OSTRICHES, HERONS, CRANES, IBISES, ETC.
The ostrich is a very remarkable bird indeed.
In the first place, it is by far the largest of all living birds, for a
full-grown male ostrich is taller than a very tall man. Then its head is
somewhat like that of a camel, and its neck like that of a giraffe--very
long and slender, with scarcely any feathers on it. Next, its wings are
so small that they cannot be used for flight. All that an ostrich does
with its wings, indeed, is to spread them out when it is running, so
that they may help it in keeping its balance. And, finally, its legs are
as stout and as strong as those of a horse, while it has only two toes
on each foot.
Ostriches live in the great desert plains of Africa, where they are
mostly found in small flocks. Although they cannot fly, they can run
with very great speed, and in fair chase will distance even a swift
horse. But for some strange reason they always run in circles, so that
all that a hunter has to do is to notice whether they are swerving to
the right or to the left, and then to gallop across and cut them off.
When an ostrich is running at full speed it takes most wonderful
strides, its toes scarcely touching the ground as it dashes along. By
careful measurement, indeed, it has been found that there is sometimes a
distance of no less than twenty-eight feet between its footmarks!
The ostrich is rather a formidable bird, for it can kick forward with
terrific force. But if a man lies down when attacked by one he is fairly
safe, for the kick cannot be properly delivered at a height of less than
three feet. Or if he has a forked stick he can hold the bird back by
pressing the fork against its neck.
Ostriches' eggs are so large that one of them will make a good meal for
eight men. The bird does not make a nest, but scoops out a hollow in the
sand about three feet across and a foot deep, and then arranges
its eggs in it, each egg standing upright, and being lightly covered
with sand. Twenty eggs or more are often hatched together, and in
addition to these the bird generally lays a number round the edges of
the hole, which appear to serve as food for the young. During the day
the hen sits, the cock taking her place by night.
The appetite of the ostrich is proverbial, and it would really be
difficult to say what an ostrich will not swallow. Stones, coins,
bunches of keys, tobacco-pipes, newspapers done up for post, brickbats,
old shoes, and tenpenny nails have all been taken from its crop; and it
seems to be very seldom indeed that any of these things disagree with
it! Its natural food, however, consists chiefly of wild melons, which
also supply it with all the moisture that it needs.
Ostriches are very valuable to man, on account of the beautiful plumes
which are obtained from the male. These birds are therefore kept in
great numbers in ostrich-farms so that the plumes may be regularly cut
once in every year. As this does not destroy the bird, it is proper to
make use of these beautiful feathers as ornaments.
THE EMU
In Australia the place of the ostrich is taken by the emu. It is a
smaller bird, however, though a full-grown hen--which is bigger than the
cock--is often six feet in height. And it has three toes upon each foot
instead of two.
The emu was formerly very common in many parts of Australia, but it has
been so terribly persecuted that it is fast becoming exceedingly scarce.
It is generally hunted with dogs, which are trained to spring at the
neck, so as to be out of reach of the terrible feet. For the emu does
not kick forward, as ostriches do, but strikes sideways and backward,
like a cow.
The emu only lays six or seven eggs, which are of a beautiful dark-green
color, without any markings at all. They are laid in a hollow scooped in
the ground. During the nesting-season the female bird utters a loud
booming sound, which is due to a very curious pouch in the throat.
RHEAS
There are also several ostrich-like birds in South America which are
known as rheas. They inhabit the Argentine plains, and are not nearly so
large as the ostrich and the emu, but are quite as swift of foot, so
that it is not at all easy for a man mounted on even a fast horse to
overtake them. They are generally hunted with the bolas which is a long
cord with a heavy ball as each end, and is flung at the bird in such a
manner as to wind round its neck and hold it prisoner.
Rheas always lay their eggs in hollows in the ground, and the number of
eggs in a nest seems to vary from twenty to twenty-four. The male bird,
apparently, sits upon them, the hen taking no part in the task of
hatching them out. Neither does she seem to take any care of the little
birds when at last they make their appearance, for they always travel
about with the cock.
CASSOWARIES
Of these there are a good many kinds. They are formed like the ostrich
and the emu, but have shorter necks, which are sometimes wattled and are
marked with patches of brilliant red and blue and green. The legs are
stout and the feet are perfectly enormous. But their most striking
feature is an odd bony crest upon the top of the head, which is covered
with naked skin.
Cassowaries are found only in Australia, New Guinea, Ceram, and some of
the neighboring islands, and, unlike all the preceding birds, are
dwellers in the forest. They are so shy that they are very seldom seen,
so that we do not know very much about their habits. The Australian
natives, however, often keep them in captivity, and treat them almost as
we treat poultry. But they are rather dangerous creatures, for they can
kick very hard with their great, strong feet, and are very ready to
attack any one who is a stranger to them.
Cassowaries only lay from three to five eggs, and it seems that the
cock bird alone sits on them, and that he also takes care of the little
ones after they are hatched.
KIWIS
More curious still are the kiwis of New Zealand, whose wings are so very
small, and so completely concealed under the feathers of the body, that
practically they may be said to have none at all. Besides this, the beak
is so long and slender that it reminds one of that of a woodcock or a
snipe. The nostrils are placed at the very tip of this beak, which the
bird appears to use by plunging it deeply into soft ground, and then
smelling for worms.
When it finds a worm it seems to coax rather than to pull it out of the
ground, and then throws up its head and swallows it whole.
Kiwis have several times been brought to the London Zoo, but hardly any
one ever saw them, for all day long they were fast asleep among their
straw. If the keeper took them out and woke them they would just yawn
once or twice, opening their beaks to the widest possible extent, and
then fall fast asleep again.
After dark, however, these birds become very lively, and will run with
such speed that even a dog can scarcely overtake them. This shows that
their natural habit is to go abroad and seek their food during the
night.
The egg of the kiwi is enormously large. Indeed, it is almost a quarter
of the size of the bird itself, and when two eggs have been laid and the
bird is sitting on them, the ends project beyond the feathers on either
side of its body.
BUSTARDS
The bustards also are able to run very well, and unlike the birds
belonging to the ostrich family, they are also able to fly.
The finest of these birds is the great bustard, which until about the
year 1840 was found wild in Great Britain. The cock is between three and
four feet in height, and the head and body together are nearly
four feet long, while when the wings are fully spread they measure quite
eight feet from tip to tip. The hen is a good deal smaller.
The great bustard lives in wild, open plains, and is so extremely wary
that it is almost impossible to approach within gunshot. Except during
the nesting season it is found in small flocks, and both by day and by
night two of the party act as sentinels and stand always on the watch,
ready to give the alarm at the first sign of danger. They have
wonderfully sharp sight, and will detect a man long before they can be
seen by him. Almost the only way to shoot them, indeed, is to dig a pit
in the ground and hide inside it, covered over with branches, until they
pass by.
These magnificent birds are now found chiefly in the steppes of Eastern
Europe and Asia, where they feed upon seeds and grain, and also upon
insects and even upon small animals. They lay two or three eggs in a
hollow in the ground, in which sometimes, but not always, they place a
few grass-stems by way of a nest.
CRANES
Another tall and stately bird is the crane. It is found in one or
another species in all quarters of the world, living on plains and
marshes, coming north to breed, and retiring southward again during the
winter.
Cranes generally travel about in flocks, which nearly always fly in the
form of a wedge, each bird having its long legs stretched stiffly out
behind it. Each flock is under the guidance of a leader, and the birds
are most careful when they alight to do so in some open place where they
can see for a long distance in every direction, so as to guard against
the danger of being surprised by an enemy.
Cranes are generally to be seen in marshy districts, where they can find
plenty of frogs, newts, and worms. But sometimes they will make their
way to a newly sown field and dig up all the grain. Their nests are
generally placed on the ground, among osiers or in reed-beds, though now
and then they will build on the very top of an old ruin. The little
brown crane of the western plains is the most familiar American species.
The crowned crane, which is found in Northern and Western Africa, is a
very odd-looking bird, for it has a large bunch of upright golden
feathers on the top of its head, and a scarlet wattle on the throat.
From a little distance it really looks as if it were wearing a bright
yellow bonnet, tied with a bow of scarlet ribbon under its chin!
LAPWINGS
The European lapwing, known to every one by the familiar reference in
Tennyson's "Locksley Hall," represents the world-wide family of plovers.
They are beautiful birds with their black and white plumage and the tuft
of long feathers at the back of the head, and very often one may see
hundreds or even thousands of them together. Early in the spring one may
find their four long, pointed eggs, which are olive brown in color,
spotted and blotched with brownish black, and are always laid in a
little hollow in the bare ground with their small ends inward in the
form of a cross. But somehow or other, although they are quite large
eggs, it is very difficult to see them, and you might pass close by a
dozen nests, and even look straight at them, and yet never notice the
eggs at all.
Often, when some one happens to find a hen lapwing sitting on her eggs,
she will pretend to be wounded, and will flap and tumble along the
ground in the hope of making the intruder chase her, and so of leading
him away from her nest.
Sportsmen know of many other plovers, such as the golden, the ringneck,
the killdee, or killdeer, and several more, both American and foreign.
THE CURLEW
This is another plains-bird common to both continents, which may often
be noticed on moors or in marshes during the summer, or on the sea-coast
in the winter. But generally one only sees it in the distance, for it
is extremely wary, and takes to flight at the very slightest alarm.
All through the winter months curlews live in flocks, and one may hear
them uttering their mournful cries in chorus together. But early in the
spring they separate, and each pair selects some little hollow in the
ground which may serve as a nest. In this they lay four pear-shaped
eggs, which are olive green in color, spotted with gray and brown. When
the eggs are hatched the parents take the greatest care of their little
ones, and often if any one comes too near the nest they will fly round
and round his head in the most excited manner, and do their very best to
drive him away.
In color the curlew is pale brown above, with darker spots and streaks,
and grayish white beneath. Its total length is about twenty-four inches,
and the beak is long and slender, with a downward curve.
RUFFS
The ruff, a relative of the curlew, is remarkable for three reasons. In
the first place, during the breeding-season, the male bird has a great
frill or ruff of long feathers round his neck, which he can raise and
lower at will. In the next place, two male ruffs are never colored
alike, while sometimes they look so wholly different that it is quite
hard to believe that they can really belong to the same species. And, in
the third place, they are so dreadfully quarrelsome when the
nesting-season begins, that two male ruffs can never meet without
fighting. More than that, they actually have regular fighting-places, to
which numbers of the birds resort when they want to settle their
quarrels! But although they fight very savagely, they never seem to do
each other much harm.
Ruffs are hardly known in America, except in Alaska, but at one time
they were very common in the marshy parts of England.
THE WOODCOCK
The woodcock is a bird of wooded swamps. It is valued by sportsmen,
because difficult to shoot and delicate to eat. They lay their eggs in
a hollow in the ground, which they line with dry grass and leaves. When
the mother bird is sitting it is almost impossible to see her, for she
nearly always nests among dead ferns, which are of exactly the same hues
as her own plumage. Generally, indeed, it is her eyes that are noticed,
and if she only had the sense to keep them shut she would probably never
be detected at all.
Woodcocks are hardly ever seen unless they are disturbed, for they hide
during the daytime in thick bushes in woods, and only come out to feed
in the evening. Their food consists chiefly of worms, which they pull
out of soft, muddy ground by means of their long, slender beaks.
If two male woodcocks meet during the nesting-season they almost always
quarrel, and will fight nearly as savagely as ruffs.
THE SNIPE
In appearance and habits the snipe is something like the woodcock, but
it is considerably smaller, and is found in damp, marshy ground instead
of in woods. When it is flushed it flies away for a few yards quite
straight, and then begins to twist and turn about in a most
extraordinary way, changing the direction of its flight at almost every
yard. In consequence of this habit it is not at all an easy bird to
shoot.
The male snipe is very fond of rising to a great height in the air, and
there uttering his curious cry of "chick! chick! chick-a!" over and over
again. At the same time he also makes a strange drumming sound, which
seems to be caused in some way by the motion of the wings, as it is only
produced while he is "stooping" down toward the ground.
The snipe generally nests in the middle of a tussock of coarse grass or
rushes, where it lays four buff or olive-green eggs marked with
dark-brown blotches.
THE HERON
One of our finest American birds is the heron, which you may often see
flying high in the air, with its long legs stretched stiffly out
behind it. And sometimes you may see it standing quite motionless in
the shallower parts of a stream, watching for the fishes on which it
feeds. After a time it will slowly stoop, plunge its long beak into the
water, and draw it out again with a minnow, or a perch, or a frog
struggling in its grip. Then it holds its beak almost upright, gives a
gobble and a gulp--and the fish or the frog disappears!
The heron feeds largely on frogs, mice, insects, and worms, as well as
upon fishes. And more than once it has been known to capture and swallow
a small snake.
Herons build their nests in the upper branches of tall trees, making
them of sticks and twigs, lined with grass and roots. A number of these
birds generally nest together in the same clump of trees, just as rooks
do, and in each nest are laid either three or four bluish-green eggs,
without any markings at all.
If a heron is attacked, it uses its long, dagger-like beak with great
readiness, and always tries to strike at the eyes of its enemy. Herons
are of many kinds, the great blue one being the finest of the tribe.
STORKS
The stork is found in most parts of Europe, and also in Asia and
Northern Africa, but no stork lives in America.
When storks are migrating, they fly in great flocks, which sometimes
consist of many thousand birds. As soon as they arrive, they spread
themselves over the country, being especially fond of marshy districts,
where they can find plenty of frogs, toads, lizards, and the other small
creatures upon which they feed. But they also devour large quantities of
the offal which they find in the streets of the villages and towns.
In Holland and Germany storks breed in great numbers. Their nests, which
are usually placed on the tops of chimneys, are little more than clumsy
piles of sticks, and as fresh sticks are added every year, they
gradually get bigger and bigger until at last they reach a very great
size. From three to five pure white eggs are laid, and the young birds
remain in the nest until they are well able to fly.
THE IBIS
Very much like storks in some ways are the ibises, which are found in
many parts of Asia, Africa, and America. They are generally found in
flocks, which live in marshes or on the banks of rivers and lakes, where
they spend most of their time dabbling in the water with their long
beaks in search of food.
One of these birds was worshiped by the Egyptians of old, who treated it
with the greatest reverence during life, and carefully embalmed its body
when it died. For this reason it is known as the sacred ibis, and in
every large art museum you may see ibis mummies, which were taken from
the tombs of the kings. In color this bird is snowy white, with a black
head and neck, and long black plumes on the hinder part of the back. You
may generally see it in a zoo, together with the beautiful scarlet ibis,
whose plumage is bright red in color, with black tips to the wings.