American ornithologist, describing the scarlet Tanager, says: "Among all
other birds that inhabit our woods, there is none that strikes the eye
of the stranger or even a native with so much brilliancy as this. Seen
among the green leaves, with the light falling strongly on his plumage,
he really appears beautiful. If he has little melody in his notes to
charm us, he has nothing in them to disgust. His manners are modest,
easy and inoffensive; he commits no depredations on the property of the
husbandman, but rather benefits him by the daily destruction in spring
of many noxious insects; and when winter approaches he is no plundering
dependant, but seeks in a distant country for that sustenance which the
severity of the season denies to his industry in this. He is a striking
ornament to our rural scenery and none of the meanest of our rural
songsters." Its body is scarlet and its wings and tail are black. One
species of the Tanager is known as the Organist Tanager from the
richness of its tones.
The Swallow.
Though only a summer friend the swallow is among the most popular of
birds in England. It arrives in April and is always sure of a hearty
welcome, and when it leaves in September for its long journey across the
sea no one would withhold from it a "God speed". The swallow builds
under the eaves of houses, always selecting dry and sheltered spots. Its
flight is very rapid, and is a pretty sight to watch as it skims over
the surface of the water, sometimes striking it with its wings as it
darts hither and thither, snapping at the flies and insects which come
within its reach. The marvellous flights of these birds when they
migrate are among the many wonderful things of nature. Humboldt states
that he saw a swallow alight on the rigging of his vessel when it was
one hundred and twenty miles from land. How such tiny creatures can
sustain such extended flights it is difficult to understand.
Swallows in Council.
Swallows seem to understand the principle of co-operation and what the
family is unable to do for itself the community seems always ready to
undertake for it. Captain Brown tells of a pair of swallows who
returning to their last year's nest found it occupied by a robust
English sparrow. The sparrow declined to give up the nest and the
swallows were not strong enough to eject it, whereupon a council was
called, as a result of which a large army of swallows proceeded to close
up the entrance to the nest with clay, "leaving the sparrow to perish in
the garrison it had so gallantly defended." This happened at
Strathendry, Bleachfield, in Fifeshire, on the banks of the Leven, and
was witnessed by Mr. Gavan Inglis. But not only do the swallows
co-operate for the purposes of war; Mr. Inglis was a witness of another
effort of combination. It happened that a pair of swallows had built a
nest in the corner of one of his windows, in which they had hatched five
offspring. The parent birds fell victims to a sportsman's gun and Mr.
Inglis contemplated an attempt to rear the family himself. This,
however, proved unnecessary. In a very short time a number of swallows
came and inspected the bereaved dwelling, apparently noting the
condition of the house as well as the brood. A supply of food was
immediately brought, and the next morning the kindly offices were
renewed and thenceforward continued until the young were able to provide
for themselves. Remarkable as these incidents are they are not singular,
for both have been known to occur more than once.
The House Martin.
The House Martin is characterized by a white spot above his tail which
adds to the prettiness of his appearance in flight. The summer
residence of this agreeable bird is universally among the habitations of
man, who, having no interest in its destruction, and deriving
considerable advantage as well as amusement from its company, is
generally its friend and protector.
The Martin inhabits America as well as Europe, and is a particular
favourite wherever it takes up his abode. "I never knew but one man,"
says Wilson, "who disliked the Martins, and would not permit them to
settle about his house: this was a penurious, close-fisted German, who
hated them, because, as he said, 'they eat his _peas_.' I told him he
certainly must be mistaken, as I never knew an instance of Martins
eating peas; but he replied with coolness, 'that he had many times seen
them himself _blaying_ near the hive, and going _schnip schnap_,' by
which I understood that it was his bees that were the sufferers; and the
charge could not be denied."
The Sand Martin.
The Sand Martin is the smallest of the British swallows and it is the
first to arrive. It bores horizontal holes two or three feet deep into
the sides of sand-pits, at the end of which it builds its nest of grass
and feathers.
The Chaffinch. The Goldfinch. The Greenfinch.
The Finches are beautiful and interesting birds. The Chaffinch is famous
for the vivacity of its song and the beauty of its nest. "The forks of a
thorn, or wild crab tree," says Mr. Wood, "are favourite places for the
nest, which is composed of mosses, hair, wool and feathers, covered on
the exterior with lichens and mosses so exactly resembling the bough on
which the nest is placed that the eye is often deceived by its
appearance." The Goldfinch is a favourite pet, and is capable of being
trained to perform tricks. It has been called the Thistlefinch from its
use of the down of the thistle in the construction of its nest. It is
bright of appearance, cheery of song, and affectionate of disposition.
The Greenfinch has a coat of rich olive green, and a waistcoat of
greyish-yellow.
The Linnet.
The Linnet is a homely looking little brown bird with a sweet melodious
voice. It frequents commons and waste lands, where it builds its nest
under the cover of friendly furze bushes, or nearer the habitations of
man, in thick-set hedges. The Linnet is the natural laureate of the
English cottage home.
The Canary.
The Canary, as its name implies, comes from the Canary Islands, but it
has been so crossed in breeding that it differs very considerably from
its original ancestors. Buffon says:--"If the nightingale is the
chauntress of the woods, the canary is the musician of the chamber; the
first owes all to nature, the second something to art. With less
strength of organ, less compass of voice, and less variety of note, the
canary has a better ear, greater facility of imitation, and a more
retentive memory; and as the difference of genius, especially among the
lower animals, depends in a great measure on the perfection of their
senses, the canary, whose organ of hearing is more susceptible of
receiving foreign impressions, becomes more social, tame, and familiar;
is capable of gratitude and even attachment; its caresses are endearing,
its little humours innocent, and its anger neither hurts nor offends.
Its education is easy; we hear it with pleasure, because we are able to
instruct it. It leaves the melody of its own natural note, to listen to
the melody of our voices and instruments. It applauds, it accompanies
us, and repays the pleasure it receives with interest; while the
nightingale, more proud of its talent, seems desirous of preserving it
in all its purity, at least it appears to attach very little value to
ours and it is with great difficulty it can be taught any of our airs.
The canary can speak and whistle; the nightingale despises our words, as
well as our airs, and never fails to return to its own wild-wood notes.
Its pipe is a masterpiece of nature, which human art can neither alter
nor improve; while that of the canary is a model of more pliant
materials, which we can mould at pleasure; and therefore it contributes
in a much greater degree to the comforts of society. It sings at all
seasons, cheers us in the dullest weather, and adds to our happiness, by
amusing the young, and delighting the recluse, charming the tediousness
of the cloister, and gladdening the soul of the innocent and captive."
The Tame Canary.
The canary is easily tamed, and has been taught to perform many little
tricks, indeed groups of them have been trained to act little plays,
firing cannons and driving coaches. The canary shows a humane
disposition, has been known to foster the young of other birds, to make
friends with other pets, even cats; to show great affection for its
master and to die of grief on the loss of its mate. Dr. Darwin tells of
"a canary bird which always fainted away when its cage was cleaned.
Having desired to see the experiment," says Dr. Darwin, "the cage was
taken from the ceiling, and the bottom drawn out. The bird began to
tremble, and turned quite white about the root of the bill; he then
opened his mouth as if for breath, and respired quickly; stood up
straighter on his perch, hung his wing, spread his tail, closed his
eyes, and appeared quite stiff for half an hour, till at length, with
trembling and deep respirations, he came gradually to himself."
The Crossbill.
The Crossbill must be mentioned for the sake of the peculiarity
indicated by its name. The points of the beak instead of being straight
and meeting in a common point, "curve to the right and left and always
in opposite directions." They therefore cross each other and present a
unique appearance. It is found in the North of Europe, and in the great
pine forests of Germany.
The Bunting.
There are several kinds of Bunting; the English Bunting common to
wayside hedges, and familiar from its habit of flitting in front of the
traveller, and the Snow Bunting of the northern regions, which turns
white on the approach of snow.
The Starlings.
We come now to the third division of the _Passeres_ or perching birds,
to which Mr. Wallace attaches the name of the starlings. "The starlings
or _Sturnidæ_," says Dr. Percival Wright, "are a well marked old-world
group. No species of the family are found in Australia."
The Common Starling.
The Common Starling is a bird of passage, arriving in England about the
beginning of March and leaving some time in October. Knapp says:--"There
is something singularly curious and mysterious in the conduct of these
birds previously to their nightly retirement, by the variety and
intricacy of the evolutions they execute at that time. They will form
themselves, perhaps, into a triangle, then shoot into a long,
pear-shaped figure, expand like a sheet, wheel into a ball, as Pliny
observes, each individual striving to get into the centre, etc., with a
promptitude more like parade movements than the actions of birds. As the
breeding season advances, these prodigious flights divide, and finally
separate into pairs, and form their summer settlements." The Starling is
a handsome bird and usually nests in old buildings, though it has a
preference for a dove-cote if it can gain admission. It is a peaceable
bird and for all its military evolutions does not seem to war with other
species. Its domestic character is also good.
The Weaver Bird.
The Weaver birds which are included in this division, are a very
interesting species. They belong to Africa, where they hang their nests
upon trees, those of the sociable weaver birds giving the trees the
appearance of partially thatched wall-less structures. Le Vaillant thus
describes his experience of the sociable weaver bird: he says:--"I
observed, on the way, a tree with an enormous nest of these birds, to
which I have given the appellation of republicans; and as soon as I
arrived at my camp, I dispatched a few men with a wagon to bring it to
me, that I might open the hive and examine its structure in its minutest
parts. When it arrived, I cut it to pieces with a hatchet and saw that
the chief portion of the structure consisted of a mass of Buckmans
grass, without any mixture, but so compactly and firmly basketed
together, as to be impenetrable to the rain. This is the commencement of
the structure; and each bird builds its particular nest under this
canopy, the upper surface remaining void without, however, being
useless; for, as it has a projecting rim and is a little inclined, it
serves to let the rain water run off and preserve each little dwelling
from the rain. Figure to yourself a huge, irregular, sloping roof, all
the eaves of which are completely covered with nests crowded one against
another, and you will have a tolerably accurate idea of these singular
edifices. Each individual nest is three or four inches in diameter,
which is sufficient for the bird. But as they are all in contact with
one another around the eaves, they appear to the eye to form one
building and are distinguishable from each other only by a little
external aperture which serves as an entrance to the nest; and even this
is sometimes common to three different nests, one of which is situated
at the bottom and the other two at the sides." One of these structures
examined by Patterson contained three hundred and twenty inhabited
cells.
The Lark.
The skylark is common all over Europe and is an especial favourite in
the British Isles, It builds its nest on the ground among growing corn
or high grass, and shows especial care for its young. Its song is
perhaps the most joyous and inspiriting of those of English birds.
Captain Brown quotes the following interesting particulars of its song
from a communication made by Mr. J. Main to the "Magazine of Natural
History:" "His joyous matins and heavenward flight have been aptly
compared to hymns and acts of adoration and praise. No bird sings with
more method: there is an overture performed _vivace crescendo_, while
the singer ascends; when at the full height, the song becomes
_moderato_, and distinctly divided into short passages, each repeated
three or four times over, like a _fantasia_, in the same key and time.
If there be any wind, he rises perpendicularly by bounds, and afterwards
poises himself with breast opposed to it. If calm, he ascends in spiral
circles; in horizontal circles during the principal part of his song,
and zigzagly downwards during the performance of the _finale_.
Sometimes, after descending about half way, he ceases to sing, and drops
with the velocity of an arrow to the ground. Those acquainted with the
song of the skylark can tell without looking at them whether the birds
be ascending or stationary in the air, or on their descent; so different
is the style of the song in each case. In the first, there is an
expression of ardent impatience; in the second, an _andante_ composure,
in which rests of a bar at a time frequently occur; and in the last, a
graduated sinking of the strains."
The Maternal Instinct of the Lark.
Mrs. Bowdich quoting from "The Naturalist" gives the following pretty
story of the maternal instinct of the Lark:--"The other day, some mowers
shaved off the upper part of the nest of a skylark, without injuring the
female, who was sitting on her young: still she did not fly away; and
the mowers levelled the grass all round her, without her taking any
notice of their proceedings. The son of the owner of the crop witnessed
this, and, about an hour afterwards, went to see if she were safe; when,
to his great surprise, he found that she had actually constructed a dome
of dry grass over the nest during the interval, leaving an aperture on
one side for ingress and egress; thus endeavouring to secure a
continuance of the shelter previously supplied by the long grass."
Buffon tells a remarkable story of the self-sacrifice of a young lark
who took upon itself the duties of a foster mother. He says:--"A young
hen bird was brought to me in the month of May, which was not able to
feed without assistance. I caused her to be educated, and she was hardly
fledged when I received from another place a nest of three or four
unfledged skylarks. She took a strong liking to these new-comers, which
were scarcely younger than herself; she tended them night and day,
cherished them beneath her wings, and fed them with her bill. Nothing
could interrupt her tender offices. If the young ones were torn from
her, she flew to them as soon as she was liberated, and would not think
of effecting her own escape, which she might have done a hundred times.
Her affection grew upon her; she neglected food and drink; she now
required the same support as her adopted offspring, and expired at last
consumed with maternal anxiety. None of the young ones survived her.
They died one after another; so essential were her cares, which were
equally tender and judicious."
The Lark and the Hawk.
The Lark when pursued by the Hawk has been known to seek refuge under
the protection of man, as the following quoted by Captain Brown from
Bell's "Weekly Messenger" will show. "On Wednesday, the 6th of October,
1805, as a gentleman was sitting on the rocks at the end of Collercot's
sands, near Tynemouth, Northumberland, dressing himself after bathing,
he perceived a hawk in the air, in close pursuit of, and nearly within
reach of a lark. To save the little fugitive, he shouted and clapped his
hands, when immediately the lark descended, and alighted on his knee,
nor did it offer to leave him, when taken into the hand, but seemed
confident of that protection, which it found. The hawk sailed about for
some time. The gentleman, after taking the lark nearly to Tynemouth,
restored it to its former liberty."
The Wagtails and Pipits.
The Wagtails, of which family the Pied Wagtail is the most familiar,
derives its name from its habit of wagging its tail. As Mr. Wood says,
"it settles on the ground and wags its tail; it runs a few paces and
wags its tail again; pecks an insect, and again its tail vibrates." It
frequents sandbanks and the margins of rivers where it finds its food.
It is found in England throughout the year, migrating to the southern
counties in the early winter. The Pipits, of which "The Meadow Pipit"
and the Tree Pipit are the best known varieties, are found all over the
British Isles as well as in many parts of Europe.
The Ant-Eaters.
The fourth division of the perching birds designated by Mr. Wallace, the
Ant-Eaters, includes a large number of American varieties, which space
forbids us even to enumerate. One or two must suffice.
The King Bird.
The King Bird or Tyrant Fly-catcher of North America is small, but of a
fearless disposition, attacking hawks, crows, and other larger birds,
and generally having the best of the battle. The upper part of its body
is black and the lower of a delicate white. Its song is a shrill
twittering "resembling the jingling of a bunch of keys." It belongs to
the family of the Tyrant Shrikes or _Tyrannidæ_. It is during the time
of incubation that it shows so much ferocity. Wilson says, "I have seen
the red-headed woodpecker while clinging on a rail of the fence, amuse
himself with the violence of the king bird, and play 'bo-peep' with him
round the rail, while the latter, highly irritated, made every attempt,
as he swept from side to side, to strike him, but in vain. All his
turbulence subsides as soon as his young are able to shift for
themselves, and he is then as mild and peaceable as any other bird."
The Chatterers.
The Chatterers, or _Cotingidæ_ include among them, the Cock of the Rock,
one of the most beautiful of South-American birds. Resembling a pigeon
in size, its head is sufficiently like that of the farm-yard cock to
account for its name, which is also made to indicate the nature of its
haunts. Its coat is a warm saffron yellow and its crest resembles a fan.
Sir Robert Schomburgh says: "While traversing the Kikiritze mountains in
Guiana, we saw a number of that most beautiful bird, the
cock-of-the-rock, or Rock Manakin (_rupicola elegans_), and I had an
opportunity of witnessing an exhibition of some of its very singular
antics, of which I had heard stories from the Indians, but had hitherto
disbelieved them. Hearing the twittering noise so peculiar to the
_Rupicola_, I cautiously stole near, with two of my guides, towards a
spot secluded from the path from four to five feet in diameter, and
which appeared to have been cleared of every blade of grass, and
smoothed as by human hands. There we saw a cock-of-the-rock, capering to
the apparent delight of several others, now spreading its wings,
throwing up its head, or opening its tail like a fan; now strutting
about, and scratching the ground, all accompanied by a hopping gait,
until tired, when it gabbled some kind of note, and another relieved it.
Thus three of them successively took the field, and then with
self-approbation withdrew to rest on one of the low branches near the
scene of action. We had counted ten cocks and two hens of the party,
when the crackling of some wood, on which I had unfortunately placed my
foot, alarmed and dispersed this dancing party." The Bell Bird of
Brazil; the Umbrella Bird of the Amazons, the Broadbills, the Plant
cutters, the Oven bird, and the Ant-Thrushes are all included in this
group.
The Lyre Bird.
The Lyre Bird, which according to the classification we are following,
with the scrub bird, forms the fifth group of the perching birds,
belongs to Australia. The Lyre Bird has been so often depicted in
illustrations that its form is familiar to most people. The tail of the
male bird which is composed of three different kinds of feathers so
beautifully resembles the Lyre that there could be no hesitation in
giving the bird its name. Since its discovery this bird has been so
hunted as to considerably reduce its numbers, and the tail feathers
which at one time could be purchased at a low price, have become rare
and costly.
ORDER II.
Climbers and Gapers.
This order includes some widely different species and is made up of
_Scansores_, Climbers and _Fissirostres_, Gapers. A few of the better
known species are all that we can mention.
The Woodpecker.
The green Woodpecker is the variety best known in England, where it
inhabits the woods and feeds upon the insects it finds in the bark of
trees. Audubon writing of the "Ivory-billed" variety says:--"The birds
pay great regard to the particular situation of the tree, and the
inclination of its trunk; first, because they prefer retirement, and
again, because they are anxious to secure the aperture against the
access of water during beating rains. To prevent such a calamity the
hole is generally dug immediately under the junction of a large branch
with the trunk. It is first bored horizontally for a few inches, then
directly downwards, and not in a spiral manner as some people have
imagined. According to circumstances, this cavity is more or less deep,
being sometimes more than ten inches, whilst at other times it reaches
three feet downwards into the core of the tree. The average diameter of
the different nests which I have examined was about seven inches within,
although the entrance, which is perfectly round, is only just large
enough to admit the bird." Wilson declares that during the excavation of
its nest, which occupies several days, the woodpecker will often carry
the chips and strew them at a distance to divert suspicion. Audubon
describing the Red-headed Woodpecker says:--"With the exception of the
mocking bird, I know no species so gay and frolicsome. Their whole life
is one of pleasure."
The Wryneck.
This bird which was known to the Greeks, and described by Aristotle,
forms with its allied species a connecting link between the Woodpecker
and the Cuckoo. It feeds on caterpillars and insects which it catches
with its long sticky tongue, with such rapidity of movement that the eye
cannot follow it.
The Cuckoo.
The Cuckoo is always welcomed in England as the harbinger of Spring. Its
cry is one of the most easily distinguished of bird songs, and is the
nearest approach to a definite musical interval produced by any bird.
The habit of the cuckoo of laying its eggs in the nests of other birds,
has given rise to much speculation, ancient and modern, and now, though
the fact remains, a sufficiently satisfactory reason seems as remote as
ever. The nest of the Hedge-sparrow seems to be the one most often
selected, though that of the wagtail is sometimes chosen. The
consequences to the young of the native bird, are somewhat serious as
the following will show.
The Cuckoo and the Hedge-Sparrow.