Britain three hundred and ten species. In the state of New York alone,
we have, according to Dr. De Kay, three hundred and seven species. Mr.
Knapp mentions upward of sixty of the English species, and of these only
three are generally admitted, we believe, to be common to both
continents—the great butcher-bird, _lanius excubiter_, the petrel, and
the guillemot, the two last being sea-birds. The tree-creepers, the
goldcrests, the ravens, and the magpies, however, are considered very
closely similar. We give the names of the birds mentioned by Mr. Knapp.
The rook; hedge-sparrow; willow wren; cirl bunting; goldcrest; linnet,
or great red-poll; bull-finch; robin; chaffinch; tom-tit; large tom-tit;
colemouse; long-tailed tit; house-sparrow; wood-pigeon; jay; goldfinch;
whitethroat; blackcap; green-finch; gray flycatcher; house-marten;
raven; jackdaw; rock-pigeon; magpie; butcher-bird; petrel; wryneck;
swan; nightingale; starling; red-start; solitary thrush; missel-thrush;
sparrow-hawk; kestrel; yellow-hammer; swallow; thrush or throstle;
wheatear; guillemot; kite; pettychaps; wren; blackbird; cuckoo; lark;
tree-creeper; yellow wagtail; halcyon; wood-pigeon; black grous or heath
cock; red grous or moor fowl; bustard; fieldfare; crossbill; bunting;
gray wagtail; swift; goat-sucker; jacksnipe; common snipe; peewit or
lapwing: redwing; wood lark.
The limits allotted to us, not permitting many details on this subject,
we shall merely notice briefly some few of these birds, selecting those
which are most likely to interest the reader:
_The Rook, corvus frugilegus._—“Every body knows the rook; the dark, the
noisy, and sometimes the nest-plundering, or, in the early fields, the
contribution-levying rook; but still, notwithstanding, the cheerful, the
orderly, the industrious, the discreet, the beneficent rook.” Such is
Mr. Mudie’s character of this species of crow, unknown in America. It
measures nineteen inches in length; and has a fine plumage of glossy
black. Its partiality to old groves and ruins, near country-houses, must
be well known to the reader; the “rookeries” of England, however, are
said to be decidedly diminishing in their numbers. Many tales are also
told of the kindness of rooks to the orphan broods and widowed birds of
their flocks; but these have not been very clearly settled.
_The Linnet, fr. linota._—The name of this common European bird is
derived from its fondness for linseed. It is a charming singer, its song
consisting of “many irregular notes, tastefully put together, in a
clear, sonorous tone.” Its general plumage is brown, varied with gray
and reddish black; but in the spring, the forehead and breast of the
male bird are of a brilliant red coloring, whence one of its names as
the greater red-poll. It is said to resemble our purple finch, which is
also called the American linnet. Not found in the western hemisphere.
_The Bull-finch, loxia pyrrhula._—A short, thick bird, whose general
color is a dark, ashy gray, with carminecolored breast, and white rump.
It is a fine singer, readily catching airs and melodies by ear. Like the
linnet, it is a very favorite cage-bird in Europe. In its native woods
it is a shy creature, partial to shady groves, and seen less frequently
than many of its companions, though one of the common birds of Europe.
In America, this species of bull-finch is unknown.
_The House-sparrow, pyrgita domestica._—The sparrows of Europe differ
essentially from those of America. They have no song, and are seldom
seen in flocks. The plumage of the house-sparrow is gray; it frequently
builds in the thatched roof of the English cottage, under eaves also,
and in chinks in walls. These birds are useful in devouring house-flies;
they also feed on some species of butterflies, more especially those
whose caterpillars injure the cabbages so frequently, and one writer
considers it doubtful if cabbages could be raised at all in England if
it were not for the house-sparrow. In Persia, these birds, it is said,
are trained to chase butterflies, as a royal sport, just as the hawk was
taught to pursue the heron in olden times. The bird is unknown in
America.
_The Jay, garrulus glandarius._—Wholly different from our American jays,
and much less beautiful in plumage, the jays of Europe do not flock
together. They are great chatterers, however, and great mimics also. The
color of the European bird is a dark, purplish brown, with blue on the
forehead and wings.
_The Wood-dove, columba palumbus._—This is the largest and the
handsomest of the British pigeons. It is better known perhaps to the
reader, as the ring-dove, and cushat; it is a general favorite in
England.
_The Kestrel, falco tinunculus._—One of the smaller falcons of Europe;
of reddish brown and cream-colored plumage, marked with dusky spots. Its
eye is peculiarly brilliant. It is popularly called “stannel” and
“windhover,” the first word meaning “stand-gale,” the last, “hoverer in
the wind,” from its remarkable power of poising itself over a particular
spot in spite of high winds; at such moments the play of its wings is
exceedingly rapid.
_The House-marten, hirundo urbica._—With one exception, the bank
swallow, _hirundo riparia_, the swallows of Europe and America are
wholly different. The house-marten of England builds very frequently
about windows; it is a small bird, black and white in its plumage. Its
nest is often covered with a dome, the entrance being at the side, and
it is a sort of house, large enough for both birds.
_The Rock-pigeon, columba livia._—This is the stock whence come our
domestic pigeons, in their wild state they build in clefts or holes in
cliffs, and perch on the ledges and projections. They are never known to
perch on trees. Indeed, it is said that the rustling of the wind among
the foliage and branches, is annoying and unpleasant to these doves.
They are gregarious, and especially partial to cliffs on the sea-shore.
They are not found in a wild state in America.
_The Magpie, corvus pica._—Is a common bird in England, about the size
of a pigeon, with a plumage of variegated black and white. Its
reputation for mimicry and for thievish habits, must be well known to
the reader, although on this continent, especially east of the
Mississippi, it is rare. In England it is considered a bird of ill-omen
when seen alone, but the reverse when collecting in a merry company and
an even number. The magpies of both continents are very similar.
_The Wryneck, yunx torquilla._—This is a handsome migratory bird
something like a woodpecker in form, and of a yellowish brown and black
plumage, mottled with arrow-shaped black spots. It derives its name from
a strange trick of lengthening its neck, and twisting its head. Unknown
in America.
_The Jackdaw._—Is a bird of the crow tribe; lively, noisy, and familiar.
It is about fourteen inches long, and of a black and gray plumage.
_The Thrush, Throstle, or Mavis, turdus musicus._—A very common bird in
England, and a very sweet singer. The plumage is brown above, cream-
color below, marked with triangular, dusky spots. Its length is about
nine inches. They feed especially on the land-snails, so common in the
old world. Unknown in America.
_The Missel-thrush, turdus viscivorus._—This is the largest of the
English thrushes, nearly a foot in length. Its plumage is gray and
white. It derives its name from its marked partiality to the leaves of
the _misletoe_, with the slimy juice of which, it soils, or _missels_,
its feet. The plant again takes its name apparently from the _missled
toes_ of this thrush.
_The Blackbird, turdus merula._—This is another of the English thrushes,
and a great singer. It is entirely black in its plumage, shy, and
solitary in its habits, differing entirely, as the reader will observe,
from our American blackbirds, which are allied to the crows.
_The Cuckoo, cuculus cauvus._—This bird, extremely common in England,
has a grayish plumage varied with black and white. Mr. Mudie seems to
doubt the assertion usually made that they _never_ build nests of their
own. In the northern states we have two cuckoos, very different in their
appearance and habits from those of Europe, nor are they very common
birds in this country.
_The Wren, troglodytes urbica._—The winter wren of America is said to
resemble the common wren of Europe, more than any other of our species.
In England, this little bird is a great favorite, and is familiarly
called Kitty Wren.
_The Halcyon, alcedo ispida._—This is the kingfisher of Europe. It is a
bird of much more brilliant plumage than our American kingfisher, almost
as gaudy indeed as a parrot in its tints of red, blue, and green. The
term “halcyon days,” is attributed to the transparent, calm weather, in
which the kingfisher delights to skim over the glassy water, looking out
for his prey.
_The Wagtails, motacilla._—These birds derive their name from the
incessant, rapid motion of their tails; they are resident birds in
England, frequenting the banks of streams and pools. There are several
species; the pied, the gray, and the yellow wagtails. They run with
great rapidity, and take wing with peculiar ease. Their conformation
renders the movement of the tail necessary as a counterpoise, which is
the cause of its constant play.
_The Swift, cypselus apus._—This is the largest of the swallow tribe in
Europe, and probably the strongest winged of all British birds. It lives
in the air, building on the highest towers, and spires of churches and
other edifices, or upon rocky pinnacles. The swifts are distinguished
from the swallows by the shortness of their legs, unfitted for walking,
and by the formation of their toes. Our American chimney swallow
approaches very nearly to the swift of England in many particulars,
though different in others.
_The Goat-sucker, caprimulgus Europeus._—This is the fern owl, nightjar,
or night-hawk, a bird, as an English writer has observed, particularly
ill-named, its last title only being consistent with its character. When
hawking for bats it flies within a few feet of the ground, but when in
pursuit of moths it glides round and round the trunk of some tree, the
haunt of its prey, with great perseverance. The term goat-sucker is
derived from a strange notion very prevalent in olden times that this
bird was in the habit of taking the milk of the goat for its own use.
Our American night-hawk differs in some particulars from that of Europe.
_The Bustard, otis tarda._—This is a large bird of the _cursores_ or
running tribe, four feet in length, and nine in breadth, weighing as
much as thirty pounds in some instances. The plumage is reddish orange,
spotted and barred with black, with the more conspicuous wing and tail
feathers, brown and black. Under the neck there is a sort of skin pouch,
capable of containing half a gallon. The flesh is much prized. The
bustard is now a very rare bird in England, but in France they are less
uncommon. They will probably soon become extinct in Great Britain, like
the wood-grous, which, within the last eighty years, has disappeared
from that country.
_The Grous, tetrao._—There were, until recently, three well known
species of grous in Great Britain. 1st. The Black Grous or heath cock, a
bird of wholly black plumage, found in the heathy districts of the three
kingdoms. 2d. The Red Grous, or moor fowl, very abundant in the Scotch
moors, and found in no other part of Europe, being the only bird
peculiar to Britain. 3d. The Wood-Grous, formerly by no means uncommon,
but which has recently become quite extinct in Great Britain, although
it is still found on the continent of Europe.
_The Titmouse, parus._—The titmice are dispersed more or less over the
whole world, excepting some portions of the southern hemisphere, as
South America, and New Holland. In England, they have seven or eight
different species: the great tit, _p. major_; colemouse, _p. ater_;
marshtit, _p. palustris_; long-tailed tit, _p. caudatus_; blue tit, _p.
cæruleus_; bearded tit, _p. biarmicus_; crested tit, _p. cristatus_. In
the United States, we have three species: the common chicadee, _p.
atricapillus_; the caroline titmouse, _p. carolinensis_; and the crested
titmouse, _p. bicolor_. This last is found in Europe also, but in
England it is very rare. All three species belong to the birds of New
York.
_The Nightingale, corruca luscinia._—The far-famed nightingale is a bird
of a dusky brown, and gray plumage, about seven inches in length, being
the largest of the warblers found in England. It is in one sense a shy
bird, difficult to watch, heard more frequently than it is seen in the
shady groves. The song of the nightingale has been described by one
writer as “the most spirit-stirring and gleesome in nature.” The
clearness of their note is said to vary much with the climate, or rather
atmosphere, they chance to haunt, and as a general rule those that
belong to more southern countries sing more sweetly than their brethren
to the northward. The nightingales of Greece and Italy are thought to be
much more exquisitely musical than those of the northern countries of
Europe. In England, they only frequent particular counties, avoiding the
northern and western districts; and it has been said that they have an
especial partiality to those parts of the island where cowslips are most
abundant.
_The Starling, sturnus vulgaris._—This is a bird of the crow tribe,
unknown in America. It is eight or nine inches in length, of a plumage
whose general coloring is black, marked throughout, however, with
triangular starlike spots of white, or cream-color, whence the name of
_starling_. They are social, harmless birds; active, and chattering
creatures, and excellent mimics.
_The Fieldfare, turdus pilaris_, is another bird unknown in America. It
is one of the northern thrushes, visiting England in flocks, during the
cold season. It is a large, meadow bird, with a grayish chestnut back,
the breast and sides of a rufous yellow. The fieldfares feed on seeds,
and on insects also, and are themselves considered a dainty morsel by
the human epicure, the ancient Romans fattening them, it is said, on a
paste made of figs and flour. They have no song, but utter a singular
cry when flying.
_The Raven, corvus corax._—The raven of Europe differs in some respects
from that of America. In Great Britain it is not an uncommon bird. It is
said if a man in England, at any moment, throw himself on the ground, in
the fields, more especially if he lie motionless on his back in the
position of a lifeless body, a raven will be found to draw near, and
reconnoitre, though unseen a moment before. This fact would seem to
confirm the opinions doubted by Mr. Knapp—that sight, and not smell, is
the sense by which these birds are guided in descending on their prey,
since the mere motionless feigning of death is sufficient to attract
their attention. It is well known that Mr. Audubon held this opinion,
confirming it by experiments with the American turkey-buzzards, which
proved quite inattentive to carrion of the most offensive kind when
placed immediately before them, so long as it was concealed from their
sight by a cloth. Dr. James Johnson and other writers on the subject
also doubt the sense of smell in birds of this habit, and other
experiments like that of Mr. Audubon have had the same result.
Owing to the greater care bestowed on the health of cattle at the
present day, and their less frequent deaths in the field under the
modern system, ravens are said to be sensibly diminishing in England.
NOTE V.
THE HOUSE FLY, (_musca carnaria_,) p. 151.
The speed of these familiar insects when on the wing, is very
remarkable, being computed at a third of a mile in a minute. The
peculiarity of their walking, apparently against the laws of
gravitation, with such perfect ease, has been the subject of much
investigation and controversy. Formerly it was believed that the fly
walked by means of organs called suckers, which produced a vacuum at the
extremity of each foot, by exhausting the air. Some lizards are known to
climb walls in this way. But it is now more generally believed that the
firm hold of the house fly is more simple, provided by fine, hairy
appendages to the feet, by which they cling to the most minute
inequalities of our walls and windows.
Flies feed chiefly on liquids, and the juice of solid substances; they
are also enabled to dissolve certain solids, by means of a saliva, which
they eject for the purpose, on sugar, &c. The familiar sound produced by
flies, comes from their wings; but as many winged insects move silently,
the air must act upon those of the fly in a peculiar manner.
NOTE W.
THE ROBIN, page 164.
The two birds bearing, in England and America, the same name of Robin
redbreast, are in most respects very different. The English robin,
_motacilla rubecola_, is much the smaller of the two, is stationary
throughout the year, loses his red jacket in autumn, is little noticed
for its song in spring, but sings more or less even in winter; and, very
possibly, while gathering the autumn leaves over the “babes in the
wood,” sang their dirge with the pleasing note so often alluded to, by
English writers, as one of the charms of the season:
“But now with treble oft,
“The redbreast whistles from some garden croft,
“And gathering swallows twitter in the air.
Our American robin is a portly thrush, _turdus migratorius_, wandering
far and wide as soon as the cold weather sets in; it is one of our most
chatty, loquacious birds in spring, his voice being heard morning and
evening throughout April and May, above the notes of most of his
feathered neighbors, but he becomes silent and taciturn toward autumn.
In one sense, he deserves the name of redbreast in preference to the
English bird, since his colors never change; and, should some mute
straggler appear in the leafless groves of January or February, as
occasionally happens as far north as the Mohawk, his jacket will be
found still warmly dyed in red. In several particulars, however, the two
birds resemble each other; both are partial to the neighborhood of man;
both have the reputation of being somewhat pugnacious in temper as
regards their fellows, and both are remarkable for their fine, large
eyes. At page 164, the author alludes to this peculiarity of the English
robin, and the reader will observe the size of the same feature in our
American bird.
NOTE X.
THE GOLDFINCH, (_fringilla carduelis_) p. 167.
The goldfinch of Europe, is in some respects very like our own. “So much
does the song of our goldfinch resemble that of the European species,”
says Mr. Audubon, “that while in France and England, I have frequently
thought, and with pleasure thought, that they were the notes of our own
bird which I had heard.” The flight of both, in deep, curved lines,
alternately rising and falling, their manner of gathering in flocks,
their way of feeding, are also similar.
The goldfinch of Europe has a very varied plumage; in some parts of
England, it is called the “Sheriff’s man,” from its gay livery, and also
the “Seven Colored Linnet,” from the varied tints of scarlet, black,
white, gray, brown, and gold color blended in its markings. It is widely
diffused throughout Europe, where it is a favorite cage-bird. The
docility of these finches, and their quickness at learning tricks, are
remarkable; at an exhibition in London, some half a dozen birds,—all of
the finch tribe—appeared standing on their heads, playing at sentinel,
mounting guard, imitating milkmaids going to market with tiny pails on
their shoulders, acting as cannoniers, armed cap-a-pie, firelock on the
shoulder, match in the claw, actually discharging a small cannon!
NOTE Y.
THE SKY-LARK, (_alanda arvensis_) p. 184.
“It is, in fact, more joyous in the sun, more inspirable by the life
which the solar influence diffuses through the atmosphere, than almost
any other creature: not a spring air can sport, not a breeze of morn can
play, not an exhalation of freshness from opening bud or softening clod
can ascend, without note of it being taken and proclaimed by this all-
sufficient index to the progress of nature. The lark rises not like most
birds, which climb the air upon one slope, by succession of leaps, as if
a heavy body was raised by a succession of efforts, or steps, with
pauses between; it towers upward like a vapor, borne lightly in the
atmosphere, and yielding to the motion of that as vapors do. Its course
is a spiral, gradually enlarging, * * * The accordance of the song with
the mode of ascent and descent is also worthy of note. It gives a
swelling song as it ascends, and a sinking one when it comes down; and
even if it take but one wheel in the air, as that wheel always includes
either an ascent or a descent, it varies the pitch of the song.”
“Every one in the least conversant with the structure of birds, must be
aware that with them, the organs of intonation and modulation are
_inward_, deriving little assistance from the tongue, and none, or next
to none, from the mandibles of the bill. The windpipe is the musical
organ, and it is often very curiously formed. Birds require that organ
less for breathing than any other animals, because of the air-cells, and
breathingtubes with which all parts of their body (even their bones) are
furnished. But those diffused breathing organs must act with less
freedom when the bird is making the greatest efforts in motion, that is,
when ascending or descending, and in proportion as these cease to act
the trachea is more required for the purpose of breathing. The sky-lark
thus converts the atmosphere into a musical instrument of many stops,
and so produces an exceedingly wild, and varied song—a song which is
perhaps not equal either in power or compass, in the single stave, to
that of many of the warblers, but one which is more varied in the whole
succession.”
“Every body knows the sky-lark,” continues Mr. Mudie, but the American
reader may like to be reminded that this celebrated bird is about seven
inches long, with a brown plumage, tinged with reddish, yellowish, and
dusky shading in places. These larks are abundant in Europe. They are
brought to market in great numbers. In England, they are sold for the
table at about a dollar the dozen. It is said that at Leipsic in
Germany, a duty of twelve thousand crowns per annum was raised on the
larks eaten in that city, at the rate of about five cents for every
sixty larks, and if the English crown be meant this would give the
number of birds eaten in the town at the incredible amount of nearly
four millions.
They have a legend in Ireland, that the larks of the wild valley of
Glandalough never sing, “having been miraculously silenced by St.
Theresa, during the building of the Seven Churches, because they broke
the morning sleep of the wearied masons, by their loud native
warblings.”
NOTE Z.
THE WINTER GNAT, (_tipula hiemalis_) p. 189.
Gnats are rarely indeed seen in our colder climate in winter, but in
England they are common, often dancing gaily over the snow and ice of
mid-winter. There are said to be no less than thirty species of gnats
found in Great Britain, and they are all aquatic in their origin. The
female launches her eggs on the water, in the form of a diminutive boat
composed of two or three hundred eggs, each of which taken separately is
heavy enough to sink, but so cleverly are they arranged in their skiff-
like form, that when thus glued together, they not only float buoyantly,
but it is next to impossible either to upset or sink them permanently.
The grub or larva issues from the egg head downward, breathing through
the tail. The second or pupa stage of existence is also passed in the
water, whence it rises at length the winged insect with which we are
familiar. Our musquitoes are members of the same _culex_ family, and
resemble very closely the winter gnat of England. The English gnats
however are quite harmless, with the exception of an occasional bite
from the females of the tribe.
NOTE AA.
BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS, page 192.