with his tail to stimulate himself into rage; when, in 1832, there was
exhibited to the Zoological Society a claw obtained from the tip of
the tail of a Barbary Lion, presented to the Society's menagerie by
Sir Thomas Reade. It was detected on the living animal by Mr. Bennett,
and pointed out to the keeper, in whose hands it came off while he
was examining it. Blumenbach quotes Homer, Lucan, and Pliny, among
others who have described the Lion (erroneously) as lashing himself
with his tail, when angry, to provoke his rage. None of these writers,
however, advert to any peculiarity in the Lion's tail to which so
extraordinary a function might, however incorrectly, be attributed.
Didymus Alexandrinus, a commentator on the "Iliad," cited by Blumenbach,
having found a black prickle, like a horn, among the hair of the tail,
immediately conjectured that he had ascertained the true cause of the
stimulus when the animal flourishes his tail in defiance of his enemies,
remarking that, when punctured by this prickle, the Lion became more
irritable from the pain which it occasioned. The subject, however,
appears to have slumbered till 1829, when M. Deshayes announced that
he had found the prickle both of a Lion and Lioness, which had died
in the French menagerie, and described it as a little nail, or horny
production, adhering by its base only to the skin, and not to the last
caudal vertebra. From that period Mr. Wood, the able zoologist, examined
the tail of every Lion, living or dead, to which he could gain access;
but in no instance had he succeeded in finding the prickle till the
above specimen, which was placed in his hands within half an hour after
its removal from the living animal, and while yet soft at its base,
where it had been attached to the skin. Its shape was nearly straight,
then slightly contracted, forming a very obtuse angle, and afterwards
swelling out like the bulb of a bristle, to its termination. It was
laterally flattened throughout its entire length, which did not amount
to quite three-eighths of an inch, of horn colour, and nearly black at
the tip. Its connexion with the skin must have been very slight, which
accounts for its usual absence in stuffed as well as living specimens.
This does not depend upon age, as it was found alike in the Paris Lions,
of considerable size, as well as in the Zoological Society's Lions,
very small and young; nor did it depend upon sex. It appears to be
occasionally present in the Leopard; and, in both Lion and Leopard, it
is seated at the extreme tip of the tail, and is altogether unconnected
with the terminal caudal vertebra; not fitted on like a cap, but rather
inserted into the skin.
The use of the prickle, however, it still remained difficult to
conjecture; but that its existence was known to the ancients is proved
by the Nimroud sculptures in the British Museum, in an exaggerated
representation of the claw, in support of this curious fact in natural
history. The existence of the claw has been proved by Mr. Bennett;
and "it is no small gratification to be able now to quote in evidence
of the statement of Mr. Bennett, and of his predecessor. Didymus, of
Alexandria, the original and authentic document, on the authority of the
veritable descendants of the renowned hunter Nimroud; which any one may
read who will take the trouble to examine the sculptured slab in the
British Museum."[8]
In the Nineveh galleries of the British Museum we also see pictured in
stone the employment of the Lion, in the life of Assyria and Babylonia,
three thousand years since; in the events of a succession of dynasties,
recording the sieges of cities, the combats of warriors, the triumphs
of Kings, the processions of victors, the chains and fetters of the
vanquished. To the zoological observer these sculptures present drawings
_ad naturam_ of tableaux of Lions and Lion-hunts; Lions in combat, as
well as in moveable dens and cages, and the ferocity of the chase; and
Lions transfixed with arrows or javelins in the arena. One of the finest
of these sculptures is in the representation of a Lion-hunt, on a long
slab that lined the principal chamber of the most ancient palace at
Nimroud. The King is in his chariot, drawn by three horses, which the
charioteer is urging forward to escape the attack of an infuriated Lion
that has already placed its fore-paws upon the back of the chariot. At
this critical moment, the Royal descendant of the mighty hunter aims a
deadly shaft at the head of the roaring and wounded Lion, the position
of whose tail and limbs is finely indicative of rage and fury. Behind
the Lion are two of the King's attendants, fully armed, and holding
their daggers and shields, ready to defend themselves in case the prey
should escape the arrow of the King. Before the chariot is a wounded
Lion, crawling from under the horses' feet. The cringing agony conveyed
in its entire action is well contrasted with the undaunted fury of the
former. In another slab we have the continuation of the same Lion-hunt,
representing the triumphant return of the King from the chase. At his
feet lies the Lion subdued, but not dead.
Of the pageantry of the Lion, we read, in Bell's "Travels," that the
monarch of Persia had, on days of audience, two great Lions chained on
each side of the passage to the state-room, led there by keepers in
golden chains.
Our early English Sovereigns had a menagerie in the Tower from the reign
of Henry III. (1252.) In 1370 (44 Edward III.) are entries of payments
made to "the Keeper of the King's Lions and Leopards" there, at the
rate of 6_d._ a-day for his wages, and 6_d._ a-day for each beast.
The number of beasts varied from four to seven. Two young Lions are
specially mentioned; and "a Lion lately sent by the Lord the Prince,
from Germany to England, to our Lord the King." And we read, in Lord
Burghley's "Diary," 1586, of the grant of the keeping of the Lions in
the Tower, with "the Fine of 12_d._ per diem, and 6_d._ for the Meat of
those Lions." The first menagerie-building was the Lion Tower, to which
was added a semicircular inclosure, where Lions and Bears were baited
with dogs, with which James I. and his court were much delighted. A
Lion was named after the reigning King; and it was popularly believed
that "when the King dies, the Lion of that name dies after him." The
last of the Tower animals were transferred to the Zoological Society's
menagerie, in the Regent's-park, in 1834. The Tower menagerie is well
described in a handsome volume, with woodcut portraits, by William
Harvey.
The punishment of being _thrown to Lions_ is stated as common among the
Romans of the first century; and numerous tales are extant, in which the
fierce animals became meek and lamb-like before the holy virgins of the
Church. This, indeed, is the origin of the superstition, nowhere more
beautifully expressed than in Lord Byron's "Siege of Corinth":--
"'Tis said that a Lion will turn and flee
From a maid in the pride of her purity."
Every wild beast show almost has its tame Lion, with which the keeper
takes the greatest liberties; liberties which the beast will suffer,
generally speaking, from none but him. Major Smith relates that he
had seen the keeper of a Lioness stand upon the beast, drag her round
the cage by her tail, open her jaws, and thrust his head between her
teeth. Another keeper, at New York, had provided himself with a fur cap,
the novelty of which attracted the notice of the Lion, which, making
a sudden grapple, tore the cap off his head as he passed the cage;
but, perceiving that the keeper was the person whose head he had thus
uncovered, he immediately laid the cap down. Wombwell, in his menagerie,
had a fine Lion, Nero, that allowed _strangers_ to enter his den, and
even put their heads within his jaws. This tameness is not, however, to
be trusted, since the natural ferocity of some Lions is never safely
subdued. Lions which have been sometimes familiar, have, on other
occasions, been known to kill their keepers, and dart at those who have
incautiously approached too near their cage. All these exhibitions have
been entirely eclipsed by the feats of Van Amburgh, in his exercise of
complete control over Lions. The melancholy fate of "the Lion Queen,"
however, tells of the fatal result of her confidence. The Lion-killing
feats of Captain Gordon Cumming had a more legitimate object in view--to
render us more familiar with the zoological character of the Lion.
Colonization has scarcely yet extirpated the Lion in Algeria, where the
French colonists make fine sport of "the King of the Beasts." M. Jules
Gerard, a Nimroud in his way, has been noted for his Lion-killing feats.
We read of his tracking a large old Lion in the Smauls country, one
hundred leagues in ten days, without catching a glimpse of anything but
his foot-prints. At length, accompanied by a native of the country and a
spahi, Gerard took up his quarters at the foot of a tree upon the path
which the old Lion had taken. It was moonlight, and Gerard made out two
Lions sitting about one hundred paces off, and exactly in the shadow of
the tree. The Arab lay snoring ten paces off, in the full light of the
moon, and had, doubtless, attracted the attention of the Lions. Gerard
expressly forbade the spahi to wake the Arab. Our Lion-hunter then got
up the hill to reconnoitre; the boldest of the Lions came up to within
ten paces of Gerard, and fifteen of the Arab: the Lion's eye was fixed
on the latter, and the second Lion placed himself on a level with, and
four or five paces from, the first. They proved to be both full-grown
Lionesses. Gerard took aim at the first as she came rolling and roaring
down to the foot of the tree. The Arab was scarcely awakened, when a
second ball stretched the Lioness dead upon the spot. Gerard then looked
out for the second Lioness, who was standing up within fifteen paces,
looking around her. He fired, and she fell down roaring, and disappeared
in a field of maize; she fell, but was still alive. Next morning at
daybreak, at the spot where the Lioness had fallen, were blood marks,
denoting her track in the direction of a wood. After sending off the
dead Lioness. Gerard returned to his post of the preceding night. A
little after sunset the Lion roared in his lair, and continued roaring
all night. Convinced that the wounded Lioness was there, Gerard sent two
Arabs to explore the cover, but they durst not. He next evening reached
the lair, taking with him a goat, which he left with the Arabs: the
Lioness appeared. Gerard fired, and she fell without a struggle; she was
believed dead, but she got up again as though nothing was the matter,
and showed all her teeth. One of the Arabs, within six paces of her,
seeing her get up, clung to the lower branches of a tree and disappeared
like a squirrel. The Lioness fell dead at the foot of the tree, a second
bullet piercing her heart: the first had passed out of the nape of the
neck without breaking the skull-bone.
The Lions presented by Lord Prudhoe to the British Museum are the best
sculptured representations of the animal in this country. Although the
Lion is our national hieroglyphic, and there are many statues of him,
yet not one among them all appears without a defect, which makes our
representations of him belong to the class _canis_ instead of _felis_, a
fault not found in any Egyptian sculpture.[9]
FOOTNOTES:
[8] Bonomi; "Nineveh and its Palaces," p. 249.
[9] Bonomi; "Proc. Royal Soc., Literature."
BIRD-LIFE.
"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they
reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth
them."--Matthew vi. 26.
"Free tenants of land, air, and ocean,
Their forms all symmetry, their motions grace;
In plumage delicate and beautiful,
Thick without burthen, close as fishes' scales,
Or loose as full-blown poppies on the gales;
With wings that seem as they'd a soul within them,
They bear their owners with such sweet enchantment."
_James Montgomery._
Birds, as regards structure, are perhaps the most perfectly endowed,
as they are certainly the most beautiful and interesting, of all the
lower animals. In Birds there is an admirable mechanism and adaptation
both for gliding in the air and swimming in the water. They surpass all
other animals in the faculty of continuing their motion without resting,
as well as in its rapidity. The fleetest courser can scarcely ever run
more than a mile in a minute, nor support that speed beyond five or six
such exertions. But the joyous Swallow does this tenfold for pleasure.
In his usual way he flies at the rate of one mile in a minute; and
Wilson, the ornithologist, ascertained that the Swallow is so engaged
for ten hours every day. So can the Blue-bird of America, for a space of
600 miles. Our Carrier-pigeons move with half that celerity: one flew
from Liskeard to London, 220 miles, in six hours. The Golden Eagle is
supposed to dart through the fiercest storm at the rate of 160 miles an
hour; but one of our smallest Birds, the Swift, can even quadruple the
most excited quickness of the race-horse for a distance. Spallanzani
thought that the little Swift travelled at the rate of 250 miles an hour.
Inquiries into the phenomena of the flight of Birds would lead us
far beyond our limits. The subject is beset with error. Thus, we
read:--"Every one has remarked the manner in which Birds of prey float,
as it were, without any effort, and with steady expanded wings, at great
heights in the atmosphere. This they are enabled to do from the quantity
of air contained in the air-cells of their bodies, which air being taken
in at a low level in the atmosphere, of course rarefies and expands as
the Bird ascends into higher regions. Their rapidity of descent must
be accomplished by the sudden expulsion of this air, aided by their
muscular efforts."
Now, Dr. Crisp has read to the Zoological Society a paper "On the
Presence or Absence of Air in the Bones of Birds," for the purpose of
showing the prevailing error upon the subject--viz., "that the bones
of the Bird are filled with air." Of fifty-two British Birds recently
dissected by him, only one, the Sparrow-hawk, had the bones generally
perforated for the admission of air. In thirteen others, the humeri only
were hollow, and among these were several Birds of short flight. In the
remaining thirty-eight, neither the _humeri_ nor _femora_ contained
air, although in this list were several Birds of passage and of rapid
flight--Dr. Crisp's conclusion being, that the majority of British Birds
have no air in their bones, and that, with the exception of the Falcons,
but very few British Birds have hollow femora.
Mr. Gould records a most remarkable instance of rapid and sustained
flight, which he witnessed on his return from North America, whither
he had proceeded for the purpose of studying the habits and manners of
the species of _Trochilus_ (Humming Bird), frequenting that portion
of America. Having remarked that he arrived just prior to the period
of the migration of this Bird from Mexico to the north, and had ample
opportunities for observing it in a state of nature, he noticed that
its actions were very peculiar, and quite different from those of all
other birds: the flight is performed by a motion of the wings so rapid
as to be almost imperceptible; indeed, the muscular power of this little
creature appears to be very great in every respect, as, independently of
its rapid and sustained flight, it grasps the small twigs, flowers, &c.,
upon which it alights with the utmost tenacity. It appears to be most
active in the morning and evening, and to pass the middle of the day in
a state of sleepy torpor. Occasionally it occurs in such numbers that
fifty or sixty birds may be seen in a single tree. When captured it so
speedily becomes tame that it will feed from the hand or mouth within
half an hour. Mr. Gould having been successful in keeping a Humming-Bird
alive in a gauze bag attached to his breast button for three days,
during which it readily fed from a bottle filled with a syrup of brown
sugar and water, he determined to make an attempt to bring some living
examples to England, in which he succeeded; but unfortunately they did
not long survive their arrival.
The adaptation of colour in Birds to their haunts strikingly tends to
their preservation. The small Birds which frequent hedges have backs
of a brownish or brownish-green hue; and their bellies are generally
whitish, or light-coloured, so as to harmonize with the sky. Thus, they
become less visible to the hawk or cat that passes above or below them.
The wayfarer across the fields also treads upon the Skylark before he
sees it warbling to heaven's gate. The Goldfinch or Thistlefinch passes
much of its time among flowers, and is vividly coloured accordingly.
The Partridge can hardly be distinguished from the fallow or stubble
among which it crouches; and it is considered an accomplishment among
sportsmen to have a good eye for finding a Hare sitting. In northern
countries the winter dress of the Hares and Ptarmigans is white, to
prevent detection among the snows of those inclement regions.
The Song of Birds is popularly explained by the author of a work,
entitled, "The Music of Nature," in which he illustrates the vocal
machinery of Birds as follows:--"It is difficult to account for so small
a creature as a Bird making a tone as loud as some animal a thousand
times its size; but a recent discovery shows that in birds the lungs
have several openings communicating with corresponding air-bags or
cells, which fill the whole cavity of the body from the neck downward,
and into which the air passes and repasses in the progress of breathing.
This is not all. The very bones are hollow, from which air-pipes are
conveyed to the most solid parts of the body, even into the quills and
feathers. The air being rarefied by the heat of their body, adds to
their levity. By forcing the air out of their body, they can dart down
from the greatest heights with astonishing velocity. No doubt the same
machinery forms the basis of their vocal powers, and at once resolves
the mystery into a natural ordering of parts." This is a very pretty
story; but, unfortunately, it is not correct, as already shown.
A correspondent of the "Athenæum," writing in 1866, says:--"He would be
a bold man who should say that Birds have no delight in their own songs.
I have been led to conclude from experiments which I have made, and from
other observations, that certain animals, especially Birds, have not
only an ear for fine sounds, but also a preference for the things they
see out of respect to fine colours or other pleasing external features.
It is chiefly among Birds, when we consider the case of animals, that
a taste for ornament and for glittering objects, often very startling
and human-like, is to be found. The habits of the Pheasant, Peacock,
Turkey, Bird of Paradise, several Birds of the Pigeon and Crow kind, and
certain Singing Birds, are evidence. The Australian Satin Bower-Bird
is the most remarkable of that class which exhibit taste for beauty or
for glittering objects out of themselves--that is, beauty not directly
personal; collecting, in fact, little museums of shells, gaudy feathers,
shining glass, or bits of coloured cloth or pottery. It will be found
with many Birds that fine plumes, a mirror, and an admirer, are not
altogether objects devoid of interest.
"Another consideration leading me to the same conclusion, is the fact,
that beauty in animals is placed on prominent parts, or on parts
which by erection or expansion are easily, and at the pairing season,
frequently rendered prominent, such as a crest or tail. A spangle of
ruby or emerald does not exist, for instance, on the side under the
wing, which is seldom raised, of our domestic poultry. Such jewels are
hung where man himself wears his, on the face and forehead, or court
attention, like our own crowns, trains, shoulder-knots, breast-knots,
painted cheeks, or jewelled ears. I cannot account for the existence of
these gaudy ornaments to please man, for nowhere are they more gorgeous
than in Birds which live in the depth of the tropical forest, where man
is rarely a visitor; I cannot account for them on the principle that
they do good to their possessors in the battle for life, because they
rather render them conspicuous to their enemies, or coveted by man." But
the beauty of these beings glows most brightly at the season of their
pairing, and the selection of their mates.
Baron von Tschudi, the Swiss naturalist, has shown the important
services of Birds in the destruction of insects. Without Birds, no
agriculture or vegetation would be possible. They accomplish in a few
months the profitable work of destruction which millions of human hands
could not do half so well in as many years; and the sage, therefore,
blamed in very severe terms the foolish practice of shooting and
destroying Birds, which prevails more especially in Italy, recommending,
on the contrary, the process of alluring Birds into gardens and
corn-fields. Among the most deserving Birds he counts Swallows, Finches.
Titmice, Redtails, &c. The naturalist then cites numerous instances in
support of his assertion. In a flower-garden of one of his neighbours
three rose-trees had been suddenly covered with about 2,000 tree-lice.
At his recommendation a Marsh-Titmouse was located in the garden, which
in a few hours consumed the whole brood, and left the roses perfectly
clean. A Redtail in a room was observed to catch about 900 flies in an
hour. A couple of Night-Swallows have been known to destroy a whole
swarm of gnats in fifteen minutes. A pair of Golden-crested Wrens
carry insects as food to their nestlings upon an average thirty-six
times in an hour. For the protection of orchards and woods Titmice are
of invaluable service. They consume, in particular, the eggs of the
dangerous pine-spiders. One single female of such spiders frequently
lays from 600 to 800 eggs twice in the summer season, while a Titmouse
with her young ones consume daily several thousands of them. Wrens,
Nuthatches, and Woodpeckers often dexterously fetch from the crevices of
tree-bark numbers of insects for their nestlings.
Yet, profitless and wanton Bird-murder is common. The cliffs on the
coasts of these islands are the resort of numerous kinds of Sea-Fowl,
and these Fowl, we are told, are slaughtered by thousands, not merely
for the sake of their feathers, but actually for the mere savage
pleasure of killing. What speculation can enter into such a proceeding
it may puzzle the reader to imagine; but it seems that the wing feathers
of the poor White Gull are now inquired for in the plume-trade, and
we are actually told of an order given by a single house for 10,000
of these unhappy Birds. When these facts were stated at the Meeting
of the British Association, in August, 1868, at Norwich, a lady stood
up boldly in defence of her sex, and declared that they sinned only
through ignorance, and would never willingly wear the feathers of a
Bird destroyed in the act of feeding its young. That part of the case,
therefore, ought to be now in safe hands. In the Isle of Man a law has
been passed, called the "Seagull Preservation Act," protecting these
Birds by heavy penalties, on the ground of their utility in removing
fish offal and guiding fishermen to shoals of fish. At a certain point
of our shores a similar protection has been established. A visitor to
the South Stack Lighthouse, on the coast of Anglesey, may see prodigious
numbers of Sea-Fowl as tame as complete safety can make them. It has
been ascertained that in thick weather, when neither light can be
distinguished nor signal seen, the incessant scream of these Birds gives
the best of all warnings to the mariner of the vicinity of the rock. The
noise they make can be heard at a greater distance than the tolling of
the great bell; and so valuable was this danger-signal considered, that
an order from the Trinity House forbad even the firing of the warning
gun, lest the colony of the Sea-Fowl should be disturbed. The signals of
the bell and the cannon might be neglected or overpowered, but the Birds
were always there and always audible.
It is inferred that Birds possess some notion of power, and of cause and
effect, from the various actions which they perform. "Thus," relates Dr.
Fleming, "we have seen the Hooded Crow in Zetland, when feeding on small
shell-fish, able to break some of the tenderer kinds by means of its
bill, aided in some cases by beating them against a stone; but, as some
of the larger shells, such as the buckie and the welk, cannot be broken
by such means, the Crow employs another method, by which, in consequence
of applying foreign power, it accomplishes its object. Seizing the
shell with its claws, it mounts up into the air, and then loosing its
hold, causes the shell to fall among stones (in preference to the sand,
the water, or the soil on the ground), that it may be broken, and give
easier access to the contained animal. Should the first attempt fail,
a second or third is tried, with this difference, that the Crow rises
higher in the air, in order to increase the power of the fall, and
more effectually remove the barrier to the contained morsel. On such
occasions we have seen a strong Bird remain an apparently inattentive
spectator of the process of breaking the shell, but coming to the spot
with astonishing keenness when the efforts of its neighbour had been
successful, in order to share the spoil. Pennant mentions similar
operations performed by Crows on mussels."