Part 34

The Ant Thrushes inhabit forests or wooded tracts that abound upon the vast prairies of South America, and appear entirely to avoid mountain regions. Some few species venture near the inhabited districts; but, for the most part, they resort to the densest thickets or closest copses, and are most numerous in the hottest, quietest, and moistest localities, where they generally live upon the ground, and trust, even when alarmed, more to the swiftness of their feet than to the use of their wings. Other species again, frequent the bushes, and hop from branch to branch in search of food. The strength of foot displayed by the members of this family fully equals that of any other race of birds; they leap up and down with the utmost agility, and when endeavouring to elude pursuit, spring over the ground with a rapidity that renders it difficult even for a dog to overtake them. It is only during the period of incubation that the Ant Thrushes are content to take up their abode in any one particular spot; at other seasons they wander about from place to place, without, however, undertaking any regular migrations. We are almost unacquainted with the voices of these birds, but are told that great dissimilarity is observable in their notes, and that though some species are far noisier than the rest, none are distinguished for their powers of song. Insects constitute their principal food: these are obtained from the surface of the ground, sometimes by scratching upon it after the manner of hens. According to Kittlitz, they by no means despise vegetable diet. They greedily devour ants, and thus render inestimable service to mankind, by helping to destroy some of the vast swarms of those much-dreaded insects that occasionally sweep over the face of the country. "Everywhere in the neighbourhood of Para," Mr. Bates tells us, "the Saüba Ants are seen marching to and fro in broad columns, and carrying destruction among the cultivated trees and vegetables of the Brazilians. So large are the communities made by these tiny creatures, that the traveller often comes upon heaps of their dwellings of not less than forty yards in circumference, though not more than two feet high." We learn from Ménétrier that the Ant Thrushes breed in the spring-time of their native lands, and lay from two to three white eggs, marked with red; these are usually deposited with but slight preparations in a hole in the ground, or some similar situation.

THE FIRE EYE.

The FIRE EYE (_Pyriglena domicella_) is a well-known member of the family of Ant Thrushes, belonging to a group that comprises a number of the long-tailed species, who live principally amongst the branches of shrubs or in the underwood, and comparatively rarely seek their food upon the surface of the ground. They are all recognisable by their straight, conical beak, which is hooked at its tip, and slightly incised; also by their high powerful tarsi, strong toes, armed with short, slender, curved claws, moderate-sized wings, in which the fourth quill exceeds the rest in length, and moderately long and rounded tail. The plumage of the male Fire Eye is almost entirely black, as are also the beak and feet. The larger feathers of the wing-covers are edged with white, and those upon the shoulder entirely white. The eye, as the name of the bird indicates, is of a brilliant fiery red. The female is olive-brown, except upon the nape and throat, which are pale yellow. The length of this species is seven inches, its breadth nine inches; the wing measures three inches, and the tail two inches and three-quarters. The Fire Eye inhabits the forests of Brazil, and principally frequents the shrubs or brushwood in the most shady and retired spots. Its song has been described as a mere piping twitter. So eagerly does this very remarkable bird carry on its chase after ants, that Kittlitz tells us that upon one occasion he fired repeatedly into the midst of a busy party, occupied in clearing a clump of canes from a swarm of black ants, without causing them to cease from their work of destruction.

THE ANT KING.

The ANT KING (_Grallaria rex_) another of these Thrushes, represents a group recognisable by their short, thick beak, which is incised towards its hooked tip, and slightly arched at the culmen; short, rounded wings, in which the fifth quill is the longest, that scarcely reach beyond the base of the mere stump-like tail; slender legs, and moderate-sized toes, armed with somewhat curved claws. The plumage is principally brown, the smaller feathers being spotted on the shaft with a lighter shade; the wing-covers have a reddish tinge; the quills and tail-feathers are blackish brown, their outer web rust-red; the bridle, cheeks, and a stripe that passes from the chin to the throat are pale yellowish white; the entire under side is light yellowish brown, the eye greyish brown, the beak blackish grey, and the feet reddish grey; the body measures eight, the wing four inches, the tail an inch and a half, and the tarsus two inches. All the interminable forests upon the coast of South America, from Brazil to Columbia, are inhabited by these birds, of whose habits, however, we are completely ignorant, as they live exclusively within the shelter of the densest brushwood, and invariably take flight at the approach of man. Burmeister tells us that their penetrating cry is to be heard from early morning till late in the evening; that they make their nest upon the ground, and lay blueish green eggs.

THE TAPACOLO.

The TAPACOLO (_Pteroptochus megapodius_) represents another group of South American Ant Thrushes, in many respects resembling the Australian Lyre Birds, and particularly characterised by the very unusual development of the feet. Their body is elongate, their wing short, their tail rounded and of medium size; the beak is powerful, and compressed at the sides; the tarsus is robust, and of moderate height; the toes are slender, and armed with slightly-curved spur-like claws of great length. The TAPACOLO or TUALO of Chili is of a brownish olive on the upper part of the body; the breast is reddish brown, and the rump of a reddish brown hue, striped with white; the belly whitish, with dark markings; the throat, sides of the neck, and a line over the eyes are white; the quills bordered with reddish brown, and the tail-feathers entirely brown.

"The _Pteroptochus megapodius_," says Mr. Darwin, "called by the Chilians 'el Turco,' is as large as a Fieldfare, to which bird it has some alliance; but its legs are much longer, tail shorter, and beak stronger; its colour is a reddish brown. The Turco is not uncommon. It lives on the ground, sheltered among the thickets which are scattered over the dry and sterile hills. With its tail erect, and stilt-like legs, it may be seen every now and then popping from one bush to another with uncommon celerity. It really requires little imagination to believe the bird is ashamed of itself, and aware of its most ridiculous figure. On first seeing it one is tempted to exclaim, 'A vilely-stuffed specimen has escaped from some museum, and has come to life again.' It cannot be made to take flight without the greatest trouble, nor does it run, but only hops. The various loud cries which it utters when concealed amongst the bushes are as strange as its whole appearance. It is said to build its nest in a deep hole beneath the ground. I dissected several specimens; the gizzard, which was very muscular, contained beetles, vegetable fibre, and pebbles. From this character, and from the length of its legs, scratching feet, membraneous covering to the nostrils, and short and arched wing, this bird seems, to a certain extent, to connect the Thrushes with the gallinaceous order.

"The Tapacolo," continues the same writer, "is very crafty. When frightened by any person, it will remain motionless at the bottom of a bush, and will then, after a little while, try, with much address, to crawl away on the opposite side. It is also an active bird, and continually making a noise. These noises are very various and strangely odd; some are like the cooing of Doves, others like the bubbling of water, and many defy all similes. The country people say it changes its cry five times in the year; according to some change of season, I suppose."

THE LYRE BIRD.

The LYRE BIRD (_Menura superba_) has, perhaps, excited more controversy among ornithologists, respecting its classification, than any other of the remarkable members of the feathered creation inhabiting Australia. This difference of opinion has arisen from its unusual size, and the very peculiar formation of its tail. The body is slenderly built, the neck of moderate length, the head comparatively large and well-formed, the wings short, the tail very long, and the tarsus high. The beak is straight, except at the tip, which is slightly hooked, very perceptibly incised, and broader than it is high at the base; the nostrils are large, oval, situated near the middle of the bill, and partially covered with a skin. The first five quills in the much-arched wing are graduated; the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth are the longest, and of nearly equal size. The very beautiful lyre-shaped tail possessed by the male is composed of sixteen feathers, whilst that of the female is of the ordinary form, and contains but twelve. The plumage of the Menura is thick, lax, and almost hair-like on the back and rump, but prolonged into a crest on the top of the head; the base of the beak is covered with bristles. The length of the body of the male is fifteen inches, that of his tail twenty-three, whilst his mate does not exceed thirteen inches; the longest feathers in her tail measuring not more than fifteen inches. The male Menura is of a deep brownish grey on the upper part of the body, shaded with red on the rump; the throat and upper part of the breast are red; the rest of the under side greyish brown, lightest upon the belly. The secondary quills and outer web of the primaries are reddish brown; the tail blackish brown on the upper side, and silvery grey beneath. The outer webs of the two lyre-shaped feathers are dark grey, their extremities velvety black, fringed with white, the inner web striped alternately with blackish brown and rust-red; the two centre tail-feathers are grey, the rest black. The plumage of the female is entirely of a dirty brown, shading into grey on the belly; the young resemble the mother until after the first moulting season. This remarkable bird, which, together with the Emeu and Kangaroo, form the emblems or heraldic bearings of Australia, has been most carefully observed and described by both Gould and Bennett; we shall, therefore, lay before our readers the interesting results of their labours in the words of those naturalists:--

"The great stronghold of the Lyre Birds," says Mr. Gould, "is the colony of New South Wales, and, from what I could learn, its range does not extend so far to the eastward as Moreton Bay; neither have I been able to trace it to the westward of Port Phillip on the southern coast; but further research only can determine these points. It inhabits equally the bushes on the coast and those that clothe the sides of the mountains in the interior. On the coast it is especially abundant at the Western Port and Illawarra; in the interior the cedar bushes of the Liverpool range, and, according to Mr. G. Bennett, the mountains of the Tumut country are among the places of which it is a denizen. Of all the birds I have ever met with, the Menura is by far the most shy 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 rendered 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 sufficient to alarm it; and none but those who have traversed these rugged, hot, and suffocating bushes can fully understand the anxious labour attendant on the pursuit of the Menura. Independently of climbing over rocks and fallen trunks of trees, the sportsman has to creep and crawl beneath and among the branches with the utmost caution, taking care only to advance while the bird's attention is occupied in singing, or in scratching up the leaves in search of food: to watch its action it is necessary to remain perfectly motionless, not venturing to move, even in the slightest degree, or it vanishes from sight as if by magic. Although I have said so much on the cautiousness of the Menura, it is not always so alert: in some of the most accessible bushes through which roads have been cut it may frequently be seen, and even closely approached on horseback, the bird evincing less fear of horses than of man. At Illawarra it is sometimes successfully pursued by dogs, trained to rush suddenly upon it, when it immediately leaps upon the branch of a tree, and its attention being exclusively attracted by the dog below barking, it is easily approached and shot. Another successful mode of procedure is by wearing the tail of a full-plumaged male in the hat, keeping it constantly in motion, and concealing the person among the bushes, when, the attention of the bird being arrested by the apparent intrusion of another of its own sex, it will be attracted within the range of the gun. If the bird be hidden from view by surrounding objects, any unusual sound, such as a shrill whistle, will generally induce him to show himself for an instant, by causing him to leap with a gay and sprightly air upon some neighbouring branch, to ascertain the cause of the disturbance; advantage must be taken of this circumstance immediately, or the next moment it may be half-way down the gully. The Menura seldom, if ever, attempts to escape by flight, but easily eludes pursuit by its extraordinary powers of running. None are so efficient in obtaining specimens as the naked black, whose noiseless and gliding steps enable him to steal upon it unheard or unperceived; with a gun in his hand he rarely allows it to escape, and in many instances he will even kill it with his own clumsy weapons. The Lyre Bird is of a wandering disposition, and, although it probably keeps to the same jungle, it is constantly engaged in traversing it from one end to the other, from the mountain base to the top of the gullies, whose steep and rugged sides present no obstacle to its long legs and powerful muscular thighs. It is also capable of performing extraordinary leaps, and I have heard it stated that it will spring ten feet perpendicularly from the ground. Among its many curious habits, the only one at all approaching to those of the Gallinaceæ is that of forming small round hillocks, which are constantly visited during the day, and upon which the male is continually tramping, at the same time erecting and spreading out its tail in the most graceful manner, and uttering its various cries; sometimes pouring forth its natural notes; at others imitating those of other birds, and even the howling of the native dog (dingo). The early morning and evening are the periods when it is most animated and active. Although upon one occasion I forced this bird to take wing, it was merely for the purpose of descending a gully, and I am led to believe that it seldom exerts this power unless under similar circumstances. It is particularly partial to traversing the trunks of fallen trees, and frequently attains a considerable altitude by leaping from branch to branch. Independently of a loud full note, which may be heard reverberating over the gullies for at least a quarter of a mile, it has also an inward warbling song, the lower notes of which can only be heard within about fifteen yards. It remains stationary whilst singing, fully occupied in pouring forth its animated strain; this it frequently discontinues abruptly, and again commences with a low, inward snapping noise, ending with an imitation of the loud and full note of the Satin Bird, and always accompanied by a tremulous motion of the tail. The food of the Menura appears to consist principally of insects, particularly of centipedes and coleoptera. I also found the remains of shelled snails in the gizzard, which is very strong and muscular."

"I first," continues Mr. Gould, "saw these birds in the mountain range of the Tumut country. Lately they have been very abundant among the Blue Mountain ranges bordering on the Nepean River, above Emeu Plains, about thirty-five miles from Sydney. They are remarkably shy, very difficult of approach, frequenting the most inaccessible rocks and gullies; and, on the slightest disturbance, they dart off with surprising swiftness through the brakes, carrying their tail horizontally; but this appears to be for facilitating their passage through the bushes; for when they leap or spring from branch to branch, as they ascend or descend a tree, their tail approaches to the perpendicular. On watching them from an elevated position playing in a gully below, they are seen to form little hillocks or mounds by scratching up the ground around them, trampling and running flightily about, uttering their loud, shrill call, and imitating the notes of various birds."

The following account of a young Lyre Bird was received by Mr. Gould from Ludwig Becker:--

"In the month of October, 1858, the nest of a Lyre Bird was found in the densely-wooded ranges near the sources of the river Yarra-Yarra. It contained a bird which seemed at first to be an old one in a sickly condition, as it did not attempt to escape, but it was soon discovered to be a young bird of very large size as compared with its helplessness. When taken out of the nest it screamed loudly, the note being high, and sounding like 'tching-tching.' In a short time the mother-bird, attracted by the call, arrived, and, notwithstanding the proverbial shyness of the species, flew within a few feet of her young, and tried in vain to deliver it from captivity, by flapping her wings and making various rapid motions in different directions towards the captor. A shot brought down the poor bird, and, with its mother near it, the young Menura was silent and quiet. It was taken away, and kept at a 'mia-mia' erected in the midst of the surrounding forest.

"Its height was sixteen inches; its body covered with a brown down, but the wings and tail were already furnished with feathers of a dark-brown colour. The head was thickly covered with a greyish-white down, of from one to two inches in length; the eyes were hazel brown; the beak blackish and soft; the legs nearly as large as those of a full-grown specimen, but it walked most awkwardly, with the legs bent inwards. It rose with difficulty, the wings assisting, and, when on its legs, occasionally ran for a short distance, but often fell, apparently from want of strength to move the large and heavy bones of its legs properly. It constantly endeavoured to approach the camp-fire, and it was a matter of some difficulty to keep it from a dangerous proximity to it. Its cry of 'tching-tching' was often uttered during the daytime, as if re-calling the parent bird; and when this call was answered by its keeper feigning the note 'bullen-bullen'--the native name for the Lyre Bird, which is an imitation of the old birds' cry--it followed the voice at once, and was easily led away by it. It soon became very tame, and was exceedingly voracious, refusing no kind of food, but standing ready, with widely-gaping bill, awaiting the approaching hand which held the food, consisting principally of worms and the larvæ of ants, commonly called ants' eggs, but it did not refuse bits of meat, bread, &c. Occasionally it picked up ants' eggs from the ground, but was never able to swallow them, the muscles of the neck not having acquired sufficient power to effect the required jerk and throwing back of the head. It rarely if ever partook of water. It reposed in a nest made of moss, and lined with opossum-skin, where it appeared to be quite content. While asleep the head was covered with one of the wings. When called 'bullen-bullen' it awoke, looked for several seconds at the disturber, soon put its head under the wing again, and took no notice whatever of other sounds or voices. That the young Menura remains for a long time in the nest is proved by the manner in which it disposes of its droppings; our young captive always went backward before dropping its dung, in order to avoid soiling the nest. It is probable that it leaves the nest in the daytime, when the warmth of the weather invites it to do so, but that during the night it remains in the nest; and if the weather should become cold the mother shelters her young, the nest being large enough to contain both."

A second species of Lyre Bird, the _Menura Alberti_, is thus described by Mr. Gould:--

"The habits of this bird are very similar to those of the _Menura superba_, but having seen and watched both on their playgrounds, I find the _Menura Alberti_ is far superior in its powers of mocking and imitating the cries and songs of others of the feathered race to the _Menura superba_. Its own peculiar cry or song is also different, being of a much louder and fuller tone. I once listened to one of these birds that had taken up its quarters within two hundred yards of a sawyer's hut, and he had made himself perfect with all the noises of the homestead--the crowing of the cocks, the cackling of the hens, the barking and howling of the dogs, and even the painful screeching of the sharpening or filing of the saw. I have never seen more than a pair together. Each bird appears to have its own walk or boundary, and never to infringe on the other's ground, for I have heard them day after day in the same place, and seldom nearer than a quarter of a mile to each other. Whilst singing they spread their tails over their heads like a Peacock, droop their wings to the ground, and at the same time scratch and peck up the earth. They sing mornings and evenings, and more in winter than at any other time. The young cocks do not sing until they get their full tails, which I fancy is not until the fourth year, having shed them in four different stages. The two centre curved feathers are the last to make their appearance. They live upon small insects, principally beetles; their flesh is not eatable, being dark, dry, and tough, and quite unlike that of other birds. They commence building their nests in May, lay in June, and have young in July. They generally place their nests on the side of some steep rock, where there is sufficient room to form a lodgment, so that no animals or vermin can approach."