[Illustration]
_Great Bustard._—This very singular bird, which is the largest of our
land birds, is about four feet long, and weighs from twenty-five to
thirty pounds; its characters are peculiar, and with such as connect it
with birds of the gallinaceous kind, it has others which seem to belong
to the ostrich and the cassowary. Its bill is strong, and rather convex:
its eyes red; on each side of the lower bill there is a tuft of feathers
about nine inches long; its head and neck are ash-coloured. In the one
described by Edwards there are on each side of the neck two naked spots,
of a violet colour, but which appeared to be covered with feathers when
the neck was much extended. The back is barred transversely with black
and bright rust-colour on a pale reddish ground; the quills are black,
the belly white; the tail consists of twenty feathers; the middle ones
are rust-colour, barred with black; those on each side are white, with a
bar or two of black near the ends; the legs are long, naked above the
knees, and dusky; it has no hind toe, its nails are short, strong, and
convex both above and below; the bottom of the foot is furnished with a
callous prominence, which serves instead a heel. The female is not much
more than half the size of the male: the top of her head is of a deep
orange, the rest of the head brown; her colours are not so bright as
those of the male, and she has no tuft on each side of the head. There
is likewise another very essential difference between the male and the
female: the former is furnished with a sack or pouch, situated in the
forepart of the neck, and capable of containing about two quarts; the
entrance to it is immediately under the tongue. This singular reservoir
was first discovered by Dr. Douglas, who supposes that the bird fills it
with water as a supply in the midst of those dreary plains where it is
accustomed to wander. It likewise makes a farther use of it in defending
itself against the attacks of birds of prey. On such occasions, it
throws out the water with such violence, as not unfrequently to baffle
the pursuit of its enemy.
Bustards were formerly more common in this island than at present; they
are now found only in the open counties of the south and east, in the
plains of Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, and in some parts of Yorkshire; they
were formerly met with in Scotland, but are now supposed to be extinct
there. They are slow in taking wing, but run with great rapidity, and
when young are sometimes taken with grey-hounds, which pursue them with
great avidity: their chase is said to afford excellent diversion. The
great bustard is granivorous, but feeds chiefly on herbs of various
kinds, it is also fond of those worms which are seen to come out of the
ground in great numbers before sun-rise in the summer; in winter, it
frequently feeds on the bark of trees; like the ostrich, it swallows
small stones, bits of metal, and the like. The female builds no nest,
but making a hole in the ground drops two eggs, about the size of those
of a goose, of a pale olive brown, with dark spots. She sometimes leaves
her eggs in quest of food; and if during her absence, any one should
handle, or even breathe upon them, she immediately abandons them.
Bustards are found in various parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa; but
have not hitherto been discovered on the new continent.
The Little Bustard, (_Otis Tetrax_, LINN. _La Petite Outarde_, BUFF.) is
in length only seventeen inches. The bill is pale brown; irides red; the
top of the head is black, spotted with pale rust colour; the sides of
the head, the chin, and throat, are of a reddish white, marked with a
few dark spots; the whole neck is black, encircled with an irregular
band of white near the top and bottom; the back and wings are rust
colour, mottled with brown, and crossed with fine irregular black lines,
the under parts of the body, and outer edges of the wings, are white:
the tail consists of eighteen feathers; the middle ones are tawny,
barred with black, the others are white marked with a few irregular
bands of black, the legs are grey. The female is smaller, and has not
the black collar on the neck; in other respects she nearly resembles the
male.
This bird is very uncommon in this country: and we have seen only two of
them, both females. The figure was drawn from one sent by W. Trevelyan,
Esq. which was taken on the edge of Newmarket heath, and kept alive
about three weeks in a kitchen, where it was fed with bread and other
things, such as poultry eat. It is very common in France, where it is
also a very shy and cunning bird; if disturbed it flies two or three
hundred paces, not far from the ground, and then runs away much faster
than any one can follow on foot. The female lays her eggs in June, to
the number of three or four, of a glossy green colour: as soon as the
young are hatched, she leads them about as the hen does her chickens:
they begin to fly about the middle of August.
Both this and the great bustard are excellent eating, and, we should
imagine, would well repay the trouble of domestication: indeed, it seems
surprising that we should suffer these fine birds to run wild, and be in
danger of total extinction, which, if properly cultivated, might afford
as excellent a repast as our own domestic poultry, or even as the
turkey, (_vide_ TURKEY) for which we are indebted to distant
countries.—_Bewick._
BUTT, _s._ The place on which the mark to be shot at is placed; a
vessel; a barrel containing one hundred and twenty-six gallons
of wine; the thick or lower joint of a fishing rod; the handle
of a cue.
The marks usually shot at by archers, for pastime, were “butts, prickes,
and roavers.” The butt, we are told, was a level mark, and required a
strong arrow, with a very broad feather; the pricke was a “mark of
compass,” but certain in its distance; and to this mark strong swift
arrows, of one flight, with a middling sized feather, were best suited;
the roaver was a mark of uncertain lengths. It was, therefore, proper
for the archer to have various kinds of arrows, of different weights, to
be used according to the different changements made in the distance of
the ground.
The Cornish men are spoken of as good archers, who shoot their arrows to
a great length; they are also, says Carew, “well skilled in near
shooting, and in well aimed shooting: the butts made them perfect in the
one, and the roaving in the other, for the prickes, the first corrupters
of archery, through too much preciseness, were formerly scarcely known,
and little practised.” Other marks are occasionally mentioned; as the
standard, the target, hazel wands, rose garlands, and the popinjay,
which, we are told, was an artificial parrot.—_Strutt._
BUTT, _v._ To strike with the head.
BUTTER, _s._ An unctuous substance, made by agitating the cream of
milk till the oil separates from the whey.
BUTTERFLY, _s._ A beautiful insect.
BUTTOCK, _s._ The rump, the part near the tail.
BUTTON, _s._ Any knob or ball; the bud of a plant.
BUZZARD, _s._ A degenerate or mean species of hawk.
[Illustration]
The Common Buzzard, or Puttock.—(_Falco Buteo_, LINN.; _La Buse_, BUFF.)
M. Buffon distinguishes the kites and the buzzards from the eagles and
hawks, by their habits and dispositions, which he compares to those of
the vultures, and places them after those birds. Though possessed of
strength, agility, and weapons to defend themselves, they are cowardly,
inactive, and slothful, they will fly before a sparrow-hawk, and when
overtaken, will suffer themselves to be beaten, and even brought to the
ground, without resistance. The buzzard is about twenty inches in
length, and in breadth four feet and a half. Its bill is of a lead
colour, eyes pale yellow: the upper parts of the body are of a dusky
brown colour; the wings and tail are marked with bars of a darker hue;
the under parts pale, variegated with a light reddish brown; the legs
are yellow; claws black. But birds of this species are subject to
greater variations than most other birds, as scarcely two are alike:
some are entirely white, of others the head only is white, and others
again are mottled with brown and white.
This well-known bird is of a sedentary and indolent disposition; it
continues for many hours perched upon a tree or eminence, whence it
darts upon the game that comes within its reach: it feeds on birds,
small quadrupeds, reptiles and insects. Its nest is constructed with
small branches, lined in the inside with wool and other soft materials;
it lays two or three eggs, of a whitish colour, spotted with yellow. It
feeds and tends its young with great assiduity. Ray affirms, that if the
female be killed during the time of incubation, the male buzzard takes
charge of them, and patiently rears the young till they are able to
provide for themselves.
* * * * *
The Honey Buzzard (_Falco Apivorus_, LINN.; _La Bondrée_, BUFF.), is as
large as the buzzard, measuring twenty-two inches in length; the wings
extend above four feet. Its bill is black, and rather longer than that
of the buzzard; the eyes are yellow; the head large and flat, and of an
ash-colour; the upper parts of the body dark brown; the under parts
white, spotted or barred with rusty brown on the breast and belly; tail
brown, marked with three broad dusky bars, between each of which are two
or three of the same colour, but narrower; the legs are stout and short,
of a dull yellow colour; claws black.
This bird builds a nest similar to that of the buzzard, and of the same
kind of materials: its eggs are of an ash-colour, with small brown
spots. It sometimes takes possession of the nests of other birds, and
feeds its young with wasps and other insects. It is fond of field-mice,
frogs, lizards and insects. It does not soar like the kite, but flies
low, from tree to tree, or from bush to bush. It is found in all the
northern parts of Europe, and in the open parts of Russia and Siberia,
but is not so common in England as the buzzard.
Buffon observes that it is frequently caught in the winter, when it is
fat and delicious eating.
* * * * *
The Moor Buzzard, Duck Hawk or White-headed Harpy (_Falco Æruginosus_,
LINN.; _Le Busard_, BUFF.) is in length above twenty-one inches. The
bill is black; cere and eyes yellow; the whole crown of the head is of a
yellowish white, lightly tinged with brown; the throat is of a light
rust colour: the rest of the plumage is of a reddish brown, with pale
edges; the greater wing coverts tipped with white. The legs are yellow;
claws black.
Birds of this kind vary much; in some, the crown and back part of the
head are yellow; and in one described by Mr. Latham, the whole bird was
uniformly of a chocolate brown, with a tinge of rust colour.
The moor buzzard preys on rabbits, young wild ducks, and other
water-fowl; and likewise feeds on fish, frogs, reptiles, and even
insects. Its haunts are in hedges and bushes near pools, marshes, and
rivers that abound with fish. It builds its nest a little above the
surface of the ground, or in hillocks covered with thick herbage: the
female lays three or four eggs of a whitish colour, irregularly
sprinkled with dusky spots. Though smaller, it is more active and bolder
than the common buzzard, and, when pursued, it faces its antagonist, and
makes a vigorous defence.—_Bewick._—_Latham._
BY-LAW, _s._ By-laws are orders made for the good of those that make
them, farther than the public law binds.
BY-WAY, _s._ A private obscure way.
BY-WORD, _s._ A saying, a proverb; a term of reproach.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAB, _s._ A contraction of cabriolet; a two-wheeled carriage.
CACKLE, _v._ To make a noise, as a goose or hen.
CACKLER, _s._ A fowl that cackles.
CADDIS or CAD-BAIT, _s._ A kind of worm or grub.
The several kinds of cadews in their nympha, or maggot state, thus house
themselves; one sort in straw, called from thence straw-worms; others in
two or more parallel sticks, creeping at the bottom of brooks; a third,
in a small bundle of pieces of rushes, duckweed, &c. glued together,
therewith they float on the surface, and can row themselves about the
water with the help of their feet; both these are called cad-bait. It is
a curious faculty that these creatures possess, of gathering such bodies
as are fittest for their purpose, and then so gluing them together, some
to be heavier than water, that the animal may remain at bottom where its
food is, and others to be so buoyant as to float, and there collect its
sustenance; these houses are coarse, and show no outward art, but are
within well tunnelled and have a tough hard paste, into which the hinder
part of the maggot is so fixed, that its cell can be drawn after it
without danger of leaving it behind, and it can also thrust out its body
to reach the needful supplies, or withdraw into its covering for
protection and safety.
These insects inhabit pits, ponds, low running rivers, or ditches, in
cases of different forms, and composed of various materials; some of
them inclosed in a very rough shell, found among weeds in standing
waters, are generally tinged green; others are bigger than a gentle, and
of a yellowish hue, with a black head; they are an excellent bait, and
are found in most plenty in gravelly and stony rivulets, and by the
sides of streams, in large rivers among stones.
To collect them, turn up the stones, and the best will adhere to them;
when the quantity wanted is obtained, put them into a linen bag for five
or six days, dip them, together with the bag, into water once a day, and
hang them up; they will then turn yellow, become tough, and fitter for
angling than when first got from the brook. If meant to be kept long,
they must be put into a thick woollen bag, with some of the moist gravel
or sand from the same rivulet whence they are taken; they must be wetted
twice a day, but oftener in very hot weather; when you carry them
abroad, fill the bag with water and holding the mouth of it close, let
the water run from them; thus they have been kept three weeks. Another
way of preserving them is, by placing them in an earthen pot full of
river water, with some of the gravel they were bred in at the bottom;
but the preceding method is preferable: some use bait pans of different
sizes for insects, the tops punched full of holes, not so large as to
admit of their escaping when placed in the river, which not only keeps
them cool, but supplies them with aliment in the fresh water; some keep
them in moss in a woollen bag on a damp floor, taking care that the bag
retains a proper moisture. Another mode of preserving caddis, and also
grasshoppers, caterpillars, oak-worms, or natural flies, is to take the
green withy bark from a bough six or seven inches round, and about a
foot in length, turn both ends into the form of a hoop, and fasten them
with a large needle and thread; stop up the bottom with cork, and bore
the bark full of holes with a red hot wire, tie over it a colewort leaf,
and lay it in the grass every night: in this manner caddis may be
preserved until they turn to flies. When grasshoppers are to be
preserved in the case, some grass must be put into it.
In angling with caddis, the line, when all out, should be as long as the
rod, for three lengths next the hook, of single hairs, with the smallest
float, and the least weight of lead, that the swiftness of the stream
will allow to sink, and that may be aided by avoiding the violence of
the current, and angling in the returns of a stream, or in the eddies
betwixt two; which are also the most likely places wherein to kill fish,
either at the top or bottom. The caddis may be at times, with very good
effect, joined to a worm, and sometimes to an artificial fly, to cover
the point of the hook, and also two or three together may be put upon
the hook; but it is always to be angled with at the bottom, especially
when by itself, with the finest tackle, and at all seasons is a most
holding bait for trout and grayling.—_Daniel._
CAG, _s._ A barrel or wooden vessel, made to contain four or five
gallons.
CAGE, _s._ An enclosure of twigs or wire, in which birds are kept; a
place for wild beasts; a prison for petty malefactors.
In _Falconry_, the cage is an oblong frame, four feet six inches long
and two feet wide, made of light wood, the sides and ends are of a
proper size for hawks to perch upon, and a little wadded, that it may
not injure their feet. It is supported, when placed on the ground, by
four legs, about a foot long. Slight rods of hazel are fixed across each
end, to prevent the hawks from falling on the inside when they bait. A
space of about twenty inches in length is left in the middle of the
cage, in which the falconer places himself, carrying it by two straps
that pass over his shoulders. The hawks are tied upon the cage as upon a
perch, and by this contrivance many may be carried by one man.
Cages and other instruments used in falconry, are well described in the
plates of the French Encyclopædia, printed in 1751.—_Sebright._
CAGE, _v._ To enclose in a cage.
CAJEPUT OIL, _s._ Is highly stimulating; it is given internally as
an antispasmodic, and applied as an external remedy for strains
and rheumatism: it may be diluted with olive oil.
CALAMINE, (_Lapis calaminaris_,) _s._ A kind of fossil bituminous
earth, which, being mixed with copper, changes it into brass.
CALCINATION, _s._ Such a management of bodies by fire as renders
them reducible to powder: chemical pulverization.
CALCINE, _v._ To burn in the fire to a calx or substance easily
reduced to powder.
CALCULUS, _s._ The stone in the bladder.
CALF, _s._ The young of a cow or deer; the thick, plump, bulbous
part of the leg.
CALIBRE, _s._ The bore, or diameter of the barrel of a gun.