darts from his perch, hovers for a moment, plucks the berry, and returns to his former position. This is done with a degree of elegance that defies description. A low whistle from Cipriano calls the bird nearer, and a moment after- wards it is in my hand, — the first quesal I have seen and shot. TROGONS. 435 " The cries of the quesal are various. They consist principally of a low double note, lwhe-oo, whe-oo? which the bird repeats, whistling it softly at first, and then gradually swelling it into a loud but not unmelodious cry. This is often succeeded by a long note, which begins low, and, after swelling, dies away as it began. Both these notes can be easily imitated by the human voice. The bird's other cries are harsh and discordant. The flight of the quesal is rapid and straight; the long tail- feathers, which never seem to be in his way, stream after him. The bird is never found except in forests composed of the highest trees, the lower branches of which (i. e., those at about two-thirds of the height of the tree from the ground) seem to be its favorite resort. Its food consists principally of fruit, but occasionally a caterpillar may be found in its stomach." In most of the American species of the true trogons a certain uniform distribution of colors is apparent, since the back and breast are either metallic green or brown- ish, and the abdomen red or yellow, separated from the breast by a white band. It may be remarked that this red or yellow of the lower parts in the trogons is very evanescent, fading entirely out in jnuseurn specimens exposed to the light. In the two West Indian genera, each consisting of one species, Priotelus and Temnotror/on, the former restricted to Cuba, the latter to the island of Haiti, the upper parts are metallic green, posterior half of under parts brilliant red, while the anterior half is delicately gray. While in most trogons the tail-feathers are somewhat square at the end, this peculiarity is rather exaggerated in the West Indian forms, especially in the Cuban Priotelus temnurits, in which the corners are produced into points, thereby making the end concave, and forming a most remarkable tail. This latter form is known to the Cubans as the 'tocororo,' a name derived from its cry. Dr. Gundlach reports that it breeds in abandoned woodpecker holes, and deposits three to four white eggs which have a slight bluish tinge. This, like some other American forms, has the edges of the mandibles strongly serrated. The African genus, Apaloderma, has only the lower mandible serrated, while the Indian Harpactes only have a notch before the tip of the upper one. These, according to Jerdon, seize insects on the wing, much in the same manner as the American species secure the fruits. Figure 218 represents the African species, Apaloderma narina, which is metallic green on the back, head, and breast, while the rest of the under parts are brilliant carmine, the bill yellow; it is, consequently, very similar to the American species in coloration. Layard says that when apprehensive of discovery it sits motionless on its branch until alarmed at some act of the fowler, when it precipitates itself headlong into the bush, and is instantly lost to view. It feeds, he further states, on fruits and insects, and utters a loud moaning note, or, perhaps, more correctly speaking, a hoot. A nearly allied species from Western Africa was described in 1872 as A. con- stantia. The last super-family of the Picaria?, the MICROPODOIDE^E, was originally founded by Nitzsch, who in his ' Macrochires ' only included the swifts and the hum- ming-birds. It is also synonymous with Garrod's ' Cypseliformes,' the former basing his conclusions chiefly upon osteology and pterylography, while the latter also em- ployed the anatomy of the soft parts. Huxley united them with the goatsuckers in the group ' Cypselomorpha3,' taking chiefly the palatal bones into account ; but Parker has shown that this structure is so different in the three families that it offers no character which would bind them together to the exclusion of other birds. In this place we shall only call attention to those characters which at once separate the 436 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. present super-family from the Caprimulgidae. Osteologically the swifts and humming- birds resemble each other closely in all respects except in the shape of the bones of the face. The breastbone is highly characteristic, having a high keel, and an entire, unnotched pos- terior margin. The pro- portions of the different sections of the wings are also noteworthy, the hu- merus being very short, the forearm longer, and the hand extremely long, whence Nitzsch's name of the group. The myo- logical formula is A-J-, unique amongst Picarian and Passerine birds, and only shared by the owls. The tensor patagii brevis is quite peculiar, no ten- don being developed, and the fleshy belly running on to a special tendon which springs from the lower end of the outer surface of the humerns, and is continued, parallel to the forearm, along the radial margin to the hand (Fig. 219). As to the visceral an- atomy we only mention the absence of caeca, concom- itant with the absence of tuft to the oil-gland, a feature which leads us to the pterylography, in regard to which we point to the uniquely small number of secondaries, six to seven. From all this it is evident that the swifts and hum- ming-birds are very closely allied, notwithstanding the extreme specialization of the facial part of the head in two opposite directions. The swifts have the mouth split to beneath the eyes, and the bill is ex- tremely short, broad at base, and the gape extraordi- narily wide ; the palate is built on the principle of complete asgithognathism, "the vomerine bones being grafted upon the nasal wall." In the humming-birds, on the other hand, the bill is long and narrow, the mouth not split, consequently the gape also narrow, and the palate is, according to Parker, schizognathous, the vomer being pointed anteriorly, and only tied to the alinasal wall by a fibrous liga- ment, but not grafted upon it. But even in the palatal structure the relationship between swifts and humming-birds is manifested by the development of the maxillo- Fio. 218. — Apaloderma narina, African trogon. SWIFTS. 437 palatines of the young, as pointed out by Parker, who says that in the young hum- ming-birds they agree in general with young Pusseres, " but in particular with both young and adult of that family of birds which has most similarity to them in general bodily structure, namely, swifts." In view of the extreme external ' isomorphism ' of the swifts and the swallows, and the remarkable tenacity with which ornithologists have stuck to arrangements based chiefly upon the external appearance, the comparatively early recognition of their being totally different on account of their internal structure would be some- what surprising but for the fact that there are also a number of easy external charac- ters by which they are at once separated. The swifts, or MICKOPODID^E, and the swal- lows are, indeed, "only 'second cousins,' and more alike in their habits and mode of dress than in their real nature," as will be apparent by the following juxtaposition of their differences. Externally they may be easily distinguished ; the swifts by having ten primaries, not more than seven secondaries, and only ten tail-feathers, while the swallows have but nine primaries, at least nine secondaries, and twelve tail-feathers. The swifts have also the dorsal tract bifurcate between the shoulders, while in the swallows it is simple. Internally they differ in a great number of points, but we shall only mention that the swifts have a pointed manubrial process and no posterior notches to the sternum, while the swallows have the manubrium bifur- cate, and the posterior border deeply two-notched ; the former have amyological formula A^-, the latter AXY^-; the former are synpelmous, the latter are schizopelmous ; the former have a peculiar arrangement of the tensor patagii brevis, the latter have the general arrangement of the Passeres, to be explained in the introduction to that order; the former have a simple syrinx without intrinsic muscles, the latter have a very specialized syrinx ; the former are without caaca, the swallows possess them, etc., the total effect being that the swifts are Picarians, and the swallows are Passeres. ^j ' The swifts are found all over the globe, except in the extreme cold regions and in New Zealand, being most abundant in the tropics of America and the Oriental region, considerably over fifty species being known altogether. The peculiar structure of the feet furnishes excellent characters for subdividing the family in two minor groups or sub-families, the Micropodinse and the Chasturinae. The latter have the feet nor- mally constructed with the usual number of phalanges, viz., 2, 3, 4 arid 5, while the true swifts have the number of phalanges of the third and fourth toes reduced to three, the formula, consequently, being 2, 3, 3, 3. At the same time the first toe is directed more or less forwards or inwards ; in other words, the true swifts are pampro- dactylous. Another feature is that their tarsi are feathered, while the Chagturinae have them bare. Regarding the Chaaturinae as the more generalized type, we are at once confronted with the pretty tree-swifts (Dendrochelidoti) from India and the Malay Archipelago, which are provided with a feather-crest on the head, and very lengthened outer tail- feathers. In the same regions, and also in many of the Polynesian islands (one species even in Madagascar), are found the pigmies of the family, the so-called swiftlets ( C'ol- localia), inconspicuous looking, dusky-colored birds, but famous as the manufacturers FIG. 219. — Diagram of tho elbow- muscles in a humming-bird f/onn i/it/ns); muscles with longitudi- nal, tendons with transverse lines ; emrl, extensor metacarpi radialis longns ; h, huinerus ; sr, secondary remiges ; t, triceps ; tpb, tensor patagii brevis ; tpl, tensor patagii longus. 438 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. of the ' edible bird's-nests.' They breed in deep caves, fastening their gelatinous nests to the rocky walls. It was formerly the belief that the substance which composed the nests was digested algaa growing on the sea-beach or on the walls of the caves, mixed with the excretion of the salivary glands, but it seems now certain that it consists solely of mucus. Mr. H. Pryer, who recently made a visit to the caves of Gomanton, northern Borneo, situated in a high limestone cliff twelve miles inland from the head of Sandakan Bay, last year published an interesting account of the breeding there of Collocalia fuciphaga, from which we select the following: — " After a rest, I ascended the cliff about four hundred feet ; the ascent is quite per- pendicular : in many places ladders are erected, and in others the water-worn surface of the limestone gives a foothold. At this point I found myself at the mouth of a cave named Simud Putili, i. e., the White Cave ; the entrance is about forty feet high, by sixty feet wide, and descends very steeply, widening out to a great size, and having a perpendicular unexplored abyss at its furthest point. This cave is used by the nest- gatherers as their dwelling-place, and at the entrance are their platforms of sticks, one of which was placed at my disposal by the head man ; it is also the cave by which the great body of the swifts enter. " At a quarter to six (P. M.) the swifts began to come in to Simud Putih ; a few had been flying in and out all day long, but now they began to pour in, at first in tens and then in hundreds, until the sound of their win^s was like a strong gale of tj ^? o wind whistling through the rigging of a ship. They continued flying in until after midnight, as I could still see them flashing by over my head when I went to sleep. As long as it remained light I found it impossible to catch any with my butterfly-net, but after dark it was only necessary to wave the net in the air to secure as many as I wanted. Nevertheless, they must undoubtedly possess wonderful powers of sight to fly about in the dark in the darkest recesses of their caves, and to return to their nests, often built in places where no light ever peneti-ates. "Arising before daylight, I witnessed a reversal of the proceedings of the previous night, the swifts now going out of Simud Putih. " In this cave I saw the nest-gatherers at work getting in their crop. A thin rattan ladder was fixed to the end of a Ions: pole and wedded ao-ainst the rock ; two ^J 1 C3 Zj ' men were on the ladder, one carried a long four-pronged spear, a lighted candle being fixed to it a few inches below the prongs. By the aid of this light a suitable nest is found, and transfixed with the prongs ; a slight twist detaches the nest unbroken from the rock; the spear is then withdrawn until the head is within reach of the second man, who takes the nest off the prongs and places it in a pouch carried at the waist. The nests of best quality are bound up into packets with strips of rattan, the inferior being simply threaded together; the best packets generally weigh one catty (1^- Ibs.), averaging forty nests, and are sold at $9 each, the annual value of the nests gathered being about $25,000. These caves have been worked for seven generations without any diminution in the quantity ; three crops are taken during the year." Mr. J. R. Green, of the Physiological Laboratory, Cambridge, Eng., reported on the nests collected as follows : — " The specimen gave no evidence under the microscope of any distinct vegetable structures, and similarly gave no chemical evidence of either cellulose or any other distinctly vegetable product. All the relations went to prove that the great mass of the substance was mucin, and such microscopic features as were apparent confirmed the view that the nest was formed of strings of mucus plastered together. The SWIFTS. 439 mucus, when separated out, gave some reactions different to a certain extent from those which are given by ordinary mucin; but these differences were not great enough to weaken the conclusion that the nest is really composed of mucus secreted by the peculiar glands superficially described by Sir Everard Home as present in the bird which builds the nest." Another group of this same sub-family have the tail-feathers rigid ; and in some, as, for instance, our common chimney-swift ( Chcetura pelagica), the ends of the shafts protrude beyond the end of the rectrices as so many spines. I need not dwell on the well-known facts of the change of habits in these birds since the white man took possession of this continent : how they in a great measure gave up the hollow trees as roosting and nesting places, choosing his sooty chimneys as more accessible and possibly more convenient, though to me personally it was a novel sight when a few years ago a good friend of mine on a pleasant evening took me out in the country to an old brick-yard, where hundreds of swifts circled around the high chimney, one after the other dropping into the opening, as may-flies into an electric lamp. The chimney-swift, or chimney-swallow, as it is often, but erroneously, called, is, like all swifts in temperate climates, a regular migrant, which passes the winter in Mexico. There is, therefore, no necessity for supposing "that it hibernates in hollow trees," or in the mud beneath ponds, as is often asserted. Swallows and swifts may occasionally be found in a torpid state, but the same is the case with all other kinds of birds, and even with man, for that matter; but from such an occasional, exceptional, and proba- bly pathological case to conclude that the swiftest birds on the wing, which with the greatest ease in a few days can travel from the Ai-ctic circle to a tropical climate, regularly hibernate in hollow ti-ees " is preposterous," as an esteemed contemporary has put it. Juridical evidence may perhaps be adduced to the effect that swallows hibernate in the mud or on the bottom of lakes ; but how many hundred old women have not been burned to death as witches on juridical evidence! Nor has anybody yet succeeded in introducing the ghost into the zoological system, although we might produce juridical evidence in confirmation of his existence. Remarkable as is the nidification of the swiftlets and the chim- ney-swifts, that of some of the true swifts (Mieropodina?) is not less wonderful. Messrs. Godman and Salvin describe the nest of Panyptila sancti-hieronymi, which they discovered in Guatemala, as composed entirely of the seeds of a plant, secured together and huntj; from the under surface of an overhanging rock by the saliv.-i ^> ZD Zj «/ of the bird. The whole forms a tube two feet and two inclu-s long by about six inches in diameter. The entrance is through the lower end of the tube, and the eggs are placed on a kind of shelf at the top. About the middle of the tube, on the external side, is a protruding eave, as if overvaulting an entrance; but there is no hole, and it has the appearance as if it was placed there on purpose in order to deceive some enemy, such as a snake or lizard, to the attacks of which the parent bird or its offspring would, during the time of incubation, be more exposed. A section of the nest is given in the accompanying cut. The genus to which the foregoing species belongs have the first (hind) toe turned inwards. In the typical, or, rather, most specialized swifts, Micropus (or Cyp8elus),it is directed forwards like the other toes. Both birds represented in the accompany- Fio. 220. — Section of tlie nest of J'ani/ptila sancti-lderonymi. 440 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. ing cut belong here, and are two well-known European species, the Alpine swift (M. melboL), larger, brownish gray, whitish beneath with a dusky gorget, from the southern parts, and the common swift (M. apus), sooty black all over, except the whitish throat, of more general distribution. It nests under the tiles of the roofs or in church-steeples, and makes itself very conspicuous in the evening by circling and hawking around the building in small troops, keeping up an incessant and penetrating scream as they pass by witli incredible rapidity of flight. The North American white- throated swift (M. melanoleucus) is nearly allied. FIG. 221. — Micropus melba, Alpine swift (upper figure); M. apus, common European swift (lower figure). There is found in tropical America a group of small swifts, outwardly resembling the swiftlets very much, but so closely allied to the above that a separate generic name ( Tachornis) is now thought to be superfluous. A member of this group is the Jamaican palm-swift (Micropus phceincobia), which we mention specially for its interesting nest-building. Gosse describes namely two entirely different nests of this bird according to whether they build in a cocoanut palm or a palmetto. lu the former case they were formed chiefly in the hollow spathes of the leaves, and were HUMMING-BIRDS. 441 placed in a series of three or four in a spathe, one above another, and agglutinated together, but with a kind of gallery along the side, communicating with each. The material seemed only feathers and silk-cotton (the down of the Bombay.) ; the former very largely used, the most downy placed within, the cotton principally without, the whole felted so strongly as to be almost as tenacious as cloth. On the palmetto lent', instead of the hollow of a spathe, they were attached to the plaited surface of the fronds. They were composed almost exclusively of the silk-cotton, and in the form of those watch-fobs which are hung at the head of the bed, the backs being firmly glued by saliva to the under surface of the fronds. LEONHAED STEJNEGER. The humming-birds, solely found in the New World, are most abundant in South and Central America, with a few species extending into North America as far as Nootka Sound and Canada. The family TROCHILID^E cannot be divided into any sub- families, as no genera are so essentially different from all the rest as to require them to be separated in such a radical manner. ' Hummers,' as they are often called, are Pica- rian birds, having but one carotid artery, — the left, — a naked oil-gland, and no caeca. They have small, sometimes minute, bodies, with bills varying from feeble to stout, usually longer than the head, in one instance exceeding the body in length, usually straight, but in one group it is curved to a third of a circle, with a short gape, and no bristles. Nostrils are placed near the base of the maxilla, and are covered by a scale, though sometimes they are hidden in the frontal feathers. The tongue, which is very slender, and capable of great extension, curves around and over the back of the skull, similarly to a wood-pecker's, and consists of two minute pai-allel tubes, through which the sweetened juices of flowers are drawn into the throat. The wings are narrow and pointed ; the primaries, always ten in number, are stiff and lengthened, the second- aries very short. The manus is very long, and the humerus extremely short, which enables the bird to move the wing with great rapidity. Sternum large with a very deep keel, pectoral muscles in consequence very powerful for the size of the bird. The tail always possesses ten rectrices, except in Loddigesia mirabilis which has but four. The tarsi are short, either naked, partly clothed, or hidden in tufts of feathers. The feet are small with short toes, and curved sharp claws. The plumage varies from plain sombre tints to the most brilliant metallic hues that it is possible to conceive. In all cases the male is the one most attractively adorned. The food was at one time supposed to consist solely of the nectar obtained from flowers, and at times, or during certain seasons of the year, this may be the case, but it has been fully ascertained that various kinds of insects also form a large propor- tion of their sustenance, and some genera feed almost entirely upon insects. The probability is that these fairy creatures require both insect food and the juices of flowers, and these are partaken of equally whenever the opportunity to obtain them presents itself. The flight of these birds is usually of great swiftness ; the wings move with such rapidity that they are invisible, each wing working a half circle. Some species, like Patayona giycis and Pterophanes temminckif, move their wings, when hovering over a flower, with a slow motion, evincing considerable power. At this time the tail is closed and expanded with a motion like a fan. They are capable of making most astonishing aerial evolutions, darting in every direction with the speed of light, arresting their course instantaneously at will. Nearly all humming-birds are exceedingly quarrelsome in disposition, both during the breeding season and other times as well. Some will not permit others to remain 442 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. in the same vicinity, nor touch a flower on the tree on which they are perched, and the smallest species does not hesitate to attack those of the largest size, hawks even having been driven quite away by the furious attacks of one of these irascible little creatures. The general sound emitted by humming-birds is a shai-p shrill twit or cry, but some species possess a few notes almost attaining to the dignity of a song. The little Mellisuga minima is stated to sing very sweetly, and a diminutive Phce- tJiornis is also said to have the same accomplishment. These birds, in certain districts of South America, have regular migrations from north to south, and vice versa, also from higher to lower altitudes, caused mainly by the blooming and fading of the flowers, as it is apparently necessary for their existence that they should live always in the midst of blossoming plants. In the early spring the species inhabiting high latitudes descend to meet the blooming of the plants, returning to their more lofty abodes as summer advances. As a rule humming-birds appear to be devoid of fear. They will fly within a few inches of a person's face, stop and peer at him, approaching so close as to fan one with their wings. Frequently they will enter a house through the open window, and after flying around until wearied will alight on any convenient perch, and prune their feathers ; or if taken in the hand will immediately feed upon any sweet that may be offered them, without exhibiting the slightest fear. In this respect they in no way resemble birds, acting more like insects. The nests of these beautiful creatures are wonderful structures, and exhibit great variety of form and of the materials used in building. Some are not larger than walnut shells. They are generally shaped like a cup, lined with some soft material such as hair or wool, and much diversity of taste is shown in the mode of decoration placed upon the exterior ; these ornaments, consisting of lichens, bark, moss, etc., being usually attached by means of cobwebs. These nests are placed in all manner of situations, on slender twigs, or on the bifurcation of a branch ; some attached to the side of a drooping leaf ; while others again suspend themselves to the sides of rocks. The members of the genus Oreotrochilus build quite large nests, composed of wool, hair, moss and feathers, and make in the top of this a small depression in which the eggs are laid. One of these great nests was found by Professor Jameson of Quito in a room of a deserted house, attached to a rope suspended from the roof. A curious evidence of instinct shown by these birds, is witnessed in these nests, where one side having proved to be lighter than the other, it was weighted by a small stone or piece of earth, until the equilibrium was restored and all danger of the eggs falling out was removed. In our limits it is quite impossible to give more than the most cursory review of the more prominent birds composing this family. About four hundred species are acknowledged at the present time, contained in one hundred and twenty genera. The classification of these, is, of necessity, largely artificial. Beginning at the bottom, or with those species usually assigned to that place, we commence our review of the family with the minute species generally known as the * green hummers.' In this group is comprised the genera Panychlora, Chlorostilbon, Sporaduius and Cyanophaia. The species inhabit Mexico, Central America, various portions of South America, and some islands of the West Indies such as Haiti and Puerto Rico. They are very small, being from two and three quarters to four and a half inches in extreme length. Their plumage is shining, brilliant green, in some species, with golden-bronze reflections, the tail short and usually even, except in Chlorostilbon auriceps and the species of Sporadinus and Cyanophaia which have HUMMING-BIRDS. 443 forked tails. Cyanophaia cceruleigularis differs somewhat from others in this group of genera by having a violet-blue throat and cheek. About eighteen species are included in the four genera named. The next four genera are composed of species clothed in blue and metallic green. They arc Jfi/locharis, lache, Damophila and Juliamyia, and are represented in Mexico, Central America, and portions of South America. Hylocharis cyanea from Brazil, with the head, throat, and breast shining dark blue with violet reflections, builds a most beautiful nest, which is attached to a tendril of some vine, and is cup- shaped and composed of a white, cottony, substance, intermingled with seeds of thistle-down, coated with dried leaves and bound together with cobwebs, all decorated with woody fibres, inner coating of bark of trees, and other materials. These nests, however, are not always alike, seemingly the fancy of each individual builder having much to do with the choice of materials for the construction and adornment of these fairy dwellings. The eggs are always two, and pure white, as is the case with all species of humming-birds. Another allied species, H. sapphirina has a remarkable red-colored fleshy bill much dilated at the base. Three genera, Timolia^ Eucephala, and JBasilinna, with twelve species, have metallic green and blue plumage, the females very differently clothed from the males, as is indeed the case with those of most of the species belonging to the genera thus far enumerated. Perhaps the finest species of the three genera mentioned is Eucephala ffrayi, with the whole head and chin shining deep blue, rest of body golden green. It comes from Ecuador. Amazilia has twenty-five species, birds of various styles of plumage. Some have breast of metallic hues, others have this part plain rufous ; some have red backs, while others again have the abdomen pure white. They are natives of Mexico, Central America, Tres Marias Island, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, one species, A. niveiventris, having been procured in Panama. Two species from Guatemala, Costa Rica, and the islands of Tres Marias, A. cinnamomea and A. yraysoni differ from all the rest by having the entire under surface bright cinnamon color. The genus Polytmus, with three species, stands somewhat isolated among the Tro- chilidae. Their tails are rounded, with narrow, somewhat pointed, rectrices ; entirely metallic green in two species ; in the other, with basal portion white. They are scat- tered throughout South America. The two species of Elvira have the greater portion of the tail white, — a veiy unusual feature among the Trochilidje. Argytria is one of the most extensive genera, as regards the number of species, in the family. They are birds of moderate size and of a pleasing plumage, the chief colors of which are green and white. Uranomitra has some species with very brilliant metallic green and blue hues upon the head and upper surface, and also certain ones possess bright red bills. The genus Panterpe contains one very beautiful species, P. insiynis, from Costa Rica and Chiriqui. With the crown and breast rich blue, the throat is metallic scarlet, bordered with luminous yellowish green. It is one of the most brilliant birds of this portion of the family. The genus Eriocnemis, with about eighteen species, is remarkable for the color- ing of the lower part of the back in the different species, and the downy puffs which cover and completely conceal the tarsi, sometimes the entire feet. The metallic colors are golden-green, blue, bronze, and others of similar brilliancy, while the general hues of the species are dark gray, green, coppery-red, and purplish-black. The downy puffs on the legs are black, white, pale buff, or brown and white. The species are of moderate size, rather robust form, with straight, strong bills, and long wings. A very 444 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. •curious group is contained in the genus Aglceactis. Of rather large size, these birds have a coloration similarly distributed to that of the species of JEriocnemis, but the manner of exhibiting this is different. The feathers of the rump are highly luminous, but in order to see the full beauty of these hues, it is necessary to look against the feathers, or towards the head, when the brilliancy of the metallic sheen is seen to the best advantage. There are four species from the western part of South America, from Colombia to Bolivia. The females resemble the males, as do those of the genus Eriocnemis, but have very much less brilliancy on their plumage. Cephalolepis and Bellona contain species with more or less lengthened crests, to which the metallic hues of the plumage are confined, there being none upon the lower "part of the body. The crests of the two genera differ much in shape, that of the spe- cies of Cephalolepis being long, rather loose, and terminating in from one to three nar- row feathers extending beyond the rest. That of Bellona is broad and pointed, of moderate length, and the feathers of the forehead project forward and cover one half the length of the culmen. The species of this genus are natives of the West Indies. Chrysolampis moschitus is the ruby and topaz humming-bird, so called from the bril- liant metallic hues of the top of the head and throat. Like the species of Bettona, the feathers of the forehead project over the culmen, and the male possesses all the beauty of plumage, the female being a plainly dressed, quiet-looking little bird. The species is of considerable commercial importance, thousands being shipped to Europe and other countries every year, giving employment to numbers of the inhabitants of its native land. It makes a round, cup-shaped nest, of some cottony materials, and dec- orated with leaves and lichens. It perches occasionally on the flowering shrubs it frequents, and spreads its rounded, chestnut-colored tail to its fullest extent, and then appears to the greatest advantage. Three species of humming-birds, of rather large size and most graceful form, are included in the genus Ileliothrix, distinguished by their slender, wedge-shaped bills, plumage of green and wThite hues, and metallic-blue tufts on the sides of the neck. There is not much difference in the coloring of the sexes, but when any does exist, it consists in the absence of metallic coloring on the female's throat. The rectrices, which are rounded, are quite long, always shortest, however, in the male. The species dwell in Central and South America generally. Ileliothrix auriculatus, from southern Brazil, and a bird of a powerful and rapid flight, evinces a preference for the flowers of the orange-trees, which doubtless furnish it with its insect food. The nest, which is of an elongated shape, is built of fine vegetable fibres, and coated externally with small pieces of various colored barks, and attached by one side to some twig. Like in other species, the materials composing the nest are not always of the same kind, the bird apparently taking that which is most convenient and adapted for the purpose. The genera Schistes, Phlogophilus, Augastes, Chrysuronia, Metallura, and Avocet- tula contain about twenty-one species, resembling each other in the bright metallic coloration of their rectrices, though differing in other important respects. Schistes contains but two species, confined to Ecuador, one (S. personatus) having been pro- cured upon the sides of Mount Pichincha, six thousand feet above the sea. It has the forehead, face, and throat metallic green, with lilac-blue tufts on either side of the breast. The members of Auyastes are more brilliant birds than are those of the last genus, A. liimachellus being particularly beautiful. It has the top of head, ear-coverts, and a line outside of throat velvety black ; forehead, face and throat luminous golden HUMMING-BIRDS. 445 green, bounded beneath by greenish blue, below which is a tuft of metallic reddish or- ange, each side of which is a white bar ; tail, metallic bronze-red, very brilliant. The members of Metallura are dispersed over the mountains of the great Andean range, from Colombia to Bolivia. One of the commonest and best known, M. ti/riui>t/iiua, is scattered over the mountains and valleys of New Grenada and Ecuador, and feeds upon the insects found in all the different flowers and plants of those countries. It bears the cold well, is not sociable, has a rapid flight, and makes its nest in ravines and spots shaded from the sun and rain. The sexes differ much in hue of plumage. The male is not of very generally brilliant plumage, though it has a luminous throat, hut the tail shines with metallic purple-bronze; this is also possessed by the female, though lighter in hue. Avocettula has but one species, a native of Guiana, but remarkable for the bill, which is turned upward at the point, like an avocet's. In this respect it agrees with Aoocettinus, but it also possesses a tail of fiery copper-red, resembling in this character the members of those genera witli which it is grouped. Not much is known of this curious bird, but it is said to live isolated in the great forests. Swain son suggested as a cause for the curiously formed bill that the bird's principal sustenance may be drawn from the pendant Blgnonice and similar plants, whose corollas are long and generally bent in their tubes ; the nectar, being at the bottom, could not be read- ily reached either by a straight or incurved bill, though very easily by one cor- responding to the shape of the flower. It is not a common species, and but few examples comparatively have been procured. Rhamphomicron and Oreonympha comprise a group of humming-birds remarkable for the pendant metallic feathers, denominated 'beards,' beneath the throat. They are birds of rather large size, without crests, with short and feeble bills in most of the species, and constitute a well-marked section of the Trochilidae. They are found from Colombia to Bolivia, one species, JZ. stanleyi, dwelling (among other localities) in the crater of Pichincha, where it rifles the flowers of the Chiquiraga insignia, and con- tinually battles with its far more attractive rival, Oreotrochilus pichincha. It is a very sombre -plum aged bird, with the upper surface bluish violet; beneath, sooty brown, and tail, bluish green ; throat, metallic green, terminating in lengthened ame- thyst-colored feathers. A far more beautiful species is J?. herrani, a native of Colom- bia and Ecuador. It remains motionless usually during the day, flying in the early mornings and evenings, is peacefully inclined, but is frequently pursued and attacked by other species of humming-birds that are in its vicinity. It makes short flights from branch to branch, and explores the flowers to obtain its insect food. This beautiful bird has the crown rusty-red ; chin, luminous metallic-green ; beneath this are elongated me- tallic-red feathers, bounded on either side with black. The upper surface is bronzy green; rump, bronzy rufous; tail, purplish black; lateral feathers tipped with white. Oreonympha nobilis is a magnificent species, about seven inches in length, with a long, somewhat stout bill. It has forehead and centre of crown black; top of head dark blue; cheeks and sides of throat black; throat colored similarly to the species of Rhamphomicron, but the pendant feathers are longer. The upper surface is bronzy brown ; under surface, grayish white ; the tail, bronze, except the external feathers, which are white. This species was first obtained at Tinta in Peru, at an elevation of 11,500 feet. The flight of this beautiful bird is stated to be very peculiar. It starts from one flower in the direction of another some two or three hundred yards away, when suddenly it comes to a stop, throws up the body vertically, the tail being spread out, and exhibits the metallic crown and beard glistening in the sun's rays. This 446 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. action, which is often repeated, is probably effected for the purpose of taking insects in the air. The genus Sappho contains species the magnificence of whose plumage cannot be described by words and is very inadequately exhibited by the best colored represen- tation. They are known by the common name of ' fire-tails,' and are natives of Peru, Bolivia, and the Argentine Republic. The tails of the males blaze with the radiance of flashes of flame, and their ruby backs, luminous green throats, and under surface FIG. 222. —Sappho sparyanura, fire-tail. present a tout ensemble unparalleled in the range of Ornithology, not even excepting the gorgeously attired species of the birds-of-paradise. 8. spargamira, the longest known species, is a denizen of Bolivia and the Argentine Republic. It appears when the fruit trees are in blossom, and particularly resorts to the Capuli, a kind of cherry. It frequents the fields of maize, pulse, and other leguminous plants, and the rich flowers of the cacti which afford them abundant food. It is by no means shy, and the males are constantly warring with and chasing each other, uttering sharp cries. It is a very pugnacious species, and each individual resents the intrusion of another within HUMMING-BIRDS. 447 its chosen territory. The nest is about two and a half to three inches in length, com- posed outwardly of interlaced vegetable fibres, twigs, moss, etc., and lined with soft hair, etc. It is placed in some gully, and attached to any hanging root or twig that will afford it support. The eggs are oblong in shape, and pure white. When on the wing, this bird makes extraordinary turns and rapid evolutions, at one moment darting headlong into a flower, at another describing circles in the air with such rapidity that the eye is unable to follow it. The female is less brilliant in plumage, but has a tail of metallic colors, save the external feather which is white on the outer web. Total length of males six and three quarters inches. Next to Sappho comes Cynanthus^ with two species, also having lengthened tails adorned with metallic hues, but less showy, for the colors are blue and green instead of brilliant red and black. Lesbla possesses four species, with very long rectrices of rather narrow but even width for their entire length, and having generally a luminous tip. All the species have metallic green tin-oats, and differ from each other in size and in the length and coloration of their tails. The females are very different in appearance, having white breasts spangled with green, and comparatively short tails. The best and longest known species is L, amaryllis, from Colombia and Ecuador. It frequents the gar- dens in the city of Quito, and is familiar to every one, and is equally common at Bogota. When poised in the air, with tail outspread over a flower it makes a loud humming noise. The males are very pugnacious and frequent combats take place between them, and these are persisted in with great energy until one is driven away. One of the most extraordinary birds known to naturalists, the wonderful Loddir/e- sia mirabilis, is remarkable for having only four rectrices, the two median ones very short, and entirely hidden by the coverts. The outer ones are greatly lengthened, some three or four times the extent of the body without the bill, the shafts destitute of webs until the tips are reached, when they terminate in large indigo-colored spat- ules. These rectrices are curved throughout their entire length into a semi-circle, so o o * that in the natural position of the tail they cross each other twice ; at first near their base, and then, at about a third of their length, the remaining portion takes a direction directly across the axis of the bird's body. The tinder tail-coverts are long, but the two middle feathers are much longer than the body of the bird, gradually diminish in width, and terminate in a point. This structure of the tail is absolutely unique among birds. This species was first procured by an English botanist, Andrew Matthews, fifty years ago at Chachapoyas in Peru, and the specimen remained unique until the year 1881, when M. Stolzmann procured a series of examples in the vicinity of the same place from which the type originally came, but the birds appeared to be localized in the basin of the Utcubamba, a little river on the right bank of the Maranon. It is found only at an altitude between 7500 and 9000 feet above the ocean. The country inhabited by this extraordinary bird is covered with cultivated fields, small valleys with more or less vegetation, and here and there large trees, the probable remnants of ancient forests. A beautiful red-colored Alstromcria is the favorite flower of this bird, and wherever this is met with the Loddif/esia is sure to be found, and as the JLesbia yracilis, its chief persecutor, does not visit this flower, the present species can rest unmolested. Even in the localities it frequents this bird is not common, the adult males rather rare. From morning to night it is in constant motion ; its flight is inconceivably rapid, and it is remarkable with what unerring precision it traverses the thickets where it is obliged to change its course almost every second to escape from 448 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. the obstacles in its route. When it flies, the lateral tail-feathers are raised, and the two spatules are brought together. A curious habit of this species is the following. Two young males arrest themselves in the air facing each other with their bodies sus- pended vertically, opening their tails from side to side, so that the lengthened rec- trices form a straight line to the axis of the body, and throw themselves from one side to the other. Every time the birds open their tails a low sound is heard similar to that caused by striking two finger-nails together, or the snap produced by shutting the lid of a watch. The two lengthened under tail-coverts always remain in their normal position. This manoeuvre is kept up for about twenty seconds. Ordinarily only two young males engage in these actions, but when they make much noise sev- eral take part, and always the voice of the female can be heard in the vicinity. Another still more curious habit, as narrated by Stolzmann, was practised by the young males. One would suspend himself beneath a small branch, whilst another manoeuvred above him, spreading the tail and making the low click ; then in a twink- ling of an eye, the roles would be changed and the upper would suspend himself, and the other would take his place. What these evolutions mean is unknown. The adult males rarely practise them, though they often pass when the young males are engaged in this manner. Sometimes the old males by spreading the tail give a peculiar posi- tion to the external rectrices by placing the spatules above the head. Once Stolzmann observed an adult male drinking from a brook. He had chosen a little cascade, and it is from these alone that it is pretended the birds are able to quench their thirst. The male of this extraordinary species has the crown of the head a brilliant sapphire blue ; upper parts golden green; throat brilliant green, tinged with blue in the centre, and surrounded by a narrow band of coppery-red, this bordered by black; sides of breast and flanks dull white ; middle of breast velvet black with a coppery tinge. The lengthened under tail-coverts are bronze green on their basal half, passing into a blackish-blue, and white at their tips. Bill, black ; feet, brown ; tarsus covered with white feathers ; iris, nearly black. The genera Steganura and Discura have together seven species, birds with lumi- nous throats and breasts, and elongated external rectrices bare of webs near the tips, and terminating in a spatule. The members of the first genus also have the tarsi completely hidden in downy puffs. They dwell in various parts of South America, all but two, however, being natives of the western side from Columbia to Bolivia. Steganura solstitialis, from Ecuador and Peru, is found at altitudes of from 3700 to 8000 feet above the sea level. It is easy to be distinguished from other humming- birds by its voice, as it possesses certain harmonious notes. It has a steady flight, and does not precipitate itself from flower to flower with the suddenness so characteristic of some of its relatives. When resting it perches on low branches, but when flying it frequently rises to such a height that it is difficult to see it. Gouldia contains four species, remarkable for their singularly shaped tails, which are composed of lengthened attenuated feathers, the three outer ones on either side being the longest, although very unequal, and the four median ones being so short as to be hardly visible. G. letitice is, in the coloring of its plumage, almost exactly like Discura longicauda, but does not possess the spatules at the end of the external rectri- ces. They are most charming little creatures, the heads and breasts covered with metallic green feathers, this, in one species, bordered with red beneath the green on the breast; and Gr.popelairii, from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, has the head ornamented with a crest terminating in lengthened, hair-like feathers. ,, . « f •:•;:•'.; i -X o -s o -s CJ (B v x I i-M >^ /,— /s////&iffL HUMMING-BIRDS. 449 The species of the genus Loplwrnis are also small birds, with a highly ornamented plumage, and have elongated feathers with metallic tips, springing from the sides of the neck. Some also are adorned with crests, and all save two have metallic throats. There are nine known species of this genus, and they bear the common name of 'Co- quettes.' They are found in Central America, Trinidad, and northern and western South America. The most beautiful of these birds, if one can discriminate where all possess so many attractions, is probably L. lielence, from Mexico, Gautemala, and Costa Rica. Beside a dark metallic green crest, there are three long, slender, greenish-black feathers springing from either side of the occiput. The throat is metallic green sur- rounded with black, the feathers on the sides of the neck elongated and streaked with buff. Another beautiful but very differently colored species is L. ornatus, from Trin- idad, Venezuela, and Guiana, It has the forehead and throat metallic green, rest of head and crest chestnut, unspotted. On either side of the neck is a series of length- ened graduated feathers, each one tipped with metallic green. This bird seeks its food from the flowers in more open parts of the country than in forests, and builds a round, cup-shaped nest, composed of some cottony material, bound together with cob- webs, and decorated externally with mosses, lichens, etc. Tilmatura contains only one species, with a remarkably-colored forked tail. This has the median rectrices short, and shining green ; next one, dark brown ; next, also, dark brown, but with a white spot on inner web, and a white tip ; the remainder is dark brown at base, then a band of rufous, then one of white, succeeded by another of dark brown, and the tips white. This bird is a native of Guatemala, frequents the gardens and other places where flowers abound, and builds a beautiful little round nest of vegetable fibres and thistle-down, thickly covered externally with small pieces of lichens, attached by means of cobwebs. It is fastened to any small branch, such as that of a rose-ti'ee, etc. Chcetocercus, Acestrura, and Calothorax are represented by species, some of which are among the most minute in the Trochilidaj. They have very peculiarly shaped tails. Those of the members of the first genus have the median rectrices extremely short ; two next the outermost ones lengthened, equal and uniform ; outermost one half the length of the one next it, filiform and stiff, graduating to a point. Acestrura has the two outer rectrices almost bare of webs, and spine-shape ; while the species of Calothorax has the outermost rectrix of a similar shape. There are about nine spe- cies in these genera, natives of Mexico and the northern and western side of South America. C'hcetocercus bombus, two and a half inches in length, is not much larger than a honey-bee. It is a native of Ecuador and Peru, dwells at an elevation of from five to nine thousand feet, flies in a straight line but not so rapidly as some other hum- ming-birds, and when perched on a branch elevates and depresses the tail as if balanc- ing itself. The males have frequent combats, and sometimes one will mount upwards until its tiny body has completely disappeared from sight. Heliactin, Avith its single species, cornutus, is an aberrant form among the Tro- chilidas, and is chiefly noticeable for the brilliant tufts or 'horns' on each side of the head. It is a native of Brazil, and, although long since described, very little is known of its habits. The 'tufts' are fiery crimson at base, changing to greenish yellow at the tips, very brilliant in color, and a great ornament to the bird. We now come to a section of the Trochilidae composed of the genera Stellula^ At- this, Catharma, Selasphorus, Calypte, and Trochilus. They are all birds of moderate or small size, all with brilliant metallic coloring on their throats, this sometimes ex- VOL. iv. — 29 450 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. tending to and including the head. They have short tails and bills, and in general appearance are most attractive birds. Selasphorus rufus, from California to Nootka Sound ; Calyptce annce, from Mexico and California ; and Trochilus colubris, the Ruby-throat, of eastern North America, south to Central America and the West In- dies, are probably the best known among the species. A charming species is Calypte helence, from Cuba. The entire head and throat with its lengthened feathers are bril- liant metallic crimson, and the tail deep greenish blue, as are also the upper parts ; FIG. 223. — Helaclin cornutus, horned hummer, suu-gem. under surface white. This little gem, of only about two and a half inches in total length, has a varied song, well sustained, and, for the size of the little creature, rather powerful. It has not a rapid flight, is very pugnacious, and when in the air preserves a complete silence, but commences to sing on alighting. Mellisuga minima, from Jamaica and St. Domingo, is among the very smallest of birds, being only a little over two inches in total length. This diminutive creature is rather plainly attired, being green above, and white beneath. It is quite abundant in Jamaica, resorting to the blossoms of the West Indian vervain, seeking its nourish- HUMMING-BIRDS. 451 ment precisely in the same manner as the honey-bee. In the spring months soon after sunrise it sits on the top of a mango or orange tree, and warbles a melody in a weak but sweet tone, for minutes at a time. The nest is a cup, formed of silk cotton, orna- mented outside with gray lichen. The movements of this bird's wings in flight are so rapid that they produce a sound like an insect's hum. Thalurania contains eleven species of moderate size and graceful forms, with a plumage of green or green and blue, with metallic hues on the crown and throat, and sometimes on both. They have a wide distribution from Central America to Peru. FIG. 224. — Topazapella, topaz humming-bird. Aitlmrus contains a very singular species from Jamaica, A. polytmus. It is one of the longest known members of the family, and is conspicuous from the fact that the lateral rectrices next to the outermost one on either side are nearly three times longer than the other feathers, and are curved, and cross each other near their centre. The head also has a somewhat lengthened black crest. It is very common in Jamaica, where considerable numbers may be seen at one time performing their aerial evolu- tions, chasing each other, or feeding from the various flowers. They do not always probe these Avhen on the wing, but may be seen thus engaged when sitting near them on the branch. The nest is composed of silk cotton, the outside quite covered with spider's webs, and bits of lichens and bark stuck in here and there. The eggs are oval 452 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. and when fresh have a reddish tinge from the thinness of the shells. The general color of the plumage is green, from a dark shade to lustrous emerald. Topaza contains two gorgeously colored large species with peculiarly formed tails, which are rounded, the feathers on either side of central pair narrow and elongated far beyond the rest, and crossing each other. T. 2>ella, an inhabitant of Cayenne, Trinidad, and Brazil, is something of a recluse, dwelling in the heart of the forest near to rivers or lonely and dark creeks. He comes out of his retreat before sunrise, but returns as soon as the bright rays have lit up the landscape, coming out again just after sunset. The nest is deep, of a cup-shape, formed of a kind of fungus resembling tinder, and united by cobwebs or similar material. The male is very beautiful, having the back shining red changing to orange-red 011 the rump ; the throat metallic green- ish-yellow with a topaz hue in the centre ; the rest of lower parts are shining crimson ; upper tail-coverts light bronze-green ; the under coverts golden-green ; middle rec- trices bronze-green, next two dark purple, remainder reddish-buff ; the head, bill, lores, and line encircling the throat, black. The genus Eusteplianus contains three species, from Chili and the islands of Juan Fernandez and Masafuera. They are large birds, the metallic hues of their plumage being confined to the top of the heads. In two species the females possess an entirely different dress, and from the fact that their crowns were also metallic, for a long time it was supposed they represented distinct species. Jlemistephania, jBourcieria, ITelianthea, and Diplilogcena, all contain beautiful species, some of them being among the most brilliantly colored of the Trochilidre. They are almost all large birds, with long lance-like bills, and for the most part dressed in shining hues of lustrous metallic colors. JBourcieria inca from Peru and Bolivia may be selected as representing one type of beauty. This lovely species has a jet-black head, with a luminous metallic emerald-green spot in the forehead, which shines like a brilliant star in the midst of its sombre surroundings. A broad band of deep buff crosses the breast and covers the sides of the neck ; rest of plumage glittering metallic grass-green, and bronzy-green, most brilliant in certain lights. The lateral rectrices are white, tipped with bronzy-green. This bird is found on the eastern slope of the Andes, at an elevation of 10,000 feet, and resorts to a shrub bearing red wax- like flowers. It visits every flower in succession, never passing by a single one, is very conspicuous on the wing, and has a very rapid flight. Beautiful, however, as is the bird just described, it is far surpassed in the splendor of its decoration by the Diphlogcena iris and D. hesperus from Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. These mar- vellous creatures have the forehead metallic scolden-oreen, chan