Cassell's book of birds; vol. 3

Such an account appears still more strange when we learn that in the same country where sixty years ago they could not have been sold for more than a cent a-piece, scarcely one...

The HORNBILLS PROPER (_Bucerotes_) are at once recognisable by the remarkable horn-like protuberance that in many species rises at the base of the very long, thick, and more or...

In Patagonia, at the Bay of San Blas, and at Port Valdes, Mr. King several times saw Nandus swimming from island to island, a distance of about two hundred yards; they ran into...

The BARBETS (_Capitones_) possess a strong, conical beak, of moderate size, and much compressed at its tip; short and powerful feet, with the toes placed in pairs; small or medi...

"When an egg is to be deposited, the top is laid open, and a hole scraped in its centre, within two or three inches of the bottom of the layer of dead leaves. The egg is placed...

The DIDUNCULUS, or TOOTHED PIGEON (_Didunculus strigirostris_), is an extraordinary bird, representing a family of Pigeons possessing a powerful body, moderately long neck, and...

The TODIES (_Todi_), a group of American birds, apparently representing the Broad-throats, are remarkable for the very peculiar formation of their beak; and on this account much...

The _Lagopus Alpinus_ is not shy in summer, and early in autumn may be approached very closely without taking flight. "Not unfrequently, indeed," says Mr. Lloyd, "the fowler or...

"The materials composing these mounds are accumulated by the bird grasping a quantity in its foot, and throwing it backwards to a common centre, the surface of the ground for a...

The MACUCA (_Trachypelmus Brasiliensis_) represents a division of the _Crypturidæ_ possessing well-developed tail-feathers. The characteristics of this group are powerful bodies...

The members of this division were separated by Cuvier into two sections--the COLUMBÆ, or Pigeons, and the GALLINÆ, properly so called. More recently, however, these sections hav...

The Jer-moonals are not remarkably wild or shy. When approached from below, on a person getting within eighty or one hundred yards, they move slowly uphill or slanting across, o...

The THREE-TOED WOODPECKER (_Apternus tridactylus_), as the most striking of all the European members of this family is called, represents a group recognisable by their straight...

"This beautiful bird," says M. Montes de Oca, "which is generally known in Mexico by the name of the Royal Blue Myrtle-sucker, arrives in the vicinity of Jalapa, Coantepec, and...

The CAROLINA TURTLE-DOVE, or PASSENGER PIGEON (_Ectopistes migratorius_), a large and well-known member of the above group, inhabiting North America, is very powerfully built, a...

Williamson tells us that these splendid creatures abound chiefly in well-wooded localities, where there is an extent of long grass for them to range in. They are very thirsty bi...

The Monaul roosts in the larger trees, but in summer, when near or above the limits of the forest, will often sleep on the ground in some steep rocky spot. The female makes her...

These birds, according to Bernstein, live by preference in thick, extensive wilds, where they are easily hidden between high stalks of plants, but nevertheless visit the fields...

The MACARTNEY PHEASANTS (_Euplocamus_) constitute a group possessing a slender body, short neck, small head, short wing, and moderate-sized tail, composed of sixteen feathers. T...

The MOUNTAIN CURASSOW, or LORD DERBY'S GUAN (_Oreophasis Derbyanus_), must be regarded as the connecting link between the _Craces_ and _Penelopæ_. This bird, with which we are b...

"The first place I observed the bird at," says Wilson, "when on my way to the South, was about twelve miles north of Wilmington, in North Carolina. Having wounded it slightly in...

We are informed by Mr. Gosse that "the Rain Bird--sometimes called the 'Tom Fool,' from its silly habit of gratifying its curiosity instead of securing its safety--is little see...

"Along the whole line of the Andes, which form as it were the backbone of America," writes Gould, in the valuable introduction to his magnificent work on the "Trochilidæ," "at r...

The POMPEO (_Trogon viridis_) is of a splendid steel-blue, shimmering with green on the crown of the head, nape, sides of the throat, and upper breast; the back, shoulders, and...

According to our own observations these beautiful birds principally inhabit the forests of North-eastern Africa, and are usually met with hopping or climbing incessantly from tr...

"This," writes Jerdon, "is the most common and abundant species of Sand Grouse throughout India, being found in every part of the country except the more wooded portions, and ne...

This elegant little bird is very numerous in Central Africa, where it is usually met with in large parties, which rarely fly to any distance above the tree-tops in pursuit of th...

This beautiful little bird is pre-eminently migratory in its habits, a great portion of its life being spent in passing from north to south, and _vice versâ_. "The Ruby-throated...

Dr. Bachmann attempted to domesticate the American Partridge, and gives us the following account of his proceedings:--"The eggs had been obtained from the fields, and were hatch...

The families which, according to natural arrangement, seem to constitute a third division of the great class of birds are principally characterised by the conditions under which...

"This species," says Gould, "enjoys a range of habitat over the Columbian Andes from the 3rd to the 10th degree of north latitude, but appears to be confined to the region rangi...

The flesh of the Emu, according to Mr. Cunningham, resembles beef "both in appearance and taste, and is good and sweet eating; nothing indeed can be more delicate than the flesh...

"This bird," writes Jerdon, "is found throughout the Himalayas, from whence it descends in winter to the Alpine parts of the Punjab. It is also found in Cashmere, Afghanistan, a...

Of the many accounts respecting the life of the Wild Turkey of North America, none is more excellent than the following from the pen of Audubon:--"The unsettled parts of the Sta...

The PARTRIDGE DOVE (_Starnænas cyanocephala_), the most remarkable of these birds, has a thick-set body, short wings, the slender, sabre-formed quills of which are pointed at th...

"It is wonderful," continues Dr. Jenner, "to see the extraordinary exertions of the young Cuckoo when it is two or three days old, if a bird be put into the nest with it that is...

"The very deep sea surrounding Ceram, and other islands which constitute the appendages, as it were, of Asia on one side and Australia on the other, suggests a curious problem t...

"Not far from Shelbyville, in the State of Kentucky, there was one of these breeding-places, which stretching through the woods in nearly a north and south direction, was severa...

The BLACK PARTRIDGE (_Francolinus vulgaris_) is of a deep black on the brow, cheeks, and breast; the feathers on the back of the head are edged with red, and streaked with white...

The LAUGHING JACKASS, or SETTLER'S CLOCK (_Paralcyon gigas_, or _Dacelo gigantea_), an interesting and very familiar species, inhabiting Australia, is dark brown on the back, an...

The Black Cock is generally distributed over the European continent, being found in Germany, Holland, France, and, according to Savi, in Italy. In the north, it is met with in S...

The HANGING BIRDS (_Arachnocestra_) are recognised by the great length of their slightly-curved beak, the base of which is as broad as it is high; the upper mandible is delicate...

REEVES' PHEASANT (_Phasianus Reevesii_, or _P. veneratus_) represents a group, called by Wagler _Syrmaticus_, remarkable for their great length of tail and unusually variegated...

Christus Redemptor: being the Life, Character, and Teachings of our Lord, Illustrated in many Passages from the Writings of Ancient and Modern Authors. Selected and Analytically...

THE CLIMBERS. The CLIMBING BIRDS (_Scansor_):--The Tenuirostral. The FLOWER BIRDS (_Certhiola_). The BLUE BIRDS (_Cæreba_):--The Sai, or Blue Caereba. The PITPITS (_Certhiola_):...