THE JAGUAR.
BOOK

NATURAL HISTORY;

CONTAINING A DESCRIPTION OF ANIMALS AND BIRDS.

BY THE REV. F. 0, MORRTS, BA,

MEMBER OF THE ASUMOLBAN SOCIETY,
ONH HUNDRED ANt) SEXTY COLOURS PLATS.

LONDON:
GROOMBRIDGE AND BONS, 5, PATERNOSTER ROW,

1852,
Ant-eater

Antelope, Harnessed |
Armadillo . .
Bear. Grisly

Bear, Polar
Beaver.

Blackbird

Bird, Love

Bird, Lyre.

Bird, Mocking

Bird of Paradise, Emerald .

Bird of Paradise, Super
Bird, Puff
Bird, Satin
Bird, Secretary
Bird, Sun . .
Bird, Weaver
Bison .
Boatbill .
Breve, Giant
Bull, Wild
Bullfinch
Bunting, Yellow
Bustard .
Caracal

‘a

Chaifinch

Chati

Chetah .
Chinchilla .
Civet

Coati

Cockatoo

Coot .
Crossbill

Deer, Axis
Deer, Musk
Dipper

Dog, Esquimaux

* 303

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. 1B
16

447
_ 167
"| 989

"| 133

181

105

CONTENTS,

. 213

137

. 233

245
29
113
99

191
. 291
131

87
271

. 259

90

73

197
ot5)

305

"| 318

67

4)
iV

247

. 163

59

301
4a

 

Dog, Hyena
Dog, Thibet
Dotterel
Douroucouli
Duck, Summer
Duck, Wild
Eagle, Har;

Elk . bY

Emeu.
Faleon, Gyr
Finch, W! idah
Flamingo
Flycatcher
Genet
Gibbon
Gnu .
Goat. Four- ‘horned
Goldfinch
Goose
Grouse
Guillemot
Gull. .
Hedgehoz
Honey-eater
Hornbili
Hurming- bird.
crested
Humming-bird,
throated
Hyena, Spotted
Tehneumon
Jackdaw
Jaguar
Jay
Kangaroo
Kingfisher
Koala
Lagotis
Lapwing

Double-

“R uby-
ii

Lemur
Llama
Lynx .

Macaw, Blue and Yellow ‘

Magpie

Marnozel

Marten, Pine.
Mastiff, Alpine
Mouse, Barbary .
Monkey, Entellus .
Nightingale

Nylghau

Ocelot : . .
Opossum, Crah-eating
Oriole, Golden

Oryx

Otter

Ox, Tndian

Ox, Musk
Oyster-catcher

Paca . : .
Pastor, Rose-coloured
Peccary

Perameles :
Petaurus, Squirrel
Petrel . .
Phalanger, Vulpine
Pheasant . .
Pigeon, Crowned
Pigeon, Passenger
Platypus, Duck-billed
Plover, Stilt . .
Pony, Shetland
Porcupine, Fasciculated
Ptarmigan

Puffin

Puma

Quagga

Rabbit

Racoon .

Rat, Water

Ratel

CONTENTS.

Redbreast
Redstart
Reindeer

Ruff

Sandpiper

Sapajou, Horned
Seal.

Serval

Shrike

Skua

Skylark

Sloth :
Sparrow, Hedge
Squirrel . .
Squirrel, Black
Squirrel, Flying
Squirrel, Ground
Squirrel, Palm
Starling

Tamarin, Silky
Tanager, Scarlet
Tapir . .
Tarsipes. Long-snouted
Tern

Thrush .
Titmouse, Blue
Toucan

Trogon . .
Turkey, Wild
Vulture, Bexrded
Wagtail

Walrus

Wheatear
Whitcthroat
Wonbat

Woodeork
Woodpecker

Wren . .
Wren, Golden-crested
Zorilla .

Rhinoceros, Two-horned

"451

. 175

55

83
161

"139

253

. 119

187

"935

285

« 295

21

"| 309

169

"265

241

. 275

129
63
81

. 217

215

. 199

135
23
39

249

. 807

79

17

95
35
31

» 251

101
NATURAL HISTORY.

THE JAGUAR.

Tue jaguar is a native of the southern continent of
America, being, in fact, the tiger of the new world.
In general its colour is as depicted in the plate, but
occasionally individuals are found totally black: in these,
however, the dark rings still shew through.

According to Sonnini, the celebrated traveller, the
jaguar is very expert at climbing trees, “I have seen,”
he says, “in the forests of Guiana the prints left by the
claws of the jaguar on the smooth bark of a tree from
forty to fifty feet high, measuring about a foot and a
half in circumference, and clothed with branches near
its summit alone. Jt was easy to follow with the eye
the efforts which the animal had made to reach the
branches. Although his talons had been thrust deeply
into the body of the tree, he had met with several slips,
but he had always recovered his ground, and, attracted,
no doubt, by some favourite object of prey, had at length
succeeded in gaining the very top.”

The ordinary food of the jaguar consists of horses,
oxen, sheep, and dogs, which latter it is said to have
been known to enter houses to- carry off. Occasionally,
when imboldened by hunger, it will even devour men;
but, in general, it is a cowardly animal, and of an

* % A
2 THE JAGUAR.

indolent disposition. It appears to fast for several days,
eating a great quantity when it can, on which it subsists
until its appetite again forces it to obtain a fresh supply.

Mr. Fennell, in his very entertaining “History of
Quadrupeds,” says, with reference to these points, “So
long as the jaguar can obtain its customary meals
readily, it is indolent and cowardly, secreting itself in
the depths of the forests or caverns, and is scared by
the most trifling causes; but when imboldened by hunger
it will attack man himself. D’ Azara says that during
his residence at Paraquay, the jaguars killed six men;
two of whom were even seized in the night, while sit-
ting by a blazing fire, and carried thence by these
animals. Sonnini mentions, that while journeying through
the extensive forests of Guiana, he and his party were
much annoyed by a jaguar following them in their
route, for two successive nights, evading, meanwhile, all
their efforts to destroy him. They kept up large blazing
fires to frighten him away; and he at length took himself
off, after uttering a horrid how! of disappointment.
Mr. Maine says that when once the jaguar has tasted
human fiesh it will hunt for it again.”
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 

   
 

 

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THE BEARDED VULTURE.

THERE are many kinds of vulture, of which the one
before us is among the largest. The vultures are in
their way very useful, performing the part of scavengers,
and destroying much refuse, which would otherwise,
doubtless, become very prejudicial. This has the effect
of making themselves unpleasant; but as they enjoy
their own life, and are useful to man, it need not be
at all regarded.

The chief external mark of difference between the
vultures and the eagles is that the heads and necks of
the former are bare of feathers. Their eyes also are
placed more forward; their claws are Jess hooked and
shorter, not being required for the purpose of grasping
or catching their food; the way in which they stand is
less upright; their flight is not so swift and powerful;
and they are less active and bold in their manners and
habits.

The vulture has the faculty of perceiving its food at
an extraordinarily great distance, whether through the
organ of scent or some other sense entirely unknown
to us cannot be determined. Its sight also appears to
be very quick. This is thus referred to in the book of
Job:—“There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and
which the vulture’s eye hath not seen.”—Job, xxviii. 7.
They seem to assemble on a sudden from every quarter
of the sky, attracted to their focd; and this is alluded
to in Isaiah, xxxiv. 15, where it is said, “There shall
the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.”
On one occasion it is related that a hog having been
4 THE BEARDED VULTURE.

killed by a hunting party in India, it was left on the
ground near the tent; within an hour afterwards, the
sky being perfectly clear, the attention of one of the
company was directed to a dark speck in the air at a
vast distance off. While they kept looking at and
watching it, by degrees it came nearer and nearer, and
increased in apparent size, until they soon perceived that
it was a vulture flying in a direct line to the dead
animal. In an hour as many as seventy vultures had
assembled together at the same spot, drawn together
from ail quarters to share in the feast.

Again, Mr. Burchell, the celebrated traveller, speaking
of the useful part that these birds perform in those hot
countries where they are to be found, says, “Vultures
have been ordained evidently to perform very necessary
and useful duties on the globe; as indeed has every
otber animated being, however short-sighted we may be
as to their utility. To those who have seen these birds,
it need not be remarked how well a vulture is adapted
to that share in the daily business of the earth which
has been allotted to it—that of clearing away putrid
matter, which might otherwise taint the air, and produce
disease.”
 

THE GNU.
THE GNU.

The gnu is a native of southern Africa, and is known
among the Hottentots by the name of ‘wilde beaste.’
Its habitat is among the mountains to the north of the
Cape of Good Hope; where, however, it is rather a rare
species.

Barrow observes that “the gnu possesses, in an eminent
degree, strength, swiftness, weapons of defence, acute
scent, and quick sight. When a herd of gnus are dis-
turbed, they collect together, butt each other with their
horns, bound, and perform their various gambols, and
then gallop off to a distance. Their motions are
extremely free, varied, and always elegant.” Pringle,
who had abundant opportunities of observing the habits
of this singular animal in its native haunts, noticed that,
like the common bull and the buffalo, they manifest a
natural antipathy to anything of a red or scarlet colour;
“and it was one of our amusements,” he says, ‘when
approaching them, to hoist a red handkerchief on a pole,
and to observe them caper about, lashing their flanks.
with their long tails, and tearing up the ground with
their hoofs, as if they were violently excited, and ready
to rush down upon us; and then all at once, when we
were about to fire upon them, to see them bound away,
and again go prancing round us at a safer distance.
When wounded, they are reported to be sometimes rather
dangerous to the huntsman; but though we shot several
at different times, I never witnessed any instance of
this. Once a young one, seemingly a week or two old,
whose mother had been shot, followed the huntsman
6 THE GNU.

home, and I attempted to’ rear it on cow’s milk: in a
few days it was quite as tame as a common calf, and
seemed to be thriving; but it soon sickened and died.
I heard, however, of more than one instance in that part
of the colony, where the gnu, thus caught young, had
been reared with the domestic cattle, and had become
so tame as to go regularly out to pasture with the herds,
without exhibiting any inclination to resume its natural
freedom.”

The gnu very closely resembles the common ox, both
in appearance and in taste. It is described by Fennell
as an extraordinary animal, possessing characters which
remind us of the antelope, the buffalo, and the horse.
Its full length, from the point of the nose to the end
of the tail, is seven feet ten inches, and the height
three feet six inches. The body is of a brown colour;
on the upper part of the neck is an erect well-defined
black and white mane, extending beyond the shoulders;
a ridge of black hair, from six inches to a foot in
length, extends from the front of the chest, under the
fore legs, to the beginning of the belly; a row of black
bristly hairs, four inches in length, grows down the
middle of the face; and another row of hair, somewhat
longer, extends from the under lip to the throat. The
forehead is well protected by the rugged roots of the
horns that spread across it, leaving only a narrow chan-
nel between them; the horns project forwards twelve
inches, and then turn in a short curve backwards ten
inches; the eyes are surrounded by long white hairs,
that radiate and form a kind of star, and under the
eye is a slit. The tail is two feet long, white, bristly,
and bushy.
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THE SECRETARY BIRKD.
THE SECRETARY BIRD.

Tus singular bird is a native of the deserts of South
Africa, where, among tracts of stunted shrubby vegetation,
on the extensive sandy plains, skirted by large forests,
it takes up its abode, preying upon the deadly snakes,
and various reptiles. The secretary has a peculiar method
of seizing upon serpents. When approaching them, it
always takes care to hold the point of one of its wings
before it, in order to parry off their venomous bites:
sometimes finding an opportunity of spurning and tread-
ing upon the serpent, or else of taking it up on its
pinions and throwing it into the air, when, by this method
its adversary is tired out; it then kills and swallows it
without danger.

Mr. Smith says, “One day I saw a secretary take
two or three turns on the wing at a little distance from
the place where I was. he bird soon settled, when
I saw that it was attentively examining an object
near the spot where it had descended. After approaching
it with great precaution, the secretary extended one of
its wings, which the bird continually agitated. I
then discovered a large serpent raising its head, and
appearing to wait the approach of the bird to dart upon
it; but a quick blow of the wing soon laid it prostrate.
The bird appeared to wait for the serpent’s raising itself,
in order to repeat the blow; but this the serpent, it
seems, did not attempt, and the secretary walking towards
it, seized it with the feet and bill, and rose into the
air, whence the bird let the serpent fall on the ground,
so that it might be securely destroyed.”
8 THE SECRETARY BIRD.

The secretary was so called by the Dutch, from the
plumes at the back of its head, which reminded them
of the pen stuck behind the ear of the merchant’s clerk.
These birds live in pairs, and build on high trees, or
in dense thickets; the eggs are two in number, as large
as those of a goose, and spotted with reddish brown.
Their gait is a singular stalk, reminding one of a person
moving along on elevated stilts; but they run with great
swiftness, and are not easily approached by the sportsman.

It is sometimes kept tame by the colonists of the
Cape, mixing with the poultry on a very friendly footing,
and rewarding its masters by a continual warfare against
the whole tribe of reptiles, rats, locusts, and large
insects.
 

SPOTTED .EY ALNA.
SPOTTED HY/AENA.

Tus animal is very abundant in the south of Africa.
In size it is a little smaller than the striped species,
but otherwise much resembles it in general appearance.
The nose is black, the tail brown and unspotted, the
ears large, flat, and rounded, and the general colour of
the body a dingy yellow, approaching to a dull brown
on the lower parts: the spots are of the latter colour,
and they predominate on the upper parts.

The spotted hyzena is called by the Cape colonists,
the ‘tiger wolf.’ Jt is particularly abundant in their
neighbourhood, and a very troublesome neighbour they
find it to be. It does not appear that the striped species
inhabits the same districts as the spotted one.

It is a general belief that the hyzena cannot be tamed,
but this is quite a mistake. It may not, indeed, be
possible to tame it after it has grown up, but when
young it may easily be tamed. It is often domesticated
at the Cape of Good Hope, and is found not only useful
for hunting, but capable of becoming faithful and attached
to its master. The hyzna is not mentioned by that name
in the Holy Bible, but in the passage in the prophet
Jeremiah, xii. 9., it is thought by the learned, that the
words, ‘speckled bird,’ should be translated hyena. It
should, in that case, be thus rendered:—

“Mine heritage is unto me as a ravenous hyzna;
Fierce beasts of the desert are round about it.”

The hyena acts the part among animals, that the

vulture does among birds; destroying all carrion and
oo B
10 SPOTTED HYENA.

other such substances, which would otherwise be doubtless
prejudicial to the health of man. Mr. Pringle says, “In
a field of battle in South Africa, no one ever buries
the dead; the birds and beasts of prey relieve the living
of that trouble: even the bones, except a few of the less
manageable parts, find a sepulchre in the voracious maw
of the byzena.”

A traveller observes, “The laugh of the hyena has a
startling effect as it steals through the still night, even
under our windows, which it approaches in search of food.
The power of imitation given to these animals is very
great; for they not only cry like the quadrupeds whom
they wish to lure within their reach, but they even
seem to utter human sounds. The commander of a
fortress on the western coast of Africa, assured a lady
that for several evenings he had been disturbed at his
dinner-hour, by the laughter of the native women, who
passed under the walls in search of water. He sent his
servant to them, who desired that they might take some
other path; and they promised to obey. ‘The next even-
ing, however, the noise was heard again, which highly
irritated the commander; and he desired the servant to
lie in ambush on the third evening, and rushing suddenly
out on them, with a few soldiers, secure the women,
and bring them to him in the fortress. The men took
their station as ordered; the laughing re-commenced, and
out they rushed, when, to their great surprise, they only
saw three hyenas standing in the path which had been
frequented by the women; and so well counterfeiting
their voices, that they could not have been detected but
by sight.”
       

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THE JAY.

Tue jay is considered one of the handsomest of our
British birds; and, certainly, if we omit those which
are, properly speaking, foreigners, and only occasionally
visit our island, there are few others that can exceed
it in plumage.

The general colour of this bird is a reddish brown,
darker on the back parts than on the breast. The eye
is bright blue, and there is a most brilliant patch of
the same colour on the wing. The note, however, of
the jay is singularly harsh and grating; and his character
is not good, for he is a great thief, and occasionally
destroys young game. His principal food however, consists
of acorns, nuts, fruits, and various seeds.

Bewick, in his account of this species, says, “When
domesticated, they may be rendered very familar, and
will imitate a variety of words and sounds. We have
heard one imitate the sound of a saw so exactly, that,
though it was on a Sunday, we could hardly be persuaded
that there was not a carpenter at work in the house.
Another, at the approach of cattle, had learned to
hound a cur dog upon them, by whistling and calling
his name; at last, during frost, the dog was excited to
attack a cow, when the animal fell on the ice, and was
hurt: the jay was complained of as a nuisance, and
its owner was obliged to destroy it.

They sometimes assemble in great numbers early in
the spring, and seem to hold a conference, probably
for the purpose of fixing upon the districts they are
to occupy: to hear them is truly curious—while some
12 THE JAY.

gabble, shout, or whistle, others with a raucous voice,
seem to demand attention: the noise made on these
occasions, may be aptly compared to that of a disiant
meeting of disorderly drunken persons.”

“It is remarkable,” says Bishop Stanley, “how exactly
similar are the habits and propensities of birds of the
same tribe or family, though of different species. ‘Thus
the jays of North America are of various sorts, entirely
differing from our English jays, in parts, or in the
whole of their plumage; and yet, in their manners,
scarcely a difference is observable. We have before
remarked that these and some other birds will just keep
out of the range of gun-shot, as if they had learned,
either from experience, or by some unknown mode of
communication, from their older companions, that pro-

vided they never allowed a shooter to come within a
' given distance, they were quite safe.

But the American jays we are speaking of, have
no such knowledge founded upon experience, as is fully
proved by the account of an [English officer, who was
travelling in a very wild unfrequented part of North
America, where no gunners had gone before him, and
no jay could therefore have ever learned the proper
distance to keep, in order to ensure its safety. Yet,
there they were, exactly like our common English jays,
shy and cautious, as if they had been hunted by sports-
men every day of their lives, keeping at a certain
distance, with the occasional clatter and chattering so
well known to those who have patiently and persever-
ingly pursued from copse to copse, or tree to tree, a
disturbed party of these cunning birds.”
  

   
   

 

 

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13

THE INDIAN OX.

The zebu, or Indian ox, inhabits India, China, the

island of Madagascar, the Indian islands, and the eastern
side of Africa, ‘from Abyssinia to the Cape of Good
Hope.
This animal, frequently known by the name of Brahmin
ox, is accounted sacred by the Hindoos, as being dedi-
cated to their false god, Brahmah. They therefore refuse
to shed its blood, do not put it to any labour, and the
more wealthy people often turn out the calves, on some
solemn occasions, as acceptable offerings to Siva, another
of their false gods. Bishop Heber says, speaking of
these customs, “It would be a mortal sin to strike or
injure them. They feed where they please, and devout
persons take great pleasure in pampering them. They
are great pests in the villages near Calcutta, breaking
into gardens, thrusting their noses into the fruiterers’
stalls and pastry-cooks’ shops, and helping themselves
without ceremony. Like other petted animals, they are
sometimes mischievous, and are said to resent with a
push of their horns, any delay in gratifying their wishes.”

Mrs. Barbauld, in one of her entertaining volumes,
gives an amusing story of a soldier, who shot a tiger
which was in the act of springing on a Brahmin; and
so saved his life. The Brahmin expressed great gratitude
for the friendly help he had received, and begged to
know what he could do in return. “I am very hungry,”
said the soldier, “you have some nice cows here—I
should like a slice of beef.’ The Brahmin stood aghast
at the idea of slaying one of the sacred animals:—
Page Missing
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15

THE BULLFINCH.

Tuts is a tolerably common species of British bird,
being found in all the wooded parts of the country. It
is much valued as a song bird by those who keep birds
in cages; but the true lover of nature prefers to hear them
in their free state, enjoying themselves in the open air
of Heaven, and gladdening all around them by their
cheerful songs.

The bullfinch, at least the male bird, is extremely
handsome, as will appear from the following description:
the female too, though plainly dressed, is neat and
elegant:—The upper part of the head, a ring round
the bill, and the origin of the neck is of a remarkably
fine glossy jet black, from which, in many parts of the
country, it is called the ‘monk’ or ‘pope;’ and in Scotland,
not inappropriately, the ‘coal-hood,’ or ‘coaily-hood.’ The
back is a very pretty ash grey, and the breast a most
beautiful red; the wings and tail, bright black.

The female is like the male, but that the red colour
is changed for a brown, and none of her colours are so
bright. This species not unfrequently changes its plu-
mage: some have been seen entirely white; and there
is one of these varieties in the British Museum. Others
become wholly black in confinement, but this appears to
be from their having been fed with hemp-seed, which
seems tc have this curious effect upon them.

This bird is not only common in every part of our
island, but also throughout the whole, of the continent
of Europe. “Its usual haunts, during summer, are woods
and thickets; but in winter, it approaches nearer to
16 THE BULLFINCH.

cultivated grounds, and feeds on seeds, winter berries,
etc. In the spring it frequents gardens, where it is
usefully busy in destroying the worms which are lodged
in the tender buds. The female makes her nest in
bushes: it is composed chiefly of moss. She lays five
or six eggs, of a dull bluish white, marked at the larger
end with dark spots. In the wild state its note is very
simple, but when kept in a cage, its song, though in
an under subdued tone, is far from being unpleasant.
Both male and female may be taught to whistle a variety
of tunes They are frequently imported into this country
from Germany, where they are taught to articulate with
great distinctness, several words.”

Sir William Parsons, who was himself a great mu-
sician, has recorded an interesting story of one of these
birds. When he was a young man he had a piping
bullfinch, which had been taught to sing ‘God save the
King.’ Having occasion to go abroad, he left the bullfinch
in charge of his sister, with strict injunction to take the
greatest possible care of it. On his return, he at once
visited his sister, when she told him that his favourite
little bird had been for some time in feeble and declin-
ing health, and at that very time was extremely ill.
Sir William, much concerned for it, went to the room
where the cage was, and having opened the door, put
his hand in, and spoke to the bird. It remembered his
voice, shook its feathers, hopped faintly on to his finger,
piped for the last time, like a loyal bird, as it must
have been, ‘God save the King,’ and immediately after
fell down dead.
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17

THE CIVET.

THERE are several species of civet, and they are
natives of Africa; as also, according to some authors,
of Asia. They are very voracious animals, resembling
the cat tribe more than any other, in their carnivorous
propensities, which they follow out by night in a san-
guinary manner. They also resemble them in their eyes,
which are capable of being contracted from a circle almost
into a line. The feet have five toes, which are partly
retractile, and are more or less raised in walking.

The common civet is between two and three feet in
length, besides the tail, which is nearly half the length
of the body. ‘The hair on the back to the end of the
tail is very long, forming on the upper part of the former
a sort of mane, which the creature has the power of
raising or depressing at pleasure.

The colour of the civet is a brownish grey, interspersed
with many transverse interrupted bands, of a blackish
or dusky colour.

In its wild state itis naturally ferocious, living, as it
does, by rapine. It is extremely nimble and agile, poun-
cing cn the small birds and animals, which are its food:
it surprises them at night, as does the cat, in preference
to attacking them openly by day: it has been known to
carry off poultry from the farm-yard. The voice of the
civet resembles that of an angry dog.

In Holland, numbers of these animals are kept for
the sake of the drug procured from them, and which
therefore goes by their name. The civet thus produced
ia Amsterdam, is esteemed more highly than that which

Gow Cc
18 THE CIVET.

is imported from the Levant, or India; being considered
to be less adulterated. It sells for as much as two pounds
ten shillings an ounce, on the average; but, like camphor,
and other such articles, is liable to fluctuations in value.
This drug used, in former times, to be much valued as
a medicine, but, at present, it is chiefly made use of for
imparting its scent to different pomades. It has some-
times been confounded with musk, but in its odour it
more resembles amber. Its medicinal properties also are
somewhat different. It used also to be thought to have
a soothing effect upon the mind; and in Shakspeare’s
time it was thought indispensable to the toilet.
%

 

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ON.

5
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PIGH

CROWNED

Cis
19

THE CROWNED PIGEON.

Tuts remarkable and beautiful bird is a native of Java,
New Guinea, and the Moluccas. In size it exceeds a
large fowl, measuring, in total length, twenty-eight inches.
Several living specimens have been brought to this
country, some of which have been kept in the menagerie
of the Zoological Society. In its manners it resembles
poultry, and walks about with firm and stately steps,
and with its beautiful crest expanded. In India and
the islands it is sometimes kept tame in the court-
yards among other poultry; and Sir George Staunton,
in his “Embassy to China,’ notices it under the title
of ‘crown bird,’ and states that it is very familiar. Its
voice, though plaintive, is loud and sonorous; and the
cooing of the male is said to be accompanied by a noise
somewhat like the ‘gobble’ of a turkey-cock.

By the Dutch it is frequently brought to Europe from
the East Indian possessions, but being of a delicate
constitution, and not able to bear the cold, it seldom
long survives in the damp and chill temperature of
Holland. In consequence, all attempts to domesticate
or render it available in the poultry yard in cold climates,
have hitherto failed, which is greatly to be regretted,
not more on account of its beauty and stately appear-
ance, than for its excellent flavour as a wholesome and
nutritious food.

This bird is stated to build its nest in trees, the eggs
being two in number. Its food consists of grain and
berries,

The nest of the pigeon, built in trees, is little more
20 THE CROWNED PIGEON.

than a flat platform of twigs, laid crossways over each
other, the lower layer consisting of larger twigs, the
uppermost smaller and finer; and on this platform, which
varies in thickness, the eggs are laid. Some species,
as the rock-dove, -the origin of our domestic race, breed
in the holes and on the shelves of precipitous rocks,
making a bed of a few sticks and twigs. The female
lays twice or thrice a year, and generally two eggs at
a time, on which she sits alternately with the male,
who takes her place for several hours during the day
while she is absent in search of food. When the young
are first hatched, they are unfledged and blind, and
consequently unable to provide for themselves. This
task the parents fulfil, disgorging a portion of their
half-digested food into the mouths of their nestlings,
over whom they watch with the most unremitting
attention.

In Persia, and other parts of the East, pigeons are
kept in multitudes, for the sake of the manure produced:
towers are built on the outskirts of the towns for them,
and vasts clouds of these birds may be seen coming
from them, returning to them, or wheeling in the air
round their pinnacles.
Page Missing
21

THE SQUIRREL.

Tuts is a well-known little animal, and common in
all parts of the country in which large fir woods are to
be found. Its agility is very great, and extremely inter-
esting to witness, jumping, as it does, from bough to
bough, with the most unerring certainty. Even if it
were by some extraordinary chance to miss its hold of
the bough it aimed at, it would be sure to catch hold
of another long before it reached the ground, and would
suffer no inconvenience or hurt by its slip. Its long
bushy tail, generally curled up over its back, gives it a
singular appearance; and it is a very pretty sight to
see it thus sitting upright on the branch of a tree, and
holding a nut in its fore paws to nibble at. It is also
very alert on the ground, and runs fast: it then generally
carries its tail straight behind it.

Squirrels are easily tamed, and are often kept in cages,
to which is attached a circular or oblong wire part, which
it turns round and round by running on. It is, however,
a great pity to keep this or any other harmless wild
animal in such confinement. How much better to see
them in their natural state, in which alone they can be seen
to advantage, and in which alone they can enjoy
themselves!

The length of the squirrel, from the end of the nose
to the tip of the tail, is about one foot two inches and
three quarters on the average. The tail itself is about
eight inches and a half long. The whole of the back
and sides is of a reddish brown colour, and the under
parts white; the ears are terminated by a tuft of hair.
22 THE SQUIRREL.

Mr. Blyth has observed of the squirrel, that “in sum-
mer its fur is coarse, shining, and of a bright rufous
colour, and the ears are deficient of the ornamental
tufts, which grow in autumn, while the animal is reno-.
vating its coat, and continue, usually, till about the
beginning of July; the time varying somewhat in different
individuals. In winter, its fur is much finer in quality
and texture, considerably longer, thicker and more glossy,
and nearly of a greyish brown hue. The first young
ones, which are produced very early in the season, push
forth the winter garb, which, I believe, they retain
throughout the summer; whereas, the second race of
young ones, which, for the most part, make their appear-
ance about midsummer, are first clad in the summer
dress, which is exchanged before they have become half-
grown for that of winter.”

Varieties of the squirrel are of not very rare occurrence.
One is mentioned by Blumenbach, of a black colour, and
also another, which was spotted with black and white;
and an albino, which had red eyes. Pennant, the British
Naturalist, has said that in Wales there is a variety with
a ‘cream-coloured tail.’ So also the Rev. W. Herbert
relates that in North Hampshire, many squirrels have ‘white
tails; and Mr. Jesse, the author of the “Gleanings in
Natural History,’ mentions that several such have been
observed in the park of Stanford Court, in Worcestershire,
the seat of Sir Thomas Winnington, Bart.; also in that
of Sir R. Phillips, in Pembrokeshire; and that one with
a ‘grey tail’ was shot at Pain’s Hill, near Cobham, in
Surrey.
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THE TOUCAN.
23

THE TOUCAN.

Tus family of birds is particularly distinguished by
the enormous size of the bill, which in some of the
species is nearly as long and as large as the body itself,
but is light, filled with cells, and the edge irregularly
notched. The tongue is also of a very singular form,
being long, narrow, and barbed at the tip. The toucans
are only found in tropical America, where they live in
small flocks, in the recesses of the forests. They sub-
sist on fruits and insects, and during the nesting season,
on the eggs and young of other birds. Their feet are
rather short, their wings of moderate length, and their
tail rather long, which, when the bird is at rest, it
commonly holds erect. They nestle in the trunks of
trees, and generally produce two pure white eggs, of a
round form.

In the first volume of the “Zoological Journal,” is
an interesting account of a toucan, which was kept in
a state of domestication in this country for many years.
“As the dusk of the evening approached, he finished his
last meal for the day; took a few turns, as if for exercise
after his meal, round the perches of his cage, and then
settled on the highest perch, disposing himself in a
sleeping posture, almost at the moment he alighted on
it; his head drawn in between his shoulders, and his
tail turned vertically over his back.”

We are told in Mr. Edward’s entertaining “Voyage
up the Amazon,” that there are many varieties of toucans
appearing there at different seasons, but the red-billed
and the ariel are the largest and most abundant, seen
24 THE TOUCAN.

at every season, and towards autumn particularly, in vast
numbers throughout the forest. Their large beaks give
them a very awkward appearance, more especially when
flying; yet in the trees they use them with as much
apparent ease as though they were to our eyes of a more
convenient form. Alighted on a tree, one usually acts
the part of a sentinel, uttering constantly the loud ery
-—Tucdno, whence they derive their name. The others
disperse over the branches, climbing about by aid of
their beaks, and seize the fruit. We had been told that
these birds were in the habit of tossing up their food
to a considerable distance, and catching it as it fell;
but as far as we could observe, they merely threw back
the head, allowing the fruit to fall down the throat. We
saw at different times tamed toucans, and they never
were seen to toss their food, although almost invariably
throwing back the head. This habit is rendered neces-
sary by the length of the bill, and the stiffness of the
tongue, which prevents their eating as do other birds.
All the time while feeding, a hoarse chattering is kept
up, and at intervals they unite with the noisy sentry,
and scream a concert that may be heard a mile. Having
appeased their appetites, they fly towards the deeper
forest, and quietly doze away the noon. Often in the
very early morning, a few of them may be seen sitting
silently upon the branches of some dead tree, apparently
awaiting the coming sunlight before starting for their feed-
ing-trees. ‘Toucans, when tamed, are exceedingly familiar,
playful birds, capable of learning as many feat« as any of
the parrots, with the exception of talking. When turning
about on their perch, they effect their object by one sudden
jump. They eat almost anything, but are particularly
fomd of meat.”
 

GIBEON.
25

GIBBON.

Tue monkey tribe is divided into the three principal
divisions of apes, baboons, and monkeys, and as the
distinctions between them are frequently, and indeed
most commonly lost sight of, I introduce the following
observations of Mr. Fennell on the subject:—“The terms
ape, monkey, and baboon, are very indiscriminately applied
to qnadrumanous or four-handed animals, by the gene-
rality of writers; but here, as in all other matters of
science, it is very important that some precision in
nomenclature should be observed. I shall therefore, as
I proceed, particularize some of the most obvious cha-
racters by which apes may be readily distinguislied from
the other two groups.

The apes have neither tails nor cheek-pouches; organs
which are, separately, absent, or nearly so, in some
baboons and monkeys, but not absent altogether. Another
very great distinction consists in the peculiar circum-
stance of their arms being disproportionately long in
comparison with the legs: the arms of some species
being so long indeed, that when standing upright, they
can touch the ground with the fingers. They are most
admirably adapted for a life among woods and forests,
and they climb and swing from tree to tree with astonishing
facility.

In a state of nature they feed on wild fruits, bulbous
roots, small reptiles, insects, birds, and eggs; but in
confinement, they will eat cooked beef or mutton. In
the latter state their favourite beverage is milk or water;
and though at first they reject wine or spirits, yet, like

o 3 D
26 GIBBON.

the savages of America and Australia, they soon lay
aside the habits of temperance, and learn to enjoy
stimulating drinks,”

In the Tower Menagerie, now broken up, there
was a large specimen of an animal of this genus “which
exhibited an extraordinary resemblance to humanity in
form, appearance, and manners. The right arm especially
might have been at first sight mistaken for that of a
brawny blacksmith or pugilist, had it not been for
its hairy covering, and the somewhat unusual length of
the fingers. His attentions to a dog which used to
visit his cage, were in the best style of dignified
patronage: nor did the dog recognise any difference
between the pat of his hand, and that of a man. Like
many dignified folks, however, his habits were not very
refined, and his greatest enjorment consisted in immo-
derate potatious of porter. Indeed his porter carried
him to his bier, for he died from excessive drinking,
in the year 1828.”
 

GOLDEN ORIOLE,
27

GOLDEN ORIOLE.

‘Tuere are different species of oriole, but this is the
only one which is ever found in these kingdoms, and
it only very rarely; but a few instances are on record
of its having found its way across the Channel. In
France, this bird is not uncommon, and it breeds there.
‘he nest is of a curious shape, being somewhat in the
form of a purse; it is fastened to the outermost bran-
ches of tall trees, placed in the cleft between two, and
is composed of stalks and fibres of hemp or straw,
or the fine dry stalks of grass, and lined with moss and
other soft materials. The female is strongly attached
to her eggs and voung, and will, it is said, suffer herself
to be taken off the nest sooner than leave them.

The golden oriole is about the size of a_ thrush,
being about nine inches and a half in length. The
bill is brownish red; the iris or eye, red. The general
colour of the plumage is a bright golden yellow, whence
the obvious name of the bird: there is a streak of
black between the bill and the eye. The quill feathers
of the wing are black, overhung with some of the
yellow of the back, and there is a patch of the same
in the middle of the wing: the two centre feathers of
the tail are black, inclining at the base to olive; the
tips yellow; of the remainder, the basal half is black,
the rest yellow; the legs lead-colour; the claws black.

The note of this species is in general loud and shrill,
but Bechstein, the author of the “Cage Birds,” says
that two young ones which he had, were able, in addi-
tion to their usual song, the one to whistle a fanfare,
28 oS GOLDEN ORIOLE.

and the other a minuet; and he considered the tones
of their voice to be very melodious and agreeable.

According to the same author also, in Germany these
birds usually resort to the outskirts of the forest, where
they haunt the umbrageous recesses of the underwood
among old and lofty trees, in which it is naturally difficult
to see or disturb them. In the summer time they
repair to the orchards and gardens, where they feast
upon the cherries. In the month of August they migrate
from thence in families, and return again to the scene
of their birth in the following May.
    
 

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POLAR BEAR.
29

POLAR BEAR.

Or the bear there are three kinds; the common brown
bear, found among the Alps, and in other parts of Europe;
the black bear of North America, which is smaller in
size; and the huge Greenland, white, or polar bear.

The last-named species feed on fish, seals, and dead
whales, which abound in those Arctic regions which are
their native country. Their flesh consequently is rank
and unpleasant, but of the other kind, the hams are
considered good eating, and even a delicacy.

When our sailors first land upon the unfrequented
shores of some of those extreme northern countries, where
perhaps the foot of man has never trodden before, the
white bears come to gaze upon them in a sort of igno-
rant astonishment; but they soon become but too well
acquainted with the destructive nature of the fire-arms
they carry; and if wounded, they either endeavour to fly,
or make a desperate resistance, until finally overpowered
by the superior force and skill of their assailants. “It
often happens, that when a Greenlander and his wife are
paddling out at sea, by coming too near an ice floe, a
white bear unexpectedly jumps into their boat, and if
he does not overset it, sits calmly down, and like a
passenger suffers himself to be rowed along. It is
probable that the poor little Greenlander is not very
fond of his new guest; however he makes a virtue of
necessity, and hospitably rows him to shore.”

One would naturally be disposed to imagine that the
bear, or any other warm-blooded animal, would suffer
from the cold in the dreadfully severe climate which
30 POLAR BEAR.

prevails in those dreary regions of perpetual ice and
snow in which his lot is cast; but it is far from being
so: he seems to rejoice in the winter when he is sur-
rounded on all sides by ice; and those which have been
brought alive to this country, captured when young,
suffer only from any degree of heat or warmth; and
it is very pleasing to see them diving into the water
placed for their recreation, and indeed for the support
of their life, for without it they would soon perish;
gambolling in it like kittens, and amusing themselves
with every possible contortion of their bodies in the
element which is so congenial to them, and in which
they are so perfectly at home.

It is curious to the observer of nature, to see how
different is the kind of food preferred by different
animals, even of the same genus. Thus the polar bear,
as before observed, feeds on the products of the ocean,
and is fond of fish; the brown bear feeds on both
animals and vegetables; he is fond of sweet fruits, and
also of honey, but it is said that when he is surfeited
with the sweetness of it, he rectifies the taste by taking
a mouthful of ants, which are extremely acid and
pungent,
 

WRN.
31

WREN.

~~ Tris well-known bird is one of the least of those
which inhabit our country, weighing only about two
drachms and a quarter. Its length is about four inches
and a quarter; the bill is abont half an inch in length,
or a little over, slightly curved, and of a dusky brown
colour; the eye is dark brown; all the upper parts of
the body, as also the head and the neck, are of a
deep russet brown, thickly, but faintly, marked with
trausverse dusky lines: over the eye is a light-coloured
streak. The tail is dusky brown; the feathers of the
wing are of the same colour; the under parts are light
rufous brown; the sides the same, but crossed with
darker lines; the under tail coverts, obscurely spotted
with black and white, and the legs pale brown.

The wren is a constant resident in England, and is
a general favourite, somewhat in the same way as the
robin and the swallow. In the winter, when the snow
is deep, they not unfreqnently are found dead, the cold,
and the difficulty of procuring food being fatal to them.
They retire for warmth to the eaves of hay and corn
stacks, and any sheltered place.

The wren builds generally in ivy, but also in various
other situations, such as trees, bushes, and the thatch
of cottages. ‘The nest is composed of hay or moss, and is
lined with feathers. The eggs are seven or eight in
number, and, as may be supposed, very small, weighing
only twenty grains; they are white, dotted with red,
chiefly at the thicker end.

“The flight of the wren is performed in a straight
32 WREN.

line, fluttering incessantly its short rounded wings. It
seldom performs any longer flight than from bush to
bush, or across an open grass-plot, and usually near
the ground, as if conscious of its imperfect powers.

The wren sings occasionally at all seasons, but least
in the autumn. Karly in the spring, its lively song may
be heard suddenly to break forth in a clear and cheer-
ful strain. Its voice is very strong for so small a bird,
more than equalling in strength that of the redbreast.
It appears usually to sing one stated succession of notes,
or at most, exhibits but little variety. In the performance
of its song, the whole body of the little vocalist vibrates,
the bill is raised and opened wide, the throat enlarged,
and the wings drooping. While singing, the little bird
frequently sits on the upper branch of a hedge or bush,
and when the song is ended, precipitately descends.

“To shew,” says Meyer, “how small in bodily
substance this little bird is, we mention the following
fact:—We once captured a wren, and wishing to observe
its manners, designed to keep it for a few days, in a
large wire cage. Accordingly, we introduced the little
creature in at the door: it had scarcely released itself
from our hand, when we heard it strike itself against
a window at the other end of the room. Hardly
believing that it could so readily have escaped through
the wires of the cage, we repeated the experiment: the
result was the same, and we found that this little
creature could fly through a cage, whose wires were
placed at the distance of only five lines, or little more
than the third of an inch from one another, without
appearing to be even obstructed by them.”
 

PHCCARY.
33

PECCARY.

THERE are two species of peccary, the white-lipped and
the collared. Both kinds inhabit the vast forests of
South America, and, although they are alike in some
respects, resorting for shelter tu the burrows that other
animals have forsaken, or to the hollows of trees, yet,
in others of their habits, and in their disposition, they
widely differ, as well as in their external appearance.

The white-lipped peccary is considerably larger than
the other species, frequently measuring three feet and a
half in length, and sometimes attaining the weight of a
hundred pounds. In form and proportions it is thicker
and stouter, with shorter legs and a longer snout: its
colour is also darker. The hairs on the body are black,
with a few brownish rings, which are most conspicuous
about the head. The whole of the under lip, the sides
of the mouth, and nose, are white, whence the name; and
the mane and hair about the head are so long as nearly
to conceal the ears,

The length of the collared peccary is about three
feet, but some are not quite so long: the weight is
about fifty pounds.

The white-lipped peccaries congregate in numerous
bands, sometimes amounting, it is said, to more than a
thousand. It will fight courageously with beasts of prey.
The jaguar is its mortal enemy, and frequently loses its
life in engaging a number of these animals, which assist
each other, and surround their enemy. M. de Ja Borde
relates that being one day engaged with some others in

hunting a drove of peccaries, they were surrounded by
2 9 E
34 PECCARY.

them, and obliged to take refuge upon a piece of rock;
and, notwithstanding they kept up a constant fire among
them, the creatures did not retire till a great number
of them were killed.

The food of the peccaries consists of bulbous and
other roots, in search of which they turn up the ground;
and are also fond of sugar-canes, potatoes, maize, and
manihot, among which they often commit great damage.
They also eat fish and reptiles, which they are said to
be expert in catching, and to be more than a match
even for the deadly rattlesnake.

These animals emit a strong scent, considered by
some to resemble musk, and to be pleasant; but by
others to be very disagreeable, which is not extraor-
dinary, considering that many persons are extremely
fond of the smell of musk itself, while others cannot
bear it; and on some it produces very powerful effects.

“The females of both species produce only two
young ones in a year. If a young one be captured,
it will become nearly as tame and familiar in confinement
as the common hog, but its flesh is said to be inferior
to pork in flavour and fatness, and to partake of the
strong smell, unless the gland has been removed immedi-
ately after death.”

How wonderful indeed are the various endowments
with which God has gifted His creatures, many of them
obvious to us as to their utility, but others often entirely
hidden from us as to any such, yet, doubtless, all
useful to their possessors in some way or degree or
other. How far would even the idea of many of them be
from coming into our thoughts, if not presented to us
in the way that they are.
 

WOODPECKER.
35

WOCDPECKER.

THERE are a great variety of species of woodpecker,
but only four or five are natives of this country: all are
curious and handsome birds, and some of them extremely
beautiful. The habits of all of them are alike, and their
name is descriptive of what one may call the distin-
guishing trait in their character. The largest kind that
is found in Great Britain, excepting, indeed, the great
black woodpecker, which is, however, an extremely rare
bird, is the green woodpecker, a very handsome species,
and not uncommon in some parts of the country. It is
otherwise called the woodspite, poppinjay, ecle, hew-hole,
and various other vernacular names.

The following is the account given by Montagu:—
“The formation of the whole of this tribe is admirably
adapted to their mode of life. The bill, which is strong,
and formed like a wedge at the point, enables them to
force their way through the sap of a tree, when, by
instinct, it is discovered to be decayed at the heart.
With this instrument it dislodges the larve of a numerous
tribe of the coleopterous insects, as well as that of the
goat moth. The tongue is no less wonderfully furmed,
for insinuating into all the smaller crevices, to extract
the hidden treasures, by transfixing the larger insects,
or, by adhesion withdrawing the smaller; for, like the
wryneck, it is furnished with a glutinous substance for
that purpose. Nor can we less admire the short and
strong formation of the legs, and the hooked claws, so
well calculated to enable them to climb and affix them-
selves against the body of a tree, either to roost, or
36 ' WOODPECKER.

perforate a hole; to assist which, the stiff tail is of
infinite use.

Woodpeckers are commonly seen climbing up a tree,
but never down, as some have asserted. The hole which
they make is as perfect a circle as if described by a
pair of compasses. For the places of nidification, the
softer woods are attacked, the elm, ash, and, particularly
‘the aspen, but rarely the oak. These are only perforated
where they have symptoms of decay; and the excavations
are frequently deep, to give security to their eggs. This
species lays four or five white eggs, weighing about two
drachms, which are placed on the rotten wood, without
any nest. The young birds have the appearance of
crimson on their heads, but not so bright as in adults.

Ants and their eggs are a favourite repast of this
species, for which they are frequently seen on the ground
searching the emmet hills. The tongue is here made
use of instead of the bill, similar to that of the wryneck.
Its note is harsh, and its manner of flying undulated.”
 

 

 

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THIBET DOG.
37

THIBET DOG.

Tue first traveller that appears to have given to
the public any account of these dogs, is Captain Turner,
who says that while near the seat of the Rajah of
Bootan, he noticed “a row of wooden cages, containing
a number of large dogs, tremendously fierce, strong,
and noisy. They were natives of Thibet; and whether
savage by nature, or soured by confinement, they were
so impetuously furious, that it was unsafe, unless the
keepers were near, even to approach their dens. Entering
a Thibet village, and being indolently disposed, and
prompted by mere curiosity, I strolled alone among
the houses, and seeing everything still and quiet, I
turned into one of the stone enclosures, which serve as
folds for cattle. The instant I entered the gate, to
my astonishment, up started a huge dog, big enough, if
his courage had been equal to his size, to fight a
lion. He kept me at bay with a most clamorous
bark, and I was a good deal startled at first, but
recollecting their cowardly disposition, I stood still;
for having once had one in my possession, I knew that
they were fierce only when they perceived themselves
feared. If I had attempted to run, be probably would
have flown upon me, and torn me in pieces, before
any one could have come to my rescue. Some persons
came out of the house, and he was soon silenced.”

His late Majesty, King William the Fourth, presented
a pair of dogs of this kind, to the collection in the
Gardens of the Zoological Society in the Regents Park,
London. They had been brought from the neighbour-
38 THIBET DOG.

hood of Diggarchee, the capital city of Thibet, by Dr.
Wallich, the celebrated botanist. They were larger than
‘the largest English mastiff. “Their colour was a deep
black, slightly clouded on the sides; their feet, and a
spot over each eye alone, being of a full, tawny, or
bright brown. They had the broad, short, truncated
muzzle of the mastiff, and lips still more deeply pen-
dulous. In fact, there appeared, throughout, a general
looseness of the skin; a circumstance which M. Desmarest
has pointed out as characteristic of his ‘dog of Thibet,’
of which, however, he gives no particular description.”
Speaking of this same pair Dr. Wallich says, that they
were very gentle; and he further writes of them that
“these noble animals are the watch-dogs of the table
land of the Himalayan Mountains about Thibet. Their
masters, the Bhoteas, to whom they are most strongly
attached, are a singular race, of a ruddy copper-colour,
indicating the bracing air which they breathe; rather
short, but of an excellent disposition. Their clothing
is adapted to the cold climate which they inhabit, and
consists of fur and woollen cloth. The men till the
ground and keep sheep, and at certain seasons come
down to trade, bringing borax, tineal, and musk, for
sale: they sometimes penetrate as far as Calcutta.
On these occasions the women remain at home with
the dogs, and the encampment is watched by the latter,
which have an almost irreconcilable aversion to Europeans,
and in general fly ferociously at a white face:” out of
their own immediate country, however, they seem, as
imparted by the previous statement, to lose nearly all their
energies, and to degenerate very much.
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TROGON,
39

TROGON.

No species of this beautiful family of birds occurs in
this country, or even in Europe. The following account
of them is necessarily borrowed:—‘‘The trogons,”’ says
Linneeus Martin, “constitute a family of birds, the members
of which are peculiar to the hotter regions of America,
and of India, and its adjacent islands—Ceylon, Java,
Borneo, Sumatra, etc.; one species only having as yet
been discovered in Africa. Among the most conspicuous
of the feathered tribes for beauty and brilliancy of plumage,
the trogons stand confessedly pre-eminent. The metallic
golden green of some species is of dazzling effulgence;
in others less gorgeous: the delicate pencillings of the
plumage, and the contrasted hues of deep scarlet, black,
green, and brown, produce a rich and beautiful effect.

It is difficult to convey the idea of a bird, or indeed
of any natural object, by description solely; the pictorial
specimen, however, will render the details connected
with the family features of the present group easily
intelligible.

The trogons are zygodactyle, that is, they have their
toes in pairs—two before, and two behind, like the parrots
and woodpeckers; the tarsi are short and feeble, the
beak is stout, and the gape wide; the general contour
of the body is full and round, and the head large; the
plumage is dense, soft, and deep; the wings are short
but pointed, the quill feathers being rigid; the tail is
long, ample, and graduated, its outer feathers decreasing
in length; in some species the tail feathers are elongated,
so as to form a pendent plumage of loose feathers.
40 TROGON.

Of solitary habits, the trogons, (or courocous,) fre-
quent the most secluded portions of dense forests,
remote from the abodes of man. For hours together
they sit motionless on some branch, uttering occa-
sionally, a plaintive, melancholy ery, especially while the
female is brooding on her eggs. Indifferent during the day
to every object, listless or slumbering on their perch, they
take no notice of the presence of an intruder, and may indeed
be often so closely approached as to be knocked down by a
stick. The bright glare of the sun obscures their sight, and
they wait for evening, the dusk of twilight being their
season of activity.

Fruits, insects and their larvee, constitute their food.
Formed, most of them at least, for rapid but not pro-
tracted flight, they watch from their perch the insects
flitting by, and dart after them with surprising velocity,
returning after their short chase to the same point of
observation. Some, however, are almost exclusively
frugivorous. Many species are certainly migratory.

Like the parrots and woodpeckers, the trogons breed
in the hollows of decayed trees, the eggs being deposited
on a bed of wood-dust, the work of insects; they are
three or four in number, and white. The young, when
first hatched, are totally destitute of feathers, which do
not begin to make their appearance for two or three
days; and their head and back appear to be dispropor-
tiouably large. ‘These birds are said to rear two broods
in the year.”
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CHINCHILLA.
4]

CHINCHILLA.

Tue chinchilla is well known by name, being that
little animal whose peculiarly soft fur is so much used
for making tippets, and other articles of winter wearing
apparel for ladies. Great numbers of skins are imported
into England every year, for the manufacture of these; and
great numbers of chinchillas are therefore killed, for the
supply of this and other countries. The fur, as Father
Acosta observes, in his “Natural and Moral Historie of
the East and West Indies,” translated by D. G., London,
1664, (the original edition was written in Spanish, and
published at Barcelona, in the year 1591,) being “so
wonderful smooth and soft, that the natives wear the
skin as a healthful thing to comfort the stomach, and
those parts that have need of a moderate heat.”  Accor-
ding to Schmidtmeyer’s “Travels into Chili, over the
Andes,” London, 1824, in its wild state onions constitute
the chief: food of this little animal; but those specimens
which bave been bronght to England, have thriven well
upon several other kinds of food, such as hay, clover,
various kinds of grain, and succulent roots, such a3
potatoes, parsnips, turnips, and carrots.

“The chinchilla inhabits the alpine valleys of Chili and
Pern. Its length from the nose to the end of the tail
is about one foot two inches. It is greyish or ash-colour
above, and paler on the under parts; all the feet have
four tues, and short claws, which are nearly hidden by
bristly hairs.

It usually sits upon its haunches, bat can raise itself
up and stand on its hind feet.’ “When feeding, it sits

3 3 F
42 CHINCHILLA,
up, and conveys the food to its mouth with its paws.”

Another member of the chinchilla family, the viscacha,
commonly lives in communities on the naked rocks,
where a dry and scanty vegetation is rarely to be seen.
They quit their abodes, which are amongst the loose
pieces of rock, shortly after sunrise, aud rather before
sunset; and then display the most extraordinary activity,
leaping from rock to rock; in a moment, as it appears,
they may be seen to ascend an almost precipitous rock of
twenty or thirty feet in height; and if fired at, they
disappear as if by magic, having retreated to the holes
and crevices, The sunshine they generally avoid, and it
is therefore only in shaded spots that they are seen, unless
the day be cloudy. Their food consists of grasses, dry
roots, and mosses, and to procure this, they often have
to wander far from their homes.

The viseacha has one very singular habit; namely,
dragging every hard object to the mouth of its burrows.
Around each group of holes many bones of cattle,
stones, thistle stalks, and other things, are collected
into a heap, which frequently amounts to as much
as would fill a wheelbarrow. A gentleman, when riding
on a dark night, dropped his watch; he returned in
the morning, and by searching in the neighbourhood
of every viscacha hole on the line of road, as he
expected, soon found it. This habit of picking up
whatever may be lying on the ground near its habitation,
must cost much trouble. For what purpose it is done
it is impossible to conjecture: it cannot be for defence,
as the rubbish is placed above the mouth of the
burrow, which enters the ground at a very small
inclination.
 

GROUSE.
43

GROUSE.

THERE are several species of grouse, three or four
of which inhabit Great Britain. Of these the red grouse,
otherwise called the moor-game, or moor-fowl, is pecu-
liar to these islands, being found, so far as is known,
in no other part of the world. It is a thoroughly wild
and game bird, never approaching the habitations of man,
but inhabiting the most desolate parts of the country—
the wild and dreary moors and mountains, where alone
it finds the berries on which it subsists. Nevertheless,
when kept in confinement, they have been known to
lay eggs and bring out their young.

“In severe winters,” says Rennie, “moor-game comes
lower down the mountains in Scotland, and they flock
together in prodigious numbers: in 1782 and 1783,
according to Thornton, three or four thousand assembled.
The same author, in his “Sporting Marches,” encamped
at the source of the Dalmon, at the foot of an
immense hill, called Croke Franc. “The game on
those moors,” says he, “is innumerable. In a mile
long, and not half a one broad, I saw at least one
thousand brace of moor-game.”

“The mountains of Wales are now the most southern
parts these birds are found in; they are not uncommon
in Yorkshire, and from thence northward upon the
moorlands, but nowhere so plentiful as in the Highlands
of Scotland, where the moors are unbounded.

It is also found on the Western Islands, and in the
mountains and bogs in Ireland; but it is remarkable
that these birds should seem to Le confined to these
4-4 GROUSE.

kingdoms. Linneus did not seem to be acquainted
with the species, and Gmelin has given it as a variety
of the ptarmigan. Buffon speaks of a white variety,
which he names L’ Altagas biane, and says it is found
about the mountains of Switzerland, and those of Vicenza.
But there is little doubt this is the ptarmigan.

The moor-fowl never resort to woods, but confine
themselves wholly to the open moors, building their
nests, if a few withered stems placed carelessly together
deserve that appellation, in a tuft of heath; they feed
on the mountain and bog berries, and, in defect of
these, on the tops of the heath.

It lays from eight to fourteen eggs, much like those
of the black cock, but smaller. The young keep with
the parent birds till towards winter, and are called a
pack or brood; in November they flock together in
great numbers, sometimes thirty or forty, where they
are plentiful, at which time they are extremely shy,
and difficult to be shot.

We never remember but one instance of its being
found at a distance from the moors. This was a female,
taken alive near Wedhampton, in Wiltshire, in the winter
of 1794, and communicated by the late Edward Poore,
Esq., who shewed us a part of the bird. By what
unaccountable accident it should have been driven to so
great a distance from its native moors, is difficult to
say, as the nearest place to this which they are known
to inhabit, is the south of Wales, a distance, in a
straight line, not less than sixty miles.”
 

HED GE-HOG.
45

HEDGE-HOG.

Tue hedge-hog is not uncommon in England, but is
fast becoming far less frequent than in former times,
owing to the spread of cultivation, which naturally
destroys the shelter otherwise afforded to wild animals.

The following account of this harmless and inoffensive
little animal, is given by Mr. Fennell:—‘The hedge-hog
inhabits most of the temperate countries of Europe. It
is found throughout England; in Donegal, and probably
other counties of Ireland. Mr. George Duncan says it is
found in Renfrewshire, in Scotland; but a well-known
newspaper, edited by a Scotchman, stated, some few
years ago, that the hedge-hog is seldom seen so far north
as Elgin, and then only in caravans.”

“It is about eleven inches long, from the nose to the
end of the tail, which is so concealed by its spines or
bristles, as to be scarcely visible; the whole upper part
of its body and sides are closely covered with strong sharp-
pointed spines of an inch in length; its mouth is small,
but well furnished with teeth; its eyes are small, and
placed high in the head; and its ears are short, broad,
and rounded. Dr. Farrar says, that many sportsmen and
gamekeepers have assured him that the hedge-hog’s sense
of hearing is very acute; but adds, that when they have
been closely pressed, as to whether or not its alarms
are received through the organs of vision or hearing,
they seem doubtful. Mr. John Denson, Sen., says, how-
ever, that one evening, when his hedge-hog was running
about the room, his clock commenced striking the hour,
and with considérable intervals between each stroke. At
46 HEDGE-HOG.

the sound of the first stroke the hedge-hog contracted
_ itself, as if in fear; before the next stroke was sounded
the hedge-hog had partly relaxed itself; but at the sound
of the stroke it again contracted; and so on with the
successive strokes.

The hedge-hog generally lies concealed during the
day, among the grass or fallen leaves at the bottom
of hedge-rows or thickets, which it leaves at night for
the purpose of seeking food and society. Shakspeare,
whose immortal works are replete with zoological obser-
vations, is probably the first writer who notices that
the hedge-hog utters a whining cry at night-time:—

“When they shewed me this abhorred pit,
They told me here, at dead time of the night,
Ten thousand ———-——_———————__ urchins,
Would make such fearful and confused cries,
As any mortal body hearing it,
Should straight fall mad, or else die suddenly.”
(Tirvus Axpronicus, ii. 3.

And he makes one of the witches in Macbeth Civ. 1,)
remark that “the hedge-pig whines’ at midnight. This
appears to be correct, for persons who have kept tame
hedge-hogs, assure me that they run about at night
uttering sharp cries: and Mr. Denson says he has been
informed that the wild ones also whine by night, fre-
quently and at short intervals, and so audibly as to alarm
the lonely pedestrian, who may be unfamiliar with its
voice. When assailed by enemies, the hedge-hog erects
its sharp and formidable prickles, and by means of
very powerful muscles it clasps its extremities closely
together in the shape of a ball, only exposing to view
such parts of its body as are well protected.”
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DIPPER,
47

DIPPER.

Tuis interesting little bird is found in the most
secluded parts of the country, being attached to the
mountain streams, which furnish it with retirement and
with food. The following is the description of the bird:—
“The bill is three-quarters of an inch long, nearly straight,
and black; the upper mandible a little turned down at the
points; irides, hazel; upper part of the head and neck,
deep brown; the eyelids, chin, fore part of the neck,
and breast, white; beneath which is a band of rufous
brown; the rest of the upper parts, the belly, vent,
and tail, are black; the tail much shorter than is usual
in the thrushes.

This species is a retired and solitary bird, rarely seen
but on the banks of rapid rocky rivers, or streams of
water, particularly in the mountainous parts, as in Scotland
and Wales: it is not unfrequent in Devonshire.

In these places it breeds, and continues the whole
year. The nest is very large, formed of moss and water-
plants externally, and lined with dry oak leaves: in shape
it resembles that of the wren, but is not so deep, with
a dome or covering: it is usually placed in some mossy
bank impending the water, in which situation we have
frequently found it. The eggs are five or six in number,
of a semi-transparent white: the tinge of bluish colour
which they are said to have, is occasioned by the yolk,
and disappears when they are blown. They are con-
siderably less than those of the blackbird; their weight
being rather more than one drachm.

A pair of these birds, which had for many years built
48 DIPPER.

under a smal] wooden bridge in Caermarthenshire, we
found had made a nest early in May: it was taken,
but had no eggs, although the bird flew out of it at
the time. In a fortnight after, they had completed
another nest in the same place, containing five eggs, which
was taken; and in a month after, we took a third nest
under the same bridge, with four eggs; undoubtedly the
work of the same birds, us no others were seen about
that part. At the time the last nest was taken the
female was sitting, and the instant she quitted her nest
she plunged into the water, and disappeared for a
length of time; at last she emerged at a considerable
distance down the stream. At another time we found
a nest of this bird in a steep projecting bank, over a
rivulet clothed with moss: the nest was so well adapted
to the surrounding materials, that nothing but the old
bird flying in with a fish in its bill, would have led to
a discovery. The young were nearly full-feathered, but
incapable of flight; and the moment the nest was dis-
turbed, they fluttered out and dropped into the water, and
to our astonishment instantly vanished, but in a little
time made their appearance at some distance down the
stream; and it was with difficulty two out of five were
taken, as they dived on being approached.”
  
  
 
    

   
  

        
   
 

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PACA.
49

PACA.

Tris animal inhabits the forests in the whole of the
eastern division of South America, from Surinam to
Paraguay, and formerly existed in some of the West India
Islands.

They inhabit burrows, which they excavate, but so
superficially, that they are apt to give way beneath the
foot of a person passing over them, no less to his annoy-
ance than that of the animal, which thus suddenly finds
itself in open daylight. These burrows have, as it is
asserted, three openings, which the animal conceals with
dry leaves and branches. In order to capture the paca
alive, the hunter stops two of these apertures, and proceeds
to work at the third, till he arrives at the chamber to
which the avenues lead. Driven to an extremity the paca
makes a desperate resistance, often inflicting very severe
wounds.

When not disturbed, the paca often sits up and washes
its head and whiskers with its two fore paws, like a cat.
Though heavy and corpulent, it can run with a good deal
of activity, and often takes lively jumps. It swims and
dives with great adroitness, and its ery resembles the grunt-
ing of a young pig. The pacas are very cleanly creatures
in all their habits, and keep their underground dwelling
in a state of the utmost purity.

Cuvier observes that when the paca is offended, it throws
itself violently at the object which has displeased it, and
then makes a kind of grumbling, which at length breaks
out into a sort of bark. ‘The greater part of the day it
passes in repose, delighting in a soft bed, which it forms of

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50 PACA.

straw, hay, and similar materials, collecting the materials
with its mouth, and making a little heap, in the centre
of which it lies down. M. Buffon gives a detailed account
of one of these animals, which he kept alive in his
house for some time, and which was gentle and very
familiar.

Its general colour is dusky, with a deeper shade on
the back, and a tinge of greyish white on the under
parts. From the shoulders to the haunches extend four
or five longitudinal rows of oblong whitish spots.

It eats herbs and fruits principally, but the sugar
plantations occasionally suffer from its devastations. The
damage it commits is partly recompensed, however, by
the savoury dish afforded by its flesh, which is a staple
‘article of food in many parts of South America.
 

GY R= PALCON.,
5]

GYR-FALCON.

Tuts is one of the largest and handsomest of the
British species of faleon, and being a very spirited bird,
was formerly in great esteem in the art of hawking.
When young, the plumage is beautifully mottled with
black and white, but old birds become entirely white.

The gyr, or jer-falcon, is a very rare bird in this
country, and is only met with as a straggler; it is
therefore as much prized now, when dead, as an addition
to the museum, as it was, in ancient times, when living,
for the falconer’s use.

The range of the jer-falcon seems to be the more
northern districts of Europe and America. Iceland was,
and is, one of its famed strongholds—the capital, so
far as the sporting world was concerned—and furnished
at a large amount, the sorts which were in most esteem
in the countries where this ancient sport was pursued.
It spreads also along the precipitous coasts of Norway
and Sweden, Greenland, and all those ranges of ice-bound
shores which verge upon the Arctic latitudes. Dr.
Richardson mentions it as a constant resident in the
Hudson Bay territories, and has ascertained it reaching
as far south as fifty-two degrees; and Mr. Audubon
found several pairs breeding on the coast of Labrador.
In Britain an occasional specimen is killed, and, perhaps,
finds its way to some public or private collection. Thus,
in England, it is extremely rare, and north of the Tweed
almost as much so; even in Orkney and Shetland Mr.
Lowe considers it as a visitor, and we are not aware
of any instance of the nest being found. It is equally
52 GYR-FALOON.

so in Ireland, the late Jolin Templeton records a single
Specimen; and a letter addressed to Mr. Thompson,
of Belfast, so late as February, 1837, from J. Stewart,
Esq., mentions a specimen killed in a rabbit-warren
close to Dunfanaghy. It is truly a northern and maritime
species, maritime, most probably, from the abundance
of food which is generally found around the rocky shores
of its principal range—the breeding resort of numberless
sea-fowl.

The mauners, flight, and cry, approach very closely
to those of the peregrine; it is even a more daring bird,
and, like it, delights to have its eyrie on some precipitous
cliff, overhanging the sea. The nest, according to Mr.
Audubon, is composed of sticks, sea-weeds, and mosses,
but the eggs seem not yet authentically known, though
we have some descriptions of them as resembling those
of the ptarmigan. Upon any one approaching the nest,
it becomes very clamorous, descending on the aggressor
in sudden swoops. Dr. Richardson writes, “A pair of
these birds attacked me as I was climbing in the vicinity
of their nest, built on a lofty precipice, on the borders
of Point Lake. They flew in circles, uttering loud cries
and harsh screams, and alternately stooping with such
velocity, that their motion through the air produced a
loud rustling noise: they thrust their claws within an
inch or two of my head.”

Their food is both the small animals and sea-fowl
in their vicinity, but they also make more extended
excursions inland, where the grouse and other game
form a favourite and much sought-after repast; and,
in the fur countries, they follow the partial migrations
of the ptarmigan.
    

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‘TWC-HCRNED RHINOCEROS,
53

TWO-HORNED RHINOCEROS.

TuerE are, in all, seven or eight species of the
animals of this genus; three of them natives of Asia,
and, either three or four, of Africa.

When full-grown, the length of this creature is about
twelve feet, and it is of about the same circumference.
Its colour is a dark greyish brown, and its hide is
extremely thick and hard, resembling the rough bark
of a tree. In the “Account of the Menageries,” we
find the following statement respecting it:—‘‘The rhi-
noceros is more rapid in its movements than its comparatively
clumsy and massive appearance would, at first sight,
induce one to expect.” “The Onamese,” Lieutenant
White tells us, “speak with great energy of its irresistible
strength and velocity. Speaking of this animal one day
to the viceroy, he observed, ‘you now see him here
before you in Saigon,’ and snapping his fingers, ‘now he
is in Canjeo.’”

However hyperbolical these accounts appear to be, we
may yet infer from them, that the rhinoceros can exert
great strength and speed. In a state of nature the
rhinoceros leads a calm but indolent life; sluggish in
habitual movements, he wanders along with a heavy
measured step, carrying his huge head low, so that his
nose almost touches the ground, and stopping at intervals
to uproot, with his horns, some favourite food, or in
playful wantonness to plough up the ground, throwing
the mud and stones behind him. As he passes through
the tangled coverts, every obstacle gives way before his
strength, and his track is said to be often marked by
54 TWO-HORNED RHINOCEROS.

a line of devastation in bis rear. Inoffensive, but fearless,
he is, when roused, a most tremendons antagonist; and
such is the keenness of his sense of smell and hearing,
' that except by very cautiously approaching him against
the direction of the wind, it is almost impossible to
take him by surprise. On being thus disturbed, he
usually endeavours to retreat in peace, though instances
are on record in which he has furiously advanced to
the attack.

“A few years ago,” says the translator of ‘“Cuvier’s
Animal Kingdom,” “a party of Europeans, with their
native attendants and elephants, went out to hunt
rhinoceroses, and met with a herd of seven, led as it
seemed, by one larger and stronger than the rest.
When the large rhinoceros charged the hunters, the
leading elephants, instead of using their tusks, which in
ordinary cases they are ready enough to do, wheeled
round, and received the blow of the rhinoceros’s horn
upon their posteriors; the blow brought them immedi-
ately to the ground with their riders, and as soon as
they had risen the brute was again ready, and again
brought them down; and in this manner did the contest
continue, until four out of the seven were killed, when
the rest made good their retreat.”

We are not to infer from this account that there is
a natural antipathy between the elephant and the rhi-
noceros, though Pliny asserts such to be the case, an
error rejected by other writers. The fact is, that there
are seasons in which the rhinoceros becomes excessively
furious, and upon any animal large enougi to attract
his notice, which intrudes within the precincts of its
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REDBREAST.

Tuts well-known and familiar bird is a universal
favourite, not only in this country, but also, it appears,
in others. He seems to have comparatively but little
dread cf man, and comes so near his dwelling, nay,
sometimes, indeed, into it, that his confidence demands
some return of kind feeling, and this is for the most
part accorded to him. Among themselves, however,
robins are very quarrelsome, and are pugnaciocus against
many other birds. Rennie observes, “The statement
given in most books of natural history, that the redbreast
during summer, flies from the habitation of man, which
he has haunted during winter, to nestle in wild and
solitary places, is far from being strictly correct. I
readily admit that many of these birds may be found
in woods and forests, but I am equally certain that
a great number do not go farther from their winter
haunts than the nearest hedge-row. Even in the vicinity
of London, in Copenhagen fields, Chelsea, Battersea fields,
Kennington, Bermondsey, Peckham, Deptford, Greenwich,
wherever indeed there is a field and a few trees, I
have heard redbreasts singing during the whole summer:
one has been in song all the summer, not a gunshot
trom my house at Lee, where this paragraph was written;
and I have remarked another singing for several months,
among some elms at Lewisham Bridge, though there are
houses all around, and the bustle of the public road
just below.

The redbreast does not indeed usually come to the
cottage for crumbs during summer, because then insects
56 REDBREAST.

are plentiful, and this may have given rise to the
common opinion. I once saw an instance, however, at
Compton Basset, in Wiltshire, in which a _redbreast
made a daily visit, in summer, within a cottage door,
to peck up what he could find. It is worthy of remark,
that Grahame’s poetical sketch of the redbreast is much
more true to nature than the statements of our professed
naturalists :” —

“High is his perch but humble is his home
And well concealed, sometimes within the sound
Of heartsome mill clack, where the spacious door,
White dusted, tells him plenty reigns around;
Close at the root of brier bush that o’erhangs
The narrow stream, with shealings white,

He fixes his abode, and lives at will;

Oft near some single cottage he prefers

To rear his little home; there pert and spruce
He shares the refuse of the good wife’s churn;
Nor seldom does he neighbour the low roof
Where tiny elves are taught.”

The redbreast is a very early builder, and usually
selects for its nest a shallow cavity ainong grass or moss
in a bank, or at the root of a tree; sometimes in the
hole of a tree, in a wood or secluded lane, frequently
far distant from its winter haunts, about the cottage
door or the farm-yard.
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LLAMA.
57

LLAMA.

Onxy two species of the genus Auchenia, peculiar to
South America, are now found wild, namely the huanaco
or guanaco, and the bicugna. They inhabit, in numer-
ous herds, the lofty Cordilleras, their range extending
considerably below the line of perpetual snow; and it is
remarkable that they do not inhabit Quito, Santa Fe,
Caraccas, etc., although the climate of the mountains
in those parts is like that of high Peru, where they live
‘and multiply abundantly, the llama and alpaca are not
found in a wild state, and are only known as beasts
of burden employed by the Peruvians. Hernandez speaks
of llamas in New Spain, Mexico, but there they are
scarce, and only kept as curiosities, and neither of the
wild species extends its range to that distance.

Into Chili the alpaca was probably introduced, and it
is the only species the country possesses. The lama
is the largest, strongest, and stoutest species, and anciently
was the most valuable beast of burden the Peruvians
possessed. Its ordinary height is from four to four feet
and a half, sometimes five feet. It is generally light
brown, but sometimes dun, grey, or even inclined to
purple, aud very seldom black or party-coloured; under
the belly it is uniformly white. The hair is long, of a
texture between silk and wool, but not curled. The
alpaca is less than the llama, its ordinary height being
four feet. It appears twice as corpulent, owing to its
possessing a much longer and more profuse clothing of
hair, which is sometimes from eight to twelve inches

in length on the sides, rump, and breast. If partakes
a9 U
38 LLAMA.

‘of more colours, is often party-coloured, and more fre-
quently white than the three other species.

The Peruvians are careful not to overload either of
these animals, whose burden is generally one hundred
pounds weight, though for a short distance, on good roads,
they occasionally carry twelve or fifteen pounds more.
They are usually gentle and willing. If provoked they
express their anger by turning back their ears, and spitting
into the face of their offender, even if he be four yards
off. Their food is never prepared for them, but when
unemployed, they are suffered to graze on their native
mountains, often pasturing in the company of the wild
species; but they are so much accustomed and apparently
attached to mankind, that they never exchange servitude
for freedom. They very seldom drink for weeks or even
months together, and only a little, being mostly satisfied
with the moisture they express from their green food;
and it even exceeds the camel in its abstinence and
endurance of thirst. The voice of the llama resembles
the shrill neighing of the horse.

The long silky hair of all the species, but more
especially that of the alpaca, is spun into blankets,
friezes, and coarse woollens, which are warm and durable,
and admit of a good dye. As it is perfectly clean,
and free from smell, it does not require any preparatory
process with Fuller’s earth. The flesh of all the species
is eaten. Owing to a scarcity of fire-wood, the dung
is used as a substitute for fuel, in the mountain cottages
and mines, and it emits a clear, strong, and lively
flame.”
 

CROSSBILL.
59

CROSSBILL.

Tue crossbill is a.bird that is not commonly seen
in this country, owing to its frequenting woods, when
it comes among us, but, nevertheless, it may be met
with every year, and sometimes in large numbers in
various parts of the kingdom. That they have done so
in ancient times, a3 well as in modern, is evident from
the following statement in Matthew Paris:—“In 1254,
in the fruit season, certain wonderful birds, which had
never before been seen in England, appeared, chiefly
in the orchards. They were a little bigger than larks,
and ate the pippins of the apples, but no other part
of them, on which account they were extremely preju-
dicial, as they deprived the trees of their fruit. They
had the points of the beak crossed, by which they
divided the apples, as with a forceps or knife.”

The crossbill is a singular bird, about the size of a lark,
but rather more bulky, and remarkable for the peculiar
construction of its bill, both mandibles having hooked
points, and the lower crossing the left side of the other.
The muscles on the right side, for closing the lower jaw,
Dr. Fleming remarks, are much larger than those on the
left—a singular example of compensation for the loss of
power occasioned by the oblique position and motion of
the lower jaw.

The general colour of the body is a reddish orange,
which changes with age into a yellow and ashy hue; the
tail is forked, and, with the wings, is of a dusky shade.
It breeds early in spring, in the north of Europe, in the
pine forests, fixing its nest in the clefts of the branches,
60 CROSSBILL.

and has four or five greenish grey eggs, with a circle of
brown spots or rays at the larger end. Its food consists
chiefly of the seeds of the fir, which it extracts from
the pine cones with great dexterity; and it is said that
it will divide an apple with oue stroke of its bill, to get
at the seeds. It has been tamed, and its motions ina
cage resemble those of a parrot, climbing from the lower
to the upper bars by means of its bill.

In North America, while sojourning in their winter
quarters, they appear in large flocks, feeding on the
seeds of the hemlock and white pine; have a loud,
sharp, and not unmusical note; chatter as they fly;
alight during the prevalence of deep snows before the
door of the hunter, and around the house, picking off
the clay with which the logs are plastered. At such
times they are so tame as only to settle on the roof
of the cabin when disturbed, and a moment after descend
to feed as before.

Though the colour of the crossbill is in general as
described above, yet scarce any two of these birds are
exactly alike in pluinage, but they are of almost all
shades of red, green, and yellow, and this without any
distinctness of marking in the several specimens. The
males and females also assume very different hues
respectively, according to the season of the year. They
are very singular-looking birds, and cannot be mistaken.
 

x

MOUS

BARBARY
61

BARBARY MOUSE.

Mice belong to the same general family as the rats,
and succeed immediately to the marmots and the squirrels
in the scientific arrangement of nature.

There are many kinds of mice, among which, in
addition to the species so commonly, and often so
injuriously known in this country, we may mention the
long-tailed field mouse, the short-tailed field mouse,
and the Barbary mouse, the one at present under
consideration. ‘hen comes the hamster, sometimes called
the German marmot, the Canadian musk-rat, otherwise
known by the name of the ondatra, or musquash, the
water-vole, and several other kinds.

Of the Barbary mouse, Mr. Fennell remarks, “this
species, the prettiest and most elegant of all, was first
described by Linneus, in the addenda to the twelfth
edition of his “Systema Nature.’ For a long period
after that publication, it entirely eluded the observation
of zoologists, until of late, when a litter of five young
ones was obtained at Barbary, and three of them having
survived the passage to England, were placed in the
Regent’s Park Zoological Gardens, in 1828. Mr. Bennett,
describing them when they had been in the collection
above a year, says, ‘They are intermediate in size to
the ¢ommon rat and common mouse, while Linneus
describes his to have been smaller even than the latter;
but, perhaps, he had seen none but smaller individuals,
which supposition is in some degree strengthened by
his adding, that they were occasionally marked by a
searcely perceptible line between the lateral stripes; a
62 BARBARY MOUSE.

circumstance which not unfrequently occurs in the young
of striped animals, and slight vestiges of this original
marking were visible in the society’s specimens. In
every other respect the coincidence was complete.

Their ground colour was dark brown, marked on each
side with five or six yellowish stripes, about half as
broad as the intervening space, extending along the whole
length of the body, and becoming confused towards
the under parts, which are nearly white. On the fore
feet only three toes were at first sight observable, but
on closer inspection, the rudiments of a thumb and also
of a fifth toe were detected. The teeth were precisely
similar to those of the other rats. During their captivity,
these animals appeared healthy and lively, and, with
reference to the habits of the genus, were moderately
tame, though shy and timid.”
 

TANAGER.

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63

SCARLET TANAGER.

Tue scarlet tanager, or summer red-bird, is one
of the most beautiful of its race; the male in full plumage
being scarlet-red, with the wings and tail black.

From the beginning to the middle of May this richly-
coloured bird makes its appearance in Pennsylvania, and
several other of the American States; avoiding the
neighbourhood of human habitations, unless perhaps the
skirts of the orchard, where he sometimes, however,
builds his nest and takes a taste of the early and
inviting, though forbidden, cherries.

“Among all the birds,” says Wilson “that inhabit our
woods, there is none that strikes the eye of a stranger,
or even a native, with so much brilliancy as this. Seen
among the green leaves, with the light falling strongly
on his plumage, he really appears beautiful. If he has
little of melody in his notes to charm us, he has nothing
in them to disgust. His manners are modest, easy, and
inoffensive; benefitting the husbandman, by the daily
destruction in spring of many noxious insects; and when
winter approaches, he is no plundering dependent, but seeks
in a distant country for that sustenance which the severity
of the season denies to his industry in this. He is a
striking ornament to our rural scenery, and none of the
meanest of our rural songsters.

‘Among the thick foliage of the tree,” says Nuttall,
“in which he seeks support and shelter, from the lofty
branches, at times, we hear his almost monotonous
tship-witee, tship-idee, or tshukadee, tshukadee, repeated
at short intervals, and in a pensive under-tone, height-
64 SCARLET TANAGER.

ened by the solitude in which he delights to dwell.
The same note is also uttered by the female when the
retreat of herself and young is approached; and the
male occasionally utters, in recognition to his mate, as
they perambulate the branches, a low whispering ’tait,
in a tone of caution and tenderness.

The nest, which is built about the middle of May,
on the horizontal branch of some shady forest-tree,
commonly an oak, but sometimes in an orchard tree,
is but slightly put together, and usually framed of broken
rigid stalks of dry weeds or slender fir twigs, loosely
interlaced, and partly tied with narrow strips of grass
or other frail material; lined with slender pine leaves;
the whole so thinly platted as to admit the light through
the interstices.

The eggs are three or four in number, of a dull
blue, spotted with shades of brown or purple.

The female shews great solicitude for the safety of
her only brood; and, on an approach to the nest, appears
to be in great distress and apprehension. So attached
to his young is the male bird, that he has been known,
at all hazards, to follow for half-a-mile, one of his
young, submitting to feed it attentively through the
bars of a cage, and, with a devotion which despair
could not damp, roost by it in the branches of the
same tree with its prison.

The food of this species consists mostly of winged
insects, such as hornets, wasps, and wild bees, the
smaller kind of beetle, and other coleoptera. Seeds are
supposed to be sometimes resorted to, and they are
very fond of whortle and other berries.
   
  
 
 

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65

RABBIT.

Tats is a well-known and harmless little animal.
It strikingly resembles the hare in general appearance,
as well as in habits, so that a person who was not
aware of the contrary fact, might, and probably would
take it for granted that they were the same species,
the one the young of the other. There are, however,
on a closer inspection, several points of dissimilarity to
be observed. The rabbit is a thicker-set animal than
the hare; the ears are shorter in proportion, and have
not the tips so black; and the hind legs are shorter.

Mr. Henry Turner, of the Botanic Garden, at Bury
St. Edmunds, says that rabbits will take the water if
pursued, and that he has seen four do so, when they
might have escaped otherwise, without getting wet.
This the writer can confirm from his own observation.
He once saw a rabbit disturbed by some persons walking
at the top of a cliff, dash down it, and enter the sea.
It was captured on reaching the land, but was soon
afterwards set at liberty again.

In general, rabbits remain within their burrows during
the day, and come out of them, to feed, in the dusk
of the evening. This is not, however, their exclusive
habit, for sometimes, and especially after a shower has
fallen, many of them may be seen feeding above ground,
in the neighbourhood of their holes, even in the broad
day. To this Shakspeare alludes in his play of Coriolanus,
Act iv. Scene 4.

“They will out of their burrows

Like conies after rain.”
2 1
66 RABBIT.

They are very destructive animals, and as their numbers
increase in so remarkable a manner, they require to
be kept under, or they would most seriously injure
the fruits of the earth, their food consisting of corn,
grass, turnips, carrots, and the bark of trees; in fact
almost anything that is green.

“In a wild state, the colour is generally uniform, but
when domesticated, which it is more easily than the
hare, it varies greatly. It inhabits the temperate and
warmer regions of Kurope, Asia, and Africa, and is
common on the British Continent and Islands. It lives
from eight to nine years, and breeds seven times a year,
bringing forth four to eight at a time, which are full-
grown in six months. Its flesh is white and delicate,
and its fur of some value.

Extensive warrens are kept on different parts of the
Island, where the sandy soil precludes more valuable
products. There are three kinds in this country, the
common grey rabbit, the black rabbit, and the silky
rabbit, found in the Isle of Man, and some other Islands,
supposed to have been originally brought from Angora.
The fur is of a dirty ash-colour, paler beneath, and of
a silky fineness, three inches or more in length. They
do not associate with the other kinds.”
 

CHAFFINCH.
67

CHAFFINCH.

Tue chaffinch is a very common species of bird in
this country, and a very handsome one, especially the
male bird. It is particularly remarkable for the singular
beauty of the nest that it builds. The following de-
scription and account of it is given by Bewick, in bis
“History of British Birds:’—‘The bill is pale blue,
tipped with black; eyes hazel; forehead black; the crown
of the head, and the hinder part and sides of the neck
bluish ash; the sides of the head, throat, fore part of
the neck, and the breast vinaceous red; the back is
reddish brown, changing to green; both the greater and
lesser coverts are tipped with white, forming two pretty
large bars across the wing; the quill feathers are black,
edged with yellow; the tail is a little forked, and black,
the outermost feather edged with white; legs brown.
The female wants the red upon the breast; her plumage
in general is not so vivid, and inclines to green; in
other respects it is not much unlike that of the male.

This beautiful bird is everywhere well-known; it
begins its short and frequently- repeated song early in
spring, and continues it till about the summer solstice,
after which it is no more heard. It is a lively bird,
which, with its elegant plumage, hus given rise to the
proverb, “as gay as a chaffinch.” The nest is very
neat and compact, and constructed with much art, of
small fibres, roots, and moss, and lined with wool,
hair, and feathers. The female generally lays five or
six eggs, of a pale reddish colour, sprinkled with dark
spots, principally at the larger end. The male is very
68 CHAFFINCH.

assiduous in his attendance during the time of hatching,
seldom straying far, and that only to procure food.

_ Chaffinches subsist chiefly on small seeds, likewise on
caterpillars and insects, with which they also feed their
young. They are seldom kept in cages, as their song
possesses no variety, aud they are not apt in learning
the notes of other birds. The males frequently maintain
obstinate combats, and fight till one of them is van-
quished.”

In that always popular and charming work, ‘White’s
Natural History of Selborne,” he points out the fact,
which is indeed constantly to be witnessed, that, in the
winter, the large flocks which appear in some parts of
the country, are entirely composed of hen birds.
ICHNEUMO

 
69

ICHNEUMON.

THERE are several species of this tribe of animals,
nearly a dozen being found in Africa. The Egyptian
ichneumon, also known by the name of Pharoah’s rat,
is Very common in that country, and extremely useful
to the inhabitants as a destroyer of vermin.

“The ichneumon, at the head of the weasel tribe for
utility, abounds in all the southern parts of Asia, from
Egypt to Java, and is also found in Africa, particularly
about the Cape of Good Hope. Its usual size and
appearance is that of the marten, only the hair, which
is of a grizzly black, is rougher, nor is the tail so
bushy at the end; but having been long domesticated,
there are many varieties both of size and colour. It
is an active, strong, and courageous animal; it attacks
every living thing that it is able to overcome; it fears
neither the open force of the dog, nor the insidious
strength of the cat, the claws of the vulture, nor the
poison of the viper, and as indiscriminately preys upon
all kinds of flesh, rats, mice, serpents, or lizards.
While eating, it sits upright, and uses its fore feet to
bring its food to its mouth. Its peculiar value to the
Kigyptians, however, consists in its being the determined
persevering enemy of the crocodile, whose eggs it searches
out and destroys, and whose young it kills ere they
reach the water, for which it was deified and wor-
shipped by the ‘wise’ Egyptians.”

It generally contrives to seize a snake by the throat,
in such a way that it cannot itself be injured by the
fangs of the reptile. It is thus alluded to by the poet,
70 ICHNEU MON.

Lucan, in his ‘“‘Pharsalia,” written about the year 62:—

“Thus oft th’ ichneumon on the banks of Nile,
Tnvades the deadly aspie by a wile;

While artfully his slender tail is play’d,

The serpent darts upon the dancing shade;
Then turning on the foe, with swift surprise,
Full on the throat the nimble seizer flies,

The gasping snake expires beneath the wound,
His gushing jaws with poisonous floods abound,
And shed the fruitless mischief on the ground.”

This animal frequents the banks of rivers, and, like
the otter, is an expert diver and swimmer, and is able
to remain for a considerable time under the water. In
that country, however, as is so well known, inundations
periodically occur, and then the ichneumon resorts to
higher grounds, and approaches near to the habitations
of man.
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71

WILD DUCK.

Tuis is a valuable species of bird, being in much
esteem for the table; and vast quantities are procured
every year, especially in hard winters, when the severity
of the frost drives them from their river haunts into
the more open country, where they fall more within
the way of many fowlers. Numbers are shot, and still
larger quantities are procured in decoys, in different parts
of the island.

The male bird, mallard, or drake, as it is often de-
nominated, is thus described by Montagu:—‘It weighs
about two pounds and a half; length near twenty-three
inches; the bill is of a yellowish green; irides, hazel;
the head and upper part of the neck, deep glossy green,
bounded below with a white circle, which almost surrounds
the neck; the lower part of the neck before, and the
breast, dull purplish; the back is brown; the sides and
scapulars, white, marked with numerous small undulated
lines of brown; the rump, upper and under tail coverts,
black; on the wing coverts is a transverse streak of white,
edged with another of black, beneath which is the spec-
ulum, of a fine purplish or violet blue on the secondary
quills, which are shaded to a black near the ends, and
tipped with white, and forms another narrow liue of this
last colour on the wings; the belly is pale grey, minutely
speckled with light brown, in undulated lines. The tail
consists of twenty feathers, the four middle ones are of
a glossy greenish black, and curve upwards in a singular
manner, and so connected as to appear only as two
feathers; the others are straight, pointed, and of a greyish
72 WILD DUCK.

brown, margined with white.

The duck breeds on many of our rivers and lakes,
sometimes at a considerable distance from the water.
‘It scrapes together a little of such vegetables as are
contiguous for a nest, and lays from ten to eighteen
eggs, of a bluish white. At the time of incubation the
female plucks the down from her breast to line the nest,
and frequently covers the eggs when she leaves them.
It frequently happens that a large variety of this bird
is caught in our decoys, or shot by the sportsmen; but
these are only half-domesticated ducks, which are obliged
to leave the canals or pieces of water belonging to
private persons, when they become frozen. These are
called Rouen ducks.

It is observable in most kinds of birds whose young
leave the nest as soon as hatched, that they deposit
their eggs on the ground. There are, however, some
instances in which this species, the shelldrake, and per-
haps, others, occasionally vary in this particular.

We have been assured, by a person of undoubted
veracity, that a half-domesticated duck made a nest in
Rumford Tower, hatched her young and brought them
down in safety to a piece of water at a considerable
distance. Others have been known to breed in trees,
and we recollect the nest of this bird being found in
the head of an old pollard willow impending the water,
from whence the young might readily drop unhurt into
their natural element. Mr. Tunstall mentions one at
Etchingham, in Sussex, which was found sitting upon
nine eggs, on an oak tree twenty-five feet from the ground;
and the author of the “Rural Sports,” records an instance
of one taking possession of the nest of a hawk in a
large oak.”
 

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73

BISON.

Tue following account of this formidable creature is
given by Mr. Fennell:—‘“The favourite haunts of these
animals are the swampy banks of the rivers and rivulets
which intersect forests, and from which they seldom
wander far. During summer, and the warmer part of
autumn, they select sandy spots; but in winter they keep
quiet by day, where the fir trees are in the thickest
abundance, only browsing at night, and finding sus-
tenance in the bark of young trees: in the spring
they resort to neighbouring places, where they can obtain
herbaceous plants. The horns are black, of moderate
length, and are turned inward and outward, except at
their middle part, where they have a perpendicular
direction; from tip to tip, round their curves, and over
the forehead, they measure four French feet; those of
the six year old bull in the Wilna museum, are eighteen
inches in girth at their base; the cow’s horns are not
so strong as the bull’s. There is no dew-lap, and only
the middle of the upper lip and the borders of the
nostrils are bare; the tongue is covered with hard
tubercles, and is of a blue colour, as are the lips, j
gums, and palate; the eyes have ordinarily a mild
expression. The fore-quarters are more robust, and
the anterior part of the back is more elevated, than
the hind quarters, which are slender; the ribs are fourteen
in number, being one less than the American bison;
ay\ the tail is terminated by a brush of Jong and
wistly hair, which, in young individuals, reaches only

to the hock joint, but in older ones, it extends some-
a2 K
TA BISON.

what below. From that part of the skin and hair which
covers the convex portion of the forehead, the zubr
emits an odour between that of musk and _ violets,

Occasionally some individuals, particularly such old
' bulls as walk alone, having left the herd, either of their
own accord, or by expulsion, become uncommonly
daring and fearless of man. Jarochi relates, that one
of these retired veterans used to station himself on the
high road, and, undaunted by the cracking of whips,
would rush at the passing carriages and sledges, and
put the horses to flight. ‘The danger of such a prac-
tical joke may be imagined from Dr. Weissenborn’s
statement, that so enormous is the strength of one of
these old fellows, that he can knock down trees of five
or six inches in diameter, as if they were merely ninepins.
Zubrs are not afraid of either wolves or bears, and
they assail their enemies with their horns and hoofs.
An old zubr is a match for four wolves, but larger
packs of them hunt down even old bulls when alone.
A herd of zubrs, however, has nothing to fear from
any rapacious animal.

The zubr runs very swiftly, but not having much
endurance, it seldom runs more than one or two English
miles. When galloping, the hoofs are raised higher
than the head, which is carried very low. It is very
fond of bathing, and swims with great agility. Its voice
is a short grunt, and, when uttered by a whole herd,
it sounds, to a person near them, like the distant straggling
fire of musketry; but ata greater distance, it resembles
the sound produced by the wings of a passing flight
of birds.”
 

BIRD.

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75

WEAVER BIRD.

Tue weavers, of which there are several species, aré
inhabitants of the continent of India, and of Africa.

One of the most remarkable circumstances connected
with the history of these birds, is the formation of very
elaborate nests, consisting of grasses or vegetable fibres
beautifully interwoven together; in some cases suspended
at the extremity of a twig or leaf; in others, where
multitudes of birds form a sort of community, compacted
together so as to form a solid mass, beneath the weight
of which, the tree often at length gives way.

The species, however, which forms the most singular
nest—a mass of nests, is the sociable weaver bird of
Southern Africa. According to Dr. Smith, the banks of
the Orange River constitute the southern limits of the
range of this species, which was only obtained in great
abundance in the districts around Latakoo, far from water.
“The most striking peculiarity,” adds Dr. Smith, ‘‘observed
in this species, is the extraordinary manner in which a
number of them associate and build their nests under
a common roof. When a nesting-place has been selected,
and the operation of building is to be commenced,
they all join in constructing the general covering, which
interests them all; that being accomplished, each pair
begin to form their own nest, which, like the roof, they
construct of coarse grass; these are placed side by side
agaiust the under surface of the general covering, and,
by the time they are all completed, the lower surface
of the mass exhibits the appearance of a flat surface,
freely perforated by small circular openings.
76 WEAVER BIRD.

They never use the same nests a second time, though
they continue for many years attached to the same roof.
With the return of the breeding season, fresh nests are
formed upon the lower surface of those of the preceding
year, which then form an addition to the general cov-
ering. In this manner they proceed year after year,
tll, at last, the weight often becomes such as to cause
the destruction of its support, upon which a new building
is commenced. They appear to prefer constructing these
nests upon large and lofty trees; but where such do
not occur, they will even condescend to form them upon
the leaves of the aloe.

The commencement of the roof is firmly interwoven
with the branches of the trees to which it is intended
to be suspended, and often a great part of the principal
branch is actually included within its surface. Each
female lays three or four eggs, of a bluish white colour,
freely mottled towards the large end with small brown
dots.”

Paterson and Le Vaillant give a somewhat similar
account of these nests, some of which they saw of
enormous size; the latter traveller mentions one which
had three hundred and twenty inhabited cells, each cell
being the property of a pair of birds. Thus, then, do
these weaver birds found a republic, and cluster together
under one roof their separate homesteads; the labour
of each busy artificer contributing to the general good,

The food of the weaver bird consists almost entirely
of the seeds of plants, especially grasses.
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77

CHETAH.

Tuis animal is generally classed among the leopard
tribe; but, though its place in the system of nature is
near them, it does not altogether belong to them, dif-
ering in some important particulars. Its claws are only
partially retractile, and it is gregarious in its habits. It is,
moreover, rather of a milder disposition, so that it is
frequently tamed and employed for the chase.

The chetah is also called the hunting leopard, and
is a native of the continents of Africa and India. “In
size he is intermediate between the leopard and the
hound, has a more slender body and longer legs than
the former, but wants the graceful form and elongated
head of the latter. He is yellow above, with black
spots; white below, unspotted; along the back of the
neck, and, anterior of the spine, has a mane of upright
hairs; his claws are capable of a very limited retraction
within the skin. In India he is trained to the chase,
and isso gentle as to be led about like a greyhound.
He is carried to the field on a cart, hooded, and as
soon as game—deer or antelope, come in sight, he is
loosed, when, dropping from the opposite side, he creeps
softly along till within a short distance of the poor
unsuspecting animals; and then, with a few bounds, into
the midst of them, with one blow he brings his victim
down, and is instantly at its throat.”

The chetah takes advantage of every means of making
its attack; and when unsuccessful, it returns sullenly to
its keeper, who replaces the hood, and reserves hin
for another opportunity. When, bowever, he has seized
78 CHETAH.

the quarry, and fixed himself upon its throat, drinking
the life-blood warm, his nature breaks out in all its
violence, so that it requires some management to separate
him from his victim. Partly awed by the keeper’s voice,
partly enticed by pieces of meat, and a little of the
blood, he is induced to give up the prize, and submit
to be again hooded.

In captivity the chetah is familiar, gentle, and play-
ful; and becomes greatly attached to those who feed
or notice it. The general disposition of these beautiful
creatures is, indeed, frank and confiding; so that there
is little trouble in rendering them perfectly domestic.
Their voice of pleasure is a purr; and their voice of
uneasiness or hunger, a short repeated mew.

Although the chetah is in some respects different
from other animals of the cat kind, yet in many it
nearly resembles them, and its picture will be found
very closely to resemble that of the panther, the leopard,
the ounce, the jaguar, and the ocelot. All are fell and
relentless blood-suckers, and display the same stealthy
method of creeping upon their prey.
 

WEITERE OAT.
79

WHITETHROAT.

Tue following account of this neat little bird, is given
by Montagu, in his Ornithological Dictionary:—“This is
a very common species, visits all parts of the Kingdom
which are enclosed, about the middle of Apri), and
constantly enlivens our hedges with its song; which,
Selby says, it utters upon the wing as it rises from the
spray on which it has been perched, to a considerable
height in the air, descending slowly to the same spot.
In executing this movement, its flight is very peculiar;
at this time, it erects the feathers on the crown of the
head. The nest is made of goose-grass, lined with
fibres, and sometimes a few long hairs, but is of so
flimsy a texture, that it can afford but little warmth
to the eggs or young; this is generally placed in some
low bush, amongst nettles or other luxuriant herbs.

This species weighs about four drachms; length, five
inches and three quarters; the bill, dusky brown above,
whitish beneath; irides, yellowish; the whole upper parts,
from head to tail, cinereous brown, coverts of the wings
darkest, bordered with brown, inclining to rufous; quills,
dusky, slightly edged with cinereous brown; under parts,
from chin to tail, greyish white, darkest on the breast
and thighs; in some, the breast has a rosy tinge; tail,
like the quills; outer feather, white, except at the base
of the inner web; legs, pale brown. ‘The female is like
the male.”

“A very lively and interesting species,’ says Sweet,
“and one of the easiest preserved; its song, also, in my
opinion, cannot be surpassed by any bird whatever; it
80 WHITETHROAT.

is both lively, sweet, and loud, and consists of a great
variety of notes. One that I at present possess, will
sing, for hours together, against a nightingale, now in
‘the beginning of January, and will not suffer itself to
be outdone. When the nightingale raises its voice, it
does the same, and tries its utmost to get above it,
Sometimes, in the midst of ifs song, it will run up to
the nightingale, and stretch out its neck, as if in defiance,
and whistle as loud as it can, staring it in the face; if
the nightingale attempts to peck it, away it is in an
instant, flying round the aviary, and singing all the time.
In a wild state, the present species generally visits hedges
and gardens. It arrives in this country about the middle
of April; and is often heard singing in a thicket, or in
the middle of a hedge; sometimes it mounts up in the
air a little way, or flies from one hedge to another,
singing all the time. It is readily taken in a trap baited
with a living caterpillar or butterfly. One that I caught
last spring, sang the third day after being in confinement,
and continued to sing all through the summer; but this
was most likely in consequence of a tame one being
with it, which also sang at the same time.

In their native state, these feed chiefly on small insects
and a few sorts of fruit, strawberries and raspberries in
particular. They are very partial to the different species
of aphides, with which almost every tree is covered
some time or other in the summer; they are also very
fond of the smaller species of butterflies, and the common
house-fly. They soon take to feed on bruised hemp-
seed and bread, and also on’ bread and milk; I have
known them to feed on it the day they were caught.”’
81

TAPIR.

Or the tapir there are two species, the American,
found, as its name imports, in that continent, and the
Malay tapir, which is a native of the peninsula of
Malacca, and the island of Sumatra. Remains of this
animal, too, in the fossil state, have been found in
Germany, France, and Italy; and of a larger size than
either of the two kinds now in existence.

The following account of a very young Indian tapir,
which Major Farquhar had for some time alive in his
possession, is part of a communication made by him
to the Asiatic Society:—“It appears, that until the age
of four months, this species is black, and _ beautifully
marked with spots and stripes, of a fawn-colour above,
and white below. After that period, it begins to change
colour, the spots disappear, and at the age of six months
it becomes of the usual colour of the adult.” Major
Farquhar adds that he found the animal to be of a
mild and gentle disposition. It became as tame as a
dog; and would eat all kinds of vegetables, bread, rice,
cakes, or the like, for which it would come to the table.

Sir Stamford Raffles writes of another of these animals
as follows:—“The living specimen sent from Bencoolen
to Bengal, was young, and became very tractable. It
was allowed to roam occasionally in the tank at Bar-
rackpore; and the man who had charge of it informed
me that it frequently entered the ponds, and appeared to
walk under the water, and not to make any attempt to
swim. The flesh is eaten by the natives of Sumatra.’

In a further account of this species, we read, “a
33 L
82 TAPIR.

Sumatran tapir, procured about the same time with
the preceding, and presented to the Asiatic Society
by Mr. Siddons, then resident at Bencoolen, was also
a most gentle animal, but of very lazy habits. He
delighted in being rubbed or scratched, and this favour
he solicited from the people about him, by throwing
himself down on his side, and making sundry move-
ments.” It is distinctly stated of this animal, that
another of his great delights was to bathe, and also
that he remained a considerable time under the water.
The amphibious nature of the Indian, as well as of the
American tapir, seems, therefore, to be well established,
though it was not observed by Major Farquhar in his
specimen; perhaps owing to its ill health, for it very
soon died.
Page Missing
83

REDSTART.

Tus is a very pretty, and rather common, species
of British bird, being a regular summer visitant. It is
most common in the southern counties, but is found
also in the north.

The following is the description of it:—It weighs
about three drachms and three quarters; length, five
inches and a half; the bill is black; the eye, hazel; the
forehead, white; the crown of the head, the hind part
of the neck, and the back, deep bluish grey; the sides
of the head, and the throat, are black; the breast, sides,
and upper tail coverts, rusty red; the tail itself is red,
except the two middle feathers, which, as well as the
wings, are brown; the legs, black. The female is light
brown, with some grey on the head and the back; the
breast, yellowish rufous; the tail, as in the male, but
not so bright.

“We have frequently,” says Syme, “met with it in
the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. Though a very shy
bird, it often approaches and builds near the habitations
of man, and constructs its nest in places that we would
scarcely expect so timid a bird would select for that
purpose. At Craigcrook Castle, near Edinburgh, we
found its nest in a hole of a wall, close by an old
gate-way, through which people daily pass to the castle;
it was placed within reach of the hand from the ground.
These birds often haunt orchards, gardens, and shrub-
berries; but they also frequent solitary situations, among
rocks, crags, and woods, where they build in the crevices
of dangerous ravines and precipices. Though wild and

”
S+4 REDSTART.

timorous birds, they are often found in cities, but always
selecting the most difficult and most inaccessible places
for the important work of incubation. If the eggs are
touched by the hand, unless the hen has sat some time,
she will forsake the nest and build again.”

Its song is soft and short; and, when perched, it
frequently vibrates its tail in a quick and singular
manner. Bechstein says its song is lively and agreeable,
and, that in addition to its natural note, it sometimes
improves it by adding those of other birds amoung
which it is found. “One which had built its nest under
my house,” he adds, “imitated very exactly the note
of a chaffinch I had in a cage in the window; and
my neighbour had another in his garden, which repeated
all the notes and cadences of the fauvette. This facility
in appropriating the song of other birds, is rare in a
wild state, and appears to be almost confined to this
species, which is very common throughout Europe and
Asia. It leaves Germany in the early part of October,
and again returns in March or April. During the spring
and autumn, they haunt the hedges and skirts of the
foresis, but in the summer, they frequent the gardens,
where they recompense their host, if he happen to be
a lover of nature, by their morning and evening song.”

The redstart arrives in this country early in April,
and departs the latter end of September.
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85

ORYX.

Tue species of antelopes are numerous, and differ
very much from each other. They frequent the cliffs
and ledges of mountain rocks, the bush-tangled wastes
on the tropical plains, and the margins of the arid
wildernesses. There they bound, and spring, and career,
fleet as the winds; now balancing themselves where one
would hardly imagine there was foot-fall for a bird;
now clearing the jungle as if they were winged creatures;
and now bounding along the plain with the speed of
the winds. To those who have been accustomed only
to the motions of the more sober animals—to the heavy
tread of the ox, or the pattering trot of the sheep, the
antelopes present something truly novel. From some
unseen hollow among the cliffs, one of these animals
will bound upwards, and alight upon its feet on a
pinnacle only a few inches in breadth. There it will
stand in perfect security, with its feet all touching each
other, and its back bent like a bow, surveying the cliffs
around; and no sooner has it espied a new footing to
its mind, than it bounds off again, though the distance
be many fathoms. Nor, if it is upon a journey of
some length, can it be contented with walking or even
with running along the plain; but proceeds by a few
fleet steps and a still fleeter bound alternately, as if it
were utterly unable to keep its own energy within limits.

The size of the oryx is somewhat superior to that
of a deer, and it is more easily distinguished than many
others of its race; the horns affording a character
perfectly clear and constant, being three feet long, nearly
86 ORYX.

straight, and gradually tapering to the point. The head
is white, with triangular patches of black on the forehead
and under the eyes; the neck and upper part of the body
are of a pale bluish grey; the under part of the body
and sides of the limbs are white; and a dark stripe,
runs along the back to the tail, which much resembles
that of a horse. The hoofs and horns are black; the
hair under the throat, along the ridge of the back, and
over the shoulders, is long and rough. It inhabits dif-
ferent parts of Africa, and is met with also in Persia,
India, and Arabia. It is resolute and dangerous when
hard pressed, its long sharp horns being used with
amazing energy and address.
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87

SUPERB BIRD OF PARADISE.

THERE are a good many species of these most
singular-looking birds, some more beautiful than others,
but all striking to the eye. They have obtained their
name from the splendour of their plumage. They are
natives of New Guinea and the adjacent islands.

The one best known is called the Great Bird of
Paradise, and is about the size of a thrush in reality,
but the great length of the plumes give it altogether
a much larger appearance. “It has a strong straight
bill, with small nostrils, which are covered with feathers
of a velvet tissue and metallic lustre produced from
the base. The wings are large, compared with the
bird’s other dimensions; the feathers of the hinder part
of the breast and belly are singularly extended imto
bunches longer than the body; and the tail, measuring
six inches, is of equal length with it; but what chiefly
attracts notice, is two naked filaments, which spring
from the upper part of the rump, above the tail, two
feet long, of a deep black colour, bearded at the inser-
tion and at the point with downy feathers of a changeable
hue. The front of the head, throat, and neck, are of
a shining yellow; the hinder part of the head is of a
brilliant green, mixed with gold; and the body and
wings are beautifully variegated with brown, purple, and
gold.

These birds are gregarious, always seen in large flocks,
aud perching at night upon the same tree. They live
on fruits, and are said to be particularly fond of aromatics.
It is the male that furnishes plumes for adorning the
88 SUPERB BIRD OF PARADISE.

heads of our fair countrywomen. These birds are killed
by the natives with blunt arrows, and sold to the
Europeans; but as this forms a lucrative kind of merchan-
dise, the “virtuous” Chinese fabricate specimens of these
celestial fowls, of the feathers of parrots and paroquets,
which they sell to strangers, and by which craft they
make great gain.”

The bird of paradise was first made known in Europe
about the year 1522. It was imported by Anthony
Pigafetta, one of the companions of the celebrated Mag-
ellan in his voyage round the globe, when he discovered
the straits in South America which connect the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans, and still bear his name.

For a long time the absurd and _ ridiculous notion
prevailed, that birds of this kind had no legs or feet,
and consequently, that they floated perpetually in the
air, or, if they had occasion to rest themselves at all, that
they suspended themselves from a branch of a tree by the
long filaments which spring from the lower part of the
back. It was also believed that they never descended
to the earth until the time of their death; and that those
which were procured were obtained immediately on their
thus falling. The fact, however, was, as Pigafetta had
proof of by ocular demonstratian, that the natives of
the regions where the birds of Paradise are found, cut
the legs off before selling them, considering them as
having no beauty, as being of no value.

While flying, the note of this species resembles the
clamour of the starlings; but at other times their voice
is like that of the raven.
        

   

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89

PINE-MARTEN.

THe pine-marten, a native of the north, and an
inhabitant of the pine forests, whence it derives its name,
is abundant in Siberia and the northern portions of
America, and is not uncommon among the wooded
ravines in the wild mountainous districts of Scotland
and Wales.

It builds its habitation chiefly on the top of the fir,
or seizes on the already-formed nest of the squirrel, or
of some bird, whence it drives the owner, and enlarges
for its own convenience. It is rather less than the common
marten, but its fur is finer and darker, and the throat
and breast yellow instead of white. In summer they
assume a lighter tinge, and their hair becomes shorter:
in winter their toes are well protected by long wool,
which drops off as the weather gets warm. Its habits are
similar to the common marten, but more fierce: it never
meets the wild cat without a deadly encounter, and is
sometimes victorious even over the golden eagle, when
the bird pounces on it as its prey; seizing the aggressor
by the throat, and bringing it lifeless to the ground.

The agility and gracefulness of these animals is re-
markable; they climb trees with the ease of the squirrel,
and traverse their branches, or leap from bough to bough
with admirable address and celerity.

Before the union, the fur of this species formed a
lucrative article of export from Scotland; at present,
immense quantities are brought from Siberia; and in
one year, the Hudson Bay company, alone, sold fifteen

thousand skins.

3 M
90 PINE-MARTEN.

The American pine-marten differs from the Kuropean,
by having a shorter tail, and fuller fur: their skins are
annually imported into England. Dr. Richardson observes
that in America “particular races of martens, distinguished
by the fineness and dark colour of their fur, appear to
inhabit certain rocky districts. The rocky, mountainous,
but wooded region of the Nipogon, on the north side of
Lake Superior, has been long noted for its black and
valuable martens’ skins.” The animal is usually taken
in traps, baited with the head of a bird. It is” very
bold, and when attacked, shews its teeth, hisses like a
cat, and bites with great severity. vt

The pine-marten of Siberia haunts the gloomy pine
forests, which stretch over immense tracts of country,
remote from human abodes. It is into the midst of
these wilds that the hunter has to penetrate in pursuit
of his game; and the chase is carried on in the winter,
for it is then that the fur is the finest. :Great are the
hunter’s perils and privations: he has to traverse plains
and mountains covered with snow, and swept by the
keen tempest of an arctic winter; to spend days and
nights in patient watching, and in the solitudes of the
dismal forests; he is exposed to overwhelming snow-
storms, of which, in our climate, we can form but an
imperfect idea. He often loses his way; his provisions
fail; and he finds himself exposed to all the horrors
of cold and famine.
 

GOLDFINCdH.
91

GOLDFINCH.

Tue goldfinch is a small bird, not weighing above
half-an-ounce, but is one of the most beautiful and
harmonious we have. The bill is in the form of a
lengthened cone, light yellow, black at the base, with
a dark tip; the forehead, temples, and throat, bright
red; the cheeks and breast, yellowish brown; the wings,
bright yellow on the inner half, the other black, tipped
with white; the tail also is variegated black and white.

It builds in shrubs, and frequently in fruit trees, a
nest most exquisitely constructed. Grahame, in his
“Birds of Scotland,’ has well described in a few lines
the nest of this bird, and the situations in which it
chooses to build, which, it will be seen, vary considerably
at times in their character:—

“With equal art externally disguised,

But of internal structure passing far

The feathered concaves of the other tribes;

The goldfinch weaves, with willow down inlaid,
And cannach tufts, his wonderful abode.
Sometimes, suspended at the limber end

Of plane-tree spray, among the broad-leaved shoots,
The tiny hammock swings to every gale;
Sometimes in closest thickets ’tis conceal’d;
Sometimes in hedge luxuriant, where the brier,
The bramble, and the plum-tree branch,

Warp through the thorn, surmounted by the. flowers
Of climbing vetch, and honeysuckle wild.”

The notes of the goldfinch are not loud, but sweet
in an uncommon degree. It is extremely mild and
docile. If well attended to and gently treated, it will
92 GOLDFINCH.

become in a few weeks as familiar with its keeper as
if it had been brought up by him from its youth.
As if conscious of its beauty, it delights, when in
captivity, to view itself in a mirror, which, to gratify
this propensity, is sometimes fixed in its cage. Its food
consists of the seeds of thistles and other plants.

Montagu observes that the goldfinch is subject to
some variety in confinement; and also that “a variety
is sometimes taken by the bird-catchers, with white spots
under the throat; and such is termed a cheverel.”
The female does not differ much in plumage from the
male bird, but the smaller coverts of the wing are not
so black. The young birds are brown about the head
for some time after they have been able to leave the
nest; and are sometimes, therefore, known by the name
of grey-pates.

Many anecdotes are related of the intelligence and
docility of the goldfinch, which can be taught to perform
a variety of tricks, such as letting off a small cannon,
feigning itself dead, drawing up buckets of water, ete.;
but no lover of nature will care for any such unnatural
and forced exhibitions.
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RACOON.
93

RACOON.

Tue racoon is a native of North America and the
West Indies; particularly the mountainous parts of
Jamaica, whence it descends in destructive numbers on
the sugar plantations. It is about two feet long, and:
one high; its head is like that of a fox, but its ears
more rounded, and its nose shorter and sharper; its
eyes are large. Its tail is about as long as the body,
thick at the insertion, tapers to a point, and is marked
by black and white rings; its fur is fine, long, thick, and
grey, dark on the surface; lighter eyes, and a dusky
line running down the middle of the face.

In the wild state the racoon is savage and sanguinary,
committing great slaughter among both wild and domes-
ticated birds, as it always destroys a great number
without consuming any part of them except the head,
or the blood which flows from their wounds. It will
also occasionally commit ravages in plantations of sugar-
cane, or of Indian corn; it also feeds on various kinds
of fruit, and is said to devour the eggs of birds. This
animal is a good climber, and the form of its claws
enables it to adhere so firmly to a branch of a tree,
that it requires no slight exertion to disengage it. It
chiefly feeds by night, keening in its hole during the
day, except in dull weather: it has a kind of oblique
gait in walking, can leap and climb with great ease,
and is very frequently seen on tress. In the domesticated
state it is extremely restless and inquisitive, examining
everything; will live on bread, milk, fish, and eggs; is
particularly fond of sweets of every kind, and has as
94 RACOON.

great a dislike to acids.

Captivity, however, produces considerable changes in
the habits of the racoon; for instead, as in a state of
nature, of sleeping during the day, and roaming about
at night in search of food, it will learn to be active
during the day, and to remain quiet at night. In eating
it commonly sits on its hind legs, and uses its fore
feet like a squirrel. One of its most marked peculiar-
ities, and on which its specific name of Jlotor, or the
washer, is founded, is its habit»of plunging its dry food
into water before eating it. It is extremely expert in
opening oysters, on which, as well as crabs, it frequently
feeds. Although, when tamed, it is noted for its active
and playful habits, it is capricious, and not easily recon-
ciled when offended. In its wild state it generally
inhabits the hollows of trees; but when domesticated, it
shews no particular inclination for warmth. When in-
clined to sleep, it rolls itself up into a kind of ball;
and in this position it sleeps so profoundly, as not to
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WOODCOCK.
95

WOODCOCK.

Tue woodcock measures fourteen inches in length,
and twenty-six in breadth; and weighs about twelve
ounces. The shape of the head is remarkable, being
rather obtusely triangular than round, with the eyes
placed near the top, and the ears very forward, nearly
on a line with the corners of the mouth. The upper
mandible, which measures about three inches, is furrowed
nearly its whole length, and at the tip, it projects
beyond, and hangs over, the under one, ending in a
kind of knob, which, like those of others of the same
genus, is susceptible of the finest feeling, and calculated
by that means, aided, perhaps, by an acute smell, to
find the small worms in the soft moist ground, from
whence it extracts them with its sharp-pointed tongue.
With the bill it also turns over and tosses the fallen
leaves in search of insects which shelter underneath.

The crown of the head is ash-colour; the nape and
back part of the neck are black, marked with three bars
of rusty red; a black line extends from the corners
of the month to the eyes, the orbits of which are
pale buff. The whole under parts are yellowish white,
numerously barred with dark waved lines. The tail
consists of twelve feathers, which, like the quills,
ae black, and indented across with reddish spots on
ihe edges; the tip is ash above, and glossy white
below. The legs are short, feathered to the knees, and,
in some, are bluish, in others, sallow flesh-colour; the
upper parts of the plumage are so marbled, spotted,
barred, streaked, and variegated, that to describe them
96 WOODCOCK.

with accuracy would be difficult and tedious. The colours,
consisting of black, white, grey, red, brown, rufous, and
yellow, are so disposed in rows, crossed and broken at
intervals by lines and marks of different shapes, that
the whole seems to the eye, at a little distance, blended
together and confused, which makes the bird appear
exactly like the withered stalks and leaves of ferns,
sticks, moss, and grasses, which form the back-ground
of the scenery by which it is sheltered in its moist
and solitary retreats. The sportsman only, by being
accustomed to it, is enabled to discover it; and_ his
leading marks are its full, dark eye, and glossy silver-
white-tipped tail. The female differs very little from
the male, except in being a little larger, and less brilliant
in her colours.

The woodcock is migratory, and in different seasons
is said to inhabit every climate. It leaves the countries
bordering upon the Baltic in the autumn and setting
in of winter, on its route to this country. They do
not come in large flocks, but keep dropping in upon
our shores singly, or sometimes in pairs. ‘They must
have the instinctive precaution of landing only in the night,
or m dark misty weather, for they are never seen to
arrive, but are frequently discovered the next morning
in any ditch which affords shelter, and particularly after
the great fatigue occasioned by the adverse gales which
they often have to encounter on their aerial voyage.
 

OX,

MUSK
97

MUSK OX.

Tuis animal, though of considerable size, is considered
by naturalists to form a connecting link between the
ox and the sheep; “the horns and part of the form
connecting it with the one, and the woolly hair allying
it to the other. They belong to the treeless and
barren lands of America, from the sixtieth degree of
north latitude to Melville Island. Their size is nearly
that of a small Highland bullock, rather shorter in the
legs; the head is large, and the horns, very broad,
bending backward, and almost joined at the root, cover
the brow and crown of the head; the upper lip and
part of the lower is covered with short white hair; on
the remainder of the head, and on the neck and between
the shoulders, the hair is long and somewhat curled,
of a brown colour; on the back and hips it is smooth,
and on the shoulders, sides, and thighs, it is so long
as to hang down to the middle of the legs; the hair
on the throat and chest is very straight, and, together
with the hair of the lower jaw, hangs down like a beard
or dewlap; the tail is so short as to be concealed by
the fur of the hips. The cow is less in size, and has
shorter hair on the chest and throat. Their smell is
exquisite, and warns them of danger before it can other-
wise be perceived. Its temper is rather placid.”

Dr. Richardson states that ‘notwithstanding the shortness
of its legs, the musk ox runs fast, and climbs hills and
rocks with great ease. One which we pursued on the
banks of the Coppermine, scaled a lofty sand-cliff having
so great a declivity that we were obliged to crawl on

OS N
98 MUSK OX.

our hands and knees to follow it.” Although, however
quietly disposed if not molested, the musk ox is a very
formidable opponent if assailed: thus Captain Franklin
says that “the musk oxen associate in herds, and generally
frequent barren grounds and rocky places; during the
summer months keeping near the rivers, but retire to
the woods in winter. They seem to be less watchful
than most other wild animals, and, when grazing, are
not difficult to approach, if the hunters go against the
wind. When two or three men get so near a herd
as to fire at them from different points, these animals,
instead of separating or running away, huddle close
together, and several are generally killed; but if their
wounds are not mortal they become enraged, and dart
in the most furious manner at the hunters, who must
be very dexterous to evade them. They can defend
themselves by their powerful horns against wolves and
bears, which, as the Indians say, they not unfrequently
kill.”

“The food of the musk ox appears to be the same
as that of the reindeer; browsing, during the chief
portion of the year, upon the lichens which cover the
rocks; but in summer feeding upon the twigs of willow,
birch, pine-shoots, coarse grass, and other herbage.

When fat, the flesh, especially of the bulls, is well
flavoured, and resembles that of the reindeer, but has
a coarser grain. Both sexes, when lean, smell strongly
of musk, their flesh at the same time being dark and
tough, and far inferior to that of any other North
American ruminant.”
 

BLACKBIRD.
99

BLACKBIRD.

Turis well-known bird is a very common species in
this country, and is highly esteemed on account of its
song, which, however, is by no means equal to that of
the thrush. Its outward appearance is indeed singularly
plain and unpretending, but we may hence learn that
good qualities are to be much more highly valued than
a showy exterior.

The length of the blackbird is about ten inches; the
entire plumage of the male is a shining black, the
eyelids being bright orange-colonr, and the bill of a
like cotour; the legs and toes brown, and the claws
dusky. ‘The hen bird has very little resemblance in
colour to the male. The feathers of all the upper part
are of a dusky olive brown, palest on the forehead and
the sides of the neck, and darkest over the tail. The
outer webs of the quill and tail feathers are edged with
ash-coloured brown, with lighter streaks along the shafts.
The chin is greyish white, shaded into brown rust-colour
on the upper part of the breast, the lower part being
dark ash-colour. The bill is dark brown, the edges being
yellowish brown, and the eyelids yellow.

This species is common also throughout the greater
part of Europe and Asia; as far to the north as Norway,
und towards the south as Syria. The food of the
blackbird varies according to the season of the year,
In spring and summer they eat both insects and fruits,
and in the autumn and winter they chiefly subsist on
berries, together with such insects or their larvae as, in
fewer numbers, they may then be able to obtain.
100 BLACKBIRD.

The blackbird is a more shy bird than the song
thrush or the missel thrush; and though a constant
frequenter of gardens and orchards, is, for the most part,
when observed, at least when it perceives that it is
observed, to be seen flying away, as if conscious of the
mischief that it does among the garden fruits, which
have not, it must be confessed, a more determined or
destructive enemy. Their song, however, makes amends
for many such trifling losses, and we must balance
the one against the other.

“Shy in its disposition, and solitary in its habits, this
bird conceals itself in thickets, brushwood, and clumps
of evergreens, which its short wings enable it to thread
with ease and celerity. Moist woods and tangled copses
by the river side, or, in winter, springy places, are
much sought for, as affording worms and ground insects,
in which the bird delights. Whenever it ventures from
the shelter of these retired spots, it flies with haste and
precipitation; and its colouring is so out of harmony
with the surrounding objects, as to render it of conspicuous
appearance. In a snow-scene only is its shining black
plumage seen to advantage; then it is truly picturesque.
When on the ground the blackbird runs lightly, and
looks timidly about; and, while searching for worms and
other food, frequently raises and depresses its tail with
sudden jerks, accompanied by a lateral expansion of
the tail feathers.” The blackbird will always be a
favourite with the lover of English scenery.
 

ZORILLA.
101

‘ZORILLA.

Tuts animal is a native of Spanish America, where
it is called the mariputa. It is found on the banks
of the River Orinoco; and, although extremely beautiful,
it is at the same time the most offensive of all creatures.
Its body is beautifully marked with white stripes upon
a black ground, running from the head to the middle
of the back, from whence they are crossed with other
white bands, which cover the lower part of the back
and flanks. Its tail is long and bushy, black as far
as the middle, and white to its extremity.

It is an active and mischievous little animal. Its
stench is said to extend to a considerable distance,
and is so powerful as to overcome even the panther
of America, which is one of its greatest enemies. Not-
withstanding this offensive quality in these animals, they
are frequently tamed, and will follow their master. They
do not emit their odour unless when beaten or irritated.
They are frequently killed by the native Indians, who
immediately cut away the noxious glands; thereby pre-
venting the flesh, which is good eating, from being
infected. Its taste is said nearly to resemble the flavour
of a young pig. The Indians also make purses of their
skins.

The animals of the weasel tribe are particularly dis-
tinguished by the length and slenderness of their bodies,
which are admirably adapted to their manner of living,
and method of taking their prey. They are so small
and flexible, that they can wind into very small crevices
and openings, where they easily follow the little animals
102 ZORILLA.

that serve them for food. They are all equally marked
for rapine and cruelty. As their prey is precarious, they
ean live a long time without food. When they fall in
with plenty, they immediately kill every thing within
their reach, before they begin to satisfy their appetite,
and always suck the blood of every animal they kill,
before they eat its flesh.
 
103

HORNBILL.

Tuese are a most singular kind of bird. They are
of large size, and are natives of different parts of India,
and also of Africa. Their length is about two feet
and a half; and they are described as having ‘a curved
bill of more than five inches long, having saw-like
Margins, and on its upper part a protuberance whose
shape varies with age; and in very young birds is not
even visible, rounded at the top, reaching two-thirds of
its length, and black on the fore-part. The piumage
is in general black, tinged with green on the upper
part of the body; the legs are black and very short.

They are omnivorous, eat soft fruits, reptiles, and
even carrion. ‘They are excellent mousers, and are
reared in a domestic state by the inhabitants on the
Island of Ceylon, for clearing their houses of vermin.
Their manners in the woods are singular: they seldom
visit the ground, but, flying into a tree, or from one
tree to another, they traverse the branches; commencing
with the lowest, they delight to spring from branch to
branch, till they reach the topmost, which, when they
have gained, they suddenly stop, and utter a loud roaring
sound, which may be heard at the distance of at least
half-a-mile, aud resembling the roar of some ferocious
beast, is terrific to those who do not know whence it
proceeds.” The progressive motion of these birds on
the ground, is by hopping or jumping along.

M. Lesson, in describing the habits of the hornbills,
states, “Those of Africa live on carrion; those of the
East Indies seck for fruits, especially nutmegs; and their
104 HORNBILL.

flesh thence acquires a delicious flavour. Their flight
is performed by repeated strokes of the wings, and the
air which they displace, joined to the clattering of their
mandibles, occasions a great and disquieting noise in the
forests, when the cause is unknown. This noise, capable
of inspiring terror, does not ill resemble those flows of
rough and sudden winds, which arise so unexpectedly
between the tropics, and blow so violently. The Europeans
established at the Moluccas, think that the furrows which
are seen on the beaks of the hornbills are the result of age,
and that each furrow signifies a year; whence the name
of Jerarrogel, which they give to these birds.”
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105

ESQUIMAUX DOG.

Tuts is a very handsome species or variety of dog,
and bears some resemblance both to the sheep-dog
and the wolf-dog. Its ears are short and erect, and |
its tail bushy, and carried in a curved manner over the
back. In this respect it differs from the wolf-dog,
which in general carries its tail between its legs in
running. Some of these animals are as large as the
Newfoundland dog; but for the most part they are
about a foot and a half in height, and about three
feet three inches in length, from the end of the nose
to the tip of the tail, the latter being about one foot
one inch long. In colour the Esquimaux dog varies,
some being white, some black and white, others black,
and others of a dull red.

In the “Account of the Menageries,” we find the
following particulars of these useful animals:—<“Those
people inhabiting the most northerly parts of the American
Continent, and the adjoining islands, are dependent upon
the services of these faithful dogs for most of the few
comforts of their lives—for assistance in the chase; for
carrying burdens; and for their rapid and certain con-
veyance over the trackless snows of their dreary plains.
The dogs, subjected to a constant dependence upon
their masters, receiving scanty food aud abundant
chastisement, assist them in hunting the seal, the rein-
deer, and the bear. In the summer, a single dog
carries a weight of thirty pounds, in attending his master
in pursuit of game: in winter, yoked in numbers to

heavy sledges, they drag five or six persons at the rate
23 Oo
106 ESQUIMAUX DOG.

of seven or eight miles an hour, and will perform
journeys of sixty miles a day. What the reindeer is
to the Laplander, this dog is to the Esquimaux. He
is a faithful slave, who grumbles, but does not rebel;
whose endurance never tires; and whose fidelity is never
shaken by blows and starving. These animals are
obstinate in their nature; but the women, who _ treat
them with more kindness than the men, and who nurse
them in their helpless state, or when they are sick,
have an unbounded command over their affections, and
can thus catch them at any time, and entice them
from their huts, to yoke them to the sledges, even
when they are suffering the severest hunger, and have
no resource but to eat the most tough and_ filthy
remains of animal matter which they can espy on their
laborious journey.”
 

4,
107

ROSE-COLOURED PASTOR.

Tuts handsome bird is of but very unfrequent occurrence —
in this country, but several have been observed in various
counties during the last few years, since more attention
has been paid by many persons to the study of orni- ,
thology. The rose-coloured pastor, or, as it is generally
termed, the rose-coloured starling, is about the size of
the common starling, and will be found to answer to
the following description:—“The head, which has a rather
large crest, neck, wings, and tail of the male, are black,
and the rest of a pale rose-colour, inclining to salmon-
colour, or nearly peach blossom, with the least possible
tinge of orange in it; the black of the head, crest,
and neck is intense and velvety, with exquisite, though
rather obscure, reflections of green and violet. The
female has a shorter crest, and the body more inclining
to grey or brown. The young are brown all over,
mixed with grey, especially on the throat; they want
the crest, and are sometimes like young starlings, but
more round and compact; their legs are dull brown,
whereas those of the old birds are dull red. In Britain
they are very rare stragglers, seen only in the heat of
summer; they are, indeed, only summer migrants in
the south of Europe. In the countries which they do
visit in summer, they and the orioles are of vast service
in destroying the larvee of insects.”

The rose-coloured pastor is an inhabitant of Syria,
Kigypt, and Africa, and occasionally it passes in the
summer info some of the warmer countries which lie
on the north of the Mediterranean, for the purpose of
108 ROSE-COLOURED PASTOR.

rearing its young. It is held sacred at Aleppo, on
account of the good that it does, in feeding on the
locusts, which are so great a pest in those parts of the
world.

In the translation of M. Bechstein’s work on Cage
Birds, it is related that ‘A sportsman discovered in 1794,
in the environs of Meiningen, in Suabia, a flight of
eight or ten rose ouzels, moving leisurely from south-
west to north-east, and passing from one cherry tree
to another. He fired on these birds; only one fell,
which was fortunately very slightly wounded, so that it
soon recovered. Being immediately carried to M. Von
Wachter, the rector of Frickenhausen, this clergyman
took the greatest care of it: he gave it a spacious cage;
and found that barley-meal, moistened with milk, was
as wholesome as agreeable to it. His kindness tamed
it in a short time so far that it would come and take
from his hand the insects which he offered it. It soon
sang also, but its warbling consisted at first of but a
few harsh sounds, pretty well connected, however; and
this became at length more clear and smooth. Con-
noisseurs in the songs of birds discover in this song a
mixture of many others: one of these connoisseurs, who
had not discovered the bird, but heard its voice, thought
he was listening to a concert of two starlings, two
goldfinches, and perhaps a siskin; and when he saw
that it was a single bird, he could not conceive how
all this music proceeded from the same throat. This
bird was still alive in 1802, and the delight of its
possessor.”
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109

SQUIRREL PETAURUS.

Tus beautiful little quadruped is an inhabitant of
New South Wales, and is said to be very plentiful at
the foot of the Blue Mountains, and is called by the
colonists the sugar squirrel. Its fur is extremely soft
and beautiful, and is occasionally made use of by the
natives to form the scanty covering worn by some few
among the least barbarous of the race. Could it be
obtained in sufficient quantity, it would furnish a very
elegant and delicate fur, and might form a useful branch
of commerce in that distant and improving colony.

The squirrel petaurus during the day generally remains
quietly nestled in the hollows of trees, but becomes
lively as night advances, and skims through the air,
supported by its lateral expansions, half leaping, half
flying, from branch to branch, feeding upon leaves and
insects. This peculiar mode of locomotion can scarcely
be considered as a true flight, as the folds which serve
the purposes of wings, seem more for the support of
the animal in its long and desperate leaps, than for
raising it in the air and directing its course. It has
been doubted, however, whether these little animals are
entirely destitute of the power of exercising their will
in their flying leaps. The following anecdote bears upon
this subject:—On board a vessel sailing off the coast
of New Holland was a squirrel petaurus, which was
permitted to roam about the ship. On one occasion
it reached the mast-head, and as the sailor, who was
dispatched to bring it down, approached, made a spring
from aloft to avoid him. At this moment the ship gave
110 SQUIRREL PETAURUS.

a heavy lurch, which, if the original direction of the
little creature’s course had been continued, must have
plunged it into the sea. All who witnessed the scene
were in pain for its safety; but it suddenly appeared
to check itself, and so to modify its career that it
alighted safely on the deck.

Two of these animals, in a state of captivity, remained
during the day ina torpid state, rolled up in a bed of
wool and soft hay. At night they became animated,
and traversed their cage with great rapidity, leaping
from one part to another, and gambolling in the exu-
berance of a sportive disposition. At the same time
they were timid, and by no means remarkable for
intelligence.

In size this animal is about equal to the common
squirrel; and its tail is rather longer than its body.
Its colour is grey above, somewhat darker on the head,
and white beneath. A black line passes from the point
of the nose, along the back, towards the tail, and the
lateral folds of the skin are bounded in front and on
the sides by asimilar band, which mixes gradually with
the grey of the body; the outer margins of those ex-
pansions are tinged with white. The eyes are full and
large.
    

    

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SUN-BIRD.

Tue sun-birds are closely alhed to the humming-
birds, whom they resemble in many parts of their
economy, though they differ in some essential parts of
their structure, so as to be placed by naturalists in a
different family. Like the humming-birds, they inhabit
the tropical parts of the world, being found in the
central regions of Asia and Africa, as well as in some
parts of South America, and the adjacent islands.

Among the different members of the family of the
sun-birds, we find a very great contrast of species, and
also a very considerable variety of form; the latter chiefly
occurring in the shape of the tail, which is either
generally even, much elongated, and wedge-shaped, or
with the two central feathers only lengthened and narrow.
The wings are rather rounded, the four quill feathers
being rather short, and the plumage is most brilliant.
In most of the species the crown of the head and the
feathers on the throat have on them a patch of metallic
lustre, and the breast banded with some bright shades
of intense blue, red, or yellow. It is difficult to know
which to choose among so many, where each, on being
examined, seems almost more beautiful than the other;
but the one figured is, as will appear, well worthy of
delineation.

The scarlet-bellied sun-bird has the whole of the crown
and the back part of the head green, with reflections
of gold-colour; the cheeks, and the parts about the ears,
black; the sides of the neck, the nape, and the greater
wing coverts, rich purple red; the lesser wing coverts,
112 SUN-BIRD.

green, similar to the patch on the crown; the lower
part of the back, and the upper tail coverts, rich metallic
olive-green, with reflections of purple. The tail is black;
the chin, throat, and fore part of the neck, purple of
a splendid hue; the lower part of the breast, scarlet;
and the under tail coverts green.

‘Who can paint like nature?
Can imagination form, amid her gay creation,
Hues like these?”

The sun-birds, like their neighbours in classification,
the humming-birds, are almost constantly busy in insert-
ing their long and curved bills into flowers, to sip the
sweets on which they subsist. Great numbers of them
are to be seen about the open blossoms, on which they
alight, but do not poise themselves, as the humming-
birds do.

In the structure of their nests the sun-birds also
exhibit some degree of difference from the humming-
birds, many of them building in the crevices and hollow
parts of trees, and others in thick bushes, They are
formed of the softest part of the down of plants, and
covered on the outside with lichens and fine mosses.
‘Mr. Jerdon thus describes one which was built close
to his house in India. He says that it was commenced
on a thick spider's web, by attaching to it various
fragments of paper, cloth, straw, grass, and other sub-
statices, till it had secured a firm hold of the twigs to
which the web adhered, and the nest, suspended on
this, was then completed by adding other fragments of
the same materials; the entrance being at one side, near
the top, and a slight projecting roof or awning over #.
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113

BEAVER.

Tue beaver is one of the most wonderful animals
in existence. It was formerly an inhabitant of England,
and the names of some places are still in existence
as a record of the fact, as, for instance, Beverley, in
Yorkshire, formerly, it is believed, spelled Beverlac, or
the lake of beavers; Bevere, in Worcestershire, and
perhaps others.

“The beaver forms one of that class of animals which
are called amphibious, that is, capable of living both
on land and in water; all such, however, we find are
more attached to the water, and generally make for it
when pressed by any danger. The beaver is the only
creature, among quadrupeds, that has a flat broad tail,
covered with scales, which it uses as a rudder in the
water. Its toes are webbed, which enables it to swim
with great facility. It is about three feet long, and
nearly one foot high.

It is found in the northern parts of Europe, Asia,
and America; but it is chiefly in the latter where it has
been last discovered that its instincts are most strongly
marked-—where they erect habitations with wonderful
ingenuity and regularity. They cut with surprising ease
large pieces of wood, which they fix on the ground at
a small distance one from the other, filling up the inter-
stices with clay. Having thus formed a dam against the
violence of the stream, they next construct their apart-
ments; the inside of which they plaster with great neatness;
then they bring forth their young, and live in families;

and here also they lay up wood, cut into billets of
aa P
1li4 BEAVER.

convenient size for their consumption at their leisure.

These stores are larger or smaller in proportion to
the number in family. The logs are not thrown up in
one continual pile, but laid one across the other, as
chandlers pile their bars of soap, in order to take out,
with the greater facility but just such a quantity as
they shall want for their immediate consumption, and
those parcels only which lie at the bottom in the water,
and have been duly steeped. This timber is cut again
into small particles, and conveyed to one of their
largest lodges, where the whole family meet to consume
their respective dividends, which are made impartially,
in even and. equal portions.

Such as are used to hunt these animals know perfectly
well that green wood is much more acceptable to them
than that which is old and dry; for which reason they
plant a considerable quantity of it round their lodgments ;
and as they come out to partake of it, they either
catch them in snares or take them by surprise. In
the winter, when frosts are very severe, they sometimes
break a large hole in the ice; and when the beavers
resort thither for the benefit of a little fresh air, they
either kill them with their hatchets or cover the opening
with a large substantial net. After this, they undermine
and subvert the whole fabric; whereupon the beavers,
in hopes to make their escape in the usual way, fly
with the utmost precipitation to the water, and plunging
into the aperture, fall directly into the net, and are
inevitably taken.”
 

+ T << s. “A
“TANT BREVE
115

GIANT BREVE.

THE various species of breves are natives of India
and the adjacent islands, and Australia. They are re-
markable for the vivid and strongly contrasted hues of
their plumage; for the length of the legs; and the
shortness of the erect tail. The predominant colour
is metallic green, variegated with azure-blue, scarlet,
and black; and some species, with a hood of the latter
tint, appear to be confined to Australia and the neigh-
bouring islands of the Indian Sea. The ant-thrushes,
principally confined to Tropical America, represent the
breves in that portion of the world, but differ from
those splendid birds in having an abruptly-hooked and
strongly-toothed bill, and soberly-coloured plumage.

The utility of the ant-thrushes in their native regions
is thns commented upon by Mr. Swainson:—“Of all
the tribes of insects which swarm in the tropics, the
ants are the most numerous; they are the universal
devastators, and in the dry and overgrown forests of
the interior, the traveller can scarcely proceed five paces
without treading upon their nests. To keep these
myriads within due limits, a wise Providence has called
into existence the ant-thrushes, and has given to them
this particular food. Both are proportionate in their
geographic range, for beyond the tropical latitudes the
ants suddenly decrease, and their enemies, the ant-thrushes,
totally disappear.

The giant breve in size is equal to a magpie, but
the tail is short and squared, and the wings cover it
entirely, A very brilliant azure-blue covers the back,
116 GIANT BREVE.

and the tail; a less vivid tint is spread over the wings,
the quills of which are black, coloured with azure towards
the tip; top of the head, nape, and a streak on the
lower part of the neck, black; feathers of the front and
eyebrows, ashy brown; throat, whitish; an ashy brown
tint is spread over all the lower parts; the feet are
very long, and of a horny ash-colour; total length, nine
inches.
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117

LYNX.

Tuis animal, which belongs to the tiger or cat tribe,
is a very abundant one in the southern districts of
Europe and the northern parts of Asia and America.
It is a savage wild animal, and very difficult indeed
to tame. It has bright eyes and a mild aspect, by no
means corresponding with its real character. It is, we
see, in animals as in human beings, that we must not
always—nay we never should judge by appearances
only, for they are often most fallacious, and if we
trust only to them in forming a judgment, we shall
most assuredly very often be led wrong in our conclusions.
This animal is on the whole very lively and sprightly,
so much so, indeed, that any one who is more than
ordinarily quick and sharp-sighted, is called from it a
lynx-eyed person.

“The usual length of the common lynx is about four
feet and a half from the nose to the tail; or five feet
including the tail; and its height, one foot and four
inches. The fur is long, thick, and soft, of a greyish
ash-colour on the upper parts, with a reddish tinge,
marked with dusky spots, which differ much according
to the age of the animal, as sometimes they are scarcely
visible; and the under parts, are white. The legs and
feet are thick, short, and strong, covered with long fur;
and the tail black at its extremity. The ears are erect,
and have a long tuft of black hair at the tip; and the
eyes are of a pale yellow, and have nothing extraordinary
about their appearance, to give the slightest support to
the assertions of the ancients; namely, that the lynx
118 LYNX.

could see through a stone wall or a rock with the utmost
ease, and without the use of spectacles.”

The lynx ‘advances by leaping and bounding, and
will scale the loftiest trees; so that neither wild cat nor
squirrel are more secure than the stag or the hare. He
always fixes on the throat of the animal, and when he
has sucked the blood, leaves the carcase; thus revelling
in destruction, and doing immense mischief among the
weaker or more harmless inhabitants of the forest.”
Lynxes conceal themselves in the thick parts of dense
woods, and prey not only on the animals which are
there to be found, such as the stag, the roebuck,
sheep, hares, and others, but also ascend with facility
the highest trees, and there capture the nimble squirrels,
and even birds.

“In captivity they are remarkably irritable, and are
seldom thoroughly tamed. The softness and warmth
of the fur renders it a valuable and extensive article
of commerce.”
yA

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119

SHRIKE.

THERE are only two species of shrike found in this
country, the great ash-coloured shrike, and the red-
backed shrike; the latter is much the more common
of the two, being far from unfrequent in the south of
England, where it is a summer visitant. The former
is a rare bird, but is occasionally met with in the more
northern districts in the winter.

Both of these species, as well as others of the same
genus, have the extraordinary habit of fixing their food,
which for the most part consists of insects, on a thorn
on a hedge before they eat it.

The weight of this species rather exceeds two ounces;
length, ten inches; breadth, fourteen; the bill is black,
strong, and much hooked at the end; irides, dusky;
the mouth beset with strong bristles—from the base of
the upper mandible to the eye a black stripe. The
plumage of the whole upper part is a pale ash-colour,
except the scapulars, which are white; the coverts of
the wings, black; quill feathers, black, with a white bar
across their middle, and many of them tipped with
white; the under parts, from chin to tail, white. The
tail consists of twelve feathers of unequal length, which
gives it a wedge-formed shape; the two middle ones are
black, the next slightly tipped with white, on the rest
the white gradually increases obliquely to the outer
feather, which is only black at the base; legs, black.
The female differs chiefly in the under parts, which are
of a dirty white, marked with numerous semicircular
brown lines.
120 SHRIKE.

“T could never observe,” says Mr. Knapp, “that this ©
bird destroyed others smaller than itself, or even fed
upon flesh. I have hung up dead young birds, and
even parts of them, near their nests, but never found
that they were touched by the shrike. Yet it appears
that it must be a butcher too, and that the name
‘lanius,’ bestowed on it by Gesner, two hundred and
fifty years ago, was not lightly given. My neighbour's
gamekeeper kills it as a bird of prey, and tells me
he has known it draw the weak pheasants through the
bars of the breeding-coops; and others have assured
me, that they have killed them when banquetting on
the carcase of some little bird they had captured. All
small birds have an antipathy to the shrike, betray anger,
and utter the moan of danger, when it approaches their
nests. I have often heard this signal of distress, and,
cautiously approaching to learn the cause, have frequently
found that this butcher-bird occasioned it. They will
mob, attack, and drive it away, as they do the owl,
as if fully acquainted with its plundering propensities.
Linnzeus attached to it the trivial epithet ‘excubitor,’
asentinel; a very apposite appellation, as this bird
seldom conceals itself in a bush, but sits perched on
some spray, in an open situation.”
 

PacIN NES

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121

FASCICULATED PORCUPINE.

Tus animal is a native of the Malayan peninsula,
and is also found in Sumatra. “Porcupines,” says Mr.
Hodgson, “are very numerous and very mischievous in |
some parts of India, where they depredate greatly among
the potatoe, and other tuberous or edible-rooted crops.
They are most numerous in the central region, but are
common to all three regions. They breed in spring, and
usually produce two young about the time the crops
begin to ripen. They dwell together in pairs, in burrows
of their own formation. Their flesh is delicious, like
pork, but much more delicately flavoured; and they are
easily tamed, so as to breed in confinement. ll tribes
and classes, even high-caste Hindoos, eat them; and _ it
is deemed lucky to keep one or two alive in stables,
where they are encouraged to breed. Royal stables are
seldom without at least one of them.”

This species differs from the common poreupine by
having little or no crest. The spines commence upon
the back of the head, where they are little more than
an inch in length, and extend to the root of the tail,
occupying nearly the whole of the back and sides: the
longest are scarcely more than from four to five inches in
length. They are mostly white at the base, and black
towards the extremity. A few slenderer spines are
occasionally intermixed with the others. The entire length
of the body is little more than a foot, and the tail about
five inches.

In common with the rest of its tribe, the fasciculated
porcupine, in confinement, sleeps during the day, and

3 % Q
122 FASCICULATED PORCUPINE.

becomes, in some degree, active only on the approach of
night. Its intelligence is equally limited, and its manners
equally fretful, with those of the common species. Like
it, it raises its spines when irritated or disturbed, stamps
with its feet upon the floor of its cage, and swells and
looks big in its defensive armour.

Dr. Bashman, who kept a porcupine in confinement
for some time, relates that upon one occasion it made
its escape into his garden, and when there, was attacked
by a large mastiff belonging to a neighbour. At the
moment of attack, the porcupine, by raising its spines
and long fur, appeared suddenly to have become twice
its usual bulk. It gave the dog a lash with its tail;
the dog immediately retreated, and commenced howling;
its nose, mouth, and tongue so beset with the porcupine’s
spines, that it could not close its jaws. These spines
were immediately extracted, but the dog’s head was very
much swollen for some weeks afterwards, and it was
two months before it fully recovered.
 

RUBY-THROATED
123

RUBY-THROATED HUMMING-BIRD.

Tuts is an American species, and a beautiful one,
where all are beautiful. “Never was I more excited
to wonder than by one of these little creatures,” says
Captain Head, in his “Forest Scenes;” so much more °
resembling a splendid shining insect than a bird. It
was on a fine day at the commencement of an American
summer, on the banks of Lake Huron, that I first
beheld them. Beautiful birds were drinking, and splashing
themselves in the water; and gaudy butterflies, of a
very large size, were fanning the air with their yellow
and black wings. At this moment a little blazing
meteor shot, like a glowing coal of fire, across the glen;
and I saw for the first time, with admiration and
astonishment, what in a moment I recognised—that
resplendent living gem, the humming-bird!”

A very complete account of this species is given by
Wilson, the celebrated American ornithologist, who informs
us that the humming-bird usually arrives in Pennsylvania
about the 25th. of April, and about the 10th. of May
begins to build its nest. This is generally fixed on
the upper side of a horizontal branch, not among the
twigs, but on the body of the branch itself. The branch
is seldom more than ten feet from the ground. The
nest is about an inch in diameter, and as much in depth.
The outward coat is formed of small pieces of a species
of a bluish grey lichen, that vegetates on old trees and
fences, giving firmness and consistency to the whole;
within this are thick matted layers of the fine wings
of certain flying sceds, closely laid together.
124 RUBY-THROATED HUMMING-BIRD.

The following is part of the description of this lovely
little bird, as given by Wilson:—‘The humming-bird
is three inches and a half in length, and four and a
quarter in extent; the whole back, upper parts of the
neck, sides under the wings, tail coverts, and two middle
feathers of the tail, are of a rich golden green; the
tail is forked, and, as well as the wings, of a deep
brownish purple; the bill and eyes are black; the legs
and feet, both of which are extremely small, are also
black; the bill is straight. But what constitutes the
chief ornament of this little bird, is the splendour of
the feathers of his throat, which, placed in a proper
position, glow with all the brillianey of the ruby.”

“The humming-bird,” says Bishop Stanley, “is ex-
tremely fond of tubular flowers; and I have often stopped
with pleasure to observe his mancuvres among the
trumpet-flowers. When arrived before a thicket of these
that are full blown, he poises, or suspends himself
on the wing, for the space of two or three seconds, so
steadily that his wings become invisible, or only like a
mist, and yet, can plainly distinguish the pupil of his
eye looking round with great quickness and circum-
spection; the glossy green of his back, and the fire of
his throat, dazzling in the sun, form altogether a most
interesting appearance. He is one of the few birds that
are universally beloved.”
 

G

CRAB-EHATIN
CRAB-EATING OPOSSUM.

THERE are several species of these somewhat singular
animals, as for instance the one before us, the marmose
opossum, the Mexican opossum, the flying opossum, and
the common opossum. The following is the generic ©
description: —“‘Animals of this genus have a lengthened
head, with a large mouth, containing fifty teeth, and
on the upper lip numerous long divergent whiskers; their
ears are large and naked; their tail shorter than the
body, prehensile, and for the most part covered by
scales, intermingled with bristles; the colour of the fur
is whitish grey. The limbs are short, with five toes on
each, the fore ones armed with claws; on the hinder
there are opposable thumbs, without nails, which give
them the power of hands. Their walk is slow and
clumsy on the ground; but they are expert at climbing
trees, and in all their movements among the branches,
where they most commonly reside.

Their food consists of birds, eggs, small animals, and
insects; and by simply curving its tail at the extremity,
the opossum sustains his weight, and depending from
the branch of a tree or any other projection, hangs in
full security, rifles the birds’ nests, gathers fruit, or
seizes any prey within its reach; and to regain his
position, a little contraction of the tail easily throws
him up, or if any lesser animal happen to pass under-
neath, he drops upon it with unerring aim, and quickly
devours it. He is also guilty of stealing into the
poultry-yard, where he commits great devastation, cutting
the throats of the fowls, and sucking their blood, and
126 CRAB-EATING OPOSSUM.

destroying more than he can eat.

His habits are nocturnal, and he is therefore hunted
on moonlight nights. When about being seized, he will
_ drop from the branch, and feigning himself dead, will
lie still among the long grass, where he cannot easily
be discovered, and thus escapes. Even if caught, he
still continues to feign a death-like appearance, till deceit
can be no longer of any avail; and so expert is he at
this trick, that ‘He is playing opossum” has become
an American proverb, to denote a dissembler.

The opossum is hunted by the Americans, for the
sake of its flesh and its fat, both of which are useful.
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127

SUMMER DUCK.

“THis most beautiful of all our ducks,” says Wilson,
“has probably no superior among its whole tribe for
richness and variety of colours. It is called the wood
duck, from the circumstance of its breeding in hollow °
trees; and the summer duck, from its remaining with
us, (the Americans,) chiefly during the summer.”

The summer duck seldom flies in flocks of more than
three or four individuals together, and most commonly
in pairs, or singly. Their food consists principally of
acorns, the seeds of wild oats, and insects.

This elegant bird has often been tamed, and soon
becomes so familiar as to permit one to stroke its back
with the hand. A Mr. Nicholls had a whole yard
swarming with summer ducks, which he had tamed and
completely domesticated, so that they bred, and were as
familiar as any other tame fowls.

Among other gaudy feathers with which the Indians
ornament the calumet, or pipe of peace, the skin of the
head and neck of the summer duck is frequently seen
covering the stem. :

The eggs, twelve or thirteen in number, are of an
exact oval shape, less than those of the common hen,
the surface exceedingly fine-grained, and of the highest
polish, and slightly tinged with yellow; greatly resem-
bling old polished ivory.

The wood duck is one foot seven inches in length,
and the wings measure two feet four inches in extent.
The bill is red, margined with black; a spot of black
lies between the nostrils, reaching nearly to the tip, which
128 SUMMER DUCK.

is also of the same colour, and furnished with a large
hooked nail, or tooth as it is sometimes called. The
eye is of an orange red colour; the forehead, crown of
the head, and the crest, which is pendent, is of a rich
glossy brouze green, ending in violet, elegantly marked
with a line of pure white, running from the upper part
of the bill over the eye, and with another band of white
proceeding from behind the eye, both mingling their long
plumes with the green and violet ones, producing a rich
effect; chin, throat, and collar round the neck, pure
white. The breast is dark violet brown, marked on the
fore part with minute triangular spots of white, increas-
ing in size until they spread into the white of the lower
part: each side of the breast is bounded by a large
crescent of white, and that again by a broader one of
deep black. The sides under the wings are thickly and
beautifully marked with fine undulating parallel Jines of
black, on a ground of yellowish drab; the back is dusky
bronze, reflecting green; the tail glossy green above, and
dusky beneath; the legs and feet yellowish red; the claws
strong and hooked.

The summer duck has been but rarely killed in
England.
      
   
    
  
 
       

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SILKY TAMARIN.
129

SILKY TAMARIN.

Tats neat little animal is a native of Guiana and
Brazil. It is often brought to Europe, where its beauty:
mild temper, and gentleness, render it a great favourite.
These animals, from the delicacy of their constitution,
cannot be kept alive in this country without the greatest
care to preserve them from the influence of atmospheric
changes, and especially from the cold and humidity of
the winter season: under the depressing effects of wet
and chilly weather, they lose all their sprightliness, droop,
and die. They shew a liking for milk, boiled rice,
Indian corn, and other grain; but prefer ripe fruits, as
more in unison with their natural food.

One kept in confinement, was very active and lively, and,
like a bird, preferred the topmost perches of the cage.
When descending, which was done but rarely, it always
climbed down backwards; it never walked upright, and
its tail was always hanging down. On the least alarm,
it always concealed itself; and though it appeared gratified
with the notice and caresses of those whom it knew,
and came to them when called, it never returned any
expressions or signs of attachment as other monkeys do,
when noticed by persons to whom they are attached. It
disliked strangers, and retired from them, regarding them
with looks of defiance, and menacing with its feeble
teeth. Fear or anger it expressed by a short sharp
whistling cry, but sometimes, as if from ennui, it raised
its voice into a louder and more prolonged note.

Little is known of their native habits; but in its
native forests, of which it is one of the ornaments, it

a0 Rn
130 SILKY TAMARIN.

is thought that they live a good deal in the manner
of the squirrels, and that they remain almost constantly
on the trees; bounding with rapidity from tree to tree,
uttering sharp but weak cries of alarm, and apparently
dispersing at the first appearance of strangers. .

The silky tamarin searcely measures, in total length,
two feet, of which the tail alone occupies one. The
fur is long, silky, and of a golden yellow; the hairs of
the head long and falling, parted down the middle of
the crown by a line of rust-brown hairs; ears concealed
by the long hair of the head; tail rather bushy at its
extremity. The gloss upon the fur is particularly rich
when held in the sun.
131

EMERALD BiRD OF PARADISE.

Tue birds of paradise, says M. Lesson, the eminent
naturalist, or at least the emerald, the only species
concerning which we possess authentic information, live
in troops in the vast forests of the country of the’
Papuans, a group of islands situated under the equator,
and which is composed of the islands Arou, Wagiou,
and the great island called New Guinea. They are
birds of passage, changing their quarters according to
the monsoons. The females congregate in troops, and
assemble upon the tops of the highest trees in the
forests.

The following is the description given of the species
before us:—The body, both above and below, is of a
brown colour, covered in front with close-set velvet-
black feathers, shot with emerald green. The crown of
the head and the upper part of the neck is light yellow;
and the upper part of the throat golden green; the
front of the neck, brown, with a tinge of violet blue.
The sides of the bird are adorned with bundles of very
long plumes, with loose filaments of yellowish white,
slightly spotted towards the end with purple red. These
plumes are so long that they extend considerably beyond
the end of the tail. Two long curved shafts also,
furnished with stiff hairs, spring from each side over the
tail, and extend to a length of nearly two feet. The
bill is horn-colour, and the feet lead colour. The whole
Jength, from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail,
is about one foot one inch.

Soon after our arrival, says the same author, speaking
132 EMERALD BIRD OF PARADISE.

of the country of Guinea, I was on a shooting excursion.
Scarcely had I walked some hundred paces in those
ancient forests, the daughters of time, whose sombre
depth was perhaps the most magnificent and stately
sight that I had ever seen, when a bird of paradise
struck my view. It flew gracefully, and in undulations;
the feathers of its sides formed an elegant and aerial
plumage, which, without exaggeration, bore no remote
resemblance to a brilliant meteor. Surprised, astounded,
enjoying an inexpressible gratification, | devoured this
splendid bird with my eyes; but my emotion was so
great that I forgot to shoot at it, and did not recollect
that I had a gun in my hand till it was far away.

It is at the rising and setting of the sun that the
bird of paradise goes to seek its food. In the middle
of the day it remains hidden under the ample fold of
the teak tree, and comes not forth. It seems to dread
the scorching rays of the sun, and to be unwilling to
expose itself to the heat.

One of the best opportunities of seeing this splendid
bird in all its beauty of action, as well as display of
plumage, is early in the morning, when he makes his
toilet; the beautiful plumage underneath the wing is
then thrown out, and cleaned from any spot that may
sully its purity by being passed gently through its bill;
the short chocolate-coloured wings are extended to
the utmost, and he keeps them in a steady flapping
motion, as if in imitation of their use in flight, at the
same time raising up the delicate long feathers over the
‘back, which are spread in a chaste and elegant manner,
floating like films in the ambient air.
 

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COATI.

THe coatis, or coati-mondis, as they are generally
called, are natives of the warmer parts of the American
continent; they approximate to the racoons in their
general habits, and were formerly placed by Linnzeus
among the weasels. “In captivity,” says Linneus Martin,
“these animals sleep much during the day, and are most
active as the evening advances, at which time they
traverse their cage, turn their snout from side to side,
and pry into every corner. They do not, however, pass
the whole of the day in sleep, but are active for hours
together, retiring to rest only at intervals.

In drinking, the coati laps like a dog; but, as its long
snout would be in the way during this operation, it turns
it up, so as to prevent its being submerged.

These animals are highly gifted with the sense of
smell; they examine everything with their long nose,
which is in almost perpetual motion. Their temper is
irritable and capricious; they cannot be trusted, even
by those with whose persons they are the most familiar,
and, consequently, are not to be touched without great
caution; we have, however, seen some individuals toler-
ably good tempered, but most are savage, and their bite
is very severe. Their voice, seldom exerted, is, under
ordinary circumstances, a gentle hissing; but when
irritated or alarmed, they utter a singularly shrill ery,
something like that of a bird. They defend themselves
vigorously when attacked by a dog, or any animal, and
inflict desperate wounds. Like the racoon, they are
said to be fond of the juice of the sugar-cane, but we
134 COATI.

know not on what authority. Azara does not allude to
this partiality; it is, however, far from being improbable.
In climbing they descend head foremost, being in this
respect unlike the bear, which animal they far surpass
in activity, being indeed better climbers than even the
cat, and exceeded among their own tribe only by the
kinkajon, whose prehensile tail gives it a great advan-
tage. In their native climate thev tenant the woods,
living for the most part in small troops among the
trees, which they climb with great address, and prey
upon birds, which they surprise, rifling also their nest of
eggs, or the unfledged young.”

In colour, different individuals of this species vary very
considerably, the general brown colour being more or less
tinged with yellow, and in some shaded with black. The
tail is ringed with black and yellow, and is naturally
longer than the body, but is not unfrequently shortened
by the animal itself eating off a considerable portion of
the end of it. The proverb truly says that there is no
accounting for tastes; and the writer himself once knew
a little terrier dog to devour the end of its own tail
immediately after it had been chopped off.
 

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135

BLUE TITMOUSE.

Tats is one of our commonest British species of this
genus of birds, of which we have several kinds in this
country, namely, the great titmouse, the long-tailed .
titmouse, the crested titmouse, the cole titmouse, the
marsh titmouse, and the blue titmouse—the one before us.

All of these birds are alike in their habits, so that
in a general description of one, we have a description
of all, except as regards their plumage.

The blue titmouse is one of the most beautiful of our
native species, and may be seen in the winter season
on almost every hedge; it frequents also gardens and
orchards, and, being a bold and fearless bird. affords
abundant opportunities for examination of its habits. It
is ever active, ceaseless, and restless in its prying search
for food among the buds and blossoms of trees, where
the insects, on which it feeds, lie concealed, and assumes
an endless variety of interesting and amusing attitudes.

“In winter the blue titmouse resorts to stack-yards,
where it finds both food and shelter, nestling at night
in holes about the sides or under the thatching of hay
or corn-stacks, and puffing out its feathers, so as to
resemble a ball of down. This species lives in holes
of trees or walls, and forms its nest of mosses, lined
with feathers and hair; its eggs, from six to eight in
number, are white, spotted with brown, especially at the
larger end. These birds resolutely defend their nests
against intruders, and if an attempt be made upon it, bite
with great severity, ruffling up their soft full plumage,
and hissing like a snake or angry kitten, thereby often
136 _ BLUE TITMOUSE.

deterring the school-boy from carrying his intentions
into effect.’ This is, however, only the natural and
most laudable spirit shewn by the parent bird in defence
of its nest and young; and shews how cruel it is to
rob birds of that for which they have so strong and
natural affection.

These birds often build their nests in the most sin-
gular situations. Not unfrequently the top of a pump
is made use of, and even, though the pnmp may be
constantly worked, the bird does not quit the situation
she has chosen. Bishop Stanley says of one instance
of the kind, “It happened that during the time of
building, and laying the eggs, the pump had not been
in use; and when again set going, the female was
sitting; and it was naturally supposed that the motion
of the pump handle would drive her away. The young
brood, however, were hatched safely, without any other
misfortune than the loss of a part of the tail of the
sitting bird, which was rubbed off by the friction of the
pump handle.”
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HARNESSED ANTELOPE.
137

HARNESSED ANTELOPE.

Tis is one of the most beautiful of the antelope
tribe, the general ground colour of the body being a
bright fulvous, streaked with lines of white, giving the
animal somewhat of the appearance of the camelopard.

The harnessed antelope is about the same size as the
fallow deer; the horns are black, and about seven inches
in length. “This beautiful species,” says Mr. Fennell,
in his “History of Quadrupeds,” “inhabits the woods at
the sides of the Senegal, Niger, and Gambia rivers; but,
as with several other antelopes, very little is known of
its habits. Its full length is four feet and a half; its
height at the shoulders is two feet six inches, but it is
rather higher at the croup. The ground colours are fawn
and white variously marked; along the back there is a
stripe of white and black mixed, and from this stripe some-
times a greater or smaller number of white streaks pass
backwards and downwards, and are crossed by longitudinal
ones of the same colour, nearly parallel to the ridge of
the back, and giving the animal the appearance of being
in harness. But this uniform marking is not always
present; and it is said that no two specimens are
marked exactly alike. The male only has horns, which
are straight, but wreathed with two ridges in the form
of a double screw, prominent at the base, but becoming
obliterated near the tips.”

This animal appears to be rare, at least in those parts
of the continent of Africa in which it has been met
with, namely in Senegal, in the county of Podor, about
sixty leagues inland from the sea, and in Caffragia,

a6 8
138 HARNESSED ANTELOPE.

according to Lichtenstein; but Burcheil did not meet
with it there. It is, however, far from improbable that
it may be plentiful in some parts of the vast interior
of that little-known part of the world, to which no
traveller has ever yet made his way, and in endeavouring
to attain to which, so many have lost their lives.
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139

RUFF.

Tue roff is a very singular bird in its appearance;
certainly one of the most so that we have in this coun-
try. It is chiefly remarkable for tbe ruff-like circlet of
feathers round its neck, from whence it derives its name.
It is also remarkable in another respect, namely, that
no two individuals are alike in the colouring of their
plumage in this part. Moreover, the female, called the
reeve, is without the ruff, which therefore only distin-
guishes the male bird.

-Owing to the great demand for these birds for the
table, and for preservation of the stuffed skin, the
abundant use of guns, the invasion by population of
their haunts, and, perhaps, the drainage of the marshy
vicinage of some parts of the coast, they are become far
less numerous than they used to be, especially in ancient
times, when they were very abundant.

The prevailing colour of the plumage of the ruff is
brown, inclining in some specimens to rufous, and in
others to grey.

The ruff is so pugnacious that Linnzus conferred upon
him the surname of ‘the warlike. Their contests are
frequent and mortal; and, so intent are they on mutual
destruction, that they allow the fowlers to take them in
nets rather than desist: Even in confinement, they evince
their untameable animosity; nor is it till they are fairly
matched that they become peaceable and sedate.

This bird weighs seven ounces, and is one foot in
length. They nestle in tufts of grass in fens, and have
four white eggs, marked with rusty spots. They are
146 RUFF.

fattened for sale, but the people who fatten them must
keep them shut up in dark apartments; for if the least
light were admitted, the turbulent things would instantly
attack each other, nor cease till one fell, “especially,”
as an old naturalist tells us, ‘if anybody stands by.”’
These birds belong to the north of Europe, and such of
them as visit Britain, are chiefly to be found in the breed-
ing season in the fens of Lincolnshire.

How unamiable does a quarrelsome disposition appear
even in a bird. How much more beloved is the tender
dote, the emblem of peace and of the gracious gifts of
the Holy Spirit of God, than any that are of a contrary
mood. How well would it be for all if they would follow
the instructions of God’s most holy word, in this as in
all other respects, and ‘seek peace and ensure it,”
“follow peace with all inen, and holiness, without which
no man shall see the Lord.”
 

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141

RATEL.

Tue ratel is a native of the Cape of Good Hope,
from whence it is frequently known by the name of the
Cape ratel.

The height of this animal is about ten or twelve °
inches, and its length two feet and a half. The fur is
rather smooth, though strong, and, according to Sparrman,
the skin is so exceedingly tough that “if any body
catches hold of him by the bind part of his neck, he
is able to turn round, as it were, in his skin, and bite
the arm of the person that seizes him.” This is most
probably an exaggeration, but it is quite certain that its
hide is astonishingly tough and impenetrable, so much
so, “that it is said a pack of dogs, sufficient in number
to overcome a moderate-sized lion, have sometimes failed
in their attack upon a ratel. The crown of the head is
of a whitish grey colour; and, from the back of the
head to the root of the tail, the upper surface of the
body is of a dull ash grey, which colour strongly contrasts
with the jet-black of the under parts of the animal. It
has no external ears, but merelv a slightly elevated margin
surrounding an auditury aperture. The legs are short
and stout, and the feet have five toes, surmounted by
arched unretractile claws, which are grooved beneath, and
those of the fore-feet are about an inch and a half in
length, being longer than those of the hinder pair, and
well adapted for digging.” It is the opinion of Sparrman,
and indeed of all subsequent travellers, that the ratel
subsists entirely on bees, whose nests it plunders; and
though there is some reason to suppose that it may eat
142 RATEL.

other food, yet it is not certain. They are fond of
climbing, but perform this operation in a clumsy manner,
although they will ramble securely along every arm of
a branching. tree, provided it is sufficiently strong to
bear their weight. They sleep much during the day,
but become watchful at night, and manifest their un-
easiness by a hoarse call or bark, proceeding from their
throat.

The same traveller also relates, on the authority of
the Hottentots and the Dutch colonists, that at sunset,
the time at which the ratel seeks its food, it sits up on
the ground, and raising one of its paws to shade it
from the rays of the sun, it looks out carefully on either
side, watching the flight of the bees until it perceives
many flying in one direction; these it watches carefully,
and then follows to their nest, which is generally placed
in some hole in the ground. Probably the thickness of
its skin now stands it in stead, and prevents it from
feeling the stings of the bees infuriated by the destruction
of their habitation, It is also said that the ratel at
times discovers bees’ nests by watching the flight of the
honey~cuckoo.

At times it is reported to be so savage as to attack
a man, but the nose is its weak point, and it is easily
killed by a blow on it.
 

BOAT (ering,
143

BOAT-BILL.

Tus singular-looking bird is so called from the
curious shape of its bill, which bears, as will be seen,
some slight resemblance to a boat with its keel upwards.

It is a native of Guiana, Brazil, and other parts of
the continent of South America, and is said to be of
recluse and solitary habits; but little, however, is known
of the lesser details of its natural history. It frequents
marshes and rivers, fens and swamps, and in its mode
of life resembling the heron, to which it is allied, and
among which birds it is accordingly classed by naturalists;
perched on some branch overhanging the water, it watches
patiently for the approach of any fish on which it can
drop, and on which it accordingly plunges somewhat
after the manner of the kingfisher. It has also been
supposed to feed on crabs, from which is derived one
of its Latin generic names, but it is not by any means
certain that this is the case. Leach however says, in
his “Zoological Miscellany,” that it feeds on fishes, worms,
and crustacea; in search of which it is found frequenting
the borders of the sea. Lesson, on the other hand, the
celebrated French naturalist, says that it perches on
trees by the sides of rivers, from which it pounces on
fish, which are its food, and not crabs. It is common,
he says, in the flooded savannahs of South America.

Some years since one of these birds was exhibited
alive in London, at Exeter Change. It had the dismal
look of the rest of the heron tribe, and was fed on fish.
The bill of the heron is long, straight, compressed, and
pointed, and in the form of this part the boat-bill
144 BOAT-BILL.

differs from those birds, being of an oval form, muck
depressed, with a ridge along the upper mandible, which
somewhat resembles an inverted spoon, and to which
the lower mandible, of nearly the same figure, is applied
—rim in contact with rim. It is in fact the bill of a
heron, shortened and flattened out laterally. The toes
are three before and one behind; the legs of moderate
length.

“In the male, from the top of the head arises a long
plume of jet- -black narrow feathers, pointed and falling
down upon the back, producing a beautiful effect. The
throat is bare; the forehead and ueck, of which latter
the feathers are elongated, and form a sort of mane,
very characteristic of the herons, are greyish white. The
back, also ornamented with long feathers, is of a fine
grey, sometimes with a rusty tinge; the tail is white,
the sides are black, the middle of the under surface
deep reddish brown; bill, blackish; legs, brown; claw
of middle toe pectinated.

In the female, the feathers of the top of the head
are black, without being elongated into a pendent crest.
In size this bird somewhat exceeds a common duck,
but, with the exception of the beak, exhibits the general
contour of the herons.”
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145

LEMUR.

THERE are more than a dozen species of the genus
lemur. In the one before us the fur is varied with large
patches of black, on a pure white ground; the hands
and the feet are black, and a full white ruff surrounds
the face. There is a specimen iu the collection of the
Zoological Society.

The tribe of lemurs are chiefly found in the great
island of Madagascar, where they appear to take the
place which monkeys hold in other countries, and of
which they are, as it were, the representatives or sub-
stitutes.

Not much is at present known of their habits in
their natural state; but in captivity they become ex-
ceedingly tame, fond of being noticed, and constantly
climbing and leaping with surprising agility; and, being
of a chilly nature, they delight in basking in the sunshine,
or the warmth of a fire. When undisturbed, however,
they roll themselves up into the form of a ball, and,
with their long tails wound round their bodies, sleep
in this position during a great portion of the day.

On account of the pointed noses of these animals,
and their general resemblance to monkeys, they have
been called fox-nosed monkeys. Mr. KE. T. Bennett says,
in describing them, “Their hands and feet are equally
well formed for grasping with those of the monkeys, to
which they approximate very closely in the more essential
points of their internal structure; the fore-fingers of
the posterior extremities have long subulate claws, while

the nails of all the other fingers are flat; their eyes
20 ,
146 LEMUR.

are large and directed forwards. None of the group
exceed two feet and a half in length, exclusive of the
tail; and the greater number of them are scarcely more
than half that size.

The word lemur means a ghost; and perhaps the
name has been assigned to these animals from their
appearing at night-time, when the latter is supposed to
be seen. lt is not indeed to be doubted, but the fact
is certain, that it has pleased God in various instances,
in former times, to permit those who have departed
from the body to appear to those who have been still
living on the earth; but in the great proportion of
modern cases, or supposed cases, of such occurrences,
the imagination of the ghost-seer has supplied the vision.
The connexion between the visible and the invisible
world is perhaps much closer than many at all think
of, but God alone can draw the veil between the two.
 

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YEKELLOW
147

YELLOW BUNTING.

Tus is one of the most abundant species of our
British Birds, and is to be seen in every part of the
kingdom, frequenting, for the most part, hedge-rows and
the neighbourhood of cultivated fields and farm-yards.

The length of the yellow bunting is about seven inches.
The male is a very handsome bird—the yellow on his
head resembling often in brightness that of the canary,
and the rest of his plumage is elegantly mottled, though
of sober colours. ‘The female has much less yellow about
the head, and her colours are in general much less bright.
The voung birds have no yellow on the head until after
their first moult in the autumn, and the head is patched
with dusky black.

The yellow bunting, or yellow hammer, as it is also
called, -builds a compact and pretty nest, thus described

hy the poet Grahame, in his poem on the “Birds of
Scotiand :”—

“Up from that ford a little bank there was
With alder-copse and willows overgrown,

Now worn among by mining water-floods;
There, at a bramble root, sunk in the grass,
The hidden prize of withered field-straws form’d,
Well lined with many a coil of hair and moss,
And in it laid five red-veined spheres I found.”

The eggs are of a pale purple white colour, much
streaked and speckled with dark reddish brown. The
nest is usually placed either upon or very near the
ground, at the foot of a hedge, or the side of a bank.
It is compacted of roots, moss, or hair. In one instance
{458 YELLOW BUNTING

the yellow bunting has been known to lay her eggs on
the ground without any nest; and in another a nest was
placed at an elevation of seven feet from the ground,
among the branches of a broom.

In winter these birds flock together with chaffinches,
greenfinches, and others, and visit with them the stack-
yard of the farmer, in quest of the grain which may
there be picked up. In general they roost either on
or very near the ground; but in severe weather they
resort for shelter to bushes and evergreen shrubs. They
are considered very good eating, as indeed grain-eating
birds may be expected to be; and in Italy great quantities
of them are caught, and sold for the table.

The note of this species is not a very musical one,
being only one sound repeated a few times in quick
succession, and then drawn out to a considerable length.
The song is heard in spring and summer, especially
during warm sunny days in June; and the male bird,
who takes turns with the female in sitting on the nest,
has been heard to sing while in that situation. The
young are able tu fly the first or second week in June,
which is about a fortnight from the time of their being
hatched. The yellow bunting is common throughout
the whole of Europe.
Teese

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KANGAROO.
149

KANGAROO.

Tue kangaroo is a native of Australasia. But before
describing the form and habits of this singular quadruped,
we shall relate the circumstances attending its first .
discovery, as detailed by Dr. Shaw. This was in 1770,
when the celebrated navigator, Captain Cook, was
stationed for a short time on that part of the coast
of New Holland which is now called New South Wales.
“On Friday, June 22nd.,” says Captain Cook, “a party who
were engaged in shooting pigeons for the use of the sick
of the ship, saw an animal which they described to be
as large as a greyhound, of a slender make, and ex-
tremely swift.” The following day the same kind of
animal was seen by a great many other people. On
the 24th. it was seen by Captain Cook himself; who,
waiking at a little distance from the shore, observed. a
quadruped, which he thought bore some resemblance
to a greyhound, and was of a light mouse-colour, with
a long tail, and which he should have taken for a
kind of wild dog, had not its extraordinary manner of
leaping, instead of running, convinced him of the contrary.
Mr. Banks also obtained a view of it, and immediately
concluded it to be an animal perfectly new and un-
described. Some time after, this gentleman, accompanied
by a small party, had an opportunity of chasing two
with his greyhound, which the kangaroo, by its bounding
leaps over the high grass, soon outstripped. It was
not long, however, before one was shot; and the scientific
associates in this expedition of discovery were then
fully gratified.
150 KANGAROO.

This curious creature, which is about the size of a
large sheep, and is exclusively found in the country
just named, presents one of the most extraordinary figures
that occur among the class of quadrupeds. ‘Its head
is small and gentle in appearance, with full bright eyes,
a mouth not large, and pointed ears; its neck is slender
and graceful; its shoulders narrow; and its fore limbs
short, divided into five fingers with nails; the hinder are
more than three times the length of the fore, with five
toes, of which the two inner are small, and so united
as to appear but one; the next is large, strong, and
armed with a pointed hoof, no useless weapon of
defence, outside of which there is one small claw.

In walking upon all-fours, it limps slowly along; but
for speed or safety it depends entirely upon the strength
of the hind limbs, bounding along with great velocity,
and clearing at one spring obstacles nine feet high, or
ravines of nearly double that width. Its food is entirely
vegetable.”

Though the kangaroo is of a most gentle and in-
offensive nature, yet, if attacked, it defends itself with
extreme courage, and often kills several of the dogs
that attack it, either by a single kick of its powerful
hoof, or with ove blow of its formidable tail.

Kangaroos associate in troops. Their flesh, which is
said to resemble venison, is much esteemed for the
table; and they are valuable in this respect, attaining
sometimes the weight of two hundred pounds.
 

Wi Talo) 027 Se er.
151

WILD TURKEY.

Tue turkey, so well known a bird in its domesticated
state in our farm yards, is a native of America, and is
believed to have been imported into Europe in the ,
beginning of the sixteenth century. It obtained the
name of ‘turkey’ from having been believed at the time
to have come from that country; having, perhaps, as is
imagined, been confounded with the Guinea fowls, which
were naturalized in England about the same time, from
the- Levant.

Oviedo, in his “Natural History of the Indies,” by
which name America was called at first when newly
discovered, speaks of it as a kind of peacock. Audubon,
the great naturalist, and also the Prince of Canino give
fall and detailed accounts of the turkey to the following
effect: —“The native country of this species extends from
the north-western territory of the United States to the
Isthmus of Panama, south of which it is not to be found.
It was formerly common in many parts of Canada, as
well as in districts within the States, whence it has been
driven by the advance of colonization, and must now be
sought for in remoter localities. The unsettled parts of
the states of Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana, an
immense country to the north-west of these districts,
and the vast regions drained by the rivers, from their
confluence to Louisiana, including the wooded parts of
Arkansas, according to Audubon, are the most abun-
dantly supplicd with this magnificent lird. The wild
turkey is to a certain degree, migratory in its habits,
and associates in flocks during the autumn and winter
152 WILD TURKEY.

months. About the beginning of October, when the
fruits and seeds are about to fall from the trees, these
birds collect together and gradually move towards the
rich lands of the Ohio and Mississippi. The males, or
‘sobblers,’ associate in parties varying from ten to a
hundred, and search for food apart from the females;
the latter, with their young broods, usually join each
other, forming parties of seventy or eighty, and assid-
uously avoid the old males, which evince a disposition
to attack and destroy the young till they are fully grown.
The flocks of the district all move in the same direction,
seldom taking wing unless to escape the hunter’s dog,
or cross a river, which latter feat is not performed till
after some delay, during which they ascend the highest
eminences, and strut about and gobble as if to raise
their courage to a pitch befitting the emergency. Even
the females and young assume at this juncture a pom-
pous demeanour, spread out their tails, and ‘pur’ londly.

When the weather is settled, and they themselves
prepared, they take to flight for the opposite shore: the
old and robust easily cross a river of the breadth of a
mile, but the young and meagre birds often find their
strength fail, and fall into the water, not however to be
drowned, as might be imagined. They bring their wings
close to the body, spread out their tail, stretch forward
their neck, strike out vigorously with their legs, and
rapidly make way to the shore.”
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153

PERAMELES.

Tue bandicoots, which are natives of the vast country
of Australia, appear to take there the place of the shrews
of the old world. In some respects they approach the ,
kangaroos, but in others differ widely from them. In
their movements these animals resemble a rabbit; they
do not, like the kangaroos, bound from the hind limbs
alone, but arching the back, proceed with a saltigrade
gait, that is half-way between running and jumping; or
rather by a succession of short leaps from the hind to
the fore feet, but not with much speed, nor maintained
for a great length of time. The kangaroos make con-
siderable use of the tail, but in the bandicoots it is by
no means so important an organ, though it assists them
in sitting upright, an attitude usually assumed when
eating, the fore paws being brought into use as holders,
like those of the squirrel. With these paws they scratch
up the earth in search of roots and insects; and it is
said that the potato crops of the colonists in some
districts suffer from their incursions. They are readily
tamed, and in a few days become reconciled and familiar.

Ten species are now known: of these one is a native
of New Guinea. The rabbit-eared perameles is found in
tbe Swan River district of Western Australia, the only
part of Australia in which it has_ hitherto been found.
Mr. Gould states that this animal is tolerably abundant
over the whole extent of the grassy districts in the interior
of the Swan River colony, and is usually seen in pairs.
It commonly selects those spots where, the soil being

loose, it is enabled to excavate its burrows with facility.
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154. PERAMELES.

Like the rabbit, it flies to its subterranean retreat for
safety when pursued; and as the burrows are both deep
and long, frequently eludes the pursuer. [ts flesh is sweet,
and resembles that of the rabbit,

A specimen kept in the menagerie of the Zoological
Society, was very active in the evening, but usually
slept during the day-time; when sitting upen its haunches,
with its head thrust between its hind legs, it appeared
like a large ball of fur. It was an exceedingly savage
animal, bit very severely, and would not readily unfix
its hold of any thing it happened to seize with its teeth,

The rabbit-eared perameies is about equal in size to
the common rabbit, and has a remarkably long and
pointed muzzle. The ears are of an elongate oval
shape, sparingly covered with minute hairs. The eye
is rather small. ‘The fur of the animal is very long
and soft; on the upper part of the body it is of a
delicate grey hue; on the sides of a pale vinous tint,
or red inclining to purple; and on the under parts
white. The legs are dusky at the base, but white
below; the feet are also white. The tail is rather
shorter than the body of the animal, the middle portion
black, and the end white.
 

FLAMINGO.
155

FLAMINGO,

‘Vrs bird 1s well known by name: mach better than
itis by personal observation, When in full plumage, the
whole colour is deep scarlet, except the quill feathers,
of the wings, which are black ; the legs are longer than
those of almost anv of the wading birds, and the neck
is as long and slender as the legs.

The flamingo is a shy and wary bird, and flies off
on the least alarm. Dampier, however, by keeping himself
out of sight, managed on one occasion to shoot fourteen
at one shot. They keep drawn up in lines, like a
regiment of soldiers, with sentinels posted for the sake
of security.

M. de la Marmora, in his “Vogage to Sardinia,” gives
the following account of this singular bird: — Tt quits
Sardinia about the end of March, to return about the
middle of August; then it is that from the bastion which
forms the promenade of the inhabitants of Cagliaria, flights
of these magnificent birds may be seen to arrive from
Africa. Disposed in a triangular band, they appear at
first in the heavens like a line of fire; they advance in
the most regular order, but at the sight of the neigh-
bouring lake there is a pause in their progression, and
they appear for a moment immoveable in the air; then
tracing by a slow and circular movement—a reversed
conical spiral figure, they attain the end of their migration.
Brilliant in all the splendour of their plumage, and
ranged in a line, these birds offer a new spectacle—they
represent a small army ranged in order of battle, the
uniformity and symmetry of which leaves nothing to
156 FLAMINGO.

be desired; but the spectator should content himself with
observing this peaceful colony from afar. Woe to him
if he dare approach the lake at this deadly season.”

The flamingo is occasionally met with in Italy, as
also in other countries that border on the Mediterranean
sea and the Caspian sea, and is common in the Cape
de Verd Islands, and along the whole of the western
coast of Africa.

The mode of incubation adopted by these birds is not
a little curious; if its nest were constructed like that
of birds in general, its long limbs would be continually
in the way. The flamingo raises a nest, if nest it can
be called, of mud, in the form of a hillock, and slightly
ecncave at the top; here the female lays two large white
eggs, and sits to hatch them, her legs hanging down on
each side of this singular mound, and the toes just
touching the earth at its base. It is also said that,
when circumstances do not permit the formation of such
a pyramid of mud, the bird avails itself of any natural
bank, or ledge of rock.
 

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157

PUMA.

Tuis rather large animal of the feline, or cat tribe.
may often be seen in Menageries and Zoological Gardens,
It is extensively spread throughout the whole of the:
continent of North and South America, but is gradually
becoming far less numerous than it was formerly when
civilization had not so far advanced.

The upper parts of the puma are of a light fawn-
colour, fading off into white beneath and on the inside
of the limbs. The ears are black on the outside,
especially at the base, and the end of the tail is the
same colour. The whole length is about six feet, of
which the tail measures two feet. The young are at
first marked with dark brown streaks along the back,
and with spots of the same on the sides, shoulders, and
neck, but these markings gradually wear off with the age
of the animal, and at length entirely disappear.

The puma is a very savage animal in its natural state,
but, nevertheless, it is tamed without much difficulty.
When domesticated, its manners closely resemble those
of the common cat, showing its fondness at being
caressed, by the same kind of gentle purring.

It can climb trees with great facility, and will watch
the opportunity of springing on such animals as happen
to pass beneath. In the day-time, however, it is seldom
seen, the night being the time it selects for committing
its depredations.

Sir Francis Head, in his ‘Journey across the Pampas,”
gives the following interesting narrative in proof of the
fear of man which this animal, in common with others,
Yds PUMA.

entertains. {Te received the account from a person who
had himself been engaged in the affair. The puma, it
should first be observed, is indiscriminately called a lion
and a panther by the inhabitants of those parts: —‘“He
was trying to shoot some wild ducks, and, in order to
approach them unperceived, he put the corner of his
poncho, (which is a sort of long narrow blanket,) over
his head; and, crawling along the ground upon his hands
and knees, the poncho not only covered his body, but
trailed along the ground behind him. As he was thus
creeping by a large bush of reeds, he heard a loud
sudden noise, between a bark and a roar; he felt some-
thing heavy strike his feet, and, instantly jumping up,
he saw to his astonishment, a large lion actually standing
on his poncho; and perhaps the animal was equally
astonished to find himself in the immediate presence of
so athletic a man. The man told me he was unwilling
to fire, as his gun was loaded with very small shot; and
he therefore remained motionless, the lion standing on
his poncho for many seconds: at last the creature turned
his head, and, walking very slowly away about ten yards,
he stopped and turned again: the man still maintained
his ground, upon which the lion tacitly acknowledged
his supremacy, and walked off.”
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FLYCATCHER.

Tuts neat, though plain-plnmaged bird is a rare species
in this country, being very local in its distribution. In
the south of Europe it is very abundant, and great ,
uumbers are killed for the table.

The neighbourhood of Lowther Castle, in Westmoreland,
is one of the places of resort of the pied flycatcher in
our island, and they arrive about the middle of April.
“The males, soon after their arrival, should the weather
be favourable, will frequently sit for a considerable period
on the decayed branch of a tree, constantly repeating
their short, little-varied, though far from nnpleasant song,
every now and then interrupted by the pursuit and cap-
ture of some passing insect. Their alarm note is not
very unlike the word ‘chuck,’ which they commonly
repeat two or three times when approached, and which
leads to their detection.”

The following curious anecdote is related in the “Annals
and Magazine of Natural History,” for March, 1845, by
John Blackwell, Esq., of Hendre House, Denbighshire,
of a pair of pied flycatchers, which having built their
nest close to the portico over the hall door, and which
having been prevented by a swarm of bees from entering
into the hole in which their nest was placed, the bees
then stung their young ones to death. The parent birds
returned in the month of April in the following year to
the same place; but the bees still retaining possession,
again assailed them, aud compelled them finally to leave
the spot, on which they entirely forsook the situation,
sud built a new nest in a veighbouring stone wall.
160 FLYCATCHER.

The following is the description of this species: —The
length is nearly five inches; the bill, black; the eyes,
hazel; and the forehead, white; the crown of the head,
the back, and the tail, black; the coverts of the wings,
dusky—the greater coverts being tipped with white; all
the breast is white; the legs are black. ‘The female is
not so large as the male, and she is dark brown where
he is black. She also is without the white mark on
the forehead.

The flycatchers of the various kinds are not without
their use in destroying numberless insects; and thus in
the words of Buffon, ‘‘We see that all nature is balanced,
and the circle of production and destruction is perpetual.
The philosopher contemplates with melancholy this seem-
ingly cruel system; but he is forcibly struck with the
nice adjustment of the various parts, their mutual
correction and subordination, and the unity of plan which
pervades the whole.”
  

 

 

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161

REIN DEER.

Many as are the animals which in their domesticated
state are useful to man, and so greatly so as to make
it difficult to say which deserves the most notice on this
account; yet there is not perhaps one which, in the
countries where its services are required, is of more entire
and essential value than the rein deer: one may almost
say that it is all in all to the Laplander.

“Their rein deer form their riches: these their tents,
Their robes, their beds, and all their homely wealth
Supply; their wholesome fare, and cheerful cups.
Obsequious at their call, the docile tribe

Yield to the sledge their necks, and whirl them swift
O’er hill and dale, heaped into one expanse

Of marbled snow, as far as cye can sweep,

With a blue crest of ice unbounded glazed.”

How wonderfully is the Almighty power of God man-
ifested in these and such countless numbers of other
“ministers of His that do His pleasure.”

Captain Franklin, the celebrated voyager to the Arctic
seas, about whose fate so much interest is at present
excited, after the number of years, during which no
tidings have been received from bim, thus describes the
mode in which the Dog-rib Indians kill the rein deer.
He received the account from Mr. Wentzell, who had
resided long among that people:—‘The hunters go in
pairs, the foremost man carrying in one hand the horns
and part of the skin of the head of a deer, and in the
other a small bundle of twigs, against which he from
time to time rubs the horns, imitating the gestures

moe x
{62 REIN DEER.

peculiar to the animal. His comrade follows, treading
exactly in his footsteps, and holding the guns of both
in a horizontal position, so that the muzzles project
under the arms of him who carries the head. Both
hunters have a fillet of white skin round their foreheads,
and the foremost has a strip of the same round his
wrists. They approach the herd by degrees, raising
their legs very slowly, but setting them down suddenly,
after the manner of a deer, and always taking care to
lift their right or left feet simultaneously. If any of the
herd leave off feeding to gaze upon this extraordinary phe-
nomenon, it instantly stops, and the head begins to play
its part by licking its shoulders, and performing other
necessary movements. In this way the hunters attain the
very centre of the herd without exciting suspicion, and
have leisure to single out the fattest. The hindmost
man then pushes forward his comrade’s gun, the head
is dropped, and they both fire nearly at the same instant.
The deer scamper off, and the hunters trot after them:
in a short time the poor animals halt, to ascertain the
cause of their terror; their foes stop at the same moment,
and having loaded as they ran, greet the gazers with a
second fatal discharge. The consternation of the deer
increases; they ran to and fro in the utmost confusion;
and sometimes a great part of the herd is destroyed
within the space of a few hundred yards.”

The rein deer can travel a hundred miles a day without
being put into a gallop. They trot at the rate of about
ten miles an hour.
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163

COOT.

Tuts isa well-known English bird, common in many
places where there is water. Its length is about one
foot and a half; the bill and forehead, which is bare of
feathers, are pale flesh-colour. The whole of the plumage
is black, except the breast, which is of a dusky ash-
colour, and a line of white along the ridge of the wing.
The legs and feet are dark green.

The eggs are six or seven in number, of a dull white,
sprinkled over with a number of small deep rust-coloured
spots. ‘Many of these birds,” says Montagu, “never
forsake their breeding-places, even in small pieces of
water; and, notwithstanding they are frequently roused,
cannot be compelled to fiy farther than from one side
to the other. The vast flocks which are seen in South-
ampton River, and other salt-water inlets, in winter,
must probably breed farther north, at least a great patt
of them. At this season of the year it is commonly
sold in our markets. Most authors give as a specific
character a yellow band or garter above the knee. This.
however, does not always hold good, and may depend
upon the season.

It is said to breed in great abundance in the Isle
of Sheppy, where the inhabitants will not suffer the
eggs to be taken, as the birds are a great article of
food. They place their nests among the flags, on the
surface of the water; and by heaping a quantity of materials
together, raise the fabric above the water, so as to keep
the eggs dry. In this buoyant state, a sudden gale
164 coor.

of wind has been known to draw them from their slender
moorings; and we are assured that the nests have been
seen floating on the water with the birds upon them.”
Bewick also relates in a note to his account of this
bird, a similar instance. He says, “A bald coot built
her nest in Sir William Middleton’s lake, at Belsay, in
Northumberland, among the rushes, which were afterwards
Joosened by the wind, and of course the nest was driven
about, and floated upon the surface of the water in every
direction; notwithstanding which, the female continued
to sit as usual, and brought out her young upon her
moveable habitation.”

The same writer also adds, “As soon as the young
quit the shell, they plunge into the water, dive, and
swim about with great ease; but they still gather together
about the mother, and take shelter under her wings,
and do not entirely leave her for some time. ‘hey
are at first covered with sooty-colonred down, and are
of a shapeless appearance: while they are in this state,
and before they have learned by experience to shun
their foes, the kite, moor buzzard, and others of the
hawk tribe, make dreadful havoc among them; and
this, notwithstanding the numerous brood, may account
for the scarcity of the species. The pike is also the
indiscriminate devourer of the young of all these water
birds.” This is highly probable, for this fish may be
considered as a kind of fresh-water shark, that grasps
at every thing that comes within its reach.
  

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165

WATER RAT.

Tue water rat, or water vole, as it is otherwise called,
is dispersed over the greater part of the continent of
Europe. It is often considered as a variety of the.
common rat, but this is an erroneous supposition, for it
is in fact a totally distinct species. In size it equals
the common brown rat, being about eight inches long,
and the tail nearly five inches in length, but the head
is thicker than in the other named kind. The ears are
scarcely visible, being buried in the fur.

This animal lives on various aquatic plants. “The
water rat,’ says Mr. Howitt, “is considered a common
thief, and is killed wherever he is found. If you watch
him in his secluded streams, you will quickly discern
that his food is almost entirely the herbage which grows
in them; and especially the leaf of the arrow-head.”
It has indeed been supposed and asserted that it feeds
also upon insects, small fish, frogs, and other animal
diet, but there does not appear to be any foundation for
this supposition. Mr. Bell, the author of the “History
of British Quadrupeds,” says, “There can be no doubt
that this opinion has arixen from its being confounded
with the common brown rat, which is well known to
frequent the banks of ditches, and to feed readily on
almost all animal substances, attacking even the smaller
alive, when driven with hunger; and it is, in fact, in
the organization essentially connected with their different
habits and propensities that the characters of the two
fumilies consist.”

The Rev. Gilbert White, the well-known author of
166 WATER RAT.

the “Natural History of Selborne,” relates the following
curious instance of the quantity of food collected together
by these animals against the day of want in the winter
time; he says, “As a neighbour was lately ploughing in
a dry chalky field, far removed from any water, he
turned out a water rat that was curiously laid up in
an hybernaculum, artificially formed of grass and leaves.
At one end of the burrow lay above a gallon of potatoes
regularly stowed, on which it was to have supported
itself for the winter.”

The water rat frequents the borders of large ponds,
reservoirs, streams, and rivers, dwelling in burrows of con-
siderable extent; to which there are generally two or more
outlets. The main outlet is generally close to the water’s
edge, so that during floods it is not unfrequently below
the surface; but the gallery sloping upwards as it proceeds
in the bank, terminates in a chamber which the water
does not reach.

How admirably is every animal endowed with an
instinctive sagacity, entirely sufficient for the supply of
all its wants.
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167

BUSTARD.

Tis noble and valuable bird was formerly met with
in no inconsiderable numbers in this country, and even
until recently a few used occasionally to be met with.
in the county of Norfolk, and in Lincolnshire, on Salisbury
Plain in Wiltshire, and the wolds of Yorkshire. Now
it is totally extinct, although a single specimen may
from time to time be met with; for though so large
and bulky a bird, the bustard has very considerable
powers of flight, and can easily fly over to us from the
Continent.

The colour of the bustard is on the upper parts a
fine orange buff, barred with numerous transverse markings
of black; the breast is white, with a tinge of yellow
on the middle part. The tail is white at the base, which
passes into yellowish brown, with one or two black bars.
There is a long tuft of bristly feathers on each side of
the lower bill, and the fore part of the neck is destitute
of feathers, the skin being of a bluish black colour.
“The male bustard weighs from twenty-five to thirty
pounds, and measures about three feet three inches in
length. The female seldom exceeds one-third of the size
of the male.

Grain, various grasses, the tender leaves and sproust
of turnips, insects, worms, frogs, etc., constitute their
food. In the adult male there exists a membranous
pouch beneath the skin on the fore part of the neck,
having an entrance to it under the tongue. It is of
considerable size, being capable, according to Pennant,
of containing seven pints of water: it has indeed been
168 BUSTARD.

supposed by some that the use of this sack is for carrying
a supply of water, either for its own use or that of the
female and her young; but as the male takes no care
of the brood, and as no water has ever been found in
this pouch, this supposition is untenable. Its use, in
fact, is unknown.”

Another writer further observes, “The bustard runs
very swiftly, and we have accounts of its having been
chased by dogs, which we can readily credit, because
a good greyhound would press so hard as not to allow
the bird time of preparation for taking wing, should he
come upon it by surprise.’ Mr. Selby, on the other
hand, observes on this point, “Upon being disturbed, so
far from running in preference to flight, as has often
been described, it rises upon wing with great facility,
and flies with much strength and swiftness, usually to
another haunt, which will usually be at the distance of
six or seven miles. It has also been said that in former
days, when the species was of common occurrence, it
was a practice to run down the young birds, before
they were able to fly, with greyhounds, as affording
excellent diversion. So far from this possibility existing
with respect to the present remnant of the bird, the
young birds upon being alarmed constantly squat close
to the ground, in the same manner as the young of
the lapwing, golden plover, etc., and in this position
are frequently taken by the hand.”
 
   
 

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169

FLYING SQUIRREL.

Tuts singular and pretty little animal is a native of
the midland regions of North America. The length of
the body, including the head, is from four inches and
a half to five inches; and the tail is about three inches’
and three-quarters long; the ears are rather pointed,
and the eyes are surrounded by a broad circle of black.
Underneath, the lesser flying squirrel is nearly white;
and above, it is of a bright mouse-colour, with a shade
of yellowish buff. The membranes between its legs, by
which it performs what is called its flight, are of a
fawn-colour, with a black band; and the tail is of the
same colour as the rest of the body, but dusky beneath.

Mr. Bennett gives the following description of the
membrane above alluded to, as ‘“‘a folding of the skin
along either side, so as to form broad lateral expansions,
supported before and behind by the limbs, between
which they are extended, and by peculiar bony processes
arising from the feet. These expansions are not naked
aud membranous, like those of the bats, but are actual
continuations of the skin, clothed externally by a dense
fur, similar to that which invests every other part of
the body. Neither do they serve the purpose of wings,
their functions being limited to that of a parachute,
giving to the animal a considerable degree of buoyancy,
and thus enabling it to take leaps of almost incredible
extent, through which it passes with the velocity of
an arrow. The name of “flying squirrel’ is consequently
founded on an erroneous assumption, but it may, never-

theless, be admitted as a metaphorical expression of
x2 Y
170 FLYING SQUIRREL.

their most distinguishing peculiarity.”

Catesby writes of them, “They will dart four score
yards from one tree to another. They cannot rise in
their course, nor keep in a horizontal line, but descend
gradually, so that in proportion to the distance of the
tree they mean to dart to, so much the higher they
mount on the tree they are about to leave, that they
may reach some part, even the lowest of the distant
tree, rather than fall to the ground, which exposes them
to peril; but having once recovered the trunk of a tree,
no animal seems nimble enough to take them.”

With regard to their habits, these animals, during the
day, hide and sleep in the hollows of trees, and unless
disturbed from these retreats, are seldom seen; but in
the night-time they come forth to feed in small com-
panies of ten or a dozen, every one of them lively and
active in all their movements.

Their food consists, like that of other squirrels, of
nuts, acorns, and tender shoots of trees and plants.
They are easily tamed; but it is a pity to deprive
these or any other active wild animals of their liberty,
without the full exercise of which they cannot possibly
be happy.
 

 

 

 

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171

STILT PLOVER.

Tuis, which is a very rare species in this country, is
certainly one of the longest-legged birds, in proportion
to its size, that is known. It is plentiful in some parts
of the world, namely, according to Latham, in the Kast
and West Indies, in Egypt, on the shores of the Cas-
pian sea, and in the warmer parts of America.

One of these birds was killed in the Isle of Anglesea,
in the year 1793; and six were shot out of a flock of
seven, in the month of April, on the edge of a lake
near Farnham, in Surrey. Sir Robert Sibbald mentions
two which were shot in Scotiand; and Pennant, one
obtained near Oxford. Others have since been met
with.

In the eastern portions of Europe, where the stilt
plover is said to arrive from Asia in small flocks, it
takes up its abode along the lakes, and among the vast
morasses of Hungary and Russia, where it rears its pro-
geny, and where it fearlessly wades in search of its food,
without much chance of being carried out of its depth;
but should such an occurrence happen, or the waves
drift it out from the shore, it possesses the power of
swimming with the greatest ease and lightness. Few
birds exceed it in the powers of flight; it passes through
the air with astonishing rapidity. When on firm ground,
it appears as if tottering on long and awkward stilts.

The following is the scientific description:— Length,
from the end of the bill to the end of the tail, one
foot one inch; from the end of the bill to the end of the
toes, one foot six inches; the eye is red; the bill, which
172 STILT PLOVER.

is two inches and a half in length, is long, slender, and
black. The forehead is white, as is the space round the
eyes; the crown of the head, the back, and the wings,
glossy black; the tail, black, but inclining to grey; the
neck and the breast, white, the neck behind is marked
with dusky streaks, but in some specimens it is without
them, which is probably the case in maturity. The legs are
bare of feathers for three inches and a half above the
knee; they are of a red-colour, and four inches and a
half long below the knee; the outer and the middle toes
are connected together at their base by a membrane.
The female is inferior in size, and the dark parts of
her plumage incline more to brown, without exhibiting
the glossy green lustre of the male bird. Young birds
have the feathers of the back and wings brown.”
Latham says of this species, which is otherwise called
the long-legged plover, long-shanks, or long-legs, that its
food is believed to consist principally of flies; but of
its general habits and peculiarities very little is known.
 

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173

KOALA.

Tus is a very extraordinary animal, and only one
species of the genus has been as yet discovered.

The koala is a native of New South Wales; and the
Colonists there call it the native bear, or monkey. By
some of the natives it is called ‘goribun.’ It is described
as being ‘thick and stoutly made, with robust limbs, and
powerful claws: there is no tail. ‘The head is large, the
muzzle blunt. The ears are large, standing out from
the sides of the head, and tufted with long full fur: the
eyes are small. The fore feet have each five toes,
armed with large sharp claws; these toes are divided
into five sets, the first two forming a pair by themselves,
and antagonizing with the other three; the hind feet have
also five tues, namely, a large and powerful thumb, des-
titute of a nail, and well padded beneath, and four
strongly-clawed toes, of which the two first are united
together as far as the last joint.”

This animal does not appear to be very abundant; at
least it is seldom seen in collections of objects of Natural
History from its native country. “In its habits it is noe-
turnal and arboreal; it climbs with great facility, and in
passing along the branches, suspends itself, like a sloth,
by its claws, which in adults are very powerful. The
female carries her young one clinging to her back, and
long continues her care of it. The koala, however, does
not live exclusively on the trees: it visits the ground,
and there burrows, and that with facility.

In the cold season it is said to make a nest in its
underground retreat, and retiring to it, there to lay
174 KOALA.

dormant. Its food is entirely vegetable, and consists,
in part at least, of the young leaves of the gum-
trees; it laps like a dog when drinking, and uses its
forepaws in laying hold of the branches while it feeds.
Its voice is a soft barking sound: on the ground its gait
resembles that of a bear. ‘he length of the head and
of the body together, is about two feet two inches. The
fur is compact, woolly, and of an ashy grey, patched
with white over the crupper: the inside of the upper
part of the legs is rusty grey.”

“The New Hollanders,” Colonel Patterson states, ‘eat
the flesh of this animal, and therefore readily join in
the pursuit of it. They examine, with wonderful rapidity
and minuteness, the branches of the loftiest gum-trees,
and, upon discovering a koala, they climb the tree in
which it is seen with as much ease and expedition as
an European would mount a tolerably high ladder.
Having reached the branches, which are sumetimes forty
or fifty feet from the ground, they follow the animal
to the extremity of a bough, ana either kill it with
the tomahawk, or take it alive.”
 

 

NA ae Cr Tia Lda,
175

WAGTAIL.

Tuts is a well-known and interesting little bird. There
are several species found in this country. Its name,
as may be supposed, is derived from a constant habit
it has of moving its tail up and down. Its weight is
about six drachms. It is about seven inches and a half
in length from the tip of the bill to the end of the
tail, and about eleven inches in breadth between the
points of each extended wing. The bill is rather long,
sharp, and slender, and of a dusky colour. The eyes
are brown, with a rim of white encircling each, and there
are some white marks on each side of the throat. The
tips of some of the quill feathers of the wings are white,
forming a small white line upon the wing; and there are
white edges to some of the tail feathers, which form
similar lines on them. The tail is about three inches
in length; the outer feathers are chiefly white, the others
are black.

In general form and appearance the wagtail is by no
means unlike the magpie. Next to sparrows and robins
it seems to live on terms of the greatest familiarity with
man, and exhibits very little fear or shyness.

“This,” says Bewick, “is a very common bird with
us, and may be seen everywhere, running on the ground,
and leaping after flies and other insects, on which it feeds.
Its usual haunts are the shaliow margins of springs and
running waters, into which it will sometimes wade a little
in pursuit of its food. They make their nest on the
ground, of dry grass, moss, and small roots, lined with
hair and feathers; and have been known sometimes to
176 WAGTAIL.

breed in the deserted nest of the swallow, in chimneys.
The female lays five white eggs, spotted with brown.
They are very attentive to their young, and continue to
feed and train them for three or four weeks after they
are able to fly. They defend them with great courage
when in danger, or endeavour to draw aside the enemy
by various little arts. They are very attentive to the
cleanliness of their nests, and have been known to remove
light substances, such as paper or straw, which have
been laid as a mark to find them by.

The wagtail is said by some authors to migrate into
other climates about the end of October; with us it is
known to change its quarters, as the winter approaches,
from north to south. Its note is small and insignificant,
but frequently repeated, especially while on the wing.”

A pair of pied wagtails once built their nest in an
old rat-trap, and remained unmolested either by the rat-
catcher or the rat. On the other hand, the nest of the
wagtail is one of those which are commonly selected by
that strange bird, the cuckoo, for depositing her solitary
egg in to be hatched, and its young bird to be brought
up by the tenant of the nest, to the exclusion and even
the destruction of her own lawful offspring. This is
one of the most mysterious things in the wide page of
the large book of Nature’s History.
 

WOMBAT.
177

WOMBAT.

THE wombat is a very curious animal, one of those
which are found only in New Holland, most of the
animal productions of which country are peculiar to itself,
and unknown in any other part of the globe.

It is about the same size as the badger, and, like it,
lives in holes, and resembles, in many particulars, the
burrowing class. It feeds almost entirely on herbs and
fruits, on which it becomes very fat, and its flesh is
considered extremely good. Its head is large and flat,
its neck thick and short, and its legs also short. It has
not any tail, so that, as will be apparent from this short
description, its general appearance is heavy and clumsy.
Its fur is smooth and thick, and of a yellowish brown
or grey colour. In its habits it is sluggish, and has a
hobbling or shuffling gait, somewhat like that of a bear.

Mr. Bass, when at Cape Barren Island, chased one
of these animals, and having overtaken it, “by placing
his hands under its body, he suddenly lifted it from the
ground, and laid it on its back upon his arm, as a child
would be. It made no noise, nor any effort to escape,
not even a struggle; it seemed quite contented, as if it
had been nursed by Mr. Bass from its infancy. He
carried the animal upwards of a mile, and often shifted
him from arm to arm, sometimes laying him upon his
shoulder, all of which he took in good part, until being
obliged to secure his legs while he went into the bush
to cut a specimen of a new wood, the creature’s anger
arose with the pinching of the twine; he whizzed with
all his might, kicked and scratched most furiously, and

eo Z
1738 WOMBAT.

snapped off a piece from the elbow of Mr. Bass’s jacket.
Their friendship was here at an end, and the creature
remained intractable all the way to the boat, ceasing
to kick only when he was exhausted.”

A specimen of the wombat brought to England and
kept in confinement, evinced a gentle disposition. “It
burrowed in the ground whenever it had an opportunity,
and covered itself in the earth with surprising quickness;
it was very quiet during the day, but constantly in
motion in the night; was very sensible to cold; ate
all kinds of vegetables, but was particularly fond of
new hay, which it ate stalk by stalk, taking it into
its mouth like a beaver, by small bits at a time. It
was not wanting in intelligence, and appeared attached
to those to whom it was accustomed, and who were
kind to it. When it saw them, it would put up its fore
paws on their knees, and when taken up, would sleep
in the lap. It allowed children to pull and carry it
about, and when it bit them, it did not appear to do
so in anger, or with violence.”
 

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179

EMEU.

Tuis is a large bird of the tribe of the ostriches, a
native of New Holland, and called also the New Holland
cassowary. Specimens may be seen alive in the Gardens
of the Royal Zoological Society in the Regent's Park,
London. They have heen found in numbers in the
neighbourhood of Port Philip, and King George’s Sound,
and also on Kangaroo Island.

The emeu is a very large bird, nearly of the size of
the ostrich. It strongly resembles it in very many
respects; its legs, however, are not quite so long; its
neck is shorter, and more thickset on the body. It is
about six or seven feet high when standing upright.
“The wings are simple rudiments, destitute of plumes,
and hidden beneath the feathers of the body: these have
loose barbs; each feather consists of two plumes; the
accessary plume, which is usually very short, being greatly
elongated. As the feathers lie loosely hanging on the
bird, they resemble hair; the cheeks and the throat are
nearly destitute of plumage. The general colour is dull
greyish brown, and the bare sides of the head, and the
throat, of a purple colour.

The sound which the emeu utters is very singular;
it is a hollow inward drumming, effected by a peculiar
structure of the windpipe.

The female lays from seven to eleven eggs, which
are of a beautiful deep green, the shells very hard, and
nearly as large as those of the ostrich. The young,
when hatched, are clothed with thick downy plumage,
of a greyish white colour, with two stripes of black down
180 EMEU.

the back, two down the side, and two interrupted stripes
down the fore part of the neck and breast.

Timid and peaceful, the emeu trusts alone to its speed
for safety, excepting indeed when hard pressed; it then
strikes violently with its legs: it is chased with dogs.
We learn from Mr. Cunningham, that few dogs, except
such as are specially trained, can be brought to attack
it, both on account of some peculiar odour in the flesh
which they dislike, and, because when driven to extremity,
it defends itself with great vigour, striking out with its
feet, and inflicting terrible wounds. The settlers, he
observes, assert that “it will break the small bone of
a man’s leg by this sort of kick.”

Though these birds are shy and wary, they take but
little pains in the concealment of their nest, which is
very simple, consisting of a few sticks, leaves, and grasses,
scraped together upon a clear space amidst brushwood.
The natives seek for the eggs, which during the season
form a great portion of their subsistence. The food
of this bird consists of leaves, fruits, and herbage, for
the plucking of which its straight strong beak, which
is rounded at the point, is well adapted.”

Though the emeu is not an aquatic bird, yet it has
been observed by Captain Sturt to swim well, as he
saw it thos cross the Murrumbidgee River.

There seems no doubt but that if desired, the emeu
might easily become naturalized in this country, so as
to form an ornament in parks and pleasure grounds.
 

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Boe ES hak.
181

AXIS DEER.

Tus is a very elegant animal of the deer kind,
and a native of India. It is perhaps one of the
best-known of all the Indian species of the family
among us; for it not only is able to be kept in our
menageries or zoological gardens, but thrives well in
open parks.

It is very plentiful in various parts of India, being
found on the banks of the River Ganges, and in the
province of Bengal, as also in many of the larger islands
which compose the Indian Archipelago. There “‘it lives
in herds, the luxuriant vegetation of the jungles, its
favourite localities, affording abundance of food.

The general colour of this species is fawn yellow, a
black stripe running down the spine of the back. The
sides are beautifully and regularly spotted with white:
a row, forming an almost continuous line, passes along
each side.”

In all the different species of deer that comprise what
is called the Axine group, the limbs are of a delicate
form and slender make, and the general shape is rather
graceful than robust. Few of them exceed our common
fallow deer in size, and, excepting as regards the antlers,
the axis deer bears a very strong resemblance to it, especially
the female, so much so indeed as to be scarcely dis-
tinguishable on a superficial inspection. “The hair is
short, smooth, and close; the expression of the physiognomy
is gentle, yet animated, and agrees with the disposition.”

In captivity, these deer are quiet and inoffensive, but
timid and suspicious. Their sense of smell is so acute
{82 AXIS DEER.

that, although fond of bread, which they readily take
from the hands of visiters, they will not touch it if it
have been previously blown upon; and it is stated that
they will not even accept it, if it have been much handled.

The horns of the male axis deer rise vertically from
the head, but differ from those of the fallow deer in
being perfectly cylindrical and rounded throughout, and
not at all palmated, as those of the latter are at the
tip. The spots also on the fur of the animal do not
change in the winter, and the head is a little longer
in shape.
 

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183

WHIDAH FINCH.

Tus is the proper name of this bird, which is frequently
corrupted into the name of widow finch, or widow bird.
The name of whidah bird is believed to have been
given to it by the Portuguese, as derived from the king-
dom of Whidah, which is situated towards the central
part of the western coast of Africa; it is also found
in various parts of that continent, from Senegal to Angola.
“It is related nearly to the linnets, with the exception
of the peculiar structure of its tail, having two or more
of the intermediate quill feathers in the male birds
lengthened in an extraordinary degree. The tail itself
consists of twelve feathers, of which the elongated ones
are vertical; two being flowing and pendent, and two,
the middle ones, broad, with the shaft projecting like
a slender filament beyond the end. Size, that of a sparrow.
It has much the manners of the linnet, and is lively
and active in captivity, which it endures without much
appearance of constraint, jumping from perch to perch,
and alternately raising and depressing its long tail with
great vivacity. It is fed upon grain, with the occasional
addition of green herbs; and is fond of bathing in the
water which may happen to be placed in its cage.

Twice a year it is subject to a change of plumage, the
long feathers, the peculiar attribute of the male, falling
off in autumn, and returning in spring, when he recovers
with his new dress, his sharp, but agreeable and varied
note. His summer dress is, on the upper part, black,
except the back of the neck, which is half-surrounded
with a broad lightish chestnut band; the breast is reddish
184: WHIDAH FINCII.

brown, the under part nearly white. In winter, its head
is variegated with black and white; its breast and back
of a dull orange, with dusky spots; its quill feathers
dark brown, and its under parts dusky white; the bill
is dusky; the iris of a deep brown, approaching to black;
the legs of a yellowish buff colour. It is said to live
twelve or fifteen years.”

The whidah bird is allied to the finches, of which we
have several examples in this country, such as the
goldfinch, the linnet, the greenfinch, and the chaffinch.

Another species, the red-billed whidah bird, is found
in the same regions as the preceding one, but is of
less size. “Of the four middle and _ greatly-elongated
tail feathers, two are convex, and two, one within the
other, concave, so that when all four are closed together,
they form a sort of cylinder, and, but for their extremities,
appear at first sight as one. The general colour of the
male in full plumage is glossy blue black, with a white
collar, and white wing coverts and scapularies, of which
hue are also the lower part of the back, the throat, the
chest, and the under parts. In habits it agrees with
the other species.”
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185

HORNED SAPAJOU.

THERE are many different species of this genus, as
the yellow-breasted sajou, or sapajou, the brown sajou,
and the horned sajou, the one before us.

The native country of this animal is the Brazil, a
part of the world very rich in the productions of nature.
Little or nothing is known of its habits in a state of
nature; but it is easily tamed, and is described as being,
when in domestication, lively and amusing, active and
good-tempered. It is found too in the provinces of
Rio de Janeiro, and also in South America.

The general colour of the fur of the horned sajou
is brown, the top of the head being much darker, and
approaching almost to black, which also prevails in
like manner on the middle of the back, and on the
legs, hands, feet, and tail. ‘“A bandeau of hair rises
on the forehead, the extremities of which are elevated
in the form of egrets, or pencil-like tufts: these tufts
are less conspicuous in the female. The sides of the
face are garnished with white hairs. [It is not until
maturity that the horns or frontal tufts are acquired.”

The following is the generic account of the animals
to which this species belongs:—The monkeys of this
genus are all diurnal in their habits, and for the most
part of small size. ‘The French call them sapajous,
sajous, sails, and capucins. They are also called weepers,
from the plaintive piping noise which many of them
utter. Humboldt states that the Creoles of South America
call them ‘matchi, confounding under this denomination
very distinct species. In temper and disposition the

3 oo 2A
186 HORNED SAPAJOU.

cebi are lively and docile; they shew great attachment
to some persons, and a capricious aversion to others;
they are intelligent, mischievous, and inquisitive. Their
activity and address are surprising. In their native forests
they live in troops, feeding on fruits, grain, insects, and
eggs. So amusing are they in their gambuls, that even
the apathetic natives will stop their canoes, and watch
their frolics with interest. They are, from their liveliness
and docility, great favourites, and are often kept domes-
ticated; but their amusing habits do not protect them
from the poisoned arrows of the Indians. The head
is round, the muzzle short, and the limbs well pro-
portioned; the ears are rounded.

One of the species of sapajou was met with by Ham-
boldt in considerable troops in the forests near the
cataracts of the Oronoko, and the mission of Santa
Barbara. They are extremely mild in disposition, and very
active; are often kept by the Indians; and one was seen
by Humboldt, at Maypures, which every morning caught
a pig, and continued seated on his back during the day,
while feeding in the savanna round the Indian huts.
Another is mentioned, in the house of a missionary, which
would often ride upon a cat, which had been reared in
its company, and which patiently suffered the exploits of
the sapajou.
 

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187

SKUA.

Tuts species of sea gull is only occasionally met
with on the English shores, being far more common in
the northern parts of Scotland, and the adjacent islands.

Its length is about two feet, and the expanse of the
wings between four and five. It weighs about three
pounds. The bill is dark, and more than two inches
long: it is strong, much hooked, and sharp at the tip.
The plumage on the back is a rather dark brown, the
feathers edged with a dull yellowish rust-colour. The
breast is of the same general hue, but much _ lighter.
The legs and toes are covered with black scales; the
claws strong and hooked, the inner one more so than
the rest.

Bewick gives the following account of this bird. He
says, “This species is met with in the high latitudes of
both hemispheres, where they are much more common
than in the warm or temperate parts of the globe. In
Captain Cook’s voyages they are often mentioned; and,
from being numerous about the Falkland Isles, the
seamen called them Port Egmont hens. They are also
common in Norway, Iceland, and the Ferro and Zetland
Isles. They prey not only upon fish, but also upon the
lesser sorts of water-fowl, and, it is said, even upon
young lambs: this, however, is doubted, and even denied:
on the contrary, these birds are said to afford protection
to the flocks, by driving away the eagle, raven, etc.,
which they furiously attack whenever they come within
their reach, and on this account are highly valued.
They are uncommonly courageous in defence of their
188 SKUA.

own young, and seize, with the utmost vengeance, upon
any animal, whether man or beast, that offers to disturb
their nests; they sometimes attack the shepherds even,
while watching their flocks, who are obliged, in their own
defence, to guard their heads, and to ward off the blows
of the assailants, by holding a pointed stick towards them,
against which they sometimes dash with such force as to
be killed on the spot. They make their nests among
the dry grass, and, when the young are reared, they
disperse themselves, commonly in pairs, over the ocean.

The feathers of this species, as well as those of other
guils, are by many people preferred to those of the
goose; and in some parts they are killed in great numbers,
merely for the sake of the feathers.”
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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189

OTTER.

Tuts animal, as is well known, is extremely destruc-
tive of fish, on which it principally lives. It has, however,
been known to prowl into farm-yards, and destroy poultry
and young lambs and pigs; walking, according to Izaac
Walton, six or ten miles ina night. In Canada, during
the winter, they often travel a long distance; and the
Indians track them in the snow, and kill them with
clubs, for they cannot run very fast on the land, though
in the water they are wonderfully agile and swift.

Otters may easily be tamed, and taught to catch fish
for their masters. Thus, in an Edinburgh magazine it
is stated, “Otters can be easily tamed and instructed to
fish. A person who kept a tame otter accustomed it to
associate with his dogs, who soon became upon the most
friendly terms. It would accompany him in different
excursions, along with his canine attendants. He was in
the habit of fishing in rivers with nets, when the otter
proved highly useful, by going into the water, and driving
trout and other fish towards the net. Even dogs accus-
tomed to otter hunting refused to hunt any other otter
while it remained in their company; on which account
the owner was under the necessity of parting with it,
although so useful in its avocations.” Again, William
Collins, who resided at Kilmerston, near Wooler, in
Northumberland, had a tame otter which used to follow
him. He frequently took it to fish in the river for its
own food; and it never failed to return to him. One
day, in the absence of Collins, the otter, being taken
out to fish by his son, refused to come at the accus-
190 OTTER.

tomed call, and was lost. Collins tried every means to
recover it, and alter several days search, being near
the place where it was lost by his son, and calling it
by name, it came creeping to his feet, exhibiting many
unabated marks of affection and attachment.”

Bewick also mentions a young one, which had been
taught to catch fish with so much success, that it would
sometimes capture ten salmon in a single day.

The following lines of the poet Somerville, in his
“Chase,” well depict the habits of the otter:—

“Where rages not oppression? where, alas!

Ts innocence secure. Rapine and spoil

Haunt even the lowest deeps. Seas have their sharks;
Rivers and ponds enclose the ravenous pike;

He in his turn becomes a prey; on him

Th’ amphibious otter feasts. Just is his fate
Deserved; but tyrants know no bounds: nor spears
That bristle on his back, defend the perch

From his wide greedy jaws; nor burnished mail
The yellow carp; nor all his arts can save

The insinuating eel, that hides his head

Beneath the slimy mud; nor yet escapes

The crimson-spotted trout—the river’s pride,

And beauty of the stream. Without remorse,
‘This midnight pillager, raging around,

Insatiate swallows all. The owner mourns

Th’ unpcopled rivulet, and gladly hears

The huntsman’s early call.”
 

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191

LYRE BIRD.

Tuts is a very singular-looking bird, at least its tail,
which it carries erect over its back, is very curious; in
other respects it is quite plain, being in general appear-
ance not very unlike a moorhen. In New South Wales,
where it is common, it is the custom to hang up the
tail of the lyre bird in the houses for ornament, and
as a curiosity, in the same way that we do that of
the peacock in this country.

The following account of our present subject is partly
taken from that given by Mr. Gould, the celebrated
author of the “Birds of Australia,” and other splendid
works in ornithology. He says, “Of all the birds I have
ever met with, the menura is far the most shv, and
difficult to procure. While among the mountains, I have
been surrounded by these birds, pouring forth their loud
and liquid calls, for days together, without being able
to get a sight of them; and it was only by the most
determined perseverance and extreme caution that I was
enabled to effect this desirable object, which was ren-
dered more difficult by their often frequenting the almost
inaccessible and precipitous sides of gullies and ravines,
covered with tangled masses of creepers and umbrageous
trees. The cracking of a stick, the rolling down of a
small stone, or any other noise, however slight, is suf-
ficient to alarm it; and none but those who have traversed
those rugged, hot, and suffocating brushes, can fully
understand the excessive labour attendant on the pursuit
of the menura.

The lyre bird is of a wandering disposition, and, although
192 . LYRE BIRD.

it probably keeps to the same brush, it is constantly
engaged in traversing it from one end to the other,
from the mountain base to the top of the guilies, whose
steep and rugged sides present no obstacle to its long
legs. It is also capable of performing extraordinary leaps,
and I have heard it stated that it will spring ten feet
perpendicularly from the ground. The early morning
and the evening are the periods when it is most animated
and active.

It may truly be said that the beauty of this bird
lies in the plumage of his tail, the new feathers of which
appear in February and March, but do not attain their
full beauty until June; during these and the four suc-
ceeding months, it is in its finest state; after this, the
feathers are gradually shed, to be resumed again at the
period above stated.”

“The menura equals a common pheasant in size, but
its limbs are longer in proportion, and its feet much
larger; the toes are armed with large arched blunt
claws; the head is small; the beak triangular at the
base, pointed and compressed at the tip. The tail is
modified into a beautiful Jong plume-like ornament,
representing, when erect and expanded, the figure of a
lyre, whence the name of lyre bird. The appearance
of these feathers, the length of which is about two feet,
ix. peculiarly graceful; their colour is umber brown, but
the two outer tail feathers are grey, tipped with black,
edged with rufous, and transversely marked on the inner
web with transparent triangular bars. The general
plumage of the menura is umber brown above, tinged
with olive, and merging into rufous on the wings, and
also on the throat. The under parts are ashy grey.”
 
 

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193

LAGOTIS.

Or the genus lagotis there are two species described
and figured by Mr. Bennett, and he gives the following
translation of an account of the one called Cuvier’s lagotis,
written by Antonio de Ulloa, in the year 1772, in his
“Noticias Americanas:”—‘‘Taking the place of the rabbit,
which is wanting in Peru, there is another kind of ani-
mal, called viscacha, which is not found in Quito. In
form, and in the colour of the fur, it is similar to the
rabbit, but differs from it in having a long tail furnished
with tufted hair, which is very thin towards the root,
but thick and long as it approaches the tip. It does
not carry its tail turned over the head like the squirrel,
but stretched out, as it were, in a horizontal direction:
its joints are slender and scaly.

These animals conceal themselves in holes of the
rocks in which they make their retreats, not forming
burrows in the earth like rabbits. There they congregate
in considerable numbers, and are mostly seen in a sitting
posture, but not eating; they feed on the herbs and
shrubs that grow among the rocks, and are very active.
Their means of escape do not consist in the velocity of
their flight, but in the promptitude with which they run
to the shelter of their holes. They have this peculiarity,
that as soon as they die, their hair falls off; and on
this account, although it is softer and somewhat longer
and finer than that of the rabbit, the skin cannot be
made use of for common purposes. The flesh is white,
but not well-flavoured, being especially distasteful at certain
seasons, when it is altogether repugnant to the palate.”

o8 28
19-4 LAGOTIS.

This species of lagotis dwells among the slopes of the
Peruvian Andes, on their western side. Its general
colour is a greyish ash, which is varied here and there
with a tinge of brown. The hairs of the tail are mingled
black and white. In length, this species is about one
foot four inches, including the head, and the ears, which
are rounded, and turned inwards at the edges, equal the
head in length. The tail is about one foot long; the
toes, both on the fore and the hind feet are four it.
number; the hind legs are considerably developed; the
nose is rather long and narrow, and is furnished with
long whiskers. The eyes are of moderate size, but
prominent.

On the whole, therefore, as before observed, this
animal bears a general resemblance to the rabbit.
 
195

DOTTEREL.

Tuis is a very pretty bird, its colour being principally
various shades of brown and rust-colour. The length
is about nine inches. The bill is black; the eyes, dark,
large, and full; the forehead mottled with brown and
white; top of the head black; over each eye an arched
line of white passes to the hinder part of the ‘neck;
the cheeks and throat are white; the back and wings
light brown, inclining to olive, each feather margined
with pale rust-colour; the quills are brown; the fore
part of the neck is surrounded by a broad band of a
light olive-colour, bordered on the under side with white;
the breast above is pale dull orange, black on the middle,
and reddish white or yellowish lower down; the tail is
olive brown, black near the end, and tipped with white,
the outer feathers margined with white; the legs dark
olive-colour. It used formerly to be far more common
than it now is; for the cultivated districts are not so
much to its taste, as those which are more retired and
in the state of nature.

“Though the dotterel certainly breeds on the Grampians,
on Skiddaw, and other mountains in the northern portion
of our island, yet it must be considered rather in the
light of a visitor to our shores than a permanent resident.
Its great breeding-places are the high latitudes of Russia,
Lapland, and Northern Asia. It breeds also on the
bare plateaux of the Norwegian mountains, and in
Bohemia and Silesia, at an elevation of four thousand
eight hundred feet. The eggs are light olive brown,
blotched and spotted with black.
196 DOTTEREL.

In former times the dotterel used to be taken by
means of a net; but this has long since been superseded
by the gun. It was said to imitate the actions of the
fowler, and various supposed qualities are attributed to
it by several old writers. Thus Drayton, in his Polyolbion,
says,

“The dotterel which we think a very dainty dish,

Whose taking 1aakes such sport as no man more can wish;
For as you creep, or cower, or lie, or stoop, or go,

So, marking you with care, the apish bird doth do,

And acting every thing, doth never mark the net,

Till he be in the snare which men for him have set.”

In the autumn, vast flocks of the dotterel, on their
way from the north to the warmer regions of Southern
Kurope, visit our island; and a similar visit is paid in
spring by the flocks on their return from the south to
their northern breeding-places. With respect to its general
habits, the dotterel closely agrees with the golden plover;
it has been accused, indeed, of excessive stupidity; but
for no other reason than because, fresh from the wilds
untrodden by man, it his not experienced persecution.
In the autumn its flesh is excellent. It undergoes a
change of plumage analogous to that of the golden
plover.”
   

 
  

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197

CHILLINGHAM WILD BULL.

Tuis animal is so called from being found in a wild,
or all but wild state, in Chillingham Park, in the
county of Northumberland, the seat of Lord Tankerville.
There are also some of the same kind in Cadzow Forest,
at Hamilton, Lanarkshire.

The Chillingham ox is generally supposed to be de-
scended from the original stock of wild kine in the country,
but there seems considerable reason to doubt this being
the fact. It is more probable that it is the descendant
of some ancient domestic breed.

The following ig part of an account of these animals,
published by Lord Tankerville:—

“In form they are beautifully shaped; have short legs;
a straight back; horns of a very fine texture; a thin
skin, so that some of the bulls appear of a cream-colour;
and they have acry more like that of a wild beast than
that of ordinary cattle. They are fierce wheu pressed,
but, generally speaking, very timorous, moving off at the
appearance of any one, even at a great distance; yet
this varies very much in different seasons of the year,
according to the manner in which they are approached.
‘In summer, I have been for several weeks at a time
without getting a sight of them—they, on the slightest
appearance of any one, retiring into a wood, which serves
them as a sanctuary. On the other hand, in winter,
when coming down for food into the inner park, and
being in contact with the people, they will let you almost
come among them, particularly if on horseback. But
then they have a thousand peculiarities. They will be
198 CHILLINGHAM WILD BULL.

feeding sumetimes quietly, when if any one appear sud-
denly near them, particularly coming down the wind,
they will be struck with a sudden panic, and gallop off,
running one after another, and never stopping till they
_get into the wood. - ;

It is observable of them, as of red-deer, that they
have a peculiar faculty of taking advantage of the irreg-
ularities of the ground; so that, on being disturbed, they
may traverse the whole park, and yet you hardly get a
sight of them. Their usual mode of retreat is to get
up slowly, set off in a walk, then a trot, and seldom
begin to gallop till they have put the ground between
you and them in’ the manner that I have described.
‘When they come down into the lower part: of the park,
which they do at stated hours, they move like a regi-
ment of cavalry in single files, the bulls leading the
van, as in retreat it is the bulls that bring up the rear.
Lord Ossulston witnessed the curious way in which they
took possesion, as it were, of a new pasture recently
opened to them. It was in the evening sunset. -They
began by lining the front of a small wood, which seemed
quite.alive with them; when all of a sudden they made
a dash forward altogether in a line, and charging close
by him across the plain, they then spread out, and,
after a little time, began feeding.”
 

ee RS Sek
199

THRUSH.

THERE are several birds of the genus to which the
one before us belongs, some of them natives of our
own country; as for instance the missel thrush, the
redwing, the fieldfare, the blackbird, and the ring ouzel.
The song thrush is, however, as common as any, and
an especial favourite for the mellow richness of its song.
It is also a very handsome bird, though its colours are
not bright; its breast being very beautifully spotted all
over.

“This splendid songster is common over the greater
portion of Europe, being migratory in Norway, Sweden,
and the northern districts, but stationary in our island,
and in France, Italy, and other parts of the south. As
the winter advances, flights of thrushes arrive in Great
Britain, with a north or north-east wind; and after staying
a few days to recruit, move southwards.

The thrush is a hardy bird, and begins to enliven the
woods and glens with his rich-toned notes, even as early as
the month of January, if the season be temperate; and pairs
and commences the work of nidification in March. The
nest is generally in a thick bush, amidst clustering ivy,
or closely-tangled bowers of dog-roses, in woods, or in
full evergreens, as the Portugal laurel or holly. Externally
it is composed of bent twigs, moss, and grass, closely
interwoven, being plastered within with a very thin smooth
layer of rotten wood, cemented with gluten, and laid as
a coating, or fine cement, upon a thicker layer of some
coarser material, scarcely carried so high as the brim
of the nest. This lining is waterproof and tough, and
200 THRUSH.

well calculated for protecting the eggs or young from the
keen winds of early spring. Two broods are produced
yearly.

Worms, snails, slugs, insects, and berries constitute
the food of the thrush. The common garden snail and
the wood snail are greedily devoured, the bird beating
the shell against a stone till it is completely broken,
and the contents are disengaged.”

The following anecdote is related in the ‘Zoologist :”—
“This year, (1845,) during the breeding season, a pair
of thrushes located themselves in a shed belonging to
the Navigation Company, and forthwith. proceeded to
build their nest. It was placed on a shelf among some
odd pieces of wood, and in it, when finished, were laid
four eggs, which, after the usual period of incubation, were
hatched. The shelf on which the nest was built was not
above five feet from the bench, at which three or four
carpenters were continually at work.”

This is only one out of numberless instances which
prove that if birds are but treated with kindness, and
not alarmed or molested, they will become far more
familiar, and consequently be far better known than might
otherwise be ignorantly imagined.
    
   

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201

DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS.

_ Tue duck-billed platypus is one of the most singular
animals that has ever been discovered. It has not
been known many years, and is one of the productions
of New Holland.

The most curious feature, as it may properly be
called, in this anomalous quadruped, is its duck-like
_ bill, which harmonizes with its webbed feet; thus com-
bining the parts both of a bird and an animal.

The body is long, low, and depressed. The fur is
close-set, and consists of two kinds, that which is
underneath being soft, short, and waterproof, and the
outer covering being long, fine, glossy hair, thickly set.
The tail is strong, broad, and flattened, and of moderate
length. The general colour of the creature is deep
brown, the head and the under parts being of a paler
hue than the upper. The average length of the head
and body, including the tail, is from twenty to twenty-
three inches, the beak being about two inches and a half
in length, and the tail four or five inches.

The duck-billed platypus has never yet been brought
alive to Europe. Mr. Bennet says of a family of them
which he procured, and kept for a considerable time,
“The young sleep in various postures; sometimes in an
extended position, and often rolled up, like a hedgehog,
in the form of a ball. They formed an interesting
group, lying in various attitudes in the box in which I
had placed them, and seeming happy and cuntent. Thus,
for instance, one lies curled up like a dog, keeping its
back warm with the flattened tail, which is brought over

a8 2c
202 DUCK-BILLED PLATYFUS.

it, while the other lies stretched on its back, the head
resting, by way of a pillow, on the body of the old one,
which lies on its side, with the back resting against the
box; the delicate beak and smooth clean fur of the young
contrasting with the rougher appearance of the old one; all
fast asleep.” Again, he continues, “One evening both
the animals came out about dusk, and went as usual,
and ate food from the saucer, and then commenced
playing with one another like two puppies, attacking with
their mandibles, and raising their fore-paws against each
other. In the struggle, one would get thrust down, and
at the moment when the spectator would expect it to
rise again and renew the combat, it would commence
scratching itself, its antagonist looking on, and waiting
for the sport to be renewed. When I placed them in
a pan of deep water, they were eager to get out after
being there only a short time; but when the water was
shallow, with a turf of grass in one corner, they enjoyed
it exceedingly. They appeared to be in a great measure
nocturnal, preferring the twilight to the bright glare of
dar.

The duck-billed platypus is essentially an aquatic
animal, and passes a great part of its existence almost
exclusively in the water.
N AA

      

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DOUBLE E-CRESLHD «HUMMING BERD.
203

DOUBLE-CRESTED HUMMING-BIRD.

Tue double-cresied humming-bird is one of the most
beautiful of the resplendent family to which it belongg.
“This is a. most gorgeous species. Two flattened fan-
shaped crests, each composed of six small feathers, part
from the forehead on a level with the eyes. The bril-
lianey of these crests surpasses description, glistening, as
they do, with the lines of polished gold and red copper,
changing into the gemmy tints of the ruby’ and emerald;
now fire-coloured, anon the purest green, and presently
the brightest yellow. The scaly feathers of the forehead
between the two crests sparkle with metallic uniform
green, changing to steel or sapphire blue. A camail
of dark changeable violet extends from the throat behind
the eyes, and descends along the sides of the neck
to terminate in a point of long feathers before the
breast; this uncertain violet, graduating into a non-metallic
blue, with its velvety very dark tint, is sharply defined
on the milk-white of the breast, which extends to the
lower part of the neck, so as to form a rather large
white collar. The lower part of the breast is white,
but the middle of it and the flanks are, like the
back, golden green, with which is mingled a little of
the greyish colour of the base of the feathers. Back
and sides of the head behind, back, and upper tail
coverts, metallic golden green; quills, brown; tail,
long, narrow, and much graduated; length, four inches
and a half, including the Jong tail and bill.”

The humming-birds are exclusively confined to America
and the adjacent islands, being found in no other country.
204 DOUBLE-CRESTED HUMMING-BIRD.

Their food consists of insects, and the honey of flowers.
They are bold and spirited, and defend their nests with
great courage; darting at the eyes of intruders, and
easily defeating feathered enemies far exceeding them-
selves in size.

Lively and full of energy, these gilded fairies of the
feathered race are almost incessantly on the wing,
darting from one object to another, and displaying
their gorgeous hues in the beams of the sun. When
performing a lengthened flight, as during migration,
they pass through the air in long undulations, raising
themselves for some distance, and then falling in a
curve. When about to feed, or in search of a favourite
flower, they hover stationary, surveying all around,
and suddenly dart off to the object. Bullock observes
that “they remain suspended in the air in a space barely
sufficient for them to move their wings, and the hum-
ming noise proceeds entirely from the surprising velocity
with which they perform that motion, by which they
will keep their bodies in the air, apparently motionless,
for hours together,”
(PR
<i MES

 

° SEAL.
205

SEAL.

TuereE are many different species of seals. The
common seal is found along the shores of various
couutries of Europe, and is plentiful on many parts of
the English, Scottish, and Irish coasts. These animals
feed cn various kinds of fish, such as flounders and
other flat fish, and commit great havoc among the
salmon in the estuary of the River Tees. “This seal
is hunted, as are others also, far the sake of its skin
and. blubber. The fishing commences.in autumn, and
is practised by means of nets stretched across narrow
sounds where the seals are in the habit of swimming.
In these nets they are entangled, but it is only the
young that can be thus captured; the old ones are shot.”

‘The- common seal can reroain under water for about
five minutes, and swims so rapidly, that if alarmed it
will proceed nearly half-a-mile during that period. Th
seal is intelligent and docile, and easily domesticated;
it becomes attached like a dog to its master, and may
be readily taught to assist in fishing. Many anecdotes
respecting tamed seals are recorded. Few animals have
a finer sense of hearing, and musical sounds appear
“to afford it great delight. Laing, in his account of a
voyage to Spitzbergen, states that the violin, when
played on board the vessel, would generally draw around
it a numerous audience of seals, which would continue
to follow it for miles. Sir Walter Scott alludes to the
same curious fact in the following lines:—

“ude Heiskar’s seals through surges dark
Will long pursuc the minstrel’s bark.”
206 SEAL.

The common seal ‘is gregarious in its habits, and
haunts caverns and. recesses among the rocks, to which
the females retire to breed. The young are generally
two in number, and the mother nurses them with great
-assiduity and affection, taking them out to sea very
early. When surprised basking on the shore, which
the seal often does, luxuriating in the sun, its first effort
is to make for the water; but if intercepted, it shows
fight, and with a growl] turns on its adversary, who,
unless he avoid the attack, is in some danger, for the
animal has great power and weight, (often two hundred
and twenty-four pounds,) having overset its antagonist,
it shuffles to the water, and there disappears. All are
familiar with Sir Walter Scott’s humorous narrative of
Hector Mac Intyre’s discomfiture by.a “phoca.” (‘The
Antiquary.”’ )

The voice of the seal is a gruff grunt, not unlike
that of a pig, but when wounded it often utters a
peculiar moaning sound. These animals are sagacious
and watchful, and while half-slambering on the beach,
their customary caution seldom leaves them, for one
of their number is usually placed a little higher on the
rock than the others, and he seems constantly awake,
and ever and anon upraises his “grim feature,” scenting
the windward air.”
   

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AGH. POY = Se ANG:
207

HARPY EAGLE.

Tuts is a very noble looking bird, but its name denotes
its character; with it, however, we must not find fault,
for it is that which Gop has thought proper to assign
to it, Its colour is a light slate grey on the back, and
the crest is dusky -black; the breast is white, with a
band across it of dark slate- colour. The tail is barred
with black and slate-colour; the vill and toes are black,
and the legs yellow.

“The feathers of the neck, and sides of the head in
the harpy eagle are broad and rounded at their anterior
margin, and capable of being puffed up; while on the
back of the head, the feathers, still of the same charac-
ter, but longer, form a sort of crest, which the bird
can raise or depress at pleasure. The middle feathers
of this crest are shorter than the more lateral, so that
when erected, it is lowest in the centre, and rises at
each side somewhat in the form of ears or tufts; but
the proud deportment, and the fierce glance of the eyes
redeem the owl-like character thus given to the head.
Often have we watched the splendid harpy eagle in the
gardens of the zoological society, as he has sat upright
on his perch, and motionless as a statue, unmoved by
every attempt to intimidate him, or disturb his dignified
composure; while the gleam of his eye fixed steadily
upon us, betokened at once daring and energy. In
strength none equal him: in courage and ferocity none
excel him.

But we have seen the harpy eagle under other
circumstances. We have seen him feasting on his
208 HARPY BAGLE.

slaughtered prey, with his talons buried in the body,
and his beak crimson with gore; on our approach,
instead of quitting it, he has expanded his ample wings
over it, so as to conceal it, and assumed a menacing
attitude, as if prepared to contest the possession of it
to the utmost; and such was the ferocity and power
displayed, as to convince us that any attempt at inter-
ference, had it been practicable, would have been a most
dangerous undertaking.

The harpy eagle is a native of Guiana and other
parts of South America, where it frequents the deep
recesses of the forests, remote from the abodes of man.
Of its habits, however, in a state of nature, we. have
but little information. It is feared for its great strength
and fierceness, and is reported not to hesitate in attack-
ing individuals of the human race; nay, that instances
have been known in which persons have fallen a sacrifice,
their skulls having been fractured by the blows of
beak and talons. This may be an exaggeration, but
certainly it would be a hazardous experiment to venture
unarmed near the nest of a pair of these formidable
eagles. Hernandez states that this species not only
thus ventures to assault man, but even beasts of prey.
According to Maudruyt, it makes great destruction
amongst the sloths, which tenant the “branches of the
forest, and are ill-fitted to resist so formidable an
antagonist. It also destroys fawns, cavies, oppossums,
and other quadrupeds, which it carries to its lonely
retreat, there in solitude to satiate its appetite. Monkeys
are also to be numbered among its victims; but the
sloth is said to constitute its ordinary prey.”
209

FOUR-HORNED GOAT.

Or all animals which are reared in a state of domes-
lication, goats are the most picturesque in their appear-
ance, the most lively in their manners, and the most
hardy in their constitutions. In one or other of the
species, they are found in almost every region of the
world. In general, there is a traceable resemblance
between the domestic goat and the wild goat of the
mountain rocks; but the male is of inferior size, and
the hair is of coarser texture. The horns do not incline
so much backwards, and the tips are generally turned
outwards. Those which may be considered as deviating
the least from the natural state, have the hair long
and shaggy; but there are others in which not only the
shape, but even the number of the horns, differ from

-those of the wild goat. Some, also, have the ears pen-
dulous; some are without horns, and some have four
horns; as in the annexed engraving. -

All the species of wild goats have a tendency to climb
to as high situations as they can. In astate of nature
the whole of them inhabit the mountain tops. In a
doniesticated state they also seek hilly places, from which
they do not descend unless for the purpose of drinking.
When mixed with sheep on the same pastures, they
invariably take the lead, and their more timid companions
generally follow in their track. ‘They are bold, impudent,
and capricious, always on the alert, and remarkably
observant of every object around them; and if that which
they see is novel or dangerous, they instantly put them-

selves in an attitude of attack. They are among the
a2 2D
210 HOUR-HORNED GOAT.

most sure-footed of animals, and can pass along ledges of
rocks of very narrow dimensions, upon the brink of the most
frightful precipices. If two of them meet in a situation
where there is no room for either of them to turn, the
one crouches down and allows the other to leap over
it, after which it rises again, and both pursue their
journey with perfect safety.

Bingley mentions a case of two goats meeting on the
Torus, or projecting round moulding of the ramparts at
the citadel of Plymouth, where the footing was very
narrow, aud the rampart overhanging the sea; but the
one contrived to crouch down, and allow the other to
leap over it, so that both pursued their dangerous journey
in perfect safety, and in the presence of numerous
spectators.

The boldness, dexterity, and hardihood of the goat
among rocks, renders the wild goat one of the most
dangerous species of game for the mountain hunters.
They are exceedingly vigilant; and when alarmed or
rendered suspicious, they can escape upwards; and they
are said sometimes to throw themselves down ‘upon the
hunters, and tumble them upon the rocks, in which case
the hunter is dashed to pieces, while the mountain goat
falls on its horns, and escapes unhurt.

Goats utter various sounds according to their age, and
the feeling with which they are impressed at the time.
The kids or young ones bleat, and their bleating, though
sharp, is not unpleasant. When the older ones are
alarmed, they utter a peculiar sort of whistle; and their
general sound, when preparing to repel danger, is an
indescribable sort of spluttering.
a

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MAGPIE.
211

MAGPIE.

Tue magpie will be seen, upon a close inspection,
to be one of the handsomest of our native birds. It is
elegantly pied with black and white, and there is a very
rich metallic gloss of green and purple on the feathers
of the tail, which, as shewn in the plate, is of more than
ordinary size.

In the “Illustrated Family Journal,” the following
account is given of this bird:—‘The magpie is a species
of crow, famous for its noise, mimicry, shrewdness, and
even theft. It is common generally over Britain and
the south of Europe, but seldom seen in Norway. It is
omnivorous; builds its nest in the most guarded fashion,
and in the strongest and most sheltered trees; has’ an
extraordinary propensity, not only for plundering its
neighbeur-birds of their eggs, but for stealing and
secreting things that can be of no use to it; and may
be taught to pronounce whole sentences, and to imitate
any particular noise. Plutarch tells a story of a magpie
at Rome, that, happening to hear a sound of trumpets,
astonished people for a day or two by sitting quite pen-
sive and mute. It was supposed that the trumpets had
stunned it. But the bird, it seems, was in a state of
profound meditation and study, turning all the sounds
and cadences of the trumpets over in its mind, and
accordingly having arranged the business to its satisfac-
tion, it burst forth into a perfect imitation of the whole
performance, with all its repetitions, stops, and changes.
It was observed, however, that this new acquisition
totally obliterated all its former ones. Upon the
212 MAGPIE.

thieving propensity of the magpie is founded Rossini’s
“La Gazza Ladra.” (The thieving magpie) in which a
girl who has parted with some trinket to support her
father, is subjected to suspicions of dishonesty under the
most cruel circumstances, in consequence of a magpie
haying secreted some of the articles and money which
had been exchanged.

Accidents of a like nature have no doubt frequently
occurred in real life, and produced many a_ painful
household perplexity. This, perhaps, is one of the causes
of the superstitions entertained respecting magpies in the
north of England, the appearance of one of whom by
itself is supposed to augur peril to the beholders. If
there are two, however, the omen is good; and four of
them announce a wedding; yet three bring a- funeral.
The peril seems to lie in the odd number. The magpie,
who is unoccupied with a companion, appears to be
thought bent on nothing but mischief.”

Let it however be remembered, that all such super-
stitious notions are idle and vain, as well as wrong, and
utterly unworthy of being for one moment entertained
either by young or old.
 
213

ANT-EATER.

A particular description of this species may serve
to give a competent idea of all the rest. In the Leverian
Museum was a specimen upwards of seven feet long,
and about two feet high. The tongue is thirty inches
long; the nose, or snout, is long and slender; and. the
eves are small ‘and black, mixed with grey; and generally
_ about six inches long. A black line, bounded with
white, extends from the neck across the shoulders to the
sides and the tail is covered with long, coarse, black

air.

When they discover an ant-hill, they approach it
slowly and silently, and having taken a favourable position,
stretch out their long gluey tongne across the path of
the ants. As.soon as a sufficient number have over-
spread the tongue, they draw it into their mouth,
repeating the process till their hunger is satiated, when
they again retire to their lurking-places.

But, though the animal subsists in this manner, it is
said never to get fat, notwithstanding its indolence at
those times when it is not feeding. It is capable,
however, of enduring great privation in the way of food,
The position of repose is that of partially rolling itself
into a ball, with the snout doubled on the breast, the
legs brought together, the long and bushy tail covering
the outer part, and the whole animal having something
the appearance of a bunch of withered grass; and
probably much of its defence from enemies depends
on this position, in which it spends the greater part
of its time. . ee --
214 ANT-EATER,

Though the ant-eater avoids all its enemies with
diligent care, and never provokes a combat with other
quadrupeds, yet, when closely attacked, it will defend
itself against the dog, and even the jaguar, by means
of its claws, with the most resolute animosity; in short,
wherever it fixes, it never relinquishes its hold while it
has life.

The great ant-eaters, or ‘ant-bears, as they are
sometimes called, are natives of the warmer parts of
South America; but they are not numerous in apy one
locality. The low and swampy grounds, by the sides
of streams and pools, or in the forests, are his favourite
haunts, though he never either climbs in the wood, or
swims in the water.

They are remarkably quiet and harmless animals,
living and feeding among the ant-hills. So retired are
they, indeed, that they are considered as rare, even in
their native forests. The Indians and Negroes eat the
flesh of this species, which is not unpalatable, but, as
is the case with several others of the ground animals, it
has a rank, musky flavour, which is rather offensive to
Kuropeans.

The femaie brings forth but a single young one at a
time, which she carries on her back, and tends and
nurses for more than a year.
 

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THRN.
TERN.

Tue common tern is one of a rather numerous
tribe of aquatic birds. It is found in abundance on the
southern shores of England in the summer season, when
it may be seen pursuing the shoals of fish on which it
feeds. ‘
Nothing can exceed the elegant pounce of this grace-
ful bird, when it drops on the sea, to catch the fish
over which, for a second or two, it has previously
hovered, “precipitating itself upon its unwary victims
with unerring certainty, and rising again to pursue its
course as if unchecked by the effort.”

The length of the common tern is about one foot
two inches, and the expanse of the wings about two
feet and a half. The bill, “crimson red,” is tipped with
black, and about two inches and a quarter in length.
The bead is.covered with a long black patch, which
extends over the eyes, and ends in a point below the
nape of the neck. The whole of the breast is pure
white: the upper part of the plumage is of a very fine
pale lead-colour. The quill feathers of the wings are
of a deeper hue, the outside ones the darkest. The
tail, which is long, and very much forked, is white,
excepting the two outside feathers, which are black on
the outer webs; but in flying, they are frequently closed
together, so as to appear like a single feather. The
legs and feet are deep red.

“These birds continue long on the wing, and, in their
quick and circling evolutions, they rise and sink in the
air, or glide along ‘near the surface of the waters.
216 TERN.

They congregate in large flocks, but particularly in the
breeding season, when they are more than usually
restless; wheeling and redoubling their varied flight high
in the air, and uttering their loud screams in clamorous
confusion. Some of the species are described as breeding
on the shores, and depositing their two eggs upon the bare
rock; others lay three or four eggs in the dry sand;
and some nestle among the reeds and rashes in the
marshy borders of lakes. The young keep the nest a
considerable time after they have been hatched, not
offering to leave it until their wings have attained
sufficient length and strength to enable them to fly
with ease. ‘Though almost wholly web-footed, they are
seldom seen to swim. The moult occurs twice a year.
in all the known species.

One kind or another of these birds is met with in
almost every part of the world. Latham enumerates
twenty-three species, besides varieties.”
LONG-

©

 

NOUTED TARSIPES.
217

LONG-SNOUTED TARSIPES.

Tue tarsipes, so named on account of its feet having
a considerable resemblance to those of a little animal found
in the Indian Islands, and called the tarsier, is one of
the most interesting of animal forms recently discovered.
But one species of the genus is known, and that inhabits
the west coast of Australia.

This little quadruped is of the size and form of a
mouse, but with a long, slender, and pointed muzzle.
The eyes are small, of a black colour, and very promi-
nent. The tail is longer than the head and body taken
together, and clothed with small stiff hairs, like the tail
of a mouse. The colour of the fur varies in different
individuals, but is generally grey, more or less suffused
with rust-colour on the upper parts of the body.

It is stated by Mr. Gould, that ‘the tarsipes is gen-
erally found in all situations suited to its existence, from
Swan River to King George’s Sound, but from its rarity,
and the difficulty with which it is procured, the natives
only brought me fonr specimens; one of these, a female,
I kept alive for several months, and it became so tame
ax to allow itself to be caressed in the hand without
evincing any fear, or making any attempt to escape. It
slept during the day, and became active during the
night: when intent upon catching flies, it would sit
quietly in one corner of its cage, eagerly watching their
movements, as attracted by the sugar they flew around;
and when a fly was fairly within its reach, it bounded
as quick as lightning, and seized it with unerring aim;
then retired to the bottom of the sage, and devoured it

oo 25
218 LONG-SNOUTED TARSIPES.

at leisure, sitting tolerably erect and holding the fly
between its fore-paws, and always rejecting the head, wings,
and legs. The artificial food given it was sopped bread,
made very sweet with sugar, into which it inserted its
long tongue, precisely in the way in which the honey-
eaters among birds do theirs into the flower-cups for
honey; every morning the sop was completely honey-
combed, as it were, from the moisture having been drained
from it by the repeated insertion of the tongue: a little
moistened sugar on the end of the finger would attract
it from one part of the cage to the other; and by this
means an opportunity may be readily obtained for
observing the beautifol prehensile structure of the tongue,
which I have frequently seen protruded for nearly an
inch beyond the nose.”
 

 

NIGHTINGALHE.
219

NIGHTINGALE.

Tuts well-known songster, which is common in the
woods in some parts of the country, but not in the
extreme north, nor in the extreme south-west, being
almost unknown in Devonshire and in the northern parts
of Yorkshire, is about the size of a lark. Its length
is seven inches; the bill brown; the eye hazel; the head
and back pale tawny brown; the breast ash-coloured
brown; the tail deep tawny red; the quill feathers of the
wing brown; their outer webs reddish brown. The legs
are long, and of a light brown. The female is rather
less in size than the male.

The nightingale is the largest of the warblers that
visit this country. It arrives here sometimes in April,
but in general not until the beginning of May. Izaak
Walton, the always-popular author of the “Lives” and
the “Complete Angler,” says of this bird, “But the
nightingale, another of my airy creatures, breathes such
sweet loud music out of her little instrumental throat,
that it might make mankind to think that miracles
were not ceased. He that at midnight, when the very
labourer sleeps securely, should hear, as I have very
often, the clear airs, the sweet descants, the natural
rising and falling, the doubling and redonbling of her
voice, might well be lifted above earth, and say, ‘Lord
what music hast thou provided for the saints of Heaven,
when thou affordest bad men such music on earth.”

“Nightingales begin to build about the end of April,
or the beginning of May; they make their nest in the
lower part of a thick bush or hedge. The female
220 NIGHTINGALE.

lays four or five eggs, of a greenish brown colour.
The nest is composed of dry grass and leaves, inter-
mixed with small fibres, and lined with hair, down, and
other soft and warm substances. The business of
incubation is entirely performed by the female, whilst
the male, al no great distance, entertains her with his
delightful melody: as soon, however, as the young are
batched, he leaves off singing, and joins her in the
care of providing for them. These birds make a second
hatch, and sometimes a third; and in hot countries
they are said to have four.

The nightingale is a solitary bird, and never unites
in flocks like many of the smaller birds, but hides
itself in the thickest parts of the bushes, and sings
generally in the night. Its food consists principally of
insects, small worms, eggs of ants, and sometimes berries
f various kinds. Though timorous and shy, they are
easily caught; limed twigs and snares of all sorts are
laid for them, and generally succeed. Young ones are
sometimes brought up from the nest, and fed with
great care till they are able to sing. It is with great
difficulty that old birds are induced to sing after being
taken; for a considerable time they refuse to eat, but
by great attention to their treatment, and avoiding
everything that might agitate them, they at length
resume their song, and continue it during the greater
part of the year.”
 

GENET.
22)

GENET,

Tre genet is a native of the south of France, Spain,
Africa, and the southern parts of Asia. It is somewhat
smaller than the civet, and a little larger than the
marten: in its distinguishing characteristics it more
resembles the former. It is easily tamed, and as it
keeps houses perfectly free from rats and mice, it is of
considerable service.

This beautiful species is chiefly to be found along the
banks of rivers, the sides of brooks and springs. “It is
of a grey colour, spotted with brown or black; the
muzzle is blackish, but has white spots on each side of
its extremity; on the eyebrows and cheeks are also
white spots; the tail is as long as the body, and assimi-
lated with black and white, the black rings being from
nine to eleven in number, and the white ones from
seven to eight. Some specimens differ in the size and
number of their spots, in the bands along the shoulders
and neck, and in the lines on the nape of the neck.
In all, however, the pouch is reduced to a slight de-
pression, formed by a projection of the glands, and has
scarcely any visible excretion, although an odour is
diffused from it, which is more faint and agreeable than
that of the civet; their nails are completely retractile;
and in the light the pupils of their eyes form a vertical
fissure.

Belou tells us that he saw genets in the houses at
Constantinople as tame as cats; and that they were per-
mitted to run everywhere about, and without doing any
mischief; hence they have been called the cats of
922 GENET.

Constantinople, although they have little in common
with that anunal, except their expertness in perceiving
and destroying vermin. These domesticated genets are
said to be not only gentle and mild, but very cleanly.
The glossy fur of the genet forms an important and
valuable article of commerce.”
 

.
223

GOOSE.

THERE are several species of goose, from one of which
our domestic bird is derived. The weight of the wild
goose is eight or nine pounds, and the length about two
feet nine inches. ‘The bill is large and elevated, of a
very pale pink colour; the eye, greyish; the head and
neck, ash-colour, mixed with rust-colour; the back, dusky
grey; the breast, dull white, clouded with ash-colour.
The wing coverts are of different shades of ash-colour;
the tail feathers dusky, tipped with white; the legs very
pale pink; the claws black.

The wild goose is widely and numerously spread ‘over
all the more northerly parts of the globe, whence some
flocks of them migrate a long way southward in the
winter. These birds are often seen, in flocks of fifty
or a hundred, fiving at ‘very great heights, and pre-
serving very great regularity in their motions; sometimes
forming a straight line, and at others assuming the
shape of a wedge, which is supposed to facilitate their
progress. Their cry is frequently beard when they are
at a very great distance above us. When on the ground,
they range themselves in a line, after the manner of
cranes; and seem to have descended rather for the sake
of rest than for food. Having continued in this situation
for an hour two, one of them, with a long loud note,
sounds a kind of -signal, to which the rest punctually
attend, and rising in a group, they pursue their journey
with renewed alacrity.

Mr. Rennie relates the following of two birds of this
genus:—‘“In the “Environs of London,” by Mr. Lysons,
224 GOOSE.

an anecdote is given of the partiality of a Canada goose
for a yard dog. The goose could only be separated by
foree from her canine friend, and after his death fell a
sacrifice, by endeavouring to’ possess that seat in the
kennel where she had so long been fostered with the
kindest friendship by his predecessor.

A similar attachment we recollect of the China goose,
the male of which bad been killed by a young pointer.
Ponto was most severely punished for this misdemeanor,
and had the dead bird tied to his neck. The solitary
goose became extremely distressed for the loss of her
partner and only companion; and probably having been
attracted to the dog’s kennel by the sight of her dead
mate, she determined to persecute Ponto by her constant
attendance and continual vociferations; after a little time,
however, a strict amity and friendship subsisted between
the incongruous animals: they fed out of the same
trough, lived under the same roof, and in the same
straw-bed kept each other warm; and when the dog was
taken to the field, the inharmonious lamentations of the
goose for the absence of her friend were incessant.”

The common goose, from which our domestic breed
is descended, must have been dumesticated many centuries;
and it is rather surprising that many other species of
the larger birds, especially of the aquatic kinds, have
not been brought under the dominion of man.
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225

NYLGHAU.

Tue nylghau belongs to the family of the antelopes,
and is a very singular-looking animal; they appear - to
be confined to the north-western provinces of the pen-
insula of Hindoostan, and the countries situated between
them and Persia. It is said that in the days of
Aurengzebe they abounded between Delhi and Lahore,
and formed one of the objects of the chase with that
mighty monarch during his journey to Cashmere; his
army of hunters inclosing them within a limited space
by means of nets. The king and his omrahs, attended
by their huntsmen, then entered, and, somewhat after
the manner of a modern battu, dispatched them with
their arrows, spears, and other weapons.

The following is the account of it that is given by
Mr. Linneus Martin:—“This magnificent species, which
stands upwards of four feet in height at the shoulder,
is a native of the dense forests of India, where it resides
alone or in pairs. It is extremely vicious, resolute, and
powerful, and will turn upon its pursuers with great
fury. Even in confinement it is not to be approached
without caution. Previous to making its attack, it drops
upon its fore knees, and in that attitude gradually ad-
vances, till within a certain distance of its foe, when it
darts suddenly forward with amazing force and velocity.
Bold and spirited, however as it is, it is the most com-
mon prey of the tiger. During the day the nylghau
lurks in the covert of the forest, whence, early in the
morning or during the night, it wanders forth to feed,

invading the adjacent corn-fields and cultivated lands.
ao 2F
226 | NYLGHAU.

This species is often bred in captivity, both in this
country and in India. The female usually produces two
at a birth.

The male considerably exceeds the female in size.
The general colour is slate blue; in the female, tawny
red. The lips, chin, and under parts are white; there
is a large white spot on the throat, two smaller ones
on the cheeks, and one in. the front, and two in the
rear of each pastern-joint. The young males resemble
the female in colour, which is exchanged for slate blue
on arriving at maturity. A bunch of long pendant hair
hangs from the fore part of the neck, and a single tuft
terminates the tail. The limbs of the nylghau are
well formed, but when the animal is standing, they are
gathered close under the body, and the tail is drawn
in between the hind legs.”
 
227

PHEASANT.

Tue pheasant is a superbly handsome bird, but is
not thought to have been originally a native of these
kingdoms, but to have been introduced at some remote
period from some foreign corntry.

Montagu well remarks that the various tints of green,
gold, blue, and violet in its plumage exceed description,
while they are at the same time too well known to
need it. He further adds, “It is a foolish bird, and
when roused will frequently perch on the first tree, and
is so intent upon the dogs, as to suffer the sportsman
to approach very near. At the time they perch they
most frequently crow, or make a chuckling noise, by
which the unfair sportsman is led to their destruction.
The poachers catch them in nooses made of wire, horse-
hair twisted, and even with a brier set in the like
manner at the verge of a wood; for they always run
to feed in the adjacent fields morning and evening.
Besides these, they are taken by a wire fastened to a
long pole, and by that. means taken off their roost at
night, or by fixing a hunch of matches lighted at the
end of a pole, are suffocated, and drop off the perch.
Foxes also destroy a great many, in particular the females
when sitting on their nest.

The pheasant is found partially in most parts of
England, but not so plentifully in the north, and rarely
in ‘Scotland. Wood and corn lands seem necessary to
its existence; it is partial to oak and beech woods, on
the seed of which it feeds; buckwheat is also a favourite
food. In the autumn they frequent turnip-fields. Large
228 PHEASANT.

wooded tracts only produce them in abundance, and they
mostly frequent the thickest and most impenetrable
coverts, or such as are covered with long grass, which
the female generally makes choice of to deposit her eggs
in, scraping together a few surrounding dry vegetables
for a nest, and laying from eight to twelve eggs. The
male is frequently heard to crow in spring, clapping his
wings at the same time.”

_ Some of the rarer species of pheasant are kept in
aviaries in this country. The Golden Pheasant, a native
of China, remarkable for the beauty of its plumage, is
distinguished by a crest upon the head, which can be
raised at pleasure. The prevailing colours of the body
are red, yellow, and blue. The iris, bill, and legs are
yellow. The tail is longer and more richly tinted than
that of the common species; and from above it arise a
number of long, straight feathers, of a scarlet hue, mixed
with yellow. Another fine species found in China is the
Silver Pheasant. This bird is of a silvery white-colour, -
with very delicate black lines on each feather, and black
on the under part of the body. But the most splendid
of all is the Argus Pheasant. This species, which is
as large as a turkey, is an inhabitant of the mountains
of Sumatra, and of some other of the Indian islands.
The male has a very long tail; the feathers of the
wings are large and long; and both are thickly covered
with ocellate spots.
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MARMOZET.
229

MARMOZET.

_ Tue native country of this elegant little monkey is
South America, where it is found in Brazil and Guiana.
lis fur is long and soft, and is variegated with yellow,
black, and white. The head and throat are dusky black,
and the tail is ringed with dusky black and white.

“Little has been recorded respecting the natural habits
of this beautiful animal, beyond the facts of its congre-
gating in small families, of being active and shy, and
of its subsisting upon insects and eggs, together with
fruits, such as bananas and mangoes, of which it is very
fond.

It is frequently brought to Europe, and has not only
lived several years, but produced young, in the menageries
of France and England. Distrustful, especially towards
those whom if is not accustomed to see, it retires from
observation; and on being touched, utters its peculiar
whistling cry, or becomes angry, and resists the unwel-
come attempt to court its confidence. When undisturbed,
it displays much liveliness, and exerts its activity, leaping
from perch to perch with squirrel-like address; and in
all its actions justifying the expression of “nimble mar-
mozet” used by Shakespeare. Extremely sensitive to
cold, no little of the marmozet’s time is passed in
protecting itself against the changes of temperature, to
which our atmosphere is subject. All the wool, cotton,
or other soft materials with which it is furnished, it will
carry to some convenient corner of its cage, or to an
inner dormitory, and there completely bury itself in the
downy mass, from which it will peep out on a person’s
230 MARMOZET.

approach, but from which, unless induced by the offer
of tempting food, it can seldom be induced to emerge
altogether. When two or three are confined in the same
cage, they huddle themselves together, and lie nestled
in their bed. The marmozet eats bread, fruits, and
finely-minced meat. It feeds in a crouching attitude,
and usually holds everything between its two fore-paws,
the long hooked nails assisting it.”
 

 

 

OYSTER-CATCHE &.
231 -

OYSTER-CATCHER.

Tux oyster catcher is not a very uncommon bird in
some parts of the English coasts. It is a very hand-
some bird, and a. writer in Blackwood’s Magazine
observes, “Beautiful and easily domesticated as these
birds are, it is surprising that they are not more fre-
quently introduced in our pleasure grounds. ‘Those who
have visited Brighton within these few years, may
remember the numbers running about without alarm
on the lawn of the Pavilion, exhibiting their smart,
piebald glossy coats, in full contrast with their long,
bright orange beaks and legs, and crimson irides.”’

The following is the description of this species:—Its
weight is “about seventeen ounces; length, sixteen inches;
bill, three inches long, straight and compressed; the
tip, wedge-shaped; the colour, orange; irides, crimson;
orbits, orange yellow. The head, neck, upper part of
the back, scapulars, and lesser wing coverts, black; a
small spot of white under the eyelid, and a crescent of
the same across the throat. The greater coverts are
white, the next above them tipped with white; the quills
are black, with more or less white on the inner webs;
the lower part of the back, the breast, and the under
parts are white; the base of the tail is white, the end
black; legs, red orange; claws, black.

This bird is common on our shores, but never quits
the sea coast. In winter they assemble i in small flocks.
Their principal food is marine insects and shell-fish; and
from their adroitness in getting at an oyster, they have
taken this name. This, however, can only be done when
232 OYSTER-CATCHER.

the shells are partly open; it is the bill that is inserted
to kill the oyster. It makes no nest, but deposits its
eggs on the bare ground above bigh-water mark; gen-
erally four, of an oliveaceous brown, blotted with black,
somewhat larger than that of the lapwing. At the time
of incubation the male is very watchful, and upon the
least alarm runs of with a loud scream, upon which the
female instantly runs from her eggs to some distance,
and takes wing. It is a shy bird, but when the young
are hatched it becomes bolder. The young is capable
of running as soon as it quits the egg, and is led by
the parent birds to its proper food. These birds are
subject to some variation in plumage. In most the
white under the chin is wanting; in some that mark is
mottled with black, and the white spot under the eyelid
wanting. Whether these are varieties, or depending on
age or sex, has not been thoroughly ascertained; perhaps
both: but both sexes have been killed at all seasons, with-
out the white on the throat. T’emminck says that they
change their feathers twice in the year; moulting in the
spring and autumn, but the colour of the plumage does
not seem to change at these times; the only difference
consisting in the absence or presence of the white gorget
on the throat. There does not appear to be any difference
in the sexes in the young: the plumage is dusky; the
feathers margined with brown; the eyes of a brownish
black; iris, brown; feet of a greyish black.

Dr. Latham observes, it is easily tamed when taken
young, and has been known to attend the ducks and
other poultry to feed, and shelter at night.”
 

ARMADILLO.
233

ARMADILLO.

Tue armadillos are only found in the American con-
tinent. Most of them are nocturnal in their habits,
remaining during the day in their burrows, which they
are very expert in hollowing out for themselves. ‘When
alarmed during their excursions, the first endeavour of
these animals is to gain their burrows, to which they
run with a degree of celerity little to be expected from
their clumsy appearance.

The food of the armadillos consists principally of
fallen fruits, roots, and insects. Azara informs us that
ants are never found in the districts inhabited by the
armadillos, and that these animals break into the ant-
hills, and devour the insects as greedily as the true
ant-eaters. Nature, it is true, has not provided them
with the same apparatus for this purpose, but the arma-
dillos may, notwithstanding, destroy vast quantities of
ants, though it is probable that they expel them from
their own peculiar districts, as much at least by destroying
the habitations, as by destroying the insects themselves.
The ordinary food of the armadillos consists chiefly of
the roots of the manioc, potatoes, maize, and other
similar substances of a vegetable nature.

The armadillos see but indifferently, particularly in
bright sunshiny weather; but their sense of hearing is
extremely acute, and amply compensates for any im-
perfection of sight. When alarmed by any unusual or
strange sound, they prick up their ears, stop for a moment
to satisfy themselves of its distance and direction, then

commence a precipitate retreat to their burrow; or, if that
ac 2a
234 ARMADILLO.

be too remote, begin to construct a new one. Smelling
is, however, by far the most acute of their senses.

_ The portions of armour which cover these animals,
consist of a triangular or oval plate on the top of the
head, a large buckler over the shoulders, and a similar
buckler over the haunches, while between these solid
portions there intervenes a series of transverse bands,
overlapping each others edges, and allowing to the body
due freedom of motion. Hach of these separate portions
consists of a multitude of small parts - consolidated
together, giving the idea of what is called mosaic work,
especially on the head and shoulders, the pattern dif-
fering in different species.”’ .
235

SKYLARK.

Tue skylark is one of the best known of our native
species of birds, being universally appreciated for the
almost unrivalled excellence of its song. What we lose
in this country in the beauty of birds’ plumage, we gain
in the sweetness of their notes, for no country is so
favoured in this respect as ours.

“The length of this species is seven inches; bill,
dusky; the base of the upper mandible, yellowish; the
feathers on the top of the head are dusky, bordered
with rufous brown; they are rather long, and erectable ©
in form of a short crest; the hind part is plain, in-
clining to ash-colour; on the upper parts of the body
the feathers are reddish brown, darker in their middle,
their edges pale; the under parts are dull buff-colour,
darkest on the neck and breast, which parts are streaked
with dusky; quills, brown, lighter on the outer’ webs
and tips; the tail is dusky brown, the two middle
feathers darkest, with light rufous margins; the outer
feather is white on the outer web and tip of the inner;
the second feather white on the outer web only; the
third is inclining to white on the margin of the outer
web; legs, dusky in old birds, but lighter in the young;
claws, dusky, the bind one very large and straight.

The eggs are generally four in number, rather larger
than those of a titlark, weighing about fifty grains, of
a dull white, blotted and spotted with brown. It
begins to breed in May, and will lay as late as Sep-
tember, if the first nests are destroyed.”

Two or three instances are recorded of the skylark
236 SKYLARK.

moving its eggs under the fear of impending danger;
and Mr. Jesse, in the fourth edition of his “Gleanings,”
adds the following communication made to him by a
clergyman in Sussex, who, during a previous harvest ‘was
riding gently towards Dell Quay in Chichester Harbour,
with two friends; when having passed the toll-bar, the
road is of good elevation, and separated by a short quick-
set edge on each side from the fields, over which there
was a commanding view. When in this situation, their
attention was attracted by a shrieking cry, and they
discovered a pair of skylarks rising out of the stubble;
and crossing the road before them at a slow rate, one
of them having a small bird in its claws, which was
dropped in the opposite field at a height of about thirty
feet from the ground, and killed by the fall. On taking
it up it appeared to have been hatched about eight or
nine days. The affectionate parent was endeavouring ot
convey its young one to a place of safety, but its strength
failed in the attempt.”
 

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237

OCELOT.

Tue ocelot, a species of tiger-cat, belonging to the
general family of the tigers, is about three feet in length
of body, and the tail measures about a foot more. Its
height is about one foot and a half. It is a native of
Mexico, Paraquay, and probably also of Peru—all
countries of South America.

Of this species, “the ground colour of the far is grey,
slightly tinged with fawn; upon this are disposed lon-
gitudinal bands, of which the margins are perfectly
black, the central parts being of a deeper fawn than
the general ground. These ribands of black, enclosing
a deep fawn, become deep black lines and spots on the
neck and head, and on the outer aspect of the limbs.
From the top of the head towards the shoulders, there
pass several diverging black bands, and on the top of
the back the line is quite continuous. The tail is
spotted upon a ground like that of the body.

The ocelot is often exhibited in menageries, and is
generally good-tempered and playful; we have seen
several which might be said to be perfectly domesti-
cated. Bewick states that ‘nothing can soften the natural
- ferocity of its disposition, nor calm the restlessness of
its motions. One of these animals, shewn at Newcastle
in 1788, although extremely old, exhibited great marks
of ferocity. It was kept closely confined, and would not
admit of being caressed by its keeper.’

Harsh usage and close confinement have often spoiled
the temper of animals, and the fault is always laid to
their disposition, and not to mismanagement. Mr. Bennett
238 _ OCELOT. .

informs us that a specimen which was kept in the
Tower Menagerie, was extremely familiar, and had much
of the character and manners of the common cat. Its
food consisted principally of rabbits and birds; the latter
it plucked with great dexterity, and always commenced
its meal with the head, of which it seemed particularly
fond; but it did not eat with the ravenous avidity which
characterizes nearly all the animals of this tribe. Of
the manners of the ocelot in a state of nature little is
known. It inhabits the deep forests, and preys upon
small quadrupeds and birds; climbing the trees in qnest
of the latter, and lying in wait for them concealed among
the foliage. It is said to take monkeys by a very subtle
mode of proceeding. When it perceives a troop of these
active creatures, it immediately stretches itself out, as
if dead, on the limb of some tree; urged by curiosity,
they hasten to examine the supposed mortal remains
of their enemy—the foremost pays dearly for his
curiosity.”
 

 

PETREL.
239

PETREL.

Tere are several species of petrel, some of them
much larger than others. The one before us is a very
small bird, and is occasionally met with on the British
coasts. It is called by the sailors, “Mother Carey’s
Chicken,” and is proverbial for its braving the severest
storms, attending on the ships that are driven before
them, following in their wake, and mounting or descending
over the surface of the highest billows without fear.
Nevertheless, they are, sometimes driven to the land by
stress of weather, and it is on such occasions that they
are for the most part procured. “

The common, or stormy petrel, so called, though all
of them are of somewhat the same habits, is about the
size of a Swallow, and is all over of a sooty black
colour, darkest on the back. The feet are webbed.

“Ags the stormy petrel,’ says Mr. R. Drossier, ‘4s
scarcely ever seen near the land, except in very bois-
terous weather, one of the natives of the Orkneys agreed,
for a trifling remuneration, to traverse the rock and
take me some from out its fissures. Accordingly,
accoutred with a rope of hemp and hog’s bristles coiled
over his shoulders, he proceeded to the cliff. Having
made one end fast, by means of a stake, he threw the
coil over the face of the rock, and gradually lowered
himself down, with great caution and circumspection,
carefully pressing his feet hard upon the narrow ridges
before he loosened his firm grasp of the rope, which
he never altogether abandoned. I had thrown myself
on my chest to have a better view of him over the
240 _ PETREL.

cliff; and, certainly, to see the dexterity and bravery with
which he threw himself from one aperture to another
was truly grand. The tumbling waves of the Atlantic
were foaming many hundred feet beneath, and dashing
their curling cream-like surges against the dark base of
the cliff, in sheets of the most beautiful white; while
the herring and black-backed gull alternately sweeping
past him, so as to be almost within reach of his arm,
threw a wildness into the scene, increased by the dis-
cordant scream of the former, and laughing bark of the
latter. This, however, he appeared entirely to disregard;
and, continuing his search, returned in about half-an-
hour with seven or eight of the stormy petrels, tied up
in an old stocking.” —
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PALM SQUIRREL.
241

PALM SQUIRREL.

Tuis animal is said to be common in India, and to
be particularly plentiful in the towns and villages, taking
up its abode on the roofs of houses and in old walls,
in the cavities of which the female deposits her young.
‘Chey commit great devastations in the orchards, destroy-
ing and devouring all kinds of fruit; and are so familiar
as even to enter the houses, and pick up the crumbs
that fall from the tables. Their name is derived from
their being often seen on palm trees, which in the east
are always found in the neighbourhood of the habitations
of men.

They are social even in their wild state, and, as-may
naturally be expected, become very good- “tempered and
familiar in captivity. Clusius, one of the earliest. de-
scribers of these animals, particularly remarks the tameness
of the individuals seen by him, which were so completely
domesticated as to be suffered to ramble about at perfect
liberty whithersoever they pleased, and so familiar as to
take refuge in the bosoms of the sailors of the vessel
in which they were brought to Europe. They always
eat sitting upright upon their haunches, and convey
their food to their mouths between their fore paws.

The palm squirrel is about five inches long, with a tail
of the same dimensions. It differs from the other squirrels
in the narrowness and elongation of its face, but its
formation in other respects is similar. It is of a blackish
brown colour above, and white below, with three whitish
stripes, one along the dorsal ridge, and two lateral.

Another pretty species, the plantain squirrel, a native
25
242 PALM SQUIRREL,

of Java, is constantly kept by the Javanese as a pet.
One which Mr. Adams obtained when visiting that country
in the Samarang, he describes as “an amusing little
animal, full of frolic, and as playful as a kitten. He
never carried his tail over his back, like the greater
number of the other squirrels, but would trail it grace-
fully along the ground. When angry, he would dilate
this ornamental appendage, and bristle up the hairs,
like an irritated cat. His natural cry was a weak
chirping sound, but, when teazed beyond his powers of
endurance, he would make a sharp, low, and passionate
noise. He seemed to court caresses, and would receive
them with pleasure. His food consisted of bananas
and cocoa-nuts, which he would usually nibble like a
rat, though sometimes he would place it between his
paws. He was a remarkably cieanly little creature,
continually dressing his fur in the manner of the feline.
When he slept, he rolled himself up like the dormouse,
with his tail encircling his body. Always active and
blithe, he would sometimes perform feats of extraordinary
agility, bounding to great distances, and clinging to
every object within his reach.”
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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243

GUILLEMOT.

THE common guillemot, for there are several different
kinds of these birds, is very common on different parts
of our coasts. Its length is about one foot five inches,
the back is of a general brown colour, the breast white,
excepting the upper part of the throat and the chin,
which are of the same colour as the back. ‘The legs
are dusky brown, the bill and claws black.

The following is the account given of the genus:—
The bill, though of a rather slender shape, is firm,
strong, and pointed, the upper part slightly bending
towards the end, and the base covered with soft short
feathers. The legs are placed very far back, and there
is no hind toe. They are thick and clumsy birds, and
very much at the mercy even of storms when in the sea.
They dive with great address, and also catch their prey
with no inconsiderable adroitness. During storms they
are frequently cast ashore in a state of complete
exhaustion, and sometimes they are thrown so high
upon the rocks by the surge, that they are unable to
get down again until the storm abates.

“Some of the guillemots appear to be very stupid, not
becoming cautious from experience, like many other .
kinds, but suffering themselves repeatedly to be shot at,
as if they did not know the danger; for notwithstanding
they have seen their associates drop at every fire, they
still continue to wheel about in the same circle, and
to alight again on the same place where they were
first disturbed: others, however, are sufficiently alert.
They use their wings when under water.
244 GUILLEMOT.

These birds are numerously spread over various parts
of the northern world, whence they are driven by the
approach of winter, to seek more temperate climes. At
that season they arrive on the British shores, where
they remain until they have reared their young. Cuvier
says, “Their wings, less fitted for flying than those of
the other divers, serve them only to flutter with difficulty.”
This is not the fact. They fly well and quickly too,
and seem to have no difficulty whatever. During the
time of nidification they are much on the wing, though
in general they seem to prefer swimming.”

The guillemots approach the lonely island of St. Kilda
about the beginning of February; and by the people
there, who live much on sea-birds, their appearance is
bailed with pleasure. It is said that on their arrival,
they are caught by what seems a very shallow device:
the bird-catcher lies down on a ledge of the rock during
the night, with a piece of white cloth tied round him;
the birds see the cloth more easily than the rock, and
alighting on it one after another, numbers of them are
captured.
245

GRISLY BEAR.

Tus grisly bear is a most formidable animal, and is
always much dreaded in the countries’ where it is met
with for its great strength and ferocity. It is a native
of the north-western parts of North America, its strong-
hold being among the rocky mountains, and the district
to the eastward of them. It is more than a match even
for the bison, and can carry off this huge beast, weighing
more than a thousand pounds, to its haunt.

“Lewis and Clarke give the measurement of one of
these bears as nine feet from nose to tail, but had seen
them of larger dimensions. They attain the weight of
eight hundred pounds. The length of the fore foot is
nine inches, of the hind foot twelve, without including
the enormous claws; its breadth seven inches. The tail
is short, and lost in the shaggy hair. The grisly bear
digs with great facility, but when adult, is not capable
of ascending trees, (a fortunate circumstance for the
hunter,) for such is the animal’s tenacity of life, that
it seldom falls until it has received many balls. It
would seem, though the adult grisly bears cannot climb
trees, that the cubs are able, if the reports of the
Indians are to be credited. The cubs, and females with
young hybernate; but the older males often come
abruad during winter for food. An individual of this
species, distinguished by his enormous size and ferocity,
some time since attracted the attention of all who visited
the Gardens of the Zoological Society. He had previously
been almost twenty years in the Tower, where, at the
breaking up of the menagerie there, he was presented
246 GRISLY BEAR.

®
by his Majesty William IV. to the Society. His morose
indomitable temper was never subdued, but remained
unaltered, as if he had been at large, surrounded by the
savage rocks and gloomy pine forests of his native
regions.”

Mr. Drummond, in his excursions over the Rocky
Mountains, had frequent opportunities of observing the
manners of the grisly bears; and it often happened
that in turning the point of a rock, or sharp angle ofa
valley, he came suddenly upon one or more of them.
On such occasions they reared on their hind legs, and
made a loud noise, like a person breathing quick, but
much harsher. He kept his ground without attempting
to molest them; and they, on their part, after atten-
tively regarding him for some time, generally wheeled
round, and galloped off; though, from their known dis-
position, there is little doubt that he would have been
torn in pieces, had he lost his presence of mind, and
attempted to fly.
 

COGE#T OO,
247

‘COCKATOO.

Tue cockatoos are somewhat. like the macaws: they
are natives of Australia and the Indian Islands, where
they inhabit the woods and forests of these luxuriant
climes. They feed upon the seeds of various trees and
plants, being able, with their powerful bills, to break the
stones of the hardest fruits.

The general plumage of the lesser sulphur-crested
cockatoo is white, slightly tinted upon the breast, sides,
and inner wing coverts with pale sulphur yellow. The
crest is of a fine sulphur yellow. The legs and toes
are grey; the irides, red. They make their nests in the
rotten limbs of trees, of nothing more than the vegetable
mould formed by the decayed parts of the bough; and
lay no more than two eggs at a time, which are white,
and without spots. The situation of these nests is readily
discovered by the conspicuous heaps that lie upon the
ground beneath some adjoining tree, from which the
old birds cut a quantity of small branches when their
young are nearly fledged, strip off their bark, and
dividing it into shreds, deposit it in heaps upon the
ground. Their breeding-places appear to be local, and
the flesh of the young is said to be good eating.

“As may be readily imagined, this bird is not upon
favourable terms with the agriculturist, upon whose fields
of newly-sown grain and ripening maize it commits the
greatest devastation; it is consequently hunted and shot
down wherever it is found, a circumstance which. tends
much to lessen its numbers. It is still, however, very
abundant, moving about in flocks, varying from a hun-
248 COCKATOO.

dred to a thousand in number, and evinces a decided
preference to the open plains and cleared lands, rather
than to the dense brushes near the coast. Except
when feeding, or reposing on the trees after a repast,
the presence of a flock, if not seen, is certain to be
indicated by their horrid screaming notes; the discord-
ance of which may be slightly conceived by those who
know the peculiar loud, piercing, grating scream of the
bird in captivity, always remembering the immense increase
of the din occasioned by the large number of the birds
uttering their disagreeable notes at the same moment;
still I ever considered this annoyance amply compensated
for by their sprightly actions, and the life their snowy
forms imparted to the dense and never-varying green
of the Australian forest; a feeling participated in by
Sir Thomas Mitchell, who says that amidst the um-
brageous foliage, forming dense masses of shade, the
white cockatoos sported like spirits of light.”
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WALRUS.
249

WALRUS.

Tue walrus is a very large and singular animal of
the seal tribe. It inhabits the icy regions-of the north,
where large herds of them assemble on the rocks, or
frozen waters of those cold regions.

The body of the ‘walrus is large and unwieldy; its
skin is very thick, smooth, and of a blackish colour;
the neck is very short; the ears, which are not visible
externally, are placed far back in the head; the eyes
are small and bright, the head very small in proportion to
- the bulk of the body; the bind feet or flappers are broad;
and the tail is very short. The canine teeth, as shewn
in the figure, are powerful weapons of defence, being
very strong, and from eight to fourteen inches in length,
and in old animals they are sometimes even much longer;
they have been known as mucb as six inches and three-
quarters in circumference. The walrus feeds on the
vegetable productions of the ocean, and also on crusta-
ceous and molluscous animals.

“In the arctic regions the flesh of the walrus is held
by the natives in great estimation; Sir Edward Parry
remarks that the flesh was tolerably good, affording
variety amid the ordinary sea-fare. ‘I'he ivory is finer than
that of the elephant, the skin makes excellent carriage
harness, and the oil is valuable, though only from
twenty to thirty gallons are yielded by a single carcass.
Its blubber, as Crantz says, being white and solid like
bacon, and a hands-breadth thick, but not giving out much
fluid oil. Seal’s flesh, says Crantz, supplies the Green-

landers with their most palatable and substantial food;
oo 21
250 | WALRUS.

the fat furnishes them with oil for lamp-light, chamber
and kitchen fire; and whoever sees their habitations
presently finds that, even if they had the superfiuity of
wood, it would not be of use; they can use nothing but
oil in them. They also mollify their dry food, mostly
fish, with oil; and, finally, they barter it for all kinds of
necessaries with the factor. They can sew better with
fibres of the seals sinews than with thread or silk; of
the skins of the entrails they make’ window curtains for
their tents, and shirts; part of the bladder they ‘use as
a float to their harpoons, and they make oil-flasks of
the stomach. Neither is the blood wasted, but is boiled
up with other ingredients, and eaten as soup.

Of the skin of the seal they stand in the greatest
need, because they must cover with seal skins both the
large and small boats in which they travel and seek
provisions. They must also cut out of them their thongs
and straps, and cover their tents with them, without
which they could not subsist in summer. No man,
therefore, can pass for a right Greenlander who cannot
catch seals. This is the ultimate end they aspire at in
all their device and labour from their childhood up.”

To the Greenlander, then, the sea is his pasturage,
where his flocks and herds are fed—the sea is his
hunting-domain, where in his light kajak, he skims
over the waves.
 

GOLDEN-CRHSTEHED WREN.
GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN.

Turs is one of the smallest species of British Birds.
Its weight seldom exceeds eight grains. Its length is
three inches and three-quarters; the bill is very slender,
and black; the eye, hazel. The crown of the head is
extremely beautiful, being streaked with a crest, which
is composed of a double series of feathers, arising from
each side, and almost meeting at their points: the
outside ones are black, the inside ones bright yellow,
between which, on the crown, the feathers are shorter,
and of a fine deep orange. ‘The forehead, the chin,
and the feathers round the eye are whitish. The hind
part of the head, of the neck, and also the back are
greenish; the breast is brownish white; the tail a little
forked, the feathers, dusky edged with yellowish green.

“This minute species,” says Montagu, “braves the
severest winters of our climate, being equally found in
all parts during that rigorous season, and is by no
means so scarce as it is supposed to be; but, from its
diminutive size, it is seldom noticed. It would, in all
probability be much more plentiful, but from some
cause which we have not been able to discover. The
female is frequently destroyed at the time of its incu-
bation, and the nest with the eggs left to decay.
Bechstein informs us that these beautiful birds are spread
over the whole of Europe and Asia; its favourite haunts
being the extensive pine and fir forests of the North of
Europe, from whence they migrate towards the south
on the approach of winter. In the month of October
they are observed in Germany, passing towards the south,
952 GOLDEN-CRESTED WREN.

and returning again in the month of March towards the
north. In that country, however, flocks of them reside
during the whole year, uniting together as the year
advances, and searching out those spots where their food,
which consists of small insects, is most abundant. He
adds, that they are easily taken by cautiously approach-
ing the branch on which they generally perch themselves,
and touching them softly with a lime twig, attached to
a stick of sufficient length to reach them, the gentle
creatures become unresisting prisoners. When taken
they are easily tamed, and will, in a very short time,
take their food from the hand; but such is their extreme
delicacy, that many die before one can be reared: once
accustomed to confinement, they have been known to
live a considerable time.”

A pair of these birds in the collection of Mr. Luscombe,
of Kingsbridge, were of a cream-colour, with the usual
yellow crown, by which the sexes are distinguished.
The song, which is short, weak, and with little variety,
is repeated at short intervals throughout the day, in spring,
and until it has young.
  
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 

 
     
      
 

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253

SERVAL.

Tuts is another animal of the cat or tiger kind, and
the following is the account of it given in the ‘Pictorial
Museum of Animated Nature :”’—

“The serval is a native of Southern Africa, and is
not uncommon in menageries; specimens are living in
the gardens of the Zoological Society of London. It
is frequently very tame and playful, gambolling like a
kitten, and enduring captivity without sullenness, or a
display of ferocity. The disposition of the feline race
greatly depends on the treatment they experience, so that
while some are savage and distrustful, others of the
same species are familiar. Some species, however, are
more easily reclaimed than others, and of these we
may count the serval.

The serval stands about eighteen inches in height at the
shoulders; the length of the head and body is thirty-four
inches, that of the tail ten inches. The upper parts
are of a clear yellowish white with black spots; the lower
parts are white, spotted more distinctly with black.
Symmetrical lines adorn the head and neck, directed
towards the shoulders; the back of the ears is black
at the base, then barred transversely with white, and
tipped with yellow; on the inside of the fore limbs are
two black bars; tail, ringed with black.

The general form is slender, and the limbs are thin;
the head is long, compressed, and viverrine in its char-
acter; the ears are large and broad, and their bases
nearly meet each other on the top of the head, giving
a singular expression to the physiognomy. In some
254 SERVAL.

specimens the markings are more decided than in others.
Our measurements are taken from one of five specimens
in the museum at Paris.”
   
    

   
 

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299

KINGFISHER.

Tuts well-known, though not very common British
Bird, is one of the gayest coloured that our country can
boast of. The shape of the bird is not perhaps in itself
elegant, but it pleases from its singularity, and no doubt is
appropriate to the garb in which it is attired.

The kingfisher is of a rust-coloured red on the breast,
and its back is of a most beautiful iridescent colour,
varying in different lights from green to blue.

This species “frequents the banks of streams of
various sizes, whether rivers or brooks; sometimes in-
habiting the vicinity of fishponds; and the bird is most
frequently seen when flying rapidly near the surface of
the water. Its food consists of water beetles, leeches,
minnows, sticklebacks, and probably any other species of
small fish which it can seize upon by surprise. For this
purpose the kingfisher takes a station near the water,
sitting on the branch of a bush or tree overhanging the
stream, or on a rail by the water side; from whence it
darts instantaneously upon any passing prey; and will
occasionally suspend itself on the wing, hovering and
watching for a favourable opportunity to make the plunge
which is to secure its victim. The prey is always taken
with the beak; and so unerring is the aim, that the bird
seldom fails to gain the fish it strikes at; which, when
thus captured, is brought to the usual waiting-place ; and
after some mutilation to produce death, is invariably
swallowed head foremost. The kingfisher is solitary in
its habits, and pugnacious in its disposition, seldom to be
-seen with any associate except its mate during the breeding
256 KINGFISHER.

season. At this period a pair take possession of a hole,
already formed by some burrowing animal, in the bank
by the water side, and often but little elevated above
the surface of the stream; sometimes the kingfisher will
take to a cavity among the exposed roots of an aged
tree on the river bank. They have been known to take
possession of a hole in a bank, frequented by sand martins
at a distance from water; and Mr. Jesse relates in his
“Gleanings,” that in the summer of 1834, one of the
workmen employed in the Gardens of Hampton Court
Palace, discovered a kingfisher’s nest in the bank of a
small gravel-pit in the wilderness of that place, and
within a short distance of the public footpath leading
through it, aud which is much frequented. There were
six eggs in the nest, which was composed as usual of
small fish bones, and was placed about two feet in the
bank. The small gravel-pit°was perfectly dry, and the
workmen were in the constant habit of throwing the sweep-
ings of the garden into it. The old birds shewed but little
fear of the workmen, and this led to the discovery of
the nest.”
 

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257

DOUROUCOULLT.

Accorpine to Humboldt, the celebrated traveller, the
douroucouli inhabits those dense forests of South America,
which are to be found near the Cassiquiare and Esme-
ralda, at the foot of Mount Duida, and in the neigh-
bourhood of the cataracts of Maypures, about three
hundred leagues from the coast of French Guiana.

The animal is described as being nocturnal in its
habits, and as sleeping during the day. ‘It is greatly
incommoded by light, and seeks the holes of trees, or
similar places for concealment. When roused, it is dull —
and oppressed, and can scarcely open its large white
eyelids. Its attitude, during repose, is crouching. On
the approach of dusk, all the lethargy of the douroucouli
leaves it, and it becomes restless and impetuous, and
roams about in quest of insects and small birds. In
addition to these, various fruits, seeds, and vegetables
constitute its food; but the solid quantity of aliment it
consumes is comparatively little; it drinks even less, and
but seldom.

It glides, cat-like, through apertures so narrow as to
appear incapable of admitting it, and its actions resemble
those of viverrine animals. [ts beautiful glossy fur is in
great request: the natives make tobacco-pouches and
other articles of it, which they sell. A male and female
are often taken together in the same hole asleep; for
the douroucouli lives not in troops, but in pairs, and is
strictly monogamous. The nocturnal cry of this animal
is exceedingly loud and sonorous, and resembles that of

the jaguar: besides this, it utters a mewing noise like
oe) 25
958 DOUROUCOTLI.

a cat, and also a deep, harsh gutteral note, represented
by the syllables ‘quer, quer.’ When irritated, its throat
becomes distended; and in the posture then assumed,
and in the puffed state of the far, it resembles a cat
attacked by a dog,” °

The general colour of the douroucouli is greyish brown
above, and pale rufous beneath; the tail is black at the
end; the face dusky; the nails black. The eyes are
large; the head round.
 

SATIN BIRD,
259

SATIN BIRD.

Tue following is the account given of this splendid
species. The male is of a rich brilliant blackish blue;
the quills and tail feathers black; a double row of silky
and velvety bluish black feathers at the base of the
beak: length, thirteen inches. In the female, the upper
parts are of an olive green; the quills and tail feathers
of a red brown; the wing coverts varied with brown
and dusky olive; the under parts greenish, barred with
black; the front of the neck marked with whitish hori-
zontal spots, bordered with black dashes.

The satin bird frequents the cedar-brushes and dense
thickets of New South Wales, to which district it appears
to be confined. In its habits it is shy and_ recluse,
and few males are to be seen in their brilliant plumage,
which is not attained until the third year. Flocks of
young birds, however, resembling the female in plumage,
are occasionally to be seen on the skirts of the brush,
but the adult birds are not to be observed without
care and perseverance. This is one of the bower-building
birds, constructing a bower or run by means of two short
parallel hedges, composed of twigs interlaced together,
so artfully arranged that the inner aspect of each artificial
hedge is smooth, offering no impediment to the passage
of the birds, while the outside is rough with the projecting
ends and bifurcations of the twigs. The floor of this run,
or short avenue, consists of sticks strewn with shells
and bones, and the bower ifself is ornamented with the
brilliant feathers of various paroquets. Here the birds
play, and sportively pursue each other, perpetually tra-
260 SATIN BIRD.

versing the avenue. This, however, is not their nest,
which is so artfully concealed that it has not been
discovered even by the sharp-eyed natives. The satin
bird utters two different strains; one of rich and melodious
notes, the other a harsh cry, indicative of alarm or anger.

Mr. Gould says of the bowers of another species of
this genus, the spotted bower-bird, “They are considerably
longer and more avenue-like than those of the satin
bower-bird, being in many instances three feet in length.
They are outwardly built of twigs, and beautifully lined
with tall grasses, so disposed that their heads nearly
meet; the decorations are very profuse, and consist of
shells and bones. Evident and beautiful indications of
design are manifest throughout the whole of the bower
and decorations formed by this species, particularly in
the manner in which the stones are placed within the
bower, apparently to keep the grasses with which it is
lined fixed firmly in their places. These stones diverge
from the mouth of the run on each side, so as to form
little paths, while the immense collection of decorative
materials, bones, shells, etc., are placed in a heap
before the entrance of the avenue, this arrangement
being the same at both ends.”
 
ELK.

Tue following account of the elk is taken from some
‘Notes and Observations in Natural History,” during a
tour in Norway, by the Rev. Alfred Charles Smith, M.A.
He says, “The elk is a most ungainly-looking animal;
long-legged, very high shouldered, large footed, with a
neck very short, and a head very large, and its upper
lip projecting, and very thick: it is the most awkward
creature imaginable, and seems scarcely to belong to
the usual elegant and light family of which it forms a
part. In size it exceeds a horse, sometimes reaching
as much as seven feet in height; its horns, though not
long, are very thick, flat, and heavy; indeed the animal
must require its thick, short neck, and strong, ugly,
large head, to support so ponderous a weight; a pair
which I brought home with me were enormously heavy;
and with these broad palmated horns the elk throws
back the snow in searching for food.

This animal is by no means numerous in Norway,
and a few years since seemed likely to be exterminated;
but the government, anxious to preserve so noble a species
of game, passed some very stringent laws for its preser-
vation, imposing a very heavy fine on those who should
violate them; and since that time it has increased con-
siderably in number. The forests of the Glommen are said
to be pecnliarly favoured by their presence; and I can bear
witness to the truth of this, from the number of heads
I saw nailed up over the farm-houses in this district; it
being a regular custom in Norway for the successful
sportsman to nail up over the door of his dwelling-house
262 ELK.

such trophies of the chase as he may have gained in
hunting, just as gamekeepers in England nail stoats,
weasels, hawks, owls, jays, etc., to the barn, which forms
their museum. An intelligent farmer in this valley
assured me he had killed two of these scarce animals
within so many weeks; and promised to shew me some
sport if I would make a hunting expedition with him,
an offer I was most reluctant to decline; but the day
of my departure from the country was at hand, and I
was compelled to push on for Christiana.

The elk prefers the forest for his abode, and seldom
leaves it for the open country. He is very timid, and
consequently very difficult to approach; and he has the
finest possible sense of hearing, seeing, and smelling,
as indeed he might be expected to have, with ears and
eyes so large, and nose so prominent; and away he goes,
crashing along through the trees of the forest in his
enormous strength, and with his large awkward body,
the instant his acute ears, or eyes, or nose give him
warning that danger is at hand.”
 

BLUE AND YELLOW MACAW.
263

BLUE AND YELLOW MACAW.

How astonishingly beautiful are vast numbers of the
productions of nature, and even those that are least
pleasing to our eyes are equally wonderful. :

There is perhaps no class of birds which exhibits more
splendid colours than the macaws—one hardly knows
which of some of them is the most gaudy.

The blue and yellow macaw is described as follows:—
“Bill, black; cheeks, white, with three narow lines of
black velvety feathers passing obliquely across. Beneath
the under mandible is a broad black band, extending
some distance under the naked cheeks. General colour
above, rich blue, passing into green on the forehead,
and some of the wing coverts, greater quills, and
tail, uearly violet; wings and tail beneath, yellow; under
parts generally of a rich saffron tint; iris, yellowish; legs,
dusky. Length, about thirty-nine inches, of ‘which the
‘long graduated tail measures about twenty-four inches.

The macaws are natives of the warmer regions of
South America, and are among the largest of the parrot
race. They are easily domesticated, and become very
gentle and familiar; but in their powers of imitation they
fall very short of the true parrots and paroquets; their
natural cries are harsh, discordant, and piercing, and the
few words they are occasionally taught to utter are
pronounced in a disagreeable tone. The beak is of
enormous size and strength; the cheeks are to a greater
or less extent bare; the nostrils are concealed; the under
mandible is very deep. The plumage is remarkable for
gaudy colouring.
264 BLUE AND YELLOW MACAW.

The blue and yellow macaw is a native of Brazil,
Guiana, and Surinam, tenanting the swampy forests along
the banks of rivers, and generally living in pairs, though
sometimes they assemble in large flocks. Their food
consists principally of the fruit of a kind of palm, abun-
dant in humid or marshy places.

On the wing, the blue and yellow macaw is rapid,
displaying great address and ease in its aerial movements,
and is often seen skimming over the tops of the loftiest
trees, the highest branches of which it selects for its
roosting-place, like the parrots generally. This macaw
lavs two white eggs in the hollow of a decayed tree;
both sexes attending to the duty of incubation, and the
labour of rearing the young. Two broods are said to
be produced annually.”
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GROUND SQUIRREL.

Tuis pretty little animal, from its bearing some
resemblance to the dormouse, not only in its external
form, but also in its habits, was named by Pennant,
the striped dormouse.

Tt seems to be easily tamed; thus it is related of one
which Mr. I. H. Greenhow had opportunities of observing,
that it “played about, regardless of the persons to whom
it was accustomed, but was always timid before strangers,
skulking into a corner of its cage, and burying itself
in some dry grass placed there for its bed. It had a
very shrill whistling cry, which it repeated at intervals
as it jumped against the wires in front of its cage.
Tt was exceedingly nimble, and could get through very
small crevices, frequently escaping by pressing asunder
the wires, and on these occasions was very difficult
to re-capture, but if allowed to run about the room
for some time, would attempt to re-enter its cage of
its own accord.”

Mr. Henry Doubleday says, “There are many ground
squirrels in the woods. There is one so tame as to
come into the house. He came to mea few days ago
as I was sitting in the porch, and ran over my boots,
examining them very attentively; then he disappeared
through a grating into the dairy, where he goes to drink
the milk; then he ran up the piazza, and round the
house: he often steals almonds, etc., from our dining-
room.”

Mr. R. E. Taylor says that the grey squirrel, black
squirrel, ground squirrel, and red squirrel, which are

a a
266 GROUND SQUIRREL.

extremely numerous in the woods at the north-eastern
extremity of the Alleghany Mountain range, “are eaten
as great delicacies, particularly the two former species.
On account of the great damage they do to the grain
and corn, they are mercilessly destroyed, shooting-matches
frequently taking place for this object. On Jnne 8th.,
1835, a match was decided between twenty men on
each side, in Lycoming Valley, who, during three days,
were to shoot the greatest number of squirrels and other
destructive animals. At this meeting were produced
two thousand six hundred and fifty-seven head of all
denominations coming under this class. Nearly at the
same time, in the adjoining county of Tioga, another
squirrel-match took place. The winning side brought
in no less than one thousand seven hundred and thirty-
two, and the losers produced one thousand and thirty-
five, squirrels, the total number being two thousand
seven hundred and sixty-seven.”
 

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267 .

GULL.

THERE are a number of different species of gulls, or
sea-gulls, as they are commonly called, many of
them very common on the English coasts. Among
these may be enumerated the greater black-backed gull,
the lesser black-backed gull, the kittiwake, the herring
gull, and the black-headed gull.

In this genus, “the bill is strong and straight, but
bent downwards at the point; the nostrils are pervious,
oblong, and narrow, and placed in the middle; the lower
mandible has an angular prominence on the under side,
“which tapers towards, and forms its tip. The body is
clothed with a great quantity of down and feathers,
which, together with the large head and long wings, give
these birds an appearance of bulk, without a propor-
tionate weight. The legs are small, naked above the
knees; feet webbed, with the back toe detached, and
very small.

This genus, which some naturalists have described as
consisting of about nineteen species, besides a few vari-
eties, is numerously dispersed over every quarter of the
world; and is met with, at certain seasons, in some
parts, in multitudes. Their eggs are gathered by the
inhabitants in prodigious numbers. They assemble
together in a kind of straggling mixed flocks, consisting
of various kinds, and greatly enliven the beach and rocky
cliffs by their irregular movements, whilst their shrill
cries are often deadened by the noise of the waves, or
the roarings of the surge. They occasionally take a
wide range over the ocean, and are met with by navi-
268 GULL.

gators many leagues distant from the land. Their
plumage, which in each individual of the species varies
with its age, is clean and agreeable; but their carriage
and gait are ungraceful, and their character is stigmatised,
(though somewhat unjustly,) as cowardly, cruel, lazy,
thievish, and voracious; for which reason they have by
some been called the vultures of the sea; and it is certain
(though this trait is not peculiar to them,) that the
stronger will rob the weaker kinds, and that they are all
greedy and gluttonous, almost indiscriminately devouring
whatever comes in their way.”
 

MAST iP.

ALPENE
269

ALPINE MASTIFF.

Mosr persons in the civilized world have heard of
the dog, or rather of the dogs of St. Bernard, a race
so called from their being reared at the convent of the
Great St. Bernard, and trained to the charitable work
of rescuing travellers, who may have been overtaken
and overpowered by snow-storms, from the certain de-
struction, to which, without the aid of these sagacious
and powerful animals, they would beyond doubt be
exposed.

“One of these noble dogs was decorated with a medal,
in commemoration of his having saved the lives of
twenty-two persons, who but for his sagacity, must have
perished. He was lost in 1816, in an attempt to
convey a poor traveller to his anxious family. The man
was a Piedmontese courier, who arrived at St. Bernard
in a very stormy season, labouring to make his way to
the little village of St. Pierre, in the valley beneath the
mountain, where his wife and children lived. It was in
vain that the monks attempted to check his resolution
to reach his family; they at last gave him two guides,
each of whom was accompanied by a dog, of which
one was the remarkable creature whose services had been
so valuable to mankind. Descending from the convent,
they were in an instant overwhelmed by two avalanches,
and the same common destruction awaited the family
of the poor courier, who were toiling up the mountain
to obtain some news of their expected friend: they all
perished. .

A story is told of one of these dogs, which, having
270 ALPINE MASTIFF.

found a child unhurt, whose mother had been destroyed
by an avalanche, induced the boy to mount upon his
back, and thus carried him to the gate of the convent.
The subject is represented in a French print.”

All dogs indeed are most intelligent animals. The
Newfoundland dog, the spaniel, the pointer, the terrier,
are all in their way most sagacious: no species, how-
ever, excels the shepherd’s dog. The skill evinced by
these animals: in keeping their master’s flocks together
is perfectly astonishing. Various most remarkable instan-
ces of it are on record. Even when another flock of
sheep meets the one of which a dog of this kind has
the charge, he will not allow a single one of his own
to get mixed with the stranger’s, but will keep them
entirely distinct.
 

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271

PUFF BIRD.

Tue great-billed puff bird is allied to the woodpeckers.
The head is large, the tail short. All the recorded
species are American. The one before us is a native
of Brazil, in South America.

Mr. Swainson, the celebrated naturalist, in his “Zoo-
logical Illustrations,” gives the following account of the
habits and disposition of these birds, whose character he
had himself had an opportunity of studying in their
hative regions.

He says, “There is something very grotesque in the
appearance of all the puff birds; and their habits, in a
state of nature are no less singular. They frequent
open cultivated spots near habitations, always perching
on the withered branches of a low tree, where they will
sit nearly motionless for hours, unless, indeed, they
descry some luckless insect passing near them, at which
they will immediately dart, returning again to the iden-
tical twig they had just left, and whieh they will.
sometimes frequent for months. At such times the
disproportionate size of the head is rendered more con-
spicuous by the bird raising its feathers, so as to appear
not unlike a puff ball: hence the general name they
have received from the English residents in Brazil, of
which vast country all the species, I believe, are
natives. ;

When frightened, this form is suddenly changed by
‘the feathers lying quite flat. They are very confiding,
and will often take their station within a few yards of
the window. The male and female are generally near
272 PUFF BIRD.

each other, and often on the same tree.”

Another group of birds, allied to the puff birds, is
that of the barbets. They are distinguished by the beak
being large, conical, swollen at the sides of its base,
and garnished with five tufts of long bristles, one on
each side over the nostrils, one at the angle of the beak,
and asingle brush under the chin. The wings are short,
the general proportions heavy, and the flight low. They
live on insects and fruits, and breed in the holes of
trees. They associate in small flocks, which separate
during the breeding season into pairs. Many are richly
coloured, such for example is the bucco grandis, a
native of China and range of the Himalayan mountains.
The head, neck, and throat are deep steel blue, changing
in some lights to rich green; the back and chest are
rich olive brown; the tail is greeu, as are the quills
on their outer edges; the under surface is greenish,
with dashes’ of brown and grey; the under tail coverts
are scarlet.
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273

HYANA DOG.

Tue hyzena dog, which, according to some naturalists,
forms not only a distinct species, but a separate genus,
is a wild unreclaimed native of South Africa, and infests
the frontier settlements at no great distance from the
Cape, to a very extensive and troublesome degree. Mr.
Burchell, who brought the earliest specimen to this
country, states “that it hunts in regular packs, preferring
the night, but frequently pursuing its prey even by dar.
It is not only exceedingly fierce, but also remarkably
swift and active, insomuch that none but the fleeter
animals can escape from its pursuit. Sheep, oxen, and
horses appear to be its favourite game: on the former
it makes its onset openly and without fear, but of the
latter it seems to stand in awe, and attacks them
only by stealth, frequently surprising them in their sleep,
biting off the tails of the oxen, for which it has a
particular fancy, and inflicting such serious injuries upon
the horses, especially the young colts, as they rarely
survive.”

The individual brought home by Mr. Burchell was
kept by that gentleman, chained up in his stable-yard,
for more than a year, at the expiration of which its
ferocity continued unabated, the man who fed it being
so fearful of it, that he ‘dared never to venture his
hand upon it.” It is however, probable that with a
bolder treatment it might have been in some degree
tamed, if not domesticated; for it is stated that it at
length became familiar with a dog, which was its

constant companion. One which was kept in the Tower
ao 2M
274 HYZNA DOG.

of London, was brought to England in company with
a young Cape lion. They agreed together extremely
well; but as the lion increased in size, his play became
too rough for his comparatively feeble companion, who
was borne to the earth in a moment by the superior
weight and strength of his antagonist: it was therefore
found necessary to consign them to separate dens.

In size and form the. hyena dog is smaller and
more slender than either the hyena or the wolf. Its
ground colour is of a reddish or yellowish brown,
mottled in large patches along the sides of the body
and on the legs, with black and white intermingled
together. Its nose and muzzle are black, and it has
a black line passing from them up the centre of the
forehead to between the ears, which are very large,
black, both within and without, and furnished with a
broad and expanded tuft of long whitish hairs. The
tail is of moderate length, covered with long bushy
hair, and divided m the middle by a ring of black,
below which, or towards the extremity, it is nearly
white. These colours and markings vary in different
individuals.
 
275

STARLING.

Tue starling is a very common and well-known
British bird. It is also a very handsome one, being of
a rich deep purple black colour, with shades of metallic
green, and spotted more or less all over with white
spots. The older the bird, however, the fewer the spots,
so that in age it has but very few, if any. The young
bird too is without spots, being entirely of a uniform
dull dark brown colour, so unlike to the dress which
it afterwards assumes, that it was formerly thought to
be a different species, and was so described under the
hame of the solitary thrush.

These birds “are found abundantly in all the lower
paris of Britain, and in the most northerly of the islands;
they mingle freely with most flocking birds, and do not
hesitate to alight in numbers among domestic animals
in the meadows and other pastures. They are partial
to humid places, and do not very much frequent the
elevated and arid moors; and in the cold season they
migrate in vast numbers to the low and warm coun-
tries, and to the shores of the sea. They are, at
all seasons, very lively birds, whistling, chattering, and
gliding about on the wing, which they generally do in
curves, and with a smooth motion. On the ground they
walk neatly, and with considerable velocity, but do not
hop. The starling is the smallest of all our resident
birds allied to the crow tribe, and it is one of the least
rapacious, confining itself to insects and seeds, (chiefly
the former,) like the chough, and never killing other
birds, or probably robbing any nest. It has been accused
276 STALLING.

of breaking the eggs of pigeons, when it takes shelter
in the pigeon-house from very severe weather; but as
that would be a violation of the laws of hospitality, as
well as of the customs of the starling, the friends of
the bird very properly repel it as a calumny.

When they are in the low districts, and in large col-
lections, a flock of starlings, preparing to lodge them-
selves in the tufts for the night, put one something in
mind of a dog, preparing to lie down im a place to
which he is not accustomed. They wheel round and
round; first in the circumference of a circle, but that
circle narrows, and the whole mass revolves round
a circle within itself, before it drops, and disappears for
the night. .

Starlings not only associate with other birds, but
imitate their cries—chattering with jackdaws, whistling
with plovers, and screaming with sea-fowl.”
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277

SHETLAND PONY.

Tue shetland pony is a small variety, perhaps the
smallest, of the horse kind: probably the severity of the
climate has some influence in producing the effect which
is thus developed. It is a strong and hardy little
animal, the north being generally more productive of
hardiness than the south, which is considered to have
rather ‘a tendency to enervate and weaken; and it is also
docile and tractable. These small animals are not,
however, to be considered a degenerate breed; for they
are, in point of fact, possessed of physical strength,
much greater in proportion to their size than larger
horses; and no horse whatever is able to carry weight
for inches with them: these horses are called in the
Highlands, garrons. Till very lately, these poor little
animals were broken in a very harsh, and even cruel
manner. People tied a rope round their hind leg, and
beat them most unmercifully with a great stick, while
the horse kicked furiously, and struggled violently for
his liberty, and sometimes the garron would lie down,
and sometimes the highlander, and often both together,
but still the men generally kept their hold.

Miss Sinclair, in her account of “Shetland and the
Shetlanders,” savs of these well-known and interesting
little animals, “They are chiefly running wild among the
distant unenclosed hills of that island. When well fed
from an early age, they grow nearly to the height of a
donkey; but some years ago, Mr. Hay reared a perfectly
well-formed pony, which measured only twenty-six inches
high—not so tall as a moderate-sized hobby horse! I
278 SHETLAND PONY.

have heard sportsmen talk in praise of a horse that
would canter round a cabbage-leaf, but here was one
literally capable of doing so. The very largest men ride
these tiny little creatures, which appear at a distance,
when racing rapidly along, as if they had merely hooked
on a pair of additional legs; those of the rider being
scarcely raised a foot off the ground. How would a
regiment of cavalry look, mounted, or lowered rather,
‘on these stout little chargers?”

A gentleman, some time ago, was presented with one
of these handsome little animals, which was no less
docile and elegant, and measured only seven hands in
height. The gentleman was anxious to convey his present
home as speedily as possible; but, being at a consider-
able distance, he was at a loss how to do so most
easily. The friend who presented him said “Can you
not carry him in your chaiseP” He made the experi-
ment, and the sheltic was lifted into the bottom of the
gig, and covered up with the apron, and some bits of
bread were given him to keep him quiet: he lay quite
peaceably till the gentleman reached his destination;
thus exhibiting the novel spectacle of a horse riding in

a gig.
 

ae BFIN.
279

PUFFIN.

In the genus to which the puffin belongs the bill is
short, and nearly as deep as long. The present species
has the crown of the head, the back, and a collar round
the neck, black; the sides of the head, grey; the bill,
which is deeply furrowed, bluish grey at the base, the
middle being rich orange red, which turns into fine red
at the tip; the legs are orange red. The length of the
bird is about one foot one inch.

In its general form and habits the puffin bears a
resemblance to the guillemot and the razor-bill. It breeds
in cliffs, making use of rabbit-holes, if there are any;
if not, it makes a burrow for itself. The puffins “com-
mence this operation about the first week of May, and
the hole is generally excavated to the depth of three feet,
often in a curving direction, and occasionally with two
- entrances. When engaged in digging, which is princi-
pally performed by the males, they are sometimes so
intent upon their work, as to admit of being taken by
the hand; and the same may also be done during in-
cubation. At this period I have frequently obtained
specimens by thrusting my arm into the burrow, though
at the risk of receiving a bite from the powerful sharp-
edged bill of the old bird. At the farther end of this
hole the single egg is deposited, which in size nearly
equals that of a pullet. The young are at first covered
with blackish down, and in about a month are sufficiently
plumed to follow their parents to sea.

The puffin is an admirable diver: it may be often
seen perched on the ledge of a bold precipice, peering
280 PUFFIN.

with its keen eyes into the glassy water below: suddenly
it throws itself headlong into the abyss, cleaving the
waves, which sparkle as they close over it. Soon,
however, it re-appears, laden with a row of sprats, its
favourite food, which hang from the bill, their heads
being secured between its mandibles; and now taking
a curved sweep upwards, it bears them to its young.”
ENTELLUS

 

MONKEY.

act a aac
281

ENTELLUS MONKEY.

THis is one of the very numerous tribe of monkeys;
it is a native of India and the adjacent islands. The
general colour of the animal is light yellow, more or
less inclining to grey; the face is black.

“The entellus, or Hoonuman is held sacred in some parts
of India, but not by the people of Mahratta, where it is
called makur: it occurs in large troops in the woods of
the western Ghauts. In lower Bengal, where it makes its
appearance towards the latter end of the winter, (for it
would seem that it migrates from the upper to the
lower provinces, and ‘vice vers’ in this part of India;)
the pious Brahmins venerate it, supply it with food, and
zealously endeavour to prevent its molestation by Kuro-
peans. According to Dr. Fryer and others, these mon-
keys, in Malabar, towards Ceylon, and at the Straits of
Balagat, are deified. At Dhuboy, see “Forbes’s Oriental
Memoirs,” they are, if not worshipped, protected, from
motives of humanity to the brute creation, and a general
belief in metempsychosis.

According to the latter author, there are as many
monkeys as human inhabitants in Dhuboy, and the roofs
and upper parts of the houses seem entirely appropriated
to their accommodation. Tostrangers they are unbearably
annoying. Once a friend of Mr. Forbes, on a shooting
excursion, killed a female monkey under a tree, and
carried it to his tent, which was soon surrounded by
forty or fifty of the tribe, who made a great noise, and
with menacing gestures advanced towards it. On pre-

senting his fowling-piece, they hesitated, and appeared
o9 Qn
282 ENTELLUS MONKEY.

rresolute. But one, which, from his age and station in
the van appeared to be at the head of the troop, stood
his ground, chattering and menacing in a furious manner,
nor could any efforts Jess cruel than firing drive him
off. He at length approached the tent door, and by
every token of grief and supplication seemed to beg
the body of the deceased, which was then given to him;
with every token of sorrow he took it up in his arms,
embraced it with conjugal affection, and carried it to
his expecting comrades. The artless behaviour of this
poor animal wrought so powerfully on the sportsmen,
that they resolved never to level a gun again at one
of the monkey race.”

Monkeys subsist principally on fruits, the buds of
trees, or succulent roots and plants. They are all fond
of sweets, and shew a particular predilection for the
pleasant juice of the palm tree and the sugar cane;
but when it happens that these fail, or that a different
kind of food becomes more agreeable, they have recourse
to insects and worms; and sometimes such as inhabit
the coasts descend to the sea-shores, where they feast
on oysters and crabs. The crafty manner in which
they obtain these is thus effected:—The oysters of the
tropical climates being larger than ours, the monkeys,
when they reach the sea-side, pick up stones, and
thrust them between the opening shells, which, being
thus prevented from closing, the cunning animals then
eat the fish at their ease. In order to attract the
crabs, they put their tails to the holes in which they
have taken refuge, and when the crabs have fastened
on the lure, the monkeys suddenly withdraw their tails,
and thus drag their prey on shore.
283

WARTY-FACED HONEY-EATER.

Tuts beautiful bird, termed the mock regent bird by
the colonists of New South Wales, is one of the most
lively-coloured of the honey-eaters. Its plumage is rich
yellow and deep black, most agreeably varied.

According to Mr. Gould, “it is a stationary species,
and enjoys a range extending from.South Australia to
New South Wales.” “Although it is very generally
distributed, its presence appears to be dependent on
the state of the blue gum tree, upon whose blossoms it
mainly depends for subsistence; it is consequently only
to be found in any particular locality during the season
that those trees are in full bloom. It generally resorts
to the loftiest and most fully-flowered tree, where it
reigns supreme, buffetting and driving every other bird
away from its immediate neighbourhood; it is, in fact,
the most pugnacious bird I ever saw, evincing particular
hostility to the smaller honey-eaters, and even to others
of its own species that may venture to approach the
_ trees upon which two or three have taken their station.
I met with it in great abundance among the bushes of
New South Wales, and also found it breeding in the
Jow apple tree fiats of the upper Hunter. I have
occasionally seen flocks of from fifty to one hundred in
number, passing from tree to tree, as if engaged in a par- -
tial migration from one part of the country to another,
probably in search of a more abundant supply of food.
Its note is a peculiar loud whistle, not entirely devoid
of melody.

The nest, which is usually constructed on the over-
284 WARTY-FACED HONEY-EATER.

hanging branch of a blue gum tree, is round, cup-shaped,
five inches in diameter, and composed of fine grasses,
lined with a little wool and hair. The eggs are two
in number, of a deep yellowish buff, marked all over
with indistinct spots and irregular blotches of chesnut
red and dull purplish grey, particularly at the larger end,
where they frequently form a zone.
This bird is about the size of the common thrush.
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285

SLOTH.

Tue sloths are creatures of very extraordinary appear-
ance, as well as organization. They live altogether in
trees, and are solely adapted for such a life. Buffon,
the French naturalist, spoke of these animals as if they
must necessarily pass a most melancholy existence, but his
ideas were altogether fanciful, and beyond all doubt
totally erroneous. We may feel sure that the all-mer-
ciful and all-wise providence of God has allotted to
it a share of happiness commensurate with that which
He has apportioned to all His other creatures.

Professor Owen observes of the sloths, that they
bear some degree of resemblance, in their internal
configuration, to the lizards. Professor Buckland, in an
interesting paper on these animals, in the “Linnean
Transactions,” remarks that Mr. Burchell, the celebrated
traveller, noticed that “his captive sloths assumed during
sleep a position of perfect ease and safety on the fork
of a tree; their arms embracing the trunk, their: backs
resting on the angle of a branch, and their heads
reclining on their own bosoms. The animal is thus
rolled up nearly in the form of a ball; the entire
vertebral column, including the neck, assumes a nearly
circular curve, and not only is the weight of the whole
body maintained in an attitude of ease and safety, but the -
head is supported between the arms and chest, and
the face lies buried in the long wool which covers
those parts, and is thus protected during sleep from
the myriads of insects which would otherwise attack it.”

“Unfitted then for the ground, along which he can
286 SLOTH.

only drag himself by applying the claws of the fore
feet to any rough projection within reach, the sloth
is eminently qualified for the branches of the forest,
and that rather for their upper than their under surface;
clinging to them, he rests and travels suspended, yet
in perfect security; here his awkwardness ‘disappears,
and he traverses the branches, or passes from tree to
tree in the dense forest with considerable celerity,
either in quest of food, or in order to escape his
enemies.” .
 

SANDPIPER.
287

SANDPIPER.

Tue family of the sandpipers is a very numerous
. one: they :are all inhabitants of the sea shore, the
borders of lakes, rivers, swamps, and. marshy places.
They feed on the various insects which are to be found
in such situations; and for procuring them they are
furnished with a long bill, which they thrust into the
soft earth.

The common sandpiper is greenish brown on the
back; and white on the breast. Its length is seven
inches and a half.

A writer from the neighbourhood of Clitheroe in
Lancashire, says, “‘The common sandpiper breeds with
us, and I this year started an old one from her nest
at the root of a fir tree. She screamed out, and
‘rolled about in such a manner, and seemed so com-
pletely disabled, that, although perfectly aware that her’
intention was to allure me from her nest, I could not
resist the inclination to pursue her, and, in consequence,
I had great difficulty in finding the nest again. It was
built of a few dried leaves of the Weymouth pine,
and contained three young ones, just hatched, and an
egg, through the shell of which the bill of the young
chick was just making its way; yet, young as they were,
on my taking out the egg to examine it, the little -
things, which could not have been out of their shells.
more than an hour or two, set off out of the nest with
as much celerity as if they had been running about a
fortnight. As I thought the old one would abandon
the egg if the young ones left the nest, I caught them
288 SANDPIPER.

again, and covering them with my hand for some time
they settled down again: next day all four had disap-
peared.”

The authors of the “Catalogue of the Norfolk and |
Suffolk Birds,” say, “Some years since, we saw a
sandpiper flying across a river, attacked by a hawk,
when it instantly dived, and remained under water
until its enemy disappeared: it then emerged and joined
its companions. This bird, when flushed, sometimes
utters a note resembling, as near as possible, that of
the kingfisher.”
  
    
       
    

 
 
 
 
 

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CHAT.
289

- CHATI.

Tue chati is .a native of Paraguay and other parts
of South America. The following is Frederick Cuvier’s
description of one which was kept in the menagerie of
Paris:—“About a third larger than the domestic cat;
length, exclusive of the tail, rather more than two feet; tail,
eleven inches; height, to the middle of the back, about one
foot two inches. Ground colour of fur on the upper parts,
pale yellowish; on the lower, pure white; at the roots,
dull grey, and very thick and close. Body covered with
irregular dark patches; those upon the back entirely
black, and disposed longitudinally in four rows; those
upon the sides surrounded with black, with the centres
of a clear fawn, arranged in nearly five rows; spots upon
the lower parts of the body, where the ground colour
of the fur is white, full, and arranged in two lines com-
posed of six or seven patches on each side. Limbs
covered with nearly round spots of smaller dimensions;
on the four legs, near the body, two transverse bands;
on the throat a sort of half collar, and on the under
jaw two crescent-shaped spots. Behind each eye, two
bands about two inches long, terminating opposite the
ear.

Forehead bordered by two lines, between which are
numerous spots, and at their origin, a blackish mark from
which the whiskers spring. Outside of the ear, black,
with a white spot upon the small lobe. Base of the
tail spotted with small blotches, which, towards the end,
run in half rings, which are broadest on the upper.
surface. The pupil of the eye of oie chati is round;

&@2 Qo
290 CHATI.

in other parts of its formation, and in its motions, it is
said to resemble the common cat; it also utters a similar
cry, only that it is a little harsher and more lengthened.

This animal was extremely gentle and familiar, so
much so indeed that, if persons to whom it was attached
passed its cage, or did not approach it, it would express
its discontent, or solicit their attention by a short cry;
and when caressed it manifested great delight.”
 

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291

MOCKING BIRD.

Turs curious bird, unrivalled, if report be true, in
its powers of vuice, is about nine inches and a half long.
It inhabits most parts of America and the West Indies.
Its general colour is a dark greyish brown. The eye is
yellow, inclining to pale gold-colour; the bill and the
legs are black. The plumage of the female is duller
than that of the male.

“The mocking bird loses little of the power and
_ energy of his song by confinement. In his domesticated
state, when he commences his career of song, it is im-
possible to stand by uninterested. He whistles for the
dog; Czesar starts up, wags his tail, and runs to meet
his master. He squeaks out like a hurt chicken, and
the hen hurries about with hanging wings and bristled
feathers, chuckling to protect its injured brood. The
barking of the dog, the mewing of the cat, the creaking
of a passing wheelbarrow, are followed with great truth —
and rapidity. He repeats the tune taught him by his
master, though of considerable length, fully and faith-
fully; he rums over the quaverings of the canary, and
the clear whistlings of the virginian nightingale, or red-
bird, with such superior execution and effect, that the
mortified songsters feel their own inferiority, and become
altogether silent, while he seems to triumph in their
defeat by redoubling his exertions.

This excessive fondness of variety, however, in the
opinion of some injures his song. His elevated imitations
of the brown thrush are frequently interrupted by the
crowing of cocks; and the warblings of the blue-bird,
292 MOCKING BIRD, |

which he exquisitely manages, are mingled with the
screaming of swallows, or the cackling of hens. Amidst
the simple melody of the robin, one is suddenly sur-
prised by the shrill reiterations of the whip-poor-will;
while the notes of the kill-deer, blue jay, martin, baltimore,
and twenty others, succeed, with such imposing reality,
that the auditors look round for the originals, and with
astonishment discover that the sole performer in_ this
singular concert is the admirable bird now before us.

- During this exhibition of his powers, he spreads his
‘wings, expands his tail, and throws himself around the
cage in all the ecstasies of enthusiasm, seeming not only
to sing but to dance, keeping time to the measure of
his own masic. Both in his native and domesticated
state during the stillness of the night, as soon as the
moon rises, he begins his delightful solo, making. the
whole néighbourhood resound with his imitable medley.”
 

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293

VULPINE PHALANGER.

Tue phalangers, so called from their having the second
and third toes of the hinder foot united, are inhabitants of
New South Wales, and the adjacent Islands. ‘They are
nocturnal in their habits, remaining concealed during the
day on the branches, or in the hollows of trees; at
twilight they quit their hiding-places, and climb amongst
the branches to seek their food. Generally speaking,
they are not very active in their movements; but among
the smaller species, are some to which this remark will
by no means apply, since they are extremely agile.

The vulpine phalanger is about equal in size to the
common cat; its ears are long, and somewhat pointed;
the tail is about equal to the body in length. ‘The fur
is long, loose, aud moderately soft to the touch; its
general colour is grey; on the back the fur assumes a
deeper hue than on the sides of the body. The muzzle
and chin are blackish. ‘The ears are almost naked within,
and of a brownish pink colour. The throat, as well as
the whole under parts of the body and inner sides of
the limbs, are of a pale buff-yellow tint.

Mr. Waterhouse, in describing this animal, says,
“Numerous specimens have from time to time formed
part of the Zoological Society’s living collection, and,
trom my own observations, they appeared to be by no
means intelligent animals. During the day-time they
were usually asleep, but towards the evening they
became active, and on the alert for their food, consisting
of bread and milk, and various vegetable substances,
including fruits. Whatever eatable was given to them
294 VULPINE PHALANGER.

was taken by, and held between the hands in the same
manner as a squirrel holds a nut. Occasionally a dead
bird was given to these animals, which were evidently
fond of such food, and most particularly the brain, which
was the first part consumed.”

One of the smallest of this species, the beautiful pigmy
phalanger, is rather smaller than the common dormouse;
its colour is usually of a delicate rusty brown. Accor-
ding to Mr. Gould, it is abundantly and very generally
distributed over the colony of Swan River. Its habits
being strictly nocturnal, it secretes itself during the day
in the hollows of trees, and at night leaves its retreat
for the flowering branches of low shrubby trees. At
that time it is said to be very active, and when kept
in confinement will leap from side to side of its cage
in chase of insects, of which it is exceedingly fond.
The sexes present but little difference either in size or
colouring; in some specimens the under parts of the
body are slightly tinted with buff colour.
 

 

MEDGH SPARROW
295

HEDGE SPARROW.

Tur hedge sparrow, or dunnock; erroneously called
by the former name, for it is not a sparrow, but belongs
to the family of the warblers; is a very well-known
species, being one of the commonest of our native birds.

Its length is about five inches and _ three-quarters;
the bill is dusky; the eye hazel; the head and neck
brown, mixed with ash-colour; back and wing coverts,
darker brown, edged with rufous brown; throat and
breast, dull ash-colour, sides, tawny brown. The female
has less of the ash-colour about the head and breast.

Rennie says in his ‘Architecture of Birds,” “The nest
is usually built rather loose, of green moss, upon a
foundation of a few dry twigs or roots; the hair-work
within is sometimes of considerable thickness, though
most usually so thin as not to cover the moss; but in
both cases the hairs are collected and interwoven into
the structure singly, and always bent carefully, so as to
lie smooth in the circular cut of the nest. It may be
remarked, also, that none of the ends are projecting, but
uniformly pushed in amongst the moss of the exterior.
Whether the bird uses any gluten, as a cement, to retain
the hairs in their proper places, I have not succeeded
in distinctly ascertaining; though I thisk it highly pro-
bable, if this is not done, that the hairs are moistened
to make them wind, since otherwise it would not be easy
to account for the neatness of the work, and for the
remarkable circumstance, that when the exterior frame-
work of moss and twigs is removed, there remains a
circular piece of hair-cloth, (if I may use the term,) in
296 HEDGE SPARROW.

some nests, thin indeed, but in others, thick and closely
woven. .

The hedge sparrow is found in all parts of England;
and has a pleasing song, which it begins with the new
year, if the weather is mild.. It breeds early, mak.ng a
nest. in March, composed of green moss and lined with
hair, which is’ placed in some low evergreen shrub,
thick brush, or cut hedge; frequently in faggot piles.
The eggs are four or five in number, blue; their weight
about twenty-eight grains.”
 

 

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297

_ QUAGGA.

Turs animal, which used to be confounded with the
zebra, is now acknowledged to be quite a distinct species. _
It inhabits the same parts of Africa as the zebra; but
is always found in separate herds, never associating with
it. It is about the same size as the zebra, but less
elegant in its shape and marks, and of a much more
docile nature. The head and neck of the quagga are dark
blackish brown; the body of a clear brown, becoming
paler beneath, the under part being nearly white, as
well as the legs. The head and neck are striped with
greyish white; there are ten bands in the neck; the
mane is blackish, short, much thicker than that of the
zebra, commencing on the forehead, and is, like the
zebra’s, striped; a black band runs along the back to
the tail, which is like that of a cow, with a dark
‘brown or black tuft of hair at its extremity. The
quagga in its form, proportions, lightness of figure, and
smallness of head and ears, bears a greater resemblance
to the horse than the zebra.

Quaggas associate in herds, frequently to the number
of a hundred, in the most solitary regions of Southern
Africa. Delalande observed great flocks of them at the
mouth of the Grootvis river; which, during the night,
would approach near to his tent. The cry_of this animal
bears a strong resemblance to the barking of a dog.
He is very easily tamed, and rendered subservient to do-
mestic purposes. It is a matter of surprise that the
quagga has not been made more useful to man; as its

constitution is fitted for the hottest climate, so that it —
a2 2p

,
298 QuAcea.

would be extremely valuable in those burning regions,
where the heat destroys the capabilities of the horse.
In a wild state the quagga is possessed of great
natural courage; for, according to the report of travellers,
he effectually repels the attacks of wolves and hyzenas,
with which his native country abounds. The natural
pliability of bis disposition, his great activity, and physical
strength, peculiarly fit him for the service of man; and
when these become more generally known, there is no
doubt he will be added to our list of domestic animals.
LAPWIiN

 

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299

LAPWING.

Tue lapwing, when inspected nearly, will be seen to
be a very handsome bird. The feathers on the back
of the head are elongated into a crest, the breast is
white, and the back is of an elegant brownish green
colour, glossed-with purple blue. The quill feathers of
the wings are black, with white spots on the tips of the
first four; the inner half of the tail is white, the end
black; the legs, dull orange; the bill, black; the eyes,
hazel.

The lapwing, or peewit, as it is very commonly called
from the resemblance of its note to that word, is a very
common bird in most parts of the kingdom, and is seen
in the autumn in large flocks. In the summer, when
it has young, it may be approached pretty nearly, but
it always tries to draw off attention by feigning lameness
or inability to fly, so as to decoy any supposed enemy
from its young.

The following interesting anecdote is related by M.
Antoine of a lapwing which a clergyman kept in his
garden. It lived chiefly upon insects, but as the winter
drew on, these failed, and necessity compelled the poor
bird to approach the house from which it had previously
remained at a wary distance; and a servant hearing its
feeble cry, as if it were asking charity, opened for it the
door of the back kitchen. It did not venture far at
first, but it became daily more familiar and embol-
dened as the cold increased, till at last it actually
entered the. kitchen, though already occupied by a dog
and cat. By degrees it at length came to so good an
300 LAPWING.

understanding with these animals, that it entered regu-
larly at nightfall, and established itself at the chimney
corner, where it remained snugly beside them for the
night; but as soon as the warmth of spring returned, it
preferred roosting in the garden, though it resumed
its place at the chimney corner the ensuing winter.
Instead of being afraid of its two old acquaintances, the
dog and the cat, it now treated them as inferiors, and
‘arrogated to itself the place which it had previously
obtained by humble solicitation. This interesting pet
was at last choked bv a bone which it had incautiously
swallowed.
 

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301

MUSK DEER.

. Tue musk deer inhabits the great range of mountains
which bound the north of India, and branch out into”
Siberia, Thibet, and China. It is chiefly remarkable
for the strong scent of musk which exhales from it,
and a drug is procured from the animal which was
formerly held in high repute, and even still holds a
place in the ‘materia medica.’
- “In size the musk deer is about equal to our Euro-
pean roebuck, standing two feet in height at the shoul-
ders; the forehead is arched, the eyes large, the ears
rather ample and very moveable; the tail is a mere
rudiment,, concealed by the long, harsh, and almost
spine-like hair with which the animal is universally
covered. The general contour is compact, and displays
great vigour, the limbs being robust and well adapted
for climbing and leaping among the rocks of the mountain
ranges; the hoof8 are strong, broad, and expanded, and
the posterior rudimentary hoofs are so developed, as
to touch with their points the surface on which the animal
treads, so as to add to the security of its footing. The
general colour of the musk deer is brown, washed with
grey and pale yellow, each hair being tipped with
ferruginous; obscure grey or whitish marks often occur
on the sides, especially in immature individuals: the
shoulders and limbs are of a deeper tint than the
body.

In 1772, a male of this species was living in the
park of Mons. de la Brilliere, at Versailles, in France,
and Daubenton,- who published a description of it informs
302 MUSK DEER.

us that the odour it exhaled, and which was carried
with the wind, was quite sufficient to guide to the spot
where the animal was kept euclosed. ‘When I first saw
it, he adds, ‘I recognised. much resemblance in its
figure and attitude to those of the roe, the gazelle, and
the chevrotain. No animal of this (the deer) tribe. has
more activity, suppleness, and vivacity in its movements.’
It was extremely timid and wild, but like all the species
of the peculiar group to which it belongs, it is gentle
and inoffensive.

The chevrotains, as we well know, may be rendered
very tame, and it is probable that if the musk deer
were taken young, it might be easily domesticated, since
the former animals are shy and timid in the extreme
while in a state of natural freedom, but soon gain
confidence and have even bred in captivity in our
uncongenial climate.”
 
303

LOVE BIRD.

Tue love birds form part of a group of most beautiful
little parrakeets—the most. diminutive of their race,
with short rounded tails: they are natives of the torrid
zone. The common love bird from Guinea is _ well
known, being often kept in cages in pairs; it is very
interesting to witness the attention which a pair of these
birds pay to each other; caressing each other, arranging
each other’s plumage, and by numberless little acts of
kindness evidencing their mutual attachment. They
usually sleep suspended with the head downwards, cling-
ing by one foot alone.

Parrots are, for the most part tropical birds, and in
their native climates are the most numerous of the
feathered tribes. Montgomery says,

“The parrots swung like blossoms on the trees.”

They are described as flying in large flocks in South
America, with loud screams, and all kinds of evolutions
in the air: some of them are shot and eaten by travellers.
Prince Maximilian describes the cold season as causing
the forest birds to come down in great numbers from
the interior to the coast of Brazil, and thus enabling
the hunters to shoot abundance of parrots for food. ‘The
flesh of the parrot,” observes the prince, “makes very
strong broth, but I nowhere found any confirmation of
what Southey says, that it is used in medicine.”

The flight of the parrots is rapid, elegant, and vigorous,
capable of being long sustained, and many of the species
304 LOVE BIRD.

are in the habit of describing circles and other aerial
evolutions, previous to their alighting upon the trees
which contain their food. Thus Audubon, in his account
of the Carolina parrakeet, says, “Their flight is rapid,
straight, and continued through the forests, or over
fields and rivers, and is accompanied by inclinations of
the body, which enables the observer to see alternately
their upper and under parts. They deviate from a direct
course only when impediments occur, such as the trunks
of trees, or houses, in which case they glance aside in
‘a very graceful manner, as much as may be necessary.
A general cry is kept up by the party, and it is seldom
that one of these birds is on the wing for ever so short
a space, without uttering its cry. On reaching a spot
which affords a supply of food, instead of alighting at
once, as many birds do, the parrakeets take a good
survey of the neighbourhood, passing over it in circles of
great extent, first above the trees, and then gradually
lowering, until they almost touch the ground, when,
suddenly re-ascending, they all settle on the tree that
bears the fruit of which they are in quest, or on one
close to the field in which they expect to regale them-
selves.”
' The places selected for hatching their eggs, and
rearing their young, are the hollows of decayed trees;
they make little or no nest, but deposit their eggs,
which, according to the species, vary from two to five
or six in number, upon the bare rotten wood. In these
‘hollows, it is said, they also frequently roost during.
the night. ©
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305

CARACAL.

Tye caracal, which belongs to the hot parts of Asia
and Africa, is the lynx of the ancients. The animal
known to us by that name was unknown to the Greeks;
and the Romans, who knew it, called it by a different
name. It -derives its modern name from two Turkish
words, which mean ‘black ear.’ It is widely distributed,
being found in Persia, India, Barbary, Nubia, Egypt,
and the whole of Africa, to Caffraria, Turkey, and Arabia.

The general colour of the body is a pale reddish
brown, with a. vinous tinge; the lower parts are paler.
Two spots of pure white are near each eye, one on
the inner side and above the eye, the other beneath
its outer angle. The edges of the upper lip, the chin,
and lower lip, are white, as are the insides of the limbs.
The whiskers rise from a series of black lines. The
ears are long and tapering, and .are surmounted by a
pencil of long black hairs; their colour externally is black.
The tail reaches only to the hock joint. Temminck
gives the measurements as following:—Length, two feet
ten inches, of which the tail measures ten; average
height, about fourteen inches. The eyes of the caracal
have a marked nocturnal character, and are large, bright,
and scowling in their expression. The limbs are extremely
muscular, and its whole contour denotes great activity.

The caracal feeds on small quadrupeds and_ birds,
the latter of which it pursues even to the tops of the
trees. It is said to follow the lion and other large beasts
of prey for the purpose of feeding on what~ they leave.

The caracal leaps upon its vietim, and holds it. with

ee Q
306 . | CARACAL. .

remarkable tenacity, as was noticed by AXlian. Ossian
also alludes to its mode of springing upon hares, deer,
etc. According to 'Temminck, they are in the habit of
hunting in packs, like wild dogs, and of running down
their prey: most probably they creep towards it, like
the chetah, and spring suddenly upon it. Pennant,
quoting Thevanot, states that they are often brought
up, and used in the chase of lesser quadrupeds, and
the larger sort of birds, as cranes, pelicans, peacocks,
etc.; and that when they seize their prey they hold it
fast with their. mouth, and. lie motionless on it. He
also adds, on the authority of Hyde, that the Arabians,
who call it snak-el-ard, affirm that it hunts like the
panther, jumps up at cranes as they fly, and covers
its steps when hunting.”
 

WHEATEAR.
307

WHEATEAR.

Tus plain-coloured, but pretty little bird, is to be
seen in summer on the open downs, in various parts
of the country. Its length is five inches and a half;
the bill is. black, the eyes dark brown; from the base
of the bill a black streak extends to the eye, behind
which it increases in width; above this is a line of
white. The ‘breast is pale buff-colour, with a tinge of
red, the legs and feet are black; the tail coverts and
part of the tail are ‘white, the rest of the tail is black.
The back of the head, the neck behind, and the back,
are bluish grey.

“The wheatear breeds under shelter of a turf or clod
in newly-ploughed lands, or under stones, and sometimes
in old rabbit burrows. The nest is constructed with
great care, of dry grass or moss, mixed with wool, lined
with feathers, and defended by a sort of covert fixed to
the stone or clod under which it is formed. The
female lays five or six. blue eggs, the larger end en-
compassed with a circle of a somewhat deeper hue.

This bird visits us about the middle of March, and
from that time till May is seen to arrive. It frequents
new-tilled grounds, and never fails to follow the plough,
in search of insects and small worms, which are its
principal food.

In some parts of England great numbers are taken
in snares made of horse-hair, placed beneath a turf;
near two thousand dozen are said to have been taken
annually, and sold at sixpence per dozen. They leave us
in August or September, and about that time are seen
308 WHEATEAR.

in great numbers by the sea shore, where, probably, they
subsist some little time before they take their departure.
They are extended over a large portion of the globe,
even as far as the southern parts of Asia.”
 

 

 
309

BLACK SQUIRREL.

Tue black squirrel is also known by the name of
the North American, or grey squirrel. In length, including
the extent of the tail, which is nearly twice as long
_as the body, it measures two feet and three-quarters,
There are several varieties of the species, two.of which —
appear to be very permanent, giving rise to the two
names of grey and black, by which this pretty little
animal is distinguished.

Mr. Fennell gives the following account of it:—“The
species now under notice appears to be the most active
and sprightly of any existing in the Atlantic States. It
rises with the sun, and continues industriously engaged
in search of food during four or five hours in the
morning, scratching among leaves, running over logs,
ascending trees, and playfully coursing from limb to
limb, often making almost incredible leaps from the
higher branches of one tree to another. In the middle
of the day it retires for a few hours to its nest, resuming
its active labours and amusements in the afternoon;
and continuing them without intermission till sunset.
The chesnut, beech, oak, and maple afford it food, but
it appears to prefer the shell-bark, and the various species
of hickory to any other kind of food. Even wheu the
nuts are so green as to afford scarcely any nourishment,
it gnaws off the thick epidermis, which drops to the
ground like rain, and then, with its lower incisor teeth,
makes asmall linear opening in the thinnest part of
the shell, immediately over the kernel. In an incredibly
short space of time the nut is cut longitudinally on its
310 , BLACK SQUIRREL.

four sides, and the whole kernel secured, leaving the
portions of the hard shell untouched. Not satisfied
with this kind of food, it commits great depredations
on the green corn and young wheat, thus rendering
itself obnoxious to the farmer.

In Pensylvania a law existed offering three pence
for every squirrel destroyed, and in the year 1749, the
sum of, eight thousand pounds was paid out of the
treasury, in premiums for their destruction. The inhab-
itants of several of the northern and western states
assemble together on an appointed day to have a squirrel
hunt. Arranging themselves in two opposite parties,
each under a leader, they range the forest in every
direction, and before evening these gunners bag an almost
incredible number of squirrels. At the evening rendezvous,
the party who produces the less number bears the
expense of a bountiful supper, a penalty which stimulates
the gunners to the greatest activity in destroying them.
 

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311

JACKDAW.

Tux jackdaw is a very common and well-known bird.
It is of a general black colour, glossed with blue, the
back part of the head and neck a fine grey, the bill
black, the eye light grey, the forehead black, the breast
dusky black, the legs black.

Several varieties of this species are given by different
authors; some entirely black, without the grey on the
head and neck; others quite white, or mixed black and
white. It is found in Denmark, France, and Germany,
also in Russia, and the western parts of Siberia; but in
most of these places it is found to be migratory.

This very common bird frequents old towers,’ ruined
buildings, and high cliffs, where it builds, as well as in
holes of trees. The nest is made of sticks, and lined
with wool and other soft materials; the eggs are five or ©
six in number, bluish, spotted with black.

These birds are gregarious, and frequently flock to-
gether with rooks, feeding in the same manner on grain
and insects; they are fond of cherries, and will devour
carrion in severe weather. They are seen frequently to
perch on the backs of sheep, not only to rob the
animals of their wool to line its nest, but also to pick
out the insects with which it is infested. They are very
docile, tractable, and mischievous birds, easily tamed,
and may be taught to talk. Some instances are men-
tioned of their breeding in rabbit-holes.

At Cambridge, says Mr. J. Denson, there is good
accommodation for jackdaws in the abundant receptacles
for their nests which the various colleges and churches
312 JACKDAW.

supply, and jackdaws are numerous at Cambridge. The
Botanic Garden there has three of its four sides enclosed
by thickly built parts of the town, and has five parish
churches and five colleges within a short flight of it.
The jackdaws inhabiting these and other churches and
colleges, had discovered that the wooden labels placed
near the plants, whose names they bore, in the Botanic
Garden, would serve well enough for their nests, instead
of twigs from trees, and that they possessed the greater
convenience of being prepared ready for use, and placed
very near home. J cannot give a probable idea of the
number of labels which the jackdaws annually removed;
but from the shaft of one chimney in Free School Lane,
which was close beside the Botanic Garden, no less than
eighteen dozen of these labels were taken out and
brought to Mr. Arthur Briggs, the curator of the Botanic
Gardens, who received and counted them.
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313

CAVY.

THE proper name of this pretty little animal is the
Guiana pig, or rather should be the Guiana cavy, for
it is not a pig at all. It seems to be considered as
tolerably certain that it has originally been derived from
the perea which inhabits the woods of Brazil, Paraguay,
Guiana, and other parts of the southern continent of
America, from. the latter of which it has obtained the
name of Guiana pig, which has been corrupted into
Guinea pig—Guinea being a country in the central part
of the western coast of Africa.

“Although this animal, doubtless a South American,
has been very generally domesticated from an early
period; the stock from whence the breed was derived
is not known, nor is it recognised in any wild species
now found in that part of the world.

The length of this animal, when it extends its body,
is nearly eleven inches. It has no tail. The distribu-
tion of its spots, black and brown on a white ground,
varies in different individuals. They are pretty, tame,
harmless little creatures, and very careful of keeping a
clean fur. They feed on various plants; but it is said
that if they, or even rabbits, be given the leaves,
stalks, and pods of the maize, or Indian corn, they
will touch no other food while a particle of this
* remains. They drink by lapping. They have several
litters in the year, each litter consisting of from six to
eight, or even twelve young.”

There are several species of Guinea pig, so called.

The one now before us, when domesticated in this
o Qn :
314 CAVY.

country, bears a good deal of resemblance to the
rabbit, but is not quite so large; it is marked all over
with irregular patches of black, white, and orange.
The ears are round and almost bare of fur; the feet
are short. :
 

PASSENGER PIGEON.
315

PASSENGER PIGEON.

Tuts species of bird is common in North America,
but one specimen has been obtained in England, and
three others seen; the former on the 31st. of December,
1825, in the parish of Monymeal, in Fifeshire, and the
latter in the beginning of April, 1833, in the woods
of Littleton Common, in Middlesex.

The following is the description:—All the upper parts,
from the head to the tip of the tail, are bluish ash-
coloured; the two middle tail feathers are black, and
much elongated; the next are grey, and shorter as they
approach the outer feathers, which are white on the
outer webs and tips. The tail feathers being white at
their base, with a black spot, produce a fine boundary
to the white under tail coverts; the upper tail coverts
are very much lengthened. On the sides of the neck
the pigeon has the usual markings, or metallic scaled
feathers, common to its family, which joins the very
lovely salmon-colour of the throat, neck, sides, and
breast; and this salmon-colour decreases in intensity as
it descends, and fades off into white. The sides have
a tinge of grey; the bill is black, the iris fire-coloured,
and the legs are between lake and carmine red.

The celebrated naturalist, M. Temminck, writes as
follows of this bird:—‘When we consider the habits of
this species, particularly in respect of its wandering
propensities, and its existence in all the northern parts
of America, even those nearest the north pole, it is not
surprising that some stragglers should be found from time
to time within the limits of Europe, and that they should
316 PASSENGER PIGEON.

have been captured in our northern countries, to which
they have been driven by gales of wind. Several spec-
jmens are cited as having been taken in England,
Norway, and Russia. Its range extends from the Gulf
of Mexico, over the United States to Canada, and as
far as Hudson’s and Baffin’s Bays.

Its principal food consists of the nuts of the red beech.
They live in companies, often of many thousands, their
numbers. covering a space of many miles in extent; and
their place of repose is marked by the devastation they
occasion amongst the trees. They breed in such large
companies, that from sixty to a hundred nests are placed
in a single tree. The nests are composed of small sticks,
and appear to contain only a single white egg each.”
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PTARMIGAN.
317

PTARMIGAN.

In the genus of the grouse, to which this neatly-
plumaged bird belongs, the legs and toes are completely
covered with feathers to the very claws, and this warm
covering becomes thicker in winter, when its use to the
bird is greater; living, as it does, ‘mong the snow, to
which its white colour assimilates.

“One of the most remarkable facts connected with
the. history of this species is its change from a rich and
spotted livery, its summer dress, to one of pure white.
In spring, for example, the plumage is varied with black
and deep reddish yellow, the quill feathers being white
with black shafts. Towards autumn the yellow gi¥es
place to greyish white, and the black spots become
irregularly broken, till at last they disappear, the plumage
whitening to the purity of snow; at the same time it
acquires greater fullness, and the legs and feet are so
‘densely clad, as to resemble those of a hare. As spring
returns, the ptarmigan begins to lose the pure white of
its plumage, and regain its summer dress.

Of the number of ptarmigans imported during the
latter part of the winter and early in the spring from
Norway, Sweden, etc., to the London market, few persons
have any idea. ‘Qn one occasion,’ says Mr. Yarrell, .
‘late in the spring. of 1839, one party shipped six thou-
sand ptarmigans for London, two thousand for Hall,
and two thousand for Liverpool; and at the end of
February, or very early in March, of the year 1840,
one salesman in: Leadenhall market received fifteen
thousand ptarmigans that had been consigned to him;
318 , PTARMIGAN.

and during the same week another salesman received
seven hundred capercailies, and five hundred and sixty
black grouse.’ From Drannen, in Norway, in 1839,
two thousand dozen ptarmigans were exported in oné
sbip to London. Sixty thousand have been killed in
a single parish, during the course of the winter. The
total of these birds dgstroyed throughont Norway and
Sweden every season we do not know, but it must be

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LONDON; GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW.
 

 
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