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diff --git a/63592-0.txt b/63592-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..92bc923 --- /dev/null +++ b/63592-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23663 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 63592 *** + + ###################################################################### + + Transcriber’s Notes + + This e-text is based on ‘Cassell’s Natural History, Vol. III,’ from + 1893. Inconsistent and uncommon spelling and hyphenation have been + retained; punctuation and typographical errors have been corrected. + + The spelling of toponyms might differ slightly from today’s + orthographical conventions. + + _Underscores_ have been used to indicate italic text in the + original. Small capitals have been converted to UPPERCASE LETTERS. + + ###################################################################### + + + + +[Illustration: + + CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, LITH. LONDON. + +DEER FAMILY. + + 1. Indian Muntjac (_Cervulus muntjac_). + 2. Reindeer (_Rangifer tarandus_). + 3. Javan Deerlet (_Tragulus napu_). + 4. Fallow Deer (_Dama vulgaris_). + 5. Wapiti Deer (_Cervus strongyloceros_). + 6. Porcine Deer (_Hyelaphus porcinus_). + 7. Roebuck (_Capreolus caprea_). + 8. Elk (_Alces machlis_). + 9. Chinese Water Deer (_Hydropotes inermis_). +] + + + + + CASSELL’S + + NATURAL HISTORY + + + EDITED BY + + P. MARTIN DUNCAN M.B. (LOND.) F.R.S. F.G.S. + + PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY IN AND HONORARY FELLOW OF KING’S COLLEGE LONDON + CORRESPONDENT OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES PHILADELPHIA + + + VOL. III. + + + _ILLUSTRATED_ + + + CASSELL AND COMPANY LIMITED + _LONDON PARIS & MELBOURNE_ + 1893 + + ALL RIGHTS RESERVED + + + + + UNGULATA:-- + RUMINANTIA. + + A. H. GARROD, M.A., F.R.S. + + + RODENTIA. + + W. S. DALLAS, F.L.S. + + + EDENTATA. + + P. MARTIN DUNCAN, M.B. (LOND.), F.R.S., F.G.S. + + + MARSUPIALIA. + + P. MARTIN DUNCAN, M.B. (LOND.), F.R.S., F.G.S. + + + AVES. + + R. BOWDLER SHARPE, F.L.S., F.Z.S. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I. + + ARTIODACTYLA--RUMINANTIA: + + BOVIDÆ--SHEEP, GOATS, AND GAZELLES. PAGE + + Ruminantia--Chewing the Cud--Metaphorical Expression--The + Complicated Stomach: Paunch, Honey-comb Bag, Manyplies, + Reed--Order of Events in Rumination--Feet and + Dentition of Ruminants--Brain--Classification--HORNED + RUMINANTS--Divided into two Groups--Difference + between them--BOVIDÆ--Horns--Aberrant Members--SHEEP + AND GOATS--General Characteristics--Sheep of + South-Western Asia--Merino Sheep--Breeds of Great + Britain--Dishley, or Improved Leicesters--Mr. Bakewell’s + Description--Southdowns, Cheviots, Welsh, and other + British Breeds--Table of the Importation of Colonial + and Foreign Wool into the United Kingdom--MARCO POLO’S + SHEEP--OORIAL--SHAPOO--MOUFLON--AMMON--BURHEL--AMERICAN + ARGALI--WILD SHEEP OF BARBARY--THE GOAT--Compared with + the Sheep--Descent--Cashmere Goat--IBEXES--PASENG--Their + remarkable Horns--Old Theories as to the Use of + the Horns--MARKHOOR--TAHR--GAZELLES--General + Characteristics--Sir Victor Brooke’s Classification--THE + GAZELLE--Appearance--Habits--ARABIAN GAZELLE--PERSIAN + GAZELLE--SOEMMERRING’S GAZELLE--GRANT’S + GAZELLE--SPRINGBOK--SAÏGA--CHIRU--THE PALLAH, OR IMPALLA--THE + INDIAN ANTELOPE, OR BLACK BUCK 1 + + + CHAPTER II. + + ARTIODACTYLA--RUMINANTIA: + + BOVIDÆ: (_continued_)--ANTELOPES. + + THE STEINBOKS: KLIPSPRINGER, OUREBI, STEINBOK, GRYSBOK, + MADOQUA--THE BUSH-BUCKS--Appearance--Distinctive + Marks--THE FOUR-HORNED ANTELOPES--Peculiarity in + the Chikarah--THE WATER ANTELOPES: NAGOR, REITBOK, + LECHÈ, AEQUITOON, SING-SING, WATER-BUCK, POKU, + REH-BOK--THE ELAND--Beef--Appearance--Captain + Cornwallis Harris’ Description--Hunting--Scarcity--THE + KOODOO--Appearance--King of Antelopes--ANGAS’ HARNESSED + ANTELOPE--THE HARNESSED ANTELOPES: GUIB--BUSH BUCK, OR + UKOUKA--Appearance--Pluck--THE BOVINE ANTELOPES--THE + BUBALINE--HARTEBEEST--BLESBOK--BONTEBOK--SASSABY--THE + GNU--Grotesque Appearance--Habits--BRINDLED + GNU--THE CAPRINE ANTELOPES--SEROW--Ungainly + Habits--GORAL--CAMBING-OUTAN--TAKIN--MAZAMA--THE + CHAMOIS--Distribution--Appearance--Voice--Hunted--THE + ORYXES--BLAUBOK--SABLE ANTELOPE--BAKER’S + ANTELOPE--ORYX--BEISA--BEATRIX--GEMSBOK--ADDAX 17 + + + CHAPTER III. + + ARTIODACTYLA--RUMINANTIA: + + BOVIDÆ (_concluded_)--OXEN, PRONGHORN ANTELOPE, MUSK [DEER], + AND GIRAFFE. + + THE NYL-GHAU--Description--Habits--THE MUSK OX--Difficulties + in associating it--Distribution--Habits--THE + OX--Chillingham Wild Cattle--Their Habits--Domestic + Cattle--The Collings, Booth, and Bates Strains--American + Breeding--Shorthorns, and other Breeds--Hungarian + Oxen--Zebu--Gour--Gayal--Curious mode of Capturing + Gayals--Banting--THE BISONS--Description--European Bison, + or Aurochs--Almost extinct--Cæsar’s Description of + it--American Bison--Distribution--Mythical Notions regarding + it--Their Ferocity and Stupidity--“Buffalo” Flesh--THE + YAK--Habits--THE BUFFALOES--Varieties--Description--Fight + between two Bulls--THE ANOA--THE PRONGHORN + ANTELOPE--Peculiarity as to its Horns and Skull--Professor + Baird’s and Mr. Bartlett’s Independent Discovery of + the Annual Shedding of the Horns--Habits--Peculiarity + about its Feet--Colour--Difficulties as to its + Position--THE MUSK [DEER]--Its Perfume--Where is it to be + placed?--Description--Habits--Hunters for the Perfume--Their + Sufferings--THE GIRAFFE--Peculiarities--Skull processes--Its + Neck--Habitat--Running power--Habits--Hunting 29 + + + CHAPTER IV. + + THE CERVIDÆ, OR ANTLERED RUMINANTS: + + THE ELK, ELAPHINE, SUB-ELAPHINE, AND RUSINE DEER. + + The Deer Tribe--Distinguishing Characters--Exceptions to + the rule--The Musk (Deer) and Chinese Water Deer--Other + Characters of the Cervidæ--Antlers, their Nature, + Growth, and Shedding--The Knob--“Velvet”--Getting rid + of the “Velvet”--Full equipment--Contests--Interlocking + Antlers--Distribution--Classification--Development + of Antlers in the Common RED DEER--Explanation of + the various stages--Splendid “Heads”--Simple and + Complex Antlers--Types of Antlers--THE ELK, OR MOOSE + DEER--Appearance--Antlers--Habits--Hunting--THE ELAPHINE + DEER--THE RED DEER--Distribution--Appearance--Hunting--THE + WAPITI--Acting of the Fawns--THE PERSIAN DEER, OR + MARAL--THE CASHMERIAN DEER, OR BARASINGHA--Habits and + General Appearance--BARBARY DEER--SUB-ELAPHINE DEER--THE + JAPANESE, FORMOSAN, AND MANTCHURIAN DEER--THE FALLOW + DEER--Peculiarity of its Antlers--THE PERSIAN FALLOW + DEER--THE RUSINE DEER--THE SAMBUR, OR GEROW--Habits--Species + of Java, Formosa, Sumatra, Borneo, Timor, Ternate, and The + Philippines--THE HOG DEER--THE AXIS DEER--PRINCE ALFRED’S + DEER--THE SWAMP DEER--SCHOMBURGK’S DEER--ELD’S DEER, OR THE + THAMYN--Description--Habits--Hunting--Shameful havoc 46 + + + CHAPTER V. + + THE MUNTJACS--THE ROEBUCK--CHINESE DEER--REINDEER--AMERICAN + DEER--DEERLETS--CAMEL TRIBE--LLAMAS. + + THE MUNTJACS--Distribution--Characters--THE INDIAN MUNTJAC, + OR KIDANG--Hunting--THE CHINESE MUNTJAC--Habits--DAVID’S + MUNTJAC--“Shanyang”--THE ROEBUCK--THE CHINESE WATER + DEER--Peculiarity--Chinese Superstition regarding it--THE + CHINESE ELAPHURE--Peculiarity of its Antlers--THE + REINDEER--Distribution--Character--Colouration--Antlers--Canadian + Breeds--Food--THE AMERICAN DEER--THE VIRGINIAN DEER--THE + MULE DEER--THE BLACK-TAILED DEER--THE GUAZUS--THE + BROCKETS--THE VENADA, OR PUDU DEER--THE CHEVROTAINS, + OR DEERLETS--Antlerless--Their Position--Bones of + their Feet--General Form and Proportions--Species--THE + MEMINNA, OR INDIAN DEERLET--THE JAVAN DEERLET--THE + KANCHIL--THE STANLEYAN DEERLET--THE WATER DEERLET--THE + CAMEL TRIBE--Their Feet--Stomach--Its Peculiarity--The + Water Cells--THE (TRUE) CAMEL--Description--The Pads of + Hardened Skin--Its Endurance--Its Disposition--Anecdote + of its Revengeful Nature--THE BACTRIAN CAMEL--THE + LLAMAS--Description--Habits--Used as Beasts + of Burden--Wild and Domesticated Species--THE + HUANACO--THE LLAMA--THE VICUNA--THE ALPACA--The Alpaca + Industry--FOSSIL RUMINANTIA--Strata in which they are + Found--_Chœropotamus_--_Hyopotamus_--_Dichobune_--_Xiphodon_ + --_Cainotherium_--_Oreodon_--_Sivatherium_--Fossil + Deer, Oxen, Goats, Sheep, Camels, Llamas, Antelopes, + Giraffes--The Irish Elk--Its huge Antlers--Its + Skeleton--Ally--Distribution 61 + + + ORDER RODENTIA. + + + CHAPTER I. + + INTRODUCTION--THE SQUIRREL, MARMOT, ANOMALURE, HAPLODONT, AND + BEAVER FAMILIES. + + Character of the Order--A well-defined Group--Teeth + Evidence--Kinds and Number of Teeth--The Incisors: their + Growth, Renewal, and Composition--The Molars--The Gnawing + Process--Skeleton--Brain--Senses--Body--Insectivora + and Rodentia--Food of Rodents--Classification--THE + SIMPLE-TOOTHED RODENTS--Characteristics--THE SQUIRREL-LIKE + RODENTS--SCIURIDÆ--Distinctive Features--THE + COMMON SQUIRREL--Form--Distribution--Food--Bad + Qualities--Habits--THE GREY SQUIRREL--THE FOX + SQUIRREL--Flying Squirrels--Their Parachute Membrane--THE + TAGUAN--Appearance--Habits--Other Species--THE + POLATOUCHE--THE ASSAPAN--The Genus _Xerus_--THE GROUND + SQUIRRELS--THE COMMON CHIPMUNK--THE MARMOTS--Distinguishing + Features--THE SPERMOPHILES--THE GOPHER--THE SISEL, + OR SUSLIK--THE BARKING SQUIRRELS--THE PRAIRIE + DOG--Description--Species--Habits--Burrows--Fellow-inmates + in their “Villages”--THE TRUE MARMOTS--THE BOBAC--THE + ALPINE MARMOT--THE WOODCHUCK--THE HOARY MARMOT, OR + WHISTLER--ANOMALURIDÆ--Tail Peculiarity--Distinctive + Features--HAPLODONTIDÆ--Description--THE + SEWELLEL--CASTORIDÆ--THE BEAVER--Skeletal + Peculiarities--General Form--Appearance--Distribution--The + Beavers of the Old and New World--Habits--Wonderful + Sagacity--The Building Instinct--Their Method of Working--The + various Stages--Their Lodges--Their Dams--Activity by + Night--Flesh--Hunted--The _Castoreum_ 81 + + + CHAPTER II. + + THE DORMOUSE, LOPHIOMYS, RAT, AND MOUSE FAMILIES. + + THE MOUSE-LIKE RODENTS--MYOXIDÆ--Characteristics--THE + DORMOUSE--Description--Habits--Activity--Food--Winter + Condition--THE LOIR--THE GARDEN DORMOUSE--LOPHIOMYIDÆ--How + the Family came to be Founded--THE LOPHIOMYS--Milne-Edwards’ + Opinion--Skull--General Form--Habits--MURIDÆ--Number of + Species--Characteristics--Variety of Forms--Distribution--The + Murine Sub-Family--THE BROWN RAT--History--Fecundity + and Ferocity--Diet--At the Horse Slaughter-houses of + Montfaucon--Shipwrecked on Islands--Story of their + Killing a Man in a Coal-pit--In the Sewers of Paris + and London--THE BLACK RAT--THE EGYPTIAN RAT--THE + COMMON MOUSE--Habits--Destructiveness--Colours--THE + LONG-TAILED FIELD MOUSE--Description--Food--THE HARVEST + MOUSE--Description--Habits--In Winter--Agility--Their + Nest--THE BANDICOOT RAT--THE TREE RAT--THE STRIPED + MOUSE--Allied Genera--THE WHITE-FOOTED HAPALOTE--The + American Murines--THE WHITE-FOOTED, OR DEER MOUSE--THE + GOLDEN, OR RED MOUSE--THE RICE-FIELD MOUSE--THE AMERICAN + HARVEST MOUSE--THE FLORIDA RAT--Description--Their + Nest--Food--Mother and Young--THE BUSHY-TAILED WOOD + RAT--THE COTTON RAT--THE RABBIT-LIKE REITHRODON--THE + HAMSTERS--Characteristics--Appearance--Distribution-- + Burrows--Disposition--Food--Habits--THE + TREE MICE--THE BLACK-STREAKED TREE MICE--THE + GERBILLES--Characteristics--Habits--Other Genera--THE + WATER MICE--Characteristics--Species--THE + SMINTHUS--THE VOLES--Characteristics--THE WATER + VOLE--Appearance--Distribution--Food--THE + FIELD VOLE--THE BANK VOLE--THE SOUTHERN FIELD + VOLE--THE SNOW MOUSE--THE ROOT VOLE--THE MEADOW + MOUSE--THE PINE MOUSE--THE MUSQUASH, MUSK RAT, OR + ONDATRA--Distinguishing Features--Habits--His House--THE + LEMMING--Description--Food--Habits--Disposition--Their + Extraordinary Migrations--Other Lemmings--THE ZOKOR 101 + + + CHAPTER III. + + MOLE RATS, POUCHED RATS, POUCHED MICE, JERBOAS, AND + OCTODONTIDÆ. + + SPALACIDÆ, OR MOLE RATS--Characteristics + of the Family--Habits--Food--THE MOLE + RAT--Distribution--Description--THE CHESTNUT MOLE RAT--THE + NAKED MOLE RAT--THE STRAND MOLE RAT--Description--Habits--THE + CAPE MOLE RAT--GEOMYIDÆ, OR POUCHED RATS--Characteristics + of the Family--The Cheek-pouches--THE COMMON POCKET + GOPHER--Distribution--Description--Burrowing--Runs--Subterranean + Dwelling--THE NORTHERN POCKET GOPHER--HETEROMYINÆ, + OR POUCHED MICE--Difficulties as to + Position--Characteristics--PHILLIPS’ POCKET MOUSE--Where + Found--Description--THE YELLOW POCKET MOUSE--THE LEAST + POCKET MOUSE--DIPODIDÆ, OR JERBOAS--Organisation for + Jumping--Characteristics--Distribution--THE AMERICAN + JUMPING MOUSE--Description--Characters peculiar to + itself--Habits--THE TRUE JERBOAS--Characters--THE + JERBOA--Distribution--Habits--Mode of Locomotion--THE + ALACTAGA--THE CAPE JUMPING HARE--THE PORCUPINE-LIKE + RODENTS--OCTODONTIDÆ--Characteristics--Sub-Family + CTENODACTYLINÆ--THE GUNDI--THE DEGU--Description--Habits--THE + BROWN SCHIZODON--THE TUKOTUKO--THE CURURO--THE ROCK + RAT--Sub-Family, ECHINOMYINÆ--THE COYPU--One of the Largest + Rodents--Description--Burrows--Habits--Mother and Young--THE + HUTIA CONGA--THE HUTIA CARABALI--THE GROUND RAT 120 + + + CHAPTER IV. + + PORCUPINES--CHINCHILLAS--AGOUTIS--CAVIES--HARES AND + RABBITS--PIKAS. + + HYSTRICIDÆ, THE PORCUPINES--Conversion of Hairs into + Spines--Skull--Dentition--Tail--Sub-families--The + True Porcupines--The Tree Porcupines--THE COMMON + PORCUPINE--Distribution--Description--The Crest of + Bristles--Nature of the Spines--Habits--Young--Flesh--On + the Defensive--Other Species--Species + of Tree Porcupines--THE COUENDOU--THE + COUIY--Description--Habits--THE URSON, OR CANADA + PORCUPINE--Description--Habits--Food--CHINCHILLIDÆ, THE + CHINCHILLAS--Characteristics--THE VISCACHA--Description--Life + on the Pampas--Their Burrows--Habits--The Chinchillas + of the Andes--THE CHINCHILLA--THE SHORT-TAILED + CHINCHILLA--CUVIER’S CHINCHILLA--THE PALE-FOOTED + CHINCHILLA--DASYPROCTIDÆ, THE AGOUTIS--Characters--THE + AGOUTI--Distribution--Appearance--Habits--AZARA’S + AGOUTI--THE ACOUCHY--THE + PACA--Appearance--Distribution--Habits--DINOMYIDÆ--Founded + for a Single Species--Description--Rarity--CAVIIDÆ, + THE CAVIES--Characteristics--THE RESTLESS + CAVY--Appearance--Habits--The Guinea-Pig + Controversy--THE BOLIVIAN CAVY--THE ROCK CAVY--THE + SOUTHERN CAVY--THE PATAGONIAN CAVY, OR MARA--Peculiar + Features--Its Burrows--Mode of Running--THE + CAPYBARA--Its Teeth--Where Found--Habits--THE + DOUBLE-TOOTHED RODENTS--Characteristics--LEPORIDÆ, + THE HARES AND RABBITS--Structural + Peculiarities--Distribution--Disposition--THE + COMMON HARE--Hind Legs--Speed--Its “Doubles”--Other + Artifices--Its “Form”--Habits--Food--Pet Hares--THE + RABBIT--Distribution--Habits--Domesticated--THE + MOUNTAIN HARE--LAGOMYIDÆ, THE + PIKAS--Characteristics--Distribution--THE ALPINE PIKA--THE + ROCKY MOUNTAIN PIKA 133 + + + CHAPTER V. + + FOSSIL RODENTIA. + + Families of Rodents represented by Fossil + Remains--State of the “Record of the Rocks”--THE + SCIURIDÆ--Sciurine Genera now Extinct--No Fossil + ANOMALURIDÆ and HAPLODONTIDÆ--ISCHYROMYIDÆ--_Pseudotomus + hians_--_Gymnoptychus_--CASTORIDÆ--Mr. + Allen’s CASTOROIDIDÆ--THE MYOXIDÆ--No Fossil + LOPHIOMYIDÆ--THE MURIDÆ--THE SPALACIDÆ--THE + GEOMYIDÆ--THE DIPODIDÆ--THE THERIDOMYIDÆ--THE + OCTODONTIDÆ--THE HYSTRICIDÆ--THE CHINCHILLIDÆ--THE + DASYPROCTIDÆ--THE CAVIIDÆ--THE LEPORIDÆ--THE + LAGOMYIDÆ--_Mesotherium cristatum_--Difficulties + concerning it--Mr. Alston’s Suggestion--THE + HEBETIDENTATA--Teeth--Skull--Skeleton--Conclusions regarding + it--Table of Rodent Families--Concluding Remarks 151 + + + ORDER EDENTATA, OR BRUTA (ANIMALS WITHOUT FRONT TEETH). + + + CHAPTER I. + + SLOTHS. + + The South American Forests--Discovery of the Sloth--How it + derived its Name--Peculiarities of Dentition--Food--Fore + Limbs and Fingers--Hind Limbs and Heel--Other + Modifications of Structure--Kinds of Sloth--Waterton’s + Captive Sloth--Habits of the Animal--Burchell’s Tame + Sloths--Manner of Climbing Trees--Disposition--Activity among + Trees--Naturalists’ Debate about Anatomy--Probable Conclusion + regarding it--Skeleton--Vertebræ--the Rudimentary Tail--Most + Distinctive Skeletal Characters--Arm, Wrist, Hand, Fingers, + Claws--Mode of Walking--Great Utility of the Claws--Face of + Sloth--Skull--Teeth--Classification--_TARDIGRADA_--BRADIPODIDÆ--Genus + BRADYPUS--Characteristics--Genus + ARCTOPITHECUS--Characteristics--CHOLŒPODIDÆ--THE COLLARED + SLOTH--Description--Skull Bones--Habits--Circulation of the + Blood--_Rete Mirabile_--THE AI--THE UNAU--Appearance--Skull + and Teeth--Skeleton--Interesting Anatomical + Features--Stomach--HOFFMANN’S SLOTH--Description--Habits 158 + + + CHAPTER II. + + THE ANT-EATERS. + + THE CAPE ANT-EATER--The Cage at “the Zoo”--Appearance + of the Animal--Its Prey--The Ant-hills-How the + Orycteropus obtains its Food--Place in the + Order--Teeth--Skull--Tongue--Interesting Questions concerning + the Ant-eater--THE PANGOLINS, OR SCALY ANT-EATERS--THE + AFRICAN SCALY ANT-EATERS--Differences between the Pangolins + and Cape Ant-eaters--Their Habitat--Description--TEMMINCK’S + PANGOLIN--Habits--Food--How it Feeds--Superstitious Regard + for it shown by the Natives--Scarcity--Appearance--THE + LONG-TAILED, OR FOUR-FINGERED PANGOLIN--THE + GREAT MANIS--THE ASIATIC SCALY ANT-EATERS--THE + SHORT-TAILED, OR FIVE-FINGERED PANGOLIN--The Species of + _Manis_--Skull--Stomach--Claws fitted for Digging--Other + Skeletal Peculiarities--THE AMERICAN ANT-EATERS--General + Appearance--Genera--THE GREAT ANT-BEAR--Habits--Diet--How + it Procures its Food--Distribution--Mode and Rate of + Locomotion--Stupidity--Manner of Assault and Defence--Stories + of its Contests with other Animals--Appearance--THE + TAMANDUA--Description--Where Found--Habits--Odour--THE + TWO-TOED ANT-EATER--Appearance--Two-clawed Hand--Habits--Von + Sach’s Account of his Specimen 169 + + + CHAPTER III. + + THE ARMADILLO FAMILY. + + The Armour-plates--How the Shields are formed--Their + connection with the Body--Description of the + Animals--Mode of Walking--Diet--Skeleton--Adaptation of + their Limbs for Burrowing--Classification--THE GREAT + ARMADILLO--Appearance--Great Burrower--THE TATOUAY--THE + POYOU, OR YELLOW-FOOTED ARMADILLO--THE PELUDO, OR HAIRY + ARMADILLO--THE PICHIY--THE PEBA, OR BLACK TATOU--THE MULE + ARMADILLO--THE BALL ARMADILLO--Dr. Murie’s Account of its + Habits--Description--The Muscles by which it Rolls itself + up and Unrolls itself--THE PICHICIAGO--Concluding Remarks: + Classification of the Order, Fossil Edentates, the Allied + Species of _Manis_ in South Africa and Hindostan 181 + + + ORDER MARSUPIALIA, MARSUPIAL OR POUCHED ANIMALS. + + SUB-ORDER MARSUPIATA. + + + CHAPTER I. + + THE KANGAROO AND WOMBAT FAMILIES. + + THE GREAT KANGAROO--Captain Cook and the Great + Kangaroo--Habitat--Appearance of the Animal--Marsupials + separated from the other Mammalian Orders, and why + (Footnote)--Gestation and Birth of Young (Footnote)--Mode + of Running--The Short Fore Limbs--The _Marsupium_, or + Pouch--Head--Dentition--Peculiarities in the Teeth--Hind + Extremities--Foot--Great Claw--How the Erect Position is + maintained--Whence their Jumping Power is derived--Other + Skeletal Peculiarities--Kangaroo Hunts--Becoming + Rarer--Mode of Attack and Defence--Hands--Bones of the Fore + Limbs--Skull--Stomach--Circulation of Blood--Peculiarity + in Young--Nervous System not fully developed--Brain--The + Baby Kangaroo in the Pouch--THE HARE KANGAROO--THE + GREAT ROCK KANGAROO--THE RED KANGAROO--THE BRUSH + KANGAROO--THE BRUSH-TAILED ROCK KANGAROO--THE COMMON + TREE KANGAROO--THE KANGAROO-RATS--Characteristics--THE + RAT-TAILED HYPSIPRYMNUS--Description--THE WOMBAT FAMILY--THE + WOMBAT--Peculiarities--Description--Habits--Teeth--Skeleton 191 + + + CHAPTER II. + + THE PHALANGER, POUCHED BADGER, AND DASYURE FAMILIES. + + THE PHALANGER FAMILY--THE KOALA--Habits--Characteristics--THE + CUSCUS--THE VULPINE PHALANGER--THE DORMOUSE + PHALANGER--Habits--Remarkable Characters--THE FLYING + PHALANGERS--Its Flying Machine--Habits--THE SQUIRREL FLYING + PHALANGERS--Habits--The Parachute-like Membrane--Exciting + Scene on board a Vessel--Characteristics--THE OPOSSUM + MOUSE--THE NOOLBENGER, OR TAIT--A Curiosity among + Marsupials--Distinctive Features--THE POUCHED BADGER + FAMILY--Characteristics--THE RABBIT-EARED PERAMELES--THE + BANDICOOT--THE BANDED PERAMELES--THE PIG-FOOTED + PERAMELES--Discussion regarding it--Characteristics--THE + DASYURUS FAMILY--Characteristics--THE POUCHED + ANT-EATERS--THE BANDED MYRMECOBIUS--Description--Great + number of Teeth--History--Food--Habits--Range--THE URSINE + DASYURE--Appearance--“Native Devil”--Ferocity--Havoc + among the Sheep of the Settlers--Trap to Catch them--Its + Teeth--A True Marsupial, though strikingly like the + Carnivora--Skeletal Characters peculiar to itself--MAUGE’S + DASYURE--THE DOG-HEADED THYLACINUS--Description--Resemblance + to the Dog--Habits--Peculiarities--THE BRUSH-TAILED + PHASCOGALE--Description--Other Varieties 203 + + + CHAPTER III. + + THE OPOSSUMS. + + Prehistoric Opossums--Description of the Animal--Their + Teeth--Habits--THE COMMON OPOSSUM--Appearance--Use of its + Tail--Food--The Young--How they are Reared--D’AZARA’S + OPOSSUM--THE CRAB-EATING OPOSSUM--THE THICK-TAILED + OPOSSUM--MERIAN’S OPOSSUM--Pouchless Opossums--Their + Young--THE MURINA OPOSSUM--THE ELEGANT OPOSSUM--THE + YAPOCK--Classification of Marsupial Animals--Geographical + Distribution of the Sub-Order--Ancestry of the + Marsupials--Fossil Remains 219 + + + SUB-ORDER--MONOTREMATA. + + + CHAPTER IV. + + THE PORCUPINE OR LONG-SPINED ECHIDNA AND DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS. + + Why the Monotremata are formed into a Sub-order--The lowest + of the Mammalian Class--THE PORCUPINE OR LONG-SPINED + ECHIDNA--An Ant-eater, but not an Edentate--Its + Correct Name--Description of the Animal--Habits and + Disposition--Manner of Using the Tongue--Where it is + Found--Anatomical Features: Skull, Brain, Marsupial + Bones--The Young--Species of Van Diemen’s Land and New + Guinea--THE WATER-MOLE, OR DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS--The + most Bird-like Mammal--Various Names--Description--Their + Appearance and Movements in Water--Their Burrows--Habits + of an Individual kept in Confinement--Used by Natives + as Food--How they are Captured--The Young--A Family in + Captivity--The Snout--Jaws--Teeth--Tongue--Fore and Hind + Feet--Heel--Spur--The Shoulder Girdle--Breastbone--Concluding + Remarks on the Sub-orders--Postscript 227 + + + THE CLASS AVES.--THE BIRDS. + + + CHAPTER I. + + INTRODUCTION--WING STRUCTURE AND FEATHERS--DISTRIBUTION. + + Introduction--Distinctive Characters of the Class Aves--Power + of Flight--The Wing--Its Structure--The Six Zoo-geographical + Regions of the Earth--Birds peculiar to these Regions 235 + + + CHAPTER II. + + THE ANATOMY OF A BIRD. + + The Three Divisions of the Class Aves--ANATOMY OF A + BIRD--The Skeleton--Distinctive Features--Peculiar Bone + Character--The Skull--Difference between the Skull of + Birds and that of Mammals--The Jawbones--Vertebral + Column--Sternum--Fore-limbs--Hind-limbs--Toes--The + Muscular System--How a Bird remains Fixed when Asleep--The + Oil-gland--The Nervous System--The Brain--The Eye--The + Ear--The Digestive System--The Dental papillæ--The + Beak--Tongue--Gullet--Crop--Stomach--Uses of the + Gizzard--Intestine--The Liver, Pancreas, and Spleen--The + Blood and Circulatory System--Temperature of Blood of + a Bird--Blood Corpuscles--The Heart--The Respiratory + System--Lungs--Air-sacs--The Organs of Voice--The + Egg--Classification of the Class Aves 239 + + + CHAPTER III. + + DIVISION I.--THE CARINATE BIRDS (CARINATÆ). + + THE ACCIPITRINE ORDER--BIRDS OF PREY. + + VULTURES AND CARACARAS. + + The Birds of Prey--Distinctive Characters--The Cere--How + the Birds of Prey are Divided--Difference between a + Hawk, an Owl, and an Osprey--The Three Sub-orders of the + Accipitres--Sub-order FALCONES--Difference between the + Vultures of the Old World and the Vultures of the New + World--THE OLD WORLD VULTURES--Controversy as to how the + Vultures reach their Prey--Waterton on the Faculty of + Scent--Mr Andersson’s, Dr. Kirk’s, and Canon Tristram’s + Views in Favour of Sight--THE BLACK VULTURE--THE + GRIFFON VULTURE--Its Capacity for Feeding while on the + Wing--THE EARED VULTURE--One of the Largest of the + Birds of Prey--Whence it gets its Name--THE EGYPTIAN + VULTURE--A Foul Feeder--THE NEW WORLD VULTURES--THE + CONDOR--Its Appearance--Power of Flight--Habits--THE KING + VULTURE--THE TURKEY VULTURE--THE CARACARAS--Distinctive + Characters--Habits--THE SECRETARY BIRD--How it Attacks + Snakes--Habits--Appearance--THE ÇARIAMA 254 + + + CHAPTER IV. + + THE LONG-LEGGED HAWKS AND BUZZARDS. + + THE BANDED GYMNOGENE--Habits--Its Movable Tarsi--THE + HARRIERS--Distinctive Features--THE MARSH + HARRIER--Habits--Its Thievish Propensities--THE + HARRIER-HAWKS--Colonel Greyson’s Account of + their Habits--THE CHANTING GOSHAWKS--Why so + Called--Habits--THE TRUE GOSHAWKS--Distinctive + Characters--THE GOSHAWK--Distribution--In Pursuit of + its Prey--Appearance--THE SPARROW-HAWKS--Distinctive + Characters--THE COMMON SPARROW-HAWK--Habits--Appearance--THE + BUZZARDS--Their Tarsus--THE COMMON BUZZARD--Where + Found--How it might be turned to Account--Food--Its + Migrations--Habits--Appearance--THE HARPY 267 + + + CHAPTER V. + + EAGLES AND FALCONS. + + THE EAGLES--THE BEARDED EAGLE, OR LÄMMERGEIER--A Visit + to their Nest--Habits--A Little Girl carried off + Alive--Habits in Greece--Appearance--Von Tschudi’s and + Captain Hutton’s Descriptions of its Attacks--THE TRUE + EAGLES--THE WEDGE-TAILED EAGLE--Eye--Crystalline Lens--How + Eagles may be Divided--THE IMPERIAL EAGLE--THE GOLDEN + EAGLE--In Great Britain--Macgillivray’s Description of its + Habits--Appearance--THE KITE EAGLE--Its Peculiar Feet--Its + Bird’s-nesting Habits--THE COMMON HARRIER EAGLE--THE INDIAN + SERPENT EAGLE--THE BATELEUR EAGLE--THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE--A + Sea Eagle--Story of Capture of some Young--THE SWALLOW-TAILED + KITE--On the Wing--THE COMMON KITE--THE EUROPEAN HONEY + KITE--Habits--ANDERSSON’S PERN--THE FALCONS--The Bill--THE + CUCKOO FALCONS--THE FALCONETS--THE PEREGRINE FALCON--Its + Wonderful Distribution--Falconry--Names for Male, Female, + and Young--Hawks and Herons--THE GREENLAND JER-FALCON--THE + KESTRELS--THE COMMON KESTREL--Its Habits and Disposition 277 + + + CHAPTER VI. + + THE OSPREYS AND OWLS. + + THE OSPREY--Distribution--Food--How it Seizes its + Prey--Nesting Communities--STRIGES, or OWLS--Distinctions + between Hawks and Owls--Owls in Bird-lore and + Superstition--Families of the Sub-order--THE FISH OWL--PEL’S + FISH OWL--THE EAGLE OWL--Dr. Brehm’s Description of its + Appearance and Habits--THE SNOWY OWL--HAWK OWLS--PIGMY + OWLETS--THE SHORT-EARED OWL--THE LONG-EARED OWL--THE BARN + OWL--The Farmer’s Friend--Peculiar Characters--Distribution 296 + + + THE SECOND ORDER.--PICARIAN BIRDS. + + + CHAPTER VII. + + THE PARROTS. + + Characteristics of the Order--The + Sub-orders--ZYGODACTYLÆ--THE PARROTS--Their Talking + Powers--Sections of the Family--THE GREAT PALM COCKATOO--THE + PYGMY PARROTS--THE AMAZON PARROTS--THE AMAZONS--THE + GREY PARROT--Court Favourites--Historical Specimens--In + a State of Nature--Mr. Keulemans’ Observations--THE + CONURES--THE ROSE-RINGED PARRAKEET--Known to the + Ancients--Habitat--Habits--THE CAROLINA CONURE--Destructive + Propensities--THE PARRAKEETS--THE OWL PARROT--Chiefly + Nocturnal--Incapable of Flight--How this Fact may be + accounted for--Dr. Haast’s Account of its Habits--THE + STRAIGHT-BILLED PARROTS--THE BRUSH-TONGUED PARROTS--THE + NESTORS--THE KAKA PARROT--Skull of a Parrot--The Bill 308 + + + THE SECOND ORDER.--PICARIAN BIRDS. SUB-ORDER I.--ZYGODACTYLÆ. + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + CUCKOOS--HONEY + GUIDES--PLANTAIN-EATERS--WOODPECKERS--TOUCANS--BARBETS. + + THE CUCKOOS--THE BUSH CUCKOOS--THE LARK-HEELED CUCKOOS, + OR COUCALS--THE COMMON CUCKOO--Its Characteristics--Mrs. + Blackburn’s Account of a Young Cuckoo Ejecting a + Tenant--Breeding Habits--The Eggs--The Call-notes of + Male and Female--Food--Its Winter Home--Its Appearance + and Plumage--THE HONEY GUIDES--Kirk’s Account of their + Habits--Mrs. Barber’s Refutation of a Calumny against + the Bird--THE PLANTAIN-EATERS--THE WHITE-CRESTED + PLANTAIN-EATER--THE GREY PLANTAIN-EATER--THE COLIES--THE + WHITE-BACKED COLY--THE WOODPECKERS--How they Climb and + Descend Trees--Their Bill--Do they Damage Sound Trees?--THE + WRYNECKS--THE YAFFLE--THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER--THE SPOTTED + WOODPECKER--THE TOUCANS--Mr. Gould’s Account of their + Habits--Mr. Waterton’s Account--The Enormous Bill--Azara’s + Description of the Bird--Mr. Bates’ History of a Tame + Toucan--THE BARBETS--Messrs. Marshall’s Account of the + Family--Mr. Layard on their Habits 323 + + + THE SECOND ORDER.--PICARIAN BIRDS. SUB-ORDER + II.--FISSIROSTRES. + + + CHAPTER IX. + + THE JACAMARS, PUFF BIRDS, KINGFISHERS, HORNBILLS, AND HOOPOES. + + THE JACAMARS--THE PUFF BIRDS--THE + KINGFISHERS--Characters--THE COMMON + KINGFISHER--Distribution--Its Cry--Habits--After its + Prey--Its own Nest-builder--Mr. Rowley’s Note on the + Subject--Nest in the British Museum--Superstitions + concerning the Kingfisher--Colour--Various Species--CRESTED + KINGFISHER--PIED KINGFISHER--Dr. Von Heuglin’s Account + of its Habits--New World Representatives--OMNIVOROUS + KINGFISHERS--THE AUSTRALIAN CINNAMON-BREASTED + KINGFISHER--Macgillivray’s Account of its Habits--THE + LAUGHING JACKASS of Australia--Its Discordant + Laugh--The “Bushman’s Clock”--Colour--Habits--THE + HORNBILLS--Character--Their Heavy Flight--Noise + produced when on the Wing--Food--Extraordinary Habit of + Imprisoning the Female--Native Testimony--Exception--Fed + by the Male Bird--Dr. Livingstone’s Observations on + the point, and Mr. Bartlett’s Remarks--Strange Gizzard + Sacs--Dr. Murie’s Remarks--Mr. Wallace’s Description + of the Habits of the Hornbills--Capture of a Young + One in Sumatra--THE GROUND HORNBILLS--South African + Species--Kaffir Superstition regarding it--Habits--Mr. + Ayres’ Account of the Natal Species--How it Kills + Snakes--The Call--Habits--Mr. Monteiro’s Description of + the Angola Form--Turkey-like Manner--Wariness--Food--THE + HOOPOES--Appearance--Distribution--THE COMMON + HOOPOE--Habits--The Name--How does it produce its Note?--THE + WOOD HOOPOES--Habits 343 + + + CHAPTER X. + + THE BEE-EATERS--MOTMOTS--ROLLERS--TROGONS--NIGHTJARS, OR + GOATSUCKERS--SWIFTS--HUMMING-BIRDS. + + THE BEE-EATERS--Their Brilliant Plumage--Colonel Irby’s + Account of the Bird in Spain--Shot for Fashion’s + sake--THE MOTMOTS--Appearance--Mr. Waterton on the + Houtou--Curious Habit of Trimming its Tail--Mr. O. + Salvin’s Observations on this point--Mr. Bartlett’s + Evidence--THE ROLLERS--Why so called--Canon Tristram’s + Account of their Habits--Colour--Other Species--THE + TROGONS--Where found--Peculiar Foot--Tender Skin--Inability + to Climb--Their Food--THE LONG-TAILED TROGON, OR + QUESAL--Mr. Salvin’s Account of its Habits--Its + Magnificent Colour--How they are Hunted--THE NIGHTJARS, + OR GOATSUCKERS--Appearance--Distribution--The Guacharo, + or Oil Bird--“Frog-mouths”--Mr. Gould’s Account of the + Habits of the Tawny-shouldered Podargus--How it Builds its + Nest--Mr. Waterton’s Vindication of the Goatsucker--What + Services the Bird does really render Cattle, Goats, and + Sheep--Its Cry--THE COMMON GOATSUCKER--THE SWIFTS--THE + COMMON SWIFT--Migration--Their Home in the Air--When they + Breed--Nest--TREE SWIFTS--The Edible-Nest Swiftlets--Mr. E. + L. Layard’s Visit to the Cave of the Indian Swiftlet--THE + HUMMING BIRDS--Number of Species--Distribution--Professor + Newton’s Description of the Bird--Mr. Wallace on their + Habits--Wilson on the North American Species 360 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + PAGE + + The Chamois _Frontispiece._ + + The Water Deerlet, or Chevrotain 1 + + Stomach of a Ruminating Animal: exterior and interior 2 + + Brain of a Sheep 3 + + Merino Sheep 5 + + The Ammon 8 + + The Ammon 9 + + The Barbary Wild Sheep 10 + + The Ibex 11 + + The Markhoor 12 + + The Dorcas Gazelle 14 + + The Saïga 15 + + The Indian Antelope 16 + + Head of Female Bush-buck 18 + + The Water-buck 19 + + The Eland 20 + + The Koodoo 22 + + The Bubaline Antelope 24 + + The Gnu 25 + + The Goral 26 + + Head of the Chamois 27 + + The Oryx 28 + + The Nyl-ghau 30 + + Musk Oxen 31 + + Chillingham Cattle 32 + + The Hungarian Bull 33 + + The European Bison 36 + + The American Bison 37 + + The Yak 38 + + The Anoa 39 + + Skull of the Pronghorn Antelope 40 + + The Pronghorn Antelope 41 + + Skull of the Musk [Deer] 42 + + The Musk [Deer] 43 + + Skeleton of the Giraffe 44 + + Giraffes 45 + + Head of Red Deer, in which the growing Antlers are seen + covered with “velvet” 46 + + Head of Red Deer, in which the Antler is fully developed and + the “velvet” has disappeared 47 + + Various Types of Antlers 49 + + Elk Hunt 50 + + Young Elk 51 + + The Red Deer 53 + + Red Deer and Fallow Deer in Winter 54 + + Red Deer Fighting 55 + + The Fallow Deer 56 + + The Sambur Deer 57 + + The Borneo Rusine Deer 58 + + The Axis Deer _To face page_ 59 + + Schomburgk’s Deer 60 + + The Indian Muntjac 62 + + The Roebuck: Male, Female, and Young 63 + + The Chinese Water Deer 64 + + The Chinese Elaphure 65 + + Reindeer at a Lapp Encampment 66 + + The Reindeer 67 + + The Guazuti Deer 69 + + The Javan Deerlet 70 + + The Stanleyan Deerlet--Foot of Camel 71 + + Stomach of the Llama--Water Cells of the Camel 72 + + Head of the (true) Camel 73 + + The (true) Camel 74 + + The Bactrian Camel 75 + + Huanaco attacked by a Puma 76 + + The Alpaca _To face page_ 77 + + The Llama 77 + + Skeleton of the Irish Elk 79 + + The Irish Elk (_Restored_) 80 + + The Prairie Dog 81 + + Skull of the Taguan, a Flying Squirrel--Dentition + of the Hare 82 + + Skeleton of the Rabbit 83 + + Brain of Beaver, from above and in profile 84 + + Teeth of the Taguan 85 + + The Common Squirrel 86 + + The Black Fox Squirrel 88 + + The Taguan 89 + + The Polatouche 90 + + The Common Chipmunk 91 + + Molar Teeth of the Marmot--The Striped Spermophile, or Gopher 92 + + Burrows of the Prairie Dog 93 + + The Alpine Marmot 95 + + The Fulgent Anomalure--Molar Teeth of the Anomalure 96 + + Molar Teeth of the Beaver 97 + + The Beaver 98 + + Molar Teeth of the Dormouse--The Dormouse 102 + + The Garden Dormouse 103 + + Skull of Lophiomys--The Lophiomys 104 + + Molar Teeth of the Black Rat 105 + + The Brown Rat 106 + + The Black Rat 107 + + Harvest Mice 109 + + Molar Teeth of the Hapalote 111 + + Head of the Rabbit-like Reithrodon 112 + + Hamster _To face page_ 113 + + Molar Teeth of the Hamster 113 + + Molar Teeth of the Gerbille--Skull of the Water Mouse--Teeth + of Sminthus 114 + + Molar Teeth of the Water Rat 115 + + The Southern Field Vole 116 + + The Musquash 118 + + The Lemming 119 + + Skull of Mole-Rat--The Mole-Rat 121 + + Molar Teeth of the Mexican Pouched Rat--Under Surface of the + Head of Heteromys 122 + + Skull of the Mexican Pouched Rat 123 + + Skull of the Cape Jumping Hare 124 + + The American Jumping Mouse--Molar Teeth of the Jerboa 125 + + The Jerboa 126 + + The Alactaga--Molar Teeth of the Jumping Hare 127 + + The Cape Jumping Hare 128 + + The Degu 129 + + Dentition of the Rock Rat--Teeth of the Spiny Rat 130 + + The Coypu 131 + + The Hutia Conga--Teeth of Plagiodon--Molar Teeth of + Loncheres 132 + + Skull of Loncheres 133 + + Skull of the Porcupine--The Common Porcupine 134 + + The Tree Porcupine 136 + + Mexican Tree Porcupines 137 + + Viscachas _To face page_ 139 + + Molar Teeth of the Chinchilla--The Chinchilla 139 + + Molar Teeth of the Agouti--Azara’s Agouti 140 + + Skull of the Paca--The Paca 141 + + The Dinomys 142 + + The Patagonian Cavy 144 + + Molars of the Capybara 145 + + The Capybara 146 + + The Common Hare 148 + + The Alpine Pika 150 + + Side View of Skull and Lower Jaw of Mesotherium + Cristatum--Dentition of Mesotherium Cristatum 155 + + Group of Sloths 158 + + Skeleton of the Sloth 161 + + Bones of Hand of Three-toed Sloth 162 + + Skull of Sloth 163 + + The Collared Sloth 164 + + The Ai 165 + + Skull of Ai 166 + + Stomach of Sloth 167 + + Hoffmann’s Sloth 168 + + The Cape Ant-eater 170 + + Skull of the Cape Ant-eater 171 + + Temminck’s Pangolin 172 + + The Four-fingered Pangolin 173 + + The Five-fingered Pangolin 175 + + The Great Ant-Bear 177 + + The Two-toed Ant-eater 180 + + Bones of Claw of Great Armadillo 181 + + Skeleton of the Armadillo--Skull of the Armadillo 182 + + The Great Armadillo--Brain of the Armadillo 183 + + The Poyou 185 + + The Ball Armadillo 188 + + The Pichiciago 189 + + The Great Kangaroo _To face page_ 191 + + Skeleton of the Great Kangaroo 192 + + Teeth of the Great Kangaroo 193 + + Stomach of the Great Kangaroo 195 + + Brain of the Great Kangaroo 196 + + The Brush-tailed Rock Kangaroo 197 + + The Common Tree Kangaroo 198 + + The Kangaroo Rat--Teeth of the Kangaroo Rat 199 + + Fore and Hind Foot of Hypsiprymnus 200 + + Skeleton of the Wombat 201 + + The Wombat--Lower Jaw of the Wombat 202 + + Teeth of the Wombat 203 + + The Koala 204 + + The Cuscus 205 + + The Vulpine Phalanger 206 + + The Squirrel Flying Phalanger 208 + + The Banded Perameles 210 + + The Dasyure 213 + + Teeth of the Dasyure--Brain of the Dasyure 214 + + Upper and Under View of Skull of Dasyure 215 + + The Dog-headed Thylacinus 216 + + Skeleton of the Dog-headed Thylacinus 217 + + The Brush-tailed Phascogale--The Antechinus 218 + + Opossum and Young _To face page_ 219 + + Teeth of the Opossum 219 + + Skeleton of the Crab-eating Opossum 220 + + The Crab-eating Opossum 221 + + Merian’s Opossum 222 + + The Yapock 223 + + Pelvic Arch of the Echidna 227 + + The Porcupine Echidna 228 + + Mouth and Nose-snout of Echidna 229 + + Jaws of the Duck-billed Platypus 231 + + Fore and Hind Foot of the Duck-billed + Platypus--Shoulder-girdle and Sternum of the Echidna 232 + + The Duck-billed Platypus 233 + + The Imperial Eagle 235 + + Bones of Wing of Bird--Feathers of Wing of Bird 237 + + Parts of a Feather 238 + + Skeleton of Eagle 241 + + Skull of Young Ostrich from above and from below 242 + + Sternum of Fregilupus varius--Pelvis of an Adult Fowl, side + view 243 + + Section of the Eye of the Common Buzzard 246 + + Digestive Organs of the Kingfisher 248 + + Front View and Section of Inferior Larynx of + Peregrine Falcon 251 + + Diagrammatic Section of a Fowl’s Egg 252 + + Head and Bill of Sea Eagle 255 + + Bill of Egyptian Vulture, to show form of Nostril--Bill of + Turkey Vulture, to show the perforated Nostril 256 + + The Griffon Vulture 259 + + The Egyptian Vulture 261 + + The Condor 262 + + The Brazilian Caracara 264 + + The Secretary Bird 266 + + The Marsh Harrier 269 + + The Goshawk 272 + + The Sparrow-Hawk 273 + + Hind View of Tarsus of Buzzard, showing the plated + arrangement of Scales--Hind View of Tarsus of Serpent Eagle, + showing the reticulated arrangement of Scales 274 + + The Common Buzzard 275 + + The Harpy 276 + + The Bearded Eagle, or Lämmergeier 279 + + Eye of Eagle, showing Crystalline Lens 280 + + The Golden Eagle 282 + + The Bateleur Eagle 285 + + The White-tailed Eagle 287 + + The Common Kite 289 + + The Peregrine Falcon 292 + + A Hooded Falcon--Falcon’s Hood 293 + + The Common Kestrel 295 + + The Osprey 296 + + Skull of Tengmalm’s Owl 297 + + The Little Owl 298 + + The Eagle Owl _To face page_ 301 + + The Snowy Owl 303 + + The Short-eared Owl 304 + + Face of the Barn Owl 305 + + Breast-bone of the Barn Owl 307 + + Cockatoos _To face page_ 309 + + The Amazon Parrot 311 + + Great Macaws _To face page_ 313 + + The Grey Parrot 313 + + The Rose-ringed Parrakeet 314 + + The Rosella 316 + + The Owl Parrot 317 + + The Lorikeet 319 + + Tongue of Nestor 320 + + The Kaka Parrot 321 + + Skull of the Grey Parrot 323 + + The Common Cuckoo 326 + + The Great Spotted Cuckoo 328 + + The Honey Guide 329 + + The White-crested Plantain-eater 331 + + Colies 333 + + “Hyoid” Bone of Adult Fowl--Side View of Dissection of Head + of Common Green Woodpecker 334 + + Upper View of Skull of Green Woodpecker--Dissection of Head + of Green Woodpecker, viewed from below 335 + + The Wryneck 336 + + The Great Black Woodpecker and Great Spotted Woodpecker _To + face page_ 337 + + The Green Woodpecker 337 + + The Toucan 340 + + Bill of Toucan 341 + + The Pearl-spotted Barbet 342 + + The Common Kingfisher 345 + + The Pied Kingfisher 348 + + The Laughing Jackass 350 + + The Great Hornbill 352 + + The Ground Hornbills of Abyssinia 355 + + The Common Hoopoe 358 + + The Australian Bee-eater--Bill of Motmot 361 + + The Motmot 362 + + Tail-feathers of Motmot 363 + + The Blue Roller 365 + + The Long-tailed Trogon, or Quesal _To face page_ 367 + + Mouth of Goatsucker--The Oil-bird 368 + + The Common Goatsucker 369 + + The Whip-poor-will 370 + + The Lyre-tailed Nightjar 371 + + Foot of the Common Goatsucker 372 + + The Common Swift 373 + + The Tree Swift 374 + + The Edible-nest Swiftlets 375 + + The White-throated Spine-tailed Swift 376 + + The Sword-bill Humming Bird 377 + + The White-booted Racket Tail 378 + + The Common Topaz Humming Bird 379 + + The Crested Humming Bird 380 + + + + +[Illustration: CHAMOIS.] + + + + +CASSELL’S NATURAL HISTORY. + + + + +[Illustration: WATER DEERLET, OR CHEVROTAIN.] + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +ARTIODACTYLA--RUMINANTIA: BOVIDÆ--SHEEP, GOATS, AND GAZELLES. + + Ruminantia--Chewing the Cud--Metaphorical Expression--The + Complicated Stomach: Paunch, Honey-comb Bag, Manyplies, + Reed--Order of Events in Rumination--Feet and Dentition of + Ruminants--Brain--Classification--HORNED RUMINANTS--Divided into + two Groups--Difference between them--BOVIDÆ--Horns--Aberrant + Members--SHEEP AND GOATS--General Characteristics--Sheep of + South-Western Asia--Merino Sheep--Breeds of Great Britain--Dishley, + or Improved Leicesters--Mr. Bakewell’s Description--Southdowns, + Cheviots, Welsh, and other British Breeds--Table of the Importation + of Colonial and Foreign Wool into the United Kingdom--MARCO + POLO’S SHEEP--OORIAL--SHAPOO--MOUFLON--AMMON--BURHEL--AMERICAN + ARGALI--WILD SHEEP OF BARBARY--THE GOAT--Compared with + the Sheep--Descent--Cashmere Goat--IBEXES--PASENG--Their + remarkable Horns--Old Theories as to the Use of the + Horns--MARKHOOR--TAHR--GAZELLES--General Characteristics--Sir Victor + Brooke’s Classification--THE GAZELLE--Appearance--Habits--ARABIAN + GAZELLE--PERSIAN GAZELLE--SOEMMERRING’S GAZELLE--GRANT’S + GAZELLE--SPRINGBOK--SAÏGA--CHIRU--THE PALLAH, OR IMPALLA--THE INDIAN + ANTELOPE, OR BLACK BUCK. + + +The Swine, together with those animals which most nearly approach them, +namely, the Peccaries and Hippopotami, form but a small division of the +cloven-hoofed order of the Mammalian animals; by far the greater number +of the species of the Artiodactyla being included in a group known +familiarly as that of the Ruminantia, because, as part of the digestive +process, they chew the cud. + +This chewing the cud is a phenomenon restricted to the group of animals +now under consideration, although it may be mentioned that some +naturalists have thought that the Kangaroos among the Marsupials do the +same to a certain extent. + +As to the details of the process, the individual, a Cow, for instance, +whilst grazing, nips off the grass between the large cutting teeth +in the front of the lower jaw, and the tough pad which replaces in +these creatures the similarly situated teeth of the upper jaw. After +each mouthful it does not proceed to masticate the food, but swallows +it forthwith, and continues thus to graze until it has satisfied its +appetite. Seeking a quiet and shaded spot, it then seats itself that +it may ruminate, or chew the cud, at leisure. If watched it will be +seen that it commences shortly to perform a slight hiccough action, in +which some contraction of the flanks is to be noticed. Its mouth, which +was previously empty, is found to be full of what it is not difficult +to recognise to be coarsely-masticated grass, which has been forced up +into it; and this it immediately proceeds to chew between its back or +grinding teeth, in a slow and continuous manner, moving its lower jaw +uniformly from one side to the other--from right to left. When this +chewing process has lasted for a time sufficient to convert the food +into a pulpy state, it is again swallowed, after which another bolus +is brought up to undergo a similar operation. And this is repeated at +frequent intervals until most of the food swallowed has been masticated. + +A complicated stomach is necessary for the operation of this elaborate +chewing process, the undisturbed duration of which has led to the word +by which it is designated being applied metaphorically to a brooding +condition of mind. Thus the poet of the “Night Thoughts” says:-- + +[Illustration: STOMACH OF A RUMINATING ANIMAL: (A) EXTERIOR, (B) +INTERIOR.] + + “As when the traveller, a long day past + In painful search of what he cannot find, + At night’s approach, content with the next cot, + There ruminates awhile his labour lost.” + +This complicated stomach is not identical in all the Ruminantia. In the +Camels and the Llamas it presents many points of difference from that +of all the other members of the group, and in the Chevrotains it has +slight peculiarities of its own. + +This organ, as found in the Ox--and it is almost identically the same +in the Giraffes, the Antelopes, the Sheep, and Deer--is seen to be +divided into four well-defined compartments, as represented in the +accompanying figures. These are known as-- + + 1. The Rumen, or Paunch (_b_). + 2. The Reticulum, or Honey-comb Bag (_c_). + 3. The Psalterium, or Manyplies (_d_). + 4. The Abomasum, or Reed (_e_). + +The paunch (_b_) is a very capacious receptacle, shaped like a +blunted cone bent partly upon itself. Into its broader base opens the +œsophagus, or gullet (_a_), at a spot not far removed from its wide +orifice of communication with the second stomach, or honey-comb bag +(_c_). Its inner walls are nearly uniformly covered with a pale skin +(known as mucous membrane), which is beset with innumerable close-set, +short, and slender processes (known as villi), resembling very much +the “pile” on velvet. It is this organ, together with its villi, which +constitutes the well-known article of food termed “tripe.” + +The honey-comb bag (_c_) is very much smaller than the paunch. It +is nearly globose in shape, and receives its name on account of the +peculiar arrangement of the ridges on the mucous membrane which lines +it, these being distributed so as to form shallow hexagonal cells all +over its inner surface, as seen in the figure on the previous page. + +It is situated to the right of the paunch, with which, as well as with +the manyplies (_d_), it communicates. Running along its upper wall +there is a deep groove coursing from the first to the third stomach. +This groove plays an important part in the mechanism of rumination; its +nature must therefore be fully understood. + +Its walls are muscular, like those of the viscus with which it is +associated, which allows its calibre to be altered. Sometimes it +completely closes round so as to become converted into a tube by the +apposition of its edges. At others it forms an open canal. + +The manyplies (_d_) is a very peculiar organ. It is globular, but most +of its interior is filled up with folds, or laminæ, running between its +orifices of communication with the second and fourth stomachs. These +folds are arranged very much like the leaves of a book, and very close +together. They are, however, not of equal depth, but form series of +greater or less breadth. Their surfaces are roughened by the presence +of small projections or papillæ. + +The reed (_e_) is the stomach proper, corresponding with the same +organ in man. Its shape is somewhat conical. The valve which partially +obstructs its communication with the intestine is at the left of the +foregoing figure. Its walls are formed of a smooth mucous membrane, +which secretes gastric juice, and it is this stomach that, in the +manufacture of cheese, is employed to curdle the milk. + +Whilst grazing, the possessor of this complicated stomach fills its +paunch with the imperfectly masticated food, and it is not until it +commences to chew the cud that any of the other parts are brought into +play. + +In the act of rumination, the following is the probable order of +events:--The paunch contracts, and in so doing forces some of the +food into the honey-comb bag, where it is formed into a bolus by the +movement of its walls, and then forced into the gullet, from which, +by a reverse action, it reaches the mouth, where it is chewed and +mixed with the saliva until it becomes quite pulpy, whereupon it +is again swallowed. But now, because it is soft and semi-fluid, it +does not divaricate the walls of the groove communicating with the +manyplies, and so, continuing on along its tubular interior, it finds +its way direct into the third stomach, most of it filtering between +the numerous laminæ on its way to the fourth stomach, where it becomes +acted on by the gastric juice. After the remasticated food has reached +the manyplies, the groove in the reticulum is pushed open by a fresh +bolus; and so the process is repeated until the food consumed has all +passed on towards the abomasum, or true digestive stomach. + +[Illustration: BRAIN OF A SHEEP.] + +There are other features also which are characteristic of the +ruminating animals. Their symmetrical four-toed feet (in which the +thumb on the fore and the great toe on the hind are entirely absent) +have the toes so proportioned that the axis of the limb runs down +between the two middle toes at the same time that both the inside and +outside toes are much reduced in size, and lost entirely in the Camel +tribe, the Giraffe, and the Cabrit. + +Another peculiarity which exists in all ruminating animals is the +absence of cutting-teeth in the middle of the upper jaw; and it is only +in the Camels and their intimate allies, the Llamas, that there are any +upper cutting-teeth at all, they being replaced in all the others by a +callous pad, on which the lower cutting-teeth impinge in mastication. + +The canine teeth, which correspond to the tusks of the Lion and Dog, +also deserve attention. Those of the lower jaw are always present, and +are modified so as to appear like lateral cutting-teeth. In the upper +jaw they are most often absent, but are enormous, projecting far down +outside the lip, in the Musk, the Chinese Water Deer, and the Muntjacs. +In some other Deer they are present, but small, and generally they are +wanting. + +The grinders are six on each side of each jaw, and are so formed that +their surfaces wear down unevenly by the lateral movement to which +they are subject during mastication. As in the Elephant, this depends +upon each tooth being made up of alternate layers of enamel, dentine, +and cementum, which, being of different degrees of hardness, are +differently affected by the grinding action. + +The ruminating animals exhibit a fair amount of intelligence, never, +however, attaining that power of perception and memory exhibited by +the Carnivora and other higher forms. The figure of the surface of the +brain of the Sheep indicates that the convolutions of the brain are far +from inconsiderable in number, and its allies of the same size agree +with it in this respect, whilst larger species have more, and smaller +less elaborate brain-markings, as is nearly always found to be the case +in every group. + +The accompanying table gives an outline sketch of the classification of +the ruminating animals which has been adopted by zoologists:-- + + _Sub-order._ _Section._ _Division._ _Group._ + + { Ox-tribe + { (_Bovidæ_). + { HORNED RUMINANTS. { + { { Deer-tribe + { TRUE RUMINANTS. { { (_Cervidæ_). + { { CHEVROTAINS OR + RUMINANTIA. { { DEERLETS + { CAMEL TRIBE. { (_Tragulidæ_). + { (_Tylopoda_). + +The large sub-order of the Ruminantia is seen to be primarily divided +into two sections, namely, the typical Ruminants and the aberrant +Ruminants (the _Tylopoda_). The typical Ruminants, in which the stomach +is formed upon the plan of that described above in the Oxen, fall +into two divisions, the smaller of which--that of the Chevrotains +or Deerlets--possesses no psalterium, or third stomach, except in +a rudimentary condition. The Horned Ruminants, including the Deer, +Muntjacs, Elk, Oxen, and Antelopes, compose by far the largest number +of the whole sub-order, and will be first described. + + +HORNED RUMINANTS. + +The Horned Ruminants--with which, anomalous as it may at first +seem, have to be included one or two hornless species, on account +of their so closely resembling them in other respects--have their +_cranial appendages developed after one or other of two principles_. +In one group, which, from the fact that the Oxen are included with +them, are named the _Bovidæ_, the horns are hollow, straight, or +variously-twisted cones, supported upon bony prolongations from the +forehead, resembling them in shape upon a smaller scale. These horns +are permanent, except in the American Antelope, increasing in size each +year, at the same time that they often exhibit transverse markings, +which indicate the annual increase. In the other group--the _Cervidæ_, +or Deer Tribe--the horns or antlers are deciduous, being cast off each +year, to be shortly replaced by others, which share the fate of their +predecessors. These antlers are entirely made of bone, and when fully +grown are not covered with any less dense investment. + +To commence, then, with the _Bovidæ_, or Oxen, and their allies. + + +THE BOVIDÆ, OR HOLLOW-HORNED RUMINANTS. + +In these ruminating animals the permanent bone-cones on the forehead +are covered with a black horny coating, which is not shed during the +whole life of their owners, and in which, as they continue to grow +until adult life at least, the tips are the oldest parts. The females +in some species have horns like their mates, but smaller, as in the +Ox and Eland; while in others--the Koodoo and the Sing-Sing Antelope, +for example--the males alone are horned. The most aberrant members of +this group are the Giraffe, the Cabrit, and the Musk, which will be +considered after the less peculiar genera have been discussed. These +include the Oxen, Bush-Bucks, Antelopes, Koodoos, Goats, Sheep, &c., +which will be referred to more in detail. + +[Illustration: MERINO SHEEP.] + + +THE SHEEP AND GOATS.[1] + +Between the bearded Goat and the beardless Sheep there exist +intermediate species, which so completely fill up the gaps that it +is almost impossible to separate the two into different genera. With +triangular, curved, and transversely-ridged horns in both sexes, +a characteristic general appearance, and feet formed for mountain +climbing, the species present differences which are recognised with +facility. + +With reference to the domestic Sheep, it is the opinion of most +naturalists that it has descended from several distinct species. “Abel +was a keeper of Sheep,” is a Biblical statement from which the immense +antiquity of a domestic breed may be inferred, whose origin cannot +be better studied than by a comparison of the different forms found +wild in Asia, the head-quarters of the genus. That no Sheep existed +in Australia when that continent was first discovered is a well-known +fact. + +“Endowed by nature,” as Mr. Spooner, in his work on the Sheep aptly +puts it, “with a peaceable and patient disposition, and a constitution +capable of enduring the extremes of temperature, adapting itself +readily to different climates, thriving on a variety of pastures, +economising nutriment where pasturage is scarce, and advantageously +availing itself of opportunities where food is abundant,” it is not to +be wondered at that the animal has become the companion of man from the +earliest times. + +The fleece of the wild species of Sheep is composed of hair with wool +at its roots, in the same way that in the Duck there is a covering of +feathers and down. In the domesticated species the hair, by selection, +has been reduced to a minimum, so that the wool forms the only coat. + +In the southern parts of Western Asia many of the Sheep have a curious +tendency to the deposition of fat on the tail rather than under the +skin of the body generally, and this may occur to such an extent that +the thus loaded caudal appendage may contain a large part of the entire +weight of the body. + +The Astracan breed, of small size, has a fine spiral black and white +wool, sometimes entirely black, which is obtained from the lamb when +the finest furs are required. + +Of all the breeds of Sheep the Merino of Spain is one of the most +important, on account of the excellence of its wool. In England the +breed can hardly be said to exist, because the dampness of the climate +does not suit its constitution. It is extensively found in Germany, +and is _the_ Sheep of Australia. The animal is small, flat-sided, and +long-legged. The males have long horns, these appendages being absent +in the females. The face, ears, and legs are dark, and the forehead is +woolly, at the same time that the skin about the throat is lax. The +body-wool is close-set, soft, twisted in a spiral, and short. + +In Great Britain the breeds of Sheep are very numerous, some of the +best being of quite recent origin. First among the heavy breeds are +the Dishley, or Improved Leicesters, which, from their early maturity, +aptness to fatten, smallness of bone, and gentle disposition, well +deserve the high repute in which they stand. It is to the persevering +energy and acuteness of Mr. Bakewell that we are indebted for the +present animal, which in origin is far from pure bred. His aim was +entirely in the direction of the carcass, and in his object he and +his followers have quite succeeded, notwithstanding an inherent +delicacy in constitution and an inferiority of the wool. “The head of +this breed,” we are told, “should be hornless, long, small, tapering +towards the muzzle, and projecting horizontally forwards; the eyes +prominent, and with a quiet expression; the ears thin, rather long, +and directed backwards; the neck full and broad at its base, where it +proceeds from the chest, but gradually tapering towards the head, and +being particularly fine at the junction of the head and neck; the neck +seeming to project straight from the chest, so that there is, with the +slightest possible deviation, one continuous horizontal line from the +rump to the poll; the breast broad and full; the shoulders also broad +and round, and no uneven or angular formation where the shoulders join +either the neck or the back, particularly no rising of the withers or +hollow behind the situation of these bones; the arm fleshy through its +whole extent, and even down to the knee; the bones of the leg small, +standing wide apart, no looseness of skin about them, and comparatively +bare of wool; the chest and barrel at once deep and round; the ribs +forming a considerable arch from the spine, so as in some cases--and +especially when the animal is in good condition--to make the apparent +width of the chest even greater than the depth; the barrel ribbed +well home; no irregularity of line on the back or the belly, but on +the sides, the carcass very gradually diminishing in width towards +the rump; the quarters long and full, and, as with the fore-legs, the +muscles extending down to the hock; the thighs also wide and full; +the legs of a moderate length; the pelt moderately thin, but soft and +elastic, and covered with a good quantity of white wool, not so long as +in some breeds, but considerably finer.” + +The large-sized Lincoln Sheep, with lengthy fleece, those of the +Cotswold Hills, the Teeswater, and Romney Marsh, are also heavy breeds, +not equal in the totality of their points to the Improved Leicesters, +although excelling them either in quantity of wool or hardiness of +constitution. + +The Short-woolled Southdowns, with close-set fleece of fine wool, face +and legs dusky brown, curved neck, short limbs, and broad body, is one +of the oldest and most valuable unmixed breeds that we possess. Their +mutton greatly excels that of the Improved Leicesters, which, taken +in association with their other good qualities, has caused them to +extend to nearly every county. In parts of Hampshire, Shropshire, and +Dorsetshire there are local breeds of Short-woolled Sheep which replace +the Southdowns. + +The Cheviot and the Black-faced, or Heath breed of our northern +counties are mountain Sheep, of small size and hardy constitution, the +former horned, the latter hornless and with a white face. + +Welsh mutton is obtained from the small, soft-woolled Sheep with a +white nose and face. The rams alone have horns, wherein the breed +differs from that of the higher mountains, in which the ewes also are +horned, at the same time that a ridge of hair is present along the top +of the neck. + +As wool forms so important an element of the mercantile transactions +of Great Britain, and as Sheep-farming has so rapidly increased in +Australia and New Zealand, a few words with reference to the statistics +of the subject will not be out of place. + +In 1788, when Governor Phillip landed at Port Jackson, there was not a +Sheep in all Australia, and it was not until 1793 that about thirty of +the Indian breed reached Sydney, their number being shortly augmented +by the importation of breeding-stock from England and the Cape of +Good Hope, principally Merinos. The progeny soon spread towards the +interior, where the growing of wool became a lucrative pursuit. Sheep +were first imported into New Zealand in 1840. It is estimated there are +now one hundred million sheep in Australia, and nearly thirty million +in New Zealand. + +The following table of the number of bales of wool imported into Great +Britain at twenty-year intervals, that is, in 1836, 1856, and 1876, +gives a better idea than can be otherwise obtained as to the changes +in the sources of wool as well as to the richness of each colonial +district:-- + + +IMPORTATION OF COLONIAL AND FOREIGN WOOL INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM +(IN BALES). + + -------------------------------+----------+---------+---------- + | =1836.= | =1856.= | =1876.= + -------------------------------+----------+---------+---------- + New South Wales and Queensland | 19,066 | 59,342 | 169,874 + Victoria | None | 64,843 | 306,803 + Tasmania | 15,449 | 17,951 | 20,480 + South Australia | None | 16,618 | 102,067 + West Australia | None | 1,267 | 7,510 + New Zealand | None | 6,840 | 162,154 + +----------+---------+---------- + _Total Australasian_ | 34,515 |166,861 | 768,888 + Cape of Good Hope | 1,740 | 50,607 | 169,908 + +----------+---------+---------- + _Total Colonial_ | 36,255 |217,468 | 938,796 + +----------+---------+---------- + German | 90,426 | 22,272 | 29,580 + Spanish and Portuguese | 20,451 | 8,106 | 7,906 + East Indian and Persian | 1,981 | 45,236 | 86,678 + Russian | 15,072 | 4,181 | 34,511 + River Plate } | | 5,151 }| + Peru, Lima, and Chili } | 16,653 } | 52,477 }| + Alpaca } | } | }| 118,593 + Mediterranean and Africa | 14,714 | 13,665 }| + Mohair |No returns| 13,515 }| + Sundry | 12,784 | 10,735 }| + +----------+---------+---------- + _Total Foreign_ |172,081 | 175,338 | 277,268 + +----------+---------+---------- + TOTAL IMPORTATION |=208,336= |=392,806=|=1,216,064= + -------------------------------+----------+---------+---------- + +So much for the domestic Sheep; of other species of the genus _Ovis_ +we have Marco Polo’s Sheep.[2] This splendid Sheep, one of the finest +species of the genus, has horns, describing a spiral of about a circle +and a quarter when viewed from the side, pointing directly outwards, +and sometimes measuring as many as sixty-three inches from base to tip +along their curve, and as much as four and a half feet from tip to tip. +At the shoulder the animal measures just under four feet. It inhabits +the high lands in the neighbourhood of the lofty Thian Shan mountains, +north of Kashgar and Yarkand, not descending below an elevation of +9,000 feet above the sea level, often ascending much higher. It is on +account of the rarefaction of the air in these regions that there is +considerable difficulty in obtaining specimens which have been wounded, +because Horses at these heights are much distressed in their breathing, +whilst the Sheep are not so. Mr. N. A. Severtzoff, an eminent Russian +naturalist, has described three or four other species closely allied to +Marco Polo’s Sheep, which are smaller than it, from Turkestan and the +district east of it. In this Sheep, during the winter, the sides of the +body are of a light greyish-brown, changing to white below. There is a +white mane all round the neck and a white disc round the tail. A dark +line runs the whole length of the middle of the back. In summer the +grey changes to dark brown. + +[Illustration: AMMON.] + +The OORIAL and the SHAPOO are bearded Sheep, from Ladakh and the +Suliman range of the Punjab respectively, with large horns, which form +not more than half a circle in the Shapoo and nearly a complete one in +the Oorial. The colour of the Oorial is a reddish-brown above, paler +beneath, the abdomen being white. A lengthy dark beard, reaching to the +knees, fringes the whole length of the neck from the chin to the chest. +The points of the horns are directed inwards. It is found at altitudes +of 2,000 feet. The Shapoo is brownish-grey, white below, with a short +brown beard. Its horns turn outwards at the tips. It is never found at +altitudes lower than 12,000 feet. + +The MOUFLON at one time abounded in Spain, but is now restricted to +the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. The species is a small one, of a +brownish-grey colour, with a dark streak along the middle of the back, +at the same time that there is a varying amount of white about the face +and legs. The horns, present in the males only, are proportionately not +large, curve backwards and then inwards at the tips. The tail is very +short, in which respect they differ strikingly from the domestic Sheep, +to which otherwise they are intimately related. The Mouflon frequents +the summits of its native hills in small herds, headed by an old ram. +Its skin is used by the mountaineers for making jackets. It breeds +freely with the domestic species. + +[Illustration: AMMON.] + +The AMMON of Tibet has been known to measure as much as four feet and +an inch at the shoulder, and has a most imposing appearance on account +of the erect attitude in which it holds its head. Its horns attain a +great size, being sometimes as much as four feet long and twenty-two +inches in circumference at their bases, forming a single sweep of +about four-fifths of a circle, their points being turned slightly +outwards and ending bluntly. Its body colour is dark brown above, paler +posteriorly and below. A mane surrounds its neck, white in the male, +dark brown in the female. The tail measures only an inch in length. In +the female the horns do not exceed twenty-two inches in length. + +The BURHEL, or Himalayan “blue wild Sheep,” stands three feet at the +shoulder, and has horns which, commencing very close together on the +forehead, describe a half circle of two feet or so, and are directed +very much outwards and backwards. In the female the horns do not exceed +eight inches in length, and stand backward instead of diverging. The +coarse fleece of winter is of an ashy-blue colour, which, in summer, is +replaced by one that is much darker. The abdomen is white, and a black +stripe runs along each side of the body, the front of the legs and the +chest being also black. It has no beard. + +The AMERICAN ARGALI, or BIG-HORN, inhabits the range of the Rocky +Mountains. Its height is three and a half feet at the shoulder. The +horns form a complete circle, and are nearly three feet long in the +male. They are said to come so far forward and downward that old rams +find it impossible to feed on level ground. Its flesh is peculiarly +well flavoured. + +The WILD SHEEP OF BARBARY, known also as the TRAGELAPHUS, is a large +and handsome species, with a comparatively lengthy tail, tufted at +its end. The hair on the chin is short, whilst that along the lower +margin of the neck, as well as on the front of the knees, attains a +great length. The horns are not massive, and hardly exceed two feet in +length. They are black, and are directed outward as well as backward. + + +THE GOATS.[3] + +Modern naturalists, as intermediate forms become more numerous, find +much difficulty in separating off the Goats (which constitute the genus +_Capra_ of earlier authors) from the Sheep (_Ovis_). In the Goats the +horns are flattened from side to side, and rough in front and arched +backwards, whilst in the Sheep they are more uniformly cylindrical, +turned laterally, curling downwards, and often cork-screwed. A beard is +a common addition to the former animal, and a most unpleasant odour is +emitted by them. + +[Illustration: BARBARY WILD SHEEP.] + +The domestic Goat is almost certainly descended from the Paseng, or +Ibex, of the mountains of Asia, with little or no admixture of other +blood. In it, however, the female is bearded as well as the male, which +is not the case with the Paseng. It has been subjugated from time +immemorial, when the flesh of the kid was considered a delicacy. Its +sure-footedness and its boldness are proverbial, as is its unpleasant +odour. The power possessed by the species of ascending precipitate +heights is marvellous. On more than one occasion it has been +recorded--contrary to the teaching of Æsop--that whilst two individuals +have met on a path too narrow for both to pass, one has lain down in +order that the other might go over its back. With no great bulk of +body; coarse hair of different lengths and tints, springing from out +of a mass of much shorter wool; horns of varying size, but always +out-turned at the tips; narrow ears, an almost entirely hair-covered +nose; sight, hearing, and smell all acute; powerful thick-set legs, and +a short tail naked below, it stands its own in mountainous and less +civilised districts. Varieties occur with large pendulous instead +of upright ears; others with extra horns, occasionally spiral as in +Nepaul, or none at all. In the Angora and Cashmere breeds the hair is +white. + +The Goat of Cashmere is famous on account of the long and very fine +wool with which it is covered, which is employed in the manufacture +of Cashmere shawls. It is said that the wool of ten of these Goats is +required for the material of a single shawl. + +[Illustration: IBEX.] + +The IBEX is found in the Alpine heights of Europe and of Western Asia, +including the Himalayas. The large scythe-blade-shaped horns of the +male curve boldly upwards and backwards, diverging all the way. Along +the front of their convex surfaces there is a series of protuberances +or partial rings, which are only just indicated laterally. The largest +specimens reach three feet and a half in height at the shoulder, which +is a little less than the length their horns sometimes attain. The body +colour is a yellowish-grey, white below, with a dark brown line along +the middle of the back. The soft and close-set hair hides an under-fur +still finer. The beard is black. European specimens are smaller than +those from Asia, rarely exceeding two feet and a half in height, with +horns three feet in length. The species inhabits the most precipitous +and dangerous parts of mountain regions, and is wonderfully sure-footed. + +The PASENG is the wild Goat of Western Asia; it is also found on the +northern side of the Caucasus and in some of the islands of the Ægean. +In height the male measures two feet and three-quarters at the withers, +the female being nearly six inches less. In the male the horns may +measure as much as four feet in length. They are flattened, slender, +curved backwards as part of a large circle, having their points turned +sometimes inwards, so much so as now and again to cross, whilst at +others they are directed outwards. Along their anterior edges are +protuberances, separated by a greater distance as they approach the +tips, indicative of the age of the animal, as after the third year a +fresh knob is formed in each succeeding one. Mr. Danford, who has made +a special study of the species, remarks, with reference to the reputed +use to which their owners turn their immense cranial appendages, that +“regarding the use of the great horns carried by the Ibex family, +the general idea among the older authors was that they were employed +to break the animal’s fall in leaping from a height. Pennant relates +that Monardes was witness to the wild Goat saving itself in this way; +and Gesner says: ‘Cadens ab alto totum corpus inter cornua protegit a +collisione et ictus lapidum magnorum excipit cornibus!’[4] This view +is confirmed by Mr. Hutton, whose tame Aegagrus [Paseng] repeatedly +used his horns for this purpose. I made many inquiries among the +native hunters, and they all agreed in saying that the horns were +never so used, or for any purpose except fighting; and the result of +my own observations is, that during the leap the head is carried as +far back as possible, though it may be that the situations in which I +observed the animals did not necessitate the employment of the horns +in the way referred to.” The horns of the female are not more than a +foot long, the knobs being almost obsolete. Unlike its consort, also, +it has no beard. The general colour of the species is grey, shaded +with reddish-brown. A blackish-brown line extends from the similarly +coloured forehead along the spine. + +[Illustration: MARKHOOR.] + +The MARKHOOR, or “Serpent Eater,” of North-east India and Cashmere, +is a fine Goat of larger size than the Ibex, with much-flattened +triangular horns, which, while running upwards from the head, are +spiral and attain an immense size, sometimes as much as five feet along +their curve. The spiral twist is much more open in some specimens than +in others, depending on the locality in which they are found. The body +colour is a dirty light blue-grey, the lengthy beard being of a darker +colour. It inhabits very similar localities to the Ibexes and is very +shy. + +The TAHR of the Himalayas is a not common Goat, with small horns curved +directly backwards, not much more than a foot in length, flattened +from side to side, with a notched anterior margin. The body colour +is a fawn-brown; the hair of the neck, chest, and shoulders being of +great length and reaching to the knees. In the female the horns are +much smaller and of lighter colour. According to Captain Kinloch, +“the Tahr is, like the Markhoor, a forest-loving animal, and although +it sometimes resorts to the rocky summits of the hills, it generally +prefers the steep slopes which are more or less clothed with trees. +Female Tahr may be frequently found on open ground, but old males hide +a great deal in the thickest jungle, lying during the heat of the day +under the shade of trees or overhanging rocks. Nearly perpendicular +hills, with dangerous precipices, where the forest consists of oak and +ringall cane, are the favourite haunts of the old Tahr, who climb with +ease over ground where one would hardly imagine that any animal could +find a footing. Tahr ground, indeed, is about the worst walking I know, +almost rivalling Markhoor ground; the only advantage being that, bad as +it is, there are generally some bushes or grass to hold on to.” + + +THE GAZELLES.[5] + +Under the title of Gazelles are included several strikingly elegant, +small, slender, sandy-coloured species of ruminating animals, in which +the males always, and the females in most cases, carry horns, which +are transversely ringed, and vary considerably in the direction which +they take, many having them curved in such a way that the two together +form a lyre-shaped figure, at the same time that in others they are +nearly straight, turned slightly backwards or forwards, and diverging +or converging at the tips. Where present, the horns of the females are +more slender than in the corresponding males. + +The Gazelles inhabit Africa, Arabia, Persia, India, and Central Asia +only. They rarely exceed thirty inches in height at the shoulder; the +largest, the Swift Antelope of Pennant (_Gazella mohr_), reaching +nearly three feet. In all the Gazelles the face is marked with a white +band running from the outer side of the base of each horn nearly down +to the upper end of each nostril, cutting off a dark triangular central +patch, and bordered externally by a diffused dark line. The under +surface of the abdomen is white, and there is a dark line traversing +the flank which bounds this. The rump is also white, which in many +cases encroaches more or less upon the haunches. + +Of the twenty species of Gazelles known to naturalists, only a few +of the best known will be specially mentioned here. By Sir Victor +Brooke they have been thus arranged, in accordance with certain easily +ascertained distinctive features in coloration and shape of horn:-- + + I.--BACK UNSTRIPED. + + A. _The white colour of the rump not encroaching on the fawn colour + of the haunches._ + + _a. Both sexes bearing horns._ + + 1. HORNS LYRATE OR SEMI-LYRATE. + + The Gazelle (Arabia and N.E. Africa). + Isabelline Gazelle (Kordofan). + Korin (Senegal). + Sundevall’s Gazelle (Sennaar). + Black-tailed Gazelle (Bogosland). + + 2. HORNS NOT LYRATE. + + Cuvier’s Gazelle (Morocco). + Small-horned Gazelle (Sennaar). + Speke’s Gazelle (Somali Country). + Muscat Gazelle (Muscat). + Arabian Gazelle (S. Arabia). + Bennett’s Gazelle (India). + Dusky-faced Gazelle (Persia). + + _b. Females hornless._ + + Persian Gazelle. + Mongolian Gazelle. + Ladakh Gazelle. + + B. _The white colour of the rump projects forward in an angle into + the fawn colour of the haunches._ + + Dama Antelope (S. Nubia). + Swift Antelope (Senegal). + Soemmerring’s Antelope (E. Africa). + Grant’s Gazelle (Ugogo). + + + II.--BACK WITH A MEDIAN WHITE STRIPE. + + Spring-bok (S. Africa). + +The GAZELLE _par excellence_, from Syria, Egypt, and Arabia, stands +scarcely two feet high. The elegance of its proportions are too well +known to need description. The beauty of its eyes is not to be +compared with that of some of the other ruminating animals, the whole +face being far too sheep-like, and this remark equally applies to all +its near allies. The Dorcas Gazelle is a name by which it is also +known. Like many other members of the genus, it has a tuft of hair +upon each knee. The tail is long and tapering; the body hair rather +coarse and of a pale fawn colour. The hips, as well as the breast and +the abdomen, are white. As to their habits, Mr. Blanford, in his work +on Abyssinia, tells us that, so far as his observation went, “neither +the Dorcas nor Bennett’s Gazelle is ever seen in large flocks, like +the animals of the Spring-bok group. Usually both are seen solitary, +or from two to five together, inhabiting thin bushes generally on +broken ground. They feed much upon the leaves of bushes. The male has a +peculiar habit, when surprised, of standing still and uttering a short, +sharp cry. Like most Antelopes, they keep much to the neighbourhood +of some particular spot. After long observation, I am convinced that +Bennett’s Gazelle never drinks; and all that I could ascertain of the +Dorcas Gazelle leads to the same conclusion in its case.” + +[Illustration: DORCAS GAZELLE.] + +Captain Baldwin says that, “like other Antelopes, the little Ravine +Deer [by which is meant Bennett’s Gazelle] has many enemies besides +man. One day, when out with my rifle, I noticed an old female Gazelle +stamping her feet, and every now and then making that ‘hiss’ which +is the alarm-note of the animal. It was not I that was the cause of +her terror, for I had passed close to her only a few minutes before, +and she seemed to understand by my manner that I meant no harm. No; +there was something else. I turned back, and on looking down a ravine +close by, saw a crafty Wolf attempting a stalk on the mother and young +one. Another day, at Agra, a pair of Jackals joined in the chase of a +wounded Buck. + +“The Chikarah [again another name for Bennett’s Gazelle] is as easily +tamed as the common Antelope; they are favourite pets, and become +strongly attached to those who rear and feed them. I have seen tame +ones driven out with a herd of Goats to graze, and never attempt to +make their escape. It is not at all unusual to find the wild Gazelles +feeding close to, sometimes almost mingling with, herds of Goats, when +the latter have been driven out to pasture.... Like all Antelopes, the +eyesight of the Chikarah is very acute, and the animal is perpetually +on the watch against danger. It, however, appears to be gifted with +only a moderate sense of hearing, and still less so of smell.” + +THE ARABIAN, OR ARID GAZELLE, is the same size as the preceding, +differing, as may be gathered from the table given on page 13, in the +shape of its horns, which, from being directed upwards and outwards, +turn at their tips more outward and also forward. The speed of the +Gazelle, like that of most of its allies, is very great; its eyes are +large and lustrous, and its general colour a rich yellowish-brown. + +The PERSIAN GAZELLE stands twenty-six inches. Its body colour is grey +fawn colour, the breast and abdomen being white. Of its habits, Major +St. John says that, “like the wild Ass, it especially affects the +neighbourhood of the salt deserts. It appears to retire generally to +the valleys at the base of hills to breed, and is most commonly seen in +small parties of three to half a dozen. The fleetest Greyhound cannot +come up with the Gazelle when it gets a fair start; but when suddenly +roused from a hollow, or when the ground is heavy after rain, good Dogs +will often pull down males. The does are more difficult to catch.” + +[Illustration: SAÏGA.] + +SOEMMERRING’S GAZELLE stands two feet and a half high. The body colour +is sandy fawn above; the horns are massive and lyrate, more slender in +the female. It lives in pairs, and is a powerful species. + +The horns of GRANT’S GAZELLE are larger than in any other of the +species. + +The SPRING-BOK derives its name from the habit it has of leaping +straight up in the air for several feet when alarmed or whilst running. +Its height is two feet and a half. The horns are lyrate, being very +small in the females. Its colour is yellow dun, with the under parts, +as usual, white. A peculiar white line along the middle of the back can +be varied in extent within certain limits by the animal at pleasure. +Major C. Hamilton Smith, when writing of this species, tells us that +it assembles in South Africa in vast herds, “migrating from north to +south and back with the monsoons. These migrations, which are said to +take place in the most numerous form only at the interval of several +years, appear to come from the north-east, and in masses of many +thousands, devouring, like locusts, every green herb. The Lion has been +seen to migrate and walk in the midst of the compressed phalanx, with +only as much room between him and his victims as the fears of those +immediately around could procure by pressing outwards. The foremost of +these vast columns are fat, and the rear exceedingly lean while the +direction continues one way; but with the change of the monsoon, when +they return towards the north, the rear become the leaders, fattening +in their turn.” + +The SAÏGA[6] and CHIRU[7] differ from the Gazelles but slightly, and +approach the Sheep; the former belonging to Eastern Europe and Western +Asia, the latter to Tibet. + +The Saïga is as large as a Fallow Deer, tawny yellow in summer, light +grey in winter; being specially peculiar about the nose which is much +lengthened, at the same time that the nostrils are expanded to such a +degree that in feeding they have to walk backwards. The horns, found +only in the males, are not a foot long, slightly lyrate, and annulated. +In its native haunts--which are barren, sandy, and salt--it assembles +frequently in vast herds. It runs rapidly when pursued, but is soon +exhausted. + +[Illustration: INDIAN ANTELOPE.] + +The CHIRU is slightly smaller, of a reddish fawn colour, with the face +and front of the limbs black. The slender jet-black horns, very small +in the female, are ringed nearly to the tips, curved forward, and about +two feet long. From Captain Kinloch’s account we learn that “in the +early part of the summer the Antelope appears to keep on the higher and +more exposed plains and slopes where snow does not lie; as the season +becomes warmer, the snow which has accumulated on the grassy banks +of the streams in the sheltered valleys begins to dissolve, and the +Antelope then comes down to feed on the grass which grows abundantly +in such places, and then is the time that they may most easily be +stalked and shot. They usually feed only in the mornings and evenings, +and in the day-time seek more open and elevated situations, frequently +excavating deep holes in the stony plains in which they live, with only +their heads and horns visible above the surface of the ground.” + + +THE PALLAH.[8] + +THE PALLAH, OR IMPALLA, of South and South-east Africa, is another +closely-allied form of large size, being more than three feet high at +the shoulder. Its colour is dark red above, yellow dun on the sides, +and white below. There are no false hoofs in the usual situation on +the lengthy legs: a peculiarity which it shares with the Cabrit and +the Giraffe. The eyes are very large and liquid. The horns, wanting in +the female, are twenty inches long in the male, and lyrate; they are +ringed nearly to their tips. They are abundant on or near to hills, +and collect in herds of from twenty to thirty. Mr. Drummond, vividly +describing his South African experience, on an occasion whilst hunting +Buffalo, “saw something red moving among the trees, and stopped to +watch it. It turned out to be a troop of Impalla coming back from water +and making for some of the grassy glades. There might have been seventy +or eighty of them, picking their way along in Indian file, nibbling +here and there, but always moving, and seeming like a troop of ghosts +in the dim twilight and silence.” + + +THE INDIAN ANTELOPE.[9] + +THE INDIAN ANTELOPE, OR BLACK BUCK.--This species differs but little +from the Gazelles in many respects, whilst its peculiarities are +striking. Like the Nylghau, the male differs greatly from the female in +its colour. The female has no horns; those in the male are black and of +great size, spirally twisted for three or four turns like a corkscrew, +slightly divergent, and often reaching thirty inches in length. It +stands a little over two feet and a half at the shoulder. The colour of +the males is deep brown-black above, with an abrupt line of separation +from the pure white of the belly. This dark colour extends down the +outer surface of each limb. The face is also black, with a white circle +round the eyes and nose. In the females and young of both sexes the +black and brown are replaced by a light fawn colour. The tail is very +short and white below. At certain seasons of the year the glands below +the eyes are much enlarged and form a prominent feature in the face of +the male. + +The Black Buck is one of the swiftest of the Antelopes, no Greyhound +having any chance against it. Its flesh, being dry and unsavoury, is +rarely eaten. The species falls a frequent prey to the Tiger, and is +generally found in herds, fifty does, or so, accompanied by a single +buck. The height to which they can bound is very great. According to +Major C. Hamilton Smith, the native Indians “have raised the common +Antelope among the constellations, harnessed it to the chariot of the +moon, and represented it as the quarry of the gods. In the opinion of +Hindoos the animal is sacred to Chandra, female devotees and minstrels +lead it, domesticated, by the harmony of their instruments, or the +power of their prayers, and holy Brahmins are directed to feed upon +their flesh, under certain circumstances prescribed by the _Institutes +of Menu_.” + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +RUMINANTIA: BOVIDÆ (_continued_)--ANTELOPES. + + THE STEINBOKS: KLIPSPRINGER, OUREBI, STEINBOK, GRYSBOK, MADOQUA--THE + BUSH-BUCKS--Appearance--Distinctive Marks--THE FOUR-HORNED + ANTELOPES--Peculiarity in the Chikarah--THE WATER ANTELOPES: + NAGOR, REITBOK, LECHÈ, AEQUITOON, SING-SING, WATER-BUCK, POKU, + REH-BOK--THE ELAND--Beef--Appearance--Captain Cornwallis Harris’ + Description--Hunting--Scarcity--THE KOODOO--Appearance--King of + Antelopes--ANGAS’ HARNESSED ANTELOPE--THE HARNESSED ANTELOPES: + GUIB--BUSH BUCK, OR UKOUKA--Appearance--Pluck--THE BOVINE + ANTELOPES--THE BUBALINE--HARTEBEEST--BLESBOK--BONTEBOK--SASSABY--THE + GNU--Grotesque Appearance--Habits--BRINDLED + GNU--THE CAPRINE ANTELOPES--SEROW--Ungainly + Habits--GORAL--CAMBING-OUTAN--TAKIN--MAZAMA--THE + CHAMOIS--Distribution--Appearance--Voice--Hunted--THE + ORYXES--BLAUBOK--SABLE ANTELOPE--BAKER’S + ANTELOPE--ORYX--BEISA--BEATRIX--GEMSBOK--ADDAX. + + +THE STEINBOKS. + +THE KLIPSPRINGER, the OUREBI, the STEINBOK, and the GRYSBOK form a +small section of the African Antelopes, elegant and small, with horns +only in the males, these being straight, or nearly so. Their body hair +is harsh. The Klipspringer stands a little under two feet high; it is +the heaviest in build of the four; its horns are four inches long and +curved a little forward. Its colour is olive. It lives singly or in +pairs, in mountainous districts, and it was at one time so abundant in +the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope that its hair was employed +to stuff saddles with. + +The Ourebi, in height and length of horn, resembles the last-mentioned +species. Its build is very delicate, its general colour being a +tawny yellow, white below. Its speed is very great. According to Mr. +Drummond, “its peculiar colour so much resembles the soil on which +it lies that, trusting to remain unobserved, it often allows you to +get within fifteen or twenty yards of where it is squatting. It is a +handsome and peculiarly graceful Antelope, extremely good eating, and +well worth the hunter’s attention. One thing he should bear in mind is, +that however slightly they may be wounded, they will go and lie down +within a few hundred yards, if not chased by a Dog, and will in such +cases very generally allow him to get within shot again.” The Steinbok +is twenty inches high, with straight horns four inches long, large +ears, and a mere stump of a tail. Its colour is red-brown, white below. + +[Illustration: HEAD OF FEMALE BUSH-BUCK.] + +The Grysbok, with the same measurement, is chocolate-red. + +The MADOQUA of Abyssinia is not bigger than a Hare, standing fourteen +inches high, the slender legs being comparatively long. The horns, +present only in the males, are not more than half the length of the +head, being nearly straight, and curved a little forward. The tail is +a mere stump. The back is reddish-brown, the sides grey; the face, +together with a peculiar tuft between the horns, is red, as are the +legs. The under parts are white. + + +THE BUSH-BUCKS.[10] + +The Bush-bucks form a clearly-defined group of small Antelopes peculiar +to tropical and Southern Africa. They are also known by sportsmen as +Duykers, or Bush-goats. They are characterised by the possession of +horns in the male sex, which are short, straight, and simple cones, +very much depressed, or slanting backwards, and rising some distance +behind the eyes; at the same time that there is a tuft of lengthy +hair, directed backwards, which is arranged in a kind of horseshoe +shape between the ears. The crumen or gland in front of each eye is +also peculiar. Instead of it being a sac with a circular opening, it +is spread out in the form of a curved line, and not contracted to form +an orifice at all. This feature, which is not observed in any other +animal, may be seen in the drawing of the head of the female Bush-buck. +The muffle, or extremity of the nose, is much like that of the Ox, +comparatively large and always moist. The tail is very short, whilst +the ears are of a fair size and oval in form. The legs are particularly +slender and delicate, terminated by minute hoofs. In most the forehead +is strongly convex. The coloration of the many species is not striking, +being a uniform red-brown, dark bluish-grey, or sooty-black. The +smallest of the species, the Pigmy Bush-buck, is not bigger than a +Rabbit, and might at first sight, especially the female, be mistaken +for a Deerlet. According to Mr. Drummond, “it feeds principally on +certain berries and shrubs found growing in the jungles, and seems to +be on the move, more or less, the whole day, though, in common with +the rest of the animal creation, it is most often to be seen at early +morning and evening.” + +Of the Bush-bucks, the Philantomba, of West Africa, is grey-brown; the +Blau-bok, of Southern Africa, a bluish-grey; the Duyker-bok, of South +Africa, a yellowish-brown; the Coquetoon, a deep reddish-bay; the Bay +Antelope, of West Africa, a dark bay, whilst there are other species +black, brown, &c. + +[Illustration: WATER-BUCK.] + + +THE FOUR-HORNED ANTELOPES.[11] + +In India and Tibet there are two peculiar species of small Antelopes, +the true Four-horned and the Brown Indian Antelope. In the former of +these, known also as the Chikarah, different from what is found as a +natural condition in any other living animal, there are two pairs of +well-developed horns; the hinder, which are the larger, being five +inches long, in the usual situation; the smaller, an inch and a half +long, are close together not far behind the eyes. In the Brown Indian +Antelope the anterior pair of horns are rudimentary, and nothing more +than knobs. All these horns are straight and conical. Neither species +is common. Their size is about that of the Arabian Gazelle; their +colour a reddish-brown, becoming lighter below; the hair is coarse; +the female is hornless. Captain Kinloch says of them that “four-horned +Antelopes are generally found alone, or frequently in pairs; they +conceal themselves in long grass or among low bushes, and somewhat +resemble hares in their habits. They are seldom to be seen out feeding, +but usually jump up at the feet of the hunter and bound away at a great +pace.” + + +THE WATER ANTELOPES.[12] + +The NAGOR, the REITBOK, the LECHÈ, the AEQUITOON, the SING-SING, and +the WATER-BUCK are closely allied African Antelopes, with good-sized +horns (only present in the males), which are transversely wrinkled, +curved forwards, and a little inwards at the tips. Most of them are +water-loving animals, and abound in marshy districts on the banks of +rivers. + +The Nagor is a little more than two feet and a half in height at the +shoulder, the horns being six inches long, and the tail ten inches. The +colour of the long, loose hair is fulvous-brown above, white below. The +Reitbok is of a grizzly ochreate colour. Its height is nearly three +feet, the horns being twelve inches long. According to Dr. Kirk, the +species is “commonly found feeding in small herds; in the heat of the +day it rests in long grass, and may be approached within fifty yards +before starting. It seldom runs far without stopping to look round. +Before again making off it gives a shrill whistle, as it does often +when first started. Should the female have young unable to run far, and +danger near, she places her foot on the shoulder and presses it to the +ground; after which it never moves until almost trodden upon, and is +expected to remain in the same spot until the return of the mother.” +The Lechè is of a pale brown colour above and white below. Sir John +Kirk says it “is a water Antelope, frequenting damp, marshy places, +and taking to impassable swamps, among reeds and papyrus. It goes in +considerable herds, accompanied by several males, mingling often with +the ‘Poku,’ another Antelope peculiar to that region (the valley of +the Zambesi). In the distance the Lechè may be known by the peculiar +way in which it allows its horns to recline back, almost touching the +withers.” The POKU, Vardon’s Antelope of Livingstone, is smaller than +the Lechè, and thicker in the neck; otherwise it closely resembles it. + +[Illustration: ELAND.] + +The Sing-sing Antelope and Water-buck are much alike, the former +wanting a white elliptical patch, which is found near the base of the +tail in the latter. The body colour is a greyish-brown. Long hair on +the neck produces a mane. At the shoulder they stand four feet six +inches, and the pale horns are two feet and a half long. “The Water +Antelope,” says Mr. Drummond, “is an extremely fine animal, and so +plentiful that there are, perhaps, more of them shot than of any of +the other large Antelopes. The large ringed horns which, in the male, +crown its brow, bear a strong resemblance to those of the Reedbuck +[Reitbok], while the habits and general appearance of both species are +almost identical. Both frequent thickets and reedy places near water, +and are principally found in pairs or small groups. The hair of the +species [of Water-buck] inhabiting Eastern Africa is very long and +coarse, though that of the one found in Central Africa [the Sing-Sing] +is remarkably soft, and is highly prized by the natives as being so.” + +The REH-BOK of South Africa, “though almost approaching a Fallow Deer +in size, more nearly,” says Mr. Drummond, “resembles a Chamois in +other particulars; indeed, it has been called the African Chamois, +and so far deserves the title, that it certainly possesses many of +the characteristics and habits of the European species--decidedly +more so than any other of the Antelope genus found in South Africa, +with the exception of the Klipspringer. Their colour is light grey, +the hair being somewhat long and coarse, and the horns are straight +[bent forwards at the tips], and by no means unusually large for the +animal’s size. They are never found but on the bare hills, among rocks +and stones, and their powers of springing are wonderful. It seems +extraordinary how their delicate limbs escape injury, when they take +bound after bound like an indiarubber ball, in places that a Cat would +shudder at.” According to Major C. H. Smith, “it is an animal of great +swiftness, moving with wonderful rapidity by lengthened stretches, +close to the ground, so as to seem to glide over the desert like a mist +driven by the winds, and, favoured by the indistinct colours of the +fur, is immediately out of sight. The Bushmen and western tribes [of +South Africa] make lance-heads, awls, and other tools of the horns, and +occasionally cloaks of their skins for the women.” + + +THE ELAND.[13] + +This fine species attains to the size of an Ox, the bull standing six +feet and a half at the withers. Attempts have within the last few years +been made to breed it in England for the sake of its flesh, which is +as good as the best beef. It is, however, found to be impossible to +get the price sufficiently low for market purposes. Two varieties are +known, one of a pale fawn colour from Central Africa, the other, from +South Africa, of a bright yellow tan colour, marked transversely with +narrow white lines, about fifteen in number, running from a black +line which goes along the back, to the belly. These marks are present +in all young individuals, and disappear or fade considerably in the +adults. The full-grown bull has a broad tuft of lengthy slight brown +hair on the forehead, between and in front of the horns, which are +situated some distance behind the eyes, being straight, a foot and a +half in length, and at their bases carrying a thick and conspicuous +screw-like ridge which extends in some cases nearly to their ends. In +the females the horns are never quite so large as in the males. A large +dewlap hangs from the throats of the bulls, whilst a dark, short mane +continues from the forehead backwards. The tail is about two feet and a +quarter in length, with a large tuft of brown hair at its end. + +According to Captain W. Cornwallis Harris, “in size and shape the body +of the male Eland resembles that of a well-conditioned Guzerat Ox, +not unfrequently attaining the height of nineteen hands, and weighing +two thousand pounds. The head is strictly that of an Antelope, light, +graceful, and bony, with a pair of magnificent straight horns, about +two feet in length, spirally ringed, and pointed backwards. A broad and +deep dewlap fringed with brown hair reaches to the knee. The colour +varies considerably with the age, being dun in some, in others an ashy +blue with a tinge of ochre; and in many also sandy-grey approaching +to white. The flesh is esteemed by all classes in Africa above that +of any other animal; in grain and colour it resembles beef, but is +better tasted and more delicate, possessing a pure game flavour, and +the quantity of fat with which it is interlarded is surprising, greatly +exceeding that of any other game quadruped with which I am acquainted. +The female is smaller and of slighter form, with less ponderous horns.” + +When writing on the hunting of these creatures, known in South Africa +as the _Impoofo_, the same author remarks that, “notwithstanding the +unwieldy shape of these animals, they had at first greatly exceeded the +speed of our jaded horses, but being pushed they soon separated; their +sleek coats turned first blue and then white with froth; the foam fell +from their mouths and nostrils, and the perspiration from their sides. +Their pace gradually slackened, and with their full brilliant eyes +turned imploring towards us, at the end of a mile, each was laid low by +a single bullet.” + +With reference to these animals, the Hon. W. H. Drummond tells us +that “more Eland are killed from horseback than on foot; for as it is +utterly out of the question to make a practice of running them down, +and as they generally inhabit the treeless flats, where they cannot, +except by chance, be stalked, while the uncertainty of their movements +and their keeping out of cover render it impossible to find them, like +the large animals, by the aid of their spoor, some more certain method +is needed than the chance meetings which occur to the hunter when in +pursuit of other game, more especially as their hide is held in great +repute by the Dutch colonists, who make trek-tows for their wagons, and +reins for their oxen from it, even preferring it to that of a Buffalo. +The demand thus induced has so diminished their numbers as to have +restricted this noble Antelope to a few favoured localities, even in +which it is becoming more scarce every day, while not many years ago it +formed a component part of almost every landscape in the southern and +eastern portions of Africa.” + + +THE KOODOO.[14] + +[Illustration: KOODOO.] + +This is one of the handsomest of all the Antelopes. It is more slender +in build and smaller than the Eland, which it somewhat resembles. The +horns are about four feet long, and form most graceful open spirals +like corkscrews, there being a ridge along their whole length. The +females are hornless. The ear is large and trumpet-shaped, moved at +the slightest noise towards its source. The eyes are large and liquid. +The body colour is slaty-grey, with transverse white markings, like +those on the striped variety of the Eland. A small mane extends along +the neck and withers, and another from the chin to the throat and +breast. The tail is of moderate length, and hairy. This species is most +abundant in Southern Africa, but it extends as high as Abyssinia. It is +able to travel with very great speed, and makes prodigious bounds. It +stands about five feet in height at the shoulders. + +“Majestic in its carriage,” writes Captain Harris, with all the +enthusiasm of a true sportsman, “and brilliant in its colour, this +species may with propriety be styled the king of the tribe. Other +Antelopes are stately, elegant, or curious, but the solitude-seeking +Koodoo is absolutely regal! The ground colour is a lively French grey +approaching to blue, with several transverse white bands passing over +the back and loins: a copious mane, and deeply fringed, tricoloured +dewlap, setting off a pair of ponderous yet symmetrical horns, +spirally twisted, and exceeding three feet in length. These are thrown +along the back as the stately wearer dashes through the mazes of the +forest or clambers the mountain-side. The old bulls are invariably +found apart from the females, which herd together in small troops, and +are destitute of horns.” + + +ANGAS’ HARNESSED ANTELOPE.[15] + +This elegant animal, much like the Koodoo in its proportions, stands +three feet four inches high at the shoulders. In the male, which alone +bears horns, these appendages are nearly two feet long, twisted and +sub-lyrate, having sharply-pointed tips of a pale straw colour, their +other parts being of a brownish-black, deeply ridged for half their +length from their bases. The colour of the body is greyish-black, +tinged with purplish-brown and ochre, white transverse stripes, like +those of the Koodoo, being present on the neck, flanks, and cheeks. +A black mane courses down the neck, whilst from the neck and belly +depends long shaggy hair in abundance, reaching to the knees. The ears +are large, and the face is of a bright sienna-brown. The tail is one +foot eight inches long, black above, with under side and tip white. The +female is small, and of a bright rufous colour, with transverse stripes +more numerous than in the male. + +This species is found in troops of eight or ten together, feeding on +the mimosa bushes in the Zulu country. Closely allied to it is a second +from Central Africa, which is of a dull bay, nearly uniform, colour, +the horns reaching thirty inches in length. It is known as Speke’s +Antelope. + + +THE HARNESSED ANTELOPES.[16] + +The HARNESSED ANTELOPES proper are all of small size, the elegant GUIB +not being larger than a Goat, its proportions being infinitely more +delicate. It is of a pale bay colour, and the distinct transverse white +streaks, running down from the middle of its back with connecting +bands, have given the origin to its name. + +The BUSH BUCK differs in wanting any body stripes. It is also African. +Writing of it, Mr. Drummond remarks that the Bush Buck, “the male of +whom is known as the ‘Ukouka,’ and the female as the ‘Umbabala,’ and +which differ so greatly that experience is necessary to teach one that +they are of the same species, is undoubtedly the finest in every way of +all the Antelopes, whether found in the [Cape] Colonies or interior, +that are known to the hunter as ‘small game.’ In size it resembles +a full-grown Fallow Buck, weighing, according to age and condition, +from nine to thirteen stone; its colour is a dark reddish-brown, +often verging into black, and with indistinct markings on the sides, +haunches, and legs; it has a great deal of hair, and a considerable +mane, while the neck, which is thick out of all proportion, is nearly +bare. The last mentioned peculiarity detracts from the otherwise +graceful outlines of its body, the more so, perhaps, from the head +being so finely shaped and small. The horns are nearly straight, rough, +and ringed for about three inches from their base, and then taper away, +smooth and polished, to an almost invisible point; they vary from nine +inches to a foot long, and from the way in which they are set on the +skull, the immense strength in the neck and shoulders of the animal, +and their extreme sharpness, form about as formidable weapons as +could well be imagined, especially as their owner is the most plucky +Antelope, without exception or consideration of size, with which I have +become acquainted in Africa. I do not think that in all my experience +... I remember a single instance in which a Ukouka has not tried to +charge when wounded and brought to bay; and no one, even after a very +moderate experience, would ever allow any Dog on which he placed any +value to attack them.” + + +THE BOVINE ANTELOPES.[17] + +The BUBALINE ANTELOPE, together with the HARTEBEEST, has a peculiarly +elongated and narrow head, at the same time that the body is not +elegant in its proportions, being triangular in form, heavy in the +shoulders, and falling away behind. The horns, which are smaller in +the females, are turned abruptly backwards at their tips after having +been directed forwards and upwards in a lyrate manner. The Bubaline of +North Africa is of a uniform bay colour, and the much more recently +discovered TORA ANTELOPE of Eastern Africa resembles it in this +respect, whilst its horns differ slightly in their direction and size, +being more divergent and slender. The Hartebeest is grey-brown, and +black on the outer sides of the limbs, with large, triangular white +spots on the haunches; a black line also runs down the middle of the +face from between the horns. + +Mr. Pringle, when writing on the Hartebeest, says of it that it “is one +of the largest and handsomest of the Antelope family.... In the nooks +of the narrow ravines, through which the game are wont to descend from +the steep and stony mountains, for change of pasturage, or to drink at +the fountains that ooze from their declivities, I have frequently found +fresh skulls and horns of the Hartebeest, those slight relics being all +that remained to indicate that there the Lion had surprised and rent +his prey, and that the ferocious Hyæna had followed and feasted on the +fragments, devouring even the bones, except the skull and a few other +unmanageable portions.” + +[Illustration: BUBALINE ANTELOPE.] + +The BLESBOK, BONTE-BOK, and SASSABY are about the size of a calf three +months old. Their horns are lyrate and ringed at their bases. The two +former are of a purple-red colour, white faces and white rumps. Of the +Blesbok, Mr. C. J. Andersson remarks--“It is of a beautiful violet +colour, and is found in company with black wilde-beests and Spring-boks +in countless thousands, on the vast green plains of short, crisp, +sour grass occupying a central position in South Africa. Cattle and +Horses refuse to pasture on the grassy products of these plains, which +afford sustenance to myriads of this Antelope, whose skin emits a most +delicious and powerful perfume of flowers and sweet-smelling herbs.” + +The Sassaby, or Bastard Hartebeest of the Cape colonists, stands four +feet and a half in height. It has strong horns a foot in length, +crescentic, with the points directed inwards. Its body colour is a +dark purple-brown above, which changes into dusky-yellow underneath, a +slate-coloured patch extending from the shoulder and the hip down to +the knee and hock, at the same time that the rump is fawn-coloured. The +tail is nearly two feet long. + + +THE GNUS.[18] + +The GNU and the BRINDLED GNU are two of the most grotesque of +creatures. With the head not unlike that of a small Cape Buffalo, +it has the limbs and hind-quarters not unlike those of a pony, in +proportions as well as size. The nose is broad and flattened, with a +bristly muzzle. The horns are broad at the base, where they nearly +meet, and after turning downward as well as forward, they again turn up +abruptly in a hook-like manner. They are found abundantly in Southern +Africa, where, as their flesh is worthless, they are not much hunted. +They are extremely wild and fearless, and remarkably tenacious of life. +Their speed is great, and they have a habit of prancing about and +kicking out furiously when suspecting danger. Both species have a mane +along the neck, and lengthy hair between the forelegs. In both the tail +is long, covered with a mass of hair not unlike that of the Horse. + +[Illustration: GNU.] + +The Common Gnu is of a deep brown-black, the tail and mane being white, +whilst the bushy beard, running back to the chest and between the +forelegs, is black. Lengthy black hairs, diverging and ascending from +a median line, cover the upper part of the nose, at the same time that +other smaller tufts under the eyes help to give a most ferocious aspect +to the face. From Captain Harris’s description of the animals of South +Africa, an excellent idea of the peculiarities of the creature may +be gained. “Of all quadrupeds,” he writes, “the Gnoo is probably the +most awkward and grotesque. Nature doubtless formed him in one of her +freaks, and it is scarcely possible to contemplate his ungainly figure +without laughter. Wheeling and prancing in every direction, his shaggy +and bearded head arched between his slender and muscular legs, and his +long white tail streaming in the wind, this ever-wary animal has at +once a ferocious and ludicrous appearance. Suddenly stopping, showing +an imposing front, and tossing his head in mock defiance, his wild red +sinister eyes flash fire, and his snort, resembling the roar of a Lion, +is repeated with energy and effect. Then lashing his sides with his +floating tail, he plunges, bounds, kicks up his heels with a fantastic +flourish, and in a moment is off at speed, making the dust fly behind +him as he sweeps across the plain.” + +In the Brindled Gnu the front of the face lacks the lengthy hair of its +ally; the tail is also black instead of white. Its body colour is a +dirty dun, variegated with obscure pale streaks. This species, as well +as the Common Gnu, is the constant companion of the equally abundant +Quaggas of the same region. + + +THE CAPRINE ANTELOPES. + +The SEROW (sometimes written Surrow) of India, the CAMBING-OUTAN +of Sumatra, with the GORAL of North India, form a small group of +strongly-built Goat-like Antelopes, with short, conical, upright horns, +ringed at the base, and of nearly equal size in both sexes. The feet +are large, and the tapering tail short. + +Captain Kinloch gives us the following account of the Serow. He says +it “is an ungainly-looking animal, combining the characteristics of +the Cow, the Donkey, the Pig, and the Goat! It is a large and powerful +beast.... The body is covered with very coarse hair, which assumes +the form of a bristly mane on the neck and shoulders, and gives the +beast a ferocious appearance, which does not belie its disposition. +The colour is a dull black on the back, bright red on the sides, and +white underneath, the legs also being dirty white. The ears are very +large; the muzzle is coarse.... The Serow has an awkward gait; but +in spite of this can go over the worst ground; and it has, perhaps, +no superior in going down steep hills. It is a solitary animal, and +is nowhere numerous; two or three may be found on one hill, four or +five on another, and so on. It delights in the steepest and most rocky +hillsides, and its favourite resting-places are in caves, under the +shelter of overhanging rocks, or at the foot of shady trees.” + +[Illustration: GORAL.] + +Of the Goral, the same author remarks that it “is an active little +beast, and much resembles a small Goat, but the back is more arched. +The prevailing colour is a brownish-grey, with a dark stripe along the +back, and dark markings on the legs. Underneath the throat is a large +white spot, which is very conspicuous when the animal is standing +above one, and often betrays its presence when it would otherwise have +escaped observation. The hair is soft but rather coarse, and about two +inches long.” In the male the horns reach nine inches in length. + +The Cambing-outan stands about two feet and a quarter at the shoulder. +Its long, coarse hair is brown-black in colour, the mane and throat +alone being white. The horns are not more than six inches in length, +cylindrical, slightly annulated and curved backwards at their lips. +Mountain forests, where it leads a particularly active life, are its +haunts. + +Dr. J. Anderson remarks of the TAKIN, or BUDORCAS, another allied +species, “Major Stewart informs me that it is found in all the high +ranges of the north-east of Debrooghur, and is far from uncommon. The +Mishnees, with their very inferior appliances to shoot and catch them, +are, nevertheless, frequently dressed in their skins, or have a part of +a skin with the hair on as an ornament, which would seem to indicate +that they are numerous.... They are seen in pairs, and sometimes in +herds of twenty or more. They are swift of foot and good climbers.” + +In Formosa and Japan there are also Goat-like Antelopes, that from +the former locality being named after Mr. Swinhoe, who discovered it. +Its horns are short and conical, its brown fur harsh and crisp. Both +closely resemble the Cambing-outan. There is still another with a long +tail inhabiting Northern China. + +The MAZAMA, or Mountain Goat of California and the Rocky Mountains, +is an allied species, with short, thick, conical, recurved horns, and +long, straight, soft hair of a white colour, specially abundant in the +region of the throat, shoulders, sides, and tail. Its size is that of +a large Sheep, which it much resembles in physiognomy. The flesh has +an unpleasant musky flavour, the skin is thick and spongy, at the same +time that the hair is considered of but little value. + + +THE CHAMOIS.[19] + +This well-known Goat-like Antelope inhabits the snow-clad mountains +of Europe, from the Pyrenees to the Caucasus, ascending during the +summer, and in winter going below the line of snow in search of food. +Both sexes possess horns--black, short, and cylindrical--rising +perpendicularly and parallel from the forehead for some distance, then +forming a small hook directed backwards to their pointed tips. These +rarely exceed seven inches in length. The female is slightly smaller +than the male, which stands a little over two feet at the shoulder. +In winter the colour of the lengthy, hairy coat is dark brown, which +becomes a brownish-yellow in the summer, a darker streak along the +back alone remaining. The head is pale yellow, darker from the nose +upwards to between the ears and around the eyes. Behind the horns and +between the ears is a pair of peculiar glands, opening externally, the +function of which is unknown. The voice of the species is a rough bleat +under all ordinary circumstances; but when the one which watches whilst +the others feed--and there is always found to be one such in every +herd--finds cause to fear, it gives a shrill whistle as a danger signal +to its companions. + +[Illustration: HEAD OF THE CHAMOIS.] + +The senses of sight, hearing, and smell of the Chamois are developed +to a maximum, and this fact, taken in association with the animal’s +great sure-footedness among the lofty, snow-covered Alps, in which it +has its home, makes hunting it a task of no mean difficulty and danger. +Dogs are of no service on the rocky eminences to which the Chamois +will retreat when it is pursued, and the sportsman has to rely upon +his own sure-footedness and courage in climbing the steep and slippery +precipices, whither he is tempted by the sight of game. If so hard +pressed that it is driven to some height beyond which it cannot go, it +is said that it will precipitate itself upon its pursuer, sending him +down into the depths below. Besides man, the eagle is an enemy whose +constant endeavour is to obtain the kids from their watchful mothers. +Its skin is much valued for its toughness combined with its pliability. +Its flesh is also greatly esteemed. + + +THE ORYXES.[20] + +Of the Antelopes there is a fairly well-marked section, distinguished +by the possession of horns in both sexes, at the same time that the +body is peculiarly deep at the shoulder, whilst the lengthy tail is +cylindrical and tufted at the extremity. Among these there is a mane +along the neck in three closely-allied species, the BLAUBOK, or Equine +Antelope of South Africa, the SABLE ANTELOPE of the Transvaal and the +eastern coast of Africa, and BAKER’S ANTELOPE, or the Maarif of Upper +Nubia, as well as in the ORYX, which is found in many parts of Africa, +the BEISA of Abyssinia, the BEATRIX ANTELOPE of Arabia, and the GEMSBOK +of South Africa; whilst in the not distant ADDAX ANTELOPE of North +Africa there is no nape-mane, but a slight one on the throat. + +[Illustration: ORYX.] + +In the Blaubok, which stands more than four feet and a half at the +shoulder, with a glaucous, grey coat upon a black skin; in the Sable +Antelope, which stands four feet and a half, being black except upon +the abdomen, as well as in streaks upon the face, which are white; +and in Baker’s Antelope, which stands four feet eight inches, being +of a pale fulvous liver colour, the horns are two feet and more in +length, and curved gently backwards, being ringed transversely except +at the tips, where they are smooth. In the Oryx, the Beisa, the +Beatrix Antelope, and the Gemsbok, the lengthy conical horns, although +similarly ringed, are much more slender, starting backwards in a line +with the face, whilst in those previously mentioned they rise at an +angle from it, being straight in the Gemsbok and Beisa, very slightly +curved backwards in the Beatrix, and more so in the Oryx. In the nearly +allied Addax the similarly-constructed horns are gently twisted in +a corkscrew manner. All these last-mentioned Antelopes are pale in +colour, being almost white, with the throat protected by long black +hair. + +Whilst speaking of the Beisa Antelope, Mr. Blanford remarks that “the +appearance of a herd of Oryx is very imposing. They are some of the +most elegant and symmetrical of animals, the motions being those of +a Wild Horse rather than of an Antelope. Their favourite pace appears +to be either a steady quick walk or a trot; they rarely break into a +gallop unless greatly alarmed. When frightened they dash off, sometimes +snorting and putting their heads down, as if charging, raising their +long tails, and looking very formidable. They are wary animals, though +far less so than some other Antelopes. It is said that they frequently +attack when wounded, and their long, straight horns are most deadly +weapons.” + +Of the Gemsbok, Captain Harris tells us that it “is about the size of +an Ass, and nearly of the same ground colour, with a black list stripe +down the back and on each flank, white legs variegated with black +bands, and a white face, marked with the figure of a black nose-band +and head-stall, imparting altogether to the animal the appearance of +being clad in half-mourning. Its copious black tail literally sweeps +the ground; a mane reversed, and a tuft of flowing black hair on the +breast, with a pair of straight, slender horns (common to both sexes) +three feet in length, and ringed at the base, completing the portrait.” +The resemblance between the Gemsbok, when seen from the side view, and +the Unicorn of heraldry, is sufficiently striking to make it more than +probable that the conception of the latter originated in the former. + +The author just quoted says of the Blaubok, or Roan Antelope, by which +name it is also known, that it “is an inhabitant of the elevated +downs and ridges about the source of the river Limpopo [four degrees +to the west of Delagoa Bay, and a little north of it], and being +utterly destitute of speed, may be ridden to a standstill without +difficulty.... It is heavily built, and has an upright mane, long +asinine ears, and robust scimitar-shaped horns.” + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +ARTIODACTYLA: RUMINANTIA--BOVIDÆ (_Concluded_).--OXEN, PRONGHORN +ANTELOPE, MUSK [DEER], AND GIRAFFE. + + THE NYL-GHAU--Description--Habits--THE MUSK OX--Difficulties in + associating it--Distribution--Habits--THE OX--Chillingham Wild + Cattle--Their Habits--Domestic Cattle--The Collings, Booth, + and Bates Strains--American Breeding--Shorthorns, and other + Breeds--Hungarian Oxen--Zebu--Gour--Gayal--Curious mode of + Capturing Gayals--Banting--THE BISONS--Description--European Bison, + or Aurochs--Almost extinct--Cæsar’s Description of it--American + Bison--Distribution--Mythical Notions regarding it--Their + Ferocity and Stupidity--“Buffalo” Flesh--THE YAK--Habits--THE + BUFFALOES--Varieties--Description--Fight between two Bulls--THE + ANOA--THE PRONGHORN ANTELOPE--Peculiarity as to its Horns and + Skull--Professor Baird’s and Mr. Bartlett’s Independent Discovery + of the Annual Shedding of the Horns--Habits--Peculiarity about its + Feet--Colour--Difficulties as to its Position--THE MUSK [DEER]--Its + Perfume--Where is it to be placed?--Description--Habits--Hunters for + the Perfume--Their Sufferings--THE GIRAFFE--Peculiarities--Skull + processes--Its Neck--Habitat--Running power--Habits--Hunting. + + +THE NYL-GHAU, OR BLUE OX.[21] + +This is the largest of the Antelopine animals found in India, the adult +male standing over four feet in height at the shoulders, which are at +a considerably higher level than the haunches. The female is about +one-third smaller than her consort, and without horns, which in the +male are but short, rarely exceeding nine inches in length, and rising +perpendicularly from the head. Each horn is black, smooth, angular, and +turned slightly forward, ending in a sharp point. + +The body colour of the male is a slate blue, darker about the head +and under parts of the body, whilst the legs are black; the female +is tawny-red; the aged bull is nearly black. A short mane runs along +the neck and over the highest part of the shoulder, in which latter +situation it is of greater length. There is a considerable tuft of +dark hair hanging from the middle of the front of the neck, over six +inches in length, which is situated just below a conspicuous white, +anchor-shaped throat-patch, the shank of which runs up between the two +halves of the lower jaw almost to the lip. On each cheek also there is +a circular white spot below and behind the eye. A transverse white +line above and below each fetlock stands out conspicuously also. The +inner sides of the thighs are white, this colour extending for some +distance upwards and inwards. There is a white patch also in front +of each pastern joint. The tail is lengthy, and tufted at the end. +The ears are nearly of the same length as the horns. The limbs are +elegantly shaped, though rather heavy, and their proportions show a +tendency towards those of the Giraffe, which animal it also resembles +in the employment of its tongue for seizing food, and not its lips. + +The Nyl-Ghau is found only in continental India, where it abounds in +parts, not being a favourite with sportsmen, because its small horns +are so insignificant a trophy, but more so with the larger members of +the Cat tribe--the Tiger and the Leopard--as well as the wild Dog, with +whom it is a frequent meal. Its temper is uncertain, which fact, when +taken in connection with its powerful build, makes it a dangerous pet. +It lives well in confinement. When attacking, it drops on its knees, +and thus advances until it feels itself within a sufficient distance +of its foe to make a sudden leap upon it, which it can do with great +velocity and force. The leather manufactured from its skin is valuable, +but its flesh is never eaten by the Hindoos, on account of their belief +that it belongs to the Ox tribe, which it is not lawful to slay. With +a good Horse in open country, the Blue bull may be hunted successfully +with spears. It is very tenacious of life. The first specimens +introduced into England were brought from Bombay by Lord Clive in 1767. + +[Illustration: NYL-GHAU.] + + +THE MUSK OX[22] + +is an animal whose exact affinities it is not easy to determine. By +some naturalists it has been thought to be intermediate between the +Sheep and the Ox, whence its scientific generic name, _Ovibos_. It +is found only in Arctic America north of latitude 60°, and exhales a +strong musky odour at certain seasons of the year, an approach to which +is recognisable in several of the Bovidæ. It is a heavy-built, but not +large creature, with short legs, and a very lengthy brown hairy coat, +which almost reaches to the ground. Its horns are very similar in form +to those of the Cape Buffalo, and in the bulls they meet in the middle +line of the forehead. The tail is very short, being entirely hidden +by the fur of the haunches. The nose is not naked, as in the Oxen, +but is almost entirely covered with hair, as in the Elk and Reindeer, +both Arctic ruminants also. The spread of their feet is considerable, +and they can cover the ground at no little speed. Captain Franklin +describes their habits as follows:--“The Musk Oxen, like the Buffalo, +herd together in bands, and generally frequent barren grounds during +the summer months, keeping near the rivers, but retire to the woods in +winter. They seem to be less watchful than most other wild animals, and +when grazing are not difficult to approach, provided the hunters go +against the wind. When two or three men get so near a herd as to fire +at them from different points, these animals, instead of separating or +running away, huddle closer together, and several are generally killed; +but if the wound is not mortal they become enraged, and dart in the +most furious manner at the hunters, who must be very dexterous to evade +them. They can defend themselves with their powerful horns against +Wolves and Bears, which, as the Indians say, they not infrequently +kill. The Musk Oxen feed on the same substances as the Reindeer; and +the prints of the feet of these two animals are so much alike, that +it requires the eye of an experienced hunter to distinguish them. The +largest killed by us did not exceed in weight three hundred pounds.” + +[Illustration: MUSK OXEN.] + + +THE OX.[23] + +It being quite unnecessary to describe the general form and proportions +of this animal, as seen among us in a domesticated state--Shorthorns, +Alderney, Highland, &c.--we will at once proceed to notice the famous +cattle of Chillingham Park, in Northumberland, which are known to have +been in existence in the thirteenth century. The wild cattle there are +all cream white, with a brown muzzle, with the insides and tips of the +ears reddish-brown, at the same time that the horns are white tipped +with black, of which latter colour are the hoofs. Calves more or less +coloured are occasionally born, but these are promptly destroyed by +the keepers. Some of the bulls have a thin, short mane. Their habit, +on strangers approaching them, is to “set off in a full gallop, and +at a distance of about two hundred yards make a wheel round and come +boldly up again, tossing their heads in a menacing manner. On a sudden +they make a full stop at the distance of forty or fifty yards, looking +wildly at the object of their surprise; but upon the least motion being +made, they all again turn round and fly off with equal speed, but not +to the same distance, forming a shorter circle; and again returning +with a bolder and more threatening aspect than before, they approach +much nearer, probably within thirty yards, when they again make another +stand, and then fly off. This they do several times, shortening their +distance, and advancing nearer and nearer, till they come within such +a short distance that most people think it proper to leave them, not +choosing to provoke them further.” They differ from domestic cattle in +that they feed at night, and generally sleep during the day. They also +hide their calves. + +[Illustration: CHILLINGHAM CATTLE.] + +In all the so-called wild cattle of Great Britain the forehead is flat +or slightly concave, the head is small, the back is straight, and the +legs are short. + +It is now almost universally agreed that domestic cattle are descended +from two or three species of the genus Bos, which existed in late +geologic or prehistoric times, the remains being found in Switzerland, +Ireland, and other parts of Europe. The Zebu, Yak, Gayal, and Arni, to +be referred to immediately, have also been domesticated. + +Cattle have been so distributed and mixed in breeding that any precise +arrangement of the breeds according to their ancestral affinities +can scarcely be tabulated. Most important of the heavy breeds are +the well-known Shorthorns of the north of England, so carefully and +successfully developed by Charles and Robert Colling between 1780 +and 1818, at Ketton and Barmpton, close to Darlington, in Durham, by +a process of in-and-in breeding--“Hubback,” _the_ “Duchess,” “Lady +Maynard,” “Young Strawberry,” “Foljambe,” and “Comet,” the last bull of +which, at Charles Colling’s sale in 1810, fetched a thousand guineas. + +[Illustration: HUNGARIAN BULL.] + +Following close upon the Collings came the Booths--Richard, Thomas, and +J. Booth--between 1814 and 1864, at Studley, Killerby, and Warlaby, +where “Isabella,” the twin sisters “Necklace” and “Bracelet,” were +parents of goodly herds, “Commander-in-Chief” being one of the latest +gems. On one occasion, it is stated, Mr. Richard Booth, of Warlaby, +refused the unique offer of fifteen hundred guineas for a cow named +“Queen of the May.” + +In 1810 Thomas Bates, of Ridley Hall, and afterwards of Kirkleavington, +then a well-known breeder of cattle, purchased at Charles Colling’s +sale “Young Duchess,” daughter of “Comet,” a granddaughter of +“Duchess” by “Daisy” bull, and she became the founder of the famous +“Duchess” tribe. In 1831, with the accession of the bull “Belvidere,” +a descendant of Robert Colling’s “Princess” tribe, the “Duchess” breed +produced “Short Tail” and the renowned “Duke of Northumberland.” The +“Matchem” cow, purchased at the same date, did much to improve the +stock. Mr. Bates died in 1849. + +Several enterprising American breeders have, since 1817, introduced +Shorthorns into the United States and Canada, Colonel Lewis Sanders, +of Kentucky, being the first who did so on anything like thorough +principles. Others followed his example with success, especially about +the year 1852, when a fresh impulse was given to their production +because of the rise of price in meat, as well as the foreign demand for +it. The Booth and Bates bloods predominate in these animals, and form +the basis of much of the beef now re-shipped to England. + +The great advantage of the Shorthorn breed is that they, together +with a good temper, combine the advantages of great size and aptitude +to fatten, rapidly reaching maturity. For dairy purposes they are +excelled by the Suffolk Duns and Ayrshire cattle, the latter, with +their enormous udders, broad hips, and deep flanks, being the best +as milkers. Hereford, North Devon, and Scottish black Shorthorns +are inferior to those of the northern counties in their slowness of +growth and power of filling out. Those of North Devon are particularly +symmetrical in form. The mountain cattle of the western Highlands, +otherwise known as the Kyloe breed, are best known from the hardiness +of their constitutions, protected as they are by their thick hides +and shaggy coats. The Welsh and Shetland cattle resemble them in many +respects. + +In Hungary, Turkey, and Western Asia there is a breed of large cattle +with peculiarly long and slender outward-spreading horns, black-tipped, +and greyish throughout the rest of their length. + +In India, the Sacred Cattle, or ZEBUS, with convex forehead, short +horns, large drooping ears, and a short head, possess a high hump upon +the withers, as well as an ample dewlap falling in undulating folds +along the whole length of the neck. Their disposition is mild, as is +indicated by their expression, and the liberty they are allowed in +India is wonderful. They vary greatly in size, some being not bigger +than an average month-old calf. The breed has extended in times gone by +through Persia into Eastern Africa, where it is found with a narrower +and flatter face, at the same time that the hump is smaller. + +The introduction of steam, as well as the extension in the employment +of the Horse, has almost entirely superseded the use of cattle as +beasts of burden or draught in highly civilised nations. + +The GOUR, the GAYAL, and the BANTING are three species of wild cattle +found in the Oriental world from India to Java, peculiar in possessing +a ridge running along the middle of the back, and horns which, after +running outwards from the head, are directed upwards and not backwards. +Of these the Gour of Central India is the largest, measuring six feet +at the withers, having also a convex profile, very high withers, and +an arched back, which makes the line from the nose to the root of the +tail, along the spine, a fairly continuous curve. Its colour is a deep +brown glossy black, excepting a ring of white encircling the base of +each hoof, and a white tuft on the forehead. There is not any trace of +a dewlap in either sex. The horns are not more than two feet in length, +strong, and curved boldly upwards at their tips. The Gour is found +abundantly in herds of twenty or so around the tablelands, especially +of South Bahar, feeding on the young leaves of the trees and shrubs. It +appears to have resisted all attempts at domestication. The Gayal is +found in the hill-region east of the Brahmaputra. It is much the size +of English cattle. The bull is bold, and the cow easily domesticated. +Its home is the deep jungle, where it can obtain the young leaves and +shoots of the brushwood. According to Mr. Macrae the following is the +method employed by the Kookies of the Chittagong hill-region to catch +the animal:--“On discovering a herd of wild Gayals in the jungle, they +prepare a number of balls, of the size of a man’s head, composed of +a particular kind of earth, salt, and cotton. They then drive their +tame Gayals towards the wild ones, when the two herds soon meet and +assimilate into one; the males of the one attaching themselves to the +females of the other, and _vice versâ_. The Kookies now scatter their +balls over such parts of the jungle as they think the herd most likely +to pass, and watch its motions. The Gayals, on meeting these balls +as they pass along, are attracted by their appearance and smell, and +begin to lick them with their tongues; and relishing the taste of the +salt, and the particular earth composing them, they never quit the +place until all the balls are consumed. The Kookies, having observed +the Gayals to have once tasted their balls, prepare a sufficient supply +of them to answer the intended purpose, and as the Gayals lick them +up they throw down more; and it is to prevent their being so readily +destroyed that the cotton is mixed with the earth and the salt. This +process generally goes on for three changes of the moon, or for a month +and a half, during which time the tame and the wild Gayals are always +together, licking the decoy balls, and the Kookie, after the first +day or two of their being so, makes his appearance at such a distance +as not to alarm the wild ones. By degrees he approaches nearer and +nearer, until at length the sight of him has become so familiar that +he can advance to stroke his tame Gayals on the back and neck without +frightening the wild ones. He next extends his hand to them, and +caresses them also, at the same time giving them plenty of his decoy +balls to lick. Thus, in the short space of time mentioned, he is able +to drive them, along with the tame ones, to his parrah, or village, +without the least exertion of force; and so attached do the Gayals +become to the parrah, that when the Kookies migrate from one place to +another, they always find it necessary to set fire to the huts they are +about to abandon, lest the Gayals should return to them from the new +grounds.” + +The Gayal carries its nose forwards, as a rule, like a Buffalo. Its +ears are longer than those of the Ox. It possesses a dewlap smaller +than in the Zebu. The tail is short, not descending below the hock. +Its general colour is a varying and generally dark brown, the abdomen +and the legs being white in parts. Its cry is a shrill, insignificant +lowing. Its horns are conical, turned directly outwards, and a little +upwards at their tips, not exceeding one foot and a half in length. + +The Banting extends from Cochin China, through the Indo-Malay +archipelago, to the islands of Bali and Lombok. Its colour and +proportions are almost exactly those of the Gour. + + +THE BISONS.[24] + +Closely related to the Oxen are the Bisons of Europe and of North +America, together with the Tibetan Yak. The two species of Bison agree +closely with one another in general appearance, the American form +being shorter and weaker in the hind-quarters, and a little smaller +altogether. + +The hair of the head and neck is very abundant and long, forming a +mane of very dark colour, at the same time that it nearly conceals the +eyes and ears as well as the base of the short conical horns, which +are directed outwards and upwards. Under the chin there is a lengthy +beard. A line of lengthy hair also extends along the back nearly to the +tail, which is itself only covered with short soft hair, except at the +end where there is a lengthy tuft. There is a hump developed on the +shoulders, at which spot the adult male is nearly six feet in height, +the female being smaller. + +The European Bison, or Aurochs, is on the verge of extinction, +surviving only in the forests of Lithuania, Moldavia, Wallachia, and +the Caucasus, on account of the severe laws against its destruction. +The horns are longer and more curved than in the American species. The +females are less hairy and smaller than their mates. Its strength is +very great, and an old bull is said to be a match for at least four +Wolves. Its speed is considerable, and it raises its hoofs above the +level of its lowered head whilst galloping. + +In his description of the Black Forest (_Sylva Hercynia_) Cæsar +describes the species (the Urus) thus:--“They are but little less than +Elephants in size, and are of the appearance, colour, and form of a +Bull. Their strength as well as their speed is very great. They spare +neither man nor beast that they see. They cannot be brought to endure +the sight of men, nor can they be tamed, even when taken young. The +people, who take them in pitfalls, assiduously destroy them; and young +men harden themselves in this labour, and exercise themselves in this +kind of chase; and those who have killed a great number, the horns +being publicly exhibited in evidence of the fact, obtain great honour. +The horns, in magnitude, shape, and quality, differ much from the horns +of our Oxen. They are much sought for, and after having been edged +with silver at their open ends, are used for drinking vessels at great +feasts.” + +According to some authorities, however, it is a mistake to identify the +European Bison with the Aurochs. + +To all intents and purposes the American Bison is an extinct animal, +killed off by the rifle and the rail and the encroachment of man upon +its haunts. A few specimens are preserved with what may be described as +laudably jealous care in the Yellowstone Park, and small herds may be +found in Montana, Texas, and Canada. + +[Illustration: EUROPEAN BISON.] + +Huge herds, numbering millions of individuals, “so numerous as to +blacken the plains as far as they can reach,” were once a common sight +on the prairies, and repeatedly stopped the Kansas Pacific Railway +when first formed. Hunters spread false notions as to the organisation +of these herds, which was of a most simple character, excellently +explained by Mr. Allen, who says that the timidity and watchfulness of +the cows, accustomed as they were to the care of their offspring, led +them to take the initiative in the movements of the herd, and this kept +them near the front, especially when the herd was moving. The popular +belief that the bulls kept the cows and the young in the middle of the +herd, and formed themselves, as it were, into a protecting phalanx, +had some apparent basis; but the theory that the old bulls, the least +watchful of all the members of the herd, were sentinels posted on the +outskirts to give notice of an approaching enemy, was wholly a myth, as +was also the supposition that the herd consisted of small harems. + +[Illustration: AMERICAN BISON.] + +These “Buffaloes,” as they were generally called, were much like +domestic cattle in their habits. They were, however, fond of wallowing +in the mud, and so coating themselves with a protection from their +insect pests. Their ferocity of appearance was not evident in their +true natures, for their disposition was sluggish and fearful. Colonel +Dodge remarked of them that, “endowed with the smallest possible +amount of instinct, the little he has seems adapted rather for getting +him into difficulties than out of them. If not alarmed at sight or +smell of a foe, he will stand stupidly gazing at his companions +in their death-throes, until the whole herd is shot down. He will +walk unconsciously into a quicksand or quagmire already choked with +struggling dying victims. Having made up his mind to go a certain way +it is almost impossible to swerve him from his purpose.” + +The flesh of the “Buffalo” was thought equal to the best beef if from +the young animal, but dry and insipid when from the adult. The tongue +and hump were esteemed great delicacies. Pemmican was made mostly from +the dried flesh, pounded fine and mixed with an equal weight of tallow. + +The YAK differs from the Bisons mostly in the distribution of +its long hair, which, instead of being situated on its hump and neck, +forms a lengthy fringe along the shoulders, flanks, and thighs, and +completely invests the tail, which latter is much prized in India, +where it is known as “Chowry,” and is employed as a fly-switch in great +ceremonials. + +The Yak is a native of the high ground of Tibet, where it is rigorously +protected by the native government against the foreign sportsman. Its +colour is black, except some spots upon the face, which are white or +grey. Its tail is often white, as is frequently the long hair tuft on +the top of the withers. Its horns reach nearly a yard in length, and +are directed outwards, forwards, and then upwards. Its voice is much +like that of a Pig, whence the name Grunting Ox, by which it sometimes +goes. + +As to the habits of the creature, Captain Kinloch tells us that “the +Yak inhabits the wildest and most desolate mountains; it delights in +extreme cold; and is found, as a rule, at a greater elevation than any +other animal. Although so large a beast, it thrives upon the coarsest +pasturage, and its usual food consists of a rough, wiry grass, which +grows in all the higher valleys of Tibet, up to an elevation of nearly +20,000 feet.... Yak seem to wander about a good deal. In summer, the +cows are generally to be found in herds varying in number from ten +to one hundred, while the old bulls are for the most part solitary +or in small parties of three or four. They feed at night or early in +the morning, and usually betake themselves to some steep and barren +hillside during the day, lying sometimes for hours in the same spot.” + +[Illustration: YAK.] + + +THE BUFFALOES.[25] + +The BUFFALOES have the horns flattened and triangular in section, +inclined outwards and backwards, turning up at the tips. The Common +Buffalo is found in Southern Europe, North Africa, and the Indian +region. The huge Indian variety, with most lengthy horns, is also known +as the Arni. Its horns are elongated and narrow, sometimes reaching +six feet and a half in length. It stands nearly or quite six feet +at the shoulder, its proportions are bulky, and its general colour +dusky-black. It lives in small herds numbering not more than twenty, +and solitary bulls are often met with which attack sportsmen in a +most vicious manner without provocation. The Cape Buffalo has shorter +horns, expanded at their bases, so that they almost meet in the middle +line of the forehead. It is found all over Central and South Africa, +and is a formidable animal when wounded, as, quite regardless of the +cloud of smoke which follows the shot aimed at it, it charges right +through it, and so does frequent injury to the experienced hunter. +Its general colour is blue-black, but in some cases it has a reddish +tinge. The Hon. W. H. Drummond gives the following account of a fight +between two bulls of which he was an eye-witness. After having had +his attention attracted by a loud clattering noise, he remarks that, +“on looking through the edge of the last thicket which had concealed +them, I saw two Buffalo bulls standing facing each other with lowered +heads, and, as I sat down to watch, they rushed together with all their +force, producing the loud crash I had before heard. Once the horns were +interlocked they kept them so, their straining quarters telling that +each was doing his best to force the other backwards. Several long +white marks on their necks showed where they had received scratches, +and blood dripping over the withers of the one next me proved that he +had received a more severe wound. It was a magnificent sight to see +the enormous animals, every muscle at its fullest tension, striving +for the mastery. Soon one, a very large and old bull, began to yield +a little, going backwards step by step; but at last, as if determined +to conquer or die, it dropped on to its knees. The other, disengaging +its horns for a second, so as to give an impetus, again rushed at him, +but, whether purposely or not I could not tell, it did not strike him +on the forehead, but on the neck, under the hump, and I could see that +with a twist of his horns he inflicted a severe wound. However, instead +of following up his seeming advantage, he at once recoiled, and stood +half facing his antagonist, who, getting on his legs again, remained +in the same position for several minutes, and then with a low grunt of +rage, rushed at him. This time he was not met, and his broad forehead +struck full on his rival’s shoulder, almost knocking it over. The +old bull then went a few yards off and stood watching the other for +fully a quarter of an hour, when he walked slowly away in the opposite +direction.” + +The Cape Buffalo, which is found all over Africa south of the equator, +is replaced in the north-eastern portion of the continent by a smaller +variety, of a browner colour, and with much shorter horns, which +are not closely approximated at their bases, at the same time that +they spread out almost horizontally instead of curving downwards and +backwards. + +[Illustration: ANOA.] + +In western and the western-equatorial parts of Africa there is again +another still smaller variety in which the hair is yellowish-red +instead of nearly black or brown, the short horns being, as well, +directed considerably upwards instead of directly outwards. + +In the Island of Celebes the smallest species of Buffalo is found, +which differs but little in appearance from the young of the Cape +species. It is known as the ANOA; is black, with short, wavy +hair, and has short, parallel prismatic horns directed upwards from the +forehead. + + +THE PRONGHORN ANTELOPE.[26] + +This Antelope of North America, one of the few forms of the +Hollow-horned Ruminants which inhabit the New World, is different from +all the other members of the group in two respects at least, namely, +that its horns are branched, as implied in the name, and that they are +annually shed. + +The accompanying figure is a side view of the skull of the animal, +whose size is nearly that of a Fallow Deer, although its build is not +so heavy. It is there seen that each horn-core forms a blade-shaped +projection six inches long, with the pointed end behind, situated above +the eyes perpendicular to the line of the face, rounded posteriorly and +sharpened in front. Each horn itself is a foot or so in its greatest +length, is pointed and gently curved backwards, at the same time that +from the front of it, very slightly above the middle of its height, +a short branch arises which is directed forwards, the whole there +dividing into two. Each horn is flattened from side to side, is not +annulated, and in its structure scarcely differs from that of a Sheep +or Goat. + +For some years before it was certainly known to be the case, it had +been rumoured by the hunters of Fort Union that the Pronghorn Antelope +shed its horns each year; and in the year 1858 Dr. C. A. Canfield, +of Monterey, California, in writing to Professor Baird, of the +Smithsonian Institution, Washington, informed him that in specimens in +his possession “their horns drop off annually.” This letter remained +unprinted until in England Mr. A. D. Bartlett, Superintendent of the +Zoological Gardens in Regent’s Park, London, in 1865 drew attention to +the same fact, which was observed by him in a male animal living in the +Gardens at the time. + +[Illustration: SKULL OF THE PRONGHORN ANTELOPE.] + +The horns--not antlers, be it noticed--are, it is now certain, detached +each year from their supporting cores, and subsequently dropped, to be +replaced by others which at the time of shedding have already advanced +some way in growth, although at first they are very pale and soft. In +this respect the Pronghorn is not resembled by any other Antelope, and +differs entirely from the Deer. + +Of the species Dr. Canfield, in the letter above referred to, gives +several interesting details as to its habits, from which we may infer +that they are not so cunning or so fleet as their allies in Africa and +India:--“From the 1st of September to the 1st of March they run in +bands, the bucks, does, and kids all together,” shortly after which +time the young are born, upon which the bucks separate and wander about +alone until the following season. “A band of Pronghorn Antelopes, when +frightened, never run directly away from you, but cross over in front +of you, running across your path from one side to the other repeatedly, +and keeping about a hundred yards ahead. On this account it is +sometimes easy, on a smart Horse, to run into a drove of them and catch +one of them with a noose. When one is alone, and is watched by a person +or animal and becomes frightened, it makes a sort of shrill blowing +noise like a whistle, and then commences bounding off. On the neck it +has a heavy, thick, chestnut-coloured mane, five or six inches long, +and on the rump a white patch of coarse hair; and when the animal is +frightened it always erects the mane and the hair and this white spot, +thus giving it a very singular and characteristic appearance as it runs +bounding away from you. The Antelope has a very peculiar odour, strong +and, to some people, offensive.... On the whole, I consider the meat of +the Pronghorn to be very excellent.” + +[Illustration: PRONGHORN ANTELOPE.] + +There is a peculiarity in the feet of the Pronghorn in which it +resembles the Giraffe, a few Antelopes, and the different members +of the Camel tribe, namely, that the false hoofs, as well as their +supporting bones, are entirely absent, from which it may be inferred, +as is the case, that the number of digits in each foot is only two. + +In the females of the species the horns are present, but they are much +reduced in size, and almost hidden in the hairy covering of the head. +The end of the nose--in other words, the muffle--is hairy, and not, +therefore, damp at all times in any part, as is that of the Ox and most +ruminants. The tail is very short; the fur is very short and close set, +being stiff and wavy. Its colour is a pale fawn above and on the limbs, +whilst the breast as well as the abdomen are a yellowish-white, at the +same time that the tail and round about it are pure white, as is the +inside of the ear. + +Although the Pronghorn is here described after all the more ordinary +hollow-horned Ruminantia, it is far from impossible that it is much +more intimately related to some one of the above-mentioned families +than to the others. It must either have originated direct from the +earliest type of Bovine Ruminant, and from that time continued +isolated until the present day, or it may have been a straggler from +some already differentiated group, like the Gazelles, for instance, +that, arriving in a land so unlike the haunts of its progenitors, +took on itself from altered circumstances peculiar modifications in +its horn-growth and foot-form which have resulted in its present +characteristics. + + +THE MUSK [DEER].[27] + +This interesting animal, from the male of which is obtained a powder +contained in a pouch about the size of an orange, on the surface of +the abdomen, and which is one of the most fragrant of perfumes, is +generally included among the Cervidæ. Nevertheless, there are many +reasons in favour of its being considered an Antelopine animal. Apart +from the fact that it has a gall-bladder, which is not found in any +Deer, but in almost all Antelopes, its pale grey hair is peculiarly +coarse and Goat-like, and the absence of antlers or horns in both sexes +tells in neither direction, for, as in the Brockets of South America +and the Chinese Muntjac, the antlers are rudimentary, so are the horns +in the Bush-bucks of Africa, and in some domestic Sheep as well as Oxen. + +The presence of enormous canine tusks, three inches long, would at +first sight seem to be in favour of its relations with the Deer, +because in the Muntjacs they are also found. Nevertheless there is no +_à priori_ reason why these formidable weapons should not be developed +in a hollow-horned ruminant; for, cropping up independently in genera +so distant as the Deerlets, the Muntjacs, and the Water Deer, why +should they not do so in the Antelopes as well? + +[Illustration: SKULL OF THE MUSK [DEER].] + +The Musk is twenty inches in height, its ears large, and its tail +rudimentary. Its hoofs are small, but their spread is large, because +of the yielding attachment of the false hoofs, as in the Reindeer. The +coarse and brittle hair is grey and slightly brindled. Its habitat is +Central Asia, from the Himalaya Mountains to Pekin, at elevations above +8,000 feet. + +“The Musk Deer,” according to Captain Kinloch, “is a solitary and +retiring animal; it is nearly nocturnal in its habits, remaining +concealed in some thick bush during the daytime, and only coming out +to feed in the mornings and evenings. It frequents the highest parts +of the forest, preferring the birch, rhododendron, and juniper, and is +almost always found alone, rarely in pairs, and never in flocks. No +animal seems more indifferent to cold, from which it is well protected +by its thick coat of hollow hair, which forms as it were a sort of +cushion, which acts as an insulator, and enables the Deer to lie even +on snow without much loss of animal heat. It is amazingly active and +sure-footed, bounding along without hesitation over the steepest and +most dangerous ground. Its usual food seems to be leaves and flowers, +but the natives say that it will kill and eat Snakes.” + +The value of the Musk perfume causes the animal to be persecuted beyond +measure. From Chardin we learn that the hunters are obliged to cover +the nose and mouth with linen when removing the scent-sac, to prevent +pulmonary hæmorrhage. “I have,” says he, “gained accurate information +respecting this circumstance, and as I have heard the same thing talked +of by some Armenians who had been to Boutan, I think that it is true. +The odour is so powerful in the East Indies that I could never support +it, and when I trafficked for musk I always kept in the open air, with +a handkerchief over my face, and at a distance from those who handled +the sacs; and hence I know by experience that this musk is very apt to +give headaches, and is altogether insupportable when quite recent. I +add that no drug is so easily adulterated, or more apt to be so.” + +[Illustration: MUSK [DEER].] + + +THE GIRAFFE.[28] + +Apart from its unique proportions and its size, the Giraffe presents +peculiarities in its organisation which compel us to separate it from +the Deer on the one hand, and the hollow-horned ruminants on the other. +In both these groups the appendages on the head, whether developed +as antlers or as horns, are distinct prolongations from the forehead +bones themselves. In the Giraffe, however, the three bony appendages, +one median and two lateral, all covered with skin, instead of being +produced as outgrowths from any portion of the skull, are separate +and independent conical bony “processes” which stand upon the skull, +capping roughened conical prominences destined to support them. Neither +are horns, like those of Sheep or Oxen, nor antlers like those of the +Deer, ever found upon these processes, a tuft of hair alone surmounting +the lateral pair. + +The neck of the Giraffe is longer than that of any other living animal, +notwithstanding which it conforms to what, on account of its almost +constant applicability, may be termed a law, namely, that there are but +seven vertebræ which go to form the neck of a mammalian animal. In this +animal, such being the case, each vertebra is very long, which makes +the neck correspondingly awkward and inflexible; so that when the head +is much carried to the side, the conformation and enumeration of the +bones in the cervical region is not a matter of any difficulty. + +The Giraffe is a native of Africa south of the Sahara. Most of the +specimens which reach Europe in a living state are brought from Nubia +and the north-east of the continent generally. The adult male attains +a height of sixteen feet, the female rarely exceeding fourteen feet. +They live and have bred well in captivity, although, as may be readily +imagined, they are most delicate, and require much special care, +particularly to prevent the joints of their lengthy limbs from being +injured. + +M. Thibaut, who, in 1836, obtained the first specimen of the Giraffe +alive for the Zoological Gardens in Regent’s Park, tells us that “the +first run of the Giraffe is exceedingly rapid. The swiftest Horse, +if unaccustomed to the desert, could not come up with it unless with +extreme difficulty. The Arabs accustom their coursers to hunger and to +fatigue; milk generally serves them for food, and gives them power to +continue their exertions during a very long run. If a Giraffe reaches +a mountain, it passes the height with rapidity; its feet, which are +like [not exactly in structure] those of the Goat, endow it with the +dexterity of that animal; it bounds over ravines with incredible power; +Horses cannot, in such situations, compete with it.” + +“The Giraffe eats with great delicacy, and takes its food leaf by +leaf, collecting them from the trees by means of its long tongue. It +rejects the thorns, and in this respect differs from the Camel.... It +is extremely fond of society, and is very sensible. I have observed one +of them shed tears when it no longer saw its companions or the persons +who were in the habit of attending it.” + +By Le Valliant and other sportsmen most graphic accounts have been +given of the hunting of the Giraffe. Quoting from Captain Harris, we +learn that “the rapidity with which the awkwardly-formed animals can +move is beyond all things surprising, our best Horses being unable +to close with them under two miles. Their gallop is a succession of +jumping strides, the fore and hind leg on the same side moving together +instead of diagonally, as in most other quadrupeds; the former being +kept close together, and the latter so wide apart, that in riding by +the animal’s side the hoof may be seen striking on the outside of +the Horse, threatening momentarily to overthrow him. Their motion, +altogether, reminded me rather of the pitching of a ship or rolling +of a rocking-horse, than of anything living; and the remarkable gait +is rendered still more automaton-like by the switching, at regular +intervals, of the long black tail, which is invariably curled above the +back, and by the corresponding action of the neck, swinging as it does +like a pendulum, and literally imparting to the animal the appearance +of a piece of machinery in motion. Naturally gentle, timid, and +peaceable, the unfortunate Giraffe has no means of protecting itself +but with its heels; but even when hemmed into a corner, it seldom +resorts to this mode of defence.” + +[Illustration: SKELETON OF THE GIRAFFE.] + +[Illustration: GIRAFFES.] + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE CERVIDÆ, OR ANTLERED RUMINANTS: THE ELK, ELAPHINE, +SUB-ELAPHINE, AND RUSINE DEER. + + The Deer Tribe--Distinguishing Characters--Exceptions to + the rule--The Musk (Deer) and Chinese Water Deer--Other + Characters of the Cervidæ--Antlers, their Nature, + Growth, and Shedding--The Knob--“Velvet”--Getting rid + of the “Velvet”--Full equipment--Contests--Interlocking + Antlers--Distribution--Classification--Development of Antlers in + the Common RED DEER--Explanation of the various stages--Splendid + “Heads”--Simple and Complex Antlers--Types of Antlers--THE ELK, + OR MOOSE DEER--Appearance--Antlers--Habits--Hunting--THE ELAPHINE + DEER--THE RED DEER--Distribution--Appearance--Hunting--THE + WAPITI--Acting of the Fawns--THE PERSIAN DEER, OR MARAL--THE + CASHMERIAN DEER, OR BARASINGHA--Habits and General + Appearance--BARBARY DEER--SUB-ELAPHINE DEER--THE JAPANESE, + FORMOSAN, AND MANTCHURIAN DEER--THE FALLOW DEER--Peculiarity of its + Antlers--THE PERSIAN FALLOW DEER--THE RUSINE DEER--THE SAMBUR, OR + GEROW--Habits--Species of Java, Formosa, Sumatra, Borneo, Timor, + Ternate, and the Philippines--THE HOG DEER--THE AXIS DEER--PRINCE + ALFRED’S DEER--THE SWAMP DEER--SCHOMBURGK’S DEER--ELD’S DEER, OR THE + THAMYN--Description--Habits--Hunting--Shameful havoc. + + +The Deer tribe, known scientifically as that of the CERVIDÆ, is more +circumscribed, and therefore better defined, than are the BOVIDÆ, or +hollow-horned ruminants. Their best distinguishing character is that +in the males there is each year developed a pair of antlers which is +shed at the end of the season to be reproduced in the following spring. +The females do not carry antlers, except in the case of the Reindeer, +in which, although these elegant appendages are of the same form as in +their mates, they are constructed upon a much smaller scale. There are, +however, one or two Deer in which not even the males carry antlers, and +these are the only members of the family with reference to which there +is any serious doubt on the subject of affinity. The Musk (_Moschus +moschiferus_) may be taken as an example. In this pretty creature, +which is more fully described on pages 42-3, there are no antlers and +no horns. Nevertheless, other peculiarities in its organisation have +led most naturalists to include it among the Cervidæ, a position which +is, however, so doubtful that it is quite possible that it may be an +aberrant member of the bovine section, as we have for several reasons +thought best to consider it. + +A more certain Deer without antlers is the Water Deer of China, the +flesh of which has formed an article of food among the natives of +Shanghai for years. This small Deer has lengthy tusks, as has the Musk +Deer, and nearly every member of the family in which the antlers are +diminutive. Its very existence was not known in Great Britain until the +year 1862, when Mr. Swinhoe, then our consul at Shanghai, described it, +which shows how ignorant we still may be of the creatures which inhabit +the mighty Celestial Empire. + +In most other respects the Deer closely resemble the hollow-horned +ruminants. Their complicated stomach does not differ from that of the +Ox, and their other organs are constructed upon the same plan, except +the liver, which, like that of the Giraffe, lacks a gall-bladder, +this reservoir being present in nearly all the Bovidæ. Their general +proportions are also much the same. The Red Deer and the Fallow Deer +are those best known to most of us, as both are to be found living in +Great Britain, as is the Roebuck in the north of Scotland. + +[Illustration: HEAD OF RED DEER, IN WHICH THE GROWING ANTLERS ARE SEEN +COVERED WITH “VELVET.”] + +The nature, growth, and shedding of the antlers deserve special +consideration. In the commencement of the spring a pair of knobs is to +be seen upon the forehead of the adult male animal. This is covered +with a nearly smooth dark skin; and a scar can be detected in the +middle of each, which is that left by the antler of the year before, +where it fell off. + +As the weather becomes more propitious these knobs commence to +grow, feel warm to the touch, and are evidently filled with +actively-circulating blood, supplied by special vessels which +are developed at the time. They do not increase regularly in all +directions, for if they did the antler would be a sphere, but they +sprout out, as it may be termed, around the above-mentioned scar; in +most cases there being one branch which takes a direction forward, +whilst a second larger one makes its way backward. These become, in +the fully-formed antler, the brow antler and the main beam; and it is +by other branches growing upon the beam, according to definite laws, +different in different species, that the elaborate complications of the +fully-developed structure are produced. + +As long as the antler, which is composed of genuine bone of very dense +texture, is increasing in size, it will be found to be covered with +the same warm black skin as is the knob from which it sprang; and as +this skin is covered with short, fine, close-set hair, it has received +the name of the “velvet.” It is this “velvet” which secretes the bony +texture of the antler from its inner surface, just in the same way +that the outer covering (the periosteum) of any long bone of the body +is mainly concerned in the formation of the bone itself. As, also, in +the same way, if we seriously graze our shins, and scrape off this +covering, the bone exposed is very apt to die, so in the Deer any +mishap to the “velvet” injures the growth of the antler in the part +affected. The animals, therefore, during the time they are “in velvet” +are more than usually careful to protect their cranial appendages, and +are inoffensive even to strangers. + +[Illustration: HEAD OF RED DEER, IN WHICH THE ANTLER IS FULLY DEVELOPED +AND THE “VELVET” HAS DISAPPEARED.] + +When their antler-growth has ceased their natures change. The “velvet” +has performed its function and dries into a parchment-looking membrane, +to get rid of which the Deer adopt a very simple method. They rub their +antlers against any neighbouring trees, and force them into the soft +earth until there is none left, and the bare bone, with scarcely any +trace of hollow in the middle of it, is completely exposed. Now, in the +glory of their full equipment, they go in search of others of their +kind, having previously maintained a comparative solitude. They try +their strength by butting at imaginary enemies, and choose their wives, +unless prevented by others of their species mightier than themselves, +with whom, if fairly matched, they enter into the most formidable +contests, to win or to be driven from the herd with ignominy. During +these contests the sound of their battering antlers may be heard +for considerable distances, whilst now and then, by accident, they +interlock themselves inextricably, and perish both, as is attested by +skulls so found, and to be seen in more than one museum. + +Looking upon the Deer generally, we find them inhabiting many parts of +the world--Europe, Asia, and America. In Africa none occur south of +the Sahara, they being there replaced by members of the Bovine section +of the order. None are found in Australia, and in America they are far +less common than in Great Britain. To understand the peculiar features +and the distribution of the various species, it is necessary to +classify them in groups of kindred genera, most falling into sections +which are distinguishable without difficulty. + +In arranging the different members of the Deer-tribe for description, +there are peculiarities in their outward conformation which agree +with those internal differences upon which all correct notions of +relationship alone can be established. In classifying animals, +naturalists must always be guided by the totality of the structure of +each member of each group; but, as in describing them to those who +have not made the minute details of their organisation their special +study it is impossible to lay stress on all the various parts which +have to be included by the student in arriving at the desired result, +those outward features only can be mentioned which are found to tally +with their total structure, namely, their osteology, their visceral +anatomy, and their muscular arrangement. As an example of the relative +importance of different external structures, we may mention that the +late Dr. J. E. Gray, in his Catalogue of the Ruminant Mammalia in the +British Museum, gives the following arrangement of the genera, in which +the length of the tail suggests one distribution of them, whilst the +shape of the antlers is in favour of another, which is very different:-- + + + 1.--_Tail very short 2.--_Tail elongate, with + or clubbed._ longer hair at + the end._ + + Antlers { Mantchurian Deer. + Red Deer and its near allies. elaphine { Japanese Deer. + { Fallow Deer. + Eld’s Deer. } + Barasingha Deer. } Antlers { Hog Deer. + Schomburgk’s Deer. } rusine { Spotted Axis. + Sambur and its near allies. } + + Roebuck. } Antlers + Chinese Elaphure. } capreoline. + +This table is useful as a means of comparing the tails of the different +genera; but other points of structure do not in the least support the +classification suggested by that appendage, as a result of which it has +to be ignored in the consideration of distant affinities, although, +where questions of specific proximity are concerned, it is found to be +of considerable value. + +The antlers render much more trustworthy information in the +determination and expression of relationships; and their characterising +features can be most readily grasped by having an ideal type in the +mind wherewith to compare all aberrant and complicated specimens. This +ideal type may be derived in one or other of two ways. The first of +these is from the study of the antlers as they are each year developed +in any given kind of Deer, commencing with its earliest age. For +example, in the Common Red Deer: in the spring of the year following +its birth the antlers are nothing more than straight, conical, and +unbranched “beams,” the animal being then known as a “Brocket.” In +the following spring the antler has, besides the “beam,” a small +branch from its base, directed forwards, known as the “brow antler;” +it is then termed “Spayad.” In the third year an extra front branch +is formed, known as the “tres,” and the whole antler is larger. This +“tres” is sometimes seen in the smaller antler of the Spayad. In +the fourth year the brow-antler is doubled, to form the “brow” and +“bez-tyne,” at the same time that the top of the main beam divides +into the “sur-royals” of the “Staggard,” or four-year male. In the +fifth year the sur-royals become more numerous, the whole antler of the +“Stag” being heavier than previously, only to be exceeded in weight +by those of the fully adult “Great Hart,” with ten or more “points,” +each being larger and longer than the year before. In Great Britain +the conditions of life and the food are not of the quality which +develops first-rate antlers, at the same time that it is--in Scotland, +at least--the habit to shoot those with the finest heads, and so leave +the indifferent specimens to perpetuate their species. In some of the +ancient forests of Germany superb heads of the Red Deer are to be +obtained, whilst in several of the old castles of that country antler +trophies are preserved as memorials of sport in times gone by, with as +many as six-and-sixty points. Lord Powerscourt has in his possession a +pair with five-and-forty tynes. + +The second way is from the study of the antlers of the species in +which they are simple, in comparison with those in which they are +particularly complex, both methods as they ought to do, leading to the +same result. There are Deer--as, for example, the American Brockets, +David’s Deer, and Reeves’ Muntjac--in which the antler is never more +than a simple dag, like that of the “Brocket” stage in the Red Deer. +There are others with never more than a single tyne besides the beam, +as instances of which may be mentioned the Indian Muntjac and the +Huamel. Others, again--and these form an important section of the +family--are triply branched, as in the Spayad, the beam bifurcating +some distance above the brow-antler. As instances of these we find +the Sambur Deer of India, with its large and thus simple antlers; the +closely-allied Javan and Swinhoe’s Deer; the Spotted Axis; the Hog +Deer, and the Roebuck. + +We have now arrived at the stage in which the beam has bifurcated, +and almost all the more elaborate forms result from an excess in the +development of both, or one or other, of the limbs of this bifurcation. +In the Deer known as Elaphine--because they more or less resemble the +Red Deer (_Cervus elaphus_)--the front of these two branches (the +“tres”) does not increase or become complicated, whilst from the +much-enlarged hind one the numerous sur-royals spring in the biggest +species, such as the Wapiti, Cashmere, Red, and Barbary Deer, as well +as the Maral, of Persia. In the smaller species which follow this type +of structure the sur-royals are less developed, at the same time that +the brow-antler does not split in two to form a “bez” as well, examples +of which are to be seen in the Mantchurian, Formosan, and Japanese +Deer, as well as in the Fallow Deer and its newly-discovered ally +from Mesopotamia. These two last-named differ also in the “palmation” +of their antlers--a peculiarity referred to further in the special +description of the species. + +[Illustration: VARIOUS TYPES OF ANTLERS. + +(From the _Proceedings of the Zoological Society_.)] + +The accompanying outline diagram represents the most important types +of antlers, to one or other of which those of almost every known Deer +can be referred. To facilitate future description, they may be named as +follows:-- + + Fig. 1.--Rusine type. + 2.--Normal Rucervine type. + 3.--Intermediate Rucervine type. + 4.--Extreme Rucervine type. + 5.--Sub-elaphine type. + 6.--Elaphine type. + + (A) Brow-tyne. + (B) Tres-tyne. + (C) Royal-tyne. + +The Rusine type (1), in which the brow-tyne (A) is simple, at the +same time that the beam ends in a simple bifurcation, is found in the +Sambur Deer (_Rusa Aristotelis_) of India. The Rucervine type, in +which the bifurcate beam is further subdivided, tends to be prolonged +in the direction of the tres-tyne (B), at the same time that there +is a corresponding reduction of the royal (C). In Schomburgk’s Deer +(_Rucervus Schomburgki_) of Siam, both branches of the beam are equally +developed (2); in the Swamp Deer (_Rucervus Duvaucelli_) of India +(3), the tres (B) is larger than the royal (C); whilst in Eld’s Deer +(_Rucervus Eldi_) (4), of Burmah, there is but a small snag (C) at the +back of the enormous tres-tyne (B) to represent the royal. The Red Deer +(_Cervus elaphus_) (6), besides having the brow-tyne (A) re-duplicated, +has the royal (C) developed at the expense of the tres (B), and much +divided up in well-grown animals. In the Japanese Deer (_Cervus sika_) +(5) and its allies the relative proportions of the tynes are much the +same, although the brow-tyne (A) is simple. + + +THE ELK, OR MOOSE DEER.[29] + +The Elk, the largest of the family of the _Cervidæ_, is found in +North America, Northern Europe, and the coldest parts of Asia, thinly +scattered in all but the first-named locality. At the shoulder it +may attain so great a height as eight feet when adult. The female is +antler-less. In the male these appendages possess quite a peculiar +shape, the two together forming a kind of basin, on account of their +being developed into huge palmated concave sheets of bony tissue, which +diverge laterally from the skull. + +[Illustration: ELK HUNT.] + +[Illustration: YOUNG ELK.] + +At nine months old the antlers first appear, not being more than +straight and rounded dags in the first year. They reach their full +length in the fifth year, from which period for many more years they +increase in breadth and weight, and add, it is said, a fresh point +to their palmated margins until the fourteenth, when the creature is +considered quite adult. + +The colour of the animal is a deep blackish-brown; the neck is short +and thick, with a peculiar bob-shaped, pendulous, and hair-covered +lap of skin hanging down from its middle, just behind the angles of +the jaw. The limbs, especially the front ones, are long; the tail is +rudimentary. The coat is formed of close-set harsh angular hair, which +breaks when bent, produced into a mane upon the neck and shoulders. +Sir John Richardson gives the following account of the habits and food +of the Elk, with the mode of hunting it:--“In the more northern parts +the Moose Deer is quite a solitary animal, more than one being very +seldom seen at a time, unless during the rutting season or when the +female is accompanied by her fawns. It has the sense of hearing in very +great perfection, and is the most shy and wary of all the Deer species, +and on this account the art of Moose-hunting is looked upon as the +greatest of an Indian’s acquirements, particularly by the Crees, who +take to themselves the credit of being able to instruct the hunters of +every other tribe. The skill of a Moose hunter is most tried in the +early part of the winter; for during the summer the Moose, as well as +other animals, are so much tormented by Mosquitoes that they become +regardless of the approach of man. In the winter the hunter tracks the +Moose by its footmarks in the snow, and it is necessary that he should +keep constantly to leeward of the chase, and make his advance with the +utmost caution, for the rustling of a withered leaf or the cracking of +a rotten twig is sufficient to alarm the watchful beast. The difficulty +of approach is increased by a habit which the Moose Deer has of making +daily a sharp turn in its route, and choosing a place of repose so near +some part of its path that it can hear the least noise made by one that +attempts to track it. To avoid this, the judicious hunter, instead +of walking in the animal’s footsteps, forms his judgment from the +appearance of the country of the direction it is likely to have taken, +and makes a circuit to leeward until he again finds the track. This +manœuvre is repeated until he discovers by the softness of the snow, in +the footmarks and other signs, that he is very near the chase. He then +disencumbers himself of everything that might embarrass his motions, +and makes his approach in the most cautious manner. If he gets close +to the animal’s lair without being seen, it is usual for him to break +a small twig, which, alarming the Moose, it instantly starts up, but +not fully aware of the danger, squats on its hams and waits a minute +before setting off. In this posture it presents the fairest mark, and +the hunter’s shot seldom fails to take effect in a mortal part. In the +rutting season the bucks lay aside their timidity, and attack every +animal that comes in their way, and even conquer their fear of man +himself. The hunter then brings them within gunshot by scraping on the +blade-bone of a Deer, and by whistling, which, deceiving the male, he +blindly hastens to the spot to assail his supposed rival. If the hunter +fails in giving it a mortal wound as it approaches, he shelters himself +from its fury behind a tree, and I have heard of several instances in +which the enraged animal has completely stripped the bark from the +trunk of a large tree by striking with its fore-feet. In the spring +time, when the snow is very deep, the hunters frequently run down the +Moose on snow-shoes, which give them immense advantage, because the +slender legs of the animal sink into the snow for their whole length +each step they take, which makes their progress very slow.” + +The usual pace of the Moose is a high shambling trot, and its strides +are immense. On account of their necks being short at the same time +that their legs are long, they browse upon the bushes rather than on +the ground, which they find difficulty in reaching with their mouths. + + +THE ELAPHINE DEER.[30] + +This group is characterised by the presence of a bez-tyne in all its +members--except that under the influence of protracted bad nutrition +individuals resident in barren parts may lose it--whilst the tres-tyne +is small, and the third main branch of the antler splits up into +several snags, sometimes arranged in the form of a cup. The deep brown +coat is varied by a conspicuous light, almost white patch upon the +rump, in which the uncovered rudiment of a tail is included. All the +species are large, the best known to us being + + +THE RED DEER.[31] + +This species is a native of the British Isles and many parts of Europe. +Northern specimens are much the smaller, and carry far inferior +antlers, those of South Germany and Hungary possessing heads worthy, +of the species. In England they are still to be found wild in Exmoor +Forest, in Scotland north of the Forth and Clyde; and in Ireland about +Killarney, Connemara, and Erris. + +[Illustration: RED DEER.] + +A well-grown Stag stands over four feet at the withers, with a +thickly-coated neck of a greyish tint, a rich red-brown body-colour, +uniformly curved symmetrical antlers, and head held high. The Stag in +summer is a lordly creature. In winter its coat is longer and of a +greyer tint. As is the case in allied species, and all but a few of the +Rusine Deer, the new-born calves are brilliantly spotted with white. + +[Illustration: RED DEER AND FALLOW DEER IN WINTER.] + +The pairing season occupies the early part of October. The calves are +born at the end of May or the beginning of June; whilst the Stags +drop their antlers between the end of February and the earlier days +of April, the youngest latest. Up till the age of twelve the animal +continues to increase in bulk and strength, and it is highly probable +that they do not ever much outlive twenty years, although superstition +credits them with very many more. + +It is towards the end of August or the beginning of September that the +well-nourished Stags, having already cleared their antlers of their +“velvet,” leave their retirement, and with swollen necks as well as +restless mien, seek out the hinds. During the rutting season, which +lasts about three weeks, they eat but little, and lose weight rapidly, +to be regained in the subsequent repose upon the summer-developed +foliage. In the southern counties of Great Britain the hunting of the +Stag has degenerated into the repeated chase of a few individuals, +deprived of their antlers, and let out of boxes shortly before the +sportsmen put in an appearance; whilst long-ranged rifles have reduced +the difficulties of what not many years ago--more especially in +Scotland--was a form of sport which very severely taxed the physical +capacities of the most determined and courageous. + +[Illustration: RED DEER FIGHTING.] + +The WAPITI, the PERSIAN, the CASHMERIAN, and the BARBARY DEER resemble +the Red Deer in almost every detail except size, the first and second +being considerably larger. Their antlers all branch in the same manner, +except that the proportionate sizes of some of the snags are apt to +vary. Superb heads of Wapiti are numerous in Great Britain, with their +brown beams and white burnished tips. + +The Wapiti is kept in confinement without difficulty, although in +autumn the stags become savage. Its home is the woodlands and the +mountains of North America, where it is generally incorrectly called +the “Elk.” Stalking the species is a common sport, but there is not so +much interest associated with it as with Moose-stalking, because it +is a more stupid creature, and its senses are less acutely developed. +When started, a herd will make off for a short distance, and stop +to recognise the source of danger before continuing its flight. Its +food is mostly leaves of trees and shrubs, though it frequently eats +grass and weeds. Dr. J. D. Caton, of Ottawa, Illinois, who has had +much experience in the preserving of American Deer, has published +many interesting details with regard to this species. Among others +he mentions, with reference to the young, that “the most prominent +instinct of the young fawn is that of deception. I have several times +come across fawns evidently but a few hours old, left by the mother in +supposed security. They affect death to perfection, only they forget +to shut their eyes. They lie without a motion, and if you pick them up +they are as limp as a wet rag, the head and limbs hanging down without +the least muscular action, the bright eye fairly sparkling all the +time.” The venison is excellent; it is said to be more nutritious than +any other meat. + +The Persian Deer, or Marāl, differs from the Cashmerian Deer but +little. Its head, however, is longer and more pointed. + +The Cashmerian Deer, or Barasingha, again, is hardly distinguishable +from the Wapiti. Professor Leith Adams remarks, with reference to it, +that “the Cashmere forests seem the head-quarters of this species +on the western ranges, for it is seldom, if ever, met with between +Mussouree and the Vale of Cashmere. The dense forests and fertile +valleys of the latter country are particularly inviting to this +species. In habits and general appearance the Cashmere Stag bears a +striking resemblance to the Red Deer. Although it is seldom, nowadays, +that individuals of the latter species escape the hunter so long as to +attain the size and magnitude of the Barasingha [twelve points], yet I +think it will be found that the horns of those killed in the forests of +Scotland in former years are equal in size to any at present met with +in Cashmere. It is in the dense pine forests on the Northern Pinjal, +and in the many beautiful valleys among these ranges, that we find +the species most abundant. There are very few on the southern ranges. +In the secluded depths of these solitudes they lie all day, to issue +forth at dusk and feed on the grassy hill-sides, or descend even into +the Valley of Cashmere when forced by the snows of winter. An adult +Stag averages thirteen hands in height. The colour of the coat varies +but little in the sexes or the seasons of the year; dark liver-colour, +with reddish patches on the inner sides of the hips; belly and lower +parts white, or a dirty white. The male has the hair on the lower part +of the neck long and shaggy (wanting in the female); the horns large, +and usually very massive, with from ten to fifteen or more points, +according to age (the largest pair of horns I have measured were four +feet round the curves, with six and seven points). They are shed in +March; and the new horn is not completely formed until the end of +October, when the rutting season commences, and the loud bellowings of +the Stags are heard all over the mountains. During vigorous winters +they are frequently driven to seek for shelter and food around the +villages in the valleys, when many are destroyed by natives, who hunt +them with Dogs. The Cheetahs, Wild Dogs, and Bears are said to kill the +young.” + +The very similar Barbary Deer is most interesting, in that it is the +only member of the Cervine group which is found in Africa. + +[Illustration: FALLOW DEER.] + + +THE SUB-ELAPHINE DEER.[32] + +The JAPANESE, FORMOSAN, and MANTCHURIAN DEER are all species allied +to those just described, but differing in being smaller in size, at +the same time that the antlers conform to the sub-elaphine type, +in which the bez-tyne is never present, and the sur-royals are but +inconsiderably branched. They are all strongly spotted in their +summer dress, which, especially in the Mantchurian--the largest of +the species--is most brilliant. In the winter their coats are nearly +uniform, and of a dark brown colour. A fawn-red is the groundwork +of the summer coat, the spots being yellowish-white, whilst a black +streak, in perfect contrast, runs the whole length of the middle of +the back, continuing down the tail and expanding slightly at its base. +The throat is white. The sombre winter coat is a nearly uniform dark +red-brown. + +[Illustration: SAMBUR DEER.] + +The FALLOW DEER (_Dama vulgaris_), so well known on account of its +being preserved in a semi-domesticated state in so many English parks, +has antlers constructed upon the same plan as those of the Mantchurian +Deer (sub-elaphine). These, however, present special peculiarities +found in none of the allied species, for they are palmated in their +upper parts, in the region of the sur-royals, the digitations or +terminal points being developed along the convex posterior margins +of the palmated surface. The buck is about three feet high at the +shoulder. The head is short and broad, the tail between seven and +eight inches long. The colour of the wild animal, both buck and doe, +is a rich yellowish-brown in summer, spotted with white all over. In +winter the tints are more sombre and greyish. Domestic varieties vary +immensely, both in the distinctness of the spotting and the general +colouration. Until six years of age the buck receives a separate name +each year from sportsmen--fawn, pricket, sorrel, soare, buck of the +first lead, and buck complete, being the terms employed--the antlers +not being developed at all in the fawn, being simple snags in the +pricket, with two front branches in the sorrel, with slight palmation +of the extremity of the beam in the soare, and the whole antler larger +and larger until the sixth year. The venison of the Fallow Deer is +fatter than that of the Red Deer, and is preferred by most. + +[Illustration: BORNEO RUSINE DEER.] + +The species is not a native of Britain, having most certainly been +introduced, although exactly when is not known. The dark-coloured and +more hardy breed was brought from Norway by James I. Its true wild +habitat was probably the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, both north +and south. + +The PERSIAN FALLOW DEER,[33] so closely related to the species just +referred to that they breed together, was made known to us in 1875 by +Sir Victor Brooke, who described it from specimens sent to England by +Mr. Robertson, the British Vice-Consul at Busrah. It resembles the +Common Fallow Deer in almost every detail, except that it is slightly +larger, and that the antlers are not the same. As stated above, in the +Common Fallow Deer the antlers, whilst developed on the sub-elaphine +type, are palmated in the region of the royals, with several snags +projecting from the upper margin, at the same time that the lower +portion of the beam, the tres, and the brow-tynes are cylindrical, as +usually is the case in other species. + +[Illustration: AXIS DEER.] + +In the Persian Fallow the palmation at the extremity of the antlers is +much less conspicuous, and scarcely exists, although many snags are +present there, directed upwards. The palmation is at the bases of the +antlers instead, including the brow-tyne and the beam, so that the +general appearance of the antlers is quite peculiar to the species. + + +THE RUSINE DEER.[34] + +The SAMBUR, OR GEROW (_Rusa Aristotelis_), of India, is found +abundantly in all the hill-districts of that country. It is nearly +five feet high, of a deep brown colour, with the hair of the neck +developed almost into a mane. The tail is of fair length. Its build is +massive, as are its antlers, which present three powerful points, and +reach over three feet in length. Above the considerable brow-tyne the +beam bifurcates high up into two fairly equal snags, and no more in +well-grown antlers. The hind is much less massive, and of a yellowish +tint. Captain Kinloch says of the species that “Sambur delight in +stony hills, where there is plenty of cover, and where they can have +easy access to water. They browse more than graze, and are nearly +nocturnal in their habits. During the daytime they seek the most +shady retreats, and old Stags especially are most difficult to find, +frequently betaking themselves to almost inaccessible places, where +the uninitiated would never dream of looking for them. The experienced +hunter, indeed, has frequently to depend more upon fortune than his +own knowledge of woodcraft.” In Java an almost identical species +differs mostly in having the hinder of the two branches of the beam of +the antler longer than the one in front. Swinhoe’s Deer from Formosa +is also almost indistinguishable, at the same time that Sumatran and +Bornean specimens agree with it in being particularly dark in colour. + +Three smaller species, with antlers branched in exactly the same +manner, are found in the islands of Borneo, Timor, Ternate, and the +Philippines. + +The HOG DEER of India and Ceylon is not bigger than the Roebuck +although the legs are shorter and the body heavier. Its antlers +consist of a brow-tyne and bifurcate beam, of which the posterior +tyne is short, and turned inwards; they rarely exceed a foot and a +half in length. It is of a uniform dark brown colour, rarely spotted +indistinctly with white. Their name is derived from the pig-like way in +which they run, with their heads low, when pursued. + +The SPOTTED HOG DEER is a rare species, of a slightly lighter colour, +and with pale yellow spots. + +The AXIS DEER of India, sometimes called the Cheetal, resembles the +Fallow Deer in size and colouration most closely, although its antlers +serve to show that its true relations are quite different. These latter +are not palmated at all, and are quite rusine in type, presenting the +three points characteristic of them, the front tyne of the bifurcate +beam being of great length. There is a beauty in the intensity of the +spotting of the coat of this species which is unequalled by any other +member of the Cervidæ, and it is interesting to know that according to +the universal testimony of sportsmen, the effect of sunlight through +foliage so much resembles it that it is almost impossible to recognise +the animal in the woods. They have a reputation for being indolent, as +they feed during the night, and sleep throughout the day, frequenting +the heavy grass jungles along the banks of rivers. Their cry is a +shrill bark at the approach of danger. The accompanying figure (see +Plate 26), drawn from a specimen in captivity, gives an excellent idea +of the immense length attained by the antlers, which in this particular +case are blunt-tipped, because not quite fully grown. The hinder tyne +on the right side, it will be noticed, is almost entirely hidden in the +hair of the flank. + +PRINCE ALFRED’S DEER,[35] about the size of the Fallow Deer, was first +described by Dr. Sclater from a specimen brought from the Philippine +Islands by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1870. Its glossy coat is of a rich +chocolate colour, covered with pale yellow spots; a broad line along +the back, as in all spotted Deer, being uninterrupted; the under parts +are of a pale yellow. The antlers are only nine inches in length, but +comparatively thick, and simply branched upon the rusine type, with +three points. The legs are rather short, at the same time that the body +is heavy. + +The SWAMP DEER.[36] The name Barasingha, signifying “twelve points,” is +applied to two very different species of Indian Deer, the Cashmerian +Deer, previously mentioned, and the Swamp Deer. + +The Swamp Deer of India and Assam is slightly smaller than the Sambur, +not exceeding four feet in height. Its colour is a rich light +yellow. As its name signifies it delights in moist situations, where +it congregates in herds of great numbers. Its antlers are large, and +of the intermediate rucervine type. The brow-tynes reach a foot in +length, and are directed forwards with an upward turn at their tips. +The beam is long, and branches into an anterior, massive, and branched +continuation of itself, as well as a posterior smaller bifurcate tyne. + +[Illustration: SCHOMBURGK’S DEER.] + +In Siam this species is replaced by the closely-allied SCHOMBURGK’S +DEER, a little-known species, in which the antlers are extremely +elegant, the long brow-tyne being followed by a short beam which +bifurcates into two equal branches, these again, each of them, +bifurcating in a similar manner. + +ELD’S DEER, OR THE THAMYN.[37] This Deer, which differs from the Swamp +Deer only in its antlers, was discovered by Captain Eld, in 1838. It +abounds in the swamp lands of Burmah, and extends as far east as the +Island of Hainan. Its form is slimmer than that of the Red Deer, at the +same time that it is somewhat smaller, attaining a height of over four +feet. During the summer months its body-colour is a light rufous brown, +with a few faint indications of white spots. Its under parts are nearly +white, as are the insides of the hairy ears. Its tail is short, and +black above. In winter its lengthy hair takes on a darker tint. + +Lieutenant R. C. Beavan has given an excellent account of the habits +of Eld’s Deer, from which we learn that their food must consist almost +entirely of grass and paddy, which grow both cultivated and wild, in +the swamps in which they dwell. “In habits they are very wary and +difficult of approach, especially the males. They are also very timid, +and easily startled; the males, however, when wounded and brought +to bay with Dogs, get very savage and charge vigorously. On being +disturbed they invariably make for the open, instead of resorting +to the heavy jungle like Hog Deer and Sambur. In fact the Thamyn is +essentially a plain-loving species; and, although it will frequent +tolerably open tree-jungle for the sake of its shade, it will never +venture into dense or matted underwood.... When first started the +pace of the Thamyn is great. It commences by giving three or four +large bounds like the Axis or Spotted Deer, and afterwards settles +down into a long trot, which it will keep up for six or seven miles on +end when frequently disturbed.” As to the means employed to hunt them, +the same author informs us that “a large number of men would assemble +from the neighbouring villages, and gradually encircle three or four +moderate-sized herds with long strings, upon which plantain-leaves were +tied so as to flutter in the wind. The circle, originally formed at +some distance, was gradually lessened as the Deer, afraid to pass the +scarecrows, got gradually driven together, until they were completely +surrounded and at the mercy of the hunters. The object was to get them +into a corner near the heavy jungle, into which, if they attempted +to run, they either became entangled, or allowed their pursuers to +get up quite close. As many as a hundred and fifty to two hundred, +my informant tells me, he has himself seen killed in one battue in +former years. To such a length was this [shameful] system carried, and +such enormous havoc was thereby created, that the Burmese Government, +fearing the species would be utterly exterminated, wisely put a stop to +the practice.” + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE MUNTJACS--THE ROEBUCK--CHINESE DEER--REINDEER--AMERICAN +DEER--DEERLETS--CAMEL TRIBE--LLAMAS. + + The MUNTJACS--Distribution--Characters--THE INDIAN MUNTJAC, + OR KIDANG--Hunting--THE CHINESE MUNTJAC--Habits--DAVID’S + MUNTJAC--“Shanyang”--THE ROEBUCK--THE CHINESE WATER + DEER--Peculiarity--Chinese Superstition regarding it--THE + CHINESE ELAPHURE--Peculiarity of its Antlers--THE + REINDEER--Distribution--Character--Colouration--Antlers--Canadian + Breeds--Food--THE AMERICAN DEER--THE VIRGINIAN DEER--THE MULE + DEER--THE BLACK-TAILED DEER--THE GUAZUS--THE BROCKETS--THE VENADA, + OR PUDU DEER--THE CHEVROTAINS, OR DEERLETS--Antlerless--Their + Position--Bones of their Feet--General Form and + Proportions--Species--THE MEMINNA, OR INDIAN DEERLET--THE JAVAN + DEERLET--THE KANCHIL--THE STANLEYAN DEERLET--THE WATER DEERLET--THE + CAMEL TRIBE--Their Feet--Stomach--Its Peculiarity--The Water + Cells--THE (TRUE) CAMEL--Description--The Pads of Hardened + Skin--Its Endurance--Its Disposition--Anecdote of its Revengeful + Nature--THE BACTRIAN CAMEL--THE LLAMAS--Description--Habits--Used + as Beasts of Burden--Wild and Domesticated Species--THE + HUANACO--THE LLAMA--THE VICUNA--THE ALPACA--The Alpaca + Industry--FOSSIL RUMINANTIA--Strata in which they are + found--_Chœropotamus_--_Hyopotamus_--_Dichobune_--_Xiphodon_-- + _Cainotherium_--_Oreodon_--_Sivatherium_--Fossil + Deer, Oxen, Goats, Sheep, Camels, Llamas, Antelopes, Giraffes--The + Irish Elk--Its huge Antlers--Its Skeleton--Ally--Distribution. + + +THE MUNTJACS.[38] + +The Muntjacs form a group of small and elegant Deer found in India, +Burmah, China, the Malay Peninsula, and the large islands of the +Indo-Malay Archipelago. They differ from all other members of the +family in that their diminutive antlers are supported on lengthy bony +pedestals, covered with a hairy skin much like the horn-processes of +the Giraffe. Most, also, have a pair of elongated longitudinal ridges +between the eyes, within the folds of which small glands are situated, +at the same time that there is a dark crest of retroverted hair, +tending to the shape of a horseshoe, upon the forehead. In the males +the upper canine teeth develop into tusks, which project externally +some way below the lip, though not so far as in the Musk, forming +efficient instruments of attack. + +The INDIAN MUNTJAC, OR KIDANG, is the best known species. Its antlers +attain a larger size than those of any of the others, although they are +not more than four inches long, composed of an undivided beam, at the +base of which there is a diminutive brow-tyne. Its size is slightly +less than that of the Roebuck, its colour uniformly foxy red-brown, +with the throat, hind part of abdomen, and under surface of tail white. +A black line runs up the inner side of each antler-pedestal of the +male, instead of forming the frontal horseshoe of the female. + +Dr. Horsfield tells us that in Java, where it is much hunted, “the +Muntjac selects for its retreat certain districts, to which it forms +a peculiar attachment, and which it never voluntarily deserts. Many +of these are known as the favourite resort of the animal for several +generations. They consist of moderately elevated grounds, diversified +by ridges and valleys, tending towards the acclivities of the more +considerable mountains, or approaching the confines of extensive +forests.... The Muntjac has a strong scent, and is easily tracked by +Dogs. When pursued it does not go off, like the Stag, in any accidental +direction; its flight, indeed, is very swift at first, but it soon +relaxes, and taking a circular course, returns to the spot from which +it was started. After several circular returns, if the pursuit be +continued, the Kidang thrusts its head into a thicket, and in this +situation remains fixed and motionless, as if in a place of security, +and regardless of the approach of the sportsman.” + +[Illustration: INDIAN MUNTJAC.] + +In China the Muntjacs are smaller than those of India and Java; their +antlers are less developed at the same time that the tint of their +coats is less rufous, and the neck is not white. They were first +described by Mr. Ogilby under the name of Reeves’ Muntjac, a larger +form having been more recently discovered by M. A. Milne-Edwards and +Mr. Swinhoe. With reference to its habits the last-named naturalist +tells us that “this species affects the low ranges of hills which +are covered with long, coarse grass and tangled thicket. It is there +usually found in small herds, basking in the sun, or lying in hidden +lairs. They are very seldom approached near, except by stealth. The +least noise startles them, and they dash away with bounds through the +yielding grass, occasionally showing their rounded backs above the +herbage. They have, however, their regular creeps and passes through +the covert, near which the natives lie when stalking them, while others +drive them. The little startled creatures hurry from danger along +these beaten tracks, and are then picked off with the matchlock.” In +captivity they soon become very docile, even when taken in the adult +state. The flesh of this animal is very tender and palatable. + +The enterprising missionary Père David, among his numerous discoveries +in Chinese zoology, sent from Moupin, in Western China, to Paris, +skins of a peculiar Muntjac, which is of special interest. Having +canine tusks, a black frontal hairy horseshoe, and the proportions of a +Muntjac generally, its antlers are not more than an inch long, at the +same time that their pedestals are correspondingly reduced in length +as well as thickness. Its body-colour is mouse-brown, verging on grey, +whilst the hairy covering is coarse. It may be called DAVID’S MUNTJAC. + +Very shortly after the above-mentioned skins arrived at Paris, Mr. +Michie, of Shanghai, forwarded to Mr. Swinhoe in England another +specimen from Ningpo, which, although derived so far east of Moupin, is +almost indistinguishable from that belonging to the latter district. +The animal is there known as the “Shanyang,” or Wild Goat. It is an +undoubted Muntjac, although peculiar in not possessing the glands on +the forehead found in the more common species. + + +THE ROEBUCK.[39] + +This elegant, small, and almost tailless Deer is, like the Red Deer, +a native of Great Britain, as well as of all Northern Europe and Asia +below the line of perpetual snow. In Asia the individuals attain a +greater size than in Europe. The adult Roebuck stands a little over +two feet high at the shoulder. Its colour is a dark reddish-brown in +summer, becoming yellowish-grey in the cold weather. There is a large +patch of white on the rump. The antlers, which are peculiarly near +together at their bases, rarely exceed a foot in length, possessing +three points, the rugose unbranched beam continuing from the +considerable burr for half a foot unbranched; then bifurcating fore +and aft, the posterior branch again bifurcating. The destruction of +the forests throughout Britain has driven the Roebuck farther north, +till now it is most common in the north of Scotland, although it still +survives in the woods of Westmoreland and Cumberland. Its disposition +is wild, shy, and cautious. Its favourite resort is the thick underwood +of forests, living singly or in small companies of a pair with their +young, which latter--contrary to what we find in the case of most other +Deer--are two or three in number. Its venison makes very indifferent +food. + +[Illustration: ROEBUCK: MALE, FEMALE, AND YOUNG.] + + +THE CHINESE WATER DEER.[40] + +This is an entirely isolated small species, not bigger than an Indian +Muntjac, discovered by Mr. Swinhoe, _in which there are no antlers_, +the canine teeth of the upper jaw being developed into immense tusks +which project downwards, as in the Musk and Muntjacs. The legs are +short, and the body lengthy. The body-colour is a light red-brown +all over. There is no tuft of hair on the head as in the Muntjacs, to +which by some it might be imagined to be allied. From Mr. Swinhoe’s +account of the species we learn that “In the large riverine islands of +the Yangtsze, above Chinkiang, these animals occur in large numbers, +living among the tall rushes that are there grown for thatching and +other purposes. The rushes are cut down in the spring; and the Deer +then swim away to the main shore and retire to the cover of the +hills.... Fortunately for the Deer, the Chinese have an extraordinary +dislike for their flesh. I could not ascertain why; but it must be +from some strange superstition, as the Celestials are otherwise +pretty omnivorous. The Deer are killed only for the European markets +[of Shanghai], and sold at a low price. Their venison is coarse, and +without much taste.... The Chinese at Shanghai call this animal the +_Ke_, but at Chinkiang they are named _Chang_--the classical term for +the Muntjac.” + +[Illustration: CHINESE WATER DEER.] + + +THE CHINESE ELAPHURE.[41] + +This most interesting Deer was discovered in 1865 by the indefatigable +French naturalist, M. Armand David. In his account of the animal, Dr. +Sclater[42] tells us that M. David first observed it whilst looking +over the wall of the Imperial Hunting-park at Pekin, to which no +European is allowed admission. There it is found in a semi-domesticated +state, its native place probably being Eastern Mantchuria. In 1869, Sir +Rutherford Alcock succeeded in sending a living pair to England, which +were exhibited for some time in the London Zoological Gardens, and +from which much information has been obtained with reference to their +habits. It resembles the Swamp Deer of India (_Rucervus Duvaucelli_) in +its proportions and size, standing nearly four feet at the shoulder. +The legs are somewhat heavy and the feet expanded, but it is in its +antlers that the Elaphure is quite different from any other Deer. They +are represented in the accompanying engraving, from which the abrupt +ascent of the beam, with an enormous back-tyne arising from the lower +end, and no brow-tyne, may be most clearly seen. The beam branches +higher up, but its furcations follow none of the ordinary rules of +cervine antler-growth. + +The body-colour of the animal is light and rufous, paler on the under +parts. A black line runs some way down the back, being most conspicuous +at the shoulders. The tail is not longer than in the Fallow Deer, and +is hairy at the tip. Mr. Swinhoe tells us that the Chinese name is +Sze-poo-seang, which signifies “like none of the four”--to wit, the +Horse, the Cow, the Deer, or the Goat. + +[Illustration: CHINESE ELAPHURE.] + + +THE REINDEER.[43] + +The Reindeer, which differs from all its allies in that the females +carry antlers as well as the males, forms so important an element in +the social economy of the Laplanders that more has been written on its +habits than of any other species of the family. It is found distributed +throughout the Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and America, extending +farther south in the last-named of these in the same way as the +isothermal line of 32° Fahr., as might be expected from the relation +borne by its economy to its temperature. In Spitzbergen, Finland, and +Lapland it attains the greatest size, being inferior in strength and +stature in Norway and Sweden. In Iceland it has been introduced and +thrives. The Caribou is the name by which it goes in the New World, +where it extends through Greenland, Canada, and Newfoundland. The horns +of the American variety differ from those of the Old World so much that +it is not difficult to recognise their origin; nevertheless, attempts +which have been made to establish the specific difference of the two +forms have not found much favour with naturalists generally. + +[Illustration: REINDEER AT A LAPP ENCAMPMENT.] + +The animal, with a characteristic deer-like form, is powerfully +built, with short limbs and heavy neck. The feet have the false hoofs +well developed, while the fissure between the median toes is so much +extended upwards, and the ligaments which bind them together are so +loose, that their hoofs spread out considerably when pressed upon the +ground, and so increase the surface for support upon the yielding +snow--their most frequent foothold. Upon raising the limbs in rapid +action these hoofs make a sharp snap at the moment when they close +together. + +[Illustration: REINDEER.] + +Individuals vary much in tint as well as with the season. Some are +entirely white, whilst in winter the coat is always lighter than in +summer. Deep brown is the prevailing tint, and there is generally a +band of white above each hoof. As in the Elk--another Arctic ruminating +animal--the muffle of the nose is covered with hair, and is not moist. +The fur is of two sorts--an outer covering of longer, harsh, brittle +hair, and an under-coat of closely-matted and much finer, wool-like +texture, which serves as an excellent protection against the inclement +temperature, and makes the skins so valuable for articles of clothing +in the Arctic regions. + +The antlers are strikingly large for the size of their owners. +Although they vary considerably in detail, the general plan of +their construction is always the same, agreeing with that of the +Virginian Deer and the Barasingha. As in the Wapiti and Red Deer, +the brow-antlers on each side are, however, re-duplicated, so that +a bez is present. This, as well as the brow-tyne, is branched, or +palmated, wherein it is peculiar; and further, in the Caribous one +of the brow-tynes is generally aborted, in order to allow of the +great development of its fellow of the opposite side into a palmated +triangle, flattened from side to side, directed straight forward in +the middle line of the head, and attached by its apex to the beam. The +function of this share-like expansion in the economy of the animal can +hardly be other than to remove the snow which covers its favourite +food, each movement of the lowered head from side to side effecting +this result. The beam is lengthy, curved boldly upwards and forwards, +with a small snag at the back, about half-way from each end. Its +extremity is branched and often palmated, much like the horns of the +Fallow Deer. The beam may reach a length not more than three inches +less than five feet. In the females the same plan of structure of the +antlers exists as in the males. They are considerably smaller in every +respect, more slender, and scarcely palmated, if at all so. + +The Woodland Caribou and the Barren-ground Caribou are the names +given to a larger and a smaller breed in Canada. Both are hunted by +the Indians for their flesh as well as for their hides, the venison +obtained from the latter being held in high estimation. The pounded +meat, when mixed with melted fat, is known as pemmican. The tongue is +esteemed a great delicacy. + +The Reindeer, from the nature of the country it inhabits, is compelled +to lead a migratory life, in which the natives of Lapland, who have +to depend entirely for their sustenance on the animal, have to +participate. Troops of them during the winter months reside in the +woods, feeding on the lichens that depend from boughs of the trees, as +well as on those that grow upon the ground beneath. In the spring they +repair to the mountains in order to escape the swarms of stinging Gnats +and Gad-flies which infest the air, and inflict wounds in the skin of +most serious severity. + + +THE AMERICAN DEER. + +In America there are several species of Deer which differ considerably +from those of the Old World. In our remarks on these animals we will +not include among them the Wapiti and the Elk: the Wapiti, because it +is nothing but a large representative of the Red Deer of Great Britain; +the Elk, because it stands very much by itself, at the same time that +it is found in the Arctic Old World as well as in America. We ourselves +think that the Reindeer conforms to the American type of structure, +and have therefore described it in relation with the New World Deer, +although most authors class it not far from the Elk. + +None of the typical Deer of America attain any considerable size, and +their antlers are decidedly small when contrasted with those of the Old +World. The species which will be first described is the VIRGINIAN DEER, +which is the “Common” Deer of North America, and is slightly smaller +than the Fallow Deer. Its colour is uniform, being of a reddish-yellow +in summer and light grey in winter. The individual members of the +species are small in Mexico, and get larger as they live more north. +The antlers belong to the extreme rucervine type, their beams turning +outwards and forwards in a very characteristic manner, with several +points directed upwards from their convex border. The brow-tyne is +short and pointed upwards instead of forwards. The tail is nearly a +foot and a half in length. In disposition it is timid and wild, and is +therefore domesticated with difficulty. Its flesh was in times gone +by one of the staple articles of food of the aborigines. Audubon and +other authors have described in detail the various modes employed in +capturing these Deer, including the “still hunt,” “jack hunt,” “fire +hunt,” &c., according to the nature of the country. + +The MULE DEER and the BLACK-TAILED DEER are not far distantly related +North American species. The former is slightly larger than the +Virginian and of a heavier build. Its tail is short, tufted, and white; +its colour a dark grey in winter, dull yellow in summer. Its name was +suggested from its lengthy ears. The latter is smaller, and has shorter +legs. Its colour is tawny grey, the short tail black above and white +below. Of both these species the antlers differ from the Virginian +Deer in detail, only the brow tyne of the Black-tailed species being +rudimentary, at the same time that the snags on the convex margin of +the beam spring from a single stem instead of independently. In the +Mule Deer they are smaller and less branched. Lord Walsingham, in +writing of them, remarks, “They appear to frequent the thick willow +clumps and other brushwood bordering the streams and swamps. They were +extremely difficult to distinguish among the foliage, and remarkably +quick when alarmed. As they bound off over logs and fallen trees, or +dash through the thicket, they have a habit of swinging their broad +white tails with a conspicuous flourish, which becomes annoying to a +sportsman, to whom they never afford anything but a snap shot, which is +very apt to fail.” + +[Illustration: GUAZUTI DEER.] + +The GUAZUS are small South American Deer with large ears and short +tails, in which the antlers want the brow tyne, and have the beam +branched in almost exactly the same way as Schomburgk’s Deer when not +quite full grown. The Guazuti, one of them, is not more than two feet +six inches in height. + +The BROCKETS are equally small, with minute antlers of a most simple +form--whence the name--they being unbranched and shelving backwards. +The colour of the fur in the Guava Viva and Brazilian Brocket is pale +brown, and shining red-brown in the Red Brocket and the Eyebrowed +Brocket. + +The VENADA, OR PUDU DEER, is not bigger than Reeves’ Muntjac or a Hare. +Its colour is red-brown, and it has minute antlers, not far separated +from one another. It inhabits the western coast of South America. + + +THE CHEVROTAINS, OR DEERLETS.[44] + +It is not until within the last few years that naturalists have +separated off from the true Deer a group of diminutive animals which +look like them in miniature, but are entirely destitute of antlers. +These little creatures, known as Chevrotains, for which we take the +liberty of coining the name Deerlets, were placed together with the +Musk into a single section, characterised by the fact that the males +possess large tusks situated in the upper jaw, which project downwards, +and are conspicuous even when the mouth is fully closed, grooving the +lower lip on each side. Now, however, they are entirely separated +off from the Deer and Ox tribes, to constitute an independent family, +because of the peculiarities of many of their parts. They have a +complex stomach composed of paunch, honeycomb-bag, and reed, the +manyplies being so much reduced in size, that it may practically be +said not to be present. + +From the bones of their feet it is evident, too, that they cannot be +correctly classed with the more ordinary Ruminants, and that they +tend towards the other family of the Cloven-hoofed Ungulata, namely, +the Swine. Each foot of the common Pig possesses four toes, that +corresponding to our thumb in the fore-limb, and to our great toe in +the hind being absent, as has been previously explained. The bones of +all these toes are quite separate from one another, as in those of +man, at the same time that those of the outer and inner digits in each +limb are smaller than those which bear the larger hoofs. In the true +Ruminants and in the Camel tribe these larger toes are partly fused +together, the bones of digit three and digit four corresponding to +those situated in the human palm and sole, being joined from end to end +to form the “cannon-bone;” whilst those of digit two and digit five are +reduced to mere imperfect splinters, or are sometimes altogether lost, +as in the Giraffe and in the Camel. Now, in the Deerlets, these bones +are not blended at all in the fore-limbs of the Water Deerlet of West +Africa, in which, as in all the other species, digit two and digit five +are perfect from end to end. They therefore stand, in this respect, as +in others easily explained, intermediate between the Swine and the true +Ruminants. + +[Illustration: JAVAN DEERLET.] + +All the Deerlets are particularly delicate, diminutive, and graceful +animals, the slenderness and clear-cut outline of their limbs being +exceedingly striking. With bodies as big as that of a Hare or Rabbit, +their legs are not so thick as a cedar pen-holder or a clay pipe-stem. +Their proportions are very much those of the small Water Bucks of +Africa, and of many of the kinds of Deer, especially the Hog Deer of +India, in which the body, as in them, is not carried very high above +the ground. The want of antlers in both sexes makes them resemble Hinds +rather than Stags at first sight, whilst their elegantly-pointed noses, +and large dark eyes, add to their general interesting appearance. + +Of the Deerlets there are five species--the Meminna, the Kanchil, +the Javan, the Stanleyan, and the Water Deerlets. The first four are +confined to India, Ceylon, Malacca, Java, and Sumatra, the last being +found in Sierra Leone and the Gambia district. These differ slightly in +their size and markings, the MEMINNA, or INDIAN DEERLET, being nearly +eighteen inches long, and about eight inches high at the shoulder, the +tail being very short. As in its allies, the white spotting of the +surface is disturbed by two or more streaks of the same which run along +the flanks. + +The JAVAN DEERLET, known sometimes as the Napu, is smaller than the +preceding. It is of a rust-brown colour above and white beneath, three +white stripes radiating backwards, one along the middle line, and the +other two laterally from the front of the neck. The short tail is +white-tipped. The naked and moist muzzle is black. The Javan Deerlet +is gentle in disposition, and somewhat uninteresting in captivity. +Specimens are frequently brought to Great Britain, and live if +carefully protected from the cold. + +The KANCHIL is still smaller in size, at the same time that it is +darker in colour, especially along the back. Its activity and cunning +are remarkable, so much so that Sir Stamford Raffles, in his original +description of the creature, tells us that it is a common Malay +expression, with reference to a great rogue, that he is “as cunning as +a Kanchil.” Feigning to be dead when caught, its captor incautiously +releases his hold, when the animal is immediately up and away before +any means can be employed for its recapture. It is also said that when +pursued by Dogs it will jump up towards a bough, and there hook itself +by means of its lengthy tusks until its tormentors have passed under it. + +[Illustration: STANLEYAN DEERLET.] + +The STANLEYAN DEERLET was named after the grandfather of the present +Earl of Derby, in whose menagerie at Knowsley the species was first +recognised. + +The WATER DEERLET of West Africa is slightly larger than the Meminna. +Its deep glossy brown coat is also streaked with white lines, and is +irregularly spotted. + + +THE CAMEL TRIBE, OR TYLOPODA. + +The name _Tylopoda_, by which the Camels, together with the Llamas, +are known to naturalists, is derived from two Greek words (τύλος, a +knot or callus, and πούς, a foot), signifying that the feet, instead of +being protected by hoofs, are covered with a hardened skin, enclosing +the cushion-like soles of the feet, which are so constructed that +they spread out laterally when brought in contact with the ground, an +arrangement of evident advantage to desert-ranging animals. The tips +of each of the two toes are protected by nails, as can be seen in the +accompanying drawing. + +[Illustration: FOOT OF CAMEL.] + +There are also other points in which these creatures differ from the +more ordinary Ruminantia. In the front of the upper jaw there are two +teeth--one on each side, placed laterally--which correspond to the side +cutting teeth in man, and to the similarly-situated “nippers” of the +Horse. In the Deer, Ox, Sheep, and their allies there is not a trace of +these, as has been previously explained (page 4). As to the limbs, it +may also be mentioned that the true knee-joints--which in animals like +the Horse are almost entirely hidden within the general skin-covering +of the body--are much more conspicuous and free. + +The stomach is peculiar; it wants the “manyplies,” or third +compartment, but possesses the “paunch,” “honeycomb-bag,” and +“abomasum,” the last-named of which is of great length. In the +walls of the paunch there are present two extensive collections of +“water-cells,” which serve their owners in good stead whilst traversing +the desert or residing in regions where fresh water is not to be +procured except with difficulty. + +[Illustration: Fig. A.--STOMACH OF THE LLAMA.] + +[Illustration: Fig. B.--WATER CELLS OF THE CAMEL’S STOMACH.] + +Fig. A is a view of the stomach from below (or, in other words, from +the side farthest from the backbone), in which it is seen that the +clusters of water-cells (_a_ and _b_) are arranged, one (_a_) the +larger, along part of the right border of the viscus, whilst the second +(_b_) is transverse, the remainder of the walls being smooth. These +water-cells, seen from within in Fig. B, are formed by the development +of septa, both transverse and longitudinal, in the substance of the +paunch-wall. They are deep and narrow, much like the cells of a +honeycomb, and have a muscular membrane covering their mouths, in +which there is an oval orifice opposite to each compartment capable of +being further dilated or completely closed, probably at the will of +the animal. When fully distended, these paunch-cells in the Arabian +Camel are capable of storing a gallon and a half of water. The second +stomach, or reticulum, is also modified in the same direction, the +usually extremely shallow cells being deep, at the same time that +food is never found in them after death. Of the last compartment, or +“abomasum,” it may be noted that it is nearly cylindrical in shape, its +walls being very muscular. It is in this stomach that true digestion is +carried on. + +Of the Camels two species are known, differing in the number of the +humps upon their backs. Nothing is known of either variety in the wild +state. We will commence with the description of + + +THE (TRUE) CAMEL.[45] + +The One-humped Camel of Arabia is frequently termed the Dromedary, but +this latter name is correctly applicable only to the swift variety of +the species which is employed for riding, the heavier-built One-humped +Pack-Camel not being included under the designation. + +[Illustration: HEAD OF THE (TRUE) CAMEL.] + +It is the Arabian Camel--the _Ship of the Desert_--which is much +more serviceable to man than its Bactrian ally. Its distribution has +extended westwards along North Africa, from which attempts have been +made to introduce it into Spain. Eastwards it is found as far as India. + +In the Camel the limbs and neck are lengthy. A single bulky hump +is present on the middle of the back, composed of fatty cells held +together by strong bands of fibrous tissue which cross in all +directions. Like all similar accumulations, it varies much in size +according to the condition of the animal, dwindling almost to nothing +after protracted hard work and bad feeding, being firm and full in +times of ease and plenty. When on the point of commencing a long +journey, there is nothing on which an Arab lays so much stress as on +the condition of his Camel’s hump, which, from what we have just said, +must be considered to be nothing more or less than a reserved store of +food. + +Upon the chest, the elbows, the fore-knees (true wrists), knees, and +hocks, callous pads of hardened skin are found, upon which the creature +supports its weight whilst kneeling down, a position in which it +always rests, and one which it assumes when being loaded. These pads +are present in the new-born Camel-calf, proving, contrary to the view +maintained by some, that they are not the direct result of pressure, +but are special provisions in accordance with the requirements of +the species, arrived at by a process of natural selection, those +individuals alone surviving in which there is the power of resisting +the injurious effects of protracted strain upon a few spots of the skin. + +The coat is, in the summer, scanty; in the winter, of considerable +length, and matted into lumps. The two-toed feet are very much +expanded, and tipped with a pair of small hoofs. The lips are +covered with hair, the upper one being split up for some distance +in the middle line. The nostrils, when closed, are linear, and from +their construction prevent sand from entering the air-passages when +the animal desires it. The tail is of fair length, reaching to the +ankle-joint. There is a fixity about its attitudes, and a formality +about its paces, which is quite characteristic. Its power of enduring +fatigue upon its scanty fare, whilst carrying a weight as great as 600 +lbs., together with its endurance, makes it invaluable in its desert +home. + +[Illustration: (TRUE) CAMEL.] + +A stolid obstinacy is its usual disposition. Mr. Palgrave, criticising +the reputation that the animal has for docility, remarks:--“If docile +means stupid, well and good; in such a case the Camel is the very model +of docility. But if the epithet is intended to designate an animal that +takes an interest in its rider so far as a beast can; that in some way +understands his intentions, or shares them in a subordinate fashion; +that obeys from a sort of submissive or half fellow-feeling with his +master, like the Horse or Elephant: then I say that the Camel is by no +means docile--very much the contrary. He takes no heed of his rider, +pays no attention whether he be on his back or not, walks straight on +when once set agoing, merely because he is too stupid to turn aside; +and then, should some tempting thorn or green branch allure him out of +the path, continues to walk on in the new direction simply because he +is too dull to turn back into the right road. In a word, he is from +first to last an undomesticated and savage animal rendered serviceable +by stupidity alone, without much skill on his master’s part, and any +co-operation on his own, save that of an extreme passiveness. Neither +attachment nor even habit impresses him; never tame, though not wide +awake enough to be exactly wild.” + +[Illustration: BACTRIAN CAMEL.] + +Nevertheless the animal gives indications of intelligence when badly +treated, if we may judge from its revengeful nature, well illustrated +in the following account:-- + +“A valuable Camel, working in an oil-mill, was severely beaten by its +driver. Perceiving that the Camel had treasured up the injury, and was +only waiting a favourable opportunity for revenge, he kept a strict +watch upon the animal. Time passed away; the Camel, perceiving that it +was watched, was quiet and obedient, and the driver began to think that +the beating was forgotten, when one night, after the lapse of several +months, the man was sleeping on a raised platform in the mill, whilst, +as is customary, the Camel was stabled in a corner. Happening to awake, +the driver observed by the bright moonlight that, when all was quiet, +the animal looked cautiously around, rose softly, and stealing towards +a spot where a bundle of clothes and a bernous, thrown carelessly on +the ground, resembled a sleeping figure, cast itself with violence upon +them, rolling with all its weight, and tearing them most viciously +with its teeth. Satisfied that its revenge was complete, the Camel was +returning to its corner, when the driver sat up and spoke. At the sound +of his voice, and perceiving the mistake it had made, the animal was +so mortified at the failure and discovery of its scheme, that it dashed +its head against the wall and died on the spot.” + + +THE BACTRIAN CAMEL.[46] + +The Two-humped Camel is found in the regions to the east and north of +the home of its One-humped ally, extending as far as Pekin and Lake +Baikal. It it a heavier, shorter-legged, and thicker-coated species, at +the same time that the feet are more adapted to a less yielding soil +from their greater callousness. The hair is specially abundant upon the +top of the head, the arm, wrist, throat, and humps. There is no variety +of this species corresponding to the Dromedary One-humped Camel. + +[Illustration: HUANACO ATTACKED BY A PUMA.] + + +THE LLAMAS.[47] + +The Llamas, when the term is employed in its wider sense, include the +American representatives of the Camel tribe, none of which have any +trace of the dorsal hump or humps found in their Old World allies. They +are mountain animals, found in the Cordilleras of Peru and Chili, in +this respect also differing from the desert-loving Camels, with which +they agree in all important structural peculiarities, including the +stomach, lips, nostrils, and coat. The feet are somewhat modified in +accordance with the rocky nature of the mountain regions which they +inhabit, the sole-pads being less considerable, and almost completely +divided into two hard cushions, with a long and hooked nail in the +front of each. + +[Illustration: ALPACA.] + +Llamas were found domesticated when South America was first discovered +by the Spaniards, and as there were then no Mules or Horses there, +these creatures were employed exclusively as beasts of burden, as well +as for their flesh, their wool, and hides. Their disposition and their +habits also resemble those of the Camel. They have their own peculiar +gait and speed, from which they cannot well be made to vary. When +irritated they foam at the mouth and spit, sulking and lying down when +overloaded. As beasts of draught their most important use is to convey +the ores from the mines of Potosi and elsewhere in the Andean range. +From the account of Augustin de Zerate, who was a Peruvian Spanish +Government official in the middle of the sixteenth century, we learn +that “in places where there is no snow the natives want water, and +to supply this deficiency they fill the skins of Sheep [Llamas being +meant] with water, and make other living _Sheep_ carry them, for it +must be remarked that these _Sheep_ of Peru are large enough to serve +as beasts of burden. They can carry about one hundred pounds or more, +and the Spaniards used to ride them, and they would go four or five +leagues a day. When they are weary they lie down upon the ground, +and as there is no means of making them get up, either by beating or +assailing them, the load must of necessity be taken off. When there is +a man on one of them, if the beast is tired he turns his head round and +discharges his saliva, which has an offensive odour, into the rider’s +face. These animals are of great use and service to their masters, for +their wool is very good and fine, particularly that of the breed called +Pacas, which have very long fleeces; and the expense of their food is +trifling, as a handful of maize suffices them, and they can go four +or five days without water. Their flesh is as good as that of the fat +Sheep of Castile.” + +[Illustration: LLAMA.] + +It is somewhat difficult to decide exactly the relations of the wild +to the domesticated species of the Llamas. It seems most probable that +there are two true species, known as the Huanacos (_Lama huanacos_) and +the Vicuna (_Lama vicugna_), of the former of which the true Llama is a +domesticated variety, as the Alpaca is of the latter. + +The HUANACO--or Guanaco, as it is sometimes written--has a more +elongated head and more slender legs than the Vicuna, at the same +time that there are elongated warty tubercles upon the hinder limbs +not found in the latter species. Its height at the shoulder is three +feet and a half. The fur is uniformly brown, at the same time that it +is rough and short. It can be domesticated without difficulty. Its +tail is short and hairy. Its native haunts are the highlands of Peru +and Chili, as well as farther south, where it lives in herds, which +descend to the valleys in the winter months. When hunted they have a +habit of now and again facing their pursuers, after which they gallop +off afresh. When attacked at close quarters they defend themselves by +striking with their fore-feet. From Mr. Darwin’s account of the animal +in the “Voyage of the _Beagle_,” we learn that it “abounds over the +whole of the temperate parts of South America, from the wooded islands +of Tierra del Fuego, the rough Patagonia, the hilly parts of the La +Plata, Chili, even to the Cordillera of Peru. Although preferring an +elevated site, it yields in this respect to its near relative the +Vicuna; on the plains of Southern Patagonia we saw them in greater +numbers than in any other part. Generally they go in small herds, from +half a dozen to thirty together, but on the banks of the St. Cruz we +saw one herd which must have contained at least five hundred. On the +northern shores of the Strait of Magellan they are also very numerous. +Generally the Guanacoes are wild and extremely wary. The sportsman +frequently receives the first intimation of their presence by hearing +from a distance the peculiar shrill neighing note of alarm. If he then +looks attentively, he will perhaps see the herd standing in a line on +some distant hill. On approaching them, a few more squeals are given, +and then off they set at an apparently slow--but really quick--canter +along some narrow beaten track to a neighbouring hill. If, however, by +chance he should abruptly meet a single animal, or several together, +they will generally stand motionless, and intently gaze at him; then, +perhaps, move on a few yards, turn round, and look again. What is the +cause of this difference in their shyness? Do they mistake a man in the +distance for their chief enemy, the Puma, or does curiosity overcome +their timidity? That they are curious is certain; for if a person lies +on the ground and plays strange antics, such as throwing up his feet +in the air, they will almost always approach by degrees to reconnoitre +him.... On the mountains of Tierra del Fuego, and in other places, I +have more than once seen a Guanaco, on being approached, not only neigh +and squeal, but prance and leap about in the most ridiculous manner, +apparently in defiance as a challenge.... The Guanacoes readily take to +the water; several times at Port Valdez they were seen swimming from +island to island. Byron, in his ‘Voyage,’ says he saw them drinking +salt water. Some of our officers likewise saw a herd drinking the briny +fluid from Salina, near Cape Blanca. I imagine, in several parts of the +country, if they do not drink salt water they drink none at all. In the +middle of the day they frequently roll in the dust in saucer-shaped +hollows.... The Guanacoes appear to have favourite spots for dying +in. On the banks of the St. Cruz the ground was actually white with +bones in certain circumscribed places, which were generally bushy, and +all near the river. On one such spot I counted between ten and twenty +heads, some gnawed, as if by beasts of prey.” + +The Domestic Llama resembles its wild ancestor in most respects. Its +colour may, however, be variegated, or even white. Its woolly coat is +longer, but not so fine, and when it is removed by shearing the animal +is conspicuously spotted. + +The VICUNA is a smaller animal of a light lion-brown colour, with a +short and hairy face; its neck is lengthy, as in its allies; its height +about two feet six inches. Its wool is particularly fine, and has been +much employed, undyed, as a material for clothing. It is active and +spiteful, inhabiting a region higher and therefore colder than the +Huanaco. + +The Alpaca is its domestic form, with thicker and much darker wool, +as well as shorter limbs. Its colour is often nearly black, or black +varied with white or brown. + +The manufacture of alpaca stuffs dates from the year 1836, when Mr. +(afterwards Sir) Titus Salt commenced weaving the unusually long-haired +wool, which at the time found no sale in the markets on account of +its not being suited to the existing combing apparatus. Since that +period alpaca has been much employed as a fabric, possibly to be again +replaced in great measure by the sheep wool of the Australian and other +British colonies. + + +FOSSIL RUMINANTIA. + +The study of fossil forms throws as much light upon the development +of existing types of Ruminantia as it does in the case of the +Perissodactyla. Until the last of the three great geologic epochs none +have been found; whilst in the Tertiary strata from Eocene, Miocene, +and Pliocene formations, numerous species are known, resembling +existing types more closely as they are discovered in the more recently +deposited strata. + +As might be anticipated from what has been said above, and as is +indicated in the table of classification of the Artiodactyla on page +336, Vol. II., the oldest forms of cloven-hoofed Mammalia must have +been intermediate in structure between the Pigs and Ruminants. Such a +creature existed at the close of the Eocene period in _Chœropotamus_, +discovered first by the illustrious Cuvier in the palæontologically +most interesting gypsum beds at Montmartre. Another specimen has also +been found near Ryde, in the Isle of Wight. The creature was pig-like +in size, and in the tuberculated structure of its grinders, the parts, +together with the lower jaw, alone discovered as yet. + +[Illustration: SKELETON OF THE IRISH ELK.] + +_Hyopotamus_, _Dichobune_, _Xiphodon_, and _Cainotherium_ were +four-toed Upper Eocene transitional forms approaching the Ruminants, +but all possessing upper cutting-teeth, the last-named differing but +little from the Deerlets. _Oreodon_ is a genus of small pig-like +animals, appearing first in the Miocene of North America, and evidently +closely related to the Ruminantia. _Sivatherium_ was a gigantic +Ruminant with four horns in pairs, and evidently a trunk. Its remains +are found in the Miocene deposits of the Sewalik hills of India. Deer, +Oxen, Goats, and Sheep first appeared in the Pliocene period, as did +Camels and Llamas. Antelopes and Giraffes existed earlier, namely, in +the Late Miocene. It is a fact of interest that Camels are abundant in +the Miocene and Pliocene of North America, whilst they are only very +scantily distributed in the same strata of the Old World, Arabia and +Asia being their sole living habitat. + +Among the most interesting of the Pleistocene species which has been +discovered in Great Britain is the gigantic Irish deer, a species +originally included with the Elk, on account of the palmation and +outward inclination of its huge antlers, in some specimens only a few +inches less than eleven feet in span, and each more than five feet +long in a straight line from burr to tip. In general form the antlers +do not strikingly differ from those of the Common Fallow Deer. The +brow-tyne is quite simple at its base, and generally slightly bifid at +its extremity, there being no true “bez.” The beam is cylindroid as far +as the insignificant “trez,” beyond which it is flattened out into a +gigantic triangular expansion, or “palm,” with the free base developed +into snags, usually about seven in number, and a fairly independent +posterior tyne. + +[Illustration: IRISH ELK. (_Restored._)] + +At the withers the skeleton, which is quite cervine in every detail, +measures as much as six feet; its great peculiarity in the male being +the large size of the cervical or neck vertebræ, necessarily extra +strong that they may support the massive antlers, about seventy pounds +in weight. In the females, which had no cranial appendages, the +vertebræ of the neck were one-third smaller. + +The accompanying figure is an attempt to represent the species under +consideration, as it must have appeared when living. It is worthy of +note, however, that as the coat of the Fallow Deer, which may be its +nearest ally, is brilliantly spotted, the great Irish Deer may have +resembled it in that respect. + +The first fairly complete skeleton of the species was found in the +Isle of Man. Others have been obtained from Waterford and elsewhere in +Ireland. + + A. H. GARROD. + + + + +[Illustration: PRAIRIE DOG.] + + + + +ORDER RODENTIA. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +INTRODUCTION--THE SQUIRREL, MARMOT, ANOMALURE, HAPLODONT, AND BEAVER +FAMILIES. + + Character of the Order--A well-defined Group--Teeth + Evidence--Kinds and Number of Teeth--The Incisors: their + Growth, Renewal, and Composition--The Molars--The Gnawing + Process--Skeleton--Brain--Senses--Body--Insectivora + and Rodentia--Food of Rodents--Classification--THE + SIMPLE-TOOTHED RODENTS--Characteristics--THE SQUIRREL-LIKE + RODENTS--SCIURIDÆ--Distinctive Features--THE COMMON + SQUIRREL--Form--Distribution--Food--Bad Qualities--Habits--THE + GREY SQUIRREL--THE FOX SQUIRREL--Flying Squirrels--Their + Parachute Membrane--THE TAGUAN--Appearance--Habits--Other + Species--THE POLATOUCHE--THE ASSAPAN--The Genus + _Xerus_--THE GROUND SQUIRRELS--THE COMMON CHIPMUNK--THE + MARMOTS--Distinguishing Features--THE SPERMOPHILES--THE + GOPHER--THE SISEL, OR SUSLIK--THE BARKING SQUIRRELS--THE PRAIRIE + DOG--Description--Species--Habits--Burrows--Fellow-inmates in their + “Villages”--THE TRUE MARMOTS--THE BOBAC--THE ALPINE MARMOT--THE + WOODCHUCK--THE HOARY MARMOT, OR WHISTLER--ANOMALURIDÆ--Tail + Peculiarity--Distinctive Features--HAPLODONTIDÆ--Description--THE + SEWELLEL--CASTORIDÆ--THE BEAVER--Skeletal Peculiarities--General + Form--Appearance--Distribution--The Beavers of the Old and New + World--Habits--Wonderful Sagacity--The Building Instinct--Their + Method of Working--The various Stages--Their Lodges--Their + Dams--Activity by Night--Flesh--Hunted--The _Castoreum_. + + +While the last few chapters have been devoted to orders which contain +the largest and most powerful of terrestrial mammalia, we have now to +treat of a group, all the members of which are of comparatively small +size. “Mice, rats, and such small deer,” to use Shakspere’s phrase, +make up a great proportion of the order Rodentia. The biggest of them +is only about the size of a small Pig; and perhaps the common House +Rat, or, at any rate, the common Squirrel, may be taken as showing the +average dimensions of a Rodent. But, although from this point of view +they may be looked upon as “a feeble folk,” their numerous species +render them a most important section of the mammalian fauna of nearly +all countries, and this importance is greatly increased, practically, +by the immense number of individuals by which each species is usually +represented. + +The Rodentia, or gnawing mammals--GLIRES, as Linnæus and some modern +zoologists call them--notwithstanding the great number of the species +and the immense variety of forms which they display, constitute, +perhaps, the most definitely circumscribed order of the Mammalia. In +most other groups of the same value, we find that some types exhibit +divergent characters, which render it difficult to frame a general +description of the order which shall include them; or else some species +present a marked tendency towards some other order; but in the case of +the Rodents, we never have any difficulty, a cursory inspection of the +dentition is always sufficient to decide whether a quadruped belongs +to the Rodentia or not; and in spite of an almost infinite variety of +form, the structure of the rest of the organism is most clearly in +accordance with the evidence derived from the teeth. + +[Illustration: SKULL OF THE TAGUAN, A FLYING SQUIRREL.] + +The teeth are only of two kinds--incisors and grinders (_see_ the +above figure of the skull of the Taguan)--and the number of efficient +teeth of the former kind is never more than two in each jaw. Almost +throughout the order, indeed, there are actually, even from the first, +only two incisors present; but in the Hares and Rabbits, and some +allied forms, there are in the upper jaw, in addition to the working +teeth, a pair of rudimentary incisors,[48] placed immediately behind +the large ones, but quite incapable of taking any part in the business +of gnawing, for which the latter are so admirably fitted. Their +presence is, however, of interest, as indicating the direction in which +an alliance with other forms of Mammalia more abundantly supplied with +teeth is to be sought. + +[Illustration: DENTITION OF THE HARE.] + +The great incisors, which are characteristic of the Rodents, exhibit +the following peculiarities:--They possess no roots, but spring from +a permanent pulp, so that they continue growing during the whole +life of the animal; and their form, and that of the cavity which +constitutes their socket, is always that of a segment of a circle,[49] +in consequence of which, they always protrude from the front of the +jaws in the same direction, and meet at the same angle. By this means, +as the teeth are worn away at their summits by use in gnawing, a fresh +supply of tooth is continually being pushed forward to take the place +of the portion thus removed, and, in fact, so intimately are the two +functions of use and growth correlated in the teeth of these animals, +that if by chance one of the incisors should get broken, or the natural +opposition of these teeth should be disturbed in consequence of injury +to the jaw, the teeth, thus deprived of their natural check, continue +growing, and, following the curve of their sockets, gradually form +circular tusks, which must always be greatly in the way of the animal +when feeding, and sometimes, by actually penetrating again into the +mouth, cause its death by absolute starvation. The teeth themselves are +composed of dentine, coated along the front surface with a layer of +hard enamel, which substance is wanting on the other surfaces of the +teeth, except in the Hares, Rabbits, and other forms with additional +rudimentary incisors in the upper jaw, in which, as further evidence +of their relationship to the other Mammalia, the whole surface of the +incisors is encased in enamel, although this coat is excessively thin +except on the front or outer face. The purpose of this structure +of the incisors is easily understood. In the action of gnawing, the +dentine, which forms the greater part of the tooth, is more easily +abraded than the harder enamel, which is thus left as a sharp front +edge, to which the mass of dentine behind it, being worn away into +a bevelled surface, gives the necessary firmness and support, the +whole forming a chisel-like instrument, constructed precisely on the +principle of those tools in which a thin plate of hard steel forms the +cutting edge, and is stiffened by a thicker bevelled plate of softer +iron. + +The canine teeth are entirely deficient, and behind the incisors +we find on each side a toothless gap of considerable extent (_see_ +figures p. 82), beyond which come the grinding teeth. In these it is +difficult to recognise any distinction of molars and pre-molars; the +whole series presents nearly the same structural characters, and for +all practical purposes we may speak of them as molars, although some +zoologists prefer to regard the three hindmost teeth on each side as +true molars, and any others that may be present as premolars. In one +genus (_Hydromys_) the number of grinding teeth is reduced to two on +each side in each jaw; in a great proportion of the species the number +is three; others have four or five grinders on each side, either in one +or both jaws (usually one more in the upper series); and the largest +number is possessed by the Hares and Rabbits, in which the upper jaw +has six and the lower five grinders.[50] The grinders are sometimes +furnished with true roots, but are more commonly open below, and +provided, like the incisors, with a permanent pulp. They are sometimes +tubercular, at least in youth, but generally show a flat, worn surface +with transverse bands, or re-entering folds, and sometimes cylinders of +enamel, which display a great variety of patterns. Sometimes the enamel +is confined to the surface of the tooth; in other cases each tooth is, +as it were, made up of two or more variously-shaped tubular portions +of enamel, filled up with dentine. Curiously enough, this structure +of the grinders, especially the arrangement of the transverse ridges +and plates of enamel in these little animals, reminds us strongly of +the characters of the molars of the gigantic Proboscidea, in which, +moreover, the incisors also are represented by the permanently-growing +tusks. + +The articulation of the lower jaw with the skull is peculiar, and in +special relation to the armature of teeth which we have described. +Instead of articulating freely, as in man and many herbivorous mammals, +by which provision is made for a sort of rotatory action of the molars, +or by a regular transverse hinge-joint, as in the Carnivora, the +articulating surfaces are elongated in a direction parallel to the +middle line of the skull, an arrangement which, like that occurring in +Carnivora, has the effect of preventing much lateral movement of the +jaw; but, at the same time, the pits with which the jaw articulates are +open in front, so that the jaw is allowed a certain amount of play, +backwards and forwards. This motion greatly increases the gnawing power +of the large incisor teeth. + +[Illustration: SKELETON OF THE RABBIT.] + +The head in the Rodents is generally of small or moderate size in +proportion to the body, and the skull is usually rather elongated, +and flattened on the upper surface. The tympanic bullæ are generally +of considerable size; the zygomatic arch is in nearly all cases well +developed; but the orbits of the eyes are never closed behind, and only +in certain families is there even a small process of the zygomatic +arch behind the orbits, as an indication of possible closure. Of +the vertebral column we need only say that the lumbar vertebræ are +remarkable for possessing large transverse processes directed forwards, +and that the tail varies greatly in length, being sometimes longer +than the body, sometimes reduced to very small proportions, whilst +between these two extremes almost every grade of development may be met +with. + +The sternum, or breast-bone, is usually long and narrow. Collar-bones +are nearly always present, but in a few forms they become rudimentary, +or even disappear altogether. The pelvis is long and narrow. The limbs +exhibit a very great variety in their development; in many, the two +pairs are nearly equal in length, but in the majority the hind limbs +are distinctly longer and more powerful than their fellows, and in some +groups they attain a most disproportionate length, and serve almost +exclusively as the organs of locomotion. On the other hand, in the +great majority of the order, the fore limbs serve in a certain degree +as hands, and are used for holding the food to the mouth; and in these +the radius and ulna, which are always distinct bones, retain the power +of rotation. The corresponding bones in the hind limbs (tibia and +fibula) are, on the contrary, firmly anchylosed together in two great +groups of the order. The feet have usually five toes, but sometimes +this number is reduced to four, or even to three, in the hind feet. +These toes are armed with claws, which, however, in one family, acquire +more or less of the appearance of hoofs. + +In point of intelligence the Rodentia do not stand high. The brain is +comparatively small, and the cerebral hemispheres show no traces of +those convolutions of the surface which are characteristic of most +Mammals (_see_ figures). The Capybara alone is known to have a few +convolutions. The cerebellum is entirely uncovered by the hemispheres. +The organs of the senses are generally well developed, and the eyes +and external ears, especially, are often of large size. In the Mole +Rats and some other burrowing forms, however, the external ears are +entirely wanting, and the eyes are very much reduced in size, and in +some instances even concealed beneath the skin. The intestinal canal is +long, and in all but one family furnished with a distinct cæcum. + +[Illustration: BRAIN OF BEAVER (_from above_).] + +[Illustration: BRAIN OF BEAVER. (_Profile._)] + +The body in the Rodents is generally plump and short, and the head is +borne upon a short neck. The limbs also are usually short, so that the +belly is close to the ground; but in some cases all four legs are of +moderate length, or, as already stated, the hind legs are enormously +developed, forming powerful leaping organs. In general structure, as +to a certain extent in habits, there is, in fact, a most striking +parallelism between the Rodentia and the Insectivora (_see_ Vol. I., +p. 343); in both we find arboreal and terrestrial forms, and among the +latter some specially organised for burrowing in the earth, and others +equally adapted for springing lightly over its surface; a few, also, in +both orders, are aquatic. But here the parallel ceases. The dentition +in the two groups is widely divergent, and, as might be anticipated +from this circumstance, the food is very different; for, although some +Rodents, such as the common Mouse and Rat, are omnivorous, there is no +doubt that, as a whole, the Rodents must be regarded as vegetarians. +Grass and the leaves of plants and trees furnish some of them with +nourishment; whilst others feed upon fruits, seeds, and nuts, in the +consumption of which last the powerful incisor teeth come into play. +Many species lay up stores of food for the winter season, of which +they pass more or less in a state of torpidity; and some of these are +provided with cheek-pouches, often of considerable size, in which to +convey their harvest into their store-houses. + +As might be expected from the great number of species belonging to this +order, and their general uniformity of structure, their classification +is a matter of some difficulty, and very different views as to their +relationships have prevailed at different times. Nowadays, however, +zoologists have arrived at something like uniformity of opinion in +this matter, and except in some minor points they may be said to be +pretty nearly agreed. In the following sketch of the natural history +of the Rodents we shall follow the classification proposed by the +late Mr. E. R. Alston in the _Proceedings of the Zoological Society_. +Mr. Alston accepted the division of the order into two primary groups +(sub-orders), proposed fifty years ago by Professor Gervais, and +characterised by the number of incisor teeth. The first of these +sub-orders, which includes by far the majority of the Rodents, is +formed by those species which never at any period of their lives +possess more than two incisors in the upper jaw, and have the enamel on +these strictly confined to the front surface of the teeth. These are +denominated SIMPLICIDENTATA, or SIMPLE-TOOTHED RODENTS. In the second +group, which includes only the Hares, Rabbits, and Calling Hares, we +have those species which in the adult state possess four incisors in +the upper jaw, namely, two large and efficient teeth, and behind these +two small, almost rudimentary incisors (_see_ figure of the dentition +of the Hare on p. 82). These are called DOUBLE-TOOTHED RODENTS, or +DUPLICIDENTATA. + + +SUB-ORDER I.--SIMPLE-TOOTHED RODENTS. + +Besides the characters derived from the number of incisor teeth above +mentioned, several other peculiarities of structure seem to show the +existence of a decided difference between the Simple-toothed and +Double-toothed Rodents; but most of these are of a rather abstruse +nature, and need not be noticed here, the most important additional +distinctive characters of the former being that the bony palate is well +developed, and that the fibula does not articulate with the calcaneum, +or heel-bone; whereas in the Double-toothed Rodents the palate is +reduced to a mere bridge between the portions of the upper jaw in +which the teeth are inserted, and the fibula does articulate with the +heel-bone. + +The Simplicidentata include a great number of families, and various +attempts have been made to group these under larger heads; but it must +be confessed that, owing to the way in which the families approach one +another, it is difficult to bring them together in sections capable of +being very strictly defined. Certain broad principles of relationship +are, however, generally recognised, and Mr. Alston represented these +by placing the Simple-toothed families under three great sections, the +first indicated by Mr. Waterhouse--the Squirrel-like, Mouse-like, and +Porcupine-like Rodents. + +The Squirrel-like Rodents have four molars on each side in the lower +jaw, and either four or five in the upper. When the latter number +is present, the foremost tooth is smaller than the rest. The fibula +remains as a distinct bone through life, and is usually quite free, +although sometimes attached to the tibia at the extremity. The upper +lip is usually cleft, the muffle is small and naked, and the nostrils +are comma-shaped, with the rounded part above. The zygomatic arch is +formed chiefly by the process of the malar bone, which is not supported +below by a continuation of the zygomatic process of the maxillary. The +collar-bones are perfect. The tail is usually cylindrical and hairy. + +The Mouse-like Rodents agree with the preceding in the characters of +the upper lip, muffle, and nostrils, but they have the tibia and fibula +completely united for at least the last third of their length. The +zygomatic arch is slender, and the malar process rarely extends so far +forward as in the preceding group and is generally supported below by +a continuation of the maxillary process. The collar-bones are perfect, +except in one very small family; and the tail is cylindrical, and +although sometimes hairy, more commonly covered with scales arranged in +rings. The number of molar teeth in this section varies from three to +six[51] on each side in each jaw, but three is the most usual number. + +[Illustration: TEETH OF THE TAGUAN.] + +The Porcupine-like Rodents, with one exception, have four molars on +each side in both jaws; the fibula distinct throughout life; the upper +lip rarely cleft; the muffle clad with a velvety coat of fine hairs; +and the nostrils either S-shaped or straight. The zygomatic arch is +stout, and the malar process does not advance far forward, nor is it +supported below by the maxillary process. + + +SECTION I.--(_SCIUROMORPHA._) SQUIRREL-LIKE RODENTS. + + +FAMILY I.--SCIURIDÆ. + +This first family, which includes the true Squirrels and the Marmots, +is distinguished from the rest of the section by the possession of five +rooted molars on each side of the upper jaw (_see_ figure of the teeth +on p. 85), the first being very small and sometimes deciduous, and +four molars on each side of the lower jaw, and by the presence on the +skull and zygomatic arch of small processes, indicating the posterior +boundary of the orbits (_see_ figure of the skull on p. 82). The molars +are tubercular, at least at first; but the summits of the tubercles are +generally more or less worn down as the animal increases in age. + +[Illustration: COMMON SQUIRREL.] + +The true Squirrels, which may be regarded as the types of this family, +are distinguished by their slender and graceful forms, and their long +and generally bushy tails, the latter character having originated +their classical name of _Sciurus_, as a compound of two Greek words, +indicating their habit of carrying their tails thrown up, so as to +shade the back. Our COMMON SQUIRREL (_Sciurus vulgaris_) may serve +as a good example of this division of the family. It is too well +known as a pet to need any detailed description; its elegant form and +graceful movements, the rich brownish-red colour of its upper surface, +contrasting with the white of the belly, and the beautifully-pencilled +or tufted ears, which, combined with its bright black eye, give it such +a lively appearance, must be familiar to every one. When full-grown, +the Squirrel measures from eight to ten inches in length of body, and +has a tail seven or eight inches long. British specimens are generally +smaller than those from the Continent of Europe. It varies considerably +in colour with the seasons, especially in northern regions; but even +in Central Europe and in Britain the fur of the sides and back becomes +mixed with a certain quantity of greyish-white hairs in the winter, +whilst in Lapland and Siberia the whole upper surface acquires a grey +tint at that season. In the summer also the ear-tufts diminish, or +altogether disappear. In the Alps and Pyrenees, there is a variety +having the back of a dark brown colour, speckled with yellowish-white. +This has been described as a distinct species, under the name of +_Sciurus alpinus_. + +The Common Squirrel is a widely-distributed species. It is abundant all +over Europe, except, according to Pallas, in the Crimea, and extends +beyond the Ural Mountains through the whole length of Southern Siberia +to the Altai and the Amoor region. It occurs in the Caucasus, and +probably in Persia. Everywhere it haunts the woods and forests, living +chiefly upon the trees, among the branches of which it displays the +most astonishing agility. On the ground--to which, however, it does +not often descend--it is equally quick in its movements. If alarmed +under these circumstances, it dashes off to the nearest tree with +lightning-like rapidity, and by the aid of its sharp claws rushes up +the trunk till it has reached what it considers a safe elevation, +when the little sharp face and bright eyes may be seen peeping at the +intruder, apparently in triumph over his supposed disappointment. + +The food of the Squirrel consists chiefly of nuts, beech-mast, acorns, +and the young bark, shoots, and buds of trees. In eating the former +articles, they are held in the fore-paws, which thus supply the place +of hands, and the strong incisors soon make a way through the outer +shells into the contained kernels, which alone are eaten; for in all +cases in which the kernel is coated with a coarse brown skin (as in +the common hazel-nuts), the Squirrel carefully removes every particle +of this from the portions on which he feeds. The bark, buds, and young +shoots of trees seem generally to be attacked by the Squirrel when he +finds a deficiency of other and more congenial nourishment; but this +is so regularly the case in the spring of the year, that these animals +actually cause a great amount of damage to the trees in forest regions. +Hence, not unnaturally, the Squirrel is regarded in forest countries +as a most mischievous little animal, whose depredations are not to be +condoned on account of its elegant appearance and lively habits. As +another unamiable quality, may be mentioned its habit of plundering +birds’ nests and eating the eggs, which appears to be established upon +unquestionable evidence. In some northern regions the inhabitants +turn their Squirrels to a more profitable use than putting them, as +we so often do, into a sort of treadmill. In Lapland and some parts +of Siberia, especially on the banks of the Lena, these animals are +killed in great numbers for the sake of their grey winter-coats, which, +however, are not equal in beauty to those of the north American Grey +Squirrel. + +The Squirrel passes the greater part of the winter in a torpid state, +lying coiled up in some hole of a tree, where its long bushy tail is +of service in keeping it warm and comfortable. On fine and warm days, +however, it rouses itself from its slumbers; and, as if foreseeing +the occurrence of such days, it lays up in the autumn stores of nuts, +acorns, and beech-mast, upon which it can feed when it wakes during +the winter. This winter provision is not laid up all in one place, but +stored away in several different holes in trees surrounding the place +of its own retreat. + +Squirrels appear to be strictly monogamous, pairing for life, and +constantly inhabiting the same dwelling. The young, three or four in +number, are produced in June, and for their reception the parents +prepare a very beautifully constructed nest, formed of interlaced moss, +leaves, and vegetable fibres, which is placed either in the hole of a +tree, or in the fork between two branches. The young Squirrels are +very carefully attended by both parents, and the family remains united +until the following spring, when the young go out to find partners, and +settle themselves in the world. + +The Common Squirrel may serve as an example of the whole genus +_Sciurus_, which includes the ordinary Tree Squirrels, the species +of which are very numerous, probably more than one hundred, and +distributed over nearly all parts of the world. The species are most +numerous in the warm Oriental regions, in India, and the countries +and islands lying to the east of it, from which nearly fifty species +have been recorded. The northern parts of the Old World only possess +half a dozen species, but North America has about eighteen, many of +which are considerably larger than the European Squirrel. The most +striking of the North American species are the GREY SQUIRREL (_Sciurus +carolinensis_) and the FOX SQUIRREL (_Sciurus niger_), both of which +are abundant in the Atlantic States, and vary considerably in colour, +presenting both grey and black individuals. + +[Illustration: BLACK FOX SQUIRREL.] + +Besides the ordinary Squirrels, a considerable number of other species +are arboreal in their habits, and, indeed, even more strictly so than +the true Squirrels. These are the Flying Squirrels, as they are called, +which may be at once distinguished from the others by the presence +of a large fold of skin, extending along the sides of the body, and +including the limbs as far as the wrists and heels (_see_ figure on +next page). In the case of the Common Squirrels, it is observed that +in performing leaps of any considerable extent the limbs are stretched +out, and the long, bushy tail extended, so as to give the animal as +large a surface as possible; but in the Flying Squirrels, as in the +Flying Lemur (Vol. I., p. 344), when the limbs are extended laterally +the folds of skin (_patagia_) become tightly stretched, and form a +regular parachute, which seems to give the animal essential support in +its most extensive leaps. The extent of this membrane is increased by +means of a sort of bony spur, which articulates with the wrist. + +The TAGUAN (_Pteromys petaurista_) is a large species, indeed, the +largest of the whole family Sciuridæ. It measures about two feet long, +and has a bushy tail of nearly equal length. Its ears are pointed, but +not tufted, and its eyes are large and prominent. Its colour above +is greyish-black, produced by a mixture of entirely black hairs with +others having the tips greyish-white; beneath it is greyish-white. +About the head and on the limbs the fur is tinged with brown or +chestnut brown, and the lateral folds are sometimes of the latter +colour, sometimes blackish-brown above and grey beneath. The tail is +rounded in its form. + +This species inhabits the peninsula of India and Ceylon, Malacca and +Siam, where it is found only in the forests, living in trees, either +singly or in pairs. Its activity is chiefly nocturnal, in which respect +it differs from the ordinary Squirrels. During the day it sleeps in +the holes of trees, but at night it comes forth, climbing and leaping +with the greatest rapidity about the trees on which it lives. While +thus engaged the lateral membranes are loosely folded at the sides of +the body; but from time to time the Squirrel wishes to pass from one +tree to another at some distance, and then it ascends to a considerable +elevation and springs off, at the same time extending all four limbs +as much as possible, when the tightly-stretched folds of skin lend +the body a support, which enables it to glide through the air to some +distance, although it seems always to alight at a lower level than that +from which it started. During these aerial excursions the long bushy +tail serves as a sort of rudder, and enables the animal even to change +its course during flight. Of the habits of the Taguan very little is +known. It appears to feed upon fruits, and is exceedingly shy and +fearful. Of a nearly-allied species which he observed in China, Mr. +Swinhoe says that the nest, which was placed high up in a large tree, +measured about three feet in diameter, and was composed of interlaced +twigs, and lined with dry grass. It contained only a single young +Squirrel; but this might be exceptional. + +[Illustration: TAGUAN.] + +Some nine or ten additional species of the genus _Pteromys_, which +includes the Flying Squirrels with cylindrical tails, are found in +the forest regions of India and of the countries to the east of that +peninsula, including China, Formosa, and Japan. The same region also +harbours three or four species of another kind of Flying Squirrel, in +which the long hairs of the tail are arranged in two rows, and the +tail is flat instead of cylindrical. These animals, to which the name +of _Sciuropterus_ has been given, are, however, more numerous in the +north, where their distribution extends from Lapland and Finland, +through Siberia, to Northern China and Japan. Squirrels of this genus +also occur over the whole continent of North America and as far +south as Guatemala. The best known of the Old World species is the +POLATOUCHE (_Sciuropterus volans_), which inhabits the north-eastern +parts of Europe and nearly the whole of Siberia. It is an elegant +little creature, about six inches in length, and with a broad, flat +tail, rather shorter than the body: as, indeed, is the case in all +the _Sciuropteri_. Its silky coat is in summer of a tawny brown on +the upper surface, darker on the flying membrane and the outsides +of the limbs, beneath pure white; whilst the tail is greyish above +and light rusty red beneath. In winter the fur becomes longer and +thicker, and appears of a silver grey colour on the upper surface. +The Polatouche lives in the birch woods, or in places where pines, +firs, and birches grow intermingled; but the presence of the birch +seems to be a necessity of its existence. It is met with singly or in +pairs, but always on the trees, sleeping during the day in its nest +or in the hole of a tree, and coming forth at dusk to climb and leap +about the branches with great agility. In going from tree to tree by +the aid of its lateral membranes, it is said to cover distances of +twenty or thirty yards with ease, always, however, taking its leap from +the highest branches of the tree it starts from, and alighting at a +considerably lower level. Its food consists of nuts, seeds, berries, +the buds, young shoots, and catkins of the birch, and the young shoots +of pines and firs. The nest is made in the hole of a tree, carefully +lined with soft moss and herbage. Like the Common Squirrel, the +Polatouche sleeps through the cold weather, but wakes up from time to +time and goes out in search of food. + +[Illustration: POLATOUCHE.] + +This group of Flying Squirrels is also represented on the North +American continent. The number of species seems rather uncertain, some +authors making it two, others four; while Mr. J. A. Allen regards all +the North American Flying Squirrels as belonging to a single species, +which varies greatly in size in different localities. This species +is the ASSAPAN (_Sciuropterus volucella_), one of the smallest of +its family, the length of its head and body being only from four and +three-quarters to seven and a half inches; the smaller specimens +(var. _volucella_) being found in the more southern States, and even +as far south as Guatemala; and the larger ones (var. _hudsonius_) in +more northern localities. In its habits this elegant little Squirrel +resembles the Polatouche, but appears to be more sociable. It thrives +well in confinement. + +Besides these Tree Squirrels, a few species of the Sciurine sub-family +live upon the ground. In Abyssinia and in other parts of Africa some +curious animals, forming the genus _Xerus_, are found, distinguished +by their very small ears, longish limbs, and the singular texture of +their hair, which scantily clothes the skin and generally takes the +form of flattened spines. They have a slender body, a pointed head, +and a longish tail. These animals live in elevated forest regions, +and even upon comparatively barren steppes, where they burrow in the +ground under rocks, or among the roots of trees and bushes. They are +diurnal, and feed chiefly upon buds and herbage, but also devour small +birds, eggs, and insects. The best known species (_Xerus rutilans_) is +about twenty inches long, of which the tail makes about nine inches. +Its colour is reddish-yellow above, becoming paler on the sides, and +whitish below. + +[Illustration: COMMON CHIPMUNK.] + +The true GROUND SQUIRRELS (_Tamias_) are distinguished from the rest +of the Squirrels (_Sciurinæ_), and approach the Marmots, which form a +second sub-family of Sciuridæ. Like some of the latter, they possess +large cheek-pouches opening into the mouth. The ears in this genus are +short; the fourth toe of the fore feet is longer than the rest, as in +all the Sciurinæ; the limbs are short, and nearly equal in length; and +the tail is shorter than in the true Squirrels. In general form and +appearance, however, the Ground Squirrels greatly resemble the latter, +except that they are rather stouter in the body. Four species of this +group inhabit the continent of North America, where they are known as +Chipmunks; and one of these, according to Mr. J. A. Allen, is identical +with the only known Old World species (_Tamias asiaticus_), which is +found in North-eastern Europe and across Northern Asia, as far as the +mouth of the Amoor, North China, and Japan. This species, which goes +by different names in the different localities which it inhabits, +and the COMMON CHIPMUNK (_Tamias striatus_) of the United States, +agree very closely in all respects, and are exceedingly pretty little +animals, with light-coloured fur adorned with darker stripes, varied +in the case of the Chipmunk with streaks of white. They are from eight +to ten inches long, including the tail. These animals live in burrows +in the ground, and feed upon nuts, acorns, grain, and other seeds +of various kinds, of which they lay up great stores in the autumn, +carrying home their provisions in their cheek-pouches, which they +stuff as full as they can hold. In this way they do no small damage to +cultivated grounds near their haunts, plundering the corn and maize +fields very freely; over eight pounds of corn in the ear are often +found in the granaries of the Siberian form. The burrow is made deep +enough to protect the animals from frost in winter, and the sleeping +chamber contains a large nest of leaves and grass, in which several +individuals, probably the parents with their grown-up family, sleep +through the cold weather; but it must be remarked that their torpidity +is very imperfect, and that they have frequent recourse to the supplies +of food which they have stored up during the summer and autumn in +separate chambers at the ends of lateral passages. These stores are so +large that they generally greatly exceed the wants of the provident +little animals, and in the spring the residue is greedily devoured by +Wild Pigs and Bears. Even the poorer human inhabitants of the countries +frequented by the Ground Squirrels do not disdain to eke out their +scanty means of subsistence by plundering the hoards of these animals. +Many of them perish in severe winters, great numbers are destroyed by +man, by the smaller Carnivora, and by birds of prey, but, nevertheless, +they manage to hold their own, in consequence of the great fertility of +the females, which produce several young twice in the year, namely, in +May and August. At pairing time the males fight violently. + +[Illustration: MOLAR TEETH OF THE MARMOT.] + +From the Ground Squirrels we pass, by a perfectly natural transition, +to the MARMOTS (_Arctomyinæ_), the second sub-family of Sciuridæ. These +animals differ from the preceding forms by their broader incisors, +shorter tail, and stouter form of body, and by having the third finger +longer than the rest. The first upper molar, also, is larger and more +persistent than in the Squirrels, and the other molars differ in +structure (_see_ figure). The Marmots are all terrestrial animals, +living and storing provisions in burrows, which they dig in the ground, +and they are strictly confined to the northern parts of the two +hemispheres. + +[Illustration: STRIPED SPERMOPHILE, OR GOPHER.] + +[Illustration: BURROWS OF THE PRAIRIE DOG.] + +The nearest approach to the Squirrels is made by the SPERMOPHILES +(_Spermophilus_), several species of which occur in North America +from Mexico to the Arctic regions, but never to the east of the +great central prairie region; whilst in the Old World their domain +extends from Silesia, through Russia, and across Asia, to the Amoor +and Kamstchatka. The Spermophiles are Squirrel-like in form and have +rather short tails, but in the American species this organ is generally +longer than in those of the Eastern continent. On the thumb the claw is +either very small or altogether wanting; the two series of molars are +nearly parallel, and the mouth is furnished with large cheek-pouches. +The ears are very small. These animals live in society, and prefer +a dry, sandy, or loamy soil, in which they can easily make their +burrows, which terminate in a chamber lined with grass and herbage, +and have, besides, side-chambers, in which provisions can be stored +for winter use. Like the other species of the family, the Spermophiles +pass the winter in a state of partial torpidity. In the summer they +are exceedingly lively and playful. Their food consists of roots, +berries, and seeds of various kinds, and their winter stores of these +articles are carried into the burrows in their large cheek-pouches. +The females are very prolific, producing from four to eight young at +a birth, and in some cases even as many as ten have been found. The +commonest and most widely distributed of the North American species is +the STRIPED SPERMOPHILE, or GOPHER (_Spermophilus tredecimlineatus_), +a pretty little creature of from six to eight inches long, usually of +a chestnut brown colour with seven yellowish-white lines running along +the back and between these six rows of small squarish spots of the same +colour. This species extends its range from the Red River in Canada +southwards as far as Texas, and is common on the prairies east of the +Mississippi. This and some other species of the genus are said to be +very carnivorous in their habits, preying upon small birds and mammals; +and the Gopher was even described as feeding upon the flesh of Bisons, +which it found lying dead on the prairies. The other American species +are more local in their distribution; four of them occur in Mexico, and +one of these is only known from that country. Of the Old World species +the best known is the SISEL, or SUSLIK (_Spermophilus citillus_), which +is abundant in Central and Eastern Europe and in Siberia. Several +other species are known from Asia Minor, Siberia, and Central Asia. + +The BARKING SQUIRRELS, or PRAIRIE DOGS, of which two species (_Cynomys +ludovicianus_, _see_ figure on p. 81, and _C. columbianus_) are found +in the United States of America, are of a stouter form than the +Spermophiles, and have the ears and tail short. The claws are well +developed on all the toes of the fore feet, the cheek-pouches are +shallow, and the two rows of grinding teeth converge towards the back +of the mouth. These animals are peculiar to North America, where the +former inhabits the prairies east of the Rocky Mountains, and the +latter is found on the plains of the Columbia river, and in other parts +of the western territories as far south as New Mexico. The best known +of the two species is the _Cynomys ludovicianus_, to which the name of +the PRAIRIE DOG was first applied: this name being given to it from +a fancied resemblance of its voice to the barking of a small Dog. It +measures about a foot in length, and its tail is about four inches +long. Its colour on the upper surface is reddish-brown, variegated with +grey, and with a few scattered black hairs; the tail is flattened, +and brownish-black towards the end, and the lower surface is brownish +or yellowish-white. These animals live together in great societies, +especially upon those portions of the prairies where the so-called +buffalo-grass (_Sesleria dactyloides_) grows most luxuriantly, this +grass and succulent roots constituting their chief food. They live +in burrows, which they dig in the ground at a distance of twelve or +fifteen feet apart; a hard-beaten path runs from burrow to burrow, and +would seem to give evidence of the sociable disposition of the animals; +and at the mouth of every burrow there is a little hillock, formed by +the earth thrown out of it, which serves the occupant as a watch-tower. +These burrows are usually so numerous upon favourable pieces of ground +that the space occupied by them is quite populous, and presents a scene +of considerable animation when the inhabitants are out in the pursuit +of their business or their pleasure, and hence they are in common +parlance spoken of as “towns” or “villages.” Their curious appearance +is heightened by the almost constant presence in them of numerous small +Owls, of the species known as the Burrowing Owl (_Athene cunicularia_), +a widely-spread species, which in some places digs its own subterranean +habitation, but on these prairies saves itself the trouble by taking +possession of the deserted abodes of the Prairie Dogs. These birds are +diurnal in their habits, and are to be seen mixed up with the Prairie +Dogs in their settlements. Another inhabitant of the burrows is the +Rattlesnake; and some of the earlier observers thought that the Prairie +Dogs, Owls, Rattlesnakes, and some other animals, such as Horned Frogs +and an occasional Tortoise, occupied the same burrow, and lived there +on the most amicable footing. Unfortunately, this paradisaic picture +is an imaginary one. It is true that the Rattlesnake does take up his +abode in the Prairie Dog’s burrows, but he either selects a deserted +one, or dispossesses, and perhaps devours, the rightful owner; and his +object in his residence among the lively little Marmots is anything +rather than peaceful, as they constitute his favourite food. The little +Burrowing Owl has also been said by some writers to feed on the young +Prairie Dogs; but this is not proved, and the food of the Owls is known +to consist chiefly of Grasshoppers and Crayfish. According to the +latitude in which they live, the Prairie Dogs seem to be more or less +subject to torpidity during the winter. + +The true MARMOTS (_Arctomys_) are nearly related to the Prairie Dogs. +They are stout in the body, have a short tail, and a rudimentary thumb +with a flat nail; and are either entirely destitute of cheek-pouches +or have mere indications of those organs. The rows of molar teeth +are placed nearly parallel to each other in each jaw. The skull is +broad and flat above, with a depression between the orbits; and +the post-orbital processes are larger than in any other Sciuridæ. +The Marmots are confined to the Northern hemisphere, but over it +they are widely distributed in both continents. Of the Old World +species, the best known are the BOBAC (_Arctomys Bobac_) and the +ALPINE MARMOT (_A. Marmota_), of which the former extends from the +south of Poland and Galicia over the whole of Southern Russia and +Siberia to the Amoor region and Kamstchatka, whilst it is found in +elevated situations as far southward as Cashmere, Tibet, and the +Himalayas; and the latter inhabits only the higher regions of the Alps, +Pyrenees, and Carpathians. In North America the common species is the +WOODCHUCK (_Arctomys Monax_), the distribution of which is from the +Carolinas northward to Hudson’s Bay, and westward from the Atlantic +coast to Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota; the Rocky Mountain region +is inhabited by a distinct species (_A. flaviventer_); and a third +very large species, the HOARY MARMOT, or WHISTLER (_A. pruinosus_), +which measures from twenty-three to twenty-five inches in length of +body, appears to be most abundant in the north-western parts of the +continent, and is said to range northward as far as the Arctic Circle. +The Marmots live usually in large societies in extensive burrows, which +they form underground; and in some localities, as on the great plains +of Russia and Siberia, their dwelling-places are described as producing +a remarkable effect, owing to the multitude of little hillocks formed +by the earth thrown out of their burrows. During the summer they are in +a state of constant activity, playing and running about in search of +food in the neighbourhood of their dwellings. The winter they pass in a +state of torpidity, in a comfortable chamber lined with soft herbage, +and protected from the outside cold by the closure of the main passage +leading into their abode. For a time after their retirement for the +winter they continue active in their domicile, and feed upon the stores +of food which they have laid up during the summer; and as a preparation +for their winter sleep, they become exceedingly fat during the autumn. +The Marmots are the largest members of their family, and, indeed, some +of them may be reckoned among the larger Rodents. The Alpine Marmot +measures more than twenty inches in length, and the Bobac about fifteen +inches, exclusive of the tail. + +[Illustration: ALPINE MARMOT.] + + +FAMILY II.--ANOMALURIDÆ. + +Some curious African animals, closely resembling the Flying Squirrels, +and at first regarded as belonging to that group, were formed by Mr. +Waterhouse into a distinct genus, which he called _Anomalurus_, in +allusion to the peculiar characters presented by their tail. This +organ, which is long and well clothed with hair, although not so bushy +as in the true Squirrels, has on the lower surface of its basal portion +a double series of horny scales, which project from the skin, and +probably serve to assist the animal in climbing upon the branches of +trees. + +Besides this peculiarity, these animals exhibit certain other +characters which have induced modern zoologists to separate them from +the Squirrels as a distinct family. Thus, the post-orbital processes +are wanting, or nearly so; the infra-orbital openings are large; the +molar teeth are four in number on each side, above and below, nearly +equal in size, and not tubercular, but with a flat surface, crossed by +transverse loops of enamel; and the palate is contracted in front and +deeply notched behind. In the skeleton we find sixteen pairs of ribs, +whereas in the Squirrels there are only twelve or thirteen pairs; and +the internal anatomy, first described by Mr. Alston, is very peculiar. +The flying membrane is quite as largely developed as in the Flying +Squirrels, and is in the same manner extended from the wrists to the +heels, and further supported by cartilaginous spurs starting from the +fore limbs; but, whilst in the Flying Squirrels this spur springs from +the wrist itself, in the Anomalures it projects from the elbow, and +thus produces a still greater extension of the membrane. The ears are +well developed, the eyes large, and the general aspect both of head and +body completely squirrel-like. Six species of this family have been +described, all from the West Coast of Africa. One of them occurs in the +island of Fernando Po. The species figured (_Anomalurus fulgens_) is +from the Gaboon. It is a handsome little creature, of a bright reddish +colour, paler below, and having a small white spot between the ears. +Its length is fourteen inches, and its tail is seven inches long. In +some of the other species the tail is as long as the body. Of the +habits of these animals little is positively known, but they are said +to feed upon fruits. They probably resemble the Flying Squirrels in +their general mode of life. + +[Illustration: FULGENT ANOMALURE (From the _Proceedings of the +Zoological Society_).] + +[Illustration: MOLAR TEETH OF THE ANOMALURE.] + + +FAMILY III.--HAPLODONTIDÆ. + +This is another small family, smaller even than the preceding one, for +it includes only a single known species, limited in its range to the +western coast of North America. This is the Sewellel, a little Rodent, +first observed by the American travellers, Lewis and Clarke, in 1805 +or 1806, described in 1814 by Rafinesque under the name of _Anisonyx +rufa_, and afterwards, in 1829, by Sir John Richardson, as the type +of a new genus, as _Aplodontia leporina_. This generic name has been +corrected, in accordance with its derivation, by more recent writers, +to _Haplodon_, from which the name of the family has been formed. + +In this animal there are five molars in the upper and four in the +lower jaw; the first upper molar is very small, and all these teeth +are rootless, simple, and prismatic, the surface of each tooth being +surrounded by a mere border of enamel. The skull is very flat, very +wide behind, and furnished with large zygomatic arches; between +the orbits and in front it is much contracted, and there are no +post-orbital processes. In the lower jaw the angular portion is twisted +so as to form a horizontal ridge. The body is stout and clumsy, the +tail very short, and the claws of the fore feet (which are five-toed, +as well as the hind ones) are very powerful; in fact, as Dr. Coues +says, “The whole organisation, viewed externally, indicates terrestrial +and highly fossorial habits.” + +The SEWELLEL (_Haplodon rufus_) is about a foot long, with a tail +of an inch or an inch and a half; its colour is brownish, with an +intermixture of black hairs, lighter and more greyish below. The +whiskers, claws, and upper surface of the feet are whitish, and +the incisor teeth yellow. It inhabits the Washington and Oregon +territories, from the Rocky Mountains to the shores of the Pacific, and +extends also into the southern portions of British Columbia and the +upper parts of California. + +The Sewellel is described as having very much the same habits as +the Prairie Dog, living in society, burrowing very readily in the +ground, and feeding on roots and berries. Their companies, however, +seem to be much smaller than those of the Prairie Dog, and they are +said chiefly to frequent spring-heads in rich, moist places. They are +described as having the curious habit of neatly cutting off some herb +or plant, which, when packed in bundles, they lay out and expose to +the sun to dry; this is probably for the purpose of storing for winter +consumption. It seems to be uncertain whether the Sewellel is torpid +during the winter, but probably in this respect it varies according to +local conditions or the coldness of the seasons. Dr. Suchley believes +that the Sewellel has several litters of young during the season. The +Indians trap them, and esteem them very highly as food. Cloaks or +blankets are made of their skins, which are sewn together with fibres +derived from the sinews of the Elk and Deer. A robe described by Sir +John Richardson was composed of twenty-seven skins. + + +FAMILY IV.--CASTORIDÆ. + +Unlike as the Beaver may be to a Squirrel, it yet presents many +characters which prove that its nearest affinity is to the animals +which compose the group Sciuromorpha. This relationship has indeed +been overlooked by many zoologists, but Mr. Alston and Mr. Allen have +clearly shown that Professor Gervais was right in placing the Castoridæ +in close juxtaposition with the Squirrels. The peculiarities which make +the apparent discrepancy so striking are indeed chiefly those by which +the Beaver is adapted to an aquatic life. + +[Illustration: MOLAR TEETH OF THE BEAVER.] + +The Beaver, which is the sole living representative of this family, is +a more powerful animal than any of the preceding, and his incisor teeth +and the means of working them are especially well developed. The head +is large and the skull massive, and furnished with a distinct median +(sagittal) crest for the insertion of the strong muscles which move the +lower jaw. There are no post-orbital processes. There are four molars +on each side in each jaw, and these are nearly similar in size and +structure; but, contrary to what we have seen in the preceding groups, +the first molar is the largest, and the others diminish in size towards +the hinder end of the row. The series of teeth in the two sides of the +mouth converge toward the front; and the teeth themselves, which are +for a long time rootless, and only close up to form a simple root when +the animal grows old, show three folds or loops of enamel on one side, +and a single fold on the other: the three folds entering from the outer +surface of the tooth in the upper jaw, and from its inner surface in +the lower. + +The general form is stout and heavy, especially in the hinder parts; +the tail is of moderate length, broad, flattened, and covered with a +scaly skin; the feet are all five-toed, the fore pair considerably +smaller than the hinder, but all well furnished with claws, and the +hinder pair fully webbed to the extremities of the toes. The wrist has +a large ossicle, in addition to those usually composing that part +of the body. The eyes are small, have the pupil vertical, and are +furnished with a nictitating membrane; the ears are small and short, +and their antitragus can be so applied to the head as almost entirely +to close the auditory aperture; and the nostrils are also so arranged +as to be capable of closing. + +[Illustration: BEAVER.] + +The Beaver is usually about two feet and a half long, and is, +therefore, one of the largest of the Rodentia, except the Capybara. +The tail, which is flattened above and below, and of an elongated +oval form, measures about ten inches. The muffle is naked; the ears +scaly; the soles of all the feet are naked, and their upper surfaces +clothed with hairs; and the second toe of the hind feet is usually +furnished with a double claw, the additional one being placed beneath +the other. The general colour of the fur is reddish-brown on the upper +surface, lighter and greyish below. The colour varies a little in +different individuals, and appears to become darker, or even blackish, +in northern localities. White or pied individuals are not uncommon. +The Beaver appears to increase in size for some years after it has +attained maturity. Mr. Allen says that in America “two-year-old Beavers +generally weigh about thirty-five to forty pounds, while very old ones +occasionally attain a weight of upwards of sixty.” The size of the +skull seems to increase throughout life; the thickness and density +of the bones also increase, and the ridges for the attachment of the +muscles become stronger in old individuals. + +The Beaver is, or has been, distributed generally over all the northern +parts of the Northern hemisphere, especially in the forest regions. +Formerly it ranged over the whole of Europe, including the British +islands, where there is historical evidence of its former existence, +besides the skulls and bones which have been found in various places, +but especially in the Fen lands. At present the animal appears to be +completely exterminated in the southern parts of Europe from France +southwards, with the exception of a small colony on the Rhone, which we +believe is still in existence; and only a very few individuals survive +in Germany, where they are found on a tributary of the Elbe, and in one +or two other places. In some parts of Poland, Russia, and Austria, and +in the Scandinavian peninsula, they still, to a greater or less extent, +hold their ground; and in Asia they abound about the rivers of Siberia, +and in the streams which flow into the Caspian Sea. In North America +Beavers formerly abounded from Texas, and, according to manuscript +evidence cited by Mr. Allen, even from Mexico, northward to the extreme +limit of forest growth, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. The +constant pursuit to which the animals were subjected, in consequence of +the demand for their skins, greatly diminished their numbers, and in +many localities altogether exterminated them; but they still occur over +a very large extent of the North American continent, especially in the +western territories, where they are even abundant in some of the wilder +parts. + +In the preceding statements we have spoken of the Beaver as forming a +single species; but it has long been a moot question with zoologists +whether the Beavers of the Old and New Worlds were or were not +specifically identical. The external differences are very slight, +and those observed in the skull, upon which most stress has been +laid, do not appear to be of sufficient importance for the separation +of the animals as distinct species. They consist chiefly in the +greater breadth of the anterior portion of the skull, including the +inter-orbital space; the extension farther back of the nasal bones, +the greater size and depth of the basilar cavity and the more anterior +position of the auditory bullæ, in the European Beaver; but the +examination of large series of specimens has proved that the skulls +from both hemispheres present many exceptions, in which one or more +of the peculiarities which they ought to exhibit do not occur: a +circumstance which of necessity greatly invalidates the distinction +founded upon such characters. Dr. Ely sums up the results of an +extended investigation in the following words:--“The extremes of +difference, in their aggregate, on the one side and on the other, are +sufficiently striking to justify us in regarding them as varieties +of one and the same species; while the want of constancy in these +peculiarities suggests the inference that these variations are due to +long separation of the races, and to accidental causes, rather than to +original diversity of the stock.” The Beaver may thus be regarded as a +species with two geographical forms (varieties or sub-species), viz., +_Castor fiber_, var. _europæus_, and _Castor fiber_, var. _canadensis_. + +So much has been written upon the habits of the Beaver, that the +following short statement will suffice to give the leading facts in the +natural history of the animal, the accounts of the marvellous sagacity +of which, given by the older writers, have, perhaps, invested it with +an exaggerated interest. + +In populous countries the Beaver is contented, like the Otter, with a +long burrow for his residence; but in the wilder regions of Siberia and +North America his dwelling-place is a much more complicated affair. But +even in these regions, according to some authorities, a certain number +of Beavers--always males--show a lazy unwillingness to take part in the +common labours of the colony, and these, as idlers, are expelled from +the community, often with rather severe treatment, and then take up +their abode by themselves in holes, which they dig out in the banks of +rivers, whence they are called “terriers.” On the other hand, it would +appear that the building instinct which is so remarkably manifested by +the Beaver is not always extinct even in those which inhabit populous +countries, for we have a most interesting account from M. Meyerinck +of the construction of a lodge, and even of a dam, by the colony of +Beavers on a tributary of the Elbe. + +In North America, from which we have the fullest accounts of the habits +of the Beavers, these animals select for their habitation some small +stream running through a locality well covered with trees, especially +willows, birches, and poplars, upon the bark of which they chiefly +feed. These trees they cut down with their powerful incisor teeth, +usually selecting those from the thickness of a man’s arm to that +of his thigh, but sometimes even felling trunks eighteen inches in +diameter. The operation, which at first sight would seem to be a rather +difficult one for an animal like the Beaver to perform, is effected +by gnawing all round the trunk for a certain distance, and gradually +working deeper and deeper into its substance in the middle of the part +attacked, until at length the tree stands upon quite a slender piece +of wood, with the trunk both above and below this tapered off into +the form of two cones, united by their apices. The work is done as +sharply and neatly as if the wood had been cut away by a chisel; and +the animals are said to have the sagacity to weaken the trunk more on +the side that looks towards the water than on the opposite side, by +which means, when it falls, it will generally do so in the direction +of the water, which materially facilitates the further operations of +the Beavers. The quantity of trees cut down by them in this way is very +great, so that in the neighbourhood of a Beaver encampment the ground +is everywhere full of the stumps which they have left. + +These tree trunks are then cut up into lengths of five or six feet, +which, after their bark has been stripped off and eaten, are employed +in the formation of a lodge, to serve as a shelter for the company of +Beavers forming it. Access to the lodge is obtained by means of several +subterranean passages, which always open under water, and lead up into +the chamber occupying the interior of the lodge. The lodge is usually +of an oven-like shape, and is built close to the edge of the water; +its walls are very thick, and composed of the above-mentioned trunks +of trees, plastered over with mud, clay, &c., mixed with grasses and +moss, until the whole fabric measures from twelve to twenty feet in +diameter, and forms a hill some six or eight feet high. The larger +lodges are in the interior about seven feet in diameter, and between +two and three feet high; and the floor of this spacious chamber is +covered with fine chips of wood, grasses, and the soft bark of trees, +which serve to form the beds of the occupants. Occasionally the lodges +are said to contain store-rooms. In front of the lodge, according to +Audubon, the Beavers scratch away the mud of the bottom until they +make the water deep enough to enable them to float their pieces of +timber to this point, even when the water is frozen; and, communicating +with this, a ditch surrounds the lodge, which is also made so deep +that it will not readily freeze to the bottom. Into this ditch, and +the deep water in front of the lodge, the passages by which access to +the water is obtained always open, and thus the inhabitants can at +any time make their way out when their business requires them to do +so. In the neighbourhood of the lodge the timber cut into lengths, +as above described, is piled up, so as to furnish a supply of food +as it is required; and the pieces of timber, after being stripped of +their bark, are usually employed by the Beavers either in repairing +their lodges or in constructing or strengthening the dams which they +very frequently throw across the streams haunted by them. These dams, +which are destined to keep the water of variable streams up to the +necessary height for the convenience of the Beaver, are wonderful +pieces of work, and almost justify the marvellous stories told of its +intelligence and sagacity by the older writers. They are often of +great length--sometimes 150 or 200 yards and more--and run across the +course of the brook inhabited by the Beavers--sometimes in a straight +line, sometimes in a curved form, according to peculiarities in the +ground or the stream, and the exigencies of the engineers. They are +composed, like the lodges, of lengths cut from the trunks and branches +of trees, filled in with smaller sticks, roots, grasses, and moss, and +all plastered with mud and clay in a most workmanlike manner, until the +whole structure becomes quite water-tight. Their height is from six to +ten feet, and their thickness at the bottom sometimes as much as double +this, but diminishing upwards by the slope of the sides until the top +is only from three to five feet wide. These dams convert even small +rivulets into large pools of water, often many acres in extent; and in +districts where Beavers abound these pools may occupy neatly the whole +course of a stream, one above the other, almost to its source. Their +use to the Beavers, as constantly furnishing them with a sufficiency of +water in which to carry on their business, and especially to float to +their lodges the tree trunks necessary for their subsistence, is easily +understood; but it is a more remarkable circumstance that by this +means the Beavers exercise a considerable influence upon the external +appearance of the locality inhabited by them, which may persist even +long after they have themselves disappeared. In and about the pools +the constant attacks of the Beavers upon the trees produce clearings +in the forest, often many acres in extent; at the margins of the pools +the formation of peat commences, and under favourable circumstances +proceeds until the greater part of the cleared space becomes converted +into a peat-moss. These peaty clearings are known as Beaver-meadows, +and they have been detected in various countries where the Beaver is +now extinct. + +As in the case of the majority of Rodents, the chief activity of the +Beaver is nocturnal; and it is only when driven from its lodge by a +high flood, or in the wildest and most sequestered localities, that it +goes about during the day. It swims quickly, but entirely by the agency +of the hind feet, the fore feet being used chiefly for carrying and +building operations, and for conveying the food to the mouth. Before +diving, it is said to slap the surface of the water with its tail, +producing a sound that may be heard at a considerable distance. On land +it sometimes travels a good way in the warm season, and is then stated +to indulge in a change of diet, feeding upon roots and fruits, and +sometimes upon corn. The roots of the water-lily (_Nuphar_) are also +said to constitute part of its food. The Beaver is hunted--but less +now than in former years--for the sake of its skin, the soft under fur +of which was much used in the manufacture of hats. It is asserted that +the flesh is very good, but according to some authorities, only certain +parts of it are palatable; and Audubon declares that the tail, which is +regarded as a peculiarly choice morsel, closely resembles marrow, and +is so rich that only those whose stomachs are incapable of being upset +by greasy food can eat more than a very little of it. + +The Beaver has been hunted not only for its fur, but also, and from +time immemorial, for the sake of a peculiar secretion produced by it, +which, under the name of _Castoreum_, has been for many centuries a +highly-esteemed medicament. This substance is secreted in a pair of +glandular pouches, situated in the inguinal region of the male Beaver; +and it would seem that it was almost entirely in order to procure these +that the ancients hunted this animal. Even in connection with this +they had wonderful tales to tell of its sagacity: as how that, when it +was pursued and found itself unable to escape, it would throw itself +upon its back, as if to invite the hunter to take what he wanted and +spare its life. Nay, some ancient writers seem to have believed that +the Beaver would go the length of biting off its own castoreum glands, +and leaving them for the hunter to pick up! Castoreum contains some +volatile oil and resin, and a peculiar crystallisable substance called +castorine; it is used in medicine as a stimulant, and seems to act +especially on the nervous system, but is not much employed nowadays. +Its odour, which appears to spread over a considerable space, is +described as being very attractive to other Beavers. Audubon states +that it is used for this reason as a lure by the American trappers. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE DORMOUSE, LOPHIOMYS, RAT, AND MOUSE FAMILIES. + + THE MOUSE-LIKE RODENTS--MYOXIDÆ--Characteristics--THE + DORMOUSE--Description--Habits--Activity--Food--Winter Condition--THE + LOIR--THE GARDEN DORMOUSE--LOPHIOMYIDÆ--How the Family came to be + Founded--THE LOPHIOMYS--Milne-Edwards’ Opinion--Skull--General + Form--Habits--MURIDÆ--Number of Species--Characteristics--Variety + of Forms--Distribution--The Murine Sub-Family--THE BROWN + RAT--History--Fecundity and Ferocity--Diet--At the Horse + Slaughter-houses of Montfaucon--Shipwrecked on Islands--Story + of their Killing a Man in a Coal-pit--In the Sewers of Paris + and London--THE BLACK RAT--THE EGYPTIAN RAT--THE COMMON + MOUSE--Habits--Destructiveness--Colours--THE LONG-TAILED FIELD + MOUSE--Description--Food--THE HARVEST MOUSE--Description--Habits--In + Winter--Agility--Their Nest--THE BANDICOOT RAT--THE TREE RAT--THE + STRIPED MOUSE--Allied Genera--THE WHITE-FOOTED HAPALOTE--The + American Murines--THE WHITE-FOOTED, OR DEER MOUSE--THE GOLDEN, + OR RED MOUSE--THE RICE-FIELD MOUSE--THE AMERICAN HARVEST + MOUSE--THE FLORIDA RAT--Description--Their Nest--Food--Mother and + Young--THE BUSHY-TAILED WOOD RAT--THE COTTON RAT--THE RABBIT-LIKE + REITHRODON--THE HAMSTERS--Characteristics--Appearance--Distribution-- + Burrows--Disposition--Food--Habits--THE TREE MICE--THE BLACK-STREAKED + TREE MICE--THE GERBILLES--Characteristics--Habits--Other + Genera--THE WATER MICE--Characteristics--Species--THE + SMINTHUS--THE VOLES--Characteristics--THE WATER + VOLE--Appearance--Distribution--Food--THE FIELD VOLE--THE + BANK VOLE--THE SOUTHERN FIELD VOLE--THE SNOW MOUSE--THE ROOT + VOLE--THE MEADOW MOUSE--THE PINE MOUSE--THE MUSQUASH, MUSK RAT, + OR ONDATRA--Distinguishing Features--Habits--His House--THE + LEMMING--Description--Food--Habits--Disposition--Their Extraordinary + Migrations--Other Lemmings--THE ZOKOR. + + +SECTION II.--MOUSE-LIKE RODENTS (_MYOMORPHA_). + +The Myomorphic, or Mouse-like group of Rodents, includes a much greater +variety of forms than the preceding, and the number of species is +also very great. We find in it arboreal, terrestrial, and aquatic +species; and in the second of these categories some presenting almost +every variety of habit which the Rodent type is capable of assuming. +Naturally the families and sub-families into which it is divided are +rather numerous. Mr. Alston distinguished seven family groups, the +first of which is the Myoxidæ. + + +FAMILY V.--MYOXIDÆ. + +The Dormice, which constitute this family, have generally been regarded +as nearly related to the Squirrels; and certainly, although they fall +under the definition of the Myomorphic section, they have a plain +affinity to the Sciuridæ. In form they are Squirrel-like, and the tail +is long and hairy, although not so bushy as in the true Squirrels. They +have four molars on each side in each jaw (_see_ figure), the front +one in each series being smaller than the rest. All these teeth are +rooted, and their crowns show transverse folds of enamel. The frontal +bones are much narrowed; the fore limbs are small, with the thumbs +rudimentary and furnished with a small flat nail; and the hind feet +have five toes. The Dormice differ from all other Rodents by having +the intestine entirely destitute of a cæcum. They are confined to the +Eastern hemisphere, and chiefly to its temperate and colder regions; +although a species of _Myoxus_, and some forms on which a special genus +(_Graphiurus_) has been founded, inhabit Africa. The number of known +species is only about a dozen. + +[Illustration: MOLAR TEETH OF THE DORMOUSE.] + +The common DORMOUSE (_Myoxus avellanarius_) is an elegant little +creature, about three inches long, with a somewhat bushy, cylindrical +tail, two inches and a half in length. Its fur is of a light +reddish-tawny colour above, becoming paler and yellowish on the lower +surface. On the throat there is a small whitish mark. It is widely +distributed in Europe, ranging from Britain and Sweden in the north to +Tuscany and Northern Turkey in the south. Generally it is more abundant +in southern than in northern countries, but in the south of France it +is less common than either of the other two European species. Eastwards +it does not extend beyond Galicia, Hungary, and Transylvania. + +[Illustration: DORMOUSE.] + +The Dormouse is nocturnal in its habits. During the day it sleeps in +its nest or in some snug retreat, and at night comes forth in search of +its food, which consists of nuts, acorns, seeds, berries, and the buds +of trees and shrubs. It is particularly fond of the nuts of the common +hazel, whence its specific name, and the name of “Haselmaus,” which it +bears in Germany; these nuts it is said to pierce and empty without +plucking them or taking them out of their cups. The Dormouse lives in +small societies in thickets and hedgerows, where it is as active in its +way amongst the bushes and undergrowth as its cousin the Squirrel upon +the larger trees. Among the small twigs and branches of the shrubs and +small trees the Dormice climb with wonderful adroitness, often, indeed, +hanging by their hind feet from a twig in order to reach and operate +on a fruit or a nut which is otherwise inaccessible, and running along +the lower surface of a branch with the activity and certainty of a +Monkey. Detached articles of food are held up to the mouth by the fore +paws, after the fashion of a Squirrel. Towards the winter the Dormouse +becomes exceedingly fat, and having collected a small store of food, +makes for itself a little globular nest, composed of small twigs, +leaves, pine-needles, moss, and grass, and within this, coiled up into +a ball, passes into a torpid state. + +Nevertheless, the winter sleep is not wholly uninterrupted; on mild +days the Dormouse wakes up for a time and takes a little of its +stored-up food. The female produces usually about four young, in the +spring according to Professor Bell, in August according to Brehm; but +the former writer thinks that in some cases two broods are produced +in the year, as he has received from the same locality in September a +half-grown Dormouse and three very young ones, evidently not more than +a fortnight or three weeks old. + +Of the other common European species, the LOIR (_Myoxus glis_) is +found only in southern regions, its range extending from Spain to +Southern Russia, and passing into the neighbouring parts of Asia. It is +considerably larger than the Dormouse, measuring rather more than six +inches in length, and has a bushy tail, in which the hairs are arranged +in two rows, as in that of the Squirrel. The habits of this species +are like those of the Dormouse. Fruit constitutes a portion of its +diet, and it is said also to destroy and devour small birds and other +animals. The Loir is a very voracious feeder, and becomes exceedingly +fat in the autumn. By the ancient Roman epicures it was regarded as a +dainty morsel, and they spared no pains to fatten it for the table. +It sleeps during the day, and hibernates in some hole in a tree or in +the ground, and the nest is formed in the former situation. The female +usually produces about six young. + +[Illustration: GARDEN DORMOUSE.] + +The GARDEN DORMOUSE, or LEROT of the French (_Myoxus nitela_), is +common all over the southern and western parts of the Continent, +extending northwards through Germany into the Baltic provinces of +Russia. It is a little smaller than the preceding species, which, +however, it resembles in its general habits; but it dwells commonly in +gardens, and feeds on fruits, often doing much damage to the choicer +varieties. It is a lighter and more active animal than the Loir, and is +said to be even more predaceous in its habits. The female produces from +four to six young, sometimes in a beautifully-made nest of her own, +sometimes in the deserted or usurped nest of a Blackbird or Thrush, or +in that of a Squirrel. + + +FAMILY VI.--LOPHIOMYIDÆ. + +The importance of an animal in the zoological system by no means +depends either upon its size or on its abundance in the world; its +rank in the classification is decided solely by peculiarities of +organisation which distinguish it more or less from its fellows; and in +many cases the creatures which are regarded with the most interest by +the naturalist are those which seem most to withdraw themselves from +general observation. A single genus, perhaps containing only one or two +species, may, by a singular combination of characters, be so completely +isolated from all the recognised allied groups that it cannot be placed +in any of them, and accordingly a distinct family, possibly even an +order, has to be established for its reception. Sometimes subsequent +discoveries add to the number of species forming the group thus set up, +and in this way the prescience of its founder is confirmed. Sometimes +the group remains in its original condition, leaving us, according +to circumstances, to regard the anomalous creatures of which it is +composed either as a special development of their general type, or as +the residue of a group which may have presented a greater variety of +forms at some past period of the earth’s history. + +[Illustration: SKULL OF LOPHIOMYS.] + +The latter is perhaps the case with the curious little Rodent which +alone forms the present family, of which its original describer, +M. Alphonse Milne-Edwards, writes as follows:--“In its general +aspect it somewhat resembles certain Opossums, and like these it is +pedimanous;[52] but these are the only analogies it presents to the +Marsupials, and in its dental system, as also in the rest of its +organisation, we easily see that it belongs to the order Rodentia. It +differs, however, from all the members of this group by characters of +considerable importance; I may even say that, by some peculiarities +of structure it departs from all other Mammals, and that we find in +it anatomical arrangements of which we have hitherto had examples +only in the class of Reptiles.” After an exhaustive discussion of the +characters of this curious little animal, M. Milne-Edwards comes to +the conclusion that it is most nearly related to the members of the +following family, and especially to the Hamsters, although he found it +impossible to unite it with them. In this course he has been followed +by other writers. + +[Illustration: LOPHIOMYS.] + +The general construction of the skull is the same as in the Muridæ, +but from the temporal ridges thin plates are developed, which bend +downwards, and articulate with similar plates springing from the malar +bones, and thus completely arch over the temporal fossæ after a fashion +only met with in certain reptiles, and especially in the Hawksbill +Turtle (_Chelone caretta_). The whole upper surface of the skull is +covered with minute but perfectly definite granules, arranged with much +regularity, and these, which occur in no other Mammal, give the skull +a very peculiar aspect, such as may be seen in some fishes. As in the +Muridæ, there are three molars on each side in each jaw, and these are +rooted and strongly tubercular; the foremost in each series having +three and the others each two ridges. Without entering in detail into +the peculiarities described at great length by M. Milne-Edwards, we +may say that in its general structure, and especially in that of the +skeleton, the animal is murine, but with a very important distinction, +namely, that the collar bones, which are well developed in the Rats and +their allies, are here reduced, as in the Hares and Rabbits, so as to +form only two small bony styles freely suspended among the muscles, +and that the first toe in the hind feet, although not very long, is so +attached as to be opposite to the rest, thus converting the organ into +a prehensile hand which the animal uses freely in climbing. The cæcum +is small. + +In its external characters this animal is as remarkable as in its +anatomical structure. In general appearance, as stated by its +describer, it has much resemblance to a small Opossum, but the bushy +tail and the peculiar arrangement of the hair on the body are met +with in no Marsupials. The head is small; the general form stout; the +limbs short, and the hind ones not much longer than their fellows; +and the ears are of moderate size and sparingly clothed with hair. +The prevailing colour is blackish-brown, but a triangular spot on the +forehead, a streak under each eye, and the tip of the tail, are white; +and the long hairs which clothe the body and tail are dark only in the +middle, the base and tip being white, as are also a great quantity of +finer and shorter hairs which form a sort of under fur. But the chief +peculiarity of the coat is to be found in the arrangement of the hairs +of the body. The long hairs of the middle of the back and tail, some of +which are nearly three inches in length, are capable of being raised +into a nearly upright position, forming a sort of crest which gives +the animal a very peculiar aspect, and this crest is separated from +the pendulous hair of the flanks by a sort of furrow clothed with very +peculiar hair of a greyish-tawny colour. These hairs are unlike any +others known to occur among Mammals. The apical part is of the ordinary +construction; but the following portion down to the base is “very +rugose, and presents a spongy aspect, due to the interlacing, and, so +to speak, felting of a multitude of epidermic filaments emanating from +radiate cells, which constitute a perfect network of irregular meshes. +Within the sort of sheath thus formed longitudinal filaments which +break up into bundles of fibrils are to be seen.” + +Very little is known as to the habitat of this animal, which M. +Milne-Edwards has named _Lophiomys Imhausi_, the former name referring +to the crested character of the back, the second commemorating the +person who first brought the creature to the notice of naturalists. M. +Imhaus, stopping for a few hours at Aden on his way home from Réunion, +saw a living specimen of this Rodent in the possession of a negro +from whom he bought it, but could learn nothing as to its origin. He +inferred, however, that it had not been brought very far, and that its +native country was either Southern Arabia, or some region in Abyssinia, +or Nubia, on the other side of the Red Sea. This specimen was brought +to France, and lived for about a year and a half in the Garden of +Acclimatization in the Bois de Boulogne, where it fed upon maize, +vegetables, and bread, slept during the day, and climbed with ease upon +chairs and other convenient objects by the aid of its hinder hands. It +never took its food in the fore-paws to carry it to the mouth as so +many Rodents do. When irritated it elevated the crest right down to the +end of the tail, and defended itself by biting vigorously. + +It is doubtful whether the _Lophiomys_ inhabits Arabia, but it is found +in the neighbouring parts of Africa. Professor Peters described the +skull of the animal as representing a new generic type under the name +of _Phractomys æthiops_. His specimen was obtained by Dr. Schweinfurth +from the tombs of Maman, north of Kassala, in Upper Nubia. A third +specimen has been brought from Keren in the Bogos country, and a fourth +from the Erkanid mountains between Suakim and Singat. + +[Illustration: MOLAR TEETH OF THE BLACK RAT.] + + +FAMILY VII.--MURIDÆ. + +We come now to the largest and most typical family of the Rodents: +that, namely, which includes the Rats and Mice and their numerous +allies. Mr. Wallace estimates the number of known species at 330, which +is probably within the mark. All these forms agree in the following +characters:--The lower incisors are compressed; the molars are usually +three in number on each side in each jaw, in one genus only two in +the lower or in both jaws, and in another four in both jaws. They are +rooted or rootless, tubercular or flat, with folds of enamel; the +malar bone is short and slender, generally reduced to a mere splint +between the maxillary and squamosal processes of the zygomatic arch; +the thumb is rudimentary, but often furnished with a small nail; and +the tail is generally scaly, with a few scattered hairs, densely hairy +only in a few species. + +As might be expected in so large an assemblage of species, the variety +of forms is very great among the Muridæ, but broadly, the common Rats +and Mice, which are only too well known to most of us, may serve as +characteristic types of the whole series. The family, however, includes +jumping forms, swimming forms, arboreal forms, and burrowing forms, +in which the peculiarities of the life-habits are very distinctly +indicated by the external appearance of the creatures. In their +distribution the Muridæ are almost absolutely cosmopolitan, the family +being represented in every part of the world, with the sole exception +of the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Australia possesses about thirty +species of the family. New Zealand, at the time of its discovery, +harboured a Rat, known as the Forest Rat, or Maori Rat, which was a +favourite article of food with the natives, and is now almost extinct. +It was proved by Capt. Hutton to be identical with the Black Rat (_Mus +rattus_), and was probably introduced by the ancestors of the Maoris. +Certain species also, such as the common Brown Rat and Mouse, are now +perfectly cosmopolitan in their distribution, having accompanied man in +all his migrations on the surface of the globe. + +[Illustration: BROWN RAT.] + +The Rat and Mouse form the types of a great sub-family, MURINÆ, which +have the molars rooted and tuberculate when young, the infra-orbital +opening high and perpendicular, widest above, and the lower root of the +zygomatic maxillary process flattened into a perpendicular plate. They +possess no cheek-pouches, have the fore and hind limbs approximately +equal in length, the thumb rudimentary, and the tail nearly naked, +covered with scaly rings. The genus _Mus_, to which our household pests +belong, includes upwards of one hundred species, scattered over most +parts of the Eastern Hemisphere, and living sometimes chiefly in the +neighbourhood of human habitations, granaries, &c., where they often +feed indifferently upon animal and vegetable substances, sometimes in +the open country, and feeding almost exclusively upon the latter. The +common BROWN RAT (_Mus decumanus_), sometimes called the Norway Rat, +which is almost too well known to need description, is not a native of +Great Britain, but was certainly introduced there by commerce, probably +from some southern or eastern country--perhaps, as Pennant thinks, +from the East Indies. Haunting ships in great numbers, it has now been +introduced into all parts of the world, and it is quite impossible to +ascertain its original habitat. It was known in Asia long before it +made its appearance in Europe; and its passage into Russia is fixed by +Pallas in the year 1727, when, he says, after an earthquake it swam +across the Volga from the countries bordering the Caspian. Its first +appearance in France and England is said to have occurred about the +middle of the last century. + +[Illustration: BLACK RAT.] + +From its great fecundity and determined ferocity of disposition, the +Brown Rat has become a great pest wherever it has taken up its abode. +“It digs,” says Professor Bell, “with great facility and vigour, making +its way with rapidity beneath the floors of our houses, between the +stones and bricks of walls, and often excavating the foundations of +dwellings to a dangerous extent. There are many instances of their +fatally undermining the most solid mason-work, or burrowing through +dams which had for ages served to confine the waters of rivers and +canals.” It is almost impossible to keep them out of our houses, and, +once in, there is no end to the mischief they do. Their ferocity +is very great; and although they will, if possible, retreat from a +powerful enemy, they will fight in the most savage fashion when they +cannot escape. + +Although not averse to a vegetable diet--as those who have to do +with corn and seeds, whether in the field or the store-house, know +to their cost--the Brown Rat evinces a decided preference for animal +food, which he consumes of all kinds and in all states. The case of +the horse slaughter-houses of Montfaucon, near Paris, is well known; +here, the carcases of all the Horses killed during the day, sometimes +to the number of thirty-five, would be picked to the bone by the next +morning; and one main argument against the removal of the establishment +to a greater distance from the city was that these swarms of ferocious +vermin would be left without means of support, and would become a +complete pest in the neighbourhood. That such an apprehension was not +unfounded is proved by several instances recorded of the escape of +Rats from wrecked ships upon small islands. In the course of a few +years they exterminated every other living thing. Professor Bell, on +the authority of the late Mr. Robert Stephenson, relates the following +instance of the extreme ferocity of the Rat when driven by hunger:--“In +a coal-pit,” he says, “in which many Horses were employed, the Rats, +which fed upon the fodder provided for the Horses, had accumulated +in great multitudes. It was customary in holiday times to bring to +the surface the Horses and the fodder, and to close the pit for the +time. On one occasion, when the holiday had extended to ten days or +a fortnight, during which the Rats had been deprived of food, on +re-opening the pit, the first man who descended was attacked by the +starving multitude, and speedily killed and devoured.” Stories are also +told, with what truth we do not know, of the occurrence of similar +catastrophes in the sewers of Paris and London, where, as is well +known, Rats abound. + +The Brown Rat breeds several times during the year, and produces as +many as ten, twelve, or fourteen young ones in a litter. Its general +length is about nine inches. It may be distinguished from the old +English Rat, which it has displaced in most localities, by its +greyish-brown colour and by the comparative shortness of its ears, +which, when pressed down, do not reach the eye. + +The BLACK RAT (_Mus rattus_), or old English Rat, as it is sometimes +called, agrees closely in its habits with the Brown Rat. It is smaller +than the Brown Rat, measuring only about seven inches in length, +but has a comparatively much longer tail and larger ears, which, +when pressed forward, cover the eyes. Its colour above is greyish or +brownish-black, and the lower parts are dark ash colour. Although the +Black Rat has generally been compelled to give way before its larger +and more vigorous competitor, it is still widely dispersed, but not in +such numbers as formerly, in Europe. Its native country was probably +Southern Asia. Nearly allied to it, if indeed specifically distinct, is +the EGYPTIAN RAT (_Mus alexandrinus_). Both these Rats are said to keep +more to the upper parts of houses than the Brown Rat. + +Although the true Mice are very nearly allied to the Rats, of which +they are copies on a small scale (and some of them, at any rate, are +as destructive in their way as their larger relatives), they do not +excite by any means the same sentiments of disgust with which Rats +are generally regarded; ladies, indeed, will sometimes scream at the +mere sight of a Mouse, but most of them will admit that, apart from +its predatory habits, it is an elegant little creature. The COMMON +MOUSE (_Mus musculus_) seems to be as completely associated with man +as the Rat, and has accompanied him in his wanderings to all parts of +the world. It is, however, said not to occur in the Sunda Islands. Of +its general appearance and habits we need say nothing; they are too +familiar to need description. But besides haunting our houses, the +Mouse takes up its abode in the rick-yard, and here its devastations +are often very serious. The Mice live in the ricks, through which they +make passages in every direction, and their fecundity is so great +that several bushels of Mice are often destroyed during the removal +of a single rick. The Mouse breeds all the year round, and usually +produces five or six young at a birth, so that its rapid increase under +favourable circumstances is easily understood. Several varieties of the +species are well known, especially the Albino form, or White Mouse, +which is such a favourite pet with boys. The Common Mouse in England +is sometimes patched with white, and we sometimes see in the shops +Pied Mice, which are said to be of Indian origin. A pale buff variety +is also sometimes met with; and during the removal of a rick some +years ago, it was found to be infested by a breed of Mice with a naked +wrinkled skin, to which the name of Rhinoceros Mice was given at the +time. + +Besides these more or less domestic species, there are in Britain +two other representatives of the genus _Mus_, which do not generally +frequent houses. One of these is the LONG-TAILED FIELD MOUSE (_Mus +sylvaticus_), sometimes called the Wood Mouse, an exceedingly pretty +little creature, rather larger than the Common Mouse, and having a +proportionally longer tail. It measures about four inches in length, +and the tail is about as long as the body; its colour is yellowish or +yellowish-brown on the upper surface, whitish beneath; and the tail +is brown above and white beneath. This species is found all over the +temperate parts of Europe and Asia, living in the fields and gardens, +where it takes up its abode, either in some small cavity under the root +of a tree, in the deserted runs of the Mole, or less commonly in a +little burrow excavated by its own labour. It feeds chiefly upon grain +and seeds, of which it lays up a considerable store for winter use in +its subterranean dwelling, and in this way does considerable damage +to the crops. The Field Mouse does not, however, strictly confine +itself to a vegetable diet, but under circumstances of privation will +attack and devour smaller and weaker animals, not even sparing its +own species. It breeds more than once in the year, and produces from +seven to ten young in each litter. It is easily tamed, and soon becomes +familiar. + +[Illustration: HARVEST MICE.] + +The remaining British species, the HARVEST MOUSE (_Mus minutus_), is +the smallest of the British quadrupeds, with the exception of the +Lesser Shrew (_Sorex pygmæus_). The Harvest Mouse is to be found in +most parts of England. It also occurs in Scotland as far north as +Aberdeenshire; and in Ireland, but very rarely. On the Continent its +range extends over nearly the whole of Europe, from Russia in the +north to Italy in the south. It is well known in Siberia, and occurs +abundantly in the steppes near the Caucasus. + +The total length of this pretty little Mouse is about five inches, of +which nearly one-half is made up of the tail. In it the eyes are less +prominent than in the common Field Mouse, and the ears considerably +shorter in proportion. Its colour on the upper surface is bright +reddish-brown, and below pure white, the two colours being sharply +separated. During the summer, the Harvest Mouse associates with the +other Field Mice in corn-fields, and with them is very frequently +carried in the sheaves of corn to rick-yards and barns, where it then +takes up its abode for the autumn and winter, and, like other Mice, +multiplies very rapidly, and no doubt does a good deal of mischief. +The less fortunate individuals who are left behind in the fields +retreat to little burrows for protection from the inclemency of the +winter, which they pass in a state of at least partial torpidity; and +to provide against exigencies they lay up in their dwellings a small +store of food, to which they can have recourse when a fine day recalls +them for a time to activity. Those which have been introduced into +ricks and barns are, of course, liberally provided for, and they show +their gratitude by remaining awake all the winter, as if on purpose to +consume their abundant provender. In the open field their food consists +of corn and the seeds of grasses and other plants, but also to a +considerable extent of small insects. + +In its movements the Harvest Mouse is wonderfully agile. On the ground +it runs very rapidly; and it climbs upon shrubs and plants as cleverly +as a Monkey, running out upon the thinnest twigs with the greatest +confidence, and climbing up stalks of grasses so thin that they bend +nearly to the ground with its weight. In these operations the long +slender tail comes into use, as its extremity is prehensile, and can +be twisted neatly round the small stalks and branches over which the +little climber is making its way. From its lively habits, and the +elegance of its form, the Harvest Mouse is a very interesting pet. + +The Harvest Mouse breeds several times during the year, producing from +five to eight or nine young at a birth, and provides for them one of +the prettiest cradles formed by any Mammal. It is placed, according to +the locality, upon several grass-leaves split and interwoven with the +other materials, or suspended at a height of from eighteen inches to +three feet above the ground, upon the twigs of some shrub or between +several stalks of corn or strong grasses. It is egg-shaped, or nearly +round, about the size of the egg of a Goose, and is composed externally +of slit leaves of the reeds or grasses among which it is formed, each +leaf being carefully divided longitudinally by the sharp teeth of the +little architect into six or eight thread-like portions, which are then +all woven together, so as to produce a firm structure. The interior is +lined, or rather stuffed, with all sorts of soft vegetable substances, +so that it has been a question with many observers how the mother could +get at all the members of her family to suckle them, and how the nest +could contain them all as they began to increase in bulk. The young +usually remain in the nest until they can see; but as soon as they are +able to provide for themselves, the mother takes them out, gives them +some practical instructions in the art of living, and then leaves them +to their own devices. According to Brehm, as these Mice increase in age +they improve in the art of nest-building. + +Besides these few species, a multitude of Rats and Mice, belonging to +the same genus, occur as natives of nearly all parts of the world, +but in their habits they agree in general with the British species. +India harbours a considerable number, among which we may mention the +BANDICOOT RAT (_Mus bandicota_), a large species, which inhabits the +Indian and Malayan peninsulas, and is very destructive in plantations; +and the TREE RAT (_Mus arboreus_), a native of Bengal, seven or +eight inches in length, which lives partly on grain, of which it +lays up stores in its nests, and partly on young cocoa-nuts, which +constitute its favourite food, and in search of which it climbs the +trees. This species builds a nest on cocoa-nut trees and bamboos, and +occasionally makes predatory visits to the houses. The STRIPED MOUSE +(_Mus barbarus_) is remarkable for its coloration, its ground colour +being a bright yellowish-brown or reddish-yellow, adorned with several +longitudinal blackish-brown streaks. This elegant Mouse inhabits +Northern Africa, especially in stony places. It is very abundant in +Algeria. + +[Illustration: MOLAR TEETH OF THE HAPALOTE.] + +Nearly allied to the true Mice are numerous forms more restricted +in their distribution, which have been formed into distinct genera. +Thus _Pelomys fallax_, in which the incisors are grooved, the tail +short, and the first and fifth toes of all the feet shorter than +the three middle ones, is peculiar to Mozambique; _Acanthomys_, +in which the fur is mixed with flattened spines, is an African +genus; whilst _Echinothrix_, which has a somewhat similar coat, is +Australian. Madagascar possesses two peculiar genera, _Nesomys_ and +_Brachytarsomys_, the former having some relation to the American +Murinæ, the latter remarkable for the shortness of the hind feet; and +in Australia, besides the genus already mentioned, and one or two +species of true _Mus_, we find the genus _Hapalotis_ represented by +about thirteen exclusively Australian species. These animals have the +hind limbs rather long, the ears large, and the tail long and hairy, +terminating in a tuft. The molar teeth also exhibit a peculiar pattern; +The best known species is the WHITE-FOOTED HAPALOTE (_Hapalotis +albipes_), an animal about the size of the Brown Rat, of a smoky brown +colour, with the belly and the feet white. It inhabits New South Wales, +especially in the mountainous parts. The animals of this genus were +formerly regarded as allied to the South American Chinchillas and +Viscachas. + +The American Murines all belong to a group to which the name of +Sigmodontes has been given, because their molar teeth, which in the +young state have two tubercles in each transverse row (instead of +three, which is the usual number in the preceding forms), when ground +down by use, show some S-like patterns in the enamel folds in place +of transverse ridges. The greater number of the species belong to +the genus _Hesperomys_ (Western Mouse), which is represented in both +divisions of the American continent, and has been divided by authors +into several sub-genera. The WHITE-FOOTED, or DEER MOUSE (_Hesperomys +leucopus_) is perhaps the best known of all the species, and its +varieties, or rather local permanent races, are distributed all over +the continent of North America. The fur shows various brownish or +greyish tints above; and the lower surface, with the feet up to the +wrist and ankle, is snow-white. What Dr. Coues gives as the normal +colour of typical specimens is a rich fawn, with a darker streak along +the back: but he says that this is shown by not more than one example +in six. The tail is generally white beneath. The length of the head and +body is about three inches; the tail varies considerably in length. The +White-footed Mouse is nocturnal in its habits, and feeds to a great +extent upon corn, of which, with acorns and other nuts, it lays up +stores for winter use. It lives a good deal upon trees, taking up its +abode in the deserted nest of a Squirrel or of some small bird. When it +constructs its own nest the little fabric is placed in a bush at from +five to fifteen feet from the ground, and is very neatly constructed, +usually of fine moss and strips of bark. In some localities it burrows +in the ground. The GOLDEN or RED MOUSE (_H. aureolus_), which resembles +the preceding species in form and size, has the fur of the upper +surface golden-cinnamon colour, and the lower parts yellowish-white. It +inhabits the Central and Southern States of the North American Union. +The RICE-FIELD MOUSE (_H. palustris_), which has been placed in a +distinct genus (_Oryzomys_), is a larger species, sometimes attaining +the size of a small Rat. This is found in the Southern States, chiefly +along the coast, and in rice-fields, where it is exceedingly abundant +and does considerable damage. It is eminently aquatic in its habits. +The AMERICAN HARVEST MOUSE (_Ochetodon humilis_) closely resembles +the preceding species, but differs from them in a rather remarkable +character. It has the upper incisor teeth grooved, a peculiarity which +occurs also in the South American Rats of the genus _Reithrodon_. +The American Harvest Mouse inhabits the Southern States, and extends +northwards as far as Iowa and Nebraska. + +The FLORIDA RAT, or Wood Rat (_Neotoma floridana_), is a widely +distributed species in the United States, inhabiting especially the +southern portion, but extending northwards as far as New York and +Massachusetts. It measures from six to nine inches in length, with +a tail from four to six inches long. In its coloration it presents +a general resemblance to the common Brown Rat, but is brighter, +especially on the sides; the lower surface is white. According to +Audubon and Bachmann, the habits of this species vary considerably in +different localities. These authors say that “in Florida they burrow +under stones and the ruins of dilapidated buildings. In Georgia and +South Carolina they prefer remaining in the woods. In some swampy +situations, in the vicinity of sluggish streams, amid tangled vines +interspersed with leaves and long moss, they gather a heap of dry +sticks, which they pile up into a conical shape, and which, with +grasses, mud, and dead leaves, mixed in by the wind and rain, form, +as they proceed, a structure impervious to rain, and inaccessible to +the Wild Cat, Raccoon, or Fox. At other times their nest, composed of +somewhat lighter materials, is placed in the fork of a tree.” This +species is very active and Squirrel-like in its habits. It feeds on +grain, seeds, and fruits, and sometimes makes a meal of a Crayfish +or a Frog. There are from three to six young in each litter, and two +litters in the year. The young animals in very early days continue to +adhere to the teats of their mother, even when she is walking about +outside the nest, and even at a later period they will cling to her +sides and back, after the manner of some Opossums. The female seems +but little inconvenienced by this burden, and shows great affection +for her family, defending them even at the risk of her own life. A +nearly-allied, but smaller species, the BUSHY-TAILED WOOD RAT (_N. +cinerea_), inhabits the western and north-western parts of America, +also extending eastward to Hudson’s Bay, and southward to New Mexico +and California. The COTTON RAT (_Sigmodon hispidus_), another +inhabitant of the Southern States and Mexico, ranges southwards to Vera +Cruz and Guatemala. + +Besides several species of _Hesperomys_, South America possesses +various Murine animals, which have been placed in special genera. Among +these the most remarkable are those of which Mr. Waterhouse formed +his genus _Reithrodon_, as these, although true Murines, have a very +Rabbit-like character, and further present the peculiarity of having +the upper incisors grooved. They have the profile much arched, the +eyes large, the ears hairy, and the first and fifth toes of the hind +feet very short. The tail is well clothed with hair. The RABBIT-LIKE +REITHRODON (_R. cuniculoides_) inhabits Patagonia, where it was +discovered by Mr. Darwin. It is of a yellowish-grey colour, mixed with +black, with the throat and belly pale yellow, and the rump and feet +white. The tail is about half the length of the head and body, dusky +above, white beneath. The length of the head and body is six inches and +a half. Two other species are described: one (_R. typicus_) from the La +Plata; the other (_R. chinchilloides_) from the Strait of Magellan. + +[Illustration: HEAD OF THE RABBIT-LIKE REITHRODON.] + +The HAMSTERS, forming the sub-family CRICETINÆ, are very nearly related +to the true Mice and Rats, but differ from them at the first glance by +their possession of large internal cheek-pouches, those organs being +entirely wanting or very small in the Murinæ. Their molars, three in +number in each series, are also tuberculate when young and regularly +rooted. As age advances they become more and more worn away, so as +to exhibit folds of enamel. They are stoutly-built rat-like animals, +generally with short tails, with the upper lip cleft, and with short +limbs, of which the hinder have five, and the anterior four, toes, the +thumb being represented by a small wart. The Hamsters are confined to +the Old World, and chiefly inhabit the temperate parts of Europe and +Asia; two or three species occur in Africa. They live generally in +corn-fields, where they dig deep burrows with numerous chambers, into +which they can retreat to take their repose, and in which they pass +the winter, previously, however, taking care to lay up a good store of +provisions in some of the chambers of their domicile. + +[Illustration: HAMSTERS.] + +The best known species is the HAMSTER (_Cricetus frumentarius_, _see_ +Plate 28), a rather pretty little beast, of about ten inches long, with +bright, prominent, black eyes, short, membranous ears, and a tapering +hairy tail, about two inches and a half in length. The fur, which is +thick and somewhat lustrous, is usually of a light yellowish-brown +colour above, with the snout, the neighbourhood of the eyes, and a +band on the neck reddish-brown, and a yellow spot on each cheek; +the lower surface, the greater part of the legs, and a band on the +forehead are black, and the feet white. Many varieties occur. This +Hamster is widely distributed, ranging from the Rhine, through Europe +and Siberia, to the Obi; and in most localities where it occurs it +appears in great numbers, and causes great injury to the crops. Its +burrows are exceedingly spacious, and consist of numerous passages and +chambers. In its temper it is exceedingly irascible, and at the same +time very courageous, defending itself bravely against its enemies, +and standing boldly on the defensive the moment any danger appears to +threaten it. Its diet is by no means of a purely vegetable nature, +but it will destroy and devour all sorts of small animals that come +in its way. Besides the corn, which forms its chief winter provender, +green herbage, peas and beans, and roots and fruits of various kinds, +are welcome articles of diet, and in confinement it will eat almost +anything. + +[Illustration: MOLAR TEETH OF THE HAMSTER.] + +The Hamsters pass the winter in their burrows in a torpid state, but +waken up very early in the spring, generally in March, but frequently +in February. At first they do not open the mouths of their burrows, but +remain for a time subsisting on the stores laid up during the preceding +autumn. The old males make their appearance first, the females about +a fortnight after them, the latter about the beginning of April. They +then set about making their summer burrows, which are not so deep or +so complicated as the winter dwellings; and shortly afterwards the +sexes pair. The young are produced twice in the year, in May and July; +their number varies from six to eighteen. They have teeth when first +born, and their development as babies is very rapid. Their eyes open in +little more than a week after birth, and in another week they begin to +burrow in the ground, and then their hard-hearted parent drives them +off to take care of themselves. + +The other species of this sub-family generally very closely resemble +the Hamster, both in appearance and manners. Most of them are found +in Central Asia and Siberia, extending southwards as far as Persia +and South Tartary. _Cricetus songarus_ has been obtained at Kumaon. +The recorded African species belong to two peculiar genera: they are +_Saccostomus lapidarius_ and _fuscus_, and _Cricetomys gambianus_. + +Other African forms constitute the small sub-family of the TREE MICE +(_Dendromyinæ_), which are entirely confined to the southern portion of +the continent. They are characterised by having the incisors rounded +and grooved in front, the infra-orbital opening not narrow below, and +the coronoid process of the lower jaw very small. The ears are clothed +with hairs; and the feet, which are five-toed, are furnished with long +claws, which are serviceable to the little rat-like animals in climbing +up the trunks of trees. The BLACK-STREAKED TREE MOUSE (_Dendromys +mesomelas_) is a rather pretty little species, of a greyish colour, +with a black line down the middle of the back. It is slender in form, +with a long, scaly tail, rounded ears, and the two outer toes in each +foot shorter than the rest. _Steatomys pratensis_, from Mozambique, +is stouter in form than the preceding, and has a short, densely hairy +tail; and in _Lophuromys ater_, from the same locality, the incisors +are not grooved, and the fur is developed into fine flattened bristles. + +The GERBILLES (_Gerbillinæ_) are distinguished from all other Muridæ +(although approached by _Hapalotis_) by the great length of the hind +limbs, which are converted into powerful leaping organs, somewhat as +in the Jerboas and Kangaroos, although not quite to the same extent. +Like all the preceding forms, they have the molars furnished with +roots, but not with tuberculate crowns, these being divided into +transverse plates formed by separate elliptical or rhomboidal coats +of enamel. The incisor teeth are narrow, the infra-orbital opening as +in the Murinæ, and the tail long and hairy. The Gerbilles are plump +little animals, with a short neck, a broad head, and a pointed muzzle. +The feet are five-toed, but the thumb on the fore feet is reduced to +a mere wart-like process with a flat nail. They are confined to the +Eastern hemisphere, and, indeed, to the African continent, the south +of Asia, as far as India, and the south-east of Europe, where they +live both in cultivated districts and in the driest deserts, and often +occur in great numbers, when they may cause considerable damage to the +neighbouring crops. They shelter themselves during the day in shallow +burrows, and come forth in the evening in search of their food, which +consists chiefly of grain and roots. They store up great quantities of +the ears of corn in their subterranean dwellings, and in many places +the poorer inhabitants search after these stores, and by digging them +out procure a good supply of grain. They are very prolific, the females +producing large families several times in the year. + +[Illustration: MOLAR TEETH OF THE GERBILLE.] + +Several other forms of Muridæ, with rooted molars, have been +distinguished, and all are inhabitants of the Eastern hemisphere. The +genera _Phlœomys_ and _Nesokia_, each including a single species, form +the group PHLÆOMYINÆ, characterised by having broad incisors and the +molars divided by transverse plates of enamel. The characters of the +skull are as in the Murinæ. _Phlœomys Cumingii_ is from the Philippine +Islands; _Nesokia Griffithii_ inhabits Northern India. _Platacanthomys +lasiurus_, the only known species of the group PLATACANTHOMYINÆ, +resembles a Dormouse in its form, and is nearly allied to the preceding +species, but has the fur of its back mixed with long, flattened, +bristle-like spines. It is a native of the Malabar coast. + +[Illustration: SKULL OF THE WATER-MOUSE.] + +The WATER MICE (_Hydromyinæ_) are of particular interest, as being +a small group, exclusively confined to the Australian region, and +presenting the exceptional character among the Rodents of having only +two molars on each side in each jaw. These teeth, are rooted, and +divided into transverse lobes by ovate enamel lobes; the front tooth is +much larger than its fellow. The _Hydromys_ are small rat-like animals +of slender form, with long tails, rather densely clothed with short +hairs, and short limbs. The hind feet have much stronger claws than +the fore feet, and their toes are partially webbed. Five species of +this group are known from Australia and Van Diemen’s Land, where they +inhabit the banks of the streams. The best known are the Yellow-bellied +and the White-bellied Water Mice (_Hydromys chrysogaster_ and +_leucogaster_), both of which inhabit New South Wales, and the latter +is also found in Van Diemen’s Land. The Sooty Water Mouse (_H. +fuliginosus_) is an inhabitant of Western Australia. + +In the SMINTHINÆ--a group which includes only the genus _Sminthus_, +founded for the reception of a rat-like Rodent (_S. vagus_) first +discovered in the Crimea, but now known to range from Hungary, Finland, +and Sweden, through Russia to the banks of the Irtisch and Yenisei, +and into Tartary (Bokhara)--we find another exceptional character of +the molar teeth. There are four of these teeth on each side both above +and below, the first and fourth of which are much smaller than the +intervening ones. In this animal the ears are rather long and pointed, +the legs are rather short, and the tail is about as long as the body, +and clothed with short hairs. + +[Illustration: TEETH OF SMINTHUS.] + +In the remainder of the Muridæ, the molars, which are again only three +in number on each side, are generally rootless, although occasionally +the growth of the teeth stops and they close up below. The molars are +composed of triangular prisms placed alternately. Two groups are thus +characterised, namely, the Voles and the Zokors. + +The VOLES (_Arvicolinæ_), which, next to the true Rats and Mice, +form the most important group of Muridæ, are represented in the +northern parts of both hemispheres. The brain-case in these animals +is rhomboidal when looked at from above, the frontal region of the +skull is much contracted, and the zygomatic arch stands out very far. +The infra-orbital opening is as in the Murinæ. The molars are so +constructed of alternating triangular prisms that the whole margin is +enclosed by deep angular folds of enamel. These are mouse-and rat-like +Rodents of a rather stout build, with the limbs and tail of moderate +length, or short, and the latter more hairy than in the true Murines. +The ears are short, often nearly concealed beneath the fur. + +The true Voles (genus _Arvicola_) number about fifty known species, +which have been arranged by various writers under a considerable number +of sub-genera, generally corresponding to differences in mode of +life. Three species, representing three of these groups, are found in +Britain, and may serve to illustrate the natural history of the Voles. +The largest of these is the well-known WATER VOLE, or Water Rat, as +it is more commonly called (_Arvicola amphibius_), an animal rather +smaller than the Common Rat, and having, like all the Voles, the muzzle +considerably blunter, and the tail a good deal shorter and more hairy. +Although thoroughly aquatic in its habits, the feet of the Water Vole +are not webbed; they have five toes, but the thumb in the fore feet is +very short. The general colour of the fur is reddish-brown, mixed with +grey on the upper surface, and yellowish-grey beneath; the ears are +nearly concealed in the fur; and the incisor teeth are deep yellow in +front, and very strong, presenting a considerable resemblance to those +of the Beaver, to which great Rodent the Voles were formerly considered +to be related. It is very widely distributed, being found in all parts +of Europe, and stretching right across Central and Northern Asia, to +China, the Amoor region, and the Sea of Okhotsk. In Ireland, however, +it is not found. Its habits vary a little in different localities, +but in general it haunts the banks of rivers, in which it burrows to +a considerable distance. In the water it is very active, swimming and +diving with the greatest facility, and it is here that it seeks its +food, which appears to consist exclusively of vegetable substances. +Professor Bell says:--“A decided preference is shown, during the summer +months, for the inner or concealed part of some species of sword-flags, +which is very succulent and sweet-tasted. As this portion is usually +below water, the animal gnaws the plant in two near its root, when it +rises to the surface, and being conveyed to some sound footing, is +consumed at leisure. In default of its more favourite food, it will +make a satisfactory meal on the common duckweed. Only the green and +fleshy leaf is eaten, the roots and other fibrous parts being rejected. +While feeding on this plant, the creature sits like a Squirrel on +its haunches near the water’s edge, and taking up a lump of the soft +and slimy-looking mass in its fore paws, eats a small part only, and +letting the remainder fall, takes up some more in the same manner.” The +accusation sometimes brought against the Water Vole of eating worms +and insects, and even of destroying fish-spawn, young fishes, and even +young ducks, seems to be entirely unfounded. In the winter the Water +Voles will feed on turnips, mangel-wurzel, and other roots, and also +upon the bark of osiers and willows, to which they do considerable +damage; and in some localities they appear to frequent gardens at all +seasons of the year, burrowing in the ground, and feeding luxuriously +upon the produce of the gardener’s labour. Their greatest activity is +in the twilight, but in quiet situations they are to be seen abroad +during the day. The female produces from two to six young at a litter: +twice in the year in Britain, according to Professor Bell; three or +four times in the course of the summer, according to Brehm and other +Continental naturalists. + +[Illustration: MOLAR TEETH OF THE WATER RAT.] + +A second British species is the FIELD VOLE, or Short-tailed Field +Mouse (_Arvicola agrestis_), which is less than half the size of the +Water Vole, and has the tail only about one-third the length of the +body, instead of half that length. In the general form of the head +and body the two species are a good deal alike, but the ears project +farther beyond the fur in the Field Vole. The general colour of this +species is greyish-brown, becoming tinged with reddish or yellowish +on the sides; the lower surface is pale grey or dirty white, and the +tail is brown above and greyish beneath. The Field Vole is a very +abundant species in the northern and central parts of Europe, but is +wanting in Ireland and south of the Alps and Pyrenees. It is usually +found in damp places, especially in meadows in the neighbourhood of +woods and copses, where it forms burrows of considerable extent. Its +food consists almost exclusively of vegetable substances, such as +roots and herbage, and in times of scarcity it will climb up trees and +bushes to feed on the tender parts of the bark. In case of necessity, +however, it does not disdain animal food, but will eat insects and +meat, and even sometimes kill and devour smaller individuals of its +own species. It breeds three or four times in the year, producing from +four to six young at a birth, in a small round nest made of moss and +leaves, among the roots of the herbage in some hollow of the ground. +Their increase, which would otherwise be very formidable, is checked +by the smaller predaceous beasts and birds, such as the Weasel, the +Kestrel, and the Owls, which destroy them in great numbers. The BANK +VOLE (_Arvicola glareolus_[53]), the third British species, which is +chestnut-coloured, with white feet and with a longish tail, closely +resembles the preceding species in its habits, but feeds rather on +fruits and roots than on herbage, and is far more addicted to a diet of +animal food, freely devouring insects, worms, snails, and even young +birds and carrion. It is pretty generally distributed over Europe, but +not so uniformly as the Field Vole, which it even exceeds in fecundity, +the females producing from four to eight young three or four times in +the year, in a nest constructed of grass and moss placed in a hollow of +the surface of the ground among dense herbage. + +[Illustration: SOUTHERN FIELD VOLE.] + +The Continent of Europe is inhabited by several other species of Voles, +among which we may notice the little SOUTHERN FIELD VOLE (_Arvicola +arvalis_), which more or less completely takes the place of our common +Field Vole in Southern Europe, but also extends over the whole of +Central Europe, and into Western Asia. Several of these species, and +others to which we cannot specially refer, ascend to considerable +elevations on the mountain-sides, but at least one species, the +SNOW MOUSE (_Arvicola nivalis_), lives on the Alps and Pyrenees, at +elevations of 4,000 feet and upwards, being most abundant about the +limit of perpetual snow, where it not only resides during the short +period of summer, when some portion of the surface is freed from its +snowy covering, but actually throughout the winter, buried under the +snow, through which it makes its way in search of the roots of plants. +The ROOT VOLE (_Arvicola œconomus_) is a large and abundant Siberian +species, the range of which extends from the Obi to Kamstchatka. This +and some other northern species often migrate in great bodies, after +the fashion to which we shall have to refer when speaking of the +Lemmings. + +In North America, it would appear from Dr. Coues’ monograph, there +are about a dozen distinct species of Voles. One of them, confined to +the northern parts of the Continent, he identifies with the _Arvicola +rutilus_ of the Old World, which he regards as a circumpolar species. +South of a line running from sea to sea, a little north of the boundary +of the United States, comes another form, _A. Gapperi_, which is +regarded as a sub-species of _A. rutilus_, to which _A. glareolus_ +(_see_ p. 116) is considered to stand in a similar relation. The most +abundant North American species is the MEADOW MOUSE (_A. riparius_), +which is distributed, apparently, over the greater part of the +Continent, and takes the place of the Field Vole. On the prairies there +is a peculiar species (_A. austerus_), a sub-species of which (_A. +curtatus_) is found in the Western territories as far as California; +the PINE MOUSE (_A. pinetorum_) inhabits the country east of the +Mississippi; and the genus is represented in Mexico by one species (_A. +quasiater_). The Voles are most numerous and abundant in the northern +and north-western parts of North America. + +Another American species is the MUSQUASH, MUSK-RAT, or ONDATRA (_Fiber +zibethicus_), which constitutes a genus distinguished from the true +Voles by having the tail compressed and nearly naked, the hinder toes +united by short webs, and fringed with long hairs, and the enamel +folds of the molars united by a line running down the middle of the +tooth. The form of the animal is thickset, and in this respect, as in +its aquatic habits, it resembles the Beaver, to which it was formerly +supposed to be nearly allied. The head is short and broad, the ears +project very little beyond the fur, the hind limbs are longer than the +fore legs, and terminate in five toes with strong claws, while the fore +limbs have only four toes and a wart-like thumb; the fur is very thick +and shiny, and the colour is usually brown above and grey below, with +the tail, which is nearly as long as the body, black. The fur is well +known in commerce. The length of the head and body of a full-grown male +is about twelve inches. The name Musk-rat, often given to this species, +refers to the musky odour diffused by the secretion of a large gland +situated in the inguinal region. + +The Musquash, which may be described as a large Water Rat, inhabits +all the suitable parts of North America, from the thirteenth to the +sixty-ninth degree of north latitude, and is most abundant in the +Canadian region, which offers it peculiarly favourable conditions of +life in the multitude of rivers and lakes, upon the banks of which +the Musquash always takes up its abode. It is a nocturnal animal, +passing the day in concealment, and coming forth with the twilight +to seek its nourishment, and amuse itself with its fellows. In the +water it displays wonderful activity, and, in many respects, presents +much resemblance to the Beaver. Curiously enough, the parallelism of +habits holds good to a certain extent, even in the construction of +their dwellings. The Musquash generally lives in a burrow dug out of +the bank of the stream in which he disports himself, and consisting of +a chamber with numerous passages, all of which open under the surface +of the water. But, under certain conditions, especially in the north, +he builds himself a house of a rounded or dome-like form, composed +of sedges, grasses, and similar materials, plastered together with +mud, and supported upon a mound of mud of sufficient height to raise +it above the water. The house contains a single chamber from sixteen +inches to two feet in diameter, and is entered by a passage which opens +at the bottom of the water. Other passages are said to issue from this, +and to lead down into the ground under the bottom of the water; these +are made by the animal in his search for the roots of water-lilies and +other aquatic plants, which constitute a great part of his nourishment. +The Musquash also seeks provisions on land, and in this way often does +much mischief in gardens. Fresh-water mussels also form a part of its +diet. It passes the winter in its house, which it then furnishes with +a soft bed of leaves, grasses, and sedges, and, according to Audubon, +ventilates by covering the middle of the dome only with a layer of +similar materials, through which the air can pass. Of the propagation +of the Musquash very little seems to be known with certainty. They +pair in April and May, and the female produces from three to six young +at a birth; but whether this takes place once or several times in +the course of the summer is a matter of doubt. They are captured in +fall-traps baited with apples, or by traps set at the mouth of their +burrows. The Indians sometimes spear them in their houses. + +[Illustration: MUSQUASH.] + +The LEMMING (_Myodes lemmus_) is one of the most remarkable of +the Muridæ, on account of the great migrations which it performs, +apparently with no special object. In Norway, where it is best known, +they make their appearance in the cultivated districts in such enormous +numbers, and so suddenly, that the peasants have always believed them +to fall from the clouds. The Lemming is a Vole-like animal, about six +inches long, of which the tail makes up about half an inch. It varies +considerably in colour, but is usually brownish-yellow, with dark spots +above, and with a yellow streak enclosing the eye on each side of the +face; the under surface is yellowish. The ears are very short, scarcely +projecting beyond the fur; the eyes are small, black, and bead-like; +the soles of the feet are hairy, and the claws of the fore feet much +stronger than those on the hinder extremities. The Norwegian Lemmings +live and breed among the peat mosses of the mountains. They are lively +and active little creatures both by day and night, and feed upon the +scanty vegetation of their Alpine home--grasses, lichens, the catkins +of the dwarf birch, and roots. They are active even through the winter, +when they make passages for themselves under the thick covering of +snow which then veils the whole country, and thus are enabled to go +in search of their ordinary food. They also make their way up to the +surface, upon which they may occasionally be seen running, even in +the depth of winter. They breed in their burrows and under stones, +and must be very prolific, seeing that every predaceous animal in the +country destroys and devours them. The Lemming is, in one sense, an +exceedingly timid little creature, the slightest disturbance of its +quietude, or even the passing over-head of a cloud, being sufficient to +alarm it; but when attacked it displays the most dauntless courage, +standing on the defensive against both men and animals, and biting very +sharply at anything that comes within its reach. From time to time, +from some unexplained cause, the Lemmings start in vast swarms from +their mountain fastnesses, and make their way in a straight line in +some definite direction. Nothing seems to turn them from their course; +they go straight on, over hill and dale, and, although said at other +times to have an aversion to water, they now swim across any lakes or +rivers that come in their way. In this operation many of them lose +their lives, for they require smooth water for their navigation, and +the least breeze ruffling the surface suffices to send hundreds of them +to the bottom. In this way they gradually arrive at the cultivated +regions, where they do so much damage to vegetation, that in olden +times a special form of prayer and exorcism was in use against them. +Their march is accompanied by great numbers of carnivorous beasts and +birds of all sorts. Wolves, Foxes, and Wild Cats, and the smaller +quadrupeds of the family Mustelidæ, Eagles, Hawks, and Owls, all prey +upon them with avidity--even the Reindeer is said to stamp them to +death; and the story of his eating them, long discredited, has been +confirmed on good authority, while man, with his Dogs and Cats, is not +behindhand in the work of destruction. Nevertheless, a great multitude +survives all these dangers, and, strange to say, the termination of +this painful migration is always the sea, into which the survivors +of the march plunge, and, apparently, voluntarily commit suicide. +Mr. Crotch, who has published several papers on the Lemming and its +migrations, says that in Norway these animals always proceed from the +central backbone of the country in an east or west direction, and that +in either case the survivors of the march drown themselves, those +that go westward in the Atlantic, those that go eastward in the Gulf +of Bothnia. His notion is that the migration is in obedience to an +inherited instinct acquired at a time when there was land where the +sea now rolls; but there are many difficulties in the way of such a +hypothesis. + +[Illustration: LEMMING.] + +Besides the Scandinavian Lemming above noticed, several other species +occur in the northern parts of the world. Three species (_Myodes +lagurus_, _obensis_, and _torquatus_) inhabit Siberia; the latter +two are found in North America, the last also in Greenland. In this +species, which has been placed in a distinct genus under the name of +_Cuniculus torquatus_, the third and fourth toes of the fore feet are +much larger than the second and fifth (the thumb being rudimentary), +and their claws become periodically enlarged to double their ordinary +size by an enormous growth during winter of horny matter on the lower +surface. + +The transition from this to the next family is effected by two genera, +which to such an extent combine the characters of the two as to have +led different zoologists to place them sometimes in the one, sometimes +in the other. Externally they have all the characters of the Mole-rats +of the following family; in the characters of the skull and teeth +they more resemble the Voles. The ZOKOR (_Siphneus aspalax_), which +may be taken as an example of these forms, is an inhabitant of the +Altai Mountains, has the eyes very small, the external ears reduced to +mere rudiments, the body cylindrical, as in the true Mole-rats, and +the fore-feet armed with very long and strong claws, of which that +on the fifth toe is longer than the toe itself. This animal lives +in subterranean runs something like those of the Mole, but of much +greater extent, and in burrowing in the earth makes use of its strong +incisors to cut through the roots it meets with, and when necessary +to loosen the earth. The runs pass very near the surface, and are no +doubt made for the purpose of feeding on the tender roots of grasses. A +species of _Siphneus_ is said to occur in North China. The other genus +(_Ellobius_) includes two species; one (_E. luteus_) from the country +about the Sea of Aral; the other (_E. talpinus_) from south-eastern +Russia and the west of Asia. The latter abounds in the Crimea. These +animals form the sub-family Siphneinæ. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +MOLE RATS, POUCHED RATS, POUCHED MICE, JERBOAS, AND OCTODONTIDÆ. + + SPALACIDÆ, OR MOLE RATS--Characteristics of the + Family--Habits--Food--THE MOLE RAT--Distribution--Description--THE + CHESTNUT MOLE RAT--THE NAKED MOLE RAT--THE STRAND + MOLE RAT--Description--Habits--THE CAPE MOLE + RAT--GEOMYIDÆ, OR POUCHED RATS--Characteristics of + the Family--The Cheek-pouches--THE COMMON POCKET + GOPHER--Distribution--Description--Burrowing--Runs--Subterranean + Dwelling--THE NORTHERN POCKET GOPHER--HETEROMYINÆ, OR POUCHED + MICE--Difficulties as to Position--Characteristics--PHILLIPS’ + POCKET MOUSE--Where Found--Description--THE YELLOW POCKET + MOUSE--THE LEAST POCKET MOUSE--DIPODIDÆ, OR JERBOAS--Organisation + for Jumping--Characteristics--Distribution--THE AMERICAN JUMPING + MOUSE--Description--Characters peculiar to itself--Habits--THE + TRUE JERBOAS--Characters--THE JERBOA--Distribution--Habits--Mode + of Locomotion--THE ALACTAGA--THE CAPE JUMPING HARE--THE + PORCUPINE-LIKE RODENTS--OCTODONTIDÆ--Characteristics--Sub-Family, + CTENODACTYLINÆ--THE GUNDI--THE DEGU--Description--Habits--THE + BROWN SCHIZODON--THE TUKOTUKO--THE CURURO--THE ROCK + RAT--Sub-Family, ECHINOMYINÆ--THE COYPU--One of the Largest + Rodents--Description--Burrows--Habits--Mother and Young--THE HUTIA + CONGA--THE HUTIA CARABALI--THE GROUND RAT. + + +FAMILY VIII.--SPALACIDÆ (MOLE RATS). + +Although the Zokor and its allies in the preceding family have to a +certain extent prepared us for the peculiar characters presented by the +Mole-rats, these are exhibited by the latter in a much more extreme +form. They have a very large broad head, which is usually flattened +above, and forms an appropriate anterior termination to a clumsy, +cylindrical body, supported upon short stout limbs; their incisor +teeth are large and broad, and are most formidably exposed in front +of the mouth; their eyes are exceedingly small, hidden in the fur, +and sometimes quite rudimentary; the external ears are reduced to the +smallest possible size, or altogether wanting; and their tails are +either so short as to be concealed within the hair of the hinder part +of the body, or altogether wanting externally, although the skeleton +still shows some caudal vertebræ. The molar teeth are rooted, and not +tuberculate; their surface shows re-entering folds of enamel. The +feet have five toes, but the thumb is generally very small, although +furnished with a nail. The number of molars varies from three to six on +each side in each jaw. + +In their mode of life, as in their form and the condition of the organs +of sight and hearing, these animals present a considerable resemblance +to the Moles; but as their food is exclusively of a vegetable nature, +the object of their burrowing is not exactly the same. They all inhabit +the eastern hemisphere, and are generally met with in dry sandy plains, +the soil of which lends itself readily to mining operations. They +seldom quit their burrows, and usually work in these only at night, +when they make their way rapidly through the ground, and, like the +Mole, can run either backwards or forwards in their subterranean +galleries with equal facility. They feed chiefly on roots, and +especially on the bulbs and tubers which so many plants possess in the +dry districts which they frequent; but some of them also eat nuts, +seeds, the young bark of trees, and herbage. None of them fall into a +state of torpidity during the winter--indeed, only two species inhabit +northern regions; but these, although active in the winter season, are +said not to take the precaution to lay up a store of provisions. + +[Illustration: SKULL OF MOLE-RAT.] + +Most zoologists distinguish two groups of Spalacidæ. In the SPALACINÆ, +the representatives of which range from south-eastern Europe to further +India and the south of China, and also occur in Africa in the countries +of Abyssinia and Shoa, the palate between the molar teeth is broader +than one of the sockets of the molars, and the angular portion of the +lower jaw springs from the lower edge of the bony case of the incisor. +To this group belongs the MOLE-RAT (_Spalax typhlus_), which inhabits +Hungary and Galicia, and the south-east of Europe generally, and +ranges eastwards into Asia as far as the Caucasus and Ekaterinoslav. +It possesses only three molars on each side in each jaw, and has the +eyes rudimentary and covered by the skin, so that the animal is quite +blind; the upper incisors are placed perpendicularly; and the tail +reduced to a sort of wart. The toes, especially those of the fore-feet, +are furnished with very powerful claws, which are vigorously employed +by the animal in the digging operations above described. The general +covering of the body is a soft fur of a yellowish-brown colour, tinged +with ashy-grey; the head lighter, but becoming brownish behind; and +the lower surface ashy-grey, with some white streaks and spots. The +muzzle, chin, and feet are whitish, and along each side of the face +there runs a sort of ridge of stiff bristle-like hairs. This species is +particularly abundant in the Ukraine and the country about the Volga +and the Don. + +The genus _Rhizomys_, of which there are an East Indian and two African +species known, has the eyes uncovered, though very small, short naked +ears, and a short partially hairy tail. The upper incisors are arched +forward. The CHESTNUT MOLE-RAT (_Rhizomys badius_) lives in Northern +India, Siam, and Arracan; and, according to Mr. Finlayson, the food of +a specimen in confinement consisted of unhusked rice and other grain, +but he showed himself fond of yams and pumpkins. The NAKED MOLE-RAT +(_Heterocephalus glaber_), which has no external ears and a short tail, +has the body almost entirely naked. It is a native of Shoa. + +[Illustration: MOLE-RAT.] + +The other section of the Mole rat family, the BATHYERGINÆ, is entirely +confined to Africa, and, indeed, almost exclusively to the southern +extremity of that continent, only a single species being found +elsewhere--at Mozambique. They show a resemblance to the Hystricine +Rodents in the structure of the lower jaw, the angular portion of which +springs from the side of the bony case of the lower incisor; and the +palate between the molars is narrower than in the Spalacinæ. The best +known of the six species inhabiting the Cape of Good Hope is the STRAND +MOLE-RAT (_Bathyergus maritimus_), which is nearly as large as a small +Rabbit, its length being about ten inches, with a tail two inches in +length. In general form it resembles the species last described; it has +small but uncovered eyes, a broad nose, no external ears; very long, +compressed, and powerful claws on all the toes, except the thumb of +the fore-feet, which has a crooked nail; four molars on each side, and +long white incisors, of which the upper ones are strongly grooved in +front. The colour of the fur is greyish-white, with a yellowish tint +on the upper surface. The tail has a sort of radiating tuft of hairs +at the end. The Strand Mole-rat lives entirely in sandy localities +near the sea-shore, and especially in the sand-hills or dunes which +fringe the coast of the Cape of Good Hope in some parts. Here it +burrows freely in all directions, its galleries generally radiating +from several central points, and joining in various places. It avoids +the light as much as possible, and if by chance it is exposed on the +surface it is exceedingly helpless. Very little is known of the habits +of this species, which probably feeds chiefly on roots like the other +members of the family. It is regarded as mischievous, as it undermines +the ground so much as to make it unsafe to ride over. The colonists, +therefore, often destroy it by various means. The enamel folds of the +teeth become effaced with use. + +The _Georychi_, five species of which inhabit Cape Colony, resemble +the preceding species, but are smaller and weaker. The claws of the +fore-feet are shorter and weaker, and the upper incisors, which are +long and arched forward, are not grooved. The best-known species is +the so-called CAPE MOLE-RAT (_Georychus capensis_). In the Mozambique +species (_Heliophobius argenteo-cinereus_) there are six molars on +each side above and below, and the second toe of the hind feet is the +longest. In most other characters it resembles _Georychus_. + + +FAMILY IX.--GEOMYIDÆ, OR POUCHED RATS. + +The Pouched Rats, or Pocket Gophers, and the Pouched Mice of North +America, constitute a family distinguished from all the preceding forms +by the presence of a pair of great cheek-pouches, opening _outside_ +and not inside the mouth (_see_ figure). These cheek-pouches are hairy +inside throughout. The angular portion of the lower jaw is strongly +twisted, the molars are four in number on each side in each jaw, and +the squamosal bone is very large. In external characters the animals +of this family present considerable diversity, which has led to their +being divided into two well-marked sub-families, the distinctive +peculiarities of which are of such importance that Dr. Coues has raised +them to the rank of distinct families. The GEOMYINÆ, or Pouched Rats, +are more or less Rat-like animals, in which the feet are five-toed, and +all the toes furnished with claws, those of the fore feet being very +strongly developed; and the tail is short. Certain other characters +are presented by the skull. The outline of this part, including the +zygomatic arches, is almost quadrangular; the infra-orbital opening is +far in front of the jugal process; the malar bone extends forward to +the lachrymal. + +[Illustration: MOLAR TEETH OF THE MEXICAN POUCHED RAT.] + +[Illustration: UNDER SURFACE OF THE HEAD OF HETEROMYS.] + +Of the animals thus characterised, the Continent of North America +possesses, according to Dr. Coues, seven species, and they are met with +from Hudson’s Bay and the Columbia River in the north, as far south +as Mexico. The best-known species, the COMMON POCKET GOPHER (_Geomys +bursarius_), inhabits the whole valley of the Mississippi, and extends +northwards into Canada. It reaches the foot of the Rocky Mountains in +Colorado, but is not known to occur west of that range. It is also +found in Texas. This Pouched Rat, like the rest of its genus, has the +incisors broad and the upper ones deeply grooved; but in addition to +the ordinary deep groove it has a fine line close to the inner margin +of each of these teeth. Its form is stout and clumsy, but its coat is +beautifully soft and velvety, like that of the Mole, but of a dull +reddish-brown colour, with the feet and tail white. The average length +of an adult specimen is from seven to eight inches, and the tail is two +or three inches long. This organ is clothed with hair nearly to the tip. + +[Illustration: SKULL OF THE MEXICAN POUCHED RAT.] + +Like the Mole, this animal lives in burrows, which it makes in all +directions in the ground, throwing out as it proceeds heaps of earth, +which exactly resemble ordinary mole-hills. To enable it to perform +these labours the claws of the fore feet are exceedingly powerful; and +to adapt it the better to its subterranean existence, the eyes are very +small, and the external ears are wanting. Its digging operations have +generally the same object as those of the Mole--namely, the search +for food. The tunnel is carried along not far from the surface of the +ground, and the roots of any plants that lie in its course are bitten +off and devoured by the little miner. Besides the runs, the Pouched +Rat digs himself a convenient dwelling in the shape of a chamber +hollowed out under the roots of a tree, access to which is gained by +a somewhat spiral descending passage. This chamber, which is usually +at a depth of four or five feet, is comfortably lined with soft grass, +and the nest in which the female brings forth her young is a cavity of +the same kind, but surrounded by circular passages, from which, like +that of the Mole, other passages branch off. One of these, according +to Gesner, leads from the nest to a large store-chamber filled with +nuts, seeds, and roots, among which the potato was found to play an +important part. These provisions are carried to the store-house in the +great cheek-pouches, which the animal is said to fill by the aid of its +tongue, and to empty with the fore paws. This Pouched Rat does much +damage in cultivated ground by attacking the roots of both plants and +trees, sometimes destroying a great number of the latter in a few days. +The female produces from five to seven young at the end of March or the +beginning of April. The other species of _Geomys_ closely resemble this +in their habits. + +Of the second genus belonging to this sub-family (_Thomomys_) Dr. Coues +admits only two species, one of which, however, occurs under three +named forms. They may be distinguished from the species of _Geomys_ by +their having the upper incisors plain, without grooves. + +The NORTHERN POCKET GOPHER (_Thomomys talpoides_), with its +sub-species, ranges over nearly the whole of North America from the +Hudson’s Bay Territory to California and New Mexico. The three forms +are for the most part in accordance with geographical distribution. +A small species (_Thomomys clusius_) has been obtained in the Rocky +Mountains. + +The HETEROMYINÆ (forming the family Saccomyidæ of Dr. Coues, although +he does not accept the genus _Saccomys_) are more slender and delicate +in form than the Geomyinæ, and have the hind limbs and tail elongated, +the former, indeed, being converted into leaping organs like those +of the Jerboas and Kangaroos. The eyes and ears are larger, and the +animals are in every respect adapted to life in the open, while the +Geomyinæ, on the contrary, are subterranean in their habits. The hair +in the present family is coarse and harsh, sometimes even spiny. In +skeletal characters we find a similar alteration. The incisors are +narrow; the skull is delicate, with its angles rounded off, and the +mastoid bones form a considerable part of the roof of the cranial +cavity; the zygomatic arches are slender; and, the lower root of the +maxillary process being undeveloped, the infra-orbital opening is +not defined. As in the Jerboas, the cervical vertebræ are sometimes +anchylosed. Like the Geomyinæ, these animals are confined to America, +and chiefly limited to the Southern United States and Central America, +although some of the species occur as far north as the Columbia River +and Hudson’s Bay, and one is found in Trinidad. By American writers +they are called “Pocket Mice.” + +PHILLIPS’S POCKET MOUSE, also known as the Kangaroo Rat (_Dipodomys +Phillipsii_), is one of the best known species of this group. It is +an elegantly formed little creature, about four inches long, with +a slender tail nearly six inches in length. Its colour above is +mouse-brown, white beneath; the sides of the body have some white +streaks, especially one from the ear towards the shoulder, and one on +the thigh running towards the root of the tail; the tip of the tail is +also white. This is a Californian species, but extends throughout the +Pacific region of the United States. It is represented in the Rocky +Mountains by a rather larger and stouter form, with smaller ears and +a shorter tail (_Dipodomys Ordii_), which is generally regarded as +distinct, but is placed by Dr. Coues as a sub-species. The habits of +the species are comparatively little known, but they appear to live in +the most desert places they can find, the barren spots on which the +only plants that seem to flourish are the great mis-shapen cactuses. +They dwell in holes under rocks and stones, from which they emerge at +sunset, and hop about gaily after the fashion of little Kangaroos. The +places in which these Pocket Mice are found are so bare of vegetation +and destitute of water, that it is difficult to imagine how they +contrive to exist. In all probability they pick up a scanty living in +the shape of roots and grasses, especially seeds, carrying a supply for +the day into their holes in their great cheek-pouches. + +The YELLOW POCKET MOUSE and the LEAST POCKET MOUSE (_Cricetodipus +flavus_ and _parvus_) are very minute creatures, only about two inches +long in the head and body. The tail is longer than the head and body in +the latter, shorter in the former species, and the colour of the fur +in both is a pale buff. These species are found in the Rocky Mountains +and the region west of that range to the Pacific, the latter being +inhabited by the second of the above species. Several species of the +genus _Heteromys_ inhabit Central America, and one is found in the +island of Trinidad. Nothing appears to be known of their habits. + +From these we pass as by a natural transition to + + +FAMILY X.--DIPODIDÆ (THE JERBOAS). + +The JERBOAS are a more extensive and much more widely distributed +family of hopping Rodents. In these we find the organisation for +jumping brought to greater perfection than in any other group. The +body is light and slender, the hind limbs much elongated, the fore +limbs very small, and the tail long and usually tufted at the end. The +number of toes on the hind feet varies from three to five, and the +metatarsal bones are very often united so as to form what is called +a “cannon bone” in the Horse. The incisor teeth are compressed; the +molars sometimes four, but usually three in each series, rooted or +rootless, not tuberculate; the infra-orbital opening is rounded and +very large, and the zygomatic arch slender. The great home of these +animals is the vast steppe region which stretches from South-eastern +Europe across the greater part of Central Asia, but they extend +southwards round the eastern extremity of the Mediterranean, through +Syria and Arabia to Egypt and Africa, over a great part of which they +are found, and eastward to India, Afghanistan, and Ceylon. A single +species occurs at the Cape of Good Hope; and another is found in North +America. We may commence by noticing this last species, as it not only +makes the nearest approach to those of preceding families, especially +the Muridæ, but differs from the rest of the Jerboas in characters of +such importance, that Dr. Coues maintains its right to form a separate +family (_Zapodidæ_). + +[Illustration: SKULL OF THE CAPE JUMPING HARE.] + +The AMERICAN JUMPING MOUSE (_Zapus[54] hudsonius_) has a wide range, +extending across the continent of North America from sea to sea, and +from Labrador, Hudson’s Bay, and the Great Slave Lake in the north, +to Virginia and the elevated portions of Arizona and New Mexico in +the south. It is an elegant little mouse-like creature, rather more +than three inches long, and furnished with a cylindrical tail, which +exceeds the head and body in length by about two inches. Its hind limbs +are not quite so disproportionately developed as in the other members +of the family. Its fur in summer is of a brown colour above, becoming +yellowish on the sides and white below; in the winter the brown tint +covers the whole surface. The ears, which are not very large, are +black, with a light-coloured rim; the hind feet are greyish, and the +fore feet whitish on the upper surface; and the tail, which tapers to +an exceedingly fine point, where there is a fine pencil of hairs, is +ringed and nearly naked. + +The characters in which this animal differs from its nearest relatives +are as follows:--In the upper jaw there are four rooted molars on +each side, the first being very small, the second the largest, and +the rest gradually diminishing in size; the fore feet have the thumbs +rudimentary, and the hind feet have five toes, all of which touch the +ground; the metatarsal bones are separate; and the soles of the feet +naked, with granules and small horny shields. + +[Illustration: AMERICAN JUMPING MOUSE.] + +The American Jumping Mouse is found in meadows in the neighbourhood of +woods and copses. It is nocturnal in its activity, sleeping during the +day in its burrow, which is usually about two feet deep, and coming +forth at night. It is sociable in its habits, and excessively active, +covering from three to five feet of ground at each leap, so that it is +a matter of no little difficulty to capture a specimen in the open. In +the woods it is worse, as the little creature will bound over bushes, +and get out of sight in a moment. Its food consists of seeds of various +kinds, and it is exceedingly fond of beech-mast. For protection from +the cold of winter the Jumping Mouse makes a little hollow clay ball, +within which it coils itself up, and goes comfortably to sleep. The +nest is made about six inches under the surface of the ground, and +is composed of fine grass, sometimes mixed with feathers, wool, and +hair; and in this the female produces from two to four young, probably +several times in the course of the summer, as the nests and young are +to be found from May to August. + +[Illustration: MOLAR TEETH OF THE JERBOA.] + +If we regard the American Jumping Mouse as constituting a peculiar +section of the family, ZAPODINÆ, a second group, DIPODINÆ, is formed +by the TRUE JERBOAS, which make up the greater part of the family. +These either possess only three molars, or a very small additional +tooth exists in front of each series in the upper jaw. The molars are +rooted, and diminish in size backwards in each series. The cervical +vertebræ are anchylosed; the fore feet have the thumbs rudimentary, but +sometimes furnished with a small nail; the hind feet have only three +toes fully developed, and the metatarsals are united into a single bone +of great length; the soles are furnished with elastic balls; and the +tail is very long, well-clothed with hair, and tufted at the end. + +[Illustration: JERBOA.] + +Of these pretty little creatures, which are in some respects singularly +bird-like, about twenty species have been recorded, and these occupy +the whole of the Old World area of the family, except South Africa. +The JERBOA (_Dipus ægyptius_) may serve as an example of this section +of the family. This is a most lively and active little creature, which +inhabits the deserts of north-eastern Africa as far south as Nubia, and +extends its range into Arabia and south-western Asia. On these arid +plains, so scantily clothed with a few grasses and dry shrubs that it +is difficult to conceive how any animal can find a living on them, the +Jerboa lives, often in numerous societies, and in company with the few +birds and lizards which enliven the wilderness. These animals dwell +in subterranean abodes consisting of many branched galleries, which +they dig out in the hard soil not far from the surface. The Arabs +assert that these habitations are produced by the joint labour of the +whole society. They retreat into their burrows at the least alarm. The +females are said to produce from two to four young at a birth in a nest +made in the deeper part of the burrow, and lined with hair pulled from +the under surface of her own body. When going along quietly, the Jerboa +walks and runs by alternate steps of the hind feet, but when there +is occasion for rapid motion it springs from both feet at the same +time, covering so much ground at each leap, and touching the ground so +momentarily between them, that its motion is more like that of a bird +skimming close to the surface of the ground than that of a four-footed +beast. + +The Jerboa is about six inches long, with a tail about eight inches in +length exclusive of the tuft with which its tip is adorned. Its upper +surface is of a greyish sand-colour, like that of many other desert +animals; the lower surface is white; and the tail pale-yellowish above +and white beneath, with the tuft white, with an arrow-shaped black mark +on its upper surface. + +[Illustration: ALACTAGA.] + +Several other species of Jerboas are known, some from the deserts of +North Africa, others from the steppes of Central Asia. The latter +region harbours some forms, which differ from the preceding, among +other characters, by having five toes in the hind feet, whereas the +true Jerboas have only three, but of the five toes only three are +sufficiently developed to take part in the animal’s progression. +The best known of them is the ALACTAGA (_Alactaga jaculus_), a +rather larger species than the Jerboa, and with a still longer tail, +reddish-yellow with a greyish tinge above, white beneath and on the +hind legs. Its range extends from the Crimea and the steppes of the Don +across Central Asia to the borders of China. It walks upon all-fours, +and when advancing quickly springs along after the fashion of the +Jerboa. Its food consists of all sorts of vegetable substances, but +it is especially fond of the bulbs of plants, and does not refuse +occasionally to eat insects, or even the eggs and young of the +birds which inhabit the steppes with it. The Alactagas live in very +complicated burrows, with many passages and branches, and they are said +always to make one passage from the central chamber of their residence, +which terminates close to the surface of the earth at some distance, +but is only opened in case of danger, when the inhabitants escape +through it, the position of its intended aperture being previously +unrecognisable. In cold weather they sleep in their nests. The female +produces from five or six to eight young, in a nest lined with her own +hair. Species of _Alactaga_ occur not only in Central Asia, but also in +Arabia and North Africa. + +[Illustration: MOLAR TEETH OF THE JUMPING HARE.] + +South Africa produces one species, the CAPE JUMPING HARE (_Pedetes +caffer_), which constitutes a distinct sub-family, PEDETINÆ, having +four rootless molars on each side in each jaw, the metatarsal bones +separate, the tail bushy, and the hind feet furnished with four toes +having broad, hoof-like nails. This is a much larger animal than any +of the preceding, being about the size of the common Hare, which it +also resembles in its colours. The Jumping Hare inhabits a considerable +portion of South Africa, extending on the west coast at least as +far as Angola. It is abundant at the Cape of Good Hope, both in the +mountains and in the plains. Great numbers of the animals often live +together, and their burrows, which, like those of other Dipodidæ, are +inhabited by numerous individuals as a common residence, consist of +many-branched galleries made at no great depth from the surface, but +leading into a more deeply-seated habitation. They generally go about +slowly upon all-fours, but can advance with extraordinary rapidity by +Kangaroo-like springs, in each of which, when pressed, they will cover +a space of twenty or thirty feet. Their food consists of roots, seeds, +and herbage. The female produces three or four young at a birth. + +[Illustration: CAPE JUMPING HARE.] + + +SECTION III.--PORCUPINE-LIKE RODENTS (_HYSTRICOMORPHA_). + + +FAMILY XI.--OCTODONTIDÆ. + +This first family of the Porcupine alliance consists of a number of +rat-like animals, nearly all of which are inhabitants of South America, +three species only being peculiar to the large West Indian Islands, +whilst, singularly enough, four more are known from different parts of +the African continent. Except in one of these last, all the members of +the family have four molars on each side in each jaw, and the crowns +of these teeth show internal and external folds of enamel. The malar +portion of the zygomatic arch has an angular process at its lower +margin. The hind limbs are not disproportionately developed, and both +they and the fore feet are nearly always furnished with five toes, +armed with curved claws; and the clavicles are perfect. The ears are +generally short and sparingly hairy, and the tail, which is of various +lengths, is either clad with short hairs, or naked and scaly. + +We may begin with two African species of this generally American +family, which have the two inner claws of the hind feet furnished with +comb-like fringes of horny bristles, whence the name of _Ctenodactylus_ +has been applied to the best known species. These two species, +which exhibit strong affinities to the Jerboas, form the sub-family +CTENODACTYLINÆ. The GUNDI (_Ctenodactylus Massoni_) has only three +molars on each side in each jaw, and only four toes upon each foot. It +is an animal about the size of the Water Rat, but with a mere stump +of a tail, very small ears, very long whiskers, and the hind limbs +rather longer than their fellows. It lives in North Africa, chiefly on +the borders of the Sahara, where it takes up its abode in the rocky +hills, and descends therefrom to the cultivated grounds to feast upon +the growing corn. It is diurnal in its habits, but exceedingly shy +and watchful, making off to its fastnesses at the least appearance of +danger. _Pectinator Spekei_, a species named after its discoverer, the +celebrated African traveller, is nearly related to the preceding, but +has a small additional molar in each series. The tail is of moderate +length, and bushy, and the ears have a small antitragus. It inhabits +the Somali land in the interior of North-eastern Africa. + +[Illustration: DEGU.] + +The DEGU (_Octodon Cumingii_), a very abundant species in Chili, which +also extends into Peru, may be taken as a typical example of the whole +family, and also of its typical sub-family OCTODONTINÆ, in which the +molars are simply indented on each side. The fur is soft, and the +tail is short. The Degu is a rat-like animal, rather smaller than +the Water Vole, the head and body measuring from seven and a half to +eight inches in length, and the tail, exclusive of its terminal tuft, +rather more than half that length. The general colour of the animal is +brownish-yellow, pencilled with black on the back; the lower surface is +yellowish, the feet white, and the tail dusky above, whitish beneath, +with the tufted tip dusky or blackish. In the central parts of Chili, +according to various travellers, the Degu is exceedingly abundant, +living in large societies about hedges and thickets, and running about +boldly, even on the high roads. The animals make their burrows in +the hedge-banks and similar places, and when alarmed rush into them +with their tails elevated, very much after the manner of Rabbits. As +the burrows communicate freely with each other, the Degus can easily +escape pursuit, going in at one opening and coming out at another at +some considerable distance. They sometimes climb up into the bushes +among which they live. Their ordinary food consists of the herbage +which grows about their dwelling-places, but they also invade gardens +and fields, where they may do considerable damage. In the winter they +will feed upon the tender bark of certain trees, but they are said by +some authors to lay up a store of food against this season. They do +not become torpid. The female is believed to produce two broods in the +year, each consisting of from four to six young. Two other species +of _Octodon_ are known from Chili and Bolivia, which region is also +inhabited by two species of _Habrocoma_, a genus distinguished by the +large size of the ears, and the extreme softness of the fur. In these +animals the molar teeth differ in the two jaws, the upper ones being +as simple as in the preceding species, while the lower ones show a +complication of the enamel folds like what we shall meet with in the +third sub-family. + +The BROWN SCHIZODON (_Schizodon fuscus_), which inhabits certain +elevated spots in the southern part of the Andes (75° S. lat.), has +the enamel folds of the molar teeth meeting in the middle. It is about +the size of the common Rat (seven and a half to nine inches long), +and has a shortish tail clothed throughout with short hairs. Its fur +is dark brown above, dirty yellowish beneath. This animal inhabits +grassy places near mountain streams, where the ground is sometimes so +undermined by its burrows as to render travelling on horseback very +uncomfortable. It is a nocturnal animal, and passes most of its life +underground. The valleys it inhabits are covered with snow for at least +four months in the year. + +In the TUKOTUKO (_Ctenomys brasiliensis_) and its congeners, about +four of which are known from different parts of South America, one of +them extending as far south as the Strait of Magellan, the eyes and +ears are very small, and the animal seems to be still more specially +adapted to a subterranean mode of life. In these animals the claws +are longer than the toes, and those of the hind feet are fringed with +a sort of comb formed of bristles. The incisor teeth are very broad. +The Tukotuko is about the size of a large Rat, namely, from eight and +a half to nine and a half inches long, with the tail from two and a +half to three and a half inches. Its name is in imitation of the sound +which it constantly emits--a sound which rather surprises a stranger +when he first hears it, seeing that the animal uttering it is concealed +underground. In many places, as in the Argentine Republic, this animal +is exceedingly numerous, living generally in sandy soil, but sometimes +in damp situations. It makes long burrows not far from the surface, and +thus in some places completely undermines the ground. In making these +galleries the Tukotuko is engaged in the search for its food, which +consists chiefly of the roots of plants. According to Azara, it lays up +stores of food in its burrows. Its activity is nocturnal. + +The CURURO (_Spalacopus Pöppigii_) has the ears quite rudimentary, +and is also organised for a subterranean existence. This and another +species inhabit Chili, where they make extensive burrows in the ground, +and feed upon the bulbous and tuberous roots of various plants, large +stores of which they collect in their subterranean abodes. These +magazines are sought out by the poorer people, and their contents used +as food. + +[Illustration: DENTITION OF THE ROCK RAT.] + +The ROCK RAT (_Petromys typicus_), although most nearly allied to +the preceding species, lives on the opposite side of the Atlantic in +the rocky hills of South Africa, especially towards the mouth of the +Orange River. It differs from the preceding forms in the harshness of +its fur, in which it resembles another sub-family of Octodontidæ, in +the shortness of its thumbs, which are furnished with a small nail, +and in its rather bushy tail. The molars are semi-rooted, with the +enamel folds nearly meeting in the middle. The whiskers are of great +length, and entirely black. The general colour is reddish-brown, with +the head and fore parts greyish, the throat whitish, and the belly +pale yellow. The tail is of the colour of the body at the root, with +the remainder black. The length of the animal is about seven and a +half inches, of the tail from five to five and a half inches. It feeds +upon various vegetable substances, and appears to be very fond of the +flowers of syngenesious plants, especially a species of groundsel, +which it eagerly devours. It forms its retreat among loose stones, or +in crevices of the rocks. + +[Illustration: TEETH OF THE SPINY RAT.] + +While the Octodontinæ may be regarded as specially characteristic of +the region of the Andes, the other great group of this family is almost +exclusively confined to the country east of that great chain, and to +some of the West Indian islands. Curiously enough this sub-family also +has a single representative in Africa. Its members are distinguished +at once by the complicated enamel folds of their molar teeth in both +jaws, by these teeth being generally rooted, and by the texture of the +fur, which is harsh and frequently mixed with fine spines. Hence the +name of _Echinomys_ (Spiny, or rather Hedgehog, Rat), applied to the +typical genus, from which the sub-family is named ECHINOMYINÆ. The tail +in these animals is usually long. + +The Rodents belonging to this sub-family are generally of considerable +size, as large as Rats, or larger, stoutly built, with the hinder part +of the body larger than the fore-quarters, with limbs of moderate +length, the hinder larger than the anterior, the former furnished with +five toes, the latter with four complete digits and a rudimentary +thumb, and the toes armed with strong curved claws. The tail is scaly, +with scattered hairs. In their habits these animals appear to be +strictly vegetable-feeders, but in other respects they present some +variety. The majority live in and upon the ground; but one or two are +arboreal, and one aquatic, in their mode of life. + +The last species alluded to is the well-known COYPU (_Myopotamus +Coypus_), one of the largest of Rodents, which occurs in nearly +all parts of South America and on both sides of the Andes, from +the tropic of Capricorn to about 15° N. lat. It is usually about +twenty inches long, but often attains still greater dimensions. The +tail, which is about two-thirds the length of the head and body, is +scaly, with hairs about as thickly scattered as in the common Rat. +The ears are of moderate size; the incisor teeth very large and +powerful; the molars, the hindmost of which are the largest, have +two internal and two external enamel-folds in the upper, and three +internal folds and one external in the lower, jaw; the hind feet are +webbed. The general colour of the upper surface is brown, produced by +dusky and brownish-yellow pencilling; the sides and under parts are +brownish-yellow, and the front of the muzzle and the chin white. + +[Illustration: COYPU.] + +The Coypus live upon the shores of the rivers and lakes of South +America, generally, according to Rengger, in pairs, each pair digging +for themselves a burrow in the bank, which extends to a depth of three +or four feet, and widens out into a cavity eighteen inches or two feet +in diameter. Here they pass the night, and take refuge when necessary +during the day. They select for their dwelling-places the stiller parts +of the water, where the aquatic plants on which they chiefly feed grow +freely. They are said to swim well, but not to be expert in diving. On +land they are slow and awkward in their movements. They feed chiefly on +the roots of plants, but in the Chonos Archipelago, where the Coypus +frequent the sea and make their burrows at some little distance from +the beach, they are said occasionally to eat shell-fish. The female +produces from four to five young once in the year. The little animals +very early accompany their mother into the water, when she swims with +them on her back, until they have acquired the art of swimming. Mr. +Waterhouse thinks that this habit may “explain the singular position +of the nipples noticed in the female Coypu. Of these four were found +by Mr. Lereboullet on each side of the body, and situated rather above +the mesial line of the flanks, the foremost being placed behind the +shoulder, and the hindermost in front of the thigh.” The Coypu is +hunted for the sake of its flesh, which is described as white and of +good flavour, and of its skin, which is well known in the fur trade +under the name of “Nutria,” signifying Otter. Great quantities of these +skins are annually exported from Buenos Ayres. It is said to be a +courageous animal, fighting bravely with the dogs engaged in chasing it. + +[Illustration: HUTIA CONGA.] + +[Illustration: TEETH OF PLAGIODON.] + +[Illustration: MOLAR TEETH OF LONCHERES.] + +The HUTIA CONGA (_Capromys pilorides_) is another large Rodent, +measuring from twenty to twenty-two inches in length, with a stout +rat-like tail about half as long as the head and body. It is an +inhabitant of Cuba. The incisors are considerably smaller and weaker +than in the Coypu; the upper molars have one internal and two external +folds; the lower ones are similar but reversed. The fur, which is +long, is very harsh, and consists of a mixture of black and yellow +hairs, becoming rusty on the hinder part of the body. The belly is +rusty yellow. This animal lives in the dense forests of Cuba, where +it resides either upon the trees or in the thick underwood. It is a +nocturnal or crepuscular animal, and is tolerably active when going +about on the branches of trees, but is less at home on the ground. +Its food consists of fruits, leaves, and the bark of trees, but, +according to M. Ramon de la Sagra, it does not disdain animal food, +and is especially fond of a species of Lizard belonging to the genus +_Anolis_. On the other hand, the negroes are very partial to the flesh +of the Hutia, and they capture the animal either by snaring it on the +branches of trees, or by sending Dogs after it. Like the Coypu, it is +said to fight courageously against its pursuers. Another Cuban species, +the HUTIA CARABALI (_C. prehensilis_), has a slightly longer tail, +which is prehensile at the tip. It is described as keeping chiefly to +the highest branches of the trees. In St. Domingo there is an allied +form, _Plagiodon ædium_, in which the enamel folds of the molars are +singularly complex (_see_ figure on p. 132). This animal frequents +the neighbourhood of human habitations, and approaches them at night +in search of its food, which consists of fruit and roots. In most of +the other members of this sub-family, which appear to be terrestrial +in their habits, the intermixture of spines with the fur of the back +is a striking character. In the genus _Echinomys_ itself, and in +_Loncheres_, which together include about a dozen species found chiefly +in Guiana and Brazil, the spines frequently form the principal outer +covering of the back. Side by side with these hedgehog-like species, +however, others occur in which the fur is soft. + +[Illustration: SKULL OF LONCHERES.] + +The GROUND RAT (_Aulacodus Swinderianus_), of Western and Southern +Africa, is remarkable as being the sole representative of this group +outside the South American province. It has very broad incisors, and +those of the upper jaw exhibit three deep grooves; the molars show +the same arrangement of folds as in _Capromys_; the fur is harsh and +bristly, and of a general brown tint; and the tail is of moderate +length, sparingly haired, dusky above, and whitish below. The fore +feet have the thumb rudimentary and the outer toe very short; and the +hind feet have only four toes, of which the outer one is rudimentary. +This curious animal, which is nearly two feet long, is known to be an +inhabitant of Sierra Leone and the Gambia, and also of South Africa +(Port Natal); in all probability it occurs at many intermediate +localities. In Sierra Leone it is known as the Ground Rat, or Ground +Pig, and is said to feed upon ground nuts, and cassada and other roots +in search of which it digs into the ground, where it also forms large +burrows for its residence. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +PORCUPINES--CHINCHILLAS--AGOUTIS--CAVIES--HARES AND RABBITS--PIKAS. + + HYSTRICIDÆ, THE PORCUPINES--Conversion of Hairs into + Spines--Skull--Dentition--Tail--Sub-families--The + True Porcupines--The Tree Porcupines--THE COMMON + PORCUPINE--Distribution--Description--The Crest of + Bristles--Nature of the Spines--Habits--Young--Flesh--On the + Defensive--Other Species--Species of Tree Porcupines--THE + COUENDOU--THE COUIY--Description--Habits--THE URSON, OR CANADA + PORCUPINE--Description--Habits--Food--CHINCHILLIDÆ, THE + CHINCHILLAS--Characteristics--THE VISCACHA--Description--Life on the + Pampas--Their Burrows--Habits--The Chinchillas of the Andes--THE + CHINCHILLA--THE SHORT-TAILED CHINCHILLA--CUVIER’S CHINCHILLA--THE + PALE-FOOTED CHINCHILLA--DASYPROCTIDÆ, THE AGOUTIS--Characters--THE + AGOUTI--Distribution--Appearance--Habits--AZARA’S + AGOUTI--THE ACOUCHY--THE + PACA--Appearance--Distribution--Habits--DINOMYIDÆ--Founded + for a Single Species--Description--Rarity--CAVIIDÆ, THE + CAVIES--Characteristics--THE RESTLESS CAVY--Appearance--Habits--The + Guinea-Pig Controversy--THE BOLIVIAN CAVY--THE ROCK + CAVY--THE SOUTHERN CAVY--THE PATAGONIAN CAVY, OR + MARA--Peculiar Features--Its Burrows--Mode of Running--THE + CAPYBARA--Its Teeth--Where Found--Habits--THE DOUBLE-TOOTHED + RODENTS--Characteristics--LEPORIDÆ, THE HARES AND + RABBITS--Structural Peculiarities--Distribution--Disposition--THE + COMMON HARE--Hind Legs--Speed--Its “Doubles”--Other + Artifices--Its “Form”--Habits--Food--Pet Hares--THE + RABBIT--Distribution--Habits--Domesticated--THE MOUNTAIN + HARE--LAGOMYIDÆ, THE PIKAS--Characteristics--Distribution--THE ALPINE + PIKA--THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN PIKA. + + +FAMILY XII.--HYSTRICIDÆ (PORCUPINES). + +This second family of the section Hystricomorpha exhibits the +conversion of the hairs into spines in perfection, the whole upper part +of the body being in several instances completely covered with long, +hollow, pointed quills, whilst in all cases great numbers of spines +and stiff bristles are mixed with the hair. The form of the skull in +these animals is distinctive. It is ovate, the cranial portion being +more or less inflated by air-cavities in the bones, and the facial +portion short, but the occipital or hinder surface is usually nearly +perpendicular; the malar portion of the zygoma has no angular process +as in the preceding family; the molar teeth are four in number on each +side in each jaw; and the limbs are about equal in development. The +incisor teeth are large and powerful. With regard to the development of +the tail there are considerable differences, some species having that +organ quite short, while in others it is of moderate length, or long +and sometimes prehensile. + +[Illustration: SKULL OF THE PORCUPINE.] + +The Porcupines fall readily into two distinct groups (sub-families) +characterised by structure, habits, and geographical distribution. In +the strictly terrestrial species, or True Porcupines (HYSTRICINÆ), +which inhabit the warmer parts of the eastern hemisphere, the skull +is rather more elongated than in the others; the front margin of the +orbit is over the third molar; the molars are rootless when young, but +become closed after a time, and the clavicles are imperfect. The upper +lip is furrowed; the tail, which may be either long or short, is never +prehensile; the soles of the feet are smooth; and the female has six +teats. + +[Illustration: COMMON PORCUPINE.] + +The arboreal species (SPHINGURINÆ), which are all American, have the +skull peculiarly short, the front margin of the orbit over the first +molar, the molars always rooted, and the clavicles perfect. The upper +lip is not furrowed; the tail is moderate or long, and generally +prehensile; the soles of the feet are covered with wart-like tubercles; +and the female has only four teats. + +The COMMON PORCUPINE (_Hystrix cristata_) may serve as a characteristic +and well-known example of the first of these two groups. It is an +inhabitant of the Mediterranean region, occurring in most parts of +North Africa, and extending as far southwards as the Gambia and Soudan; +in Southern Europe it is abundant in Italy, Sicily, and Greece. It +measures about twenty-seven or twenty-eight inches in length to the +root of the tail, which is about four inches long. The head, shoulders, +limbs, and under parts are clothed with short spines intermixed with +hairs usually of a dusky or brownish-black hue; the neck is marked +with a whitish collar; from the back of the head and neck there rises +a great crest of long bristles, many of them fifteen or sixteen inches +in length, which can be elevated and depressed at the pleasure of the +animal, are gently curved backwards, and are either dusky with the +extremities white, or whitish throughout; the hinder portion of the +body is entirely covered by a great number of long, sharp spines, +ringed with black and white, but always having the extremities white. +These spines vary considerably in size, some of them being very long +(fifteen or sixteen inches), comparatively slender and flexible; others +shorter (from six to twelve inches), but much stouter. They are all +hollow, or filled only with a sort of spongy tissue, but from their +structure are exceedingly resistant, and when the animal erects them, +which he is able to do by contracting the muscles of the skin in which +their roots are imbedded, they constitute a most formidable armature. +They appear to be but loosely attached to the skin, and readily fall +out, a circumstance which no doubt gave rise to the belief prevalent +among the ancients (and many moderns) that the Porcupine was able to +shoot his spines at an approaching enemy, or even to project them +behind him at a pursuer when he was rushing away in search of a place +of safety. The tail of the animal bears at its tip about twenty spines +of very curious construction; they are about two inches long, hollow, +open, and cut off square at the end, and about a quarter of an inch in +diameter for the greater part of their length, but they are inserted +into the skin by the extremity of a thin stalk half an inch long. + +The Porcupine lives in holes among the rocks, or in a burrow, which he +makes for himself in ordinary ground. In this retreat he passes the +day in sleep, coming forth in the evening in search of food, which +consists of herbage of various kinds, fruits, roots, and the bark and +leaves of trees and bushes. He is slow in his movements, and does +not even display much activity in burrowing. His habits are solitary +except during the pairing season; and during the winter he passes +most of his time in his habitation, without, however, falling into a +torpid state. The pairing takes place early in the year, but varies +in this respect according to the climate of the locality; and in the +spring or early summer the female produces from two to four young, in a +nest carefully lined with leaves, grasses, roots, and other vegetable +substances. The young Porcupines are born with their eyes open, and +their bodies are covered with short, soft spines, which are pressed +closely to the body. These speedily harden and grow longer, and the +young do not appear to remain very long with their mother. The flesh of +the Porcupine, like that of most purely vegetable-feeding Rodents, is +very good, and is eaten in the countries where the animal occurs. When +pursued or irritated, he stands on the defensive, erects his formidable +quills and crest, stamps on the ground with his hind feet after the +manner of a Hare, jerks himself towards the object of his dread, as if +to wound it with his spines, and at the same time produces a curious +noise by rattling the open quills of the tip of his tail. But all these +manœuvres are generally in vain, and the Porcupine, in spite of his +defensive armour, is pretty easily captured by those who know how to +set about it. The Leopard is said to manage the business at once by a +single blow of his paw on the head. + +A very similar Porcupine (_Hystrix hirsutirostris_) takes the place +of this species in Syria and Asia Minor, and extends thence eastward +to India; another (_H. javanica_) inhabits the Sunda Islands; and the +district of Nepaul has a peculiar species of its own. In Siam and +Malacca, and on the west coast of Africa, we find two species of an +allied genus, in which the spines of the body are comparatively short +and depressed, and the tail is elongated, scaly, with a few scattered +bristles in the middle, and with a large tuft of long flat bristles at +the tip. The Malayan species (_Atherura fasciculata_) is about eighteen +inches long, the African one (_A. africana_) about fourteen inches. +Both are somewhat rat-like in their form. + +The Tree Porcupines, forming the second sub-family, several species +with prehensile tails, range over the continent of South America, east +of the Andes, and one of them, the Mexican Tree Porcupine (_Sphingurus +mexicanus_), is found as far north as Guatemala and Southern Mexico. +The most abundant and widely-distributed species in the Brazilian +region are the COUENDOU (_Sphingurus prehensilis_) and the COUIY (_S. +villosus_), inhabiting Guiana, Brazil, and Bolivia, the latter being +found throughout the forest region of Brazil and as far south as +Paraguay. + +These animals are of considerable size, usually measuring from sixteen +to twenty inches in length without the tail, which is about one-third +the length of the head and body. By the aid of the prehensile tip +of this organ they climb with great facility and security upon the +branches of the trees, but their feet are also specially adapted for +this particular mode of activity, and they are said even to climb +the palm-trees in order to feed upon their fruit. They are nocturnal +in their habits, passing the day in sleep concealed in the fork of +a branch, and going abroad at night in search of their food, which +consists of fruits of various kinds, and the buds, leaves, and even +flowers, of the trees on which they live. Roots also form a part of +their nourishment, probably when they reside rather among thickets than +in the high forest. Their spines, although short when compared with +those of the Common Porcupine, are formidable defensive weapons when +the animal erects them; in some species, as especially in the Couiy, +they are concealed, when depressed, by the long hair, and, according +to Hensel, this serves as a protection to the animal from rapacious +birds, for, when it sits in a heap, sleeping away the daylight, these +soft grey hairs give it a most deceptive resemblance to a mass of +the beard-moss which so commonly grows on the trees in the Brazilian +forests. + +[Illustration: TREE PORCUPINE.] + +The URSON, or CANADA PORCUPINE (_Erythizon dorsatus_), the only North +American species of the family, according to Mr. Allen, although other +writers distinguish two or three such forms, is about two feet or +more in length when full grown, and is covered with woolly hair, and +with long coarse hair of a dark brown colour, with the points white +or yellowish, this difference in the colour of the tips of the hairs +being the chief distinction between the two varieties which Mr. Allen +recognises. The spines in both forms are white, with the points usually +dusky or brown. The Canada Porcupine is distributed through the whole +of the Eastern United States, except on the seaboard, from New York to +Virginia, and north of the States through Canada, as far as the limit +of trees. The Western Porcupine, which has the tips of the long hairs +yellowish (whence it has received the name _E. epixanthus_), occurs +west of the Missouri river, extending to the Pacific shores and going +southward along the mountains to Arizona and New Mexico, and northwards +at least as far as Alaska and Sitka. + +[Illustration: MEXICAN TREE PORCUPINES.] + +Although a heavy and clumsy-looking beast, and destitute of the +prehensile tail of its South American cousins, this Porcupine is a +good climber, and passes nearly the whole of its life upon trees; +nevertheless, according to Mr. Allen, it may be met with travelling +upon the prairies, probably on its way from one suitable residence to +another. On the ground it moves slowly, but its armature of spines is a +protection against most of its enemies, and it has the art of striking +very forcible and judicious blows with its spiny tail. Audubon and +Bachmann mention many cases in which Dogs, Wolves, and even a Puma were +found dead or dying in consequence of the severe inflammation caused +by the spines of this animal sticking about their mouths; and the +former gives an interesting account of a lesson in urbanity given by +a captive Urson to a Mastiff that attacked him. The food of the Urson +consists of various vegetable substances, fruits, buds, and the young +shoots and leaves of trees. In the winter it subsists chiefly upon the +bark, which it strips off the upper branches of the trees, and when it +has taken up its abode upon a tree it stays there until the suitable +bark has been consumed. As it prefers young trees this operation is +generally effected pretty quickly, and in this way it is estimated +that a single Porcupine may destroy hundreds of trees in the course +of a winter. The Urson resides in the holes of trees, and in such +situations, or in crevices among the rocks, the female prepares her +nest, in which she brings forth usually two, but occasionally three or +four, young in April or May. + + +FAMILY XIII.--CHINCHILLIDÆ (THE CHINCHILLAS). + +In the Chinchillas, which form a small family peculiar to South +America, the incisor teeth are short; the molars are rootless, divided +by continuous folds of enamel into transverse plates, and the two +series in each jaw converge towards the front; the zygomatic arch has +no angular process on the lower margin; the clavicles are slender but +perfect; the fore limbs are small, the hind limbs long; the tail of +moderate length or long, and turned up at the end; and the fur is very +fine and soft. They are Rodents of moderate size and more or less of +Rabbit-like appearance, except that the tail is always elongated and +bushy. Of the five known species, four are inhabitants of the mountain +regions, and one lives in the plains of the region of La Plata. + +The latter, the VISCACHA (_Lagostomus trichodactylus_), is a +stout-built and almost Marmot-like creature, from eighteen inches to +two feet long, exclusive of the tail, which measures from six to eight +inches. It has four toes on the fore limbs, and three on the hind feet, +the latter furnished with long, compressed, and pointed nails; the +muffle is broad and covered with a velvet-like coat of brown hair; the +fur, which is soft and moderately long, is of a mottled grey colour +above, and white or yellowish-white beneath; on each cheek there is a +dark band; a white band crosses the muzzle and runs back on each side +almost as far as the eye; the tail is dusky-brown or black. + +The Viscacha lives on the Pampas from Buenos Ayres to the borders +of Patagonia, and where it occurs is generally to be found in great +numbers, residing in extensive burrows which it digs for itself in the +ground, generally in the neighbourhood of copses, and, if possible, +near cultivated fields. Each burrow has a great number of passages +leading down to several chambers, in which the Viscachas live in family +parties to the number of eight or ten. The Burrowing Owl already +mentioned as an associate of the Prairie Dogs of North America, is +found about the settlements of the Viscachas, living in their burrows, +but it is said that the intrusion of these birds immediately drives out +the real owners of the dwelling, as the Owls will not observe those +rules of cleanliness which are characteristic of their unwilling hosts. +Of course the expelled family has to make itself a new residence, and +in this way great stretches of country come to be so undermined that +they are dangerous to ride over. According to Mr. Darwin, the most +favourite resort of the Viscachas in the neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres +are those parts of the plain which, during half the year, are covered +with great thistles. + +They are nocturnal in their habits, passing the day sleeping in the +recesses of their burrows, and coming forth in the twilight one by +one, until a large and lively company is to be seen playing about the +neighbourhood of their holes. When all is quiet they go in search of +their food, which consists of grasses and other herbage and roots, and +sometimes of the bark of trees and shrubs. In cultivated fields they +may do considerable damage. While engaged in feeding, one or other +of the party is perpetually on the watch, and the moment anything +occurs to cause alarm, the whole of them scamper away with their tails +elevated, to take refuge in their holes. In their movements they are +very like Rabbits, but less active. + +The Viscacha has the very singular habit of dragging all sorts +of hard objects to the mouth of its burrow, where bones, stones, +thistle-stalks, hard lumps of earth, dry cow-dung, and other chance +articles may be found collected into a heap, frequently, according +to Mr. Darwin, amounting to as much as a wheelbarrow would contain. +Mr. Darwin says that he was informed that “a gentleman riding on +a dark night dropped his watch; he returned in the morning, and +by searching in the neighbourhood of every Viscacha hole on the +line of road, as he expected, soon found it.” The purpose of this +accumulation of apparently useless articles by the Viscacha has never +been ascertained. It has been compared to the habit of some of the +Australian Bower-birds, which adorn their playing-places with bright +and glittering objects. + +[Illustration: VISCACHAS.] + +The Chinchillas of the Andes, or Alpine Chinchillas, are much lighter +and more elegant animals than their cousins of the plains; in form they +more resemble Squirrels or large Dormice. Their fur is excessively +soft, perhaps the softest that clothes any animal, and in all the +species it is of a grey colour, mottled or clouded with darker and +lighter tints. The ears are of large size. They are confined to the +Andes of Chili, Bolivia, and Peru, where they live among the bare rocks +at a considerable elevation, seeking refuge in natural clefts and +cavities, sleeping in their holes during the day, and coming forth at +twilight in search of food. They are exceedingly lively and active in +their movements, and very shy. + +[Illustration: MOLAR TEETH TEETH OF THE CHINCHILLA.] + +The COMMON CHINCHILLA (_Chinchilla lanigera_), the skins of which are +well known as furs, is a squirrel-like animal, nine or ten inches long, +with a tail more than half this length. It has large rounded ears; its +fore feet have five, and its hind four, toes. Its fur on the upper part +is grey, elegantly marbled with dusky or black, on the lower surface +yellowish-white; the tail is black above, and dirty white at the sides +and beneath. The incisors are of a bright orange colour in front. The +SHORT-TAILED CHINCHILLA (_C. brevicaudata_), a larger species, has the +tail only three inches long. Its fur is of a general silvery-grey hue, +tinged with black, especially along the back, and the tail has two +dark bands on its upper surface. Both these animals inhabit Peru, and +the former is also found in Bolivia and Chili. They are exceedingly +abundant, notwithstanding the constant persecution to which they are +subjected for the sake of their skins. They come out of their holes +even in the daytime, but then always keep on the shady side of the +rocks. Their activity is described as wonderful, and they will run with +great rapidity up perpendicular walls of rock which seem to offer no +hold for their feet. On the ground they are said to run very much after +the fashion of our common Mice. The Chinchilla seems to breed nearly +all the year round, and the female is said to produce from four to six +young at a birth. + +[Illustration: CHINCHILLA.] + +The other two species of Alpine Chinchillas are placed in a separate +genus, characterised by a more hare-like form, longer ears, and the +presence of only four toes on both fore and hind feet. CUVIER’S +CHINCHILLA (_Lagidium Cuvieri_) is about eighteen or twenty inches +long, of an ashy-grey colour with a yellowish tinge above, and pale +yellow beneath; the tail, which, with the hair, is nearly as long as +the body is clothed beneath with short black hairs, and above with much +longer bushy hairs, gradually increasing in length towards the tip, +where they are black; a black line passes down the middle of the tail, +and its sides are dirty white. The PALE-FOOTED CHINCHILLA (_Lagidium +pallipes_), which is about the same size as the preceding, but has a +shorter tail, is ashy grey, with a brownish tinge, becoming yellowish +fawn colour beneath. The range of these animals seems to be the same as +that of the true Chinchilla, but the second of them passes northwards +into the mountains of Ecuador. In their habits they agree with the +Chinchillas. + + +FAMILY XIV.--DASYPROCTIDÆ (AGOUTIS). + +In the Agoutis we have the first of three more or less pig-like +families, furnished with hoof-like nails on the toes, all the members +of which are inhabitants of South America. The Agoutis especially may +be compared to small slender-limbed Pigs, but they bear a still closer +resemblance in external form to the little Musk Deer. The Dasyproctidæ +have the incisors long; the molars, which are at first rootless, +and afterwards close up, have enamel folds from both surfaces; the +clavicles are rudimentary; the upper lip entire; the ears short; the +tail short and naked, or quite rudimentary; and the fore feet have five +toes. + +Of these animals eight or nine species are known. They inhabit South +America, from Mexico southwards to Paraguay and Bolivia, and some of +them also occur in the larger West Indian Islands. They frequent the +forest region, and especially haunt the banks of rivers. + +[Illustration: MOLAR TEETH OF THE AGOUTI.] + +The AGOUTI (_Dasyprocta aguti_), the most abundant and best-known +species, is found chiefly in Guiana, Brazil, and eastern Peru, where +it is to be found plentifully in the primeval forests. Like the other +true Agoutis, it has only three toes on the hind foot; its ears are +of moderate size and rounded; its form compact, and supported upon +slender limbs; its tail rudimentary; and the hair of its back is coarse +and harsh, and longer towards the hinder parts, which thus obtain a +somewhat truncated appearance. Its general colour is olive brown, +produced by a mixture of black and yellow; but the long hairs covering +the hinder portion of the back are usually of an orange colour, and the +middle line of the abdomen is whitish or yellow. This animal is from +eighteen to twenty inches long. + +[Illustration: AZARA’S AGOUTI. (From the _Proceedings of the Zoological +Society_.)] + +Although inhabiting the forests, the Agouti is not unfrequently seen on +the neighbouring grassy plains, but its residence is among the trees, +in the hollows of which, or in cavities at their roots, it takes up +its abode, generally lying concealed in its retreat during the day. +It is very quick in its movements, runs well, and springs with almost +the agility of an Antelope. The food of the Agouti consists of almost +any vegetable substances that come in its way. It will eat grass +and herbage, the roots of plants, their flowers and fruit, and when +it lives in the neighbourhood of sugar plantations and gardens its +inroads may give rise to considerable injury. The animal is, however, +rather solitary in its habits, living by itself in its cell, in its +departure from and return to which it appears generally to follow +exactly the same roads, by which means a narrow but very distinct +footpath is in course of time produced. This naturally often leads to +the discovery and capture of the little recluse. + +The Agouti appears to breed all the year round, usually producing +two young ones at a birth. The female prepares her dwelling for the +reception of her family by lining it comfortably with leaves, fine +roots, and hair. + +In the southern parts of Brazil, in Paraguay and Bolivia, the place of +this species is taken by AZARA’S AGOUTI (_Dasyprocta Azaræ_). A smaller +species, the ACOUCHY (_D. acouchy_), is found not only in Guiana and +the north of Brazil, but also in several of the West India Islands. The +last-named species has a well-developed tail about two inches long. + +[Illustration: SKULL OF THE PACA.] + +Besides the Agoutis, this family includes an allied animal, the PACA +(_Cœlogenys paca_), which differs generically from the Agoutis by +having five toes on the hind feet. It has a broader head and a blunter +muzzle, and is altogether a rather stouter animal than the Agoutis; +but, like most of them, it has a mere tubercle instead of a tail. One +of the most remarkable characters presented by this animal, however, is +the enormous development of the zygomatic arches, which are enlarged +and inflated in the most extraordinary manner, the maxillary portion, +which occupies the anterior two-thirds being hollowed out beneath into +a great chamber, lined with mucous membrane, and opening into the mouth +by a rather small aperture. The function of these remarkable cavities +is at present quite unknown. Food is not to be found in them, and, +indeed, as they are enclosed by solid bone, it would seem impossible +that they could act as cheek-pouches. + +[Illustration: PACA.] + +The Paca, which inhabits Central and South America from Guatemala to +Paraguay, is about two feet long, and is clothed with short rather +coarse hair of a brown or yellowish-brown colour above, white beneath, +with from three to five bands of white streaks and spots upon each +side of the body. In its habits the Paca very much resembles the +Agouti. It usually lives singly, or sometimes in pairs, on the borders +of the forests, or near the banks of rivers, taking up its abode during +the day either in a hole at the root of some tree, or in a burrow +excavated by its own labour, which is generally carried to a depth of +four or five feet. Its food consists of the leaves, fruits, and flowers +of various plants, and, like the Agouti, it occasionally does mischief +in the corn-fields and gardens. The female produces only one, or at +most two, young at a birth. The Paca swims well, and can cross even a +broad river in this way. Its flesh, like that of the Agouti, is very +well flavoured, and is consumed both by natives and Europeans. + + +FAMILY XV.--DINOMYIDÆ. + +This family has been founded for the reception of a single species, +of which only a single specimen has hitherto been obtained. It is +described by Professor Peters under the name of _Dinomys Branickii_. +In its external appearance it closely resembles the Paca (_Cœlogenys +paca_), but may at once be distinguished from that animal by its +possession of only four toes both before and behind. The ears are short +and rounded; the upper lip deeply cleft; the incisors very broad; +the molars four on each side, and divided into transverse plates by +folds of enamel; the clavicles are imperfect; and the tail of moderate +length and well clothed with hair. The animal, which inhabits the high +mountain regions of Peru, is of the size of the Paca, or about two +feet long, exclusive of the tail, which measures rather more than nine +inches. Its general colour is grey, produced by the sprinkling of white +among nearly black hairs; and on each side of the body are numerous +large white spots, of which the upper ones nearly run together, so as +to form two longitudinal bands. The extremity of the tail is black. + +The only known example of this Rodent was obtained by M. Constantin +Jelski at the Colonie Amable Maria, on the Montaña de Vitoc, in Peru, +having been found at daybreak walking about the yard. It showed no +fear of man, and was easily killed by a sword cut or two on the +head. The species would appear to be rare, as the inhabitants of the +neighbourhood were not acquainted with it. Of course nothing is known +of its habits. + +[Illustration: THE DINOMYS. (_After Peters._)] + +The chief interest at present attaching to this animal, therefore, +consists in its peculiar combination of characters. Externally, as +already stated, it resembles the Paca, with which it also agrees in +the S-like form of the nostrils, and in the structure of the limbs +(except the number of toes). In the lamellar structure of the molar +teeth, in the structure of the skull, and of the skeleton generally, +and especially in the flattened form of the front of the sternum +and the development of clavicles, it differs from the Paca and all +other Rodents with hoof-like nails. In some minor particulars it +resembles the Capybara. By the structure of the molar teeth and certain +osteological characters, it is most nearly allied to the Chinchillas; +while it approaches the genus _Capromys_ among the Octodontidæ in +the structure of the limbs and of some other parts of the skeleton. +Professor Peters is evidently inclined to regard it as most nearly +related to the Chinchillidæ, but as constituting a group establishing a +closer union than previously existed between the families Chinchillidæ, +Octodontidæ, Dasyproctidæ, and Caviidæ. + + +FAMILY XVI.--CAVIIDÆ (CAVIES). + +This family, the last of the simple-toothed Rodents, includes a small +number of species, of which the Common Guinea-pig may serve as a sort +of type. The Guinea-pig is, however, one of the smaller species of +the family, and is shorter in the limbs than most of its relatives. +They have the incisor teeth short, that is to say, not extending far +back in the jaw; the molars are rootless, variously divided by folds +of enamel into lobes, the angles of which are acute; the palate is +narrow in front, so that the upper series of molars approach each other +rather closely in front; the clavicles are rudimentary or wanting; +the fore limbs have four and the hind feet only three toes, all armed +with hoof-like nails; the upper lip is not cleft; and the tail is +rudimentary or wanting. They are stout, more or less rabbit-like +animals, with a soft coat, and the ears variable in length; and they +are confined to the continent of South America, where they chiefly +inhabit the plains. + +The RESTLESS CAVY (_Cavia aperea_), which is commonly regarded as +the wild original of the so-called Guinea-pig (_Cavia cobaya_ of +some authors), is abundant on the banks of the Rio de la Plata, and +extends thence northwards through Paraguay into Bolivia and Brazil. +It is usually about nine inches long, with the fur of the upper +part and sides of the body composed of a mixture of black and dingy +yellow hairs, the chest greyish-brown, and the throat and belly pale +dingy-yellow or brownish-grey. The incisor teeth are white. The genus +to which this animal belongs may be at once distinguished from the +other two genera constituting the family by the shortness of the limbs; +the ears also are short; the feet are naked beneath; the hind toes are +not webbed; and the molar teeth are nearly equal in size, and each +composed of two angular lobes. + +The specific name of the Restless Cavy seems to be derived from +its popular name in the country where it occurs. According to Mr. +Darwin, it is very common about the banks of the La Plata, sometimes +frequenting sandy hillocks, and the hedge-rows formed of the agave and +the prickly pear, but apparently preferring marshy places covered with +aquatic plants. In dry places it makes a burrow; but when it frequents +wet localities contents itself with the concealment afforded to it by +the herbage. Rengger describes it also as generally haunting moist +situations in Paraguay, and he adds that it keeps near the borders +of forests, but is never found either in the forests or in the open +fields. It lives in small societies of from six to fifteen individuals, +in the impenetrable thickets of Bromelias, where its presence is +revealed by the numerous beaten paths which it produces by going to +and fro. In Bolivia, according to Mr. Bridges, it is peculiar to the +low lands, and there takes shelter among the loose stones of the walls +enclosing the fields. It is active in search of food early in the +morning and in the evening, but will also come forth on gloomy days. +Rengger and Azara both agree in the statement that the female produces +only one or two young at a time; but the former says that this takes +place only once in the year, whilst the latter describes the animal +as breeding all the year round, and, indeed, in this way accounts for +its abundance, notwithstanding its being preyed upon so extensively by +rapacious birds and quadrupeds. + +The question whether our common Guinea-pig is really the domesticated +descendant of the animal just described can hardly be regarded as +finally settled, and, indeed, independently of colour, there are +sufficient differences between them to justify some doubt on the +subject. The name Guinea-pig may, as Mr. Waterhouse suggests, be a +mistake for Guiana-pig, and the first specimens may very probably have +come from that part of America. Its prevalent colours, as is well +known, are combinations of white, black, and yellow, and as these +colours are shown in the drawings of Aldrovandus, dating back to within +fifty years of the discovery of South America, there seems every +reason to believe that the animal must have been long domesticated in +America prior to its introduction into Europe. On the other hand, Dr. +Rengger says that he saw fourteen Apereas representing the fifth or +sixth generation from a single couple domesticated about seven years +before, and that these exhibited no difference of colouring from the +wild animal. Several allied species inhabit the great plains of South +America. + +The BOLIVIAN CAVY (_Cavia boliviensis_), which is grey in colour, with +a faint yellowish tinge, with the throat and belly white, the feet +whitish, and the incisor teeth orange yellow, inhabits the elevated +parts of Bolivia, generally at a height of 10,000 or 12,000 feet. The +ROCK CAVY (_Cavia rupestris_) is found in rocky districts in Brazil, +where it shelters itself in holes and crevices. It is always found near +the upper waters of rivers, and is a large species, measuring thirteen +or fourteen inches in length. The SOUTHERN CAVY (_Cavia australis_), on +the other hand, is a small species which inhabits Patagonia, where it +ranges from 39° S. lat. to the Strait of Magellan. + +This part of the world is also the abode of another and much larger +species of the family, the PATAGONIAN CAVY or MARA (_Dolichotis +patachonica_), an animal which somewhat resembles the Agouti in the +length and comparative slenderness of its legs, and differs from all +other Cavies in having tolerably long, pointed ears. It also possesses +a very short tail. The molar teeth are rather small, and resemble +those of the Guinea-pig in being formed of two nearly equal angular +lobes, but the last molar in the upper jaw, and the first in the +lower jaw, have three such lobes. The animal is somewhat Hare-like +in its appearance, and has been mistaken for a Hare by superficial +observers. It is, however, a much larger animal, measuring from thirty +to thirty-six inches in length, and weighing from twenty to thirty-six +pounds. + +[Illustration: PATAGONIAN CAVY.] + +The Patagonian Cavy is clothed with a dense crisp fur of a grey colour +on the upper part of the head and body, rusty yellow on the flanks, +and white on the chin, throat, and belly; the rump is black, with a +broad white band crossing it immediately above the tail. It inhabits +Patagonia about as far south as 48°, and extends northwards into the +La Plata territory as far as Mendoza. It is found only in the sterile +desert part of the country, where the gravelly plains are thinly +covered with a few stunted thorny bushes and a scanty herbage. The +northern limit of the species, according to Mr. Darwin, is at the point +where the vegetation of the plains becomes rather more luxuriant. The +Patagonian Cavy usually burrows in the ground, but where it lives +in the same region as the Viscacha, it will take advantage of the +excavations made by that animal. It wanders to considerable distances +from its home, and on these excursions two or three are usually seen +together. Mr. Darwin says:--“It is a common feature in the landscape of +Patagonia to see in the distance two or three of these Cavies hopping +one after the other over the gravelly plains.” Their mode of running, +on the same authority, more nearly resembles that of the Rabbit than of +the Hare; though their limbs are long, they do not run very fast. They +rarely squat like a Hare, but are very shy and watchful, and feed by +day, in connection with which it is to be observed that the eyes are +defended from the direct rays of the sun by well-developed eyelashes, +which do not occur in the other Cavies. The female produces generally +two young at a birth, which are brought forth and suckled in the burrow. + +The CAPYBARA (_Hydrochœrus capybara_), the only other member of the +present family, is the largest of all existing Rodents, large specimens +measuring over four feet in length. It is a stout-built and massive +animal, with limbs of moderate length, a large head with a very blunt +muzzle, small eyes and ears, no tail, and both the fore and hind feet +webbed. The upper incisor teeth have a broad and shallow groove down +the front, and the molars present very remarkable characters. In the +upper jaw the first three molars are each composed of two lobes united +by cement, and on the outside of each of these lobes there is a fold of +enamel which passes deeply into the tooth. The last molar consists of +one lobe similar to those of the preceding teeth, but in place of the +second there are ten or a dozen transverse plates. The first two molars +of the lower jaw exhibit complex lobes and folds of enamel; the third +and fourth a combination of folded lobes and transverse plates. + +In its general form the Capybara is more pig-like than any of its +relatives, and, indeed, its generic name, _Hydrochœrus_, Water-pig, +recalls this resemblance, and at the same time intimates its aquatic +habits. Its coat is composed of long and coarse hairs, often five or +six inches long on the hinder parts, of a reddish-brown colour above, +and a dirty brownish-yellow beneath. It is distributed over the whole +eastern part of South America, from Guiana southwards to the Rio de la +Plata, and ranges westwards into the lower parts of Peru and Bolivia. + +[Illustration: MOLARS OF THE CAPYBARA.] + +The Capybaras frequent the borders of the lakes and rivers, with which +all this part of the South American continent abounds, and, according +to Mr. Darwin, they used to frequent the islands in the mouth of the +La Plata, where the water is quite salt. In this part of America they +are called “Carpinchos.” They never wander far from the water-side, +and show a marked preference for the larger rivers, among the reeds +and other plants fringing which they take up their abode. In populous +districts they seem to pass the day in concealment, coming forth in +search of food only at morning and evening, but where they are less in +danger of pursuit they come out freely in the day-time. Seen from a +little distance when walking they have much the appearance of Pigs, but +they lose this when they sit, like the other Cavies, on their haunches. +When danger threatens they emit a short, sharp bark, and immediately +plunge into the water, where they swim about with little more than +the nostrils above the surface; but under pressing circumstances +they can dive and swim for a considerable distance under water. When +swimming, the female is said to take her young ones on her back. About +Maldonado Mr. Darwin observed that the Capybaras were usually to be +seen only three or four together, but they are more numerous and go in +larger companies more in the interior of the country. They constitute +the ordinary food of the Jaguar, and are also eaten by the Indians, +although their flesh is said not to be very good. The female produces +five or six young at a birth, but has only one litter in the year. The +young follow their mother about at a very early age. + + +SUB-ORDER II.--DOUBLE-TOOTHED RODENTS. + +With the Cavies concludes the long series of simple-toothed Rodents, +and some of them, as we have seen, present no small resemblance to the +Hares and Rabbits which constitute the greater part of the second great +group into which we have divided the order. The chief peculiarity of +this section, as has been already stated, consists in the presence in +the upper jaw of a pair of minute incisor teeth, placed immediately +behind the large effective incisors; and in the newly-born animal the +number of these teeth is even greater, there being six incisors in the +upper jaw, two of which fall out at an early period. Though the number +of species included in this section is very considerable (about fifty, +according to Mr. Wallace’s estimate), it includes only two families, +and each of these contains only a single genus. We will commence with +that which includes the best-known forms, the Hares and Rabbits. + +[Illustration: CAPYBARA.] + + +FAMILY XVII.--LEPORIDÆ (HARES AND RABBITS). + +The general appearance of these animals hardly needs to be described, +and we may, therefore, indicate merely the structural peculiarities +which serve to define the family. These consist in the presence of +six rootless molars on each side in the upper, and five in the lower +jaw (_see_ figure on p. 82), each molar being divided into lobes by +transverse folds of enamel; in the compressed form of the skull and +the presence of wing-like post-orbital processes of the frontal bones; +in the imperfect condition of the clavicles; the greater development +of the hind limbs; and the presence of a short, bushy, upturned tail. +The ears are long; the inner surface of the cheeks is more or less +clothed with short hairs; the fore-limbs have five, and the hind-limbs +only four toes; and the soles of the feet are hairy throughout. In +all these characters, however they may differ in some respects, all +the true Hares and Rabbits agree. The representatives of this family +occur in nearly all parts of the world, but chiefly in the northern +hemisphere, and the few species which pass down within the tropics are +generally found only in mountainous regions. In the north they reach +the Arctic regions in both continents. In the Old World a few species +are scattered over India and Further India, and four or five occur in +Africa, but chiefly in the southern part of the continent. In North +America the species are numerous, and some of them range southward into +Central America; but South America has only a single species, which +occurs in the mountains of Brazil and upon the Andes. + +As the whole of the family consists of animals to which in common +parlance the names of Hares and Rabbits are given, we may take as +examples of it the Hares and Rabbits which are so abundant in Great +Britain, the other species agreeing generally with one or other of them +in character and habits. + +They may all be characterised as animals destitute of any means of +defence against their enemies, except the rapidity of their movements, +and as exceedingly shy and timid. Their general colour is a mixture +of grey and brown, sometimes quite tawny, sometimes almost pure grey, +and, as Mr. Bell remarks, “The admirable wisdom which has assigned such +colours to a group of defenceless animals which conceal themselves +amidst the brown sombre vegetation of woods and heaths, will appear +more striking when it is recollected that certain species inhabiting +the snowy regions of the north become wholly white in winter. All the +members of the genus,” he adds, “are remarkable for their timidity, +and their whole structure is such as at once to announce to them the +presence of danger, and to enable them to escape from it. The eyes and +ears are so formed and situate as to become instantly cognisant of even +distant warnings of peril, and the limbs are admirably adapted for the +most rapid flight.” + +This last statement applies in a special manner to the COMMON HARE +(_Lepus europæus_), which is singularly well adapted for getting over +the ground rapidly by the great length and powerful development of its +hind legs. These organs are nearly twice as long as the fore limbs, +and, as most of us are well aware, the bones composing them are set +in motion by an enormous mass of solid muscle. Owing to their great +preponderance the Hare, when moving slowly in search of food, goes +with a sort of lolloping gait; but the moment there is occasion for +him to move with rapidity, the disproportionate hind limbs stand him +in good stead, and he shoots along over the ground by a series of long +leaps, and with great swiftness. At the same time, it is observed that +the length of its hind legs causes the Hare to run with much greater +facility up hill than down, and, in fact, it is said that in descending +steep inclines the animal is obliged to run obliquely in order to +escape over-balancing itself. When pursued, the Hare has the art of +making sudden turns in its course, known as “doubles” or “wrenches,” +by which the Dogs in chase of it are thrown out, for although most +Greyhounds are swifter of foot than a Hare, they are incapable of +changing their course so sharply, and thus, while they are carried +some distance onwards by their own impetus, their intended victim is +making off in a different direction. They adopt other cunning artifices +in order to escape from their pursuers, and some of these indicate a +considerable amount of intelligence. Under such circumstances, and also +in search of a more plentiful supply of food, the Hare will take to the +water readily, and swim across rivers. Mr. Yarrell observed a Hare even +swimming across an arm of the sea about a mile broad. + +The Hare lives chiefly in cultivated fields, where it resides in +a small depression of the surface, which is called its “form.” It +shifts the situation of this simple residence according to the season, +selecting a shady spot in summer, and a sunny one in winter, and going +into cover in wet weather. It is rather a nocturnal or crepuscular +than a day-feeding animal, although it may not unfrequently be seen +abroad in the day. In the evening and early in the morning it is most +active, passing the brighter hours at rest in its form. When out in the +field in search of food it goes hopping along among the herbage and +cultivated plants, every now and then sitting upright on its haunches +and listening with erected ears for the slightest sound indicative of +approaching danger. Its food is exclusively of a vegetable nature, but +it seems to embrace pretty nearly the whole round of cultivated plants. +Cruciferous plants appear to be amongst its favourite articles of diet, +but it also does much damage to fields of young wheat. In the winter, +when the open fields are covered with snow frozen hard, and, indeed, +sometimes in the summer, the Hare will make his way into gardens in +search of food, or, if this resource is not at hand, into plantations +of young trees, where it will gnaw off and feed upon the bark, thus +destroying great numbers of the trees. Mr. S. Mawson has recorded +finding the stomach of a Hare killed in winter filled with hawthorn +berries. After its wanderings the Hare always returns to its own form. + +Hares pair when they are about a year old, and from that time produce +several broods every year, each consisting of from two to five young, +which are born covered with hair and with their eyes open. From Mr. +Bell’s statement, these animals would appear to breed almost all the +year round; he says that in mild winters young Hares have been found +in January, and that he has known breeding continue till the middle +of November. When captured young, the Hare may be easily tamed, and +become an amusing pet, as, indeed, will be familiar to almost every +one, through Cowper’s account of his Hares. Formerly the Hare used to +be trained by jugglers to perform various tricks, one of which was the +beating of a tambourine with its fore-feet, with which the animal will +of its own accord drum upon the back of an offending companion. A relic +of this practice is to be recognised in a common toy, which shows a +small Hare sitting and beating a tambourine, its fore limbs being set +in motion by the turning of the wheels of its stand. + +The Common Hare is found spread over the greater part of Europe, from +the south of Sweden and northern Russia to the Mediterranean and the +Caucasus. It does not occur in Ireland. It varies somewhat in colour in +different localities, and although it does not become white in winter, +the northern forms show a tendency in that direction, and the others +acquire a greyish tint at the approach of the cold weather. + +[Illustration: COMMON HARE.] + +THE RABBIT, or CONY (_Lepus cuniculus_), differs from the Hare +in various characters; its colour is a tawny brownish-grey, the +disproportion between the fore and hind limbs is not so great, and the +ears are shorter, not exceeding the head in length. Although the Wild +Rabbit is so plentiful in England as to become a pest to the farmers +in many places, it is supposed not to be a native of north-western +and central Europe, but to have been naturalised in Britain, its +original home being in the countries bordering the Mediterranean. It +is, and always was, very abundant in Spain, the name of which country +(Hispania) has been supposed to mean the “country of Conies,” from +the Phœnician and Hebrew word _Schaphan_, the name of the Hyrax or +Cony of the Bible. Even in the present day it is very local in its +distribution north of the Alps, and is not found at all in eastern and +northern Europe. In Australia it has proved to be a veritable scourge. + +In its habits the Rabbit differs from the Hare more than in its form +and structure. Instead of contenting itself with a shallow depression +as a resting-place on the surface of the ground, it digs deep holes +in the ground, into which it may retire to sleep or at the approach +of danger. It prefers light sandy soils for its residence, as these +present great facilities for burrowing, and wherever particularly +favourable conditions exist the Rabbits are to be found living together +in very large societies. Furzy heaths are favourite places with them, +as the ground is easily worked, and the furze bushes not only serve as +a protection to the burrows, but furnish the Rabbit with an abundant +supply of food, the young shoots being eaten off as high as the animals +can reach when standing on their hind feet. In wet moors the Rabbits +avoid burrowing, and live in runs and galleries formed in the matted +heather and long herbage. Mr. Bell says that in more than one instance +he has known a family to take possession of a hollow tree, ascending +its inclined and decayed trunk for some distance. + +Like the Hare, the Rabbit is generally quiet during the day, although +it will not unfrequently be abroad at all hours. The evening, however, +is its principal time for activity, and then the inhabitants of the +warren may be seen playing about near their abodes, or wandering to +greater distances in search of the green vegetables on which they +feed. The moment there is the smallest suspicion of danger, the whole +company scamper off at once to seek safety in their burrows. As they +go, their white tails are the most conspicuous objects to be seen, and +the spectacle of some hundreds of them rushing along at full speed, +vanishing one after the other down the burrows, is lively and amusing +enough. + +The Rabbit begins breeding at six months old, and has several litters +in each year. The young are usually from five to eight in number, +sometimes even more; they are born blind and naked, and are produced in +a separate burrow which the female digs for their reception, and lines +with fur pulled from her own body. This brood-chamber has usually only +a single entrance, and this the mother closes with earth after visiting +and suckling her young family, which she is said to do only at night. + +When domesticated, the Rabbit, as is well known, differs materially +from its wild state. It is larger, and its colours are usually white, +black, brown, or fawn colour, sometimes alone, sometimes mixed in +patches. Albinoes are common, and form a permanent race. The Angora +Rabbit, which is usually albino, has the hairs very long; and the +so-called “fancy Rabbits” have the ears more or less pendent at the +sides of the head, and often so long as to touch the ground. + +A third British species is the MOUNTAIN HARE (_Lepus variabilis_), +or Northern Hare, an inhabitant of all the northern parts of both +hemispheres, which occurs in most parts of Scotland, and in Ireland, +where, indeed, it takes the place of the common Hare. In its summer +coat it is of a light fulvous grey colour, and is further distinguished +from the common Hare by the shortness of the ears and tail, the former +being shorter than the head, and the latter little more than half its +length. In cold climates this animal becomes pure white in the winter. +This Hare is absent from Central Europe, but reappears on the chain of +the Alps. + +It will be unnecessary to enter into details with regard to the other +species of this family, all of which more or less resemble those just +described, both in appearance and habits. They are distributed over +nearly the whole world except the Australian region, but they are +most numerous in North America, where a great many species have been +described, which are reduced by Mr. Allen to twelve. Four of these, +however, present well-marked local races, which double the number of +recognised permanent forms. + + +FAMILY XVIII.--LAGOMYIDÆ (PIKAS). + +In many respects the Pikas closely resemble the Hares, but they are +distinguished by having only five molars on each side in each jaw, +a depressed skull, with contracted frontal bones destitute of the +wing-like process seen in the Hares, complete clavicles, short ears, +limbs nearly equal in length, and no tail visible externally. They are +much smaller than any of the Leporidæ, the largest being no larger +than a Guinea-pig, to which the animals have some resemblance; while +in their habits they somewhat resemble the Marmots. When feeding they +often produce a chirping or whistling noise, whence the name of Piping +Hares, or Calling Hares, has been applied to them. Ten or a dozen +supposed species of these animals have been described, most of them +inhabiting the northern and mountainous parts of Asia, and one of these +is also found in Europe, about the southern part of the Volga. In Asia +species have been found as far south as the Himalayas and Nepaul. In +North America a single species (_Lagomys princeps_) inhabits the Rocky +Mountains, where it was first discovered by Sir John Richardson. + +The ALPINE PIKA (_Lagomys alpinus_), which inhabits Siberia from the +Irtish eastwards into Kamtchatka, is a little animal from nine to nine +and a half inches long, of a greyish-brown colour above, yellowish-grey +beneath; the feet are pale, and the ears dirty yellowish-white within, +becoming dusky towards the margin, which is white. This animal +occurs in considerable numbers in the Alpine and sub-Alpine parts of +Siberia, where it either burrows in the ground, or shelters itself +in crevices of rocks or among loose stones. The Pikas generally come +out only at night, although they sometimes venture forth on a cloudy +day. Their food consists of the scanty herbage to be found in their +elevated abode, and as this would be impossible to procure during the +winter when the ground is thickly covered with snow, the Pikas take +care in the autumn to collect a large supply of dried grasses and +other herbage, which they pile up near their habitations like little +haystacks. They are, however, sometimes deprived of the fruits of their +labour by the Sable-hunters, who plunder the Pikas’ stacks to feed +their Horses. The female produces about six naked young early in the +summer. + +[Illustration: ALPINE PIKA.] + +The ROCKY MOUNTAIN PIKA (_Lagomys princeps_) is a small species from +six inches to seven and a half inches long, of a greyish-brown colour +above, yellowish-brown on the sides, and greyish below. It received its +specific name from its discoverer, Sir J. Richardson, in allusion to +the name of “Little Chief Hare” given to it by the Indians. It inhabits +the summits of the Rocky Mountains from Colorado northwards far within +British America, and also occurs in the mountains of Utah, California, +and Oregon. Mr. Allen describes its habits as follows:--“The animals +are everywhere found in communities, living among the loose rocks from +a little below timber-line nearly up to the snow-line. They appear to +rarely wander many yards from their homes; are timid, yet easily become +familiar. Though retreating to their homes when first alarmed, they +soon come cautiously out one after another, till one may hear their +sharp little cries in every direction. Their colour so nearly resembles +that of the rocks they live among, that they are not easily seen, and +their cry is of such a character as easily to mislead one in respect +to the point from which it proceeds, seeming to be far away when only +a few feet distant. They sit erect, like little Marmots.... They carry +into fissures of the rocks large quantities of grass, which they lay up +for winter consumption.” + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +FOSSIL RODENTIA. + + Families of Rodents represented by Fossil Remains--State of the + “Record of the Rocks”--THE SCIURIDÆ--Sciurine Genera now Extinct--No + Fossil ANOMALURIDÆ and HAPLODONTIDÆ--ISCHYROMYIDÆ--_Pseudotomus + hians_--_Gymnoptychus_--CASTORIDÆ--Mr. Allen’s CASTOROIDIDÆ--THE + MYOXIDÆ--No Fossil LOPHIOMYIDÆ--THE MURIDÆ--THE SPALACIDÆ--THE + GEOMYIDÆ--THE DIPODIDÆ--THE THERIDOMYIDÆ--THE OCTODONTIDÆ--THE + HYSTRICIDÆ--THE CHINCHILLIDÆ--THE DASYPROCTIDÆ--THE + CAVIIDÆ--THE LEPORIDÆ--THE LAGOMYIDÆ--_Mesotherium + cristatum_--Difficulties concerning it--Mr. Alston’s Suggestion--THE + HEBETIDENTATA--Teeth--Skull--Skeleton--Conclusions regarding + it--Table of Rodent Families--Concluding Remarks. + + +The majority of the preceding families are more or less clearly +represented by fossil remains, either in the younger strata of +the earth’s crust, or in those cave-deposits of comparatively +recent date which have furnished so many interesting relics of the +Mammals of former days. It must be remarked, however, that while a +considerable number of fossil Rodents have been named and described +by palæontologists, the materials upon which many of them have been +established are very imperfect; in a great number of cases isolated +molar or even incisor teeth furnish the sole evidence of the existence +of creatures which were manifestly Rodents, but of which the other +characters are rather difficult to divine from such scanty material. +Still, imperfect as may be “the record of the rocks” in this as in +other instances, it is in some parts sufficiently complete to enable us +to trace back the existence of many forms of gnawing Mammals through a +long period of geological time. + +Of the SCIURIDÆ a considerable number of fossil species have +been recorded. Species of the genera _Sciurus_, _Arctomys_, and +_Spermophilus_, some of them identical with those still existing, +have left their remains in Post-Tertiary deposits and in bone-caves +in various parts of Europe; while species belonging to the first two +genera, and to the American genus _Tamias_, have been detected in +similar situations in North America. A few forms referred to the same +genera go down still lower in the series of geological formations. +True Squirrels are recorded from Miocene and Upper Eocene deposits in +France, and a single species from the Tertiaries (probably Miocene) +of Colorado; Marmots from Pliocene and Miocene beds in the South of +France, and from a Pliocene deposit in Nebraska; and a Spermophile from +the Miocene of Weisenau in Germany. + +Besides these examples of known types, several fossils have been +obtained both in Europe and America, which are regarded as indicating +genera distinct from any now living. _Plesiarctomys Gervaisii_ is +founded on a fragment of jaw with four molars, obtained from Upper +Eocene beds near Apt, Vaucluse. In its characters it appears to be +intermediate between Squirrels and Marmots. _Pseudosciurus suevicus_, +from the Upper Eocene (Bohnerz) of Würtemberg, seems to differ from +all other Sciuridæ in the form of the molar teeth of the lower jaw, +which are somewhat elongated, and have four tubercles arranged in two +pairs, each pair being connected by a ridge. From the Tertiary deposits +of the western territories of the United States, Professors Cope, +Marsh, and Leidy have described several Sciurine Rodents as belonging +to genera now extinct: thus _Paramys_ has five species; _Sciuravus_ +(perhaps identical with the preceding), three; _Heliscomys_, _Mysops_, +_Colonymys_, _Taxymys_, and _Tillomys_, one or two species each. + +Of the ANOMALURIDÆ and HAPLODONTIDÆ no fossil remains are known. +On the other hand, a North American fossil Rodent, described by +Dr. Leidy under the name of _Ischyromys typus_, is regarded by Mr. +Alston as the type of a distinct family, the _Ischyromyidæ_, nearly +allied to the Sciuridæ, but also showing an affinity to the Beaver +in some of its characters. The specimen described and figured by Dr. +Leidy was obtained by Dr. Hayden from Miocene deposits in the “Bad +Lands” of Wyoming. It was originally referred to the Sciuridæ, with +which it agrees in its dentition, but is distinguished by its large +infra-orbital opening, the presence of a sagittal crest, and the +absence of post-orbital processes. The parietal region of the skull is +much narrowed, and in this, as in the large size of the infra-orbital +opening, _Ischyromys_ resembles the Musk Rat. + +Two other forms must be referred to here. Under the name of +_Pseudotomus hians_, Professor Cope has described the remains of an +animal which he believed to have been about the size of an Agouti, and +originally thought to belong to the order Edentata. Subsequently he +referred it to the Sciuridæ; but both Mr. Alston and Mr. Allen think +that it may belong to the family Ischyromyidæ. In some respects the +skull resembles that of _Arctomys_, but it has the same contraction +between the orbits as _Ischyromys_ and _Fiber_. The incisor teeth are +separated, and Professor Cope believes that the animal had only three +molars on each side in each jaw. A still more doubtful member of the +family is Professor Cope’s genus _Gymnoptychus_, which includes four +species, all said to be from the “Tertiary of the Plains.” In this +genus there are five molars above and four below on each side, as in +_Ischyromys_ and the Sciuridæ; but these teeth show two crescents on +the inner side in the upper, on the outer side in the lower jaw, and +each crescent gives origin to a cross-ridge running to the opposite +margin of the tooth. + +The CASTORIDÆ, including at present only a single species common to +the northern parts of both hemispheres, are represented by several +peculiar fossil forms. Remains of the Common Beaver (_Castor fiber_) +are not uncommon in peat bogs and other late superficial deposits both +in Europe and America; and, according to Sir R. Owen, in association +with those of the Rhinoceros, Mammoth, and Mastodon, even in the +Fluvio-marine Crag (Newer Pliocene) of Norfolk. In Belgium its bones +have been found in caves. Among the Mammals from the Upper Tertiaries +of the Sivalik Hills, Messrs. Falconer and Cautley record a Beaver +distinct from the existing species, although nearly allied to it. +The skull of a great Beaver, one-fifth larger than that of the +living species, was obtained many years ago by M. Fischer from sandy +deposits on the shores of the Sea of Azov, and, as it differed in +some peculiarities of the teeth from _Castor fiber_, was described by +him as constituting a distinct genus under the name of _Trogontherium +Cuvieri_. It is now regarded as a true Beaver, and named _Castor +Trogontherium_. The British species, described and figured by Sir R. +Owen from the Norfolk Forest bed under the name of _Trogontherium +Cuvieri_, is, however, quite distinct, and belongs to the genus +_Diobroticus_, characterised by having the third upper and first lower +molar teeth with four enamel folds, and the rest only with two, most of +the folds soon becoming isolated as the teeth wear down. This animal +must have been nearly twice the size of the European Beaver. + +At a still earlier period--namely, in the Miocene--the family Castoridæ +was represented, both in Europe and America, by some small species, +nearly agreeing with the Beavers in dentition, but differing in +the characters of certain bones of the skull. These form the genus +_Steneofiber_. The largest (_S. viciacensis_), from the Miocene of +the Allier, was about half the size of the Beaver; another (_S. +sansaniensis_), from the fresh-water limestone of Sansan, was about as +large as a Rat; an American species (_S. nebrascensis_), from the “Bad +Lands” of Dakota, was rather smaller than a Marmot, and presented some +resemblance to the Agoutis in the characters of the teeth; and a fourth +species (_S. pansus_) occurs in the Santa Fé marls. _Eucastor tortus_, +a species rather smaller than a Marmot, is described by Dr. Leidy as +very nearly related to the Beaver. Its remains were found in loose +sands of the Niobrara River, Wyoming. _Chalicomys_ and _Palæomys_ are +genera doubtfully placed here. Their species occur in the Miocene and +Pliocene of Europe. + +Some bones of a gigantic Rodent, indicating an animal as large as a +full-grown Black Bear, obtained from Quaternary and Alluvial deposits +of various parts of the United States, have been described under the +name of _Castoroides ohioensis_, Mr. J. W. Foster, its first describer, +having an idea that it was a great Beaver. It has generally been known +as the “Fossil Beaver” of North America, but several authors have +entertained doubts of the correctness of this designation, and Mr. +Allen has lately made it the type of a special family, CASTOROIDIDÆ, +which he regards as most nearly related to the Chinchillidæ. In the +general aspect of the skull it resembles the Beaver, but in several +details of structure approaches the Viscacha; while the structure +of the molar teeth, which consist of a series of plates of dentine, +completely enclosed by enamel, and held together by a thin coating of +cement, occurs elsewhere only in the Chinchillidæ, and in the last +molar of the Capybara. + +Dormice as well as Squirrels disported themselves in the Tertiary woods +and thickets of Europe, and remains of several species of MYOXIDÆ occur +in various deposits in France, Switzerland, and elsewhere, from the +Upper Eocene onwards. _Myoxus glis_, the Garden Dormouse, has been +identified with some doubt from the caves of Lunel Viel; and this is +also probably the species occurring in the Belgian bone-caves, and +described as _Myoxus priscus_ by Dr. Schmerling. A species a little +larger than the Dormouse occurs in Russian caves, and has received +the name of _Myoxus fossilis_ from M. Fischer; and the most striking +species of all is also a Post-Pliocene form, namely, the gigantic +Dormouse of Malta (_M. melitensis_). This animal, which seems to have +been about the size of a Guinea-pig, must have been excessively +abundant in Malta, for its describer, Professor Leith Adams, says +that “its remains are met with in abundance throughout the cavern and +fissure deposits, up even to the superficial alluvium now in course +of formation.” From older times we have evidence of the existence of +a Dormouse, about the size of the common species, at the time of the +deposition of the gypsum of Montmartre (Upper Eocene), in which a +well-preserved skeleton of the animal has been found. The same deposit +has furnished traces of a second rather larger species. The Miocene of +Switzerland and of Sansan has also yielded species of _Myoxus_; and +Professor Hermann von Meyer has recorded a Dormouse from the Miocene of +Weisenau, under the name of _Brachymys ornatus_. + +No fossil LOPHIOMYIDÆ have yet been detected, but the great family +MURIDÆ has left abundant evidence of its former existence. Species of +the genera _Mus_, _Arvicola_, _Myodes_, and _Cricetus_, identical in +many cases with those now living, have been obtained frequently in +Post-Pliocene deposits and in bone-caves in Europe. Lemmings (_Myodes +lemmus_ and _torquatus_) are recorded from English caves. The genus +_Mus_ is also represented by several species in the Miocene deposits of +France, and in the Sivalik beds investigated by Falconer and Cautley. +The Miocene of Sansan has furnished a form which has been doubtfully +regarded as a Gerbille, and named _Meriones Laurillardi_. In the same +and other deposits of the same age in South-eastern France several +species of an extinct genus (_Cricetodon_) have been obtained. Their +dentition resembles that of the Hamster, but the first molars in both +jaws have a tubercle less; the largest species (_C. sansaniensis_) +rather exceeded the Hamster in size, while the smallest was less +than a Mouse. Associated with some of these are two doubtful forms, +_Decticus_ and _Elomys_, the latter considered by M. Aymard, its +describer, to be allied to _Hydromys_. The American fossil Muridæ are +for the most part either species of the genus _Hesperomys_, or nearly +related to it. Twelve species of that genus were obtained by Dr. Lund +from the Brazilian bone-caves, but of these eight were identified by +him with species still existing. In North America two species of a +nearly-allied genus (_Eumys_) have been obtained from Miocene deposits; +and the bone-caves of Pennsylvania furnish the remains of a species of +_Neotoma_ (_N. magister_), hardly distinguishable from the Florida Rat. + +A _Rhizomys_ from the Sivalik deposits of North-western India is the +only recorded fossil representative of the SPALACIDÆ; and of the +GEOMYIDÆ the only known species are a _Geomys_ from the Pliocene of +Nebraska, nearly allied to, if not identical with, the living _G. +bursarius_; and one from the “Tertiaries of the Plains,” described by +Professor Cope as _Colotaxis cristatus_, which, however, has only three +molars in the lower jaw. + +The DIPODIDÆ are still more scantily represented. A Jerboa described by +M. Fischer from Post-Pliocene deposits, probably of Tartary, is very +nearly allied to the living _Dipus platurus_, but has shorter toes +and broader cannon-bones. The genus _Dipoïdes_, from the “Bohnerz” of +Würtemberg, is founded on a single tooth, and its position in this +family is very doubtful. + +On the other hand, some fossil allies of the Dipodidæ and Geomyidæ +constitute a distinct family, for which Mr. Alston proposed the name +of THERIDOMYIDÆ, from that of one of its genera, _Theridomys_. In this +genus, of which six species are recorded from the Eocene and Miocene +deposits of France, there are four rooted molars in each series, and +each of these has several enamel folds, some of which are converted +into isolated loops as the crown is worn away. The best known species +is _Theridomys platiceps_, from the Miocene of Caylus. In _Archæomys +chinchilloides_ there are still four molars, but these present a very +different structure; they are rootless, and have the enamel folds +extending diagonally across the crown, so that they are composed of +a series of plates, thus presenting a certain amount of resemblance +to the Chinchillas, which American family _Archæomys_ was at one time +supposed to represent in Europe. In fact, in the structure of their +molar teeth, both the above genera approach American types; but in +other characters, especially the form of the lower jaw, they appear +to have been decidedly Mouse-like, and Mr. Alston regards them as +most nearly related to the Dipodidæ, with which they are joined by a +third form referred to the family _Issiodoromys_, a genus sometimes +placed with the Jerboas. The teeth in this genus are of the same +number as in the preceding, but the molars are much simpler, each of +them exhibiting one large re-entering fold of enamel, which causes the +surface of the tooth to present two heart-shaped lobes. This structure +is not dissimilar to that prevailing in some Dipodidæ, and especially +in _Pedetes_, but it was formerly thought to indicate a relationship +to the Cavies, and accordingly the best-known species has received +the name of _Issiodoromys pseudanæma_ (_Anæma_ being a sub-genus of +Cavies). This species occurs abundantly in the Miocene lacustrine +limestone near Issoire. A second species (_I. minor_) has been detected +in the Upper Eocene of Lamandine-haute. + +Of the OCTODONTIDÆ, an essentially American family at the present +day, nearly all the recorded fossil forms are also American. Species +of _Echinomys_, _Loncheres_, and _Phyllomys_ were obtained by Dr. +Lund from the Brazilian bone-caves, which also furnished him with the +remains of a Coypu (_Myopotamus antiquus_), and of an allied form, +_Carterodon sulcidens_, distinguished by its having broad incisors +with longitudinal furrows and raised ridges. The latter has since been +found living in South America. Another species, allied to _Echinomys_, +is named by Lund _Lonchophorus fossilis_. The superficial deposits of +South America have yielded the remains of two species of _Ctenomys_, +one of which is believed to be identical with a recent species. As +several species of this family now live in Africa, the occurrence in +the eastern hemisphere of fossil forms belonging to it would not be +surprising, but the few that have been referred to it are of very +doubtful nature. M. Lartet obtained some isolated teeth from the +Miocene of Sansan, which he described under the name of _Myopotamus +sansaniensis_; and one or two other types (_Aulacodon_, _Adelomys_), +from Upper Eocene and Miocene beds, are of very uncertain position. + +Of the HYSTRICIDÆ, or Porcupines, remains have been obtained in both +hemispheres. In the Old World traces of true Porcupines (_Hystrix_) are +recorded from the Valley of the Arno, from the Sivaliks, the Pliocene +deposits of the Auvergne, from Pikermi, and, on very doubtful evidence, +from the Upper Eocene of Lamandine-basse; whilst Dr. Leidy has +described two teeth from the Pliocene deposits of Dakota, as belonging +to a species (_Hystrix venustus_) allied to the European Porcupine. +This determination, if confirmed, would be of great interest, as no +true Porcupine now occurs in America. Of the American type, two species +of _Sphingurus_ have been obtained from the Brazilian bone-caves; +and Professor Cope records a species of the North American genus +_Erythizon_ from a similar cave in Pennsylvania. + +The CHINCHILLIDÆ have left but scanty traces of their former existence. +_Lagostomus brasiliensis_ is from the Brazilian bone-caves; and +_Megamys patagoniensis_ from the Eocene sandstone of Patagonia. The +latter species is founded upon a tibia and rotula, which on comparison +seemed to approach most nearly to those of the Rodents of this family, +and if the determination be correct it was probably one of the largest +species of the order, as the tibia measures about a foot long. +_Amblyrhiza_ and _Loxomylus_, are two genera described by Professor +Cope from bone-caves in Anguilla Island, West Indies. + +The DASYPROCTIDÆ have but few fossil representatives, and the undoubted +ones are all from the bone-caves of Brazil, which furnished Dr. Lund +with two Agoutis and two Pacas. Of the former, one is described +as _Dasyprocta capreolus_; the second is allied to the living _D. +caudata_. The two species of _Cœlogenys_ are extinct. Some teeth, +found in Tertiary deposits of the Puy-de-Dôme, have been referred +to _Dasyprocta_, but this determination is excessively doubtful. +_Diobroticus schmerlingi_ from Belgian caves has been placed with the +Castoridæ. + +Of the CAVIIDÆ, Dr. Lund obtained three species of the genus _Cavia_, +and two of _Hydrochœrus_, from Brazilian bone-caves. Of the latter, one +was allied to the existing Capybara; the other was a gigantic species, +measuring about five feet in length. Dr. Leidy has described a species +(_Hydrochœrus æsopi_) from teeth found in Post-Pliocene deposits in +South Carolina; and the Pampean deposits of the same age furnished M. +D’Orbigny with the remains of a Cavy (_Cavia antiqua_) which, however, +is doubtfully distinct from the Patagonian species. + +The remains of species of the family LEPORIDÆ are very abundant in +some Post-Pliocene cave deposits on both sides of the Atlantic, and +in several cases the species are evidently identical with those now +living. Besides these, species of the genus _Lepus_ have been found in +Pliocene and Miocene beds in France. In North America three extinct +Leporine genera have been recognised, differing from _Lepus_ in certain +peculiarities of the molar teeth:--_Palæolagus_, with three species, +from the Miocene of Dakota and Colorado; _Panolax_, from the Pliocene +marls of Santa Fé; and _Praotherium_, from a bone-cave in Pennsylvania. +The last-named genus has the crowns of the molars transversely oval, +and without the enamel-band or crest which is seen on the surface of +the teeth of other Hares. + +The LAGOMYIDÆ are known in a fossil state chiefly from Post-Pliocene +deposits, and the bone breccias of caves in various parts of Europe. +In Post-Pliocene times the genus _Lagomys_ seems to have been very +generally distributed over the South of Europe; and the earliest +appearance of the genus is in the Pliocene, three species having +been described from deposits of that age at Œningen and Montpellier. +The family is, however, carried further back in time by the genus +_Titanomys_, in which the molars differ but slightly in structure from +those of _Lagomys_, but there are only four of them in each series, +both above and below. Two species of this genus have been recorded from +Miocene deposits in France and Germany. + +[Illustration: SIDE VIEW OF SKULL AND LOWER JAW OF MESOTHERIUM +CRISTATUM.] + +[Illustration: DENTITION OF MESOTHERIUM CRISTATUM. + +(A) Upper Jaw; (B) Lower Jaw; (C) Incisors.] + +We have thus passed very briefly in review the fossil Rodents belonging +to the two great sections of the order to which all its living species +are to be referred; and it will be seen that while a knowledge of their +existence is necessary to complete the history of the order, they +present none of those peculiar characters which lend such interest +to the fossil members of many other orders. There is, however, one +fossil South American type to which we have yet to refer, as, by the +curious combination of characters which it presents, it has long been +somewhat of a puzzle to palæontologists, and although generally placed +among the Rodents, its peculiarities are such that Mr. Alston found +himself compelled to establish a third primary section of the order +for its reception. According to M. Bravard, the first discoverer of +this peculiar type, the Pliocene deposits of the Pampas of La Plata +contain the remains of three species belonging to it; but the bones +which have been sent to Europe, and which represent most parts of +the skeleton, seem all to belong to a single species, which has been +very fully described by M. Serres under the name of _Mesotherium +cristatum_.[55] What distinguishes it at once from all other known +Rodents is the presence _in the lower jaw_ of four incisor teeth, the +second pair being very small and placed immediately behind the outer +edge of the broad middle pair. The latter are peculiarly widened and +compressed from front to back in both jaws, and their summits, instead +of being worn to a sharp chisel-like edge as in ordinary Rodents, +show an elongated ring of enamel surrounding a slightly depressed +surface. Hence Mr. Alston denominated this section HEBETIDENTATA, or +BLUNT-TOOTHED RODENTS. The enamel in all the incisors is continuous +round the tooth. The molar teeth are rootless and curved, the convex +side being directed outwards, contrary to what occurs in other Rodents. +They are surrounded by enamel, and show re-entering folds which differ +in the two jaws. Their number on each side is five in the upper and +four in the lower jaw. The skull is massive, with enormously-developed +sagittal and occipital crests, the latter of which run forward so far +as to join the zygomatic arches; and these crests rise so high that +the upper surface of the actual brain-case is entirely concealed by +them when the skull is looked at from the side. The lower jaw in its +characters presents some resemblance to the same part in the Leporidæ; +but it has the condyle for its articulation with the skull transverse, +and fitting into a cavity of corresponding direction, a character +which occurs in no other Rodent. Of the remainder of the skeleton we +need only state that the animal possessed perfect clavicles; that the +shoulder-blade and humerus somewhat resemble those of the Beaver; that +the fibula articulated with the heel-bone; and that both front and hind +limbs possessed five toes, some of which, judging from the form of the +terminal joint, were probably furnished with hoof-like claws. + +Thus, as regards its affinities in the order Rodentia, _Mesotherium_ +presents resemblances in its lower jaw (as also in some peculiarities +of the skull), and in the articulation of the heel with the shank, +to the Hares; while in the shortness of the incisors and some other +cranial peculiarities, the form of the shoulder-blades, and the +probably hoof-like character of the claws, we may notice an approach to +the Cavies, which are also South American forms, and especially to the +Capybara, which it probably resembled in its habits, although, if the +evidence of the Beaver-like shoulder-blade and humerus be taken into +account, it would appear to have been still more aquatic. + +On the other hand, the resemblance to certain other Mammalia, and +especially to some aberrant Ungulates, is unmistakable. The number of +incisor teeth is the same as in _Hyrax_, and in these teeth there is +also a certain amount of resemblance to the curious genus _Toxodon_, +in which the incisors are four in the upper and six in the lower jaw, +and worn away in somewhat the same fashion. In _Toxodon_ also, the +convexity of the curve of the molars is turned outwards. Certain other +characters of _Mesotherium_--such as the mode of articulation of the +lower jaw, and the peculiar connection of some of the caudal vertebræ +with the ischiatic bones--present resemblances to the Edentata. As +Mr. Alston says, “It appears to have been a survivor, to Pliocene +times, of a much earlier type, which represented an era at which the +Rodents were not yet clearly marked off from their allies. In fact, +_Mesotherium_ seems to continue _into_ the order Glires that line of +affinity which Professor Flower has pointed out as extending from the +typical Ungulates through _Hyracodon_, _Homalodontotherium_, _Nesodon_, +and _Toxodon_.” + +The general relationships of _Mesotherium_ to the other Rodents, and of +these among themselves, are represented by Mr. Alston in a diagrammatic +form, from which the following scheme, which will serve also as a table +of the families, is derived:-- + + II.--RODENTIA + DUPLICIDENTATA. 4. _Haplodontidæ_. { I. + 1. SCIUROMORPHA. 1. _Anomaluridæ_. { -- S + 5. _Castoridæ_. 2. _Sciueridæ_. { R I + 3. _Ischyromyidæ_. { O M + | { D P + { E L + 6. _Myoxidæ_. 7. _Lophiomyidæ_. { N I + 8. _Muridæ_. { T C + 10. _Geomyidæ_. 11. _Theridomyidæ_. { I I + 2. MYOMORPHA. { A D + II.--RODENTIA 9. _Spalacidæ_. 12. _Dipodidæ_. { E + DUPLICIDENTATA. | { N + | 14. _Hystricidæ_. 13. _Octodontidæ_. { T + | 3. HYSTRICOMORPHA. { A + /----/ \----\ 16. _Dasyproctidæ_. 15. _Chinchillidæ_. { T + 20. _Leporidæ_. { A. + 17. _Dinomyidæ_. { + 19 _Lagomyidæ_. 18. _Caviidæ_. { + | | + III.--RODENTIA HEBETIDENTATA. + 21. _Mesotheriidæ_. + + +It seems quite clear, even from the above brief sketch of the history +of the Rodentia in time, that, except in the case of _Mesotherium_, +the fossil remains of animals belonging to this order furnish us with +no important information bearing upon their alliances and possible +origin. They make their earliest appearances, so far as we know, in +deposits of Eocene age; and the earliest forms the remains of which are +sufficient to give us a clear insight into their nature, are manifestly +members of families, and often nearly allied to species still extant +in the regions where their traces are now found. Thus in Eocene and +Miocene deposits, we have representatives of the families _Sciuridæ_, +_Castoridæ_, _Myoxidæ_, _Muridæ_, _Geomyidæ_, _Chinchillidæ_, and +_Leporidæ_, already differentiated as at the present day, so far as +the evidence goes; and it is clear that we must go much further back +in time to seek the earliest appearance of the Rodent type, whether it +branched off directly from the Marsupial series, or passed, as would +seem to be indicated by _Mesotherium_, through a sequence of forms more +or less related to the Ungulates. + +Nor does the geographical distribution of the animals lead to any more +definite conclusions. Certain families and even sub-families are of +very wide range, the Muridæ and Sciuridæ especially being represented +nearly all over the world, while the Hystricidæ and Leporidæ are also +spread over very large areas, occurring in both hemispheres. Certain +groups, such as the Sciuridæ of both sub-families, the Castoridæ, +the Murine, and Arvicoline sub-families of Muridæ, the Leporidæ, and +the Lagomyidæ, may be said to have a circumpolar distribution in the +northern hemisphere, nearly allied and sometimes identical species +being found in the more northern parts of both the Old and the New +World, but mixed with other forms peculiar to the regions, especially +as we advance southwards. On the other hand, the Myoxidæ are peculiar +to the eastern hemisphere, as are also the Spalacidæ and the Dipodidæ +(with the exception of _Zapus_, which is considered by Dr. Coues to +form a distinct family), and all the sub-families of Muridæ, except +those above mentioned as having a circumpolar range. The Myomorpha may +in fact be looked upon as an Old World group, the Geomyidæ being the +only exclusively American family; while the Hystricomorpha as a whole +may be regarded as American, certain aberrant forms of the Octodontidæ +inhabiting various parts of Africa and the Old World Porcupines being +the sole representatives of that great section outside the western +continent. Considering these facts, we may regard the Sciuromorpha +and the Duplicidentata as originally polar types, or at all events +as having an equal claim to an origin in the northern regions of +either continent; while the Myomorpha, with their multitudinous +forms spreading over all parts of the Old World, and having a much +scantier representation in America, probably originated in the eastern +hemisphere, and spread by a northern passage into the New World; and +the Hystricomorpha would seem to have originated in South America, +where they display the greatest variety of forms. + + W. S. DALLAS. + +[Illustration: GROUP OF SLOTHS (_Arctopithecus griseus_).] + + + + +ORDER EDENTATA, OR BRUTA (ANIMALS WITHOUT FRONT TEETH). + +CHAPTER I. + +TARDIGRADA, OR SLOTHS. + + + The South American Forests--Discovery of the Sloth--How it derived + its Name--Peculiarities of Dentition--Food--Fore Limbs and + Fingers--Hind Limbs and Heel--Other Modifications of Structure--Kinds + of Sloth--Waterton’s Captive Sloth--Habits of the Animal--Burchell’s + Tame Sloths--Manner of Climbing Trees--Disposition--Activity among + Trees--Naturalists’ Debate about Anatomy--Probable Conclusion + regarding it--Skeleton--Vertebræ--the Rudimentary Tail--Most + Distinctive Skeletal Characters--Arm, Wrist, Hand, Fingers, + Claws--Mode of Walking--Great Utility of the Claws--Face of + Sloth--Skull--Teeth--Classification--_TARDIGRADA_--BRADIPODIDÆ--Genus + BRADYPUS--Characteristics--Genus + ARCTOPITHECUS--Characteristics--CHOLŒPODIDÆ--THE COLLARED + SLOTH--Description--Skull Bones--Habits--Circulation of the + Blood--_Rete Mirabile_--THE AI--THE UNAU--Appearance--Skull and + Teeth--Skeleton--Interesting Anatomical Features--Stomach--HOFFMANN’S + SLOTH--Description--Habits. + +When the dense forests of the northern parts of South America were +first explored by Europeans, it was observed that active Spider +Monkeys, Howlers, and their Quadrumanous allies, were not the only +climbing animals which frequented the trees. For every now and then, +hunters came in sight of creatures about the size of a large Monkey, +but whose sluggish movements, long hair, short heads, small ears and +tail, and very long claws, enabled them to be distinguished at once +from their very lively companions. It was noticed that these new +creatures, instead of climbing quickly and swinging from branch to +branch and running along the boughs, moved very slowly, by hanging +head and body downwards and grasping the branches with their long +claws. During the daytime, these quiet animals were constantly found +asleep, huddled up in the fork of a branch, and looking like great +balls of tow, or else hanging by two legs, the rest of the body being +curled up. Now and then, one was seen at the foot of a tree, and it +appeared to run along the ground with great difficulty; for the arms +were so long that it walked on the elbows, and the hind feet were +turned in, so that it supported itself on the sides of its great hind +claws. Naturally, the animal took its time in moving, and as it was +never seen to be lively, it received the name of Sloth. Interesting +from being so different in its habits from other arboreal animals, it +became much more so, to naturalists, when its remarkable construction +was ascertained; but still the hairy creature with a short face, small +head, long neck, hardly any tail, and very long front limbs, retained +its popular name. + +A very slight examination of one of the Sloths showed that it had no +front teeth, that is to say, neither incisors nor true canine teeth, +and that the hinder teeth--the false and true molars--were not like +those of any other mammal. The back teeth, few in number, have since +been ascertained to be exceptionally simple in their structure, and +evidently the masticating process is very simple. But when it was +noticed that the Sloth fed upon leaves and young twigs, the absence +of the necessity for more elaborate teeth was acknowledged. Then it +was observed that they had very long arms, or rather fore limbs, for +the fore-arm bones and the humerus are all unusually long, and also +that they had great power of movement. Moreover, it was seen that the +fingers were reduced to three in number in some kinds, and to two in +others, and that they were furnished with long and strong claws, which +did not interfere with a great amount of mobility in the wrist. The +length of limb, the mobility of the wrist, and the great claws, enable +the Sloth to bring the leaves to its mouth, to hang on, and to walk, as +it were, beneath the branches. An examination of the hind limbs showed +that they were shorter than the others, and always furnished, in all +kinds of Sloths, with three great claws. But the ankle seemed to be +turned in, as if there was a state of “club-foot.” This condition would +enable the toes to clasp a bough without effort, but it would prevent +the sole from being placed flat on the ground. As the knowledge of the +anatomy of these constant tree-livers progressed, other modifications +of structure, equally important in relation to the peculiar arboreal +life and food, were gradually discovered. For instance, a remarkable +flexibility of the neck, produced by the peculiar arrangement of +the vertebræ; a _rete mirabile_, to a certain extent, in the limbs, +resembling somewhat that in the Lemurs (Vol. I., pages 213, 245), +and a complicated stomach suited for the digestion of leaves, and +foreshadowing that of the Ruminants. + +Two different kinds of Sloths were described in the first instance, +and subsequently, several others. The first kinds known were the Ai, a +Sloth with three claws on the fore limb, and the Two-toed Sloth, with +two claws on the fore limb. The Ai was called _Bradypus tridactylus_, +and the other the Unau, or _Bradypus didactylus_, names which have been +changed somewhat, as will be seen further on. + +Sloths are caught without much difficulty, and their habits, in +captivity, have been observed in South America, and also after their +removal to Europe. Waterton writes[56] on the subject:-- + +“Some years ago I kept a Sloth for several months. I often took him +out of the house and placed him on the ground, in order to have an +opportunity of observing his motions. If the ground were rough he would +pull himself forward by means of his fore-legs, at a pretty good pace, +and he invariably shaped his course towards the nearest tree; but if I +put him upon a smooth and well-trodden part of the road, he appeared +to be in trouble and distress. His favourite abode was the back of a +chair, and often getting all his legs in a line upon the topmost part +of it, he would hang there for hours together. The Sloth, in its wild +state, spends its whole life upon trees, not upon the branches, but +under them; he moves suspended from the branch, he rests suspended +from it, and he sleeps suspended from it; hence his seemingly bungled +conformation is at once accounted for. One day, crossing the Essequibo, +I saw a large Two-toed Sloth on the ground upon the bank, and although +the trees were not twenty yards from him, he could not make his way +through the sand in time enough to make his escape before we landed. He +threw himself on his back and defended himself with his fore-legs. I +took a long stick and held it for him to hook on, and then conveyed him +to a high and stately Mora. He ascended with wonderful rapidity, and in +about a minute he was almost at the top of the tree. He now went off in +a side direction, and caught hold of the branch of a neighbouring tree, +and then proceeded towards the heart of the forest.” + +At Santos, in Brazil, in 1826, Mr. Burchell kept a tame Sloth, a +_Bradypus tridactylus_, which at the end of two months pined and +died. It fed exclusively on the buds and leaves of a species of +_Cecropia_, a tree having a slender stem of thirty or forty feet long, +with horizontal branches, hollow internally, and naked, except at +the extremities. It ate only the young shoots and terminal buds of +the unexpanded leaves, rejecting the old leaves on the boughs, which +were brought to it daily. It was always perfectly silent, and its +countenance and manners were most expressive of melancholy. It fed by +day, and slept much; being kept in a room, it sat upright upon its +short tail, embracing the legs of a chair with its arms and legs. + +When resident at Para, near the mouth of the Amazons, Mr. Burchell also +kept two full-grown Sloths, and a young one of a three-toed species +(not _Bradypus tridactylus_, but of nearly similar form and habits), +in a garden enclosed with strong stockades. They were kept tied up +to the pillars of a verandah, to prevent their escape. Against these +pillars they always placed themselves in an erect position, embracing +the pillar with all four legs; when not tied to the verandah, they got +up into trees in the garden. They slept both by day and night, always +fixing their arms round something or other. Their food, consisting of +branches, was brought to them in the verandah. They appeared extremely +stupid, and would never come to the food. They would eat no leaves but +those of the _Cecropia_. + +They did not mount very large trees, and they ascended with their +breasts pressing the trunk of the tree, advancing the hind-leg beyond +the fore-leg. On the ground, they could neither stand nor walk, but lay +sprawling on their belly, and dragged, or rather warped, themselves +along, laying hold of a bunch of grass or stone with their three claws, +which operated like grappling-irons, or, rather, pincers. All these +died in a month or two. In their wild state they are seldom seen, +from their colour mingling with the grey foliage of the trees, and +from their being so extremely quiet and slow. The tame Sloths never +willingly remained on the ground, except to pass from one tree to +another. All the movements of the animal are slow. It moves its claws +slowly. In eating it chews slowly; it also climbs slowly. The moisture +of the leaves it eats suffices it for drink, without descending to +obtain water. None of those kept by Mr. Burchell were ever seen to +drink. The full-grown animals were never heard to utter any sound, +but the young one occasionally, though rarely, gave a short cry or +whistling squeak, of a single note. + +They showed no indication of fear, and seemed to give attention only +with their eyes. They took no notice of the boy who often carried them +across the garden to their place in the verandah, with their long arms +sprawling; the only objects of their regard were trees. They fight on +their backs, and grapple their enemy to strangulation. The use of the +long wool that covers the body, and even the face, seems to be to guard +them from the annoyance of insects. Possibly it may preserve them from +the attacks of Snakes, which are, doubtless, their greatest enemies. + +The Sloth spends nearly the whole of its life in the trees, and travels +along the branches body downwards. It rarely comes to the ground, on +which it walks with difficulty, and it occasionally takes to the water +and swims. It looks slothful enough when asleep, for it then resembles +a bunch of rough hair, and a jumble of limbs close together, hanging +to a branch; but when awake, it is industrious in its search for nice +twigs and leaves, and moves along the under side of the branches of the +trees with some activity. It seizes the ends of adjoining branches, +clinging to the leafy mass, and moves from tree to tree quickly enough, +when it is requisite, and it has a very singular power of moving the +head and neck backwards in seeking food. When the atmosphere is still, +the Sloth keeps to its tree, feeding on the leaves and twigs, but when +there is wind, and the branches of neighbouring trees come in contact, +the opportunity is seized, and the animal moves along the forest, under +the shady cover of the boughs. The Indians have a saying that “when +the wind blows the Sloths begin to crawl,” and the reason is thus +evident enough--the animal cannot jump, but it can hang, swing, and +crawl suspended. Mr. Waterton states, however, that “the Sloth travels +at a good round pace, and were you to see him passing from tree to +tree you would never think of calling him a Sloth. Being born up in a +tree, living amongst the branches, feeding on leaves, and finally dying +amidst the foliage, and enjoying life as much as any other animal, its +structure and conformation are, of course, admirably suited for this +arboreal existence. Its power of grasp is great, and is assisted by the +great bent claws as it hangs by its feet when asleep, and also often +when it is dead. One which was much frightened by being taken from the +forest had a pole placed near it at a little distance from the ground, +on two supports. It clung directly to the pole and hung on. A Dog was +then made to attack the Sloth, which seized it in its long claws, and +did not let go until the enemy died.” + +Leading thus a very unusual kind of life, up amongst the dense foliage, +and having some very unusual peculiarities of construction, much debate +occurred many years since regarding the general conformation as well as +the special anatomy of the Sloths. One school of anatomists considered +the Sloths incomplete and abnormal animals, moving with “pain” on the +ground, and another regarded their unusual and peculiar anatomy as +singularly beneficent. + +But whilst it is perfectly evident that the long limbs and their +joints, and the peculiar turning in of the ankles, and the structure +of the clawed hands and feet, are all admirably adapted for the +peculiar life which the animal leads, it appears to be consistent +with anatomical reasoning to believe that the Sloth is an instance of +retrograde development; that, in fact, the peculiar formation of the +skull, neck, wrists, and ankles, is the result of the laws of disuse +and adaptation operating on ancestral animals, which once had their +anatomy more consistent with a perfect mammalian type. + +[Illustration: SKELETON OF THE SLOTH.] + +When the Sloths were first carefully watched and studied, their length +of neck and their ability to turn the head, so as to look at a person +standing directly behind or beneath them, without swerving the body, +struck Mr. Burchell especially. This curious peculiarity led to a +careful examination of the skeleton of the different kinds, and much +discussion followed, for it was found that in the Sloth examined (the +Three-clawed Ai) there were more neck bones (vertebræ of the cervical +region) than in other Mammalia. Instead of the common number of seven +neck bones, there were nine. This elongation of the neck of course +permitted a greater amount of twisting than could occur in an animal +with fewer neck bones. But there are other reasons why the head can +be so much twisted round, for the spines on the neck bones are small, +and the joint between the skull and the first vertebra is so fashioned +that this remarkable motion is possible. There was a great deal of +discussion about the extra neck bones, and as the last two had rib-like +projections from their sides, some anatomists considered them to belong +to the true rib-bearing vertebræ, or those of the back (the dorsal). +But when the other Sloths were examined it was found that the number of +the bones of the neck in all the two-fingered kinds was not as great as +in other animals. There are only six neck vertebra in one well-known +species (_Cholœpus Hoffmanni_, for instance), whilst there are seven in +another two-toed Sloth. + +Eating largely and of bulky substances, the Sloths require a large +digestive cavity, and the ribs are numerous, and the body is long +and broad. There is much variation, however, in the number of the +back bones in the dorsal and lumbar regions. Thus in the Ai there are +sixteen dorsal and three lumbar vertebræ, whilst in the Two-fingered +Sloth there may be twenty-three or twenty-four dorsal bones, and two, +three, or four lumbar vertebræ. The ribs are close together and are +broad. As the hind limbs require strong muscles, for the animal hangs +on by them whilst it is feeding itself with the fore hands, the pelvis +is large and is strengthened by having the hip and haunch bones (ilia +and ischia) united to the conjoined sacral vertebræ, which may be six, +seven, or eight in number. Moreover, all the strength of the pelvis is +behind, the fore part or pubic bones being slender and united in front. + +Some small tail bones exist, for that organ is rudimentary in all the +Sloths, there being a stump in the Ai, and eleven very small bones; but +in the Two-fingered Sloths the tail is not visible, and there are four +little ossicles. There are no long and very prominent spines to any +of the back bones, and the whole bony column of the spine is readily +curved and bent. The animals so constantly bring the hands and feet +close together, when hanging, that a ready bending of the spine is +absolutely necessary. Moreover, in sleeping they often rest in the fork +of a tree, or on a branch, and place the head between the hind legs, +rolling the body up as it were in a ball, and this is facilitated by +the peculiar construction of the long chain of back bones with small +spines. + +The most distinctive character of the skeleton of the Sloth is the +excess of length of the fore limb over the hind one. An examination of +the slender bones of the arm shows that they are more solid than those +of most Mammals. The arm bone (humerus) has a hole through it in the +inner expanded part, just above the elbow (inner condyle), in the Ai; +but this is not found in the two-toed kinds. The wrist and hand are +long and narrow, and this is produced by the union of some bones which +are separate in other Mammalia, and the slight development of others. +Thus there are six bones in the wrist instead of eight (the scaphoid +and trapezium, and the os magnum and trapezoid have coalesced). In +the Ai there are three clawed fingers, and the bones of the thumb and +of the little finger are absent, and their corresponding hand bones +(metacarpals) are very small, and are joined on to the next, that is, +to the metacarpal of the index and third finger. + +The three fingers are, moreover, strengthened for their peculiar uses, +the first two joints being united, and the tip or last joint being +very long, and supporting the claw. Moreover, as the long claws are +constantly half closed in the hand, and they are never required to be +widely open, the tip of the finger is so made that flexion is possible, +but not unclasping widely. The skin comes up to the base of the claws, +and encloses the fingers, and the base of each claw is protected by a +bony sheath. They form capital hooks; they grasp, and although there is +no opposable thumb, they hold the food; and a tame Sloth may be seen +holding a carrot very firmly between them and the wrist. In the case of +the Unau Sloth, the outer claw is the longer. + +[Illustration: BONES OF HAND OF THREE-TOED SLOTH.] + +The Sloths walk on the outside of the extremities of the fore and +hind limbs, and their claws are always curved in, and, as it were, +retracted. Consequently, the animal cannot place the soles flat on +the ground, and it cannot open its foot-claws to a great extent. This +fixing of the claws assists in the clasping and hanging, which are the +usual and commonest attitudes. The claws surpass the foot in length, +and are so sharp and crooked that they readily seize upon the smallest +inequalities in the bark of the trees and branches upon which the +animals habitually reside. They and those of the fore limb are no mean +weapons of offence and defence, for, situated at the end of long and +muscular arms, they can drag, cling, and hold with great tenacity. The +thigh bone (femur) of the Sloth is straight, and is thicker and shorter +than the arm bone (humerus); it has no ligament to unite it to the +joint (no ligamentum teres). On examining the lower bones of the leg +(the tibia and fibula), they will be found to be bent, so as to leave +a space between them, and they are shorter than the bones of the fore +arm. The bones of the ankle joint, are united together immovably--that +is to say, the usual bones seen in other Mammalia are there, but +are united by bone. Moreover, this union includes the complete and +ill-developed feet bones (metatarsals), and the first bones of the +second, third, and fourth fingers. One bone is not included in this +strange union. It is the astragalus, or the bone immediately jointed +with the ends of the bones of the legs. The outer or small bone of the +leg (fibula) fits into a pit in the outer part of the upper surface of +this bone, and thus prevents any movement of the foot like a twisting +outwards, and favours, but does not produce, the usual position of +twisting inwards. Moreover, there are two powerful muscles in the front +of the leg which are not opposed by others as strong, and they, by +their contraction, keep the foot twisted inwards, as in club-foot (the +anterior tibial and the long extensor of the great toe). + +In the Unau, or Two-fingered Sloth, there is the same general +arrangement of the bones and muscles, with some important differences, +which result in there being a greater amount of bending and extending +of the foot, although the foot rests on its outer edge. + +A Sloth’s face is short, and there is a broad snub nose, with round +nostrils, which are widely open. The cheeks become wide suddenly, +and the forehead slopes rapidly backwards, the eyes being wide apart +and small, but looking forwards. The head is small and round, and +as it is covered with hair behind, it cannot be distinguished well +from the upper part of the back of the neck. The expression of the +face is always the same, and the method of masticating and eating is +disagreeable to observe. The animal having no front teeth, and moving +its jaws usually only upwards and downwards, and not from side to +side, places the morsel, such as lettuce leaf or carrot, well into its +mouth, and chews at it, dragging out the food every now and then, when +it is covered with moisture. On examining the skull, the short cut +off or truncated appearance of the face is very evident, and it will +be observed that the teeth are wanting in the front bones of the face +(the pre-maxillaries), and that only the palatal part of these bones +exists. The lower jaw is strongly jointed to the upper, and the back +part is large: there are teeth at the sides, but there are none in the +front part of it. A very singular-looking cheek bone (zygoma) exists +on either side. It is not attached behind to the ear bone, so as to +cover the jaw muscles, but it has two processes behind--an upper and +a lower--which differ in shape and size according to the species. The +central bone of the nose does not reach to the nasal outlet, and there +is a system of air-cavities which is continued from the nose into the +forehead bone. In some kinds, the lower jaw ends abruptly in front, as +in the Ai; but in the Unau Sloths it is slightly angular, and projects. + +The back teeth of the Sloths are very simple, and consist of three +structures, called vaso-dentine, hard dentine, and cement, there being +no proper enamel. The vaso-dentine is a kind of bony substance in +the centre of the tooth, in which there are the passages and tubes +of blood-vessels. The dentine is outside this, and consists of more +earthy particles than the vaso-dentine, and of fewer tubes; it is +all the denser and more resistant. Wearing away more slowly than the +vaso-dentine, it forms a ridge which grinds easily. The cement is a +kind of bony structure on the outside of the tooth. The teeth of the +Sloth continue to grow from below as they are worn above, and there is +no entire milk set which are replaced by those of a permanent kind. + +[Illustration: SKULL OF SLOTH.[57] + +(From the _Proceedings of the Zoological Society_.)] + +The term Sloth is commonly applied to all the kinds of animals whose +general shape and habits have just been noticed. It is evident, +however, that this union of several species under one term is not +correct in zoology, and it is necessary to distinguish them by +peculiarities which are permanent. A very ready method of distinction +is to separate the Sloths into two families, one containing those which +have three claws on the fore limbs and the same number on the hind +limbs, and the second including those which have only two claws on the +fore feet and three on the hinder. + +The first family is called the BRADYPODIDÆ, from βραδύς (slow), and +πούς (foot), and the second CHOLŒPODIDÆ, from χωλός (halting, lame), +and πούς (foot), and both are included in the group TARDIGRADA, or +slow-moving _Edentata_. + +The BRADYPODIDÆ include two genera, but many naturalists only +acknowledge one. The first is _Bradypus_. This includes the Sloths with +three-clawed fingers on the fore limbs, whose males and females are +alike in their fur, and which have the cheek bone (malar bone) with +two processes. The upper one is long and dilated at the end, and the +lower is long and triangular, and neither of the processes reaches the +ear bone. There are in these Sloths, when full grown, five molar teeth +on each side in both jaws, and the first is very short. There are two +mammæ on the chest. + +The second genus is _Arctopithecus_ (Gray), and it contains species +which have the males and females dissimilar in their colour and +ornamentation, and the malar bone has a thin and narrow upper process. + +The second family of the Sloths (the CHOLŒPODIDÆ) contains but one +genus, _Cholœpus_ (the Unau), whose species have two claws on the fore +limbs and three on the hind ones. The front of the lower jaw is stuck +out, and not cut short, and the first molar teeth are long. + +The genus _Bradypus_ probably contains several species, but it is only +necessary to mention one, which is called + + +THE COLLARED SLOTH, OR THE HAIRY SLOTH.[58] + +This Sloth lives in the densest forests of Brazil, Peru, and Para, and +is found not far from Rio Janeiro. + +It is a kind of the Three-clawed Sloths, in which there is little +or no difference between the fur of the males and females. The neck +is surrounded by a large collar of long black hair, and underneath +this is a fur of a dark-brown colour. The face is naked, and is of a +black colour, and the hair of the body is not very flattened, but is +withered-looking to a certain extent. The forehead, temples, chin, +throat, and breast are covered with reddish or rust-coloured hair, +slightly grizzled. On the crown of the head it is long and yellow, and +pale orange on the rest of the body. This Sloth produces one at a birth. + +The lower jaw has a kind of blunted lobe in front, and the angle of +this jaw is broad, triangular, with a rounded lower edge, and it +projects backwards beyond the joint which connects the bone with the +skull. The cheek bone has those peculiarities which have already been +mentioned. The teeth are peculiar, for the first or foremost grinders +are smaller than the others, and the second upper grinder is the +largest of all. The first grinder on the lower jaw is broader than the +rest, and the hinder are the largest, being also cylindrical. + +[Illustration: COLLARED SLOTH. (From Prince Maximilian of Neuwied’s +_Animals of Brazil_.)] + +It has the general method of living of the Sloths, being perhaps not +quite so lively or active as the Unau, and feeds mainly on _Cecropia_ +leaves, finishing those of one tree as far as it can before commencing +those of another. Like all the Sloths, it has the power of long and +sustained muscular action, and can cling on, or grasp, for a very long +time without perceptible fatigue, and this gift is associated with a +structure of the blood-vessels which supply the muscles, resembling, as +we have said, that noticed in some of the Lemurs. The main artery which +supplies each of the fore limbs is the axillary, so called from its +being found in the armpit or axilla. In quickly-moving animals this +vessel reaches into the upper arm, and divides into a few rather large +ones lower down, and these give off others, so that a certain quantity +of blood is supplied and removed quickly. But in the Sloths the +axillary artery divides at once into a number of cylindrical vessels +nearly as large as it is, and they are united here and there. These +unusual arteries are found in contact with the surface of the muscles, +and their branches go in and amongst the muscular bundles. As many as +forty-two of these large vessels were counted by Sir A. Carlisle, on +the surface of the muscles on the front of the arm, and probably about +twenty were inside. These arteries thus carry an immense supply of +blood to the muscles, but blood which, although it is finally removed +by the veins, does not move very rapidly. In fact, the muscles are +turgid with blood. The same arterial structure is seen in the hinder +limbs, and the arteries of the thigh form as numerous a set as those of +the arm. + +[Illustration: AI. (From the _Proceedings of the Zoological Society_.)] + +It seems to be in accordance with careful investigation, to state that +the species of Sloth called _Bradypus tridactylus_ (the Three-toed +Sloth, or Ai) has too large a meaning, and that it really refers to +the Collared Sloth, as well as to others which have been placed in the +next genus. It is as well to remark here, that although there are three +clawed fingers to the fore limb, there are vestiges of two other ones +by their side in the form of two rudimentary metacarpal bones. + + +GENUS ARCTOPITHECUS.--THE AI.[59] + +Several kinds of three-clawed Sloths have been called Ai; for instance, +the Yellow-throated Ai, and De Blainville’s Ai, and all have been +named _Bradypus tridactylus_. Dr. Gray, however, satisfied himself +that the kind which was first described by Cuvier as the Ai, and which +is figured in Prince Maximilian of Neuwied’s “Animals of Brazil,” is +the same as one which has since been called _Arctopithecus Ai_, or +_Arctopithecus flaccidus_. The word _Ai_ is taken from the noise made +by the animal, and the term _flaccidus_ relates to its long hair. +The true Ai inhabits Venezuela and Peru, and has very long flaccid +grey hair mottled with white. There is an abundant under-fur of a +blackish-brown colour, which has white and black in spots and blotches. + +There is a small spot between the shoulders on the back, where the fur +is soft and woolly, and a broad, short, blackish streak there, with +a white or orange ring around it. The claws are coloured brown. The +head has a curiously-cut short and turned-up nose appearance, and is +furnished with coarse shaggy hair, disposed on the crown in a diverging +manner. The short hair of the face contrasts with the long, shaggy, +shrivelled, dry, hay-looking hair of the body. This hair is coarse and +flattened at the ends, but it is exceptionally fine at the roots, and +it greatly resembles in colour and texture some of the vegetation of +the trees on which it lives. The eyes are bright, and are surrounded +by a dark ring. Several species of the genus Arctopithecus have been +described which live in Guiana, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela. + +[Illustration: SKULL OF AI.] + +The next genus of the Sloths is represented by + + +THE TWO-FINGERED SLOTH (THE UNAU).[60] + +There are several kinds of Sloths with two “toes,” or rather with two +fingers ending in claws on the fore limb, but the differences between +the species are not very readily appreciated. They are differences +which can be recognised, but it is doubtful whether the possession of +dark brown or pale brown hair is sufficient to decide that there are +more than one species. + +The common Unau Sloth is usually of a darker tint than the others, but +there is no doubt that the specimens in museums of all these Sloths +vary much in the colour and length of the hair. Thus the hair may be +generally dark, and the hairs of the crest on the back of the head +may be white, and more or less tinted with bright green; or the hair +may be short, of a dark brown colour, paler on the rump, much paler +on the head, cheeks, and chin; a band may be across the nose, and the +orbits dark brown. Others of the same species have very long hair, of +an uniform dark tint, paler on the head and redder beneath, whilst one +from Juan de Fuca has short hair, without any indication of a crest. +From Brazil there are specimens with long paler hair and a crest. All +these specimens, however, have pale whitish claws. + +A Unau from Columbia is of a pale and whitey-brown paper colour, darker +at the root of the hairs, and it has pale fawn-coloured claws. + +In all these animals with different kinds of furs, the two-clawed +condition is peculiar to the fore limbs only, for on the hinder there +are three claws, and it is to be remarked that the hair and skin unite +the fingers and toes close up to the base of the claws. The skull of +the Unau is rather projecting in front, and not, as it were, quite +cut off close; and there is a great gap in the upper and lower gums +in front, the incisor teeth being absent, of course. But at the side +of the mouth there is a longish tooth above and below, looking like +a canine, but really it is the front molar, which in both jaws and +on both sides is longer and larger than the others. The under teeth +belonging to the lower molar set are placed behind the corresponding +upper ones when the mouth is shut. + +The cheek or malar bone is seen, on looking at the skull, to be +separated from the ear bone, and to have a forked end posteriorly, the +lower part of the fork extending downwards and backwards. + +The lower jaw is very straight: it projects a little, in front and +behind, where it is jointed with the upper jaw, there is no upright +portion or branch, or ascending ramus. The last back tooth is just in +front of a curved piece of bone called the coronoid process, the base +of which is on a level with the line of the teeth. + +This Sloth has seven neck bones (cervical vertebræ), and the last one +has a very small and rudimentary rib attached to it on either side. +There are no less than twenty-three dorsal vertebræ found to be with +ribs. The Unau has a clavicle which is much smaller in the other group. +It has no tail. The structure of the ankle joint enables it to turn +in, even more than that of the Three-clawed Sloth. As the habits of +the Unau Sloth are the same as those with three claws, and all live +in the same great district, these anatomical distinctions are very +interesting, and relate to their remote ancestors, being hereditary +legacies, which are of little or no importance in assisting the +creature merely to live. One of the differences between the Sloths is +singular. The Unaus have a very remarkably formed stomach, which may +be said to be double. The first stomach is large and rounded, but it +is contracted behind, and then formed into a kind of conical appendix. +This appendix is doubled from left to right, and its cavity has a +fold at its opening into the stomach. It forms a special part of the +first stomach. Then it is to be noticed, that where the food enters +the stomach, or at the opening, which is called the cardia, there is +a pouch, looking like a bag at the end of the tube which runs down +from the gullet to the stomach. This is the second part of the first +stomach: and the third is a tube-like space which connects the cardia +with the stomach far away to the left. These three cavities form the +first stomach. The second stomach is of a slender form, and is very +much smaller than the other. Its walls are thin for the first half of +its length, but towards the spot where the gut commences (the pylorus) +they are thick and muscular. A small fold occurs midway. There is a +fold in the body of the smaller or second stomach, and there is a +little hollow there with glands in it, and it is called the appendix to +the second stomach. + +[Illustration: STOMACH OF SLOTH.] + +The stomach is thus rather complicated, and its internal mucous +membrane is so thrown into folds, and made into hollow spaces, that it +occupies much more space than if it were a simple bag. This plan is +also well seen in those ruminating animals which, like the Ox, live +entirely upon vegetable substances; and it is evident that the diet of +the Sloth bears some relation to the complicated stomach. + +In the Ai, the appendix to the second stomach is larger than that of +the Unau Sloth, and is more complicated. + + +HOFFMANN’S SLOTH.[61] + +This is a Sloth with two clawed fingers on the fore, and with three +claws on the hinder extremities. Living specimens are occasionally +brought to Europe, especially from Porto Rico, so that its general +appearance may now and then be studied at the Zoological Gardens, +in the Regent’s Park. If it be looked at there in the day-time, it +certainly merits the name of Sloth, for it resembles a bundle of long, +light, brown hair, fixed on the top of a bar of wood close to an +upright branch, or huddled up in a corner on the ground; but in the +morning, and also late in the evening, the creature begins to move +slowly, and to look out for the food put for its use on the floor of +the den. All the Hoffmann’s Sloths have pale brown hair, whiter at the +tips, and a white face, showing a brown band across the nose, extending +to a ring round each eye. They have also a long and full crest of hair +on the neck, and the hair on the limbs is darker than that of the +rest of the animal. Dr. Peters, who discovered this Sloth, examined +the skeleton, and found only six vertebræ in the neck, and in this it +differs from the _Cholœpus_ just noticed. + +When its food, consisting of carrots and lettuce, and bread-and-milk, +is put down in the morning it is soon in movement, and enjoys its meal +hanging down from a bar with its hind legs, and resting its back on +the floor of the cage. It seizes the food between the claws and the +long straight palm of the fore-foot, and passes it into its mouth, +chewing actively with the molar teeth, especially with the first, +which are sharp. It cares little for the spectators, and when it has +finished, slowly mounts up into a corner of its little den and settles +down to sleep. In the evening it becomes lively, for it is, and, +indeed, all Sloths are, nocturnal in habit. The hairless snout, of a +light red tint, the absence of “smellers,” the little eyes with a few +hairs around them, and the broad forehead, give the animal a curious +appearance. The hair is brushed back on the forehead, and comes around +the very small ears on to the cheeks, and is whitey-brown, and this +same tint is seen over the whole of the back in long slender hairs. But +the under hair is light red or red-brown. The long and slender hand, +with its two claws, contrasts with the rather bulky upper part of the +limbs, and the flesh-coloured palms are very remarkable. + +[Illustration: HOFFMANN’S SLOTH.] + +The whole of the Sloths lead very monotonous lives; their food is +ever within their reach, and it is abundant, and they do not appear +to have to compete much or at all in the struggle for existence with +other animals. Their enemies are Snakes and the Carnivora, but it is +evident that they are much more readily preserved by their habits from +the latter than from the former. Leading such an uneventful existence, +there is no great call upon their nervous energies or intelligence, +and these are at a low pitch. The brain consequently is very simple in +regard to convolutions, which are few in number and shallow. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE ANT-EATERS. + + THE CAPE ANT-EATER--The Cage at “the Zoo”--Appearance of the + Animal--Its Prey--The Ant-hills--How the Orycteropus obtains + its Food--Place in the Order--Teeth--Skull--Tongue--Interesting + Questions concerning the Ant-eater--THE PANGOLINS, OR SCALY + ANT-EATERS--THE AFRICAN SCALY ANT-EATERS--Differences between the + Pangolins and Cape Ant-eaters--Their Habitat--Description--TEMMINCK’S + PANGOLIN--Habits--Food--How it Feeds--Superstitious Regard for + it shown by the Natives--Scarcity--Appearance--THE LONG-TAILED, + OR FOUR-FINGERED PANGOLIN--THE GREAT MANIS--THE ASIATIC SCALY + ANT-EATERS--THE SHORT-TAILED, OR FIVE-FINGERED PANGOLIN--The + Species of _Manis_--Skull--Stomach--Claws fitted for Digging--Other + Skeletal Peculiarities--THE AMERICAN ANT-EATERS--General + Appearance--Genera--THE GREAT ANT-BEAR--Habits--Diet--How + it Procures its Food--Distribution--Mode and Rate of + Locomotion--Stupidity--Manner of Assault and Defence--Stories + of its Contests with other Animals--Appearance--THE + TAMANDUA--Description--Where Found--Habits--Odour--THE TWO-TOED + ANT-EATER--Appearance--Two-clawed Hand--Habits--Von Sach’s Account of + his Specimen. + + +THE CAPE ANT-EATER.[62]--THE AARD-VARK. + +In one of the cages in the house, close to where the Kangaroos are +kept, in the Zoological Gardens of London, there is usually a heap of +straw to be seen and an empty dish. Outside the cage is placed the +name of an animal, “The Cape Ant-eater.” People look and wait, and as +neither the animal nor the Ants it eats are to be seen, they go away, +supposing that the absence of the last-named insects has caused the +destruction of the animal, whose straw alone remains. + +But in the evening, and sometimes in the morning, when the food is +placed in the cage--not Ants, however--a long pair of stuck-up ears, +looking like those of a gigantic Hare with a white skin and little fur, +may be seen poked up above the straw; and, soon after, a long white +muzzle, with small sharp eyes between it and the long ears, comes into +view. + +Then a very fat and rather short-bodied animal with a long head and +short neck, low fore and large hind quarters, with a bowed back, comes +forth, and finally a moderately long fleshy tail is seen. It is very +pig-like in the look of its skin, which is light-coloured and has a few +hairs on it. Moreover, the snout is somewhat like that of a Pig, but +the mouth has a small opening only, and to make the difference between +the animals decided, out comes a worm-shaped long tongue covered with +mucus. The animal has to content itself with other fare than Ants in +England, but it seems to thrive, and as it walks slowly on the flat of +its feet and hands to its food, they are seen to be armed with very +powerful claws. + +In Southern Africa, whence this animal came, it is as rarely seen by +ordinary observers as in England, for there it burrows into the earth +with its claws, and makes an underground place to live in, and is +nocturnal in its habits, sleeping by day. + +The Orycteropus, which means digging-up foot, from ὀρύσσω (to dig +up), and πούς (foot), is the deadly foe of the Ants of all kinds, and +especially of those which, like the White Ants, live in large colonies +and build nests. + +These nest-building Ants abound in certain districts, but not in the +region of the downs or karoos, nor where it is very dry and woody. +They choose the country which is covered with a poor and so-called +“sour” grass, and there they dig galleries in the ground, fetch earth +from far and wide, and erect large rounded mounds of an elliptical +figure, and often from three to seven feet in height. Apparently fond +of company, the Ants congregate, and these gigantic hills of theirs are +often crowded together and occupy the plains, as far as the eye can +reach. The nests, or hills, are solidly built, and contain innumerable +ants. This is the favourite resort of the Orycteropus, and the insects +are his sole food then. Wherever ant-hills are found, there is a good +chance of finding one of these Aard-varks, or Innagus, or Ant-Bears, as +the Dutch and natives call them, leading a sort of mole-like life. But +he is not easy to catch if the stories told be true. It is stated that +the long strong flattened claws and short extremities, worked by their +strong muscles, enable the animal to burrow in the soft soil as quickly +as the hunters can dig, and that in a few minutes it will get out of +the way; moreover, its strength is sufficient to resist the efforts of +two or three men to drag it out of the hole. But when fairly caught, +the Ant-eater does not resist much; it has no front teeth or eye teeth +to do any harm with, and it can be killed easily by a blow on the +head. The Ant-eater runs slowly, and never moves far from the entrance +of its burrow, being seen to do so only at night-time. The burrows +are often two feet in diameter and three or four feet deep before +they branch off. Night is the time for Ant-eating, for the active and +industrious insects are then all at home and within their solid nests. +Then the Orycteropus sallies forth, finds a fresh nest, sprawls over +it, and scratches a hole in its side, using his strong claws, and +then introduces his long snout. Having satisfied himself that there +is no danger at hand, the animal protrudes its long slimy tongue into +the galleries and body of the nest, and it is at once covered with +enraged Ants, which stick to it, and are finally returned with it into +the mouth. This goes on over and over again, until the appetite is +satisfied; and apparently the diet is excellent, for the Ant-eater is +generally fat, and indeed his hams are appreciated as a delicacy for +their peculiar flavour, into which that of formic acid is said to enter. + +[Illustration: CAPE ANT-EATER.] + +Although without an armour to its body, and provided with only a thick +skin and bristles, the Orycteropus has a great resemblance in many +points of its anatomy to the Armadillos of America. It is more closely +allied to them than to the other Edentata. It is one of the order of +Edentata, for there are no front teeth in the jaws, the incisors and +canines being absent. The teeth are found in the back part of the +mouth, and there are five on each side and in the upper and lower +jaws, or twenty in all; there are also some small teeth which fall out +during the growth of the animal. As might be expected from the very +simple nature of the diet, the teeth are not at all complicated in +their structure. They increase in size from before backwards, the last +tooth but one being the largest, and all are peculiar in their minute +construction. The first permanent tooth, which may be called a molar, +is cylindrical in shape, and consists of a centre of very remarkable +substance, for the body of the tooth is composed of a great number of +vertical canals placed side by side, and running up the tooth. It was +this interesting structure, so different to that of other animals, +which led Cuvier to compare the teeth to pieces of cane. Outside this +part of the tooth is a hard and more solid substance. When the teeth +are unworn, this outer covering covers their top, but as it wears +off the tubular appearance is seen, and the ends of the tubes become +exposed. The teeth have no fangs like those of such orders of Mammalia +as the Carnivora and Insectivora, and they increase in length by +growth from below, so that the wear above is continually compensated +for. The second tooth resembles the first in its minute construction, +but appears like two cylinders fixed together, a longitudinal groove +indicating the junction, and this is the appearance presented by most +of the others. The hindermost teeth resemble the first molars. The +dental number varies according to age, and the presence or absence of +the teeth which are not permanent. The jaws, in which the teeth are +fixed, are long, and the lower one is low, but there is an ascending +back part, or ramus; consequently, the face is long and low. The eye +is placed far from the ear, and is small. Its bony case, or orbit, and +its surrounding bones, are somewhat remarkable for an Edentate, for +there is a lachrymal bone, and the tear canal is open on the bony face. +Moreover, the malar bone is united to the ear bone by a complete arch, +the zygoma, and the deficiency so remarkable in some other Edentates +is thus not observed. The pre-maxillary bones are also to be seen, in +front of the face. In this completeness of the bones of the face this +animal is a true mammal, but in the nature and extent of the ear bones, +the Orycteropus has some resemblance to reptiles and birds. + +[Illustration: SKULL OF THE CAPE ANT-EATER.] + +The tongue is long, narrow, and flat, and can be protruded considerably +beyond the mouth, but not so far as those of the other insect-eating +Edentata; and in order to keep up a supply of thick mucus, the glands +under and at its side, or the sub-maxillary, are very large and active +in their functions. The stomach is moderately bulky and not simple, +for the portion towards the right has very thick muscular walls, and +the rest is thin. The intestine has a blind gut, or cæcum.[63] In +fact, the stomach and blind gut might belong to an animal which eats +something more bulky and less nutritious than Ants, and would be of use +to the creature, did it eat vegetable matters. All these structures, +the simple teeth, the tear bones, the size of the ear bones, the +Sloth-like teeth, with tubes, however, and the peculiarities about the +intestinal canal are, it must be remembered, associated with the life +of a purely insectivorous animal. Why has it not the kind of teeth of +the Insectivora and their stomach? and why should it combine high and +low characters in its skull? These are questions which, when attempted +to be answered, show that in the great philosophy of nature causes and +effects are not everything, and that the same definite methods of life +may be followed by animals very differently constituted. + +The claws of the Orycteropus and the limbs are admirably suited for +its kind of life. There are five claws on the hind limbs and four on +the front, and they are long, slightly curved, flat, and scooped out +below. The burrowing is facilitated by the arrangement of the claws as +regards length, and they diminish in size from within outwards. There +is a collar bone. The foot rests evenly on the ground and not on its +outside, and the body is supported either by the whole foot or by the +palm surface of the claws. The fore arm can be rotated more or less, +and the pronator quadratus[64] muscle enables this necessary action to +be carried out. The _Orycteropus capensis_ lives over a wide extent of +country in South Africa, in Caffraria, and in the western districts. A +closely-allied species lives in Senegal (_Orycteropus senegalensis_, +Less.); and a third is found in Southern Nubia, near the White Nile +(_Orycteropus æthiopicus_, Sund.). + + +THE PANGOLINS, OR SCALY ANT-EATERS.[65] + +THE AFRICAN SCALY ANT-EATERS. + +An animal living in the same country, on the same kind of food, and +having many of the habits of the Cape Ant-eater, especially as it +belongs to the same order of the animal kingdom, might be expected +to resemble it in shape and in most of the important parts of its +construction. But the comparison between the Ant-eater, just described, +and the Scaly Ant-eater, shows that these animals have some very +remarkable differences. The Scaly Ant-eater is toothless, and covered +with scales. + +[Illustration: TEMMINCK’S PANGOLIN.] + +Formerly, the Scaly Ant-eaters roamed far south in Africa, but now +they are rare animals in South Africa, in the west of the continent, +and across to Sennaar. They are found in Zanzibar, and as far south +as the latitude of Mozambique. They are small animals, of from two to +nearly five feet in length, with long tails; and their body, limbs, and +tail are covered with numerous large, somewhat angular, and sharp-edged +scales, as with armour. The scales overlap each other like tiles, +and the free part pointing backwards is bluntly angular or rounded +at the tip. When the animal is on its feet walking, they form a very +close and impenetrable covering, being doubtless of great use to the +creature, for it must trust entirely to its defences, having no weapon +of offence. But when the Scaly Ant-eater is alarmed or threatened with +danger, or positively attacked, it rolls itself up like a ball, places +the snout between the legs, and the tail underneath, and then sticks up +its scales, offering their sharp edges to the enemy. There are several +kinds of them, and one in particular was noticed by Dr. Smith, the +African traveller, and was named after the zoologist Temminck, MANIS +TEMMINCKII. He observed that it was rarely seen, but that when it was +discovered, instead of burrowing, it did not attempt to escape, but +rolled itself up instantly in the shape of a ball, taking especial +care of its head, which is the only part unarmoured and likely to be +injured. He states that Ants form its chief and favourite food, and +that it secures them by extending its projectable tongue into holes +which may exist in the habitations of those insects, or which it may +itself form. The tongue having made an entry, it is soon covered with +a multitude of insects, and as it is well lubricated with saliva, they +are held fast, and when a full load is ready, the retracting muscles +act on the tongue and the whole is carried back into the mouth, after +which the Ants are swallowed. The same traveller accounts for the +scarcity of the Scaly Ant-eaters, partly from the disinclination of the +natives to discover them for strangers, and partly because they are +environed with supernatural gifts in their eyes. They are carefully +sought for, by the natives, for their own use and supposed advantage, +for they believe the animal to have some influence on cattle, and that +certain treatment to which they are exposed produces this. Whenever +a specimen is secured by the natives, it is submitted to fire in +some cattle-pen, apparently as a burnt offering for the increase of +the health and fertility of all cattle which may henceforward enter +the fold. “Here,” writes Dr. Smith, “we have another cause for the +obliteration of a species. Intolerance of their aggression has wrought +up the shepherd or agriculturist to the destruction of some; but in +this case, a species is probably dying out under the influence of a +superstition.” + +[Illustration: FOUR-FINGERED PANGOLIN.] + +They burrow even in rather hard ground, and feed at night time. It has +been noticed that the mother sits upright when enticing the young to +suckle. + +This _Manis_ has rather a short head, and a wide body, and the tail is +as long as the trunk: it is rather less in width near the body, and +does not diminish much near the end. In a specimen which is twenty-five +inches and a half long, the back of the animal is eight inches across, +and the tail at its root is five inches broad. The scales are large, +and are in about eleven rows. The body is of a pale yellowish-brown +colour, the scales being lightest in tint near their points, and they +are often streaked with yellow. Where the scales are wanting the skin +is dusky brown. The eyes are reddish-brown, and the muzzle is black. +The nails of the fore feet are bent under, so that the animal walks on +their upper part. The scales are composed of hairs placed side by side +and agglutinated together, and when first formed, and for some little +time after, they are soft. They cover the upper part of the fore and +hind extremities besides the body, and are striated. This kind lives in +Eastern Africa, Sennaar, Caffraria, Kordofan, and Latakoo. + + +THE LONG-TAILED, OR FOUR-FINGERED PANGOLIN.[66] + +This Ant-eater is from two to three feet in length, and the tail is +twice as long as the body. It inhabits the Guinea Coast and the Gaboon, +and probably Senegal. It is a dark brown animal, with the hair of the +face and under sides black in tint. There are eleven series of scales, +with the end rounded, and a central prominence. + +Buffon described a pale brown or horn-coloured, very scaly, long-tailed +Ant-eater as a Phatagin, but it is correctly called _Manis tricuspis_, +from the scales having three projections on them. It lives in Western +Africa, Fernando Po, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. + + +THE GREAT MANIS.[67] + +This scaled Ant-eater is thirty inches long in the body, and its tail +measures twenty-five inches in length. The great tail lessens to the +end, and the scales are striated at the base, the whole colour being +pale brown. It is an interesting animal from its likeness to one of the +Asiatic species, the _Manis pentadactyla_ (Linn.); but the difference +in the length of tail is remarkable. It has been found in West Africa, +Guinea, and in the Cape Coast Castle district. + + +THE ASIATIC SCALY ANT-EATERS. + +There is one point of great interest about the genus _Manis_, and it is +that it is not restricted to Africa, for some species are found over +a wide extent of country in India. They live there in a region from +the Himalayan Mountains to Ceylon, and eastward to Sumatra and Java, +and in Southern China as far as Amoy, Hainan, and Formosa. They afford +an instance of closely-allied animals now living in large districts +which are separated by seas, deserts, mountains, and rivers, and other +impassable barriers. The Javanese are said to have called the animal, +from the fact of its rolling itself up, Pangolin, and the Bengalese +termed it the Reptile of Stone. The first to be noticed is-- + + +THE SHORT-TAILED, OR FIVE-FINGERED PANGOLIN.[68] + +This is supposed to be the Phattage of Ælian, and much resembles +Temminck’s _Manis_ from South Africa. It has a small head, which is +pointed and long at the muzzle; the body is rather stout, and the tail +is short, broad at the root. The back scales are in longitudinal rows, +eleven in number, and they are smaller than those of the African kind. +It has the under part of the body, head, and feet naked, and more or +less hairy, and some long, fair-coloured hairs spring from between the +scales. The middle claw of the fore-foot exceeds the others in size. +They feed on white Ants especially. They are found in Bengal, Madras, +and Assam. + +A _Manis_ with a tail as long as the body, and with the scales of the +hind feet acutely pointed, and the front and hind claws nearly equal in +size, is found in Sumatra and in Java. Finally, the other Asiatic kind, +_Manis Dalmannii_, is found in the Himalayas, China, and possibly in +Java. + +All the species of the genus _Manis_, whether from Africa or Asia, +are absolutely toothless, and the Edentate peculiarity is perfect, +for there are no back teeth. The tongue is worm-like, round, very +long, and can be stuck out far from the mouth, and it supplies the +want of the teeth, but from having this long organ and no back teeth, +the palate and the skull are very long and conical. Being without +masticating teeth, the lower jaw is very flat and simple, and there is +no ascending ramus. The muscles of the lower jaw being of secondary +importance, the arch (zygoma) of bone between the face and the ear is +incomplete, and the outside ear is very small. But the organ of hearing +is somewhat complicated, and there is a large space in the temporal +bone which communicates with the internal ear, so that one tympanum is +in communication with the other. + +Much saliva is required to moisten the tongue, and the sub-maxillary +glands are therefore very large, and reach down under the skin of the +neck on to the chest. The stomach is usually, if not always, found +to contain stones which the creature has swallowed. Of course it can +hardly tell what may be on its tongue in the dark Ants’ nest, and earth +and stones are likely to rest on it and be swallowed, but the constant +presence of these hard things may have something to do with the +absence of the teeth, and the necessity of having a crushing material +somewhere or other. The walls of the stomach are thin near the entry of +the gullet tube, but towards the pylorus, or the right side end, the +muscles are well developed, and the mucous membrane is very dense. + +These animals use their claws for the purpose of digging holes in the +ground, or in the Ants’ nests, for the sake of food, and the position +in walking is with the front claws bent under, so that the whole weight +of the front of the body is felt on the back (or upper part) of the +claws. The hind feet are placed flat, and the sole and under part of +the claws sustain the hinder quarters. The joints of the five fingers +of the fore feet are so arranged that they can bend downwards only, +and indeed they are more or less permanently bent, being kept in that +position by strong ligaments. This assists the digging powers of the +claws, which are, moreover, forked at their points in some species, and +the wrist is rendered very strong by having the joints between two of +its bones abolished, and they are united by bone, as in the carnivorous +animals. The bones thus united are the scaphoid and semi-lunar bones. +Every structure in the creature’s fore limbs tends to the promotion of +easy and powerful digging, and as the motion of scratching the ground +is directly downwards and backwards, the power of moving the wrist +half round, and presenting the palm more or less upwards, as in the +Sloths and in man, does not exist. In order to prevent this pronation +and supination, the part of the fore-arm bone, the radius, next to the +elbow, is not rounded, but forms part of a hinge joint. Finally, it is +necessary to observe, that the middle claw is the longest of the five +on all the extremities, and that as the animal does not require to +reach over its head, there is no collar bone. + +[Illustration: FIVE-FINGERED PANGOLIN.] + +The long tail of the Pangolins, stumpy at the end in some kinds, has a +considerable number of bones, usually twenty-six; and the first of them +joins on to the last of the back bones of the pelvis. This last, or +sacral vertebra, unites on each side with the haunch bones (ischium), +and there is no notch in the bone for the passages of the great nerves +of the back of the leg, but a hole. + +The thigh bone is flattened from before backwards, and the bones of +the leg are wide apart, and all this gives extra powers to the muscles +which have to direct the scraping and digging by the hind feet. The +feet are solid and strong, and have not any of the inside turning +and club-foot appearance of the Sloths, and the heel bone projects +backwards. + +There is an interesting peculiarity about the chest of the Pangolins, +for the breast bone is very long, and the cartilage at its end is +large, and has two long projections resembling those of the Lizards. +The neck consists of seven vertebræ, and the back of thirteen, and +there are three or four in the sacrum. + + +THE AMERICAN ANT-EATERS. + +The adjective “long” may be applied to nearly all the structures of +these animals. The tail, body, neck, head, snout, and tongue, and the +hair are all very long, and the only things which are short are the +ears. The observer is immediately struck with the curiously-shaped +head, so narrow, low, and ending in a flexible and very slender snout, +especially if the round tongue happens to be projecting out of the +mouth, for it is longer even than the head, and is like a gigantic +worm. The snout appears bent, and is made to look all the longer, by +the eye being placed not far from the small ear. Then the huge bushy +tail, flattened from side to side, as long as the body, has a fringe +of very long and strong hair. The body itself moves on four powerful +limbs, well clawed, and looks bulky from the quantity of hair on it, +but usually it is thin. The animal, when it stands still, is higher at +the shoulders than behind, and it rests on the sides of the fore-feet, +where there is a callous pad, the claws being bent inwards and under, +and not touching the ground with their tips. The under part of the hind +feet bears the weight of the hind limbs. It is about four feet and a +half in length from the snout to the tail, the tail being rather more +than three feet in length, and the height is about three feet and a +half. So long is the head, that it measures thirteen inches and a half +from the ear to the snout, and the tongue can be projected for sixteen +or eighteen inches, and is, when brought back into the mouth, bent so +that its tip looks backwards towards the throat. + +The animal belongs to a group of the Edentata (for it is toothless) +which has the following genera:--One genus, which is now being +considered, is _Myrmecophaga_--μύρμης (an Ant), and φαγεῖν (to eat)--a +second is _Tamandua_, and the third is _Cyclothurus_, from κυκλωτός +(rounded). The animals of this group represent in South America the +Pangolins and Cape Ant-eaters of the Old World. + +The species of the genus _Myrmecophaga_, which has been thus slightly +alluded to, is called the Maned Ant-eater. + + +THE GREAT ANT-BEAR.[69] + +The habits of this animal, which has been named Great Ant-Bear by the +English and Spaniards, have been described as follows:--“The habits of +the Great Ant-Bear are slothful and solitary; the greater part of his +life is consumed in sleeping, notwithstanding which he is never fat, +and rarely even in good condition. When about to sleep he lies on one +side, conceals his long snout in the fur of the breast, locks the hind +and fore claws into one another, so as to cover the head and belly, +and turns his long, bushy tail over the whole body in such a manner as +to protect it from the too powerful rays of the sun. The female bears +but a single young one at a birth, which attaches itself to her back, +and is carried about with her wherever she goes, rarely quitting her, +even for a year after it has acquired sufficient strength to walk and +provide for itself. This unprolific constitution, and the tardy growth +of the young, account for the comparative rarity of these animals, +which are said to be seldom seen, even in their native regions. The +female has only two mammæ, situated on the breast, like those of +Monkeys, Apes, and Bats. In his natural state the Ant-Bear lives +exclusively upon Ants, to procure which he opens their hills with his +powerful crooked claws, and at the moment that the insects, according +to their nature, flock from all quarters to defend their dwellings, +draws over them his long, flexible tongue covered with glutinous +saliva, to which they consequently adhere; and so quickly does he +repeat this operation, that we are assured he will thus exsert his +tongue and draw it in again covered with insects twice in a second. He +never actually introduces it into the holes or breaches which he makes +in the hills themselves, but only draws it lightly over the swarms of +insects which will issue forth, alarmed by his attack. ‘It seems almost +incredible,’ says D’Azara, ‘that so robust and powerful an animal can +procure sufficient sustenance from Ants alone; but this circumstance +has nothing strange in it to those who are acquainted with the tropical +parts of America, and who have seen the enormous multitudes of these +insects, which swarm in all parts of the country to that degree that +their hills often almost touch one another for miles together.’ The +same author informs us that domestic Ant-Bears were occasionally kept +by different persons in Paraguay, and that they had even been sent +alive to Spain, being fed upon bread-and-milk mixed with morsels of +flesh minced very small. Like all animals which live upon insects, +they are capable of sustaining a total deprivation of nourishment for +an almost incredible time.” + +[Illustration: GREAT ANT-BEAR.] + +The Great Ant-Bear is found in all the warm and tropical parts of +South America, from Colombia to Paraguay, and from the shores of the +Atlantic to the foot of the Andes. His favourite resorts are the low, +swampy savannahs, along the banks of rivers and stagnant ponds. He is +found also frequenting the humid forests, but never climbing trees, as +falsely reported by Buffon, on the authority of La Borde. His pace is +slow, heavy, and hesitating; his head is carried low, as if he smelled +the ground at every step, whilst his long, shaggy tail, drooping +behind him, sweeps the ground on each side, and readily indicates +his path to the hunter; though, when hard pressed, he increases his +pace to a slow gallop, yet his greatest velocity never half equals +the ordinary running of a man. So great is his stupidity, that those +who encounter him in the woods or plains may drive him before them +by merely pushing him with a stick, so long, at least, as he is not +compelled to proceed beyond a moderate gallop; but if pressed too +hard, or urged to extremity, he turns obstinate, sits up on his hind +quarters like a Bear, and defends himself with his powerful claws. +Like that animal, his usual, and indeed only, mode of assault is by +seizing his adversary with his fore paws, wrapping his arms round him, +and endeavouring by this means to squeeze him to death. His great +strength and powerful muscles would easily enable him to accomplish his +purpose in this respect, even against the largest animals of his native +forests, were it but guided by ordinary intelligence, or accompanied +with a common degree of activity. But in these qualities there are +few animals, indeed, which do not greatly surpass the Ant-Bear, so +that the different stories handed down by writers on natural history +from one to another, and copied, without question, into the histories +and descriptions of this animal, may be regarded as pure fiction. For +this statement we have the express authority of Don Felix d’Azara, an +excellent observer and credible writer, from whose “Natural History +of the Quadrupeds of Paraguay” we have derived the greater portion of +the preceding account of the habits and economy of this extraordinary +animal. “It is supposed,” says Don Felix, “that the Jaguar himself +dares not attack the Ant-Bear, and that if, pressed by hunger, or +under some other excitement, he does so, the Ant-Bear hugs him and +embraces him so tightly, as very soon to deprive him of life, not even +relaxing his hold for hours after life has been extinguished by his +assailant. It is very certain that such is the manner in which the +Ant-eater defends himself; but it is not to be believed that his utmost +efforts could prevail against the Jaguar, which, by a single bite or +blow of his paw, could kill the Ant-eater before he was prepared for +resistance; for even in so extreme a case, his motions are so slow and +so heavy, that he takes some time to get himself ready, and besides +being unable to leap, or to turn with even ordinary rapidity, he is +necessarily forced to act solely on the defensive.” The flesh of the +Ant-eater is esteemed a delicacy by the Indians and negro slaves, and, +though black, and of a strong musky flavour, is sometimes even met with +at the tables of Europeans. + +This large Ant-eater, grey in colour, with a black-coloured throat +and a triangular spot, black in tint, ascending obliquely over each +shoulder, has four claws on the fore limb and five on the hinder +extremity. The claws are grooved underneath, and are not split or +forked as in the _Manis_, and they, and especially the great middle +claw, are protected by an expansion of bone from the last joint of +the digits, or toes. This envelopes the base of the claw, except +quite underneath, leaving the tip free to perform its office without +endangering the tender base. The tips are protected, moreover, in the +fore limbs by the position assumed during standing and walking, for +they are then turned in and do not touch the ground; but this is not +the case in the feet, for the Great Ant-Bears rest on their soles. +Without teeth, and having an incomplete arch of bone between the cheek +and ear bones, they possess a long palate, so long, indeed, that when +the long nose cavity opens into the throat in the skeleton certain +bones called pterygoid, or wing-shaped, form part of its boundary. +This is unusual amongst the Mammalia, and Huxley observes that it is +only found in some of the Whale tribe (_Cetacea_). Moreover, it is +not noticed in any other vertebrate animals except the Crocodiles. +The skull is very low and long, and the framework of the tongue is as +important as that of the jaws. This kind of Ant-eater has imperfect +collar bones. As in the other Ant-eaters there is in this one a very +muscular condition of the right side of the stomach.[70] + + +THE TAMANDUA.[71] + +The Tamandua is much smaller than the Great Ant-eater, and is, were it +not for its long snout and tail, somewhat like a Sloth. It is nearly +as large as one of these animals, and has a long head, small rounded +ears, and small mouth. The body, some two feet in length, is rather +short, and is covered with short, silky, or woolly shining hair, of +almost uniform length. The fore limbs are very stout, especially above +the elbow, and the hind ones rest on the rather long sole. The tail is +about a foot and a half in length; it is stout at its root, and round +and tapering to the blunt end, is minutely scaled, and covered in some +places with short hairs. The fore claws are bent on the hand, and the +animal walks on their outer and upper surface, using them also to clasp +and to hang on in climbing. The tail is more or less prehensile. The +colour of the hair and the markings varies much in the species, and +in captivity the rusty straw-colour of the body becomes whiter; but +there is a line of black on the upper part of the chest reaching over +the shoulders and between them and the neck on to the back, and also +several black patches over the tail and on the flanks. + +The Tamandua is an inhabitant of the thick primeval forests of tropical +America, and lives in Brazil and Paraguay. It is rarely found on the +ground, but resides almost exclusively on trees, where it lives upon +termites, honey, and even, according to the report of D’Azara, bees, +which in those countries form their hives among the loftiest branches +of the forest, and, having no sting, are more readily despoiled of +their honey than their congeners of Great Britain. When about to sleep, +it hides its muzzle in the fur of its breast, falls on its belly, +letting its fore feet hang down on each side, and wrapping the whole +tightly round with its tail. The female, as in the case of the Great +Ant-eater, has but two pectoral mammæ, and produces but a single cub +at a birth, which she carries about with her on her shoulders for the +first three or four months. The young are at first exceedingly deformed +and ugly, and of an uniform straw-colour. + +The animal is called Cagouaré by the Guaranis, on account of the +noxious and infected vapours of the forests in which alone it is found, +the word literally signifying, in the language of those Indians, “the +inhabitants of a stinking wood or marsh.” Such at least is D’Azara’s +interpretation of the term, though it appears more probable that it may +refer to the strong disagreeable odour of the animal itself, which, +this very author informs us, is so powerful that it may be perceived +at a very great distance, particularly when the animal is irritated. +Tamandua is the name by which it is known to the Portuguese of Brazil; +the French and the English call it Fourmilier and Little Ant-Bear. + + +THE TWO-TOED ANT-EATER.[72] + +These little animals appear, at first sight, to resemble Sloths with +tails; and their round heads, furry bodies, and two claws on the fore +limb, add to the resemblance. They are essentially arboreal animals +also, but they have long and useful tails, and live on insects. They +hunt their insect prey in the forests of Costa Rica, Honduras, and +Brazil. Their two-clawed hands are remarkable, for the rudiments of +the thumb and little finger are hidden beneath the skin, and the claws +are placed on the first and second digits. The third digit has no +claw. There are four claws on the feet, so that in this arrangement +the animal is peculiar amongst the Ant-eaters. It is not larger than +a common Squirrel, and the general shape of the body is like that of +a Tamandua on a small scale. Its whole length, from the snout to the +origin of the tail, is but six inches, and of the tail, seven inches +and a quarter. This is consequently rather longer than the body; it +is thick at the root, and covered with short fur, but tapers suddenly +towards the point, where it is naked and strongly prehensile. The +muzzle is not so long, in proportion, as in the other two species; the +tongue also is shorter, and has a flatter form; the mouth opens further +back in the jaws, and has a much larger gape, the eye being situated +close to its posterior angle; the ears are short, rather drooping, and +concealed among the long fur which covers the head and cheeks; the legs +are short and stout; and the hair, very soft and fine to the touch, is +three-quarters of an inch in length on the body, but much shorter on +the head, legs, and tail. The general colour is that of straw, more or +less tinged with maroon on the shoulders, and particularly along the +median line of the back, which usually exhibits a deep line of this +shade. The feet and tail are grey. + +This species is said to have four mammæ, two pectoral, as in those +already described, and two others on the abdomen. It is reported, +nevertheless, to have but a single cub at birth, which it conceals +in the hollow of some decayed tree. The habits and manners of this +little animal, hitherto very imperfectly known to naturalists, are well +described by Von Sach, in his “Narrative of a Voyage to Surinam.” + +“I have had two little Ant-eaters, or Fourmiliers, which were not +larger than a Squirrel. One was of a bright-yellow colour, with a brown +stripe on the back, the other was a silvery-grey, and darker on the +back. The hair of each was very soft and silky, a little crisped; the +head was small and round, the nose long, gradually bending downwards to +a point; it had no teeth, but a very long round tongue; the eyes were +very small, round, and black; the legs rather short; the fore-feet had +only two claws on each, the exterior being much larger and stronger +than the interior, which exactly filled the curve or hollow of the +large one; the hind feet had four claws of a moderate size; the tail +was prehensile, longer than the body, thick at the base and tapering +to the end, which, for some inches on the under side, was bare. This +little animal is called in Surinam ‘Kissing-hand,’ as the inhabitants +pretend that it will never eat, at least when caught, but that it only +licks its paws, in the same manner as the Bear; that all trials to make +it eat have proved in vain, and that it soon dies in confinement. When +I got the first, I sent to the forest for a nest of Ants, and during +the interim I put into its cage some eggs, honey, milk, and meat; but +it refused to touch any of them. At length the Ants’ nest arrived, +but the animal did not pay the slightest attention to it either. By +the shape of its fore-paws, which resemble nippers, and differ very +much from those of all the other different species of Ant-eaters, I +thought that this little creature might perhaps live on the nymphæ of +Wasps, &c. I therefore brought it a Wasps’ nest, and then it pulled +out, with its nippers, the nymphæ from the nest, and began to eat them +with the greatest eagerness, sitting in the posture of a Squirrel. I +showed this phenomenon to many of the inhabitants, who all assured me +that it was the first time they had ever known that species of animal +take any nourishment. The Ants which I tried it with were the large +white termites upon which fowls are fed here. As the natural history +of this pretty little animal is not much known, I thought of trying +if they would breed in a cage; but when I returned from my excursion +into the country I found them both dead, perhaps occasioned by the +trouble given to procure the Wasps’ nest for them, though they are here +very plentiful; wherefore I can give no further description of them, +than that they slept all the day long, curled together, and fastened +by their prehensile tails to one of the perches of the cage. When +touched they erected themselves on their hind legs, and struck with +the fore-paws at the object which disturbed them, like the hammer of +a clock striking the bell, with both paws at the same time, and with +a great deal of strength. They never attempted to run away, but were +always ready for defence when attacked. As soon as evening came, they +awoke, and with the greatest activity walked on the wire of the cage, +though they never jumped, nor did I ever hear their voice.” + +[Illustration: TWO-TOED ANT-EATER.] + +All these Ant-eaters have great glands (sub-maxillary) for the purpose +of secreting the sticky saliva, and the tongue is most movable, and +wriggles like an eel in feeding on milk. The Little Ant-eater has a +_rete mirabile_ of blood-vessels. + +Another Cyclothurus lives in Costa Rica, which is golden-yellow in +colour, and silky in its hair. It has a broad black stripe on the back. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE ARMADILLO FAMILY. + + The Armour-plates--How the Shields are formed--Their + connection with the Body--Description of the Animals--Mode + of Walking--Diet--Skeleton--Adaptation of their Limbs for + Burrowing--Classification--THE GREAT ARMADILLO--Appearance--Great + Burrower--THE TATOUAY--THE POYOU, OR YELLOW-FOOTED ARMADILLO--THE + PELUDO, OR HAIRY ARMADILLO--THE PICHIY--THE PEBA, OR BLACK TATOU--THE + MULE ARMADILLO--THE BALL ARMADILLO--Dr. Murie’s Account of its + Habits--Description--The Muscles by which it Rolls itself up and + Unrolls itself--THE PICHICIAGO--Concluding Remarks: Classification of + the Order, Fossil Edentates, the Allied Species of _Manis_ in South + Africa and Hindostan. + + +[Illustration: BONES OF CLAW OF GREAT ARMADILLO.] + +These South American animals are more or less covered with a hard +bony crust, separated into shields and bands, which are more or less +movable, owing to the presence of special skin-muscles. In the most +perfectly armoured there are four distinct shields and a set of +bands, a certain amount of motion being possible between their edges. +Of the shields, one covers the head, another the back of the neck, +a third protects the shoulders like a great cape, and the fourth +arches over the rump like a half dome, and is, in some, attached by +its deep structure to the bones of the hip and haunch. The movable +bands cover the back and loins, and are between the third and fourth +shields. The tail may further be invested by incomplete bony rings, +and scattered scales, and others are distributed over the limbs. This +covering is, according to Professor Huxley, strictly comparable to +part of the armour of the Crocodile; and the Armadillos are the only +Mammals possessing such structure. The shields and bands are formed +of many scales, or scutes, which are ossifications of the skin, and +they may be of many kinds of shape--four, or many-sided--being united +by sutures, and they are incapable of separate motion. The shields +and bands, however, vary much in their number, size, and perfectness +in the different animals, which, being armoured, the Spaniards called +Armadillos; and, indeed, the number of bands in the back and loin +division varies in individuals of the same species. These bands cover +the flanks, and, with the shields fore and aft, protect the limbs, +which are often more or less hidden by a growth of hair. The bands, +moreover, by being movable one on the other, enable the rest of the +armour to accommodate itself to the motions of the body, so that some +roll themselves up, as in a ball shape. There may be few or many bands +present, and the extreme numbers are three and thirteen. The Armadillos +are of different sizes, and whilst the smallest may be only ten inches +in length without the tail, the largest are more than three feet long. +The head is long, and broad at the neck, the ears are usually long, +the neck is short, the body is long, round, and low, and the length of +tail varies much in different kinds. Where the head shield joins that +of the shoulders, there is a space for the movement of the short neck; +but this is protected by a backward projection from the head shield. +The throat, under parts, and thighs are not protected by armour, except +here and there by small plates in the skin, or by a granulated state +of it; and they are naked or hairy. Even between the bands on the back +there are often long hairs, and the tail fits into a kind of notch in +the last shield of the body, and its plates are close in almost all +Armadillos, but not united. So that much more motion is given to it and +to the body than might be expected by the muscles during their action +beneath the more or less soldered bony skin. The flat top to the head, +and the long muzzle, are useful to the Armadillos in their burrowing, +and this is assisted by short and strong limbs armed with powerful +claws. Some of the Armadillos are even capable of running with some +speed; and the little Six-banded Armadillo, or Poyou, and the Matico, +are very restless and active in captivity. With one exception, these +animals move with the flat of their feet and hands on the ground; all +have five hind claws, but there is some variation in the number of the +fore claws, which may be four or five. They have simple cylindrical +molar teeth, which, according to the species, are from seven or eight +to twenty-five on each side of each jaw, and they are separate, +standing apart from one another. Moreover, they are so arranged that +when the mouth is closed, the upper teeth fit into the spaces between +the under ones, and the under teeth into those of the upper, so that +their grinding surfaces wear down into ridges. In one kind, there are +some teeth in the pre-maxillary bones; but all the others have only +molar teeth, which do not, however, go very far back, for there are +none on the ascending ramus of the lower jaw. They are not, therefore, +animals which prey upon their fellows, but are vegetable, insect, and +probably carrion eaters. They dig and burrow, and their sense of smell +is acute. This is assisted by the position of the nostrils in the long +muzzle, for they are not at its tip, but rather underneath, so that +they open downwards. In fact, the ends of the bones of the nose project +in front of the pre-maxillary bones. The armour is doubtless useful +against the attacks of their many carnivorous and reptile enemies; +it assists them in burrowing, keeps off pressure, and may protect +those which live in forests against a falling bough. They are passive +creatures, mostly nocturnal in their habits, and their skeleton is +strengthened in some parts in relation to its armour and its office. + +[Illustration: SKELETON OF THE ARMADILLO.] + +Thus the spine of the second vertebra is tall and compressed, and +reaches backwards over those of the third and fourth vertebræ, and +it coalesces with them. The bodies of these vertebræ also join more +or less solidly, and there are no (or very minute) spines on the +last three cervical vertebræ. This gives a strange appearance to the +skeleton, which is increased by the length of the spine of the first +vertebra of the back (dorsal). In order to support the back shield, +the projections from the back bones are greatly developed, and two +side processes stand out on either side of the spinous one. Moreover, +there is much fixity between the last dorsal and lumbar vertebræ, and +the strong and long sacrum beneath the last shield is formed by the +junction of the back bones of the root of the tail with the true sacral +vertebræ. Finally, the transverse processes of some of the upper tail +vertebræ are united to the pelvic bones. There is a corresponding +strengthening of the chest, and a broad flat first rib accompanies an +expanded condition of the upper part of the breast bone; and this bone +is jointed with bony sternal ribs, which unite on the side of the chest +with the ordinary ribs of the spine. + +[Illustration: SKULL OF THE ARMADILLO.] + +As they are rapid burrowers, the limbs are fashioned with a view of +favouring this kind of life, the general skeletal peculiarities of +the Edentata being more or less preserved at the same time. They have +a collar bone, and the blade bone is long, rather narrow, and has +a tall, long spine, and a kind of offshoot from the back edge. The +humerus of the arm is short and robust, strongly marked by ridges and +depressions for the great muscles of the shoulder and chest, and the +fore-arm is characterised by the disproportionate size of its two +bones. The ulna has a very long and stout elbow process (olecranon) for +the attachment of the muscles, which can force the hand strongly on to +and into the earth, and drag it out, and its length makes the whole +bone twice as long as the radius. The thigh bone has a strong crest, +arising from the great trochanter, and extending downwards nearly the +whole length of the bone; moreover, the great trochanter has a large +process on the middle of its outer edge. The bones of the leg are +broad, arched, and united at both ends, and the heel bone reaches far +back, in order to give strength to the squatting position taken up when +the animal is burrowing. The eye is placed rather high in the head, +is protected above by the outer edge of the head armour, and by some +small surrounding scales. It looks as a rule outwards. The lower jaw +is long, and has a back angle, sometimes of some size; the cheek bone +unites to the temporal bone, and the arch is complete. In the face +the intermaxillary bone is well developed, and there is often a crest +of bone passing over the top of the skull from side to side over the +occiput, which is in relation to the head armour. The brain is small; +the back or little brain is not covered by the brain proper, whose +convolutions and processes are few and simple. The olfactory lobes +project. + +[Illustration: GREAT ARMADILLO.] + +These armoured, round-bodied, short-legged, great-clawed animals are +numerous, and there are several species, which need not, however, +be collected into more than two genera. But it is by no means easy +to arrange those of the first genus--the True Armadillos, genus +_Dasypus_--in any other than an arbitrary and very artificial +classification. Usually they are grouped and separated by the relative +number of digits or claws on the fore and hinder extremities; by the +presence or absence of teeth in the intermaxillary bones; by their +ability to roll up; and by the excessive or the small number of their +teeth. The method of walking, whether on the sole or on the tips of +the claws, and the number of the bands, have been partly employed in +classification, but their number is often variable in individuals of +the same species. + +[Illustration: BRAIN OF THE ARMADILLO.] + +The Priodontes have but one species, which is readily distinguished by +its superior size, besides by its great number of teeth, of which there +are from twenty-two to twenty-four small ones on each jaw on each side, +making from eighty-eight to ninety-six in all. + + +THE GREAT ARMADILLO.[73] + +This is an inhabitant of Brazil, and of the northern parts of Paraguay +and of Surinam, and is a dweller in the forest, being never found far +out on the plains. The head is seven inches and a half long, and the +ears, usually pointed and laid backwards, are not quite two inches in +length. The head and body, without the tail, measure three feet and +some inches, whilst the thickly-rooted but rapidlytapering tail is +about a foot and a half in length. Hence the head is small for the body +in this Armadillo, and the forehead is protuberant, and the face is +very tubular and cylindrical-looking. The shoulder and croup shields +are not expanded and solid, but consist of nine and eighteen rows of +plates respectively, and the intermediate part of the body has twelve +or thirteen movable bands, each of which is made up of rectangular +scales, or scutes, about half an inch square. The circumference of the +root of the tail is upwards of ten inches, and the organ is covered +with plates, disposed in rings at the root, and not farther down, but +forming spiral or crescent-shaped lines throughout the rest of its +length. + +The Great Armadillo is a persevering and most rapid burrower, and the +fore limb and hand are singularly modified for the purpose of enabling +rapid digging and removal of the soil. The olecranon process of the +ulna is enormous, and the muscle of the deep flexor or tendon of the +claws is ossified and turned into a hand bone. The metacarpal bones of +the thumb and first finger are small, and so are the slender digits, +but that of the middle finger is irregularly rectangular, and is +broader than long, and the digit which it supports is extraordinarily +short, stout, strong, and broad. Its corresponding bones of the fourth +finger are similarly formed, but are somewhat smaller, and the fifth +finger is very small. The nail phalanx of the middle finger is large +and strong, being curved _outwards_, and having a large horny hood, +or core, at its base, for the lodgment of the claw. There are five +claws on the hands and feet, and the Armadillo moves on the flat of +its feet, being plantigrade. There is no doubt that, aided by these +digging weapons, and being of considerable stoutness, the animal makes +long and deep burrows. It feeds on roots, fallen fruit, and insects, +and there is a story that it seeks carrion, and it used to be said that +the collectors of Cinchona bark in the dense forests, when they lost a +companion by death, were obliged to bury the body in a grave surrounded +with a double row of stout planks, to prevent its being scratched up +and devoured by the Great Armadillo. Planks must be scarce, however, in +those localities, and difficult to carry; and probably there are other +inhabitants of the woods besides the Armadillos which would discover +and drag out a corpse. To assist the scratching and digging, the soles +of the feet are partly covered with flat scales. + + * * * * * + +The Kabassous have the fore and hind extremities furnished with an +equal number of (five) fingers and toes respectively, but the number of +teeth is, altogether, from thirty to forty. + + +THE TATOUAY.[74] + +This Kabassou has the five fingers disposed obliquely; and the great +middle and fourth claws resemble those of the gigantic Armadillo. It is +named in allusion to its tail, which is more or less naked, and nearly +uncovered with rings or plates, so that it has not the usual tube-like +protection, or beautifully ornamented crust seen in some Armadillos. +The tail is about seven inches and a half long, and is round and +pointed, having only a few hard crusts beneath, near the outer third, +where it often trails on the ground. The rest of its root is covered +with soft brown fur, interspersed with a few stiff short hairs on the +upper surface. The ears are large, being nearly two inches in length, +and they form a segment of a circle in figure. The body is round, and +the shields of the shoulder and croup have seven and ten rows of scales +respectively, each scale forming an oblong rectangle, those near the +root of the tail being the largest. The movable bands are thirteen +in number, and are composed of much smaller scales than those of the +shields, and they have a nearly square outline. The head is long and +larger in proportion than that of the Great Armadillo, and it has not +the very cylindrical appearance noticed in that and some other species. +The arrangement of the claws resembles that of the Great Armadillo, +whose they almost equal in size. The female has two pectoral mammæ. + +It inhabits Guiana, Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, and Surinam, and but little +is known of the habits of these Armadillos. They burrow easily and +rapidly, and their great claws enable them to grasp the earth, and fix +themselves so thoroughly that a great amount of exertion is required +to pull them out of a burrow. They live on insects and on vegetable +matters. + + * * * * * + +The Encouberts of Cuvier have five toes on the fore and hinder +extremities, and nine or ten teeth on each side of the jaws, and +there are two teeth in the intermaxillary bones of the upper jaw, +representing the incisor teeth of ordinary Mammals, and thus forming an +exception, not only to the other Armadillos, but even to the order of +_Edentata_, as represented in the recent period. + + +THE POYOU, OR YELLOW-FOOTED ARMADILLO.[75] + +This little Armadillo, which in captivity and in the natural state is +remarkable for its boldness and restlessness, is a native of Brazil +and especially of Paraguay, where it is common. It has a large, flat, +nearly triangular top to its head, the face is short, the muzzle +obtuse, and the ears erect and of moderate size. It has sharp little +eyes. It measures about sixteen inches from the nose to the tail, and +this is about seven or eight inches long. The number of movable bands +is often six, but this is not the invariable number, for there may +be seven or eight. The tail is surrounded, at its base, with three +or four bony rings, and throughout the rest of its length is nearly +covered with regular tuberculous scales, the separations between the +bands showing some long bristly grey hairs. The body is flat and +broad, and has short legs, and the creature runs with a very active +and determined gait. It is a strong little thing, and it is said that +when it is chased, it will often get away from a man by sheer speed and +activity. When any noise is made at the entrance of its burrow, or if +it is teased by spectators around its cage, it comes forth and grunts +like a Pig, and looks at the disturber with a bold inquiring look. +When it is attacked it is powerless, and seems incapable of making any +defence, but it retreats to its burrow, and getting to the bottom of +it, digs deeper still. Its power of burrowing does not seem to be much +diminished by the limited rotation of the fore-arm, to which there is +no pronator quadratus, but a well-developed pronator teres. + +[Illustration: POYOU.] + +The Poyou feeds much on carrion, and for this reason its flesh, though +fat, is never eaten by the inhabitants of European origin, though +the Indians make no distinction in this respect between it and other +Armadillos. When it stops or rests, it has a custom of squatting close +to the ground like a Hare on her form, and in this position the great +breadth of the body becomes apparent. + +The hinder shield has two hairs on the hinder side of each of its +dorsal scales, and the under part of the body has scattered bristles on +it. The female has two pectoral mammæ. + +The next two Armadillos to be noticed were formerly included in the +same group as the Poyou, but as they have not the incisor teeth on the +intermaxillary bones, they are placed in the sub-division _Euphractes_. + + +THE PELUDO, OR HAIRY ARMADILLO.[76] + +The long, silky, half bristly, abundant black hairs of this little +Armadillo are the principal characteristics, which separate it, so +far as its external construction is concerned, from the Poyou just +noticed. It is smaller, however, the head measuring nearly four inches +in length, and the whole body about two inches less than _Dasypus +sexcintus_. The ears are long, large, and elliptical, and are pointed +outwards, and the muzzle is broad. The forehead is broad and covered +with rugged scales. The bands are six or seven in number, and the +border of the shield, as well as that of the movable bands below, is +indented in a remarkable manner, and forms sharp, regular points. There +are eight teeth on each side, above and below, and the body, hairy as +it is, is much scaled interiorly and on the limbs. The tail is long +and slender, and only hairy at the root. This species does not inhabit +Paraguay, nor probably is it found in the Brazils, but it exists in +multitudes in the Pampas north of the Rio Plata, and Mr. Darwin noticed +it in Chili. Its habits, according to that most accurate observer, +are nocturnal, but D’Azara, to whom natural history owes very careful +descriptions, states that “in an expedition which I made into the +interior, between the parallels of 35° and 36° south latitude, I met +with vast multitudes of this species of Armadillo, so that there was +scarcely an individual of the party who did not daily capture one or +two at least; for, unlike the Poyou, which moves abroad only at night, +this animal is to be found at all times, and if alarmed, promptly +conceals himself, if not intercepted. In March and April, when I saw +them, they were so extremely fat that their flesh surfeited and palled +the appetite; notwithstanding which, the pioneers and soldiers ate them +roasted, and preferred them to beef and veal. This Hairy Armadillo, +like others of the genus, has undoubtedly a very acute sense of smell, +since it scents the carcases of dead Horses from a great distance, and +runs to devour them; but as it is unable to penetrate the hide, it +burrows under the body until it finds a place which the moisture of +the soil has already begun to render soft and putrid. Here it makes +an entrance with its claws, and eats its way into the interior, where +it continues feasting on the putrid flesh, till nothing remains but +the hide and bones, and so perfectly do these preserve their position, +that it is impossible, from a mere external view, to anticipate the +operations which the Armadillos have been carrying on within.” The same +author states that this species never constructs burrows to reside +in, that it avoids low, damp situations, and is found only on the dry +upland plains. Probably there is more than one Hairy Armadillo. + + +THE PICHIY.[77] + +This little Armadillo is only fourteen inches long, tail included; its +scaling is very handsome, and there are six or seven bands according to +the individual and age. The head is covered with close scales, which +are elliptical behind, and concealed under the others in front, and the +whole top has a triangular outline, hiding the eye much. The scales +on the front shield are large, and are hexagonal or pentagonal, and +the croup shield has the angular endings noticed in the last species. +The scales of the bands and of the shields generally are beautifully +ornamented with lines, depressions, and little tubercles, which are +more or less concentric. There is some hair on the long neck, and on +the legs and tail. The five digits and claws on the fore limbs are +moderately developed, for the thumb is very small, and the fourth +finger only a little longer. But the index is long, with a short claw, +and the second has a stouter and longer claw, and the third is shorter. +It has a slender snout and small ears. + +Mr. Darwin writes that it “prefers a very dry soil and the sandy dunes +of the coast of Chili, where for many months it can never taste water. +In soft soil, the animal burrows so quickly that its hind quarters +would almost disappear before one could alight from one’s horse.” It +also inhabits the Pampas to the south of Buenos Ayres, and extends from +36° lat. southward to the confines of Patagonia. It inhabits burrows, +to which, however, it does not confine itself during the day. Its +flesh is said to be remarkably tender and well tasting. It is a hardy +species, and can live in the dreary solitudes of Port Desire on the +east coast. + +The Cachicames, another group of Armadillos, were so called after the +Indian name for a black kind, which has a very long tail, and which is +the type of it. + +The two kinds included in the group have four fingers, and five toes, +which are separate, and the backs of the feet are round and covered +with scales. The claws are conical, and the animal walks, as it were, +on the toes more than on the sole, being thus digitigrade. The teeth +number about eight on each side above and below. + + +THE PEBA, OR BLACK TATOU.[78] + +This Armadillo has a very wide geographical range, extending from +Texas, through Central America to Guiana, Brazil, and Paraguay, and a +variety called _Dasypus Kappleri_ inhabits Surinam. It has great ears, +which are long and placed very close together, and the muzzle at the +end of the long, tapering face is not unlike that of the snout of a +Hog in shape. The head is small, long, and straight, but the mouth is +large. There are eight teeth on both sides of both jaws. The body is +hairy below the shields and bands, which are largely developed. Then +the neck and shoulder shield extends far back and comes as low as the +elbow, and is composed of numerous scales disposed in many concentric +rings, having the concavity in front, the first embracing the neck in +its curve. The croup shield extends from the back to the origin of the +tail, and reaches as low as the knees, and the concavity of its rings +is turned towards the rear, the last embracing the tail. These scales +are hexagons. Between the shields the bands are marked with zigzag +lines forming very acute angles, and in some degree gliding over one +another according to the movements of the animal. Out of fourteen +specimens, two had six, one had seven, seven had eight, and there were +four with nine bands; the full-grown ones have the greatest number. +The head shield descends from the ears to the muzzle, and covers the +cheeks as far down as the eyes, and there are small, interspersed, +detached scales over the throat, the under jaw, the legs, and feet. The +body is sixteen inches long, and the tail is nearly as long--fourteen +inches--and is stout at the root. One variety of the species has some +of the rings of the tail soldered into a case, which is used as a horn +by the Indians. It is a timid, nocturnal animal, tolerably swift-footed +and very expert in burrowing. It is never found in the woods, but +delights in the open plains and cultivated fields, and is much hunted +on account of the delicacy of the flesh, which, when roasted in the +shell, is fat, and something better than Sucking-pig in taste. These +long-tailed Armadillos bury garbage and flesh in their burrows, and eat +it at their leisure. + +Another species of this group is the Mule Armadillo (_Dasypus +hybridus_, Desmarest), which has long, straight ears and a short +tail. It roams farther north than the other kind, and is common on +the Pampas, and is not nocturnal, nor does it burrow very easily. The +female has from eight to twelve young at a birth, and the individuals +of a litter are often of one sex. + +The Armadillos of all kinds, it is said, only have one litter a year, +and then the young are numerous, but the mother has never more than +four teats, and many have only two. + + * * * * * + +The last group of the Armadillos, the _Tolypeutes_, contains some +remarkable species, which have the power of rolling themselves up as in +a ball-shape, and they walk in a most extraordinary manner on the tip +of long and powerful front claws, and also on the flat and tip of the +hind ones. + + +THE BALL ARMADILLO.[79] + +This is a small and very beautifully ornamented Armadillo, which has +three free central bands and a short tail, with large fore and aft +shields. It rolls itself up on the slightest alarm, so that the great +shoulder and croup shields meet, the head and tail fitting in exactly, +in front, so as to close up the body very safely. The little animal, +which is rarely more than fifteen inches long, and has a tail of a +couple of inches in length, is found in Brazil, Paraguay, and Buenos +Ayres, and its walking on the long, stout claws of the fore legs gives +it a very curious and unsteady appearance. + +It is an active, sprightly, light-footed little thing, according to Dr. +Murie, and is constantly on the move, going here and there with much +vivacity. Poising itself on tiptoe, it trots backwards and forwards as +if on some urgent errand. In captivity the food was raw meat, boiled +eggs, and bread-and-milk. In the forest land, where it dwells along +with its fellow armoured creatures, it has the advantage of being able +to curl itself up, and to present no tangible part of its body to the +host of mischievous Monkeys of its locality. The other Armadillos, +when retiring to their holes, are often set upon by their lively +quadrumanous neighbours, and are dragged out by the tail with great +gusto; but the little Tolypeutes curls himself up and laughs at the +disappointed Monkeys, who can find nothing to pull at about him. + +[Illustration: BALL ARMADILLO.] + +The shoulder shield comes down like a flap, far in front, and the croup +extends behind in the same way, and they and the bands have large +scales, which are very pretty in shape and ornament. The shields are +very stout, and so is the skeleton within. The fore foot has three +large clawed toes, on the tips of which the animal walks. The thumb of +the fore extremity is to be seen in the skeleton, but is not always +visible in the skin, and it is very small and high up; the index is +long, and the claw also, and it is slightly bent, but sharp at the +tip. The next claw is the largest and longest, and has a cutting edge +at the back and outer part, and the point is sharp. The next digit is +smaller. In the hind foot there are five toes, one being high up and +rudimentary, and the second and third having broad, flat, curved, short +nails, the third being the greatest. The fourth nail is smaller, and +they are all placed more or less flatly on the ground. + +The shell of this Armadillo is blackish-brown, and the skin between +the central bands is bald and smooth. There are nine back teeth on +each side in both jaws, and there are none in front. The muscles which +enable this Armadillo to bring its tail and nose together and to +form a ball shape, are not simply expansions of the common muscular +tissue, which exists deeply in the skin in so many animals, but are +special structures. The most important are in relation to the position +of the head, neck, limbs, tail, and the shields and bands, when +the body is about to be and while it is being rolled up; and these +roller-up muscles are so arranged as to permit of the large liver and +other internal organs not suffering pressure during their natural or +temporary displacement. On the other hand, the unrollers act when the +body and bones are in the rolled-up condition. The muscles of the back +are very tendinous, and to a degree they unroll the animal, but this +is also performed by muscles which are attached underneath the first +movable band of armour, and to the front part of the spine of the +blade bone; this will tend, when it contracts, to pull out the legs +and protrude the fore part of the body, the centre being still rigid. +Another drawer-back of the bladebone assists in this action, and it +is inserted into the front or chest shield. The rolling up is done by +the action of muscles which draw the nose down, so as to make the long +head at right angles to the neck; then the fore-legs and bladebones are +drawn in and up. At the same time, the muscles which pull down the tail +act on the hind shield, and draw it down and forwards. The legs are +pulled up, and then a great muscle, which is largely attached to the +front and hind shields, and has a tendon-like expansion in the middle +of its course beneath the movable bands, contracts and pulls front and +stern together. The muscles of the loins, which in jumping animals +bring the spine to a curve, do not act, and indeed are excessively +small. The chief bend in the back is between the second and third +lumbar vertebræ. (Murie.) + + +GENUS CHLAMYDOPHORUS.--THE PICHICIAGO.[80] + +[Illustration: PICHICIAGO.] + +This is an Edentate animal, resembling the Armadillos more than any +others, and is about six inches in length. It has a conical-shaped +head, a large full chest, short clumsy powerful fore limbs, with +four great nails rising gradually one above the other, the external +shortest, and broadest; and the whole so arranged as to form a +sharp-cutting instrument, rather scooped, and very convenient for +progression under ground. The back and croup are broad and high, +and the tail is small. The hind legs are weak and short, the feet +being long and narrow, and there is a well-defined heel. The foot is +arched, the toes are separate, and the nails are strong. The whole +surface of the body is covered with fine silk-like hair, which covers +over the limbs on to the palms. But the most striking peculiarity is +the long-banded shell, which is loose as it were throughout, being +attached to the back immediately above the spine by cellular tissue. +It rests on two knobs on the frontal bones, and these are the great +attachments of this important covering. There are twenty-four bands and +no separate shields, and their consistence is somewhat more dense than +leather of the same thickness. They are composed of scales or plates of +geometrical form, and the bands are separated by skin. There is a notch +in the last band for the tail, and the free inferior edges of the bands +are everywhere fringed with silky hair. This elongated band structure +is moved, to a certain extent, by two broad thin muscles, which are +beneath it, on the back, and each of which divides, on approaching the +shoulder, into two portions, one being attached to the bladebone, and +the other to the occiput. + +The ear is hidden by hair, and is small; so also is the eye, which is +black. The nostrils open downwards, at the inferior border of a large +cartilage. The mouth is small, and there are eight teeth on both sides +in both jaws. They are simple molars, and are separate and cylindrical. +The head is large behind, and the jaws come almost to a point, and +the lower has a long ascending ramus. A great passage for the spinal +cord, and the two processes on the frontal bone, add to the curious +appearance of this “bumpy” skull. The pelvis is remarkable in its +structure, and is open in front. + +Some of these animals have the bands of the armour not attached, as has +been mentioned, to the muscles of the back and to the head, but have +them adherent to the skin of the back to the edge; and the sides and +under part of the body are then covered with woolly hair. These are the +largest animals of the two, and are found in Bolivia. The others are +from Mendoza and Chili. These curious animals live, partly, mole-like +lives. + + * * * * * + +From what may be gleaned by reading the previous pages about the +Edentates, it will appear that the order is a very remarkable one, and +that it is interesting on account of the different external appearance +of the species, their diverse modes of life, and singularly restricted +localities. Evidently, there has been much degeneration in some of +the anatomical characters of many of the species, and especially in +those whose foot bones and neck vertebræ have joined more or less. The +singular resemblance which some species present, in various points of +their anatomy, to the lower animals, is very interesting, as is also +their wonderful relation, in points of structure, with a number of +extinct Edentata, most of which were gigantic. + +The Edentata, called also Bruta by Linnæus, form an order, the +characters of which are, that there are teeth of one or two kinds all +very similar, and often wanting. The incisors are not developed except +in one group, and the rest have either molars which are separate, and +numerous and simple, or there are none. The extremities are clawed, and +the tongue is more or less elongated. The great groups of this order +are the _Tardigrada_, or slow movers, which have a short face, long +limbs, and small tail, and the body is covered with crisp hair; and the +_Effodientia_, or diggers, which have long faces and worm-like tongues, +with short limbs. + +The Sloths form the only family of the Tardigrada, and the Effodientia +are divided into the genera _Manis_, the scaly Ant-eaters; _Dasypus_, +the Armadillos; _Chlamydophorus_, the Pichiciagos; _Orycteropus_, the +Ant-Bears; and _Myrmecophaga_, the American Ant-eaters. The Sloths form +three genera--_Cholœpus_, _Bradypus_, and _Arctopithecus_. Amongst the +Ant-eaters, the genus _Manis_ may stand alone. The genus _Dasypus_ +may be divided, for the sake of convenience, into the subdivisions +Priodontes, Kabassous, Euphractes, Cachicames, and Tolypeutes. The +other genera need no subdivision. + +The fossil Edentata are mostly gigantic, and formerly lived in Europe +and in the Americas. The European kinds would, were they now living, +belong probably to the group of Pangolins, and they are placed in the +extinct genera _Pervatherium_, _Macrotherium_, and _Ancylotherium_. +In the Pliocene deposits of North America, there are large Edentates +belonging to the genus _Morotherium_, and the previous Miocene +deposits contain _Moropus_. The later, or Post-Pliocene strata of +North and South America, contain species of _Mylodon_ and _Megalonyx_, +_Megatherium_, _Scelidotherium_, _Cœlodon_, and _Sphenodon_; they +constitute a group of Terrestrial Sloths--the Gravigrada. In Cuba, +the fossil huge Gravigrade Sloths are of the genera _Megalocnus_ and +_Myomorphus_. The Armadillo group are found fossil in South America, +and the genera are _Chlamydotherium_, _Euryodon_, _Heterodon_, +_Pachytherium_, and _Schistopleuron_. The modern genera are found +with these, and the gigantic Armadillo-like animal, the Glyptodon, +lived contemporaneously with the others, and possessed many strange +peculiarities in its skeleton. The Ant-eaters are represented by +a fossil form called _Glossotherium_. The oldest Edentates of the +American Continent are found in North America, unless there is a +Miocene group of them in South America, which is by no means an +improbable supposition. The European Ant-eaters now found fossil lived +in the Eocene, Miocene, and Pliocene ages. + +With regard to the discovery of recent and closely-allied species +of _Manis_, in South Africa and Hindostan, it may be said that they +are relics of the old forms of the intermediate and now sunken land, +between Eastern Africa and India, which existed before the last +upheaval of the Himalayas. The evident structural affinity between the +Effodient Edentata of South America and Africa, although the genera +are different, adds to the interest of the corresponding, and in some +instances greater, resemblance of many African and South American +fresh-water fish and plants. The geologist looks back in the remote +ages of the globe, when the great land surfaces and seas of the world +were rather across the earth than in their present longitudinal +position, in order to explain this remarkable similarity. + + P. MARTIN DUNCAN. + +[Illustration: GREAT KANGAROO.] + + + + +ORDER MARSUPIALIA, MARSUPIAL OR POUCHED ANIMALS. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +SUB-ORDER MARSUPIATA.--THE KANGAROO AND WOMBAT FAMILIES. + + THE GREAT KANGAROO--Captain Cook and the Great + Kangaroo--Habitat--Appearance of the Animal--Marsupials separated + from the other Mammalian Orders, and why (Footnote)--Gestation + and Birth of Young (Footnote)--Mode of Running--The Short Fore + Limbs--The _Marsupium_, or Pouch--Head--Dentition--Peculiarities + in the Teeth--Hind Extremities--Foot--Great Claw--How the + Erect Position is maintained--Whence their Jumping Power is + derived--Other Skeletal Peculiarities--Kangaroo Hunts--Becoming + Rarer--Mode of Attack and Defence--Hands--Bones of the Fore + Limbs--Skull--Stomach--Circulation of Blood--Peculiarity in + Young--Nervous System not fully developed--Brain--The Baby Kangaroo + in the Pouch--THE HARE KANGAROO--THE GREAT ROCK KANGAROO--THE RED + KANGAROO--THE BRUSH KANGAROO--THE BRUSH-TAILED ROCK KANGAROO--THE + COMMON TREE KANGAROO--THE KANGAROO-RATS--Characteristics--THE + RAT-TAILED HYPSIPRYMNUS--Description--THE WOMBAT FAMILY--THE + WOMBAT--Peculiarities--Description--Habits--Teeth--Skeleton. + + +I. THE KANGAROO FAMILY.[81]--THE GREAT KANGAROO.[82] + +In the year A.D. 1770, the great circumnavigator, Captain +Cook, was on the coast of New South Wales repairing his ship, and a +party of sailors were sent on land, to procure food for the sick. They +saw an animal whose description tempted Cook himself, and also Mr. +Banks (afterwards Sir Joseph Banks), to land and go in pursuit of it +the next day. The animal was seen in company with others of its kind, +and its short front limbs, great hind legs, and huge tail, and the +tremendous hops it made in its very fleet course, quite bore out the +statements of the astonished crew. They had seen, for the first time, +the Great Kangaroo in its wild condition and on its own ground. Soon +afterwards a specimen was shot, and notes were made about the creature, +and some skins were brought over to Europe. + +The animal has now become familiar to the civilised world. It is, +however, gradually receding before the Australian colonist and +squatter; but formerly it roamed all over the plains of New South +Wales, Southern and Western Australia, Queensland, and Van Diemen’s +Land, with only the aborigines for its enemies. It is called Bundaary +and Bullucur by the natives of the Liverpool range and Murray, and the +name Kangaroo is a mistaken native one. + +On looking at one of the Great Kangaroos in some menagerie or +zoological garden, the first peculiarities that strike the eye are its +small fore limbs, its very large and long hind ones, and the great and +thick tail. The smallness of the head, which has rather long ears, and +a long dusky brown muzzle, the length of the body, and the comfortable +grey-brown, thick, shortish fur, are then noticed. But the principal +fact which impresses all these things upon the visitor, is that the +female may have a little Kangaroo with its head poked out of a kind of +pouch in the under part of the body. Sometimes the little one jumps out +and gets in again if it is frightened, and the old one moves, hops, and +jumps about, with its portable nursery, with the greatest ease.[83] + +Sometimes the Kangaroos may be seen feeding, and then the awkwardness +of their gait becomes evident; for the small fore legs and curious +paws are on or very close to the ground, whilst the back part of the +body is raised up by the long hind legs, and, as it were, balanced by +the great tail. These hind legs seem to do nearly all the running, or +rather jumping, both being used together; and the tail is of use in +supporting the long body when the animal suddenly raises itself up +straight, and squats on its hind quarters. The small front legs then +appear quite stunted, and the ears stick up, and the small head is held +straight. But in slow walking, the fore feet are placed on the ground, +and the animal rests on them whilst it brings the long hind quarters +forward and outside them. Evidently the senses of hearing and sight are +very acute; but they are used to warn the animal of danger, rather than +to urge it to attack, for it is a feeder on herbs, leaves, and grass, +and often may be seen reclining and moving its jaws, as if it were +chewing the cud after a fashion. + +When moving with great velocity, the Kangaroo depends upon the hind +limbs alone, bounding along with great ease, over ten, fifteen, or more +feet at a jump. Its body is then carried almost horizontally, and the +tail is stuck out as if to balance it. + +[Illustration: SKELETON OF THE GREAT KANGAROO.] + +If the short fore limbs are examined, they will be noticed to be able +to do a great deal in the way of holding, clasping, and turning things +about, and they are used in patting the little ones, and in embracing +and cleaning them. The five digits, or fingers, have a very free +movement, and the fore arm can twist and turn like that of the higher +animals; that is to say, it is capable of pronation and supination. +The first digit, or thumb, has two joints (phalanges), and the other +four have three; and the five curved claws (the third and fourth being +large) are useful weapons of offence. But they and the fingers are +often used for very different purposes, and they have, in the female, +to open the curious pouch for the young ones, and to place them there. +There is an evident relation between the arrangement of the bones of +the wrist and this necessary office or function. The _marsupium_, +or pouch, is a kind of inbending of the skin of the lower part of +the belly, and is moist and naked inside. In it, in the females, +are the nipples of the mammary glands, and to these the very young +Kangaroos[84] hang on for a long time, before they see the outer world. +They are put in there by the mother, when they are just born, and when +very small and not perfectly formed. They grow there, and after a +while, leave the nipple when they think fit. As this pouch, with its +contents, would drag upon the mother, it is kept from doing so, more +or less, by two bones which are found amongst the muscles of the lower +part of the body, and which are attached to the front or pubic bones +of the pelvis. They are called marsupial bones. They exist also in +the males, but they have no open pouch, for it is, as it were, turned +outwards, and contains part of the reproductive organs. + +The head is long, and is remarkable for the long nose, and large +full eyes, with eyelashes, for the Kangaroo is not nocturnal in its +habits, like most of the Marsupials. The upper lip is split, the end +of the nose or muffle is naked or hairy according to the kind, and the +brain-case is small. The nostrils are at the side of the end of the +muzzle, and are slit-like and oblique, and there are bristly “smellers” +to the fleshy lips and chin. A slender tongue is sometimes seen for an +instant whilst the Kangaroo is feeding, and if the bones of the jaws be +examined, the angle, or lower part of the back of the lower jaw, will +be found to be turned inwards. + +The long jaws have not very many teeth, and there are two large lower +front ones, or lower incisors, which project in a line with the lower +jaw; they are horizontal and more or less pointed, but have an outer +and inner cutting edge. The upper incisors, six in number, or three on +each side of the middle line, are placed on the pre-maxillary bone, and +they work up and down. They are broad and have the cutting edge below, +and the outer one, on each side, is broad, grooved, and complicated by +one or two folds of its enamel, which are continued from the outer side +of the tooth obliquely forward and inward. There is a space or diastema +behind the incisors. There are four premolars, one on each side of both +jaws, and then follow four molar teeth above and below and on both +sides of the mouth. The dental formula is thus--Incisors, (3-3)/(1-1); +premolars, (1-1)/(1-1); molars, (4-4)/(4-4) = 28. There are no canine +teeth in the adults, but their germs may be found in the very young +Kangaroos. As the Kangaroo is a vegetable feeder, and delights in +grass, leaves, and herbs, its teeth are eminently of a non-carnivorous +kind. It may be remarked that when the mouth is closed, the cutting +edges of the upper incisors come against the outer cutting edge of the +long front teeth of the lower jaw. The true molars increase in size +from front backwards; and the crown of each molar is squarish, but is +longer than broad, and it has two principal cross ridges, which, when +not worn, are tall, and have sharp edges. Besides these, there are two +other transverse ridges which are smaller and not so tall. One of these +is on the front part of the tooth, and the other on the hinder (in the +upper molars only). Then there is a long ridge which connects the cross +ones. They are all covered with enamel. When the tooth is worn, we find +it presenting, according to Mr. Waterhouse,[85] two powerful loops or +folds. On comparing these teeth with those of the herbivorous mammalia +already noticed, a remarkable difference will be seen. + +[Illustration: TEETH OF THE GREAT KANGAROO. + +(A) Upper and Lower Jaw; (B) Upper Molar; (C) Lower Molar.] + +The hinder extremities consist of a nearly straight, long, cylindrical +bone, the femur, which has a hemispherical joint head, and a large +trochanter, which reaches above the joint; of two leg bones--the tibia, +which is prismatic above and cylindrical below, but with only a slight +inner ankle projection, and the fibula, which is distinct but thinned +and concave in its lower half, where it is close and attached to the +other bone, and forms the outer ankle projection. To these are added +the bones of the ankle-joint and the clawed toes. The Kangaroo being +a great jumper, and having a great tendon, the analogue of the tendo +achillis of man, has a powerful projecting process of the hinder ankle +bone for its attachment. But the great length of the foot is produced +by the size of the fourth and fifth or two outer toes, and especially +of the fourth, which often reaches a foot in length, including the +metatarsal bone behind, and the pointed claw in front. The great +claw looks like a long hoof, is three-sided and sharp-pointed like a +bayonet, and with it the animal stabs and rips open the body of its +opponent.[86] The outer claw is very small, and there is no great toe +(or first), but the second and third are long and slender, and are +united in a common skin, so as to look like a single toe with a double +nail, the hair coming to the roots of it. The long narrow foot is +nearly as long as the leg bones, and is admirably adapted for jumping +forwards, as well as sideways, and for supporting, when the legs are +widely separated, the weight of the erect body. The body in that +position has the leg bones straight, the thigh bones oblique, and +the pelvis and spine erect, the great tail being a prop behind. Owen +remarks that in man it is the massive and expanded muscles of the back +of the pelvis and upper part of the thigh, or the gluteal muscles,[87] +which are the chief structures in maintaining the erect posture. But +in the Kangaroo, the narrow bones of the haunch could not afford +attachment to great gluteal muscles; so a muscle which is but slightly +formed in man, and is called the little psoas, is greatly developed +in the Kangaroo, and has evidently the power of maintaining the erect +posture, although it is situate within the body and in front of the +spine. The great jumping power is due to the leverage of the ankle and +long toes, and the muscles which supply the tendon already mentioned, +and others which have the same office. These are of great strength +and size, and there are some accessory muscles to the thigh and leg. +The long spine of the back has powerful processes, and the jar of the +great jumps is received by two vertebræ which, anchylosed or united +together, form the sacrum. The tail is made up of many vertebræ, and +covered with muscles. The great blood-vessels running underneath it +have many chevron, or V-shaped, bones, to protect them from pressure. +The marsupial bones, one on each side, are long, and broad below; they +are movable on the pubis, and afford attachment to muscular fibres, act +as a pulley for others, and strengthen the walls of the abdomen. Formed +within muscles and tendons, they are rather bony growths than parts of +the true skeleton, and hence they may be absent in some of the order, +although they are always present in the Kangaroos. + +Although well provided with strong limbs and muscles, and acute senses, +the Kangaroos living the life of the deer and cattle of other regions +than Australia, are subject to the attacks of beasts of prey and +hunters. In Australia the great Carnivora do not exist, but there is a +native dog, the Dingo, aborigines, and trained dogs and colonists, who +enjoy a Kangaroo hunt. The native dogs stalk and run them down, the +natives spear them after sometimes forming a great circle and closing +in and yelling and shouting. But the rifle and trained hounds have +dislodged many more than the natives, and the animals are becoming +scarcer near the settlements than in former years. Dogs which run +by sight afford many an exciting hunt, and the Kangaroo starts off, +bounding at a great rate, and clearing all sorts of impediments with +ease. It is hard riding to keep up with the chase, and especially in +hot weather, when the Kangaroo often escapes, thanks to its greater +powers of endurance. Sometimes the Kangaroo will stand at bay, and will +rip up a solitary Dog with its claws, or will kill with a single blow +of the leg and tail. Three or more Dogs are usually laid on, one more +fleet than the others, to “pull” the Kangaroo, while the others rush +in and kill it. Mr. Gould[88] says that it sometimes adopts a singular +mode of defending itself, by clasping its short, powerful fore limbs +round its antagonist, leaping away with it to the nearest water hole, +and then keeping it beneath the water until drowned. + +Mr. R. Foulerton, who has paid some attention to the habits of the +Marsupials, writes that the Great Kangaroo, although its numbers have +been greatly diminished in some pastoral districts, still is numerous +enough to render some runs almost worthless for pastoral purposes. They +may be seen there in thousands, eating off all the best grass, and in +the bad seasons reducing the cattle to starving point. They have few +enemies but man, as even the native Dog will never attack them, unless +they are very young. An “old man” Kangaroo is a formidable opponent; he +will severely wound and even kill a man, unless approached cautiously. +Their mode of attack is to “hug” him bear fashion, and then rip him +with the hind foot. When pursued, they generally take to the water, +and there stand at bay, and the luckless man or dog who gets within +their grasp is forced under the water, and held there until drowned. +The middle-aged Kangaroos, or Flyers, easily outstrip the hunting Dogs +at the start, but they are gradually gained upon. When caught, the +Kangaroo fights to the last. + +The diminutive fore limbs are separated by narrow shoulders, and +although the upper arm is short and well furnished with muscles, the +fore arm is long, slender, but very movable. The hand is short and +broad, and there are four curved, sharp claws, the first one, or thumb, +being the smallest, and the third and fourth the largest. The hair +covers over the fingers to the claws, which can separate widely, grasp +and hold, and be bent on the palm. The movements of the wrists and +fore arms are considerable, and a large and long upward-turning muscle +is in the space between the ulna and radius (the bones of the arm). +Moreover, the ulna joints with a cavity in the cuneiform bone of the +wrist; and the first row of wrist bones has three in it, and the second +has four. The first phalanges, or those of the thumb, are not placed +as a thumb in relation to the wrist bones, and it is the outer fingers +that grasp with their claws. As the Kangaroo has to lift up its arm, +there is a collar-bone, and the arm bone (humerus) is perforated on the +inner side of the end above the elbow; and the olecranon is long. + +The bladebone has a curved ridge, and the muscles of the upper part +are less than those which are attached to the part below it. There are +thirteen pairs of ribs to the chest. + +The skull is long and comparatively smooth, and even the ridges for +the temporal muscles are only slightly raised; and in old Kangaroos +the bones do not unite or anchylose as they do in the other Mammalia +hitherto noticed. The teeth are not used as weapons of offence, but +simply to graze with, and the lower jaw is not quite solid at the +chin, but only so below, so that the lower incisors can be slightly +separated. The ear-bone is remarkable for being separated into three +parts, namely, the temporal or squamous, the petrosal, and the +tympanic; and this is rather a reptilian character. Moreover, the +air-chambers of the side of the under part of the skull are in the form +of rounded prominences, or “bullæ.” They are situated in the lower part +of the ear-bone, called squamosal. The zygoma, or process between the +cheek (malar) bone and the ear, is hollow, complete, and arched, its +front part being, moreover, extended downwards in a projection which +reaches below the grinding teeth, and resembles that of the Sloths +somewhat. The lower jaw has its back part, or angle, bent inwards (or +inflected) strongly, and this is, except in one set, a characteristic +of the Marsupiata. + +[Illustration: STOMACH OF THE GREAT KANGAROO. + +([_œ_]) œsophagus; (_in_) intestine.] + +The Kangaroo, being a vegetable feeder, has a stomach suited for the +diet, which also permits of a certain amount of regurgitation of food +up again into the mouth, when a kind of chewing of the cud occasionally +is indulged in. The stomach is large and long, resembling the colon +or large intestine of the highest Mammalia in its general shape. It +measured, in one instance, according to Owen, no less than three feet +six inches, the measurement following its bends or curvatures. It +consists of a left, middle, and right or pyloric division. The left +ends in two round sacs, and these are really continuations of the +stomach separated to a certain extent by a peculiar arrangement of +the three bands of muscular fibres which pass separately along the +organ. Numerous clusters of secreting glands are found in the mucous +membrane of the stomach in its middle part, and they disappear near +the pylorus where the tissues are thick and corrugated. The animal +has a small intestine, a cæcum, and a large gut, but this last is not +much larger than the first part of the stomach. The organs of the +circulation of the blood resemble those of the other Mammalia, but +there is a distinction which relates to the short period during which +the young Kangaroo is a portion of the maternal being. So soon is it +born, and so soon therefore must it breathe, that before the heart has +grown much, it has the blood from the lungs and the rest of the body +running through it. The young Kangaroo breathes when its heart is not +fully developed, yet it has the perfect double circulation set up. The +auricles of the heart communicate as in other Mammals until birth, but +the duration of this communication is very short in the Marsupial, +and its traces so evident in the other Mammals are wanting in it. The +arteries of the body are simpler than in those Mammals which have a +more complicated intestinal arrangement, and Owen, in his great work +on the Marsupials, has pointed out that the hind limbs and tail are +supplied with arterial blood by vessels which have an arrangement not +without its similarity to that of birds. Leading a very simple life, +and one of great sameness, moving in a manner which does not require +much complexity of muscular action, the nervous system of the Kangaroo +could not be expected to be highly organised or fully developed. The +brain is small for the body of the animal. It is simple in form, and +does not cover the cerebellum, which is visible behind, and has a +little lobe on each side. The surface of the brain proper has a few +convolutions on it, and more perhaps than the Rodent Mammalia have. +The commissures of the brain, which relate to the complexity of the +method of life, are unequally developed. The central one, or the corpus +callosum, is small, and the front one is very large. Finally, the part +of the brain which refers to the sense of smell is large, but hidden by +the brain proper, and its nerves supply a large surface in the nose, at +its upper part at the base of its skull. + +[Illustration: BRAIN OF THE GREAT KANGAROO.] + +The young Kangaroo, when very small, and almost transparent, comes down +from the womb into a canal, and gets into the uro-genital sac, as it is +termed. Thence it is taken by the mother, and put into the marsupium, +or pouch, where it fixes on to a nipple, and holds on. As the little +one is ever “at the breast,” it might have any quantity of milk go the +wrong way, but this is provided for by the upper part of the organ +of voice (the larynx) being prolonged at the back of the nose, above +the level of the long nipple. Breathing goes on through the nose, and +swallowing safely through the gullet. + + +THE HARE KANGAROO.[89]--THE TURATT. + +There are many kinds of Kangaroos, and one of them, which is solitary +and nocturnal in its habits, is called the Hare Kangaroo, of which +Mr. Gould writes:--“The name of Hare Kangaroo has been given to this +species as much from its similarity of form and size to the common Hare +as from its similarity of habits. I usually found it solitary, and +sitting alone on a well-formed seat under the stalk of a tuft of grass +on the open plains. For a short distance, its fleetness is beyond that +of all others of its group that I have had an opportunity of coursing. +Its powers of leaping are also equally extraordinary. While out on the +plains in South Australia, I started a Hare Kangaroo before two fleet +Dogs. After running to the distance of a quarter of a mile, it suddenly +doubled and came back to me, the Dogs following close to its heels. I +stood perfectly still, and the animal had arrived within twenty feet +before it observed me, when, to my astonishment, instead of branching +off to the right or to the left, it bounded clear over my head, and, +on descending to the ground, I was able to make a successful shot, by +which it was procured. It has the end of the nose covered with a fine +set of hairs. The fur is long and soft and very hare-like, and it has +small limbs and sharply-pointed nails.” + + +THE GREAT ROCK KANGAROO. + +This is very different from its timid congener just described. It +inhabits the sterile and rocky mountains in the south-eastern part of +Australia. It scampers about the rocks, and readily escapes Dogs, and +it is a dangerous and formidable animal to approach, for it will, if +closely pressed, turn on its enemy, and force him over the rocks. It +bites, and uses its strong fore-arms very efficiently. It is called +_Macropus robustus_, and is often found in companies of four or six; +and it has more powerful fore-limbs than the Great Kangaroo, which is +even sometimes the smaller of the two. It has the part of the nose +called the muffle without hair. + +THE RED KANGAROO[90] is so called from the red tint of the +male, which is sometimes marked under the neck and elsewhere. It was +found in the plains near the Darling and Murrumbidgee rivers, and is +celebrated for its great fleetness; and the female is often called +the “Flying Doe.” It is as fast as the Agile Kangaroo,[91] which is +long-haired, and is found in Northern and Eastern Australia. + +Van Diemen’s Land has a Kangaroo with a long, deep-grey fur, with red +on the back of the ears, neck, and shoulders; and it is called the +Brush Kangaroo by the settlers. It is eaten and highly esteemed, and +its skin is exported for leather. Liking the dense and damp forests of +the island, it finds a safe retreat therein, and probably this is what +keeps them from extinction, for they have been killed by the thousand, +in order to supply contracts for boot-leather. The young of this +Kangaroo, which is also called after Bennett the naturalist (_Macropus +Bennetti_), does not leave the pouch of its mother permanently, until +it is as large as a Rabbit. + +In the north of Australia, in the region of King George’s Sound, there +is a small Kangaroo which is not larger than a common Rabbit, and it is +a very interesting example of how species may differ from the type of a +genus. It has a slender and rather short tail, which is rather scaly, +and has but a few hairs on it, but it is not very short. The ears are +short and round, and the hind feet are short. The departure from the +configuration of the Great and Brush Kangaroo shape is therefore great. +It is called the Short-tailed Kangaroo. The last four kinds mentioned +are grouped together with others under a sub-genus, _Halmaturus_ (ἅλμα, +a leap, and οὐρά, a tail). + + +THE BRUSH-TAILED ROCK KANGAROO. + +[Illustration: BRUSH-TAILED ROCK KANGAROO.] + +Almost as strange as the slender-tailed Kangaroo are those which +are called the “brush-tailed,” and which inhabit rocky situations +(_Macropus penicillatus_). Mr. Waterhouse thus notices them:-- + +“Whilst the Kangaroos of the plain have the fore part of the body +slender and light, great strength in the hinder parts, combined with +a long leg and foot, adapting them to fleetness, the tail powerful, +and assisting in the support of the long body, we perceive certain +modifications in the form and structure of these parts in the Rock +Kangaroos which adapt them to their particular habitats. The body, more +compact in form, requires but little assistance from the tail for its +support, the leverage being less; and the feet are, though powerful, +comparatively short, and remarkably rough beneath, being thickly +covered over this part with hard tubercles, which no doubt prevent +the foot from slipping. The nails of the two larger toes are shorter +than usual, and, indeed, in some of the species, scarcely project +beyond the fleshy pads with which the toes are terminated, and on the +upper surface of which the nails are placed. A long and slender foot, +with long nails, as in the typical Kangaroos, it is obvious, would be +ill-adapted to an animal which has to leap to and balance itself upon +the small ledges of the rocks. The tail is large, but not thickened +at the root, as in the plain Kangaroos; and, unlike the tail in those +animals, it is clothed with long hairs, which, gradually increasing +in length from the base of the tail, become very long and bushy at +the opposite extremity. It serves to steady the animal in its leaps, +and to balance the body when perched in situations which require it, +but is of little assistance in supporting the weight of the trunk. +Its muffle, that is to say, the end of the nose, is naked, as in the +scrub-inhabiting Kangaroos just noticed, and it forms the type of the +sub-genus _Heteropus_” (ἕτερος, altered, πούς, foot). + +One of these was hunted and shot amongst the woods of Liverpool plains, +New South Wales, by Sir Edward Parry, who wrote that they appear to be +gregarious, and seem to prefer the neighbourhood of rocky ground, in +which they had holes, and to which, when hunted, they retreated. They +swarm along in groups one after the other, and jump from side to side, +alighting on ledges so slightly prominent that their resting thereon +appears to be an impossibility. They go into caves and holes in the +rocks during the day, and they enjoy the night, and gambol and feed by +moonlight. + +A Rock Kangaroo, with white and black bands on it, inhabits Western +Australia, and a short-eared kind enjoys the hot sands and high rocks +of Hanover Bay. There is a Kangaroo in the island of New Guinea +(_Macropus Brunii_), and it was the first seen by Europeans. + + +THE COMMON TREE KANGAROO.[92] + +[Illustration: COMMON TREE KANGAROO.] + +This is an inhabitant of New Guinea, and instead of frequenting the +brush and scrub, which are not physical features found in the island, +or the rocks, it lives in the forests, and is no mean but rather a +good climber of trees. There is a Kangaroo look about the animal, even +when it is seated on a thick branch, but the fur is very different to +that of its fellows of Australia. The fur looks coarse and harsh, and +is not very unlike that of a Bear. There is no soft under fur, but all +the hairs are long and resemble the long ones of the Kangaroos, and +the ears are quite clothed with it. Then, as the animal glides down +the stem of a tree, the shortness of the hind legs becomes apparent; +moreover, the claws on the foot do not resemble those of the Kangaroo. +The feet are stout but rather short, and the toes are more equal in +size than in the other Kangaroos. The claw of the outer toe is often +on a line with the middle of the longest one (the fourth), whilst the +nails of the double inner toe extend slightly beyond its base. The +nail of this large fourth toe is about an inch in length. Then the +fore limbs are nearly as large as the hind ones, and are very strongly +made, and so are the hands, the claw of the middle finger being +three-quarters of an inch in length. It has a clumsy-looking head, with +a high muzzle and small lower jaw. The upper lip is straight. It has +a large face and small ears, and the colour of the fur is brown-black +and yellow-brown. The tail is very long, tapers slightly, and is +considerably of use in steadying the climber, and it is carried very +much after the fashion of the other Kangaroos when the animal has +come down from its tree and hops off to its retreat. A specimen in the +Zoological Gardens of London had grizzled-grey fur, whiter underneath +the jaws and on the neck and limbs, and the ears were wide apart, and +the powerful fore limbs ended in five claws. The tail tapered but +very little. This was probably a second species called the Brown Tree +Kangaroo (_Dendrolagus inustus_). + +These Tree Kangaroos have a small superior canine tooth on each side, +and the hinder incisor is not grooved. Hence they form a sub-genus, +which is called _Dendrolagus_ (δένδρον, a tree, λαγός, a hare), Tree +Hare. + + +THE KANGAROO-RATS.[93] + +[Illustration: KANGAROO-RAT.] + +These are also called Potoroos, and are of small size, being about +that of a Hare or Rabbit. They have a compact body, the neck being +short, and the ears are rather rounded, so that their shape is unlike +that of the Great Kangaroo, but it resembles that of the smaller +kinds somewhat. They have a rat-like shape, both hind feet like the +Kangaroos, a long tail, and peculiar teeth. The head is very like that +of a Rodent, and the incisor teeth in the upper jaw have the front ones +the longest. The canine teeth exist in the upper jaw, and the premolar +is large, and has numerous distinct vertical grooves on the outer and +inner sides; and the front molars are the largest, the smallest being +in the rear. The toes of the fore foot are unevenly developed; the +three central ones are large, and those at the side are small. The +nails are solid, broadest above, and much compressed. The foot is long, +and the fourth toe and nail are greatly developed. The fifth toe is +next in size, and the small second and third are coupled together by +skin, and form a projection, with two small nails, which are useful in +combing and scratching the fur. The first toe is absent. The Rufous +Kangaroo-Rat inhabits New South Wales, and is very common.[94] Its nest +is made up of grasses, and is frequently placed under the shelter of +a fallen tree, or at the foot of some low shrub. During the day the +little animal lies curled up in its nest, but it occasionally reposes +in a “seat” like the Hare Kangaroo; but it never sits in the open +plains. On being pursued it jumps like a Jerboa, with great swiftness +for a short distance, and seeks shelter in hollow logs and holes. Its +food consists of roots and grasses. Another is a native of Van Diemen’s +Land, and keeps to the open, sandy, or stony forest land, rather than +to the thick and humid bushes. It is called _Hypsiprymnus cuniculus_. + +[Illustration: TEETH OF THE KANGAROO-RAT.] + +None of the animals hitherto described as Kangaroos have any prehensile +power in the tail; but in one group of the Kangaroo-Rats, the tip of +the tail has a brush of long hairs above, and is clothed beneath with +short hairs, which are closely applied to the skin. This structure, +and the motion of the muscles beneath, give the Tufted-tailed +Kangaroo-Rat[95] of New South Wales a power of encircling and holding +objects, especially for seizing grasses with which to make its nest. +This is placed in a hollow in the ground, excavated for its reception, +and its opening being on a level with the surrounding herbage, the +practised eye of the native is required to discern it. After the little +things creep in, they drag some grass after them, and close up the +place. In the evening, they sally forth and scratch and dig up roots +with their strong fore-claws. + + +THE RAT-TAILED HYPSIPRYMNUS.[96] + +The Rat-tailed Kangaroo-Rat is about fifteen inches and a half long, +and the tail measures, in addition, more than nine inches. It has a +long head and rather short hind feet, and the rat-like tail has short +stiff hairs on it which do not quite hide the scaly skin beneath. +The body fur is long and loose, and dusky brown, more or less tinted +with black and pale yellowish-brown. The end of the nose or muzzle +is spotted, and the ears are short and rounded. This little animal +lives in New South Wales, and was that which was first described by +Hunter under the name of Potoroo, or Poto Roo, being the “Bettong” +of the natives of New South Wales. The stomach of the Kangaroo-Rats +is less sacculated than that of the Kangaroos, but its left-hand +portion is enormously developed in proportion to the rest, and may be +compared with that of the Ruminantia in point of relative size. It +may be noticed that the lower jaws of the Potoroos, which are largely +inflected at the angle, articulate with the skull rather differently to +those of the Kangaroos. In these last, the cavity at the base of the +zygomatic process which receives the lower jaw is broad and slightly +convex, permitting considerable side-to-side movement which is useful +in the occasional “cud chewing.” But in the others the cavity barely +deserves the name, it being a nearly flat surface, and, therefore, +not much motion, except that of an up-and-down kind, is possible to +the jaw. The organ of hearing has been slightly noticed in the Great +Kangaroo in a former page, and it is necessary to observe that the +tympanic bone does not form a perfect tube in the Potoroos as in +the Kangaroos, and that the surface of the auditory cavity is also +increased by a “bulla,” or bony cavity, bulging out at the under part +of the skull. Corresponding “bullæ” were noticed in the Rodentia, but +in their case the swelling is in the temporal bone, whilst in the +Marsupials, with the exception of the Wombat, they are formed out +of the sphenoid bone (the great ala). Moreover, the Potoroos, like +the Kangaroos, and some of the other Marsupials (the Phalangers and +Koalas), have the ear chamber prolonged, by a number of cells, into the +zygomatic process of the temporal bone. The Kangaroo-Rats are numerous, +and there are many species. They are distributed in New South Wales, +Western Australia, Van Diemen’s Land, and South Australia, and to the +north-east. + +[Illustration: FORE (A) AND HIND (B) FOOT OF HYPSIPRYMNUS.] + +Sir R. Owen investigated the anatomy of a small Kangaroo-Rat which had +been described by Mr. Ramsay in Australia, and which was remarkable +for its musky smell. It is a long and slender-bodied little animal, +measuring about one foot three inches and a half from the snout to +the end of the tail, which is five inches and nine lines in the +female, and rather less in the male. Its hinder legs are shorter, and +the head is more slender and pointed than in the Kangaroo-Rats just +described. The fur is of moderate length, pretty closely applied, and +has numerous rather long hairs scattered here and there, the visible +portions being black or blackish, or pointed. These are relieved by +the dark and light-barred colour of the visible part of the shorter +hairs, all the hairs being of a leaden-greyish tint at the skin. The +upper surface of the body has a close and stiff fur of rich golden +colour, mixed with black; the head, face, and lower parts of the legs +are dark brownish-grey; and there are a few patches of white along the +centre of the throat and chest. The fur covers the tail for half an +inch or more, and then the rest is naked, and covered with a network +of scales about three to a line in length. The scales are black above, +and a few minute and very short hairs project from the interstices of +the scales. The animal has a naked muffle and rounded ears. The hind +foot is remarkable, for whilst the skull and dentition of the creature +would associate it more with the Kangaroo-Rats, the position of the +first toe (wanting in the Kangaroo-Rats) resembles somewhat that of the +Phalangista group, or the Phalangers, which will be noticed further +on. The sole of the foot is long, and there is a nailless projecting +first toe, like a thumb; next come the second and third toes--small, +united by skin, and leaving the two combing-nails visible; and then the +largest, or fourth toe, is followed by a smaller fifth. Sir R. Owen +judged that this animal was an occasional climber of trees, but that +its usual locality was on the ground. Mr. Ramsay states that it lives +in the Rockingham Bay district, and that it frequents the dense and +damp positions of the scrubs which fringe the rivers and clothe the +sides of the coast range. Its habits are diurnal, and its movements are +graceful. It procures its food by turning over the rubbish in search of +insects, worms, and tuberous roots, frequently eating the palm-berries, +which it holds with its fore paws, after the manner of the Phalangers, +sitting up on its haunches, or sometimes digging. They have a pouch, +and two young ones have been found in it. Considering the importance +of the great toe to the animal, and its linking together the climbing +and jumping Marsupials, Sir R. Owen acknowledged the necessity of +recognising Mr. Ramsay’s name of _Hypsiprymnodon moschatus_, and of +thus bringing in a new genus into a new family in the Kangaroo series +with two large front teeth in the lower jaw.[97] + + +II.--THE WOMBAT FAMILY.--THE PHASCOLOMYIDÆ. + + +THE WOMBAT.[98] + +[Illustration: SKELETON OF THE WOMBAT.] + +On looking at a picture of a Wombat, the outside distinctions +between it and all the Kangaroo family may be seen at a glance, and +an examination of its anatomy affords still greater evidence of +differences which, to a certain extent, relate to the fact that the +animal now under consideration is a burrower and gnawer. About two to +three feet in length, the Wombat has only a small stump of a tail, a +low body, small feet, and strong limbs, ending in broad extremities, +well provided with claws. It has moderately long and coarse fur of a +grey-brown colour, and there is some white about the short ears, and +the feet are black. It is usually a plump animal, with a bare black +muzzle, and feet naked beneath, and covered with little tubercles +of flesh. The claws are large, and those of the fore feet (five in +number) are solid and but little curved, whilst the four on the hind +feet are curved and concave beneath. It has long moustache hairs, +and plenty of them. Sir Everard Home had one, and he found that +its principal desire was to get into the ground, and to do this it +worked with great skill and rapidity, covering itself with earth with +surprising quickness. It was very quiet during the day, but was in +constant motion during the night; was very sensible of cold; ate all +vegetables, and was particularly fond of new hay, which it ate stalk by +stalk, taking it into its mouth like a Bear, in small bits at a time. +It was not wanting in intelligence, and appeared attached to those to +whom it was accustomed, and who were kind to it. When it saw them, it +would put up its fore-paws on their knees, and when taken up would +sleep on the lap. It allowed children to pull and carry it about, and +when it bit them it did not appear to do so in anger or with violence. +When wild, the Wombat hides up during the day, and quits its retreat +at night, to dig and get grass and roots. It is by no means an active +animal, and shuffles along like a Bear. The Wombat has a slit-like, +imperfect marsupium, and the special peculiarities of its order, such +as marsupial bones, the inflected lower jaw, and double uterus. On +the hind foot the innermost or first toe is very small, nailless, and +placed at right angles to the foot, and the second, third, and fourth +toes are joined by skin, and have larger claws than the small fifth +toe. The stomach is simple, and has a peculiar glandular apparatus, and +the cæcum is short, and has an appendage as in man and some monkeys. +The teeth are remarkable for their number in relation to those of +the Kangaroos, and for having no rootlets. The incisor teeth greatly +resemble those of a Rodent, like the Rat. They are two in number in +each jaw, and are widely separated from the other teeth. The molars +are long, curved, and, like the incisors, have no true fangs, but +persistent pulps. They are divided into two nearly equal parts by a +fold of the enamel entering deeply into the body of the tooth on one +side, and a slight indentation on the opposite side. + +[Illustration: WOMBAT.] + +[Illustration: LOWER JAW OF THE WOMBAT.] + +The number of the persistent teeth is as follows:--Incisors, 2/2; true +molars, (4-4)/(4-4). It is the only Marsupial which has an equal +number of incisors in both jaws. There are no canines. As the Wombat +uses much force in gnawing, the muscles of the jaws and their bony +attachments are large; consequently the temporal ridges are strongly +marked. There is a deep and strong zygomatic arch, and in the lower +jaw the turned-in angle is of great size. The chin is also large, +and the joint of the jaw also. The sutures of the bones of the skull +are scarcely ever obliterated, and the auditory “bullæ” are formed +in the temporal bone. With regard to the marsupial bones, they are +long, flat, curved, and, moreover, less expanded near their attachment +to the pubis. The ribs are fifteen in number on each side, and the +collar-bones are large and stout. There is a curious power of movement +of the ankle, so that the foot can imitate the turning movements of the +wrist and fore-arm of man. This pronation and supination is because +the small bone of the leg, the fibula, is free and not attached to the +other bone (tibia), and because there is a muscle whose action is to +move the fibula after the fashion of the corresponding muscle in the +fore limb. The stomach is smaller than in the Kangaroos, and has a +large gland. + +[Illustration: TEETH OF THE WOMBAT. + +A, Upper Jaw; B, Lower Jaw; C, Molar.] + +The Wombat has been found in South Australia, Van Diemen’s Land, Bass +Strait, and in New South Wales. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE PHALANGER, POUCHED BADGER, AND DASYURE FAMILIES. + + THE PHALANGER FAMILY--THE KOALA--Habits--Characteristics--THE + CUSCUS--THE VULPINE PHALANGER--THE DORMOUSE + PHALANGER--Habits--Remarkable Characters--THE FLYING + PHALANGERS--Its Flying Machine--Habits--THE SQUIRREL FLYING + PHALANGERS--Habits--The Parachute-like Membrane--Exciting Scene + on board a Vessel--Characteristics--THE OPOSSUM MOUSE--THE + NOOLBENGER, OR TAIT--A Curiosity among Marsupials--Distinctive + Features--THE POUCHED BADGER FAMILY--Characteristics--THE + RABBIT-EARED PERAMELES--THE BANDICOOT--THE BANDED + PERAMELES--THE PIG-FOOTED PERAMELES--Discussion regarding + it--Characteristics--THE DASYURUS FAMILY--Characteristics--THE + POUCHED ANT-EATERS--THE BANDED MYRMECOBIUS--Description--Great + number of Teeth--History--Food--Habits--Range--THE URSINE + DASYURE--Appearance--“Native Devil”--Ferocity--Havoc + among the Sheep of the Settlers--Trap to Catch them--Its + Teeth--A True Marsupial, though strikingly like the + Carnivora--Skeletal Characters peculiar to itself--MAUGE’S + DASYURE--THE DOG-HEADED THYLACINUS--Description--Resemblance + to the Dog--Habits--Peculiarities--THE BRUSH-TAILED + PHASCOGALE--Description--Other Varieties. + + +III.--THE PHALANGER FAMILY.--THE PHALANGISTIDÆ. + +The loftiest of the gum-trees of the country from Moreton Bay to Port +Phillip, and even more widely than this, were often the familiar haunt +of a small Marsupial animal, not unlike a little Bear, about two feet +in length, and without a tail. It is a famous tree-climber, and its +stout body, small head, short limbs, and well-developed feet, are all +cased in an ash-grey fur. It has moderate-sized ears, which are hidden +by the long hair of the head, and it has a short and nearly naked +black muzzle. The eye is large and without eyelashes. The natives +climb up the trees after it, according to Mr. Gould, with as much ease +and expertness as an European would get up a long ladder, and having +reached the branch, perhaps forty or fifty feet from the ground, they +follow the animal to the extremity of a bough, and either kill it or +take it alive. This animal is called the KOALA, and it feeds +on the tender shoots of the blue gum in preference to those of any +others, and it rests and feeds in the boughs. At night it descends +and prowls about, scratching up the ground in search of some peculiar +roots, and it seems to creep rather than to walk. When angry it utters +a long, shrill yell, and assumes a fierce and menacing look. They are +found in pairs, and the young soon learn to perch on the mother’s +shoulders. Mr. Gould says that, unlike most quadrupeds, the Koala +does not flee upon the approach of man, and that it is very tenacious +of life. Even when severely wounded it will not quit its hold of the +branch upon which it may be. The animal has a nice thick fur, which +nearly hides the ears, and the pouch is large. A careful examination of +the animal shows that it differs from the Kangaroos and Wombats; it is +more like the latter than the former, but it is sufficiently distinct +to be placed in another family, the Phalangers, in which the incisors +are six above and two below, and there are two canines in the upper +jaw, and in some, two in the lower jaw, but not in all. There are two +premolars above and below, and either six or eight molars in the upper +and lower jaws. The head is rather small, and the face is short, the +upper lip being cleft. The limbs are equal; the fore feet have five +well-made toes with compressed and curved claws; the hind feet have +five toes, of which the first or inner one is large, nailless, and at +right angles to the rest, and opposable to them. The second and third +toes are shorter than the others, and are united in a common skin, +and they have nails. The fourth and fifth toes are curved and have +compressed claws. The name Phalangista is derived from this union by +skin of the phalanges of the foot. The tail may be absent, or long, and +more or less prehensile, but sometimes not. + +[Illustration: KOALA.] + +There is a well-developed pouch, and the stomach is simple, and the +cæcum is usually very long and large. One young one is produced at a +birth. + +The Koala, or Native Bear,[99] may be taken as the type of the tailless +group, and it belongs to the genus _Phascolarctus_. + +The CUSCUS, or Ursine Phalanger,[100] belongs to a second division, for +it has a prehensile tail. They are common animals in the dense woods +of the Island of Celebes. They squat on the branches half asleep by +day, but are lively enough at night, and it is said that they have a +fancy for flesh as well as fruit. A pretty spotted Cuscus inhabits the +islands of Amboyna, Waigeoe, Banda, and New Guinea, as well as Cape +York.[101] They are dull in captivity, but when placed together they +fight with fury, growling like Cats, and biting. They have small red +eyes with a vertical pupil, short ears, and a very stupid look. They +are all nocturnal in their habits, and feed on fruit, buds, leaves, +meat, and eggs. + +One of the Phalangers, called _Cuscus albus_, is abundant in New +Ireland, Amboyna, Banda, and Timor, and is remarkable for its peculiar +odour. The male is white, and the female reddish-brown in colour, both +being about the size of a common Rabbit. It is slow in its movements, +lives in trees, and takes good care to conceal itself, but its scent +discovers it. The naturalists Lesson and Garnet stated that when +they traversed the forests of the island the odour of the Cuscus was +distinctly perceptible. It is stated that if these animals see any one, +they suspend themselves at once by the tail, and if they are looked at +steadfastly, they will drop by-and-by from fatigue, and are then easily +caught; in fact, they pretend to be dead. + +[Illustration: CUSCUS.] + + +THE VULPINE PHALANGER.[102]--THE BRUSH-TAILED “OPOSSUM.” + +Waterhouse describes this Marsupial to be about the size of a Cat, but +in shape it is somewhat between a Squirrel and a Marten. It has long +and somewhat pointed ears; and the tail, clothed with bushy, harsh, +black fur, except beneath, near the end, where it is naked, is about as +long as the body. The limbs are rather short, the muzzle is moderately +long and foxy-looking, and the whole body and head, except the naked +muzzle, are covered with a grey and black fur. The moustaches are long, +numerous, and black, and the feet are yellowish-white, and the naked +soles are flesh-coloured, the nails being dusky. The pupil of the eye +is round and intensely dark in colour. They sleep during the day, and +become active during the evening, and on the alert for their food, +which consists, in the Zoological Gardens, of bread and milk, fruit and +vegetables. They hold up the solid food between the hands as a Squirrel +holds a nut, and nibble very much in the same manner. Their native +haunts are New South Wales, Western Australia, and North Australia. +They inhabit the large trees, usually the Eucalypti, selecting such as +have the heart of the branches or trunk decayed, and they take refuge +there during the daylight. At night they leave their nests and climb +the branches of the trees which yield them buds and fruit. They descend +to the ground for food, and doubtless now and then eat snails and small +birds. When climbing they use the tail to hold by, and carefully grasp +every support with it before they let go with their feet or hands. A +brown-black species, closely allied, lives in Van Diemen’s Land.[103] + +[Illustration: VULPINE PHALANGER.] + + +THE DORMOUSE PHALANGER.[104] + +This is a very small Marsupial animal, about six inches in length, +including the tail, which measures nearly, if not quite, one-half. It +is like a little Dormouse, with its soft fur, ashy-grey in colour, +large ears, and thick tail. They are broader, not so long in the leg, +and usually larger than the Dormouse, and the eyes are larger, and the +upper jaw overhangs the lower. But they look just as fat and sleepy +in the daytime. The habits of these animals, moreover, are much the +same, for the Phalangista living in Van Diemen’s Land feeds on nuts +and other similar food, which they hold in their fore paws, using them +as hands. They are nocturnal, remaining asleep during the whole day, +or, if disturbed, are not easily roused into a state of activity. They +come forth in the evening, and are then more easy and rapid in their +movements. Some of these were kept in the Zoological Gardens of London, +and it was noticed that they made great use of their tail, which is +prehensile, and thus not like that of the Dormouse. They ran about a +small tree, using their paws and tail to hang on by, and using the tail +as a suspender when they descended. Sometimes the tail is thrown in a +reverse direction, and is turned over the back, and at other times, +when the weather is cold, it is rolled closely up towards the under +part, and coiled up almost between the thighs. They are like little +balls of fur, and are very gentle and harmless. + +Mr. Gould states that another kind of these Dormouse-looking creatures +is very abundant in the northern portion of Van Diemen’s Land, and that +of all trees it appears to prefer the Banksia, whose numerous blossoms +supply it with a never-ceasing store of food, both of insects and +sweets. It undergoes a kind of hibernation somewhat similar to but not +to the extent of that of the Dormouse. + +These pretty little marsupials are remarkable by having only three +true molar teeth in each jaw on both sides; but they have the usual +two narrow, long, and pointed incisors in the lower jaw. The auditory +bullæ on the base of the skull are large, and the hard palate has +four openings in it. The lower jaw is slender behind, and the angular +process is inflected, the process of bone being, however, slender and +pointed. Their mouse-like shape is evident, but they have a large eye, +and the ears are often more or less crumpled and pendent, but they +start up and are erect at the least noise. There are three species of +these Phalangistidæ, and they are included in a sub-genus, Dromicia. +They live in Van Diemen’s Land, Western Australia, and South Australia. +Some which were found in King George’s Sound district live in retreats +under the dead bark of trees, and in holes in trees which have been +burnt out. + + +THE FLYING PHALANGERS. + +The next genus of the family Phalangistidæ contains the Flying +Phalangers, which form the genus Petaurus. They have all the +peculiarities of the Phalangers, and also a skin on the flank of the +body, which is extended between the fore and hind legs, which serves +to sustain the animal in the air, when descending from a height. +They have a long hairy tail. The Yellow-bellied Flying Phalanger +(_Petaurus australis_, Shaw) may be taken as the type of the genus, +and is fourteen inches long in the body, and nineteen in the tail. The +peculiar fold of fur, which is its flying machine, is attached to the +fore leg as far as the elbow, and all down the legs to the great toe. +It is common in all the brushes of New South Wales, particularly those +along the coast from Port Philip to Moreton Bay. Mr. Gould states, in +addition to this, “In these vast forests, trees of one kind or other +are perpetually flowering, and thus offer a never-failing supply of +blossoms, upon which the animal feeds. The flowers of the gum-trees, +some of which are of great magnitude, are the principal favourites, +and, like the rest of the genus, it is nocturnal in its habits, +dwelling in holes of trees and in the hollows of branches during the +day, and displaying the greatest activity at night, while running over +the small leafy branches, sometimes even to their very extremities, +in search of insects and the honey of the newly-opened blossoms. Its +structure being ill-adapted for terrestrial habits, it seldom descends +to the ground, except for the purpose of passing to a tree too distant +to be attained by springing from the one it wishes to leave. The tops +of the trees are traversed at a pace and with as much ease as if it +were on the ground. If chased, it ascends to the highest branches, and +performs enormous leaps, sweeping from tree to tree with wonderful +address.” + +A slight elevation gives its body an impetus, which, with the expansion +of its membrane, enables it to pass to a considerable distance, always +ascending a little at the extremity of the leap. By this ascent the +animal is prevented from receiving the shock which it would otherwise +sustain. + + +THE SQUIRREL FLYING PHALANGER.[105] + +This little creature, called the Sugar Squirrel by the colonists, is +very generally dispersed over the whole of New South Wales, where, in +common with other Phalangers, it inhabits the magnificent gum-trees. +Mr. Gould states that it is nocturnal in its habits, and that it +conceals itself during the day in the hollows of trees, where it early +falls a prey to the natives, who capture it both for the sake of its +flesh and skin, which latter, in some parts of the colony, they dispose +of to the colonists, who occasionally apply it to the same purposes as +those to which the fur of the Chinchilla and other animals is applied +in Europe. At night it becomes extremely active in its motions. It +prefers those forests which adorn the more open and grassy portions of +the country rather than the thick brush near the coast. By expanding +the membrane attached to the sides of its body it has the power of +performing enormous leaps. They have the power of changing their +course to a certain extent when descending, parachute-like, from a +height. It is stated that a ship sailing off the coast had a Squirrel +Petaurus on board which was permitted to roam at large. On one occasion +it reached the mast-head, and as the sailor who was sent to bring it +down approached, it made a spring from aloft to avoid him. At this +moment the ship gave a lurch, which, if the original direction of the +little creature’s course had been continued, must have plunged it in +the sea. All who witnessed the scene were in pain for its safety; but +it suddenly appeared to check itself, and so to modify its career +that it alighted safely on deck. This kind is not more than eight or +nine inches in length, and its bushy tail is as long as the body. The +soft fur of the tail, like that of the body, is a delicate ashy-grey. +There is a long stripe of black fur from the naked tip of the nose to +the root of the tail, and the cheeks are white with a black patch; +the flank membrane is edged with white, and this is the colour of the +underneath part of the body; the ears are long, and of a brownish flesh +colour. + +Another kind, with a yellow flank membrane, is short-headed, and +it inhabits Port Essington, North Australia,[106] whilst the true +Short-headed Flying Phalanger is found in New South Wales.[107] +Probably it is the first of these which is found in New Guinea, and +which has been called the Squirrel Flying Phalanger by mistake. These +Flying Phalangers all have long and nearly naked ears, and the side +membrane extends to the outer finger. They have the outer two fingers +of the hand long and equal to each other, or very nearly so; the second +and third fingers are distinctly shorter than these; and the inner +finger is very short. Their dentition is--Incisors, (6/2); canines, +(1-1)/(0-0); premolars, (3-3)/(4-4); true molars, (4-4)/(4-4) = 40. The +incisors of the lower jaw are, as usual, long and pointed, and almost +horizontal, whilst the upper incisors are large and dilated, so far +as the anterior ones are concerned, and the next is smaller than the +hindmost. The canine is large, and separated from the first premolar, +which is large and compressed, and all the molars have rounded +tubercles on them. + +[Illustration: SQUIRREL FLYING PHALANGER.] + +The OPOSSUM MOUSE[108] of the colonists of New South Wales used to be +common in the neighbourhood of Port Jackson. It is about the size of a +common Mouse, and of an ashy brown and grey colour on the upper parts +and on the flank membrane; the rest is white. It belongs to the Flying +Phalangers, but its side membrane scarcely extends to the wrist, and +the thumb of the hind foot is large. It has only three true molars in +each jaw on both sides, and the canine is close to the incisors. It +forms part of the sub-genus Acrobata, whilst those already mentioned +constitute the sub-genus Belideus (βέλος, a dart). Finally, the +short-eared, white-bellied Taguan Phalanger of the scrub of New South +Wales is the type of the sub-genus _Petaurus_. + + +GENUS TARSIPES.--THE NOOLBENGER, OR TAIT.[109] + +This is an Australian curiosity amongst the Marsupials, and is a small, +mouse-like thing, with a long muzzle, small ears, long tongue, and +very few teeth. Its dental formula is--Incisors, (2-2)/(2); canines, +(1-1)/(0-0); molars, (3-3)/(3-3). The fore and hind extremities have +toes something like those of the Lemur, called Tarsius (Vol. I., page +248). The fore feet have five smallish toes, each thickened at the end, +and a minute scale-like nail, which reaches neither the end nor sides +of the toe. The hind feet have five toes on each, and the innermost +has the formation of a thumb, and is slender and nailless. The second +and third toes are very short, and are joined to the end and furnished +with small pointed nails, which are directed upwards almost at right +angles to the plane of the toe; and the fourth toe is twice as long as +the second and third. The fifth is shorter than the fourth, and has a +scale-like nail on the upper surface. This is the case with the fourth +also. There is a long, slender tail. The small bones of this little +honey-sucker are very thin, and the lower jaw has two slender and +almost straight sides, and the inflection is wanting. + +This little animal is rare, but it is to be found in West Australia, +from Swan River to King George’s Sound. It is nocturnal in its habits, +and catches flies in captivity with great ease. But its food is honey, +which it gets like a moth, with its tongue. The tail is prehensile, and +the little pouch contains four mammæ in the female. + +The little Tarsipes, with its honey and insect diet, has a very +long intestine and no cæcum, whilst the Koala has a cæcum more than +three times the length of its body. The pigmy Acrobata has this +organ disposed in a spiral curve in the left lumbar region. The +marsupial bones are large in the Koala, and are long, broad, and +flat, almost equalling the iliac bone in size. Finally, with regard +to the parachute-fold of skin on the flanks of the Petaurists, it is +a simple fold with very elastic tissues within, which draw it up to +the body, more or less, when the animal is walking or standing. When, +however, the limbs are extended after a jump, the membrane becomes very +tense, and acts by increasing the surface of the body so as to oppose +gravitation by the supporting power of the air. + + +IV.--FAMILY PERAMELIDÆ.--POUCHED BADGERS. + +This group of Marsupials embraces two genera, Perameles and Chœropus, +the first having several species and the last but one. They have all +long, slender heads; large, long ears, with fleshy lobes; longer hind +than fore limbs; the tail short in some, long in others, and hairy; and +the pouch is directed backwards. They have a considerable number of +teeth, there being ten incisors in the upper jaw and six in the lower; +there are two canines in each jaw, three premolars in each jaw on +either side, and four true molars behind them, making forty-eight teeth +in all. The teeth have fangs, the premolars are compressed and pointed, +and the molars have tubercles on them. The stomach is simple. + + +GENUS PERAMELES (BANDICOOTS).--THE RABBIT-EARED PERAMELES.[110] + +The so-called native Rabbit of the Swan River district of Western +Australia is abundant in the grassy country in the interior; and it +frequents, in pairs, places where the soil will permit of burrowing. +It is about the size of a common Rabbit, and has a long and pointed +muzzle, which is naked at the tip. It has long, oval ears, which are +tubular at the base. The eye is small, and the tail is a little shorter +than the body. The legs are longish, and the fur is well grown. + +This sharp-looking animal lives upon insects, and its favourite food +is a large grub, probably the larvæ of a species of Buprestis beetle +which infest the roots of the acacia trees. In order to obtain this +peculiar food, it has to compete with the natives, who like it also, +and often enough it has to rush to its long and deep burrows for +safety. Its flesh is sweet, and is much sought after by the aborigines. +One which was kept at the Zoological Gardens was very active in the +evening, but usually slept during the day-time, when, sitting upon its +haunches, with its head thrust between its hind legs, it appeared like +a ball of fur. It was a very savage animal, and bit severely, holding +on, moreover, if it could, with its teeth. It waddled on its hind legs +alone, which were straddled, and the tail assisted in supporting the +body. They have five toes to the fore-foot, of which the two outermost +are rudimentary and nailless, the remaining three are well developed, +and are furnished with strong solid nails, which cover the last +phalanges which are cleft above in the longitudinal direction almost to +the root. The hind feet have a rudimentary inner toe, the second and +third are joined and are slender, and have two hollow nails, and the +fourth is large and, like the fifth, which is well developed, has a +solid nail sheathed on the end bone. + + +GUNN’S PERAMELES.--THE BANDICOOT.[111] + +This is the animal which has given the native name to the genus, and +Mr. Gunn, who discovered the species, informed Mr. Waterhouse that it +is common in many parts of Van Diemen’s Land, going by the name of +Bandicoot. It is a burrower, and lives principally upon roots, and it +likes the bulbs which are introduced from the Cape and elsewhere into +gardens. It is about sixteen inches long, and has a slender muzzle, +moderate-sized ears, and the under parts of the body are white, the +rest being grey and pencilled with black and yellow, except behind, +where it is blacker. There are four broadish white bands on this part. + + +THE BANDED PERAMELES.[112] + +[Illustration: BANDED PERAMELES.] + +This is a pretty little Perameles with a body about a foot in length, +and a tail of about four inches long. It has rather a sharp and long +snout, rather large ears, which are broad at the base, and long and +pointed at the tip. The fur is longish and harsh, and is pencilled with +black and yellow in about equal proportions on the upper part of the +body, there being a black ground colour on the hinder part of the back. +There, however, there are three broad yellow-white bands, the foremost +of which crosses the back. The feet and under parts are white, and the +tail is of the same colour underneath, but black on the top. The feet +are slender, and the hind ones have a rudimentary inner toe, naked +beneath, in front, and at the heel. In the skeleton this inner toe has +one or two phalanges, and a small tubercle without a nail is visible +before the flesh is removed. It inhabits Southern Australia from east +to west. This kind resembles the Bandicoot of Van Diemen’s Land on the +other side of Bass Strait, and may be considered its representative. It +is smaller than the Van Diemen’s Land species, but its tail is longer; +moreover, the ear exceeds those of the insular forms in size. Like +the other Perameles, the pouch for the young opens backwards. “Though +provided with strong claws it rarely burrows,” says Mr. Krefft, “and +it is a great enemy to little Rodents. It tumbles the Mice about with +its fore paws, breaks their hind legs, and eats the head.” New Guinea +contains a short-legged Perameles,[113] which appears to be deficient +in the usual number of upper incisor teeth; and another[114] resembling +the common Bandicoot. + + +GENUS CHŒROPUS.--THE PIG-FOOTED PERAMELES.[115] + +A very rare little, large-eared, small-legged animal was found by Sir +Thomas Mitchell on the banks of the River Murray, and its appearance +was so remarkable that much attention was paid to its anatomy, whilst +unfortunately nothing particular was learned regarding its natural +history and habits. Subsequently the little creature, whose body is +about nine inches and a half long, the tail measuring in addition +about four inches, was found in the interior of the country near the +Swan River. It is an active little animal, and a hunter of insects, +but it will feed upon vegetable substances also. Mr. Gould states +that, like the Perameles, to which it is allied in many parts of its +construction, it forms a nest composed of leaves and other substances. +The pouch is deep and runs upwards, and not like that of the Kangaroo, +and there are eight teats. At first there was much discussion whether +the animal had a tail, but there is no doubt about its possessing one +when in the perfect condition. The slender fore limbs, no thicker than +goose-quills, end in two very small digits, and they are provided +with small, compressed, and but little curved nails. They have a +small fleshy pad on their under surface, behind which is a smaller +one. The hind legs are longer than the front ones, and are almost as +slender. The foot is long, and at first sight appears to have only +one large toe, for the others are very small and far removed from the +end of the foot. The outer little toe has a small nail, and the inner +toes, joined, are almost as small, but they have hollow nails. The +greatly-developed toe has a conical and compressed nail, but beneath +there is a large fleshy pad; the rest of the foot is hairy. Hence it +appears that the heel is not put to the ground. The colour of the long, +loose, soft fur is brown-grey above, and yellowish-white beneath, the +limbs and the fore feet have a whitish tint, and the large toe is of a +dirty white colour. So far as the skull and teeth are concerned, the +little Chœropus greatly resembles the other kinds of Marsupials which +are classified under the genus Perameles. Sir Thomas Mitchell noticed +the broad head and very slender snout, which, he stated, resembled the +narrow neck of a wide bottle, in the specimen which the natives took +from a hollow tree after chasing it on the ground. In the construction +of the skull and in the number of the teeth, this long-eared creature +resembles the rest of the genus Perameles. In the upper jaw there are +five incisor teeth on each side, and they are close, and the canine +is small, and resembles a premolar, and is slightly distant from the +incisors. The first premolar is separated from the canine by a space +of one line and a half, and slightly from the second premolar; and the +second and third premolars and the four molars form a continuous line. + + +V.--THE DASYURUS FAMILY.--DASYURIDÆ. + +These animals are all carnivorous, and prey upon small quadrupeds and +the young of large ones, as well as upon birds and insects. They are +of different shapes and sizes, according to the genera to which they +may belong; and whilst some resemble the Shrew Mice somewhat in outward +appearance, others are like the Marten, and one important group may be +compared with Short-legged Wolves, or Jackals. Varying in size from +that of a Mouse to a small Wolf, the members of the different genera +of this family are equally variable in the number of the teeth, of the +claws, and in the development of the marsupial pouch and its bones. +They all have rather long muzzles and furry tails, which, however, +are not prehensile. The second and third toes of the hind feet are +disunited and well developed, and the thumb-toe is small or absent. +There are eight incisors in the upper jaw, and six in the lower. + + +GENUS MYRMECOBIUS.--THE POUCHED ANT-EATERS.[116] + +The BANDED MYRMECOBIUS may be taken as an example of this genus. It is +about the size of a Rat, but it is more Squirrel-like in shape, and has +a long and pointed muzzle. The tail is long and furry, with long hairs +also; and the prevailing colour of the body is reddish, but posteriorly +it becomes dark or black. There are nine bands of light or white +colour on the sides of the body, from the back over the flanks, and +the crupper is also marked with a band. The head is long, the ears are +moderately long, narrow, and pointed, the gape is considerable, and the +small pointed snout has some rather long smellers; there are also some +long hairs under the eye. A black mark runs on the cheek to the ear, +and has white hairs above and below it. The fur is somewhat remarkable. +The under hair is scanty and whitish-grey, and the upper hair is rather +coarse, short, and depressed on the fore parts of the body. It is long +on the hind and under parts, and the hairs on the fore part of the back +are black near the skin and reddish at the tip. The fur of the head +is short and brownish above, being composed of a mixture of black, +fulvous, and a few white hairs. The fore legs are rather stout and +strongly made, and the five curved and compressed claws are admirably +adapted for its method of life, which consists of insect-hunting by +digging. The hind limbs are suited to support the weight of the animal, +as it scratches with the fore feet, but they are deficient in the first +toes. The whole animal is about seventeen inches long, seven inches +being included in the tail. This animal has a greater number of teeth +than any other Marsupial, and, indeed, they are only surpassed by some +Cetacea and Edentate Ant-eaters amongst the other Mammalia. There +are fifty-two teeth in the mouth--namely, eight upper and six lower +incisors, four canines, six compressed false molars behind the canines +above and below, and ten small true molars above, and twelve below. The +canines of the lower jaw are incurved, and the last lower molars are +worn in ridges internally. The number of teeth appears, however, to be +variable, and some have fifty-four and others less than fifty. + +The Myrmecobius, although it has the inflected condition of the lower +jawbone and small marsupial bones, not more than half an inch in +length, has no pouch. The young adhere to the mother’s nipples, and are +protected by the comfortable fur and long hair of her body. + +The Banded Myrmecobius was first discovered by Lieutenant Dale, who +procured a specimen whilst on an exploring expedition into the interior +of the Swan River Settlement, about ninety miles to the south-east +of the mouth of the river. Two specimens of this very elegant little +animal were seen by Lieutenant Dale, both of which fled to hollow trees +for shelter upon being pursued. The district in which they were found +abounded in decayed trees and ant-hills; and, from some peculiarities +in the dentition of the animal, combined with its extremely long and +slender tongue, it became evident that its food was insects, and the +softer and smaller species, for procuring which, by scratching up the +earth, the strong fore feet and claws appeared to be adapted. Indeed, +the peculiarities of structure, combined with the fact that the animal +was found in the vicinity of ant-hills, suggested that its food, in all +probability, consisted chiefly of Ants: and hence the generic name. +As yet, however, we have no direct evidence that Ants form the chief +food of the Myrmecobius, though it is stated, in Mr. Gould’s “Mammals +of Australia,” that wherever this animal takes up its abode, there +Ants are found to be very abundant. In the same work the following +particulars of the habits of the animal are given from the pen of Mr. +Gilbert:-- + +“I have seen a good deal of this little animal. It appears very much +like a Squirrel when running on the ground, which it does in successive +leaps, with its tail a little elevated, every now and then raising +its body and resting on its hind feet. When alarmed, it generally +takes to a dead tree lying on the ground, and before entering the +hollow, invariably raises itself on its hind feet to ascertain the +reality of approaching danger. In this kind of retreat it is easily +captured; and when caught, is so harmless and tame as scarcely to make +any resistance, and never attempts to bite. When it has no chance of +escaping from its place of refuge, it utters a sort of half-smothered +grunt, apparently produced by a succession of hard breathings. + +“The female is said to bring forth her young in a hole in the ground or +in a fallen tree, and to produce from five to nine in a litter. I have +not myself observed more than seven young attached to the nipples.” It +is not nocturnal in its habits. + +With regard to the range of the genus Myrmecobius, Mr. Gould states +that it is very generally dispersed over the interior of the Swan River +Settlement, from King George’s Sound on the south to the neighbourhood +of Moor’s River on the north, and as far westward as civilised man has +yet been able to penetrate. Its species are also found near the Murray +and Darling. + +This many-toothed Ant-eating Marsupial has always been interesting to +geologists, for in the Stonesfield slates of the Oolitic formation of +England, which lie low down in the Great Oolite, the lower jaws of an +animal have been found greatly resembling those of Myrmecobius. The +fossil Amphitherium has the jaws but slightly inflected, and is not +without resemblance to insectivorous creatures; but, nevertheless, its +similarity to Myrmecobius struck Owen and Lyell many years since. + + +GENUS DASYURUS.--THE URSINE DASYURE.[117] + +Being a great enemy of the poultry and tender rearlings of the +colonists of Van Diemen’s Land, this small creature has earned the +name of the “Native Devil.” It may be compared to a Bear, with a body +about two feet in length, and the resemblance is tolerably correct in +the fur, general proportions of the body and limbs, and also in its +gait and its actions. The Dasyure, however, has a longer tail than the +Bear, and never grows larger than a Badger. It is a short animal, with +a round broad head and rather a long snout, and the coarse black fur +(brown-black on the head, tail, and beneath) is marked by one broad +white band across the chest and by another over the back, close to +the tail. The tail is about half the length of the head and trunk. +Harris notices that these animals were very common on the British first +settling at Hobart Town, and were particularly destructive to poultry, +and Mr. Gunn states that they commit great havoc among Sheep, and that +notwithstanding their comparatively small size, they are so fierce that +they are a match for any ordinary Dog. + +[Illustration: DASYURE.] + +As the settlements increased in Tasmania, and the ground became +cleared, the animals were driven from their haunts near the town +to the deeper recesses of the forests yet unexplored. They were +easily procured by setting a trap in the most unfrequented parts of +the woods, baited with raw flesh, all kinds of which they will eat +indiscriminately and voraciously. They also, it is probable, prey on +dead fish and blubber, as their tracks are frequently found on the +sands of the sea-shore. In a state of confinement they appear to be +untamably savage, biting severely, and uttering at the same time a low +yelling growl. A male and female which Mr. Harris kept for a couple of +months, chained together in an empty cask, were continually fighting. +Their quarrels began as soon as it was dark, as they slept all day, +and continued throughout the night almost without intermission, +accompanied by a kind of hollow barking, not unlike that of a Dog, and +sometimes a sudden kind of snorting, as if the breath were restrained +a considerable time and then suddenly expelled. They frequently sat +on their hind parts, and used their fore paws to convey food to their +mouths. The muscles of the jaws were strong, and they crushed the +largest bones asunder with ease. + +This Dasyure, like the others of the genus, has the incisor teeth +equal, and there are eight of them in the upper jaw and six in the +lower. The four canines are large, and there are two powerful premolars +in each jaw and on each side. These are succeeded by four molars above +and below, and on both sides of the mouth. + +The incisor teeth, equal in size, are arranged in a semicircle in the +upper jaw, and those of the lower jaw have a corresponding direction, +but they are rather the stouter. The canines are well developed, and +those of the lower jaw bite in front of those of the upper. They look +eminently adapted for stopping and seizing prey, and their carnivorous +character is surpassed by that of the premolars and true molars. These +last have a triangular grinding surface: the first has four sharp +cusps, the second and third have five, and the last, which is the +smallest in the upper jaw, has only three. In the lower jaw the last +molar is of the same size as the last but one, and has four cusps; and +the other molars have much resemblance to those in the upper jaw. + +The hind feet have the toes separate and not united by a fold of skin, +and there is a rudimentary great toe in this species. The condyle of +the humerus is not perforated--as in the Kangaroos, for instance--for +the passage of the blood vessels, but is whole, and the outside of the +bone is marked by a groove, along which they pass. + +Although this Dasyure has the lower jaw inflected, and is a true +Marsupial, the resemblance in shape, and in dental and other +characters, as well as in its habits, to the Carnivora is striking. Its +fierce character and the nocturnal habits add to the similarity; but +there are some very peculiar anatomical distinctions. The wrist bones, +called scaphoid and lunar, those which are nearest the radius along +the first row of carpal bones, are separate in the Dasyure, but in the +Carnivora they are united to form one bone. And in the foot there is +a peculiarity: for whilst in the Carnivora there is a groove between +the heel bone and the astragalus, this is absent in the Marsupial +Carnivore, and the articular surface of the bones is continuous. + +[Illustration: TEETH OF THE DASYURE.] + +The Dasyures have a small crest of bone on the top of the skull, +which is also seen on a grander scale in the Carnivora. They have, +moreover, the zygoma well developed and strong; it bulges outwards and +curves upwards, but not to the amount seen in the true Carnivora. The +occipital bone is developed as in the non-Marsupial mammals, but its +parts, instead of joining together and forming one with age, often +remain separate; but this does not appear to occur in all the species +of the genus, for Owen, in his wonderful article on the Marsupials in +the “Cyclopædia of Anatomy and Physiology,” notices that in the little +_Dasyurus Maugei_ the occipital bone presents the usual state of bony +confluence. He notices that the Dasyure, in common with some other +Marsupials, has the temporal bone permanently divided into its several +parts, there being separate squamous, petrous, and tympanic bones; but +the petrous and mastoid parts are usually united. This is a reptilian +peculiarity, but the tympanic bone of the Dasyure is not without its +resemblances to those of birds. The surface on which the lower jaw +moves or is hinged, is not composed entirely by the temporal bone, but +the malar bone is slightly included, and even the sphenoid comes into +the joint. + +Another marked character of the Dasyures is, that their hard palates +are not whole, but have spaces and perforations, and this denotes a low +organisation. This absence of a perfect hard palate is seen in other +Marsupials, and especially in the Bandicoots (Perameles). + +The angular process of the lower jaw, where inflected or bent in, is +triangular and directed upwards, with a blunt point; and the condyle of +the jaw is low, being on a level with the molar teeth. + +[Illustration: BRAIN OF THE DASYURE.] + +It is remarkable that the Dasyures should have the bones of the leg, +the tibia and fibula, so connected together as to allow of a certain +degree of rotation on each other, after the fashion of the fore-arm +bones. The muscles of the leg are modified for the purpose. This +interesting anatomical point recalls one of the great distinctions +between the fixed leg bones of man and those of the hand-footed Ape. +It is not found, however, in the non-Marsupial mammals, whose habits +of life are simulated by the Dasyure; but it is found in the Wombat, +a burrower, and in the Koala, Phalangers, and Opossums, which are +climbers. In examining the stomachs of the Marsupials, Owen noticed +that differences in food and habit are not met by alteration in the +shape of the organ, as they are in the higher Mammalia. Thus, the +common Dasyure, the insectivorous Bandicoot, and the leaf-eating +Phalangers, have a full round, oval, or sub-triangular-shaped stomach, +with the right extremity projecting beyond and below the pylorus. The +length of the stomach seldom exceeds the height by more than one-third. +No cæcum is found in the carnivorous Marsupial, and the intestine is +short and wide, being continued, like the intestine of a reptile, along +the margin of a single and simple mesentery, from the pylorus to the +rectum (Owen). The liver has a gall-bladder in the Dasyure, and there +is a pancreas as well as a spleen. The heart is contained in a slight +pericardium, as in the other Mammalia. The Ursine Dasyure is found in +Van Diemen’s Land only. + +There are several kinds of Dasyure, which have been carefully noticed +and described. One is called the Long-tailed or Spotted Dasyure,[118] +and is about the size of a Cat. The fur is reddish-brown, pencilled +with yellow, and is spotted with white both on the body and on the +tail. It has a tail as long as the head and body together, and the +under parts of the body and the fore-legs and feet are of a dirty +yellow tinge. It lives in Van Diemen’s Land, and was, from its shape, +at first called a Marten. The teats are six in number, three on each +side, and seated within a slight fold only of the skin, so that there +is no true pouch. + +[Illustration: UPPER (A) AND UNDER (B) VIEW OF SKULL OF DASYURE.] + + +MAUGE’S DASYURE.[119] + +This is a small animal, not larger than a half-grown Cat. It has a +longish bushy tail, a broad head, and is somewhat of greyish-yellow +colour. There are white spots on the sides of the body and tail. In +confinement this little creature is torpid by day, but lively as +evening comes on, and it rushes about, with its tail extended, with +great rapidity. It is very injurious to the poultry when in a wild +state, and is called the Wild Cat in Van Diemen’s Land. A variety of +it is the Viverrine Dasyure, which has the head and body spotted with +white, the general colour being brown, black, or grey, tinted with +yellow, the under parts being white. It has long hairs to its tail; +rather large ears, the flesh of which is of a pale pink, as is that of +the naked lips, the tip of the nose, and the soles of the feet, the +latter being hairless, but covered with small fleshy tubercles. There +is no trace of an inner toe to the hind foot, unless it be a slight +swelling of the flesh, marking the situation of the rudimentary bone +beneath. Both of these animals are to be found in New South Wales and +Van Diemen’s Land. + +The rest of the Dasyures are widely spread over the continent. The +smallest kind is the North Australian Dasyure. Geoffroy’s Dasyure, +which has a thin tail and an inner toe to the hind foot, inhabits +Western and Southern Australia and New South Wales, is a great killer +of the Yellow-crested Cockatoo, and they hunt and kill Mice or Rats as +well as any Cat. They have not a pouch. + + +GENUS THYLACINUS.[120]--THE DOG-HEADED THYLACINUS.[121] + +This is a Dog-like, slim, narrow-muzzled animal, with clean and rather +short limbs, a foxy head, and a tail about half as long as the body, +which in males is forty-five inches in length. It is about the size of +a Jackal, and the fur is short, but rather woolly and greyish-brown, +faintly suffused with yellow in colour. The fur on the back is deep +brown near the skin, and yellowish-brown towards the tip. It has from +twelve to fourteen black bands on the body, and the tail has long hairs +at the tip only. The eyes are keen, large, and full, and they are black +and have a nictitating membrane. The animal walks half on its toes and +half on its soles or palms, and thus is a semi-plantigrade, the body +being brought nearer the ground than that of the Wolf in running. There +is a marsupial pouch, but the bones are mere cartilages. The Dog-headed +Thylacinus, or the Zebra-Wolf of the colonists of Van Diemen’s Land, +thus described, has often been taken for one of the Carnivora, and +certainly there are great resemblances between it and the Dogs. The +canine teeth are of large size, but they are recurved at the top, and +in the upper jaw are separated from the incisors by a space, into which +the point of the lower canine fits when the jaws are closed. This is +different in the Dogs, whose lower canine passes on the outer side of +the upper one when the mouth is closed. The premolar of the Thylacinus +has a small cusp behind, but in the lower jaw the premolars are +isolated, and do not form a continuous cutting and masticating ridge. +It is also to be remembered that this animal has a peculiar lower jaw, +as it is one of the Marsupials, and the angle is inflected. It is a +Marsupial, with some structures which foreshadow those of the more +highly-developed Dog. + +[Illustration: DOG-HEADED THYLACINUS.] + +Mr. Harris, who was the first to make this animal known, states that +it lives among caverns and rocks, in the deep and almost impenetrable +glens, in the neighbourhood of the highest mountains of Van Diemen’s +Land. The specimen from which his description was taken was caught in a +trap baited with Kangaroo’s flesh; it remained alive but a few hours, +having received some internal hurt whilst being secured. From time +to time it uttered a short guttural cry, and it appeared exceedingly +inactive and stupid, and, like the Owl, had an almost continual motion +of the nictitant membrane of the eye. Remains of an Echidna were found +in the stomach of the animal. Waterhouse states, on the authority +of Mr. Gunn, that these animals are common only in the remoter parts +of the colony, and used to be frequently caught at Woolnooth and the +Hampshire Hills. They attack the Sheep at night, but are occasionally +seen during the daytime, upon which occasions, perhaps from imperfect +vision, their pace is very slow. Mr. Gunn also observes that the +Thylacinus sometimes attains so large and formidable a size, that a +number of Dogs will not face it. That gentleman denies that the tail +of the animal is compressed, as has been stated by some authors, and +his observations do not confirm the aquatic habits which have been +attributed to it. There are cartilages in the place of the marsupial +bones; but the pouch is well developed in the female Thylacine, and +there are four well developed teats, each four inches long, indicating +that it may contain four young ones at a time. The marsupium, or pouch, +opens backwards, not, as in the Kangaroos and most others, forwards. + +[Illustration: SKELETON OF THE DOG-HEADED THYLACINUS.] + + +GENUS PHASCOGALE (POUCHED WEASELS).--THE BRUSH-TAILED PHASCOGALE.[122] + +This genus includes many species of small Weasel-or Rat-like +Marsupials. They are small, insectivorous, and climb shrubs and trees +in pursuit of their prey. The largest known is about the size of a +common Rat. The brush-tailed kind inhabits New South Wales, South +Australia, and Western Australia, and is a pretty little animal, having +a long and soft fur, of a grey colour above and white or yellow-white +under the body. The eyes are encircled with black, and there is a pale +spot above and below the eye, and the hairs are blackest along the +middle of the head. The ear is rather large and not furry; the tail +is about equal to the body in length, or seven inches to nine inches, +and there is a portion near its end of about two inches in length, +which is clothed with short, stiff hairs, and the rest has long and +glossy hairs, sometimes an inch or two long. An insectivorous little +creature, its teeth are modified to meet its diet, and they are less +carnivorous than the other Dasyurids. They have the two foremost +incisors of the upper and lower jaw larger than the others. There are +three premolars in each jaw on each side, and eight molars above and +below, which are studded with prickly tubercles, those of the upper +jaw having triangular crowns. There are five toes to the fore and +hinder extremities, and the inner toe of the latter is in the form of +a small nailless prehensile thumb. The brain-case is large and the +skull comparatively smooth. The species just noticed is said to enter +the stores of the settlers, and it makes a nest in the hollows of the +trunks of trees or in the branches. The female has no pouch, but ten +teats covered with hair. It is the Tapoa Tafa of White, according to +Krefft. + +Another species, about six inches long, not including a tail of three +inches--the Freckled Phascogale--lives in the Swan River district +and at King George’s Sound, being generally distributed over Western +Australia. It has the fur freckled with black and white on the head +and fore parts of the body. Mr. Gilbert found insect remains in +its stomach, and he obtained a female specimen having seven young +attached. They were little more than half an inch in length, and quite +blind and naked. Above the teats of the mother is a very small fold of +skin, from which the long hairs of the under surface spread downwards, +and effectually cover and protect the young. This fold is the only +approximation to a pouch which has been found in any species of this +genus. The young are very tenacious of life, and those just mentioned +lived nearly two days attached to the mammæ of the dead mother. + +[Illustration: BRUSH-TAILED PHASCOGALE.] + +The Yellow-footed Phascogale is a kind which inhabits New South +Wales and South Australia, and the White-footed Phascogale and a +closely-allied kind live in South Australia and Van Diemen’s Land. In +New Guinea, which constitutes a part of the Australian natural history +province, there is a black, short-eared, and short-furred kind, about +the size of a Rat, called _Phascogale melas_. + +[Illustration: ANTECHINUS.] + +There is a little kind, measuring only three inches in length, with +white fur everywhere, except on the upper parts, which are ashy grey; +and in Western and Southern Australia there is one which has great +ears, very slender limbs, and a short and thick fat tail. It looks like +a large-eared, fat-tailed Mouse, and is under four inches in length. +All these kinds of Phascogale, except the brush-tailed one, belong to a +group with very short hairs on the tail, and are sometimes classified +under the name Antechinus, the thick-tailed one being termed Podabrus; +and they all have shallow pouches. + + + + +[Illustration: OPOSSUM AND YOUNG.] + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE OPOSSUMS. + + Prehistoric Opossums--Description of the Animal--Their + Teeth--Habits--THE COMMON OPOSSUM--Appearance--Use of its + Tail--Food--The Young--How they are Reared--D’AZARA’S OPOSSUM--THE + CRAB-EATING OPOSSUM--THE THICK-TAILED OPOSSUM--MERIAN’S + OPOSSUM--Pouchless Opossums--Their Young--THE MURINA OPOSSUM--THE + ELEGANT OPOSSUM--THE YAPOCK--Classification of Marsupial + Animals--Geographical Distribution of the Sub-Order--Ancestry of + the Marsupials--Fossil Remains. + + +VI.--THE OPOSSUM FAMILY.--DIDELPHIDÆ. + +The Marsupial animals included in this family are not found in +Australia or in Van Diemen’s Land, or in any part of the natural +history province to which those countries belong. They are numerous, +however, and are now living on the American continent; but formerly +some inhabited Europe during that geological period which is called the +Eocene. The Opossums are very rat-like in form, the largest species +being about the size of a large Cat, but they have the snout more +elongated; and in some species in which the individuals are large the +body is proportionately stout, and on most there is a comfortable fur, +with short and long hair. The tail is almost always very long, nearly +destitute of hair, excepting at the root, and is covered with a scaly +skin, there being a few scattered hairs. It is a useful organ, for the +Opossums hang by it, and it assists them in climbing and descending +trees, and in holding on, when they are young, to their parent. The +ears are rather large and round, the eyes are placed rather high up +in the face, and the long muzzle ends in a naked snout. The legs look +short for the body. The feet are naked beneath; there are five toes, +and the great toe is more or less opposable to the foot, and acts like +a grasping thumb. Each toe is furnished with moderate-sized claws, +excepting the inner toe of the hind foot, which is clawless. The +Opossums are remarkable for the great number of their incisor teeth, +there being ten in the upper and eight in the lower jaw, and they are +arranged in a semicircular manner. The upper and two foremost incisors +are rather longer than the rest, and are generally separated from them +by a narrow space. They are nearly cylindrical and expanded at the tip. +The canines are well developed, the upper ones being the largest. There +are three premolars on each side of both jaws, and they have two roots, +and are compressed and pointed. There is a posterior talon to them. The +molars, eight in each jaw, have three roots, and those of the upper jaw +have the crown of a triangular form and tubercular, whilst those of the +lower jaw are longer than broad, and each has the appearance of five +prickly cusps on its upper surface. + +[Illustration: TEETH OF THE OPOSSUM.] + +Some of the Didelphidæ have no marsupium, or pouch, or it is very +slightly developed, and in these particular kinds the young, after +having left the nipples, are carried on the back of the mother, +retaining their position by twining their tails around hers. The mammæ +are numerous: there may be as many as thirteen, an odd one being found +in the centre of the ring of the other nipples. + +The Opossums are active, sly, and very intelligent in certain things, +and their food consists of insects, small reptiles, birds, and eggs. +Living for the most part in trees, they secrete themselves in the +hollows of the branches and trunks during the daytime and sally forth +in the night. They have a moderate-sized cæcum. It must be noticed that +the great toe of the hind foot is well developed, has no nail, and +enables the creature to grasp, and is thus very useful; and that they +walk plantigrade. The ankle and leg have the same movements as in the +Wombats, and the same general anatomy. If the members of the family +are compared with those of the families which live in the Australian +province, it will be found that they most resemble the Perameles and +Dasyures. The Opossums may be divided into three groups: those whose +pouch is well developed, those in which it is a mere fold, and those +which have webbed feet and live in the water, like Otters. + +[Illustration: SKELETON OF THE CRAB-EATING OPOSSUM.] + + +THE COMMON OPOSSUM.[123] + +This is a large kind, and is about the size of a common Cat, and its +long, large, pointed head, ending in a naked snout, and having eyes +encircled in dusky brown fur amongst the white hair and fur of the +head, gives it a very cunning and thoughtful appearance. The ears are +black. The tail is long and prehensile, the end being white and the +rest black, and the legs and feet are brownish. It is a great climber, +and uses its tail almost as much as some of its Monkey companions. +Running along the branches, it will often suspend itself by its tail, +and give a swing and let go, thus launching its body to a distance, and +then it catches at the boughs with its feet and unclawed but prehensile +hind toe-thumb. In coming down trees it uses the tail to steady itself, +and to prevent too rapid a fall; and in climbing, the ever-ready tail +prevents mishaps, should the clawed toes not grasp sufficiently. The +natural food of this Opossum is probably vegetarian, but it is a great +birds’-nester; it will eat roots and fruits, but the early settlers +found it very destructive to their poultry, for it catches the birds +and sucks their blood, not eating the flesh: consequently, it has +been much hunted, and as the fur and skin are sometimes used, the +destruction of the Opossum has been great. It is a curious creature, +and seems to have gained experience in its struggle with man, and as +many stories are told of its cleverness as there are about Reynard the +Fox and the Indian Jackal. It will sham death in a most persevering +manner, and is at the same time very tenacious of life. + +The skull has strong temporal ridges, which form a sagittal crest, and +the arch of the zygoma is well grown. The animal has a longer facial +part of the skull and a smaller brain-case than the other Dasyures, and +the brain has large olfactory or front lobes. The cerebral hemispheres +are small, and there are no convolutions. This is essentially a North +American animal, and is found from Mexico to the Southern States +inclusive. + +The female brings forth from twelve to sixteen young at a time, and her +nest, which is formed of dry grass, is usually at the root of a tree or +bush. When first born, the young are said not to be more than a grain +in weight, and blind, naked, and shapeless. They find the teats in the +mother’s pouch, unless she places them on to them with her mouth, and +they cling on so as not to be separated except by violence. In about +five days, so rapid is their growth, they have reached the size of a +Mouse, and all their parts are developed. They then leave the pouch, +and return to suckle and when danger appears. During this time the +female shows great attachment to her young; and Mr. Waterhouse, from +whose work these descriptions are taken, states that she will suffer +any torture rather than permit the pouch to be opened. + +[Illustration: CRAB-EATING OPOSSUM.] + + +AZARA’S OPOSSUM.[124] + +This is a smaller animal than the common or Virginian Opossum, but +its tail is long in proportion to its body. It is the South American +representative of its larger fellow species, and is found over a very +wide extent of country. It was noticed by the celebrated naturalist +D’Azara in Paraguay; Mr. Darwin found it at Maldonado, La Plata; and +specimens have been obtained from the Brazils, Santa Fé de Bogota, +and Bolivia. This is because it is not entirely a forest animal, but +is found occasionally in the open country. It may be distinguished +from the common Opossum by three distinct black marks on its head, +by its large tail, one-third of which is covered with fur like that +on the body. The rest of this important member is scaly, with small +hairs springing from between, the scales being black in the second +third, and white at the tip in colour. The habits of this Opossum are +nocturnal, and it lies concealed by day in burrows in the ground or in +thickets. At night it climbs trees to feed upon fruits and birds’ eggs. +It will chase and catch sleeping birds, and suck their blood like a +Weasel. + + +THE CRAB-EATING OPOSSUM.[125] + +A small Opossum, with a long black tail tipped with white, and a +dull-coloured fur to its body, lives in Brazil and Guiana, and has a +very omnivorous disposition. Preferring swampy situations, it lives +mostly on the trees, hunts small birds and insects, and even catches a +reptile now and then, but its fondness for the Crustacea of the swamps +is proverbial, and hence its name of Crab-eater. + +Another species is interesting from being found in the part of +California which adjoins Mexico. The Short-headed Opossum also belongs +to this group, and is from the same locality. Besides these, there are +several smaller pouch-bearing Opossums, without the long hair of those +just mentioned, and they are from Brazil, Guiana, and Surinam--for +instance, the Quica, the Naked-tailed, and the Four Spotted kinds. The +Philander Opossum is a bird-hunter, and lives in Surinam. + +The next group of Opossums have no pouch, but there may be folds of the +skin protecting the mammæ. + + +THE THICK-TAILED OPOSSUM.[126] + +As its name implies, this pouchless Opossum has a very thick tail. +Moreover, it has smaller ears than the other Opossums, and has a +short head and short legs. The fur is made up of harsh hairs, which +are close to the body, and there is but little under fur. Its colour +is yellow-brown, but the eye and muzzle are brownish, and the tail, +with the terminal two-thirds, is black, with the exception of a small +white spot at the end. It inhabits Brazil and Paraguay, and extends +southwards to the River Plate. One of the Opossums was kept by D’Azara, +who found it quiet, tame, and stupid; but having been fed on raw meat, +and a parrot happening to come too close, it killed the bird in a +moment. There are folds of skin in the lower part of the abdomen, but +no pouch, and there are six mammæ. + +Another of the Opossums is called Merian’s Opossum, or _Didelphys +dorsigera_, and it inhabits Surinam. It was described by Madame Merian +in 1717, who represented it in her great book on insects with its young +clustered on its back and hanging on to the mother’s tail, which was +curved over its back, with their little tails. + +[Illustration: MERIAN’S OPOSSUM.] + +It is very curious that the young of these pouchless Opossums should +resemble those of the whole order in being comparatively little +advanced in their development at the time of their birth. The young +are at first strongly attached to the teats of the mother, and when +they are sufficiently strong and grown to leave them, occasionally she +takes them off from the nipples and places them on her back. Here they +cling on with their tails to hers. Hence the name of back-bearing, or +Dorsigera, which is given to this kind. + +[Illustration: YAPOCK.] + +It was at first supposed that this method of carrying the young was +restricted to this species, but subsequent experience has shown that +several kinds do the same thing. + +Two or three other species of Opossum are interesting from their small +size and habits. Thus the Murina Opossum (_Didelphys murina_), with a +very long tail, inhabits Guiana, Brazil, Peru, and Mexico. The body is +about five inches in length, and the tail is either slightly longer or +about the same. Yet this little thing attacks birds and insects; it +burrows in the ground, and climbs trees to get its insect food. + +The Elegant Opossum (_Didelphys elegans_), of Chili, is still smaller +than the last, and frequents the thickets growing on the rocky hills +near Valparaiso. They are numerous, or were so when Mr. Darwin observed +them, and are easily caught in traps baited with cheese or meat. The +tail appeared to be rarely, if at all, used as a prehensile organ; +yet they could run up trees with some degree of facility. It is an +interesting fact that some of the smallest Opossums prey upon Lizards +and Snakes as large, and even heavier, than themselves. + +The last section of the Opossums contains the Water Opossum. + + +THE YAPOCK.[127] + +This animal has a perfect pouch, and has large hind feet, the toes of +which are united by a web. The fore feet are moderate-sized, and the +pisiform bone is unusually long. Its habits are aquatic. The Yapock +has large naked ears, and a long, almost naked, tail, and is altogether +rather larger than the common Rat. Its method of life is very much +the same as that of the Otter. It is a good diver, and feeds upon +crustaceous and other aquatic animals. It is a native of Guiana and +Brazil. + + * * * * * + +The Marsupial animals assume the general shape and habits of many +orders of Mammalia which have no marsupium, and which live in the other +great natural history provinces. Thus there are Marsupial animals +like Dogs, Rats, Squirrels, Flying Squirrels, Deer, &c. They have, +therefore, many methods of life as a group, and, as might be expected, +the brain and nervous system present many differences in them. In all, +the front lobes of the brain which deal with the sense of smell are +very large, and in some, such as in the Carnivorous Marsupials, they +are exposed, and not covered by the main mass of the brain. In the +Kangaroos, however, these olfactory lobes are hidden more or less. +These last also have well-marked convolutions on the brain which are +nearly wanting in those first mentioned. + +The Marsupial animals just considered have been classified to a certain +extent during their descriptions, but it is necessary to recapitulate. +They are arranged in groups of genera or species, or into families. +They are as follows:-- + + +ORDER MARSUPIALIA.--SUB-ORDER MARSUPIATA. + + { Genus Macropus Kangaroos.[128] + Family MACROPODIDÆ { „ Dendrolagus Tree Kangaroos. + { „ Hypsiprymnus Potoroos. + { „ Hypsiprymnodon The Hypsiprymnodon. + + „ PHASCOLOMYIDÆ „ Phascolomys The Wombat. + + { „ Phascolarctus The Koala. + { { The Cuscus. + „ PHALANGISTIDÆ { „ Phalangista { Dormouse Phalanger. + { { Phalangers. + { „ Petaurus Flying Phalangers. + { „ Tarsipes Tarsipes. + + „ PERAMELIDÆ { „ Perameles Bandicoots. + { „ Chœropus Chœropus. + + { „ Myrmecobius Ant-eaters. + „ DASYURIDÆ { „ Phascogale Phascogale. + { „ Dasyurus Dasyures. + { „ Thylacinus Dog-headed Thylacinus. + + „ DIDELPHIDÆ { „ Didelphys Opossum. + { „ Chironectes Yapock. + +The Macropodidæ, Phalangistidæ, Peramelidæ, and Dasyuridæ are found +living somewhere or other in the Australian distributional province, +which includes the mainland, Tasmania to the south, and the Molucca +and Arru Islands to the north, bounded by the Straits of Lombok, and +Celebes, New Guinea, New Ireland, Timor, Amboyna, Banda, and Waigeoe. +Each family is not represented fully, however, in all the remarkably +separated divisions of the province. Thus the genera Macropus and +Dendrolagus of the first family, Petaurus and Phalangista of the +third, Perameles of the fourth, and Phascogale of the Dasyuridæ have +been found in New Guinea; but in other islands, such as Celebes, and +in those from Lombok to Timor, the genus Cuscus alone is represented. +In the Moluccas, Cuscus and the genus Petaurus are found. In Van +Diemen’s Land about one-half of the species are peculiar to the +island, and the remainder are found also on the eastern districts +of the mainland. It has Kangaroos, Potoroos, Wombats, Phalangers, +Bandicoots, and three out of the four genera of Dasyuridæ. Western +Australia, which is such a remarkable botanical province, and is so +separated by desert and sand from the east, has numerous Kangaroos, +Potoroos, Phalangers, Bandicoots, Phascogales, Dasyures; and, in +common with South Australia, a Chœropus, whilst the genus Tarsipes is +peculiar to it. The Wombat is found in Van Diemen’s Land and some of +the islands in Bass Strait. It is found in the south and east of the +mainland of Australia, but not to the west and north. Mr. Waterhouse +notices that the Marsupials of the eastern districts are for the most +part distinct from those of the opposite side of the continent, there +being, when his great work, which has been so constantly referred to +in this description, was written, but eight species out of upwards of +sixty inhabiting the two provinces. South Australia is the habitat of +more common species than elsewhere. The northern part of Australia has +more species peculiar to it than the other divisions, and some of its +Dasyuridæ especially, and species of Cuscus also, are found in the Arru +and other islands to the north. The metropolis of the sub-genus Cuscus +is in the Moluccas, where two species are widely distributed, or one is +restricted to certain islands. + +The other divisions of the genus are represented by the Vulpine +Phalanger, an animal with long loose fur, which inhabits New South +Wales, Western Australia, and North Australia; by Cook’s Phalanger, +of New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land. The genus Perameles, the +Bandicoots, has species in Van Diemen’s Land, Australia, New Guinea, +and in the Arru Islands, and the genus Petaurus has a corresponding +distribution. The Didelphidæ are found in the United States, +California, Mexico, Peru, Guiana, Brazil, Paraguay, Banda Oriental, and +Chili; and Brazil is the country where they abound the most in species +and individuals, the number diminishing to the north and south. + +The Marsupials have a great ancestry, and some of them lived when the +continents and oceans of the earth were in very different relative +positions to those they now occupy. Indeed, it is most probable that +the fossil remains of the most ancient mammal belong to this order. +There is a small double-fanged molar tooth of a mammal which was found +by Plieninger, in 1847, contained in a jumble of shells and of the +remains of reptiles and fishes in strata beneath the Lias formation of +Diegerloch, near Stuttgart. It and another which was discovered close +by, by the same professor, belonged to animals which were dead when +this topmost stratum of the Trias, immediately beneath the Lias, was +being formed. They are Triassic in age, therefore, and they somewhat +resemble the back teeth of a fossil which was found subsequently in the +Purbeck strata of England, and which evidently belonged to a Marsupial +more or less resembling the existing Kangaroo-Rats or Potoroos, of +the genus Hypsiprymnus. Later on, Professor W. Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S., +discovered a small tooth belonging to the same extinct genus as that +which included Plieninger’s fossil, namely, Microlestes; and its +resemblance to one of Hypsiprymnus is even greater. Its position was +high up in the Trias of Watchet in Somersetshire. Mr. Charles Moore, of +Bath, had previously found many specimens of teeth of the same family +in a fissure, down which they had been washed by the Triassic sea. + +A lower jaw of a small Mammal was found in the Trias of North America +by Emmons; and it has on one side three incisors, one long canine, then +a diastema, three premolars, and seven molars with three points. It is +therefore one of the Myrmecobius group. + +After the age of the Trias, when there was much continuous land +surface, Europe was broken up into a coral island tract, during the age +of the collection of the Jurassic deposits. The islands were tenanted +by many small Marsupials, four species of which have been discovered in +the deposits of Stonesfield slate at the bottom of the Great Oolite. +They belong to the extinct genera Amphitherium, Phascolotherium, +and Stereognathus, and the first somewhat resembled the Myrmecobius +of recent times; but all that can be said is that they belonged to +Marsupial animals. Piled on the Stonesfield slates are many hundred +feet of strata, and high up amongst them, in the Swanage and Purbeck +districts, are deposits in which Messrs. Brodie and Beckles have found +portions of the skeletons of numerous insectivorous Marsupials, of +which the genera Spalacotherium, Plagiaulax, Triconodon, and Galestes +are the most important. They were small, as a rule, and there has been +much debate regarding their affinities with modern insectivorous forms, +and they are still surrounded with doubt. + +The appearance of the Mammalia without pouches took place in the +Eocene age, and in the Old and New World, and contemporaneously with +them lived in France a kind of Opossum, some of whose bones were +found in the strata of Montmartre, near Paris; and in later Tertiary +strata other relics have been found. These are the only instances of +a fossil Didelphid occurring out of the New World; and there, where +the Opossums are now characteristic animals, they were present in the +last geological age, for in the Brazilian latest deposits remains of +several species of Didelphys have been found. Remains of these fossil +Opossums have been found in the North American Pliocene deposits. +The more ancient deposits of Australia have not yielded the remains +of any of the animals which are now so peculiar to the province, but +in the bone caves of the Wellington Valley, some two hundred and ten +miles west of Sydney, Sir Thomas Mitchell discovered a mass of bones, +forming a breccia with limestone, which contained numerous and most +interesting Marsupial remains. In deposits of the same late age, and +in bogs and gravels in Queensland, other remains were found. They were +described by Sir R. Owen in one of his greatest works, and they belong +to the Australian families of Marsupials, and not to the American +Didelphidæ. As was usual elsewhere before the appearance of man on the +earth, and contemporaneously with him for awhile, many of the kinds +which resemble more or less those now living, or would be classified +in the same family, and perhaps in the same genus, are gigantic. Owen +distinguished among the bones those of large fossil Marsupials which +belong to the Macropodidæ, and which may be arranged as subdivisions +of the genus Macropus or Kangaroos, and of a powerful creature called +Thylacoleo, or Pouched Lion, which must be admitted as a new section of +the Macropodidæ, and whose habits were probably carnivorous, although +there is much diversity of opinion on the subject, some of the most +distinguished anatomists believing the creature to have been of an +innocent disposition, although appearances are much against it. It is +more closely allied to Plagiaulax, of the English Purbeck beds, than to +any other form, and they well fit in between the genera Macropus and +Hypsiprymnus. + +A huge Marsupial, with a skull three feet in length, with teeth, in +front especially, on the Kangaroo plan, and with longer fore limbs and +shorter hind ones than the last-named animal, was described by Owen. +The pelvis, however, has but two sacral vertebræ, and its ilio-pubic +process would ally it with the Macropodidæ. This Diprotodon was an +herbivorous animal, and was of the size of a Rhinoceros. This great +Marsupial had fore limbs which possessed the power of rotation, and it +was not without some characters which are seen amongst the Wombats. +It appears to have had a great range, for its remains have been found +in the caverns in the Wellington Valley, at Welcome Springs, South +Australia, Hergolt’s Springs, 500 miles north of Adelaide, near +Melbourne, in the valley of the Condamine River, and widely over +Queensland. A slightly smaller animal, called the Nototherium, also +existed with the larger one. + +The species of this genus have no lower incisive tusks, and a very +short chin; the angle of the jaw is curved inwards, and there were +only four molar teeth on each side in both jaws, and they were with +two strong roots or fangs. It was probably one of the Macropodidæ. +Others of this family are allied to Dendrolagus, and form the genera +Protemnodon and Sthenurus. The Wombat was represented in the age of the +great Marsupials; and both large and small species, one being of the +size of the Tapir, have been described from bones and teeth which were +found in the cave deposits of Australia. Remains of a Marsupial animal, +probably of the Vulpine Phalanger, were found in the same caves, as +were also some referable to the genus Perameles, or Bandicoots, and +to the Potoroos. Several fossil species of the family Dasyuridæ have +been found in the Australian caves, and one of them is referable to a +section of the genus Dasyurus, which at present is restricted to Van +Diemen’s Land, it being somewhat like _Dasyurus ursinus_; moreover, +probably, there was a species of Thylacinus present also. So far as is +known from the researches of Owen amongst this wonderful cave fauna, no +members of the family Didelphidæ occur there. They were American then, +as they are now. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +SUB-ORDER--MONOTREMATA.[129] + +THE PORCUPINE OR LONG-SPINED ECHIDNA AND DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS.[130] + + Why the Monotremata are formed into a Sub-order--The lowest of + the Mammalian Class--THE PORCUPINE OR LONG-SPINED ECHIDNA--An + Ant-eater, but not an Edentate--Its Correct Name--Description + of the Animal--Habits and Disposition--Manner of Using the + Tongue--Where it is Found--Anatomical Features: Skull, Brain, + Marsupial Bones--The Young--Species of Van Diemen’s Land and + New Guinea--THE WATER-MOLE, OR DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS--The + most Bird-like Mammal--Various Names--Description--Their + Appearance and Movements in Water--Their Burrows--Habits of an + Individual kept in Confinement--Used by Natives as Food--How + they are Captured--The Young--A Family in Captivity--the + Snout--Jaws--Teeth--Tongue--Fore and Hind Feet--Heel--Spur--The + Shoulder Girdle--Breastbone--Concluding Remarks on the + Sub-orders--Postscript on the Monotremes. + + +THE PORCUPINE OR LONG-SPINED ECHIDNA. + +This animal is the first example of some Marsupial beasts which are +separated into a sub-order, because, in addition to the marsupial +bones, there are some internal points of construction which are more +bird-and lizard-like than those of the Kangaroo tribes. It contains +animals which are the lowest of the Mammalian class, and are found only +in the Australian natural history province. The Porcupine Ant-eater, as +its name implies, has somewhat the shape of a Hedgehog or Porcupine, +and it is fond of burrowing with its peculiar limbs, as well as of +eating Ants with the assistance of its long tongue. But its internal +anatomy and the construction of the skeleton differ from those of the +true Ant-eaters, which belong to the order Edentata. It was called +Ant-eater by its first describer (Shaw) in 1792, but a few years +afterwards it was decided to belong to the same group as an animal +about to be described--the Duck-billed Platypus, or Water Mole--and +Cuvier, whilst believing that they both belonged to a peculiar order, +separated this false Ant-eater from the Water Mole as a species and +genus. He called this Hedgehog-like creature Echidna, from the presence +of a spur on the heel, which is perforated, and which was erroneously +supposed to be poisonous, like the fang of a Viper (Ἔχιδνα). The +correct name is the Long-spined Echidna, or the Porcupine Echidna +(_Echidna hystrix_). + +[Illustration: PELVIC ARCH OF THE ECHIDNA. + +(_a_ _a_) Marsupial Bones.] + +The creature greatly resembles a Hedgehog with a very long snout, at +first sight, but a slight examination will show that it differs much +from the insect-eating and spiny little Hystrix. The Echidna is about +a foot in length, and the upper part of its short body is covered with +strong spines, and the rest is hairy, the front of the head, and the +long, slender, and tapering snout being naked. The legs are short and +strong, and the five toes of the fore leg have large and strong claws. +This is in order to permit the creature to bury itself in sand and soft +earth quickly, and this operation is assisted by a broad and rounded +nail on the inner toe of the hind foot and by large claws on the other +toes, and especially by a long nail to the second toe. A very long +and flexible tongue enables the creature to catch prey. There are no +teeth. The skull, when the skin and flesh have been removed, has a very +pear-like appearance. It is a great burrower, and manages to get out of +the way of observers as soon as is possible, for working actively with +its strong limbs and claws, it pokes its snout into the earth and soon +gets out of view. Ants are its favourite food, and they are captured +in the same way as by the Great Ant-eaters belonging to the Edentata: +for in both there is a long slimy tongue, which can be poked far out +of the mouth into Ants’ nests. The saliva required to make the tongue +sticky comes from large glands under the lower jaw from the ear on to +the fore part of the chest. When the Ants have collected on the sticky +tongue it is taken into the mouth, and they are swallowed. The absence +of teeth is made up by the presence of horny spines on the palate and +tongue, which look backwards, and these crush and direct the food to +the throat. It is an apathetic and stupid animal, and usually tries +to get out of the light, and it will lie and roll itself up, but not +so successfully as a Hedgehog. One of the first which was seen was +attacked by the Dogs of two of the travellers, Bass and Flinders, +whose names are so familiar from places having been named after them +in Australia. The Dogs did not come off victorious, for the new animal +burrowed in the loose sand, but not head foremost; it sank itself +directly downwards, and left its prickly back just on a level with the +surface. + +An Echidna was watched, so that the manner in which it could use its +tongue was observed. Ants could not be had, but a diet of chopped-up +eggs, liver, and meat was readily received, and it was noticed that the +tongue was used in the same manner as that of the Chameleon, by simple +protrusion and bringing in, and also as a mower moves his scythe, it +being curved sideways, and the food swept into the mouth. The Echidna +is fond of water and milk, which are licked up by a rapid putting out +and drawing in of the long tongue. + +[Illustration: PORCUPINE ECHIDNA. (_After Gervais._)] + +Gerard Krefft says that they are usually found in mountain ranges, +and among rocks in the Lower Murray district. He failed to feed them +on Ants and their eggs. On hen’s eggs they fed for a time, and liked +bread-and-milk. He has reason to believe that they live on grass also, +as those whose stomachs and intestines he examined had fed on herbs and +grasses. The spur on the heel is not used as a weapon of offence. + +It inhabits Australia, and has been found as far north as the Bellenden +Plains, Queensland, about 18° south latitude. A specimen has also been +captured at Cape York, and others at Plain Creek, Queensland. It is not +found in Van Diemen’s Land. + +With regard to the anatomy of the Echidna, it may be said that the long +muzzle and the very slender lower jaw give the skull a bird-like look +which is increased by the swollen and ball shape of the brain-case. The +bones of the skull remain imperfectly united for some time, and then +they are united by plain lines of junction, and not by jagged sutures. +The shoulder and the bones of the upper part of the chest resemble +those of the Water Mole, and will be noticed in its description. The +brain of the Echidna weighs about one-fiftieth of the whole body, +and the hemispheres do not conceal the cerebellum. There are three +convolutions behind, and in front of them is a large one bent on +itself, and on its outside are some oblique folds. The sense of smell, +evidently acute in the Echidna, is assisted by a large development of +the olfactory lobes of the brain and their nerves. + +The Echidnas have large marsupial bones. They have not a true pouch, +but only a rudimentary one, or rather an infolding of the skin, +during the breeding season, in the female. The orifices of the teats +are situated beneath the level of the skin, and inverted; and as the +surrounding parts swell under the influence of suckling, there is a +little cavity made, at the bottom of which are the so-called nipples. +They are really little depressions with hair around them. The young +Echidnas are placed in this temporary cavity by the mother, and help +themselves by placing their snouts in the small depressions leading to +the milk gland. Captain Armit says that some force is required to get +the young out of the pouch, and that there is probably a muscular ring +to it. They are at first very small. When about a month or so old, the +hinder parts of the young may be seen sticking out of the region of the +fold, and at three months the body may be observed, the animal still +adhering by its snout. When the prickles of the young begin to harden, +the old one turns them out into the world. (But see Postscript, p. 234.) + +A short-spined Echidna (_Echidna setosa_) inhabits Van Diemen’s Land, +whose hair is sufficiently long to hide most of the spines, but +little is known regarding its habits. Quoy and Gaimard, two French +naturalists, kept one for a month, and it took no food, but after that +time it began to lap and to eat a mixture of flour, sugar, and water. +It burrowed very rapidly, and got to the bottom of a large can full of +earth and plants in the course of a few minutes, and it was assisted in +this by its snout. + +[Illustration: MOUTH (A) AND NOSE-SNOUT (B) OF ECHIDNA.] + +A species of Echidna has been found in the north of the Island of +New Guinea, at the Mont des Karous and Mount Arfak, at an altitude +in the first place of 1,150 yards. It likes the rocky broken ground, +and is unknown on the sea coast. The natives call it “Nokdiak,” and +hunt it for the flesh. As the animal burrows well, the natives dig +down about a yard in different places, and generally cut across one of +the underground runs. It has been described, and has been named after +the explorer, M. Brujn. It is more robust and larger than the species +from Australia and Van Diemen’s Land, has a very long snout--three +times the length of the head--a short tail, and is black in colour +with white points. The fur is plentiful, and like velvet, whilst the +spines are scanty, and about midway in strength between those of the +two Australian kinds. The number of nails on the fore and hind feet +is singular in this New Guinea Echidna, for there are three on each +instead of five. The tongue of the species is longer and more spiny; +moreover, the number of vertebræ differs in this new kind. There are +seventeen dorsal instead of fifteen, and there is one caudal more than +in the others. The spiny pimples on the tongue and palate, so well +developed in this Echidna, have tempted Professor Gervais to include +it in a new genus, Acanthoglossus; but it is as well to retain the old +name, so that the creature is called Echidna Brujnii. Another species +has been found in the south of New Guinea, at Port Moresby, which +is distinguished chiefly by the long, thin, cylindrical form of the +quills, and the stiff, flat, hair-like bristles on the face. The tint +of the flattish bristles covering all the body and limbs, except the +back, is brown; on the back are long cylindrical spines, some white +and others black. There are five claws to each foot, and the second +hind toe is said to be the largest. The fore limbs are short, stout, +and strong. It has been named Echidna Lawesii (Ramsay), after its +discoverer. All these animals can roll themselves up. + + +THE WATER MOLE, OR DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS.[131] + +Like most of the other objects of natural history found in Australia +and the neighbouring islands, the Water Mole is very singular in its +construction, nature, and habits. It is of all animals that suckle +their young the most like a bird, and it really deserves the title, +from its external appearance of half beast, half bird. As its shape and +method of life are peculiar, it has received several names, such as +the Water Mole, the Flat-footed, Duck-billed Platypus, the Bird-beaked +quadruped, and the Paradoxical Bird-beaked animal. It is very fond +of the water and also of burrowing in the ground, and, of course, is +admirably adapted for these pursuits: hence its construction relates to +them to a certain extent, and also to that of the animals of which it +was, as it were, a continuation in the scheme of nature. + +The Ornithorhynchus anatinus has a rather flat body of about eighteen +inches in length, and the head and snout greatly resemble those of a +Duck, whilst the tail is short, broad, and flat, and resembles that +of a small Beaver, but is shorter. The feet are webbed and flat, and +the greater part of the creature is covered with a short dense fur +of a dusky brown colour, darker on the upper and paler on the under +parts of the body. A slight examination of the habits of the animal +will explain the necessity for observing it a little more closely. +Mr. Bennett describes his first interview with one shortly after his +arrival in Australia. He writes: “We soon came to a tranquil part of +the river, such as the colonists call a ‘pond,’ on the surface of which +numerous aquatic plants grew. It is in places of this description that +the Water Moles are most commonly seen, seeking their food among the +aquatic plants, whilst the steep and shaded banks afford them excellent +situations for excavating their burrows. We remained stationary on the +banks, waiting their appearance with some degree of impatience, and it +was not long before my companion quietly directed my attention to one +of these animals, paddling on the surface of the water, not far distant +from the bank on which we were then standing. In such circumstances +they may be readily recognised by their dark bodies, just seen level +with the surface, above which the head is slightly raised, and by +the circles made in the water round them by their paddling action. +On seeing them, the spectator must remain perfectly stationary, as +the slightest noise or movement of his body would cause their instant +disappearance, so acute are they in sight or hearing, or perhaps both; +and they seldom appear when they have been frightened.” On ordinary +occasions they do not remain more than a minute or two at a time on the +surface of the water. + +A burrow of an Ornithorhynchus, which Mr. Bennett opened, had its +entrance on a steep part of a bank, situated about one foot from the +water’s edge, and concealed among the long grass and other Plants. +“This burrow ran up the bank in a serpentine course, approaching nearer +to the surface of the earth towards its termination, at which part +the nest is situated. No nest had yet been made in the termination of +the burrow, for that appears to be formed about the time of bringing +forth the young, and consists merely of dried grass, weeds, &c., +strewed over the floor of this part of the habitation.” The expanded +termination measured one foot in length and six inches in breadth, and +the whole length of the burrow was twenty feet. Besides the entrance +before alluded to, it appears there is usually a second opening +into the burrows below the surface of the water, communicating with +the interior, just within the upper aperture. A burrow subsequently +examined by Mr. Bennett terminated at a distance of thirty-five feet +from the entrance; and that gentleman stated that they have been found +fifty feet in length. + +From the burrow first opened by Mr. Bennett a living female was +taken, and placed in a cask, with grass, mud, water, &c., and in this +situation it soon became tranquil, and apparently reconciled to its +confinement. On his return home to Sydney, Mr. Bennett determined to +indulge it with a bathe; and with this view, when he arrived in the +vicinity of some ponds, he tied a long cord to its leg. “When placed on +the bank, it soon found its way into the water, and travelled up the +stream, apparently delighting in those places which most abounded in +aquatic weeds. When diving in deep and clear water, its motions were +distinctly seen: it sank speedily to the bottom, swam there for a short +distance, and then rose again to the surface. It appeared, however, to +prefer keeping close to the bank, occasionally thrusting its beak into +the mud, from whence it evidently procured food, as, on raising the +head, after withdrawing the beak, the mandibles were seen in lateral +motion, as is usual when the animal masticates. The motions of the +mandibles were similar to those of a Duck under the same circumstances. +After feeding, it would lie sometimes on the grassy bank, and at others +partly in and partly out of the water, combing and cleaning its coat +with the claws of the hind feet. This process occupied a considerable +time, and greatly improved its sleek and glossy appearance.” + +The Water Moles are said to have a peculiarly fishy smell, more +especially when wet, which probably proceeds from an oily secretion. +They are used by the aborigines for food; “but it is no particular +recommendation of them,” Mr. Bennett remarks, “to say they are eaten by +the native Australian, as nothing in the shape of provender comes amiss +to him, whether it be Snakes, Rats, Frogs, Grubs, or the more delicate +Opossum, Bandicoot, and Flying Squirrel.” + +The Ornithorhynchus is captured by the natives when in its burrow. They +first examine the neighbourhood of the burrow, to ascertain, by the +presence of recent footmarks on the soil, whether it is inhabited, and +if the examination proves satisfactory, they proceed to dig holes with +pieces of sticks from the surface of the ground into the burrow, at +distances from each other, until they discover its termination, when +the Australians consider themselves exceedingly fortunate should they +find the young, since they are regarded as a great delicacy. + +The young have been found in their nests by Mr. Bennett about one inch +and seven-eighths in length, in the early part of December, and near +the end of the same month he found young Water Moles of ten inches +in length. These latter were kept alive for nearly five weeks, and +their habits whilst in captivity are described in detail in his paper, +which is illustrated by some admirable figures, showing their various +attitudes, &c. The young were allowed to run about the room; but an old +Ornithorhynchus in the possession of our author was so restless, and +damaged the walls of the room so much by her attempts at burrowing, +that it was found necessary to confine her to the box. “During the day +she would remain quiet, huddled up with her young ones; but at night +she became very restless, and eager to escape. The little ones were +as frolicsome as puppies, and apparently as fond of play; and many of +their actions were not a little ludicrous. During the day they seemed +to prefer a dark corner for repose, and generally resorted to the spot +to which they had been accustomed, although they would change it on +a sudden, apparently from mere caprice. They did not appear to like +deep water, but enjoyed exceedingly a bathe in shallow water, with a +turf of grass placed in one corner of the pan; they seldom remained +longer than ten or fifteen minutes in the water at one time. Though +apparently nocturnal, or at least preferring the cool and dusky evening +to the glare and heat of noon, their movements in this respect were +so irregular as to furnish no grounds for a definite conclusion. They +slept much; and it frequently happened that one slept whilst the other +was running about; and this occurred at almost all periods of the day. +They climbed with great readiness to the summit of a book-case, and +thus, by means of their strong cutaneous muscles and of their claws, +mounting with much expedition to the top. Their food consisted of bread +soaked in water, chopped eggs, and meat minced very small, and they did +not seem to prefer milk to water.” + +Mr. Foulerton states that the natives are seldom successful in catching +the Water Moles alive, although in some places in the rivers and creeks +of New England they are so numerous that from fifteen to eighteen have +been shot in an afternoon. In the dark, rocky, shady rivers they may +be seen at any time of the day, but in more open places seldom before +sunset. He failed to see any young ones, and believes that they keep +them concealed until near their maturity. They are very active in the +water, and are more frequently under than above the surface. He never +saw one leave the water, and states that they made very poor progress +on land. As a rule they are to be found in good fellowship with the +Australian Water Rat (_Hydromys chrysogaster_). + +The young Water Moles are naked, and have a short beak with fleshy and +smooth edges, and this conformation enables them to seize the space +on the mother whence the milk comes, for there are no nipples. Their +tongue is large and assists in the sucking also. + +[Illustration: JAWS OF THE DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS. + +(_After Waterhouse._) + + (A) Upper, (B) Lower Jaw; (_a_) Molar Teeth; (_b_) Narrow Anterior + Teeth; (_c_) Tongue; (_d_) Integument projecting from Jaw; (_e_) + Transverse Ridges on Covering of Beak. +] + +The most curious feature in the Ornithorhynchus is the snout in the +form of a beak. This is flat and broadest in front where it is rounded. +It is hard, and is covered with a skin full of pores, and on each side +this skin overlaps the sides to form a kind of fringe or flexible +cheek, and this free membrane is carried round the front. Where this +skin comes to the head, it forms a wide fold, which flaps over the +front of the head and throat, and is a capital protection when the +creature is grubbing in the wet banks or burrowing, and evidently +protects the face and the eyes from injury. The nostrils are close to +the extremity of the snout. In the lower jaw, or part of the beak-like +snout, there are some ridges, which mark it crosswise from the mouth +to the outside, and corresponding structures may be noticed in a Duck, +their use being to provide grooves or spaces through which water may +pour out of the mouth when the creature is feeding on soft mud and wet +substances. Inside the mouth there is a pouch in the cheek, one on each +side, and this is to retain food. It has four teeth in the upper and +four in the lower jaw, but they are horny and made up of tubes; the +front ones are long and narrow, and the others are oblong and oval in +form, with a hollow crown. Moreover, the tongue, as in some reptiles, +has horny teeth on it. The eyes of the creature are small and brown, +and are situated close to the beak, and they look upwards. The ear is +hidden by the fur, but it is none the less sharp of hearing. As may +be gleaned from the notice of its habits, the animal has great power +of swimming but not much of running, although the limbs are short. +The fore-feet have five toes, nearly equal in length, the first being +rather the shortest, and all have solid and rounded claws. The toes are +webbed, and the fold of skin even extends in front of the claws when +swimming is going on, but is folded back in digging. In the hind-feet +the web does not extend farther than the base of the claws, and there +is a spur on the heel, which is movable and sharp. It is found on the +adult males in perfection, and it may be useful as well as ornamental. +On carefully examining the under and lower part of the body, the milk +or mammary glands are to be seen, and there is no proper nipple; but +when suckling, the swelling of the gland produces an eminence, which +can be grasped by the wide, open, and soft beak of the young. + +[Illustration: FORE (A) AND HIND (B) FOOT OF THE DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS. + +(_After Waterhouse._) + + (_a_) Spur on Heel of Hind Foot.] + +[Illustration: SHOULDER-GIRDLE AND STERNUM OF THE ECHIDNA. + + (_a_) T-shaped interclavicle; (_b_) Manubrium; (_c_) Ensiform end of + sternum; (_d_) Cartilages of ribs; (_e_) Scapula; (_f_) Coracoid; + (_g_) Epicoracoid. +] + +It was thought that this bird-like creature laid eggs, but the point +was not easy to determine. (See Postscript, page 234.) It has a double +uterus, leading to the common canal, called urogenital, and this +ends in the common outlet. The Ornithorhynchus and Echidna have an +arrangement of the bones of the shoulder and chest, which resembles to +a certain extent that of the Lizards and of the Ichthyosaurus, and the +annexed engraving will explain the position of the bones. Indeed, the +most important peculiarity in the skeleton of the Monotremes is that of +the shoulder-girdle and upper part of the chest; for a bone, the merest +vestiges of which are noticed in some of the Mammalia, occurs, that is +of some importance in the great groups of birds and reptiles, which +are lower in the animal scale than the Vertebrata already described. +In all the animals described hitherto, and including the Marsupiata, +the large arm bone (humerus) is jointed at the shoulder with the blade +bone, or scapula. The socket in this bone, which receives the somewhat +ball-shaped top of the humerus, in order to permit of very general +motion, is a part of the scapula, and is called the glenoid cavity; but +in the Monotremes a bone called the coracoid joins with the scapula, +and forms part of the socket; moreover, this coracoid is long enough +to reach the breast bone, or sternum. The breast bone in the Mammalia +hitherto noticed consists of an expanded part at its fore end (in +the usual position of quadrupeds), or at its top in man, called the +manubrium, and of some smaller pieces, which form the front bone of +the chest and reach to the belly, having ribs attached to them on each +side. This is the state of things in the Monotremes; and the coracoids +are attached to the manubrium, one on each side. In other Mammalia it +is the collar bone which is jointed there. In addition to these breast +bones in the Monotremes, there are other bones in front, or between +the neck and the top of the manubrium. Firstly, there is a bone in the +shape of a =T=: the lower point is on the breast bone, and the +cross-bar supports a collar bone on each side, which reaches outwards +to the blade bone. Secondly, there is a bone on each side in front of +the coracoid, reaching forwards towards the neck. This is called the +epicoracoid. Some of these bones, now noticed for the first time, are +more or less common to birds, reptiles, and amphibians. + +[Illustration: DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS.] + +There are some other anatomical points which ally the Monotremes to +the reptiles. For instance, the peg on the second, or axis vertebra of +the neck, is not fixed to the bone by true bony matter, and some of +the ribs which exist in the neck in the Monotremes are separate from +the vertebræ until late in life, or altogether. And the cavity for +jointing of the thigh bone with the pelvis (the acetabulum) is not +perfect, there being a part of it not filled with bony matter. + +The ear is singularly simple in its construction in this sub-order, and +the cochlea is not coiled into a spiral; moreover, there is no external +ear. + +The hemispheres of the brain, which are convoluted in the Echidnas, +are smooth in the Ornithorhynchus, and in both the central commissure, +or corpus callosum, just exists, whilst the anterior one is large. The +Ornithorhynchus inhabits Van Diemen’s Land and Australia, as far north +as Queensland inclusive. + +The Echidna and the Ornithorhynchus belong to a sub-order of the +Marsupialia which, whilst it has some structures resembling those +of the sub-order of Marsupiata, possesses others which link it with +the birds and reptiles. This sub-order is the lowest amongst the +Mammalia, and the animals which are included in it have the following +peculiarities:--The marsupial bones are present, the uterus is double, +and the young are not nourished when within the parent by a placenta; +there is no inflection of the lower jaw; the shoulder-girdle has +additional bones; there are no true nipples; the teeth are either +absent or horny; the external ear is not present, and there is not a +true pouch. The excretion of the kidneys and the contents of the bowels +fall into one receptacle, through which the young also pass. It is +called a cloaca, and receives the outlets of the rectum and urogenital +canal. The presence of the spur on the heel is also a peculiarity. + +A fossil Echidna has been discovered in deposits on the Darling Downs. + +The Echidnas form one genus and the Ornithorhynchus another, and the +classification of the whole is as follows:-- + + ORDER MARSUPIALIA. + SUB-ORDER MONOTREMATA. + Genus Echidna. + Genus Ornithorhynchus. + +In concluding this Natural History of the Marsupiata and Monotremata, +it is necessary to direct attention to the fact that they are less well +defined than the other great groups of the Mammalia. As sub-orders, +they are very artificial, for some of their most important structural +peculiarities are deficient in some of the genera. The inflected lower +jaw is not invariably found, the marsupium does not always exist, and +the marsupial bones differ in shape and size, and are occasionally +absent. With regard to these bones or cartilages, they are not +connected with the pouch, but with the muscular system of the belly. +They have been shown by Huxley to be present in Crocodiles, and in the +amphibian called the Salamander. Hence these structures are relics +of a remote ancestry, and have but slight functional importance. The +authorities whence I have derived most of this Natural History are +Waterhouse, Owen, Huxley, Bennett, Gould, and Kreeft, to whom I am +under great obligations. + + P. MARTIN DUNCAN. + +_Postscript._--Mr. W. H. Caldwell has discovered that the Monotremes +lay eggs as has been suspected, and he has traced the development of +the animal during the hatching. The eggs resemble those of a Reptile +more than a Mammal, and the yolk is in such excess that it is not all +subdivided during the early stages of the embryo of the Monotreme, +but some remains over and above, upon which it is nourished in the +early stages within the egg. The heart of Ornithorhynchus paradoxus is +interesting because Meckel, and, subsequently, Prof. E. Ray Lankester, +F.R.S., have shown that it differs from that of the higher Mammalia, +and is not without considerable resemblance in some of the valvular +structures to the hearts of Birds and Crocodiles. The last-named +naturalist states that the reflux of blood into the right auricle +on contraction of the ventricle, is not prevented by the presence +of the special structure seen in Mammals, but by an arrangement +which is observed in Reptiles and Birds. The mitral valve is with +three divisions instead of two, as in the higher Mammalia, but the +tendinous structures seen in this last group, to terminate the muscular +structures, do not exist in the Monotreme. This increase of the +muscular structure is not so palpable in Echidna. It is interesting to +know that the special structures of the right side of the heart in the +adult Ornithorhynchus are seen in the embryonic condition of the higher +Mammalia. + +[Illustration: IMPERIAL EAGLE.] + + + + +THE CLASS AVES.--THE BIRDS. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +INTRODUCTION--WING-STRUCTURE AND FEATHERS--DISTRIBUTION. + + Introduction--Distinctive Characters of the Class Aves--Power of + Flight--The Wing--Its Structure--The Six Zoo-geographical Regions of + the Earth--Birds peculiar to these Regions. + + +The study of birds is almost an instinct in an Englishman: from peasant +to noble, an innate affection for the feathered songsters seems to +prevail; so that whether it be in a stately aviary or in a little cage +outside a cottage door, birds are found to be the constant companions +of man throughout the length and breadth of the land. And it is +possible that no other country in the world possesses such a number +of birds, in proportion to its size, as does Great Britain. Any one +travelling on the continent of Europe cannot fail to notice how few +birds meet his eye; and although they may be there, and may be found +by a little searching for, they do not form such a prominent feature +of a walk as they do in England or Scotland. Even the toiler in large +towns has but to get a little way into the nearest fields to hear the +cheering song of the Skylark or the Thrush, or to be amused with the +bustling and active habits of the Starling, or those of the more sedate +and cautious Rook. It is certain that a study of the habits of birds +will always repay the student, who may see in the feathered favourites +which are around him many a little bright example to be followed, if +he read the lesson aright. Birds teach us many things--perseverance, +fidelity, parental affection, thrift, cleanliness, and many other +domestic virtues, which are to be seen carried out in their life in +the greatest perfection. In the following pages the birds will be +passed in review, and the habits of some of the most striking and +important forms will be detailed. But, although every species and genus +cannot be noticed here, it is necessary to assure the student that +in every country--even in England, where so much has been done for +Ornithology--he will find an ample reward in the study of all birds; +and that even the commonest species cannot be neglected, for there is +always something new to learn and to record in their life-history. +To quote Dr. A. E. Brehm, one of the most accomplished observers of +nature, who, carefully trained by his father, a true naturalist also, +has studied the feathered tribes in many climes:-- + +“He who is only half at home with nature on this earth of ours will be +able approximately to appreciate the feelings with which the naturalist +wanders and travels from place to place: wherever he may be he finds +friendly forms. For years he has silently watched the interior economy +and household arrangements of animated nature, and yet he has not seen +all; and on this account he is never in want of employment. Every bird +is a personal friend: the old ones he knows almost as well as he knows +himself, and the new ones must be studied. How much more is there yet +to observe! Rich as he may be in experiences, every fresh ramble brings +him fresh mental treasure. The relations existing between him and the +bird become each day more and more intimate; he knows the lives and +habits of each: when each arrives, or takes its departure: where is +its abode: how it is made: when it is occupied by a happy troop of +nestlings: when deserted. The naturalist knows his friends by their +notes, flight, and bearing. In his eye the bird never ceases to exist: +alive or dead it is always interesting in his eyes, for in either case +the bird is associated with a poesy of feeling in creative nature which +he would put into words. Every new bird raises his spirits a step +higher; every fresh discovery is a step onward in the knowledge of the +ways and means of all things. He is indebted to his friends for many a +happy hour; their lives are a pattern worthy of imitation.”[132] + +Here, then, we may ask--What is a bird? How can a bird be told from all +other Vertebrate animals? The chief character which distinguishes the +class of birds is undoubtedly _the clothing of the body with feathers_. +Other characters they also possess, but not exclusively. For instance, +they have the power of flight developed in the greatest degree: but +there are some birds, such as the Apteryx, the Ostrich, and the +Cassowary, which cannot fly at all; while, on the other hand, there are +flying mammals, such as Bats, Flying Squirrels, and there are flying +reptiles, which can progress through the air by means of flight. Again, +birds lay the eggs from which they produce their young; but so do many +reptiles and fish: so that this cannot be considered a prerogative of +the class of birds. Their bill is hard and sheathed in horn; but so +is that of the Duck-billed Platypus (page 231), an animal belonging +to the Monotreme Mammals; and Turtles also have beaks. Most, but not +all, birds build nests; and in this they stand almost alone among the +higher animals; but nest-building propensities are developed in many of +the Mammalia--in the Lemurs and Mice, for instance--while it cannot be +assigned as a habit peculiar to birds, as the wonderful nests made by +some fish conclusively prove. + +All birds, whether they fly or not, are clothed with feathers, and this +distinguishes the class _Aves_ in the existing state of nature. The +majority are specially adapted for flight: and as this is undoubtedly +the most vigorous form of locomotion, the greatest muscular efforts +being required to raise and sustain a body above the ground and to +propel it rapidly through the air, a large development of muscular +energy is necessary. The great strain on the circulation of the blood +is met by a heart not only as complete as in the Mammalia, but with +stronger and a peculiar valvular mechanism for propelling that fluid +vigorously through the body. Moreover, in addition to their lungs, +birds possess a singular provision of air-receptacles within the body, +and these are connected with a series of cavities, also filled with +air, which occupy the interior of most of the bones. These cavities +serve not only to give lightness to the bird’s body, but they also +assist the lungs in aërating the blood, so that birds may be said to +enjoy a double respiration. As birds exceed mammals in the activity of +their breathing and circulatory system, so also they possess a higher +degree of animal heat, their temperature ranging from 106° to 112° +Fahr. This high temperature, which exceeds that of the Mammalia by +from 8° to 14°, is maintained by its admirable feather-clothing, which, +being a non-conductor, effectually serves to guard against any sudden +variations of temperature in the air to which its body is exposed, +during its rapid and extensive flights, as well as tempering the usual +radiation from the body. + +As one might expect in the fore-limb of a creature specially organised +for suspension in, and progression through, the air, it is found that +the muscles, as well as the bones and joints, of the bird’s wing +become much modified as compared with the corresponding parts of other +animals. With all our scientific knowledge and mechanical contrivances, +no one has yet succeeded in constructing a flying machine. It is a +significant fact that Nature has not only long ago solved this problem, +but that she has done so in several ways. The flight of an insect, of +a bird, of a bat, is equally perfect in its way: but in each case the +result is attained by very different modifications in the skeletal and +muscular apparatus. The principal resistance that a flying animal has +to work against is its weight: that is, the force of gravity which, +proportionately to its mass, tends to draw it down vertically towards +the earth; hence the muscles which are largest and strongest in a bird +are those which pull down the wing against the air, thereby raising the +body and overcoming its weight. + +[Illustration: BONES OF WING OF BIRD. + +(_After Sundevall._) + + (_a_) Humerus; (B) Cubitus; (_c_) Ulna; (_d_) Radius; (E) Manus, or + hand; (_f_) Carpus; (_g_, _h_, _i_) Metacarpus; (_k_) Pollex, or + thumb; (_l_) Second digit; (_m_) Third digit. +] + +The chief muscle thus employed is the “great pectoral,” attached to +the large keel (or ridge) on the breast-bone, and inserted into the +“humerus,” or “arm-bone.” This “great pectoral” is generally the +largest muscle in the bird’s body, and in fact often equals in bulk all +the other muscles put together. + +The wing is _opened out_ by straightening the elbow and the +wrist-joints. The former process is effected by the contraction of the +_triceps_; the latter chiefly by the action of the so-called “radial +extensors,” and by the elasticity of the long “tensor,” or ligament, +which comes from the shoulder muscles along the front border of the +anterior wing-membrane, and is attached to the base of the thumb, at +the front side of the wrist. + +The wing is _folded_ by the bending of the elbow and the adduction of +the wrist-joints. The elbow is bent principally by the contraction of +the “biceps” and the “internal brachial,” the wrist-joint chiefly by +the contraction of the “hand-adductor,” and of the “ulnar wrist-flexor.” + +As already stated, the possession of feathers is one of the most +characteristic features in a bird. These beautiful structures are +modifications of the skin, just as are the scales of the feet and +the claws of the toes. Feathers and hairs, scales and claws, are all +produced out of, and are modifications of, the cells of the upper +skin, or _epidermis_, and of the under, or true skin, or _cutis_. The +feathers differ much in their minute construction in some birds; and +all those of a bird are of course not of the same size and shape, but +they have the following parts in common. + +[Illustration: FEATHERS OF WING OF BIRD. (_After Sundevall._) + + (A) Feathers of the manus, or primary quills; (B) Feathers of + the _cubitus_, or secondary quills; (C) Coverts of the manus, or + primary-coverts; (D) Lesser primary-coverts; (E) Coverts of the + _cubitus_, or secondary-coverts; (F) Median coverts; (G) Lesser + coverts; (H) Feathers of the thumb, or bastard wing. +] + +A feather consists of a quill, a shaft, barbs, and barbules: moreover, +there may be a kind of accessory part, often in the shape of a downy +tuft, close to the junction of the shaft and the quill. The shaft +(_scapus_) or axis of every perfect feather (_penna_) is divided into +the quill (_calamus_), the hollow cylinder (_d_), which is partly +embedded in a sac of the skin, and the true shaft (_rachis_, _a_), +which bears on each side the lateral processes called barbs (_rami_ +or _radii_). The rachis and the barbs together are known as the +vane (_vexillum_), and, in fact, form what is commonly known as the +“feather” in contradistinction to the “quill.” The barbs (_c_, _c_, +_c_, _c_) are narrow plates, or laminæ, “tapering to points at their +free ends, and attached by their bases on each side of the rachis. +The edges of these barbs are directed upwards and downwards, when the +_vexillum_ of the feather is horizontal The interstices between the +barbs are filled up by the _barbules_, pointed processes, which stand +in the same relation to the barbs as the barbs do to the rachis. The +barbules themselves may be laterally serrated and terminated by little +hooks, which interlock with the hooks of the opposed barbules. In very +many birds each quill bears two _vexilla_; the second, called the +_aftershaft_ (_b_) (_hyporachis_), being attached on the under side of +the first,”[133] close to the junction of the shaft with the quills. + +In all the feathers of the Ratitæ, and in the case of all but the +contour feathers in other birds, there are no barbules to the barbs. +The pennæ are ordinarily arranged in definite patches, or areas on +the bird, and the shape and size of these, and their relation to one +another, differ in many birds. + +The _aftershaft_ (_b_) is ordinarily a smaller _vexillum_, which is +attached to the under side of the larger one at about the point where +the rounded quill passes into the stem. + +It is not necessary to notice these important characteristic structures +more fully now, as they will have to be considered in explaining the +distinctions between the great groups of birds, and we pass on to +notice that the same kinds of birds are not found everywhere, but that +they have, as groups, a remarkable geographical distribution. + +In the following pages the distribution of birds is often alluded to, +although it will naturally be impossible to discuss, within these +limits, all the various phases of the study which the geographical +distribution of the feathered tribes opens up to us. At the same time +sufficient evidence will be given to show that birds are not scattered +without order over the earth, but are more or less restricted to +certain spots. + +[Illustration: PARTS OF A FEATHER. (_After Nitzsch._)] + +The six natural history or distributional provinces into which the +world is ordinarily divided by modern naturalists were determined, +first of all, from the study of the birds; and in fixing the boundaries +of each division the wading birds and many swimming birds must be left +out of the question, as they are creatures of such very extensive +flight, and wander almost from pole to pole. A natural region, +therefore, can be marked only by its resident forms of bird life, or +at the most by the birds which breed within its limits; and the six +regions alluded to provide us with many excellent reasons for believing +that they possess well-defined physical boundaries. No Capercailzie, +for instance, was ever found out of the _Palæarctic_[134] region, which +comprises Europe and the greater part of Asia above the line of the +Himalayas and the Yangtze-kiang River in China. This region is also +characterised by a large number of Buntings, Warblers, Grouse, &c. +In the _Nearctic_[135] region there is a certain similarity to the +European and Siberian Avifauna, Grouse, Ptarmigan, Waxwings, Magpies, +Ravens, &c., being commonly found throughout the two regions. North +America possesses, however, several forms peculiar to itself, though +it is by no means so rich in species as is the _Neotropical_[136] +region, which commences south of a line drawn through Northern Mexico, +and includes the whole of Central and Southern America. Within this +large area are contained whole families of birds, such as Toucans, +Mot-mots, the vast majority of the Humming-birds, Trogons, besides +innumerable genera of Tanagers and other forms, so that this region is +by far the richest in the world as regards bird life. The _Ethiopian_ +region embraces all Africa below the Sahara Desert and Madagascar: +Plaintain-eaters, &c., are characteristic of this region. The _Indian_ +region skirts the Palæarctic, and includes the remainder of Asia below +the Himalayas and the Yangtze-kiang; the Malayan Peninsula, the Sunda +Islands, and the Philippines, belong to this region, which contains +all the finest Pheasants in the world, the Impeyan Pheasant from the +Himalayas, the Tragopans, and the Lobed Pheasant of Borneo being most +beautiful creatures. Lastly, between the islands of Bali and Lombok +passes a deep sea boundary called “Wallace’s line,” which divides the +_Australian_ region from the Indian, and although these islands lie so +close together, the great depth of the channel between them seems to +mark them out as frontier lines of two ancient continents. Certain it +is that the birds and animals on each side of Wallace’s line differ +remarkably; and the Australian region, which includes all the Moluccas, +New Guinea, and Oceania, in addition to the Australian continent and +New Zealand, presents us with forms not found elsewhere, such as Birds +of Paradise, Cassowaries, Lyre-birds, and a large variety of peculiar +types. Many smaller divisions of the globe are now recognised, but the +above are the main ones, which may occasionally be referred to in these +pages.[137] + +Many birds migrate, and the student of migration alone would find +sufficient material there for the work of a lifetime; and it seems +almost impossible to account for the instinct or other causes which +bring birds regularly year by year to breed in the same haunts, and +which drive them away at the same change of season. Why is it, for +instance, that species of similar habits and form, and both visiting +Europe in equal abundance, should occupy such different winter +quarters? Yet the common Red-backed Shrike, or Butcher-bird (_Lanius +collyrio_), when he is said to leave Europe, passes by the Nile Valley +along the east coast of Africa down to the Cape, where he brings up +a second brood of nestlings; while the Wood-Chat Shrike (_Lanius +auriculatus_), a bird of about the same size and of precisely similar +habits, proceeds down the Nile Valley and invades Abyssinia in the +winter, and also occupies Senegambia, where a Red-backed Shrike has +never been found yet by a naturalist. Nothing whatever is known by +which route the bird gets to the Gambia: whether he follows the same +one as his red-backed relation as far as Abyssinia, and then skirts the +southern edge of the Sahara, or whether he reaches north-western Africa +by a direct flight across the Great Desert. Many other such problems +in the economy of our most familiar species are still awaiting further +scientific research. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE ANATOMY OF A BIRD.[138] + + The Three Divisions of the Class Aves--ANATOMY OF A + BIRD--The Skeleton--Distinctive Features--Peculiar Bone + Character--The Skull--Difference between the Skull of + Birds and that of Mammals--The Jawbones--Vertebral + Column--Sternum--Fore-limbs--Hind-limbs--Toes--The + Muscular System--How a Bird remains Fixed when Asleep--The + Oil-gland--The Nervous System--The Brain--The Eye--The + Ear--The Digestive System--The Dental papillæ--The + Beak--Tongue--Gullet--Crop--Stomach--Uses of the + Gizzard--Intestine--The Liver, Pancreas, and Spleen--The Blood + and Circulatory System--Temperature of Blood of a Bird--Blood + Corpuscles--The Heart--The Respiratory System--Lungs--Air-sacs--The + Organs of Voice--The Egg--Classification of the Class Aves. + + +Birds may be separated into three great divisions: the _Carinatæ_, or +birds with a keeled sternum, the _Ratitæ_, or birds having a raft-like +sternum, and the _Saururæ_, or lizard-like birds. The last of these +orders links the birds with the reptiles, and does not concern us here, +as it contains only one genus, and that a fossil one, the _Archæopteryx +lithographica_, respecting which a few words will be found at the end +of this article (Vol. IV., pp. 236-8). The other two divisions are of +great importance, and are easily recognisable, although the characters +which separate them are chiefly anatomical. The principal point of +difference lies in the sternum, or breast-bone, and the name _Carinatæ_ +is given to all those which have a keel (_carina_) or sternal ridge +largely developed, as in the common fowl; and this is present in the +great majority of birds. The _Ratitæ_ have not got this keel, and in +this division are found the Struthious birds--Ostriches, Cassowaries, +&c. They are all species which cannot fly; and although the number at +present existing is small, the fact of their being found at widely +distant parts of the earth--in South America, in Africa, and again in +Australia--would seem to indicate that they were once more plentifully +distributed, and that they are remains of what was formerly a large +and important group. To these Ratite birds belonged also the extinct +gigantic Moas of New Zealand, and the _Æpyornis_ of Madagascar. + +Before proceeding further, it will be necessary to give a brief outline +of the principal anatomical features of a bird’s body. On examining +either the general features of the skeleton, or the minute characters +of many of the bones of which it is made up, in such a bird as a Hawk, +for example, we are arrested by those remarkable arrangements by which +this part of the body is adapted to the mode of life of its possessor. +Here, however, as in so many instances, we have to distinguish between +what is characteristic of the bird as a flying animal, and what is +more or less common to it and other vertebrate animals, and does not +especially relate to peculiar habits. We may well be struck by the +marvellous power which birds have, and which man has not, and it is +curious to notice how man’s aspirations have ever been associated with +it. Without pausing to observe that painters always endow spirits with +wings, or that the imaginative genius of the French has emboldened them +to form a “Société d’Encouragement pour la Locomotion Aérienne,” we may +find in the words of Faust definite expression of what man feels with +regard to the law by which he is held down to earth:-- + + “Ich eile fort, ihr ew’ges Licht zu trinken, + Vor mir den Tag und hinter mir die Nacht, + Den Himmel über mir, und unter mir die Wellen. + Ein schöner Traum, indessen sie entweicht. + Ach! zu des Geistes Flügeln wird so leicht + Kein körperlicher Flügel sich gesellen. + Doch ist es jedem eingeboren, + Dass sein Gefühl hinauf und vorwärts dringt, + Wenn über uns, im blauen Raum verloren, + Ihr schmetternd Lied die Lerche singt, + Wenn über schroffen Fichtenhöhen + Der Adler ausgebreitet schwebt, + Und über Flächen, über Seen + Der Kranich nach der Heimat strebt.”[139] + +Inspired by feelings such as those so powerfully expressed in Goethe’s +lines, numerous naturalists have treated of the bird as though the +powers of flight were confined to it, and were not shared by Bees and +Bats in the present, and by Pterodactyles in the past. With this word +of comment, which it is even still necessary to insist upon, attention +should be given to the following avian characters:--The anterior limbs +do not touch the ground, and the bones which compose them are adapted +for carrying the feathers of the wing; the breast-bone is not only +elongated, but has its central portion developed (except in the Ratitæ) +into a strong keel, the better to permit insertion of the muscles +by which the fore-limb is moved; the small bones (vertebræ) in the +region of the back are fixed firmly together, and are not, as in man +or in the Ostrich, movable on one another; while those which succeed +them are often welded into one mass with the greatly-developed upper +bones (_ilia_) of the pelvic girdle; and the hinder vertebræ develop +an upstanding plate (ploughshare bone) which gives support to the +_rectrices_, or so-called steering feathers of the tail. It will have +been seen that the ordinary seizing organ of man (the hand) has in +birds been modified to serve another purpose; but this is made up for, +not only by the character of the beak, but by the long and flexible +neck, and in some by the grasping toes. + +Before describing in detail the characters of the different parts of +the skeleton, it is to be noted that many of the bones are not, as in +the Mammalia, filled with marrow, but with air; a large cavity may, +for example, be seen in the upper bone (_humerus_) of the wing of the +common fowl. It is obvious that the specific gravity, or weight of the +bird, is thus largely reduced, while the connection between these +air-spaces and those which are derived from the lungs enables the +contained air to undergo the necessary exchanges with the surrounding +medium. + +It was long ago observed by the famous German anatomist, Johannes +Müller, that “it has often been a subject for complaint that the +anatomical characters of birds are so constant that they are of but +slight assistance in the labours of the zoologist.” The truth of this +will very forcibly strike any one who comes to the study of the skulls +of birds, after having examined a series of skulls in mammals, so that +the seemingly trivial variations to which anatomists have directed +attention are in truth those which are, in birds, often of the most +importance. + +[Illustration: SKELETON OF EAGLE. (_Reduced. After +Milne-Edwards._) + + (_p_) Pelvis; (_c_) Coracoid; (_dr_) Dorsal ribs; (_sr_) Sternal + ribs; (_up_) Uncinate processes; (_co_) Coccyx; (_r_) Radius; (_u_) + Ulna; (_d_) first phalanx of chief digit of the wing; (_d′_) second + phalanx of chief digit of the wing; (_d″_) Phalanges of lower digit; + (_d‴_) Pollex; (_ca_) Carpus; (_f_) Femur; (_fu_) Furcula; (_h_) + Humerus; (_pp_) Postorbital process; (_tm_) Tarso-metatarsus; (_m_) + Metatarsus; (_ma_) Lower jaw; (_me_) Metacarpus; (_s_) Scapula; + (_pa_) Phalanges of foot; (_fi_) Fibula; (_pt_) Patella; (_st_) + Sternum; (_ti_) Tibia. +] + +The skull, then, is, as compared with the rest of the body, small; but +that portion which contains the brain is relatively larger to the face +than it is in any living mammal. The orbits, or cavities in which lie +the eyes, are very deep, in consequence of the small extent to which +the walls of the brain-case extend forwards. The cavities of each side +are separated by a partition (_inter-orbital septum_), which is more +or less bony; the nasal bones are short, so that the nasal orifices +(anterior _nares_) are placed near to where the beak joins the face. Of +the four bones which bound the great opening at the back of the skull +for the passage of the spinal cord, three take part in the formation +of the single ball-like projection, or condyle, by which the skull +is hinged on the vertebral column. In this point, the skull of birds +offers a striking point of dissimilarity to that of mammals, in which +there are two condyles, one on each side of the great opening (_of_). +Another point in which birds do not resemble mammals is in the mode +by which the lower jaw is hinged on the skull. This is in the case of +birds effected by a bone, which, being more or less square in shape, +has gained the name of the _quadrate_ (_q_). In mammals the skull +proper and the lower jaw are directly connected. This quadrate bone is +connected by a long narrow bar (_quadrato-jugal_) with the bones which +go to form the “beak,” and also, by a narrow bone directed inwards, +with the bones which lie in the middle line of the base of the skull, +and form the hard palate. The connections between these bones are often +of such a kind as to allow of the upper jaw, or upper half of the beak, +being movable on the rest of the skull, the upper bones of which are so +completely united together as to form a very firm point of support. In +the Parrots this arrangement is carried to an extreme, for the slender +bones (nasals and processes of the pre-maxillaries) which connect the +upper jaw with the bones of the brain-case form with them a distinct +joint, and so allow of that large amount of vertical movement which +will have been observed in these birds. The pre-maxillary bones (_pm_), +which are so small in mammals, are very largely developed in birds, +giving off, as they do, three processes: one to the _frontal bone_ (or +fore-bone of the brain-case), one along the hard palate, and another +externally to form the margin of the beak. The parts that vary most in +this bone-group are the bones which make up the hard palate. Of these, +the chief are the so-called _palatines_ (_p_) and the _maxillaries_; +the former are united by an articular surface with the bone which forms +the anterior part of the base of the brain-case, while there is in the +middle a narrow bone, which, from its shape in man, has received the +name of the _vomer_ (ploughshare, _v_). The maxillary bones develop +horizontal plates, which have the palate below and the nasal chamber +above them.[140] + +The lower jaw (_ma_) is composed of six pieces of bone on each +side--the dentary, angular, surangular, coronoid, splenial, and +articular. The upper part of the joint is concave. + +The tongue is in relation, as regards its support and movements, to +the _hyoid_ bones, which will be especially noticed in describing the +Woodpecker. + +[Illustration: SKULL OF YOUNG OSTRICH FROM ABOVE (A) AND FROM BELOW (B). + +(_After Owen._) + + (_of_) Occipital foramen; (_so_) Supraoccipital; (_eo_) Exoccipital; + (_q_) Quadrate; (_pa_) Parietal; (_pp_) Pterygoid process; (_f_) + Frontal; (_e_) Ethmoid; (_n_) Nasal; (_pm_) Premaxillary; (_m_) + Malar; (_p_) Palatine; (_v_) Vomer; (_im_) Intermaxillary; (_l_) + Lachrymal bones. +] + +Turning to the vertebral column, we find a number of small bones, +complicated in form, and more or less movable on one another. For +convenience of description they may be divided into those which belong +to the neck (_cervical vertebræ_), to the trunk (_dorsal vertebræ_), to +the _sacrum_ (so-called because it was offered in sacrifices!), or to +the tail (_caudal vertebræ_). As has been observed already, the first +of these, or the region of the neck, is very long, and is always long +enough for the beak to be able to reach to the base of the tail. In +birds, unlike mammals, the number of these cervical vertebræ may be +as low as nine, or as high as twenty-four. The first of them, which +is known as the _atlas_, has on its front face a rounded cavity into +which fits the single projecting condyle, which was spoken of as being +found at the back of the skull; and this condyle, being well rounded, +is easily able to turn in the cavity which it fits, and the head is +thereby capable of a large amount of movement. In the succeeding +vertebræ it is possible to make out a body, an upper arch, through +which passes the spinal cord, which meets above in the middle line, and +is produced into a more or less long spinous process set horizontally +to the “body,” and others directed forwards and backwards, so as to +connect each vertebra with its neighbours; and lastly, a lower arch, +the two halves of which are not connected below, but are converted +into the more or less long ribs. As these vertebræ are so small it is +clear that if their spines were long the free movement of the neck +would be greatly impeded, and they are therefore in many cases little +more than projecting processes. This free movement is further greatly +aided by the characters of the two faces of the body (or _centrum_) +of each vertebra; the face of each is saddle-shaped, that is to say, +the anterior face is concave from side to side, and convex from above +downwards, while the reverse of this is seen on the posterior face; in +addition to this the vertebræ are separated by a disc of cartilage from +one another. The region of the neck is, broadly speaking, distinguished +from that which succeeds it by the fact that the ribs connected with +its vertebræ do not reach to the sternum, or breast-bone. In all birds +which are capable of flight this dorsal region has its parts firmly +united together, and the same holds for the parts which follow, till +we reach the region of the tail, where the more anterior vertebræ are +movable on one another, so as, perhaps, to serve in aid of the steering +organ formed by the rectrices, or feathers (_co_). In all living birds +the caudal vertebræ are a good deal shorter than the body, but in the +fossil _Archæopteryx_ they are longer. + +The only important point to note with regard to the ribs, is the +presence on some of them of backwardly directed hooked processes (_up_, +fig. on p. 241), which aid in giving firmness to the thoracic region. +The number of ribs is variable, but there is never a large number +connected with the dorsal vertebræ, as there are in some Carnivora, in +Hyrax, and in the Horse. + +[Illustration: STERNUM OF FREGILUPUS VARIUS. (_After Murie._) + + (_cl_) Clavicle; (_sc_) Scapula; (_co_) Coracoid; (_cs_) Keel of + Sternum. +] + +The fore and hind limbs are connected to the body by a series of +bones, which form the breast and hip girdles respectively; with +the former series is also connected that large, long bone with its +sharply-projecting ridge (_is_), which is known as the breast-bone, or +sternum, and in the depressions on which so much muscle is collected. +This sharply-projecting ridge to the sternum, which is known as the +carina, or “keel” (_cs_), is found only in the flying birds, though +here and there, as in the Parrot of New Zealand (_Strigops_), it is +very rudimentary. The lower edge of the bone is often imperfect, so +that, as in the fowl, there are two deep clefts on each side, or +there may be but a single cleft, and this again may be converted into +a rounded space; in all cases these clefts or holes are covered, or +filled by membrane, during the life of the animal. Projecting in front +of the sternum, and often intimately connected with it, are the two +clavicles (_cl_), which unite in the middle line to form the bone of +childhood’s delight--the furcula, or “merrythought.” Above, this bone +is connected with two bones, one of which, called the coracoid (_c_), +descends on each side to fit into a depression on the upper edge of +the sternum, while the other, known as the scapula, or shoulder-blade +(_sc_), is set at an angle to the coracoid. The scapula has a backward +and downward direction; while it may be noted that among mammals the +coracoid is well developed only in _Echidna_ and _Ornithorhynchus_. +These two last bones form, at their point of junction, a cavity into +which is fitted the head of the long bone of the arm (wing). In the +Ratitæ, it must be observed, these two bones are not set at an angle to +one another, and they become more firmly united together. + +[Illustration: PELVIS OF AN ADULT FOWL, SIDE VIEW. (_Reduced._) + +(_After W. K. Parker._) + + (_il_) Ilium; (_is_) Ischium; (_pb_) Pubes; (_dl_) Dorso-lumbar + vertebræ; (_cd_) Caudal vertebræ; (_am_) Acetabulum. +] + +As in all the vertebrate animals except fishes, the fore-limb may be +divided into three parts (fig. on p. 237)--upper arm, in which there +is one bone, the humerus (_a_); fore arm, in which there are two, +radius (_d_) and ulna (_c_); and hand (E), which can again be +divided into three parts, which in man would be called wrist, palm, +and fingers. Now, in some animals the wrist-bones may be ten in +number, and the palm-bones five, while the number of small bones in +the fingers varies a good deal, but the number of fingers is _five_. +In most birds all these numbers are reduced. Just beyond the fore +arm, the larger bone of which has often small projections indicating +the points at which the secondary feathers have been attached, there +are two small bones (_f_), then comes a longer bone (_g h i_), as it +seems, in which there is an elongated space. Now, this bone consists +of three metacarpals and one wrist-bone; the two outer metacarpals are +absent, the two innermost ones have completely united with one another, +and with the (true) middle metacarpal bone at their upper end; while +the second and third metacarpals are also united at the other--or +finger--end. The inner digit (_k_), or that which corresponds to man’s +thumb, has two joints (_phalanges_), and may be clawed; the next has +three joints, and may also be clawed; while the third finger, which +has never more than two joints, is never known to carry a claw. In +the _Archæopteryx_ the metacarpal bones are well developed, and are +not, as in recent birds, united together. No idea of a bird’s flying +powers can be fairly gathered from the length of the hand, for it is +long in Swifts and short in Albatrosses, for example; although it is to +be noted that in the former the single bone (_humerus_) of the arm is +short, and in the latter long. + +As in the breast-girdle, the bones of the hinder or hip-girdle, by +which the hind-limbs are connected with the body, are three in number; +of these the upper one is greatly flattened out and projects very far +forwards, thus aiding in the formation of the firm back of flying +birds; the other two bones are much more slender, and are directed +backwards and downwards. It is a curious circumstance that it is in +one bird only, in either case, that these bones are directly connected +at their lower ends with their fellow on the opposite side; those +which are known as the _pubes_ (_pb_) are so in the African Ostrich, +and those which are known as the _ischia_ (_is_) in the Rhea of South +America. These two bones, with the large, flat _ilia_ (_il_), take +part in forming the cavity in which the head of the thigh-bone plays; +the outer of the two bones (_fi_) which are found in the leg is rarely +as long as, and is always much more slender than the other (_ti_), +which has a strong ridge on its front face. There is yet another very +remarkable point of resemblance between birds and reptiles, in that +the “ankle-joint” is in both cases situated between the two rows of +bones which make up the “ankle” (_tarsus_). In birds this arrangement +is carried to a still further extent, for the single bone of the upper +row is early united with the shin-bone, as may be seen under those +unfortunate circumstances in which the poulterer has provided an aged +fowl (aged, that is, for eating); in more fortunate cases it will be +found possible to separate a small bone from the lower end of the +shin-bone of the leg. + +In no case does any bird, even _Archæopteryx_, possess a fifth toe. +Unlike mammals, the number of joints in the toes varies greatly in +birds. In those which possess four toes we find the following number of +joints: in the first, two; in the second, three; in the third, four; +and in the fourth, five. This rule holds for nearly all birds, but the +Swifts have never more than three joints, and in the Goat-sucker and +the Sand Grouse there are two less than ordinary on the fourth toe. In +a number of birds the inner toe (big toe of man) disappears, and in the +Ostrich proper the next division of the “typically” five-toed foot, or +second toe, has no toe-joints. + +In dealing with the muscular system of birds, we need here concern +ourselves with only those special muscles which are modified in +accordance with the necessities of the bird’s habits, and those other +muscles which have been brought into special notice by valuable +investigations. + +That great fleshy mass which is found on the breast of a bird, and +which is not unknown to those who are fond of a good “dish,” consists +of three separate muscles, two of which depress, while the other +elevates the wing. The presence of the elevator muscle on the lower +side of the sternum is a curious arrangement by which the centre of +gravity of the animal is lowered--a most necessary condition in flight; +the tendon from this muscle passes through a pulley-like canal to +be inserted into the upper side of the head of the bone, which, as +has already been explained, is known as the humerus, so that when it +contracts it draws this bone up. The ability of the wings to resist +the pressure of the air is clearly dependent on the power possessed by +these muscles. Borelli has calculated that the “pectoral muscles” of +the bird exceed in weight all the other muscles taken together, whilst +in man the pectoral muscles are but a seventieth part of the mass of +the muscles. + +The large and important muscles, which in the Mammalia, constitute the +_diaphragm_, or midriff, are ordinarily said to be absent in birds, +and, indeed, in most cases are but feebly represented. In the Ratitæ, +and especially in the New Zealand form (_Apteryx_) of this group, the +diaphragm may attain to a very fair degree of completeness, though +even here the apex of the heart is allowed to pass into the abdominal +cavity. The muscles of the back are feebly developed, as might be +imagined from the firm character of the spinal column; and as the fore +limb exhibits but slight power of _varying_ its movements, its muscles +are not well developed. Those muscles which are found in the skin are, +on the contrary, expanded into broad pieces; and special bundles are +sent to the larger feathers of the wings and of the tail, and to those +folds of skin which connect the upper arm with the trunk, and with +the fore arm, respectively. Borelli thus explains the arrangement by +which a perching bird remains fixed when asleep: A muscle which arises +from the _pubes_ bone of the hip-girdle passes over the knee, and then +takes a backward direction so as to pass behind the ankle; it thus +becomes one of the flexor muscles, by the contraction of which the +toes are flexed, or bent. When the perching bird, which, as we know, +has one of its toes directed _backwards_, is seated on a bough, the +thigh has its upper end directed backwards, while the upper joint of +the leg is turned forwards, or in other words, the two parts of the +leg have opposite directions. This arrangement acts as a contracting +influence on this muscle and its tendons, while the weight of the bird +is sufficient to preserve this condition and the consequent flexion of +the toes. + +To turn to those muscles the arrangement of which has, been made the +basis of a suggested classification. In the leg of the bird there are, +among others, four muscles, the names of which are _femoro-caudal_, +_accessory femoro-caudal_, _semi-tendinosus_, and _accessory +semi-tendinosus_, any of which may be absent, but in those cases where +a single muscle only is found the first is always present; again, there +is a muscle which, from its course, is known as the _ambiens_, and +this, too, may be present or may be absent. As the presence or absence +of any of these muscles is a very constant phenomenon in any given +section of birds, it has been proposed to divide the class into those +which do, and those which do not, possess the above-named _ambiens_ +muscle. In the latter group the second of the four above-named +muscles--the accessory femoro-caudal--is never present.[141] + +Of all the muscles, those which act in aid of the vocal organs are of +the greatest interest, but they will be considered a little later on. + +A valuable suggestion has been made, which, if followed out, may lead +us to understand how it is that the brain of the bird, which is so +simple as compared with that of man, is nevertheless capable of so much +intelligent activity. Bearing in mind the axiom that it is quality not +quantity that tells, and looking at the fact that the brain of the most +highly intelligent man is, after death, supposed to be similar to that +of the foolish and of the unwise of our race, it is obvious that the +essential difference must lie elsewhere than in the coarser, or more +evident, characters of that organ which is known as the brain. The +suggestion, then, that was made, was to the effect, that the possessors +of aviaries, in which it was possible to study the characters of birds, +should submit the brains of their deceased favourites to that more +thorough investigation which the microscope allows of. The brains of +birds vary but little in their anatomy. The optic lobes are rounded, +paired, and tubercular in the bird, and are not divided into four, as +in mammals; they are found at the lower part and sides, and not in the +upper part of the brain. The _cerebellum_ is not continued at the sides +into distinct lobes; nor are the two lobes of the brain (or _cerebral +hemispheres_) provided with those convolutions which, in mammals, seem +to increase in complexity of character as the animal rises in the scale +of intelligence. The cerebrum does not cover the cerebellum. Small as +is the brain of birds, it is found that, in many, its weight is, as +compared with that of the body, much greater than it is in man. + +With reference to the spinal cord, or the continuation of the central +part of the nervous system through the vertebral column, it is +only necessary to remark that it is much increased in width at the +two regions, in which the nerves for the fore and hind limbs are +respectively given off; that there is a narrow canal running along its +centre, and that at the lower end there is a large space. In regard to +the cerebral nerves, those for the eyes are of great size. + +Coming now to consider the organs of the senses, and beginning with +the eye, it is interesting to note that there are no blind birds, and, +indeed, the eyes are of a large size as compared with the brain. They +are generally placed at the sides, though the nocturnal birds of prey +(in which they are directed forwards) are an exception to this rule. +It is in very rare cases that eyelashes are present, and although they +seem to exist in the group just mentioned, it is probably more correct +to look upon them as slightly modified feathers. + +If the eye be regarded as having on its front face, a part which would, +if completed, form part of a smaller circle than the rest of the eye, +it is clear that this _cornea_, or front part, would be more convex +than the rest, and that it would consequently be a “more powerful +glass,” inasmuch as it would exert a greater bending (refracting) +influence on the rays of light which pass through it, while, further, +it is clear that the more convex it is the better “glass” would it be. +Now this is just what happens in birds: the _cornea_ is very convex; +in addition to this, the long axis of the eye, on the length of which +it seems that, in many cases, the condition known as that of being +“short-sighted” depends, is very long in some birds, and notably in the +Owls. + +The eye is covered in by a firm and strong membrane, which is known +as the “sclerotic;” this, in its front part, develops a number of +bony plates; of these there may be as many as twenty, and they are +capable of a certain amount of free movement on one another. What +is known as the power of accommodation depends upon the extent to +which the front face of the somewhat lens-shaped body which helps to +separate the eye into two chambers is capable of being rendered more +or less flat; this front face is covered by a membrane which is found +to be more or less taut, according to the state of contraction of the +muscles (ciliary muscles) connected with it. A very little reflection +is sufficient to show that a swiftly moving animal has the focus of +its eye, or the point at which clear vision is alone possible, changed +much more rapidly than an animal which moves more slowly. So much on +the one side. On the other, it is to be observed that muscles vary +in structure; they are either “smooth” or “striated,” and it is the +latter that contract the more rapidly. Putting these two series of +observations together, it is easy to arrive at the result that a bird +should have striated muscular fibre in its ciliary muscles, and a more +slowly moving animal like man, smooth muscular fibres; and this we find +to be the case! The _iris_ is an arrangement by which the quantity of +light admitted into the eye is enabled to be varied, and the small hole +in the centre, through which the rays of light pass, is known as the +_pupil_; this is always rounded in birds, and is never elongated as it +is in some mammals--the Cats, for example.[142] + +But the most peculiar arrangement in the bird’s eye is the presence, +projecting into the hinder chamber, of a membrane in which run +blood-vessels; this, which is known as the _pecten_ (comb), or +_marsupium_ (pouch), enters the vitreous humour, which fills up this +hinder chamber by the same cleft as the optic nerve. It is folded, and +is generally of a quadrangular shape; it is not found in the eye of the +Wingless Bird of New Zealand (_Apteryx_). + +[Illustration: SECTION OF THE EYE OF THE COMMON BUZZARD. + +(_After Macgillivray._) + + (_aa_) Sclerotic; (_bb_) Choroid Coat and Pigment; (_c_) Ciliary + Circle; (_d_) Lens; (_ee_) Iris; (_f_) Cornea; (_g_) Optic Nerve; + (_i_) Pecten. +] + +A third eyelid is well developed in this class; it is an elastic +membrane (_membrana nictitans_, or winking membrane), which has not, +like the other two, a vertical movement, but is drawn obliquely over +the eye from the inner to the outer side. This movement is effected +by two special muscles, one of which arises on the inside, and below +the eyeball, and has therefore to pass over to the outer side. In +contracting, it would press on the optic nerve, were it not for the +other one, which, however, is so disposed that by its contraction it +draws away the tendon of the _pyramidalis_ muscle from pressing on the +nerve. As in ourselves, there are six special muscles for moving the +orbit or ball of the eye, but the one which in man is well enough known +as the _trochlear_, has no pulley-arrangements in birds. Lachrymal +glands are present. + +With regard to the organ of hearing, one particular part, which in man +is in the form of a snail’s shell, and is known as the _cochlea_, is +not coiled into this shape in birds, being very slightly bent, though +holding in other respects the same general relations. Nor is there any +external ear, as in mammals, for collecting the waves of sound; there +is, however, in the nocturnal birds of prey a crescent-shaped valve on +which are set tufts of short feathers, and it is possible that this +may aid in hearing. Nor, again, are there in the interior of the ear +those three small bones, which are known generally as the auditory +ossicles; of the two that are absent, one is thought by many anatomists +to be represented by the quadrate bone, which, as has already been +mentioned, connects the lower jaw of the bird with the skull. The +single bone which is present, and which is, perhaps, most generally +known as the “columella,” is connected by two or three cartilaginous +processes with the drum of the ear, and by the other end--at which it +has a small oval plate--with the more internal parts of the organ of +hearing. In man there is a curious arrangement of rods, which vary in +so remarkable a way as to have led to the supposition that each was +adapted to a distinct note; these rods, which constitute the organ of +Corti, are not present in birds, affording thereby a striking example +of the law that physiological inferences are often well examined by the +aid of comparative anatomy, no physiologist being hardy enough to deny +to birds the power of appreciating those delicate modulations of sound +which go to make up the chief charm of music. With regard to the organ +of smell, it is only necessary to note the absence of those muscles by +which, in man and other mammals, the nostrils are contracted or dilated. + +The first point which attracts us on examining the digestive tract +of birds is the absence of lips and of teeth; but with regard to +these latter we must note that it is a character which has only +become distinct since the time when birds were first developed. This +statement is borne out by two series of facts, each taken from one of +the two great aids to a correct apprehension of the real importance of +structural characters--that is, from embryology, or the study of the +developing individual; and from palæontology, or the natural history of +the past. The young of certain Parrots have been observed to possess, +at an early stage of their development, those uprisings on the mucous +membrane of the jaw which go by the name of “dental papillæ,” and these +papillæ have been seen to be covered with a cap of dentine. On the +other hand, the researches of Owen and of some American palæontologists +have brought to light bird-like forms which were provided with teeth +(Odontornithes: _Ichthyornis_, _Hesperornis_). + +The _beak_, or horny covering of the jaws, varies very greatly in +form, and in the degree of its sensibility. This tactile sense is +dependent on the extent to which the beak is supplied by nerves (from +the fifth cerebral nerve). In the Woodpecker, for example, there is a +large branch extending along the inside of the lower jaw, which, as it +approaches the extremity, breaks up into finer nerves that perforate +the bone by a number of small canals and so give to the beak a power +of discovering what lies hid in the crevices of the wood and under +the bark. Being an external structure, the beak is naturally adapted +to the habits of its possessors, so that it may be hooked, as in many +flesh-eating forms, or trenchant, and fit to cut and break, or provided +with transversely-set fine plates by which the water taken in with the +food can be filtered off, or provided with bristles, the better to hold +a living prey. Finally, in many cases the hardness of the bill is made +up for by a patch of naked skin at the base of the upper mandibles, +which is known by the name of the “cere” and seems to have a tactile +function. + +In many birds, the tongue is either feebly developed, or is encased +in horn, so that it can hardly be as useful an organ of taste as is +our tongue: in the Pelicans it is obsolete. In some, however, as in +the Woodpecker, the tongue is a very powerful seizing organ, as it is +protruded with great rapidity by means of a special muscle, and is well +provided with a sticky secretion, which is given off from a large gland +(the sub-lingual), which, lying below the muscle above referred to, +is compressed when this muscle contracts; so that in the Woodpecker, +just as in the mammal called the Great Ant-eater (_Myrmecophaga_), the +insect prey is easily captured. + +The region of the mouth is not separated from that which follows +it (the pharynx) by an epiglottis, which in ourselves protects the +entrance into the air-passages, nor is there any uvula to guard the +posterior orifice of the nose by which the air reaches the throat. The +succeeding portion of the gullet (the œsophagus) is very long, as might +be supposed from the length of the neck in most birds, and it is very +frequently either dilated at one side, or produced into a cæcal pouch +(crop, _ingluvies_), which may, or may not, be separated by a narrow +connection, from the rest of the gullet, and which may be divided into +two compartments. This crop serves for the detention of the food, which +cannot have undergone any complete process of mastication, and it is +here treated to a process of maceration by the fluid secreted from the +walls of this organ. Passing from this receptacle, the food becomes +subject to the action of the stomach proper, which differs, however, +from our ordinary conception of a stomach, as seen in man, by being +divided into two distinct portions. The anterior one is known as the +_proventriculus_, and it is in this that the gastric juice is brought +to bear upon the food, and its walls are consequently thickened by a +glandular layer; the hinder division, which is known as the _gizzard_, +forms an elongated sac, with two orifices--one from the proventriculus, +the other leading to the small intestine--in its upper portion. The +characters of its walls are very different in those birds which live on +animal, as compared with those that live on vegetable (grains) food; +in the former they are membranous and thin, but in the latter they are +enormously thick and very muscular. On examination, it is seen that the +dark colour of the muscles is on each side of the gizzard relieved by a +shining spot of tendinous material, and the walls of the gizzard have +consequently been compared to a double-bellied (digastric) muscle. The +internal cavity of the gizzard is lined with a dense and rough coat, +and is ordinarily found to contain small stones, and occasionally other +hard materials. These obviously take the place of the absent teeth, +when the muscles of the gizzard set up that (grinding or compressing) +action by which the ingested seeds are broken down. The wall of the +gizzard may itself also act as a rasping organ, being, as it often +is, provided with a firm glandular layer, the secretion of which is +converted into a hard lining, the structure of which has been observed +in some cases to be due to interlaced filaments secreted from and +continuous with the glands in the wall of the gizzard. + +Notwithstanding the differences in the character of the gizzard +in carnivorous and graminivorous birds, it has been shown by the +ever-famous John Hunter that carnivorous birds can be brought to live +on grains, and grain-eating birds on meat. + +It is interesting, further, to note, with regard to the opening into +the small intestine, that in a number of grain-or fruit-eating birds +there is no valvular arrangement to detain the food in the gizzard till +it is completely triturated, for it is thus that many plants have their +area of distribution increased, the escaped seeds passing uninjured +from the intestine to find, perhaps, a suitable soil in a new district. +In those that swallow large stones a valve is often to be observed. +The difference which we have already had so frequently to notice, as +obtaining between the carnivorous and “vegetarian” birds, is seen to be +continued into their small intestine; just as in mammals, this portion +of the tract is longer in the latter than in the former birds. The +anterior, or _duodenal_ portion, is always characterised by forming +a loop, within which lies the gland known as the _pancreas_, and the +succeeding portion is, as compared with most mammals, short. A slight +elevation, hardly ever of any great size, may at times be observed on +the course of the short intestine. This represents all that remains of +the duct by which the hatching bird was connected with the yolk. The +short and straight large intestine is ordinarily separated from the +preceding by a cæcum; this is generally paired (in the Herons and some +others it is single), and varies in length; in many cases these cæcal +tubes are hardly more than papillæ. In the Parrot, as in the Woodpecker +and some others, these cæca are absent. In the desert-dwelling Ostrich +(_Struthio_) they are said to be as much as two feet long; but in the +Emu they do not exceed six inches in length. + +[Illustration: + + DIGESTIVE ORGANS OF THE KINGFISHER. + +(_After Macgillivray._) + + (_a_) Tongue; (_b_, _c_, _d_) Œsophogus; (_d_, _e_, _f_) Stomach; + (_f_, _g_, _h_, _i_, _j_, _k_) Intestine; (_j_, _k_) Cloaca. +] + +The intestine ends in a cavity, which is common to it, and to the other +organs that open to the exterior in this region. This _cloaca_ (sewer) +is found in reptiles also, and in one division of the Mammalia, the +Monotremata. In birds it is provided with a special glandular appendage +on its upper (or _dorsal_) aspect, which goes by the name of the _Bursa +Fabricii_. Neither the history nor the functions of this peculiar organ +can be said to be thoroughly understood. + +Of the organs which are appended to the intestine, the lungs will be +described elsewhere; of the rest we have to consider the liver, the +pancreas, and the spleen. The first-named organ is large, and covers +over the pancreas, the proventriculus, the spleen, part of the gizzard, +and part of the small intestine. It is ordinarily divided into two +“lobes,” between which, on the upper edge, is placed the tip of the +heart. In the common fowl the left lobe is often divided into two; but +this organ is never broken up into so large a number of parts as it is +in many mammals, from which animals birds also differ in always having +more than one duct to carry off the secretion of the liver (bile) to +the small intestine, except in the Ostrich; in this, as in some other +birds, there is no gall-bladder in which the bile may be collected, so +that in such this secretion passes directly into the intestine. + +As has been already pointed out, the commencement of the small +intestine forms a loop, in which is set the organ known as _pancreas_, +which may for simplicity be described as the salivary gland of this +region, although in truth the fluid secreted from it is a much more +powerful aid to the digestion of food than that of any known salivary +gland. It has always two, and in a number of cases three ducts, which +do not unite with the bile ducts, but open separately from, though near +them, into the end of the “duodenal loop.” The _spleen_, which is a +small oval body, and is placed to the right of the proventriculus, has +no ducts; in birds of prey it is more cylindrical in shape. + +The temperature of the blood of the bird is, in requirement with the +conditions of its existence, hot--that is to say, it is ordinarily +hotter than the temperature of the surrounding air, and is found to +register between 100° (Gull) and 112° (Swallow) on Fahrenheit’s scale, +or from two to fourteen degrees more than does that of man. Birds +and mammals, are, speaking broadly, the only hot-blooded animals now +existing, and it has consequently been suggested that they should be +grouped together as such, in opposition to the rest of the Vertebrata. +But it is obvious that this character of the temperature is merely +dependent on physiological conditions; and were this a treatise on +the anatomy of birds rather than one on their natural history, the +statement of this fact would not receive the prominence here given to +it. The high temperature of any body may be preserved from cooling +influences by two methods: thus, tea in a well-polished silver teapot +keeps hot because the rays of heat are but slightly radiated from +its surface; or a less costly teapot may be kept hot by covering it +with a loosely-fitting “cosy,” which, being made of badly-conducting +materials, “keeps the heat in.” It is, then, clear that the heat of a +body is best preserved when it is covered by a bad radiator and a bad +conductor of heat; and this is just the case with birds: the polished +feathers are bad radiators, and the air entangled among them forms a +bad conductor. + +The blood corpuscles are, broadly speaking, about twice as large as in +man; those which are coloured red are oval in shape, as they are in +nearly all of the lower Vertebrates and in the Camels among mammals. +Like the white ones, they are “nucleated.” The heart is, as in mammals, +divided into four chambers. It is a condition of the circulation +in hot-blooded and rapidly-breathing animals that the current of +_arterial_ blood _from_ the heart, and the current of _venous_ blood +_to_ it, should be kept as much as possible separate; no reflection is +needed to show that the blood freshly purified by contact with the air +in the lungs must be kept as distinct as can be from the blood which +has lost its purity in passing through the body; in other words, it is +required that there should be a similar result in birds and in mammals. + +Birds, like all warm-blooded creatures, have the heart divided into +four cavities--two ventricles and two auricles--those of the right +side being completely separated from those of the left. The whole is +enclosed in a pericardium, a thin, but strong, membrane. The right +ventricle has thin muscular walls, and almost completely envelopes +the left. The right auricle has a remarkable valve in the shape of a +fleshy leaflet, which appears almost to be a portion of the inside +of the ventricle that has become detached from the partition between +the two ventricles. The blood, under certain circumstances, passes +between this septum, or partition, and the leaflet, into the auricle; +but when the beat of the heart takes place (the systole), the septum, +being convex, is forced against the leaflet on the other side of the +auricolo-ventricular opening, and the passage of the blood, through +this, is prevented. The valve between the stout-chambered left +ventricle and auricle does not present this structure, but is divided +into two or three lobes attached to tendinous processes. At the origin +of the great vessels--the pulmonary artery and the aorta--there are +three valves, semi-lunar in shape and by name. And this last vessel, +often having given off the coronary artery to the heart itself, is +curved to the right, and then passes backwards to go down the body. The +blood from the body is collected into three large veins--two anterior +_venæ cavæ_ and one posterior. + +The lymphatic system is well developed, and of the so-called “lymphatic +hearts,” which are well known in the Frog, the posterior ones have been +observed in some, and especially in the Ratite birds. + +The lungs, or organs in which the blood effects an exchange of its +gases with the outer air, are paired, and set on either side of the +heart. As is elsewhere mentioned, the nostrils are not provided with +muscles, and there is no _epiglottis_ sufficiently well developed to +cover the entrance into the long tube, or _trachea_, which runs down +the neck. This tube, which does not always take a straight course, +is essentially made up of a number of rings of cartilage, which are +for the greater part perfect, and not, as in man, imperfect rings. +The _bronchi_ which are given off from this tube, to the right and +left, have their rings imperfect, and they do not show that two-forked +mode of division which is so characteristic of mammals. The lungs +are of a rosy colour, and of a comparatively small volume; they are +marked externally by depressions corresponding to the characters of +the vertebræ and ribs, to which latter they are firmly attached, and +they are not divided into _lobes_; in their texture they are spongy; +the air-tubes are given off from them at right angles to the main +air-passage; these run nearly parallel to one another, and contain in +their walls the true tissue of the respiratory organ. The air-tubes are +also connected with the air-cells, which are arranged in so remarkable +a manner as to deserve a full account. + +They are found in all birds with the exception of the _Apteryx_, +according to Professor Owen. Our knowledge of their existence is +primarily due to the illustrious William Harvey, while it is to the +distinguished anatomist, John Hunter, that we owe our knowledge of the +very curious fact that these air-passages and sacs communicate also +with the cavities of some of the bones of the skeleton. Though these +sacs are not by any means highly vascular, or supplied with vessels +to the same rich extent as are the lungs, they are nevertheless of +enormous importance to the bird; thus, they diminish the specific +gravity of the animal. For example, taking a bird which weighs 1,600 +grammes, and has a volume of 1,230 cubic centimetres--or a specific +gravity of 1·30 (1600/1230) it has been calculated (Bert) that 200 +cubic centimetres of air can be introduced; now these centimetres would +weigh ·22 of a gramme, so that the specific gravity of the animal +would be reduced to 1·05 ((1600+0·22)/(1230+200)) or (1600·22/1520). +Again, the air which is taken into the lungs is, in high-flying +birds, often of an extremely low temperature; but this air is not +only brought into contact with that of the lungs, but also with that +which has been warmed in the abdominal cavity. And again, the air +is often very dry--as it is for the Ostrich on the desert plains of +Africa--but the air from the air-sacs contains a large amount of +moisture. Of the proper air-sacs there are nine; of these, four--the +two anterior and the two posterior _thoracic_--lie in the thorax +(breast) proper; three--the right and left cervical, and the sac +between the _clavicles_--lie in front of the thorax; while the last +two are found behind it and in the abdomen. From all of these, with +the exception of those within the thorax, communications are, or may +be, given off to the bones of the vertebral column, to the humerus, to +the bones of the thigh, and to the sternum and the ribs; but there is +no communication between these sacs and the air-spaces which are so +constantly found in the bones of the skull, and which are in connection +with the air-cavities of the ear and of the nose. The inter-clavicular +sac has been observed to be covered with a thick layer of muscle in +those birds, at any rate, which perform somersaults, and it has been +suggested that this layer of muscle is capable of driving the air in +the sac backwards. It is obvious that such an operation would send the +centre of gravity of the animal nearer the head, and would, so far, be +of assistance in the execution of the curious movement alluded to. + +It has been suggested that the air-sacs are of assistance in increasing +the resonance of the bird’s voice. Be this as it may, attention must +now be turned to the organ of voice. This organ may take one of three +forms, or, if absence is to be counted, four. There is no organ of +voice in the Ratitæ, or in the American Vultures (_Cathartidæ_). It is, +when present, remarkable for being developed at the lower, and not at +the upper, end of the _trachea_; while the true _vocal cords_, which, +by their vibration produce the notes of the human voice, are altogether +and always absent from the larynx; in other words, the vocal organ is +not the _larynx_, but an organ seated at a lower level, and known as +the _syrinx_. This instrument may, further, be formed in the trachea +alone (as in some American Passerines), or in the bronchi alone (as in +Steatornis), or at the point at which the tracheal and bronchial tubes +pass into one another (as in the majority of singing birds). + +The last-mentioned, or _bronchio-tracheal syrinx_, consists of the +following parts; (i.) a _tympanic_ chamber formed by the union of +some of the lower rings of the trachea; (ii.) a membranous _septum_ +separating from one another the tracheal orifices of the two bronchi; +(iii.) on either side a _tympaniform membrane_, formed on the inner +side of the uppermost bronchial rings; in consequence of this these +bronchial rings are not complete circles; their mucous membrane is +developed into a fold which bounds one side of a cleft which is formed +by the presence on the other side of the above-mentioned tympaniform +membrane. The air which passes through these bronchial clefts sets in +vibration the membranes which bound them, while the character of the +note is affected by the position of the bronchial half-rings, and the +length of the column of air in the trachea. These rings have their +positions changed by five lateral muscles, which act on their ends, +and so rotate them. The principle variations in the characters of the +muscular supply of the organ of the voice were long ago worked out by +Johannes Müller, the famous German anatomist and physiologist. + +It is also to this observer that we owe our first information with +regard to the bronchial syrinx of Steatornis; the anatomy of this +animal was also investigated by the late Prof. Garrod, who gave the +following account of its vocal apparatus:--“Each semi-syrinx, as it +may be termed, is formed on the same principle as that of the combined +organ in most of the non-singing birds. Taking for description that +of the left side, it is found that the thirteenth bronchial ring +is complete, though considerably flattened from side to side; the +fourteenth is not complete in the middle of its upper surface; it +is a little longer from before backwards than the one above, and +not so long as the one following it. The fifteenth is only a half +ring, its inner portion being deficient; it is slightly convex +upwards, and articulates, both at its anterior and posterior ends, +with the fourteenth incomplete ring and the sixteenth half-ring. The +sixteenth half-ring is concave upwards, and so forms an oval figure in +combination with the one above, which is filled with a thin membrane +to form part of the outer wall of the bronchus. There is a membrane +also between the ends of these and the succeeding half-rings, which +completes the tube of the bronchus internally.” + +[Illustration: + + FRONT VIEW (A) AND SECTION (B) OF INFERIOR LARYNX OF PEREGRINE FALCON. + +(_After Macgillivray._)] + +The ducts from the urinary organs open to the exterior through the +cloaca, into which, as already mentioned, the digestive tube also +opens. The chief point with regard to the urinary secretion of birds +is the fact that it is _semi-solid_, and that it contains a quantity +of the substance known as _uric acid_. The kidneys are placed some way +back and near the cloaca; they are set on either side of the spinal +column, between the transverse processes of the sacral vertebræ, and +are generally divided into three portions of greatly varying size. On +their inner edge are given off the _ureters_, which pass on each side +to enter separately into the before-mentioned cloaca. + +The right ovary of birds is always atrophied, and it is in rare cases +only that rudiments of it are found (namely, in the diurnal Raptores). +The _oviduct_ is a coiled canal, the lower portion of which has strong, +muscular walls, while internally the characters of its surface vary +according to the substance which the glands of different regions add to +the descending egg. The right oviduct is not so completely atrophied as +is the ovary of the same side. This duct opens into the cloaca through +which the egg passes to reach the outer world; as further development +is so largely independent of the mother, the female organs offer no +peculiarities of arrangement, or complexities of structure. + +All birds lay eggs, or, in other words, the born young are not carried +about by the mother till the time of birth. The advantage of this to a +flying animal is so obvious that we may pass at once to describe the +egg of a common fowl. The shell, which consists of organic matter and +lime-salts, is found to be formed of two layers; it is in the outer +one only that pigment is found. Both layers are traversed by canals, +through which air can pass only when the shell is dry; that is to +say, the outer pores of the shell are closed under the influence of +moisture. This may be seen by removing the outer layers, when air or +water will pass in quite easily. These canals are said to be branched +in the Ratite birds, and to be simple in the Carinatæ. The shell is +lined by the shell-membrane, which, again, is made up of two layers. +At the broad end of the egg these two layers are separated from one +another, and so give rise to that air-chamber which is found in stale +eggs, and increases in size as the egg grows older and the yolk +evaporates. + +The shell-membrane is in direct contact with the _white_ of the egg +(_albumen_). This, in its fresh state, consists of fluid albumen, +arranged in layers, which are separated from one another by networks +of fibres, in the meshes of which, however, fluid albumen is also to +be found. There are, further, two special sets of fibrous cords in the +white of the egg; these extend somewhat along the long axis of the egg, +though they do not reach to the shell-membrane. From their bead-like +character they are known as _chalazæ_ (hailstones), but their more +common English name is that of the “tread.” + +[Illustration: DIAGRAMMATIC SECTION OF A FOWL’S EGG. + + (_bl_) Blastoderm; (_wy_) White Yolk; (_yy_) Yellow Yolk; (_vt_) + Vitelline Membrane; (_w_) Albumen; (_ch_) Chalazæ; (_ach_) + Air-chamber; (_ism_) Internal Layer of Shell Membrane; (_em_) + External Layer of ditto; (_s_) Shell. +] + +The “white” is separated from the _yolk_ by the so-called _vitelline_ +(or _yolk_) membrane; the greater part of this yolk is known as the +_yellow yolk_, and is made up of minute albuminous granules, but its +outermost part is formed of a thin layer of a somewhat different +substance, which goes by the name of the _white yolk_. The spheres of +this latter are still smaller than those of the yellow yolk, and they +are also found to form layers at various levels in it. At one point +the white yolk becomes a good deal thicker, and forms, as it were, +a pad for a small white disc, which, in ordinary circumstances, is +always found uppermost when an egg is opened. This disc is formed of +an encircling white rim, and within it there is a rounded transparent +region, the centre of which is more opaque. + +This region is known as the _blastoderm_, and is that part of the egg +from which the chick, with its organs and complicated vessels, muscles +and bones is soon to be developed. In the laid egg, this blastoderm +consists of two layers of cells, as do at a certain stage the eggs of +all but the very simplest of animals. The dissection of a laying fowl +will probably reveal the presence of eggs at an earlier stage, and from +their study the following history has been made out: the ellipse-shaped +egg, when about to leave the ovary, is a yellow body enclosed in a +fine membrane, and possessing at one pole a small (_germinal_) disc; +this disc contains a smaller _germinal vesicle_, and a still smaller +_germinal spot_; when this body is ripe, it escapes from its enclosing +capsule, and the germinal vesicle disappears. As the egg passes down +the _oviduct_ the albumen becomes deposited around it, and part of it +is converted into the shell-membrane. The egg now becomes subjected to +a thick, white fluid, which is gradually converted into the shell. + +While these additions to the substance of the egg are going on, the +germinal disc undergoes the remarkable process known as segmentation, +in which it becomes divided into two, four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two +(and so on) masses, which arrange themselves in two distinct layers, +the presence of which has been already noted in the laid egg. + +This is not the place in which it is possible to follow out the various +future changes undergone, but the condition of the young birds on +escaping from the egg is widely different in some of the larger groups +of birds. Some young birds, on their exclusion from the egg, are able +to shift for themselves, and are covered with down; while others are +born naked and helpless, and require food from their parents for some +time after they are hatched. Of the first section, an ordinary chicken +is a familiar example, while a young Thrush or a Sparrow illustrates +the second. There are, however, manifest exceptions to this rule, as +in the Herons, for instance, where the young are densely clothed with +feathery down, but are helpless for a long time after they are hatched. + +Finally, it must be stated that all birds possess an oil-gland (known +as the uropygial), situated near the tail, with which they clean and +dress their feathers. Attention has already been called to this gland +in the foot note on p. 245. + +Before commencing the special part of the present article, it may +be useful to give a slight sketch of the classification which it is +proposed to follow throughout its course. + + +CLASS AVES. + +DIVISION I. CARINATÆ: CARINATE BIRDS. + + + ORDER I.--ACCIPITRES: BIRDS OF PREY. + + SUB-ORDER I.--FALCONES: FALCONS. + + Family I.--Vulturidæ Vultures. + „ II.--Falconidæ Hawks. + + Sub-Family I.--Polyborinæ Caracaras. + „ II.--Accipitrinæ Long-legged Hawks. + „ III.--Buteoninæ Buzzards. + „ IV.--Aquilinæ Eagles. + „ V.--Falconinæ Falcons. + + SUB-ORDER II.--PANDIONES: OSPREYS. + + SUB-ORDER III.--STRIGES: OWLS. + + Family I.--Bubonidæ Owls proper. + „ II.--Strigidæ Barn Owls. + + + ORDER II.--PICARIÆ: PICARIAN BIRDS. + + SUB-ORDER I.--ZYGODACTYLÆ: CLIMBING BIRDS. + + Family I.--Psittaci Parrots. + + + a.--_Psittaci proprii._ + + Sub-Family I.--Camptolophinæ Cockatoos. + „ II.--Androglossinæ Fleshy-tongued Parrots. + „ III.--Conurinæ Conures. + „ IV.--Platycercinæ Parrakeets. + „ V.--Strigopinæ Owl Parrots. + + + b.--_Psittaci orthognathi._ + + „ VI.--Trichoglossinæ Brush-tongued Parrots. + + Family II.--Cuculidæ Cuckoos. + „ III.--Indicatoridæ Honey-guides. + „ IV.--Musophagidæ Touracoes. + „ V.--Picidæ Woodpeckers. + „ VI.--Rhamphastidæ Toucans. + „ VII.--Capitonidæ Barbets. + + SUB-ORDER II.--FISSIROSTRES: WIDE GAPING BIRDS. + + Family I.--Galbulidæ Jacamars. + „ II.--Bucconidæ Puff Birds. + „ III.--Alcedinidæ Kingfishers. + „ IV.--Bucerotidæ Hornbills. + „ V.--Upupidæ Hoopoes. + „ VI.--Meropidæ Bee-eaters. + „ VII.--Momotidæ Motmots. + „ VIII.--Coraciadæ Rollers. + „ IX.--Trogonidæ Trogons. + „ X.--Caprimulgidæ Goatsuckers. + „ XI.--Cypselidæ Swifts. + „ XII.--Trochilidæ Humming-birds. + + + ORDER III.--PASSERIFORMES: PERCHING BIRDS. + + SECTION A.--ACROMYODI: SINGING BIRDS. + + SUB-ORDER I.--TURDIFORMES: THRUSH LIKE BIRDS. + + GROUP I.--COLIOMORPHÆ: CROW LIKE PASSERES. + + Family I.--Corvidæ Crows. + + Sub-Family I.--Corvinæ Crows proper. + „ II.--Fregilinæ Choughs. + + Family II.--Paradisiidæ Birds of Paradise. + „ III.--Orioliidæ Orioles. + „ IV.--Dicruridæ Drongos. + „ V.--Prionopidæ Wood-shrikes. + + GROUP II.--CICHLOMORPHÆ: THRUSH-LIKE PASSERES. + + Family VI.--Campophagidæ - - - - Cuckoo-shrikes. + „ VII.--Muscicapidæ - - - - - Flycatchers. + „ VIII.--Turdidæ - - - - - - - True Thrushes. + + Sub-Family I.--Turdinæ - - - - Thrushes. + „ II.--Sylviinæ - - - - Warblers. + + Family IX.--Timeliidæ - - - - - - Babbling Thrushes. + + Sub-Family I.--Troglodytinæ - - Wrens. + „ II.--Brachypodinæ - - Bulbuls. + „ III.--Timeliinæ - - - Babblers. + „ IV.--Cisticolinæ - - Grass-warblers. + „ V.--Miminæ - - - - - American Babblers. + + Family X.--Laniidæ - - - - - - - Butcher-birds. + „ XI.--Vireonidæ - - - - - - Greenlets. + „ XII.--Paridæ - - - - - - - Titmice. + + GROUP III.--CERTHIIMORPHÆ: CREEPERS. + + GROUP IV.--CINNYRIMORPHÆ: HONEY SUCKERS. + + SUB-ORDER II.--FRINGILLIFORMES: FINCH-LIKE BIRDS. + + Family I.--Motacillidæ - - - - - Wagtails. + „ II.--Mniotiltidæ - - - - - American Warblers. + „ III.--Cærebidæ - - - - - American Creepers. + „ IV.--Diceidæ - - - - - - - Flower-peckers. + „ V.--Ampelidæ - - - - - - Chatterers. + „ VI.--Hirundinidæ - - - - - Swallows. + „ VII.--Tanagridæ - - - - - - Tanagers. + „ VIII.--Fringillidæ - - - - - Finches. + „ IX.--Icteridæ - - - - - Hang-nests. + + SUB-ORDER III.--STURNIFORMES: STARLING-LIKE BIRDS. + + Family I.--Ploceidæ - - - - - - Weavers. + „ II.--Sturnidæ - - - - - - Starlings. + „ III.--Artamidæ - - - - - - Wood-swallows. + „ IV.--Alaudidæ - - - - - - Larks. + + SECTION B.--MESOMYODI: SONGLESS BIRDS. + + Family I.--Menuridæ - - - - - - Lyre-birds. + „ II.--Pteroptochidæ - - - - Bush-wrens. + „ III.--Dendrocolaptidæ - - - Spine-tails. + „ IV.--Formicariidæ - - - { American Ant-thrushes. + „ V.--Pittidæ - - - - - - { Old-World Ant-thrushes. + „ VI.--Tyrannidæ - - - - - - Tyrant-birds. + „ VII.--Cotingidæ - - - - - - American Chatterers. + „ VIII.--Pipridæ - - - - - - - Manakins. + „ IX.--Eurylæmiidæ - - - - - Broadbills. + „ X.--Phytotomidæ - - - - - Plant-cutters. + + ORDER IV.--COLUMBÆ: PIGEONS. + + ORDER V.--GALLINÆ: GAME-BIRDS. + + Family I.--Cracidæ - - - - - - - Curassows. + „ II.--Opisthocomidæ - - - - Hoatzins. + „ III.--Phasianidæ - - - - - Pheasants. + „ IV.--Meleagridæ - - - - - Turkeys. + „ V.--Tetraonidæ - - - - - Grouse. + „ VI.--Pteroclidæ - - - - - Sand-grouse. + „ VII.--Turnicidæ - - - - - - Hemipodes. + „ VIII.--Megapodidæ - - - - - Megapodes. + + ORDER VI.--GRALLÆ: WADING BIRDS. + + Family I.--Rallidæ - - - - - - - Rails. + „ II.--Scolopacidæ - - - - - Snipes. + „ III.--Charadriidæ - - - - - Plovers. + „ IV.--Otididæ - - - - - - - Bustards. + „ V.--Gruidæ - - - - - - - Cranes. + „ VI.--Psophiidæ - - - - - - Trumpeters. + + ORDER VII.--HERODIONES: HERONS. + + Family I.--Ardeidæ - - - - - - - Herons proper. + „ II.--Ciconiidæ - - - - - - Storks. + „ III.--Plataleidæ - - - - - Spoonbills. + „ IV.--Phænicopteridæ - - - Flamingoes. + + ORDER VIII.--ANSERES: GEESE. + + Family I.--Palamedeidæ - - - - - Screamers. + „ II.--Anatidæ - - - - - - - Ducks. + + ORDER IX.--STEGANOPODES: PELICANS. + + Family I.--Fregatidæ - - - - - - Frigate-birds. + „ II.--Phæthontidæ - - - - - Tropic-birds. + „ III.--Pelecanidæ - - - - - Pelicans. + + ORDER X.--GAVIÆ: SEA-BIRDS. + + Family I.--Laridæ - - - - - - - Gulls. + „ II.--Procellariidæ - - - - Petrels. + + ORDER XI.--PYGOPODES: GREBES. + + ORDER XII.--IMPENNES: PENGUINS. + + ORDER XIII.--CRYPTURI: TINAMOUS. + + DIVISION II.--RATITÆ: STRUTHIOUS BIRDS. + + DIVISION III.--SAURURÆ: LIZARD-TAILED BIRDS. + +It has been already stated that birds are divisible into three great +sections, and attention is now directed to those which have a keel to +the sternum, and which are good flyers--the Carinate Birds (CARINATÆ). + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +DIVISION I.--THE CARINATE BIRDS (CARINATÆ). + +THE ACCIPITRINE ORDER--BIRDS OF PREY. + +VULTURES AND CARACARAS. + + The Birds of Prey--Distinctive Characters--The Cere--How the + Birds of Prey are Divided--Difference between a Hawk, an Owl, + and an Osprey--The three Sub-orders of the Accipitres--Sub-order + FALCONES--Difference between the Vultures of the Old World and the + Vultures of the New World--THE OLD WORLD VULTURES--Controversy as + to how the Vultures reach their Prey--Waterton on the Faculty of + Scent--Mr. Andersson’s, Dr. Kirk’s, and Canon Tristram’s Views + in Favour of Sight--THE BLACK VULTURE--THE GRIFFON VULTURE--Its + Capacity for Feeding while on the Wing--THE EARED VULTURE--One of the + Largest of the Birds of Prey--Whence it gets its Name--THE EGYPTIAN + VULTURE--A Foul Feeder--THE NEW WORLD VULTURES--THE CONDOR--Its + Appearance--Power of Flight--Habits--THE KING VULTURE--THE TURKEY + VULTURE--THE CARACARAS--Distinctive Characters--Habits--THE SECRETARY + BIRD--How it attacks Snakes--Habits--Appearance--THE ÇARIAMA. + + +The first order of birds to be considered is the birds of prey +(_Accipitres_). They are all remarkable for strong and sharply-hooked +bills, and most of them have sharp and powerful talons. In the Eagles +and Falcons these characters are developed in the highest degree, +although many modifications of their structure take place in the +order--the Vultures, for instance, and other carrion-feeding birds, +not having such a hooked bill as the true Falcons and Eagles, while +their feet are larger and more adapted for holding their prey than for +striking it down in full career, as the Falcons do. In most of the +birds of prey the female is larger than the male, and is much the more +powerful bird. This fact is always recognised in falconry, especially +in the short-winged Hawks, such as Sparrow-Hawks or Goshawks, whose +females are always preferred, as possessing the greater power for +holding ground game, such as Rabbits, Hares, &c. The difference in +size is not very noticeable in the Vultures, but is unmistakable in +the long-legged Sparrow-Hawks, Eagles, and Falcons. The form of the +breast-bone, which plays such an important part in the classification +of other birds, is a character of less value in the birds of prey, +as it varies to a great extent even in those species which, by their +habits and general structure, are most closely allied. Another +character possessed by these birds is the distinct _cere_, which is +present in all, though much hidden by bristles in the Owls: it is a +waxy covering to the base of the bill, often hard, but generally fleshy +in substance. + +Birds of prey are of three kinds: Hawks, Ospreys, and Owls. Under the +first name is included every rapacious bird which is not an Osprey or +an Owl, and, therefore, the first thing to find out is--how to tell +an Owl from a Hawk. At one time it was supposed that all Owls came +out by night and all Hawks by day, and so they were separated into +two great divisions, which were called diurnal birds of prey[143] and +nocturnal birds of prey.[144] Now, however, that the habits of birds +are getting better observed, these divisions have to be abandoned as +not being entirely true, for there are Owls which are quite at home +in the daylight, when they hunt for their food like any other bird of +prey, and at least one kind of Hawk is known, whose habit it is to feed +on Bats in the evening. This is Andersson’s Pern,[145] a kind of Kite, +allied to the Honey-kite of England. It is found only in the Damara +Country, in South-western Africa, and in Madagascar. A far better way +to distinguish Hawks from Owls is seen in the foot, as the latter have +the outer toe reversible--that is to say, they can turn their outer +toe backwards or forwards as they please. This is easily observed in +the living birds; and any one examining a caged Owl in the Zoological +Gardens will see that it sits with its toes in pairs--two in front +and two behind. A Hawk cannot do this, all his toes being arranged as +in a little perching bird, such as a Sparrow or a Canary, three in +front and one behind. Then, again, Owls have no “after-shaft” to the +feathers, a structure which most Hawks possess. The “after-shaft” is +the small accessory plume, which springs from the under-side of the +main feather. In some birds it is very large, in others small. It +occurs on the body feathers only, and is never found in the quills +or tail feathers (see p. 238). Lastly, in addition to the reversible +outer toe, and the absence of an accessory plume or after-shaft, Owls +may be distinguished from all other birds of prey, save one, by the +proportions of their leg-bones. In the skeleton figured on p. 241 the +three principal leg-bones are pointed out; and it is the length which +the tarsus bears in proportion to the tibia that is here insisted on. +In the Owls the tarsus is only about half the length of the tibia; this +is never the case in a Hawk, in which these two bones bear different +proportions the one to the other, according to the sub-family. Thus in +Sparrow-Hawks and Harriers[146] the tibia and the tarsus are equal in +length. In Eagles and Buzzards, Kites and true Falcons, the tibia is +always much longer than the tarsus, but is never double its length, as +it is in the Owls. The term “Hawk,” which has been employed throughout +the foregoing sentences, is intended to apply to every bird of prey +excepting the Owls, with the sole exception of the Osprey. The habits +of the Osprey are noticed later on, but they may be briefly stated to +be similar to those of a Sea-Eagle, its prey consisting entirely of +fish, while its plumage and general appearance are also those of an +Eagle, so that in many places it is popularly known as the “Fish Hawk,” +or “Fishing Eagle;” but here the resemblance of the Osprey to the Eagle +ends, and in its other characters it is very like an Owl. The tibia is +more than double the length of the tarsus, as in the Owls; the feathers +of the body have no after-shaft, as in the Owls, and the outer toe is +reversible, as in the Owls. Possessing, therefore, as it does, some of +the most prominent features of the Eagles, as well as some of the most +striking peculiarities of the Owls, the Osprey holds an intermediate +position between these two sub-orders of birds. + +[Illustration: HEAD AND BILL OF SEA EAGLE. (_After Keulemans._) (_a_) +bony eye-shelf; (_b_) cere.] + +The birds of prey, then, may be separated into three sub-orders:-- + + (_a_). Outer toe _not_ reversible; tibia varying in length in + proportion to the tarsus, sometimes equal to it, but never double + the length of the latter; body feathers _with_ an after-shaft or + accessory plume. (American Vultures excepted.) + + I. Hawks (_Falcones_).[147] + + (_b_). Outer toe _reversible_; tibia double the length of tarsus; + body feathers _without_ an after-shaft or accessory plume; plumage + compact, as in an Eagle; no facial disk. + + II. Ospreys (_Pandiones_).[148] + + (_c_). Outer toe _reversible_; tibia double the length of tarsus; + body feathers _without_ an after-shaft; plumage soft and fluffy; a + facial disk. + + III. Striges;[149] Owls. + +The Falcones, or Hawks, include in their number more kinds of rapacious +birds than the other two sub-orders. All the Vultures, the Caracaras, +the Harriers, the Sparrow-Hawks, the Buzzards, Eagles, Kites, and +Falcons, together numbering some four hundred different species, are +classified as _Falcones_. Only one species of Osprey is known, which is +found nearly all over the world; and about two hundred different kinds +of Owls remain to represent the STRIGES. + + +ORDER ACCIPITRES.--SUB-ORDER FALCONES. + +The first sub-order is divided into two families, the first to be +noticed being the Vultures (_Vulturidæ_), which is again sub-divided +into two sections, the Vultures of the Old World (_Vulturinæ_) and the +Vultures of the New World (_Sarcorhamphinæ_). + + +THE FIRST SUB-FAMILY OF THE VULTURIDÆ.--THE OLD WORLD VULTURES +(_Vulturinæ_). + +These Vultures are neither to be recommended for their habits nor +for their personal appearance. In fact, in both these respects they +are rather repulsive birds, but useful withal in hot climates, +where they act as scavengers, and clear away much putrid matter and +decaying substances, which but for their intervention would prove most +offensive. They are all inhabitants of tropical, or at least of warm, +countries; and it is only on rare occasions that they wander into the +North of Europe or occur in the British Islands. Both the Old and the +New Worlds have their Vultures, but the naturalist has no difficulty +in telling at a glance to which hemisphere the bird he is looking at +belongs, for all the Vultures of the New World have _a hole through +their nose_--or, in other words, want the wall of bone which divides +one nostril from the other; in the Vultures of the Old World this bony +wall is present so that the nostrils resemble those of other ordinary +birds. + +[Illustration: BILL OF EGYPTIAN VULTURE, TO SHOW FORM OF NOSTRIL. +(_After Keulemans._)] + +Besides their perforated nostril, the American Vultures differ from +the Old World species in having no after-shaft to the feathers, +therein resembling the Owls. This character has led some naturalists +to consider the New World Vultures as constituting a separate family, +which bears the name of _Cathartidæ_; but although the absence of +an after-shaft is a striking feature, yet the habits of the birds +so closely resemble those of their Old World cousins, that it seems +unnatural to separate them widely in any scheme of classification. The +head of a Vulture, whatever locality he may be from, proclaims the +nature of the bird at once, as it is always bare of feathers, or nearly +so: sometimes a few scattered tufts of down are seen on the head and +neck, but never any true feathers, as in the case of the other birds of +prey. The Vultures feed on the ground, where they walk with comparative +ease, their large feet being fitted for progression on the earth, and +their toes not being prehensile or capable of bending to the same +extent as in the other Hawks. This formation of the foot prevents them +from striking down or snatching their prey, as an Eagle or a Hawk would +do; and they do not carry food to their young, but devour the carcase +or carrion where it falls, and then feed the nestlings by throwing up +food from their crop. They are all birds of powerful flight, and are +capable of sustaining a prolonged soar in the air without any apparent +motion of the wings. + +[Illustration: BILL OF TURKEY VULTURE, TO SHOW THE PERFORATED NOSTRIL.] + +As to the way in which Vultures discover their prey, the opinion of +naturalists has for a long time been divided, and controversy has waxed +hot upon the subject, the question being whether the Vulture possesses +a more than usually keen sense of sight, or whether his sense of smell +is so powerful as to enable him to scent a decaying carcase at a +greater distance than other birds can do. The experiments of various +travellers seem to prove that both the senses of sight and smell are +possessed by the Vulture in no ordinary degree; but the balance of +evidence seems to prove that it is by their keen sight that they +generally find their food. Supposing that an animal is wounded, and +escapes from the hunter, his course is marked by a Vulture soaring +high in the air; another circling far away on the horizon sees the +first bird fly down, and follows in his track; and so on, until a large +company is feeding on the carcase. This action of the Vultures is well +described by Longfellow:-- + + “Never stoops the soaring Vulture + On his quarry in the desert, + On the sick or wounded Bison, + But another Vulture, watching + From his high aërial look-out, + Sees the downward plunge, and follows; + And a third pursues the second, + Coming from the invisible ether, + First a speck, and then a Vulture, + Till the air is dark with pinions.”[150] + +The power of the Vulture’s sight was long disputed by the former +generation of naturalists, and the celebrated Waterton wrote an article +on the “Faculty of Scent in the Vulture,”[151] to prove that it was +more by this means than by sight that the bird was able to discover a +carcase. Waterton was well acquainted with Vultures in Demarara and in +Southern Spain, and he sums up his argument as follows:--“After the +repeated observations I have made in the country where it abounds, I +am quite satisfied that it is directed to its food by means of its +olfactory nerves coming in contact with putrid effluvium, which rises +from corrupted substances through the heavier air. Those are deceived +who imagine that this effluvium would always be driven to one quarter +in the tropics, where the trade-winds prevail. Often, at the very time +that the clouds are driving from the north-east up above, there is a +lower current of air coming from the quarter directly opposite. This +takes place most frequently during the night-time, in or near the +woods; and it often occurs early in the morning, from sunrise till near +ten o’clock, when the regular trade-wind begins to blow. Sometimes it +is noticed in the evening, after sunset; and now and then during the +best part of the day in the rainy season.... Vultures, as far as I have +been able to observe, do not keep together in a large flock when they +are soaring up and down in quest of a tainted current. Now, suppose a +Mule has just expired behind a high wall, under the dense foliage of +evergreen tropical trees; fifty Vultures, we will say, roost in a tree +a mile from this dead Mule. When morning comes, off they go in quest +of food. Ten fly, by mere chance, to the wood where the Mule lies, and +manage to spy it through the trees; the rest go quite in a different +direction. How are the last-mentioned birds to find the Mule? Every +minute carries them farther from it. Now reverse the statement; and +instead of a Mule nearly dead, let us suppose a Mule in an offensive +state of decomposition. I would stake my life upon it that not only +the fifty Vultures would be at the carcase next morning, but also +that every Vulture in the adjacent forest would manage to get there +in time to partake of the repast.” It will be seen from the above +that Mr. Waterton allowed the keen sight of the Vultures to play, on +some occasions, a part in their discovering food. Another observation +on this subject is contained in the late Mr. C. J. Andersson’s work +on the ornithology of South-western Africa. Writing on the Sociable +Vulture (_Otogyps auricularis_), he says:--“I believe naturalists are +not quite agreed as to whether Vultures hunt by sight, by scent, or by +both faculties combined. I have myself no doubt that they employ the +one sense as well as the other in finding their prey, though I feel +inclined to give sight the preference; and I once had a very striking +proof of how they employ their vision in guiding them to carrion--in +this instance, however, not so much by the actual sight of the carrion +(though the first discovery probably originated in that way) as by +another singular contrivance. Early one morning, as I was toiling up +the ascent of a somewhat elevated ridge of hills, with the view of +obtaining bearings for my travelling map, and before arriving at the +summit, I observed several Vultures descending near me: but thinking I +had merely disturbed them from their lofty perch, I did not take any +particular notice of their appearance, as the event was one of usual +occurrence; but on gaining my destination, I found that the birds were +not coming merely from the hill summit, but from an indefinite distance +on the other side. This circumstance, coupled with the fact that I had +wounded a Zebra on the preceding day in the direction towards which the +Vultures were winging their way, caused me to pay more attention. The +flight of the Vultures was low--at least five hundred to a thousand +feet below the summit of the mountain; and on arriving near the base, +they would abruptly rise without deviating from their direct course; +and no sooner was the obstacle in their way thus surmounted than they +again depressed their flight. Those Vultures which I saw could not have +themselves seen the carrion, but simply hunted in direct sight of one +another. There was a numerous arrival; and although I could not always +detect the next bird as soon as I had lost sight of the previous one, +yet, when at length it did come into view, it never seemed uncertain +about its course. Having finished my observations, I descended, +and proceeded in the direction which the Vultures had pursued; and +after about half an hour’s rapid walking, I found, as I anticipated, +the carcase of a Zebra, with a numerous company of Vultures busily +discussing it.”[152] + +Dr. Kirk, the companion of Livingstone, in his paper on the “Birds of +the Zambesi Region of Eastern Tropical Africa,”[153] says that to the +inexperienced hunter the Griffon is “a great annoyance. If game be +left for an hour in the open plain while the men come to carry it off, +the birds will descend, and in a very short time completely devour +it. This is not so if it be covered over with a little grass or with +branches, clearly proving that sight alone is the sense by which the +birds discover their prey. If part of the animal be exposed it matters +not--probably owing to its being mistaken for one asleep; nor does the +presence of blood seem to guide the birds if the carcase be concealed +from view.” + +Lastly, to quote from Canon Tristram’s interesting essay on the +“Ornithology of the Sahara:”[154] “As, happily for the traveller, +Camels do not die every day under the weight of their water-skins, the +Griffon does not habitually visit the desert. Still, he occasionally +gives it a passing call, though, if his meal be deposited near an +oasis, he is usually forestalled by the Hyæna (‘Dubba,’ Arab.), who +lurks in the ‘weds.’ On one occasion a Camel in our caravan having +become footsore had to be slaughtered on the spot. Our attendants +selected the tenderest morsels for ‘kouskous,’ the Arab broth; and +it was not until the next morning that a Vulture scented, or rather +descried, his prey. That the Vulture uses the organ of sight rather +than that of smell, seems to be certain from the immense height at +which he soars and gyrates in the air. In this instance one solitary +bird descended, and half an hour afterwards was joined by a second. +A short time elapsed, and the Nubian Vulture (_Otogyps nubicus_) +appeared, self-invited, at the feast; and before the bones were left +to the Hyæna no less than nine Griffons and two Nubians had broken +their fast. I should hesitate to assert that they had satisfied their +appetites. I have observed the same regular succession of diners out on +other occasions. May we not conjecture that the process is as follows? +The Griffon who first descries his quarry descends from his elevation +at once; another, sweeping the horizon at a still greater distance, +observes his neighbour’s movements and follows his course; a third, +still farther removed, follows the flight of the second; he is traced +by another; and so a perpetual succession is kept up as long as a +morsel of flesh remains over which to consort. I can conceive no other +way of accounting for the numbers of Vultures which in the course of a +few hours will gather over a carcase, when previously the horizon might +have been scanned in vain for more than one, or at the most two, in +sight. Does not this explain the immense number of Vultures who were +congregated in the Crimea during the siege of Sebastopol, where the +bird was comparatively scarce before? May not this habit of watching +the movements of their neighbours have collected the whole race from +the Caucasus and Asia Minor to enjoy so unwonted an abundance? The +Arabs believe that the Vultures from all North Africa were gathered to +feed on Russian Horses in the Crimea, and declare that during the war +very few ‘Nissr’ were to be seen in their accustomed haunts.” + +The above extracts from authentic works have been made at some length, +as exhibiting the general habits of the Vultures. It remains now to +notice some of the most striking forms of these birds. + + +THE BLACK VULTURE[155] + +This is an inhabitant of Southern Europe, whence it extends on both +sides of the Mediterranean to North-western India, where it is a cold +weather visitant, and even to China. In its habits this bird is rather +unsociable, and keeps more to the wooded districts, seldom venturing +into the open country, except when attracted by the presence of some +carcase, on which it feasts in company with the Griffon Vulture. It +breeds on trees, constructing a large bulky nest, and only selects a +rock for its breeding home when there are no trees to be found in the +neighbourhood. It lays one egg, of a richly mottled red colour, two +eggs being an extremely rare occurrence. In appearance they are very +like those of the Golden Eagle. A story is told of the rescue by a pair +of old birds of their young ones, which were in danger from the felling +of the tree on which the nest was situated. It is thus related by Count +von Tshusi Schmidthofen:--“The royal forester, A. Fikker, found in +1860, on the top of a giant beech in the valley of Dobrabach, in the +Sinnaer district, the nest of this Vulture. When the young birds were +large enough to be able to save themselves as the tree fell, orders +were given to cut the beech down. The wood-cutters had worked at the +tree some time, when the old birds appeared, uttering loud cries, and +suddenly pounced on the nest, caught hold of the young ones in their +claws and disappeared like lightning, carrying off the young (who +loudly complained of the unusual mode of locomotion) before the gaze of +the astonished spectators.” + +[Illustration: GRIFFON VULTURE.] + +The Black Vulture measures three feet and a half in length, and is +entirely black, the bare places on the head and neck being of a livid +flesh colour when the bird is alive. + + +THE GRIFFON VULTURE.[156] + +The Griffon, or Fulvous Vulture (so called from its colour), is found +all over Southern Europe, and occurs occasionally at different points +in Central Europe, having once been taken in the British islands off +Cork Harbour; it therefore figures in the list of British birds. It +ranges all over North-eastern Africa, and extends eastwards into +Turkestan, Central Asia, and North-western India. As it goes eastwards +the Griffon becomes a more rufous bird, and is by some naturalists +considered to be a different species. In the British Museum is a very +interesting specimen of this Vulture, collected by Major Denham in +Bornou during his travels across Africa, being one of the comparatively +few birds that have been brought from Central Africa, about the +ornithology of which we do not even yet know much. Like other +Vultures, the Griffon feeds on carrion, but is also stated to frequent +the sea-shore in search of Crustacea and dead fish; while the South +African Griffon is said to feed on Locusts and small Tortoises, the +latter of which it swallows whole.[157] + +This bird’s capacity for feeding is illustrated in a most amusing +anecdote of Canon Tristram’s:--“For some months we possessed two +Griffons taken from the nest, who at length arrived safely in England. +They never attempted to leave us, differing in this respect from our +Lämmergeiers, but remained contentedly about the tents or perched +on the backs of the baggage-camels _en route_. They took a peculiar +interest in taxidermy, scrutinising, head on one side, the whole +operation of bird-skinning, and perfectly aware of the moment when +a morsel would be ready, exhibiting a more than ordinary excitement +when they saw the skin drawn back over the head, and knew that the +whole carcase would soon be cut off for them. One of these birds was +of a desponding, querulous disposition, the other of a very different +natural temperament, always contented and cheerful, a universal +favourite in the camp, while his fellow received, I fear, many a sly +kick for his complaints. They were able to fast for days; but, whenever +such an opportunity as a Camel’s carcase presented itself, would be +revenged on their Lent. I have seen our pet, ‘Musha Pasha,’ attack the +entrails of a Camel, and, as his crop became distended, sink upon his +breast, unable to stand, till at length, even this position being too +much for him, he lay on his side, still eating, until, overpowered and +helpless, he fell asleep. This enormous capacity for food, combined +with the power of long abstinence, is a wonderful provision of creative +wisdom for carrion-feeders, whose supply is so uncertain, while the +necessity for the immediate removal of offensive matter is so urgent. +The strength of the Vulture’s stomach is equal to its capacity, for on +one occasion one of our Griffons devoured a half pound pot of arsenical +soap, with no further inconvenience than a violent fit of vomiting.” + +The Griffon nests on rocks, sometimes several building in company in +the same neighbourhood. Its flight is majestic, and Mr. Salvin says +that it is a fine sight to watch the ease with which the Griffon sails +through the air; the apparently effortless extension of the wing +seems amply sufficient to sustain its huge body; no flapping motion +is necessary to enable it to mount to a great height. It is only on +leaving a rock that a few strokes are requisite to attain the necessary +impulse, after which, with primaries bent upwards by the force of the +air, it performs its stately evolutions by soaring only. In alighting, +the bird drops its legs some distance from the rock, and, sailing +to within a few yards, it checks its velocity by two or three heavy +strokes of the wing. + +Among the ancient Egyptians the Griffon appears to have been a sacred +bird, and its remains have been found embalmed. It is also figured on +their monuments, sometimes in its natural form, sometimes with the head +of a Snake. In size the European Griffon stands about three feet and a +half high, and is of a general ashy fulvous colour, with black quills +and tail; the under surface is creamy-brown, with a darker brown mark +on the crop; the head and neck are bare, or with loosely scattered +tufts of white down; and round the neck there is a white ruff. + +Besides the Griffon Vulture of Europe there are four others, which +seem to be distinct species, the Himalayan Griffon, the South African +Griffon, Rüppell’s Griffon from Abyssinia, and the Long-billed Griffon +from India. In addition to these there are the two White-backed Griffon +Vultures, which have only fourteen tail-feathers, and belong to the +genus _Pseudogyps_. + + +THE EARED VULTURE (_Otogyps[158] auricularis_[159]). + +This is one of the largest species of the birds of prey found in the +Old World, being exceeded in size only by the Great Condor of the +Andes. It is an inhabitant of Africa, being plentifully spread over the +southern portion of the Continent, and also occurring in North-Eastern +Africa, whence it ranges in small numbers to Lower Nubia and the +Sahara, and has even been said to occur accidentally in Europe. It has +received the name of Eared Vulture on account of the folds of skin on +the sides of the neck, which are found only in one other species, the +Indian Vulture (_O. calvus_). These two kinds of Eared Vultures appear +to play the part of the King Vulture of South America, the smaller +Vultures, such as the _Neophrons_, always giving place to them, and +allowing them to finish their feast before venturing to approach. + +[Illustration: EGYPTIAN VULTURE.] + +The Egyptian Vulture (_Neophron[160] percnopterus_[161]) is also +familiarly known as Pharaoh’s Chicken. It is a small bird about two +feet and a half in length, white in plumage, with black wings. A great +part of the face is bare and of a yellow colour. The young birds +are brown. In Europe the Egyptian Vulture is a migratory bird, but +it breeds in many localities in the Mediterranean region, and has +even occurred once or twice on the shores of the British islands. In +winter it takes itself to the Cape of Good Hope. It is much valued in +certain places as a scavenger, as it devours excrementary matter, but +Mr. Gurney states that its food also consists of carrion of various +descriptions, and in default of such food it occasionally preys upon +rats, field mice, small lizards, snakes, insects, and even earthworms. +Colonel Irby observes that it is probably the foulest-feeding bird that +lives, and that it is very omnivorous, devouring any animal substance, +even all sorts of excrement; nothing comes amiss to it, and he has +sometimes seen them feeding on the sea-shore on dead fish thrown up +by the tide. The same gentleman[162] says that on their migrations +they pass Gibraltar, which is one of their lines of passage, about the +end of February, and they breed in the neighbourhood of that place, +beginning to lay about the 1st of April. The nest is composed of a few +dead sticks, always lined with wool, rags, or rubbish; and Colonel +Irby states that he found about a pound of tow in one nest, and the +sleeve of an old coat; while another observer says that on a foundation +of branches Pharaoh’s Hen heaps rags, patches, old slippers, and whole +basketfuls of camels’ hair and wool for the comfort of its offspring. +The Egyptians frequently represented this species on their monuments, +but do not appear to have attached any particular significance to it. + +[Illustration: CONDOR.] + +In India the place of the present species is taken by the Indian +Scavenger Vulture (_Neophron ginginianus_), and in Africa the Pileated +Vulture (_N. pileatus_), an entirely brown bird, occurs nearly all over +the continent. + + +THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE VULTURIDÆ.--THE AMERICAN VULTURES +(_Sarcorhamphinæ_). + + +THE CONDOR (_Sarcorhamphus[163] gryphus_[164]). + +As before mentioned, all the American Vultures can be readily +distinguished by the perforation of their nostrils. The Condor is a +very unmistakable species, being the largest of all the Vultures, +and the male has a large comb on the head which is not developed in +the female. The hind toe also is extremely small, scarcely touching +the earth, and on this account the foot is less prehensile than in +any other Vulture. The home of this magnificent bird is the chain of +the Andes in South America, and the neighbouring countries to the +west, and it is found inhabiting these mountains from Ecuador and +Colombia, down to the Strait of Magellan, and again extending on the +east coast as far as the mouth of the Rio Negro in Patagonia. It bears +confinement well, examples being generally to be seen living in the +Zoological Gardens; and some idea of the extent of wing in the Condor +can occasionally be obtained when the birds are sunning themselves on +their perch. The expanse in large individuals is said to reach as much +as eight or nine feet. All observers agree that when seen in a wild +state the flight of the Condor is truly majestic, and it is capable of +ascending to an immense height, at which a man could not breathe on +account of the rarefaction of the air, a state of things which does +not seem to affect the Condor, who is often lost to sight amidst the +clouds. The most exaggerated stories of the strength and prowess of +this Vulture were circulated by the old authors, and it was even said +to attack full-grown oxen. The careful observations, however, of recent +travellers, have dispelled many of the fabulous stories respecting it, +and it is now a well ascertained fact that the Condor does not attack +full-grown animals of any size, but will devour newly-born and helpless +offspring, and several of them will unite to kill the mother should she +appear in a weak and sickly condition. The supposed habit, attributed +to these birds, of carrying off prey in their feet, is disproved by +the weakness of the last-named organs, and their utter incapacity for +grasping anything: in fact the feet play a very insignificant part in +the bird’s economy, the powerful bill being the chief factor in tearing +a carcase to pieces. The Condor measures about three feet and a half +in length, the closed wing being about twenty-nine inches. The general +colour of the bird is black, the secondary quills and most of the +wing-coverts being externally grey. Round the neck is a ruff of soft +white down. The bare parts of the head and neck are not remarkable for +any bright colour, but are blackish with traces of livid flesh colour +here and there. That the Condor lays sometimes in confinement is shown +by a specimen in the British Museum, which was hatched by a common +hen, who sat on the egg for six weeks and two days. The nestlings are +usually covered with white down. + + +THE KING VULTURE (_Cathartes[165] papa_[166]). + +This is by far the handsomest of the whole family, its head and neck +being covered with caruncles, which in life are orange, purple, and +crimson in colour; the general plumage of the bird, too, is a delicate +fawn or cream colour. It is an inhabitant of Central and Southern +America, from Mexico southwards to Brazil, where it is found a little +below the twentieth degree of south latitude. It appears to be rather +a cleaner feeder than the Condor or other American Vultures, and +frequents wooded countries instead of those rocky places in which the +Condor delights. It is rarer than the last-named bird, and from its +forest-loving habits is less easily observed, and it is altogether +a more active and lively species. It is shy and suspicious, and is +most difficult to obtain, from its habit of sitting on the tops of +trees, whence it scans with ease the country around. On this account +it is seldom shot, and D’Orbigny, from whose works much of the above +information is derived, says that it is only captured by attracting +it to a carcase, and then shooting it from an ambush. Another mode of +capture, which he says is followed by the natives of Santa Cruz de +la Sierra,[167] is by finding out the tree on which the King Vulture +roosts, and to which it returns night after night, and then to climb +up and capture the bird with gloved hands. The same observer says that +it is not from any innate respect, but from fear of its powerful bill, +that the Turkey Vultures pay such deference to this present bird, not +venturing to commence their repast until he is satisfied, whereby he is +popularly known as the “King” of the Vultures. + + +THE TURKEY VULTURE (_Rhinogryphus[168] aura_). + +This is an inhabitant of North America, whence it ranges throughout +Central America and the West Indian Islands down the Andean chain to +the Strait of Magellan. Their habits vary somewhat with locality, for +whereas in the Southern United States they act as scavengers in the +towns, in Guatemala and other places in Central America they are not +seen in flocks, but occur in pairs only in the forests. As in the case +of the other Vultures, their food consists of carrion, and they are +found in large numbers in deserts, where they obtain an ample supply of +food in the animals which perish. The Turkey Vulture is about two feet +and a half in length. The plumage is black with a purplish gloss, and +in life the bare head and neck are of a bright red colour, which soon +fades after death. + +[Illustration: BRAZILIAN CARACARA.] + + +FAMILY FALCONIDÆ.--THE FALCON-LIKE HAWKS. + + +THE FIRST SUB-FAMILY.--THE CARACARAS (_Polyborinæ_). + +All the members of this sub-family are more or less Vulturine in their +habits and appearance, and many of them are carrion feeders. The name +“Caracara” with which these birds are here designated is of Brazilian +origin, and all the species included under the present heading are +inhabitants of Central and Southern America, with the exception of the +Secretary Bird of Africa. They all seem to be at home on the ground, +and they differ from all other birds of prey in having a membrane which +joins the base of the two outer toes to the middle one, a feature +which is doubtless useful to the birds when wallowing in the marshy +ground, which many of them frequent in quest of frogs, &c. The Southern +Caracaras (_Ibycter australis_) are said to run with extreme quickness, +putting out one leg before the other, and stretching forward their +bodies very much like Pheasants. Mr. Darwin, who became acquainted +with these birds during his voyage in the _Beagle_, says that their +flesh is good to eat, and he gives a very interesting account of +the habits of the Southern Caracara in the Falkland Islands, where +they were extraordinarily tame and very mischievous, frequenting the +neighbourhood of the houses to pick up all kinds of offal. If a beast +were killed they congregated from all quarters like so many Vultures, +and they did not hesitate to attack and capture wounded birds, on one +occasion pouncing on a Dog which was lying asleep. They would also +carry off miscellaneous articles which were lying on the ground. “A +large black glazed hat was carried nearly a mile, as were a pair of +heavy balls, used in catching wild cattle. Mr. Usborne experienced +during the survey a severe loss in a small Kater’s compass, in a +red morocco case, which was never recovered.” According also to Mr. +Darwin, these birds were quarrelsome and extremely passionate, and it +was curious to behold them, when impatient, tearing up the grass with +their bills, from rage. It may be owing to their strong feelings, as +described by the last-named naturalist, that the colour of the face +changes in the Brazilian Caracara, concerning which a somewhat amusing +incident may be related. There arrived from Patagonia at the Zoological +Gardens two Caracaras, which were white instead of brown, like the +Brazilian species (_Polyborus tharus_), and the question which troubled +naturalists was, whether these Patagonian birds were a distinct +species, or whether they were simply a white variety of the ordinary +Brazilian bird. The latter had the bare skin of the face lemon-yellow, +whereas the white birds had this part purple, and this was looked +upon as one sign of their belonging to a distinct species. But one +memorable day an ornithologist went up to describe the new arrivals, +and to bestow on them a name, which should mark the character of the +purple face. No doubt existed in his mind, for the white birds had now +lived for a whole year in the Gardens, and were still white and had a +purple visage, but, happening to turn his head away for one moment, +he was not a little surprised, on looking back at his supposed new +species, to find that the facial character had disappeared, and that +the bird’s visage was now yellow. At the same moment the face of one +of the Brazilian birds in the adjoining den had turned red, and hence +it became clear that the Caracaras can change the colour of the bare +face at will, and that the lighter-coloured specimen was only an albino +after all! Besides the Caracaras, at least one other species of bird of +prey changes colour in a somewhat similar way--the Bateleur Eagle,[169] +which, if irritated, flushes up to the roots of its feathers, and +its bare face, which is usually scarlet, becomes a deep blood-red or +crimson. In the case of the latter bird the change of colour is visible +not only in the visage but in the feet also, which likewise acquire a +darker red than before. + + +THE SECRETARY BIRD (_Serpentarius[170] secretarius_[171]). + +This is the only African representative of the Caracaras, or web-footed +birds of prey, and from its general look and from its habits, no less +than from some peculiar anatomical characters, it is by many good +authorities considered to be a game bird, and not a Hawk at all. No +one, however, who has seen a Secretary kill a Rat, and the prodigious +force with which, by repeated blows of his powerful legs, sometimes +springing into the air and bringing both feet down at the same moment +upon his victim, he quickly reduces it to a shapeless pulp, would +consider him anything but a bird of prey. Standing before a Cobra which +rises to attack him, the Secretary spreads his wings out in front as +a shield to guard his body, and then from behind this protection he +strikes his enemy down. On account of their prowess in destroying +venomous Serpents, they are protected with care by both the European +and Native Governments in South Africa, and in the Cape Colony a +penalty is inflicted upon any one who ventures to kill one of these +useful birds. Sometimes the Secretary does not win in the fight with +the Snake, for a good observer has stated that on one occasion he saw +a bird suddenly leave off fighting and run to a pool of water, where +he fell down dead. If the Snake bites a feather, the bird immediately +pulls it out, but in the above instance the reptile had drawn blood +from the point of the pinion. It is somewhat remarkable that the +Secretary should have such striking power in his legs, as they are +long and slender for the size of the bird, and are so brittle that it +is said that, if suddenly started into a quick run, their legs will +snap. The Secretary Bird is a most voracious feeder, devouring Rats, +Lizards, Locusts, Snakes, Tortoises, &c., and Levaillant states that +he took from the stomach of one of these birds three Serpents as long +as his arm and an inch in thickness, eleven Lizards of seven or eight +inches in length, and twenty-one small Tortoises of about two inches +in diameter, besides a large quantity of Grasshoppers or Locusts, and +other insects. + +[Illustration: SECRETARY BIRD.] + +A spirited and truthful account of the habits of the Secretary was +published in 1856 by the late M. Jules Verreaux, who spent upwards of +fifteen years in South Africa engaged in a study of the natural history +of that part of the world, and a few extracts from this paper cannot be +resisted.[172] “As Nature exhibits foresight in all that she does, she +has given to each animal its means of preservation. Thus the Secretary +Bird has been modelled on a plan appropriate to its mode of life; and +it is therefore for this purpose that, owing to the length of its legs +and tarsi, its piercing eye is able to discover at a long distance the +prey which, in anticipation of its appearance, is stretched on the +sand or amongst the thick grass. The elegant and majestic form of the +bird becomes now even more graceful; it now brings into action all its +cunning in order to surprise the Snake which it is going to attack; +therefore it approaches with the greatest caution. The elevation of the +feathers of the neck and back of the head shows when the moment for +attack has arrived. It throws itself with such force on the reptile +that very often the latter does not survive the first blow. But if +the bird does not succeed, and the enraged Snake draws itself up and +expands, at the same time, the skin of its neck, as is the way with the +more dangerous Serpents, the bird is forced to retreat, and takes a +spring backwards, waiting to seize a favourable moment for recommencing +the attack. Raising itself, the furious reptile moves its tongue +with the quickness of lightning, and gives forth the most vehement +hisses, which keep back the enemy and seem to force some respect from +it: but the bird, whose courage redoubles in the same ratio that the +difficulties increase, opens out its wings, and, returning to the +charge, assails the reptile afresh with blows from its terrible feet, +such as no one would believe, and which are not long in putting the +Snake _hors de combat_. We have, however, sometimes seen the Snakes +launch themselves on the Secretary, but, either by opening its wings, +whose long primaries serve it as a kind of shield, or by jumping +backwards or on one side, the bird is certain to parry the attack of +its antagonist, who at last, overcome by fatigue, falls at full length +on the ground. The moment is seized by the Secretary to redouble its +massive blows, which, by dislocating the vertebral column, soon cause +the reptile to give up the ghost. It is then that the victorious Hawk +darts like an arrow, and placing its foot on the Serpent’s neck, just +at the back of the head, commences to swallow it, which it does by +beginning at the tail first. Nor is this a long operation, even with +reptiles five or six feet in length and more than four inches in +diameter; and as soon as it arrives at the head it completely smashes +the skull by several blows of its bill before swallowing it.” + +“Both sexes work at the construction of the nest, which is always +placed on the summit of a high dense bush, more often a mimosa. It is +added to each year, and it is easy to see the age of a nest by the +number of fresh layers which have been added year by year. The young +birds remain for six months before leaving the nest, their legs not +being strong enough to support the weight of the body. During the whole +of this time they are fed with great assiduity by both parents.” + +The Secretary Bird stands more than four feet high, when fully grown. +The general colour of the plumage is grey, with black quills; the lower +back and rump are black, the upper tail-coverts white; the tail is +grey, tipped with white, and crossed with two black bands; below, the +colour is ashy-white, the thighs and abdomen black. From the hinder +part of the crown and occiput springs an elegant crest of plumes, which +the bird can raise or depress at will; they are either entirely black, +or grey with a black tip. It is from these long plumes that the bird +has got the name of the Secretary, from some fancied resemblance in the +bird’s head to the quills which a secretary places behind his ear. + +In America, the Secretary is represented by the Çariama (_Çariama +cristata_), a bird which looks so like a game bird that, as we have +said, many ornithologists place both it and the Secretary among the +Gallinaceous birds, and not among the Hawks. From a consideration of +its anatomy, however, both Professor Parker and Professor Sundevall +determined that the Çariama is an accipitrine bird, though of a +very aberrant form. Those who differ from them admit that where the +Secretary is placed in the natural system the Çariama must also be +located, and no one who has studied the habits of the former, either +in a wild state or in captivity, can doubt for a moment that it is a +veritable bird of prey, and so it follows that the Bustard-like Çariama +must also be included in the same order. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE LONG-LEGGED HAWKS AND BUZZARDS. + + THE BANDED GYMNOGENE--Habits--Its Movable Tarsi--THE + HARRIERS--Distinctive Features--THE MARSH HARRIER--Habits--Its + Thievish Propensities--THE HARRIER-HAWKS--Colonel Greyson’s Account + of their Habits--THE CHANTING GOSHAWKS--Why so Called--Habits--THE + TRUE GOSHAWKS--Distinctive Characters--THE GOSHAWK--Distribution--In + Pursuit of its Prey--Appearance--THE SPARROW-HAWKS--Distinctive + Characters--THE COMMON SPARROW-HAWK--Habits--Appearance--THE + BUZZARDS--Their Tarsus--THE COMMON BUZZARD--Where Found--How it might + be turned to Account--Food--Its Migrations--Habits--Appearance--THE + HARPY. + + +THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE FALCONIDÆ.--THE LONG-LEGGED HAWKS +(_Accipitrinæ_). + +All the Hawks included under this heading are remarkable for their +long legs, in which the tibial bone and the tarsus are about equal in +length. In all the other Hawks, Eagles, Kites, Buzzards, and Falcons, +the tibia is always longer than the tarsus. + +The Long-legged Hawks are not such powerful birds of prey as the Eagles +or Falcons, and do not possess, as a rule, the same dash and courage in +pursuing their quarry, many of them feeding on a low kind of diet, and +being robbers of eggs and destroyers of young birds. The birds of prey +belonging to this sub-family are--1. The Gymnogenes; 2. The Harriers; +3. The Goshawks; 4. The Sparrow-Hawks. + + +THE BANDED GYMNOGENE[173] (_Polyboroides[174] typicus_). + +From its general appearance, especially in its naked yellow face, this +remarkable Hawk is considered to be a close ally of the Secretary +Bird; but the proportions of its legs and its habits proclaim it to be +nearly related to the Harriers. Two kinds of Gymnogenes are known, one +inhabiting Africa, and the other being found in Madagascar. The food +of the present species appears to consist of Frogs and Lizards, and +at times it walks over the ground which has been recently burnt, in +pursuit of insects and small reptiles; at other times it will sit for +a long time on stumps by pools of water, watching for Frogs, which in +such situations form its favourite food. The Gymnogenes are remarkable +in the class of birds for being able to put their leg “out of joint” at +will (that is to say, they can bend the tarsus backwards just as they +please); and this is a fact which may be accepted as a certainty, since +its truth has been tested by many trusty and independent observers. One +of these, the late M. Jules Verreaux, states that the tarsi are movable +at the “knee”-joint toward the front from behind, a provision which, +from the facility it affords the bird for drawing up Frogs out of the +marsh-holes by means of its talons, is of no little service to it. The +exceedingly compressed toes of this species also enable it to introduce +its long tarsi into the narrow crevices of the rocks. He saw it twist +and turn its legs in all directions in capturing its prey in marshy +places. Mr. Thomas Ayres also says that “the legs of this bird bend +backward at the knee in an extraordinary manner, very much as if they +were out of joint.” + +The Banded Gymnogene is nearly twenty-four inches in length, and is of +a light grey colour, with black wings, the secondaries being grey like +the back, with a black band before the tip; the lower back is white +barred with black; the tail black with a white tip and a white bar +across the middle; the throat and chest are grey like the back, and the +rest of the under surface is white barred with black. The cere and bare +space round the eye are yellow when the bird is alive. + + +THE HARRIERS (_Circus_). + +All the Harriers have a facial disc as in the Owls, though not so +distinct as in the latter group of birds. In both, however, the disc is +formed by a ruff of soft, close-set plumes, which encircle the face; +and hence in most classifications the Harriers have been considered +as being closely allied to the Owls, on account of their having this +“facial disc.” Their structure and habits, however, entirely do away +with the idea of there being any real affinity between these two groups +of accipitrine birds. + +Before the draining of the fens in England, Harriers were by no means +uncommon in certain localities; but they are becoming rarer year by +year, as each favourite haunt passes from them under the dominion of +the agriculturist. Three kinds were found in England, of which the +Hen Harrier (_Circus cyaneus_) was the rarest; Montagu’s Harrier (_C. +pygargus_) was the most plentiful and the most widely distributed; +and the Marsh Harrier, or Moor Buzzard (_C. æruginosus_), the most +powerful. This is the species which has held its own best, as it is +still found breeding in some few places in the United Kingdom. The +habits of all the Harriers are very similar, and the genus Circus +is probably--with the exception of the Peregrine Falcons--the most +universally distributed of any Raptorial birds, for there is scarcely +any part of the world where a Harrier is not found. + + +THE MARSH HARRIER (_Circus æruginosus_). + +This is an inhabitant of the Old World, where it enjoys a wide range. +It is one of the greatest robbers of eggs and young birds, being, +in countries where it is still plentiful, a great nuisance to the +sportsman, as, says Colonel Irby, “slowly hunting along in front, it +puts up every Snipe and Duck that lies in its course, making them +unsettled and wild.”[175] The same authority furnishes the following +interesting particulars about the habits of the present species:--“In +Andalusia, as well as in Morocco, over all low wet ground, the Marsh +Harrier is to be seen in vast numbers, particularly in winter. Great +quantities remain to breed, sometimes as many as twenty nests being +within three hundred yards of one another. The latter, loosely +constructed with dead sedges, vary very much in size and depth, and +are usually placed amidst rushes in swamps, but sometimes on the +ground among brambles and low brushwood, always near water, though +occasionally far from marshes. They begin to lay about the end of +March, and at that time fly up a great height, playing about, and +continually uttering their wailing cry. The eggs are bluish-white, and +usually four or five in number; they certainly vary in size and shape, +and are often much stained. Like the eggs of all the Harriers that I +am acquainted with, and many others of the Accipitres, when blown and +held up to the light they show a bluish tinge. I once found a nest +containing only one egg nearly ready to hatch, and saw another with six +eggs (three quite fresh, and the other three hard sat on). I believe +that if the first set of eggs be taken they lay again in a fresh nest, +as I found sets of fresh eggs as late as the 2nd of May. + +[Illustration: MARSH HARRIER.] + +“Cowardly and ignoble, they are the terror of all the poultry which +are in their districts, continually carrying off chickens, and, like +other Harriers, are most terribly destructive to the eggs and young of +all birds. On account of these propensities, I never let off a Marsh +Harrier unless it spoiled sport to fire at one. Sometimes, when at Casa +Vieja, and the Snipe were scarce, we used to lie up in the line of the +Harriers’ flight to their roosting-places; for they always take the +same course, and come evening after evening within five minutes of the +same time. Upon one occasion a friend and myself killed eleven, and +during the visit accounted for over twenty. I also upon every possible +opportunity destroyed the nest and shot the old ones; but it was the +labour of Sisyphus, for others immediately appeared. However, there was +a visible diminution of their numbers at Casa Vieja. I never saw rats +in their nests or crops, and believe they have not the courage to kill +them; small snakes, frogs, wounded birds, eggs, and nestlings unable to +fly, form the main part of their prey. I have seen the Marsh Harrier +hawking over the sea about two hundred yards from the shore, where +there was shallow water, but could not see what they were taking.” + + +THE HARRIER-HAWKS (_Micrastur_[176]). + +These constitute a little genus of Hawks peculiar to the New World, +where they form a perfect link between the Harriers and the Goshawks. +In form they are stoutly-built birds like the latter, while they retain +the facial ruff of the Harriers, and hence the name of Harrier-Hawk +adopted for them here. Their habits are well described by a good +observer, the late Colonel Greyson, of the U.S. Army, who writes +of the largest species of the genus, the Harrier-Hawk (_Micrastur +semitorquatus_):--“Among the great variety of Hawks to be met with +in a single day’s excursion in the locality of Mazatlan, none are +so easily recognised as this peculiar and interesting species. I +have found it only in the heavy forests, or the immediate vicinity +of a thickly-wooded country, where its slender form and lengthened +tail attract our attention as it swiftly glides through the tangled +woods with that remarkable ease which we have often noticed in the +Sharp-shinned Hawk (_A. fuscus_). It appears to be strictly arboreal in +its habits, and possessed of wonderful activity, either in springing +from branch to branch without opening its wings, or rapidly darting +through the intricacies of the bush with apparently but little +difficulty. I have seldom seen one of these Hawks in an open country, +and have never seen one flying higher than the tree tops, where they +are met with. Its wings are rather short, and its flight is performed +by rapidly repeated strokes, only for a short distance at a time. It +preys upon various species of wood birds, which it captures by darting +upon them on the ground or in the bushes; but the Chachalaca is its +favourite game. This is a gallinaceous bird, or wild chicken, about the +size of, or lighter than, the common hen, and is entirely arboreal, +seldom running upon the ground, but is able by its peculiarly-formed +feet to cling to, or spring rapidly through, the thickest branches +with great agility; but this Hawk follows it with equal facility, +until an opportunity offers to strike its prey, then both come to the +ground together, the Hawk being the lighter bird. I witnessed a scene +of this kind that took place when I was endeavouring to get a shot at +a Chachalaca, as it was jumping about the very thick branches of an +acacia overgrown with lianas; it appeared to be in great distress, +uttering its harsh notes of alarm, and spreading its fan-shaped tail. +Suddenly I saw one of these Hawks pounce upon it; when with harsh +screams of terror and pain the Chachalaca dragged its captor to the +ground, where they struggled for a few moments, but the unfortunate +bird was soon overcome. The struggling and screams of the Chachalaca +created a great commotion among the denizens of the woods; far and +near were heard the harsh cries of other members of its family, and +the Urraca Magpie, with streaming tail and ludicrous gesticulations, +as well as the Blue-back Jay, and other birds in the neighbourhood, +gathered around to witness the scene of rapine. Suddenly appeared in +the midst of this clamour a larger Hawk (_Buteo Harrisi_, Aud.), which +rushed at once upon the captor of the Chachalaca. Unable to withstand +so heavy a charge, he was compelled to give up his honestly captured +prey to a superior force, thus proving the old adage that ‘might is +right.’ The slender but compact figure of our present subject was now +seen perched upon a neighbouring bough, scrutinising, with a vicious +eye, the more powerful but less active bird of prey, as he vainly +attempted to bear off the lifeless form of the Chachalaca; but there +was one yet mightier than he. I observed it for a few moments, then +shot it, as also the Long-tailed Hawk, thus securing all three. + +“They build their nest of dry twigs and moss, which is placed in a very +tall tree, but below the higher branches. The only nest I have seen was +inaccessible, therefore I regret that I am unable to describe the eggs.” + + +THE CHANTING GOSHAWKS (_Melierax_[177]). + +These birds are met with in Africa only, and they have received the +name of “Chanting” Goshawks from their song, which has been stated by +the French traveller, Levaillant, to be of considerable power, for he +says he has heard the male of the Cape species (_Melierax canorus_) +sing for hours together in the twilight of morning and evening, and +sometimes through the night. This, however, has been questioned by +Mr. Layard, who is well known as an authority on African birds, and +who observed the species in some abundance in certain parts of South +Africa. According to this observer, the bird will perch on the top of +a high tree, utter its “mellow piping whistle,” and fly off again. He +has also heard it call when flying. Now, although the Chanting Goshawks +may not have such powers of song as have been credited to them, it is +certain that they really have a more varied note than is the case with +other Goshawks, and the Red-faced Goshawk (_Melierax gobar_) is said to +whistle very much and better than _M. canorus_. About five different +species of Chanting Goshawks are known, all being from Africa: hence +the genus _Melierax_ is one of those forms characteristic of the +_Ethiopian region_, which embraces Africa below the Sahara desert. +One species only, the Many-banded Goshawk (_Melierax polyzonus_), a +frequent bird in Abyssinia and Senegambia, is known to wander beyond +the limits of the above-named region, as it occurs in Mogador, whence +living specimens have been more than once sent to the Zoological +Gardens. + +The habits of the Chanting Goshawks are very similar to those of the +ordinary Goshawks of more northern climates, the larger species feeding +on Quails, Francolins, and other small game, reptiles, and locusts, +while the less powerful kinds devour small birds and reptiles. The +colour of the plumage is a pearly-grey in the South African Chanting +Goshawk (_M. canorus_), the belly being white with greyish cross-lines; +the rump is white; the primary quills black; tail dusky, tipped with +white and crossed by broad white bars; the cere and legs are red; the +iris dark brown. It measures about three feet in length. This style of +colouring is found in all the species, excepting one small one, which +is entirely black all over, save some white spots on the tail, and is +known as the Black Goshawk (_Melierax niger_). + + +THE TRUE GOSHAWKS (_Astur_). + +These are represented nearly all over the world, every country having +one or more species of the genus Astur, excepting the continent of +South America, which possesses only two kinds, both of them rare and +of limited range. More than thirty different species of the genus have +been described, and they present great differences in size and style of +coloration, their habits varying equally, according to the strength and +power of the birds; but they are all remarkable for a very sturdy bill, +and thick-set legs and sharp talons. A Goshawk may always be told by +the latter characters, and by its short toes, which are perhaps smaller +in proportion to the size of the bird than in any other group of the +birds of prey. + +These birds, and the Sparrow-Hawks, have very short wings, and have not +the same power of flight as in the true Falcons, which are long-winged +birds; and hence, in the old days of falconry, they were never +considered of such value as the Peregrine in the chase. They were also +called Hawks of the “fist,” as they were flown at game from the hand, +instead of soaring down on the quarry from aloft. + + +THE GOSHAWK (_Astur palumbarius_). + +This is the largest and most powerful of all the genus, as it is also +the best known, being found all over the northern parts of Europe and +Asia. It used to be of more frequent occurrence in Britain formerly +than it is now; and although it can only nest in this country on the +rarest occasions in the present day, the author was introduced to +an old gamekeeper on the Marquis of Huntly’s estate at Aboyne, who +perfectly remembered the Goshawk breeding regularly at Glentanner. A +young bird is still captured now and then in autumn, one of the last +instances being that of a young male, who was captured in an area at +Hampstead, on the 3rd of August, 1872, and is now in the British Museum. + +It will feed on nearly every kind of bird and animal that it is able +to catch, and in falconry it is principally employed to take Hares and +Rabbits; it will also take Pheasants and Partridges, a great number +of these latter birds being killed by the Goshawk in its wild state. +It is able to pursue its quarry with great dexterity through a wooded +country, and it possesses great powers of abstinence, so that, if its +prey escapes into cover for the time, the Hawk will often wait for its +re-appearance, and will generally exhaust the patience of the quarry, +and succeed in capturing it. During the daytime it remains solitary in +dark fir-forests, and comes out to feed in the morning and evening. +The nest is often a huge structure, being added to year by year; and +an immense nest is figured in Professor Newton’s “Ootheca Wolleyana.” +Some idea of the size may be gained from the story told by Mr. Wolley, +who climbed up to one that was placed a good height up in a large +Scottish fir, and when he stood on the same branch with the nest, +the latter still reached several inches above his head, so that the +building of this nest had probably been the work of several years. + +The old birds are alike in plumage; but the female, as is the case +with all Goshawks, is larger than the male, measuring about two feet +in length, while the male does not exceed twenty inches; the wing +also, which is about twelve inches in the male, exceeds fourteen in +the female. The colour is grey, the head black, the sides of the face +white, streaked with black lines; below, the under surface of the body +is white, barred across with black cross-bars of ashy-brown; the under +tail-coverts are white; quills and tail ashy-brown, the tail feathers +tipped with white; cere yellow; bill bluish; iris orange. The young +birds differ considerably from the adults, being rufous below, with +longitudinal streaks of dark brown; the upper surface is brown, all the +feathers being margined with reddish-white. + +[Illustration: GOSHAWK.] + +In North America, a bird very similar to the Goshawk takes its place; +and a third species of the same group is found in Madagascar only. It +is, however, principally in the Malayan Archipelago that the greatest +number of species occur, nearly every island possessing a Goshawk +peculiar to itself. + + +THE SPARROW-HAWKS (_Accipiter_). + +These may almost be called miniature Goshawks, as they are not only +short-winged birds like the latter, but they even have the same style +of plumage, consisting generally of a dark-grey back, a barred under +surface, and a piercing yellow eye. They may, however, be distinguished +from the Goshawks by their small, weak bill, and long, slender, middle +toe. With the exception of some of the Oceanic Islands, Sparrow-Hawks +are found all over the world, being plentiful even in South America, +where the rarity of the Goshawks has already been alluded to. + + +THE COMMON SPARROW-HAWK (_Accipiter nisus_). + +This is an active and plucky little bird, which still holds its own +in England, notwithstanding the raids made upon its nest, and the +destruction of old birds by keepers. Nor can it be denied that the +Sparrow-Hawk, hatching its young about the time when the young chickens +and Pheasants are also being reared, will occasionally make a swoop on +the pheasantry, and carry off the chicks to feed its own offspring. The +principal food of this Hawk is small birds, in the pursuit of which +it is so eager that it has several times been known to dash through +a glass window, and be caught in the room; while Messrs. Salvin and +Brodrick, in their work on British Falconry, state that they have +“known a trained Sparrow-Hawk force itself to such an extent into a +blackthorn bush, where it had killed a bird, as to require to be cut +out.” Like the Goshawk, it is often trained for hawking, but is a +much more delicate bird to rear, and requires careful management when +young. Nevertheless, a well-trained Sparrow-Hawk will account for a +considerable number of birds; and in the work of the above-mentioned +authors is given an instance of one Hawk having killed 327 head in +less than two months, consisting of Sparrows, Blackbirds, Thrushes, a +few Partridges, and Linnets, more than two-thirds of the number being +Sparrows. + +In size the female Sparrow-Hawk is considerably larger than the male, +measuring nearly sixteen inches in length, and nine inches and a half +in the wing. She is generally paler grey, never so blue as in the male, +nor is she so red underneath. A sign of age, by which a mature hen +Sparrow-Hawk may be known, is the presence of a tuft of rufous plumes +on the flanks, which is feebly developed in the young bird, but is a +conspicuous feature in the adult. + +[Illustration: SPARROW-HAWK. (_After Keulemans_)] + +The male is bluish slate-colour above, the quills browner and barred +across with darker brown, these bars being very distinct below; the +tail is barred with blackish-brown, and tipped with white; cheeks and +ear-coverts are rufous; under surface of body whitish, with narrow +bars of bright rufous, the under tail-coverts white, as are also the +under wing-coverts and axillaries, these two latter parts being spotted +with brown. Young birds are brown with rufous edges to the feathers; +underneath they are rufous, barred with brown on the flanks and breast, +the throat and fore-neck streaked with the same colour. The bars on +the tail are five in number in a young male, but as the bird increases +in age the number of bars decreases, and is generally only four in a +very old bird: the same takes place in the female. The range of the +Common Sparrow-Hawk is very similar to that of the Goshawk, being +extended all over Europe and Northern Asia, and into Northern China and +North-western India. Neither of the birds go to South Africa, and range +into the north-eastern portion of that continent only in winter. + + +THE THIRD SUB-FAMILY.--THE BUZZARDS (_Buteoninæ_). + +These Hawks constitute a numerous assemblage of the birds of prey, +and lead on from the long-legged Hawks of the previous sub-family to +the Eagles, ending with the Great Harpy, which is, perhaps, the most +powerful bird of prey in the world. All the Buzzards have the tibia +much longer than the tarsus, but they may be distinguished from all the +Eagles, Kites, and Falcons by having the back of the tarsus “plated,” +and not “reticulated.” In the accompanying woodcuts is shown the hinder +aspect of a Buzzard’s tarsus (figure on p. 274), by which it will be +seen that the scales are arranged in plates, very differently from that +which takes place in the tarsus of an Eagle (figure on p. 274), where +the scales are reticulated.[178] + +The Buzzards are more numerous in the northern parts of the world than +in the tropics, and a large decrease in the number of species takes +place in Central and Southern America, whilst in Oceania and Australia +they are altogether absent. As a rule, they are birds of plain plumage +and sluggish habits, possessing neither the courage of the Eagles, nor +the dash and adroitness of the Falcons, in capturing their prey. Africa +produces some species which, as regards plumage, are an exception to +the general rule, the Augur and Jackal Buzzards (_Buteo augur_ and +_Buteo jackal_) being rather handsome birds, their plumage being a +mixture of black and chestnut. + +[Illustration: HIND VIEW OF TARSUS OF BUZZARD, SHOWING THE PLATED +ARRANGEMENT OF SCALES (A).] + + +THE COMMON BUZZARD (_Buteo[179] vulgaris_). + +This is a strictly European bird, although it has been stated to occur +in Central Asia, and to sometimes wander into North-eastern Africa. +Like all other birds of prey, it is rather rare in Great Britain, but +it still breeds in certain localities, although the great majority of +specimens which are killed in Britain are found in the fall of the +year. The power of the Common Buzzards to attack large game is very +limited, and Mr. Robert Gray[180] observes:--“To many persons it will +seem unwise, I dare say, to call this Buzzard a useful bird in game +preserves, yet I cannot but think that if the experiment were made of +allowing it to fulfil the ends for which Nature designed it, our native +game birds would benefit by the trial. So far as my own observations +have extended, the Common Buzzard is just the kind of instrument wanted +to clear off sickly young birds, which, on arriving at maturity, yield +an offspring of a degenerate breed. Of somewhat sluggish habits, it +does not care to interfere with strong-winged birds, being content with +those that, through wounds or a naturally feeble constitution, are +unable to save themselves. In this way only strong birds are left, and +a healthy breed ensues. Let any of our proprietors of moors, who are +jealous of the daring prowess of Eagles and lordly Peregrines, act upon +this hint, and I will venture to say we should have fewer instances of +disease amongst game birds to chronicle.” + +[Illustration: + + HIND VIEW OF TARSUS OF SERPENT EAGLE, SHOWING THE RETICULATED + ARRANGEMENT OF SCALES. +] + +Although the Buzzard does not quarter the ground like a Harrier, and +search for its prey on the wing, it may not unfrequently be seen +circling in the air at a considerable height, generally over the place +which contains its nest, but as a rule it perches on some stone or +similar resting-place, whence it watches for its prey. When flying it +utters a clear loud cry, which has been described as “mewing.” Its +principal food consists of Field Mice, but it also devours Moles, young +birds, the caterpillars of Hawk Moths (_Sphingidæ_), Grasshoppers, +and it will also occasionally feed on carrion, or on dead fish cast +up on the sea-shore. When migrating in the autumn, which it does in +considerable numbers together, a good many are caught for the purposes +of food, and the manner of catching them is thus described by Nilsson +in his work on the birds of Sweden:--“In October, when they pass +through Skåne on their passage to the south, they remain for some +time on the outermost point of land to await a suitable westerly +wind to cross. Large numbers collect and roost at night in the trees +(especially in the willows) which grow there. When the darkness sets +in, two men go in company to catch them, one with a sack, and the other +with a stout cudgel. The latter climbs quietly up into the tree, where +he can just distinguish the bird, whilst the other remains below; and +so soon as the climber has got up to where he can reach a bird, he +catches it by the legs with the left hand, and either twists its neck +with his right hand, or stuns it with a blow of the cudgel, and throws +it down to his companion on the ground, who crams it into the sack. +In this manner two men can catch thirty or forty in the evening, or, +according to Burgomaster C., as many even as seventy or eighty; and +Captain E. relates that twenty were obtained one evening from the same +tree. They are easiest to catch when it is dark and blowing hard, so +that the bird cannot easily hear the noise. In all, many hundreds are +caught annually, some of which are cooked fresh or made into soup, but +most are salted down and kept for use during the winter.” + +[Illustration: COMMON BUZZARD.] + +The nest of the Buzzard is generally placed on some non-evergreen +tree at various heights from the ground, but in Scotland it builds +on rocks. The usual number of eggs is three or four, and these are a +bluish-white, with reddish blotches. They vary a good deal in colour, +some being rather richly marked, while others are almost colourless. +The time of breeding is generally the month of April, or in severe +seasons, early in May. A Crow’s nest is occasionally taken possession +of. When the bird makes its own nest, this is formed of large branches +with a lining of grass, occasionally of a few feathers. No bird varies +more than the Buzzard in plumage, and many beautiful variations in its +dress take place before the adult plumage is gained. The old bird is +almost entirely brown above and below, the breast and abdomen generally +having a more or less barred appearance; the quills are brown, banded +with darker brown, and shaded with grey on their outer aspect; the tail +is ashy-brown, more or less inclining to rufous, and having twelve or +thirteen bars of darker brown. Young birds have a great deal of white +about their plumage, some of them being nearly cream-coloured. The size +of the adults is about twenty-two inches, and the sexes vary a little +in dimensions, the wing of the female being perhaps one inch longer +than that of the male. + +The great utility of the Buzzard in destroying Mice ought to render +it an object of protection and encouragement, for the number of small +Mammals destroyed by these birds is immense. Brehm calculates that +when they have young they will destroy at least one hundred Mice a day, +and mentions that thirty Field Mice have been taken from the crop of a +single bird. + + +THE HARPY (_Thrasatus[181] harpyia_[182]). + +[Illustration: THE HARPY.] + +Although from its size and courage this bird is generally called the +_Harpy Eagle_, it is evident from its structure that it is a Buzzard, +as it possesses the “plated” tarsi of the latter group of birds. It is +an inhabitant of the New World, from Mexico through Central America to +Brazil and Bolivia. It is a very destructive bird, causing great damage +to the flocks, and even destroying calves, whence it is an object of +detestation to the stock-keepers in Mexico. It also feeds on deer and +on the large Macaws which are found in the forest it frequents. It +stands more than three feet and a half high, and has a large crest, +which, together with its powerful talons and glittering eye, gives +the bird an imposing aspect even in captivity. In the adult bird the +coloration is ashy-grey, inclining in very old examples to silvery grey +relieved by the dark ash-coloured wings and tail. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +EAGLES AND FALCONS. + + THE EAGLES--THE BEARDED EAGLE, OR LÄMMERGEIER--A Visit to + their Nest--Habits--A Little Girl carried off alive--Habits + in Greece--Appearance--Von Tschudi’s and Captain Hutton’s + Descriptions of its Attacks--THE TRUE EAGLES--THE WEDGE-TAILED + EAGLE--Eye--Crystalline Lens--How Eagles may be Divided--THE IMPERIAL + EAGLE--THE GOLDEN EAGLE--In Great Britain--Macgillivray’s Description + of its Habits--Appearance--THE KITE EAGLE--Its Peculiar Feet--Its + Bird’s-nesting Habits--THE COMMON HARRIER EAGLE--THE INDIAN SERPENT + EAGLE--THE BATELEUR EAGLE--THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE--A Sea Eagle--Story + of Capture of some Young--THE SWALLOW-TAILED KITE--On the Wing--THE + COMMON KITE--THE EUROPEAN HONEY KITE--Habits--ANDERSSON’S PERN--THE + FALCONS--The Bill--THE CUCKOO FALCONS--THE FALCONETS--THE PEREGRINE + FALCON--Its Wonderful Distribution--Falconry--Names for Male, + Female, and Young--Hawks and Herons--THE GREENLAND JER-FALCON--THE + KESTRELS--THE COMMON KESTREL--Its Habits and Disposition. + + +THE THIRD SUB-FAMILY OF THE FALCONIDÆ.--THE EAGLES (_Aquilinæ_). + +As already explained, the Eagles may be distinguished from the Buzzards +by their reticulated tarsus; otherwise the proportions of the leg-bones +are similar, the tibia being considerably longer than the tarsus. + + +THE BEARDED EAGLE, OR LÄMMERGEIER (_Gypaëtus barbatus_). + +The generic name of this Eagle is derived from two Greek words (γύψ, +a Vulture, ἀετός, an Eagle), and no name could have been better +chosen, for with the structure of an Eagle it combines many of the +habits of a Vulture, and has many ways in common with the Egyptian +Vulture (_Neophron percnopterus_). In Europe it is found only in the +mountainous parts of those countries bordering the Mediterranean basin, +and is now nearly extinct in Switzerland. In the mountains of Spain, +however, it is still to be met with in some quantities, and Mr. Howard +Saunders states that one or two pairs may be found in every range of +mountains. In Sardinia it is said by Mr. Basil Brooke to be decidedly +common, and during one of his visits to that island he obtained a very +curious nestling bird covered with down. “A pair of these birds,” says +Mr. Brooke, “are in possession of every separate range of hills, which +they appear to regard as their own territory, and from which they are +seldom to be found far distant. They are generally to be seen singly or +in pairs; but now and then I have observed three, and on one occasion +four together. As a rule they are most decidedly mountain birds, but +occasionally a single bird may be seen hunting over the plains and +cultivated lands, not flying more than one hundred yards high. The +nest of one found on the 18th of April was built on a broad ledge of +a precipitous cliff, about three hundred feet high, within twenty +feet of the top, and was completely sheltered from the severity of +the weather by a large overhanging piece of rock. After some trouble +I discovered a way by which, with a little care, I managed to get on +the ledge, much to the discomfort of the solitary inmate--a young +nestling, covered as yet with a pale yellowish-brown down. The nest +itself was an accumulation of dried sticks, with a cup-shaped hollow +in the middle, and had evidently been used for years. In it, and on +the surrounding ledge, were great quantities of the leg-bones and +feet of goats, &c., and a part of a fox’s lower jaw; these being in +all stages of putrefaction, the smell was abominable. The old female +on my first visit to the nest sat extremely close, and although I was +standing over her within seven or eight yards, would not leave her +young until I fired a shot, upon which she dashed off, dropping almost +perpendicularly, and was out of range before I could fire. She flew +over the valley and lit upon a high-projecting, rocky pinnacle, upon +which I could see her through the telescope, sitting quietly watching +all my proceedings. She returned to the nest shortly afterwards, on my +having retired to a little distance.” + +In Algeria the Lämmergeier is said to feed largely on Land Tortoises, +which it carries to a great height in the air, and drops upon a +convenient rock, so as to break the shell. So much has been written +upon the habits of this bird that it would be impossible to give here +one tithe of the interesting notes which have been published in various +works and periodicals; but no history of the species, however brief, +would be complete without a passing mention of the little girl who +was said to have been carried off in childhood by one of these birds. +The history, believed by him to be well authenticated, is related by +Naumann as follows.--“Anna Zurbuchen, of Hatchern, in Bern Oberland, +born in 1760, was taken out by her parents, when she was nearly three +years old, when they went to collect herbs. She fell asleep, and the +father put his straw hat over her face and went to his work. Shortly +after, when he returned with a bundle of hay, the child was gone; and +the parents and peasants sought her in vain. During this time Heinrich +Michel, of Unterseen, was going on a wild path to Wäppesbach, and +suddenly heard a child cry. He ran towards the sound, and a Bearded +Vulture rose, scared by him, from a mound, and soared away over the +precipice. On the extreme edge of the latter, below which a stream +roared, and over whose edge any moment would have precipitated it, +Michel found the child, which was uninjured, except on the left arm and +hand, where the bird had probably clutched it; its shoes, stockings, +and cap were gone. This occurred on the 12th of July, 1763. The place +where the child was found was about 1,400 paces distant from the +tarn where it had been left asleep. The child was afterwards called +_Lämmergeier-Anni_, and married Peter Frutiger, a tailor in Gewaldswyl, +where she was still living in 1814.” + +The circumstantial way in which the above narrative runs appears to +leave little doubt of its reality, but it is difficult to give it +credence, as the Lämmergeier has but little power in its feet, which +resemble those of the Vultures; and most of the stories of its prowess +have been discredited by the researches of modern naturalists. Dr. +Brehm observes:--“To my intense astonishment, the Spanish hunters did +not regard this bird in the slightest degree as a bold, merciless +robber: all asserted that it fed on carrion, especially bones, only +attacking living animals when driven by necessity. They called it +‘Quebranta-Huesos,’ or the ‘Bone-smasher,’ and assured me that this +favourite food was broken in a singular manner. My later observations +proved nothing which would justify my treating their statements as +otherwise than correct, so I was forced to come to the conclusion that +the Lämmergeier had been much maligned. Since my first account of this +bird, I have read a number of communications from other observers, and +gather from the whole that the Bearded Vulture is nought else than a +weak, cowardly bird of prey, gifted neither in mind nor body to any +great extent, and one that but rarely carries away small mammals. Its +food usually consists of bones and other carrion.” + +Mr. Hudleston met with the Lämmergeier in Greece, where, however, it +was not common, and he writes of its habits as observed by him:--“He +is not a demonstrative bird like the Griffon, who may be seen sailing +about at a great height in the air, sometimes alone, but more often +in troops of from half a dozen to fifty, revolving in endless circles +round each other, that no corner may remain unseen. The Lämmergeier, +on the contrary, may be observed floating slowly, at a uniform level, +close to the cliffs of some deep ravine, where his shadow is perhaps +projected on the wall-like rocks. If the ravine has salient and +re-entering angles, he does not cut across from point to point, but +preserves the same distance from the cliff; and when he disappears +in any natural fissure, you feel sure of the very spot where he will +emerge on turning the corner of the precipice. Marrow-bones are the +dainties he loves the best; and when the other Vultures have picked the +flesh off any animal, he comes in at the end of the feast and swallows +the bones, or breaks them and swallows the pieces, if he cannot get the +marrow out otherwise. The bones he cracks by taking them to a great +height and letting them fall on a stone. This is probably the bird that +dropped a Tortoise on the bald head of poor old Æschylus. Not, however, +that he restricts himself, or the huge black infant that he and his +mate are bringing up, in one of the many holes with which the limestone +precipice abounds, to marrow, turtle, bones, and similar delicacies: +neither lamb, hare, nor kid comes amiss to him--though, his power of +claw and beak being feeble for so large a bird, he cannot tear his +meat like other Vultures and Eagles. I once saw a mature bird of this +species which had evidently swallowed a bone, or something uncommonly +indigestible, close to the _abattoir_ at Athens. He was in a very +uncomfortable attitude, and appeared to be leaning on his long tail for +support. After riding round in gradually decreasing circles till within +ten yards, I dropped off horseback and made a rush at him, but he just +managed to escape, and then rising slowly till about the height of the +Acropolis, made off towards the gorge of Phylæ, where there is an eyry. + +“The Lämmergeier has an extremely ugly countenance; this becomes +perfectly diabolical when he is irritated, and shows the bright +red round his eyes. Altogether, what with his black beard, rufous +breast, and long, dark tail, he is an awful-looking beast, and has the +reputation of committing divers evil deeds--such, for instance, as +pushing lambs and kids, and even men, off the rocks, when they are in +ticklish situations. Nevertheless, he is a somewhat cowardly bird, has +a feeble, querulous cry, and will submit to insults from a Falcon not a +fourth his size or weight.” + +[Illustration: BEARDED EAGLE, OR LÄMMERGEIER.] + +Von Tschudi says that in Switzerland it will capture Hares, Martens, +Squirrels, Crows, and Woodcocks, and he states that a stomach was found +to contain five pieces of Bullock’s ribs two inches thick and from six +to nine inches long, a lump of hair, and the leg of a young Goat from +the knee to the foot. The bones were perforated by the gastric juice, +and partly reduced to powder. The stomach of another Lämmergeier, +examined by Mr. Schinz, contained the large hip-bone of a Cow, the +skin and fore-quarters of a Chamois, many smaller bones, some hair, +and a Heath-cock’s claws. Should a Lämmergeier see an old Chamois or a +Sheep or Goat grazing near a precipice, it will whirl round and round, +trying to torment and frighten the creature till it runs to the edge of +the cliff; and then, falling down upon it, the bird not unfrequently +succeeds in pushing it into the abyss below with one stroke of its +wings. Diving down after its mangled victim, it will begin by picking +out its eyes, and then proceed to tear open and devour the body. It +is only the smaller class of booty, such as Foxes, Lambs, or Marmots, +which can be carried off by the Lämmergeier, as its feet and claws, as +we have already remarked, are comparatively weak.[183] + +In the Himalayas, where the species is also tolerably plentiful, +its habits vary somewhat, and it not unfrequently comes close to +habitations for offal or bones, and behaves in a very Vulturine manner. +Captain Hutton writes:--“Marvellous, indeed, are the stories told, +both by natives and Europeans, of the destructive habits of this bird, +and both accounts, I fully believe, have scarcely a grain of truth in +them: all I can positively say on the point, however, is that I have +known the bird well in its native haunts for thirty years and more, +and never once, in all that time, have I seen it stoop to anything but +a dead carcase. As to carrying off hens, dogs, lambs, or children, I +say the feat would be utterly impossible, for the creature does not +possess the strongly-curved, sharp-pointed claws of the Eagle, but the +far straighter and perfectly blunt talons of the Vulture. Day after +day I have seen them sweeping by along the face of the hill, like the +wandering Albatross at sea, and, like it, ever in search of offal, +which, when found, is not swept off the ground after the manner of the +Kite, but the bird alights upon it, as it would upon a Bullock, and +then, if the morsel is worth having, devours it on the spot, and again +launches itself upon its wide-spread wings and sails away as before. +There is no sudden stooping upon a living prey, as with the Falcon +tribe, but its habits and manners in this respect are, as far as I have +seen, entirely Vulturine.” + +The Lämmergeier measures about three feet and a half in length, and +its outspread wings often extend to as much as nine feet in expanse. A +second species is found in Africa, the Southern Lämmergeier (_Gypaëtus +ossifragus_), which differs from the European one, in having the tarsus +bare, instead of being feathered to the toes. + + +THE TRUE EAGLES (_Aquila_). + +In Australia no true Eagle is found, but a very powerful bird called +the WEDGE-TAILED EAGLE (_Uroaëtus[184] audax_[185]) inhabits that +country, differing from all its more northern relations in its very +long and wedge-shaped tail, which is like that of the Lämmergeier. + +The true Eagles have a very powerful bill, with a festoon distinctly +marked in the edge of the upper mandible, which is, however, different +from the toothed bill of the Falcons, to be considered presently. They +nearly all possess a large bony shelf over the eye, which may serve +to protect that organ from the sunlight during some of the aerial +excursions the bird makes. + +[Illustration: EYE OF EAGLE, SHOWING CRYSTALLINE LENS. (_After +Yarrell._)] + +The orb of the eye in the Eagles is supported by a ring of bony plates, +numbering fifteen in the Golden Eagle. These bony plates are capable of +slight motion upon each other. The figure represents the crystalline +lens of the same bird, the lens being subject to great variety of form +in different birds. In the Eagle the proportion of the axis to the +diameter of the lens is as 3-8/10 to 5-7/10; in the Eagle Owl, which +seeks its prey at twilight, the relative proportions of the lens are as +6-7/10, to 7-8/10; and in the Swan, which has to select its food under +water, the proportions of the lens are as 3 to 3-8/10. Birds have also +the power of altering the degree of the convexity of the cornea. With +numerous modifications of form, aided by delicate muscular arrangement, +birds appear to have the power of obtaining such variable degrees of +extent or intensity of vision as are most in accordance with their +peculiar habits and necessities.[186] + +In these birds is found a return of that difference in the size of +the sexes which was so noticeable in the Sparrow-Hawks, for in the +Eagles the female is decidedly larger than the male. There are two +convenient groups into which the Eagles may be divided, according as +they have feathered or unfeathered legs. All the true Eagles belong +to the first section, all the less noble and Serpent-eating kinds to +the latter section. Although they are birds of grand physique, it is a +question whether Eagles deserve the position they enjoy for nobility +of disposition: they are rapacious it is true, but not always brave, +for one Golden Eagle will give way to a Peregrine Falcon, while the +grand-looking IMPERIAL EAGLE (_Aquila heliaca_, see figure on p. 235) +is said by a good observer in India, Mr. A. O. Hume, C.B., to be no +better than a great hulking Kite. He adds:--“Much has been written +about the daring and fierceness of this Eagle. I can only say that in +India (where possibly the climate is subversive of courage), I have +never seen the slightest indications of these qualities. I have driven +the female off hard-set eggs, and plundered the nest before the eyes of +the pair, without either of them flapping a pinion even to defend what +a little Shrike will swoop at once to save; and I have seen a couple +of Crows thrash one of them soundly. As a rule, this species with us +is an ignoble feeder. I have generally found them gorged with carrion, +and after a good meal they will sit stupidly on a tree, or any little +mud pillar, and permit you to walk within thirty yards of them; but +before feeding they are somewhat wary, and can by no means always be +secured, even when seen sitting. On more than one occasion I have seen +Desert Rats (_Gerbillus erythrurus_) in their crops, and I once shot +one of a pair which were busy, on the line of rail at Etawah, devouring +a Bandicoot Rat (_Mus bandicota_), which some passing train had cut in +two. Occasionally, but rarely, I found that they had eaten Quails and +other birds. Once I shot a male which was dancing about on the ground +in such an astounding fashion that I killed it to see what the matter +was. The bird proved to have been choking. It had swallowed a whole dry +shin-bone and foot of an Antelope. The bone apparently could not be got +down altogether, and in trying to void it, the sharp points of the hoof +had stuck into the back of the roof of the mouth.”[187] + + +THE GOLDEN EAGLE (_Aquila chrysaëtus_[188]). + +The Golden Eagle is so called from the tawny or golden-brown colour +which pervades the feathers of the neck in the old bird. Excepting in +certain places in “Caledonia stern and wild,” where it is protected, it +is a species which is becoming very rare in Great Britain, and but for +the intervention of a few large-minded proprietors in Scotland would +doubtless ere this have been extinguished. It is a much rarer bird +now than the White-tailed Eagle, and the last-named species is often +mistaken for it; but a little attention to one point will obviate all +fear of a mistake in this respect, the Golden Eagle having at all ages +the tarsus feathered to the toes, whereas the Sea Eagle belongs to the +bare-legged section of these birds. + +A better description of the habits of the Golden Eagle probably does +not exist than that given by the late Professor Macgillivray:-- + +“See how the sunshine brightens the yellow tint of his head and neck, +until it shines almost like gold! There he stands, nearly erect, with +his tail depressed, his large wings half raised by his side, his neck +stretched out and his eye glistening as he glances around. Like other +robbers of the desert, he has a noble aspect, an imperative mien, a +look of proud defiance; but his nobility has a dash of clownishness, +and his falconship a vulturine tinge. Still, he is a noble bird, +powerful, independent, proud, and ferocious, regardless of the weal +or woe of others, and intent solely on the gratification of his own +appetites; without generosity, without honour, bold against the +defenceless, but ever ready to sneak from danger. Such is his nobility, +about which men have so raved. Suddenly he raises his wings, for +he has heard the whistle of the shepherd in the corry, and bending +forward, he springs into the air. Oh, that this pencil of mine were a +musket charged with buck-shot! Hardly do those vigorous flaps serve +at first to prevent his descent; but now, curving upwards, he glides +majestically along. As he passes the corner of that buttressed and +battlemented crag, forth rush two ravens from their nest, croaking +fiercely. While one flies above him, the other steals beneath, and +they essay to strike him, but dare not, for they have an instinctive +knowledge of the power of his grasp, and after following him a little +way they return to their home, vainly exulting in the thought of having +driven him from their neighbourhood. Bent on a far journey, he advances +in a direct course, flapping his great wings at regular intervals, then +shooting along without seeming to move them. In ten minutes he has +progressed three miles, although he is in no haste, and now disappears +behind the shoulder of the hill. But we may follow him in imagination, +for his habits being well known to us, we may be allowed the +ornithological licence of tracing them in continuance. Homeward bound, +his own wants satisfied, he knows that his young must be supplied with +food. + +“Over the moors he sweeps, at the height of two or three hundred feet, +bending his course to either side, his wings wide spread, his neck +retracted, now beating the air, and again sailing smoothly along. +Suddenly he stops, poises himself for a moment, stoops, but recovers +himself without touching the ground. The object of his regards, a +Golden Plover, which he had spied on her nest, has eluded him; and +he cares not to pursue it. Now he ascends a little, wheels in short +curves, presently rushes down headlong, assumes the horizontal position +when close to the ground, prevents his being dashed against it by +expanding his wings and tail, thrusts forth his talons, and grasping +a poor terrified Ptarmigan that sat cowering among the grey lichens, +squeezes it to death, raises his head exultingly, emits a clear, shrill +cry, and springing from the ground pursues his journey. + +[Illustration: GOLDEN EAGLE.] + +“In passing a tall cliff that overhangs a small lake, he is assailed +by a fierce Peregrine Falcon, which darts and plunges at him as if +determined to deprive him of his booty, or drive him headlong to the +ground. This proves a more dangerous foe than the Raven, and the +Eagle screams, yelps, and throws himself into postures of defence; +but at length the Hawk, seeing the tyrant is not bent on plundering +his nest, leaves him to pursue his course unmolested. Over woods, +and green fields, and scattered hamlets speeds the Eagle, and now he +enters the long valley of the Dee, near the upper end of which is dimly +seen through the grey mist the rock of his nest. About a mile from it +he meets his mate, who has been abroad on a similar errand, and is +returning with a white Hare in her talons. They congratulate each other +with loud yelping cries, which rouse the drowsy shepherd on the strath +below, who, mindful of the lambs carried off in spring-time, sends +after them his malediction. Now they reach their nest and are greeted +by their young with loud clamour. + +“Let us mark the spot. It is a shelf of a rock, concealed by a +projecting angle, so that it cannot be injured from above, and is +too distant from the base to be reached by a shot. In the crevices +are luxuriant tufts of _Rhodiola rosea_, and scattered around are +many alpine plants, which it would delight the botanist to enumerate. +The mineralogist would not be less pleased could he with chisel and +hammer reach that knob which glitters with crystals of quartz and +felspar. The nest is a bulky fabric, five feet at least in diameter, +rudely constructed of dead sticks, twigs, and heath; flat, unless in +the centre, where it is a little hollowed and covered with wool and +feathers. Slovenly creatures you would think these two young birds, +clothed with white down, amid which the larger feathers are seen +projecting, for their fluid dung is scattered all over the sticks, +and you see that, had the nest been formed more compactly of softer +materials, it would have been less comfortable. Strewn around, too, are +fragments of Lambs, Hares, Grouse and other birds in various stages of +decay. Alighting on the edges of the nest, the Eagles deposit their +prey, partially pluck off the hair and feathers, and rudely tearing up +the flesh, lay it before their ever-hungry young.” + +The length of a male Golden Eagle is a little more than two feet and +a half, while the female attains at least three feet in dimensions, +with a wing three inches longer than that of her mate. The colour of +the plumage is dark brown, with a rich tawny hue on the back of the +neck and nape, the feathers of these parts being streaked with darker +brown; the tail is more or less mottled with grey at the base, and is +whiter in younger birds. The latter are often popularly distinguished +as the Ring-tailed Eagles. By some authors the Eagle which frequents +the mountains is considered to be a different species from that which +inhabits the plains, but as far as present experience goes it is the +younger birds which are more often met with in the latter localities, +being probably driven from their mountain homes by the older birds. +The Golden Eagle varies his choice of an eyry in different localities, +building in the British Islands generally on a rock, but in many other +countries nesting on a tree. It is found all over Europe and Northern +Asia, in mountainous districts, extending into China and even into the +Himalayas, whence the finest specimens are obtained. In North America +also the examples of the Golden Eagle seem to be very large, but are +not to be otherwise distinguished from European specimens. + + +THE KITE EAGLE (_Neopus[189] malayensis_). + +This extraordinary bird bears the above name from its resemblance +generally to a Kite, and also from its plumage, which in the young bird +is wonderfully Kite-like, so that a dead specimen carelessly examined +might be taken easily for one of the latter birds. One moment’s search, +however, would dispose of the illusion, for no one who has once heard +of the foot of this Eagle could ever forget it or mistake it for that +of any other raptorial bird, the talons being longer and more slender +in proportion to the size of the foot than in any known Eagle; they +are also nearly straight. The inner claws are the longest, and that +excellent observer, Captain Vincent Legge, points out that they seem +“especially adapted for the work of carrying off loose and fragile +masses, such as the nests of small birds, as they would naturally form +its chief means of grasp when such an object was being held by both +feet during the process of flight.” This last sentence gives an insight +into the habits of the bird, which are on a par with its remarkable +structure. It might well be called the “Bird’s-nesting Eagle,” for it +seems to be the only bird of prey which systematically lives by the +robbery of smaller birds’ nests; only on very rare occasions, and when +pressed by hunger, has it been known to attack larger game or worry the +poultry-yard. It is almost always on the wing, and the Lepcha-hunters +near Darjeeling speak of it as the bird “that never sits down.” It +is found in the Himalayas and in other wooded districts of India, +and occurs but more sparingly in the Malayan peninsula and islands, +ranging to some of the Moluccas, but probably visiting the latter only +on migration. But it is in Ceylon that it is, perhaps, more plentiful +than in any other locality, and the best account of its habits is +that given by Captain Legge, whose words are subjoined. “This fine, +long-winged Eagle is, on account of the singular structure of its feet +and its curious habits, one of the most interesting, but, at the same +time, perhaps the most destructive of raptors to bird-life in Ceylon. +It subsists, as far as can be observed, entirely by birds’-nesting, +and is not content with the eggs and young birds which its keen sight +espies among the branches of the forest-trees, but seizes the nest in +its talons, decamps with it, and often examines the contents as it +sails lazily along. Furthermore, Mr. S. Bligh informs me that he once +found the best part of a bird’s nest in the stomach of one of these +Eagles which he shot in the Central Province. Its flight is most easy +and graceful. In the early morning it passes much of its time soaring +round the high peaks or cliffs on which it has passed the night, and +about nine or ten o’clock starts off on its daily foraging expedition. +It launches itself with motionless wings from some dizzy precipice, +and proceeding in a straight line, till over some inviting-looking +patna-woods it quickly descends with one or two rather sharp gyrations, +through, perhaps, a thousand feet, and is in another moment gliding +stealthily along just above the tops of the trees. In and out among +these, along the side of the wood, backwards and forwards over the +top of the narrow strip, it quarters, its long wings outstretched +and the tips of its pinions wide apart, with apparently no exertion; +and luckless indeed is the Bulbul, Oriole, or Mountain Finch whose +carefully-built nest is discovered by the soaring robber.”[190] + +The size of the Kite Eagle is about thirty inches in length, and the +colour is entirely black, with some indistinct bars of ashy-grey on the +tail. Besides the Eagles that have been alluded to already, there are +the Hawk-Eagles (_Nisaëtus_), remarkable for their long legs, and the +Crested Eagles (_Spizaëtus_), which have a beautiful long crest hanging +from the hinder part of the head. + + +THE COMMON HARRIER EAGLE (_Circaëtus[191] gallicus_). + +This, which is also called the “Jean-le-Blanc,” is one of the +best-known of all the bare-legged section of the Eagles. The genus +_Circaëtus_, to which it belongs, contains five species, of which four +are peculiar to Africa, the _C. gallicus_ being found all over Southern +and Central Europe, and extending into India, where it is not at all +unplentiful. In its nature this bird is rather sluggish, though in +confinement it is very untamable, and wears a thoroughly fierce aspect, +as could be seen by any one who examined the specimen in the Zoological +Gardens. Its ferocious appearance was heightened by its peculiar eye, +which is very large, of a bright yellow, with a very small black pupil, +whereas the pupil in most birds of prey is rather large.[192] + + +THE INDIAN SERPENT EAGLE (_Spilornis cheela_). + +This is a beautiful bird, having the under surface mottled with white +spots or “ocelli.” All the Serpent Eagles, of which there are several +species, are characterised by a similar style of plumage, and by a +full, thick crest of feathers springing from the occiput and hind +part of the head. They are found all over India and Ceylon, Southern +China, and the Burmese countries, the Malayan Peninsula, Sunda Islands, +Borneo, and Celebes. The Ceylonese species, which is a small race of +the Indian bird, is stated by Layard to feed on Snakes, Lizards, and +other reptiles and insects, and to be particularly partial to the large +trees on the banks of tanks, from them swooping down on the frogs which +came up to sun themselves on the floating logs or reeds. The Indian +species of Serpent Eagle is a powerful bird, and is said to capture +Pheasants during the breeding season and bring them to the nest. Mr. +Hume has generally found small Snakes in their stomachs; once as many +as fifty together were found, all scarcely bigger than large Worms; and +an instance was brought to his knowledge of a Cobra some two feet and a +half long having been found dead, but uninjured, in one of these birds’ +stomachs. Mr. Thompson, a frequent contributor to Mr. Hume’s “Rough +Notes,” tells of one which he had alive, and which was kept along with +two little Indian Owls (_Carine brama_), a Carrion Crow, and three +large green Woodpeckers, and who killed and ate up every one of the +latter, though well supplied with other fresh meat. + +THE BATELEUR EAGLE (_Helotarsus[193] ecaudatus_[194]). + +This is a very remarkable bird, which might also with propriety be +called the Short-tailed Eagle, as it is the only species known in which +the wings exceed the tail in length. It is found in Africa only, where +it is by no means rare in the southern and north-eastern quarters of +the continent. In Damara Land, according to Mr. Andersson, it builds +its nest on trees, selecting generally one of such a terribly thorny +nature that the nest is always difficult of access. Occasionally, +however, a rock is selected for the breeding-place. When in captivity, +this bird changes the colour of the face, exactly as the Brazilian +Caracara already alluded to; the bare skin round the nostrils and eyes, +which is generally brilliant coral-red, fading to pale orange-yellow. + +[Illustration: BATELEUR EAGLE.] + +The Bateleur Eagle is about two feet in length, and has an enormous +crest of plumes. The colour is black, with a large maroon-coloured +patch on the shoulders and on the back, the tail being also of this +colour. Sometimes individuals with pale, cream-coloured backs are +found; but at present it is not known whether these are a different +species, or whether they constitute only a pale variety of the ordinary +Bateleur. + + +THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE (_Haliaëtus albicilla_[195]). + +Sea Eagles are absent from South America, but probably from no other +country of the globe. Both Europe and North America are inhabited +by large and powerful species; and throughout Africa and Madagascar +the handsomely-marked species _H. vocifer_ occurs. One of the most +widespread is the White-bellied Sea Eagle; it is found round the coasts +of Australia and all the Molucca Islands, ranging as far as India and +Ceylon, and as high as Cochin China. + +The White-tailed Eagle, which, from its being an inhabitant of the +British Islands, is the species most familiarly known of all the Sea +Eagles, is still met with in some of the northern parts of Scotland, +and in the Hebrides; but as it is a bird which creates a good deal +of havoc among lambs at certain periods of the year, the war of +extermination which has been waged against it has now contributed +considerably to the increasing rarity of the species on these coasts. +The breeding of this Sea Eagle has been well described by Mr. +Woolley.[196] He says:--“On the coasts, the Sea Eagle chooses a roomy +and generally sheltered ledge of rock. The egg which Mr. Hewitson +figures (Eggs, Br. B., ed. 3, pl. iv., fig. 2) is one of two which I +took on the 23rd April, 1849, on one of the most northern points of our +island. The nest was very slightly made of a little grass and fresh +heather loosely put together, without any sticks; but two or three +‘kek’ stalks were strewn about outside. There was a good thickness of +guano-like soil upon the rock, which made much nest unnecessary. Two +or three Guillemot’s beaks, the only unmanageable part of that bird, +were not far off. The eggs were laid two days before when I went to +reconnoitre; and I never shall forget the forbearance which a friend +who was with me showed, at my request, as he lay, gun in hand, with +the hen Eagle in full view upon her nest not forty yards below him. +Her head was towards the cliff, and concealed from our sight; whilst +her broad back and white tail, as she stood bending over her nest on +the grassy ledge, with the beautiful sandstone rock and sea beyond, +completed a picture rarely to be forgotten. But our ears, and the +air we breathe, give a finish to Nature’s pictures which no art can +imitate; and here were the effects of the sea, and the heather, and +the rocks, the fresh warmth of the northern sun, and the excitement +of exercise, while the musical yelping of the male Eagle came from +some stand out of sight. Add to all this the innate feeling of delight +connected with the pursuit of wild animals, which no philosopher has +yet been able to explain further than as a special gift of our Great +Maker, and then say whether it is not almost blasphemy to call such a +scene a ‘picture!’ Upon this occasion, I made some remark to my friend, +when the hen Eagle showed her clear eye and big, yellow beak, her head +full of the expression of wild nature and freedom. She gave us a steady +glance, then sprang from the rock, and with ‘slow winnowing wing’--the +flight-feathers turning upwards at every stroke--was soon out at sea. +Joined by her mate, she began to sail with him in circles farther and +farther away, till quite out of sight, yelping as long as we could +hear them, Gulls mobbing them all the time. To enjoy the beauties of +a wild coast to perfection, let me recommend any man to seat himself +in an Eagle’s nest. The year before this I took the young ones out +of the same eyry late in July. It was my first attempt at an Eagle’s +stronghold, and I shall never forget the interest of the whole affair; +a thunderstorm coming on just before, making it necessary to cut drains +in the peat with our knives, to divert the torrents of water; our +councils about the best mode of attaching the ropes; the impertinence +of a young lad who, stationed to watch for my signals, was rendered +quite useless by his keen sense of the ridiculous on seeing me, in my +inexperience, twisting round and round at the end of the rope; the +extraordinary grandeur everything assumed, from the nest itself; the +luxurious feeling of exultation; the interest of every plant about +it--I know them all now; the heaps of young Herring-Gulls’ remains, and +the large fish-bone; but, above all, the Eaglets fully able to fly, and +yet crouching side by side, with their necks stretched out and chins on +the ground, like young Fawns, their frightened eyes showing that they +had no intention of showing fight. + +“Very gently, as a man ‘tickles’ trout, I passed my hand under them, +and tied their legs together, and then tried to confine their wings. +They actually allowed me to fasten a handkerchief round them, which, +however, was soon shaken off when they began to be pulled up. When the +men had raised me, the string attached to my waist lifted one Eaglet, +and presently the second came to the length of his tether. Great was +the flapping of wings, and clutching at rocks and grass. I had many +fears that the string or the birds’ legs must give way; but, after much +hard pulling, I got them safely to the top, and they are now (1853) +alive at Matlock amongst rocks, where I hope they may breed; but, +though five years old this season, they have not yet quite completed +the adult plumage. Their dutiful parents never came near them in their +difficulties; but I am happy to say that in 1850 (the year after I took +their eggs), they carried off their young, through the interest I was +able to exert in their favour. They had shifted their position; and +they changed again in 1851 to a rock with an aspect quite different, +and more than a mile away. In 1847, to please the shepherds, the young +were shot in the nest, which was built in the spot where I visited it +the two following years. There was no sea-weed about this nest either +time that I saw it; but a friend writes me word, that two which he +examined last year on the sea-cliffs of this island, and which he +carefully described to me, were principally made of that material, as +Mr. Hewitson also had found them in the Shetland Islands. On one of +these two occasions, the old Eagle made a dash near my informant, with +a ‘fearful scream,’ and such was the tremendous character of the rocks, +that his ‘hair gets strong’ when he thinks of them. These two nests, +both occupied, were not more than a mile and a half apart.” + +[Illustration: WHITE-TAILED EAGLE.] + + +THE SWALLOW-TAILED KITE (_Elanoides furcatus_). + +The forked tail which is characteristic of the Kites reaches in +the present species its greatest development, so that the name of +Swallow-tailed Kite is by no means inappropriate. On five occasions +the bird has been captured in England, and it is doubtless during its +migration that the bird is driven to Britain by some adverse wind. +Its range is extensive, as it is numerous during the summer in some +of the southern States of North America, and it migrates to South +America, whence it frequently appears in collections from Brazil and +Columbia. Mr. Audubon gives the following account of the Swallow-tailed +Kite:--“The flight of this elegant species of Hawk is singularly +beautiful and protracted. It moves through the air with such ease and +grace, that it is impossible for any individual, who takes the least +pleasure in observing the manners of birds, not to be delighted by +the sight of it whilst on the wing. Gliding along in easy flappings, +it rises in wide circles to an immense height, inclining in various +ways its deeply-forked tail, to assist the direction of its course; +dives with the rapidity of lightning, and, suddenly checking itself, +re-ascends, soars away, and is soon out of sight. At other times, a +flock of these birds, amounting to fifteen or twenty individuals, is +seen hovering around the trees. They dive in rapid succession amongst +the branches, glancing along the trunks, and seizing in their course +the insects and small lizards of which they are in quest. Their motions +are astonishingly rapid, and the deep curves which they describe, their +sudden doublings and crossings, and the extreme ease with which they +seem to cleave the air, excite the admiration of him who views them +while thus employed in searching for food. + +“In the States of Louisiana and Mississippi, where these birds are +abundant, they arrive in large companies in the beginning of April, and +are heard uttering a sharp plaintive note. At this period I generally +remarked that they came from the westward, and have counted upwards of +a hundred in the space of an hour, passing over me in a direct easterly +course. At that season, and in the beginning of September when they +all retire from the United States, they are easily approached when +they have alighted, being then apparently fatigued, and busily engaged +in preparing themselves for continuing their journey, by dressing and +oiling their feathers. At all other times, however, it is extremely +difficult to get near them, as they are generally on wing through the +day, and at night rest on the highest pines and cypresses, bordering +the river-bluffs, the lakes, or the swamps of that district of country. + +“They always feed on the wing. In calm and warm weather they soar to an +immense height, pursuing the large insects called _Musquito Hawks_, and +performing the most singular evolutions that can be conceived, using +their tail with an elegance of motion peculiar to themselves. Their +principal food, however, is large Grasshoppers, Grass Caterpillars, +small Snakes, Lizards, and Frogs. They sweep close over the fields, +sometimes seeming to alight for a moment to secure a Snake, and +holding it fast by the neck, carry it off, and devour it in the air. +When searching for Grasshoppers and Caterpillars, it is not difficult +to approach them under cover of a fence or tree. When one is then +killed, and falls to the ground, the whole flock comes over the dead +bird, as if intent upon carrying it off. An excellent opportunity is +thus afforded of shooting as many as may be wanted; and I have killed +several of these Hawks in this manner, firing as fast as I could load +my gun. + +“The Fork-tailed Hawks are also very fond of frequenting the creeks, +which, in that country, are much encumbered with drifted logs and +accumulations of sand, in order to pick up some of the numerous +Water-snakes which lie basking in the sun. At other times they dash +along the trunks of trees, and snap off the pupæ of the Locust, or that +insect itself. Although when on the wing they move with a grace and +ease which it is impossible to describe, yet on the ground they are +scarcely able to walk. + +“I kept for several days one which had been slightly wounded in the +wing. It refused to eat, kept the feathers of the head and rump +constantly erect, and vomited several times part of the contents of its +stomach. It never threw itself on its back, nor attempted to strike +with its talons, unless when taken up by the tip of the wing. It died +from inanition, as it constantly refused the food placed before it in +profusion, and instantly vomited what had been placed down its throat.” + + +THE COMMON KITE (_Milvus ictinus_[197]). + +Times have changed in England since the number of Kites to be seen +flying about London Bridge could form a subject of astonishment to a +foreign traveller visiting that country; but less than three hundred +years ago this was the case, though now the species has been all but +banished from the land. It may still occasionally nest in some parts of +Wales and of Scotland; but in the latter country places where formerly +the species bred plentifully now know it no more. The Kite builds its +nest of sticks on a large tree, but occasionally also on rocks, and it +is generally composed of a mixture of materials, such as bones, &c., +and the lining usually contains a good many rags; so that Shakspere, +with the knowledge of natural history which always distinguished him, +was quite right when he said-- + + “When the Kite builds, look to lesser linen.” + +The presence of the Kite in London was useful in the old days, as its +food consists by preference of offal, though it also devours Moles, +Frogs, and unfledged nestlings, Rabbits, Snakes, and fish. The forked +tail of this species--which serves as a rudder to the bird when flying, +as it often does, in circles aloft--easily distinguishes it from all +other British birds of prey. The length of the bird is about two feet, +and the general colour of the upper plumage is rufous, most of the +feathers being edged with that colour. Below, it is rufous-brown, with +a narrow streak of blackish down the feathers; the quills are black; +the tail rufous-brown, deeply forked, and crossed with seven or eight +bars of black. The species is found all over Europe, but becomes +gradually rarer in the eastern parts. + + +THE EUROPEAN HONEY-KITE (_Pernis apivorus_). + +This bird is generally known as the Honey-Buzzard, though from the +reticulations on the hinder aspect of the tarsus it has evidently +nothing to do with those birds, even if its soft and kite-like plumage +did not show its affinities to the Kites. Its nostril is also peculiar, +and is closed in by a membrane, which doubtless forms a protection +from the stings of insects when the bird is attacking a Bee’s or +Wasp’s nest. Its habits have been well described by Brehm.[198] This +bird is, perhaps, the most timid of all European birds of prey, but +is remarkable for its good temper. Its movements are in the highest +degree clumsy; its flight is bad, heavy, and slow, and is generally a +short one, and the bird shows a great disinclination to rise to any +considerable height in the air; in short, its whole bearing evinces the +most lazy disposition. It will sit for hours on a stone boundary wall, +on a solitary tree or sign-post, or on some other elevated spot, quite +contented, watching its prey, which consists of the following:--Insects +of all descriptions, Beetles, Caterpillars, Dragon-flies, Gadflies, +Worms, Frogs, Snakes, Lizards, and destructive Rodents, which form its +principal food; besides which it is very fond of hunting for the nests +of the Humble-bee and Wasp, and of feeding on their larvæ. This bird +also, unfortunately, destroys the young, and especially the eggs, of +such of the smaller birds as it comes across while hunting for insects; +this causes it to be looked upon as a disagreeable and hateful enemy +by all birds. Crows and Rooks mob the Honey-Buzzard with almost the +same eagerness as they chase the Eagle-Owl, and all small birds make +a great noise at its appearance. In the summer it also feeds on buds, +blossoms, bilberries, other wood-berries, and even leaves. This habit +distinguishes it from all other German birds of prey. + +[Illustration: COMMON KITE.] + +“The Honey-Buzzard reaches us somewhat late in the year, and commences +to build its nest when the other Raptors have hatched their broods. The +nest is very flat, and is placed on the highest of our forest trees; +it is principally constructed of green twigs, mixed with dead sticks, +and is lined with moss, hair, and feathers. It generally contains three +eggs, of a rusty yellow ground, very thickly blotched and spotted with +dark reddish-brown. They are somewhat small and rather long in shape. +Of these rarely more than two are hatched. The young ones are at first +fed with Caterpillars, Flies, Beetles, Worms, &c., which the old birds +collect in their crops, and then throw up; later they are treated to +pieces of Wasps’ nests filled with larvæ, Frogs, Mice, young birds, +&c. The parent birds still continue to feed their young long after the +latter have left the nest. Both young and old birds remain in company +almost till the moulting season comes round, when they migrate more to +the southward.” + +The Honey-Kite inhabits, during the summer, the greater part of Europe, +and flies away to Africa to pass the winter. In India it is represented +by a species which goes through similar changes of plumage, but may +always be recognised by its long crest. The phases through which the +Honey-Kite passes are most remarkable, the bird being sometimes nearly +all white, at other times all black; and this plumage seems to occur +at any age, sometimes in youth, sometimes in old age; and hence this +is called a melanism (μέλας, black). Many birds of prey are subject +to this melanism, but none more so than the Honey-Buzzards, and their +representatives in America, the Tooth-billed Kites (_Leptodon_). + + +ANDERSSON’S PERN (_Machærhamphus[199] Anderssoni_). + +This remarkable bird bears the name of one of the most intrepid, as +well as one of the most unassuming, of African travellers, the late +Charles John Andersson, who discovered it during his residence in +Damara Land in South-western Africa. So rare is it, and so difficult to +obtain, that he only managed to procure two specimens in the space of +ten years, though constantly on the look-out for the bird. He writes +concerning it:--“On the 10th of March, 1865, I obtained one specimen, +a female, of this singular bird at Objimbinque, Damara Land. It was +shot by my servant, who observed another, probably the male. I imagine +that I have myself observed it once or twice in the neighbourhood +of Objimbinque just before dusk. When brought to me I instinctively +suspected the bird to be a feeder at dusk or at night, and called +out, ‘Why, that fellow is likely to feed on Bats!’ And truly enough +so it turned out; for on dissection an undigested Bat was found in +the stomach; and in another specimen, subsequently killed by Axel, +there were several Bats in the stomach.”[200] It is probably owing to +this habit of feeding in the evening that the bird is so difficult +to procure, as is the case with many of the Goat-suckers, which are +also night-feeding birds. Since Mr. Andersson’s death, two or three +specimens of his Pern have been sent from Madagascar, but in the +intervening portions of the African continent it is as yet unknown. + +The colouring of this species is plain, being of a chocolate-brown +colour, with a long crest springing from the back of the head; above +the eye is a white spot, and another below the eye; the throat and +chest are white, with a streak of dark brown down the centre of the +throat; the quills and tail are banded the bars showing paler below. +The length of the bird is about seventeen inches. + +Only one other species of the genus _Machærhamphus_ is known, and this +is Westermann’s Pern (_M. alcinus_), which is an inhabitant of Malacca, +where it is almost as rare as Andersson’s Pern is in Africa. It has +lately been sent from South-eastern New Guinea, and may ultimately be +found to inhabit some of the Moluccas. + + +THE FIFTH SUB-FAMILY.--THE FALCONS (_Falconinæ_). + +In all the true Falcons and in the allied genera the bill, which was +simply festooned in the Eagles, Kites, and Buzzards, becomes very +distinctly toothed, and in some genera even two teeth are present. In +these birds, too, the cere is strongly shown, and is generally of a +bright yellow colour. + + +THE CUCKOO-FALCONS (_Baza_). + +These birds have the soft plumage of a Honey-Kite, and yet possess the +toothed bill of a Falcon, so that they are placed among the Falconinæ; +but, because of their Kite-like plumage, they follow close to the +Perns and Honey-Kites. They not only possess the usual tooth of the +Falcon’s bill, but a second is actually present, so that there is no +difficulty in recognising a member of the genus _Baza_. The American +Cuckoo-Falcons (_Harpagus_) are the only other birds of prey which have +a double-toothed bill. + +The name of “Cuckoo”-Falcon has been given to these birds on account +of their actual resemblance to a Cuckoo, in the grey colour of the +back with the reddish bars on the under surface. They have also a very +large yellow eye. The distribution of the genus _Baza_ is singular, and +it is one of those forms which does not occur in Europe, but exhibits +the affinity which is often seen between certain African and Indian +birds. About nine different kinds are known, each having its own +limited range. Thus Swainson’s Cuckoo-Falcon (_B. cuculoides_[201]) +is found in the forest country from Senegambia to Gaboon in West +Africa, and is replaced by _Baza Verreauxi_ in the forests of Natal. +In Madagascar a third species (_B. madagascariensis_) occurs, and on +crossing the Indian Ocean a fourth kind (_B. ceylonensis_) is found +inhabiting Ceylon. Malacca and the Sunda Islands have their own Baza +sumatrensis, the Philippines _B. magnirostris_, the island of Celebes +_B. erythrothorax_, the Moluccas and New Guinea _B. Reinwardti_, and +Northern Australia, _B. subcristata_. None of these birds appear to +be migratory, and their geographical distribution is interesting when +traced out on a map of the world. + +From their shy and retiring habits, but little has been recorded of +their life. Verreaux’s Cuckoo-Falcon is said to frequent the dense bush +in Natal, and Captain Harford shot one in that country while engaged +upon an ant-hill, and their food appears to consist of Grasshoppers +and Mantidæ, while another observer took from the stomach of one of +these birds remains of a green Mantis, of Locusts, and of a Chameleon. +This species is one of the largest of the Cuckoo-Falcons, measuring +seventeen inches in length, and the colour is dark ashy-grey; deeper +ash-colour on the head and crest; the sides of the face, throat, and +chest, are clear ashy; the breast white, banded across with pale rufous +brown; the under tail-coverts being pure white; both the wings and tail +are barred with dark brown. The sexes of these birds differ very little +in size. + + +THE FALCONETS (_Microhierax_[202]). + +This name is applied to a genus of tiny Falcons, which are peculiar +to the Indian region. One of them, the Indian Falconet (_Microhierax +cærulescens_), is found in the Himalayas and the Burmese countries. A +second one is peculiar to Assam, a third to the Philippine Islands, +and a fourth to the interior of China, while the fifth and remaining +species is found in the Malayan Peninsula and the Sunda Islands. + +Not one of these little Hawks is seven inches in length, and even to +this day there are many authors who think that they are Butcher-birds +or Shrikes, and not Hawks at all. They are, however, true Falcons, +though of very small size, and are said to be used by native chiefs for +hawking insects and Button-quails, being thrown from the hand like a +ball; but this story has been discredited of late, the Besra, a small +Sparrow-Hawk, being probably the bird alluded to. The Falconets are +known to sit solitary on high trees, and according to native accounts +they feed on small birds and insects. + + +THE PEREGRINE FALCON (_Falco peregrinus_[203]). + +This noble bird justifies his name of _peregrinus_, by his distribution +over the earth’s surface. The ordinary Peregrine, which is still +found in suitable places breeding on British coasts, is met with all +over Europe and Northern Asia, ranging into South Africa and India +in winter, extending throughout China to the Sunda Islands, and the +Philippine Archipelago. In North America he is also widely distributed, +and is as plentiful as in Europe. In the southern hemisphere the +Peregrines, though strictly of the same type as the European bird, +are always darker in colour, and have blacker faces and heads. The +Australian Peregrine is called _Falco melanogenys_,[204] and extends +its range from the Australian continent to New Caledonia and the New +Hebrides, and as far north as Java. In South Africa the resident +Peregrine is a very small, dark-coloured bird, and is called _Falco +minor_. This species is also met with in North-eastern Africa, and even +ranges into the Mediterranean, as it has been shot in Rhodes, Sardinia, +and Morocco. Again, in Chili, another dark-faced form occurs, the +_Falco nigriceps_,[205] not unlike its Australian relative. + +To write a history of the Peregrine Falcon would be almost to write +a history of falconry, and although it would be beyond the limits +of the present work to enter deeply into the subject, a few words +must be said about it here. The art of falconry probably came from +the East, where it is still practised, and an ancient bas-relief was +found by Sir Austen Layard, among the ruins of Khorsabad, depicting a +falconer with a Hawk on his wrist, thus proving the antiquity of the +pursuit. In Great Britain it was formerly much in vogue, and in Salvin +and Brodrick’s work on “Falconry in the British Islands” there will +be found an interesting _résumé_ of the art, as performed in Great +Britain, from ancient times down to the present. It is lamentable +to think of the way in which these noble birds, once the pride and +favourite of monarchs, are now shot down and classed as vermin. The +strict way of preserving game which has been common of late years, and +the general use of firearms, have, no doubt, been the chief causes of +the destruction of the larger Falcons, and it will take some time to +disabuse the vulgar prejudices of gamekeepers, and of some proprietors, +as to the mistake that is made in killing off every kind of raptorial +bird indiscriminately. A protest which was penned by Mr. G. E. Freeman, +in his “Falconry,” is worthy of reproduction here:--“All Hawks, when +they have a choice, invariably choose the easiest flight. This fact is +of the last importance in the matter before us. I confess that I at +once give it the chief place in this argument. Who has not heard of the +Grouse disease? It has been attributed, sometimes respectively, and +sometimes collectively, to burnt heather; to heather poisoned from the +dressings put on Sheep; to the Sheep themselves cropping the tender +shoots and leaves of the plant, and thus destroying the Grouse’s food; +to the tape-worm; to shot which has wounded but not killed; and perhaps +to other things besides. It may be, I doubt not, correctly referred to +any or to all of these. Of this, however, there appears no question +that from whatever cause it springs it is _propagated_. A diseased +parent produces a diseased child. Now, I say that when every Hawk is +killed upon a large manor, the balance of Nature is forgotten, or +ignored; and that Nature will not overlook an insult. _She_ would have +kept her wilds healthy; destroy her appointed instruments, and beware +of her revenge!” + +[Illustration: PEREGRINE FALCON.] + +The Peregrine Falcon has always been celebrated with falconers for +its superior dash and courage. The female is much the larger and +more powerful bird, and is called the “Falcon,” the male being known +as the “Tiercel.” The young birds reared from the nest are called +“Eyes,” and the immature specimens, from their more rufous colour, are +distinguished as the “Red Falcon” and the “Red Tiercel.” When a bird +has been caught wild in the full plumage it is called “Haggard.” The +principal flight of the “Falcon” was at the Heron, and many anecdotes +are told of the encounters between these two antagonists in mid-air. +The evidence of Falconers, however, goes to show that the impalement +of the Hawk by the Heron’s bill is a rare occurrence, and it is only +when the birds come to the ground that the presence of the man is +required to rescue the Falcons from their dangerous foe. The Heron, +on being pursued, endeavours to avoid his pursuer by mounting high +into the air, the Falcon meanwhile doing his best to rise above him +and strike the quarry to the ground. Generally, two Falcons were +employed in the chase, and while the Heron avoided the stoop of one +by changing his position suddenly, the other was ready to stoop from +above, until, by a successful swoop, the Heron would be mastered and +borne to the ground with the two Falcons in close embrace. Then was +the time for the good falconer to be at hand to save his Hawks from +the Heron. In a wild state the Peregrine feeds on Grouse of all kinds, +Pheasants, Partridges, Ducks, Pigeons, Plovers, &c., but it does not +so often visit the poultry-yard as the other Hawks, preferring the +open country or the sea-coast. In this latter locality, the Falcon +feeds on the various sea-birds, such as the Puffins, Auks, Guillemots, +and as it flies back to its nest with food for its young, it will +sometimes in very wantonness rip up a Gull or other sea-bird if it +happens to get in the way as it rushes by. The nest is generally large, +and composed of sticks and herbaceous plants, excepting in localities +where none of the latter exist, when it is made of grass. The site +chosen is some sea-cliff or high precipice inland, where there is +sure to be some difficulty in reaching the nest, which is generally +harried by means of a rope. They build in the same localities for years +together, and Professor Newton gives an interesting record of such +an occurrence,[206] when he mentions a hill in Lapland, where a pair +of Falcons had a nest when it was visited by the French astronomical +expedition in 1736, a nest being re-discovered in the same place in +1799 by Captain Skjöldebrand, and again by the late Mr. Woolley, in +1853. Near the site of its nest the Peregrine brooks no intruder, +and will even attack an Eagle, an instance having been recorded of +one of the latter birds being stunned and brought to the ground by a +Peregrine, who broke its own wing in the attempt, and was liberated +by the shepherds to mend its wing as best it could, in gratitude for +having delivered their aquiline enemy into their hands. + +[Illustration: HOODED FALCON.] + +In Holland, where until recent years hawking was largely carried on +under the auspices of the king, there is a well-known place, called +Valkenswaard, where a good many Hawks are trapped every autumn during +migration, and it is from the neighbourhood of this village that many +of the most celebrated falconers have come. At the same time England +has also produced many celebrated adepts at the art, which is generally +carried on from father to son; and one of the Barr family, with a high +reputation as a falconer, a few years ago exhibited his trained birds +in the neighbourhood of London. The writer has also seen some fine +sport in Huntingdonshire, with Lord Lilford’s Hawks, in a large extent +of open country near Great Gidding. + +[Illustration: FALCON’S HOOD.] + +The male Peregrine is of a bluish-grey colour, narrowly barred with +black, the wings darker; the cheeks, ear-coverts, and moustache, black, +the entire sides of the head being sometimes of this dark aspect; +underneath, the body is white, with more or less of a reddish tinge, +and crossed with black bars; tail grey, broadly barred with black and +tipped with white. The length is about fifteen inches, that of the +female about seventeen; and the wing is fourteen inches and a half in +length instead of about twelve, as in the male. In plumage the hen bird +is very similar, but is generally of a richer rufous hue below. + +Besides the Peregrine Falcons there are a host of smaller species +of the genus _Falco_, varying much from the above birds in size and +style of colour, but of exactly the same form, and having much the +same habits. The Hobby (_Falco subbuteo_) and the Merlin (_F. æsalon_) +represent these smaller Falcons in the British Islands. + + +THE GREENLAND JER-FALCON (_Hierofalco candicans_).[207] + +Besides the Peregrine, there were used in falconry, in England, the +Noble, or Jer-Falcons, birds which were much prized, although they did +not possess the same fire and dash in pursuit of their quarry exhibited +by the former bird. There are five distinct kinds of these northern +Jer-Falcons, without mentioning the Saker Falcon of South-eastern +Europe, which also belongs to the genus _Hierofalco_. The best known +is the Greenland Jer-Falcon, which, as its name implies, is an +inhabitant of Greenland and North America, young birds only occurring +in the British Islands during migration. This species is nearly pure +white in colour when fully adult, the back and wings retaining small +spots of black, the entire head and breast, and especially the tail, +becoming pure white as the bird gets older and loses the spots and +bars which characterise its immature dress. An unfailing mark by which +a Greenland Jer-Falcon can be told at any age is the light yellowish +bill and cere, and the absence of arrow-shaped bars on the flanks, +which in young birds are longitudinally streaked with brown, but are +never barred. All the other Jer-Falcons have distinct bars across the +flanks, as well as bluish bills and regularly barred tails. They are +four in number, the Norway Jer-Falcon (_H. gyrfalco_), the Iceland +Jer-Falcon (_H. islandicus_), Holböll’s Jer-Falcon (_H. Holbölli_), and +the Labrador Jer-Falcon (_H. labradorus_). They are nearly all peculiar +to the countries whose names they bear, the Norway bird not occurring +anywhere out of Europe and Northern Asia, one specimen having been +known to occur in England; it seems also to emigrate to Central Asia, +as a single bird was procured during the last Yarkand Mission. All the +Jer-Falcons have shorter toes than the Peregrines, in which the outer +toe is very long, while in the other birds the outer and inner toes are +about equal in length. + +When in a wild state the Greenland Falcon feeds upon Ptarmigan, Geese, +and on the sea-birds which frequent the cliffs where it takes up its +abode. It evinces great courage in defending its nest. + + +THE KESTRELS (_Cerchneis_). + +These form a group of short-toed Hawks, like the foregoing, but are +much more numerous in species, and are found distributed all over the +world, with the exception of some of the Oceanic Islands. More than +twenty different kinds of Kestrel are recognised by naturalists, and +they are more insect-feeding birds than the bolder and nobler Falcons +which have just been spoken of. The commonest and best known of all is + + +THE COMMON KESTREL, OR WIND-HOVER (_Cerchneis tinnunculus_).[208] + +This species gains its name of Wind-hover from a very pretty and +graceful action with which it hangs suspended in the air, as if by a +thread, keeping itself balanced by a constant winnowing of the air +by its wings, and from this position it scans the ground below for +a stray Mouse which may venture out of its hole, for mice and small +birds constitute its principal food. It is frequently to be seen in +the autumn hovering about a field of sheaved corn in the twilight, +selecting a position about forty feet in the air, and occasionally +stooping down on some prey in the stubble below. Should it not succeed +in its pounce, it flies a little way in a few easy circles, and +again commences to hover over a new part of the field. Insects also +form a staple article of food to the Kestrel, who devours them while +in full flight, passing its leg up to its bill, and the author has +met with an instance of a Kestrel hawking for insects over a stream +in the late evening. This Hawk is, unfortunately, often confounded +through the ignorance of gamekeepers with the Sparrow-Hawk, and +suffers consequently for the misdeeds of the latter, a fact much to be +regretted, for it is a very useful bird, owing to the number of mice it +destroys; indeed, a writer in Macgillivray’s “British Birds” computes +that a single Kestrel would destroy upwards of ten thousand mice +during its stay in Britain. It will also catch birds, but in limited +numbers, and then generally only during the breeding season, when its +young require constant food. Although of a less ferocious nature and +aspect than the Falcons, the Kestrel, nevertheless, often shows forth +his accipitrine temperament in a way that would scarcely be expected +from his mild-looking dark eye, which has nothing of the ferocity of +the yellow iris of the Sparrow-Hawk. Some young birds belonging to the +writer, consisting of three females and a male, being left without +food for a few hours by the person in whose charge they were placed, +forgot their fraternal affection, and the larger hen birds set upon +the male, who was not so large or strong as they were, and devoured +him completely. When shooting in a sandy island near Heligoland also, +the writer wounded a Dunlin, which floated on the water a considerable +distance out at sea, and whilst waiting for the waves to bring the bird +in to land a Kestrel hove in sight and made a swoop at the Dunlin, +which the latter avoided by a rapid dive. Twenty-three times the Hawk +repeated the manœuvre without success, until the poor little wader +became exhausted, and was borne in the talons of his relentless foe +towards the rock of Heligoland, about a mile off. This action had been +witnessed also by Messrs Seebohm and Nicholson, from other parts of +the same sandy island, and the latter kept pace with the Kestrel as it +skirted the beach, in the hopes that it might cross the island when a +shot would perhaps have caused the bird to drop his exhausted quarry. +The Hawk, however, kept well out at sea, and regained his rocky home, +though he was several times seen to pause in his flight and take a +tighter grasp of his victim. + +[Illustration: COMMON KESTREL.] + +The nest of the Kestrel is often placed in towers and old buildings, +and the bird is sometimes to be seen round the Nelson monument in +Trafalgar Square, but a tree is more frequently the site selected, when +an old Crow’s or Raven’s nest is often chosen. The hen bird, as is the +case with most Hawks, sits very close, and will often require a stick +or stone to be thrown close to the nest before it will move off, and +the sudden drop which it gives is often the means of saving its life, +as the chance of a successful shot is difficult. The eggs are from four +to six in number, and are rather handsomely coloured, being blotched +with rufous on a white ground, and are not unfrequently entirely rufous. + +In most of the Kestrels the sexes differ conspicuously in colour, the +females being barred. This is the case in the common species, where +the male has a blue head and tail. In the size of the sexes there is +little or no difference, each measuring about twelve inches and a half. +In winter, when there are fewer mice and beetles about, the Kestrel +shifts his quarters, and becomes to a certain extent migratory: at this +season of the year it visits India and Africa, not extending, however, +so far down the latter continent as some of the European birds go. It +is abundant at certain seasons in north-eastern Africa and Senegambia, +but seldom goes as far as the Cape. The most easterly occurrence that +is known of the Common Kestrel is the island of Borneo, though it is a +common bird in China. It should be mentioned, however, that the Kestrel +is always darker in colour from Japan and China, so much so that many +naturalists consider it to be a distinct species from the British bird. + + + + +[Illustration: OSPREY.] + + + + +THE SECOND SUB-ORDER.--PANDIONES. + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE OSPREYS AND OWLS. + + THE OSPREY--Distribution--Food--How it Seizes its Prey--Nesting + Communities--STRIGES, or OWLS--Distinctions between Hawks and + Owls--Owls in Bird-lore and Superstition--Families of the + Sub-order--THE FISH OWL--PEL’S FISH OWL--THE EAGLE OWL--Dr. Brehm’s + Description of its Appearance and Habits--THE SNOWY OWL--HAWK + OWLS--PIGMY OWLETS--THE SHORT-EARED OWL--THE LONG-EARED OWL--THE BARN + OWL--The Farmer’s Friend--Peculiar Characters--Distribution. + + +THE OSPREY, OR FISHING EAGLE (_Pandion haliaëtus_). + +The Osprey is one of the most cosmopolitan of the birds of prey, being +found all over the world, with the exception of the continent of South +America and some of the Pacific Islands. Specimens from Australia +and the Moluccas are generally smaller than those from Europe or +America; but as the size of the species appears to vary in different +localities, the Australian form cannot be considered other than a +permanently smaller race. Everywhere the habits of the Osprey seem to +be very similar, the bird never being found away from the vicinity +of water, unless it be sometimes during the breeding season, when +it makes its nest at some distance from its feeding haunts. Its food +consists entirely of fish, and it is capable of carrying off one of +considerable size; in the capture of its prey it is greatly aided by +its reversible toes, and by the roughness of the sole of the foot, +which is covered with minute spikes, and these are, of course, of great +assistance to the bird in holding such a strong and slippery prey as a +large fish often proves to be. Professor Newton writes of one living +in the Zoological Gardens, that “when a fish was given to it, it was +observed to seize it across the body, placing the inner and outer +toes at right angles with the middle and hind toes, and, digging in +the claws, it held the fish most firmly by four opposite points, not +relaxing its hold or altering the position of the toes, but picking +out the portions of flesh from between them with great dexterity.” +Occasionally, the Osprey attacks a fish beyond its strength, and it is +then drawn under the water, and drowned. Mr. Dresser saw this happen in +the Bay of Fundy, when a Fish Hawk was unable to release itself from a +heavy fish, and, after being dragged under the water time after time, +was ultimately carried out to sea, and disappeared. Mr. Collett, of +Christiania, tells us that in one of the Norwegian lakes a huge Pike +was caught, with the remains of an Osprey’s skeleton still attached +to its back. Sometimes, on landing its prey, the bird is unable to +extricate its talons, and is captured alive. The nest of the Osprey is +a large structure, and is variously situated, according to the nature +of the locality. It is generally placed on a tree; but in situations +where there are no trees the position chosen is on a large rock or +stone, very often on the islands in the middle of the lakes which it +frequents. The eggs are generally three in number, sometimes four, and +are very beautiful, varying from a rich red to a buffy-white colour, +with large reddish and brown markings. In Europe it is found nesting +invariably in pairs, but in North America large communities are found; +and Dr. Brewer relates that sometimes as many as “three hundred pairs +have been observed nesting on one small island; and when a new nest is +to be constructed, the whole community has been known to take part in +its completion. They are remarkably tolerant towards smaller birds, and +permit the Purple Grakle (_Quiscalus purpureus_) to construct its nests +in the interstices of their own.” + + +THE THIRD SUB-ORDER.--STRIGES, THE OWLS. + +The principal distinctions between Hawks and Owls (_Striges_) have +been already pointed out (p. 255); but there are still some other +smaller characters to which a passing allusion must be made. It would +be difficult, for instance, for the merest novice in the study of +ornithology to mistake an Owl, when seen alive in a cage, or even in a +case of stuffed birds, its enormous head and short neck being unlike +those of any of the other birds of prey. The neck of some Owls is, +indeed, so short and contracted, that it is with difficulty that any +intervening curve between the nape and the back, which would mark a +perceptible neck as in most Hawks, can be detected. Again, the Owls +have their eyes directed forwards, so that they confront the spectator; +while most of the other birds of prey turn their head more or less +on one side when their attention is diverted, and do not look one +straight in the face as an Owl does. The cere is almost always hidden +by bristles in the _Striges_, and the latter have a very distinct +facial disc, surrounded by a curious ruff, somewhat similar to that of +the Harriers (_Circus_, p. 268), and Harrier-Hawks (_Micrastur_, p. +270). The external ear-opening is a complicated organ in the Owls, and +differs considerably, the orifices often being of different form on +either side of the head; and in one species, Tengmalm’s Owl (_Nyctala +tengmalmi_), the ear-openings are of different shape in the skull +itself. + +[Illustration: SKULL OF TENGMALM’S OWL.] + +To those interested in bird-lore, a most entertaining study might +be afforded by tracing the superstitions with which Owls have been +regarded in all countries, and in the earliest times. Such a study was +begun by the late Mr. Broderip, in his “Zoological Recreations,”[209] +where he quotes from the ancient writers many passages, which show that +Owls were as much regarded as birds of ill-omen by the inhabitants of +Greece and Italy in olden times as they have been in England up to +the present day. Nor is the infatuation confined to Europe, as later +on are quoted instances of superstitious dread of the Owls in Morocco +and West Africa; while they are equally held in fear in many Eastern +countries. + +The Athenians alone seem to have had a regard for these birds, and an +Owl is found on the reverse side of many of their coins, the bird being +sacred to their guardian deity, Athené. The species figured is probably +the Little Owl (_Carine noctua_), a bird which is common in Greece. It +is difficult to guess why the Owl came to be regarded as the embodiment +of wisdom, unless it was from its having been sacred to Minerva, the +Goddess of Wisdom, who is sometimes represented as the Owl-headed +goddess. + +[Illustration: LITTLE OWL.] + +“The Owlet’s wing,” writes Mr. Harting,[210] “was an ingredient in the +cauldron wherein the witches prepared their ‘charm of powerful trouble’ +(_Macbeth_, Act iv., sc. 1); and with the character assigned to it by +the ancients, Shakspere, no doubt, felt that the introduction of an Owl +in a dreadful scene of a tragedy would help to make the subject come +home more forcibly to the people, who had, from early times, associated +its presence with melancholy, misfortune, and death. Accordingly, we +find the unfortunate Owl stigmatised as the ‘obscure,’ ‘ominous,’ +‘fearful,’ and ‘fatal’ ‘bird of night.’ Its doleful cry pierces the ear +of Lady Macbeth while the murder is being done:-- + + ‘Hark! Peace! + It was the Owl that shriek’d, the fatal bellman, + Which gives the stern’st good-night.’ + + _Macbeth_, Act ii., Sc. 2. + +And when the murderer rushes in immediately afterwards, exclaiming--‘I +have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?’ She replies--‘I +heard the Owl scream.’ And later on--‘The _obscure bird_ clamour’d the +live-long night.’” (_Macbeth_, Act. ii., Sc. 3.) + +The awe, no doubt, with which this bird is regarded by the +superstitious, may be attributed in some measure to the fact of its +flying by night. + + “Deep night, dark night, the silent of the night, + + * * * * * + + The time when Screech-Owls cry and Ban-Dogs howl.” + + _Henry VI._, Part ii., Act i., Sc. 4. + +And yet, strange to say, the appearance of an Owl by day is by some +considered equally ominous:-- + + “The Owl by day, + If he arise, is mocked and wondered at.” + + _Henry VI._, Part iii., Act v., Sc. 4. + + “For Night-Owls shriek, where mounting Larks should sing.” + + _Richard II._, Act iii., Sc. 3. + +Should an Owl appear at a birth, it is said to forebode ill-luck to the +infant. King Henry VI., addressing Gloster, says:-- + + “The Owl shrieked at thy birth, an evil sign.” + + _Henry VI._, Part iii., Act v., Sc. 6. + +While upon any other occasion, its presence was supposed to predict a +death, or at least some dire mishap:-- + + “The Screech Owl, screeching loud, + Puts the wretch that lies in woe + In remembrance of a shroud.” + + _Midsummer Night’s Dream_, Act v., Sc. 2. + +When Richard III. is irritated by the ill-news showered thick upon him, +he interrupts the third messenger with + + “Out on ye, Owls! Nothing but songs of death?” + + _Richard III._, Act iv., Sc. 4. + +The same author, from whom the above Shaksperian illustrations are +quoted, alludes further to the superstitious dread of the Owl, which +exists likewise amongst the Dyaks of Borneo, and in Ceylon a Wood-Owl, +belonging to the same genus _Syrnium_, to which the English Wood-Owl +belongs, is known as the “Devil-bird,” and is held in great fear. +Colonel Irby, writing of the Barn-Owl,[211] tells the following story +from the MS. of the late Mr. Favier, of Tangier:--“The inhabitants +of Tangier consider this bird the clairvoyant friend of the Devil. +The Jews believe that their cry causes the death of young children; +so in order to prevent this, they pour a vessel of water out into +the courtyard every time that they hear the cry of one of these Owls +passing over their house. The Arabs believe even more than the Jews, +for they think that they can cause all kinds of evil to old as well +as young; but their mode of action is even more simple than that +of their antagonists the Jews, as they rest contented with cursing +them whenever they hear their cry. Endeavouring to find out from the +Mahometans what foundation there is for the evil reputation of this +species, I was told this: ‘When these birds cry they are only cursing +in their own language; but their malediction is harmless unless they +know the name of the individual to whom they wish evil, or unless they +have the malignity to point out that person when passing him; as the +Devil sleeps but little, when there is evil work to be done he would +infallibly execute the command of his favourite if one did not, by +cursing the Owl by name, thus guard against the power of that enemy, +who is sworn to do evil to all living beings.’ Having learned the +belief of the Mahometans relative to this Owl, it was more difficult +to find out exactly that of the Jews, who, when questioned by me, knew +not how to answer, except that the act of pouring water in the middle +of the courtyard is a custom of long standing, in order to avert the +evil which the Owl is capable of doing; that is to say, the water is +poured out with the view of attracting the evil spirit’s attention to +an object which distracts him, and so hides from him the infant which +the Owl in its wickedness wishes to show him.” + +The late Mr. Waterton, in an entertaining essay on the habits of the +Barn-Owl, says:--“Among the numberless verses which might be quoted +against the family of the Owl, I think I only know of one little ode +which expresses any pity for it:-- + + ‘Once I was a Monarch’s daughter, + And sat on a lady’s knee; + But am now a nightly rover, + Banish’d to the ivy tree. + + Crying, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo. + Hoo, hoo, hoo, my feet are cold; + Pity me, for here you see me, + Persecuted, poor, and old.’”[212] + +The Owls are divided into two families, the first of which is called +_Bubonidæ_, and the second _Strigidæ_. In the latter family are +represented only two genera, _Strix_ and _Heliodilus_, which contain +six species, all the remaining Owls, about one hundred and ninety in +number, belonging to the _Bubonidæ_. The breast-bone in the latter +family always shows two or more clefts or indentations, and there +are no “serrations” on the middle claw, whereas the Barn-Owls always +have the inner edge of the middle claw serrated, that is, with a +small, toothed margin, like the teeth of a saw (_serra_, Lat., a saw; +_serratus_, notched like a saw), and the breast-bone has no clefts +in its hinder edge. The _Bubonidæ_ embrace two sub-families, the +_Buboninæ_, which have no _operculum_, or fold of skin, closing in the +ear, and the _Syrniinæ_, which have a very large _operculum_. It seems +natural to commence the classification of the Nocturnal Accipitres +with the Bare-legged or Fishing Owls, as the structure of this part +very much resembles that of the Osprey, which was the concluding +representative of the Diurnal Accipitres. The thigh feathers are thick, +and fit close to the leg; the tarsus and toes are bare; the outer +toe is reversible; and the soles of the feet are covered with tiny +spicules, which serve to hold fast their finny prey in the same manner +as do those of the Osprey. + + +THE FISH OWL. + +The following account of the Indian Fish Owl (_Ketupa[213] +ceylonensis_) is taken from the work by Captain Vincent Legge, R.A., +on the birds of Ceylon:--“This large Owl loves the vicinity of water, +haunting the banks of rivers, tanks, inland salt lagoons, the borders +of sea-bogs, and woods surrounding rice-fields. All who have visited +the tanks in the north and east of Ceylon must be familiar with the +fine bird, which so often is surprised napping in the lofty trees +growing on the embankments, or so-called ‘bunds.’ Its powers of vision +in the day are not quick, but they are tolerably clear. On hearing the +footsteps of man, it raises its large ear-tufts, and bending down its +head, stares steadily down from its lofty perch among the green boughs, +and as soon as it becomes aware of the nature of the intruder on its +retreat, launches itself out of the tree, and is not easily approached +a second time. It is much more common in wild forest country, combined +with water, than in cultivated districts. It sallies out in the evening +with great regularity. As soon as the sun begins to sink behind the +surrounding forest, it may be noticed flapping noiselessly round some +secluded cheena, or leisurely crossing the lonely tank, resounding +at the hour of sunset with the buzzing of innumerable frogs, to the +nearest conspicuous tree, and there gives out its sepulchral groan. +This gloomy salutation is usually responded to by its mate, who perches +close at hand, and answers by a double note, the two lonesome sounds +resembling the words _gloom--oh, gloom_. At night I have often heard +these notes repeated by a pair without intermission for many minutes. +Layard remarks that, when alarmed during the day, they utter a loud +hiss, subsiding into a growl. They appear to have an accustomed place +of roosting, for Mr. Houldsworth notices that they ‘perched day after +day on the same branch!’ This is very often in an exposed situation, +and it frequently falls to their lot to be mobbed by a flock of +garrulous Bulbuls, King-Crows, and other Owl-hating small birds. Fish +is the favourite food, and, in fact, the usual diet of this species; +but when this is not procurable, small mammals, reptiles, and even +insects are devoured by them. In the stomach of one, for example, I +found a Snake (_Haplocercus ceylonensis_), and some large Beetles. As +a proof of their miscellaneous diet, and also of their voracity, I may +mention that a pair of Fish Owls, which were kept by Sir Charles Layard +in the same aviary with a Brahmin Kite, fell one night upon their +luckless companion, and, after slaughtering him, forthwith proceeded to +devour him completely. Further, Mr. Hume records, in ‘Nests and Eggs,’ +finding the remains of Quails, Doves, and Mynahs in the nest of a pair +on the Jumna. It has also been stated that they feed on the carcases of +the Gavial and Crocodile.” + +[Illustration: EAGLE OWL.] + + +PEL’S FISH-OWL (_Scotopelia peli_).[214] + +The African Fish-Owls are exactly like the Indian as regards their bare +legs, but they have no tufts on their heads. Three different kinds +are known, and they are all rare birds, frequenting the rivers and +inland lakes of the African continent. Pel’s Fish-Owl was discovered +on the Gold Coast by Mr. Pel, the Dutch commandant at Elmina, nearly +forty years ago. The specimen procured by that gentleman flew across +the river Boutry, and settled among some shady boughs on the other +bank, when it was knocked down with the blow of a gun. The following +account of one of these rare birds, from the Barra country, Senegambia, +is given by Mr. John Henry Gurney, who had the specimen alive in +his possession for a long time: it was presented to him by Colonel +O’Connor, C.B., who is the author of the accompanying “Sketch of Nero, +the Owl, a Fetish Bird.” The colonel writes[215]:--“During seven +years’ exploration of Western Africa, I only met one of the species +of the Owl ‘Nero.’ He was brought ‘a chicken,’ full of pen-feathers, +or rather down, of a delicate straw-colour, and very thick, from a +lagoon in the Barra country. No native would admit ‘Nero’ as a visitor; +and when the bird was installed in Government House, the servants and +head people came in a body to remonstrate, asserting ‘he was a Gumbi +Owl, a Fetish!! and would destroy and kill whatever object he looked +on.’ The chief groom (an old soldier, who had charge of the poultry) +insisted that ‘every cock and hen would go dead.’ Strangely enough, +an epidemic broke out, and carried off from fifty to sixty head of +fowls; and each day the groom placed the defunct birds on the steps of +Government House, to meet the eye of Mrs. O’Connor, seeming to exult +in the mortality amongst the feathered tribe. ‘You see wid your own +eye, Missus, dat debil Jumbi bird, he go kill all de fowls. Governor +tink he hab long head, but he no sabey Owl. Suppose you put him in +de stable, he see Nelly (Mrs. O’Connor’s favourite mare), de horse +he go tumble down dead.’ Death at last ceased to reign amongst the +poultry population, and Nero became my principal pet; he ranged over +the piazza, perching on the branch of a tree; he was fed regularly by +the orderly on roasted fish, but he often came to the dinner-table, +and flew down for scraps of meat, bread and butter, which he took +gently from myself or from Mrs. O’Connor, permitting us to rub his +head, crest, neck, and back, seemingly enjoying the caressing. But he +would snatch meat or bones from the Cat or Dog; and when the Eagle was +introduced into his company, he beat him in a most unmerciful manner +away from his peculiar and original position of the piazza, the Eagle +being one of the fiercest and most pugnacious of African birds, brought +from the upper part of the Gambia river near ‘Wallie,’ and, when in +vigour, able to carry away a kid or small lamb. Nero luxuriated in a +tub of water, frequently washing himself, and perching on the rim until +dry. He was wont to go out to the garden or fields, where instantly +an immense commotion arose among all the birds. The larger ones flew +round the Owl, keeping a very civil distance, the smaller birds flew +away; but Nero treated both alike with sovereign contempt. He would +return of his own accord to the roosting-place in the piazza, and when +put out and confined for some days, rejected all food, and pined until +restored to his perch. With me he was as tame as any Canary, and, after +an absence of two months, recognised my voice when I went to his cage +at Oatlands (Devon), appearing much pleased by my taking him out for +a walk on the grass. Many natives from the interior told me ‘they had +never seen such a bird before; but they considered him _unlucky_.’ I +really think Nero is nearly _sans_ any relations, and certainly devoid +of all friends in Western Africa.” + +Pel’s Owl measures nearly two feet in length, and has the wing sixteen +inches and a half. Its colour is a deep rufous bay, with black +transverse bars; below it is light bay, with heart-shaped bars of +black; the iris is dark-brown, whereas in the Indian Fishing Owls it is +always yellow. + + +THE EAGLE OWL (_Bubo ignavus_).[216] + +This and its relative, the Virginian Eared Owl of America, are the +largest of all the family. It is found all over Europe and Siberia, +extending even to China and the Himalayas, but the few instances of +its capture in Great Britain have been probably those of birds escaped +from confinement, as it is by no means an uncommon species in aviaries +in England. As it is not, strictly speaking, a British bird, recourse +must be had to the writings of Continental naturalists for an account +of its habits, and the following extract is made from Dr. Brehm’s “Bird +Life” (p. 567):--“The Eagle Owl is somewhat fantastic in appearance, +usually sitting with its feathers so much ruffled as to make it seem +much larger than it really is. ‘In that large, shapeless mass of +feathers,’ says Naumann, ‘one can scarcely distinguish the limbs; the +half-closed eyes hide their glorious rays; suddenly it opens them +wide, bends the head and upper part of the body forwards, swaying from +side to side, and raising first one foot and then the other, begins to +tremble, winks slowly with the eyelids, spits like a cat, and snaps its +bill. When angry its eyes flash fire, it bends forward with hanging +wings, ruffles its plumage as much as possible, and snapping and +hissing, dashes furiously at the enemy.’ + +“This bird seems less courageous than surly and quarrelsome, and yet it +is asserted that it will fight to the death with the Golden Eagle, when +attacked by the latter. The Eagle Owl is a powerful bird, and as there +are no bounds to its fury, it is but rarely that anything escapes from +its grasp. Though strictly nocturnal in its habits, it always keeps a +good look out for its own safety in the daytime, and is ever shy and +cautious. Keen of sight and hearing, it takes wing while the danger is +still far off. Like other Owls, this bird is fond of pressing itself +against the stem of a tree, with unruffled feathers, so as to closely +imitate the stump of a tree, and thus escape detection. Inasmuch as +deep clefts in the rocks, or the thickest of trees, are its usual +retreats, the Owl is often passed over, which fact is undoubtedly an +advantage, for the day birds mob it whenever they see it. They may +possibly have made it the savage, spiteful bird it is, inasmuch as +their system of constant irritation would be sufficient to try the +temper of the mildest individual. Thus nothing remains for the Owl but +to evade its disturbers, and hide itself as long as possible; but woe +betide it if discovered, for then the friends of daylight treat it to a +‘charivari’ without equal. + +“The first to arrive on the scene is the ubiquitous Crow, conducted +thither by some inquisitive warbler who has discovered the enemy’s +retreat. The Crow thoroughly understands what the little fellow means, +and hastens to convince itself of the truth of the information. Having +satisfied itself, it retires noiselessly, but only to carry the news +to its relatives. Now they flock in from all sides to take part in +the fight, with an eagerness worthy of the boldest man; greeting one +another with hoarse and scornful croaks, the sooty tribe hasten as +fast as they can to the scene of action. The mockers surround the poor +old ‘Grand Duke,’ at first at a respectful distance, though they are +fully determined effectively to disturb its siesta. There sits the +Owl, rolling its eyes, spitting, snapping its beak, and ruffling its +feathers, now hopping from one leg to another, now raising and lowering +its feathered horns by turns; mad with rage, bemoaning its fate, and at +loggerheads with the whole world, it awaits the turn that matters may +take; at the same time, be it remembered, every Crow takes good care +not to lay hold of the irritated gentleman; nothing less than a Raven +dares to rely on its own strength. One of these, however, will run a +tilt at the dark knight, using its sharp beak as a lance; but before +the latter has time to raise the terrible claw, the Raven makes good +its retreat, prepares for another rush, and darts like an arrow, so +as to use its weapon effectively. The Owl now loses the last remnant +of patience, and seeks safety in flight. Oh, unlucky wight! this is +all the black swarm have been waiting for, the Crows being far its +superiors on the wing. Giving vent to exulting cries, they dart down +from above with such unerring aim and force as to scatter the poor +brute’s feathers in clouds to the wind: they rise again with a mighty +noise that heeds no secrecy, as though they sought to proclaim to the +world at large all the fell deeds committed by this Prince of Darkness, +while other knights advance to battle. All Hawks and Falcons, ay, the +proud Eagle even, answer to the call, and hasten to take part in the +fray. Now the Owl must, perforce, either beat a hasty retreat or remain +on the field. In any case, however, the Owl is thoroughly worried, and +sometimes really damaged, before it finds refuge in some thick tree or +rocky cleft, where it hides itself as closely and as silently as its +rage will permit, until quit of the Crows. + +“The detestation in which the Eagle Owl is held by all diurnal birds +is not ill-founded, for this bird preys on every living creature +it can overcome, assassinating them in the most abominable manner +while they are asleep. Its quarry is as follows:--Fawns of the Roe +Deer, Hares, Rabbits, Hamsters, Rats, Moles, Mice, Capercailzie, +Black-game, Hazel-hens, Pheasants, Partridges, Rooks, Jays, Magpies, +Snakes, Lizards, and Frogs; Rooks seem to be its favourite morsel. +No wonder, then, that they pay their enemy out if they can only see +an opportunity. It assassinates them; they attack it in open day. +The Eagle Owl generally breaks the spine of the smaller animals close +to the head, and, cracking the remaining bones, devours its prey, +skin and all; the heads of the larger birds it pulls in large pieces +which it swallows. It, however, always devours a portion of the hair, +feathers, or scales as well, and wastes away if fed on flesh alone. The +indigestible portions of the meal are thrown up in large round pellets +or ‘casts.’ With larger animals, it lays open the skin of the belly, +and eats out the flesh from inside. If it finds that there is too much +for one meal, it carefully replaces the skin, and hides the remainder +in some dark cranny or corner until required again. This Owl drinks +rarely, slaking its thirst generally with the blood of its victims. If +food is plentiful, it gorges itself; but in times of dearth it can go +without food for weeks together. + +[Illustration: SNOWY OWL.] + +“By the last fortnight in March the Eagle Owls commence preparations +for breeding. At this season may be heard their hollow, muffled cry of +‘poohoo, poohoo,’ which is distinguishable at a great distance through +the woods, and it is not to be wondered that the timid are frightened +at it. In the silent, dark recesses of the mountain forest a variety of +noises, well calculated to make one’s flesh creep, fall upon the ear: +the shrill, mocking laugh, a sound as of snarling hounds; the whoop of +the hunter, the snorting of Horses; these are all calculated to impress +the uneducated and superstitious with the truth of the legend of the +wild huntsman. Even to the ear of the better-informed, these hideous +cries, the loud screech of the female, or the ‘poohoo’ of the male, +intermingled with the snapping of the beak and curious miaulings, sound +somewhat weird; and the boldest of mortals can scarcely repress a cold +shudder when a company of these forest spirits favour him with one of +their demoniacal nocturnal concerts. Doubtless these sounds represent +the battle-cries of the males when fighting for the females, and take +the place of the song of the Nightingale when telling its tale of love. + +“After the Owls have paired these cries are heard less frequently, +both birds being now fully occupied with their nursery operations. The +large nest is composed outwardly of branches and sticks, and is lined +with dry leaves and small twigs. It is built, and generally placed in +either the cleft of a rock or in a hole in some ruined tower; the nest +is never built in a tree but from necessity. The two or three eggs are +also often found lying on the bare surface of the rock, without any +nest whatever. They are round, cross-grained, and white, and somewhat +larger than a hen’s egg. The young are hatched in about three weeks. +They are usually two in number, rarely three; they look, on their first +appearance, like balls of cotton-wool, and keep up a constant hissing +or shrill whistle. They remain a long time in the nest, and are so +abundantly provided with food by the parent birds, that one is sure to +find a large heap of provisions at the nest. The Owlets often betray +their presence to their innumerable enemies by their cries, and suffer +much persecution in consequence. When about eight weeks old they are +able to fly, though they still remain for some time longer under the +care of the old birds. These latter rarely wander far from a particular +neighbourhood, and usually build in the very same place the following +year.” + +[Illustration: SHORT-EARED OWL.] + +Besides the Eagle Owls, the sub-family _Buboninæ_ contains the Snowy +Owl (_Nyctea[217] scandiaca_[218]), all the Hawk Owls (_Surnia[219] +Ninox_[220]), and the Pigmy Owlets (_Glaucidium_[221]). Many of the +birds belonging to this latter genus are not much bigger than a +Sparrow. They are found nearly all over the world, with the exception +of Australia and Oceania, and one species, the European Pigmy Owlet +(_G. passerinum_[222]), is by no means uncommon in many parts of the +Continent, though it has not yet been met with for certain in the +British Islands. + +The sub-family _Syrniinæ_ contains only three genera, the Horned Owls +(_Asio_[223]), the Wood Owls (_Syrnium_[224]), and the Tengmalm’s Owl +(_Nyctala_[225] _tengmalmi_), the latter having been already noticed +(p. 297) as possessing the curious difference in the ear-opening on +each side of the skull. Of the Horned Owls two species are found in the +British Islands, viz., the Short-eared Owl (_Asio accipitrinus_[226]), +and the Long-eared Owl (_A. otus_[227]). The former of these birds is +often seen in the daytime, and is said to hunt for its prey on dull +days, when it will fly at small birds as well as mice; and Mr. Low, +writing on the birds of the Orkneys, where the Short-eared Owl breeds, +says that he has found in the nest the remains of a Moor-fowl (Red +Grouse), two Plovers, besides the feet of several others; and the +same writer states that during the breeding season it becomes very +impudent, and will even seize and catch up chickens from the doors, and +also chase pigeons in open daylight. Although resident in the British +Islands, a large migration of the species takes place in autumn, and +it is not unfrequently shot by sportsmen in the turnip-fields; while +Bewick mentions the recurrence of twenty-eight individuals being +flushed in a turnip-field in November, being probably attracted to +the locality by an abundance of food. It may also be occasionally +found in marshes near the sea-shore, as occurred once to the writer, +who started a Short-eared Owl from the sedgy bank on the west side +of Pagham Harbour, in the early part of September. When winged, it +boldly faced its pursuer, erecting the little tufts on its head and +fiercely snapping its bill, as is the manner with all Owls in defending +themselves. + +[Illustration: FACE OF THE BARN OWL.] + +Its relation, the Long-eared Owl, is a bird of different habits, and, +instead of breeding on the ground as the foregoing species does, +it selects a dark wood or clump of firs, appropriating a deserted +Squirrel’s “dray,” or adapting the nest of another bird to its own +requirements. Macgillivray gives the following account of a young +specimen which he had in confinement:--“An individual of this species, +which was sent to me in winter by the Rev. Mr. Adam, having been left +at night perched on the back of a chair in my drawing-room, tore to +tatters six valuable skins of birds from the Rocky Mountains, and an +equal number of nearly equally rare specimens from India. A young bird +which I kept for some time, on perching, stood at first with the body +inclined, afterwards nearly erect, and slept in the latter posture, +with its neck rather extended, its feathers drawn close, and its tufts +recumbent. When irritated, it raised its plumage, threw its body +forward, and uttered a sharp cry. It seized its food with its bill; if +large, transferred it to one of its feet, but if otherwise, retained +it in its bill. In flying, it carried a small object in its bill, but +a larger in its foot. It could close one eye while the other remained +open, and when placed in a strong light, frequently drew the membrane +over the lighted eye, while the other remained unsheathed, though for +the most part it winked with both simultaneously. The irides contracted +unequally, according to the degree of light. When perched at night, it +sometimes emitted a clicking noise, like that of a spring, with its +bill; but when provoked, it neither hissed nor snapped, but uttered +a shrill, tremulous, plaintive cry, or succession of short notes, +erecting its tufts at the same time.” + + +THE BARN OWL (_Strix[228] flammea_[229]). + +This is essentially the friend of man, frequenting villages and +homesteads where he is protected, and extending his range where +civilisation precedes him, being attracted doubtless by the Mice and +Rats, which are also the accompaniments of civilisation. The number +of small mammals which one of these birds will devour ought to be his +passport to the protecting care of the farmer and agriculturist, but +it is seldom that an Owl of any kind meets with approval on taking up +his residence on an estate. Facts, however, are stubborn things, and in +the hope that a more generous reception may be afforded to these useful +birds, the following quotation is made from Professor Newton:--“Owls, +like other birds of prey, as already mentioned, return by the mouth +the indigestible parts of the food swallowed in the form of elongated +pellets. These are found in considerable numbers about the usual haunts +of the birds, and examination of them reveals the nature of the food, +and shows in nearly every case the great services they render to man +by the destruction of Rats and Mice.”[230] The infallibility of the +evidence thus afforded as to the food of the Owls is as complete as +the way of obtaining it, by those who have the opportunity, is simple. +Several German naturalists have made some very precise researches on +this subject. The following results, with regard to the three commonest +species of Owls, are those afforded by the investigations of Dr. Altam, +as communicated by him to the German Ornithologists’ Society during its +meeting in 1862:-- + + +--------------+-----------------------------------------------------+ + | | REMAINS FOUND. | + | +---------+----+----+-----+-----+------+----+----+----+ + | | | | | | | | | | B | + | | | | | | | S | | | e | + | |No. of | | | | V | h | M | B | e | + | |Pellets | B | R | M | o | r | o | i | t | + | |examined.| a | a | i | l | e | l | r | l | + | | | t | t | c | e | w | e | d | e | + | | | s. | s. | e. | s. | s. | s. | s. | s. | + +--------------+---------+----+----+-----+-----+------+----+----+----+ + |Tawny Owl | 210 | -- | 6 | 42 | 296 | 33 | 48 | 18 | 48 | + |Long-eared Owl| 25 | -- | -- | 6 | 35 | -- | -- | 2 | -- | + |Barn Owl | 706 | 16 | 3 | 237 | 693 |1,590 | -- | 22 | -- | + +--------------+---------+----+----+-----+-----+------+----+----+----+ + +Colonel Irby, in the work which has already been alluded to, says of +the Barn Owl:--“Almost exclusively feeding on Rats and Mice, they +deserve every encouragement and support that can be afforded them; +but from being in all countries regarded with superstitious awe and +dislike, they are more or less persecuted on that account; and in +England, through the ignorance and stupidity of gamekeepers, who +fancy that they kill game (_i.e._, feathered game), they suffer most +severely. This excuse is ridiculous, for old birds they have not the +power to kill, and young Pheasants and Partridges, at the time the Owls +are on the feed, are safely being brooded by the parent bird.” Those +who wish to encourage and increase Owls, and have not hollow trees or +buildings where they nest, may always gratify their wishes by fixing +an empty barrel (about an 18-gallon size) horizontally in the fork of +any large tree, cutting a hole in one end large enough for the birds +to enter; but the hoops of the cask should be screwed on, or it will +soon fall to pieces. Not only the Barn Owl, but the Tawny Owl (_Syrnium +aluco_) also will use barrels, or “Owl-tubs.” The difficulty, however, +is to keep out the Jackdaws, but when once the Owls have established +themselves, there is no fear of that intrusion. The late Mr. Waterton +was a well-known admirer of the present species, and he devotes one +of his “Essays on Natural History” to the Barn Owl, from which a few +passages are extracted:--“Up to the year 1813 the Barn Owl had a sad +time of it at Walton Hall. Its supposed mournful notes alarmed the +aged housekeeper. She knew full well what sorrow it had brought into +other houses when she was a young woman, and there was enough of +mischief in the midnight wintry blast, without having it increased +by the dismal screams of something which people knew very little +about, and which everybody said was far too busy in the churchyard at +night-time. Nay, it was a well-known fact, that if any person were sick +in the neighbourhood it would be for ever looking in at the window, +and holding a conversation outside with somebody, they did not know +whom. The gamekeeper agreed with her in everything she said on this +important subject, and he always stood better in her books when he had +managed to shoot a bird of this bad and mischievous family. However, in +1813, on my return from the wilds of Guiana, having suffered myself, +and learned mercy, I broke in pieces the code of penal laws which the +knavery of the gamekeeper and the lamentable ignorance of the other +servants had hitherto put in force, far too successfully, to thin the +numbers of this poor, harmless, unsuspecting tribe. On the ruin of the +old gateway, against which tradition says the waves of the lake have +dashed for the greater part of a thousand years, I made a place with +stone and mortar, about four feet square, and fixed a thick oaken stick +firmly into it. Huge masses of ivy now quite cover it. In about a month +or so after it was finished a pair of Barn Owls came and took up their +abode in it. I threatened to strangle the keeper if ever, after this, +he molested either the old birds or their young ones; and I assured the +housekeeper that I would take upon myself the whole responsibility of +all the sickness, woe, and sorrow that the new tenants might bring to +the Hall. She made a low courtesy, as much as to say, ‘Sir, I fall into +your will and pleasure,’ but I saw in her eye that she had made up her +mind to have to do with things of fearful and portentous shape, and to +hear many a midnight wailing in the neighbouring woods. I do not think +that up to the day of this old lady’s death, which took place in her +eighty-fourth year, she ever looked with pleasure or contentment on the +Barn Owl, as it flew round the large sycamore trees which grow near the +ruined gateway. + +“When I found that this first settlement on the gateway had succeeded +so well, I set about forming other establishments. This year I have had +four broods, and I trust that next season I can calculate on having +nine. This will be a pretty increase, and it will help to supply the +place of those which in this neighbourhood are still unfortunately +doomed to death by the hand of cruelty or superstition. We can now +always have a peep at the Owls in their habitation on the old ruined +gateway whenever we choose. Confident of protection, these pretty birds +betray no fear when the stranger mounts up to their place of abode. +I would here venture a surmise that the Barn Owl sleeps standing. +Whenever we go to look at it we invariably see it upon the perch, bolt +upright, and often with its eyes closed, apparently fast asleep. Buffon +and Bewick err, no doubt unintentionally, when they say that the Barn +Owl snores during its repose. What they took for snoring was the cry of +the young birds for food. I had fully satisfied myself on this score +some years ago. However, in December, 1823, I was much astonished to +hear this same snoring kind of noise, which had been so common in the +month of July. On ascending the ruin, I found a brood of young Owls in +the apartment. + +[Illustration: BREAST-BONE OF THE BARN OWL.] + +“Upon this ruin is placed a perch, about a foot from the hole at which +the Owls enter. Sometimes, at mid-day, when the weather is gloomy, you +may see an Owl upon it, apparently enjoying the refreshing diurnal +breeze. This year (1831) a pair of Barn Owls hatched their young, on +the 7th of September, in a sycamore tree, near the old ruined gateway. + +“If this useful bird caught its food by day, instead of hunting for it +by night, mankind would have ocular demonstration of its utility in +thinning the country of Mice; and it would be protected and encouraged +everywhere. It would be with us what the Ibis was to the Egyptians. +When it has young, it will bring a Mouse to the nest about every twelve +or fifteen minutes. But in order to have a proper idea of the enormous +quantity of Mice which this bird destroys, we must examine the pellets +which it ejects from its stomach in the place of its retreat. Every +pellet contains from four to seven skeletons of Mice. In sixteen months +from the time that the apartment of the Owl on the old gateway was +cleaned out, there has been a deposit of above a bushel of pellets. The +Barn Owl sometimes carries off Rats. One evening I was sitting under a +shed, and killed a very large Rat as it was coming out of a hole about +ten yards from where I was watching it. I did not go to take it up, +hoping to get another shot. As it lay there, a Barn Owl pounced upon +it, and flew away with it. This bird has been known to catch fish. +Some years ago, on a fine evening in the month of July, long before it +was dark, as I was standing on the middle of the bridge, and minuting +the Owl by my watch as she brought Mice into her nest, all on a sudden +she dropped perpendicularly into the water. Thinking she had fallen +down in epilepsy, my first thoughts were to go and fetch the boat; but +before I had well got to the end of the bridge, I saw the Owl rise out +of the water with a fish in her claws, and take it to the nest. When +farmers complain that the Barn Owl destroys the eggs of their Pigeons, +they lay the saddle on the wrong horse; they ought to put it on the +Rat. Formerly, I could get very few young Pigeons, till the Rats were +excluded effectually from the dovecot. Since that took place it has +produced a great abundance every year, though the Barn Owls frequent +it, and are encouraged all around it. The Barn Owl merely resorts to +it for the purpose of concealment. If it were really an enemy to the +dovecot, we should see the Pigeons in commotion as soon as it begins +its evening flight; but the Pigeons heed it not. Whereas, if the +Sparrow-Hawk or Hobby should make its appearance, the whole community +would be up at once; proof sufficient that the Barn Owl is not looked +upon as a bad, or even a suspicious character, by the inhabitants of +the dovecot.” + +The colour of the Barn Owl, which is a bright orange buff, mottled +with ashy-grey on the upper surface, and white below, distinguishes +it from any other Owl. The oval form of the disc is also to a great +extent peculiar, as is also the serrated edge to the middle claw, which +has been referred to before (p. 300). The breast bone is likewise +remarkable, as it has no clefts in the hinder margin. + +The range of the present species is very considerable, as it is found +all over the New World, from the northern and middle United States +down to Patagonia and the Falkland Islands. In the Old World it occurs +in equal plenty, but does not extend very high north, being a rare +visitant to Denmark and Sweden. Although common in Poland, it is +only sparingly distributed throughout Russia, and even appears to be +entirely absent in many Central and Southern parts. The same may be +said of Turkey. It is not known at present from Siberia or China, but +is found throughout Africa, India, Australia, and the majority of the +Oceanic Islands. Nearly all Owls have two distinct phases of plumage--a +grey one, and a red one. This is especially the case in the little +Scops Owls, which have tufts of feathers on the head like the Eagle +Owls, of which they may be said to be representations in miniature. +The Barn Owls are no exception to this general rule of the family; but +owing to the light colouring of the bird, it is not so perceptible +as in some of the other species of Owls. Even in England, however, a +short study of the species will show the student that some individuals +are much redder underneath, instead of being white, and are profusely +freckled with grey above; and this dark coloration does not depend upon +the age of the bird, nor is it a difference of sex. In some islands, +such as the Cape Verde group, San Domingo in the West Indies, the +Falkland Islands, and the Galapagos, the Barn Owls are almost always +dark-coloured, and light ones are very seldom found. On the other +hand, in Australia and Oceania the species becomes peculiarly light in +plumage, and dark individuals are the exception. + + + + +THE SECOND ORDER.--PICARIAN BIRDS (_Picariæ_).[231] + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE PARROTS. + + Characteristics of the Order--The Sub-orders--ZYGODACTYLÆ--THE + PARROTS--Their Talking Powers--Sections of the Family--THE + GREAT PALM COCKATOO--THE PYGMY PARROTS--THE AMAZON PARROTS--THE + AMAZONS--THE GREY PARROT--Court Favourites--Historical Specimens--In + a state of Nature--Mr. Keulemans’ Observations--THE CONURES--THE + ROSE-RINGED PARRAKEET--Known to the Ancients--Habitat--Habits--THE + CAROLINA CONURE--Destructive Propensities--THE PARRAKEETS--THE + OWL PARROT--Chiefly Nocturnal--Incapable of Flight--How this Fact + may be accounted for--Dr. Haast’s Account of its Habits--THE + STRAIGHT-BILLED PARROTS--THE BRUSH-TONGUED PARROTS--THE NESTORS--THE + KAKA PARROT--Skull of a Parrot--The Bill. + +The birds which are contained in this order are of very different +forms, but they possess one character which, although an osteological +one, is found throughout nearly the whole group, and that is, the +double notch in the hinder margin of the sternum or breast bone. +In all the true _Passeres_, or perching birds, only a single notch +is observed. The hind toe, which in the true perching birds is an +essential character, and is separately movable, possessing its own +distinct flexor muscle, is in the Picarians not of so much account, its +flexor muscle being joined to the common flexor of all the toes; it is +sometimes absent altogether. If the Parrots have certain characters +in common with the _Accipitres_, the Cuckoos and the Plantain-eaters +undoubtedly show affinity to the Game-birds, while most of the other +families have peculiar structures which render them quite distinct +from the ordinary mass of true perching birds or Passeres. It may be +remarked that the eggs of most of the _Picariæ_, so far as we are +acquainted with them, are glossy white, and that the majority of them +breed in the holes of trees or of rocks, and that they are as a rule +bad nest-builders. The greatest exception to the above description of +the nesting of these birds is met with in the family of Goatsuckers +(_Caprimulgidæ_), some of whom lay their eggs on the ground, the eggs +being beautifully marbled with streaks and spots. + +[Illustration: COCKATOOS.] + +Within this great Picarian order there are two large sub-orders, called +respectively the Scansorial and the Fissirostral[232] _Picariæ_. The +Scansorial birds are also sometimes known as the Zygodactylæ,[233] or +yoke-footed birds, because they have their toes arranged in pairs, +two in front and two behind, and their name of Scansores is given to +them because most of them are climbing birds, and run up trees and +rocks with great facility, though in different ways. Parrots, for +instance, use their bills in climbing from branch to branch, while +Woodpeckers have very powerful feet and stiffened tail-feathers, +which support them as they cling to the bark of the trees, the bill +being chiefly employed to prise off the bark in order to get at the +insects underneath. Cuckoos do not climb trees in the same manner as +the Woodpeckers, though they have true zygodactyle feet: the present +writer has, however, seen a common Cuckoo (_Cuculus canorus_) cling +with both feet to the trunk of a huge elm while it picked off insects +from the bark. It must not be supposed, however, that the above are the +only birds which climb trees, for among the true Passeres, or perching +birds, there occur such birds as the _Dendrocolaptidæ_ in South +America, who have stiffened tails exactly as the Woodpeckers, while +the Tree-creepers are just as expert as the last-named birds, and yet +cannot be placed in the same order as the Scansorial (_Picariæ_), for +they possess a simple passerine foot, with three toes in front and one +behind. + +The Fissirostres, or wide-gaping birds, are also called Gressorial +Picariæ, as their toes are more or less connected together, which gives +them a very flat sole to the foot. They generally hunt for their food +from some selected spot, ordinarily a post or a dead bough, whence +they take flights after their prey, usually returning to the same spot +to devour it. Their flight is active and swift, their gape extremely +large, and the head correspondingly big, and in many instances clumsy +and ungainly. The feet are generally small and weak. + + +SUB-ORDER I.--ZYGODACTYLÆ. + + +FAMILY I.--THE PARROTS (_Psittaci_). + +Just as the Monkeys have been placed at the head of the Mammalia on +account of their high development, so the Parrots, from their general +cleverness, and especially on account of the facility with which +they can talk, have been considered the highest order of birds, and +placed at the beginning of the class. It is impossible for some people +to avoid the conclusion that these birds think and reason, and the +_à propos_ or sometimes _mal à propos_ way in which they introduce +speeches, coupled with the look of wisdom which they assume while being +spoken to, seems to show that the brain is being employed in thinking. +A friend in Manchester told the writer of a parrot-show in the North of +England, where the talking powers of each bird were made the subject +of a prize competition. Several of the birds had exhibited their +prowess, and at last the cover was removed from the cage of a Grey +Parrot, who at once exclaimed, on seeing the company to which he was +suddenly introduced, “By Jove! what a lot of Parrots!” an observation +which gained him the prize at once. Instances of famous talking birds +might be multiplied by the hundred, and it is wonderful to read some +of the stories which have been related of Parrots, whose fame has been +recorded in many popular works, leaving no doubt that these birds often +possess the power of reason of a very high order; at the same time, +it must be confessed that many of the Corvine birds, such as Ravens, +Jackdaws, and Magpies, do not fall far short of their Scansorial +friends. + +The Parrots are divided into two large sections, firstly the Parrots +proper (_Psittaci proprii_), and secondly the straight-billed Parrots +(_Psittaci orthognathi_[234]). These two sections together contain six +families, of which five belong to the first and one to the second. The +true Parrots have a powerful and swollen bill, especially as regards +the lower mandible, which is much inflated, curved, and flattened in +front, the cutting edges (_tomium_) indented just behind their tip. The +sub-family which has to be noticed first are the _Camptolophinæ_[235] +or Cockatoos, which are birds entirely of the Australian region, being +confined to Australia and the Molucca Islands. The bill is higher +than it is broad, with a very distinct indentation of each side of +the cutting edge of the mandible, the tip of the bill short, rather +strong and perpendicular, the head crested in all except the Pygmy +Parrots (_Nasiterna_). This family contains at once the largest and the +smallest of the Parrots. + + +THE GREAT PALM COCKATOO (_Microglossus[236] aterrimus_[237]). + +This is one of the most powerful of all the Parrot tribe, measuring +about twenty-four inches in length, and having a bill of unusual +thickness and power. Its black plumage also renders it a conspicuous +species, the only relief to this sombre colouring being the greyish +crest and the dull crimson cheeks. Its home is New Guinea, but it +is also found in the Cape York Peninsula in Australia, where it was +discovered by John Macgillivray during the voyage of the _Rattlesnake_. +He writes as follows respecting it:--“This very fine bird, which is +not uncommon in the vicinity of Cape York, was usually found in the +densest scrub among the tops of the tallest trees, but was occasionally +seen in the open forest land perched on the largest of the _Eucalypti_, +apparently resting on its passage from one belt of trees or patch of +scrub to another. Like the Black Cockatoos, or _Calyptorhynchi_, it +flies slowly and usually but a short distance. In November, 1849, the +period of our last visit to Cape York, it was always found in pairs, +very shy, and difficult of approach. Its cry is merely a low short +whistle of a single note, which may be represented by the letters +‘_Hweet-Hweet_.’ The stomach of the first one killed contained a few +small pieces of quartz and triturated fragments of palm-cabbage, with +which the crop of another specimen was completely filled; and the idea +immediately suggests itself, that the powerful bill of this bird is a +most fitting instrument for stripping off the leaves near the summits +of the _Seaforthia elegans_ and other palms to enable it to arrive at +the central tender shoot.” + + +THE PYGMY PARROTS (_Nasiternæ_). + +These Parrots are represented by seven little manikins which are +found in New Guinea and the adjacent islands, each particular island +possessing its own peculiar species. Not one of these little birds +exceeds a Sparrow in size, the largest being a little over three inches +and a half in length. Owing to their small size and the resemblance of +the green colouring to the forests they inhabit, they are not easily +seen, and until recent years were very hard to procure. In the island +of Mafoor in the Bay of Geelvink, N.W., New Guinea, Baron von Rosenberg +says that he found it common near Roemsaro, and several specimens, both +alive and dead, were brought to him by the natives. They bred there in +January and February, nesting in hollow trees and laying two eggs, the +size of those of the English Bottle Titmouse. Their food consists of +fruit. + + +THE AMAZON PARROTS (_Androglossinæ_).[238] + +This, the second sub-family, consists of the true Parrots, of which +the ordinary Grey Parrot (_Psittacus erythacus_) is the type. It also +includes all the Green Parrots of America, which are called Amazons, +as well as the Lories (_Eclectus_) and Love-birds (_Agapornis_). The +head is moderately smooth, without any highly-developed crest, as in +the Cockatoos, and the tail is short, or of only moderate length. The +tail-feathers are generally broad and obtuse, in a few widening at the +tip, or sharp at the end. In the genus _Prioniturus_, which inhabits +the Philippine Islands, and some of the Moluccas, the two centre +feathers have the shafts produced, and ending in a small spatule, or +racket. + + +THE AMAZONS (_Chrysotis_).[239] + +[Illustration: AMAZON PARROT.] + +These Parrots are entirely American, and are the only birds of the +New World which can compete in talking powers with the African Grey +Parrots, who, however, far surpass their American relatives. About +thirty species of Amazon are known, all of them confined within the +limits of the Neotropical region, which comprises the whole of Central +and Southern America, south of an imaginary line drawn through Northern +Mexico. The West India islands are also included in this area, and +most of them are inhabited by a species of Amazon. The habits of +all these Parrots seem to be very similar, and a good account of +the Active Amazon of Jamaica (_Chrysotis agilis_) is given by Mr. +Gosse[240]:--“All the Parrots are gregarious, cunning, watchful, noisy, +mischievous; and thus are like the Monkeys. This and the Yellow-billed +Parrot [Mr. Gosse’s name for _C. agilis_ is the Black-billed Parrot] +are so much alike in manners and general appearance, that a description +of one applies nearly to the other. Flocks varying from half a dozen +to twenty or thirty fly hither and thither over the forest, screeching +as they go, and all alight together on some tree covered with berries. +Here they feast, but with caution. On a slight alarm one screams, +and the whole flock is on the wing, vociferous if not musical, and +brilliant if not beautiful, particularly when the sun shines on their +green backs and crimsoned wings. They generally prefer lofty trees, +except when, in June, the ripe yellow plantain tempts them to descend, +or when the blackberry shines upon the pimento. Of the latter the +flocks devour an immense quantity, and the former they destroy by +cutting it to pieces with their powerful beaks, to get at the small +seeds. One day in January, when the pimento on the brow of Bluefields +Mountain was about ready for picking, being full-sized, but yet green +and hard, I observed large flocks of Black-bills, and a few Parrakeets, +flying to and fro with voluble chatter, now alighting to feed on the +hot, aromatic berry, now flying off, and wheeling round to the same +neighbourhood again. They were not at all shy, but, with unusual +carelessness of one’s proximity, scarcely moved at the report of the +gun which brought their companions to the ground. Of two which I shot +on this occasion, I found the craws stuffed with the cotyledons of the +seed alone, the most pungently aromatic part of the berry; the fleshy +part having been, as I presume, shorn off by the beak and rejected. +When alighted, as is often the case, on a dry branch, their emerald hue +is conspicuous, and affords a fair mark for the gunner; but in a tree +of full foliage, their colour proves an excellent concealment. They +seem aware of this, and their sagacity prompts them to rely on it for +security. Often we hear their voices proceeding from a certain tree, or +else have marked the descent of a flock upon it, but on proceeding to +the spot, though the eye has not wandered from it, and we are therefore +sure that they are there, we cannot discover an individual. We go +close to the tree, but all is silent, and still as death; we institute +a careful survey of every part with the eye, to detect the slightest +motion, or the form of a bird among the leaves, but in vain; we begin +to think that they have stolen off unperceived, but on throwing a +stone into the tree, a dozen throats burst forth into cry, and as many +green birds rush forth upon the wing. The screaming of this and the +following species differs from that of the Parrakeet, so far as to be +easily distinguished. That of the latter consists of a series of harsh +screeches, of comparative length; that of the Parrots is less shrill, +more broken into short and rapid articulations, forming a series of +varying length, separated by momentary pauses. It is, in fact, much +more like a hurried chattering.” + + +THE GREY PARROT (_Psittacus erythacus_). + +This familiar cage-bird is a native of Africa, and it would appear +to have been a favourite in England for a longer period than can be +traced. They were held in great estimation at the court of the “Merry +Monarch” Charles II., for his Queen Catharine of Braganza had a +parrot-keeper, at a salary of £36 per annum, while the maids of honour +received only £10 a year each, and the “mother of the maids” £20 per +annum. Therefore, the custodian of the Parrots was better paid by £16 +than the lady who held the very responsible post of care-taker of +the maids of honour.[241] A Grey Parrot which lived for forty years +with the Duchess of Richmond and Lennox, who died in 1702, and who +was a celebrated beauty at the court of Charles II., is preserved in +Westminster Abbey along with the effigy of that lady, having survived +its mistress only a few days. + +It is strange that for a bird which has so long been one of the chief +pets in Europe, so little is known of its habits in a wild state, +and at the present time not a single authentic egg of this species, +taken in its native haunts, is known to exist. Occasionally it lays in +confinement a white egg, like other Picarian birds, but it is probably +from the care with which the species selects its breeding-place +that it has been so difficult to find their nest and eggs. The only +naturalist who appears to have discovered the latter appears to be the +celebrated natural history artist, Mr. Keulemans, who spent nearly +two years in West Africa, and has written the best account of the +Grey Parrot in a state of nature,[242] as observed by him on Ilha +do Principe, or Prince’s Island, in the Bight of Biafra. Here it is +very common, and breeds in the month of December in the very thickest +forests. Only one pair breed in each tree, laying five eggs in a hole +thereof, but a large number nest in close proximity to each other, +many hundreds breeding in the same area, according to the above-named +author. Both parents take a share in the rearing of the young birds, +sitting by turns, the one who is thus relieved bringing food to its +mate and feeding it out of its crop, which method is also adopted in +the care of the young birds. The food of the Grey Parrot is stated to +consist of palm-nuts, the arocat (_Laurus persea_), the banana (_Musa +paradisea_), goyare, mango, and many other fruits of a smaller size; +but it always gives the preference to palm-nuts. On Prince’s Island, +writes Mr. Keulemans, there is “a very lofty mountain, reaching some +1,200 feet above the level of the sea, and called by the natives ‘Pico +de Papagaio,’ or Peak of the Parrots. On the slope of this mountain, +and extending far up its side, is a magnificent forest. The trees are +of great size and height, and their trunks and branches give support +to the lianas and other climbing plants, which hang about them in +luxurious folds. The density of the forest is so great that it is only +with the greatest difficulty and toil that the explorer can force his +way through it; while to the Parrots who come up there every night it +presents no obstacle, but gives them, under the shelter of its thick +foliage, a secure and pleasant resting-place.” + +Another observer in West Africa, Dr. Reichenow, found the Grey Parrot +breeding in West Africa in the low-lands along the streams and groves +of mangrove, and the great difficulty of traversing these swamps is, +according to him, the reason why their breeding habits are not better +known. They are very destructive to the crops of Indian corn, which +they visit in large flocks, wasting as much as they consume. They +proceed to roost in flocks, selecting the same route each night; and +Governor Ussher says that, whilst up the river Addo, near Lagos, he +has seen them crossing at sunset from their feeding-grounds to their +roosting-places, when they presented the appearance of one continuous +flock passing at a great distance overhead, their screams and +chattering being heard long after darkness has set in. They are said +by some travellers to be very good eating, but by others to be only +good for soup. + +[Illustration: GREAT MACAWS.] + +The Grey Parrot in his native haunts is an unsociable bird, and a +curious story is told by Dr. Dohrn, and confirmed by Mr. Keulemans, +respecting the species in Prince’s Island. As has already been stated, +the Parrots are extremely common there, but not a single Kite is met +with on the island. On the neighbouring island of St. Thomas there +is an abundance of Black Kites but not a single Parrot, between whom +and the Kites a constant warfare is waged, so that, should one of the +latter get driven over to Prince’s Island he is almost immediately set +upon by the Parrots and slaughtered; and the compliment is returned if +a Parrot is so unfortunate as to land uninvited on St. Thomas’s. On +the coast the chief enemy of the Parrots is the Vulturine Sea-Eagle +(_Gypohierax angolensis_). + +[Illustration: GREY PARROT.] + +The colouring of the Grey Parrot is simple, being of a clear +bluish-grey, with a red tail. About the face the skin is white, and +covered with a soft, velvety feathering, amongst which there is a +plentiful supply of white powder, as any one knows who scratches the +head of “Polly.” This powder is present in most of the family, but not +to the same degree as in the grey species. The young bird in the nest +is stated to have the tail dark-grey instead of red, and it is more of +a brownish-grey colour, not so clear as in the old bird, while the iris +is grey instead of yellow. + +The CONURES (_Conurinæ_) are the third sub-family of Parrots, +and are represented largely in America, only one genus, _Palæornis_, +being found in India and Africa. They have the head devoid of a crest, +with a very long graduated tail, and short and weak tarsi. Amongst the +best-known species of this sub-family may be mentioned the Great Macaw. + + +THE ROSE-RINGED PARRAKEET (_Palæornis torquatus_). + +[Illustration: ROSE-RINGED PARRAKEET.] + +This Parrot is probably the species of which we have the earliest known +record, as Onesicritus, who was admiral of the fleet of Alexander +the Great, is said to have brought from Ceylon a specimen of a green +Parrot with a red neck. Many authors have supposed that the large +Alexandrine Parrakeet (_Palæornis eupatrius_, or _Alexandri_) was the +species referred to, but the habitat of this bird is now known to be +the island of Java, and the Rose-ringed Parrakeet is more probably the +bird intended. Professor Sundevall, the great authority on Aristotle, +believes that the present bird was the only Parrot known to the +ancients, being brought into Europe probably from Nubia. Other species +were not seen in Europe before the end of the Middle Ages, and the +West African species, such as the Senegal Parrot (_P. senegalus_), in +1455, and the Grey Parrot even later; the latter not being described +before Aldrovandus, about the year 1600. American species were brought +already in 1493 by Christopher Columbus, and many Indian species after +the circumnavigation of Africa about the year 1500. The present bird is +common in India and Ceylon, and is, moreover, one of the few species +of birds which are common to the Indian Peninsula and the continent of +Africa, as it is a well-known bird in Nubia and Abyssinia, and on one +occasion a flock has been seen in the neighbourhood of Port Elizabeth +in the extreme south of the continent. According to Dr. Jerdon, it +is one of the most common and familiar birds in India, frequenting +cultivated ground and gardens, even in the barest and least wooded +parts of the country, and it is habitually found about towns and +villages, constantly perching on the house-top. It is very destructive +to most kinds of grain, as well as to fruit-gardens. Burgess says +that they carry off the ears of corn to trees to devour at leisure, +and Jerdon has observed the same sometimes. When the grains are cut +and housed it feeds on the ground in the stubble cornfields, also in +meadows, picking up what seeds it can; and now and then takes long +flights, hunting for any tree that may be in fruit, skimming close and +examining every tree; and when it has made a discovery of one in fruit, +circling round, and sailing with outspread and down-pointing wings +till it alights on the tree. It associates in flocks of various size, +sometimes in vast numbers, and generally many hundreds roost together +in some garden or grove. At Saugor all the Parrakeets, Mynahs, Crows, +Bee-eaters, &c., of the neighbourhood, for some miles around, roost +in company in a large grove of bamboos; and the deafening noise heard +there from before sunset till dark, and from the first dawn of day +till long after sunrise, gives to the listener the idea of numberless +noisy steam machines at work. Many of the flocks of Parrots are very +late in returning, and fly along quite low, skimming the ground, and +just rising over a tree, house, or any obstacle in the way, and, for +several nights in succession, several Parrakeets flew against the wall +of a house, on the top of a hill in Saugor, and were killed. The +Rose-ringed Parrakeet breeds both in holes in trees, and very commonly +in the south of India about houses, in holes in old buildings, pagodas, +tombs, &c. It lays four white eggs. Its breeding season is from January +to March. Adams states that he has seen this Parrakeet pillage the +nests of the Sand Martin; but with what intent he does not guess at. +Its ordinary flight is rapid, with repeated strokes of the wings, +somewhat wavy laterally, or arrowy. It has a harsh cry, which it always +repeats when in flight, as well as at other times. Mr. Philipps remarks +that the Kite will sometimes swoop down on them when perched on a tree, +and carry one off in its talons; also that Owls attack these birds by +night.[243] + +The length of this species is about sixteen inches and a half. It is +green with a black band extending from under the chin backwards nearly +to the nape, and having a rose-coloured collar round the hind neck. The +bill is cherry-red, the feet greyish, and the iris pale yellow. The +female does not possess the rose-coloured collar, but has instead a +narrower one of emerald green. + + +THE CAROLINA CONURE (_Conurus carolinensis_). + +The Conures are inhabitants of the New World, and are very abundant +in South America, but one species, the Carolina Conure, penetrating +into the Nearctic region above the line of North Mexico. It is a very +handsome bird, but is rapidly decreasing in numbers, and becoming +restricted in its range, so much so, that in places where it was once +plentiful it is now no longer to be found at all. Even in 1842, when +Audubon wrote, they were then fast diminishing, and are now confined +to the Southern and South-western States, as far west as the Missouri +river. The food of the Carolina Conure is stated to consist chiefly +of the seeds of the Cockle-burr (_Xanthirum strumarium_), but it is +also very partial to fruit of all kinds, and it is owing to the way in +which it has been shot down that it is now so rare, for Mr. Audubon +describes the immense damage done by a flock of Conures to stacks of +grain, which they covered in such numbers that they presented to the +eye the same effect as if a brilliant-coloured carpet had been thrown +over them. The farmers resented the attacks on their property to such +an extent that the same naturalist states that he has seen hundreds +killed in the course of a few hours, the survivors, after each shot, +flying round for a few minutes, and then settling again in a place of +most imminent danger. Even in confinement the birds seem to develop +their destructive propensities, destroying wood, books, and, in short, +everything that comes in their way, while from their incapability of +talk, and their harsh, disagreeable voices, they are not much esteemed +as pets. As Audubon observes, the woods are the habitation best fitted +for them, and there the richness of their plumage, their beautiful +mode of flight, and even their screams, afford welcome intimation that +the darkest forests and most sequestered swamps are not destitute +of charms. According to the same observer, they deposit their eggs, +without making a nest, in the bottoms of such cavities in trees as +those to which they usually retire at night. Many females deposit their +eggs together, and he believed that the number laid by each hen bird +was two; the eggs were greenish-white, and nearly round, and the young +are at first covered with soft down, such as is seen in nestling Owls. +The colour of this Parrot is green, the head and neck bright-yellow, +and the forehead and region of the eye scarlet; the bill is white, the +feet pale flesh-colour, and the iris hazel; the length of the bird +being about fourteen inches. The female is like the male, but the young +bird has the head green instead of yellow. + + +THE PARRAKEETS (_Platycercinæ_). + +These form the fourth sub-family, and are remarkable for their slender, +smooth tarsus, which is formed as in most birds; and the voice is +more agreeable than in the other genera, the members of which, almost +without exception, have a harsh and unpleasant cry. They are mostly +inhabitants of Australia, whence come several of them well known as +cage-birds, such as the King Parrakeet (_Platycercus scapulatus_), the +Rosella, or Rose Parrakeet (_P. eximius_), and in America they are +represented by the single genus _Bolborhynchus_. + +[Illustration: ROSELLA.] + + +THE OWL PARROT (_Strigops_[244] _habroptilus_[245]). + +The genus _Strigops_ is the sole representative of the fifth +sub-family, the _Strigopinæ_. It is one of the most remarkable of all +the Parrots, and is met with only in New Zealand. The face shows a disc +exactly as in the Owls, whence the name, and the wing is very short, +convex, and rounded. In its habits this bird is chiefly nocturnal, but +not entirely so; the most remarkable fact connected with it being, +perhaps, its unwillingness to fly. Thus Dr. Buller, F.R.S., in his +excellent work on the “Birds of New Zealand,” writes:--“All who have +studied the bird in its natural state agree on this point, that the +wings, although sufficiently large and strong, are perfectly useless +for purposes of flight, and that the bird merely spreads them to +break the force of its fall in descending from a higher point to a +lower, when suddenly surprised; in some instances even this use of +them is neglected, the bird falling to the ground like a stone. We +are naturally led to ask how it is that a bird possessing large and +well-formed wings should be found utterly incapable of flight. On +removing the skin from the body it is seen that the muscles by means +of which the movements of these anterior limbs are regulated are very +well developed, but are largely overlaid with fat. The bird is known to +be a ground-feeder, with a voracious appetite, and to subsist chiefly +on vegetable mosses, which, possessing but little nutriment, require +to be eaten in large quantities; and Dr. Haast informs us that he has +sometimes seen them with their crops so distended and heavy, that the +birds were scarcely able to move. These mosses cover the ground and the +roots or trunks of prostrate trees, requiring to be sought for on foot; +and the bird’s habit of feeding at night, in a country where there are +no indigenous predatory quadrupeds, would render flight a superfluous +exertion, and a faculty of no especial advantage in the struggle for +existence. Thus it may be reasonably inferred that _disuse_, under the +usual operations of the laws of nature, has occasioned this disability +of wing; for there is no physiological reason why the Kakapo should not +be as good a flier as any other Parrot.” + +[Illustration: OWL PARROT. (_After Keulemans_)] + +The Kakapo, as it is called in New Zealand, meaning a “Night Parrot,” +is becoming rarer every year, as the places which it affects become +more and more accessible to the colonists. From the long accounts +of its habits given in Dr. Buller’s work, the following note of Dr. +Haast is selected, as it gives a good idea of the habits of this +singular species:--“So little is known of this solitary inhabitant +of our primæval forests, that the following short narrative of +observations, which I was fortunate enough to make during my recent +West Coast journey, may interest you. Although I was travelling almost +continuously for several years in the interior of these islands, it was +only during my last journey that I was enabled to study its natural +history. I was well acquainted with its call, and had often observed +its tracks in the sands of the river-beds and in the fresh-fallen snow, +but I had not actually seen it. The principal reason for this was, that +formerly I had no dog with me; and consequently it would only be by the +greatest accident that this bird, not at all rare in those untrodden +regions, could be obtained. The true habitat of the Kakapo is the mossy +_Fagus_ forest, near mountain streams, with occasional grassy plots; +but it also lives both on the hill-sides, amongst enormous blocks of +rock, mostly overgrown with roots of trees and a deep covering of moss, +and on wooded flats along the banks of the larger rivers, liable to be +inundated by heavy rainfalls or by the sudden melting of the snow.... +It is a striking fact, that--with the exception only of the valley of +the river Makarora, forming Lake Wanaka--I never found the Kakapo on +the eastern side of the Alps, although extensive _Fagus_ forests exist +there also. It appears to have crossed the main chain at the low wooded +pass which leads from the source of the Haast to that of the Makarora, +and reached the mouth of this river at Lake Wanaka, where probably +the absence of forest put a stop to its farther advance. It is very +abundant in the valley of the last-mentioned river, and is found even +in the Makarora bush, notwithstanding that numerous sawyers are at work +there. When camped on the borders of that forest we continually heard +its call near our tents; but none of the sawyers had any idea of the +existence of such a large bird in their neighbourhood, although the +irregular shrill call had sometimes attracted their attention. It also +occurs in the valley of the Wilkin, but is less numerous there, which +may be accounted for by the existence of wild dogs in this locality. We +may therefore safely assume that from the junction of this river with +the Makarora the Kakapo ascended toward the sources of the former. In +the valley of the Hunter, only divided by a mountain-range of great +altitude but with some low saddles, no sign of it was to be observed, +although large _Fagus_ forests would appear to offer a propitious +abode. This bird has hitherto been pronounced to be of true nocturnal +habits; but I think, from observations I was able to make, that this +opinion ought to be somewhat modified. It is true that generally an +hour after sunset, the dense foliage of the forest giving additional +darkness to the country, its call began to be heard all around us. +It then commenced to rove about, and, attracted by the glare of our +camp-fire, frequently came close to our tent, when the heedless bird +was immediately caught by our dog. But as we met with it on two +occasions in the daytime, occupied in feeding, and as I observed that +it knew and understood perfectly well the danger which approached, we +may assume that it has, at least in this respect, some relation to +diurnal birds. In order to show why I come to this conclusion, I will +particularise the two occurrences I have mentioned, as they appear +to bear directly upon some other important points in the structure +of this bird. When returning from the West Coast, we observed in the +afternoon (the sky being clouded) a Kakapo sitting on the prostrate +trunk of a tree in the open forest. When about ten yards from it, the +bird observed us, and disappeared instantly in its hole, whence, with +the aid of the dog, we afterwards took it. It is clear that in this +case the bird was not overtaken by the coming day when far from its +abode, but that it left its retreat voluntarily during daylight. The +second instance I shall mention is more striking, and shows that the +Kakapo feeds also during the day. It was towards evening, but still +broad daylight, when we passed along the hill-side near a deep rocky +gorge, and saw a large Kakapo sitting on a low fuchsia-tree, about ten +feet from the ground, feeding on the berries. When close to it, the +bird saw us, and instantly dropped down as if shot, and disappeared +amongst the huge fragments of rocks strewed along the hill-side. But +the most remarkable circumstance was, that the frightened bird did not +open its wings to break its fall, but dropped as if it did not possess +any wings at all. In order to see whether they would fly, or even +flutter, when pursued by an enemy, I placed on the ground a full-grown +specimen, which had been caught by the dog without being hurt. It was +on a large shingle-bed, so that the bird had ample room for running +or rising on the wing, if for this purpose it wanted space. I was not +a little astonished to observe that it only started running towards +the nearest point of the forest, where a dark shadow was apparent, and +it went quicker than I had anticipated, considering the position of +its toes and its clumsy figure, its gait resembling closely that of +a Gallinaceous bird in its movements. As I was standing sideways to +it, I thought that it kept its wings closed upon its body, so little +were they opened; but my companion, who was equally anxious to see +how our prisoner would try to escape, and who stood a little behind +it, observed that it opened its wings slightly, but without flapping +them in any degree, using them apparently more for keeping its balance +than for accelerating its movements. This would almost lead to the +conclusion that the Kakapo does not travel far, especially as I have +already shown that its whole structure is ill adapted for running. +But having myself frequently followed its tracks, and found them to +extend a great distance over the sandy reaches along the river, such +a conclusion as that suggested above would be erroneous. It must be +exceedingly fond of water, because in many localities its tracks were +observed for half a mile over shingle and sand to the banks of the +river; and I am unable to explain the curious fact, unless the object +be to mix river water with the enormous mass of pulpy vegetable matter +which is to be found in its crop. With the exception of two specimens, +the crops of which were filled with the large berries of a small-leaved +_Coriaria_, by which their flesh was flavoured, all the birds examined +by me had their crops widely distended by a mass of finely-comminuted +vegetable mosses, weighing many ounces. + +“I carefully examined the subterranean abode of this bird. From the +account given by the natives, I thought that it would be found living +in well-excavated holes, resembling in their construction those of +the Fox or Badger; that the entrance would be so small as to enable +only the inhabitants to enter, and thus to exclude larger animals from +persecuting it. This, however, is not the case; because, with one +exception, all the specimens obtained were either in fissures amongst +rocks, or in cavities formed by huge blocks tumbled one over another, +and overgrown with moss, or in holes formed by the roots of decayed +trees. The cavities in the rocks were generally sufficiently large +to allow of my dog, a good-sized Retriever, freely entering them. +The openings to the other holes were smaller, and it was sometimes +necessary to cut away a few roots at the entrance. Inside, the cavity +was invariably of very large size, because we could plainly hear the +dog advancing several yards before commencing his scuffle with the +occupant; and on returning with the bird in his mouth, he always +emerged head foremost, thus proving that the chamber was large enough +to enable him to turn himself round. Before he had become accustomed to +the work, the dog was often punished severely by the bird’s powerful +beak and claws; but he ultimately became quite an expert, always +seizing his prey by the head and crushing the skull. + +“The holes or abodes of the Kakapo were not only on the mountain sides, +but also on the flats near the river banks which are liable to be +overflowed. There can be no doubt that when a sudden inundation takes +place the bird can save itself upon a bush or neighbouring tree. I do +not think, however, that it can climb the boles of standing trees, +because it never resorted to them during the night or when persecuted +by the dog--except in one single case, when the bird ascended a leaning +tree close to our camp, and remained till the dog had given up the +attempt to obtain it. But, notwithstanding that almost all the abodes +that came under examination were natural cavities, I met with one hole +that seemed to have been regularly mined. On the northern bank of the +river Haast, just below the junction of the river Clarke, a large +flat occurs, formed by deposits of sand, over which a thin layer of +vegetable mould is spread, and on which a luxuriant vegetation has +sprung up. The river, in washing against these deposits, has in some +cases formed nearly perpendicular banks, about six to eight feet high. +At one spot, about two feet below the surface, several rounded holes +were observed, and the dog tried in vain to enter them. After carefully +scenting the ground, he began to scratch the surface with his paws, and +soon succeeded in widening the entrance sufficiently to admit his body, +and he immediately afterwards emerged with the bird in his mouth. There +is no doubt in my own mind that this hole at least had been excavated; +and the burrowing faculty of the bird may be considered so far +established. On a flat in the valley of the Makarora, the dog brought +one from the interior of a hollow drift-tree, which was lying amongst +sedges and grasses in an old river channel. There never was more than +one individual in the hole, although very often, within twenty or +thirty yards of it, another specimen would be scented out by the dog, +the two being generally of opposite sexes. At night-time, in visiting +our camp fire, they generally came in pairs, the two being successively +caught by my dog, a single or sometimes a repeated angry growl from +the bird informing us that he had hold of it. These circumstances lead +me to conclude that during the day each inhabits separately its own +hole, and that only after dark do they meet for feeding and for social +intercourse.” + +In size, the Owl Parrot is about twenty-six inches in length, and is of +a dark sap-green colour, varied and mottled with dark brown and yellow; +the face is lighter, being darker brown, the ear-coverts mixed with +yellow; the belly and under tail-coverts, as well as the wing-lining, +are rather brighter yellow than the rest of the under surface. The tint +of green varies a good deal: from light yellowish to dark sap-green. + + +THE STRAIGHT-BILLED PARROTS (_Psittaci orthognathi_).[246] + +In this second section of the Parrots only one family is known, all the +members of which are easily recognisable by their straightened bills, +the lower mandible being gently compressed, and not bulged out, with a +nearly straight tip, the cutting edges with scarcely any indentation. +With the exception of the Lorikeets (_Loriculus_), members of which +are found in India and the Indo-Malayan region, the whole family is +Australian, being confined to that continent and the adjacent Molucca +Islands, New Zealand, and the islands of Polynesia. + +[Illustration: LORIKEET.] + + +THE BRUSH-TONGUED PARROTS.[247] + +The Brush-tongued Lorikeets are all birds of very beautiful colouring, +and are mostly found in Australia, the Moluccas, some few species +extending through the Oceanic Islands. All seem to be very similar +in their habits, an account of which is given by Mr. Gould. He +says:--“This arboreal group of honey-eating Lorikeets, if not so +numerous in species as the seed-feeding Parrakeets, is individually as +abundant, and more universally dispersed, being found in every part +of Australia yet visited. In their structure, habits, food, and mode +of nidification, no two groups of the same family can be more widely +different than these forms: the pencilled tongue, the diminutive +stomach, thick skin, tough flesh, and fœtid odour of the _Trichoglossi_ +presenting a decided contrast to the simple tongue, capacious crop +and stomach, thin skin, delicate flesh, and freedom from odour of the +_Platycerci_; besides which, the _Trichoglossi_ possess a strong _os +furcatorium_, which bone is wanting in the _Platycerci_. Hence, while +the _Trichoglossi_ are powerful, swift, and arrow-like in their flight, +the _Platycerci_ are feeble, pass through the air in a succession of +undulations near the ground, and never fly to any great distance. +The mode in which the two groups approach, alight upon, and quit the +trees is also remarkably different--the _Trichoglossi_ dashing among +and alighting upon the branches simultaneously and with the utmost +rapidity, and quitting them in like manner, leaving the deafening +sound of their thousand voices echoing through the woods; while the +_Platycerci_ rise to the branch after their undulating flight, and +leave them again in a quiet manner, no sound being heard but their +inward piping note. The eggs of the _Trichoglossi_ are from two to four +in number; those of the others are more numerous.” + + +THE NESTORS (_Nestor_). + +These Parrots, which are only found in New Zealand, are generally +placed with the other Brush-tongued Parrots. “In all Parrots the fleshy +tongue ends anteriorly in a dilated portion, supported by a narrower +neck. This tip is much like the end of a human finger, as mentioned by +most observers; and its function is similar also, for it is employed +by the bird as a third prehensile organ in connection with the upper +and lower beak, any solid substance being held by the tongue and upper +beak, while the mandible is freed to give another bite. Continuing the +simile of the finger, the tip is directed forwards with the nail-like +portion downwards, the part corresponding to the free edge of the nail +appearing along the lower margin of the anterior rounded surface.[248] +In the _Trichoglossi_, this ‘nail,’ or horny plate, is stated to be +present; but on the superior surface of the tongue, between the lateral +edges of the unguis, or nail, there is an arrangement of retroverted +papillæ, forming a spinous covering, and their mechanism is such that +when the tongue is protruded beyond the mouth to grasp any object, +the papillæ stand upright, or are even directed somewhat forward. In +Nestor,” continues Professor Garrod, “there are no papillæ of this +description; but the tongue is here, as Dr. Buller says, ‘soft, rounded +on the edges, with a broad central groove,’ and it is as smooth as in +other Parrots. Therefore, the Kaka Parrot cannot in this point be said +to approach the _Trichoglossini_ (badly so called). The peculiarity of +the tongue of _Nestor_ consists in the fact that the interior edge of +the unguis, or nail, always free (though for a very short distance) +and jagged in the other birds of the class, is here prolonged forwards +beyond the tips of the tongue for about one-tenth of an inch, as a +delicate fringe of hairs with a crescentic contour. In the living bird +the mouth is moist, as in the Lories, and not, as in the Cockatoos and +others, dry and scaly.” + +[Illustration: TONGUE OF NESTOR. + +(_After Garrod._)] + +The members of the genus _Nestor_ are entirely confined to New Zealand, +the species of Philip Island (_Nestor productus_) being now extinct. +Their habits, like those of all New Zealand birds, are sufficiently +curious, one of them, known as the “Kea” (_N. notabilis_), actually +feeding on raw flesh, as is noticed by Dr. Buller:--“Those that +frequent the sheep stations appear to live almost exclusively on +flesh. They claim the sheep’s heads that are thrown out from the +slaughter-shed, and pick them perfectly clean, leaving nothing but +the bones.” An eye-witness described this operation to Dr. Hector as +follows:--“Perching itself on the sheep’s head or other offal, the bird +proceeds to tear off the skin and flesh, devouring it piecemeal, after +the manner of a Hawk; or at other times holding the object down with +one foot, and with the other grasping the portion it was eating, after +the ordinary fashion of Parrots.” Dr. Buller also mentions instances of +tame Parrots devouring their comrades in captivity; but the Kea is the +only Parrot known to eat flesh when flying wild. + + +THE KAKA PARROT (_Nestor meridionalis_). + +This Parrot is best described by the above-named ornithologist in the +work on the Birds of New Zealand, to which frequent reference has been +made in these pages:--“Sprightly in its actions, eminently social, and +more noisy than any other inhabitant of the woods, the Kaka holds a +prominent place among our native birds. Being semi-nocturnal in its +habits, it generally remains quiet and concealed during the heat of the +day. If, however, the sportsman should happen to find a stray one, and +to wound instead of killing it, its cries of distress will immediately +rouse the whole fraternity from their slumbers, and all the Kakas +within hearing will come to the rescue, and make the forest echo with +their discordant screams. Unless, however, disturbed by some exciting +cause of this sort, they remain in close cover till the approach of +the cooler hours. Then they come forth with noisy clamour, and may be +seen, far above the tree-tops, winging their way to some favourite +feeding-place; or they may be observed climbing up the rough vine-clad +boles of the trees, freely using their powerful mandibles, and assuming +every variety of attitude, or diligently tearing open the dead roots of +the close epiphytic vegetation in their eager search for insects and +their larvæ. In the spring and summer, when the woods are full of wild +blossom and berry, these birds have a prodigality of food, and may be +seen alternately filling their crops with a variety of juicy berries, +or sucking nectar from the crimson flowers of the rata (_Metrosideros +robusta_) by means of their brush-fringed tongues. With the earliest +streaks of dawn, and while the underwoods are still wrapped in +darkness, the wild cry of this bird breaks upon the ear with a strange +effect. It is the sound that wakes the weary traveller encamped in the +bush; and the announcement of his ever active Maori attendant--‘Kua +tangi te Kaka’--is an intimation that it is time to be active. But +although habitually recluse during the day, it is not always so. + +[Illustration: KAKA PARROT.] + +“During gloomy weather it is often very active; and sometimes even in +the bright sunshine a score of them may be seen together, flying and +circling about high above the tree-tops, uttering their loud screams, +and apparently bent on convivial amusement. When the shades of evening +bring a deeper gloom into the depths of the forest, and all sounds are +hushed, save the low hoot of the waking Morepork, or the occasional +_cheep-cheep_ of the startled Robin, the Kaka becomes more animated. +It may then be heard calling to its fellows in a harsh rasping note, +something like the syllables ‘_t-chrut, t-chrut_,’ or indulging in a +clear musical whistle with a short refrain. It is strictly arboreal +in its habits, and subsists to a large extent on insects and their +larvæ, so that it is probably one of our most useful species. Where +they exist in large numbers they must act very beneficially on the +timber forests; for in the domain of Nature important results are often +produced by apparently trivial agencies. Like all the honey-eaters, +while supplying their own wants, they do good service with their +brush tongues by fertilising the blossoms of various trees, and thus +assisting in their propagation; while, on the other hand, the diligent +search they prosecute for insects and grubs, and the countless numbers +daily consumed by each individual, must materially affect the economy +of the native woods. On this latter point Mr. Potts has furnished +the following valuable note:--‘Although so often accused of injuring +trees by stripping down the bark, from careful observation we do +not believe a flourishing tree is ever damaged by its beak. It is +the apparently vigorous, but really unsound, tree that is attacked, +already doomed by the presence of countless multitudes of insects of +many varieties, of which it is at once the food and refuge, either +in their perfect or larval state. In the persevering and laborious +pursuit of this favourite food, the Kaka doubtless lends his assistance +in hastening the fall of decaying trees; the loosened strips of bark +dissevered admit to the exposed wood rain and moisture collected from +dews and mists, to be dried by evaporation by the heat of the sun, +by the desiccating winds, only to become saturated again. Under this +alternation the insidious fungi take root, decay rapidly sets in, the +close-grained timber gives place to a soft spongy texture, branches +drop off, and gradually the once noble-looking tree succumbs to its +fate; but its gradual decay and fall, the work of years, has proved +beneficial to the surrounding plants: the dropping of the branches +admits light and air to the aspiring saplings, assists in checking the +undue spread of lichens and epiphytes; and when the old stem falls, +tottering down from its very rottenness, its place is supplied by +vigorous successors.’ + +“In estimating the value of the labours of the Kaka as an insect-eater, +it should not be forgotten that the family of Woodpeckers is entirely +absent from our bird-fauna, and that upon this indefatigable climber +devolves some share of the duty of representing that peculiar group of +forest birds. How diligently the insects are sought for by the Kaka may +be judged from the heaps of bark chips that lie beneath the decaying +trees. Often it may be noticed on the ground tearing away the mossy +clothing of the huge gnarled roots that spread around; even the soft +rotten boughs are gnawed to obtain the larvæ of some of the larger bush +insects.” + +The Nestors vary immensely in colour, so that many of the plumages +now known to be only occasional varieties have been supposed to be +specifically distinct. They are birds of large size, and have the cere, +or fleshy portion at the base of the bill, rather strongly developed, +the bill being large and powerful. The colour is of an olivaceous +brown, with a dash of dark red, the crown grey, and the ear-coverts +shaded with orange, the cheeks with dark red, as also are the lower +back, rump, and upper tail-coverts and abdomen. + +The structure of the bill of the Parrots is so remarkable as to be +worthy of a more extended description than could be given to it when it +was incidentally referred to in our account of the osteology of birds +in general. The way, however, in which the upper and lower jaws are +connected with the skull was there explained, and a reference to the +description on pp. 241-2 will save the necessity of much repetition +now. That account embraced all members of the class of birds; here we +are dealing only with certain peculiar modifications. + +If the skull of an adult bird of any familiar type, such as a Crow, +be examined, it will be seen that the bones of the upper jaw are +apparently continuous, and form one piece, with those of the forehead +and sides of the head. There is nothing that looks like a joint, or +“articulation,” between the bill where it is attached to the forehead +above, or to the long jugal arch (“quadrato-jugal”) that runs each +side to reach the quadrate bone, or to the flattened bones that help +to form the palate below. But if the skull of this same bird had been +carefully examined in an earlier stage of its existence, it would +have been found that the bones were at first distinctly separate at +the three points here indicated, and were merely connected by a soft +membranous substance. In many birds this “inter-osseous” membrane +connecting the bones of the upper mandible with the skull proper never +becomes true bone at all, but remains throughout life more or less soft +and flexible. And by this means a sort of elastic joint is established, +conferring upon the beak a certain range of up and down motion. + +Now in Parrots, more conspicuously than in any other birds, each +of these joints, not alone that of the beak with the forehead, is +converted into a true hinge-like articulation, so that the upper +jaw can be raised to a very considerable extent; and to effect this +motion the muscles of the palate are developed into a somewhat complex +apparatus. + +If the figure be examined, the actual relations of the bones can be +readily made out. At _a_ is seen the line where the bill is articulated +to the frontal bones. At _b_ is the joint which the bill makes with the +long jugal bone (_j_). And at _c_ is its articulation with the palatine +bone (_pl_). + +[Illustration: SKULL OF THE GREY PARROT.] + +But it is not this mobility of the upper mandible alone that gives +the characteristic aspect to the Parrot’s face. There are several +other points in which Parrots agree, with a wonderful uniformity, +among themselves, and differ from most other birds. Besides the +absence of certain important processes, called “basi-pterygoid,” +the ploughshare-like bone, or “vomer,” is altogether wanting. The +maxillo-palatines are very largely developed and spongy; they unite +with one another in the middle line, and with the thick wall of bone +into which the _septum nasi_ is in Parrots strongly ossified, and thus +fill up almost the whole base of the beak. The long palatine bones +proper are remarkably flattened from side to side for most of their +length; their hinder edges are more or less notched, and quite free +from any bony attachment; and they are united at about the hinder third +of their length by a plate-like extension from each. The scoop-like +lower mandible, with its tip that seems to have been cut off “square,” +to be out of the way of the strongly-hooked upper jaw, is too familiar +to call for any particular description. + + + + +THE SECOND ORDER.--PICARIAN BIRDS. SUB-ORDER I.--ZYGODACTYLÆ. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +CUCKOOS--HONEY GUIDES--PLANTAIN-EATERS--WOODPECKERS--TOUCANS--BARBETS. + + THE CUCKOOS--THE BUSH CUCKOOS--THE LARK-HEELED CUCKOOS, OR + COUCALS--THE COMMON CUCKOO--Its Characteristics--Mrs. Blackburn’s + Account of a Young Cuckoo Ejecting a Tenant--Breeding Habits--The + Eggs--The Call-notes of Male and Female--Food--Its Winter Home--Its + Appearance and Plumage--THE HONEY GUIDES--Kirk’s Account of + their Habits--Mrs. Barber’s Refutation of a Calumny against the + Bird--THE PLANTAIN-EATERS--THE WHITE-CRESTED PLANTAIN-EATER--THE + GREY PLANTAIN-EATER--THE COLIES--THE WHITE-BACKED COLY--THE + WOODPECKERS--How they Climb and Descend Trees--Their Bill--Do they + Damage Sound Trees?--THE WRYNECKS--THE YAFFLE--THE RED-HEADED + WOODPECKER--THE SPOTTED WOODPECKER--THE TOUCANS--Mr. Gould’s Account + of their Habits--Mr. Waterton’s Account--The Enormous Bill--Azara’s + Description of the Bird--Mr. Bates’ History of a Tame Toucan--THE + BARBETS--Messrs. Marshall’s Account of the Family--Mr. Layard on + their Habits. + + +THE SECOND ORDER OF ZYGODACTYLE PICARIAN BIRDS.--THE CUCKOOS +(_Cuculidæ_). + +Within the limits of this family are comprised birds of very different +habits and of very different structure, some being inhabitants of the +ground and of the thick bush, whilst others are lovers of the open, +and are birds of very strong flight. Without being able to climb up +the trunks of trees, like our Woodpeckers, the Cuckoos possess the +zygodactyle foot of the climbing bird in a very perfect degree. They +differ from others of the Scansorial group by the position of the +nostrils, which are placed rather low in the upper mandible, not far +from the cutting edge of it. There are three sub-families of Cuckoos, +distinguished by the form of the wing: the first of these has the +wings short, rounded, and with from two to six, or even seven, of the +primaries slightly indented in the middle. They have the feathers of +the thigh close-set, and not over-hanging like those of a Hawk, as is +the case with the true Cuckoos. + + +THE BUSH CUCKOOS (_Phænicophæinæ_). + +These birds have representatives in India, Australia, and Africa, and +even South America. Some of them are of very varied and beautiful +plumages, and many of them reach the size of a moderate game-bird. The +first genus of these Bush Cuckoos contains + + +THE LARK-HEELED CUCKOOS, OR COUCALS (_Centropus_). + +These are remarkable for the form of the hind toe, which is furnished +with a straight nail or claw, very strong, always equalling and often +surpassing the length of the hind toe itself. These Lark-heeled Cuckoos +do not occur in Europe, but are found all over Africa, India, and +Burmah, to China, and throughout the Malayan Archipelago to Australia. +They frequent the thick bush, and have a very similar call-note, which +has been rendered by some observers as resembling the syllables “_bop +bop_,” while on the West Coast of Africa, from their cry “_hoot, +hoot_,” they have been nicknamed by the colonists the “Scotchman.” +Writing of the Eyebrowed Lark-heel, Mr. Thomas Ayres says:--“This bird +frequents the dense bush, and principally lives amongst impenetrable +creepers, where it hunts about in search of the insects which it feeds +upon; if disturbed, it flies but a short distance. The note is a loud, +melancholy, cooing noise; they call most in wet weather. They are fond +of getting up into trees that are covered with creeping plants, and +sunning themselves; they generally fly on to the lower part, and then +gradually hop upwards till they gain the top, but they can fly a very +short distance at a time, and are easily caught if chased out into the +open grass, though they lie very close, and it requires a good dog to +find them. If disturbed, they immediately fly to the thickest cover +near at hand, and commence running, like the Rails.” Mr. Ayres says +that they feed on Grasshoppers, Caterpillars, and other insects; but +Mr. Rickard, another excellent field naturalist, in South Africa has +found a small Snake and Locusts in their stomachs, one having a small +bird--a White-eye (_Zosterops_)--inside him. The Lark-heeled Cuckoos +are not parasitic, like the true Cuckoos and many others: that is to +say, they build their own nests, and do not employ the nests of other +birds to place their eggs in. When hatched, the young birds are very +curious, being covered with long hairs and bristles. In colour the +Lark-heels are for the most part rufous, with black heads, but some +of them are almost entirely rufous, the shafts of all the feathers +much stiffened, so that the plumage lies very close, which must be of +advantage to birds who have to climb a great deal amongst the lianas +and creepers of tropical forests. + +Of the Indian Coucal (_Centropus bengalensis_) an interesting account +is given by Mr. Gammie, which affords a very good idea of the habits +of these Bush Cuckoos. He says:--“This species has increased largely +of late. Among grassy scrub, up to 3,500 feet, it is now abundant, +where, only a few years ago, it was rarely to be found. In the earlier +part of the rainy season its odd, monotonous notes are to be heard +in every direction. I am not sure that the male calls, but have shot +the female--as I found by dissection--when calling. It has a call of +a double series of notes: ‘_whoot, whoot, whoot, whoot_;’ then, after +a pause of four or five seconds, ‘_kurook, kurook, kurook, kurook_.’ +The ‘whoot’ is quite ventriloquistic, sounding as if it came from a +distance of six or seven yards from the bird. Before calling, it seats +itself about five feet from the ground; then you see it draw its neck +and body together, slightly puffing out its body-feathers, raising its +back, and depressing its tail, and for every ‘whoot’ there is a violent +throb of the body, as if the bird was in great pain; at the same time +the motion of the throat is scarcely perceptible, and its bill is +closed. Then, as if greatly relieved, it stretches itself out, the +feathers fall smooth, and with open mouth and throbbing throat comes +the ‘kurook,’ without the slightest attempt at ventriloquism. When +searching for the caller, one must take no notice of the ‘whoot,’ but +wait for the ‘kurook.’ It feeds almost entirely on Grasshoppers, and +frequents the open, scrubby tracts only. I have never once seen it in +larger forests.”[249] + +The Malkohas are another remarkable group of the Bush Cuckoos, and are +found throughout India, Ceylon, the Indo-Malayan region and islands, as +far as the Celebes. The genera differ principally in the shape of the +nostril; and although differences of structure are usually considered +sufficient characters on which to found distinctions of genus, some +ornithologists are of opinion that the variation in the form of the +nostril only separates them as species. One of the most remarkable of +these Bush Cuckoos is the _Carpococcyx radiatus_ of Borneo, which, +when alive, is stated by Mr. Wallace to resemble a Pheasant in +appearance and gait. It lives much on the ground, and is often caught +by the Malays in the snares which they set for Argus Pheasants and +other game-birds. In Madagascar they are represented by the Couas +(_Sericosomus_), of which there are no less than ten species found +in that island. They are the inhabitants of the Palestrina forests, +where their monotonous notes are often heard. The cry of the Blue +Cuckoo is said by Messrs. Pollen and Van Dam to resemble the syllables +_cir-cir-cir_, while that of the Crested Coua (_S. cristatus_) is +_toc-toc-toc_. When calling, the latter bird raises its crest and flaps +its tail and wings. Its flight is difficult and generally descending, +and the bird never flaps its wings when it flies. It is ordinarily seen +on the lower branches of the trees, and loves to repose during the +great heat of the day in the sheltered parts of the trees, resting on +the branches and puffing out its feathers. + +In America there are several allied forms of Bush Cuckoos, many of +which frequent the ground, one of the most interesting being the +_Geococcyx californianus_, which is called the “Road-runner,” and is a +bird of such powers of running that it is sometimes hunted on horseback +and pursued with hounds, a test of fleetness in which it is said often +to make a longer race than its pursuers anticipated. + + +THE COMMON CUCKOO (_Cuculus canorus_). + +The true Cuckoos, of which the English bird is the type, differ from +the Bush Cuckoos in being more _Accipitrine_, or Hawk-like, in their +appearance, and having long thigh-feathers, like the majority of the +birds of prey. The nostril is swollen and rounded. It would be easy to +write a complete book on this mysterious bird, whose habits and cry +have rendered it an object of interest in all countries and from very +early times. The popular superstition concerning the nestling--that the +young Cuckoo, when sufficiently grown, and having no further use for +the little foster-parent to whose care it owed its life and well-being, +used to devour the latter--has often been held up as an “awful example” +to ungrateful children who become a burden and a shame to their parents +when they are unable to provide for them any longer. The idea of the +young Cuckoo devouring its protector is no doubt erroneous, and, +as Brehm puts it, has arisen from the oft-recurring spectacle of a +little Wren or a diminutive Gold-crest placing food in the wide-gaping +mouth of the young Cuckoo, which, indeed, without much stretch of the +imagination, might swallow it. In Mr. Gould’s “Birds of Great Britain” +there is a picture showing the _dénouement_ of the young Cuckoo’s +story, when, still callow and blind, it is represented as disposing of +some unfortunate little Tree Pipits which were hatched along with it +in the same nest. This incident was sketched by Mrs. Hugh Blackburn, +who thus describes the occurrence:--“The nest (which we watched last +June, after finding the Cuckoo’s egg in it) was that of the common +Meadow Pipit (Titlark, Mosscheeper), and had two Pipit’s eggs besides +that of the Cuckoo. It was below a heather bush on the declivity of a +low abrupt bank or highland hill-side, in Moidart. At one visit the +Pipits were found to be hatched, but not the Cuckoo. At the next visit, +which was after an interval of forty-eight hours, we found the young +Cuckoo alone in the nest, and both the young Pipits lying down the +bank, about ten inches from the margin of the nest, but quite lively +after being warmed in the hand. They were replaced in the nest beside +the Cuckoo, which struggled about till it got its back under one of +them, when it climbed backwards directly up the open side of the nest, +and hitched the Pipit from its back on to the edge. It then stood quite +upright on its legs, which were straddled wide apart, with the claws +firmly fixed half-way down the inside of the nest among the interlacing +fibres of which the nest was woven, and stretching its wings apart and +backwards, it elbowed the Pipit fairly over the margin so far that its +struggles took it down the bank instead of back into the nest. After +this the Cuckoo stood a minute or two, feeling back with its wings, as +if to make sure that the Pipit was fairly overboard, and then subsided +into the bottom of the nest. As it was getting late, and the Cuckoo +did not immediately set to work on the other nestling, I replaced the +ejected one and went home. On returning next day, both nestlings were +found dead and cold out of the nest. I replaced one of them, but the +Cuckoo made no effort to get under it and eject it, but seated itself +contentedly on the top of it. All this I find accords accurately with +Jenner’s description of what he saw. But what struck me most was this: +the Cuckoo was perfectly naked, without the vestige of a feather, or +even a hint of future feathers; its eyes were not yet opened, and its +neck seemed too weak to support the weight of its head. The Pipits +had well-developed quills on the wings and back, and had bright eyes, +partially open; yet they seemed quite helpless under the manipulations +of the Cuckoo, which looked a much less developed creature. The +Cuckoo’s legs, however, seemed very muscular, and it appeared to feel +about with its wings, which were absolutely featherless, as with +hands; the spurious wing (unusually large in proportion) looked like a +spread-out thumb. The most singular thing of all was the direct purpose +with which the blind little monster made for the open side of the nest, +the only part where it could throw its burden down the bank. I think +all the spectators felt the sort of horror and awe at the apparent +inadequacy of the creature’s intelligence to its acts that one might +have felt at seeing a toothless hag raise a ghost by an incantation. It +was horribly ‘uncanny’ and ‘gruesome!’” + +[Illustration: COMMON CUCKOO.] + +The above account of Mrs. Blackburn’s graphically describes the +ejection of its foster-brothers and sisters by the nestling Cuckoo; +and this brings us to the next part of the subject, viz., the breeding +habits of this curious bird. As is well known of the hen bird, it +never makes its own nest, but it is believed that during its stay in +Europe it lays altogether about eight eggs, all of which are deposited +in the nest of some other bird. The variation in the colour of the +Cuckoo’s eggs is very great, from a white speckled egg, like that of +the Water Wagtail, or the dark brown mottled egg of a Lark or Pipit, +to the blue egg of the Hedge Sparrow; while Mr. Dresser states that he +has seen even green eggs, and is of opinion that the same female will +lay similarly coloured eggs. The researches of ornithologists during +recent years sufficiently prove that the female Cuckoo lays her egg +upon the ground, and then deposits it in the nest of a bird whose egg +resembles the one she has just laid; hence it is probable that a hen +Cuckoo killed with a broken egg in its mouth is the rightful owner of +the latter, and has not been sucking the eggs of some other bird, as +the species is often supposed to do. The writer has on many occasions +found Cuckoos’ eggs in the nest of the Water Wagtail in Berkshire, the +latter bird being frequently selected by the Cuckoo as her victim; and +he can affirm that the eggs were in all cases similar to those of the +Wagtail, but were a little larger in size. In due time the young Cuckoo +is hatched, the rightful owners of the nest ejected, and for weeks the +powers of the unhappy foster-parents are exercised to the utmost in +feeding the gaping and constantly-complaining occupant of their domain. +Even when the young Cuckoo has outgrown the nest, and is strong enough +to fly about, he is still attended by his foster-parents. So great is +the instinct of the young Cuckoo to receive food from other birds, that +a specimen in the Zoological Gardens which managed to live through +the winter and put on his full plumage in the following spring, on +the appearance of a Hedge Sparrow in the same aviary, fluttered down, +and with drooping wings and open bill solicited food from his small +companion. + +The reason for the parasitic habits of the Cuckoo is hard to discover, +but it appears probable that the number of males greatly exceeds that +of the females, and one observer has calculated that the preponderance +of the former sex over the latter is as much as twenty-five to one. +This would seem to be too large an estimate, but the proportion is +probably about five males to one female. The latter may not only be +distinguished by its somewhat darker plumage, and a certain red colour +on the chest (which is more apparent when the bird is alive), but has +a somewhat different note from that of her mate, and calls _cuckoo_ +in a much sharper and less emphasised way than the male bird. Thus, +if the call of the female be represented by the syllables _cŭck-oo_, +the responsive utterance of the male would be _coo-coo_. The female +has also another call-note, which may be described as “whittling,” +and is well expressed by Brehm as _kwikwikwik_, the sound of which is +quite sufficient to set all the male Cuckoos within hearing cuckoo-ing +with might and main. Thus it happened to the writer, on a still, +quiet evening in spring a few years ago, to be fishing beneath a +large elm-tree on the river Thames, when a female Cuckoo flew into +the topmost boughs and uttered her peculiar note. From four different +points of the compass she was answered by male birds, who one and +all directed their flight toward the tree where she was perched. A +tremendous scrimmage ensued, and apparently a fight took place, but, +being suddenly alarmed, they all took flight in different directions. +It is certain that during the breeding season the Cuckoo is a very +passionate bird, and loves to call until, from sheer hoarseness, he +is obliged to stop; sometimes his cry comes from the middle of a +thickly-wooded tree, at other times he will sit on a bare dead branch, +or swing in the breeze from the top of a fir-tree. The female bird +is more retiring and keeps nearer the ground, so that it is possible +to shoot her by hiding behind a tree as she hunts after insects +near one of their favourite haunts. The same plurality of males has +been observed by the author during the spring at Avington Park, in +Hampshire; and on one occasion, when the female was shot, the note of +the males was scarcely heard again, as if they had disappeared from the +vicinity. + +Brehm remarks:[250] “The note itself, and the manner in which it is +emitted, are typical of the bird’s habits and character. The same +abruptness, insatiability, eagerness, the same rage, are noticeable in +its whole conduct. The Cuckoo is a greedy feeder, and a discontented, +ill-conditioned, passionate fellow: in short, a decidedly unamiable +bird. Its food consists entirely of insects and their larvæ; young +Cuckoos, alone, will sometimes eat berries; Cockchafers, Fern-beetles, +Moths, and Dragon-flies are favourite morsels, and Caterpillars +(especially the hairy species, which no other birds ever devour) +being preferred. The hairs of these creatures cling so close to the +inner membranes of the stomach that the use of the magnifying glass +is necessary to convince one that they do not form part and parcel of +that organ. Its keen sight enables the Cuckoo to see Caterpillars from +a great distance, when it flies quickly to the spot, seizes them, and +returns to its perch, without spending much time over the operation +or climbing about after them. The bird is so constantly on the move +that it always manages to obtain sufficient food--which is saying a +great deal, for its stomach is large and its powers of digestion almost +unlimited. Thus it would be a most useful bird, did it not cause so +much damage while breeding.” + +The Cuckoo resembles a Hawk so much in flight that even a practised eye +sometimes fails to distinguish it from a Kestrel at first sight. There +is, however, a certain pointed look about the body of the bird which +distinguishes it from a Hawk; if near enough, the flat, obtuse head of +the latter making the bird appear as if it had no head at all. + +[Illustration: GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO.] + +Lastly, one word as to the winter home of the Cuckoo. It is always +known in England as the “harbinger of spring,” and with the exception +of the Swift, who very rarely makes a mistake in the period of his +advent, there is no bird whose arrival may be considered so certain a +sign of that genial season of the year. Just as the Swifts, however, +sometimes come in for some cold weather, which proves fatal to many +of them, so the Cuckoos have been known to have been detained by cold +winds in the south of England, where they have remained in flocks until +the weather was more seasonable and they could distribute themselves +over the country. They are seldom heard of in the height of summer; +and, as the old rhyme says, “in June he changes his tune, in August +go he must.” And it seems certain that this bird leaves England early +in that month, but not entirely, as young birds--perhaps the later +offspring--are seen as late as September. The old ones arrive in Egypt +on their way south before the young birds, which are somewhat later; +and in Berkshire the writer shot three young Cuckoos during the first +week in August, a few years ago, out of a flock of birds on migration, +which, like himself, had apparently taken shelter under a wood from +an approaching thunderstorm. These specimens are now in the British +Museum, and are of slightly different ages. The Cuckoo is a well-known +bird at the Cape of Good Hope during the English winter, and specimens +are in the national collection. It is much rarer on the west coast +of Africa, but was shot by Governor Ussher near Cape Coast Castle, +evidently on migration. The main route of the birds visiting the Cape +in winter is, however, evidently down the Nile Valley and along the +east coast to the Cape Colony and South Africa generally. A second line +of migration extends to India, and it probably goes further, and has +been found in the island of Celebes. In Asia, however, and Australia, +there are several species of Cuckoo, very like the English bird, but +smaller and differing in voice, which have not been sufficiently +studied to enable one to say whether they are actually distinct or not. + +The Cuckoo when adult is ashy-grey, with a white breast, barred across +with narrow lines of greyish-black; the tail is long, barred with white +on the outer feathers, and spotted with white on the centre ones; the +bill is black, with a little yellow at the gape and at the base of the +lower mandible; the feet and the eye are yellow; the length of the bird +is about thirteen inches. The female is a trifle smaller, and has the +chest slightly tinged with rufous. The young bird is quite different, +being blackish, mottled with yellow and grey, and having a good deal +of white about the hind neck. Rarely in England, but more often on the +Continent, the Cuckoo is red instead of grey, and this is called the +“hepatic” plumage. It is found also in Owls, Goatsuckers, and a few +other birds, and exists in almost all the true Cuckoos. + + +THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE ZYGODACTYLE PICARIAN BIRDS. + +THE HONEY GUIDES (_Indicatoridæ_). + +[Illustration: HONEY GUIDE. (_After Keulemans._)] + +These constitute a small family of Scansorial birds allied to the +Cuckoos, and, like the latter, they are parasitic, and lay their eggs +in other birds’ nests. Eleven species are known, of which eight are +peculiar to Africa, one is found in the Himalaya Mountains, one in the +Malayan Peninsula, and one in Borneo. The Asiatic members of the group +are extremely rare, and our knowledge of the habits of these birds is +derived from a study of the African species: so that it is not yet +known whether the Asiatic Honey Guides deserve the name of _Indicator_, +which is applied to the birds on account of their being “indicators,” +or “pointers out,” of Bees’ nests containing honey. Dr. Kirk thus +described their habits in the Zambesi district:--“The Honey Guide is +found in forests, and often far from water, even during the dry season. +On observing a man, it comes fluttering from branch to branch in the +neighbouring trees, calling attention. If this be responded to--as the +natives do by whistling and starting to their feet--the bird will go +in a certain direction, and remain at a little distance, hopping from +one tree to another. On being followed, it goes farther; and so it will +guide the way to a nest of Bees. When this is reached, it flies about, +but no longer guides; and then some knowledge is required to discover +the nest, even when pointed out to within a few trees. I have known +this bird, if the man, after taking up the direction for a little, +then turns away, come back and offer to point out another nest in a +different part. But if it does not know of two nests, it will remain +behind. The difficulty is that it will point to tame Bees in a bark +hive as readily as to those in the forest. This is natural, as the Bee +is the same; the bark hive--‘Musinga,’ as it is named--being simply +fastened up in a tree, and left for the Bees to come to. The object +the bird has in view is clearly the young Bees. It will guide to nests +having no honey, and seems equally delighted if the comb containing +the grubs be torn out, when it is seen pecking at it.” Many of the +natives of South Africa believe that the bird will occasionally guide +the traveller, through sheer malice, to a Leopard or an Elephant; but +on this point there seems some little doubt, to judge from a letter +of Mrs. Barber, an accomplished lady and good observer in South +Africa:--“What I wrote to you in a former letter is the opinion of many +old bee-hunters in this part of the country, who have no faith in the +popular belief that leading to the Leopard is done on purpose. My nine +brothers, who were all brought up in this country, were all of them +great hunters, as well as sportsmen; and during all the years of their +experience, while they were living at Tharfield, where Bees’ nests were +exceedingly plentiful, and where they were constantly in the habit of +following these birds, never once did the Honey Guide ever lead them +_purposely_ to any noxious animal. Many times, in following the bird +through dense woods, have they started various kinds of creatures; +but if they did not neglect the bird for the purpose of hunting, she +would continue her flight towards the Bees’ nest, regardless of the +startled animals. One of my brothers once, while following a Honey +Guide through a dense forest near the Kowie, passed directly through +a drove of wild Pigs. They were, of course, more frightened than he +was, and rushed about in every direction; but my brother knowing the +popular belief, and wishing to test it, took not the slightest notice +of the wild Pigs, but passed on, keeping his eye on the bird, who went +steadily on her way, until she arrived at the nest she intended to +show, regardless of the Pigs. I have other reasons for not believing +the story. Why should the Honey Guide waste her time in leading people +to Leopards, Jackals, Wolves, and so forth? These creatures are not +her natural enemies; she would gain nothing by doing it--no advantage +whatever; and I have ever found that in nature there is nothing done in +vain, or in an empty, purposeless manner. There is always a reason for +the peculiar habits and actions of birds and animals of all kinds; and +therefore, why should a bird which does not even rear her own young, +and has not the care of a nest, fear or care about these animals? Why +should the Honey Guide, unlike all animals, do this thing without any +reason for doing it? And again, when the bird has arrived at the nest +she intends to show, there is an alteration in the notes of her voice. +An old bee-hunter knows this in an instant, and knows when he ought +to commence searching for the nest. Now, this alteration never takes +place when animals of various kinds are startled in passing through +the forest while following the bird. Hence I conclude that she does +not intend to show where these creatures are, or the alteration in her +voice would take place.” Some of the Indicators are not of the same use +in guiding to Bees’ nests, and are consequently held in less repute. +They are all birds of similar coloration, being generally of a dull +grey, tinged with yellow or olive, and they vary considerably in size, +the larger species, such as _I. major_ and _I. sparrmanni_, measuring +about eight inches in length; while the smallest species, _I. exilis_, +from the Gaboon, does not exceed four inches. Although coming very +close to the Cuckoos in the natural classification, the small bill, +the thick-set, stout plumage, and the nine primaries in the wing, in +addition to their peculiar habits, easily distinguish the Honey Guides +as a separate family. + + +THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE ZYGODACTYLE PICARIAN BIRDS. + +THE PLANTAIN-EATERS (_Musophagidæ_). + +These may be called a strictly Ethiopian family of birds, every single +member being found in Africa, and nowhere else. They have very much the +appearance of game-birds, and are all remarkable for their beautiful +crests, which they are able to elevate or depress at will. Although +belonging to the Scansorial, or climbing birds, they do not always +keep their toes in pairs, but being of a lively disposition they hop +continually from bough to bough, and the outer toe is seen as often +placed in front with the others as it is directed backwards along with +the hind toe. With the exception of the Grey Plantain-eaters, all the +other species have beautiful red primaries; and the writer was informed +by the late African traveller, Jules Verreaux, that the bird often gets +caught in violent showers during the rainy season, when the whole of +this brilliant red colour in the wing-feathers gets washed out, and the +quills become pinky-white, and after two or three days the colour is +renewed, and the wing resumes its former beauty. + + +THE FIRST SUB-FAMILY OF THE MUSOPHAGIDÆ.--THE MUSOPHAGINÆ, OR TRUE +PLANTAIN-EATERS. + + +THE WHITE-CRESTED PLANTAIN-EATER (_Corythaix musophaga_). + +[Illustration: WHITE-CRESTED PLANTAIN-EATER.] + +This is perhaps the best known of the whole family of these curious +birds, being the commonest species in South Africa, where it is +plentiful in the forest districts of the Knysna, and the south coast +as far as Natal, and the wooded districts of the Eastern Transvaal. It +is known by the name of the Louri, or Lory, and the following brief +account of its habits is given by Mr. Layard:[251]--“The Plantain-eater +feeds on fruits, and frequents the highest trees, rarely, if ever, +descending to the ground, over which it can, however, travel with great +rapidity if brought down by a shot. The motions of this species are +very graceful and light, and performed with an ease and rapidity that +delight the eye of the beholder. Strange to say, though we inquired +carefully, we never could obtain any information respecting the +nidification of this beautiful and common bird. Mr. Atmore, however, +states that the eggs are white; but this must be from hearsay, as he +writes: ‘How difficult it is to find these forest birds’ nests! The +Lories are breeding now, but for the life of me I cannot find a nest. +The young ones go in troops, and are delicious eating; the old ones in +pairs. We never shoot specimens out of a troop except for the pot.’ +An old forester told him that the eggs were white, both the latter +and the nests being like those of Pigeons. Mr. Rickard says: ‘I once +found an egg in a bird I shot at East London (January 27th); it was +pure white, and the size of a tame Pigeon’s.’ Mr. Bowker writes: ‘I +once found a Louri’s nest. It was just like a Dove’s, built of sticks +laid horizontally, and about the size of a large dinner-plate, placed +about ten feet from the ground in the centre of a round bush. The old +bird flew out as I walked up. I found five young birds in the nest; +they were almost full-grown, but their tails rather short and stumpy, +crest just showing, but I cannot remember whether the red on the wing +was showing or not. On my getting up to the nest they all flew out, +and were killed by my Dogs before I could come to the rescue. The +bush was twenty or thirty yards from the edge of a large forest, and +I was rather surprised at this nest, as I had been told they built in +hollow trees.’” In size this species is about nineteen inches long; the +general colour is green, with a broad white tip to the feathers of the +crest, the abdomen and vent are blackish, the quills brilliant carmine. + +The false Touracoes, as Dr. Sclater calls them, do not possess the red +colouring of the wings, but are for the most part of a uniform grey +colour. The best known species is + + +THE GREY PLANTAIN-EATER (_Schizorhis concolor_). + +This is also found in South Africa, but in different districts to the +White-crested Plantain-eater. Where the range of the latter ceases +that of the present bird begins, and it is found throughout the +Matabele country and the Transvaal as far as the Zambesi, and westwards +through Damara Land to Angola. Mr. Andersson writes:--“It is partial +to localities abounding in large trees; and when prominently perched, +with crest erect, it is not unlike a gigantic Coly. It also climbs +and flies like the Colies, which it strongly resembles in its general +habits. It is usually found in small flocks, and feeds on berries and +seeds, especially those of mistletoe and of other parasitical plants, +and also on fruits, young shoots, and insects. The Damaras call this +species ‘Ongoro-oroquena,’ from the extraordinary and almost human +cry with which it frequently startles the traveller who is passing +near its perch. It is sometimes very easy to approach these birds, +whilst at other times they are so shy that they will defy the utmost +exertions which may be made to obtain them. On January 5th, 1867, I +obtained three eggs of this species, of a dull bluish-white colour, +at Omapja, from a boy, who told me that the nest which contained them +was composed of sticks roughly put together, and situated in a tree +at some distance from the ground; and on March 1st I met with a nest +in Ondonga placed in a tree, but at no great elevation, which also +contained three eggs, much incubated.” Dr. Exton, also, who has been +through the Matabele country, writes as follows:--“In travelling +through the Bechuana country one often comes upon a party of five or +six of these birds, hiding from the mid-day heats under the sheltered +portions of dense foliage near the centre of a large tree. Whilst yet +undisturbed, the crest lies flat on the head, and can only be seen as a +tuft projecting from the occiput. But their first act on becoming aware +of an intruder is to run along the branches, either to the summit of +the tree or to the extremity of a branch commanding a good look-out, +where, with crest fully erected and well thrown forward, they keep up +a constant reiteration of their note. If but little alarmed they move +rapidly from branch to branch, frequently jerking up the crest, and +assuming an attitude of attention. Again, after flight from one tree +to another, on alighting, they first rest on a branch, with the body +somewhat horizontal and the tail drawn nearly to the perpendicular, +as if assuring themselves of their equilibrium, and then raising +the body, elongating their neck, and at the same time elevating +the crest, they seem to take an observation as to the security of +their new position. So much is this a habit of the bird, that during +the conversational difficulties of my earlier intercourse with the +Bechuanas, when inquiring for the nest of Schizorhis (the native name +of which is ‘Ma-quaai’), as soon as it dawned upon the mind of a native +what bird I meant he has imitated its note, accompanied by a sudden +jerking up of the hand, with his fingers extended to the utmost, as +if at the same time to mimic the elevation of the crest. Dr. Sclater +mentions that ‘Mr. J. J. Monteiro, speaking of the Grey False Touraco +(_S. concolor_), as observed in Benguella, expressly states that the +crest-feathers are always carried erect.’ In my own experience, the +observation of Schizorhis was an every-day occurrence; and, as I have +stated, when undisturbed (also when in flight) very little of the +crest is to be seen, but is invariably carried erect on the least +alarm. I may here mention a peculiar scream of _S. concolor_. I was +one day walking along a low ridge of rocks, from which I flushed an +Owl--the common _Bubo maculosus_--that flew to some distance to a clump +of trees. Presently I heard an agonised scream, such as is made by a +young Antelope when seized by a Dog; and so exact a repetition of the +sound was it that even my Dogs were deceived by it, and rushed off in +the direction whence it came. I also sent a Kaffir boy, and presently +followed myself, when I discovered it was the frightful scream of +_Schizorhis_, of which a party were collected round the Owl I had +previously disturbed, and whose presence appeared to be the exciting +cause. At a later period I had a second opportunity of verifying this +observation.” + +[Illustration: COLIES.] + + +THE SECOND SUB-FAMILY OF THE MUSOPHAGIDÆ.--THE COLIINÆ, OR COLIES. + +Like the foregoing sub-family, the Colies are confined to Africa. +They have decided affinities with the true Plantain-eaters, but are +distinguished at a glance by their long tails, the feathers of which +are much pointed, and become smaller and narrower towards the outside +of the tail. They are most dexterous climbers, as was well seen in the +captive specimens of the Chestnut-backed Coly, which were brought by +Cameron from Angola, and lived for some time in the London Zoological +Gardens. + + +THE WHITE-BACKED COLY (_Colius capensis_). + +The Colies are known in the Cape Colony by the name of _Muisvogel_, +or Mouse-bird, and they are not uncommon, ranging about in small +families of from six to eight individuals. Mr. Layard says that they +fly with a rapid, though laboured flight, generally at a lower level +than the object at which they aim, and on nearing the latter they rise +upwards with a sudden, abrupt curve. They creep among the branches like +Parrots, and hang suspended head downwards, without inconvenience; and +it is said that they invariably sleep in this position, many of them +congregated in a ball. The nest was found by Mr. Andersson in Damara +Land, between September and December. It was placed in a small bush, +and was composed externally of grass and twigs, lined internally with +softer grass, and the eggs were dull white, and, according to his +observations, always three in number. Mr. Andersson states that the +bird “is gregarious in its habits, being found in flocks by day, and +also when roosting at night. Its flight is short and feeble, seldom +extending beyond the nearest bush or tree, on reaching which it usually +perches on one of the lower branches, and then gradually glides and +creeps upwards through the foliage, using both bill and feet for that +purpose. It is essentially a fruit-eating bird, but I believe when +hard pressed for its regular food it does not despise insects and the +young shoots of plants. Its flesh is palatable.” The Colies as a rule +are dull-coloured brown birds, but they have a long crest. The present +species is perhaps the handsomest, being ash-coloured, and having +the lower back and rump purple glossed with red, while a white line, +bordered on each side by a broad black one, extends from beneath the +shoulders to the rump. The bill is bluish-white, and the feet bright +red. The length of the bird is thirteen or fourteen inches. + + +THE FIFTH FAMILY OF THE ZYGODACTYLE PICARIAN BIRDS.--THE WOODPECKERS +(_Picidæ_). + +These are perhaps the most typical of all the yoke-footed or climbing +birds, as they are most expert climbers, being aided in the latter +operation not only by their long toes, which are arranged as usual +in this order in pairs, but by their stiffened tail, which enables +them to climb with great rapidity up the perpendicular trunks of +trees. If they wish to descend a little way they do not turn and come +down head-foremost, as a Nuthatch would do, but they let themselves +down by a few jerks, still keeping an oblique position, with the +tail downwards. The bill in almost every member of the family is +wedge-shaped, and very powerful, and with this organ a Woodpecker taps +vigorously at the bark, which he sometimes also prises off to get at +the grubs or insects underneath. These latter, as they endeavour to +escape, have little chance against the intruder, who, in addition to +the stout bill which discloses their place of concealment, possesses +a peculiar tongue, which is capable of being protruded to a long +distance, is furnished with minute barbs at the end, and is covered +with a glutinous fluid from which the insects are unable to free +themselves. The Woodpeckers nearly all procure their food in the above +manner, but occasionally frequent the ground, and the Green Woodpecker +(_Gecinus[252] viridis_) commits great ravages among ant-hills. The +resting-place is generally a hole excavated by the bird itself in a +hollow tree, and the eggs are white. Among the most aberrant of the +Woodpecker family are the Wrynecks (_Iÿnx_[253]), of which one species +is well known in England under the name of the “Cuckoo’s mate.” The +Wrynecks are all birds of beautiful mottled plumage, and do not have +a stiffened tail like a true Woodpecker. They are found in Europe, in +India, North-Eastern and Southern Africa. Woodpeckers, on the other +hand, are extremely plentiful in the New World, and are distributed +all over Africa, Europe, and Asia, but are not found in the Australian +region, no Woodpecker occurring beyond the Island of Celebes in the +Moluccas. + +[Illustration: Fig. 1.--“HYOID” BONE OF ADULT FOWL. + +(_After W. K. Parker._) + + (_ch_) Cerato-hyals; (_bh_) the so-called Basi-hyal; (_b.br_) + Basi-branchial, or Uro-hyal; (_c.br_, _e.br_) together form the + thyro-hyal. +] + +One great peculiarity in the anatomy of the Woodpeckers is the +structure of the tongue, and its relation to the hyoid bone and its +horns, or cornua. (For a description of this part in the Mammalia, +see Vol. I., p. 168.) In Birds the hyoid bone is a much more complex +structure than in the Mammalia. Besides forming the basis of the +otherwise mainly muscular substance of the tongue, it is continued +backwards in most birds as a double chain of bones, each pair of which +bears a separate name significant of its importance; and the whole is +apparently quite distinct from the skull above and from the larynx +below. Its composition in the common fowl is best rendered intelligible +by reference to the accompanying woodcut (Fig. 1). It represents the +entire hyoid apparatus divested of all muscular and other surrounding +tissues. The upper part of the figure is that nearest to the tip of the +tongue, and the references to the lettering become clear in the course +of the subsequent description. + +[Illustration: Fig. 2.--SIDE VIEW OF DISSECTION OF HEAD OF COMMON +GREEN WOODPECKER. + +(_Half natural size. After Macgillivray._) + + (_u_, _l_) Upper and Lower Mandibles; (_t_) Barbed Tip of Tongue; + (_th.h._) Thyro-hyal Bone of Right Side, with its Muscle and Sheath; + (_o_) Right Orbit; (_n_) Right Nostril; (_s.g._) Right Salivary + Gland; (_m_, _m_) Muscles of Neck; (_œ_) Œsophagus; (_tr_) Trachea; + (_r.m._) Rectractor Muscles of Tongue wound round Trachea. +] + +Another woodcut (Fig. 2) shows a side view of a dissection of the head +of the common Green Woodpecker (_Gecinus viridis_), and a reference to +the explanation of the lettering on it will give a general idea of the +whole. + +The tip of the tongue (_t_) is a slender, flattened, horny point, +bearing on its sides and upper surface a number of very delicate +bristles, or prickles, directed backwards, an arrangement eminently +useful to the bird for enabling it to extract its insect food from the +recesses to which its beak, by reason of its size and hardness, could +not readily, nor with sufficient quickness, gain access. This tip is +further rendered a more efficient instrument for this purpose by its +being constantly moistened by a very viscid saliva secreted by two +particularly large salivary glands (Figs. 2, 3, and 4, _s.g._); and it +was long ago remarked by Sir Charles Bell, in his essay on “The Hand” +(Bridgewater Treatise, 1837), that the same muscles that effected the +protrusion of the tongue exerted a simultaneous pressure upon these +glands, so that the first result of the muscular contraction is to +lubricate the tongue, while the rest of its force is spent in shooting +it out with marvellous rapidity. + +[Illustration: Fig. 3.--UPPER VIEW OF SKULL OF GREEN +WOODPECKER. + +(_After Macgillivray._) + + (_th.h_, _th.h._) Thyro-hyal Bones; (_i_) Point of their insertion; + (_s.g._, _s.g._) Salivary Glands. +] + +Behind this barbed and horny tip, the tongue is a slender worm-like +body, of which the core is the anterior prolongation of the hyoid bone. +The fore-part of this core, more like a bristle than a bone, is known +to anatomists as the “glosso-hyal,” and it is immediately succeeded +posteriorly by the “cerato-hyal.”[254] Behind this is the “basi-hyal +” (Fig. 1, _b.h._), the last bone to enter into the formation of the +tongue proper. From this basi-hyal springs the pair of bones--the +“thyro-hyals”--which attain the remarkable degree of development for +which the birds now under consideration are distinguished. From each +side of the hinder portion, then, of this basi-hyal bone diverge these +important “thyro-hyals” (Fig. 1, _c.br._, _e.br._). They, in the +Woodpeckers (compare Fig. 3, _th.h._), extend outwards and backwards to +pass one on each side of the neck until they curl upwards and forwards, +converging to meet one another on the upper part of the back of the +head; thence they run along together, ploughing themselves a furrow +in the skull-top till they reach almost to the right nostril. Each +of these curved and highly elastic bones is surrounded by a delicate +sheath, whose inner surface is kept constantly moist and lubricated +by its own secretion; and this sheath is attached to the bone of the +skull at its junction with the upper mandible, as is shown in the +accompanying woodcut (Fig. 3, _i_). + +[Illustration: Fig. 4.--DISSECTION OF HEAD OF GREEN WOODPECKER +VIEWED FROM BELOW. + +(_After Macgillivray._) + + (_l_) Lower Mandible; (_f_) Base of Tongue; (_th.h._, + _th.h._)Thyro-hyals; (_s.g._, _s.g._) Salivary Glands; (_m_, _m_) + Muscles of Neck; (_œ_, _œ_) Œsophagus; (_tr_) Trachea; (_e.m._, + _e.m._) Extrusor Muscles, which thrust out the Tongue; (_r.m._) + Retractor Muscles of Tongue wound round Trachea; (_c.tr._, _c.tr._) + Cleido-tracheal Muscles, binding Trachea to Shoulder-girdle. +] + +Enclosed in the sheath here spoken of, and along the concavity of each +bone, is a muscle which has a fixed attachment to the crura of the +lower mandible on each side (Fig. 4, _e.m._, _e.m._). The contraction +of this muscle shoots the tongue out in two different ways. In the +Green Woodpecker the extremities of the thyro-hyal bones are themselves +attached to the mandible, while the curvature of the bones makes a loop +that hangs low down on each side of the neck (see Fig. 2, _th.h._). +As the muscle is shortened this loop is raised up, and the free tip +of the tongue is consequently projected; and since the muscle is on +the inner, or concave, side of the curve, a very small shortening on +its part makes a great addition to the apparent length of the tongue. +Sir Charles Bell elucidates this action by comparing the great effect +on the curve of a fishing-rod’s flexible top that a small tightening +of the line has. But while this is the case in many species, there +are others in which the sheath alone is attached to the bones of the +forehead, and the bones themselves slide along inside together with the +contracting fibres of the muscle, thus producing the same result as was +obtained in the other case by the loops hanging low down in the neck. + +The tongue, whose length is thus so extraordinarily increased, is +drawn back to its original position within the bill by another pair +of muscles, one on each side, which are attached to the basi-hyal. +These take their origin from the trachea, around which (as shown in +Figs. 2 and 4, _r.m._), in many species, they are curiously wound in +their course. And, since the bones are at the point of their greatest +curvature when at rest, it is obvious that this action of withdrawal +is materially assisted by the elasticity of the prolongations of the +hyoid bones themselves; for it is a well-known law that Nature never +lets power run to waste, but always utilises forces of mere elasticity +or rigidity when by their means the expenditure of nervous energy and +muscular contractility can be saved. + +[Illustration: WRYNECK.] + +It may be observed that this curious development of the bones of +the tongue is not confined to the Woodpeckers; in the Sun Birds +(_Nectariniidæ_) of the Old World, and the Humming-Birds (_Trochilidæ_) +of the New, this same adaptation of means to ends obtains. Even in the +Picidæ themselves many variations have been noticed, in addition to +those above alluded to; for instance, in the Yellow-billed Woodpecker +(_Sphyrapicus[255] varius_) of North America the horns of the hyoid do +not reach so far as the eye, so that the tongue, with its bushy tip in +this case, is only extensible in a very slight degree; while in the +Hairy Woodpecker (_Picus villosus_) the thyro-hyals curve spirally over +the right orbit so as to reach entirely around the eye, to be inserted +at its lower posterior margin. + +[Illustration: GREAT BLACK WOODPECKER AND GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER.] + +Considerable difference of opinion exists as to the damage done by +Woodpeckers in tapping sound trees, and many a poor bird pays the +penalty of his life for his supposed destructive propensities. Mr. +Waterton argues strongly on the side of the bird, and alleges that +only rotten and unsound trees are attacked for the sake of a nesting +habitation, or for the purpose of getting insects; but that this is not +always the case was proved by the writer himself in the spring of 1878, +when a boy was sent up to a hole in a beech-tree in Avington Park, in +Hampshire. The tree was still perfectly sound, so sound, indeed, +that the bird had evidently given up the idea of inhabiting it for +that year, and had betaken himself elsewhere, after having excavated +a round hole to the depth of two or three inches. In the same tree, +a little lower down, was a similar hole, evidently made the previous +year, when the bird had “tapped” the tree, and it was clear that he +had returned again in the succeeding season, and had tried a little +higher up in the trunk, to see if there were any chance of procuring a +domicile. This proceeding must have injured the tree, and was the work +of a Green Woodpecker, or Yaffle, whose laughing note was heard from +another quarter of the park, even as the above examination was being +conducted. In this part of Hampshire, though the bird is not persecuted +by the owner of Avington, Mr. Edward Shelley, or by his keepers, the +Green Woodpecker is rare; but in certain parts of Huntingdonshire the +writer can remember to have found it very plentiful in his school-days, +and it was a never-failing object in a country walk, flitting from +tree to tree in front of the observer, and always keeping a sharp +look-out from the opposite side of the trunk on which he settled. This +species appears in old pieces of poetry under the various names of +Yaffle, Woodwele, or Woodwale, Whetile, and it is in some places called +“Hewhole,” Woodhacker, &c.[256]:-- + +[Illustration: GREEN WOODPECKER.] + + “The Skylark in ecstasy sang from a cloud, + And Chanticleer crowed, and the Yaffil laughed loud.” + + _The Peacock at Home._ + + “The Woodwele sang, and would not cease, + Sitting upon the spray; + So loud he wakened Robin Hood + In the greenwood where he lay.” + + Ritson’s Edition of _Robin Hood_, vol. i., p. 115. + + “There the Jay and the Throstell + The Mavis menyd in her song, + The Woodwale fard or beryd as a bell + That wode about me rung.” + + _True Thomas._ + +Some Woodpeckers seem to make storehouses against the winter, by +pecking holes in a tree, and an interesting example of a piece of bark, +in which a Red-headed Woodpecker (_Melanerpes formicivorus_)[257] had +placed a store of acorns, is to be seen in the British Museum. + +Another British species, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (_Picus[258] +minor_), is a bird of different habits, frequenting fruit-gardens +in the autumn, and doing very little damage to trees in the nesting +season. It generally selects the rotten branch of an old poplar-tree, +and hollows out a hole in so perilous a situation that it is difficult +to climb to, and, indeed, the whole bough is often brought down by +the first gale in the ensuing winter. Here its small wedge-shaped +bill speedily makes an excavation, and at some little distance down +in the hollow interior it lays its glossy white eggs on the touchwood +and decaying wood. Both sexes assist in the preparation of the nest; +and in mild winters they sometimes begin with the commencement of the +year to look out for their future home. The selection of this appears +to be a matter of no small anxiety, for several trees are examined +in turn, and often at long distances apart. The birds at the time of +incubation keep up a continual signalling one to the other, which is +produced by a rapid whining noise caused by tapping on the thinner +branches of the dead trees. This call-note, if it may be called such, +is generally heard in the early morning, and ceases as soon as the +nesting operations have finally commenced. Besides this note, they have +also one like the “laugh” of the Green Woodpecker, but, of course, +much reduced in accordance with the difference in the size of the two +birds. The little Spotted Woodpecker may often be seen hanging on to, +and climbing round, the slender twigs of the outer branches of a tree, +and looks much like a Creeper or a Nuthatch, which it does not greatly +exceed in dimensions. + + +THE SIXTH FAMILY OF THE ZYGODACTYLE PICARIAN BIRDS. + + +THE TOUCANS (_Rhamphastidæ_).[259] + +The Toucans, with their clumsy bills, have much the aspect of +Hornbills, which they may be said to represent in South America, to +which continent they are entirely confined, but by this time the +student knows that they have really little to do with each other, +beyond a certain outward similarity, as the Toucans belong to the +Scansorial, the Hornbills to the Fissirostral, section of the +_Picariæ_. It is not possible to give a long account of the habits of +individual species of Toucans, and a general sketch of their manners +and customs is extracted from the monograph of the Toucans written by +Mr. John Gould.[260] To him the late Prince Maximilian, of Neuwied, an +excellent observer, during his travels in South America writes:--“The +_Rhamphastidæ_ are very common in all parts of the extensive forests of +the Brazils, and are killed in great numbers at the cooler portion of +the year, for the purposes of the table. To the stranger they are of +even greater interest than to the natives, from their remarkable form, +and from the rich and strongly-contrasted style of their colouring, +their black or green bodies being adorned with markings of the most +brilliant hues--red, orange, blue and white--the naked parts of the +body dyed with brilliant colours, the legs blue or green, the irides +blue, yellow, &c., and the large bill of a different colour in every +species, and in many instances very gaily marked. The colouring of the +soft parts is, however, so evanescent, that, to determine the species +with accuracy, they must be depicted during life or immediately after +the birds are killed. Common as these birds are in their native wilds, +it is exceedingly difficult to detect their breeding-places; it is +certain that they deposit their eggs in the hollow limbs and holes of +the colossal trees so abundant in the tropical forests, but I never +was so fortunate as to discover them. The stomachs of the specimens I +examined contained nothing but the remains of fruits, principally of +the softer kinds, for which, indeed, they have such a liking that they +resort in great numbers to the plantations in the vicinity of their +native haunts, and commit sad havoc among their favourite delicacies. +I was informed that they frequently steal and eat young birds, but no +instance of their doing so came under my own observation, and I never +detected the remains of animal food in their stomachs. Mr. Waterton’s +opinion agrees with mine, that they feed solely upon fruits; but Azara, +among others, states that they also feed upon animal substances. The +specimens we saw in a state of domestication were very voracious and +perfectly omnivorous, but they seem to be purely frugivorous in a state +of nature, a fact which was, indeed, confirmed by the Brazilian natives +whom we questioned on the subject. In their manners the _Rhamphastidæ_ +offer some resemblance to the Crows, and especially to the Magpies; +like them they are very troublesome to the birds of prey, particularly +to the Owls, whom they surround and annoy by making a great noise, all +the while jerking their tails upwards and downwards. The flight of +these birds is easy and graceful, and they sweep with facility over +the loftiest trees of their native forests, their strangely-developed +bills, contrary to expectation, being no encumbrance to them. The voice +of the Toucans is short and unmelodious, and is somewhat different +in every species. The feathers are used by the Indians for personal +decoration, especially the yellow breasts of the birds, which they +affix to their heads on each side near the temple, and also to the ends +of their bows.” + +[Illustration: TOUCAN.] + +Mr. Waterton, in one of his Essays, has the following remarks:--“There +are three species of Toucan in Demerara, and three diminutives, which +may be called Toucanets. The largest of the former frequents the +mangrove-trees on the sea-coast. It is never seen in the interior +until you reach Macoushia, where it is found in the neighbourhood +of the river Tacatou; the other two species are very common. They +feed entirely on the fruits of the forest, and, though of the Pie +kind, never kill the young of other birds or eat carrion. The larger +is called _Bouradi_ by the Indians (which means _nose_), the other +_Scirou_. They seem partial to each other’s company, and often resort +to the same feeding tree, and retire to the same shady noon-day +retreat. They are very noisy in rainy weather at all hours of the +day, and in fair weather at morn and eve. The sound the _Bouradi_ +makes is like the clear yelping of a puppy-dog, and you fancy he +says ‘_Pia-po-o-co_,’ and thus the South American Spaniards call him +_Piapoco_. All the Toucanets feed on the same trees on which the Toucan +feeds, and every species of this family of enormous bill lays its eggs +in the hollow trees. They are social, but not gregarious. You may +sometimes see eight or ten in company, and from this you may suppose +they are gregarious, but upon a closer examination you find it is only +a dinner party, which breaks up and disperses towards roosting-time. +You will be at a loss to conjecture for what end Nature has overloaded +the head of this bird with such an enormous bill. It cannot be for +the offensive, as it has no need to wage war with any of the tribes +of animated nature, for its food is fruits and seed, and those are +in superabundance throughout the whole year in the regions where the +Toucan is found. It cannot be for the defensive, as the Toucan is +preyed upon by no bird in South America, and, were it obliged to be +at war, the texture of the bill is ill-adapted to give or receive +blows, as you will see by dissecting it. The flight of the Toucan is +by jerks. In the action of flying it seems incommoded by this huge, +disproportionate feature, and the head seems as if bowed down to the +earth by it against its will. If the extraordinary size and form of +the bill expose the Toucan to ridicule, its colours make it amends. +Were a specimen of each species of Toucan presented to you, you would +pronounce the bill of the _Bouradi_ the most rich and beautiful one. +It is worthy of remark that all these brilliant colours of the bill +are to be found in the plumage of the body and the bare skin around +the eye.” Space will not permit of a long extract from the works of +d’Azara (the only field naturalist of any fame that Portugal has yet +produced), but a few notes of this traveller, made in Paraguay, differ +from the foregoing accounts, and show that in the southern portion +of their range the habits of some of the Toucans vary to a great +extent. So voracious does d’Azara consider them, that on this account +he places them among the birds of prey, and writes:--“The Toucans, +contrary to all appearances, destroy a great number of birds, and, +on account of their long and strong beak, are respected and feared +by all species. They attack and drive them from their nests, and in +their very presence eat their eggs and young; these they draw from +the holes with the long beak, or throw down nest and all together. It +is credibly reported that the Toucans do not even respect the eggs or +young of the ‘Aras’ (Macaws) and Caracaras, and if the fledglings are +too large or too strong to be lifted from the nest, they dash them +to the ground, as if it were their nature not only to devour, but to +uselessly destroy. The bird, in flying, presents the point of his bill +against the wind, so that it does not offer more resistance than that +of other birds in which the head and superficies are equal in extent; +besides which, the conformation and specific lightness of this long +beak cannot impede flight, because the highest points of the bird +being the bill itself and the anterior portion of the body, they form +no obstacle, the wind first taking effect upon the point of the bill. +When in a state of repose, the Toucan carries its bill rather more +elevated than a horizontal line that would pass through the eyes, and +when closely looked at, it looks like a false bill, because its base +exceeds the breadth of the head, which presents the appearance of being +enclosed in a case. In addition to these singularities, the nostrils +are placed behind the aforesaid base. The tongue is very narrow and of +an equal thickness throughout. It is entirely osseous, and resembles +somewhat a feather two lines in width, furnished with an osseous +fringe, which is directed from behind forwards, so that the tongue, +stiff and unyielding, takes no part in the direction of the food nor in +the formation of the note, which, in the first two Paraguayan species, +is confined to the single syllable ‘_rae_.’ The mandibles are very +distinctly dentated at their edges, these dentations not corresponding +at all above and below, nor are they even relatively symmetrical. The +beak itself is a thin osseous sheath, filled with a number of empty +cellules. The eye is large, and surrounded by a triangular naked +space, puffed up, and very pretty. The foot is very short and stout, +and covered nearly to the heel with long scales, harsh to the touch. +The outer toe, as well before as behind, is the longest. The claws +are much flattened and curved, as in the Woodpeckers. The tail is +composed of ten feathers. The Toucan flies at a moderate height, and +in a straight horizontal line, flapping its wings occasionally with +some noise. The flight is quicker than the smallness of the wings +would lead one to believe. It perches towards the top of the highest +trees, and though unable to climb after the manner of Woodpeckers, it +still progresses with speed, hopping from branch to branch. It pays +great attention to all that takes place in its vicinity, advancing +with fear and diffidence, like the ‘Uruca’ and the ‘Acahes.’ There is +no perceptible difference between the two sexes, nor do I believe that +the species exists towards the south beyond 28°, nor that it drinks. +It rarely settles on the ground. The Toucan hops obliquely and very +awkwardly, with the legs separated about a hand’s breadth. When it +takes young birds from the nest, pieces of meat or fruit, it throws +them in the air, as a juggler his balls, and by a quick movement of the +beak repeats this action until the food is in a favourable position for +being swallowed, and then by another movement gulps it down its large +throat. If the mouthful be larger than the orifice of the gullet, the +Toucan abandons it without seeking to divide it.” + +[Illustration: BILL OF TOUCAN.] + +Mr. Bates, in his “Naturalist on the River Amazon,” makes some further +allusions to the Toucans and their bill, which will be found well worth +the reading. He also gives the following history of a tame bird (Vol. +ii., p. 341):--“One day, whilst walking along the principal pathway +in the woods near Ega, I saw one of these Toucans seated gravely on +a low branch close to the road, and had no difficulty in seizing it +with my hand. It turned out to be a runaway pet bird; no one, however, +came to own it, although I kept it in my house for several months. The +bird was in a half-starved and sickly condition, but after a few days +of good living it recovered health and spirits, and became one of the +most amusing pets imaginable. Many excellent accounts of the habits of +tame Toucans have been published, and therefore I need not describe +them in detail; but I do not recollect to have seen any notice of +their intelligence and confiding disposition under domestication, in +which qualities my pet seemed to be almost equal to Parrots. I allowed +Tocáno to go free about the house, contrary to my usual practice with +pet animals. He never, however, mounted my working-table after a +smart correction, which he received the first time he did so. He used +to sleep on the top of a box in a corner of the room, in the usual +position of these birds--namely, with the long tail laid right over on +the back and the beak thrust underneath the wing. He ate of everything +that we eat (beef, turtle, fish, farina, fruit), and was a constant +attendant at our table--a cloth spread on a mat. His appetite was most +ravenous, and his powers of digestion quite wonderful. He got to know +the meal-hours to a nicety, and we found it very difficult, after the +first week or two, to keep him away from the dining-room, where he +had become very impudent and troublesome. We tried to shut him out by +enclosing him in the back yard, which was separated by a high fence +from the street on which our front door opened; but he used to climb +the fence and hop round by a long circuit to the dining-room, making +his appearance with the greatest punctuality as the meal was placed +on the table. He acquired the habit afterwards of rambling about the +street near our house, and one day he was stolen, so we gave him up for +lost. But two days afterwards he stepped through the open doorway at +dinner-hour, with his old gait, and sly, magpie-like expression, having +escaped from the house where he had been guarded by the person who had +stolen him, which was situated at the farther end of the village.” + + +THE SEVENTH FAMILY OF THE ZYGODACTYLE PICARIAN BIRDS. + + +THE BARBETS (_Capitonidæ_).[261] + +[Illustration: PEARL-SPOTTED BARBET.] + +These are climbing birds of somewhat brilliant coloration, distributed +over the tropical portions of both hemispheres, but absent in Europe, +Northern Asia, Australia, and the Moluccas southwards from the Sunda +Islands. “Though strictly arboreal in their habits,” write Messrs. +Marshall, in their exhaustive work on the family,[262] “and living +only in forest districts or open countries interspersed with groves +of trees, they are neither shy nor difficult to approach. When +the districts in which they are found happen to be at all thickly +populated, the Barbets show no disposition to retreat to more secluded +quarters, but take up their abode in gardens, and frequently breed +in trees close to the houses. They usually keep to the tops of the +trees, but may occasionally be seen creeping among the branches of +small bushes and underwood. Their food is fruit, seeds, buds, and +occasionally insects; these latter are very seldom resorted to in Asia, +more frequently in Africa, and with some American species they form +the staple food. They are not gregarious, though a great number may +sometimes be seen together in a fig-tree at the fruit season. They +live in pairs during the breeding season, which is in the spring, and +commence moulting in September. They rarely, if ever, descend to the +ground, and appear to move from tree to tree only when compelled to do +so in search of food, or when disturbed by an intruder. Their flight +is powerful, but heavy and undulating, like that of a Woodpecker. A +curious instance of their disinclination to travel is seen in the fact +of the Himalayan Lineated Barbet (_Megalæma hodgsoni_) and the Hoary +Jungle Barbet (_M. caniceps_) never crossing the narrow valley of the +Deyra Doon, though both are abundant in their respective boundaries; +also that the Blue-faced Barbet (_M. asiatica_) is confined to the +valley of the Jumna, in the district between Mussooree and Simla, +though there are many other valleys apparently equally suitable. When +not in pursuit of food, the Barbets sit motionless among the foliage +near the tops of the trees, and exhibit none of that vivacity which +is so marked a characteristic of the Passerine birds, amongst which +they have been sometimes erroneously classed. Their voice is loud and +ringing, consisting almost always of one, two, or three syllables, +given out with extraordinary power, and may be heard at midday or +on a moonlight night when all other sounds are hushed. Some of the +American species have, in common with the Toucans, the habit of jerking +their tail up over their back when they utter their call. The male +and female sometimes keep up what appears to be a ‘calling-match’ +for about ten minutes, and then suddenly cease. As far as is known, +they all build in holes of trees, which they make for themselves in +soft or decayed branches. No lining is needed for the nest, a few of +the broken chips being left at the bottom of a hole. The entrance is +circular and neatly bevelled, resembling that of a Woodpecker. The +hole is generally about eight or ten inches deep, varying, of course, +with the size of the bird. They lay three or four shining white eggs, +with rather thin shells, and rather elongated, blunt, oval in shape, +both ends being nearly similar. They are laid in the latter end of +April and beginning of May in Northern India. Barbets are occasionally +caged, but they are very seldom brought to England, and do not bear +confinement very well; consequently, little is known of them in this +country, except to ornithologists. An interesting account of one of +them (_Megalæma zeylanica_) in captivity, by Mr. Layard, will be found +quoted below. Their plumage, though very brilliant, is tasteless and +too gaudy, and their shape is heavy and ugly, which will account for +their skins not yet having been promoted to the positions with which +pretty birds’ feathers are generally associated in the minds of the +non-ornithological public.” Mr. Layard’s account is as follows:--“The +Brown-headed Barbet is common in Ceylon, and universally distributed. +It feeds on fruits and berries of all kinds, which it swallows entire. +It does not, that I know of, devour small birds when in a state of +nature, but one kept in a large aviary at Colombo destroyed all the +little _Amadinæ_ placed with it. Not content with snapping them up when +within his reach, he would lie in wait for them behind a thick bush or +the feeding-trough, pounce upon them unawares, and, after beating them +a little on the ground or perch, swallow them whole. When this cannibal +came into my possession he was confined in a smaller cage than that +in which he had at first been secured. This seemed to displease him, +and he went to work to find some means of escape. He narrowly examined +every side and corner to discover a weak spot, and having detected one, +applied himself vigorously to bore a hole through it, as a Woodpecker +would have done. Grasping the bars with his feet, he swung himself +round, bringing his whole weight to bear upon his bill, which he used +as a pickaxe, till the house resounded with his rapid and well-aimed +blows. On being checked from exercising his ingenuity in this manner, +he became sulky, and refused to eat or offer his call of recognition +when I approached him. In a day or two, however, he apparently thought +better of the matter, resumed his labours upon another spot, and fed as +voraciously as ever, devouring huge slices of bananas, jungle fruits, +the bodies of any small birds I skinned, &c.” + + + + +THE SECOND ORDER.--PICARIAN BIRDS. SUB-ORDER II.--FISSIROSTRES. + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE JACAMARS, PUFF BIRDS, KINGFISHERS, HORNBILLS, AND HOOPOES. + + THE JACAMARS--THE PUFF BIRDS--THE KINGFISHERS--Characters--THE + COMMON KINGFISHER--Distribution--Its Cry--Habits--After + its Prey--Its own Nest-builder--Mr. Rowley’s Note on the + Subject--Nest in the British Museum--Superstitions concerning the + Kingfisher--Colour--Various Species--CRESTED KINGFISHER--PIED + KINGFISHER--Dr. Von Heuglin’s Account of its Habits--New + World Representatives--OMNIVOROUS KINGFISHERS--THE AUSTRALIAN + CINNAMON-BREASTED KINGFISHER--Macgillivray’s Account of its + Habits--THE LAUGHING JACKASS of Australia--Its Discordant Laugh--The + “Bushman’s Clock”--Colour--Habits--THE HORNBILLS--Character--Their + Heavy Flight--Noise produced when on the Wing--Food--Extraordinary + Habit of Imprisoning the Female--Native Testimony--Exception--Fed by + the Male Bird--Dr. Livingstone’s Observations on the point, and Mr. + Bartlett’s Remarks--Strange Gizzard Sacs--Dr. Murie’s Remarks--Mr. + Wallace’s Description of the Habits of the Hornbills--Capture + of a Young One in Sumatra--THE GROUND HORNBILLS--South African + Species--Kaffir Superstition regarding it--Habits--Mr. Ayres’ Account + of the Natal Species--How it Kills Snakes--The Call--Habits--Mr. + Monteiro’s Description of the Angola Form--Turkey-like + Manner--Wariness--Food--THE HOOPOES--Appearance--Distribution--THE + COMMON HOOPOE--Habits--The Name--How does it Produce its Note?--THE + WOOD HOOPOES--Habits. + + +THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS. + + +THE JACAMARS (_Galbulidæ_).[263] + +These birds are usually of metallic green plumage, with long beaks and +wedge-shaped tails, and are found only in Central and Southern America, +where they seem to represent the Bee-eaters of the Old World. Not many +notices have appeared of their habits, the best being that given by Mr. +Waterton, in his “Wanderings” in Demerara:--“A bird called Jacamar is +often taken for a Kingfisher, but it has no relationship to that tribe: +it frequently sits in the trees over the water, and as its beak bears +some resemblance to that of the Kingfisher, this may probably account +for its being taken for one. It feeds entirely upon insects. It sits on +a branch in motionless expectation, and as soon as a Fly, Butterfly, or +Moth passes by, it darts at it, and returns to the branch it had just +left. It seems an indolent, sedentary bird, shunning the society of all +others in the forest. It never visits the plantations, but is found at +all times of the year in the woods. There are four species of Jacamar +in Demerara; they are all beautiful, the largest rich and superb in the +extreme. Its plumage is of so fine a changing blue and golden green, +that it may be ranked with the choicest of the Humming Birds. Nature +has denied it a song, but given a costly garment in lieu of it. The +smallest species of Jacamar is very common in the dry savannas. The +second size, all golden green in the back, must be looked for in the +Wallaba Forest; the third is found throughout the whole extent of these +wilds; and the fourth, which is the largest, frequents the interior, +where you begin to perceive stones in the ground.” + + +THE SECOND FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS. + + +THE PUFF BIRDS (_Bucconidæ_). + +In general form the Puff Birds are not unlike Kingfishers, some of +which they resemble in their habits, feeding chiefly on insects, +which they catch in the air. In many respects also they resemble the +Bee-eaters (_Meropidæ_), and may be considered as representing the +last-named family in South and Central America, to which countries they +are entirely confined. Of the Long-winged Puff Birds (_Chelidoptera +tenebrosa_) the late Prince Maximilian of Neuwied gives the following +account:--“It is not rare in most provinces of South Brazil, and very +common in many of them. It is found in certain spots sitting still and +immovable upon the high isolated branches of the forest trees. From +time to time it flies after an insect in the air, and falls back again +to its place like a true Fly-catcher. It is a stupid, still, melancholy +bird, but likes to sit high, and not low and near the ground, like +other Puff Birds. As in form and colour it rather resembles a Swallow, +the Brazilians call it _Andurinha do mato_ (Wood Swallow). The +resemblance is greatest when the bird sits upon the ground, for its +feet are little adapted for walking, and it consequently shuffles along +as a Swallow does. Its flight is light and undulating. Sitting upon a +high point, whence it can overlook the neighbourhood, it often emits +a short call-note. It is anything but timid, and very easy to shoot. +It is usually found where the woods are varied with open country, on +the edges of the woods, but likewise in the interior of them. The +food of these birds consists of insects, of which I have found the +remains in their stomachs. On the Rio Grande del Belmonte I observed +how these birds nest. In the month of August I saw them enter a round +hole in a perpendicular sand-bank on the river, like a Kingfisher’s. +After digging about two feet in a horizontal direction, we found two +milk-white eggs upon a bad lining of a few feathers.”[264] + + +THE THIRD FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS. + + +THE KINGFISHERS (_Alcedinidæ_). + +The Kingfishers are a very varied family, including within their limits +birds of very different form and habits. The bill is always long and +powerful for the size of the bird, producing, in some of the smaller +species, a top-heavy and ungainly aspect; but this organ is modified +according to the habits of the birds, and is strictly in accordance +with the functions which it has to perform. The foot is similar in all +Kingfishers, the sole being very flat, and the toes joined together for +the greater part of their length, so that the birds always have a very +firm support to their bodies. The legs are very short and weak, the +wings powerful, and the gape very wide. The Kingfishers may be divided +into two sub-families, distinguished by the form of the bill, which is +long and compressed in the fish-eating Kingfishers (_Alcedininæ_), of +which the European bird is a type, with a distinct ridge or keel along +the upper mandible; while in the _Daceloninæ_, which have a stouter and +flatter bill, with a smooth and rounded culmen, the food is varied, +consisting more of insects than of fish. + + +THE COMMON KINGFISHER (_Alcedo[265] ispida_). + +[Illustration: COMMON KINGFISHER.] + +This is, perhaps, the most brilliantly-coloured bird there is in +England, but by reason of its shy habits and wonderfully quick flight +it is not often observed, excepting as a flash of bright blue on +the river side, appearing for an instant and gone the next. It is, +however, by no means uncommon in many of the rivers in the south of +England, particularly during the month of October, when a partial +migration of the species evidently takes place. At this season of +the year, the writer once observed a Kingfisher on the ornamental +water in St. James’s Park. Beyond the British Islands it is found in +most parts of the European continent, being replaced in the East by +the little Indian Kingfisher (_A. bengalensis_), a miniature of the +English bird, but with a much longer bill. The following account of the +habits of this bird, the result of several years’ close acquaintance +with the species on the river Thames, is taken from the author’s work +on this subject[266]:--“When in a wild state, flying along the banks +of a stream, or sitting patiently at watch for its finny prey, the +Kingfisher is a beautiful sight. Often has it been our good fortune to +witness the bird at close quarters, but this is by no means easy to +accomplish, owing to the extreme wariness of the bird from repeated +persecution. The presence of the Kingfisher in one’s neighbourhood +can be detected from some distance by the faint cry which falls upon +the ear from afar. This note, which is a shrill, but not unmusical, +scream, generally consists of two syllables, but is very difficult +to render in language. Naumann gives it as _ti-ti_, which is by no +means a bad representation of the cry; and these syllables are quickly +repeated as the bird leaves its perch and skims over the stream. The +flight is rapid and very direct, the bird speeding like a bullet a +little height above the surface of the water. When suddenly disturbed, +it utters its cry shortly after leaving its perch, and then flies +for some distance in silence; but when passing unmolested from one +resting-place to another, its shrill note may be heard at frequent +intervals. Just before perching, the cry is uttered three or four +times successively--_ti-ti-ti_. When resting, it sits uprightly, +with the glance directed downwards, motionlessly scanning the stream +beneath, intent on the capture of any fish or water insect which may +come within its reach. Its unerring dive seldom proves fruitless; and +when secured, a few smart raps on its perch, to which the bird always +returns, deprive the victim of life, after which it is immediately +swallowed. Except in the early morning, it seldom chooses a very open +position for its resting-place; but in the autumn, when the migration +is in progress, at break of day it is not unusual to see two, or even +three, birds in company on a rail or on the side of a punt; in the +day-time, however, it loves solitude, and seldom more than one can +be seen at once, and then it affects more shady and secluded haunts. +In general it is a lonely bird, jealous of intrusion, especially +from individuals of its own species. Each pair appears to choose and +maintain a particular hunting-ground, and should one Kingfisher enter +upon the domain of another, it is speedily and effectually ousted by +the rightful owner with cries of rage. So fierce is the animosity +displayed by these birds, that when excited in combat they fly heedless +of obstacles, and thus occasionally meet their death in their headlong +career.” An instance is on record of two Kingfishers flying with such +violence against a window that both pursuer and pursued met their death +on the spot. The present species does not always pounce on its prey +from a perch, but will occasionally fly out over the mid-stream, and +hover in the air like a Kestrel Hawk; and after making an unsuccessful +plunge, will repeat its hovering position over the same spot, until its +efforts are rewarded with success. It has been seen also to dash into +the water several times in succession, which movement has been supposed +to be for the purpose of attracting fish to the spot by disturbing the +water; it is, however, more probable that in this exercise the bird is +taking a bath. The young have exactly the same cry as their parents, +but the note is less shrill. On leaving the nest, they often congregate +in some well-shaded locality by the side of the stream, where food is +brought to them by their parents, and the presence of the nestlings is +often betrayed by their shrill pipings. The bill in the young birds is +very short, and has a little white tip to it; in the adult male it is +entirely black; but the female may always be distinguished by the base +of the lower mandible being red. + +That the Kingfisher makes its own hole is now an ascertained fact, +and the following note on the subject was published in 1866 by Mr. G. +Dawson Rowley:--“Though the subject of the Kingfisher (_Alcedo ispida_) +is somewhat stale, yet, in consequence of the remarks which I have +just read in the October _Quarterly_ on ‘Homes without Hands,’ I send +you the following notes, made this spring, in order to set at rest, if +possible, a mistake regarding the breeding of this bird. Modern writers +on the Kingfisher are hardly more free from error than even Ovid or +Pliny. The bird is a true miner, and makes a nest of fish-bones; but, +as no rule is without an exception, when it cannot find a suitable bank +to bore in, it has been known to nidificate in abnormal situations; and +when abundance of proper fish are not to be caught it is obliged to do +without bones. + +“From many years’ constant watching, I can exactly tell the probable +position of the hole, and the day it will be begun. Accordingly, on +Thursday, March 29, I sent two witnesses to a particular spot on the +River Ouse, St. Neots, Huntingdonshire. They observed that there was +on that day positively no hole of any kind, no vestige of hole, in +that bank. On Easter Monday, April 2, I sent a keeper to the place. +He reported the hole as begun. On the same day I went in a boat, +and, putting a reed up, found it by actual measurement about fifteen +inches deep, the moulds being quite fresh outside. Droppings of the +bird (which was seen constantly leaving the hole) were visible in two +places. There was also a shallow hole a little to the left of the +above-mentioned one. This was a failure--either from caprice or some +other cause abandoned. We observe the same in Woodpeckers, which will +sometimes bore in three or four places before they get one to their +liking, a circumstance I particularly remarked in a pair of the Greater +Spotted Woodpeckers (_P. major_) last spring. Between March 29 and +April 2 the Kingfisher had made two holes. I thought it best now to +leave the place, only receiving from the keeper each morning a report, +as he went by in his boat, how the bird was going on. + +“Saturday, April 7, I made a memorandum: ‘I again observe fresh moulds, +but not, as we consider, to-day’s, but yesterday’s: hence I suppose +the hole to be nearly finished, if not quite.’ Here, I should say, +after taking these nests constantly for nearly thirty years, I find +twenty-one days is the correct time, from the commencement of the +excavation to the end of laying seven eggs. I never had the luck to +find eight; Mr. Gould, however, informs me he once did. ‘Saturday, +April 21. Opened the hole situated in the perpendicular bank to keep +off Water-rats. Found by measurement the entrance was twelve inches +from the surface of the ground, and about five feet from the water. The +length of the ascending gallery was eight inches and a half, and the +oval chamber six inches in diameter more. The top of the chamber was +nine inches from the surface of the ground. It contained the usual nest +of fish-bones, which was one inch and a half deep; and the same, with +the seven fresh eggs, are now before me, with two other nests from the +same locality. The bird flew off after the first dig, which I commonly +made so as to cover up the hole again without disturbance if the +full number of eggs had not been laid. There was no excrement in the +chamber, but much just outside in the gallery.’ The size of the chamber +is just sufficient for the owners to turn round pleasantly. When the +young birds, which I have seen in every stage, have been some time in +the nest, of course the hole gets very foul. Here, then, is a case, +capable of being attested by two or three witnesses step by step--and +concerning which there can be no doubt--where the Kingfisher is proved +to have made its own hole. I have known it when driven from one bank by +floods to revert to an old hole of its own making in the previous year; +but never has there been an instance of its taking up with the abode of +its most deadly enemy, the Water-rat. It is hard to prove a negative, +but it is certainly a most unlikely thing for a Kingfisher to enter a +rat-hole. No one who has seen the eggs of this species _in situ_ as +often as I have can deny that the fish-bones are placed with the design +of making a nest.” + +In the British Museum may be seen a nest of the Kingfisher, which was +taken by Mr. Gould under the following circumstances:--“On the 18th +of April, 1859, during one of my fishing excursions on the Thames, +I saw a hole in a precipitous bank, which I felt assured was the +nesting-place of a Kingfisher; and on passing a spare top of my fly +rod to the extremity, a distance of nearly three feet, I brought out +some freshly-cast bones of fish, convincing me that I was right in +my surmise. The day following I again visited the spot with a spade, +and, after removing nearly two feet square of the turf, dug down to +the nest without disturbing the passage which led to it. Here I found +four eggs placed on the usual layer of fish-bones. These I removed with +care, and then replaced the earth, beating it down as hard as the bank +itself, and restored the turfy sod. A fortnight after the bird was seen +to leave the hole again, and my suspicions were aroused that she had +taken to her old breeding quarters a second time. I again visited the +place on the twenty-first day from the date of my former exploration, +and upon passing the top of my fly rod up the hole, found, not only +that it was of the former length, but that the female was within. I +then took a large mass of cotton-wool from my collecting-box, and +stuffed it to the extremity, in order to preserve the eggs from damage +during my again laying it open from above. On removing the sod and +digging down as before, I came to the cotton-wool, and beneath it was +formed a nest of fish-bones the size of a small saucer, the walls of +which were fully half an inch thick, together with eight translucent +pinky-white eggs, and the old female herself. This nest I removed with +the greatest care; and it is now deposited in the proper place for so +interesting an object--the British Museum. This mass of bones, then +weighing 700 grains, had been cast up and deposited by the bird and +its mate in the short space of twenty-one days. Ornithologists are +divided in opinion as to whether the fish-bones are to be considered +in the light of a nest. Some are disposed to believe them to be the +castings and fæces of the young brood of the year, and that the same +hole being frequented for a succession of years, a great mass is at +length formed; while others suppose that they are deposited by the +parents as a platform for the eggs, constituting, in fact, a nest; +and I think, from what I have adduced, we may fairly conclude this is +the case: in fact, nothing could be better adapted to defend the eggs +from the damp earth.” In ancient times there was a legend that when +the Kingfishers made their nests--which were supposed to float upon +the top of the sea--fine weather was always allowed to prevail.[267] A +custom used formerly to be in vogue in England of turning a Kingfisher +into a weathercock; and, according to the late M. Jules Verreaux, +this practice is pursued in France even in the present day, where the +bird is mummified and suspended by a thread with extended wings in +order to show the direction of the wind. Mr. Harting alludes to these +superstitions in his “Ornithology of Shakespeare” (p. 275). It was +formerly believed that during the time the Halcyon, or Kingfisher, was +engaged in hatching her eggs, the water, in kindness to her, remained +so smooth and calm that the mariner might venture on the sea with the +happy certainty of not being exposed to storms or tempests; this period +was therefore called, by Pliny and Aristotle, “the halcyon days.” + + “Expect Saint Martin’s summer, _halcyon_ days.” + + _Henry VI._, Part i., Act i., sc. 2. + +It was also supposed that the dead bird, carefully balanced and +suspended by a single thread, would always turn its beak towards that +point of the compass from which the wind blew. Kent, in _King Lear_ +(Act ii. sc. 2), speaks of rogues who-- + + “Turn their _halcyon_ beaks + With every gale and vary of their masters.” + +And, after Shakspere, Marlowe, in his _Jew of Malta_, says:-- + + “But how now stands the wind? + Into what corner peers my _halcyon’s_ bill?” + +The Common Kingfisher measures about seven inches from the tip of his +bill to the end of his tail. The colour of the upper parts is blue, +greener on the mantle and scapulars, and beautiful rich cobalt on the +back, rump, and upper tail-coverts; the head is blue, barred with +black, the wings blue, with spots of brighter cobalt on the coverts; in +front of the eye is a spot of rufous, this being also the colour of the +eye-coverts and under parts; the throat is white, and there is a patch +of white on each side of the neck; the cheeks and sides of the breast +are blue, the bill is black, the feet red. The female is coloured +like the male, but can always be told by the red colour at the base of +the under mandible. This is also present in young birds of both sexes, +but the latter can readily be distinguished by their shorter bills. + +[Illustration: PIED KINGFISHER.] + +Species of the genus _Alcedo_ are distributed over the greater part +of the Old World, extending even into the Molucca Islands, but in +Australia and the Papuan group they are represented by the genus +_Alcyone_, comprising Kingfishers of similar form to the English bird, +but distinguished by the absence of the inner toe. In Africa and +Madagascar some beautiful little crested Kingfishers (_Corythornis_) +are met with, the largest of which scarcely exceeds five inches in +length. A very familiar species on the banks of the Nile is the Pied +Kingfisher (_Ceryle[268] rudis_), one of the commonest birds in Africa +and India, and of this species Dr. von Heuglin writes[269]:--“It +lives in pairs, is sociable, and, except during the breeding season, +more friendly with members of its own species than other Kingfishers, +and often several pairs dwell in the same neighbourhood. It sits and +watches along the shore on overhanging branches, on roofs, walls, +brickets, rocks, and even on the ground, but seldom pounces from the +latter on its prey. From time to time it takes a flight over shallow +clear water, also right across the river or from one island to another, +sometimes very low, generally, however, several fathoms above the +surface. Its flight is not very swift, but straight, and steadied +by quick, fluttering motions of the wing--not rushing, like that of +_Alcedo ispida_--and it rises and falls according to will and with +great agility. One often sees it, after taking a start by several +quick flaps of the wing, and gliding on for a distance, suddenly, with +one quick movement, alter the direction of the flight and suddenly +stop and hover. When hovering, the bill is held straight down, and +the hind part of the body and tail also rather lowered. Directly it +catches sight of its scaly prey it turns up, lays its feathers close +to the body, and drops like a stone into the water, remaining often +over ten seconds below the surface. It seldom misses its mark, and +devours the fish it has captured either on the wing or at one of its +resting-places. The voice is a shrill whistle, at the same time chirpy, +or at times snickery. During the pairing time the males often fight on +the wing, and roll together, calling loudly, nearly to the surface of +the water. In Egypt the breeding season is our spring; according to +Adams, as early as December. The nest, consisting of a small heap of +clean dry grass, is placed in a horizontal hole about arm’s depth in +a steep bank, and contains four to six pure white roundish eggs, the +shell of which is rather rough compared with that of _Alcedo ispida_. +Often several nest-holes are close together. The plumage of the young +much resembles that of the adult. There is scarcely any bird on the +Nile tamer than the Black and White Kingfisher.” The genus _Ceryle_, +to which the foregoing species belongs, is largely represented in the +New World, one of the best known being the Belted Kingfisher of North +America, and an unusual circumstance in fish-eating Kingfishers is +characteristic of the genus, viz., a difference in the colouring of the +sexes. The Stork-billed Kingfishers (_Pelargopsis_[270]) are the most +powerful members of the sub-family, some of them measuring nearly a +foot and a half in length. + +More difference in form and size is perceptible in the omnivorous +Kingfishers (_Daceloninæ_), where some of the little three-toed species +of _Ceyx_ do not exceed five inches in length, whereas the Great +Laughing Jackasses of Australia (_Dacelo_) attain the dimensions of +more than a foot and a half. The smaller birds of this section feed +almost entirely on insects, and the Rose-cheeked Kingfisher of Africa +(_Ispidina[271] picta_) feeds principally on Grasshoppers and small +Locusts, while its representative in Natal (_I. natalensis_) is said to +feed entirely on Butterflies and insects caught on the wing. They are +often found along the banks of rivers, but never catch fish. The large +genus _Halcyon_ is distributed all over Africa, and ranges throughout +Southern Asia, through China, to Japan, inhabiting also the islands +of the Malay Archipelago and the entire Continent of Australia. These +birds prefer a mixed diet, and, in addition to an occasional fish, they +will also eat crustacea, small reptiles, and insects. Perhaps the most +beautiful of all the Kingfisher family are the _Tanysipteræ_,[272] +which are found only in New Guinea, the adjacent Moluccas, and +the north-east peninsula of Australia. These birds have only ten +tail-feathers, the middle pair being very much longer than the rest, +and ending in a spatule or racket. They live entirely in the forests, +feeding on insects, and they are said to roost in the holes of rocks by +the side of small streams. The best known species of _Tanysiptera_ is +the Australian Cinnamon-breasted Kingfisher (_T. sylvia_), which was +discovered by the late Mr. John Macgillivray, who gives the following +account of its habits:--“This pretty _Tanysiptera_ is rather plentiful +in the neighbourhood of Cape York, where it frequents the dense bushes, +and is especially fond of resorting to the sunny openings in the +woods, attracted, probably, by the greater abundance of insect food +found in such places than elsewhere. I never saw it on the ground, and +usually was first made aware of its presence by the glancing of its +bright colours as it darted past with a rapid arrow-like flight, and +disappeared in an instant amongst the dense foliage. Its cry, which +may be represented by _whee-whe-whee_ and _wheet-wheet-wheet_, is +usually uttered when the bird is perched on a bare, transverse branch, +or woody, rope-like climber, which it uses as a look-out station, and +whence it makes short dashes at any passing insect or small Lizard, +generally returning to the same spot. It is a shy, suspicious bird, +and one well calculated to try the patience of the shooter, who +may follow it for an hour without getting a shot, unless he has as +keen an eye as a native, to whom I was indebted for first pointing +it out to me. According to the natives, who know it by the name of +_Quatawur_, it lays three white eggs in a hole dug by itself in one of +the large ant-hills of red clay which form so remarkable a feature in +the neighbourhood, some of them being as much as ten feet in height, +with numerous buttresses and pinnacles. I believe that the bird also +inhabits New Guinea; for at Redscar Bay, on the south-east of that +great island, in long. 146° 15′ E., a head strung upon a necklace was +procured from the natives.” + +[Illustration: LAUGHING JACKASS.] + +The largest of all the Kingfishers are the Laughing Jackasses of +Australia, this curious name being given to the bird from its strange +note and peculiar look, both of which can be appreciated by any +visitor to the London Zoological Gardens, where there is generally one, +if not two, out of the seven species known. Of the bird in its native +haunts a very good idea is given us by the “Old Bushman,” the late Mr. +Henry Wheelwright, which is here taken from a little work called the +“Bush Wanderings of a Naturalist.” “About an hour before sunrise the +bushman is awakened by the most discordant sounds, as if a troop of +fiends were shouting, whooping, and laughing around him in one wild +chorus: this is the morning song of the ‘Laughing Jackass,’ warning his +feathered mates that daybreak is at hand. At noon the same wild laugh +is heard, and as the sun sinks into the west it again rings through the +forest. I shall never forget the first night I slept in the open bush +in this country. It was in the Black Forest. I woke about daybreak, +after a confused sleep, and for some minutes I could not remember +where I was, such were the extraordinary sounds that greeted my ears; +the fiendish laugh of the Jackass, the clear, flute-like note of the +Magpie, the hoarse cackle of the Wattle-birds, the jargon of flocks +of Leatherheads, and the screaming of thousands of Parrots as they +dashed through the forest, all joining chorus, formed one of the most +extraordinary concerts I have ever heard, and seemed at the moment to +have been got up for the purpose of welcoming the stranger to this land +of wonders on that eventful morning. I have heard it hundreds of times +since, but never with the same feelings that I listened to it then. The +Laughing Jackass is the bushman’s clock, and being by no means shy, +of a companionable nature, a constant attendant about the bush-tent, +and a destroyer of Snakes, is regarded, like the Robin at home, as a +sacred bird in the Australian forests. It is an uncouth-looking bird, a +huge species of land Kingfisher, nearly the size of a Crow, of a rich +chestnut brown and dirty white colour; the wings slightly chequered +with light blue, after the manner of the British Jay; the tail-feathers +long, rather pointed, and barred with brown. It has the foot of a +Kingfisher; a very formidable, long, pointed beak, and a large mouth; +it has also a kind of crest, which it erects when angry or frightened, +and this gives it a very ferocious appearance. It is a common bird in +all the forest throughout the year; breeds in a hole of a tree, and the +eggs are white; generally seen in pairs, and by no means shy. Their +principal food appears to be small reptiles, grubs, and caterpillars. +As I said before, it destroys Snakes. I never but once saw them at +this game: a pair of Jackasses had disabled a Carpet-Snake under an +old gum-tree, and they sat on a dead branch above it, every now and +then darting down and pecking it, and by their antics and chattering +seemed to consider it a capital joke. I can’t say whether they ate the +Snake--I fancy not; at least the only reptiles I have ever found in +their stomachs have been small Lizards. The first sight that struck me +on landing in London was a poor old Laughing Jackass moped up in a cage +in Ratcliffe Highway. I never saw a more miserable, woe-begone object. +I quite pitied my poor old friend, as he sat dejected on his perch; +and the thought struck me at the time that we were probably neither of +us benefited in changing the quiet freedom of the bush for the noise +and bustle of the modern Babylon.” The Common Laughing Jackass has the +sexes alike, but in all the other species the male has a blue tail and +the female a red one. + + +THE FOURTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS. + + +THE HORNBILLS (_Bucerotidæ_). + +These birds are found in Africa, India, and throughout the Malayan +region and Molucca Islands, as far as New Guinea. They are birds of +rather ungainly appearance, nearly every species having a casque, or +helmet, which is developed in every variety of shape, and in some of +them reaches an extraordinary size. The flat soles which were alluded +to in the Kingfishers are here developed in a greater degree, and the +toes are united together in exactly the same way. The flight, however, +of the Hornbills is very different from that of the Kingfishers, +being heavy and performed with an abundance of noise: so much so that +some explorers in South-eastern New Guinea have been led to speak +of a bird whose wings, when flying, produced a noise “resembling +a locomotive,” but which was doubtless made by the large Hornbill +(_Buceros[273] ruficollis_), which frequents that part of the world. +They are generally found on very lofty trees and at a great height, +which makes them difficult to shoot; and Governor Ussher says that +in ascending the lonely forest-clad rivers of North-western Borneo +the only sign of life is often a solitary Hornbill flying across at a +great height in the air. Wallace states that the Rhinoceros Hornbill +(_Buceros rhinoceros_), a native of the Malayan Peninsula and Borneo, +finds the exertion of flying so great that it is compelled to rest at +intervals of about a mile; and the same author says that he heard the +Great Hornbill (_Dichoceros bicornis_) more than a mile off, so that +the amazement caused by one of these large birds to the travellers in +New Guinea, as mentioned above, does not seem so very inexplicable. The +voice of the last-named species is said to be very harsh and grating, +and the noise it makes is compared by Wallace to something between the +bray of a Jackass and the shriek of a locomotive, and is not to be +surpassed, probably, in power by any sound that an animal is capable +of making. Tickell says that its roar re-echoes through the hills to +such a degree that it is difficult to assign the noise to a bird; +and Wallace observes that this is kept up so continuously as to be +absolutely unbearable. The flight is heavy, and performed by repeated +flappings of its huge wings. It usually flies in a straight line, and +sails only when about to alight upon some tree.[274] + +[Illustration: GREAT HORNBILL.] + +The food of the Hornbills consists principally of fruits, but under +certain circumstances they become to a great extent omnivorous, and +will devour anything, some of the species searching the ground for +Lizards, which they devour readily, both when wild and in confinement; +and the Pied Hornbill (_Anthracoceros malabaricus_) is stated by Mr. +Inglis to be very fond of live fish, which it catches in shallow pools. +The way he discovered this predilection for an abnormal diet was as +follows: he possessed a tame Otter and three tame Hornbills; at feeding +time the Otter was placed in a tub containing live fish, and these, +when closely pressed, would jump out to escape from their pursuer, +and were immediately swallowed by the Hornbills. Mr. Inglis has also +found bones of fish in the stomachs of birds which he had shot; and the +natives of the Naga Hills affirm that when these Hornbills are intent +on fishing they can be approached sufficiently close to be killed by a +stick. + +By far the most curious habit belonging to these birds is that which +takes place during the breeding season, when the male bird plasters +the female into a hollow tree, there to hatch her eggs, nor does he +release her until the young ones are nearly full grown. It is scarcely +possible to conceive a practice more detrimental to the well-being of +any bird than this. The exertion of feeding himself as well as his +wife and nestlings must entail a serious strain upon the male, while +the destruction of the latter must inevitably ensure the starvation of +the female and of the young birds. This curious habit has been well +attested by observers in Asia as well as in Africa; and the writer once +received from an old negro collector on the West Coast of Africa, who +rejoiced in the name of St. Thomas David Aubinn, and styled himself +“Royal Hunter to the King of Denkera,” an adult female of the Black +Hornbill (_Sphagolobus atratus_), together with a nearly full-grown +young one, which, he said, had been taken by him together out of the +hole of a tree; and the habits of the Hornbill in this respect were +given by him in the following words: “When the female go to sit, the +male he her shut in tree. If he no bring food, then she angry. If he no +then bring food, then she more angry--swear. If he no then bring food, +then she curse him for die. Man--beef--beefy--beef!” + +If the last sentence is intended to represent the enraged Hornbill, +it is evident that the noises produced by the bird are not of that +startling character ascribed to the Eastern species by Wallace, as +mentioned above. All accounts seem to agree that the female is shut +in the hollow of a tree; but Dr. Kirk noted an exception, on native +authority, and therefore one which must be confirmed by future +research. This is the Crested Hornbill (_Bycanistes cristatus_), which +is a common bird on the river Shiré, where it goes in large flocks, and +roosts regularly in the same places. “The natives say that the female +hatches her eggs in a hole underground, in which she is fastened by +the male.” Our astonishment at the imprisonment of the female Hornbill +is not lessened when it is found that the male bird keeps her supplied +with food by a most curious process, which accounts for the statement +of Dr. Livingstone[275]:--“The first time I saw this bird was at +Kolobeng, where I had gone to the forest for some timber. Standing by +a tree, a native looked behind me and exclaimed, ‘There is the nest of +Korwe.’ I saw a slit only, about half an inch wide and three or four +inches long, in a slight hollow of a tree. Thinking the word Korwe +denoted some small animal, I waited with interest to see what he would +extract. He broke the clay which surrounded the slit, put his arm into +the hole, and brought out a Tockus, or Red-beaked Hornbill, which he +killed. He informed me that when the female enters her nest she submits +to a real confinement. The male plasters up the entrance, leaving +only a narrow slit by which to feed his mate, and which exactly suits +the form of his beak. The female makes a nest, of her own feathers, +lays her eggs, hatches them, and remains with the young till they are +fully fledged. During all this time, which is stated to be two or +three months, the male continues to feed her and the young family. The +prisoner generally becomes quite fat, and is esteemed a very dainty +morsel by the natives; while the poor slave of a husband gets so lean +that on the sudden lowering of the temperature, which sometimes happens +after a fall of rain, he is benumbed, falls down, and dies.” At a +meeting of the Zoological Society on the 25th February, 1869, Mr. A. +D. Bartlett produced a curious envelope, which had been thrown by a +Wrinkled Hornbill (_Anorrhinus corrugatus_) in the Zoological Gardens +of London, which was found to contain plums or grapes well packed +together; and Mr. Bartlett came to the conclusion that it was by means +of fruit packed together in such a wrapper that the male fed the female +during her confinement in the hollow tree. In 1874, Dr. Murie exhibited +to the same society some similar envelopes, or, as he more properly +called them, gizzard sacs, which had been thrown up by a specimen of +Sclater’s Hornbill (_Bycanistes subcylindricus_) in the same way as by +the previous bird. On examination, these gizzard sacs proved to be the +interior lining of the bird’s stomach; and it was evident, from the +short time that elapsed between the throwing up of the envelopes, that, +as Dr. Murie observed, the bird in the interval had made a new one, and +got rid of it also, without apparently being any the worse. One can +readily imagine, however, that this process, being continued during the +long period that the female is shut up in the bole of the tree, must +tend greatly to weaken the bird. The habit of feeding his mate seems +to be inherent in every Hornbill, even in captivity, for Mr. Bartlett +observes:--“The tame male Hornbill is particularly distinguished at all +seasons by this habit of throwing up his food, which he not only offers +to the female, but to the keepers and others who are known to him. +The male Concave Hornbill (_Buceros cavatus_) now in the Gardens will +frequently throw up grapes, and, holding them in the point of the bill, +thrust them into the mouth of the keeper, if he is not on the alert to +prevent or avoid this distinguished mark of his kindness.” + +Mr. Wallace thus describes the habits of the Hornbills, as observed +by him during his travels in the East, and he points out certain +peculiarities, proving that the old systematic position of these birds +near the Toucans of America is erroneous:--“From an examination of +the structure of the feet and toes, and from a consideration of their +habits, we are led to conclude that the Hornbills are Fissirostral +birds, though of a very abnormal form. Their very short legs and united +toes, with a broad flat sole, are exactly similar to those of the +Kingfishers. They have powerful wings, but their heavy bodies oblige +them to use much exertion in flight, which is not therefore very rapid, +though often extended to considerable distances. They are (in the +Indian Archipelago, at least) entirely frugivorous, and it is curious +to observe how their structure modifies their mode of feeding. They are +far too heavy to dart after the fruit in the manner of the Trogons; +they cannot even fly quickly from branch to branch, picking up a fruit +here and a fruit there; neither have they strength or agility enough to +venture on the more slender branches with the Pigeons and Barbets; but +they alight heavily on a branch of considerable thickness, and then, +looking cautiously round them, pick off any fruits that may be within +reach, and jerk them down their throats by a motion similar to that +used by the Toucans, which has been erroneously described as throwing +the fruit up in the air before swallowing it. When they have gathered +all within their reach they move sideways along the branch by short +jumps, or, rather, a kind of shuffle, and the smaller species even hop +across to other branches, when they again gather what is within their +reach. When in this way they have progressed as far as the bough will +safely carry them, they take a flight to another part of the tree, +where they pursue the same course. It thus happens that they soon +exhaust all the fruit within their reach; and long after they have +left a tree the Barbets and _Eurylaimi_ find abundance of food on the +slender branches and extreme twigs. We see, therefore, that their very +short legs and syndactyle feet remove them completely from the vicinity +of the Toucans, in which the legs are actively employed in moving about +after their food. Their wings, too, are as powerful as those of the +Toucans are weak; and it is only the great weight of their bodies that +prevents them from being capable of rapid and extensive flight. As it +is, their strength of wing is shown by the great force with which they +beat the air, producing a sound, in the larger species, which can be +distinctly heard a mile off, and is even louder than that made by the +flight of the great Muscovy Duck.” Mr. Wallace[276] also describes the +capture of a young Hornbill in Sumatra:--“I returned to Palembang by +water, and while staying a day at a village while a boat was being made +water-tight, I had the good fortune to obtain a male, female, and young +bird of one of the large Hornbills. I had sent my hunters to shoot, +and while I was at breakfast they returned, bringing me a fine large +male of the _Buceros bicornis_, which one of them assured me he had +shot while feeding the female, which was shut up in a hole in a tree. I +had often read of this curious habit, and immediately returned to the +place, accompanied by several of the natives. After crossing a stream +and a bog, we found a large tree leaning over some water, and on its +lower side, at a height of about twenty feet, appeared a small hole, +and what looked like a quantity of mud, which I was assured had been +used in stopping up the large hole. After a while we heard the harsh +cry of a bird inside, and could see the white extremity of its beak put +out. I offered a rupee to any one who would go up and get out the bird, +with the egg or young one, but they all declared it was too difficult, +and they were afraid to try. I therefore very reluctantly came away. +In about an hour afterwards, much to my surprise, a tremendous loud, +hoarse screaming was heard, and the bird was brought me, together +with a young one, which had been found in the hole. This was a most +curious object, as large as a pigeon, but without a particle of plumage +on any part of it. It was exceedingly plump and soft, and with a +semi-transparent skin, so that it looked more like a bag of jelly, with +head and feet stuck on, than like a real bird.” + +One genus of these Hornbills is so remarkable as to demand a special +notice. + + +THE GROUND HORNBILLS (_Bucorax_). + +[Illustration: GROUND HORNBILLS OF ABYSSINIA.] + +These are an African form, of which there are two or three kinds, +distinguished by the casque, which is open in the birds from Abyssinia, +compressed and shut in the South African species (_B. cafer_). Of the +habits of the latter bird several accounts have been written, from +which a few extracts are made; and the first is from a letter sent by +Mr. Henry Bowker to Mr. Layard, after the publication of the latter’s +“Birds of South Africa”[277]:--“There are many superstitions connected +with the ‘Bromvogel.’ The bird is held sacred by the Kaffirs, and is +killed only in times of severe drought, when one is killed by order +of the ‘rain-doctor,’ and its body thrown into a pool in a river. The +idea is that the bird has so offensive a smell that it will ‘make +the water sick,’ and that the only way of getting rid of this is to +wash it away to the sea, which can only be done by heavy rains and +flooding of the river. The ground where they feed is considered good +for cattle, and in settling in a new country, spots frequented by these +birds are chosen by the wealthy people. Should the birds, however, by +some chance, fly over a cattle kraal, the kraal is moved to some other +place. They are mostly found in groups of from three to six or seven, +and build their nests in hollow trees, or in the hollow formed by three +or four branches striking off from the same spot. They roost in tall +yellow-wood trees, and commence calling about daylight. I never saw one +eating carrion, as stated in your book, though I have frequently seen +them near the bones of dead cattle, picking up beetles and worms. They +will eat meat, mice, and small birds, and swallow them by throwing them +suddenly in the air, and letting them drop down the throat in falling. +I once had a tame one, and noticed this particularly. It is very weak +on the wing, and when required by the ‘doctor,’ the bird is caught +by the men of a number of kraals turning out at the same time, and a +particular bird is followed from one hill to another by those on the +look-out. After three or four flights it can be run down and caught by +a good runner.” + +Mr. Ayres’ account of the species in Natal, though often referred +to by other writers, is so excellent that no work treating of South +African birds can omit it, and is therefore reproduced here in its +entirety:--“In the stomach of the male were snakes, beetles, and other +insects. These birds are gregarious, and to be found here all the year +round, but are not very plentiful, generally three or four, sometimes +more, being found together. They are very fond of hunting for their +food on ground from which the grass has been burnt; with their strong +bills they peck up the hard ground and turn over lumps in search of +insects, making the dust fly again. Having found an insect or other +food they take it up, and giving their head a toss, the bill pointing +upward, appear to let the food roll down their throat. They also kill +large snakes in the following manner, viz.:--On discovering a snake, +three or four of the birds advance sideways towards it with their +wings stretched out, and with their quills flap at and irritate the +snake till he seizes them by the wing-feathers, when they immediately +all close round and give him violent pecks with their long and sharp +bills, quickly withdrawing again when the snake leaves his hold. This +they repeat till the snake is dead. If the reptile advances on them +they place both wings in front of them, completely covering the heads +and most vulnerable parts. Their call, which consists of but one note +repeated--a deep and sonorous _coo-coo_--may be heard at a great +distance. I have myself heard it, under favourable circumstances, at +a distance of nearly two miles. The call of the female is exactly the +same _coo-coo_, only pitched one note higher than the male. The latter +invariably calls first, the female immediately answering, and they +continue this perhaps for five or ten minutes, every now and then, as +they are feeding. Their flight is heavy, and when disturbed, although +very shy, they seldom fly more than half a mile before they alight +again. At a distance they would easily be mistaken for Turkeys, their +body being deep and rather compressed, similarly to those birds, with +the wings carried well on the back. The little pouch on the throat +they are able to fill with air at pleasure, the male bird sent to me +to London doing this before he died. I think their principal range of +country is on the coast and from twenty to thirty miles inland. They +roost on trees at night, but always feed on the ground.” + +In Angola, where the bird is called by the natives _Engungoashito_, +Mr. Monteiro had great difficulty in procuring specimens, on account +of the superstitious dread in which they are held by the natives. He +says:--“They are found sparingly nearly everywhere in Angola, becoming +abundant, however, only towards the interior. In the mountain range in +which Pungo Andongo is situated, and running nearly north and south, +they are common, and it was near the base of these mountains that I +shot these two specimens. They are seen in flocks of six or eight (the +natives say always in equal numbers of males and females). Farther in +the interior I was credibly informed that they are found in flocks of +from one to two hundred individuals. The males raise up and open and +close their tails exactly in the manner of a Turkey, and filling out +their bright cockscomb-red, bladder-like wattle on their necks, and +with wings dropping on the ground, make quite a grand appearance. They +do not present a less extraordinary appearance as they walk slowly +with an awkward gait, and peer from side to side with their great eyes +in quest of food in the short grass, poking their large bills at any +frog, snake, &c., that may come in their way. Their flight is feeble +and not long sustained. When alarmed, they generally fly up to the +nearest large tree, preferring such as have thick branches with but +little foliage, as the _Adansonia_, ‘Muenzo’ (a wild fig). Here they +squat close on the branches, and, if further alarmed, raise themselves +quite upright on their legs in an attitude of listening, with wide open +bills. The first to notice a person at once utters the customary cry, +and all fly off to the next tree. They are very wary, and the grass +near the mountains being comparatively short, with but little scrub +or birch, it is very difficult to approach without being observed by +them from the high trees. I followed a flock of six for upwards of two +hours, crawling flat on my stomach, negro fashion, before I obtained +a chance of a shot, when I was so fortunate as to break the wing of +a male without otherwise injuring it. It was quickly captured by the +blacks. They are omnivorous in their food; reptiles, birds, eggs, +beetles, and all other insects, mandioca roots, ginguba or ground-nuts, +constitute their food in the wild state. In confinement I have fed this +bird upon the same food, also upon fresh fish, which it showed itself +very fond of, as well as on entrails of fowls, &c. On letting it loose +in Loanda in a yard where there were several fowls with chickens, it +immediately gulped down its throat six of the latter, and finished +its breakfast with several eggs! The note or cry of the male is like +the hoarse blast of a horn, repeated short three times, and answered +by the female in a lower note. It is very loud, and can be heard at a +considerable distance, particularly at night. They are said to build +their nests on the very highest _Adansonias_, in the hollow or cavity +formed at the base or junction of the branches with the trunk.” + +The present species is of a very large size, measuring about forty +inches in length, and about nineteen inches in the wing. It is entirely +black, with the exception of the primary quills, which are white; the +bill and legs are black, but the bare skin on the neck and round the +eye is bright red in the male, but blue in the female. + + +THE FIFTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS. + + +THE HOOPOES (_Upupidæ_). + +Different as these birds are in appearance and habits, ornithologists +now agree that from their structure they must be placed in close +alliance with the Hornbills, with which they are more particularly +connected by the Wood Hoopoes. Instead of the ungainly figures and +top-heavy-looking casques of the Hornbills, the Hoopoes are remarkable +for their graceful carriage and elegant figure, in which the beautiful +crest plays an important part. They are particularly at home in the +desert countries, where their sandy-coloured plumage is no doubt a +great protection to them; and a story is told that the Hoopoe, if it +sees a Hawk approaching, will throw itself flat on the ground, and by +twisting its wings round in front and remaining motionless, with its +bill pointing upwards, it will look like a piece of old rag, and thus +escape detection. + +Not more than five species of Hoopoe are known, all inhabitants of +the Old World, and the most widely distributed is the Common Hoopoe +(_Upupa epops_) of Europe, which visits England during the spring and +autumn migration, and at least one instance of its breeding in that +country is known. Mr. Howard Saunders states[278]:--“In the year 1847 +a pair of Hoopoes nested in a hole of an old yew-tree in a shrubbery +of an old-fashioned garden at Leatherhead, Surrey. The proprietor was +very anxious that the birds should not be disturbed, and a strict veto +was placed upon any bird’s-nesting in the shrubbery--a severe trial +to our boyish propensities; but we were afterwards rewarded by seeing +the parent birds with their young strutting about upon the lawn. As +well as I remember, there were five young ones besides the two old +birds.” The species is found all over central and southern Europe in +summer, being in some places very plentiful; but it is a rare visitor +to the northern parts, and has disappeared from some countries, like +Denmark, for instance, where the felling of the old and hollow forest +trees has deprived it of its accustomed breeding-places. In some places +the bird is disliked, and in Scandinavia, where it occurs only in the +southern and central portions, it bears a bad name among the peasantry, +who suppose it to be a foreboder of war and hard times, and from this +circumstance its name of Härfugel or “army bird,” is derived. The +Chinese also have an objection to them, branding them by the name of +“Coffin-bird,” as they often breed in the holes of exposed Chinese +coffins. On the other hand, according to Canon Tristram, in the Sahara +the Arabs have a superstitious veneration for the Hoopoe, and its +magical properties enter largely into the arcana of the Arab “hakeem.” +He says that great numbers of Hoopoes resort to the M’zab cities and +frequent oases in winter, where they strut about the courtyards and +round the tents with the familiarity of barn-door fowls. Mons. Favier +says, that in Tangier the superstitious Jews and Mahomedans both +believe that the heart and feathers of the Hoopoe are charms against +the machinations of evil spirits. + +[Illustration: COMMON HOOPOE.] + +The ordinary name of Hoopoe is derived from the note of the bird, and +in most European languages the latter suggests the vernacular names. +Thus, in Bulgaria it is called _Poo-poo_, in Valentia _Put-Put_, +_Bubbula_, &c., in Italy, _Poupa_ in Portugal, and so on. Mr. Swinhoe +writes of the bird and its note as follows:--“I have already described +the peculiar way in which the Hoopoe produces its notes--by puffing out +the sides of its neck, and hammering on the ground at the production +of each note, thereby exhausting the air at the end of the series of +three, which makes up its song. Before it repeats its call, it repeats +the puffing of the neck with a slight gurgling noise. When it is able +to strike its bill, the sound is the correct _hoo-hoo-hoo_; but when +perched on a rope, and only jerking out the song with nods of the +head, the notes more resemble the syllables _hoh-hoh-hoh_. Mr. Darwin +makes use of this last fact to show that some birds have instrumental +means to produce their music. It is not to this point, however, that +I wish to call attention, but to the fact of the bird’s puffing out +the sides of its neck. It is generally supposed that the song of a +bird is produced by actions of the lower larynx on air passing up the +bronchial tubes onwards and outwards through the main tube, or trachea. +The trachea of the Hoopoe is not dilatable, but its œsophagus is; and +the puffing of the neck is caused by the bulging of the œsophagus with +swallowed air. There is no connection between the œsophagus and the +trachea, and apparently no organ at the entrance to the former that +could modify sound. What action, then, can this swallowed air be made +to take in the production of the bird’s notes? Pigeons have strikingly +large air-crops, which they empty with each _coo_, and refill before +they _coo_ again. Many birds swell out the throat when calling or +singing, and others move it up and down. These actions must also be +caused by the swallowed air in the œsophagus, and must modify the +sounds in some way, as variously used, adding power and richness in +some cases, or giving ventriloquistic effect in others. This question +seems never to have been enquired into before, and I throw out the +hint in hopes that others may help to elucidate the matter with their +investigations.” + +The length of the Common Hoopoe is about one foot; the upper surface +is greyish-brown, the wings and shoulders black barred with white, the +rump being pure white; on the head, which is tawny-coloured, is an +enormous crest, the feathers of which have a black tip, before which +is a narrow white bar; the tail is black; with a white band at about a +third of its length from the end; underneath the body is pale cinnamon, +white on the abdomen and under tail coverts, the flanks striped with +brown. The sexes are alike in colour, excepting that the female is a +little paler. + + +THE WOOD HOOPOES (_Irrisor_). + +All the birds belonging to this section of the Hoopoes are remarkable +for their very long and strongly graduated tails, for their brilliant +metallic plumage, which is always dark, and inclining more or less to +black--instead of a sandy colour, as in the true Hoopoes--and most +of them for their very curved, scimitar-like bills. They are all +natives of Africa, and have a remarkably loud, chattering note; and +from its harsh and resounding voice the Red-billed Wood Hoopoe (_I. +erythrorhynchus_) is known among the Dutch at the Cape as “Cackala,” +or the “Chatterer.” The late M. Jules Verreaux told the writer that +the noise made by these birds is tremendous, and that on one occasion +he was attracted by an uproar, which seemed to indicate that something +unusual was the matter. On proceeding to the place whence the noise +came, he was astonished to find on the low branch of a tree three of +these birds, perched one on the back of the other, betokening by their +drooping wings and repeated chatterings the utmost consternation and +fright. The cause of this was not far to seek, for just below the birds +was a cobra, balancing himself in an erect attitude, and perfectly +motionless, the only indication of life being the incessant flicking +of the animal’s tongue. The cacklings of the birds became feebler and +feebler, until at last the bottom one fell off the perch and dropped +into the extended jaws of the snake, which were ready to receive it; +while the other two birds, apparently freed from the spell of the +reptile’s eye, took to instant flight. Having his gun in his hand, +M. Verreaux shot the snake immediately; but on going to rescue the +bird, found that the latter was quite dead. Mr. Thomas Ayres, who has +studied the species in Natal, says:--“The food of these birds consists +almost entirely of a species of cockroach, which they take from the +crevices of rough-barked trees, and in search of which they creep +about the trunk and branches somewhat similarly to the Woodpeckers. +In this manner their tail-feathers frequently become much worn. From +four to eight of these birds are generally together, and frequent busby +country. They have a loud chattering note, and are extremely restless +in their habits. They have a peculiarly powerful and disagreeable +smell.” Mr. Andersson’s account of the species is as follows:--“It +lives in small flocks--probably consisting of entire families--which +frequent trees, chiefly of the larger kinds, and examine them most +assiduously in search of insects and their larvæ, which they extract +from crevices in the wood and from beneath the bark. These birds climb +like Woodpeckers; and their long tails come into constant contact with +the rough surface of the trees, by which the tail-feathers are much +injured. When they have finished their examination of one tree they +move to the next convenient one, but not all together, as a short +interval generally elapses after the departure of each individual. +The moment flight is decided on, they utter harsh discordant cries or +chatterings, which are continued until they are all safely lodged in +their new quarters. These harsh notes are also heard when they conceive +themselves in danger from either man, beast, or bird; and they thus +often betray their presence.” + +The present species measures about seventeen inches, the tail being +about ten out of that number, and being thus three inches longer than +the body of the bird. The colour is black, glossed with green on the +head, back, and under surface, with blue on the throat, purple on the +wings and tail, and having a bronzy gloss on the shoulders. All the +tail feathers, except the two centre ones, have a white spot near the +tip and across the wings a white bar. The bill and legs are bright +coral red. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE BEE-EATERS--MOTMOTS--ROLLERS--TROGONS--NIGHTJARS, OR +GOATSUCKERS--SWIFTS--HUMMING BIRDS. + + THE BEE-EATERS--Their Brilliant Plumage--Colonel Irby’s + Account of the Bird in Spain--Shot for Fashion’s sake--THE + MOTMOTS--Appearance--Mr. Waterton on the Houtou--Curious Habit of + Trimming its Tail--Mr. O. Salvin’s Observations on this point--Mr. + Bartlett’s Evidence--THE ROLLERS--Why so called--Canon Tristram’s + Account of their Habits--Colour--Other Species--THE TROGONS--Where + found--Peculiar Foot--Tender Skin--Inability to Climb--Their + Food--THE LONG-TAILED TROGON, OR QUESAL--Mr. Salvin’s Account + of its Habits--Its Magnificent Colour--How they are Hunted--THE + NIGHTJARS, OR GOATSUCKERS--Appearance--Distribution--The Guacharo, + or Oil-bird--“Frog-mouths”--Mr. Gould’s Account of the Habits of the + Tawny-shouldered Podargus--How it Builds its Nest--Mr. Waterton’s + Vindication of the Goatsucker--What Services the Bird does really + render Cattle, Goats, and Sheep--Its Cry--The Common Goatsucker--THE + SWIFTS--THE COMMON SWIFT--Migration--Their Home in the Air--Where + they Breed--Nest--Tree-Swifts--The Edible-Nest Swiftlets--Mr. + E. L. Layard’s Visit to the Cave of the Indian Swiftlet--THE + HUMMING BIRDS--Number of Species--Distribution--Professor Newton’s + Description of the Bird--Mr. Wallace on their Habits--Wilson on the + North American Species. + + +THE SIXTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS. + + +THE BEE-EATERS (_Meropidæ_). + +The Bee-eaters are among the most brightly plumaged of the Picarian +birds, and are distributed over the whole of Africa, India, the +Moluccas, and Australia. One species (_Merops apiaster_) visits Europe +in the summer, being, however, nowhere so common as in the countries of +the Mediterranean basin, though they occasionally wander to England. +Colonel Irby[279] gives the following account of the Bee-eater in +Southern Spain:--“The bird did not appear to me to be quite so common +in Morocco at the end of April as on the Spanish side of the Strait, +where, during April, May, June, and July, it is one of the most +conspicuous birds in the country; at that season, Andalusia without +Bee-eaters would be like London without Sparrows. Everywhere they are +to be seen; and their single note, _teerp_, heard continually repeated, +magnifies their numbers in imagination. Occasionally, they venture into +the centre of towns when on passage, hovering round the orange-trees +and flowers in some patio or garden. Crossing the Strait for the most +part in the early part of the day, flight follows flight for hours in +succession. When passing at Gibraltar, they sometimes skim low down to +settle for a moment on a bush or a tree, but generally go straight on, +often almost out of sight; but their cry always betrays their presence +in the air. In some places they nest in large colonies; in others there +are, perhaps, only two or three holes. When there are no river-banks +or barrancos in which to bore holes, they tunnel down into the ground, +where the soil is suitable, in a vertical direction, generally on some +slight elevated mound. The shafts to these nests are not usually so +long as those in banks of rivers, which sometimes reach to a distance +of eight or nine feet in all; the end is enlarged into a round sort +of chamber, on the bare soil of which the usual four or five shining +white eggs are placed. After a little they become discoloured from the +castings of the old birds, the nest being, as it were, lined with the +wings and undigested parts of Bees and Wasps. Vast numbers of eggs and +young must be annually destroyed by Snakes and Lizards. The latter are +often seen sunning themselves at the entrance of a hole among a colony +of Bee-eaters; and frequently have I avenged the birds by treating the +yellow reptile to a charge of shot. The bills of Bee-eaters, after +boring out their habitations, are sometimes worn away to less than half +their usual length; but as newly-arrived birds never have these stumpy +bills, it is evident that they grow again to their ordinary length. It +has often been a source of wonder to me how they have the exertion to +make these long tunnels: the amount of exertion must be enormous; but +when one considers the boles of the Sand-Martin, it is perhaps not so +surprising after all. During my stay at Gibraltar, Bee-eaters decreased +very much in the neighbourhood, being continually shot on account +of their bright plumage, to put in ladies’ hats. Owing to this sad +fashion, I saw no less than seven hundred skins, all shot at Tangier +in the spring of 1874, which were consigned by Olcese to some dealer in +London. However, the enormous injury these birds do to the peasants who +keep Bees fully merits any amount of punishment, but, at the same time, +they destroy quantities of Wasps. After being fired at once or twice, +they become very wary and shy at the breeding-places; and the best way +to shoot them is to hide near the _colmenares_, or groups of _corchos_, +or cork bee-hives, which in Spain are placed in rows, sometimes to +the number of seventy or eighty together; and it is no unusual thing +to see as many Bee-eaters whirling round and swooping down, even +seizing the bees at the very entrance of their hives. The reason of +their early departure in August is to be accounted for by the simple +fact that bees cease to work when there are no flowers, and by that +time all vegetation is scorched up.” The Bee-eater suffers probably +less from the fashionable rage after its plumes than do some of the +bright-coloured birds, as it goes in winter to South Africa, where it +rears another brood of young ones. + +[Illustration: AUSTRALIAN BEE-EATER.] + + +THE SEVENTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS. + + +THE MOTMOTS (_Momotidæ_). + +[Illustration: BILL OF MOTMOT.] + +These birds are peculiar to the New World, being found from Mexico +southwards through the whole of Central America and the South American +continent. Their general plumage is green, and the majority of the +species have a large racket at the end of the centre tail-feathers, +formed by the bird itself, as detailed below. Mr. Waterton gives an +account of the Motmots in Demerara, and he was the first to point out +that the racket in the tail was produced by the bird’s own action. +He writes:--“The Houtou ranks high in beauty amongst the birds of +Demerara. His body is green, with a bluish cast in the wings and tail; +his crown, which he erects at pleasure, consists of black in the +centre, surrounded with lovely blue of two different shades; he has a +triangular black spot, edged with blue, behind the eye, extending to +the ear; and on his breast a sable tuft, consisting of nine feathers, +edged also with blue. This bird seems to suppose that its beauty can +be increased by trimming the tail, which undergoes the same operation +as one’s hair in a barber’s shop, only with this difference, that it +uses its own beak, which is serrated, in lieu of a pair of scissors. +As soon as his tail is full-grown, he begins about an inch from the +extremity of the two longest feathers in it, and cuts away the web on +both sides of the shaft, making a gap about an inch long. Both male +and female adonise their tails in this manner, which gives them a +remarkable appearance amongst all other birds. While we consider the +tail of the Houtou blemished and defective, were he to come amongst us, +he would probably consider our heads, cropped and bald, in no better +light. He who wishes to observe this handsome bird in his native +haunts must be in the forest at the morning’s dawn. The Houtou shuns +the society of man; the plantations and cultivated parts are too much +disturbed to engage it to settle there. The thick and gloomy forests +are the places preferred by the solitary Houtou. In those far-extending +wilds, about day-break, you hear him articulate, in a distinct and +mournful tone, ‘Houtou, houtou.’ Move cautiously on to where the sound +proceeds from, and you will see him sitting in the underwood, about +a couple of yards from the ground, his tail moving up and down every +time he articulates ‘houtou.’ He lives on insects and the berries among +the underwood; and very rarely is seen in the lofty trees, except the +bastard Siloabali-tree, the fruit of which is grateful to him. He makes +no nest, but rears his young in a hole in the sand, generally on the +side of a hill.” + +[Illustration: MOTMOT.] + +In confirmation of Mr. Waterton’s remarks, a paper was published by Mr. +Osbert Salvin in the “Proceedings of the Zoological Society” for 1873 +(p. 429):--“Some years ago (1860) this Society possessed a specimen of +_Momotus subrufescens_, which lived in one of the large cages of the +parrot-house all by itself. I have a very distinct recollection of the +bird; for I used every time I saw it to cheer it up a bit by whistling +such of its notes as I had picked up in the forests of America. The +bird always seemed to appreciate this attention; for though it never +replied, it became at once animated, hopped about the cage, and swung +its tail from side to side like the pendulum of a clock. For a long +time its tail had perfect spatules; but towards the end of its life +I noticed that the median feathers were no longer trimmed with such +precision; and on looking at its beak I noticed that from some cause or +other it did not _close properly_, but gaped slightly at the tip, and +had thus become unfitted for removing the vanes of the feathers. Since +the subject has been revived by Dr. Murie, it occurred to me that Mr. +Bartlett could hardly have failed to watch this bird during its moults, +and whilst the tail-feathers were growing. I accordingly wrote to him, +and received the following reply:-- + +‘DEAR SIR,--During the several years the Motmot lived here I +had many opportunities of watching its habits; and _I have seen the +bird in the act of picking off the webs of the central feathers of its +tail_, and have taken from the bottom of the cage the fragments of web +that fell from the bird’s bill. As the bird lived here for some years, +its bill got rather out of order, that is, it did not close properly +at the point; and consequently the picking off the web at last was +imperfectly performed, and the two sides of the tail-feather presented +an unequal and unfinished appearance. I noticed also that the Motmot +frequently threw up castings, after the manner of the Kingfishers and +other birds that swallow indigestible substances.--Yours faithfully, +A. D. BARTLETT.’ + +[Illustration: TAIL-FEATHERS OF MOTMOT. (_From the Proceedings of the +Zoological Society._) + +(A) Tail of _M. lessoni_: two Central Rectrices shaded; (B) Tail of +_M. mexicanus_: the Central Rectrices, not fully grown, are shaded; +(C) Tail of _M. lessoni_, with stems of Central Rectrices partially +denuded; (D) Tail of _P. platyrhynchus_, with Central Rectrices not +symmetrical.] + +“The point is further elucidated by the examination of skins in our +collection. We have a number of specimens of various species in which +the central tail-feathers were growing when the birds were shot. The +drawings now exhibited show some of them. Figure A represents the +tail of a young _Momotus lessoni_ in its first plumage. The central +tail-feathers are here untouched; they merely show the reduction in +the breadth of the web in the part which is subsequently denuded. Of +this more anon. Figure B shows the growing feathers of the tail of a +specimen of _Momotus mexicanus_; in this a few vanes have been removed +from the left-hand feather. Figure C shows the process of denudation +still further advanced. In all these three birds it will be noticed +that the feathers in question have grown symmetrically, both being of +nearly equal length. Figure D represents the tail of a _Prionirhynchus +platyrhynchus_, where these feathers have not grown symmetrically, but +the left-hand one has been developed sooner than the right-hand one. +What has happened? The bird expecting to find two feathers upon which +to operate has commenced to nibble not only the left central rectrix, +but also the next rectrix on the right-hand side! But it seems to +have not felt very certain about the state of its tail, for it has +wandered off to one of the others, and commenced nibbling it also. +When, however, the proper right-hand feather appeared, these mistakes +have been discovered, and the work recommenced in the usual way. I +can interpret in no other way the state in which the feathers on the +right-hand side of the tail of this bird appear.” + + +THE EIGHTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS. + + +THE ROLLERS (_Coraciadæ_). + +These birds constitute a family of birds which are strictly denizens +of the Old World, and are remarkable for their bright plumage. The +vernacular name of Roller is given to them from their habit of mounting +or “rolling” in the air. Canon Tristram, in describing the habits of +the European species (_Coracias garrula_) in Palestine, writes as +follows:--“On the 12th of April I reached Ain Sultan (Jericho) alone, +and remained there in solitude for several days, during which I had +many opportunities of observing the grotesque habits of the Roller. For +several successive evenings, great flocks of Rollers mustered shortly +before sunset on some _dôm_ trees near the fountain, with all the noise +but without the decorum of the Rooks. After a volley of discordant +screams, from the sound of which it derives its Arabic trivial name of +‘Schurkrak,’ a few birds would start from their perch, and commence a +series of somersaults overhead, somewhat after the fashion of Tumbler +Pigeons. In a moment or two they would be followed by the whole flock, +and these gambols would be repeated for a dozen times or more. Every +where it takes its perch on some conspicuous branch or on the top of +a rock, where it can see and be seen. The bare tops of the fig-trees, +before they put forth their leaves, are, in the cultivated terraces, +a particularly favourite resort. In the barren Ghor I have often +watched it perched unconcernedly on a knot of gravel or marl in the +plain, watching apparently for the emergence of beetles from the sand. +Elsewhere I have not seen it settle on the ground. Like Europeans in +the East, it can make itself happy without chairs and tables in the +desert, but prefers a comfortable easy-chair when it is to be found. +Its nest I have seen in ruins, in holes in rocks, in burrows, in steep +sand-cliffs, but far more generally in hollow trees. The colony in +the Wady Kelt used burrows excavated by themselves; and many a hole +did they relinquish, owing to the difficulty of working it. But so +cunningly were the nests placed under a crumbling treacherous ledge, +overhanging a chasm of perhaps one or two hundred feet, that we were +completely foiled in our siege. We obtained a nest of six eggs, quite +fresh, in a hollow tree in Bashan, near Gadara, on the 6th of May. +It is noticed by Russell among the birds of Aleppo.” The colour of +the Common Roller is very beautiful, and we can well understand the +significance of the Turkish name “Alla Carga,” or Beautiful Crow. The +back is pale cinnamon-brown; the wing-coverts pale blue, excepting +those on the edge of the wing, which are rich ultramarine; the quills +brownish-black, deep ultramarine underneath; the secondaries with more +blue on the outer web; the forehead white; the crown of the head and +back of the neck pale blue; the lower back and rump ultramarine; the +upper tail-coverts greenish-blue; the tail blackish-brown, the feathers +blue at the base, the two centre feathers dull green; cheeks and throat +pale blue, streaked with silvery blue; the under surface of the body +pale greenish-blue. The total length is twelve inches. One curious +feature about the European bird is that the outer tail-feather tends +towards a point at the tip, as if there was an inclination to become +elongated; and in Africa there is a species which actually differs from +the European Roller only in having the outer tail-feathers elongated to +an extent of several inches. + +In Madagascar, that wonderful island which produces so many peculiar +forms of bird life, there are found the Ground Rollers (_Atelornis_), +extraordinary birds which live entirely on the ground, and only come +out at dusk. Their flight is said by M. Grandidier to be very weak, +so that the birds are never found above the lowest branches. They are +rather local in their habitat, but where they do occur seem not to be +uncommon. The Cyrombo Roller (_Leptosoma discolor_) is also a native +of Madagascar, and has at first sight much the appearance of a Cuckoo, +of which family of birds it was for many years considered to be a +member. The head is extremely large in this bird, and the region of +the nostrils densely plumed; but the latter, instead of being placed +near the base of the bill, as in most Rollers, are situated nearly +in the middle of the upper mandible. Messrs. Pollen and Van Dam give +an interesting account of this bird in their notes on the “Birds of +Madagascar”:--“The natives of the north-west of Madagascar give this +bird the name of Cyrombo. It has the curious habit of hovering in the +air, and uttering a very loud note, striking its wings against its body +as it calls. This cry, resembling the syllables _tu-hou_, _tu-hou_, +_tu-hou_, goes on increasing in force. Nowhere have we found this bird +in greater numbers than in the forests in the neighbourhood of the +bays of Boény and Jongony, in the south-western portion of the island +of Mayotte. The racket that they make during the whole journey is +truly wearisome. Although very active as criers, these birds are lazy +and stupid. As soon as they are perched on the branch of a tree, they +remain, so to speak, immovable, and in perpendicular position, so that +it is easy to see them and knock them over. When seen in this position, +they look like birds impaled. We suppose that they live in polyandry, +because one always sees three times as many males as females; often +we have seen three males in company with one single female, and all +allowed themselves to be killed one after the other. In fact, when one +is killed, the others do not fly away, but content themselves with +merely moving from one branch to another. These birds live principally +on Grasshoppers, but they devour also Chameleons and Lizards, which +gives to their flesh a disagreeable odour, like that we observe in the +Common Cuckoo. In preparing these birds we often found them with a +species of large parasite of the family of the Ornithomyiæ, of a dirty +green colour. We were never able to study the propagation of this bird; +but while in Mayotte we saw an individual make a nest of rushes in the +hole of a great ‘Badamier’ (_Terminalia Catappa_). These birds when +they cry puff out the throat, so that this portion of the body has the +appearance of a pendent bag. When wounded, they erect the feathers of +the forehead and ears as well as those of the throat, all the while +distributing well-aimed blows with the beak. The Cyrombo plays a great +part in the chants and religious recitations of the Malagasy natives. +The French colonists of Mayotte call this bird the ‘Parrot.’ It is +common at Madagascar and Mayotte, and has, according to Mr. Sclater, +been found in the island of Anjounan.” + +[Illustration: BLUE ROLLER.] + + +THE NINTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS.--THE TROGONS +(_Trogonidæ_). + +These beautiful birds are found both in the Old World and the New, but +are inhabitants of the tropical latitudes only. In Africa two species +only are known, nor does another species occur until the coast of +India is reached, and then in the forests of the peninsula and of the +Himalayas there are some beautiful red-breasted representatives of the +family, whence throughout the Malayan peninsula and the Sunda Islands +some of the handsomest Trogons occur. But it is in America, from Mexico +southwards, that the larger number of species is met with, no less +than thirty-three out of a total of forty-six Trogons being peculiar +to the New World. Their habits vary somewhat, as all the Old World +members are insectivorous, while the American species principally feed +on fruit, and only devour insects in a secondary manner. The Trogons +may be distinguished not only by their broadened bill, but by the foot, +where the first and second toes are turned permanently, two in front +and two behind. This is a different arrangement to that of the Cuckoos +and other climbing _Picariæ_, where the fourth toe is permanently or +temporarily turned backwards as well as the first. The skin of these +birds is remarkably thin and tender, so that their preparation is by +no means an easy matter, and their appearance is also detracted from +by a scantiness of plumage on the nape, where a great want of feathers +takes place. Mr. Wallace, writing of the birds of this present family, +remarks:--“As an instance how totally unable the Trogons are to use +their feet for anything like climbing, we may mention that the Trogons +of South America feed principally on fruit, which one would think they +would get by climbing or walking after, if they could. But no; they +take their station on a bare branch about the middle of the tree, and +having fixed their attention on some particularly tempting fruit, they +dart at it, seize it dexterously on the wing, and return to their +original seat. Often, while waiting under a fruit-tree for Chatterers +or Pigeons, have we received the first intimation of the presence of a +Trogon by the _whir-r-r_ of its wings as it darted after a fruit. It is +curious that this habit seems confined to the Trogons of America. In +the East I have never yet observed it, and in the numerous specimens I +have opened, nothing has been found but insects. The African Trogons +also appear to be wholly insectivorous.” + +Again, in his “Naturalist in Nicaragua” (p. 122) Mr. Belt writes:--“The +Trogons are general feeders. I have taken from their crops the remains +of fruits, grasshoppers, beetles, termites, and even small crabs +and land shells. The largest species, the Massena Trogon (_Trogon +massena_), is one foot in length, dark bronze-green above, with the +smaller wing-feathers speckled white and black, and the belly of a +beautiful carmine. Sometimes it sits on a branch above where the army +of ants are foraging below, and when a grasshopper or other large +insect flies up and alights on a leaf it darts after it, picks it up, +and returns to its perch. I sometimes found them breaking into the, +nests of the termites with their strong bills, and eating the large +soft-bodied workers, and it was from the crop of this species that I +took the remains of a small crab and land shell (_Helicina_). They take +short, quick, jerking flights, and are often met with along with flocks +of other birds--Flycatchers, Tanagers, Creepers, Woodpeckers, &c., that +hunt together, traversing the forests in flocks of hundreds, belonging +to more than a score of different species, so that while they are +passing over the trees seem alive with them. Mr. Bates has mentioned +similar gregarious flocks met with by him in Brazil; and I never went +any distance into the woods around St. Domingo without seeing them. +The reason of their association together may be partly for protection, +as no rapacious bird or mammal could approach the flock without being +discovered by one or other of them; but the principal reason appears +to be that they play into each other’s hands in their search for +food. Creepers and Woodpeckers and others drive the insects out of +their hiding-places under bark, amongst moss and withered leaves. The +Flycatchers sit on branches and fly after the larger insects, the +Flycatchers taking them on the wing, the Trogons from the leaves on +which they have settled.” + + +THE LONG-TAILED TROGON, OR QUESAL (_Pharomacrus[280] mocinno_). + +This beautiful species is mentioned in Willughby’s Ornithology, which +was published some two hundred years ago, in which book an appendix is +devoted to such birds as the author suspected to be “fabulous;” and +the Quetzaltototl of Hernandez was placed in this category, nor was it +till the French traveller Delattre visited Guatemala, and published +his account of the habits of the bird in 1843, that it was restored +to its proper position as one of the most beautiful of the feathered +tribe: it is now by no means rare in collections. The best account +of the habits of this species--and, indeed, of any Trogon--is that +given by Mr. Osbert Salvin, in his paper entitled “Quesal-shooting in +Vera Paz,”[281] in Guatemala. He writes from his diary:--“Off to the +mountains at last, with a fine day and a fair prospect of success. +The road, after crossing the river, strikes off to the northward--a +mountain track winding among the hills. Soon after entering the forest, +a river crosses the path--a foaming torrent--a fall into which gives +no hope of escape. A felled tree, one of the largest of the forest, +forms the bridge, over which, slippery with moss and foam, we have +to pass. For ourselves it is nothing; but I must say I tremble for +the Indians, each of whom carries his 75 lbs. of cargo. In the worst +and most slippery part, the foothold is somewhat improved by the tree +being notched with a ‘machete;’ but still it is as dangerous a pass +as I ever crossed. After half-an-hour’s delay, we reach the other +bank. One ‘mozo’ only turned faint-hearted, and another carried his +pack across. From the river the path becomes very precipitous, and +we continue to climb till we reach the foot of a rock, where we find +a deserted rancho, and take possession. A fire having been made to +heat the pixtones, we dine, and afterwards start for the forest close +by to look for Quesals. On entering, the path takes the unpleasant +form of a succession of felled trees, which are slippery from recent +rains, and render progress slow. My companions are ahead, and I am +just balancing myself along the last trunk, when Filipe comes back +to say that they have heard a Quesal. Of course, being especially +anxious to watch as well as to shoot one of these birds myself, I +immediately hurry to the spot. I sit down upon my wide-awake in most +approved style close to Cipriano, who is calling the bird, and wait, +all eyes and ears, for the result. I have not to wait long. A distant +clattering note indicates that the bird is on the wing. He settles--a +splendid male--on a bough of a tree, not seventy yards from where we +are hidden. Cipriano wants to creep up to within shot, but I keep him +back, wishing to risk the chance of losing a specimen rather than miss +such an opportunity of seeing the bird in its living state, and of +watching its movements. It sits almost motionless on its perch, the +body remaining in the same position, the head only moving slowly from +side to side. The tail does not hang quite perpendicularly, the angle +between the true tail and the vertical being perhaps as much as fifteen +or twenty degrees. The tail is occasionally jerked open and closed +again, and now and then slightly raised, causing the long tail-coverts +to vibrate gracefully. I have not seen all. A ripe fruit catches the +Quesal’s eye, and he darts from his perch, hovers for a moment, plucks +the berry, and returns to his former position. This is done with a +degree of elegance that defies description. The remark has often been +made by persons looking at stuffed Humming-birds, ‘What lovely little +things these must look in life, when they are flying about!’ But they +do not. Place a Humming-bird twenty yards from you, and what do you see +of its colours, except in the most favourable position and light? This +is not the case with the Quesal. The rich metallic green of the head, +back, and tail-coverts reflects its colour in every position, whilst +the deep scarlet of the breast and the white of the tail show vividly +at a distance, and contrast with the principal colour of the body. +The living Quesal strikes the eye by its colour at once. It stands +unequalled for splendour among birds of the New World, and is hardly +surpassed among those of the Old. Such are my reflections, when a low +whistle from Cipriano calls the bird nearer, and a moment afterwards it +is in my hand--the first Quesal I have seen and shot. + +[Illustration: LONG-TAILED TROGON, OR QUESAL.] + +“The cries of the Quesal are various. They consist principally of a low +double note, ‘_whe-oo_, _whe-oo_,’ which the bird repeats, whistling +it softly at first, and then gradually swelling it into a loud but not +unmelodious cry. This is often succeeded by a long note, which begins +low, and after swelling, dies away as it began. Both these notes can be +easily imitated by the human voice. The bird’s other cries are harsh +and discordant. They are best imitated by doubling a pliant leaf over +the first fingers, which must be held about two inches apart. The two +edges of the leaf being then placed in the mouth, and the breath drawn +in, the required sound is produced. Cipriano was an adept at imitating +these cries, but I failed in producing them for want of practice. +When searching for Quesals, the hunter whistles as he walks along, +here and there sitting down and repeating the other notes. As soon as +he hears a bird answering at a distance he stops, and imitates the +bird’s cries until it has approached near enough to enable him either +to shoot it from where he stands, or to creep up to within shot. The +female generally flies up first, and perches on a tree near the hunter, +who takes no notice of her, but continues calling till the male, who +usually quickly follows the female, appears. Should the male not show +himself, the hunter will sometimes shoot the female. Thus it is that +so large a proportion of males are shot. The flight of the Quesal is +rapid and straight; the long tail-feathers, which never seem to be in +his way, stream after him. The bird is never found except in forests +composed of the highest trees, the lower branches of which (_i.e._, +those at about two-thirds of the height of the tree from the ground) +seem to be its favourite resort. Its food consists principally of +fruit, but occasionally a caterpillar may be found in its stomach.” + +The distinguishing character of this fine Trogon is the long tail of +the male bird, which measures about three feet in length. The colour of +the upper parts is golden green, as well as the throat and fore neck; +the breast is bright scarlet, and is overshadowed by some beautiful +drooping plumes, which spring from the shoulders, and hang gracefully +over the wings; the outer tail-feathers are white, with black bases, +and the bill is yellow. The female has a black bill, and is much +smaller, and she does not possess the long tail and decorative plumes +of the male. + + +THE TENTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS.--THE NIGHTJARS, OR +GOATSUCKERS (_Caprimulgidæ_). + +[Illustration: MOUTH OF GOATSUCKER.] + +From the adjoining woodcut it will be seen that a Nightjar is +indeed a Fissirostral, or wide-gaping bird, and this large mouth is +characteristic of the whole family. Their soft mottled plumage, their +large eyes, and their habit of flying by night, have induced many +naturalists to place them in close proximity to the Owls, with which +family of birds, however, they have nothing further in common. Members +of the family of Goatsuckers are distributed nearly all over the world, +with the exception of the islands of Oceania, and a great difference +is observable in their size and form, and to some extent in their +habits. Thus the Guacharo, or Oil-bird (_Steatornis[282] caripensis_), +is met with only in the island of Trinidad, where it is also called +_Diablotin_, and where it inhabits the inmost recesses of caverns, +either by the sea or inland. The birds spend the entire day in these +dark recesses, and come out only at night to procure their food, which +consists of the fruits of different palms, the seeds of which are +rejected, and form, with the droppings of the birds, a thick flooring +of guano in some of the caves. Sometimes the bird forms a huge cradle +of this deposit, apparently for the greater security of its young +ones; and one of these singular nests, if such they may be called, is +exhibited in the British Museum. The nestlings become very fat, and +are sometimes eaten, but according to M. Léotand, in his work on the +Birds of Trinidad, there is a certain odour about them which makes them +unpalatable to the appetite of most people. + +[Illustration: OIL-BIRD.] + +In India and in the Malayan Archipelago is found a group of Nightjars +belonging to the genus _Batrachostomus_[283] popularly known as +“Frog-mouths;” their place is taken in Australia and New Guinea by the +giants of the family--the _Podargi_, examples of which are generally +to be seen in the London Zoological Gardens. Of the Tawny-shouldered +_Podargus_ (_P. strigoides_[284]) Mr. Gould gives the following +account:--“Like the rest of this genus, this species 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, which +it so nearly resembles as scarcely to be distinguished 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 situations not at all sheltered from the +beams of the midday sun. So lethargic are its slumbers, that it is +almost impossible to arouse it, and I have frequently shot one without +disturbing its mate, sitting close by; it may also be knocked off +with sticks or stones, and sometimes it is even taken with the hand. +When aroused, it flies lazily off, with heavy flapping wings, to a +neighbouring tree, and again resumes its slumbers until the approach +of evening, when it becomes as animated and active as it had been +previously dull and stupid. The stomach of one I dissected induced +me to believe that it does not usually capture its prey while on the +wing, or subsist on nocturnal insects alone, but that it is in the +habit of creeping among the branches in search of such as are in a +state of repose. The power it possesses of shifting the position of the +outer toe backwards, as circumstances may require, is a very singular +feature, and may also tend to assist them in their progress among the +branches. A bird I shot at Yarrundi, in the middle of the night, had +the stomach filled with fresh-captured Mantis and Locusts (_Phasmidæ_ +and _Cicadæ_), which seldom move at night, and the latter of which are +generally resting against the upright boles of the trees. In other +specimens I found the remains of small Coleoptera, intermingled with +the fibres of the roots of what appeared to be a parasitic plant, such +as would be found in decayed and hollow trees. The whole contour of the +bird shows that it is not formed for extensive flight or for performing +those rapid evolutions that are necessary for the capture of its prey +in the air: the wing being short and concave in comparison with those +of the true aërial Nightjars, and particularly with the Australian +form, to which I have given the name of _Eurostopodus_. + +[Illustration: COMMON GOATSUCKER.] + +“Of its mode of nidification I can speak with confidence, having +seen many pairs breeding during my rambles in the woods. It makes +a slightly-constructed flat nest of sticks, carelessly interwoven +together, and placed at the fork of a horizontal branch of sufficient +size to ensure its safety; the trees most frequently chosen are the +_Eucalypti_, but I have occasionally seen the nest on an appletree +(_Angophora_) or a swamp-oak (_Casuarina_). In every instance one +of the birds was sitting on the eggs, and the other perched on a +neighbouring bough, both invariably asleep. That the male participates +in the duty of incubation I ascertained by having shot a bird on the +nest, which, on dissection, proved to be a male. The eggs are generally +two in number, of a beautiful immaculate white, and of a long oval +form, one inch and ten lines in length by one inch and three lines in +diameter. + +[Illustration: WHIP-POOR-WILL.] + +“Like the other species of the genus, it is subject to considerable +variation in its colouring, the young, which assume the adult livery at +an early age, being somewhat darker in all their markings. In some a +rich tawny colour predominates, while others are more grey. The night +call of this species is a hoarse noise, consisting of two distinct +sounds, which cannot correctly be described. The stomach is thick and +muscular, and is lined with a hair-like substance, like that of the +common Cuckoo.” + +Mr. Waterton gives the following notes on Goatsuckers in his +“Wanderings” (p. 139):--“When the sun has sunk in the western woods, +no longer agitated by the breeze, when you can only see a straggler or +two of the feathered tribe hastening to join its mate, already at its +roosting-place, then it is that the Goatsucker comes out of the forest, +where it has sat all day long in slumbering ease, unmindful of the gay +and busy scenes around it. Its eyes are too delicately formed to bear +the light, and thus it is forced to shun the flaming face of day, and +wait in patience till night invites him to partake of the pleasures her +dusky presence brings. The harmless, unoffending Goatsucker, from the +time of Aristotle down to the present day, has been in disgrace with +man. Father has handed it down to son, and author to author, that this +nocturnal thief subsists by milking the flocks. Poor injured little +bird of night, how sadly hast thou suffered, and how foul a stain has +inattention to facts put upon thy character! Thou hast never robbed man +of any part of his property, nor deprived the kid of a drop of milk. + +“When the moon shines bright you may have a fair opportunity of +examining the Goatsucker. You will see it close by the Cows, Goats, +and Sheep, jumping up every now and then under their bellies. Approach +a little nearer--he is not shy: ‘he fears no danger, for he knows no +sin.’ See how the nocturnal flies are tormenting the herd, and with +what dexterity he springs up and catches them as fast as they alight on +the bellies, legs, and udders of the animals. Observe how quiet they +stand, and how sensible they seem of his good offices, for they neither +strike at him nor hit him with their tails, nor tread on him, nor try +to drive him away as an uncivil intruder. Were you to dissect him and +inspect his stomach, you would find no milk there. It is full of the +flies which have been annoying the herd. + +[Illustration: LYRE-TAILED NIGHTJAR.] + +“The pretty mottled plumage of the Goatsucker, like that of the Owl, +wants the lustre which is observed in the feathers of the birds of day. +This at once marks him as a lover of the pale moon’s nightly beams. +There are nine species here (Demerara); the largest appears nearly the +size of the English Wood Owl. Its cry is so remarkable that, having +once heard it, you will never forget it. When night reigns over these +immeasurable wilds, whilst lying in your hammock, you will hear this +Goatsucker lamenting like one in deep distress. A stranger would never +conceive it to be the cry of a bird; he would say it was the departing +voice of a midnight murdered victim, or the last wailing of Niobe for +her poor children before she was turned into stone. Suppose yourself +in hopeless sorrow, begin with a high loud note, and pronounce ‘Ha, +ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!’ each note lower and lower, till the last +is scarcely heard, pausing a moment or two betwixt every note, and +you will have some idea of the moaning of the largest Goatsucker in +Demerara. Four other species of the Goatsucker articulate some words +so distinctly that they have received their names from the sentences +they utter, and absolutely bewilder the stranger on his arrival in +these parts. The most common one sits down close by your door, and +flies, and alights three or four yards before you as you walk along +the road, crying ‘Who are you, who-who-who-are-you.’ Another bids +you ‘Work away, work-work-work-away.’ A third cries mournfully, +‘Willy-come-go, willy-willy-willy-come-go.’ And high up in the country +a fourth tells you to ‘Whip-poor-will, whip-whip-whip-poor-will.’ You +will never persuade the negro to destroy these birds, or get the Indian +to let fly his arrows at them. They are birds of omen and reverential +dread. Jumbo, the demon of Africa, has them under his command, and +they equally obey the Yabahou, or Demeraran Indian Devil. They are +receptacles for departed souls who come back again to earth, unable to +rest for crimes done in their days of nature; or they are expressly +sent by Jumbo or Yabahou to haunt cruel or hard-hearted monsters, and +retaliate injuries received from them. If the largest Goatsucker chance +to cry near the white man’s door, sorrow and grief will soon be inside; +and they expect to see the master waste away with a slow consuming +sickness. If it be heard close to the negro’s or Indian’s hut, from +that night misfortune sits brooding over it, and they await the event +in terrible suspense.” + +The common Goatsucker, which is also popularly known as the “Fern Owl,” +or “Nightjar,” visits England only in the spring, when it arrives from +Southern Africa, and distributes itself over the country. It is by +no means an uncommon bird, but is rarely seen, owing to its habit of +coming out only at night, or at least in the twilight. They may then +often be disturbed from the ground in a country road, when they take +to flight in a heavy manner, often making a flapping noise, which +appears to be caused by bringing the wings sharply together above the +body of the bird. The call-note may be described as “churring,” and +is disagreeable in sound; it is generally uttered by the Goatsucker +when sitting on a low branch of a tree or on a railing. It should be +mentioned that the Caprimulgidæ do not, as a rule, sit crosswise on a +branch, but always along the latter; their favourite haunt, however, +is generally the ground, and it is supposed by some naturalists that +the curious pectinated claw is used by the Goatsucker for scratching +the ground. Dr. Günther, F.R.S., who kept one of these birds alive, +says that it frequently used its comb-like claw for this purpose. Other +people have thought that its claw was intended for clearing away the +_débris_ of moths and other insects, which would clog the bristles on +the bill. The true use of this comb-like appendage on the foot has not +yet, however, been thoroughly determined. + +[Illustration: FOOT OF THE COMMON GOATSUCKER.] + + +THE ELEVENTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS. + + +THE SWIFTS (_Cypselidæ_). + +These birds, with the Humming-birds, are separated from the other +Fissirostral _Picariæ_ by many anatomical characters, the chief being +the arrangement of the feather-tracts on the body, which are quite +peculiar; the muscles are also unlike those of the other families, and +hence these two groups are often divided off by modern naturalists +under the name of _Macrochires_.[285] + + +THE COMMON SWIFT (_Cypselus apus_).[286] + +In the beginning of May the Common Swift comes to Great Britain and +the rest of Europe, after passing his winter sojourn in South Africa. +He is one of the latest arrivals, as he comes only when summer has +fairly begun and fine weather is pretty well assured; again, in autumn, +he is almost the first of the summer migrants to take his departure, +and the absence of the Swifts from their accustomed haunts is a sure +sign of the approach of the fall of the year. So incumbent does this +early migration seem to be upon the species, that the Swifts have been +known to leave their young to perish of starvation rather than delay +their departure if cold weather suddenly approaches. All birds appear +to have at times a failure of instinct, and the Swift is no exception +to the rule, for sometimes they are caught in some cold weather on +their arrival, and it is not uncommon to find them benumbed with cold, +and fluttering helplessly or even lying dead on the ground. In this +latter position they are peculiarly helpless, their little legs being +unable to raise them so as to give them the proper momentum to rise +into the air again, while their long wings are much in the way, and +only assist in their entire discomfiture. The home of the Swift, then, +is in the air, and here his evolutions are most rapid, and performed +with extreme quickness and yet with consummate ease. For his breeding +home he often selects water-spouts on lofty buildings, such as the +English cathedrals, or else places his nest under the roofs of houses, +to the edge of which he is able to shuffle, and then to launch himself +suddenly down, after which his course is easy. In the evening there +is generally a little gathering of Swifts together, when they fly +screaming round and round the buildings in which their nests have been +placed, separating again for a few moments to rejoin in an excited +flock, which passes with incredible swiftness and much noise round the +edges of the towers or homesteads. When about to migrate, however, they +are silent, and the flocks which may be seen coursing along the sides +of the downs in the southern counties of England in August utter no +sound, as if impressed with the gravity of the long journey they are +about to undertake. + +[Illustration: COMMON SWIFT.] + +Macgillivray describes the nest of the Common Swift as follows:--“It is +very rudely constructed, flattened, about six inches in diameter and +half an inch thick; composed of particles of Aira cæspitosa, straws +of oats, wheat, and grasses, intermixed with fibrous roots, moss, +wool, cotton, hair, and feathers of the domestic fowl, partridge, and +rook. These materials are confusedly felted and agglutinated, the +glueing matter being of a gelatinous, not of a resinous, nature, and +in extremely thin shreds, which crackle, but do not readily burn, +when flame is applied to them. There is, however, a small quantity of +the membranous scales of the Scotch fir, together with some resinous +matter, in one of these nests.” The eggs are generally two in number, +of a long oval shape, and entirely white. + +[Illustration: TREE SWIFT.] + +[Illustration: EDIBLE-NEST SWIFTLETS.] + +Swifts appear to be found all over the world, the most graceful being +perhaps the Tree Swifts (_Dendrochelidon_), which inhabit India and +the Malayan region. In this same part of the world are also found the +Edible-nest Swiftlets (_Collocalia_), which breed in caves, their +nests being eaten by the Chinese and other Asiatic people. Dr. Jerdon +says:--“The nest, when pure and of the first make, is composed entirely +of inspissated mucus from the large salivary glands of the bird. +It is very small, bluntly triangular in form, and slightly concave +within; of a semi-transparent, fibrous sort of texture, bluish-white +in colour, and with the fibres, as it were, crossed and interlaced. +When the nests of the first make are taken away, the second nests are +mixed with feathers, and occasionally other foreign substances. The +eggs are two in number, and pure white.” Mr. E. L. Layard gives the +following account of a visit to a cave inhabited by the Indian Swiftlet +in Ceylon:--“I have at last visited the cave in which _Collocalia +nidifica_[287] builds, and will now, with the aid of my journal, give +all the information I can, sending you birds skinned and in spirit, +and a young nestling taken from the nest with my own hand. The cave is +situated at a place called Havissay, about thirty-five miles from the +sea and twenty from the river, and about 500 feet up a fine wood-clad +hill, called Diagallagoolawa, or Hoonoomooloocota. Its dimensions are +as follows:--Length between fifty and sixty feet, about twenty-six +broad, and twenty high. It is a mass of limestone rock, which has +cracked off the hill-side, and slipped down on to some boulders below +its original position, forming a hollow triangle. There are three +entrances to the cave; one at each end, and one very small one in the +centre. The floor consists of large boulders, covered to the depth of +two or three inches with the droppings of the birds, old and young, +and the bits of grass they bring in to fabricate their nests. The only +light which penetrates the cavern from the entrances above mentioned is +very dim. When my eyes, however, got accustomed to the light, I could +see many hundreds of nests glued to the side of the fallen rock, but +none to the other side, or hill itself. This I attribute to the fact +of the face of the main rock being evidently subject to the influence +of the weather, and perhaps to the heavy dews off the trees; but for +this, the side in question would have been far more convenient for +the birds to have built on, as it sloped gently outward, whereas the +other was much overhung, and caused the birds to build their nests of +an awkward shape, besides taking up more substance. I was at the spot +a few days before Christmas, and fancy that must be about the time +to see the nests in perfection. This is corroborated by the fact of +my finding young birds in all the nests taken by me, and by what the +old Chinaman said, that the ‘take’ came on in October. I find that +they have three different qualities of nests, and send two for your +inspection. The best is very clean, white as snow, and thin, and is +also very expensive. The most inferior are composed of dry grasses, +hair, &c., but I could not detect anything like the bloody secretion, +as described (‘though only under peculiar circumstances of exhaustion’) +by Mr. Barbe, even in a fresh nest. I was in the cave late (after 5 +P.M.) in the evening of a day which threatened rain, but the +old birds were still flying round the summit of the mountain at a vast +altitude, occasionally dashing down into the cave with food for their +nestlings. By daylight next morning I was on foot, but the birds were +before me, hawking on the plain below and all about the hills. I have +found the birds here, in Colombo, in Kandy, and all along the road we +went. I could learn nothing of the number of eggs laid, nor of their +colour. I found one bird in each nest. The Chinese who live on the +spot pretend not to understand anything asked them, and the apathetic +Cingalese have never taken the trouble to see for themselves, so they +could give me no information. The aspect of the country, broken and +rugged, coupled with the numerous flocks of birds I saw flying round +the various hills, leads me to think there must be many breeding-places +yet undiscovered. One, however, was pointed out, but we had not time to +visit it. I could not hear of any other kind of _Swift_ breeding there, +but have just received such information as leads me to suppose that _C. +fuciphaga_ builds near Jaffna on some rocks overhanging the sea. I may +further add that there were no Bats in the cave with _C. nidifica_, nor +did I see any bird of prey, save a fine _Hæmatornis_, which I shot. The +Cingalese name for _C. nidifica_ is _Wahlæna_.” + +[Illustration: WHITE-THROATED SPINE-TAILED SWIFT.] + + +THE TWELFTH FAMILY OF THE FISSIROSTRAL PICARIAN BIRDS.--THE HUMMING +BIRDS (_Trochilidæ_). + +These exquisite little creatures are perhaps the largest family of +birds known, numbering, at the present day, nearly five hundred +species. It is simply impossible in a work like the present to do +more than allude to a family, the full description of which by Mr. +Gould has occupied five large folio volumes. An immense variety of form +and colour is presented to us. All the birds are of small size, some +of them being no larger than Hawk-moths, to which in their manner of +flight they bear considerable resemblance. + +[Illustration: SWORD-BILL HUMMING BIRD.] + +In some countries Humming-birds are tolerably common, but some +species are of extreme rarity, such, for instance, as the _Loddigesia +mirabilis_, which was discovered forty years ago, and still remains +represented by a single specimen in the collection of the late Mr. +George Loddiges, and of which a reward of fifty pounds, offered by Mr. +Gould, has not succeeded in obtaining a second example. As a rule, +Humming-birds are a Neotropical family, that is to say, the vast +majority of the species occur in South America, and do not wander +above the line of Northern Mexico; but a few species are found in +the Southern United States, while one occurs in summer even in North +America, ranging as far as, and even breeding in, Canada. Professor +Newton writes:--“Wilson, Audubon, Mr. Gosse, and several others gifted +with the ‘pen of a ready writer,’ have so fully described, as far +as words will admit, the habits of different members of the family +_Trochilidæ_, that it is unnecessary to say much on this score. +Their appearance is so entirely unlike that of any other birds that +it is hopeless to attempt in any way to bring a just conception +of it to the ideas of those who have not crossed the Atlantic; and +even the comparison so often made between them and the _Sphingidæ_, +though doubtless in the main true, is much to the advantage of the +latter. One is admiring the clustering stars of a scarlet _Cordia_, +the snowy cornucopias of a _Portlandia_, or some other brilliant and +beautiful flower, when between the blossoms and one’s eye suddenly +appears a small dark object, suspended as it were between four short +black threads meeting each other in a cross. For an instant it shows +in front of the flower; an instant more it steadies itself, and one +perceives the space between each pair of threads occupied by a grey +film; again another instant, and, emitting a momentary flash of emerald +and sapphire light, it is vanishing, lessening in the distance as it +shoots away, to a speck that the eye cannot take note of--and all this +so rapidly that the word on one’s lips is still unspoken, scarcely the +thought in one’s mind changed. It was a bold man or an ignorant one +who first ventured to depict Humming birds flying; but it cannot be +denied that representations of them are often of special use to the +ornithologist. The peculiar action of one, and probably of many or all +other species of the family, is such, that at times in flying it makes +the wings almost meet, both in front and behind, at each vibration. +Thus, when a bird chances to enter a room it will generally go buzzing +along the cornice. Standing beneath where it is, one will find that +the axis of the body is vertical, and each wing is describing a nearly +perfect semicircle. As might be expected, the pectoral muscles are +very large; indeed, the sternum of this bird is a good deal bigger +than that of the common Chimney Swallow (_Hirundo rustica_). But the +extraordinary rapidity with which the vibrations are effected seems to +be chiefly caused by these powerful muscles acting on the very short +wingbones, which are not half the length of the same parts in the +Swallow; and accordingly, great as this alar action is, and in spite +of the contrary opinion entertained by Mr. Gosse, it is yet sometimes +wanting in power, owing, doubtless, to the disadvantageous leverage +thus obtained; and the old authors must be credited who speak of +cobwebs catching Humming birds. On the 3rd of May, 1857, a bird of this +species flew into the room where I was sitting, and after fluttering +for some minutes against the ceiling, came in contact with a deserted +spider’s web, in which it got entangled, and remained suspended and +perfectly helpless for more than a minute, when by a violent effort it +freed itself. I soon after caught it, still having fragments of the web +on its head, neck, and wings; and I feel pretty sure, that had this +web been inhabited and in good repair, instead of being deserted and +dilapidated, the bird would never have escaped.” + +[Illustration: WHITE-BOOTED RACKET TAIL.] + +[Illustration: COMMON TOPAZ HUMMING BIRD.] + +Mr. A. R. Wallace has written the following account of the habits of +Humming birds on the River Amazon:--“The greater number of species +that frequent flowers do so, I am convinced, for the small insects +found there, and not for the nectar. In dozens, and perhaps hundreds, +of common flower-frequenting species which I have examined, the crop, +stomach, and intestines have been filled with minute beetles, ants, and +spiders, which abound in most flowers in South America. Very rarely +indeed have I found a trace of honey or of any liquid in the crop or +stomach. The flowers they most frequent are the various species of +_Inga_ and the papilionaceous flowers of many large forest trees. I +have never seen them at the bignonias, or any flowers but those which +grow in large masses, covering a whole tree or shrub, as they visit +perhaps a hundred flowers in a minute and never stop at a single one. +The little Emerald Hummer I have seen in gardens and at the common +orange (_Asclepias_), which often covers large spaces of waste ground +in the tropics. But there are many, such as _Phaëthornis eremita_ and +some larger allied species, which I have never seen at flowers. These +inhabit the gloomy forest-shades, where they dart about among the +foliage; and I have distinctly observed them visit in rapid succession +every leaf on a branch, balancing themselves vertically in the air, +passing their beak closely over the under surface of each leaf, and +thus capturing, no doubt, any small insects that may be upon them. +While doing this, the two long feathers of the tail have a vibrating +motion, apparently serving as a rudder to assist them in performing +the delicate operation. I have seen others searching up and down stems +and dead sticks in the same manner, every now and then picking off +something, exactly as a Bush Shrike or Tree Creeper does, with this +exception, that the Humming-bird is continually on the wing. They also +capture insects in the true Fissirostral fashion. How often may they +be seen perched on the dead twig of a lofty tree--the station that is +chosen by the tyrant Flycatchers and the Jacamars--from which, like +those birds, they dart off a short distance, and after a few whirls and +balancings return to the identical twig they had left. In the evening, +too, just after sunset, when the Goatsuckers are beginning their search +after insects over the rivers, I have seen Humming birds come out of +the forest and remain a long time on the wing--now stationary, now +darting about with the greatest rapidity, imitating in a limited space +the evolutions of their companions the Goatsuckers, and evidently for +the same end and purpose.” + +Wilson, the poet-naturalist, observes of the North American species as +follows:--“Nature in every department of her works seems to delight +in variety, and the present subject is almost as singular for its +minuteness, beauty, want of song, and manner of feeding, as the Mocking +Bird is for unrivalled excellence of note and plainness of plumage. +This is one of the few birds that are universally beloved, and amidst +the sweet dewy serenity of a summer’s morning his appearance amongst +the arbours of honeysuckles and beds of flowers is truly interesting. + + “‘When morning dawns, and the blest sun again + Lifts his red glories from the Eastern main, + Then through our woodbines, wet with glittering dews, + The flower-fed Humming bird his round pursues; + Sips with inserted tube the honied blooms, + And chirps his gratitude as round he roams; + While richest roses, though in crimson drest, + Shrink from the splendour of his gorgeous breast, + What heavenly tints in mingling radiance fly! + Each rapid movement gives a different dye: + Like scales of burnished gold they dazzling show, + Now sink to shade, now to a furnace glow.’” + +[Illustration: CRESTED HUMMING BIRD.] + + +PRINTED BY CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, LA BELLE SAUVAGE, LONDON, +E.C. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] The genus _Ovis_. + +[2] _Ovis Poli._ + +[3] The genus _Capra_. + +[4] “Falling from a height, it protects its whole body, between its +horns, from shock, and receives upon its horns the concussion of the +huge stones.” + +[5] The genus _Gazella_. + +[6] _Saïga tartarica._ + +[7] _Panthalops Hodgsoni._ + +[8] _Æpyceros melampus._ + +[9] _Antilope bezoartica._ + +[10] The genus _Cephalophus_. + +[11] The genus _Tetraceros_. + +[12] The genus _Eleotragus_ and its allies. + +[13] _Oreas canna._ + +[14] _Strepsiceros kudu._ + +[15] _Euryceros Angasii._ + +[16] The genus _Tragelaphus._ + +[17] The _Damalidæ_. + +[18] The genus _Catoblepas_. + +[19] _Rupicapra tragus._ + +[20] The genus _Oryx_. + +[21] _Portax picta._ + +[22] _Ovibos moschatus._ + +[23] _Bos taurus._ + +[24] The genus _Bison_. + +[25] The genus _Bubalus_. + +[26] _Antilocapra americana._ + +[27] _Moschus moschiferus._ + +[28] _Camelopardalis giraffa._ + +[29] _Alces machlis._ + +[30] The restricted genus _Cervus_. + +[31] _Cervus elaphus._ + +[32] The genera _Pseudaxis_ and _Dama_. + +[33] _Dama mesopotamica._ + +[34] The genus _Rusa_ and its allies. + +[35] _Rusa Alfredi._ + +[36] _Rucervus Duvaucelli._ + +[37] _Rucervus Eldi._ + +[38] The genus _Cervulus_. + +[39] _Capreolus caprea._ + +[40] _Hydropotes inermis._ + +[41] _Elaphurus Davidianus._ + +[42] _Transactions of the Zoological Society_, Vol. VII. p. 333. + +[43] _Rangifer tarandus._ + +[44] _Tragulidæ._ + +[45] _Camelus dromedarius._ + +[46] _Camelus bactrianus._ + +[47] _Auchenia._ + +[48] In the young there are four of these small additional teeth, but +the outer pair disappear after a short time. + +[49] The upper teeth always constitute a larger segment of a smaller +circle than the lower ones. + +[50] The genus _Heliophobius_ among the Mole Rats is described as +having six molars on each side in both jaws; but the number in this +genus appears to be variable, the sixth molar being often undeveloped. + +[51] See Note on p. 83. + +[52] Having the hind feet hand-like. + +[53] See _Arvicola rutilus_, p. 117. + +[54] Dr. Coues has proposed this generic name for the American Jumping +Mouse, as the names _Jaculus_ and _Meriones_, given to the genus by +various authors, had been previously used for other groups. + +[55] Described almost at the same time by M. Bravard under the name of +_Typotherium_. We here employ M. Serres’ name. + +[56] Waterton’s “Wanderings,” pp. 161, 284. + +[57] _Arctopithecus castaniceps._ + +[58] _Bradypus torquatus_, or _Bradypus crinitus_. + +[59] _Arctopithecus flaccidus._--_Arctopithecus Ai._ + +[60] _Cholœpus didactylus._ + +[61] _Cholœpus Hoffmanni._ + +[62] _Orycteropus capensis_ (Geoffroy). + +[63] The uterus is double, and the placenta is disc-shaped, and is cast +off (deciduate). There are chest and inguinal. teats. The vertebræ +are--seven cervical, thirteen dorsal, eight lumbar, six sacral, +twenty-five caudal. + +[64] The muscle called pronator quadratus is a fleshy band, four-sided +in shape more or less. One side is attached to one of the bones of +the fore-arm, the ulna in front above the wrist; and the other and +opposite side adheres to the radius. The ulna being motionless, the +muscle contracts and pulls the radius over, so as to turn the back of +the wrist forwards, or upwards. The prone position is thus produced, +and hence the name of the muscle. The other muscle which produces this +movement is fixed to the fore-arm in front, near the inner elbow, and +it is long, having a tendon which is implanted on the radius. As this +muscle contracts, it pulls the radius over the ulna, and makes the +wrist take up a prone position. It is called the pronator teres. + +[65] Genus _Manis_. + +[66] _Manis tetradactyla_ (Linn.). + +[67] _Manis gigantea_ (Illiger). + +[68] _Manis brachyura._--_Manis pentadactyla_ (Linn.). + +[69] _Myrmecophaga jubata._ + +[70] It is certainly remarkable that the brain of this animal should +present numerous convolutions, whilst the brain of the Sloth has +barely any. The commissures of the brain are large, especially that of +the centre, or corpus callosum, and also the anterior. The uterus is +simple, the os is double, and the placenta is said to be discoidal. + +[71] _Tamandua tetradactyla._ + +[72] _Cyclothurus didactylus._ + +[73] _Dasypus gigas_ (Cuvier). + +[74] _Dasypus Tatouay_ (Desmarest). + +[75] _Dasypus sexcintus_ (Linn.). + +[76] _Dasypus villosus_ (Desmarest). + +[77] _Dasypus minutus_ (Desmarest). + +[78] _Dasypus Peba_ (Desmarest). + +[79] _Dasypus (Tolypeutes) apar_ (Geoffroy). + +[80] _Chlamydophorus truncatus_ (Harlan). + +[81] The _Macropodidæ_. + +[82] _Macropus giganteus_ (Shaw). + +[83] The presence of the pouch, or marsupium, containing the teats, +involves many structural and physiological peculiarities which separate +the Marsupialia, in a classificatory sense, from the rest of the +Mammalia. The Great Kangaroo, which may be considered a fair example +of the Marsupials, has in the female a set of skin muscles, around the +pouch, beneath the skin, which close it. The milk, or mammary gland, +has four long, slender teats in the pouch, and beneath the skin of +it is a muscle called the cremaster, which is largely developed. It +spreads over the surface of the gland, and its action is to squeeze it +and to force out the milk through the teat. There is thus protection +for the young, and milk is given forth, without the effort of the young +in sucking. The reason for this is obvious. The Great Kangaroo, which +is often as tall as a man, is pregnant for about thirty-nine days +only, and then a little one, not bigger than a thumb, is born; it is +not completely formed, and is blind and cannot move itself. The mother +places it in her pouch, and it fixes on to a teat, where it hangs for +about eight months, and then it begins to look out of the pouch. The +duration of the life of the young in the womb is thus very small, and +it has no placenta there, which in the other and non-marsupial Mammalia +forms the life-union between the mother and the offspring before its +birth. Thus, the Marsupials form one great group of Mammalia which +are “implacentalia,” without placentas or “after-births,” and all the +other Mammalia are “placentalia,” and have this link between mother +and young. In all the Mammalia hitherto described the young come into +the world by a single passage. In those now under consideration (the +Marsupialia) there is a double passage, and the womb is separated +into two portions, being double; so they are termed Didelphia. The +marsupium has two remarkable bones more or less in relation to it, +and all animals thus furnished are termed Marsupialia, and they form +two sections or sub-orders--(1) The Marsupiata proper, with marsupial +bones, mostly with pouches, and with inflected lower jaws. (2) The +Monotremata, which have marsupial bones, depressions in the skin, when +suckling, like ill-developed pouches, and beak-like jaws in front, +which are not inflected. + +[84] See Footnote 83 on previous page. + +[85] Waterhouse’s “Natural History of the Mammalia,” order Marsupiata, +from which much of this description of the order has been taken. + +[86] R. Owen, “Marsupialia;” “Todd’s Cyclopædia of Anatomy and +Physiology.” + +[87] See also Vol. I., page 58, Note. + +[88] Mr. Gould’s works on Australian animals, occasionally quoted by me. + +[89] _Macropus leporoides_ (Gould). + +[90] _Macropus rufus_ (Desm.). + +[91] _Macropus agilis_ (Gould, sp.). + +[92] _Dendrolagus ursinus_ (Müll.). + +[93] Sub-genus _Hypsiprymnus_. + +[94] _Hypsiprymnus rufescens._ + +[95] _Hypsiprymnus penicillatus._ + +[96] _Hypsiprymnus murinus._ + +[97] Description by E. P. Ramsay, F.L.S., and communication from Sir R. +Owen to Linnean Society, London. + +[98] _Phascolomys wombat_ (Peron and Lesson). φάσκωλος, a pouch, and +μῦς, a mouse. + +[99] _Phascolarctus_ (pouched-bear) _cinereus_. + +[100] _Phalangista ursina._ + +[101] _Phalangista (Cuscus) maculatus._ + +[102] _Phalangista vulpina._ + +[103] _Phalangista fuliginosa._ + +[104] _Phalangista Nana._ + +[105] _Petaurus sciureus_ (Shaw). + +[106] _Petaurus ariel._ + +[107] _Petaurus breviceps._ + +[108] _Petaurus pygmæus._ + +[109] _Tarsipes rostratus._ + +[110] _Perameles lagotis._ + +[111] _Perameles Gunnii._ + +[112] _Perameles fasciata._ + +[113] _Perameles doreyanus._ + +[114] _Perameles moresbyensis_ (Rams.). + +[115] _Chœropus castanotis_--χοῖρος, a hog; and πούς, a foot. + +[116] _Myrmecobius fasciatus_--μύρμηξ, ant; βίος, life. + +[117] _Dasyurus ursinus._ + +[118] _Dasyurus macrurus_, or _maculatus_. + +[119] _Dasyurus Maugei_ (Geoffroy). + +[120] θύλακος, a pouch. + +[121] _Thylacinus cynocephalus._ + +[122] _Phascogale penicillata._ + +[123] _Didelphys virginianum._ + +[124] _Didelphys D’Azaræ._ + +[125] _Didelphys cancrivora._ + +[126] _Didelphys crassicaudatus._ + +[127] _Chironectes variegatus._ + +[128] The sub-genera Halmaturus and Heteropus, Osphranter, +Lagorchestes, and Petrogale, are included in Macropus, and many other +sub-genera relating to the other families merely complicate the +classification. Bettongia, Potoroiis, are sub-genera or artificial +groups of the genus Hypsiprymnus; Cuscus, Trichosurus, Pseudochirus, +and Dromicia, are groups of Phalangistidæ; Petaurista, Belideus, and +Acrobata are divisions of the genus Petaurus; Macrotis is a sub-genus +of Perameles; Antechinus is a division of the genus Phascogale; +Sarcophilus is a sub-genus of Dasyurus. These are unnecessary +sub-divisions. + +[129] μόνος, one; τρῆμα, opening. + +[130] _Echidna hystrix_ (Cuvier). Much confusion has been produced by +Illiger, who changed the generic title to Tachyglossus, ταχύς, quick, +and γλῶσσα, tongue; but the name given by Cuvier must stand, except in +the minds of those zoologists who delight in novelties, and believe +that the use of long words carries wisdom. Lately more confusion has +been produced by the introduction of the generic term _Acanthoglossus_, +which we do not admit or use. + +[131] _Ornithorhynchus anatinus._ + +[132] Dr. Brehm: “Bird-life,” pp. 503, 504. + +[133] Huxley, “Anatomy of Vertebrates,” p. 274. + +[134] παλαιός, old; ἄρκτος, north: _i.e._, the northern division of the +_Old_ World. + +[135] νέος, new; ἄρκτος, north: _i.e._, the northern division of the +_New_ World. + +[136] νέος, new; τροπικός, tropical: _i.e._, the tropical division of +the _New_ World. + +[137] Dr. Sclater, F.R.S., originated, in 1858, this scheme of the six +zoogeographical divisions of the globe. + +[138] In the preparation of this chapter, the author begs to +acknowledge the assistance he has received from his friend Professor F. +Jeffrey Bell, B.A. + +[139] These lines are thus translated by Mr. Hayward:--“I hurry on +to drink his everlasting light--the day before me and the night +behind--the heavens above, and under me the waves. A glorious dream! +as it is passing, he is gone. Alas! no bodily wing will so easily keep +pace with the wings of the mind! Yet it is the inborn tendency of our +being for feeling to strive upwards and onwards; when, over us, lost in +the blue expanse the lark sings its thrilling lay; when, over rugged +pine-covered heights, the out-spread eagle soars; and, over marsh and +sea, the crane struggles onward to her home.” + +[140] These plates may become united with one another in the middle +line, and the birds that possess this arrangement have been called +_Desmognathæ_ (δεσμός, “a bond;” γνάθος, “jaw”); or they may be +separated by a more or less narrow cleft, in which case the birds in +which this is found are called _Schizognathæ_ (σχίζω, “I cleave”). As a +matter of fact, the term Schizognathous is confined to those birds in +which the above-mentioned vomer is pointed in front, while where it is +truncated the birds are called _Ægithognathæ_ (αἴγιθος, “a sparrow,” as +the character is seen in these birds). In these groups, however, the +Ostriches, or running birds, which are distinguished by having no keel +to their sternum, are not included; nor in them is the vomer narrow +behind. This broad character of the hinder end of the vomer is seen +also in one group of birds with a keeled sternum--the Tinamous--which +are consequently distinguished from other “Carinate” birds by the term +_Dromæognathæ_ (_Dromæus_, the Emu). + +[141] The presence or absence of it, or of the other muscles, is used +as a means for arranging the smaller divisions of the larger groups +into which the two first-named sub-classes are, by the aid of other +anatomical facts, divided. One striking advantage of this system, as +suggested by the late Prof. A. H. Garrod, is that the characters of +the _ambiens_ have been observed to go hand in hand with certain other +characters. Thus, the cæca found at the end of the small intestine +are always present in the Homalogonatæ, or birds having the normal +arrangement of knee-muscles; but in this connection there is another +structure to be mentioned, namely, the so-called oil-gland, or gland +by the secretion of which the bird “preens” its feathers, and which is +always set in the skin in the region of the tail. Now this “uropygial,” +or oil-gland, may or may not be provided with a tuft of feathers, and +as there may or may not be cæca to the intestine, it follows that--(1) +the gland may be tufted and there may be cæca, or (2) the gland may +have no feathers and cæca may be present, or (3) there may be no +cæca and a tufted gland, or (4) there may be no cæca and no tufts +(the possible arrangement of neither being present is found in a few +Pigeons). But this is not the place to follow out the details of this +classification. + +With regard to the proposition made by a French observer, M. Alix, +that birds should be divided into the Homœomyarii, Entomyarii, and +Ectomyarii, according to the character of certain of the flexor muscles +at the back of the leg, it seems only necessary to remark that so far +anatomical investigations have not supported his views, while his +system would separate birds which seem to be closely allied. + +[142] Compare Vol. I., p. 213 + +[143] _Accipitres diurni_ of authors. + +[144] _Accipitres nocturni_ of authors. + +[145] _Machærhamphus Anderssoni._ + +[146] _Accipitrinæ._ + +[147] _Falco_, a Falcon. + +[148] Πανδίων, a Greek mythological name. + +[149] στρίγξ, an Owl. + +[150] “Song of Hiawatha,” Book XIX. + +[151] “Essays on Natural History,” 1866, p. 17. + +[152] “Notes on the Birds of Damara Land and the adjacent countries of +South-west Africa,” 1872, p. 3. + +[153] 1864, p. 307. + +[154] 1859, p. 277. + +[155] _Vultur monachus._ + +[156] _Gyps fulvus._ + +[157] J. H. Gurney: “Descriptive Catalogue of the Raptorial Birds in +the Norfolk and Norwich Museum.” + +[158] οὖς, ὠτός, an ear; γύψ, a vulture. + +[159] _Auricularis_, having ears. + +[160] A mythological name. + +[161] περκνός, dark-coloured; πτερόν, a wing; so called from the colour +of its wings. + +[162] “Ornithology of the Strait of Gibraltar,” p. 31. + +[163] σάρξ, flesh; ῤάμφος, a bill; so called on account of the fleshy +wattles on the base of the bill. + +[164] _Gryphus_, a mythological name, a Griffon. + +[165] καθαρτής, a scavenger. + +[166] _Papa_, a pope. + +[167] D’Orbigny, “Voyage dans l’Amérique Meridionale,” p. 30. + +[168] ῤίν (ῤίς), ῤινός, a nose; _gryphus_, as before, a Griffon, or +Vulture; so called on account of its peculiar perforated nose. + +[169] _Helotarsus ecaudatus._ + +[170] _Serpentarius_, a devourer of Serpents. + +[171] _Secretarius_, a secretary. + +[172] _Proceedings of the Zoological Society_, 1856, p. 348. + +[173] Gymnogene: from two Greek words (γυμνός, bare, naked; γένυς, a +cheek). + +[174] _Polyboroides_: like a _Polyborus_ or Caracara. + +[175] Col. Irby, “Ornithology of the Strait of Gibraltar,” p. 34. + +[176] μικρός, small; _astur_, a Goshawk. See “Lawrence’s Birds of +Western and North-Western Mexico.” “Memoirs of the Boston Soc. of Nat. +Hist.,” Vol. ii., p. 299. + +[177] μέλι honey; ἱέραξ, a Hawk. + +[178] _Rete_, Lat., a net, so called on account of the network pattern. + +[179] _Buteo_, Lat., a Buzzard. + +[180] “Birds of the West of Scotland,” p. 46. + +[181] θράσος, daring; ἀετός, an Eagle. + +[182] ἄρπη, a bird of prey. + +[183] “Sketches of Nature in the Alps.” + +[184] οὐρά, a tail; ἀετός, an Eagle. + +[185] _Audax_, bold. + +[186] Newton Ed., Yarrell’s “British Birds,” i., p. 19. + +[187] “Rough Notes on Indian Ornithology,” p. 145. + +[188] χρυσός, gold; ἀετός, an Eagle. + +[189] νέος, new; πούς, a foot: meaning that there was something novel +and extraordinary about its foot. + +[190] “Birds of Ceylon,” p. 49. + +[191] κίρκος, a Harrier; ἀετός, an Eagle. + +[192] Ibis, 1865, p. 253. + +[193] ἕλω (αἱρέω), to lift; ταρσός, a tarsus. + +[194] Ecaudatus, Latin, meaning “without tail,” on account of its +shortness. + +[195] ἁλιάετος, a Sea Eagle. + +[196] “Ootheca Woolleyana,” p. 47. + +[197] ἰκτῖνος, a Kite. + +[198] “Bird-life,” p. 543. + +[199] μάχαιρα, a sharp knife; ῥάμφος, a bill. + +[200] Andersson’s “Birds of Damara Land.” Edited by J. H. Gurney, 1872, +p. 22. + +[201] Lit., like a Cuckoo. + +[202] μικρός, small, tiny; ἱέραξ, a Hawk. + +[203] A wanderer. + +[204] μέλας, black; γένυς, a cheek. + +[205] _Nigriceps_, black-headed. + +[206] “Ootheca Woolleyana,” p. 93. + +[207] ἱερός, sacred; _falco_, a Falcon; _candicans_, white. + +[208] κερχνηίς, or κέρχνη, Gr., a Kestrel; _tinnunculus_, Lat., a Hawk. + +[209] pp. 82, 95. + +[210] Ornithology of Shakspere. + +[211] “Ornithology of the Strait of Gibraltar,” &c., p. 56. + +[212] “Essays on Natural History,” p. 8. + +[213] _Ketupa_, a “barbarous” name, with no meaning. + +[214] σκότος, darkness; πέλεια, a Dove, with a covert allusion to the +name of the discoverer (Sclater). + +[215] Ibis, 1859, p. 447. + +[216] _Bubo_, a Horned Owl (Vergil); _ignavus_, dastardly--an +inappropriate title for so fine a bird. + +[217] νύκτιος, nightly, _i.e._, a bird of night--a most inappropriate +title for the Snowy Owl, which is a day-flier. + +[218] _Scandiaca_, Scandinavian. + +[219] A proper name. + +[220] A “barbarous” name, of no meaning. + +[221] From γλαυκός, blue or grey. + +[222] Passerine, or Sparrow-like: _i.e._, of the size of a Sparrow. + +[223] A proper name. + +[224] Σύρνιον, a proper name. + +[225] νυκταλός, nocturnal. + +[226] Like a Hawk. + +[227] ὦτος, long-eared Owl. + +[228] στρίγξ, an Owl. + +[229] Fiery; flame-coloured. + +[230] Newton’s edition of Yarrell’s “British Birds,” Vol. I., p. 147. + +[231] From _Picus_, a Woodpecker. + +[232] _Fissus_, cleft; _rostrum_, a beak. + +[233] ζυγόν, a yoke; δάκτυλος, a toe. + +[234] ὀρθός, straight; γνάθος, a jaw. + +[235] κάμπτω, to bend; λόφος, a crest. + +[236] μικρός, small; γλῶσσα, a tongue. + +[237] Very black. + +[238] ἀνήρ, a man; γλῶσσα, a tongue. + +[239] χρυσός, gold; οὖς, an ear. + +[240] “Birds of Jamaica,” p. 266. + +[241] G. D. Rowley, “Ornithological Miscellany,” Vol. I, p. 175. + +[242] “Natural History of Cage-birds,” Part I. + +[243] Jerdon, “Birds of India,” I., p. 258. + +[244] στρίγξ, an Owl; ὤψ, a face, _i.e._, having the appearance of an +Owl. + +[245] ἁβρός, soft; πτίλον, feather. + +[246] ὀρθός, straight; γνάθος, jaw. + +[247] _Trichoglossi._ + +[248] Professor Garrod in _Proceedings of the Zoological Society for +1872_, p. 787. + +[249] “Stray Feathers,” 1877, p. 385. + +[250] “Bird-life,” p. 595. + +[251] Sharpe’s edition of Layard’s “Birds of South Africa,” p. 141. + +[252] γῆ, earth, and κινέω, I shake; _viridis_, green. + +[253] The classical Greek name, from its double note sounding like the +exclamation ἰΰ, hence the verb ἰΰζω, I cry out. + +[254] Compare Fig. 1, _ch._; this bone usually exists in a paired +condition, but in Woodpeckers and some other birds it appears single +by the confluence of its members. In many birds the “basi-hyal” is +succeeded by the “uro-hyal” (Fig. 1, _b. br._), a bone altogether +absent whenever the tongue is capable of extraordinary protrusion. + +[255] σφῦρα, a hammer; _picus_, a woodpecker. + +[256] Yarrell, “British Birds,” vol. ii., p. 137. + +[257] μέλας, black; ἕρπω, I creep; _formicivorus_, ant-eating. + +[258] Linnæus. A proper name. + +[259] From ῥάμφος, a bill. + +[260] “Monograph of the _Rhamphastidæ_, or Family of Toucans,” by John +Gould, F.R.S. Introduction. + +[261] From _Capito_, the principal genus: a proper name. + +[262] “A Monograph of the Capitonidæ, or Scansorial Barbets,” by C. H. +T. Marshall and G. F. L. Marshall (1871). + +[263] _Galbula_, a proper name. + +[264] Sclater, “Synopsis of the Fissirostral Family Bucconidæ,” 8vo, +1854. + +[265] _Alcedo_, a Kingfisher. + +[266] Sharpe’s “Monograph of the Alcedinidæ, or Kingfishers.” + +[267] + + “Perque dies placidos hiberno tempore septem + Incubat alcyone pendentibus æquore nidis.”--Ovid, _Met._ xi. 745. + + +[268] κηρύλος, a sea-bird of the halcyon kind. + +[269] “Ornithologie Nord Ost Afrikas,” p. 185. + +[270] πελαργός, a stork; ὤψ, a face. + +[271] Diminutive of _Ispida_, a Kingfisher. + +[272] τανύω, to stretch; πτερόν, a wing. + +[273] βούκερως, having the horn (κέρας) of a cow (βοῦς). + +[274] Elliot: “Monograph of the Bucerotidæ, or family of the +Hornbills,” Part IV. + +[275] “Missionary Travels in South Africa.” + +[276] “Malay Archipelago,” Vol. I., p. 212. + +[277] See Sharpe’s Edition of Layard’s “Birds of South Africa,” p. 122. + +[278] Sharpe and Dresser, “Birds of Europe,” Part VII., 1871. + +[279] “Ornithology of the Strait of Gibraltar,” p. 66. + +[280] φᾶρος, a mantle; μακρός, large. + +[281] Ibis, 1861, p. 138. + +[282] στέαρ, στέατος, fat; ὄρνις, a bird. + +[283] βάτραχος, a frog; στόμα, a mouth. + +[284] Owl-like. + +[285] μακρός, long; χείρ, a hand, in the sense of a wing of a bird. + +[286] Cypselus, a swift; α, not; πούς, a foot. + +[287] Nest-building. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Cassell's Natural History, Vol. 3 (of +6), by P. Martin Duncan and A. H. Garrod and W. S. Dallas and R. Bowdler Sharpe + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 63592 *** |