lCNDON:HENRV GRAVES'S COMP? PRINTSLLLERS TO-HER MAJESTY. PALL MALL
■ H-Harring, litli.
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ZOOLOGICAL SKETCHES
BY JOSEPH WOLF.
MADE FOR THE
ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON,
FROM ANIMALS IN THEIR VIVARIUM,
IN THE REGENT’S PARK.
SECOND SERIES.
(Sfoilet), foiljj fjtote,
BY
PHILIP LUTLEY SCLATER, M.A., Ph.D.,
LATE FELLOW OF CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE, OXFORD; FELLOW OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY; MEMBER OF THE IMPERIAL LEOPOLDINO-CAROLINIAN
ACADEMY; HON. MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA; OF THE LYCEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
OF NEW YORK; OF THE GERMAN ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY; ETC., ETC., ETC.,
SECRETARY TO THE SOCIETY.
e
LONDON : HENRY GRAVES & COMPANY, PRINTSELLERS TO HER MAJESTY, 6, PALL MALL.
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M.DCCCLXVII.
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PREFACE.
The origin and object of the present work, and the mode of its execution have been fully explained in the
preface to the First Series. The present volume, containing fifty plates as the former, has been prepared
under the same circumstances. It contains figures of many of the most interesting novelties recently added
to the Zoological Society’s living collection, amongst which special attention may be called to the series
of Pheasants, of which figures are given in Plates xxxii. to xxxix.
The whole of the original drawings, from which the plates of the present work have been prepared have
been recently framed and mounted, and are now exhibited in the Picture Gallery in the' Society’s Gardens
in the Regent’s Park.
PHILIP LUTLEY SCLATEE.
11, IIajjover Square.
March 11 th, 1807.
|Cisl ot llatfs.
MAMMALS.
I. The Ashy-black Macaque (Macacus ocreatus).
II. The Black-fronted Lemur ( Lemur nigrifrons).
III. The Aye-Aye ( Chiromys madagascariensis).
IV. The Fennec Fox ( Canis cerdo).
V. The Yaguarundi Cat ( Felis yaguarundi).
VI. The Norwegian Lynx ( Felix lynx).
VII. The Viverrine Cat ( Felix viverrina).
VIII. The Rasse (Viverricula malaccensis).
IX. The Ratels (Mellivora capensis <f M. indica).
X The Binturong (Ardictis binturcng ).'
XI. The Sea-bear ( Otaria kookeri).
XII. The Persian Deer ( Cervus maral ).
XIII. The Mantchurian Deer ( Cervus mantchuricus).
XIV. The Formosan Deer ( Cervus taivanus).
XV. The Japanese Deer (Cervus si/ea).
XVI. The Rusa Deer (Cervus rusd).
XVII. Swinhoe’s Deer (Cervus swinhoii).
XVIII. The Pudu Deer (Cervus humilis).
XIX. The Leucoryx (Oryx leucoryx).
XX. The Markhore (Capra megaceros ).
XXI. The Aoudad (Ovis tragelaphus).
XXIL The Andaman Pig (Sus andamanensis).
XXIII. The Collared Peccary (Dicotyles torquatus).
XXIV. The African Elephant (Elephas africanus).
XXV. The Three-toed Sloth (Bradypus tridactylus).
XXVI. The Red Kangaroo (Macropus ru/us).
XXVII. The Hairy-nosed Wombat (Phascolomys latifrons).
BIRDS.
XXVIII. The Satin Bower-bird (Ptilonorynchus kolosericeus).
XXIX. The Concave-casqued Hornbill (Buceros bicornis).
XXX. The Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros).
XXXI. The Spotted Eagle (Aquila ncevia).
XXXII. Siemmering’s Pheasant (Pkasianus soemmerringii).
XXXIII. Reeves’ Pheasant (Pkasianus reevesii).
XXXIV. The Rufous-tailed Pheasant (Euplocamus erythr-
ophthalmus).
XXXV. The Siamese Pheasant (Euplocamus prcelatus).
XXXVI. Vieillot’s Fire-backed Pheasant (Euplocamus vieilloti).
XXXVII. Swinhoe’s Pheasant (Euplocamus swinhoii).
XXXVIII. The Lineated Pheasant (Euplocamus lineatus).
XXXIX. The Horned Tragopan (Ceriornis satyra).
XL. The Talegalla (Talegalla lathami).
XLI. The Ostrich (Strutkio camelus).
XLII. The Weka Rail (Ocydromus australis).
XLIII. The Saddle-billed Stork (Ciconia senegalensis).
XLIV. The Shoe-Bill (Balceniceps rex).
XLV. The Kagu (Rhinocketus jubatus).
XLVI. The African Wood-Ibis (Tantalus ibis).
XLVII. The Indian Wood-Ibis (Tantalus leucocephalus).
XLVIII. The Upland Goose (Chloephaga magellanica).
XLIX. The Shielded Duck (Anas scutulata).
REPTILES.
L. The Clotho (Clotko nasicornis).
Plate VII. is called The Wagati Cat (Felis bengalensix).
XII. „ The Persian Deer (Cervus wallichii).
XXVII. „ The Hairy-nosed Wombat (Phascolomys lasiorhinus).
In the Plates and Temporary Letter-press,
Plate XXXV. i
XLIII.
XLIX.
called The Siamese Pheasant (Gallophasis horsfieldi).
„ The Saddle-billed Stork (Mycteria senegalensis).
„ The White-headed Shieldrake (Casarca leucoptera).
THE ASHY-BLACK MACAQUE.
Macacus ocreatus.
Plate I.
The group of Monkeys to which the name Macaque is applied contains some of the best known and
commonest species usually met with in captivity, such as the Bonnet-Monkey, the Toque, and the Rhesus.
They are found in a state of nature mostly in Southern Asia and its neighbouring islands.
In the summer of 1858, the Zoological Society obtained a specimen of the rare Macaque here represented,
out of a travelling menagerie. It was somewhat paralysed in its hind quarters when received, and did not
promise to be very long lived. The species is certainly the same as that described by Mr. Ogilby in 1840,* from
a specimen observed living in a menagerie at that time, and is probably identical with Macacus fwtco-aler of
Schinz, in which case however Mr. Ogilby’s name has precedence. It belongs strictly to the division of
Macaques in which the tail is very short, sometimes reduced almost to a tubercle, as in M. arctoides and
M. mourns. There is no example of this species in the British or French national collections; but the I.eyden
Museum contains two specimens, which I believe to belong to it. The example in the Frankfort collection is
said to have been brought from Celebes, but I doubt whether that island is its real home.
*Papio ocreatus, Ogilby, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1840, p. 56.
THE BLACK-FRONTED LEMUR.
Lemur nigrifrons.
Plate II.
Since the occurrence of recent events has re-opened Madagascar to Europeans, the various species of Lemurs,
which are so numerous in the forests of that island, have been brought more frequently to this country, and
a tolerably full series of these attractive animals may now generally be found in the Society’s Monkey-house.
Some of them occasionally breed in captivity, and the present illustration has been prepared with the object
of showing the singular position in which, on such occasions, the young animal is carried by its mother.
The Lemur commonly called the Black-fronted Lemur, was first distinguished as a separate species by
M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire in his “ Tableau des Quadrumanes,” published in the 19th volume of the “ Annales du
Museum d’Histoire Naturelle.” It is, however, rather doubtful whether this animal is really specifically
distinct from the Lemur mongox of Linnaeus.
Professor Schlegel has lately shown that a series of skins of the same species of Lemur from the same
locality present considerable variations in coloring,* and there can be little doubt that the number of species
of this group has been unduly augmented by authors who have based their distinctive characters solely on
slight variations of color.
The young Lemur represented in the accompanying plate, was born in the summer of 1865, and in October
1866 had attained its full size. It was the produce of two different species, the male having belonged to the
species lately determined by Ur. Gray as Lemur xantliomystax. The hybrid offspring has, in this instance, taken
after the father’s coloration, which is conspicuously distinct from that of the mother.
*Nederlandsch Tijdschrift v. d. Dierkunde, Deel iii., p. 74 et seq.
THE BLACK-FRONTED LEMUR.
LEMUR NIGRIFRONS.
THE AYE-AYE.
Chiromys madagascatieiisis.
Plate III.
The Aye-aye of Madagascar is one of the scarcest and most remarkable animals that have ever been exhibited
in the Society’s Gardens. Although discovered by the French traveller Sonnerat as long ago as in 1780, it was
until very lately represented in European collections of Natural History only by the original stuffed specimen
presented by its discoverer to the illustrious Buffon, who deposited it in the French National Zoological
Museum. It was not until 1844 that a second example of this animal was received in Europe, and this also
passed into the collection of the Jardin des Plantes at Paris. A few years after this the first specimen of the
Aye-aye reached this country. Dr. II. Sandwith, C.B., when Colonial Secretary in Mauritius, having had his
attention called to the subject by Professor Owen, obtained, after much difficulty, a living example of the
Aye-aye, from the forests of its native island. This animal was eventually forwarded to the British Museum
in spirits, and became the subject of an elaborate memoir on its osteology and anatomy, read by Professor Owen
before the Zoological Society, and printed in the fifth volume of the Society’s “Transactions.”
The Zoological Society’s Aye-aye, which was the first, and remains up to the present time the only
example of this animal brought alive to Europe, was received in August, 1802, from Mr. Edward Mellisli, of
Mauritius. Mr. Mellisli had formed one of the mission sent out from Mauritius to Madagascar in 1801, to
congratulate King Radama II. on his accession to the throne of the Ilovas, and knowing the interest that
attached itself to the Aye-aye, had made great efforts to procure a living specimen. At the time of his visit
to Madagascar Mr. Mellisli did not succeed in his object, but having been subsequently more successful through
the assistance of some correspondents in the island, most liberally presented the fine adult living female of the
Aye-aye, thus obtained, to the Society.
The interest of the Aye-aye centres in the anomalous structure of its incisor teeth, which induced Cuvier
to class it among the Rodents. It is, however, now universally agreed among naturalists that the Aye-aye is
an abnormal development of the Lemurs, and must be located at the foot of the Quadrumana— the highest
group of Mammals.
The Aye-aye is purely nocturnal in its habits. In captivity it never leaves the darkened box provided for
it inside its cage during the day-time, but sleeps within, with the body curled round and covered up by the
long and bushy tail. At night it comes forth and crawls about, gnawing and destroying all the woodwork left
exposed within its cage, and feeding on fruit and a mixture of milk, honey, and eggs, which is provided for it.
In a letter to Professor Owen, which has been published in the Zoological Society’s “Proceedings,”
Dr. Sandwith gives the following account of some peculiar habits of the Aye-aye:—
“ It so happened that some thick sticks put into his cage were bored in all directions by a large and
destructive grub, called here the Moutouk. Just at sunset the Aye-aye crept from under his blanket, yawned,
stretched, and betook himself to his tree, where his movements are lively and graceful, though by no means
so quick as those of a squirrel. Presently he came to one of the worm-eaten branches, which he began to
examine most attentively ; and bending forward his ears, and applying his nose close to the bark, he rapidly
tapped the surface with his curious second digit, as a woodpecker taps a tree, though with much less noise,
from time to time inserting the end of his slender finger into the worm-holes, as a surgeon would a probe. At
length he came to a part of the branch which evidently gave out an interesting sound, for he began to tear it
with his strong teeth. lie rapidly stripped off the bark, cut into the wood, and exposed the nest of a grab,
which he daintily picked out of its bed with the slender tapping fingers, and conveyed the luscious morsel to
his mouth.”
These observations have led to the conclusion that the abnormal incisor teeth of the Aye-aye have been
“specially modified” to enable the animal to reach these wood-boring larva; in their holes, and that the
extraordinary slender third finger was likewise “pre-ordained” to “feel, seize, and draw out” the grub. But,
strangely enough, the Aye-aye in the Zoological Society’s Gardens refuses to touch insects and grabs of any
sort, and lives solely on thick, sweet, glutinous fluids and fruit. Nor lias it been noticed to use its long slender
third finger, except for the purpose of cleaning its fur, and in feeding it doubles this digit “upwards and
backwards,” away from the rest. The conclusion, therefore, to be drawn from the habits of the Aye-aye in
captivity would be, that its natural food is the juices of trees, obtained by tearing away tiie bark with its teeth,
and this view would likewise account for its excessive gnawing propensities.
THE AYE-AYE.
CHIROMYS MADAGASCARIENSIS.
THE FENNEC FOX.
Canis cerdo.
Plate IV.
The Fennec Fox is certainly one of the most interesting and elegant animals of the great carnivorous group
to which it belongs. It is remarkable at once for its small general size, and for its enormously developed ears,
which render it easily distinguishable from every other member of the genus Canis.
The first writer who has spoken of the Fennec from his own examination seems to be the Swedish
Naturalist, Skioldebrand, who met with a specimen of this Fox in captivity in Algiers, and described it in
1T77, in the Proceedings of the Koyal Academy of Sciences of Stockholm, under the name Vu/pes minimus
zaarensis. Our countryman Bruce who was in Algiers at the same time as Skioldebrand, likewise speaks of
this animal in his “ Travels in Nubia and Abyssinia,” and contradicts many of the latter’s statements
respecting it. Bruce calls it the “ Fennec,” and states that such is its universal appellation throughout Africa,
the derivation of the name being the Phoenix or Palm tree found in the deserts to which it resorts. The
celebrated Abyssinian traveller and Naturalist, Dr. E. Riippell, of Frankfort-on-the-Maine, sent several
specimens of this Fox to the Senckenbergian Museum of that city, in 1824 and 1828, and a good figure and
good description of it were first given by Dr. Cretzschmar, in the Zoological Atlas of EiippelTs Travels.
Dr. Riippell found it in the neighbourhood of Ambukol, and in the sand-desert of Corte, extending up to the
boundaries of Egypt. From the researches of the late Captain Loche, we are aware that it is likewise
found in the Mzab and Souf countries to the south of Algeria.
The Fennec is a rare animal in captivity. The specimens from which Mr. Wolf’s figures are taken, were
received from Egypt in 1858, and lived in good health in the Society’s Gardens until destroyed by an unlucky
accident. They have since been replaced by another pair.
THE FENNEC FOX.
CANIS CERDO.
THE YAGHAEUADI CAT.
-Felts yaguarundi.
Plate Y.
The Yaguarundi is one of the small group of American Cats distinguished by their uniform coloration and
the round pupil of the eye. The well-known Puma commonly called the “American Lion” (Felts concolor),
and the Eyra (Fells eyra), of which a figure has been already given in this work,* arc other members of the
same division of this extensive genus.
The Yaguarundi was first discovered by the Spanish Naturalist Don Felix d’Azara, who gave it the
barbarous name it is usually known by, being the appellation bestowed upon it by the Guaranese Indians. In
Paraguay, Azara tells us, this species of Cat inhabits the borders of woods and thickets, not venturing into
open places, and climbing trees with facility. Mr. Darwin, during his celebrated voyage round the
world, obtained an example of the Yaguarundi in the vicinity of liio de Janeiro, and gives an excellent
figure of it in the volume devoted to the Mammals of his journey. Both Prince Max. of Neu-Wied and
Professor Burmeister also include notices of it in their zoological works on Brazil. Schomburgk records' its
occurrence in British Guiana, and Professor Baird states that it is found as far north as Texas, so that, like
the Puma and the Eyra, it appears to have a very extensive range in the New World.
The Yaguarundi is very rarely brought alive to Europe. The example from which Mr. Wolf’s sketch
was taken was living in the Gardens in 1852.
* Zool. Sketches, Ser. 1, pi. vi.
THE YAGUARUNDI CAT.
FELIS YAGUARUNDI.
THE NORWEGIAN LYNX.
Felis lynx.
Plate VI.
1 he Lynxes form a distinct section of the genus Felis, characterized by their short tails and pencilled ears.
They are only found in the northern parts of the Old and New Worlds. The Caracal of India and Africa,
figured in the first series of these sketches, is a nearly allied form.
1 he Norwegian Lynx, which was well known to Pliny under its present classical name, is found
throughout the wooded districts of temperate and northern Europe. As is the case with most other of the
larger European carnivores, it was formerly much more plentiful than it now is, having been extirpated
altogether in many localities by the advancing tide of cultivation. But in Scandinavia and in Northern
Russia, it is still frequently to be met with, and in some parts of Siberia, where it is widely distributed and
much sought after on account of its valuable fur, is even abundant. The Russian Naturalists Von
Schrenck and Radde inform us that the natives of Amoorland esteem the flesh of this animal as a great
delicacy, and that the furs which are obtained by the hunters in this part of Asia mostly pass into Clitnese
hands, being much treasured by the high officials of the Celestial empire.
Like the rest of the Cat-tribe, the Lynx is very active and agile in its habits, climbing trees with the
utmost facility, and particularly affecting forests where the timber is large. It feeds on herbivorous
Mammals and the larger birds, often killing more than it can use for immediate sustenance.
The Lynx does not thrive in captivity, and few of the specimens that have been from time to time in
the Society’s. Collection have been long-lived.
1“ S P a ™> and otller Parts of Southern Europe, a second species of Lynx is said to occur-the Felis pardim
of Temminck—which, however, is not very well known to Naturalists.
THE VIVERRINE CAT.
Felis viverrina.
Plate VII.
This well-marked species of Indian Cat, was first described by the late Mr, Bennett in the Society’s
“Proceedings” for 1833, from specimens presented to the Museum by Mr. Thomas Heath, and was
termed viverrina, from its bearing some external resemblance to certain animals of the Civet group. It is
rather a scarce species in captivity, but has been exhibited in the Society’s Menagerie on more than one
occasion. The first specimen of the Viverrine Cat received by the Society was obtained by purchase in June,
1843, and a second, from which Mr. Wolf’s accompanying sketch was taken, was presented to the Menagerie by
Captain Scanlan in 1848.
The Viverrine Cat is found in Bengal and Upper India generally, extending into the Tarai at the foot ot
the Himalayas, but not ascending the hills. It is also stated to occur in Asam, and the Tenasserim provinces.
In Lower Bengal it bears the native name of “ Match-Bagrul ” or “ Fishing-Tiger,” and is said to be
particularly devoted to fish, as an article of diet.
T HE li A S S E.
Viverricula malaccensis.
Plate VIII.
The subject of the present representation is a diminutive of the Viverra or Civet-genus, which is widely
diffused over the entire Indian region with the exception of the mountainous parts, its geographical range
extending even into China. It is a common animal in most parts of India, the Indo-Chinese countries
eastward of the Bay of Bengal, the Malayan peninsula, Java, and the Philippine Islands, and is also, probably,
an inhabitant of Sumatra. Wherever found it is subject to a certain amount of variation of coloring, as
is generally the case with animals of this order having a spotted skin, the ground-hair being more or less
rusty, and the body markings more or less developed, both as regards the number and the intensity of the
spots; but it does not appear that these variations are more than individual.
Of this species, in common with the larger Civets, the late Dr. Cantor remarks that “ they are arboreal
as well as terrestrial, preying upon the smaller quadrupeds, birds, fish, Crustacea, insects, and fruit. Naturally
very fierce, they are scarcely reclaimable, except in youth, but with age the original disposition returns.
Their voice is peculiar, hoai'se, and hissing.”*
Mr. Hodgson remarks of the Civets generally, as observed in Nepal, that “ these animals dwell in forests
or detached woods and copses, whence they wander freely into the more open country by day (occasionally at
least) as well as by night; for one has been killed at noon, three miles from cover, in the midst of the fields.
They are solitary and single wanderers, even the pair being seldom together, and they feed promiscuously upon
small mammals, birds, eggs, snakes, frogs, insects, besides some fruits and roots. In the Terai the larger
Civets ( Viverra zibetha) are found in uncultivated copses, and they are said further to protect themselves by
burrowing; at least they are frequently taken in holes, whether made by themselves or obtained by ejection of
other animals. The Mushaws, a low caste of woodmen, eat their flesh.”
The Basse, is, according to Mr. Blyth, the Guncla gokul of the natives of Bengal. In this country
it frequents the vicinity of human habitations, and the outskirts of large cities, prowling about nocturnally,
and sometimes even finding its way into dwellings and outhouses, wherever it can obtain access. It eludes
observation, for the most part, by its nocturnal habits, though now and then it is entrapped in places where
its presence would hardly be suspected, and its depredations have been attributed to some marauding
house-cat. The late Dr. Kelaart, in his “ Prodromus Faun® Zelyanicee,” correctly describes our animal, and
remarks that the Basse is found in the northern provinces of Ceylon, and is also very numerous in the north¬
eastern district. Natives keep them in cages for the sake of the musky fluid which their anal pouches
secrete. When young they are docile. In a wild state they are great destroyers of poultry, and enter
poultry-yards even during the day, and carry off a goose or duck. They are, however, more shy and
nocturnal in densely populated neighbourhoods.
In Java, as in Ceylon, the perfume secreted by the Basse is held in high estimation. According to the late
Dr. Ilorsfield, “ the Basse is not unfrequontly found in Java, in forests of moderate elevation above the level
of the ocean. Here it preys on small birds and animals of every description. It possesses the sanguinary
appetite of animals of this family in a High degree. In confinement, it will devour a mixed diet, and is fed on
eggs, fish, flesh, and rice. Salt is reported by the natives to be a poison to it. The odoriferous substance, the
dedes of the Javanese or jibet of the Malays, is collected periodically. The animal is placed in a narrow cage,
in which the head and anterior extremities are confined; the posterior parts are thus easily secured, while the
civet is removed with a simple spatula. It has not been known to propagate in a state of confinement,
“ The substance obtained from the Basse,” continues Dr. Horsfield, “ agrees with the civet afforded by
the large Vioerrw in color, consistence, and odour. It is a very favorite perfume among the Javanese, and is
applied both to their dresses, and by means of various unguents and mixtures of flowers, to their persons.
Even the apartments and furniture of the natives of rank are generally scented with it to such a degree as to
be offensive to Europeans, and at their feasts and public processions the air is widely filled with this odour.”
The perfume of the Civets is rank and strong, and has long ceased to be in request, except for admixture
with other scents, among the civilized nations of Europe.
Journ. Jls. Soc. Ben. xv., 199.
THE RASSE.
VIVEREICULA MALACCEHSIS.
m
THE
R A T ELS.
Mellicora mpensis ,)■ M. indica.
Plate IX.
The Iiatels or Honey-bears of India, and Africa are certainly amongst the most popular objects to be found in
the Society’s collection. Throughout the summer months their sportiye actions and never-failing somersaults
attract a host,of visitors. Instead of depicting these animals in their natural haunts, as has been usually
done in these Sketches, Mr. Wolf has pourtrayed the whole party at play in their well-known cage in the
Regent’s Park Gardens, with a group of spectators admiring their gambols.
The South African llatel (Mellicora capensis), is readily known from its Indian congener by the broad
white stripe running along each side of its back. Sparrman—a Swedish naturalist of the last century, and
a recognized authority upon the animals of the Cape—tells us some extraordinary facts concerning it, which,
like many other stories of the older authors, have not been confirmed by subsequent observers. The bees,
according to Sparrman, furnish the llatel with his principal if not his only means of subsistence. “ These
insects are accustomed to take up their abode in holes in the earth formed by various burrowing quadrupeds;
and the Rate] is endOAved Avith peculiar sagacity for discovering their nests, which it undermines with its
powerful claAVS, in order to feast upon the honey contained in them. AAvare that sunset is the period at
which the bees return to their homes, it chooses that time for making its observations, which are conducted in
a very curious manner. Seated upon the ground with one of its paws raised so as to shade from its eyes the
rays of the declining sun, it peers cautiously on either side of this singular kind of parasol, until it perceives
a number of bees flying in the same direction. These it carefully marks, and follows in their track until it
has safely lodged them in their nest, Avhich it immediately commences pillaging. But if it should happen
that contrary to their usual custom, they have built in the holloAV of a tree, the Ratel, being unable to climb
and angry at its disappointment, wreaks its vengeance upon the senseless stock by biting around it; and the
Hottentots knoAV Avell that such marks on the trunk of a tree are certain indications of a bees’ nest being
contained Avithin it.”
Such is Sparrman’s account of the African Ratel, and although numerous travellers harm investigated
the Natural History of the Southern part of Africa since his time, I cannot discover that any one of them
has given us more authentic details concerning its mode of life. Of the habits of its Indian representative
Ave haA^e more reliable information from several Avriters.
The Indian Ratel ( Mellicora indica), is, as al'.eady pointed out, externally recognizable by the want of the
Avhite stripes on the flanks, and internally by several characters pointed out by Mr. Burton in an article on
this animal, published in the Zoological Society’s “Proceedings” for 1831. “It is impossible,” says Mr.
Burton, in the course of his observations, “to examine this animal, even in the most cursory manner, Avithout
coining to the conclusion that it is wonderfully adapted for making its way beneath the surface of the
earth. The powerful fore leg, armed Avith enormous claws; the cuneiform head; the face deprived of hair;
the minute and sunken eye; the entire absence of external ear; the strong and muscular neck and shoulder;
the comparative diminution of the posterior extremities, whereby the bulk of the hinder parts is lessened;
the naked abdomen ; all unite to characterize it pre-eminently as a digger. And in fact, among the
populations of its native regions it is said that it seeks its choicest food in the cemeteries, and such is its
dexterity in tearing open the graves of the dead, that no tomb is sacred from its attacks. The latter part of
this account is probably in some degree overstated; but it has at all events in those parts obtained the
appellation of the Gravedigger. The generic name of Storr, Mellicora, although it may suit the African species
is consequently peculiarly inappropriate in reference to this.”
The Indian Ratel is stated by General IlardAvieke to be found on the high banks of the Ganges and
Jumna, in the upper provinces. Mr. Hodgson records its occurrence likeAvise in the lower hill-region of
Nepal. For the living examples of the species noAV in the collection, from Avhich Mr. Wolf’s figures are taken,
the Society have to thank the liberality of one of their Corresponding Members, Mr. Arthur Grote, of
Alipore, Calcutta.
A specimen of a third species of Ratel (M. leuconota*) from Western Africa, distinguished by its
smaller size and Arholly \Adiite back has recently been added to the Society’s collection.
•Described and figured Proc. Zool. Soc., 1867, p. 98, pi. vii.
THE RATELS.
MELLIVORA CAPENSIS & M. INDICA.
THE BINTURONG.
Artictis binturong.
Plate X.
A fine male specimen of the Binturong was presented to the Zoological Society in 1855, by Mrs. Samuel
Rawson, and lived in good health nearly eleven years in the Gardens. It is believed to have been the only
example of this scarce animal ever exhibited alive in Europe.
The Binturong was discovered in Malacca by Major Farquhar, about the year 1819. It was first described
by Sir Stamford Raffles in a Memoir on the Zoology of Sumatra, which was read before the Linnean Society
in 1820, and is printed in the thirteenth volume of their “ Transactions.” Sir Stamford Raffles referred the
Binturong to the Civet-cats ( Viverra ), to which it is certainly allied, but it may perhaps, be more naturally
arranged near the Kinkajou ( Cercoleptes ), within the confines of the family of the Bears ( Ursidce ).
The Binturong is an animal with a long heavy body and slouching gait, more or less noctural in its
habits. It seldom moves about much during the day time, but remains coiled up and covered with its long
bushy tail, somewhat after the manner of the Great Ant-eater. It is a native of Sumatra and the Malayan
peninsula, but ranges northwards through the Burmese countries, as far as Assam and Nepal, whence
specimens have been transmitted by Mr. Brian Hodgson.
HOOKER’S SEA-BEAR,
Otaria hookeri.
Plate XI.
The Sea-bear, purchased by the Society in 1806, was certainly one of the most interesting animals ever
acquired for the collection, being remarkable not only on account of its strange and peculiar appearance, but
also as belonging to a group of Mammals which had never previously been seen alive in Europe. One of
the great divisions of the marine Carnivores—the Phocidae, or Seal family—is always represented in the
Society’s living series, by one or more individuals. A second remarkable type of the same order—the
Walrus—has also been once exhibited in the Gardens, as will be seen on reference to the figures of this
animal, given in the first volume of these Sketches. But the external form and appearance of the Otariee, or
Eared Seals, which constitute the third great division of the order of Pinnipedes, was quite unknown in
Europe until the arrival of the present specimen.
This animal, which was a male, was obtained when quite young along with an individual of the opposite
sex, by a French sailor, named Lecomte, in the vicinity of Cape Horn, in the month of June, 1862. The
female was lost during the voyage to Europe, but the male arrived in safety, and was exhibited by its
capturer in various parts of France and England, until the month of January, 1866, when it passed into the
possession of the Zoological Society. I.ecomte was at the same time engaged to attend upon it, and has
since remained in the Society’s service.
The Sea-bear lived in good health in the Society’s Gardens rather more than a year, when it was seized
with a violent attack of inflammation in the abdominal region, caused, it is believed, by a fish hook, swallowed
accidentally in one of the fishes which formed its daily sustenance, and died in spite of every attention.
During its life in the Gardens, it attracted universal attention, not only on account of its strange form, but
likewise from its extraordinary docility and intelligence. It exhibited the strongest attachment to its keeper,
and obeyed his slightest commands with the utmost readiness. Its food during this period consisted entirely of
raw fish—principally haddocks and whitings—of which it consumed about 20 lbs. weight every day. During
the summer it passed the greater part of the day-time in the water, often, however, coming out and exhibiting
its singular mode of progression round the edges of the basin in which it was kept, to the delight of the
admiring public. The night was usually passed in an adjoining shed fitted up for the purpose.
The use of the hind limbs in terrestrial progression at once separates the Otarice from the true seals—and
its mode of aquatic locomotion likewise exhibits some differences, -which are described by an accurate
observer as follows :—
“ When swimming slowly the fore limbs only are employed in propelling the body, but when the animal
wishes to swim rapidly the hinder paddles are used, and these are not swayed together from side to side, but
each being brought forward laterally is then struck back against the water. In turning to left or right, the
paddles of the opposite side—that from which it turns—are alone used.”
Although of great economic importance to mankind from their valuable fur, which supplies the
fashionable “ seal-skin coats” of our fair countrywomen, the Eared Seals are still very imperfectly known to
Naturalists. Many of the recognized species rest solely upon skulls belonging to different Museums, the external
form of the corresponding animal being wholly unknown. In other cases species have been established upon
skins without the structure of the skulls having been examined. A third series of names has been founded upon
nothing more than the vague descriptions of the earlier navigators, many of whom give the most entertaining
narratives of their encounters with these animals. It has thus come to pass that, in spite of the recent efforts
of Dr. Peters to set matters right, the whole group of Otaria is in a state of great confusion, and is likely
to remain so, until our Museums are supplied with a better series of the skins and skeletons of these
animals than they now possess.
Under these circumstances it was not without much doubt and hesitation that when the living animal
above spoken of was acquired by the Society, I determined it to be the Otaria hookeri- a species established by
Dr. Gray in the “ Zoology of the Voyage of the Erebus and Terror.” But a close examination of the animal,
since its decease, and in particular the examination of its skull, has served to show that this view was
correct and that our living animal certainly belonged to the same species as that named by Dr. Gray after
the celebrated botanist who took part in the “ Antarctic Expedition.” It is very possible, however, that
the present animal may be the same as that spoken of by Forster in his narrative of Cook’s second voyage,
when after describing the “ Sea-lions,” (Otaria jubata), met with in great abundance on New-year's Island off
Staten Land, he adds that on the summit of this island they discovered “another kind of seals—Sea-bears”—
and proceeds to point out the differences between them and the “ Sea-lions.” Upon this somewhat vague
information Lesson established his Otaria forsteri, so that, if it can be hereafter shown that Forster’s Sea-bear
couid have been no other than Hooker’s Sea-bear, the present animal may have to bear the name of the
former Naturalist, as its permanent designation, instead of the latter.
THE PERSIAN DEER.
Cerrns maral.
Plate XII.
This fine species of Deer is nearly allied to the Red Deer of Europe, and Northern Asia, but is easily
distinguished by its elongated muzzle (as is well shown in Mr. Wolf’s group of figures) and by other
peculiarities. Sir John McNeill, who presented two examples of the Persian Deer to the Society’s Menagerie
in 1840, informs us that this animal “is found in all the wooded mountain districts of Persia, but apparently
does not occur in the central parts of that country. They rarely descend into the plains. During the
summer they resort to the highest wooded parts of the mountains, and during the winter to the low r er
ravines, near their bases, where they are frequently tracked in the snow.”
The original male of this Deer in the Society’s Gardens, was captured in Circassia during the Crimean
war, and together with a female passed into the possession of the Earl of Ducie, F.Z.S. Lord Ducie, after
keeping this pair of animals three seasons at Tortwortli, presented them to the Society in 1857. Since that
period this species has bred in the Gardens nearly every summer, and a succession of hinds has been produced.
Mr. Wolf’s sketch shews the adult male and female and the young of this deer, in its spotted dress ot
immaturity, which is characteristic of the whole group.
For a long period, following Dr. Gray, I have been accustomed to call this animal Cervus wattichu,
supposing it to be the stag figured in F. Cuvier’s “ Histoire Naturelle des Mammiferes,” under that name.
But I have recently convinced myself that this figure, which was taken from an animal formerly living in
the Barrackpore Menagerie near Calcutta, is referable either to the Caslimirian Stag (Cerrns cashmirensis),
or to the Tibetan (C.affinis), and that the only scientific name strictly applicable to the present species is
“Cervus maral ”—the title by which it is designated on the plate which represents it in the “ Knowsley
Menagerie ”
THE MANTCHUKIAX DEEE.
Ceruus mantchuricus.
Plate XIII.
This noble animal is one of the most recent additions made to the Society’s series of the Deer of the
Old World, which embraces examples of nearly every known species. The fine male, from which Mr. Wolf’s
figure was taken, was purchased for the Society by Mr. Robert Swinlioe, at Newchang in Northern China, in
1864, and reached the Gardens in July of that year. No second example of this Deer has yet been received
in this country, but I believe there has been an individual, likewise a male, in the Jardin d’Acclimatation
at Paris.
The Mantchurian Deer is nearly allied to the Japanese Deer (Cervus sika) and the Formosan Deer (Cervus
taivanus), but is much larger than either of these species, and is distinguishable by other characters. When
the celebrated summer palace of the Chinese Emperors, near Pekin, was destroyed by the British and French
in the winter of 1860, herds of deer, which are considered by Mr. Swinhoe to have been of this species,
were discovered in the surrounding parks, and fell a prey to the ruthless soldiery.
THE MANTCHURIAN DEER.
CERYUS MANTCHURICUS.
THE FORMOSAN DEER.
Cervus taimnus.
Plate XIV.
For the discovery of this beautiful species of true Deer, as well as of 1 many other novelties of gi-eat interest,
science is indebted to the exertions of Mr. Robert Swinlioe, H. B. M.’s Vice-Consul in the island of Formosa,
near the coast of southern China. Before Mr. Swinhoe’s appointment to the new post of Vice-Consul in this
little-known island, its zoology was quite unknown. During his year of residence in Formosa, Mr. Swinhoe
not only collected dead specimens in every branch of Natural History, but also shipped several living
examples of this and another new species of Deer (Cervus swmhoii) home to the Zoological Society.
As regards the habits of this Deer—which was named taimnus, from Taiwan—the Chinese name for
Formosa—we cannot do better than give the following extract from Mr. Swinhoe’s paper on the Mammals of
Foi’mosa, pi-inted in the Zoological Society’s “Proceedings” for 1862.
“ The central and higher range of mountains, which are in parts covered with perennial snow, are
inhabited by the Cervus taimnus. These heights abound with large masses of tangled forest, in which the
gigantic Laurus camphora (the tree whence the drug of commerce, camphor, is distilled) foi-ms no
inconspicuous part. They are tenanted by tribes of half-clad Indians of the Malay type, blood-thii-sty and
savage in the extreme, who keep up a constant warfare with the Chinese colonists of the plains, and resist
with ati’ocity any inroads into their mountain territory. On the lower hills, however, that define the land of
the colonist from that of the aboriginal, dealings on a friendly footing are carried on in bartering Chinese
commodities for deers’ horns, venison, and other results of the chase. To these aborigines money has no
value as a medium of exchange. They live on the tlesh of deer and other wild animals, which they only
partially broil before eating. They obtain, by barter from the Chinese, matchlocks and gunpowder, which
they use to wound the deei\ when approached within a few yax-ds by creeping through the thicket. The
wounded animal is then surrounded by a closing ring of half-naked savages, and, scai-ed by their wild slioxxts,
falls an easy prey to their metal-lieaded javelins. When powder fails them, they sometimes manage to
intercept one from a hex’d, and driving him into more open counti’y, scatter a loose and wide-spread ring of
humanity around him; the ring rapidly closes in as befoi'e. and, as the frightened beast attempts to leap ox-
break it, spears ai-e hurled into him from all sides, and he can i-arely effect his escape. Other means of
capture are also practised, but less successfully : the commonest of which, when the beast is required to be
taken alive, are slip-nooses attached to a stake, and so adjusted, as either to take him by the leg or by the
horns. But the animal captured xvhen full grown rarely survives, and therefore the young are sought for
the pui’pose of rearing. They are nurtured xvith great cai-e till a year old, when the lioi-ns begin to form.
They are then conveyed to the boi-ders and bai-tered to the Chinese, by whom, as I befoi-e stated, they are
much valued.
“In the city of Taiwanfoo, I pi-ocured two bucks and a doe of this species, and forwarded them, via
Hong-Kong to the Gardens of the Society; but unfortunately, only one, a buck, reached England in safety.”
THE JAPANESE DEER,
Cervus sika.
Plate XV.
The Sika or Japanese Deer, which is one of the most recent additions to the Society’s living series of this
group of animals, is a native of the Japanese Islands, and was first made known to us, though somewhat
imperfectly, through the researches of the Dutch Naturalist, Siebold, in that country. Little is told us in that
part of the Fauna Japonica which embraces the results of Siebold’s discoveries among the Mammals of
Japan, further than that this Deer is abundant in many parts of the empire, and seems to represent there the
Red Deer of Europe.
The Japanese Deer was first imported into England in 1860. A pair of these animals, obtained at
Kanegawa in Japan, and brought to this country by Captain Rees, of the ship Sir F. Williams, were
liberally presented to the Society’s Menagerie by J. Wilks, Esq, in July of that year. Not being able to
recognize in them the Cervus sika of the Fauna Japonica, Dr. J. E. Gray considered them as belonging to a
new and probably undescribed species, for which he proposed the name Rasa japonica. There is, however, I
believe, little doubt, as Dr. Gray himself now acknowledges, that they are really of the species indicated by
MM. Temminck and Siebold under the name Cervus sika, and that name, as being the first given, must
consequently be retained for them. A second female of this Deer was received by the Society from their
corresponding member, Mr. Edward Blyth, of Calcutta, in September 1861, and a third imported female was
acquired by purchase in the same year. The females of this Deer have constantly bred in the Society’s
Menagerie, and as the species is very hardy, and requires but little protection from the climate, there seems
to be every prospect of its being easily established in our parks in this country.
THE RUSA DEER,
Cermis rusa.
Plate XVI.
The Rusine Deer of India and the neighbouring countries, form a distinct group from the true Stags ( Cervus)
of the northern parts of the Old and New Worlds. They are distinguished by their coarse uniform coat of hair
and by the lesser development of their antlers, which are short in the beam, and attain but three points at
most.
The Zoological Society possess examples of six Deer belonging to this group. These are the Sambur Deer
of Continental India ( Cervus aristotelis); the Rusa of Java (C. rusa), represented in Mr. Wolf’s present sketch;
the Moluccan Deer (O. moluccensis) of the Moluccas; the Timor Deer (C. timoriensis ) of Timor; the Swinhoe’s
Deer (C. swinhoti) of the Island of Formosa; and the little Kuhl’s Deer (C. kuhlii) of the Bavian Islands.
Some of the continental gardens likewise contain specimens of another species of this section—the dark-
colored Equine Deer (C. equinus) of Borneo.
The Sambur and Rusa Deer both breed readily in the Society’s Gardens, and the former animal seems to
be well adapted for a Deer-park, attaining, as it does, a considerable size, and being quite hardy enough to
bear our winters. The Rusa Deer is not so large, and perhaps rather more delicate, but nevertheless does
well enough in the Regent’s Park, without any further shelter than a boarded shed.
SWINHOE’S DEER.
Cervus swinhoii.
Plate XVII.
his Deer deservedly bears the name of its discoverer, Mr. Robert Svvinhoe, whose merits as an exploring
Naturalist we have already spoken of when treating of the Formosan Deer (pi. xir.l Of this species
hkewise, Mr.-Sw.nl,oe sent two living examples to the Society’s collection in 1802, one of which (the subject
of tlio present portrait) is still alive in the Menagerie.
The Swmhoe’s Deer belongs strictly to the Rusine group, of which the Sambur Deer of India, and the
Ivusa Deer of Malacca (figured in the preceding plate of these Sketches), are well-known examples. They differ
rom the typ.cal Stags in their antlers being shorter in the beam, and having fewer points-likewise in their
uniform, unspotted fur, even in young animals. While the Formosan Deer inhabits the higher ranges of the
island of ormosa, Swmhoe’s Deer is found on the lower hills, at an altitude of from 1000 to 5000 feet Mr
Swinhoe speaks of it as follows, in his Notes on the Mammals of Formosa, published in the Zoological
Society s “Proceedings”:—
“It was not until my late visit to the City of Taiwanfoo, S.W. Formosa, that I came across this species
It struck me at once as a novelty, and I managed to procure two bucks, both of which have fortunately
reached the Gardens of the Society in good health. On my visit to the Tamsuy district, N.W. Formosa i
again met with the animal in a state of confinement in the hands of the Chinese, and secured a buck for the
Acclimatization Society of Melbourne; but a live female I could not manage to procure. This species may
at once be distinguished from the other by its total want of spots, by the absence of the white patch that
a orns the parts about the tail, by its coarse, reddish-brown hair, appearing almost black in some lights- but
above all, by the occurrence of a large sac between the eye and the nose. This curious organ, whatever its
properties may be, it has the power of opening and shutting. It appears to be expanded most frequently
when the beast is irritated. At a distance, the deer looks as if he possessed four eyes, whence the Chinese
Seeang f ° Ur " eyed ’ 11 however ’ more generally known in Formosa as the
The nearest ally of the present species seems to be the Pliilippine-Island Deer (Cerous phUippinvs), with
which it lequires a more exact comparison than has as yet been made.
THE
PUDU DEER.
Cenms humilis.
Plate XY1J1.
Although the true Stags of the type of our Red Deer are confined to the Northern parts of both hemispheres,
representatives of the genus Cervus are found all over Southern Asia and its islands, and throughout the
continent of America. One of the smallest of the known species of the whole group, is the Pudu Deer of
Chili. The height of this animal does not exceed a foot and a half between the shoulders, and offers a marked
contrast to that of its gigantic congener, the Wapiti, of which a portrait has been already given in the first
volume of these “ Sketches.”
The Pudu, although believed to have been indicated long ago by Molina in his history of Chili, is still
imperfectly known in Europe. The individual of this species, which lived for some months in the Society’s
Gardens in 1830, and upon which Mr. Bennett founded his Cervus humilis, was a female, and the same was the
case with an example obtained at Concepcion by Captain King. Mr. Wolf’s drawing was taken from an
individual living in the Society s Gaidens in 1854, which was likewise a female, and it has been doubted
whether the male of this species ever bears horns or not. These doubts, however, have been lately set at rest
by the acquisition by the Zoological Society in I860 of a male example of this little Deer, presented to the
collection by Mr. Charles Bath, of Ffynone, Swansea, This specimen, as will bo seen by the acompanying
woodcut, bears on its head a pair of small straight horns without any branches, measuring about two inches in
length.
THE
LEUCORYX.
Oryx leucoryx.
Plate XIX.
In the first series of the Illustrations (pi. xxiii.) 1 have already figured the adult form of this beautiful
Antelope. I now give a reproduction of Mr. Wolf’s drawing of the young animal, which, it will be observed
differs materially in shape and colour from its parents.
As has been already stated, the Leucoryx now breeds very regularly in the Society’s Gardens, as well as
in several similar establishments on the Continent. The calf, from which the present sketch was taken,
was born in 1851, and was about six months old when it became the subject of Mr. Wolf’s pencil.
THE YOUNG LEUCORYX.
ORYX LEUCORYX.
THE MARKHORE.
Capra megaceros.
Plate XX.
The Markhore is, as we are told by Captain Hutton, its first describer under the name Capra megaceros, ail
inhabitant of the mountain districts of Affghanistan, especially of the lofty crags of the Sooliman and
adjoining ranges. Northwards, towards Cabul, it chooses the most inaccessible crags for its retreat, and is
remarkable even among its agile brethren of the same genus for its extraordinary strength and activity.
A very similar species, from Cashmere, was first obtained by Baron Von Hiigel during his researches in that
country, and was described by Professor Wagner, in 1839, as Capra falconeri; but as there is some little doubt
as to whether the Cashmere Goat is the same as the Punjab animal, it is preferable to retain for the
latter the name which Captain Hutton has bestowed upon it.
The specimen of this fine animal now figured, which is believed to be the first example ever seen alive in
Kurope, was received in 1856, having been brought home from India and liberally presented to the Menagerie,
by Colonel Samuel Brown, of the 2nd Punjab Cavalry.
During this animal’s existence in the Society’s Menagerie, he bred several times with Goats of different
varieties, and produced some very fine hybrids. Since his death in 1865 his place has been filled by a pair of
the same species, presented to the Society by Major F. R. Pollock, Commissioner at Dera Ismail Khan.
The Markhore has been considex-ed by some authors as simply a variety of the Domestic Goat, but its
claims to be recognized as a good and very distinct species are now generally admitted, though there is still
much confusion prevailing among the different species of Wild Goats.
Captain Hutton gives us the following account of the origin of the name of Markhore:—
“ The name of ‘ Markhore ’ or ‘ Snake-eatei',’ is given to the animal by the Affghans, from an idea that
it has an instinctive feeling which pi-ompts it to seek for and devour snakes. Hence it is believed also, that
if a man be bitten by a snake, the wound may speedily be healed, and the poison neutralised, by eating of
the fiesh of the Markhore. The hunters also declare that the fat of the stomach is so excessively nuti'itious,
that it enables them to pursue the chase with greater vigour than any other food, and even after one meal of
it, to endure a fast for several days.”
THE AOUDAD.
Ovis tragdaphus.
Plate XXI.
This conspicuous species of Wild Sheep is found all along the range of the Atlas in North Africa, and extends
itself, according to Dr. Riippell, throughout Egypt and Nubia, down as far south as the 18th degree of
latitude, being known by different native names in the countries in which it occurs. It inhabits the
mountain-ranges, and is generally met with grazing in small families, after the manner of most of its
brethren of the same genus.
The Aoudad is now well known in the Zoological Gardens of Europe, both sexes of this Sheep, having
been frequently obtained from different parts of the north coast of Africa, and young having been produced
in the Gardens of the Societe Zoologique d’Acclimatation at Paris, of the Societe de Zoologie of Brussels,
and in other collections of living animals, as well as in our own.
Mr. Wolf’s sketch represents the fine adult male of the Aoudad, presented to the Society in 1861, by
Sir J. Gaspard Le Marchant, then Governor of Malta. The female, which in this species of Sheep
scarcely differs from the male, except in her smaller size, was presented to the Society by Her Majesty the
Queen, in 1862. The lamb, which was born in April of the same year, is from a different mother.
The uniform brown colour of the Aoudad, the long mane which clothes its throat and fore-limbs, and
the want of the lachrymal sinus, renders this species easily recognizable amongst its congeners of the genus Ovis.
The latter character has led some naturalists to arrange the Aoudad amongst the Goats. This, which is,
no doubt, erroneous, though such a difference affords good grounds for its location in a separate sub-genus, as
has been suggested by Mr. Blyth.
The ‘Aoudad’ is the name by which this Sheep is known among the Arabs of Algeria. Here, we are
informed by Mr. Tristram, in his interesting work on the “ Great Sahara,” it is “ far from uncommon
throughout the whole of the mountain districts, whether wooded or bare. The officers of Laghouat frequently
pursue them, but the chase is attended with no little difficulty, for they betake themselves at once to the
highest cliffs and rocks, and bound up the most inaccessible precipices.”
THE AOUDAD.
OVIS TRAGELAPHUS.
THE ANDAMAN PIG.
Sus andamanensis.
Plate XNII.
The Andaman Islands lie off' the Burmese Coast, in the middle of the Bay of Bengal, arid were, until lately,
little known, except as the abode of a peculiar race of degraded savages of rather doubtful origin. Within
the last few years, however, a penal settlement for the convicts of our Indian Empire has been established at
Port Blair, on one of the islands. An intercourse has thus sprang up with Calcutta, which has enabled
Mr. Blyth, late Curator of the Asiatic Society's Museum in that city, to obtain specimens of many of the
zoological products of this hitherto terra incognita. A considerable portion of these turned out to be new to
Science, and amongst them was the present species of Pig, which was first noticed by Mr. Blyth in -the
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for 1858, under the name Sus andamanensis *
The Andaman Island Pig is at once remarkable, amongst its brethren of the same genus, for its very
shortened profile, short rounded body, and small ears and limbs. It is thickly covered with short black hair,
and has somewhat the general appearance of an American Peccary.
The Society’s original specimen of this animal, which is believed to have been the first ever imported into
Europe, alive or dead, was obtained through Mr. Blyth. Mr. Blyth, we believe, received it through Lieut.-Col.
K. C. Tytler, a well-known Indian Naturalist, lately Governor of the settlement at Port Blair. Other
examples of the same species have since been received through the exertions of Dr. John Anderson, Curator
of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, who acts as Honorary Agent for the Society in that city.
* Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, xxvii., p. 267.
THE COLLARED PECCARY.
Dicotyles torquatus.
Plate XXIII.
No true Pigs are found wild in the New World, but their place is taken by Peccaries, which are different in
structure, although equally belonging to the family of Swine or Suidce. They are remarkable for the
possession of a gland situated above the posterior vertebra, which gives them a very strong and disagreeable
odour. To render their flesh palateable as an article of food, it is said to be requisite to remove this gland
directly after death.
Two species of Peccary only are at present known to exist, the present or Collared Peccary, and the
rather larger White-lipped Peccary. Specimens of both these animals are usually exhibited in the Society’s
Menagerie. The Collared Peccary has a wide distribution in the New World. It occurs all through Central
America and .Mexico, in suitable localities, ranging as far north as the Red River of Arkansas, in Lat. 44° N.
In South America it was found in Guiana by Schomburgk, and in the Eastern Wood-region of Peru by
Tschudi. It is likewise met with in Brazil and Paraguay, and has been recorded by D’Orbigny as having-
been seen as far south as the Rio Negro in Northern Patagonia,
The Collared Peccary breeds readily in captivity. Mr. Wolf’s plate represents a female of this species,
in company with her young ones, which appear never to exceed two in number.
THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT.
Elephas africanus.
Plate XXIV.
While the Indian Elephants have always formed one of the most prominent features in the collection of
animals belonging to the Zoological Society of London ever since the first institution of their Gardens, the
African form of this huge animal has until the last few years remained unrepresented in the series. As,
however, the Indian and African Elephants are very distinct in outward form as well as in inward structure,
the Council of the Society have long been desirous of obtaining examples of the latter species, so that the two
might be exhibited together side by side. It was not, however, until the summer of 1865 that these wishes
were realized, and the first specimen of the African Elephant was received in the Society’s Gardens. This
was a young male, supposed to be about five or six years old when he arrived, acquired from the Jardin des
Plantes, Paris, in exchange for an Indian Rhinoceros. A few months later, singularly enough, two small
female African Elephants came into the London market. The best of these was purchased by the Society for
the sum of 4500, and a pair of this animal thus brought together—for the first time, it is believed, since the
days of the Roman Empire—in Europe,
The most striking external character of the African Elephant as compared with his Indian brother, are
the enormous ears and the convex outline of the forehead. There are likewise very marked differences in the
structure of the teeth of the two animals, and in the conformation of the cranium. These, however, I need
not further allude to except to say that they are sufficient to shew that these two animals, now the sole living
representatives of their race, when intercalated in their proper place in the series of fossil Elephants, must be
referred to two different sections of the group.
The range of the African Elephant is at present confined to Africa south of the Sahara, but in bygone
ages extended as far northwards as the south of Europe, where its fossil remains are often found. In the
neighbourhood of the settled portions of Africa, and indeed in nearly every part of the Cape Colony, it may
also be looked upon as an extinct animal, having been driven away and exterminated by the advancing tide
of civilization. But explorers of the unknown interior, such as Speke, Livingstone, and Baker, still meet with
this animal in enormous herds, and large quantities of ivory—the product of its tusks are imported from
these regions every year into Europe.
It is generally supposed that the African Elephant is naturally inferior to the Indian in sagacity and
tractabilitv, and consequently less competent to be useful to mankind as a trained animal. As far, however,
as our experience goes with the African Elephants now in the Zoological Society’s Gardens, there seems to be
no grounds for such a supposition. It is quite certain that, in modern times at least, the African Elephant has
never been employed as a trained animal for the use of mankind, but this is probably due more to the
inferiority of the race of man which tenants the area to which the African Elephant in . a state of nature is
restricted, than to any innate difference between the capacities of the African and Indian animal. It is
certain, as Sir J. Emerson Tennent remarks, when speaking of this very point, that the Elephants which
excited the wonder of the spectators in the Roman Amphitheatres in the days of (Elian and Pliny, were
brought from Africa, and acquired their accomplishments from European instruction—a sufficient proof that
under equally favourable auspices, the African species is capable of developing docility and power equal
to that of India.*
* “The Wild Elephant,” (1867) p. 151.
THE THREE-TOED SLOTH.
Bradypus tridactylus.
Plate XXV.
This present sketch was taken mainly with the object of showing the method in which the young is carried
by the mother in the case of the peculiar animals known as Sloths, which form the genus Bradypus of
Linnaeus. The young Sloth has been frequently represented in the works of Natural History as being carried
on the back of its parent. The acquisition of a fine female of the Three-toed Sloth together with a young
one probably not many months old, for the Zoological Society’s collection in the summer of 1865, enabled us to
note that this is not correct. While the mother pursues her way with her back nearest the earth along the
lower surface of the branches of the forest, the little one lies, face downwards, comfortably placed on her
breast, and clutching so tightly round the shaggy body of its parent, as not to be detached without very
great difficulty. In this position it is most conveniently placed as regards access to the mammae of the
mother, which are situated upon the breast.
The Sloths brought alive to Europe usually belong to the two-toed division (Bradypus) but the rarer
Three-toed Sloth (Cholopus didactylus) is also occasionally imported, and has been exhibited on more than one
occasion in the Society’s Menagerie. The Sloths are only found in a state of nature in the tropical forests of
Central and Southern America. ,In his well-known “Wanderings,” the deceased traveller Waterton speaks of
their occurrence in British Guiana in the following terms:—
“ This too is the native country of the Sloth: His looks, his gestures, and his cries, all conspire to
entreat you to take pity on him. These are the only weapons of defence which nature has given him. While
other animals assemble in herds, or, in pairs range through these boundless wilds, the Sloth is solitary and
almost stationary: he cannot escape from you. It is said his piteous moans make even the tiger relent and
turn out of the way. Do not, then, level your gun at him, or pierce him with a poisoned arrow he has
never hurt one living creature. A few coarse leaves, and those of the commonest and coarsest kind, are all
he asks for his support.”
THE THREE-TOED SLOTH.
BRADYPUS TRIDACTYLUS.
THE RED KANGAROO.
Macropus rufus.
Plate XXVI.
The Red Kangaroo is one of the largest of the peculiar Australian group of Marsupial animals to which it
belongs, and is likewise one of the most beautiful in colour and elegant in form. The sexes are very different
both in size and colour, the male being of a fine orange-red, while the female is much smaller, and of a nearly
uniform blue-grey.
The range of this Kangaroo, as Mr. Gould informs us in his great work on the Mammals of Australia,
“extends over the plains of the interior of the colonies of New South Wales and South Australia. It does
not so strictly affect the rich grassy plains as the great Kangaroo (Macropus major), but evinces a greater
partiality for the sides of the low stony hills and the patches of hard ground clothed with box intersecting
the alluvial flats.”
The Zoological Society had for several years only a solitary male of the Red Kangaroo in their
Menagerie. This animal, which had been for some time a cripple, died in the course of the year 1860, but
has been recently replaced by individuals of both sexes of the same species.
It is much to be wished that these animals may be induced to propagate their kind in captivity, so that
this fine kangaroo, which is now very scarce, even in Australia, may be perpetuated in Europe. This has
been already effected in the case of the Bennett’s Kangaroo (Macropus bennetti) and the Derbyan Kangaroo
(.Macropus derbianus,, besides other species, which breed every year in the Society’s Gardens.
THE RED KANGAROO.
MACROPUS RUFUS.
THE HAIRY-NOSED WOMBAT.
Phascolomys lattfrom.
Plate XXVII.
A eigltke of the Tasmanian Wombat, the commonest and best-known species of this peculiar Australian
form, has already been given in the first series of these Illustrations. Mr. Wolf’s present drawing pourtrays
another most distinct species of Wombat, of which we have long had the skull in our collections, although we
have only lately become acquainted with the living animal itself.
In the spring of 1862, the Zoological Society of London received from the Acclimatisation Society of
Melbourne two Wombats of this new species. These had been brought to Melbourne from South Australia,
the common Wombat of Victoria being quite a different animal, more nearly allied to, if not identical with,
the Tasmanian Wombat. This South-Australian Wombat is, however, readily recognizable by very trenchant
characters. Its long pointed ears strike the observer at first glance as being different from those of the
Phascolomys ursinrn. The muzzle clothed with dense coarse white hair, offers another very marked difference,
and led me to suggest the name lasiorhinus, under which Mr. Gould has described and figured this species in his
“ Mammals of Australia,” as being peculiarly appropriate to the species. But as has been recently shown by
Dr. Murie* Mr Gould’s term must give way to the prior appellation of Professor Owen, who first characterized
this species from its cranial peculiarities in 1845, and proposed to call it latifrons.
Much more information is requisite concerning the habits, ranges, and other particulars of the history of
the Australian Wombats, before our knowledge of this subject can be deemed in any way complete.
Proc. Zool. Soc. 1865, p. 838.
THE SATIN BOWER-BIRD.
Ptilonorhynchus liolosericeus.
Plate XXVIII.
The Bower-Birds of Australia, which are genei’ally kept in the large Aviary to the right hand of the principal
entrance of the Regent’s Park Gardens, are usually considered amongst the most attractive objects to visitors
in the whole establishment; the habits of the present species, which is the only one of the group yet received
alive in England, as well as those of the allied genera, JElurcedus and Chlamydodera, being extremely singular
and interesting.
Long before the construction of their nest, and independently of it, these birds form with twigs skilfully
put together and firmly planted in a platform of various materials, an arbour-like gallery of uncertain length,
in which they amuse themselves with the most active glee. They pursue each other through it; they make
attitudes to e :ch other, the males setting their feathers in the most grotesque manner, and making as many
bows as a cavalier in a minuet. The architecture of the bower is excessively tasteful, and the ornamentation
of the platform on which it stands is an object of constant solicitude to the birds. Scarcely a day passes
without some fresh arrangement of the shells, feathers, bones, and other decorative materials, which they
bring from long distances in the bush for this purpose. With the same object they immediately appropriate
every suitable fragment placed within their reach when in confinement.
The first account of the architecture of the Bower-Bird was published by Mr. Gould in 1841, and the
subject is fully treated of, with characteristic illustrations, in his great work on the Ornithology of Australia,
Six species of Bower-Birds are now known to occur in different parts of the Australian continent. The
bushes of New South Wales are tenanted by the present species and the nearly-allied Cat-Bird (JElurcedus
smithii). The four species of Chlamydodera have a wider distribution, C. maculata being alone found in the
interior of New South Wales, while C. guttata is confined to Western Australia, and the genus is represented
in the northern districts by C. nuchalis, and the recently discovered C. cerviniventris. The Spotted Bower-Bird
(C. maculata) builds a very large bower, in some instances nearly three feet in length, and ornaments the
entrances to it with smooth stones, bones, and shells, in enormous quantities.
THE CON CAY E-CASQUE D HORN BIEL.
Buceros bicornis.
Plate XXIX.
The Ilornbills, or Baceroti/J/e of Naturalists, constitute a very singular and very distinct family of birds,
allied, according to the best authorities, to the King-fishers ( Alcedinidw ) and the Hoopoes ( Upupidai ), but
readily known, in most cases, by the great size of the bill, which organ, in some species, attains prodigious
dimensions.
According to Mr. Wallace, to whom we are indebted for some interesting notes on this family of birds,
upwards of forty species of Ilornbills are now known to science, of which about half are found in Africa, and
the other half in Southern Asia and the larger Asiatic Islands. One of the finest species of the whole group
is the Concave-casqued Hornbill, which inhabits the hill-forests throughout India, and extends along the
Malayan peninsula into Sumatra. As long ago as 1833, a single specimen of this curious bird was living for
a short time in the Society’s Gardens, but it was not till the summer of 1864 that the species was established as
a permanent denizen of our Aviaries. In July of that year two specimens of the Concave-casqued Hornbill
were brought to England in excellent condition by Mr. Thompson, the Society’s head keeper (who had been
sent out to Calcutta to bring home a collection of interesting animals offered to the Society by its various
correspondents in the East), and have since lived in good health in the Rcgent’s-park Gardens.
In Nepal this Hornbill is called the “Ilomrai,” or “ King of the Jungles,” and tenants the lower ranges
of the hills contiguous to the plains, extending up to an altitude of from 3000 to 5000 feet. Mr. Hodgson tells
us that it particularly affects the Burr and Pipul trees ( Ficus religiosa and F. indica), loving the lofty perch
which these monarchs of the forests afford, and being passionately fond of their fruit. “The Ilomrai,”
continues the same author, “ is gregarious, of staid and serious manners and motions, full of confidence and
quietness, and seeming to prefer the few open and cultivated spots in the wilds it inhabits; which spots are
usually limited to the banks of rivers. There perched on the top of some high fantastic Burr-tree, you may
see this large, grotesque, and solemn bird sit motionless for hours, with its neck concealed between the high
shoulders of its wings, and its body sunk upon its tarsi. Occasionally it will take a short flight, accompanied
hy one or two companions (for it is a social bird), to some other high tree; never, so far as I have observed,
alighting on the ground, nor on a low tree. Twenty or thirty birds are commonly found in the same
immediate vicinity, six or eight upon the same tree, if it bo large; and they will continue perched for hours
with the immovable gravity of judges, now and then exchanging a few syllables in the most subdued tone of
a voice as uncouth as their forms and manners. This subdued articulation is not louder than, and is similar
in character with, the low croaking of a bull-frog. But if the remorseless gunner intrude upon this solemn
congress, and bring down, without mortally wounding, one of its members, the clamours of the captive bird
will utterly amaze him. I cannot liken this vehement vociferation to anything but the braying of a jackass;
its power is extraordinary, and is the consequence of an unusually osseous structure of the rings of the
trachea and of the larynx.”
Like other Ilornbills the present species makes its nest in a hollow tree, and exhibits some very
remarkable habits during its indification, of which Mr. Wallace speaks as follows;
“ As soon as the female has deposited her eggs the male imprisons her in the tree by closing up the
entrance with clay and gummy substances, leaving only a small hole out of which she puts the tip of her
bill to receive the fruits with which he keeps her well supplied. She is kept shut up in this manner, some say,
till the young are hatched, others, till they are fledged. In the interior of Sumatra, in January 1862, one of
my hunters brought me a male Concave Hornbill ( Buceros bicornis), which, he told me, ho had shot when in
the act of feeding its mate. On going with him to the spot, I saw a hole in the trunk of a large tree, about
twenty feet from the ground, out of which the bill of a hornbill was partially protruding. With great
difficulty I persuaded some natives to climb the tree and bring me the bird, which they did, alive; and along
with it a young one, apparently not many days old, and a most remarkable object. It was about the size of a
half-grown duckling, but so flabby and semi-transparent as to resemble a bladder of jelly furnished with head,
legs, and rudimentary wings, but not a sign of a feather, except a few lines of points indicating where they
would come.”
This remarkable habit was long considered to exist only in the imagination of the natives, but the story
has recently been confirmed by various independent observers, and, there can be no doubt, is strictly founded
on fact.
THE CO NCAVE-CASQU ED HORNBILL.
BUCEROS BICORNIS.
THE
RHINOCEROS HORNBILL
Buceros rhinoceros.
Plate XXX.
Or this large Hombill, Which, as regards the shape of its bill, is still more remarkable than the preceding
species, the Society’s aviary contains but a single specimen, which was received at the same time as the latter,
and is believed to be the only bird of the kind ever brought alive to this country.
The Rhinoceros Hornbill inhabits the Malayan peninsula and Sumatra, being replaced in Borneo, Java,
and the Philippine Islands by several nearly-allied races or species, which exhibit slight differences in the
form of the casque and in the width of the black tail-band.
Mr. Wallace gives us the following account of this species, as observed by himself in Sumatra and
Borneo:—
“ The Rhinoceros Hornbill sometimes exceeds four feet in length, and exhibits the greatest size reached in
the Passerine order of birds. The exertion of hying is so great, that it generally rests at intervals of about
a mile on some very lofty tree, whence after a few minutes, it resumes its flight. In some of the interior
villages of Sumatra and Borneo, where a gun is never heard, they will settle upon and even build in trees in
the village itself; but in more populous districts, where guns and Europeans abound, they are very shy, and
take flight on seeing a man even at a considerable distance.
“It is interesting to watch their motions when settled upon a fruit-tree. Their weight is so great that they
cannot venture out on the smaller branches, nor can they cling to the twigs or flutter among the foliage like
the smaller fruit-eating birds. They cannot even hop readily from branch to branch, their short legs only
serving to support their massive body. On first alighting, they look cautiously round till they discover some
spray of fruit hanging within reach of the branch they are upon, when they move sideways towards it by a
sort of shuffling hop, and then stretching out their long neck, seize a fruit by the extreme point of the bill.
To swallow it now they have got it is, however, no such easy matter, for the tongue not being adapted for
deglutition, they are obliged to jerk down every mouthful by suddenly throwing back the head and at the
same time opening the bill, by which action the fruit is of course thrown down the throat. This habit has
given rise to the statement that this bird, as well as the toucan, throws its food up in the air before eating it;
but a careful observation of the birds feeding in a state of nature, proves that the fruit never leaves the
point of the bill except to be jerked down the throat. The action, however, so much resembles that of
catching something in the mouth that the mistake is easily accounted for. Having finished all the fruit
within reach of one branch, the bird, with much deliberation, takes flight to the opposite side of the tree,
where the same operation is repeated till all the fruit that can be easily reached is exhausted. This is, of
course, soon done, aud it therefore happens that Hornbills seldom visit a fruit-tree more than two or three
days consecutively; whereas pigeons, barbets, bulbuls, and other fruit-eating birds may be found on the
same tree daily for as many weeks. The discovery of a dinner every day in the year must doubtless be
sometimes a matter of difficulty to the larger Hornbills, and they are often obliged to resort to other kinds
of food.”
THE RHINOCEROS
H O R N B I L L.
BUOEROS RHINOCEROS.
THE SPOTTED EAGLE.
Aquila luwia.
Plate XXXI.
Although only met with as an occasional straggler in the British Islands, the Spotted Eagle is by no means
scarce in many parts of the European continent. In Lithuania M. Constantin Tyzenhauz, who has contributed
some interesting notes on the Eagles of the district in which he lives to the “ Eevue Zoologique ” for 1846,
informs us that this species is the most common of all, and a similar statement with regard to Pomerania,
has been made by Dr. Kriiper. The bird, in fact, occurs throughout Eastern and Southern Europe, though
not usually in such abundance. In Egypt it is said to be generally distributed, and rather numerous.
Mr. Blyth informs us that it is common in the hilly parts of India, and even in the Bengal Sundarbans.
Some interesting particulars respecting the mode of indification of the Spotted Eagle in Bulgaria were
communicated to “ The Ibis ” for 1861, by Mr. W. H. Simpson. In that country it would seem to be as common
as it is in Lithuania or Pomer-ania. It is not difficult to please, according to all accounts, as to the situation
of its nest, for in a district where an abundant supply of food is to be obtained, but where lofty trees are
scarce, it will content itself with a pollard willow not much above a man’s' height, or if trees be altogether
wanting it will accommodate itself on the grass—a strong contrast to the highly poetical notions of the rocky
fortresses popularly associated with the idea of Eagles’ eyries. Yet with all this Aquila nwvia is a true Eagle,
for the characters, which have led some Ornithologists to separate it from the larger species, such as
the Golden and Imperial Eagles are of very slight importance, and the circumstance of the adaptability of its
economy to the physical features of the various countries it inhabits is one which occurs among many birds of
prey—even the noblest. In his “ Ootheca Wolleyana,” Mr. Alfred Newton mentions instances of the Gyr-Falcon
occupying a nest on a tree instead of a rocky ledge, and others of the Peregrine Falcon condescending to form
a nursery on the ground—the motive in both cases being probably the same as that above suggested, namely,
the facility of procuring a good living afforded by the locality.
The Spotted Eagle is rarely to be seen in captivity. Mr. Wolf’s drawing was taken from an individual
living in the Society’s Gardens in 1852.
S (E M ME R RING’S PHEASANT.
Phasianus scemmerringii.
Plate XXXII.
This beautiful species of true Pheasant is a native of Japan, and was discovered by Yan Siebold, whose
meritorious efforts in investigating the Fauna and Flora of that country are well known. Specimens
transmitted by Van Siebold to the Leyden Museum were described by Temminck in his “ Planches Coloriees ”
in the year 1828, and named after Professor Soemmerring, a distinguished German Anatomist. Little more
was added to our knowledge of this splendid bird until the visit of Commodore Perry’s squadron to the
Japanese Seas in 1854, when examples of it were obtained in the vicinity of Simoda. According to the notes
of Mr. Heine, the artist of that expedition, this Pheasant appeared to be abundant over the southern and
middle parts of the Island of Niphon, inhabiting the briars and thickets on the low hills of that country.
A few years ago, living examples of Soemmerring’s Pheasant were received by some of the continental
Societies, and in June, 1864, Mr. Reginald Russell, lately attached to the British Kmbassy in Japan, succeeded
in bringing alive to this country no less than fourteen birds of this fine species. Two pairs of these were
purchased for the Zoological Society’s collection, and from them Mr. Wolf’s sketches have been taken.
The males of this Pheasant are wild and fierce in captivity, and appear to be by no means apt subjects
for acclimatization. It has thus happened that in spite of unceasing efforts the Zoological Society has not yet
succeeded in inducing this fine species to reproduce itself in this country, nor, we believe, have the sister
Societies of the continent been, hitherto, much more successful.
Mr. Gould has lately described what we consider to be little, if anything, more than a variety of this
species, which has the upper tail-coverts and wing-feathers margined with white, as a new species, under
the title Phasianus scintillans*
Annals of Natural History, series 3, vol. xvii., p. 150.
REEVES’ PHEASANT,
Phasianus reevesii.
Plate XXXIII.
A living male of this magnificent Pheasant was brought to England as long ago as 1831, having been
presented to the Society by Mr. John Beeves, F.Z.S., then of Canton, after whom the species had been
previously named by Messrs. Hardwicke and Gray. Specimens were again successfully transmitted to the
Society by Mr. Reeves in 1838, and bred in the Gardens without difficulty, although the species was subsequently
lost from the number of individuals being insufficient to allow for casualties. During the past few years
great efforts have been made to re-introduce this ornamental bird to our Aviaries, and at present there seems
to be every prospect of a successful result. The Zoological Society’s Gardens now contain a fine pair of
this Pheasant, imported into England along with others of the same species in the course of the year 1867
by Mr. John J. Stone, F.Z.S., which show every symptom of being likely to do well.
The Reeves’ Pheasant is an inhabitant of Northern China. Dr. Lamprey, who made great exertions to
send this bird alive to the Society in 1862, though these unfortunately were not successful, purchased his
specimens in the market of Tient-sin, the port of Pekin, stating that he believed them to have been obtained
from the Tung-lin or eastern burial-place of the Emperors, north of Pekin. It appears, however, to be the
custom to place all kinds of game in the extensively enclosed grounds of the Imperial burial-places, so that
this may not be their natural locality. That this is the case, would also appear from some notes, recently
communicated to the Zoological Society, concerning the Pheasants met with in the neighbourhood of Pekin,
by Mr. Dudley E. Saurin, lately attached to Her Majesty’s Legation in that capital. Mr. Saurin speaks of
this bird as follows:—
“The Reeves’ Pheasant (Ph. reevesii), called by the Chinese “Chi-chi,” is seen very rarely in the Pekin
Market. For a long time I failed to discover from what quarter they came, as some specimens had been
obtained at Tient-sing, and people pretended they had been brought from Shantung. Last winter, however,
I ascertained that they came from the Tung-lin, and I have reason to suppose that they are to be found nowhere
else in the province of Chi-li. About twenty birds were brought down alive last winter. They are never
brought in frozen or by the Mongols. Their flesh is very delicious, and superior, to my taste, to that of any
other pheasant.”
Mr. Swinhoe informs me that this Pheasant is stated by the Chinese to be found wild in the Tailioo
district, Central China, on the north side of the Yang-tze-Kiang. That this is true is rendered more probable
by the fact that Mr. Stone’s birds, now in the Society’s Gardens, were received from Hankow, which is high
up the Yang-tze-Kiang.
THE RUFOUS-TAILED PHEASANT.
Euplocamus erythrophthalmus.
Plate XXXIV.
The female of this Pheasant is a very singular bird, differing, as will be seen by reference to Mr. Wolf’s figure,
from the male in having the whole plumage of a nearly uniform purply black, instead of a sober hue of brown,
as is usual in the other species of this group. It is, moreover, remarkable for its large spurs, which are not
generally so much developed in the female sex. Under these circumstances it is not to be wondered at that
it has usually been considered as specifically different from its rufous-tailed mate, and it is only lately that I
have convinced myself that the two forms are nothing more than sexes of one and the same species. Such,
however, is, I believe, without doubt, the case; and a short time since we had both cocks and hens of this
species in the Society’s Aviaries, and much hopes of inducing them to continue their race. These expectations
have been frustrated through the unfortunate loss' of the females, so that we must await the arrival of •fresh
birds from the East before we can expect to succeed in breeding this fine species in Europe.
The Rufous-tailed Pheasant is a native of Sumatra and the Malayan Peninsula, where it was first
discovered and made known to science through the exertions of the late Sir Stamford Raffles. Skins of this
bird are frequently to be met with in collections from Malacca, so that it would appear not to be an uncommon
bird in the vicinity of that Settlement.
A nearly allied, but perhaps still finer species ( E. pyronotas), is found in Borneo, distinguishable from the
present bird by having the plumage below ornamented with white shaft-spots. The female of the Bornean
bird is of a nearly uniform glossy black, like that of the present species.
THE SIAMESE PHEASANT.
Euplocamus pnelatus.
1’lATE XXXY.
The first specimens of the Siamese Pheasant transmitted to Europe were, I believe, those in the Museum at
Leyden, to which M. Temminck attached the M.S. name Gallus diardi, but which Bonaparte afterwards
preferred to introduce to science under.the longer title of Diardigallus prwlatus. To me, however, it appears
that this bird is unquestionably a member of the Euplocamus group, which is intermediate between the
true Pheasants (Phasianus) and the Jungle fowls {Gallus), and I have, therefore, great satisfaction in rejecting
the hybrid generic appellation which Prince Bonaparte thought fit to impose upon it, in favor of a more
simple name.
In his works on the birds of Asia, Mr. Gould has given an excellent representation of the male of this
species from a stuffed specimen transmitted to him by the late Sir Robert Schomburgk, Her Majesty’s Consul-
General for Siam. Mr. Gould, however, acting upon information communicated to him by Mr. Blyth, has
represented in his figure the outer tail-feathers turning out, like those of the Black-cock. On referring to the
accompanying illustration, which has been prepared by Mr. Wolf from specimens of both sexes living in the
Zoological Society’s Gardens, it will be seen that this is erroneous, and that the natural posture of this bird is
very much the same as that of the other members of the genus Euplocamus. It may also be noted that the
figure given by Mr. Gould as that of the female of the Siamese Pheasant, taken from a drawing formerly
in the possession of Mr. Crawford, is decidedly not applicable to the female of this species. It may, I think,
possibly be referable to the female of the Lineated Pheasant, of which there is a larger and more strongly-
marked race found in Siam.
Sir Robert Schomburgk informs us that this Pheasant is not found wild in the neighbourhood of Bangkok,
but is a native of the states of Lao or Shang country, in the north-eastern part of Siam. Its native name is
“ Kal-pha. The species seems to adapt itself well to captivity, and having already bred in Europe is likely to
become a most ornamental addition to our Pheasantries.
THE SIAMESE PHEASANT.
EUPLOCAMUS • PRELATES.
VIE ILLOT’S FIRE-BACKED PHEASAKT,
Euplocamus vieillotii.
Plate XXXVI.
This splendid Pheasant belongs to a small section of the same group of Phasianidce as the two species last
figured, and is intermediate in character between the true Pheasants and the Jungle-Fowls of the genus
Gallrn, whence our poultry are derived.
But few examples of the Fire-backed Pheasants, as this bird and some of its immediate allies are termed
from the brilliant colouring of the lower part of the back, have been received alive in this country. Of the
present species called Vieillot’s Fireback, but one individual has ever been exhibited in the Society’s Gardens,
a male presented by Colonel Butterworth in June, 1851. Mr. Wolf’s plate gives an accurate figure of
this beautiful bird, which it is to be hoped may soon be reintroduced to grace our Aviaries.
The home of Vieillot’s Fire-back is Tenasserim and other provinces of the Malayan peninsula, extending
as far southwards as Malacca, and perhaps into Sumatra. In Borneo it is replaced by the Bornean Fire-back
(Euplocamus nobilis), which has not yet been introduced alive into Europe.
SWINHOE’S PHEASANT
Euplommus swinhoii.
Plate XXXVII.
Swi shoe’s Pheasant is the most recent addition to the splendid group to which it belongs, and has been most
appropriately named after its energetic discoverer, who has toiled so successfully in investigating the natural
products of the Island of Formosa.
Mr. Swinlioe tells us that this bird is found only in the interior mountains of Formosa. It is a true
jungle-bird, frequenting the wild hill-ranges tenanted by the aboriginal savages, and rarely descending into
the lower hills that border on the Chinese territory of that island.
Since his return to China, Mr. Swinhoe has made great exertions to supply the Aviaries of the Zoological
Society with living examples of this fine species. The first cock bird was received in June, 1865, and others of
the same sex followed, but great difficulties were experienced in introducing the hens of this species, and it
was not until the autumn of 1866 that the two sexes were arranged together in the Society’s Gardens. During
the present breeding-season every effort has been made to induce this fine bird to reproduce itself in
captivity, in which there seem to be fair prospects of success.
■■
SWINHOE’S PHEASANT.
EUPLOCAMUS SWINHOII.
THE LINE ATED PHEASANT,
Euplocamus lineatus.
Plate XXXVIII.
The Lineated Pheasant is closely allied to the three species of the same genus commonly called “ Kaleeges,”
now well known in Europe, since their introduction through the agency of the Zoological Society
in 1851.* Its nearest ally is Horsfield’s Kaleege, of which a figure has already been given in these Sketches,
and a series of intermediate varieties are said to occur in a wild state which connect that bird with the
present species, although the two extreme forms, when compared together, present very marked distinctions
in plumage.
The Lineated Pheasant is a native of the Forests of Tenasserim and Pegu, extending southwards into
Siam. From the latter country specimens have been obtained for the Paris Museum, which differ from the
northern bird only in their more robust form and rather stronger markings.
This species was first introduced alive into England in 1864, examples of both sexes having reached the
Regent’s Park Gardens in the month of J une of that year. It was not, however, until the summer of 1806
that its reproduction was first effected. The bird again bred during the present season, and there are
consequently great hopes that its name may shortly be added to the list of acclimatizable Phasianidce.
* See Zoological Sketches, ser. 1, pi. xxxix.
THE LINEATED PHEASANT.
EUPLOCAMUS LINEATUS.
THE HORNED TRAGOPAN
Ceriornis satyra.
Plate XXXIX.
The Tragopans certainly stand pre-eminent amongst the magnificent Game-birds of the Himalayas, and no
species amongst them would be more worthy of the assiduous care and attention which the introduction of a
new bird to our English preserves Would require. That it would be possible to effect this we see no reason to
disbelieve, although it would, no doubt, necessitate many years of careful breeding and successive supplies of
fresh blood before perfect success could be expected. But the object would surely he well worthy of the cost
and trouble it would occasion, especially when we consider the sums lavished by English preservers of game
upon the maintenance of their stocks of the Common Pheasant, and the superiority of the present bird both
in size and beauty, when compared with our well-known species.
The Horned Tragopan is an inhabitant of the eastern portion of the great Himalayan chain, being
replaced in the western Himalayas by an allied species—the Black-headed Tragopan (Ceriornis melanocephala).
The present bird is found in Nepal and Sikim, inhabiting the dense woods and jungles of the higher and
middle ranges. It is usually met with in small companies, which on being approached run with great
rapidity, and attempt to escape the sportsman rather in this manner than by flight.
In his recently-published work on the Birds of India, Ur. Jerdon gives us the following particulars of the
habits of this species:—“It appears to be very abundant in Nepal, and is not rare at Sikim at considerable
elevations. I have seen it at an altitude of about 9000 feet in spring. In winter it descends to between
7000 and 8000 feet in the vicinity of Darjeeling, and perhaps lower in the interior. It is frequently snared by
the Bhoteeas and other Hill-men, and brought alive for sale to Darjeeling. Its call, which I have heard in
spring, is a low, deep, bellowing cry, sounding like tma-ung-icaa-ung.”
Although single examples of two other species of this genus had been at different times in the Society’s
Aviaries, the first instance of the successful importation of pairs of this magnificent group of birds
occurred in March, 1863. On the last day of that month a fine collection of Indian Game-birds—partly
presented to the Society by the Babu Rajendra Mullick, of Calcutta, and partly belonging to Mr. John J.
Stone, F.Z.S., and the Rev. W. Smythe—arrived in the Gardens by the overland Mail from India. Among them
were six males and three females of the present species of Tragopan. This bird, contrary to our expectations,
seemed to adapt itself very readily to the somewhat different state of circumstances under which it was situated
in the Society’s Gardens, as contrasted with its native hills. When placed in a compartment of an Aviary
recently constructed for the reception of the hardier kinds of Gallinace®, the sexes paired at once, and
commenced breeding shortly after their importation. Thirteen young birds were hatched in June and July,
1863, and seven of these were successfully reared. In the following year, likewise, six birds of these species
were bred in the Gardens. So far, therefore, there seemed to be every prospect of the successful
“ acclimatization ” of this new and brilliant addition to the Society’s stock of Game-birds, though these
expectations have been since unhappily frustrated by the recent death of nearly all the parent stock.
CERIORNIS SATYRA.
THE TALEGALLA
Talegalla lathami.
Plate XL.
In the whole economy of the class of birds, there is nothing more remarkable than the reproduction of the
family of the Megapodes ( Alegapodidw), to which the Talegalla, or, as the Australian colonists call it, the
Brush-Turkey belongs.
Instead of hatching their eggs by incubation in a nest, the whole of these birds, so far as their habits are
yet known, construct a mound of earth, leaves, grass, sand, or other materials capable of generating and
retaining heat, in which the eggs are buried by the female, and carefully watched by the male until matured.
The young birds then issue forth stout, strong, and so fully feathered as to be capable of flight on the first or
second day of their existence.
The male Talegalla, when the time of breeding is at hand, on being removed into an enclosure with an
abundance of vegetable material within reach, begins to throw it up into a heap behind him, by a scratching
kind of motion of his powerful feet, which projects each footful as he grasps it to a considerable distance in
the rear. As he begins to work at the outer margin of the inclosure, the material is thrown inwards in
concentric circles, until sufficiently near the spot selected for the mound to be jerked upon it. As soon as the
mound is risen to the height of about four feet, both birds work in reducing it to an even surface, and then
begin to excavate a depression in the centre. In this in due time, the eggs are deposited as they are laid, and
arranged in a circle, about fifteen inches below the summit of the mound, at regular intervals, with the
smaller end of the egg pointing downwards. The male bird watches the temperature of the mound very
carefully. The eggs are generally covered, but a cylindrical opening is always maintained in the centre of the
circle for the purpose of giving air to them, and probably to prevent the danger of a sudden increase of heat
from the action of the sun or accelerated fermentation of the mound itself. In hot days the eggs are nearly
uncovered two or three times between morning and evening.
On the young bird chipping out of the egg, it remains in the mound for at least twelve hours without
making any effort to emerge from it, being at that time almost as deeply covered up as the rest of the eggs.
On the second day it comes out, with each of its wing feathers well developed in a sheath which soon
bursts, but apparently without inclination to use them, its powerful feet giving it ample means of locomotion
at once. Early in the afternoon, the young bird retires to the mound again, and is partially covered up for
the night by the assiduous father, but at a diminished depth as compared with the circle of eggs from which
it emerged in the morning. On the third day, the nestling is capable of strong flight, and on one occasion one
of the young birds in the Society’s Gardens, being accidentally alarmed, actually forced itself, while on the
wing, through the meshes of the strong netting which covered the inclosure.
Besides the Talegalla two other members of the same group of birds are found in Australia—namely, the
Ocellated Leipoa in Western and Southern Australia, and a species of llegapode (Megapodius tumulus, Gould),
in Northern Australia. The remaining species of the family are mostly scattered over the great Papuan and
Indian Islands, reaching on one side to the Nicobar Islands in the Gulf of Bengal, and on the other to the
Philippines.
THE TALEGALLA.
TALEGALLA LATHAML
THE OSTRICH.
Struthio camelus.
Plate XLI.
'I r. Wole’s drawing, which represents the immature plumage of the Ostrich of Southern Africa, was taken
from one of two individuals transmitted to the Society’s Collection in 1859 by His Excellency Sir George
Grey, F.Z.S., late Governor of the Cape Colony. Both these birds unfortunately died before reaching maturity,
but were subsequently replaced by a fine adult pair from the same locality, presented to the Menagerie by the
same liberal benefactor.
It may be remarked that, in the case of the Ostrich as likewise of all the other birds of- the Struthious
group with which we are acquainted, the male performs all the duties of incubation, and takes charge of the
young ones when hatched. This has been proved to be the fact with the Ostrich in the course of recent
experiments on its reproduction made in Southern France. The Mooruk, Cassowary, Emeu, and Ehea, have
each of them deposited eggs in the Society’s Gardens, and in every instance the male has incubated, while
the female has shewn no inclination to do anything of the sort. It may, therefore, be presumed that this
rule obtains all through the series of Struthious birds.
THE WEK A RAIL.
Oq/dromus australis.
Plate XLII.
Amongst all the birds met with in the province of Nelson, in New Zealand, none is so abundant, we are
informed by Mr. J. Haast, who has written some interesting notes on the ornithology of that country, as
the Weka Rail.
The Wood-hen, as it is called by the colonists, “is found everywhere on the grassy plains and in the
forests, as well as near the summits of the mountains amongst the subalpine vegetation. It is omnivorous,
and seems to be the true scavenger of the country. It despises nothing. Bread, flour, bacon, yellow soap'
and even the remains of its own kindred, are greedily devoured. They quickly find out a camp, where their
instinct leads them in search of food. The woods resound with their call, which consists of two notes in the
octave, of which the lowest is the first given. We caught a great many, as a valuable addition to our stock
of provisions. The capture is generally made by means of a flax snare at the end of a stick, keeping behind
it a smaller bird, at which they run pugnaciously; and even when there is no time to take them in this way,
no small bird being at hand, they come to the snare, attracted by a branch rattled on the ground behind it'
accompanied by an imitation of the notes of one of the smaller birds. We have even caught them by the
hand, by simply exhibiting a dead robin.
“The Weka lays four to five eggs, yellowish white, with chocolate-coloured spots, of the size of a fowl’s
egg, in a nest prepared rudely with a few dead leaves and dried grass, in a flax bush. It breeds in the months
of November and December, like all the other birds of New Zealand with the exception of the Kaka (Nestor
meridionalis), which breeds only at the end of summer—say at the end of February and beginning of March.
The Weka has great affection for its young ones, and it was often with the aid of one of them, which were
easily caught, that we secured the parents. A "note of distress from the young bird invariably brings the
old ones to its assistance, when they are easily caught in the snare held in readiness.”
The Weka Rail is not unfrequently brought to England alive. Eggs of this bird have been more than on
one occasion deposited in the Society’s Gardens, but we have not yet succeeded in inducing the reproduction
of the species in this country.
Some specimens of the Weka Rail are wholly of a much lighter, almost chestnut hue, varied with dark
markings, like that figured on the right-hand side of Mr. Wolf’s plate. These birds have been regarded,
perhaps correctly, as belonging to a distinct species, which Mr. G. R. Gray has proposed to call Ocydromm
earli, after Mr. Percy Earl, to whom the British Museum is indebted for a specimen belonging to this form.
THE
SADDLE-BILLED
STORK
Ciconia senegalmsis.
Plate XLIII.
The cranes and storks are alike showy and attractive birds, and ever since the Zoological Society’s Gardens
were first formed, have been much sought for as most desirable acquisitions for our living collection. At one
time or another nearly the whole of the known species have been acquired, and the series of these two
families exhibited rarely consists of less than from twenty-five to thirty individuals. During the summer
these are arranged in pairs in a series of enclosures opposite the Sew Monkey House, though in the winter it
becomes necessary to move some of them into a more sheltered situation.
The Saddle-billed Stork is one of the largest and most strongly marked of the whole family, its red-banded
bill and parti-colored legs rendering it very noticeable. It is an inhabitant of the marshes and rivers of
central Africa, extending on one side to the White Nile and Abyssinia, and on the other side to the Gambia.
Mr. Petherick met with this bird on the Bahr el Ghazal in 1859, where he obtained living specimens of the
Balceniceps, but did not succeed in bringing it alive to England. The pair from which Mr. Wolf’s figures are
taken were purchased from a dealer in Liverpool in April, 1861, having been received from some port of
Western Africa. They were quite young on their arrival, but have now acquired their adult dress.
THE SHOE-BILL.
Balcmiceps rex.
Plate XLIY.
This extraordinary bird which inhabits the morasses traversed by the upper branches of the White Kile in
the interior of Africa is one of the most remarkable objects that have ever been received alive in the Society’s
Gardens. It is of greater interest as having escaped the notice of Naturalists until the year 1849, when two
preserved specimens of it were first brought to Europe by Mansfield Parkyns, Esq., the well-known Abyssinian
Traveller. These birds were shortly afterwards (January 14th, 1850) brought under the notice of the
Zoological Society at one of their scientific meetings by Mr. Gould, who proposed for the species the scientific
name Balcmiceps rex.
In the summer of 1860 Mr. John Petherick, H. B. M., Consul for the Sudan, brought to England a living
pair of these birds. They were purchased by the Society, and one of them lived nearly a year in the Gardens.
They were young birds, having been hatched and reared under hens of the domestic fowl in a village
situated on the Upper White Nile, and were the sole survivors of six individuals of the same species shipped
for England by Mr. Petherick, from Khartoum.
The Balcmiceps, as Mr. Petherick informs us, although only found in or near water, is hut rarely seen on
the banks of the Nile itself, and then only when the interior is dried up, during the short hot season of the
summer. The locality where these birds are most abundant is the vicinity of Gaba Schambyl, a hunting
station, about a hundred miles to the west of the main stream, where a large morass with occasionally dry
spots, which is more or less supplied with water all the year round, abounds in reeds and thick bushes, and
offers them a favourite retreat.
“ These birds,” says Mr. Petherick, “ are here seen in clusters of from a pair to perhaps one hundred
together, mostly in the water, and when disturbed will fly low over its surface and settle at no great distance,
but if frightened and fired at, they rise in flocks high in the air, and, after hovering and wheeling around, will
settle on the highest trees, and as long as their disturbers are near will not return to the water. Their
roosting place at night is, to the best of my belief, on the ground. Their food is, principally, fishes and
water-snakes, which they have been seen by my men to catch and devour. They will also feed on the
intestines of dead animals, the carcases of which they easily rip open with the strong hook of the upper bill.
The breeding time of the Balcmiceps is in the rainy season, during the months of July and August, and the
situation chosen is in the reeds or high grass immediately on the water’s edge, or some small elevated dry spot
entirely surrounded by water. The birds, before laying, scrape a hole in the earth, in which, without any
lining of grass or feathers the female deposits her eggs.”
Mr. Gould, the well-known ornithologist, who first described this bird, was of opinion that it was more
nearly allied to the Pelicans than to any other known form. But few who have seen it alive and studied its
actions and general appearance will doubt that it must be arranged near the Storks (Ciconia), and in
particular near the Tufted Umbrette (Scopus umbretta )—an aberrant member of the same family. An elaborate
article on the osteology of the Balcmiceps , founded on an examination of the skeletons of the birds that died
in the Society’s Gardens, has been prepared by Mr. W. K. Parker, F.R.S., and is published in the Society’s
“ Transactions.”
THE SHOE BILL.
BALCENICEPS REX.
THE KAGU.
Rhinochetus jubatus.
Plate XLY.
I he Kagu is an inhabitant of the little-known island of New Caledonia, recently taken possession of by the
h rench, and was first described by some French Naturalists in a memoir devoted to the Ornithology of the
new French Colony. In December, 1861, Dr. George Bennett, of Sydney, N.S.W., well-known for his many
liberal donations to the Society’s Menagerie, received a living example of the Kagu from his friend and
correspondent, Mr. D. N. Joubert, of New Caledonia. Dr. Bennett lost no time in forwarding this bird as a
present to the Society’s Menagerie, where it arrived in excellent condition on the 22nd of April, 1862. In the
following years other specimens of this curious bird were received from the same liberal benefactor; so that
the Society have now several examples of this very interesting and, until recently, unknown form in their
Aviaries. Mr. Bartlett, the Superintendent of the Society’s Gardens, gives the following account of the habits
of this bird, as observed in a state of captivity—
“With its crest erect and wings spread out, the Kagu runs or skips about, sometimes pursuing and driving
before him all the birds that are confined with him in the same aviary (amongst which are several Blue
Water-hens), and evidently enjoying the fun of seeing them frightened. At other times he will seize the
end of his wing or tail, and run round holding it in his bill. From a piece of paper or dry leaf he derives
much amusement, by tossing it about and running after it. During his frolic he will thrust his bill into the
ground and spread out his wings, kick his legs into the air. and then tumble about as if in a fit. At other
times he appears intent upon catching worms; he steps slowly, his neck close to his body, his crest flat on his
back, all his feathers smooth and close, he raises one foot, and, with two or three gentle strokes, he paws the
ground; swiftly he darts his bill into the earth, and draws forth a worm; a sudden shake, and it is swallowed;
again he runs; stopping suddenly, he makes another dart, and thus continues to capture this kind of food.
With respect to feeding, this bird differs much from the Heron-family, seeking out in every hole and corner
worms, snails, and other living things, whenever they are not in motion. As soon as a snail is found, he
breaks its shell by repeated knocks upon the ground, and after shaking the fragments of the broken shell off
swallows the animal. In no instance, however, that I have observed, does this bird eat bread, seed, or any
kind of vegetable. But he strictly confines himself to insects, and other animal substances.”
In its native wilds in New Caledonia, the Kagu, as Dr. Bennett tells us, is usually seen about the sea
coast, and by the sides of the rivers. In some parts of the island they were formerly very numerous, but are
now becoming scarce, being much valued for food both by the natives and the French settlers, and numbers
of them being shot and snared for the table. The nest and eggs have not been discovered, although Dr.
Bennett s correspondents in New Caledonia are making great exertions for this purpose.
The alliances of the Kagu in the natural system are certainly with the Cranes ( Gruidce ), and Kails
(Rallidce), though it diverges from the ordinary members of those families in several important particulars.
THE AFRICAN WOOD-IBIS.
Tantalus ibis.
Plate XLYI.
The small group of wading birds to which Linnaeus gave the name of Tantalus is closely allied to the Storks,
although most writers on Natural History have hitherto associated them with the Ibises. But while many
species of the latter group are very commonly met with in the Zoological Gardens of Europe, the Wood-
Ibises (as the Tantali are usually called) are birds of greater rarity, and are seldom seen in a living state in
our Aviaries
In the summer of 1865, however, the Zoological Society were fortunate enough to possess living pairs of
two species of this scarce form, which from their quaint outlines and beautiful plumage, attracted much
attention. Mr. Wolf has illustrated the various attitudes they assume in this and the next succeeding plate.
The present species of Wood-Ibis is a native of western tropical Africa. Although many specimens of it
have reached Europe from the various explorers who have penetrated into different parts of these regions,
nothing, as far as I am aware, has been recorded concerning its habits. But, we may well presume that they
do not materially differ from those of its Indian ally, of which we have trustworthy accounts.
THE AFRICAN WOOD IBIS.
TANTALUS IBIS.
THE INDIAN WOOD-IBIS.
Tantalus leucocephalus.
Plate XLYII.
The Indian Wood-Ibis, we are informed by Dr. Jerdon, is extremely common throughout India and Ceylon,
frequenting rivers, tanks, ponds, and marshes, generally in parties more or less numerous, although solitary
individuals are sometimes met with. In these situations its food consists of fishes, frogs, and crabs, in quest
of which it stalks about in the shallows with its bill in the water.
Captain Burgess, who has communicated to the “Proceedings” of the Zoological Society some interesting-
notes on the birds of India, met with a community of these birds in a village near the Godavery river, where
there were great numbers of banyan trees, both outside and inside the walls. These trees contained some
fifty nests, the owners of which did not seem the least disturbed by the people passing beneath them. The
village people stated that the old birds went off to the river to fish every day at early dawn, returning
about eight or nine o’clock, and that a second expedition was made during the afternoon. So large was the
quantity of fish brought back on these occasions, that the villagers were in the habit of collecting what was
dropped while the young were being fed for food for themselves.
Although so abundant in its native country, the Indian Wood-Ibis is seldom brought to Europe—indeed I
am not aware of any other individuals having reached England alive, except the pair from which Mr.
Wolf’s sketch is taken. These were received by the Zoological Society in July, 1864, having been presented to
the Menagerie by their Corresponding Members Mr. A. Grote and the Baboo Rajendra Mulliek, of Calcutta.
THE UPLAND GOOSE.
Chloephaga magellanica.
Plate XLYIII.
1m the first series of these Illustrations I have given a figure of the Ashy-headed Goose ( Chloephaga
poliocephala), with which the “Upland Goose” was formerly confounded. In 1847, the receipt of living
specimens of the present bird enabled me to point out the very marked characters which separate the two
species. In the “ Upland Goose,” as will be seen by reference to Mr. Wolf’s figures, the male has the fore part
of the body of a clear white, and the female is brown, barred with black; while in the Ashy-headed Goose the
sexes are so nearly alike, that it is almost impossible to distinguish them. These two species, as well as a
third of the same group—the Ruddy-headed Goose (C. rubidiceps) —the sexes of which are alike, as in the
Ashy-headed—all breed in the Society’s Gardens every year,; so that the various phases of their respective
plumages are now well known to us.
In a state of nature the Upland Goose inhabits the Falkland Islands, and the adjacent southern portions
of the South American continent. Mr. Darwin in the “Voyage of the Beagle ,” tells us that this species is
common in the former locality, but keeps to the interior of the Islands, whence it has received its name of the
“ Upland ” Goose, being seldom or never found near the coasts. In some interesting notes on the birds of the
Falkland Isles, published in “ The Ibis ” for 1861, Captain C. C. Abbott supplies us with the following
particulars concerning the habits of this bird in a state of nature:—
i “ This Goose is found abundantly everywhere in East Falkland. At Cow Bay, where the grass is short
and sweet, Rabbits, Upland Geese, and Jackass Penguins, are so plentiful, that the place is called ‘The
Farmyard.’ The Upland Goose is easily domesticated, and very readily takes to eating corn. It breeds all
over the country, as well as on the adjoining islets; and on this point Mr. Darwin seems to have made a
mistake, unless the disappearance of the Fox from East Falkland has caused a change in its habits in this
respect.
“ These Geese sometimes lay in the long grass, and at other times in the bushes on the banks of streams.
The nest is rudely formed of grass till the laying is completed, when the bottom is lined with down. This is
one way of telling whether the eggs are sat upon or not. Owing to the Gander generally stationing himself
about one hundred yards from where the female is sitting, I used to think it was easy to find the nest; but I
have sometimes walked about for nearly an hour before I could come upon the female, as she never moves
until almost trodden upon. A curious peculiarity of this bird is that, when they leave their nest, after
laying, they cover it up with straw, and when they leave it after the eggs are set upon, they cover it up
with down. No doubt, in the latter case, this is done to keep the warmth in the eggs, and in the former to
prevent their destruction by birds of prey. This peculiarity of covering up the eggs seems to be common to
all the geese and ducks of the Falkland Islands.
“ The Upland Goose lays generally in the first week in October. Sometimes I have found seven, sometimes
eight eggs in a nest, the latter number being, I think, the maximum. The young birds nearly acquire their
plumage in the first year, and are only distinguishable by the mottled colour of their feet, and their plumage
being less bright. In the second year the young birds moult their wing feathers, and are then found together
in large flocks near the sea coast, where on being disturbed they immediately run down to the salt water,
being unable to fly in this condition.”
THE UPLAND GOOSE.
CHLOEPHAGA MAGELLANICA.
THE SHIELDED DUCK.
Anas scutulata.
Plate XLIX.
This is a scarce Indian species of Duck, of which little is known. It appears to have been first discovered in
Java, by the Dutch Naturalist, Solomon Miiller, by whom it was described in the notes to the ethnographical
volume of the great Dutch work on the Natural History of the foreign dependencies of the Netherlands
under the name Anas scutulata. Shortly afterwards examples were brought from the Tenasserim provinces to
the Museum of the Asiatic Society at Calcutta, and attracted the notice of its ever-watchful Curator Mr.
Edward Blyth. Mr. Blyth described the bird in the Journal of the Society under the name Casarca leucoptera,
and also transmitted drawings of it to the late well-known Ornithologist, Mr. II. E. Strickland, who gave a
figure and short description of the species in the “ Contributions to Ornithology ” for 1850.
In 1851 two living examples of this Duck were transmitted to England by Mr. Blyth. One of them
reached this country alive, and passed into the Society’s possession. Mr. Wolf's drawing was taken from
this bird in the following year, shortly after which the bird died, and was deposited in the British Museum.
THE CLOTHO.
Clotho nasicomis.
Plate L.
The genus Clotho embraces several large species of . venomous serpents, all of which inhabit the tropical coasts
of Western Africa. Like other vipers they are slow and stolid in demeanour, and never make an attack
unless irritated, reserving their supply of venom for the purpose of procuring subsistence for themselves.
Their food is believed to consist exclusively of small mammals, which they they are said to procure by lying
in wait for them during the day time, leaving, however, their prey dead beside them till nightfall before it is
devoured.
The Clotho nasicomis inhabits the African coast from Sierra Leone to Fernando Po. Further south it is
replaced by an allied species, the Clotho rhinoceros.
The present drawing represents the first specimen of this deadly species which was brought alive to
Europe. It was procured in 1856, but did not live long in the Society’s collection. Since then, in January,
1862, another example has been received, but this one also lived but a short time in captivity.
The Clothos are amongst the most deadly of the known venomous serpents, but their sluggish habits
render them less dangerous than the Cobras (Naia) and others of more lively and active habits.
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