LESSON XXXIX.
THE LOST BIRDS.
Hidden in the earth, in peat swamps, or in rocks, we find the bones of birds of various kinds that lived long ago, and are now lost. Some of these lost birds were on the earth before men and beasts were. Others have been well known until a recent time. I shall tell you of a few that have lived until lately.
First I shall mention the great auk. This was a large handsome bird, which lived along the shores and islands of northern seas. As auks were good to eat, large numbers of them were killed.
There should have been a law to protect them while they were raising their young. As there was no such law, the birds were killed at any time, and their eggs and young were taken. Thus year by year they perished, until none are left.
The auk was a very large bird, with black and white feathers. It had very short legs, broad, webbed feet, and very small wings. When sitting at rest on a rock, it held itself straight up and was nearly a yard high.
It was a wonderful swimmer and diver, but could not walk much, and did not fly except from rock to rock. Its bill was very large and strong. The auk was a fish-catcher and eater.
As to these very big bills, such as you see on the toucan and hornbill in museums, where the bill is nearly as large as all the rest of the bird, let me tell you a secret. Do not they look very heavy? Do you not wonder how the bird can carry them, or fly with them?
Here is the truth. The horny hard part is very thin, not thicker than a sheet of paper. Then all the inside of the bill is built up in cells, something like a fine honey-comb, and these cells are full of air! So instead of being heavy, these huge bills are very light.
The bill of the auk was large, but not nearly so large as that of the hornbill or toucan.
A neighbor of the auk was the Labrador duck. This bird often built its nest close by where the auk laid its great, bright-colored eggs, near the water’s edge. The Labrador duck and the auk swam in the same waters, and were both very gentle birds.
This duck, like the auk, is now lost. The last one seems to have been killed a few years ago. The Labrador duck was a very beautiful bird. Peoplewanted its eggs, flesh and feathers, and did not spare the old birds to raise their broods.
This makes me think of the fable of the greedy man, who killed the goose that laid golden eggs. Then he had neither goose nor eggs. I think it served him right.
Chief among lost birds is the famous dodo. This dodo was an immense pigeon. It was a helpless, quiet, kind, clumsy bird. It was too heavy and too short of wing to fly. It had no weapon of defence; no sharp, strong bill; no tearing claws.
Such a bird was easily caught and torn to pieces by dogs or cats. When these animals were taken to the island of Mauritius, where the dodo lived, they were allowed to run wild in the woods. They soon became more like wolves and panthers than decent dogs and cats.
The dodo had never before seen any wild animals larger than rats or squirrels. The dodos lived in peace and friendship with other birds and small wild beasts. When ships began to visit the islands where the poor dodos lived, men, dogs, and cats soon put an end to the gentle birds.
Lost, with the auk and dodo, we may count two kinds of beautiful parrots, and a starling with a splendid crest, like an unfurled fan; also a tall, handsomebird, called a rail, has been hunted out of existence. But some other rails are still plentiful.
The last bird to disappear has been the great vulture of the Alps. This was a big bird indeed. It was two yards wide across the outspread wings. It lived on the high peaks of the Alps.
This bird had a large hooked beak and large strong claws. You know that eagles and vultures are flesh eaters. This big vulture did not confine its diet to dead flesh. It would pick up and carry off a little lamb. It has been known, also, to carry off a baby child.
So, as this was a cruel and dangerous bird, I am glad it has gone from the earth.
The garefowl, often called a penguin, is another lost bird. It was a great bird, living on the coast. It had such small wings that it could not fly. Thus you see it could not get away from dogs and wild animals, except when it could take to the water.
When men joined in the hunt, the garefowl soon perished. Is it not right, then, to kill birds for food? Yes. But they should never be killed until the season is over when they are laying eggs and raising the young brood. If old birds are killed before the young ones are reared, you can see that the birds must soon die out.
Then, too, while birds may be killed for food, it is not right to kill them for the mere pleasure of killing. It is wrong to find a pleasure in taking away life. You should never waste the life of beast, bird, insect, or plant.
I have seen people nearly destroy a variety of rare wild flower, by tearing up masses of the plant before seeds had time to form. The people took much that they did not need and soon threw away. Then only few and small plants were left for seed.
We should remember that as we are not the first people on the earth, so we shall not be the last, and we should not rob the future of things that are pleasing to us. We should all try to make the earth richer and better, not poorer, for our having been in it.