Part 2

The LAUGHING HAWK (_Herpetotheres cachinnans_) is a South American bird, to which we have assigned the first place, inasmuch as in some respects it resembles the Falcons; the name it bears has been given to it on account of the very peculiar sound of its loud and resonant voice. Its distinguishing characteristics are its comparatively large head, which is profusely covered with feathers, and the robust development of the hinder parts of its body. The wings when closed reach to the middle of the tail, their primaries are narrow and pointed, the third and fourth quills being longer than the rest; the tail is long, the exterior feathers somewhat shortened; the tarsi are of moderate height and strength, the toes small, and the claws remarkably short and thick; the beak is short, much compressed at its sides, and terminates in a short hook; the lower mandible is shallow, and bifurcated at its tip; the region of the eye is bare, and the body covered with long-pointed and strong-shafted feathers. In size the Laughing Hawk resembles its European congeners; the plumage is pale yellow from the top of the head to the nape, each feather having a black shaft; the bridles, nape, and cheeks are black, the mantle brown, the feathers being bordered with a lighter shade; the entire lower portion of the body and a stripe upon the neck are white, which changes into red upon the breast and legs; the upper part of the tail is black, its under portion whitish yellow, tipped with white and ornamented with six or seven grey stripes; the inner web of the brown quills which form the wings is shaded from reddish yellow to white, and edged with a delicate irregular brown line; the eye is reddish yellow, the beak black, the cere and legs are yellow.

THE DOUBLE-TOOTHED HAWK.

The DOUBLE-TOOTHED HAWK (_Harpagus bidentatus_) resembles the Falcons in its general form, but is recognisable by its comparatively small head, long broad tail, and short wings. The beak is very peculiar in its construction, the upper portion being excised immediately behind the hook at its tip, and the lower mandible, which terminates abruptly, has near its extremity two sharp teeth at each side; the third quill of the wings is longer than the rest, the tarsi are short, and of the same length as the toes. This bird, of which there are two species, is only found in South America.

The _Guaviao_, as the Double-toothed Hawk is called by the Brazilians, is thirteen and a half inches long and twenty-six inches broad; the wing measures eight inches, and the tail six inches. The plumage upon the upper part of the body is blackish grey, embellished with a metallic lustre; the under portions are reddish brown, with narrow white stripes upon the throat; the rump is also white, the quills of the wings are brown, ornamented with an irregular border, which is pure white upon the inner web; the tail is black above, brown beneath, and marked with three broad and crooked lines; the eye is light carmine, the cere greenish yellow, the beak blackish grey, and the feet of a beautiful reddish yellow. The plumage of the young is brown above and white beneath, delicately marked with undulating brown lines of various shades.

THE SPARROW HAWK.

The SPARROW HAWK (_Nisus communis_) is the European representative of a very numerous group distributed throughout the world. These birds (see Coloured Plate IX.) are distinguished by their elongated body, small head, and delicate beak, furnished with a very sharp hook at the extremity of the upper mandible; the wings are short, tail long, and short at its tip; the tarsi are high and weak, the toes long and slender, and armed with extremely sharp claws. The plumage varies but little in its colour. This species is about one foot long, and two broad; the wing measures seven inches and two-thirds, and the tail six inches; the female is about three inches longer and five inches broader than her mate. In the full-grown bird the entire upper portion of the body is blackish grey, the under parts are white, marked with undulating reddish brown lines; the shafts of the feathers are also of the latter hue, and brighter in colour in the male than in the female; the tail is tipped with white, and has five or six black stripes. In the young birds the upper portion of the body is a greyish brown, beneath the throat white, striped with brown; the belly and legs are ornamented with irregular spots, the beak is blue, the cere yellow, the iris golden yellow, and the feet pale yellow.

The Sparrow Hawk inhabits the whole of Europe and Central Asia; it is stationary in some parts of the latter continent, but migrates from Europe as winter approaches, and seeks a warmer climate in Northern Africa or India, appearing, according to Jerdon, in the latter country about the beginning of October, and leaving about February or March. This species makes its home principally in woodland districts, preferring such regions as are mountainous or hilly, and is more numerous in the central portions of Europe than in the extreme south. Despite the shortness of its wings, the Sparrow Hawk flies with ease and rapidity, but when upon the ground it hops in the most ungainly manner. Towards such of its feathered brethren as are larger than itself it exhibits no trace of fear, and pounces upon its prey with a dexterity and courage that will bear comparison with the demeanour of the noblest of its congeners. In these encounters, the female bird has decidedly the advantage over her mate, and can bear the brunt of a battle to which his strength would be quite inadequate. Instances have been recorded in which this Hawk has been so eager in the pursuit of its prey as to follow the victim even into a house or wagon, and we lately heard of one darting into a railway carriage when in rapid motion in order to secure its prize. Birds of all sizes, including domestic fowls, are boldly attacked; Naumann mentions having even seen a Sparrow Hawk swoop down and fasten itself upon the back of a Heron. Small quadrupeds are devoured by these birds in great numbers, and they will sometimes stoop upon hares, but whether this is done with any hope of overcoming them, or merely for pleasure, we have not been able to ascertain. In so much dread is this formidable enemy held by the objects of its attack, that on its approach some birds will throw themselves as though dead upon the ground; others will make for their hiding-place with such devious turnings from the direct path as baffle even the skilful steering of their pursuer, and then dart into the inmost recesses of some protecting bush, and thus place themselves for the time in safety. Such of the swift-flying smaller birds as do not hold the Sparrow Hawk in dread, avenge themselves by following it boldly with loud cries whenever it appears; and so annoying does this reception prove to the tyrant of the woodland, that on the approach of some species of Swallows, whose flight is too rapid to admit of revenge, it will soar at once high into the air and beat a hasty retreat to its forest glades. The prey of the Sparrow Hawk is usually conveyed to some quiet spot to be devoured at leisure; the large quills are then pulled out and the carcase devoured piecemeal, the indigestible portions, such as bones, feathers, and hair, being subsequently ejected from the mouth, collected into large balls called castings; it also frequently destroys the eggs and young of such birds as make their nests upon the ground. The voice of this species is but seldom heard except during the breeding season. The nest, which is placed in some thicket at no great elevation, is built of small branches of fir, birch, or pine trees, and the slight hollow that forms the bed for the young is lined with down from the body of the female parent. The eggs, from three to five in number, are large, and very various both in shape, colour, and size; the shell is thick, smooth, white, or greyish or greenish white, and more or less distinctly marked with spots of reddish brown or greyish blue, sometimes lying thickly together and sometimes very sparsely scattered over the surface. The female alone sits upon the eggs, and testifies the utmost solicitude and affection for her young brood, retaining her seat upon the nest in spite of repeated alarms, and doing battle with all intruders. Both parents seek the food necessary for the young family, though the female only is capable of preparing morsels delicate enough for the tender beaks of the nestlings, who, we are told, occasionally perish from hunger should they lose their mother and be left to the more clumsy ministrations of the male bird. The young are fed and instructed long after they have left the nest. Most numerous are the dangers to which the European Sparrow Hawk is exposed, for not only men, but all such birds as are more powerful than itself pursue it with unextinguishable hatred and animosity; in some parts of Asia, on the contrary, it is regarded with favour, owing to the facility with which it can be trained to hunt the smaller kinds of game, particularly Quails; in the southern districts of the Ural, according to Eversmann, large numbers caught in the summer are trained for this purpose, and after having been employed during the autumn are again let loose in order to avoid the difficulty of keeping them through the winter months. The female alone is reared for the chase, the male, when captured, being allowed to fly again, as useless. In India this bird and another species are regarded with equal favour, and are employed by the native falconers in the pursuit of Partridges, Quails, Snipes, Pigeons, and Minas.

THE TRUE HAWK, OR GOS HAWK.

The TRUE HAWK, or GOS HAWK (_Aster palumbarius_) resembles the Sparrow Hawk in many of its features, but differs from that bird in the compactness of its body, and in the strength of its beak; the tail is rounded, the feet powerful, and the plumage peculiarly marked. This Hawk is about one foot and three-quarters in length, and three feet and a half across; the wing measures twelve inches, and the tail eight and a half; the female is five inches longer and six inches broader than her mate. The plumage upon the upper part of the body is blackish brown, more or less shaded with greyish blue; the lower portions are white, the shafts of the feathers being brownish black, as are the undulating lines with which they are ornamented; the beak is greyish brown, the cere, eyes, and feet pale yellow. In young birds the upper portion of the body is brown, each feather being bordered and spotted with reddish yellow; the lower parts are of a reddish shade, and at a later period of a reddish white, marked with longitudinal brown streaks; the beak, eyes, cere, and feet are paler than in the adult.

The habitat of the Gos Hawk is as extensive as that of the Sparrow Hawk; it is found in great numbers in northern countries, and in some districts may be regarded as stationary; in Southern Europe it is extremely rare, and, according to our own observation, is seldom met with in Northern Africa or India. Wooded country, interspersed with fields and valleys, afford it the localities it prefers, and it is much more numerous in extensive forests than in comparatively small woods. In its habits this species is eminently unsocial, living almost invariably alone, except during the breeding season; its disposition is cunning, wild, and violent, and its movements active and powerful. When upon the wing, it may be seen hovering from time to time, and then rushing down upon its prey with noisy impetuosity; in making a swoop it cleaves the air with great force, the tail at these times being partly outspread. In the air the Gos-Hawk is completely master of its movements, and steers its course with imposing majesty; whilst upon the ground, on the contrary, its gait is awkward and ungainly, its step being a sort of lame hop. Its voice consists of a variety of sounds, but is rarely heard; it is loud, resonant, and extremely unpleasing. So rapacious is this formidable bird, that its destructive attacks are repeated almost without intermission during the entire day on birds of all sizes, and even rabbits, squirrels, and water-fowl may be numbered among its victims, the prey being seized with equal facility either when running, flying, or swimming; some of the smaller quadrupeds are so completely paralysed with fear at the approach of their destroyer that they crouch down incapable of moving a limb, while the Hawk swoops down upon them with wings almost closed and talons outspread, producing as it descends a rushing sound, that may be heard above a hundred paces from the spot. Remarkable anecdotes are cited by reliable writers of the extreme cunning and intelligence of these birds when strength proves unavailing. Count Wodzicki tells of a sagacious Hawk that, when all other means had failed by which it hoped to seize upon some tempting but wary pigeons, at length decided upon perching motionless upon a branch, with neck drawn in, so as to simulate an owl; the _ruse_ completely succeeded, for the birds, fearing nothing from the huge but helpless looking creature, ventured out and were seized with a rapidity from which escape was hopeless. The same author mentions an instance of a trick played upon another flock of pigeons, in which very different means were adopted; the Hawk in this case, finding that its hoped-for prey utterly refused to come out and allow themselves to be caught, at last alighted upon the dove-cot, and beat and stamped upon it with such violence that the terrified inhabitants were fairly driven from their retreat. Audubon mentions having seen a Hawk kill five Blackbirds in succession as a flock was passing the Ohio, the victims being successively thrown down upon the water until the destroyer had time to collect them at his leisure; this latter feat was accomplished by a series of very dexterous movements, and the booty safely deposited upon dry land. The extraordinary rapacity of the Hawk fully accounts for its unsocial habits; it would, in fact, be impossible for these birds to live together; no relation of life appears to excite any natural feeling, even parents, devour their offspring with the most revolting cruelty--indeed, so great is their ferocity, that although provided with abundance of other food, they cannot restrain their murderous propensities, if brought in contact with birds even of their own species. Such of the feathered denizens of the forest as are sufficiently swift of wing to be able to elude the Gos Hawk, pursue it fearlessly, and chase it with rude cries whenever it appears; Crows and Swallows are particularly addicted to this most harassing mode of avenging the wrongs of their more helpless companions.

The eyrie of this species is large and shallow, built of green fir or pine branches, which are added to or renewed from time to time; the bed for the young is lined with down stripped from the parent birds. Old and high trees are usually preferred for building purposes, the nest being placed on a large branch near the main stem; year after year a pair of Hawks will return to the same spot, at each visit making such repairs as the eyrie requires, and renewing the green branches. The eggs, two to four in number, are large, long, and very wide towards the middle; the shell is thick, rough, of a greenish-white colour, and either entirely unmarked, or spotted with yellow; the female alone sits, but both parents guard the nest with jealous care, often attacking men, or even horses should they approach too near. The young grow very quickly, and are so voracious that the eyrie often looks like a slaughter-house, the parents having as much to do as they can manage in catering for their clamorous family, whose greed is so excessive that they will often fall upon and destroy each other when too impatient to await a fresh supply of food. Many and various are the means employed to clear the country of these destructive birds, but all attempts prove inadequate to cope with the extreme cunning and sagacity which they display on the approach of danger. In some parts of Asia their worst qualities are the points on which the favour of the native falconers is grounded, and by them these birds are prized as unrivalled for the purposes of the chase; they even employ them in the pursuit of such large game as hares. When about to hunt large animals, the legs of the Hawk are carefully covered with a kind of leather gaiters, to defend them when dragged through bushes and brambles, as their intended victim endeavours to escape from its clutch; seldom, however, does it succeed, for the bird holds firmly on with one foot, keeping the other raised to clear aside the branches, or get a firm grasp upon a bush, and thus arrest the progress of its quarry when the proper moment arrives.

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The SINGING HAWKS (_Melierax_) are an African group, differing somewhat in shape from their European relatives. Their body is more slender, the beak less powerful, and the wings longer than in the races hitherto described; the tail is rounded at its extremity; the tarsi are strong and high, and the feet provided with comparatively short claws.

THE TRUE SINGING HAWK.

The TRUE SINGING HAWK (_Melierax musicus_), as the largest member of this group is called, inhabits Southern Africa, and is replaced in the central portions of that continent by another species (_Melierax polygonus_), closely resembling it in appearance, though somewhat smaller. In the latter the plumage on the upper part of the body, throat, and upper breast, is slate-coloured; the belly, wings, hose, and large wing-covers are white, striped with delicate grey zig-zag markings. The quills are brownish black, the tail-feathers of a paler shade, the latter are tipped with white, and striped three times with a crooked white line; the iris is of a beautiful brown, the beak dark blue, the cere and feet bright orange. The length of this bird is about one foot seven inches, its breadth three feet two inches; the wing measures eleven inches and two-thirds, the tail eight inches and one-third. The female is about one inch and a half longer and two inches broader than her mate. The plumage of the young is brown above, and upon the belly and breast white striped across with light brown; the sides of the head and a line over the breast are of the latter colour. The first-mentioned species is similar in its colour and markings. Le Vaillant, who first described these remarkable Hawks, tells us that they are numerous in Caffraria, where they usually frequent the widely scattered trees, and subsist principally upon hares, partridges, quails, rats, mice, or similar fare. The nest is large, and contains four pure white eggs. Le Vaillant has given the name of Singing Hawk to the species, from an extraordinary fact of which he assures us he had personal experience, namely, that they are capable of pouring out a flow of song, and sometimes continue their vocal exercise for hours together. For our own part we have never heard one of these birds sing, and therefore must abstain from either depreciating or maintaining this statement; but similar species, carefully observed by ourselves, in the more northern parts of Africa, were capable of nothing but a prolonged whistle or piping scream. In appearance alone do these Hawks bear any resemblance to their European congeners; in their habits they are dull, extremely indolent, and entirely incapable of the daring exploits that render other members of their race so formidable; it is by no means uncommon for them to sit for hours together dozing upon a tree, or lazily scanning the surrounding country almost too idly even to note the prey they might easily secure. When in the air their movements resemble in some respects those of our Hawk, but are entirely without the precision and rapidity which render that bird so terrible an opponent. Whilst perched among the branches their appearance is ungainly, as they squat motionless with head drawn in, staring fixedly at one particular spot. According to our own experience, they devour toads, grasshoppers, and various kinds of insects in great numbers; Hartmann tells us that they will also eat lizards. The prey is usually pounced upon as it goes down to the water to drink, yet even then, so slow and apathetic is this bird in its behaviour, that an attempt to seize the victim often proves abortive. We are entirely destitute of particulars as to the incubation of this species.

THE SERPENT HAWK.

The SERPENT HAWK (_Polyboroides typicus_) is a very remarkable member of the Hawk family, inhabiting the same parts of Africa as the bird last mentioned; a very similar species is also met with in Madagascar. The Serpent Hawk is recognisable by the smallness of its head and body, bare cheeks, slender beak, and enormous wings; the tail is long, broad, and slightly rounded; the tarsi high and thin, and the toes small. The plumage is dark greyish blue upon the upper portion of the body, front of neck, and breast; the primary quills are black, the upper secondaries grey, with a black spot near the tip; the tail-feathers are black tipped with white, and have a broad white streak across the middle. The belly, hose, and tail-covers are white, delicately marked with black. The eye is brown, the beak black, the feet lemon colour, the cere and bare patches round the eyes pale yellow. The male bird is one foot eleven inches and a half long, and four feet four inches across the span of the wings; these latter are sixteen and the tail eleven inches in length; the tarsus measures three inches and a quarter, and the middle toe not more than one and a half.

This species is met with throughout the woodland districts of Eastern Soudan, where it frequents such localities as are in the immediate vicinity of water, as it there finds in abundance the reptiles on which it principally subsists. The manner in which this Hawk obtains its prey is very remarkable, as it is enabled to draw its victims from their holes by the aid of a most curious contrivance; the tarsus is so constructed as to allow the foot to be turned in all directions, backwards as well as to the sides, and the claws being comparatively small, the leg can be introduced through a very narrow aperture; it is then moved rapidly into every recess and cranny of the hole, to the inevitable discovery of its helpless occupant. The Serpent Hawks rarely pass much time upon the wing, and, indeed, do little more than fly from one tree to another, exhibiting in all their habits that sluggish and unsocial temperament common to most reptile-eating birds; they live for the most part alone, and spend their time in perching lazily on a bough, or flitting from tree to tree. Verreaux tells us that they will sometimes pursue small birds or quadrupeds.

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The succeeding families of RAPTORIAL BIRDS are distinguished by the circumstance that, although they pursue and kill living prey, they will likewise occasionally eat carrion; in order, however, to make the arrangement of this heterogeneous multitude at all clear to the general reader, we must subdivide them into several different groups.

THE EAGLES.