BLACK-THROATED DIVERS.Photo by W. F. Piggott][Leighton Buzzard.BLACK-THROATED DIVERS.These very handsome birds breed in Scotland.
Photo by W. F. Piggott][Leighton Buzzard.BLACK-THROATED DIVERS.These very handsome birds breed in Scotland.
Photo by W. F. Piggott][Leighton Buzzard.
BLACK-THROATED DIVERS.
These very handsome birds breed in Scotland.
The Grebes and Divers are representatives of an exceedingly ancient type, and are in many ways besides very interesting. Both are common British birds. The greater part of their lives is spent upon the water, and to suit this aquatic existence their bodies are specially modified. One of the principal features of this modification is seen in the position of the legs. These, by a shortening of the thigh-bones in the grebes, leave the body so far back that when the bird walks the body is held vertically. With the divers walking has become an impossibility, and they can only move on land on their bellies, pushing themselves along with the feet. Both grebes and divers are expert swimmers, and dive with the greatest ease, remaining long under water. The grebes haunt ponds, lakes, and broads; the divers prefer the open sea. Both feed on fish.
ROCK-HOPPER PENGUIN.Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.ROCK-HOPPER PENGUIN.The name Rock-hopper is given in allusion to the habit of hopping over boulders of rock.
Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.ROCK-HOPPER PENGUIN.The name Rock-hopper is given in allusion to the habit of hopping over boulders of rock.
Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.
ROCK-HOPPER PENGUIN.
The name Rock-hopper is given in allusion to the habit of hopping over boulders of rock.
Grebes.
Of the numerous species of grebe, the most familiar are theGreat Crested Grebeand the littleDabchick. The former has suffered grievous persecution for the sake of its beautiful breast-feathers, which Fashion decreed should be worn by the gentler sex in the form of muffs or hats. Thus a price was set upon the head of this beautiful and harmless bird, and its ranks were speedily thinned. Some species wear during the nesting-season beautiful chestnut or golden "ears," "horns," or "frills" on the head and neck. TheEared Grebeis especially magnificent at this time.
Divers.
These, as already remarked, are sea-loving birds, but they breed inland on the shores of lakes. There are not many species of divers, but, like the grebes, they assume a special dress during the nesting-season, more beautiful than the winter dress.
THE PENGUINS.
BLACK-FOOTED PENGUIN.Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.BLACK-FOOTED PENGUIN.This bird, also known as the Cape or Jackass-penguin, breeds in burrows or under ledges of rock.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.BLACK-FOOTED PENGUIN.This bird, also known as the Cape or Jackass-penguin, breeds in burrows or under ledges of rock.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.
BLACK-FOOTED PENGUIN.
This bird, also known as the Cape or Jackass-penguin, breeds in burrows or under ledges of rock.
ThePenguinsmay justly be called wonderful birds, and they are undoubtedly of very ancient descent. For countless generations the sea has been their home and refuge, and, in consequence, flight has been abandoned in exchange for increased swimming-powers, which have been gained by transforming the wing into a paddle. This transformation has resulted in flattening the wing-bones—and so increasing the surface of the hand and arm whilst reducing its thickness—and the suppression of the quill-feathers. The result is a blade-like paddle closely resembling the paddle of the whale, the turtle, or the extinct fish-lizards. With this organ they cleave their way through the water, often far below the surface, in pursuit of food, just as of old their ancestors did through the air. In other diving-birds the wings are kept closely pressed to the side of the body when under water, whilst the locomotion is effected by the feet. The penguin's legs, in consequence of diminished use, have shortened considerably. But besides the wings and legs, the feathery covering has also undergone a certain amount of change. This has been effected by increasing the size of the shaft of the feather and diminishing the vane; as a result, on the front part of the wings these feathers look more like scales than feathers.
Professor Moseley has vividly described the appearance of a flock of penguins at sea. He writes from Tristan d'Acunha: "As we approached the shore, I was astonished at seeing ashoal of what looked like extremely active, very small porpoises or dolphins.... They showed black above and white beneath, and came along in a shoal of fifty or more..towards the shore at a rapid pace, by a series of successive leaps out of the water and leaps into it again ... Splash, splash, went this marvellous shoal of animals, till they went splash through the surf on to the black, stony beach, and then struggled and jumped up amongst the boulders and revealed themselves as wet and dripping penguins."
Like their relatives in other parts of the world, penguins breed in huge communities known as "rookeries," a rookery being peopled by tens of thousands. Their nests, made of small stones, are placed among the tall grass and reached by beaten pathways, exceedingly difficult to walk through. Professor Moseley thus describes a "rookery": "At first you try to avoid the nests, but soon find that impossible; then, maddened almost by the pain [for they bite furiously at the legs], stench, and noise, you have recourse to brutality. Thump, thump, goes your stick, and at each blow down goes a bird. Thud, thud, you hear from the men behind you as they kick the birds right and left off the nests; and so you go for a bit—thump, smash, whack, thud, 'caa, caa, urr, urr,' and the path behind you is strewn with the dead and dying and bleeding. Of course, it is horribly cruel thus to kill whole families of innocent birds, but it is absolutely necessary. One must cross the rookeries in order to explore the island at all, and collect the plants, or survey the coasts from the heights."
Penguins feed principally on crustacea, molluscs ("shell-fish"), and small fish, varied with a little vegetable matter. Although the legs are very short, penguins yet walk with ease, and can, on occasion, run with considerable speed. It would appear, however, as if the largest of the tribe, theEmperor-penguin, had become somewhat too bulky to run; for when speed is necessary it lies down upon the snow and propels itself with its feet, travelling, it is said, in this manner with incredible speed.
BLACK-FOOTED PENGUINS BATHING.Photo by Percy Ashenden][Cape Town.BLACK-FOOTED PENGUINS BATHING.The name Jackass is bestowed because the noise made by these birds closely resembles the bray of a donkey.
Photo by Percy Ashenden][Cape Town.BLACK-FOOTED PENGUINS BATHING.The name Jackass is bestowed because the noise made by these birds closely resembles the bray of a donkey.
Photo by Percy Ashenden][Cape Town.
BLACK-FOOTED PENGUINS BATHING.
The name Jackass is bestowed because the noise made by these birds closely resembles the bray of a donkey.
Penguins, though confined to the Southern Hemisphere, enjoy a wide range and every variety of climate. They are found on the Antarctic ice, on the shores of South Africa, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and inhabit many islands of the southern seas,notably the Falklands, Kerguelen, and Tristan d'Acunha. In size penguins vary greatly. The largest is theEmperor-penguinof the Antarctic seas; scarcely smaller is theKing-penguinof Kerguelen Island. The emperor-penguin stands some 3½ feet high, and may weigh as much as 78 lbs. TheGentle Penguin, or "Johnny" of the sailors, is next in size, being but little smaller than the king-penguin; this species inhabits Kerguelen Island and the Falklands. TheCrested Penguins, orRock-hoppers, of which there are several species, are much smaller; they occur in the Falkland Islands, New Zealand, and the Antarctic. The South African form is known as theBlack-footed Penguin. Its nearest allies areHumboldt's Penguinof Western South America, and theJackass-penguinof the Falklands. The smallest of all is the littleBlue Penguinof South Australia and New Zealand, standing only 17 inches high.
KING-PENGUIN.Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.KING-PENGUIN.This is one of the largest of the Penguins.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.KING-PENGUIN.This is one of the largest of the Penguins.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.
KING-PENGUIN.
This is one of the largest of the Penguins.
THE TUBE-NOSED BIRDS.
Until recently these birds were believed to be closely related to the Gulls, but it is now generally agreed that they are really distant relatives of the Divers and Penguins. The association with the Gulls was pardonable, for they certainly bear a superficial resemblance to them. The birds now under discussion may be readily distinguished from the Gulls by the fact that the nostrils open into a tube on the top of the beak, or a pair of tubes, one on either side—hence the name of the group. Like the Gulls, they are sea-birds and web-footed. Their young are downy and for a time helpless. One egg is laid, which is white, and in some cases spotted with red at the large end. As a rule no nest is made, but the egg laid on the bare ground, in a hole or burrow or in crevices of rocks. The Albatrosses build a nest of earth, tufts of grass, and moss, the whole structure raising the sitting-bird well above the ground. The Giant and Fulmar Petrels also build nests. The albatross is said by Professor Moseley to hold the egg in a pouch while sitting, as in the case of the king-penguin. The nature of this pouch has never been described.
Although occurring in the seas of all parts of the world, the Southern Hemisphere must be regarded as their headquarters, since here the greatest number of species are found. All are carnivorous, and—with the exception of one small group, the Diving-petrels of the Strait of Magellan—are birds of powerful flight. A large number of species belong to this group, but an enumeration of all would be wearisome. A few of the more striking have, therefore, been selected for description.
The Albatrosses.
It was an albatross which brought such woe upon the ancient mariner whose pitiful story is so feelingly told by Coleridge. But the tables are occasionally turned, for men falling overboard in southern seas are liable to be attacked by these powerful giants. The albatross is mostly renowned for its majestic flight. Mr. Froude has given us a wonderful descriptionof this flight, which is quoted with approval by Professor Newton. It runs as follows: "The albatross wheels in circles round and round, and for ever round the ship—now far behind, now sweeping past in a long, rapid curve, like a perfect skater on an untouched field of ice. There is no effort; watch as closely as you will, you rarely or never see a stroke of the mighty pinion. The flight is generally near the water, often close to it. You lose sight of the bird as he disappears in the hollow between the waves, and catch him again as he rises over the crest; but how he rises and whence comes the propelling force is to the eye inexplicable: he alters merely the angle at which the wings are inclined; usually they are parallel to the water and horizontal; but when he turns to ascend or makes a change in his direction, the wings then point at an angle, one to the sky, the other to the water."
Professor Hutton, speaking with similar enthusiasm of the wonderful flight, gives us, however, another side to the picture. "Suddenly," he says, "he sees something floating on the water, and prepares to alight; but how changed he now is from the noble bird but a moment before, all grace and symmetry! He raises his wings, his head goes back, and his back goes in; down drop two enormous webbed feet, straddled out to their full extent; and with a hoarse croak, between the cry of a raven and that of a sheep, he falls 'souse' into the water. Here he is at home again, breasting the waves like a cork. Presently he stretches out his neck, and with great exertion of his wings runs along the top of the water for seventy or eighty yards, until, at last, having got sufficient impetus, he tucks up his legs, and is once more fairly launched in the air."
NESTING ALBATROSSES ON LAYSAN ISLAND.By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild][Tring.NESTING ALBATROSSES ON LAYSAN ISLAND.This colony was of enormous size, and included thousands of birds.
By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild][Tring.NESTING ALBATROSSES ON LAYSAN ISLAND.This colony was of enormous size, and included thousands of birds.
By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild][Tring.
NESTING ALBATROSSES ON LAYSAN ISLAND.
This colony was of enormous size, and included thousands of birds.
For the wonderful photographs of the albatross at home we are indebted to the Hon. WalterRothschild. They are from his book on the avifauna of Laysan Island, in the North Pacific. Unfortunately for the albatrosses and other birds, traders have been attracted to Laysan for the sake of the guano deposits. The birds were strictly protected during the occupation of Mr. Preece, but when he left they had no friend to shield them, and their eggs were taken in cart-loads, as the accompanying photograph shows.
WHITE-CAPPED ALBATROSS ON EGG.Photo by D. Le Souef][Melbourne.WHITE-CAPPED ALBATROSS ON EGG.Professor Moseley describes the egg of the albatross as being held in a sort of pouch.
Photo by D. Le Souef][Melbourne.WHITE-CAPPED ALBATROSS ON EGG.Professor Moseley describes the egg of the albatross as being held in a sort of pouch.
Photo by D. Le Souef][Melbourne.
WHITE-CAPPED ALBATROSS ON EGG.
Professor Moseley describes the egg of the albatross as being held in a sort of pouch.
When an albatross makes love, Professor Moseley tells us, he stands "by the female on the nest, raises his wings, spreads his tail and elevates it, throws up his head with the bill in the air, or stretches it straight out forwards as far as he can, and then utters a curious cry.... Whilst uttering the cry the bird sways his neck up and down. The female responds with a similar note, and they bring the tips of their bills lovingly together. This sort of thing goes on for half an hour or so at a time."
There are several different kinds of albatross. The largest measures over 11 feet across the out stretched wings. They are inhabitants of the southern seas.
CARTING ALBATROSS EGGS ON THE ISLAND OF LAYSAN.By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild][Tring.CARTING ALBATROSS EGGS ON THE ISLAND OF LAYSAN.At one time these birds were protected; as this photograph testifies, this is no longer the case.
By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild][Tring.CARTING ALBATROSS EGGS ON THE ISLAND OF LAYSAN.At one time these birds were protected; as this photograph testifies, this is no longer the case.
By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild][Tring.
CARTING ALBATROSS EGGS ON THE ISLAND OF LAYSAN.
At one time these birds were protected; as this photograph testifies, this is no longer the case.
After the Albatrosses, the largest bird of the group is theGiant Petrel. The sailors call it "Break-bones," "Nelly," or "Stinker." In habits it differs much from its aristocratic relative the albatross, haunting the coasts in search of dead seals and whales, and the bodies of other birds. Professor Moseley aptly likens it to the vulture: "It soars all day along the coast on the look-out for food. No sooner is an animal killed than numbers appear as if by magic, and the birds are evidently well acquainted with the usual proceedings of sealers, who kill the sea-elephant, take off the skin and blubber, and leave the carcase. The birds gorge themselves with food, just like the vultures, and are then unable to fly. I came across half a dozen at Christmas Harbour in this condition. We landed just opposite them; they began to run to get out of the way. The men chased them; they ran off, spreading their wings, but unable to rise. Some struggledinto the water and swam away, but two went running on, gradually disgorging their food, in the utmost hurry, until they were able to rise, when they made off to sea."
TheFulmar Petrelis a British bird. On St. Kilda, Professor Newton tells us, from 18,000 to 20,000 young are killed in one week in August, the only time when, by the custom of the community, they are allowed to be taken. These, after the oil is extracted, serve the islanders for winter food.
TheStorm-petrelis a small bird which breeds abundantly in St. Kilda and the Orkneys, and so fearless that it will allow itself to be taken from the nest by hand. Immediately this is done, the bird vomits a quantity of pure oil from its mouth. The wild-fowlers make use of this habit, capturing the bird, collecting the oil, and setting the prisoner free again. A story is related of a storm-petrel which was kept in a cage for three weeks. It was fed by smearing its breast with oil, which the bird swallowed by drawing the feathers separately through its beak. These birds are popularly supposed to be seen only before stormy weather, and therefore are not welcomed by sailors, who call them "Devil's Birds" and "Witches." This bird seems to commend itself to some palates; thus the late Mr. Seebohm says: "Cooked on toast, like snipe, we found them delicious eating, very rich, but not at all fishy."
We cannot refrain from a brief mention of the remarkable littleDiving-petrel—remarkable because of its unlikeness to all the other Petrels and its strong resemblance to the Auks. But its tubular nostrils and certain anatomical characters proclaim its true affinities. "This is a petrel," says Professor Moseley, "that has given up the active aerial habits of its allies, and has taken to diving, and has become specially modified by natural selection to suit it for this changed habit, though still a petrel in essential structure." On two occasions Professor Moseley met with them in the Strait of Magellan, and describes the water as being covered with these birds in flocks extending over acres, which were made black with them.
STORKS, HERONS, AND PELICAN TRIBE.
The Storks, Herons, and Pelican Tribe form a group of closely allied but externally very unlike birds, distantly related to the Petrels on the one hand, and the Cranes and Hawk Tribe on the other.
The Storks.
FULMAR PETREL.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.FULMAR PETREL.Like the vulture, this bird will so gorge itself with food as to be unable, for a time, to fly.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.FULMAR PETREL.Like the vulture, this bird will so gorge itself with food as to be unable, for a time, to fly.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
FULMAR PETREL.
Like the vulture, this bird will so gorge itself with food as to be unable, for a time, to fly.
There are few birds which have figured more prominently in the realms of fairy-tale and fable than theWhite Stork. Today it is almost universally held in affectionate regard, and in Holland, Denmark, and Germany is afforded the strictest protection, every effort being made, in localities where it is plentiful, to induce it to build its nest upon the house-roof. Sometimes, to effect this, its fondness for a stage of some sort being known, a cart-wheel is set up, and this generally proves successful, the grateful bird erecting thereon its nest. Once occupied, it may be held by several generations of tenants; and year by year additions are made to the nest, so that the original shallow structure at last attains a height of several feet. The material used in itsconstruction consists of sticks and other substances. He considers himself a fortunate man indeed who can boast a stork's nest on his house.
To show how widespread is the regard in which this bird is held, we may mention that in Morocco, according to Colonel Irby, "almost every Moorish hovel has its stork's nest on the top, a pile of sticks lined with grass and palmetto-fibre," and he goes on to relate that in "Morocco and Fez, and some other large towns in the Moorish Empire, there is a regular storks' hospital, and that, should one be in any way injured or fall from the nest, it is sent to this institution, or rather enclosure, which is kept up by subscriptions from wealthy Moors, who regard the stork as a sacred bird."
Though the nest appears to be generally placed upon buildings, it is, when these fail, built in trees, and the selection of such sites must be regarded as representing the original practice of the species.
The stork is one of the very few birds which appear to be quite dumb. It supplies the want of a voice by a very remarkable clapping noise made by the long, horny beak. But even this noise is rarely made, and appears to be prompted by unusual excitement. "During the breeding-season," Mr. Howard Saunders tells us, "storks keep up a clappering with their bills, and this sound may frequently be heard proceeding from a number of birds circling in the air at such a height as to be almost invisible."
The affection displayed by storks for their young is proverbial. They feed them by thrusting their beaks down into the gaping little mouths, and injecting the half-digested remains of their last meal, which may represent reptile, frog, or fish, varied by a small mammal, young bird, worms, or insects.
The white stork is a really beautiful bird. Except the quill- and some of the smaller wing-feathers, which are black, the plumage is snow-white, whilst the bill and the legs are bright red. Like the swallow, it performs extensive migrations, travelling in flocks, numbering many thousands, at an immense height.
Scarcely less beautiful is theBlack Stork, and, like its white-plumaged ally, it is also an occasional visitant to Britain. It is a handsome bird, having the plumage of the upper-parts black, richly glossed with purple, copper, and green; the under-parts pure white; and the legs and beak red. But it is far less sociable, and consequently less known, than the white stork, shunning the haunts of men, and seeking seclusion for its nest in the lofty trees of large forests.
WHALE-HEADED STORK.By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild, Tring.WHALE-HEADED STORK.A rare species, remarkable for the huge size of the beak.
By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild, Tring.WHALE-HEADED STORK.A rare species, remarkable for the huge size of the beak.
By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild, Tring.
WHALE-HEADED STORK.
A rare species, remarkable for the huge size of the beak.
WHITE STORKS.Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.WHITE STORKS.The right-hand figure shows the bird making the curious clappering with its beak.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.WHITE STORKS.The right-hand figure shows the bird making the curious clappering with its beak.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.
WHITE STORKS.
The right-hand figure shows the bird making the curious clappering with its beak.
WHITE STORK.Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.WHITE STORK.A parent bird returning with a frog for its young.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.WHITE STORK.A parent bird returning with a frog for its young.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.
WHITE STORK.
A parent bird returning with a frog for its young.
The largest members of the Stork Tribe are theAdjutant-storksandJabirus. The adjutants are also, to our eyes at least, singularly ugly birds. In spite of this very natural disadvantage, they have won a very high place in the regard of the people among whom they dwell, on account of the fact that, both in Africa and India, they perform, with the vultures, the work of scavengers. Yet there is something of quaintness about these birds, if they are watched from a distance too great to reveal the character which imparts the ugliness to which we have referred, and their actions not seldom border on the grotesque. The name Adjutant has been bestowed upon them on account of the peculiar gait, which bears a fanciful resemblance to the measured pacing of an officer on parade. Like all the Storks, they have large bodies and very long legs, but they have outstripped all their relatives in the enormous size of the beak. The features which have earned this unenviable reputation for ugliness are the peculiarly unkempt and unwashed appearance of the head and neck. These are but scantily clothed in very shabby, brown-looking down-feathers; and the neck is made still more, we might almost say, repulsive by the presence of a large bare pouch, which can be distended with air to an enormous size at will. The Arabs, on account of this pouch, call the species resident with them "The Father of the Leather Bottle." Some, however, say that the correct translation of the native name would be "The Father of the Beak." But it is not only on account of their scavenging propensities that the adjutants are esteemed, for it is from the under tail-coverts of these birds that the much-prized "marabou" or "comercolly" feathers are obtained—at least the finest kinds; for some appear to be furnished by that chief of scavengers, the vulture. More precious still "is the celebrated stone called Zahir mora, or poison-killer, of great virtue and repute as an antidote to all kinds of poison," to be procured only by splitting open the head of the bird before death. Needless to say, the existence of this stone lives only in popular superstition, though how many poor birds have fallen victims thereto is not pleasant to contemplate.
ADJUTANT-STORK.Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S., Regent's Park.ADJUTANT-STORK.The curious wind-bag is well shown.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S., Regent's Park.ADJUTANT-STORK.The curious wind-bag is well shown.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S., Regent's Park.
ADJUTANT-STORK.
The curious wind-bag is well shown.
ADJUTANT-STORK.Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S., Regent's Park.ADJUTANT-STORK.This shows the bird in a rather unusual attitude.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S., Regent's Park.ADJUTANT-STORK.This shows the bird in a rather unusual attitude.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S., Regent's Park.
ADJUTANT-STORK.
This shows the bird in a rather unusual attitude.
JABIRU STORK.Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co., Parson's Green.JABIRU STORK.This bird stands between 4 and 5 feet high.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co., Parson's Green.JABIRU STORK.This bird stands between 4 and 5 feet high.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co., Parson's Green.
JABIRU STORK.
This bird stands between 4 and 5 feet high.
Adjutants choose almost inaccessible pinnacles of rock onwhich to build their nests, though they sometimes nest in trees. From two to four white eggs are laid, from which, if all goes well, as many young, covered with fluffy white down, are hatched.
TheJabirusare distant relatives of, and scarcely inferior in size to, the Adjutants. There are three species, one occurring in the Indian Peninsula, New Guinea, and Australia, one in Africa, and one in South America. It is to this last species that the name Jabiru correctly applies. Furthermore, there can be no doubt that it is one of the handsomest of its tribe. The whole plumage is pure white, and the upper-parts are made additionally resplendent by an indescribable satin-like gloss. The beautiful whiteness of its plumage is enhanced by the fact that the head and neck, bill and feet, are jet-black. Some would give the palm of beauty to theAfrican Saddle-billed Stork. Black and white, as in the American form, are the contrasting "colours"; but the plumage of the body, instead of being pure white, is plentifully enriched with black, with beautiful purple reflections.
FLAMINGOES.Photo by D. Le Souef][Melbourne.FLAMINGOES.In flight the long neck and legs are fully extended, giving the bird a very remarkable appearance.
Photo by D. Le Souef][Melbourne.FLAMINGOES.In flight the long neck and legs are fully extended, giving the bird a very remarkable appearance.
Photo by D. Le Souef][Melbourne.
FLAMINGOES.
In flight the long neck and legs are fully extended, giving the bird a very remarkable appearance.
More or less nearly allied to the Storks are several species familiar enough to the professional ornithologist, but not very well known generally. One of the rarest and most interesting of these is theWhale-headedorShoe-billed Storkof the Nile, remarkable for its enormous boat-shaped bill. More common but equally interesting are the beautifulFlamingoes. Apart from the brilliancy of their colour, the most noticeable feature of these birds is the curious beak, which is bent downwards at a sharp angle, and provided on its inside with horny plates resembling those of the Ducks and Swans. The tongue of this bird, unlike that of the Stork Tribe generally, is thick and fleshy, and also resembles that of the duck.
The flamingo is the only member of the Stork Tribe which builds a mud-nest. Its foundation laid often in as much as 15 inches of water, and rising above the surface from 6 to 8 inches, with a diameter at the top of 15 inches, it forms a pile of no mean size. Strangely enough, though these birds are never so happy as when wading "knee" deep in water, yet after the construction of the nest the incubation of the eggs is delayed so longthat before they are hatched the water has disappeared, leaving a burning plain of sun-baked mud. On the top of this nest the parent sits with its long neck neatly curled away among the back-feathers, with its long legs doubled up, and projecting behind her for some distance beyond the tail. Until quite recently it was believed that the bird incubated its eggs by sittingastridethe nest, the length of the legs forbidding any other position: this has now been proved beyond cavil to be an entirely erroneous opinion.
FLAMINGOES.Photo by Charles Knight][Aldershot.FLAMINGOES.On account of the swan-like neck and "strainers" along the edges of the beak, these birds have been regarded as long-legged members of the Duck Tribe, but they seem more nearly related to the Storks.
Photo by Charles Knight][Aldershot.FLAMINGOES.On account of the swan-like neck and "strainers" along the edges of the beak, these birds have been regarded as long-legged members of the Duck Tribe, but they seem more nearly related to the Storks.
Photo by Charles Knight][Aldershot.
FLAMINGOES.
On account of the swan-like neck and "strainers" along the edges of the beak, these birds have been regarded as long-legged members of the Duck Tribe, but they seem more nearly related to the Storks.
The eggs, two in number, are peculiar in that they are encased in a thick outer chalky coat, which on removal reveals a greenish-blue shell.
The characteristic crooked beak of the adult is not at all apparent in the young bird, and only appears as it approaches maturity.
EUROPEAN FLAMINGOES.Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.EUROPEAN FLAMINGOES.These birds breed in the South of France and Spain.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.EUROPEAN FLAMINGOES.These birds breed in the South of France and Spain.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.
EUROPEAN FLAMINGOES.
These birds breed in the South of France and Spain.
The huge flocks in which these birds consort are graphically described by Mr. Abel Chapman as follows: "In herds of 300 to 400, several of which are often in sight at once, they stand feeding in the open water, all their heads under, greedily tearing up the grasses and water-plants from the bottom. On approaching them, which can only be done by extreme caution, their silence is first broken by the sentries, who commence walking away with low croaks; then hundreds of necks rise at once to full extent, every bird gaggling its loudest, as they walk obliquely away, looking back over their shoulders, as though to take stock of the extent of the danger. Pushing a few yards forward, up they all rise, and a more beautiful sight cannot be imagined than the simultaneous spreading of the crimson wings, flashing against the sky like a gleam of rosy light. In many respects these birds bear a strong resemblance to geese. Like them, flamingoes feed by day; and great quantitiesof grass, etc., are always floating about the muddy water when a herd has been feeding. Their cry is almost indistinguishable from the gaggling of geese, and they fly in the same catenarian formations."
TheSpoonbillsandIbisesalso belong to the Stork Tribe. The former are remarkable chiefly for the strange spoon-shaped bill: one species, a few hundred years ago, nested in England. This remarkable beak is associated with a peculiar method of feeding, well described by the late Mr. Wolley. During the operation, he says, "the beak was passed sideways through the water, and kept open till something palatable came within its grasp; but the action by which the bird effected this was most singular; for instead of turning only its head and neck, it turned its whole body from left to right and from right to left, like the balance-wheel of a watch; its neck stretched out and its beak immersed perpendicularly to about half its depth: this semicircular action was kept up with great vigour and at a tolerably quick march."
SPOONBILL.Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.SPOONBILL.So called on account of its spoon-shaped bill.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.SPOONBILL.So called on account of its spoon-shaped bill.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.
SPOONBILL.
So called on account of its spoon-shaped bill.
SACRED IBIS.Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.SACRED IBIS.Sacred to the ancient Egyptians, it is known to the Abyssinians to-day as "Father John."
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.SACRED IBIS.Sacred to the ancient Egyptians, it is known to the Abyssinians to-day as "Father John."
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.
SACRED IBIS.
Sacred to the ancient Egyptians, it is known to the Abyssinians to-day as "Father John."
A graphic description by Mr. Alfred Crowley of a visit to the breeding-haunts of the spoonbill, about fifteen miles from Amsterdam, in 1884, is well worth reproducing here: "Taking a small boat in tow, we were punted across the open water, over which were flying numbers of sand-martins, swifts, common and black terns, and black-headed gulls, the reeds being full of coots, moorhens, sedge- and reed-warblers, etc., and in the distance we saw, rising above the reeds occasionally, a small spoonbill or purple heron. On nearing a large mass of reeds, one of the boatmen struck the side of the punt with the pole, when up rose some fifty spoonbills and eight or ten purple herons; and as we came closer to the reeds there were soon hovering over our heads, within easy shot, some 200 of the former, and fifty or sixty of the latter. Strange to say, not a note or sound escaped from the spoonbills, and only a few croaks from the herons. On reaching the reeds, we moored our punt, and two of the men, wading in the mud, took us in the small boat about fifty yards through the reeds, where we found ourselves surrounded by spoonbills' nests. They were placed on the mud among the reeds, built about 1 foot or 18 inches high and 2 feet in diameter at the bottom, tapering to 1 foot at the top, where there was a slight depression, in which lay four eggs, or in most cases four young birds, many ready to leave the nest, and several ran off as weapproached. In the nests with young there was a great difference in age and size, one being about a day or so old, and the oldest nearly ready to leave the nest—some two or three weeks old—so that evidently the birds lay their four eggs at considerable intervals, and begin to sit on depositing the first. After wandering about, a matter of difficulty on account of the mud, we found a clutch of only three eggs, and one of four, which I managed to blow. We also obtained two clutches of eggs of the purple heron, but some of the latter had young."
YOUNG HERONS FOURTEEN DAYS OLD IN NEST.Photo by J. T. Newman][Berkhamsted.YOUNG HERONS FOURTEEN DAYS OLD IN NEST.Photographed in the top of a pine-tree 60 feet from the ground, in Lord Clarendon's Park.
Photo by J. T. Newman][Berkhamsted.YOUNG HERONS FOURTEEN DAYS OLD IN NEST.Photographed in the top of a pine-tree 60 feet from the ground, in Lord Clarendon's Park.
Photo by J. T. Newman][Berkhamsted.
YOUNG HERONS FOURTEEN DAYS OLD IN NEST.
Photographed in the top of a pine-tree 60 feet from the ground, in Lord Clarendon's Park.
TheIbises, though much alike in form, are strangely diverse in colour. One species was sacred to the ancient Egyptians. The reverence and affection they showed to this bird, above all others, is probably largely due to its migrating habits, which obtained in that far past just as they do to-day. The naturalist Brehm says on this subject: "When the Nile, after being at its lowest ebb, rose again, and the water assumed a red tinge, then the ibis appeared in the land of the Pharaohs as a sure guarantee that the stream—the giver and preserver of life, which the people in their profound reverence raised to the rank of a god—would once again empty the well-spring of plenty over the thirsty land. The servant and messenger of an all-bounteous Deity commanded of a necessity a reverence of a poetic and distinguished character, by reason of its importance: he too must be a god."
Another species, theGlossy Ibis, occurs sometimes in Britain. Perhaps the most beautiful of all is theScarlet Ibisof America, numbers of which can be seen in the Zoological Gardens of London. On account of the curved, sickle-shaped bill the Ibises were at one time believed to be related to the Curlews: this, however, is now known to be quite incorrect.
It was at one time believed that "the ibis [was] adopted as a part of the arms of the town of Liverpool. This bird is termed aLiver, from which that flourishing town derived its name, and is now standing on the spot where thePoolwas, on the verge of which theLiverwas killed." The arms of the town of Liverpool, however, as Mr. Howard Saunders points out, are "comparatively modern, and seem to have no reference to the ibis. The bird which was adopted in the arms of the [extinct] Earls of Liverpool was described in a former edition of 'Burke's Peerage' as a cormorant, holding in the beak a branch of seaweed. In the Plantagenet seal of Liverpool, which is believed to be of the time of King John, the bird has the appearance of a dove, bearing in its bill a sprig of olive, apparently intended to refer to the advantages that commerce would derive from peace."
The glossy ibis has been found breeding in colonies of thousands in Slavonia. The nests are large structures formed of sticks and a few weeds, never far from the water, and many even, in the colony referred to, were so near the surface that they appeared to be floating. The eggs, three or four in number, are of a beautiful greenish blue. The young, while still unable to fly, climb actively among the branches of the trees in which the nest is placed, clinging so firmly with the feet as to be removed with difficulty.
GREAT BLUE HERON.By permission of Professor Bumpus][New York.GREAT BLUE HERON.This bird ranges from the Arctic regions to the West Indies and South America.
By permission of Professor Bumpus][New York.GREAT BLUE HERON.This bird ranges from the Arctic regions to the West Indies and South America.
By permission of Professor Bumpus][New York.
GREAT BLUE HERON.
This bird ranges from the Arctic regions to the West Indies and South America.
The Herons and Bitterns.
In the first mentioned of these two groups theCommon Heronis the best known in the British Islands. Indeed, there must be few who have not encountered it in a wild state at some time or another. In suitable spots it may occasionally be met with standing mid-leg in water on the look-out for eels and other fish and frogs, a diet varied by an occasional young bird or small mammal. Sometimes this prey is hunted, so to speak, the bird walking along with a slow, measured step, striking with lightning rapidity and wonderful precision the moment its victim is sighted, whilst at others it stands motionless, as when fishing, striking the instant the unsuspecting eel or flounder comes within range.
COMMON NIGHT-HERON.Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.COMMON NIGHT-HERON.This bird occasionally visits the British Islands.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.COMMON NIGHT-HERON.This bird occasionally visits the British Islands.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.][Regent's Park.
COMMON NIGHT-HERON.
This bird occasionally visits the British Islands.
YOUNG COMMON HERONS.Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.YOUNG COMMON HERONS.These birds have not yet acquired their full plumage.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.YOUNG COMMON HERONS.These birds have not yet acquired their full plumage.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.
YOUNG COMMON HERONS.
These birds have not yet acquired their full plumage.
From the earliest times until the reign of William IV. the heron was specially protected by law, being held in high regard both as an object of sport and a desirable addition to the dinner-table. So late as James I.'s time an Act was passed making it illegal to shoot with any gun within 600 paces of a heronry. The favourite way of taking the heron was by hawking, a sport which has furnished material in abundance both for poet and painter.
Herons breed in more or less extensive colonies, the nests—somewhat bulky structures, made of sticks and lined with twigs—being placed in the tops of high trees. From four to six is the normal number of eggs, and these are of a beautiful sea-green colour. The young are thinly clad in long, hairy-looking down, and for some considerable time are quite helpless.
Similar in appearance to the common heron is the AmericanGreat Blue Heron, though it is by no means the largest of the herons, as its name might seem to imply. This distinction belongs to theGoliath Heron. A native of Africa, it is remarkable not only for its size, but for an extraordinary development of long, loose feathers hanging down from the lower part of the breast, and bearing a strange resemblance to an apron, concealing the upper part of the legs.
Passing over many species, we pause to descant on theEgrets. These are numberedamongst the most unfortunate of birds, and this because of the gracefulness and beauty of certain parts of the plumage worn during the breeding-season, which are coveted alike by Eastern magnates and Western women. The feathers in question are those known as "egrets," or, more commonly, "ospreys"; and their collection, as Professor Newton points out, causes some of "the most abominable cruelty practised in the animal world." The wearing of these feathers can no longer be excused; for Sir William Flower in England, and Professor W. E. D. Scott in America, have given the greatest publicity to the horrible barbarities and sickening scenes which are perpetrated by the men sent to gather in this harvest. The egrets, however, are not the only victims, as a glance at the milliners' windows will show, the distorted and mangled bodies of almost every known species of the smaller birds being therein displayed! Many of those who wear these "ornaments" offend unwittingly; it is certain that if they realised the suffering and waste of life that this method of decoration entails they would eschew any but ostrich feathers for ever.