Chapter XXVI: Book II: Inhabitants of the Air (1)

§ I. RAPTORES. _Diurnal Birds of Prey._

“But who the various nations can declare,
That plough with busy wing the peopled air?
These cleave the crumbling bark for insect food,
Those dip the crooked beak in kindred blood:
Some haunt the rushy moor, the lonely woods;
Some bathe their silver plumage in the floods;
Some fly to man, his household gods implore,
And gather round his hospitable door,
Wait the known call, and find protection there
From all the lesser tyrants of the air.
The tawny Eagle seats his callow brood
High on the cliff, and feasts his young with blood.”
BARBAULD.

THE GOLDEN EAGLE is one of the largest and most powerful of all those birds that have received the name of Eagle. It weighs above twelve pounds. Its length, from the point of the beak to the end of the tail, is about three feet; the breadth, when the wings are extended, is seven or eight feet. The beak is horny, crooked, and very strong. The feathers of the neck are of a rusty colour, and the rest dark brown. The feet are feathered down to the claws, which have a wonderful grasp; the toes are yellow, and the four talons are crooked and strong. As in all birds of prey, the female is the larger, and more powerful.

Eagles are remarkable for their longevity, and their faculty of sustaining a long abstinence from food. Of all birds the Eagle flies highest; and from thence the ancients have given it the epithet of the _Bird of Heaven_:

“Bird of the broad and sweeping wing,
Thy home is high in heaven,
Where wide the storms their banners fling,
And the tempest’s clouds are driven.
Thy throne is on the mountain top,
Thy fields the boundless air;
And hoary peaks, that proudly prop
The skies, thy dwellings are.”

This formidable bird may be considered among its own species what the lion is among quadrupeds; and in many respects they have a strong similitude to each other. Solitary, like the lion, he keeps the wilds to himself alone; it is as extraordinary to see two pairs of Eagles in the same mountain, as two lions in the same plain.

The Eagle is found in Great Britain and Ireland, in Germany, and nearly all parts of Europe. It is carnivorous, and, when unable to obtain the flesh of larger animals, feeds on serpents and lizards. The story of the Eagle, brought to the ground after a severe conflict with a cat, which it had seized and taken up into the air with its talons, is very remarkable; Mr. Barlow, who was an eye-witness of the fact, made a drawing of it, which he afterwards engraved. Two instances are said to have occurred in Scotland of the Eagle having flown away with infants to its nest; but in both cases it is added that the children were recovered, without being materially injured. This bird has been often tamed, but in this situation it still preserves an innate love of liberty. The nest of the Eagle is composed of strong sticks, and generally built on the point of an inaccessible rock, whence it darts upon its prey with the rapidity of lightning. The period of incubation is said to be thirty days; and when the young are hatched, both the male and female exert all their industry to provide for their wants. In the county of Kerry a peasant is said once to have formed the resolution of plundering an Eagle’s nest built upon a small island in the beautiful lake of Killarney. He accordingly swam to the island while the parents were away; and, after robbing the nest of the young, was preparing to swim back with the Eaglets tied in a string; but while he was yet up to the chin in the water, the old Eagles returned, and, missing their family, fell upon the invader with such fury, that, in spite of all his resistance, they despatched him with their beaks and talons.

Another native of Kerry was more fortunate in his dealings with the Eagles. During a season of scarcity he obtained sustenance for himself and his family by plundering an Eagle’s nest of the food brought in by the parents for their young ones: and he was so artful as to prolong the supply by cutting the wings of the Eaglets so as to prevent their flying, and thus compelled the old birds to continue their attention to their progeny.

THIS bird, known also as the White-tailed Eagle, from the inside feathers of its tail being white, differs from the golden eagle in the greater length of its beak, in its sluggish and cowardly habits, and in its coarser taste. It is a native of Great Britain, where it inhabits the high rocks and cliffs that overhang the sea, and whence it pounces on the birds, fish, or seals that it can procure for its prey. It is smaller than the golden eagle, rarely reaching three feet in length; and in young birds the tail feathers are brown.

(_Haliaëtus leucocephalus._)]

THIS bird is about three feet long, and seven feet broad, measuring to the tips of the extended wings. The bill resembles that of the golden eagle, and from the chin hang some small hairy feathers like a beard. As it is found alike in the frigid and the torrid zone, it is provided for enduring rapid changes of temperature, and its whole body is clothed under the feathers with a kind of down, white and soft like that of the swan. This bird builds its nest on lofty cliffs by the sea-shore, and on the banks of rivers or lakes, and feeds almost entirely upon fish.

It is generally regarded by the Anglo-Americans with peculiar respect, as the chosen emblem of their native land. The great cataract of Niagara is mentioned as one of its favourite places of resort, not merely as a fishing station, where it is enabled to satiate its hunger upon its most congenial food, but also in consequence of the vast quantity of four-footed beasts, which, unwarily venturing into the stream above, are borne away by the torrent, and precipitated down those tremendous falls:

“High o’er the watery uproar silent seen,
Sailing sedate in majesty serene,
Now ’midst the pillar’d spray sublimely lost,
And now emerging, down the rapids toss’d,
Glides the Bald Eagle, gazing calm and slow
O’er all the horrors of the scene below;
Intent alone to sate himself with blood,
From the torn victim of the raging flood.”

The number of birds of prey of various kinds which assemble at the foot of the rocks to glut themselves upon the banquet thus provided for them, is said to be incredibly great, but they are all compelled to give place to the Eagle when he deigns to feed on dead animals; and the crow and the vulture submit without a struggle to the exercise of that tyranny, which they know it would be in vain to resist. “We have ourselves,” says Wilson, “seen the Bald Eagle, while seated on the dead carcase of a horse, keep a whole flock of vultures at a respectful distance, until he had fully sated his own appetite:” and he adds another instance, in which many thousands of tree squirrels having been drowned, in one of their migrations, in attempting to pass the Ohio, and having furnished for some length of time a rich banquet to the vultures, the sudden appearance among them of the Bald Eagle at once put a stop to their festivities, and drove them to a distance from their prey, of which the Eagle kept sole possession for several successive days.

These Eagles sometimes hunt in pairs in a manner which shows their great sagacity. Aware that water-fowl have the power of eluding their grasp by diving, they hover at a distance from each other over their prey. One of them then darts towards it with great swiftness, but the water-fowl easily avoids the first attack by diving. The pursuer then rises into the air, and his mate resumes the attack just as the fowl is emerging to breathe, and compels it to plunge again. The Eagles continue alternately to proceed in this manner till their victim is so exhausted that it falls an easy prey.

This Eagle also frequently attacks the Osprey or Fish Hawk, when he is returning from a successful excursion loaded with a large fish, and compels him to drop his prey; the Eagle then descends with wonderful rapidity, and generally succeeds in seizing the fish before it reaches the water.

(_Pandion haliaëtus._)]

“True to the season, o’er our sea-beat shore
The sailing Osprey high is seen to soar
With broad unmoving wing; and circling slow,
Marks each loose straggler in the deep below;
Sweeps down like lightning, plunges with a roar,
And bears its struggling victim to the shore.”

THIS bird is always found on the sea-shore, or near rivers or lakes, as it feeds entirely on fish. It is common in Great Britain, and also in America, where large colonies of it are found, the birds living together like rooks. “When looking out for its prey,” says Dr. Richardson, “it sails with great ease and elegance, in undulating and curved lines, at a considerable height above the water, till it perceives its prey, when it pounces down upon it. It seizes the fish with its claws, sometimes scarcely appearing to dip its feet in the water, and at others plunging entirely under the surface with force sufficient to throw up a considerable spray. It emerges again, however, so speedily, as to render it evident that it does not attack fish swimming at any great depth.” The toes are armed beneath with numerous sharp points, evidently intended to assist the bird in getting a firm hold of its slippery prey.

The Osprey builds a large nest either on trees or rocks, and lays two or three eggs, which have a reddish tinge, and are spotted with brown at the larger end. The old birds feed the young ones even after they have left the nest, and only rear one brood in the year.

SOME ornithologists suppose this to be merely the golden eagle in its young state, but others make it a distinct species. It is about twice as large as the raven. The parts about the beak and the eye are bare of feathers, and somewhat reddish; the head, neck, and breast black; in the middle of the back, between the shoulders, there is a large white spot, dashed with red; a black streak sweeps along the feathers, and is followed by a white one; the remaining part of the wing to the tip is of a dark ash-colour. This bird has beautiful hazel eyes, full of animation: his legs are feathered down a little below the tarsal joint, the naked part being red; his talons are very long. He is found in France, Germany, Poland, and delights in Alpine mountains, where he makes the vales and woods resound with his incessant screamings when in search of prey.

The Abbé Spallanzani had an eagle of this species, so powerful as to be able to kill dogs that were much larger than itself. When a dog was placed before it, the bird would ruffle up the feathers on its head and neck, cast a dreadful look at its victim, take a short flight, and immediately alight on its back. It held the head firmly with one foot, and thus secured the dog from biting, and with the other grasped one of his flanks, at the same time driving its talons into the body; and in this attitude it continued, till the dog expired with fruitless outcries and efforts.

The eyes of eagles are celebrated for their brilliancy and strength, which has given rise to the popular opinion that they can gaze on the sun without shrinking: though this, from the overhanging eyebrow of the Eagle, would be an extremely difficult feat for the bird to perform. The eyes of all birds are curiously constructed, so as to enable them to see both distant objects and near ones with equal facility; and for this purpose they are furnished with a membrane placed near the edge of the crystalline lens of the eye, by which it can be moved at pleasure. The orbit of the eye is formed of about twelve or sixteen bony plates, which slide over each other when necessary. Birds are also furnished with an additional eyelid, of extremely thin texture, with which they occasionally appear to shade their eyes.

THE VULTURE. (_Vultur Monachus._)

THE first rank in the description of birds has been given to the eagle, not on account of its size, but because it is nobler in its habits and more delicate in its appetites. But it belongs to the falcon tribe, and should be placed after the Vultures. The eagle, unless pressed by famine, will not stoop to carrion; and generally devours only what he has earned by his own pursuit. The Vulture, on the contrary, is disgustingly voracious; and seldom attacks living animals when it can be supplied with dead. The eagle meets and singly opposes his enemy: the Vulture, if he expects resistance, calls in the aid of its kind, and overpowers its prey by combination. Putrefaction, instead of deterring, only serves to allure it. The Vulture seems among birds what the jackal and hyæna are among quadrupeds, who prey upon carcases, and root up the dead.

Vultures may be easily distinguished from eagles by the nakedness of their heads and necks, which are without feathers, and only covered with a very slight down, or a few scattered hairs; their eyes are more prominent; those of the eagle being buried more in the socket, and shaded by an overhanging eyebrow. Their claws are shorter and less hooked. The inside of the wing is covered with a thick down, which is different in them from all other birds of prey. Their attitude is not so upright as that of the eagle, and their flight is more difficult and heavy.

In this description we may include the Golden, the Ash-coloured, and the Brown Vulture, which are inhabitants of Europe; the Spotted and the Black Vulture of Egypt; the Bearded Vulture, the Brazilian Vulture and the King of the Vultures, of South America. They all agree in their nature, being equally indolent, rapacious, and unclean. The Condor also belongs to the Vulture tribe.

THE KING VULTURE, or King of the Vultures, is so called, because when he makes his appearance amongst a whole company of other birds of his kind engaged in a feast upon a dead carcase, they all retire before him and wait respectfully at a little distance until this monarch has eaten his fill. He is an inhabitant of South America.

The head and neck of this bird are without feathers; the body above, reddish buff, beneath, yellowish white: quills greenish black; tail black; craw pendulous, and orange-coloured. It is about the size of a turkey; and is chiefly remarkable for the odd formation of the skin of the head and neck; this skin, which is of an orange colour, arises from the base of the bill, whence it stretches on each side of the head; the eyes are surrounded by a red skin, and the iris has the colour and lustre of pearl. Upon the naked part of the neck is a collar formed by soft longish feathers. Into this collar the bird sometimes withdraws his whole neck, and sometimes a part of its head, so that it looks as if it had hidden its neck in its body.

THIS bird measures three or four feet long, and its wings, when expanded, from ten to twelve feet. Its bill and talons are exceedingly large and strong; and its courage is equal to its strength. The throat is naked, and of a red colour. The upper parts in some individuals (for they differ greatly in colour) are variegated with black, gray, and white, and the body is scarlet. Round the neck it has a white ruff of loose hairy feathers. The feathers on the back are generally quite black, and perfectly bright. These enormous birds, which are inhabitants of South America, breed among the highest and most inaccessible rocks. The female makes no nest, but lays two white eggs, somewhat bigger than those of a turkey, on the bare rock. Some writers have affirmed that a Condor can carry off a sheep in its claws, and others that it has carried off children in the same manner; but these tales are manifestly absurd, as the Condor’s feet and talons are not fitted for carrying any great weight. Both the talons and the bill are indeed of extraordinary strength, but they are intended for tearing objects to pieces; and consequently we find that the Condor feeds chiefly on dead or dying cattle, or horses, which he tears to pieces and devours where they lie. When the Condor is gorged the hunters attack him, but his strength and fierceness are so great, that one of Sir Francis Head’s companions, who attempted to seize a gorged Condor, said he never had “such a battle in his life;” though he had been a Cornish miner and was reckoned an excellent wrestler in his own country.

“The noble Buzzard ever pleased me best;
Of small renown, ’t is true; for, not to lie,
We call him but a Hawk by courtesy.”
HIND AND PANTHER.

_This_ is a rapacious bird, of the hawk kind, and the most common of all in England. It is of a sluggish, indolent nature, often remaining perched on the same bough for the greater part of the day: as if, indifferent either to the allurements of food or of pleasure, it were doomed, like some of the human species, to pass its allotted span of life in passive contemplation. It feeds on mice, rabbits, frogs, and often on all sorts of carrion. Too idle to build itself a nest, it frequently seizes upon the old habitation of a crow, which it lines afresh with wool and other soft materials. In general this bird, whose colour varies considerably, is brown varied with yellow specks; at a certain age its head becomes entirely gray. The female generally lays two or three eggs, which are mostly white, though sometimes spotted with yellow. Its length is usually twenty-two inches, and its breadth upwards of fifty.

The following anecdote, related by Buffon, will show that the Buzzard may be so far tamed as to be rendered a faithful domestic. A Buzzard, which had been caught in a snare, was brought to a gentleman, who undertook to tame it. It was at first wild and ferocious, but by depriving it of food he succeeded in constraining it to come and eat out of his hand. By pursuing this plan he brought it to be very familiar; and, after having shut it up about six weeks, he began to allow it a little liberty, taking the precaution, however, to tie both pinions of its wings. In this condition it walked out into his garden, and returned when called to be fed; after some time, thinking he might trust to its fidelity, he removed the ligatures, and fastened a small bell above its talon, and also attached to its breast a bit of copper with his name engraved on it. He then gave it entire liberty, which it soon abused; for it took wing and flew into the forest of Belesme. The bird was given up for lost; but four hours afterwards, it rushed into the gentleman’s hall, pursued by five other Buzzards, which had driven it into its former asylum. After this adventure it preserved its fidelity, coming every night to sleep under the window. It soon became familiar, attended constantly at dinner, sat on a corner of the table, and often caressed its master with its head and bill, emitting a weak, sharp cry, which, however, it sometimes softened. It had a singular propensity of seizing from the head and flying away with the red caps of the peasants; and so alert was it in whipping them off, that they found their heads bare without knowing what was become of their caps; it even treated the wigsof the old men in the same way, hiding its booty in the tallest trees.

Wilson says that one he shot in the wing lived with him several weeks: but refused to eat. It amused itself by hopping from one end of the room to the other, and sitting for hours at the window, looking down on the passengers below. At first, he put himself in an attitude of defence when approached; but after some time became quite familiar, permitting himself to be handled. Though he lived so long without food, his stomach was found on dissection to be enveloped in solid fat of nearly an inch in thickness.

THIS Buzzard eats lizards, frogs, and snails. It also feeds upon the larvæ of bees and wasps, which form the chief food of the young birds. Buffon says that in winter, when fat, it is good eating, a very rare circumstance with birds of this genus. It seldom flies, excepting from one bush to another; but, when on the ground, it runs with great rapidity, like a domestic fowl.

Willoughby observes that it builds its nest with twigs, on which it lays wool to receive its eggs. He saw one that took possession of an old kite’s nest to breed in, and that fed its young with the larvæ of wasps, for in the nest were found the combs of wasps’ nests, and, in the stomachs of the young, fragments of wasp-maggots. In the nest were two young ones, covered with white down, spotted with black. In the crop of one of them were two lizards entire, with their heads lying towards the mouth, as if they sought to creep out.

It would be highly interesting could we discover the manner in which this bird conducts its attack on a wasps’ nest. The close feathering round the base of the bill, is, no doubt, a protection against the stings of the insects which they attack.

BREEDS in lofty trees in Scotland, and destroys a great quantity of small game, which he seizes with his sharp and crooked talons, and carries to his nest. He is of the hawk tribe, and somewhat larger than the common buzzard; his bill is blue, and he has a white stripe over each eye, and also a large white spot on each side of the neck. The general colour of the plumage is deep brown; the breast and belly white, transversely streaked with black; and the legs yellow. Buffon, who brought up two young Goshawks, a male and a female, makes the following observations: “The Goshawk, before it has shed its feathers, that is, in the first year, is marked on the breast and belly with longitudinal brown spots; but after it has had two moultings they disappear, and their place is occupied by transverse bars, which continue during the rest of its life.” He further observes that, “though the male was much smaller than the female, it was fiercer and more vicious.” The Goshawk is found in France and Germany; it is not common in England, but is more so in Scotland. In former times the custom of carrying a Hawk or Falcon on the hand was confined to men of high distinction; so that it was a saying among the Welsh, “You may know a gentleman by his Hawk, horse, and greyhound.” Even the ladies in those times were partakers of this gallant sport, and have been represented in pictures with Hawks on their hands. At present hawking is almost entirely laid aside in this country, as the expense which attended it, being very considerable, confined it to princes and men of the highest rank. In the time of James the First, Sir Thomas Monson is said to have given a thousand pounds for a cast of Hawks. In the reign of Edward the Third it was made felony to steal a Hawk; to take its eggs, even in a person’s own grounds, was punishable with imprisonment for a year and a day, together with a fine at the king’s pleasure. Such was the delight our ancestors took in this royal sport, and such were the means by which they endeavoured to secure it. The Falcons, or Hawks, chiefly used in these kingdoms were the Goshawk, the Peregrine Falcon, Iceland Falcon, and the Ger Falcon. The game usually pursued were cranes, wild geese, pheasants, and partridges. The Duke of St. Albans is still hereditary grand falconer of England, but the office is not now exercised, except for the Duke’s own amusement.

THE SPARROWHAWK is a bold-spirited bird; the length of the male is twelve inches, that of the female fifteen; the beak is short, crooked, and of a bluish tint, but very black towards the tip; the tongue black, and a little cleft; the eyes of a middling size. The crown of the head is of a dark brown; above the eyes, in the hinder part of the head, there are sometimes white feathers; the roots of the feathers of the head and neck are white, the rest of the upper side, back, shoulders, wings, and neck of a dark brown. The wings, when closed, scarcely reach to the middle of the tail; the thighs are strong and fleshy, the legs long, slender, and yellow; the toes also long, and the talons black. The female lays about five eggs, spotted near the blunt end with brown specks. When wild they feed only upon birds, and possess a boldness and courage above their size; but in a domestic state they do not refuse raw flesh and mice. They can be made obedient and docile, and readily trained to hunt quails and partridges.

THIS bird, though it belongs to the falcon tribe, is called ignoble, because it is never used in hawking. It is easily distinguished from other birds of prey by its forked tail, and the slow and circular eddies it describes in the air whenever it spies from the regions of the clouds a young duck or a chicken which has strayed too far from the brood. When this is the case, the Kite, pouncing on it with the rapidity of a dart, seizes it in its talons, and carries it off to its nest. It is, however, a great coward, and if the hen flies at it, which she always does if she sees it, it will drop the chicken and fly off. It is larger than the common buzzard; and though it weighs somewhat less than three pounds, the extent of its wings is more than five feet. The head and neck are of a pale ash colour, varied with longitudinal lines across the shafts of the feathers; the back is reddish; the lesser rows of the wing feathers are party-coloured, of black, red, and white; the feathers covering the inside of the wings are red, with black spots in the middle. The eyes are large, the legs and feet yellow, the talons black. It is a handsome bird, and seems almost always on the wing. It rests itself on the air, and does not appear to make the smallest effort in flying, but rather to glide along with the gentlest breeze.

THE FALCON is a predaceous bird, of which there are several species. Of these the _Gerfalcon_ (_Falco Gyrfalco_) is the largest, and is found in the northern parts of Europe; and, next to the eagle, is the most formidable, active, and intrepid of all voracious birds, and the most esteemed for falconry. The bill is crooked and bluish; the irides of the eye dusky; and the whole plumage of a whitish hue, marked with dark lines on the breast, and dusky spots on the back.

THE PEREGRINE FALCON, which is the most common kind, is from fifteen to eighteen inches in length. The bill is blue at the base, and black at the point; the head, back, scapulars, and coverts of the wing are barred with deep black and blue; the throat, neck, and upper part of the breast are white, tinged with yellow; the bottom of the breast, belly, and thighs are of a grayish white; and the tail is black and blue. Wilson enumerates no less than ten varieties, dependent chiefly upon age, sex, and country. It is found, more or less abundantly, throughout the whole of Europe, principally in the mountain districts in North and South America, dwelling in the clefts of rocks, especially such as are exposed to the mid-day sun. It breeds upon the cliffs in several parts of England, but appears to be more common in Scotland and Wales. Its food consists principally of small birds; but it scruples not to attack the larger species, and sometimes gives battle even to the kite. Falcons rarely take their prey upon the ground, like the more ignoble birds of the class to which they belong; but pounce upon it from aloft, in a directly perpendicular descent as it flies through the air, bear it downwards by the united impulse of the strength and rapidity of their attack, and sticking their talons into its flesh, carry it off in triumph to the place of their retreat. Like most predatory animals, they are stimulated to action by the pressure of hunger alone, and remain inactive and almost motionless while the process of digestion is going on, until the renewed cravings of their appetite stimulate them to further exertion. In different stages of its growth, the Peregrine Falcon has been known by various English names. Its proper appellation among falconers is the Slight Falcon, the term Falcon Gentle being equally applicable to all the species when rendered manageable. In the immature state, this Falcon is also called a Red Hawk, from the prevailing colour of its plumage. The male is called a Tiercel, to distinguish it from the female, which, in the Falcon tribe, is commonly one-third larger than the male.

In China there is said to be a variety, which is mottled with brown and yellow, and used by the emperor of China in his sporting excursions, when he is usually attended by his great falconer, and a thousand of inferior rank. Every bird has a silver plate fastened to its foot, with the name of the falconer who has the charge of it, that, in case it should be lost, it may be restored to the proper person; but if it should not be found, the name is delivered to another officer, called the guardian of lost birds, who, to make his situation known, erects his standard in a conspicuous place among the army of hunters.

In Syria there is a species of Falcon, which the inhabitants call Shaheen (_Falco peregrinator_), and which is of so fierce and courageous a disposition, that it will attack any bird, however large or powerful, which presents itself. “Were there not,” says Dr. Russel, in his Account of Aleppo, “several gentlemen now in England to bear witness to the fact, I should hardly venture to assert that, with this bird, which is about the size of a pigeon, the inhabitants sometimes take large eagles. This Hawk was in former times taught to seize the eagle under the pinion, and thus depriving him of the use of one wing, both birds fell to the ground together; but the present mode is to teach the Hawk to fix on the back, between the wings, which has the same effect, only, that as the bird tumbles down more slowly, the falconer has more time to come to his Hawk’s assistance; but in either case, if he be not very expeditious, the falcon is inevitably destroyed. I never saw the Shaheen fly at eagles, that sport having been disused before my time; but I have often seen him take herons and storks. The Hawk, when thrown off, flies for some time in a horizontal line, not six feet from the ground; then mounting perpendicularly, with astonishing swiftness, he seizes his prey under the wing, and both together come tumbling to the ground.”

IS the smallest British species of the Falcon tribe, and, as its name implies, is not very different in size from the blackbird; the word Merlin signifying in French a small _merle_, or blackbird. Though small the Merlin is not inferior in courage to any of the other Hawks; it is noted for its boldness and spirit, often attacking and killing at one stroke a full-grown partridge or a quail; but it differs from the Falcons and all the other rapacious kinds, in the male and female being of equal size. The back of this bird is party-coloured, of dark blue and brown; the quill feathers of the wings black, with rusty spots; the tail is about five inches long, of a dark brown or blackish colour, with transverse white bars: the breast is of a yellowish white, with streaks of rusty brown pointing downwards; the legs are long, slender, and yellow; the talons black. The head is encircled with a row of yellowish feathers, not unlike a coronet. In the male the feathers on the rump, next the tail, are bluer; a mark by which the falconers easily discern the sex of the bird. The Merlin does not breed here, but visits us in October: it flies low, and with great celerity and ease. In the days of falconry, the Merlin was considered the lady’s hawk.

In ancient days--in ancient days,
When ladies took a strange delight
In hawks and hounds and sporting ways,
A Merlin was a pleasant sight.

“’T was gentle when, in trappings gay,
Upon its lady’s wrist it stood;
Till its hood was raised and it saw its prey,
When its eye betrayed the bird of blood.”

IS the commonest of all the British Hawks, and may be seen in almost all parts of the country hovering over the fields in search of mice and other small animals. His flight is very peculiar. He advances only for a short distance at a time, and then suspends himself in the air by very short but quick movements of his wings. If no prey make its appearance beneath him, he then goes on a little further, and again remains stationary, but the moment a mouse or other small quadruped stirs amongst the grass, his wings close, and he descends with the greatest velocity. The Kestrel will also feed upon small birds and insects.

The Kestrel is a handsome little Hawk, from twelve to fifteen inches in length, with a blue beak and yellow cere and feet. Its plumage is reddish brown or fawn colour, elegantly marked with black spots and bars. Its nest is built among rocks, or in the holes and corners of old buildings and church towers, and the female lays four or five eggs, which are reddish white, with brown spots.

THIS singular bird, which is a native of Southern Africa, differs from all the other predaceous birds in the great length of its legs, which are so long that some naturalists have placed it among the Wading Birds. It stands between three and four feet high when erect, and is of a bluish ash colour on the back and nearly white beneath; its tail is long, and has the two middle feathers much longer than the others and nearly reaching to the ground; and the back of the head is adorned with a tuft of black feathers, which the bird can raise at pleasure. It is from this tuft that the bird has obtained his name; the Dutch colonists of the Cape of Good Hope fancied they saw some resemblance in it to the pen of a clerk stuck behind his ear, and accordingly called him the Secretary Bird. Clerks and secretaries are no doubt useful personages in their way, and the Secretary Bird, although he cannot take his pen from behind his ear, finds abundance of work to do, although of a kind very different from the peaceful labours of his namesakes. He is the great destroyer of the snakes and other reptiles which swarm in many parts of Southern Africa, and which, but for him, would increase in numbers so as to become a positive nuisance. And here we may call our young readers to admire the wonderful manner in which the structure of a hawk has been modified by the hand of the Creator to suit it for a particular mode of life. As the bird advances to attack a snake his long legs, protected by hard horny scales, elevate his body to a considerable height above the ground, thus giving him an advantageous position, and at the same time enabling it to move with great speed. One of the large and powerful wings, armed at the end with a strong spur, is raised a little from the body and held forward like a shield, but constantly shaken, as if to distract the attention of the foe, and thus, like a skilful boxer sparring up to his antagonist, the Secretary makes his way towards his intended prey. As he approaches he watches for the moment when the snake is about to spring upon him; a single blow from the spurred wing is usually sufficient to lay the reptile writhing in the ground in a helpless state; it is then soon despatched and as speedily swallowed. Some idea of the quantity of reptiles destroyed by this bird may be gained from Le Vaillant’s statement, that the crop of one of them examined by him contained eleven lizards, three snakes as long as aman’s arm, and eleven small tortoises, together with a good many insects. The inhabitants of the Cape Colony are quite aware of the services rendered to them by the Secretary Bird, and sometimes keep him among their poultry to protect them from injurious animals; he is said to behave with great propriety under these circumstances, rarely doing any mischief to his companions, unless his supply of food has been neglected.

IS seen about forests, heaths, and other retired places, especially in the neighbourhood of marshy grounds, where it destroys vast numbers of snipes, woodcocks, and wild ducks. It is about seventeen inches long, and three feet wide; its bill is black, and cere yellow. The upper part of its body is of a bluish gray; and the back of the head, breast, belly, and thighs are white. The legs are long, slender, and yellow; and the claws black.

§ II.--_Nocturnal Birds of Prey._

IS one of the largest of the Owls, and has two long tufts growing from the top of its head, above its ears, and composed of six feathers, which it can raise or lay down at pleasure. Its eyes are large, and encircled with an orange-coloured iris; the ears are large and deep, and the beak black; the breast, belly, and thighs, are of a dull yellow, marked with brown streaks; the back, coverts of the wings, and quill feathers, are brown and yellow; and the tail is marked with dusky and red bars. It inhabits the north and west of England, and Wales. The conformation of the organ of sight in the Owl is so peculiar, and so much in its nature resembling that of the feline kind, that it can see much better at dusk than by daylight. The Barn Owl sees in a greater degree of darkness than the others; and, on the contrary, the Horned Owl is enabled to pursue his prey by day, though with difficulty. Owls are sometimes tamed by persons in the country, who carefully rear them in a domestic state, from their propensity to chase and devour mice and other vermin, of which they clear the houses with as much address as cats. The Owl is a solitary bird, and is said to retire into holes in towers and old walls in the winter, and pass that season in sleep.

“The solitary bird of night,
Through the pale shade now wings his flight,
And quits the time-shook tower;
Where, shelter’d from the blaze of day,
In philosophic gloom he lay,
Beneath his ivy bower.” CARTER.

THE HARFANG, or GREAT SNOWY OWL, (_Surnia nyctea_,) is another species which takes its prey occasionally by daylight. It is seldom seen in England, but frequently visits North Britain, particularly the Orkney and Shetland Islands. It is one of the few Owls that feed on fish, into which it strikes its talons while in the water, and carries them off to its nest. These Owls are very common in the northern parts of North America, and are eaten not only by the Indians, but by the Europeans engaged in the fur trade.

(_Srix flammea._)]

“---- from yonder ivy-mantled tower,
The moping Owl does to the moon complain
Of such as, wandering near her secret bower,
Molest her ancient solitary reign.” GRAY.

THIS bird is about the size of a large pigeon. Its beak, hooked at the end, is more than an inch and a half long. There is a circle or wreath of white, soft, and downy feathers, encompassed with yellow ones, beginning from the nostrils on each side, passing round the eye and under the chin, somewhat resembling the hood that women used to wear; so that the eyes appear to be sunk in the middle of the feathers, and only the tip of the beak projects from them. The breast and feathers of the inside of the wings are white, and marked with a few dark spots; the upper parts of the body are of a fine pale yellow colour, variegated with black and white spots. The legs are covered with a thick down to the feet, but the toes have only thin-set hairs around them.

In ancient mythology, another common species, the _Brown Owl_ (_Syrnium aluco_), was consecrated to Minerva, the goddess of wisdom; in allusion to the lucubrations of wise men, who study in retirement and during the night.

“Now the Hermit Owlet peeps
From the barn, or twisted brake;
And the blue mist slowly creeps,
Curling on the silver lake.”
CUNNINGHAM.

§ III.--_Insessores, or Perching Birds._

(_Lanius excubitor._)]

THE GREAT BUTCHER-BIRD, or SHRIKE, is about as large as a thrush; its bill is black, an inch long, and hooked at the end. It is only an occasional visitor to this country, where it is generally found between autumn and spring. “The Shrike,” says Mr. Yarrell, “feeds on mice, shrews, small birds, frogs, lizards, and large insects. After having killed its prey, it fixes the body in a forked branch, or upon a sharp thorn, the more readily to tear off small pieces from it. It is from their habit of killing and hanging up their meat, that the Shrikes are called Butcher-birds.” The head, back, and rump are ash-coloured; the chin and lower part of the body white; the breast and throat varied with dark lines crossing each other; the tips of the feathers of the wings are, for the most part, white; it has a black spot by the eye; the outermost tail feathers of the male are all over white; the two middlemost have only their tips white, the rest of the feathers being black, as well as the legs and feet. It builds its nest among thorny shrubs and dwarf trees, and furnishes it with moss, wool, and downy herbs, where the female lays five or six eggs. A peculiarity belonging to the birds of this kind is, that they do not, like most other birds, expel the young ones from the nest as soon as they can provide for themselves, but the whole brood live together in one family. The Butcher-bird will chase all the small birds upon the wing, and will sometimes venture to attack partridges, and even young hares. Thrushes and blackbirds are frequently their prey: the Shrike fixes on them with its talons, splits the skull with its bill, and feeds on them at leisure. On this account Linnæus classed the Shrikes with the birds of prey; but modern naturalists have placed them with the insect-eaters, as insects are their principal food. It is easy to distinguish these birds at a distance, not only from their going in companies, but also from their manner of flying, which is always up and down, seldom in a direct line, or obliquely.

_The Little Butcher-bird_ (_Lanius collurio_), called in Yorkshire, _Flusher_, is about the size of a lark, with a large head. About the nostrils and corners of the mouth it has black hairs or bristles; and round the eyes a large black longitudinal spot; the back and upper side of the wings are of a rusty colour; the head and rump cinereous; the throat and breast white, spotted with red. It builds its nest of the stalks of plants, and the female lays six eggs, nearly all white, except at the blunt end, which is encircled with brown or dark red marks. The female is somewhat larger than the male; the head is of a rust colour, mixed with gray; the breast, belly, and sides of a dirty white; the tail deep brown; the exterior web of the outer feathers white. Its manners are similar to those of the large Butcher-bird. It frequently preys on young birds, which it takes in the nest; it likewise feeds on grasshoppers, beetles, and other insects. During the period of incubation, the female soon discovers herself at the approach of any person by her loud and violent outcries.

(_Cinclus aquaticus_,)]

IS found in most parts of this island, and is about the size of the common blackbird. It feeds upon aquatic insects and small fish. The head and upper side of the neck are of a kind of umber colour, and sometimes black with a shade of red; the back and coverings of the wings are a mixture of black and ash-colour, the throat and breast perfectly white.

The Dipper is said to walk along the bottom of a lake or river as easily as on land; but this is far from being the case, as, though it readily plunges into the water, it appears to tumble about in a very extraordinary manner, with its head downwards. Even on land the bird walks awkwardly, as its feet are best adapted for the slippery stones on which it passes the greater part of its life, watching for the insects which it picks up on the edge of the water. Its movements under water are really performed by means of the wings, the bird positively flying through the water. When disturbed, it usually flirts up its tail, and makes a chirping noise. Its song in spring is said to be very pretty. In some places this bird is supposed to be migratory.

“The smiling morn, the breathing spring,
Invite the tuneful birds to sing;
And, while they warble from each spray,
Love melts the universal lay.”
MALLET.

THIS well-known songster does not soar up to the clouds, like the lark, to make his voice resound through the air; but keeps to the shady groves, which he fills with his melodious notes. Early at dawn, and late at dusk, he continues his pleasing melody; and when incarcerated in the narrow space of a cage, still cheerful and merry, he strives to repay the kindness of his keeper by singing to him his natural strains; and beguiles his irksome hours of captivity by studying and imitating his master’s whistle. Blackbirds build their nests with great art, making the outside of moss and slender twigs, cemented together and lined with clay, and covering the clay with soft materials, as hair, wool, and fine grass. The female lays four or five eggs, of a bluish green colour, spotted all over with brown. The bill is yellow, but in the female the upper part and point are blackish; the inside of the mouth, and the circumference of the eyelids are yellow. The name of this bird is sufficiently expressive of the general colour of his body. He feeds on berries, fruit, insects, &c.

THE MISSEL THRUSH, so called from its feeding on the berries of the misletoe, differs but little from the Song Thrush, except in size. He is larger than the fieldfare, while the Throstle is smaller. The female lays five or six bluish eggs, with a tint of green, and marked with dusky spots.

_The Song Thrush_ or _Throstle_, (_Turdus musicus_,) is one of the best songsters of the evening hymn in the grove. His voice is loud and sweet; the melody of his song is varied, and, although not so deep in the general diapason of the woodland concert as that of the blackbird, yet it fills up agreeably, and bursts through the inferior warblings of smaller performers. His breast is of a yellowish white, spotted with black or brown dashes, like ermine spots.

The term Merle for the Blackbird, and Mavis for the Thrush, are used chiefly by the poets.

“Merry is it in the good green wood,
When the Mavis and Merle are singing,
When the deer sweeps by, and the hounds are in cry,
And the hunter’s horn is ringing.”
SCOTT.

“Take thy delight in yonder goodly tree,
Where the sweet Merle and warbling Mavis be.”
DRAYTON.

IS rather less than the song thrush; but the upper part of the body is of the same colour; the breast not so much spotted; the coverings of the feathers of the under side of the wings, which in the thrush are yellow, are of orange colour in this bird; by which marks it is generally distinguished. The body is white, the throat and breast yellowish, marked with dusky spots. It is migratory in this island, builds its nest in hedges, and lays six bluish eggs. Like the fieldfare, it leaves us in spring, for which reason its song is quite unknown to us; but it is said to be very pleasing. It is delicate eating; and the Romans held it in such estimation, that they kept thousands of them together in aviaries, and fed them on a sort of paste made of bruised figs and flour, to improve the delicacy and flavour of their flesh. Under this management these birds fattened, to the great profit of their proprietors, who sold them to Roman epicures for three denarii, or about two shillings sterling each, which at that early period was a large price.

IS a well-known bird in this country. Fieldfares fly in flocks, together with the redwing and starling, and change their haunts according to the season of the year. They abide with us in winter, and disappear in spring, so punctually, that after that time not one is to be seen. The flesh is esteemed a great delicacy, and is highly prized in Germany, where it is known as the _Krammsvögel_, and is sold in the markets of Westphalia by the dozen. Their favourite food is the juniper-berry, whence its German name. The head is ash-coloured, and spotted with black: the back and coverts of the wings of deep chesnut colour; the rump cinereous; and the tail black, except the lower part of the two middle feathers, which are ash-coloured, and the upper sides of the exterior feathers, which are white. They collect in large flocks; and it is supposed they keep watch, like the crow, to mark and announce the approach of danger. On any person approaching a tree that is covered with them, they continue fearless, till one at the extremity of the bush, rising on its wings, gives a loud and peculiar note of alarm. They then all fly away, except one, which continues till the person approaches still nearer, to certify, as it were, the reality of the danger, and afterwards he also flies off, repeating the note of alarm.

Mr. Knapp, in his “Journal of a Naturalist,” says, that in the county of Gloucestershire the extensive low-lands of the river Severn, in open weather, are visited by prodigious flocks of these birds.

THE RING OUZEL differs from the fieldfare and redwing, to which it is nearly allied, in being a summer visitor to the British islands, instead of a winter one. It is found only in the wildest and most mountainous districts; particularly among the Welsh mountains and on Dartmoor, in Devonshire, where it has been known to breed.

THE MOCKING BIRD, (_Turdus polyglottus_,)

WHICH is also a species, is found in both North and South America, and in the West Indian islands. He has a beautiful song, which he varies by imitating the notes of almost all other birds, so that a person passing by his haunt is regaled with a complete ornithological concert, all by a single performer. Unfortunately, the Mocking Bird’s taste is not equal to his musical powers. His talent for imitation is so great that he mimics every sound he hears, and as he introduces all his imitations freely into his songs, he often interrupts the most delightful melody with the scream of a hawk, the bark of a dog, the squalling of a cat, or similar discordant noises.

(_Erythacus rubecula._)]

“The Redbreast oft, at evening hours,
Shall kindly lend his little aid,
With hoary moss, and gathering flowers,
To deck the ground where thou art laid.”
COLLINS.