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Another Random Scribd Document
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remain; there is also a foot preserved in the British Museum. There is a
reference to this extinct species in Humboldt’s Cosmos. (See Bohn’s
edition, vol. i. page 29, and a note on the Dodo, by Dr. Mantell, at the end
of the volume.)
The Solitaire is another remarkable bird which was formerly found in
the Mauritius and the adjoining islands, but which has now become extinct.

THE RINGDOVE,
CUSHAT, OR WOOD
PIGEON,

(Columba palumbus,)

Is the largest Pigeon found in our island, by which it may be distinguished

from all others; its weight is about twenty ounces, its length eighteen
inches, and its circumference about thirty. It is usually known as the Wood
Pigeon. This bird is of a bluish grey colour, with the feathers of the sides of
the neck tipped with white, forming several imperfect rings; the breed is
common in Britain. Its habits are like those of other birds of the tribe, but it
is so strongly attached to its native freedom, that all attempts to domesticate
it, with a few rare exceptions, have hitherto proved ineffectual.
These birds build their nests chiefly on the pine, or holly, with dried
sticks thrown rudely together; and the eggs, which may frequently be seen
through the bottom of the nest, are larger than those of the domestic Pigeon.
Mr. Montague bred up a curious assemblage of birds, which lived
together in perfect amity; it consisted of a common pigeon, a ringdove, a
white owl, and a sparrowhawk; the ringdove was master of the whole.

THE STOCKDOVE. (Columba

ænas.)

“The Stockdove, recluse, with her mate,

Conceals her fond bliss in the grove,
And murmuring seems to repeat,
That May is the mother of love.” Cunningham.

This bird is called the Stockdove, because it builds in the stocks of trees
which have been headed down, and are become thick and bristly; and not,
as some have supposed, because it is the stock, or original, from which all
the tame pigeons have sprung. Sometimes these birds lay their eggs in
deserted rabbit-warrens, on the sod, without making any nest.
The colour of the Stockdove is generally of a deep slate or lead tint, with
rings of black about the feathers. While the beech woods were suffered to
cover large tracts of ground, these birds used to haunt them in myriads,
frequently extending above a mile in length, as they went out in the
morning to feed. They are still found in considerable quantities in many
parts of England, but never in Scotland, forming their nests in the hollows
of trees; not like the ringdove, on boughs. Their murmuring strains, or
cooings, in the morning and at dusk, are highly pleasing, and throw an
agreeable melancholy on the solitude of the grove. The poet of the Seasons
expresses this in the following lines, with a beautiful instance of imitative
harmony:

“—— the Stockdove breathes

A melancholy murmur through the whole.”
Spring.

Wordsworth also gives a pleasing description of the mournful cooing of

these birds:

“I heard a Stockdove sing or say

His homely tale this very day;
His voice was buried among trees,
Yet to be come at by the breeze;
He did not cease; but cooed and cooed;
And somewhat pensively he wooed;
He sang of love with quiet blending,
Slow to begin, and never ending;
Of serious faith and inward glee,
That was the song—the song for me.”

THE ROCKDOVE. (Columba

livia.)

The shape of this bird, which is the original stock of our domestic Pigeons,
is well known, and the plumage of the wild birds is exactly similar to that of
the commonest kind seen in our dove-cots—bluish-grey, with black bands
across the wings. In its wild state it inhabits the cavities of high rocks and
cliffs on the sea coast, where it is found abundantly in our own country. The
female Pigeon lays two eggs at a time, which produce generally a male and
a female. It is pleasing to see how eager the male is to sit upon the eggs, in
order that his mate may rest and feed herself. The young ones, when
hatched, are fed from the crop of the mother, who has the power of forcing
up the half-digested peas which she has swallowed to give them to her
young. The young ones, open-mouthed, receive this tribute of affection, and
are thus fed three times a day.
There are upwards of twenty varieties of the domestic Pigeon, and of
these the carriers are the most celebrated. They obtain their name from
being sometimes employed to convey letters or small packets from one
place to another. The rapidity of their flight is very wonderful. Lithgow
assures us that one of them will carry a letter from Babylon to Aleppo
(which, to a man, is usually thirty days’ journey) in forty-eight hours. To
measure their speed with some degree of exactness, a gentleman, many
years ago, on a trifling wager, sent a Carrier Pigeon from London, by the
coach, to a friend at Bury St. Edmunds, and along with it a note, desiring
that the Pigeon, two days after its arrival there, might be thrown up
precisely when the town clock struck nine in the morning. This was
accordingly done, and the Pigeon arrived in London at half-past eleven
o’clock on the same morning, having flown seventy-two miles in two hours
and a half. An instance of still greater speed is mentioned by Mr. Yarrell, in
which a Carrier flew from Rouen to Ghent, a hundred and fifty miles in a
straight line, in one hour and a half. From the instant of its liberation, its
flight is directed through the clouds, at a great height, to its home. By an
instinct altogether inconceivable, it darts onward, in a straight line, to the
very spot whence it was taken, but how it can direct its flight so exactly will
probably for ever remain unknown to us.
 “Led by what chart, transports the timid Dove,
The wreaths of conquest, or the vows of love?
Say through the clouds what compass points her flight?
Monarchs have gazed, and nations blessed the sight.
Pile rocks on rocks, bid woods and mountains rise,
Eclipse her native shades, her native skies:—
’Tis vain! through ether’s pathless wilds she goes,
And lights at last where all her cares repose.
Sweet bird, thy truth shall Harlem’s walls attest,
And unborn ages consecrate thy nest.” Rogers.

The Carrier Pigeon is easily distinguished from the other varieties by a

broad circle of naked white skin round the eyes, by the large fleshy wattle at
the base of its bill, and by its dark blue or blackish colour.
It would be as fruitless as unnecessary to attempt to describe all the
varieties of the Tame Pigeon; for human art has so much altered the colour
and figure of this bird, that pigeon-fanciers, by pairing a male and female of
different sorts, can, as they express it, “breed them to a feather.” Hence we
have the various names of Carriers, Tumblers, Jacobins, Croppers, Pouters,
Bunts, Turbits, Shakers, Fantails, Owls, Nuns, &c., all of which may, at
first, have accidentally varied from the Rockdove, and these have been
further improved by crossing, food, and climate. An actual post system, in
which pigeons were the messengers, was established by the Sultan
Noureddin Mahmoud, which lasted about a century, and ceased in 1258,
when Bagdad fell into the hands of the Moguls.
 THE TURTLE DOVE.
(Columba turtur.)

“Go, beautiful and gentle Dove,

And greet the morning ray;
For lo! the sun shines bright above,
And the rain is pass’d away.” Bowles.

This Dove brings to the heart and mind the most pleasing recollections;
its name is nearly synonymous with faithfulness and unvariable affection.
The male or female is so much attached to its respective mate that it is said,
perhaps with more poetry than truth, that if one die the other will never
survive; however, the author of these observations was an eye-witness to
the death of a female Turtle Dove, who was unfortunately killed by a
spaniel, in the absence of the male; the disconsolate survivor, after having
in vain searched everywhere for his mate, came and mournfully perched
upon the wonted trough, waiting patiently for her to repair thither in order
to get food; but, after two days of unavailing expectation, he, by
spontaneous abstinence, pined and died on the place. Such examples are not
common; and we believe that, when not domesticated, the appearance of
another female, in the time of coupling, sets at defiance all natural
propensity to constancy, and puts an end to the much-famed disconsolate
widowhood. Their general colour is a bluish grey; the breast and neck of a
whitish purple, with a ringlet of beautiful white feathers with black edges
about the sides of the neck. Nothing can express the sensation which is
excited in a feeling mind when the tender and sweetly plaintive notes of the
Turtle Dove breathe from the grove on a beautiful spring evening:

“Deep in the wood, thy voice I list, and love

Thy soft complaining song, thy tender cooing;
Oh, what a winning way thou hast of wooing,
Gentlest of all thy race—sweet Turtle Dove!
Thine is a note which doth not pass away
Like the light music of a summer’s day;
Hushing the voice of mirth, and staying folly,
And waking in the breast a gentle melancholy.”
Inglis.

§ VI. Grallatores, or Waders.

 THE OSTRICH. (Struthio
camelus.)

This bird is a native of Africa, and is so tall that when it holds up its head it
is seven or eight feet in height. The head is very small in comparison with
the body, being hardly bigger than one of the toes, and is covered, as well as
the neck, with a kind of down, or thin-set hair, instead of feathers. The sides
and thighs are entirely bare and flesh-coloured. The lower part of the neck,
where the feathers begin, is white. The wings are very short in proportion to
the size of the bird, and in fact are too small to enable it to fly; but when it
runs, which it does with a strange jumping kind of motion, it raises its short
wings and holds them quivering over its back, where they seem to serve as
a kind of sail to gather the wind, and carry the bird onwards. The speed
which it will thus attain is enormous. The swiftest greyhound cannot
overtake it; and indeed an Arab on his horse cannot hope to capture an
ostrich without having recourse to stratagem. He dexterously throws a stick
between its legs as it runs, and so tripping it up, is enabled to secure it.
In its flight it spurns the pebbles behind it like shot against the pursuer.
And this is not their only mode of annoyance. They have been known to
attack men with their claws, with which they are able to strike with terrific
force. The feathers of the back in the cock are coal black, in the hen only
dusky, and so soft that they resemble a kind of wool. The tail is thick,
bushy, and round; in the cock whitish, in the hen dusky, with white tops.
These are the feathers so generally in requisition to decorate the head-dress
of ladies and the helmets of warriors.
The Ostrich swallows anything that presents itself, leather, glass, iron,
bread, hair, &c., but the old notion that the Ostrich could digest metals is
certainly incorrect. An Ostrich in the Zoological Gardens in the Regent’s
Park was killed by swallowing a lady’s parasol.

“O’er the wild waste the stupid Ostrich strays

In devious search, to pick a scanty meal,
Whose fierce digestion gnaws the temper’d steel.”
Mickle’s Lusiad.

They are polygamous birds, one male being generally seen with two or
three, and sometimes with five, females. The female Ostrich, after
depositing her eggs in the sand, trusts them to be hatched by the heat of the
climate; in the Book of Job there is a beautiful passage relating to this habit
of the Ostrich, “which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in
the dust; and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast
may break them. She is hardened against her young ones, as though they
were not hers. Her labour is in vain; without fear, because God hath
deprived her of wisdom; neither has he imparted to her understanding. What
time she lifteth up her head on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.” It
appears, however, that the female Ostrich sits upon her eggs like other
birds, although generally at night only, and brings up her young. The eggs
are as large as a young child’s head, with a hard stony shell, and one has
been known to weigh upwards of three pounds. The time of incubation is
six weeks. That Ostriches have great affection for their offspring may be
inferred from the assertion of Professor Thunberg, who says that he once
rode past the place where a hen Ostrich was sitting in her nest, when the
bird sprang up and pursued him, evidently with a view to prevent his
noticing her eggs or young. Every time he turned his horse towards her she
retreated ten or twelve paces, but as soon as he rode on again she pursued
him till he had got to a considerable distance from the place where he had
started her. In the tropical regions, some persons breed Ostriches in flocks,
for they may be tamed with very little trouble. When M. Adanson was at
Podar, a French factory on the southern bank of the river Niger, two young
but full-grown Ostriches, belonging to the factory, afforded him a very
amusing sight. They were so tame that two little blacks mounted both
together on the back of the largest. No sooner did he feel their weight than
he began to run as fast as possible, and carried them several times round the
village, and it was impossible to stop him otherwise than by obstructing the
passage. This sight pleased M. Adanson so much that he wished it to be
repeated, and, to try their strength, directed a full-grown negro to mount the
smaller, and two others the larger of the birds. This burden did not seem at
all disproportioned to their strength. At first they went at a tolerably sharp
trot, but when they became a little heated they expanded their wings, as
though to catch the wind, and moved with such fleetness that they scarcely
seemed to touch the ground. The foot of the Ostrich has only two toes, one
of which is extremely large and strong.

THE RHEA, (Rhea Americana,)

Or American Ostrich, is about half as big as the African species. It has its
head covered with feathers, and each of its feet consists of three toes. It is
found on the great plains of South America, and, like the African Ostrich, is
polygamous, but the curious part of the matter is that the females often lay
their eggs almost anywhere on the ground, and the male takes the trouble of
collecting them into a sort of nest, and sitting on them until the young birds
are hatched. When thus occupied, the males often become very fierce, and
will attack any one that approaches them too closely.

THE CASSOWARY, (Casuarius

galeatus,)

Instead of the beautiful plumes of the ostrich, has his wings furnished only
with five stiff quills without barbs, which project curiously from the
feathers of the body. His plumage is black; his head is small and depressed,
with a horny crown or helmet, and covered with a naked red skin; the head
and neck are deprived of feathers; about the neck are two protuberances of a
bluish colour, in shape like the wattles of a cock. The feathers consist of
long, slender, separate barbs, which hang down on each side of the body, so
that at a distance he looks as if he were entirely covered with the hairs of a
bear rather than with the plumage of a bird. His height is about five feet.
The Cassowary is as voracious as the ostrich, and eats indiscriminately
whatever comes in his way, and does not seem to have any sort of
predilection in the choice of his food. The Dutch travellers assert that he can
devour not only glass, iron, and stones, but even burning coals, without
testifying the smallest fear, or sustaining the least injury; and it is said that
the passage of his food is performed so speedily that even eggs will pass
unbroken. He is a native of some of the Indian islands. The eggs of the
female are nearly fifteen inches in circumference, of a greenish colour. It
has been said of the Cassowary that he has the head of a warrior, the eye of
a lion, the armament of a porcupine, and the swiftness of a courser.
A Cassowary once kept in the menagerie of the museum at Paris,
devoured every day between three and four pounds weight of bread, six or
seven apples, and a bunch of carrots. In summer it drank about four pints of
water in the day, and in winter somewhat more. It swallowed all its food
without bruising it. This bird was sometimes ill-tempered and mischievous,
and much irritated when any person approached it of a dirty or ragged
appearance, or dressed in red clothes, and frequently attempted to strike at
them by kicking forward with its feet. It has been known to leap out of its
enclosure and to tear the legs of a man with its claws.
The Cassowary is very vigorous and powerful; its beak being, in
proportion, much stronger than that of the ostrich, it has the means of
defending itself with great advantage, and of easily pulling down and
breaking in pieces almost any hard substance. It strikes in a very dangerous
manner with its feet either behind or before, not unlike the kicking of a
horse, at any object which offends it, and runs with surprising swiftness.
 THE EMEU.
(Dromaius Novæ
Hollandiæ.)

The head of this bird is without any horny crest, and feathered, but the
cheeks and throat are nearly naked. The general colour is a dull brown,
mottled with a dingy grey, and the young are striped with black. In
appearance it closely resembles the ostrich, next to which it is the tallest
bird known, but is of a more thick-set and clumsy make, though at the same
time very swift and strong, and able to make a formidable defence against
its hunters and their dogs, by kicking in a very vigorous and dangerous
manner. It is, however, very docile, and if taken young may be easily tamed.
The flesh is considered excellent eating, and is said to possess a flavour
something between a sucking-pig and a turkey. The only sound that this
bird emits is a low drumming noise, produced by means of a valve attached
to the lungs. The female Emeu lays her eggs in different places, but they are
afterwards collected by the male, by rolling them to one place, when he sits
on them.

THE APTERYX. (Apteryx

Australis.)

This curious bird, which has the shortest wings of any member of its class,
is found only in New Zealand, where it is called Kivi-Kivi by the natives, in
imitation of its cry. It is smaller than any of the species of wingless birds
just described, and its legs are short and stout; it has three strong front toes
on each foot, and a short hinder toe armed with a very strong claw. The
body of the Apteryx is something like that of the cassowary in its form; the
neck is rather long, and, like the head, clothed with feathers; but the most
singular part of the bird is its bill, which is long, rather slender, and slightly
curved, and has the nostrils situated quite at its tip. This curious structure of
the bill is intended to enable the bird more readily to obtain the worms and
insects upon which it feeds, and which it drags out of their holes in the
ground. It runs quickly, but only at night, and when in motion it might
easily be mistaken for a small dusky-brown quadruped. The plumage
resembles that of the emeu in its texture, and the skins are highly esteemed
by the New Zealanders, who use them for making cloaks.
Among the many curious characteristics of this bird is its habit of
leaning, when at rest, upon the tip of its long bill. When hunted it scrapes a
hole in the sand with its powerful feet, in which it hides; or it runs into
some natural cavity, if there is any near, where access is difficult for its
pursuers, and often makes a valiant defence.

THE BUSTARD, (Otis tarda,)

Is a large and fine bird which was formerly common in some parts of
England, but has now become so rare here that the capture of a specimen is
looked upon as something remarkable. It is still abundant in some parts of
the continent of Europe. The male Bustard measures nearly four feet in
length, and has the head and neck greyish, the back buff or pale chestnut,
with a great many black bars, and all the lower part of the body white. From
each side of the chin there springs a tuft of slender feathers about seven
inches in length, standing out like a pair of stiff moustaches. The female is a
good deal smaller than the male, or about three feet in length; she is also
distinguished from her partner by the want of the tufts on the chin, although
in some cases these exist in the female, but shorter than in the male.
The Bustard feeds on green vegetables and insects, and are also said to
kill and eat small quadrupeds and reptiles. They are polygamous, and when
the female has laid her two or three eggs in a slight depression of the
ground, and commenced the business of incubation, the male most
ungallantly deserts her, and retires to take his ease in some neighbouring
marsh. It was formerly supposed that the male Bustard paid so much
attention to his mates as to provide them with water, which he was said to
bring to them in a large pouch, capable of holding nearly a gallon, situated
under his throat. It is true that the female is without this appendage; but
modern naturalists all agree in stating that the male bird is never seen in
company with the female after she has begun to sit. The use of this pouch is
therefore still a subject of controversy.
The female lays her eggs among clover, or more frequently in corn-
fields, the nest being merely a hollow scraped in the ground. The eggs are
two, or sometimes three, in number, and their colour is a yellowish-brown,
inclining to green.
A peculiarity of the Bustard, noticed by most naturalists, is the extreme
rapidity with which they can run. They skim along the ground, raising the
wings over the back in the same manner as the ostrich. It is said that in
former times, when the breed was commoner, it was a practice to hunt the
young birds, before they had acquired the power of flying, with
greyhounds.
As an article of food the flesh of the Bustard has always been held in
great estimation.
There are several other species peculiar both to Asia and Africa.
 THE CRANE. (Grus cinerea.)

Cranes frequent marshy places, and live upon small fish and water-insects.
Their long beaks enable them to search the water and mud for their prey,
and their long necks prevent the necessity of their stooping to pick up from
between their feet the objects of their search. The top of the head, the throat,
and sides of the neck are of a blackish hue; the back, the wings, and the
body are ash-coloured. The tertial feathers of the wings are very long, with
loose webs, forming elegant plumes, which fall over the sides of the tail.
They used to be common in the fen countries, Lincolnshire and
Cambridgeshire, but are not now so frequently seen in England as formerly.
In their flight, Cranes mount high in the air, but their voices can be heard
even when the birds cease to be perceptible to the eye, and it is said that
their sight is so keen that they discover at a great distance any field of corn
or other food which they are fond of, and presently alight and enjoy it.
These depredations they generally commit during the night, trampling down
the ground as if it had been marched over by an army. They generally form
themselves in the air in the shape of a wedge.
 “—— —— Part more wise,
In common, ranged in figure, wedge their way,
Intelligent of seasons, and set forth
Their aëry caravan high over seas
Flying, and over lands, with mutual wing
Easing their flight. So steers the prudent Crane
Her annual voyage, borne on winds. The air
Floats as they pass, fann’d by unnumber’d wings.”
Milton.

This bird lives to a considerable age, and as it is easily tamed, it has been
ascertained that the Crane often reaches his fortieth year. Its nest is usually
built amongst the reeds and sedges of a marsh, but sometimes upon a ruined
building. The female lays two eggs, of a pale brown colour, with darker
spots.
According to Kolben, they are often observed in large flocks on the
marshes about the Cape of Good Hope. He says he never saw a flock of
them on the ground that had not some placed apparently as sentinels, to
keep a look out while the others are feeding, who on the approach of danger
immediately give notice to the rest. These sentinels stand on one leg, and at
intervals stretch out their necks, as if to observe that all is safe. On notice
being given of danger, the whole flock are in an instant on the wing. Kolben
also adds that in the night time each of the watching Cranes, which rest on
their left legs, hold in their right claw a stone of considerable weight, in
order that, if overcome by sleep, the falling of the stone may awaken them.
 THE BALEARIC CRANE, OR
CROWNED DEMOISELLE,
(Balearica pavonina,)

Is originally, as the name expresses, a native of Majorca and Minorca, in the

Mediterranean sea, which were formerly called the Balearic Isles, but is
chiefly found now in the Cape Verd Islands. The shape of its body is not
unlike that of the common Crane, but it has a principal and distinctive mark
on the head; which is, a tuft of hairs, or rather strong greyish bristles,
standing out like rays in all directions, from which peculiarity this species
takes its other name of the Crowned Heron. They roost and feed in the
manner of peacocks.
The Demoiselle, or Numidian Crane (Anthropoides virgo), is remarkable
for the grace and symmetry of its form, and the elegance of its deportment.
It is rather larger than the species above described, and is a native of many
parts of Africa. It frequents damp and marshy places, in search of small
fishes, frogs, &c., which are its favourite food. It is easily domesticated.
 THE STORK. (Ciconia alba.)

The neck, head, breast, and body of this bird are white, the rump and
exterior feathers of the wings black; the eyelids naked; the tail white, and
the legs long, slender, and of a red colour. Storks are birds of passage.
When leaving Europe they assemble together on some particular night, and
all take their flight at once. As they feed on frogs, lizards, serpents, and
other noxious creatures, it is not to be expected that man should be inimical
to them, and therefore they have been generally a favourite with the nations
they visit. The Dutch have laws against destroying them: they are therefore
very common in Holland, and build their nests and rear their young on the
tops of houses and chimneys in the middle of its most frequented and
populous cities, and may be seen by dozens familiarly walking about the
markets, where they feed on the offal. In some places, the stork is supposed
to be a herald of good fortune to the house on which it builds its nest, and
the inhabitants place boxes on their roofs to induce the birds to take up their
abode there.
The Stork much resembles the crane in its conformation, but appears
somewhat more corpulent. The former lays four eggs, whereas the latter
lays but two.
It is said that Storks visit Egypt in such abundance, that the fields and
meadows are white with them. The Egyptians, however, are not displeased
with the sight; as frogs are there generated in such numbers, that did not the
Storks devour them, they would overrun everything. Between Belba and
Gaza, the fields of Palestine are often rendered desert on account of the
abundance of mice and rats; and were they not destroyed the inhabitants
could have no harvest. The disposition of the Stork is mild and placid; it is
easily tamed, and may be trained to reside in gardens, which it will clear of
insects and reptiles. It has a grave air, and a mournful aspect; yet, when
roused by example, exhibits a certain degree of gaiety; for it joins in the
frolics of children, hopping about and playing with them.
During their migrations, Storks are observed in vast quantities. Dr. Shaw
saw three flights of them leaving Egypt, and passing over Mount Carmel,
each of which appeared to be nearly half a mile in width; and he says they
were three hours in passing over.
The Stork, like the ibis, was an object of worship among the ancients,
and to kill them was a crime punishable with death. The Stork is remarkable
for its great affection towards its young. This was remarkably evinced
during the great conflagration of Delft, in Holland, during which a female
Stork was noticed using every endeavour to carry off her young family, and
continuing this labour of love until the smoke and flames prevented her
own escape, and she perished with her brood.
 THE ADJUTANT,
(Leptoptilus argala,)

Also called the Gigantic Crane, is a bird of the stork kind, and a native of
India, and other warm countries. The head and neck are bare of feathers, as
in the ostrich; the former looking as if made of wood; the latter of a flesh-
colour. The coverts of the wings and the back are black, with a bluish cast;
the under part of the body whitish; the legs are long, without feathers, and
of a greyish hue, as are the thighs, which seem to be as slender as the leg.
The bill is of enormous size, and the bird is fond of clatting the two
mandibles together. Under the chin, there is a kind of bag or pouch which
hangs down in front of the neck, like the dewlap of a cow; in this the
Adjutant stores away any provisions that may fall in his way, after his
immediate wants are satisfied. He is a most voracious bird, and devours
every kind of food, and as he has no objection to carrion, his presence is
encouraged in towns, where he assists the vultures, crows, dogs, and
jackals, in performing the duties of scavengers. Indeed his rapacity is so
great that he swallows such innutritious substances as bone with such
eagerness and relish as to have received the name of “Bone-eater,” or
“Bone-taker.” When he comes about the houses he requires to be carefully
watched, as his power of swallowing is so great that a fowl, a rabbit, or
even a leg of mutton, is disposed of at a single mouthful. Sir E. Horne states
that in the stomach of an Adjutant were found a tortoise nearly a foot long,
and a large black cat; from, which we may see that the Adjutant is by no
means squeamish in his diet.
The Adjutant is indeed a very gigantic bird. Its wings often measure
fourteen or fifteen feet from tip to tip, and it is five feet high when it stands
erect.
Dr. Latham, in his “General History of Birds,” gives some very
interesting information about the habits of this bird. “One of them, a young
bird about five feet high, was brought up tame, and presented to the chief of
the Bananas, where M. Speakman lived; and being accustomed to be fed in
the great hall, soon became familiar, daily attending that place at dinner-
time, placing itself behind its master’s chair frequently before the guests
entered. The servants were obliged to watch narrowly, and to defend the
provisions with switches; but, notwithstanding, it would frequently seize
something or other, and even purloined a whole boiled fowl, which it
swallowed in an instant. Its courage is not equal to its voracity, for a child
of eight or ten years old soon puts it to flight with a switch. Everything is
swallowed whole, and so accommodating is its throat that not only an
animal as big as a cat is gulped down, but a shin of beef broken asunder
serves it but for two morsels.”
Another species of Adjutant (Leptoptilus marabou) is found in tropical
Africa. It is even uglier than the Indian bird, which has not much beauty to
boast of, but is valuable not only as a scavenger, but from its furnishing
those beautiful plumes called marabout feathers, which are so much used
for ladies’ head-dresses.
 THE COMMON HERON.
(Ardea cinerea.)

The habits of the Heron are peculiar. Perched on a stone, or the stump of a
tree, by the solitary current of a brook, his neck and long beak half-buried
between his shoulders, he will wait the whole day long, patient and
unmoved, for the passing of a small fish, or the hopping of a frog; but his
appetite is insatiable.
This bird is about four feet long from the tip of the bill to the end of the
claws; to the end of the tail about thirty-eight inches; its breadth, when the
wings are extended, is about five feet. The male is distinguished by a crest
or tuft of black feathers hanging from the hinder part of his head, which in
chivalrous times was of great value, and held as a peculiar mark of
distinction when worn above the plume of ostrich feathers.
Virgil places the Heron among the birds that are affected by and foretell
the approaching storm:
 “When watchful Herons leave their watery stand,
And mounting upward with erected flight,
Gain on the skies, and soar above the sight.”
Dryden.

The Heron, though living chiefly in the vicinity of marshes and lakes,
forms its nest on the tops of the loftiest trees. It resembles the rook in its
habits: a great number of Herons living together in what is called a Heronry,
as rooks do in a rookery. The female lays four large eggs, of a pale green
colour; the natural term of this bird’s life is said to exceed sixty years.
In England, Herons were formerly ranked among the royal game, and
protected as such by the laws; and when falconry was in fashion, the pursuit
of the Heron was a favourite amusement.

“—— —— Now, like the wearied stag,

That stands at bay, the Hern provokes their rage;
Close by his languid wing in downy plumes
Covers his fatal beak, and cautious hides
The well-dissembled fraud. The falcon darts
Like lightning from above, and in her breast
Receives the latent death: down plumb she falls,
Bounding from earth, and with her trickling gore
Defiles her gaudy plumage. See, alas!
The falconer in despair, his favourite bird
Dead at his feet: as of his dearest friend,
He weeps her fate; he meditates revenge,
He storms, he foams, he gives a loose to rage;
Nor wants he long the means; the Hern fatigued,
Borne down by numbers, yields, and prone on earth
He drops; his cruel foes wheeling around
Insult at will.” Somerville.

It is extremely dangerous to go near a wounded Heron, and the utmost

caution is necessary in doing so. Though apparently almost dead, he will yet
dart at his enemy’s face, and sometimes inflict a most severe wound.
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