Part 1

CASSELL'S BOOK OF BIRDS.

CASSELL'S

BOOK OF BIRDS.

_FROM THE TEXT OF DR. BREHM._

BY THOMAS RYMER JONES, F.R.S., PROFESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORY AND COMPARATIVE ANATOMY IN KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON.

WITH UPWARDS OF Four Hundred Engravings, and a Series of Coloured Plates.

_IN FOUR VOLUMES._

VOL. I.

LONDON: CASSELL, PETTER, AND GALPIN; AND NEW YORK.

CONTENTS.

PAGE EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 1-22 CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS 23

CRACKERS (_Enucleatores_).

PARROTS (_Psittacini_). The TRUE PARROT (_Psittacinæ_):--The Jako--The Amazon Parrot--The Maitakka--The Crested Hawk Parrot 24-43

THE DWARF PARROTS (_Psittacula_):--Swinder's Love Bird--The Sparrow Parrot--The Siskin Parrot 43-45

COCKATOOS (_Plyctolophus_):--The Lemon-crested Cockatoo--Leadbeater's Cockatoo--The Helmet Cockatoo--The Nose Cockatoo--The Nestor Cockatoo--The Eagle Cockatoo--The Casmalos--Banks's Raven Cockatoo--The Kakapo, or Night Parrot of New Zealand 45-57

THE ARARAS (_Aræ_): The Scarlet Macaw--The Soldier Arara--The Anakan--The Ararauna--The Hyacinth-coloured Arara. The PARRAKEETS, or CONICAL-TAILED PARROTS (_Conurus_):--The Garuba--The Tiriba--The Carolina Parrakeet--The Choroy 58-66

THE LONG-TAILED PARROTS, OR PARRAKEETS (_Palæornithes_):--The Collared, or Rose-ringed Parrot--The Bettet. The SUPERB PARROTS (_Polytelis_):--The Scarlet-crested Superb Parrot--The Black-tailed Superb Parrot. The GRASS PARROTS (_Platycerci_):--The Rosella--The Variegated Parrot--The Waved Parrot--The Corella--The Ground Parrakeet 66-79

THE LORIES (_Lorii_):--The Purple-capped Lory--The Dappled Lorikeet--Swainson's Lorikeet--The Maiden Lorikeet--The Papuan Lory--The Blue-striped Lory 79-82

PASSERINE BIRDS (_Passeres_).

THE CROSS-BILLS (_Loxiæ_):--The Large-beaked Cross-bill--The Pine-tree Cross-bill--The Banded Cross-bill--The Parrot Greenfinch 85-92

THE BULLFINCHES (_Pyrrhulæ_):--The Parrot Bullfinch--The Pine Grosbeak--The Carmine Grosbeak--The Rose Bullfinch--The Carmine Bullfinch--The Siberian Bullfinch--The Vinous Grosbeak, or Desert Trumpeter--The Bullfinch--The Girlitz--The Canary 92-114

THE FINCHES (_Fringillæ_):--The Chaffinch--The Mountain Finch--The Snow Finch--The Winter Finch. The LINNETS (_Cannabinæ_)--The Brown Linnet--The Mountain or Grey Linnet--The Birch-tree Siskin--The Common Siskin--The Goldfinch--The Golden Thistle Finch 114-130

THE SPARROWS PROPER (_Passeres_):--The Common Sparrow--The Spanish Sparrow--The Field or Tree Sparrow--The Plain Sparrow--The Golden Sparrow--The Rock Sparrow. The HAWFINCHES (_Coccothraustæ_):--The Green Grosbeak--The Hawfinch--The Evening Cherry Hawfinch--The Large-beaked Hawfinch. The PARROT FINCHES (_Pityli_):--The Rose-breasted Hawfinch--The Cardinal Grosbeak--The Dominican Finch--The Tiny Finch--The Diadem Grosbeak--The Ashy-blue Parrot Finch--The Masked Parrot Finch 131-148

THE HABIAS (_Saltator_):--The Capi. The PLANT CUTTERS (_Phytotoma_): The Rarita. The TANGARAS PROPER:--The Ornate Tangara. FIRE TANGARAS (_Pyranga_):--The Flax Bird--The Fire Tangara. The CALLISTES (_Calliste_):--The Red-necked Calliste. The CALLOUS-BEAKED TANGARAS (_Ramphocelus_):--The Tapiranga. The BUTCHER-BIRD TANGARAS (_Lanio_):--The Black-headed Butcher-bird Tangara. The ORGANIST TANGARAS (_Euphone_):--The Violet Organist. The BRIGHT-COATED FINCHES (_Amadinæ_):--The Band Bird. The HOODED FINCHES (_Spermestes_):--The Magpie Finch. AUSTRALIAN FINCHES:--The REED FINCHES (_Donacola_):--The Chestnut Reed Finch. The Double-banded Reed Finch. The GRASS FINCHES (_Poëphila_). CHAFF-FINCHES (_Chloëbia_):--The Admirable Chaff-finch--The Rice Bird--The Little Goldbreast--The Blood Finch--The Variegated Finch--The Steel Finch--The Butterfly Finch. The ASTRILDS (_Astrildæ_):--The Grey Astrild--The Pheasant Finch 148-165

WEAVER BIRDS (_Plocei_):--The Social Weaver Bird--The Golden Weaver Bird--The Masked Weaver Bird--The Baya--The Crimson-beaked Weaver Bird--The Taha--The Flame-coloured Fire Finch--The Red-beaked Buffalo Weaver Bird--The Alecto Buffalo Weaver Bird--The Dinemelli Buffalo Weaver Bird 166-178

THE WHYDAH OR WIDOW BIRDS (_Viduæ_):--The Yellow-shouldered Mourning Widow--The Long-tailed Widow Bird--The Paradise Widow Bird 178-181

THE AMERICAN FINCHES (_Passerella_):--The White-throated Sparrow--The Morning Finch--The Tree Bunting Finch--The Prairie Bunting Finch--The Sea Bunting Finch 181-184

THE BUNTINGS (_Emberizæ_):--The Crested Bunting--The Grey Bunting--The Golden Bunting--The Ortolan--The Red Bunting--The Black-headed Bunting--The Reed Bunting--The Lark Bunting--The Snow Bunting 185-195

THE LARKS (_Alaudæ_):--The Calandra Lark--The Short-toed Lark or Calandrelle--The Black or Moor Lark--The Desert Lark--The Black-headed Bunting Lark--The Alpine Lark. The LARKS PROPER (_Alaudæ_):--The Tufted Lark--The Wood Lark--The Sky Lark--The Sentry Lark. The COURSER LARKS (_Alaemon_):--The Desert Courser Lark 195-202

RAVENS (_Coracirostres_).

THE STARLINGS (_Sturnidæ_). The TROOPIALS (_Agelaii_):--The Boblink or Rice Bird. The MARSH TROOPIALS (_Agelaius_):--The Red-winged Troopial. The COW BIRDS (_Molothrus_):--The Cow Starling. The YELLOW or GOLDEN STARLINGS (_Icteri_):--The Jamaica Yellow Bird--The Baltimore Golden Starling. The CASSICANS (_Cassici_):--The Japu, or Tufted Cassican. The BOAT-TAILS (_Quiscalus_):--The Great Boat-tail. The STARLINGS PROPER (_Sturni_):--The Common Starling--The Sardinian Starling--The Rose Starling--The Mina Birds--The Musical Grakle. The OX-BITERS (_Buphagæ_):--The African Ox-biter--The Red-beaked Ox-biter. The GLOSSY STARLINGS (_Lamprotornithes_)--The Bronze-coloured Glossy Starling--The Golden-breasted Glossy Starling--The Superb Glossy Starling--The Scaly Glossy Starling--The Brazen Glossy Magpie. The ROCK GLOSSY STARLINGS (_Moriones_):--The White-beaked Rock Glossy Starling. The MOUNTAIN GLOSSY STARLINGS (_Amydrus_):--The Naburup. The ORIOLES (_Orioli_):--The Satin Bower Bird--The Spotted Collar Bird--The Pirol, Golden Oriole, or Cherry Bird--The Golden-crested Oriole 210-243

THE BIRDS OF PARADISE (_Paradiseæ_):--The Footless Bird of Paradise--The Wumbi--The Ruby, or Red Bird of Paradise--The King of the Birds of Paradise--The Collared Bird of Paradise. EPIMACHI:--The Resplendent Epimachus--The Collared Epimachus--The Magpie Bird of Paradise 243-253

THE RAVENS PROPER (_Coraces_). The MOUNTAIN CROWS, or CHOUGHS (_Fregili_):--The Chough--The Snow Crow, or Alpine Chough. The TRUE RAVENS:--The Raven--The White-necked Vulture Raven--The Scapulated Raven. The CROWS (_Corvus_):--The Carrion Crow--The Hooded Crow--The Rock or Field Crow--The Jackdaw--The Glossy Crow--The Nutcracker. The PIPING CROWS (_Phonygamæ_):--The Flute Bird--The Bell Bird or Bell Magpie--The Bald-headed Crow. The TREE CROWS, or JAYS (_Garruli_):--The Magpie--The Blue Magpie. The BLUE RAVENS (_Cyanocorax_):--The Hooded Blue Raven--The Crested Blue Jackdaw--The Common Jay--The Unlucky Jay. The LONG-TAILED CROWS (_Glaucopes_). The TREE MAGPIES (_Dendrocitta_):--The Wandering Magpie--The Benteot--The Long-tailed Kitta--The FEATHER-BEAKS (_Cissa_):--The Sirgang, or Green Jackdaw 254-283

THE PLANTAIN EATERS (_Amphibolæ_). The TRUE PLANTAIN EATERS (_Musophagæ_):--The Banana Eater. The HELMET BIRDS (_Corythaix_):--The White-cheeked Helmet Bird--The Turako. The SPLIT BEAKS (_Schirzorhis_):--The Alarm Bird. The COLIES, or MOUSE BIRDS (_Colii_):--The Wiriwa--The White-cheeked Mouse-Bird 283-290

CATCHERS (_Captantes_).

BIRDS OF PREY (_Raptores_). The FALCONS (_Falconidæ_). The NOBLE FALCONS (_Falcones_). The HUNTING FALCONS (_Hierofalco_). The WANDERING FALCONS (_Falco_):--The Peregrine Falcon--The Red-necked Falcon--The Tree Falcon--The Berigora. The KESTRELS (_Tinnunculus_):--The Lark Kestrel--The Kestrel--The Red-footed, or Evening Falcon--The Sparrow Falcon. The DWARF FALCONS (_Hierax_):--The Muti 291-312

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PLATE I.--THE SCARLET MACAW.

" II.--THE GROUND PARRAKEET.

" III.--THE BLUE-STRIPED LORY.

" IV.--EGGS.

" V.--THE BULLFINCH AND GOLDFINCH.

" VI.--THE WAGLERS CASSICUS.

" VII.--THE SHARP-BILLED ORIOLE.

" VIII.--THE RUBY BIRD OF PARADISE.

" IX.--THE SPARROW HAWK.

" X.--THE IMPERIAL EAGLE.

INTRODUCTION.

FIG. PAGE

1. Respiratory Apparatus of a Fowl 2

2. Wing of a Bird, partially stripped of Feathers, to show the insertions of the Quills 4

3. Nascent Feather of a Chicken 5

4. Head of a Swan (_Cygnus olor_) 6

5. Section of the Head of an Eagle, showing the structure of the Eye 7

6. Eye of an Owl, showing the arrangement of the Nictitating Membrane 8

7. Muscles of the Eye-ball and of the Nictitating Membrane 9

8. External Ear of a Young Owl 10

9. The Throat of a Fowl, showing the parts _in situ_ 11

10. Tongue of the Woodpecker, showing the mechanism employed for its protrusion 12

11. Viscera of Small Bird (_Euphone violacea_) 13

12. Skeleton of a Goose 16

13. Ornithological Regions of the body of a Small Bird 19

14. Chicken in the Egg, newly arrived at maturity 21

15. A Young Chicken, showing the arrangement of the Feathers 22

CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS.

1. Cockatoos (_Cacatua_) 28

2. Collared Parrot (_Palæornis torquatus_) 29

3. The Jako (_Psittacus erithacus_) 36

4. The Amazon Parrot (_Chrysotis Amazonicus_) 40

5. The Maitakka (_Pionus menstruus_) 41

6. The Crested Hawk Parrot (_Deroptyus accipitrinus coronatus_) 44

7. The Helmet Cockatoo (_Callicephalus galeatus_) 48

8. The Nestor Cockatoo (_Nestor productus_) 49

9. The Casmalos (_Microglossus aterrimus_) 52

10. The Raven Cockatoo (_Calyptorhynchus Banksii_) 53

11. The Scarlet Macaw (_Ara Macao_) 61

12. The Garuba (_Conurus luteus_) 64

13. The Rosella (_Platycercus eximius_) 72

14. The Waved Parrot (_Melopsittacus undulatus_) 73

15. The Corella (_Nymphicus Novæ Hollandæ_) 76

16. The Ground Parrakeet (_Pezoporinus formosus_) 77

17. The Purple-capped Lory or Lorikeet (_Lorius domicella_) 80

18. The Dappled Lorikeet (_Psitteuteles versicolor_) 81

19. Tail-piece 82

20. The Large-beaked Cross-bill (_Loxia pityopsittacus_) 85

21. The Banded Cross-bill (_Loxia tænioptera_) 88

22. Cross-bills (_Loxiæ_) 89

23. The Pine Grosbeak (_Pinicola enucleator_) 93

24. The Desert Trumpeter (_Bucanetes githagineus_) 96

25. Female Bullfinch and Nest 104

26. The Girlitz (_Serinus hortulanus_) 105

27. The Wild Canary 109

28. The Tame Canary 112

29. The Chaffinch (_Fringilla Coelebs_) 116

30. The Mountain Finch (_Fringilla montifringilla_) 120

31. The Brown Linnet (_Cannabina linota_) 121

32. Siskin, Bullfinch, and Goldfinch 125

33. Goldfinches and Nest 128

34. Winter Visitors to the Village 132

35. Sparrow's Nest 133

36. The Tree Sparrow (_Passer montanus_) and the House Sparrow (_Passer domesticus_) 136

37. The Green Grosbeak (_Chloris hortensis_) 140

38. The Rose-breasted Hawfinch (_Coccoborus ludovicianus_) 144

39. The Dominican Finch (_Paroaria dominicana_) 148

40. The Rarita or Rara (_Phytotoma Rara_) 149

41. The Guttarama (_Euphone violacea_) 156

42. The Rice Bird (_Padda oryzivora_) 160

43. The Pheasant Finch (_Astrilda undulata_) 164

44. Detached Nest of Male Gold-fronted Weaver Bird (_Oriolinus icterocephalus_) 165

45. Nest of Astrilda, from Senegal 165

46. Nest of Weaver Bird, slit open 166

47. Nest of Mahali Weaver Bird 168

48. Nest of Social Weaver Bird (_Philetaërus socius_) 168

49. The Golden Weaver Bird (_Ploceus galbula_) and the Masked Weaver Bird (_Ploceus larvatus_) 169

50. The Java Weaver Bird (_Baya_) and Nests 172

51. Breeding Nest of the Golden-fronted Weaver Bird (_Oriolinus icterocephalus_) 173

52. Nests of South African Weaver Birds 175

53. The Fire Finch (_Euplectes Petiti_) 176

54. Dinemelli's Buffalo Weaver Bird (_Textor Dinemellii_) 177

55. The Paradise Widow Bird (_Vidua paradisea_) 180

56. The White-throated or Song Sparrow (_Zonotrichia albicollis_) 181

57. The Ortolan, or Garden Bunting (_Emberiza-Glycyspina hortulana_) 188

58. The Black-headed Bunting (_Euspiza melanocephala_) 189

59. The Reed Bunting (_Cynchramus schoeniclus_) 192

60. The Lark Bunting (_Centrophanes lapponicus_) 193

61. The Snow Bunting (_Plectrophanes nivalis_) 194

62. The Calandra Lark (_Melanocorypha Calandra_) 197

63. The Moor Lark (_Saxilauda Tatarica_) 200

64. The Desert Lark (_Ammomanes deserti_) 201

65. The Alpine Lark (_Phileremos alpestris_) 202

66. The Tufted Lark (_Galerita cristata_) 204

67. The Skylark (_Alauda arvensis_) 205

68. The Sentry Lark (_Macronyx capensis_) 208

69. Tail-piece 209

70. The Boblink (_Dolichonyx oryzivorus_) 212

71. The Red-Winged Troopial (_Agelaius Phoeniceus_) 216

72. The Cow Starling (_Molothrus pecoris_) 217

73. The Baltimore Bird 220

74. The Great Boat-tail (_Quiscalus major_) 221

75. The Common Starling (_Sturnus vulgaris_) 224

76. The Rose Starling (_Pastor roseus_) 228

77. The Musical Grakle (_Gracula musica_) 229

78. The Red-beaked Ox-biter (_Buphaga erythrorhyncha_) 232

79. The Superb Glossy Starling (_Notauges superbus_) 233

80. The Scaly Glossy Starling (_Pholidauges leucogaster_) 236

81. The Satin Bower Bird (_Philonorhynchus holosericus_) 237

82. The Spotted Collar Bird (_Chlamydera maculata_) 240

83. The Pirol, or Golden Oriole (_Oriolus galbula_) 241

84. Birds of Paradise 244

85. The Red Bird of Paradise (_Paradisea rubra_) 245

86. The Resplendent Epimachus (_Seleucides resplendens_) 249

87. The Collared Epimachus (_Epimachus magnus_) 252

88. The Magpie Bird of Paradise (_Astrapia gularis_) 253

89. The Chough (_Fregilus graculus_) 256

90. The White-necked Vulture Raven (_Corvultur albicollis_) 259

91. The Scapulated Raven (_Pterocorax scapulatus_) 260

92. The Raven (_Corax nobilis_) 261

93. The Carrion Crow (_Corvus corona_) 262

94. The Rook (_Corvus frugilegus_) 264

95. The Jackdaw (_Monedula turrium_) 265

96. The Nutcracker (_Nucifraga caryocatactes_) 268

97. The Flute Bird (_Gymnorhina tibicen_) 269

98. The Magpie (_Pica caudata_) 273

99. The Crested Blue Jackdaw (_Cyanocitta cristata_) 276

100. The Common Jay (_Garrulus glandarius_) 277

101. The Wandering Magpie (_Dendrocitta vagabunda_) 281

102. The Banana Eater (_Musophaga violacea_) 284

103. The White-cheeked Helmet Bird (_Corythaix leucotis_) 285

104. The Alarm Bird (_Schizorhis zonurus_) 288

105. The Wiriwa (_Colius Senegalensis_) 289

106. Oriental Falconry 297

107. The Peregrine Falcon (_Falco peregrinus_) 301

108. The Falconer 304

109. The Tree Falcon (_Hypotriorchis subbuteo_) 305

110. The Lark Kestrel (_Tinnunculus alaudarius_) 308

111. The Red-footed or Evening Falcon (_Erythropus vespertinus_) 309

_CASSELL'S_ BOOK OF BIRDS.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION.

We were some time ago both delighted and astonished by the performances of a German artist, who imitated with wonderful exactness the notes of a variety of birds. The song of the nightingale and the warblings of the skylark, the whistling of the throstle and the out-poured melody of the canary, were gone through with such perfect execution, that the birds themselves, we thought, could scarcely have detected a flaw in the performance. This gifted individual introduced himself to his audience by a somewhat humorous account of the manner in which he had acquired his extraordinary powers. He told us that his father, who was a breeder of birds, had upon one occasion gone from home, leaving a bag of rice as provision for his children, and a quantity of bird-seed for his feathered protégés. By some mistake the rice had been given to the birds, and the bird-seed to the children, the consequence being, that on the gentleman's return he found his birds all dead, and his children singing like piping bullfinches. How far this explanation was satisfactory we will not stop to inquire; but we have sometimes been almost tempted to suppose that some similar accident must be of frequent occurrence in Germany. The deep acquaintance of the ornithologists of that country with the objects of their study, and the fidelity with which they note down the minutest incidents connected with the history of their favourites, surpassing anything achieved by other naturalists, not even excepting such enthusiastic labourers as Wilson and Audubon, demands our warmest praise; while the patient industry, so conspicuous in their writings, at once calls for and excites our admiration.

Among the foremost of his countrymen in the cultivation of ornithological research stands the author of the magnificent work whose pages it is our wish to lay before English readers. Not content with studying the natural history of his favourites from books, or even in the rich scientifically arranged collections contained in so many Continental museums, his zeal led him to follow them even into their own wild retreats, and, gun in hand, to penetrate the burning deserts of Eastern Africa, and the equally inhospitable, and then but little known, regions of Abyssinia. By thus familiarising himself with the habits of birds in their native haunts, and amid the scenery whereby they are surrounded in a state of nature, he has been enabled to impart a freshness to his descriptions as characteristic of the real naturalist as the smell of new-made hay is redolent of fields and hedgerows, and no more to be imitated by the mere compiler than the voice of an orator by the reporter of his speeches.

Before, however, we permit our author to speak for himself, it may perhaps be desirable to preface his remarks by a few general observations concerning the structure of the beautiful creatures that form the subjects of his teaching, inasmuch as it is obviously desirable to have clear notions concerning the machinery employed before its adaptation to its intended uses can be made manifest; and further, because in the study of ornithology, as in every other branch of natural history, there are certain conventional terms that may require explanation before the words used in describing an object are intelligible to the uninitiated.

The Bird is an inhabitant of the air in the fullest sense of the expression. The atmosphere is emphatically the sphere of its activity; it mounts it as it would a ladder; it sails through it in triumph, and rides upon the winds as upon a fleet steed. Moreover, it is the atmosphere itself which endows the feathered Ariel with such capabilities, and it is in the perfection of his respiration that we must search for an explanation of his wonderful achievements.

The muscular activity of every animal is intimately dependent upon the efficiency of its breathing apparatus, upon the freedom with which the vital element finds admission to the blood which it is destined to renovate, and upon which it confers those qualities so inseparably connected with the elimination of increased temperature, and the vigour of muscular action. In this respect, as we shall see immediately, the feathered races surpass all living creatures, with the exception, perhaps, of the members of the insect creation.

The lungs of a bird are not suspended, like those of a quadruped, within a circumscribed chest or thoracic cavity, in such a manner as to become inflated by each inspiration; they are rather to be described as soft, porous, and highly vascular organs, through which the air passes as through the interior of a sponge. The movements of the chest, upon which depend the inspiration and expiration of the atmospheric fluid, may be compared to those of a bellows continually employed in taking in and expelling the surrounding element by a mechanism represented in the accompanying figure (Fig. 1). The framework of the chest, consisting of the ribs and of the breast-bone, is so put together that at each inspiration it can be raised, as shown in the drawing, from the position _d_ to the position _h_, thus materially enlarging the thoracic chamber, just as the upper board of an ordinary bellows is raised for the purpose of taking in the air; but, in this case, the surrounding element, instead of entering through a valve-defended orifice, rushes down the windpipe, and through the immovable, sponge-like lungs, permeating the wide passages with which they are perforated, and not only filling the entire thorax, but penetrating into the interior of the very bones, which are left marrowless for its reception.