Chapter XXX: Book II: Inhabitants of the Air (5)

THIS Dove brings to the heart and mind the most pleasing recollections; its name is nearly synonymous with faithfulness and unvariable affection. The male or female is so much attached to its respective mate that it is said, perhaps with more poetry than truth, that if one die the other will never survive; however, the author of these observations was an eye-witness to the death of a female Turtle Dove, who was unfortunately killed by a spaniel, in the absence of the male; the disconsolate survivor, after having in vain searched everywhere for his mate, came and mournfully perched upon the wonted trough, waiting patiently for her to repair thither in order to get food; but, after two days of unavailing expectation, he, by spontaneous abstinence, pined and died on the place. Such examples are not common; and we believe that, when not domesticated, the appearance of another female, in the time of coupling, sets at defiance all natural propensity to constancy, and puts an end to the much-famed disconsolate widowhood. Their general colour is a bluish grey; the breast and neck of a whitish purple, with a ringlet of beautiful white feathers with black edges about the sides of the neck. Nothing can express the sensation which is excited in a feeling mind when the tender and sweetly plaintive notes of the Turtle Dove breathe from the grove on a beautiful spring evening:

“Deep in the wood, thy voice I list, and love
Thy soft complaining song, thy tender cooing;
Oh, what a winning way thou hast of wooing,
Gentlest of all thy race--sweet Turtle Dove!
Thine is a note which doth not pass away
Like the light music of a summer’s day;
Hushing the voice of mirth, and staying folly,
And waking in the breast a gentle melancholy.”
INGLIS.

§ VI. _Grallatores, or Waders._

THIS bird is a native of Africa, and is so tall that when it holds up its head it is seven or eight feet in height. The head is very small in comparison with the body, being hardly bigger than one of the toes, and is covered, as well as the neck, with a kind of down, or thin-set hair, instead of feathers. The sides and thighs are entirely bare and flesh-coloured. The lower part of the neck, where the feathers begin, is white. The wings are very short in proportion to the size of the bird, and in fact are too small to enable it to fly; but when it runs, which it does with a strange jumping kind of motion, it raises its short wings and holds them quivering over its back, where they seem to serve as a kind of sail to gather the wind, and carry the bird onwards. The speed which it will thus attain is enormous. The swiftest greyhound cannot overtake it; and indeed an Arab on his horse cannot hope to capture an ostrich without having recourse to stratagem. He dexterously throws a stick between its legs as it runs, and so tripping it up, is enabled to secure it.

In its flight it spurns the pebbles behind it like shot against the pursuer. And this is not their only mode of annoyance. They have been known to attack men with their claws, with which they are able to strike with terrific force. The feathers of the back in the cock are coal black, in the hen only dusky, and so soft that they resemble a kind of wool. The tail is thick, bushy, and round; in the cock whitish, in the hen dusky, with white tops. These are the feathers so generally in requisition to decorate the head-dress of ladies and the helmets of warriors.

The Ostrich swallows anything that presents itself, leather, glass, iron, bread, hair, &c., but the old notion that the Ostrich could digest metals is certainly incorrect. An Ostrich in the Zoological Gardens in the Regent’s Park was killed by swallowing a lady’s parasol.

“O’er the wild waste the stupid Ostrich strays
In devious search, to pick a scanty meal,
Whose fierce digestion gnaws the temper’d steel.”
MICKLE’S LUSIAD.

They are polygamous birds, one male being generally seen with two or three, and sometimes with five, females. The female Ostrich, after depositing her eggs in the sand, trusts them to be hatched by the heat of the climate; in the Book of Job there is a beautiful passage relating to this habit of the Ostrich, “which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in the dust; and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers. Her labour is in vain; without fear, because God hath deprived her of wisdom; neither has he imparted to her understanding. What time she lifteth up her head on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.” It appears, however, that the female Ostrich sits upon her eggs like other birds, although generally at night only, and brings up her young. The eggs are as large as a young child’s head, with a hard stony shell, and one has been known to weigh upwards of three pounds. The time of incubation is six weeks. That Ostriches have great affection for their offspring may be inferred from the assertion of Professor Thunberg, who says that he once rode past the place where a hen Ostrich was sitting in her nest, when the bird sprang up and pursued him, evidently with a view to prevent his noticing her eggs or young. Every time he turned his horse towards her she retreated ten or twelve paces, but as soon as he rode on again she pursued him till he had got to a considerable distance from the place where he had started her. In the tropical regions, some persons breed Ostriches in flocks, for they may be tamed with very little trouble. When M. Adanson was at Podar, a French factory on the southern bank of the river Niger, two young but full-grown Ostriches, belonging to the factory, afforded him a very amusing sight. They were so tame that two little blacks mounted both together on the back of the largest. No sooner did he feel their weight than he began to run as fast as possible, and carried them several times round the village, and it was impossible to stop him otherwise than by obstructing the passage. This sight pleased M. Adanson so much that he wished it to be repeated, and, to try their strength, directed a full-grown negro to mount the smaller, and two others the larger of the birds. This burden did not seem at all disproportioned to their strength. At first they went at a tolerably sharp trot, but when they became a little heated they expanded their wings, as though to catch the wind, and moved with such fleetness that they scarcely seemed to touch the ground. The foot of the Ostrich has only two toes, one of which is extremely large and strong.

OR AMERICAN OSTRICH, is about half as big as the African species. It has its head covered with feathers, and each of its feet consists of three toes. It is found on the great plains of South America, and, like the African Ostrich, is polygamous, but the curious part of the matter is that the females often lay their eggs almost anywhere on the ground, and the male takes the trouble of collecting them into a sort of nest, and sitting on them until the young birds are hatched. When thus occupied, the males often become very fierce, and will attack any one that approaches them too closely.

INSTEAD of the beautiful plumes of the ostrich, has his wings furnished only with five stiff quills without barbs, which project curiously from the feathers of the body. His plumage is black; his head is small and depressed, with a horny crown or helmet, and covered with a naked red skin; the head and neck are deprived of feathers; about the neck are two protuberances of a bluish colour, in shape like the wattles of a cock. The feathers consist of long, slender, separate barbs, which hang down on each side of the body, so that at a distance he looks as if he were entirely covered with the hairs of a bear rather than with the plumage of a bird. His height is about five feet. The Cassowary is as voracious as the ostrich, and eats indiscriminately whatever comes in his way, and does not seem to have any sort of predilection in the choice of his food. The Dutch travellers assert that he can devour not only glass, iron, and stones, but even burning coals, without testifying the smallest fear, or sustaining the least injury; and it is said that the passage of his food is performed so speedily that even eggs will pass unbroken. He is a native of some of the Indian islands. The eggs of the female are nearly fifteen inches in circumference, of a greenish colour. It has been said of the Cassowary that he has the head of a warrior, the eye of a lion, the armament of a porcupine, and the swiftness of a courser.

A Cassowary once kept in the menagerie of the museum at Paris, devoured every day between three and four pounds weight of bread, six or seven apples, and a bunch of carrots. In summer it drank about four pints of water in the day, and in winter somewhat more. It swallowed all its food without bruising it. This bird was sometimes ill-tempered and mischievous, and much irritated when any person approached it of a dirty or ragged appearance, or dressed in red clothes, and frequently attempted to strike at them by kicking forward with its feet. It has been known to leap out of its enclosure and to tear the legs of a man with its claws.

The Cassowary is very vigorous and powerful; its beak being, in proportion, much stronger than that of the ostrich, it has the means of defending itself with great advantage, and of easily pulling down and breaking in pieces almost any hard substance. It strikes in a very dangerous manner with its feet either behind or before, not unlike the kicking of a horse, at any object which offends it, and runs with surprising swiftness.

THE head of this bird is without any horny crest, and feathered, but the cheeks and throat are nearly naked. The general colour is a dull brown, mottled with a dingy grey, and the young are striped with black. In appearance it closely resembles the ostrich, next to which it is the tallest bird known, but is of a more thick-set and clumsy make, though at the same time very swift and strong, and able to make a formidable defence against its hunters and their dogs, by kicking in a very vigorous and dangerous manner. It is, however, very docile, and if taken young may be easily tamed. The flesh is considered excellent eating, and is said to possess a flavour something between a sucking-pig and a turkey. The only sound that this bird emits is a low drumming noise, produced by means of a valve attached to the lungs. The female Emeu lays her eggs in different places, but they are afterwards collected by the male, by rolling them to one place, when he sits on them.

THIS curious bird, which has the shortest wings of any member of its class, is found only in New Zealand, where it is called _Kivi-Kivi_ by the natives, in imitation of its cry. It is smaller than any of the species of wingless birds just described, and its legs are short and stout; it has three strong front toes on each foot, and a short hinder toe armed with a very strong claw. The body of the Apteryx is something like that of the cassowary in its form; the neck is rather long, and, like the head, clothed with feathers; but the most singular part of the bird is its bill, which is long, rather slender, and slightly curved, and has the nostrils situated quite at its tip. This curious structure of the bill is intended to enable the bird more readily to obtain the worms and insects upon which it feeds, and which it drags out of their holes in the ground. It runs quickly, but only at night, and when in motion it might easily be mistaken for a small dusky-brown quadruped. The plumage resembles that of the emeu in its texture, and the skins are highly esteemed by the New Zealanders, who use them for making cloaks.

Among the many curious characteristics of this bird is its habit of leaning, when at rest, upon the tip of its long bill. When hunted it scrapes a hole in the sand with its powerful feet, in which it hides; or it runs into some natural cavity, if there is any near, where access is difficult for its pursuers, and often makes a valiant defence.

IS a large and fine bird which was formerly common in some parts of England, but has now become so rare here that the capture of a specimen is looked upon as something remarkable. It is still abundant in some parts of the continent of Europe. The male Bustard measures nearly four feet in length, and has the head and neck greyish, the back buff or pale chestnut, with a great many black bars, and all the lower part of the body white. From each side of the chin there springs a tuft of slender feathers about seven inches in length, standing out like a pair of stiff moustaches. The female is a good deal smaller than the male, or about three feet in length; she is also distinguished from her partner by the want of the tufts on the chin, although in some cases these exist in the female, but shorter than in the male.

The Bustard feeds on green vegetables and insects, and are also said to kill and eat small quadrupeds and reptiles. They are polygamous, and when the female has laid her two or three eggs in a slight depression of the ground, and commenced the business of incubation, the male most ungallantly deserts her, and retires to take his ease in some neighbouring marsh. It was formerly supposed that the male Bustard paid so much attention to his mates as to provide them with water, which he was said to bring to them in a large pouch, capable of holding nearly a gallon, situated under his throat. It is true that the female is without this appendage; but modern naturalists all agree in stating that the male bird is never seen in company with the female after she has begun to sit. The use of this pouch is therefore still a subject of controversy.

The female lays her eggs among clover, or more frequently in corn-fields, the nest being merely a hollow scraped in the ground. The eggs are two, or sometimes three, in number, and their colour is a yellowish-brown, inclining to green.

A peculiarity of the Bustard, noticed by most naturalists, is the extreme rapidity with which they can run. They skim along the ground, raising the wings over the back in the same manner as the ostrich. It is said that in former times, when the breed was commoner, it was a practice to hunt the young birds, before they had acquired the power of flying, with greyhounds.

As an article of food the flesh of the Bustard has always been held in great estimation.

There are several other species peculiar both to Asia and Africa.

CRANES frequent marshy places, and live upon small fish and water-insects. Their long beaks enable them to search the water and mud for their prey, and their long necks prevent the necessity of their stooping to pick up from between their feet the objects of their search. The top of the head, the throat, and sides of the neck are of a blackish hue; the back, the wings, and the body are ash-coloured. The tertial feathers of the wings are very long, with loose webs, forming elegant plumes, which fall over the sides of the tail. They used to be common in the fen countries, Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, but are not now so frequently seen in England as formerly. In their flight, Cranes mount high in the air, but their voices can be heard even when the birds cease to be perceptible to the eye, and it is said that their sight is so keen that they discover at a great distance any field of corn or other food which they are fond of, and presently alight and enjoy it. These depredations they generally commit during the night, trampling down the ground as if it had been marched over by an army. They generally form themselves in the air in the shape of a wedge.

“---- ---- Part more wise,
In common, ranged in figure, wedge their way,
Intelligent of seasons, and set forth
Their aëry caravan high over seas
Flying, and over lands, with mutual wing
Easing their flight. So steers the prudent Crane
Her annual voyage, borne on winds. The air
Floats as they pass, fann’d by unnumber’d wings.”
MILTON.

This bird lives to a considerable age, and as it is easily tamed, it has been ascertained that the Crane often reaches his fortieth year. Its nest is usually built amongst the reeds and sedges of a marsh, but sometimes upon a ruined building. The female lays two eggs, of a pale brown colour, with darker spots.

According to Kolben, they are often observed in large flocks on the marshes about the Cape of Good Hope. He says he never saw a flock of them on the ground that had not some placed apparently as sentinels, to keep a look out while the others are feeding, who on the approach of danger immediately give notice to the rest. These sentinels stand on one leg, and at intervals stretch out their necks, as if to observe that all is safe. On notice being given of danger, the whole flock are in an instant on the wing. Kolben also adds that in the night time each of the watching Cranes, which rest on their left legs, hold in their right claw a stone of considerable weight, in order that, if overcome by sleep, the falling of the stone may awaken them.

IS originally, as the name expresses, a native of Majorca and Minorca, in the Mediterranean sea, which were formerly called the Balearic Isles, but is chiefly found now in the Cape Verd Islands. The shape of its body is not unlike that of the common Crane, but it has a principal and distinctive mark on the head; which is, a tuft of hairs, or rather strong greyish bristles, standing out like rays in all directions, from which peculiarity this species takes its other name of the Crowned Heron. They roost and feed in the manner of peacocks.

The Demoiselle, or Numidian Crane (_Anthropoides virgo_), is remarkable for the grace and symmetry of its form, and the elegance of its deportment. It is rather larger than the species above described, and is a native of many parts of Africa. It frequents damp and marshy places, in search of small fishes, frogs, &c., which are its favourite food. It is easily domesticated.

THE neck, head, breast, and body of this bird are white, the rump and exterior feathers of the wings black; the eyelids naked; the tail white, and the legs long, slender, and of a red colour. Storks are birds of passage. When leaving Europe they assemble together on some particular night, and all take their flight at once. As they feed on frogs, lizards, serpents, and other noxious creatures, it is not to be expected that man should be inimical to them, and therefore they have been generally a favourite with the nations they visit. The Dutch have laws against destroying them: they are therefore very common in Holland, and build their nests and rear their young on the tops of houses and chimneys in the middle of its most frequented and populous cities, and may be seen by dozens familiarly walking about the markets, where they feed on the offal. In some places, the stork is supposed to be a herald of good fortune to the house on which it builds its nest, and the inhabitants place boxes on their roofs to induce the birds to take up their abode there.

The Stork much resembles the crane in its conformation, but appears somewhat more corpulent. The former lays four eggs, whereas the latter lays but two.

It is said that Storks visit Egypt in such abundance, that the fields and meadows are white with them. The Egyptians, however, are not displeased with the sight; as frogs are there generated in such numbers, that did not the Storks devour them, they would overrun everything. Between Belba and Gaza, the fields of Palestine are often rendered desert on account of the abundance of mice and rats; and were they not destroyed the inhabitants could have no harvest. The disposition of the Stork is mild and placid; it is easily tamed, and may be trained to reside in gardens, which it will clear of insects and reptiles. It has a grave air, and a mournful aspect; yet, when roused by example, exhibits a certain degree of gaiety; for it joins in the frolics of children, hopping about and playing with them.

During their migrations, Storks are observed in vast quantities. Dr. Shaw saw three flights of them leaving Egypt, and passing over Mount Carmel, each of which appeared to be nearly half a mile in width; and he says they were three hours in passing over.

The Stork, like the ibis, was an object of worship among the ancients, and to kill them was a crime punishable with death. The Stork is remarkable for its great affection towards its young. This was remarkably evinced during the great conflagration of Delft, in Holland, during which a female Stork was noticed using every endeavour to carry off her young family, and continuing this labour of love until the smoke and flames prevented her own escape, and she perished with her brood.

ALSO called the Gigantic Crane, is a bird of the stork kind, and a native of India, and other warm countries. The head and neck are bare of feathers, as in the ostrich; the former looking as if made of wood; the latter of a flesh-colour. The coverts of the wings and the back are black, with a bluish cast; the under part of the body whitish; the legs are long, without feathers, and of a greyish hue, as are the thighs, which seem to be as slender as the leg. The bill is of enormous size, and the bird is fond of clatting the two mandibles together. Under the chin, there is a kind of bag or pouch which hangs down in front of the neck, like the dewlap of a cow; in this the Adjutant stores away any provisions that may fall in his way, after his immediate wants are satisfied. He is a most voracious bird, and devours every kind of food, and as he has no objection to carrion, his presence is encouraged in towns, where he assists the vultures, crows, dogs, and jackals, in performing the duties of scavengers. Indeed his rapacity is so great that he swallows such innutritious substances as bone with such eagerness and relish as to have received the name of “_Bone-eater_,” or “Bone-taker.” When he comes about the houses he requires to be carefully watched, as his power of swallowing is so great that a fowl, a rabbit, or even a leg of mutton, is disposed of at a single mouthful. Sir E. Horne states that in the stomach of an Adjutant were found a tortoise nearly a foot long, and a large black cat; from, which we may see that the Adjutant is by no means squeamish in his diet.

The Adjutant is indeed a very gigantic bird. Its wings often measure fourteen or fifteen feet from tip to tip, and it is five feet high when it stands erect.

Dr. Latham, in his “General History of Birds,” gives some very interesting information about the habits of this bird. “One of them, a young bird about five feet high, was brought up tame, and presented to the chief of the Bananas, where M. Speakman lived; and being accustomed to be fed in the great hall, soon became familiar, daily attending that place at dinner-time, placing itself behind its master’s chair frequently before the guests entered. The servants were obliged to watch narrowly, and to defend the provisions with switches; but, notwithstanding, it would frequently seize something or other, and even purloined a whole boiled fowl, which it swallowed in an instant. Its courage is not equal to its voracity, for a child of eight or ten years old soon puts it to flight with a switch. Everything is swallowed whole, and so accommodating is its throat that not only an animal as big as a cat is gulped down, but a shin of beef broken asunder serves it but for two morsels.”

Another species of Adjutant (_Leptoptilus marabou_) is found in tropical Africa. It is even uglier than the Indian bird, which has not much beauty to boast of, but is valuable not only as a scavenger, but from its furnishing those beautiful plumes called marabout feathers, which are so much used for ladies’ head-dresses.

THE habits of the Heron are peculiar. Perched on a stone, or the stump of a tree, by the solitary current of a brook, his neck and long beak half-buried between his shoulders, he will wait the whole day long, patient and unmoved, for the passing of a small fish, or the hopping of a frog; but his appetite is insatiable.

This bird is about four feet long from the tip of the bill to the end of the claws; to the end of the tail about thirty-eight inches; its breadth, when the wings are extended, is about five feet. The male is distinguished by a crest or tuft of black feathers hanging from the hinder part of his head, which in chivalrous times was of great value, and held as a peculiar mark of distinction when worn above the plume of ostrich feathers.

Virgil places the Heron among the birds that are affected by and foretell the approaching storm:

“When watchful Herons leave their watery stand,
And mounting upward with erected flight,
Gain on the skies, and soar above the sight.”
DRYDEN.

The Heron, though living chiefly in the vicinity of marshes and lakes, forms its nest on the tops of the loftiest trees. It resembles the rook in its habits: a great number of Herons living together in what is called a Heronry, as rooks do in a rookery. The female lays four large eggs, of a pale green colour; the natural term of this bird’s life is said to exceed sixty years.

In England, Herons were formerly ranked among the royal game, and protected as such by the laws; and when falconry was in fashion, the pursuit of the Heron was a favourite amusement.

“---- ---- Now, like the wearied stag,
That stands at bay, the Hern provokes their rage;
Close by his languid wing in downy plumes
Covers his fatal beak, and cautious hides
The well-dissembled fraud. The falcon darts
Like lightning from above, and in her breast
Receives the latent death: down plumb she falls,
Bounding from earth, and with her trickling gore
Defiles her gaudy plumage. See, alas!
The falconer in despair, his favourite bird
Dead at his feet: as of his dearest friend,
He weeps her fate; he meditates revenge,
He storms, he foams, he gives a loose to rage;
Nor wants he long the means; the Hern fatigued,
Borne down by numbers, yields, and prone on earth
He drops; his cruel foes wheeling around
Insult at will.” SOMERVILLE.

It is extremely dangerous to go near a wounded Heron, and the utmost caution is necessary in doing so. Though apparently almost dead, he will yet dart at his enemy’s face, and sometimes inflict a most severe wound.

IS not quite so large as the common heron; its head is small, narrow, and compressed at the sides. The crown is black, the throat and sides of the neck red, with narrow black lines, and the back of a pale red, mixed with yellow. The claws are long and slender, the inside of the middle one being serrated, the better to enable it to hold its prey. The bill is about four inches in length. The most remarkable character in this bird is the hollow and yet loud rumbling of his voice; his bellowing is heard at the distance of a mile, at the time of sunset, and it is hardly possible to conceive at first how such a body of sound, resembling the lowing of an ox, can be produced by a bird comparatively so small. The booming noise was formerly believed to be made while the bird plunged its bill into the mud; hence Thomson:

“---- So that scarce
The Bittern knows his time, with bill ingulf’d
To shake the sounding marsh.”

And Southey also describes the peculiar noise of this bird in his poem of Thalaba:

“And when at evening, o’er the swampy plain,
The Bittern’s boom came far,
Distinct in darkness seen--
Above the low horizon’s lingering light,
Rose the near ruins of old Babylon.”

Sometimes in the evening the Bittern soars on a sudden in a straight, or, at other times, in a spiral line, so high in the air, that it ceases to be perceptible to the eye. When attacked by the buzzard, or other birds of prey, it defends itself with great courage, and generally beats off such assailants; neither does it betray any symptoms of fear when wounded by the sportsman, but eyes him with a keen, undaunted look; and, when driven to extremity, will attack him with the utmost vigour, wounding his legs, or aiming at his eyes with its sharp and piercing bill. It was formerly held in much estimation at the tables of the great, and is again recovering its credit as a fashionable dish. The flesh is considered delicious. In autumn it changes its abode, always commencing its journey at sunset. Its precautions for concealment and security seem directed with great care and circumspection. It usually sits in the reeds with its head erect; and thus, from its great length of neck, sees over their tops, without itself being perceived by the sportsman. The principal food of these birds, during summer, consists of fish and frogs; but in autumn they resort to the woods in pursuit of mice, which they seize with great dexterity, and always swallow whole. About this season they usually become very fat.

IS a large bird; the colour of the whole body is white, and the resemblance of the bill to a spoon has caused the denomination of the bird. In some specimens the plumage inclines from white to pink colour. On the hind part of the head is a beautiful white crest, reclining backward. The legs and feet are black. The wisdom of Providence is most conspicuous in the conformation of the bill, which is entirely adapted to the habits and manner of feeding of these birds: the frogs and fishes, which constitute the principal food of the Spoonbill, may often escape the thin and narrow beak of the heron and other birds, but the mandibles of this bird are so large at the end, that the prey cannot slip aside. Like rooks and herons, Spoonbills build their nests on the tops of high trees, and lay three or four eggs, which are white, sprinkled with pale red, and the size of those of a hen. These birds are very noisy during the breeding season. The Spoonbill migrates northward in the summer, and returns to southern climes on the approach of winter; and is found in all the intermediate low countries between the Faroe Isles and the Cape of Good Hope.

The _American_ or _Roseate Spoonbill_ (_Platalea Ajaja_) is very beautiful. Its colour is white, tinged with rose, which deepens in the wings and tail into the richest carmine. The feet are half-webbed, and the bird is generally found on the sea-coast, where it wades into the sea in quest of the small shell-fish of different kinds, on which it feeds.

THE IBIS was regarded as a sacred bird by the ancient Egyptians, who used to have these birds walking about in their temples, and embalmed their bodies after death with as much care as those of their priests and kings. The cause of this veneration is not clearly ascertained, some authors supposing it to be due to the services rendered by the bird in destroying serpents and other noxious creatures; others to a fanciful resemblance between the bird and one of the moon’s phases; and others, again, to the arrival of the birds in Egypt at or about the period of the annual inundation of the Nile. The sacred Ibis has a long, stout, curved black bill; the head and neck are black and naked, and the plumage is white, with the tips of the wings black. Another species, the _Glossy Ibis_ (_Ibis falcinellus_), shared the veneration of the Egyptians with the Sacred Ibis; it has a more slender bill than the Sacred Ibis, and its plumage, which is beautifully glossy, is dark green above and reddish-brown beneath. This bird is common in the south of Europe, and specimens have been shot in England. The _Scarlet Ibis_ (_Ibis rubra_) is a beautiful species, which adorns the banks of the great rivers of South America, in company with the Roseate Spoonbill.

“Soothed by the murmurs of the sea-beat shore,
His dun-grey plumage floating to the gale,
The Curlew blends his melancholy wail
With those hoarse sounds the rushing waters pour.”
MISS WILLIAMS.

“Wild as the scream of the Curlew,
From rock to rock the signal flew.”
SIR WALTER SCOTT.

THE CURLEW is a large bird, weighing about twenty-four ounces; and is found in winter on the sea-shore on all sides of England. The middle parts of the feathers of the head, neck, and back are black, the borders or outsides ash-coloured, with a mixture of red; and the lower part of the body white. The beak has a regular curve downward, and is soft at the point. This bird’s flesh may challenge for flavour and delicacy that of any other water-fowl, and the people of Suffolk say proverbially:

“A Curlew, be she white, be she black,
She carries twelve pence on her back:”

but it must be confessed that the quality and goodness of the flesh of Curlews depend on their manner of feeding, and the season in which they are caught. When they dwell on the sea-shore, they acquire a kind of rankness, which is so strong, that, unless they are basted on the spit with vinegar, they are not agreeable eating.

THIS bird has received its name from the colour of its legs, which are of a crimson red. In size it is between the lapwing and the snipe, and is sometimes called the _Pool Snipe_. The head and back are of a dusky ash-colour, spotted with black, the throat party-coloured black and white, the black being drawn down along the feathers. The breast is whiter, with fewer spots. The Redshank delights in the fen countries, and in wet and marshy grounds, where it breeds and rears its young. The female lays four whitish eggs, with olive-coloured dashes, and marked with irregular spots of black. Pennant and Latham say, that it flies round its nest when disturbed, making a noise like a lapwing. It is not so common on the sea-shore as several others of its kindred. We must here observe, that this bird has often been mistaken for others. The fact is, that several birds changing their plumage, and increasing or diminishing their size according to their age, the season of the year, and the climate they live in, set all nomenclators at defiance, and confound all classifications.

IS met with in various parts of Great Britain, and is rather larger than the woodcock, which it much resembles in appearance. In spring and summer it resides in the fens and marshes, where it rears its young, and feeds on small worms and insects; but in winter it seeks the salt marshes and the sea-shore, where it feeds upon the shell-fish and marine animals left by the retiring tide. A peculiarity belonging to this bird is the shape of its bill, which is a little turned upwards. The head, neck, and back are of a reddish brown; the under part of the body white; the legs dusky, and sometimes black.

The Godwit is much esteemed by epicures as a great delicacy, and sells very high. It is caught in nets, to which it is allured by a _stale_ or stuffed bird, in the same manner and in the same season as the ruffs and reeves.

IT is curious to see, in our observation of natural objects, how the creative power of Providence seems to have tried all forms and shapes in the composition of species. In the cock bird of this species a circle or collar of long feathers, somewhat resembling a ruff, encompasses the neck under the head, whence the bird has received the name of Ruff. It is about a foot in length, with a bill about an inch long. There is a wonderful and almost infinite variety in the colours of the feathers of the males; so that in spring there can scarcely be found two exactly alike; but after moulting they become all alike again.

The males are sometimes called Fighters, on account of their quarrelsome disposition. It is a bird of passage, and arrives in the fens of Lincolnshire, and other similar places, in the spring. Mr. Pennant tells us, that in the course of a single morning more than six dozen have been caught in one net, and that a fowler has been known to catch between forty and fifty dozen in a season.

THE female is called a Reeve, and its flesh is thought a great delicacy for the table. They are smaller than the cocks, and their feathers undergo no change. The Ruff and Reeve are taken in nets. They used to be seen in vast numbers in many parts of England, especially in the Isle of Ely and the Lincolnshire fens. The improvements in drainage and cultivation that have been made during the present century have deprived these birds of their accustomed haunts, and they are no longer common. A writer of the last century said he had seen the ground so covered with the nests and eggs of Plovers and Reeves that “one could scarce take a step without stepping on them.” They are now most common on the shores of southern Scotland and of Northumberland.

Reeves are fattened for the table by feeding them on boiled rice or wheat, bread and milk, hemp seed, &c. They are obliged to be kept in a dark room during the process, as the least gleam of light is the signal for a furious battle.

“The Snipe flies screaming from the marshy verge,
And towers in airy circles o’er the wood;
Still heard at intervals; and oft returns,
And stoops as bent to alight; then wheels aloft
With sudden fear, and screams and stoops again,
Her favourite glade reluctant to forsake.” GISBORNE.

THE SNIPE weighs about four ounces. A pale red line divides the head longways; the chin under the bill is white; the neck is a mixture of brown and red; the lower part of the body is almost all white. The back and wings are of a dusky colour. The flesh is tender, sweet, and in flavour ranks next to that of the woodcock. Snipes feed especially upon small red worms, and insects, which they find in muddy and swampy places, on the banks of rivulets and brooks, and on the clayey margin of ponds. It is said that Snipes remain with us all the summer, and build in moors and marshes, laying four or five eggs; but most of them are migratory, and, when forced by severe frosts to sheltered springs, are often seen in large flights. Mr. Daniel states that, about thirty years ago, Snipes were so abundant in the fens of Cambridgeshire, that as many were taken in Milton fen, by means of a lark-net, in one night, and by a single man, as could be contained in a small hamper.

IS somewhat less than the partridge. The upper side of the body is party-coloured of red, black, and grey, and very beautiful. From the bill almost to the middle of the head it is of a reddish ash-colour. The lower part of the body is grey, with transverse brown lines; under the tail the colour is somewhat yellowish; the chin is white, with a tincture of yellow. Woodcocks are migratory birds, coming over into Britain in autumn, and departing again in the beginning of spring; they pair before they go, and are seen flying in braces.

The colours of this timid bird render it difficult to discern him among the withered stalks and leaves of fern, sticks, moss, and grass, which form the background of the scenery, by which he is sheltered in his moist and solitary retreats. By habit only is the sportsman enabled to discover him, and his leading marks are the full eye and glossy silver white-tipped tail of the bird. The flesh is held in high estimation, and hence he is eagerly sought after. It is hardly necessary to observe that in dressing a Woodcock for the spit the entrails are not drawn, but are allowed to drop upon slices of toasted bread, and are relished as a delicious kind of sauce. By some late observations, it appears that several individuals of the species remain with us the whole year. They frequent especially wet and swampy woods, the thick hedges near rivulets, and places affording them their allotted food, which consists of very small insects found in the moist ground.

“The Woodcock’s early visit and abode
Of long continuance, in our temperate clime,
Foretell a liberal harvest.” PHILIPS.

IS a small bird, whose head and back are of a dusky ash-colour, or dark grey; while the lower part of the body is pure white, or white varied by black lines. The sides under the wings are spotted with brown. The bird weighs about four ounces and a half, and generally makes its appearance in Lincolnshire in the beginning of winter, and abides there for two or three months, after which they fly off in flocks. They are caught in great numbers by nets, into which they are decoyed by carved wooden figures, painted to represent themselves, and placed within them, much in the same way as the ruff. When the knot is fat, its flesh is considered excellent food. It is also fattened for sale, and then considered equal to the ruff in flavour. The season for taking it is from August to November, after which the frost compels it to disappear. This bird is said to have been a favourite dish with Canute the Great; and Camden observes that its name is derived from his--Knute, or Knout, as he was called--which, in process of time, has been changed to Knot.

IS about twelve inches long and twenty-four across the wings: the head, back, and coverts of the wings are black, with tips of a greenish white; the chin white; the throat spotted with brown or dusky spots; the breast and thighs white. The flavour of the flesh, when the bird is caught in the proper season, is delicate and savory; at other times it is hard, and has a strong and rank taste. This bird is generally found in small packs, and is not nearly so common as the beautiful Golden Plover. The male becomes entirely black on the lower surface in the spring, or black interspersed with patches and spots of white.

The Grey Plover is found in the northern parts of Europe, and, it is said, breeds in Egypt, Java, and Japan. Like the Ruff, it is an exceedingly quarrelsome bird, and fights fiercely in the spring. The young, when hatched, are covered with a thick, soft down, and immediately begin to follow their parents about and search for food.

IS about the size of the former. The colour of the whole upper side is black, thick set with yellowish green spots; the breast brown, with spots as on the back; the body is white. The male of this species is also black beneath in the spring. The flesh is sweet and tender, and therefore esteemed a choice dish in this and other countries.

The Golden Plover feeds principally during the night, and during the day time may be seen sitting or standing on the ground, asleep. The parent birds are very careful in guarding their young. When any intruder approaches their nest, they use all sorts of stratagems to divert his attention.

The “Plover eggs,” frequently seen at the tables of the opulent and luxurious, are not those of the Plover, but of the Lapwing.

IS proverbially accounted a foolish bird, yet why so it is hardly possible to say. Its length is about ten inches; the bill is not quite an inch long, and is black. The forehead is mottled with brown and grey; the top of the head is black; and over each eye there is an arched line of white. The back and wings are a light brown; the breast is a pale dull orange; the middle of the body is black, and the rest and the thighs are of a reddish white. The tail is brown, black towards the end, and tipped with white. This bird is migratory, and makes its appearance in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and Derbyshire in April, but soon leaves those counties and passes on towards the north, breeding in the mountains of the north of England and Scotland. In April, and sometimes in September, Dottrels are seen in Wiltshire and Berkshire. They are generally caught, like other birds, by night; when, dazzled by the light of a torch, they are at a loss to know where to fly for safety, the whole place being in darkness, and generally select the very spot which they should avoid. Many ridiculous stories have been propagated about the gestures of this bird, and its endeavouring to imitate the actions of the fowler, and thereby falling into the snare laid for him; but they ought to be entirely disbelieved.

(_Vanellus cristatus._)]

THIS well-known bird is found in nearly all countries, and is of the size of a common pigeon. The female lays four or five eggs, of a yellow colour, varied all over with large black spots and strokes. Lapwings build their nests on the ground in the middle of some field or heath, open and exposed to view, laying only some few straws under the eggs: so soon as the young are hatched, they instantly forsake the nest, running away with the shell on their back, and following the mother, only covered with a kind of down, like young ducks. The parents have been impressed by nature with the most attentive love and care for their offspring; for if the fowler, or any other enemy, should come near the nest, the female, panting with fear, lessens her call to make her enemies believe that she is much further off, and thereby deceives those that search for her brood; she also sometimes pretends to be wounded, and utters a faint cry as she limps away, to lead the fowler from her nest. This bird is really beautiful, although it does not exhibit that gaudiness of colours of which other species of the feathered tribe can boast: it weighs about half-a-pound. The head, and the crest which elegantly adorns it, is black; this crest, composed of unwebbed feathers, is about four inches in length. The back is of a dark green, glossed with blue shades; the throat is black; the hinder part of the neck and the breast are white. The Lapwing, when in search of food, stamps with his feet upon the ground, and when the earth-worms, alarmed at the noise, appear, he seizes and devours them. His voice, on the swampy places along the sea-shores, heard at night, resembles the sound of _peewit_, or _teewit_, and hence his name in several parts of Great Britain; he is also called the _Great Plover_ by several ornithologists. This bird is one of those who attract the fowler’s attention in winter:

“With slaughtering gun th’ unwearied fowler roves,
When frosts have whiten’d all the naked groves;
Where doves in flocks the leafless trees o’ershade,
And lonely woodcocks haunt the watery glade.
He lifts his tube, and levels with his eye;
Straight a short thunder breaks the frozen sky:
Oft, as in airy rings they skim the heath,
The clamorous Lapwings feel the leaden death:
Oft, as the mounting larks their notes prepare,
They fall, and leave their little lives in air.” POPE.

The following anecdote, from Bewick’s “History of Birds,” exhibits the domestic nature of the Lapwing, as well as the art with which it conciliates the regard of animals materially differing from itself, and generally considered as hostile to every species of the feathered tribe. Two Lapwings were given to a clergyman, who put them into his garden; one of them soon died, but the other continued to pick up such food as the place afforded, till winter deprived it of its usual supply. Necessity soon compelled it to draw nearer to the house, by which it gradually became familiarised to occasional interruptions from the family. At length one of the servants, when she had occasion to go into the back kitchen with a light, observed that the Lapwing always uttered his cry of “pee-wit,” to obtain admittance. The bird soon grew more familiar; as the winter advanced, he approached as far as the kitchen, but with much caution, as that part of the house was generally occupied by a dog and cat, whose friendship, however, the Lapwing at length conciliated so entirely, that it was his regular custom to resort to the fireside as soon as it grew dark, and spend the evening and night with his two associates, sitting close by them, and partaking of the comforts of a warm hearth. As soon as spring appeared, he discontinued his visits to the house, and betook himself to the garden; but, on the approach of winter, he had recourse to his old shelter and friends, who received him very cordially. Security was productive of insolence; what was at first obtained with caution, was afterwards taken without reserve; he frequently amused himself with washing in the bowl which was set for the dog to drink out of; and while he was thus employed, he showed marks of the greatest indignation if either of his companions presumed to interrupt him. He died in the asylum he had thus chosen, being choked with something that he had picked up from the floor.

IS also called the _Moor-Hen_, or _Moor-Coot_, and the _Gallinule_. The breast is of a lead-colour, the lower part of the body inclining to ash-colour, and the back dark olive brown. As she swims or walks, she often flirts up her tail. Water-hens feed upon aquatic plants and roots, and upon the small insects which adhere to them; they grow fat about the latter end of September, and their flesh is then considered nearly equal to that of the teal; yet it can seldom be entirely deprived of its fishy taste. They build their nests amongst reeds, long grass, roots, and stumps by the water-side, breeding twice or thrice in the course of a summer; the eggs are white, with a tint of green, dashed with brown spots.

There are very few countries in the world where these birds are not to be found. They generally prefer the cold mountainous regions in summer, and lower and warmer situations during winter.

“The fish are leaping, and the Water-hen
Dives up and down. A storm is coming on.”
SCHILLER.--WILLIAM TELL.

(_Ortygometra crex_,)]