CHAPTER X.

THE BEE-EATERS--MOTMOTS--ROLLERS--TROGONS--NIGHTJARS, OR GOATSUCKERS--SWIFTS--HUMMING BIRDS.

THE BEE-EATERS--Their Brilliant Plumage--Colonel Irby’s Account of the Bird in Spain--Shot for Fashion’s sake--THE MOTMOTS--Appearance--Mr. Waterton on the Houtou--Curious Habit of Trimming its Tail--Mr. O. Salvin’s Observations on this point--Mr. Bartlett’s Evidence--THE ROLLERS--Why so called--Canon Tristram’s Account of their Habits--Colour--Other Species--THE TROGONS--Where found--Peculiar Foot--Tender Skin--Inability to Climb--Their Food--THE LONG-TAILED TROGON, OR QUESAL--Mr. Salvin’s Account of its Habits--Its Magnificent Colour--How they are Hunted--THE NIGHTJARS, OR GOATSUCKERS--Appearance--Distribution--The Guacharo, or Oil-bird--“Frog-mouths”--Mr. Gould’s Account of the Habits of the Tawny-shouldered Podargus--How it Builds its Nest--Mr. Waterton’s Vindication of the Goatsucker--What Services the Bird does really render Cattle, Goats, and Sheep--Its Cry--The Common Goatsucker--THE SWIFTS--THE COMMON SWIFT--Migration--Their Home in the Air--Where they Breed--Nest--Tree-Swifts--The Edible-Nest Swiftlets--Mr. E. L. Layard’s Visit to the Cave of the Indian Swiftlet--THE HUMMING BIRDS--Number of Species--Distribution--Professor Newton’s Description of the Bird--Mr. Wallace on their Habits--Wilson on the North American Species.

THE SIXTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS.

THE BEE-EATERS (_Meropidæ_).

The Bee-eaters are among the most brightly plumaged of the Picarian birds, and are distributed over the whole of Africa, India, the Moluccas, and Australia. One species (_Merops apiaster_) visits Europe in the summer, being, however, nowhere so common as in the countries of the Mediterranean basin, though they occasionally wander to England. Colonel Irby[279] gives the following account of the Bee-eater in Southern Spain:--“The bird did not appear to me to be quite so common in Morocco at the end of April as on the Spanish side of the Strait, where, during April, May, June, and July, it is one of the most conspicuous birds in the country; at that season, Andalusia without Bee-eaters would be like London without Sparrows. Everywhere they are to be seen; and their single note, _teerp_, heard continually repeated, magnifies their numbers in imagination. Occasionally, they venture into the centre of towns when on passage, hovering round the orange-trees and flowers in some patio or garden. Crossing the Strait for the most part in the early part of the day, flight follows flight for hours in succession. When passing at Gibraltar, they sometimes skim low down to settle for a moment on a bush or a tree, but generally go straight on, often almost out of sight; but their cry always betrays their presence in the air. In some places they nest in large colonies; in others there are, perhaps, only two or three holes. When there are no river-banks or barrancos in which to bore holes, they tunnel down into the ground, where the soil is suitable, in a vertical direction, generally on some slight elevated mound. The shafts to these nests are not usually so long as those in banks of rivers, which sometimes reach to a distance of eight or nine feet in all; the end is enlarged into a round sort of chamber, on the bare soil of which the usual four or five shining white eggs are placed. After a little they become discoloured from the castings of the old birds, the nest being, as it were, lined with the wings and undigested parts of Bees and Wasps. Vast numbers of eggs and young must be annually destroyed by Snakes and Lizards. The latter are often seen sunning themselves at the entrance of a hole among a colony of Bee-eaters; and frequently have I avenged the birds by treating the yellow reptile to a charge of shot. The bills of Bee-eaters, after boring out their habitations, are sometimes worn away to less than half their usual length; but as newly-arrived birds never have these stumpy bills, it is evident that they grow again to their ordinary length. It has often been a source of wonder to me how they have the exertion to make these long tunnels: the amount of exertion must be enormous; but when one considers the boles of the Sand-Martin, it is perhaps not so surprising after all. During my stay at Gibraltar, Bee-eaters decreased very much in the neighbourhood, being continually shot on account of their bright plumage, to put in ladies’ hats. Owing to this sad fashion, I saw no less than seven hundred skins, all shot at Tangier in the spring of 1874, which were consigned by Olcese to some dealer in London. However, the enormous injury these birds do to the peasants who keep Bees fully merits any amount of punishment, but, at the same time, they destroy quantities of Wasps. After being fired at once or twice, they become very wary and shy at the breeding-places; and the best way to shoot them is to hide near the _colmenares_, or groups of _corchos_, or cork bee-hives, which in Spain are placed in rows, sometimes to the number of seventy or eighty together; and it is no unusual thing to see as many Bee-eaters whirling round and swooping down, even seizing the bees at the very entrance of their hives. The reason of their early departure in August is to be accounted for by the simple fact that bees cease to work when there are no flowers, and by that time all vegetation is scorched up.” The Bee-eater suffers probably less from the fashionable rage after its plumes than do some of the bright-coloured birds, as it goes in winter to South Africa, where it rears another brood of young ones.

THE SEVENTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS.

THE MOTMOTS (_Momotidæ_).

These birds are peculiar to the New World, being found from Mexico southwards through the whole of Central America and the South American continent. Their general plumage is green, and the majority of the species have a large racket at the end of the centre tail-feathers, formed by the bird itself, as detailed below. Mr. Waterton gives an account of the Motmots in Demerara, and he was the first to point out that the racket in the tail was produced by the bird’s own action. He writes:--“The Houtou ranks high in beauty amongst the birds of Demerara. His body is green, with a bluish cast in the wings and tail; his crown, which he erects at pleasure, consists of black in the centre, surrounded with lovely blue of two different shades; he has a triangular black spot, edged with blue, behind the eye, extending to the ear; and on his breast a sable tuft, consisting of nine feathers, edged also with blue. This bird seems to suppose that its beauty can be increased by trimming the tail, which undergoes the same operation as one’s hair in a barber’s shop, only with this difference, that it uses its own beak, which is serrated, in lieu of a pair of scissors. As soon as his tail is full-grown, he begins about an inch from the extremity of the two longest feathers in it, and cuts away the web on both sides of the shaft, making a gap about an inch long. Both male and female adonise their tails in this manner, which gives them a remarkable appearance amongst all other birds. While we consider the tail of the Houtou blemished and defective, were he to come amongst us, he would probably consider our heads, cropped and bald, in no better light. He who wishes to observe this handsome bird in his native haunts must be in the forest at the morning’s dawn. The Houtou shuns the society of man; the plantations and cultivated parts are too much disturbed to engage it to settle there. The thick and gloomy forests are the places preferred by the solitary Houtou. In those far-extending wilds, about day-break, you hear him articulate, in a distinct and mournful tone, ‘Houtou, houtou.’ Move cautiously on to where the sound proceeds from, and you will see him sitting in the underwood, about a couple of yards from the ground, his tail moving up and down every time he articulates ‘houtou.’ He lives on insects and the berries among the underwood; and very rarely is seen in the lofty trees, except the bastard Siloabali-tree, the fruit of which is grateful to him. He makes no nest, but rears his young in a hole in the sand, generally on the side of a hill.”

In confirmation of Mr. Waterton’s remarks, a paper was published by Mr. Osbert Salvin in the “Proceedings of the Zoological Society” for 1873 (p. 429):--“Some years ago (1860) this Society possessed a specimen of _Momotus subrufescens_, which lived in one of the large cages of the parrot-house all by itself. I have a very distinct recollection of the bird; for I used every time I saw it to cheer it up a bit by whistling such of its notes as I had picked up in the forests of America. The bird always seemed to appreciate this attention; for though it never replied, it became at once animated, hopped about the cage, and swung its tail from side to side like the pendulum of a clock. For a long time its tail had perfect spatules; but towards the end of its life I noticed that the median feathers were no longer trimmed with such precision; and on looking at its beak I noticed that from some cause or other it did not _close properly_, but gaped slightly at the tip, and had thus become unfitted for removing the vanes of the feathers. Since the subject has been revived by Dr. Murie, it occurred to me that Mr. Bartlett could hardly have failed to watch this bird during its moults, and whilst the tail-feathers were growing. I accordingly wrote to him, and received the following reply:--

‘DEAR SIR,--During the several years the Motmot lived here I had many opportunities of watching its habits; and _I have seen the bird in the act of picking off the webs of the central feathers of its tail_, and have taken from the bottom of the cage the fragments of web that fell from the bird’s bill. As the bird lived here for some years, its bill got rather out of order, that is, it did not close properly at the point; and consequently the picking off the web at last was imperfectly performed, and the two sides of the tail-feather presented an unequal and unfinished appearance. I noticed also that the Motmot frequently threw up castings, after the manner of the Kingfishers and other birds that swallow indigestible substances.--Yours faithfully, A. D. BARTLETT.’

“The point is further elucidated by the examination of skins in our collection. We have a number of specimens of various species in which the central tail-feathers were growing when the birds were shot. The drawings now exhibited show some of them. Figure A represents the tail of a young _Momotus lessoni_ in its first plumage. The central tail-feathers are here untouched; they merely show the reduction in the breadth of the web in the part which is subsequently denuded. Of this more anon. Figure B shows the growing feathers of the tail of a specimen of _Momotus mexicanus_; in this a few vanes have been removed from the left-hand feather. Figure C shows the process of denudation still further advanced. In all these three birds it will be noticed that the feathers in question have grown symmetrically, both being of nearly equal length. Figure D represents the tail of a _Prionirhynchus platyrhynchus_, where these feathers have not grown symmetrically, but the left-hand one has been developed sooner than the right-hand one. What has happened? The bird expecting to find two feathers upon which to operate has commenced to nibble not only the left central rectrix, but also the next rectrix on the right-hand side! But it seems to have not felt very certain about the state of its tail, for it has wandered off to one of the others, and commenced nibbling it also. When, however, the proper right-hand feather appeared, these mistakes have been discovered, and the work recommenced in the usual way. I can interpret in no other way the state in which the feathers on the right-hand side of the tail of this bird appear.”

THE EIGHTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS.

THE ROLLERS (_Coraciadæ_).

These birds constitute a family of birds which are strictly denizens of the Old World, and are remarkable for their bright plumage. The vernacular name of Roller is given to them from their habit of mounting or “rolling” in the air. Canon Tristram, in describing the habits of the European species (_Coracias garrula_) in Palestine, writes as follows:--“On the 12th of April I reached Ain Sultan (Jericho) alone, and remained there in solitude for several days, during which I had many opportunities of observing the grotesque habits of the Roller. For several successive evenings, great flocks of Rollers mustered shortly before sunset on some _dôm_ trees near the fountain, with all the noise but without the decorum of the Rooks. After a volley of discordant screams, from the sound of which it derives its Arabic trivial name of ‘Schurkrak,’ a few birds would start from their perch, and commence a series of somersaults overhead, somewhat after the fashion of Tumbler Pigeons. In a moment or two they would be followed by the whole flock, and these gambols would be repeated for a dozen times or more. Every where it takes its perch on some conspicuous branch or on the top of a rock, where it can see and be seen. The bare tops of the fig-trees, before they put forth their leaves, are, in the cultivated terraces, a particularly favourite resort. In the barren Ghor I have often watched it perched unconcernedly on a knot of gravel or marl in the plain, watching apparently for the emergence of beetles from the sand. Elsewhere I have not seen it settle on the ground. Like Europeans in the East, it can make itself happy without chairs and tables in the desert, but prefers a comfortable easy-chair when it is to be found. Its nest I have seen in ruins, in holes in rocks, in burrows, in steep sand-cliffs, but far more generally in hollow trees. The colony in the Wady Kelt used burrows excavated by themselves; and many a hole did they relinquish, owing to the difficulty of working it. But so cunningly were the nests placed under a crumbling treacherous ledge, overhanging a chasm of perhaps one or two hundred feet, that we were completely foiled in our siege. We obtained a nest of six eggs, quite fresh, in a hollow tree in Bashan, near Gadara, on the 6th of May. It is noticed by Russell among the birds of Aleppo.” The colour of the Common Roller is very beautiful, and we can well understand the significance of the Turkish name “Alla Carga,” or Beautiful Crow. The back is pale cinnamon-brown; the wing-coverts pale blue, excepting those on the edge of the wing, which are rich ultramarine; the quills brownish-black, deep ultramarine underneath; the secondaries with more blue on the outer web; the forehead white; the crown of the head and back of the neck pale blue; the lower back and rump ultramarine; the upper tail-coverts greenish-blue; the tail blackish-brown, the feathers blue at the base, the two centre feathers dull green; cheeks and throat pale blue, streaked with silvery blue; the under surface of the body pale greenish-blue. The total length is twelve inches. One curious feature about the European bird is that the outer tail-feather tends towards a point at the tip, as if there was an inclination to become elongated; and in Africa there is a species which actually differs from the European Roller only in having the outer tail-feathers elongated to an extent of several inches.

In Madagascar, that wonderful island which produces so many peculiar forms of bird life, there are found the Ground Rollers (_Atelornis_), extraordinary birds which live entirely on the ground, and only come out at dusk. Their flight is said by M. Grandidier to be very weak, so that the birds are never found above the lowest branches. They are rather local in their habitat, but where they do occur seem not to be uncommon. The Cyrombo Roller (_Leptosoma discolor_) is also a native of Madagascar, and has at first sight much the appearance of a Cuckoo, of which family of birds it was for many years considered to be a member. The head is extremely large in this bird, and the region of the nostrils densely plumed; but the latter, instead of being placed near the base of the bill, as in most Rollers, are situated nearly in the middle of the upper mandible. Messrs. Pollen and Van Dam give an interesting account of this bird in their notes on the “Birds of Madagascar”:--“The natives of the north-west of Madagascar give this bird the name of Cyrombo. It has the curious habit of hovering in the air, and uttering a very loud note, striking its wings against its body as it calls. This cry, resembling the syllables _tu-hou_, _tu-hou_, _tu-hou_, goes on increasing in force. Nowhere have we found this bird in greater numbers than in the forests in the neighbourhood of the bays of Boény and Jongony, in the south-western portion of the island of Mayotte. The racket that they make during the whole journey is truly wearisome. Although very active as criers, these birds are lazy and stupid. As soon as they are perched on the branch of a tree, they remain, so to speak, immovable, and in perpendicular position, so that it is easy to see them and knock them over. When seen in this position, they look like birds impaled. We suppose that they live in polyandry, because one always sees three times as many males as females; often we have seen three males in company with one single female, and all allowed themselves to be killed one after the other. In fact, when one is killed, the others do not fly away, but content themselves with merely moving from one branch to another. These birds live principally on Grasshoppers, but they devour also Chameleons and Lizards, which gives to their flesh a disagreeable odour, like that we observe in the Common Cuckoo. In preparing these birds we often found them with a species of large parasite of the family of the Ornithomyiæ, of a dirty green colour. We were never able to study the propagation of this bird; but while in Mayotte we saw an individual make a nest of rushes in the hole of a great ‘Badamier’ (_Terminalia Catappa_). These birds when they cry puff out the throat, so that this portion of the body has the appearance of a pendent bag. When wounded, they erect the feathers of the forehead and ears as well as those of the throat, all the while distributing well-aimed blows with the beak. The Cyrombo plays a great part in the chants and religious recitations of the Malagasy natives. The French colonists of Mayotte call this bird the ‘Parrot.’ It is common at Madagascar and Mayotte, and has, according to Mr. Sclater, been found in the island of Anjounan.”

THE NINTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS.--THE TROGONS (_Trogonidæ_).

These beautiful birds are found both in the Old World and the New, but are inhabitants of the tropical latitudes only. In Africa two species only are known, nor does another species occur until the coast of India is reached, and then in the forests of the peninsula and of the Himalayas there are some beautiful red-breasted representatives of the family, whence throughout the Malayan peninsula and the Sunda Islands some of the handsomest Trogons occur. But it is in America, from Mexico southwards, that the larger number of species is met with, no less than thirty-three out of a total of forty-six Trogons being peculiar to the New World. Their habits vary somewhat, as all the Old World members are insectivorous, while the American species principally feed on fruit, and only devour insects in a secondary manner. The Trogons may be distinguished not only by their broadened bill, but by the foot, where the first and second toes are turned permanently, two in front and two behind. This is a different arrangement to that of the Cuckoos and other climbing _Picariæ_, where the fourth toe is permanently or temporarily turned backwards as well as the first. The skin of these birds is remarkably thin and tender, so that their preparation is by no means an easy matter, and their appearance is also detracted from by a scantiness of plumage on the nape, where a great want of feathers takes place. Mr. Wallace, writing of the birds of this present family, remarks:--“As an instance how totally unable the Trogons are to use their feet for anything like climbing, we may mention that the Trogons of South America feed principally on fruit, which one would think they would get by climbing or walking after, if they could. But no; they take their station on a bare branch about the middle of the tree, and having fixed their attention on some particularly tempting fruit, they dart at it, seize it dexterously on the wing, and return to their original seat. Often, while waiting under a fruit-tree for Chatterers or Pigeons, have we received the first intimation of the presence of a Trogon by the _whir-r-r_ of its wings as it darted after a fruit. It is curious that this habit seems confined to the Trogons of America. In the East I have never yet observed it, and in the numerous specimens I have opened, nothing has been found but insects. The African Trogons also appear to be wholly insectivorous.”

Again, in his “Naturalist in Nicaragua” (p. 122) Mr. Belt writes:--“The Trogons are general feeders. I have taken from their crops the remains of fruits, grasshoppers, beetles, termites, and even small crabs and land shells. The largest species, the Massena Trogon (_Trogon massena_), is one foot in length, dark bronze-green above, with the smaller wing-feathers speckled white and black, and the belly of a beautiful carmine. Sometimes it sits on a branch above where the army of ants are foraging below, and when a grasshopper or other large insect flies up and alights on a leaf it darts after it, picks it up, and returns to its perch. I sometimes found them breaking into the, nests of the termites with their strong bills, and eating the large soft-bodied workers, and it was from the crop of this species that I took the remains of a small crab and land shell (_Helicina_). They take short, quick, jerking flights, and are often met with along with flocks of other birds--Flycatchers, Tanagers, Creepers, Woodpeckers, &c., that hunt together, traversing the forests in flocks of hundreds, belonging to more than a score of different species, so that while they are passing over the trees seem alive with them. Mr. Bates has mentioned similar gregarious flocks met with by him in Brazil; and I never went any distance into the woods around St. Domingo without seeing them. The reason of their association together may be partly for protection, as no rapacious bird or mammal could approach the flock without being discovered by one or other of them; but the principal reason appears to be that they play into each other’s hands in their search for food. Creepers and Woodpeckers and others drive the insects out of their hiding-places under bark, amongst moss and withered leaves. The Flycatchers sit on branches and fly after the larger insects, the Flycatchers taking them on the wing, the Trogons from the leaves on which they have settled.”

THE LONG-TAILED TROGON, OR QUESAL (_Pharomacrus[280] mocinno_).

This beautiful species is mentioned in Willughby’s Ornithology, which was published some two hundred years ago, in which book an appendix is devoted to such birds as the author suspected to be “fabulous;” and the Quetzaltototl of Hernandez was placed in this category, nor was it till the French traveller Delattre visited Guatemala, and published his account of the habits of the bird in 1843, that it was restored to its proper position as one of the most beautiful of the feathered tribe: it is now by no means rare in collections. The best account of the habits of this species--and, indeed, of any Trogon--is that given by Mr. Osbert Salvin, in his paper entitled “Quesal-shooting in Vera Paz,”[281] in Guatemala. He writes from his diary:--“Off to the mountains at last, with a fine day and a fair prospect of success. The road, after crossing the river, strikes off to the northward--a mountain track winding among the hills. Soon after entering the forest, a river crosses the path--a foaming torrent--a fall into which gives no hope of escape. A felled tree, one of the largest of the forest, forms the bridge, over which, slippery with moss and foam, we have to pass. For ourselves it is nothing; but I must say I tremble for the Indians, each of whom carries his 75 lbs. of cargo. In the worst and most slippery part, the foothold is somewhat improved by the tree being notched with a ‘machete;’ but still it is as dangerous a pass as I ever crossed. After half-an-hour’s delay, we reach the other bank. One ‘mozo’ only turned faint-hearted, and another carried his pack across. From the river the path becomes very precipitous, and we continue to climb till we reach the foot of a rock, where we find a deserted rancho, and take possession. A fire having been made to heat the pixtones, we dine, and afterwards start for the forest close by to look for Quesals. On entering, the path takes the unpleasant form of a succession of felled trees, which are slippery from recent rains, and render progress slow. My companions are ahead, and I am just balancing myself along the last trunk, when Filipe comes back to say that they have heard a Quesal. Of course, being especially anxious to watch as well as to shoot one of these birds myself, I immediately hurry to the spot. I sit down upon my wide-awake in most approved style close to Cipriano, who is calling the bird, and wait, all eyes and ears, for the result. I have not to wait long. A distant clattering note indicates that the bird is on the wing. He settles--a splendid male--on a bough of a tree, not seventy yards from where we are hidden. Cipriano wants to creep up to within shot, but I keep him back, wishing to risk the chance of losing a specimen rather than miss such an opportunity of seeing the bird in its living state, and of watching its movements. It sits almost motionless on its perch, the body remaining in the same position, the head only moving slowly from side to side. The tail does not hang quite perpendicularly, the angle between the true tail and the vertical being perhaps as much as fifteen or twenty degrees. The tail is occasionally jerked open and closed again, and now and then slightly raised, causing the long tail-coverts to vibrate gracefully. I have not seen all. A ripe fruit catches the Quesal’s eye, and he darts from his perch, hovers for a moment, plucks the berry, and returns to his former position. This is done with a degree of elegance that defies description. The remark has often been made by persons looking at stuffed Humming-birds, ‘What lovely little things these must look in life, when they are flying about!’ But they do not. Place a Humming-bird twenty yards from you, and what do you see of its colours, except in the most favourable position and light? This is not the case with the Quesal. The rich metallic green of the head, back, and tail-coverts reflects its colour in every position, whilst the deep scarlet of the breast and the white of the tail show vividly at a distance, and contrast with the principal colour of the body. The living Quesal strikes the eye by its colour at once. It stands unequalled for splendour among birds of the New World, and is hardly surpassed among those of the Old. Such are my reflections, when a low whistle from Cipriano calls the bird nearer, and a moment afterwards it is in my hand--the first Quesal I have seen and shot.

“The cries of the Quesal are various. They consist principally of a low double note, ‘_whe-oo_, _whe-oo_,’ which the bird repeats, whistling it softly at first, and then gradually swelling it into a loud but not unmelodious cry. This is often succeeded by a long note, which begins low, and after swelling, dies away as it began. Both these notes can be easily imitated by the human voice. The bird’s other cries are harsh and discordant. They are best imitated by doubling a pliant leaf over the first fingers, which must be held about two inches apart. The two edges of the leaf being then placed in the mouth, and the breath drawn in, the required sound is produced. Cipriano was an adept at imitating these cries, but I failed in producing them for want of practice. When searching for Quesals, the hunter whistles as he walks along, here and there sitting down and repeating the other notes. As soon as he hears a bird answering at a distance he stops, and imitates the bird’s cries until it has approached near enough to enable him either to shoot it from where he stands, or to creep up to within shot. The female generally flies up first, and perches on a tree near the hunter, who takes no notice of her, but continues calling till the male, who usually quickly follows the female, appears. Should the male not show himself, the hunter will sometimes shoot the female. Thus it is that so large a proportion of males are shot. The flight of the Quesal is rapid and straight; the long tail-feathers, which never seem to be in his way, stream after him. The bird is never found except in forests composed of the highest trees, the lower branches of which (_i.e._, those at about two-thirds of the height of the tree from the ground) seem to be its favourite resort. Its food consists principally of fruit, but occasionally a caterpillar may be found in its stomach.”

The distinguishing character of this fine Trogon is the long tail of the male bird, which measures about three feet in length. The colour of the upper parts is golden green, as well as the throat and fore neck; the breast is bright scarlet, and is overshadowed by some beautiful drooping plumes, which spring from the shoulders, and hang gracefully over the wings; the outer tail-feathers are white, with black bases, and the bill is yellow. The female has a black bill, and is much smaller, and she does not possess the long tail and decorative plumes of the male.

THE TENTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS.--THE NIGHTJARS, OR GOATSUCKERS (_Caprimulgidæ_).

From the adjoining woodcut it will be seen that a Nightjar is indeed a Fissirostral, or wide-gaping bird, and this large mouth is characteristic of the whole family. Their soft mottled plumage, their large eyes, and their habit of flying by night, have induced many naturalists to place them in close proximity to the Owls, with which family of birds, however, they have nothing further in common. Members of the family of Goatsuckers are distributed nearly all over the world, with the exception of the islands of Oceania, and a great difference is observable in their size and form, and to some extent in their habits. Thus the Guacharo, or Oil-bird (_Steatornis[282] caripensis_), is met with only in the island of Trinidad, where it is also called _Diablotin_, and where it inhabits the inmost recesses of caverns, either by the sea or inland. The birds spend the entire day in these dark recesses, and come out only at night to procure their food, which consists of the fruits of different palms, the seeds of which are rejected, and form, with the droppings of the birds, a thick flooring of guano in some of the caves. Sometimes the bird forms a huge cradle of this deposit, apparently for the greater security of its young ones; and one of these singular nests, if such they may be called, is exhibited in the British Museum. The nestlings become very fat, and are sometimes eaten, but according to M. Léotand, in his work on the Birds of Trinidad, there is a certain odour about them which makes them unpalatable to the appetite of most people.

In India and in the Malayan Archipelago is found a group of Nightjars belonging to the genus _Batrachostomus_[283] popularly known as “Frog-mouths;” their place is taken in Australia and New Guinea by the giants of the family--the _Podargi_, examples of which are generally to be seen in the London Zoological Gardens. Of the Tawny-shouldered _Podargus_ (_P. strigoides_[284]) Mr. Gould gives the following account:--“Like the rest of this genus, this species is strictly nocturnal, sleeping throughout the day on the dead branch of a tree, in an upright position across, and never parallel to, the branch, which it so nearly resembles as scarcely to be distinguished from it. I have occasionally seen it beneath the thick foliage of the _Casuarinæ_, and I have been informed that it sometimes shelters itself in the hollow trunks of the _Eucalypti_, but I could never detect one in such a situation; I mostly found them in pairs, perched near each other on the branches of the gums, in situations not at all sheltered from the beams of the midday sun. So lethargic are its slumbers, that it is almost impossible to arouse it, and I have frequently shot one without disturbing its mate, sitting close by; it may also be knocked off with sticks or stones, and sometimes it is even taken with the hand. When aroused, it flies lazily off, with heavy flapping wings, to a neighbouring tree, and again resumes its slumbers until the approach of evening, when it becomes as animated and active as it had been previously dull and stupid. The stomach of one I dissected induced me to believe that it does not usually capture its prey while on the wing, or subsist on nocturnal insects alone, but that it is in the habit of creeping among the branches in search of such as are in a state of repose. The power it possesses of shifting the position of the outer toe backwards, as circumstances may require, is a very singular feature, and may also tend to assist them in their progress among the branches. A bird I shot at Yarrundi, in the middle of the night, had the stomach filled with fresh-captured Mantis and Locusts (_Phasmidæ_ and _Cicadæ_), which seldom move at night, and the latter of which are generally resting against the upright boles of the trees. In other specimens I found the remains of small Coleoptera, intermingled with the fibres of the roots of what appeared to be a parasitic plant, such as would be found in decayed and hollow trees. The whole contour of the bird shows that it is not formed for extensive flight or for performing those rapid evolutions that are necessary for the capture of its prey in the air: the wing being short and concave in comparison with those of the true aërial Nightjars, and particularly with the Australian form, to which I have given the name of _Eurostopodus_.

“Of its mode of nidification I can speak with confidence, having seen many pairs breeding during my rambles in the woods. It makes a slightly-constructed flat nest of sticks, carelessly interwoven together, and placed at the fork of a horizontal branch of sufficient size to ensure its safety; the trees most frequently chosen are the _Eucalypti_, but I have occasionally seen the nest on an appletree (_Angophora_) or a swamp-oak (_Casuarina_). In every instance one of the birds was sitting on the eggs, and the other perched on a neighbouring bough, both invariably asleep. That the male participates in the duty of incubation I ascertained by having shot a bird on the nest, which, on dissection, proved to be a male. The eggs are generally two in number, of a beautiful immaculate white, and of a long oval form, one inch and ten lines in length by one inch and three lines in diameter.

“Like the other species of the genus, it is subject to considerable variation in its colouring, the young, which assume the adult livery at an early age, being somewhat darker in all their markings. In some a rich tawny colour predominates, while others are more grey. The night call of this species is a hoarse noise, consisting of two distinct sounds, which cannot correctly be described. The stomach is thick and muscular, and is lined with a hair-like substance, like that of the common Cuckoo.”

Mr. Waterton gives the following notes on Goatsuckers in his “Wanderings” (p. 139):--“When the sun has sunk in the western woods, no longer agitated by the breeze, when you can only see a straggler or two of the feathered tribe hastening to join its mate, already at its roosting-place, then it is that the Goatsucker comes out of the forest, where it has sat all day long in slumbering ease, unmindful of the gay and busy scenes around it. Its eyes are too delicately formed to bear the light, and thus it is forced to shun the flaming face of day, and wait in patience till night invites him to partake of the pleasures her dusky presence brings. The harmless, unoffending Goatsucker, from the time of Aristotle down to the present day, has been in disgrace with man. Father has handed it down to son, and author to author, that this nocturnal thief subsists by milking the flocks. Poor injured little bird of night, how sadly hast thou suffered, and how foul a stain has inattention to facts put upon thy character! Thou hast never robbed man of any part of his property, nor deprived the kid of a drop of milk.

“When the moon shines bright you may have a fair opportunity of examining the Goatsucker. You will see it close by the Cows, Goats, and Sheep, jumping up every now and then under their bellies. Approach a little nearer--he is not shy: ‘he fears no danger, for he knows no sin.’ See how the nocturnal flies are tormenting the herd, and with what dexterity he springs up and catches them as fast as they alight on the bellies, legs, and udders of the animals. Observe how quiet they stand, and how sensible they seem of his good offices, for they neither strike at him nor hit him with their tails, nor tread on him, nor try to drive him away as an uncivil intruder. Were you to dissect him and inspect his stomach, you would find no milk there. It is full of the flies which have been annoying the herd.

“The pretty mottled plumage of the Goatsucker, like that of the Owl, wants the lustre which is observed in the feathers of the birds of day. This at once marks him as a lover of the pale moon’s nightly beams. There are nine species here (Demerara); the largest appears nearly the size of the English Wood Owl. Its cry is so remarkable that, having once heard it, you will never forget it. When night reigns over these immeasurable wilds, whilst lying in your hammock, you will hear this Goatsucker lamenting like one in deep distress. A stranger would never conceive it to be the cry of a bird; he would say it was the departing voice of a midnight murdered victim, or the last wailing of Niobe for her poor children before she was turned into stone. Suppose yourself in hopeless sorrow, begin with a high loud note, and pronounce ‘Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!’ each note lower and lower, till the last is scarcely heard, pausing a moment or two betwixt every note, and you will have some idea of the moaning of the largest Goatsucker in Demerara. Four other species of the Goatsucker articulate some words so distinctly that they have received their names from the sentences they utter, and absolutely bewilder the stranger on his arrival in these parts. The most common one sits down close by your door, and flies, and alights three or four yards before you as you walk along the road, crying ‘Who are you, who-who-who-are-you.’ Another bids you ‘Work away, work-work-work-away.’ A third cries mournfully, ‘Willy-come-go, willy-willy-willy-come-go.’ And high up in the country a fourth tells you to ‘Whip-poor-will, whip-whip-whip-poor-will.’ You will never persuade the negro to destroy these birds, or get the Indian to let fly his arrows at them. They are birds of omen and reverential dread. Jumbo, the demon of Africa, has them under his command, and they equally obey the Yabahou, or Demeraran Indian Devil. They are receptacles for departed souls who come back again to earth, unable to rest for crimes done in their days of nature; or they are expressly sent by Jumbo or Yabahou to haunt cruel or hard-hearted monsters, and retaliate injuries received from them. If the largest Goatsucker chance to cry near the white man’s door, sorrow and grief will soon be inside; and they expect to see the master waste away with a slow consuming sickness. If it be heard close to the negro’s or Indian’s hut, from that night misfortune sits brooding over it, and they await the event in terrible suspense.”

The common Goatsucker, which is also popularly known as the “Fern Owl,” or “Nightjar,” visits England only in the spring, when it arrives from Southern Africa, and distributes itself over the country. It is by no means an uncommon bird, but is rarely seen, owing to its habit of coming out only at night, or at least in the twilight. They may then often be disturbed from the ground in a country road, when they take to flight in a heavy manner, often making a flapping noise, which appears to be caused by bringing the wings sharply together above the body of the bird. The call-note may be described as “churring,” and is disagreeable in sound; it is generally uttered by the Goatsucker when sitting on a low branch of a tree or on a railing. It should be mentioned that the Caprimulgidæ do not, as a rule, sit crosswise on a branch, but always along the latter; their favourite haunt, however, is generally the ground, and it is supposed by some naturalists that the curious pectinated claw is used by the Goatsucker for scratching the ground. Dr. Günther, F.R.S., who kept one of these birds alive, says that it frequently used its comb-like claw for this purpose. Other people have thought that its claw was intended for clearing away the _débris_ of moths and other insects, which would clog the bristles on the bill. The true use of this comb-like appendage on the foot has not yet, however, been thoroughly determined.

THE ELEVENTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS.

THE SWIFTS (_Cypselidæ_).

These birds, with the Humming-birds, are separated from the other Fissirostral _Picariæ_ by many anatomical characters, the chief being the arrangement of the feather-tracts on the body, which are quite peculiar; the muscles are also unlike those of the other families, and hence these two groups are often divided off by modern naturalists under the name of _Macrochires_.[285]

THE COMMON SWIFT (_Cypselus apus_).[286]

In the beginning of May the Common Swift comes to Great Britain and the rest of Europe, after passing his winter sojourn in South Africa. He is one of the latest arrivals, as he comes only when summer has fairly begun and fine weather is pretty well assured; again, in autumn, he is almost the first of the summer migrants to take his departure, and the absence of the Swifts from their accustomed haunts is a sure sign of the approach of the fall of the year. So incumbent does this early migration seem to be upon the species, that the Swifts have been known to leave their young to perish of starvation rather than delay their departure if cold weather suddenly approaches. All birds appear to have at times a failure of instinct, and the Swift is no exception to the rule, for sometimes they are caught in some cold weather on their arrival, and it is not uncommon to find them benumbed with cold, and fluttering helplessly or even lying dead on the ground. In this latter position they are peculiarly helpless, their little legs being unable to raise them so as to give them the proper momentum to rise into the air again, while their long wings are much in the way, and only assist in their entire discomfiture. The home of the Swift, then, is in the air, and here his evolutions are most rapid, and performed with extreme quickness and yet with consummate ease. For his breeding home he often selects water-spouts on lofty buildings, such as the English cathedrals, or else places his nest under the roofs of houses, to the edge of which he is able to shuffle, and then to launch himself suddenly down, after which his course is easy. In the evening there is generally a little gathering of Swifts together, when they fly screaming round and round the buildings in which their nests have been placed, separating again for a few moments to rejoin in an excited flock, which passes with incredible swiftness and much noise round the edges of the towers or homesteads. When about to migrate, however, they are silent, and the flocks which may be seen coursing along the sides of the downs in the southern counties of England in August utter no sound, as if impressed with the gravity of the long journey they are about to undertake.

Macgillivray describes the nest of the Common Swift as follows:--“It is very rudely constructed, flattened, about six inches in diameter and half an inch thick; composed of particles of Aira cæspitosa, straws of oats, wheat, and grasses, intermixed with fibrous roots, moss, wool, cotton, hair, and feathers of the domestic fowl, partridge, and rook. These materials are confusedly felted and agglutinated, the glueing matter being of a gelatinous, not of a resinous, nature, and in extremely thin shreds, which crackle, but do not readily burn, when flame is applied to them. There is, however, a small quantity of the membranous scales of the Scotch fir, together with some resinous matter, in one of these nests.” The eggs are generally two in number, of a long oval shape, and entirely white.

Swifts appear to be found all over the world, the most graceful being perhaps the Tree Swifts (_Dendrochelidon_), which inhabit India and the Malayan region. In this same part of the world are also found the Edible-nest Swiftlets (_Collocalia_), which breed in caves, their nests being eaten by the Chinese and other Asiatic people. Dr. Jerdon says:--“The nest, when pure and of the first make, is composed entirely of inspissated mucus from the large salivary glands of the bird. It is very small, bluntly triangular in form, and slightly concave within; of a semi-transparent, fibrous sort of texture, bluish-white in colour, and with the fibres, as it were, crossed and interlaced. When the nests of the first make are taken away, the second nests are mixed with feathers, and occasionally other foreign substances. The eggs are two in number, and pure white.” Mr. E. L. Layard gives the following account of a visit to a cave inhabited by the Indian Swiftlet in Ceylon:--“I have at last visited the cave in which _Collocalia nidifica_[287] builds, and will now, with the aid of my journal, give all the information I can, sending you birds skinned and in spirit, and a young nestling taken from the nest with my own hand. The cave is situated at a place called Havissay, about thirty-five miles from the sea and twenty from the river, and about 500 feet up a fine wood-clad hill, called Diagallagoolawa, or Hoonoomooloocota. Its dimensions are as follows:--Length between fifty and sixty feet, about twenty-six broad, and twenty high. It is a mass of limestone rock, which has cracked off the hill-side, and slipped down on to some boulders below its original position, forming a hollow triangle. There are three entrances to the cave; one at each end, and one very small one in the centre. The floor consists of large boulders, covered to the depth of two or three inches with the droppings of the birds, old and young, and the bits of grass they bring in to fabricate their nests. The only light which penetrates the cavern from the entrances above mentioned is very dim. When my eyes, however, got accustomed to the light, I could see many hundreds of nests glued to the side of the fallen rock, but none to the other side, or hill itself. This I attribute to the fact of the face of the main rock being evidently subject to the influence of the weather, and perhaps to the heavy dews off the trees; but for this, the side in question would have been far more convenient for the birds to have built on, as it sloped gently outward, whereas the other was much overhung, and caused the birds to build their nests of an awkward shape, besides taking up more substance. I was at the spot a few days before Christmas, and fancy that must be about the time to see the nests in perfection. This is corroborated by the fact of my finding young birds in all the nests taken by me, and by what the old Chinaman said, that the ‘take’ came on in October. I find that they have three different qualities of nests, and send two for your inspection. The best is very clean, white as snow, and thin, and is also very expensive. The most inferior are composed of dry grasses, hair, &c., but I could not detect anything like the bloody secretion, as described (‘though only under peculiar circumstances of exhaustion’) by Mr. Barbe, even in a fresh nest. I was in the cave late (after 5 P.M.) in the evening of a day which threatened rain, but the old birds were still flying round the summit of the mountain at a vast altitude, occasionally dashing down into the cave with food for their nestlings. By daylight next morning I was on foot, but the birds were before me, hawking on the plain below and all about the hills. I have found the birds here, in Colombo, in Kandy, and all along the road we went. I could learn nothing of the number of eggs laid, nor of their colour. I found one bird in each nest. The Chinese who live on the spot pretend not to understand anything asked them, and the apathetic Cingalese have never taken the trouble to see for themselves, so they could give me no information. The aspect of the country, broken and rugged, coupled with the numerous flocks of birds I saw flying round the various hills, leads me to think there must be many breeding-places yet undiscovered. One, however, was pointed out, but we had not time to visit it. I could not hear of any other kind of _Swift_ breeding there, but have just received such information as leads me to suppose that _C. fuciphaga_ builds near Jaffna on some rocks overhanging the sea. I may further add that there were no Bats in the cave with _C. nidifica_, nor did I see any bird of prey, save a fine _Hæmatornis_, which I shot. The Cingalese name for _C. nidifica_ is _Wahlæna_.”

THE TWELFTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS.--THE HUMMING BIRDS (_Trochilidæ_).

These exquisite little creatures are perhaps the largest family of birds known, numbering, at the present day, nearly five hundred species. It is simply impossible in a work like the present to do more than allude to a family, the full description of which by Mr. Gould has occupied five large folio volumes. An immense variety of form and colour is presented to us. All the birds are of small size, some of them being no larger than Hawk-moths, to which in their manner of flight they bear considerable resemblance.

In some countries Humming-birds are tolerably common, but some species are of extreme rarity, such, for instance, as the _Loddigesia mirabilis_, which was discovered forty years ago, and still remains represented by a single specimen in the collection of the late Mr. George Loddiges, and of which a reward of fifty pounds, offered by Mr. Gould, has not succeeded in obtaining a second example. As a rule, Humming-birds are a Neotropical family, that is to say, the vast majority of the species occur in South America, and do not wander above the line of Northern Mexico; but a few species are found in the Southern United States, while one occurs in summer even in North America, ranging as far as, and even breeding in, Canada. Professor Newton writes:--“Wilson, Audubon, Mr. Gosse, and several others gifted with the ‘pen of a ready writer,’ have so fully described, as far as words will admit, the habits of different members of the family _Trochilidæ_, that it is unnecessary to say much on this score. Their appearance is so entirely unlike that of any other birds that it is hopeless to attempt in any way to bring a just conception of it to the ideas of those who have not crossed the Atlantic; and even the comparison so often made between them and the _Sphingidæ_, though doubtless in the main true, is much to the advantage of the latter. One is admiring the clustering stars of a scarlet _Cordia_, the snowy cornucopias of a _Portlandia_, or some other brilliant and beautiful flower, when between the blossoms and one’s eye suddenly appears a small dark object, suspended as it were between four short black threads meeting each other in a cross. For an instant it shows in front of the flower; an instant more it steadies itself, and one perceives the space between each pair of threads occupied by a grey film; again another instant, and, emitting a momentary flash of emerald and sapphire light, it is vanishing, lessening in the distance as it shoots away, to a speck that the eye cannot take note of--and all this so rapidly that the word on one’s lips is still unspoken, scarcely the thought in one’s mind changed. It was a bold man or an ignorant one who first ventured to depict Humming birds flying; but it cannot be denied that representations of them are often of special use to the ornithologist. The peculiar action of one, and probably of many or all other species of the family, is such, that at times in flying it makes the wings almost meet, both in front and behind, at each vibration. Thus, when a bird chances to enter a room it will generally go buzzing along the cornice. Standing beneath where it is, one will find that the axis of the body is vertical, and each wing is describing a nearly perfect semicircle. As might be expected, the pectoral muscles are very large; indeed, the sternum of this bird is a good deal bigger than that of the common Chimney Swallow (_Hirundo rustica_). But the extraordinary rapidity with which the vibrations are effected seems to be chiefly caused by these powerful muscles acting on the very short wingbones, which are not half the length of the same parts in the Swallow; and accordingly, great as this alar action is, and in spite of the contrary opinion entertained by Mr. Gosse, it is yet sometimes wanting in power, owing, doubtless, to the disadvantageous leverage thus obtained; and the old authors must be credited who speak of cobwebs catching Humming birds. On the 3rd of May, 1857, a bird of this species flew into the room where I was sitting, and after fluttering for some minutes against the ceiling, came in contact with a deserted spider’s web, in which it got entangled, and remained suspended and perfectly helpless for more than a minute, when by a violent effort it freed itself. I soon after caught it, still having fragments of the web on its head, neck, and wings; and I feel pretty sure, that had this web been inhabited and in good repair, instead of being deserted and dilapidated, the bird would never have escaped.”

Mr. A. R. Wallace has written the following account of the habits of Humming birds on the River Amazon:--“The greater number of species that frequent flowers do so, I am convinced, for the small insects found there, and not for the nectar. In dozens, and perhaps hundreds, of common flower-frequenting species which I have examined, the crop, stomach, and intestines have been filled with minute beetles, ants, and spiders, which abound in most flowers in South America. Very rarely indeed have I found a trace of honey or of any liquid in the crop or stomach. The flowers they most frequent are the various species of _Inga_ and the papilionaceous flowers of many large forest trees. I have never seen them at the bignonias, or any flowers but those which grow in large masses, covering a whole tree or shrub, as they visit perhaps a hundred flowers in a minute and never stop at a single one. The little Emerald Hummer I have seen in gardens and at the common orange (_Asclepias_), which often covers large spaces of waste ground in the tropics. But there are many, such as _Phaëthornis eremita_ and some larger allied species, which I have never seen at flowers. These inhabit the gloomy forest-shades, where they dart about among the foliage; and I have distinctly observed them visit in rapid succession every leaf on a branch, balancing themselves vertically in the air, passing their beak closely over the under surface of each leaf, and thus capturing, no doubt, any small insects that may be upon them. While doing this, the two long feathers of the tail have a vibrating motion, apparently serving as a rudder to assist them in performing the delicate operation. I have seen others searching up and down stems and dead sticks in the same manner, every now and then picking off something, exactly as a Bush Shrike or Tree Creeper does, with this exception, that the Humming-bird is continually on the wing. They also capture insects in the true Fissirostral fashion. How often may they be seen perched on the dead twig of a lofty tree--the station that is chosen by the tyrant Flycatchers and the Jacamars--from which, like those birds, they dart off a short distance, and after a few whirls and balancings return to the identical twig they had left. In the evening, too, just after sunset, when the Goatsuckers are beginning their search after insects over the rivers, I have seen Humming birds come out of the forest and remain a long time on the wing--now stationary, now darting about with the greatest rapidity, imitating in a limited space the evolutions of their companions the Goatsuckers, and evidently for the same end and purpose.”

Wilson, the poet-naturalist, observes of the North American species as follows:--“Nature in every department of her works seems to delight in variety, and the present subject is almost as singular for its minuteness, beauty, want of song, and manner of feeding, as the Mocking Bird is for unrivalled excellence of note and plainness of plumage. This is one of the few birds that are universally beloved, and amidst the sweet dewy serenity of a summer’s morning his appearance amongst the arbours of honeysuckles and beds of flowers is truly interesting.

“‘When morning dawns, and the blest sun again Lifts his red glories from the Eastern main, Then through our woodbines, wet with glittering dews, The flower-fed Humming bird his round pursues; Sips with inserted tube the honied blooms, And chirps his gratitude as round he roams; While richest roses, though in crimson drest, Shrink from the splendour of his gorgeous breast, What heavenly tints in mingling radiance fly! Each rapid movement gives a different dye: Like scales of burnished gold they dazzling show, Now sink to shade, now to a furnace glow.’”

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FOOTNOTES:

[1] The genus _Ovis_.

[2] _Ovis Poli._

[3] The genus _Capra_.

[4] “Falling from a height, it protects its whole body, between its horns, from shock, and receives upon its horns the concussion of the huge stones.”

[5] The genus _Gazella_.

[6] _Saïga tartarica._

[7] _Panthalops Hodgsoni._

[8] _Æpyceros melampus._

[9] _Antilope bezoartica._

[10] The genus _Cephalophus_.

[11] The genus _Tetraceros_.

[12] The genus _Eleotragus_ and its allies.

[13] _Oreas canna._

[14] _Strepsiceros kudu._

[15] _Euryceros Angasii._

[16] The genus _Tragelaphus._

[17] The _Damalidæ_.

[18] The genus _Catoblepas_.

[19] _Rupicapra tragus._

[20] The genus _Oryx_.

[21] _Portax picta._

[22] _Ovibos moschatus._

[23] _Bos taurus._

[24] The genus _Bison_.

[25] The genus _Bubalus_.

[26] _Antilocapra americana._

[27] _Moschus moschiferus._

[28] _Camelopardalis giraffa._

[29] _Alces machlis._

[30] The restricted genus _Cervus_.

[31] _Cervus elaphus._

[32] The genera _Pseudaxis_ and _Dama_.

[33] _Dama mesopotamica._

[34] The genus _Rusa_ and its allies.

[35] _Rusa Alfredi._

[36] _Rucervus Duvaucelli._

[37] _Rucervus Eldi._

[38] The genus _Cervulus_.

[39] _Capreolus caprea._

[40] _Hydropotes inermis._

[41] _Elaphurus Davidianus._

[42] _Transactions of the Zoological Society_, Vol. VII. p. 333.

[43] _Rangifer tarandus._

[44] _Tragulidæ._

[45] _Camelus dromedarius._

[46] _Camelus bactrianus._

[47] _Auchenia._

[48] In the young there are four of these small additional teeth, but the outer pair disappear after a short time.

[49] The upper teeth always constitute a larger segment of a smaller circle than the lower ones.

[50] The genus _Heliophobius_ among the Mole Rats is described as having six molars on each side in both jaws; but the number in this genus appears to be variable, the sixth molar being often undeveloped.

[51] See Note on p. 83.

[52] Having the hind feet hand-like.

[53] See _Arvicola rutilus_, p. 117.

[54] Dr. Coues has proposed this generic name for the American Jumping Mouse, as the names _Jaculus_ and _Meriones_, given to the genus by various authors, had been previously used for other groups.

[55] Described almost at the same time by M. Bravard under the name of _Typotherium_. We here employ M. Serres’ name.

[56] Waterton’s “Wanderings,” pp. 161, 284.

[57] _Arctopithecus castaniceps._

[58] _Bradypus torquatus_, or _Bradypus crinitus_.

[59] _Arctopithecus flaccidus._--_Arctopithecus Ai._

[60] _Cholœpus didactylus._

[61] _Cholœpus Hoffmanni._

[62] _Orycteropus capensis_ (Geoffroy).

[63] The uterus is double, and the placenta is disc-shaped, and is cast off (deciduate). There are chest and inguinal. teats. The vertebræ are--seven cervical, thirteen dorsal, eight lumbar, six sacral, twenty-five caudal.

[64] The muscle called pronator quadratus is a fleshy band, four-sided in shape more or less. One side is attached to one of the bones of the fore-arm, the ulna in front above the wrist; and the other and opposite side adheres to the radius. The ulna being motionless, the muscle contracts and pulls the radius over, so as to turn the back of the wrist forwards, or upwards. The prone position is thus produced, and hence the name of the muscle. The other muscle which produces this movement is fixed to the fore-arm in front, near the inner elbow, and it is long, having a tendon which is implanted on the radius. As this muscle contracts, it pulls the radius over the ulna, and makes the wrist take up a prone position. It is called the pronator teres.

[65] Genus _Manis_.

[66] _Manis tetradactyla_ (Linn.).

[67] _Manis gigantea_ (Illiger).

[68] _Manis brachyura._--_Manis pentadactyla_ (Linn.).

[69] _Myrmecophaga jubata._

[70] It is certainly remarkable that the brain of this animal should present numerous convolutions, whilst the brain of the Sloth has barely any. The commissures of the brain are large, especially that of the centre, or corpus callosum, and also the anterior. The uterus is simple, the os is double, and the placenta is said to be discoidal.

[71] _Tamandua tetradactyla._

[72] _Cyclothurus didactylus._

[73] _Dasypus gigas_ (Cuvier).

[74] _Dasypus Tatouay_ (Desmarest).

[75] _Dasypus sexcintus_ (Linn.).

[76] _Dasypus villosus_ (Desmarest).

[77] _Dasypus minutus_ (Desmarest).

[78] _Dasypus Peba_ (Desmarest).

[79] _Dasypus (Tolypeutes) apar_ (Geoffroy).

[80] _Chlamydophorus truncatus_ (Harlan).

[81] The _Macropodidæ_.

[82] _Macropus giganteus_ (Shaw).

[83] The presence of the pouch, or marsupium, containing the teats, involves many structural and physiological peculiarities which separate the Marsupialia, in a classificatory sense, from the rest of the Mammalia. The Great Kangaroo, which may be considered a fair example of the Marsupials, has in the female a set of skin muscles, around the pouch, beneath the skin, which close it. The milk, or mammary gland, has four long, slender teats in the pouch, and beneath the skin of it is a muscle called the cremaster, which is largely developed. It spreads over the surface of the gland, and its action is to squeeze it and to force out the milk through the teat. There is thus protection for the young, and milk is given forth, without the effort of the young in sucking. The reason for this is obvious. The Great Kangaroo, which is often as tall as a man, is pregnant for about thirty-nine days only, and then a little one, not bigger than a thumb, is born; it is not completely formed, and is blind and cannot move itself. The mother places it in her pouch, and it fixes on to a teat, where it hangs for about eight months, and then it begins to look out of the pouch. The duration of the life of the young in the womb is thus very small, and it has no placenta there, which in the other and non-marsupial Mammalia forms the life-union between the mother and the offspring before its birth. Thus, the Marsupials form one great group of Mammalia which are “implacentalia,” without placentas or “after-births,” and all the other Mammalia are “placentalia,” and have this link between mother and young. In all the Mammalia hitherto described the young come into the world by a single passage. In those now under consideration (the Marsupialia) there is a double passage, and the womb is separated into two portions, being double; so they are termed Didelphia. The marsupium has two remarkable bones more or less in relation to it, and all animals thus furnished are termed Marsupialia, and they form two sections or sub-orders--(1) The Marsupiata proper, with marsupial bones, mostly with pouches, and with inflected lower jaws. (2) The Monotremata, which have marsupial bones, depressions in the skin, when suckling, like ill-developed pouches, and beak-like jaws in front, which are not inflected.

[84] See Footnote 83 on previous page.

[85] Waterhouse’s “Natural History of the Mammalia,” order Marsupiata, from which much of this description of the order has been taken.

[86] R. Owen, “Marsupialia;” “Todd’s Cyclopædia of Anatomy and Physiology.”

[87] See also Vol. I., page 58, Note.

[88] Mr. Gould’s works on Australian animals, occasionally quoted by me.

[89] _Macropus leporoides_ (Gould).

[90] _Macropus rufus_ (Desm.).

[91] _Macropus agilis_ (Gould, sp.).

[92] _Dendrolagus ursinus_ (Müll.).

[93] Sub-genus _Hypsiprymnus_.

[94] _Hypsiprymnus rufescens._

[95] _Hypsiprymnus penicillatus._

[96] _Hypsiprymnus murinus._

[97] Description by E. P. Ramsay, F.L.S., and communication from Sir R. Owen to Linnean Society, London.

[98] _Phascolomys wombat_ (Peron and Lesson). φάσκωλος, a pouch, and μῦς, a mouse.

[99] _Phascolarctus_ (pouched-bear) _cinereus_.

[100] _Phalangista ursina._

[101] _Phalangista (Cuscus) maculatus._

[102] _Phalangista vulpina._

[103] _Phalangista fuliginosa._

[104] _Phalangista Nana._

[105] _Petaurus sciureus_ (Shaw).

[106] _Petaurus ariel._

[107] _Petaurus breviceps._

[108] _Petaurus pygmæus._

[109] _Tarsipes rostratus._

[110] _Perameles lagotis._

[111] _Perameles Gunnii._

[112] _Perameles fasciata._

[113] _Perameles doreyanus._

[114] _Perameles moresbyensis_ (Rams.).

[115] _Chœropus castanotis_--χοῖρος, a hog; and πούς, a foot.

[116] _Myrmecobius fasciatus_--μύρμηξ, ant; βίος, life.

[117] _Dasyurus ursinus._

[118] _Dasyurus macrurus_, or _maculatus_.

[119] _Dasyurus Maugei_ (Geoffroy).

[120] θύλακος, a pouch.

[121] _Thylacinus cynocephalus._

[122] _Phascogale penicillata._

[123] _Didelphys virginianum._

[124] _Didelphys D’Azaræ._

[125] _Didelphys cancrivora._

[126] _Didelphys crassicaudatus._

[127] _Chironectes variegatus._

[128] The sub-genera Halmaturus and Heteropus, Osphranter, Lagorchestes, and Petrogale, are included in Macropus, and many other sub-genera relating to the other families merely complicate the classification. Bettongia, Potoroiis, are sub-genera or artificial groups of the genus Hypsiprymnus; Cuscus, Trichosurus, Pseudochirus, and Dromicia, are groups of Phalangistidæ; Petaurista, Belideus, and Acrobata are divisions of the genus Petaurus; Macrotis is a sub-genus of Perameles; Antechinus is a division of the genus Phascogale; Sarcophilus is a sub-genus of Dasyurus. These are unnecessary sub-divisions.

[129] μόνος, one; τρῆμα, opening.

[130] _Echidna hystrix_ (Cuvier). Much confusion has been produced by Illiger, who changed the generic title to Tachyglossus, ταχύς, quick, and γλῶσσα, tongue; but the name given by Cuvier must stand, except in the minds of those zoologists who delight in novelties, and believe that the use of long words carries wisdom. Lately more confusion has been produced by the introduction of the generic term _Acanthoglossus_, which we do not admit or use.

[131] _Ornithorhynchus anatinus._

[132] Dr. Brehm: “Bird-life,” pp. 503, 504.

[133] Huxley, “Anatomy of Vertebrates,” p. 274.

[134] παλαιός, old; ἄρκτος, north: _i.e._, the northern division of the _Old_ World.

[135] νέος, new; ἄρκτος, north: _i.e._, the northern division of the _New_ World.

[136] νέος, new; τροπικός, tropical: _i.e._, the tropical division of the _New_ World.

[137] Dr. Sclater, F.R.S., originated, in 1858, this scheme of the six zoogeographical divisions of the globe.

[138] In the preparation of this chapter, the author begs to acknowledge the assistance he has received from his friend Professor F. Jeffrey Bell, B.A.

[139] These lines are thus translated by Mr. Hayward:--“I hurry on to drink his everlasting light--the day before me and the night behind--the heavens above, and under me the waves. A glorious dream! as it is passing, he is gone. Alas! no bodily wing will so easily keep pace with the wings of the mind! Yet it is the inborn tendency of our being for feeling to strive upwards and onwards; when, over us, lost in the blue expanse the lark sings its thrilling lay; when, over rugged pine-covered heights, the out-spread eagle soars; and, over marsh and sea, the crane struggles onward to her home.”

[140] These plates may become united with one another in the middle line, and the birds that possess this arrangement have been called _Desmognathæ_ (δεσμός, “a bond;” γνάθος, “jaw”); or they may be separated by a more or less narrow cleft, in which case the birds in which this is found are called _Schizognathæ_ (σχίζω, “I cleave”). As a matter of fact, the term Schizognathous is confined to those birds in which the above-mentioned vomer is pointed in front, while where it is truncated the birds are called _Ægithognathæ_ (αἴγιθος, “a sparrow,” as the character is seen in these birds). In these groups, however, the Ostriches, or running birds, which are distinguished by having no keel to their sternum, are not included; nor in them is the vomer narrow behind. This broad character of the hinder end of the vomer is seen also in one group of birds with a keeled sternum--the Tinamous--which are consequently distinguished from other “Carinate” birds by the term _Dromæognathæ_ (_Dromæus_, the Emu).

[141] The presence or absence of it, or of the other muscles, is used as a means for arranging the smaller divisions of the larger groups into which the two first-named sub-classes are, by the aid of other anatomical facts, divided. One striking advantage of this system, as suggested by the late Prof. A. H. Garrod, is that the characters of the _ambiens_ have been observed to go hand in hand with certain other characters. Thus, the cæca found at the end of the small intestine are always present in the Homalogonatæ, or birds having the normal arrangement of knee-muscles; but in this connection there is another structure to be mentioned, namely, the so-called oil-gland, or gland by the secretion of which the bird “preens” its feathers, and which is always set in the skin in the region of the tail. Now this “uropygial,” or oil-gland, may or may not be provided with a tuft of feathers, and as there may or may not be cæca to the intestine, it follows that--(1) the gland may be tufted and there may be cæca, or (2) the gland may have no feathers and cæca may be present, or (3) there may be no cæca and a tufted gland, or (4) there may be no cæca and no tufts (the possible arrangement of neither being present is found in a few Pigeons). But this is not the place to follow out the details of this classification.

With regard to the proposition made by a French observer, M. Alix, that birds should be divided into the Homœomyarii, Entomyarii, and Ectomyarii, according to the character of certain of the flexor muscles at the back of the leg, it seems only necessary to remark that so far anatomical investigations have not supported his views, while his system would separate birds which seem to be closely allied.

[142] Compare Vol. I., p. 213

[143] _Accipitres diurni_ of authors.

[144] _Accipitres nocturni_ of authors.

[145] _Machærhamphus Anderssoni._

[146] _Accipitrinæ._

[147] _Falco_, a Falcon.

[148] Πανδίων, a Greek mythological name.

[149] στρίγξ, an Owl.

[150] “Song of Hiawatha,” Book XIX.

[151] “Essays on Natural History,” 1866, p. 17.

[152] “Notes on the Birds of Damara Land and the adjacent countries of South-west Africa,” 1872, p. 3.

[153] 1864, p. 307.

[154] 1859, p. 277.

[155] _Vultur monachus._

[156] _Gyps fulvus._

[157] J. H. Gurney: “Descriptive Catalogue of the Raptorial Birds in the Norfolk and Norwich Museum.”

[158] οὖς, ὠτός, an ear; γύψ, a vulture.

[159] _Auricularis_, having ears.

[160] A mythological name.

[161] περκνός, dark-coloured; πτερόν, a wing; so called from the colour of its wings.

[162] “Ornithology of the Strait of Gibraltar,” p. 31.

[163] σάρξ, flesh; ῤάμφος, a bill; so called on account of the fleshy wattles on the base of the bill.

[164] _Gryphus_, a mythological name, a Griffon.

[165] καθαρτής, a scavenger.

[166] _Papa_, a pope.

[167] D’Orbigny, “Voyage dans l’Amérique Meridionale,” p. 30.

[168] ῤίν (ῤίς), ῤινός, a nose; _gryphus_, as before, a Griffon, or Vulture; so called on account of its peculiar perforated nose.

[169] _Helotarsus ecaudatus._

[170] _Serpentarius_, a devourer of Serpents.

[171] _Secretarius_, a secretary.

[172] _Proceedings of the Zoological Society_, 1856, p. 348.

[173] Gymnogene: from two Greek words (γυμνός, bare, naked; γένυς, a cheek).

[174] _Polyboroides_: like a _Polyborus_ or Caracara.

[175] Col. Irby, “Ornithology of the Strait of Gibraltar,” p. 34.

[176] μικρός, small; _astur_, a Goshawk. See “Lawrence’s Birds of Western and North-Western Mexico.” “Memoirs of the Boston Soc. of Nat. Hist.,” Vol. ii., p. 299.

[177] μέλι honey; ἱέραξ, a Hawk.

[178] _Rete_, Lat., a net, so called on account of the network pattern.

[179] _Buteo_, Lat., a Buzzard.

[180] “Birds of the West of Scotland,” p. 46.

[181] θράσος, daring; ἀετός, an Eagle.

[182] ἄρπη, a bird of prey.

[183] “Sketches of Nature in the Alps.”

[184] οὐρά, a tail; ἀετός, an Eagle.

[185] _Audax_, bold.

[186] Newton Ed., Yarrell’s “British Birds,” i., p. 19.

[187] “Rough Notes on Indian Ornithology,” p. 145.

[188] χρυσός, gold; ἀετός, an Eagle.

[189] νέος, new; πούς, a foot: meaning that there was something novel and extraordinary about its foot.

[190] “Birds of Ceylon,” p. 49.

[191] κίρκος, a Harrier; ἀετός, an Eagle.

[192] Ibis, 1865, p. 253.

[193] ἕλω (αἱρέω), to lift; ταρσός, a tarsus.

[194] Ecaudatus, Latin, meaning “without tail,” on account of its shortness.

[195] ἁλιάετος, a Sea Eagle.

[196] “Ootheca Woolleyana,” p. 47.

[197] ἰκτῖνος, a Kite.

[198] “Bird-life,” p. 543.

[199] μάχαιρα, a sharp knife; ῥάμφος, a bill.

[200] Andersson’s “Birds of Damara Land.” Edited by J. H. Gurney, 1872, p. 22.

[201] Lit., like a Cuckoo.

[202] μικρός, small, tiny; ἱέραξ, a Hawk.

[203] A wanderer.

[204] μέλας, black; γένυς, a cheek.

[205] _Nigriceps_, black-headed.

[206] “Ootheca Woolleyana,” p. 93.

[207] ἱερός, sacred; _falco_, a Falcon; _candicans_, white.

[208] κερχνηίς, or κέρχνη, Gr., a Kestrel; _tinnunculus_, Lat., a Hawk.

[209] pp. 82, 95.

[210] Ornithology of Shakspere.

[211] “Ornithology of the Strait of Gibraltar,” &c., p. 56.

[212] “Essays on Natural History,” p. 8.

[213] _Ketupa_, a “barbarous” name, with no meaning.

[214] σκότος, darkness; πέλεια, a Dove, with a covert allusion to the name of the discoverer (Sclater).

[215] Ibis, 1859, p. 447.

[216] _Bubo_, a Horned Owl (Vergil); _ignavus_, dastardly--an inappropriate title for so fine a bird.

[217] νύκτιος, nightly, _i.e._, a bird of night--a most inappropriate title for the Snowy Owl, which is a day-flier.

[218] _Scandiaca_, Scandinavian.

[219] A proper name.

[220] A “barbarous” name, of no meaning.

[221] From γλαυκός, blue or grey.

[222] Passerine, or Sparrow-like: _i.e._, of the size of a Sparrow.

[223] A proper name.

[224] Σύρνιον, a proper name.

[225] νυκταλός, nocturnal.

[226] Like a Hawk.

[227] ὦτος, long-eared Owl.

[228] στρίγξ, an Owl.

[229] Fiery; flame-coloured.

[230] Newton’s edition of Yarrell’s “British Birds,” Vol. I., p. 147.

[231] From _Picus_, a Woodpecker.

[232] _Fissus_, cleft; _rostrum_, a beak.

[233] ζυγόν, a yoke; δάκτυλος, a toe.

[234] ὀρθός, straight; γνάθος, a jaw.

[235] κάμπτω, to bend; λόφος, a crest.

[236] μικρός, small; γλῶσσα, a tongue.

[237] Very black.

[238] ἀνήρ, a man; γλῶσσα, a tongue.

[239] χρυσός, gold; οὖς, an ear.

[240] “Birds of Jamaica,” p. 266.

[241] G. D. Rowley, “Ornithological Miscellany,” Vol. I, p. 175.

[242] “Natural History of Cage-birds,” Part I.

[243] Jerdon, “Birds of India,” I., p. 258.

[244] στρίγξ, an Owl; ὤψ, a face, _i.e._, having the appearance of an Owl.

[245] ἁβρός, soft; πτίλον, feather.

[246] ὀρθός, straight; γνάθος, jaw.

[247] _Trichoglossi._

[248] Professor Garrod in _Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1872_, p. 787.

[249] “Stray Feathers,” 1877, p. 385.

[250] “Bird-life,” p. 595.

[251] Sharpe’s edition of Layard’s “Birds of South Africa,” p. 141.

[252] γῆ, earth, and κινέω, I shake; _viridis_, green.

[253] The classical Greek name, from its double note sounding like the exclamation ἰΰ, hence the verb ἰΰζω, I cry out.

[254] Compare Fig. 1, _ch._; this bone usually exists in a paired condition, but in Woodpeckers and some other birds it appears single by the confluence of its members. In many birds the “basi-hyal” is succeeded by the “uro-hyal” (Fig. 1, _b. br._), a bone altogether absent whenever the tongue is capable of extraordinary protrusion.

[255] σφῦρα, a hammer; _picus_, a woodpecker.

[256] Yarrell, “British Birds,” vol. ii., p. 137.

[257] μέλας, black; ἕρπω, I creep; _formicivorus_, ant-eating.

[258] Linnæus. A proper name.

[259] From ῥάμφος, a bill.

[260] “Monograph of the _Rhamphastidæ_, or Family of Toucans,” by John Gould, F.R.S. Introduction.

[261] From _Capito_, the principal genus: a proper name.

[262] “A Monograph of the Capitonidæ, or Scansorial Barbets,” by C. H. T. Marshall and G. F. L. Marshall (1871).

[263] _Galbula_, a proper name.

[264] Sclater, “Synopsis of the Fissirostral Family Bucconidæ,” 8vo, 1854.

[265] _Alcedo_, a Kingfisher.

[266] Sharpe’s “Monograph of the Alcedinidæ, or Kingfishers.”

[267]

“Perque dies placidos hiberno tempore septem Incubat alcyone pendentibus æquore nidis.”--Ovid, _Met._ xi. 745.

[268] κηρύλος, a sea-bird of the halcyon kind.

[269] “Ornithologie Nord Ost Afrikas,” p. 185.

[270] πελαργός, a stork; ὤψ, a face.

[271] Diminutive of _Ispida_, a Kingfisher.

[272] τανύω, to stretch; πτερόν, a wing.

[273] βούκερως, having the horn (κέρας) of a cow (βοῦς).

[274] Elliot: “Monograph of the Bucerotidæ, or family of the Hornbills,” Part IV.

[275] “Missionary Travels in South Africa.”

[276] “Malay Archipelago,” Vol. I., p. 212.

[277] See Sharpe’s Edition of Layard’s “Birds of South Africa,” p. 122.

[278] Sharpe and Dresser, “Birds of Europe,” Part VII., 1871.

[279] “Ornithology of the Strait of Gibraltar,” p. 66.

[280] φᾶρος, a mantle; μακρός, large.

[281] Ibis, 1861, p. 138.

[282] στέαρ, στέατος, fat; ὄρνις, a bird.

[283] βάτραχος, a frog; στόμα, a mouth.

[284] Owl-like.

[285] μακρός, long; χείρ, a hand, in the sense of a wing of a bird.

[286] Cypselus, a swift; α, not; πούς, a foot.

[287] Nest-building.