The GIANT OWL SWALLOW (_Podargus humeralis_) is a bird about the size of
a Crow. The upper part of the body is brown marked with greyish white and
dark brown, the top of the head being streaked with blackish brown, and
spotted with white. The quills are brownish black, marked with rows of
spots upon the outer, and striped upon the inner web; the beak is light
brown shaded with purple; the feet and eyes are yellowish brown. The many
varieties of this species resemble each other both in appearance and
habits.
"Like the rest of the genus, the _Podargus humeralis_ is strictly
nocturnal, sleeping throughout the day on the dead branch of a tree, in
an upright position, across and never parallel to the branch, and which
it so closely resembles as scarcely to be distinguishable from it. I have
occasionally seen it beneath the thick foliage of the Casuarinæ; and I
have been informed that it sometimes shelters itself in the hollow trunks
of the Eucalypti, but I could never detect one in such a situation. I
mostly found them in pairs, perched near each other on the branches of
the Gums, in places not at all sheltered from the beams of the mid-day
sun."--GOULD.
The sleep of the Giant Owl Swallow is so profound that one of a pair
may be shot from a branch without the mate that is sleeping at its side
being roused, and the heavy sluggard may be pelted with stones, or
struck with a stick, without being awakened from its slumbers. Should
it at last be roused to consciousness, it scarcely exhibits animation
sufficient to prevent it from falling to the ground, as it slowly
flutters, in a semi-torpid state, to the nearest tree, when it at once
perches, and falls into a sleep as heavy as that from which it has just
been disturbed. No sooner, however, has night set in, than the previously
drowsy stupid bird becomes a new creature, and after carefully preening
its plumage, at once proceeds to run actively and briskly up and down
the branches of trees in search of Grasshoppers; it also extracts larvæ
from under the bark, after the manner of Woodpeckers, or dives down
holes and fissures to find any delicate morsels that may be concealed
within. Its flight is not particularly good, owing to the shortness of it
wings, but it passes with considerable rapidity from tree to tree, and
occasionally amuses itself by a variety of manoeuvres in the air. Gould
is of opinion that this species lives entirely upon insects, but Verreaux
affirms that it frequents morasses during winter, when food is scarce,
and consumes snails or other inhabitants of the water, and that in the
breeding season it will attack young birds, kill them by repeatedly
striking them against the stem of the tree, and then devour them. The
pursuit of prey is carried on late in the evening, and again just before
dawn, the intermediate hours being devoted to the process of digestion,
combined with heavy sleep. The breeding season commences about July, and
is ushered in by repeated battles between the males, whose loud voices
become louder and more dissonant as they dispute possession of a female,
or exert themselves to please her with their vocal efforts. Both parents
co-operate in building their small, flat nest, which is most carelessly
constructed of fine twigs lined with grass and feathers, and is usually
placed in a forked branch at about five or six feet from the ground. The
eggs are from two to four in number, their shape is elongate, and their
colour pure white, so that they are often distinctly visible through the
thin walls of their slightly constructed abode. Both parents assist
in their incubation, the father sitting upon them during the night, and
seeking food during the day, whilst the female takes her place upon the
nest in his absence. Should the sun's rays prove too powerful for the
young, they are carried to a shady nook or hole until mid-day is passed.
By November they are fully fledged, but remain for some time longer
under parental care and tuition. Gould and Verreaux both inform us that
if the season be unusually cold, it is not uncommon for the Giant Owl
Swallow to remain for a time in a hole, or on a branch, in a state of
complete torpidity. Such of these birds as we have seen caged in Europe
were extremely tame, and would not only eat from the hand, but allowed
themselves to be carried about the room without any sign of fear.
[Illustration: THE GIANT OWL SWALLOW (_Podargus humeralis_).]
* * * * *
The FROG-MOUTHS (_Batrachostomus_) constitute a group of comparatively
small birds, inhabiting India and its neighbouring islands. Though
smaller than the Giant Owl Swallow, they have a still larger beak, which
is very broad and flat at its base, slightly arched at its tip, and
terminates in a hook; the upper mandible projects over the lower one in
all directions; the nostrils are small and covered with feathers, and the
wings abruptly rounded; the tail is long, and is either graduated, or has
the outer feathers very short; the tarsi and feet are small but strong,
the toes powerful and very flexible.