Library
of the

University of Toronto

•?V^

*

The Swift, Chimney Swallow, House Martin, and
Sand Martin.

THE OBSERVING EYE” SERIES.

WHAT IS A BIRD

THE

FORMS OF BIRDS, THEIR INSTINCTS, AND
USE IN CREATION CONSIDERED.

BY MRS. WRIGHT,

Author of “ The Globe Prepared for Man” “ Listen and Lear
“ rlhe Passover Feasts ,” “ Our World ; its Pocks
and Fossils ,” <§c., fyc.

“ Talk ye of all kis wondrous works.” Ps. cy. 2.
“All thy works shall praise Thee.” Ps. cxlv.

SECOND EDITION.

LONDON:

JARROLD AND SONS, 12, PATERNOSTER ROW.

PREFACE.

Bird-nesting- and bird-hunting have always been objects
of lively pursuit with young people. In the spring of
1856, this tendency being actively displayed at a boys’
school, an attempt was made by weekly lectures on the
instincts, forms, and uses of birds, to direct the ardour of
the lads into an intelligent interest for the feathered trib.es
around them. The plan succeeded beyond the most
sanguine hopes of the Lecturer. The thoughtless cruelty
of the boys decreased, and the new subjects thus presented
to their minds, raised the tone of their general con¬
versation.

On its being finally resolved to publish the lectures,
they were submitted to the inspection of John Henry
Gurney, Esq., who kindly overlooked the series, and
suggested several valuable hints, in addition to those
drawn from the works of Cuvier, Yarrell, Mudie, and by
permission from the private notes of Charles Buxton, Esq.

Buxton , April, 1857.

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CONTENTS.

LECTURE PAGE

1. How DO YOU KNOW A BIRD? * ... 7

2. Differences in the forms of birds from

THOSE OF OTHER ANIMALS ... ... 1

3. Why were birds made? ... ... 25

4. Different groups of birds, and on in¬

stinct and reason ... ... ... 31

5. Basket-work nests ... ... 45

6. Nests lined with woven hair and wool 60

7. Various Tropical and European nests 71

8. Flat nests, and the care of birds for

their young ... ... ... 82

9. Mud nests ... ... ... 94

10. The bird in the egg ... ... ... 104

11. On migration, the eggs of birds, and

THE LOVE OF PARENT BIRDS ... 112

12. The bones of birds ... ... ... 128

13. Joints and muscles of birds ... 139

14. The back and breastbones of birds ... 151

15. Feathers of birds ... ... 159

16. The oil bag, and spring of birds in flight 168

17. On the feet and heads of birds ... 177

18. The beaks of birds of prey ... 191

6

CONTENTS.

LECTURE

PAGE

19.

Beaks and feet of seed

AND INSECT-

FEEDING BIRDS

• . .

204

20.

Climbing birds

• • • • • •

216

21.

Birds that feed on insects

IN FLIGHT

235

22.

Grass-treading and wading

BIRDS ...

250

23.

Worm-feeding birds, powers of diges-

TION, ETC.

tit

263

24.

Swimming birds

• • • 4 • •

272

25.

On THE CAUSE OF VOICE

4 4 4

278

26.

On THE VOICES OF BIRDS

• • ♦ 4 • 4

300

27.

Conclusion

315

WHAT IS A BIRD ?

&

f cdwc <®t».

HOW DO YOU KNOW A BIRD ?

> Boys ! when walking in the fields to-day, did
yon chance to see any birds pass by ? I thought,
before yon replied, what you might say; “0

yes, we saw sparrows, robins, rooks, and two
partridges ; and besides those birds, we saw
the governor’s hens and ducks.” Very well,
you have given me the names of a few of our
feathered neighbours, can you go a little further
and tell me anything of their private histories ?
You saw the field birds as they winged their

way from tree to tree, and you heard their

warbling notes rise from the hedgerows, but
from whence did those birds come ? what had
they been about ? and what were they going

B

WHAT IS A BIRD ?

to do ? To know something of their intentions,
creates an intelligent love for them ; it makes
yon feel them as pleasant acquaintances.

Birds are always about us ; they are not like
lions and tigers, afar off and out of view ; some
kind of bird or other is always rising and spreading
itself out in the free air, as if to court our notice.
To be alive to its modes of flying, feeding,
the places it mostly frequents, the nest it builds,
where it lives in the summer, and flies to in the
winter, are all sources of animated pleasure ;
more so than any one can imagine, who has
not begun to think of and to watch the pro¬
ceedings of birds.

There is also much advantage in knowing
the habits of birds, since ignorance is sometimes
the cause of needless alarm. When a poor
little chimney swallow has the misfortune to
tumble out of its mother’s nest, which she had
made for it low down in a chimney shaft, in
order to preserve it from owls and other enemies,
its rattling descent by the side of the sooty
bricks, has often startled the people of the
house : and the moment the poor frightened
little bird has spread its wings in the room
into which it has fallen, it has been driven
about and hooted at, as something very frightful

highlanders’ alarm.

9

and evilly disposed, instead of being treated
as a shiftless, helpless fellow- creature in mis¬
fortune.

Still more serious was the alarm that ignorance
occasioned to a. party of Scotch Highlanders
while on their march through a vast forest in
America. These men, in the service of the
Hudson Bay Company, halted one night amid
the lofty trees of that old forest, which had
been growing up for centuries. As the evening
advanced, a solemn sensation crept over their
minds. The dark stems of the tall trees seemed
to grow larger beneath the shades of night, and
the gloomy effect of their own densely crowning
foliage. Not a sound was to be heard far off or near ;
one intense stillness prevailed, and as the men
opened their packages to prepare for their night’s
lodging, many a strange and foolish tale of
wandering spirits rose up in their memories.

In this excited state they became still more
uncomfortable by discovering they were close to
a tomb, which the wild Indians, according to
their frequent custom, had raised in the deep
recesses of the forest. However they quietly
took their supper, and were piling wood on
their fires before going to rest, when a slow
dismal sound fell on their ears : it rose so close

10

WHAT IS A BIRD ?

to them, and came bo suddenly, all were startled.
None of them knew what sound it was, and
they at once concluded that so strangely hollow
and unearthly a voice, must he the moaning
of the buried Indian, whose repose they had
disturbed, by taking pieces of timber from his
tomb for their fires. They could not sleep
for terror, and the very men who would have
fought like tigers in a battle with their fellow-
men, at the first dawn of day packed up
their goods, and hastily ran away. And from
what do you think they ran ? From an owl !
In those dense forests, numerous birds live
a free and happy life. Had they known this,
they might have searched for the disturber of
their sleep, for it was near at . hand ; but no
one among them it seems had ever heard that
the horned Virginian owl lives among the gloomy
depths of these vast forests, often causing them
to resound with its loud hallooing night
cry. Its notes uttered in a low hollow tone,
and coming from among the gigantic trees, is
said to bear some resemblance to the human
voice, so that travellers are not unusually led
astray, by taking its shouts for the voice of a
man. The Indians stand in awe of these owls,
and any one who presumes to mimic their

WHERE BIRDS ARE FOUND.

11

hootings, becomes an object of their high
displeasure.

Very little knowledge of the habits of such
birds would have removed the alarm of the
brave Highlanders, and might have led some of
them to look for this owl, or to have listened
with delight to its native wild notes.

A mind that has some information, is always
gathering up fresh stores ; it knows how to take
advantage of what the eyes see and the ears
hear ; and birds, as we said, are always at hand.
They are found in the fields, in gardens, in
streets, and on marshes and commons. Over
rivers and lakes they spread their broad wings,
and as they skim the ocean, or soar above its
broad waves, they have frequently rejoiced the
mariner when far, far away from land. /

A small bird called the sea swallow or tern,
once enlivened by its presence a company of

starving sailors, and inspired them with fresh
courage. Their ship, the Lady Hobart, in

sailing from America to England, struck upon
an iceberg ; the men were obliged to quit
their sinking vessel and betake themselves to
their boats. Unsheltered in their boats, they
drifted day after day and night after night

over the stormy waters, every hour expecting to

12

WHAT IS A BIRD ?

be swallowed up by the roaring waves which
dashed frequently over them. On the evening
of the sixth day (after they had left their
foundered ship) their spirits sank within them ;
hope seemed gone. Hungry, wet, and cold, how
could they expect in their feeble state to see
land again ! Whilst in this state of mind, and
as the shades of night were setting in, a beau-

One species of Tern.

tiful light grey bird, web-footed, not unlike
a dove in size and plumage, came hovering
over them, and excited their attention. The bird
was a small tern or sea swallow, and continued
fluttering around them till dark, often attempt-

SHIPWRECKED MARINERS.

18

ing, notwithstanding the pitching of the boat, to
perch on the mast.

Trifling as this circumstance may appear, the
bird was considered to be a good omen. “ The
impressive manner,” said one of the mariners,

“ in which it left us, and then returned to gladden
us with its presence, awakened feelings of hope,
and we indulged ourselves with the most com¬
fortable assurance, that the same Hand which
had sent the bird to solace us in our distresses,
would extricate us from surrounding dangers.”

It was well of the shipwrecked mariners to
turn this small event to profit ; to see the Hand
of God in it : and as they beheld the light and
delicate form of that bird sustained in life and
health amid the dreary scene, to take courage in
the belief that they were of more value to their
Creator and Redeemer than all the feathered fowl
in the universe.

And now, boys ! let me ask you a question.
It is this : How do you know a bird when you see
it? What is there in its form that makes you
say, “ There goes a bird ?” You answer, “ It has
feathers, and it flies.” And so do bats fly, and
some fish fly ; yet neither of these creatures
have feathers. And again, some birds that have
feathers never fly at all — they only run : besides,

B

14

WHAT IS A BIRD ?

when a bird is not moving, you still say it is a
bird. Take this dead bird in your hand and
examine it; you see it has a head, eyes, ears,
nostrils, but neither lips nor teeth. Has any
other living creature such a mouth ? A pair of
pincers made of horn ! or as they are sometimes
termed, two mandibles ; the lower one of which
works up and down.* The body of the bird is
something like the form of a long basket or
boat, and most of its length is set in firm bone.
The chest, you see, is broad, and the body ends
with a tail, spread out like a rudder. On its
sides are several long bones moved by hinges ;
these hinges enable the bird to fold the bones
together or to stretch them out, somewhat as
we move our arms. When covered with feathers
these bones form the wing. The lower part of
the bird’s leg is without flesh, and is clothed
with a scaly skin : you see it has no regular
feet, it has only three jointed toes in front, and
one behind.

Now look at the outward clothing of this
bird. It is neither that of fur, hair, nor
scales, but is composed of two sorts of feathers ;

* A few other animals may he said to possess beaks,
but they are different in form and construction to
the birds’.

HOW A BIRD IS KNOWN.

15

first, warm down, tliat by pressure mats close to
the skin, and over the down are arranged
beautifully painted feathers of various lengths.
Is there any other creature like it ? No,
neither fish, reptile, insect, nor beast. Birds
stand out as a distinct class of living things,
outwardly known by their beaks, wings, feet,
and feathers. Naturalists, who look deeper
than the outside, and examine their internal
construction, tell us they know a bird to be a
bird and nothing else, by the form of the breast¬
bone and merry-thought, two bones different in
shape to those possessed by any other animal.

The next evening we meet, we shall have to
notice still further differences by which birds are
distinguished from other living creatures. /

PAGK

Of what tribe of living creatures have we been

speaking ? . . . . .7

When we know something of the history of

birds, how do we feel towards them ? . 8

Where are birds to be found? . , .11

By what is a bird’s head distinguished from

other animals ? . . . 14

What are on its sides ? . . . .14

b 2

16

WHAT IS A BIRD ?

How are its legs and feet made ?

What are the four outside parts of a bird, by
which we can distinguish it from other
animals

What bones are peculiar to birds ?

PAGE

14

15

15

f

(*A/VV\A/'A/V\AA/

DIFFERENCES IN THE FORMS OF BIRDS FROM
THOSE OF OTHER ANIMALS.

On our table lies a dead bird ; handle it, and
examine its figure. Consider for a moment the
form of its body, or those peculiar marks by
which a bird is distinguished from other animals.
Do you remember what they are ? “ The beak,

wings, feet, breast-bone, and merry-thought.”/
Birds occupy an important and distinct place
in the world ; but before we enter upon their
particular histories, let us notice the formations
of a few other animals, that we may the better
understand the exquisite skill with which birds
have been fitted for their place, and in what way
their peculiar bodies have been linked, in their
general characters, to the rest of the living

b 8

18 DIFFERENCES IN THE FORMS OF BIRDS.

creatures on earth. First then let us notice
some of the varied forms to be seen in the
mouths of animals.

Those creatures which possess but a small
quantity of life, such as corals and star-fishes,
have their mouths placed in the
centre of their arms or moving
powers, something as the yel¬
low summit of a daisy is placed
in the middle of its white
flowerets.

The mouths of insects are
furnished with a variety of instruments, by
which they are able to hew, cut, pierce, smooth
down, and crunch. In other instances they are
supplied with pliable sucker trunks, such as the
fly possesses.

Higher animals have an opening in the bones
of the head, protected by soft lips ; and the
two jaws within the mouth are furnished with
hard enamelled teeth ; but a bird’s mouth is
unlike any of these ; it stands forward as a
horny tube, more or less ending in a point.
This pointed beak acts for the bird like the
front teeth in the higher orders of animals ; it
seizes hold of, and cracks the food ; while the
gizzard inside the bird’s body, answers the

BENEFIT OF A POINTED BEAK. 19

purpose which double teeth serve in other
animals, that of rubbing the food to a pulp.
When we consider the life a bird is intended
to lead, that is, to be continually darting
through the liquid air, often at the rate of fifty
miles an hour, can you imagine any form of
head better suited for the use of such a crea¬
ture ? When men prepare a wedge to drive into
wood, they make the end thin, that it may
glide easily between the opening sides : an awl
is made fine at the point, that it may pierce
quickly. Now the bird’s pointed beak opens for
its body just such a passage in the air, and so
sensible are birds of the benefit of a point in
pushing forwards, that you may often observe
that sea-gulls and other birds, when taking long
flights, form themselves into the shape of a

wedge ~ _ ; and because the one that

first cuts the track has the hardest work, they
often change places, the last coming up to take
the foremost point, whilst the previous leader
falls back.

The wings of a bird again are unlike those of
any other flying creatures. One species of fish
is said to fly, but it is only so long as the fins of
those fishes are wet, that they can rise above
the waters. Bats fly, and insects fly, but none

20 DIFFERENCES IN THE FORMS OF BIRDS

of these creatures move with the powerful
actions of the bird. The delicate thin wings of
an insect are formed of air-tubes covered with
skins so fine, that strong winds break them to
pieces. The wings of birds, on the contrary,
are thick and firm, and without injuring them,
the bird can dash on through severe storms,
flapping forcibly against the air, as the paddles
of a steam ship flap against water. The
bones in the wings of birds are remarkably
strong. The muscles that move them are very
tough, and the feathers that cover their wings
are of the stiffest kind. The delicate wings of
an insect lie flat on the air ; the firm wings of
the bird bend over the aii% something as the
concave top of a watch-glass ; by having this
form, the air underneath assists in buoying them
up.

Birds and insects both fly, but as you know,
their bodies are by no means fashioned alike.
Birds approach much nearer in form and in nature
to four-footed beasts. They have flesh, blood,
and bones, which flies and beetles have not.
They have, like quadrupeds, four limbs for
motion, while the lowest number amongst insects
is six and eight. But on looking at a bird, you
will see that in its body, the situation the quadru-

FROM THOSE OF OTHER ANIMALS. 21

ped’s two front legs take, is changed in that of
the bird ; for, to enable the creature to glide
through the air, its front limbs are made to strike
out horizontally from the sides, while its two
hind legs are left in a perpendicular position,
to serve for pillars' of support, whenever the
winged creature alights on the ground.

Again, the feet of birds are unlike those of
all other animals. Amongst the lowest animals,
the hydra in our ditches, which looks like a
piece of green stalk, walks by its sucker tail,
drawing it up to its head, then stretching it

forth, and again bringing the tail close up ; and
thus the hydra contrives to creep on at the
rate of a few inches or feet in a day.* Worms
glide over the ground by shortening the mus¬
cles that lie between the rings in their bodies ;
and some have bunches of hair on the outside
of each ring, to give them additional help in

* See “Observing Eye,” 1st vol., p. 33.

22 DIFFERENCES IN THE FORMS OF BIRDS

moving. Crabs sidle and scrape with their
eight legs along the wet sands, whilst lobsters
spring and crawl.

The legs of insects are finished off at their
tips with either pads, cushions, hairs, or suckers.
The four legs of beasts end in fleshy feet, that
are either covered with horny hoofs, or tipped
with toes and sharp claws. Man, like the bird,
is a biped, or two-legged animal ; his legs are
long, fleshy, muscular, and end in flat feet with
ten toes. The feet of birds differ from all those
we have named ; they are simply composed of a
few thin toes, formed of bones, muscles, and
skin ; the shapes of their toes are, however, much
varied ; and it is interesting to notice how
admirably their wide-spreading feet are adapted
to the habits of their owners, whether it be to
enable them to stand, hop, walk, roost, climb,
or swim.

Insects have no jointed neck ; quadrupeds
and birds have. Did you ever notice how
closely the head of a sparrow appears to lie
upon its shoulders, almost as if it had no neck ?
It is true that the sparrow has but a short one,
but notwithstanding that, it has nine delicate
little bones in its short length, which play and
roll upon each other with such ease, that the

FROM THOSE OF OTHER ANIMALS.

28

bird can move its bead with a rapidity our eyes
cannot follow. The length of neck in birds, as
you must have seen, greatly varies. In the
arched neck of the stately swan, are twenty-
three beautifully rolling joints. Most birds
have not half that number ; yet all their necks
move with a quickness, that shows that their
Maker planned that birds should both require
and enjoy rapidity of action in the movements of
the head.

Wood-peckers tap upon wood for insects ; and
such birds as herons and bitterns, strike into
water for fish, with a quickness that prevents
our counting the strokes. A bird is ever bob¬
bing its head forwards, sideways, and backwards,
rolling it in every direction, looking up in the
air, down on the ground, burying it under the
wing, or laying it flat on its back.

The human finger performs a great variety of
work, but its movements are few compared to
those of a bird’s bill, most of which depend
upon the quick and changing actions of the
neck.

We shall have next to consider why birds and
other living creatures abound, and the kinds
of food upon which they are intended to subsist. V

24

DIFFERENCES IN THE FORMS OF BIRDS.

PAGE

What lias been the subject of this chapter? . 17

Where are the mouths of the lowest animals .

placed? . . . . ,18

With what instruments are the mouths of

insects supplied ? . . . .18

With what are the mouths of the highest
animals furnished ? . . . .18

How does the mouth of a bird stand forward ? . 18

What is the advantage of a bird’s beak ? . 18

What makes the wings of a bird strong ? . 20

In what respects do birds resemble beasts
more than insects ? . . . .20

Can you name the differences of contrivance
in the walking powers of hydras, worms,
crabs, insects, beasts, man, and birds ? . 21,22

What is remarkable about the necks of birds V 22, 23

WHY WERE BIRDS MADE?

/

In this chapter we are to continue our general
survey of animal life, of which birds form one
of the most lively and beautiful portions. No
place on the face of the globe is quite exempt
from the presence of birds ; even the dry deserts
of Africa have their feathered inhabitants. / In
them the ostrich finds a home, and may be seen
with its two toes, padded heel, and strong mus¬
cular legs, running over scorching sands with the
fleetness of a race-horse. In grassy fields, on low
marshy grounds, and on the waters, are thousands
upon thousands of birds. And were you to try to
count up the tree and bush birds, which make the
woods jocund with their voices, you would find that
they exceed in number all the other kinds put
together.

Does any one enquire for what purpose such

c

26

WHY WERE BIRDS MADE ?

hosts of birds have been created ? Such a question
is worth the asking. It makes us think, and it
sends us to our hibles. There we learn that the
Almighty Creator of this world delights in life
and in action ; and that to carry out His purpose
of spreading good, it pleased Him at the first, to
create upon the earth a great variety of plants
and animals. We shall find that He ordained
that grasses and trees should multiply by seed,
and that He commanded the living creatures which
move on the earth to multiply exceedingly ; His
purpose being, that as each one died, it should
leave behind it many more like itself.

Such an ordering of things must speedily have
filled the earth with plants and living creatures
to overflowing, had not our God again ordained
that the over-abundance should become a source
of food to the living families. Accordingly He
gave to His various creatures different inclinations
and different instruments, by which each tribe in
its place, might he able to assist in clearing off the
surplus produce.

Insects, while in their grub states, were ap¬
pointed to consume young leaves, and all kinds of
decaying vegetable and animal substances. Some
beasts were to devour other wild animals. Others
to feed upon the grasses and plants that cover the

WORK BIRDS HAVE TO DO.

27

face of the earth. Four-footed beasts were not
made to climb high enough to gather the berries
and seeds of tall trees. Birds that fly were there¬
fore appointed to be the devourers of seeds, as well
as to feast upon the numerous tribes of insects,
which from the vastness of their numbers, and
from their powers of stinging and biting, have been
called in scripture by the terrible name of “ armies
of the living God.”

Unless birds or some other creatures had been
appointed to keep these hosts of insects in con¬
trol, they would quickly have filled the air and the
waters. Birds have, therefore, a great work to
do ; they have to clear off a large amount of vege¬
table produce, in order that the world may not
become one interminable forest ; and they have
also to keep down the armies of insects, which
would otherwise rapidly devour the food intended
for man. Viewed in this light, birds are the
friends of man, and for their works’ sake, they
deserve his gratitude. ^

It is evident that when the Lord our God made
this world, He not only desired to fill it with a vast
amount of life and enjoyment, but that He also
intended life should be kept up, and always going
on in a healthful state. All His arrangements
bespeak this intention.,/ A constant movement is

c 2

28

WHY WERE BIRDS MADE ?

ever to be seen ; nothing stands quite still ; one
part of the creation is always helping to balance or
to feed the other. The light gases that form the
air, the waters that flow, and the earths of the soil
when in a muddy state, are all continually being
sucked in by the delicate cells of vegetables ; and
in their cells, the raw materials collected from the
air, water, and earths, become changed into dif¬
ferent substances, among which are found much
gluten,* sugar, and starch. f Thus most of the
podded plants, grasses, mosses, and heaths, yield
excellent provision for living creatures. Animals
nourished by feeding upon these vegetables in¬
crease rapidly, and by the Divine order, their
bodies in some instances become a source of food
for creatures that are appointed to feed upon the
nourishing substance of flesh. The command given
to “ arise, slay, and eat,” is an order fraught with
good. Among birds and wild animals it often
proves a command of mercy. The injured and the
sick, having no nurse or friend to attend upon
them, are by this means quickly put out of their
sufferings, and by the food their bodies yield,
healthful life is supported.

*

Gluten, from glue or paste, f Starch, a kind of stiff
vegetable gum ; it abounds in the potatoe.

INSTINCT IN ANIMALS TO KILL.

29

We are thus taught that to destroy for food is an
ordering in nature : at the same time observation
teaches us that cruelty does not belong to the
natures of either birds or beasts. They seldom
attack but in self-defence, or with a desire to kill
for eating, and then instinct leads them to kill
their strong prey in the quickest possible way,
usually seizing it by its head or neck, that its
resistance may be less troublesome. A lion, when
he throws down a man, will search for his throat ;
and in catching a rabbit, a cat will grasp at the
neck, and is often known to bring home in triumph
the headless body. In some cases, where the
animal which is caught is too feeble to resist, the
instinct to kill quickly is not called into action ; a
cat will therefore play with a mouse, and a stronger
bird will sometimes rob a weaker one. The skua-
gulls will rob the terns of the food they have
caught, and the bald eagle will rob the osprey
eagle of the fish he has taken from under the
waves.

It is a fact, and a sad one too, that cruelty or
the love of inflicting pain, is peculiar to man.
An eagle or an owl that seizes upon a living
creature for food, is as innocent and as free from
the crime of real cruelty, as the canary bird that
picks up its seeds. The bird of prey and the

c 3

30

WHY WERE BIRDS MADE ?

gentle warbler are both of them carrying out the
orders of their Maker. They are both of them
working unconsciously according to His laws, and
supporting one another in keeping up that glorious
system of change, health, and beauty, which is
established around us.

Next time we meet, we shall have to speak of
the groups into which birds are divided. *

PAGE

What has been the chief subject of our discourse
this evening ? — (The increase of animals.) . 26

Why have animals been made to multiply
so abundantly? — (To increase the general
amount of enjoyment and healthful life.) . 27

Why is the charge of cruelty removed from
birds and beasts, although they kill living
creatures ? . . .29

ON DIFFERENT GROUPS OF BIRDS, AND ON
INSTINCT AND REASON.

Have any portions of our late conversation on
birds, led you to watch with new interest the busy
wings moving through the air ? You have all
received two great blessings, sharp eyes for seeing,
and quick ears for hearing. With the eye, the
soul looks into the world as through a window, and
thence gathers up new ideas. ✓ With the ear it
collects sounds, as by a hearing trumpet. How
have you employed these gifts within the last few
days ? Upon what sights and sounds have you
been dwelling ? The character of your souls de¬
pends as much upon these things, as the colour of
water depends upon the white, red, brown, or blue
soil over which it runs.

32

ON DIFFERENT GROUPS OF BIRDS.

The works of our Maker afford us thousands
of motives for offering Him daily praise. He has
implanted in our hearts a love for the notice of
His handiworks ; and it has been remarked that
as soon as nations turn from a barbarous state,
they invariably begin to study the histories of
plants and animals. Natural history is a kind of
book in God’s providence that lies open to the
eyes of all, and as it is studied, it refines the
mind, and throws an interest over the commonest
objects around us. I want you to be awake to its
enjoyment. Some people think so little of what
they see, that they never put a second thought
to their first slight notice. It is doubtful whether
they would know the difference between a crow
and a rook, or that on the sparrow’s back there
are two hues of brown ; yet the attentive notice
of such differences, is the ground-work of intelli¬
gent observation, by which we store up knowledge.

When we met last, we spoke of the vast amount
of life which exists on the face of the earth. We
shall now confine our attention to that beautiful
portion of the living creation, the feathered tribes.
A careful study of these tribes is no light busi¬
ness, for so numerous are the varieties of birds,
that naturalists have already given names to nine
thousand species, and are at this time adding to

MODE OF GROUPING BIRDS.

38

the number by fresh discoveries in the woods of
America and Australia.* To remember the names
of nine thousand species of birds, with all their
different habits, exceeds the power of any one per¬
son ; naturalists have therefore found it needful to
divide birds into groups or orders ; but even this
has been attended with much difficulty, since fami¬
lies of birds so nearly resemble each other, that to
class them, is almost like trying to distinguish
where one tint in the rainbow ends and another
begins. Neither the sizes nor the shapes of birds,
nor the colours of their plumage, afford any good
clue by which to divide them into groups. The
latest mode of division has been grounded upon
the forms of their bills and feet ; since it has been
found that the bills and feet of birds, as well as
the general structure of their bodies, have been
made with a view to help their feeding propen¬
sities.

To obtain all possible knowledge on these two
points of form, naturalists have kept their eyes
open ; they have read many books, and written

* The most complete museum in the world is supposed
to be at Philadelphia ; the British Museum, the Leyden
Museum, and the Jardin des Plantes stand next ; there
are very good museums at Frankfort and Vienna, also a
very good one at Calcutta.

34

ON DIFFERENT GROUPS OF BIRDS.

to people in all parts of the world, and at length
birds have been arranged under the following five
heads : —

1. Birds of the air, or the highest soarers. —

Birds of prey are among these.

2. Birds of the trees. — Perchers and climbers.

3. Birds of the ground. — Runners and scratchers.

4. Birds of the mud. — Waders.

5. Birds of the water. — Swimmers.

Beak of birds of prey, called Raptores.

The high- soaring birds of the air have hard
hooked beaks, and strong hooked talons on their
toes. They seize upon and tear to pieces birds,
animals, and sometimes fish ; frequently carrying
their victims to their lofty dwelling-places on trees
or high rocks. Flesh-eating birds are termed birds
of prey, this makes the first group or order ; among
which are the eagles, vultures, hawks, and owls.*/1

* Tlie learned name for birds of prey is Kaptores ;
they are sometimes called Accipetres.

THE FIVE ORDERS.

85

Most of the birds which perch, such as rooks,
sparrows, blackbirds, and finches, eat fruits, seeds,
insects, slugs, and worms. Some of these seed

Foot of birds of prey, called Raptores.

and insect feeders have short strong bills, others
have long straight ones. They have three toes in
front, and one low down behind, quite on a level

Foot of perchers, called Incessores.

with the front toes. With these four toes they
cling round branches. Most of the climbers, like
the woodpecker, have two toes before and two
behind.* These make the second order.

* The learned name for perchers is Incessores ; some
persons call them Passeres, or little birds.

36

ON DIFFERENT GROUPS OF BIRDS.

The birds that are runners and scratchers, we
call game and poultry fowls. * These birds gene¬
rally eat their food as they stand on the ground.
They have strong thick beaks, three toes in front,
and generally one high up behind.

The fourth group is composed of birds that wade
in mud and shallow water, such as the flamingoes,
herons, snipes, &c. These birds have usually
long beaks, long legs and toes.f

Frequent character of -wader’s foot and leg.

The fifth group is composed of birds that make
the water their natural home. They have broad
and often softish beaks with webbed feet, like the
duck, albatross, and gull. \

The frigate bird is web-footed, and being a high
soarer, joins the water birds to the birds of the
air, and so makes the circle of birds complete.

* Game and poultry fowls are called Gallinida?.
f The learned name for wading birds is Grallatores. '

+ The learned name for web-footed birds is ISTatatores.

BIRDS LIVE ON THE EARTH AND IN THE AIR. 87

Birds are inhabitants of the same earth as
that upon which yon and I stand. They sleep
on its surface, they feed on its surface, and rear
their young on its surface ; and besides this,
they live where you and I cannot ; high up in the
thin transparent air that surrounds our globe.
On that air they throw much of the weight of
their bodies ; through it they are frequently dart¬
ing hither and thither in an extasy of joy, or
gliding onwards as smoothly as ships in full sail.

D

/

38

ON DIFFERENT GROUPS OF BIRDS.

Nothing can exceed the light, buoyant, and
graceful effect of a bird’s movements, as it cuts
its way through the liquid atmosphere.

But how comes it to pass that the bodies of
birds, which weigh from one ounce and a half, to
twelve and sometimes thirty pounds, should be
kept up in the air ; when, if only a feather fall
from off the soft plumage of the bird, down it
sinks, drawn to the earth by the same power of
attraction that keeps us from rising above it ?
As our lectures proceed, you may perhaps learn
why a bird can float ; but the living act of
flying is a mystery we shall never perfectly
understand.

Did you ever notice the rate at. which a bird
darts forward ? Steam carriages go at a snail’s
pace compared to the flight of some of the
feathered tribes. The usual speed of a sparrow
is thirty miles in the hour ; but when alarmed, it
rushes on at the rate of one hundred. Partridges
fly at about the rate of sixty-eight miles in the
hour. This speed was ascertained by a person
looking at his watch, the moment a partridge
rose from the ground, and as it tipped over a
distant hedge, noticing how many seconds had
passed. By the same mode of watching time
and distance, an eagle in the Pyrenean moun-

RAPID FLIGHT OF BIRDS.

39

tains lias been seen to fly from the point
of one rock to another, at the rate of little
short of one hundred and forty miles in the
hour. The common swallow flies ninety miles
an hour, and the swift one hundred and eighty

miles. Pigeons have been shot in the forests

¥

of America, with fresh coffee berries in their
crops, although the nearest coffee plantations
were three and four hundred miles distant.
Had the berries remained in their warm moist
bodies above four or five hours, they would have
been injured ; consequently, since they were
fresh, the pigeons must have flown at the rate
* of a mile and a quarter each minute. But of all
birds, the jer-falcon cleaves the air the most
rapidly ; one hundred miles is its usual rate of
movement, but when darting with wild im¬
petuosity upon its prey, it will double and treble
that swiftness ; being thought, by its meteor-like
speed, to cut through the air at the rate of one
thousand miles in the hour. /

Birds often display in their works such
consummate skill and such acuteness for the
general good of their own tribes, as both
astonishes and delights those who narrowly
watch them. Yet they lack one thing you and
I possess, and that is, a mind able to think upon

40

ON DIFFERENT GROUPS OF BIRDS.

unseen and spiritual things ; without which power,
no living creature can know the mighty and
ever blessed God who has made it. But while
birds possess no power of knowing their Creator,
He has certainly bestowed upon them some
memory, and a low train of thought connected
with their pleasures and fears. I lately saw a
fine bullfinch, which gave striking proofs of
possessing both these qualities. This bird,
singular to say, had been taught to sound a few
words after the fashion of parrots. It was a
great favourite with the family to whom it
belonged, and on their visiting Paris for the
winter of 1856, they took the bullfinch with
them. Whilst in that city, the bird ceased to
talk, and could not be induced by notice or
entreaty to utter a single sound, dr even to leave
its cage, although the door was frequently left
open. On the return of the family the following
spring, the bird had no sooner been landed at
Sandgate, than it bowed its head, and said, to
every one who approached it, “Pretty Dick!
Sweet Dick! Pretty boy!” and when replaced
on its stand by the library window at its former
home, its joy was unbounded, quickly flying to the
breakfast table for its accustomed gifts. This con¬
duct shewed that the bird was able to form a

INSTINCT IN BIRDS.

41

judgment upon its two situations, and to make a
choice. But in most of their proceedings, birds
act without premeditation, only accomplishing the
things their Maker has taught them. They never
go back in knowledge, and never improve by expe¬
rience, excepting when they live with man, by
whom, as in the case of the bullfinch, we see that
they may be taught a few lessons.

A South American vulture, which had lost one
leg, and had been partly tamed by its owner,
shewred some power of memory and calculation, for
on those days of the week, when the monks of two
different monasteries distributed food to the poor,
the vulture was sure at the right hour to fly from
one to the other, to obtain his chance of a share,
although the two establishments were several miles
apart from each other.

Do you remember the name that is given to that
excellent but blind impulse in animals which leads
them to work aright ? — To that impulse which
leads them to act well without instruction, without
experience ?

“It is called Instinct .”

Instinct is not a large, but it is a most finished
gift. It leads creatures without thought to accom¬
plish well, things that are needful for their good ;
and not only things which are necessary for their

42 ON DIFFERENT GROUPS OF BIRDS,

every-day good, but this blind impulse often in¬
duces birds and other animals to prepare for, and
to overcome accidental difficulties. Amongst the
swans that live on the banks of the Thames, this
perfection of instinct has often been noticed. At
times the waters of the river swell, and when this
happens at the season the birds are sitting on their
eggs, they have been seen, before the rush of
waters has come down, busily employed in raising
their nests, in order to save their eggs from being
washed away by the flood. Lord Braybroke tells
us, that a swan which had for eighteen years
built her nest on the same part of the river banks,
was one spring, while sitting on four or five eggs,
observed to be anxiously collecting weeds and
grasses to raise her nest. A farming man was
ordered to carry her down half a load of straw and
rubbish, and with this litter she most industriously
lifted her nest two feet and a half higher. That
very night there came a tremendous fall of rain,
which flooded the neighbouring grounds, and did
much damage. Man had made no preparation to
secure his property, but the bird was in safety,
having placed her eggs so high as to keep them
above, and only just above the waters. Instinct
in this instance prevailed above man’s knowledge ;
it was perfect as far as it went, because God was
its director.

AND ON INSTINCT AND REASON.

43

Yet man, being able to think deeply and to gain
knowledge by experience, possesses a capacity of
far higher value than instinct, one that can lead
him forward into vast improvement. Do you know
the term applied to this gift of thought and appli¬
cation ? — “ Reason .” Reason is a power of think¬
ing, of comparing and of selecting, by the use of
which man can treasure up, and weigh the good
and bad of what he has seen and heard, and can
afterwards bring his knowledge into use, for the
benefit of himself, and of his fellow-creatures.

The next time we meet we shall examine the
home in which a bird receives the gift of life ; its
parent’s finished and beautiful nest.

PAGE

Into how many orders are birds divided . 34

What kind of beaks and feet belong to the highest
soarers, or birds of prey ? . . .34

Upon what do the perchers feed ? . .35

What kinds of beaks and toes have the runners
and scratchers ? . . . .36

What kinds of bills and feet have the waders ? .• 36

What kinds of bills and feet have the swimmers ? 36

At what rate can the sparrow fly V .38

The pigeon, falcon, eagle, and swallow? . 39

What powers of mind do birds show ? . .40

41

ON DIFFERENT GROUPS OF BIRDS.

What is instinct ? — An impulse to do the right
thing without having had experience .

What is reason V — Comparing thoughts and bene¬
fiting by experience ....

/

PAGE

41

43

ON BASKET-WORK NESTS.

The last time we met we spoke of Instinct and
Reason. Are you aware that we ourselves, though
immortal beings, and possessing the invaluable gift
of reason, are aided in the affairs of this life by a
portion of instinct ? If a stick be held suddenly
before the face, we instinctively, without the least
thought, close the eye to protect it. A child
begins to eat by instinct. / It does not wait to be
taught ; it cries to express its want, and instinct
urges it to use its mouth in taking nourishment.
Parents love their children by a kind of instinct ;
they do not stop to think, their love comes without
thought, it is planted in the heart.

The same kind of earnest desire or impulse,
draws a bird at the right season of the year to
prepare her nest. In most of her proceedings the
parent bird shows so little thought, that a hen will

46

ON BASKET-WORK NESTS.

generally be satisfied with a piece of ivory or chalk
instead of her own egg, provided it be made of
about the same size ; but in making her nest, you
cannot deceive her, she knows how to make it
perfectly, she needs no teaching — no experience ;
her impulse is right, and if you move but a twig,
she knows it is wrong. A small canary was so
disgusted with a nest her mistress tried to make
for her, that she seized the feathers and moss
with her beak, and tore it to pieces. A sparrow
hatched in a cage, will fly to a bush as soon as it
is let loose, and at the right season, will build a
nest like other sparrows. Were a young water-
hen to be kept some time in confinement, it would
run when set at liberty to the waterside, and know
how to build its nest amidst rushes, or the roots of
trees, like other water-hens ; and when obliged to
leave the nest for food, it would instinctively cover
it over with grass or leaves, either to keep the
eggs warm, or that no eye of man or dog, rat or
bird, might see it.

Let us now proceed to examine the way in
which some birds build their nests ; then let us
consider their eggs ; and lastly, the light and
beautiful forms of the downy little creatures that
come in due time out of those eggs.

I conclude that you have seen several kinds of

MODES OF NEST-BUILDING.

47

nests ; by yOnr answer to my next question, you
will shew me how well you have used your eyes
and thoughts. “In what particulars did those
nests differ from each other?” I see you are
puzzled, therefore let me tell you, that some birds
form the outsides of their nests with dry sticks,
twisting them like basket-work. The raven, the
crow, rook, bullfinch, jay, and many other birds
build in this way.

Others dig holes in banks, and may therefore be
called mining birds. Some of these birds line the
holes they make, with hay, leaves, and with hair
or feathers. The bank-swallow, bee-eater, some
petrels, puffins, the burrowing-owl, jackdaw, king¬
fisher, and miner-lark, make nests more or less in
such holes. Others again are called mason birds,
because they build partly with clay ; amongst the
mason birds are the flamingo, nuthatch, cliff, win¬
dow, barn, and chimney- swallows. Others are
called weavers , amongst which are many small
birds, the yellow hammer, chaffinches, red-breasts,
linnets, the Bengal sparrow, and Baltimore star¬
ling. Another set of birds may be called cementers ,
such as the American chimney- swallow, and the
esculent swallow, because the nests of the last-
mentioned birds are like strong dried jelly. Some

48

ON BASKET-WORK NESTS.

have been called tailor birds, from the peculiar
mode in which they build their choice little nests.

There is always much joy and alacrity amongst
birds during the season of nest-building. The
basket-makers with quick eye and nimble beak,
search for sticks of all sorts, frequently making
choice of the most dead and brittle branches. Fly¬
ing with them into a tree, they commonly fix upon
a forked bough, as the strongest and best resting
place. When a sufficient number of rough sticks
have been laced together, so as to form an outside
wall, the little habitation is then lined with softer
materials. Some birds mat over the sticks, the
finest fibres they can draw from the roots of trees ;
others weave dried grass into a soft covering,
finishing the inside with hair and feathers.

The rook lays on the upper branches of a tall
tree a very rough foundation of dead sticks, and
then lines them with a fine basket-work of fibrous
roots. The crow adds to these, materials, a thick
mattress of wool and rabbit’s fur, which makes a
soft elastic lining, and forms a most comfortable
home for the nestlings. Rooks like to build in
company. They will often make twelve nests on
the same tree, taking care that each nest shall be
placed at a respectful distance from its neighbour.
When once a collection of rooks have settled

PROCEEDINGS OF ROOKS.

49

themselves on a tree, they scarcely ever leave it
until they find the twigs of the tree, from age or
decay, too brittle to support their nests with safety.
Ravens, rooks, and eagles, as well as all birds
that pair for life, usually build but one nest, which
they repair every year, never leaving it with their
own good will ; so that the important work of
making new nests, falls upon the young birds.

In providing themselves with a home, a pair
of young rooks have not only to obtain fresh
materials to build with, but they have also to
fix upon a new place. Every part of a tree will
not do for their purpose. Some branches may
not be sufficiently forked, others may not be
sufficiently strong, and others too much exposed
to the rocking of the wind. White of Selborne
tells us, the male and female upon this occasion,
can be seen for some days attentively examining
all the trees of the grove, and when they have
fixed upon a branch that seems fit for their pur¬
pose, that they will continue to sit upon it, and
observe it very sedulously for two or three days

J

longer. The place being at length determined
upon, they begin to gather for their nests sticks
and fibrous roots, which they regularly dispose
of in the most substantial manner. But here a
new and unexpected obstacle may arise ; it often

E

50

ON BASKET-WORK NESTS.

happens that the young couple have made choice
of a place too near the mansion of an older pair,
who do not choose to be incommoded by such
troublesome neighbours : a quarrel ensues, in
which the old ones are always victorious. The
young couple thus expelled, are obliged again
to go through the fatigues of deliberating,
examining and choosing, and having taken care
this time to keep at a due distance, they set

about rebuilding. This industry deserves com¬
mendation, but their alacrity is often too great
in the commencement. Growing weary of
searching for, and bringing up the materials for
their nest, they adopt another plan, and with
some address, but with less honesty, perceiving
that sticks may be found nearer home, away
they go to pilfering as fast as they can, and

wherever they see a nest unguarded, they take
care to rob it of the very choicest sticks of

which it is composed. These thefts never go

unpunished ; no less than eight or ten rooks
will come forward upon such occasions, and
setting upon the nest of the young couple, will
all at once break it to pieces. At length the
young pair find it necessary to go more regularly
and honestly to work, and while one flies to
fetch materials, the other will sit upon the tree

LAWS AMONG ROOKS.

51

to guard it. Thus in three or four days, after
a skirmish or two with the other rooks, the pair
will fit up a commodious nest, composed of
sticks without, and fibrous roots and long grass
within. When the female begins to lay, all
hostilities cease ; not one of the whole grove,
that had a little before behaved so rudely, will
now venture to molest her, so that she quietly
rears her brood.

Rooks appear to have laws among themselves,
and to treat an offender with much severity.
If a foreign rook should attempt to settle himself
as a member of a neighbouring colony, he
would meet with no favour ; the whole grove
would at once be up in arms against him, and
expel him without mercy.

The elder rooks also try to keep the young
ones from building far away from the old-estab¬
lished colony of nests. During a visit at a
gentleman’s house in a quiet little village, I
once saw this fact myself. I was looking out of
my window early in the morning, when I caught
sight of a country girl, who kept walking back¬
wards and forwards under a tall old tree in the
garden, around which were strewed a great
collection of broken twigs. She kept looking
up very eagerly, at the topmost boughs, and on

e 2

52

ON BASKET-WORK NESTS.

asking the family what she was doing, they
told me they had placed her there on purpose to
keep off a party of old rooks, which had been
disturbing a pair of young ones, in the act of
building their nest on a branch of the great
tree. This tree was placed at some distance
from the regular colony of birds ; and apparently
for this reason the old rooks did not approve of
the place, and three times they had torn to pieces
the almost finished nest of the young couple.
Grieved for the persecution they underwent, my
friends had sent the girl to throw sticks at the
noisy clamorous rooks, which had so protected the
young ones, that their nest was then completed.
When the girl had watched them a little longer,
they intended to have the flower beds and gravel
walks, which were strewed with twigs, swept up
and set in order. ✓

The missel thrush, that good-sized brown bird
with speckled breast, which is often hopping on
our grass plots, builds a nest as large as a moderate
sized jug. The thrush begins by making a rough
basket of rotten twigs ; this basket-work it lines
with dried grass, hay, and moss. /The inside has
next a coating of clay spread over it, and upon the
clay more fine hay, moss, and lichens are wound
round. To hide the outside of its beautiful basket-

NEST OF THE MISSEL THRUSH.

53

work, the bird then dexterously draws around it
some of the moss or lichens that cover the
branches on which it is built. At times the thrush
will catch up any odd material to place around its
nest ; a lace cap was once found woven within its
walls. But generally the nest appears as a part of
the tree, cheating the roving eye of the owl or idle
boy, by taking the appearance of a lump of moss.
But notwithstanding the care with which the -thrush
endeavours to hide its nest, an experienced observer
will soon find it out, by the dropped lichen which
lies strewed on the ground beneath it.

Some of our smaller birds make their basket-
work more delicately than either the missel thrush
or rook. If you look closely, in the summer-time,
amongst the thick growing branches of brambles
and low bushes, it is very likely you may light
upon the white-throat’s nest. No harsh sticks
stand out from the sides of that little abode ; its
basket-work is built up of the dry slender stalks
of long grasses. For this work, no stem comes
amiss, but the grass these little birds seem to love
the best, is called catch- weed. There is a slight
roughness upon the edges of the blades of this
grass, occasioned by minute ranges of prickles that
grow on its edges ; and after the beak of the bird
has once bent the grass around the cup-like little

e 8

54

ON BASKET-WORK NESTS.

nest, there is no doubt but this roughness helps to
keep the separate pieces clinging together.

The basket-work of the white-throat’s nest is
very slightly manufactured, so loosely indeed is it
put together, that the light often shines through
the meshes, but the inside is warmly lined with
moss and horse -hair, all matted so closely down,
that it looks like one compact substance.

The sedge warbler is a small bird of a yellowish
brown colour, and close to the roots of sedges and
other water plants, makes a basket-work nest of
grass stalks. This nest it thickly lines with the
blossom of reeds.

Great numbers of these warblers build their
nests among the sedges, on the banks of the
Thames. They are merry birds, more often heard
than seen, singing almost all day and most of the
night. Should one of them chance to stop in its
song, you have only to disturb the reeds, when
away it will glide among the water plants, and
instantly renew its rapid notes, “as if in cheerful
defiance of your audacious attempt to find it out.
Late at night, hundreds of voices may sometimes
be heard, singing in concert, and as the curious
piping notes sound forth from the reedy water, the
passer-by, at that lone hour, listens with wonder
and delight.”

NEST OF THE REED-WREN.

55

The small reed-wren makes a choice little home
among high grasses and reeds, that grow in shal¬
low water. The air is cool in such moist rippling
situations, and therefore to keep its little ones

warm, the reed-wren prepares a deep and famously
thick nest. Picking up on the banks of the water,
a broken reed, or long strip of dried grass, in it
flies between the tall waving plants, and winds its
trailing cord around three or four of the upright

56

ON BASKET-WORK NESTS.

stems. The living plants are thus made the sup¬
porting pillars of the nest, and as the little bird
proceeds in its work, it carefully continues to
entwine them into the rising edifice. The coarsest
grasses form the bottom of the nest, the finest1
materials are laid on the top, and not unfrequently,
long pliable leaves of the living reeds with their
seed tops, are skilfully wound round the whole
outside of the nest.

Any one who may chance to peep into the nest
of the little reed-wren, will find the inside a model
of comfort. They will see it thickly lined with
mosses, leaves, tufts of vegetable cotton, wool,
hair, or whatever the wren may have happened to
meet with. They will see that these good things
have not been spared, but that packet after packet
has been tucked in, till the interior of the nest has
been so filled up, that it is not half the size of the.
outside, yet it still remains so deep that the hen
bird looks buried alive in her little palace ; and
there she sits brooding her eggs, whilst her mate,
perched on a reedy stem close by, regales her with
his hurried yet sweet song, during most of the day
and the greater part of the night.

Suspended upon the tall grasses, you may see
the nest swing to and fro each time the reeds bend
before the wind ; you may even fear it will be

INSTINCT OF -FEED- WREN. 57

*

thrown down ; but no, it is safe ! the storm may
rage, and gusts of wind may force it almost to the
water’s edge, still the bird and her eggs ride
securely ; for the little reed-wren knew the height
at which her nest should stand above the waters,
and the extent of sway or bowing of the reeds, and
has built her nest of such a depth, as to prevent
her eggs from rolling out. Are you ready to say,
How came the bird to be so wise ? Then let me
advise you to remember our fourth lecture, the one
on Instinct and Reason. Did we not there learn
that man gains his highest knowledge by much
thought and effort ? that if he fail on a first trial,
he gains experience for a second essay ; whilst
instinct prompts a creature to do the right thing
without experience, without reflection ! Its know¬
ledge comes direct from its Maker, who knows all
its wants, and who gives it skill to work aright.
The feeling in its will, leads it at once to collect
the right things, and to work them out in the right
way. Were a reed-wren to be hatched under a
canary, in a few weeks, if the door of the cage
were left open, the little bird would fly away, and
the next year would build its beautiful little nest
with unerring skill, amongst the tall growing water
plants.

58

ON BASKET-WORK NESTS.

In the South of Europe and Australia, two
species of reed warblers are remarkable for sewing
together the materials that form their nests. With
their bills they pierce holes through the upright
reeds, and through these holes they draw the
horizontal fibres which support their delicate little
nurseries.

The next time we meet, we shall examine the
nests that are lined with woven wool and hair. ~

PAGE

What kinds of birds’ nests have we been con¬
sidering in this chapter ? — Basket- work nests. 45
Can you name the materials used in forming
other nests ? . ... .47

How do birds feel as they collect materials for
their nests ? . . . . .48

How do the basket-work builders begin their
work? . . . . . .48

How do they line their nests ? . . .48

How does the rook build ? . . .48

Can you name a few particulars of the private
laws among rooks ? . . . .51

What kind of nest does the missel thrush build ? 53

Of what does the white-throat build its nest? . 54

Where does the sedge- warbler build ? . .54

Where does the reed-wren build ? . .55

ON BASKET-WORK NESTS.

59

P^GE

How does the inside of its nest look ? .56

Why is the little reed-wren in no danger of
being drowned in her nest ? 57

ON NESTS LINED WITH WOVEN HAIR
AND WOOL.

This evening we are to examine the nests of
chaffinches, recl-hreasts, yellow-hammers, linnets,
and other birds which may he called weavers, as
well as basket-makers. When these birds have
formed their basket-work of twigs and the dry
roots of plants, they generally cover the outside
and inside with the mosses and lichens that grow
upon the branches where they build { often, it is
said, mixing cobwebs with the lichens in order to
make the loose pieces adhere. The inside of the
nest is afterwards lined with a thick covering of
several warm materials, such as wool, feathers,
rabbit, horse and cow hair. These substances
they press down into a sort of cloth, carefully
bending round the inside of the cup-like nest, the
short hairs of the cattle ; not one end of which is
allowed to stand out, the point of every hair being

nest op the chaffinch.

61

carefully pushed in among the moss, that the whole
may lie smoothly.

The pied wag-tail makes its nest in a hole in a
bank, and lines it with hair, which it works into
a sort of cloth of more than half an inch in thick¬
ness. Amongst our common birds, the hedge
and house sparrows make the shabbiest hair cloth,
and the chaffinch about the neatest. The favourite
building-place of the chaffinch is on the branch
of an apple tree, and so ably does it cover up
its nest with the moss or lichens that grow upon
the tree, that you must look sharply if you wish
to find it. Should the branch which it has chosen
for its nesting-place prove rough, the little bird,
before it begins to build, will pad that part
of the branch upon which its nest is to stand,
with a coating of moss, as if aware that the
pressure of its own body when passing in and out
of its small home, may wear a hole in the side of
the nest that rests upon the uneven wood ; and it
frequently happens, that by the scattered morsels
which fall on the ground from this padding, its
hiding-place is found out.

The warm tapestry which lines the inside of
the chaffinch’s nest, is made of pressed, or as it is
often called, of woven hair, down, wool, cotton,
and silk of the spider’s nest (the strongest silk by

F

62 ON NESTS LINED WITH WOVEN HAIR AND WOOL.

far that the spider makes). These materials are
flattened together by the beak of the little archi¬
tect, and partly pressed down by the weight of
its body, into a mass as solid as the felt of a
man’s hat. From the remarkable firmness of this
lining, it seems likely, that in addition to the
weight of the bird, a sticky saliva, which flows
from the beak, has softened the whole lump into
a pulpy substance. This saliva comes from two
little' glands or small spongy masses of flesh
found in the cheeks of some birds, and which
flows, probably at the pleasure of the bird, during
the nesting season.

If you wish to examine the woven work of a
nest, you must take one that has been built by a
small bird that uses hair ; you must first remove
its outer basketing, then its felt-work of moss
and wool, after which you will find a circular
piece of hair cloth, not always worked in the same
style, but according to the ingenuity of the bird,
or the kind of substances which it has been able
to procure. Yet I would advise you to check
your praiseworthy curiosity to behold this woof
and warp, until the little bird has done with its
nest ; for although by waiting, the interior may
be soiled and pulled about through the scuffling
of the little ones, at any rate you will ‘have

NESTS OF SPARROWS.

63

spared its active loving builder tlie pain of
finding its nest destroyed, and enough will be
left at a later hour to show the skill of its
workmanship.

Have you ever examined the nest of a common
hedge sparrow ? as I told you, that pert little
fellow is not a first-rate weaver, yet his nursery is
worth looking at. In the quiet retreat of some
bush or tree, the sparrow lays a foundation of
dry twigs, or of fibrous roots of plants ; upon these
it loosely piles up a round wall of hay and moss,
with other odd materials that may happen to fall
in its way, for the sparrow is by no means par¬
ticular ; and within this mossy exterior, is generally
woven a blanket of hair or wool, mixed with a
profusion of feathers, so as to make the inside
surface very warm and smooth.

The house sparrow seldom builds upon a tree ;
this sparrow prefers ivy-covered walls, crevices,
in the straw thatch of a house, or even a snug
hole under the tiles is not objected to. Such
places are generally first lined with a large
quantity (considering the size of the bird) of hay,
straw, moss, cotton, pieces of ribbon, or whatever
else the sparrow may meet with ; the inside of the
nest, as usual, being neatly finished off, warmly,
snugly, and smoothly. ^

f 2

64 ON NESTS LINED WITH WOVEN HAIR AND WOOL.

^ “A Sparrow’s Nest!”

“ And what a medley thing it is !

I never saw a nest like this, —

Not neatly wove with decent care
Of silvery moss and shining hair ;

But put together odds and ends,

Picked up from enemies and Mends.

See, bits of thread, and bits of rag,

Just like a little rubbish bag !

* * * s

* * * *

See hair of dog and fur of cat,

And rovings of a worsted mat,

And shreds of silks, and many a feather,
Compacted cunningly together.

Well, here has hoarding been and hiving,

And not a little good contriving,

Before a home of peace and ease
Was fashioned out of things like -these !

Think, had these odds and ends been brought
To some wise man renowned for thought ;
Some man of men, a very gem,

Pray what could he have done with them ?

If we had said, ‘ Here, Sir, we bring
You many a worthless little thing,

Just bits and scraps so very small
That they have scarcely size at all ;

And out of these you must contrive
A dwelling large enough for five ;

Neat, warm, and snug : with comfort stored ;
Where five small things may lodge and board.

THEFT OF A SPARROW.

65

IIow would the man of learning vast,

Have been astonished and aghast !

And vowed that such a thing had been
Ne’er_ heard of, thought of, much less seen.

Ah ! man of learning, you are wrong ;

Instinct is more than wisdom, strong :

And He'who made the'sparrow, taught
This skill, beyond your reach of thought.

And here, in this uncostly nest,

These little creatures have been blest ;

Nor have kings known in palaces,

Half such content as is in this —

Poor simple dwelling as it is ! ”

Two sparrows once committed a theft upon a
gardener. They had chosen for their nest a hole
in the roof of a house, and to assist in lining
this hole, they ran off with a long shred of the
man’s ravelled matting ; up they flew with their
streamer, and quickly commenced tucking it into
the hole, in which effort they succeeded ; but to
press the strip of matting smoothly down, sur¬
passed their powers, and whilst in the desire to
accomplish this end, they kept hurrying eagerly
to and fro, their feet became entangled in the
matting. Unable to move far beyond the hole, the
poor little labourers fluttered hard to release
themselves ; the noise they made drew a party
of their neighbours around them, who coming

66 ON NESTS LINED WITH WOVEN HAIR AND WOOL.

out of curiosity to see what was going on, began
twittering and chattering at a surprising rate.
Not one, however, appeared to offer the prisoners
any good advice, hut seemed rather to be scolding
the poor birds for their carelessness ; nor did
any one in the company kindly move either foot
or beak, to help them out of their difficulty. The
gentleman who had watched this sad accident, at
length released the little prisoners, hut found them
so exhausted by their efforts to regain their liberty
that they soon died, and in a few days one of their
scolding neighbours took possession of their de¬
serted nest.

It is not at all surprising that the gentleman
who heard the neighbouring sparrows chatter on
the house-top, should say they were scolding the
unfortunate couple. House sparrows are free and
easy with man ; they live near his dwellings, and
are less afraid of him than most other birds, and
being a very loquacious or talkative race, peojile
have learnt to distinguish in their cries many ex¬
pressions of request, fear, anger, and pleasure.
On a fine summer’s evening, unitedly with hedge
sparrows, they will assemble on high trees for the
purpose of holding a long and noisy chatter ; and
when this concert is kept up for some time, it is
considered a sign that it will he a fine day on the

PARROT NESTS.

67

morrow. In summer, sparrows may also be seen
settling in troops on hedges that border wheat and
barley fields, talking earnestly. They do not ap¬
pear to meet from love of each other’s society, for
the sparrow is generally an unsocial bird, moving
about much alone, and attending but little to the
public good ; but the hope of plunder attracts
them ; and as they all like the same kind of food,
they meet where it is to be found.

From the sparrow let us now turn to a much
larger bird, not because it makes basket-work, or
weaves tapestry for its nest; for it does neither,
but from its talkative powers ; and this is the
parrot. In England parrots seldom rear their
young, probably they are not supplied with the
right materials for nesting, as a pair of these birds
were once known to form a nest in a tub of saw¬
dust, to lay their eggs in it, and actually to rear
their young ones. But in their native homes in
the Islands of the Southern seas, and in the vast
wilds of tropical Africa and America, they abound.
In those countries they form their nests of rotten
wood, making them either inside the trunks of old
trees, or in snug holes in rocks. In these places
they first lay a good thickness of worm-eaten wood,
and then cover it with dry leaves. Travellers say,
nothing can exceed the beautiful appearance of

GS ON NESTS LINED WITH WOVEN HAIR AND WOOL.

these gaily-coloured birds, as they climb up and
down their native trees, giving to the branches all
the tinted effect of a Turkey carpet. They abound
in the forests of America, and by their noisy chat-
terings and active powers of climbing, throw a
life over the gloomy silence which otherwise pre¬
vails in the depths of those sombre forests, where
men may wander for days without catching sight
of a single ray of sun-light stealing through the
mass of foliage that crowns the tall trees. There,
however, the parrot tribes, which are made for
climbing, live in their glory, — make their nests, —
rear their young, — and feed upon the fruits of the
coffee, the cocoa-nut, the lemon, almond, and palm
trees.

But to return to the tapestryrbuilding birds.
Among this tribe is an interesting little family
called the Tailor birds, which literally sew leaves
together, in order that they may form a support
for their nests. Catching up the fibre of a plant,
they will run it through the two sides of a leaf with
their beaks, and drawing the leaf up into a com¬
pact form, will build their nests in its snug little
hollow. At other times some of these tailor birds
will knit the stalks of grass through and through
each other. Mr. Wilson took out of the nest of an
American starling, which was suspended from the

NEST OF RUBY HUMMING-BIRD.

69

twig of an apple tree, one fibre of a long flexible
grass, that measured thirteen inches in length, and
had been hooked thirty-four times through, and
returned by the bird’s small beak. “I think,”
said an old lady who saw the work of one of these
birds, “ that the little creature which build this
nest might be taught to darn stockings.”

The ruby humming bird of America, whose body
without its feathers is not much larger than a
humble bee, constructs its nest very ingeniously.
Mr. Kirk happening to see a little ruby at its
work, watched it for more than an hour. It first
flew with a pile of short grass or lichen to the twig
of a tree, about three feet from the ground, and
there laid its packet down under a large sheltering
leaf.

After it had brought two or three piles of grasses,
the little ruby set itself in the middle of the heap,
and putting its long slender beak over the outer
edge, seemed to use it, and the throat, very much
in the same way as a mason uses his trowel to
smooth down his work ; rubbing itself to and fro,
and sweeping quite round. Each visit to the nest
occupied but a few seconds, and its absence from
it not more than as many minutes. In a few hours,
the nest, about the size of half a hen’s egg, had
all the appearance of being completed, and any

70 ON NESTS LINED WITH WOVEN HAIR AND WOOL.

one peeping in shortly after, might have seen two
pearl-like eggs, ahont the size of small peas, com¬
fortably settled within its narrow walls.

The ingenuity and industry of birds in building
their nests, is amusing to observe, and their per¬
severance is a frequent reproof to the indolence of
man. In our next conversation we shall continue
the histories of nests, beginning with a few of those
which are found in the hottest part of the earth.

PAGE

Of what nests have we been speaking ? . .60

For what purpose do the weaving birds use the
hair of cattle ? .... 60

What does the chaffinch cover over its nest ? . 61

What sort of nest does the sparrow build ? . 63

In what place does the parrot build ? ' . .67

How does the tailor bird build its nest ? . 68

How many times did Mr. Wilson find an Amer¬
ican starling had knit a stalk of grass through
and through V . . . . .69

How does the little ruby humming bird form
its nest ? . . . . .69

VARIOUS TROPICAL AND EUROPEAN NESTS.

It has been remarked that within the tropics,
or those districts of the globe (where the rays of
the sun fall with the most fervid heat,) that the
largest number of birds build domed or covered
nests ; the openings for entrance being left at the
sides or lower ends. No doubt instinct draws the
tropical birds to build in this fashion, that their
nestlings may be sheltered by the roof from the
scorching rays of the sun, and be guarded by the
side admission, from the attacks of snakes and
lizards which abound in hot climates, and which
eagerly devour the eggs and the young of birds.

It is thought that the most perfect domed nests
are built by a family of birds called the Cassicans,
or hang-nests of South America. These birds vary
in size, some being small, others as large as a

72 VARIOUS TROPICAL AND EUROPEAN NESTS.

crow, but all of them form nests of woven grass,
something in the shape of a bottle, or perhaps
more resembling a chemist’s retort, from having a
bulge on one side ; each of these nests they sus¬
pend with the neck downward from the end of a

NEST OF THE CASSICAN.

73

bough. When the opening into a nest is from
below, the bird enters its home on the wing ; and
on the wing it must fly up the long neck or tunnel,
until it reaches the bulging portion that forms the
little chamber in which the hen lays her eggs.
This little chamber is generally guarded by an

it

inside partition wall, that rises nearly to the roof
of the nest, and over this wall the parent bird has
to pass before she can seat herself on her eggs.
But once secure in her snug abode, the hot rays of
the sun are not felt, and her young brood rest in
safety from the attacks of hungry snakes ; for with¬
out wings, those wily enemies to all young birds,
are quite unable to dart up the bottle-shaped neck
of the cassican’s nest, as it swings from the branch
of its tree.

The largest South American cassican, forms a
nest three feet in length, the bird being rather
less than a rook in size. These birds frequently
place several of the nests on the same tree, and
often make choice of one growing on a small island
in a river, such situations being more secure from
the attacks of reptiles than the main land.

The insides of pensile or hanging nests, are
necessarily dark, and in one species of bird, (a
West African grossbeak) the little builder is well
known to remedy this defect by sticking small

G

74 VARIOUS TROPICAL AND EUROPEAN NESTS*

lumps of moist clay upon the interior of the nest,
then catching up fire-flies which shine like large
glow-worms, and pushing them into the lumps of
clay, thus to make the sparkling luminaries light
up the interior of the nest. In some tropical
countries fire-flies are very numerous, and their
light so brilliant that in Mexico, the Spanish
General Cortes is said to have mistaken a large
collection of these flies for an army of match-lock
men.

Some of the smaller tropical birds fasten their
nests to the under sides of leaves, and thus make
the leaves to serve both as supports to their nests,
and as shelters from the heat. This mode of build¬
ing is adopted by some of the South American
humming birds, and also by the smaller Jamaica
swallows, which often select the under side of a
particular kind of palm leaf for their canopy.

The sociable grossbeaks of South Africa, are
small birds that love to build in companies. The
industry of these birds is astonishing. Throughout
the day, groups of them are to be seen busily col¬
lecting a fine species of grass, which they weave
into a wide roof, so compactly and firmly platted
together as to keep out the rain, and so large in
its dimensions, that hundreds of nests are built all
round its under edges, the one common roof of

BRUSH TURKEY’S NEST.

75

grass covering them over like the thatch on a
cottage. The same nests are used year after year,
and their numbers are augmented from time to
time, as the growing young birds increase the size
of the general family, till at last the branches of
the trees on which they are built, will occasionally
break down under their accumulated weight. Vail-
lant tells us he once sent a waggon to fetch one
of these republican nests, and though only built
of grass, it was so firmly put together, he had to
cut it open by the blow of a hatchet.

The very reverse of this complicated care in
nest building is observed among other kinds of
birds. The brush turkey of Australia,* and the
birds of two other allied genera found in the same
parts of the globe, f make no nest ; they simply
heap up a regular hot-bed of leaves. Several birds
club together at the time of the nesting season,
and by the aid of their long claws and toes, collect
together a large pile of grass and leaves, in the
midst of which pile (it is believed) several females
lay their eggs, and the young, when hatched by
the fermenting heat of the materials, scratch their
own way out of the heap. Some of these Austra¬
lian brush-turkeys have been hatched in a similar
way in the Zoological Gardens of the Regent’s Park. ^

* Talle.gclla. f Leipoa and Megapodius.

G 2

76 VARIOUS TROPICAL AND EUROPEAN NESTS.

The dotterel, a kind of plover, which lays her
eggs amongst the heath of high mountains, is also
careless in providing for her young, simply select¬
ing near to some sheltering stones a hole in the
ground, amidst the heath-blossom on the moun¬
tain’s side./

The Dotterel, a kind of Plover.

The Ring-dotterel, a small kind of plover, very
commonly found on some parts of our English
coasts, forms her nest in a little hollow on the
sandy shore, paving it with flat stones, smooth
pebbles, or pieces of shell. The ring-dotterel thus
prepares an ornamental nest for her young ones,
hut truly a hard and cold one, compared to the
nests of the tree and hush birds.

AFRICAN BUSH-BIRD.

77

Our evening discourse will now close with the
lively description that a French naturalist has
given of a small African hush bird, called the
Capocier, which bird is about the size and appear¬
ance of our reed-wren, with the addition of a much
longer tail. When living in Africa — La Vaillant
had contrived, by throwing crumbs upon the ground
near to his tent door, to tempt a few little capocier
birds to enter beneath its canopy, and so tame did
they become, that he felt assured they knew him
when he passed among the woody thickets in which
they lived.

At the nest-making season, he often missed two
of his little capocier visitors. For four or five days
they would keep away, and then unexpectedly return,
and catch up in their beaks small packets of wool.
He watched them as they flew away, and found
they had begun nest-building for their young.
During their former visits, La Vaillant had been
stuffing several birds, and no doubt they had ob¬
served the cotton, moss, and flax laid on his table
for use, and now found it more convenient to fur¬
nish themselves with these articles, all ready to
hand, than to gather the down from the living
plants. So away in their beaks went parcels of
his cotton, much larger in bulk than their own
bodies.

g 8

78 VARIOUS TROPICAL AND EUROPEAN NESTS.

Having discovered tliat they had selected a
corner in a retired and neglected garden, and
were constructing their cradle by the side of a
small spring, La Vaillant followed them to the-
place, and found that they had already laid part
of the foundation, by padding a fork in the branch
of a tree, with some thickness of moss and flax,
interwoven with grass and tufts of cotton.

“I passed the whole of the second day by the
side of the nest, which the female never quitted
for more than an hour, while the cock-bird made
twenty-nine visits to my room in the morning, and
seventeen in the evening. As he brought up each
parcel of cotton and moss, he laid his little load on
the edge of the nest, or upon the branches within
reach of the hen’s bill ; every third or fourth time
stopping to assist her in trampling down and press¬
ing the cotton with his body, in order to make it
into a sort of felt.

“ This agreeable occupation was frequently in¬
terrupted by playful gambols, though the hen often
appeared too anxiously employed to enjoy so much
trifling, and she even sometimes punished the cock
for his frolics, by pecking at him with her beak ;
he, on the other hand, fought in his turn, pecked,
pulled down the work which they had done, pre¬
vented the hen from continuing her labours, and

FROLICS OF CAPOCIER BIRDS.

79

in a word seemed to tell her, “You refuse to be
my playfellow on account of this work, therefore
you shall not do it.’ In order to save the fabric
from destruction, she left off working and flew from
bush to bush for the express purpose of teasing
him. Soon after, having made matters up, the

Nest of the Capocier.

hen returned to her labours, and the male sung
several minutes in the most animated strains.
After his song he set to work again, carrying with

80 VARIOUS TROPICAL AND EUROPEAN NESTS.

fresh ardour all the materials his mate required ;
till the frolic again became buoyant, and a similar
scene to the one I have described occurred. Still
the work advanced ; on the third day the bottom
of the nest was completed, and rendered compact
by the birds’ repeatedly pressing the materials
with their breasts, and turning themselves round
upon them in all directions. The sides of the
walls now began to rise, and for this purpose they
piled tufts of cotton round, trimming the tufts with
their beaks, and beating and pressing them down
with their breasts, and the shoulders of their wings,
taking care to arrange any projecting corner with
their beaks, so as to interlace it with the felt-
work, drawing at the same time the small branches
of the tree into the walls of the nest, but without
injury to the roundness of the inside. On the
seventh day their task was finished. Their beauti¬
ful edifice, which was arched over, was as white as
snow, nine inches high on the outside, whilst the
inside was only five. Its external form was irregu¬
lar, from its being fastened to many branches ;
but the inside was exactly like a hen’s egg with
the small end upwards, and its lining so felted
down, it might have been taken for a piece of fine
cloth a little worn. Not one particle of its sub¬
stance could be removed, without tearing the whole
down, so finely and so compactly was it made.”

VARIOUS TROPICAL AND EUROPEAN NESTS. 81

We shall next have to consider the flat-made
nests. /

PAGE

Why do tropical birds generally build domed
nests ? ..... 71

Of what form is the nest of the South American
cassican? . . . . .72

What kind of nest do the sociable African gross-
beaks construct ? . . . .74

How are the young of the Australian brush -turkeys
hatched? . . . . .75

Where do dotterel plovers generally build? . 76

What sort of nest does the ring- dotterel make
on our coasts ? . . . .76

By what process did the little capocier birds
press down the interior of their nest ?

80

If Mturt €ig|t.

ON FLAT NESTS AND THE CARE OF BIRDS
FOR THEIR YOUNG.

When we speak of a nest, we commonly think
of a cup-like figure, hut in the instance of the
cassican’s pendulous nest, we have seen this idea
is not quite correct. Again, birds that build on
the ground, make their nests almost flat ; and
even a few which build on the forking branches
of trees, such as wood-pigeons, scarcely leave any
hollow for the reception of their eggs ; probably
the warmth of their own bodies renders it needless
to raise sheltering walls around their eggs.-HThe
twigs chosen by the wood-pigeon for its nest, are
loosely, hut neatly laid together in a flat circular
form ; they are mostly selected from birch trees,
and are of several sizes, the undermost twigs being
the largest and the longest ; but all are so slightly

NEST OF THE EAGLE.

88

laid the one upon the other, that in some instances
the eggs of the bird have been seen through the
sticks.

The eagle builds on ledges of rocks, and occa¬
sionally on trees. This noble bird makes its nest
as flat as a floor. The nest of the golden eagle
is sometimes two yards across, and the sticks it
selects for the foundation, are from five to six feet
in length ; across these are laid finer branches,
and above them, one or two layers of rushes and
heath. The weight of the nest is great ; and when
placed on a tree, the eagle, apparently aware ot
the danger that may arise from the cracking of the
main branch upon which it rests, has been known
to draw its ends over other branches, in order to
support it. Upon this flat nest the eggs are laid,
and from its size, there is plenty of room for the
parent birds to deposit hares-, rabbits, a lamb, or
whatever else they can secure, as soon as the
young eaglets are able to revel upon such dainties.
A Scotch peasant once declared, that an eagle’s
nest was his best pantry ; that he watched the
time when the great eagles flew away in search of
new game, and then clambering up the steep rocks,
always found store enough on the birds’ woody
platform to fill his bag with good things.

So happy a home do the eaglets find their nest,

84

ON FLAT NESTS.

that they are often unwilling to leave it. We learn
from one passage in the Bible (which is a hook
invariably true to nature) that in order to drive
the young ones from their home, the old birds
will sometimes stir up the sticks to make the
nest rough and uneasy ; no sooner however do
the young birds approach its edge, than the watch¬
ful parent, “ fluttereth over her young, spreadeth
abroad her wings, taketli them and beareth them
on her wings.” Moses compares this tender care of
the great bird, to the gracious love of our Heavenly
Father, who frequently permits our earthly com¬
forts to be disturbed, that we may be led to rise in
spirit to seek after Himself and the superior joys
of heaven : forcibly declaring, “The eternal God
is thy refuge, and underneath are his everlasting
arms;” even His redeeming love, by the know¬
ledge of which the feeble spirit is borne up on its
way to heaven.*

Storks build like the eagles, flat nest of sticks,
usually placing them on the tops of houses,
churches, towers, or any old deserted buildings.
Herons also lay a pile of sticks on trees, but so
place them as to leave a slight hollow in the centre
of the nest.

Perching birds generally make their nests on
* Deut. xxxiii. 27.

NESTS ON THE GROUND.

85

trees. Runners, waders, and swimmers, mostly on
the ground. Farm-yard fowls are runners, ducks
are swimmers. The young of both these kinds of
birds have no need, like the constant flyers, to be
housed and fed in warm nests, until the wing is
grown strong and feathered. All they want, is to
have the foot firm enough for moving on land or
water, and since their feet do not require feathers,
this is quickly the case ; accordingly, runners and
swimmers only make hatching places, and are
usually satisfied with scraping away a little soil,
and lining the hollow with hay or leaves. From
these shallow nests, the parent birds lead away
their young immediately they are hatched, to pick
up their own food.

Some kinds of ducks nest in hollow trees, and
bring their young to the water’s-edge, by carry¬
ing them down in their bills. The Musk duck and
the Carolina duck occasionally do so. The golden¬
eye duck is said to bring its young down to the
water, not in its bill, but tucked in between its
wing and neck.

The eider duck lives in a cold region of the
earth, and on this account makes a very different
nest to her more southern kindred, instinct teaching
her to provide a warm and sheltered home for her
nestlings. Both male and female eider duck work

H

86

ON FLAT NESTS.

together in making this nest. They begin by
placing on the ground a rather coarse but deep
foundation of drift grass, dry sticks and sea-weeds,
and upon this rough mattress the female eider
duck spreads a thick bed of the finest down,
plucked from off her own breast. This down,
which often weighs half a pound, she heaps up at
the edge so as to form a thick puffed roll, and
when obliged to leave her nest to seek for food,
she carefully turns the downy roll over the eggs to
keep them warm till she return. Should her nest
be stolen, which for the sake of the down is some¬
times the case, she will build a second, and will
even make a third, but to line this last one, the
drake is compelled to pluck the down from his own
breast ; and if robbed of this nest, the poor de¬
jected ducks quit the place in despair. A ..

The love which birds display m defence of their
young is very striking ; it overcomes their timidity,
often renders them boldly courageous, and some¬
times grateful for help. Let us close this conver¬
sation with a few anecdotes on these subjects. The
first I shall narrate, is the story of a willow wren.
The nest of this bird is built on the ground, or
in the bank of a hedge skirting a wood, and is
a curious piece of architecture.. It is oval or
rounded, and made of moss and grass externally,

NEST OF THE WILLOW WREN.

87

so that it is not easy to detect it among the green
herbage in which it is usually concealed. It is
lined with feathers, and the bird enters at the
side. Such a nest was once seen by a lady, lying
on the ground in an orchard. At first she took it
for a large ball of grass, but on lifting it up, found
to her surprise it was the domed nest of a willow
wren : regretting her haste in having so rudely
disturbed the little building, she restored it as
nearly as she could, to the place in which she had
found it, but with small hope that after such an
attack, its owner would again notice it. To her
surprise she found the little bird the next morning
proceeding with its work, and in a few days two
eggs were laid. The kind lady now hoped that
her little protege was safe from harm ; when lo !
an invading army of web-footed ducks marched
straight upon the nest, which was clearly to be
seen, as the grass had not grown high enough to
shelter it, and with their broad shovels of bills,
spread the nest quite open, displaced the eggs,
and left the neat and snug little domicile a com¬
plete ruin. The lady this time was in despair ;
but having driven away the intruders, did her best
to restore the nest to something like its proper
form, and then replaced the eggs inside. Her
perseverance was rewarded, for that same day, she

h 2

BB

ON FLAT NESTS.

was astonished to find an additional egg laid, and
in about a week, four more. The bird sat, and
ultimately brought out seven young ones. It almost
seemed as if this persecuted pair looked upon the
lady as their guardian angel, and confident in her
protection, were determined not to abandon their
nest.

In April, 1889, a redbreast built its nest amidst
some ivy on a garden wall, at Whitburn, near Sun¬
derland, and had laid four eggs in it, when the
gardener, in trimming the ivy with his shears, so
injured the nest, that the eggs fell to the ground.
The plaintive cries of the parent birds drew the
attention of a lady to the place, and after mending
the nest as well as she could, she picked up the
eggs and replaced them in their small home. Not
five minutes afterwards the hen bird came, and sat
upon the eggs, which in two days were hatched,
when the infant brood became the constant objects
of the lady’s notice. Great then was her dismay at
finding, some days afterwards, that all the little
ones had fallen through the patched nest, and were
lying stiff and cold on the ground. Perceiving a
slight movement in one of them, she carried the
nestlings into the house, where by the help of the
warmth of the hand and of the fire, they gradually
recovered. This time the nest was patched with a

YOUNG REDBREASTS.

89

piece of carpet, and the young ones again laid in
it. But the little birds were doomed to go through
further trials, for in the night heavy rains so com¬
pletely soaked the nest and the carpet which had
been placed inside it, that by the morning the
young ones were almost drowned. They were
again brought to the fire, thoroughly dried, and
now settled in the empty nest of another bird, and
placed in a currant bush a few yards from the ivy
wall. During the whole course of these proceed¬
ings the old birds sat close by ; they never seemed
alarmed at the liberties taken with their young
ones, but soon flew back, and at length joyfully
reared them till strong enough to fly away.*

Mrs. Meredith, a lady who lived some time in
Tasmania,! and who delighted in watching the
feathered songsters around her, has given the
following beautiful description of several small
birds, as well as of a warbler’s nest which she
discovered in her garden.

“ Amongst these birds,” she remarks, “came
that tiny flitting fairy, called the Diamond bird ; it
is truly a dainty little jewel, all gold and shaded
amber, with silver spots. Not less beautiful, and
far more common, was my old darling the robin ;

* Jenyn’s Observations on Natural History,
f Tasmania is not far from the continent of Australia.

H 8

90

ON FLAT NESTS.

as exquisite a beau as ever, with his back of
blackest black, and his breast a living flame of
scarlet ; a warm, brave little heart there beats
within it too, or his sparkling eye tells no true
story !

“With him came another of nature’s marvels
of beauty and brightness, dressed also partly in
black, of black-bird velvet, off the same piece as
robin’s coat, but with a cap and mantle of blue ;
such blue ! the deepest summer sky is mere dull
grey to it ! This wondrous little bird is called the
‘ Superb Warbler,’ and superb in truth it is ; so
bright, so swift, so merry, so musical as these
little beings are, sure nothing else ever was. The
blue-cap has a domestic contrast too in his quiet
coloured little wife, who, like her ‘ Old-world ’
name-sake, ‘Jenny Wren,’

‘ Will still put on her brown gown
And never go too tine.’

But though not dressed in grey hues, she is as
merry and as sprightly as her mate ; a perfect
little ‘ dot' of a bird; quite round, like a ball set
on two fine black pins, with a sweet little head at
one side, and at the other, or more truly on the
top, the drollest long straight upright bill that ever

was seen.

91

NE8T OF “SUPERB WARBLERS.”

“ One or two pairs of these ‘ Superb Warblers’
lived close to our garden fence, and for a long
time I tried in vain to discover their nest. We
often fed them, and they came boldly about us, but
always baffled me when I endeavoured to watch
them home. At last I felt quite sure I had found
the grass tassock containing one nest, but although
this tassock was not above two feet across, I was
some time still, ere I discovered the entrance ; for
of course I would not disturb any thing, and the
little creatures were so artful and so cautious, and
in such a sad state of fluttering, chirping, trepida¬
tion, when I was peeping about, that they disturbed
my attention, as they naturally intended to do. At
last I accidentally looked directly into the little
tube of woven grass and web that served them as
hall and ante-room. Several blades of reeds waved
before it, but still on gazing down intently into the
dark little cavity, I espied two or three little gaping
mouths, and heard a faint small chirp. The two
tiny parents of these tinier babes, which could not
have been much larger than peas, were all the
time flying round and round me, in most distressing
terror, almost brushing my face with their delicate
wings, in their anxiety to drive me away ; and the
instant I drew back, both darted into the nest, to
see if all was right at home. Poor little fiutterers !

92 THE CARE OF BIRDS FOR THEIR YOUNG.

they need not have feared me. I only confided the
secret of their abode to my husband, and so fearful
was he of disturbing them, that I could not induce
him to go near enough to examine the nest. In
due time we had the pleasure of seeing the whole
miniature family out together ; the old birds in a
great state of importance feeding their droll little
offspring most assiduously.”

Next week we shall describe the mud nest of the
swallow.

THE CAEE OF BIRDS FOR THEIR YOUNG. 93

PAGE

What shaped nests have we been studying this
evening? . . . . .82

Name one or two of the birds which build flat
nests .... 82, 83, 84, 85

Why do poultry build on the ground ? . .85

How do some kinds of ducks that build in trees
convey their young to the water side ? * . 85

What kind of nest does the Eider duck build V . 86

ON MUD NESTS.

Swallows are often termed mason birds, be¬
cause their nests are made of moist earth, which
is usually of an adhesive nature. Sometimes the
swallow uses only stiff clay, at other times it mixes
sand and straw with it ; and in the end, com¬
fortably lines its lumpy-looking nest with chaff
and feathers.'— £

There are several kinds of swallows. These
birds are literally children of the summer. They
live entirely upon insects and small red spiders ;
and as they assist in clearing the heated atmos¬
phere of the hosts of minute flying creatures that
infest it, they may, with propriety, be called sca¬
vengers of the air. The species of swallows most
frequently seen in Britain, are the swift, chimney
swallow, house martin, and sand martin.* They

* See frontispiece.

MIGRATION OF BIRDS.

95

arrive in England during April and May, just as
flies and moths begin to sport around us, and when
the cool Aveather of October sets in, away they fly
to seek a fresh summer in the wrarm lands of Africa,
that lie between the Mediterranean sea and the
mountains of the moon. In those vast districts
are large deserts of sand, interspersed with large
tracts of fine wooded country, where myriads of
insects rise from the steaming bogs, and rapidly-
growing vegetation of their glowing regions. When
our spring returns, back come the swallows, and
that the same birds which left us in the autumn
return the next year to rear their young in our
temperate climate, is quite certain ; scarlet threads
having been wound round the legs of many swal¬
lows, and the following spring those birds have
visited the very nests in which they themselves or
their broods had been hatched the previous season.

It is a curious instinct in the swallow tribes,
and perhaps may exist among other migratory
birds, that wherever they have been hatched, to
that same land they will return the following year.
Swallows are scattered over most parts of Europe ;
some stop for the summer in Italy and Greece ;
others fly more into the interior of Europe ; other
groups, as we know, wing their way into Great

96

ON MUD NESTS.

Britain. And all these birds and their families,
after going to Africa for the winter, return to their
respective native countries in the spring.

In America, the swallows pass from the upper
part of North America to Mexico, and to other still
more southern quarters. Among the American
swallows there is a species called the cliff swallow.
This species is distinguished from other tribes, by
the feathers in the tail being nearly of one length.
Cliff swallows group together in large companies,
and make a vast number of small round clay nests
close to one another. Skill and industry are re¬
quired in forming these nests, since the masonry of
the cliff swallow needs, with the clay that is used,
a mixture of sand or straw, and having neither
barrow by which to bring up the sand, nor shovel
by which to blend the sand and clay together,
these animated little beings are obliged to perform
the whole business with their beaks.

In collecting their materials from the borders
of rivers and ponds, they work from early morn to
mid-day. At noon they stop and dine upon insects,
after which they sport for a time up and down,
gracefully dipping their wings towards the cliff, and
then off again with immense rapidity of motion.
In the evening they return to their work, and thus

SAND-MARTINS.

97

in about three days, a large colony of these mud-
built habitations is completed.

Our common sand martin makes a deep circular
burrow in a bank or hill of sand. When the bird
wishes to strike out the size of its burrow, it
stretches out its head as far as it will reach, and
drives the point of its beak into the ground ; upon
which it immediately draws the beak back through
the soil up to its feet. This done, it moves on a
step, observing to keep the same distance from the
centre, by throwing its beak again forward into the
first hole ; and thus the bird continues to work on,
till a regular round hole is formed ; its feet always
standing on the outside of the circle. The bill,
which is kept shut, is thus used as a pick- axe, and
the feet are employed in shovelling out the rubbish
brought up by the drive of the bill through the
earth.

The real nest of the sand martin is sometimes
full three feet below the surface of the ground, and
is loosely covered over with dried grass and
feathers. In this deep burrow, its young are safe
from the attacks of other birds; and the steep side
of the face of the hill, generally preserves them
from being attacked by small quadrupeds.

The chimney swallow may be known by its

i

98

ON MUD NESTS.

forked tail. This bird makes its clay nest three
or four feet down the shaft of a chimney, thus
securing its nestlings from birds of prey. Its
favourite chimney, is one out of use, hut adjoining
another that is warmed by a constant fire.

Martins or window swallows are often fanciful
in fixing upon a nesting place ; beginning many
edifices and leaving them unfinished ; but when
once a nest is completed in a sheltered situation,
the labour bestowed in erecting the dwelling is
not lost, as they return to the same nest year after
year. Thus the older birds get the start of the
young swallows which have to build a new mansion
for themselves, hatching their young ten days or a
fortnight earlier than the new builders.

These industrious artificers are at their work in
the long days before four in the morning ; and as
they bring up their muddy materials, they plaster
them on with their chins, moving their heads with
a quick vibratory motion, occasionally stopping
in their work, that the walls of the rising edifice
may have time to dry and harden. The crust or
shell of the nest, as before remarked, is a sort of
rustic work full of knobs and protuberances, the
inside being smoothed with a lining of small straws,
grasses, and feathers, and sometimes by a bedding
of moss interwoven with wool.

HOUSE MARTINS.

99

When once the house martins have made choice
of a building place, it is very difficult to drive them
away. A gentleman who had just finished a hand¬
some house in the neighbourhood of Norwich, was
greatly annoyed at finding a party of these birds
busy at work under the new eaves, and gave orders
to have them disturbed. Their nests were there¬
fore swept down. But as they renewed their
labours, the ladder was again raised, and the eaves
once more cleared. This was repeated several
times, and as the martins persevered, a further
command was given, that a bird or two should be
shot ; upon the death of these birds, the whole
party absconded, and, remarkable to say, for eight
successive years no martin approached that house.
After that period, they were seen flying under the
eaves, and to stop their building, a second order
was given that a bird should be killed ; since which
time no martin has attempted to touch the walls of
the forbidden mansion. Whether the birds stayed
away for eight years, because for that period the
information had been handed down that it was a
dangerous situation, we cannot tell, but their con¬
duct looks as if some kind of communication had
been carried on between the parents and their
young ones, by which the rising generation had

i 2

100

ON MUD NESTS.

been warned of danger for eight successive years,
after which period the story had been forgotten.

Soon after the opening of the Boys’ Reformatory,
in Norfolk, the swallows paid the house a visit ; a
long continued drought had that year dried up the
land, and as the lads who first entered the estab¬
lishment watched the birds, they felt compassion
for their unceasing but fruitless efforts to complete
their nests with crumbling earth. Sympathy with
sorrow usually excites a desire to alleviate it; it
was so in this case, for the Governor, to his sur¬
prise, beheld one morning puddles of wet mud
glistening in the sun on the gravel road. Enquir-
ing into the cause of this unusual appearance, he
was told the mud had been brought to help the
poor birds, who instantly prized the assistance thus
rendered them, by carrying up beak-full after beak-
full ; and in a few days their nests were completed.

Again the attention of the lads was aroused, by
seeing a pert sparrow seat itself quietly down in
one of the martin’s nests. The habit of seeking
out a good lodging for the winter, is not an uncom¬
mon event with the sparrow. He is a hardy bird,
but still, as he stays with us during our frosts and
snows, he finds it very desirable to provide a good
home, into which he may fly for occasional shelter.
The swallows, in this instance, did not approve of

THE INTRUDING SPARROW.

101

so early a selection of one of their mansions, and
made many efforts to drive out the intruder ; hut
the sparrow had taken full possession, and seemed
determined upon retaining his ready-made home.
After a time the swallows assembled in companies,
much twittering followed, at the close of which
they flew to the mud heaps ; each one filled its
beak, and flying up with the moist earth, literally
built up the little robber in his stolen house.
Some time afterwards the lads brought a ladder
and broke open the nest, when they found the
prisoner dead.

Another touching circumstance occurred shortly
after the swallow story, and though not in accord¬
ance with remarks upon birds, it may be interesting
to notice it. Mice increasing to the annoyance of
the mistress, two kittens were brought from differ¬
ent places. These cats never agreed, the black
puss domineered over and hissed at the tortoise¬
shell kitten, driving it away from their mutual
plate of food. In a night ramble, the black puss
was caught in a trap ; the boys found it, and its
foot being greatly swelled, it was carried home and
laid upon a mat. The tortoise-shell kitten gently
crept towards it, and with watchful eye looked at
it ; appearing to apprehend something was amiss,
it laid itself down on the same mat, curled itself

102

ON MUD NESTS.

round, so as to allow of the black puss’ injured leg
resting upon its soft body as upon a pillow, and for
hours together remained in that position, evidently
to the great content of the sufferer. There was
something so forgiving, so deeply feeling in the
friendly kitten’s kindness ; its conduct seemed like
the benevolent love of a human being, and it
afforded universal pleasure to the household.

Our conversation next week will be upon an egg,
and upon the bird hatched in it.

ON MUD NESTS.

103

PAGE

Why are swallows sometimes termed mason

birds ? ... 94

What are the names of the four kinds of swal¬
lows that visit Great Britain ? . .94

With what do swallows line their nests ? . 98

Upon what do swallows live ? . .94

THE BIRD IN THE EGG.

During our late conversations, we have been
considering the peculiar way in which birds build
their nests. We might continue to examine more
of their wondrously-formed cradles, hut enough has
been said to point out the adroitness and skill,
which the Creator has been pleased to bestow upon
the feathered races. Should you desire further
information on the subject, I advise you to read
“ Kennie’s Architecture of Birds.

At present our business is to enquire for what
purpose birds have been so urgently drawn to make

their various little homes? Your answer would he,

♦

“ To hold their eggs.” And pray what is an egg?
You reply, “ A hard roundish shell, filled with a
white liquid and a yellow yolk.” So far you are

* Shilling Volume, published by Charles Knight.

CONTENTS OF AN EGG.

105

right. The contents of a bird’s egg are such as
you describe them, and the outside is also hard,
while the outside of a reptile’s egg is soft. Were
you to press your finger upon the egg of a snake or
of a crocodile, you would make a dent ; the rep¬
tile’s egg being simply covered with a tough
leathery or parchment-like skin, while the fine
skin over the liquids in a bird’s egg, is protected
by a coating of hard lime.

And for what purpose do you think a white
liquid and a yellow yolk have been shut up in a
bird’s lime shell ? Again you reply, “That a young
bird may be hatched.” If I broke an egg soon
after the hen had laid it, should I find a little bird
in it? “No; only the two liquids.” Then how
is it, that a bird comes out of the shell ?

Because it has pleased the great Creator to con¬
vert the white liquid within the shell, into a body
fit to receive animal life, all ready prepared to see,
hear, run, hop, fly, and in some cases to swim.
And He has ordained that during the progress of
this change, the yolk of the egg shall nourish the
forming bird, by being absorbed or taken into the
body. Still God works by some outward means,
and it is His pleasure that this change of the
liquids into a bird, shall take place during the time
the mother bird broods over her eggs, and keeps

106

THE BIRD IN .THE EGG.

them warm. The hen knows not what she is
doing, hut having by the power of instinct made
her nest, and laid her eggs in it, she feels an irre¬
sistible desire to sit upon the eggs, and in perform¬
ing this act, quits all her usual habits, scarcely
allowing herself time to eat ; but there she remains
the live-long day, sometimes continuing on her nest
for weeks together, and often twittering for joy.
At the time of the nesting season, the small veins
on the breast of the hen bird fill unusually with
blood, and as they swell with heat, it may be that
her chest is cooled by the warmth passing from her
body into the eggs, and thus her time of nursing
rendered a season of pleasant occupation. Some
birds sit a fortnight, some six weeks on their eggs.
The reason for this is not exactly known ; but it
has been remarked that birds with the most perfect
feathers, are the longest in being hatched.

When a farm-yard hen has sat about six hours
on her eggs, a minute cell or bladder, looking like
a red point, may be clearly seen floating in the
white liquid. That red point is the commence¬
ment of the heart of the future chicken. Minute
cell upon cell now shoots out from this first point,
each cell or little bladder throwing off more cells,
until lines are formed that mark the direction in
which the veins of the chicken are to run. These

FORMATION OF BIRD IN EGG.

107

lines, like red streaks, may be seen by the naked
eye stretching over the fine skin that separates the
white liquid from the yolk, and from these lines
the cells go on increasing and uniting together to
make the legs, wings, and body, just according as
the Creator is pleased to appoint the form of the
forthcoming bird.

During the time the body of the fowl is thus
undergoing its formation, air is constantly passing
into the egg, through innumerable and most minute
holes in the shell ; and this air joins with the yolk
in supplying materials for the increase of the bird.
When the body is completed, the limbs of the bird
lie folded up in the shell with a beauty of arrange¬
ment that nothing can exceed. The head just
peeps from under one of the wings, and is so
placed, that the beak shall touch the largest end
of the shell. Upon the beak, rises a little tip of
strong bone, suitable to cut open the shell, which
bony lump, as soon as its work is over, peels or
falls off; indeed everything we examine in the
history of a bird, marks the intelligent wisdom of
one Great Mind, directing and guiding its whole
being.

As soon as the little bird is quite prepared for
active life, it taps against the shell with its pointed
beak, asking its mother as it were, to help it to

108

THE BIRD IN THE EGG.

break it open, though at times it cracks it quite
through by itself. The hen upon hearing the
noise within, with joy and pride of heart mostly
strikes the shell with her own strong beak, and
forth comes the little bird dressed, not in feathers,
but in soft down ; the feathers, like the teeth of a
child, being as yet in most birds only in prepara¬
tion in the skin.

What should you suppose to be the first actions
of this newly-hatched living thing ? Perhaps you
would say, to eat ! No, it is to stretch its legs and
its wings, to open its beak, and to spread out its
down to dry in the air. For some hours the young
bird does not require any food, a portion of the yolk
of the egg yet remains in its body, and by that it
continues to be nourished. Notice' the wisdom of
this provision ; all the eggs in a nest do not hatch
at the same hour : — had the first-born bird needed
immediate food, it must either have been starved,
or the mother, whilst providing for it, must have
deserted her other eggs, and thus destroyed the
rest of her family ; but as things are now arranged,
the mother may, without injury to her eldest born,
continue to sit on her nest till all her little ones
are hatched, which sometimes takes more than a
day. After that time the cry of hunger comes.
At first the chick may utter but a feeble note, yet

THE FAINTEST CRY A TOKEN OF WANT. 109

the smallest cry is a proof that it has life, and
longs for food.

So in the human family, the feeblest cry of
prayer in the human soul bespeaks a spiritual
want, the movement of a spiritual life that is alive
to its wants. A man living without prayer is dead
in spirit. Such an one has no more desire after
his God, and the things of the eternal world, than
the live bird in its shell has for the things of this
world. He is alive and dead at the same time.
To rest in such a state, must bring on final ruin
and death eternal.

An African Chieftain having listened to the re¬
marks of three Englishmen upon the nature of sin,
eloquently attacked the unbelief of his people ; and
also in the following speech advised them to copy
the example of a hen, and cherish the truths they
had heard. Advice by no means beneath our
attention.

“ Rejoice, you Makare and Mokatchini ! We
have all reason to rejoice on account of the news
we have heard. There are a great many sayings
among men. Some are true and some are false ;
but the false have remained with us. Therefore
we ought to pick up carefully the truths we hear,
lest they should be lost in the rubbish of lies. We
are told that we have all been created by one

K

110

THE BIRD IN THE EGG.

Being, and that we all spring from one man. Sin
entered man’s heart when he ate the forbidden
fruit, and we have got sin from him. These men
say that they have sinned ; and what is sin in them
is sin in us, because we come from one stock, and
their hearts and ours are one thing. Ye Makare
have heard these words, and you say they are lies.
If these words do not conquer, the fault will lie
with you. You say you will not believe what
you do not understand. Look at an egg ! If a
man break it, there comes only a watery and
yellow substance out of it ; but if it be placed
under the wing of a fowl, a living thing comes
from it. Who can understand this ? Who ever
knew how the heat of the hen produced the
chicken in the egg ? This is incomprehensible
to us, yet we do not deny the fact. Let us do like
the hen. Let us place these truths in our hearts
as the hen does the eggs under her wings ; let us
sit upon them, and take the same pains, and some¬
thing will come of them.” — Anderson.

Our next subject will be upon the eggs of dif¬
ferent birds.

THE BIRD IN THE EGG.

Ill

What is the difference between the egg of a bird
and that of a reptile ? ...

Out of which portion of an egg is the bird formed ?

Of what use is the yolk ? ...

What is first to be seen in the white fluid, after
the hen has sat upon her egg ?

What spreads over the skin of the yolk after the
first red spot is formed ? . . .

What nourishes the forming bird besides the
yolk ? .

How does air get into the egg ? .

What is placed on the tip of the young bird’s
beak? .

Why can a fresh hatched bird live a day without
food ? .....

TAGE

105

105

105

106

107

107

107

107

108

ON MIGRATION, THE EGGS OF BIRDS, AND
THE LOVE OF PARENT BIRDS.

In our nintli lecture, the swallow was said to
be a migrating bird ; that is, one which moves
at stated periods from one part of the world to
another. This flitting life prevails amongst a large
proportion of the feathered races. Our cuckoos,
warblers, and other birds fly for the winter, like
the swallow, to the oases, or woody parts of the
warm African lands, f Indeed the whole of Europe,
the whole district of Asia north of the Himalayan
Mountains, and from hence the whole of Africa
north of the Mountains of the Moon, form toge¬
ther one grand field, over which birds of somewhat
the same species, flit about from north to south,
and south to north.

The most southerly points of Asia and Africa,
with their adjoining islands, possess a few birds
like ours, but more that are peculiar to their own

SUMMER AND WINTER BIRDS.

113

districts. Marked distinctions are also found among
the birds that live in the two continents of America ;
many of which birds fly in each of those vast dis¬
tricts, from north to south, and south to north, as
the seasons change.

Among the birds that lay their eggs in Great
Britain, but few of them continue in the same place
during the whole year. Some species of eagles,
kites, all poultry, the pheasant, partridge, black¬
bird, thrush, robin, sparrow, little wren, &c., may
be called tarriers at home : yet as the seasons
change, some of these move off in flocks, going to
distant counties in search of their peculiar food.

The rest of the birds that enliven our country,
come either as summer or winter visitors. Such
as the wild-duck, woodcock, and snipe, whose home
is in the far north, are winter birds. They arrive
on our shores in the autumn, to remain with us till
the spring. Stragglers stay behind and rear their
young in our marshes and woods, but the main
flocks of such birds fly back in the spring to Scan¬
dinavia and other northerly regions of Europe,
there to make their nests and enjoy the summer.*

* Some woodcocks remain with us to lay their eggs,
"but they are rare. Snipes much more frequently con¬
tinue in Britain, yet the chief flocks of these birds
migrate for nesting.

K 3

114

ON MIGRATION.

Our songsters that winter in the south, arrive
in April and May ; make their nests in our hedges
and shrubberies, and after clearing away innu¬
merable quantities of seeds, insects, and grubs,
fly hack to the south in the autumn. A few of
these birds stop and winter in the mildest parts of
Europe ; but even such prefer during the summer,
to seek their food and rear their young in the
genial climate of Britain.

Thus, as the seasons change, each portion of the
earth is supplied with a relay of useful and orna¬
mental labourers. When the northern birds de¬
part, the summer ones arrive ; and again, as the
summer ones depart, the winter ones return. No
one tribe idles away life ; — all races are actively
employed in performing their successive tasks, in
rearing their young, and in preserving a due balance
among the fast increasing families of seeds, creep¬
ing things, and flying creatures.

The number of eggs that birds lay, varies con¬
siderably. Large birds of prey which live upon
flesh, such as eagles, vultures, and falcons, usually
lay two eggs, sometimes three ! but they do not
often hatch more than two birds, and often only
one. About five eggs is the average number laid
at a time by the smaller species. Birds that live
principally upon seeds and insects, and thus find

COLOURS OF EGGS.

115

I • —

abundance of food, often hatch two and three broods
in the year, so that their families, as we witness
every summer, increase rapidly. Whole flocks of
sparrows, yellow hammers, finches, starlings, and
other birds rise at once from the hedges, causing
the small houghs to dance by their ■spring as if
every twig were alive.

Birds of prey that fly by day, have eggs either
of a whitish colour, spotted with red, or of a light
reddish ground spotted with brown. Owls, which
fly by night, have pure white eggs. And some
birds of prey, chiefly the harriers, lay unspotted
eggs like the owl. Birds also that nestle in hollow
trees, in walls, or rocks, have usually white eggs.
The wood-peckers, bee-eaters, king-fishers, and
sand-martins, have pure white eggs.

Birds that nestle at about the same height in
trees, like the raven, crows, and pies, have usually
greenish eggs, sometimes spotted or picked over
with brown.

The eggs of wading birds are of several colours,
grey, yellowish, greenish, bluish, and reddish, with
spots sprinkled over them.

Perching birds again have eggs of several hues,
whitish, bluish, and greenish, usually spotted with
either red, brown, or black.

Poultry have mostly white eggs ; some however

116

ON MIGRATION.

have the ground tinged with green or yellow, and
one species in South America, lay purple eggs.

As we examine the history of birds, we shall
find their Creator has in a variety of ways pro¬
tected them from harm. A quick eye and thinking
mind will soon discover that in most instances,
birds, which deposit their eggs on green herbs,
have eggs more or less of a greenish hue : that
birds such, as the lark and partridge, which make
their nests on the ground, have eggs more or less
of a brownish hue. The colour of the eggs and of
the nest, as also the dress of the hen, being fre¬
quently suited to the place where the mother bird
is to sit. In the East where gay flowers abound,
the hens are bright coloured ; while ' in our more
northern districts, the plumage of the hen is gene¬
rally less gay in its colours than that of the cock
bird.

During a tour in Lapland, Mr. Wolley noticed a
curious instance of the care the spotted redshank
takes to conceal its nest. At the breeding season,
this bird is dressed in an almost entire suit of deep
slaty black feathers ; and he constantly found that
in the large pine forest where charcoal is burnt,
the situation this bird selected for its nest, was at
the foot of trees where some of the black dust had
been left. Consequently the colour of the ground

ATTENTION OF COCK BIRD.

117

and that of the bird so perfectly agreed, it was
difficult to find its eggs.

During the time that a hen is sitting, the cock
bird is usually very attentive. He cheers her with
his song, and amongst many species feeds her from
his own bill, not unfrequently taking her place
when she leaves the nest for more food or for
chan

The nob le swan stands on one leg for hours
together by the side of his partner as she rests on
her round nest of sticks, reeds, rushes, and leaves.
With arched neck and mild complacent eye, he
looks half dozing by her side, yet he is on the
watch, for at the sound of distant footsteps he
elevates his neck, and listens cautiously.^ Should
the sound near, he will slowly and solemnly drop
the leg hidden beneath his snow-white plumage,
and with rising wing and outstretched beak, stand
ready to strike a blow at the bold intruder upon
his domestic quiet. You had better not go too
near, or you may have to retire with a broken leg.
For six wreeks the swam continues this close atten¬
tion : the male bird mounting the nest whenever
his mate wishes to quit it for a short time. At the
end of six weeks, the shell is cracked, and the
dark slate-coloured cygnets appear. Now begins
the joyous period of a bird’s life, the care of its

118

ON MIGRATION.

young, that loving care, which the Sovereign Lord
and Preserver of the world has planted in the
parent’s heart for its young and helpless offspring.

The young of four-footed beasts, that receive
nourishment from the mother, require no other
food than that which she can give them. A cow
wants no help in feeding her calf. The mother
therefore alone notices her offspring. It is much
the same with the poultry hen, upon whom de¬
volves the chief care of providing for her brood.
Her young immediately run alone, and as their
food of seeds, grain, ants-eggs, and greens is on
the ground, the cock bird has little occasion to
assist in procuring it. With the greater number
of birds, however, much labour falls upon both
parents. Their nestlings have usually to be fed
with food brought from a distance, and upon food
often difficult to be found : accordingly their Maker
has beautifully ordered that the exertion of feeding
the nestlings of such birds shall be divided between
the father and the mother : consequently they both
equally love and watch over their little ones. It is
said that a pair of robins will carry to their young
8400 caterpillars in a week. During this anxious
time of hatching and feeding, birds display courage,
discernment, and patient endurance. I shall relate

CARE OF PARENT BIRDS.

119

a few stories on these points ; the first one or two
on courage.

The attention of a party of gentlemen fishing on
a river, was excited by the hurried actions of a
pair of swans, with seven young ones collected
between them, all pushing up the stream in great
haste. At first they thought the birds were making
for the boat in the hope of receiving bread ; but
no — on they went, and soon three of the young
ones leaped on the back of the mother, who, ele¬
vating her wings to receive them, displayed the
brilliant whiteness of her plumage in fine contrast
to the grey down of the young ones. It was diffi¬
cult to account for the scared appearance of the
party, until at length a magnificent old swan came
in sight, rapidly ploughing up the water. This
bird it was clear to see, was in high pursuit of the
family group, which it seemed had been trespassing
upon what he deemed his rightful portion of the
river, and to escape from his indignant fury, they
were now hurrying away. As the noble bird gained
upon the family, on they went, with growing speed,
and in their haste, one of the little ones slipt off its
mother’s back. There was distress, a weakling
left behind, struggling along and uttering shrill
cries of terror. Up at last came the mighty and
indignant bird, and then the father, inferior to the

120

THE LOVE OF PARENT BIRDS.

attacking swan in age and strength, turned to meet
him, while the little family huddled close to the
mother, and made full haste to escape up the river.
Proud as was the stranger swan, the young father
was equally so, and throwing back his neck between
his arched wings, he faced the giant. This was
unexpected, and across the stream they kept sail¬
ing backward and forwards abreast of each other,
like two war ships. It was a sight worth beholding,
to see the watchful turns of their graceful necks
and bodies, as each tried to take advantage of the
other. At last it seemed as if the battle must come
on, for each swan raised himself out of the water,
and made a show of attack. By this time the
affectionate mother had guided her young ones to
a place of safety, which the old swan catching sight
of, gave up the conflict, as if satisfied that he had
driven the intruders from his royalty. So they
parted. The young one went up to receive his
reward from the mother of his family, while the
great old swan rubbed his neck on his wings and
dropped down the stream, evidently well satisfied
that he had given the trespassers a lesson.

This scene of the two threatening swans had
been watched by a small dog on the banks of the
river, who appeared quite to enjoy the prospect of
a conflict. At first he sat upon his tail, but as

CAKE OF PARENT BIRDS.

121

tlie affair became more serious, he couched, and
when the birds lifted themselves up, as in act to
fight, he dropped his head on his outstretched fore
legs in all the ecstacy of an amateur ; but when
he found all was over, he shook himself like a
sensible dog, and left the scene.*

The next instance of courage I shall name, was
a conflict between a black-bird and a cat. Puss
had frequently been seen on the top of a paled-
fence near Richmond, watching a black-bird on her
nest. On the near approach of the cat, the hen
left the nest, flew to meet the cat, and having
placed herself almost within reach of her talons,
uttered the most piteous screams of wildness and
despair. The cock bird perceiving the advance of
the enemy, joined the hen in loud outcries, and as
he flew about, often alighted for a moment upon
the paling before puss, who was unable to give a
spring at the nest from the narrowness of the
wood. After a time the cock bird flew at the cat,
settled on her back and pecked her head with so
much violence, that the cat fell to the ground fol¬
lowed by the black-bird, who then succeeded in
driving her away. A second and a third time

IO %J

pussey tried to get at the young birds, but with no

* Slightly shortened from “Zoological Recreations.”

L

122

THE LOVE OF PARENT BIRDS.

better success, and after each battle, the black¬
bird celebrated his victory with a song, for several
days afterwards hunting the cat about the garden
whenever she left the house.* -V

A touching instance of parental love being
stronger than the fear of man, was witnessed by a
lady whom I have known for many years. She
tells me in a letter, “ I was walking near Binfield,
in Berkshire, on a raised pathway, bounded on one
side by a road, and on the other by a ditch and
hedge, when a little bird sprang out of the ditch,
and flew at my feet and against my dress with such
an appearance of extreme distress, that it imme¬
diately occurred to me it was demanding help, ij
looked carefully in the ditch and on the bank, and
soon discovered its nest, and in the' nest a snake
busy with the young birds ! Having no weapon
by which to strike down the snake, I called a man
from the road, but the wily foe glided away too
quickly for him. One of the nestlings was evi¬
dently injured. I then placed the nest in what I
thought a more secure situation ; but can give no
further account of its history. But the confiding
and urgently entreating air of the little bird, I
certainly felt as an appeal from the poor mother
to aid her in the extremity of her agony.

* “Jessie’s Gleanings.”

DISCERNMENT OF PARENT BIRDS.

123

Whether birds have any power of reasoning, that
is, of thinking “If I do such a thing I shall be
helped,” we do not know, though it is clear that at
times both birds and quadrupeds look up to man
for assistance ; this truth renders the following re¬
markable conduct of a duck under anxiety, not
unnatural.

A pair of ducks hatched in Westmoreland, had
been kept for some time in the town of Kendal,
but were at length sent for country air to a farm¬
house on the mountain side. Whilst the kitchen
maid was busy one morning churning, she was
greatly worried by one of these ducks making a
great noise. She tried to drive it away, and each
time she followed it, it went off briskly, but on her
turning round, always came back with redoubled
clamour. At last she determined to follow it as
far as she could. The duck then led her across
two fields to a hedge, by the side of a piece of
water, and in that hedge the young woman beheld
its fellow duck sticking so tightly that it could not
extricate itself, and needing human aid to save its
life. This help its companion had brought it. The
duck had no words to use, but by energetic per¬
severing signs and a voice of clamour, it had made
its wants known.

l 2

124

DISCERNMENT OF PARENT BIRDS.

Now whether this duck acted upon reflection,
or only upon an instinct implanted in animals to
look up to man, is just one of those mysteries in
the world which we must leave, because we have
no means of deciding upon which is right.

For discernment, I shall relate the tale of a
goose, which is said to he a fact. A man, looking
over his flocks of geese near Diekleborough Com¬
mon, in Norfolk, missed one morning a fine brood
of thirteen well-fledged gdslings. On making his
loss known, he was told that a collector of geese
for the London markets had passed a short time
before with a flock of some hundred birds. He
asked no further questions, but catching up the
mother goose, put her in a sack, and waited till a
coach passed on the road ; away then went goose
and man at the rate of ten miles an hour till they
came to Epping Forest ; there he saw a large col¬
lection of geese feeding on the green grass. He
begged the coachman to stop, and charged the
keeper of the flock with having stolen his thirteen
large goslings. The man denied the theft, but
said in a confident air, “ If you know your own,
go amongst my hundreds, and pick them out ! ”
“I ’cannot do it myself,” was the reply, “but I
have one with me who can ; ” and running to the

THE LOVE OF PARENT BIRDS.

125

coach, the farmer took down the sack, untied it,
and turned off the old goose amidst the noisy gab¬
bling crowd of feeding birds. In a few minutes,
much to the amusement of the people on the coach,
she called out her goslings and marched off with
them in triumph. The owner of the goose was
well contented, and highly approved the mother’s
keen sagacity. The goose is often said to be a
stupid bird ; this is quite a libel, for I have heard
and read more stories of its sharpness, and of its
lively affection for men and animals than of most
other birds.

Our evening lecture must close, as soon as I have
related an instance of parental endurance in two
little fly-catcher birds, which for many years had
built their nest amidst the leafy vines on Mr.
White’s house at Selhorne. One spring, probably
whilst the weather was cool and shady, these birds
selected a naked bough for building upon, but no
sooner did the hot season set in, than the reflection
of the sun’s rays upon the brick wall, rendered the
heat insupportable to the lialf-fledged little birds.
Under these circumstances they must have perished,
had not the distressed parents contrived, with wings
expanded, and mouths gaping for breath, to hover
over the nest, and thus to screen their young ones

l 3

126

THE LOVE OF PARENT BIRDS.

from the fierce heat. The fatigue and pain the
birds underwent they heeded not, but alternately
hovered on, although not a particle of their usual
labour in seeking food for their loved nestlings wras
diminished. Love surmounted all difficulties, and
saved their little ones.

Our next subject will be on the bones of birds. ,

THE LOVE OF PARENT BIRDS.

127

How many eggs do large birds of prey usually
lay ?

What is about the average number of eggs laid
by smaller birds of prey ?

How many broods do other kinds of small birds
bring off in the year V .

What food do those birds eat, which lay the
greatest number of eggs ?

Why do birds migrate ? .

What circumstance marks the care that is taken
to protect birds and their eggs ?

Why do both parents usually watch over their
young birds ? ....

PAGE

114

114

115

115

113

115

118

)

ON THE BONES OF BIRDS.

We have hitherto been considering the general
appearances of birds, as well as those of their nests
and eggs. Let ns next turn our attention to the
frame-work of the bird’s body, and consider how it
has been fashioned, so as to enable • the living
creature both to run on the ground, and to wing
its course through the air. -h

First let us examine its bones. These are re¬
markable for their strength and lightness. A
chicken’s bone, when held in the hand, does not
look much unlike the bone of a rabbit, or of any
other small four-footed animal. Both of them are
white and solid. Yet naturalists who have examined
the two kinds of bones, see a material difference
in their composition. The bone of the quadruped

BOXES OP BEASTS AND BIRDS.

129

13 a substance of the same quality throughout, and
is pierced all over with numerous small holes ; the
centre of the larger bones being left hollow, and
that hollow filled with marrow. The bone of the
bird on the contrary, is formed of layers of a firm
and rather elastic substance ; these 'layers being
so pressed and glued together that the outer part
looks solid, while the cavity in the middle, instead
of being supplied with marrow, is filled with air.
This peculiar formation of the bone, renders it very
light yet very strong. Bishop Stanley tells us,
that two inches of the leg-bone of a goose, being
weighed against two inches of the leg-bone of a
rabbit, both measuring the same thickness round,
differed materially in weight. The bone of the
goose was nearly half as light again as that of the
rabbit, weighing only 48 grains, while that of the
rabbit weighed 75 grains ; and yet the bone of the
goose was so strong, it could not be broken in two
by the hand.

The pelican is a large bird, it is sometimes six
feet long from the point of the neck to the end of
the tail, and twelve feet across from wing-tip to
wing-tip. A large skinny bag is placed under the
lower mandible of the beak, which will hold twenty
pints of water ; indeed, at a single fishing, the

130

ON THE BONES OF BIRDS.

pelican will sometimes tuck as much fish into this
bag, as would dine six men. This great bird
swims on the water, and also flies very high. It
must therefore he strongly built, and yet strange to
say, all the bones in its body do not weigh more
than one pound and a half ; and are so very slight
in their texture, they are almost transparent. In
the case of such a bird as this, we at once discover
the wisdom of its bones having been formed of
elastic plates, and of their cavities having been
filled with air.

In preparing the bones of animals, the Almighty
Creator seems to have acted upou the principle
that a fixed quantity of material, moulded into the
form of a hollow tube, will make- a firmer and
stronger support, than when the same quantity is
compressed into a solid stem of equal length : just
because the leaving a cavity, causes the same
amount of substance to extend over a wider space
than when it is pressed close together. This prin¬
ciple He has also carried out in making wheat
straw. There is very little stuff in the walls of a
straw ; were it all to be packed together, so as to
form a solid stem, it would turn out but a slim and
weak pillar ; but the same amount of substance
spread out into the shape of a hollow rod, forms a

TUBE' FOKM OF BONES.

131

tolerably- sized tube, and one wliich can bear a
surprising weight. I once saw two pieces cut off
a straw, each of them about an inch and a half in
length ; their ends were made perfectly even ; and
as the finger steadied them on a table, a board was
placed upon their tops, and upon the board an iron
weight of one pound. The fingers were then quietly
removed, and the short lengths of straw left to
stand by themselves with the weight upon them,
which they bore well. A two-pound weight was
next placed upon them ; they supported this weight
also : then a three-pound weight ; and they bore
this pressure ; then a four-pound weight ; with
this, down they broke. They could not support
much beyond the three pounds, but you will think
this was indeed enough for a couple of straws !

From this experiment, as well as from many
other facts, it appears that bones have been made
hollow in order that the greatest possible degree of

9

strength and firmness may be given to them, at the
same time that only a small amount of material is
used in their composition. One reason why the
bones of birds are lighter than those of other
animals, is the greater size of the hollows within
them. If you closely examine the leg of a chicken,
you may see that the hollow in it is larger for the

132

ON THE BONES OF BIRDS.

size of the bone than the hollow in the bone of a
quadruped.

All the air which fills the cavities in the bones
of birds, is poured into them from cells or little
chambers found in various parts of the body. These
cavities are charged with air pressed into them
from the lungs, or breathing instruments of the
bird. These little cavities are united together by
fine channels and tubes ; the ends of the tube pass¬
ing into the bones and even into the quill ends of
the feathers. Thus the bones, the cavities in the
flesh, and the feathers of birds, are filled with air,
as a sponge is filled with water. So much air do
birds draw in, that two sparrows, in the act of
breathing, take up as much into their bodies as
the larger guinea pig requires. This great supply
of air inside the bird, makes its pulse run so fast
that we are unable to count it, and even brings the
blood up to what we should consider fever-heat ;
the warmth in the body rendering the interior air
thinner and lighter than the outward air, and thus
giving to the bird a buoyancy something like that
of a balloon.

This buoyancy is a beautiful provision for a living
thing intended to soar far above the earth. Fish
have a bladder for holding air, which is placed

AIR. CELLS IN BIRDS.

183

close to the back-bone ; and as they fill it or empty
it, so they are assisted in sinking or in rising in
the water.

Birds, by reason of their numerous air-cells, may
be said to have bladders all over them, and the
air that fills these cells becoming, as before stated,
heated by the warmth of the blood, expands during
its passage round the body, just as other fluids
expand under warmth. Steam is only water occu¬
pying a larger space, because heat has separated
its particles. >

The quantity of heated air in a bird, not only
renders its body lighter, bulk for bulk, than those
of other animals, but enables it to breathe in places
where a man would gasp for breath. On the tops
of high mountains where the air is very thin, men
pant, turn giddy, and faint, whilst birds seem to
feel no discomfort. The great Condor eagle will
suddenly rise from the deepest valley, and soar far
above the summit of the most lofty peak of the
Andes. The frigate bird almost lives and sleeps
in the skies. It is seen in the hot tropical parts
of the world, floating with long out- spread wings
high in the air, riding there as easily as the fleecy
clouds. Its long wings and light bones certainly
help it to rise into the skies, but its power of

M

134

ON THE BONES OF BIRDS.

floating there, lies in the enormous quantity of
light air within its body. In addition to the amount
birds usually possess, the frigate bird can at its
pleasure fill a large pouch that is placed under its
throat, and from thence force the air onwards
between the flesh and the skin, as well as into the
lungs. Thus puffed out with heated air, the bird
is rendered so light, it floats as if it were lying on
the atmosphere. It seldom comes on land but to
lay its eggs, neither does it need to rest on the
waters, but when hungry, darts from on high to
skim along their surface, and when it has seized
upon a fish with its talons and beak, again rises on
high.

Birds intended to live near the surface of the
ground, have not so large a quantity of air-chambers
in their bodies as the high flyers ; and if, (as an
experiment,) they are sent far up in a balloon,
they, like other creatures, suffer from feeling half-
suffocated.

The free air in which birds constantly abide, and
the large amount of it contained in their bodies,
renders them highly excitable creatures. A bird
eats much and sleeps little, and is full of ardour,
energy, and vigour. Men and animals that live
in low damp countries have usually soft fibres, dull

BIRDS REQUIRE MUCH FOOD. 185

sensations, and heavy intellects, compared with
those that live in higher and brighter situations.
Fine air makes the muscles firmer, the nerves
more irritable, and the intellect more acute. So
birds that inhabit the wide expanse of the atmos¬
phere have generally dry hard muscles, and this
firmness of fibre adds in no small degree to the
vigour and rapidity of their motions. But as this
extreme activity wastes the blood and flesh very
quickly, birds necessarily require much food to
repair their powers. A green-finch, a gold-finch,
and sixteen canaries were fed at one time on weighed
food, on purpose to see how much they consumed ;
and it was proved that they ate of canary seed, and
of a thick paste made of flour and egg, as much,
compared with their weight, as if a man were to
consume in twenty-four hours, twenty-five pounds
of meat. *

Besides the energy and quickness of digestion
that air gives to birds, it aids them in another way.
The air-chambers in their bodies form soft cushions
or elastic paddings, upon which the bones and joints
press down, during the quick and sudden turns
birds are constantly taking in their rapid flights.
But for some such protection as this, their bones

m 2

* Stanley.

ON THE BONES OF BIRDS.

would have been in continual danger of being either

broken or dislocated.

Yet notwithstanding the airy lightness of birds,
these creatures never could have risen far above
the ground without wings. The wing is a master¬
piece of mechanical skill. It is composed of bones,
muscles, flesh, and feathers. Not of one bone, for
that would have stuck out as stiff as the branch of
a tree, but of several* short bones united by joints,
as you may notice to be the case with our arms,
where one bone reaches from the shoulder to the
elbow, and below the elbow-joint, two others roll
side by side, which bones are again joined at the
wrist to the shorter ones that form the hand. Pre¬
cisely is the same style of division found in the
bird’s wing, only the bird, from not requiring
fingers, has fewer bones at the tip end of its
wing.

This jointed division of the bones, enables a bird
either to fold up its wing, or to strike it out on the
air like an oar. When folded up, the wing lies
against the side of the bird, much as our arms are
folded when we place the elbow close to the side,
the wrist against the. shoulder, and the fingers
doubled inwards upon themselves.

SKELETON OF SWAN.

137

fL Skeleton of Swan.

a 23 vertebrae in neck, b Caracoid or side bones. The
Scapula or shoulder bone very small, it lies embedded
in the muscles of the shoulder, close to the head of the
humerus bone l, and in form is like the blade of a knife.

9

[

IBB

ON THE BONES OF BIRDS.

c Merry-thought or furcal bone ; each separate bone is
called a clavicle, cl Sternum or breastbone. X & 2 carpus
bones, one joined to the ulna bone, one to the radius
bone. / Metacarpal bone, g Phalangers or fingers, h Ulna
bone, i Radius bone, k Humerus bone. I Head of
humerus bone, upon which 12 distinct actions pull.

We shall next examine the joints and muscles
which belong to the bird’s frame -work.

PAGE

When you hold two bones, the one of a quad¬
ruped and the other of a bird, in the hand,
what is their appearance ? . . . 123

What difference do naturalists discover in the
formation of the two bony substances? 128, 129
With what are the hollows in the bones of quad¬
rupeds filled ? .... 129

With what are the hollows in the bones of birds
filled? . . . . _ . 129

How much do the bones of a pelican weigh ? . 130

Why is a tube stronger than the same quantity
of stuff made into a thin pillar? . . 130

How is air carried all over the body of a bird? 132
What makes the air expand in the cell-bags of a
bird? ...... 132

What two advantages does a bird gain by having
a quantity of heated air inside its body ? . 133

Which is the important limb on the body of a
bird, that enables it to rise in the air? . 136

Which limb on our bodies does the wing of a
bird resemble ?

136

State garter.

JOINTS AND MUSCLES OF BIRDS.

)C . - '

Having described the bones of the bird, we have
now to examine the way in which they are fastened
to one another.

Yon are aware that when an animal dies, its
bones soon separate ; its skeleton cannot then hold
together, because the pieces of which it is formed
do not adhere. During life, the several bones are
fastened to one another by a beautiful provision of
bandages, called tendons, which are a kind of
tough fleshy strings, laid thickly side by side, until
they form elastic cords. When these cords come
to a part where two bones meet, their fibres spread
out, and make a flat strap that wraps over the
bones ; some of the fibres even pass into the hard
bony substances, to hold them the more tightly
together. The outer sides being thus securely

140

JOINTS AND MUSCLES OF BIRDS.

bound together, the ends of the bones, which are
hollowed and rounded to make them fit into each
other, are left at liberty to roll and play upon their
tips with the ease and motion of a jointed hinge.

Whoever has cut up the leg of a chicken, cannot
but remember the strength of the bands or tendons
that are wrapped round the joints ; neither can he
forget how numerous are the tendons which extend
down the drum-stick of the leg. In a turkey they
are so strong, that in preparing the bird for the
table, the cook finds it needful to tear some of them
away by main force, and often cannot succeed in
doing this, until she obtains a leverage by bending
the leg round the side of a door.

The first bone in the wing of a bird, that is,
the one close to the chest, presses upon the points
of three others ; the shoulder bone, * the merry¬
thought, f and the side bone, j This tripod of bones
makes a firm foundation for the end of the great
wing-bone to roll upon, so that just at their point
of meeting, a very curious joint is formed ; one
that is neither altogether a cup-and-ball-joint, nor
a hinge joint, but which has in itself something of

* The scapula.

f The furcal bone. The two furcal bones when united,
are called the clavicles, or merry-thought.

4 The caracoid.

WING JOINT.

141

both these contrivances. (See skeleton of swan, on
page 137). This peculiar kind of joint enables a
bird to lift its wing up and down, and to move it
backwards and forwards with great ease, elegance,
quickness, and power. It is a joint exactly suited
for the work it has to do, and that work is by no
means trifling, since twelve distinct actions of the
bird pull upon this one joint.

Muscles from many parts of the body are fastened
to the bones, the ends of which form the great wing-
joint, and as these muscles pull at the bones, so
the position of the joint is altered, just as pulling
at different cords alters the movements of a ship’s
sails. A bird may have to take an upward, then a
.downward flight, or a forward, backward, dipping,
hovering, or sideway flight ; instantly changing
from rapid to slow, and from slow to rapid, accord¬
ing as the feelings of the bird prompt it to move.
At every one of these changes, whether important
or slight^ the position of the wing has to be altered,
and therefore the joint has to be drawn upon in a
different way. Scarcely a muscle in the body can
be moved, without its action, in some way or other,
running forward to the great wing-joint ; fancy
then the heaving, rolling, opening, shutting, and
pulling that is going on in that curiously made
hinge. It would be no easy task to count its

142

JOINTS AND MUSCLES OF BIEDS.

varieties of movement. By altering tlie position of
tlie twenty- six letters in our alphabet, hundreds of
millions of different words can be made ; just so it
has been said, it would be next to impossible to
reckon up all the movements and positions which
the great wing-joint of a single bird can display.

Whilst the animal is using its joints, the con¬
stant friction, or rubbing, that takes place at the
ends of the bones would soon occasion great pain,
and also wear away a portion of the bones very
quickly, had not their ends been protected by a
covering of smooth tough padding, called gristle.
To keep this tough gristle soft and pliable, a gland
is placed near the joint, in which oil is secreted ;
and this oil is made to flow out by a small drop at
a time, and so to wash over the inside of the joint.
When over-exertion exhausts this oil, the bones
are believed to lie closer together. At least, a
recruiting sergeant found the men he had enlisted
in the morning of the right height, had fallen in
the evening under the mark, after a long day’s
march. It is supposed, that the oil between the
joints of the backbone became dried up by the
exertion, and that consequently, the bones had
fallen closer together. When this happens, pain
and stiffness follow.

PECTORAL MUSCLES.

143

Tlie wing-bones of a bird are pulled upon by
many muscles, tliree of which, called the pectoral
muscles, are very strong, and run the whole length
of the wing. The middle pectoral muscle is so
thick, that it weighs more than all the other mus¬
cles in the body put together. This great muscle
springs from the inside of the breastbone, where
its fibres are widely spread out. As it leaves
the breastbone and passes on to the wing, it
goes through a hole in one of the bones, which
forms a support to the great wing -joint. This
hole acts as a pulley for the muscle, and by
means of it, the pull can be thrown into the
proper direction, and the wing lifted up with a
rapid heave.

Another great pectoral muscle sweeps over tbe
top of the joint. This muscle not only bends
down the wing, and thus enables the bird to give
a powerful strike upon the air, but being wound
round all the bones near the wing-joint, it helps
at the same time to lift up the joint, and so to
tighten and keep steady the strong pulley muscle.
These two great pectoral muscles give the flying
strength to a bird’s wing. In the case of the
swan, they are so strong, that the flap of its wing
has been known to break a man’s leg ; and in the

144

JOINTS AND MUSCLES OF BIRDS.

case of the eagle, men have been struck dead by a
similar blow.

The pulling force of these muscles greatl)T strains
the bones to which they are fastened, and therefore
to keep the hollow bones from breaking, where the
great pectoral muscles clasp their sides, and pull
against them like cords, little rings of bone are
placed all round their interiors. These rings
are often tied together by cross pieces, so that
although the bones themselves remain excessively
light and full of air, they are nevertheless wonders
for strength. L-

Slow-flying birds have short bones in their
wings ; fast-flying birds have long bones. Long
bones enable a bird to dash on through the air, as
long oars send a boat driving through the water.
But whether short or long, the wings of birds are
always feathered, and the surface that strikes upon
the air consequently extended beyond the stretch
of the bones. ^

A bird, whilst it either sails straight along, or
descends slowly towards the earth, lays the whole
of its broad wing upon the atmosphere, somewhat
as the open palm of the hand might be pressed
upon it ; but after each downward stroke, when the
bird desires to ascend, the wing is turned slightly

STRENGTH OF PECTORAL MUSCLES. 145

edgeways, so that the large feathers glide easily up
through the air. This arrangement enables the
wing of the bird to slip through the air without
feeling much of its resistance ; and without much
exertion, it enables the wing to lift up the body,

notwithstanding the weight of air that presses upon

»>

its whole surface.

The vast strength of the pectoral muscles can
only be conceived (and at last but partially con¬
ceived), by considering the length of time a bird
can keep on the wing. A little tom-tit once
alighted on the mast of a ship, when the vessel
was nine hundred and twenty miles from land.
How' many thousands upon thousands of times
must the strong pectoral muscles of that little
bird have struck upon the air, flapping down and
lifting up the wing, without taking rest, and yet
they were not worn out. An owl has been seen
gliding over the midst of the Atlantic Ocean, with
as much apparent ease, as if it had been seeking
for mice amongst its native fields. The swift,
which is a species of swallow, is known to be six¬
teen hours in the day darting about after flies. If
the little bird felt tired, it would stop, because it
is the will of a living creature that keeps it moving ;
the will having in every action that an animal per-

N

146

JOINTS AND MUSCLES OF BIRDS.

forms, to give an order to contract or to lengthen
the muscles.

When swallows migrate, it is believed they fly
mostly at night, speeding along at such a rate, that
in three days they pass from England to Sierra
Leone, in Africa, a distance of three thousand
miles. Even a common sparrow could go there in
a fortnight without fatigue, and find plenty of time
for roosting on the way.

High in the air, over the South Pacific Ocean,
the tropic bird is occasionally to be seen flitting
about hither and thither, and by its movements,
displaying immense power of muscle. Its wings
measure from tip to tip, fourteen feet across, yet
to so great a height does it ascend, that while in
rapid motion, it often looks like a. stationary speck
shining as a spangle against the dark blue sky.
Then suddenly checking its course, it will descend
with the rapidity of a meteor, and hover for a
while over the topmost-mast of a vessel, from
whence, with its two long projecting tail feathers
streaming in the air, it will dart downward upon a
shoal of fish, and again rising gracefully with its
prize, soar aloft to rest above the clouds.

In passing across the Pacific Ocean, between
the Cape of Good Hope and Van Dieman’s Land,
Mr. Gould, the naturalist, witnessed the vast power

STRENGTH OF WING IN PETRELS.

147

of wing possessed by the chocolate coloured giant
petrels. These birds are met with over all the
southern oceans. They are between the size of a
duck and a goose, and have such powers of flight,
it is thought that they frequently perform the cir¬
cuit of the globe.

One of the petrels that followed the ship in
which Mr. Gould was sailing, chanced to have
white feathers, from which circumstance it was
easily noticed ; and whilst the vessel sailed along
at the rate of nearly two hundred miles in the
day, this white petrel was watched for three weeks,
not merely following the ship, but hovering around
it. At intervals, it was seen for half an hour
hunting up the track of the ship, to secure any
offal that might have been thrown overboard. At
other times, it was employed in scanning the
ocean in immense circles of twenty miles round,
flying at the speed of eighty or a hundred miles
an hour. From these facts Mr. Gould calculated
that the giant petrel must have performed the
enormous distance of two thousand miles in twenty-
four hours.

Powerful and tough, firm and elastic, must have
been the pectoral muscles of those wings, which
could keep so large a bird joyfully dashing at the

n 2

148

JOINTS AND MUSCLES OF BIKDS.

air with the regular action of a steam engine, for
days, weeks, and months together !

If we look at the size of the bones in a bird, at
their lightness and strength, at the form of the
joints, and the vigour of the muscles ; all these
things must strike us as admirably adapted for the
use of a flying creature, and as such, betokening
not only the wisdom of the Creator, but His end¬
less powers of contrivance.

Let me then ask you a serious question. In
what place does the Maker of the bird prepare for
it, all its varied apparatus for flight ? Does He
make it to suit the wants of the bird after He has
given it a will to mount into the air ? Truly not.
Before the sun shone upon its light body, before
the soft air blew upon its wings, or filled its
countless air-vessels, all was prepared inside the
dark chamber of its egg-shell. The Lord God
accomplished within those thin lime walls, what
He had planned from all eternity, — a creature
suitable to live joyously in the air, as well as to
rest on the ground. Surely there is a voice in
the perfection of these things, which declares
more loudly than a thousand trumpets could, that
matchless skill, power, and love, direct the works
of His creation. Never forget that Wisdom is

WISDOM AND POWER IN THE WORKS OF GOD. 149

shewn as conspicuously in all the works of God,
as Power.

We have next to consider the back and breast¬
bones of birds. ^

TAGTi

When an animal dies, do its bones long hold
together? . . . .139

What keeps them together during life ? . .139

What shape do the tendons assume, when they
bind over the ends of two bones, so as to turn
them into a hinge ? . . . .139

Upon, how many bones does the first wing-joint
press ? ..... 140

What are the names of the three bones that
support the first wing-bone ? . . . 140

What substance is wrapped over the ends of
bones to prevent their being worn out by
friction ?..... 142

How is the gristle kept moist ? . . . 142

What are the names of the two greatest muscles
in the wing of a bird ? ... 143

Upon what part of the bird’s bony skeleton are
the pectoral muscles fastened down ? . .143

How are the pectoral muscles fastened down
upon the breastbone ? . . .143

How is the inside of the wing-bone strengthened
so as to prevent the pull of the muscles from
breaking it ? .

n 8

144

150

JOINTS AND MUSCLES OF BIRDS.

What length of wing have slow-flying birds ? .

When a bird descends, how does its wing lie
upon the air? .

When a bird is rising in the air, in what position
does it place the wing ?

In what place is a bird’s flying apparatus pre¬
pared for it ? .

PAGE

144

144

145
148

Jfmttto. .

ON THE BACK AND BREASTBONES OF BIRDS.

Animals that move on the earth, and birds that
fly in the air, have no intellects by which they can
reflect upon the wonderful formation of their bodies.
Man, on the contrary, is gifted with a mind that
can examine the skill with which the animal frame
is put together ; and as far as we have investigated
this subject, it has supplied us with much cheerful
interest, as well as reasons for lifting up the voice
of praise.

In continuing our study this evening, I shall
commence by asking a question — “Have you ever
noticed the great care that is taken to guard
the head and back of an animal from sudden jars,
during the time its front limbs are being power¬
fully exerted ? ”

When a horse takes a leap, or when it gallops —

152 THE BACK AND BREASTBONE OF BIRDS.

when a bird flies, or a man thrusts out his arm,
considerable force is used. Were the legs of the
horse, the wings of the bird, or the arms of the
man attached directly to the backbone, a sudden
check in speed, or a strain in pulling, would en¬
danger instant dislocation of the spine ; such an
accident, by disturbing the vital nervous matter
that runs from the brain down the hollow of the
backbone, would quickly bring on death or paralysis.
To defend an animal from such injuries, the front
limbs are given a slow play upon a bone, that is
separate from the back. Our arms pull upon the
shoulder blade — the front legs of the horse pull
upon the shoulderbone — and the wing of the bird
upon three separate bones. These various distinct
bones, which are united to the back by elastic
muscles, receive the first shock of the animal’s
rapid movements, just as the springs of a carriage
receive the first joltings of a rough road.

The backbone of a bird is differently made to
that of any other animal. With men and beasts,
the spinal bone is composed of a number of small
jointed-pieces that fit into each other ; such backs
easily bend, whilst that of a bird looks as if it were
all of one firm substance. On cutting up a fowl at
table, you may however see by a little attention,
that the back is not all of one piece, but is com-

MADE OF FIVE PIECES.

153

posed of five pieces, which are fastened together or
soldered down at their edges. Had the backbone
of a bird been made as moveable as are the joints in
its neck, the pull of the wings in flying would have
curved the back inwardly. And again, had it been
made of one entire solid piece, a sharp blow or a
sudden turn might have snapped it in two. Great
wisdom then is shewn in making the backbone of a
bird so nearly solid, that it is firm enough to resist
a pull, and yet sufficiently elastic by its division
into five pieces, to yield to the bird’s quick turns.

The breastbone of a bird is formed like the
back, of five pieces of bone, all so closely united at
their edges, that at first it appears as one large
bone. The shape of this breastbone, as we said in
our first discourse, somewhat resembles that of a
boat or long oval basket, the middle of the bone
always having a ridge along it, not unlike the keel
of a boat. The breastbone of the bird is made
longer or shorter, and the ridge in the middle
higher or flatter, according as the bird is intended
to cut through the air, to rest upon the water, or
to climb up and creep upon trees.

The breastbone is of great use to a bird ; it
gives solidity to the whole of its frame -work, and
forms a ground floor or wide base, upon which to
fasten down, and keep steady the powerful wing

154 THE BACK AND BREASTBONE OF BIRDS.

muscles ; just as the sides and bottom of a boat
make a firm foundation upon which to fasten down
the ropes that hold in, and guide the swelling
sails.

The breastbone also forms a kind of box, which,
during the time the body is stretched out in flight,

O J O'

holds up the soft inside of the bird. Thus the
harder the wings pull at, or lift, up the great
muscles which are spread over the inside of the
breastbone, the more do those muscles hold up
like ropes, the weight of the bird. They bear its
weight up to the wings, and the wings again by
their long arched form, lay it upon the air. Thus
as the bird flies, it is almost insensible of the fact
that its body is heayy. Who that hears of this
admirable contriyance to relieye a -flying creature
from the pressure of its own weight, by causing
the muscles to lift it up, and then to throw it upon
the ah*, can do otherwise than magnify the wisdom
and the kindness of its Creator *?

At the crop end of the breastbone are two thin
bones, often called the merry-thought. These two
bones are joined at the top, and form a fine elastic
arch, to keep the wings (whilst in the act of beating
the air) from being drawn too near to each other.
The merry-thought and its neighbouring side bones,
are quite peculiar to birds ; no other animal has

MERRY-THOUGHT AND SIDE EONES. 155

any bones like them, for no other creature is sub¬
jected to the danger of having its front limbs pulled
together with the same force as the bird is, when
upon the wing. Borne of the small parrots which
need but little power of flight, are not given a
merry-thought, and a few of the smaller owls are
almost without a regularly arched bone.

Thought and skill are stamped upon every bone
and muscle in the body of a bird. A naturalist on
looking at the skeleton of a swan ( see page 137)
struck by the wonderful contrivance displayed in
the arrangement of its bones, exclaimed, “ What
an admirable piece of animated ship -building is the
body of this bird ! how the ribs rise from the broad
keeled breastbone ! See how they lift up and sup¬
port the shoulder and broad back ; what a goodly
deck too does that back form for the young cygnets
to rest upon, as they ride beneath the sail-like
wings of the parent bird finely arching over them !
How the twenty-five vertebrae of the neck rise into
a noble ornamented prow, crowned with the grace¬
ful head ! And how skilfully are the oary legs and
feet placed, just, where their strokes can be best
brought to bear for the purpose of putting the
living galley in motion. It is a work worthy of
the Great Artificer ! " *

* The words in this quotation slightly altered.

156 THE BACK AND BREASTBONE OF BIRDS.

Clothed in his snowy plumage, the swan with
arched neck sails majestically along the placid
river ! Its appearance is well described in the
following lines : —

“Fair flows the river,

Smoothly gliding on ;

Green grow the rushes
Around the stately swan.

What an isle of beauty

The noble bird hath found ;

The greenest trees and stateliest
Grow all the isle around.

Low bend the branches
In the water bright ;

Up comes the swan sailing,

Plumy all and white.

Like a ship at anchor,

Now lie lies at rest,

And little waves seem daintily
To play around his breast.

Wild bird of beauty,

Strong, and glad and free

Dwelling on these waters, —

How pleasant it must be !

Like a gleam of sunshine
In shadow passing on, —

Like a wreath of snow, thou art,

Wild and graceful swan.

LINES ON A SWAN.

157

Thick grow the flowers
’Neath the chesnut shade ;
Green grow the rushes
Where thy nest is made.

Lovely ye, and loving too,

The mother bird and thee,
Watching o’er your cygnet brood,
Beneath the river tree.

From northern wildernesses,

Wild, and lone, and drear,

Ice lake, cold and gleaming,

Ye have hastened here.

The pleasant streams of England,
Your homeward flight have stayed,
And here among the rushes

Your English nest is made.”

How ITT.

Our next subject will be upon the feathers of a
bird.

PAGE

By what means are the backbones of animals
guarded from sudden jars ? . . .152

How are the backbones of birds made differently
from those of quadrupeds ? . . 152, 153

How is the breastbone of a bird formed ? 153

What are the two great advantages that a breast¬
bone affords a bird ? . . . .154

o

158 THE BACK AND BREASTBONE OF BIRDS.

What is the name of the bone that keeps the
wings from drawing too closely together when
a bird is flying? .

Which are the two bones in a bird’s frame quite
peculiar to their tribes ?

PAGE

154

154

Jttto Jifttcit.

ON THE FEATHERS OF A BIRD.

We have now to leave the more solid portions
of a bird’s frame, and to examine its painted dress,
a part as much needed for its use, as it adds to
the ornament of a bird. Without feathers, neither
the lightness of the wingbones, nor the beautiful
action of the various muscles and joints in the
body, could avail to lift a bird into the air, or even
give it power to leap far above the ground. To
soar on high, a bird needs the additional help of
feathers .

Feathers are of four kinds ; first, down or loose
under fibres ; secondly, clothing feathers ; thirdly,
flying feathers ; and fourthly, ornamental feathers,
which latter are chiefly placed on the head. The
down which lies next the skin, is the covering with

o 2

ICO

ON THE FEATHEES OF A BIED.

which, some birds come out of the egg, and which
remains as an under coating. It is composed of
delicate filaments that rise out of the skin in
hunches ; and also spring separately around the
quill end of each clothing and flying feather ; thus
sprouts of down always lie upon the skin of a
full-fledged bird. These downy filaments have no
catches on their sides, hut hang loosely, and from
easily matting down, they form a warm and soft
under garment.

Water fowl have a great quantity of down upon
their breasts, which is commonly of a white or grey
hue. Small birds that winter in England, and
have to bear the cold, have black down next the
skin ; black being the hue that most effectually
keeps in the heat of the body. • When we watch
with an attentive mind and close searching eye
into the works of God, we shall always find He has
paid, as in this instance, the most minute attention
to the comfort of His living creatures.

If you had never seen either down or a feather,
and some one had sent you a plucked bird, with
the message that you must set your wits to work
to contrive a covering for all parts of that body,
which must fit it closely ; must be made in the
highest degree springy, elastic, light, firm, smooth,
warm, and beautiful, both in its texture and colours,

THE FORMATION OF A QUILL.

1G1

and withal a dress that should permit the bod)7 of
the bird to pass through the air without resistance ;
what could you have contrived ? If your life had
depended upon it, you never could have devised
any thing so perfect as a feather ! Every feather
is a perfect wonder !

Take one of the flying feathers out of the wing,
and look at it. You see it is composed of three
parts, of the quill or stem, of some down at the
lower end, and of stronger fibres towards the top.
The quill part is light, tough, pliant, and elastic.
The substance of which it is made, is not like
bone, flesh, or muscle ; neither is it like the horns,
hoofs, or hair of other animals, nor even like any
other part of the bird itself. To make this stem,
a mould or small tube was prepared in the skin,
and a few weeks after the bird was hatched, this
mould became lined with fibres, formed out of a
substance which the blood deposits in the mould,
and which, when it is dried up, we call the pith of
quill.

The fine elastic fibres made out of this moist
pith run the whole length of the stem, and are
kept in their places by rings of the same fibrous
material. This formation you may easily under¬
stand when you make a pen ; for before you split

162

ON THE FEATHERS OF A BIRD.

the quill up between the long fibres, you must
first scrape off with a knife the outer rings, or the
split will be jagged. As soon as the mould in the
skin is fully lined with its fibres and rings, the
quill is finished, and it is soon after pushed up ;
just as the teeth of a child rise up through the
gums. The quill comes at first out of the skin
almost like a stick, the fine down and the stiffer
fibres that shoot out on both sides of the stem
expanding by degrees.

Take this feather in your hand, and mark how
the fine-pointed fibres cling to each other. There
is no glue to make them adhere : what then causes
each one to cling so closely to its neighbour ? Run
your finger up the stem of the feather, you will
find the fibres lie smoothly ; but run it down the
contrary way, and they immediately resist, and if
you employ force, they become ruffled. Why is
this ? The natural eye seldom sees any thing to
hold them down ; but look through the microscope,
and the mystery is revealed. For up each side of
every fibre, you will see that a vast number of
little teeth shoot out, that in form, on one side, are
not unlike the latch on a door, and on the other,
not unlike that of the hook on the post. When
the latch and hook of a door meet, we know that
the door becomes fastened ; and so it is with the

CATCHES ON THE FIBRES

168

opposite sides of tlie feathery fibres ; the catch on
the one side unites with the hook on the opposite
fibre, and should rough usage unlock them, they
will spring back and again fasten the one into the

Next observe how the feathers on the back and
wings of a bird point from the head to the tail ;
this arrangement was not made without motive.
The passage of a bird through the air always occa¬
sions a slight current of wind ; had the feathers
pointed towards the head, this wind would have
been driven under them and would have raised
them up ; but as they now lie, the air rolls as
smoothly over them as water rolls over a stone ;
and by pressing them flat down, causes them to
form a close, unresisting, yet warm springy covering.

The ostrich, the emu, and a few other birds,
not intended to fly, but to run, have strong and
powerful legs and feet ; short wings and loose
flowing feathers. The fibres or laminae ranged on
each side of their quills, are without hooks and
catches ; they therefore hang loose like down, flow¬
ing hither and thither as the wind may waft them.

The ostrich is the strongest and tallest of all
birds, being sometimes eight feet in height ; its

* In the large feathers of a goose, the catches may
be seen by the naked eye.

164

ON THE FEATHERS OF A BIRD.

long legs take huge strides, enabling it to scour
the desert with a speed that out- strips the fleetest
horse. When such a bird runs with the wind
behind it, its feathery filaments rise up and act
like sails to speed it on ; its short wings at the
same time being raised to balance the body. But
when the bird turns round and faces the wind, the
flying about of the filaments greatly hinders its
onward progress. The ostrich is much sought
after for the sake of its downy feathers, which sell
for ornaments at high prices. When men on
horseback pursue these birds to catch them, they
generally contrive to make the ostriches run with
the wind in their faces ; for a time the birds make
great efforts to get on, hut at last finding that
their long downy feathers hinder their speed, they
foolishly turn round, and often run right towards
the men, who cease not to fire with their guns, till
they have killed them.

The clothing feathers of a bird are usually
arranged like tiles or slates on a house. They are
of different lengths, and are made of different
forms in order to suit the various parts of the
body. The tail feathers are often long ; their chief
office is to guide the bird in its flight, as a rudder
guides a boat. The varieties of form in the feathers

ARRANGEMENT AND COLOURS OF FEATHERS. 165

of a bird, have led naturalists to class them under
different names ; but whatever be the size or shape
of the feathers, great care is taken to make them
fit closely, especially on the front edges of the
wings, on the shoulders, and on every exposed
part ; so that let the wind blow from ,what quarter
it will, it scarcely ever ruffles them.

The clothing feathers on a bird are often adorned
with tints of the richest colours ; and are stamped
with varied patterns : each separate fibre on a quill
being so painted, that when all the fibres of a
feather fall together, they form one figure ; and
again, the tintings on a series or collection of
feathers, are frequently so arranged, as to make
one general painting.

Since the quill part of every feather is imbedded
or seated in the skin of a bird, no one fibre can be
pressed against or even touched, without the living
owner becoming sensible of the movement. This
close union of the feathers with the skin, causes
them to act as a defensive clothing, a quality essen¬
tial to a bird’s safety ; and moreover, enables the
bird as its moves its skin, to lift up any one quill,
in a way that appears to us mysterious. How
beautiful it must be to have such a dress, one so
sensitive to the touch, that its owner can be warned
in due time of injury at hand.

166

ON THE FEATHEES OF A BIED.

At the bottom of every quill, there is a slight
opening, by which the blood reaches the pith to
nourish it, just as a vein nourishes the root of a
tooth. When a feather has grown to its full size,
and has lived on for some time, the pith dries up,
and then the feather fades like an old leaf. At
this time it becomes loosened from the skin, and
the bird is able to throw off its clothing, or as we
call it, moults. Some birds moult twice in the
year, but all birds have one moulting, after which
new feathers are formed in the same moulds as
those in which the first quills were made. The
formation of these new feathers is a great trial to a
bird’s strength, and occasionally they die during
their moulting. But that once surmounted, they
again look full of spring and enjoyment.

Nature’s bag of oil for preserving the bird’s
feathery dress, will be our next subject of notice.

ON THE FEATHERS OF A BIRD.

107

What have we been considering in this discourse ?

What are the four kinds of feathery dress on a
bird ? . . . . ...

What is down ? What are the colours of down ?

What are the three parts that compose a feather ?

Where is the stem or quill of a feather formed ?

What is it keeps the long fibres of a quill in
their places ? .

How are the filaments of a feather kept together ?

Why do the feathers of ostriches fly about ?

How are the clothing feathers of a bird arranged ?

What part of a feather is painted in patterns ? .

How is a feather nourished ? .

When the pith dries up, what becomes of the
bird’s feathers V

PAGE

159

159

160
161
161

161

161

163

164

165

166

166

ON THE OIL BAG OP BIRDS, AND THE
SPRING OF BIRDS IN FLIGHT.

As I find you have remembered the particulars
mentioned last week, relating to the feathers of
a bird, I shall like to try your observation on
another point. It is this. Have you ever noticed
that when a live duck comes out of a pond, the
water runs off its feathers, leaving them, to all
appearance, as dry as if they had never breasted
the waters ? hut on the contrary, that when a
dead duck is dipped into a pond, its feathers look
drenched ?

All birds, whether dead or alive, have a portion
of oil spread over their feathers ; then why does
not the oil preserve the feathers of the dead bird
from being wetted, as well as those of the living
one ? This is a question we cannot clearly answer ;

OILING OF FEATHERS.

169

we can only suppose, that in the living bird, there
is a power to resist the water, which the dead one
has lost ; that so long as life remains, the bird can
keep its feathers in a position to throw off, and
prevent the water from entering between them.
This power is of course, lost to the dead bird, and
the water then penetrating the outer part of the
feathers, wets them throughout. This one simple
fact, therefore, of the living bird casting off every
drop of water, and of the dead one remaining
drenched and spoiled, teaches us that life is a
valuable gift ; that torpor accompanies death, while
vigour and action accompany life. How mighty
then in strength and animation must our heavenly
Father be, whose name is, “I AM,” that is, “ The
Living One,” the Source of all life, the Lord and
Giver of life. In Him are the springs of life, and
out of Him is stupor and death.

The living bird, whether sporting on a tree, or
wandering over the grass, is daily employed in
pruning and dressing its coat with an oily varnish.
The oil it uses for this purpose, is contained in a
small bag, placed near the upper tail feathers.
Perhaps you may have seen a bird turning its head
round, and laying it almost flat upon its back. At
that time it was probably pressing its beak upon

p

170

ON THE OIL BAGS OF BIEDS.

the little oil bag, to force out a small quantity of
the butter-like substance which it contained ; and
after this action, you might have seen it draw its
feathers one by one between the beak, leaving
upon them a slight varnish. During this trim¬
ming, any water resting on the plumage is removed,
decayed feathers are drawn out, and ruffled ones
set straight.

No living animal, excepting a bird, has this
beautiful contrivance for varnishing at pleasure its
coat. He who made the bird knew, that if water,
even during a shower, were to soak into its soft
feathery covering, its elastic spring would be in¬
jured ; the bird would become too weighty to soar
in the air, and in the water would drag itself
heavily along. The need of a varnish was fore¬
seen, and within the lime walls of the egg, the oil
bag was prepared.

In some birds, this oily matter abounds. The
petrels are web-footed sea birds, that seldom touch
on land, excepting to lay their eggs. Their home
is, therefore, the salt sea wave, and apparently, to
preserve them from the damp of the ocean spray,
this oily matter has been given them in large
quantities. One species of petrel, about the size
of a swallow, is called by sailors, “Mother Carey’s
Chickens.” These birds frequent our British

OIL OF THE PETRELS.

171

shores, and from hovering around ships before a
storm, they are well known ; but whether they fly
towards them for shelter, or with the object of
gathering up food, seems uncertain. Their appear¬
ance, however, is beautiful, as skimming over the
ruffled ocean, they lightly touch the waters with
their webbed feet, walking as it were on the waves,
though in fact they are upheld by their long wings.

Another kind of petrel, nearly as large as a gull,
is called the Fulmar. The body of this petrel is
so full of oil, that in some of the remote islands
among the Hebrides, the inhabitants actually con¬
vert them into candles. They pass a rush through
the body, and after bringing it out at the beak,
light up the rush, which will burn as well as if
dipped in tallow.

The fulmars utter a most disagreeable cry, some¬
thing like the croaking of frogs. They make their
nests on precipitous rocks by the sea; and feed
their young on the animal food they have them¬
selves swallowed and half digested. It is danger¬
ous to approach them when sitting on their eggs,
for if taken by surprise, they will immediately dart
at the hunter some of the oil secreted in their
nostrils. Should this oil touch the eyes of the
man, he instantly becomes blind ; and from being

p 2

172

ON THE OIL BAGS OF BIRDS.

unable to see his way back, is in danger of falling
over the precipices, and of losing his life in the
sea. Many such instances have occurred. ,

The fulmar petrel is almost as useful to the poor
inhabitants of the Hebrides, as the farm-yard fowl
is to us. Its down supplies the islanders with
warm bedding, and its fat and oil answer for lights
and medicine. For these purposes, as soon as the
oil is collected, it is stored away in long bladders
made of the stomachs of the gannets or solan
geese, and preserved for future use. *

We have now slightly examined the outward
form of a bird ; that is, its bones, wings, and
feathers, and I think we have seen that these por¬
tions of its frame -work are admirably adapted for
the use of the flying creature ; yet at last, neither
the boat-like shape of its body, its light bones,
wrell-set wings, nor airy feathers, have any real
power to lift the bird from off the ground. Before
a ball can rise into the air, something must toss it
up ; before a carriage rolls along the road, some¬
thing must give it a push or a pull ; it must receive
from without a moving influence. From whence
then comes the power that moves a bird ? Nothing
we can see throws it up. What then, sets it off,
and lifts it above the earth ? Surely it is an in-

* Cuvier.

ON THE TOES AND HEADS OF BIRDS.

v Foe several evenings we have been examining
those peculiar portions in the body, or frame-work
of a bird, by which it is assisted to rise up and
sport joyfully in the atmosphere. Let us next
consider the heads and feet of birds, that we may
see how the feathered races are prepared for feed¬
ing, and for moving on land.

First for the feet. Birds have commonly four
toes, a few have only three, and the ostrich only
two. The toes of birds are sometimes as distinct
from one another as the fingers on our hands ; at
other times they are either wholly or partly joined
together by a thin tough skin. Birds that perch
upon hushes, have usually slender toes ; those that
wralk firmly or scratch, have stout ones ; those that
run on grass and water plants, have long toes and
often long claws. Birds that swim, have their feet

178

ON THE TOES AND HEADS OF BIRDS.

formed in several ways. Such as the duck, have
their toes united the whole of their length by a
tough skin called the web, which web gives the
foot the two-fold power of striking the water like
an oar, and then of propelling the bird along, by
folding up and opening the web like a fan.

The feet of birds are in several ways made
useful to their owners. In many cases they act as
pedestals for standing upon, and as clasps for
clinging round boughs. In some orders, as a
hand for holding their food ; in others, like the
swallow, as hooks for clinging to upright places.
Among the hawks, they act as weapons of war, by
which to seize their prey on the wing ; whilst
among the swimmers, they take as we have already
said, the place of an oar.

Foot of Perchers, called Incessors.

Birds that nestle on bushes and trees, as well as
occasionally run on the ground, have three of their
toes placed in front and one behind. The swift,
which is a species of swallow, that seldom walks

TOES OF BIRDS VARIOUSLY PLACED. 179

and blit rarely perches, lias all four of its toes in
front ; this arrangement helps it to cling to rough
places on walls. Other birds, such as the wood¬
pecker, osprey eagle, parrot, cuckoo, toucan, &c.,
have their toes equally divided into two before and
two behind. This equal division of the toes, make
such birds poor walkers, and in running they are
generally obliged to help themselves by lifting up
the wing ; but it greatly assists ' them in following
out the peculiar habits of their lives. By the aid
of this form of foot, the woodpecker can search

Foot of the Woodpecker.

for insects upon the upright trunks of trees ; the
parrot can climb for leaves and nuts, and the large
osprey eagle seize hold of a fish. This last men¬
tioned bird has the power of turning its two side
toes to its hind and middle one, so as at right
angles to make an angle of 450 degrees between
each of the toes. This division, combined with

180 ON THE TOES AND HEADS OF BIRDS*

very sharp claws and very rough soles to the feet,
gives the osprey a strong clutch upon its slippery
prey, and enables it to grapple a fish with immense

Osprey Eagle, with its four toes at right angles.

power. Indeed with such force does the bird strike
its talons into the finny tribes, that if a fish prove
too heavy for it to lift out of the water, the osprey
is often unable to extricate itself, and then, amidst
violent struggling, the flapping of its great wings,
and loud hoarse screaming, down goes the eagle
deep under the waves and is drowned. It is from
this cause that the bird and fish are sometimes
found tightly fastened together, and cast up upon
the shore both dead.

TWELVE COMPANIES OF FORMS.

181

To awaken your attention to the various forms
observable in the feet of birds, it may be well
briefly to divide their families into twelve com¬
panies, taking each one that is named, as a general
type or specimen of great numbers, something like
the one here described.

Osprey Eagle’s Foot.

1. The osprey eagle, of which we have just spoken,

may be taken as a good type of foot, formed
for grasping, though no other bird is known
to have its feet so equally divided.

2. The woodpecker may be taken as a type of

foot for climbing.

3. The parrot for handling.

4. The jay for perching.

5. The swift, a kind of swallow, for clinging.

6. The pigeon for walking.

Q

182 ON THE TOES AND HEADS OF BIRDS.

7. The common fowl for scratching.

8. The ostrich for running.

9. The flamingo for mud- walking.

10. The water-hen and jacana for weed- walking.

11. The swan for swimming.

12. The grebe for diving.

As these birds come under your attention, it will
interest you to mark the wise formation that is
given to the foot, in order to meet the habits of
each particular species of bird.

We have now to notice the heads of birds, which
are generally small compared with the size of their
bodies ; but were we to examine the inside of their
skulls, we should find that they contained a fair
proportion of brains.

Birds have no elevated ridge, on the head to
form a nose, but there are two openings at the
upper part of the beak, which serve for nostrils.
These openings are variously defended by feathers,
hairs, and skin, and in those birds which run
among herbage, by a scale. The scent of some
birds, as well as their sight, is very acute. Vul¬
tures feed upon dead bodies, and generally live in
warm countries, where the scent is borne on the
air to great distances. Attracted by the breeze-
borne odour of their food, these birds are observed
to take their longest flights in dry hot weather.

NOSTRILS AND EYES OF BIRDS.

188

In such seasons, the wild animals upon which they
feed, wander over large districts, and often perish
from the failure of the pastures. To such scenes
of death it would appear that vultures are also
guided by vision, since travellers declare, that if a
man lie on his back in the wide sandy plains which
they mostly frequent, in a few minutes, though
nothing was to be seen before, several dark specks
become visible, and in a second or two more, many
vultures will be hovering over him.

A bird, as you well know, has two eyes. Those
birds which feed by day-light, have their eyes

Q 2

The Owl.

184 ON THE TOES AND HEADS OF BIRDS.

placed far apart, but those that feed at dusk, or in
the dark, such as owls, have their eyes closer, and
turned more to the front.

The sight of most birds is keen and quick,
beyond that of any other example in the animal
creation ; and what is very remarkable, the eye of
a bird possesses the powers of a microscope and
those of a telescope. The same bird can see
objects close around it ; other objects full twenty
times further off than either man or dog can dis¬
cern them, as well as some close at hand, which
are too minute for us to see ; the smallest insect
that floats by, does not escape its sight.

Eagles and hawks have long-sighted eyes. The
swallow tribes, the pied fly-catchers, and other birds
are, on the contrary, remarkable not only for far-
seeing, but for their strongly microscopic, that is,
close-sighted magnifying eyes.

The swift darts through the air at the rate of
three miles a minute, and all the time keeps look¬
ing out for food, both on the right hand and left,
and upwards and downwards. The insects upon
which it preys are exceedingly minute, and some¬
times fly above, and sometimes below the bird ;
yet they are seen, captured, and swallowed by it,
without the smallest check in its rapid career. The

POWER OF SIGHT IN BIRDS.

185

pied fly- catcher will sit perched on some prom¬
inent twig that commands a view all round, and
in an instant will dart off like a shot — seize upon
a fly it saw passing at a long distance off, and as
rapidly will this keen- sighted little bird return to
the twig, on which it was before perched.

The long-tailed tit has wonderful eyes. This
little bird feeds upon the eggs of insects, and upon
the fine green flies that frequent the leaves and
bark of twigs. These delicate objects it evidently
sees on bushes a long way off ; and no wonder, for
the magnifying power in the eye of a long-tailed
tit, is said to make an object look two thousand
times larger than it appears to us.

Eagles from their long sight, can dart down
from a vast height upon living birds, hares, foxes,
and lambs. It was needful that birds of prey
should be able to see afar off and to fall rapidly,
for without these powers they must inevitably have
been starved, as the instant that small birds or
animals see them hovering in the sky, they utter a
shriek of alarm, and run for concealment.

When the osprey eagle is flying one hundred
and fifty and two hundred feet above the waters
of the ocean, and a fish rises to the surface of
the waves, he will instantly check his course, —

Q 3

\

186 ON THE TOES AND HEADS OF BIRDS.

look for a few moments steadily down, then flap
his wings as if fixed in air, and suddenly, and with
immense rapidity, descend in a cork-screw zig-zag
figure to the surface of the ocean, where without
seeming to dip his feet in the water, he will seize
upon the fish and rise with it again. Should the
great bald eagle be near, he will watch the success
of the osprey, and if a fish be secured in his talons,
the eagle will rush upon him and take it away.
This attack does not, however, check the osprey’s
ascent, for round and round in endless circles, up
he continues to go, till he reaches the higher
regions of the air, where he glides about in all the
ease and majesty of his species ; until again from
this aerial height, perceiving another fish, — at once
he descends like a torrent, and plunges into the
sea with a loud rushing sound, the very waters
closing over him. In a few moments he will rise,
bearing in his claws the struggling fish, which he
always carries head foremost ; * and having risen
a few feet above the surface, shakes himself as a
water-spaniel would do, and this time directs his
heavy and laborious course straightway to the
land.

The beautiful eye of a bird is well protected,

* See page 180.

^blXco^

LIDS TO GUARD THE EIRD’s EYE. 187

having three kinds of lids to guard it. One of
its lids is similar to that which other animals
possess, only with the bird, this lid, instead of
falling down from beneath the brow, is raised up
from the lower part of the eye. A firm bony ring
next defends the whole outside rim of the eye.
This bony ring varies very much with the habits
of the species. In owls it is elastic, and by its
widening or contracting, alters the exterior shape
of the eye-ball, so as to enable the bird to meet
the different shades of light. With the gannet, a
wild sea bird, this rim is so strong that it is
almost like a solid bone, and when from a great
height, the bird plunges headlong under the waves
to capture the fish upon which it feeds, it amply
protects the eye from sudden blows against the
water.

The third covering of the bird’s eye lies con¬
cealed in one corner of the socket, and is a soft,
elastic, moist, and transparent skin, which by an
involuntary twitch of a fine thread-like muscle, is
made to start from its hiding place, and to drop
over the eye like a curtain. This delicate skin is
called the nictitating membrane. It is believed
that this fine membrane is intended to guard the
eye from storms of wind and rain, and also to
shelter it from the strong glare of light to which

188 ON THE TOES AND HEADS OF BIRDS.

a bird is exposed in the open firmament. In
addition to these lids, a projecting bony ledge
further protects the sight of eagles, falcons, and
hawks, birds which are liable to injury when dart¬
ing on their prey.

Light has a great effect upon all living things,
stimulating the juices of both the vegetable and
animal creation. The quantity of light that pours
into the eye of a bird, is thought to be one cause
of its vivacity snd quick sensibility. It certainly
is true, that living creatures which see quickly, are
the most animated of all beings ; while worms,
moles, and snails, that scarcely see at all, are dull
and slow of action. The invigorating effect of sun¬
light upon the blood, was well understood by the
little negro boy, who when asked why he busied
himself in taking his aged grandmother out of her
hut, quickly replied, “I am going to set her on
the sunny hill, that it may comfort her.”

A bird has ears, but they are so covered with
feathers, in order to protect them from currents
of air, that till the head is plucked, it is not often
we can see them. The owl, which is remarkable
for its acute hearing, possesses a more perfect ear
than most other birds.

Lips, as we said before, a bird has none. Teeth

HEAD OF THE BIRD.

189

it has none ; but it has a mouth. And what that
month is, and how in various ways it is formed,
must he left for the subject of another evening’s
discourse.

/

PAGE

What is the usual number of toes possessed by
birds? ..... 177

Are they ever united ? . . . .177

Of what service are feet to a bird ? . .178

How are the toes of birds placed which nestle
in trees? ..... 178

How are the toes placed with the swift ? .178

With the woodpeckers, parrots, cuckoos, and
osprey eagle? . . . .179

How do birds with two toes before and two
behind, help themselves in running ? . .179

Into how many companies is it convenient to
divide birds, according to the forms of their
feet? . . . . . 181

What features do we find on the small head of a

bird? . 182, 183

Where are the nostrils of a bird placed? . 182

How are the nostrils defended ? . . .182

What difference do we observe in the situation
of the eyes in day and night birds ? . .183

What remarkable properties do the eyes of most
birds display? . . . .184

190 ON THE TOES AND HEADS OF BIRDS.

Can you name any instances of the power of
long sight in birds, and of their magnifying
sight? . . . .184,

By how many lids is the eye of a bird defended?
What effect has light upon animal bodies ?

PAGE

185

187

188

I’ettuw €icf|to.

»

v

THE BEAKS OF BIRDS OF PREY.

The last time we met, we proposed for this
evening’s consideration the beaks of birds.

A bird, you know, has two pointed jaws, covered
with a horny material. These jaws are sometimes
called mandibles. The under mandible is the one
which takes the widest gape in opening ; the upper
one, excepting with parrots, moves but little.

The cheek of a bird has not generally muscle
enough to lift up the top mandible ; the slight
movement this mandible receives, is therefore only
occasioned by its sliding up upon the bone of the
head. Yet the actions of a bird’s beak are more
rapid than the actions of any other animal’s mouth.
A poor dog is terribly perplexed when he tries to
catch the fly that teazes him, throwing back his
head that the muscles in his neck may lift up his

192

BEAKS OF BIRDS OF PREY.

top jaw, while he snaps quick with the under one ;
but slow at last are his movements compared with
those of the swallow or fly-catcher ; these birds
make no second effort to snap at an insect, their
mandibles are opened, and the fly is caught.

The beaks of the greater number of birds appear
to have no more feeling in them, than the nails on
our fingers, although at the part where the bill is
joined to the bones of the head, a bird is acutely
sensible. A man who had trained a goldfinch to
fire off a small cannon, cruelly took advantage of
this sensitiveness, and when the poor bird was
tired of showing off, he would snap his nail upon
the upper part of its beak, evidently to the great
suffering of the little creature. How little do men
consider that God watches over every bird, even
to the sparrow, and that for every, act of wanton
cruelty we shall have to give an account at the day
of judgment.

A bird does not require so heavy a head, or so
large a mouth, as those animals which chew their
food. The act of chewing demands strong bony
jaws set with teeth, fitted for cutting and grinding,
and also a strong skull to support this apparatus.
Birds usually swallow their food whole, and there¬
fore only need a pointed beak adapted for picking
up, and in some cases for tearing to pieces. Now

THE USE OF A BIRD’S BEAK.

193

as birds require the utmost lightness of head, in
order to cleave their way through the air, surely,
as we have once before remarked, wisdom is
strikingly manifest in giving them a small pointed
mouth, and a power to grind their food inside the
body rather than to have to grind it in the mouth.
The beak, though small, is however , a wonderful
little instrument, and one that is of immense value
to a bird. It serves it for a hand in building, as a
weapon of war in defending itself, as a brush and
comb in pluming its feathers, often as a hook
in climbing, and unceasingly as a collector and
i gatherer in of its daily food.

As birds are intended to fill the office of general
scavengers, the forms and edges of their beaks are
varied, in order that each tribe may be furnished
with an instrument, suitable for clearing away its
allotted portion of vegetable or animal life. The
beaks of different tribes are therefore either long
or short, thick or thin, hooked, straight, smooth,
or bristled with stiff fringe -like hairs, according as
they may be intended to act the part of cutting,
tearing, grinding, bruising, or flittering instru¬
ments.

Some birds of prey, like the vultures, devour
decayed flesh ; others, like the eagle, fresh slain
animals and fish. Many orders or families of

R

194

BEAKS OF BIRDS OF PREY.

birds live entirely upon worms, grubs, insects,
and seeds ; and not only is the form of the bill
made to suit the particular calling of each indi¬
vidual tribe, but as eating is to be one of the most
important occupations in a bird’s life, we find its
feet also are made in such a way as to assist the
bill in its work. Birds which chiefly live upon
animal food, such as eagles, vultures, hawks, and
owls, have powerful beaks. (See p age 34.) They
needed such to tear flesh ; and to give full strength
to their beaks, we find that they are broad and
deep compared with their length ; they are also
sharp at their edges, hooked at their tips, and in
some cases notched, to give them a biting power
like a tooth. In company with such beaks, we
find the birds are given strong thick toes and
sharp claws, so that while the bill “ acts as a
knife, the foot serves as a fork.”

In most other respects also, the body of a bird,
and the whole instincts of its nature, are made to
suit its feeding propensities. Look at a vulture,
(which bird feeds upon dead flesh) — his sight is
keen — his scent is fine — his flight is slow — he did
not require swift wings, because his food will not
escape from him. Vultures chiefly abound in hot
countries where decay proceeds rapidly they are
therefore birds of great value as scavengers, and

FORMS ADAPTED TO FEEDING PROPENSITIES. 195

eat enormously, still they can seldom remove a
whole carcase before it becomes offensive ; had
their heads, therefore, been covered like other
birds with feathers, they would have been left in a
wretched state ; but what do we see ? that their
Maker has given them a bald pate, covered with a
tough naked skin that frequently extends some
way down the neck !

Owls, which are appointed to prey on the quick¬
eared mouse, and other animals stirring in the
dark, have large ears that can catch the rustling
sound of a straw, and eyes that can see the smallest
creature. Their feathers are very thick, soft, and
downy, “for nights are cold,” and their wings are
edged with a kind of downy fringe, which makes
their flight silent ; no rustling of feathers inter¬
rupts their own hearing, or alarms their prey, as
they move stealthily towards it. ( See Owl in
page 188.)

Of hawks there are several kinds ; one species
is called the harriers. These birds are appointed,
among other work, to be the clearers oft' of lizards,
frogs, and other reptiles that live on marshy ground.
They usually fly low, since they do not require in
seizing on such prey, to pounce down from a height.
To catch a small brown lizard on a brown heath,

r 2

196

BEAKS OF BIRDS OF PREY.

which, in a twinkling, hides itself under the furze,
the bird needs to come silently heating along the
bushes, rather than to dart down from a height in the
air. On a heath near London, a hen harrier was
watched for some time, while in the act of dodging
rapidly on the wing round the lower parts of several
old trees ; and was seen every now and then as it
flew past, striking against the trunks with its beak
and talons. While thus gliding round and round
the old trees, no one could discover what it was
about, but after it was shot, nearly twenty brown
lizards were found in its body, all of which the
bird had artfully driven from their holes, and then
seized, by coming suddenly upon them.

Other hawks that soar high in the air, feed upon
small birds perched on trees ; as also upon mice,
moles, and young rabbits, which they catch as they
are sitting upon the ground ; indeed they will feed
upon any small animal they catch sight of at rest,
or in the act of moving slowly. Such kinds of
hawks are taught by their instinct to fly high, in
order to obtain a wide survey ; and when they have
marked their prey and hovered above it till they
have taken a good aim, then to launch themselves
down with force upon it. Other species of a much
larger size than the common hawks, and of longer
wing, are called the falcons. Their appointed

JER-FALCON.

197

work is to seize upon birds in full fight, though
they will sometimes strike down birds und animals
resting on the ground.

Of the power of flight in the jer-falcon, some
account was. given in our fourth lecture. The
beak of the jer-falcon is a dreadful instrument : it
seizes like a hook, and cuts like a knife ; and from
a peculiar power in the lower mandible of sliding
with .a cutting motion against the upper one, the
bird can slice off the flesh, as if it were using a
chisel. The three front toes of the jer-falcon, as
well as the one behind, are tipped with smooth but
formidably hooked claws, and with these feet it
holds its dead prey tight, at the same time that
the beak, with the skill of a poulterer, is casting
off the feathers and skinning and tearing up the
body. The jer-falcon was the favourite hawking
bird of our forefathers, but it is now little sought
after for that purpose, the amusement of hawking
having happily been dropped.

The eagle rises higher in the air than any other
of the winged race, except the vultures. The eagle
is a large and noble bird. The wings of the female,
which is always the larger bird of the two, some¬
times measure eight feet across. The whole atti¬
tude of the eagle is bold and erect ; his eyes have

198

BEAKS OF BIRDS OF PREY.

the glare of those of the lion, and the range of his
sight is trul}'' wonderful. Floating hundreds of feet
above the summits of our highest mountains, and
overlooking a hundred dells and valleys, he can
spy a grouse or a hare from a distance, at which
the human eye could hardly discern an elephant.
His voice is strong, his beak large and hooked,
his bones firm, his flesh hard, his feathers stiff,
and never can be wetted in water. The eagle
clears off larger animals than the hawks and owls
can touch ; such as fawns, lambs, hares, rabbits,
grouse, and all the moderate-sized creatures that
live amongst the wild mountainous and rocky
places which the eagle inhabits. During times of
scarcity, and in the winter season, sea-eagles will
sometimes roam far off into fertile districts. Several
have been killed close to a decoy for ducks, in
Colonel Petre’s park, near North Walsham, in
Norfolk.

Birds of prey always strike their victims to the
ground with their feet, the beak not being used till
after the capture is made. The first blow the
eagle gives, is almost instantly fatal. The mere
force of its body, weighing twelve or eighteen
pounds, and coming from an elevation of 1500 or
2000 feet, would of itself be crusliingly powerful :
but the velocity with which the eagle shoots down,

The Eagle.

POUNCE OF THE EAGLE*

199

gives it such additional weight, that it not only-
dashes the animal to the earth upon which it
alights, but plunges its claws deep into the body
of its victim, dislocating the spine, or breaking the
skull of feebler quadrupeds, such as hares. The
pounce of the bird is down and up again, the hind
claw catching the prey in passing. The larger
falcons often tear open the whole length of the
back by the passage of this hind claw.

To carry off its heavy captives to the nest, the
eagle needs what it has, a large and powerful body
with strong talons, but it does not want that length
of wing to give swiftness of flight which the falcon
requires. Accordingly we find the wings of the
eagle, though powerful, are shorter than those of
the falcons, which birds catch their prey whilst on
the wing, and as they are darting through the air.

200

BEAKS OF BIRDS OF PREY.

Brace, the great traveller in Africa, had on’ce
the opportunity of standing close by a noble eagle
in its own wild haunts. *

The whole party of his servants and assistants
had sat down to rest near the summit of a moun¬
tain, and were boiling some joints of goat’s flesh
for their dinner, when an enormous eagle of a rich
golden brown hue, came flying slowly along, not
stopping till he actually came amongst the men,
and sat himself close down by the pot of boiling
meat ; a shout of alarm was instantly raised, and
Bruce went up to see what could be done. The
attention of the eagle was then fixed upon the
flesh ; at length he raised his foot, and put it into
the hot water ; finding, however, a smart he had
not expected, he withdrew, leaving the meat behind
him, and went off to a wooden platter, on which
were lying a leg and a shoulder, into these he
thrust his claws, and carried them off, still casting
a wistful look at the large piece that was boiling.

In a few minutes a prodigious shout was again
raised by the men, He is coming ! he is coming !
The eagle then appeared in sight, and once more
approached the hot meat ; but this time he sat
down within a yard or two of the boiling pan, as if
to consider what course to take. Bruce watched

* This eagle was a Lammerzeyer or Eagle Vulture.

EAGLES SEEN BY BRUCE AND STANLEY. 201

him, and at the right moment fired off his gun,
and so instantly killed the eagle, that his mon¬
strous body, weighing twenty-two pounds, fell upon
the grass without a flutter.

Bishop Stanley, in climbing some rocks in
Auvergne, in France, also met with a large eagle.
He was standing by a waterfall, which dashed
downwards with a thundering noise : in the midst
of the loud roar of waters, “ a short shrill cry,” he
says, “met our ears, coming as it were from the
clouds ; on looking in the direction from whence it
came, we soon perceived a small dark speck moving
steadily on towards us. It was a golden eagle,
evidently coming from the plain countries below,
and drawing nearer, we could see that his wings
scarcely ever moved ; he seemed to float or sail in
mid air rather than fly ; though now and then
indeed they slowly flapped as if to steady him. As
he was approaching in a direct line, we hid our¬
selves behind a rock, and watched his motions
through a telescope. When first seen, he could
not have been at a less distance than a mile, but
in less than a minute he was within gunshot, and
after looking round once or twice, he darted down,
his legs slightly quivered, and alighted on a rock
within a few yards. For a moment he gazed about
with his sharp bright eyes, as if to assure himself

202

BEAKS OF BIRDS OF PREY.

that all was safe ; he then for a few moments more
nestled his head beneath one of his expanded
wings, and appeared to plume himself. Haying-
done this he stretched out his neck, and looked
keenly and wistfully towards the quarter of the
heavens from whence he came : gave a few rapid
screams, and then stamping with his feet, we saw
him protrude his long hooked talons, at the same
time snapping his hooked beak with a sharp jerking
noise, like the crack of a whip. There he remained
for about ten minutes, manifesting great restless¬
ness, not a single instant quiet, when suddenly he
seemed to hear or see something, and immediately
rising from the rock on which he stood, launched
himself into the air, and floated away as before,
uttering the same shrill cry ; looking round, we
beheld the cause of his emotion, he had seen his
mate approaching. He rose to meet her, and
after soaring in a circle a few times they went
away, and were soon invisible to the naked eye ! ”
Occasionally eagles have been taken from the
nest when young and tamed. The tale that a
friend of mine related of an eagle in the Isle of
Skye, off Scotland, is mentioned in a small hook,
called “ Listen and Learn ; ” hut as the work is not
at hand, I must tell you that when this young
eagle was presented to a laird of the Island, he had

EAGLES SHEW GRATITUDE.

203

him chained to a wall in the kitchen. The noble
bird grew large and strong, and showed much
affection for those who treated it kindly. As the
cook fed it, she soon became its greatest favourite.
Having one day to leave the house, she accidentally
left a pair of shoes within reach of the eagle’s

chain ; a fellow- servant wishing to remove them,

<>

put her hand upon them, when the eagle, with its
native wild velocity, darted toward the shoes, and
driving away the intruder, thrust its own feet into
the two shoes, and never quitted them for full
three hours, standing in one attitude, a monument
of patience, till the cook’s return.

Our next subject will be the beaks and feet of
those birds which chiefly feed upon seeds and
insects •<W

204

BEAKS OF BIRDS OF PREY.

PAGK

By what name are the two jaws in a bird’s beak

called? ..... 191

Which is the mandible that mostly moves V . 191

Where is the feeling in most beaks placed ? . 192

Why does not a bird require so heavy a head as
a quadruped ? . . . .192

What service does the beak render a bird? . 193

What difference can we notice in the forms of
beaks? ..... 193

Why are they made differently in form ? .193

What are the instincts and whole shape of a bird
made to suit? . . . .194

Can you name any of the birds v e have noticed,
as adapted in figure and instinct for the work
they are appointed to perform ? . .194

(Vultures, owls, hawks, jer-falcons, eagles.)

How is the principal blow generally given by
birds of prey, when they pounce down upon
living creatures ? . . . .195

Ifetta ftraetttn.

BEAKS AND FEET OF SEED AND INSECT
FEEDING BIRDS.

Haying examined the feet and bills of the flesh¬
eating birds, let us next consider those of the
perchers. Perching birds feed upon worms, insects,
fruits, and seeds. Flocks • of them are close at
hand, such as rooks, blackbirds, thrushes, red¬
breasts, sparrows, yellow-hammers, and many kinds
of finches.

All birds under the name of perchers , have three
of their toes placed in front and one behind, the
hind toe being always on a level with the front
toes ( see page 178). This form of foot enables a
bird without effort on its own part, to clasp round
a branch. Do you wonder why this should be ?
It simply arises from the shortening of the muscles
that run down the legs into the toes. A bird, in

s

206 SEED AND INSECT FEEDING BIRDS.

the act of settling upon a twig, must bend the
joints of its legs ; this draws the muscles round the
bent joint, which shortens them just sufficiently
to pull the four toes in a bent form round the
branch ; — somewhat as our fingers would be
doubled up into the palm of the hand, were a
string fastened to the tip of each finger, then
carried through the length of each, and all four
strings sharply pulled up at the wrist.

Birds often roost on one leg, because the heavier
the body presses upon the bent joint, the tighter
the claws are pulled round the woody branch. The
reason of this double tightening is clear, since the
weight of the bird must pull harder when it falls
upon one set of muscles, rather than when it is
divided between the two sets.

The greater number of seed feeders that perch
on trees, have their toes quite separate from each
other ; but those birds which live much upon light
bushes, such as the thrushes, golden-crested wren
and others, have one of their outer front toes
fastened by a thin skin, a short way up the middle
toe ; this union of the two toes gives the foot a
stronger foundation for clasping a slender twig
than the loose toes can possess. Pheasants and
common poultry fowls, such as the barn-door cock
and hen, have three thick toes in front, all slightly

TOES OF POULTRY.

207

united at the base, the ends being furnished with
strong short nails, to scrape the ground for seeds,
worms, and insects. The stout spreading feet of
these birds give them a stately walk. Every one
knows the strutting march of the common cock, as

Spanish Poultry — Cock and Hen.

he heads his party of hens at the public breakfast
of scattered corn, looking truly as if he meant
you to understand that he and his friends came
originally from the despotic lands of India and
China.

Some birds have loose rolling joints in their
toes. This is the case with woodpeckers, swallows,
and parrots ; such a form of foot, not only gives
them an unsteady action in walking, but when in

s 2

208

SEED AND INSECT FEEDING BIRDS.

a hurry, causes the birds to hop with a half-fiy
over the ground. In addition to this, the parrot
has also a sideways motion, arising from the
shortness of its legs, and the wide separation of
its loose jointed feet.* So pliable indeed are the
joints of the parrot’s foot, that it often raises its
food to its mouth, by using the foot as we should
a hand.

Thus we learn, that a few simple claws, nicely
arranged, and curiously drawn up, without any
other help, enable the lively energetic feathered
races to keep firm hold of places, where men and
beasts could neither stand, sit, nor lie down.

The perchers are a
very large group of birds.
Their bills are straighter
than those of eagles and
vultures, and end usually
in a fine point. They
seek their food partly on
the ground, and partly

General character of hill in seed
and insect eating birds.

* In Australia there are ground parrots, and in America
ground cuckoos. The toes of these birds are divided like
those of other parrots and cuckoos ; that is, two before
and two behind, but they are so long and straight, that
the birds can walk and run very nimbly.

BEAK OF RAVEN.

209

on trees ; seeds, worms, and insects form their
principal support, hut some of the tribes will catch
young mice, and will even condescend occasionally
to dine upon carrion ; that is, on decaying flesh.

In their feeding, the raven and crow come the
nearest to the birds of prey. The raven has a
straight beak, slightly hooked at the point, the

y

A liayen.

edges being strong, but not very sharp. This form
enables the bird to hold its food by the hook,
whilst the edges of the bill literally cut it up by
hard pressure ; the bird tugging and tearing away
at what it desires to eat, by the motion of its neck.
This peculiar bill of the raven, enables it to partake
of a variety of food ; of seeds, worms, insects, and

s 3

210

SEED AND INSECT FEEDING BIRDS.

carrion ; indeed its beak, as well as that of the
crow, has been called “ a servant of all work.”

Birds which feed mostly upon grain and berries,
have short thick pointed bills. Look at the
sparrow’s bill, its fine point enables the bird to
pick a seed out of its sheath, and also to skin a
grain of wheat so as to get at the pure kernel,
whilst the thick sharp edges of the bill give it
power to break and shatter the coats of the harder
seeds. The nut-hatch will pick up a common
hazel nut, fix it into a groove in the bark of a tree,
as into a vice, and will then hammer away with its
sharp-pointed bill till the shell cracks, and enables
it to get at the white oily kernel. Should the nut
accidentally fall, the bird will dart down, and in
most cases catch tbe nut with its claws before it
reaches the ground, then replacing it in the chink,
it will proceed with its work. Song-thrushes in
summer, use their bills as cleverly as the nut-hatch,
but not with the same force. They enjoy a good
snail, but not its shell, and therefore to get rid
of the shell, they hold the snail in the bill, and
forcibly knock it against a stone. The rapping
noise they thus make, may be heard at a con¬
siderable distance, and has sometimes puzzled
people to know from whence it came.

SPARROWS AND FINCHES.

211

Sparrows and redbreasts greatly enjoy a house¬
fly ; and in seeking after their lively game, they
often come near to our dwellings, which renders
them some of our most familiar birds. Were it
not for sparrows and redbreasts, the house-fly
would in many situations multiply" to an extent
quite intolerable ; soiling our furniture, eating our
food, and putting out our lights. Sparrows and
redbreasts are also indefatigable in seeking after
the caterpillars or grubs of the cabbage butterflies ;
indeed it is doubtful whether without their help,
those plants could be reared at all in gardens.

The tribe of finches have a still straighter outline
of bill than the sparrows, and feed more entirely on
vegetable food. They are capital helpers to the
farmer, for they consume immense quantities of
seeds, belonging to the taller and more troublesome
weeds. If one bird eat but one hundred seeds in
a day, that winged little helper will prevent the
growth of thirty- six thousand weeds every year.
We cannot possibly tell how many green-finches,
bull-finches, gold-finches, chaffinches, linnets, and
other finches, are alive at one time in England and
Wales ; but they are so numerous, that it is
calculated if all the seeds were to take i;oot which
they must consume in one year — the plants spring¬
ing up from those seeds, would annually cover

212 SEED AND INSECT FEEDING BIRDS.

over six hundred thousand acres of ground. This
calculation is said to he less than the real quantity,
hut it is enough to show us the value of having our
feathered friends about us. In our garden grounds
they may do some injury, but without them, as the
Americans often find in new settlements, seeds
would overpower us.

Parrots live principally upon the twigs of trees,
and upon their leaves and fruits. The beaks of
these birds are peculiarly formed ; they are hooked,

The Parrot.

strong, and sharp. This pointed beak the parrot
drives into whatever it desires to eat, giving its
mandibles a peculiar motion, something like the

BEAKS OF PARROTS. 213

wrenching round of a pair of nutcrackers, while the
sides are kept pressed close together. By this
action, the bill of the parrot can instantly and with
perfect ease, both divide and grind down nuts and
other hard vegetable substances.

Most birds snap the lower mandible quickly
against the upper one ; but parrots, which can
move both mandibles with perfect ease, never snap.
To lift up the top jaw, requires as we have said,
stronger muscles in the face than most birds
possess. But in the parrot’s full swelling cheek,
you may see there is ample space afforded for a
large supply of such muscular power, and it is
owing to this amount of cheek muscle, that the
parrot moves its bill with unusual force, and is able
to pick out and divide its food in the most finished
and delicate way.

The fleshy tongues of parrots are as peculiar as
their beaks, and are very useful to the birds in
^ turning a nut or other food, into a right position
’for the pincer of the bill to bear upon it. This
fleshy tongue is found in all parrots, excepting in
the Australian group called the Loriquets, which
birds feed on the honey of flowers, and have a
tongue formed with bristles like a brush, with
which they sweep up the honey.

In searching for food, parrots often fly to great

214

SEED AND INSECT FEEDING BIRDS.

distances. Tlieir pointed ample wings, as well as
those of cockatoos and macaws, display a marked
preparation for long flight, and people who have
seen these birds in their native wilds, accordingly
describe their movements as rapid, elegant, and
vigorous. Many species of parrots are in the habit
of describing wide circles and other airy figures,
previously to alighting upon the trees which contain
their food ; the whole party keeping up one general
cry during their various evolutions.

At times these birds clamber from bough to
bough, and from tree to tree, making the fine
moveable and delicate green twigs their pasture
ground. In moving forward on a tree, the parrot
half supports its body by clinging with its hooked
beak to a branch above ; then stretching out its
wide-spread and loosely -jointed feet, it grasps tight
hold with one foot upon a side branch, while
throwing out the other leg as far as its length will
permit, it catches hold of a more distant bough ;
and in this way the bird drags itself rapidly on.

At our next meeting we shall have to notice the
humming bird, and then consider the climbing
birds that feed upon insects.

SEED AND INSECT FEEDING BIKDS.

215

Upon what do perching birds mostly feed ?

How is it that the foot of a percher clasps round
a branch, without effort to the bird ? .

In birds that live much on light bushes, which
toes are partly united so as to give them a
firm foundation ?

What kind of feet has the common poultry cock ?

Which birds have rolling joints in their feet ?

What is the form of beak mostly seen in
perchers ?.....

Which of the perchers comes nearest to the
birds of prey in its food ?

What is the character of beak in grain feeders ?

What insect do sparrows and redbreasts enjoy?

What food do the tribes of finches enjoy ?

How are the beaks of parrots shaped ? ,

Of what use in their eating, are the fleshy
tongues of parrots ? ...

PAGE

205

205

206

206

207

208

209

210
211
211
212

213

HUMMING BIRDS, AND BIRDS THAT CLIMB
TREES FOR ANTS, GRUBS, &c.

The countless numbers of insects found in the
world may be divided into fliers and crawlers. In
a caterpillar or grub state, insects creep over
leaves, hide up in the earth and also in wood, —
in a perfect state, they run on the ground like
beetles, or fly in the air on light gauze wings ; —
consequently, they are found to be in various
situations. On this account the tribes of birds
intended to eat up, and so to clear away the over
abundance of insect life, require to have differently
formed bodies to fit them for their hunting clearing
labours in such different kinds of places.

A duck could not fly all day in mid-air to catch
flies ; a sparrow could not dip its head to the
bottom of a pond to search after water insects ;
nor could a swallow make a hole in wood to find
up grubs. Yet all these places have to be searched

BILLS OF INSECT FEEDERS.

217

over, and the thoughtful mind feels animated
pleasure in noticing the wise and beautiful way in
which birds are differently prepared to accomplish
their various tasks, whether it be to search for
insects on land, to skim after them through the
air, or to dabble for them under the waters.

Swallows, fly-catchers, goat-suckers, and all
birds which catch insects flying high in the air,
have short bills with a wide gape of the mouth.
Those which feed upon insects near the ground,
have sometimes short thick bills, whilst others
have long ones. The richly coloured humming
bird is one of the long-billed insect eaters. This
bird is chiefly found in America, where it feeds
upon delicate flies, fine red spiders, and the
sweet juice it finds in bell-shaped flowers that
grow in its native lands ; in the juices of which
flowers are commonly found multitudes of minute
insects.

The smallest humming bird is somewhat the
size of a bee, and weighs about 20 grains ; ten or
twelve such birds could therefore be sent by post
for one penny. The ruby-necked humming bird
is about half the size of a commen wren, and is the
most beautiful of the species. Its eyes are tiny
bright specks, as black as jet. Its feathers display

T

218

HUMMING BIRDS.

liues of a golden green, the finest topaz, crimson
and emerald, mixed with spots of brown and white.

It is inconceivable how much these birds add
to the high finish of a luxuriant American land¬
scape. As soon as the sun is risen, humming
birds of different kinds are to be seen hovering
among the flowers. They dart and glance about,
visiting flower after flower without ever alighting
upon them, extracting their nectar “ as with a
kiss,” and then are off again like gleams of light ;
the rapid motion of their wings producing all the
while a humming sound, that has given rise to
their present name.

The long and slender tongue of these birds can
be protruded to a great extent ; it is formed of a
substance as transparent as the quill of a goose,
and is folded into two parallel tubes, which
probably serve as a pipe through which the honey
of the flowers can be sucked up ; the end of the
tongue is usually divided, or split into filaments,
brush-like at the tip, which assists the bird in
collecting the honey.

When tamed, these little birds have been fed
upon a mixture of honey, sugar and water, which
they quickly clear away from a cup by the aid of
their tube-like tongues.

In a small work called “Humming Birds,” a

THE FAMILY OF RUBIES.

219

lively account is given of a family of rubies, which
in North America were caught in their nest by a
Mr. Webster. After carrying them home and
placing them in a cage, he fed his little family
upon the mixture which I have mentioned, of
honey, sugar and water, but he soon found that
the birds could not subsist upon this liquid alone ;
the additional food of delicate flies, and of fine red
spiders, being absolutely needful to keep them
alive. As winter approached, and flies became
scarce, his little favourites became restless ; they
wanted to fly away with other humming birds, to
the warmer regions of Mexico and Southern
America ; so he opened the door of their cage to
allow them to migrate to regions where no doubt
they could find an abundant supply of suitable
provision. As they flew away, Webster and his
young sister thought they should never more see
their favourites ; but the following spring he tells
us, <CI had gone into the garden summer-house
with my book, and was dreaming away over its
pages, when a soft whirring noise close to my face
caused me to look up. About one foot from me,
a humming bird poised so steadily upon the wing,
that its body seemed perfectly motionless, looked
with its bright knowing eye fixedly upon mine. It
did not move when I lifted my head, and retaining

t 2

220

HUMMING EIRDS.

this position for nearly a quarter of a minute, with
a low chirp darted out and settled upon some
flowers near. I started up, while a quick thought
sent a thrill of exquisite pleasure and surprise
through my whole frame. The bird sat still. I
ran with my utmost speed to the house, and
catching a glimpse of my sister, cried out to her,
almost beside myself with excitement — ■

‘ ‘ Get the white cup ! get . our cup ! some
honey ! some sugar ! here’s the water ! quick !
dear! quick!”

“What is the matter with you, brother?”
exclaimed the distracted child, endeavouring at
the same time to execute these multifarious orders
all at once.

“ 0, our bird is come back ! 1 saw him just
now ! Where are the closet keys ? 0, he’s come

back to us all the way from South America — the
little darling ! I thought he couldn’t forget us !”

‘ ‘ But, brother, you are mad — how can you tell
it from another humming bird ? I’ve seen a dozen
this spring !”

“ 0, I know it was one of the young ones — he
came in and looked me in the eye ever so long !
Do make haste !”

“ The mixture was completed, and off we ran
in trembling eagerness, for the test of the white

THE RUBY RETURNED.

'221

cup we knew would decide for or against us. We
reached the summer house — the magical white cup
was raised before us — the bird was still sitting on
the flower — we gave one chirp as of old, and
without an instant’s hesitation it darted to the cup,
alighted upon the rim, and plunged its little thirsty
bill up to the very eyes in that delicious cup, and
took the longest, deepest draught I ever saw taken
before by one of them ; and this convinced me
that it had just arrived, and had come straight to
its old home for food and love. My sister burst
into tears and screams of joyous laughter, and of
what ridiculous capers I might have been guilty I
cannot tell. I only remember the self- contented
and philosophical manner in which the returned
pilgrim continued to plume its storm-ruffled
feathers, uttering now and then the old chirps on
the side of that cup — which position it retained
until we bore him on it to his new house,* of
which he assumed possession with a remarkably
matter-of-fact or rather matter-of-course air.”f

* A new and elegant house they had prepared for
humming birds during the winter.

f The whole of this narrative is interesting, and may
be read in the above small work, by H. Adams. Published
by Groombridge, at one shilling.

T 3

222

HUMMING BIRDS.

The fine long hill of the humming-bird, is a
good trap for snapping at delicate flies when on
the wing ; but to catch up caterpillars and other
grubs that creep upon leaves and twigs, a stouter
bill is needed, just such an one as belongs to the
sparrow or redbreast. Small grubs and maggots
hidden in the blossoms of plants, can only be taken
by birds with bills very delicately formed ; and
such are possessed by the titmice. These little
birds rest not a moment on the twigs of a plant,
but hovering over the petals of the flowers, dart
their bills into the blossoms to find out the hidden
grubs. To fit the titmice for this work, they are
so constructed as to be 'able to hang head and
back downward in all kinds of grotesque positions,
and thus to master the buds and blossoms which
cannot be conveniently got at in any other way.
Mr. Swainson says, “ Every one must have seen
the adroitness with which the tomtit clings to the
smallest branches of trees ; examining every bud,
pecking at every hole, and indefatigably seeking
for insects hidden in such concealments.”

Gardeners generally think that tomtits and
bullfinches eat the fruit blossoms at which they
are pecking ; they are not aware it is after insects
and grubs which would destroy the fruit, that the
birds are seeking. Under this ignorant view of

BIRDS THAT CLIMB TREES.

223

destruction, a gardener once came to his mistress
with a gun in one hand, and a fresh slain bullfinch
in the other, and holding up the dead little bird,
exclaimed in a tone of exultation and with a
brightened eye; “I saw him at the gooseberry
hushes, and I shot him with his wickedness in his
mouth

Insects and grubs which hide up in rotten wood,
that creep into crevices in the hark of large trees,
and that sometimes crawl on the ground, such as
ants, wood-lice, hundred-legs, beetles, and various
grubs, are searched for by another interesting tribe
of birds, that have bodies peculiarly formed for
climbing and running up trees, and have bills
remarkably fitted for drawing the crawlers out of
their hiding places. Woodpeckers, which “tap
the hollow beech-tree,” are among these climbing
birds ; and as they are meant to break their way
right into the rotten wood of the upright trunk,
and from thence to fetch out the creeping insects,
them climbing and working apparatus are both
powerfully and curiously made.

The bill of a woodpecker is long, straight, and
wedge-shaped, strengthened in places by double
thicknesses of horn in the form of ribs, so that
without danger of breakage, the bird can use its

224

CLIMBING BIRDS.

bill as a borer. Its tongue is so constructed, that
it can be shot out a long way beyond the beak, far
down into holes in the wood ; and being covered
with a gluey moisture, the moment it touches an
insect, the creature is fastened down. The tip is
also pointed with a sharp piece of horn, fringed
with hairs like an arrow, which enables the bird
when it shoots its tongue at an insect with the
quickness of a javelin, to transfix it in a moment.

At some seasons of the year the woodpecker
searches on the ground for ants, also at the roots
of trees, and amongst dead leaves for grubs,
beetles, and some kinds of seeds ; but the wood¬
pecker’s real home is the upright stem of a tree.
To that it will cling for hours together, boring
away at the wood, either to make for itself a
nesting place, or to find out the hidden retreats
of crawling insects. Indeed, the trunk of a tree
is everything to a woodpecker; it is its castle,
pasture-ground, larder, nursery, an alarum drum,
and a love lute ; for in striking its beak over a
hollow place, the bird makes a loud rolling drum¬
like noise, which attracts its mate to the spot.
Whatever work the bird is about, the tap of its
carpentering beak may be heard a long way off, as
it continues to strike blow after blow in quick

WOODPECKER.

225

succession ; its strokes following one another with
such rapidity that they cannot he counted.*

If you have chanced to see the woodpecker
clinging to the bark of a tree, or to have heard its
drumming boring sounds, did the thought ever
cross your mind, “ How does that bird manage to
hold itself so tightly on the upright stem, whilst
its head and neck are drilling away ?”

Watch the bird at its work, and you will soon
see the masterly way in which it stands, or rather
lies down to perform it. First look at its feet.
Two of its toes are turned behind so that the foot
is placed as in page 179; wdiich position throws
the chief weight of the body upon the breastbone,
and upon the two front claws, leaving the two
hinder claws to steady the body upon the tree.
The breastbone is unusually long and flat, which
form enables the bird to rest against the tree,
and like a shield, preserves its sides from being

* A gentleman once put a woodpecker in a cage, hut
it soon bored its way through the wood. Another
gentleman let one loose in his room, when it began
clambering up the chairs, and boring holes into the
backs ; at last it attacked the window-frames, when he
was obliged to set it at liberty in the open air.

226

BIRDS THAT CLIMB TREES.

injured, whilst the bird presses against the uneven*
bark. To give elasticity to this long flat breast¬
bone, there are two notches at the end nearest

the tail, which are
well padded with
gristle ; when the
bird bends down upon
the tree, these notch¬
es open, and give
breadth to the bone ;
but when the bird
rises, and the pres¬
sure is removed, they
spring back.

To steady the
bird still further on
the upright stem, the
tail feathers are made
very stiff, so that
whilst the weight of
the bird is thrown
upon the breastbone,
and the toes clasp
hold of the bark, the
tail is spread out
under the bird in a sloping direction to act as a
prop ; much in the same way as a window- cleaner

The Woodpecker at its work on
a tree.

FORM OF WOODPECKER.

227

steadies the board (upon which he sits at his work
outside a house) by having a slanting piece of wood
jut from it against the upright wall.

By these dexterous applications of the breast¬
bone, the feet and tail, the woodpecker may he
said to he actually lying down upon a tree, whilst
it only seems to he hanging against it. The bird
is made for lying down ; that posture is its natural
position, and therefore when roosting for the night,
instead of putting its claws round a branch like
other perchers, it lies along the branch.

Thus we see in the form of the woodpecker,
several dexterous mechanical contrivances for
catching insects in a particular situation. The
bird is to he a frequenter of upright stems of trees,
— a grubber into holes, — a gatherer of insects out
of holes. To accomplish these objects, it must lie
down at its work ; its breastbone is therefore made
fiat, notched at one end that it may he elastic, and
the tail feathers stiff' to keep it steady against the
tree. To enable it to clutch hold, its toes on each
foot are divided two and two ; and then to give it
power to bore holes in the wood, and to seize upon
its prey, its neck is surprisingly moveable, its hill
long, straight, hard, pointed, and sharp at its
sides. Its tongue long, soft, sticky, tipped with
a needle-like point, and fringed like an arrow.

228

BIRDS THAT CLIMB TREES.

Again, its whole frame is light and suitable for
flight. Surely to every thinking mind, the body
of the woodpecker is a living proof of forethought,
contrivance, power, and wisdom. It hears about
it an eloquent speech of its own, hut having no
tongue by which to praise its Maker, it needs our
help to utter that praise.

The wrynecks are made something like the
woodpeckers, hut as they do not break into wood,
but only climb up and down trees in search of ants
and caterpillars, they are not given stiff feathers in
their tails, they have simply two toes behind and
two before, with climbing claws and sticky long
tongues. The bird is called a wryneck from its
habit of moving its head in various directions, not
unlike those of a snake.

When found in its snug nest in a tree, it makes
a loud hissing noise, sets up its crest, and writhes
its head quick from shoulder to shoulder with
strange contortions ; it often alarms the timid
peeper into its home, and then taking advantage
of this moment of surprise, it darts with the
rapidity of lightning from a situation whence escape
seemed impossible.

The little tree-creeper is another climber that
feeds upon minute insects concealed in the bark
of trees. It is the smallest bird we have in Britain,

THE TREE-CREEPER.

229

with the exception of the crested wren. Its toes
are not arranged like those of the woodpecker and
wryneck, being three in front, and one behind ;
but to enable it to hold on whilst examining into
the crannies in the upright stems of trees, it has
twelve stiff feathers in its tail, and long claws on
its toes, the hinder one being much longer than
the rest. The bird is very clever in using its
clambering feet, moving so rapidly that it has more
the appearance to the eye of being a mouse than a
bird. With a silent gliding motion it runs upwards
and downwards upon the stem of a tree, and over,
and under, and along the branches, sometimes
with the back uppermost, sometimes the breast,
for all ways appear to be the same to the littljj
tree-creeper ; its feet catching hold, and its wings
steadily hovering to support its weight. The bill
of this little bird is of a moderate length for its
size, slender, pointed, and curved downwards ; its
tongue is short ; its plumage, like that of the
wryneck, is brown, which best conceals it while
running up and down the fir trees, which are its
favourite haunts.

Caterpillars that live among the twigs and
leaves of trees, are handed over to the cuckoos ;
accordingly, cuckoos are climbing birds, and have
two toes behind to enable them to turn and twist

u

230

BIRDS THAT CLIMB TREES.

about among the boughs ; but as they are not
meant to search up and down the trunks of trees
for grubs, they have no other apparatus for
climbing. So enormously do cuckoos eat, that
Mr. Rennie calculates that one of these birds
will destroy three millions, five hundred thousand
caterpillars in a year.

Perhaps you have never seen the grey dove-
coloured cuckoo, though you may have heard its
welcome voice heralding in the bright spring.
These birds leave their winter homes in far distant
lands about April, and after laying their eggs in
Great Britain, they again leave us in June or July.
The cuckoo never takes the trouble to build a
nest. Its plan is, to find out where those small
birds build which feed their young on caterpillars
and grubs, such as its own little ones require ; and
with this object in view, it searches with astonishing
sharpness after the smallest nests concealed on the
ground or in bushes. Those of the hedge sparrow,
linnet, sky-lark, whitethroat, also titlarks and
wagtails, all come alike to it ; and after laying an
egg in any of these nests, the cuckoo leaves it to
the care of the little owner ; and as that owner
knows no difference between the cuckoo’s egg and
its own, it sits closely till it hatches the young
intruder. The first work the young cuckoo sets

THE CUCKOO.

231

about, is to toss out of the nest any egg it may
find by its side, and also any little bird that may
have been hatched about the same time with itself.
For this purpose it slides underneath the nestling
that it may fall into a hollow place in its own back,
which seems formed for the purpose, (as in twelve
days that hollow fills up,) and as soon as the young
cuckoo feels the little bird resting upon its body,
it heaves up its shoulders and jerks it over the
walls of the nest. If, however, it cannot succeed
in throwing the little bird out, it settles down
quietly with it.

There may be two reasons why this ungrateful
propensity has been given to the cuckoo ; first, it
grows so fast, and becomes so large, that there is
not often room in the nest for it and another bird ;
and secondly, it has such a monstrous appetite
that it is almost more than its kind foster parents
can do, to hunt up a sufficient number of caterpillars
and grubs to satisfy it. It is a very remarkable
fact, that the young cuckoo is never neglected by
its foster parents, but is cared for and watched
over by them with even more ardour of affection
than they shew to their own young; and when
they have not strength enough, or are too small
to bring the cuckoo all the food it wants, the

u 2

282

BIRDS THAT CLIMB TREES.

clamorous hungry bird makes such an outcry, that
other little birds, hearing its distressed notes, have
been known to come and assist them in feeding it.
In one instance twenty titlarks were all seen flying
backwards and forwards with grubs, to satisfy the
overwhelming demands of a big young cuckoo,
hatched in the nest of a common titlark. For
some wise reasons that we do not yet understand,
God has seen it good to order that young cuckoos
shall be brought up by other birds ; and it is
instructive to mark the care He has been pleased
to take of the poor helpless young things ; causing
the foster parents to love their adopted children
with a keenness of affection quite extraordinary.

We have now seen that every part of a tree has
its appointed visitor, prepared for inspecting the
wood, bark, leaves, and buds, in order that insect
life may be checked, lest by its rapid increase,
it should injure the growth of vegetation. The
woodpecker is appointed to draw the crawlers out
of deep places in the wood ; the wryneck and little
tree-creeper to pick out grubs from the crevices
of the bark ; the cuckoo to search the green leaves
for myriads of destructive caterpillars . that crawl
over, or are rolled up in the foliage ; while the
tomtit, with its strong but delicate bill, and a few
other birds, are sent to peck at the buds and

BIRDS THAT INSPECT A TREE.

283

blossoms of plants, and so to seize upon the
maggots that would otherwise destroy them.

We have still other insect-feeding birds to notice,
but must not proceed further this evening.

X

PAGE

Into what two companies can we divide insects ? 21 G

What kinds of bills have swallows and other
birds that catch flying insects ? . .217

Why has the humming bird a long bill and a
folding tongue ? . . . .218

What little birds search out grubs and maggots
in the blossoms of plants ? . . 222

What three kinds of birds have we named as
searching into trees for ants and grubs V

(Woodpecker, wryneck, and tree-creeper)

What is the form of the woodpecker’s bill and
tongue ?..... 223
What is a tree to a woodpecker ? . . 224

How are the feet of a woodpecker placed on a
tree ? . . . . . . 225

How is its breastbone formed ? . . 225

What use does it make of its tail, when it clings
to an upright stem ? . . . .226

Of what is the body of a woodpecker a living
proof? ..... 228

If wrynecks do not break into wood, how do
they get at insects on trees ? . . . 228

u 3

234 BIRDS THAT CLIMB TREES.

How does the tree-creeper climb about a tree ?

What bird is appointed to clear off caterpillars
from the twigs and leaves of trees ?

Where does the cuckoo deposit its eggs ?

What is the first act of a newly-hatched cuckoo ?

What are the two probable reasons for this
instinct

How do the foster parents behave to their stranger
nestling ? .

Where does the tomtit find its food ?

PAGE

229

230

230

231

231

231

232

fttta ftontpne.

BIRDS THAT FEED OH FLYING INSECTS.

In the vast forests of America, fallen trees are
quickly bored into by flies, hornets, and beetles,
and the multitudes of maggots their eggs produce,
lead to such a rapid destruction of the wood, that
we have reason to be thankful that birds have been
prepared with bodies fitted for running over living
trees, that they may seize upon the ants, cater¬
pillars, and grubs, that lie hidden in the bark
and crevices of plants, and in their leaves and
painted blossoms. You were told in our last
discourse, that the birds especially made for these
works, are the woodpeckers, •wrynecks, creepers,
nuthatches, cuckoos, and titmice.*

* It is curious that there are no woodpeckers found in
Australia. In that country the work of destroying the
larger grubs seems to be done by cockatoos ; and as
regards the smaller grubs, they seem to be cleared away
by nuthatches and creepers. Possibly, the dry climate
of Australia may not be favorable to a large increase of
such insects as woodpeckers feed upon.

236 BIRDS THAT FEED ON FLYING INSECTS.

From climbing birds that feed on creeping
things, we next pass to birds which, while they
make no objection to a few crawlers or even to
worms, add to their feast any spider or winged
insect they find quietly at rest ; occasionally, also
snatching at a fly on the wing, should it pass in
their way : the gold -crests, wrens, and many
warblers are of this class.- But as different insects
frequent different plants, so the various birds which
are to feed on insects at rest, frequent various
situations. The gold-crests fly to the branches
of the fir tree for their peculiar insect. The jenny
wren seeks her game mostly in ivy and low thick
bushes. The grasshopper warblers frequent close
grassy banks. The sedge warblers live principally
among reeds and sedges. The stone chats and
whin chats love whins and furzes ; the wheatears
open downs : and a little reading and observation
will make you acquainted with the habits of many
other birds of this tribe.

It is also worthy of notice, that the size, shape,
and coloring of each bird is generally adapted to
the place in which it is intended to live. Those
birds which have to slip through thick foliage, are
of a slender make. Those which live among the
leaves of trees, are, generally speaking, tinged
with a green or brown hue. Those that hide

THE WAGTAIL AND SWALLOW.

237

among the brushwood are brown ; and those that
run among whins and heather have speckled
feathers. The willow wren, the jenny wren, the
grasshopper warbler, the titlark, the whin chat,
are all strikingly alike in colour to the places which
they frequent.

The birds we shall thirdly consider, are such as
feed upon low flying injects — upon those myriads
of gnats, midges, and other insects that flit about
over pools and streams. Upon these the dancing
wagtail dines, catching them as they flit past, or
regaling himself upon their larvie which lie on the
ground.

Flies, as you well know, do not rest long in one
place ; the same fly will often rise high in the air,
and again quickly descend with buzzing wing,
either to hover among the trees of a wood, or to
skim over more open spaces. Flies are thus to be
met with in many situations ; and in order to catch
them at every turn, their captors are variously ‘
formed. To seize upon flies in wide open spaces,
a bird must be able to continue long upon the
wing, and to strike through the air at prodigious
speed. This is the case with the swallow tribes ;
which are swift and untiring flyers, and scarcely
ever perch on trees.* But in woods, where the

* See Frontispiece.

238 BIRDS THAT FEED ON FLYING INSECTS.

open space is small, flies could not be caught in
this way ; a bird sweeping about among trees at
the rate of a mile in a minute, would be dashed to
pieces against the branches. A wood-frequenting
bird must be spider-like in its habits, sitting at
rest on a twig until its prey comes near, then
darting upon it, and again returning to perch on
the bough. Such are the habits of the flycatchers.

Moths of various kinds are amazingly numerous ;
and as they move about when the sun goes down,
their consumers must be out at dusk, and have
eyes that are bright and quick. Of this class are
the owls and goatsuckers. The goatsucker has a
wide gaping mouth, edged with hairy bristles, and
a comb on his second toe, apparently designed
as a brush to clear his beak of encumbering wings
and legs, both of which peculiarities admirably
adapt him to revel on the food he is destined to
consume.*

It is not possible in the short time we have to
give to bird stories, to notice the peculiarities of
each insect-catching bird ; we can only speak of a

* The food of the bat seems chiefly to consist of insects
that fly by night, but which are probably too small, or
too horny for the goatsucker to destroy.

c

239

SWALLOWS.

few, and among those few I think we must dwell
more at large upon the swallow tribes ; repeating
some things already noticed respecting them, and
adding a few more observations.

I have told you that four kinds of swallows visit
our land. Swifts, chimney swallows, house martins,
and sand martins. These birds live entirely upon
gnats, midges, and small spiders ; all of which
they catch while in the act of dying, — seizing
them with such rapidity that the snap of the hill
may often he heard as it closes on their prey. In
the throats of swifts and martins that have been
suddenly killed, a number of small flies have been
found sticking together in lumps as large as
marbles, and though still alive, unable to escape.
It seems likely that these flies were intended for
the support of their young ; for as swallows feed
their nestlings from their own throats, it would not
he possible for them to hand over one minute fly
at a time ; necessity must compel them to hunt on
till a sufficient number have been secured to form
a good packet.

The kinds of nests which swallows make, and
the places in which they build, have been described
in our seventh discourse. The faces of cliffs and
of banks, the inside of chimneys, the tops of towers
and spires of churches, with sheltered spots under

240 BIRDS THAT TEED ON FLYING INSECTS.

the eaves of houses, seem remarkable sites in
which to fix their nests ; yet the feet of swallows
are so curiously formed, that they enable the birds
to work on upright walls with perfect ease and
security.

The joint that fastens the toes of the swallow
to the leg, is a sort of cup-and-ball joint, a very
poor one for walking, and which by its rolling
movement gives the bird a gait that might entitle
it to being ranked among the awkward squad ; hut
it is one exactly suited to aid the bird in holding
itself against any uneven upright place. The
joints of its feet are also loose rolling joints ; and
as no membranes fasten the toes together, they
move freely. They are rather long, and being
tipped with strong horny, and slightly bent claws,
the toes easily catch fast hold. The moment then
that a swallow bends its legs against an upright,
and not perfectly smooth surface, such as a brick
wall, the muscles running down the legs pull up
its moveable claws, and cause them firmly to
clutch hold upon the inequalities of the place ;

' the different lengths of the muscles giving the
toes just such a drag on one side, as to make
the feet look as if they were grasping hold of
something that rested between them. This curious
arrangement of the feet and joints is one which

THE CALLING OF A SWALLOW. 241

I cannot fully explain to you, but it throws the
weight of the bird against the wall, and causes the
feet to cling the firmer, the more the leg is bent,
provided there is the least roughness upon which
the points of the claws can seize. The wing and
tail feathers are very stiff, and when they are
pressed against the wall, they also help to prop the
swallow up. ;

By this time you must have gained some general
insight into the peculiar construction of a bird’s
frame, and are therefore in a condition to judge,
how far the light, delicate little swallow, is fitted
for the place it fills.

You know what is the calling of a swallow. It
is simply this, to catch flies in a wide open space.
See then how admirably every part of its little
person, and also its instincts, are fitted for the
performance of this — its grand duty. In the first
place, to catch flying insects, great speed is needful,
and accordingly the wings of the swallow are very_
long ; — the power of rapidly turning in flight is
also needful, so its rudder, (that is its tail) is
made long. Then, as the swallow must be almost
always floating in the air, its wings are made not
only long, but strong ; and its body remarkably
flat, so that it lies upon the air like a barge. To

x

242 BIRDS THAT FEED ON FLYING INSECTS.

catch flies at great speed, a wide gape of month is
needful, and therefore it has a broad head. The
bird carries no needless weight ; its legs are very
small, for it does not want to walk ; but its toes
are strong, to enable it to hang to upright surfaces
when plastering its nest against them ; its eyes too
are keen, so that it can see the smallest fly when
darting along at the speed of a mile a minute.

Besides these special peculiarities of its own,
the swallow has all the common characteristics
of the fowls of heaven ; in the extraordinary
lightness of its bones, and in the warm coat with
which nature has clothed it. Every thing is
done for the swallow to make it light, swift, and
dexterous. If you look at its instincts, you find
them- no less perfectly adapted to its calling. As
flies are killed off in northern climes by the cold
of winter, its Maker has taught it to fly in the
autumn to southern lands, and to come back in
the spring ; and when it returns, its Maker scatters
its numerous flocks over the face of the country,
instead of allowing them to throng together in one
spot.

Again, the instinct of the swallow leads it to
build at a height convenient for its pursuits, so
that when it has carried a mouthful of flies to its
young ones, it can fly forth again to its work,

EIGHT CONSTEUCTION OF A SWALLOW. 243

without a moment’s delay. But though birds of
this tribe usually build high, it would not do for
them to build in trees, since they can only skim
through the air where there is plenty of open
ground. No man ever saw a swallow catching
flies in a wood ; therefore this bird has been taught
to build under the ledges of cliffs, the only high
things in nature except trees, and these cliffs it
has exchanged for the eaves of houses, wherever
the dwellings of man are to be found. In such
situations the inside of the nest must be dark, so
we find that the eggs are pure white, the hue best
fitted to be seen in a dark abode.

The colour of the swallow might seem an
exception to the general law, that the bird is
coloured like its haunts, unless we remember, that
many of the swallow’s natural haunts are dark
looking cliiT-sides. We certainly see that its
cousin, the sand martin, who pierces a hole for
its nest in the soft ground, is something of the
colour of the sand in which it makes its dwelling,
and from which it takes its name.

But now, what I want you to notice is, that the
structure of the whole bird is so made as to fit it
for the great purpose of its life, which is that of
fly-catching in open ground. The shape of its

^ x 2

244 BIRDS THAT FEED ON FLYING INSECTS.

body, the length of its wings and tail ; the width,
hardness, and smallness of its beak, the minuteness
of its legs, and the strength of its toes ; and again,
its instincts, that which leads it to migrate in
autumn, and that which leads it to build, not upon
trees, but upon walls and cliffs ; in a word, its
whole being, within and without, is constructed
with a single eye to its calling.

The idea that the bird is to be a slayer of flies
in open spaces, is the great leading idea which has
been shewn, in the whole formation of the swallow,
just as the great leading idea which a man works
out, when he makes a sporting gun, is, that it
shall be a suitable instrument throughout all its
parts, for killing partridges in the best possible
way.

Certainly the swallow is well prepared for its
office, and we do not find its will falls short in
following it out ; for one of these birds on being
' killed, was opened ; and without the motive of
feeding its young, there was found in its crop a
mass of flies and red spiders, which when pressed
close down, filled a table-spoon. Small spiders at
some seasons of the year soar on their silken
threads high up in the air ; and that their numbers
are very great, we may learn from the wide sheets

ABUNDANCE OF INSECT LIFE.

245

of glittering gossamer which their wehs often
spread during the night, over an entire field in the

autumnal season.

■ < 1 <

So full indeed, is the air of living things, that
in the height of summer, when the days are long,
and the wind is still, a continued humming may
be heard. Mr. White, of Selhorne, says that a
person at such times might suppose a swarm of
bees was in motion, and playing about his head.
The noise, however, is not the noise of bees, but
the hum of vast multitudes of different insects on
the wing, filling the air in every direction, and
causing it to resound with their rapid movements.
Yet so small are they, that we cannot always
perceive them. It is well to listen to this wide¬
spread universal humming, for it cannot fail to
impress upon the thoughtful mind some idea of the
fulness of nature, and of the presence of that Being
from whom all life and enjoyment comes.

To clear the air in some degree of its over¬
abundance of living swarms, our Creator has given
the swifts, swallows, and martins, four different
spaces to hunt over (See Frontispiece). Very high
up in the atmosphere the fewest flies are to be
found. There the rapid swift is sent, and for
sixteen hours at a time do his beautiful untiring

246 BIRDS THAT FEED ON FLYING INSECTS.

wings, bear him along one hundred and eighty
miles each hour ; his beak snapping all the while
at his game. The chimney swallows take a lower
region, and fly more slowly, about ninety miles in
the hour, for in their appointed track there are
more insects to be met with. Then come the
house martins, and at the speed of a little more
than a mile in a minute, they catch those insects,
which, except when rain is near, move along at
a height of from fifteen to forty feet above the
ground. The sand martin has his post still lower
down, for he usually skims after gnats and other
flies, just over low flat grounds. The benefit of
these orderly arrangements are felt by man every
year ; for no sooner do the swallows, martins, and
other summer insect-feeding birds depart for their
winter quarters, than late in the autumn the noisy
wings of gnats, larger flies, and hosts of midges
surround our path, and continue with us till cold
weather kills them, or causes them to hide up.

As we watch the various objects in nature, we
often find that they lift up our hearts with sweet
and refreshing thoughts. Take the following
instance : A person much distressed in mind on
account of the little strength he felt to love his
Saviour, began one summer’s evening, as he was
walking alone in the fields, to doubt if his prayer

AN INSECT THE WORK OF OMNIPOTENCE. 247

for the help of the Holy Spirit had been answered.
He thought that the work of the Spirit could never
be so weak as it seemed to he in his heart. The
day was clear, and the insects were sporting in the
sun; and whilst gazing on them it occurred to
him, that each of those tiny insects was as much
the work of Omnipotence as the mightiest angel,
and that its gentle hum could only have been
called forth by the same power which inspired the
hymn of the archangel. This was a simple process
of thought: but, he adds, “I then saw in a
moment, that small things in the beginning of a
work of grace, may be as really the work of the
Spirit, as the gift of prophecy or miracles ; for as
nothing but Omnipotence could have created an
insect or an angel, so nothing but the Holy Spirit
could turn the heart to desire the holy salvation
of God ; such a desire being utterly unnatural and
abhorrent to man.*

Have you, who listen to these remarks, ever
desired to know and love your God ? That desire
was not from Satan, neither did it spring from your
own hearts. It was the work of the Spirit ! nourish
that desire by prayer, reading, and watchfulness,

* Philips’ Guide to the Devotional.

248 BIRDS THAT FEED ON FLYING INSECTS.

and the same God who upholds all creation, will
lead }rou on to glory and honour.

We shall have next to notice the birds that walk
on grass, and wade in shallow waters.

(7

PAGE

What birds mostly sit on the branches of trees
to catch at insects and spiders quietly at rest ?

(Gold crests, jenny wren, grasshopper warblers,
sedge warblers, wheatears)

For what is the size and colour of a bird usually
adapted ?..... 236
Where are flies often found ? . . 237

Can the same bird catch a fly in all the different
places that one fly may frequent ? . . 237

What must a bird have to enable it to catch flies
in a wide open space V ... 237

What birds fly in open spaces ? . . 237

What are the habits of the birds which feast
upon flies as they rest quietly on the ground
or on wood ? (Spider-like.) . . . 238

What birds feed upon moths that fly at dark ?

(Goat-sucker owls.)

How many kinds of swallows visit our land ? . 239

Upon what do they feed ? 239

BIRDS THAT FEED ON FLYING INSECTS. 249

PAGE

In what part of tlieir bodies have lumps of flies
been found? ..... 239

Where do swallows make their nests ? . . 239

What kind of joint in the foot of a swallow
enables it to cling to an upright place ? . 240

What is the calling of a swallow ? . . 241

Can you tell me in what way he is fitted for his
calling? .... 241 to 244

What noise may we sometimes hear in the air
when the weather is calm and warm ? . 245

fttto Steittj-ttaa.

ON GRASS-TREADING AND WADING BIRDS.

Birds that walk on soft grassy ground, have
long- spreading toes. The lark (that song-bird
of the skies) has the middle toe two inches in
length, with the hind one extending far out. These

The Lark’s wicle-spreading foot.

long feet enable the bird to run over grass, as
cleverly as the Laplander walks upon snow, when

THE FOOT OF THE LAKE.

251

he fastens a wide frame of wood to his shoe, the
extended pressure of which frame keeps him from
sinking into the cold soft bed below.

The broad foot of the lark acts somewhat in the
same way, and not only presents a wide surface to
support the bird on the tops of the grass, but it
spreads the weight of its body over so large a
space, that the grass can spring up under its feet ;
a point of great importance to the bird when it
seeks to mount from off the level ground into tho
air.

On first quitting its lowly nest, the lark throws
itself forward with a kind of jerking, running
action ; hut as soon as it feels the elastic grass rise
under it with the motion of a spring, it spreads
out its wings and mounts on high, warbling as it
rises ; its song grows stronger and stronger, till
‘‘melted into melody and sky;” it stays a few
moments on poised wing, and again descending,
falls like an arrow through the air, straight down
to its simple nest, “ the centre of all its joys.”

Placed among the grass, the nest of the lark is
sometimes in danger of being trampled upon by
cattle, or of being cut down by the mower. In
such cases of alarm the bird has been known to
use its long foot like a hand, clasping its eggs one
by ono between its claws, and then flying away

252 GRASS -TREADING AND WADING BIRDS.

with them to a place of safety. Even their young
ones they have been seen to remove in this way.
A clergyman in Sussex once witnessed this sight.
Riding between two thick hedges not far from
Chichester, his attention was attracted by a
shrieking cry, when he discovered that a pair
of skylarks had risen from a stubble field, and at
a slow rate were in the act of crossing the road
that lay before him. One of the larks held a
young bird in its claws, which on reaching the
opposite field, it dropped at a height of about
thirty feet from the ground. The nestling was
killed by the fall ; and on its being taken up, it
appeared to have been hatched about eight or nine
days. It was evident that the affectionate parent
bird had been endeavouring to convey its young
one to a place of safety, but that its strength had
failed in the attempt.*

Some of the birds which have the longest bills,
are found in the order called waders, f among
which are snipes, woodcocks, rails, ami herons.
Perhaps in the winter season you may have seen
woodcocks and snipes. In the beginning of
October, these birds leave their frost-bound homes
in the far north and, flying over the seas, come to

* Jesse’s Gleanings.

f Grallatores.

SENSIBLE BILLS OF WADERS.

253

seek their food in onr milder country. And since
they principally feed upon water insects, worms,
and grubs, they at once fly to boggy heaths, and
marshy lands, where such earth- dwelling creatures
abound.

Birds that have their larder underground, seldom
see their food, they are therefore obliged to feel
for it. Accordingly we find the bills of many
waders are very sensitive. They are generally

General character of Bill in wading birds.

soft in their texture ; long, tapering, and easily
driven into moist earth. Birds which eat nothing
hard, do not require the strong short horny hill
of the seed-cracking birds ; but a long and sensitive
bill is of the greatest service where they have to
grope much after soft food in muddy earth.

The bills of the curlew, woodcock, and snipe
families, have six large nerves passing along the
roof of the mouth ; and these nerves extend quite

Y

254 GRASS- TREADING AND WADING BIRDS*

down to tlie point of the beak. Even small blood¬
vessels have been seen in the beaks of these birds.
The whole extent of such bills must therefore be
acutely sensible to taste and to the enjoyment of
food. The difference between their beaks and
those of most other birds, must be nearly as great
as if nerves and blood vessels were placed in our
nails, instead of in the quick that lies under them.
The feeling bills of these birds are not, however,
sensitive to pain, they only possess quickness of
taste. Such tasting bills are a great boon to
waders ; since they have not only to grope in mud,
but also frequently to seek their food during
twilight ; the animals that reside in damp, marshy
places, mostly retreating during the day, but
coming abroad when darkness sets in.

Look some day when you have the opportunity,
at the long toes and tapering bills of woodcocks
and snipes. You will see that these birds have
just the kind of feet they want for moist, but not
wet land, and exactly the boring and collecting
bills they require for hunting after worms, slugs,
and water insects.

As many wading birds feed by the edges of
water, and have at times to stand upon slippery
ground, as well as occasionally to run over the
broad yielding leaves that grow in shallow waters,

FEET OF WADERS.

255

they require both long legs and wide-spreading
feet to enable them to stand firmly. And as
different birds are intended to hunt over different

The Snipe.

situations, so the feet and legs of waders are made
of various lengths* to meet their wants. Those
that feed principally upon fish, and upon shell-fish
and frogs, found in shallow waters, are in some
instances mounted upon legs so tall, that they look
as if they were walking upon stilts. This is the
case with the flamingoes and crane families.
Amongst the latter birds are the herons, which are

* See style of wader’s foot, page 36.

Y 2

256 GRASS-TREADING AND WADING BIRDS.

distinguished from the rest of the cranes, by having
one side of the middle toe notched like a saw ;
affording a roughness
that enables the bird
to hold fast its slip¬
pery food of eels and
other fishes. /

The hills of most
fishing birds are lined
towards the point,
with bristles that
point backwards. The
position of these bris¬
tles makes it easy for
the bird to receive
food into the beak,
hut impossible for
anything to escape
after it has once
entered ; since any living creature that attempted
to escape out of the bill, would be pierced by the
sharply-pointed bristly hooks.

These fish- eating birds have no crop ; all they
swallow, however large it may be, goes at once
into the stomach, where it is quickly digested.
They are remarkable for their voracious appetites.
In the heron, the expanding power of the throat is

Tlie Heron.

FORM OF HERON. 257

.

truly wonderful. One of these birds lias been seen
to force a flounder, wider tlian a man’s hand, down
its swallow ; the throat becoming stretched into a
fan-like shape as the heron, apparently lialf-choked,
strained itself to gulp the fish down.

The fish-loving, eel-loving heron, does not often
swoop down on the wing to seize its prey, but
patiently waits in shallow water for the passing by
of some straggler. To fit the bird for standing
without inconvenience in such places, its legs are
made tall, and kept hare of feathers some way
above the knee. Its neck is long and pliable,
which, together with the skilful form of its
sharply-pointed beak, forms a powerful harpooning
instrument, that for its size, is probably unrivalled
in nature or art. That the fish may have time to
come round the heron, the bird is given with its
tall legs, long neck, and pointed beak, a patiently
waiting nature. Sometimes in the absence of fish,
the heron will regale itself on side dishes of frogs
and their spawn, and on water beetles and water
rats. This bill of fare supplies the usual kinds
of food sought for by herons and other wading
fish-eaters, such as storks, egrets, and bitterns.
The bitterns also eat small water-birds, such as
the water rail.

258 GRASS-TREADING AND WADING BIRDS.

The benefit of having several kinds of birds to
keep down the superabundance of fresli-water fish
in brooks and rivers is evident, since it is well-
known, that one river fish will lay on an average,
fifteen thousand eggs at a single spawning. Were
these fifteen thousand eggs to be hatched, and the
young fish to live, the offspring of one parent, (at
the same rate of increase,) would amount, in three
years to countless millions of fishes, which in the
end, would choke up the waters.*

Now look again at the heron, notice its long
beak and tall body, and see if its whole shape and
character, its body and instincts, are not moulded
upon the one idea, “ that the bird was to be a fish
and frog slayer.” Where do the fishy creatures
live which the heron seeks ? Is it not in ponds
and lakes and river sides ? The heron needed
therefore long legs bare of feathers much above
the knee, that it might stand in the water and fish
for them ; and such legs its Maker has given it.
It needed a strong sharp bill a little jagged at the

* It is true that fish feed one upon another ; pike are
great devourers of some kinds of the finny tribes, but seldom
touch eels, the favourite food of the herons. Otters
destroy much fish, but they generally eat that which is
of a larger size than such as the heron prefers.

THE HEE0N FISHING

259

edges, or how could it hold its slippery prey; a
slimy eel for instance ? and just such a beak it
has. It needed a long neck that it might shoot
its javelin beak quickly down, and it has it. Broad
strong wings were provided for it, in order that it

260 GRASS-TREADING AND WADING BIRDS.

might sweep the country far and wide ; and when
its work was over, that it might return many miles
to live in sweet society with its friends at home,
each one, during the day, having fished in a separate
pool. Yet the heron’s great round, swiftly moving
wings, must not flap loudly ; such a noise would
alarm the fish ; accordingly, with a slightly concave
form, they are so contrived as to fall together like
a parachute ; and thus the heron drops gently
down into its quiet pool, and makes no ripple to
frighten the fish away. Its very dress also assists
in concealing it, being of a pale bluish grey,
somewhat resembling the hue of the sky and the
water.

“ Now look at the instincts of this bird ! What
virtue does a fisherman most need ? Patience !
Well, that virtue is bestowed in large measure
upon the heron and its compeers, and upon them,
almost alone of the feathered tribes. A robin and
a jackdaw are always in a fidget, but the heron
will stand by the hour immoveable.”

Observe too, how well a love of company and
of loneliness are blended in the nature of the
heron ; no creature more dependent upon the
society of its friends during the nesting season
than this bird ; twenty, thirty, and even eighty
nests have been counted on one tree. Yet no one

FORM AND INSTINCT ADAPTED.

261

more given up to business than the heron in its
solitary pond, when duty calls it there. How
remarkable ! that such a sociable bird should be
I willing to spend its long days by itself ! but this
' was a necessity for it as an angler.

In the form of the heron we see clearly the why
and the wherefore of its whole construction. Had
an order been passed in the great workshop of
nature for a fly- slayer to be prepared on the best
principles, could anything have been imagined
better than the swallow ? And when a quiet feeder
on fish was required, what improvement could have
been made upon the heron ?

We clearly see by instances such as these, that
the mighty Artificer of nature did not construct a
great variety of birds, and then turn them loose to
eat anything that came in their way ; but having
made the earth to teem with a wonderful variety
of food, He gave to the feathered tribes remarkable
instincts, which lead them to select different kinds
of provisions, and with those instincts, he has
given them in unerring skill, bodies fitted for the
work assigned them. Facts like these, teach us
there is a Lawgiver who rules the world.

Our next lecture will contain a further description
of worm-eating birds, with some particulars on
birds in general.

262 GRASS -TREADING AND WADING BIRDS.

PAGE

What kind of toes have birds that walk on

grassy land ? . . . . . 250

How does the broad foot of a lark help it to rise
into the air ? . . . . 251

Amongst what kinds of birds are the longest
bills found ? . . . . 252

Why are the bills of waders made very sensitive ? 253

What makes the bills of woodcocks, snipes,
curlews, &c., full of feeling ? . . . 253

Why have cranes, herons, and flamingoes long
legs ? . . . . . . 255

What makes it difficult for any food to escape

out of the bill of a heron ? . . 256

What is the neck and beak of a heron superior
to ? . . . . . 257

What kind of food do herons, bitterns, storks,
and egrets feed upon ? ... 257

Why is it a good thing to have fish-eating birds
in the world ? . ... . . 258

Can you give any particulars to prove that a

heron is well made for his work ? 258 to 261

Co 0

ON WORM-FEEDING BIRDS, THE
POWERS OF DIGESTION IN BIRDS, AND VARIOUS

REMARKS.

The last time we met, I promised you a further
account of worm-eating birds. Worms, as you
know, live in the earth ; and as the nature of
land varies in different situations, so the bills and
feet of the various birds appointed to dig them up,
are made strikingly different in form.

The greater number of worms are found in
muddy and wet lands, and to hunt for them in
such situations, a bird needs a long bill for
probing, and long legs for wading. You heard
last week that the snipe is a bird which probes
in marshy ground, and amongst its companions in
this marshy worm-hunting, are the long-legged
godwits, the redshanks, and ruffs.

On the sea-shore are many kinds of worms,
and the best examples of those birds that probe

264

WORM-FEEDING BIRDS.

after them in the damp sand left exposed by the
retreat of the waves, are the stint, the sanderling,
and the curlew. The ring-dotterels with their
long legs, hunt for worms and shore insects, over
sand-hills covered with small pebbles ; and at the
season of nest-making on these sand-hills, their
plaintive, but not unmusical whistle, may be heard
for hours together. These birds are sometimes
seen flitting after each other, with a flight resem¬
bling that of a swallow, and at other times running
rapidly along the ground, every now and then
jerking up their wings till they meet above their
backs. The oyster catchers with their red bills
and bright black-and-white plumage, also search
over pebbly banks for sea worms, to which repast
they add, as they can meet with them, small fish,
shell fish, shrimps, and young crabs.

Worms that live by the sides of lakes and
rivers in soft muddy sand, are especially the
property of the sand-pipers, who rarely, if ever,
search for worms by the sea. The worms that
live in soft ground formed in woods by the decay
of leaves and moss, can only be searched out by
a bird that has a long bill ; such an one, however,
does not require long legs, because the ground
though soft, is not watery. Here our former
friend, the woodcock, steps in with its length of

WET AND DRY SITUATIONS.

265

bill, which is made after the fashion of those
of the wading worm-eaters, hut the rest of its
body, from the shortness of the legs, is unlike that
tribe of birds.

Great numbers of worms, slugs, and snails are
met with by the side of pools, in watercourses,
boggy woods, and under the grass of meadows.
As these creatures rise to the surface of the
ground, they are picked off (not dug for) by the
water-hens, water-rails, and crakes ; these birds
also partake of some green food ; and the water-
rail sometimes catches up small fish.

Then again, worms
and slugs abound upon
moors, heaths, and
downs. These drier
situations seem com¬
mitted to the oversight
of the long-legged plo¬
vers. The plovers are
not probers in mud,
though they sometimes
Lapwing. frequent moist lands ;

but with their long
bare legs they run rapidly over open plains, from
the surfaces of which they pick their creeping
prey : sometimes like the lapwing, stamping upon

z

266

WORM-EATING BIRDS.

the ground to make the worms rise. Plovers are
also insect-eaters, and so is the thick-knee, or as
it is frequently called, the Norfolk plover. This
bird is a great devourer of earwigs ; it will also eat
frogs, and probably mice when it can catch them.
The legs of the thick-knee, though long, are not
made for wading, they are only adapted for run¬
ning, therefore we find the thick-knee lives on
«

plains and dry sheep downs, over which it runs
with rapidity ; as does its second cousin, the
bustard, which bird is partly a grain feeder, but
more of a leaf-eater, loving the tops of turnips and
other large leaves, as well as occasionally picking
up a mouse or frog.

In some of our former lectures, we noticed the
worm-eating birds that are found among the
families of the perchers, such as the rook, crow,
thrush, &c. These kinds of birds usually seize
upon worms that rise to the surface of the dry
ground in gardens and fields, sometimes pushing
their beaks a short way after them, into the earth.
Seeds and grain, however, form the largest pro¬
portion of the food of such worm-eating perchers.
And here let us notice the peculiar kind of
machinery in the bodies of birds, for bruising and
dissolving that which they eat.

All birds that feed upon seeds and grains of

DIGESTION IN BIRDS.

267

corn, swallow their food whole, sending it down
the gullet into a loose hag called the crop. In
this crop the seeds become moistened, and after
they have swelled, fall little by little, like corn
from a miller’s hopper, lower down into the body,
until the moistened seeds pass between two wide
muscles, called the gizzard. These gizzard
muscles are simply the coats of the stomach
very much enlarged, and forming lobes which are
covered with plaits of gristle, yet these lobes are
so strong, that as they rub together, they can,
with the help of a little sand or a few small stones,
grind down the firmest grain, as perfectly as a
coffee-mill grinds down coffee berries.

The moisture in a bird’s crop possesses no
dissolving qualities, it appears simply to swell the
corn, and to prepare it for grinding ; a chicken
would therefore he starved to death in the midst
of a heap of barley, had it no gizzard by which to
break the seeds it had swallowed.*

Birds, such as the woodcock and snipe, that
live upon soft worms, slugs, and bulbous roots
moistened in water, do not require gizzards.

* The resting in the crop probably produces some
chemical change in the corn, though not apparent to the
eye.

268

WORM-EATING BIRDS.

The coats of their stomachs are firm enough to
break up such food ; and as soon as the pulp
thus formed becomes mixed with the juices of
the stomach, the food is turned, as with other
animals, into nourishing liquids. These liquids
are caught up by numerous fine vessels and
driven forward to the heart, from whence at every
beat, they are sent round the body to renew its
wasted vigour.

Birds of prey that live upon flesh, are also
without gizzards ; they eat nothing so hard as
to require a mill to grind it down. Yet as animal
food is of a more solid character than the food
taken by suction birds, the stomachs of flesh¬
eating birds are supplied with strongly-dissolving
juices, not unlike those possessed by four-footed
beasts.

Thus we see that all things in the works of God
have been made to harmonize or to suit one
another : that the outside limbs of an animal have
been adapted to suit the internal construction of
its body, "somewhat as a clock-maker forms the
outside case of a watch to suit the size and
quality of its internal machinery. We see that
birds which are supplied with bags for moisten¬
ing hard seeds, and W’ith^gizzards for grinding,
have beaks suitable for picking up corn or berries,

NUMBERS OF BIRDS COMPARED.

269

and toes suitable for perching on trees. That
birds which have stomachs simply prepared for
suction, or for taking soft food, have long sen¬
sitive beaks for probing, and long toes to support
them on the moist lands where that food can
be found, while birds of prey, with soft but
strongly digesting stomachs, have been given
large hooked beaks, short legs, and crooked
sharp talons, by which they can seize upon and
tear up animal food.

Birds of prey are few in number, compared
with those of other tribes. Seed and insect
feeders abound in every quarter, and waders also
are plentiful on marshy land and in moist places ;
but as these birds generally feed by twilight,
a person may wander the whole day by the side
of a stream without hearing a voice, or seeing
a feather of one of these long-legged birds ; but
as soon as night sets in, the bitterns, rails, and
other tribes, make the wilds alive with whistling
and screaming.

Our observations upon birds of prey, as well
as upon perchers and waders, are now drawing to
a close. Have any remarks you have heard upon
their instincts, their uses in creation, and upon
the forms of their bodies, supplied you with a
new set of ideas? “It is very well to look at

z 8

270 THE POWERS OF DIGESTION IN BIRDS.

birds, to skin owls, and to gum eggs upon card¬
board,” but the great thing is to perceive that
the shapes, the colours, and the instincts of the
bird-race, have not been flung together any how,
“ like the patterns of a kaleidoscope,” but that
each bird has been fitted by the most exquisitely
calculating skill, to fill the place it now holds in
nature.

Our next subject will be on the swimming
birds.

PAGE

Where are the largest number of worms found ? 263

What birds frequent wet muddy lands ? . . 263

What birds hunt for worms on the wet sea¬
shore ?..... 264

What birds frequent the muddy sides of rivers

for worms ? . . . . . 264

What bird searches for worms in the leafy

mould of woods ? . . . 264, 265

What birds pick up worms, slugs, &c., off the

surfaces of moist places ? . . 265

What birds do this work on heaths, downs, &c. ? 265

Where do perching birds find up their worm

dinner? . . . . .266

QUESTIONS.

271

How is grain ground down in the bodies of
birds ? .....

Where is soft food dissolved in suction birds ? .

What dissolves the food in the stomach of birds
of prey

What are made to suit one another in the forms
of animals ? .

What kinds of birds are the most numerous ?

PAGE

267

268

268

268

269

trtm ftentj-fimr.

l/VWVA/'/'

SWIMMING BIRDS.

Birds that swim, have generally short legs
compared to the length of their bodies, and these
short legs are usually placed far hack towards the
tail, so that full space is allowed for the breast¬
bone to rest upon the water.*

The feathers of water birds are close, smooth,
and glossy ; and underneath is very frequently
a thick mass of down, to defend the skin from
being chilled by the water. Down, of all animal
substances, being the lightest and closest descrip¬
tion of clothing ; and the one that best preserves
the body in an equal state of warmth.

The toes of most swimming birds are united
by a thin yet firm and easily folding skin, which

* Those birds that dive as well as swim, have their
legs placed still further hack than the simply swimmers.

WEBBED FEET.

273

is called the web. This form of foot, as mentioned
in our seventeenth lecture, gives the bird power
to strike the water with peculiar force, — to press
against it as if it were using an oar, and then to
drive it forward by the opening and shutting of the
web, an action not unlike the flappings of a fan or
parasol.

Foot of the Coot.

Water-fowl, such as
the coots, that paddle
among the stems of
reeds and other water-
plants, have their webs
tied in knobs or lobes
along the sides of the
toes.

This arrangement enables the bird to draw
its foot safely between the close standing stalks.
Had the web of such birds been spread out, as
in the duck’s foot, it would have been in continual
danger of becoming entangled or torn among the
reeds.

Swimming birds do not move well on land ; a
duck and a goose, which are web-footed, roll as
they walk. This arises from the construction of
the leg-joints, which are so made, as to throw
the foot outward from the body, and yet to
allow of the legs being thrown steadily backwards

274

SWIMMING BIRDS.

under the body, a very convenient arrangement for
a bird when moving on the water, but one that on
land occasions a slow rolling action.*

Tbe Duck,

The bills of some water-fowl are broad and
flat, like those of the common duck, others are
more pointed. Some of these birds seek their
food low down under the waters, others again find
it nearer the surface ; but as their food lies gene-

* The goose is the best walker of any of the web-footed
birds. The form of the joint that unites the foot to the
leg somewhat approaching to that of the cranes.

BILLS OF SWIMMERS.

275

rally out of sight, swimmers, like the waders, have

been given sensi¬
tive bills. The

inside of many of
their bills are thick¬
ly set at the edges
with three or four

rows of short stiff

T, , , „ i « comh-like bristles ;

Beak of Shoveller Duck with fine ’

bristles- and it is in these

bristles that the
power of tasting is believed to reside. The

broadest bills are the most thickly bordered
with such bristles, and the fleshy tongue with
which every bill of this kind is filled, has also
the same kind of sensitive comb-like hairs upon
it. These bristles often act as filterers or
sieves. The common duck has a filterer. As
the duck drives its head under the water, it

catches up its breath to stop any soft substances
that may be floating past ; and on those sub¬
stances being drawn through the filterer, they
become broken up. What the duck approves is
kept in the bill, what it does not like is quickly
sent out. These various proceedings produce
that hurley-burley in the water, you may have

276

SWIMMING BIRDS.

remarked when a duck is paddling about in a
pond.

When the bristles or processes in a bill are
fine, as in the case of the common duck, and
still more so with the shoveller duck, ( see p.
275), they act as strainers : when they are thicker
and stronger, they serve as with geese, to grind
down grass ; and when very strong and sharp,
as in the mergansers, to seize upon and hold
fish.

Geese have shorter bills than many of the
water-birds. They live much upon grass, and
to enable them to cut it from off the meadows,
the point of the upper mandible is tipped with
a hard piece of horn, the grass being afterwards
rubbed down upon the small lumpy bristles
which are placed some way along the edges of
the bill.

The food of swimming birds varies. Some, as
we have seen, eat fish ; others, water-plants,
grass, slugs, shell-fish, worms, and water insects.
Those that search for their food low down in
the mud, have either long necks like the swan,
or else a power like the duck, of plunging neck
and body under the water. Mallards, teal, and
many ducks eat in this way. Others that feed
at the bottom of deep waters are divers. For

DIVERS.

277

this purpose their feet are set far hack, as you
may have noticed in the pictures of grebes and
penguins. The backward position of the feet

gives to these birds when on land, the peculiar
effect of appearing to sit on their tails like
kangaroos. On the water, it causes their legs
to act as levers, in overcoming its natural ten¬
dency to float the body ; and thus the divers
are enabled to turn head over heels, and
dive downwards, an action rendered additionally
easy, from the length and narrowness of their

2 A

278

SWIMMING BIRDS.

bodies, which are shaped like a racing boat, the
best possible form for enabling a bird to glide
swiftly through the yielding waters.

Some web-footed birds live entirely on rivers
and ponds ; others only frequent the salt seas ;
whilst others again divide their time between
the two. Sea-gulls, of which there are several
species, not unfrequently pass over the land,
quitting the sea in large flocks on the approach
of stormy weather.

Gulls are long-winged sea-birds, clothed in
bluish white feathers. They are constantly on
the wing, and from their powers of flight, are
met with in all parts of the globe. Indeed,
were it not for the purpose of rearing their
young, one would think they never need to visit
the solid earth, since they can feed at sea, and
can rest when wearied on the tossing salt wave.

Gulls have longer legs than most swimming
birds, and the joints in their feet are so formed,
as to allow of their either walking or swimming.
They feed upon worms, shell-fish, and upon
carcases of every description, whether they be
floating at sea or decaying on land. They are
clamorous and voracious, and the shipwrecked
mariner is sometimes in danger of being attacked
by them.

SAILOR AT SEA.

279

A few years ago, a boat with several sailors left
the Yarmouth jetty in fine weather. When about
eight miles from land, a sudden squall of wind
upset the boat, and all on board perished,
excepting two of the men. One of these struggled
for a time in the water, and then sunk. The
surviving man being a good swimmer, and finding
that his companion was drowned, determined to
use every effort to reach the land. His heavy
water boots proved a great incumbrance to him,
he therefore contrived to draw his knife from his
waistcoat pocket, and by degrees, and by dint
of great exertion, managed to cut them from off
his legs. Thus lightened, he set off at full
stretch. For some time the tide favoured him,
and he made rapid progress ; but at length it
turned and feeling exhausted, hope declined. In
his distress he commended himself to God, and
turning on his back, laid himself flat on the waters
to be drifted as either the wind or the currents
might carry him. Night came on, and by the
stars he saw that he was bearing towards Lowes¬
toft. Then clouds arose, and he lost sight of his
bright twinkling guides ; he could therefore do
nothing but occasionally move his hands and feet
to keep himself afloat. As day dawned, he saw

2 a 2

280

SWIMMING BIKDS.

by the first streaks of light, that he was passing a
sea-buoy anchored on a sand-bank. He instantly
knew by the appearance and situation of this
sea-buoy, that he was not above two or three
miles off shore, but he had no strength to strike
towards the land, and therefore again commending
himself to his Creator, he drifted on. At this
time the sea-gulls began to hover over him, and
no doubt supposing him to be a dead carcase, they
flapped their long wings across his face, and
endeavoured to seize upon his eyes. Exerting
all his force, he roared amain, and struck at them
with his arms ; still they hovered over him, and
almost dead with exhaustion, he was on the point
of giving up, when he thought he saw, not far off,
something dark on the water. It proved to be a
ship ; again he screamed ; the man at the helm
heard his voice, and shortly a splash was heard ;
a boat had been lowered from the ship ; it glided
on, and he was picked up. Excepting for this
providence, he must have become the prey of the
sea-gulls ; but his prayer had been heard, and he
was mercifully delivered out of the depths.

We could speak of many more water-birds,
but of these you can read in books of natural
history. Yet there is one sea-bird I should like

THE GANNET. 281

to describe, it is so wonderfully made for
pouncing down with intense force upon a fish,
as well as for darting under the water in a way
that would kill most other breathing creatures ;
its Maker, who gave it this peculiar instinct to
rush on with impetuosity, has however well
guarded it against injury. This wild sea-bird is
the gannet or solan goose. The beak of the gannet
is pointed and very strong, and by the velocity
with which the bird descends, the bill strikes
into a fish like a spear, and holds it like a barbed
hook. So vehement is the stroke of the gannet,
that if a board be laid over a dead fish, and the
bird descends upon it, the bill will strike
through the board and pin the gannet down.

To protect the gannet from being stunned by
its immensely rapid fall, the front of its head is
curiously covered with a horny mask ; and
probably to protect it from a rush of water into
the head, it is made without nostrils ; yet the
gannet breathes freely, having three large air-
cells inside its throat and breast. These cells,
whilst they supply the body with air, break the
force of the bird’s rapid contact with the water,
and from being buoyant like bladders, not only
stop the gannet from going too deeply under the
waves, but also assist it to rise through the

2 a 8

282

SWIMMING BIRDS.

waters, and again to remount into tlie higher
regions of the air.

The foot of the gannet is differently made to
that of the common duck, since the web between
its front toes is carried round on one side, so
as to enclose the hind toe. All birds with this
kind of foot are good fishers. The pelican, cor¬
morant, and darters, have webbed feet of this
form.

At most times of the day, when the weather
is calm, some kinds of sea-fowl may be seen
gliding over the ocean waves, giving life and
beauty to the scene. But the place and hour
in which their presence imparts the most
exhilarating pleasure, is some way out at sea,
just at break of day on a fine summer’s morning.
At such times, when the sparkling rays of the
rising sun tip the rippling waves, bird after
bird will appear in sight. No one can tell from
whence they spring ; but there they are, coursing
along high up in the heavens, then dipping the
wing sideways and downwards over the waters ;
and again striking forwards in the most graceful
of attitudes ; the glowing light giving to their
feathers, which are chiefly of sober black and
white, or bluish hues, all the effect of a dazzling
plumage.

SWIMMING BIRDS.

283

Far out at sea amid the wide oceans, birds
are still to be seen enlivening the watery scene ;
and with these remarks, we must close our search
into the nature and instincts of the feathered
tribes.

The next time we meet we shall consider the
causes of voice in living animals.

PAGE

What length of legs (as compared to their bodies)
have swimming' birds ? . . . 272

' What kinds of feathers have swimming birds ? 272

With what are the toes of most swimmers
united? ..... 272

What is the advantage of a webbed foot ? .273

In what position is the web of the coots placed ? 273

Why do not swimming birds walk well on land ? 273
In what places do swimmers find their food ? . 274

Why are they given sensitive beaks ? . .275

What are the common shapes of their beaks ? 274

With what does a goose bite grass from off a
meadow ? . . . . .276

With what does it afterwards grind down that
grass ? ..... 276

What is placed along the sides of the bill and
tongue of a duck ? . . . .275

How does the duck draw its food into the bill ? 275

When the bristles on a bill are fine, what do
they act as ?

276

284

SWIMMING BIRDS.

When they are thicker, what do they serve for ?

When very strong, what help do they give the
merganser ? .

On what kinds of water do web-footed birds live ?

Can you give any particulars of the gulls ? of
their colour, powers of flight, where they
can rest, upon what they feed, and their
temperament? .

In what way is the gannet prepared for pouncing
rapidly under the waters ?

What food do swimming birds eat ?

Why are some of their necks long ?

Why are the feet of the penguin, &c., set very
far back on their bodies ?

PAGE

276

276

278

278

281

276

276

277

ON THE CAUSE OF VOICE.

Voice is a sound produced at the back of the
mouth, by the trembling of little strings, which
are stretched tightly over the top of the windpipe,
so as to form a musical instrument.

In the throat are two passages ; by the one
(called the swallow) food descends into the stomach ;
by the other, (called the windpipe) air first descends
into the chest, and then re-ascends ; and it is by
the passage of the air through the upper part of
this windpipe that sound is produced.

If you touch the outside of your throat, you can
feel the rings of the windpipe through the skin.
This tube is formed chiefly of gristly rings, in

286

ON THE CAUSE OF VOICE.

order that the air-passage may he kept constantly
open, but the rings do not go all round, for at the
back, a small portion of its wall is made of a tough
soft membrane that yields to pressure, and thus
gives more space for the food when it has to
descend the swallow.

It is well known that the lining which covers
the inside of the windpipe is very susceptible.
The smallest crumb or even drop of water that
touches it, producing so much irritation, that the
windpipe resents the attack fiercely, and instantly
tries to close itself, which gives a choking sensation.
But when air only passes up and down this passage,
the susceptible lining remains so quiet that people
are scarcely sensible that they have a windpipe.
Paley, a celebrated writer, when speaking of the
characters of the windpipe, says, “It is to the
union of these two incompatible qualities of extreme
sensation and quietness, that we owe our safety
and comfort.”

When you are told that at the back of the mouth
lie two open passages ; — the one for receiving air,
the other for receiving food, are you not inclined
to ask the question, “What prevents food from
falling down the windpipe ?” The answer to such
an enquiry is, He who made our bodily frames,
has placed over the top or entrance of the windpipe,

COEDS VIBEATING BY THE PASSAGE OF AIE. 287

a small lid or flap of gristly flesh, which, whenever
food is about to descend the swallow, falls down
over the windpipe at the right moment for the food
to pass over it, and as regularly, when the food has
passed, does it rise up again and admit the air.

This sensitive windpipe not only admits air to
the chest, hut as we said, is moreover a musical
instrument. Over the opening, in its uppermost
ring, is stretched a drum-like membrane that has
a slit in it. The air in going to and from the
chest, has to pass through this slit, and whenever
its edges are tightened, the rush of the air against
the edges causes them to tremble, just as the bow
of a violin sets the tightened cords of the instrument
trembling, when it is drawn over them. This
trembling, whether it be of the vocal cords, or
of the violin cords, agitates the surrounding air,
something as you may have seen a stone disturb
the waters of a pond, when splashed into it, causing
waves or rings to be spread over its surface. This
agitation in the tremulous air, when it reaches our
ears, is felt by them as sound ; the sound being
higher or lower, according as the cords from
which the agitation comes, were at the time drawn
tighter or let looser.

The quality of sound depends upon three things ;

288

ON THE CAUSE OF VOICE.

upon the fineness or thickness of the top gristle¬
ring of the windpipe ; upon the delicacy of the
drum-like gristly membrane that is divided by
a slit, and somewhat upon the size of the air tube
beneath, which as a sort of flute, re-echoes the
sound formed on the edges of the slit. Would
you not expect to hear a sweeter tone from a silver
flute than from a brass horn ? and so in the voice
instruments cf animals, some of their gristly tubes
are as soft and sweet sounding as if they were
made of silver, and others, in their natures, are as
harsh as brass.

The sounding powers of the edges of the little
tightened membrane placed on the top of the
human windpipe, are truly wonderful. The variety
of tones which can be made to flow from them,
surpass in number, those produced by most instru¬
ments which human art has constructed. Yet
while a man is speaking or singing, the air plays
over, and rushes past these vocal cords so smoothly
and easily, that he is altogether unaware of the
exquisite skill with which his Maker has prepared
his sounding instrument.

As the air, made to tremble on the top of the
throat, passes on through the mouth, it can be
stopped ; and in the family of man, be driven at
the will of the individual against the n abate, the

GUIDANCE OF SOUND TO FORM VOICE. 289

cheeks, the tongue, or the teeth ; by this means,
a great variety of sharp, hissing, soft, rough, or
dull sounds can be produced. Among these
sounds, a few distinct tones are formed, called
letters, and it is according as a man strings these
letter-sounds together, that he utters words.

The organ of the human voice is simple in its
first movements, it is merely a rush of air over
delicate cordy edges ; but when we examine the
mode by which the trembling air is made to
produce- vast numbers of different sounds, we at
once discover that the voice of man arises out of a
highly complicated and beautiful kind of machinery.
To enable a man to stretch or to loosen the edges
of his sounding instrument, and to enable him to
guide and mingle its tones as they pass through
the mouth, there is placed under the control of his
will, a countless number of fine elastic muscle-cords,
which are connected with the brain by an equal
number of feeling threads called nerves. When¬
ever, therefore, a man would change the tones of
his voice, his mind has to send down to the voice -
cords a particular message by some one of these
minute nerve-threads. “ The meshes of the
spider’s weh, or the cordage of a man of war,”
Sir Charles Bell tells us, “ are few and simple

290

ON THE CAUSE OF VOICE.

compared with the concealed filaments of nerve,
which move these vocal parts.” And if ever so
slight a derangement takes place in their action,
every one knows how a man will stand with his
mouth open, moving his tongue and lips in vain
attempts to utter a word.

Thus man, by the movement of many delicate
nerves and fine muscle-cords, is given the power
to catch up the notes poured out by his voice, and
so to marshal them into words, as to lay before
the minds of others, (by means of sound) the
thoughts or images in his own spirit. This ability
to hold conversation forms a grand distinction
between himself and the inferior animals.

For the use made of this wonderful gift of
speech, man is held responsible to his Maker. It
is a solemn declaration of our Saviour Himself,
“ That for every idle word that men shall speak,
they shall give account in the day of judgment.”
St. James tell us, “ The tongue is a fire ; a world
of iniquity, an unruly evil.” But again the word
of God has said, “ The lips of the vise shall be as
a well of life, as streams in the desert” — diffusing
health, peace, and joy on earth, and glory to God
when they sound forth His praises. Blessed are
they who watch against the evil use of this gift,

SOUNDS GIVEN OUT BY ANIMALS.

291

and happy are they who strive to turn it to the
best account.

The feathered tribes as they sing among the
branches, warble the praises of their Creator ; hut
though they give hack in melody the joy of their
hearts, they cannot, like man, acquaint themselves
with God, or speak of His goodness.

Most backboned animals are furnished with an
instrument of sound in the throat, by which they
are able to give out signs of pain, anger, and
pleasure. The bellowings of the hull, the lowing
of the cow as she slowly moves homeward, or her
hitter moan when separated from her calf, clearly
mark different states of feeling. The growl of the
dog when angry, his guarding bark, and his whine
of affection, are equally well understood. With
birds it is the same. Their notes change according
to their feelings, producing the song of joy, cries
of alarm, or notes of recognition. In some in¬
stances their voices almost resemble language, yet
their sounds are not language, for it is the
expression of feelings, not of ideas, that birds and
beasts utter. Birds twitter over their food, and
chirrup happily over their offspring, hut they never
give out a sound to tell how many miles they have
flown. They scold one another in a sharp tone,

2 b 2

292

ON THE CAUSE OF VOICE.

but they have no power of distinguishing between
good and evil. Their voices simply give out
natural cries of joy, astonishment, anger, or grief.

“ The mother bird comprehends the wants of
her little ones, by their piping notes of appeal.
The swallow chirps in her nest to her young ones,
and appears to hold conversation with them. When
the hen is alarmed for her chickens, she utters a
cry of warning, and they instantly shelter them¬
selves under her wings. In North America, flocks
of wild turkeys pass so constantly at stated seasons
from one district of wasted land to a richer portion,
that the Indians call that time “the turkey month.”
As they travel on, the turkeys are occasionally
checked in their progress by meeting with a wide
river ; for on these journeys they always go on
foot ; a party of the cock birds head the troop,
sometimes ten together, sometimes a hundred,
while many groups of hens, from seventy to eighty
in each flock, follow with the young ones. At
sight of the river, they select one of the highest
pieces of ground near to its banks, and there
remain sometimes for more than a day, as if for
the purpose of consultation. The male birds
during this time gobble obstreperously, and strut
with extraordinary importance, as if they wished

TURKEYS AND GEESE ON THE WATCH. 293

to animate their companions with a spirit of
hardihood. The females spread out their tails and
move silently along. At length the assembled
multitude mount to the tops of the highest trees,
from whence at a single note from a leader, the
whole party wing their way together towards the
opposite shore. Some arrive safely, some fall, hut
by spreading out their tails, keeping their wings
close, stretching the neck forward, and forcibly
striking the water with their feet, they contrive to
swim to land ; others again sink, to rise no more.
These proceedings of the turkeys look very much
like consideration of coming danger, and of advice
to meet it in the best possible way.

In March, flocks of wild geese come from
Norway and Russia to the northern parts of
Scotland. They always take up their abode near
to some bay, or inland lake. Great order attends
their movements, which are evidently guided by a
language understood among themselves. Charles
St. John says, “ Of a morning the geese fly away
in companies in search of corn and clover fields.
Those that feed on ground at some distance off,
start before sunrise. Those that feed near their
roosting place do not leave so early. Having
fixed upon a field of new- sown grain for their

2 b 3

294

ON THE CAUSE OF VOICE.

day’s repast, before alighting they make numerous
circling flights round and round, when the least
suspicious object will prevent their pitching. Sup¬
posing that all is right, and they do alight, the
whole flock, for the space of a minute or two,
remain motionless, with head and neck erect,
reconnoitring the country round. They then, at a
given signal from one of the largest birds, disperse
into open order, and commence feeding in a
tolerably regular line. They now appear to have
made up their minds that all is safe, and are
contented with leaving one sentry, who either
stands on some elevated part of the field, or walks
slowly with the rest — never, however, venturing
to pick up a single grain of corn, his whole
energies being employed in watching. The flock
feed across the field ; not waddling like tame
geese, but walking quickly, with a firm, active,
light infantry step. They seldom venture near
any ditch or hedge that might conceal a foe.
When the sentry thinks that he has performed a
fair share of duty, he gives the nearest bird to him
a sharp peck. I have seen him sometimes pull
out as many as a handful of feathers when the first
hint was not immediately attended to, at the same
time uttering a querulous cry. This bird then

THE SENTRY GOOSE.

295

takes up the watch, with neck perfectly upright,
and in due time makes some other bird relieve
guard. On the least appearance of an enemy
the sentinel gives an alarm, and the whole flock
invariably run up to him, and for a moment or two
stand still in a crowd, and then take flight ; at
first in a confused mass, but this is soon changed
into a beautiful wedge-like form, which they keep
till about to alight again.

“ Towards evening I observed,” continues Charles
St. John, “ the geese coming from the interior, in
numerous small flocks, to the bay ; their peculiar
cry being heard some time before the birds were
in sight. As soon as they were above the sands,
and the coast seemed clear, flock after flock
wheeled rapidly downwards, and alighted at the
edge of the water, where they immediately began
splashing and washing themselves, and keeping up
an incessant clamour.”*

Rooks and crows certainly utter sounds full of
instruction to one another. Every one who has
listened, must know, that the caw of the rook is
varied according to the occupation of the bird.
At the time when two or three companies meet in

* “Wild Island Sports.”

296

ON THE CAUSE OF VOICE.

the air, they evidently engage in consulting which
of the fields below them it will he best to alight
upon. Sometimes a single rook on the outermost
edge will utter two or three caws in a very peculiar
tone, and instantly leave the group to wheel off in
a totally different direction to that in which the
rest are going ; and without turning to see whether
his companions follow him, will speed forward.
But the signal is not lost upon the leaders of the
company ; they turn the whole column of birds
by a half circular movement, and then follow the
flight of the rook, which by that time is perhaps a
quarter of a mile a-head.

Books generally feed in large flocks together,
and walk about a field nodding their heads and
their tails with as confident an air as if they
were the true proprietors of the land, and as if
all were safe and right ; when suddenly, they are
off! loudly vociferating as they ascend almost up
to the clouds. A sentinel, at these seasons, sits
perched on the bough of a high tree, and the
moment he perceives danger approaching, utters a
cry of alarm which is well understood, when the
whole peaceful crowd are thrown into an uproar,
and instantly make off to their homes, or to
another field. Human language could not give a

VARIED NOTES OF BIRDS.

297

more distinct warning than this one note, by which
the discerning watching rook can tell its tale to the
rest.

The plaintive tones of birds are equally clear
to understand ; many instances might be named,
perhaps one is sufficient. A couple of swallows
had built their nest in a stable belonging to a
lady ; — the eggs were laid, and the little hen had
begun to sit ; when some days afterwards several
people saw the female still on her eggs, but the
cock bird flying about the nest, and sometimes
settling on a nail, uttering a very plaintive note
of uneasiness. This induced them to examine
the nest, when they found the hen, though still
covering her eggs, quite dead ; upon which the
people removed the little dead bird. The male
then went and sat upon the eggs ; but after two
hours he flew away, and in the afternoon returned
with another hen swallow which took the place
of the former one upon the nest, and continued to
feed the young ones till they were able to provide
for themselves.*

The peculiar windpipes of birds, and their

* Bingley.

298

ON THE CAUSE OF VOICE.

different styles of singing, will form our next, and
last subject.

PAGE

What is voice ? . ... . . 285

IIow many passages are there in the throat V . 285

With what is the top ring of the wind-pipe
covered ?..... 286

What kind of opening is found in the lid of the
membrane upon the top ring ? . . 287

When the air rushes past the edges of the slit,
what does it turn the edges into ? . . 287

Does the trembling of the air upon these vocal
cords stop in the throat? . . . 287

Upon what does the quality of the vocal sound
depend ?..... 288

What part of the mouth divides and directs the
trembling air that comes from the throat? 288
And into what kinds of sounds can man direct
the moving air? . . . . 289

By what assistance does the will of man convey
intelligence to the windpipe, and to the mouth,
of the sounds he wishes should arise ? . 289

To whom shall we have to give up an account
of the use we make of the gift of speech ? . 290

QUESTIONS.

299

Animals cannot combine sounds like man, but
we can notice in their voices some variations
of feeling ; what are those varied feelings
which are shewn by cattle and birds ?

PAGE

291

3tatar.e itentpfe.

ON THE VOICES OF BIRDS.

The windpipes of birds differ in some respects
from those of men and quadrupeds. They are
often longer, and always more firmly made ; the
gristle of the rings being carried all the way
round. And, again, the stretched cords which
give forth the sound of the voice in birds, are
not placed at the top of the windpipe, as with
man, but at the lowrer part, not far from where
the windpipe enters the lungs. This causes the
hollow of the windpipe, (that part which surmounts
the sounding membrane) to strengthen the sound,
by serving as a speaking trumpet. The voice,
in its ascent up this tube, strikes against the
hard rings, and in rebounding from one to another,

AIR IN THE WINDPIPE OF A BIRD.

301

resounds with force. The wider also are the
spaces between the hard rings, the greater is
the variety of tone produced. Thus the quality
of a bird’s notes depends almost entirely upon
the internal formation of the windpipe, and upon
the fineness of the material of which it is formed.

The windpipe of a bird may truly be said to act
as a double instrument ; since the lower entrance
gives out tones like the reeds of a clarionet, while
the upper outlet acts as a trumpet tube. The
cheeks, the tongue, and the bill of a bird,
excepting in parrots and a few other kinds, have
scarcely any power to stop the sounds that come
from the throat, so as to mould and join them into
distinct words.*

The great volume and strength of sound thrown
out by birds, arise not only from the make of the
windpipe, but also from the general construction
of the bird’s body.

Birds, like other chest-breathing animals, draw
in air, and then send it out again, somewhat
after the fashion of a pair of bellows. The lungs
which receive the air, do not, however, fill the
chest of the bird, but are fastened to the ribs ;

* In a slight degree jackdaws, starlings, and magpies,
possess this power.

2 c

302

ON THE VOICES OF BIRDS.

and out of the cavities in the lungs of birds,
proceed, as you have been told before, a vast
number of fine tubes that carry the air forward
into minute cells, or delicate bags of membrane
which are thickly dispersed about the frame. It
is probable that a bird’s wonderful power of
long-continued song, arises from its ability to
send air-blasts forward out of these cells into the
windpipe, where they rouse up the vocal tones.
Little feathered songsters, wrhen under the ex¬
citement of musical rivalship, have been known
to fall down dead, suffocated in consequence of
having exhausted their over abundant supply of
vital air.

In some kinds of geese, ducks, and wading
birds, the windpipe of the male birds is so long,
that before it enters the lungs, it takes a folding
turn under the breast-bone. Some of the males
of these birds have also a sort of gristly cavity,
near the end of the windpipe, which gives to
their tones a loud whistling sound, not unlike the
notes of a harsh bugle. The trumpeter swan is
one of these whistlers. These swans live during
the summer in the cold regions of North America :
towards winter, they fly in large flocks more to
the south, and as they shape their course down
the valley of the Mississippi river, they may be

LOUDNESS OF VOICE IN BIRDS.

303

heard a long way off, uttering their loud music,
which many people have described as like a wild
chorus of horns clanging in the air.

For their size, birds are able to produce a larger
amount of sound than any other animal. The
shrill crowing of a cock will reach to a far greater
distance than the shout of a man. Storks and
wild geese may he heard sounding away high up
in the air, at a distance of three miles. The
croak of the raven, the cry . of the duck, of the
peacock, and of the goose, can he heard further
off than the bellowings of a bull ; and the song
of the blackbird reaches to as great a distance
as the voice of a man. The attention of a
gentleman walking in one of the most densely
crowded and noisy parts of London, was suddenly
arrested in the midst of the rattle of carriages,
and the hum of human voices, by the notes of a
bird in full song : he looked up, and beheld a
small skylark pouring out its tuneful voice with
such fulness of strength, that it rose above the
din of confused sounds that streamed up from
several streets.

Perhaps you may wonder why birds have had
such strong voices given to them. As no decided
reason is known, we are left to infer that their
Maker has conferred this gift upon them, to

2 c 2

304

ON THE VOICES OF BIRDS.

increase tlieir enjoyment, ancl to make them aware
of each other’s presence. Four-footed beasts,
that live upon the ground, when in quest of their
companions, can discover them by sight and by
smell ; and from being restricted in their ability
to wander far away from each other, a slight
exertion of voice is enough to serve their purpose.
But the birds of the air are continually far apart
from each other, and even when near to one
another, many of them are so small, that they
are hidden by the foliage of the trees amongst
which they rest. Consequently those which live
habitually together, whenever they quit one tree
for another, keep up a peculiar sort of twitter, as
if to inform their mates of every fresh movement.
“A pair of bullfinches,” Mr. Swainson says,
“which crossed our path in a shady lane this
morning, were sometimes on the same hedge, and
sometimes opposite to each other, never separating
to a greater distance than fifteen or twenty yards ;
when nearer, no calling note was to be heard,
but as soon as one flew to a further bush in search
of fresh food, it apprized its companion by a chirp,
and it immediately followed.” When birds are
exploring with their mates the best spot for
building their nests, or are gathering materials
to make them, the same signal notes are

NOTES OF BIRDS LEARNT BY IMITATION. 805

continually to be heard. In the autumn there is
much less chirping, because these labours of
affection are then over.

The different characters of the various families
of birds may be traced in their voices. The male
birds are distinguished from the hens by the
strength of their notes. The piercing cries of the
birds of prey shew their savage tendency ; the
re-echoing screaming of the swimmers, the har¬
monious warbling of the small insect and grain¬
feeding races, the importunate clamour of the
waders, and the shrill sonorous call of the poultry,
all mark the peculiar disposition, constitution, and
habits of these different tribes.*

Many peculiar species of birds probably learn
their song when in the nest, by attending to the
notes of the parent bird, just as children learn
from their nurses and parents the language of the
country in which they live. Bird fanciers find
that the first attempts of a nestling to utter sounds
is not at all like its after song, but that as the
bird grows older and stronger, it is not difficult to
perceive what kind of sound it is attempting to
copy. Whilst the winged scholar is thus endea-

* Griffiths Cuvier.

306

ON THE VOICES OF BIRDS.

vouring to form liis song, he commonly raises his
tone when he has caught a passage, hut lets it
drop when he fails. What he is not thoroughly
master of, he hurries over, lowering his voice as
if he did not wish to he heard, and as if he could
not yet satisfy himself. A common sparrow that
was taken from the nest and placed near to a
linnet and goldfinch, adopted a song that was a
mixture of the notes of these two. Three nestling
linnets were educated, one under a skylark,
another under a woodlark, and the third under a
titlark, and instead of the song peculiar to their
own species, they adhered entirely to that of their
instructors.*

Melody of voice belongs almost entirely to the
perching birds. The nightingale is thought by
many to he our sweetest songster. There is a
fulness, flexibility, variety, and harmony in its
notes, which are quite astonishing. Dwelling for
a minute in an under tone, on two or three
melancholy notes, the nightingale gradually swells
into a lofty key, till rising to its utmost pitch
of strength, it sinks down to a dying cadence, and
again strikes off into a rapid succession of more
brilliant sounds, ending in various detached

* Bingley.

DESCRIPTION OF VOICES IN DIFFERENT BIRDS. 307

ascending notes. Twenty-four different strains,
with many delicate variations, have been reckoned
in the song of a fine nightingale. On examining
the sounding organs of these birds’ windpipes, it
is found that for their size, they possess stronger
muscles than those of any other of the feathered
tribes.

The song of the thrush is said to be the finest
of any of our staying woodland birds, and indeed
is superior in power and clearness, though not
in variety, to that of the warblers. The song

of the little wren is much admired ; and for the

✓

size of the bird, is very loud. The wren con¬
tinues with us throughout the year, and warbles
its sweet song very late in the season. In the
cold of winter it has been heard to sing in the
midst of a fall of snow.

Large birds are generally grave in their
demeanour, and live much alone, while nothing
can stop the constant prattle of the little company-
loving songsters of the wood. The voice of the
eagle is piercing, somewhat resembling the sharp
barking of a dog, and is occasionally heard when
the bird is flying so high that its form is completely
lost sight of.

Most of the waders and swimmers, as before
remarked, have loud screaming voices. The

308

ON THE VOICES OF BIRDS.

bittern lias a very hoarse voice. When it comes
out of its ready hiding-place in the evening, and
takes to its wings, its music quite startles the
listener ; it sounds as if the voices of a bull and a
horse were mingled together, and mocking you
from the skies ; yet listen patiently, and you will
at last find some melody in its tones.*

Several birds which have a wide beak, and a
thicker and more fleshy tongue than the warblers,
can be taught, as already remarked, to sound
words, though they do not understand them.
Parrots, pies, jackdaws, crows, blackbirds, star¬
lings, and some others, which have this kind of bill
and tongue, can be made to chatter continually ;
but as their words express no thoughts, they do
not at last speak. Some birds, from the form
of their sounding organs of voice, and from the
shape of their tongues produce strange tones.
The horned owl is one of these. In South
America there is a bird called the campanero or
bell-bird, which gives out a note exactly resembling
that of a tolling bell. A bird with a similar note
has been heard in South Africa. Two missionaries
journeying in the wild solitudes of that land,

* Slightly altered from Mudie.

PECULIAR SOUNDS.

309

listened to one of these birds with astonishment,
and exclaimed to each other, “ Did yon not hear
a church bell?” The sound came to their ears
heavy and slow, like a heavy toll. It never
seemed to be nearer, but came as a deep, solemn,
dream-like sound, sometimes ceasing, and then
again the solemn peal was borne upon the wind.

In North America and the West-Indian Islands
there is a thrush called the mocking-bird, which
can imitate the sounds of many birds and animals.
One of these birds confined in a cage, has been
heard to mimic the mew of a cat, the chattering
of a magpie, and the creaking of a sign-post in the
wind. This kind of thrush often frequents the
dwellings of the American farmers, and sitting on
the roof or chimney, will sometimes pour forth its
owh sweetest and most varied notes : at other
times, it will borrow its song from every bird
around ; and on this account has been termed by
the Mexicans, “the bird of four-hundred tongues.”
It sings from March to August. Mrs. Meredith,
who resided some time in Tasmania, amusingly
describes some birds, which the people around
her called “ the miners.” These birds had a note
like a sharp, short word. They were about the
size of a blackbird, were clothed in feathers of
a delicate French grey, with darker shades on

310

ON THE VOICES OF BIKDS.

the wings, and had a little black cap with touches
of yellow on the head. The general air and
expression of these miners “was extremely piquant
and saucy.” “ They are,” this lady says,
“evidently great gossips, perpetually hunting out
and interfering with every bird in the neighbour¬
hood, and a whole troop may frequently be seen
chasing a marauding hawk, or egg- stealing crow
flying all round in the busiest manner, and
uttering their quick sharp cry of ‘ thief ! thief !
thief!’ Their own morals being none of the
purest, we might expect them to be chary of
abuse ; but apparently, their individual experiences
in theft, only render them more alert in detecting
the peccadillos of their brethren, and we have
often traced out our poultry foes through their
agency !

“ Their depredations in orchards are really
serious, and their impudence so great, that nothing
short of mortally wounding will scare them from
their banquet. A fine bearing cherry tree, one
of our richest prizes from the Cambrian orchard,
was planted close to the end of the veranda, in
the belief that there the fruit would be safe, as
persons were constantly passing to and fro ; but
our busy friends took up their daily abode in it,
as soon as the cherries began to ripen, and

SONG OF THE LARK.

311

continued to partake of our store, in tlie proportion
of the lion’s share, as long as any remained. Yet
was it well worth the loss of a few cherries, to
witness the impudent nonchalance of these miners ;
how they would hop and creep about the branches,
and instead of flying off when pelted with gravel
or shouted at, would pop out their bright-eyed
saucy heads from amidst the clustering leaves, and
cry, ‘thief! thief! thief!’ as loudly as ever,
straightway making a fresh onslaught on the fruit
with such honest-looking, confident assurance, that
I almost began to doubt whether they or we were
the rightful proprietors of the tree.”

With the song of the lark, we shall close our
history of voices. The changing, sweet and
thrilling music of this bird, charms every ear that
listens to its notes ; and those who understand the
form of its windpipe, see impressed upon it the
stamp of the Divine hand. The causes that
produce the lark’s changing tones, have been
interestingly described by Mr. Robert Mudie ; the
following are his words : —

“Every one in the least conversant with the
structure of birds, must be aware that with them,
the organs of intonation and modulation are
inward , deriving little assistance from the tongue,
and none, or next to none, from the mandibles

312

ON THE VOICES OF BIEDS.

of tlie bill. The windpipe is the musical organ,
and it is often very curiously formed. Birds
require that organ less for breathing, than other
animals having a windpipe and lungs, because of
the air-cells and breathing tubes with which all
parts of their bodies are furnished. But those
diffused breathing organs must act with least
freedom when the bird is making the greatest
efforts in motion ; that is, when it is ascending or
descending ; and in proportion as these cease to
act, the windpipe is the more required for the
purposes of breathing.

“ The skylark thus converts the atmosphere
into a musical instrument of many stops, and so
produces an exceedingly wild and varied song ;
a song which is perhaps not equal either in power
or compass, in the single stave, to that of many
of the warblers, but one which is more varied
in the whole succession. All birds that sing,
ascending or descending, have similar power ; but
the skylark has it in a degree, superior to any
other.”

A bird is the child of nature ; it loves its
liberty. The most admired and sweetest song
warbled from a prison-house of wire, often conveys
to the instructed ear, a cry of irritation and
distress. Both a lark and a robin, imprisoned

PLAINTIVE NOTES.

813

far away from their loved tuft of grass, and green
mossy tree, have a plaintive accent in their notes,
that may well convey to our minds a faint repre¬
sentation of the mournful cry of the captive
Israelites, who on being asked to sing the songs
of Zion, replied ; How can we sing the songs of
our God in the place of our captivity ?

*

«

PAGE

In what two respects are the windpipes of birds
made differently to those of men ? . . 300

Which part of a bird’s windpipe gives the trumpet
effect to its voice ? . . . 300

What effect do the gristly rings produce upon
the sound, as it ascends up the windpipe ? . 300

What birds are assisted by the tongue to give
out distinct sounds V . . . . 301

What helps materially to give loudness to the
voices of birds ? . . . .301

Some geese and ducks loudly whistle, what occa¬
sions this sound V . . . 302

Where do birds first learn their notes ? . . 305

What kinds of birds have the most melodious
voices ? ..... 306

314

QUESTIONS.

How many different strains have been counted
in the song of a nightingale ? .

What is the form of tongue in parrots, jackdaws,
crows, starlings, and other birds, which en¬
ables them to copy the sounds of some of our
words ? .....

What curious sounds proceed from the mouth of
the bell birds, and mocking birds of America ?

V

PAGE

307

308

309

fttto itartpclmt.

CONCLUSION.

Our last chapter on voice, completed the ex¬
amination we had proposed to make of the five
great divisions of birds.

That is, of the Sometimes called Scientific Name.

Birds of the Air Birds of Prey Baptores & Aceipetres

Birds of the Trees Perchers & Climbers Incessores and Pas-

seres (little birds)

Birds of the Ground Runners & Scratchers Gallinidao
Birds of the Mud "Waders . Grallatores

Birds of the Water Swimmers . Natatores

Finally let us look upon birds as one great
family, and take a general survey of their fitness
to answer the ends of their creation.

You are aware that a vast increase of living

2 d 2

316

CONCLUSION.

creatures is ever going on ; that insects would
multiply and fill the air, — worms, beetles, slugs,
spiders, moles, mice, and other creeping and
crawling things, would swarm on the earth, —
and fishes darken the waters, had not many checks
been provided to keep their numbers under control.
You have been told that much of the labour
belonging to this needful work, is laid upon birds.
This fact leads us to see why birds have been
given such various forms. Let us in a few words
rehearse what has several times been largely dwelt
upon ; namely, that

The length and shape of the beak are suited to
the kind of food the bird is to pick up.

The legs and feet are frequently suited to the
situations in which the particular food of the bird
is to be found. With the swift which seeks its
food in the air, the feet are formed with reference,
not to its food, but to the manner of its roosting.

The wings and tail of a bird are made (by a
frequent rule) longer, or shorter as the food has
to be flown after quickly or slowly ; but in other
instances, the manner of catching the food regulates
their length.

The colour of the bird is generally suited to its
haunts. In the far north, most birds are white,
like the snow. In the temperate zone, most are

THREE LEADING PRINCIPLES. 317

dull- coloured, like the vegetation. In the torrid
zone, most are resplendent, like the blossoms
around them.

The colour of the nest and of the eggs, are in
many cases made to resemble the haunts of the
bird, so that they too may be hidden.

And the height at which the bird builds, is that
which is the most convenient for its feeding, and
for the security of its nest.

In looking at birds a naturalist once hinted, “ I
think we can see that three leading principles were
kept in view at their first creation — use, order , and
beauty .”

Firstly. Use ; that is, they were given mechan¬
ical efficiency , or power of body for the work
appointed them.

Secondly. Order; that is, skilful adaptation ,
or a fitness to suit the situations in which
they were to be placed.

Thirdly. Beauty ; that is, visible harmony, to
delight the eye and the mind.

Let us see if we can further understand these
terms. . Mechanical efficiency , means an instrument,
or power of body well adapted to move masses
of matter, so as to change either their places or
forms.

2 d 3

318

CONCLUSION.

Wlisn a piece of machinery moves with ease,
and executes well and aptly the work for which
it has been prepared, it excites our admiration.
Were you to go into a cotton mill worked by
steam, and to watch the great piston-rod of the
steam-engine moving up and down with regularity
and force, turning great wheels that turn smaller
ones ; and these again acting upon rods and
frames ; and further, were you to see all the little
spindles and shuttles flying by the working of this
one powerful rod, — it would give you an example
of useful mechanical efficiency.

Or, if you were to behold a steam ship as she
moves through the waters, turning at the will of
the helmsman, and by the dash of her paddles
working her way (unchecked by opposing winds
and waves) quickly and steadily to the distant
port ; this too would help you to understand the
operation of a powerful, though hidden mechanical
efficiency.

Now can we find any traces of such mechanical
efficiency in a little bird ? Yes, — and for the
purposes which have to be obtained, a much
greater suitability, and a more marvellous and
varied mechanism. Recall to mind what we have
already learnt of the various bones in the frame¬
work of a bird, — of their lightness and of their

MECHANICAL CONTRIVANCES.

819

hollow forms, — of the varied capacity for movement
in the joints — of the strength of the muscles, —
and of the beautiful clothing on the body, and
you will see in each of these parts of a bird,
instances of mechanical contrivance, skilfully pre¬
pared to accomplish their allotted work.

Every portion of a feather speaks of the same
mechanical contrivance. It is seen in the fine
flowing down, in the long fibrous stem, and in the
crowning latched and hooked filaments. It is
equally manifest in the arrangement of the feathers
on the body, which fall rank and file one over the
other, fitting each tribe of birds precisely in the
very way which is most convenient to the habits
of the creature. Nothing is too minute for the
display of this mechanical efficiency ; it presides
over the softest down of the smallest bird, as well
as over the firm and splendid plumage of the
stately peacock.

Again, how admirably is the tough and flexible
skin of the bird fitted to bear without inconvenience
the bulky apparatus of the feathers, while forming
at the same time an invaluable protection to the
delicate frame -work of the body.

In the gem-like eye of the bird there are three
remarkable mechanical contrivances. One for the
purposes of vision, such as are common to other

320

CONCLUSION.

creatures as well as birds ; another which possesses
a telescopic, and a third, a microscopic power. To
cause vision, (that is, sight) the rays of light
which enter the eye, are made to fall on the fine
points of a minute nerve that is spread out at the
back of the eyeball, upon which points they paint
a sort of image of the wide landscape, or whatever
else is in sight. Then in a moment, and at will,
some internal alteration can be made in the parts
of the eye, by which the rays of light that come
from an object at a great distance, are made to
present a clear image of a far distant thing. It
is on this account that the eagle can see a hare
on the ground, when he is soaring at a height
whence a man could hardly discern an elephant.
Another change in the form and internal state
of the eye turns a speck into a complete picture.
Thus the tomtit can see objects 2000 times larger
than they appear to man. These three distinct
states, (each one of which arises out of a beautiful
mechanical efficiency, or power) change at will the
vision within the minute ball of a bird’s eye.*

* By means of the telescope, however, man can see
into far distances that greatly exceed the reach of any
"bird’s eye ; and by means of the microscope, he can
enlarge objects thousands of times beyond the power
of any bird’s vision.

SKILFUL ADAPTATION.

321

Again, who does not admire the able provision
of air-cells in the body of a bird, which enable it
to rise like a balloon, and to sail at its will in the
clear atmosphere, over the heads of the tallest
trees, over hills, and here and there over the
mountain tops ? Its joyous heart beats like ours,
and the life-blood flows as steadily through its
blood-vessels, while its head never turns giddy at
the most dizzy height. God has made the bird a
living thing of perfect mechanical efficiency.

In the second place, that we may understand
the meaning of “skilful adaptation ,” let us return
to the cotton factory, and mark for what purposes
the powerful steam engine has been called upon
to set the wheels of its machinery in rapid motion.
Those wheels are working spindles, rollers, and
looms, fitly contrived to smooth down, and to draw
out into lengthened threads the raw cotton that
has been collected from the pods of the cotton tree,
and finally the machinery is interlacing the well-
spun threads, so as to produce a warm and useful
article of clothing for man. In the factory we see
a fitting suitability, a nice agreement between the
cotton, that admits of being drawn out into threads,
and the machinery, that is able to convert it into
cloth ; — the cotton and the machinery are both
made to work together for a determined end.

322

CONCLUSION.

There is order, skilful adaptation, or a right fitting,
set up between them.

Again, the steam ship, while urged on by the
mechanical energy of her powerful engine, requires
to be made with a skilful fitness for the place she
has to fill. Her office is to hear across the ocean
a ponderous burthen ; her form must therefore be
adapted to support it, as she cuts her way through

the waters. Her weight must he calculated, that

»

she may displace just so much of the yielding
water, as to form a trough in which to lie ; — she
must not he so light as to reel over, nor so heavy
as to sink. If she rides well on the watery main,
her fitness for moving on the water, and the fitness
of the water to hear her up, are proved ; thus a
skilful adaptation , or a nice agreement, is displayed
between the two.

And, do we not see this skilful adaptation
worked out in a much higher degree in the birds
of the air ? Are not their bodies exactly fitted
to rest upon and to cut through the air — their
wings to strike upon the air — the eye to receive
the rays of light and the ear sounds ? There is
an order in these things, a fitness of one thing to
another. Birds are also as fitted for their food,
as the food is for them. The materials fitted to
make safe and warm the little abodes for their

INSTINCT PERFECT IN ITS CHOICE.

323

nestlings, they find at hand, and know how to
employ them with a skill and industry that might
shame the lazy and slovenly cottager. Their
devotion to their offspring is a perfect model of
parental affection. In attending to the wants
of their young, the most exact correspondence is
manifested between the demands of their family,
and the zeal and ability of the parent birds to
answer their calls. Did ever bird build its nest
where there was no provision at hand for its little
ones ? Such a choice was perhaps never known,
where the bird was free to choose the place in
which to build its home. The perfect instinct
God has implanted in birds leads them to mind
the fitness of things in the labours to which they
are called.

A fitting choice amid variety is a distinguishing
property of the laws of instinct. Birds seem to
adopt and to love that which their Maker has
chosen for them. As their bodies are formed with
mechanical efficiency , that is with power to perform
their work, so their spirits manifest a sensibility
for the proper things to be done ; and their whole
natures, a skilful adaptation to the creation around
them.

Not less interesting are birds when looked upon
as living proofs of beauty and of harmony. The

324

CONCLUSION.

smooth and often richly adorned clothing of the
feathered tribes, has rendered them fair and
beautiful to a proverb. The metallic gloss of the
humming-bird, the splendid tail of the peacock,
and the purples of the pheasant, do not however
appear necessaries to the birds ; the hens, which
are destitute of these ornaments, being as well
off without them ; but since these things have been
given them, we are warranted (till we know better)
in looking upon their lovely plumage as a beauty
intended to charm the eye, and given for beauty's
sake !

When we take a deeper view of birds, and dwell
upon their forms, habits, and lives, we discover a
grace and harmony in their natures, that charms
the mind, as outward beauties charm the eye. To
return to the works of man, we find that any
skilfully-working machinery of his invention, im¬
parts to the mind a sense of beauty. When an
observer enters a well-conducted factory, and sees
before him its apparatus clean and bright, — every
wheel in motion, — the cotton spinning on the
winders, and the loom throwing out the finished
piece, he is filled with admiration at the process
going on, and is ready to exclaim, “How wonderful !
how beautiful ! is this concert of movements,
harmoniously at work, in producing the woven
material !”

325

FITNESS OF A EIRE FOR ITS PLACE.

When we look upon the noble steam ship gliding
rapidly by, we gaze with delight upon her easy,
almost noiseless course, “ as she walks the waters
as a thing of life/’ Had we seen her on the
stocks, painted in all the colours of the rainbow,
she would not have inspired equal admiration. It

is the contemplation of her fitness, when at her

•

proper work, — it is the beholding her on the
waters, making for herself a path in the seas, that
raises within us the delightful sensations of harmony
and beauty.

The actions of bii;ds inspire a still higher delight.
We behold them sailing along, as exquisitely fitted
for the air as the air is for 'them ; we contemplate
them not only as tenants of the atmosphere, but
also as linked to the land, in order to carry forward
with joy and alacrity one general good, with the
rest of the living creation. Truly the whole being
of a bird, body and instincts, is so admirably
adapted for carrying out the intentions of its
Maker, that its life appears but as one harmonious
movement, visibly accomplishing His will.

As we love the notes of the voice that sings
sweetly and skilfully, so we love the lively and
graceful natures of birds. Their very freedom
from vanity, charms. Their clothing, however

32G

CONCLUSION.

rich and gay, is worn with a simple heart, un¬
conscious of its attraction ; flowers cannot surpass
some of their brightest plumage, yet this never
fosters a thought of pride. The blackbird, in his
grave and solemn dress, knows nothing of the stain
of envy ; but sings as sweetly and as joyfully, as
if clothed in scarlet and gold. Their cheerful
contentment in every station which their Creator
has allotted them, whether it be to live in the
torrid climes, or in a more favoured temperature,
should also make them our instructive companions
amid the wide family of the creatures of God.

The pleasant but short examination which we
have for some time past been taking of the forms ,
the instincts, and the uses of the feathered tribes,
is now finished ; and in concluding I would say,
that the attempt which has been made in our last
pages to illustrate by the works of man, the power,
skill, and manifest beauty in the works of God,
has only betrayed the meagreness of human
contrivances, when contrasted with the exuberant
fertility of the Divine Creative power. Indeed it
is hard to draw any comparison between them. A
cotton mill displays efficiency in the movements
of mechanical power, so far it does well ; but in
pursuing the illustration, were its rattle the melody

PERFECTION OF THE WORKS OF COD. 827

of music, its height the . architecture of a temple,
and its finished work without a flaw, it still could
bear no real comparison to the adapting order, and
to the perfect beauty manifest in the works of
creation.

It sometimes pleases the Almighty to let us
catch a glimpse of the designs which he purposes
to carry out by the machinery of creation ; but in
most cases we must be content to say, in things
of the earth, as in things spiritual, “ His thoughts
are not as our thoughts, nor His ways as our
ways.” We must be content to own our present
ignorance, and to hope that in a future state, we
may know more than we can know now, of the
works of our Creator, and be enabled to contemplate
through an endless eternity, the action of that
Almighty power, which is as infinite , and as
boundless, as that eternity itself.

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