Part 42

This species appears to be spread over a considerable portion of the African continent, and travellers mention having seen it in Abyssinia, about the Blue River, and at the source of the White Nile. The cry of the Alarm Bird so closely resembles the voice of the monkey, that even experienced sportsmen are deluded into the belief that they are in the vicinity of a party of baboons, and find, to their astonishment, that the loud and peculiar noise is produced by some of these strange birds, as they sit perched together in pairs or parties on the branches of a neighbouring tree. When about to utter this cry the birds sit bolt upright upon the topmost boughs, and after agitating their tails give forth a sound that penetrates far and wide amidst the surrounding woods. Their habits are shy and cautious; they testify considerable anxiety at the approach of man, except when accustomed to his immediate vicinity, and rarely leave their refuge amongst the trees, except in the morning and evening, in search of the berries that constitute their principal food.

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The COLIES, or MOUSE BIRDS (_Colii_) bear a close resemblance to the Plantain Eaters, but are distinguished from them by the following striking peculiarities. All the species belonging to this group are much alike in appearance; their bodies are rather muscular, and nearly cylindrical in shape, the tail almost twice as long as the body, the wings short and almost rounded, the tarsi short, and toes long; the beak is short, thick, curved from its base downwards, and compressed at its tip; the upper mandible is furnished with a slight hook. The distinguishing characteristics of these birds consist in the construction of the foot, which has four toes all placed in front, but those at the exterior are capable of being turned either to the side or back of the foot; and, secondly, in the peculiarity of the plumage, which is so fine as to resemble the hair upon the back of a small quadruped; the long feathers which compose the tail are, on the contrary, particularly stiff, each of them having a very powerful shaft and webs of remarkable strength; the centre tail-feathers are at least four times as long as those at the sides; the wings are short and decidedly rounded, the fourth, fifth, and sixth quills being longer than the rest. The appellation of Mouse Birds has been given to this group on account of the mouse-like grey that predominates in their plumage, varied occasionally with a reddish or dark grey shade.

THE WIRIWA, AND WHITE-CHEEKED MOUSE BIRD.

The WIRIWA (_Colius Senegalensis_) and the WHITE-CHEEKED MOUSE BIRD (_Colius leucotis_) are both inhabitants of Africa. In the first the brow is grey, and adorned with a tuft of brownish-grey hair-like feathers; the back of the head and sides of the neck are reddish yellow, the remaining upper part of the body blueish grey, the throat light grey, the immediate front of the throat and breast greyish blue, clouded with grey; the belly is reddish brown, the beak red at its base and black at the tip; the feet are bright red, as is a bare ring around the brown eye. The plumage of the White-cheeked species is mouse grey; the lower portion of the body is yellowish grey, the throat dark grey, the brow blackish grey, the cheeks greyish yellow. The webs of the tail-feathers are broader than in those of the Wiriwa. The eye is light blue, the upper mandible of a blueish shade, the lower mandible reddish horn colour, and the feet bright red. Both species are alike in size, being about thirteen or thirteen and a half inches long, and from eleven to eleven and a half broad; the wing measures three inches and three-quarters, and the tail about nine inches. These remarkable birds are found exclusively in Central and Southern Africa, though the northern parts of that continent seem equally rich in their favourite trees. Some species appear to inhabit a very limited tract, whilst the range of others extends from the western to the eastern coast, and from sixteen degrees south latitude to the Cape of Good Hope: all frequent well wooded districts, and are as numerous in the fertile steppes as in the primitive forests. Le Vaillant was the first to give any detailed account of the remarkable habits of this group, and so many reliable naturalists have substantiated his statements that we cannot hesitate to give them a place here, though our own observations have not always furnished the same results.

The Mouse Birds, according to the writer we have just mentioned, generally live in small families, numbering about six individuals, and usually select a densely foliaged tree or thick mass of bushes as their gathering place. Only those who have visited Africa, and thus become acquainted with the remarkable characteristics of its luxuriant vegetation, can realise the actual appearance of the haunts thus selected as cities of refuge by these most strange and _mouse-like_ creatures. Our readers must, therefore, try to picture to themselves a gigantic tree, with dense and usually thorny foliage, so interwoven with and embedded in the huge parasitical plants that grow around it as to be nearly concealed from view. In this green mass, which is impenetrable to man and beast, and even impervious to the attacks of the sportsman, the Mouse Birds make their home, creeping, like the animals whose name they bear, through such tiny and invisible crevices as to lead the spectator to imagine that they have actually vanished from his sight, when suddenly a little head appears, and the bird makes its exit through the hole by which it entered. How they manage to creep in and out of such small apertures seems quite inexplicable; Le Vaillant describes their motion whilst accomplishing this curious performance as being extraordinarily rapid. Their flight is performed with wings and tail outspread; whilst in the air the whole party constantly utter their shrill cry, which is accompanied by a very peculiar chirping sound; they but seldom rise to any great height when on the wing, and still more rarely settle upon the ground. Le Vaillant tells us that the Mouse Birds pass the night hanging in clumps upon the branches, like bees upon a hive while swarming. Perreaux, who verifies this statement, mentions having seen them clinging to each other whilst asleep, the first bird holding on to the branch with one foot, while it supports a second bird by entwining one of its legs with its own free limb; this second bird, in like manner, supporting a third, until they form a chain that often contains as many as six or seven of these living links. We ourselves have never succeeded in observing either of these curious habits, but have seen them during their sleep not only with both feet upon the branch, but lying full length upon it with the breast downwards. Whilst climbing among the foliage they will often hang like Titmice from the under part of a twig, but never retain this position for more than a very short time. The Colies are far from shy, and are easily captured if it has once been possible to penetrate their fastnesses--indeed, so little timidity do they exhibit that we have seen them caught with the hand.

Their food appears to be limited to vegetable diet, for we have never found insects in their crops, or, indeed, any substances except buds, fruit, or corn. The fruit of the plant called "Christ's Thorn" affords them their principal subsistence, but they will also devour grapes, limes, and cactus figs, getting at them after the manner of the Titmouse, by climbing over their surface. In Central Africa we heard no complaint of the mischief done to the gardens by the Mouse Birds, but in the Cape of Good Hope, owing to the large numbers in which they occur, the inhabitants regard them as formidable enemies. Nets or similar precautions are perfectly useless to prevent their incursions if they have cast their eyes upon a tempting-looking tree, for, if there be an aperture however small, their lithe, elastic bodies can penetrate it with the utmost ease. The nests, which are described as being of a conical shape, and formed of roots of various kinds, cotton-wool, grass, and leaves, are placed close together upon the most inaccessible branches. The brood consists of from six to seven eggs. Large numbers of the Mouse Birds are shot in the Cape, not only on account of the mischief they do, but for the sake of their juicy flesh.

CATCHERS (_Captantes_).

Under this head we class not only those members of the feathered race to which has been assigned, _par excellence_, the name of BIRDS OF PREY, but include with them such families of Swallows and song birds as obtain the principal part of their food by the destruction of animal life. We are fully aware of the difficulties presented by this attempt at a simple and natural classification, which, like many similar efforts, must necessarily be very imperfect, and open to grave objection; but we have adopted it as rendering the general view of our subject more intelligible to the tyro in Ornithology.

All the very various groups we have thus combined under the general name of CATCHERS are endowed with powerful bodies and comparatively long wings, and, moreover, are remarkable for the velocity and grace of their movements through the air. Their beaks are short, hooked, and frequently rendered more formidable by the possession of a tooth-like appendage to the upper mandible, which fits into a corresponding cavity in the lower portion of the beak; their gape is always large, and often of such great extent as to appear out of proportion to the rest of the body; the crop is but slightly developed or is entirely wanting, and the gizzard a mere capacious bag, provided with strong muscular walls. In all other characteristics presented by the members of this very heterogeneous order so much dissimilarity is observable, that to avoid confusion we must confine ourselves to describing each group in its appointed place.

The CATCHERS are met with in all parts of the world, but it is only in the warmer climates that they are found in great numbers, or seem to exhibit the full development of their matchless powers, which are alike displayed amid the recesses of the forest or on the heights of mountain ranges; even the inhabitants of the water are not secure against their treacherous rapacity. Some groups carry on the work of destruction during the day, some prefer the evening for their excursions, while others only commence their murderous onslaughts when night has fully closed in, and given them the protection of its sheltering darkness. All have but one mate, and breed once or twice in the year. Their nests are often built with great skill, and usually placed in holes of trees, in crevices of walls and rocks, or, in some instances, upon the ground. The eggs vary from one to eight in number, and the young are tended with great affection by both parents.

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BIRDS OF PREY (_Raptores_).

The numerous species included in this group present a remarkable inequality of size, some vying with the largest members of the feathered race in the majestic development of their powerful bodies, whilst others are no bigger than a Lark; still, despite this difference, there is such an unmistakable impress upon their forms and plumage as renders it easy to distinguish a Bird of Prey at the first glance. All the members of this rapacious series are endowed with a powerful and compact frame, broad breasts, and strong limbs; the head is usually round, occasionally elongated, the neck short and muscular, the trunk robust, and the legs and wings exhibit such unmistakable strength in their formation as can leave no doubt as to the attributes of the bird, even should it be seen deprived of its feathers, beak, and claws. The beak is short, decidedly curved, hooked at its extremity, and covered with a cere at the base of the upper mandible; the latter is immovable, and somewhat compressed at its sides. The margins of the beak are not only very sharp, but are frequently rendered more terrible by the presence of a tooth-like projection from the upper mandible, which fits into a corresponding excavation in the lower jaw. In such species as are without this tooth-shaped appendage the margins of the upper mandible are waved and trenchant, distinctly indicating their carnivorous propensities. The feet are massive and strong, the toes long in proportion to the size of the tarsi, and very motile; both legs and feet are covered with scale-like plates, and the toes furnished with claws or talons, which are either curved and sharp or comparatively straight, but in both cases rounded above and channelled beneath in such a manner that the lower part of each claw presents two distinct sharp margins. The plumage is generally soft, and formed of large feathers, which are either thick, small, and firm, or broad, soft, and silky, or even woolly in their texture. The bridles, a place between the base of the beak and the eye, and the eye itself are frequently entirely naked, whilst, on the contrary, some members of this group are distinguished by a circle of radiating feathers surrounding the orbit. The quills that form the wings and tail are always of considerable size, and their number in most species is pretty nearly the same--that is to say, ten primaries, and at least twelve or at most sixteen secondaries, form the wings; the tail is composed almost invariably of twelve quills, which appear placed, as it were, in pairs. In some races the feathers cover not only the tarsi, but even the toes, where they are distinguished by the name of _hose_, a term that will be frequently employed in our descriptions of the birds with which we are about to deal. The plumage of the _Raptores_ is usually dingy and sombre in its hues, though some few species exhibit considerable beauty of appearance, and the bare places on the head, the comb, wattles, bridles, cere, beak, feet, and eyes are occasionally brightly coloured. The internal construction of these birds is on a par with their external configuration; the skeleton is strong, and the sternum so large as to extend over the whole of the fore part of the breast; the keel is high, the bones of the wings comparatively long, and those of the legs powerfully developed. The bones of the entire skeleton are for the most part without marrow, and thus admit of the entrance of air, received from the large lungs and air-cells which extend throughout the body. The gullet is very dilatable, and is usually enlarged into a crop.

As we have said in our introductory chapter, the sight of the Raptores is very acute, and their eye adapts itself with remarkable facility to varying distances; and if any of our readers have tried the experiment of holding their hands alternately close to and at some distance from the eye of a Falcon, they have no doubt been astonished at witnessing the extraordinary dilations and contractions of which the pupil is capable. In some species the sense of hearing is also good, and we shall shortly have fully to describe the high degree of excellence observable in the structure of the ear of an Owl; their sense of smell, on the contrary, is by no means keen, and that of touch scarcely more acute or reliable. All Birds of Prey are remarkable for great courage, and exhibit such cruelty, rapacity, and cunning as cannot fail to render them terrible foes to all creatures weaker than themselves. In their relations to each other, on the contrary, the different species exhibit great affection; they combine readily in the defence of their companions, and do battle for them with the utmost devotion. To what perfection the intelligence of the Birds of Prey has been brought will be seen in our description of some of the services rendered to our forefathers by the Falcons. As regards their voices, few species are capable of uttering more than two or three harsh and unpleasing notes.

All parts of the world afford everything that is necessary to the existence of these predatory races; they are as much at their ease upon beds of ice such as environ Greenland or Spitzbergen as upon the glowing sands of an African desert; they sweep over continents, and exhibit the utmost indifference whether they alight upon the gigantic trees of a primitive forest or upon the steeples of a densely populated city. As winter approaches, such of these winged freebooters as inhabit northern regions wander south, returning in the spring to their native haunts, each bird with its mate, and at once commence preparations for the reception of the single brood produced by the pair during the whole year. The eyrie, as the nest of a Bird of Prey is called, is usually situated in hollow trees, cavities in old walls, on lofty rocks, or among the most inaccessible branches of the forest, in some cases, though rarely, upon the ground; or they make a platform of boughs, upon which the eggs are deposited. When built upon trees or rocks these eyries are usually very firm and massive in their construction, the walls increasing in height and strength from year to year, as their occupants add to and repair them at the commencement of each season; the interior, however, is never deep, the bed for the young being gradually raised with the rest of the fabric. Large sticks are employed by some Eagles to form the outwork of the eyrie; Tschudi tells us that the Stone Eagle obtains the branches it requires by falling suddenly upon them with closed wings, and thus, by the weight of its body, breaking them from the trunk to which they belong; the branch is then carried off in its talons to the place where the nest is to be built. Such Birds of Prey as build in holes trouble themselves but little about the accommodation of their brood, and lay their eggs without any preparation upon the naked stone, or at the bottom of the cavity they have selected. During the time that these bold and daring birds are occupied in the choice of a mate terrible battles are of frequent occurrence, the spirited antagonists confronting each other on the wing, and fighting till one of them is compelled to quit the field, the combat being often renewed day after day for whole weeks together, until the weaker rival is fairly vanquished, and driven from the locality; the females never appear to mingle in the strife, and are treated throughout the breeding season with the utmost attention and tenderness by their victorious spouses. The eggs, which are from one to seven in number, are rough shelled, and either pure white, grey, or yellow, marked with spots and streaks of a darker shade. In general only the female broods, but she is relieved occasionally by the male bird, who is by no means behind the mother in attachment to the young, and will sometimes perish in endeavouring to ward off danger from his progeny. The nestlings are at first fed upon food half digested in the crop of their parents, and afterwards upon scraps of flesh. The preparation of the nutriment intended for the young usually devolves upon the mother, but both parents combine in watching over the safety of the little flock long after they are fully fledged.

All Birds of Prey procure their principal sustenance by murderous and incessant attacks upon the creatures that surround them; and, besides flesh, many will devour insects, eggs, worms, snails, garbage of all kinds, and, in some rare instances, fruit; they consume great quantities of food, but are also capable of fasting during a considerable period. Their digestive powers are such as to enable them to reduce bones and sinews to a pap; the feathers and hair of their prey are rolled into a ball, and from time to time ejected from the mouth. Perhaps few prejudices are more unjust than the ill-will and enmity with which men usually regard these voracious and daring races, whose destructive propensities are much more frequently employed in their service than in the injury of their property; the Secretary Vulture destroys the Cobra di Capello by crushing its head, whilst other species clear the streets of Africa and Southern Asia of a mass of filth and refuse which, if left to accumulate, would fill the air with poison and disseminate everywhere the seeds of death.

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The Raptores divide themselves naturally into three distinct and important groups, gradually connected by a great variety of species, which combine and blend, as it were, the particular characteristics of the more typical members of the order. These three groups are--

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The FALCONS, the VULTURES, and the OWLS. We have no hesitation in assigning to the Falcons the first place, both on account of their intelligence and the development of their corporeal attributes; but it is not so easy to decide between the merits of the Vultures and the Owls, as their claims upon our notice are very equal. We, however, regard the Vultures as the more highly gifted birds, and have, therefore, given them the second place upon our list.

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The FALCONS (_Falconidæ_) are distinguished by their powerful, slender, and compact bodies, heads of medium size, and short necks. Their wings are large, usually pointed, but occasionally rounded at the extremity; the tail and feet are very various, both as regards formation and strength; the beak is short, and covered at its base with a cere, which is never concealed from view by feathers; the upper mandible is always hooked, and sometimes furnished with tooth-like projections. In some species the plumage covers not merely the entire body, but extends over the legs and feet, even to the toes; the feathers are sometimes short and coarse, and sometimes soft and silky in texture, but always very abundant. The eyes are bright and of moderate size, the crop is protuberant, but never globose. All the Falcons obtain their food by rapine, and may be regarded as the most daring and courageous of the feathered tribes.

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The NOBLE FALCONS (_Falcones_) are in every respect the most perfectly organised members of the group to which they belong; both as regards their strength and skill, and the perfection in which they display the characteristics peculiar to their race, they stand supreme. In these noble birds, as they are justly called, the body is very compact, the head moderate, the neck short, the wings long and pointed, the second and occasionally the third quill being longer than the rest. The beak is short but powerful, very decidedly arched at its base, hooked at the extremity, and furnished near its apex with a more or less highly developed _tooth_; the lower mandible is sharp at its edge, and has a hollow in which the tooth of the upper mandible can lodge. The talons of these Falcons are proportionately larger and more formidable than those of any other Bird of Prey; the leg is strong and muscular, and the tarsus short, the middle toe almost equalling it in length. The plumage is thick and harsh, the quills and tail-feathers of great strength. The region of the eye is bare, so as not to interfere with the scope of vision, presenting a naked ring, which is a distinguishing characteristic of the Noble Falcons. The plumage is usually of a light blueish grey above, whilst whitish grey, reddish yellow, or white predominate on the lower parts of the body; the cheeks are often curiously marked by a black streak, which has been called a _beard_. The males resemble the females in the coloration of their feathers, but are somewhat smaller. The young do not acquire the plumage of their parents until they are two or three years old.