Chapter XII: Introduction (11)

_Cabalus modestus_ and _Nesolimnas dieffenbachi_ of the Chatham Islands are curious little brown forms with no visible tail, closely allied to the next genus, which they resemble in being flightless, and apparently in general habits. _Ocydromus_ contains the Wood-Hens, or Weka Rails, of New Zealand, of which _O. greyi_ of the North Island is tawny above with dark shaft-stripes or bars, and grey below with fulvous fore-neck and sides. _O. carli_ of the South Island is more cinnamon in hue; _O. australis_, also of the South Island, is less grey below, and usually has barred flanks; _O. fuscus_ of the south-west of the South Island is blacker than the first-named; _O. hectori_ is a paler race of _O. australis_. These Rails are semi-nocturnal, and sometimes excavate burrows, in which, or in the scrub, they pass much of the day; the localities preferred are dry woods, ravines, and sandy shores, _O. fuscus_ obtaining the name of Kelp-Hen from the stretches of sea-weed that it frequents. This species feeds on sea-molluscs, but its congeners will eat young birds, lizards, caterpillars, worms, insects, and berries. The cry is a sharp whistle, often preceded by a growl, the birds being very tame when unmolested. They are pugnacious, inquisitive, and thievish, stealing articles from tents or houses, attacking fowls, or sucking their eggs. Their own eggs are from five to seven, both these and the nest, which is generally in a burrow, much resembling those of other Rails. _Ocydromus sylvestris_, of Lord Howe Island, is nearly uniform rufous above and brownish below, with barred wings and tail; it lays similar eggs upon the ground.

The dusky _Tricholimnas lafresnayi_ of New Caledonia is remarkable for its soft hair-like plumage, and the purplish-brown and black _Gymnocrex rosenbergi_ of Celebes for its bare yellowish orbits.

_Aramides_ includes eight species found in Central and South America, of which _A. ypecaha_ may be taken as a representative. It is olive-green above, with chestnut nape, black rump and tail, and greyish below with white throat and vinous belly; the bill is yellow, the feet are scarlet. Cautious when danger threatens, it is sufficiently audacious to attack poultry; among its native swamps it usually walks in stately style or struts on the branches of trees, though it can run quickly; while it lies closely when surprised on open ground, dashing up with the whirring flight of a Partridge. The alarm-note is powerful, unearthly shrieks being uttered {248}during both day and night. Companies are described by Mr. Hudson as meeting to dance about with expanded wings and open beaks.[172] Somewhat similar in colour to certain members of the last genus is _Megacrex inepta_ of South New Guinea, one of the largest Rails known, which is usually seen running swiftly along water-courses; while the black _Habroptila wallacii_ of Halmahera loves forests. The curious _Himantornis haematopus_ of West Africa is brown, with black and rufous mottlings above, whitish throat, stout green and black bill, and red feet. _Dryolimnas cuvieri_ of Madagascar, Mauritius, and Aldabra Island, and _Canirallus kioloïdes_ of the first-named and West Africa must be briefly mentioned, as must _Rallina_ reaching from India to North-East Australia, which has half a dozen small brown species, with chestnut on the head and chest, and black and white barring below.

_Crex pratensis_, the widely-ranging Corn-Crake or Land-Rail, extends from most of Europe to the north of Central Asia, wintering in Africa, and occurring accidentally in North America, or even Greenland and Australia. _Zapornia parva_, the Little Crake, _Porzana maruetta_, the Spotted Crake, and _P. bailloni_, Baillon's Crake, are somewhat similar British Birds, the two latter of which have bred in our islands, _P. maruetta_ still doing so in some districts. This species is brownish-olive with white flecks above and below, grey belly, and flanks showing black and white bars. Of its dozen congeners, covering nearly the whole globe, _P. carolina_, the Sora Rail of North America, is particularly well-known. In the Ethiopian genus _Corethrura_, extending to Madagascar, the males are blackish, spotted or streaked with white, and have fine chestnut heads, necks, or even breasts, the female being dusky with rufous mottlings: in _Rallicula_ of New Guinea the chestnut extends over most of the body. _Porzanula_ {249}_palmeri_ of Laysan, an interesting little flightless form with a soft chirping note, which the first discoverer caught with a hand-net, makes its nest under grass-tussocks. Closely allied to _Porzana_ is _Creciscus_, a genus of a dozen species ranging from the United States to the Galápagos, Chili, and Paraguay; two at least of them being remarkable for building a spherical nest with a side entrance in coarse herbage or low bushes, while one is said to make a sort of ladder to reach a platform before its porch.[173] _Limnocorax niger_ of the Ethiopian Region is a glossy black bird with red feet and greenish bill, which walks upon the leaves of water-lilies and such plants, like a Jaçana.

_Amaurornis_, inhabiting the Oriental Region and extending to New Britain, links the foregoing genera to the Gallinules. _A. phoenicura_ is a dark greyish bird with white under parts and chestnut flanks, the other three species being duller.

_Tribonyx mortieri_, the "Native Hen" of Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania, and _T. ventralis_ of considerably wider range, are respectively ruddy- and olive-brown forms, with blackish tail and vent, slaty lower surface, and white flank-marks. They appear at times in flocks, which arrive and depart with equal suddenness, destroy the settlers' crops, strut about like fowls, and in many respects resemble Moor-Hens in habits, nests, and eggs. The legs are unusually powerful.

_Gallinula_ extends over the greater part of both hemispheres, and is represented in Europe, Asia, and Africa by our common Moor-Hen (_G. chloropus_), dark olive-brown above and grey below, with white lower tail-coverts, white flank-stripes, red frontal plate, and scarlet garter on the tibia. _G. galeata_ of most of the New World differs in the posteriorly truncated shield, but _G. sandvicensis_ of the Sandwich Islands is barely separable. The smaller African _G. angulata_, _G. tenebrosa_ of Australia and New Guinea, and _G. frontata_ of the two last-named countries, the Moluccas and Borneo, complete the group; unless _G. pyrrhorhoa_ of Madagascar and _G. dionysiana_ of St. Denys be accounted distinct from _G. chloropus_. The flightless _G._ (_Porphyriornis_) _nesiotis_ of Tristan da Cunha and _G. comeri_ of Gough Island have already been mentioned. _Gallicrex cinerea_, the "Water-Cock" of the Indian Region, which reaches Japan, is dull black, with lighter edges to the feathers above, a yellow and red bill, and red frontal shield. A pinkish {250}fleshy horn springs from the forehead, said to become very small in winter, and to be wanting in the female, which is varied below with white and buff. It has a loud booming cry, and fights like a domestic Cock, but otherwise resembles the Gallinules in habits.

_Porphyrio_ comprises some dozen fine species with blue plumage, found in Africa and Madagascar, and from the Mediterranean to South China and Polynesia; several individuals, probably escaped from captivity, being recorded from Britain. _P. caeruleus_ (_veterum_) is purplish-blue above with blacker remiges and rectrices, and purplish-black below with bright blue cheeks, throat, and chest, and white under tail-coverts; the bill, shield, and feet are red. It is chiefly a Mediterranean bird, but reaches Mesopotamia. Others of its congeners are greener or blacker. The habits, nest, and eggs are like those of the Coot, whereas the next genus–in the writer's opinion inseparable–appears more akin in manners to the Moor-Hen. _Porphyriola alleni_ occurs in Africa, with Madagascar and Rodriguez, and strays to the Canary Islands and South Europe; _P. martinica_ ranges from Florida, Texas, or even New England, to the West Indies and Brazil; _P. parva_, from the last-named to Amazonia and Guiana. _Porphyriops crassirostris_ and _P. melanops_ occupy South America.

_Notornis mantelli_ of New Zealand,[174] now probably extinct, was olive-green above with only a tinge of blue; the head, neck, and under surface being dark purplish-blue, the bill, shield, and feet red. It was practically a gigantic _Porphyrio_ with very stout legs, short wings, and soft tail, which was unable to fly, but ran with great swiftness, being solitary and retiring. Its native name Moho is that also given to other Rails in New Zealand, and _Pennula ecaudata_ in Hawaii; it therefore may only mean "Rail." The white _N. alba_ of Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands certainly exists no longer.

_Fulica_ includes twelve species, of which the majority are South American, though the genus extends over most of the globe; Polynesia possesses only _F. alai_ of the Sandwich Islands, but three of the members reach Patagonia. _F. atra_, our grey-black Coot, with flesh-coloured bill, white shield and greenish legs relieved by an orange garter, ranges through Europe and Asia, and to North Africa and the Philippines southwards; its habits are well-known, {251}while the lobed toes are noticed above. The smaller _F. lugubris_ of Sumatra, Java, and Celebes is hardly distinct; the North American _F. americana_ and the Australian _F. australis_ are very similar; the Andean _F. gigantea_ is extremely large; while the red frontal caruncles of the Bolivian _F. cornuta_ and of the African and South-European _F. cristata_ have already been mentioned.

Of fossil Rallidae an extraordinary number are found, ranging from the possibly toothed _Telmatornis_ of the American Cretaceous rocks, _Gypsornis_, _Orthnocnemus_, _Elaphrocnemus_, and _Tapinopus_ of the French Upper Eocene, and _Rallus_ of both Eocene and Miocene of the same country, to _Fulica minor_ of the Pliocene of Oregon. Of more recently exterminated forms we have _Tribonyx_ (?) _roberti_ from Central Madagascar, the long-billed flightless _Aphanapteryx broecki_ and _Fulica newtoni_ from the Mare aux Songes in Mauritius, _Porphyrio caerulescens_ from Réunion, and the "Poule Rouge" (_Erythromachus leguati_) from Rodriguez. In New Zealand are found the large _Aptornis defossor_ and _A. otidiformis_, with two species of _Notornis_; in the Chatham Islands _Diaphorapteryx hawkinsi_ and _Ocydromus insignis_–all six flightless; in the latter islands, too, an extinct _Fulica_ (_Palaeolimnas_) occurs, and in Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands _Notornis alba_, as above. Queensland furnishes _Porphyrio mackintoshi_, _P. reperta_, _Tribonyx effluxus_, _Gallinula strenuipes_, _G. peralata_, and _Fulica prior_. The Sandwich Islands may possibly yet contain _Rallus sandvicensis_ and _Pennula ecaudata_, further instances of flightless species, but this is improbable.

Fam. II. GRUIDAE.–The Cranes are very old forms, superficially somewhat like Herons, and often confounded with them in local parlance–as is the case in Scotland and Ireland. They are among the largest of Waders, and are scattered over most of the globe, except the Malay islands, Papuasia, and Polynesia; but in the Neotropical Region they are mere migrants from the north, never found south of Mexico. Their headquarters are in North-East Asia, while America possesses only three species, and Australia one.

These long-necked and long-legged birds have a moderate bill, straight and rather compressed, which varies from slender to stout, with a lateral groove on each side of the mandible and nasal furrows about halfway down the maxilla; in _Balearica_ this feature is comparatively short. The metatarsus is scutellated in front, reticulated behind; the tibia is partly bare; the toes are short and stout, the anterior being more or less connected at the base by a {252}membrane; the hallux is small, much elevated, and furnished with a sharp hooked claw. The wings are described by different writers as long or moderate, but are certainly ample and rounded, with about thirty-three quills, of which eleven are primaries; the decomposed inner secondaries exceed the last-named, and are either lanceolate and drooping, or broad and erectile, while in _Bugeranus_ and _Tetrapteryx_ they are extraordinarily extended. The short tail has twelve rectrices. _Anthropoïdes_ has long silky auricular plumes, _Balearica_ a bristly crest and a naked gular wattle, _Bugeranus_ a feathered lappet on each side of the throat, _Antigone australasiana_ a pendulous pouch, and most species, as will be seen below, a partly bare carunculated head. The tongue is lanceolate, the nostrils pervious; while, except in _Balearica_, the trachea of the adult is convoluted within the keel of the sternum, but enters it behind the clavicles,–which are often ancylosed with it,–and not in front of them, as in certain Swans, the development varying according to the species and the age. In _Anthropoïdes_ the cavity of the keel is open laterally. The furcula is Y-shaped, the aftershaft is very small, the down is uniform in both adults and young.

Cranes are inhabitants of morasses and plains, being especially fond of the neighbourhood of lagoons, tanks, and fields of corn or rice; yet they are also found in boggy openings in forests, on sandy flats, or even on the sea-shore. They are gregarious after the breeding season, when they often collect into flocks of immense size, which pass the night together and traverse vast distances in company. The northern species all migrate southwards in winter. Erect and tall, they may be seen striding swiftly along with head thrown back, or strutting around their mates; while in spring they often stand in rows and proceed to stalk about in single file, or dance to meet one another with nodding heads, necks advanced, and wings widely outspread. Thereafter they bow towards the ground, jump in the air, and perform graceful antics of all descriptions. The chosen spot for these dances is commonly near water. The male courts his spouse in somewhat similar fashion, and twigs or feathers are often tossed in the air in sport, to be caught again ere they touch the ground. Rising from a level spot appears to be a difficult matter, the birds running awkwardly for a few yards, and labouring heavily with their wings to gain their purpose; when once in the air, however, the flight is steady and swift, with head {253}and legs outstretched, though this is varied by countless elegant evolutions and gyrations, as they rise higher and higher until they become mere specks in the heavens, and finally disappear from sight. The characteristic utterance is a harsh guttural or resonant trumpeting sound, uttered on the ground with the head thrown back and the bill open, or repeated incessantly at great elevations; but the Whooping Crane has a clear, piercing cry, the Asiatic White Crane a feeble but mellow whistle, and the Crowned Cranes a plaintive but fairly sonorous set of notes. The varying calibre of the voice has been thought to be connected with the convolutions of the trachea mentioned above, the young giving vent to a weak pipe or trill. Virgil's lines concerning the noise made before rain, and the flight, are well-known to Latin scholars. The food consists of grain, pulse, acorns, shoots, flowers, roots, tubers, bulbs, and the like, with the occasional addition of small mammals and birds, reptiles, amphibians, worms, insects, and even fish; the members of this Family, however, dislike wading, and only swim under compulsion. Feeding chiefly in the morning and evening, when they post sentinels, as Rooks do, they often stand or doze upon one leg, with the head drawn back upon the shoulders. Cranes, which are said to pair for life, return to the same breeding haunts annually, where they either construct a large fabric of reeds, rushes, and aquatic herbage, or use straw and small twigs for their nest. The conical pile, with its moderate depression on the top, is commonly placed in shallows, fresh materials being added if the water rises. Several species, on the other hand, merely scrape a hole in marshy ground, on dry plains, among standing corn or grass, or on sandy beaches, while occasionally reed-beds are selected. The eggs, two, or rarely three in number, are generally creamy white, olive-brown or buff, with reddish-brown, red, or purplish-grey spots and blotches; those of the Indian Sarus Cranes have a bluish- or greenish-white ground, while those of the Crowned Cranes are not uncommonly plain bluish-white. The male is said to incubate in some cases, and both parents tend the young carefully for a considerable time, though the latter run from the shell; the female sits with her head drawn in upon her shoulders, and is usually loth to leave her charge. When wounded these birds are very dangerous, fighting boldly with bill and wings. They are very palatable when fed on grain, the breast in particular {254}resembling beef-steak. Cranes are easily domesticated, and, in certain districts of India, in Japan, and among the Kalmuks, they are held in reverence, though elsewhere they are often killed for the sake of their decorative plumes.

_Grus communis_, the Common Crane of Europe and Northern Asia, which used to breed in Britain until the end of the sixteenth century, and reaches North Africa, India, and China on the winter migration, is ashy-grey, with white cheeks, nape, and sides of the neck, black primaries and inner secondaries; the crown being bare, with blackish bristles and red warty skin. _G. lilfordi_ of East Siberia is a lighter race. _G. canadensis_ is a smaller species, hardly different from _G. mexicana_, the "Sandhill Crane" of the United States, which is slaty-grey, with a brownish wash. _G. monachus_, another similar form from Eastern Asia, has all the head white except the bare portion. _G. nigricollis_ of Koko-nor has the feathered part of the head, the upper neck, the wings, tail, and inner secondaries black; _G. japonensis_ of North Eastern Asia is white, with grey-black throat and fore-neck, the dark colour extending to a point on the hind-neck. _G._ (_Limnogeranus_) _americana_, the Whooping Crane of the United States and Mexico, is pure white with black primaries, the bristly head, lores, and cheeks being bare, and covered with warty red skin. _G._ (_Sarcogeranus_) _leucogeranus_, the Asiatic White Crane, is entirely white, except for the black primaries, and has all the front of the head bare, the red skin extending beyond the eye, and showing a few scattered hairs. This bird ranges at certain seasons to South-East Europe. _G._ (_Antigone_) _collaris_ of India and the Caspian is light grey, with brownish-black primaries, a white ring round the lower neck, and white inner secondaries; the grey-green crown is bare, the occiput and upper neck are red and papillose, with black bristles on the latter. The Burmo-Malay _G. sharpii_ is distinguished by the absence of white; while both enjoy in common the name Sarus. _G._ (_A._) _australasiana_, the "Native Companion" of East Australia, has the neck feathered, and possesses a red and green gular pouch, covered with the same black hairs as the face, the general coloration resembling that of its congeners. _G._ (_Pseudogeranus_) _leucauchen_, the "Tan-cho" or national Crane of the Japanese, part of the crown and the cheeks bare, warty, and red, with black hairs. often seen in their clever drawings, is grey, with white hind-crown, nape, throat, and inner secondaries; the rest of the wing-quills and the tip of the tail are black, the fore-part of the crown and the cheeks bare, warty, and red, with black hairs.

{255}

It is found westward to Lake Baikal, and southward in winter to the Yangtse basin. _G._ (_Bugeranus_) _carunculata_, the Wattled Crane of South Africa, is slaty-coloured, becoming blacker towards the tail, and browner towards the mantle; the cheeks and the whole neck are white, with elongated chest plumes; a lappet, with white feathering, hangs from each side of the throat; and the fore-part of the head is covered with bare red papillose skin. _G._ (_Tetrapteryx_) _paradisea_, the "Stanley" Crane of the same districts, is leaden blue, with black ends to the inner secondaries, and a white crown; the head is entirely feathered, and the chest plumes elongated as in the next species. _G._ (_Anthropoïdes_) _virgo_, the "Demoiselle" Crane, inhabits South Europe, and extends to Central Asia and North China, migrating to {256}Northern Africa and India in winter. It is silvery-grey, with white ear-tufts, black sides of the head, neck, chest, primaries, and tips to the inner secondaries. _Balearica pavonina_, the Crowned Crane of the northern Ethiopian Region, is greenish-black above and dark grey below, most of the feathers being lanceolate; the neck is delicate grey all round, the secondaries are chestnut–the inner being somewhat decomposed; white and yellow shew on the wing-coverts; a spreading tuft of twisted yellow and white bristles with black tips surmounts the occiput, while the sides of the face are bare–white above and pink below, and the throat is covered with black down. There is a very small throat-wattle in this form, but _B. chrysopelargus_, the Kaffir Crane of South Africa, has it much larger and chiefly red, differing moreover in its greyer plumage, and white cheek-patch with only a border of crimson above. In _B. gibbericeps_ of East Africa, the bare skin of the face extends almost to the nape.

In Cranes the sexes are alike; but the young are browner, with rusty or buff tips to the feathers, or even with downy instead of more or less naked heads, as in adults. Immature birds lack the elongated plumes. The bill is usually greenish-grey, brown, or black, at times with a little red, but it is yellow in _Limnogeranus_; the feet vary from greyish- or bluish-black to dull green or flesh-colour; the iris is generally crimson, orange, or yellow.

The Upper Eocene of Hampshire furnishes the fossil _Geranopsis_ as well as _Grus_, the Italian Eocene _Palaeogrus_, that of Wyoming four species of _Aletornis_; Grus occurs, moreover, in the Miocene of France, the Pliocene of Attica and the United States, while _G. primigenia_ of the French and Italian Plistocene, with _G. melitensis_ of the Zebbug cave in Malta, complete the list.

Fam. III. ARAMIDAE.–In this group, as in the _Psophiidae_ (p. 257), the osteology and pterylography are Crane-like, the digestive organs and style of plumage Rail-like; a link being thus formed between the two Families. The long, hard bill is slender and compressed, with slightly curved tip; the tibia is partly bare, the metatarsus scutellated. The wing has eleven primaries and some dozen secondaries. The long tongue is said to end in horny filaments, the trachea is sometimes convoluted in males, the nostrils are pervious.

_Aramus pictus_, the Clucking Hen or Limpkin of the Greater Antilles, South Florida, and Central America, is chocolate-brown {257}with white flecks; the upper parts are glossed with bronzy-purple, the bill is greenish. _A. scolopaceus_, the Carau, Courlan, Lamenting Bird, or Crazy Widow, ranging from Guiana to Argentina, has only the head and neck streaked. Generally solitary or found in family-parties, these birds conceal themselves by day among reeds or damp forest-vegetation; they rise with difficulty after a preliminary run, and take low, brief flights, the legs hanging down and the wings flapping slowly, while the latter are elevated for a descent. They walk quickly and in stately fashion, limping and jerking the tail; at night they roost on trees. The resonant, melancholy wail is varied by a clucking note, or by an angry cry when breeding. The shallows of streams or marshes are diligently searched for molluscs, which the formation of the beak enables the bird easily to open or break, but small reptiles, insects, and worms are also eaten. The flat nest of herbage, placed among reeds, contains from ten to twelve white eggs, as large as those of a Turkey, clouded with pale brown and purple.[175]

Fam. IV. PSOPHIIDAE.–The so-called Trumpeters form a single genus of six species inhabiting tropical South America, and somewhat resemble long-necked and long-legged Fowls, the beak being gallinaceous and the tibia partly bare. The long metatarsi are scutellated in front; the wings and tail are short, the ten primaries, {258}just equalling the twelve secondaries. The nostrils are pervious. The downy nestlings are chestnut streaked with grey.

_Psophia crepitans_, the Agami, ranging from British Guiana to Amazonia, is a black bird with velvety plumage on the head and neck, and lax feathering below; a golden-green and violet sheen adorns the lower fore-neck, a rusty brown patch crosses the back and wing-coverts, the bare orbits are pinkish, the beak is greenish or greyish, and the legs are variously stated to be bright green or flesh-coloured. _P. napensis_ of Ecuador has the sheen on the neck dull purple, _P. leucoptera_ of Peru and Upper Amazonia lacks the brown above, and has the inner wing-coverts and inner secondaries white, these feathers being ochraceous in _P. ochroptera_ of the right bank of the Rio Negro. _P. viridis_ of Amazonia–from Pará up the right bank of the Rio Madeira to the Rio Mamoré–perhaps identical with _P. obscura_, has the back and inner secondaries glossed with green. The sexes are similar.

These birds love moist forests, and sometimes form flocks of three hundred individuals; they are so sociable and easily tamed that the natives use them to protect poultry. They perch, but seldom fly, and run swiftly with a peculiar gait, while they swim on an emergency. The deep-toned ventriloquistic, but not strictly trumpeting, cry is uttered with widely opened beak; the food consists of fruit, corn, and insects. The nest, said to be at the foot of a tree, contains creamy- or greyish-white eggs, like those of a Bantam.

Fam. V. CARIAMIDAE.–These birds have given rise to much discussion, and have been placed by several authors in the Accipitres, near the Secretary-Bird, which they somewhat resemble in their erect carriage, general appearance, and habits. The beak is short, broad, and slightly hooked, the neck is rather long, the legs decidedly so; the tibia is partially bare, the metatarsus is entirely scutellated, the claws are sharp and curved. The wings are short, with fourteen elongated secondaries and ten primaries; the long, graduated tail has twelve rectrices. The nostrils are pervious. The internal anatomy and pterylosis are Gruine, an aftershaft is present, and the downy young are either grey and brown (_Cariama_) or rufous and black (_Chunga_). _Cariama cristata_, the Seriemá, or Crested Screamer (p. 110), extending from Pernambuco to Paraguay and Matto Grosso, is ochreous-grey above with zigzag umber markings, and whitish below with brown stripes. Vertical feathers on the lores form a conspicuous crest, while those of the neck and throat {259}are long and loose; interrupted white bands cross the remiges, and the bases and tips of the lateral rectrices. The iris is yellow, the beak and feet are red, the naked orbits greenish. The female is yellower, and exhibits less crest. _Chunga burmeisteri_, the Chuñia of Tucuman and Catamarca in Argentina, is smaller and darker, with shorter legs and little crest; it has a broad white superciliary streak, and two wide black bars on the tail-feathers, except the median pair. The bill and feet are black, the iris is grey.

Both species are chiefly diurnal, the former frequenting the high grass of the open "campos" in pairs and parties of five or six, the latter forests or bushy districts; they roost on trees, {260}stalk about in stately fashion, stoop when running, and fly a little when hard pressed. The barking or screaming cry is chiefly heard towards dusk; the food consists of small mammals, snakes, lizards, snails, worms, insects and their larvae, as well as berries, _Chunga_ preferring the insect diet. Easily domesticated, and in Brazil protected by custom, these birds will guard their owners' fowls; while the male at times incubates and shews off to the females in spring, like a Bustard. _Cariama_ builds a nest of twigs in low trees or bushes; _Chunga_ generally chooses the ground; but in either case the young soon leave their quarters; the two eggs have a pale ground-colour with rufous blotches, as in so many Rails. The Seriemá has been hatched in the Zoological Society's Gardens in London.

The fossil _Phororhachos_ and certain others of the so-called Stereornithes (p. 44) probably belong here.

Fam. VI. OTIDIDAE.–The Bustards are here admitted as a Family of the Gruiformes, though many writers have preferred to refer them to the Limicolae, and the question is by no means finally settled. The head is flat, the neck thick, the bill somewhat blunt and depressed, being either short, as in _Otis_ and _Trachelotis_, or longer, as in _Neotis_ and _Lissotis_. The metatarsus varies much, the length for instance being comparatively great in _Houbaropsis_, and small in _Otis tetrax_, while both surfaces are covered with reticulated scales; the short, stout toes have flattish nails, and the hallux is absent, as in many Limicoline forms. The wings are moderate, with the secondaries almost equal to the primaries, the latter–which are acuminate in _Sypheotis_–being eleven in number, and the former about twenty; the tail, of medium length, has a more or less rounded outline, and possesses from fourteen to twenty rectrices. Ornamental plumes are characteristic of this group, and take the form of decided crests on the crown and nape, or on the latter alone, in all the genera except _Otis_, _Neotis_, _Lissotis_, _Trachelotis_, and _Sypheotis_; the last-named, however, has elongated cheek-feathers with bare shafts and spatulate webs. The plumes of the throat and fore-neck are lengthened and shield the breast in _Houbaropsis_ and _Eupodotis_, those of the sides of the neck form a ruff in _Houbara_; while _Otis_ is remarkable for the prolonged ear-coverts, and for the tuft of long bristly feathers on each side of the base of the mandible in the male.

The nostrils are pervious, the tongue is sagittate, the furcula {261}is Y-shaped, and often ancylosed with the sternum, the syrinx is tracheo-bronchial. An after-shaft is present, and the down, which is uniform in the young only, is in them mottled with black and lighter tints. A most remarkable phenomenon, moreover, is the gular pouch, opening under the tongue, found in the male of some examples of _Otis tarda_ during the breeding season. This pouch becomes very small or vanishes altogether at other times of the year, and seems to be restricted to adult birds. Similar, but smaller, processes have been observed in _Eupodotis kori_, _E. edwardsi_ and, it is said, _Otis tetrax_; while dilatations of the oesophagus have been recorded in _E. australis_ and _Neotis denhami_.

_Otis tarda_, the Great Bustard, which, as a native, only became extinct in Norfolk about 1838, used to extend from East Lothian to Dorset, but is now merely an occasional visitor to Britain. The upper parts are mottled with rufous, buff, and {262}blackish-brown, the head is blue-grey, with long white bristles at the base of the mandible, the lower surface is white, relieved in the male by a tawny gorget for a short time during the breeding season. The primaries are black, most of the secondaries and wing-coverts white. Some other Bustards seem to have a similar vernal change of plumage. The female is smaller and has no bristles. _O. tetrax_, the Little Bustard, a straggler to our shores, is somewhat like the last species in colour, but has the cheeks and throat grey, bordered by a white line, and below this comes a broad black collar divided in front by a median white band in the nesting time. The female is brown and black, with white breast and no collar. The remaining members of the Family vary considerably in pattern of colour, being spotted, streaked, or vermiculated above, and being occasionally very dark; the head and the lower parts, moreover, are not uncommonly quite black, or the latter may be greyish-blue, as in _Trachelotis coerulescens_. The bill and feet are usually yellow, more seldom greyish or dusky. Females and young exhibit a more uniform mixture of brown, black, and buff, while rufous bases to the feathers are characteristic of the group.

Bustards are Old World birds, reaching eastwards to Australia, where _Eupodotis australis_ is called the "Native Turkey." _E. edwardsi_ inhabits the plains of India, _E. arabs_ extends from Arabia to North Africa, and _E. kori_ from the East to the South of that continent. _Otis_ ranges over South and Central Europe, and thence to North Africa, inhabiting also Mid-Asia to North-West India, the Yangtze-Kiang River and Japan. _Houbara undulata_, the African Ruffed Bustard, reaches from the Canaries,[176] through the Mediterranean basin to about Armenia; its congener _H. macqueeni_, which strays westward to Britain, being resident in Persia, North India and Central Asia. _Houbaropsis bengalensis_ and _Sypheotis aurita_ are the Florican and Lesser Florican of India; _Lophotis_, _Compsotis_, _Heterotetrax_, _Neotis_, _Lissotis_, and _Trachelotis_ inhabit the Ethiopian Region. The members of the Family are to some extent migratory, and perhaps the Great Bustard was partly so of old in Britain.

The members of this Family flock in winter, and occasionally form small parties at other seasons, the males being very possibly polygamous, though the fact is hardly proved. Typically inland birds, they haunt dry grassy and sandy plains, or cultivated ground {263}where the crops are low, yet sometimes they choose more bushy flats, or stony tops of elevated ridges. Their flight is prolonged and often rapid, though invariably heavy, the neck and legs being outstretched; the Great Bustard rises from the ground slowly, the Little Bustard with a rattling noise, but they are frequently loth to leave it, crouching to escape detection on the similarly coloured soil. They stalk about rapidly and run with ease, being shy, wary, and far-sighted, while they are more easy to approach when they resort to water. The quill-feathers are said to be lost after breeding.[177] In spring the pugnacious cocks strut around the hens, swelling out their plumage, and inflating the gular pouch when it is present; the head meanwhile is thrown backwards, the wings droop, the tail is usually erected and outspread, and booming or crooning utterances with leaps diversify the performance. At times the notes are described as scolding, drumming, craking, and clucking, or resemble "cok-cok" or "prut-prut." The diet consists chiefly of juicy plants, such as young corn and turnips, clover and plantains, but it includes berries and seeds, insects and their larvae, molluscs, myriapods, frogs, or even small reptiles and mammals. The Gom-Paauw[178] (_Eupodotis kori_) is so-called from its love of mimosa gum. The eggs, varying from two to four or five in different species, are deposited in an excavation in the soil–sometimes lined with grass–under shelter of a bush, tussock, or growing crop; they are oily-green, olive, drab, red-brown, or exceptionally bluish-green, and are generally blotched, clouded, or zoned with purplish or dull red. The hen sits very closely. Bustards can be circumvented by riding round them in constantly diminishing circles, and they are also captured with Falcons.[179]

A fossil _Otis_ is recorded from the Miocene of France and Germany.

Fam. VII. RHINOCHETIDAE.–This contains only one species, _Rhinochetus jubatus_, the Kagu of New Caledonia, a very old and generalized form, somewhat bigger than an ordinary fowl, which was originally referred to the Herons and then to the Cranes, but is undoubtedly nearly allied to the latter, and approximates rather closely to _Eurypyga_.[180]

{264}

The head and eyes are large; the neck is strong; the bill is Heron-like, but somewhat flat above, with a wide nasal groove. The sternum is weak and narrow, having no posterior notch; the furcula is U-shaped; the legs are moderately long and slender, the toes Rail-like, with curved claws; the tibia is half bare, the metatarsus scutellated, with smaller scales behind. The wings are moderate, broad, and rounded, though less developed than in _Eurypyga_, the primaries being ten in number, and the secondaries–of which the inner exceed the primaries–thirteen; the tail is fairly long and ample, with twelve rectrices. The aftershaft is large; the nostrils are impervious, contrary to the rule in the Order, being severally overhung by a peculiar rolled-up membrane, said to protect them when the beak is thrust into the soil; the tongue is lanceolate. Powder-down patches are profusely distributed over the whole body, except towards the remiges and rectrices. The plumage is slaty-grey, with indistinct dark bars on the wings and tail; but when the former are expanded, rufous and white bands appear, varied by black markings; while a long, erectile whitish-grey crest adorns the occiput and nape. The bill and feet are orange-red. In adults down covers the whole surface. Possibly the chicks remain a {265}considerable time in the nest, but this is by no means certain; those of _Eurypyga_ do so, it is true, but those of Cranes and Rails do not. Immature specimens are more rufous, with black bars above.

Though formerly the Kagu was not rare in its native island, it is now restricted to the wilder portions, where it is to be met with among the rocks of craggy ravines or near stagnant waters, sleeping throughout the day and issuing from its concealment towards evening. It walks quickly, yet in a stately manner, often coming to a standstill or crouching, and remaining motionless for a long period; but it can also run rapidly with the head and neck outstretched, and the body carried after the manner of a Rail. The habits in confinement, however, make it somewhat doubtful whether the bird is as nocturnal as is asserted, for in the daytime it is quick and lively in its motions, chasing its fellow-captives, dancing round with the tip of its outspread wing or tail held fast in its bill, tossing about dry leaves or pieces of paper, spreading out its wings and thrusting its beak into the ground, kicking with its legs, and finally tumbling about as if in a fit. The note is guttural and rattling, or almost a scream; the food consists of molluscs, worms, and insects, sought for among the grass or in crannies, while the bill is often plunged into the soil, and worms pulled out, shaken and swallowed. When in quest of food the bird often paws the earth with gentle strokes, and snails are usually beaten upon the ground to break the shell. It will bathe in captivity, and is said to like wet weather in its native haunts. The nest is unknown, but eggs laid at the Zoological Society's Gardens in London are reddish-buff with brown and grey markings, and recall those of the Woodcock or Corncrake.[181]

Fam. VIII. EURYPYGIDAE.–Two species of _Eurypyga_ are comprehended herein, namely, _E. helias_ of the countries from Venezuela to Bolivia and Central Brazil, and _E. major_ of Central America, Colombia, and Ecuador. These are, like the Kagu, very ancient types, but whereas that bird shows some affinity to _Scopus_, these trend rather towards _Nycticorax_, both being, however, essentially Gruiform. The neck is long and thin, the bill rather slender, with grooves on the maxilla and mandible: the whole leg and foot are as in _Rhinochetus_, but shorter, weaker, and reticulated behind; the wings and tail are even more ample, while the number of primaries and rectrices are the same, but the secondaries are only {266}eleven, and the inner feathers comparatively short. The nostrils are pervious, the tongue is lanceolate, the furcula is U-shaped, the after-shaft is diminutive, and the powder-down patches are abundant, though writers differ as to their extent. _E. helias_–as Prof. Newton says in his excellent account[182]–is not to be described in a limited space otherwise than generally; it has a black head, with a white stripe above and under each eye, and a white throat: the remaining plumage "being variegated with black, brown, chestnut, bay, buff, grey, and white–so mottled, speckled, and belted either in wave-like or zigzag forms, as somewhat to resemble certain moths. The bay colour forms two conspicuous patches on each wing, and also an antepenultimate bar on the tail, behind which is a subterminal band of black. The irides are red; the bill is greenish-olive; and the legs are pale yellow." _E. major_ is larger and more uniform in colour. Both adults and nestlings have copious down, that of the latter being lightish brown with lines and spots of darker brown and white. The sexes are similar.

The "Sun-Bittern," to use its common but misleading name, is found on the larger rivers, where the banks are wooded and swampy; it is shy but easily tamed, and, according to Bates, is kept in captivity by the Brazilians. It walks quietly and circumspectly with horizontal body and outstretched head, and probably flies but little. Like the Kagu, it executes a fantastic dance, but in this case the wings and tail form a semicircle which nearly conceals the body. The note is a soft or plaintive long-drawn {267}whistle, the food consists mainly of small fish and insects, which the bird spears by darting out its head quickly. The nest, said to be made of sticks, grass, and mud, with a lining of the latter, is placed on low branches, and contains several eggs similar to those of the Kagu, but smaller. Both parents incubate and attend to the young, which have several times been reared in the Zoological Society's Gardens in London.[183]

Fam. IX. HELIORNITHIDAE.–The Finfoots, comprising three genera and four species, now generally coupled with the Rallidae, have been placed near the Divers and Grebes by several authors. The head is small, the neck thin, the bill Rail-like and fairly stout; the metatarsus, which is scutellated anteriorly and reticulated posteriorly, is short, twisted outwards, and deeply grooved; while the toes have short, sharp claws, and broad scalloped webs, extending in _Heliornis_ to most of their length. The long pointed wings have twenty-one remiges, of which eleven are primaries, and are armed with a curved spine; the tail consists in _Podica_ of eighteen elongated, stiff, ribbed rectrices, which are narrow and pointed, and in _Heliopaïs_ and _Heliornis_ of rather soft, short, rounded feathers. The plumage is close, but not glossy as in Grebes; there is no after-shaft, the U-shaped furcula ancyloses with the sternum, the tongue is lanceolate, and the nostrils are pervious.

These birds, which frequent the swamps or rocky streams of inland woods, are very shy; their flight is heavy, and they rise with difficulty from the surface of the water, aiding themselves by their feet. They swim and dive well, and will remain half-submerged for hours, or will sit upon a low branch over a stream, dropping down and scrambling up the bank when disturbed, or hiding at its base. They are said, moreover, to run swiftly on land. The note of _Heliornis fulica_ is like a dog's bark; the food is in all cases of small fish, crustaceans, insects, and seeds. The nest and eggs are unknown, but in the species just mentioned the nestlings are stated to be naked. This form, about thirteen inches long, which ranges from Guatemala to Paraguay, is olive-brown above, the black head and nape being separated by a white band down each side of the neck from a blackish line which encloses the white throat; the chest is buff, the sides are brown, the remaining underparts whitish; the bill is red, the feet are yellow, banded with black. _Podica senegalensis_ of West Africa, and the doubtfully distinct {268}_P. petersi_, reaching from the Lower Congo to South East Africa, are larger forms, with round ochreous spots above, and red feet. _Heliopaïs personata_, extending from Assam to Sumatra, has a black throat, orange bill, and light green feet.

ORDER XI. CHARADRIIFORMES.

The Charadriiformes are here taken to consist of five Sub-Orders. Of these the LIMICOLAE contains the Families _Charadriidae_ (Plovers, Sandpipers, Snipes, and so forth), _Chionididae_ (Sheath-bills), _Glareolidae_ (Pratincoles, Coursers, and Crab-Plover), _Thinocorythidae_ (Seed-Snipes), _Oedicnemidae_ (Stone-Curlews), and _Parridae_ (Jaçanas); the LARI possesses one Family, _Laridae_ (Gulls, Terns, and Skuas); the ALCAE only the _Alcidae_ (Auks); the PTEROCLES, the _Pteroclidae_ (Sand-Grouse); but the COLUMBAE may be divided into _Dididae_, _Didunculidae_, and _Columbidae_. The first three may again be combined into a Laro-Limicoline group, and the last two into a Pteroclo-Columbine, in accordance with their affinities.

In structure the LIMICOLAE are sufficiently uniform to be considered simultaneously.

The bill furnishes a useful means of subdividing the _Charadriidae_. It is hardest in _Haematopus_, _Ibidorhynchus_, _Strepsilas_, and so forth, being in them bony throughout. In _Charadrius_, _Aegialitis_, _Lobivanellus_, _Vanellus_, and the like, it has a hard tip, but is comparatively flexible towards the base. These may compose Sub-family (1) _Charadriinae_. In _Totanus_, and its nearest allies, it is still hard at the tip, but more flexible at the base. In _Tringa_, and similar genera, it ceases to be hard at the tip, and is slightly endowed with nerves. These may constitute Subfamily (2) _Tringinae_. In _Scolopax_, _Gallinago_, and _Rhynchaea_ it becomes highly nervous at the tip, and therein differs from that of all other birds. These form Sub-family (3) _Scolopacinae_. In _Himantopus_ and _Recurvirostra_ the bill is so attenuated as hardly to be called hard at the tip, but it has no nerves there. The form of the beak varies greatly, being asymmetrical and twisted to the right in _Anarhynchus_, up-curved from the middle in _Avocetta_, wedge-like in _Haematopus_, much flattened in _Tringa platyrhyncha_, spade-shaped in _Eurynorhynchus_, arched in _Numenius_, and strongly decurved in _Ibidorhynchus_. In the Chionididae a horny sheath covers the base of the maxilla, and is indicated by faint lines in the young; in _Glareola_ the bill is short, curved, and very {269}deeply split, making a wide gape; in _Dromas_ it is hard, deep, and compressed; in _Cursorius_ thick and little bent; in the Thinocorythidae Fowl-like; in the Oedicnemidae short, stout, and blunt; in the Parridae narrow and pointed, with a skinny frontal plate, and occasionally with rictal wattles. The nasal grooves are very long in _Ibidorhynchus_, _Totanus_, _Scolopax_ and elsewhere.

The tibia is often partly bare, and the metatarsus is extremely variable; the legs are longer in _Himantopus_ than in any other bird of its size, and long also in _Recurvirostra_, _Cursorius_, _Dromas_, the Parridae, and so forth, while _Haematopus_, _Aegialitis_, _Scolopax_, _Glareola_, _Chionis_, _Tringa_, and the Thinocorythidae are instances of the contrary. Both the front and back of these members are scutellated in most Scolopacinae and Tringinae, but the Charadriinae differ considerably in this respect; in _Glareola_ the fore-part only is transversely scutellated, in _Cursorius_, _Dromas_, the Thinocorythidae and Parridae the whole of the surface, while in the Chionididae and Oedicnemidae both aspects are reticulated. The anterior toes are ordinarily free, or have the third and fourth digits slightly connected; but _Dromas_ and _Recurvirostra_ have them partly webbed, as to some extent have _Himantopus_, _Totanus semipalmatus_, and a few other forms, while in _Phalaropus_ the metatarsus is much compressed, and the toes have lobed margins. The hallux, normally set rather high, is frequently aborted, as in _Charadrius_, _Ibidorhynchus_, _Calidris_, _Cursorius_ and _Oedicnemus_; in the Thinocorythidae and _Glareola_ it is very small, in _Dromas_ larger; in the Parridae all four digits are on a level and abnormally long, as are the claws, so that the birds walk easily on floating vegetation. The nail of the mid-toe is pectinated in the Glareolidae, recalling that of the Caprimulginae (Night-jars). The digits are often somewhat fleshy, _Oedicnemus_ moreover, has an enlarged tibio-tarsal joint.

The wings are usually long, having a bilobed appearance owing to the equality of the inner secondaries and outer primaries; _Himantopus_, _Dromas_, _Glareola_, and the Thinocorythidae have them much elongated, _Phegornis_ and some other forms very short, while in _Vanellus_ the expanse is most noticeable. In this genus, _Lobivanellus_, _Hoplopterus_, the Chionididae, and the Parridae, is found a carpal spur, often large and sharp; _Metopidius_, and, apparently, _Hydralector_ have the radius dilated into a sub-triangular lamina[184]; {270}_Hydrophasianus_ has peculiar filamentous appendages to the first and fourth primaries; _Scolopax minor_ has the three exterior of the normal eleven primaries particularly attenuated. The secondaries in the Limicolae vary from ten to twenty.

The rectrices are usually twelve; though _Rhynchaea_ and the Parridae have ten, while _Scolopax stenura_ and _S. megala_ possess twenty and twenty-six respectively, the outer of which are exceedingly stiff and narrow–not to give further instances. The tail in _Glareola_ is deeply furcate and Swallow-like, in _Hydrophasianus_ it has the four median plumes very long and decurved in the breeding season; but it is often quite short, as in _Scolopax_. The form may be slightly forked, as in _Chionis_; somewhat graduated or cuneate, as in the Thinocorythidae, _Totanus hypoleucus_, and _Oedicnemus_; rounded, as in _Cursorius_; or almost even, as in _Vanellus_.

The tongue is rather long and pointed, being, however, rudimentary in _Numenius_; the nostrils are pervious, except in the Thinocorythidae, Glareolidae, and perhaps _Dromas_, and have at times a leathery operculum in Plovers; the syrinx is tracheo-bronchial, the furcula U-shaped; _Parra_ has a decidedly muscular gizzard, and the Thinocorythidae possess a globular crop. The convoluted trachea of _Rhynchaea_, the papillae on the orbits of _Chionis_, the caruncles on the face of _Machetes_, and the loral wattles of _Lobivanellus_ are fully described below. The aftershaft is very small in the Parridae, rather large elsewhere. In adults the down is sparing; in the young it is short, thick, and commonly of a yellowish hue, with brown longitudinal stripes; though it may be grey, as in _Chionis_ and _Haematopus_; mottled with reddish and white, as in Snipes; or with black, orange, yellow, and white, as in Phalaropes.

The plumage is usually plain brown or grey, with an admixture of white, or less commonly chestnut; _Vanellus_, _Lobivanellus_, and _Cursorius chalcopterus_, however, exhibit metallic hues, and _Chionis_ is white. Red or yellow beaks or feet adorn many forms. Crests occur in certain species of _Vanellus_, _Hoplopterus_, and _Lobivanellus_; the male of _Machetes_ (Ruff) is most remarkable for its lateral head-tufts and fine neck-frill, developed for the breeding season; _Numenius tahitiensis_ has peculiar bristly-pointed flank-feathers. In _Scolopax_ the large eyes are set unusually far back in the skull. The sexes are generally similar, but in _Eudromias_,[185] _Phalaropus_, and _Rhynchaea_ the female is brighter than {271}the male, as well as larger, the latter fact holding true of a considerable number of the Tringinae and Scolopacinae, and of the Parridae, though a special study of the subject is still needful. In several species the breeding plumage differs remarkably from that of winter.

The _Limicolae_ often flock together in the cold season, but are by no means uniform in their habits, and divergencies will be noticed under the various genera. They run well, often bobbing the head up and down, and fly strongly, wheeling round sharply in the air; while some Snipes rise in zigzag fashion. Typically waders, many, if not all of them, can swim on emergency, but few habitually do so, like Phalaropes. Exceptionally they perch on trees, or soar. Swamps, river-sides, and in winter the sea-coast, are the general haunts; but Coursers, Stone-Curlews and "Seed-Snipes" frequent arid or stony localities, _Dromas_ sandy islets or shores, _Chionis_ maritime rocks. _Vanellus cayennensis_ and _Parra jacana_ are said to indulge in dances, while Lapwings and other species feign to be wounded if their young are in danger. The food consists of crustaceans, molluscs, worms, and insects; rarely of small fish or eggs of other birds; but not uncommonly of vegetable matter, on which the Thinocorythidae entirely subsist. The usual note is shrill, but the "scape, scape" of the Snipe, the melancholy whistle of the Curlew, the yelp of the Godwit, the reiterated scream of the Oyster-catcher, and the sweet song or trill of Temminck's Stint and of the Green Sandpiper should be noticed among the exceptions. Usually four pyriform eggs, varying from brownish or olive-green to stone-colour, with double markings of lighter and darker shades, are arranged in a hole scraped in the ground, with or without lining, the small ends pointing to the centre. Those of Oyster-catchers and Stone-Curlews are more oval, while the Dotterel and some other species lay only three, and Stone-Curlews two. The Parridae amass a considerable pile of water-plants, _Chionis_ usually breeds in holes among rocks, the Green and the Wood-Sandpiper often use deserted nests of other birds. The young run almost from the shell, the Stone-Curlews and _Dromas_, which lays a white egg in sandy burrows, being to some extent exceptions. The male performs most of the duties of incubation in _Rhynchaea_, _Phalaropus_, and apparently the Dotterel, Bar-tailed Godwit, and Purple Sandpiper–if not elsewhere; while the Ruff is well known to be polygamous. Stone-Curlews and {272}Woodcocks are certainly somewhat crepuscular, and the drumming of the Snipe (p. 291) must be mentioned in passing. Nearly all Limicoline birds are migrants, and may frequently be heard overhead at night, when on passage. The flesh is generally excellent.