and having cut its wings put it into his garden. The bird remained in
this situation for several years, and being kindly treated, became so
familiar, as to come at call to be fed at the kitchen door and to answer
to the name of Willie. It became so tame at last that no pains were
thought necessary to circumscribe its liberty, and its wings having
grown to full length, it flew away, joined the other gulls on the beach,
and came back, from time to time, to pay a visit to the house. When its
companions left the country at the usual season, Willie accompanied
them, much to the regret of the family. To their great joy, however, it
returned next season; and with its usual familiarity came to its old
haunt, where it was welcomed and fed very liberally. In this way it went
and returned for _forty years_, without intermission, and kept up its
acquaintance with the family, for while in the country it visited them
almost daily, answered to its name like any domestic animal, and ate
almost out of the hand. One year, however, very near the period of its
final disappearance, Willie did not pay his respects to the family for
eight or ten days after the general flock of gulls were upon the coast,
and great was their lamentation for his loss, as it was feared he was
dead: but to the surprise and joy of the family, a servant one morning
came running into the breakfast-room with delight, announcing that
Willie was returned. The whole company rose from the table to welcome
the bird. Food was supplied in abundance, and Willie with his usual
frankness ate of it heartily, and was as tame as any barn-yard fowl
about the house. In a year or two afterwards this grateful bird
disappeared for ever.
Mother Carey's Chicken.
The Stormy Petrel or Mother Carey's Chicken, is a small black bird well
known to mariners, and familiar to all at sea in stormy weather. It
follows in the wake of ships and is regarded as a prophet of evil, at
least in so far as stormy weather is concerned. It is seen in many parts
of the ocean busily engaged in searching for food, braving the fury of
the storm and skimming along the waves, sometimes above their tops, and
sometimes screening itself from the blast by sinking down into the
billows between them. It nests in all but inaccessible places, the
Island of St. Kilda being the chief British breeding place of the Fulmar
variety. These are of great importance to the natives who run great
risks in searching for their eggs and who catch the birds for the
purposes of food, and for the oil which they supply.
Catching the Stormy Petrel.
The danger attaching to the capture of the Petrel in its rocky haunts in
the Hebrides is thus vividly described by Mr. Drosier. "As the stormy
petrel, is scarcely ever to be seen near the land, except in very
boisterous weather, one of the natives for a trifling remuneration,
agreed to traverse the face of a rock, and take me some from out its
fissures. Accordingly, accoutred with a rope of hemp and hogs' bristles
coiled over his shoulders, he proceeded to the cliff. Having made one
end fast by means of a stake, he threw the coil over the face of the
rock, and gradually lowered himself down, but with the utmost caution
and circumspection, carefully pressing his foot hard upon the narrow
ridges before he at all loosened his firm grasp of the rope, which he
never altogether abandoned. I had previously thrown myself upon my
chest, to enable me to have a better view of him, by looking over the
cliff; and, certainly, to see the dexterity and bravery with which he
threw himself from one aperture to another, was truly grand. The
tumbling roar of the Atlantic was foaming many hundreds of feet beneath,
and dashing its curling cream-like surge against the dark base of the
cliff, in sheets of the most beautiful white; while the herring and
black-backed gulls, alternately sweeping past him so as to be almost in
reach of his arm, threw a wildness into the scene, by the discordant
scream of the former, and the laughing, oft-repeated bark of the latter.
This, however, he appeared entirely to disregard; and continuing his
search, returned in about half an hour, with seven or eight of the
stormy petrels, tied up in an old stocking, and a pair of the Manks
puffins, together with their eggs. The birds, he told me, he had no
difficulty in capturing. The eggs of the stormy petrel are surprisingly
large, considering the diminutive size of the bird, being as large as
those of the thrush. The female lays two eggs, of a dirty or dingy
white, encircled at the larger end by a ring of fine rust-coloured
freckles. The birds merely collect a few pieces of dried grass, with a
feather or two, barely sufficient to prevent the eggs from rolling or
moving on the rock."
The Cormorant.
The Common Cormorant is familiar all round the coast of England, and
will even sometimes venture inland or at any rate up the mouths of
rivers. Captain Brown mentions one that, many years ago, was seen
resting upon the vane of St. Martin's steeple, Ludgate Hill, London;
and was shot in the presence of a large number of people. It is a
voracious bird and shows great dexterity in the catching and swallowing
of fish, turning them round so as to swallow them head foremost, in
order to avoid the resistance of the fins and spines. Colonel Montague
had one, caught in a tributary of the Bristol Channel, by a Newfoundland
dog, which at first refused food but offered no resistance to being
crammed. "The Colonel having retired to the library after seeing the
bird fed," says Captain Brown, "was surprised in a few minutes to see it
walk boldly into the room, unceremoniously place itself by him at the
side of the fire, and begin to dress its feathers. This practice it
continued till removed to an aquatic menagerie. Whenever it saw the
water it became restless, and on being set at liberty, plunged into it,
and incessantly dived for a considerable time in search of fish. After
this, it seemed to be convinced that there were none to be found there,
as it was not noticed to dive again for three days."
The Albatross.
The great Albatross is a large and powerful bird, measuring three feet
in length and having a stretch of wing of from nine to twelve or
fourteen feet. It is a heavy bird, and needs great strength to sustain
its weight during its long and rapid flights. Mrs. Bowdich says, "One
was known to follow a ship, which made two hundred miles a day, for
forty-eight hours; and besides these miles, from its irregular flight,
it must have passed over a much longer distance. The Albatross darts
with unerring aim and great force on its prey, as it swims on the top of
the waves. A man who fell overboard near the island of St. Paul's was
killed by these birds; for, although the boat was lowered immediately,
nothing was found of him except his hat, pierced through and through by
the beaks of three albatrosses, who had marked him, pecked him on the
head, and caused him to sink." Their flight is easy and apparently
performed without effort and with an almost imperceptible movement of
wing. The Albatross is easily caught from the stern of a ship with a
hook. Mr. Wood says: "It seems rather remarkable that a bird that lives
in or over the sea during its whole life, should prove a landsman when
taken on board. Yet, when the Albatross is caught and placed on deck, it
begins to stagger about, and soon becomes as thoroughly sea sick as the
most inexperienced cockney." Mr. Earl thus describes the haunt of the
Albatross in the heights of the Island of Tristan d'Acunha: "A
death-like stillness prevailed in these high regions, and to my ear our
voices had a strange unnatural echo, and I fancied our forms appeared
gigantic, whilst the air was piercing cold. The prospect was altogether
sublime, and filled the mind with awe. The huge Albatross here appeared
to dread no interloper or enemy; for their young were on the ground
completely uncovered, and the old ones were stalking around them."
The Pelican.
The Pelican is one of the largest of swimming birds. It is distinguished
by the possession of a pouch which is capable of holding two gallons of
water, and which it uses for the purposes of catching fish, and feeding
its young. In this latter operation the bird presses its pouch which
hangs beneath its beak, against its breast, and so disgorges its
contents. This action is said to have given rise to the fable that
pelicans pluck nourishment from their own breasts to feed their young.
The Pelican belongs to the South and East of Europe and the North of
Africa.
A Tame Pelican.
Mr. Hill, of St. Domingo, gives an interesting account of a tame pelican
which is quoted by Mrs. Bowdich. He says:--"The facility with which the
pelican resigns itself to fasting or feasting, was very interestingly
exhibited to me in a bird I saw the other day at Passage Fort. It was a
pelican of mature age; it flew backwards and forwards, visiting the wild
flocks, and feeding with them in the harbour during the day, and
withdrew from them to roost in its master's yard during the night. In
that period of restraint, when it was necessary to observe the caution
of drawing its quill feathers, to keep it within diminished capabilities
of flight, until it became familiar and domesticated, it was wholly
dependent on the fish provided for it by the fishermen of the beach.
Sunday was no fishing day with these men; and this was, therefore, a day
in which there were no supplies for the pelican. It became, in time, so
conscious of the recurrence of this fast-day, that although, at all
other times, it went daily down to the sea-side to wait the coming in of
the canoes, on the seventh day it never stirred from the incumbent trunk
of a tree, on which it roosted, within the yard. It had been found
necessary to pluck its wings within the last two or three months, to
restrain it within bounds, in consequence of its absence latterly with
the wild birds, for several days in succession, and in this state it was
reduced, as formerly, to depend on the fishermen for food. The old habit
of abstinence and drowsy repose on the Sundays again recurred, and when
I saw it, it was once more a tranquil observer of the rest, and with it
the fast, of the Sabbath-day."
The Penguin.
The Penguin belongs to South America, Australia, New Zealand and the
Cape of Good Hope. There are a number of species; the Jackass Penguin,
so called from the peculiarity of its cry, the King Penguin of the South
Pacific, and the Cape Penguin of Cape Horn, the largest of the penguins,
being the principal varieties. Mr. Darwin in describing the Jackass
penguin says:--"In diving, its little plumeless wings are used as fins,
but on the land _as front legs_. When crawling (it may be said on four
legs) through the tussocks, or on the side of a grassy cliff, it moved
so very quickly that it might readily have been mistaken for a
quadruped. When at sea and fishing, it comes to the surface, for the
purpose of breathing, with such a spring, and dives again so
instantaneously, that I defy any one at first sight to be sure that it
is not a fish leaping for sport." The penguin is a courageous bird, and
will not hesitate to attack a man. Mr. Darwin when on the Falkland
Islands, placed himself between one of the Patagonian penguins and the
water, and till it reached the sea, it regularly fought and drove him
backwards. It stood close before him, erect and determined, and every
inch gained it firmly kept. Nothing less than heavy blows would have
stopped it.
The Puffin.
The Puffin is a bird of singular appearance and interesting habits. It
is sometimes called the sea parrot from the resemblance of its head to
that of the Parrot kind. The bird measures thirteen inches in length,
and its bill is a formidable weapon. The Raven seems to be its natural
enemy, and when they come to close quarters a great deal depends upon
which succeeds in getting the first grip. Naturally each bird has the
best chance in its own element. It is a bird of passage, visiting its
customary breeding places in the summer and wintering in southern
Europe. Mr. Rennie says, "In the breeding season, numerous troops of
them visit several places on our coasts, particularly the small island
of Priestholm, near Anglesey, which might well be called puffin land, as
the whole surface appears literally covered with them. Soon after their
arrival in May, they prepare for breeding, and it is said, the male,
contrary to the usual economy of birds, undertakes the hardest part of
the labour. He begins by scraping up a hole in the sand not far from the
shore; and after having got some depth he throws himself on his back,
and with his powerful bill as a digger and his broad feet to remove the
rubbish, he excavates a burrow with several windings and turnings, from
eight to ten feet deep. He prefers, where he can find a stone, to dig
under it, in order that his retreat may be more securely fortified.
Whilst thus employed, the birds are so intent upon their work that they
are easily caught by the hand."
ORDER X.
The Ostriches.
This order includes the Ostrich, the Rhea, the Cassowaries and the Emus.
The Ostrich belongs to Africa, Australasia, and South America. It is the
largest of the birds, attaining to a height of six feet, and a weight of
three hundred pounds. It is hunted for the sake of its feathers, but
being very swift of foot has to be circumvented by strategy. It is said
to run in large curves, which habit gives the hunter the opportunity of
riding straight and intercepting it. "A favourite method adopted by the
wild Bushman for approaching the Ostrich and other varieties of game,"
says Captain Gumming, "is to clothe himself in the skin of one of these
birds, in which, taking care of the wind, he stalks about the plain,
cunningly imitating the gait and motions of the Ostrich, until within
range, when, with a well-directed poisoned arrow from his tiny bow, he
can generally seal the fate of any of the ordinary varieties of game."
The eggs of the Ostrich are also much prized. "The nest," says Captain
Gumming, "is merely a hollow scooped in the sandy soil, generally
amongst heath or other low bushes; its diameter is about seven feet; it
is believed that two hens often lay in one nest. The hatching of the
eggs is not left, as is generally believed, to the heat of the sun, but,
on the contrary, the cock relieves the hen in the incubation. The eggs
form a considerable item in the Bushman's cuisine, and the shells are
converted into water flasks, cups, and dishes. I have often seen
Bush-girls and Bakalahari women, who belong to the wandering Bechuana
tribes of the Kalahari desert, come down to the fountains from their
remote habitations, sometimes situated at an amazing distance, each
carrying on her back a kaross, or a net-work containing from twelve to
fifteen ostrich egg-shells, which had. been emptied by a small aperture
at one end; these they fill with water."
The Ostrich and its Young.
The Ostrich shows the same affection for its mate, and the same devotion
to the care of its young that we have noticed in other birds, and in
animals. The female of a pair in Paris died through swallowing a
three-cornered piece of glass which a glazier had dropped into their
cage, after which the mate pined away and died in a few weeks. Of their
care of their young Captain Cumming says:
"I fell in with a troop of about twelve young ostriches, which were not
much larger than Guinea-fowls. I was amused to see the mother endeavour
to lead us away, exactly like a wild duck, spreading out and drooping
her wings, and throwing herself down on the ground before us as if
wounded, while the cock bird cunningly led the brood away in an opposite
direction." Professor Thunberg once rode past the place where a hen
Ostrich was sitting in her nest; when the bird sprang up, and pursued
him, evidently with a view to prevent his noticing her eggs or young.
Every time he turned his horse towards her she retreated ten or twelve
paces; but as soon as he rode again she pursued him, till he had got to
a considerable distance from the place where he had started her.
The Rhea. The Cassowary. The Emu.
The Rhea is a beautiful bird of the ostrich type belonging to South
America. There are several species, known as the Common Rhea, the
Great-billed Rhea, and Darwin's Rhea, the latter belonging to Patagonia.
A Common Rhea bred some time ago in the Zoological gardens, when the
male bird discharged the duties of incubation. The Cassowary and the Emu
belong to Australia. The Cassowary resembles the ostrich in form, but is
not so large. It stands about five feet. Like all these birds it is
unable to fly, but is very swift of foot. It can kick too, with great
violence, as dogs have sometimes found to their cost. The Emu is a very
large bird and is said sometimes to exceed six feet in height.
Mr. Bennett says:--"The length of its legs and the muscularity of its
thighs enable it to run with great swiftness; and as it is exceedingly
shy, it is not easily overtaken or brought within gun-shot. Captain
Currie states that it affords excellent coursing, equalling if not
surpassing the same sport with the hare in England; but Mr. Cunningham
says that dogs will seldom attack it, both on account of some peculiar
odour in its flesh which they dislike, and because the injuries
inflicted upon them by striking out with its feet are frequently very
severe. The settlers even assert that the Emu will break the small bone
of a man's leg by this sort of kick; to avoid which, well-trained dogs
run up abreast, and make a sudden spring at the neck, whereby the bird
is quickly dispatched. Its flesh has been compared to coarse beef, which
it resembles both in appearance and taste." Mr. Jesse says, "The only
instance I have met with in which the hen bird has not the chief care in
hatching and bringing up the young, is in the case of the Emus, at the
farm belonging to the Zoological Society, near Kingston. A pair of these
birds bred five young ones: the female, at different times, dropped nine
eggs in various places in the pen in which she was confined. These were
collected in one place by the male, who rolled them gently and carefully
along with his beak. He then sat upon them himself, and continued to do
so with the utmost assiduity, for nine weeks, during which time the
female never took his place, nor was he ever observed to leave the nest.
When the young were hatched, he alone took charge of them, the female
not appearing to notice them in any way. On reading this anecdote, many
persons may suppose that the female emu is not possessed of that natural
affection for its young which other birds have. In order to rescue it
from this supposition, I will mention that a female emu belonging to the
Duke of Devonshire at Chiswick, laid some eggs; and as there was no male
bird, she collected them together herself, and sat upon them." The
Apteryx, the wingless bird of New Zealand, belongs to this order.
CLASS III--REPTILIA.
ORDER I.
The Tortoise and The Turtle.
This order introduces us to creatures differing very widely, in form and
character, from those which we have been considering. There are more
than two hundred species of the tortoise, and these are grouped into
four families. The Common European tortoise is found in the South of
France and Italy, as well as in Sicily and Greece. It feeds on
vegetables, and under favourable circumstances lives a great number of
years. It is slow in its movements but it burrows rapidly and is soon
out of sight in the sandy soil it affects. Tortoises are commonly kept
in a state of domestication in England, one known to the writer showing
a great preference for pansies, eating the flowers and leaving the other
parts of the plant. Mr. Wood describes the efforts made by a tortoise in
his possession to attain the summit of a footstool, which shows that the
reptile has some measure of intelligence. "Unfit as the form of the
creature may seem for such a purpose," says Mr. Wood, "it did contrive
to scramble upon a footstool which was placed by the fender. Its method
of attaining this elevation was as follows:--First it reared up against
the footstool in the angle formed by it and the fender, and after
several ineffectual attempts, succeeded in hitching the claws of one of
its hind feet into the open work of the fender. On this it raised
itself, and held on to the top of the stool by its fore feet, while it
gained another step on the fender, and so managed to raise itself to
such a height, that it only had to fall flat on the top of the
footstool. When once there, it could hardly be induced to leave the
elevation which it had gained with such difficulty."
The Elephant Tortoise.
The gigantic tortoises of the Galapagos Islands came under the
observation of Mr. Darwin, from whom we quote the following descriptive
passages: "These animals are found, I believe, in all the Islands of the
Galapagos Archipelago. They frequent in preference the high damp parts,
but likewise inhabit the lower and arid districts. Some individuals grow
to an immense size. Mr. Lawson told us that he had seen several so large
that it required six or eight men to lift them from the ground, and that
some had afforded as much as two hundred pounds of meat. This tortoise
is very fond of water, drinking large quantities and wallowing in the
mud. The larger islands alone possess springs, and these are always
situated towards the central parts and at a considerable elevation. The
tortoises, therefore, which frequent the lower districts, when thirsty
have to travel from a long distance. Hence broad and well beaten paths
radiate off in every direction from the wells, even down to the sea
coasts, and the Spaniards by following them up first discovered the
watering-places. Near the springs it was a curious spectacle to behold
many of these great monsters; one set eagerly travelling onwards with
outstretched necks, and another set returning, having drunk their fill.
The tortoises when moving towards any definite point, travel by night
and day, and arrive at their journey's end much sooner than would be
expected. One large tortoise, which I watched, I found walked at the
rate of sixty yards in ten minutes, that is three hundred and sixty in
the hour, or four miles a day, allowing also a little time to eat on the
road. During the breeding season, when the male and female are together,
the male utters a hoarse roar or bellowing, which, it is said, can be
heard at a distance of more than a hundred yards. The female never uses
her voice and the male only at such times. They were at this season (the
month of October) laying their eggs. The female, where the soil is
sandy, deposits them together and covers them up with sand; but where
the ground is rocky she drops them indiscriminately in any hollow. Mr.
Bynoe found seven placed in a line on a fissure. The egg is white and
spherical; one which I measured was seven inches and three-eighths in
circumference. The inhabitants believe that these animals are absolutely
deaf; certainly they do not overhear a person walking close behind them.
I was always amused when overtaking one of these great monsters as it
was quietly pacing along, to see how suddenly, the instant I paused, it
would draw in its head and legs, and uttering a deep hiss, fall to the
ground with a heavy sound as if struck dead. I frequently got on their
backs, and then, upon giving a few raps on the hinder parts of the
shell, they would rise up and walk away, but I found it very difficult
to keep my balance. The flesh of these animals is largely employed, both
fresh and salted; and a beautiful clear oil is prepared from the fat.
When a tortoise is caught, the man makes a slit in the skin, near its
tail, so as to see inside its body whether the fat under the dorsal
plate is thick. If it is not, the animal is liberated; and is said to
recover soon from this strange operation. In order to secure the
tortoises it is not sufficient to turn them, like turtles, for they are
often able to regain their upright position."
The Turtle.
The Green Turtle is the turtle of the famous soup. It is a large animal,
measuring five or six feet in length and weighing from five hundred to
six hundred pounds; it feeds on sea-weeds and is found in large numbers
in the seas of warm latitudes. The species from which we get the horny
substance known as tortoiseshell (_Chelonia Imbricata_) is sometimes
called the Hawk's-bill turtle. It is a smaller variety, measuring about
three feet and belonging to tropical seas. The Leathery Turtle is said
to reach eight feet in length and a weight of a thousand pounds. The
Loggerhead Turtle is even larger than this, and sometimes weighs as much
as fifteen hundred pounds.
[Illustration: Crocodile and Tiger Fight]
ORDER II.
The Crocodile.