everywhere, as its taste for offal and carrion renders it extremely
useful; for this reason in many places it is regarded with great favour,
and this kindly feeling is often carried to such a length as not only
to subject a person ill-using it to unpleasant remarks, but to actual
danger; indeed, in some parts it is looked upon as almost a sin to molest
it. In consequence of being thus favoured, the Stork frequently becomes
exceedingly tame, and may be seen stalking about the streets with the
utmost confidence, and scarcely moving out of the way of a passer-by.
These birds, according to popular belief, are not unmindful of the
kindness shown them, and the eggs and young that are frequently found
outside the nests are considered by the peasants to be tokens of their
gratitude.
THE SIMBIL.
The SIMBIL (_Spenorhynchus Abdimii_) is an inhabitant of Southern Africa,
and represents a division of the above birds having the face bare. In
this species the head and neck are greenish black, with a purple gloss,
and the mantle-quills and tail black, shaded with green; the under side
is white; the eye brown, the ring around it blue; the bare portions of
the face and throat are red; the beak is greenish, tipped with red; and
the foot brownish grey, with pale red joints. The length of the body is
twenty-eight and span of the wings sixty inches; the pinion measures
seventeen and the tail seven inches.
This bird is common in some parts of Central Africa, where it frequents
the villages during the breeding season, and makes its nest occasionally
upon the houses, but usually in the mimosa-trees in their immediate
vicinity. The eggs are very various in shape, and smaller than those of
Ciconia alba. This Stork is held in such regard by the natives as rendered
it almost impossible for us to procure its eggs, and at last we only
succeeded by affecting to require them as an ingredient in remedies for
certain cases of illness. To have touched one on any less serious grounds
would have been to rouse the whole village. The flesh of the Simbil is
regarded by the colonists as excellent food. Layard tells us that an
allied species, the _Ciconia nigra_, is extremely difficult to obtain,
and puts all the sportsman's powers of woodcraft to the test in order to
circumvent him; for if the bird be wounded, he proves no mean antagonist,
striking fiercely with his sharp-pointed and powerful bill at the face and
hands of his pursuers. "On one occasion," says that gentleman, "having
only broken the tip of a wing with a long shot, I had to dispatch my
bird with half a charge of dust-shot, so great was his resistance; he,
moreover, as if aware of his greater chance, took to the water, and would
not be driven from it."
* * * * *
The GIANT STORKS (_Mycteria_) are comparatively tall birds, with a slender
body, long neck, and rather large head; the very long beak is almost
straight or very slightly curved, and furnished with a saddle-shaped cere
at its base, and skinny knobs or appendages beneath. The tarsi are high,
and the toes short; the long and rounded wing has its third quill longer
than the rest; the tail is straight, and of medium length. The sexes are
almost alike in size. The young are less brightly coloured than the adult
birds. Of the three species of Giant Storks with which we are acquainted,
one occupies Africa, another Australia, and the third South America; these
birds nearly resemble each other in their general appearance and habits.
THE SENEGAL JABIRU.
The SENEGAL JABIRU (_Mycteria Senegalensis_) is a large powerful bird,
with the head, throat, upper wing, shoulders, and tail of a glossy
metallic black; the rest of the plumage is of dazzling whiteness. In the
beak the upper mandible is of very pale tint for about three inches from
its base, and the under one for about one inch and a half; then comes a
bar of black for about three inches, and from that to the end the bill
is reddish, increasing in depth of colour to the bright vermilion tip.
On each side of the upper mandible is a large semi-oval and transparent
space, which at the back part is continued upwards in a curved direction
across the fore part of the eyes and over the nostrils. Beneath the base
of the bill, just at the beginning of the feathery part, are two very
small, pear-shaped, pendent, yellowish wattles adhering by very small
necks. The bare portions of the face are reddish, the eyes and eye-rings
yellow; the broad movable cere is also yellow, surrounded by a narrow
border of black feathers. The tarsi are brownish grey, the knee and
toe-joints dull red. This species is fifty-six inches long, and ninety-two
broad; the wing measures twenty-five, and the tail ten inches. In the
young, all the dark parts of the plumage are brownish grey, and the under
side dirty greyish yellow. Their eye is brown, and beak blackish red; the
appendages beneath the beak are not developed.
This fine bird is a native of Africa, where it principally frequents the
regions watered by the White and Blue Nile, but is also seen in other
parts of the continent. It lives in pairs, and occupies the shores of
rivers, or the vicinity of lakes, tanks, and morasses, only quitting these
for a short period during the rainy season; occasionally, but very rarely,
it is met with near shallow salt water. Upon the ground it moves with a
certain stately grace, and, owing to its length of leg, appears taller
than it really is. Whilst in the air its fine black and white pinions
render it a most striking and beautiful object. Unfortunately for science,
the Senegal Jabiru is so extremely shy as to render any close observation
of its habits almost impossible. In the stomachs of such specimens as we
examined, we found reptiles and beetles; it also eats fish, and, according
to Rüppell, has been seen upon carrion, but whether the bird was eating
the putrid flesh, or merely gleaning off the insects that were feasting
thereon, is at present uncertain. Gurney states that the pairs remain
united for life, and entertain each other by a most strange dancing kind
of performance. Should one of them die, the survivor does not soon mate
again. It is probable that this species breeds on trees, and builds a nest
resembling that of the Stork.
THE JABIRU.
The JABIRU (_Mycteria Australis_) has the head and neck of a deep glossy
green, shading into purple and violet at the back of the head; the large
wing-covers, scapularies, lower part of the back, and tail are glossy
green, tinged with a golden lustre; the rest of the plumage is pure white.
The beak is black, the eye deep hazel, and the leg bright red.
This species has a wide range over Australia, and at the time of its
first colonisation was seen as near to Sydney as Botany Bay; in the
neighbourhood of the Hunter River, it is occasionally met with, and is
comparatively common in the vicinity of Botany Bay. Macgillivray and
Gilbert also found it at Port Essington. The Jabiru frequents the vicinity
of salt-water creeks, and obtains its food principally from the necks of
land running out into the sea, or on sandbanks and morasses. It is very
difficult of approach, and if pursued, hides amongst the dense reeds in
the lagoons; the natives, we are told, steal upon it when reposing, as it
frequently does, upon the tarsi, the bird taking some time to rise from
that position. In 1851, Dr. Bennett purchased a fine living specimen,
which was brought to Sydney from Port Macquarie, and we have to thank that
careful observer for the following interesting particulars respecting this
remarkable and otherwise almost unknown species.
[Illustration: THE SENEGAL JABIRU (_Mycteria Senegalensis_). ONE-SIXTH
NATURAL SIZE.]
"The first evening it was at my house," says the above naturalist, "it
walked into the hall, gazed at the gas-lamp which had just been lighted,
and then proceeded to walk upstairs, seeking for a roosting-place; but not
liking the ascent, quietly came down again, returning into the yard, and
afterwards went to roost in the coach-house between the carriages, where
it now retires regularly every evening soon after dark. It may always
be found in that part of the yard where the sun is shining, and with its
face invariably towards it. When hungry it seeks for the cook, who usually
feeds it; and if she has neglected its food, looks into the kitchen as if
to remind her of the neglect, and waits quietly, but with a searching eye,
during the time the meat is cutting up, until it is fed. It is amusing to
observe this bird catch flies; it remains very quiet, as if asleep, and
on a fly passing, it is snapped up in an instant. There happened to be a
pugnacious fussy little Bantam Cock in the yard, who would not permit the
intrusion of any stranger; and on seeing the Jabiru he strutted up with
expanded and fluttering wings and ruffled feathers, in a violent state of
excitement, cackling and screaming most vehemently, and making efforts as
energetic as so diminutive a bird was capable of to frighten, and drive
him out of the yard. The Jabiru, with his keen bright eyes, regarded the
little fluttering object with cool contempt, and walked about as before;
the Bantam followed. At last the Jabiru turned and strode after the
consequential little creature, as if to tread it under his feet, when the
Bantam seeing matters take this turn made off as fast as possible, like
all little bullies, and did not again venture to attack so formidable an
opponent. In a few days the Jabiru became quite domesticated among the
poultry.
[Illustration: THE MARABOU (_Leptoptilos crumenifer_). ONE-EIGHTH NATURAL
SIZE.]
He was occasionally fed upon fish cut up into small pieces, which he beat
about with the mandibles, and after continuing this process for some
little time, swallowed them. "I have," continues Dr. Bennett, "noticed him
watch the ground very attentively under the trees, and then dart his bill
into the earth and bring up larvæ, which I found were those of locusts
(_Tettigoniæ_). When the bird observed a slight motion of the ground, he
darted his beak down, and devoured the insect as it was emerging from the
soil. He became latterly very familiar. When called to be fed, he ran from
any part of the yard, clapping his long mandibles." Unfortunately, this
rare bird sickened, and refused food for several days, avoided the open
air, and was at last found dead in the stable. His skeleton is in the
Osteological Collection of the British Museum.
* * * * *
The ADJUTANTS, ARGALAS, or MARABOUS (_Leptoptilos_), are at once
recognisable by the pouch-like appendage on the lower part of the neck,
their clumsy body, thick bare neck, scabious head, more or less covered
with a few downy feathers, and their huge beak, which is very thick,
four-sided, and almost conical in front. Their legs are long, wings strong
and rounded, with the fourth quill longer than the rest; the tail is of
a medium size, with the feathers of its lower covers extraordinarily and
beautifully developed. These birds inhabit South Asia and Central Africa,
and render most important service to man by clearing off a host of unclean
and putrid substances, that would otherwise pollute the air and constantly
breed disease and death in those hot regions.
THE AFRICAN MARABOU.
The AFRICAN MARABOU (_Leptoptilos crumenifer_) has the flesh-coloured
head sparsely covered with short hairy feathers, and the neck bare. Upon
the mantle the plumage is of a glossy, metallic, dark green, and white
on the under side and nape; the quills and tail-feathers are black and
lustreless; the larger feathers of the covers are edged with white on
the outer web. The eye is brown, beak dull whitish yellow, and the foot
black. This huge bird is generally about five feet long; of this the
bill measures a foot and a half, and the tail one foot. The span of the
wings is ten feet, and the length of the pinion twenty-eight inches. Mr.
Smeathman, who had many opportunities of observing this species, states
that an adult often measures as much as seven feet, and the head being
covered with thin whitish down, it has at a distance much the appearance
of a grey-headed man. "These birds," he says, "are met with in companies
near the mouths of rivers, and as they advance with extended wings, might
readily be mistaken for canoes, or, when on the banks, for persons picking
up shells." A young Marabou about five feet high was brought up tame, and
presented to the chief of the Bananas, where Mr. Smeathman lived. Being
fed in the great hall, it soon became quite familiar, and duly attended at
dinner-time, placing itself behind its master's chair frequently before
the guests entered. The servants were obliged to watch it narrowly, and to
defend the provisions with switches; but in spite of these precautions it
would frequently snatch something from the table--a whole boiled fowl, for
example--which it devoured in an instant.
THE INDIAN ADJUTANT, OR ARGALA.
The INDIAN ADJUTANT, or ARGALA (_Leptoptilos argala_), a nearly-allied
species, is very common in some portions of Northern India, especially
Bengal and the North-eastern Provinces, where it arrives in April or May,
and departs in October, a few unpaired birds only remaining behind in
the south. Jerdon tells us that it soars with the Vultures to an immense
height, ready to descend on any carcase that may be discovered. In
Calcutta and other large towns, the labours of these birds are regarded as
so important that they are protected by law, and become so tame as to be
seen walking familiarly about the town, lurking about the slaughter-houses
and burning-grounds of the Hindoos, or examining the heaps of refuse
accumulated in the streets, ready to be carted away by the scavengers.
They do not, however, rely entirely on this highly-flavoured diet, but
forage in the tanks and ditches for frogs and fish. During the heat of the
day they retire to trees or house-tops, where they may be seen resting on
the whole tarsus. The nests are made about rocky cliffs or occasionally
on lofty trees, away from hills. The white eggs are two in number; when
first hatched the young are covered with white down. The Hindoos have
a popular superstition that if the head of an Adjutant be split whilst
the bird is still alive, the celebrated stone called the _tahir mora_,
or "poison-killer," will be discovered. This stone is supposed to be an
antidote for all kinds of poisons. The soft and beautiful feathers on
the under tail-covers of this and allied species form a well-known and
valuable article of commerce; and to obtain these, in many parts of India
the birds are kept in flocks about the villages. We are told that there
is a popular idea in India, that the souls of the Brahmins possess these
birds. They are thought invulnerable; and when Mr. Ives missed his shots
at several, the standers-by observed with great satisfaction that he would
never succeed in wounding them.
* * * * *
The CLAPPER-BILLED STORKS, or SHELL-EATERS (_Anastomus_), inhabit Africa
and Southern Asia. These most remarkable birds have a comparatively
slender body, covered with short thick plumage, the head is small, the
wing large, broad, and pointed, with its second and third quills longer
than the rest; the short tail is composed of twelve feathers. The thick
beak has its margins slightly incised, and the mandibles so formed that
they only close together at the base and tip of the bill. The foot
resembles that of the Stork, and the plumage is close and compact.
THE AFRICAN CLAPPER-BILL, OR SHELL-EATER.
The AFRICAN CLAPPER-BILL, or SHELL-EATER (_Anastomus lamelligerus_), is
about the size of the Common Stork--that is, thirty-three inches long. In
this bird all the feathers on the neck, belly, and legs are tipped with
narrow horny little plates; these plates and the feather-shafts have a
green and purple gloss. The eye is reddish, the bare bridles and throat
yellowish grey, the beak yellowish, and feet black. The young are without
the horny plates at the tips of their feathers, and are principally of
a brownish grey. This Shell-eater is a native of Central and Southern
Africa, and is met with in large flocks on the shores of the Blue River.
We are unacquainted with its habits, except that it consumes fish,
frogs, and molluscs of various kinds. Jerdon, however, tells us that the
_Anastomus osculans_, a nearly-allied species, which is common in all
the marshy districts of India, subsists entirely upon shell-fish. "I was
formerly of opinion," says that writer, "that the open space between
the mandibles was mainly caused by a process of training a Bhyri, and
these, as is usual, had their eyes sewn up, to prevent their struggling
or fluttering. To feed them the falconer had a quantity of the large
_Ampullaria_ brought, which were placed before the captive and blinded
Shell-eaters. The bird secured a shell by its feet, and after sundry
alterations of its position, succeeded in cutting off the operculum as
cleanly as if it had been done by a razor, but so rapidly that I was
unable to see the exact way in which it was accomplished. It then inserted
the tip of its beak into the open mouth of the shell, and after working
it about for a short time, pulled out the entire shell-fish, almost to
its utmost tip." These birds are sometimes caught by means of a bamboo
with a noose attached; this is bent down, and fixed tightly to the ground
by a small peg, to which an _Ampullaria_ is fastened. The Shell-eater,
while hunting about, soon finds the shell, and in moving it to get at its
contents the peg is withdrawn, the bamboo flies up, and the noose catches
the bird, which remains dangling in mid-air. The Indian Shell-eater
breeds upon high trees about June or July, and associates in large flocks
during the whole period of incubation. The eggs are four in number, and
are of a dirty white. The young are defended by their parents with great
courage and fierceness.
[Illustration: THE AFRICAN CLAPPER-BILL (_Anastomus lamelligerus_).
ONE-FIFTH NATURAL SIZE.]
* * * * *
The HERONS (_Ardeæ_) are large, ungainly birds, with a weak body, much
compressed at its sides, a long thin neck, and small, narrow, flat
head. The strong straight beak is as long as, or longer, than the head,
compressed at the sides and culmen; the sharp margins are turned inwards,
the tip is incised, and in its entire surface, except in the region of the
nostrils, covered with a hard, smooth, horny coat. The legs and toes are
moderately long, the claw of the centre toe being curiously denticulated
on its lower side. The long, broad, blunt wing has its second, third, and
fourth quills of almost equal length; the short rounded tail is composed
of from ten to twelve feathers. The thick, soft, lax plumage is often much
prolonged on the crown of the head and upper breast; and though strikingly
and very variously coloured in the different species, is never remarkably
gay. The Persians, however, catch these birds, and after depriving them
of the long feathers, which are highly prized, suffer them to depart.
These feathers, together with tufts of diamonds and other precious
stones, set in the form of Heron's plumes, adorn the _dhul bandt_ of the
Persian monarch. The members of this group are met with in most parts of
the globe, migrating according to the change of seasons, or when their
supply of food falls short. Swamps, shallow rivers, and pools are their
favourite haunts, and in these they quietly stand, with their necks drawn
down between their shoulders, watching the approach of a fish, upon which
they suddenly dart, and seizing it in the beak, swallow it in an instant.
They also consume small quadrupeds, frogs, and a variety of insects. Some
species have been seen perched upon the backs of cattle, and feeding
upon the larvæ that infest their hides. The nest of the Herons, which is
usually erected on lofty trees, on elevated buildings, or among the tall
reeds and river-banks, is constructed of sticks, lined with small twigs,
and so loosely put together as to form a large flat expanse.
[Illustration: GROUP OF HERONS.]
THE COMMON HERON.
The COMMON HERON (_Ardea cinerea_) represents a group possessing a
thin body, long neck, long powerful beak, and plumage of more or less
sombre appearance. In the adult birds the crown and brow are white, the
neck greyish white, the back ash-grey, varied by the white of its long
feathers; the sides of the lower parts are black; a stripe from the
eye to the nape, three long crest-feathers, a threefold row of spots
on the front of the neck, and the large quills, are all black; and the
upper secondaries and tail-feathers grey. The eyes are golden yellow,
the bare patches on the face greenish yellow, the beak is straw-colour,
and the foot brownish black. This species is forty-two inches long and
seventy-five broad, the wing nineteen and the tail seven inches. The young
are greyer than the adults, and have no crest.
Owing to the large size of their wings, these Herons are enabled to
support themselves in the air with but little exertion, and can mount
without fatigue to a great height when pursued by their natural enemies
the Falcons. This Heron is a successful fisher, and might be taken as
a very picture of patience as it stands, motionless as a statue, up
to its knees in water, with neck slightly extended and eye steadily
fixed, but fully awake to the slightest movement. Suddenly its head is
darted forward with unerring aim, a small fish is captured and instantly
swallowed, head foremost. An eel of some size is brought to land and
beaten to death on the bank, and a large fish impaled on the bill, if
worth the labour, is carried to a safe retreat and devoured at leisure.
A frog is swallowed whole, and a water-rat is usually killed by having
its skull split open. The Heron devours shrimps, small crabs, newts, and
a variety of water-beetles, in large quantities. Should the fishing at
a selected spot be unsuccessful, the bird rises a few feet into the air
and slowly flaps its way to a little distance, where, standing on one
leg, with its head thrown back, it awaits better fortune. Whilst on the
watch it is silent, but as it flies off utters its harsh grating scream.
A great portion of the day is passed on the branches of lofty trees,
whither these birds often repair with a booty too large to be disposed of
at once. During the winter Herons live solitarily, but in the month of
March begin to congregate and soon after repair to their breeding-places,
called heronries. These are generally situated in stately clumps of trees
or groves, and were formerly so favoured that a fine of twenty shillings
or three months' imprisonment, or the suretyship of two persons, bound in
twenty pounds each, was the penalty for killing one of their feathered
occupants. No Herons were allowed to be taken (out of a man's own
premises) except by hawking or shooting with the long-bow. For taking the
young out of the nest a fine of six shillings was imposed, and for taking
or destroying the eggs from the 31st of March to the 30th of June a man
was subjected to imprisonment for a year, besides having to pay eightpence
for every egg.
Pennant counted more than eighty nests upon one oak at Cressy Hall, near
Spalding, Lincolnshire, an estate then belonging to the Heron family,
one of the most ancient in this county. Sometimes Herons build on steep
rocks near the coast. Although the favour bestowed upon these birds in
former times has ceased, there still exist many heronries in different
parts of England, and also of Scotland. On the eastern coast they may
be met with in great numbers after the breeding season is over; and an
observer in the neighbourhood of Stonehaven, writing to Mr. Macgillivray,
says:--"In autumn, when they appear to be most numerous, I have seen
one hundred or one hundred and twenty or more together, their numbers
being made up probably in a great measure from young birds of the year.
When disturbed they betake themselves round some corner of the rocks to
a neighbouring bay, flying heavily along, generally within gunshot of
the water's surface. During high tide they rest on detached rocks, at a
short distance from the land, and occasionally on the face of some of the
heughs, or high sandbanks." "Once or twice," says the same correspondent,
"I have seen them in the fields. I recollect one forenoon seeing four of
them standing in a ploughed field, in most grotesque attitudes, reminding
one more of a consultation of witches than of anything else."
[Illustration: THE GIANT HERON (_Ardea Goliath_). ONE-SIXTH NATURAL SIZE.]