Transcriber's note: A few typographical errors have been corrected: they
are listed at the end of the text.
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
Project Gutenberg has the other two volumes of this work.
Volume I: see https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44056.
Volume III: see https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44058.
* * * * *
Zoological Illustrations,
OR
ORIGINAL FIGURES AND DESCRIPTIONS
OF
NEW, RARE, OR INTERESTING
ANIMALS,
SELECTED CHIEFLY FROM THE CLASSES OF
Ornithology, Entomology, and Conchology,
AND ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THEIR APPARENT AFFINITIES.
BY
WM. SWAINSON, ESQ., F.R.S., F.L.S.
ASSISTANT COMMISSARY GENERAL TO H. M. FORCES. CORRESPONDING MEMBER
OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF PARIS; HONORARY MEMBER
OF THE HISTORIC SOCIETY OF NEW YORK; MEMBER OF
THE WERNERIAN SOCIETY, &c. &c. &c.
VOL. II.
SECOND SERIES.
London:
PRINTED BY W. J. SPARROW, BERNERS MEWS, BERNERS STREET.
PUBLISHED BY BALDWIN & CRADOCK, PATERNOSTER ROW,
AND R. HAVELL, 77, OXFORD STREET.
1831-2.
* * * * * *
TO HIS MOST CHRISTIAN MAJESTY,
Louis Philippe,
KING OF THE FRENCH,
Whom as a PRIVATE GENTLEMAN, exiled by despotism from his native country,
enjoyed that respect which the dignity of virtue can alone ensure; whom, as
a PRINCE, descended from a race of Kings, gained the affections of a whole
people;--as the KING of a great and intellectual nation, enjoys the love
and veneration of the wise and the good; and as a true PATRON OF SCIENCE,
munificently encourages, both privately and publicly, all who are engaged
in its pursuit,
THIS VOLUME
OF
ZOOLOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS,
Is dedicated,
WITH SENTIMENTS OF THE HIGHEST ADMIRATION
AND OF THE GREATEST RESPECT,
BY THE AUTHOR.
* * * * * *
PREFACE.
----
The present state of science in Britain, the usual subject of our preface,
has recently been discussed by powerful writers;[1] and has drawn from
others,[2] equally eminent, bitter reflections. As regards Zoology, there
is a great show of patronage. Zoological gardens, and new societies have
sprang up: cheap publications, on _popular_ natural history, appear daily;
and professors have been installed at the two London Universities. Yet what
has resulted? We have lecturers expounding systems they do not
comprehend,[3] and we have professors maintaining that a walk into the
fields will make "a very good naturalist."[4] Meantime nearly every
periodical work on pure science has languished or died away. The
_Zoological Journal_ has been discontinued, although nominally patronized
by a society enjoying an enormous annual receipt. The fact, indeed, is but
too apparent, that the science of the country, _speaking generally_, has
become superficial, while "neither literature nor art has been encouraged
in our opulent Island, half as much as they have been by some of the petty
kingdoms of the Continent."[5]
But the political horizon is happily brightening, and the change will
ultimately affect all. The stream of national patronage has long been
prevented from branching off and fertilizing spots, now impoverished and
neglected. Natural History, more than any other science, requires such aid;
because it is inapplicable to the purposes of life; and while its study is
attended with enormous expence, its acquirement leads to nothing tangible.
It is a melancholy fact, that while our present laws crush individual
exertion, by extorting a large number of free copies of the most costly
works, undertaken by their authors without the slightest hope of
remuneration,--the Government of France assigns _for subscriptions_ to such
publications, an annual sum of £10,000.[6] But on questions regarding the
patronage of science, Great Britain, unfortunately, is poorer than any
nation in Europe.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: FLUVICOLA _cursoria_.
_Courier Waterchat._]
FLUVICOLA cursoria.
_Courier Waterchat._
----
Family Todidæ. Sub-Family Fluvicolinæ.
FLUVICOLINÆ. _Bill_, in general, strong; depressed, the tip abruptly bent
and notched: _gape_ with stiff bristles. _Tarsi_ long; _toes_ nearly
free, _claws_ slender and acute. _Scapular covers_ long. _Quill_ and
_tail_ feathers very broad; but the latter of various shapes. Frequent
marshy situations in the New World. _Nobis._
GENERIC CHARACTER.--Zool. Journ. No. 10, p. 172.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_White, back brown; wings, stripe on each side the head, and broad
rounded tail, black; the latter tipt with white._
----
There is to be found, in Tropical America, a singular race of flycatching
birds, whose plumage is black and white. Their haunts are only in the
vicinity of water: they pursue their prey upon the ground, running with
great celerity, and are constantly in motion. They have, in short, all the
manners and habits of the Stone Chats, and when we published the definition
of this genus, we were led to believe it belonged to the Saxicolinæ. The
present species we met with in abundance at Pernambuco, frequenting the
sides of the rivers and lagoons.
It is not surprising that ornithologists, who are so frequently compelled
to form their ideas of natural divisions from mere skins, should be
entirely unacquainted with the group, of which this genus is probably the
type. But it is strange that the full and accurate information concerning
it, which has long ago been furnished by Azara, should have been so utterly
neglected. In the views which we have taken of the affinities of these
birds, we consider they present a point of junction with the Saxicolæ;
passing on one side into the genuine Flycatchers of America, (_Tyrannula_
Sw.) and on the other into the typical Todies. The contents however of this
group, we are but partially acquainted with. It will comprise _Nengetus_,
Sw. _Alecturus_, Vieil, and several other forms now widely scattered in the
newest systems, together with one or two others not yet defined, which we
have only seen in the Paris Museum.
Since the above was printed, we find the name of _Xolmus_ has just been
proposed for this genus by M. Boié, he not being of course aware that
this, and some of his other groups, were published by us three years ago.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: MACROPTERYX _longipennis_.
_Long winged crested Swift._]
MACROPTERYX longipennis.
_Javanese crested Swallow._
----
Family Hirundinidæ.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
_Bill_ (_fig. 1.2._) small, entire, base depressed and straight, the
outer half of the culmen suddenly curved; lower mandible straight,
nostrils large, oblong: _Tarsi_ short, without scales; anterior toes of
nearly equal length; (_fig. 3.4._) claws strong; hinder toe long, not
versatile, the claw very short and thick. _Nob._
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Above obscure glossy green; throat, breast, and lower part of the back
light grey; belly, spot on the scapulars, and line over the eye, white;
ears rufous; front with an incumbent crest._
Hirundo Klecho, Horsfield, Linn. Trans, xiii. p. 143, female?
Cypselus longipennis. Pl. Col. Pl. 83, f. 1?
----
To Dr. Horsfield, one of the most successful and scientific investigators
of Oriental Zoology, we are indebted for the first discovery, in Java, of
this charming bird. Of its economy nothing is as yet known; but the
uncommon length of its wings, indicate its possessing the utmost rapidity
of flight. Another, and a much larger species, is among the Ornithological
treasures discovered in the Eastern Archipelago by my estimable friend M.
Lesson, and which he has already communicated to the public. A third is the
_Cypselus Comatus_, of M. M. Temminck and Laugier.
The peculiar structure of these birds oblige us to consider them as forming
a natural group, intermediate between the typical Swifts, and the Swallows.
To the first they are allied by their strong scansorial feet; to the latter
by the length and fixed position of the hind toe, and the depression of the
bill.
We suppose that the figure of the Hirondille longipennes, in the _Planches
Coloriées_, (pl. 83), is intended to represent this species; if so, it is
incorrect, both in drawing, proportion, colouring, and detail.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: EUDAMUS Pl.1.
_1. Agesilaus. 2. Doryssus._]
EUDAMUS Agesilaus.
----
Family Hesperidæ.--_Nob._ (_Anopluriform Stirps. Horsf._)
GENERIC CHARACTER.
Antennæ with the club unequally fusiform, the outer half abruptly bent,
forming a lengthened, attenuated hook, alike in both sexes; anterior
wings papilioniform: posterior wings with the caudal appendages very long
and obtuse.
Type.--_Hesperia Proteus._ Fab.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Posterior wings dark brown, with a broad, entire, cream coloured margin;
beneath marked with two darker bands, and a basal dot: appendages very
long, whiteish._
----
The insects composing this group, have only been discovered in the hot
latitudes of America. In the _Systema Naturæ_ one species alone is
recorded; Fabricius was acquainted with three; our own cabinet possesses
eighteen, all collected in a comparatively insignificant portion of Brazil.
Others have been figured by Drury and Cramer, so that the number of species
already known, may probably amount to near thirty.
The flight of these Swallow-tailed _Hesperidæ_, is usually performed in the
morning and evening, and is so rapid, as frequently to elude the eye of the
observer. They rest with _all the four wings perpendicular_, similar to the
Swallow-tailed Butterflies, (_P. Machaon_, &c.) The present is a very rare
species; we captured only two specimens near Bahia.
----
EUDAMUS Doryssus.
_Posterior wings, with short snowy tails, and a half border of white on
both sides; beneath brown, with a few paler dots near the base._
----
The sexes of this species materially differ. Our figure represents the
female: in the male, the wings are browner, and highly glossed at their
base with green; the snowy border on the posterior wings is very narrow
above, but much broader beneath. It appears very locally distributed; we
found it common in the vicinity of Bahia.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: MITRANÆ Pl. 4.
_Mitra episcopalis._]
MITRA Episcopalis.
----
Family Volutidæ.--Sub-Family Mitrianæ.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
_Animal_----
_Shell_ never turrited or plaited, ovate-fusiform, the _base_ wide,
obtuse, and truncated: _pillar_ with 4 plaits: the plaits simple. _Outer
lip_ crenulated, or toothed: _Aperture_ at the base effuse, smooth
within, and destitute of an internal groove. _Nobis._
Types of Form.
1, _M. episcopalis_. 2, _papalis_. 3, _scabriuscula_. 4, _Zebra_. 5,
_ferruginea_.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Shell with the spire thickened, and marked by transverse punctured dots:
white with crimson spots; inferior spots small and quadrate, the superior
large and irregular; pillar 4 plaited._
Voluta vel Mitra episcopalis, _Auct._ (Lam. Syst. 7. 299.)
----
We view this elegant, though common shell, as the type of the Lamarkean
Mitres, a group we shall hereafter consider as a sub-family. It is common
in various parts of the Asiatic Ocean, and sometimes occurs of gigantic
size: in its natural state it is covered with a thin olive epidermis.
We regret that the nature of this work will not permit us to do more than
furnish the clue, to the natural arrangement of the two typical groups of
this family, _Voluta_ and _Mitra_. The first of these we have, indeed,
pledged ourselves to enter upon more fully in _Exotic Conchology_. But the
arrangement of the Volutes is so intimately connected with that of the
Mitres, that we scarcely know how to illustrate one, without perpetually
adverting to the other.
The two typical groups of the Lamarkian _Mitræ_ we now characterise from
their shells; they correspond to those of the typical Volutes; while their
internal relations may be learned from the respective types of form here
designated. The genera _Mitra_ and _Tiara_, each present a circular series
of affinities, and are united by the fourth type in each group. Even a
partial study of this disposition will reveal to the Conchologist a harmony
of design, amid the greatest diversity of structure, which he could
scarcely have suspected in the mere covering of an animal.
The shells which appear associated with _M. episcopalis_, in this type of
form, are never coronated: the only external sculpture which they in
general possess, are delicate rows of minute punctured dots, in the typical
examples, as _Pertusa_, _millipora_, _versicolor_, the outer lip is acutely
toothed; while in the aberrant species, _Melaniana_, _tessellata_,
_scutulata_, _&c_. this part is smooth.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: MITRANÆ Pl. 5.
_1. Tiara isabella. 2. sulcata._]
TIARA isabella.
_Fawn coloured Mitre._
----
Order Zoophaga. Family Volutidæ.
Sub-Family Mitrianæ. (G. Mitra. Auct.)
GENERIC CHARACTER.
_Animal_----
Shell turrited, fusiform, the _base_ contracted and slightly recurved;
_pillar_ with 4-5 plaits, the upper plait sulcated: _outer lip_ smooth,
or entire. _Aperture_ narrow, striated within, and presenting an internal
groove at its upper extremity. _Nobis._
Types of Form.
1, _M. Corrugata_. 2, _Regina_. 3, _Sanguisuga_. 4, _Microzonias_. 5,
_Isabella_.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Ti. (Ty. 5) Shell slender, fawn coloured, unspotted, marked by slender
crowded, transverse, convex ribs, the interstices deeply cancellated;
inner lip wanting, outer lip crenately undulate; pillar 5 plaited._
----
It is highly probable that the Mitres, like some other carnivorous marine
animals, seek their prey, and habitually reside, in the deep recesses of
the ocean. Instances are recorded of individuals having been brought up
from great depths; and notwithstanding the number of species, of which we
already know near 150, very few are common.
This genus, in short, is now become too overloaded, even for the purposes
of artificial arrangement: but we refrained from characterizing any other
group than _Conohelix_, until we analized the remainder. _Tiara_ appears to
be the second, or sub-typical group. The subordinate section, or type of
form, represented by T. _isabella_, includes several little known shells,
all marked by delicate transverse ribs and longitudinal striæ: the outer
lip is not strictly toothed or crenated, but is merely undulated by the
external sculpture: this subordinate group in _Tiara_, is aberrant: all the
species whose habitat we know, have come from the Pacific Ocean.
_Tiara isabella_ is a shell of the greatest rarity. Our drawing was made
from a specimen (presumed unique) sold at the Bligh Sale for 3_l._ 3_s._ It
was stated to come from New Holland, and is now in the Manchester Museum.
----
TIARA sulcata.
_Sulcated Mitre._
----
_Tiara. (Ty. 5.) Shell marked by distinct, carinated, remote transverse
ribs, the interstices concave: pillar three plaited, epidermis brown._
For this new and very distinct species, we are indebted to Mr. Bulwar. It
was collected on the Pacific side of the American Isthmus. The central line
indicates the true size of our specimen.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: SYLVIA _Regulus_.
_Gold-crested Warbler._]
SYLVIA Regulus.
_Gold-crest. Golden-crested Warbler._
----
Family, Sylviadæ. Sub-family, Sylvianæ. _Nob._
(_See North. Zool. Vol. 2._)
GENERIC CHARACTER.
_Bill_ very weak, considerably compressed, nearly straight; the tip bent
and notched: _rictus_ bristled. _Wings_ moderate. _Tail_ rather short.
SUB-GENERA. Acanthiza. _Horsf. & Vig._ Phyllopneuste. _Meyer. pars._
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Sides of the head without any indication of white bands, crest of the
male yellow-orange, bill very weak._ Temminck.
Sylvia Regulus. _Tem. Man. 1. 229. Roitelet ordinaire._
Motacilla Regulus. _Linn. 1. 338._
Golden-crested Wren. _Montague, Ornith. Dict. 2. p._--_See particularly
the Introduction to Vol. 1. p. 34._
----
With the exception of the Humming Birds, the Gold crests are the smallest
birds in creation. The natural size of the only species found in this
country is here represented; while the weight seldom exceeds eighty grains.
Notwithstanding its delicate structure, this beautiful little bird braves
the severest winters of Northern Europe: it is found in Denmark (_Müll.
Zool. Dan._), and extends to the borders of the Arctic Circle, (_Temm._) It
is more frequent with us than is generally supposed, but its diminitive
size screens it from observation. It is perpetually in motion: hopping
among the branches, examining every leaf and spray, and will frequently
catch minute insects that endeavour to escape, by darting at them like a
Flycatcher: we have repeatedly watched a pair of these birds which
frequented our garden at Warwick, in the middle of winter, for three years:
their favourite resort was an old fir-tree, which they regularly and
carefully explored, much in the manner of the Titmice (_Parii_.)
If the name of _Sylvia_ is to be retained in Ornithological systems, it
should obviously be applied to this, which has been correctly thought the
typical group of the whole family. _Acanthiza_, for reasons elsewhere
explained, appears a subordinate type, and _Phyllopneuste_ cannot be
adopted, without a glaring violation of natural affinities.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: PHÆNICORNIS _flammeus_.
_Orange Redbird._]
PHÆNICORNIS flammeus.
_Orange Redbird._
----
Family Laniadæ. Sub-family Ceblepyrinæ. _Nob._
GENERIC(?) CHARACTER.
_Bill_ with the sides compressed, the under mandible rather thick, the
gonyx ascending: _rictus_ bristled. _Feathers_ on the back and _rump_
slightly spinous. _Wings_ short. _Tail_ rather lengthened, graduated, the
tip forked: the feathers narrow.
PHÆNICORNIS. _Nob. Boié (pars.)_
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Glossy black and golden orange: head, throat, wings, upper part of the
back and middle of the tail glossy black; wings with two stripes of
orange._
Muscicapa flammea. _Auct. Tem. Pl. Col. pl. 263._
Mus. Paris. Nost.
----
The Birds now arranged under this group, exclusively belong to Southern
India and its luxuriant Islands. About five species have been discovered,
most of which are ornamented with a plumage of the brightest scarlet,
crimson, or orange, relieved by glossy black. Their economy is not known,
but their structure leads us to believe they live upon caterpillars and
soft insects; as another group, representing these birds in Africa, are
known to prefer such food. Both have the back feathers thick and rigid;
although these characters are least apparent in _Phænicornis_. Our figure
is nearly of the natural size. The female is stated to be yellow, where the
male is orange. It appears to be not uncommon in Java.
The genera _Parus_, _Turdus_, _Muscicapa_ and _Sylvia_ have alternately
been made the receptacles for these birds; to neither of which do we
consider they have any immediate affinity. Their whole structure evidently
accords with that of the Ceblepyrii, or Caterpillar catchers, of M. Cuvier;
a group first pointed out by Le Vaillant: but as these have never been put
in order, we can say nothing on the rank of _Phænicornis_, or on its
various relations.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: VOLUTILITHES. Pl. 1.
_1. Muricina. 2. pertusa._]
VOLUTILITHES muricina.
----
Family, Volutidæ. Sub-Family, Volutinæ. _Nob._
(_Genus Voluta, Lam._)
GENERIC CHARACTER.
Spiral whorls regularly and gradually diminishing towards the apex, which
is always acute. Plaits of the pillar numerous, always indistinct,
generally evanescent, and sometimes wanting. _Nobis._
Type, Voluta musicalis? _Lam._
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Shell nearly fusiform, the base narrow and smooth; the upper part with
longitudinal, subcostated, spinous plaits: inner lip thickened, the last
plait on the pillar very thick, and separated from the others, which are
slender, and nearly obsolete, by a deep groove._
Voluta Muricina. _Lam. Syst. 7, 1, 350. Ency. Meth. pl. 383. f. 1._
----
The fourth principal division of the Lamarkian Volutes has hitherto been
found only in a fossil state; unless, indeed, the _Voluta Braziliana_
really belongs to this type. The species are very numerous, both in the
London clay, and the _Calcaire grossier_ of Grignon. They offer some
beautiful types of form, representing the conterminous groups in this
family, some of which we may hereafter notice more particularly. The
pre-eminent type may probably be the _V. musicalis_ of Lamarck; as yet, we
only know this fossil from descriptions and figures, but it has obviously
been confounded with several others.
Lamarck has given a character so exquisitely finished of _V. muricina_,
that we have done little more than translate his words. Our specimen
appears to be from Grignon, and was furnished to us with the following, by
Messrs. Stuchbury, 33, Theobald's Road, Bedford Row.
----
VOLUTILITHES pertusa.
_Shell subfusiform, and the base striated; the upper part with thick,
remote, and somewhat nodulous ribs; traversed near the suture with lines
of punctured striæ; inner lip thickened, plaits on the pillar distinct,
the last very strong, the two next smaller, and the upper very slender._
----
This species is certainly undescribed by Lamarck, nor do we find it in Dr.
Fleming's useful compendium of the "Mineral Conchology." Our specimen has
the grey tinge of the London clay fossils. Neither of these species are
typical; as they represent the recent costated Volutes, in the adjoining
group.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: MITRANÆ. Pl. 6.
_1. Mitrella fusca. 2. ocellata. 3. olivæformis._]
MITRELLA fusca.
----
Family Volutidæ. Sub-family Mitriana. _Nob._
GENERIC CHARACTER.
Shell smooth, polished, sub-fusiform, the base obtuse and effuse; the
plaits of the pillar oblique, and extending far beyond the aperture;
outer lip internally smooth, the margin entire. _Nobis._
Types of form.
1. _M. fissuella._ 2. _casta. bicolor._ 3. _Olivæformis._
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Shell entirely brown, marked by bands of punctured dots; spire and
aperture nearly equal._
----
The natural situation of this group, in its own circle of affinity, has
already been shewn; it connects, in the most satisfactory manner, the genus
_Mitra_, as now restricted, with that of _Conohelix_, and opens at the same
time a passage to the Olives. The species yet discovered are few, and hence
we yet can only trace three types of form; the first evidently representing
_Mitra_, and the third, probably, typifying _Conohelix_. _M. Olivaria_
Lam., which truly belongs to this genus, may, perhaps, be only a
modification of the 2nd type, to which our present species strictly
belongs. The representation of this group among the Volutes, will be found
in _Voluta Zebra_ and its allies.
_Mitrella fusca_ is small, and of great rarity; our own specimen,
beautifully perfect, is the only one we have yet seen.
----
MITRELLA ocellata.
_Shell whiteish, the lower half of the principal whorl brown, with a band
of alternate rufous and white spots, and marked with reticulated white
lines, and remote sulcated striæ, internally punctured; spire, and upper
part of the body whorl, delicately plaited, the plates crossed by
transverse lines of excavated dots._
----
This species has probably been overlooked as a variety of _M. Fissurella_;
its markings, indeed, are partially the same, but its sculpture, and even
its form, proves it to be distinct. The alternate white and rufous spots
bear a fanciful resemblance to eyes. The description of _M. Olivæformis_
has already been given at Pl. 48, in the first volume of our former Series.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: MARGARITADÆ Pl. 1
_Margarita crocata._]
MARGARITA crocata.
_Orange Pearl-Oyster._
----
Order Acephala. Family Margaritadæ. _Nob._
MARGARITADÆ. _Animal_ byssiferous, attached to marine bodies by a
fascicle of tendinous filaments. _Shell_ foliaceous, the centre
internally pearly and iridescent: the form irregular; the margins fragile
and transparent. _Nob._
GENERA. MARGARITA. MALLEUS. PERNA. PINNA. (VULSELLA?) _Lam._
Sub-genera? Avicula. Crenatula. Inoceramus. _Auct._
----
GENERIC CHARACTER.
Margarita. See Leach. Zool. Miss. 1. p.107. (1814.)
(_Meleagrina. Lam. Syst. 1819._)
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Shell subquadrate, squamose, fulvous or yellow, the ear of the right
valve dilated and scarcely sinuated, that of the left valve very small:
inside silvery blue, hinge smooth._
----
It is the animal of this genus of Shells, which in sickness and disease,
produces the true oriental Pearl: the costly ornament of sovereigns, and
the chaste foil of beauty. An interesting account of the Pearl fishery of
Ceylon, will be found in Mr. Wood's entertaining _Zoography_, extracted
from Percival's History of that island.
The present is a small species, seldom exceeding the size of the figure: in
young shells there is a cardinal tubercle in our valve, which disappears
with age. The Pearl-oysters are nearly all inhabitants of warm seas; the
species require much elucidation.
The genera, above enumerated, appear to present such a series of
affinities, as to justify our suspicions that they form a natural group:
the more so, as their analogies may be traced among the perlacious
fluviatile shells, forming our family _Unionidæ_. If further investigation
should confirm the correctness of this idea, the sub-genera will, of
course, become types of form; bearing the same relation to the genera, as
_Dipsus_ does to _Anodon_, or _Castalia_ to _Hyria_.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: NYCTINOMUS _amictus_.
_Duvaucel's Nightfeeder._]
NYCTIORNIS amictus.
_Duvaucel's Nightfeeder._
----
Sub-order, Fissirostres. Family ----?
GENERIC CHARACTER.
_Bill_ subfalcated, compressed, margins of the upper mandible folding
over those of the lower: _rictus_ excessively wide. _Wings_ rounded,
moderate. Plumage lax, long. _Tarsi_ much shorter than the hallux. _Toes_
and claws as in _Merops_ and _Prionites_. _Nobis._
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Green, crown (in the adult) lilach, front of the throat and breast
bright red._
Merops amictus. _Pl. Col. pl. 310. fig. pessima._
Mus. Paris.
----
This is perhaps the rarest, and certainly the most extraordinary bird,
which the recent Zoological researches in India has brought to light. Its
discovery is due to a young and accomplished Naturalist of France--M.
Duvaucel, now alas! no more: but who lived to perpetuate his name by his
brilliant discoveries, and to enrich the French Museum with the most
splendid specimens of oriential Zoology now in Europe.
The form, habit, and wings of this charming bird, are almost precisely
those of _Prionites_; while the bill resembles that of _Merops_. Nothing
can exceed the beauty of its lilach crown, or the bright vermillion of its
throat. The bill is strong, and marked above on each sides with a sulcated
line: the gape is so wide, as to reach underneath the eye. The whole
structure of the bird, its round wings, and long lax plumage, indicates a
totally different economy from that of _Merops_; and this has been
confirmed by Sir W. Jardine and Mr. Selby, who inform us that another
beautiful species, they have described, _feeds during the night_.
Our drawing, scrupulously exact, was made at the _Jardin des Plants_. As we
find _Nyctinomus_ is a name already appropriated, we have substituted
_Nyctiornis_: and we place this group at the extremity of the
_Fissirostres_, adjoining to _Prionites_ among the _Scansores_.
Total length ab. 13, wings 5¼, tail (beyond,) 3, tarsi hardly ½ in.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: CULICIVORA _atricapilla_.
_Black-crowned Gnatcatcher._]
CULICIVORA atricapilla.
_Black crowned Warbler._
----
Family, Sylviadæ. Sub-family, Sylvianæ. _Nob._
(_See North Zool. Vol. 2._)
GENERIC CHARACTER.
CULICIVORA. _Swains. in Zool. Journ. No. 11. Lesson Man. 2. p. 430._
_Bill_ very slender, the base depressed, the sides compressed, the culmen
arched from the base. _Nostrils_ long; aperture linear and naked; rictus
bearded. _Wings_ remarkably short. _Tail_ slender, graduated, and
generally lengthened.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Above cinereous, beneath white; upper part of the head, middle tail
feathers, and base of the three outer feathers deep black. Quills
blackish, with white and grey margins._
Figuier à tête noir de Cayenne? _Pl. Enl. pl. 704. f. 1.?_
----
The birds composing this natural but intricate group, have hitherto been
found only in America. Scarcely superior in size to the Gold-crested Wrens,
they exhibit much of the same activity and restlessness in searching after
insects. Yet their manners, in other respects, are more in unison with
those of the flycatching birds.
In size and in structure, our bird perfectly accords with the _Sylvia
cærulea_ of Vieil, and represents that northern species in tropical
America, but we are fearful of identifying it with that figured in the _Pl.
Enl._ Our drawings are of the natural size; in both these species the bill
perfectly resembles that of _Prinia_. Horsf. except in being somewhat
shorter: the feet, however, are those of _Setophaga_, Swains. The
Flycatchers and Warblers, are so blended together, by all writers, that we
have not yet been able to discover the typical example of this group. Its
true affinities, however, appear to be as follows:--
_Culicivora_ is represented in Africa by _Drymoica, Sw._, in India by
_Prinia, Horsf._, and in Australia by _Malurus, Vieil._ These genera, in
conjunction with that of _Sylvia_, seem to indicate the first typical
circle of this family. Culicivora exhibits many singular characters; in
some approaching to _Prinia_, the tail is very short: others, shewing an
affinity to _Sylvia_, have yellow crests: while a few species, leading to
_Setophaga_, present us with the depressed bill of a Flycatcher.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: OLIVA. Pl. 2.
_Olivella purpurata. 2. eburnea._]
OLIVA purpurata.
_Purple-mouthed Olive._
----
Family Volutidæ.--Genus Oliva. _Auct._
SUB-GENUS, OLIVELLA.
CHARACTERS.
_Spire_ of the shell lengthened, conic, the tip acute: inner lip not
thickened, outer lip straight: base of the pillar curved inwards, and
marked by 2 strong plaits; upper plaits evanescent, or entirely wanting.
_Aperture_ effuse, and closed by an operculum? _Nobis._
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Shell whiteish, with a very acute spire, nearly as long as the aperture;
middle of the body whorl marked by angulated brown lines: suture with
spots and fascicles of longitudinal stripes: basal belt very broad:
aperture purple._
Oliva biplicata? _Sow. Tank. Cat. No. 2332. p. 33._
----
This shell maybe considered as typical of a small group of Olives, which we
suspect are peculiar to the American seas; they offer many points of
difference from those of the Indian Ocean. We recollect to have seen
another species, in some cabinet, with a small operculum. We have been
fearful of pronouncing this to be the _O. biplicata_, as the judicious
Conchologist will perceive the two descriptions do not exactly agree; and
we have another to which the characters given of _biplicata_ will equally
well apply. The perpendicular line indicates the natural size.
----
OLIVA eburnea.
_Ivory Olive._
_Shell entirely white, or marked by two bands of angulated purplish
spots; pillar about 8-9 plaited: basal belt and spire always white; the
former single._
Oliva eburnea. _Lam. Syst. 7. 1. p. 438._
----
This is the very common little Olive, sent in such abundance in the West
India boxes of shells; we figure it, because it is seldom rightly named in
collections, being confounded with _conoidalis_, _oryza_, and several
others of an equally diminutive size: the plaits are sharp, short, well
defined, and nearly all of equal size; although the base of the pillar
forms an internal elevation.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: MARIUS _Thetys_.]
MARIUS Thetys.
----
Order Lepidoptera. Sub-order Papilionides.
(Thrysanuriform Stirps.--Horsf.)
GENERIC CHARACTER. See Pl. 45.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Wings horizontally lengthened, above bright rufous, transversely banded,
with blackish stripes; beneath marbled with brown: lower part of the
head, body, abdominal margin of the inferior icings, and feet, cream
colour._
Papilio Petreus, _Cramer, Pl. 87, D. E._
---- Thetys. _Fabricius._ Mant. Ins. 2, p.47. Eus. Syst. 3, 1, 77.
----
We frequently captured this Butterfly on the skirts of the Brazilian
forests: its flight is bold and powerful, but it loves to bask on those
leafy spots, where the sun, darting through a small opening of the dense
foliage, illuminates a little space with sparkling brightness.
The poor and somewhat inaccurate figure of this insect in Cramer's work, is
the only representation yet published. We have not had leisure to
investigate its scientific relations, further than to ascertain its close
affinity with _Marius_; of which group it appears on aberrant species.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: EURYMUS _Philodice_.]
EURYMUS Philodice.
----
Family Papilionidæ. (Juliform Stirps. Horsf.)
Sub Family, Colianæ.
Sub-genus(?) Eurymus. _Nob. Horsf._
CHARACTERS.
_Palpi_ rather lengthened, cloathed and fringed with unequal, disunited
hairs, the two last joints obliquely porrect, and scarcely touching the
head. _Antennæ_ slender, terminating abruptly in a thick cylindrical
club. _Wings_ simple, rounded, entire; destitute of concealed appendages.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Wings yellow above; with a common border of black. Anterior above with a
small, linear-oval, black, discoid spot._
Col. Alis integerrimis, rotundatis, flavis, limbo communi suprà nigro:
subtùs anticis puncto ocellari, posticis sesquialtero argenteo; his
sub-rufescentibus; anticarum limbo suprà (fem.) flavo maculato. _Ency.
Meth. p. 100._
----
The Butterflies constituting this group, are nearly restricted in their
geographic range to the temperate regions of the old and the new world.
Their principal metropolis appears to be in Europe; about twelve species
having been described as natives of that continent. Of these, five are
found in Britain; one of which, _E. Edusa_, has a very wide range; we have
seen specimens from the mountains of Nepaul, and we possess others,
collected by our friend Mr. Burchell, in Southern Africa. _C. Philodice_
hitherto unfigured, is the only species of a strictly typical character
discovered in North America: we have several specimens from New York, where
it appears not uncommon: the middle figure represents the female.
In illustrating this group, we feel called up to notice in a particular
manner, the courtesy of Dr. Horsfield in adopting our manuscript name,
after it had remained so many years unpublished, that the circumstance, on
our part, had been totally forgotton. To us the mere credit of having
pointed out a group, flattering as it might once have been, is now
trifling: but the high principles which prompted the unequivocal thanks of
Dr. Horsfield, must ever demand our respect. The passage, indeed, so
honourable to its writer, singularly contrasts with the ambiguous
acknowledgements, tendered to us from other quarter.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: GRYLLIVORA _saularis_.
_Male._]
GRYLLIVORA Saularis.
_Dial Bird._
----
Family Sylviadæ. Sub Family Saxicolinæ.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
_Bill_ strong, compressed, the culmen gradually curved from the base, the
tip strongly notched: the margins inflexed, the rictus bearded. _Tarsi_
elevated, robust. _Wings_ rounded, the 3, 4, 5 and 6th quills nearly
equal, lesser quills nearly all of equal length. _Tail_ graduated; the
feathers broad. _Nob._
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Glossy blue-black, body beneath, and a broad longitudinal band in the
middle of the wing, pure white: tail graduated, the three middle feathers
black and nearly equal, the three outer suddenly diminishing, and pure
white._
Gracula Saularis. _Auctorum._
----
Naturalists, until of late, were accustomed to pay so little regard to the
habits and manners of birds, that of some of the most common species, we
know as little now, as we did a century ago. We are in this predicament
with the species before us, called the Dial Bird by Albin, whose vague and
very questionable account of its manners, has been copied by every
succeeding writer. We believe that under the name of Gracula Saularis, two,
if not three species are confounded. We doubt Le Vaillants _Cadran_ (Ois.
d'Af. pl. 109) being the same as our bird: he distinctly describes and
figures the female as _rufous_. Ours, (so labelled), is grey. To us, its
natural affinity with the Saxicolæ appears almost unquestionable, but on
this point we shall dwell more at length in another place. The curious
analogy between this bird and _Petroica bicolor_, has already been
mentioned: the plumage of both are precisely alike. It is thus that Nature,
ever unfolding some new link of her interminable chain of relations,
impresses on the mind the sublimity of that plan, which OMNIPOTENCE alone
can fully comprehend.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: PTILIOGONYS _cinereus_.
_female._]
PTILIOGONYS cinereus. _female._
----
Family Laniadæ. Sub-family Ceblepyrinæ.
GENERIC CHARACTER. See Zool. Journ. No. 10, p. 164.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Head sub-crested; body above cinerous, tinged with grey brown, beneath
ferruginous; belly white; under tail covers bright yellow; lateral tail
feathers with an internal white band._ Female.
Ptiliogonys cinereus. _Cat. of Mex. Mus. App. p. 4. (1824.)_
Ptiliogonys (_not Ptiliogonatus_,) cinereus. _Zool. Journ. No. 10, p.
164. Phil. Mag. and Annals. June 1827, p. 367._
Piroll velauté. _Pl. Col. p. 422._
Mus. Nost.
----
Although not particularly striking in its plumage, this is one of the most
interesting birds, to the ornithologist, which has yet been gleaned from
the little known regions of Mexico. Closely allied, by its short and broad
bill to the Flycatchers, it is principally distinguished from them by the
absence of those bristles round the mouth, which almost invariably belong
to purely insectivorous birds. Its very short, robust, and feathered tarsi,
the profile of the bill, construction of the wing, and even the colouring
of the plumage, all remind us of the _Ceblepyrinæ_ or
Catterpillar-catchers, and point to that group as containing its true
affinities: a group, however, which is in such confusion, that we venture
not to hazard any speculations on the precise station of this curious
genus.
If the authors of the _Planches Coloriées_, will consult the Philosophical
Magazine for July 1827, (one of the oldest and best of our scientific
Journals), they will find that this, and most of the birds from Mexico,
which they are now describing as _new_, were long ago named and
characterized by us. Our list, indeed, of all those brought over by Mr.
Bullock, was printed with the catalogue, in 1824, when one of the Authors
was himself in England, and viewed the collection.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: CYNTILIA _Swainsonia_.]
AMYNTHIA Swainsonia.
----
Family Papilionidæ. Sub-family Colianæ.
CHARACTERS.
_Antennæ_ graduating from the base to a lengthened, cylindrical truncated
club; the terminal joint of which is naked and concave. _Head_ smooth,
destitute of a fascicle of hairs between the antennæ. _Palpi_ as in
_Colias_, the last joint inclining upwards. _Wings_ angulated, with
concealed appendages. _Feet_ as in _Colias_. _Nob._
Type. _Col. Merula._ Auct.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Wings above greenish white, anterior with a yellow disk, and a
quadrangular black dot, encircled with orange: wings beneath obscurely
lineated with green._
Colias Swainsonia. _Leach. M. S. S._
----
We had the satisfaction of discovering this lovely Butterfly in the
interior of Pernambuco, during our Brazilian researches in 1813. Although
assiduously sought after, we never captured more than three specimens, and
these were met with far distant from the coast: it must be either
excessively rare, or very locally distributed. The colouring is peculiarly
chaste and elegant; the ground is a pearly white, tinged with green, and
relieved by clear yellow: in the female this latter colour is more diluted,
and spreads nearly to the base of the anterior wings. This group appears to
be the tropical representative of _Gonepteryx_; from which it is much more
distinguished than _Eurymus_ is from _Colias_. The two European types are
called by British collectors, Brimstones, and Clouded-yellows. Dr.
Horsfield has judiciously removed _P. Glaucippe_ from _Pieris_ to _Colias_,
to which (although an aberrant species,) it manifestly belongs. We should
not be surprised if that insect leads to _Amynthia_ by means of _Amy.
Leachiana_ (Pl. 6. of our first series), which will be seen, from the
description, to exhibit many deviations from its conjenors: this however is
a mere supposition, for we have not yet analized these groups. Independant
of the characters here sketched, _Gonepteryx_ is distinctly separated from
_Amynthia_, by the peculiar construction of the feet. The mistake of the
printer, seen upon the plate, was discovered too late for correction.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: AMPULLARIA. Pl. 3.
_A. fasciata._]
AMPULLARIA fasciata. var.
_Fasciated Apple Snail._
----
Order, Phytophaga. Family, Ampullaridæ. _Guilding._
GENERIC CHARACTER.--See Guilding in Zool. Journ. No. 12, p. 538
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Shell thin, smooth, banded, ventricose; spire pointed, the whorls very
convex; umbilicus open, rather large._
Am. fasciata. _Lam. Sys. 6, 177._
Am. fasciata. _Zool. Illust. 1 Series. 2. pl. 103._
Am. fasciata, var. canaliculata. _Sw. in Bligh Cat._
Am. canaliculata. _Lam. Syst. 6, 178._
----
In our former series we represented this species as it is usually seen; our
present figures were drawn from a very uncommon variety, received by Mrs.
Mawe from Brazil, in which not the slightest appearance of the external
transverse bands are apparent. The specimen now forms a part of the
valuable and extensive Museum of the Natural History Society of Manchester;
a collection which we believe is superior to that of any provincial town in
the kingdom. It is gratifying to us to inform the scientific student, that
its contents will be thrown open to his enquiries with a promptitude and
liberality, which he will in vain look for at some of the Zoological
Institutions of the metropolis.
Our friend Henry Parker, Esq. of Liverpool, who while prosecuting his
botanical researches in Demerara, was not unmindful of conchology, favoured
us with an interesting series of specimens from that river, clearly shewing
that the A. _fasciata_ and _canaliculata_ of Lamarck are varieties of one
species; or rather, that there are specimens of _fasciata_ which perfectly
agree with his description of _canaliculata_. We further learn from Mr.
Parker, that the inhabitant of this, and of other species, are a favourite
food with the crafty Herons, who use their bill as a spear to take them
from the bottom; in some places, the banks of the river are strewed with
empty shells, all perforated by these birds.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: CONUS. Pl. 2.
_Conus lithoglyphus._]
CONUS lithoglyphus.
_Ermine Cone._
----
Zoophaga. Family Strombidæ. _Nob._
Operculum of the Animal smaller than the aperture of its shell; outer lip
of the latter detached above.
TYPICAL GENERA. 1, TEREBELLUM. 2, STROMBUS. 3, CONUS. 4, ----? 5,
PLEUROTOMA. _Auct._
GENERIC CHARACTER. See Lam. Syst. 7, 440.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Shell turbinated, redish orange, with two undulated white boards; base
granulated, spire obtuse._
Conus lithoglyphus. _Mus. Gevers. p. 350. Brug. Ency. Meth. p. 692. Lam.
Syst. 7, 490. C. Ermineus, Dillwyn, 395._
Icones. _Seba 3, pl. 42, f. 40, 41. Chem. pl. 140, f. 1298. Ency. Meth.
pl. 338, f. 8.? Martini, 2, pl. 57, f. 630.--1.?_
----
The Cone Shells belong to a predatious race of Molluscæ, who feed upon the
innumerable "creeping things," which swarm in the prolific seas of the
Oriental hemisphere: destitute both of jaws and lips, their mouth is formed
into a long trunk or proboscis; with this they contrive to bore into solid
shells, and suck the vital juices of their victims. Nearly all the species
are natives of the Indian Ocean.
The circular system of Nature has been so fully demonstrated, that it must
now be received as the first great truth in Natural History. As, therefore,
there can be but _one_ natural system, it necessarily follows that all
combinations of groups, whether large or small, which do not pretend to
exhibit such a disposition, must be more or less artificial
classifications. We allude to this our opinion, as explanatory of those
principles which have influenced the views indicated here of M. Cuviers
_Pectinibranchi_; the more so, as we shall be obliged to characterize many
new divisions, and to reform others, without the immediate opportunity of
explaining our reasons. In another work we hope to enter on such details;
and to shew we have been guided, in this matter, by more weighty
considerations than mere individual opinion.
* * * * * *
[Illustration: TODUS _viridis_.
_Green Tody._]
TODUS viridis.
_Green Tody._
----
Family Todidæ. See Pl. 41.
PUBLISHED GENERA. Fluvicola. Nengetus. Alecturus. Muscicapa, (_pars_).
Conopophaga. Platyrhynchus. Todus. Eurylamus. Querula? Psaris.
Pachyrhynchus.
GENERIC CHARACTER. See Lesson, Man. 1, p. 178.
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_Bright green, beneath whiteish; throat scarlet; sides of the body rosey;
under tail covers yellow._
Todus viridis. _Auct._
Mus. Paris. Nost.
----
This singular little bird has long excited the particular attention of
those naturalists who study the affinities of groups, more than the details
of species. It is a native of the West Indian Islands, and although stated
to be not uncommon, the accounts given of its manners are perfectly
contradictory. One author asserts that it is almost always seen upon the
ground, from whence it receives the name of _Perroquet de Terre_: another,
that it only frequents the "lonely part of moist places" (woods?), where it
sits in a couched manner, with its head thrown considerably back, and is so
stupid, as almost to be taken by the hand. M. Vieillot confirms part of the
latter particulars, although he repeats, without denying, the former. In
our opinion the last is entitled to the most credance, although it is
contradictory to the idea of this being a terrestial bird.
We cannot but feel surprise and regret, that the "very interesting account"
of this bird, long ago announced (_Zool. Journ. Dec. 1827. p. 439_), as
having been sent from Cuba, by Mr. Macleay, to the Linnean Society, should
still be unknown to the scientific world. There is, indeed, a valuable
paper by this gentleman on certain birds of Cuba, in the first part of the
sixteenth Vol. of the Society's Transactions, where its author alludes to
the "description and anatomy of two birds" (_p. 12_) both of which are
nevertheless omitted: The _Todus viridis_, we apprehend is truly "one of
those solitary species," which, as Mr. Macleay observes, "from having been
neglected, may serve to unfold an exception, _sufficient to destroy the
most plausible system_." For ourselves, we shall feel much surprised if
this bird is entitled, in the slightest degree, to a station among the
_Fissirostres_, in which order it has been placed by M. Vigors, in his
paper "On the Natural affinities of Birds."
* * * * * *
[Illustration: MURICINÆ Pl. 1.
_Murex imperialis._]
MUREX Imperialis.
_Imperial Murex._
----
Family, Buccinidæ. Sub-family Muricinæ. _Nob._
GENERIC CHARACTER. See Lam. Syst.
Types of form. 1. M. Regius. 2. palmarosæ. 3. tripterus. 4.
tenuispinosus. 5. radix? _Lam._
----
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
Type 1. _Shell ponderous, with from four to five varices between the two
lips; the varices simple, nodulous, and obtuse: intermediate, or false
varices, none; aperture yellow, orange, or red; inner lip striated only
at the base._
----